You Know Who We Are

up&coming

The last two entries in the TV Top Ten are coming. Really. Soon.

I’ve been a little sidetracked this past week, what with not getting anything productive accomplished and all. Well, that’s not quite true. I started some projects, cleaned and disinfected my house, began another behemoth of a book . . . but the projects are taunting me, the house is once again unkempt and probably serving as a petri dish for all sort of infectious diseases, the bookmark Bethesda receipt is only a few dozen pages into the book, and I’m beat.

So, what did I do? I connected with an old friend who is now coming for a visit (ensuring another weekend of nothing my mother would consider productive being accomplished), I started watching a movie at 2AM, I got three handstamps from three concerts, I and J sat on the couch and watched our next 4 episodes, I made plans, I heard songs in different lights and found one to die to, I talked to a comrade having a rough week in Afghanistan and I was the one who was lifted up, I was able to offer my home and hospitality – food, shelter, comfort, offer of protection and guidance - to  a large number of people, I laid on the floor of my empty apartment and felt alive, I fell in love a little with a complete stranger, I was kissed by a child, I stared at a picture until I lost myself in it, I stared at my computer screen until my words made no sense, I talked with friends  – there should be a much better word for those we love, but who are not lovers - in person and through the wires until all hours until the words made so much sense it hurt, I drank coffee and jack and coke and water and coffee and cider and coffee and orange juice and  rum, I looked life in the eye and laughed, instead of lowering my head against the gales until my face went numb. 

I didn’t get a lot done. But I did life.

Then I opened my heart and poured the red pumping plasma straight onto this page.

Mini-Reviews

As changes the weather, so alter my listening habits. The weather is cold going on icy, meaning more and more I’m driving to work. Also, I’m making what is turning into a weekly jaunt to Madison. Driving means car. Car means CDs.

Not just any CDs. Either a mix CD or an album which is solid throughout, because hitting ’skip’ 8 times, listening to 3 tracks, and then having to fumble with changing the CD is neither safe nor conducive to happiness.

“But, officer, you don’t understand, I heard this song and impulse bought but really the band only has two good songs so I was trying to find a CD which is at least 80% listenable for 1 hour and . . . “

I’m not sure that’d fly.

I first heard Youth Group’s Skeleton Jar in 2006, and Birdlips’s Cardboard Wings this past summer, but they’ve both been strongly featured in my rotation recently, so I thought I’d throw them to your attention.

Skeleton Jar

It’s true the album can be listened straight through without skips, but some of the individual songs can get musically and lyrically repetitive, re: “Shadowland”. Understand that’s part of what the album–Youth Group’s most despondent and also my favorite as a whole–is getting across; life can be mundane, frustrating, and fatefully infuriating.

Most of the songs are done in narrative. The storytelling, whether done in first person or third, is extremely personal as it explores of the rage, sadness, and helplessness vacillated between on a day-to-day, hour-to-hour, or song-to-song basis.

Special Attention To: “Skeleton Jar,” ”Lillian Lies,” . After a few rounds, skip ”Piece of Wood” (though it gets points for its use of the word ’syphilitic’).

Cardboard Wings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I went to see Birdlips sight-unheard, and was impressed with their presence – highly enjoyable show (and an unbeatable $4 cover charge).

When the lyrics are minimalistic and simply enjoyable, the music pushes it over the top. And when the lyrics are not, they, like the little girl with the curl right in the middle of her forehead, are very very good.

Though part of  Cardboard’s attraction is its unpolishedness, this album sampler and the video below give an unfair (read: atrocious) representation of the musical quality, but are worth a test run in case you don’t want to simply buy the album on my recommendation alone.

Which, really, is preposterous.

Special Attention To: “Cardboard Wings,” “When the Last Light Goes Out,” “Some Kind of Death,” ”Giving Up,” “Dream Within a Dream.”*

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*I’m not sure what the unofficial rule is, but I’m going to say as long as I don’t choose more than half of the songs to pay ’special attention to’ I’m ok.

Incidentals

 A. My Buffy post generated more dirty spam than any post heretofore. (So, she brought the wood out?)

2. I realized a few weeks ago (and Achi demonstrated) having something like my blog could be a liability when it came to, say, applying for writing positions. I use this page how many people use sleep; as basically a dumping ground for my brain overflow. It has quite occasionally been, in fact, sleepwritten. The spillage resulting can be – I’d like to think – as profound or absurd as dreams, So, if you’re researching me, happy reading. A few drinks or a bit of sleep deprivation would probably make it all seem much more insightful and interesting.

C. Experimentation is good. When the outcome is unsure, however, one would be best to pursue such things when one does not have to leave the house for work, shopping, or social functions. For instance, a child putting an entire bottle of green food coloring in the bathtub during the school year. In Spring. Or trying a new haircut/color/style right before a big date/play/interview.

Speaking of social functions – if crockodalerock and I go to a concert, and neither of us Twitter it, are we really there?

In Every Generation, There Is A Show

Buffy the Vampire Slayer

[From Marc Bernaden's EW Review for the DVD collection]: “There are some things you can’t state often enough. The Aston Martin DB5 was the greatest Bond car ever. The Empire Strikes Back is the best Star Wars movie. And Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of the seminal TV shows of the last 50 years. In the top 10. Not open for debate. . . .

On the surface, Buffy was about a pretty blonde who killed vamps every episode, with a werewolf or a demon thrown in for variety. But the greatest weapon in Whedon’s formidable arsenal was metaphor. Adolescence is a breeding ground for all sorts of insecurities that can be extrapolated to end-of-the-world dilemmas: the girl no one notices who actually disappears; the picked-on nerd who might snap . . . and kill; the boyfriend who totally changes once you sleep with him. And by confronting them all, Buffy (Gellar) and her Scooby Gang — Willow (Hannigan), Giles (Anthony Stewart Head), and Xander (Nicholas Brendon) — evolved and matured as they went from high school to college to real life, even to the afterlife.

Buffy did what all great genre fiction does. It allowed us to look at ourselves through a fantastical lens, and see who we truly are: at once stronger than we thought we could be and weaker than we’d like to let on. And, as with most great genre fiction, the establishment just didn’t get it. Buffy was never nominated for a best-drama Emmy, probably because it was a show about a hottie who dusted vampires. But many of us fell for the girl, and the show, with a white-hot passion.”

The first time I watched Buffy I was too young, not for the ‘objective’ elements, (or because sneaking around the parental unit made me miss episodes), but it was over my head. There’s depth and complexity I couldn’t grasp, and still grapple with. Buffy is not Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

Buffy makes few missteps in seven seasons. (Perspective: about as many as Gilmore Girls makes in the 6 finale/7 opener. Most are minorly over-done storylines; then there was the final Big Death, which was not only the wrong person, but lack of Andrew’s struggle and the glibly-delivered dismissal line compounded injury with insult.) It covers taboo topics, sparks controversy, and takes on everything under the sun (or not): friendship, addiction, love, obsession, death, sex, drugs, rock&roll, and even centuries-old mythological traditions long considered sacred:

Anya: I mean, it’s a myth that it’s a myth. There is a Santa Claus.
Xander: The advantage of having a thousand-year-old girlfriend. Inside scoop.
Tara: There’s a Santa Claus?
Anya: Mm-hmm. Been around since, like, the 1500s. But he wasn’t always called Santa. But with, you know, Christmas night, flying reindeer, coming down the chimney — all true.
Dawn: All true?
Anya: Well, he doesn’t traditionally bring presents so much as, you know, disembowel children. But otherwise . . .
Tara: The reindeer part was nice.

Best Male Character: Spike. One word: Passions.

We love Angel, Xander is our best friend, we enjoy Oz’s wryness, we need Giles (or humor him when we don’t). But Spike is without a doubt the best person alive. Ever.

Xander: No one is judging you. It’s understandable. Spike is strong and mysterious and sorta compact but well-muscled.
Buffy: I am not having sex with Spike! But I’m starting to think that you might be.

Best Female Character: Buffy’s female characters are all individual triumphs; some of the best in TVdom (even the mess that is Cordelia). Buffy is a strong woman; the center which pulls all other characters together, but she’s not the best individual character. That would be Willow; the quirky, loyal, evolving, geeky, gorgeous witch-next-door.
No, Anya, the ”thousand year old capitalist ex-demon with rabbit phobia.”
Tara, the sweet, strong, grounded voice of reason and comfort.
No, Willow.
Faith, the too-cool-for-school confidence-projecting self-doubting redemption story.
Anya.
Willow.
Definitely.

Buffy: Have you dropped any hints?
Willow: I’ve dropped anvils.
Buffy: Well, he’ll come around. What guy could resist your wily Willow charms?
Willow: At last count? All of them, maybe more.
Buffy: Well, none of them know a thing! They all get an “F” in Willow.
Willow: But I want Oz to get an “A.” And, oh, one of those gold stars!

Best Couple: uhhuh, sure. Like I’m going to step in that ginormous leg-mangling trap of my own volition. Quotes to fill the void, anyone? (Irony alert)

Willow: Well . . . when I’m with a boy I like, it’s hard for me to say anything cool, or, or witty. Or at all. I – I can usually make a few vowel sounds, and then I have to go away.
Buffy: It’s not that bad.
Willow: I think boys are more interested in a girl who can talk.
Buffy: You really haven’t been dating lately.

Willow: I knew it! I knew it! Well, not knew it in the sense of having the slightest idea, but I knew there was something I didn’t know. You two were fighting way too much. It’s not natural!
Xander: I know it’s weird . . .
Willow: Weird? It’s against all laws of God and Man! It’s Cordelia! Remember? The, the ‘We Hate Cordelia Club’, of which you are the treasurer.
Xander: Look, I was gonna tell you.
Willow: Gee, what stopped you? Could it be shame?
Xander: All right, let’s over-react, shall we?
Willow: But I’m . . .
Xander: Willow. We were just kissing. It doesn’t mean that much.
Willow: No. It just means you’d rather be with someone you hate, than be with me.

Notable Episodes:

“Innocence” – the highest-rated episode of the series (and Joss Whedon’s favorite)
“Becoming: Part Two” – Besides finishing and setting up several major story arcs, this is just pure, heartbreaking brilliance.
“Enemies” – Faith drops all pretences and goes over to the dark side, bringing a soulless Angel as her accomplice.
“Hush” – Emmy-nominated episode done almost entirely in silence.
“Fool for Love” – Buffy becomes obsessed with preventing death, seeking out Spike to learn more about past Slayer deaths.
“The Body” -Everyone is touched by Joyce’s death, and struggles to understand why.
“Conversations with Dead People” – They converse with the un-living.
“Once More, With Feeling” – You thought Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog was something new under the sun? It wasn’t even new to Joss Whedon.
“Entropy” through “Grave” – five much-foreshadowed episodes which have repercussions through the end of the series.

Quotes: This made my day right here - http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Buffy_the_Vampire_Slayer

Xander: Whatever you choose, you’ve got my support. Just think of me as . . . as your . . . You know, I’m searching for supportive things and I’m coming up all bras. So, something slightly more manly, think of me as that.

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Ultimately, this show about death is about life. It’s life-affirming, it’s passionate, it’s brilliant, and oh my word I think I’m turning into a groupie . . .

The best-spent consecutive 8 minutes and 33 seconds of my day so far.*

A friend of mine in Germany introduced me to this great short today. (No worries if you are as sadly singular-lingual as I; the minimal words in the actual short are in English.)

The beginning made me think of James Thurber’s “The Great Quillow,” then it gets darker (and brilliant).

http://www.ehrensenf.de/node/7462/

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*no sex involved

Kid, You Have No Idea . . .

Gilmore Girls

Once more in the interest of full disclosure (apparently I’m feeling quite promiscuous lately . . .) I would like to explain my connection with the show.

A year ago, I’d never seen Gilmore Girls. (Was I living under a rock? Practically. But this isn’t about my alma mater.) It was near the top of my list, but I just didn’t have time until the soccer team won a trip to Nationals. In Florida. Two 24hour busrides = awkward sleeping positions, schoolwork, and a healthy obsession with Gilmore Girls. How healthy? BGG (Before Gilmore Girls) I was sleeping 5 hours-per-day-ish, with the other 19 were booked as solid as morning talk show appearances for Jon and Kate: 4 part-time jobs, soccer practice/games, classes, traveling by foot or bike to and from school and work and home, homework, cooking, various and sundry other responsibilities . . . then I fit 120 hours of Gilmore Girls into three months (2,160 hours).*

I love TV, but I like sleep too, so when I give up that much of it, you should take notice. When it’s good, it’s very very good.**

Best Female Character: Lorelai. The chemistry is great, and Rory is great, and Lane, Sookie, and Emily(!) are all great. Even Paris is great in a cover-your-eye-and-peek-through-your-fingers-at-the-train-wreck way. But we tune in for Lorelai; her trials, triumphs, foibles, and fast-talking.

Best Male Character: Luke. (Though there’s a special place in my heart for Jess). To know him is to love him.

Best Character: A tie between Kirk and Michel, with Taylor puffing and wagging his finger close behind. Something Gilmore Girls did well was keep peripheral characters around for 7 years of shooting – Paris, Doyle, Mrs. Kim, Miss Patty, Babette and Morey, Liz and TJ, etc

Notable Episodes:

“A Deep-Fried Korean Thanksgiving” – The only part that makes 4 Thanksgivings in one day funnier is I’ve attempted a threesome and found it difficult.
“They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They?” – Lorelai and Kirk go head-to-head in a retro dance-off.
“Say Goodbye to Daisy Miller” – The first 20 minutes are a tour de force by Lauren Graham. She was robbed blind of awards this year (See Also: “Wedding Bell Blues,” “Say Something,” “A House Is Not a Home”).
“The Festival of Living Art” – The show’s only Emmy was won here by some truly phenomenal make-up jobs.
“Written in the Stars” – How small towns react to ‘big’ news.
“Friday Night’s Alright for Fighting” – A coup at the paper puts Rory in a bind; the Gilmores speak their minds.

Quotables:

Not only does Gilmore Girls do good lines, it does them so quickly it can fit 3x as many as other shows. The best I can do for you is http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gilmore_Girls. And tell you to watch the “Frog. Scorpion.” diatribe, which cannot be done justice on paper. Well, and this.

Emily: This is a serious problem. These Friday dinners are the only proper food that child eats all week.
Richard: Rory? Are you in any way malnourished, or in need of some international relief organization to recruit a celebrity to raise money on your account?
Rory: I’m good.
Richard: She’s good, Emily.

Lane: Well, I wore a bracelet to school today. My parents were called. There was a special service in chapel, and I’ve been ordered to a soul-searching seminar next week. I’ll be sitting between the nail-polish-wearing girl and the spicy condiment user.

Lorelai: Hey, I should bring steak sauce, right?
Rory: For what?
Lorelai: Pizza.
Rory: I just got back from Italy.
Lorelai: So?
Rory: So they’d shoot you in Italy for that.
Lorelai: But this is America, where we unapologetically bastardize other countries’ cultures in a gross quest for moral and military supremacy.
Rory: I forgot. Bring on the imperialistic condiments.

In case you were wondering, it’s true: one of the best things about finishing a TV series is being able to safely YouTube all the fan vids; musical, clip, shipper, and otherwise.

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*To be fair, some of this took place after finals. To be insane, a sliver also took place at 4am, 3 minutes after I capped off my capstone project and 4 hours before I was scheduled to present and ‘defend’ it.

**And when it’s the seventh season, it’s horrid, but by then you’re too invested to stop. Incidently, I knew I was in love when 3 things happened: Asaad Kelada name drop, Last Tango reference, and STELLA!

Ginger, Get the Popcorn

The West Wing

In the interest of full disclosure, I must note I have not seen West Wing in its entirety. I departed soon after Aaron Sorkin. One day, when I watch it again (and I intend to), I will finish it. But I’m not looking forward to the last few seasons.

While looking for clips, there were so many good ones I just picked the best revolving around Ainsley.  Really, you could just watch all the ‘related’ clips; I know I did. I did this not [*ahem* Nicholas] because of her politics, but because she’s all about many of my favorite things, such as food, guns, dancing to bad music in her bathrobe, and sticking her foot in her mouth every ten minutes.

Top Ten Style:

One: Why Both Parties Suck, in One Minute Thirty-Four Seconds

Two: I watched this show with my mom. Now, I love my mother, but there are few shows made in my lifetime that we can both appreciate. Also, there was not enough gratuitous sex, swearing, blood, or close-ups of eyeballs to off-put her. This may be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on your criteria for TV shows.

Three: “Isaac and Ishmael.”

Four: The West Wing is partisan. It covers its bases, but don’t let the ‘fictional’ element make you think ‘libertarian.’ It’s leftist with some extreme right-wingers. It may occassionally make you angry at the government (the real ones past and present as well as the imaginary one on the TV. Please do not throw the remote at the politicians).

Five: Food is paramount.

Six: The style is as insane (and insanely difficult to shoot) as the machine-gun stream of dialouge. The cameras travel down hallways, duck into rooms, circle tables, finish with one group of people in time to latch on to another, and are basically in almost-constant motion. It’s not mockumentary style, but you may experience brief head rushes.

Seven: “Posse Comitatus.” 

Eight: JoshandDonna. Their names cannot be seperated. Josh would not function without Donna, Donna would not exist without Josh. Like tuna and mayonaise.

Nine: “Noel.”

Ten:

Sam: Ainsley? Ainsley! [enters] Ainsley.
Ainsley: Hello, Sam.
Sam: Didn’t you hear me shouting?
Ainsley: Yes.
Sam: And . . . ?
Ainsley: I chose to ignore it.
Sam: Because . . . ?
Ainsley: You were shouting.
Sam: You’re adorable.
Ainsley: Yet ill-adored.
Sam: Go figure.
Ainsley: Yeah.
Sam: What are you doing?
Ainsley: I’m going up to Smith College tomorrow.
Sam: Why?
Ainsley: It’s my alma mater.
Sam: Reunion?
Ainsley: The women’s studies department is holding a panel on resurrecting the ERA.
Sam: Who else is on the panel?
Ainsley: Rebecca Walker, Gloria Steinem, Anne Coulter, Naomi Wolfe . . .
Sam: You know, something like 40% of all women oppose the ERA, and in my entire lifetime, I’ve yet to meet one of them.
Ainsley: [extending hand] Ainsley Hayes, pleased to meet you.
Sam: You’re not . . .
Ainsley: Yes.
Sam: You’re not!
Ainsley: Yes.
Sam: You’re not, you’re not, you’re not one of those people!
Ainsley: Sam, if, by those people, you’re referring to Episcopalians. . .
Sam: You’re going back to Smith College, the cradle of feminism, to argue in opposition of the Equal Rights Amendment?
Ainsley: And get some decent pizza, yeah.
Sam: They’re gonna hate you.
Ainsley: I’m a straight Republican from North Carolina, and you don’t think they hated me the first time around?
Sam: Yeah . . .
Ainsley: So what are you doing?
Sam: I want to punch up some of the jokes for the speech for the Correspondents’ Dinner, and I’m looking for people left in the building who are funny. Since I couldn’t find any, I came to you.
Ainsley: I would think, Sam, that with your infectious sense of humor, you’d have no trouble.
Sam: Do you wanna help me or not?
Ainsley: I need to finish this.
Sam: We’ve ordered Chinese food.
Ainsley: Okay.

If Suicide is Painless, Why Aren’t More Cowards Dead

M*A*S*H

This makes two series on my list which were born from big-screen versions . . . only this movie version didn’t bite.

The TV show boasts the most watched episode in television history – which, considering the population of the earth has expanded from 4,689,947,648 to 6,768,167,712, while the percentage of people with their own TV set has also gone up . . . a lot, is incredibly impressive.

Here’s a trailer for the DVD collection (sorry, embedding disabled.)

And a clip about time zones.

Best Male Character: Hawkeye. Though everyone needs a Radar.

Best Female Character: On a show with a realistic dearth of female presence, I submit it is Maxwell Q. Klinger who comes out on top.

Episodes of Note:

Cease Fire – Celebration of an end in the first season proved to be a bit too early.
Good-Bye, Radar – See, that’s what I like, self-explanitory titles.
Yessir, That’s Our Baby – Prejudice against mixed race is not an inherently American problem.
Letters – Various members take time to answer questions from sixth graders back in the states.
Give and Take – A wounded GI learns the enemy are people, too.
Goodbye, Farewell, and Amen – The finale.

Thoughts On The Week

If giving Obama the Nobel Peace Prize is to help him accomplish something worthy of the Nobel Peace Prize, would giving him a Heisman make him a better football player?

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Though Death Cab for Cutie has shattered my confidence in – well, humanity in general – by creating a song exclusively for Twilight, this here video did make me feel better about the world.

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I made a pie again. Fruit of the Forest. We’re getting closer to perfection. A few tips:

Cut the cold water with vinegar (or vodka, for those of you with money to burn) for a flakier crust, and chill the dough for 30 minutes before rolling out. Coconut oil instead of margarine is not only healthier, but easier to manipulate, and I think actually makes a better crust. If you use frozen fruit for the filling, cook it with less liquid than the recipie calls for (or a little more corn starch).

The moat-height crimped crust is because I learned the hard way that pie bubbles when you bake it. A lot. A few hours of nasty burning smell and an oven-cleaning later, I overcompensate thusly.