Postcards From Space

Hey, look! A blue moon!

Mon, 09 Mar 2009 21:32:52 GMT

A couple of things for anyone who's interested:

1) If (like me) you've been trying to find out the name of the song playing during the Execution scene in the Supernatural ep "Criss Angel Is A Douchebag", I have just discovered that it was actually created for the show by Christopher Lennertz and co-written by Steve Frangadakis (who also did the singing and guitar). It's called "Douchebag Theme", heh. Someone else had asked about the origins of the song on Yahoo! and Steve answered it - he's posted clips from the ep on his website (link below) and said he'd put the final version up when he gets it (one hopes this will be soon).

http://www.onelightburning.com/supernatural.htm

2) Greg Grunberg has signed up for Eclipse 3 in the UK. Yay! Spread the good word!

[Public service announcement]

Tue, 03 Mar 2009 11:41:53 GMT

I have come to the conclusion that I am stretched too thin. I have so many blogs to stalk, eps to watch and other distracting shite that I am neglecting my RL stuff. OK, some of that is boring stuff like housework, but there are other things too, and these things have got to be done. There are not enough bleedin' hours in the day. So, what does that mean? Well, I'm stopping the reviews, for starters. They were crap anyway. Although I would like to say a massive thank you to those of you who were kind enough to comment on them every once in a while - those comments gave me lots of warm fuzzies and I appreciate them muchly. That was fun.

As a result - if I do post here, it'll be once in a blue moon. I'm also going to scale down my friends list. This sounds a bit funny considering I only have a small list compared to some of you guys, but it's all relative. Really. So if I cut you out, it's nothing personal whatsoever, and to be honest, you weren't getting much out of me, right? But I've got to cut down.

For those of you who are also on my blurty, there won't be any reviews there either, but the regularly-scheduled drivel will continue unabated. Rock on!

Spoilt For Choice

Thu, 19 Feb 2009 20:49:31 GMT

This is my weekly Mon-Sun Tee Vee line-up (unless they don't air for some reason):

24
How I Met Your Mother
Heroes
House
(A Town Called) Eureka
Battlestar Galactica
Life On Mars
American Idol
Bones
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Cold Case (as of next week)
Grey's Anatomy
Supernatural
Pushing Daisies
Boston Legal
Top Gear
Psych
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Lost
Being Human

And yet somehow I currently have nothing to watch. Honestly.

No-one Can Find The Rewind Button (Heroes S03E16 Review)

Tue, 17 Feb 2009 19:54:42 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Arghhh, heavy shit! Very enjoyable.

And now the more in-depth thoughts.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E16, "Building 26" - Highlight to view]
Awwww, another lie-filled Bennet dinner. By the end of the ep, I was becoming more and more convinced that "Rebel" was Peter, but I really want it to be someone else. I love my friend Cassy's cracky theory that it's Danko (Nathan's warmongering henchman), although I'd prefer it to be HRG, actually. The only thing which counts against it was Claire receiving that text at the table while HRG was there, although he could have done a delayed text or something? [/hopeful] I desperately want HRG to be doing good for a change and working against this project from the inside...

I really would like Sylar to put his puppy down as he is mostly very annoying, although Puppy was useful enough to enable Sylar to escape, so he gets a stay of execution for now. (Wasn't the whole slo-mo bit with Sylar carrying Puppy over his shoulder cool? Yeah.)

What do you mean, you don't get a lot of girls in a comic store? Please. Anyway. I was waiting for Claire to do some blood-letting and was not disappointed. In yore face, comic-book guy Alex!

While I felt sorry for Hiro being so helpless, his sulking in the face of Ando's increased awesomeness was very unattractive. Fortunately his ego got a much-needed boost and he seems a lot happier as a result (also big yays for thumping Deepak The Bastard), so here's hoping the two of them can now continue in amity.

So, do we think Nathan will get Ms Homeland Security in the sack before Volume 3 is out? (Bad me. Shouldn't think thoughts like that! But I can't help it, heehee.) I'm afraid I thought the worst of Nathan when Tracy accused him of helping her escape on purpose, so finding out Danko did it was a bit of a relief. Nathan's not a completely irredeemable bastard, then. OK, I don't think he is an irredeemable bastard. I don't WANT to think that! His current mission is so wrong, though. If it means he gradually comes back to the side of the angels, all good, because I don't want to wish him dead, and at the beginning of Volume 3 I was dangerously close to thinking that, despite my adoration of The Pasdar.

Poor Sandra, having her heart broken yet again. (I really hope Ashley Crow can keep her commitment to Eclipse 3 this time - I so want to meet her!) Ultimately, the truth may be healthier, but now HRG has to move out and Claire knows that honesty is better but that doesn't make this any easier for any of them and I'm NOT CRYING DAMMIT there's just something in my eye. *choke*

And now HRG's been taken down like a rank amateur. Oooops! Good thing he's been grabbed by... the angels. We hope not too much shite will be forthcoming as a result.

Roll on next week, pop pickers!
[End Spoiler]

It's Coming Down (Heroes S03E15)

Tue, 10 Feb 2009 20:09:40 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Oooohhh, the shit's hitting the fan already. *ducks happily*

And now the more in-depth thoughts.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E15, "Trust And Blood" - Highlight to view]

As soon as Nathan said, "Did I wake you?" I knew he was talking to Angela. Yeah, are you having fun now, dude? You've let the genie out of the bottle and it's way more than you bargained for. I'm amazed no-one tried to call him out as being "special" sooner - I wonder how long it'll take before Nathan gets a taste of the same treatment being visited on the others? With that warmonger leading his team, not long, I'm imagining. Oh, Nathan! It's a good thing you look so hot, or I'd be spitting bullets every time you appeared on screen. (Which is quite a lot so far. Hey, I wished for more Nathan and I got him! Being a git. Be careful for what you wish for, kiddies.)

I'm surprised in some ways that Angela can afford to get on her high horse, given that she was quite happy to make dreadful sacrifices for the Company, but then she did say that Peter was always her favourite son. I look forward to seeing how much she gets involved.

Matt's new power is coming in handy, I see. Although with all those advance warnings (and even knowing they were in the place where it was going to happen, too!), why didn't he didn't tell Daphne to get out of harm's way sooner? I don't know, Matt. Is Daphne dead? Matt's comments about her were cryptic, so with luck, she isn't. Critically injured, maybe? Hers is a damned useful power to have, given how quickly she got herself and Ando from Tokyo to Arkansas.

I wondered last ep whether HRG was playing a double game and it's all still delightfully ambiguous. Either way, Claire's not too impressed. Way to give both her dads a dressing-down!

Hiro's expression when looking at that REDNECKS MAKE BETTER LOVERS t-shirt was a picture.

Awwwww, Sylar has a new puppy! (At least until he decides to have that power for himself. Also, loved all the torture and GOOOOOOOOOOOORE! You did too. Admit it.)

Are we surprised that Tracy was tempted to switch sides when she and Peter met up with Nathan? Are we surprised that Nathan didn't come alone? Er, no, and no. I'm glad Nathan appreciated what HRG did there, at least.

I'm not sure what to make of Peter's latest power manifestation. I did wonder why he wasn't putting up as much of a fight just before he froze the plane last ep, but didn't click to the reason. I guess it's a good way of making sure he doesn't become too power-heavy like he was by the beginning of S3, but I found it a little too... convenient. Oh, well. Never mind. He's going to save the world, again, even if he has to get a lot tougher (and with fewer powers) to do it.

And who is Rebel, we wonder? Peter's the obvious choice, but this show does excel at springing surprises. I shall enjoy reading the cracky theories. :)
[End Spoiler]

You're Pushing Away From Me (Supernatural S04E14 Review)

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:11:03 GMT

Had a nice birthday weekend. Ate lots of food (this time paying attention to sell-by dates), drank Wine, got some lovely cards (the best of which was from my other half, natch, along with some beautiful flowers) and generally didn't do a lot, bar a quick visit to the parents to say hi. Pity it's almost over. C'est la vie!

Almost forgot to write about the main Tee Vee offering, though, so here it is.

Non-spoilery review: Oh, so delightfully screwed up!

And now the main review. (Yeah, I'm bored of the whole point review style now.)

[Begin Spoiler for Supernatural S04E14 "Sex And Violence" - Highlight to view]

Sneaky phone calls while you think your partner's asleep. Not a good start.

Although not as bad as some endings. I thought the meat cleaver scene was ugly enough, but the mother's murder was, despite being off camera, even worse. Of course, they had to chuck that one in to show that your best belovéd doesn't just have to be your spouse, especially when its so easy to get the nature of Dean and Sam's relationship, um, confused. [evil]

That call Nick made to "AD Kaiser" was hilarious. Oh, Bobby, you're so cool with your crabby growl and your Kiss The Cook apron and your handy multi-purpose set of phone lines!

I didn't see the dénoument coming at all. I was quite happy to believe the worst of the good no-tomorrow-loving doctor. So sorry, Doc. But Sam did seem to fall for your charms far too easily...

But when it did - oh, what a brilliant scene! Lovely performance by Chris Baker as "Nick"; his demeanour changed so completely when the time came to reveal his intentions and everything just took on a whole different meaning. And the moral of the story is: careful when you share your drinks, kids - you never know what you might catch. Of course, on re-watching from the start, I nearly plotzed when the doc was telling Sam about the principal effects of oxytocin production in the blood, as if they hadn't come up with saliva as being sufficient for the Siren to infect its victims, I would have been thinking about Dean not giving birth or lactacting with his Sammy substitute, heehee.

When Sam got infected too, I thought, "Oh, that's convenient that the Siren just happens to look like Sam's perfect mate too," and then I realized that that was the whole point. Sam wants his brother back, as does Dean. Sam and Dean. Dean and Sam. Bound to each other forever. (And of course the Wincest-y undertones were just unbelievable. *snork*)

Which made the resulting conversation and blows between our intrepid heroes all the nastier (although it was very entertaining to watch). Oh, dear. Thank heavens for the timely intervention of Bobby! Who was of course awesome.

And so we're left with sheepish, "You know that it was the Siren's spell talking, right?" kinds of comments but they both know that, deep down, they really meant it. They're not good at all. Arghhh. Oh, boys.
[End Spoiler]

Trying To Make Right (Heroes S03E14 Review)

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 14:50:40 GMT

Well, Heroes is back after an excruciatingly long break, so what do we have?

Non-spoilery review: HOLY CRAP - what an opener! *squeeeeeeees despite revolting headache*

And now the Not-Counting-How-Many-Thoughts Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E14, "A Clear And Present Danger" - Highlight to view]

1. And we're off with a bang (OK, a zap) - Tracy's down! The way they subdued her with Nathan calmly talking about national security in the background was chilling. Ugh.

2. Awww, poor Hiro, having to live the hero lifestyle vicariously through Ando, who really isn't interested (especially in the Spandex, heehee), and to add insult to injury, Hiro gets nabbed despite no longer having his powers. I can't believe it took Ando so long to work out the password, though, bless him. That's sweet.

3. Worst-concealed telephone conversation ever. Oh, Claire. I guess college is out.

4. Peter getting into Mohinder's taxi and talking about feeling extraordinary was a nice nod to episode 1. Things have moved on so much since then!

5. I was half expecting Mohinder to abduct Peter. I'm never quite sure how Mohinder will react to situations these days, and it wouldn't have surprised me after the way he was in cahoots with "Nathan" in "Five Years Gone", so I'm glad he didn't. But the guy who next got into the taxi may not have been as creepy as ep 1 HRG, but his intentions were a damned sight clearer. Mohinder's sudden show of strength was a welcome surprise - did being immersed in the formula sort him out and get rid of the bad stuff, or is that still hanging around as well? I guess it means he has a reason to be one of the good guys, at least.

6. Ah, HRG... for a moment, I really hoped he was on the side of the angels when he came screeching up to order Mohinder into his car, but oh, no. I wonder how he got roped in to working with Nathan. Is he all he seems? Is it possible he's working on the inside? I can't take much more of my favourite characters going too far over to the dark side.

7. And speaking of the dark side... "Give your big brother a hug?" It didn't take a precog to work out what was coming after that. Oh, Pete, after your father, you should have known better, but I guess you're still too trusting when it comes to your big brother. And as for you, Nathan? You JUDAS. Although I think there was genuine sorrow in Nathan's face when he realized Peter wasn't going to be won over by talking.

8. Although that, along with Nathan leaning over Peter on the table plus the earlier conversation about Nathan kissing Peter's ass and "Just dinner" (yeah, sure) was most amusing for those who like to, ahem, view the show on a certain level. *snort* Wheee, Petrellicest! I've missed it. *g*

9. Whoa, that's a new development for Matt. That was some magic paste. Damn, he did have the paste as well as Hiro, didn't he? I so need to rewatch Volume 2. And what does that mean for Hiro, or is Matt just special? Either way, I'm glad Usutu's back in some form to guide him. Not that it was quick enough for Matt to escape, even with Claire's intervention. Dammit!

10. When Sylar reached the other Mr Grey's house, I was so hoping for his (presumed) dad to be Leonard Nimoy. I don't know why (well, I probably do, given the whole Star Trek connection, both to ZQ and the show in general), but wouldn't that have been awesome? No? Anyway, it was not to be. But we got a great fightback scene instead, so I'm very happy with that. Smackdown! I love it.

11. Ah, here are our heroes, done up Gitmo-style, ready for their Genoshan vacation. Except that Claire's here to put a spanner in the works. Yay! Nice job.

12. And whoops, now she knows both her dads are involved. More rocky father-daughter relationship issues this volume, perchance? Poor Claire. Her dads are turning out to be so disappointing at the moment.

13. So Peter's power works by touch now? OK, that'll do. Except when it does what it shouldn't and blows a hole in the side of the plane. Ack! Not good. Thank goodness Mohinder grabbed him, but can he hold on long enough? Of course he can. (She says hopefully.) And if not, Peter should have enough power by now to get him through a crash landing... Not sure about the other passengers though, so let's hope they get that plane levelled off, yes? *GULP*
[End Spoiler]

WANT MOAR. But need bed now.

Funny What This Life Has Done (How I Met Your Mother S04E14 Review)

Tue, 03 Feb 2009 13:48:09 GMT

February is not off to a good start. I have been in bed/the bathroom/on the sofa for the last two days with a stomach bug. I guess it wasn't the ancient soya spread I tried at the weekend, then. [suspicious voice] Or maybe it was... Either way, ow. Much discomfort. Guess I got a bit too enthusiastic about blotting out the horribleness that has been January.

On the positive side, I has Tee Vee. Which I should not be watching with a splitting headache, but that's addiction for you.

The non-spoilery review: Interesting progress. In many ways!

And now the 5-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for HIMYM S04E14, "The Possimpible" - Highlight to view]

1. Oh, that anchor audition was beyond painful. Stop, stop, stop, stop, please.

2. Barney's whole preparing-to-propose thing going on behind everyone's backs before Marshall said marrying a US citizen couldn't work was flawless. Heeee! And as for the video resumé... "Okay. We'd better get started. There's a lot to shoot and I don't think I can use any of the footage I already have of you." "What footage do you already have of me?" "Let's just get started." BWAHA.

3. Ahh, harking back to the past on one's CV. I can relate. Although, speaking as the voice of experience here, prolonged gluttony can indeed make you look pregnant, but not THAT pregnant. Nice try, Aly, but thanks for the progress update anyway - looking good!

4. Poor Robin. If it's not having to jump through hoops and smash brick towers with your forehead, it's coming off mean over number seventeen. At least they were afraid of you. And you weren't as lame as Doctor X...

5. Ah, Barney. Despite his many, many, many faults, he is a good friend to have in a crisis. To the rescue! Job done! And awwwww, hug. Little moments like these make the waiting worthwhile. *happy sigh*
[End Spoiler]

Ain't Bad

Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:02:01 GMT

I have just had an update on Facebook about the all-Metallica version of Guitar Hero coming out 29 March OH MY LORD look at this track listing:

All Nightmare Long
Battery
Creeping Death
Disposable Heroes
Dyers Eve (MY FAVOURIEEEEEEEEETE)
Enter Sandman
Fade To Black
Fight Fire With Fire
For Whom The Bell Tolls
Frantic
Fuel
Hit The Lights
King Nothing
Master of Puppets (AWESOME, DUH)
Mercyful Fate (Medley)
No Leaf Clover (EEEEEEEEEEEEK!)
Nothing Else Matters (OOOOHHHH LOVELY)
One
Orion
Sad But True
Seek And Destroy
The Memory Remains
The Shortest Straw
The Thing That Should Not Be (MY SECOND FAVOURIEEEEEEEEEEETE)
The Unforgiven
Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
Wherever I May Roam
Whiplash

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH I WANT IT.

(Of course I will Suck Beyond Belief. I've never even played GH. This is irrelevant. :P)

Grand Façade (Supernatural S04E12 Review)

Sun, 25 Jan 2009 16:05:46 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Ahhh, that's more like it.

And now the 5-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Supernatural S04E12 "Criss Angel Is A Douche Bag" - Highlight to view]

1. Barry Bostwick and John Rubinstein! Cool. I was rooting for Jay after the way Vance and Jeb were such twats, despite the side-effects; I knew Jay wasn't responsible, so lots of sympathy for him. I had a funny feeling one of the others would be involved, although when Charlie appeared to be dead, I got confused. Nice red herring, there.

2. Dean's wild goose chase to That Place. "You ain't been had... till you've been had by The Chief. Oh and before we get started - what's your safe word?" BWAHAHAHAHA. Oh, Dean's face!

3. Someone please tell me the name of the song playing during Jeb's act (and the Executioner) because I WANT IT.

4. So Charlie is really... Lucas from House! And immortal to boot. Coo. At least, for a while, anyway. That was a neat, er, trick Jay pulled at the end. Poor Jay.

5. And Sam's sneaking off with Ruby again. Oh, dear. That's not good.
[End Spoiler]

You Know, I Like This (inc. How I Met Your Mother S04E13 Review)

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 19:37:19 GMT

Which I completely forgot to post earlier this week due to being Unbelievably Tired.

The non-spoilery review: Even more Awwwwwwwww!

And now the 5-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for HIMYM S04E13, "Three Days Of Snow" - Highlight to view]

1. As soon as Lily and Marshall said they weren't going to do their meeting ritual this time around, I knew they were Going To Regret It. Loved the potential Lily-Meeting-Six-Pack-Guy scenario!

2. Ditto the regret for Ted and Barney thinking they could live the dream of owning their own bar, plus the equal amusement caused by the whole chat-up scene with the two girls and Barney dragging Ted away for constant private conflabs. "What is the problem now??" "Nice one."

3. Was it me, or is Cobie's pregnancy starting to show? Especially given how incredibly slim verging on thin she'd become by the end of S3.

4. The whole Cocktail (or should that be Mocktail? It was a bit of a farce) had me cringing at the smashing glass and loaaaads of people and Carl being back any minute yikes.

5. Awwww, poor Marshall and Lily (and Robin and Ranjit, as the drivers), going to such extremes to fulfil their respective rituals! Although it all worked out in the end. Sweeet. No, I'm not getting teared up, that's something in my eye so you can bugger off. *cough*

Bonus quotey moment:

Girl: "Have you seen Amanda?"
Barney [emerging from bedroom looking dishevelled]: "BINGO!"
Me: "Awesome! Virtual me does it again..."

:P
[End Spoiler]

In other news, I have just made myself a variation on poutine (using mozzarella as I can't get cheese curds around here) for the first time ever and it is yummy. Although making myself a salted lassi beforehand, also for the first time ever, may not have been a good idea in retrospect as the cumin has decided to repeat on me. Ooops.

I Don't Understand The Same Things As You (Supernatural S04E11 Review)

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 11:32:11 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Well-paced but strangely unfulfilling.

And now the 5-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Supernatural S04E11 "Family Remains" - Highlight to view]

1. Considering this show is called Supernatural, it was an ironic twist to discover there was nothing supernatural whatsoever about the monster(s) of the week. Ahhh, humans. So delightful what we do to each other sometimes.

2. Having said that, they were suitably scary. Even I got a bit nervous when the girl stepped over the salt (ooooops!), and then there were two. Yikes. But it still felt as though it has been done before.

3. Helen Slater! Long time no see. Although out of the assorted guest stars, I felt most for the dog. Poor doggie.

4. Mmmmmm, Metallicar. Shiny.

5. After Dean's gut-wrenching confession last episode, this latest reveal felt a bit tacked-on and superfluous. I didn't buy it. Ripping victims apart because one is so afraid to keep on being subjected to the same treatment oneself after decades of unspeakable torture? Totally understandable. Feeling a certain grim satisfaction on getting to whale on bad guys? OK. Enjoying it? Nah. Oh, well. I suppose it was in keeping with the theme or something.
[End Spoiler]

Never Knew I Could Feel Like This (How I Met Your Mother S04E12 Review)

Wed, 14 Jan 2009 19:10:47 GMT

Well, I haven't updated here for a while. So, what have I been doing? Well, until recently, my life was revolving around dieting off the Christmas weight and exercising and mucking about with my new Wii (lightsabres! Baseball! Cow racing!), which was all going excellently. But in the last few days all I have been is Ill. Stupid horrible chest cold which is still hanging around in the form of a racking cough! Something always happens to derail my weight-loss plans. If I didn't know better, I'd say there's a bunch of Fates up there thinking, "What shall we do to screw her efforts up this time? Ahhh, the old favourite.... GERMS!" Bastards. *gnashes teeth*

Anyway, on a happier note, I finally have some new Tee Vee to review. Sweet!

The non-spoilery review: Awwwwwwwww!

And now the 5-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for HIMYM S04E12, "Benefits" - Highlight to view]

1. While I sympathize with Marshall, "reading magazines" is a surefire recipe for chalfonts* later on. (Unless you're Barney, in which case you might go blind instead.) Don't do it, dude! Still, it made for an amusing sub-plot, especially the talking magazine covers. "Marshall. You made a brave step today, blah blah etc." "You're right, super-hot lady whom my wife keeps telling me why you're famous but I keep forgetting. Let's do this!" Haw.

2. Sex as a way to a) stop fighting and b) get through boring chores? Okay! Way to hone the laundry-folding skillz, yo. Although the whole "getting weird" thing was inevitable. That casual goodbye kiss didn't surprise me at all, and nor did the subsequent reactions. Ted and Robin do get along very well, I have to admit. Were it not for the complete divergence of the way they want their lives to turn out, they would still be an adorable couple. Except that Robin & Barney are the BrOTP FTW now and there's no going back to Ted and Robin. Nuh-uh. (Besides, we know it's just "Aunt Robin", so no getting your hopes up there, T/R shippers.)

3. Poor Barney. Hoist by his own world peace plan. I can't believe he started buying TVs just so he could continue the cathartic TV-smashing, though! Oh, wait, I really can. That was actually quite in character for me. Barney is the king of impulsive grand gestures. Including the bulk buying of stamps. And the milk. And the new dishwasher. BLESS.

4. "Private Thing." Nice continuity nod to "Slapsgiving" there. I approve. Speaking of nods: when Barney talked about giving someone else free rein to pursue the girl of his dreams, did anyone else immediately get a vision of Dr Horrible? Poor Billy. Poor Barney.

5. And then he practically blurts it out to Robin that he loves her! And it's totally missed! Not only that, but she actually says that dating friends doesn't work out. Awwwwwwwww! But it's not been missed by Ted. Oh, no. Now there's a development. *rubs hands* Nope, the only one who doesn't know and should is Robin, damn her. (And presumably Marshall, as he's shown no indication that he knows, even though Lily's not exactly one for keeping secrets, as evidenced once again this ep.) Ah, well. May they continue to tease us for a while yet!

*Rhyming slang, in case you weren't aware. Chalfont St Giles, geddit?
[End Spoiler]

Poetic Meme

Tue, 30 Dec 2008 20:32:43 GMT

Nicked from lovestories, because I am bored and this seemed like fun.

1. Put your music player on shuffle
2. The first lines of twenty songs = a poem; the first line of the twenty-first song is the title.
3. Optional: list all the songs and artists played

Who's To Know If Your Soul Will Fade At All

Sweet dreams are made of this
I am milk
Now I will tell you what I've done for you
I like to move it, move it

I got this feeling that you're taking me under
Why do you look so familiar
Cold am I
Another night finds me alone

Once there was a man who had a little too much time on his hands
Let it go
Pay attention, pay attention, pay attention, please
Out of the ruins

It seems like every day's the same
She rides unclothed through the streets of Coventry
To your soul, to your soul, cry
When you fight me in the morning

I built my life like my bike on a rigid frame
You say you fell while holding diamonds in your hands
Oh, put your head on my shoulder
Last night a little dancer came dancing to my door

Songs And Artists

1. Sweet Dreams - Eurythmics
2. Milk - Garbage
3. Going Under - Evanescence
4. Move It - Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman
5. So Good - Rachel Stevens
6. Who Knows - Avril Lavigne
7. Away - Breaking Benjamin
8. You Still Touch Me - Sting
9. Return To Oz - Scissor Sisters
10. So Real - Love Decade
11. All Your Lies - 10 Years
12. We Don't Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) - Tina Turner
13. Fine Again - Seether
14. Lady Godiva And Me - Grant Lee Buffalo
15. Smalltown Boy - Bronski Beat
16. The Joke - Lifehouse
17. The Deep End - Crossfade
18. In The Rough - Anna Nalick
19. Time (Clock Of The Heart) - Culture Club
20. Rebel Yell - Billy Idol

21. Fake It - Seether

O... kay.

Stimulating To My Eyes

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 17:53:33 GMT

My other half just found some unexpected post in our porch: Division by 10 Years on CD... and the DVD of Doctor Horrible's Sing-Along-Blog.

YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! What a marvellous Christmas present (and only dispatched from the US last Friday!). I love you, Amazon.com!

If you're celebrating, have a fab one, my lovelies. <3

Edit: Oh, my God. And then came... Commentary: The Musical... BWAHAHAHA!

Hunt You Down Without Mercy (Heroes S03E13 Review)

Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:04:17 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Much to flail over, but the ending just broke my heart.

And now the Not-Counting-How-Many-Thoughts Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E13, "Dual" - Highlight to view]

1. So Hiro saved himself (from the flagpole at least!). I hadn't actually factored in that scenario. But Ando did save him from the past, as I hoped! (With Daphne's help.) And now we know what the red flashy power Future!Ando was sporting does, which gives us hope that he wasn't actually killing Hiro in the future.

2. I love the way Matt and Daphne were coaching Ando in how best to activate his powers. With the scrunching and whatnot.

3. Sylar's hostage-taking of Primatech was fascinating to watch, especially the way he was talking to Claire in that half-comforting, half-threatening manner.

4. Shame to lose Knox - I found him interesting, if terrifying with his bursts of murderous strength. But Nathan did a lovely job of lulling him into a false step before, er, being clobbered and then being unexpectedly saved by Tracy! Nice to see her do something useful, even if she did get fired immediately afterwards.

5. HRG's plan to set the other Primatech prisoners on Sylar was suitably logical (after all, they have their own powers - and lives - to lose if Sylar beats them), although allowing himself to be locked in with an adrenaline-fuelled Meredith was less smart...

6. Kaito hacking up Hiro's defensive baguette. Heeeeee! Funny that Hiro turns out to be the reason why the formula ended up torn in two, eh? At least he and Daphne managed to retrieve the current-time thing from the safe, and in the nick of time too (heh, time. No pun intended), seeing as it was about to end up in Tracy's mucky mitts, the devious wench, although I wouldn't have just ripped it up - I'd have burned it as well.

7. While it was unnerving to see Peter temporarily allying himself with Flint to destroy the lab, Peter did, as usual, show his usual compassion for other human beings, trying to stop Flint from destroying them as well. And is saved by Nathan when he comes off worst from that little encounter by whacking Flint in the lab with the lead pipe. Except that Nathan starts clobbering Peter as well. "You broke my heart, Peter." Yeah? You broke mine when you did that, Nathan.

8. Well, cadesama did theorize that it would be Peter's choice to take powers back, and yes, he chose to take them back while under pressure and to save himself and his brother. (And he flew! Interesting. I guess we'll have to wait a little while to see if that's all the formula has given him or whether his original power has kicked in and he absorbed his brother's power then and there.) Not that Nathan was grateful at all, dammit.

9. Right. Angela's definitely not Sylar's mother. My initial instincts were spot on. (I wish I hadn't wavered - even though it was only for an ep or two - they put so many convincing factors in to persuade us that Sylar was actually a Petrelli... DAMN THEM.)

10. Mohinder looks to have been cured by the formula he was rolling in before he got out of Pinehearst! And now he's hooked up with Tracy, eh?

11. So Volume 3 ends and down go Primatech and Pinehearst, destroyed by fire. I wonder if Meredith survived? I guess not if the building caved in, but we already know that she can survive fire if that was her only problem.

12. Worf's the President! Awesome.

13. Oh, Nathan. After all he's learned since S1, he chooses to go right back there. And although he may not have gone so far as to hand in dossiers on his own family (as far as we can see), he certainly had no compunction in betraying the rest. Including Hiro and even Micah? That's low, dude. (Although if is means Micah gets a decent storyline in which to return, yay?) In one respect, one could see his idea of rounding all the "supers" up as being in character, given that he mooted that idea before, to Simone, in "Unexpected". Except that I checked that ep and who wrote it? Yep, same guy who wrote this ep - the ex-X-Man writer, Jeph Loeb. Nice character development there, dude! I guess Jeph wants Heroes to have its very own Genosha storyline. Let's just hope it doesn't turn into the Age of Apocalypse instead...

14. So, we've got an interesting set-up for Volume 4 here. I look forward to seeing how it pans out, but the way they devolved Nathan's character to get there makes me very, very sad indeed.

15. (Bonus afterthought) Although... now that I think of it, morally grey S1 Nathan was appallingly hot. *cough* There's a silver lining to every cloud, right? Right? *sniff*
[End Spoiler]

Situations Like These (Heroes S03E12 Review)

Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:28:19 GMT

Non-spoilery review: Looks like the bad bits last week were definitely a glitch. Because the show was well and truly back this week, baby. Woo-woo-WOOOOO! Awwwwwwwesome.

And now the Not-Counting-How-Many-Thoughts Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E12, "Our Father" - Highlight to view]

1. Claire and Hiro not understanding each other = ADORABLE. I love the whole mirrored conversation in their own languages culminating in, "I don't understand what you're saying." Bwaha!

2. Tamlyn Tomita is Ishi Nakamura? I've just gone back to the 80s, man. Pass the Peter Cetera. *sporfle* And it's great to see George Takei back in action, as always. I lurve you, George!

3. So it's bye bye, Elle (sniff. Although wot, no decapitation?) and hello to Sylar's new power-gathering adventures. Oh, dear, I shouldn't laugh at people being horribly murdered, but Quinto handled the blackly comedic elements of those scenes brilliantly. What with nasty birthday surprises ("It's not going to hurt a bit..... Got me!" "Cake!") and REALLY awkward conversations in the lift ("Something wrong?" "No... no." *zinnggg* "Hm. Does kind of tingle."), his scenes were a total joy. It's so good to have Sylar back and doing what he does worst, I mean, best! "I almost forgot how good this feels." You and me both, dude!

4. Nathan taking over Pinehearst. "You wouldn't have gone to all this trouble to make me if you didn't need me." Ooooo, eat that, Arthur. It was good to see Nathan empathizing with the Marine too, given his own experiences.

5. Tracy, on the other hand? Gah. Talk about naked ambition. Can't wait for her to go now. Leave Nathan alone, you scheming hussy!

6. Matt, Daphne and Ando were great fun, especially Matt and Daphne pwning the courier's butt. Ha!

7. Sandra and Noah looking so much younger - awwww! Claire bonding with Noah over baby Claire and urging him to do the right thing with so much passion. "You're going to love each other so much." Oh, that was wonderful. I got all choked up.

8. And then I saw the conversation between Hiro and his mother and got choked up even more. Awww, bugger. And Hiro is given the light as well as his memory back! Did anyone see that one coming? Too bad he barely had a moment to do anything with it before Arthur yanked it away. Along with his power OH CRAP. For real this time! And now Hiro's hanging off a flagpole. Oh, dear.

9. But wait, there's hope? Maybe Ando can save him? Of course this takes Ando closer to the whole powers-having and possibly going up against Hiro later thing, but hey, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

10. Arthur: "Ready to change the world?" Oh, boy.

11. Well done to Peter for taking the responsibility of shooting his father, despite the Haitian's offer. (I am so enjoying badass Haitian this season.) It was perhaps unsurprising that Peter had difficulty actually carrying it out. I simultaneously admired him for being unable to kill in cold blood while going, "Aaaaargh, shoot him before the Haitian loses his grip aaaaaargh!" I am obviously not such a good person.

12. And while Peter can shoot instinctively in self-defence, it was too little, too late. Yikes! Thank goodness Sylar stepped in at the last minute. And Arthur's not his father, haha! Although wouldn't it be a kicker if Angela were still his mother? I don't want her to be, because that would tie in with my initial thoughts of Angela lying her head off in order to play Sylar like the proverbial fiddle, but on the other hand, that would be an awful lot of fun if she were telling the truth, the little minx. She was certainly on top manipulative form this ep, pulling out all the emotional stops to make Peter murder his father...

13. Eeeeeeeek, Sylar killed Arthur! Just like that. (Edit: although as mystery_sock has pointed out, will that do the job, seeing as the writers are always going on about firing into the back of the head? OK, with luck the bullet has made enough mess going out the other side, but anything's possible.) Although if Sylar wasn't going to kill Peter because the latter didn't have anything the former needed, where does that leave the Haitian, who's not exactly chopped liver? Although I do wonder whether Sylar would be able to take on that power. I mean, Peter ran into the Haitian and doesn't seem to have his powers, even by absorption. Eh. I'll wait for one of my nice smart readers to explain that one to my brain cell...

14. Interesting light effect from the dying/dead Arthur there. Did that affect Peter? Is Peter now permanently powerless (assuming Arthur would have even been able to give powers back) or will his DNA template revert so he starts picking up stuff from scratch?

12. Aaaaand now for some delicious Super-Duper-Wooper-Soldier serum. Captain America, eat your heart out. I'm not surprised that Marine freaked out at Mohinder when he saw a glimpse of what he might become. And is enhanced strength all he's got, I wonder? Judging by Mohinder's expression, it's his turn to be freaked out. Wooooohhh!
[End Spoiler]

ROLL ON NEXT WEEK.

If You Wait On Me, I'll Be Free One Day (House S05E10 Review)

Wed, 03 Dec 2008 21:18:37 GMT

Oh, it's a relief to get home and not have to rush around getting everything done ASAP so I can get down to writing. Not that the time doesn't go by fast anyway. *scowls*

On the work side: very frustrating day. Nearly everything I started I couldn't finish because I needed to clarify stuff with other people, meaning heaps of loose ends begging to be tied up. Wank.

On the happy side, I had a new House to watch.

Non-spoilery review: Oh, the games we play....SUCH fun. With additional pathos thrown in. Awwwww.

And now the 10-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for House S05310, "Let Them Eat Cake" - Highlight to view]

1. Cuddy trying to share House's office. Oh, you just know this isn't going to end well. Although Cuddy definitely got the lead when House tried to disrupt her phone conversation only to have Cuddy tell the person she has House's balls and isn't giving them back. BWAHA! Score one to Cuddy!

2. Kutner trading on House's name. Oh, dear. And Taub's got him by the nadgers right off the bat. Kutner [horrified] "It's blackmail!" Taub [calmly] "Yes." Excellent.

3. So our patient's a cheater. That makes me feel better. [/greedyfatloser]

4. Oh, Wilson. You're so cool with your desk psych. "Sitting near him and hoping isn't going to get it done." Cuddy: "Leave here now or I'll take your office." Wilson: "No, you won't." Gotcha! Score one to Wilson!

5. Cuddy stinking out House's office with chemicals and then swanning out with an "Oh, would you look at the time." Aaaand that's another round to Cuddy...

6. And House retaliates by smashing Cuddy's toilet and ordering a bidet in its place? No, no, no. Not getting it done, House. Wilson: "I think in some ancient cultures that was actually considered a proposal of marriage." And: "Ask her out. It'll cost the hospital a lot less." Oooo! Score two to Wilson!

7. Thirteen and Foreman were great this ep. Her freaking out over the other patient, the flashbacks, him persisting, the confession and hug at the end, all of it. Awwwwwww.

8. House and Cuddy Confront. "Everybody knows this is going somewhere. I think we're supposed to kiss now." I SCREAMED. And then of course House has to do THAT instead. (Jeez, he's got huge hands.) "Can you leave these?" Oh, hee. Oh, dear. Oh, hee.

9. And the best moment goes to... Kutner and Taub for trying to keep House from finding out about boob-job lady Kutner was treating while pretending to be House as she goes nuts and then dies. Except that she was Totally Faking It and House was in on it the whole time, along with Chase and Cameron! High fives all round! (Except for the terrified Kutner and Taub. House: "I think we may have an anal hygiene violation there.") AWESOME. I'd try and work out whether Kutner's actually getting any money from this after everyone else involved has taken their cut, but I'm pretty sure it went into the negative. *snort*

10. Of course Cuddy had to walk in to talk to House about the desk he presumably wangled for her just as boob-job girl was (I'm guessing) telling House what he's getting with his last three dollars. Ooops! Poor Cuddy. Oh, well - just putting off the inevitable for as long as possible, eh? Heehee.
[End Spoiler]

BTW, a belated thank you to whomever it was who sent me that virtual champers (presumably) for completing NaNo. You naughty sweet anonymous thing, you.

<3

Come Apart (Heroes S03E11 Review)

Tue, 02 Dec 2008 17:47:58 GMT

Well, haven't done these for a while!

Non-spoilery review: Mixed bag of yay- and WTF-age. Unfortunately, I think the latter outweighed the former, and not in a good way.

And now the 10-Thought Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E11, "The Eclipse, Part 2" - Highlight to view]

1. So, while Sylar and Elle were doing the nasty, was anyone else thinking how weird it must be for Kristen and Zach to be pretending to make out with each other, having been friends for 10+ years? I'd have been SO embarrassed. And why didn't HRG take his shot before they got horizontal anyway. Tut.

2. Poor Mohinder. He finally gets the chance to escape (and give Flint a good clocking while he's at it) and then comes back as soon as his powers return, knowing he's working with the bad guys. Were there really no other places he could have gone for help? And taken the formula with him while he was at it? Yet another example of his lack of common sense, bless him.

3. The geeks in the comic store on the other hand? Great fun. I enjoyed all the meta, and Geek!Seth's character's motivational speech (and the bits Ando didn't translate)!

4. Felt sorry for Claire (and even more for Sandra). Able to feel pain again, and now wishing it would all go away because it's too much to bear. And her father's nowhere to be seen because he's busy cutting Sylar's throat. Ouch. But of course, we know that Geek!Breckin's theory is going to be correct, so it's a good opportunity for some shock "deaths", right?

5. Matt and Daphne's storyline took a positive turn, at least. It's a shame Matt didn't hang around longer to reassure Daphne while she was feeling vulnerable in her crutches, but he redeemed himself by going back and making her get some closure with her dad. Awwww.

6. Nathan's use of his powers as an offensive weapon made me whoop... but his subsequent ideas of going back to Pinehearst? Not so much. Oh, Nathan! I know you mean well, but NO. Listen to your brother this time.

7. The Haitian was rather awesome and kick-ass. So was Hiro's removal of Sylar and Elle from the Bennet household ("Bad man." Hee) and transportation of him and Claire to the time when Kaito first gave her to Jack. I liked all of those bits. I'm also glad they acknowledged that there's a finite number of 9th Wonders! comics, as I was getting a bit worried about that, given that the author is, you know, dead. I guess Isaac really kept ahead of his monthly submission deadlines, didn't he?

8. Good to hear Bennet's claim about Sylar's parentage. I hope it is true as it certainly backs up my original instincts. How this fits in with how Sylar still thought himself a Petrelli five years later remains to be seen, but I guess that future timeline has begun changing a fair bit anyway.

9. Oh, dear. Elle didn't put up nearly as much of a fight this time. What a shame. I guess her being weakened by being shot and shocked by Gabriel's sudden turnaround may have been factors, but it's a poor ending for what was once an excellent character. Out with a whimper, not a bang? For a moment I wondered why Sylar would cut her head open if he's already got her power, but as they previously showed, he's still not sure how it works, so I'll buy that bit.

10. So now Sylar's reverting to type again? I guess not being a Petrelli and "special" any more means he's got no reason to redeem himself any more, eh? This is almost more annoying than his original changeover to the side of the angels. The inconsistency of it is just... annoying. I guess they'll conveniently explain it away with Arthur's wry comment: "I think this eclipse showed us all exactly who we are." Well, the way some of the characters turned out made me want to bang my head on the table. There.
[End Spoiler]

In other news, I have done bugger-all today except sleep, eat and watch TV. And it's been great.

Oh, Thank Crap.

Sat, 29 Nov 2008 14:11:30 GMT

Final NaNo word count: 50,083.

JOB DONE.

I'm sorry for neglecting my flist all this time, but I intend to get back to my stalking duties as soon as possible. Although first I am going to Get Drunk (in a few hours). Yay!

Quick Supernatural S04E10 comment

Sun, 23 Nov 2008 13:13:12 GMT

As I am supposed to be writing, here is my quick non-spoilery review of Supernatural ep S04E10.

Oh, Kripke, you bastard! I cried all over the sofa at the ending. (Which totally made up for that unbelievably naff window moment earlier. Yeah, you know the one. The other half and I both yelled at the screen for that.) Awesome episode. I am so loving this season.

And, WTF. No new eps until THE END OF JANUARY?? MADE OF SUCK. At least NaNo will be well and truly over by then and I can get back to writing proper reviews. Might even do some retrospectives of the eps I didn't have time to review this month...

Tales From Eclipse 2

Sat, 22 Nov 2008 18:47:51 GMT

Well, I was supposed to be catching up on my gigantic NaNoWriMo deficit today but instead I have spent rather a lot of the day reliving my experiences at Eclipse 2 (the Heroes convention) in writing, which are up at my blurty now with a link to some photos in case you are interested. Warning: I like to remember EVERYTHING so they are very long.

Part I

Part II

Part III

In short, it was UTTERLY AWESOME and I cannot wait for Eclipse 3 in March. Rock on!

Stats And Stuff

Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:44:05 GMT

Boy, I haven't posted for a while. Stupid RL stuff and being knackered all the time!

Anyway. Remember that 500 eps in one year thing? Well, today I hit 1,000. Not counting the eps I watched twice in the same month! I am a Total Nerd.

The qualifying eps are listed here if you're dying to know.

Also racked up 2,000 on NaNo today after almost a week of bugger-all, so feeling a bit better about trying to catch up a bit this weekend. I've got about 8K to rack up over the next two days in order to get back on schedule. *GULP*

Sorry For Losin' All My Mind

Wed, 12 Nov 2008 21:14:08 GMT

Oh, I hate it when I'm all overwhelmed with emotions and there's NO-ONE to talk to about it. In the old days, there were a bunch of us watching the same stuff so we could come into the office and go, "Whaaaaaa, did you see THAT?!" and share our thoughts and calm each other down until we felt better. I don't have that anymore since they left.

I miss my geeky office friends. Face-to-face squeeing really is such fun. I consoled myself by leaving comments on some of my LJ friends' entries and getting responses to those but it's not quite the same.

[sadface]

Also did NOT wait until I was a bit calmer before posting a comment on The Pasdar's YouTube account. I NEVER BLOODY LEARN. Oh, well - at least it wasn't a private message!

HIMYM and House were also excellent this week but I just haven't had the time to review them. Bah!

Fall Into The Sand (Heroes S04E08 Review)

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 20:47:41 GMT

Non-spoilery review: HOLY FUCKING HELLFIRE. I screamed, I swore, I squeeeeed, I'm utterly drained. WOW.

And now the However-Many-Thoughts-It-Damn-Well-Takes Review.

[Begin Spoiler for Heroes S03E08, "Villains" - Highlight to view]

1. Wow, it's Characterpalooza! NICE. Everybody gets to play. Well, nearly everybody, but just about all the best people are here, so it's all good. And when I say good, I mean AWESOME.

2. Yikes, Peter's S1 hair never looked like that. But oh, don't the boys look pretty together? Oh, yes.

3. "All right, get a room." Oh, Nathan. You'll be the one more deserving of that comment later. *snigger*

4. Mmmm, handcuffs. I mean, tut. Bad Linderman. Oh, it's so good to see everyone back in the past and watch all the gaps being filled in!

5. Meredith and Flint are siblings? I guess it makes sense - their powers are similar. And wow, Thompson! Hello! Death really is no barrier to appearing on the show, is it? Excellent.

6. Elle met Sylar back then?? The hell? Was she even fit to go out in the field? And with HRG? Never mind, never mind. I like it. Although damn, HRG was being a manipulative bugger with her even if he did sympathize with her treatment in S2.

7. Oh, my God, Arthur was behind the attack on Nathan and Heidi. Oh, MY GOD.

8. "Six Months Ago" is one of my favourite eps for Petrellicest due to that hospital scene and my lord, Adrian and Milo were doing their best to recapture the moment. I was squealing all over the place. Ohhh, boys, you're killing me. You're KILLING ME.

9. "An invisible man tackled me in the alley." DAMMIT, YOU TEASE ME WITH CLAUDE NOW?

10. Oh, Elle and dorky Gabriel are so adorable. Of course, it all had to go Horribly Wrong...

11. So Arthur wiped Angela's memories? Not once, but lots and lots of times. And then Linderman goes and lets them all out. Oh, hell hath no fury...

12. Speaking of - if it turns out Linderman and Angela got it on as well, I'll... heck, I'll not be surprised. Touchy!

13. Oh, the intertwining of new with previous moments. Meredith flaming up the train which Claire then enters to rescue the trapped man as happened in "Genesis"... HRG getting into Mohinder's cab as Peter gets out... It's so perfect! I'm beyond squee at this moment.

14. So that's how Arthur escaped Angela's revenge. Sneaky.

15. Even at the funeral, there's time for a little more Hoyay. *happy sigh* Nathan takes his arm out from around Peter just long enough to shake a well-wisher's hand and then back around it goes. Oh, I've missed this SO MUCH. We've had some glimpses of the brotherly love here and there this season, but I guess we had to go back to the way it was to really feel it again.

16. Aaaaand Hiro's back in the present. But Usutu's had his head taken off! No guesses as to who did that after seeing "The Butterfly Effect". And CRAP, Arthur's got Hiro (how the hell did he get here?!) and yikes there is trouble and Hiro had better teleport out of there sharpish if he's going to have a chance at keeping his powers and OMG CAN IT BE NEXT WEEK NOW PLEASE?!?!!?
[End Spoiler]

And to finish off, here are some recaps from THAT scene. Because I HAD TO.

"Oh, Peter, kiss me, you fool..."

"Oh, OK."

"No, wait, I can't. Not with the parents watching."

Oh, my lord, they're practically mirroring each other at this point THIS IS SO ADORABLE.

"Dammit, Pete! Must... not... cry..."

"Uh, I can explain... "

*keysmash*

"Ma?! Do you mind - WE'RE TRYING TO HAVE A MOMENT HERE!"

In conclusion...

GRBLSJX *explodes*

Must calm down... must calm down... must calm down... Dear heaven, how can I be expected to write any NaNo after THAT?

*goes off to find sedatives*