TRIUMPH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DISSERTATION SUBMITTED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Six years of this degree. TWENTY-FIVE consecutive years of studenthood. And only the defense remains (ca. six weeks from now).
Effectively, I am FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(No, I have not yet processed this information.)
Among the various things this means for me: I finally have time for things fannish again!!!!!!!
**
Let's begin with an airing of a pet peeve relevant to the above. :) It's something that has bothered me for years, but I ran across a fic doing it the other day, and well, the subject is near and dear at the moment. I should point out that this is not just a problem with fic writers; there are TV writers (the Stargate PTB come to mind) that are just as guilty.
Here's the thing: lots of people have multiple bachelor's degrees. Lots of people have multiple master's degrees. You know who has multiple PhDs? CRAZY PEOPLE!!! Seriously. You DO NOT get to the end of this process and think, "okay, now on to a second one of these." I know a few people with an MD and a PhD. I know more than a few people with a JD and a PhD. But those are different kinds of degrees, and in the former case you can usually do it in a combined program, and in the latter case, a JD isn't quite a doctorate in the same way (and I think most of the lawyers in the house would agree? not that law school isn't a big deal as its own thing). But while I know MANY people with one PhD, I know NO ONE with two. There are dual-enrollment programs, but for those you still write ONE dissertation and end up with ONE degree (I'll buy this excuse for Daniel Jackson, for instance.) Unless you're completely switching fields (from the humanities to the social sciences, from the social sciences to the physical sciences, etc.--not just switching from French to history), it makes no sense to go through the whole process again when you already know how to do that kind of research. Plus, NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND is going to do it, anyway. Or at least very, very few people.
So I know that we're supposed to think that Daniel Jackson is the smartest guy ever, but he does not have two PhDs. I don't care what TPTB say: he doesn't. Neither does Sam Carter or Cal Lightman or any other tremendously brilliant fictional character.
That's my rant for today. Now with the added authority of experience. :)
**
Also, vid recs!!!!!! chaila43 has posted the latest installments in her vidwar with beccatoria, and as usual, they're both brilliant vids. The Sarah/Ellison one, of course, makes me TREMENDOUSLY HAPPY, but I think I actually like the Sarah/Cameron one even a bit better, which surprised me. Don't interpret the backslash as indicating shippiness; I suppose both vids could be read that way if you're so inclined, but really, they're quite canonical looks at these relationships. And they both make me oh-so-achy for these characters! *love*
Don't Tell Me About Mercy by Chaila (TSCC, Sarah/Cameron, Sarah/Ellison, spoilers for the series)
**
And finally, Day 5 of the TV meme, which is a disappointingly un-triumphant topic:
Day 05 - A show you hate
This is a hard one. Hate is such a strong word, y'know? If I like a show, I watch it, if I don't, I don't. I usually don't let shows that don't work for me bother me much. I mean, there are plenty of shows that I don't particularly care for (any reality dancing or singing show, for instance), but hey, live and let live, right? No one is forcing me to watch American Idol, so I see no reason to hate it.
Because hate is a stronger emotion than indifference, I find myself most inclined toward strong dislike (I just don't like the word "hate") when it's something I love that has hurt or disappointed me in some way. So I feel like the show I most strongly dislike is also one of the shows I have most passionately loved: insofar as I have ever hated a show, I hated most of the last half-season of Battlestar Galactica. Because I loved it so much, and then it disappointed me so badly, and it managed to do it in a way that felt flippant toward viewers (me) who expected something different or better from it. I felt stupid that I'd invested so much time and love, that I'd put my trust in the story, that I'd gone to bat so many times for what I thought was the show's careful attention to detail, narrative, and sophisticated character development. So, y'know, sorry for caring, Ron Moore! That'll teach me to get that invested in a show again--and perhaps it's the result of "once bitten, twice shy" that makes me more angry than anything else.
(The rest of the meme questions are here.)
**
And now I'm off to do NOTHING AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Except drink. There will definitely be drinking.
Six years of this degree. TWENTY-FIVE consecutive years of studenthood. And only the defense remains (ca. six weeks from now).
Effectively, I am FINISHED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
(No, I have not yet processed this information.)
Among the various things this means for me: I finally have time for things fannish again!!!!!!!
**
Let's begin with an airing of a pet peeve relevant to the above. :) It's something that has bothered me for years, but I ran across a fic doing it the other day, and well, the subject is near and dear at the moment. I should point out that this is not just a problem with fic writers; there are TV writers (the Stargate PTB come to mind) that are just as guilty.
Here's the thing: lots of people have multiple bachelor's degrees. Lots of people have multiple master's degrees. You know who has multiple PhDs? CRAZY PEOPLE!!! Seriously. You DO NOT get to the end of this process and think, "okay, now on to a second one of these." I know a few people with an MD and a PhD. I know more than a few people with a JD and a PhD. But those are different kinds of degrees, and in the former case you can usually do it in a combined program, and in the latter case, a JD isn't quite a doctorate in the same way (and I think most of the lawyers in the house would agree? not that law school isn't a big deal as its own thing). But while I know MANY people with one PhD, I know NO ONE with two. There are dual-enrollment programs, but for those you still write ONE dissertation and end up with ONE degree (I'll buy this excuse for Daniel Jackson, for instance.) Unless you're completely switching fields (from the humanities to the social sciences, from the social sciences to the physical sciences, etc.--not just switching from French to history), it makes no sense to go through the whole process again when you already know how to do that kind of research. Plus, NO ONE IN THEIR RIGHT MIND is going to do it, anyway. Or at least very, very few people.
So I know that we're supposed to think that Daniel Jackson is the smartest guy ever, but he does not have two PhDs. I don't care what TPTB say: he doesn't. Neither does Sam Carter or Cal Lightman or any other tremendously brilliant fictional character.
That's my rant for today. Now with the added authority of experience. :)
**
Also, vid recs!!!!!! chaila43 has posted the latest installments in her vidwar with beccatoria, and as usual, they're both brilliant vids. The Sarah/Ellison one, of course, makes me TREMENDOUSLY HAPPY, but I think I actually like the Sarah/Cameron one even a bit better, which surprised me. Don't interpret the backslash as indicating shippiness; I suppose both vids could be read that way if you're so inclined, but really, they're quite canonical looks at these relationships. And they both make me oh-so-achy for these characters! *love*
Don't Tell Me About Mercy by Chaila (TSCC, Sarah/Cameron, Sarah/Ellison, spoilers for the series)
**
And finally, Day 5 of the TV meme, which is a disappointingly un-triumphant topic:
Day 05 - A show you hate
This is a hard one. Hate is such a strong word, y'know? If I like a show, I watch it, if I don't, I don't. I usually don't let shows that don't work for me bother me much. I mean, there are plenty of shows that I don't particularly care for (any reality dancing or singing show, for instance), but hey, live and let live, right? No one is forcing me to watch American Idol, so I see no reason to hate it.
Because hate is a stronger emotion than indifference, I find myself most inclined toward strong dislike (I just don't like the word "hate") when it's something I love that has hurt or disappointed me in some way. So I feel like the show I most strongly dislike is also one of the shows I have most passionately loved: insofar as I have ever hated a show, I hated most of the last half-season of Battlestar Galactica. Because I loved it so much, and then it disappointed me so badly, and it managed to do it in a way that felt flippant toward viewers (me) who expected something different or better from it. I felt stupid that I'd invested so much time and love, that I'd put my trust in the story, that I'd gone to bat so many times for what I thought was the show's careful attention to detail, narrative, and sophisticated character development. So, y'know, sorry for caring, Ron Moore! That'll teach me to get that invested in a show again--and perhaps it's the result of "once bitten, twice shy" that makes me more angry than anything else.
(The rest of the meme questions are here.)
**
And now I'm off to do NOTHING AT ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Except drink. There will definitely be drinking.