Alphabet Meme Completed!
6 Rulers Who Abused Their Power In Hilariously Insane Ways
7 Books We Lost to History That Would Have Changed the World
My books arrived! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!
Ok, time to unveil this monstrosity...
A is for Adam Baldwin
(requested by lita64)
Adam Baldwin has what the lovely zombres would call "arms guh!" Forget sparkly ass vampires -- these are arms made out of marble, ok? Am I superficial because I swoon at his biceps that are as big as my head? Sure I am. But I don't care. I've seen him play good guys, bad guys, morally ambigious guys, and I've enjoyed them all. Plus he doesn't mind being typecast as "the guy with the gun" about 95% of the time. :)
B is for Benjamin Hawthorne
(requested by zombres)
zombres is SHAMELESS! Utterly SHAMELESS, I say! Just kidding BB, you know I luvs ya! Ben is a character from her amazing road trip/supernatural novel, Weird, USA. He's your average guy in his early twenties -- smokes, likes good music, quotes cult shows and movies, is a computer genius... But he's so much more. He's the one who reigns in his wild twin sister Charlie. The one who quietly pines after Charlie's best friend Olivia and beats a werewolf over the head with a branch to save her. He's the voice of reason, the one with the plans, the one who handles the directions and money. He somehow manages to be so simple, yet so complex at the same time. He's basically amazing.
C is for Cooper, Sheldon Lee
(requested by fluties_flake)
My favorite character from The Big Bang Theory. Everything in his life is overanalyzed and overcomplicated. He doesn't understand sarcasm, and is constantly asking for direction on how to proceed in varying social situations. He's smarter than all the other guys put together, but that just means he misses the smallest, common sense things. Although all the guys name drop geeky things that make me squee, Sheldon does it most often... returning Star Wars sheets, wanting his skeleton fused with Adamantium, making toast with a BSG cylon toaster, imitating Admiral Akbar... He makes me laugh so hard.
D is for The Doctor
(requested by zombres)
Ahh, the Doctor. One could say I have a very on-again/off-again relationship with the Doctor. Guess it just depends on who's writing the episode. I started watching Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. I loved him. He was passionate, deep, quick to anger, quick to sadness, but I always enjoyed watching him and being along for the ride. I was upset when he left, but David Tennant's Doctor was so promising. I really liked him right away, and on looking back through old reaction posts, I even said after watching The Christmas Invasion that I loved him more than Nine. That feeling didn't last. There's only so many times the Time War can be brought up, or old enemies being brought back time and time again, even though there's absolutely no way they should be able to, before I get really annoyed.
Soon I was just grasping at little moments or certain lines I loved from the Doctor in the episode, because I was really starting to not like him. There was just something about the way his arrogance as the oh so wise Time Lord was written that I could deal with fine with Nine, but could barely tolerate with Ten. Then came the lose of Rose, and then Martha Jones, who was treated terribly by the Doctor, excepting little throwaway lines about how great she was that I had to grasp onto, since he was being such a jerk otherwise. Don't even get me started on agreeing to let Astrid on the TARDIS while Mr. Copper was left out in the cold, literally. When Donna came along, I was glad to see their friendship, because it was like early Ten and Rose -- carefree, happy, the trip of a lifetime. But then his arrogance, his hubris, his SHOUTY FUCKING DOCTOR popped up again and with only a few specials spaced out through this past year, I found him very hard to tolerate. With this final episode I was just sooo ready to be done with RTD's Doctor. Here's hoping Moffat and Matt Smith turn me into a Doctor lover again.
E is for Ethnic cuisines
(requested by caveat_lect0r)
I really don't like most ethnic cuisine. I mean, I grew up on some Polish foods, so I enjoy those, and I LOVE Italian food, but other than that, there's not much else. I'll eat Chinese if it's eggrolls, potstickers (and only if those two aren't spicy), sweet and sour chicken, or sweet and sour short ribs. But that's it. I don't like anything spicy, and most ethnic food is. I'll eat fakey franchise Mexican if there's nothing spicy in it. I used to love Chi-Chi's steak and mushroom quesadillas, and I make my own quesadillas and "poor man's" sopaipillas now. But yeah, I have a sensitive tongue, so not a lot of ethnic food for me.
F is for Firefly
(requested by green_queen)
A great little show that I never watched when it aired, but that I heard about online and from a friend, and grew to love. It spawned a kickass, darker film and earned my love and devotion. I'm a fan of almost all the characters, love the amazing dialogue, and the whole mythos of the Alliance and the Independents. It made me fall for Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion, and develop a girlcrush on Summer Glau. It's just really gorram good, dong ma?
G is for GQMF
(requested by zombie_boogie)
I first heard it used to describe the actors of the new Star Trek film, and that's definitely whom the phrase is most associated with now. It comes from the combo of GQ magazine (Gentlemen's Quarterly) and Mother Fucker. There are always extremely attractive men spread throughout the pages of GQ, so, originally, to be a GQMF you basically just have to be really ridiculously good looking. Now I think it's grown to mean you have to be really hot, but ALSO extremely kickass and awesome, as an actor and a person in general. Which the entire cast of Star Trek is. The proper comment to make when you see a picture of any of the Star Trek cast is "Look at that GQ Mother Fucker!" And now you know. ;)
H is for Hollywood's Golden Age of Movie Actors
(requested by fluties_flake)
I never grew up on films from the '30s and '40s. But a few years back, I took notice of the Turner Classic Movies channel, and saw on my satellite's guide their listings for famous old movies that I'd heard of, but had never seen. I decided to educate myself on this age of Hollywood, since before that the only knowledge I had of those actors were the caricatures of them that used to appear on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes shorts I'd watch as a kid. So I started watching. I loved them. Instead of dry, recycled romantic comedy plots, they had original, fresh screwball comedies. Instead of some lame adult top 40 song playing over a sex scene where you saw silk sheets moving, you had characters passionately embracing and pressing their cheeks together. Back then, you had just as many affairs and drug fueled parties, but they were hushed up and everything felt classier without the paparazzi around. Actors and actresses wow me with their ten minute long energized song and dance numbers. I love their costumes, their witty banter, and how there was always room for a song.
I is for Ireland
(requested by zombie_boogie)
Ireland is a place I really, really want to visit someday, but I dunno if I'll ever have the opportunity or money to do so. I've never flown before, so I'd have to conquer that fear as well. But I've had family who have gone there and hearing their stories just increased my longing to go. I'm Irish American on my mother's side, so I have a great love of all things Irish. My aunt has traced our geneology back to Ireland and it's all pretty fascinating. Our ancestors were from County Kerry, in the west of Ireland where the soil is rocky and not so great for farming. A lot of people there worked as servants for wealthy Anglo-Irish families, and that's what some of my ancestors did before coming to America in the... 1850's, I think. Anyways, I have a book on Celtic myths and another on Irish fairy tales because I love Ireland's history of folklore. I took a class in grad school on the British Empire and a big part of the class was how the British fucked over the Irish. I even have a claddagh tattoo. So yeah, I love Ireland!
J is for James Tiberius Kirk
(requested by green_queen)
Often times, a person will latch onto the first version of something or someone they see, and will always find it better than whatever they see after. That's the way it is with me and Jim Kirk. I'd always been aware of William Shatner; it's hard not to be when Star Trek is such a huge part of pop culture. But I'd never seen the old series. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my dad, but I was still too young to take much away from it. I liked watching Star Trek: Generations whenever it was on a movie channel, and thought it was cool that Captain Picard and Captain Kirk met, but Kirk didn't wow me or anything. Again, I was probably too young. Then Star Trek XI comes along. And I adore this Kirk who keeps getting the crap kicked out of him and yet jumps up, ready for more. My dad hated this aspect of nu!Kirk. Kirk was the Man. He didn't lose fights! I didn't care. This was the first Kirk I saw and could process in my mind because I was finally the right age to appreciate him. He's not superhuman. He's a really smart guy who doesn't believe in no win scenarios, so he'll keep throwing himself into them, knowing he'll come up with something to win in the end. Plus Chris Pine is really yummy.
K is for Karl Urban
(requested by lita64)
Ahh, Kahl... Karl and I go back to his LOTR days, as I'm sure is the case for a lot of his fans outside of New Zealand. And really, it started out as me being totally butt crazy in love with Eomer, both in the book and the movies. In fact, I'd say I'm more in love with book!Eomer if it wasn't for the fact that Karl Urban played him, UNF. Srsly, read the book; he is such a BAMF he could melt your panties from 500 miles away. UNF, I say. But I digest -- Family Guy joke, HURR HURR digress... Karl is fabulous, as you well know, o Flist. He's sex on legs, yet loves incredibly geeky things. Basically he will be in a movie if he gets to ride a horse, or gets a sword or gun. He doesn't want to be a serious, dramatic actor. He wants to be in sci fi/fantasy, westerns, and action films. THIS IS RELEVANT TO MY INTERESTS! Well, not so much the western films, but the rest? YES! He's now played two well known, beloved characters in two beloved franchises and I'm oh so happy about that. I've also watched some holy god stinkers of movies to be graced with his presence in them. Also, correct me if I've got this wrong, but I think I read that the only two members of the Star Trek cast who were fans of the show before making the movie were Simon Pegg and Karl Urban. Can you just imagine wee!Karl growing up watching Star Trek reruns and pushing his fingers apart to do the Vulcan salute? ADORABLE!
L is for Lady Gaga
(requested by zombie_boogie)
RUH RUH, RUH UH UH, ROMA ROMA MA, GAGA OO LA LA, WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE. Ok, actually it started with Just Dance. I saw Lady Gaga plastered all over ONTD in her crazy outfits and thought "Who is this crazypants?" Out of sheer curiosity (and because I rarely listen to the radio anymore) I searched for her on YouTube and watched Just Dance and Pokerface. Then I had to download her album. Then I had to put Just Dance on repeat and dance around my living room like a spazz, lip-synching. I luff her. She is so crazy talented. Yes, she uses autotuning, but that's part of her electronic sound, and if you've heard her perform live with just a piano, her voice is lovely on it's own. I think that's more than can be said about Britney Spears now, who can neither sing nor dance, which saddens me, because I'm a closet fan of hers, but only for her catchy dance tunes. Some of Gaga's songs have crazy lyrics, and are never about what I think they're about, but I love plenty of artists with nonsensical lyrics, lol. In a world where musical artists have just stopped trying, where they let autotune and boring videos be the norm, Lady Gaga is a constant entertainer. She's amazing, basically.
M is for Martha Jones
(requested by fluties_flake)
You know what I'm gonna say, so let's get it out of the way: MARTHA FUCKING JONES! MY MARFA! Ok, now on to business. I LOVE MARTHA JONES. I LOVE FREEMA AGYEMAN. Ok, now I mean it. Onto business. Ahem. Freema is amazing. She was a little known, practically new actress, who was cast as Billie Piper's replacement on Doctor Who. I was determined to like her from the start, simply because of all the terrible things people were saying about her, as if she had personally drop kicked Billie into the ocean and stolen the role of companion. I grew to full on love Martha, because of her compassion, selflessness, fortitude, and wisdom. She put up with so much while she traveled with the Doctor, the worst being how he was constantly brushing off her devotion and care in favor of moping after Rose. It wasn't Rose's season, it was Martha's, and I was both frustrated by the Doctor's hot and cold attitude, and thrilled to see Martha's self-reliance and resourcefulness. I could list examples, but you know them all already and I've listed them before.
She grew a great deal by the end of the season and on into Torchwood. I was so happy to see her back in season 4, though some complained that now it was Donna's season, and not Martha's. I can certainly understand that, but I felt Martha and the Doctor had a lot of unfinished business that needed to be sorted out. I loved everytime Martha walked away from the TARDIS with her head held high. It was such a better way than seeing Rose bawling twice, or Donna crying and then not even remembering. And very similar to Jack's exits, season 3 and on, I've just realized. As for The End of Time? If you read my reaction post you know how I felt about that. No spoilers here, but that was an incredibly stupid and unnecessary thing RTD did to my Martha, and with absolutely no backstory to support it, I'm ignoring that it ever happened. If people are happy with it, then good for them, but I never will be.
N is for Nathan Fillion
(requested by lita64)
He's a great actor with a wonderful sense of humor. He loves his fans and is always showing it, whether it's by showing up to the location of a last minute cancelled con to see the fans for free, or by dressing up as his most famous character for Halloween on his new show. I love his Twitter and all the hilarious stuff he posts there. He usually plays good guys, so I loved seeing him as Captain Hammer, the so called hero who was really a complete douche. He's just so adorable and funny and incredible!
O is for The Office
(requested by lita64)
A fabulous show! It's changed a lot since it began, but I still really enjoy it. I just wish there was an end date in sight, because I don't want it to go on forever and become horrible. It's so funny and absurd. The main characters have come a long way since the beginning, and the secondary characters have been slowly fleshed out too. My fave characters are Andy, Jim, and Pam. Andy's just so endearing and wants to be liked so badly, but he always goes about it in the worst way possible. Jim is the former slacker wise ass who's matured a lot, but still has it in him to prank Dwight. Pam went from the quiet receptionist who was always walked on, to a confident individual who won't take any crap. I love this show.
P is for Persuasion
(requested by zombie_boogie)
One of my favorite Jane Austen novels, it tells the story of Anne Elliot, a 27 year old spinster who is walked on by her family, and is still pining after her former fiance, Captain Frederick Wentworth, a Navy man who was thought to be not good enough for her. She was persuaded to break off the engagement even though she loved him, and nine years later, he comes back into her part of the world a rich man, only to start flirting with her sister's sister-in-law, because he's still hurt that Anne broke things off. But just as he's getting over that and realizes he still loves her, Anne's cousin pops up and suddenly wants to marry her, though he has shady reasons for doing so.
It's a great story about past regrets, taking charge of your life, and rekindled romance. It's also the shortest Austen book, I believe, and was published after her death. I've seen both the 1995 version and the 2007 ITV one, and while both are great, I think the 1995 one is closer to the book. But the newer on is a short little production that was aired in two parts, so it's a quick watch, and it's got Rupert Penry-Jones being all brooding in a cravat. What else could you ask for?
Q is for Queen (my favorite)
(requested by fluties_flake)
Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (1819-1901)
I'm pretty fascinated with her long life that defined an era. I've read two biographies about her, another that was sort of a biography based on her sketchbook, one book on her daughters, one on her heir Edward VII, and now I'm reading on on five of her granddaughters. So yeah, I'd say she's my favorite. Which is weird, because her life wasn't terribly exciting. The two biggest events in her life were her ascension to the throne and the death of her husband, Albert. Yet I want to read as much about her and her family as possible.
Anyways, I picked two runner ups whose lives were way more exciting, and who were also both rulers in their own right, not consorts.
Queen King Jadwiga of Poland (1373/4-1399)
The daughter of Louis I of Hungary, who was King of Poland through his mother's line, she was crowned king of Poland after her father's death when she was only ten years old. She was crowned king because there was no equivalent to a queen regent in Poland. At age twelve she was married to a Duke, went on to donate her personal wealth (including jewels) to many charities, and her mother and sister (the Queen of Hungary) were kidnapped in Hungary, both dying under mysterious circumstances. In 1399 Jadwiga gave birth to her only child, but both died and her husband became the sole monarch. After her death, she was considered a saint in Poland, and in 1997 she was official canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689)
Basically she was a badass. Taking the throne at age six, she was also crowned a king instead of a queen, and was considered a genius, studying religions and speaking foreign languages with ease. She was also eccentric, dressing like a man and not brushing her hair. She decided to never marry and have children, and secretly converted to Catholicism, even though she was the ruler of a Lutheran country. She abdicated in favor of her cousin, came out as a Catholic (though not as a lesbian, which some suggest she might have been), and then set off to Rome to par-tay. She hung out with intellectuals, lovers of the arts, cardinals, and popes, and spent money like it was going out of style. Basically you all need to read her Wiki article, because she's fab. I think I'll have to snag a book on her one day.
R is for ROBERT MOTHERLOVIN' DOWNEY JRRRRRRRRRR.
(requested by zombres)
Hold onto your hats, people. I'm about to drop a bomb on you. I checked Mr. Downey Jr.'s IMDB page, and it appears the only things I've seen him in have been Heart and Souls, Ally McBeal, and his guest spot on Family Guy. I haven't seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes, or any of those movies you love him in. Nope. You can clutch your pearls in shock now. I know, I know. No need to tell me to watch everything he's been in ever, because I probably won't go out of my way. If my dad buys Iron Man or Tropic Thunder or something on DVD, I might though. Other than that, I really don't have an opinion on Rubber Ducky Jr. here. He's got arms guh though.
S is for Stardust
(requested by bolivarblues)
I love both the book and the movie. I think they stand as separate tales quite well. With the book you have Neil Gaiman's excellent, witty writing. With the movie, you have gorgeous visuals and good humor (and bonus Bin Bons!), So yeah, not much else to say about it, except it rocks. Oh, and that as much as I love Alan Rickman, Mark Strong totally looks like Snape in this, and he would have been kickass in that role. ;)
T is for Travel destinations
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
I would travel to Ireland, the UK (London, specifically), France, Italy, Poland, and New Zealand.
Ireland because it's gorgeous and the land of my ancestors. The UK because I love British history. France because of its beauty and history. Italy because of the distinctly different cities and the food. Poland because it's also the land of my ancestors, as well as its beautiful castles, churches, and sad history. New Zealand because of its beautifully diverse landscapes.
The pic on the top right is St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow, Poland. It's famous for having a bugler playing the Heynel from one of the towers every hour of the day, every day.
U is for Under-appreciated actors in your favorite shows
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
Wow, this was really tough! I really don't watch a lot of shows anymore. Um, ok, I guess Jim Parsons would be one. He was completely robbed of an Emmy, and wasn't even nominated for a Golden Globe, so his talents are seriously underappreciated. I might have said Ed Helms, except with The Hangover he's getting a ton of attention right now, so not him anymore. I'm really not sure who else to even say! I guess just Jim.
V is for Villains you can't help but love
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
I was once asked a similar question in a top 5 meme, and I had a heck of a time answering it because I don't love villains at all. So I've wracked my brain here, and came up with Darth Vader. Yup, that's about it. And he ~ SPOILER ALERT ~ gets redeemed at the end, so he doesn't turn out to be a total villain either. He's an asthmatic cyborg, but he's got the force choke going on and is voiced by James Earl Jones, so he's pretty badass.
W is for WALL-E
(requested by bolivarblues)
Gah, SUCH a cute movie! I cry everytime I watch it! It's just so fun, and heartfelt, and brilliant. The animation is superb and the story is beautiful. And I love the credits too! You get an extra little story about the humans and robots resettling Earth while you watch this visually stunning stroll through the history of Western Art! Incredible!
X is for X rated
(what classic books and movies would you get a kick out of seeing remade into smut? LOL)
(requested by fluties_flake)
Lost in Austen by dracothan @ devArt
WHAT IS THIS QUESTION, I DON'T EVEN. Gawd, I dunno... Jane Austen novels? LOL, that'd be awesome. The smut would consist of showing a little ankle. Err... what else... Star Trek? I mean, there's a LOT of pretty people in that... though there needs to be more females in the permanent cast.
Y is for Your Favorite Glee Number
(requested by green_queen)
This will always be #1. I can't even descibe why, but it's what utterly pulled me into the show. I loved it. Plus I love the song, even if it is overused and cheesy.
Z is for Zeta Tau Alpha
(requested by zombie_boogie)
Is the fraternity I'm in. Yup, not a sorority, not an honors fraternity (though I'm in one of those too), but a fraternity. Sororities are formed through a fraternity, but fraternities are formed on their own (though we were obviously grouped with the other sororites on campus, cuz we're girls, lol). I pledged in the fall of my sophmore year, so I was a sorority girl most of my college career.
It was pretty fun. It was a shitload of money, and yes, even I thought my first year "why would I pay for my friends?" but it definitely helped me out socially. I was (and still can be) the shyest person you'll ever meet, but sorority life helped me meet and become friends with people, even GASP! boys. Most of the girls in my sorority pretty much cut themselves off from any other friends that were outside of the Greek system, but I refused to do that, and I was actually kind of proud when one girl told me that I was the only Zeta she liked, b/c I actually hung out with non-Greek people. So yeah, I still had a big independent streak and was more loyal to my older friends than to the sorority.
My senior year, I got senioritis really bad, and as seniors were no longer on the exec board (I was recording secretary my junior year, what what), I didn't feel like participating in anything and wasting more money. By then, the girls were REALLY divided into "Zeta house girls" and "townhouse girls" with each group hanging out with a different fraternity. I hung out with the boys from one, but I didn't live in either place, and I was really tired of the backstabbing talk whenever I was with one group (and wondered what they said about me behind my back), so senior year I was so over sorority life. I talk to maybe one former sister now on Facebook, and not regularly at that. And oh, one just friended me, but we were friends before we joined so I think I'll friend her back.
Anyways, here's an ugly, but informative web page on our fraternity's symbols.
AND THAT'S IT! IF YOU MADE IT THROUGH ALL THAT, I CONGRATULATE YOU!
7 Books We Lost to History That Would Have Changed the World
My books arrived! Oh, joy! Oh, rapture!
Ok, time to unveil this monstrosity...
A is for Adam Baldwin
(requested by lita64)
Adam Baldwin has what the lovely zombres would call "arms guh!" Forget sparkly ass vampires -- these are arms made out of marble, ok? Am I superficial because I swoon at his biceps that are as big as my head? Sure I am. But I don't care. I've seen him play good guys, bad guys, morally ambigious guys, and I've enjoyed them all. Plus he doesn't mind being typecast as "the guy with the gun" about 95% of the time. :)
B is for Benjamin Hawthorne
(requested by zombres)
zombres is SHAMELESS! Utterly SHAMELESS, I say! Just kidding BB, you know I luvs ya! Ben is a character from her amazing road trip/supernatural novel, Weird, USA. He's your average guy in his early twenties -- smokes, likes good music, quotes cult shows and movies, is a computer genius... But he's so much more. He's the one who reigns in his wild twin sister Charlie. The one who quietly pines after Charlie's best friend Olivia and beats a werewolf over the head with a branch to save her. He's the voice of reason, the one with the plans, the one who handles the directions and money. He somehow manages to be so simple, yet so complex at the same time. He's basically amazing.
C is for Cooper, Sheldon Lee
(requested by fluties_flake)
My favorite character from The Big Bang Theory. Everything in his life is overanalyzed and overcomplicated. He doesn't understand sarcasm, and is constantly asking for direction on how to proceed in varying social situations. He's smarter than all the other guys put together, but that just means he misses the smallest, common sense things. Although all the guys name drop geeky things that make me squee, Sheldon does it most often... returning Star Wars sheets, wanting his skeleton fused with Adamantium, making toast with a BSG cylon toaster, imitating Admiral Akbar... He makes me laugh so hard.
D is for The Doctor
(requested by zombres)
Ahh, the Doctor. One could say I have a very on-again/off-again relationship with the Doctor. Guess it just depends on who's writing the episode. I started watching Doctor Who with Christopher Eccleston's Doctor. I loved him. He was passionate, deep, quick to anger, quick to sadness, but I always enjoyed watching him and being along for the ride. I was upset when he left, but David Tennant's Doctor was so promising. I really liked him right away, and on looking back through old reaction posts, I even said after watching The Christmas Invasion that I loved him more than Nine. That feeling didn't last. There's only so many times the Time War can be brought up, or old enemies being brought back time and time again, even though there's absolutely no way they should be able to, before I get really annoyed.
Soon I was just grasping at little moments or certain lines I loved from the Doctor in the episode, because I was really starting to not like him. There was just something about the way his arrogance as the oh so wise Time Lord was written that I could deal with fine with Nine, but could barely tolerate with Ten. Then came the lose of Rose, and then Martha Jones, who was treated terribly by the Doctor, excepting little throwaway lines about how great she was that I had to grasp onto, since he was being such a jerk otherwise. Don't even get me started on agreeing to let Astrid on the TARDIS while Mr. Copper was left out in the cold, literally. When Donna came along, I was glad to see their friendship, because it was like early Ten and Rose -- carefree, happy, the trip of a lifetime. But then his arrogance, his hubris, his SHOUTY FUCKING DOCTOR popped up again and with only a few specials spaced out through this past year, I found him very hard to tolerate. With this final episode I was just sooo ready to be done with RTD's Doctor. Here's hoping Moffat and Matt Smith turn me into a Doctor lover again.
E is for Ethnic cuisines
(requested by caveat_lect0r)
I really don't like most ethnic cuisine. I mean, I grew up on some Polish foods, so I enjoy those, and I LOVE Italian food, but other than that, there's not much else. I'll eat Chinese if it's eggrolls, potstickers (and only if those two aren't spicy), sweet and sour chicken, or sweet and sour short ribs. But that's it. I don't like anything spicy, and most ethnic food is. I'll eat fakey franchise Mexican if there's nothing spicy in it. I used to love Chi-Chi's steak and mushroom quesadillas, and I make my own quesadillas and "poor man's" sopaipillas now. But yeah, I have a sensitive tongue, so not a lot of ethnic food for me.
F is for Firefly
(requested by green_queen)
A great little show that I never watched when it aired, but that I heard about online and from a friend, and grew to love. It spawned a kickass, darker film and earned my love and devotion. I'm a fan of almost all the characters, love the amazing dialogue, and the whole mythos of the Alliance and the Independents. It made me fall for Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion, and develop a girlcrush on Summer Glau. It's just really gorram good, dong ma?
G is for GQMF
(requested by zombie_boogie)
I first heard it used to describe the actors of the new Star Trek film, and that's definitely whom the phrase is most associated with now. It comes from the combo of GQ magazine (Gentlemen's Quarterly) and Mother Fucker. There are always extremely attractive men spread throughout the pages of GQ, so, originally, to be a GQMF you basically just have to be really ridiculously good looking. Now I think it's grown to mean you have to be really hot, but ALSO extremely kickass and awesome, as an actor and a person in general. Which the entire cast of Star Trek is. The proper comment to make when you see a picture of any of the Star Trek cast is "Look at that GQ Mother Fucker!" And now you know. ;)
H is for Hollywood's Golden Age of Movie Actors
(requested by fluties_flake)
I never grew up on films from the '30s and '40s. But a few years back, I took notice of the Turner Classic Movies channel, and saw on my satellite's guide their listings for famous old movies that I'd heard of, but had never seen. I decided to educate myself on this age of Hollywood, since before that the only knowledge I had of those actors were the caricatures of them that used to appear on the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes shorts I'd watch as a kid. So I started watching. I loved them. Instead of dry, recycled romantic comedy plots, they had original, fresh screwball comedies. Instead of some lame adult top 40 song playing over a sex scene where you saw silk sheets moving, you had characters passionately embracing and pressing their cheeks together. Back then, you had just as many affairs and drug fueled parties, but they were hushed up and everything felt classier without the paparazzi around. Actors and actresses wow me with their ten minute long energized song and dance numbers. I love their costumes, their witty banter, and how there was always room for a song.
I is for Ireland
(requested by zombie_boogie)
Ireland is a place I really, really want to visit someday, but I dunno if I'll ever have the opportunity or money to do so. I've never flown before, so I'd have to conquer that fear as well. But I've had family who have gone there and hearing their stories just increased my longing to go. I'm Irish American on my mother's side, so I have a great love of all things Irish. My aunt has traced our geneology back to Ireland and it's all pretty fascinating. Our ancestors were from County Kerry, in the west of Ireland where the soil is rocky and not so great for farming. A lot of people there worked as servants for wealthy Anglo-Irish families, and that's what some of my ancestors did before coming to America in the... 1850's, I think. Anyways, I have a book on Celtic myths and another on Irish fairy tales because I love Ireland's history of folklore. I took a class in grad school on the British Empire and a big part of the class was how the British fucked over the Irish. I even have a claddagh tattoo. So yeah, I love Ireland!
J is for James Tiberius Kirk
(requested by green_queen)
Often times, a person will latch onto the first version of something or someone they see, and will always find it better than whatever they see after. That's the way it is with me and Jim Kirk. I'd always been aware of William Shatner; it's hard not to be when Star Trek is such a huge part of pop culture. But I'd never seen the old series. I grew up watching Star Trek: The Next Generation with my dad, but I was still too young to take much away from it. I liked watching Star Trek: Generations whenever it was on a movie channel, and thought it was cool that Captain Picard and Captain Kirk met, but Kirk didn't wow me or anything. Again, I was probably too young. Then Star Trek XI comes along. And I adore this Kirk who keeps getting the crap kicked out of him and yet jumps up, ready for more. My dad hated this aspect of nu!Kirk. Kirk was the Man. He didn't lose fights! I didn't care. This was the first Kirk I saw and could process in my mind because I was finally the right age to appreciate him. He's not superhuman. He's a really smart guy who doesn't believe in no win scenarios, so he'll keep throwing himself into them, knowing he'll come up with something to win in the end. Plus Chris Pine is really yummy.
K is for Karl Urban
(requested by lita64)
Ahh, Kahl... Karl and I go back to his LOTR days, as I'm sure is the case for a lot of his fans outside of New Zealand. And really, it started out as me being totally butt crazy in love with Eomer, both in the book and the movies. In fact, I'd say I'm more in love with book!Eomer if it wasn't for the fact that Karl Urban played him, UNF. Srsly, read the book; he is such a BAMF he could melt your panties from 500 miles away. UNF, I say. But I digest -- Family Guy joke, HURR HURR digress... Karl is fabulous, as you well know, o Flist. He's sex on legs, yet loves incredibly geeky things. Basically he will be in a movie if he gets to ride a horse, or gets a sword or gun. He doesn't want to be a serious, dramatic actor. He wants to be in sci fi/fantasy, westerns, and action films. THIS IS RELEVANT TO MY INTERESTS! Well, not so much the western films, but the rest? YES! He's now played two well known, beloved characters in two beloved franchises and I'm oh so happy about that. I've also watched some holy god stinkers of movies to be graced with his presence in them. Also, correct me if I've got this wrong, but I think I read that the only two members of the Star Trek cast who were fans of the show before making the movie were Simon Pegg and Karl Urban. Can you just imagine wee!Karl growing up watching Star Trek reruns and pushing his fingers apart to do the Vulcan salute? ADORABLE!
L is for Lady Gaga
(requested by zombie_boogie)
RUH RUH, RUH UH UH, ROMA ROMA MA, GAGA OO LA LA, WANT YOUR BAD ROMANCE. Ok, actually it started with Just Dance. I saw Lady Gaga plastered all over ONTD in her crazy outfits and thought "Who is this crazypants?" Out of sheer curiosity (and because I rarely listen to the radio anymore) I searched for her on YouTube and watched Just Dance and Pokerface. Then I had to download her album. Then I had to put Just Dance on repeat and dance around my living room like a spazz, lip-synching. I luff her. She is so crazy talented. Yes, she uses autotuning, but that's part of her electronic sound, and if you've heard her perform live with just a piano, her voice is lovely on it's own. I think that's more than can be said about Britney Spears now, who can neither sing nor dance, which saddens me, because I'm a closet fan of hers, but only for her catchy dance tunes. Some of Gaga's songs have crazy lyrics, and are never about what I think they're about, but I love plenty of artists with nonsensical lyrics, lol. In a world where musical artists have just stopped trying, where they let autotune and boring videos be the norm, Lady Gaga is a constant entertainer. She's amazing, basically.
M is for Martha Jones
(requested by fluties_flake)
You know what I'm gonna say, so let's get it out of the way: MARTHA FUCKING JONES! MY MARFA! Ok, now on to business. I LOVE MARTHA JONES. I LOVE FREEMA AGYEMAN. Ok, now I mean it. Onto business. Ahem. Freema is amazing. She was a little known, practically new actress, who was cast as Billie Piper's replacement on Doctor Who. I was determined to like her from the start, simply because of all the terrible things people were saying about her, as if she had personally drop kicked Billie into the ocean and stolen the role of companion. I grew to full on love Martha, because of her compassion, selflessness, fortitude, and wisdom. She put up with so much while she traveled with the Doctor, the worst being how he was constantly brushing off her devotion and care in favor of moping after Rose. It wasn't Rose's season, it was Martha's, and I was both frustrated by the Doctor's hot and cold attitude, and thrilled to see Martha's self-reliance and resourcefulness. I could list examples, but you know them all already and I've listed them before.
She grew a great deal by the end of the season and on into Torchwood. I was so happy to see her back in season 4, though some complained that now it was Donna's season, and not Martha's. I can certainly understand that, but I felt Martha and the Doctor had a lot of unfinished business that needed to be sorted out. I loved everytime Martha walked away from the TARDIS with her head held high. It was such a better way than seeing Rose bawling twice, or Donna crying and then not even remembering. And very similar to Jack's exits, season 3 and on, I've just realized. As for The End of Time? If you read my reaction post you know how I felt about that. No spoilers here, but that was an incredibly stupid and unnecessary thing RTD did to my Martha, and with absolutely no backstory to support it, I'm ignoring that it ever happened. If people are happy with it, then good for them, but I never will be.
N is for Nathan Fillion
(requested by lita64)
He's a great actor with a wonderful sense of humor. He loves his fans and is always showing it, whether it's by showing up to the location of a last minute cancelled con to see the fans for free, or by dressing up as his most famous character for Halloween on his new show. I love his Twitter and all the hilarious stuff he posts there. He usually plays good guys, so I loved seeing him as Captain Hammer, the so called hero who was really a complete douche. He's just so adorable and funny and incredible!
O is for The Office
(requested by lita64)
A fabulous show! It's changed a lot since it began, but I still really enjoy it. I just wish there was an end date in sight, because I don't want it to go on forever and become horrible. It's so funny and absurd. The main characters have come a long way since the beginning, and the secondary characters have been slowly fleshed out too. My fave characters are Andy, Jim, and Pam. Andy's just so endearing and wants to be liked so badly, but he always goes about it in the worst way possible. Jim is the former slacker wise ass who's matured a lot, but still has it in him to prank Dwight. Pam went from the quiet receptionist who was always walked on, to a confident individual who won't take any crap. I love this show.
P is for Persuasion
(requested by zombie_boogie)
One of my favorite Jane Austen novels, it tells the story of Anne Elliot, a 27 year old spinster who is walked on by her family, and is still pining after her former fiance, Captain Frederick Wentworth, a Navy man who was thought to be not good enough for her. She was persuaded to break off the engagement even though she loved him, and nine years later, he comes back into her part of the world a rich man, only to start flirting with her sister's sister-in-law, because he's still hurt that Anne broke things off. But just as he's getting over that and realizes he still loves her, Anne's cousin pops up and suddenly wants to marry her, though he has shady reasons for doing so.
It's a great story about past regrets, taking charge of your life, and rekindled romance. It's also the shortest Austen book, I believe, and was published after her death. I've seen both the 1995 version and the 2007 ITV one, and while both are great, I think the 1995 one is closer to the book. But the newer on is a short little production that was aired in two parts, so it's a quick watch, and it's got Rupert Penry-Jones being all brooding in a cravat. What else could you ask for?
Q is for Queen (my favorite)
(requested by fluties_flake)
Queen Victoria of Great Britain and Ireland (1819-1901)
I'm pretty fascinated with her long life that defined an era. I've read two biographies about her, another that was sort of a biography based on her sketchbook, one book on her daughters, one on her heir Edward VII, and now I'm reading on on five of her granddaughters. So yeah, I'd say she's my favorite. Which is weird, because her life wasn't terribly exciting. The two biggest events in her life were her ascension to the throne and the death of her husband, Albert. Yet I want to read as much about her and her family as possible.
Anyways, I picked two runner ups whose lives were way more exciting, and who were also both rulers in their own right, not consorts.
Queen King Jadwiga of Poland (1373/4-1399)
The daughter of Louis I of Hungary, who was King of Poland through his mother's line, she was crowned king of Poland after her father's death when she was only ten years old. She was crowned king because there was no equivalent to a queen regent in Poland. At age twelve she was married to a Duke, went on to donate her personal wealth (including jewels) to many charities, and her mother and sister (the Queen of Hungary) were kidnapped in Hungary, both dying under mysterious circumstances. In 1399 Jadwiga gave birth to her only child, but both died and her husband became the sole monarch. After her death, she was considered a saint in Poland, and in 1997 she was official canonized by the Roman Catholic Church.
Queen Christina of Sweden (1626-1689)
Basically she was a badass. Taking the throne at age six, she was also crowned a king instead of a queen, and was considered a genius, studying religions and speaking foreign languages with ease. She was also eccentric, dressing like a man and not brushing her hair. She decided to never marry and have children, and secretly converted to Catholicism, even though she was the ruler of a Lutheran country. She abdicated in favor of her cousin, came out as a Catholic (though not as a lesbian, which some suggest she might have been), and then set off to Rome to par-tay. She hung out with intellectuals, lovers of the arts, cardinals, and popes, and spent money like it was going out of style. Basically you all need to read her Wiki article, because she's fab. I think I'll have to snag a book on her one day.
R is for ROBERT MOTHERLOVIN' DOWNEY JRRRRRRRRRR.
(requested by zombres)
Hold onto your hats, people. I'm about to drop a bomb on you. I checked Mr. Downey Jr.'s IMDB page, and it appears the only things I've seen him in have been Heart and Souls, Ally McBeal, and his guest spot on Family Guy. I haven't seen Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Iron Man, Tropic Thunder, Sherlock Holmes, or any of those movies you love him in. Nope. You can clutch your pearls in shock now. I know, I know. No need to tell me to watch everything he's been in ever, because I probably won't go out of my way. If my dad buys Iron Man or Tropic Thunder or something on DVD, I might though. Other than that, I really don't have an opinion on Rubber Ducky Jr. here. He's got arms guh though.
S is for Stardust
(requested by bolivarblues)
I love both the book and the movie. I think they stand as separate tales quite well. With the book you have Neil Gaiman's excellent, witty writing. With the movie, you have gorgeous visuals and good humor (and bonus Bin Bons!), So yeah, not much else to say about it, except it rocks. Oh, and that as much as I love Alan Rickman, Mark Strong totally looks like Snape in this, and he would have been kickass in that role. ;)
T is for Travel destinations
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
I would travel to Ireland, the UK (London, specifically), France, Italy, Poland, and New Zealand.
Ireland because it's gorgeous and the land of my ancestors. The UK because I love British history. France because of its beauty and history. Italy because of the distinctly different cities and the food. Poland because it's also the land of my ancestors, as well as its beautiful castles, churches, and sad history. New Zealand because of its beautifully diverse landscapes.
The pic on the top right is St. Mary's Basilica in Krakow, Poland. It's famous for having a bugler playing the Heynel from one of the towers every hour of the day, every day.
U is for Under-appreciated actors in your favorite shows
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
Wow, this was really tough! I really don't watch a lot of shows anymore. Um, ok, I guess Jim Parsons would be one. He was completely robbed of an Emmy, and wasn't even nominated for a Golden Globe, so his talents are seriously underappreciated. I might have said Ed Helms, except with The Hangover he's getting a ton of attention right now, so not him anymore. I'm really not sure who else to even say! I guess just Jim.
V is for Villains you can't help but love
(requested by loves_bitch1301)
I was once asked a similar question in a top 5 meme, and I had a heck of a time answering it because I don't love villains at all. So I've wracked my brain here, and came up with Darth Vader. Yup, that's about it. And he ~ SPOILER ALERT ~ gets redeemed at the end, so he doesn't turn out to be a total villain either. He's an asthmatic cyborg, but he's got the force choke going on and is voiced by James Earl Jones, so he's pretty badass.
W is for WALL-E
(requested by bolivarblues)
Gah, SUCH a cute movie! I cry everytime I watch it! It's just so fun, and heartfelt, and brilliant. The animation is superb and the story is beautiful. And I love the credits too! You get an extra little story about the humans and robots resettling Earth while you watch this visually stunning stroll through the history of Western Art! Incredible!
X is for X rated
(what classic books and movies would you get a kick out of seeing remade into smut? LOL)
(requested by fluties_flake)
Lost in Austen by dracothan @ devArt
WHAT IS THIS QUESTION, I DON'T EVEN. Gawd, I dunno... Jane Austen novels? LOL, that'd be awesome. The smut would consist of showing a little ankle. Err... what else... Star Trek? I mean, there's a LOT of pretty people in that... though there needs to be more females in the permanent cast.
Y is for Your Favorite Glee Number
(requested by green_queen)
Click to viewThis will always be #1. I can't even descibe why, but it's what utterly pulled me into the show. I loved it. Plus I love the song, even if it is overused and cheesy.
Z is for Zeta Tau Alpha
(requested by zombie_boogie)
Is the fraternity I'm in. Yup, not a sorority, not an honors fraternity (though I'm in one of those too), but a fraternity. Sororities are formed through a fraternity, but fraternities are formed on their own (though we were obviously grouped with the other sororites on campus, cuz we're girls, lol). I pledged in the fall of my sophmore year, so I was a sorority girl most of my college career.
It was pretty fun. It was a shitload of money, and yes, even I thought my first year "why would I pay for my friends?" but it definitely helped me out socially. I was (and still can be) the shyest person you'll ever meet, but sorority life helped me meet and become friends with people, even GASP! boys. Most of the girls in my sorority pretty much cut themselves off from any other friends that were outside of the Greek system, but I refused to do that, and I was actually kind of proud when one girl told me that I was the only Zeta she liked, b/c I actually hung out with non-Greek people. So yeah, I still had a big independent streak and was more loyal to my older friends than to the sorority.
My senior year, I got senioritis really bad, and as seniors were no longer on the exec board (I was recording secretary my junior year, what what), I didn't feel like participating in anything and wasting more money. By then, the girls were REALLY divided into "Zeta house girls" and "townhouse girls" with each group hanging out with a different fraternity. I hung out with the boys from one, but I didn't live in either place, and I was really tired of the backstabbing talk whenever I was with one group (and wondered what they said about me behind my back), so senior year I was so over sorority life. I talk to maybe one former sister now on Facebook, and not regularly at that. And oh, one just friended me, but we were friends before we joined so I think I'll friend her back.
Anyways, here's an ugly, but informative web page on our fraternity's symbols.
AND THAT'S IT! IF YOU MADE IT THROUGH ALL THAT, I CONGRATULATE YOU!