i feel much better when i cry on my own shoulder, just throw on a sweater, and go.
So, I finally have seen every single episode of Castle. And I know I would usually do my memes first, but I had to get my thoughts out, especially because the latest episode on sheer coincidence has to do with my meme topic for today on my 30 Day Meme.
First off, these newest eps, especially the last two, have satisfied my inner nerd on SO MANY LEVELS. I mean, we had an episode that was all about an astrophysicist who was "abducted by aliens." I knew it would end up having nothing to do with aliens, and I think they did a good job of making it fairly obvious that it would end up being about interception of governmental frequencies. (I, however, was thinking mainly of number stations, but that's my inner spy obsessed geek talking).
And then we had an episode (the most recent one) that was all about prohibition and early 20th century history. As a history nerd, I was geeking hard core, especially since Castle did a good job of discussing what the time period would really have been like. (I was, however, disturbed about how callous they were about handling the old wine bottles, not only because of their worth in a financial sense, but as historical artefacts). But, my inner child who spent many afternoons watching Scooby Doo and Indiana Jones was quite excited at the catacomb-esque old sewer tunnels in NYC. I kind of want to go exploring in them myself, and I wouldn't mind if Rick Castle tagged along. It would be fun. :)
But I actually squealed in happiness at the end (which is kind of sad, considering it's almost four in the morning and my family is asleep). Why? They not only quoted my favourite singer OF.ALL.TIME. --(not my favourite band, which would be Relient K, but my favourite singer/songwriter)-- but they SANG my favourite singer. That's right, my peeps. They sang a Billy Joel song together at the end of the latest ep-- the wonderful bar ballad Piano Man, which was my first ever favourite song (since I was born basically). It's fitting, considering that Billy Joel is a native New Yorker (and on an unrelated topic, he just had double hip surgery, which he is recovering from, thank God). Stana Katic actually has an okay set of pipes, though it wasn't quite as eye popping as when I discovered Anna Torv had an amazing singing voice. Still, the gang, including the Chief of Police, singing one of my favourite tunes by my all time favourite vocalist...HEAVEN.
The guest stars have continued to be amazing as well, since I last updated on my Castle marathon. In one episode alone, there were actors from 4 shows I was obsessed with at some point or other. I mean, this episode had Marc Blucas (Riley from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Anne Dudek (who plays Annie's sister Danielle in Covert Affairs), the guy who played Miles in 24, and Rider Strong who played Shawn in Boy Meets World. And then there was an episode that had Merrin Dungey as a guest star -- she played Francie Calfo in Alias. It's like with every episode, there's either a face I know, a reference made to a show or book series that I idolised growing up, or a case that is utterly spell-binding.
Congratulations, marymc , you have officially returned the favour of making me totally into a series.
30 Day Meme: Day 23 -- Something that Makes You Feel Better, in Great Detail
To be honest, this depends on what kind of upset I am for the most part. If I'm angry upset, I need a good session with a punching bag or with someone's face. If my feelings are hurt, I could usually use a good cup of tea and a conversation with someone in my family. If I'm angry at the suckiness of life, I usually need a healthy dose of escapism in the form of a good sci-fi show or fantasy novel.
But, when I feel truly broken and there is nothing that can really fix it and the site of things blowing up just doesn't suffice, there are two things I need in abundance. First, I need some quality time with the Doctor, and it usually doesn't matter which one or for how long. An hour or a whole series of watching. I just need his cynicism and his love for the universe and I usually have a little faith in humanity again (unless I accidentally watch 4x10 "Midnight,' cos then I just want to kill all of humanity).
After that, I spend an even longer time with my greatest requirement -- the thing I CANNOT live without. Sad, depressing Billy Joel music, sometimes accompanied with Joni Mitchell. Now, my listening to Billy Joel is not strange at all. I don't go even a day without listening to at least one song of his (usually). His voice is the soundtrack of my life, and there is not a single friend I have who doesn't think of me every single time they happen to hear him on the radio because I've loved him since...well, before any of us can remember. But, when I'm upset, I don't listen to his happy tunes. I listen to the sad ones -- the rip your still-beating heart of your chest, throw it on the ground, stomp on it, and hand it back to you type of music. You know, the ones that are so honest and truthful that it practically physically hurts to listen to the music.
I remember, when I realised that I wouldn't be getting back to England any time soon, and that it would be near impossible for me to study there, I listened to Billy Joel's "Vienna" around the clock for three weeks and cried almost every time (interspersing the listenings with listening to Another Suitcase, Another Hall from Evita). And when I feel betrayed, I listen non-stop to Honesty. If I'm missing my father, it's Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel), which is a tune my father used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep. And when I think of the boy who got away, it's And So It Goes. When an old friend has broke my heart, and made me feel nostalgic for friendships that are no more, I listen to Summer, Highland Falls. Catch my drift? Different kinds of pain bring about different songs, but all of them are deep and they HURT, and there's something cathartic about allowing BJ's music to dig that knife just a little deeper. Even though the songs make me ache, I always exit my room or my car feeling better than when I went in.
When I'm sad enough to listen to nothing BUT BJ, you know that whatever happened was BAD. It's also usually accompanied by the kind of tears that actually have sobbing attached to them (rare, in my case), and lots of hours with my covers over my head and lying around in the dark. And I usually get really quite over IM as well. Nothing to distract from the music. But the tears this man's music helps me shed always gets me back out into the world faster than wallowing in my self pity.
For some examples of his awesome, here are some fanvids my friend quirkyoppossum has done to his tunes.
This vid is a Fringe vid (using s01 footage, cos that's all there was at the time), focused on Olivia, using the tune Vienna. LOVE IT.
A vid for Doctor Who (s01-s04) for the Doctor and Rose Tyler's relationship, set to And So It Goes. Perfect vid. Perfect song for their relationship. How can someone NOT love it?
www.youtube.com/watch
The vid couldn't be embedded, so I posted the link instead. But, this is a vid for The Devil's Whore (a Channel 4 miniseries that starred John Simm) set to Two Thousand Years (which I told my Dad when I was eight that I wanted it to be my funeral song, should I die before he does, to which he responded that I was the most morbid child he had ever met). In my opinion, this is one of the most perfect videos my friend has ever made, and due to the fact that it's blocked in most countries, hardly anyone has ever seen it (if you want to see it and it's blocked, she has a link to a download in the description area).
This man...his music. *blissful sigh* He's the most inspiring musician I've ever heard and seeing him live in concert is one of the greatest highlights of my life. You know what? I feel the need to listen to him some more. Think I'll go sing along with Piano Man...Just like the Castle crew.
Day 01 - Introduction
Day 02 - Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 - Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 - What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 - Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 - Your day, in great detail
Day 07 - Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 - A moment, in great detail
Day 09 - Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 - What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 - Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 - What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 - This week, in great detail
Day 14 - What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 - Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 - Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 - Your favorite memory, in great detail
Day 18 - Your favorite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 - Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 - This month, in great detail
Day 21 - Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 - Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 - Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 - Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 - A first, in great detail
Day 26 - Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 - Your favorite place, in great detail
Day 28 - Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 - Your aspirations, in great detai
Day 30 - One last moment, in great detail
Meme 2: Men of Awesome
Number 7:
Bernard Black from Channel 4's Black Books
Bernard (to Manny): Don't you dare use the word "party" as a verb in this shop! -- 3x06 "Party"
If my old best friend Tabitha was a book story owner...and a man...and Irish, she would be Bernard Black. Which is part of the reason I love him so freaking much. He's crass, vulgar, socially unacceptable, rude, low on patience, spends most of his day drunk...and absolutely brilliant. It's sad that I'm basically in love with one of the most unlikable characters ever written. But I am.
I mean, I often wonder how in the world his bookstore stayed in business. The browsers obviously never stopped by due to the customer relations, that's for sure. Cleanliness and keeping aware of how much things were priced were never particularly high on Bernard's to-do list either. And the shop was more often closed than it was open. He wasn't even nice to his friends Fran and Manny. But they were an odd family of sorts. They spent most of their time together insulting each other and getting each other into trouble, just like most friends I know, only Bernard's tricks were much more dangerous than most.
Granted, my love of Bernard was pre-disposed because of my love for the comedian who played him, and for the creator of the show in general. I mean, Bernard is the characterisation of Dylan Moran's stand-up persona, and given that he is my favourite stand up comedian out of probably ten or fifteen that I stalk, that means my obsession with his own character is going to be pretty hard-core. Dylan Moran's stand-up persona is that of an "equal opportunity hater" (as Tabitha would phrase it), with nihilistic tendencies and a tendency to propagate laziness and non-motivation (me in guy form). And I love his mission/him.
Now, in real life, I would probably detest him. But, as a character, I adore him and have re-watched all three series of this show (all eps penned by Dylan Moran himself) about 30 times. And that's because, as detestable as he is, he does have his redeeming qualities. For one, he really does care about Manny and Fran, though he would never say it out loud. He loves to make them miserable, but he doesn't allow anyone else to do so (kind of like siblings). And he'll do whatever he can to get them out of a jam (for the right price or because Fran threatens him with bodily harm). He uses good grammar, as you can tell from the above quotation (unlike most people today). And he's inventive -- I mean, he made an icepop out of a bottle of wine, for crying out loud. Talk about awesome). And you'll never meet another man better at finding ways to get even with his friends after they've annoyed the crap out of him, the evil, amazing, diabolical man. Bless him.
*strokes Bernard's crazy, messy hair*
First off, these newest eps, especially the last two, have satisfied my inner nerd on SO MANY LEVELS. I mean, we had an episode that was all about an astrophysicist who was "abducted by aliens." I knew it would end up having nothing to do with aliens, and I think they did a good job of making it fairly obvious that it would end up being about interception of governmental frequencies. (I, however, was thinking mainly of number stations, but that's my inner spy obsessed geek talking).
And then we had an episode (the most recent one) that was all about prohibition and early 20th century history. As a history nerd, I was geeking hard core, especially since Castle did a good job of discussing what the time period would really have been like. (I was, however, disturbed about how callous they were about handling the old wine bottles, not only because of their worth in a financial sense, but as historical artefacts). But, my inner child who spent many afternoons watching Scooby Doo and Indiana Jones was quite excited at the catacomb-esque old sewer tunnels in NYC. I kind of want to go exploring in them myself, and I wouldn't mind if Rick Castle tagged along. It would be fun. :)
But I actually squealed in happiness at the end (which is kind of sad, considering it's almost four in the morning and my family is asleep). Why? They not only quoted my favourite singer OF.ALL.TIME. --(not my favourite band, which would be Relient K, but my favourite singer/songwriter)-- but they SANG my favourite singer. That's right, my peeps. They sang a Billy Joel song together at the end of the latest ep-- the wonderful bar ballad Piano Man, which was my first ever favourite song (since I was born basically). It's fitting, considering that Billy Joel is a native New Yorker (and on an unrelated topic, he just had double hip surgery, which he is recovering from, thank God). Stana Katic actually has an okay set of pipes, though it wasn't quite as eye popping as when I discovered Anna Torv had an amazing singing voice. Still, the gang, including the Chief of Police, singing one of my favourite tunes by my all time favourite vocalist...HEAVEN.
The guest stars have continued to be amazing as well, since I last updated on my Castle marathon. In one episode alone, there were actors from 4 shows I was obsessed with at some point or other. I mean, this episode had Marc Blucas (Riley from Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Anne Dudek (who plays Annie's sister Danielle in Covert Affairs), the guy who played Miles in 24, and Rider Strong who played Shawn in Boy Meets World. And then there was an episode that had Merrin Dungey as a guest star -- she played Francie Calfo in Alias. It's like with every episode, there's either a face I know, a reference made to a show or book series that I idolised growing up, or a case that is utterly spell-binding.
Congratulations, marymc , you have officially returned the favour of making me totally into a series.
30 Day Meme: Day 23 -- Something that Makes You Feel Better, in Great Detail
To be honest, this depends on what kind of upset I am for the most part. If I'm angry upset, I need a good session with a punching bag or with someone's face. If my feelings are hurt, I could usually use a good cup of tea and a conversation with someone in my family. If I'm angry at the suckiness of life, I usually need a healthy dose of escapism in the form of a good sci-fi show or fantasy novel.
But, when I feel truly broken and there is nothing that can really fix it and the site of things blowing up just doesn't suffice, there are two things I need in abundance. First, I need some quality time with the Doctor, and it usually doesn't matter which one or for how long. An hour or a whole series of watching. I just need his cynicism and his love for the universe and I usually have a little faith in humanity again (unless I accidentally watch 4x10 "Midnight,' cos then I just want to kill all of humanity).
After that, I spend an even longer time with my greatest requirement -- the thing I CANNOT live without. Sad, depressing Billy Joel music, sometimes accompanied with Joni Mitchell. Now, my listening to Billy Joel is not strange at all. I don't go even a day without listening to at least one song of his (usually). His voice is the soundtrack of my life, and there is not a single friend I have who doesn't think of me every single time they happen to hear him on the radio because I've loved him since...well, before any of us can remember. But, when I'm upset, I don't listen to his happy tunes. I listen to the sad ones -- the rip your still-beating heart of your chest, throw it on the ground, stomp on it, and hand it back to you type of music. You know, the ones that are so honest and truthful that it practically physically hurts to listen to the music.
I remember, when I realised that I wouldn't be getting back to England any time soon, and that it would be near impossible for me to study there, I listened to Billy Joel's "Vienna" around the clock for three weeks and cried almost every time (interspersing the listenings with listening to Another Suitcase, Another Hall from Evita). And when I feel betrayed, I listen non-stop to Honesty. If I'm missing my father, it's Lullaby (Goodnight, My Angel), which is a tune my father used to sing to me when I couldn't sleep. And when I think of the boy who got away, it's And So It Goes. When an old friend has broke my heart, and made me feel nostalgic for friendships that are no more, I listen to Summer, Highland Falls. Catch my drift? Different kinds of pain bring about different songs, but all of them are deep and they HURT, and there's something cathartic about allowing BJ's music to dig that knife just a little deeper. Even though the songs make me ache, I always exit my room or my car feeling better than when I went in.
When I'm sad enough to listen to nothing BUT BJ, you know that whatever happened was BAD. It's also usually accompanied by the kind of tears that actually have sobbing attached to them (rare, in my case), and lots of hours with my covers over my head and lying around in the dark. And I usually get really quite over IM as well. Nothing to distract from the music. But the tears this man's music helps me shed always gets me back out into the world faster than wallowing in my self pity.
For some examples of his awesome, here are some fanvids my friend quirkyoppossum has done to his tunes.
Click to viewThis vid is a Fringe vid (using s01 footage, cos that's all there was at the time), focused on Olivia, using the tune Vienna. LOVE IT.
A vid for Doctor Who (s01-s04) for the Doctor and Rose Tyler's relationship, set to And So It Goes. Perfect vid. Perfect song for their relationship. How can someone NOT love it?
www.youtube.com/watch
The vid couldn't be embedded, so I posted the link instead. But, this is a vid for The Devil's Whore (a Channel 4 miniseries that starred John Simm) set to Two Thousand Years (which I told my Dad when I was eight that I wanted it to be my funeral song, should I die before he does, to which he responded that I was the most morbid child he had ever met). In my opinion, this is one of the most perfect videos my friend has ever made, and due to the fact that it's blocked in most countries, hardly anyone has ever seen it (if you want to see it and it's blocked, she has a link to a download in the description area).
This man...his music. *blissful sigh* He's the most inspiring musician I've ever heard and seeing him live in concert is one of the greatest highlights of my life. You know what? I feel the need to listen to him some more. Think I'll go sing along with Piano Man...Just like the Castle crew.
Day 01 - Introduction
Day 02 - Your first love, in great detail
Day 03 - Your parents, in great detail
Day 04 - What you ate today, in great detail
Day 05 - Your definition of love, in great detail
Day 06 - Your day, in great detail
Day 07 - Your best friend, in great detail
Day 08 - A moment, in great detail
Day 09 - Your beliefs, in great detail
Day 10 - What you wore today, in great detail
Day 11 - Your siblings, in great detail
Day 12 - What’s in your bag, in great detail
Day 13 - This week, in great detail
Day 14 - What you wore today, in great detail
Day 15 - Your dreams, in great detail
Day 16 - Your first kiss, in great detail
Day 17 - Your favorite memory, in great detail
Day 18 - Your favorite birthday, in great detail
Day 19 - Something you regret, in great detail
Day 20 - This month, in great detail
Day 21 - Another moment, in great detail
Day 22 - Something that upsets you, in great detail
Day 23 - Something that makes you feel better, in great detail
Day 24 - Something that makes you cry, in great detail
Day 25 - A first, in great detail
Day 26 - Your fears, in great detail
Day 27 - Your favorite place, in great detail
Day 28 - Something that you miss, in great detail
Day 29 - Your aspirations, in great detai
Day 30 - One last moment, in great detail
Meme 2: Men of Awesome
Number 7:
Bernard Black from Channel 4's Black Books
Bernard (to Manny): Don't you dare use the word "party" as a verb in this shop! -- 3x06 "Party"
If my old best friend Tabitha was a book story owner...and a man...and Irish, she would be Bernard Black. Which is part of the reason I love him so freaking much. He's crass, vulgar, socially unacceptable, rude, low on patience, spends most of his day drunk...and absolutely brilliant. It's sad that I'm basically in love with one of the most unlikable characters ever written. But I am.
I mean, I often wonder how in the world his bookstore stayed in business. The browsers obviously never stopped by due to the customer relations, that's for sure. Cleanliness and keeping aware of how much things were priced were never particularly high on Bernard's to-do list either. And the shop was more often closed than it was open. He wasn't even nice to his friends Fran and Manny. But they were an odd family of sorts. They spent most of their time together insulting each other and getting each other into trouble, just like most friends I know, only Bernard's tricks were much more dangerous than most.
Granted, my love of Bernard was pre-disposed because of my love for the comedian who played him, and for the creator of the show in general. I mean, Bernard is the characterisation of Dylan Moran's stand-up persona, and given that he is my favourite stand up comedian out of probably ten or fifteen that I stalk, that means my obsession with his own character is going to be pretty hard-core. Dylan Moran's stand-up persona is that of an "equal opportunity hater" (as Tabitha would phrase it), with nihilistic tendencies and a tendency to propagate laziness and non-motivation (me in guy form). And I love his mission/him.
Now, in real life, I would probably detest him. But, as a character, I adore him and have re-watched all three series of this show (all eps penned by Dylan Moran himself) about 30 times. And that's because, as detestable as he is, he does have his redeeming qualities. For one, he really does care about Manny and Fran, though he would never say it out loud. He loves to make them miserable, but he doesn't allow anyone else to do so (kind of like siblings). And he'll do whatever he can to get them out of a jam (for the right price or because Fran threatens him with bodily harm). He uses good grammar, as you can tell from the above quotation (unlike most people today). And he's inventive -- I mean, he made an icepop out of a bottle of wine, for crying out loud. Talk about awesome). And you'll never meet another man better at finding ways to get even with his friends after they've annoyed the crap out of him, the evil, amazing, diabolical man. Bless him.
*strokes Bernard's crazy, messy hair*