Some changes around here
Jan. 4th, 2010 11:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bop_radarHey guys! Welcome to 2010! It's going to ROCK! :D
I'm excited about the year ahead because of my determination to focus on the Things That Really Matter. In '09 I spent a lot of energy getting my freelance career off the ground--now I can focus more on quality of life.
You may see some changes around here on my journal. It's been a while since I felt comfortable in fandom, and part of that is that I've outgrown some old aspects of my online activity.
So... first up, I'm cutting my friendslist. I would like to be able to read and keep up with it without filters or GUILT, so sadly that means substantial cutting. Four years of impulsive friending caught up with me! It doesn't mean I hate you. It doesn't mean I'll never visit your journal. But if we don't interact much, you haven't updated in ages or our interests have completely diverged, then I may have deleted you. Don't worry! You are still welcome here. Most of my posts are and will continue to be public, so you're not missing out.
Also, tip to anyone that actually wants to be mutual friends with me: just talk to me. Comment, email, PM, whatever. I respond well to interaction. *g* But I'm going to have to put myself on a very strict 'no auto-friending' policy for a while because friending waaaay too quickly in the past got me into this unmanageable situation.
Secondly, you may seem some content changes. Since my fandom interests kind of nose-dived in 09 (BSG tanked, TSCC got axed), I'm not sure how much meta there will be. If something sparks my interest, I'll post, but I'm not forcing it. I am, however, going to post about movies and books I'm reading, because that's where my attention is. I haven't used my books filter for eons, but I've decided to just post about books publicly instead--if you're not up for that, scroll past or remove me, it's cool. I just need to be a bit more 'me' on here.
I will also continue to post about vidding and get (roving) vidding chats rolling again from the end of Jan (I hope).
Doctor Who: Ugh. Hated it. Thanks for pissing on Whoverse on your way out, Russell. Please don't come back.
Sherlock Holmes: Better than I expected because I expected to hate it. Don't like Downey, don't like Holmes-as-action hero. Did, however, find some directorial or editing choices interesting, liked the London grime, some of the writing and Jude Law's Watson.
Avatar: I saw it in 3D IMAX which was a phenomenally awesome experience and highly recommended. Visual overload, felt like an explorer on another planet... loved the imaginative quality and phenomenal FX works. Found the actual plot to be intensely offensive though (as anticipated) and also mindbogglingly naive (clearly there will be no sequel because five minutes after the movie ended the humans returned and nuked the planet). Particularly disliked Mr Dumb Dumb, the lead character and the fact that the Na'vi needed to be reminded by him that they were a martial people. *eyeroll* Best unexpected element of awesome? Michelle Rodriguez as kickass pilot Trudy.
Red Cliff (in two parts): Thank GOD! Best cinema I've seen in eons. Gorgeous cinematography, grand scale, epic history done the right way, stellar cast, and best of all tons of fun for a military strategy geek. I liked the combination of understatement and restraint in personal interaction with the totally over-the-top military sequences. Not without some LOLZ, but in the good way. These have hit my favourite movies ever list. And now I have infinitely more love for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
obsessive24's gorgeous vid as well.
Legend of the Seeker: Watched the first couple of eps and totally hooked! Very LOLZ-y but as a fan of the 'adventure' section of the DVD store, I found it very enjoyable to see the tropes played out in a new way. Love the lead chick, though she seems destined to be forever upstaged by the Classic Naive Hero, alas. I wish they'd stop doing that omg-I-am-so-moved-by-you-saving me music every time he saves her, because CLEARLY she has far more innate awesome than he will ever have and she can fight better than him even though she insists on wearing really absurd clothing (though his pecs are working hard to distract us from that truth!). She also has an uncanny ability to travel vast distances swiftly: useful! Ugh, shitty gender politics, but otherwise seems fun. Also it was prettier than I'd expected from the screenshots and stuff I've seen of it... weird!
I started the year with some slim but heavy reading material... first up 'The Disappeared' by Kim Echelin. This was well worth reading and I'm glad I put it on my Christmas list. It's the story of a young American girl who falls for an exiled Cambodian musician. When the borders reopen after Pol Pot's reign of terror, he returns to trace his family. Ten years later, she follows him. It's written with a lot of restraint and with some very direct and graphic descriptions of the emotions resulting from living with the consequences of losing family members violently, senselessly and often without even knowing how they died. The absence of closure haunts and drives the narrative. It's deliberately not an easy read and I particularly admired the writer's courage in describing some of the less noble feelings surrounding the central relationship. There are a couple of very striking images resulting from this story that will remain in my mind a long time, I think.
'In the Country of Men' was less effective for me, though an interesting enough read. It's the story of a young boy in Libya, growing up with an absent father who resists the totalitarian regime and an alcoholic, erratic mother. It describes very well, perhaps too well, the way a young child absorbs the confusing emotions, underlying violence and cut-throatness of a regime that tortures and hangs its citizens publicly on TV, taps their phones and turns neighbours against one another. The young boy's relationship with his mother is disturbed also as a consequence of her 'illness' and immaturity. I found it an increasingly distasteful story--probably all the more true to life because of that, but for me it lacked a deeper grace that may have come from a more sympathetic lead character.
Now off to Brisbane for a music festival: should be fun!
I'm excited about the year ahead because of my determination to focus on the Things That Really Matter. In '09 I spent a lot of energy getting my freelance career off the ground--now I can focus more on quality of life.
You may see some changes around here on my journal. It's been a while since I felt comfortable in fandom, and part of that is that I've outgrown some old aspects of my online activity.
So... first up, I'm cutting my friendslist. I would like to be able to read and keep up with it without filters or GUILT, so sadly that means substantial cutting. Four years of impulsive friending caught up with me! It doesn't mean I hate you. It doesn't mean I'll never visit your journal. But if we don't interact much, you haven't updated in ages or our interests have completely diverged, then I may have deleted you. Don't worry! You are still welcome here. Most of my posts are and will continue to be public, so you're not missing out.
Also, tip to anyone that actually wants to be mutual friends with me: just talk to me. Comment, email, PM, whatever. I respond well to interaction. *g* But I'm going to have to put myself on a very strict 'no auto-friending' policy for a while because friending waaaay too quickly in the past got me into this unmanageable situation.
Secondly, you may seem some content changes. Since my fandom interests kind of nose-dived in 09 (BSG tanked, TSCC got axed), I'm not sure how much meta there will be. If something sparks my interest, I'll post, but I'm not forcing it. I am, however, going to post about movies and books I'm reading, because that's where my attention is. I haven't used my books filter for eons, but I've decided to just post about books publicly instead--if you're not up for that, scroll past or remove me, it's cool. I just need to be a bit more 'me' on here.
I will also continue to post about vidding and get (roving) vidding chats rolling again from the end of Jan (I hope).
Doctor Who: Ugh. Hated it. Thanks for pissing on Whoverse on your way out, Russell. Please don't come back.
Sherlock Holmes: Better than I expected because I expected to hate it. Don't like Downey, don't like Holmes-as-action hero. Did, however, find some directorial or editing choices interesting, liked the London grime, some of the writing and Jude Law's Watson.
Avatar: I saw it in 3D IMAX which was a phenomenally awesome experience and highly recommended. Visual overload, felt like an explorer on another planet... loved the imaginative quality and phenomenal FX works. Found the actual plot to be intensely offensive though (as anticipated) and also mindbogglingly naive (clearly there will be no sequel because five minutes after the movie ended the humans returned and nuked the planet). Particularly disliked Mr Dumb Dumb, the lead character and the fact that the Na'vi needed to be reminded by him that they were a martial people. *eyeroll* Best unexpected element of awesome? Michelle Rodriguez as kickass pilot Trudy.
Red Cliff (in two parts): Thank GOD! Best cinema I've seen in eons. Gorgeous cinematography, grand scale, epic history done the right way, stellar cast, and best of all tons of fun for a military strategy geek. I liked the combination of understatement and restraint in personal interaction with the totally over-the-top military sequences. Not without some LOLZ, but in the good way. These have hit my favourite movies ever list. And now I have infinitely more love for
obsessive24's gorgeous vid as well.Legend of the Seeker: Watched the first couple of eps and totally hooked! Very LOLZ-y but as a fan of the 'adventure' section of the DVD store, I found it very enjoyable to see the tropes played out in a new way. Love the lead chick, though she seems destined to be forever upstaged by the Classic Naive Hero, alas. I wish they'd stop doing that omg-I-am-so-moved-by-you-saving me music every time he saves her, because CLEARLY she has far more innate awesome than he will ever have and she can fight better than him even though she insists on wearing really absurd clothing (though his pecs are working hard to distract us from that truth!). She also has an uncanny ability to travel vast distances swiftly: useful! Ugh, shitty gender politics, but otherwise seems fun. Also it was prettier than I'd expected from the screenshots and stuff I've seen of it... weird!
I started the year with some slim but heavy reading material... first up 'The Disappeared' by Kim Echelin. This was well worth reading and I'm glad I put it on my Christmas list. It's the story of a young American girl who falls for an exiled Cambodian musician. When the borders reopen after Pol Pot's reign of terror, he returns to trace his family. Ten years later, she follows him. It's written with a lot of restraint and with some very direct and graphic descriptions of the emotions resulting from living with the consequences of losing family members violently, senselessly and often without even knowing how they died. The absence of closure haunts and drives the narrative. It's deliberately not an easy read and I particularly admired the writer's courage in describing some of the less noble feelings surrounding the central relationship. There are a couple of very striking images resulting from this story that will remain in my mind a long time, I think.
'In the Country of Men' was less effective for me, though an interesting enough read. It's the story of a young boy in Libya, growing up with an absent father who resists the totalitarian regime and an alcoholic, erratic mother. It describes very well, perhaps too well, the way a young child absorbs the confusing emotions, underlying violence and cut-throatness of a regime that tortures and hangs its citizens publicly on TV, taps their phones and turns neighbours against one another. The young boy's relationship with his mother is disturbed also as a consequence of her 'illness' and immaturity. I found it an increasingly distasteful story--probably all the more true to life because of that, but for me it lacked a deeper grace that may have come from a more sympathetic lead character.
Now off to Brisbane for a music festival: should be fun!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 01:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:11 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 03:35 pm (UTC)OMGS...I cannot believe I missed that until you pointed it out. *is embarrassed* I was too busy giggling, staring at the pretty and hand waving everything else.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 01:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:13 am (UTC)(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 01:52 am (UTC)Well-summarized re: Avatar.
I'm excited for more books posts from you too! I owe it to you that I read the Ness books and those were my favorite this year.
Happy 2010!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:15 am (UTC)Thanks for the book support! *g*
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 01:55 am (UTC)I'm just getting into Legend of the Seeker. It's not the type of show I generally go for, but, PRETTY! Kahlan is kickass and I dig Richard/Kahlan, so that's enough to keep me interested, at least for now. :)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:16 am (UTC)Yes, pretty setting, pretty man! :D
I think I have not met this Kahlan yet...Kahlan is the chick!! GOT IT! (I have foolishly assumed they were saying 'Caitlin')no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 02:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 02:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:20 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 02:45 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 03:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 03:50 am (UTC)I got distracted from LotS by Farscape S1 as I had a mission to get through S1 so I can return
Books... I love to read, but I mostly read fluffy fiction to escape. Yes, I'm shallow that way! Though I do like political thrillers too, guess that is my passion showing.
I completely missed the Dr Who train, but from what I'm seeing on my flist, most peeps are NOT happy with it right now!!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:25 am (UTC)most peeps are NOT happy with it right now!
Oh good! Did the Who peeps say it was ridculously self-indulgent and an affront to old-school Whoverse? :D I hope so.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 04:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 05:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:29 am (UTC)Oh! Kahlan is the chick? Is that how they spell her name? I thought it was Caitlin. HA!
Oh yeah, I fear the gender politics will continue to bug me... admittedly I'm sure they're working from crappy original material, and probably think their audience is 13 year old boys but I'm not very forgiving on this score. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 09:04 am (UTC)But yes, visually, a feast! And hey, at least it had a kickass female character (or two); and dumb boy was at least easy on the eye. Ish.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 11:04 am (UTC)The racial politics pushed me further than the average schlocky Hollywood blockbuster. It frustrated me because it could have been a more manageable, still mainstream, but tighter version of the same story, but no. However, as you point out, the gender politics were actually better than the average blockbuster so maybe it all comes out in the wash?
I wasn't that in to lead-guy's looks, no matter how disloyal that makes me as an Aussie. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 09:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 11:05 am (UTC)And yeah, John Simm wasted in Who. Thumbs down.
(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 10:49 am (UTC)Agree re: Dr Who. It's been bombing for a long time: not even John Simm in a dog collar could save it.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 11:06 am (UTC)Glad to hear support for book reviews! I used to be very hesitant to post stuff like that publicly because I thought people only wanted fannish stuff, but really things all bleed into each other, creatively, so it makes less and less sense to me to separate them.
(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:(no subject)
From:no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 11:44 am (UTC)I'm soooo torn on Avatar, cus I do want to see it cus of the techvisual wizardry but equally am not sure I could handle the fail of the plotline...
BUT RED CLIFF EEEE! I'm so glad more people are seeing it now. It's awesome. Cao Cao gets shot in the hair. It does not get better than that...
Though if you're interested in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms stories, I also totally recommend Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon. It's another recent movie, this time starring Andy Lau as Zhao Zhilong (Zhao Yun in Red Cliff - it's a fairly minor role, one of Liu Bei's generals with a big spear). It's more of a character piece and less visually stunning than Red Cliff - more a focus on the man in the battle than the grandeur of the battle. But it also really gave me a sense of the scope, not physically, but in terms of time, about how these stories stretch lifetimes and generations. Plus it has Sammo Hung doing some fantastic acting and who doesn't want to lick Andy Lau from time to time? ;)
I'm also hearing good things at least about the scenery in LotS. I may have to check that out eventually, I am, after all, in the market for new shows.
Re: your flist - as someone who keeps her flist small for exactly the reasons you gave, I understand completely, though I'm glad to make the cut. ;)
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 10:11 pm (UTC)With Avatar, can you go with someone who will find the plot equally as offensive? I found that I needed to rant afterwards... I think you need to reconcile yourself to the fact that the whole last hour is a write-off, but I found the first 1hr 45 mins to be enthralling because it was a series of new amazing visuals. It's definitely a movie where you have to take what good you can out of it and discard the rest, mentally. ;)
Cao Cao gets shot in the hair. It does not get better than that...
Hahahaha, SO TRUE! That was GOLD! His face of outrage!! :D And I'm halfway through Resurrection of the Dragon! :D It's interesting to compare the storytelling approach to Red Cliff--there's definitely a place for both! (Actually it just makes me want more Three Kingdoms movies, MORE MORE MORE!!)
I used to be a friend-all-comers kind of person and that was nice while it lasted... I just need to be more pragmatic now. That only lead to guilt and an inability to focus on the people that actually were giving something back.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 01:06 pm (UTC)I'm also very intrigued by Red Cliff now, so I need to check it out (
I was also very happy to see I made the cut! Wouldn't have blamed you a bit if you had (or will), but I'm glad I got to stay. <3
Happy 2010!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 10:13 pm (UTC)Red Cliff is magnificent.
You totally stay! Happy 2010 to you!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:20 pm (UTC)I'm tickled that you've started watching Legend of the Seeker - it's a very shiny show, and I think it'd be fun to vid. It's also a lot more upbeat, watchable and less squick-worthy than the books, which I had to give up on. There's only so much gang-rape a reader can take, or at least, as this reader can take. Legend of the Seeker isn't the cleverest show out there, but there are times where it feels like it's trying hard, and there have been some strong individual episodes. Plus I like seeing Kahlen prove that she's more dangerous than Richard is! There are worse reasons to watch a show, right?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:15 am (UTC)There's only so much gang-rape a reader can take
LOL. And that can be said of sooooo many fantasy series! I am so glad the show cleaned it up at least a *bit*. I'm totally invested in Kahlen besting Richard already and I've only seen three eps! Is that bad?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-04 07:39 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 01:06 am (UTC)The books sound really interesting! Although reading about violence is difficult for me.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:12 am (UTC)WHAT?!!! LOL, you jest, I hope! I feel your statement has the ring of so-mad-it-must-be-true though.
I wouldn't recommend 'In the Country of Men' then... I found the violence in that disturbing, though it wasn't gratuitous. In 'The Disappeared' the violence is 'off screen' so to speak, but it's still very haunting and it deals with genocide, so it's no light read either. There are times when I can handle such themes better than others.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 03:33 pm (UTC)That's how I feel about the last 'Torchwood'. I'm so pissed about it. I agree with the person who said RTD held onto control for a year too long. And yeah, 'The End of Time' was totally WTF but still, I was a bit teary to say bye to D. Tennett.
Sherlock Holmes:
I was looking forward to it and while I enjoyed it when I saw it I think now the thing I liked the most was the interaction between Holmes/Watson. I thought Downey and Law played very well against each other and their "bromance" scenes were the best part of the movie.
Legend of the Seeker:
ITA. Very LOLzy but she's awesome (though as you say: her clothes are ridiculous) and totally kick ass (yeah knives) and his abs and pecks are very distracting. Also: Ugh, shitty gender politics totally.
Have fun at the music festival!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:09 am (UTC)Yeah, Downey and Law did play surprisingly well. Surprising for me only because I don't like Downey. ;)
The music festival was very enjoyable. Except now I have bruises and a sore throat. Boo.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-05 11:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-06 07:01 pm (UTC)Still haven't seen Avatar yet. Hopefully this Sunday.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-10 10:04 am (UTC)It doesn't mean I hate you.
Date: 2010-01-26 02:15 pm (UTC)Red Cliff: Tony Leung is my childhood love since I was four, and he was a superfamous HK TV star :D
Legend of the seeker : aww shiny and fun! I did not think, I would like it, but alas, I am religously following it every Sunday on German TV :D