A Pair of Teal Deers
I am alive! Okay, so I’ve been stuck on dial-up for the last two weeks, which sucks (mostly because I really wanted to stream Doctor Who episodes), got sick a week ago (am better now!), and spent way too much of the intervening time playing Oblivion, now that my brother actually has a computer that will run it.
Battlestar last night!!! Honestly, I don’t think I’m used to watching this program with commercials, because the way they killed the absolute intensity was upsetting. Still, vintage Battlestar is vintage Battlestar, and I adored every moment of it.
The cinematography… the way the scenes on Earth were so beautifully (disturbingly) washed out… gorgeous. I’m so glad I’ve become such a Kara/Leoben shipper (even if this episode felt like the death knell of the pairing), because their scenes were so great, and I’ve never fully appreciated her before. I really don’t have much to say about their discovery, other than “how awesome” and “how like this show,” but the way Leoben said, “I was wrong about everything,” and then Roslin repeated the same exact thing in practically the next scene was really telling. Especially since they represent, for all intents and purposes, the religious aspects of their respective races. Baltar doesn’t count.
Lee’s spin on the situation was… actually, the complete and absolute truth, I think. I’m so glad he said that. I’m so glad he now has the wisdom to recognize that, even if perhaps he isn’t quite ready to believe it. Because they have been living their lives fully in accordance (enslaved, as he said) to the prophecies, unwilling to move one step out of line with them (as the resistance to Baltar’s plan proved - a plan that, despite how things turned out, was still probably the best thing they could have done at the time). And now that time is over and they can no longer hide from the fact that the choice is ultimately theirs. Oh, Sartre!
I’ve seen shades of existentialism in this story before (Kara’s death was portrayed in a strikingly Heideggerian light, for example), but nothing like what showed up in this episode, in Lee’s realization and then, even more so, in the extreme and clear scenes of absurdism that followed. Because this episode displayed the central ideas of that philosophy every bit as well, if not better, than Whedon, self admitted absurdist that he is, ever has. Yessss, I have never been happier with this show.
For those of you who don’t know and would like to, absurdism, put forth by Camus, is the brand of existentialism that deals with the question of suicide. In a world that is ultimately without objective meaning (as most existentialists claim), that doesn’t care and can’t care and offers no answers, there are three responses that humans might make. The first is to stubbornly believe in something - to create something to give your life meaning and to hold to it despite the inherent lie in the approach. (The religious answer.) The second is suicide, literal or figurative. To surrender, to give up, to give in. And the third, the reaction that Camus suggests, is to accept this truth about the world and to continue on despite it.
If you’ve ever seen Buffy or especially Angel, the constant and never-ending apocalypses, the fact that they never can truly win but continue to fight nonetheless… that’s absurdism. And Battlestar last night, it was all this and more.
Because up until now, they’ve been taking the first approach. They’ve been living entirely on the unfounded belief that one day they will find Earth, and then everything will be all right. Redeemed. But now… now this is stripped away, and the second response comes up. Literally, in Duala’s case (and I’m so glad they had the nerve to do that). And in D’anna’s case as well, for the moment (and her explanation of the mentality was so a perfect). Figuratively, in Tigh’s story about the foxes. Wonderful. <3
I love this show so much.
Duala… I’m wondering why, of course. And if we’ll ever truly know. My brother theorizes that it’s because she realized that this was the happiest she’d ever be again, and… wanted to end on a high note. And considering that she had to realize what reality she would be returning to once the high wore off… perhaps it makes sense. We also wonder if whatever has been talking to Baltar, Six, Roslin, Kara, and whoever else had gotten into her head for once. Because that singing was kind of creepy.
So glad that the Fifth turned out (or so we’re led to believe) to be Ellen, because I’d been hoping that it was someone who died on New Caprica. Poor Saul, though. D:
A PLANET OF CYLONS. Though now I’m wondering if perhaps everything isn’t switched around. If these Cylons from 2000 years ago aren’t the true humans and the peoples of the colonies, something different. Bioengineered, perhaps. Because I think that the thirteenth colony is truly the first, and the twelve… well. Of course, given the “everything repeats itself” motif, they could truly have been Cylons as well. We’ll see!
I also finally read Twilight the other day. The entire first book! I somehow managed to refrain from hurling it against the wall somewhere in the middle, read on a bit further, and then Alice and Jasper tricked me into thinking that maybe they were going to be interesting.
This is a strange thing to read, honestly. It was both not as bad as I was expecting and yet much, much worse. And I wasn’t even quite sure how to read it, because of the first person and the incredibly weak way in which Bella was set up. Because had it been handled with maturity, it could’ve been an interesting glimpse into the mindset of a highly self-destructive person. And then, had it been more honestly dark… had it embraced the fact that what was going on here was disturbing in the extreme… well, it might have actually been good.
Instead, it failed on just about every level. The writing was mediocre until Edward became involved, at which point it dropped to abysmal. And I didn’t think it could get any worse, but then she described the sun as a “setting orb.” I almost wish I had bought the book so that I could have taken a pen and crossed half of it out.
The plot was mediocre. The themes were dreadful. The characters were terrible. Twilight was practically the Platonic form of bad writing. Which, I suppose, is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Bella, because I’d like to rant. I’m not sure what she was trying to do here. She spends the first half of the story convinced that she can’t do anything right. That she fails at just about everything. That she’s worthless in every possible way. And Edward does nothing but reinforce this mindset (no, little girl, I don’t dare leave you alone or you’ll get yourself killed!) Bella takes teenage angst to the extreme, is incredibly immature and shallow, and then Meyer seems to try to show that she’s actually… I don’t know, mature? Of course, she does this at first by portraying her mother as a complete basket case so that Bella looks strong and responsible in contrast. And then she demonizes all the kids at school… she turns Jessica into your stereotypical backstabbing, gossipy, shallow teenage girl. Everyone else is two-dimensional as well, but Jessica stands out the most for me here.
The Edward worship was horrendous… especially because the focus on Bella’s extreme negativity and lack of self-confidence seemed to shift. Instead of being a sign of her emotional problems - and “you fascinate me because the first time I met you, you seem to absolutely despise me…?” Yeah, there’s a problem there - Edward becomes some sort of positive figure in her life. I think. I’m not sure how “I’m going to lie to everyone I know and tell them that I’m not with you, so that if you lose control and kill me, you’ll get away with it” is romantic at any level (this is when I almost hurled it against the wall). No… it’s a sign of an emotionally abusive relationship, and is horrifying in just about every possible way. I’ve seen relationships like this (though not to this extent, of course), and they’re not pretty in any way, shape, or form.
My favourite moment is when Bella shows that she’s “smart” by writing about misogyny in Shakespeare’s work. Amusingly ironic, considering how highly misogynistic Twilight is.
Alice and Jasper could have been interesting. Probably Laurent as well, if he’d been in it more, though that may just be because he reminded me of Anne Rice vampires. >_> But the other two… precognition and charismatic manipulation? Yeah, those are hot abilities. Alice was like a failed attempt at Drusilla, and I’m hoping she gets better (as in, grows her own third dimension) later, though someone else is going to have to tell me. XD And Jasper… now there’s a power that needs a bit of moral ambiguity to work well. Or he could have even just been a bit more enigmatic. But… no such luck, and characters that would have been awesome in just about any other mediocre work simply fell flat.
If anyone has or knows of any fanfic of Alice, Jasper, and/or Laurent (Jasper/Laurent, what?), please link me. :D
Battlestar last night!!! Honestly, I don’t think I’m used to watching this program with commercials, because the way they killed the absolute intensity was upsetting. Still, vintage Battlestar is vintage Battlestar, and I adored every moment of it.
The cinematography… the way the scenes on Earth were so beautifully (disturbingly) washed out… gorgeous. I’m so glad I’ve become such a Kara/Leoben shipper (even if this episode felt like the death knell of the pairing), because their scenes were so great, and I’ve never fully appreciated her before. I really don’t have much to say about their discovery, other than “how awesome” and “how like this show,” but the way Leoben said, “I was wrong about everything,” and then Roslin repeated the same exact thing in practically the next scene was really telling. Especially since they represent, for all intents and purposes, the religious aspects of their respective races. Baltar doesn’t count.
Lee’s spin on the situation was… actually, the complete and absolute truth, I think. I’m so glad he said that. I’m so glad he now has the wisdom to recognize that, even if perhaps he isn’t quite ready to believe it. Because they have been living their lives fully in accordance (enslaved, as he said) to the prophecies, unwilling to move one step out of line with them (as the resistance to Baltar’s plan proved - a plan that, despite how things turned out, was still probably the best thing they could have done at the time). And now that time is over and they can no longer hide from the fact that the choice is ultimately theirs. Oh, Sartre!
I’ve seen shades of existentialism in this story before (Kara’s death was portrayed in a strikingly Heideggerian light, for example), but nothing like what showed up in this episode, in Lee’s realization and then, even more so, in the extreme and clear scenes of absurdism that followed. Because this episode displayed the central ideas of that philosophy every bit as well, if not better, than Whedon, self admitted absurdist that he is, ever has. Yessss, I have never been happier with this show.
For those of you who don’t know and would like to, absurdism, put forth by Camus, is the brand of existentialism that deals with the question of suicide. In a world that is ultimately without objective meaning (as most existentialists claim), that doesn’t care and can’t care and offers no answers, there are three responses that humans might make. The first is to stubbornly believe in something - to create something to give your life meaning and to hold to it despite the inherent lie in the approach. (The religious answer.) The second is suicide, literal or figurative. To surrender, to give up, to give in. And the third, the reaction that Camus suggests, is to accept this truth about the world and to continue on despite it.
If you’ve ever seen Buffy or especially Angel, the constant and never-ending apocalypses, the fact that they never can truly win but continue to fight nonetheless… that’s absurdism. And Battlestar last night, it was all this and more.
Because up until now, they’ve been taking the first approach. They’ve been living entirely on the unfounded belief that one day they will find Earth, and then everything will be all right. Redeemed. But now… now this is stripped away, and the second response comes up. Literally, in Duala’s case (and I’m so glad they had the nerve to do that). And in D’anna’s case as well, for the moment (and her explanation of the mentality was so a perfect). Figuratively, in Tigh’s story about the foxes. Wonderful. <3
I love this show so much.
Duala… I’m wondering why, of course. And if we’ll ever truly know. My brother theorizes that it’s because she realized that this was the happiest she’d ever be again, and… wanted to end on a high note. And considering that she had to realize what reality she would be returning to once the high wore off… perhaps it makes sense. We also wonder if whatever has been talking to Baltar, Six, Roslin, Kara, and whoever else had gotten into her head for once. Because that singing was kind of creepy.
So glad that the Fifth turned out (or so we’re led to believe) to be Ellen, because I’d been hoping that it was someone who died on New Caprica. Poor Saul, though. D:
A PLANET OF CYLONS. Though now I’m wondering if perhaps everything isn’t switched around. If these Cylons from 2000 years ago aren’t the true humans and the peoples of the colonies, something different. Bioengineered, perhaps. Because I think that the thirteenth colony is truly the first, and the twelve… well. Of course, given the “everything repeats itself” motif, they could truly have been Cylons as well. We’ll see!
I also finally read Twilight the other day. The entire first book! I somehow managed to refrain from hurling it against the wall somewhere in the middle, read on a bit further, and then Alice and Jasper tricked me into thinking that maybe they were going to be interesting.
This is a strange thing to read, honestly. It was both not as bad as I was expecting and yet much, much worse. And I wasn’t even quite sure how to read it, because of the first person and the incredibly weak way in which Bella was set up. Because had it been handled with maturity, it could’ve been an interesting glimpse into the mindset of a highly self-destructive person. And then, had it been more honestly dark… had it embraced the fact that what was going on here was disturbing in the extreme… well, it might have actually been good.
Instead, it failed on just about every level. The writing was mediocre until Edward became involved, at which point it dropped to abysmal. And I didn’t think it could get any worse, but then she described the sun as a “setting orb.” I almost wish I had bought the book so that I could have taken a pen and crossed half of it out.
The plot was mediocre. The themes were dreadful. The characters were terrible. Twilight was practically the Platonic form of bad writing. Which, I suppose, is an accomplishment in and of itself.
Bella, because I’d like to rant. I’m not sure what she was trying to do here. She spends the first half of the story convinced that she can’t do anything right. That she fails at just about everything. That she’s worthless in every possible way. And Edward does nothing but reinforce this mindset (no, little girl, I don’t dare leave you alone or you’ll get yourself killed!) Bella takes teenage angst to the extreme, is incredibly immature and shallow, and then Meyer seems to try to show that she’s actually… I don’t know, mature? Of course, she does this at first by portraying her mother as a complete basket case so that Bella looks strong and responsible in contrast. And then she demonizes all the kids at school… she turns Jessica into your stereotypical backstabbing, gossipy, shallow teenage girl. Everyone else is two-dimensional as well, but Jessica stands out the most for me here.
The Edward worship was horrendous… especially because the focus on Bella’s extreme negativity and lack of self-confidence seemed to shift. Instead of being a sign of her emotional problems - and “you fascinate me because the first time I met you, you seem to absolutely despise me…?” Yeah, there’s a problem there - Edward becomes some sort of positive figure in her life. I think. I’m not sure how “I’m going to lie to everyone I know and tell them that I’m not with you, so that if you lose control and kill me, you’ll get away with it” is romantic at any level (this is when I almost hurled it against the wall). No… it’s a sign of an emotionally abusive relationship, and is horrifying in just about every possible way. I’ve seen relationships like this (though not to this extent, of course), and they’re not pretty in any way, shape, or form.
My favourite moment is when Bella shows that she’s “smart” by writing about misogyny in Shakespeare’s work. Amusingly ironic, considering how highly misogynistic Twilight is.
Alice and Jasper could have been interesting. Probably Laurent as well, if he’d been in it more, though that may just be because he reminded me of Anne Rice vampires. >_> But the other two… precognition and charismatic manipulation? Yeah, those are hot abilities. Alice was like a failed attempt at Drusilla, and I’m hoping she gets better (as in, grows her own third dimension) later, though someone else is going to have to tell me. XD And Jasper… now there’s a power that needs a bit of moral ambiguity to work well. Or he could have even just been a bit more enigmatic. But… no such luck, and characters that would have been awesome in just about any other mediocre work simply fell flat.
If anyone has or knows of any fanfic of Alice, Jasper, and/or Laurent (Jasper/Laurent, what?), please link me. :D