Seattle was lovely. ♥ Though I must point out that nobody (online, offline, sideline) mentioned the steep streets! Miami is flat, flat, flat, so they took us a bit by surprise. Though I will say, there was a satisfied feeling of a job well done when we made various climbs. I've concluded that stairs beats hills both in the up and the down, and I think up actually beats down just for the sake of my shins. I can't imagine it, but I saw several women take on the hills in heels (not, I should add, the extreme heels I spot regularly here in Miami, but heels none the less), to which I can only say, "wow".

I was a teeny-tiny bit disappointed in the weather. They had a near record breaking sunny streak and I'd been looking forward to a good gloom, but that seems the sort of thing it's kind of rude to complain about. ;)

We did all the touristy things, our Frommer's guide clutched firmly in hand. (By the way? Frommer's rocks.) Seattle has tons of fun touristy things to do. But the thing that affected me the most, and in a way I didn't realize I even needed, was the Science Fiction Museum. It reminded me that I'm a fan! :D A dorky media fan more than a bookish fan (though I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of authors I had read), but a fan none the less.

Science fiction has taken some serious hits this past year. Some of it, in my opinion, has been well deserved (the painful but very, very necessary "Racefail '09" discussions), and some of it has been grossly disappointing (depressing reactions to female characters). But it left me with the feeling that science fiction was a rather nasty little playground with a few shiny objects to lure in the ignorant.

Visiting a place that celebrates all the things science fiction does well, reminded me that there are in fact things science fiction does well. :D I have always, always been attracted to the shiny optimism that human beings are going to make it, that there are tons of nifty new phenomena and worlds to explore, that there's always going to be something worth striving for. That's what I've always loved about science fiction, and that's something it's still able to offer.

It's not a perfect genre, obviously. It makes plenty of mistakes, some of them rather egregious. But when it gets it right, science fiction can hit a storytelling sweet spot in me no other genre can. I'd lost sight of that and I'm grateful to Seattle's Science Fiction Museum for reminding me. Thanks, Seattle! :)

I have experienced IMAX!! Or, well I've seen IMAX films before, but only the science ones, actually designed for the IMAX screen, where things are pretty static as you swoop over arctic ice or into a volcano. Never an actual, story-telling, dialogue-happening, movie. Until now.

It was "Star Trek" (of course) and we made sure it was an actual, bona fide IMAX screen (which means we by-passed Aventura where they're no-good fakers and headed up to Fort Lauderdale). Neither of us had any clue about where to sit so we just followed the people who'd made sure they were in the front of the line and plowed into the theater on a clear mission. They sat middle seats/middle rows, so we sat middle/middle, too. In the future we'll probably go for middle/back, but on the whole it was good placement.

The difference was remarkable. So much sound, so much visual, so close to tipping into system overload. It was awesome! Unless you had two people on the screen talking to each other. It was a bit of a strain to watch both characters: like a really shiny tennis match. Close ups were much more IMAX-friendly. In conclusion: I'm glad I experienced it and I'll definitely go to an IMAX again for "thrilling ride!" type movies. But just one for one viewing. Regular old movie theaters are still my venue of choice and a favorite place to spend a hot summer afternoon. :)

And now to the movie itself! First I shall be lazy and recommend posts that say what I'd have said myself if I was that witty and wise. Two are by sistermagpie: The first, Enterprise!, is spoiler free but still manages to capture why I've squished this movie so hard. The second, Return of the Doofus!, has spoilers galore and covers the coming of age aspects of the story. The third, also spoiler filled, is by taraljc, and I'm totally stealing this rec from astridv, and I haven't commented on either post so I'm probably breaking all kinds of lj etiquette laws (I plan on commenting! I've just been busy... and lazy...), but the post is really good! It's basically, "I ♥ Uhura" and it's in response to some Uhura complaints that have apparently been made.

And now to my very own views! That are totally sporadic! And also ( deliciously spoiler filled )

And now? To bed! :D

I have just picked up "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies". How could I not?!?

I've been thinking about this (incredibly far-reaching) topic for a while, trying to get my thoughts in some semblance of order, but it's been pretty impossible. So I'm embracing the chaos and just free writing this beastie. I'll be interested to see how it turns out! :)


( Is there a distinct style difference between women writers and men writers? )


( Are there types or styles of writing that one gender handles better than another? )


( Are there styles of writing that attract one gender over another? )

And that's enough for now. Crap conclusion, I know. But I'm not sure I've really reached a conclusion. Let the thinking continue! :D

So after picking up a couple of shifts and working, working, working, I got sick. :( Nothing dramatic, I'm pleased to say. Just the sort of thing where you have to haul a kleenex box around everywhere you go. But it was annoying and a bit exhausting.

(I lied; there was one dramatic part. I lost my taste!! D: We went out to dinner with friends and there was a lamb-burger with goat cheese on the menu (two of my favorite things, smashed together) and I didn't bother ordering it because I couldn't taste!! I went with pasta instead. Still couldn't taste but the texture was good... DO YOU SEE THE DRAMA?? I WAS REDUCED TO TEXTURE!!)

Being not in the mood to do much that involved thinking (I feel like I've been so detached from lj) I watched a whole heck of a lot of Joe Flanigan on YouTube. (An aside: A nice thing about fanning over two completely different actors is I can fangirl according to mood. *g*) I think I've seen just about all of his (many) pilots and have decided ( 3 things )

I also watched Flanigan's appearance on "Chelsea Lately" last year. He was very charming and such and Chelsea was very Chelsea and there was a moment where she asks him about crazy scifi fans ( who believe this stuff is real )

1) This morning, the cat curled up in my lap, stretched her paw up to my collarbone, and went to sleep.

2) My husband remembered the water was probably going to be shut off (again, because they're constantly working on something around here) so he managed to get his shower and I managed to get all the water we needed for breakfast (water in the kettle and in the porridge pot) before it was gone, gone, gone. (Don't worry, I'd showered earlier. *g*)

3) Because we had no water, we went out to a lovely little French café. And honestly, the French do food right. The simplest things are just lovely. We chose to have dessert. :)

4) The water came back; there's a lovely soup simmering away in the kitchen.

It's a bit past midnight, but I haven't called it a night so I'm going to say this still counts as day 7.

1) Not waking up to an alarm clock

2) Lazing away the morning

3) Playing with our cat

4) Dinner with friends

1) The big push is over! I have two days of rest (mostly... if I don't get called in, anyway) and I'm thrilled!

2) The car crash I nearly got into this morning (before I even got out of the parking lot!) didn't happen.

3) Ooh! Vin Diesel is on the tv! (Mmmm... Vin Diesel...) "Chronicles of Riddick" which, contrary to the opinions of the rest of the universe, my husband and I adore. We like to quote the McBeth couple. "Kill the beast now while he is wounded!!" "He is not a man, he's a holy half-dead who has seen the Underverse" Hee! Fun for the whole family! (Also, Christopher Heyerdahl is in it. It's a short scene, but it's a doozy. *g*)

4) This morning? Pancakes! :D

1) Only one more day and then I can rest!

2) I can sleep in at least an hour later tomorrow!

3) Cat is sleeping on the back of the couch behind me and her little kitty snores are beyond adorable.

4) I made a pretty good "left-over surprise!" meal tonight. If I'd had some ricotta and mozzarella (oh, and more time!) it would have been amazing, but tasty makes me happy enough. :)

5) Today on my break I thought deep thinky-thoughts about... eh, too much to go into. But! It made me happy. :)

Urg... I'm so beyond exhausted right now, but Must! Post! Or the meme gods will eat me. :)

1) Woke up late for work (this isn't the "happy" part, yet *g*), but my husband fixed breakfast while I showered and then fixed my lunch while I dressed. So I was fed and prepared when I left this morning.

2) Plus! The driving gods were with me: the stop-lights smiled upon me and I chose the best lanes at the best times. Seriously, it was a thing of beauty and I actually got to work a bit early. So I had time to sit in the sun and chat with my husband on the phone before starting my day.

3) I made meatloaf for dinner tonight. I always enjoy the bit where I mix everything together with my hand. (Like mud-pies. Mud-pies you can actually eat! *g*)

4) Also? I love the part where the timer goes off and you open the oven door and get hit by that gentle wave of heat and the delicious smell of dinner.

5) Our cat is sitting right behind me on the back of the couch and when I reach up to pet her she trills. :)

1) The sudden rain storm that hit mid-afternoon. It was short (rain comes and goes so quickly here), but it was beautiful.

2) Listening to the wind blow through the palm trees on my break. It's a distinct and very cool sound.

3) I'm completely ready for bed right now. I love that feeling of having everything done and being able to totally relax. :)

4) Oh! When I walked in the door, dinner was ready and waiting and delicious! ♥

1) This house IS CLEAN!! :D It took many, many hours, but it's done! We can have company again!

2) While ironing (I was thorough) I re-watched SGA's "The Shrine" on Hulu. (I ♥ Hulu ...and also SGA)

3) Did a teeny-tiny experiment for lunch and it worked! (We had one chicken thigh and a whole lot of sauce left over from last night's dinner: I lightly toasted some french bread; cut up the chicken and heated it up in the sauce; divided the toast between two bowls; poured the chicken and sauce over the toast. Was yummy.)

I've seen this meme everywhere, including the inevitable, "I must be the last person to pick up on this thing," opening statement (to which I say, Hah! *g*). Also, I think I was tagged. :D

It's been very cool reading about what everyone finds happy-making so I shall join in on the fest:

1) This morning, husband made breakfast.

2) Right this very minute, husband making dinner.

3) Classic TNG just finishing up on the TV. (The one introducing the Borg!!1!)

~~Break for Food~~

4) Dinner was delicious.

5) Local Borders having a blow-out DVD sale. Bought BBC's "Pride and Prejudice". \o/


to be continued... (Not tagging anyone because I'm probably the last person to pick up on this thing. :D If I'm wrong and you want to join in, please do!)

The Tower (2x15)
written by Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie
directed by Andy Mikita

Oh, Stargate:Atlantis... ( curse your sudden yet inevitable episode drop )

Okay, I've been waiting for that magical moment when I'm not tired and I'm not busy to write up my "Battlestar Galactica: Final Thoughts" post... and it ain't happening. So this is the down and dirty version.

First, I shall sum up: Liked it with a side of grumbling "meh". And now, ( to the spoiler specific )

Oh! By watching BSG I got to see the very first SGU ad! I have to admit, I'm excited for it. :)




I also watched "Dollhouse"! :D I'm actually kind of loving this show. I know, I know, I shouldn't. There's so much that's icky to it. ( But this last episode, Man on the Street... )

Wow. So I was a little wordy. (But it's television! You have to be wordy about television!)

I actually finished on Sunday but delayed posting because... well, some of it was work related (as in, I was working and too tired to write when I got home) but the largest reason was ( spoilers beneath cut )

Would I recommend "1984"? Yes, but carefully. I think it's a good book to have read, but I think it's good to know what you're getting into.

Oh! I have to add, my edition (the 1984 commemorative edition *g*) has a commentary by Erich Fromm. I've never heard of him, but apparently? He's really hates nuclear weapons, mm-kay? And pretty much everything that went wrong in "1984" occurred because of nuclear weapons, mm-kay? And if we're to survive into the '90's without going all Big Brother ourselves, we should rid the world of nuclear weapons, mm-kay? (He's probably a very thoughtful guy, but his focus on the possibility of nuclear war was hilarious. I'd forgotten what a big deal that was back in the '80's. We had drills. Ah, nostalgia...)

On to Part Two of Orwell's "1984"! Spoiler warning same as the first: ( General for the entire book, specific for Part Two )

As a challenge to myself I decided to pick up George Orwell's "1984" and give it another go. I'd tried reading it as a little girl and was unimpressed. Vastly unimpressed, even. I didn't finish it. This time? Oh, I'm definitely finishing; I'm well and truly hooked. :)

Behind the cut tag I babble on a bit. Beware spoilers for the entire book; I'm fairly familiar with how it goes and that awareness is included in the babble. But specifically, ( these are my thoughts on part one. )

So I've been watching "Dollhouse". And I have to say, I've been enjoying it. But I haven't been recommending it to people and I don't think I will. Not until I get to the end, anyway. Because I think it's going to turn out in a good (though possibly bleak) way. But I could be wrong.

I will say this, it's very much not like anything else on American television right now. Or at least (since I cannot come close to claiming I've watched everything on American television *g*), not like anything I've seen. The closest similarity I can think of is Japanese anime (the opening credits especially, if only superficially): the general dystopian air, the sense that a larger plot is unfolding just outside our current focus, the feeling that our main characters are going to change drastically as the series unfolds. These are all elements I associate with anime.

Or novels. Stories that have a definite beginning, middle, and end. (Dystopia not required, obviously. That just says something about the sort of anime I watch.) Stories that can start off somewhere disturbing and take you through to... something else. Not the sort of thing that can continue on for years and years depending on viewer numbers and advertising dollars. And not the sort of thing you can jump into midstream.

And "Dollhouse" is disturbing; drastically so. ( spoilers through 3rd episode )

Another view that I really enjoyed reading and that clarified things for me is post by, rachelmanija called Why I Would Not Have Greenlit Dollhouse. It gives a good overview of the problems with "Dollhouse" as a story told on television.