notable fall '08 non-election happenings, vol. 1-?

[sab]

Today Studs Terkel died. That's worth remembering.



I grew up on Working, we did a performance of it at camp when I was like twelve, and then later I read it (multiple times) and find it very much entwined with my outlook on America. I see Working everywhere I go, every day. Studs was 96 and had a good and lucrative and generous life, and leaves behind a great legacy, so I understand that it's time to let him go (my grandfather was 96 when he died last year, sad, yes, but not unexpected and sort of part of the circle of mortality - let ME live to 96, please) but I hope there's a chance that his passing will provoke people to go back and read his books.

Oh and you know? It occurs to me, in the spirit of listeners-to-Americans and keeping the genre going, my other favorite chronicle of working Americans has always been Rivethead, by Ben Hamper. If you're a Studs Terkel fan, read this. I bet Studs would be proud. Actually I have a sneaking suspicion he wrote the foreward.


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And then in totally unrelated news there's that thing where David Tennant's leaving Doctor Who. I mean, come on. We saw this coming.



In fact, I'm fairly certain that if there hadn't been a contract in place (executed pre-Hamlet) saying something like, "yeah, go do the Scottish prince, but ONLY if you commit to Doctors Who through 2009!" he'd blow off the specials. In fact I bet he tried, way back when they were announced as four specials instead of a full season. Doesn't that sound like agents and producers in a room making compromises?

So on the one hand, good for him, it's about frigging time, I mean, nobody wants to watch a show where the main character resents his surroundings (see also: Mulder) and Tennant was fast on the way to phoning it in (by witness accounts he'd started to refer to himself in the third person, and then there's that whole thing that maddened me about the middle of season four when it was clearly just Tennant resting on his idiosyncrasies, cashing in on a good "allons-y!" or quick grin in place of trying to do something new) -- but then, there are also big big fears that come along with his divorcing Who. Namely the impending international fame explosion and his inevitable arrival here, in the states, like a Ewan McGregor or a Colin Farrell, just, oh. It breaks my heart.

I've been tracking his rise to fame over the last three years with increasing trepidation; it's one of those things where his more highbrow and less mainstream works somehow make him more of an artist, sexier, more of a secret, less mobbed by fangirls, etc etc.

I have "David Tennant's career" as an LJ interest (non-underlined! Don't steal it!). Here's my tracking his exposure, as he gets more and more famous and further and further away from our secret treasure, from the rarefied air of a theater star turned TV icon, from the nerd who wanted nothing more than to be Doctor Who to the celeb on the fast track: [June 2006] . [July 2006] . [August 2006] ...and then, crap, my tagging system became inconsistent. But careful readers of Eating Hard Candy Alone will remember my series of paranoid conspiracy theories about Tennant's rapid and dangerous rise to international superstardom.

Oh and just for fun. Tennant had, what, about 800,000 google hits in his second season of DW? Today, over 1.7 million. And that is without the United States knowing who the hell he is. Sit back and watch the oncoming storm, people.

Anyway, I'll leave this topic with zauberer_sirin's post about the Tennant departure. As usual, she gets it absolutely right.



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My tiny baby sister is turning 30 next week. Also in November, mischa and unwinding, my PEEPS, my PEERS, turn 30. AFTER my sister. World, why you scare me so?

For perspective it's also useful to point out that this November rossetti turns a whopping 28, and my dear _abulafia turns frickin' 24. Kids today. I swear. With their emo music and their Playstations and their YouTube! When I was yer age computers were green text on black and we all programmed in BASIC and played... what was that programming game with the turtle called?

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I wrote House fic a couple weeks ago: HUGE EGO SORRY, like maybe 3200 words, House/Wilson.

I have this deep and absurd love for Greg House; I dream about him at least twice a week...



I have this deep and absurd love for Greg House; I dream about him at least twice a week... (last night we were in Scotland together with a whole heap of friends and I had to fight another chick -- who turned out to be a McCain supporter! -- for Greg's affections. She was needy and weepy so I had to pretend to back off to minimize the drahhma, but secretly Greg loved me way more.) -- fortunately for me, though, in this case it's entirely the character I want, not Hugh Laurie, so I can appreciate him just as much in fiction as in reality (in stark contrast to a skinny Scotsman I know).

The thing about TV crushes is sometimes you have to think not just "would I fuck him" and "would I have his baybeez" but also "would he fuck me?" and later "could we sustain a long-term relationship?" and the thing about me and House is, I think we could really legitimately deal with each other. Actually I think we'd be good for each other, in a misanthropic, lonely, self-destructive sort of way. Point is: the Doctor would never truly love me. I'm not a Gryffindor; he needs a Gryffindor, you know? And most of my TV crushes are ridiculously noble, competent, reluctant hero types who, again, would never be able to have a relationship with me because I'm far less noble and sometimes like to call in sick to watch TV and smoke weed and write shit. But GREG! GREG.

Anyway, so I'm writing MOAR Housefic now. Yeah, I'm as surprised as you are. Haven't written any fic since June; haven't written anything that wasn't Slings & Arrows since Yuletide of last year.



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Can't even imagine what's next. But wish my Dad a happy 74th on Nov 4 (I feel like there's something else important happening that day... hmmm....) and my sister spycookies a happy and insane 30th on Nov 6th. In fact! If you have any good femslash recs (Grey's Anatomy's prob good, House, ANTM, etc) please go over to her LJ and post links in comments to her latest post as part of a birthday present from me? Pictures of hot lesbians also always appreciated. All she wants is Obama for her birthday, but I think eye candy and reading-candy is never a bad way to go. Help a sister out?

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(The icon, get it? Get it? It's about House but ALSO about election day! Oh, I R so SMRT.)

Comments

[isabeau.livejournal.com]

what was that programming game with the turtle called?

turtle logo? (I have vague and probably inaccurate memories of doing dorky turtle logo stuff while most of the class was watching Riki Tiki Tavi, which scared the crap out of me and gave me nightmares about cobras under my bed)

But wish my Dad a happy 74th on Nov 4 (I feel like there's something else important happening that day... hmmm....)

There totally is! my birthday. :D (hippo birdies to your dad. he has a good birthday. in my totally unbiased opinion.)

[iamsab.livejournal.com]

LOGO! That was it! And it was really nothing that even resembled a turtle, more like an arrowhead.

You just brought it all back because I think *I* was stressing over Riki Tiki Tavi (and considering buying a mongoose) while also making... I dunno, boxes? mazes? In LOGO.

I'm nearly 33, you? And HAPPY BIRTHDAY; may all your election dreams come true!

[isabeau.livejournal.com]

I adored LOGO so much. I guess I was always a bit of a computer geek *grin*

and birthday = 30 (which I am NOT AT ALL freaking out over REALLY I'M NOT). I'm totally your baby sister! except for how I'm someone else, and have a different birthdate by a few days, but.

I SO have my fingers crossed for this election... dear country, and california, prz give me good birthday presents.

[anatsuno.livejournal.com]

LOGO! One of the things the French contributed to computer science, iirc? I forget. But I loved it so (it's a didactic language - conceived of to teach programming at the time).

I LOVE, LOVE your House fic, so there idea that there will be more soon is just SWELL, thank you. *sits at your feet and waits*