Sibling Reunion 2011 and Buffy rewatch

This month, Brother One came to the US from Taiwan for a visit. As a legal permanent resident but not a citizen of Taiwan, he is required to leave Taiwan once a year. As a citizen of the US, he decided to come to the US. He's stateside about 3 weeks and staying with me and friends in Atlanta for about 2 weeks of that time.

It was also Brother Two's birthday this Monday, so we all met up at Sister's place in the DC area. Brother One and I drove from Atlanta to Sister's. Brother Two took the bus from NYC to DC and Sister picked him up.

Sister lives in a one bedroom 800 sq ft condo with her husband. It's a good thing we were only there 2 full days.

Much of that time was spent eating (Korean BBQ, Papa John's pizza, Popeye's fried chicken, Maryland blue crab -- things Brother One missed about the US) and playing mahjongg while eating snack foods and drinking beer. It was great.

Sister's husband was working.

On the drive up, I borrowed Ananci Boys by Neil Gaiman on CDs to listen to in the car. I had also loaded American Gods by Gaiman onto my iPhone, but that didn't work so well.

When we got back to Atlanta, Brother One and I unwound by beginning the Buffy the Vampire Slayer rewatch, by watching the first 2 episodes of Season One: Welcome to the Hellmouth and The Harvest.

Topics of conversation during our reunion:
sexism, gender discrimination, the Supreme Court decision striking down the sex-discrimination case against Walmart, what our parents are doing, racism, comic books, air guitar (Brother Two has been competing), and of course, eating.

Sister and Brother-in-law's first anniversary is coming up so I offered to knit them a blanket. I took a Knitpicks catalog to get their input about colors. They (really, Sister) choose medium blue, dark red, and cream. The pattern and size I will figure out. I will start with using the superwash worsted weight that I have set aside for the Babette Blanket and then fill in from there.

We also went to Uniquities yarn shop in Tysons Corner. I got Brother Two a skein of superwash worsted weight yarn from Lorna's Laces in blue, green, black to make him a scarf, and one skein each of superwash worsted weight yarn in light grey and tealish blue. Not sure what I'll do with it yet, but they were so pretty together.

Since we were driving, I packed a lot of yarn. Half my luggage was yarn: for Husband's City Quilt blanket, a brimmed sunhat for me, and my portable-ish shawl.

All in all it was a great reunion.

Romancelandia

I've been on a romance novel reading kick. Over the last week I've read:

• Beyond Heaving Bosoms: The Smart Bitches' Guide to Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. Fun, fast, funny book. They do talk about why they read these novels, the criticism that it's mindless dreck for women, and the issue of rape in Old Skool romance novels and gender and power. They also provide a Choose Your Own Adventure romance novel in the contemporary (what I think of as chick-lit), Regency England, pirate, and paranormal/urban fantasy settings. Hilarious! And a Mad Libs style game for each style too. This book had me giggling out loud, especially at the euphemisms for male and female genitalia. The Smart Bitches take a critical look at the serious and fun sides of romance novels (and the covers. Oh, my eyes.) I highly recommend it.


• Bet Me and Faking It by Jennifer Crusie and Agnes and the Hitman by J Crusie and Bob Mayer. Each one took about 6 hours to read. I think I'm done with that author. I don't want to burn out on Crusie. I want to be able to come back and read her other books. I had previously read Wild Ride by Crusie and Mayer which made me think of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.


• Rude Awakening of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler. A young woman from the Regency era wakes up in the body of a 21st century woman in LA and has to figure things out. It's the sequel to Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict which I haven't read yet. Rude Awakenings came available at the library first.


• currently working on Tommy's Tale by Alan Cumming, yes, the actor. I think this qualifies as a romance because Tommy is involved with Charlie who has a son. This gets party boy Tommy thinking about love and starting a family. If this isn't Romancelandia, a term I got from the Smart Bitches, then I don't know what is.

In other notes, I'm going to NYC later this week and have borrowed from the library and loaded onto the Nook:

• Where's My Hero: a collection of short stories from romance authors that give a romance to a male character who was also very appealing but wasn't the hero. Will now have to read the books where these characters came from.


• Manhunt by Janet Evanovich, set in Alaska


• Vision in White, book one of the Bride Quartet by Nora Roberts. I have never read Nora Roberts before.

What got me going on this whole romance kick was discussions on NPR's Monkey See blog and podcasts about genres that don't get any respect in the larger culture. As should be abundantly clear by now, I am a big science fiction fan. Not a genre that gets a lot of respect. The same with romance novels.

My favorite romance novels, heck any kind of story, has a heroine who is good as what she does, has lots of skills beyond her job, is sassy/feisty/fiery, has a sense of humor, and rises to the challenge of whatever the plot of the story throws her into. She has a group of friends who also are competent, sassy, funny, etc and have their own plot lines, not just around to support the heroine. The hero is similar and they are both in a situation where they both have to deal with an unknown situation and both experience character growth. I really don't like stories where the heroine is bumbling at her job, needs the hero to save her and solve the case, is described as mildly unattractive (oh, noes, her hair isn't blown-dry!) and yet one or more men, including the hero finds her irresistable. Stephanie Plum, by Janet Evanovich, I'm looking at you.

Hothlanta 2011

So, I've quit my job and set up meetings with various people about setting up my own shop as a consultant, or finding another job, or things to do with the adoption, or just catching up with friends.

Then along comes the great storm of 2011 and puts everything on hold.

Atlanta got some snow. About 4 inches worth. Not much, right?

However, it is a rare event in the US South and there aren't enough snow plows, salt and sand trucks, etc to deal with it. Plus, the snow melts a bit when the sun is out and the temp rises, then refreezes at night. So the top layer of all the snow is actually ice. Makes for very slow going. The local news is full of warnings about "Don't go out unless you really have to!" Personally I've seen cars and trucks spin out and one pedestrian slip and fall on the ice. And I got stuck for a bit in it myself.

So schools have been closed all this week, along with many businesses. All my meetings have been postponed until next week at the earliest. As of yesterday, day 4 of the snowmaggedon, this graphic's been going around

I'm a home body, so I'm not suffering. I have many, many distractions:

1. Tai Chi and Yoga

2. Cooking, especially from One Big Table: 600 recipes from the nation's best home cooks, farmers, fishermen, pit-masters, and chefs

3. DVDs galore. I thought I'd rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer but have been rewatching Dollhouse Season 2.

4. Netflix Watch Instantly. I saw a tweet about this article http://beyondvictoriana.com/2011/01/09/56-ten-reasons-why-steampunks-and-everyone-else-should-watch-avatar-the-last-airbender/ and was motivated to figure out how to make Watch Instantly work.

5. Nook e-reader and knitting -- 2 things that were made for each other. I borrowed "And Another Thing..." book 6 in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series. It's been a long, long time since I read the other books, but fortunately, they provide a "previously on..." section to catch you up. Especially since it's been years since the last book came out and the author died. This one is written by Eoin Colfer. And I'm still plugging away at Husband's stockingnette blanket. Talk about mindless knitting.

Speaking of Husband and blanket; so it's been cold and I had a lap quilt (made for me by Best Friend) across my legs. Husband wanted a blanket too and asked "is it the only blanket we have?" Pfft! I have made plenty of blankets! So I gave him the quilt and I'm using this blanket.

6. Going out anyway. Even I have a limit to how much nesting at home I can do.

Oh Caprica!

Sat on the couch for 5 hours last night to watch the last 5 episodes of Caprica. It was so good! Random thoughts, trying to avoid spoilers:

1. Many twists and turns -- so many characters were revealed to be different than presented in the past. Stand outs: Joseph and Willie Adama. So totally did not see those twists coming.
2. Compressed storytelling -- I usually like watching multiple episodes at once, but having 5 back to back, without time in between to digest each episode, kind of gave me whiplash. I feel like things moved too quickly, one after the other, that I missed details. And there are scenes I want to go back and see again. I am definitely getting the DVDs. Though I still balk at the price.
3. Good to see Amanda Greystone in action as the plastic surgeon she is. Makes perfect sense that she's that kind of doctor.
4. It felt rushed; I'm sure that's because the creators knew that they wouldn't be renewed and had to get all the storylines tied up. But it's such a rich world, it could have gone on for years. At least 3 if not the 5 that BSG got or Buffy's 8.

The stuff I want to know more about, still:
1. What was Lacy's story? So much about her character's arc was left out.
2. What happened to Tamara? Are we to assume that she traveled the same arc as Zoe?

All in all, a very satisfying prequel to BSG. Just sad it's over.

How Much for Caprica?!?

Caprica 1.5 comes out on DVD today. Amazon.com is selling both 1 and 1.5 together for $73.48 (what kind of pricing is that?).

And what kind of pricing is that? Nearly $74 for less than 15 episodes? I liked the show; it was appointment television for me. But I'm balking at the price. I'm gonna have to Netflix it instead of buying it.

Which makes me wonder: what's the economics at play here? By not buying the DVDs, am I confirming that there was no audience for the show? That there's not chance that another network (oh, like AMC) would pick it up?

Or should I just enjoy it and accept that it was a good show.... and there's only one season. Like it's just one novel, not part of a trilogy, as much as I would like it to be.

I'm getting to that point with Firefly. I keep following Whedonesque and am rewatching Dollhouse Season 2, so will stay interested in the 'Verse, but not hoping that it will continue on the web or in comix.

I feel that Buffy the Vampire Slayer the comics have (has?) wander far, far afield from what I enjoyed about it as a show. Granted, I need to rewatch it, but more slowly, and really pay attention. I'm happy to have Shepherd Book's back story, finally, but I think as a periodical medium, comics don't work as well for me.

I contrast this to graphic novels, like Fun Home, or Persepolis, or Maus, which are written as one piece, and meant to be read as one piece.

Okay, I'm not sure where I'm going this train of thought. It's wandered a bit from the price of Caprica DVDs.

Oh, back to the economics/logic of the Caprica 1.5 release: why do it now, when Syfy won't air the last 5 episodes (presumably on the DVDs) until January? I understand the buy-it-for-Xmas push for pretty much any sale, but it still doesn't make much sense to me.

Buffy reboot movie? Okay.

Certain corners of the interwebs are up in arms about the proposed new Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie, to be done without Joss Whedon. The director of the first movie, Fran Kazui and her husband Kaz Kazui were executive directors of the TV series.

They own the movie rights, not Joss Whedon, even though Buffy is really Whedon's baby.

I have all the Buffy DVDs and the comics. Even so, I have no problem with the reboot.

1. Whedon was not the only creative and celebrated mind on the show and comics. Jane Espenson and Tim Minear are two of the well-regarded writers who have come out of the Whedon writing stable. So it's not like Whedon's got a lock on Buffy.
2. Therefore: It might actually be good. Who knows? The writer for the reboot is a fan of the show so it could be good. I'll go see it and then judge.
3. If it does well, then there's a new group of people who will go looking for more Buffy, then they'll find the DVDs, and there will be more fans. Think of it as more publicity for Buffy.
4. And if they like the TV show, and want more Whedon, they'll find Angel, Firefly (my personal fave of them all), Dollhouse, etc.

Ultimately, I think if it's done well, then it's all good. If it's done badly, then it'll be just another example of reboots gone badly, not Buffy gone badly. I mean, I never saw the original Buffy movie but clearly that didn't stop the show from happening and from doing well.

And it's a sign that Buffy is bigger than any one person and I think that's good.

Ellen Ripley Saved My Life

No, the article is not about me. but I love it anyway.

The author, Sady Doyle, looks at strong women like River Tam, Buffy Summers, and Ellen Ripley and how they help her understand her own life and how culture has a difficult time with strong women.

http://www.theawl.com/2010/12/ellen-ripley-saved-my-life

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part One

Loved. It.

Loved. It.

Loved. It.

There was some gratuitous skin but I think over all it worked well to illuminate the relationships and emotions.

And it renewed my affection for Ron. He's like Xander. Harry = Buffy, Hermione = Willow, Ron = Xander. I just love the guys who are witty, funny, not necessarily the alpha or hero, and still throws himself into the fray and does what he can.

Now there's an idea: watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 1, read Harry Potter book 1, etc.

The friend who I went to see the movie with suggested having a marathon for watching all the Harry Potter movies, maybe over the summer. The next, and last, movie comes out next July....

Yoga and Belly-Dancing, Buffy and Serenity.

As part of my staycation weekend, I discovered FitTV on cable. I followed along on a yoga show imported from Canada. I realized that my legs are strong, the rest of me is not, and I am very not flexible. Ouch.

Then I followed along on a belly-dancing show called "Shimmy" imported from the UK I think, based on the narrator's accent. Unbeknownst to me, I've been belly dancing all this time. The moves very easy for me.

I liked how the belly-dancers had little pooches of a belly and the clothes they wore, even the low-rise bell-bottom pants, celebrated a curvy body. :) The yoga women on the other hand were not curvy at all.
~~~
I have a friend who's trying to sell a TV series to either Syfy or Lifetime channels. She went out to LA for a few weeks and shopped around her show and got some feedback from someone who works on Eureka (not a show I've watched, tho I've tried). His advice was for my friend to watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

She came back to the East Coast and mainlined Buffy Season 1. She's seen Angel but not Buffy. At my urging, she watched Firefly but decided she doesn't like it since it's a Western in space and she doesn't like Westerns. Even though Firefly has Zoe and Wash! I also caught Serenity on Syfy. Almost had to look away when the moment came...

Anyway, she called to say that Buffy was amazing. The other feedback she got was to give her characters more shades of grey, to have some mythology to the series, and to make one of the male characters more heroic, like Angel. And to make the best friend more of an audience-surrogate. I just hope there's someone in her Scooby Gang who does with the wisecrackings.

But then, my type is the "large, semi-muscular" guy who relies more on his wits and (cute and goofy) charm, rather than guns and intimidation. Ah, Wash, and Xander, and Topher, but not as much. And I hope she puts in someone like Willow and Zoe.

But most of all, I hope she gets her show made! I told her I know how to make a good cup of coffee if she ever needed an assistant. Though I think I'd like to help with the casting. Wouldn't that be fun! Seriously, though, I'd love to help with the writing but I don't think I have the skills.

30 Days of Buffy

Apparently there's a meme going around asking questions about Buffy the Vampire Slayer, such as favorite season, 2 characters you'd like to see together who never did, etc.

I'm following along at Let's Fold Scarves at http://www.moley75.co.uk/2010/07/05/30-days-of-buffy-buffy-meme/ and on Tumblr at http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/30+days+of+Buffy

On the Tumblr site, different people are posting different days. Day 23 is Two Characters You Wanted To Get Together That Never Did. Let the slash shipping begin!

I've only watched the series once so don't know it well enough to play along. However, I'm looking forward to seeing what other people post.

Caprica

I've been watching Caprica and below are just some not so coherent thoughts about it. I seem to be having some difficulty with coherence lately. Anyway

1. I have not seen Battlestar Gallactica but know about it, about the Cylons and that it has something to do with divinity, humanity, creation, and evolution. I have decided not to watch BSG until Caprica is finished.

2. Everyone's a shade of grey and there is no clear cut good guys or bad guys. It seems that Daniel Graystone is the hero but he's using stolen technology to create the Cylons and he's presenting them to his board of directors as a robotic, never tiring, yet sentient slave race. How is enslavement of sentient beings good? It's not.

3. Loving that some of the biggest players are young women: Zoe, Tamara, and Lacy. Both Zoe or Tamara are forging new by being these sentient and independent avatars. Granted neither one of them wanted it and it happened purely by accident. Shades of Buffy. But still, they're are paving the way for some brave new future. Willie Adama grows up apparently to be bad ass Edward James Olmos, but so far he hasn't had much to do.

4. The issue of culture, race, and ethnicity is explored with the Adamas being Tauron and the 2 brothers, Joseph/Youseef and Sam, taking 2 different paths to dealing with being of a minority culture that's looked down on.

5. Multiple sexualities are accepted: people are gay, straight, monogamously married, multiplely married and it's all accepted. Jane Espenson, one of the producers, has spoken about this elsewhere.

6. The amount of collateral and support material is amazing. on the Syfy website there's behind the scenes videos andThe Caprican blog written as if it's a real on-line paper for Caprica City. That's a serious amount of work. It just fires up my imagination. And the producers are doing a podcast for each episode. You no long have to wait for the DVD to get all the commentary and extras.

7. The visual style and technology of Caprica is a mix of 1930s, 40s, and 50s as well as futuristic computers and it's easily accepted. When Firefly came out as a mix of western and sci fi, people had a hard time accepting it.

8. Like Firefly and Dollhouse, Caprica's in the Friday night death slot. But at least with Hulu and other technology, I don't have to wait for the DVDs to watch it.

What is a hero?

Here is a post at Newicue listing the author's top 10 Whedonverse heroes. It certainly has sparked a lot of controversy. Part of it stems from the fact that different people have different definitions of the word "hero."

This is the list of Newicue's top 10 Whedonverse heroes:

Runner Up: Andrew

10. Spike

9. Wash

8. River

7. Giles

6. Jayne

5. Angel

4. Mal

3. Anya

2. Illyria

1. Wes

Right away, you can see the controversy. There's No Buffy (or Willow, Xander, Faith). On a list of Whedonverse Heroes. My other gripe is that Newicue left off Zoe, who with Mal, are the Big Damn Heroes.

If you define Hero as a person who fights the hardest for the side of good, then Buffy certainly belongs on the list.

However, there are many definitions of hero. In Serenity the movie, Mal and Zoe define a hero as someone who gets other people killed. Well, that's certainly not the case with some of the people on this list. Certainly Wash didn't get anyone killed, at least not directly. I suppose as part of the Serenity crew he got Book killed as well as the others who gave them sanctuary.

Newicue certainly has a list of great characters, but I think more of protagonists rather than heroes.

Because of the pushback they got, Newicue is doing a poll on the readers' favorite heroes. And of villains.

My definition of hero is someone who fights hard for the side of good. My favorite heroes are the ones who do it despite their own shortcomings (okay who doesn't have flaws?) and despite the odds of them succeeding. I'm also including characters who grew and changed in interesting ways. I guess in some ways, my criteria is similar as the criteria used by Newicue.

So here's my list by order of shows:

1. Buffy

2. Willow

3. Xander

4. Faith

5. Wes

6. Cordelia

7. Mal

8. Zoe

9. River

10. Simon

11. Adelle

12. Topher

My favorite all round characters, though not necessarily heroes, would include

1. Dawn

2. Wash

3. Sierra

4. November

5. Fred

6. Connor

7. Jayne

8. Spike

9. Lindsey -- but that may just be because I think Christian Kane is hot. Loving him on Leverage.

10. Drucilla

You know you're a Buffy fan when

someone posts a clip from the Charlie Brown Christmas Special where the kids are dancing and your first thought is "Xander doing the Snoopy dance."

Feminism and domestic violence in Angel

Just watched the Angel episode "She" which made me think about Tara's demon family theme in Buffy.

On Buffy, Tara's family believed that women in their family became demons when they turned 20 or so, and thus should be kept at home. In "She" there's a dimension where the women have ridges on their back that glows red when they're aroused. So to control the women, the men yank out the ridges in the women's back and then the women are passive slaves.

Now I'm watching the episode after that which is "I've got you under my skin" where a family of 4 seems really afraid of the father. The story goes that someone in the family is possessed by a demon and that's why they're afraid of him. Wesley says that a father doesn't need to be possessed by a demon for people to be afraid of him. This episode gives some back story about Wesley and more for Wesley to do. I'm liking him more.

Interestingly, it's the son that's possessed and the father is now much friendlier. Turns out the boy is a bad seed and the demon was trapped inside the boy. Nice twist.

sick leave

taking a sick day. I think it's just a cold, not the H1N1 flu or anything. Th. e worst thing is the sore throat.

Watching discs 3 and 4 of Angel season three. Buffy's stopped by, Doyle's died and Wesley's showed up. But no Faith yet.

Still not a huge fan of Angel the character but I'm liking the series better the more I see of it. I'm really liking Cordelia. She's just getting better and better. Not sure about Wesley. I guess he's the comic relief, but I like Xander better.

Season Seven done

Just finished watching "Chosen" the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The last TV episode anyway. Season eight is in comic book form and I've got volumes 1 to 4 on my way from Amazon. It'll be interesting to see how Joss Whedon continues the story in comic book form.

I'm sad that Anya died and like how both she and Spike went out in the end. Both so self-sacrificial. There was a moment when Xander asked Andrew how Anya died, and he seemed a little sad but not really. The woman he loved died and he doesn't even cry even a little? Maybe he was just relieved to be alive? I hope that gets addressed in Season 8.

I know that Spike somehow survives the apocalyse and ends up mailed to Angel. Perhaps Buffy climbs down into the crater that was Sunnydale, get the pendant that sucked in Spike, and mails it back to Angel? Again, I hope that gets addressed in Season 8.

It was interesting being so immersed in one series. I also read the snarky recaps at Television Without Pity and I have to agree with some of their complaints about how Buffy and the show was just getting stupider and annoying, that is the characters would do stupid things, like charging in without doing any recon, which pushed the drama quotient, but did they have to do so in such an annoying way?

I enjoyed the series, over all, and now I have 2 options: Go back and watch the episodes that have commentary (love those) or move on to "Dollhouse." Probably Dollhouse, since the next season starts in a few weeks. I better get caught up on that show.

Since I have all the DVDs, I guess I can take a Buffy break and come back to them later.

I may go back and rewatch the episode "Tabula Rasa" where the Scoobies lose their memories and have to refigure out their relationships with each other. Somehow, though Buffy and Dawn connect and guess that they're sisters. Willow's situation was interesting. She and Xander initially have some kind of connection but then as Willow spends a bit of time with Tara, she says "I think I'm kind of gay."

That's kind of the premise of Dollhouse. Despite being dolls with their memories wiped, Sierra and Victor have a connection, and Echo has some kind of self-awareness.

Secondly, it's a statement that sexual orientation is fundamental and fixed. Back then, about 10 years ago, the lesbian relationship and the kisses were so chaste, compared to all the hetero sex that occurred. Nowadays, Willow and Tara would have been as graphic as the hetero relationships.

I also get a kick out of how they call Xander Alex.

This episode, and the whole Buffy/Faith thing, speaks to the nature vs nurture thing. Both are Slayers (nature) but because of their upbringing and life experiences (nurture), they turned out differently.

The same with the episode "The Replacement" where Xander gets split into 2. SuaveXander got the apt and the promotion because of what Xander inherently had. But a bad homelife and supposedly being put down all the time led to him to be the goofy loser Xander.

In other knitting news, still somehow my stitch count is totally off. I'm going to thread in a life line and try to keep cranking away and fix it as I go.

Buff-a-thon broken

Since I got my Buffy the Vampire Slayer DVDs at the end of July, I have have been watching at least one episode a day. On days when I'm home alone, waiting for the cable installer for example, I get in more, like 4 or 6. That's a lot of great knitting time too.

However, as of Thursday my Buff-a-thon's broken. Father-in-law is here and it's rather impolite to watch a show that only I am interested in, while he's visiting. Plus, I've been working everyday, including today, Saturday, and may not see him before he goes back to Wisconsin.

At least I've been able to meet Husband and Father-in-law for dinner. And Thursday we went to Georgia Tech to watch them play Clemson. That was fun, though chilly. Should have brought my sweater, the Hermia sweater I took months to make.

This coming Thursday, though, I'm going to take a day off. Guess what I'll be doing? Oh, the little things that make me happy.

Xanya over

Just watched the Storyteller episode where Andrew films all his interactions and we get his spin on things. I found the most touching parts to be the Anya and Xander parts. Across 3 scenes we see them come to the conclusion that even though they love each other, it's really over between them. Totally tugs as the heartstrings.

Overall, I really liked this episode, more so than the others in like, oh, the last season and a half. We don't get as much of Buffy's speechifying, the tension between Principal Wood and Spike is ratcheting up, and I like how Andrew's use of the camera and fantasizing to rationalize his actions is called out and he does come through in the end.

Okay, I only have 6 episodes before the end. Looking forward to how all the Potentials are converted into actual Slayers and the Watchers Council are kicked out. Also, my Buffy Season 8 comix should be coming to me next week.

In the meantime, I will plug away at work. Got a grant proposal deadline I'm trying to meet by COB tomorrow, instead of Tuesday next week. Was hoping to take tomorrow off since I have a work thing on Saturday, but looks like I'll have to work Friday. Suppose if I turn off all distractions, I could get it done. Might actually still could. And despite that last sentence, yes, I do write for a living (partially).

Father in law is in town for a visit. His health is not good. He had a stroke and aneurysm decades ago and his left half is pretty much paralyzed and he walks with a cane. Yesterday we walked a block up a slight hill to dinner. He's walking much slower now. By the end, he could barely stay upright, his good arm and leg shaking and literally collapsed into his chair at the table. Good thing we've rented a scooter for him to use.

Potential

Ah, the Buffy fest continues. It being Labor Day (happy Labor Day), I'm not at work. But I did bring work home to do -- a grant proposal due on Sept 15. I woke up thinking about it, ready to go.

I also dreamt last night that I was some kick-ass fighter. Very strange, that it would be now, after oh, 100+ hours of watching Buffy fight every. single. episode, that I have the violent dreams. I guess it's because I always fast forward through the fights.

Anyway, this morning I watched the episodes where the potential slayers come to town and Buffy starts training them. And just finished Potential, where Dawn thinks she's a potential slayer too but isn't and Xander tells her she's extraordinary, because it's hard to be so close to the spotlight and never be able to be in it, and yet there she is, still in struggle.

I know that the show is going for the whole "there's only one Slayer, one person who stands between Evil and the rest of the world." But come on, Buffy couldn't have gotten this far without the support and skills of a lot of people. As a social activist, I *know* that anything worth doing is a group effort. However, it's easier storytelling, fact or fiction, to have the One Great Hero, whether it's MLK, Jr, Gandhi, or whoever. Much easier that having a huge list of names and people to remember, and give credit to.

Anyway, back to Potential. The ending was such a sweet moment between them. Apparently in Buffy season 8 #28 there's the possibility that Xander hooks up with either Buffy or Dawn.

Part of me wants Dawn, because of this scene, where the 2 of them can be the Zoe and Wash, two adults who have a healthy relationship with each other, and Buffy can be the Mal, the one person they each have a strong relationship with. Or wait, it was Wash and Mal who each had their strong relationship with Zoe. Still, it could be away for both Xander and Dawn to let go of their competitiveness with Buffy and build a whole part of their life that *doesn't* revolve around Buffy.

Another part of me wants Buffy, for her to finally see what a great guy Xander is, and for Xander to finally have his relationship with her, after so many years of loving her.

And then they realize it isn't the right relationship for them and Xander goes to Dawn. It'll be like Harry and Ginny.

Okay, thinking too much about fictional characters when I should be working on my real life, my real job and my real future.

On the other hand, making huge progress in my current sweater. Knitting with size 10 / 6.5mm needles goes so much faster than with size 8/5mm needles. Millimeters are very small (yes, I am Captain Obvious) but those couple of mm takes you from worsted to bulky and means fast, fast knitting. I'm about halfway done on a bottom up, V neck, raglan cardigan and have joined the sleeves and body. With the v-neck, each row gets shorter and faster. The last part is picking up all along the front for the shawl collar. Which means incredibly long rows, but on the 6.5 mms, I should be done with the sweater by the end of the month.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?

I have a grant proposal due in 10 days. However with the long weekend looming, I have very little urge to get started with the writing.

I am very tempted to take stuff home with me and write from home. And finish watching the last 3 episodes of Buffy Season 6. Warren's just shot Tara and Buffy. Tara dies but not Buffy. She's like Captain Jack, never staying dead. I know that in the next episodes, Willow goes back to bad, kills Warren, tries to end the entire world, and Xander stops her by telling her how much he loves her.

And of course there are the special features to watch.

I think I may do that. Go home at lunch. I need to leave the office to get lunch anyway, I can just drive right on home. I generally write out the first draft by hand anyway. And I will be coming in on Monday when everyone's gone to finish up the first draft.

See how I just talked myself into playing hooky?

Wait. I can't. I told one of my board members that I'd be in today, to talk about advocacy issues. But I have her phone number and it's reasonable to talk from home....

We'll see how I do at lunch. Oh, wait. It's practically lunchtime now.

No, I'm staying at the office. There's only one other person here and if I, the boss, leaves here here alone, what kind of message is that sending?

Sigh, staying it is.... But I'm leaving at 4pm!