+ This mockery of Twilight made me laugh so hard that I literally cried. The person who wrote it is my HERO FOR LIFE, because it perfectly captures a.) how ridiculously terrible the books are, b.) what a total fop Edward Cullen is, c.) what a complete mary sue Bella is, and d.) how disgusting and gross and creepy their FIXATION with each other is. Seriously, if you have never read the books, GO READ THIS NOW. It is all the summary you will ever need! (h/t jadedquill)

+ chocolatepot's boggling over Phillipa Gregory's Wideacre was equal parts disturbing and amusing. I did not know that much incest was allowed in mainstream fiction?

+ meivocis posted tons and tons of cool super hero icons.

+ Hey, did you hear Josh Schwartz is writing the X-Men movie prequel about Xavier Academy? O.o

+ And that Ed Westwick is starring in a Donnie Darko sequel? o.O

+ I posted five mellow indie albums yesterday.

Okay, first of all, I want to thank the people who watch Avatar on my f'list for being so considerate with their icons and posting, because even though so many of these episodes aired in the U.K. months ago or leaked last week, I was able to watch them tonight with my whole family completely unspoiled. And it was awesome.

( Unintelligible oh em eff geeing! )

(Brief back story for newish friends: Tamora Pierce was my entryway into fandom, and it's how I met at least a third of the people on my f'list. So that is why this is a MOMENTOUS OCCASION.)

So every now and then Little Miss Ten Whole Years (a.k.a my favorite person in the whole world) will sit down in front of my bookshelves, poke around the books, make a big pile of things that look interesting to her, and then ask if she can borrow them. The Tamora Pierce books have always really interested her, for obvious reasons. Girl knights! I mean, you cannot get much more viscerally awesome than girl knights. Since the SOTL series does have a fair amount of sexytimes in it, I have been resisting letting her read them. SHE IS JUST A BABY. Except not, so I finally caved, and she tore through them this past week. We were discussing WWRLM, and since she obviously had some STRONG FEELINGS about what was going on, I asked her to write a guest blog. She happily agreed, so here are her brief thoughts on the final two books in the series. I have edited them for paragraphs and basic errors, but that's it!

( Little Miss Ten Whole years on WWRLM )

( Little Miss Ten Whole Years on LR )

I really have nothing to say about Gossip Girl this week. I enjoyed it, and the ending was much with the LULZ. I am, however, very much looking forward to next week. ( Because... )

Also.



Replace "SEGFAULTS" (whatever those are) with "Politics," and this is SO TRUE.

Also, because this is a Top 5 that I really really really wanted to be asked... ( Top 5 xkcd comics )

Feel free to reply in the comments with your favorite xkcd strip. That would make me happy!

This is from a TV Guide interview with Jessica Queller, a writer for Gossip Girl (and former-writer for WB shows like Felicity and Gilmore Girls) who recently published a memoir about coping with the breast cancer gene. While she was writing for Gilmore Girls, she had a double mastectomy:

TVGuide.com: What was the reaction of creators Amy Sherman Palladino and Dan Palladino?
Queller: Amy and Dan and I weren't close. I wasn't going to get a lot of sympathy from Amy…. I always say, the warmer the tone of the show, the meaner the bosses. [When Queller finally told them that she was having the surgery, Sherman-Palladino said, "Can't you just dip your boobs in green tea?"]

Um, yikes?

Mostly stream-of-conscious thoughts what I have thought about ( Addison on Grey's! )

( Ugly Betty )

You know how I know that my TiVo loves me? I set it to tape me Smallville tonight (I wanted to see who Chloe was engaged to in the AU; I was hoping it was Lex, of course. I am sure I will be disappointed.), and it totally did not. It has my best interests at heart!

And Paula Abdul is so full of it! The more she tries to explain, the less sense she makes! Really, she should just admit that she took notes about how Jason Castro sucked like a thing that sucks during his dress rehearsal. And, yeah, she should be really ashamed that she did that, because that's pretty crappy. If you want to observe something about the arrangement, fine, but you don't get to judge the strength of the performance BEFORE THE ACTUAL PERFORMANCE.

Either that, or Idol really is rigged. I KNEW IT.

Also, Hilary Duff turned down the role on the 90210.2! I am positively gutted! They cast some girl from Degrassi instead. TRAGIC.

Also? Obama's reverend is a dick. Not because of anything he said, but because he knowingly screwed Obama over after Obama defended him at a time when it was the POLAR OPPOSITE of politically advantageous. And then he turns around and repays him by making a spectacle of himself and voicing the kinds of superficial remarks that a.) are unfortunate in the first place and b.) were flagrantly inappropriate in that setting. Ugh. Crazy old people! What are you gonna do? (I really hope I do not turn old and crazy.)

So them0rgue was all like, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DIDN'T POST ABOUT GOSSIP GIRL. It was because I didn't really like the episode, and the parts I disliked, I disliked so much that it made me exceedingly nitpicky about the rest of it. But, whatever, it seems like a shame to break my GG blogging streak.

( Gossip Girl )

Things wot my friends have been up to!

+ wottie started the_swoop, which is a new TP comm. I think it's a great idea, especially because tortall is too busy, too big, and if there's another TP community aimed at discussion and fannishness, it's not on my radar. I think it would be fun if more old Dovers joined up, and it is always nice to run into people from the Dove that maybe aren't on our f'lists, you know?

+ lodessa and sainfoin_fields are rewriting (the basic gist -- it's not fic or anything) Veronica Mars, and as such, they rewrote the ending of S1. It is very interesting and fun to think about. Please ignore the blatant hypocrisy in my comments since y'all have patiently endured my cracky theories about Logan actually having murdered Lilly ever since he burned all that evidence. Lack of self-awareness FTL.

I also want to apologize for not cutting my American Idol post. I was just so amused about what happened, and I was posting from my iPod. I totally didn't even think about it until way after the fact. Sorry!

( Top Five Favorite Canon Pairings In Television )

( Top Five Panfandom Fics )

( Top Five Favorite Crack!Pairings )

( Top 5 Fandom Implosions )

( Top 5 Unreleased Albums That I Need Immediately )

( Top 5 HP Moments )

( Top 5 Things About Veronica Mars )

( Top 5 Least Favorite Things About Veronica Mars )

( Top 5 Icons I Need In My Life )

HA! DONE!

Also, if you have somehow not heard about the Open Source Boob Project, then you should not go here. But I feel that I should at least say SOMETHING about it, because it really really really sucks and is one of the worst, most misogynistic things I have ever had the misfortune to come across in fandom. I'm mostly stupefied as to how anybody can think that's okay. And I am really sad to see so many women say they don't see what the big deal is. Sadface!

In more cheerful news, did you see Thomas Dekker's new look? DUDE, HE IS SO TOTALLY HARDCORE!!! I sent that to one of my sisters last night, and I am pretty sure she cried. (She was very devoted to his bangs.)

Normally I would not do a separate post just for promotional clips, but I can't resist.

( Big spoilers for 1x15! )

But you know what's really awesome? I FORGOT ABOUT THE PENNSYLVANIA PRIMARY. I forgot until I saw the results on AOL.com! It was the best feeling in the world! I hope to forget more primaries in the future!

TRAGIC: I think I have lost my GG commentary mojo! Because I don't have much to say aside from ( the obvious. )

HAPPY GOSSIP GIRL DAY!
In less than 24 hours, Chuck will be skeevy and Dan will be judgey and Nate will be douchey and Blair will be awesome! *bounces*

But my excuse for the real reason I am posting is because I need HALP. Does anyone know how to turn off those little Snapshot-powered word bubbles next to off-site links on a basic account? I know I'm probably just missing it, but I'm stumped. ETA: sonneta had the answer!

ALSO! You guys have to read this article about why Gossip Girl is The Greatest Show of Our Time! It is the best Gossip Girl article ever written, and I sort of suspect that it is because NYMag lied about honoring Off The Record. It is AWESOME! Leighton is dating Carter Baizen! Blake Lively is not laid back! Ed Westwick enjoys fame and the pleasures fame brings him! Oh, and the stuff that's not gossip is good too!

YOU GUYS. They are doing MARIAH FREAKING CAREY on American Idol tonight. Oh, the HILARITY! After years of telling contestants not to do Mariah, suddenly it's okay because Mariah's got an album to hawk! But the funniest part is trying to think about WHAT THE HELL people like Jason Castro and David Cook and Brooke White will sing. I mean, their only hope is to do stripped down covers, but neither Jason nor Brooke have shown much skill with regard to their arrangements.

And OH MAN, I really hope Syesha shoots for the stars and EPICALLY FAILS so we can finally get rid of her and her visualization crystals and the Power of Positive Thinking. And Kristy Lee Cook's countrified arrangement is destined for FAILTASTIC HEIGHTS of terribleness. I can feel it.

And, haaa, I wonder what David Archuleta will do. Which pretentious, cliche-laden ballad will he choose? My money is on "Hero" or "When You Believe."

Of course, now that I have made fun of them, it will probably be the. best. idol. ever. But here's hoping it is the TRAIN WRECK of my dreams.

Back from vacation! And needing a vacation from my vacation, sigh. I are exhausted.

sainfoin_fields asked me to upload a "Jolene" cover. It has taken me an inexcusably long time to do so, and I apologize. I also decided to go ahead and upload a couple of other Dolly Parton covers that I was saving for my next coverpost. Which I will probably never get around to, sigh.

"Jolene" - Dolly Parton
The original version FTW!

"Jolene" (Live) - The White Stripes

"Jolene" - Susanna and the Magical Orchestra
They do a lot of super-mellow covers, and while I'm a big fan of their version of "Love Will Tear Us Apart," this version is a little too mellow for me. To me, "Jolene" is an inherently desperate song, and this cover is just too sparse.

"Shine" - Dolly Parton (with Nickel Creek)
I was the biggest Collective Soul fan in middle and high school. So this cover was full of awesome for me. Dolly plus Nickel Creek plus Collective Soul? THERE IS NO BAD!

"Stairway To Heaven" - Dolly Parton

Thinking about how much I love "Jolene" (and how much so many other people seem to love it too) made me think about WHY I love it so much. I speculated with Candice that one reason we both like it is how it approaches a well-trod story from an interesting perspective. There's probably nothing I value more in song writing than an interesting narrative.

And on that note, I have decided that my contribution to sainfoin_fields's awesome idea for an Opposites Playlist is "Summer Love'" by Justin Timberlake vs. "Boys of Summer" by Don Henley. Or the Ataris if you're in that kind of mood.

Also, it is kind of crazy how Lil Wayne managed to combine three overplayed songs I hate into one song that I kind of love in spite of everything in me knowing that I should hate it completely because it is embarrassingly dirty and all kinds of degrading. 50 Cent's "Candy Shop" + the Black Eyed Peas's "My Humps" + Ludacris's "What's Your Fantasy" = "Lollipop"! I am telling you guys, it is practically SCIENTIFIC.

Okay, this is awesome. You know NaNoWriMo, in which thousands of amateur writers attempt to write a 50,000 word novel in one month? Amateur musicians have the same thing! It's called the RPM Challenge, and over 2,000 artists with varying levels of experience wrote and recorded albums in February! I heard about it when one of the songs from an RPM Challenge album made it's way onto a new release podcast I listen to pretty regularly.

I also watched the Legion of Super Heroes (or something) finale with my littlest sister. It's SO INFERIOR to Teen Titans, but it is endlessly entertaining because there is TOTALLY PURPOSEFUL slash happening between Superman and Brainiac 5. You guys know that I do not exaggerate about slashiness! For instance! The Legion is set in the future, and when Superman had to go back to the past, Brainiac 5 missed him so much that he went into the simulator training facility he invented and did a program where he and Superman are fighting baddies together. And when simulation!Superman saved him, he enjoyed being in Superman's arms. He was all like, "Oh, Superman! You saved me!" I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. Everything about their relationship is completely shippy and adorable.

This week, with the Top 5 meme making the rounds again, I realized that I have NEVER done a Top 5 meme in the history of my journal! Never!

So! Fannish Top 5's. Go!

But clearly I will never get around to it unless I do them in lists form.

So far, OTW and Google are tied for bringing the April Fools funny!

I never posted about any of the LJ drama that's been going on, but I basically agree with this: Why Fandom Won't Leave LJ Until LJ Collapses. I don't think fandom will ever have the picture-perfect content-focused social network we dream of, but I'm reasonably confident that something new and shiny will come along that we will repurpose, just as we've repurposed LJ.

I also had a great discussion with almightychrissy and thermopylae_h about why LJ sucks for fandom and how it could be better. But I'm not naive enough to think we'll get most or any of the features I really really really wish we had. As people have pointed out, LJ *is* the MySpace of Russia, and all you have to do to get a sense of where LJ is headed is have a look at www.livejournal.ru. But even though I really do think fandom's future is elsewhere, my future, for the time being, is definitely here. I'm not going anywhere!

wee_warrior and futuresoon cast the Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell movie. Cillian Murphy as the Raven King? BRILLIANT. Chiwetel Ejiofor would be a perfect Stephen Black, and I adore the idea of Ian Holm as Mr. Norrell. Jude Law is a pretty decent choice for The Gentleman, since he can do charming, childish and menacing in equal measure. And, ha, this is kind of embarrassing, but Jonathan Strange in my head is totally Eric Stoltz. Does Eric Stoltz even act anymore?

them0rgue made a convincing post about why Lily and Bart should totally get married, at least for a little while. I know my journal has hardly been friendly towards Rufus and Lily's epically star-crossed love, but I really do believe that Lily/Bart creates a wealth of conflict and interesting new relationships. Rufus and Lily puts the kibosh on Dan/Serena and resolves more conflict than it would create. Vote Lily/Bart!

Have you seen the promotional photos for the next Gossip Girl episode? My thoughts basically boil down to BITCHES AIN'T SHIT. Bring on Blair Waldorf Strikes Back is all I'm saying.

What is up with all of these TV starlets releasing albums!? Don't they know that is only for movie stars? First we find out that Ed Westwick is in an appropriately named British rock band, then we find out that Thomas Dekker has been posting fansongs about his character to MySpace, and now ONTD has got ahold of a leaked demo from Leighton Meester's upcoming album. CONSIDER MY MIND BLOWN.

Tags: fandom, gossip girl, livejournal, movies, seasonal

You can have no possible idea of how much I coveted this as a kid. Siiigh.

Instead, I got heinous pink sets from my relatives. Because girls love pink! You know what else girls love? Horses. Girls just loooove horses.

Because my parents were not clueless, I also had the Imperial Flagship, the Imperial Trading Post, and the Enchanted Island. The Enchanted Island is especially funny because it is filled with itsy little barbarians and a rare girl Lego person. Obviously my sisters and I wanted girl figures, so we pitched some of the boy heads and stole the girl ones from our lame pink sets to use with our cool ones. We had girl pirates, and we made up stories about the Admiral's daughter stowing away on the Imperial Flagship and disguising herself as a soldier. Or sometimes she joined up with the pirates and ended up fighting her TRUE LOVE, who was in the Navy, etc.

I also had the extremely awesome Black Knight's Castle. Were there any girls in the set? HA HA HA. But I was a clever child! ( I think you know where this is going. )

Seldom has an LJ entry made me happier you guys. I love my Legos! Even though they OPPRESSED me! And are STILL oppressing me. They have a new Lego set of knights and castles and various other medieval sundry. And there is one girl in the entire series. She is a princess. And you can only get her in one set. THE ONE WHERE SHE IS IMPRISONED IN A GIGANTIC SKELETON CAGE. I am not even joking.

I am buying some R&Bish hip hop on iTunes, because it's that time of year. And I took one listen to the explicit preview of the song AND BOUGHT THE CLEANED UP KIDDIE VERSION. When did I turn old? Lameness!

My favorite radio show just added a new segment called iPod Roulette. They take a guest's iPod, put it on shuffle, and play three songs. And then the guest talks about each song, no matter how random or embarrassing! So I wanted to give it a try.

( iPod Roulette )

I heard Helo from BSG has been cast on Dollhouse. Which, ha, does not bode well for me watching the show. Not that Tahmoh isn't hot and everything, but I hate Helo and think Tahmoh is at least partly to blame. A better actor might have been able to pull off Helo without making his moral! virtue! come off as insufferable prickitude. Tahmoh is not a better actor. Also, it's not exactly like he raised the level on Smallville or Need for Speed: Most Wanted. /snideness

1. I saw August Rush this weekend, and it was an exceedingly melodramatic and silly piece of fluff. But the kid genius's ability to hear music in everything, along with the soundtrack's use of urban sounds, reminded me of a composer I studied in a music class I took for humanities credit. He sampled everyday sounds from the city (car doors slamming, people yelling, sirens, etc.) and used them in his compositions. Does anybody know who I'm talking about? I believe he was fairly well-known.

2. I enjoyed taking everyone's shipping polls, but I had some difficulty deciding which ships I actually ship. To me, shipping is a verb. I remember this one time when carla_scribbles told a friend that the Lee/Kara shipper she had on her f'list wasn't too crazy, and I was all like: "Are you talking about me?!" Because I had never considered myself a Lee/Kara shipper! ( Ever since then, I have felt confused about the semantics of shipping. )

3. ( Figure Skating! )

4. OTW is open for membership. I have joined. I think it's an interesting and worthwhile project, and I hope it will be successful.

5. ( Haiku meme! ) Here's my favorite...

Haiku2 for caitiedidit
his stop gap girlfriend was super ridiculous and obstructiony
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