the apparently usual long-ass entry where I ramble about TV, books and rl and stuff
1. HI WORLD. Ugh, I'm totally sucking at updating lately but now that I've settled a couple of things I should be around more. Hopefully.
2. So, RL stuff, with updates on How Public University Works In This Country for anyone who's been hearing me bitching about it for the last six years - at least it's partially good news. So, cutting things short: I'm doing a master's degree where I basically couldn't pick most of the classes I wanted and where I spent half of the time studying stuff that absolutely doesn't concern the things I wanted to study. I think I picked.. probably three classes on thirteen. But okay, not the issue. The issue: if I want to graduate with the same professor with whom I graduated in the bachelor's course, I need to have a final with them. Except that she doesn't have master's classes. Now, the only good thing about the last crappy reform was that you could pick a bachelor's class for one of the two finals you could pick freely. Not going into the part where at the office they blatantly lied to me and said that it couldn't be done, this year I go at it again and not only they changed their stance on it, but since with the latest government cuts there's not enough money for all the masters classes that we should have, it's totally acceptable to take bachelor's classes for said subjects. Clearly they couldn't have done that like, two years ago? Anyway, apparently I *can* do this stupid exam which is extremely good news, as I've been trying to sort it out for months. Meh.
3. Yesterday I went to a graduation party that was also held in a disco. I kind of ended up running after two hours even if I'm pretty sure everyone else stayed until five AM, but apparently disco music, more than five hundred people in the same space, inability to dance and inability to do conversation are too much. /o\ Meh. I'm not sure I'll ever get the appeal.
4. Our usual relatively spoiler-less TV roundup - one day I'll go back to full reviews posts...
a) H50: still not back at S1 glory, not as bad as it can get. And now also accepting former SPN and vampire porn people! Even if imo Julie McNiven was absolutely wasted in that episode she was in.
b) Boardwalk Empire: too little Chalky and not enough Richard for my tastes, but I liked the developments with Richard in the last episode aired. If [slight spoilers here]the veteran's daughter is his supposed love interest this season I'll be totally fine with it - she looks cool. For some reason, Van Alden is apparently my third-favorite character now - what the hell, right? Also someone please tell me that what happened in the last episode I've seen him fucks him over because I just want him and Swedish Babysitter Now Turned Wife to be happy, k? Margaret is better than last season. Nucky needs to wake up and be more interesting again. Owen keeps on saying absolutely nothing to me. Gillian needs to go away. Okay, I suppose it's all.
c) Vampire porn, which I realize I haven't posted about in ages: it's back! YES! AND I LOVE IT! I love everything. I love how they're dealing with vampire!Elena, for some reason I apparently like Klaus a lot more this season - wtf. I'm extremely glad that Tyler didn't in fact die. Bonnie needs more appreciation. Not sure about the new people but I don't dislike them. Also the hunter makes this-season-Winchesters seem like humanitarians. Damon is *glorious* this season, period. I <3 Damon okay. Also as everyone imagined [spoilers for 4x02]that scene with Damon on Ric's grave and ALARIC BEING THERE AND BEING LIKE 'I MISS YOU TOO' = I DIED. DIED. THE WHOLE THING WITH DAMON KEEPING RIC'S SEAT EMPTY WASN'T ENOUGH - THEY HAD TO DO THAT I CANNOT SJDHSAJDJH MY POOR SHIP. Just - ugh. It makes me cry in every possible way. THOSE TWO, WHY DID THEY NEED TO TAKE RIC FROM DAMON DAMMIT DDDDDD: *weepfest* anyway nothing is going to beat that scene this season for a long time I foresee. Also is it normal that I want Damon and Meredith to have 'I miss Alaric so much' sex? Yes? No? I give up. Also Caroline is still the best and seriously, this stupid vampire show is still the thing I enjoy most without reserve. Whatever. Go them. Oh, also, finally Matt has a storyline. More or less. We all appreciate.
d) SPN: 8x03 was mostly good, nothing to say about it either way except that Sam's behavior seems kind of odd to me. Or at least written oddly - I mean, I can't believe no one ever bought him a birthday cake. Or that he'd talk about having a normal life as if he *never* did try it in the first place - idk, probably it was some writing issue and they went about it wrong but it left me very perplexed. 8x04 was imo very good - it took a bit to get into the style of it and tbh seriously, do people ever STUDY when they're at campuses in these shows, but I really really like the outsider perspective and that [spoilers]they decided to give the monster a chance at the end - considering that lately they're all gung-ho about killing hosts and whatever it was a nice change. And that said, [other spoiler, Dean-related]seriously, Sam and Dean appeared for probably like five minutes in the entire thing but when at the end Dean had that dejected face while he asked 'do I really say awesome that much?' I think someone punched my heart or something. Just - HOW DO YOU DO IT WITH ONE LINE SERIOUSLY. Other than that: Sam's hair keeps on being a mystery - I'm pretty sure that it's possessed since it CHANGES FROM FRAME TO FRAME, IT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE - and the office romance line was kind of hilarious. Lol. Unknowing wincest shippers much? Anyway, neither episode was on par with the first two, but they weren't bad whatsoever.
e) Kings, which I finished sometime last week: I'd just like to state that whoever canceled this after one season was a criminal. CRIMINAL. YOU DON'T CANCEL THIS KIND OF BRILLIANCE. I loved everything about it. The whole biblical retelling was overall genius, the acting was out of this world (seriously IAN MCSHANE SERIOUSLY WHY CAN'T THEY EVER MAKE A SHOW WITH THE GUY THAT ACTUALLY FINISHES ITS RUN) and Jack was totally my favorite (... considering that he was pretty much the Theon of the situation except with some more PR skills and more luck in taking horrible decisions that's probably not a surprise - also I mean, Sebastian Stan *dies*) and everything was done so well and clearly THEY DIDN'T EVEN GET TO THE POINT WHERE DAVID BECOMES KING UGH seriously *why*. The fact that my Bible reading was recent probably is influencing my opinions but seriously everything about that show was made of win. Except that it isn't longer. DDDDDD: why do networks always cancel smart shows/stuff I like? Meh.
f) I started Treme. I'm nowhere near far enough in it to do serious reviews, but it's *awesome*. And I appreciate all the music I'm discovering thanks to it. Also all the people from The Wire in the cast are automatically a win. (And Kim Dickens! I missed her face!). I'll probably have more in-depth reactions when I finish S1.
5) Telegraph Avenue is gorgeous. Even if Chabon needs to stop torturing me with bittersweet endings okay, I cannot. Anyway, I'm not going into spoilers here - if I manage to do a goodreads review I'll do it there - but while it still wasn't quite as good as Kavalier & Clay it still was a darned gorgeous book. Also: dear Michael, on behalf of poor ESL people who tend to write in run-on sentences and do-not-get why the English language hates them so much, THANK YOU. Because a guy who manages to publish a book where there's a 12 pages long POV of a parrot which is.. well, twelve-pages of one run-on sentence that actually makes sense, has all my admiration. Seriously, I think that when I was done with that part I spent about five minutes with my eyes like this -> O______O. And now I'll have to wait another five years before he puts out another novel, knowing his timing - sigh. I just want to marry that man's sentences.
6) Aaand for a last thing, completely OT from that: this is the best Robb/Theon meta you'll ever read. Actually I'd say also the best meta on Robb *and* Theon singularly since it says stuff about the characters not necessarily taking the relationship into consideration all the time. Seriously, I think finding the link to this has given meaning to the fact that I actually use tumblr at all and I feel obliged to link it around. It's some flawless meta. Period. And with this I'll go doing productive stuff, sort of.
2. So, RL stuff, with updates on How Public University Works In This Country for anyone who's been hearing me bitching about it for the last six years - at least it's partially good news. So, cutting things short: I'm doing a master's degree where I basically couldn't pick most of the classes I wanted and where I spent half of the time studying stuff that absolutely doesn't concern the things I wanted to study. I think I picked.. probably three classes on thirteen. But okay, not the issue. The issue: if I want to graduate with the same professor with whom I graduated in the bachelor's course, I need to have a final with them. Except that she doesn't have master's classes. Now, the only good thing about the last crappy reform was that you could pick a bachelor's class for one of the two finals you could pick freely. Not going into the part where at the office they blatantly lied to me and said that it couldn't be done, this year I go at it again and not only they changed their stance on it, but since with the latest government cuts there's not enough money for all the masters classes that we should have, it's totally acceptable to take bachelor's classes for said subjects. Clearly they couldn't have done that like, two years ago? Anyway, apparently I *can* do this stupid exam which is extremely good news, as I've been trying to sort it out for months. Meh.
3. Yesterday I went to a graduation party that was also held in a disco. I kind of ended up running after two hours even if I'm pretty sure everyone else stayed until five AM, but apparently disco music, more than five hundred people in the same space, inability to dance and inability to do conversation are too much. /o\ Meh. I'm not sure I'll ever get the appeal.
4. Our usual relatively spoiler-less TV roundup - one day I'll go back to full reviews posts...
a) H50: still not back at S1 glory, not as bad as it can get. And now also accepting former SPN and vampire porn people! Even if imo Julie McNiven was absolutely wasted in that episode she was in.
b) Boardwalk Empire: too little Chalky and not enough Richard for my tastes, but I liked the developments with Richard in the last episode aired. If [slight spoilers here]the veteran's daughter is his supposed love interest this season I'll be totally fine with it - she looks cool. For some reason, Van Alden is apparently my third-favorite character now - what the hell, right? Also someone please tell me that what happened in the last episode I've seen him fucks him over because I just want him and Swedish Babysitter Now Turned Wife to be happy, k? Margaret is better than last season. Nucky needs to wake up and be more interesting again. Owen keeps on saying absolutely nothing to me. Gillian needs to go away. Okay, I suppose it's all.
c) Vampire porn, which I realize I haven't posted about in ages: it's back! YES! AND I LOVE IT! I love everything. I love how they're dealing with vampire!Elena, for some reason I apparently like Klaus a lot more this season - wtf. I'm extremely glad that Tyler didn't in fact die. Bonnie needs more appreciation. Not sure about the new people but I don't dislike them. Also the hunter makes this-season-Winchesters seem like humanitarians. Damon is *glorious* this season, period. I <3 Damon okay. Also as everyone imagined [spoilers for 4x02]that scene with Damon on Ric's grave and ALARIC BEING THERE AND BEING LIKE 'I MISS YOU TOO' = I DIED. DIED. THE WHOLE THING WITH DAMON KEEPING RIC'S SEAT EMPTY WASN'T ENOUGH - THEY HAD TO DO THAT I CANNOT SJDHSAJDJH MY POOR SHIP. Just - ugh. It makes me cry in every possible way. THOSE TWO, WHY DID THEY NEED TO TAKE RIC FROM DAMON DAMMIT DDDDDD: *weepfest* anyway nothing is going to beat that scene this season for a long time I foresee. Also is it normal that I want Damon and Meredith to have 'I miss Alaric so much' sex? Yes? No? I give up. Also Caroline is still the best and seriously, this stupid vampire show is still the thing I enjoy most without reserve. Whatever. Go them. Oh, also, finally Matt has a storyline. More or less. We all appreciate.
d) SPN: 8x03 was mostly good, nothing to say about it either way except that Sam's behavior seems kind of odd to me. Or at least written oddly - I mean, I can't believe no one ever bought him a birthday cake. Or that he'd talk about having a normal life as if he *never* did try it in the first place - idk, probably it was some writing issue and they went about it wrong but it left me very perplexed. 8x04 was imo very good - it took a bit to get into the style of it and tbh seriously, do people ever STUDY when they're at campuses in these shows, but I really really like the outsider perspective and that [spoilers]they decided to give the monster a chance at the end - considering that lately they're all gung-ho about killing hosts and whatever it was a nice change. And that said, [other spoiler, Dean-related]seriously, Sam and Dean appeared for probably like five minutes in the entire thing but when at the end Dean had that dejected face while he asked 'do I really say awesome that much?' I think someone punched my heart or something. Just - HOW DO YOU DO IT WITH ONE LINE SERIOUSLY. Other than that: Sam's hair keeps on being a mystery - I'm pretty sure that it's possessed since it CHANGES FROM FRAME TO FRAME, IT CAN'T BE POSSIBLE - and the office romance line was kind of hilarious. Lol. Unknowing wincest shippers much? Anyway, neither episode was on par with the first two, but they weren't bad whatsoever.
e) Kings, which I finished sometime last week: I'd just like to state that whoever canceled this after one season was a criminal. CRIMINAL. YOU DON'T CANCEL THIS KIND OF BRILLIANCE. I loved everything about it. The whole biblical retelling was overall genius, the acting was out of this world (seriously IAN MCSHANE SERIOUSLY WHY CAN'T THEY EVER MAKE A SHOW WITH THE GUY THAT ACTUALLY FINISHES ITS RUN) and Jack was totally my favorite (... considering that he was pretty much the Theon of the situation except with some more PR skills and more luck in taking horrible decisions that's probably not a surprise - also I mean, Sebastian Stan *dies*) and everything was done so well and clearly THEY DIDN'T EVEN GET TO THE POINT WHERE DAVID BECOMES KING UGH seriously *why*. The fact that my Bible reading was recent probably is influencing my opinions but seriously everything about that show was made of win. Except that it isn't longer. DDDDDD: why do networks always cancel smart shows/stuff I like? Meh.
f) I started Treme. I'm nowhere near far enough in it to do serious reviews, but it's *awesome*. And I appreciate all the music I'm discovering thanks to it. Also all the people from The Wire in the cast are automatically a win. (And Kim Dickens! I missed her face!). I'll probably have more in-depth reactions when I finish S1.
5) Telegraph Avenue is gorgeous. Even if Chabon needs to stop torturing me with bittersweet endings okay, I cannot. Anyway, I'm not going into spoilers here - if I manage to do a goodreads review I'll do it there - but while it still wasn't quite as good as Kavalier & Clay it still was a darned gorgeous book. Also: dear Michael, on behalf of poor ESL people who tend to write in run-on sentences and do-not-get why the English language hates them so much, THANK YOU. Because a guy who manages to publish a book where there's a 12 pages long POV of a parrot which is.. well, twelve-pages of one run-on sentence that actually makes sense, has all my admiration. Seriously, I think that when I was done with that part I spent about five minutes with my eyes like this -> O______O. And now I'll have to wait another five years before he puts out another novel, knowing his timing - sigh. I just want to marry that man's sentences.
6) Aaand for a last thing, completely OT from that: this is the best Robb/Theon meta you'll ever read. Actually I'd say also the best meta on Robb *and* Theon singularly since it says stuff about the characters not necessarily taking the relationship into consideration all the time. Seriously, I think finding the link to this has given meaning to the fact that I actually use tumblr at all and I feel obliged to link it around. It's some flawless meta. Period. And with this I'll go doing productive stuff, sort of.