Ramblings and randomness

[bironic]

Guys. I am so tired I feel drunk. I’ve never actually been drunk, but I imagine it’s like this. Babbly and languid.

So, random stuff:

It snowed overnight. Not as pretty as the Valentine’s Day ice storm, which coated all the trees around here so they glittered in the sun, but it was just the right sort of heavy wet snow that makes you long for snow days when you could stay home to build snowmen and slide down the hill on a makeshift sled and come inside for hot chocolate. I, uh, went to work instead.

We have a new IT manager who looks like a cross between Kyle MacLachlan and my college thesis advisor, a young-looking thirty- or forty-something with brown hair prematurely graying at the sides and a goatee consisting of a small moustache and little triangle of what my co-worker has charmingly termed “chin pubes” and these green eyes that he always complements with vests and sweaters of the same color. Also he is quite competent at his job, which is attractive in itself. And it turns out he’s a newbie Firefly fan, by way of Serenity; I’ve lent him my DVDs to round out his downloaded collection of episodes. He likes “Out of Gas” best so far. Good taste. We’ve chatted about sci fi and vampires too. I was all set to propose to him, when, alas, I was informed by my boss that he’s married (no ring, though, and yes, I glanced at his hand on his first day in the office, not because I’m desperate but because I liked him and wanted in my masochism to confirm the theory that all the good ones are married) with children -- one of whom is 18, so I guess that gray wasn’t premature after all.

Got a haircut over the weekend that I like very much. At just above the shoulder, it’s as short as it’s been since I first lopped ~12" of it off three years ago. Just a simple trim with a single layer near the bottom for easier maintenance, but what a difference: I can wear my hair down again, the curls are behaving themselves for a change, and it looks sufficiently snazzy for professional-type things I need to be doing soon. And my head feels lighter.

While I was waiting for my walk-in appointment, I flipped through the March issue of Harper’s Bazaar to ogle the pretties and found some mouth-dryingly gorgeous shots of Katie Holmes in menswear.






I don't know about you, but I think there's something extra hot about androgyny. Katie Holmes can apparently be added to the list of gorgeous women who can pull off dressing as men.

What else. Oh! Going to meet moonlash_cc and pun next month! Along with many other people I do not know. They graciously allowed me to invite myself along to a trip to an all-male performance of Twelfth Night at the BAM, which can’t possibly be anything but fun.

Hm. I always thought the first LJ-person I’d meet would be thewlisian_afer. Shall we make you next on the list?

Have been watching MI-5/Spooks over the past few weeks. Made it through all of Season Two, and will soon be starting on Season One. Yes, you read that right. Darn library only had the second season on the shelf when I showed up to borrow the first. In a fair world, frequent patrons would have greater borrowing privileges. Well anyway, I’m really enjoying it, particularly the guest appearance of my beloved Alexander Siddig and the armrest-gripping tension that comes when the operatives get into particularly sticky situations and Harry’s ridiculous sour lemon faces and some pretty good acting from Matthew Macfayden, who will always be Prince Hal to me. catilinarian recommended watching the first season in order starting with the pilot to maximize the wonder that is Hugh Laurie’s Jools Siviter, so I shall soon be following her expert advice.

What got me curious about MI-5 was the gorgeous, slashy, explicit, torture-ridden hurt/comfort spy!fic series “Tiger Trap” by tigertrapped, whom some of you may know from her pair of very dark Tritter-era House stories involving a taser gun; “Tiger Trap” is (very loosely) based on MI-5, with lots of OCs taking center stage, including the hero, Max. I’ve been meaning to mention it here since I got completely hooked a few weeks ago. This stuff is seriously good, people. If you like darker slash or epic adventures or young English men or spies or unconventional love stories, and especially if, like me, you enjoy your hurt/comfort with an extra dose of hurt and a generous helping of kinky and angsty sex, and heroes who bounce back again and again from unimaginable physical and mental pain, go take a look over there. And be sure to ask her to friend you so you can read the really juicy bits. I, er, definitely went straight to those first and have been skipping around the rest of the chapters ever since.

Oh, I guess I should warn that it's technically a work in progress? since new chapters are still being added. But it doesn't read like one; each section concludes cleanly enough that you could stop reading at any point and feel fulfilled.

Right. Somewhat delirious. Bedtime. Here's hoping for an improved rest of the week.

Comments

[roga.livejournal.com]

1. I am so tired I feel drunk. I’ve never actually been drunk, but I imagine it’s like this. Babbly and languid.

Hee! You know hoe on your userinfo page you say you're like SBP Remus? That's who this sounds like :-) But I'm with you. I've slept approximately nine hours since Thursday night, and it's - Tuesday morning? - kinda lost track.

2. Wow. Katie Holmes looks hotter here than... I've ever seen her.

3. The closest thing I've seen to an all-male production was Michael Bourne's adaptation of Swan Lake. From the first row. It was the sexiest ballet I have ever seen, just... amazing. (And, apparently, it's possible to dance ballet in leather pants.)

4. You know about pwcorgigirl's House/MI-5 crossover, right?

[catilinarian.livejournal.com]

I'm so with you on Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake. I was up in the nosebleed seats, so I'm jealous.

[roga.livejournal.com]

I was sitting right above the orchestra, and I could smell the dancers' sweat. Heaven. :-)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

1. Hee, I'm happy to have sounded like Remus there. Yay for sleep deprivation. In the sense of not. Feeling better now?

2. Um, YES. With the hair and the jaw and the suit and the ring. I wasn't sure about posting those out of the blue, but other people seem to be drooling appropriately. :)

3. catilinarian and I were just talking about Matthew Bourne's "Swan Lake," how she loved it and how I'm jealous and waiting for it to come back around here. Thank you muchly for YouTube links! I never thought to look on there for clips. Pretty.

4. Yes, and it's on my to-read list, although... *small voice* it's gen, which I do like, but which puts it lower on the list than more of tigertrapped's story. *g*

[roga.livejournal.com]

1. Mildly. If there was ever a week for me to go back in time and do over and actually exercise self-discipline in how I managed my time, this would be it.

4. Totally understandable :-) It's multi-fandom ad VERY gen, and I only knew two fandoms from there, reading it because I'm a crossover junkie. I admit to skimming bits here and there.

[nightdog-barks.livejournal.com]

I don't know about you, but I think there's something extra hot about androgyny.

Heh. This is the first picture I ever saw that made my brain accept a new version of androgynous beauty. It's famous now, but believe me, when the issue hit the newstands it was quite shocking.

Tiger Trap sounds very interesting, although the only MI-5 experience I have is through pwcorgigirl's crossover. I'll definitely check it out.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ah, I remember you talking about that shot! It's a shame they didn't get a guy to wear the dress, but K.D.'s sure lookin' smart in the suit.

Warning: If you're the type who gets writer's block from reading a story similar to something you're working on, you may want to wait a bit before checking out "Tiger Trap." Otherwise, dig in! I'd love to chat with you about it.

[silsbee329.livejournal.com]

hijacks your comment thread Thank you for reminding me/us of that amazing kd lang cover! She is truly gorgeous. ;)

[tigertrapped.livejournal.com]

I'm up early here and this was waiting for me - thank ou ever so much. It's one of the most generous and whole-hearted recs I've ever received, and you chose to highlight the bits that generally make readers insert caveats (e.g. beware, some of this stuff is very dark and uncomfortable reading), which makes me especially grateful and happy to have you on my flist. Not that I'm a feedback whore (although that too, obviously) but now you're watching Spooks and loving Tom and about to see Jools in action, you might like to check out Groundbait which is a long slashy, dark, angsty torturous fic mainly featuring Jools and Tom but also Ruth, Harry and co. I can't wait to hear what you make of Hugh as Jools in season one..!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*g* You're very welcome! Some of those chapters, there, it's as if you've written right to my kinks -- Michael with the oil and the Ronnie/Max/other guy and Max/Adam/Gideon and the water bottle in "Hold" and the uncensored first chapter and -- yeah. I did read a small part of "Groundbait" (where Tom gets felt up & beaten up by the driver and Adam gets dumped at Harry's place) but want to "meet" Jools before reading the whole thing.

[tigertrapped.livejournal.com]

Good call on "Groundbait". *g* You might like the threesome chapters in Tiger Trap, with Max/Adam/Glenn. Reprise is the first one...

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh! Whoops, in my last comment I meant to say Max/Adam/Glenn and not Max/Adam/Gideon. Love 'em. Love the clause "sent his stare scattering to the four corners of the room," for one. I really need to leave you some feedback on the rest of the parts I've read.

[leiascully.livejournal.com]

Oof. Being so tired it's like you're drunk is sometimes worse than actually being drunk, because you can't avert the sleephangover.

Sounds like life is going well for you otherwise, which is good. I really want to see Spooks, but alas, I can't seem to get my hands on it.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hey there! Long time no chat. My fault; sorry. Life actually kind of sucks lately, but who wants to hear about that? So I thought it was time for a post with the highlights, which the mood facilitated. Heh. Sleep hangover indeed. *rubs eyes* I wouldn't have been able to see Spooks either except our library recently picked up the first two seasons, which turned out to be great -- except of course the second season ends in a cliffhanger!

[leiascully.livejournal.com]

It's not so bad to hear about when life sucks. Everyone's life sucks sometimes. But I am glad that you have updated!

[crazypalefreak.livejournal.com]

I love it when women wear men's suits. I think it looks ridiculously hot.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Sometimes it works for me, sometimes it doesn't. I remember a magazine spread where Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase from Buffy -- can't remember offhand if you're a fan) wore a series of men's suits and hats and things, and it didn't do anything for me at all. But these two shots of Katie Holmes were absolutely the hottest from all the images in the shoot, the rest of which had her in dresses and things.

[catilinarian.livejournal.com]

Which Henry IV was Matthew MacFayden in? Was it on stage, or a movie?

And Katie Holmes looks... gahh. STUNNING.

I'm always jealous of women who look hot as men or as women. The flatmate can pull it off scarily well - remember her Hephaestion costume for the housewarming party? You looked pretty damned good yourself, there, B.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

She can indeed, and I'm jealous too. Heh -- thanks. The Byron costume was great fun, and yours was lovely as well. Everyone cleaned up nicely for that party. :)

It was the National Theatre's series of two-night productions of Henry IV with David "Filch" Bradley as Henry IV and Michael "Dumbledore" Gambon as Falstaff. Got to see it while visiting my sister while she was studying in London in ... May 2005? Really spectacular performance.

[catilinarian.livejournal.com]

Oh, right! I remembered the enduring horror of Michael Gambon, but forgot Matthew MacFayden was in it, as well.

[thewlisian-afer.livejournal.com]

Mmmm, androgyny. This icon is new and I've not had an opportunity to use it yet! Thanks for giving me a chance to! XD

And, yes, I'm totally next on the list. I just did a meme the other day where I mentioned needing to meet you soon!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

So you did. If you're ever in the city on a weeknight or weekend, you must let me know. Otherwise (gasp) we'll actually have to do some planning. :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

*calls back from a great distance* Thanks, can't talk about it at the moment, etc. You've probably seen for yourself already, but Tiger Trap is really only very loosely based on MI-5 and focuses more on the OCs. Hope that's not disappointing. (The story itself certainly isn't, IMO.)

Mm. I don't remember ever having much hoar-frost around here. It looks very pretty. It's also more spiky and milky white, where the accumulation after an ice storm is clear and smooth like all the twigs have been dipped in crystal.

Haven't seen the new James Bond yet or even photos of Eva Green in it, but will check out. I do recall appreciating promo shots of Tilda Swinton with very short hair and a suit as Gabriel in Constantine, if that was at all similar.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

P.S. You wrote over at tigertrapped's:

I've watched the show here, and I must say, what has often crossed my mind was, "There really isn't enough dark, kinky, h/c fanfic to go with this."

Do you have links to some of the fic you have read?

[purridot.livejournal.com]

*wails* No, that was the whole problem! And there was Tom, just begging to be tortured. I don't know how the writers could resist it.

Mind you, at the time I went looking for fanfic the only resource I knew of was ff.net; LJ wasn't around back then. I can't wait to dive into TT's stuff.

On another note, I *think* it is you who liked the Talarians? If so, I recently read a McShep h/c about winged aliens (inadvertently) torturing the boys. It was written from the (not evil) alien POV, and I thought it was quite interesting. But if you're not the Talarian fan I've probably just squicked you out, sorry :(

[bironic.livejournal.com]

No, you're right, I'm a big Talarians fan. Not for the wings per se, but for the sci fi, particularly the alien torture. House fandom does suffer from a decided lack of "Aliens made them do it" scenarios, and Wilson suffers so prettily. :)

McKay/Sheppard link(s), plz.

I don't know how there couldn't be a cache of MI-5/Spooks hurt/comfort fic out there. There must be! Although tigertrapped will have spoiled me for it, I'm sure. You should follow her advice above and check out the non-"Tiger Trap" fic "Groundbait" at some point: Adam, Tom and Jools.

[purridot.livejournal.com]

I know -- WTF is up with that?

The McShep (http://community.livejournal.com/mckay_sheppard/) LJ comm is fun, and moreover, beautifully indexed -- check out the highly organized tags on the right!

The story that reminded me of Talarians is Insect Hole (http://lavvyan.livejournal.com/96558.html) and its sequel Land Mines (http://lavvyan.livejournal.com/96973.html). The first one is the best, I think, but I am grateful for the second.

I'm so glad you recommended tigertrapped because it is so wonderful to discover a brilliant fandom you had no idea existed (or just wished it did).

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Are you enjoying it? I'm so glad.

Loved "Insect Hole." Loved. Thank you.

And the McShep community is indeed beautifully indexed! I skimmed down the hurt/comfort tags this morning and saved some stories to read. Some of them were just gorgeous. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. :)

[bironic.livejournal.com]

I totally sympathize on the spoiler avoidance. While Tiger Trap is, as I've mentioned above, only very loosely based on the series, it's possible you might learn something along the way that would spoil something on the show for you, like a character death or a character not-death (you know? where you know a character won't die in a particular episode on a show, so there's no suspense there?). I hope you like the show if/when you do start watching, and the fic if/when you do start reading, and anyway it's not like we're going to talk before then so I'll go have my lunch now. :)

P.S. Yay Gorey.

[pun.livejournal.com]

Yes! I heard you're coming to the play which is so very fab! I've also been told that we're going to get together sooner too, so that we don't frighten you! (heheheh) Hooray!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hee! Yes, Moonlash was kind enough to offer to round up some of you beforehand so I'm not all pathetically intimidated by a cluster of squeeing women on the night of. I'm excited, not just for the play but to finally meet you. I remember last year after the Shakespeare thing you mentioned these get-togethers, but then you disappeared for ever and I despaired. But no more. :)

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

Androgyny is most definitely gorgeous, to the point where I'm tempted to see Constantine a second time just for Tilda Swinton, even though the whole thing is utter drek.

Pity about the IT manager--but there's still another Firefly fan about, which must be a plus.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yes, truly, but also yes, you are right, even though he says he wasn't a BtVS/Angel fan. I have a good track record with IT people when it comes to shared media interests -- lots of sci fi fans in the techie field, no news there.

Worth seeing Constantine (for free, from the library) for Tilda, then, would you say? You know, in another two years when I get around to watching it.

[thirdblindmouse.livejournal.com]

For free, and no need to rush, but yes. It's one of those movies that are dreadful not even in a particularly fun way, but Tilda Swinton plays the archangel Gabriel beautifully.

[silsbee329.livejournal.com]

Love those Katie pics, especially the first one. Hats can really bring out the sexy in some people, and clearly she is one of them.

We just got a rather foxy new guy as well. (I forgot to check his ring finger. Must remember to do that!)

And that's funny about MI-5 - I ordered season one for our library last week! :D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I definitely sat there in the salon staring at that page with the hat shot for a long time, wondering if the woman next to me who kept glancing at me had any idea why. For me it was the hat and also the hair and the mouth, and the shadow on the cheekbone, and the black and white.

Did you? How lovely. Eye candy at the workplace is hardly ever a bad thing. And hooray for being in a position where you can decide what to order for your collection. Our library is pretty great about that too; they have a whole patron request system and they've accepted my requests for some really obscure and unconventional items such as a translated French comic. Next up on my acquisition request list are Blackadder and Jeeves & Wooster, because I'd like to see the episodes of the former that I've missed and I've never seen the latter but I don't particularly want to buy them.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Hee - I know what that's like, although I'm not sure I would actually attempt to post while in that state.

and little triangle of what my co-worker has charmingly termed “chin pubes”

I'd call that 'bum fluff', personally. Elegant, no?

I'm not sure whether I've raved about this before, but the best Shakespeare production I have ever seen was an all-male production of Hamlet in a quasi-traditional style - raised thrust stage, bare set, minimal props, minimal costuming (we're talking a crown and a wraparound skirt for Gertrude) and a free-roaming (but mostly sitting on the floor) audience. It was Shakespeare as actual entertainment, and it managed to be both the most fun and the most moving performance I've ever seen. Love.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ooh. Sounds very intimate, and probably effective too, drawing you into the performance by engaging your imagination from the costumes on up. I've been to some small productions in Boston and London (but strangely, not in NY) where the audience is on a level with the actors on a bare-bones set, and they have a completely different feel to bigger productions in bigger theaters, but I found for many of them that instead of becoming easily absorbed in the play, I was actually more aware of myself as a spectator in the smaller, quieter space. But when they work, oh boy, do they work. Shake you to the core.

Antipodean bum fluff? Heh. If I called them "bum fluff" -- well, not that I call them "chin pubes" either -- or anything, for that matter -- just about everyone at my office would stare uncomprehendingly. Although it wouldn't be the first time....

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Antipodean bum fluff?

Only if he were from the Antipodes ;)

Sounds very intimate

Oh, you have no idea - I mean, the king and queen were pelted with rubbish when they entered (there were food stalls along one wall). I distinctly remember Gertrude (played by Hugo Weaving, who was amazing) catching an apple in mid-air and throwing it back with a disapproving frown. It wasn't even a theatre, it was actually one of the rehearsal rooms, so there was that whole informal air to it. And the whole Hamlet soliloquy with the "shall I kill him?" had people yelling "yes, do it!" and his "no" was roundly booed. The scenes with Hamlet and Gertrude and Hamlet and Laertes were just shocking because they were so very, I don't know, fierce and right there. It was just amazing - I've really never seen anything like it since. Hence the ramble *g*

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Ramble on. Sounds fantastic. And Hugo Weaving! As a woman! Am twice as jealous now. He came over here last year for a very short run of... The Seagull? with Cate Blanchett? at the BAM, where Twelfth Night is being performed, but it sold out before I heard about it. They're also having Ian McKellen for a few days this fall in King Lear, I believe.

The weirdest Hamlet I ever saw was in a college production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, where he dressed all in black and wore a pink feather boa and lisped strongly as he fluttered about the stage waving his arms like a ballerina for no discernable reason other than to be a "character." Bizarre.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

That is... weird. I mean, I guess that R&G's Hamlet is a bit odd in their eyes, but that's sort of going over into farce!

My, Australians get everywhere, don't they? *g* I hope your production is good - if nothing else, I'm sure it'll be interesting. Ian McKellen would be very cool to see in that role.

And Hugo Weaving! As a woman!

I think this production is pretty much where I became a fan of his (this was in the late 80s, so before he hit international recognition). He wasn't at all camp, he was just a guy playing Gertrude. I think the masculinity brought a different dynamic - the scene where Hamlet forces Gertrude to compare the lockets, for example, he was physically very harsh and rough with her in a way that perhaps might have been less intense with a woman in the role, because it would have had a greater aspect of him bullying her rather than a display of his passion. It heightened the emotion, in a way. I'm not sure I can explain it, but you probably either get it or you don't *g*

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

I think this production is pretty much where I became a fan of his

I'm turning green with envy! I absolutely adore Hugo Weaving. The first thing I saw him in was The Interview and I was totally hooked: not only was he a terrific actor, but he was incredibly handsome in an odd kind of way. I would have loved to have seen this production (or any stage production in which he appeared).

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Someone's mentioned The Interview to me before (was it you?) although I haven't yet seen it. I loved him in Proof, which I highly recommend if you haven't seen it. He plays a blind photographer, which sounds bizarre, but is actually quite a brilliant concept.

I also saw him on stage in Arcadia, but I didn't enjoy that anywhere near as much *g*. Judging from bironic's comment he might do something in NY again sometime!

[bironic.livejournal.com]

He wasn't at all camp, he was just a guy playing Gertrude.

Oh, I didn't expect he would've played it campy. Not at all like in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (or were you the one who hadn't seen that?). And I do think I know what you mean about the different dynamic where physical action is involved between two men instead of a man and a woman, where there's all the built-in gender charge.

[daasgrrl.livejournal.com]

Oh, the indignity *g*

Yeah, I still haven't seen Priscilla - I think I watched the beginning on TV once but at the time it didn't do anything for me. It's now become a musical, in case you haven't heard!

[lima-sierra.livejournal.com]

Hello! I arrived here from your comments on tigertrapped's LJ about Tiger Trap and have been enjoying your journal entries. Mind if I friend you? I'm also a fan of Tiger's dark, slashy, angsty Spooks fics, in fact they were what dragged me into the LJ world, so I have her to blame/thank for my new addiction *g*. Her version of Adam is to die for.

Androgny is VERY hot, I'm with you 100% on that one. Those photos of Katie Holmes made me revise my normally low opinion of her looks. She's foxy as hell. Shane in The L Word has got to top the androgny table, though.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Hello and welcome! Your "blame/thank" comment made me laugh. I haven't figured out yet whether LJ's a blessing or a curse either.

I've always thought Katie Holmes was cute (independent of her reputation), but yeah, these shots blew the others I'd seen out of the water. And, yes, Shane! I've only seen a few episodes of The L Word but she is possibly my favorite for that very reason. As for who tops the list... hm. Usually I'm a fan of men and boys who look like women and girls -- David Bowie and glam rock (Jonathan Rhys-Meyers in Velvet Goldmine!) and Cillian Murphy in Breakfast on Pluto (http://bironic.livejournal.com/12475.html) and others I can't remember at the moment -- so it's hard to come up with an answer from the other direction.