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Mar. 30th, 2011 10:03 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatI've figured out a way finally of adding Neil Gaiman's blog to my flist. Oddly, I prefer his blog writing to his novel and comic writing - why? He's quite witty. Or rather, wittier than in his novels. Or maybe I appreciate it better in this format? (ponders). My favorite bit? To continue to prevent Sarah Palin's inexorable rise to first place on the best twitterer roster, vote for me as the best twitterer. (Uh sorry Neil, while I have a twitter account - happened purely by accident, I refuse to go on twitter on principle.)
Annoying and frustrating work day. Nothing worked. Death by small details. Hope your work day was better. It's days like this that I sort of miss school, not being exactly academically inclined - I don't miss it all that much. Am considering transporting novel to work place desk top to play with whenever I get bored, but resisting urge - since that's dicey. Prefer to keep personal stuff off workplace computer. Could play with a new novel I suppose, one that is not just inside my head would most likely be key here...
LJ was also annoying down most of the day - guessing hosting those games is maybe taking up too much bandwidth? That's what happened with Facebook - it kept crashing too. Video Games = Computer Death, it's true! I know whereof I speak.
Craving a pot-boiler romance, with lots of banter, and power-plays, and two lead characters who are equals and sex. Right now in a sex mood more than a violence/action scene mood, it's a thing. But can't quite find it. If you have rec's - go ahead. Fanfic, whatever. If not, oh well.
Am bored. And in a bit of funk. It's March. It's cold. It keeps raining and snowing. I want spring.
Enuf said.
Lugged home a new air purifyer, since could not breath or sleep well last night - due to current one breaking. It's the same brand, just brand new - because the old one worked beautifully for four years, why mess with a good thing? Well except to buy replacement pre-filter's this round, which could not find last round - so kept vaccuming it instead. Lugging home a huge box, one that was sort of falling apart, not the easiest thing in the world. Almost killed myself going down the escalators at the mall alone. Then we have to factor in walking three blocks, going around traffic (cars and people chatting on cell phones which are sort of the same thing, except one is moving slower than the other, and less likely to kill you). Plus, down and up steps at subway. Made me miss having a car - although, that would have been headache inducing too - considering I'd have to find a parking spot (I'd rather do the walking obstacle course. Cheaper, safer and far less headache inducing.).
Trying to watch American Idol - and it is giving me a headache, how do the people at work watch this? Between the commercials, interviews, and judges, not to mention really crappy music - I'm getting irritated. Poor Elton John - is the victim this week. Makes me want Glee to do a rendition just to show us how it should be done. Also, the judges like everyone. Personally, they sound good enough, but nothing special. I like John's renditions of his own songs better.
Also watched The Good Wife tonight - which I loved. They better not cancel this show - apparently it's on the bubble. Stupid CBS. I don't watch any other shows on that channel that I can think of - it's wall to wall paint by number proceduralville, although I've admittedly never watched NCIS (wait is that on CBS or NBC? One loses track), which I've been told is quite good. CBS is also littered with sexist and highly offensive sitcoms. The only good show on that network is The Good Wife. I thought the ratings for once supported me in this.
Oddly I never feel like reviewing Good Wife or analyzing it. Not sure why. There's a lot of chewiness in it. For example - I am in love with Alan Cummings Eli, and Carey has all sorts of interesting edges. Plus there's the three wonderful core female characters that continue blow me away. And the on-going theme about politics is on-target.
Oh, apparently David Tennent (the 10th Doctor Who) is marrying the actress who played his daughter in the 4th season of the new Who, and is the real life daughter of the actor who played the 5th Doctor in 1980s. At least I think it was the 5th Doctor, I'm not really in the fandom and didn't watch that many Doctor Whos back then. Say that sentence quickly in your head a few times and see if you get a headache.
Off to shower and bed. Exhausted.
Annoying and frustrating work day. Nothing worked. Death by small details. Hope your work day was better. It's days like this that I sort of miss school, not being exactly academically inclined - I don't miss it all that much. Am considering transporting novel to work place desk top to play with whenever I get bored, but resisting urge - since that's dicey. Prefer to keep personal stuff off workplace computer. Could play with a new novel I suppose, one that is not just inside my head would most likely be key here...
LJ was also annoying down most of the day - guessing hosting those games is maybe taking up too much bandwidth? That's what happened with Facebook - it kept crashing too. Video Games = Computer Death, it's true! I know whereof I speak.
Craving a pot-boiler romance, with lots of banter, and power-plays, and two lead characters who are equals and sex. Right now in a sex mood more than a violence/action scene mood, it's a thing. But can't quite find it. If you have rec's - go ahead. Fanfic, whatever. If not, oh well.
Am bored. And in a bit of funk. It's March. It's cold. It keeps raining and snowing. I want spring.
Enuf said.
Lugged home a new air purifyer, since could not breath or sleep well last night - due to current one breaking. It's the same brand, just brand new - because the old one worked beautifully for four years, why mess with a good thing? Well except to buy replacement pre-filter's this round, which could not find last round - so kept vaccuming it instead. Lugging home a huge box, one that was sort of falling apart, not the easiest thing in the world. Almost killed myself going down the escalators at the mall alone. Then we have to factor in walking three blocks, going around traffic (cars and people chatting on cell phones which are sort of the same thing, except one is moving slower than the other, and less likely to kill you). Plus, down and up steps at subway. Made me miss having a car - although, that would have been headache inducing too - considering I'd have to find a parking spot (I'd rather do the walking obstacle course. Cheaper, safer and far less headache inducing.).
Trying to watch American Idol - and it is giving me a headache, how do the people at work watch this? Between the commercials, interviews, and judges, not to mention really crappy music - I'm getting irritated. Poor Elton John - is the victim this week. Makes me want Glee to do a rendition just to show us how it should be done. Also, the judges like everyone. Personally, they sound good enough, but nothing special. I like John's renditions of his own songs better.
Also watched The Good Wife tonight - which I loved. They better not cancel this show - apparently it's on the bubble. Stupid CBS. I don't watch any other shows on that channel that I can think of - it's wall to wall paint by number proceduralville, although I've admittedly never watched NCIS (wait is that on CBS or NBC? One loses track), which I've been told is quite good. CBS is also littered with sexist and highly offensive sitcoms. The only good show on that network is The Good Wife. I thought the ratings for once supported me in this.
Oddly I never feel like reviewing Good Wife or analyzing it. Not sure why. There's a lot of chewiness in it. For example - I am in love with Alan Cummings Eli, and Carey has all sorts of interesting edges. Plus there's the three wonderful core female characters that continue blow me away. And the on-going theme about politics is on-target.
Oh, apparently David Tennent (the 10th Doctor Who) is marrying the actress who played his daughter in the 4th season of the new Who, and is the real life daughter of the actor who played the 5th Doctor in 1980s. At least I think it was the 5th Doctor, I'm not really in the fandom and didn't watch that many Doctor Whos back then. Say that sentence quickly in your head a few times and see if you get a headache.
Off to shower and bed. Exhausted.
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no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 04:18 pm (UTC)It's actually the problem I have with Terry Prachett's novels as well. Their stories often feel more like sketch comedies in prose format (akin to watching Monty Python films), as opposed to actual stories. Far more interested in the world, and being witty, than plot or character - or rather the plot and characters serve the setting and wit, as opposed to the wit and setting serving the plot and characters. Not that there's anything inherently wrong with doing it that way - it just isn't my cup of tea.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-31 05:20 pm (UTC)There's a lot of stuff that NG does that amuses the heck out of me. Pratchett's and Gaimen's "Good Omens" has some hilarious bits in it (especially the footnotes), but if you ask me to explain the plot of it, I don't think that I could. It's a plot trumped by its footnotes (which has to be indicative of something). It was a lot of running around and doing stuff but other than the 'unfortunate' baby swap, I can't say that the plot stuck with me at all. The same goes for NG's "Anansi Boys." I know stuff happened and that I was generally amused, but the plot? Pfft! There was something about a dreamwalk, I believe.
(And I just got terribly bored by "Stardust" though I remember liking the line at the end about how they didn't live happily ever after but had good lives that were about as happy as people could reasonably expect, with all the normal ups and downs.)
no subject
Date: 2011-04-01 04:31 pm (UTC)Because Gaiman really isn't a plotter, so much as a world-builder. He's more interested in the small details. Prachett is somewhat the same way.
Gaiman and Prachett's plot in Good Omen's was basically - what would happen if an anti-christ or Satan's child was born, got raised by nice people, and decided he didn't want to be evil and end the world? And what would happen if the demons watching him more or less agree and don't want said world to end either?
(Actually it reminds me of the plot of the last two seasons of Supernatural to be honest). Most of the book is basically making fun of Christian Mythos.
Stephen King...somewhat similar, not really much of a plotter.
The Stand wanders all over the place. His shorter works are actually better, as are Gaiman's - in part because the shorter work doesn't require a great plot or a complex one, simplicity is key. Example - The Body, you go into the woods with your friends to find a corspe and report it to the authorities.
Hijinks ensue. OR in The Shining - you are an out-of-work teacher/writer, who takes a caretaking job for the winter with your family at an allegedly haunted hotel in Colorado Mountains.
You get snowed in. The hotel's ghosts and your own demons drive you to drink and homicidial craziness, and you try to kill your family or the ghosts do. But your love for your son beats back the demon booze and you come to your senses. Sacrifice yourself and the hotel...while your family escapes. He embroderies on it a lot, because the framework is rather simplistic.
The Stand likewise, simple plot, lots of wandering. Which I guess is why you lose the plot?
I like King well enough, but he does tend to over-write and the lack of an editor in the last ten-twenty years is obvious.
Gaiman...I like too, but he underwrites, and seems to spend more time on tiny stuff...like what the character ate, or if their beard is tucked in their shorts, as opposed to what they are doing or what their motivation is.