An Odyssey of Dreams

I should be working, but people are frustrating me by being unclear as to how many resources I have to finish my experiments, so I'll just update instead.

Life continues, and I'm still in love with grad school to an unholy degree, despite surviving a rather unpleasant two weeks work-wise, all things considered. I did well on my exam, and general well in my other class, so life's not too shabby.

lodessa was here last week, so we did typical New England things like apple picking, typical girlie things like watching the second part of Pride and Prejudice (the BBC version) when I had a really bad day, and typical fandom things like writing Veronica Mars meta. We might even get our act together enough to post it when she gets back to her coast. The P&P had the unexpected side-effect that Doyle's interested in going as Mr. Darcy for Halloween, which I'm totally all for.

lodessa also read the current (let's say 1.3ish) draft of Glamour and gave me feedback I'd not heard before - like how the chapter I think sucks rocks is actually fairly suspenseful, and how I need to make Our Heroine more accessible in the latter parts of the novel. (To be fair to my other editors - I'd not heard that yet 'cause they hadn't gotten that far.) Also, she said the pacing was good, and that's possibly the best thing I'd heard on the subject. We spent the car ride to the train station dissecting, and I'm really excited to go and edit things more... when I have the time. Thanksgiving, maybe?

( TV Watching - VM, Dr. Who, BSG, B5, and why Buffy isn't the best thing since sliced bread - why is sliced bread so cool, anyway? )

I can't believe I forgot these!

Londo Mollari - Babylon 5 is Londo's story. We are so easily caught up in the fantastic struggle between humans and the minbari, everyone v. the Shadows, the Shadows v. the Vorlons, and everyone against everyone else that we forget whose voice welcomed us on board the 2.5 million tons of spinning metal, 5 miles long and located in neutral space.

Epic love stories like Sheridan and Delenn's, awesome space battles, and Arthurian myth merging with Lord of the Rings in physically-plausible (at least for the humans) science fiction all served as window dressing for the fall of our tragic hero.

Because as he rises, he falls. And his attempts at good and right for his people result in tragedy, unto his very death (no spoiler there; Londo tells us how he dies in the first episode of the first season).

It is still a tale of a patriot, a believer. A man who tried to do right and had his every happiness stripped from him in the doing.

It is also the best thing to ever grace the small screen. For a few moments, the new Battlestar Galactica came close, but its fall has made B5's legacy abundantly clear.

The story of Londo Mollari has brought tears to my eyes and had a profound effect on my upbringing. Debate, discussion, and elaborate storytelling found home in my houselhold 1993-1998. It forged a bond between my father, my sister, and I when, as an angsty, lonely teen, I was drifting away.

Londo taught me that means are just as important as the ends, but unto his last, one may still redeem himself.

Lawrence of Arabia - When I went over ellen_kushner's house back in December to help her recover data and reinstall software, both she and Delia Sherman highly recommended this movie. At the time it was playing at the Kendall, and the discussion centered on how it was a move made to be seen on as big a screen as possible.

Alas, with applications and the holiday season, I couldn't see it then. But through the magic of Netflix it arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago. And, after convincing my friends that their ridiculously huge HDTV was necessary for this undertaking, we sat down to watch.

First let me state that Ellen and Delia were right on all counts. The movie is a cinematic masterpiece - gorgeous vistas and brilliant cinematography. It is a slow, winding piece that takes its time and doesn't skimp on characters, setting, or plot. It is subtle, and understated, and masterfully acted. The score is spectacular. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

I also completely failed to recognize Alec Guiness in Prince Feisal's make-up. *Hangs head in shame.* I would say that my defense is only ever seeing him in Star Wars, that's no defense at all, really.

( Thematic and Plot Spoilers )

(And yes, I did make a new icon especially for this post.)