NationStates time

Stooditia!

This is Brian's: Fennelseed

A post to vent

What the fuck. I just get home after going to a party with my friends, and then waiting for the metro for a while. I walk in the door, no one says anything to me, my mom says she needs help to get dressed, I help her, still no response from my father, I go upstairs to get ready for bed, and he calls up "Matthew, I need your help with your mother" to which she and I respond "we already did that" to which he goes in to my mom and in his bitchiest voice possible says "Well then I guess there was no reason for me to stay up" and goes to sleep and practically (although not exactly) slams his door. What the hell? I got home later than I normally would, but I came home anyway. It's not like they said "we need you home by a certain time." Not that they have the right to say that anymore, anyway. I'm 26. I'll be out however late I want. If you need help, ask me ahead of time. Fuckin' A.

Dollhouse: Needs

Since Brian is back in the States, I'm so horribly behind on TV it's not even funny. I used to use the weekends to catch-up, but I don't have those anymore so shit is starting to pile up on my computer. It also has something to do with me watching more TV live now, rather than on my computer. 20 minutes lost to commercials for every hour of TV adds up.

So that's why I just got to episode 8 of Dollhouse last night. The story centers on TPTB at the Dollhouse trying to fix some of the little problems that have been cropping up lately. Namely the actives starting to develop personalities, which clearly doesn't gel well with the Tabula Rasa that is necessary for their line of "work." They develop this scenario in which to fix the problems, but it would be spoiling a plot twist if I say what the scenario really is.

So the four main actives that we've seen all wake up suddenly aware of who they are. They lack their previous memories, but they act like normal people, with all the required "What the fuck is going on here?" reactions. You watch as these normal people react to the Dollhouse, and then we get to watch them escape.

There are a couple of things that make this episode great. First, the dialogue, especially from Victor. It's the usual intelligent, witty remarks that we've come to expect from Whedon. And the lines that the more serious characters have are also really great, like the doctor's speech in the meeting (revealed at the end of the episode). Second, they really explore the moral issues that viewers have been squawking about since the show premiered. How much can the actives complain if they knew what they were getting themselves into, and even volunteered for it? Interesting moral dilemma. Third, the end scene answered my question about how they'd keep this show going for multiple seasons. They manage to prolong the storylines, but I found it to be quasi-believable and am more than willing to go along for the ride. There was a fourth but it seems to have escaped me at the moment. Maybe that I enjoyed when they showed Victor with his ass-less chaps.

So Yay to Dollhouse for not disappointing. I was never unhappy with the show, just not as wowed as I expected to be (which seems to be the prevailing critical opinion). I expected to plug into the first episode and love it from the get-go, but it took a little bit of warming up. I think it's really beginning to hit its stride, and I'm curious to see where it goes in the future. I had this sudden brilliant flash that later in the series, Ballard does something horrible, like kills someone, and he chooses to become a Doll. Could be interesting.

I hope this show does get renewed. Especially because so much else seems to be on the bubble. Fucking Jay Leno and his stupid fucking prime-time talk show.

My Brute

http://stoodle.mybrute.com

I have no idea what this really is, but it's cute. I hate that Jim is my master though.

3months3minutes

I miss Jenny.

My motto in life

Clearly I'm being all sorts of reflective and "I hate society's restraints" today. But I finally found this, and I needed to post it here as it's my blog motto.

Do I really have to find a word for it?

I don't talk about this so often, but an e-acquaintance of mine wrote this article, and I agree with a lot of what it says. And it quotes my favorite book ever.

Male Sexual Fluidity

I identify as gay, because honestly I don't find women overly physically attractive. To be more specific, I think the female form is beautiful, but I don't get aroused when I see it. Which is not a problem I have with men, and I'm happy with my boyfriend. But sometimes I wonder how much of these feelings are how I really feel, and how much is what society expects of me. I'm lucky, because a lot of my feelings really are gay, but I'm getting exceedingly tired of the label and all of the expectations that go with it.

For some reason, society feels the need for everyone to fall into a black or white category regarding their sexuality, and I've always seen it as more of a spectrum. I think when we force people to align themselves into one of two categories, it causes all sorts of problems. Why can't someone just like who they like? A straight guy may fall in love with another guy, but in general isn't gay. But he can't admit it because he has to fit into a box, so he can't be truly happy. And there's enough pain in the world, I don't see why we have to add to it.

Of course I think the first step is to get rid of this misconception that gay is bad, or weak, or less in some way. People might be more willing to admit that they have had a gay thought if it wasn't implied that such thoughts make you less of a man. This is rapidly turning into a soapbox issue for me, and not because I have a personal stake in it. It's not that I'm secretly in love with woman, it's just that I find this push to "fit-in" to be exhausting. Adam does a much better job of explaining things than I do. He's a pretty good writer (I especially like his autobiographical online story), so the article is worth a gander if you have a chance.

xkcd wisdom

Gotta love Rugby

This is just awesome: Rugby Jersey Swap

Especially the "slo-mo replay" afterward.

You could never get away with this shit with American football players. They gotta be macho. God, I hate American football more and more with each passing day.

Kyle XY redux

Oh Kyle XY. Now that I've had a few weeks to process (and forget parts of) the final season, I realize that I really miss this show. It had its stumbles, especially in the last season, but overall I enjoyed that this random little sci-fi show was on ABC Family. Or more to the point made ABC Family. Before Kyle, I think everyone associated ABC Family with 7th Heaven reruns. After Kyle, we have more mature fare such as Greek (which is amazing and everyone should watch) and Roommates (which sucks balls, but they had a 5 minute masturbation gag in the first episode, so yeah, adult). I even here Secret Life of an American Teenager is worth watching. So I have to give props to Kyle XY for that.

And really, overall the plots were interesting. I had issues with the specifics, but more because they were cliches than anything else. The whole secret society out to get Kyle was intriguing, and his powers were always cool. When they first introduced Jessie, I was kind of bleh about her character, but in the last few episodes she became really fun. And watching her flirt with Kyle was sweet, in a messed up kind of way. I'm just sorry we didn't get a resolution. I'd love a TV movie to come in and wrap up some of the loose ends, but who knows if we'll get that.

Yeah, this is a half-hearted recap, I realize. It's not that I don't like the show, I just don't like it as much as I once did. But I raised a glass to its finale, and now it has its own blog post.

Latest Kings Review

Kings: Insurrection

I will be so sad when this show goes off the air and I don't have a show to review online anymore.

Adrik, the things I do for you

Because really, had it not been for a certain facebook wall message I received Saturday morning, I never would have caught up on Heroes. And I'm still trying to decide if I'm sorry that I did or not.

On some level, I'm glad that I did, because I really do want to like this show. That was always my problem before, because I was watching it hoping for something great and instead getting something unwatchable. I watched 18-21 over the weekend to catch up, and 18 and 19 were more of the same crap, but things started to improve 20-21. Not improve drastically, but it was certainly watchable. I don't know how to put it exactly. I guess I can't shake the feeling that had these episodes been in season 1, they would have been "OK" but when you put them next to the last season and a half of complete shite they shine. Then again, maybe I've just fallen out of love so much with the series that nothing it does will win me back.

However, a great way to start winning me back is to kill off the characters I hate. Namely, Flashette. It was the first time I cheered for this show in years. I knew as soon as Parkman lifted off the ground that this crap was a dream and she was toast. Well, that's a lie. First I had a panic attack that they gave him another power (to compliment his SUPER POWERFUL psychicness (since WHEN?) and his randomly-acquired, ridiculously-convenient/lazy future sight). But then I realized she was a gonner, and I was so glad. I actually like the actress from Friday Night Lights, but they never gave her anything valuable to do in this series. And there were just too many characters for me to care about them.

May you rest in pieces

Another great way to win me back is to kill off characters I like in a good way. Good bye Tracy, you were cool. Your ice power was so underused, and I really liked how you went out. I'm not having the nerdgasm that Adrik did, but I liked the scene. I'm a little fuzzy on why she froze herself. When she defrosts, will she just become hunks of person? Or did she transform her body into solid water so that it was ice? Cool effect, but I get so caught up in the particulars.

I had a feeling Micah was Rebel, which is a plot twist I can at least respect, even if I don't overly care for his character. PS - Yay puberty. At least they didn't just forget about him like they did muscle-memory-girl. I didn't hate the Hiro/Ando storyline, as Hiro was kind of cute with the baby. Why can Ando shoot red beams, though? And at least they gave Hiro some power, so he's not completely useless. Teleportation was too powerful anyway.

Mama Petrelli kicked ass, I have to say. I really enjoyed her attitude the whole way through. You know she's a force to be reckoned with, and I cannot wait until we get her backstory. Peter, on the other hand, was boring as per usual. How the hell can he just automatically control any power he absorbs? Is it because he's absorbing powers he already had? And what happens if he steals Sylar's power?

And lets talk about Sylar for a second, shall we? How limitlessly powerful does he really have to be? Now he can shapeshift? And what happened to the whole period when he just absorbed powers by feeling feelings? Is the killing just a fun hobby of his now? I hated the crap with his father, because I am done with Daddy issues on this show (more on that in a second). I also don't like that he and the Hunter teamed up, because it clearly indicates the Hunter's desperation, which is not something I expected of his character. I'm curious to see how he's actually got Sylar backed into the corner, although I'm worried he doesn't and is just reacting to his situation. And given his general hatred of mutants (I'm through avoiding the term just because NBC doesn't have the rights) you'd think he had some scary mutant in his history, but no. He's just ANGRY.

Now on to Daddy issues. I can't believe how well my segues have been going. Claire and Nathan. *sigh* I'm not sure where to start. I like that Nathan flew in to save her, and they ran off to Mexico. I also enjoyed Nathan thinking he could out-drink some college kids at Tequila. Not so young anymore, Nathan. Especially when you have a girl who will heal the alcohol right out of her system (PS - Awesome power). But then Claire launches into this whole "You're my daddy, you're THUPER" shit and I completely lost interest in all of the four episodes I had just watched. "You were more amazing than anything I could have imagined. You could fly!" Really Claire? Really? Flight completely overwhelmed your expectations? This is the problem with kids today: No imagination. And it just REEKED of unresolved daddy issues on the writing staff. I did however like when Nathan woke up, and Claire was all "LETS SAVE THE WORLD" and he was all "Honey, Daddy was drunk. If you were just a bit older, I probably would have forced myself on you". (Don't get too excited Adrik ;) It was all just weak. Maybe I'm just really angry that Claire has not been beheaded. Although horrible thought, what if her body and head both regenerate like an earthworm and we have two Claires. God I hope the writers never read this.

So, yeah. I'm sort of back on the Heroes train. I'll probably keep up with it just because catching up is damned near impossible for me anymore. I reserve the right to jump-ship at any time, but I'll give Brian Fuller a chance to fix things. Clearly that man has me under some kind of spell. Damn you Wonderfalls. Damn you Pushing Daisies. Damn you TV networks for canceling both of those.

Linkity Links

First there's this, which I find to be incredibly interesting and often times moving:

http://www.imfromdriftwood.com/

If you happen to be gay, you should add a story to it. I will as soon as I get around to it.




Then, more randomly, there's this, which sums me up completely:

http://www.pechism.org/baolympics/picadillo/

Look at the members of my team? That explains so much about me.

Awesome

http://thisiswhyyourefat.com/

Thank you, Justin. Thank you very much.