"i'm fart and smunny and i'm a prize."

[falulatonks]

1. Damn it, guys. My last entry is kind of both silly and extremely inadequate - basically I screwed up kind of major exams. A part of me acknowledges that I am far more intelligent than these results have proven me to be, but I know I’ve disappointed people and shocked people and these results may possibly define what I choose within the next few months, and that’s what has me this upset. Exams are just exams, though, and I will keep doing things and being things beyond that piece of paper - I just have to find the confidence in my own abilities again to get back on track.


2. And as long as we’re talking about things that bum me out, going this long without Parks and Recreation is actually hurting my soul a bit, and that’s not even an exaggeration. I need this show’s joy back in my life. I need Leslie. I need Leslie with every other character on this show. I need Leslie/Ben. ugh. Coming home on Friday the week before the last bawling and not having this show to focus my attention on only made my mood worse. I have been intolerable company in the last week or so, I know it.


3. I’ve had a Parks and Recreation-specific post saved in my Google Docs for a few days now and I hope to post that extremely wordy thing before Harvest Festival (!!!!!) airs, but can I just say, very quickly - all of you must know, surely, that my adoration for Parks = adoration for every single thing on this show, but just thinking about Leslie/Ben right now is making me get excited - they’re sweet and simple, yes, but there’s also so much potential there, and I adore that how fleshed out these characters are (especially Ben, which is a pretty major feat considering he’s been on the show for eight episodes) only contributes to how easily you can envision the ways they will fit together and influence each other and the things they can do or become? It’s sappy, I know, I know, but they’ve owned my heart so effortlessly. And this is before both of them even start interacting like that! - all we’ve had so far are little slip-ups and looks of adorations when the other’s not looking!! AH. And fuck, watching Ben fall in love with Pawnee is going to be glorious. This show. These characters. I can flail very intelligently about this show, but all this paragraph is is mindless.


4. I have been a publishing intern for three weeks now! So far it’s been kind of awesome - the company’s so tiny that I get to be involved in so many steps of the process: editing, proofreading, layouts, design, getting files ready for e-book conversions. I got to communicate frequently with an author to talk through the final stages of the editing of his book, and I got to write to the National Library Board, and I talked to my boss a lot about how to publicise two of the books we’re releasing in the next couple of weeks. It may sound lame, but it’s exciting, guys!


5. And the last couple of weeks have been very layout-work heavy because we’re getting ready to send off a batch of e-books for conversion and then release, so what I’ve been doing is converting a bunch of episodes of shows I’ve wanted to watch, dropped it into my iPod, and paid half-attention to both my work and my TV. I’ve watched so much TV in the last two weeks, you guys. So much TV. I finished Greek (all four season) in eleven days and absolutely adored it - it deserves a lengthier post than I have the patience for right now. I hadn’t watched more than the first episode of S2 of The Good Wife until last week, and now I’m all caught up on that, too. And now I’ve started on White Collar!! Exciting.


6. The Good Wife feelings -
   • I didn’t think the writing had been as tight as S1 had been (which literally packed these characters and storylines together so neatly and beautifully that watching everything unfold was kind of thrilling), but it got back on-track after the eighth or ninth episode, which was a relief. And it made me happy, too, because this show is actually pretty fantastic - the writing of the plot is what drew me in first (and that’s not usually what gets to me first, but TGW’s understanding of structure and pacing and everything is just flawless), and watching it when it’s running on all of its cylinders is a fantastic way to spend time.
   
   
   • I’m really liking, though, the emphasis on character this season? Not an emphasis in an obvious way, but I can tell that characters growing is a greater concern of the writers, and that’s wonderful.
   
   
   • And the women on this show, goddamn. These women. I’m so impressed by the way these three main female characters are written. They’re interesting and flawed and allowed both successes and failures, and the fact that they’re women is addressed brilliantly - they are discriminated against, and they’re the minority in the worlds that they’re a part of, but they’re also powerful, sharp, sexual; they are wives and mothers, but not in a ‘my family/love life is my handicap’ kind of way, but in a ‘harm my family/love life and I will handicap you' kind of way. These women are not only great characters, but they’re great female characters - where their sex is integral to the way they’re written and treated, and I love that. This show addresses women as women, and the issues they face, better than a lot of other shows I know, and I adore TGW almost entirely for that.
   
   
   • It helps, though, that the female characters themselves are fantastic. Diane is fabulous and badass but also has interesting, sweet weaknesses; Alicia is brilliant because of how much we get to see her face and how much we get to see of the way she faces it all, and - something about my love for her can’t actually be defined. It’s a little difficult for me to articulate - maybe because she gets to me in a strangely personal way, because I understand her. I see it all.
     
     And Kalinda - oh man. I think the criticism I’ve seen about her character tends to focus on the fact that we know so little of her (especially because she refuses to say anything), but that’s one of the reasons I adore her and the way this show treats her. I love her because she doesn’t have secrets just to have a Token Hot Girl With Secrets - because you can see the way her past affects her and the way she’s forced to interact with it, and that’s fantastic. She is a character with secrets not because she can have them, but because they’re a part of who she is. It’s brilliant. I like characters like this. Characters with complex pasts~ need to be written this way more often.
   
   
   • And finally - the romantic relationships on this show haven’t ever really gotten to me, because I’ve always preferred watching the ladies interact or watching Will and Diane work together to take down stupid people while trading wonderful banter (oh, they are fabulous - when they agreed they would be on the same team, everything felt right again) - but Kalinda/Cary. What.. I’ve always liked them, back from the beginning of the series, because I liked the way they interact with each other, but in S2 they went from “oh wow, I kind of want to rewatch that scene with the two of them talking because their dynamic was pretty cute/sweet”, to “fuck, I need to rewatch this scene for the 100th time because their faces moved a second earlier than I expected it to and I need to commit this to memory”.
     
     The build-up between this two has been beautiful. I like that they went from simple information-exchange to her dropping by his office just to say hi (and his reaction to that, by the way, is that he’s too preoccupied by his concern for her that he chases her out of the office so that they can walk together and he can warn her about things) and him actually hunting down and intimidating (in his lawyer-y way, of course) the guy who’s trying to break her down. I love that in this season he says the only person he cares about helping is himself, but actually cares about what could happen to her. I love that she’s letting herself see that he gets it, and letting herself return that by letting him see a little of what she feels.
     
     That conversation in The Great Firewall - everything even before the kiss is pitch-perfect, because here are two characters interacting in ways they’re not used to interacting with people. He’s trying to help her without giving too much away. She gives him her address but doesn’t really know where to go from there because she’s a little unused to being sought after to give help, not receive it. And god, that kiss? My favourite thing about it is that it’s just one tiny peck, because it’s such a huge contrast from the aggressiveness of Kalinda’s scenes with Blake throughout the earlier half of the season (Blake, by the way, is by far the weakest part of S2 of this show, I’m so glad we’re done with him) - he can’t help her, but he’s there, and that’s all that is. It kills me. They kill me. They have ruined me. I rewatch their conversation at least twice every day.
   
   
   Some day I will talk about other things I love about this show, including the way morality is written in it - uptheapples and I will have plenty to say! morality on this show is another thing that’s intriguing and beautifully-written in this show - and the way Cary Agos should be a one-note, predictable character, but is far from it, but for now, because it’s late and I have been typing furiously for the last half-hour, I will stop here.

My wrists hurt. I’m going to continue reading A Game of Thrones (I’m over halfway through, and Jon Snow is looking like he’s my favourite).

-- rachu

Comments

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry about your exams Rach. You are far more intelligent than any exam result (it's just one measurement after all, and not a very holistic one at that). I've been in your position myself so I have oodles of empathy and hugs. You're brillsville, just remember that.

PARKS! ALL OF THE FEELINGS! I can never thank you enough for your copious amounts of flail, without which I may have never added this gem to my schedule. It's literally the light of my television life right now. And Ben/Leslie! Ship of my heart (have you read this fic? SO AMAZING)!

Your internship sounds absolutely wonderful, actually. Publishing is an industry I've toyed with entering but it seems so difficult to get your foot in the door. You're lucky to get such an all-encompassing experience.

Game of Thrones! I'm reading it too! I'm not very far in, but Jon Snow is definitely one of my favourites.

[falulatonks]

Thank you, love. I've never particularly had trouble academically; this makes me think I should lose the arrogance a bit, I guess, which is a useful lesson.

YESSS. ARE YOU ALL CAUGHT UP? I'm so glad you love it - it's definitely the light of my TV life, and an instant happy pill. And 'ship of my heart is the greatest description! I can't think of a 'ship that's endeared itself to me faster.

I'm incredibly lucky, actually; all I did was look up publishing companies and this was the first one I e-mailed. It's pretty wonderful. And having internship experience now may bode well for ~future endeavours.

Yay! Jon Snow only gets better, in my opinion. I adore him.

[shornt.livejournal.com]

Not having Parks is honestly the biggest contributor to my terrible moods lately. Because like, even when I have the worst weeks, there was always Parks on Thursday and the whole weekend would be good because I'd rewatch and make graphics and things. And it's been two weeks of nothing to look forward to. I already feel better this week knowing it's bad. I have a horribly strong just, gah, addiction to Knope. She is like a drug. I NEED HER. It's so unhealthy probably.

[falulatonks]

KNOPE IS A DRUG. I need her face and her smile and her joy and her enthusiasm, damn it. Thank goodness we get one more season/year of this.

[shornt.livejournal.com]

OH GOD RACHNA HAVE YOU GOTTEN A LINK YET?????????

[falulatonks]

I'M STILL AT WORK AND STAYING STAUNCHLY OFF OF TUMBLR AND IT'S HURTING MY HEART, CAITY

DID YOU LOVE IT?!

[shornt.livejournal.com]

I'VE CRIED TWICE TONIGHT AND MY REACTION POST WENT OVER 1000 WORDS.

It isn't long at all!!

[falulatonks]

Thank you! I've always had a kind of arrogance when it comes to studies because I've never had trouble with it before - I guess this is a lesson, or something. I hope you did well! I know you must have.

No, you haven't, but heh, thanks. The Good Wife is heavy to marathon, though, so you may not be able to get through with it. I managed with S2 because it isn't as tightly-written or as intense as S1, but S1 killed my brain a bit - which is probably an exaggeration.

I think not being into Leslie/Ben seems to be a popular opinion? I think my adoration is a little over-the-top, actually, because if I look at the episodes with him so far I think his reaction to her has been more about liking Pawnee than her, but damn it, I think I latched onto "Leslie could be happy with him!" AND I LIKE SEEING HER HAPPY.

Publishing really is overlooked, and I can't understand why, because there's so many aspects of it to get involved in! It was a really abrupt decision, because I hadn't considered it before either, but I'm glad I did. If I were better at talking I'd probably be more involved with the PR-side of it, too, which looks exciting.

[marketchippie.livejournal.com]

Jon Snow is damn delightful. (AND YOU'VE PASSED MY FAVORITE SCENE, THEN, AKA: THE THINGS THEY DO FOR LOVE. DJFLKSHGFDKJHSKLJFDH WHAT IS A MORAL COMPASS I HAVE TOO MANY FEELINGS TO MAKE ROOM FOR MORALS.)

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

If it's the scene I'm thinking about, I just read that yesterday. I had a schizophrenic moment when I was both cackling madly, "BWAHAHAHA AWESOME EVIL TWINS ARE AWESOME," and sobbing, "WHY WHY WHY WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT TO ADORABLE BRAN? WHY. WHY. WHY. WHY."

And then my head exploded (which funnily enough did not prevent me from reading further).

[marketchippie.livejournal.com]

YES OF COURSE IT'S THE ONE YOU'RE THINKING OF. I just. That scene sums up my entire relationship with the books, aka: LANNISTERS + ENORMOUS AMOUNTS OF NARRATIVE GUMPTION. AND LANNISTERS, DID I MENTION LANNISTERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRS.

(I'd been reading the book curled up in Starbucks, and when I got to that, I stood up and walked home because I knew I couldn't physically hold the book anymore at that moment. Walked home with the most inappropriate :D face that did not leave me for half an hour. TOTAL SURPRISE AND DELIGHT WITH SAID SURPRISE AND ALSO LANNISTERS AND JUST IN GENERAL SO MUCH MORE BALLSINESS THAN I HAD REASONABLE EXPECRED. I love so much about everything these books choose to be. *giddy handflap*)

[falulatonks]

MY REACTION TO READING THAT, IN TWO PARTS: A) THE EVIL IN THIS BOOK IS GOING TO BE DELICIOUS, I CANNOT WAIT, (I was grinning madly, girl), B) THIS IS WHY ISABEL LOVES IT, I SEE IT NOW.

[quick-ly.livejournal.com]

Totally agree about all the P&R stuff. I need that show back in my life NOW! Also, I'm glad you liked Greek. So few teens shows can last and not suck (although I'm not sure is Greek is really a teen show - it's too smart).

[falulatonks]

Greek really is a little too smart to be lumped in with the average teen show - the writing is great, the acting is great, and really, how quickly I came to adore it is surprising!

[diamondrocker.livejournal.com]

I cannot add anything of substance to your views on the good wife - just know that every word you wrote has gone through my head at least 10 times an episode - EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SHOW IS FABULOUS, THAT IS ALL. If you're not watching it, it's not that you're missing out - it's that there's obviously something wrong with you.

I marathoned all of parks and rec in 36 hours before the new season started and it was hands down the BEST DECISION I HAVE MADE in 2011 - it has been such a delight and apart from me loving every. single. character. times. a MILLION, Leslie/Ben has snuck up on and made my tv watching world a happier place.

And thanks to Netflix and my flist, greek has become my latest must-watch project. I almost finished an entire "chapter" yesterday, for obvious reasons.

[falulatonks]

If you're not watching it, it's not that you're missing out - it's that there's obviously something wrong with you.
Perfectly said!! It's fantastic TV, basically; it should've been appointment viewing for me from the very start.

YAY, I AM SO GLAD YOU LOVE IT. Parks and Recreation is the light of my TV life, my love, my soul. (/melodrama) It's wonderful. And I can't say that about many shows.

Greek really is the kind of show you inhale! I hope you enjoy it - can't wait to see what you think. :D

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

That sounds like an awesome internship :) I'm starting P&R soon, ozmissage wore me down.

I'm sorry your exam results weren't what you wanted but you know what? The real world doesn't actually care about those exams, they care if you can do the job. As long as that stays true, you'll be fine *hugs*

[falulatonks]

EXCELLENT. I can't wait to see what you think of it - I can't think of a show that makes me happier, and being able to say a show makes you happy is more difficult these days, I think.

And thank you - I think I need to remember that. ♥

[hmsharmony.livejournal.com]

*Hugs* I'm sorry about the exams. But you really are brilliant, and I have faith that you'll get where you want to despite this. Exams are a terrible measure of our intelligence and abilities anyway.

Congrats on your internship! That sounds really exciting, and I'm so happy you're happy there. <3

A Parks and Rec promo appeared during the commercial break for Chuck and I started flailing. I can't wait for it to return!!

[falulatonks]

Exams are a terrible measure of our intelligence and abilities anyway.
heh, I'm inclined to agree with you! Thank you though, love. Hopefully it doesn't throw me too off-course.

I'm so relieved, to be honest! I was certain I'd be disappointed, but I'm loving it - I'm definitely considering this as a career, in fact.

I hope you loved this week's episode!! I haven't watched it yet but I'm psyched. :D

[specialcamper.livejournal.com]

Can I just say how absolutely in love I am with Ben? At first when I saw they were heading towards Leslie/Ben, I thought "Hmmmm... I really like Ben, but I don't know about this." Now I'm like "OH DEAR GOD WHY SO ADORABLE BEN? YOU AND LESLIE ARE PERFECT!"

[falulatonks]

I KNOW!! I love, love, love that the creators/writers decided to bring a new character on board, decided that he'd be a great character and would be great for Leslie, and are now trying to show us why. And it's especially fantastic that he's a series regular - it's like they've committed themselves to it completely. :D I love it. so much.

[imprinted-soul.livejournal.com]

chu i'm sure i've said it before but seriously, you're one of the smartest people i know (who are smart in ways i am occasionally almost jealous of, i mean. i don't give a crap about the science geniuses who win gold medals at things.) and YOU, you're going to be amazing doing something you enjoy and are amazing at.

your publishing internship sounds wonderful, really. AND HOW DO YOU GET THROUGH TV SHOWS SO DAMN FAST WOMAN.i am taking ages to finish anything lol. only halfway through s1 of modern family, and stuck on psych since it all decided to hold out on me stupid links.

...now even deedums is telling me to watch parks and rec.i think i might. or shameless, since more friends are like WATCH TI WATCH IT WATCH IT

CAN YOU COME ONLINE ALREADY I FEEL LIKE SOMETHING IS WILDLY WRONG BECAUSE I DON'T BUG YOU ONLINE ANYMORE. i need people i can giggle over dorky things with. because you know, you're awesome like that.

I AM BRIBING YOU WITH IMAGES OF CHOCOLATE NUTELLA TOAST.


ENJOY, M'DEARIE. I ACTUALLY KINDA MISS YOU. ALREADY. BECAUSE I HAVEN'T SEEN YOU IN A WEEK. I SUCK.

[torigates.livejournal.com]

Sorry about your exams. That stinks.

So much word on everything you have to say on Parks & Recreation and The Good Wife. The two strongest shows on television currently, in my opinion.

[sonni89.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry about your exams. I hate it when you don't do well on exams even though you know you're smart. It sucks. I hope your future plans still all work out, though. *massive hugs*

The Parks and Rec hiatus has been AWFUL. I'm so glad it's back on Thursday, I'm not sure how much longer I could've gone without it. How did we manage those 7 months? I don't even know.

The Good Wife! So glad you've been watching. I love Kalinda, do people really criticize her? The only thing that bugs me about her is how she's always the #1 person talked about in fandom and I'm like, hey, Alicia and Diane are just as amazing as she is.

Will and Diane working together, scheming and being all-around awesome has made season 2 for me. I love Will/Alicia but I'm okay with them not being the major issue right now. Cary/Kalinda took me by surprise, though. I mean, I've shipped them for as long as I can think, but I didn't think I'd get that many feelings from the 'being normal' scene and their kiss and lkdsfgöjdf. Sorry. Keysmash is the only way to describe this. :P

it's your cousin

[(Anonymous)]

hiii nuttu. since you're not replying to my smses/chat posts hmph i've decided to write here!

i've watched s1 of parks and just started s2! so far no major impact but aah i lowe rashida jones! and leslie's soo cute :D