I'm not dead yet!
Hullo Intranets! Lots of things happened in the three weeks since I last checked in (obviously)! In an effort to not bore you with the details, I'll cut every topic so that you can pick and choose from the tl;dr at your leisure!
( 1. I got fired! )
( 1. I got fired! )
We had an okay time of it, but I am not really great with strangers, even strangers with whom I share DNA.
I'm borrowing this line the next time I visit MY relatives. XD
Victory of the Eagles is Temeraire, right? Man, I still haven't even read the Africa book. I'm carefully avoiding your review in case I ever do get back into the books, but once Temeraire started acting like a selfish idiot they really lost their appeal for me.
Is it because Suki, Sokka, Mai, and Zuko are older that their soulful connections make more sense to me?
Not only that, but we've actually seen them do things together that indicate they, you know, like like each other, and don't just feel paired up by circumstance. I've never really shipped one way or the other in Avatar (which was quite refreshing for once, really), though I'll admit I found myself surprised and amused by the ease those "life-changing experiences with Zuko" made for pairing up anyone/Zuko. Especially Zuko/Katara.
Meanwhile, it felt like Aang just had a big crush and Katara felt obligated to return it, especially once she was a little dazzled by the whole "saving the world" thing. I wonder if the weirdness of the pairings (the feeling, anyway, not the actual pairing, since as TVTropes points out, it's just First Girl Wins three times over) is because the writers themselves were so aware of the ship wars and wanted to tease the fans? In which case, I don't like it, because it really takes me out of the story to wonder what's a shout out and what's not.
I also have to give props to the Zuko+Iroh reunion because I seriously had to get out of my chair and to a little dance around my room at that scene.
YES.
Aww, Mamma Mia is bad? Is it just the movie, do you think? Because I've been enjoying the soundtrack and was thinking of catching the musical when it stops in Des Moines this fall or whenever.
I'm skipping Dark Knight. Just hearing about the "disappearing pencil trick" is enough to convince me this is not my kind of movie.
Hey, Sunday in the Park with George! Have you ever heard the soundtrack for Tick Tick Boom? It's got a bit of a parody called "Sunday" on there. I'll send it to you if you're online later.
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Seriously! I always say that to my mother when she tries to tell me, "but they're family!" XD
Victory of Eagles is indeed the next Temeraire book, and it was really good. And as opposed to the other books--where Temeraire and Laurence having that edge of uneasiness in their relationship is running counterpoint to how the narrative wants us to think their relationship as perfect as it was in Book 1--Book 5 is almost entirely about the imperfections of their relationship. As I said in my review, they miss each other over and over again in this book, and for once the narrative is right there along with us agreeing that something isn't right.
And as for Temeraire's selfishness, he actually gets some POV time in this book and from his perspective it becomes obvious that dragons in general are extraordinarily selfish, and that among them Temeraire is actually pretty thoughtful and quite young yet. And he does have a scene where he realizes how selfish he has been with Laurence (at least in regard to the spoiler from Empire of Ivory) and attempts to make it up to him. Though the attempt fails, it is not because Temeraire's heart wasn't in it.
I'm not saying the book fixes these problems. It definitely does not, but they are more out in the open than they have ever been, which is sort of encouraging.
Re: Bryke teasing fans over the ship wars, I totally agree that it takes one out of the story. The "she's/he's not my girl/boyfriend" jokes were supposed to be funny, but in my head that's a major red flag for future romance and when I had to keep reminding myself this was not the case, I got pretty annoyed at being continually thrown out of the narrative flow. And even though I'm not particularly interested in Zutara, it started to seem less like a tongue-in-cheek reference to the shippers and more like a cruel joke at their expense.
Mamma Mia the movie isn't just bad, it is a crime against musical lovers. The play, however, has gotten rave reviews from critics and from family and friends of mine, so I would recommend seeing it. I plan on seeing it when I get back to school, if only to give it its proper chance to woo me with actual choreography and professional singers.
I had not heard about this disappearing pencil trick. Ick. I actually don't have much interest in the movie besides the fact that I am honestly, if shallowly, interested in Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker. I plan on seeing it eventually if someone will go with me, but just about all of my friends went to see it when I was watching the Avatar finale (I wish bird poo on them all), so it's become a matter of waiting until someone wants to see it again. I'd go see it alone, but I'm squeamish and need moral support. D:
I've only heard one song from Tick Tick Boom and it wasn't that song. WANTS.
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