"What's Next?" -- aka The West Wing Post
You know it's cold when you need to calculate the best position possible to put on your many layers before going outside, preferably where you are closest to the door as possible without getting the cold draft. Then there's how far you have to walk for after a few layers, it gets warmer and warmer before you venture outside. So you put on the neck-warmer, the hat, the coat, and the gloves and then you walk outside, forgetting exactly how cold 0F can feel like. You wish you had worn long underwear today. Definitely a long underwear day.
Well, that was yesterday (as I couldn't finish the post), but today was a somewhat nice 23F (13F with wind), including billowing snow flurries that added a tad of flavor to the normally dull, and icy, walk to work. It turned into big, puffy snow flakes fall from the sky, covering the ground with a few inches of snow; enough to make the tail ends of your pants catch the snow and get wet.
The work week almost done, and a semi-family reunion coming up this weekend, I'm ready to be over with the week. Not that it's been difficult or anything.
However, the real reason for my post was not to complain but to make this a West Wing post. We all know you want to read it. It's a damn good show and if half of my flist isn't watching it by tomorrow I will disown you! (Ok, I'm not that drastic and I love you all, but, really, this is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Really really.)
Cut not for spoilers really, but for obsessive fangirl squeeing that will take place.
First, let's get a few things straight: I love C.J. Cregg. I also love Leo McGarry. If I had to choose, those two would be my favorite characters out of the lot. Hard thing is, all of the characters are loveable, even the guest cast (minus the stupid Army guys who came in half-way through Season 1 getting all flustered about gays in the military -- loved that episode), and I'm mostly sitting my evenings away watching two to three episodes in a sitting of this show. It's so addictive and so consuming that I'm now rationing my Netflix queue to make sure I have a West Wing disc on me at all times.
Second, I love C.J. the writing is fantastic. Great characterizations (have I said that yet? Kind of? Ok.), wonderful acting, strong pacing, and intelligent conversations that make me feel dumb. Why can't I have those fun conversations about free trade, marriage equality, vote bargaining, etc etc? This show makes politics look fun, which is something to write home about. I've also learned more about religion in one and a half seasons of this show than during my 25 and a half years of real life. President Bartlet constantly quotes the bible, usually off the top of his head and with all the fanfare he can give ("The Midterms" is a great example), and the story at the end of the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" almost had me in tears. Watched that episode twice, one for the commentary.
(As an aside, the latter episode was spectacular. I never put together that: 1) the Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday and, 2) the Christian Sabbath is on Sunday, making no executions allowed between sundown Friday and sundown Sunday. Ain't that just peculiar? I also found the idea of shops closing on Sunday to be ridiculous, and I'm much like C.J. where I don't have an absolute position on the death penalty, but not executing on the sabbath seems to be a clear violation of church and state. And I've said how much I enjoy the ending, right? Damn powerful stuff, even for someone who identifies as agnostic.)
Third, this show is still dangerously relevant to our every day life. In one, early episode of season 1, "The Short List," Sam says that the, "20s & 30s it was the role of government. 50s & 60s it was civil rights. The next 20 years it will be about privacy. The Internet. Cell phones. Health records. And who's gay and who's not. Besides, in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?" Wham! Wow, did that one sentence cause me to pause, rewind, listen, and do it four more times. How can a show that started back in '99 understand so much about what we're struggling through today? Of course they never saw the economic crash of 2008, but to their credit, privacy is a HUGE issue today. Just look at SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) which is much more about watching what you do online than about stopping piracy. Also, for the record, games/music/movies are pirated much more in third-world countries like India than in the US and this act will be having everyone smart enough to understand this bill quivering behind their monitors wondering if the government or some other company decided to bar their enjoyment of BBC news or Al Jazeera. Sam is incredibly on target here.
Fourth, this show will make me cry someday. There were the "almost tears," which does sound like something from Doctor Who, except we all know what I'm talking about. The throat constriction, the slight water in the eyes, the sniffles, the "OMG, TOO MANY EMOTIONS AT ONE TIME!" feeling you get when something on-screen happens. Yeah, those moments happen a lot with this show. At the end of the two-parter opening for Season 2, "In The Shadow of Two Gunman," I was at that "almost tears" point when Josh asks "what's next?" EPIC.
By the way, in that episode Edward James Olmos was introduced as a guest character for the nominee on the Supreme Court. OMG, fangirl moment...with a slight crisis on if I wanted to continue watching The West Wing or move to BSG (again). Oh, what to do what to do!
The only complaint I have in this show -- so far -- is not the moderate politics, the in-show hate from Republicans, or even the non-event of huge issues, but how one character was thrown off the show. Mandy, played by Moira Kelly, was pushed off the show by Season 2 and was never seen of again. What a loose end to have around. I'm not sure how many other characters will have such a sad fate (I'm particularly fond of Joey) yet I remain hopeful that it will be few. *crosses fingers*
As for what I'm watching next, after finishing up "Shibboleth" a few days ago, I'll be back to my chair -- perhaps after a few hours of Batman: Arkham City -- before watching an ep or two. "Galileo" and "Noel" are up next on the disc. I hear that the show goes downhill after Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme leave after Season 4, but I'm hopeful. I know most of the end results for the characters, mainly due to this show being off the air for six years, and some of it from me watching bits and pieces of it when I was younger. Damn, this show.
So, I'll leave The West Wing talk for now with two things. One, a memo:
And a video, as when I'm not watching The West Wing on DVD, I look up YouTube clips and have a blast:
LOL. I am not even close to that episode, or season for that matter, but that doesn't mean I can't find them hilarious. Great slide too. :P
Is it really only 1500? I NEED MY WEST WING FIX!
In other news, I cannot remember the last time I read a book. I can remember the last graphic novel I read, Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, but not the last novel. I'm in the middle of six of them, with a half-dozen graphic novels waiting to be read as well, which strikes me as odd. I also can't remember the last decent piece of fanfic I read. Or even the last one I wrote. What's wrong with me?
I do remember the last movie I saw: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. A decent enough movie, feeling more like a summer blockbuster than one that comes out a few months prior to the Oscars, and the ending was pretty awesome. Holmes and Moriarty having awesome -- and slightly psychotic -- matches of wits in each other's heads? Oh, yes please. I should really finish A Study in Scarlet. Hate the Mormon bits though. Hrm....
Sigh, alright, I'll do...something. An hour and a half left of work in "the dungeon" with no requests in sight. Oh, well, maybe one. And my co-worker finally had her baby! YAY!
And I've remembered that Mass Effect 3 comes out in March! Exciting! YAY!!
...Ok, seriously, done now.
ETA: So sorry but as for Dreamwidth cross-posting, I'll try, whenever I'm at home, to post using a client to both sites. I'm not moving from LJ just yet, and probably not in the near future either, but I know others have taken to this cross-posting idea and using DW almost exclusively for posting. Unless someone shuts off comments on LJ and uses only DW, I will continue to comment on other's posts using LJ. I like it better that way (ie icons, not necessarily layout). Thought I'd let you know.
Well, that was yesterday (as I couldn't finish the post), but today was a somewhat nice 23F (13F with wind), including billowing snow flurries that added a tad of flavor to the normally dull, and icy, walk to work. It turned into big, puffy snow flakes fall from the sky, covering the ground with a few inches of snow; enough to make the tail ends of your pants catch the snow and get wet.
The work week almost done, and a semi-family reunion coming up this weekend, I'm ready to be over with the week. Not that it's been difficult or anything.
However, the real reason for my post was not to complain but to make this a West Wing post. We all know you want to read it. It's a damn good show and if half of my flist isn't watching it by tomorrow I will disown you! (Ok, I'm not that drastic and I love you all, but, really, this is one of the best shows I've ever seen. Really really.)
Cut not for spoilers really, but for obsessive fangirl squeeing that will take place.
First, let's get a few things straight: I love C.J. Cregg. I also love Leo McGarry. If I had to choose, those two would be my favorite characters out of the lot. Hard thing is, all of the characters are loveable, even the guest cast (minus the stupid Army guys who came in half-way through Season 1 getting all flustered about gays in the military -- loved that episode), and I'm mostly sitting my evenings away watching two to three episodes in a sitting of this show. It's so addictive and so consuming that I'm now rationing my Netflix queue to make sure I have a West Wing disc on me at all times.
Second, I love C.J. the writing is fantastic. Great characterizations (have I said that yet? Kind of? Ok.), wonderful acting, strong pacing, and intelligent conversations that make me feel dumb. Why can't I have those fun conversations about free trade, marriage equality, vote bargaining, etc etc? This show makes politics look fun, which is something to write home about. I've also learned more about religion in one and a half seasons of this show than during my 25 and a half years of real life. President Bartlet constantly quotes the bible, usually off the top of his head and with all the fanfare he can give ("The Midterms" is a great example), and the story at the end of the episode "Take This Sabbath Day" almost had me in tears. Watched that episode twice, one for the commentary.
(As an aside, the latter episode was spectacular. I never put together that: 1) the Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday and, 2) the Christian Sabbath is on Sunday, making no executions allowed between sundown Friday and sundown Sunday. Ain't that just peculiar? I also found the idea of shops closing on Sunday to be ridiculous, and I'm much like C.J. where I don't have an absolute position on the death penalty, but not executing on the sabbath seems to be a clear violation of church and state. And I've said how much I enjoy the ending, right? Damn powerful stuff, even for someone who identifies as agnostic.)
Third, this show is still dangerously relevant to our every day life. In one, early episode of season 1, "The Short List," Sam says that the, "20s & 30s it was the role of government. 50s & 60s it was civil rights. The next 20 years it will be about privacy. The Internet. Cell phones. Health records. And who's gay and who's not. Besides, in a country born on the will to be free, what could be more fundamental than this?" Wham! Wow, did that one sentence cause me to pause, rewind, listen, and do it four more times. How can a show that started back in '99 understand so much about what we're struggling through today? Of course they never saw the economic crash of 2008, but to their credit, privacy is a HUGE issue today. Just look at SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) which is much more about watching what you do online than about stopping piracy. Also, for the record, games/music/movies are pirated much more in third-world countries like India than in the US and this act will be having everyone smart enough to understand this bill quivering behind their monitors wondering if the government or some other company decided to bar their enjoyment of BBC news or Al Jazeera. Sam is incredibly on target here.
Fourth, this show will make me cry someday. There were the "almost tears," which does sound like something from Doctor Who, except we all know what I'm talking about. The throat constriction, the slight water in the eyes, the sniffles, the "OMG, TOO MANY EMOTIONS AT ONE TIME!" feeling you get when something on-screen happens. Yeah, those moments happen a lot with this show. At the end of the two-parter opening for Season 2, "In The Shadow of Two Gunman," I was at that "almost tears" point when Josh asks "what's next?" EPIC.
By the way, in that episode Edward James Olmos was introduced as a guest character for the nominee on the Supreme Court. OMG, fangirl moment...with a slight crisis on if I wanted to continue watching The West Wing or move to BSG (again). Oh, what to do what to do!
The only complaint I have in this show -- so far -- is not the moderate politics, the in-show hate from Republicans, or even the non-event of huge issues, but how one character was thrown off the show. Mandy, played by Moira Kelly, was pushed off the show by Season 2 and was never seen of again. What a loose end to have around. I'm not sure how many other characters will have such a sad fate (I'm particularly fond of Joey) yet I remain hopeful that it will be few. *crosses fingers*
As for what I'm watching next, after finishing up "Shibboleth" a few days ago, I'll be back to my chair -- perhaps after a few hours of Batman: Arkham City -- before watching an ep or two. "Galileo" and "Noel" are up next on the disc. I hear that the show goes downhill after Aaron Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme leave after Season 4, but I'm hopeful. I know most of the end results for the characters, mainly due to this show being off the air for six years, and some of it from me watching bits and pieces of it when I was younger. Damn, this show.
So, I'll leave The West Wing talk for now with two things. One, a memo:
And a video, as when I'm not watching The West Wing on DVD, I look up YouTube clips and have a blast:
Click to viewLOL. I am not even close to that episode, or season for that matter, but that doesn't mean I can't find them hilarious. Great slide too. :P
Is it really only 1500? I NEED MY WEST WING FIX!
In other news, I cannot remember the last time I read a book. I can remember the last graphic novel I read, Batman: The Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul, but not the last novel. I'm in the middle of six of them, with a half-dozen graphic novels waiting to be read as well, which strikes me as odd. I also can't remember the last decent piece of fanfic I read. Or even the last one I wrote. What's wrong with me?
I do remember the last movie I saw: Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows. A decent enough movie, feeling more like a summer blockbuster than one that comes out a few months prior to the Oscars, and the ending was pretty awesome. Holmes and Moriarty having awesome -- and slightly psychotic -- matches of wits in each other's heads? Oh, yes please. I should really finish A Study in Scarlet. Hate the Mormon bits though. Hrm....
Sigh, alright, I'll do...something. An hour and a half left of work in "the dungeon" with no requests in sight. Oh, well, maybe one. And my co-worker finally had her baby! YAY!
And I've remembered that Mass Effect 3 comes out in March! Exciting! YAY!!
...Ok, seriously, done now.
ETA: So sorry but as for Dreamwidth cross-posting, I'll try, whenever I'm at home, to post using a client to both sites. I'm not moving from LJ just yet, and probably not in the near future either, but I know others have taken to this cross-posting idea and using DW almost exclusively for posting. Unless someone shuts off comments on LJ and uses only DW, I will continue to comment on other's posts using LJ. I like it better that way (ie icons, not necessarily layout). Thought I'd let you know.