YES SPN! Now *that's" what I'm talkin about!
YAY! Show is back on form. Season 7 so far has been kick-ass. The best word to describe 6 is uneven: there were some real standout eps - I think Appointment in Samarra might be my fave - but a lot that left me thinking, 'Could do better'. 7 has me falling in love all over again. The tension. The humour. The scariness. Pelligrino's Lucifer-hallucination is shit scary. The facial expressions he does, sort of sympathetic yet sadistic at the same time, and the problem of it being impossible to know (up until now) whether he might be telling the truth about what was real and what wasn't. *That* is some horror right there. From the time not!Dean led Sam into the warehouse to the end of the ep, I was biting my nails. Literally. And of course, Sam and Dean being a team again. And the cliffhanger! The cliffhangerrrr! *cries*
I don't think for one moment they've killed off Bobby - Cas I'm not so sure about. Fandom is understandably attached to Misha and I think there would be quite a lot of disappointment if they went there, but perhaps they're hoping the newly reforged Sam-Dean bond will provide enough draw on the boy-love front. (Hmm...attached to Misha...LOL). Most importantly the writing has regained its humour/horror balance - the result of soulless Sam is that Season 6 wasn't really that funny, except for the episodes that were going out of their way to be funny - there wasn't that underlying ironic dark humour of great characters existing in this fucked-up world where nothing ever goes right, because Sam wasn't really a character as such. So I am very happy.
*end spoilers*.
So I've gotten myself into several things this term - aside from teaching and working on my research, I'm helping co-ordinate something called the First Year Experience, which is basically organizing events, meetups and practical support for the Freshers. The cash ain't great but it looks good on your CV and I quite enjoy it. The first years are all shiny and new and excited right now - we'll see if it lasts till xmas! I have a friend, A, doing it with me - A has an extensive library of DVDs and a great knowledge of film, which we are utilizing for a fortnightly film-and-discussion night. My knowledge of film isn't bad, but I'm from an English background so I'm much better on books. We're showing lots of things I'm looking forward to myself, starting with Shane Meadows' Dead Man's Shoes. which will be good for a discussion re: violence, war, and representations of masculinity.
In other news, Zara is one! Approximately. I don't know her exact birthday, but by my calculations her birthday must be the first week in October. She's grown into a lovely cat, but very much a Mummy's girl - she's no longer scared of other humans she knows, but only loves me and Sam. But *boy* does she love me. Too much, sometimes. At 4 o clock in the morning. She loves to knead and purr. She's also very intelligent and communicative, very much a character if you know what I mean. She has a particular, demanding, high-pitched 'MOW!' which goes up at the end and very definitely means, 'MUM! ME! Attend to me!' Here she is at one year old:
I know she looks a little chub in that middle picture - I saved it as 'Zarabelly.jpg' XD, but in her defense she's sort of spread on the chair. She's a dainty, fine-boned thing but she really loves to eat, and eats her food with great relish. Before she was spayed she was skinny no matter what she ate but she doesn't seem to burn it off as fast now. I probably give her a few too many treats because she gets such pleasure from eating - Sam is much less food-orientated, so if I'm not careful she'll have his as well. Speaking of Sam, who does this cat remind you of?
It's Sam's litter-sister! Her name is Tetris and she is actually the reason I got Sam, and therefore Zara, because when S picked her up I went with her and couldn't resist getting a kitten myself. It's funny because they have the exact same head shape, and quite a lot of the same mannerisms, too, including the shoe fetish.
On the 19th I'm going to see Dave Gorman with my housemates. He's a stand-up comedian and pretty funny, but I'm mostly going cos it's a nice way to have a night out with my new(ish) living arrangement people - we all get along well, but its the first time I've lived with people who aren't friends of old, excluding college dorms.
Well, that's all for now. Hope everyone is well and loving the new SPN too!