delga | Entries tagged with birdie shoots the birds.

I was supposed to update this weekend and then somehow that never happened. What the hell?

Friday night I saw Nicholas Farrell and Anna Chancellor at the Harold Pinter Theatre. (Formerly the Comedy Theatre.) They were performing in a double bill that transferred from the Chichester Festival which is apparently the place to go for upcoming theatre; a lot of stuff transferred in the past year. Anyway, the plays were South Downs by David Hare and The Browning Version by Terrence Rattigan. Apparently the Rattigan is normally paired together with another play that no-one likes, so Hare was asked to script an accompaniment. South Downs is a funny piece about a school boy who doesn't fit in with his peers because of his social class, his sharp intellect, and complete lack of charm. In the space of an hour Hare covers social and religious discourse with a very light touch, though ultimately it feels like a commissioned piece. By which I mean: it doesn't really close up properly. Wonderfully staged, though, and Anna Chancellor was incredibly charming as the actress mother of the school boy's acquaintance. Pretty certain I heard Stella Gonet in the voiceover.

The Rattigan was crushing; an absolute blow to the gut. Set on a school master's final day it follows him as he uncovers his wife's infidelity, is denied a pension by the school board, and has to come to terms with the knowledge that for all his ardour for teaching, he is not well-liked and probably will not be missed. Nicholas Farrell was phenomenal. Rattigan is bald-faced with his characters; he doesn't let them delude themselves. The play was almost violence in its matter-of-fact tone. I really enjoyed myself.

Work has slowed down considerably because most of what I've built is sitting with someone else to be signed off. As a result I've been suck writing ops instructions (deathly) and building graphics for Adult Learning tests. Oh god. Stab me; we can confirm I haven't died yet and then put me out of my misery.

I don't have a lot to say on fandom. Enjoyed the heck out of the Scott and Bailey finale, and got knocked out by the Glee performance of F+tM's Shake It Out. Finding myself fairly invested in Game of Thrones; this series is a vast improvement on the last. I loved, loved, loved this week's Mad Men, especially Peggy and Joan's office smoke break and everything that is Sally Draper.

I am really enjoying Bron/Broen (The Bridge) which is both intriguing and entertaining. Kim Bodnia's belly laugh cracks me up. The majority Swedish was throwing me at first - especially because the show descends into Danish now and then - but I'm getting better with the switch up. It's neatly put together and doesn't take itself too seriously as of yet. Good stuff.

I finished Jeffrey Eugenides' The Marriage Plot on Monday. Hmm. I can't say that I actively enjoyed it, or that I think it ties up well (it really doesn't) but I found it compelling enough that I couldn't put it down. I didn't like the characters at all, but I enjoyed Eugenides' mad romp through critical and religious theory, and he still has a talent for pulling together real people. It doesn't have the heart of Middlesex or that keening wistfulness of The Virgin Suicides. It's a book about graduates and I think, in some way, it's a book for graduates. It's too close for an undergrad, and too far for anyone else. So. There's that.

And now I'm reading the sequel to The Hunger Games which I'm enjoying much more than the first book. I think this is because the outcome feels less certain. Or rather, the route to the outcome seems less obvious this time. I mean, there's a third book and it's YA lit so I doubt we're going to have a Psycho on our hands, but I'm still wondering, shit, what next? Also: I want to know this Johanna Mason character that tumblr keeps sticking Ruth Negga's face on. Yeah.

Ugh, flaked today. Trying not to dwell.

There is not enough time to make the post I want to make today, so I will scrawl down a few things and then run for my bus.

I very rarely talk about Mad Men other than to talk about how much I love the ladies. Sally Draper's character has some of the best growth I have ever seen on a show, and she's a child. I have to admit that with some episodes, I skip portions of the show. I have no shame about that. But this week I wanted to make a small comment on the guest appearance that was extremely pleasing to me. (If you're watching as this airs in the UK, don't hit the cut; thar be spoilers.) ( Mad Men, 4x12 )

Merlin has been terribly good this year. ( Now behind a cut because I don't think I will ever be able to properly talk about this show. There are themes that need engaging that I just don't want to have to always engage, and there are people who participate in the fandom that exhaust me because they will never be educated. But ultimately, this is a show I watch, not a community I engage with, and it's always going to be a story about how I don't play well with fandom, and how it can feel a bit like Fandom: You're Doing It Wrong because I never seem to fall on the right side of that. Quasi-relatedly, why are hardcore shippers - slash or het - so misogynistic? I call the cry of polyshipping. )

I'm just saying: I'm glad Merlin isn't a rapist who gets locked in a tree.

I have more to say but I am LATE. Remind me to talk about Spooks, guys.

My week is long, and I still haven't seen Sherlock.

Ahahahaha, femgen, whattheeverlovingfuck.

--
[Poll #1601692]

My poor Boy Cousins. The Sister and I have both been working; I have barely spent any time with them; I am cranky at Various Things. They must be bored out of their wee minds. That said, today The Dad took them to see The Karate Kid which they loved.

Things I had forgotten: they love NCIS.

Other stuff. I can't remember. Oh, I watched (and loved) Mad Men 4x02. I thought it was a vast improvement on the previous episode, and had a couple of genuine laugh-out-loud moments. I am pretty much waiting for Weeds at this point.

Tiny comment on ( Mad Men, 4x01 )

Guess I'm not getting a lift anywhere this morning.

I occasionally take a look at the Merlin kink meme because sometimes there is absolutely nothing else in the fandom to read, sometimes there's decent fare there, and most of the time there are these prompts that-- I don't think I am made for any kind of meme. Anonymeme, hatememe, kinkmeme, no, no, no. I am obviously the wrong person for these scenarios. They are not made with me in mind.

There was a GREAT fic the other day about broken-up boyfriends having to fake it over Christmas. And a lot more fics (het and slash) featuring Sir Leon. I approve. I love Sir Leon.

This portion of the post was brought to you by M has been reading a fuckload more fanfiction this year, mostly thanks to the foursome-worthy cast of Merlin. (Modern AUs! Film crossovers! Lots of redeeming descriptions of Morgana whilst she struts around in Manolos! I should bookmark these.)

I was watching a lot of Danish films and then I stopped? Oh, wait, Rosnaissance. Never mind.

The ficathon thing kind of took off! Fourteen people took prompts (none of those 14 were me, by the way), and people seem vaguely interested. We'll see in September.

Word count on my femgen? Embarrassing. Is that a number? IT IS NOW.

subtle salvation. (alien series)

Logically, she knows she can't outrun the nightmares. Doesn't mean she can't try.

Ripley/Hicks, post-Aliens, of course. Ripley and Hicks become part of this spoken-word legend and they purge the universe of the threat. But beyond the legend is the story of two messed up, determined people. I love Ripley stories. She's like the ultimate stronghold.

( more recs. Aliens, Angels in America, The Assassination of Jesse James, Being Human, Dead Like Me, Dinosaur Comics, Empire Records, Glee, Greek Mythology (Metamorphoses), Juno, Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain, Life, Mad Men, New Amsterdam, Practical Magic, Push, Raines, Spooks, The Thick of It, The Wire, United States of Tara. )

You can find all the Yuletide fics I bookmarked this year at my delicious account.

The problem with travelling is that I get out of my already-sporadic habit of posting and then garner a reluctance towards starting up again. But anyway, yes, I went to Swansea and had a brilliant time with my cousin, V. Swansea University (and Swansea itself) is on the south coast of Wales so when you look out of V's windows you can see the sea. I arrived on Guy Fawkes' Night* and we went to to the beach where people had started up bonfires and were letting off fireworks. It was an amazing night, and the atmosphere was brilliant.

V and I spent the next couple of days just hanging out - a bit of shopping (the beach completely wrecked what was left of my shoes so I bought some boots, huzz), cooking, talking and watching films. We talked to The Sister on skype because Lancaster Uni had turned all its JCRs into 'chocolate factories' a la Willy Wonka. Chocolate shots, a fountain, cocktails &c. V & I decided we were obviously in the wrong place, heh.

Guy Fawkes tried to kill the king and blow up parliament in the 1600s. Being British, we commemorate this with a level of ambiguity - yay he failed, or yay he tried?

Saw Up whilst in Swansea. What a beautiful film. It was both hilarious and dramatic, and I fucking love me some balloons. Hell yeah!

My line manager was in Cambs on Tuesday. ( work rant )

Oh, fandom.

Due to being in Swansea I didn't see the Spooks pre-air. I almost forgot that episode 2 was going to air last night. ( Spooks, 8x02 )

Last week's NCIS was utterly delightful. Mike Franks! The Kelly! Surprise guest star at the end! FUCKIN' A. Unfortunately, Criminal Minds was deathly boring, so here's hoping last night's turns out to be better.

Weirdly, Glee has become the show that I most look forward to? This week is an Artie ep and I'm psyched, yo. It's about time; McHale's voice is amazing.

Oh gosh, Mad Men! No spoilers but I loved it and laughed happily through the joyful parts. So damn satisfying!

EBL is unwell so I'm on the platform at Ely waiting for my connection to Cambridge. I'm so ready for this flipfuck of a week to be over. It's going to depressing trying to get home tonight.

Up eventually: my second ever Yuletide letter, yay!

Current Music: Basia Bulat: My Heart is a Warning.

Mad Men, oh my. I don't even really know what to say because we're at the point in the season where the plot makes me so goshdarn uncomfortable with anticipation that everything else becomes moot point. But I will say again that sometimes Don Draper does something jarring that makes me question what I'm seeing - only for me to later realise that it's Dick Whitman, and I've been fooled, too.

Spoil me for Spooks and I will cut you. No lie. People will suffer horrible, terrible, no-good fates.

I have a couple German-speaking flisters. As a heads up: my German literacy is pretty poor but I can understand a fair amount without having to resort to a translator. Please forgive me if I reply to you in German and it makes no sense. It's been years since I've even tried to exercise my crappy language skills.

Work is good this week in that there is quite a lot to do so I'm rarely bored. I've done enough hours already this week that I can leave early through Friday. This is immensely comforting mathematics.

I've also spent a bit of time the past couple of days trying to help The Sister fix her internet at uni and trying to teach coworker TC noun usage. No lie. I printed out the xkcd flow chart about fixing computer problems but I forgot to get an extra copy for The Rents. Tomorrow is another day, I guess. Just so long as the printer doesn't jam. Somehow this has become my responsibility but if people don't stop putting paper in the top tray I am going to unplug the machine from the wall and force them to seek out alternative print venues. Fuck yes.

I need new icons. Or rather, I need to stop being attached to the ones that I have. I've had these for so long! But I need ones that reflect more current interests. Or something. I don't know. I have just remembered that part of my boring/average dream last night involved Adrien Brody in a three-piece suit, tipping his hat to me as he cycles past on a unicycle. I can't believe I forgot that part!

Cambridge was full of amateur artists today. They all seemed intent on what they were doing. I was a little surprised because at first I thought there'd been a sudden influx of homeless people. That's what they looked like, though, so I doubt I was the only one.

Saw a goddamn covetable coat today: way not affordable. It's a terrible time, guys.

Current Mood: okay
Current Music: Chris Pureka - Hold It Together (studio version) | Powered by Last.fm

A week ago I made buttercream. I would have made the cupcakes sooner but I was thwarted by issues of time, lack of cases and a lack of margarine. They're fucking awesome though. I'll be off to dish out that buttercream as soon as those long-awaited cakes get cool.

Today was weird. I had a lot to do because the seniors are finally off leave and finally doing their jobs. But then this afternoon I somehow got roped into being the office girl who has to deal with the always-breaking printers. I-- I hate this! My afternoon was slayed by the technician's arrival. On the other hand, I got to impress my line manager's boss with my spelling skills. This is unrelated to the printer thing.

The end of lunch was marked by a conversation we often have in my team: the usage rules for 'effect' and 'affect'. Do you know? I do, but if I didn't already I would have learned for certain today.

Went into town at lunch time to pick up some things and was accosted by the atheist preacher who had taken up the space previously occupied by electronica spaceman. There were a lot of amateur violinists out on the street today, too, but they weren't together so I don't know what that was about.

re: Mad Men, to quote my tweet: DID THAT JUST HAPPEN? Yes. Yes, it did. The show continues to be a favourite of mine and gave out a couple of truly, truly wonderful scenes this week. Goddamn. I need a new icon.

I was going to watch Paris, je t'aime last night but it didn't happen. I'm also on the last episode of Leverage which is kind of exciting! Jeri Ryan's sexy librarian thing is hot. Plus: d'aw, Parker. Continue to be competent, crazy and cute! THANKS.

OH MY GOD NEW NCIS. I'm not sure I'm ready for it. But I waaaaaaaaant it fuck yeah.

Current Mood: bouncy
Current Music: Beirut: Postcards from Italy.

01. Crazy things that actually happened in Cambridge this past fortnight: a dog was juggling outside M&S; the electronica spaceman was back. Man, this city. I don't know.

02. I watched a lot of TV which is terribly unsurprising. I have skipped through all the things that I find annoying in Glee (which is unfortunately quite a bit) but I do love the musical numbers, and I do like the guy playing Will. Like. A lot.

03. I also watched - and enjoyed - Supernatural, and I hope we see Those Guest Stars again. I have a deep, deep fondness for Jim Weaver and for Titus Welliver, and I wish they'd had a scene together (Deadwood reunion!) Also: apparently the casting directors at Lost and Supernatural know the same agents (lols, Mark Pellegrino. Awesome). But, yeah, whilst the premiere was touch&go for me, I enjoyed this one a lot.

04. The Bones season premiere was completely delightful, and my love for Cam is so immense at this point that I don't really need to talk about it. My love for Caroline has apparently never been expressed before, so: I really love Caroline omg.

04b. Speaking of Bones, have a fic rec:

If you actually mapped out all the morsels of advice that Angela has doled out to Brennan over the years, analyzed them the way you would an author's canon of work, a few recurring themes might emerge: namely, in this order, [1] you (Brennan) want to have sex with Booth; [2] Booth wants to have sex with you; [3] you two are ridiculously perfect for each other in so many ways, whether you realize it or not; [4] you're not actually as failed of a human being as you think you are.

The above is from

daygloparker's fic The Forgotten Dialects of the Heart. She labelled it as "Ten untold stories about love that also have the benefit of being true". I labelled it as "the other side of canon". Which is to say: this isn't just a fic about Brennan and Booth and the whole friction of their relationship. It's a fic about every character that we know and love, and is equal parts hilarious and heartbreaking. There is a section explicitly about Hodgins that is so perfect and a whole section about Cam that will feel like a slap to the face. AMAZING. Go forth and read, and then tell

daygloparker how much you loved it. Because you will.

( so, this post was supposed to be quite short? Yeah, I don't know what happened. Other things M talks about: Defying Gravity, Fringe, The Lives of Others, Leverage, shows that are airing next week &c. &c. There are also links to FAB photos so skip this cut AT YOUR PERIL or whatever. )

This post was long. There are less trivial things to talk about but I am terrible at those things currently so we'll leave it be for now. It was supposed to be short wtf.

Current Mood: TALKY
Current Music: Glee: Don't Stop Believing.

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.

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.

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.

Bad times: my skin really hurts :((((((

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.

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.

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.

Yeah, I need breakfast. You should all listen to the Niyaz station, too.

Current Music: Niyaz - In The Shadow of Life | Powered by Last.fm

/The Ecstasy of Bursting Forth (Mad Men).

Later, when Don asks her to deliver a report to Mr. Cooper's office, she tiptoes in, having slipped off her shoes before she walked into his office. She stares at the Roethke, cocks her head this way and that, tries to see what they're all talking about. The gradations are intriguing she supposes. She steps forward, again bending her head. But still she sees nothing. It should just be gray, she thinks, a mass of shades of gray.

A gen fic about Joan, post-S2 finale; written for me and basically hitting all my kinks. Where canon!Joan's strength (paradoxically) lies in her passivity towards Greg, this Joan does the thing we want her to do: she starts to take control of her life. The fic has this great mirroring effect, following her through two mornings and listing the differences. On top of that, there are quiet character notes on Peggy and Salvatore (oh gosh, the latter is heartbreaking) and the atmosphere feels very true to the show. I'm totally in love with it.

( the rest, by fandom (alphabetically) )

Includes: Angels in America; Friday Night Lights; Homicide: Life on the Streets; Life; Mad Men; The Middleman; movies (Aliens; Brick; Chocolat; Empire Records; Hancock; Little Miss Sunshine; Speed); Mythology; Old Testament; One Thousand and One Nights (Arabian Nights); Pushing Daisies; Sarah Connor Chronicles; Slings & Arrows; Spooks; The Time Traveler's Wife; Wire in the Blood

The rest of my Yuletide bookmarks are, natch, at my delicious account.

Current Mood: calm
Current Music: Dar Williams - The Ocean | Powered by Last.fm

Dear Mad Men, way to be entirely depressing! Which is not to say that I didn't love it, because, well, OBVIOUSLY I did. Jane is entirely boring to me, though; I think it was the casting choice. It was nice to see Hildy, though, whom I adore. Please, show, continue to wreck me. I don't mind at all.

( True Blood, 1x04, Escape from Dragon House )

( Life, 2x01, Find Your Happy Place )

( Sarah Connor Chronicles, 2x04, Allison from Palmdale )

( Californication, 2x01, Slip of the Tongue )

( The Unit, 4x01, Sacrifice )

I've yet to see Dexter; am feeling pretty blahface about it, actually. I may have to store up a few episodes and watch them in one go. Even though I liked it last year, I only watched it on time because I was watching with T. And, well, not there any more.

I have new music, eee! Some unreleased Patty Griffin and Seth Lakeman's albums, whoop whoop. Folk at its best. And now: NCIS and Criminal Minds. It is a Good Day.

Current Mood: wtf last.fm, scrobble damn you
Current Music: Patty Griffin: Top of the World.

GR ARGH.

So, the net isn't working a the house and hasn't been working since around midday on Sunday. We're going to call them up today and ask what the fuck is going on. Consider me completely unimpressed. It's not exactly value for money if you're not getting the fucking service. On that note, my phone is on so if you have my number, you're welcome to text me.

Consider me royally ticked off.

T and N are both in Amsterdam this week. The Flatmate and I went to town with T and saw her off on the bus before heading back to the house in the rain. Nice. There is construction going on in the house next door (which has been bought by our landlord) so The Flatmate and I wake at around 8am every day to the sound of thumping against the wall. From what we can see, the house no longer has a flipping roof.

Today, The Flatmate has gone to physio (her leg's a bit busted) and I'm at Av. campus trying to sort out emails and what have you. Did the main shop yesterday but forgot to stock up on fruit juice so probably going to have to make the extra trek into Pw. again. Thankfully, it stayed dry yesterday so I managed to wash and dry my clothes. Don't have to deal with that for another week, although it will likely get harder when the other two are back in the house.

Have been watching Mad Men. Initially checked it out to see Rosemarie DeWitt (who guest stars and is just... her character is fabulous) but am now quite into the plot. I love all the costumery. Modern period pieces make me giddy.

Also, Spooks is back very, very soon, and it's the premiere season (which is useless ot me if we can't get the net running again, but still).

Am now off to kick the ISP's unworthy ass. Will try to catch up on the flist, but no promises.

Current Mood: irritable.
Current Music: none.

Profile

delga

Style Credit

Base style: Five AM by winterfish
Theme: Acidity by timeasmymeasure

planning the revolution

(crying about it)

Entries tagged with birdie shoots the birds.

{ this subject was going to be a lyric but HOLY SHIT THERE ARE BATS OUTSIDE. }

{ late late late. }

{ whaaaaaaaaaatever. }

{ it rained on me yesterday; I was most unimpressed. }

{ Yuletide recs! #2 }

{ I know my heart is a warning. }

{ split second and it's all in smoke. }

{ that day is mine. }

{ I have a lot of the Glee tracks on rotate in my MIND. }

{ I'm listening to the Niyaz radio on last.fm. SO GREAT. }

{ Yuletide Recs. }

{ a lot of things changed, but then, a lot of things didn't. }

(no subject)

Profile

Style Credit