Selkie

Congrats again to both of you!

Capote really was good, wasn't it? I like it better the more I think about it, which is a rare accomplishment for a film. I'll still be rooting on Good Night, and Good Luck for Best Picture, but would be equally pleased if Capote won. Of course, I think Brokeback Mountain has that award sewed up, but so be it.

I was rolling my eyes last night at the new channel that talked about the "prominent gay themese" prevalent in this year's Academy Award nominations that cited Capote as a major example (of How Hollywood is Potentially Alienating "Mainstream" Christian America with Movies About the Gay). The film certainly didn't shy away from the fact that Capote was gay, but it was hardly a major aspect of the story, either.

I recently heard Morgan Spurlock is working on a film called "The Republican War Against Science." He had to be thrilled when he heard that speech.

Please tell me that t-shirt is available for purchase somewhere!

I am sure the CIA showed that picture to Dubya as evidence of the Chimera plot against the United States.

Been there, done that. Think this particular industry is the spawn of the devil, but took the job (contract assignment, so short term. Had it been a permanent assignment, I would have stayed just long enough to find something else). There are limits - no, say, drug dealers or slave traders - but I'm not a big fan of starving to death to make a point. YMMV.

I've always had an odd fascination with the Oscars, though to this day I don't know why. I certainly don't think the Academy is the arbiter of taste. (Color me appalled at the nomination of William Hurt for A History of Violence.) Still, I make a point of seeing all five films nominated for best picture, which usually means I wind up watching one or two more than I normally would have.

This year, I didn't even have to watch anything additional, though the nomination announcements did get me off my tush to see Capote this afternoon, which I'd been meaning to get around to but hadn't yet. I quite enjoyed it, and will be surprised if Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener don't walk away with naked gold men for their performances. I would grouse a bit about the portrayal of Capote being so mannered, but I'm told by someone in a position to know that it's very accurate. And, for once, I didn't see Catherine Keener and think "Oh look, it's Catherine Keener", which is always a good thing.

Perhaps it's time to write the sequel to "Onward, Cthluon Soldiers"? :D

Happy birthday, Red!

Happy birthday, and many even happier returns!

kinki, my condolences to you and yours.

Why do I have a feeling I'm going to be the only one who argues that most of the first half of BtVS S6 was great stuff, and no, I'm not just talking about OM,WF? Even if most of everything from Wrecked(*) onward was eyebleedingly bad, the build-up for the first half contained some very promising material. I even thought most the first couple of discs worth of season 7 were solid-to-very-good, although overall it does justify its reputation as The Season That Didn't Happen. Get me started on the logic of Chosen at your peril.

Mark, if you ever get the opportunity to borrow someone else's S7 DVDs, do treat yourself to Lessons (which would be worth it for the final scene alone), Same Time, Same Place, Conversations with Dead People,and Selfless. Oh, and if you're enjoying yourself, probably Help.

(*) With the exceptions of Dead Things, which is one of my favorite episodes of the series, and Normal Again which, in my crankier moments, I argue was the last episode of the show.

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Now if you all will excuse me, I have some Veronica Mars to catch up on.

Veronica Mars fans, the scales have dropped from my eyes and I have, at long last and after much seeking, seen the light. Now I get the love, courtesy of a friend sending my S1 on DVD. I really had started with the worst possible episode to jump in on (the second to last episode of that season).

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Grinning Fellow, I now desperately want to put "Buffy Dealer" on my resume....

There's no cause to be embarassed for enjoying Triangle. It's cute and fluffy. Certainly it's not Fool For Love, but not much can be. Heck, I'm even a fan of I Was Made to Love You, which is much sadder and more sympathetic than any story about a sexbot has the right to be.

Also, the entire main plotline of this season was severely underdeveloped, and it was pretty obvious the writers were making it up and padding it out as they went along. Glory was easily the weakest (in terms of character) of all the Big Bads, and the key plotline was, well, lame.

Thank you, Grinning Fellow. Thank you thank you thank you. Do you know WHY the one baction figure of a Big Bad that we're getting from DST is Glory? Because apparently she wins on-line fan polls for favorite villain consistently - and I just Don't Get Why. There's the core of a good idea buried in there, but the execution was so awful that it's negated.

Also, Fool for Love and The Body are simply gorgeous episodes, and should be placed among the pantheon of Best Buffy Episodes without hesitation.

No disagreement from me. At all. I can't watch The Body because it hews too close to real life for me (even if Joyce's affliction is a shade too Movie Star Disease for me) but that's just testament to its power. Anya's speech in particular makes me cry. Fool For Love is just perfect to me - exactly what it needed to be, with the terific editing during the subway/present day sequence to boot.

The Gift was also really, really excellent towards the end, but loses some points for an aggravating beginning ("Couldn't we kill Ben? I mean, he's innocent, but not Dawn-innocent." In-fucking-deed).

The Gift has always struck me as an emotionally effective episode, but logically it's a mess. All Keys may be Summers, but that doesn't mean that all Summers are Keys. And if all Glory wants is to go home, why the Scoobies don't do everything in their power to make sure she gets home as quickly and effectively in their power? Best for everyone concerned, I should think. If only they had gone the route that Buffy jumps with Dawn ("The last thing my sister will see is me fighting to save her"). They could have wiped out the failed experiment that was Dawn, and still used the resurrected Buffy arc of S6.

However, that episodes does contain one of my all-time favorite moments, with Giles "She's a hero, you see. Not like us." Go Ripper!

Now I'm really dying to hear your summation of S6, which is where my opinion tends to diverge sharply from that of, well, pretty much everyone else. Except maybe you. 8-)

hagren. I'm so sorry to hear about the results of your exam. Hang in there, please.

Because the Forum load time has been slower than a sled team of crippled dachshunds running through heavy snow for me ever since the emergency server maintenance, I've been spending oodles of time cleaning house. As of Friday afternoon I finally decided to give the were-rabbit sized dust bunnies a break and spend some time sculpting. Much to my amazement, I have the head of a 12" action figure done already, and his hands and shoes are well along. I'm feeling very pleased with the result, and hope to have him ready for "Show Your Wares" soon.

And, as a side-note: Selkie, while I can see that we agree with almost everything on the show, I really gotta say: Pangs?! The Spike moments aside, I thought that was one of the lamest episodes of the season (and even then, Spike had much better moments in Doomed).

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Oh yes, I adore Pangs, although I can understand why that episode may not be as funny for viewers outside the U.S. I loved the battles over political correctness at the holidays being argued, rather decently AND humorously, amongst the Scoobies. I also enjoyed that, for once, BtVS addressed the morality of the show's central "It's a demon, kill it!" attitude. (For as much as I never thought AtS was as good a show, at least they addressed this point a little better). I really thought the show worked hard to avoid facing the moral implications of their actions post-Becoming, and while this wasn't the same dilemma, at least they faced it rather than skirting it. Plus: "It's a ritual sacrifice. With pie."

Looking forward to your S5 recap, BTW. Aside from Fool for Love, The Body/Forever, The Gift, Buffy's speech to the Watcher's Council, and, unfortunately, that awful episode with the bad RenFaire refugees chasing the Scoobies in the camper, most of that season blurs together into one lump for me.

Blood Song contains lots of depressing material about alienation and the loss of simpler, happier times, but the ending might be a trifle too uplifting for you.

Although I've never read it, perhaps The Tale of One Bad Rat?

I wondered if Blanket's ending might be a problem in your quest for relentless depression

Beyond the drowned puppies with the little "x"s over their eyes, I'm not sure to this day what specificallys et me off about Chunky Rice. I wish I did. The cartooning is excellent, and I'm all for anthropomorphism when it serves the author's message. There's just something about it the evokes a visceral negative reaction that must be seen to be believed. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way about it, but apparently I'm pretty darn close.

Words can not express the depth of my loathing for Goodbye, Chunky Rice, but that puts me in a minority of one, as far as I can tell. It is a very depressing comic, though, and might fill the bill on that score.

Teenagers from Mars (I'll admit, I never got through this one, but based on what I did manage to choke down, it certainly had the alienation vibe going on)

The Waiting Place (I have book one that I'd be happy to send you - if it looks like your cuppa, drop me a note via e-mail and it'll go out tomorrow with the other.)

I absolutely, positively can not believe it didn't occur to me to mention Blankets. In your current situation, you need to read this book if you haven't already.

Happy birthday, foxy lady!

Keeyah, I am so terribly sorry to hear your news. My best to everyone concerned, and fervent wishes that your nan has a peaceful end.

Jaynova, glad you were the recipient of some unexpected kindness.

Definitely Epileptic, although I'm thinking that's the one you ordered by "accident" from Amazon, yes?

Perhaps Teenagers from Mars or The Waiting Place?

I love the background stuff and everything but I think its about time they started providing a few more answers about present occurrences. ESPECIALLY with regard to 'the others'. I'm absolutely terrified that this show will go into X Files territory and never answer all the questions it brought up/provide a satisfying conclusion.

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I share your concern, especially because almost this entire season feels like the writers are stalling for time while desperately figuring out what the island's big secret is going to be, and how they can prolong the suspense until they're forced to reveal it and end the show.

At the rate things are going, I think I'll be long gone before that big reveal happens.

Me? Dance? HA HA HA HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!! Fortunately for dancers everywhere, I'm well aware I have no rhythm at all. Rather than single-handedly cause local ERs to overflow and insurance rates to soar, no amount of coaxing will get me near a dance floor.

When my school forced us poor little 'uns to dance, there was always one girl extra, and in every grade, I was the girl the teacher picked to learn the male role. Tempermentally, this suited me just fine, but of course when it came time to "perform" for our grades my sadistic teachers would then pair me with a male partner and expect me to dance the female part. The result was never, ever pretty. Og knows I didn't dance the male parts well, but at least I knew them!