ungrateful
Hot lunches are very hard work. As is working with editors. And being woken up by frikin’ police sirens early every morning because the idiots in your neighborhood feel the need to shoot each other up.
Which is why I should go to bed. Unless staying up late helps me sleep deeper, and thus sleep through the sirens. Hmm… *strokes beard* Is a good point.
Anyway – exhausted from Hot Lunch and long day. Estoy cansado.
So g’night, all. I’m (finally) reading Refining Fire, in Shadow Unit, since the new season’s starting in March and all. SU’s interesting, because it’s kinda like a TV show on paper. Like those old-fashioned serials that Dickens used to write? Like that. It’s pretty awesome. There will probably be spoilers in here, so be forewarned.
And I feel for my poor platypus. Someone needs to cut Chaz a break once in a while. I mean, I know it’s a rule in these kind of things that the Reid-person needs to have a life of pure hell, but… Cut Chaz some slack, okay?
He’s been doing okay on his lj, so I’m not terribly worried about Refining Fire. I mean, I know my favorite characters don’t die. Hafida, Daphne, Falkner, Chaz – they’re all safe. Which is good. Though where I am in RF, it’s very hard on the soul because stop it people stop hurting my chaz/reids. They’re both such psycho magnets, I swear.
Anyway, g’night. Sleep tight.
~DreamingOfNothing
Love and War
***SPOILERS. YOU KNOW THE DRILL***
This week’s spoilers are for NCIS, 04-14, Love and War. As in, All’s Fair in Love and War. Except for when it’s not at all.
1. The psycho ex-ex-fiance. I had my suspicions on him ever since he came in without her and said that she’d taken him back and that she wasn’t feeling up to coming in. Turns out that she wasn’t, but for some reason I was so sure that he’d dumped her body somewhere.
(Being arrested)”This is insane.”“Unbelievably insane. And you are a psychopath. You’ve just leapfrogged to the top of our psychopath of the year list.”
And it’s kinda freaky that he had someone killed over the copper and glass ring they had in their intestinal tract. And that I was able to figure out who the baddie was before even Gibbs, who usually has the hunchy gut.
2. McGee. The whole thing with the five level sorceress was actually really sad (because McGee’s just like, “What is the likelihood that I will ever meet another five level sorceress?” Oh, geeky Elflord), because Tony had set the whole thing up, and there was no actual girl. And Tony kept having the ‘girl’ hurt McGee so McGee would decide to forget it. But he actually didn’t, because he doesn’t really get to meet that many people, particularly girls.
I wonder if this means that he is desperate enough for the freaky prison warden. I badly hope not.
And the end = Love. McGee’s just talking about how much he likes this girl and how he’s not giving up on her because he thinks she’s the one, and Tony shows his conscience for once and lets Probie have the last piece of pizza and repays his loan with interest, and it’s all kinda pogniant until Ziva leans forward and says, “When I told you it wasn’t so that you could torture him.” Tee hee.
Though McGeek – bringing up Jeanne just to stab Tony with it? Not cool. He probably would have done the same to you if your positions were switched, but that’s not the point here. You’re the little harrassed Probie. You’re supposed to be the better man.
2. Abby was Abby. And Ziva was Ziva. And Gibbs was Gibbs. And Ducky was Ducky. Though, question: Where was Mr. Palmer? I missed ol’ Jimmy. The other conspicous absence (which I did not mind) was Leon Vance. But I kinda hate him, so I’m not that upset that he’s not in this ep.
3. I’ve already kinda talked about Tony.
“I think you have me confused with someone far less awesome.”
4. The bear. Was. The. Freakiest. Thing. Ever. My god.
5. Did I already mention that Pauley Perrette (Abby) is engaged to Michael Boseman the cameraman? Or that a friend of mine thinks that Tony looks like Michael Bluth of Arrested Development? *facepalm*
***SPOILERS OVER***
are you scared of the dark
Well, the test was way less hard than I’d thought it would be. I overstressed about it, which is why I’m sitting here in half-tears, being way too underslept and spoiled but having taken the coffee I was offered 9 1/2 hours ago which is still screwing up my system, because I respond horribly to caffeine, so I’ll never get to sleep tonight.
Basically, I’ve been trying to get more flexible and stronger because our play’s going to have dances in them, and I badly want a lead part. So, so badly. So I’ve been stretching and doing pushups and barre exercises with the back of my chair and whatnot. But then my mother gets on my case because I’m not exercising from the two options of: Taking a martial arts class like all of my other siblings and walking on the treadmill we have downstairs.
Now, I love walking. I was really into track for a while, until it hit me that there’s no way in hell I’m ever going to do any track with the smallness of our school. We don’t even have a P.E. class anymore, for god’s sake. And I took soccer when I was younger, but the fact that we moved away from the soccer team and now I’m too old to be allowed to run around in shorts and a t-shirt kinda killed that. I did gymnastics for a time, too, but we don’t live anywhere near any of that now.
Anyway – about walking. I like doing it, but have you ever been on a treadmill? It’s boring and no matter what anyone says, it’s nothing like walking or running on actual ground. And I don’t want to take martial arts, for various reasons.
What I’d like to do is dance or gymnastics. However gymnastics is a no, since I’m a freaking giant and we live on the opposite side of the city from any gymnastics classes – on the opposite side from anything, really. That’s what you get for living in the nasty parts of town, I suppose, where you can’t walk a block outside even in broad daylight because you might get shot or mugged or raped.
There are dance studios around here, though. Five minute drives, but it’s not that far. In theory, because in real life of course they’re too far. Everything. Is. Too. Bloody. Far. Away. Because if it’s not at our house, you’d have to drive to get there. God forbid.
Yeah. That’s where me being a spoiled brat comes in, because my mother’s telling me how I’m going to be a fat hunchback when I grow up if I don’t start exercising more and not sitting and reading or being on my computer all day. So I say, “I’d love to, if you’d actually let me do something.“
And then she says, “We have a treadmill downstairs.”
And I say, “Is there anything other than the treadmill? Can I do dance, maybe?”
And then she goes in about the Israeli dance class a friend of hers teaches, except that the morons who like harassing me take that and they don’t actually let me dance because they think that I come to socialize with them, though why anyone would socialize with people who take joy in putting them down is beyond me. So I don’t want to do that because I don’t like these people and because I want to actually be able to dance. But when I say that, then the entire conversation turns to me and why I need to be more assertive and tell them to screw it.
I am perfectly capable of being assertive. Every asshole at driver’s ed who hit on me got blown off in glorious ways. I took great pride in holding my own against the complete bitches of the fourth grade. It’s just that these people don’t get the hint. And I don’t want to mess with it anymore.
But there’s always the drive and how busy my parents always are and the economic crisis.
To make a long story short, I’m now supposed to walk on the treadmill three nights a week. Or go to the Israeli class and deal with the jerks there.
The reason why I’ve written an entire post on this (a long one, too) is because I’m upset because of the argument and the situation and because I fought with my mother. I usually get along with my parents very well, at least my mother. And I feel like a total bitch for fighting with her. And I am underslept.
I’m going to see what the murder/mugging/rape rate is on the city buses.
~DreamingOfNothing
P.S. On a happier note, congratulations to Neil Gaiman on The Graveyard Book’s Newbery medal and to Melina Marchetta on Jellicoe Road’s Printz medal! I’ve read both of these, and I have to say that the medals were wholely deserved.
P.P.S. Also congratulations to Pauley Perrette (Abby on NCIS) on her engagement to the cameraman whose name I’m forgetting. Sorry, Pauley’s fiance.
in my perspective
End of semester tests? You completely suck. Completely.
What does not completely suck, though, is Cells (Instrumental), by The Servant.
Usually my music isn’t instrumental, but this is the background music to last night’s Gibbs Rules video and I love it. So that’s been one highlight of my day.
The other is this
but I mean – that’ll brighten up any day.
Also, I’m trying to read Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles, and it’s really quite good. Even if the cover makes it look like a chick book, it really isn’t. It’s also full of random Spanish words, which the linguist (and proud Spanish student) in me loves.
But the test is not making my day any happier. Nor is the fact that I have a huge test in the morning. Maybe, if I complain about it enough, it will go away.
Arg. G’night, people, so I can actually get up in the morning.
~DreamingOfNothing
Rule #18
Gibbs’ Rules:
Rule #1: Never let suspects stay together.
Rule #2: Always wear gloves at a crime scene.
Rule #3: Don’t believe what you’re told. Double check.
Rule #3: Never be unreachable.
Rule #4: Best way to keep a secret is to keep it to yourself.
Rule #7: Always be specific when you lie.
Rule #8: Never take anything for granted.
Rule #9: Never go anywhere without a knife.
Rule #12: Never date a co-worker.
Rule #18: It’s better to ask forgiveness than seek permission.
Rule #22: Never, ever bother Gibbs in interrogation.
Rule #23: Never mess with a marine’s coffee.
And never apologize. It’s a sign of weakness.
Yes, I do know that there’s two Rule #3s. It’s called the utter lack of continuity this show has.
It’s actually very interesting how good advice most of those rules are. I’m marking down #7 for when I need it.
These rules are from this
the music from which I absolutely love.
I’d say more, but – Late. Sleep.
~DreamingOfNothing
Bloodline
O. Mi. God. I just finished it, and I can feel my eyes. They’re like saucers.
***SPOILERS FOR CRIMINAL MINDS 04-13, BLOODLINE***
1. Wow. Wow. That’s my new favorite of the season, right there. With all of the elements of why I love this show. And it will tide me over the next few weeks until they air a new ep. Even though every single episode seems to be about a family, or at least a dad.
Between the cinematography, which was a masterpiece in and of itself, and the ending (good god, the ending) and the whole episode, really – it was one of the most chilling things I’ve seen in a very long time. I mean it.
2. The Romani. This gypsy family (whose name I never really caught) who basically perverted gypsy tradition to mean that one should kidnap one’s future wife and kill her parents. Which isn’t standard gypsy ritual. A dad, a mom (who’d been kidnapped herself when she was about ten), and a son, who’s a week away from being ten himself. It’s so, so screwed up.
And apparently these people have been doing this for about a hundred years. Not these people, specifically, but this lineage of people. And it’s moments like that that make me very, very glad that CM is completely fictional, because I’d never be able to sleep again if that wasn’t so. Particularly given the ending.
3. Emily. Who was amazing, as per usual. She was great with the little girl, really (the whole cognitive interview was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen, and reminded me of the hypnosis in Memoriam) and the good cop/bad cop thing was great. I’d originally thought that Emily and Hotch were seriously fighting, and wondered if this was when Emily’s secret came out because it seemed mildly unlike her, but then Reid let the cat out of the bag and Emily said, “I can’t stop him, Kathy, so please do the right thing and tell us where they are.” Which Emily would never say, because of course she can stop Hotch. If she actually wanted him to stop, she’d make him stop.
Emily. Is such. A mom. I’m serious.
4. JJ. She wasn’t even in this episode, but the point is that… *dun dun dun* Jordan’s losing her mind doing this so JJ’s going to be back at work next ep! Yay! I’ve missed Jennifer Jareau, and I’m very glad that Jordan’s going back to the hot guy in Counter-Terrorism so JJ can resume her liason status. And Henry! Henry Henry Henry. I’m very, very excited.
5. Reid’s hair is not any better. Stink. Though he’s still as intelligent and wikipedia-like as ever.
6. Garcia! I’ve missed Garcia, but she was back in her full force and I loved her. She kinda stole every scene she was in.
Garcia: Gypsies? As in Gypsies, Tramps, and Thieves?Morgan: Exactly.
Garcia: Oh, bless you all for turning my life into a Cher song.
7. The ending. In short – they’ve had this whole thing with the gypsy family, right, and they found the mother and convinced her to tell them where the children and her husband were. So they found them and all was well.
This show opened with a scene of the family in a car outside a house, telling the little boy that he was almost a man and that it was finally time and that they loved him. It was eerie, if you’d read spoilers and knew that they were unsubs instead of victims.
So the little boy, after the BAU found him, was brought to see his mom. She whispered something in his ear in Romanian, which turned out to be
“Don’t tell them about your brothers.”
Another car. Another family of three. Another little boy (who’s actually tiny and really cute). More “You’re almost ten. Almost a man,” and “I love you, poonyo,” and “I love you too, Mom.”
Except this time, my blood is running so cold that a liver probe would show me as months dead. It was nearly the creepiest thing I’d ever seen in my entire life. Which is saying something, at this point.
So yeah. Amazing episode, though I’m still getting over the shakes. Amazing.
***SPOILERS AND POST END***
Where O Where Has My Time Gone?
Okay, um, my reticence in a nutshell is partically because my entire bedroom is being reorganized via my nutters little sister, who does things like switching sides of the closet so that her oodles of clothing have room, since I don’t actually need that much space for my few sets. My sister is slightly (okay, incredibly) girlier than me. So while I’d be happy with a couple T-shirt and a few pairs of jeans, she needs a whole closet full of various styles of clothing and debates over the merits of various clothing pairings.
Hell, the girliest thing I do is braid my hair, which I have been doing in different styles recently. But that’s almost more because I like the silent shout-out to my various fictional role models than because I like styling my hair. Nerdy, I know, but as John Green said, what’s so bad about being nerdy? I am nerdy, and proud of it.
Anyway, there’s also that small thing that’s turned my life upside down but I can’t actually talk about (it’s in the fine print of my contract) but it’s amazing. And I’m still sort of walking through life waiting to wake up, at the moment, because short of suddenly becoming a fictional character, this is the best thing that could possibly happen to me right now. It’s amazing.
So that’s all I can say about that-which-must-not-be-named. Just know that it’s consuming my life, so – that’s where my time is going.
And watching backlogs of Brotherhood 2.0, because John Green is most definitely made of pure and utter awesome.
And studying for that dumb thing that takes up most of my time called school. Lil’ stinker.
~DreamingOfNothing
Soul Mates
Well, since the next Criminal Minds episode is playing tonight, I figured I should get the review for the last one up. And I haven’t been blogging much for the last few days, but explaining that will take a whole ‘nother post so I’m just going to jump into the Soul Mates review and explain myself later.
***SPOILERS FOR CRIMINAL MINDS 04-12 SOUL MATES***
1. I liked this episode. I mean, it wasn’t as good as a lot of them they’ve had this season, but it was okay. Not as bad as, say, True Night or Brothers in Arms or Honor Among Thieves. But it’s wasn’t really a season premiere either.
Though I would like to say – unsubs communicating through loudly played song? omgyes. That was brilliant. Abso-bloody-lutely brilliant.
And the funny! Where is it? I think NCIS has stolen it, because I haven’t seen much of it for a while now. I mean, besides Masterpiece and 52 Pickup, it’s been pretty slim pickings. Why?
Okay, well, except for this:
Reid: (talking about the two killers’s blog and grinning, because the following fact clearly amuses him) One guy uses dashes, while the other uses elipses. *Turns back to papers*
Cop of the Week: (to Rossi) Where’d you find this kid?
Rossi: He was left in a basket on the steps of the FBI.
*Laugh* Yeah, Rossi’s good. But that was seriously it, which made me sad.
2. Morgan. I guess that this one focused on him more than anyone else, with what the unsub saying they were alike and all. But they’re really not.
Also, I like this: “You’re right. I have no idea what it’s like to be in love with another man.” I mean, I know that there is still going to be Morgan/male shippers, but that’s good enough for me. I don’t ship Morgan with anyone, really, but it was still good to reassure my mind that I can ship Reid with any of a variety of female characters without worrying about interference from Morgan.
Yes, I do worry about that. I’m nutters.
3. Emily. She was such a mommy in this episode – between the great conversation with the unsub’s daughter (who I dubbed Jordan Jr., because she looks like how I imagine Jordan looking when she was a teenager) and comforting her at the end, when Jordan Jr. realized that her dad was actually a serial killer, it made my heart hurt. I’m hoping that the writers get around to more of her, because I really think that there’s something with a kid in her past. She’s way too involved.
4. Jordan Jr. I think her real name was Andrea, but by the time I caught onto that I’d already determined that she looked kind of exactly like Jordan, hence the name. She was being really smart (I mean, before she Nancy Drewed it and took off after the other unsub and got herself kidnapped and all) and I liked seeing the effect on that kind of accusation on the family. Particularly since they’ve been hitting family men really hard recently, between Normal and this one. ‘Course, in Normal the unsub gunned the whole family down and in Soul Mates he didn’t (actually seemed to care about his daughter, astonishingly enough), but you see the similarity.
5. Reid. I’ve missed him (though I have to say that I like the hair from around The Instincts much better than the mane thing he has going on now) and was incredibly glad that Gibbs wasn’t around to tell him to shut up. I’ve missed technical rambling. And he did his great analysis thing again, and laughed about dashes and elipses, and I’m just glad he’s back. I’m glad they’re all back, but it’s Reid I’ve missed the most.
6. Hotch. He didn’t do an incredible lot, but he did get pissed at the CotW for not doing what he told him too, and angry!Hotch is a force to be reckoned with.
That’s all I can think of to say, really. Hopefully tonight will yield more verbose results from me.
***SPOILERS OVER, SANS POST***
Beauty
I’ve just finished two hours of watching TLC documentaries about little girls that participate in beauty pageants (which is a really big deal in Texas, might I add), and I have a few thoughts.
Firstly, there’s something that makes me feel physically ill about giving children sprayed tans and fake teeth and hair extensions and makeup so they can ‘look pretty.’ They say it’s about giving children confidence, but how confident can it make you, if you know that you need all this to look pretty? It’s a fair point that when you’re four or five you don’t know, but everyone’s got to grow up sometime.
I have a issue with the way society obsesses over beauty, but that’s never going to change and you know that if I looked like a supermodel I wouldn’t be saying that, so I’m not going to waste my time on that. The painting and sculpting and adding is what gets me.
I’m not saying that people whose children do that are bad parents. I’m just a kid – what do I know? But this is my space, where I can say whatever I want, so I’m saying it. Feel free to ignore whatever I say – I’m not talking to anyone but myself.
It might be nice, to get all primped and dressed up and feel like a million bucks. Sometimes I’d like to be able to enjoy something like that, but I don’t know that I would.
I mean, I really like to dance. I don’t know – I just do. It’s hard to get dancing lessons or anything, because of our sucky residential location, but if I lived in New York or Paris or London or somewhere, I’d take dancing, for sure. I’m dancing in the school play, for sure, because last time I got un-signed up by the jerks running the play. I’m still pissed about that.
It sounds like I’m just bitter about not being good enough. But that’s not it – my school is so small that if you sign up, you get a part. And even then we can come out short. So it’s not like there are tryouts or anything at all. So you see why it was just not picking the unpopular girl, not ’she’s just being a bitch because she thinks she’s something and she’s not.’ If someone had two legs and could use ‘em, they’d let them dance.
But I showed them – learned all the dances and acted as an universal understudy. So when we had to pick two things to sign up for, I picked acting and dance. I like acting (which is ironic, given that I hate performing) and I like dancing. Even if I suck, which I probably do, it’s nice to feel graceful or powerful, you know?
So that’s about it. Rant over, insecurity ramble over, idiocy over. Shutting up.
May I quickly add that this song is the awesomest ever? Yeah.
This is the song TLC uses for the Goslin Jon and Kate + Eight commercials, and there’s very little that makes my heart rise more. They’re a wonderful family, and they make me feel happy and hopeful for the future, you know? The way sweet little kids do. Nothing can be that bad, as long as there are little Alexises and Colins and Aidens and Leahs and Maddys and Caras and Joels and Hannahs and – that’s all of them, isn’t it? They’re angels.
~DreamingOfSomething, Maybe
I Don’t Want to Talk About It
I’m doing the NCIS version of the Criminal Minds meme I did a moment ago. This ought to be interesting. (Since my computer decided to quit the game and play ‘I’m with You’ and ‘Chemicals React’ over and over, I decided to use Pandora’s Quickmix to swirl all of my stations together and give me a playlist. Luckily, I know most of the songs, but that’s why there may be some obscure ones here.)
- Stranger – Secondhand Serenade (Ziva). I don’t think she’s quite as melodramatic as the person singing this song, but the idea could work. She’s a stranger in America, at least, being Israeli and all. Maybe the poisoned soldier from Dead Man Walking…
- Always Getting Over You – Angela Ammons (Tony/Jeanne). Um, yeah. For the both of them, I think. Not the verses, really, but the chorus more. (Sorry that the lyric transcriber didn’t like grammar. Nothing I can do). Poor guys. That’s the most depressing love story ever.
- Hand of Sorrow – Within Tempation (Abby). The song doesn’t really fit anything (it seems to be talking about some heroic King-Arthur-ly figure, or something – I don’t know, it’s weird) but it sounds like the kind of stuff Abby might like, if she was a little more to the emo end of the spectrum, rather than goth.
- Stolen – Dashboard Confessional (Tony). Though Dashboard confessional should never be applied to Tony, it might still work for Tony/Jeanne, before it got smushed into oblivion. Because he wasn’t supposed to love her, see, but he ended up doing so anyway. *Sighs* Yeah, I’m still upset.
- La La Lie – Jack’s Manequin (Jenny/Gibbs). This might kind of work, if it was from Jenny’s POV and she was a bit more angry at Gibbs than she is. Maybe back in Paris, during The Situation Which Must Not Be Named. You’d have to switch the pronouns, obviously. (or maybe Tony/Jeanne. Because that was a lie.
I’m not obsessed, I swear). - You Get Me – Michelle Branch (Tony/Paula Cassidy). I don’t actually ship this – can you guess what my OTP here is? – but Grace Period made me think. Even though it’d be another ship to rot in the shipwrecked cove that is NCIS. And, besides the fact that they do seem to understand each other, it doesn’t really fit. I don’t think, anyway. Unless Tony was singing, which I wouldn’t really put past him.
- If You Don’t Mean It – Jon Peter Lewis (Ziva/Abby). Now, this pairing makes me feel mildly ill, no offense, but I needed one. Though, if they were having a closeted relationship, this would definitely fit. Ziva particularly doesn’t strike me as very open or trusting.
- Wasted – Carrie Underwood (Zach Tanner). You remember the cute little kid who was like a baby Gibbs from Honor Code, right? It’s kind of a depressing song for such a sweet, mellow little guy, but I like the song anyway. And he doesn’t seem to waste his life.
- What About Now – Daughtry (Ducky). Well, now that Ducky actually seems to have a love interest that he can remember, this might work. It also kind of reminds me of him in the Royal Medical Core, striking out to make a difference in the world. He’s a bit older and more jaded now, but there’s still that spark in him, I think. *Hugs* Oh, Ducky.
- Boulevard of Broken Dreams – Green Day (Jimmy/Ducky). First thing – ew. They’ve got a great father-son teacher-student thing going on, but – ew. No. So no way anything’s happening between them, ever.
I might do more of these later, just cuz they’re fun, but I’m tired. And hungry. So later.
