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.

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

( Gossip Girl 1.17 - Woman on the Verge )

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!

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!

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!

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

HOW IS MY SHOW SO AWESOME?

( I will tell you how! )

Also, see how pretty Chase Crawford can be when he gets his fudging hair out of his frakking face? PLEASE DO SOMETHING ABOUT YOUR HAIR. IT IS TRAGIC.

Oh! Speaking of tragic hair, I saw Jumper the other day (it was completely horrible), and TEDDY DUNN was totally in it. I was all like WHOO, DUNCAN! Literally. Because we were the only people in the theatre. Not kidding!

It's Super Duper Tsunami Tuesday! Vote, vote, vote like the wiiiiind!



Ed Westwick is obviously sad because he can't rock the vote, what with being British and everything. Probably his sadness is also related to Chuck's penchant for turtlenecks and paisley pants. (Speaking of Chuck's killer fashion instincts! Apparently he provided the inspiration for a menswear line at fashion week. GREATNESS!)

Anyway. Voting! This entry is not about Gossip Girl! It is about voting! Even though Gossip Girl > voting! But whatever. I am up at this positively obscene hour because I have to drive a ways away to my old precinct. And, really, I shouldn't even bother because it's not like Obama isn't going to win my precinct whether I vote or not. But I didn't spend the last week obsessing and worrying and practically making myself sick over this decision for nothing. I mean, I know ridiculous amounts of information about Hillary and Obama's (remarkably similar!) voting records. I can recite their entire environmental platforms (also remarkably similar!), down to the exact amounts they've pledged to invest in clean energy. So, yeah. I need to go vote. You should vote too! It's going to be really close; in most of the races so far, Obama and Hillary have only been separated by a very few thousand votes. And the race has tightened up over the weekend. Your vote is definitely not a meaningless formality in this primary.

I mean, dude, when was the last time that Super Tuesday (and this is like Super Tuesday on steroids!) didn't sew up the nomination! And there's no way that this ends tonight. It's exciting!

ETA: It went smoothly. No drama over vaguely political t-shirts, no poll workers muttering about crackers and oreos. I'm actually kind of disappointed!

I watched the Gossip Girl special last night INSTEAD of the State of the Union. It's the first time I haven't watched since I was seventeen. IT WAS AWESOME. (I mean not watching the State of the Union was awesome, not rewatching Gossip Girl. I enjoyed the special, but Maddy was right about the pilot -- it is kind of mediocre.) Less than one year. His last State of the Union ever! Awesomeness.

I was going through my blog roll, and John Mayer wankily bahleeted his entire blog and posted an ambiguous quote and graphic. Why so melodramatic, John? I hope it's temporary because his blog is actually pretty awesome and hilarious. Anyway, it reminded me of what rez_lo always says about stuff like this. "There is no real life, only fandom wank." Or something!

Gnarles Barkley's new single has leaked. I think it's pretty fun.

And, oh my gosh, I totally love this. It's America Ferrera and Amber Tambyln interviewing Hillary Clinton. Like, they filmed it themselves and do terrible dances and talk about not letting the Man get them down. It's completely adorable. (Even if Hillary should take some of her own advice, sigh.)

Disclaimer: And, you know, just to be clear since it's got the Vote Hillary stuff at the end... I am not endorsing Hillary or telling anybody who to vote for. I know people get ill about that. I just think this is so, so cute.

When I haven't posted in a few days, the next post always feels awkward. I don't know why!

+ For the first time ever, I am on LJ Talk! But no one else is! Of course.

+ Today is the new Mansfield Park. Personally, I hated it. But I can't remember why. Kelly hated it too! Also, I remember it being very orange?

+ I have gotten to the point where I am pretty fantastic at Medium on Guitar Hero. I have tried to play a little bit on Hard. I have beaten five or six songs, but it was definitely not pretty. It seems kind of impossible that I'll ever be able to use that last key and not totally lose my other fingers in the process. I know it's probably not, because at first Medium seemed impossible, and it took me a long time to be able to hit the red and blue power chord. But I cannot decide if it is worth it to learn to play on Hard. I do not know! Probably I should just suck it up and keep trying. Playing on Medium is probably kind of lame?

+ I watched most of Ten Things I Hate About You on Encore last night, flipping back between that and the election coverage. Honestly? It was not as weird as I thought it would be.

+ I visited metafandom this morning to look for an old post, and I was totally flummoxed to see the dozens of posts in support of or opposition to the Organization for Transformative Works. I spent a long time flipping through some them. ( Love yourself, fandom! )

+ Because The CW loves me and clearly knew that I was suffering from Gossip Girl withdrawal, they are airing a hokey Gossip Girl Revealed special tomorrow, along with the pilot. It will have a bunch of behind the scenes footage, cast interviews and deleted scenes. Including one where Chuck buys Blair's necklace? I'm excited! And, hey, if you are interested in Gossip Girl or are just really bored what with the strike (which is looking up, yay!) killing your TV, they'll be playing the entire series on Mondays, starting tomorrow at 8PM. The Pilot intrigued me, but it was really not that great. The third episode is when the show hits its stride, and it's been genuinely awesome (at what it does) since then. It is good times, I promise! I would totally love it if more of you guys watched it.

+ And for those of you who already watch Gossip Girl, I am going to go ahead and recommend New York Magazine's recaps. ( Why I like them so much. )

I hate posts like these. It is like I needed one post about Gossip Girl, and one about how I love hate love fandom and then another one for all of the random stuff that no one cares about but me. Like how awesome I am at the second easiest level of Guitar Hero. Heh.

The Gossip Girl fandom-at-large's opinons on Serena asking her mother not to see Rufus continue to bug. It is like there is some sort of fundamental disconnect happening that is stopping people from recognizing the FACT that dating your step-brother is kind of gross. ( Really. It's gross. )

I know this is all severely After The Fact, but people are still complaining about it, so I figure I still have the right to complain about them complaining about it, thus completing the cycle of whine. Because that's what fandom is all about, yo. And while I'm on the subject of after the fact Gossip Girl fanon that annoys me...

Poll #1122461
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

True or False: A 17 year old boy with one drunken sexual encounter to his name would totally be able to tell upon penetration whether or not his female partner is a virgin!

Thanks for playing, Gossip Girl fandom!

As a general complaint, I *really* wish television would treat abortion like a legitimate option. Any woman faced with an unplanned and unwanted pregnancy would think about abortion. I don't care if she's intellectually opposed to it -- it's going to cross her mind. I realize that some people are uncomfortable with abortion for ethical or religious reasons, but it pisses me off when TV ignores its existence or treats it like the gigantic elephant in the room. I am sure I can find some way to blame this on the Parents' Television Council.

( Gossip Girl season finale! )

I hate the writer's strike! I mean, I fully support it, obviously, but I also totally hate it. I need Gossip Girl to run for, like, seven seasons of ridiculous awesomeness and awesome ridiculousness, and if the strike ends up cancelling Gossip Girl and I never get to see Blair Waldorf Strikes Back, IT WILL BURN FOREVER. Worse than Cupid and Freaks & Geeks, even.

( Gossip Girl )

I watched it in high definition! So that was kind of cool. Not earth shattering or anything, but it was pretty nifty. But HD = unfortunate lack of TiVo, so I had to watch commercials. Which sucked, obviously. To those of you on my f'list who use TiVo and HD, did you upgrade to a HD TiVo?

But I did enjoy all of the highly amusing OTH promos. Nathan drinking vodka OUT OF THE BOTTLE was funnier than anything on Gossip Girl tonight. And his hair! Hilarious! And is that seriously Kevin Federline? How totally appropriate!

I'm marathoning LOTR with my sisters right now, and it's kind of crazy how something I used to think was pretty decent now seems like it sucks so hard. Like, seriously, how does Aragorn know half of the shit he knows? He is like a one-man forensics team. He is SO ANNOYING. And so are all the stupid, perfect elves. And most of the baddies are so completely, flatly evil that the central conflict of the movie is waaay underwhelming. For me, the only interesting things are the unlikely heroes (the hobbitses, Gollum, Eowyn, Boromir) and the political discord in Gondor and Rohan.

( Gossip Girl - Book #6 )

ETA: JKR answers more questions about Harry Poter. Nothing particularly interesting, but she does say that Harry and Hermione are at the ministry while Ron is with George at WWW, so I guess the thing about Harry and Ron being badass aurors together is shot for real. Originally, I was a little disappointed, but I'm quite fond of the idea of George and Ron being close and working together. Maybe Ron did it to lend a hand at first and ended up liking it so much that he stayed forever!

( Hannah Montana )

( Ugly Betty )

( Avatar )

( Private Practice )

( OMFG Y&R )

I am in the middle of the second Gossip Girl book! I will probably talk more about this some other time, but I gotta say that Nate Archibald is even lamer in the books than he is on the show. I know, I can't believe it either. (In the books' defense, they openly acknowledge his lameness.) Chuck is also TEN BILLION TIMES grosser.

P.S. OH MY GOD, WHY ARE THE STRIKE NEGOTIATIONS COLLAPSED?! D:

I feel like Gossip Girl has been on this crazyhot streak of awesomeness since "Poison Ivy," and "Hi, Society" TOTALLY BROKE that hot streak. Maybe I hyped it in my head too much; so many casting sides leaked that I was spoiled for almost the entire episode weeks and weeks ago. But the sides were completely awesome! The problems I have mostly pertain to geeky stuff like structure, so I have split up my commentary to spare you. 'Cause I'm nice like that!

( Positivity )

( Negativity )

Two more fabulous episodes from my two favorite new shows! Josh Schwartz basically owns me this season.

( Chuck vs. The Nemesis )

( Gossip Girl - Blair Waldorf Must Pie! )

So it turns out Jack's trick with the overturned boat was all SMOKE, MIRRORZ AND LIEZ. Even with 500 pounds of extra weight strapped to the boat to hold it down, two men *still* couldn't hold a boat filled with air under the water. But like Candice says, maybe the laws of physics don't apply to Cap'n Jack Sparrow.