tag bomb, you're my tag bomb
Hello again! So uni went back on Wednesday. I can see you either falling asleep or trying to skulk away quietly at this marvelous news, I know. To further illuminate my first experiences of semester two, let me just say it started with an email proclaiming that one of my classes had been rescheduled to 6pm on a Thursday, which I couldn't do because I already have to be at uni until 6pm on Friday, so I had to change classes. They told me this on a Tuesday. I had to change to a Monday class, which means I've technically already missed the first lecture. (I know, great start, right). But other than that things were okay. I had my drama class today and things were cool. This class is going to be waaaay more intensive than last semester's class though. I shall not commence freaking until such a time as freaking is acceptable! OR SOMETHING!
Also today I got on the wrong bus to my destination of choice and wound up spending an hour on it winding through the hills and rain forest and then practically ended up at Olinda. AND IT'S 11 DEGREES OUTSIDE. On the upside, next Saturday I am going on a school-sponsored trip to Mount Buller, which means I get to see snow for the first time. I am unnaturally excited about that! I'll take photos too on my new camera.
To cheer me up, a meme lily_268 tagged me for!
A) List your favourite female characters.
B) Explain why you like them or what makes them particularly awesome.
C) Post a picture and your favourite quote.
D) Tag five people to do the same.
You know what, I didn't actually think this meme would be tricky, but it was, a little. Women and men are definitely not treated equally in any kind of visual media, and a lot of the time not in fandom either - though that's probably because a lot of us involved in fandom are female and it makes sense that we'd subtly pay more attention towards the men. It's so tricky, though, to think of women that aren't victimized in some way, that don't revolve around dudes, or are just plain annoying. What's that famous theorem wherein a movie is not a good movie until it involves two women who talk to each other about something other than a man? Yeah, a bunch of shows kinda fail with that now. It's a little sad. But anyway, KICK ASS FEMALES.
(I kind of lazily collated this in like an hour, so if this sucks and my images are lame, that is why. I rarely save screencaps!)
FAVOURITE FEMALE CHARACTERS
Rebecca Harper, Brothers and Sisters
(bonus Justin!)
Justin: Well look, I mean if it's getting to you, why don't you just get like, a test or something?
Rebecca: You don't think I want to? Honestly Justin, I- I don't know if can just walk into some lab with what, his hairbrush? And find out that my life is a lie? Again? I just, I don't know if I can handle that.
Okay, so, I may have been unduly influenced with this by the Brothers and Sisters youtube marathons I've been on in the last couple of days. (In my defense it's been mainly Kevin/Scotty anyway!). When you look back at the earlier episodes and the Rebecca that first showed up as the missing "R" in Walker(r), you realize how much she's evolved and how awesome she is now. I think sometimes we forget that this very sane, lovely, practical Rebecca was once this minx who fell in love with her teacher at 16 and moved to Chicago to continue the affair before he killed himself. I think one of the reasons her character works so well is that she's developed from this very self-destructive person - remember that kiss with Sarah's husband? - to someone who realizes her actions affect people besides herself. She's gone from being a mini train-wreck to this sensible person who understands herself and finally knows where she fits in. She's grounded herself, I think. Plus she's cultivated this unique relationship with almost every member of the Walker clan. Particularly with Nora - when Justin was at war, she was the one who stayed with Nora and answered the phone for her, and then when he came back she helped him beat drugs and encouraged him to become a doctor. And all of this culminates with her being engaged to him and thus truly becoming a Walker.
Thirteen/Remy Hadley, House M.D.
Foreman: Do you miss sleeping with women? Simple question.
Thirteen: Yes. Simple answer.
K, hear me out on this one. I know in some sectors of the house fandom Thirteen is pretty much hated by some - and isn't it weird how new female characters are always the ones to be hated on, by the way - but I like her. Part of it may be that I've always had my issues with the show's other women. Cameron is basically over-emotion in a doctor package, someone completely self-sacrificial who will do what she thinks is the right thing every single time because she thinks with her heart and not her head. Cuddy has had this weird work-life-parenting balance issue going on since at least the second season, which I feel kinda undermines the fact that she is only of only 4 female deans of medicine in the country. Yes, Thirteen was a bit weird when she first came along, but I like how unapologetic she is. It's great to see a character give an accurate (even if it is a bit simplified) portrayal of bisexuality as something that exists and isn't shameful. She not only had to watch her mother die but faces dying herself and she isn't ashamed of that, either. While she, too, has had her reckless moments considering every moment for her is one ticking away, she comes out of it and does what needs to be done. I think it's cool that she doesn't want people to feel sorry for her just because of Huntington's. Plus, she and Foreman are kind of awesome. Is that enough reason?
Jaye Tyler, Wonderfalls
*steals quote*
I'm trying to save him. By avoiding him. So I can be with him. But I can't go near him or I'll destroy him, so if I can just manage to stay away from him maybe we can be together. Please don't repeat that back to me.
I had to throw Jaye in here purely for the infamous wedding stopper scene. Oh, Jaye. I love that Jaye is a 24 year old grad who lives in a trailer and works at a souvenir shop (since that will probably be me in five year's time, who are we kidding) and that she's down and out but in a way that doesn't beg you for pity. When you look at it, her life doens't really suck, but the things she's forced to do sometimes because she's a good person or because she's told to are what suck. And I love that she's determined to underachieve and is brash and honest and crashes a wedding only to be rejected and then STAYS SO SHE CAN BE THEIR WITNESS. Oh man. Girl and I have a lot in common. And in the end she gets her man, so you know. Hope for all us over-educated, under-employed crazies!
Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars
Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything. Creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild.
Okay, I think it's probably pretty tricky to do this meme as a VMars fan and not throw Veronica in here somewhere. Just look at that quote, for one. What I always liked about Veronica Mars, the show, was that it summed up what it feels like when you don't have the same privileges and mindsets or even just things that other people do, how it feels to be outcast because of that. She was isolated, she'd been hurt and continued to be hurt, she had scars and she'd learned to stop trusting and be tough. That's realistic. The Marissa Coopers and Gossip Girls of television just aren't. I liked that Veronica, the down and out girl, was our heroine and the rich stereotypes of Neptune High in their mansions were the enemy. I liked that Veronica was willing to do whatever it took and stood up for herself and made some terrible mistakes sometimes because of it - mistakes she learned from later. Then there was the devotion to her dad, the choice of family over friends, the fierce loyalty she displayed towards anyone who proved themselves worthy of it. Unfortunately I feel like there really hasn't been anyone to take V's role model place since Veronica Mars went off air. It feels like we're back to these shows about rich kids in rich zip codes with a token poor and ordinary person thrown in for good measure, though that being said, I felt like Veronica Mars kind of swayed that way in it's third season. When Veronica suddenly had money and was driving a nice car and living in a dorm the show kind of lost it's grit. There's probably never going to be another female character on teenage-oriented TV quite as fierce as Veronica Mars.
Robin Sparkles-Scherbatsky, How I Met Your Mother
It's in the past. It's done. I mean, what would I even say to him? "I wish you hadn't raised me as a boy"? "I wish you hadn't taught me how to hunt"? "And fish and smoke cigars and drink scotch because that's not what girls do. And you know the reason I throw like a girl, Dad, is because I am a girl."
I was recently reminded of Robin's awesomeness a couple of months ago when 3x06 ("World's Greatest Burger") first aired here. During Marshall's memories of the greatest burger, she kept randomly reaching at his plate trying to get some food. It was hilarious. There has only been one time I didn't like Robin and that was occasionally when she was with Ted, because they're stereotypical male and female personalities switched into the opposite gender and it's funny-slash-cute for a while but then it just got annoying. Cause I love that Robin is independent and un-clingy and enjoys sex and booze and guns (even if she doesn't). And yet it's not like she doesn't value love or romance or anything else. I think she's just more realistic about it because that's the kind of person she is, which is why she and Barney work so well together. Also, CANADIAN. Oh man. I get all proud every time she mentions the metric system or just not being American in general. If nothing else convinces you she's awesome and you've already seen LET'S GO THE MAAAAALL, well then I'm sorry, nothing can save you. You should just go sit in the corner and hug Feely the Share Bear.
I tag girled, fallintospace, outofdoritos, miss_half_way and whoever else wants to do it!
Other thing: so LJ is doing trialling this Guest thing wherein you can see logged-in users who are viewing your journal, and they can see when you're viewing theirs. As you can gather people are going off about privacy. I used tp visit a whole heap of people's LJs via my bookmarks (and I still do, once in a while) because they were the types who had such big f-lists I knew I wouldn't be added back if I friended them, so it'll be a little weird being spotted while lurking. That said, it'll be really good during ficathons to see who's reading standardtoaster. And apparently the Russians have had this exact functionality for YEARS. (The news post has some awesome sarcastic comments in it, BTW).
Bonus thing: Bana was on Letterman the other night and the last minute or so of this clip is the lottery scene from TTW.
Final thing: my pre-order of the Watchmen DVD (2 discs!) came in today, so this is a note to myself to WATCH IT TOMORROW NIGHT. It will be my reward for surviving the first week back including a 6pm finish tomorrow. K, better sleep!
Also today I got on the wrong bus to my destination of choice and wound up spending an hour on it winding through the hills and rain forest and then practically ended up at Olinda. AND IT'S 11 DEGREES OUTSIDE. On the upside, next Saturday I am going on a school-sponsored trip to Mount Buller, which means I get to see snow for the first time. I am unnaturally excited about that! I'll take photos too on my new camera.
To cheer me up, a meme lily_268 tagged me for!
A) List your favourite female characters.
B) Explain why you like them or what makes them particularly awesome.
C) Post a picture and your favourite quote.
D) Tag five people to do the same.
You know what, I didn't actually think this meme would be tricky, but it was, a little. Women and men are definitely not treated equally in any kind of visual media, and a lot of the time not in fandom either - though that's probably because a lot of us involved in fandom are female and it makes sense that we'd subtly pay more attention towards the men. It's so tricky, though, to think of women that aren't victimized in some way, that don't revolve around dudes, or are just plain annoying. What's that famous theorem wherein a movie is not a good movie until it involves two women who talk to each other about something other than a man? Yeah, a bunch of shows kinda fail with that now. It's a little sad. But anyway, KICK ASS FEMALES.
(I kind of lazily collated this in like an hour, so if this sucks and my images are lame, that is why. I rarely save screencaps!)
FAVOURITE FEMALE CHARACTERS
Rebecca Harper, Brothers and Sisters
(bonus Justin!)
Justin: Well look, I mean if it's getting to you, why don't you just get like, a test or something?
Rebecca: You don't think I want to? Honestly Justin, I- I don't know if can just walk into some lab with what, his hairbrush? And find out that my life is a lie? Again? I just, I don't know if I can handle that.
Okay, so, I may have been unduly influenced with this by the Brothers and Sisters youtube marathons I've been on in the last couple of days. (In my defense it's been mainly Kevin/Scotty anyway!). When you look back at the earlier episodes and the Rebecca that first showed up as the missing "R" in Walker(r), you realize how much she's evolved and how awesome she is now. I think sometimes we forget that this very sane, lovely, practical Rebecca was once this minx who fell in love with her teacher at 16 and moved to Chicago to continue the affair before he killed himself. I think one of the reasons her character works so well is that she's developed from this very self-destructive person - remember that kiss with Sarah's husband? - to someone who realizes her actions affect people besides herself. She's gone from being a mini train-wreck to this sensible person who understands herself and finally knows where she fits in. She's grounded herself, I think. Plus she's cultivated this unique relationship with almost every member of the Walker clan. Particularly with Nora - when Justin was at war, she was the one who stayed with Nora and answered the phone for her, and then when he came back she helped him beat drugs and encouraged him to become a doctor. And all of this culminates with her being engaged to him and thus truly becoming a Walker.
Thirteen/Remy Hadley, House M.D.
Foreman: Do you miss sleeping with women? Simple question.
Thirteen: Yes. Simple answer.
K, hear me out on this one. I know in some sectors of the house fandom Thirteen is pretty much hated by some - and isn't it weird how new female characters are always the ones to be hated on, by the way - but I like her. Part of it may be that I've always had my issues with the show's other women. Cameron is basically over-emotion in a doctor package, someone completely self-sacrificial who will do what she thinks is the right thing every single time because she thinks with her heart and not her head. Cuddy has had this weird work-life-parenting balance issue going on since at least the second season, which I feel kinda undermines the fact that she is only of only 4 female deans of medicine in the country. Yes, Thirteen was a bit weird when she first came along, but I like how unapologetic she is. It's great to see a character give an accurate (even if it is a bit simplified) portrayal of bisexuality as something that exists and isn't shameful. She not only had to watch her mother die but faces dying herself and she isn't ashamed of that, either. While she, too, has had her reckless moments considering every moment for her is one ticking away, she comes out of it and does what needs to be done. I think it's cool that she doesn't want people to feel sorry for her just because of Huntington's. Plus, she and Foreman are kind of awesome. Is that enough reason?
Jaye Tyler, Wonderfalls
*steals quote*
I'm trying to save him. By avoiding him. So I can be with him. But I can't go near him or I'll destroy him, so if I can just manage to stay away from him maybe we can be together. Please don't repeat that back to me.
I had to throw Jaye in here purely for the infamous wedding stopper scene. Oh, Jaye. I love that Jaye is a 24 year old grad who lives in a trailer and works at a souvenir shop (since that will probably be me in five year's time, who are we kidding) and that she's down and out but in a way that doesn't beg you for pity. When you look at it, her life doens't really suck, but the things she's forced to do sometimes because she's a good person or because she's told to are what suck. And I love that she's determined to underachieve and is brash and honest and crashes a wedding only to be rejected and then STAYS SO SHE CAN BE THEIR WITNESS. Oh man. Girl and I have a lot in common. And in the end she gets her man, so you know. Hope for all us over-educated, under-employed crazies!
Veronica Mars, Veronica Mars
Tragedy blows through your life like a tornado, uprooting everything. Creating chaos. You wait for the dust to settle and then you choose. You can live in the wreckage and pretend it's still the mansion you remember. Or you can crawl from the rubble and slowly rebuild.
Okay, I think it's probably pretty tricky to do this meme as a VMars fan and not throw Veronica in here somewhere. Just look at that quote, for one. What I always liked about Veronica Mars, the show, was that it summed up what it feels like when you don't have the same privileges and mindsets or even just things that other people do, how it feels to be outcast because of that. She was isolated, she'd been hurt and continued to be hurt, she had scars and she'd learned to stop trusting and be tough. That's realistic. The Marissa Coopers and Gossip Girls of television just aren't. I liked that Veronica, the down and out girl, was our heroine and the rich stereotypes of Neptune High in their mansions were the enemy. I liked that Veronica was willing to do whatever it took and stood up for herself and made some terrible mistakes sometimes because of it - mistakes she learned from later. Then there was the devotion to her dad, the choice of family over friends, the fierce loyalty she displayed towards anyone who proved themselves worthy of it. Unfortunately I feel like there really hasn't been anyone to take V's role model place since Veronica Mars went off air. It feels like we're back to these shows about rich kids in rich zip codes with a token poor and ordinary person thrown in for good measure, though that being said, I felt like Veronica Mars kind of swayed that way in it's third season. When Veronica suddenly had money and was driving a nice car and living in a dorm the show kind of lost it's grit. There's probably never going to be another female character on teenage-oriented TV quite as fierce as Veronica Mars.
Robin Sparkles-Scherbatsky, How I Met Your Mother
It's in the past. It's done. I mean, what would I even say to him? "I wish you hadn't raised me as a boy"? "I wish you hadn't taught me how to hunt"? "And fish and smoke cigars and drink scotch because that's not what girls do. And you know the reason I throw like a girl, Dad, is because I am a girl."
I was recently reminded of Robin's awesomeness a couple of months ago when 3x06 ("World's Greatest Burger") first aired here. During Marshall's memories of the greatest burger, she kept randomly reaching at his plate trying to get some food. It was hilarious. There has only been one time I didn't like Robin and that was occasionally when she was with Ted, because they're stereotypical male and female personalities switched into the opposite gender and it's funny-slash-cute for a while but then it just got annoying. Cause I love that Robin is independent and un-clingy and enjoys sex and booze and guns (even if she doesn't). And yet it's not like she doesn't value love or romance or anything else. I think she's just more realistic about it because that's the kind of person she is, which is why she and Barney work so well together. Also, CANADIAN. Oh man. I get all proud every time she mentions the metric system or just not being American in general. If nothing else convinces you she's awesome and you've already seen LET'S GO THE MAAAAALL, well then I'm sorry, nothing can save you. You should just go sit in the corner and hug Feely the Share Bear.
I tag girled, fallintospace, outofdoritos, miss_half_way and whoever else wants to do it!
Other thing: so LJ is doing trialling this Guest thing wherein you can see logged-in users who are viewing your journal, and they can see when you're viewing theirs. As you can gather people are going off about privacy. I used tp visit a whole heap of people's LJs via my bookmarks (and I still do, once in a while) because they were the types who had such big f-lists I knew I wouldn't be added back if I friended them, so it'll be a little weird being spotted while lurking. That said, it'll be really good during ficathons to see who's reading standardtoaster. And apparently the Russians have had this exact functionality for YEARS. (The news post has some awesome sarcastic comments in it, BTW).
Bonus thing: Bana was on Letterman the other night and the last minute or so of this clip is the lottery scene from TTW.
Final thing: my pre-order of the Watchmen DVD (2 discs!) came in today, so this is a note to myself to WATCH IT TOMORROW NIGHT. It will be my reward for surviving the first week back including a 6pm finish tomorrow. K, better sleep!