insert pithy subject line here
Good news : At the end of December, my kitty Jack had his one-year-post-op x-ray to check for a recurrence of the cancer that caused his toe to be amputated. His scans were clean, and he even behaved for the x-ray this time, as opposed to last time when he became a devil cat. The surgeon said that for this type of cancer, if it was aggressive they would expect to see a recurrence by now, so this is really good news. He will still need annual x-rays, and I have to keep an eye on his toes and also look for signs of lung distress (google feline lung-digit syndrome but turn images off...) but for now, he's doing good. Phew.
Recently viewed
+ Interstellar -- I thought it was fantastic, but apparently not many people also thought so. It is a long movie but it didn't feel that way when I was watching it. I found it compelling and interesting and not hugely predictable. Also? TARS, CASE & KIPP ♥ ♥ ♥
+ Big Hero 6 -- I LOVED this movie so much I can't even! ♥BAYMAX♥! (Yes, it was an end-of-year full of robot love, between these movies and Dorinda's excellent Almost Human story for Yuletide.)
+ Frozen -- Meh, and I was surprised by how underwhelmed I was. I was perhaps expecting more because I'm still watching Once Upon A Time, and I liked the Elsa-Anna storyline from this season (I tired of the Snow Queen as a villain quickly, though I thought her backstory was interesting). But I watched it with people who don't watch OuaT and they were even more underwhelmed than I was. For whatever reasons, I much prefered Tangled.
+ American Hustle -- It had a great cast, and I thought Amy Adams stole the show, which is saying something. But it's one of those movies that ends up irking me so much for reasons I can't clearly articulate. All I can say is, if I feel nostalgic for the faux 1970s I'll watch Velvet Goldmine.
+ I also watched a large amount of TCM during my holiday break from work. The one that stands out was Storm Center. Bette Davis as a librarian! Slimy Brian Keith! But that kid, Freddie, he had problems even before shit got real, if you ask me.
+ I continue watching Person of Interest, Elementary, Sleepy Hollow, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Arrow, Nashville, and Brooklyn Nine Nine in addition to various short-season shows like The Americans, Vikings, and Falling Skies, and various nonfictionish shows like Project Runway, Chopped, and Pit Bulls and Parolees (it's all
black_bird_777's fault).
Elementary still consistently satisfies me, but Person of Interest is a close second. It's just that Person of Interest is almost too tense and stressful for me this season. I don't breathe out with a happy "ahhhh" at the end of the episodes; it's more like "ohhhh they are so screwed, ack argh." Oh, the happy naive days when Elias was their biggest threat...
Sleepy Hollow, I don't even know what to say, really. I haven't even watched the one new episode that's aired in the last, what, month? I think I may be the only person I know who hasn't given up yet, and frankly it's because my eyeballs enjoy watching Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie so much. This Yahoo article nicely sums up most of my feelings: https://tv.yahoo.com/news/fox-killing-sleepy-hollow-150100228.html but doesn't mention one of the biggest problems I've been having, which is Extraneous Character Who Won't Go Away, Hawley. I didn't start out wanting him to die in a particularly gruesome human sacrifice kind of way but now I sorta do.
+ New shows:
I really like Madam Secretary, much more than I anticipated.
I LOVE Agent Carter! InstaLove there and again, not anticipated.
I've liked what I've seen of The Flash but I've missed most of it and think it'll be something to catch up on later.
I confess, I'm intrigued by Empire, enough to keep watching, and hey, great cast.
+ "Nearly new":
I finally watched The Red Road season 1. It was very well done, excellent cast, but not exactly easy to watch. Which is how it's meant to be, to be fair. I just had to be in the right mindset to watch it. But it's good to see Jason Mamoa and Martin Henderson in really different roles and a really different show.
That leads me to Resurrection, ahahaha. I find this show strangely compelling despite myself. I can't explain it, because the pacing is slow, there are some deeply clunky bits, and it's not half as atmospheric you'd think a show about the dead returning to life would be. And yet, here I am. All along, I wasn't sure if Resurrection was sustainable storytelling. I'm still not sure, but for now I keep watching it. Btw, I did watch the French series, Les Revenants, and aside from the shared premise and a few kinda-sorta similar characters, it's a completely different (and excellent!) show.
+ Korean:
You're Beautiful - Enjoyable. I loved the Kpop setting. It had an overlongness to it, though it's only 16 episodes. I felt so bad for Shinwoo, though.
Flower Boy Next Door - I was ultimately unsatisfied with this because I never warmed to Enrique. I kept rewriting the series in my head to be less harassing for Dokmi and less rewarding for Enrique, and that's not a good endorsement. I felt really bad for Jinrak. He needs to meet a nice boyfriend, like Shinwoo from You're Beautiful.
Misaeng - I haven't even finished it yet and I love it so much. It's just *so* good. As in, so good non-Kdrama people could possibly like it, too, if you can get on board with it being about the daily tribulations of office grunts in a huge corporation. But it's got a weight to it that most Kdramas don't have, even if they have lots of drama. I need to finish it and see if it derails before I commit to recommending it, though.
Triangle - Can't remember if I listed this already. Jaejoong's drama about long lost brothers from opposite sides. Jaejoong plays a hood really well. Sort of funnily convincing if you're familiar with his Kpop persona. I love that about him. ♥ Can't say Im Siwan made as much of an impression on me in this as he does in Misaeng, but he had a fairly thankless role as the snobby prick brother.
Whoa, I watch a lot of TV.
Recently read:
England and Rome in the early Middle Ages: pilgrimage, art, and politics - Lots of cool stuff about early Christianity in England and Rome and between England and Rome. Why yes, I was thinking about Athelstan and about King Ecbert while reading it. ;) Especially King Ecbert while reading about baths for ritual and spiritual cleansing. The whole series (Studies in the early Middle Ages) sounds interesting, but the one I just started is Conceptualizing multilingualism in England, c.800-c.1250.
I also caught up on Laura Joh Rowland's and I.J. Parker's mysteries, although I haven't yet read the latest Rowland.
And made it through a couple more Margery Allingham Campion mysteries before taking a hiatus from them. I enjoyed The Fear Sign the most of these.
My football season ended last night, when the Colts lost to the Patriots, sigh. I had so been hoping for an all-Midwest Super Bowl (Packers vs. Colts) but when the Packers let it all go to hell I had a bad feeling I knew where this was heading. Ah well, I don't have a dog in that race. Both teams have some former players of local interest. At least my collegiate team ended their disappointing season on a high note, beating a ranked team and winning their consolation bowl game. I went to both my first bowl game and my first NFL game in December! I went to Indianapolis to see the Colts' final home game of the regular season. They won (yay) and it was a *blast*. Lucas Oil Stadium is kind of like the movie Cars, with motor-oil-themed details. The seats were far away but had a good view. Everyone we met in Indy was really nice. It was Christmas season. Very busy. We had delicious food. Big thumbs-up on the whole experience. I hope to go again next season.
The bowl game was my college guys, and was down the road at Levi's Stadium. So, okay, different elements. Levi's Stadium is outdoors, and there was a bitterly cold wind that day. It was a night game. It was ill-attended (but the crowd on our side had a good, positive energy). But even taking that into consideration, the Levi's Stadium experience was uninviting and disappointing. And the sound system was bad! How does that even happen with a brand new stadium? Given what happened with the 49ers afterward, and the personality of their owner that has emerged, it's not at all a surprise. And all I can say is, if the 49ers hire Lane freakin' Kiffin, they get what they deserve. How this man still gets work in football is a complete mystery.
Finally, number bajillion in the "They Grow 'Em Pretty in Korea" series:
Im Siwan - currently watching him in Misaeng, where he looks like
(Woobie! Not a word I use lightly, either, but so so true in Misaeng)
But doesn't look like this:
Okay, okay, but trust me, he's older than he looks. Probably. No, no, he is! If you think he looks fifteen, really, he is older. He's legal!^^
His day job is in the idol group ZE:A, but after poking around YouTube a bit, I think he should stick to the acting career. Just not my cuppa. Made me appreciate the music of JYJ, DBSK5, and Shinhwa all the more. Plus, ZE:A has nine members, which is at least three too many for me. *g*
Finally finally, I posted a short Aubrey/Maturin story:
A Far Shore, Closer (1445 words) by Keiko Kirin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Master and Commander - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin
Characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin
Summary: Jack Aubrey had no particular wish to visit Ireland.
Written for
esteven.
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at http://sakana17.dreamwidth.org/109196.html.
Recently viewed
+ Interstellar -- I thought it was fantastic, but apparently not many people also thought so. It is a long movie but it didn't feel that way when I was watching it. I found it compelling and interesting and not hugely predictable. Also? TARS, CASE & KIPP ♥ ♥ ♥
+ Big Hero 6 -- I LOVED this movie so much I can't even! ♥BAYMAX♥! (Yes, it was an end-of-year full of robot love, between these movies and Dorinda's excellent Almost Human story for Yuletide.)
+ Frozen -- Meh, and I was surprised by how underwhelmed I was. I was perhaps expecting more because I'm still watching Once Upon A Time, and I liked the Elsa-Anna storyline from this season (I tired of the Snow Queen as a villain quickly, though I thought her backstory was interesting). But I watched it with people who don't watch OuaT and they were even more underwhelmed than I was. For whatever reasons, I much prefered Tangled.
+ American Hustle -- It had a great cast, and I thought Amy Adams stole the show, which is saying something. But it's one of those movies that ends up irking me so much for reasons I can't clearly articulate. All I can say is, if I feel nostalgic for the faux 1970s I'll watch Velvet Goldmine.
+ I also watched a large amount of TCM during my holiday break from work. The one that stands out was Storm Center. Bette Davis as a librarian! Slimy Brian Keith! But that kid, Freddie, he had problems even before shit got real, if you ask me.
+ I continue watching Person of Interest, Elementary, Sleepy Hollow, Grimm, Once Upon a Time, Supernatural, Arrow, Nashville, and Brooklyn Nine Nine in addition to various short-season shows like The Americans, Vikings, and Falling Skies, and various nonfictionish shows like Project Runway, Chopped, and Pit Bulls and Parolees (it's all
black_bird_777's fault).
Elementary still consistently satisfies me, but Person of Interest is a close second. It's just that Person of Interest is almost too tense and stressful for me this season. I don't breathe out with a happy "ahhhh" at the end of the episodes; it's more like "ohhhh they are so screwed, ack argh." Oh, the happy naive days when Elias was their biggest threat...
Sleepy Hollow, I don't even know what to say, really. I haven't even watched the one new episode that's aired in the last, what, month? I think I may be the only person I know who hasn't given up yet, and frankly it's because my eyeballs enjoy watching Tom Mison and Nicole Beharie so much. This Yahoo article nicely sums up most of my feelings: https://tv.yahoo.com/news/fox-killing-sleepy-hollow-150100228.html but doesn't mention one of the biggest problems I've been having, which is Extraneous Character Who Won't Go Away, Hawley. I didn't start out wanting him to die in a particularly gruesome human sacrifice kind of way but now I sorta do.
+ New shows:
I really like Madam Secretary, much more than I anticipated.
I LOVE Agent Carter! InstaLove there and again, not anticipated.
I've liked what I've seen of The Flash but I've missed most of it and think it'll be something to catch up on later.
I confess, I'm intrigued by Empire, enough to keep watching, and hey, great cast.
+ "Nearly new":
I finally watched The Red Road season 1. It was very well done, excellent cast, but not exactly easy to watch. Which is how it's meant to be, to be fair. I just had to be in the right mindset to watch it. But it's good to see Jason Mamoa and Martin Henderson in really different roles and a really different show.
That leads me to Resurrection, ahahaha. I find this show strangely compelling despite myself. I can't explain it, because the pacing is slow, there are some deeply clunky bits, and it's not half as atmospheric you'd think a show about the dead returning to life would be. And yet, here I am. All along, I wasn't sure if Resurrection was sustainable storytelling. I'm still not sure, but for now I keep watching it. Btw, I did watch the French series, Les Revenants, and aside from the shared premise and a few kinda-sorta similar characters, it's a completely different (and excellent!) show.
+ Korean:
You're Beautiful - Enjoyable. I loved the Kpop setting. It had an overlongness to it, though it's only 16 episodes. I felt so bad for Shinwoo, though.
Flower Boy Next Door - I was ultimately unsatisfied with this because I never warmed to Enrique. I kept rewriting the series in my head to be less harassing for Dokmi and less rewarding for Enrique, and that's not a good endorsement. I felt really bad for Jinrak. He needs to meet a nice boyfriend, like Shinwoo from You're Beautiful.
Misaeng - I haven't even finished it yet and I love it so much. It's just *so* good. As in, so good non-Kdrama people could possibly like it, too, if you can get on board with it being about the daily tribulations of office grunts in a huge corporation. But it's got a weight to it that most Kdramas don't have, even if they have lots of drama. I need to finish it and see if it derails before I commit to recommending it, though.
Triangle - Can't remember if I listed this already. Jaejoong's drama about long lost brothers from opposite sides. Jaejoong plays a hood really well. Sort of funnily convincing if you're familiar with his Kpop persona. I love that about him. ♥ Can't say Im Siwan made as much of an impression on me in this as he does in Misaeng, but he had a fairly thankless role as the snobby prick brother.
Whoa, I watch a lot of TV.
Recently read:
England and Rome in the early Middle Ages: pilgrimage, art, and politics - Lots of cool stuff about early Christianity in England and Rome and between England and Rome. Why yes, I was thinking about Athelstan and about King Ecbert while reading it. ;) Especially King Ecbert while reading about baths for ritual and spiritual cleansing. The whole series (Studies in the early Middle Ages) sounds interesting, but the one I just started is Conceptualizing multilingualism in England, c.800-c.1250.
I also caught up on Laura Joh Rowland's and I.J. Parker's mysteries, although I haven't yet read the latest Rowland.
And made it through a couple more Margery Allingham Campion mysteries before taking a hiatus from them. I enjoyed The Fear Sign the most of these.
My football season ended last night, when the Colts lost to the Patriots, sigh. I had so been hoping for an all-Midwest Super Bowl (Packers vs. Colts) but when the Packers let it all go to hell I had a bad feeling I knew where this was heading. Ah well, I don't have a dog in that race. Both teams have some former players of local interest. At least my collegiate team ended their disappointing season on a high note, beating a ranked team and winning their consolation bowl game. I went to both my first bowl game and my first NFL game in December! I went to Indianapolis to see the Colts' final home game of the regular season. They won (yay) and it was a *blast*. Lucas Oil Stadium is kind of like the movie Cars, with motor-oil-themed details. The seats were far away but had a good view. Everyone we met in Indy was really nice. It was Christmas season. Very busy. We had delicious food. Big thumbs-up on the whole experience. I hope to go again next season.
The bowl game was my college guys, and was down the road at Levi's Stadium. So, okay, different elements. Levi's Stadium is outdoors, and there was a bitterly cold wind that day. It was a night game. It was ill-attended (but the crowd on our side had a good, positive energy). But even taking that into consideration, the Levi's Stadium experience was uninviting and disappointing. And the sound system was bad! How does that even happen with a brand new stadium? Given what happened with the 49ers afterward, and the personality of their owner that has emerged, it's not at all a surprise. And all I can say is, if the 49ers hire Lane freakin' Kiffin, they get what they deserve. How this man still gets work in football is a complete mystery.
Finally, number bajillion in the "They Grow 'Em Pretty in Korea" series:
Im Siwan - currently watching him in Misaeng, where he looks like
(Woobie! Not a word I use lightly, either, but so so true in Misaeng)
But doesn't look like this:
Okay, okay, but trust me, he's older than he looks. Probably. No, no, he is! If you think he looks fifteen, really, he is older. He's legal!^^
His day job is in the idol group ZE:A, but after poking around YouTube a bit, I think he should stick to the acting career. Just not my cuppa. Made me appreciate the music of JYJ, DBSK5, and Shinhwa all the more. Plus, ZE:A has nine members, which is at least three too many for me. *g*
Finally finally, I posted a short Aubrey/Maturin story:
A Far Shore, Closer (1445 words) by Keiko Kirin
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Master and Commander - All Media Types
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Jack Aubrey/Stephen Maturin
Characters: Jack Aubrey, Stephen Maturin
Summary: Jack Aubrey had no particular wish to visit Ireland.
Written for
esteven.
This entry was originally posted on Dreamwidth at http://sakana17.dreamwidth.org/109196.html.