bromancing
Jul. 2nd, 2008 02:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
swatkat+ Crack picspam: I love Galactica!. This will make sense only if you've seen the Discovery ad xkcd parodied a couple of days ago. It's Adama/Roslin-ish, but that won't stop you from enjoying this. Boom-de-yada D'Anna!
+ As a part of my ongoing Read More, Less TV campaign, I read Salman Rushdie's Shame. I loved it. In many ways, it is better-written than Midnight's Children. Better constructed. His language here is carefully controlled and elegant (as opposed to the self-indulgent gibberish of his later books), with passages of extraordinary lyricism (such as the description of Babar Shakil's 'descent' to heaven). It's also an angry book, the narrative structure allowing the author to directly intervene and comment on things (the political situation in Pakistan). And the device actually works, because it's so beautifully controlled, and you actually enjoy the author's unabashedly political opinions (sharp, biting prose) on dictatorship and Islamic fundamentalism. What I found particularly impressive was his handling of gender issues, one of my biggest problems with Midnight's Children. Omar Khayyam's story began in a manner very similar to Saleem Sinai's, and I thought, here we go again. But it wasn't the same, he knew what he was doing, and that's just awesome. I will also not forget the final scene - Omar Khayyam embracing the fiery Shame and going up in flames, that *image* - anytime soon.
In short: great book, better written than Midnight's Children, even though it didn't ping me emotionally the way Midnight's Children did (probably because it deals with some issues very close to my heart).
(Also, were Iskander Harappa and Arjumand meant to be parodies of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto? Hmm. I'll go check. ETA: So it would seem! I object to the use of the word 'secede' - in this article I've linked to here - with respect to the creation of Pakistan, however, because that assumes that there *was* an India to secede *from*. There wasn't. We embarked on our 'tryst with destiny' on 14th and 15th August, 1947, respectively. Morover, 'secede' undermines the significance of the Partition, which never goes down very well with me.)
Next up: The Glass Palace, Amitabh Ghosh.
+ Meanwhile, HIMYM: Alexis Denisof *AND* Amy Acker in one episode? I LOVE THIS SHOW AND ITS GUEST STARS.
This show is just a bundle of delight, and I've loved every moment of it. My love for every single character cannot be textually rendered, so I'll just let it rest with one more SQUEEOMG.
What I find really interesting about this show is how neatly it takes the standard sitcom conventions and turns them over their head. Ted and Marshall, for instance, do all the conventionally 'feminine' things without being your standard television effeminate parody, and the most conventionally 'masculine' character is *Robin* (Barney doesn't count).
Actually, speaking of Barney - I don't want to w00bify him at all, but I'm beginning to suspect that Barney is still secretly a *little* sensitive. Very secretly. Only a small part of his self. A very small, AWESOME part. The part that says "Hey!" and looks unaccountably hurt everytime Ted fails to be a suitable bro. ♥
Also - I know I'm supposed to ship Barney and Robin together, and I probably will, once the show gives me more than what we got in Zip. Zip. Zip (which was awesome, of course), but right now I'm kinda enjoying Ted and Robin doing whatever it is that they're doing.
MARSHALL AND LILY ARE AWESOME. Seriously, it's SO AMAZING to see Aly Hannigan doing something like this after all these years, and YAY MARSHALL AND LILY!
Now on to Season 2. YAY!
+ As a part of my ongoing Read More, Less TV campaign, I read Salman Rushdie's Shame. I loved it. In many ways, it is better-written than Midnight's Children. Better constructed. His language here is carefully controlled and elegant (as opposed to the self-indulgent gibberish of his later books), with passages of extraordinary lyricism (such as the description of Babar Shakil's 'descent' to heaven). It's also an angry book, the narrative structure allowing the author to directly intervene and comment on things (the political situation in Pakistan). And the device actually works, because it's so beautifully controlled, and you actually enjoy the author's unabashedly political opinions (sharp, biting prose) on dictatorship and Islamic fundamentalism. What I found particularly impressive was his handling of gender issues, one of my biggest problems with Midnight's Children. Omar Khayyam's story began in a manner very similar to Saleem Sinai's, and I thought, here we go again. But it wasn't the same, he knew what he was doing, and that's just awesome. I will also not forget the final scene - Omar Khayyam embracing the fiery Shame and going up in flames, that *image* - anytime soon.
In short: great book, better written than Midnight's Children, even though it didn't ping me emotionally the way Midnight's Children did (probably because it deals with some issues very close to my heart).
(Also, were Iskander Harappa and Arjumand meant to be parodies of Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto? Hmm. I'll go check. ETA: So it would seem! I object to the use of the word 'secede' - in this article I've linked to here - with respect to the creation of Pakistan, however, because that assumes that there *was* an India to secede *from*. There wasn't. We embarked on our 'tryst with destiny' on 14th and 15th August, 1947, respectively. Morover, 'secede' undermines the significance of the Partition, which never goes down very well with me.)
Next up: The Glass Palace, Amitabh Ghosh.
+ Meanwhile, HIMYM: Alexis Denisof *AND* Amy Acker in one episode? I LOVE THIS SHOW AND ITS GUEST STARS.
This show is just a bundle of delight, and I've loved every moment of it. My love for every single character cannot be textually rendered, so I'll just let it rest with one more SQUEEOMG.
What I find really interesting about this show is how neatly it takes the standard sitcom conventions and turns them over their head. Ted and Marshall, for instance, do all the conventionally 'feminine' things without being your standard television effeminate parody, and the most conventionally 'masculine' character is *Robin* (Barney doesn't count).
Actually, speaking of Barney - I don't want to w00bify him at all, but I'm beginning to suspect that Barney is still secretly a *little* sensitive. Very secretly. Only a small part of his self. A very small, AWESOME part. The part that says "Hey!" and looks unaccountably hurt everytime Ted fails to be a suitable bro. ♥
Also - I know I'm supposed to ship Barney and Robin together, and I probably will, once the show gives me more than what we got in Zip. Zip. Zip (which was awesome, of course), but right now I'm kinda enjoying Ted and Robin doing whatever it is that they're doing.
MARSHALL AND LILY ARE AWESOME. Seriously, it's SO AMAZING to see Aly Hannigan doing something like this after all these years, and YAY MARSHALL AND LILY!
Now on to Season 2. YAY!
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-02 11:57 am (UTC)Would you believe that it still gets better?
(IMO. I know people who started watching in S1 and liked S3 less; I love it, and I love S2, and my favorite episodes are actually mostly in those two seasons.)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 11:48 am (UTC)OMG (Watching S2 right now)
I know people who started watching in S1 and liked S3 less
Possibly because it interferes with shipping? And well, people *are* resistant to change that way, so... I don't see myself being in that category, though, because when I fall in love with a show, it would have to do something REALLY OUTRAGEOUS (like the Tritter arc; and I'd say that it too had its redeeming points) for me to dislike it.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 05:41 am (UTC)I haven't been able to see all of season one, because my computer won't allow torrents. But, what I have seen is so awesome. So rarely do I find a show where I genuinely love virtually every single character. Especially Barney. Because, truly, his awesomeness knows no bounds.
(Is the one where Barney's brother shows up in season one? I don't remember, but if it is and you've seen it, I think there needs to be a little bit of fan-flailing, yes?)
And I totally second the Marshall and Lily! (It's so strange, I've been watching Buffy at the same time as HIMYM, and the Hanniganness is overload. In a fabulous way. But so strange to see Evil!Willow, followed by adorable Lily. But, GREAT FUN, let me tell you.)
no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 03:47 pm (UTC)Barney's brother shows up in S2.10, "Single Stamina". It's an awesome, awesome episode, seriously, HOW IS HE SO AWESOME HOW?
Argh. Evil!Willow. I don't really dislike S6 the way a lot of people do, but it was very badly handled. And the magic = crack storyline is just ARGH (especially when they had ALREADY set up evil!Willow in S4 and in the resurrection).
no subject
Date: 2008-07-04 10:45 pm (UTC)SO AWESOME. I love that episode greatly. Bro out nephew and uncle style!
Magic = crack wouldn't have been quite so bad, if they didn't beat us over the head with it (a la a David Shore metaphor). I don't dislike S6 either, and I have to admit I'm kinda partial to Evil!Willow. (I don't remember the S4 set up?) But I love the Xander/Evil!Willow moment in the finale, and DAMN YOU JOSS for killing off Tara. That was just RUDE.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 04:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-05 11:51 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-07-06 05:07 am (UTC)<a href='http://www.utorrent.com/faq.php>u torrent website has a nifty FAQ</a> you may wanna take a look at
no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 02:04 am (UTC)Thank you for the link! I'm not sure how much help it will be (I haven't had a chance to really look at it yet) as I can't download u torrent since they don't make it for mac. But maybe some of the problems/solutions will be the same? I'll definitely check it out.
Also (totally unrelated): Do my eyes deceive me, or have you not signed up for Cuddy Fest? Because that's just not cool, man. SO NOT legendary.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 01:28 pm (UTC)And no, your eyes do not deceive you. I'm still pondering prompts. But I WILL sign up, I promise.
no subject
Date: 2008-07-07 06:16 pm (UTC)Thank you! You helped SO MUCH. Seriously. ♥
You'd better. Cuddy Fest needs your brilliance! It will so not be the same without it :(
no subject
Date: 2008-07-08 01:54 pm (UTC)