Weapons of Class Destruction

Peace, Ghani

Swiped from charleygirl and timescout:

- Bold all of the following TV shows of which you've seen 3 or more episodes.
- Italicize a show if you're positive you've seen every episode.
- Asterisk if you have at least one full season on tape or DVD
- If you want, add up to 3 additional shows (keep the list in alphabetical order).

I've watched lots, folks. Added American Dad, Dukes of Hazzard and ROAR.

( On to the list )

Taken from jadeblood:

Isis Honorable, straightforward and idealistic. Active and self-confident. Colors: male: white, female: blue Compatible Signs: Osiris, Thoth Dates: Mar 11 - Mar 31, Oct 18 - Oct 29, Dec 19 - Dec 31 Role: Goddess of motherhood, women, and magic; goddess of the South; protector of Imseti (the son of Horus who watched over the canopic jar containing the liver) Appearance: Woman wearing the hieroglyph for "throne" on her head What is Your Egyptian Zodiac Sign? Designed by CyberWarlock of Warlock's Quizzles and Quandaries

And snatched from polarbear_girl:

( TV 'Shipper Meme )

Peace, Ghani

Because I could use some cheering up today:



Peace, Ghani

Homer: Kids, kids. I'm not going to die. That only happens to bad people.
Lisa: What about Abraham Lincoln?
Homer: He sold poison milk to school children.
Marge: Homer!
-The Simpsons

Okay, so I adore anthology show Masters of Horror. Not only does it showcase new and upcoming talent in the genre (who aren't Eli Roth, my nemisis), but it gives a chance to those who have worked pretty thanklessly for years. I don't think I've ever sat through one I didn't enjoy on some level. Erm, until last night that is. Actually, I was really enjoying the first half, but then realized where it was all going, and at a snail's pace as well, and not only felt dissatisfied, but rather alarmed by its message.

It's not unusual to find political satire in horror; hell, like sci-fi, it seems ripe for it. I've seen quite a few on Masters of Horror itself, such as the amazing, surprisingly touching and sharp Homecoming, so when my sister turned it on last night and the opening scene involved the lead characters listening to a political talk show on the radio, I knew what I was in for. Or thought I did at least.

It got progressively stranger from there. The parents of a ten year old daughter don't think it's odd or creepy at all that an older gent, who is behaving so strangely I'd have a hard time not laughing in his face, offer the kid a lollipop of his favorite flavor, cherry. Um, yeah. Wjat they do find creepy and odd is a portrait of George Washington in their deceased granny's basement. Yup, folks Washington. George. The. The little girl screams when she catched sight of a beam of light only highlighting his eyes and the father proclaims that he was always scared of the painting. Yup, George Washington, the very same historical favorite who could ruin any Ouji reading at any happening slumber party just by his presence via the board; he's just not scary!

Well, it was called The Washiontonians and did have a Headless Horseman-esque opening sequence in which a Revolutionary figure stalks and cuts a woman's head off, so we decided to wait and see. Where was this all going? Down the crapper, it turned out. You see, Washington, according to this story, was a cannibal. Remember the cherry tree? Well, that was a metaphor for virginity, and cutting down the cherry tree equated in eating the flesh of a virgin. seriously, folks, I couldn't make this up if I tried. and I wouldn't want to.

You see, in the end, our lesson was that people want to believe the myth of history, it's what survives, and some would go to any length to conceal "the truth" (used in the same vague manner as it was on X-Files, where they threw around the term weekly without ever defining just what they expected it to be). In a none too suble allegory (with emphasis on the gory), we're shown that governments are cruel cannibalistic monsters who eat the people they serve and turn inward on themselves. At the very end, we're told that "one George was swapped for another", and we're shown a dollar bill with Dubbya's face proudly smiling back at us as the characters comically all exclaim, 'No shit!'

I got over the idea that history was written by the winners when I was in my teens; after all, if that were true, what would we know about Auschwitz, Wounded Knee, or Billy the Kid? What my sister said after watching it was true: History sorts itself out; it's the present people are usually blind to. But, more than that, the paranoia of governmental mistrust runs so deeply throughout the story, it scared me. The end comes as the cannibals are gunned down by "the men who could cover up anything", like Roswell, we're told. The kindly professor who was in search of that elusive "the truth" tells our intrepid hero to get the word out, no matter what. I mean, the whole thing is fucking insane!

And it's offensive. Trust me, I'm not the model of a flag waving partior these days, but I do respect our history and the men who had the vision to set us all on a new course in life. While they refer to Washington's image as that of a "kindly old gentleman" in the show, I've always thought of him as the spirit of youthful, idealistic exuberance, just like our own country back in those days. How, in any way, their situation echoes our present day conundrum completely eludes me, to compare the war in Iraq with the Revoltuion is hilariously offbase and plain bizzare, to compare the respective leaders is worse.

And I have to wonder just how they thought history could be hidden quite so well when we know more about them than we really should do via letters (and don't tell me Adams was in any way involved in any of this because, for Gawd's sake, it's Adams!); our attempt to "humanize" them stripping them of a kind of pleasant mystique we've kept to.

And what's with Washington's fake teeth? Do people really find them ominous and terrifying? There's such a strange focus on the grotesqueness of his dentures, with close-ups of the cannibals mock pairs and one even having an almost orgasmic reaction to the originals. Are people really scared of this shit?! Is this, like, some rational fear that other people have and we just don't know about it?! My grandmother wore dentures and, aside from the contant click-clack that could get on one's nerves, I wasn't ever really mortally terrified of them. And the thing with the wood- it's old, guys! We know from historic texts that they didn't look bad! Well, why would they? He was rich, he was famous, would he really have disguting dentures? Think about it. Or, please don't, actually.

I know it's just a fantasy, but who would write this stuff, who would believe this is an accurate analogy?! I always knew the complete whackjobs were out there, I just never realized that someone who was as seemingly intelligent as to get his works published would be on the level of men who wear tinfoil hats so the CIA can't read their thoughts.

Peace, Ghani

There are tv shows I watch and like a lot, that really spark my imagination, to a lesser or greater degree, like Farscape, General Hospital or LOST, though admittedly very few at any given time. Then there are the shows that really affect me in different, more substantial ways, like Firefly and, probably the best example, Buffy TVS. They can rip my heart out any time (looking at you, Buffy!); I know all of the episodes by heart; every situation in the big bad real world reminds me of a quote. There are some that fall in to a more casual catergory, like Scrubs or Supernatural, though those are very, very few. After shelling out the moolah for the second season DVD set, I was surprised to find that Veronica Mars falls into the first.

Word of mouth got me hooked on it, the glowing reviews that it was the best thing on primetime nowadays, and I found out they weren't far from right. Trying to catch up on it in the second quarter of the second season proved to be a mistake, but it gave me enough of a taste for it, that I went out and bought the first season on DVD. I didn't watch it with bated breath, so to speak, but sneaked it on while my sister was taking a nap on the couch while watching the newly purchased Lois and Clark first season DVD set. I was taken instantly. My sister quietly began to wake up and started watching, kind of transfixed, before asking me, 'What the hell is this show?!'

And that was genuine surprise and shock because VM isn't like anything out there, or anything that's ever been out there, as a matter of fact! It's a natural progression from the post-modern heroism of Buffy, a new and sharper kind of heroine. Almost ten years on, Buffy's started showing her age quite a bit, and nothing can illustrate that more clearly than the fact that it's passed so far into pop culture that adults -far past an acceptable age for such judgement- have picked her up as the ultimate example of female characterization. People like Russell T. Davies name her when they explain their goal for their female characters, not realizing that, by doing so, they're basically admitting that it's a cliche, and one well past its prime.

Veronica's different. She doesn't need to build on the house that Buffy built; she is her own entity, and a complex, interesting one at that! She's got no superpowers to back her up, her pain and caustic attitude towards life comes from a very real source, one easily identifiable by the audience. She's allowed to make mistakes, some doozies too, and not ones that are always sympathetic. My sister once stated that she isn't always likeable, but she's always fascinating, and I think that sums it up perfectly.

But don't get me wrong, the show isn't merely a "girl power" trip; it populates its entire world with unusual, sometimes downright bizarre, and complex characters. Logan is a perfect match for Veronica, with his own powerful personality and twisted psychology. Even as a romantic couple, which is mind-bogglingly odd and equally enthralling, neither of then is ever degraded, both retain their unique edge.

And then there's Weevil, adeptly played by Francis Capra, great grandson of Frank Capra, a perfect irony as his great grandfather sought a kind of idealistic and idealistically white America and now his descendant is playing a role that really typifies a lot of the harsh and oft ethnically-related realities of our country today.

Duncan and Wallace work because they're so normal, off-setting a lot of the character eccentricity, though they still represent a fantasy to a lot of viewers for varying reasons, whether it's a romantic attraction to female viewers or wish fulfillment to male viewers- or vice versa! And, of course, Keith is completely unique in his close relationship with his daughter. In a TV landscape that often portrays single-parent families as the most common type, it's surprising to realize that very few of them actually understand it, especially one of a mixed gender parent/child- i.e. father/daughter, mother/son. But it's always real between the Mars, and always touching without being schamltzy or manipulative.

And that right there is a great summation of the show in general.

In a world that could very easily be seen as a fantastic creation, VM is brutally honest, such as the truth about Veronica's AWOL mother and her shocking exit in the first season finale. Colorful characters practically bounce through eye-poppingly chromatically bold noir set pieces without losing any of their believability. Veronica solves crimes that would confuse even Christie's greatest detectives and make Philip Marlowe weep openly, yet they're always emotionally grounded. Re-occuring characters, such as Cliff or Vinnie, are always a delight when they turn up -though my only, and I mean only, complaint would be that Sheriff Lamb is far too one-dimensional and in danger of becoming Neptune's sole infuriatingly simplistic resident.

So, congrats to Rob Thomas on making something so unique that it stands out of the crowd and dares you to watch it. Veronica goes to college in season three, beginning early next month; may it not lose any of the spark that keeps me glued to the TV set.

Peace, Ghani