{temps d'escrime}

Books I want to read. Okay, this is actually a test post. So we'll see if it works for basic accounts or not. This would be really cool if I went to a book store and I could just save the titles of books I want to read, so I can look them up later.

listen:
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This really is one episode split into two parts, so I want to withhold judgement till I see the finish.

Pluses
+ Like the concept of the Earth getting stolen
+ Love Donna's family. "What do you want this time you green swine" and wishing Rose luck was so cute.
+ Love Sarah Jane's son, whoever he is. Everyone else was running around yelling "what happened? did a bomb go off?" and he's like "what happened? that felt like a cross-dimensional spacial transference".
+ The planets all close in the sky was a wonderful bit of CGI.
+ Love Donna. (What's not to love about Donna?) Especially how she's all gentle and encouraging the Doctor about how great it is that Rose's back. Rose, take note: THIS is how you're supposed to act.
+ Love Ianto. "Little bit bigger than South Wales" and all the other moments where the writer deigned to take time away from Gwen were awesome.

Minuses
- Why the fuck did Jack leave Ianto and Gwen behind? His wristband has been proven capable of carrying three people.
- And if he didn't want to take them for some reason, at least give them usable guns.
- Tosh and Owen died while achieving specific goals to save the world. Just blasting at Daleks with weapons you know have no effect is just stupid. Though Gwen did come up with it, so I'm not surprised.
- Rose is the only one of them who has seen the Doctor regenerate before so why is she the one losing it?
- Why was top secret military imaging of the invading Daleks on a demo laptop in a store?
- Either have Rose be confident, capable, and over the Doctor or have her be little-girl-lost, desperate for the Doctor to return to her but for gods sake stop switching between them.
- I was underwhelmed by the Shadow Proclamation and the Medusa Cascade, though that was pretty.


On the really upside, this is the only episode I've yet wanted to rewatch this season other than Partners in Crime, so that's a big plus.

I didn't like it. I don't know why I didn't like it. I've read others reviews of why they enjoyed it and thought it was a great episode and I agree with them. But I still don't like it.

- The dilemma between turning left (facing uncertainty) and turning right (settling)? Nicely done.

- The post-apocalyptic future where everyone's unprepared and no one is really willing to help? I can get down with that.

Catherine Tate acted her socks off this episode and showed why she is the most awesome companion of NuWho and the only one who could have carried an episode like this herself.

So what is the problem? I don't know. And it's frustrating and driving me crazy, but it's there, something that just makes me hesitate to label this a great episode like so many others are.
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Dear RTD,

We've not always seen eye to eye, and I still have a problem with all the crap you let other writers get away with on this show (It's Doctor Who, surely there are enough people applying that you can get rid of Helen Raynor), but I have to say that I love your episodes (that aren't season finales). Because you, rightly, focus on human emotion and not on alien invasions and big guns.

So, what do I love about Midnight?

I love that they're going to see this feat of wondrous natural beauty, and we end up seeing the ugly side of human nature. Excellent use of setting, RTD, you did much better than Moffat this season.

I love that you showed mob mentality so well, but that the stewardess (who was the originator of the idea) actually stuck to her belief enough to end it unlike the others who were just cowardly followers. I love that they wanted to kill her immediately before they even knew if she was a threat or not, because that made it less an issue of survival and more an issue of morality.

I love that on a "family-friendly" show, the characters we think are going to be the "good guys"/"innocent victims" actually try to kill the Doctor.

I love that we didn't get to know the people well, because they didn't know each other well and that unfamiliarity was all that was needed to reduce each other to something less than human. And I love that the Doctor being unable to share his name really made him alien and dangerous to the other passengers, because yeah, the first step in getting to know someone is knowing their name.

I love that we don't know what the alien is, that the Doctor doesn't have a neat answer, that it's not even clear that it would have been a threat if during it's imprinting, the humans hadn't kept talking about killing it.

I love that the threat was the humans not the alien. I love that the alien only used words.

I love that there is no trick to solve the problem, that the death isn't swept under the rug, that the Doctor didn't save the day. I love that the people on the ship don't even like the Doctor, and in the end, he doesn't like them.

And I love love love the ending, that moment when you think it's over and the Doctor asks if anyone knew her name. It was like a punch in the gut. Because no one ever asks service people what their names are and if the service people volunteer the information, it's immediately forgotten because it's not important, only what they can do for you is.

What I would have liked was for one of the women to take part in the actual physical dragging of the Doctor to the door and for Jethro to realize that the alien had taken the Doctor's voice and try to stop his dad, but I know I can't have everything and as I've found every other episode this season to be below par, I'm hardly in the mood to complain.

Though I have to say, finally an excellently written episode in Donna's season and she's not even in it! Okay, I guess I am going to complain because I love Donna and if I don't get at least one good episode I can rewatch with her in it, I'm going to be very unhappy.

Dear portion of the Doctor Who fandom that can't seem to let go aka begins all of their posts with the phrase "I remember in the good old days",

1) River Song is not Ace/Rose/Romana/Rani/the Master/Martha/the random monster in episode six of season 12 regenerated. GET OVER IT.

2) The Doctor loved her. Completely. Enough to marry her. Enough to take her on the adventure that was so important he had to use the power in his name to seal that Cascade. GET OVER IT.

3) The Doctor is not asexual. He had a time lord wife and time lord babies. They've already shown that he's capable of loving humans. GET OVER IT.

4) The Doctor does not believe in OTP FOREVER!!!! Yes, he obviously loved Rose. Why can't you be happy with that? Why do fans insist that he needs to mope about her for the rest of his life? People get remarried all the time. Insisting that a damn near immortal time lord love one person for all eternity is just silly. And guess what, loving more than one person doesn't mean you love any of them any less. Loving River does not negate Ten's loving Rose and loving Rose doesn't negate the extremely close bond the Doctor has had with many of his companions. GET OVER IT.

5) River was intelligent, pretty, and kind of smug/all-knowing. Apparently, this is enough to make her a Mary Sue. Why don't I see this same outpouring of hatred at Jack Harkness who is damn pretty, mostly intelligent, and incredibly smug/all-knowing. And the Doctor gets more chummy with him much quicker than with River. Stop with the female hate already fandom. The Doctor doesn't even love her yet, just some time in the future in a series of adventures we'll probably never see. GET OVER IT.

All the best,
Descrime


Dear Moffat,

I do love your episodes, and I can't wait for you to take over, but what the fuck did you mean with the whole girls can only be pretty or smart bit? And then you had to follow it up with the "I have the two qualities necessary for seeing the truth: I am intelligent and unloved" line. No, no, no. Sorry, but the angst-ridden teenager who hides in his room and writes depressing poetry is no closer to the truth than the golden child who checks all the social boxes.

I am reminded of the actually quite wise words of Steven Colbert when he said, "Cynicism masquerades as wisdom, but it is the farthest thing from it. Because cynics don't learn anything. Because cynicism is a self-imposed blindness, a rejection of the world because we are afraid it will hurt us or disappoint us." In fact, I would say that to get at truth, you have to love the world/individual/whatever-the-parameters-are enough to want to find out the truth, no matter what it is; you have to be willing to risk your heart and all of your pre-conceived notions of how the world works, because no one is just given truth. The only way to find truth is to test your understanding of the world and be willing to accept that you are wrong. But cynics can't do that. Cynicism by its very nature is an absolute belief that an individual's notions of how the world works are correct and that any information that might contradict that theory is only an aberration, and so they are always biased. That being unloved lets you see the truth any more clearly than being loved is appalling cynical and a very clear bias. And it's not even true in this case. The formerly ditzy girl can see that the world is not right not because she is unloved, it is because she hasn't been integrated into the program and so can see the running loop!

And why were there no actual children in the library? I happened to go to the library quite a lot as a child, thank you very much, Moffat. And I mean, it's been a hundred years, all these people's families are long dead. Daddy took the kids on a trip to the library and now Mommy's dead. It's not like you to pass up an opportunity for angst like that Moffat.

Anyway, as long as you stop bringing back the Dalek's every season when you take over, we'll be a-ok.

Cheers,
Descrime

One thing that always struck me while reading the Harry Potter books was how backwards so many of the practices are in light of all the technological advances we Muggles have made in the past few centuries (but especially in the last 40 odd years).  Oh, it was quaint at first, but as soon as Rowling expected me to take this wizarding world Seriously, the cracks began to annoy me because they bespoke of a larger problem in the wizarding world: the inability of anyone to innovate.  Oh, the Weasley twins start a joke stop,and Snape and presumably (and maybe Dumbledore) created their own spells, but That's It.  Because magic is so pedestrian in HP, useful not just in major battles with evil dark lords but in every day life, it should be used in everyday life to make things easier.  Where are the entrepreneurs of the wizarding world?

Here are five simple examples of what I'm talking about:

1. Banking
First of all, I have no idea what Rowling was smoking when she created Gringotts, because any bank that lends interest does not lock up your money in a little box with your name on.  Let's say that since the Goblins don't have a Federal Reserve or Bank of England to back them up in case of a rush on the bank, they keep a reserve of 50%.  That still means that they're loaning out up to 50% of the money at their bank at any one time, so there's no point in keeping the legal tender in seperete little caves.  How else could they afford to pay interest?  Money doesn't reproduce, even in the wizarding world.  I hope.

Things that make me go "Ooh!": Witty banter. Sexual tension. Shameless melodrama. Humorous hijinks. Redemption stories. Amnesia stories. Happy endings. Bittersweet endings. Requited love. Big moments of epic coolness. Quiet moments of unspoken meaning.

Things that make me go "Argh!": Relentlessly depressing stories. Excessive brutality. Hopeless endings.

Rowling only has control over what's in the books.  If she wanted Dumbledore to be gay, she should have put it in the novel with all the other revelations. What is the point of writing a book if you don't let it speak for itself? 

That this revelation comes out now makes it seem more like she's trying to counter criticisms that her books aren't progressive by putting the shiny "gay" button on one of her characters.  Notice, however, that she made Dumbledore gay: the one character who is so old that he's completely nonsexual to the reader.  If she really wanted to be "progressive", why couldn't Sirius or Remus or Seamus or Dean have been gay?  These are the characters that readers relate to, and it would have actually meant something if she had made one or more of them gay in the books. 

In twenty years, no one will remember this interview and all the characters will go back to being straight.  This is just a stunt to try to increase publicity/popularity for the remaining movies and continue to drive book sales.

 MEME TIME

the one who seduced you and fucked you over and broke your heart in a million pieces and laughed about it: NARUTO
It had ninjas!  NINJAS!  With really cool powers and demon hosts.  But then the timeskip happened and the art and story went to crap, and now I can't believe I read 300+ chapters.

the old flame you don't see very often any more but whom you still really enjoy getting together with for a few drinks and maybe a pleasant nostalgic romp in the sheets: BLEACH, FULL METAL ALCHEMIST
I really liked Bleach, but the storyline has slowed down so much and Rukia doesn't show up as much anymore, so I'm kind of blah about it.  There are three or so fanfic authors I still follow, though, because KT did create a kick-ass universe.  I used to love FMA just the same, but I just never bother to look up the new chapters till months later and I don't care about the fandom.

the mysterious dark gothy one whom you used to sit up with talking until 3 a.m. at weird coffeehouses and with whom you were quite smitten until you realized she really was fucking crazy: HOUSE and GRAY'S ANATOMY
I love House and I love Wilson, but there's no character arcs, just little medical episodes and I need some character development to stay interested.  I can only take so much of House always winning ungracefully before I want to beat him with his own cane. Grey's, on the other hand, has little medicine and lots of character arcs, they're just all batshit crazy.

the one you spent a whole weekend in bed with and who drank up all your liquor, and whom you'd still really like to fuck again although you're relieved she doesn't actually live in town: HIKARU NO GO
I love Hikaru and Sai and the whole Go world, but the series has ended (badly) and there's not a lot of really good fic.  Every so often I'll pick it up again and be madly obsessed before

the steady: DETECTIVE CONAN
I don't know why, but Ai Haibara (as little as she is in the series) is my all time favorite character and for that reason I will always come back to DC no matter how far I stray.

the alluring strangers whom you've flirted with at parties but have never gotten really serious with: 20TH CENTURY BOYS, XXXHOLIC, TSUBASA RESEVOUIR CHRONICLES
They're all fun mangas, but their plots are so twisted I've never bothered to closely follow them or their fandoms.

the one you hang out with and have vague fantasies about maybe having a thing with but ultimately you're just good buddies 'cause the friendship is there but the chemistry ain't: SUPERNATURAL
It should be everything I want in a TV series: myths and the two hot young men fighting them, but the writing on the show sometimes annoys me.

the one your friends keep introducing you to and who seems like a hell of a cool girl except it's never really gone anywhere: HEROES
Once again, another show I should love, but have never gotten into.

the one who's slept with all your friends, and you keep looking at her and thinking, "her? how the hell did she land all these cool guys?": RUROUNI KENSHIN, RANMA, X/1999
I've tried to get into all of them at some point, but I just can't see the appeal.

the one your friend has fallen for like a ton of bricks and whom he keeps babbling to you about on the phone for hours, and you'd be happy for him except you just know it's going to end badly: DETECTIVE CONAN
I love the series, but I just know it's going to fuck me over in the end.  (Ai dying, Shinichi and Ran having some nausiating reunion, yeah, you know it's going to happen)

Title: Heart of All Gifts
Summary: August 30: I am known to the night and horses and the desert 
Word Count: 1,564

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Title: To Be Editor-In-Chief
Summary: Written before Alexis's return or Walter winning Betty back.  A day in the life of Daniel Meade, Editor-In-Chief.
Word Count: 1,795

Title: A Stop For Rest
Summary:  An exercise for class to focus on concrete details and bringing a setting alive.
Word Count: 1,111

Other than Countdown to Heaven, Requiem for a Private Eye has probably been my favorite movie, and the one with the best title.  (Movie 11 includes the words "Jolly Roger"?  Seriously?) 

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A spirited conversation by Ai fans has led me to want to list what plot devices I hate the most.

• Ai running away and leaving everyone behind without any contact at all.
  

Professor Agasa and Ai have a wonderful bond, which really isn't explored in the manga because it's all about Conan, Conan, Conan, but I believe it exists.  And Ai genuinely likes the Detective Boys, even more than Conan does, because they are her first real friends, and I think she feels rather protective of them.  This is the first time in Ai's life that she's had family and friends, and if you think she's going to give that up unless she thinks it's absolutely necessary, you're crazy.

• Conan dying or leaving and then Ai not being able to go on without him.

This is more a general peeve, as I hate any story that has characters go all melodramatic literally can't-live-without-her/him.  It would be hard for Ai to live without Conan, incredibly hard which is why I love the two of them together so much.  But as suicidal as Ai is (and she's probably get worse after Conan's death), I don't think she'd actually do it.  Not and leave Professor Agasa and the kids alone.  She'd hurt and she'd freeze up emotionally even more, but she wouldn't lay down and die.  She's stronger than that.