(no subject)
I'm going in for a heart "operation" on Tuesday. They're doing an ablasion, where they tread catheters to my heart through some veins, and burn off these nodes which are causing atrial fibrillation. I'm not nervous so much as excited. I've been living with this af for ten years, so I'm looking forward to having it gone. I hope. I'll probably get more nervous as the date nears. And, of course, I'll miss Buffy unless the hospital has UPN.
In other news, I've been thinking of the pre-souled Spike on Buffy. I have a son with Aspberger's Syndrome, and it kind of reminds me of Spike. For those who don't know, Aspberger's is either a high-functioning form of autism, or a completely different PDD (pervasive developmental disorder). In either case, the most compelling symptom is lack of connecting to other people. People with it don't have the innate ability to make friends. They don't get that whole give and take of friendship, you know, you talk, I listen, I talk, you listen. Obviously, it's more complicated than that, but, they have to be taught the aspects of friendship most of us take for granted. And, they'll never be able to take it for granted. They'll always have to think, "what do I do next?"
Spike on the show was like that? He didn't understand why Buffy was upset that he didn't lick the accident victims in Triangle. It was like he was telling himself, "normal people don't lick the victims. Aren't you proud of me for figuring this out?" Like he was learning a foreign language and translating to himself while he was talking, instead of *thinking* in the language, like fluent speakers do. Just like in Dead Things, when Spike couldn't figure out why Buffy would want to turn herself in. He just didn't get it.
In other news, I've been thinking of the pre-souled Spike on Buffy. I have a son with Aspberger's Syndrome, and it kind of reminds me of Spike. For those who don't know, Aspberger's is either a high-functioning form of autism, or a completely different PDD (pervasive developmental disorder). In either case, the most compelling symptom is lack of connecting to other people. People with it don't have the innate ability to make friends. They don't get that whole give and take of friendship, you know, you talk, I listen, I talk, you listen. Obviously, it's more complicated than that, but, they have to be taught the aspects of friendship most of us take for granted. And, they'll never be able to take it for granted. They'll always have to think, "what do I do next?"
Spike on the show was like that? He didn't understand why Buffy was upset that he didn't lick the accident victims in Triangle. It was like he was telling himself, "normal people don't lick the victims. Aren't you proud of me for figuring this out?" Like he was learning a foreign language and translating to himself while he was talking, instead of *thinking* in the language, like fluent speakers do. Just like in Dead Things, when Spike couldn't figure out why Buffy would want to turn herself in. He just didn't get it.