So, this was me after watching "The Lying Detective" and "The Final Problem" just now.


Also,

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Just a little something I put together, for no particular reason :)

I've been submitting to Threadless for a few years, in hopes of creating some neat-looking t-shirts and earning a little extra cash.  Unfortunately, that hasn't worked out, so I've decided to try something new and opened up a CafePress account.  There's a much bigger selection of items to design, and you can pretty much start selling as soon as you submit.  And so!  I'd like to welcome you to my online shop, where you will find such unique and whimsical items as:

Just a little random something that popped into my head, and I thought, "Hey, I should totally spend half the night looking up Community screenshots and doodling in Pixelmator!"


Because I miss "Troy and Abed in the moooorning!"  And the Troy-Abed handshake.  And Troy's dramatic realizations.  And the Dreamatorium adventures.  And the blanket forts.  And the great end tags.  Honestly, I think this show peaked in season three, and everything afterwards has felt kind of diluted.  There've been fun moments, but nothing on the level of "Pillows vs. Blankets," or "Remedial Chaos Theory," or "Celebrity Pharmacology," or "Debate 101," or "Regional Holiday Music," or the Law & Order one...

But I do wish Donald Glover all the best in his new projects, just as I do for Cote de Pablo (formerly) of NCIS.  At least Community's still fun to watch.

Let's start with the fun and trivial subject.  Thank you, Ellen, for making the Oscars fun again!  You were awesome!

My favorite things:

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Which brings me to the heavier subject.

Yeah, I don't even know how to start.  I can't promise this is going to be coherent, and it definitely won't be cool-headed.  It was chilling to watch clips on the news this morning of Russian soldiers marching into Crimea.  I'm glad there wasn't any bloodshed (as far as this morning, and as far as we know), but it's just chilling how easily they could walk right in like it's Soviet times again.  Who could possibly be surprised if that's exactly what Putin wants?  It's only been 23 years since they let go of Lithuania...the previous time that happened, in 1918, we got 27 years of freedom, and then the USSR came right back in.  If we can get to 2019 and beyond without that happening again, that'd be wonderful.

If Ukraine can get free without anyone being crushed by Russian tanks (which is what happened to thirteen Lithuanians in 1991, in front of the TV tower in Vilnius), that'd be wonderful.  If we could get to a time when Russia doesn't seem like some giant looming monster just waiting for the chance to attack, that'd be really wonderful.  F**k you, Putin.

I told you this wouldn't be cool-headed.

Thought I'd give a little update on my adventures in other parts of the blogosphere.  As a contributor to Insatiable Booksluts -- a fabulous book blog that focuses mainly on small press literature, but also on general bookish (and sometimes music-related) topics -- I recently submitted my second post, a rant about the tendency toward tacked-on romance subplots in YA lit with female protagonists.

Here is a brief sample:

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I like a good literary romance well enough.  Aw, who am I kidding, I’m the shippiest shipper in all of shipdom.*  I was on Team Ron/Hermione right from Sorcerer’s Stone (I swear I started this post before J. K.’s recent comments ^_^;; ).  Want to know just how Johnlocked I am (of course you do)?  See the “Sherlock” tag in my Livejournal.  And “As Long as You’re Mine” was my favorite song from Wicked – next to “Defying Gravity,” of course.

But even I have my limits.  Because for the love of Pete’s sake, if I read another summary that includes some variation of girl-finds-herself-irresistibly-drawn-to-some-“devastatingly handsome charmer” (yoinked that one from Amazon, re: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer), I will throw a mental fit.

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For the rest of the rant, head on over to IB! :-D

P.S.  My previous post was a look at five New Years-related folktales.

I wasn't expecting much from this movie; one look at the goofy sidekick and I figured that's all it would be -- goofy (apologies in retrospect to Olaf the snowman; you were a lovely character :-) ).  And I certainly wasn't expecting a particularly strong portrayal of the female characters.  I don't know why; I mean, what about Brave?  The first Disney movie in which the princess doesn't want or need a male love interest?  The first one to focus on a mother-daughter relationship?

Maybe my mind was too thunder-clouded after reading more news of Steven Moffat's disgusting statements about women.  And here I'd been feeling more optimistic, thinking the third Sherlock season had actually done a better job with its female characters (see prev. post).  Yeah, apparently all those silly female fans who've made the show so popular and lucrative don't count because they're just in it for the sexy lead character.


It's weird that Sherlock himself is able to show remorse for his appalling behavior, while his co-creator smugly defends his own god complex.

But this post isn't about Moffat.  It's about what a gorgeous movie Frozen turned out to be.  It's based on Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen," only it focuses on the lost friendship between two sisters, Anna and Elsa.  The moment the music started, I thought, "Ok, right away I like this."  A minute later I was in tears, listening to the ice gatherers' song.  Guys, I don't know, it's just how I am; certain kinds of music just hit me right in the emotions.

And then the story has its roots in fairy tales and Scandinavian folklore ( <3 those rock-trolls! And they were good trolls!), and the visuals were gorgeous -- I so want alicexz of deviantArt to paint this scene:
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And there were more amazing musical numbers, like "Love is an Open Door" and OMG ELSA'S SONG...  I actually didn't know who the voice actors were in advance, but when Elsa was singing "Let it Go," I couldn't help thinking of "Defying Gravity," from Wicked -- and then my brother leans over and says, "Mom wants to know if that's Idina Menzel singing?"  Turns out, it was!

And speaking of the focus on strong women?  I.  Freaking.  LOVE.  that( MAJOR SPOILERCollapse )

The only thing that I didn't totally love was( MAJOR SPOILERCollapse )

Anyway, it's always nice to come out of a movie in happy tears.

HO...LY...


I'm... I'm...

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Now THAT'S what I'm TALKING ABOUT!!!!!


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I'm totally going to be re-watching "The Empty Hearse" several more times, and I have more fan-sights and questions to share, but in the meantime, there's another premiere I've been looking forward to... Community Season 5!

And Dan Harmon's back at the helm!

So let's toast to a brand new year at America's quirkiest community college!

And this isn't just for tonight, either -- feel free to play the game every Thursday night (Disclaimer and all, don't overdo it guys, don't try to do ALL the "rules," seriously, this is just for fun.)  Now let's go save Greendale some more!

*  "Troy and Abed in the moooorning!" or any variation thereof
*  Troy and Abed bromance mooooment!
*  The Troy and Abed handshake
*  Shirley-Annie "Aww!"
*  Something meta
* That elevator tune
*  Dioramas
*  The Darkest Timeline
*  The Human Being
*  "Pop! Pop!" (and you have to do it back)
*  Coolcoolcool.
*  A Jeff Winger speech.
*  A Dean Pelton in-costume announcement
*  Any other time the dean's in costume.
*  That sure was a dean-tastic pun!
*  Let's add some Chang-larious Chang-uage while we're at it.
*  Now let's let Britta do her awkward dance!
*  Someone calls her "the worst."
*  Shut up, Leonard!
*  Let him finish!
*  What do you say, Tina Fey?  Nice try, Stephen Fry.  Going bowling, J.K. Rowling?  You're on your own, Al Capone.  Get the gist, Chopin Liszt?  (I totally made most of those up)
*  Shirley's baking
*  That wavy-arm dance Britta, Annie, and Shirley do when they're pleased/excited.
*  Troy dramatically "realizes" something.
*  Is it me, or does the dean have an obvious crush on Jeff?
*  Duh-DOY!
*  Someone mentions a class title you totally wish was/had been in your course catalog.
*  Annie's Boobs.  The monkey, I mean.  Or, ok, the other one ;)
*  Questions? Questions? Questions?