Mission to Mars

We just finished the last Veronica Mars episode. Mike's all upset now that he has to wait two weeks for the next one. Me too, honestly. And mm, Aly in just two weeks after that.

This show kicks ass. If you aren't watching it, you suck. You suck hard. I ♥ Veronica Mars. And you should too.

Halted.

Well sadly my Veronica Mars watching has to be put on hold, as it turns out TiVo didn't get the third ep (or, well, it was actually the second due to the VP debates), and I can't stand not seeing things in order. So I must wait for the third ep to download. (God bless BitTorrent.)

Thus far though? I'm digging this show. I really am. Kristen Bell kicks ass. I think she may be the first main character in anything that is my favourite character. That'll be an interesting take on things. I'm usually all about the sidekicks. But that smile of hers is just too much.

Yay. New show goodness.

Couch Potato Daze

I think I shall devote today to catching up on my TV. On the slate:

• Veronica Mars. The pilot, at least. I haven't actually watched even a single ep, despite all of 'em being backed up on TiVo.


• Point Pleasant. I'm giving this show until about the fifth episode to take off. The third's downloaded and ready to be watched. Here's to hoping.


• Lost. I think I'm about three eps behind on this one. Time for catchup. At least then so my mother, who I hooked on the show when she came to visit, can have someone to talk to about her new theories. She's going insane.


• Buffy. "Halloween" is next up for discussion this week.


• Angel. If I was on schedule, I'd be on AS3 by now. I haven't started 2. Uh-oh.

I suspect there won't be time for all that, but it's a start. I go to veg now.

ow

Stairs + Me = Falling
Me + Falling = PAIN

I fell up the stone stairs of our complex today. Yes, fell UP them. I'm just that good. My injury list currently includes:

One (1) cut and bruised left shin
One (1) skinned right elbow
Two (2) skinned knees
Two (2) jarred (and swelling) thumbs
One (1) sprained left wrist
One (1) aching big toe
One (1) aching back
One (1) right shoulder that doesn't want to move at an angle greater than say thirty degress without screaming

I don't know if you know this, but Tuesday's Child? Full of grace.

The irony kills me.

Getting there...

Yesterday I wrote a scene. This is a big thing, trust me. Four more to go, and Act One is complete.

Plans for today: Write another scene. Possibly even two!
Watch a movie: Edward Scissorhands or The Big Lebowski. Perhapsing I shall flip a coin.
Be grumpy. This one is coming naturally, little work involved.

One Week Later ...

For a week that started out so promising (remember that "Productive Morning" post?), I got nothing done this week. Nothing for me, anyway.

Yesterday, I had plans to get some writing done. But Mum's computer showed up and I spent the better part of the day installing and configuring everything. The plan was to get back to writing once I was done. Getting everything just right carried over a little bit to this morning as well though, but I still had plenty of time. Just as I was wrapping up with her, however, Mike came downstairs with a face like thunder. Guess what crashed? If you said "his hard drive", congratulations! You don't win anything, but congratulations!

So after trying (and failing) to get access enough to pull his files off, we headed to Best Buy and picked up a couple new ones. So now instead of one 120GB, he's got at 160 and 80. Got the hardware in with no trouble, but getting everything sorted to take advantage of the 160GB was a pain in the ass. All's well now though, and I have the second drive formatting, installing all the stuff he wants, making it all pretty and worky.

Two things though. 1) I wanted to have 9x01 finished by this weekend. I've got the teaser done. 2) Now I have a hankering to reformat my drive and do a clean install. It's way overdue.

But first, installing and then sleeping. Maybe if I'm lucky, tomorrow I can at least get the next scene done ...

But ... she's only five!

We get Jett to the vet with only the ususal irritating whiny trauma, then get dinner while they check her out. I get a phone call a little bit later with the results of the doctor's examination.

My puppy has arthritis.

Hip dysplasia, to be exact. She's only five years old. We're all blown away bit it, the vet included. But we rescued her when she was a puppy and besides having no idea what her genetic background is, we also have no possible clue what breed she is. It could be that arthritis runs in her family, but as the vet pointed out, sometimes dogs just get it at a young age.

The good news is, we caught this at the first major flare up. So Jett's now on this medication which, sad to say, she'll be on for the rest of her life. It's some sort of chewy glucosamine pill (it looks like a tall Rollo made out of beef jerky). She also has some anti-inflamatory stuff to be used for the moment and if it flares up again later and she needs some relief.

Luckily, since she is so young, the doctor recommends that while we make sure not to let her overdo it, we can still let her play as she likes, which is good because there's nothing she likes more than a good game of tug with Mike. Until she gets older, we really shouldn't see any sort of marked difference in her behaviour. She's also not a dog prone to weight gain, so obesity shouldn't make the problem any worse.

Still though, when you think you're going in about a strained muscle and find out it's arthritis, that's a pretty big shock.

My poor puppy.

Poor hurt puppy!

This is what my productive day turns into. Jett has been acting weird since coming in from her walk this morning, but I thought she was just being a spaz, or because I had the windows open and there was a noise outside she didn't like or something. Then I just noticed she's limping. I've made an appointment with her vet, but the earliest they have open is 8pm tonight (they're open until about 2am). In the meantime, Jett's regressed into needy puppy mode. I'm currently sitting on the couch, almost creating a circle with my legs with Jett right in the center. For a forty-pound dog she compacts well, but it's hardly the most comfortable position I've ever been in.

But puppy! :(

Jet Wolf's Productive Morning

I'm not sure when I got up this morning, but it was probably around 8.30, 9am. Before 11, I had:

• Unloaded and loaded the dishwasher.
• Bundled together the recycling to get it off the counter.
• Answered some e-mail.
• Walked the dog.
• Finished the teaser for episode 9x01.

I declare today a good start.

Future Plans

The context for this isn't really important, but the comment made me laugh.

Me: When we're old and shrivelled and it'll take you 20 minutes to get me a drink.
Mike: Nah. By the time we're old, we'll be bionic.

Have some good news.

Today's been looking pretty good for me thus far.

Mum called. She's been having some serious computer problems. I managed to talk her through installing and configuring a program so I could take over her PC remotely. this helps tremendously, I can't even tell you. Anyway, she's had her computer since before I left Louisana, and it's gone through some problems since then. It's been on its last legs for a while, and it's steadily getting worse – when Notepad gives you a GPF, you're in trouble. She prompted me to go looking for a new computer for her, which I did. Within a relatively short space of time we had a new computer ordered. Should be to her in about a week, week and a half. Then set aside an afternoon to configure and install everything for her (trust me, she's happier that way), and she'll be good to go.

While I was talking to her, however, I got another phone call. This one was from Mike. Apparently his day started off sucking, but took a dramatic turn later in the day. He was nominated to represent the region at this big Well's Fargo conference ... and he won it, beating out about 150,000 other employees. So he gets an all-expenses trip to Orlando/Disney in April. They're giving him free PTO, first class airfare, corporate suite, free food and drink (so long as it's within the Hotel), admission into Disney and all associated parks, the whole nine yards. Oh, and the same deal applies to his guest, which would be me.

We haven't had a vacation since we moved here, so this is pretty awesome. NOT a fan of the flying thing, but hey, I'll probably never get to fly first class again. It's from April 8th to the 11th, but if we want to go a few days early or stay a few days later, we'll get corporate discounts on all the stuff (for those extra days).

Should be fun. Though gods know I don't think I'll handle Florida weather very well after being out of the South for nearly four years now.

But yay! Free stuff! Free first class stuff!

Copying or Homage?

I've noticed a fun kind of trend of late, and that's in people sort of swiping some of my stuff.

There's a Buffy dance video out there to C&C Music Factory's "Gonna Make You Sweat". Some of you may recall my own adventures with that song in a Buffy dance video. Now you might say that using the same song for the same concept isn't stealing, and you'd be absoultely correct. What makes it stealing is a good third of their video with a little white pawprint in the lower right-hand corner – the tag I put on all my video work these days. This is my second time for clip theft. Another occurred when I downloaded and watched a Season 3-themed video to a song I'd never heard before, and was pretty darned surprised to see my footage appearing. It was pre-paw ID tag (and was, in fact, the reason I started doing that), but it was easy to tell because of the transitions between and melding of footage.

Then there's a new trend out there in "borrowing" some of my HTML. You can usually tell when someone's swiped my TagBoard configuration because they have the "Message (emoticons)" bit – the default HTML from TagBoard is "Message (smilies)", but since I hate calling them "smilies", I used my preferred term. So when the layout of it is identical to mine and has my "emoticons" bit, I can pretty much guess where it came from.

Even more than that though is the site design for The Chosen. Which really makes me laugh, because I don't think the site design is all that great. There's this new virtual series in particular that ... well, let's say it looks pretty familiar. I might not've batted an eye at the similarities if it weren't for a few other things.

Thing #1: Check out their credits. Now to be fair, The Chosen does get a little "thank you for the footage" in their disclaimer, but it's not like they asked if we minded before they stole it.

Thing #2: While poking around on their site, I found an image ...... which, irritatingly, I can't seem to find now. Ahh well. It was an image that they had made which borrowed from two of my posters: Dawn from "Inside Out" and Xander & Faith from "Ex Post Facto". How do I know? Around Dawn's face, you can clearly see the edges of the jagged filter I used on the IO poster. As for the EPF one, it thought the soft filter and slight colouring I gave to them looked familiar, but nothing so definitive ... except for I know my Xander patch jobs, and I was staring right at it.

Now I'm not picking on this site. Frankly, I think their layout and graphics is superior to mine. Mine, to me, always look a little unprofessional – I'm a writer, not a web designer or graphics artist. And the issue of theft? I'm surprisingly unirritated by it. Would it have been nice to be asked? Sure, of course it would. And maybe I'm the bigger fool here, but I'm for the most part flattered that people like my work enough to copy it.

Well, at least until someone swipes something I've written. Then I have a hunch I won't be quite so dismissive.

And this one time ...

So I've finally seen American Pie. I think I can honestly say that for the most part, I've missed nothing. The brightest spots were easily Aly (who I must confess, was pretty freaking hilarious) and the ... Shit, I can't remember their names. The really stoic friend who bought the flask for that one guy. She was pretty cool. You can pretty much keep the rest. But I've seen it now, and it was worth it for Aly, so yay. I almost wish I could work "Say my name, bitch!" into The Chosen, but I think that'd be a little more info on Willow and Tara than we're ready to see.

Shipping back Monday. Next up to take its place, according to the randomizer, is The Big Lebowski.

I love Netflix.

What Day is it Again?

I woke up this morning and got out of bed entirely, utterly, unwaveringly convinced that it was Thursday. So much so that Mike began to freak out and thought he had to work today. But no – he's right, I'm wrong. Besides being completely confused now, what I'm really wondering is where the hell did Thursday go?

The Netflix Queue

Because I know everyone is dying to see what's in my Netflix queue, I created a folder for it on DVD Aficionado. 'Tis viewable here. I haven't added any of the recs that came down while I was asleep yet, but I shall review them later today.

I haven't seen anything on this list except for The Dark Crystal, Fried Green Tomatoes, and It, so it's very exciting. And as Mike so generously pointed out, I've only got about 0.06% of their total inventory queued! ...uhm, yay?

Today I shall finish the final two epsiode synopses, do some homework, and then it's time to actually start writing again. I'm terrified.

Recommend Me

Okay folks, in my initial frenzy, I snagged the most readily apparent stuff that was thrown up in my face, but I know I've only barely grazed the surface. So that's where you come in. Recommend to me the movies I must see. Old, new, obscure, mainstream ... What movies will fill that deep cavernous void in my soul if I but watch them?

Return to Flix

After some thought, I'm going to go ahead and sign up for Netflix again. Not that I have any more time to spare, but I can certainly squeeze out a few hours a month to watch some movies, and it's a hell of a lot cheaper than how much I'd spend to buy DVDs. Also part of the problem last time was that Mike and I got into a space where we wanted to watch everything together, and we just don't have that much time all the time. So instead, we'll save certain ones to see together, but aside from that, I'll be just zip through them myself.

I'm excited. I love movies, and Netflix was such a great thing when I had it. This will be good. :)

Common Rotation

After a chat with Wolf last night, I just went and bought the CD for "Big Fear" by Common Rotation. So look for them on Jet Wolf Free Sunnydale as soon as it gets here (should be in two or three days).

And again I want to plug CD Baby, who I love, and not just cuz they're local. They have a hi-YOUGE collection, awesome service, and prices you can't beat – I just bought "Big Fear" for $6. SIX BUCKS. So up yours, Sam Goody. All that, and if you're a returning customer, they give you a free CD with every order. If you're looking for something off the big labels, give 'em a try.

Now I can rest easy.

Apparently, now the US has stopped looking for WMDs in Iraq. Shock and surprise, there never were any. Well whew! Now I can sleep at night! Thanks guys!

Christ, it took us how long to figure out what everybody else already knew? We are a nation of 'tards. < sighs and shakes head>

Mmm. Lists.

I got this from something NSK had up this afternoon. Curious, I followed the link, and was completely sucked in by the ability to make a list online. I'm such a list whore.

Anywhoo, so DVD Aficionado, eh? Lets you catalogue your DVDs. Even when you have a collection that's hardly grown in years like mine. But I could hardly resist, so I made my list too. You may see it here.

I need more DVDs.

I need more money.

I need more time to watch more DVDs.

I have many needs.

Other Angel commentary.

All future Angel episode commentaries will probably be kept to the LJ, just for ease of posting and such. Not that anybody who probably really cares isn't already checking there, but anyway ...

Angel - "City Of"

Feels good to be watching these. I've had the first two seasons sitting on the DVD rack, still all nicely cellophaned and everything since the first big Amazon sale. So I plan to savour them as I will Firefly, the DVDs for which I've had since last Christmas but still haven't been opened (and since I haven't seen the eps since they first aired, t'will be a treat indeed).

I'm not much sure what I'm expecting out of Angel, but I'm looking forward to it all the same. So that said, here were the thoughts I jotted down while watching. Because I really wish I'd done this with Buffy.

I welcome any return comments, but do not spoil me. I command, I beg, I threaten ... It's bad enough that I already know most of the highlights here (consequence of the fandom), so allow me what few surprises remain.

City Of


• Hm, disappointed. I was sort of hoping for the girls to be the vamps, not the guys. I guess I was thinking ala Darla. So given all the damsels in distress here (and throughout the episode), I'm getting that this is not a show about girl power.


• Mike, when Angel flips the vamp onto the car hood: "Oh, and a car alarm doesn't go off? This is NOT LA."


• Hm, where is all this "threat of bloodlust" stuff coming from?


• Heh, they borrowed an "Angel vamps out" scene from Grad Day in the opening. Oo, and lots more vamp out footage from Buffy. Nice. If you've got it, use it.


• So ... Angel's regressed and gone back to how he was in the "Becoming" flashbacks? ...ahh, okay, he's having blood issues from draining Buffy. Okay, that makes a kind of sense. I'm glad they addressed this, it was irritating me.


• Boy, you know Cordy's voice the second you hear it. And I find my interest level suddenly soaring ...... aaaaaand then Cordy walks away and it dips again.


• These flashes between scenes gets annoying, does it stop any time soon?


• Poor Cordy. Even when she moves to a new town, she becomes a victim.


• LOL - "You're a VAMPIRE." "No I'm not."


• Wow, the vamp makeup in Angel bizarrely sucks as compared to Buffy. How'd that happen?


• So we've got Angel taking bullets to the chest, but he's still able to heft up Cordy, jump a few stories and then run like hell. He takes a bullet to the pinky from Darla, and he starts crying like a baby. He's grown.


• Saw Angel shoving this guy out the window coming from a mile away.

All in all, not bad. Didn't capture me anywhere near as much as WttH did, but then, this is a cast of three whole characters. It was well done though, and even them telling me the stuff I already know didn't get too tiresome. I sort of wish the "big ending" hadn't been so obvious (at least to me), but c'est la vie. I'll say this much though: I'm damned glad Cordy's on this show. If I'd been stuck with just Angel for the next 109 episodes, we'd have some problems.

The list progresses.

8. Return to "Bored Now". I've been really, really bad about that.

That took me longer than I thought it would, but it's done now, and I am pleased.

I think tonight calls for snuggling on the couch and beginning Angel. So look for commentary as we wind our way through the series.

That side, I think tomorrow (after homework) I shall see about getting the rest of the synopses done - I only have six left, then I can call it a day. Then that aside, it'll probably be time to write again. Fingers crossed I'm not too far out of the swing of it. <gnaws lip>

I feel good though, getting stuff caught up. It's nice being on top of things again, even if only for a few minutes.

JW's To-Do List (again)

Between yesterday and today, I think I've pretty well finalized something which I thought was going to take about a week's worth of work. So yay me. But between that and the fact that I have pretty much all the mid-level details figured out for the season, I'm way ahead of schedule. So to help myself keep organized (or to have a list to ignore. I like lists.), I present another edition of my To-Do list.

1. Finish the synopses for S8. I only have through 8x13 right now. I suck.


2. Catch up on the episode reviews from the Pack. We began this last night, so I'll be posting my notes for OOM,OOS later this afternoon.


3. Watch Angel S1-S4. Really fast. For research.


4. Correlated to the above, order S3 & S4 from Amazon.


5. Play more KOTOR 2. Okay, so that's just for me.


6. Pull some more clips for JWFSD. Curse the lack of dialogue-less Chrisophe Beck work after S3!


7. Tidy the house. I still have birthday presents from September on the floor by the entertainment center.


8. Return to "Bored Now". I've been really, really bad about that.

And that's enough of that for now. I give me about two weeks to do all of the above. <clicks stopwatch> Okay, go!

The Logic Train Derailed

I just smacked the spikey end of a meat tenderizer hammer thingie into the palm of my hand, then had the gall to be surprised when it hurt.

<beats head> CONCENTRATE

Today I must, Must, MUST get the rest of the character arcs hammered out. It's starting to bug the shit out of me that I don't have them done yet. Buffy, check. Willow, check. Xander, Giles, Tara, Dawn, Kennedy, check. It's just Faith. And I don't think it's because it's particularly difficult (though obviously Faith was left in worse shape than anyone else last season), I think it's that I want to make sure I get it just right.

In the meantime, I've ripped "Music for Elevators" and the little bonus CD Amber sent with the Triangle Tara figure and am uploading them to the JWFSD playlist now. Actual extractions from the eps will have to wait until after I've gotten some more plotting done.

Also, my stupid confidence is being ... uhm, stupid today. <curls into ball and rocks> The voices. Are LOUD. Getting the arcs completely complete will be good for me. Very good.

<rocks some more>

"Ah'm on th' air."

"Well get off the air, you cracker."

Me on the airwaves makes a bold return with Jet Wolf Free Sunnydale – all Buffy music, all the time. I've only uploaded my barebones collection thus far (and still, it's about 18 hours worth), but over the next couple of days, I hope to go through the episodes and grab some more stuff. OMWF, Chris Beck, Rob Duncan, and just about everyone who ever showed up at The Bronze in 7 years.

Come for the clog dancing, stay for the Dingoes. Do it now.