State of me or not...as the case may be

[shadowkat]

Cranky, I blame it on the weather, nice to have something to blame it on, isn't it? The air felt weighted down today, like the sky desperately wanted to pee but couldn't quite figure out how.
Sorry. You ever get woken up from a dream by the urgent need to pee? It's so big a need that it makes its way into the dream and you keep hunting for a bathroom? That was me at 5:30 am this morning. I thought - come on...I have 30 more minutes! I want those 30 more minutes!!

Anyhow muggy, threatening a tornado. I don't worry about Tornadoes in New York City. I hail from Kansas, part of Tornado alley. Tornadoes don't last long on the ground in places like NYC, being surrounded by water and uneven ground and major hills - tornadoes like flat spaces with little water. Or so I've discovered. Although the weather has been admittedly wonky of late.

I hope you don't mind the conversational style - not that I plan on changing it. See? I write very formally all day long, in a formal business/legal style of writing that is highly polite and precise. Here, I can take my hair down and hang. Be my liberal, culturally geeky self - which trust me, most people do not see or just catch glimmers of. Been told that I'm incredibly polite in person. You know better, don't you? Snark by the way isn't mean - it's just impolite. Well, it can be mean, but it's mostly just impolite, depending on the audience of course. On the net...I think it just goes over people's heads half the time. Sarcasm certainly does. Had a sarcasm icon, but kept forgetting to use it. This happens a lot. I keep forgetting I have icons. Couldn't find one appropriate for this post, so just picked one that I never use.

Am bored with cultural choices at the moment. Have several reruns of Doctor Who/River Song episodes from last year that I can watch. The reason I'm avoiding the Doctor Who fandom is I'm
a hopeless Doctor River Song shipper, and I also, gasp, ship Doctor Song with Doctor Who. I know, I know - I always ship the strong quippy/snarky female/strong snarky/quippy male pairings. I like banter, what can I say? It's the only ship outside of Rory/Amy and Owen/Tosh that I've ever had for the Doctor Who universe. The ship everyone seems to be ga-ga over never worked for me. (Oh, Rob Lowe is in Invention of Lying with Tina Fey and Ricky Gervais? Whoa...Phillip Seymore Hoffman too??And this isn't snark it's humor by insult - which I consider mean comedy. Snark requires a bit of artistry. Humor by insult...requires a tongue and the ability to say three words. Actually, I think it's suppose to be satire - which sometimes works for me and sometimes doesn't.)

Trying to read The Girl Who Played with Fire. But it's slow. Momster promised me that it goes faster than Girl With Dragon Tattoo, but really not. I'm watching Salander wander about Grenada and the Caribbean examining her new boobs, while Blomkvist wanders about wondering why Salander has suddenly decided that he is scum. (Because you slept with the gal and made it clear it wasn't a big deal, you womanizing nitwit. She fell in love with you, you went back to having sex with Erika and it made her feel like a fool. Yes, I know this never happened to James Bond, but hey we can't all be James Bond. Seriously, people who say that they can have casual sex without getting upset about it being just casual sex are lying. ) In short, boring. Have something happen already. Why did Salandar get new boobs? Because she had none and felt weird about it. Personally, having very big boobs for most of my life - I'd think not having any would be a relief. No back pain. No pesky bras. Ability to wear certain shirts and dresses and look like Kate Moss. Besides some guys think it's hot - just ask Kate Moss. That adolescent look is in. Clearly a book written by a man or not, there are some women out there who have a boob fetish and actually envy Christina Hendricks. Anywho...Stieg Larrson takes a long time to get to the point. And his writing style is very dry and businesslike. Even the dialogue. I feel like I'm at work. We'll see if I make it through this one, I might give up and just watch the movies.

[You know Ricky Gervais is easier to watch when he isn't pretending to be my ex-evil boss, which is the character he played in The Office. It was uncanny, he even had the mannerisms down. You'd think he actual met ex-evil boss. In case you think I'm nuts, CW who also had to deal with ex-evil boss, said she had the same reaction to the UK The Office - she couldn't watch it either, because he had the same speech pattern and mannerisms as evil boss. But not here. Although the movie isn't very good, sort of dumb and just lies there. Shame since it is a good idea on paper at least - a guy in a society where no one knows how to lie and says whatever is on their minds, discovers the art of lying and becomes quite successful.]

I need something light, romantic, adventurous with good snarky dialogue and no, not fanfic. I keep trying Elizabeth Peters Vicky Bliss mysteries but they aren't quite cutting it. Any suggestions? I was flirting with some romance novel I read about on the net - except it was a historical and I want contemporary or sci-fi right now and not too heavy on the "ROMANCE". Half tempted to go re-watch Farscape, or maybe the first season of Veronica Mars.

Any votes on which series I should rent this summer on netflix? Deadwood or The Wire or Fringe??
I've admittedly only tried Fringe and gave up after five episodes when it first aired. Been told that was a huge mistake. Be nice if it showed up again in reruns this summer so I could figure that one out. Maybe the Wire is the best bet...but it's a cop show and I got burned out on those a while back. Sometimes no matter how great the show or book is - the genre its in stops you cold.
With Fringe - it may well be that I'm not a fan of slipstream sci-fi (didn't exactly take to The X-Files, which everyone loved to pieces. And Warehouse 13 bores me. As did Quantum Leap after a bit, it was actually the one I stuck with the longest, which I guess says something? ). So maybe Deadwood? I have a soft spot for anti-hero Westerns and I like the leads, Ian McShane and Timothy Olyphant.

Comments

[ponygirl2000.livejournal.com]

The Wire is brilliant and probably the best tv series I've seen, but if you go with it give yourself time to get into it. There are a lot of characters all with three or four different nicknames and everyone has various connections and motivations. It eventually became a joke to the producers how often the show was compared to Dickens but it really is very similar to reading a big fat novel. I at first sneered at the episode summaries on the dvds but ended up finding them helpful, and there were some characters who, between their accents and the slang, I had to turn the subtitles on for. I don't want to make it sound like work because it wasn't, it was a style that I was completely at ease with by the end. BTW Alan Sepinwall has a series of reviews that were great for picking up things that I missed, he did one spoiler-free set for people who had never seen the show and one that looks at it from the re-watch perspective. In any case all your tv choices sound good - do 'em all!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

beergoodfoamy just posted a teaser in the comments below that made me want to see The Wire quite badly. It's a scene between three projects boys discussing how to play chess. Brilliant dialogue.
I appreciate good dialogue - particularly clever dialogue - it is a rare thing of beauty.

[annegables.livejournal.com]

I really think you should rent all three. They are all brilliant.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Oh, most likely will...but which to start with...I'm thinking the Wire, everyone loves the Wire.

[local-max.livejournal.com]

I like The Invention of Lying, though it's not particularly funny. It's not great or anything, but I think it's more about the role of storytelling and religion (which for an atheist like Gervais, are part of the same thing) in life, the value of (explicitly) false hope in contending with an ugly world. I think the humour by insult is part of the point -- snark requires originality and creativity and, in a sense, the ability to lie, which is either lacking or highly rudimentary in that world. It's a grey place.

Deadwood is fantastic though. Ian McShane is of course a marvel, but the whole cast is fantastic and the dialogue is to die for. I want to rewatch it at some point soon.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Leaning towards the Wire at the moment, although it really has been between those two shows for a while now. Would buy them but too bloody expensive. But beer good sold on the Wire with his link in the comments below.

You're correct about Invention of Lying - it really isn't a comedy so much as an examination of what lying is and how it relates to mythology and religion. Somewhat satirical - most of Ricky Gervais comedy is heavy on satire - The Office is pure satire. But there is a somewhat sweet little romance in the center of it. I didn't like it that much...but it may well be my mood.

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

I'm so in love with Deadwood that I would recommend it even before The Wire which is very very good too. But Deadwood is simply awesome!

I suspect that you'd like Deadwood better than The Wire which btw is much more than a cop show, actually, it's all about politics and how the system works (or rather misfunctions!), police being just a part of it (the entrance), but there're also the City Hall, justice, the School system, the Street life, the unions, and everything is connected!

I like FRINGE but it is definitely not in the same league as those two, even though it has improved lot and began to become great in the the second half of season 2. It's uneven with brilliant episodes but also poor writing here and there (like LOST used to).

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Beer good just convinced me to try The Wire. Although...Deadwood is definitely on my list. And you may be right - I'll probably like Deadwood more - sounds like more fun. I love dark anti-hero Westerns.

[frenchani.livejournal.com]

They are both brilliant, but there's something more mythological in Deadwood that ou might enjoy.

You'll see many familiar faces in The Wire as many actors have guest starred in The Good Wife.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

I would definitely recommend The Wire. And I say that as someone who is normally bored to tears by cop shows. It starts out with a drug deal on a corner, and then builds slowly and consistently over five seasons until it's tied together an entire society, from the homeless living under the bridge to the mayor and the CEOs, all the formal and informal structures that keeps everything working the way it does. The cops are just one of the main focus points, since they move in all those circles. It's ridiculously clever, and at the same time with some of the strongest character drama around.

"It ain't like that. The king stay the king. Everything stay who he is. The pawns, man, in the game, they get capped quick."
"Unless they some smart-ass pawns..." (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0mxz2-AQ64)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Finally figured out how to get the volume to work on Youtube to see
that clip. Excellent clip. The kid with the corn rows is now playing
a lead role as an adult on Friday Night Lights or rather he did.

Okay, that clip alone is enough to get me to watch that show. Am a fan of clever dialogue, it's so rare.

Have had similar issues regarding cop shows - the procedurals put me to sleep. I literally fell asleep watching Bones. And the others feel like pale copies of Prime Suspect, Life on Mars, and NYPD Blue. Tried the Chicago Code - but got bored fast. Last great one I saw was Homicide Life on The Streets...which I'm guessing ruined me in terms of the genre.

But this looks good. And literally everyone who has seen it on my flist thinks it is the best show ever.

[beer-good-foamy.livejournal.com]

Last great one I saw was Homicide Life on The Streets...which I'm guessing ruined me in terms of the genre.

In case you didn't know, The Wire is the brainchild of David Simon, who also created Homicide. And it shows. Except this time, he's on cable and doesn't have to hold back or pander.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the suggestion.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

the language thing is always complicated... a German friend was asking about 'mugging for the camera' because she only knew about getting mugged.... But it would have complicated things even more if I had remembered muggy weather! LOL

I had taken down all my bad weather icons, even though the bad weather is definitely not letting up around here (I was woken up around 4 am by a major and very noisy electrical storm.... Oh well, hopefully I'll catch up on sleep tonight!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Weather's much nicer today. Milder, with a breeze.

Oh...all the ways one can use the word mug. It's a noun - meaning a cup. (coffee mug), it's a verb - mugged - to get mugged by someone. It's an adjective - muggy - the weather is muggy today. Meaning humid. And mugged - can also mean being goofy or showing off or making funny faces at a camera. Completely different meanings that have no relationship with one another.

So from your friend's perspective - she probably thought, wait - are they mugging the camera? Is the camera mugging them? Or are they mugging people for the camera? LOL! Context is everything - but that instance...it can be frustrating. What you need is a really good dictionary.

Good timing

[cactuswatcher.livejournal.com]

What is for example the French or German or Swedish word for wonky?

You just struck a nerve with me. I had a long post this morning about translating that I threw out because I figured no one would read it. In short, I had to look up a word for a translation in a Russian English dictionary, yesterday. I was instantly certain the definition was wrong and it took over an hour to find the correct English word because all the bilingual dictionaries I had copied from the same mistaken source.

I just looked up "wonky" in my best English Russian dictionary. It's there and I'd say the definition is wonky. ;o) I'd define it as 'uneven' or 'lopsided'; loosely 'not quite right.' The definitions into Russian was 'rickety' (close, but no cigar), 'insecure' (which I'd call a clean miss). ;o)

Re: Good timing

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Wait, wonky is actually a word? I thought I made it up. Although I probably just ingested it without realizing it from the internet.
Along with a slew of other words...

I think a lot of people online must do the same thing I do when confronted with a word I've never seen before - which is figure out what the context is. Or the meaning from the words used around it. Often context can tell you more than a dictionary can, depending on the dictionary of course.

[elisi]

The reason I'm avoiding the Doctor Who fandom is I'm a hopeless Doctor River Song shipper, and I also, gasp, ship Doctor Song with Doctor Who. I know, I know - I always ship the strong quippy/snarky female/strong snarky/quippy male pairings. I like banter, what can I say?
Randomly popping in to say that well... DW fandom in general is rather pro-Doctor/River these days. Which is funny, because I remember when she first showed up and most people were 'Boo! Hiss! We hates her, Precious!', and then there was a slow mellowing during S5 when there was rather a lot of show-don't-tell re. River and her awesomeness. And then we got the kiss in ep 2 of S6, which River all brokenhearted and most people were all 'OH NOES, poor River! *petpetpet* I can't believe I used to hate her...'

All of which proves that slow and steady wins the race! ;)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

LOL! It probably helped that they changed writers and actors during Season 5 and Rose Tyler was safely tucked out of the way in a parallel universe. I've heard rumblings on my flist of a faction of diehard Rose/Doctor shippers who are hoping for a cross-over where Rose and Ten will show the new cast the error of their ways.
Apparently the Doctor Who fandom isn't all that different than the Buffy fandom. It has crazy people too. ;-)

Hee. I liked River before she was cool.

[elisi]

LOL! It probably helped that they changed writers and actors during Season 5 and Rose Tyler was safely tucked out of the way in a parallel universe.
Ooooh yes.

I've heard rumblings on my flist of a faction of diehard Rose/Doctor shippers who are hoping for a cross-over where Rose and Ten will show the new cast the error of their ways.
*snerk* I have written that - well, except the 'showing the error of their ways'... 'Twas fun though. I even have an icon! :)

Apparently the Doctor Who fandom isn't all that different than the Buffy fandom. It has crazy people too. ;-)
Oh Lord, there are huge swathes that I never even think of approaching (big signs: 'Here be monsters!'). You get mad people everywhere. Except in the DW fandom, the arguments go back 50 years...

Hee. I liked River before she was cool.
Me too. And she turned out even awesomer than I expected. (It feels good to be right!)

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Oh Lord, there are huge swathes that I never even think of approaching (big signs: 'Here be monsters!'). You get mad people everywhere. Except in the DW fandom, the arguments go back 50 years...

Every once and awhile diehard Who fans on my flist will rant about the fandom. Their rants make me realize that the Buffy fandom was pretty tame in comparison.

Although...I still think Supernatural may be the fandom to beat when it comes to loony and scary behavior.