iridescentglow.lj.com | & I'm drowning slowly...

3:29 pm - spam spam Saturday spam

I have a really strong desire to write a novel set during the 1930s among Surrealist artists -- possibly a roman à clef of Salvador Dalí's early life, but probably less rigid in form than that. It would span countries; it would be historical yet timeless; it would involve incisive social commentary; it would contemplate the nature of art whilst also being a pacey, fun read.

I think if I did nothing but read biographies about Surrealist artists, historical books about the time period and criticism of the art for the next, oh, TWO YEARS, I might be equipped to write such a novel. Sigh. I am determined to be exhilarated, rather than depressed at the amount of research I need to do. It's good to have goals.

NB. I recommend Ian Gibson's The Shameful Life Of Salvador Dalí, if you have a LOT of free time to devote to it. Otherwise, like me, you'll probably find it fascinating but finally have to give up on it, because it's so damn detailed. *mournfully returns book to the library*

current mood:

determined

2:04 pm - gypsy chic, meets Blair Waldorf, via my sewing box...

I was feeling crafty today, so I decided to fashion myself a headscarf out of a piece of jersey I had lying around. I don't wear hats, because my head is freakishly huge (filled with awesomeness, clearly!). Hairbands don't suit me. And yet, I still yearn to adorn my hair with stuff. I definitely think headscarfs are the way to go. I'm gonna make myself another one, in black, which hopefully be more subtle and less "hey, what's that on your head?"

( blue headscarf )

Believe it or not, I have another hair-related post planned. o__O Hair! I like it!

current mood:

bouncy
current music: Coconut Records, 'West Coast'

8:55 am - tl;dr

When I first heard about John Barrowman's episode of The Making Of Me, which explores the reason he is gay, I thought it was going to bother me. And lo! It did.

Interesting documentary, but terribly problematic. First, we have the fact that the programme was skewed by John's own conviction that he was born gay. He was proving that theory, rather than undertaking a more objective mission. Second, the whole documentary skirted around any kind of sociology. The idea that society heavily influences your sexuality was not even considered.

John's eventual triumph that he was born gay -- science had proved it! -- felt incredibly false. For every "scientific" test he took that suggested he was born gay, there was another that suggested he was straight. He simply disregarded the latter test results.

(I also have a real problem with the use of science in these situations. People put their faith in the truth of science so easily -- simply because they can't understand it. A lot of those tests looked like a crock of shit to me. But oh no! They're SCIENCE. The results must be true. *eyeroll* I feel this way when I read news articles about science "proving" that women are bad drivers, better homemakers, etc. O RLY? :/)

My biggest issue with the documentary was the absolutist tone. John must have used words like "absolutely", "totally" and "completely" in relation to sexuality at least ten times. (John is COMPLETELY gay. His nephew is COMPLETELY straight.) Where's bisexuality in this? Where are the shades of grey?

I'm not saying being gay is a choice (I don't think it is), but there is an element of choice involved -- the choice of not closing yourself off to possibilities; of not only dating people of the opposite sex because that's what everyone expects of you.

I shall end this with one of my favourite quotes, from Augusto Boal, who is rather a pretentious chap, but I do like what he has to say sometimes:

"Human beings must invent themselves in the midst of an infinity of possibilities, instead of passively accepting their roles because they think they could not be other than they are."

Friday, July 25th, 2008

8:09 pm - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead

This week, I am stupidly, ridiculously obsessed with this song -- specifically, this remix.

Stars - Your Ex-Lover Is Dead (Final Fantasy remix) (to download: "music" + "allnightlong")

Takes all the swirly, beautiful, melodic parts of the original and increases them ten-fold. OTT, but awesome.

I don't really know why, but this song has been taking up a lot of space in my head recently. Lyrically, it's such a strange mixture of poignant, whimsical and hurtful. It's really interesting. I can't decide which line I like best. Of course, "all that time you thought I was sad, I was trying to remember your name" is a wonderful punch to the gut. There's also, "it's nothing but time and a face that you lose", which, in and out of context is fascinatingly dark. I also really like, "I'll write you a postcard, I'll send you the news / from the house down the road from real love".

I think that ultimately the best line is the song's crux: "I'm not sorry I met you, I'm not sorry it's over, I'm not sorry there's nothing to say". It's... honesty, I guess. And that's exhilarating.

(Hi. I like music. Sometimes I ramble nonsensically about it.)

current mood:

indescribable

(11 comments | comment on this)

Wednesday, July 23rd, 2008

6:36 pm

I have a question about popslash (.......I KNOW.)

What are JC Chasez's nicknames? Is his name shortened to "Jay" or "Jayce" or both? (Canon or fanon substantiation is fine.)

Thank you kindly.

current mood:

complacent
current music: Handsome Boy Modeling School, 'I've Been Thinking'

(11 comments | comment on this)

Monday, July 21st, 2008

6:33 am - things that have made my Monday morning better

Gossip Girl s2 marketing posters, featuring quotes from the Parents Television Council = BEST MARKETING STRATEGY EVER. Goddamn, I love this show. :D

In non-at-all-related news, I think Alex DeLeon should wear his hair in a ponytail always. It's okay, Singer, this isn't Mean Girls, you're allowed. Such a pretty, pretty girl.

current mood:

giddy
current music: New Order, 'Bizarre Love Triangle'

(4 comments | comment on this)

Sunday, July 20th, 2008

11:03 am - Re: the new last.fm

I'm a little late to this dogpile, but maaaan, the new last.fm suuuuuuucks. (It did soothe my soul to read everyone else bitching about it, too. Just FYI. ;)

The words if it ain't broke, don't fix it spring to mind.

I mourn for the old event listings. Mourn. They used to be filtered according to what I listen to and similar artists. Now I can either get them filtered by artists I listen to (if I click through about 4 pages, argh) OR just a huge long list. Here's an idea: sometimes I go to shows of bands that I don't listen to constantly and/or bands I listen to on CD, rather than on my comp. The "similar artists" option tended to catch those bands, too. Now I'll miss them.

In conclusion: ugh.

current mood:

aggravated

9:28 am - A History Of Masculine Mediocrity

I watched A History Of Violence, which has been on my to-watch list for a long time. I wanted to like it, but, uh, it kind of sucked? I apparently missed its ~*magnificence, because it's considered 87% (!) fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.

All the way through it, I couldn't help thinking: this is the kind of thing stereotypical heteronormative men have read and written for the last 50 years or so, isn't it? Regular Joe is set upon by Bad Men (multiple times); Regular Joe, in a slightly unbelievable turn of events, triumphs over Bad Men (multiple times); comes home, where his wife (who has forgiven him for sorta-raping her) has dinner waiting for him on the table.

I guess this is the kind of fiction boys were indoctrinated into liking while I was being indoctrinated into liking Jane Eyre.

I don't get it.

(On the bright side, I disliked this movie enough that I'm cancelling my DVD subscription service. Saving money, yay!)

current mood:

confused
current music: The Strokes, 'Juicebox'

Friday, July 18th, 2008

8:17 pm - Project Runway

Though I love it dearly, I'm slightly surprised that PR is back so soon. I fear that we'll get a repeat of s3, where everything feels a little rushed. I hope not.

( Project Runway #5.01 )

6:29 pm - The Wire.

I've started, very hesitantly, to watch The Wire. Hesitantly because 60 one-hour episodes is a hell of a commitment, and also because everyone seems to love this show and I'm scared I'll hate it. :/ In fact, I watched the first episode and did hate it. Then I fell asleep during the second episode, which didn't bode well. However, I watched the rest of the second episode and liked it more. Now I've watched part of the third episode and find myself actually enjoying it. Uh, yay? You don't have to defriend me for having poor taste. ;)

(Incidentally, the fact that the show doesn't follow a regular narrative structure makes it perfect for me. I only usually have time to watch 30 minutes of TV in the evenings, which makes it annoying to reach the climax of a regular TV episode and then stop watching – but The Wire is so meandering that it doesn't really matter.)

Anyway, there was an interesting interview with Dominic West in the Guardian. He's from Sheffield! And he went to Eton! WHO KNEW?

On his arrival in Baltimore, a taxi driver apologised to him for the state of the city. "I said, 'Are you kidding? I'm from Sheffield! This looks beautiful!'"

Hee!

current mood:

tired
current music: New Order, 'Brutal'

Thursday, July 17th, 2008

7:17 pm - Re: Emmys

For the record, the following were robbed of Emmy noms:

Elisabeth Moss as Peggy in Mad Men

Chloë Sevigny as Nikki in Big Love

Aaron Paul as Jesse in Breaking Bad

Connie Britton as Tami in Friday Night Lights

Elizabeth Perkins as Celia is always the best thing (acting-wise) about Weeds, also.

I do love that Mad Men got TWO writing noms, though. Wheeeee! Season two can't come soon enough. :)

current mood:

calm
current music: I Am Kloot, 'Over My Shoulder'

(4 comments | comment on this)

Wednesday, July 16th, 2008

7:14 pm - attention unscrupulous managers of American Idol runners up

If I were an ambitious young pop singer with a great voice but no songwriting talent, looking for a not-commercially-known song to cover and subtly claim as my own (in the grand, unethical tradition of Faith Hill covering Angie Aparo or Jonas Brothers covering Busted), I would totally choose this song!

The Rocket Summer - So Much Love (to download: "music" + "allnightlong")
Seriously the best pop song I've heard all year... but sung in a sliiightly annoying way (sorry, Bryce).

Working plus writing is squeezing out my LJ-posting time (fear not, I still find the time to obsessively refresh my f'list!). On the bright side, I still like my job and my writing is going really well. *beams* This would be better if I were writing original fiction and not, uh, epic Ed Westwick/Chace Crawford fanfic, but. *handwaves*

P.S.
( I spent some time yesterday mocking Stephenie Meyer. I'm slightly ashamed, because she's done little to deserve my vitriol. And yet. I HATE HER. )

current mood:

amused
current music: I've totally just betrayed that I do, in fact, have 'Hate Me' on my comp... >_>

(14 comments | comment on this)

Sunday, July 13th, 2008

1:39 pm - fast times in William's pants

Random request: does anyone have a decent-quality live mp3 of The Academy Is... - Pour Yourself A Drink? I love that song, but the "basement demo" depresses me with its crackly quality.

ETA: Ahahaha! I was trawling youtube and I found a random Bill video that Jessa uploaded for me yeeears ago as proof that William is, in fact, precious.

Saturday, July 12th, 2008

6:24 pm - posh boys kissing -- a cultural variant of pretty boys kissing

Because I am ever hip to the zeitgeist, I recently watched a 5-year-old BBC miniseries (um): Cambridge Spies. It was about, well, spies who met while they were at Cambridge. You probably got that from the title. Anyway, as you would expect, there was gay sex, subterfuge, and beautiful lighting. Mmmmm.

As a drama, it was... uneven, but enjoyable. Parts of it made me go supersonic with squee (alas, only parts). I think that because I absolutely adore any period piece set during between the two world wars. Something about that time period just fascinates me. Might correlate with my obsession with Surrealism.

The cast sent me into a confusing Hey! It's That Guy place. Of the core four actors: I once saw Toby Stephens as Hamlet at the Royal Shakespeare Company (hey, I'm highbrow!), although you probably know him as Mr Rochester; Samuel West recently played Ted Heath in The Long Road to Finchley; and Rupert Penry-Jones obviously went on to become the BBC's go-to guy for posh-n-dashing.

Tom Hollander, however, now seems to only play "the short, ugly one" in any given drama (e.g. Mr Collins in P&P). It's really a shame, because he was absolutely outstanding in this. And he's really not ugly. Sigh.

Anyway, it was a natural leap for me from posh-boys-kissing in Cambridge Spies to rediscovering my love for Alan Hollinghurst. God, he can make prose sing. I'm disgustingly jealous.

However, I am re-reading The Line Of Beauty and having the same issue I had the first time around: ( ~*spoilers )

current mood:

happy
current music: Midlake, 'Roscoe'

Thursday, July 10th, 2008

7:06 pm - just defriend me now. I'm a freak.

Today I am going to talk about something that means a lot to me. That something is hand sanitizer.

I love hand sanitizer. Germs in public places really freak me out. So my bottle of hand sanitizer is the most precious thing I carry with me. Clean hands! without water! MAGIC.

In Americaland, you can buy hand sanitizer everywhere. Buying coffee? Why not get some hand sanitizer at the same time? Excellent! Either the Purell marketing people are really ace or the average American is just as OCD as I am. Probably a combination of the two. (High five, OCD Americans!)

Incidentally, one of my favourite Overheard In New Yorks ever went something like this:

Girl: "OMG. I need some Purell! Does anyone have any Purell? I NEED PURELL."
Guy: "Uhhh, there are bathrooms right over there. Why don't you just wash your hands?"

Anyway. The problem is, England has not yet embraced hand sanitizer. You can buy it -- in some chemists. But I have tried every brand on the market and they all suck. :| They smell gross and they leave my hands sticky. NOT COOL.

The point of this thrilling post is, I want to stock up on Bath & Bodyworks stuff, including my favourite hand sanitizer. Alas, you need to be in the US to use the site. Could anyone help me out and buy the stuff for me, then ship it on? I could paypal you the money, or buy you something of the same value from amazon, so you won't be out of pocket.

Additionally, if there is a heaven for OCD-enablers, you'd be there, baby. *big eyes*

current mood:

disappointed
current music: Motion City Soundtrack, 'Attractive Today'

(8 comments | comment on this)

Monday, July 7th, 2008

6:47 pm - emo summer camp

So apparently Gabe Saporta has been singing with Say Anything on Warped Tour. When I heard, I hoped the song Gabe guested on would be 'The Truth Is, You Should Lie With Me' (sample lyric: you're a party boy, you should like me / I wanna get used by you), but alas, alas, he seems to come out for 'Belt'.

Anyway, I give a big thumbs up to Cobra and Say Anything hanging out. That's a whole lot of pretty. Jake Turner/Nate Novarro? I vote yes.

So. Warped Tour. Any other happenings that I have missed? *chinhands*

Unrelatedly! Gossip Girl Anonymous Kink Meme. Hell fucking yeah! I've only been reading for a few minutes and already found some great ficlets. I think Gossip Girl is the fandom that does the dirtiest things to my mind. Is that... wrong?

current mood:

cold
current music: Joseph Arthur, 'Nation of Slaves'

Sunday, July 6th, 2008

10:20 am - Savage Grace... nothing to do with Darren Hayes

I watched Savage Grace, because, well:

Julianne Moore + pretty boys kissing + incest = everything I look for in a movie. >_>

It's the true story of the extremely rich and also extremely dysfunctional Baekeland family (whose ancestors invented Bakelite! huh!). The movie was directed by Tom Kalin. I recall Tom Kalin's Swoon (New Queer Cinema; Leopold and Loeb) with irritation more than anything else, but here (with the exception of some arty pretension) he proved himself as quite an outstanding director, erring hard on the side of pretty. It was a very, very pretty movie. It was also incredibly depressing -- but if you'll take beautiful cinematography/mise en scène as a trade-off for depressing-ness, I would recommend it.

Here, have a capspam: ( terribly pretty )

current music: Brand New, 'Jesus'

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

7:47 pm - Doctor Who - Journey's End

( Doctor Who - Journey's End )

current music: Andrew Bird, 'Cataracts'

10:31 am - VM, inexplicably...

Today I am, randomly, feeling incredibly nostalgic for Veronica Mars. Sure, it sucked after season one and, tobequitehonest, even parts of s1 were a bit ropey. But, for a while, it was the show of my heeeart. I identify with Rob Thomas as a writer so much. I swear, RT is fucking huge UC 'shipper: so many parts of VM scan as "man, these two should totally, nonsensically hook up". There were incredible sparks (not necessarily romantic sparks) between even the most unlikely characters.

I was reading some of the fic I wrote for the show (mmm, narcissism! ;) and it reminded me of how gloriously those characters inhabited my brain for a while. It was the summer I worked as an exam invigilator (yeah, that person who hands you extra paper when you're sitting your GCSEs) and I spent practically all my time at work writing VM fic (...professional!).

I wonder what Rob Thomas is doing these days. *timelapse* Answer: apparently he's adapting NZ tv shows. o__O

Semi-relatedly: I think I want to see Mamma Mia. :/ Damn you, Amanda Seyfried for being so beautiful in the print ads.

current mood:

nostalgic
current music: Alkaline Trio, 'Maybe I'll Catch Fire'

Friday, July 4th, 2008

8:18 pm - Australia's Next Top Model - finale

( Australia's Next Top Model - finale )

6:28 pm - Just when you think I've stopped talking about Hollyoaks, I start again... mwahaha--sorry :/

I'm not even gonna lie, I am stupidly happy to see Guy Burnet back on the set of Hollyoaks. Craig Dean is a crazy, narcissistic fucker -- but I love him.

Much as John Paul's random affair with a priest has been... well, random, but also occasionally pleasing, I am really much more interested in what Craig's been up to in the last year. Has he been dating boys in Dublin? Has he told his new friends about his ~*best and only friend at home*~? Is he still crazy? (My bet: yes.)

Man, I'm excited for Craig's return. :D

P.S. Unrelatedly! Now Gym Class Heroes are also touring the UK this September -- at exactly the same time as Cobra and TAI! but! not! together! Madness. Some kids are gonna have a very FBR week. ;)

current mood:

giggly
current music: The Hush Sound, 'A Dark Congregation'

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

6:56 pm - The Hush Sound

Hmmm. I watched this video interview with The Hush Sound. It's pretty interesting in general -- Bob and Greta met when they went to see Monsters Inc with mutual friends! hee! -- but most interesting is the fact that the band contemplated splitting up after their second album.

If this is common knowledge, I didn't know about it. In fact, I found it pretty shocking. Because the Hushies are, like, GOOD and stuff. They're really talented. The album that almost never was, Goodbye Blues is a legitimately amazing album. In fact, their three albums have shown a progression that really marks them (particularly Greta) as good musicians.

Yet they've obviously floundered. ( long ramble about The Hush Sound and the failed intersect of emo and indie, in general )

The moral of this story is: don't let your prejudices stop you from listening to emo music -- a lot of it's not all that emo anyway. ;)

current mood:

thoughtful
current music: The Hush Sound, 'The Boys Are Too Refined'

Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008

6:52 pm - first lines meme

I thought this was an interesting meme. Take the first lines of your most recent fic out of context and list them. The original meme suggested 25, but I got bored after 8. ;)

( 8 first lines )

current mood:

good
current music: Silverchair, 'Without You'

Tuesday, July 1st, 2008

7:01 pm - This is what I was thinking about today--

Gossip Girl is an odd, odd fandom to write RPF in. This is precisely because it actively encourages RPF-fantasy behaviour. It's the summer hiatus, so interest in the show is cooling. How do you (you the fan OR you the network exec/tabloid hack/profiteer, depending on your perspective) maintain interest in the show? You transfer the "gossip" to the actors. For the moment, RPF is the show. Can't follow Chuck and Nate's fraught friendship, so we follow Ed and Chace's supposed sekrit love affair.

There was an interesting

metafandom post a few weeks ago about the resemblance of tabloid journalism to RPF and it seems particularly apropos to Gossip Girl.

(This is basically my way of griping about the fact that every time I try to write some of my 6-month-old Ed/Chace story, a new bit of tabloid "canon" comes along and unravels my storyline. Tabloid stories like Perez's feel a lot like I, as an RPF writer, am being usurped. Hmph.)

current mood:

okay
current music: Empires, 'Hayley'

Monday, June 30th, 2008

6:28 pm - questions, questions

Noooooo. I finished reading the archives of babynamewizard.com. What am I gonna read at work now??

Can anyone recommend any good blogs/large websites? I need something work-safe, sufficiently interesting and NOT FUNNY. (I am not good at stifling laughter at work.) Recs appreciated.

Also: is there actually any ~~Brian~~ "tour diary" -type stuff on The Black Parade Is Dead -- or is it just the live show? *watches the Candyland part of LOtMS again*

current music: Empires

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

9:01 am

Last night/this morning, my f'list has uniformly been talking about the following:

1) Doctor Who
2) Pete Wentz in Out

I have not yet seen DW, so I will talk about la Wentz!

( Pete in Out magazine )

Today I will be touristing it up in Bath with

acroamatica! Yayz.

current mood:

cheerful

Saturday, June 28th, 2008

10:01 am - stunning, even.

God, this song is beautiful. I do love an epic piano ballad. *swoony sigh* And I am continually surprised and enthralled by the nuances of Sean Van Vleet's voice.

Empires - Stunned (to download: "music" + "allnightlong")

If you have somehow missed my, ahem, subtle hints: you can download 15 more Empires songs FOR FREE here. What have you got to lose, eh?

P.S. I also uploaded 6 of my favourite Kaki King songs for

mojokid, so if you want some wispy-pretty chick music, check that out. :)

current mood:

enthralled
current music: Empires, 'Stunned'

Friday, June 27th, 2008

5:16 pm - her arm is fleshy

( Australia's Next Top Model )

P.S. On a semi-related note, I've been rewatching s1 of ANTM recently (AGAIN. OMG I LOVE IT :x) and I feel the need to link to this youtube compilation of Elyse's top 10 moments. My favourite: "I completely didn't understand Robin's assertion that her haircut made her look like a prostitute, but then again, I'm not familiar with prostitute trends."

current mood:

okay
current music: Empires, I Want Bloooooooooood