Boppy's Journal

dionusia says she blames me for this Kara/Lee picspam of phallic symbolism. I say we both blame Smallville: it trains one's eye well. ;-) Regardless, this is picspasm of JOY and must be shared! You are the BEST, Denise! MWAH!

The last couple of days have been a roller-coaster of emotion, fandom-wise, for me. My apologies to anyone I owe comments to; I'm more than a little behind.

The dust settling, I've recovered my zen about Katee Sackhoff's comments on Kara/Lee. Without dismissing Katee's comments out of hand--which I really did not want to do because I greatly respect her as an actress. One of the reasons I found her comment so difficult to process was because I'm a very logical person--and as indigo419 pointed out 'there's a confusion between logic and love' in Katee's comment. To quote Indi again: 'one can love a person regardless of who else might be 'better' (more adult, less volatile...) for you.' That sums up BOTH pilots perfectly for me. And I suspect it was what Katee was trying to express as well. Jamie has expressed an almost identical opinion on occasion (an ISOLATED occasion! *g*)--saying he felt Dee was the healthier option for Lee and from that point of view he'd rather Lee ended up with her. But he also acknowledged that love is not logical. And that's been proven more than true this week in the ensuing kerfuffle in BSG fandom! I think many of us have been searching for a logical solution to what is, in fact, an emotional issue and needs to be resolved on that level.

Having had so many people comfort me, I decided to repay the favour a teenie bit at sasa_hq (which is loads of fun, by the way--many other comforting pilot-y things can be found there!) by posting this tongue-in-cheek manifesto: Hope in Hardship.

Other things making me happyful?! THIS ICON! Seriously. It pleases me on multiple levels. No really! Oh, ok, fine: it's just hot! ;-)

Also, I've been blown away by the reaction to Southside. It makes staying up all night to finish it 100% worthwhile! I was pleased with it at a personal level, but I had no idea so many other people would enjoy it. And I am so grateful for the feedback. (You are going to have to kick my ego back down to size if you keep this up!)

Now a bit of Heroes-related honesty from me: my reaction to the finale was probably coloured more than a little bit by my already very cranky mood. Despite my best efforts to get my venting re. Katee's comments over with before the finale, I did watch it while fuming. ;-) And ( cut for Heroes finale spoilers and a spoiler about next season )

Before I got hijacked by my own squee about bananainpyjamas's Break, I was going to rec her Matrix vid. My Own Summer, a Neo character study through all three movies, is a magnificent achievement. I'm in awe of her action vid construction--completely masterful and awesome eyecandy. I downloaded the glorious large version--it's seriously spectacular stuff!

bradcpu's Vertigo is a Season 2 House vid that I really admire. It's uncomfortable and trippy viewing, which is true to the season, my favourite season so far. I don't often talk about House, but I've had a lot of issues with Season 3. This was a welcome reminder of its strengths back in Season 2. The vid gets better and better on rewatching, though I felt more than a little strung out after watching it three times in a row! ;-)

Another vid coming out of the Reverie Style Contest is Precious by Xandra, a Dexter vid. Dexter's another show I don't often talk about but which I enjoyed. I've found that people have very different takes on Dex's character, so this vid may not be for everyone, but I found it very powerful.

While we're on Dexter, I've been meaning to rec chasarumba's Keep Breathing, a Deb character study. Deb is my favourite character on Dexter, my way 'in' to the Dexter universe, as I find Dex himself difficult to say the least. I adore Deb in all her brittle gawky awkwardness and vulnerability, and this vid is a beautiful tribute to her.

Exploring Xandra's imeem page after watching 'Precious', I found her Twin Peaks vid, Angel. It brought back all the creepy horror of that show (and it helped that it was made to one of my favourite Massive Attack tracks). If you are in the mood for some nostalgic creepiness, I definitely recommend it.

In time for the Heroes finale, obsessive24 has made a spectacular and playful Sylar character study: One of a kind. With spoilers up to 1.18, it features some of the best moments from our favourite brain-eating psychopath. Tip: watch out for the line 'two of a kind, and no-one home'! ;-)

And finally, for my BSG peeps, m_a_r_i_k_s has been reuploading her Lee and Kara vids, which I've been thoroughly enjoying. I particularly recommend Don't Mess With Me for it's Lee point-of-view.

*coughs for attention*

I would like to present to you the brilliance that is dionusia and her BSG crackpoetry, as exemplified by: La Belle Kara Sans Mercy.

Summary: 'What happens when you combine Keats' verse with "Unfinished Business"? A ballad about pilots that's become a bit more R rated than the original, that's what.'

Highly recommended for any and all lit-geek BSG-fans with a sense of humour. (Oh, come on, I know there are lots of you on my f'list! *nudges*)

Lee is 'palely loitering'... that's never going to get old! *giggles*

I've been planning to make a BSG vid recs post for weeks. I have a ridiculous number of vids to rec, so consequently, I've decided to split them into several posts. This first set are all Kara/Lee vids, though some of them are more 'shippy' than others.

Kara/Lee vids
jessicaj703 has five vids which are all great. I particularly like the Kara-centric 'Breathe me' for its tenderness and for the insight into Kara's world--it touches on all her relationships, not just her relationship with Lee. 'Chocolate' is also a very strong vid, and one I think most Kara/Lee fans would enjoy. The other one I personally really enjoyed was the Lee-centric 'Finish Line'. The quality of the vid is gorgeous and it successfully puts us in Lee's perspective for his near-death experience. (Not as bleak as it sounds--just thoughtful, introspective and gently moving.) Jessica excels at using 'little' character moments (as well as the powerful iconic moments) in her vids, and her vids consequently feel very fresh and original. I must thank daybreak777 for reccing her to me: I'm so glad she did.

Hazyshade's Set the fire to the third bar blew me away. It's now officially my Kara/Lee/Destiny OT3 vid of choice! ;-) It's absolutely gorgeous: beautifully edited, and completely mesmerising. It integrates intensely intimate moments between Kara and Lee with the big epic moments connected with the fleet's search for Earth in a way that feels intensely natural. And it's both moving and hope-inspiring. It will soothe my jitters in the long hiatus!

Before I discovered this vid, I was already intending to rec Hazyshade's Addicted, a Kara/Lee vid which explores the nature of the attraction between them. For those of you who don't have as heavy a destiny kink as I do, this vid concentrates on the masochistic, addictive quality of their love, making great use of the boxing footage.

Kara vids
bananainpyjamas A place inside is a very dark vid. It's not light escapist viewing, but it is very powerful, and takes an honest look at the darkness of Kara's journey from mid season 2 until the end of season 3. It features Lee, Sam and Leoben, drawing parallels between those relationships. Very original, very strong.

charmax's Mainstream makes you feel as if the song was made for Kara. It's a fast-paced, edgy, tension-filled, exhilerating ride, that takes you through some of the biggest moments in Kara's journey so far. Spectacular shots, brilliant editing. It's a must see!

J-dos's She's a rebel is a fast-paced, fun, Kara anthem vid. If all the shippy angst or destiny stuff is too much for you, I highly recommend this piece of escapism! Kara as rebel = love.

Lee vids



Do you see this space? Yes, I see it too. And I am NOT HAPPY about it! Seriously, people, do I need to remind you how interesting a character Lee is?! AGAIN?! I'm sure nobody wants that... *threatens with Leemo* Will someone pleeeease rec me some Lee character vids? Please? *puppy eyes* Gah! (Psst! grapefruitzzz! Hurry up and learn to vid already, yo!)

I have Roslin vids, full cast vids, Cylon vids, etc to rec at some stage too. But my Friday Night Lights download is nearly finished and is calling to me...

Previous vid recs here.

I recently discovered that I'd lost my Kara/Leoben vid in the harddrive crash. I was surprised how bereft I felt to think it might be gone for good. I think because it's the first creative work I've ever been proud of. Anyway, I got it back from a friend today and feel much more complete now. *breathes contentedly* It's here if anyone wants it (warning: it's the large 37MB version).

Today I had that thing happen where a random song you've never paid that much attention to comes on the radio/your iPod and you suddenly start listening to it in a whole new way, because it connects instinctively with a show in your mind and this entire vid plays out in your mind and before you know it you are listening to the track over and over and dancing and singing along and visualising it all and generally going completely batshit.

And then you come to your senses and add it as no.50 on the list of 'vids I will probably never make'. *headdesk* Still, here's to bringing your internal visions come to life! Which actually is not at ALL what happened with my Kara/Leoben vid--I swear on my puppy's life that I never knew I had that in my head until it just came out, there in the vid.

*iz giddy*

Pilot-love
For those of you on my friends list who have recently started watching BSG (or anyone else!), you may like to check out this photo essay recap of the frakked-up dysfunctional glory that is the Kara/Lee relationship. :-)

SV peeps
You're all MAD, I tell you! BATSHIT crazy. Such craziness as cannot be faked. *nods* Non-SV peeps can learn of our madness here.

Despite the recent shenanigans, the fandom is soldiering on adorably well, in fine Smallville tradition. So we had some character continuity issues. Meh. We've seen worse! ;-)

The 50_in_50 entries have been posted, and I want to pimp one I had a teeenie hand in: talitha78's gorgeous 'Chicago' vid. It's full of Season 6 pretty and is so shiny and great and if you missed it because you were revelling in your fame on Fandom Wank riveted to the unfolding drama, then I suggest that now is a good time to head on over there to download and enjoy!

*twirls*

Did I mention that I was in a ridiculously euphoric mood?! ;-)

If anyone's been wondering why I've been a little quiet of late, it's partly because Final Cut Pro ate my life. Although its ways are still 99 per cent mysterious to me, I've somehow managed to dredge something out... though it's not what you might expect. I must say that in all my daydreaming about being able to vid one day, I never pictured myself making a claustrophobic, oppressive Kara/Leoben vid. However, with limited footage on my harddrive at the time, I started working on this as a learning exercise and then it kind of grew and grew... and I also realised that there was at least ONE person on my f'list who would like it, if only because it contains CKR! That's right--I'm looking at you, little k! ;-)

So, as a very very early Christmas present for the lovely kristiinthedark:

Title: Don't U Eva
Fandom: Battlestar Galactica
Pairing: Kara/Leoben
Spoilers: up to 3.04
Rating: NC-17 (violence, adult content--duh!)
File format: .avi, 23MB
Download: direct download
Feedback: yes, please! :-)
Disclaimer: BSG is Ron Moore's, the song Sarah Blasko's
Beta thanks: A million trillion thanks and credits to supacat, without whom this vid would not have progressed past the (completely reworked) first chorus. Her three-stage beta kept me going and she prodded me to work on alternating cutting to the beat and cutting to the lyric, which was scary but I do think the final version is better. ::hugs::

If you have trouble with the files or links, please let me know and I'll try and help. Also, I should warn you that if you didn't like the Kara/Leoben plot in early Season 3, you probably won't like this vid... Oh, and I'm sorry it's so dark--blame my lack of skillz as well as that drab BSG cinematography.

( Lyrics )

Now that that's over with, I can get on to vidding the Pretty Shiny Show, aka Smallville! ;-)