Sparkle Motion: in which the author chronicles her various obsessions and the distractions that get her through her day. Most of which involve television.
We used my Friday off to finally see No Country for Old Men. The consensus between me, Husband, and Husband's friend: Eh? It felt like two different movies mashed together. One was a quiet little introspective film about growing old while the world changes around you and you feel helpless to stop it, and in the middle of this somebody plopped the first two-thirds of a really kick-ass action/thriller. We loved the action/thriller part--and Javier Bardem definitely earned that Oscar. That guy was CREE. PEE.--that got us all worked up and invested in Josh Brolin's character and his plight, only to have it end abruptly, any resolution having happened off-screen and returning to the introspective old man movie, which also ended abruptly, and pretty much left the three of us sitting there going, "What the eff was that?" That said, the acting, cinematography, dialogue, etc. were all excellent. But I have many, many issues with the story structure and pacing, and I feel like the intent was to play around with story structure in unexpected ways for the sake of ART, at the audience's expense, and really, I can't stand that crap. I want a resolution to my story. What's more, I want a resolution to the story I spent almost two hours getting really invested in. I want characters that exist for more than the sake of getting killed in shocking and violent ways. I don't want to be jerked around and left feeling like I just had my lunch money stolen. Boo, Cohen brothers. Boo.
Firefly Season 2 - this one is gathering fan demographics and testing the feasibility of a possible "on demand" independent production of everybody's favorite unjustly canceled space cowboy show. Shiny!
Yes, I know. That title shows no originality whatsoever. I might as well have gone all the way to lametown and written a play on "Hasta la vista, baby." Which, I can't even think of a clever play on that line right now. Which shows you just how lame I can be.
And he's bringing Tim Minear and Eliza Dushku with him. The only thing keeping my squee in check? They'll be on FOX. New folks in charge, seven episode commitment and apparent promises of treating him right this time aside, that makes me trepidatious as all get-out. But even so: NEW JOSS WHEDON TV SERIES, YOU GUYS!!! OMGZ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you need catching up on this awesome and hilarious web comic by some guy whose name I forget...something like Josh Sweden? Anyway. Here's part 1. And here's part 2.
Issue #2 of Sugarshock is up! In case you've forgotten about it, this is Joss Whedon's non-Buffy, non-Firefly, non-X-Men, totally original and HIGH-larious online comic. The first issue, if'n you missed it, is here.
Notice I didn't say favorite lines, because that would be impossible to choose. To keep this short and sweet, I kept myself mostly to one-liners (although I cheated a little), leaving out dialog exchanges and big speeches.
Interactivity Bonus: I'll send a Dancing Lessons: War! soundtrack CD to the first person to correctly identify the speaker and episode for each quote.
1. Well, this is just...neat.
2. Go monkey! Choose monkey!
3. The who whatting how with the huh?
4. No, sir, no more chick pit for you.
5. I mock you with my monkey pants!
6. I may be love's bitch, but at least I'm man enough to admit it.
7. I like the quiet.
8. It's a ritual sacrifice, with pie.
9. That'll put marzipan in your pie plate, bingo!
10. Don't taunt the fear demon.
11. Check. No more butt-monkey.
12. Hecate hates that!
13. Poor Watcher, did your life flash before your eyes? Cuppa tea, cuppa tea, almost got shagged, cuppa tea?
Find links to other Thursday Thirteens in the comments!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
Brian Lynch posted a spoilerific panel from Angel: After the Fall #1 at Myspace. It's a great big "casting" spoiler, so be warned and stay away if you want to be surprised.
Brian Lynch, author of various recent Spike comics and of the upcoming Joss-produced, in-canon, post-season-five Angel: After the Fall maxi-series, has posted an example of how to write a script for comics, using a page from Shadow Puppets as an example.
Two things: 1.) Awesome, because I still have a deep-seated desire to write for comics someday, and 2.) now I must get Shadow Puppets. Hee!
Spoiler alert! There's a line from After the Fall at the tail end of the entry. It's not a very revealing line, but now you can't say I didn't warn you.
The Serenity: Collector's Edition comes out next Tuesday. I thought I could live without it, but after checking out this guide to the DVD's new extras, I think I pretty much have to have it. New extras include cast commentary by Nathan, Adam, Summer and Ron, as well as the "Session 416" River interview videos that I was so disappointed were left off of the old one.
If the price tag seems a bit rich, you could take a page from me and enter for a chance to win a copy just by spreading the word. I know I'm increasing my competition by posting this link, but such is my Serenity love that I don't mind. Spread the love, people!
So apparently, it's Buffy week here at Sparkle Motion (what's that you say? Every week appears to be Buffy week at Sparkle Motion? Too true. And what's the downside of that?), and since I haven't gotten around to properly recapping my night at the Buffy Singalong, I'll give an overview of it here.
An MTV News clip they showed to give us an idea of what to expect described the Buffy Singalong as "a less slutty Rocky Horror." This turned out to be an apt description.
It could stand to go longer. Maybe show more fanvids, or add another round of "Buffy-oke"? At $10 per person (plus online purchase fees), I expected a little more; and from a fan perspective, it was just over too soon.
Speaking of fanvids, when I squeezed in around Fenwic's computer monitor three summers ago to watch sdwolfpup's "Coin Operated Boy" video (below), I thought it was awesome, but I never dreamed I'd eventually see it on a big theater screen.
The audience at my showing was packed with Spike fans. I felt right at home.
Except for my husband, who prefers Angel, and who was attending his very first ever fandom event, and as such had no idea what to expect. He was an excellent sport about it all.
We arrived early to the midnight showing and they still had plenty of goodie bags for everybody, but they were already out of audience participation instruction sheets by the time we got there. So we found ourselves with bags full of goodies we didn't know what to do with.
But then the host read the directions to us before the show, so it all worked out okay.
During "Under Your Spell," the host threw real pink daisies into the audience. Husband caught one and put it in my hair. Awwwww.
I was, as usual, more of an observer than a participator. I sang my heart out along with the musical, and used the props they gave me, but I didn't do any of the stand-uppy or hand-holdy-with-strangers parts.
I did, however, win a candy prize for answering a trivia question before the show (Q: Who was the first recurring character to appear on Buffy? If you know the answer (without looking it up), leave it in the comments. I was amazed at how many people got it wrong.).
The props: a little rubber monster finger puppet, a champagne popper, a set of plastic vampire teeth, a bottle of bubbles, and a kazoo.
The monster puppet was for going "Grr! Arrgh!" at the projector guy to signal him to start the show (and for singing along with the little Mutant Enemy ghoul at the end). The popper was to, aherm, "finish" for Tara at the end of her unfinished song. The teeth were supposed to be worn when Spike vamped out during his big number. The bubbles were to be blown during Dawn's ballet number, and the kazoo was to help Buffy sing "Heaven" on key. We were also instructed to shout "Hotness!" when Spike first appeared on screen, and "Shut up, Dawn!" pretty much any time she opened her mouth. This last task especially was met with great enthusiasm.
It was one of the most fun things I've done this year, and totally worth staying up late for.
Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here, but any links left past 5PM Central tonight will have to wait until Monday to be added.)
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
I attended a local showing of the Buffy Singalong this weekend (more on that tomorrow), and this picture, one of my favorites from back in the day, kept going by on the preview screen and making me all nostalgic.
And so, full of renewed Spike love, and in honor of all of the work Marsters is getting lately, and in honor of the forthcoming Ripper movie, and as a reminder of why Alexis Denisof deserves to be so very much more than Mr. Allyson Hannigan, I bring you Sunnydale's British Hotties (ignoring the fact that two of them are faux-Brits).
I'll eschew commentary on this one (mostly) and just let all the pretty speak for itself.
I have a lot of busy-work to catch up on today, which makes for a slow blogging day. Instead of coming up with content of my own, here's what's loaded in all my Firefox tabs at the moment, most of which is Whedonverse related, natch:
@ Lots of juicy news bites coming out of Joss Whedon's Comic-Con panel, not the least of which is an announcement that the Ripper movie is a go! Yay! Also touches on plans for Angel: Season Six and Buffy: Season Eight (and Nine!!!), including "casting" spoilers for the latter.
@ Nothing But Red is seeking submissions for an upcoming anthology, to be published through Lulu.com, the proceeds of which will go to benefit women's rights organizations (most likely Equality Now). Their mission statement:
The purpose of Nothing But Red is to bring attention to the issue of violence against women worldwide, as well as the continuing need for equality, through art—both written and visual—and by raising money for a charity that strives to help women of all faiths, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, with the support of dedicated volunteers who share a desire to promote equality.
This project was inspired by Joss Whedon's now-famous essay about the televised "honor-killing" of Dua Khalil, who was stoned to death by the men in her family after she had been seen in the company of a man from another faith. I'm still trying to decide whether I'll submit anything, but either way I want to spread the word.
@ On a happier, and non-Whedon-related note: 5 Minutes for Mom is giving away a TV! All you have to do for a chance to win a 37″ Flat-Panel LCD HDTV, courtesy of Best Buy, is go comment and then spread the word. Done and done.
@ Finally, one for the Potter-maniac knitters on my list: This Dark Mark Illusion Scarf pattern is made of cool and dipped in awesome sauce. I only wish there were more Harry Potter fans in my inner circle of family and friends, so I'd have an excuse to make one for somebody for Christmas. Hmm, looks like I'll just have to knit one for myself instead. Tragedy!
"Dark Horse Presents," the seminal indie comics anthology that launched not just countless comics careers but one of the industry's most important publishers, is returning after a seven year absence in the form of an online series on social networking giant MySpace. Just as the original print form of "DHP" nurtured new talents and creator-owned properties, so too is the goal with the new project, officially called "MySpace Dark Horse Presents."
...
Every digital issue of "MySpace Dark Horse Presents" will feature at least one story created or co-created by someone discovered on MySpace. "Every issue except #1," Scott Allie said, "because, frankly, it didn't make sense to let a newbie in on our biggest secret of the year. We needed to focus on our already trusted partners."
I would very, very much like to own a full-size, framed copy of this poster. If I can get ahold of one, it will have a place of honor in my living room. When I have a living room worthy of hanging unabashedly geeky yet nevertheless beautiful posters in, that is.
I kept meaning to blog this one yesterday, but forgot until I saw it turn up again on Whedonesque this morning: Ficlets interviews Jennifer Ouellette, author of The Physics of the Buffyverse (affiliate link). Because why simply suspend your disbelief when you can fill an entire book with science wank that makes it all seem plausible?
My husband is a bit of a science geek, and we've had plenty of discussions about how stuff works in the Buffyverse, usually ending with me declaring in frustration, "It's magic, okay? Let it go!" I think we need this book.
Someday soon Big Brother will start and give me something to talk about besides Buffy.
Actually... my mom has been TiVoing Traveller and telling me that I absolutely need to watch it. I think by now there are about five or six hours' worth of it saved up. Anybody been following this show? Is my mom right, and is it worth a big chunk of my Saturday morning?
With the first four-issue story arc out of the way, Pink Raygun recaps and reviews Buffy: Season 8 so far. It's a pretty positive, occasionally gushy review, and a good recap if you can't bring yourself to pick up a comic but would like to know what's going on in the Buffyverse these days. I only have two nits to pick: one, I'm pretty sure the spell on Willow and Kennedy that was referenced was when Amy turned Willow into Warren, and not something more recent; and two, I take exception to the statement that Willow is everybody's favorite character. I know too many Willow haters for that to be true. I only find her mildly irritating, myself.
I read issue #4 the weekend after it came out, and I'm not sure how it escaped mention here. My review can pretty well be summed up in two words:
Like, whoa.
I have plenty more to say, of course, but it's all spoilery, so I'll keep it in the comments. Feel free to join me there.
~~~
Unrelatedly, out of curiosity I checked The Wayback Machine to see if any of my old blog designs were still up, and they are. Including this one, my personal favorite, which just might enjoy a comeback if I can figure out how to convert it to New Blogger format. I'm pretty fond of this one, too, for its cheery colorfulness and simplicity. It's just nice to be reminded that I used to actually know a thing or two about web design. I miss Web 1.0.
(Psst! And if you buy them at the store in person and use this coupon, you can get them for only $9.99!) Never mind. I didn't realize when I linked it that it's not an online coupon, it's just a scan of a hard copy somebody picked up in the store. I'm pretty sure printing copies and trying to use them isn't kosher.
This essay on the Buffy episode "Flooded" has a lot of good insights not only into this particular episode, but also Season 6 as a whole. It made me see what I always took for a lackluster episode in a new light and gave me a new appreciation for the thought that went into the season.
It also gave me a new insight into the choice to have Spike sexually assault Buffy, something that has never jibed with me or felt true to the character. I could never understand why they (the writers) couldn't have achieved the same result (prompting Spike to seek out a way to get back his soul) simply by having him do something more seemingly in nature with his character, e.g. attempting to bite Buffy, instead of going for the shock value of an attempted rape, not only apparently betraying his character, but also reducing an iconic feminist superhero to a rape victim cliche in the process.
I still suspect that the writers didn't fully think through the consequences of this choice; several comments I've read over the years from the former writing staff, and from Whedon himself, have indicated that they planned an all-out romance between Spike and Buffy in the show's final season, but they had to pull back because of the outcry surrounding the rape attempt. But the following has at least helped me to understand the reasoning behind the decision:
During season six, for the first time it is Sunnydale’s human monsters that take centre stage. These human monsters certainly include the Trio (who slowly become more and more villainous as the season progresses) but it also includes characters like Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Spike; each one of whom will commit monstrous acts at some point in the season.
What I believe I'm finally starting to get is the necessity, at least insofar as keeping with the central theme of the season, of having it be an act of human violence and betrayal that ultimately lead Spike to choose between his lingering humanity and his demonic nature, ultimately making the choice to be a better human being. As this essay also points out, each of the Scoobies in turn succumbed to the darkest parts of their nature, and each of them had to deal with their own penchant for monstrosity before they could grow into healthy adults.
Spike was no different. The monster inside him was more blatant, closer to the surface, and literal than the rest, but ultimately it wasn't the demon in him that attacked and betrayed Buffy. That attack had nothing to do with him being a vampire. It was the man who was broken and defeated by Buffy's refusal to even allow for the possibility of his existence, who ultimately snapped and tried to dominate her and force her to acknowledge and validate him in the most violent way possible. And it was the man who then chose to overcome his dark nature and seek out redemption. Anything else he could have done to her could and would have been attributed to the demon, but it wasn't about his demon nature. It was about humanity, the good, the bad, the disgusting, and the sublime.
That's... actually pretty cool, and I'm sorry it took me so long to get it. The writers deserve kudos for sticking to their guns and knowing what they were all about, even when the rest of us didn't.
