If I had a Nielsen Box

Bite me, electoral college.

Sat, 17 May 2008 19:45:16 GMT

The usefulness of pollsters is debatable at the best of times, and all things being what they are, this is not the best of times. We've no idea who the VP candidates will be, and these polls are universally agreed to be mostly useless until the general public starts paying attention, which usually happens circa the conventions. In most cases, the number of undecided voters in swing states (and the margin of error) is larger than the margin of difference. So, you know, take of this what you will.

Assumptions made:
1. Obama will be the nominee.
2. The most recent poll is the most relevant.
3. Too-close-to-call equals results with a difference of less than 1%.
4. That I read Pollster.com correctly at all times, which is a pretty big assumption, I am sry2say.

And assuming the too-close-to-call states fall where the pollsters currently say they will fall?

I really don't think these maps will hold come August, I think Obama will win, and I also predict that if by some MIRACLE the Republicans manage to take the electoral college, the Democrats will still win the popular vote. (Because even if we lose it by a hair in the most important swing states, Democrat voters will be out en force everywhere else, and Independents will probably still break for the Democrats. It's just that in most states, that won't matter because our entire federal electoral system is completely RIDICULOUS.) And even though the popular vote is worth absolutely nothing, I would be terribly amused if it happened that way because the Democrats had eight years to make sure an election could never be stolen from them again, and they were just, like, completely disinterested in doing so.

I mean, I also might KEEL OVER DED, but at least I would die laughing.

That's the thing about the Democrats. Hell if I'll vote for the Republicans, but if there was a better, smarter, more liberal party that was actually viable? I'd be all like SAYOFREAKINGNARA in a second. I'm fairly loyal to the Democratic brand, but only by default.

Provigil

Fri, 16 May 2008 04:28:58 GMT

Okay, this is a drug habit that I would actually love to have. Like, I'm not even kidding. Mostly.

EAST COAST, HOLLA!

Fri, 16 May 2008 02:30:50 GMT

Should I be worried that boosette hasn't checked in yet? She should be back in Cali by now, right? Does it take more than five days to drive clean across the country? *has no idea* I've never been west of Birmingham, actually.

I also read a book! A fictional one! Shocking, I know. It was even a fantasy book! Nowadays I mostly shun fantasy, but Runemarks was a gift from Little Miss Ten Whole Years, so I didn't really have choice. And it really surprised me how much I actually kind of loved it! It's a kid's book (I'm not really sure what it says about me that all my favorite fantasy novels are children's books?), and it stars a very resourceful heroine. The world building is based heavily on Norse mythology, which might be one reason I liked it so much. I know very few Norse myths, so the idea of the World Tree, the pantheon of gods, and the system of runes were all entirely new and fresh to me. It's set after Ragnarök (which is the armageddon prophecy of Norse mythology), and the main conflict is about the old guard versus a new Order that is very Orwellian and also kind of Christian? It's interesting! It's written irreverently, which is how I like my fantasy, and it's got this fantastic character -- Loki, the trickster god -- who reminds me so much of Captain Jack Sparrow. He's charming and witty, but he's also an unbelievable coward with an innate sense of self-preservation.

It's by Joanne Harris, who wrote Chocolat. I've never actually read Chocolat, but I've seen the movie (which stars Johnny Depp, coincidentally), and while it was mostly forgettable, I do remember that it was a friendly sort of movie, in that even the provincial townspeople were an important part of the story, and that definitely carried over into Runemarks, which pleased me. I'm looking forward to the next one!

Also, rock on California!

Spotted: PB and BL making out on the beach... as friends!

Tue, 13 May 2008 19:54:06 GMT

LULZ, SHOCKING!

Really, I am kind of pissed. Now I can't use the AS FRIENDS! running bit anymore on GGN. And I do find it vaguely suspicious that People -- the official magazine of celebrity gossip -- got ahold of those pictures just in time to bury the story about Penn being jealous of Chace Crawford.

THE SEVEN SINS OF JOSH SCHWARTZ.

Tue, 13 May 2008 03:38:27 GMT

Oh HELL to the no, Gossip Girl! You have been way too awesome to start sucking ass on me now.

Sin #1: THEY DID NOT BOTHER TO SHOW THE MOST IMPORTANT SCENES. Where was the scene where Lily finds out the truth? Where was the scene where she confronts Serena, knowing the whole truth? As it was, I didn't understand how she'd gotten the whole story. I actually had to track back to make sure I hadn't missed a scene. We were supposed to infer that Blair told Lily everything right there in the middle of the party? FAIL. At the very least, we should have seen Lily grab Serena and tell her that Blair'd coughed up. More importantly, we should have seen Lily's realization, her disappointment, her understanding, all of that. And!

Sin #2: THEY PUT ALL THE DRAMA TO BED OFF SCREEN. Why would they not show us the scene where Serena meets Pete's parents?! That is an incredibly important scene! We needed to see Serena forgive herself, and denying us that moment made it feel like a gigantic PSYCH, like it was all no big deal! Except for Dan and Serena possibly being broken up. Which actually sort of makes sense now that I think about it, since it's DAN AND SERENA, and obviously the terrifying specter of Dan and Serena breaking up over a misunderstanding is by far the WORST THING EVER OH MY GOD OH MY GOD OH MY GOD PLEASE NOOOOOOOO. Will the sun go on shining? Will it?

Sin #3: WEEP MOAR, SERENA. How lame is she? She did nothing. And then she did some more of nothing! IN HER OWN STORY LINE, SHE DID NOTH.ING. She didn't kill anyone, she didn't even inadvertently cause a death. She didn't tell Lily or Dan, her confession had to be coaxed out of her by the Non-Judging Breakfast Club, her mother arranged for her to see Pete's parents, and Blair and Georgina are clearly going to end up being the most active players in SERENA'S OWN STORY LINE.

Sin #4: What the hell was up with Ed Westwick? I'm not sure whether to blame him or the script/direction, but his performance was uncharacteristically flat. Was his face stuck that way or something? Which brings me to my more general problem, which is that under the weight of all the mostly inexplicable melodrama, the chance they had to show the dynamics between Blair, Chuck, and Nate (FINALLY in the same scenes together) was mostly squandered. I just felt like those scenes should have been really interesting and loaded, Serena's plight be damned, and for the most part, I didn't think they were. In fact, most of the tension that was shown was used as comic relief. Which is okay since this episode definitely needed something to lighten it up, but it's sort of a let down after four episodes of anticipating these interactions. Of course, Ed Westwick's sudden inability to make facial expressions did not help.

Sin #5: HOW is it possible that they keep writing Rufus/Lily this BADLY? There is NO SUBTLETY WHATSOEVER in their story line! I just laugh and laugh and laugh at them, because they are THAT TERRIBLE! The scene with the interviewer was stupid, because who would ask those kinds of questions unless they were trying to illicit a damaging response, and the Rolling Stone journalist certainly didn't have a motive. He was interviewing her about her photography career, not her wedding to Bart Bass! If that's what they wanted, they could have made him a society columnist from the Post. OR HERE'S A THOUGHT. In an attempt to make Rufus/Lily not suck quite as hard, they could have had him actually interview her about her awesome career as a rock photographer, making her nostalgic for the old days, not just her GREAT! LOVE! And I just don't even know what to do with their last scenes together. Against all odds, they keep getting worse! HOW CAN THEY KEEP GETTING WORSE. And, hey, you know what's really gross? FUCKING SOMEONE ELSE ON YOUR WEDDING NIGHT. Wedding Week. Whatever. It's gross!

Sin #6: Chuck and Blair end up at the Leaky Hawk (win!) concert for no reason (Georgie was long gone), and during the course of looking every which way for Dan, CHUCK SOMEHOW MISSES HIS SOON-TO-BE STEPMOTHER MAKING OUT WITH DAN'S DAD?! You have GOT to be KIDDING me! That would have been awesome and sense-making and dramatic! I cannot believe the show missed out on that golden opportunity! But actually I can. Because, wow, this episode sucked.

Sin #7: I just really don't like the retcon. Serena leaving without saying goodbye to Blair made sense before! It all made sense before! It was poignant and interesting before! The scene between Blair and Serena in 1x03 was SO FANTASTIC AND AWESOME, as awesome as any scene I've seen on any television show this season! But there was nothing poignant or interesting about this resolution -- it wasn't even satisfying.

In almost conclusion, most shitastic episode ever! But I hope next week can salvage this and finish strong. I mean, I do enjoy that Dan is totally going to cheat on Serena. But considering that Serena told him he cheated on her, considering he's spent the last two weeks trying to get her to tell him what's up, considering the Georgina is INSANE, considering that he is on the rebound like whoa, I cannot even blame him. WHO COULD BLAME HIM. Hopefully Serena, because some kind of drama has to come out of this nonsense. And Chuck could still find out about Lily and Rufus, right? RIGHT? He totally could.

And Nate can SUCK IT. I really wish Blair would tell him off, like he so richly deserves. However! I am very glad they wrote in Chuck losing his virginity to Georgina in 6th grade. And I did like the look Blair shot Chuck at the rehearsal dinner, because I do enjoy that they speak to the evil in each other. BUT I DO NOT FORGIVE YOU, SHOW. Not yet, anyway.

TELL US HOW YOU REALLY FEEL

Sun, 11 May 2008 18:19:31 GMT

+ 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.

OMFG AVATAR

Sat, 10 May 2008 01:19:06 GMT

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.

This show, you guys! I just love this show so much! Zuko was adorable, but not in a lame way like I worried he would be! And I loved that Toph trusted him first, because she has the least Zuko-related baggage. The story line about fire bending made so much sense and redeemed fire bending to the audience (and Aang), plus Zuko and Aang bonding over their mutual bending problems was ridiculously smart. And finding out how Iroh got his nickname? AWESOME. So completely awesome!

AND THEN OH MY GOD, THE PRISON BREAK. Which, okay, bored me a little at first because it seemed like Sokka was being uncharacteristically stupid. No way would his dad have wanted him to leave Aang and Katara to come after him! But I can forgive that, and SUKI LIVES and is still completely hardcore!

But the most awesome part by far was thinking all sorts of colorfully resentful thoughts about how much I FREAKING DESPISE AZULA and how she always FUDGES EVERYTHING UP, except then Mai turned on her to save Zuko! And then I just instantly fell in love with Mai and Mai/Zuko for the first time ever, because I really have not cared about her at all up until this point. And then Ty Lee turned on Azula to save Mai, and HOW RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME WAS THAT? Too awesome for words! For the first time ever, Azula got taken down, and it was her "friends" that did it. And Mai/Zuko! I am a believer!

So, yeah, I LOVED IT ALL. I can't wait for new episodes, only now I have to wait even looonger than July, which sucks. It is too bad Nick is such an inconsiderate network, because this is such a phenomenal little show.

Guest Blog!

Wed, 07 May 2008 21:35:01 GMT

(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!

After finishing The Woman Who Rides Like a Man:

Hey, my name is [Little Miss Ten Whole Years], and I am reading Tamora Pierce. Right now I'm reading the third book in the Song of the Lioness series. My sister told me to write down my feelings about the books so far. Now, personally I think the books are unappropriate [sic] at parts for my age, but I really enjoy reading about Alanna. I think it's totally cool to read about a girl who is a knight.

I'm really mad about the part I'm at, though. You see, I'm at a part in the third book where Jonathan is being a real spoiled brat and totally takes advantage of Alanna. She's out brushing her horse Moonlight one morning, and Halef Seif comes by, and he asks Alanna if she is really going to be Jonathan's wife and live in his castle. Apparently Jonathan thinks (just after he asks her to marry him) that because she has not given him an answer about marriage she says yes!!!!! So he is having two women pack her things for her and some other person to prepare her horse for her!!!! What an absolute--never mind!!! So then he returns home to his little loser kingdom to find some milky-skinned blondie his mother is totally bribing him with!!! Man, I feel bad for her!!! But I'm happy for Alanna because she has George who is kind and does not take Alanna for granted or as a source of amusement.

But other than that, I'm really enjoying the books so far and have become a real fan of them. I am also glad Caitlin is letting me finish reading the series!

After finishing Lioness Rampant:

Hello, it's me again! I just finished the Alanna series!

I'm happy that Jonathan married Thayet so that way Jonathan can't be smug. Plus Thayet is very pretty and cool, and I also really like Buri. I think Buri is a lot like Alanna at that age. I am still really sad about Thom, though. He was really cool, and he helped Alanna get to the palace in Tortall, and he was her brother. The person I am most sad about is Faithful. Faithful was Alanna's life long companion! He was there through hard times and sad ones. He was there when Alanna was fighting. I never really liked Liam, though. The only thing that made it sad was when he wrote her the letter because he knew he was going to die.

Overall, I am happy for Alanna because she marries George. By the way, when you read this, get mad at my sister Caitlin. She spoiled me about Alanna getting married to George!

Now I am reading Wild Magic. Bye!!!!!!!

EDITOR'S NOTE: She is right, I did spoil her. It was a total accident. I was talking animatedly with my other sister about the Jon/Alanna/George triangle, and I commented about how I love George and George/Alanna now, but how I remember being so disappointed that Alanna married George when I was a kid. And she was right there, so that was stupid. Whoops? At least she was towards the end, so it's not like it wasn't obvious?

xkcd

Tue, 06 May 2008 18:01:44 GMT

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. Scenes with Blair and Nate and Chuck! All together! Freaking FINALLY! And while we're under the cut, let me just say that I'm vaguely disappointed that Jenny's fall from power happened so quickly. Not that she wasn't annoying the crap out of me, but I expected it to take longer. That's always been Josh Schwartz's MO, right? Burn through too much story in too little time?

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...

1. xkcd explains sexism!

2. xkcd charts Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Renaissance artists!

3. xkcd imagines a Wikipedian protestor!

4. xkcd examines the real life viability of LOLcats!

5. xkcd is as bad with names as I am!

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

Whaaat.

Mon, 05 May 2008 23:36:42 GMT

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?

This entry is ALL OVER the place.

Fri, 02 May 2008 03:06:19 GMT

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

THE SHOW THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED

1. I hate Addison's hair. I know it looked darker on Private Practice, but it's even darker now, right? FIX IT. Or don't, since I am so totally NOT watching Private Practice next season. Sorry, Kate!

2. Meredith/Derek are still a vortex of suck. I watched The Office and 30 Rock during their scenes, and I don't even really like those shows.

3. Poor Bailey!

4. Alex and Ava's pregnancy completely grosses me out, but honestly? Out of everyone on this show who could have a baby? Alex would probably do the best parenting job and be the most interesting while doing it. I just sort of regret that all the Alex + babies stuff seems to have led to this story line rather than him going into prenatal surgery. But if the Chief does finally replace Addison, who knows?

5. IZZIE. Still annoying! Maybe if she'd actually said: "Your baby would have a 98% chance of being born healthy," instead of the much more ominous sounding: "With the proper care, we could substantially decrease the chances blah blah blah etcetera," in the first place, there would never have been a problem. And, hey, I don't care what the context of the conversation is. If a doctor who is supposed to be setting me up with an abortion said ANYTHING about how abortion is between me and my god, I would probably PUNCH HER IN THE FACE.

6. Still hate Mark. Callie can do better! SPEAKING OF WHICH.

7. I totally love the idea of Callie and Dr. Hahn! If it actually happens, that would be awesome! There are quite a few center-stage male/male relationships on mainstream network TV right now, but I'm having trouble thinking of a single lesbian couple? (But then, I'm admittedly not watching that much TV right now.) I will try to keep up with them on YouTube, I think.

8. "I don't speak Girl," was very excellent. Only, heeey, it's not so much Girl that Cristina doesn't speak as it is NORMAL HUMAN BEING. I still love her, though.

9. I really loved how Addison kept insisting that everything was exactly the same when it so clearly was not. Oh, Addison. So caught up in her own drama! But that is why we love her!

Overall, I'm very pleased. Like, watching it mostly reminded me of why I DON'T watch the show anymore, but the commercials made it look like Addison was coming back to shill for Meredith/Derek, which completely grossed me out and almost scared me away. I am glad they did not.

Ugly Betty

I really enjoyed last week's episode, and this one was really funny. Daniel cracked me up most of all, what with his willingness to believe that Betty was in love with him. Even AFTER Gabrielle Union was hospitalized! But OF COURSE he would, because he is a gigantic narcissist.

And, man, keenai was SO RIGHT (in advance! again!) about Betty and Daniel always having the 8:58 make-up kiss. I hate to be mean, but I'm really ready for Henry and Charlie to shove off.

And I totally flashbacked to that time Ben told Noel to hit him (and Noel actually did it) when Henry punched Gio. Only Ben and Noel actually ended up fighting. GOOD TIMES.

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.)

Gossip Girl - Desperately Seeking Serena

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:55:02 GMT

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.

[Okay, I had a long bit about why I really was not feeling the Georgina story line, but it just felt kind of lame to be so down on it when it's just getting started, so I have deleted it and am saving it for later. Hopefully I will not need it. CARRY ON!]

I thought Blair's bit with Nelly Yuki was mean and stupid filler. Like revertigo said to me earlier, it was totally beneath Blair. And when your demographic is what Gossip Girl's demographic is, you cannot get the SAT so embarrassingly wrong! It's been awhile since I took it, but if memory serves, you can take it about as many times as you like, and it's not like there's only one a year. One way it MIGHT have worked is if Blair had seen Nate dropping off Vanessa and been distracted herself. Aside from karmic justice, it could have been the first in the long and hilarious line of mishaps she encounters trying to get accepted to Yale. I mean, again with the books, but they are FOOLS if they do not write that into the show.

But mostly I'd rather Blair spend her time plotting against the people who ACTUALLY WRONGED her. The lack of emotional followthrough from 1x13 is disturbing. Blair has yet to have a real scene with Chuck or Nate, and Chuck and Nate haven't even been in the same frame. It's so weird!

And I actually liked Jenny's stuff, competitive dating included. What I don't get are her delusions of grandeur. Queen Bee? PLEASE. You are a FRESHMAN. And people who get caught stealing don't get to be Queen Bee until the people they stole from graduate or do something way worse. All Jenny has to do is step out of line, and BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE. "Careful, Asher. You don't want her making off with the family silver!" I mean, really. But that's Jenny!

Georgie finding Dan in Central Park with the dog she probably stole was ridiculous. It would have made so much more sense if she'd shown up at the art gallery pretending to buy art. DUH! Or, like someone on TWoP said, if they'd used Gossip Girl to distribute the information, a'la: "Spotted! Brooklyn brooding in Central Park." That was just stupid.

And, wow, Nate and Vanessa are completely adorable! DAMMIT. The only thing I disliked was that Nate Archibald is such an anviliciously NICE GUY that he knows the names of the waitresses at a coffee shop. Nate doesn't do his thinking sitting around at coffee shops! He smokes up! Nice try, show. Still, he came off as the very decent guy that he is, who is way more goodnatured in the face of open hostility than Dan (in 1x03) and Vanessa (Seriously, what the hell is her problem? You don't say that kind of stuff to someone's face, especially when they let you film them! At least she apologized, I guess.) deserve. And, yeah, he is still kind of a douche, but he is mostly decent. I have really grown to like him a lot.

Anyway, you know what is totally missing from this show? Extracurriculars! Can't we see Blair purposely whack balls at her tennis instructor's head just once? Just do it for me once, show!

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!

American Idol

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 00:50:15 GMT

LOLZ, PAULA. We can draw two conclusions from this gaffe. 1.) The judges really do write down their soundbites beforehand and choose them out of a hat. (I KNEW IT) or 2.) Paula really is that crazy.

And whose idea was it to do TWO Neil Diamond songs? Three crappy weeks in a row. And how ridiculous is David Archuleta? The minute he opened his mouth to sing They're Coming To America, I laughed and laughed and laughed.

What we really need is a surprise elimination. Chris Daughtry's elimination is still one of my all time favorite tv moments.

Top Five Meme, FINALLY

Fri, 25 Apr 2008 02:21:45 GMT

Top Five Favorite Canon Pairings In Television for wottie

Robin and Starfire (Teen Titans) Starfire was so great for Robin, and the show worked up to them in a way that was completely satisfying.
Pacey and Joey (Dawson's Creek) To this day, I remain SHOCKED that the show actually let them end up together.
Christy and Doc MacNeill (Christy) AND THE JOY OF THE CHILDREN WAS IN HIS EYES. Okay, so that is from the book, but I loved them on the TV show first! And I do not even care that it involves atheists being converted to Christianity!
Meg and Sam (American Dreams) Their chemistry surprised and intrigued the producers, who wanted to explore the relationship but felt that it wouldn't be true to the time period. I think they did it really well, with the liberal atmosphere at college being the catalyst. And I *loved* that they mutually decided to stay friends because it was just too hard to be a couple; trying to be together would have ruined their relationship before they even really had a change to make it work. BUT STILL. They had so much in common, and they liked each other so much! Boo, racism!
Coach and Mrs. Coach (FNL) Best written married couple currently on television!

Top Five Panfandom Fics for boosette
Disclaimer: This is impossible impossible IMPOSSIBLE. I purposely omitted the fic of anyone I know personally, and these are just a couple of easily-found, longtime favorites off the top of my head. And they are all pretty porny, sorry. In no particular order:

The Wall by theohara, which is a really brilliant Grissom fic that spans yeeears of his life, and pairs him with both Catherine and Sara.
Gavotte termagantwrites is Elizabeth fic, and it's a very good and very sultry prequel to the POTC movies. It's mostly about Elizabeth's desires, her restlessness, and her relationships with Will and especially Norrington.
The Comeback: The Vanity Fair Profile by yahtzee63, which is post-S1 gen about Aaron Echolls getting away with murder. Which... happened, but much less awesomely. Don't you hate it when your favorite fics get Jossed?
Flying Lessons by Teresa Kay is an ancient favorite that has a special place in my heart. It is an unabashedly shippy Chloe/Clark fic.
I really like His Terrible Swift Sword by yahtzee63. It is an X-Men novella with a solid plot and complex interactions between all of the characters. Romantically speaking, there's Logan/Rogue, Magneto/Xavier, and unrequited Bobby/John.

Top Five Favorite Crack!Pairings for talymil

Brendan Frye and Veronica Mars Best. Crossover. Ever. And it's aaaall thanks to themis!
Chuck Bartowski and Veronica Mars He lives in L.A.! He already has the NSA and CIA and DEA after his brain! VERONICA IS IN THE FBI. IN L.A. It is like a no brainer, you guys!
Chloe Sullivan and Bruce Wayne Self-explanatory and very popular already.
Felicity/Ben As in the American Girl! Ben came back from the war, finished his contract with Mr. Merriman, married Felicity, and then they raised horses together happily ever after. TRUE STORY.
Logan Huntzberger/Gossip Girl characters I know I kind of hated on Logan a lot, but I am sure he is well-known on the fictional UES, and someone really needs to write this fic. ETA: HOMG, IT WAS THE ARCHIBALD YACHT THAT LOGAN AND RORY STOLE!

Top 5 Fandom Implosions for themis

The unauthorized biography of Ms. Scribe, of course.
Emerson calling the H/Hr shippers delusional and everything that ensued.
The "Rob Thomas hates Jason Dohring: TRUE STORY!" overreaction when news about the possible spinoff hit. My friend's mother's step-brother has a niece whose friend's cousin works in craft services, and he said...
JKR vs. SVA
Lexcorp_Hope lives, along with the Hope vs. Kryptonsite, Lex fans vs. the world stuff
BONUS: The one where the people running for the board of OTW (if it turns out to be as successful as I hope it will be) get every stupid thing they have ever written in fandom dug up and thrown in their face. Wankstorm. waiting. to happen.

Top 5 Unreleased Albums That I Need Immediately

Fleet Foxes' debut
the new My Morning Jacket
the new Shearwater
the new Robyn
a new Phoenix album

Top 5 HP Moments for keenai

In SS, when Harry sees his parents for the first time ever in the Mirror of Erised.
In OotP, when Harry uses the Pensieve and sees Snape's memory of his father. (It is an excellent scene on so many levels, and I'm not surprised it turned out to be one of the most important chapters in the series.)
In PoA, when Lupin asks to see Ron's rat, and everything falls into place so beautifully that it makes me want to CRY TEARS OF JOY.
In GOF, when Ron tries to apologize, and Harry doesn't need to hear it, and Hermione bursts in to tears.
In DH, when Ron comes back and slays the evil smoke and liez ghost of Harry/Hermione. Because I'm petty like that.

Top 5 Things About Veronica Mars for 19_99

The genre-bending detective procedural slash teen drama premise
The ambitious first season arc
Veronica and Keith's relationship
Veronica Mars: Fuck you, she's awesome.
A fleshed out universe full of many, many well-developed and loveable minor characters

Top 5 Least Favorite Things About Veronica Mars for 19_99

Logan and Veronica's compelling relationship turning into epic, starcrossed BULLSHIT.
The baby coma. I am kind of convinced that it was Rob Thomas's revenge for having to write out Duncan.
Wallace and Veronica's friendship being neglected.
All of the Spy Pens. Just because it's misdirection doesn't mean you don't have to resolve those things!
The horrible feeling of loving a show that always seems to be two seconds away from cancellation. :(

Top 5 Icons I Need In My Life

an icon of Dan Humphrey looking superior that says: "YES, I'M JUDGING YOU."
an icon of the Gossip Girl cast that says "I'm kind of a big deal... on the Internet." (Which I will then use once it is cancelled for its heartbreakingly abysmal ratings.)
an icon of Chuck Bass being a dick with LARGE MOUTH BASS written gigantically across the entire thing.
an Esther Williams icon!
a "The Ron Factor" icon with Ron Stoppable and Ron Weasley being awesomesaucetasticakes on it, together. Preferably with Scabbers and Rufus.

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.)

Gossip Girl

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 06:28:36 GMT

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

When I first heard about Vanessa/Nate, I didn't understand how they could possibly have happened. But I actually really like this clip! I mean, I only tolerate Vanessa, but Nate was great! If only he'd had a tenth of this much personality around Blair! And there is chemistry! ~~DAMN IT.~~ *weeps inwardly for my lame-ass OTP of lameness*

I REALLY LOVE NATE, YOU GUYS. I always meant to do a picspam to prove to the world that he has personality -- I have the screencaps I took on my desktop and everything -- but I was forever getting derailed. Still! Between this and last night, I consider myself vindicated... in my head!

And even though he is an insufferable douche for not being able to see what a gigantic hypocrite he is, I kind of like this development because I'm hoping Vanessa will be his karma. I am sure she is still hung up on Dan, so I'm crossing my fingers that he'll get a dose of his own medicine. Sort of like he did in the books when he attempted to date Georgina Sparks. (I meant to tell you guys in my last post that she is straight out of the books, only in the books, Nate meets her in rehab. And she was SUPER CRAZY and sold her horse for cocaine and Chuck lost his virginity to her and everything. GOOD TIMES.)

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!

Gossip Girl - The Blair Bitch Project

Tue, 22 Apr 2008 01:52:31 GMT

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

JENNY. MUST. DIE.

Okay, I will admit that I am kind of impressed in spite of myself. Sort of. Just a little! Taking advantage of Nate's niceness to ingratiate herself with her fake-ass friends while also hitting Blair where it hurts most was inspired. But mostly she just grossed me out. Stealing clothing? Shoplifting? THROWING FOOD? Bitch moves, Jenny, bitch moves!

I really do regret that Nate didn't see Blair at Butter. It would have made for a super-charged moment between them, as well as some tension between him and Jenny. He already looked miserable, but if he'd known why Jenny really dragged him into Butter? That would have been hilarious.

And I am so sad that Chuck was banished back to his penthouse! them0rgue was 110% correct about the Bass-van der Woodsens making for fun family times.

And that's all I've got! I can't decide if I've really lost my mojo or if this episode was just kind of filler? Probably it's just that it was Jenny-centric, and I do not really care about Jenny not being able to afford fitting in with her fake-ass friends. Woe is freaking you, Jenny.

And, okay, the Breakfast at Tiffany's homage was way better in my head. But Blair's conversation with Dorota made up for it! SHE IS IN MOURNING FOR HER FORMER LIFE. ♥

ETA: Didn't the waitress at Butter sort of look like Amy Holmes? It made me dislike her even more.

Gossip Girl equals SRS BZNS.

Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:36:10 GMT

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!

Gotta move that product!

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 14:50:26 GMT

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.

Coverpost! Sort of.

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:10:52 GMT

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.

Meme Me!

Mon, 07 Apr 2008 06:48:34 GMT

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!

More Lists!

Wed, 02 Apr 2008 21:02:11 GMT

DOLLY PARTON FOR THE WIN, YOU GUYS. I have already said my piece in other people's journals, but basically: a.) Michael Johns came out of nowhere and was awesome, b.) Jason Castro did an awesome job with "Traveling Thru", c.) Brooke's version of "Jolene" was completely disappointing, and d.) who pissed in Simon's Coca-Cola?

So three weeks ago, I get this message on my machine from an obviously frustrated woman who says she has tried to deliver my girl scout cookies (a billion years late, might I add) but cannot find my address. She reads my address VERBATIM and says that it does not exist and that "basically, the problem we're having is that we can't read your handwriting." She says this all very pissily. I return her message, and leave a message on HER machine to tell her I did give her the right address and gave her more directions as well as an idea of when she might deliver them successfully.

STILL NO COOKIES. So I guess that means I am not getting them. It's kind of ridiculous that I held out hope this long, isn't it? Sigh.

I finally rewatched At World's End, which I disliked about as much as I disliked it in the theater. And watching it again, the idea that Will is freed after 10 years of service is just not supported by the movie, even with the generous amount of fanwanking I am willing to do. But since those scenes were allegedly accidentally cut (HOW could you cut such important information accidentally? I do not believe it, I am sorry. Verbinski and the producers must have done it on purpose.), I figured they'd be on the DVD. I don't have the special edition version, but I looked up the deleted scenes on YouTube, and -- SURPRISE! -- I can't find the missing footage that would confirm the writers' story. But I could only find two scenes, SO: people with the special edition, is there really deleted footage that supports the idea that Will isn't bound to the Dutchman forever? Pleeeease look and tell me, because I am still two parts angry and one part curious about this frakkery!

Did anybody else watch The Cutting Edge III? Did you also think the ending was incredibly weird?

Things Wot I Have Meant To Post About...

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 23:55:12 GMT

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.

Legos!

Tue, 01 Apr 2008 03:37:42 GMT

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.

OH YES I DID. AND IT WAS AWESOME.

Also, look who I bought a couple of weeks ago! Ostensibly for my little sister, but really for me.

WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE SNAKES?!

Yes, those are Nazis chasing Indie across my iMac.

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.

iPod Roulette

Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:47:13 GMT

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.

1. "Radio, Radio" - Elvis Costello and the Attractions [@ YouTube]

I wish I was cool enough to be an Elvis Costello fan, but the truth is I know next to nothing about him or his music. The only reason I have this song is because I obsessively collected PopMatter's 100 Best Songs Since '77. Why 1977? I think they agreed it was when the era of contemporary music began. (However, it is completely obvious to me that they just liked how alliterative "Songs Since Seventy Seven" is!) So I have this song, and according to iTunes I have played it only twice before. Which is a shame, because it is a cool song.

2. "Playground Love" - Air

This was the first song I had by Air, before I'd ever heard of them or The Virgin Suicides. Honestly, I only downloaded it (from Kazaa, geez that seems like forever ago!) because it was in a series of weird "dangerously low" Levi commercials. And while it's a very pretty song, I am SO OVER IT because it has become an ever-present fixture in fanmixes. Sort of like "Let Go" by Frou Frou or "Collide" by Rachel Yamagata or "Weapon" by Matthew ~~Sweet~~ Good. Enough is enough!

3. "Hold On" - Sun-60 [@ YouTube]

OH MY GOD. This one was from my Baby Sitter's Club soundtrack, and everything on that CD was so perfect. I miss 90s rock so much, you guys . Nothing will ever be as comforting to me as the sound of the bazillions of melodious, strummy strummy la la 90's rock songs.

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

Monday Miscellaney

Tue, 25 Mar 2008 03:57:02 GMT

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.

For instance, do I ship Chuck with Sarah? I think they are cute, and the tension in their relationship make sense to me, especially considering that Chuck is not a professional ~~liar~~ spy. I enjoy them, but I enjoy the show as a whole. Right now, Chuck/Sarah is very much a part of the show, and that's cool. If it was not... that would also be cool.

Do I ship Dan/Serena? Um, possibly? They can be pretty adorable, and I like them together for now. I would not say I am shipping them, but I am not NOT shipping them, either. I am enjoying the journey!

Do I ship Blair/Chuck? Well, I have this lame icon. But I probably ship Blair/Nate (feel free to make fun, because it's hilarious to me as well) more than I ship Blair/Chuck, and it would be most accurate to say that I ship Blair/Everyone; I am always the most interested in whatever (or whoever!) she is doing. Mostly I just have this icon because a.) it is useful because my f'list overwhelmingly ships Blair/Chuck, and b.) I made it and think it is pretty, and I usually do not feel this way about my homemade icons.

Do I ship Daniel/Betty? I think that they will happen, and I think that I will like them together. But I also liked Betty/Henry and am currently rooting for Betty/Gio.

Do I ship Veronica/Weevil? I loved their scenes together, and I'm sure I would have loved them had they ever happened. Most of the non-gen VM fanfic I read was Veronica/Weevil. But I didn't actively wish for them to happen in canon, and I never expected them to.

I would say I am just not much for shipping, but that would be a huge lie. I have and have had many ships! But looking back on the two ships I have shipped the hardest -- Pacey/Joey and Ron/Hermione -- it's pretty clear that my dedication to these ships was directly proportional to the dedication of their detractors. The frustrating canon of Dawson's Creek and the batshit craziness of a small but vocal portion of Harry/Hermione fans obviously had a lot to do with the extent to which I shipped both of these ships.

The other thing that Pacey/Joey and Ron/Hermione have in common is that they both involved love triangles. (One love triangle was totally in the heads of Harry/Hermione shippers, but I digress.) When there's a love triangle, I almost always pick a side. But when I pick a side, it's generally because I hate half of it. For instance, I do not feel particularly amiable towards Matt/Kris, but I totally despise Kris/Junior. I would not say that I shipped Piz/Veronica, since it was clearly not worth the effort. It probably seemed like I did, and that's entirely because I thought Logan/Veronica was ruining the show. My love for Chase/Cameron is probably related to my hatred for Cameron/House. I started shipping Sara/Greg at least partly because I decided I disliked Sara/Grissom. I would never say that I finished Twilight shipping Jacob/Bella, but I absolutely prefer them to Edward/Bella.

My Addison-related shipping has been 100% reactionary. First I shipped Addison with Derek because I hated Derek/Meredith. When it became obvious to my biased self that Derek didn't in one hundred million years deserve her, I shipped her with Mark. Then I hated Mark and shipped her with Alex. But she had to go and get her own show, so I shipped her with Pete only to immediately decide that I HATE HATE HATE PETE. So now I want her with David Sutcliffe or anyone who is not!Pete. (Femslash, you say? WITH WHO?! I have tried! There is no one cool enough with whom she has tension!)

So I am shipper, but I am a petty shipper! And shipping to me means... I still do not know what, exactly. I've been in fandom for about ten years now, so maybe I have just become overly cautious about committing myself. Lately it is sort of a bummer to be labeled a shipper, and being one often involves distancing yourself from what are perceived to be the consensus opinions of your "shipmates." What about you guys? What do you think constitutes shipping?

3. The figure skating world championships aired this weekend. Ladies was a celebration of mediocrity. Mens were better. But, man, I do not get the new scoring system at all. I'm still shocked that Jeffery Buttle placed so far ahead of the French guy who finished second. Or why the Japanese girl who skated the cleanest program and threw in extra triples because she was feeling so invincible did not even medal while the champion took one of the worst falls I've ever seen. I know the new system is supposed to be more transparent, but I still don't get it, and I miss the 6.0s!

However, the new system does have the benefit of making Dick Button sound even crazier than usual. He has so much rage about it! He goes off on bitter tangents about how much he hates the system! It is entertaining. But I am shocked that ABC won't be showing skating anymore. I guess it will all be on ESPN? When I was a kid, ice skating was HUGE. I don't really understand what changed!

I was also astonished to learn that Michelle Kwan will probably compete next season in an effort to make the 2010 Olympic team. That is crazy! She will be almost thirty! I wish she would not let the gold medal be her White Whale. She doesn't need it! People will remember her long after Tara Lipinski and Sarah Hughes have become answers to trivia questions. She is LEGEND!

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.

Haiku² for caitiedidit
sings songs to garden snakes the other candidate means the terrorists
@

Created by Grahame

Haiku² for caitiedidit
five weeks of abject boringness in which she tried and failed to care
@

Created by Grahame

Here's my favorite...

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

Created by Grahame