"Everyone cries when they're stabbed"

[danceswithwords]

I was hoping to post this past weekend, but I'm dealing with a perfect storm of work crap and house crap right now on top of an enormous backlog of other RL things that I'd been putting off for way too long, and adding stomach flu into the mix did not improve the situation. I'm hoping that things will settle down by, uh, September. *crosses

Comments

Hey you

[laurashapiro]

We're still on for tonight, right? I mean, stomach flu! Cancel if you need to!

[superplin]

You might enjoy the book French Beans and Food Scares, by Suzanne Freidberg. She doesn't actually talk about food scares as much as the title would lead one to believe, but she does look at a couple of different food commodity networks between Africa and Europe, and discusses the cultural, economic, and social ramifications of changes to these networks. I found it fascinating and pleasant to read.

[danceswithwords]

That looks really interesting! The globalization of the food network, especially for produce, is something I'd like to find out more about. Thanks for the recommendation!

[vonniek]

The title of this post is one of my favourite quotes ever. I loved the first season of Slings and Arrows but never got around to watching seasons 2 and 3. Should do that sometimes.

I still have In Plain Sight on TiVo season pass but the show really isn't holding my attention either. It's too bad because I do love the notion of your classic male-female partnership typified by Mulder/Scully (eccentric and brilliant guy and his ever-patient, reliable female partner) being genderflipped. The writing is so sadly pedestrian. Bah.

[danceswithwords]

So many things about that show point to a positive outcome, and it's not actively bad, but I keep finding myself wandering away to pay bills and wash dishes. I think it was a bad sign when even the Dave Foley episode that featured a sucking chest wound wasn't very interesting.

[brynnmck]

Stomach flu! On top of everything else! Man. I am SO sorry! I hope you're feeling better now?

I read the Riddle-Master series when I was a kid, and remember loving it, and have been tempted to pick it back up... I will keep it in the "maybe" pile, I think, based on your assessment. :) Mr. McK and I have been watching In Plain Sight, and I'm sort of iffy about it, but I'm oddly compelled by it anyway. (Her mother and her sister seriously need something to do besides moan and cause problems, though.) Time will tell. (I just wrote "Tim" there, which is probably more accurate. Hee.) We are also hoping to track down S1 of Burn Notice now that it's out on DVD. I've always wanted to get back to that!

And. Of course. SLINGS AND ARROWS YAY. Is it not entirely made of awesome? I just... I adore all the characters, the writing is so so beyond brilliant, the acting is amazing, funny and heartbreaking and glorious and mundane... gah. Best ever. (Here were my reactions to S1, in case you're bored.) I'm excited to see what you

[danceswithwords]

I am feeling better now. And since I have given myself over entirely to the principle of fixing everything in rewrites, I choose to rewrite the whole thing as a few days spent lounging on the couch while effortlessly losing five pounds. See, much better!

I have sort of a low threshold for fantasy, so I'm not sure I'm the best guidepost; GRR Martin and Tolkein and other writers that root their magical elements very firmly in concrete reality are fine, but once it passes a certain level of detachment from physical bounds, I tend to get impatient.

I remember you talking about Susan Coyne at bitchinparty, and I was really impressed by the writing, and the way the characters were enough of a story in their own right, but the show kept coming back to the play and the universality of love and betrayal and the human desire to express what's going on inside as something bigger (even if you're a corporate flack on a retreat; even if you're Richard), and I thought that was really neat.

[vipersweb]

Season 2 of B5 is when everything starts to get really really good. I adore the Londo/G'Kar relationship/rivalry, especially as it devolves/evolves from the Centauri/Narn conflict. You're in for such a treat!

I was re-watching B5 last year for a bit and had forgotten how well put together a show it was. Season 1 is so bland, so... typical sci fi that to make it to season 2 can be considered a bit miraculous. It is unfortunate that the most interesting plot lines are those that don't involve Sheridan and Deleen as the main players.

re: McCall: i like his books, mostly because they take place in Africa and are unapologetic about it. I think I'm more used to books like All things fall apart that the light heartedness that comes from the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency make me smile and enjoy reading them. I got them for mom a few years ago.

[danceswithwords]

Season 1 is certainly unintentionally hilarious in places, but knowing that there was a plan behind it from the beginning, I actually enjoyed it; you could see the pieces getting set up.

I'm curious what you mean about unapologetic about taking place in Africa? I ask because I've read a pretty wide variety of novels written by Africans and set in Africa. Things Fall Apart is very specifically about European colonialism and its effects, which is part of the African experience, but isn't want I would consider to be apologetic about it. On the other hand, Alexander McCall Smith isn't African, although he spent a significant part of his life there, and while I don't doubt a writer's ability to capture the essence of something without being that thing, it was something I was pretty aware of while reading.

[vipersweb]

I'm curious what you mean about unapologetic about taking place in Africa?

Perhaps it is that the majority of fiction I've read that takes place in Africa has been... heavy, usually dealing with colonization or post-colonization or the white man's burden. I enjoy the McCall books because they are light and while they touch on some of the realities of living in Africa, it is not all doom and gloom. Perhaps my view is a reflection of the limited number of books I've read that are set in Africa.