My laziness is already starting to creep into this new job hunt/career counseling venture. That ain't right. Nip this in the bud, shall we?

I finished Firefly/Serenity. I didn't love the last few Firefly episodes, but there was enough there to outweigh the stuff I didn't like. I still have a bunch of questions about certain things, but I'm sure I'll get 'em answered. That's what the internets is for, right? Shack did the recaps at Television Without Pity, so I'm looking forward to going back and reading those. He did coin the "seal of Thasoggua" or whatever, for American Idol. He's got my heart. [so does Nathan Fillion, btw] And why does Melinda Clarke always play a prostitute or a woman of ill repute? It's not as if she's so trashy looking that those are the only roles she can play!

Giants lost badly and embarrassingly. Jets lost in a better fashion. But I was half paying attention and counting down until I could finish Firefly. And listening to the actual Stars song "In Our Bedroom After the War," which I wish I could post for you, but I can't. I listened to it a bunch, and half the time it made me want to sob, and the other half it made me feel all triumphant. I've been listening to Stars all week, actually. All it takes is one little twitter quote fromexpatiates , and BAM- I'm back on the bandwagon. "Your Ex Lover is Dead" remains a gorgeous piece of work.

WELL,
I haven't been DM-ing with my blogger-crush, which is [sad panda]. I still want him to whisk me away to Brooklyn so we can make fun of horrible TV shows together.

My grandmother is hanging in there for now. We all thought she was going to go at any minute a month ago, but she's rallied, to a point, and she's back to being half coherent/half non-sensical. It's the best we're going to get at this point.

My career counseling is going well. She's opening me up to new ideas and areas that I haven't considered. I found out that one of the co-workers I really like is getting ready to blow the pop stand. I don't know how many other people know. He doesn't know that I know. I'm guessing some other people that he's close with are aware of it. The funny thing is that it's an architect but he applied for a business degree. Maybe he wants it in case he starts his own firm once he's registered? I'd like to ask him about it, but it's not my place. I will miss him, though. He makes me feel attractive, which is so rare.

I finally borrowed Firefly from my friend. I don't remember how I came to know Nathan Fillion. I think maybe I tried watching an episode once, a few years back. But I went into the show knowing that I found FIllion to be oh-jesus-attractive, and Jewel Staite was on it, and I love her from "Flash Forward," back in the day. I'm about halfway through the series, loving Fillion, having a million questions, and just enjoying the heck out of it. Of course, I've selected the un-canon 'ship of Mal/Kaylee for myself, but I can't win 'em all. I'm not sure how I feel about Simon. Sean Maher reminds me of Roger Bart mixed with someone else who I can't remember at some point. I guess I think he's a little slimy, but he has his moments. The best part of everything is that the Serenity movie is available for instant play on Netflix, so that's what I'll be doing tomorrow night, probably, since there's not a Sunday Night Football game (thanks very much, NFL, for caving to the World Series. Some of us are NOT into baseball!). I think I'm kind of spoiled for something that happens in the movie, but oh well. You can't go hunting around for fanfic and emerge without learning some things that you weren't expecting to.

Okkervil River are on Austin City Limits tonight, and it's not on PBSHD for once, so I can watch it in my own room. Score! And they've got Jonathan Meiburg with them [I think he lives in Austin], their ex-vocalist/multi-instrumentalist, AND the cute bassist finally shaved, and seems to have transferred his beard to Will Sheff (the lead singer), who is actually working that extra hair. He looks more masculine and less like a scrawny, pale, indie boy. Also, Sheff's beard is like, carrot red under the ACL lights. He's a brunette. And he's playing piano! Which he never does in concert! Double-score!

And Friday Night Lights!! Kyle Chandler also falls into the "marry me" camp. Connie Britton, too. And Gilford. There's up-front hotness and stealth hotness on that show. And a lot of aviator sunglasses.

Magnolia Electric Co. is pretty much making my fall. Some of the songs go on too long, and Jason Molina's voice can get whiny, but some of the stuff is kind of gorgeous. Also, Arcade Fire.

Alan Ball is really worrying me, with his post-True Blood finale interviews. Even if Charlaine Harris is telling him about things to come, which I doubt, he seems to be totally misinterpreting the character of Eric Northman, and the show might suffer as a result. Team True Blood has to watch themselves, now. I think between each season, you'll have more people picking up the books, and getting a completely different view of the characters. Plus, Eric has been the breakout of S2, and it would be stupid to jeapordize that good feeling in any way. He's not a villain, Alan! He's not evil! He's not even textbook BAD. Magnificent bastard? Oh yes.

As long as he keeps the essential feelings/happenings intact of each story intact, I'll be satisfied.




More from the "Mom's thoughts on pop culture" file:

L: yes.i watched part of mtv last night.the brit emc was probably the biggest most obnoxious sexist idiot in the world.lady gaga is such apiece of work.makes mark look good <--she is referring to Marc Bouwer, last seen looking creeptastic on "Runway"

VIA: here

Also, HBO can eat a bag of dicks, because SOME OF US WANT TO SEE THE TRUE BLOOD FINALE TONIGHT! We're not all off planning barbecues and whatnot. Some critic lambasted HBO for pulling this shit on July 4 still, and astutely pointed out that even if it is a holiday, by the end of the day, people are fed up and exhausted and some good TV would be a perfect way to unwind!

This preeeeetty much made my day:



My favorite parts: the Lafayette stuff, the rap song for Struttin' Eric, "Battlefield," THE END.

Thanks & hearts to inlipstickred.

Lookit how cool Cobie Smulders looks here:

( also, Anna Paquin looking foxy in NYLON )

PS: If anyone has simple tips for how to poach an egg, I'd be greatly obliged. [the stuff I found online sounds too complicated, and I'm too lazy to check my cookbook]

So, so far this week I'm listening to Jay-Z and getting all fired up.  I think Jay-Z is going to be good gym music, should I make it back there. I listened to "Run This Town" and Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down" all day and pretty much rocked out at my desk. It was good. Day went fast. Still liking the Cobra album, Charlotte Hatherley, and Florence, too. And a little Kate Nash. I wish she had a second album out.

This morning, I read a quote of Anna Paquin's on nudity [basically- "Why keep a bra on during the sex scenes? Who does that? I don't."] from NYLON, and I thought to myself- Oh, that's cool. Anna's a good NYLON girl. I bet it's just a small interview as part of their fall TV preview. Well, I got my NYLON today, and she's on the cover, looking odd and cool. I've decided that I like her. I hadn't really given her much thought before, but I like that she's kind of reinvented herself with "True Blood," and I like that she's not typical, knock-you-down gorgeous, but there's something attractive about her. I feel like Sookie Stackhouse is actually supposed to be prettier [like I think Ginny Weasley is supposed to be prettier than Bonnie Wright, although Bonnie's grown up quite nicely]. I have no comment on the Paquin/Moyer situation, but that's really none of my business. The good news is that "True Blood" wouldn't necessarily suffer, should they break up at any point. Also, from the few recent paparazzi pictures I've seen of Anna, she's always got some vaguely batshit outfit on, or something really retro/anachronistic, but not in a Zooey Deschanel way. She seems to be grounded, for an ex-child star. See, Lindsay Lohan? It's possible. I do wonder what happened to her. Same for Mischa Barton.

Also funny? The spate of articles featuring my former French classmate, one Lea Michele. She kind of looks like a drag queen in New York Magazine. I kind of love it.

Oh hi, guess what I didn't do? Sort my bills, empty the dishwasher, empty the fridge. Guess what I did? Another S1 True Blood rapidwatch. I can't believe how different Alexander Skarsgard looks with the long hair. He's like a new person, now that it's shorn. Maybe they're doing makeup differently this season, too. Then again, it's amazing how different people can look with just a change to their eyebrows. Maybe the long hair made the shape of his face different? You see, I have time to dwell on mindless shit like this.

Saw Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" video for the first time during the morning block on MTV this morning. So like, bonus ASkars and stuff.

Survived a weekend with MD and his girlfriend and once I stopped acting like an asshole, enjoyed myself. They are a lovely couple. She is lovely. I didn't want to date him anyway. It just sucks that we don't hang out anymore. And there were certain points where she seemed a little overly girlfriend-y, if I can call it that, idk. They've only been dating for like 3 months. However, I can see this relationship lasting a while. And I'm glad it's this girl who he's dating, not the girl he flirted with at this one show we went to back in March, because she was kind of rude to me, which I didn't appreciate. ANYWAY...life goes on, and who knows- maybe I'll find a nice boy to bring home to mom and dad eventually. It just sucks that he met her on a freaking subway platform, totally random. Why can't that happen to me? Why don't I get to meet someone randomly?

Let me take a break from my piecemeal watching of "True Blood"... Except to note that I'm currently reading Book 3 of the Sookie Stackhouse series, and in Book 3, it is revealed that Sam Merlotte is only like 29-30, which makes me wonder if Alan Ball wanted Sam to be older, or if Trammell read for someone else and they decided he'd make a good Sam Merlotte, or what... I like that TV!Sam is older, actually, because it makes for a better portrayal of "protecting Sookie,"  and you feel the whole "world-weary," mysterious, aspect of his personality more.

One of the downsides to living in a city and not driving is the absence of singing in the car, which I think I've discussed before. I listened to Jack's Mannequin all day, and I particularly want to sing La La Lie at the top of my lungs, but I can't do it. I look like a freak on the street, if I do so. I didn't like JM the first time I heard him, but the voice is growing on me, slowly but surely. I feel like there's something extra emo/whiny about McMahon's voice, so I get snobby about liking it, but I think I prefer him to Conor Oberst, so... "I'm coming back to my girl by July" is just so...SO. It's beautiful, I think. And the Beatle-esque brass on Holiday From Real just gets me every time. It reminds me of Penny Lane, if you want to know the truth.

I think I'm going home on Saturday, so I'll have to make a Target run and get in some good car singing. I'm liking a couple of Animal Collective songs, too. It's not like, knock you on your ass amazing music, and I don't understand why certain indie music afficionados make such a fuss over them, but a couple of the songs are cool and summery and exhilarating.

There are 4 things I want from the Nars fall collection. I have a birthday coming up, but I need to get my mitts on the makeup and figure out who sells it. Can't trust Sephora or Bluemercury. Maybe I'll actually purchase online?

I also want:


And this bracelet from Urban Outfitters, which just my luck, none of the stores near me will have so I can't try it on to see if it fits my wrist. Hard stuff, right?

Let's talk about how f-ing awkward I am with people, still. Tonight was my last Digital Design class, and I beat it out of there a few minutes early [because we could] and barely said goodbye to the girl I sat next to for the the past 2 months, who was really friendly to me. And then as I was walking out of the building, I was all, "you idiot!" Sure, I'll never see her again, but a normal person would have been like, "good luck! nice sitting next to you!"

Also, I am stuckstuckstuck on the hotness of Sam Merlotte/Trammell. I could watch the Sam/Daphne stuff from "True Blood" over and over. Heck, I even watch the Sam/Sookie stuff a lot. I'm not like a 'shipper or anything, or maybe I am...of Sam and anyone he's with, except Maryann because she is just a creeper. But we knew that already. I like Sam because he's strong and hot and a little bit beaten down and pathetic and screwed up all at once.

Like with "Band of Brothers," [really, a Brit called Damian Lewis was the best man for the job of Winters?] I'm fascinated by "True Blood's" international casting. Like, why was Ryan Kwanten from Australia the best choice for Jason Stackhouse? One would assume that it would be a plumb role- Alan Ball project on HBO, right? Despite the fact that it was about vampires. Maybe Kwanten was the best combination of looks and talent? I just find it incredible that he was the best man for the job. Don't get me wrong, I adore him, but I'm just amused by it. And um, eternal thanks to Charlaine Harris for creating a Scandinavian vampire, thereby making possible the casting of Alex Skarsgard as Eric.

Also, people need to quit analyzing True Blood vs. Twilight and their differing depictions of sex and women's roles and whatnot. We all know that Stephenie Meyer's religious background comes through in her books, but if you have an issue with True Blood, take it up with Charlaine, not the show. Ask Charlaine why she decided to make Sookie telepathic and thereby unable to date b/c she hears how piggish men are. And can we stop analyzing everything to the point of madness, please? Can we all shut up and enjoy the show? We don't need all that much extraneous commentary on a fun, pulpy show about vampires and sex and mysteries, right? I did like Nerve's rebuttal of what Latoya Peterson wrote on the XX blog: Sookie gets to lose her virginity, enjoy sex, AND get the serial killer in the end.

Oof, I've been away for a while, between being sick and away and off the grid. It was kind of nice, to be honest. I love my internet communities, but sometimes they become a chore, when there are so many places to check in with and catch up on.

I went to my aunt's in Bridgehampton, Long Island for the 4th of July and it was so fucking fabulous. I finally made headway with my Weird Cousin, who is just a little bit weird, but pretty cool. He's never going to react the way I want him to, but I'm learning to read him a little bit better. He brought his very cool girlfriend who none of us had ever met even though they've been dating for like 10 years. We went out for a drive somewhere and he cranked up MGMT and "Time to Pretend" came on and it was just so, so perfect.

I saw this in the John Varvatos store, freaked out, and promptly returned to NY and ordered it for myself:


I started reading the Sookie Stackhouse novels, which are fun and good summer reads. I'll have to re-read "Half Blood Prince" in time for that spectacle next week. I'm heavily into "True Blood" right now, and I re-watched S1 and it's so much creepier re-watching and knowing who the killer is because it's barely obvious and it's just like...oof, I know in real life, it can be exactly like that. A killer right under your nose and no one suspects a thing. I'm still very much in the tank for Sam/Sookie, and Eric is even better this go-round. I'm so glad I have a fun summer show to freak out about.

A shiny, shiny Barnes & Noble opened around the block from me today. It smells like rubber and chemicals and NEW. They have one of those computerized monitor checkout lines like Whole Foods has. Let's see if they still have all registers manned in 6 months. I'm watching you, B&N. I will also probably be spending too much money on foreign fashion magazines. So now I'm around the corner from a B&N and an H&M. Sephora was rumored to be taking one of the other spaces in the building, but I guess that didn't pan out. Otherwise, I'd really have a spending problem.

There's this show airing on one of the big networks this summer or fall called "Flash Forward," and every time I see it mentioned, I think people are talking about the other "Flash Forward," this Canadian show starring Jewel Staite and Ben Foster from the mid-late '90s that the Disney Channel picked up. And then I get upset when I realize that no one is reviving THAT FF. It was a totally cute, wholesome show, and I think it aired for only 2 or 3 seasons. Jewel went to Firefly/Serenity and Ben went to be a creeper on Six Feet Under and I had to keep telling my mother that he didn't usually play such horrible characters. This new FF is a scifi show which is weird, because the Canadian counterpart was certainly nothing weird. I guess it was called FF b/c the characters used to stop camera a-la Zack Morris from time to time? Whatever, the series ended with the two main characters having to kiss for a play and realizing that -gasp- there might be some chemistry there! I wish I could find episodes somewhere; that would be awesome.

Ryan Gosling guest-starred on a couple of FF episodes, so in his honor, and b/c this is hilarious:

I'm having a little bit of a hard time getting into "So You Think You Can Dance." I want to love it b/c so many people do, but I have no idea what I'm watching. I know nothing about dancing, and it's not as easy to judge as singing, so I'll think something looks good and then Mary Murphy will be like, "Eh, just okay for me." I can't tell the difference between "Oh yeah, that looks hard to you, but it's nothing if you know how to really dance" and "OMG Hot Tamale Train!" To me, it's like watching gymnastics or ice skating- I'm always afraid that the dancers won't "stick" their flips or landings. I do hold my breath a little when they do some of the tougher moves. I'm hoping I get into it more as the season progresses.

I'm officially fatter than I've ever been in my life. Hooray! Seeing the number on my little Weight Watchers card was quite a wake-up call, so I have a ton of motivation to lose this weight and more. I'm not sure how much I could lose, but if I could maintain at 130, I'd be thrilled, bmi index be damned.

Also, YAY "True Blood." I'll be honest, I kind of want Sam and Sookie to hook up at some point. I think Sam Tramell is foxier than Stephen Moyer, for sure.

Like, the good thing is that I'm better today. I woke up and so much of whatever happened last night was just GONE, and I'm always amazed at how that happens. I'm still going to be sad for a little while, but as long as I'm not constantly on the verge of tears, I'm cool. It's funny, I was lying in bed listening to music last night and feeling like shit and the perfect song for that moment came on and you better believe I started sobbing all over again:

( Frightened Rabbit / Backwards Walk )

Idol finale tonight... it's been a year since Battle David... wow. And you just KNOW that they're going to cut off the winner at 10pm or whenever again, because those turds wouldn't know "time-sensitive programming" if it bit them in the ass. Any press is good press, whatever. This entire season has been one big ball of pissed off for me, and illustrated even more how little regard AI has for its viewers and the contestants themselves. The best part has been EW's Idolatry. (And Kris and Allison, fine.)

Today I listened to "James" by Camera Obscura a lot and felt like sobbing. I feel so lost, and like I constantly lose everyone who means anything to me, in one way or another, whether it's moving thousands of miles away or just disappearing completely. Sighs.

But on to happier things:
( Gossip Girl finale )

The cool thing that SKINS does is this- they wait until the end of the series to do a formal names-with-faces credits in a little closing montage for the season finale, and it's quite affecting. I don't know if it would work so well on American television. Gossip Girl could do it, maybe, but I doubt it.

Best closing credits shot ever, by FAR:


I want to know how they got her hair so big.

You guys, the whole GLEE thing is such a mindfuck for me. Looking at this girl and thinking, "I sat next to you in French for two years. You were my scene partner in acting class this one time. I had to tell YOU how to do a proper Southern accent for 'The Little Foxes.'" I like that Lea's attractive but in a different way; not a carbon copy of regular old starlets but it's just so weird to see someone I knew once on national television in such a capacity, as if "Spring Awakening" wasn't weird enough. This other girl I used to be friends with has done TV work and I went to school with one of the guys who was in that "Carpoolers" show, but I feel like Miss Lea might actually have something of a burgeoning career.

And at the end of the day, "Don't Stop Believin'" is kind of a gorgeous song.

So let's get down to brass tacks; this is what I have to do:

-go see like 3 exhibits at the Met
-see Frank Lloyd Wright at the Guggenheim
-see Star Trek
-get to a Target
-fix both of my watches
-go find this dress I want at Urban Oufitters
-do some laundry
-clean my bathroom
-go see Avedon at the Institute of Contemporary Photography or something

And in fine print at the bottom would be "forget that MD has a girlfriend and stop being obsessive and weird about his facebook profile because you don't even like him that much anyway and you know that he's pretty cute so why shouldn't he have a girlfriend." 

Ohmygod Kris Allen- thanks for making my night, dude! Can't wait for his "Heartless" to go on iTunes, and same for Lambert's "Cryin'" Lambypants underwhelmed, for me (for you), but I think it's partly because I'm used to him by now, partly because I'm not Clarkson/Cook-level in love with him, and partly because both songs that he did were so chopped and screwed, and they're both songs that benefit from build-up, especially "Cryin'", which I guess is offically a "classic." I remember when "Get a Grip" came out; I was 10. I owned the album, which I thought was kind of bad-ass, and I thought the Alicia Silverstone videos were like, vaguely pornographic. "Cryin'" isn't a bad song, though. Also, can't wait for Allison to have her Slezak interview. And it's not at his desk! I wonder if that was done specifically for her or b/c he wanted to get out of the office for the top 4.

I kind of wish I'd kept up with "Fringe" but maybe I'll rent it on DVD or something. I wish the whole season was on Hulu. All of the networks are bitching about people having free access to the shows on Hulu and stuff, and so Hulu only has the most recent 5 episodes of everything, but it's a stupid way to look at things, b/c even if I rent "Fringe," it'll be through Netflix and it's not like Fox or WB will get my money. Netflix does. I'd rather watch the whole season in one shot on Hulu or something, but so it goes. There's a lot of stuff that has to be figured out if this TV on the internets model is going to work, but hopefully a few smart people will pop up and be pragmatic about the whole thing. If they charged me $30/year or something for Hulu, I'd pay for that. Anything over $50 is ridiculous, though.

"Folkin' Around" in my head...wish it was summer. Or football season. But see, if it was football season, that would mean September, which would mean that Summer's over, so boo.

DESTROYER is a cool band name, right? I wish I could find a Destroyer poster or t-shirt somewhere, but I have a feeling that frontman Dan Bejar likes to keep his merch hidden and such. Figures. Whatever, Destroyer makes me crazy-happy right now. So does Brandi Carlile, and she's total chick music which I normally don't go for, but idk, something there is catching me. I'm still screaming "The Story" really loud.

Allison Iraheta lives to rock another week; phew. I love her (aside from all other facts presented) b/c she's 16 and she looks older but not in that little painted-up prostitute way. Like, poor Ali Lohan does not look her age, and not in a good way. Allison still looks 16 on some levels, and she doesn't act too cool/overly precocious, and it's way appreciated. Her first interview with Ryan is still giggle-enducing. [hearts], girlfriend.

When the weather gets warm, I think of that Regina Spektor lyric: "Summer in the city means cleavage, cleavage, cleavage." Can't wait to see women getting their white pants out and skirting around the underwear issue. People who wear white pants are brave, skinny or not. Also, it's cute flat sandal season. I have wide feet, and they're annoying, and a lot of the cute flat sandals are cut as such that they accentuate the wideness and I feel like a doofus. I have this one awesome pair that I got at Target 2 summers ago, and I haven't found a decent pair since.

FUN FACT: I adore "King of the Hill." I got hooked on it during soph. year of college when we had to make do with no cable, and it stuck. It's just simple and sweet, I think. And it's definitely Brittany Murphy's second finest hour (after Clueless).