Semi-annual post
I realised with a bit of a start that my last LJ post was October last year. I do still lurk, checking the few active communities and journals still around, but I don't comment much any more.
I notice LJ has screwed with the formatting. Don't care. I'm not being spoilery about anything.
I didn't even post when my youngest niece was born at the end of last October! How slack is that? Makenna is a gorgeous, adorable, sweet little thing and is younger sister to the gorgeous, adorable, sweet little Grace, who turned three in July. Grace was recently diagnosed as a 2-3 on the autism spectrum, which explained some behaviours that had been ringing bells with a few of us for a while. I think we were all thinking we were just reading too much into it (and my father would even get very unhelpfully defensive of her whenever the idea was brought up, as if it was something we were accusing her of doing wrong. I occasionally still get brought up short by how old-fashioned he can be. When Makenna came along and was just such an enormous contrast to Grace in almost every way, hitting every milestone on schedule, Mark and Kelly went and got a professional opinion. Catching it this early can only be a good thing, and the child psychiatrist said that it can be very difficult to diagnose and that that 2-3 reading may change. Her speech development has been a bit delayed but has leapt ahead dramatically in recent weeks, and everyone's hopeful that when she develops a some better verbal skills, she may not be quite so volatile. She's not always volatile, btw. I hate to make it sound like she's difficult - I mean she CAN be, but usually she's just a regular cute kid who just spends a lot of time ignoring you. Loves her arts and crafts, though - I get my best interactions with her if I can get her interested in drawing with crayons or colouring in. I am kickass at drawing animals for her to scribble all over :) Also, that kid may have some issues but problem solving is NOT one of them. Even when she's naughty, you just sometimes have to admire how damn clever she is about it.
In fannish news, god, where was I fannishly when last I posted? Let's see what's happening with fannish me:
Most recent Sherlock series? Meh. MEH, I say. Haven't bothered rewatching since it aired so I can't even say much more. Apparently there's a gag reel forthcoming on an upcoming re-release, though. I may have to find that.
Renward put me onto Archer, which I freaking LOVE. Psychotically funny, if you like it dark. Basically a workplace comedy, only with secret agents. Great characters, most of whom are terrible, self-absorbed people whom you mostly like anyway (except Cyril. He's a complete dick. So is Archer, but in a different, less wholly-unlikeable way. Oh, just watch it, you'll see what I mean). It reminds me in some ways of Arrested Development, in terms of the structure and the way the humour works. Having several AD cast members would seem to indicate that this is no accident. And it has done that rare thing - gotten me into a canonical het ship. Archer/Lana FOREVER! They are MFEO and I dare anyone watching that show to deny it :)
Watched the Forever pilot, and it felt like something I'd like to stick with. It's like they've thrown together a bunch of other fannish properties but seeing as how they're all ones I like, that's fine. (Bit of Highlander, bit of New Amsterdam, bit of the various modern Sherlock Holmeses, and I was seeing Dresden Files in the relationship between him and the cops as well). It's got the lovely Ioan Gruffudd as an immortal medical examiner with Sherlock Holmes-style deductive powers, although unlike the Sherlocks in other modern takes, he's actually a nice, well-adjusted person. Having a protagonist who doesn't act like a dick will be nice. Here's hoping it lasts longer than the similarly-themed New Amsterdam.
Orange is the New Black. YES. Although this show has a (to me) hugely unlikeable protagonist, it has such a rich and varied and well-characterised supporting cast that I can deal, especially when the main character isn't centre-stage, which is reasonably often. Also, it's just a good show. Took me a while to fully click, there are some power-play elements I didn't like and still don't, but it IS a prison show and I guess it's not that unrealistic. Even the awful main character is well-characterised - her perspective is actually very skewed (partly by truly staggering amounts of white privelige, partly by her own epic self-absorption) and after several episodes it becomes clear that we were seeing other characters and situations through her lens and things are rarely as they seem. Not quite an Unreliable Narrator but definitely an unreliable perspective. Also, it makes it very clear just how fucked the "justice" system is. Who goes to prison? The poor, the uneducated, the socially disadvantaged, the mentally ill. No support is given to those leaving and nobody comes out the same as when they go in. Who chooses to become a guard? People who can't get anything better or who actively enjoy positions of power in the workplace because they're too pathetic to have it anywhere else. (not everyone, of course - the show makes a point of having quite a range of people on either side of that divide. Some of the prisoners are downright mean or violent, some of the guards are reasonable authority figures. Favourite characters? Probably the devastatingly sexy Alex and the wryly funny and philosphical Nicky.
Penny Dreadful Man, I LOVED this show. A Victorian-era monster mash with all the regulars, Timothy Dalton towering over everyone and having a whale of a time, Billie Piper murdering a Irish accent, Harry Treadaway being a pretty cute little Victor Frankenstein, Josh Hartnett providing the American connection and totally not sucking at it. Eclipsing them all, however, is Eva Green being an absolute powerhouse as a woman with demons (LITERALLY.) She is utterly amazing, especially during scenes which more often than not nowadays would be augmented with CGI. Not this time - the producers clearly know what a strong actress they have in her and they trust her to be terrifying without help. It was a good call. Very high production values, and it's already been renewed, if you haven't caught it yet.
Veronamay finally succeeded in getting me to watch The Good Wife, which, if I'm being honest, I was avoiding mainly because of the title. Usually anything with "wife" or "daughter" in the title is one to avoid. There are always exceptions though, and TGW is one of the best dramas I ever saw. Also one of the best legal procedurals and best workplace shows too. It has a huge roster of brilliant guest stars, which says to me that the industry knows how good this show is and they all want to be involved. Season six is just about to start, so it's a good time to catch up :)
True Detective was mind-blowing. LOVED IT. Loved seeing the Internet eat its own head when it didn't go the way it wanted.
Almost Human. RIP.
Defiance: Still love it. Frontier sci fi, plenty of aliens. It's pretty good overall but really shines when Stahma (Jaime Murray) and Datak (Tony Curran) are involved, they are by far the best characters.
On the cinema front, it's been a pretty good year. I recently saw Snowpiercer, which was really great, and smart, and SET ON A FUTURISTIC TRAIN which is a microcosm of society and has Tilda Swinton, but unfortunately, a few hours later I saw...
Predestination, which was superlative. It's an Australian production (set in the USA, because the industry sucks) by the Spierig Brothers (did you like Daybreakers? Same guys) and involves time travel, a bartender who is a Temperal Agent (Ethan Hawke), an androgynous-looking man (Sarah Snook) and a recruiter (Noah Taylor) and a bomber and that is SO not what it's about, but I can't tell you any more. Anyone who spoils this movie is a war criminal. Try and see it, it's had little publicity and a tiny release, but it has been sold to a US distributor and is doing the festivals circuit.
Other good movies this year? Maleficent, which was far from perfect but did a lot of stuff well, including taking a more modern look at a frankly, pretty lousy story where females are concerned. Angelina Jolie was brilliant. The Lego Movie was also a hugely pleasant surprise. If you think I'm kidding, give it a go. I promise you won't regret it. SPACESHIP! I liked The Other Woman, which got terrible reviews and, I won't lie, contained one or two scenes that REALLY failed, but overall, I loved it. I always hate movies that pit women against one another fighting over a man - this one does the right thing, ie, they find out the dirtbag is cheating, realise HE is the problem, not the other women, become friends and set out for revenge! :) Cameron Diaz is #1 for physical comedy in Hollywood today, as far as I am concerned. And other sorts of comedy, too. Hilarious, when she gets the chance. Also it was a while ago now but The Heat was awesome. Just a perfectly standard buddy cop comedy, only with female leads. Whoda thunk? What else? The RoboCop remake (not awful, not awesome) and 22 Jump Street - that rare sequel that improves on the original. basically, they took everything we all likes about the first (ridiculousness, homoerotic buddies, self-aware meta) and made it MORE.
BOOKS. It's been a crap year for books for me, but I will give a shoutout to Katherine Addison's (she's Sarah Monette, if you know her stuff) The Goblin Emperor which is a plot-heavy, action-light tale of court intrigue, set around a truly likeable, kind protagonist, a fourth-in-line kid who never expected to be emperor but ended up on the throne thanks to an airship accident taking out everyone ahead of him in line. It treads quite lightly but doesn't avoid issues such as female empowerment and same-sex relationships. I'd like a sequel but it's perfectly fine as a standalone story.
I'm reading Diana Gabaldon's Cross Stitch at the moment, thanks to the Starz adaptation (going under the US title Outlander.) It's all right - honestly, these days, me getting to the end of a book at all counts as a win, so it's already doing better than a lot of others. I mainly started watching the show for Tobias Menzies, but he's been used lightly so far and it's decent enough without him. Feels exactly like things made by the US but not set in the US always do, ie way too over the top with cliches about the country it's set in. Like when the Simpsons came to Australia, only in Scotland. Not a deal-breaker at this stage. The heroine is great, I like her. The Hot Scotsman she's with - eh. take him or leave him, at this point.
Took a family trip to see the stage version of Strictly Ballroom, which was pretty much what you'd expect a stage musical of a Baz Luhrman movie to be. Ie - crazy stupid awesome. I'd love him to repeat the format with Moulin Rouge!, which is my favourite of his movies. And this really WAS ages ago, but I took a trip to Melbourne to see Sir David Attenborough when he came out here to do a series of talks. I can't believe I never updated about that. He was brilliant, and got a reception from the crowd worthy of any rock star. I grew up on his documentaries, I have fond memories of Life on Earth and the Living Planet, et al.
I've seen two gigs since I last updated - how bad is it that I didn't even update about them? Leonard Cohen back in November, which was one of the best shows I ever saw. I've been a fan of him for years, his band is insanely talented and accomplished, and two-thirds of his backup singers record separately as The Webb Sisters, and they were so angelic I went and bought their albums. Bit folksy, but I don't mind that, and it's true what they say: nothing harmonises like kin. Cohen himself is a spry and sprightly eighty (I know he's fit for his age, but I didn't want to miss this tour as it might have been my last chance) and his voice has only deepened with age. Fantastic night.
The other gig I saw since updating was Queen + Adam Lambert (bit different to Leonard, LOL), which was great! We had excellent seats, second tier stage right, close enough to not need to rely on the screens, which we were a little side-on for anyway. The band were clearly loving touring again, and I thought Lambert was great fun. Not trying to be Freddie at all, but doing the songs justice, no trouble singing in Freddie's register either. Five fabulous costume changes, great patter, I heard every song I wanted to hear (apart from Don't Stop Me Now, boourns) and only maybe two or three I wasn't familiar with. I was REALLY wanting I Want To Break Free, Somebody to Love, Seven Seas of Rhye, Killer Queen, We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody (of course) all of which we got. Impossible not to chair - dance the night away. This was a great opportunity - although I love Adam Lambert himself, I don't much like the light pop that is his usual output. Seeing him do the Queen classics was perfect. And we had a surprise appearance from Lady Gaga! She dueted with him on Another One Bites the Dust. Again, I don't like her usual style but what she proved here is that she has a HELL of a voice. And hey, finally, I'm at a gig with a surprise guest!
OK, I might see you when I update in another year :P
I notice LJ has screwed with the formatting. Don't care. I'm not being spoilery about anything.
I didn't even post when my youngest niece was born at the end of last October! How slack is that? Makenna is a gorgeous, adorable, sweet little thing and is younger sister to the gorgeous, adorable, sweet little Grace, who turned three in July. Grace was recently diagnosed as a 2-3 on the autism spectrum, which explained some behaviours that had been ringing bells with a few of us for a while. I think we were all thinking we were just reading too much into it (and my father would even get very unhelpfully defensive of her whenever the idea was brought up, as if it was something we were accusing her of doing wrong. I occasionally still get brought up short by how old-fashioned he can be. When Makenna came along and was just such an enormous contrast to Grace in almost every way, hitting every milestone on schedule, Mark and Kelly went and got a professional opinion. Catching it this early can only be a good thing, and the child psychiatrist said that it can be very difficult to diagnose and that that 2-3 reading may change. Her speech development has been a bit delayed but has leapt ahead dramatically in recent weeks, and everyone's hopeful that when she develops a some better verbal skills, she may not be quite so volatile. She's not always volatile, btw. I hate to make it sound like she's difficult - I mean she CAN be, but usually she's just a regular cute kid who just spends a lot of time ignoring you. Loves her arts and crafts, though - I get my best interactions with her if I can get her interested in drawing with crayons or colouring in. I am kickass at drawing animals for her to scribble all over :) Also, that kid may have some issues but problem solving is NOT one of them. Even when she's naughty, you just sometimes have to admire how damn clever she is about it.
In fannish news, god, where was I fannishly when last I posted? Let's see what's happening with fannish me:
Most recent Sherlock series? Meh. MEH, I say. Haven't bothered rewatching since it aired so I can't even say much more. Apparently there's a gag reel forthcoming on an upcoming re-release, though. I may have to find that.
Renward put me onto Archer, which I freaking LOVE. Psychotically funny, if you like it dark. Basically a workplace comedy, only with secret agents. Great characters, most of whom are terrible, self-absorbed people whom you mostly like anyway (except Cyril. He's a complete dick. So is Archer, but in a different, less wholly-unlikeable way. Oh, just watch it, you'll see what I mean). It reminds me in some ways of Arrested Development, in terms of the structure and the way the humour works. Having several AD cast members would seem to indicate that this is no accident. And it has done that rare thing - gotten me into a canonical het ship. Archer/Lana FOREVER! They are MFEO and I dare anyone watching that show to deny it :)
Watched the Forever pilot, and it felt like something I'd like to stick with. It's like they've thrown together a bunch of other fannish properties but seeing as how they're all ones I like, that's fine. (Bit of Highlander, bit of New Amsterdam, bit of the various modern Sherlock Holmeses, and I was seeing Dresden Files in the relationship between him and the cops as well). It's got the lovely Ioan Gruffudd as an immortal medical examiner with Sherlock Holmes-style deductive powers, although unlike the Sherlocks in other modern takes, he's actually a nice, well-adjusted person. Having a protagonist who doesn't act like a dick will be nice. Here's hoping it lasts longer than the similarly-themed New Amsterdam.
Orange is the New Black. YES. Although this show has a (to me) hugely unlikeable protagonist, it has such a rich and varied and well-characterised supporting cast that I can deal, especially when the main character isn't centre-stage, which is reasonably often. Also, it's just a good show. Took me a while to fully click, there are some power-play elements I didn't like and still don't, but it IS a prison show and I guess it's not that unrealistic. Even the awful main character is well-characterised - her perspective is actually very skewed (partly by truly staggering amounts of white privelige, partly by her own epic self-absorption) and after several episodes it becomes clear that we were seeing other characters and situations through her lens and things are rarely as they seem. Not quite an Unreliable Narrator but definitely an unreliable perspective. Also, it makes it very clear just how fucked the "justice" system is. Who goes to prison? The poor, the uneducated, the socially disadvantaged, the mentally ill. No support is given to those leaving and nobody comes out the same as when they go in. Who chooses to become a guard? People who can't get anything better or who actively enjoy positions of power in the workplace because they're too pathetic to have it anywhere else. (not everyone, of course - the show makes a point of having quite a range of people on either side of that divide. Some of the prisoners are downright mean or violent, some of the guards are reasonable authority figures. Favourite characters? Probably the devastatingly sexy Alex and the wryly funny and philosphical Nicky.
Penny Dreadful Man, I LOVED this show. A Victorian-era monster mash with all the regulars, Timothy Dalton towering over everyone and having a whale of a time, Billie Piper murdering a Irish accent, Harry Treadaway being a pretty cute little Victor Frankenstein, Josh Hartnett providing the American connection and totally not sucking at it. Eclipsing them all, however, is Eva Green being an absolute powerhouse as a woman with demons (LITERALLY.) She is utterly amazing, especially during scenes which more often than not nowadays would be augmented with CGI. Not this time - the producers clearly know what a strong actress they have in her and they trust her to be terrifying without help. It was a good call. Very high production values, and it's already been renewed, if you haven't caught it yet.
Veronamay finally succeeded in getting me to watch The Good Wife, which, if I'm being honest, I was avoiding mainly because of the title. Usually anything with "wife" or "daughter" in the title is one to avoid. There are always exceptions though, and TGW is one of the best dramas I ever saw. Also one of the best legal procedurals and best workplace shows too. It has a huge roster of brilliant guest stars, which says to me that the industry knows how good this show is and they all want to be involved. Season six is just about to start, so it's a good time to catch up :)
True Detective was mind-blowing. LOVED IT. Loved seeing the Internet eat its own head when it didn't go the way it wanted.
Almost Human. RIP.
Defiance: Still love it. Frontier sci fi, plenty of aliens. It's pretty good overall but really shines when Stahma (Jaime Murray) and Datak (Tony Curran) are involved, they are by far the best characters.
On the cinema front, it's been a pretty good year. I recently saw Snowpiercer, which was really great, and smart, and SET ON A FUTURISTIC TRAIN which is a microcosm of society and has Tilda Swinton, but unfortunately, a few hours later I saw...
Predestination, which was superlative. It's an Australian production (set in the USA, because the industry sucks) by the Spierig Brothers (did you like Daybreakers? Same guys) and involves time travel, a bartender who is a Temperal Agent (Ethan Hawke), an androgynous-looking man (Sarah Snook) and a recruiter (Noah Taylor) and a bomber and that is SO not what it's about, but I can't tell you any more. Anyone who spoils this movie is a war criminal. Try and see it, it's had little publicity and a tiny release, but it has been sold to a US distributor and is doing the festivals circuit.
Other good movies this year? Maleficent, which was far from perfect but did a lot of stuff well, including taking a more modern look at a frankly, pretty lousy story where females are concerned. Angelina Jolie was brilliant. The Lego Movie was also a hugely pleasant surprise. If you think I'm kidding, give it a go. I promise you won't regret it. SPACESHIP! I liked The Other Woman, which got terrible reviews and, I won't lie, contained one or two scenes that REALLY failed, but overall, I loved it. I always hate movies that pit women against one another fighting over a man - this one does the right thing, ie, they find out the dirtbag is cheating, realise HE is the problem, not the other women, become friends and set out for revenge! :) Cameron Diaz is #1 for physical comedy in Hollywood today, as far as I am concerned. And other sorts of comedy, too. Hilarious, when she gets the chance. Also it was a while ago now but The Heat was awesome. Just a perfectly standard buddy cop comedy, only with female leads. Whoda thunk? What else? The RoboCop remake (not awful, not awesome) and 22 Jump Street - that rare sequel that improves on the original. basically, they took everything we all likes about the first (ridiculousness, homoerotic buddies, self-aware meta) and made it MORE.
BOOKS. It's been a crap year for books for me, but I will give a shoutout to Katherine Addison's (she's Sarah Monette, if you know her stuff) The Goblin Emperor which is a plot-heavy, action-light tale of court intrigue, set around a truly likeable, kind protagonist, a fourth-in-line kid who never expected to be emperor but ended up on the throne thanks to an airship accident taking out everyone ahead of him in line. It treads quite lightly but doesn't avoid issues such as female empowerment and same-sex relationships. I'd like a sequel but it's perfectly fine as a standalone story.
I'm reading Diana Gabaldon's Cross Stitch at the moment, thanks to the Starz adaptation (going under the US title Outlander.) It's all right - honestly, these days, me getting to the end of a book at all counts as a win, so it's already doing better than a lot of others. I mainly started watching the show for Tobias Menzies, but he's been used lightly so far and it's decent enough without him. Feels exactly like things made by the US but not set in the US always do, ie way too over the top with cliches about the country it's set in. Like when the Simpsons came to Australia, only in Scotland. Not a deal-breaker at this stage. The heroine is great, I like her. The Hot Scotsman she's with - eh. take him or leave him, at this point.
Took a family trip to see the stage version of Strictly Ballroom, which was pretty much what you'd expect a stage musical of a Baz Luhrman movie to be. Ie - crazy stupid awesome. I'd love him to repeat the format with Moulin Rouge!, which is my favourite of his movies. And this really WAS ages ago, but I took a trip to Melbourne to see Sir David Attenborough when he came out here to do a series of talks. I can't believe I never updated about that. He was brilliant, and got a reception from the crowd worthy of any rock star. I grew up on his documentaries, I have fond memories of Life on Earth and the Living Planet, et al.
I've seen two gigs since I last updated - how bad is it that I didn't even update about them? Leonard Cohen back in November, which was one of the best shows I ever saw. I've been a fan of him for years, his band is insanely talented and accomplished, and two-thirds of his backup singers record separately as The Webb Sisters, and they were so angelic I went and bought their albums. Bit folksy, but I don't mind that, and it's true what they say: nothing harmonises like kin. Cohen himself is a spry and sprightly eighty (I know he's fit for his age, but I didn't want to miss this tour as it might have been my last chance) and his voice has only deepened with age. Fantastic night.
The other gig I saw since updating was Queen + Adam Lambert (bit different to Leonard, LOL), which was great! We had excellent seats, second tier stage right, close enough to not need to rely on the screens, which we were a little side-on for anyway. The band were clearly loving touring again, and I thought Lambert was great fun. Not trying to be Freddie at all, but doing the songs justice, no trouble singing in Freddie's register either. Five fabulous costume changes, great patter, I heard every song I wanted to hear (apart from Don't Stop Me Now, boourns) and only maybe two or three I wasn't familiar with. I was REALLY wanting I Want To Break Free, Somebody to Love, Seven Seas of Rhye, Killer Queen, We Are the Champions, Bohemian Rhapsody (of course) all of which we got. Impossible not to chair - dance the night away. This was a great opportunity - although I love Adam Lambert himself, I don't much like the light pop that is his usual output. Seeing him do the Queen classics was perfect. And we had a surprise appearance from Lady Gaga! She dueted with him on Another One Bites the Dust. Again, I don't like her usual style but what she proved here is that she has a HELL of a voice. And hey, finally, I'm at a gig with a surprise guest!
OK, I might see you when I update in another year :P