dianora2

OK, here are some rambling thoughts....

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HAPPY GAME OF THRONES DAY!


Be there or get slapped.

My Mad Men squee cannot be contained in 140 characters. So some longer thoughts under the cut. ( Bisou Bisou. )

I've been making occasionally bitchy comments on Twitter, but I'm feeling the need to talk in a bit more depth about this whole Fifty Shades of Gray debacle.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, long story short: girl writes popular AU Twilight fic with BDSM, decides to change the names and self-publish it as a trilogy, it sells a ton of copies, so much that it hits the NYT bestseller list, and Random House decides to buy the books for a ton of money. Women across America are discovering the world of dirty fanfic, but stupidly paying for it instead of getting it free on the internet.

(I also found out through Fandom Wank that this was pretty much this chick's plan all along, to try to make as much bank as possible.)

So what do we think about this? To my mind, the first Rule of Fanfic is Don't Sell Fanfic. And while it bothers me that she did this in the first place, does it bother me more that she is making a shitton of money off of it? Am I just mad at myself for being too ethical to do it myself? LOL. Am I mostly pissed that it's a truly shitty piece of fanfic? *g*

Seriously, though, what really bothers me is that now publishing is turning its eye to fic, for example the site Dear Author is doing a whole series on it, and I just feel that can't be a good thing. We could have more authors coming down on anyone who writes fic about their stuff, hell, we could even have TV/movie studios looking more closely at everything to make sure no one is making any money off of their intellectual property. I'm sure that most fanfic writers have dreams of just filing the serial numbers off their fics and getting them published (and let's be clear, authors before Snowdragon Icequeen or whatever her name is have done it), but in general, my philosophy is Don't Cross the Streams.

Would love to hear your thoughts.

ETA: because I wasn't clear -- I have NO ISSUES with someone taking a fanfic of theirs and completely reworking it to try to sell it. I do have an issue with this book being 89% the same as her original fic.

First of all, I screwed up my Tumblr address in my last post, it's dianora2.tumblr.com. D'oh!

Just to follow up on what was a bombshell for some of you...I moved last September to the San Francisco Bay Area. I work in San Francisco, live in Berkeley. It's not something I ever dreamed I would do, but I was offered a job opportunity/life experience that I didn't feel I could turn down. It's been a huge adjustment. I love my job but everything else has been a bit tough. Not just because I miss my friends/family/home city, but also because you're so spoiled in NYC -- you basically reach out your hand for whatever you need and it's handed to you. Everyplace else is just...less convenient. ;) But I'm trying!

So many of my fave shows are on hiatus right now but that's probably a good thing so I can catch up on everything else on my DVR. Did anyone else check out "Awake?" I liked it but am skeptical as to how they can sustain it for a full season. And it's annoying that they're making Jason Isaacs do an American accent.

I miss my Fringe, and will probably have some thinky thoughts on that later. Just trying to get back in the swing of actually posting on here for now. I guess I will share occasional Gossip Girl thoughts since it seems like there are a few other Dair fans out there. :)

OMG, speaking of which, you have to check out this wallpaper in which the artist references Cary Grant and spells it CARRIE. WTF, YOU GUYS. http://pics.livejournal.com/personaleclipse/pic/001trdxc

Anyway. The plus side is the the end of March/early April will be an embarrassment of riches -- not just hiatus shows returning, but the return of shows that have REALLY been on hiatus, like Mad Men and Game of Thrones. And the Hunger Games movie, which hopefully won't suck.

OK, will hopefully post something of more substance later.

First order of business: anyone going to Comic Con that I don't know about? As always I will be working most of the time but hope to make it to Psych, Game of Thrones, Chuck, Fringe, The Walking Dead, and maybe Glee.

Secondly, um, hi! I'm alive. Very busy and stressed. My kitty was in the vet hospital for most of last week and we still don't know exactly what's wrong/what happened. Possibly a stroke. She's doing better but still not back to normal. :( Am hoping she continues to improve.

Thirdly, is anyone else watching Suits? Three episodes in and I'm already slightly obsessed. Both of the guys are HOT and have awesome chemistry together, and the scripts are sharp and witty. I am not a lawyer show person at all, but this is the exception to the rule. The most surprising part is that I am completely onboard the slash train for them. Between this and X-Men: First Class, it's my first summer of slash since The Phantom Menace. LOL.

Am grateful for shows like that, and Project Runway coming soon, etc., to help fill the void left by Game of Thrones, and, of course, Mad Men, which should have been starting right around now dammit. Sniffle. At least there is GoT casting news to follow. (I was skeptical of Gwendoline Christie as Brienne at first, but after seeing and hearing more about her, I am thumbs up.) (This image I found on Tumblr helps.) (Spoilery if you haven't read book 3.)

Hope everyone's enjoying their summer. Air conditioning is a wonderful thing, isn't it?

So who's watching this? I am a fan of the books so confess I ordered HBO just for the series (and will be canceling it as soon as this first season ends, heh). I am enjoying it so far, though I am not blown away by it. Supposedly tonight's episode is very good, so we'll see.

I'm kind of split on the casting thus far. I think Nikolaj whateverhisname is a near-perfect Jaime, Peter Dinklage is of course great as Tyrion, Maisie Williams is great as Arya. Kit Harrington is growing on me. I'm still not thrilled about either Lena Headey as Cersei or Michelle Fairley as Catelyn, which makes me sad. I AM enjoying Emilia Clarke as Dany, which is a relief, since I wasn't sure at first. I mostly like Sean Bean as Ned but I feel he plays him more self-righteous than Ned comes across in the books.

I think my main concern about many of these actors (especially the young ones) is that I know their characters are going to go through SO MUCH and I hope they're up to it. A little less worried about the adults for the most part.

(I am very grateful it's helping distract me from Mad Men not being on this summer...at least for now!)

So I'd love to hear what you think...and whether you've read the books or are just going in fresh for the TV show.

Oh, unrelatedly, feel like I should say something about 17th Precinct not getting picked up. I guess I am a combination of disappointed and relieved. Having both Jamie and James on my screen, playing partners no less, would have been all kinds of awesome, but I am glad I don't have to watch an RDM show, even if it would have been for purely superficial reasons. ;)

I spent this weekend finding new icons and installing a new Mad Men mood theme, so I guess I should really use this damn thing, huh? Geez.

To make it simple, I'm adopting Andy Cohen's "Here's What" I'm obsessed with these days:

1. Andy Cohen! Love him. I want him to be my gay BFF.

2. FRINGE. Fringe Fringe Fringe. And Lincoln Leeeeeeeeeeeee. Thank you Seth Gabel for being my boyfriend on two shows now.

3. This:

I love them so much I actually use the term DAIR. Pathetic, I know. And every time I talk about them on Twitter some Chuck/Blair troll says shit to me. It is hilarious. Sadly I know it will all end in tears. Oh well.

4. The Empire Strikes Back icons I am making which I know you guys will love IF I EVER EFFING FINISH.

5. All the gifs I've been collecting lately. I AM going to host a gif party one day dammit.

6. The fact that Mad Men will not be returning until 2012 and now Psych will not be returning until the fall. I am very, very bitter.

7. Game of Thrones is coming! Yes, I am getting HBO just for the series. And will then cancel it until the next season. *g*

8. That Ron Moore is making another show and if it gets picked up I'm going to have to watch it because both Jamie AND James are in it. DAMN YOU, YOU MULLETED BASTARD.

Having trouble thinking of others which is a sign that I should wrap this up. So tell me, friends, what are you obsessed with these days?

In lieu of summary, my tweets from during the show last night. *g*

( Read from the bottom up, obvs. )

Will give it another try or two, to see Jane if nothing else, but will I make it through all ten eps? Eh.

Just wanted to say how pleased I am with tonight's TAR win! They were my favorite team from the very first episode, so yay. Plus the historic aspect doesn't hurt. :) Gee, if I'd thought ahead I might have even gone to TAR Con, assuming they're still doing that.

Am also still on a high from Thursday's Fringe, which was just heartbreaking in a really wonderful way. The angst! The pining! The pretty! Sigh. This show has been so excellent this season, and I'm really curious to see how the rest of the season plays out now that Olivia is back. I do hope we get to see Seth Gabel again, though. It's been nice having Jeremy Darling back in my life. ;)

Did you hear about how MSNBC is going to start a website for female geeks called TheMarySue.com? NO REALLY. Most insulting idea EVAR. Deets.

In other news, last weekend I went to Las Vegas for the first time and I really enjoyed it! Which was admittedly much to my surprise. I'm still grinning over the trip and would definitely like to go back some time.

Hope everyone's having a good holiday season....and if you're new to Twitter, as a reminder I'm cynicgrrl over there. I do a lot of leftist bitching there though, in addition to the TV crazy, so be warned. ;)