i miss the gloria
Tomorrow night is opening night for the first play of our season and I am STUPIDLY STRESSING about, of all things, WHAT TO WEAR AND HOW. Or rather, I have the What sorted (yay $30 Target dress!) but the MECHANICS of the day confuse me hopelessly. I have work until 5:30 and then staff gets to pick up tickets at 7:30. The PROBLEM is that there isn't reeeeeally enough time to leave work, get home, get ready and grab something to eat, then get back to the theatre in two hours. I love this city with all my crooked heart, but the metro is SLOW and takes 45 min to an hour to get from work to home and then it's another half hour to get BACK down to the theatre. Is it possible? Yes. Is it a Good Idea? I AM NERVOUS TO RISK IT. Of course, then the problem is how to work it if I don't go home at all. Wear my dress to work and try to dress it up and down to suit the action to the word place? Bring a bag and change AFTER work? If change, change where? At work or somewhere else? And what to do with two hours to kill?
AWKWARD SITUATION IS AWKWARD. It would help if I had tried to talk about this with co-worker T on Friday, but I am not that clever. LE SIGH. ALL I WANNA DO IS SEE THE PLAY AND TRY TO BE SOCIABLE AND ALSO TO EAT CHOCOLATE AT THE RECEPTION. I wish I didn't excel at making everything QUITE so complicated.
AH WELL.
I will figure SOMETHING out. I AM VERY CLEVER. SOMETIMES.
ANYWAY. Today I went to SPX with thespiansparkle and her man, Tom, and saw Kate Beaton (beatonna) with MY OWN EYES. And then I spent money I couldn't afford on SPOILS of this encounter. Kate was offering sketches on the spot for $5, which was AWESOME except for the way we all three PANICKED when we realized it meant we had to decide what we most wanted. Fat Pony? Napoleon? John Paul II? (true fact- I TOTALLY REALIZED LATER THAT I WOULD HAVE DONE NAUGHTY THINGS FOR A JPII SKETCH. LIKE YOU DO) In the heat of the moment, Tom asked for Tesla and got a brilliant little sketch. (They went back after I left and got a Jane Austen as well) I wound up with a copy of K's book, each of which she was sketching in as she signed.
SHOWING HERE:
I then asked for an Oscar Wilde sketch, as I'd had my beloved Stephen Fry on the brain. That picture you can see here. K had to do a quick google image search while drawing so she could get the part of his hair right- IS THAT IS NOT DEDICATION, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS. She also screen a call from her Mom while drawing, a fact that made Jess and I spazz afterwards, as her mom is ADORABLE in comic form.
We also got to go to a panel shortly afterwards that features Kate and Julia Wertz, who were both highly entertaining.
BASICALLY, WE ARE ALL EVEN MORE IN LOVE WITH KATE BEATON THAN WE THOUGHT POSSIBLE.
We did also walk past Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content, but were kind of way too nervous to approach him, as it was shortly after entering the room and we were rather overwhelmed. I also probably would have made a FOOL of myself and confronted him about how emotionally overinvested I have been lately in the QC verse (OMG, PEOPLE, THIS LAST WEEK WAS INTENSE).
ANYWAY IT WAS KIND OF AWESOME BUT ALSO INTENSE. The place was CHOCKABLOCK FULL of hipsters and as will surprise NO ONE, I felt very unhip in comparison.
In news of the tube of boob (heh. boob.), I watched the S3 premiere of Merlin today and MAN OH MAN HELLO INTENSE SEASON OPENER. I've seen it said around LJ today, and I heartily concur, that this felt like the ramp up to a season ender far more than an opener. Basically, SHIT GOT REAL. The lovely bantering between Merlin and Arthur is still lovely, but did also feel very tacked on in comparison to the BOOM BOOM BOOM PLOT PLOT PLOTSHIT GOT REAL of the episode as a whole. The floor washing, for example, was rather fanservicey- and not just in the Bradley Takes off His Shirt! way, but in the sense that they felt if they didn't have some banter and prattish behaviour, EVERYONE MIGHT EXPLODE, so we were placated.
I am not sure how I feel about Morgana and having her be quite so over the top BWAHAHA I AM A VILLAIN NOW! Katie McGrath is not the best actor in the cast and while she's doing FINE, I wonder if an actress with a little more subtlety might yet win me over with this turn of events. And hey- you never know! The writers might well have more up their sleeve than we're seeing so far. They've put Morgana into an interesting place and I hope that they continue to tease it out over time and not let it rest as is. They played up her struggle a lot last season and it's just not GOOD ENOUGH if they think it's been resolved.
We shall see! I was quite glad to see the return of the Slash Dragon, anyway, as more John Hurt is never a bad thing. I like the idea that it's been a year since we left these characters and I want to see them poke at THAT more, too. If the year is just there to make it so that Morgana had time enough to turn into a Cackling Villain, I WILL BE DISPLEASED.
Things I want from this series of Merlin:
- BANTER.
- CHORES = LOVE. (I feel fairly confident that these will be forthcoming in SPADES)
- Continued poking at Morgana. I want to see how much she's thought of Camelot beyond Uther- she's so focused on getting rid of the bully that I wonder if she's thought through what happens next. She's being manipulated and used by Morgause and I want to poke at THAT, too.
- I REALLY WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO LEARN ABOUT MERLIN'S MAGIC. For how much he uses it, it is TIME. Obviously, Arthur is my first choice, but there's a real risk of Morgause or Morgana finding out (although I agree with all the fic I've read that they would probably be VERY quick to use it to reveal or blackmail Merlin, and I am not so interested in that as in the DELICIOUS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT that would happen when Arthur finds out).
- I want to get to know the other people in that castle more. One of my favorite things in fic is getting to know the other knights- can't we meet some of them and get to know them beyond just seeing them fight and die?
- Arthur calling Merlin a girl (don't go there, pookie) and mocking his supposed cowardice didn't really ring true in this episode. I know that the writers have a tricky balance to work with in that relationship and how to play it out over the run of the show, but that doesn't mean we just keep pushing a giant reset button every so often. Arthur KNOWS BETTER by now, and that scene felt like he DIDN'T. WORK ON THIS, WRITERS.
- Last season had a BIG issue regarding Gwen and Arthur. MY GOD was their romance pastede on. It never worked, and while part of that was that it just came out of the blue with no set up (no set up, no payoff, guys, YOU KNOW THIS, SURELY), now it's established in the canon. WORK WITH THIS. Find ways to make this work, or else there's a HUGE part of the legend of Camelot that is just NOT going to work on your show.
There are probably other things I want, but I am working on the difference between fanfic and canon and remembering which is which. :D
In anticipation of tomorrow's shenanigans, my bed is beckoning and I have every intention of giving in to its call.
PS I ordered a copy of PART TWO of Stephen Fry's memoirs today from Amazon.co.uk. DO YOU THINK IT WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW? HOW ABOUT TUESDAY? IT WILL BE SOON, Y/Y? Maybe if I reread Moab Is My Washpot, the time will go faster. ONE CAN HOPE.
AWKWARD SITUATION IS AWKWARD. It would help if I had tried to talk about this with co-worker T on Friday, but I am not that clever. LE SIGH. ALL I WANNA DO IS SEE THE PLAY AND TRY TO BE SOCIABLE AND ALSO TO EAT CHOCOLATE AT THE RECEPTION. I wish I didn't excel at making everything QUITE so complicated.
AH WELL.
I will figure SOMETHING out. I AM VERY CLEVER. SOMETIMES.
ANYWAY. Today I went to SPX with thespiansparkle and her man, Tom, and saw Kate Beaton (beatonna) with MY OWN EYES. And then I spent money I couldn't afford on SPOILS of this encounter. Kate was offering sketches on the spot for $5, which was AWESOME except for the way we all three PANICKED when we realized it meant we had to decide what we most wanted. Fat Pony? Napoleon? John Paul II? (true fact- I TOTALLY REALIZED LATER THAT I WOULD HAVE DONE NAUGHTY THINGS FOR A JPII SKETCH. LIKE YOU DO) In the heat of the moment, Tom asked for Tesla and got a brilliant little sketch. (They went back after I left and got a Jane Austen as well) I wound up with a copy of K's book, each of which she was sketching in as she signed.
SHOWING HERE:
I then asked for an Oscar Wilde sketch, as I'd had my beloved Stephen Fry on the brain. That picture you can see here. K had to do a quick google image search while drawing so she could get the part of his hair right- IS THAT IS NOT DEDICATION, I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS. She also screen a call from her Mom while drawing, a fact that made Jess and I spazz afterwards, as her mom is ADORABLE in comic form.
We also got to go to a panel shortly afterwards that features Kate and Julia Wertz, who were both highly entertaining.
BASICALLY, WE ARE ALL EVEN MORE IN LOVE WITH KATE BEATON THAN WE THOUGHT POSSIBLE.
We did also walk past Jeph Jacques of Questionable Content, but were kind of way too nervous to approach him, as it was shortly after entering the room and we were rather overwhelmed. I also probably would have made a FOOL of myself and confronted him about how emotionally overinvested I have been lately in the QC verse (OMG, PEOPLE, THIS LAST WEEK WAS INTENSE).
ANYWAY IT WAS KIND OF AWESOME BUT ALSO INTENSE. The place was CHOCKABLOCK FULL of hipsters and as will surprise NO ONE, I felt very unhip in comparison.
In news of the tube of boob (heh. boob.), I watched the S3 premiere of Merlin today and MAN OH MAN HELLO INTENSE SEASON OPENER. I've seen it said around LJ today, and I heartily concur, that this felt like the ramp up to a season ender far more than an opener. Basically, SHIT GOT REAL. The lovely bantering between Merlin and Arthur is still lovely, but did also feel very tacked on in comparison to the BOOM BOOM BOOM PLOT PLOT PLOTSHIT GOT REAL of the episode as a whole. The floor washing, for example, was rather fanservicey- and not just in the Bradley Takes off His Shirt! way, but in the sense that they felt if they didn't have some banter and prattish behaviour, EVERYONE MIGHT EXPLODE, so we were placated.
I am not sure how I feel about Morgana and having her be quite so over the top BWAHAHA I AM A VILLAIN NOW! Katie McGrath is not the best actor in the cast and while she's doing FINE, I wonder if an actress with a little more subtlety might yet win me over with this turn of events. And hey- you never know! The writers might well have more up their sleeve than we're seeing so far. They've put Morgana into an interesting place and I hope that they continue to tease it out over time and not let it rest as is. They played up her struggle a lot last season and it's just not GOOD ENOUGH if they think it's been resolved.
We shall see! I was quite glad to see the return of the Slash Dragon, anyway, as more John Hurt is never a bad thing. I like the idea that it's been a year since we left these characters and I want to see them poke at THAT more, too. If the year is just there to make it so that Morgana had time enough to turn into a Cackling Villain, I WILL BE DISPLEASED.
Things I want from this series of Merlin:
- BANTER.
- CHORES = LOVE. (I feel fairly confident that these will be forthcoming in SPADES)
- Continued poking at Morgana. I want to see how much she's thought of Camelot beyond Uther- she's so focused on getting rid of the bully that I wonder if she's thought through what happens next. She's being manipulated and used by Morgause and I want to poke at THAT, too.
- I REALLY WANT SOMEONE ELSE TO LEARN ABOUT MERLIN'S MAGIC. For how much he uses it, it is TIME. Obviously, Arthur is my first choice, but there's a real risk of Morgause or Morgana finding out (although I agree with all the fic I've read that they would probably be VERY quick to use it to reveal or blackmail Merlin, and I am not so interested in that as in the DELICIOUS CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT that would happen when Arthur finds out).
- I want to get to know the other people in that castle more. One of my favorite things in fic is getting to know the other knights- can't we meet some of them and get to know them beyond just seeing them fight and die?
- Arthur calling Merlin a girl (don't go there, pookie) and mocking his supposed cowardice didn't really ring true in this episode. I know that the writers have a tricky balance to work with in that relationship and how to play it out over the run of the show, but that doesn't mean we just keep pushing a giant reset button every so often. Arthur KNOWS BETTER by now, and that scene felt like he DIDN'T. WORK ON THIS, WRITERS.
- Last season had a BIG issue regarding Gwen and Arthur. MY GOD was their romance pastede on. It never worked, and while part of that was that it just came out of the blue with no set up (no set up, no payoff, guys, YOU KNOW THIS, SURELY), now it's established in the canon. WORK WITH THIS. Find ways to make this work, or else there's a HUGE part of the legend of Camelot that is just NOT going to work on your show.
There are probably other things I want, but I am working on the difference between fanfic and canon and remembering which is which. :D
In anticipation of tomorrow's shenanigans, my bed is beckoning and I have every intention of giving in to its call.
PS I ordered a copy of PART TWO of Stephen Fry's memoirs today from Amazon.co.uk. DO YOU THINK IT WILL ARRIVE TOMORROW? HOW ABOUT TUESDAY? IT WILL BE SOON, Y/Y? Maybe if I reread Moab Is My Washpot, the time will go faster. ONE CAN HOPE.