Hollyoaks

spoiler if by some random-ass chance one of you watches the series and is behind.



He didn't go to the fucking funeral? Are you fucking serious? It's hard enough to believe he didn't know it was happening, but to not go? And for his fucking sister to tell him that giving Carmel away was a better decision? This defies any and all logic, and has me so fucking upset I feel the need to rant at midnight even though I'm exhausted and no one reading this will care. This whole storyline doesn't make a damned bit of sense. I could follow it up through killing Kieron off, cause it shows Niall is such a complete and utter evil human being. And John Paul's guilt made sense too, I know I'd have that guilt. But he went to fucking Carmel's wedding over the funeral, and NO ONE knew about it? And shame on Carmel for being so fucking selfish. God. It's a good thing I've only got like two weeks of episodes left before John Paul is gone, cause otherwise I might swear off this shit entirely.

I'm a bad person because...

I find this to be absolutely hysterical.

Betty Praise

I just finished watching this week's episode of Ugly Betty, and I have to say that I love this show. This season has fixed some of the missteps from last season, and it's just so much fun to watch every week. Not that Betty really had that dreaded sophomore slump, but the whole storyline with Willimena marring Bradford Meade was just kind of silly, and Claire in prison was dumb, and you could tell they never knew quite what to do with Rebecca Romijn after her big reveal. But this season the whole show just has a different feel, and now that Lindsay Lohan is gone, it just feels very...organic? Does it make me sound fake if I call it that? I just love the Suarez family, and even Daniel isn't quite so hateful. Papa Suarez is kind of meh, but not in a hateful way. I love Hilda now that she's not dating a married man. Her speech to Justin today was moving, even if it was predictable. I couldn't tell if she was trying to hook Randy and Justin up, but she was certainly supportive. And I give props to the actor who plays Justin, for just being very natural. It's also nice that they finally gave both Marc and Amanda some depth to their characters. You couldn't have them be bitchy forever, and it feels like a very natural development that yes, they're still bitchy most of the time, but they do have their good points. Marc's storylines the past couple weeks showed that he's really a good person deep down, and Amanda was so sweet during the rooftop party episode after she realized what she had done. It's just nice, since I have like no free time anymore, to have a show that I can sit down and watch and be happy about.

WOOOOOOOOT

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 will be excellent, if for no other reason than this picture.

If I forgive the writers, will the pain stop?

As I stated in my tweet, WTF Heroes. WTF.

I'm going to go through the episode in order and list every issue I have with it. First, what the fuck did papa petrelli do to Hiro? Erase his memory? Why not take his powers too? Can he not take powers he already has? And can he only take powers and not like life force? How did he kill Adam then? I would think without Adam's powers he would just start to age, not disentigrate. Which brings me to another point: I thought Peter's power was to absorb other powers, so what exactly did Papa take from Peter? That's a minor point that I'd be willing to let slide. Also, if Papa Petrelli has had this power-stealing ability all along, why is he not uber-powerful like Peter or Sylar? He appears to only have the mind power and apparently the teleport power, but was that from Peter or before?

Next: The secret to Hiro's power is to blink? Ando making his eyes blink made them teleport? SERIOUSLY? Heaven forbid he's ever daydreaming and blinks. And something else that they've never explained: How does he not wind up inside a wall or something? (another minor point I would let slide if the rest of the show wasn't shit). So they wind up in a bowling alley in LA that's dress up to look like Tokyo, complete with random Asian people who may or may not be actual Japanese. i'll give them credit for using signs in actual Japanese. I'll stick with Hiro's storyline for now, and bitch about the comic book shop they went to. Having lived in Japan, do you have any idea how rare it is to find American comics there, much less in such large numbers? Mainly because Japanese manga are usually better. And it was cute that he was so shocked by Captain America and Hulk, but that 9th wonder comic is a stupidly convenient plot device. It made sense when Isaac was drawing it, but how many precogs ARE there in the world? Are there like ten powers and people get one of those, like rolling a dice? Precognition is too powerful an ability for more than one person to have it. And also, if these books have continuously been published, WHY HAVEN'T THEY BEEN READING IT THE WHOLE TIME? And why jump ahead ten pages? I'd be reading the whole thing, since clearly they are not in any hurry to get anywhere. The time traveling and precognition in this series need to stop, because it ruins things. It was really cool in season 1 when they jumped to the future and peter was all dark and evil with his scar that never healed despite his healing abilities (again, wtf?) but it gets old.

Ok. So now lets look at Nathan and Nicky. except her name is Tracy. Meh. Nathan has never been anything but melodramatic and stupid, and are just forgetting that he somehow came back from the dead? Can someone explain that one to me? Was it because of the infusion of Adam's blood last season? Could we at least explain that? And why does he hang around Tracy? And why does he give his father the time of day? If my father was using me to blow up the world, I really wouldn't have a sit-down with him. And if his father is all powerful, couldn't he find a better pawn to use? How about another shapeshifter (since that's one of the ten powers people can have)? He could even absorb the power and just do it himself. Nathan is expendable. And are we also forgiving Papa for giving Nathan powers because he was disappointed he wasn't born with them? And Nathan is clearly thinking with his Penis because Tracy is obviously not on the side of good. And whatever happened to Nathan's wife? Did I miss the talk of divorce? And doesn't he have children? Were they killed and I missed it? I somehow doubt that, as it would have given Adrian Pasdar an actually legitimate reason to chew scenery with bad acting and scowling.

Now for Matt and Flashette. First off, I'm not a fan of the weird camera work that happens when he's using his powers. Second, I'm not a fan at how he can be completely inept at using his power one week, then create these massive illusions for the fear guy, and then go back to being completely inept at his powers. Fucking skill-up man. And I think his lack of power inside people's minds is really just evidence of this fuckers lack of imagination. In the mind there are no rules. Stupid. And oh Flashette (I'm calling her this because I dont' know her real name). How did you fall in love with Matt exactly? You've been lying to him. Was his obliviousness and ineptitude really that attractive? "Aww, look at him not be able to do shit with his powers. It's so cute!" And I could go with him bleeding in real life if he got stabbed in his mind, but not it healing up like that. And while we're here, how did Mama Petrelli have that much power over Papa Petrelli? And if she did have that much power, why the fuck didn't she use it in the first place? I think my biggest problem with Matt is I've seen how powerful telepaths can be in other comic incarnations, and he comes off as such a pud. Which is fine as long as it's consistent. And before I forget, how often were they going to say "lets get a doctor" when there was CLEARLY no one in the facility. Which leads me to another point: Why was there no one in the facility? And I'm still annoyed that the company is actually called Primatech. I thought that was just a cover for a more interestingly named organization. But no.

Peter and Claire. I'm saving Elle and Sylar for last because I have the most issues with their storyline. Now. Peter is a horrible character. He can't act, and the bad writing makes it even more apparent. And seriously, why would papa petrelli send henchmen after peter if he had no powers? What's he going to do? It was ridiculously naive to assume they weren't after Claire. And could someone please teach the bitch some fighting moves? I'd love to see her become a martial arts genius, cause that would be cool. Right now she's just kind of pudgy and slow. And I don't think Hayden Planetarium is that bad an actress, but the writing is not doing her any favors. Minor side note: Where did the fire out of the gas jet go, exactly? I really have nothing else to say other than Peter is a horrible character and I wish he'd get killed off. And I would like Clare to start doing more useful things.

Now, Elle and Sylar. I think Kristen Bell and Zachary Quinto are horribly used in this series. I <3 style="font-style: italic;">can act (Sylar, Noah Bennet) aren't given good enough material to make it worthwhile. Even in general, the show just lacks a certain quality that it had first season. I don't know if it's that Heroes was new back then, and now it's not, or if my gut is right and the show is just lacking something. And my co-worker keeps telling me that the budget was lowered, but I don't think it's special effects that I need. I just need a compelling story. Look at BSG: the best episodes are not the giant space battles, but the episodes where the characters (read: Cylons and Roslin) are giving it their all.

The whole thing is remarkably disappointing and I hate it. Yet I'll be there next week to see how this section continues along. Clearly I'm a masochist for pop culture.

Housewives and others

I have serious, serious issues with Heroes, but I shall go in the order they were shown and save my rant for last. **EDIT: I will save my heroes rant for another post, because it will be long.

So, Housewives was on Sunday, and I am still enjoying this season. I really like Bree and Gaby's storylines this season. Bree was hysterical as she was getting ready for the interview, and then as it fell apart. The Betty White line was so seriously HYSTERICAL I fell out of my chair. Of course half a bottle of wine probably helped that. And I really like seeing Gaby stick up for her kids, because they don't show enough of her being a good mother, and I think she is. I don't quite understand her strong dislike for the lonely old woman, although this week I think she actually had some reason given the old woman's insistence about schools. Susan's storyline was just dumb, as per usual. Edie was barely there. And then there's Lynette. I have to give her credit for going back for Slutty McHousewife, although really have 911 on speed dial if you think you might need it. Best line from my dad: "Maybe he kicked the baby out". Overall it wasn't the best episode, especially the fire which had a lot of build-up and then just sort of resolved itself. I was a little annoyed that Mike couldn't see the BROKEN WINDOW and do the math that Jackson had escaped, but I think that would have defeated the plot. I still enjoyed it.

Next was Brothers and Sisters. Kind of a stupid episode, and I still hate Kitty and Tommy. But Nora rocked my socks when she yelled at Kevin, and Scotty was fucking HOT this week. Not to judge, but Kevin and Scotty are not on the same level of hotness. And Scotty is so sweet and understanding, too. I think Luke McFarlane would so be on my list of 5 celebrities, if we had one in my relationship.

And to jump days and keep this of a manageable length, I saw Big Bang Theory and HIMYM yesterday. I love Big Bang Theory, and the discussion about Star Trek movies was fucking hysterical. My only problem is I lost a bit of respect for Sheldon for liking Star Trek 4, cause that movie blew. HIMYM was kind of dull, but whatever. I certainly can't remember any special lines or quotes.

Then came Heroes. I will make that new post, because I have serious issues. I did watch the SNL clips from over the weekend, and I have to say I enjoyed them. I feel like SNL is getting good again, which is nice.

My weekend

This so far has been a good weekend. Friday I had my show, with Brian's parents coming down to see me. I think they enjoyed themselves, and despite my cold I sang pretty well. I keep speeding through "Close Every Door" but now that I know the orchestra is cuing off of me I will try to slow it down a bit. Went to the cast party afterward, and I realize I really do like these people. Sometimes I may want to beat them senseless, but I do enjoy their company. I have decided I'm going to plan a BSG viewing party at Ted's house, because the best way to make better friends is to impose on them.

Despite my best intentions, I never made it to the protest yesterday. I had to stick around and watch my mom while my dad went out and did shit. I probably shouldn't have gone anyway, as I had a cold and it was all rainy and blustery. I'm really kind of amazed at the nationwide reaction to the event. I think a lot of people were sure that Prop 8 wouldn't pass that they didn't feel the need to speak out, and now that it has passed people are shocked and outraged. I watched Dan Savage's section from Anderson Cooper the other day and he just did a very good job. In some respects I almost think it's good that Prop 8 passed, because it put a lot more focus on the issue. It's speeding everything up, which I think needs to happen.

Last night I went to Justin's for sushi and asian/horror movies. First one we saw was 2LDK, a Japanese film about these two actress that live together, and basically go crazy and try to kill each other. It was GREAT in how ridiculous it was. My favorite parts were A) when the bitch got thrown into the fountain, mainly because they even HAD a fountain inside their apartment, and B) when the other bitch got Kabi-Killer in the eyes. I can just imagine how much that burned. Fantastic stuff. Then we saw Arang (or something of a similar spelling), a Korean mystery/thriller. It wasn't bad, although a little predictable by the end, and I think if I had been trying to I could have seen everything coming. Finally, we saw Return to Sleepaway Camp. Words cannot describe the campiness of that film. I recommend it to everyone not because of it's merits, but rather because it has no merits whatsoever. They didn't even put any exposition into the story, it literally just STARTS. It reminds me of the movie nights we used to have at Chris' house, which I miss.

Today I have to rake some leaves, and I really, really should exericse. My Wii Fit is going to pissed off at me something fierce for not checking in more often.

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Last night, since traffic was sucky and I was in a foul mood due in part to my cold and in larger part to the world around me, I went to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist after work. I have to say I really enjoyed it. I can't point to one scene in particular that I really enjoyed, but overall I just thought it was a very well done movie. I even liked all the characters, except Michael Cera for the first part. When he's moping I just have a hard time stomaching him, but later on in the film as he became more cheerful I really enjoyed his performance. And I thought the actress that played Norah was great. And Nick's gay friends were also enjoyable and non-stereotypical. They were gay and it didn't matter to the main characters, which was nice. The music was also fun, and New York looked like more fun than I've ever had there. With better parking. I recommend it though!

Yesterday I also got my copy of the "Were the World Mine" soundtrack, and I really like it. It's fun, and now I can listen to the song "Were the World Mine" over and over and over on the ride to work. There are other good songs on there too, but they do that thing I hate on movie soundtracks where every other track is a line of dialogue from the movie. It makes the disc twice as long as it needs to be, and it doesn't add much to the listening experience. But it does make me want to see the movie more than ever.

Tomorrow I've decided I'm marching in the "No on 8" protest in DC. It'll be my first protest, and I kind of want to relax for the day, but since it's such an important issue I can't rationalize laziness. I have to make a poster now, since posters are an integral part of the experience. Maybe I'll get to be on TV. It's strange to be so political, but never before have I felt so strongly about something.

Why doesn't everyone see it this way?

Word.

I agree with everything he said, and it is why I can no longer have conversations with my mother (who is opposed to gay marriage. "Why does it need to be called marriage? I don't care if you have rights, but call it something different"). It's just so...hateful. I cannot fathom it. You don't care for men marrying men? Don't come to my wedding. Don't even be my friend. I've got enough shit being closeted at work on top of the hardships everyone else faces in the world. But how can you possibly tell me I am not entitled to the same things as you because I was born different? I always wind up at this point throwing my hands up in the air. I have no other argument than the Golden Rule, which these people claim to be the basis for their lives. I am a very logical person, and I pride myself on being able to see both sides of an argument, but these people defy any logic I could possibly see. It makes me sad. And I wish I could sit here and celebrate Obama and be happy for the direction the country is taking, but apparently in order for Obama to be elected I have to "take one for the team" as it were. Very sad.

Housewives, Heroes and rants

So the real point of this post is to talk about Housewives, but first I'll just make a general update. I finished two more shows this weekend, and they seem to be going well except for the 3 line fuck-ups on Saturday. But I got to celebrate afterwards at Ted's house with a Scotch tasting. Shit burns, but I could see how people might develop a taste for it. Then on Sunday my whole family and Aiman and his family came, which was nice. Except now I've developed a cold, which is less than stellar. Staying up this late to update is probably not the best idea ever. On Friday I went to this Twenties Group meeting, which is a social group for gay guys in their twenties. It was nice to be social for a bit, and not have to worry about who knows that I'm gay. And this guy Justin cracks me up.

Anyway, on to Housewives, which I thought was pretty good. I read a review today that said the show had lost it's spark, but I really don't think that it has. God, the scenes between Lily Tomlin and Kathryn Joosten were hysterical. I like Gaby's story with crazy Ruth, and Bree was very funny. Lynette was a little bit too manic, and the pregnancy storyline was meh. Susan fell back into stupid. Kathrine was kind of meh this episode too. I like her with Mike, but I see where it's all going. And am I the only one who was hoping that Andrew got the tape back by sleeping with the guy. Or at least one of the bikers. Oh neutered gay characters, how we love thee. Overall I think the show was just alright, but I like where it's going.

Then there was Brother's and Sisters, which makes me realize that I despise Kitty and Tommy. Granted Tommy is barely there, which is good. But I almost stopped watching last night after Kitty went all CRAZY on the surgeon. Seriously, her neuroses at least should make sense! It's like she was looking for a reason to not have the baby. And I just don't buy her reasoning. Saul also talks way too much about coming out. He made at least 5 comments about it last night and it was just odd.

And now for Heroes. Overall, I think the episode was better than previous ones. Although I'm not so much feeling the fact that it had to be told through Hiro's "vision quest". I really liked the Elle and Sylar story. It added depth to both of their characters. Although I thought Noah was being a little crazy. And, uhm, WOW can Adrian Pasdar and Milo Ventimiglia not act. I really liked mama petrelli this episode. And even Linderman redeemed himself slightly. And Fire-Mama was cool as well. All in all a better episode than recently, but still not as good as, say, Company Man.

In other news I'm almost finished Buffy season 6 disc 3, and I do not care for the magic-as-crack storyline, or the Buffy's-fucking-Spike storyline. Which basically leaves nothing. Great season...

Election 2008

Exit Poll results for Proposition 8

So as I write this at 11:17, the decision on Proposition 8 is still technically undecided. Granted it's 52-48 Yes with 95% reporting, so I doubt much will happen, but maybe if we're lucky we'll get a recount. Either way, I found those exit poll results on CNN to be very interesting. It seems like young, educated people mostly voted No. I recognize that exit polls are not the best gauge of anything, but I think it is very interesting the trend that shows. And while I'm kind of crushed that gay marriage has been banned after it was passed, it gives me hope that as my generation gets older, people will realize that equality is important and hopefully in a few years no one will care who you marry, as long as you're happy.

I'm all political these days, and I'm not sure I like it. I wish I could go back to being apathetic about the world.

And before I forget, YAY OBAMA!!! It's a strange day to be in America, but I think a good one. Both speeches last night were very good, and the sense of hope that pervaded Obama's speech is exactly what this country needs. So hopefully we can all work together and fix things.

Forever on a Tree

This took over my life. At least last night and today. My favorite parts are 16 to 20, after the boys are older. Not that the earlier parts weren't well written, but the boys were always a little young for me. And of course this is ridiculously gay (but not so porny) so if that offends you don't bother.

The author is Joey Gumb. I emailed him, he's a cool guy. Just giving credit.

(You can have this ) my man parts

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Housewives Review!

It should probably go without saying, but if you haven't watched it yet (*cough* Adrik *cough*) don't read this post.

So I thought Housewives last night was great. Not the best episode of Housewives ever, but still very enjoyable. Gaby and Bree (who in my opinion are the best characters on the show at the moment, next to the ever lovely Dana Delaney, who was whiny last night) were on top of their game. Gaby's response to Ruth from Six Feet Under was fantastic "Pip pip and arivederci!" Although clearly the old woman was crazy. I knew Orson's roommate wasn't from college, but the scene where he tells Bree was hysterical. The fact that he was Kyle XY's dad was a little creepy, but wherever you can get work. Susan's storyline was forgettable, and predictable, but thankfully short. Lynnette's storyline was alright, but a bit too cliche at the end. I did believe for half a second that Tom actually was cheating, and I was so disappointed, but then I realized just how predictable the storyline would be and got over it. I don't blame Lynette for being a bit paranoid about it though, as she was correct about the flow of mid-life crises. But Tom is a better guy than that. I just wish that next week's episode wouldn't be devoted to correcting Lynnette of her misconception while she gets into a cat-fight. I just don't see it. As for Edie: the bitch is being a stupid cunt and I hope that she dies. I really like her character, but her blind trust of Dave is so mind-blowingly stupid that she deserves what she gets. My assumption is that she will do something heroic to save someone else from Dave and wind up dying the process. That way she can redeem her character while at the same time they trim the fat on the show, which is a bit character heavy at the moment. And the Mrs.McClusky and Lily Tomlin scenes were great too. Kathryn Joosten really deserved the Emmy this year. And then Token Gay #2 showed up! Granted it was purely to be bitchy and feed the flames of Lynette's paranoia, but he was there. With lines! I wish America was at a point where gay visibility was so widespread that background barely-there gay characters weren't an issue, but it's not. I don't care that they're unlikable, I care that they're not used in a more creative way.

So yes, that's the only thing I really watched. Actually that's a big lie, as I watched Greek and America's Next Top Model yesterday too, but I don't feel like talking about that just now. I have to go buy breakfast instead!