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TV shows and books...
Just finished watching disc 1 of Season 2 of the L Word. Or the first four episodes of that season, ending with Lynch Pin. Enjoying it, but a couple of characters are grating on my ever living nerve. I can't stand Tina at times, my sympathy, oddly enough, is completely with Bette. Also Dana is begining to grate. But Jenny oddly is growing on me.
I'm not sure what it is about Tina, if it's the actress or just the character that bugs me. She seems to be so oblivious to anyone's pain or problems but her own. She was certainly oblivious to Bette's - Bette is right when she says that Tina was emotionally unavailable and completely separate from her. Now Tina has gone after Bette's funding source and is suing her for divorce and lying to her about the kid? Ugh. Plus, how could Tina be so oblivious regarding her attorney's attraction to her? Hello? Was very happy to see Tina repulsed by it and having to pack her bags and leave the guest house. But am gripped by her story at the same time.
Jenny on the other hand earned my sympathy with the writing teacher from hell. While I'll agree that Jenny's writing was incredibly self-indulgent and heavy on the melodramatic metaphors and syrupy prose, at the same time, I'm not sure the writing teacher can tell her that a story based on her own experience or emitting a journalistic voice isn't fiction. Have you ever read Alice Walker? Or Joyce? Or Burroughs? OR numerous other writers? And the snobby view that fiction is this and not that made me laugh. Yes, the writer of this episode has clearly been in a writing course or workshop. The problem with writing and any art is all you can really teach is technique, you can't teach creative spirit or imagination and you can not put a value or grade upon it. It's a subjective thing. But Sandra Bernard nailed the bitchy writing instructor.
Dana is far too wishy washy and weak for my taste. Alice is right when she says Dana doesn't have the balls to do anything. She lets her fiance from hell rule her life.
Shane may very well be my favorite character on the show. If Shane were a guy, I'd be in love with him and maybe that's why I like Shane so much, the character is so adrogynous and sort of flaunts gender altogether, yet incredibly vulnerable. The actress makes me think of a female James Dean. By the same token I completely identify with Shane, who is struggling to deal with her world and is cynical about ever being able to.
Kit, Bette and Shane are my favorites. Alice, Tina and Dana are currently annoying the heck out me. Jenny, am ambivalent about. I also find myself missing the female carpenter. Wish she'd come back and they would dump Tina.
Just in case you think this is a silly soap, the show does have stuff to say and says it well. Unlike most shows, you see every faucet of these women's lives. We meet their parents. We see where they work and see them struggle with their jobs - especially Shane, Tina, Bette, and Dana. How their sexual orientation affects or doesn't affect it. How life interfers. And the role gender plays in our society. There's a wonderful bit with Kit and Ivan - once Kit sees Ivan as a woman, not in the male role, Ivan breaks things off, won't see Kit ever again. It's important to note it's not Kit who breaks things off but Ivan. Ivan can't handle being seen as a woman, she's a man. Not unlike the man who takes hormones to become a woman, rarely see it from the opposite perspective. Boys Don't Cry is the exception. And that was a tragedy. OR it's done for humor - such as the girl reporter pretending to be a guy to see how the other half lives.
Another great sequence and informative one - is where one of the characters askes the other's : "Would you ask yourself out for a date?" Each character responds differently. Shane says she'd fuck herself but never date herself. Bette says she'd look at herself then run as fast as she can in the other direction. Jenny says if she were a man she'd date herself but wouldn't as a woman. Dana wouldn't have the balls to even ask. Alice says she probably wouldn't be able to - but Dana says, no you would. Tanya says she'd tell herself that she had huge thighs but that was a good thing and definitly go there. I wonder what I would say? I don't know. I think I would date myself...it would take a while to get to know me, I'd have to be patient, I tend to be a private person and often hold people at bay, but I'm fiercely loyal and would do just about anything to support a friend and never betray them if it were within my power not to, it isn't always, I realize that, life throws us curves, doesn't it?
Also saw Smallville and Gilmore Girls this week. And watched Sunday's Veronica Mars. Skipped both VM and Lost on Wed, Lost was a re-run and not a particularly good re-run. I did not enjoy the first two episodes of this seasons Lost. Episodes 3-5 however, have been really good. Hurley, Locke, and Jin/Sun being the focus. Michael/Walt and Jack don't interest me as much. Their backstories sort of grate on my nerves. Also saw Nip/Tuck and Grey's Anatomy.
Smallville was entertaining if completely off the wall. The framing device didn't quite work, since we had Chloe reporting on things she couldn't possibly know about. The vampire story line was a bit hokey and over the top, although I got the sense that it was supposed to be. I did like Carrie Fisher's line - "i'm sorry not writing a tabloid and you're going to have to do better than a "I slayed Buffy the Vampire" story." A line I think Deknight enjoyed writing possibly more than anything he's written for that series and to have Fisher utter it deadpan with a slight eyeroll to Chloe was a treat. Also I can't decide who enjoyed uttering the line more Marsters or me watching him - "Clark, there are no such things as vampires." Yes if you can't make fun of former cult tv shows what can you do? Heh. But outside of those two lines? The best bits were the Marsters/Lex scenes and the Chole/Carrie Fisher scenes. I laughed. Was briefly entertained. Then flipped it off and talked to a friend for an hour.
Gilmore Girls...well, the Rory and Loreli not speaking bit is starting to get old and Rory is beginning to get on my nerves again. I need more of Lane and Paris and Doyle, dang it. Lorili and Luke are fun, but the crazy townies are beginning to equally grate. The best parts? Logan and the Parents. Also Luke and Loreli's interactions. Although to be fair, Gilmore is a bit like VM, the season starts slow and picks up speed halfway through, just in time for it's hiatus.
Finished the MArtin book. I read a 896 page book for three characters, one of which only had a scene that was five pages in length and it was the best scene in the book. Ugh. And I'm about to read a 1000 page book for more of this character - a character who is a cross between Spike and Lymond, with a lot more edge, complexity, and less romance. Jamie Lannister is fascinating me enough to wade through pages upon pages of overly descriptive battle scenes and politicking. Martin is a writer who feels compelled to put in every bit and piece of historical and military research he's done in his life and in a fantasy book no lease. It's well written, don't get me wrong, just a bit long-winded. The other two characters that have me enthralled are Arya and Tyrion. The wolf girl and the dwarf. I like Danerys and Jon Snow, but their chapters plod at times.
Do I recommend? Well, depends on what you like. Bloody thing took me two months to finish. Course only read it on the subway to and from work and occassionally before bed. So read about an hour's worth a day, not counting interruptions - subways aren't necessarily always conducive to reading. Depends on whether you get a good seat, how crowded it is and if anyone is talking around you, including the conductor. Martin reminds me a great deal of Tolkien in his meticulous depiction of his world and mythos. The mythos to me seems somewhat ordinary and familar. Reminds me of the Celtic myths with a bit of the German and Norse thrown in. Can even track a few backwards to them. Sort of like that aspect. But he's take on good and evil and humanity is closer to Frank Herbert than Tolkien, he's a tad more cynical and the characters aren't nearly as clean-cut. So if you can imagine reading Tolkien mixed with Herbert in a fantasy setting without dwarves, elves, or fairies, but with dead men walking (zombies or wights), giants, huge wolves, and dragons - you got a good picture of these books.
Add a touch of Dunnett, a bit of Patrick O'brien and Bernard Cornwell. And well there you are.
And yes, I like the books. Am into them enough that I keep checking the book stores for the Feast of Crows. And have completely spoiled myself for Swords - have already flipped through bits of it. I do that. It annoys people, I know. But I like to know if there's a point to keep going when I get bored. And Martin's books all take off at a gallop, plod in the middle, then take off again, flip you over the cliff and leave you there until the next one comes out. Very nasty. Why can't it be, take off at a gallop, flip you over the cliff then slow down at the end? Then I could stop and not have to get the next installment.
I'm not sure what it is about Tina, if it's the actress or just the character that bugs me. She seems to be so oblivious to anyone's pain or problems but her own. She was certainly oblivious to Bette's - Bette is right when she says that Tina was emotionally unavailable and completely separate from her. Now Tina has gone after Bette's funding source and is suing her for divorce and lying to her about the kid? Ugh. Plus, how could Tina be so oblivious regarding her attorney's attraction to her? Hello? Was very happy to see Tina repulsed by it and having to pack her bags and leave the guest house. But am gripped by her story at the same time.
Jenny on the other hand earned my sympathy with the writing teacher from hell. While I'll agree that Jenny's writing was incredibly self-indulgent and heavy on the melodramatic metaphors and syrupy prose, at the same time, I'm not sure the writing teacher can tell her that a story based on her own experience or emitting a journalistic voice isn't fiction. Have you ever read Alice Walker? Or Joyce? Or Burroughs? OR numerous other writers? And the snobby view that fiction is this and not that made me laugh. Yes, the writer of this episode has clearly been in a writing course or workshop. The problem with writing and any art is all you can really teach is technique, you can't teach creative spirit or imagination and you can not put a value or grade upon it. It's a subjective thing. But Sandra Bernard nailed the bitchy writing instructor.
Dana is far too wishy washy and weak for my taste. Alice is right when she says Dana doesn't have the balls to do anything. She lets her fiance from hell rule her life.
Shane may very well be my favorite character on the show. If Shane were a guy, I'd be in love with him and maybe that's why I like Shane so much, the character is so adrogynous and sort of flaunts gender altogether, yet incredibly vulnerable. The actress makes me think of a female James Dean. By the same token I completely identify with Shane, who is struggling to deal with her world and is cynical about ever being able to.
Kit, Bette and Shane are my favorites. Alice, Tina and Dana are currently annoying the heck out me. Jenny, am ambivalent about. I also find myself missing the female carpenter. Wish she'd come back and they would dump Tina.
Just in case you think this is a silly soap, the show does have stuff to say and says it well. Unlike most shows, you see every faucet of these women's lives. We meet their parents. We see where they work and see them struggle with their jobs - especially Shane, Tina, Bette, and Dana. How their sexual orientation affects or doesn't affect it. How life interfers. And the role gender plays in our society. There's a wonderful bit with Kit and Ivan - once Kit sees Ivan as a woman, not in the male role, Ivan breaks things off, won't see Kit ever again. It's important to note it's not Kit who breaks things off but Ivan. Ivan can't handle being seen as a woman, she's a man. Not unlike the man who takes hormones to become a woman, rarely see it from the opposite perspective. Boys Don't Cry is the exception. And that was a tragedy. OR it's done for humor - such as the girl reporter pretending to be a guy to see how the other half lives.
Another great sequence and informative one - is where one of the characters askes the other's : "Would you ask yourself out for a date?" Each character responds differently. Shane says she'd fuck herself but never date herself. Bette says she'd look at herself then run as fast as she can in the other direction. Jenny says if she were a man she'd date herself but wouldn't as a woman. Dana wouldn't have the balls to even ask. Alice says she probably wouldn't be able to - but Dana says, no you would. Tanya says she'd tell herself that she had huge thighs but that was a good thing and definitly go there. I wonder what I would say? I don't know. I think I would date myself...it would take a while to get to know me, I'd have to be patient, I tend to be a private person and often hold people at bay, but I'm fiercely loyal and would do just about anything to support a friend and never betray them if it were within my power not to, it isn't always, I realize that, life throws us curves, doesn't it?
Also saw Smallville and Gilmore Girls this week. And watched Sunday's Veronica Mars. Skipped both VM and Lost on Wed, Lost was a re-run and not a particularly good re-run. I did not enjoy the first two episodes of this seasons Lost. Episodes 3-5 however, have been really good. Hurley, Locke, and Jin/Sun being the focus. Michael/Walt and Jack don't interest me as much. Their backstories sort of grate on my nerves. Also saw Nip/Tuck and Grey's Anatomy.
Smallville was entertaining if completely off the wall. The framing device didn't quite work, since we had Chloe reporting on things she couldn't possibly know about. The vampire story line was a bit hokey and over the top, although I got the sense that it was supposed to be. I did like Carrie Fisher's line - "i'm sorry not writing a tabloid and you're going to have to do better than a "I slayed Buffy the Vampire" story." A line I think Deknight enjoyed writing possibly more than anything he's written for that series and to have Fisher utter it deadpan with a slight eyeroll to Chloe was a treat. Also I can't decide who enjoyed uttering the line more Marsters or me watching him - "Clark, there are no such things as vampires." Yes if you can't make fun of former cult tv shows what can you do? Heh. But outside of those two lines? The best bits were the Marsters/Lex scenes and the Chole/Carrie Fisher scenes. I laughed. Was briefly entertained. Then flipped it off and talked to a friend for an hour.
Gilmore Girls...well, the Rory and Loreli not speaking bit is starting to get old and Rory is beginning to get on my nerves again. I need more of Lane and Paris and Doyle, dang it. Lorili and Luke are fun, but the crazy townies are beginning to equally grate. The best parts? Logan and the Parents. Also Luke and Loreli's interactions. Although to be fair, Gilmore is a bit like VM, the season starts slow and picks up speed halfway through, just in time for it's hiatus.
Finished the MArtin book. I read a 896 page book for three characters, one of which only had a scene that was five pages in length and it was the best scene in the book. Ugh. And I'm about to read a 1000 page book for more of this character - a character who is a cross between Spike and Lymond, with a lot more edge, complexity, and less romance. Jamie Lannister is fascinating me enough to wade through pages upon pages of overly descriptive battle scenes and politicking. Martin is a writer who feels compelled to put in every bit and piece of historical and military research he's done in his life and in a fantasy book no lease. It's well written, don't get me wrong, just a bit long-winded. The other two characters that have me enthralled are Arya and Tyrion. The wolf girl and the dwarf. I like Danerys and Jon Snow, but their chapters plod at times.
Do I recommend? Well, depends on what you like. Bloody thing took me two months to finish. Course only read it on the subway to and from work and occassionally before bed. So read about an hour's worth a day, not counting interruptions - subways aren't necessarily always conducive to reading. Depends on whether you get a good seat, how crowded it is and if anyone is talking around you, including the conductor. Martin reminds me a great deal of Tolkien in his meticulous depiction of his world and mythos. The mythos to me seems somewhat ordinary and familar. Reminds me of the Celtic myths with a bit of the German and Norse thrown in. Can even track a few backwards to them. Sort of like that aspect. But he's take on good and evil and humanity is closer to Frank Herbert than Tolkien, he's a tad more cynical and the characters aren't nearly as clean-cut. So if you can imagine reading Tolkien mixed with Herbert in a fantasy setting without dwarves, elves, or fairies, but with dead men walking (zombies or wights), giants, huge wolves, and dragons - you got a good picture of these books.
Add a touch of Dunnett, a bit of Patrick O'brien and Bernard Cornwell. And well there you are.
And yes, I like the books. Am into them enough that I keep checking the book stores for the Feast of Crows. And have completely spoiled myself for Swords - have already flipped through bits of it. I do that. It annoys people, I know. But I like to know if there's a point to keep going when I get bored. And Martin's books all take off at a gallop, plod in the middle, then take off again, flip you over the cliff and leave you there until the next one comes out. Very nasty. Why can't it be, take off at a gallop, flip you over the cliff then slow down at the end? Then I could stop and not have to get the next installment.