(no subject)

[bironic]

The following items are all true.

1. I sent the tentacle fic link to my mom. She has been asking about it since I first blurted that I was working on it. This is going to be interesting.

2. Some professors took our class out for dim sum on Monday in Chinatown. Mm. I finally found out that the jiggly, seared white rectangles I loved when my friend Ellen and I went for dim sum a couple of years ago in New York are not fish-related at all but in fact turnip cakes. And then tonight was one of the bimonthly dinners in my residence, catered from a Thai place across the river. Also mm. It more than made up for the canteloupe I bought this week, which has managed to be both under- and overripe.

3. muskratjamboree attendees will start to gather in town tomorrow night. It's going to be nice to see a couple of friends/acquaintances again over the next few days, and hopefully to meet some of the people on the list whose stories I've loved for a long time. Though I'm intensely ambivalent about one attendee who once insulted me without ever having met me, which still hurts, even years later. I've been to cons both fannish and non-, but never a slash con. I hope it will be fun. I hope having to miss a handful of panels because of school-related things won't leave me too far behind in the socializing.

4. They showed Twilight on the flight to Florida, so I finally got to see it, and without paying anything, which was even better. Unpopular fannish opinion: I had fun watching it. You know how I said True Blood was like the Mary Sue fanfic I wrote when I was 13, except with more gore and black humor? Well, Twilight was the Mary Sue fanfic I wrote when I was 13, except my vampire wasn't in her biology class, and the romantic culmination of the story didn't take place at the prom. Other than that, all the way down to the vampire being telepathic but unable to read Mary Sue. It was awesome.

People have complained a lot about the book and the movie. I'm sure I don't want to read the book. The writing sounds terrible, and if what ignazwisdom tells me is right, she didn't realize she was writing a Mary Sue story, which has to be torture to witness. But at least for the movie, I think it has to be taken for what it is: a Mary Sue vampire fantasy for girls high school-aged or younger. And I liked it for that, because I've never lost my fondness for Mary Sue vampire fantasies. It wasn't great—sometimes it was patently ridiculous—but it could have been worse.

My biggest complaint about the development of the love story was that it moved too quickly once Bella figured out what was going on. From fascination, she fell in love too fast; she went straight to having no fear of him; she immediately wanted to be changed and have eternal life at his side. I'd have liked to see more of the in-between stages, the unsureness, the working-through. And there wasn't any neck-biting! Come on!

I liked the bonus slashy scene of C-whoever bending over mortal Edward in the hospital. He was an interesting character—deciding that his selfish love was worth the possibility of them killing many more people once he turned them.

I also liked the 'family' swiftly prepping for the hunt in their garage. Arming for the battle. Being experts, and powerful, and sure. Yep.

And yeah, Bella was a Mary Sue, and everyone she met on her first day of school seemed to be instantly fascinated with her. At least by the middle of the movie she was hanging out with the same group of friends, instead of the whole school.

Not okay: the unselfconscious theme of the native population being "in touch" with the vampire legend. And showing the father ready to enjoy two six-packs of beer, as if alcoholism among native populations weren't a serious problem. Jesus.

Edward was not hot. Sorry. He was more attractive in Harry Potter. Somehow movie-makers always manage to make good-looking actors look bad when they fix them up in vampire makeup. See also: Brad Pitt in Interview with the Vampire. Anyway. Not hot, not magnetic, zip, nada. Oh well. Also, he came across as supremely creepy, in a stalker/druggie watching her while she sleeps crazed possessiveness sort of way. And what the hell was he waiting for while she was lying on the ground, seizing, in the climactic ballet studio scene?

I didn't mind Bella's blankness at first—I think it worked for her character before meeting Edward—but as cryptictac warned, the two of them did look nauseated or constipated in a few scenes that were supposed to be charged with sexual tension. I saw Kristen Stewart quoted somewhere when the movie was coming out and she seemed very savvy about her role, saying she needed to be a conduit for girls watching the film to connect with Edward. Putting aside the problem of emphasizing the romantic connection above all else, I think that was a smart thing to understand, and I went into the movie appreciating her awareness. The only thing was that Bella needed to be more expressive after she uncovered Edward's secret; he, at least, loosened up physically and emotionally once she knew.

Also: vampires playing baseball, WTF.



5. I wanted to write a mimic poem like Thirteen Ways of Looking at Rodney for National Poetry Month today, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

…Can you tell I'm avoiding my work?

Comments

[zulu.livejournal.com]

Man, avoiding work. Why is everything else so much more interesting when you're doing that?

Also, welcome to the ranks of Those Who Let Their Moms Read Their Fic! We are a noble group and true.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Why is everything else so much more interesting when you're doing that?

I don't know! I worked fine this morning, but I've fizzled out.

My mom's been reading my stuff for a couple of years now, but there is something very different about sharing tentacle kink!

[bell]

I'd wondered last night if you were procastinating, what with our Tyson-SGA comment thread. >3

I loved the Twilight movie, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. ♥ It was silly, beautiful, and easy to get caught up in. ♥ Not everything we like has to be High Brow, right?

Am totally jealous you can show your mom fic and of the convention. I wonder if the person you're referring to is a certain someone, but this is an unlocked post so I shan't specify. Blargh!, to that, anyway.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

(If you're thinking it's this one (http://bironic.livejournal.com/103768.html?thread=1431640#t1431640), you would be correct.)

Not everything we like has to be High Brow, right?

Ha ha, no. If you knew some more of the movies and TV shows I love. Just, people were railing against Twilight.

[bell]

(Yuuuuuuuuuuup, that's the one.)

Sometimes I think the foaming-at-mouth over Twilight is for the sheer fun of HATING SOMETHING TOGETHER, an activity which has its charms. ^_^

[theninth.livejournal.com]

I sent the tentacle fic link to my mom.

Are you doing the internal dance of "I want to know what she thinks. OMG I don't want to talk to my mom about this!"?

The first time I sent some of the more expicit stuff to my mom I made her swear that we would never speak of it. I think I'm more afraid that she'll have pointers. I'm still one of the ones who likes to pretend their parents never had sex.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it was like that when I sent her "A Helping Hand." This time, I think maybe it would be nice if she forgets to click the link. :)

[theninth.livejournal.com]

You will spend forever being plagued with the idea that your mom will be wondering where you get your ideas and is on the verge of asking you "how do you know that'll work?"

My mom also found it easier to swear around me and tell dirty jokes. It's great that she considers me an adult and a peer, but jeeze! D:

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Eep. In Buffyspeak, parents and sex are unmixy things.

[chocolate-frapp.livejournal.com]

I loooooooooooove dim sum. I could shoot up dim sum.
I would never ever in a million years let my mom read my fics, she doesn't like House and all the dirty humor in my fics would make her have a stroke.

[nicocoer.livejournal.com]

When I was in High School,the rule was I could do what I liked online so long as I would be willing to let my mother read it if she wanted to.

After my brother read some Harry/Draco porn aloud over my shoulder, she never did follow through on the threat.

The stalker thing? that was in the books, too, and is what has the feminists up n arms. Yeah, um, a possessive emotionally abuse guy is not the perfect guy, sorry. D: On the other hand, I thought it was HILARIOUS.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, my reaction to "I like to watch you sleep" would be less "awwww" than *run away!*

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hah, your post made me finally hit google to clarify a point. I've called those things 'turnip cakes' for years. My husband insisted they were 'radish cakes'. Turns out he's (technically) right. I hate that. And I'm still going to call them turnip cakes XD

Edit: my html sucks.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I like the part about steaming it until it becomes a gelatinous mass.

You're both right, then, aren't you? One's the more common term, and one's closer to the original.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

You're both right, then, aren't you?

Sorry? No, means nothing to me XD

Also, I can't believe you let your mom read your fic. I wouldn't let anyone read my fic. Except, you know, everyone in fandom. Hee.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

It was all downhill from the night I lost enough inhibition to jokingly slash a couple of contestants on a rock-star reality show we were watching.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

When I was in my teens I pretty much came home and waved a slash zine (K/S, explicit, with drawings) in front of my mum's face, and, as I recall, read her selected passages. It was an attempt to shock, but it didn't really work XD

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

All I know about Twilight, besides the fact that it's a terrible, terrible, sue!fic/film, is what I learned on Cafepress. Apparently Twilight's vampires are sparkly, which I can't exactly disapprove of.

My biggest complaint about the development of the love story was that it moved too quickly once Bella figured out what was going on. From fascination, she fell in love too fast; she went straight to having no fear of him; she immediately wanted to be changed and have eternal life at his side.

She's a teenager, isn't she? Sounds normal enough to me.

Not okay: the unselfconscious theme of the native population being "in touch" with the vampire legend. And showing the father ready to enjoy two six-packs of beer, as if alcoholism among native populations weren't a serious problem. Jesus.

Portrayal of indigenous peoples is one of those things that hasn't improved in the last 50 years anywhere near as much as, say, gender representation in our media. I read a story in the Globe the other day about folks who were on a project to change that.

I've been to cons both fannish and non-, but never a slash con.

What have they been like? The only con I've ever attended is Vividcon, which is, from what I understand, not representative of the typical convention. muskratjamboree looks similar in size and (I'm guessing) gender ratio to VVC, though. Perhaps next year I'll go, what with it being right in my backyard, so to speak.