So, it's my week off! Yay! I've spent most of my time split between home and the community centre. It's kind of nice being back there but also stressful because the team's ability to get things done has diminished further since I left - especially now that EBL is no longer there. It's just a group of people with no clue what they're doing, making shit up. I know that this sounds like every bureaucracy ever but the difference here is that everyone at the centre is AWARE that no-one knows what they're doing so there's a general atmosphere of mild panic floating around. Anyway, I made some leaflets, scrabbled together date cards (the kind you get at the optician, you know, your class is at this time on this date), fixed the printer, picked up some clip art discs that one of the team had left at their house, taught the new admin how to use publisher and then ran far, far away.
Earlier in the week I tried to get Andrew to say for certain which courses are going to be running. That didn't go so well, but we managed to work it out. I have just this very second realised that there is an error in the leaflet. Shit. I hope David hasn't printed those off yet.
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The early part of this week was spent beta-ing an excellent fic and watching Brick over and over again. With regards to the beta: it's been a while since I'd done one so thoroughly and as I was doing it, I was wondering about the merits of the method that I was using. So, wee open forum for those that know and/or care: what do you look for in a good beta? What do you do when you beta for other people? When you hand/get back a fic, what do you judge as a successful beta? Questions, questions.
A couple of things that came up whilst I was working earlier this week (and which come up frequently) is how 'ruthless' to be. I know that with a couple of you out there I can put my notes/highlights down and we've been doing thsi long enough that you know what all the annotations means; with others of you, if I were to offer beta services, I would be worried about how many notes constitute too many i.e. what would scare you off as a writer? Betas should be helpful, but I think that often involves a mixture of positive feedback and detailed sense-checking. Sometimes I have to weigh up what needs saying against what doesn't. It's a strange process.
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Tuesday night I went out with some secondary/high school friends to see a local production of Rent. The sound production could have done with some work, and the guy playing Roger was fucking awful, but other than that it was a great time. I realised yesterday that I won't be able to meet up with this lot on Saturday because I'll be in London for the wedding, so that's frustrating, but now I'm doubly glad I didn't back out of the trip. Good times, all round.
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Bad times: my skin really hurts :((((((
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So, yes, have been watching Brick and a week or so ago I was also looking for interviews with the guy who directed Flashbacks of a Fool re: the women in his film. On the latter score: wtf, all the interviews talk about anything BUT the women which is ridiculous because other than Joe Scott, all the male characters in that story are peripheral. The woman drive that goddamn film! Grace Scott! Peggy Tickell! Ruth Davies and Evelyn Adams! WHAT THE FUCK.
And then I found an interview/essay that discussed the female characters and felt much better. So now you get to have some links, hurrah! Next post, though, because this one is already tl;dr enough.
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True Blood was legit hilarious in parts this week. In other parts it was just stupid. Man, I'm so disappointed by this season. That last shot was GREAT though. Stupid show; sucking me in. Oh. No pun intended.
I also watched Mad Men which, although it couldn't settle on any semblance of narrative this week, looked like it was setting up a few things. I love any scene where Don and Peggy are trying to be real people with each other, and Betty continues to be equal parts tragic and hilarious. (How can you talk to me like that in this condition? Way to milk it, girl.) I just want more, more, more of everything.
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re:Weeds, oh man. I don't know how to talk about this show at all any more. I actually think the Celia story is hilarious, not because she's scared of black!Dean (which: what the fuck) but because that is how she sees Nancy and her vision of Nancy is all surface and ignores everything that Nancy tries not to be. In the meantime, you have Nancy and Shane talking about doing things over and not going down the suburban-weed-dealer route, and Nancy and Andy still being mean and heratbreaking and unkind and always there for each other in the way that family can be, and DAMN IT. This show used to be legit hilarious. Now it is something else that is quasi-horrific. But in a good way. I still really enjoy every episode, even though it's not what anyone signed up for way back in season 1.
Speaking of season 1, I recently rewatched the episode where Shane shoots the mountain lion or whatever that thing was and it's so weird to see Nancy as Nancy, not Nancy as Lacy LaPlante. It's so weird to see her asking Doug if eventually her front business can be her real business. Once upon a time she had choices, wtf. AND THIS IS WHAT SHE CHOSE INSTEAD. Love it.
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Yeah, I need breakfast. You should all listen to the Niyaz station, too.
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femgenficathon and I, naturally, am flailing around trying to work out why my brain doesn't work. So, in the meantime, a meme!
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