We walked the narrow path, beneath the smoking skies
Eight years ago the sun still felt like August and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Today is cold and raining and windy, and it feels so much more appropriate to the day than that terrible, scorching, empty blue.
I never lived in New York (although I worked there briefly), but I used to take the PATH into Chinatown all the time. A few weeks before 9/11 I was on the WTC train making an anime run before the fall semester started. The car was crowded and while I had a seat, not everyone did; among the standing was a group of four or five sharp-dressed, Japanese businessmen and women and I spent most of the ride quietly listening to them all speak in Japanese and trying to pick out words I knew. (Because deep down I am that kind of otaku.:) We all got out at the same stop, me walking down to Canal street and them heading towards WTC.
A few days after the attack I was in the Hoboken PATH station; for those who weren't in the area, for weeks after most of the walls of the PATH were covered with Missing flyers for people who were never going to be found. One of these flyers were of a young Japanese woman in a business suit, and I spent about five minutes staring at it trying to remember if she was one of the people I'd been eavesdropping on in that PATH car. I'll never know if she was, or if any of the other people in that group made it out.
But I think of her every year, and of all of the other people I'll never share a PATH train with or pass on the street again.
We still remember.
***
Lightening the mood, a meme from selanak!
Pick five of your favourite shows, in no particular order, before you read the below questions, then answer them!
1. Doctor Who
2. Lost
3. Heroes
4. Supernatural
5. Psych
01. Who's your favourite character in 2?
Locke. I have a big soft spot for believers, and there's no bigger Believer than John Locke. Locke/Island is easily my biggest Lost ship.:)
02. Who's your least favourite character in 1?
Eeeh. I'm resisting the urge to cheat and pick a villain. Peri is my least favorite companion, and Six is my least favorite regeneration, although he's also the Dcotor I've seen the least of so that's probably a contributing factor (between books and audios I actually have more Eight stories under my belt than Six stories.)
03. What's your favourite episode of 4?
Mystery Spot. The Groundhog Day plot would have been enough on its own, but the Trickster being behind it? Pure gold.
04. What's your favourite season of 5?
That's a hard question with a show like Psych. Which season is "Lights, Camera, Homicido!" in? Two? Because then the answer's two.
05. Who is your favourite ship in 3?
Peter/Claude. I don't care that Claude will probably never be seen again, that's my ship and I'm not giving it up.:) I shipped Peter/Clair hard before it was revealed who her father was, but then I had to give that up ('Cest ships and I do not get along.:) Oh, and I shipped Hiro/Adam but we all know how that turned out. I don't actually think I have any ships on the show right now.
06. Who is your antiship in 2?
Of the canon ships? Probably Sawyer/Kate. I don't hate Sawyer with the fire of a thousand suns anymore, but I do really, really hate him with Kate.
07. How long have you watched 1?
"Rose" was my first ever episode. I've tried making up for lost time.:)
08. How did you become interested in 3?
I'm a longstanding X-Men fan, and Heroes looked like a "Mutants in the real world" type scenario. Tim Sale being involved was also a big draw.
09. Who's your favourite actor/actress in 4?
Terry O'Quinn, with Michael Emerson a close second.
10. Which do you prefer: Show 1, 2 or 5?
As in, if I could only watch one? Doctor Who. Sorry, Locke and Shawn.
11. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?
Well, Doctor Who, but that's hardly fair.:)
12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?
Oh God, I don't think I'd want to be anyone on Lost.
13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 1?
Well, my favorite character on Doctor Who is the Doctor, but that's hardly an impediment to killing him.:) I would have him randomly meet up with Jack and in the process of lecturing him for running away from his guilt and sending him home to restart Torchwood the Doctor would realize that he has unfinished business of his own he's been hiding from. He goes back and finds a way to remove the mind blocks he put on Donna, absorbing the extra Time Lord energy so that it kills him instead of her. Then, pretending he's okay so Donna won't follow him, he staggers back to the TARDIS and regenerates there, flying off to some random coordinate.
He stumbles out into the Scottish Highlands and reunites with Jamie, and they have one last grand adventure (preferably one where the Doctor believes Jamie is still under the effects of the mindwipe, even though it would be blindingly obvious to the audience that he remembers and knows exactly who the Doctor is, until all is revealed at the end). Then he goes back to the TARDIS and takes off just before discovering that Jamie sent his granddaughter to stow away in the TARDIS, knowing from long experience that the Doctor can't look after himself, after all, and who better than another McCrimmon for the job?
Cue season 5. (Jamie might be my favorite Classic companion.:)
14. Give a random quote from 1?
"You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I." Oh, Nine
15. Which character from 5 would be a good guest star on 2?
Gah, Psych and Lost are so different. Just one character? Because Shawn and Gus are no good on their own. I could see Hurley guesting on Psych much easier than anyone from Psych showing up on the Island.
Actually, you know what? Ray Wise's priest character. Mostly because I want to see Ray Wise, Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn all in the same room being awesome.
16. Would a 3/4 crossover work?
God, yes. Claude would be awesome on Supernatural. Sam and Dean could hunt Sylar! The Company could mistake Sam's powers for standard abilities and black bag him! Sam and Dean could met someone with spirit abilities! There's almost no limit to the ways you could make those universes mesh.
17. Pair 2 characters in 1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple.
Jack/Brig. Ooh, or Jamie/Ace.
18. Has 5 inspired you in any way?
I've started saying, "No, Shawn!" when annoyed at people, particularly when forced to endure horrendous punning. Gus is the easiest character in the world to imitate, BTW; just sound exasperated and end your sentences with "Shawn!"
19. Overall, which show has a better cast, 2 or 4?
Lost, not even a contest, although it's also ten times the size of Supernatural's.
20. Which has better theme music, 3 or 5?
Not a fair question, Heroes doesn't have theme music.:) Although it would be hard to beat Psych's in any case.
I never lived in New York (although I worked there briefly), but I used to take the PATH into Chinatown all the time. A few weeks before 9/11 I was on the WTC train making an anime run before the fall semester started. The car was crowded and while I had a seat, not everyone did; among the standing was a group of four or five sharp-dressed, Japanese businessmen and women and I spent most of the ride quietly listening to them all speak in Japanese and trying to pick out words I knew. (Because deep down I am that kind of otaku.:) We all got out at the same stop, me walking down to Canal street and them heading towards WTC.
A few days after the attack I was in the Hoboken PATH station; for those who weren't in the area, for weeks after most of the walls of the PATH were covered with Missing flyers for people who were never going to be found. One of these flyers were of a young Japanese woman in a business suit, and I spent about five minutes staring at it trying to remember if she was one of the people I'd been eavesdropping on in that PATH car. I'll never know if she was, or if any of the other people in that group made it out.
But I think of her every year, and of all of the other people I'll never share a PATH train with or pass on the street again.
We still remember.
***
Lightening the mood, a meme from selanak!
Pick five of your favourite shows, in no particular order, before you read the below questions, then answer them!
1. Doctor Who
2. Lost
3. Heroes
4. Supernatural
5. Psych
01. Who's your favourite character in 2?
Locke. I have a big soft spot for believers, and there's no bigger Believer than John Locke. Locke/Island is easily my biggest Lost ship.:)
02. Who's your least favourite character in 1?
Eeeh. I'm resisting the urge to cheat and pick a villain. Peri is my least favorite companion, and Six is my least favorite regeneration, although he's also the Dcotor I've seen the least of so that's probably a contributing factor (between books and audios I actually have more Eight stories under my belt than Six stories.)
03. What's your favourite episode of 4?
Mystery Spot. The Groundhog Day plot would have been enough on its own, but the Trickster being behind it? Pure gold.
04. What's your favourite season of 5?
That's a hard question with a show like Psych. Which season is "Lights, Camera, Homicido!" in? Two? Because then the answer's two.
05. Who is your favourite ship in 3?
Peter/Claude. I don't care that Claude will probably never be seen again, that's my ship and I'm not giving it up.:) I shipped Peter/Clair hard before it was revealed who her father was, but then I had to give that up ('Cest ships and I do not get along.:) Oh, and I shipped Hiro/Adam but we all know how that turned out. I don't actually think I have any ships on the show right now.
06. Who is your antiship in 2?
Of the canon ships? Probably Sawyer/Kate. I don't hate Sawyer with the fire of a thousand suns anymore, but I do really, really hate him with Kate.
07. How long have you watched 1?
"Rose" was my first ever episode. I've tried making up for lost time.:)
08. How did you become interested in 3?
I'm a longstanding X-Men fan, and Heroes looked like a "Mutants in the real world" type scenario. Tim Sale being involved was also a big draw.
09. Who's your favourite actor/actress in 4?
Terry O'Quinn, with Michael Emerson a close second.
10. Which do you prefer: Show 1, 2 or 5?
As in, if I could only watch one? Doctor Who. Sorry, Locke and Shawn.
11. Which show have you seen more episodes of, 1 or 3?
Well, Doctor Who, but that's hardly fair.:)
12. If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?
Oh God, I don't think I'd want to be anyone on Lost.
13. How would you kill off your favourite character in 1?
Well, my favorite character on Doctor Who is the Doctor, but that's hardly an impediment to killing him.:) I would have him randomly meet up with Jack and in the process of lecturing him for running away from his guilt and sending him home to restart Torchwood the Doctor would realize that he has unfinished business of his own he's been hiding from. He goes back and finds a way to remove the mind blocks he put on Donna, absorbing the extra Time Lord energy so that it kills him instead of her. Then, pretending he's okay so Donna won't follow him, he staggers back to the TARDIS and regenerates there, flying off to some random coordinate.
He stumbles out into the Scottish Highlands and reunites with Jamie, and they have one last grand adventure (preferably one where the Doctor believes Jamie is still under the effects of the mindwipe, even though it would be blindingly obvious to the audience that he remembers and knows exactly who the Doctor is, until all is revealed at the end). Then he goes back to the TARDIS and takes off just before discovering that Jamie sent his granddaughter to stow away in the TARDIS, knowing from long experience that the Doctor can't look after himself, after all, and who better than another McCrimmon for the job?
Cue season 5. (Jamie might be my favorite Classic companion.:)
14. Give a random quote from 1?
"You were fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. And you know what? So was I." Oh, Nine
15. Which character from 5 would be a good guest star on 2?
Gah, Psych and Lost are so different. Just one character? Because Shawn and Gus are no good on their own. I could see Hurley guesting on Psych much easier than anyone from Psych showing up on the Island.
Actually, you know what? Ray Wise's priest character. Mostly because I want to see Ray Wise, Michael Emerson and Terry O'Quinn all in the same room being awesome.
16. Would a 3/4 crossover work?
God, yes. Claude would be awesome on Supernatural. Sam and Dean could hunt Sylar! The Company could mistake Sam's powers for standard abilities and black bag him! Sam and Dean could met someone with spirit abilities! There's almost no limit to the ways you could make those universes mesh.
17. Pair 2 characters in 1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple.
Jack/Brig. Ooh, or Jamie/Ace.
18. Has 5 inspired you in any way?
I've started saying, "No, Shawn!" when annoyed at people, particularly when forced to endure horrendous punning. Gus is the easiest character in the world to imitate, BTW; just sound exasperated and end your sentences with "Shawn!"
19. Overall, which show has a better cast, 2 or 4?
Lost, not even a contest, although it's also ten times the size of Supernatural's.
20. Which has better theme music, 3 or 5?
Not a fair question, Heroes doesn't have theme music.:) Although it would be hard to beat Psych's in any case.