Category Archives: television

an update, of sorts

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where I’ve been: Here.

When my depression kicked in I thought, “No one wants to read a blog by someone who is all blah blah blah, I am depressed.” So instead you’re reading a blog by someone who is all, “It’s amazing what supplements and a reprieve from paid sleep deprivation will do to relieve depression.”

You know, so I don’t have to be all “blah blah blah.”

Yes, I am still freezing my appendages off in the Great White North. No success with the job hunt yet, and I made the executive decision to take a break for the holidays and come back to it with renewed enthusiasm in the new year. Because if anything is motivating, it’s the idea of being here for another February in New England.

 

what I’ve been doing: Tumblr-ing!

(click to visit my Tumblr blog)

What is Tumblr? It’s like Facebook-meets-Twitter-meets-blogging. It’s an incredibly nerdy little corner of the internet where memes are born and you can find just about anyone who’s really, really into that thing (or things) that you’re really, really into. It’s like social networking for the socially awkward, and all you have to do to be involved is just jump in with both feet. Tumblr is all about freeing yourself from the fear of being *too* into something. If you love it, love it loud. Shout it from the rooftops. Reblog a hundred photos of it. Tumblr is what you make of it, and my experience has been that it’s smart and creative, and a haven for the highly visual. Hell, there’s even a Tumblr ballad.

in summary:

what I’m listening to: Girl Bands

I was pretty jazzed when Florence + the Machine released Ceremonials at the beginning of November.

I then proceeded to listen to it about a hundred times over.

Then a few weeks ago, someone on Tumblr posted this music video:

I am in love with this video. I love the concept, I love the art direction. I think it’s brilliant and empowering, and I’m recommending it to everyone. Also, I am completely and totally obsessed with this song mix.

No, really.

So of course I bought Marina & the Diamonds’ The Family Jewels and I love it. LOVE. IT.

I may just have a thing for girl bands with a stylized “and” in their name.

what I’m watching: Nerd Stuff

This has not been a good television season so far. Supernatural is tanking, Sanctuary just tanked, and The Office has begun it’s slow and inevitable demise.

Oh yeah, and Community is on an indefinite hiatus.

The only show I’ve been really *excited* about is Once Upon a Time. It’s interesting and fun and has no problem embracing its campy side. But still Hannah and I were itching for a new show to get into and work our way through, whole seasons at a time. Enter…

Full confession: I’ve never been much of a Trekker. I watched all of the movies, but only occasionally caught an episode (save for the multiple-hour marathon I watched while Mom was in labor with Hannah). Prior to this month, I had only seen enough Deep Space Nine to know that it was set on a space station, the Ferengi were very ugly, and Dr. Julian Bashir was very, very cute.

That right there is face of my 13 year old self’s crush.

You may laugh, but a few years later I started watching Stargate SG:1 because of one Dr. Daniel Jackson, and truly began my descent into nerdom. My teen self seems to have been drawn to men with advanced degrees.

But I don’t think I would have appreciated Deep Space Nine as much then as I do now. It’s a slightly more serious Trek, layered with issues that I would not have understood or appreciated back then. The characters are so strong and so diverse that you can get a little spoiled before you realize that not all TV is like this. And as for the doctor?

He’s still pretty cute.

I’ve also been watching Kings, NBC’s short-lived attempt to modernize the story of King David.

It’s an interesting show, in that it’s really not *bad*. It seems to have suffered from being a little too high concept and a little too reliant on allusions that the audience may not always catch. It plays out much like a modernized Shakespeare tale, with rich dialogue and solid performances. David is a somewhat bland protagonist, but the other characters more than make up for his lack of depth and pathos. I’ve really enjoyed it a lot, and it’s a shame that NBC gave up on yet another truly original show.

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So that’s what I’ve been up to for the past, oh, two months or so. It’s the new year now and all I have to say to 2012 is…

Bring. It. On.

oh, have you seen my ghost

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My Aunt Dee lives in Vermont surrounded by the Green Mountains. It is truly one of the most beautiful places in New England. But in the winter, she says, it’s hard not to feel like a rat in a cold, white maze.

This year I am finally starting to understand what she means.

I feel claustrophobic in my own life. I work, I sleep, I work some more. Outside it’s cold and it’s wet, and half the week I’m not even awake during daylight hours. When I am awake, I tend to hole up in my studio, haven of my sanity. I was talking with Stephen this week and confessed that I spend so much time in my studio because it’s easier to imagine there that I live alone. When you’re already feeling trapped in a very small space, being around people is akin to input overload.

“Emily,” he said. “That’s just sad.”

It is, and yet winter isn’t going away anytime soon, so I’ve just got to push through. With that in mind, I went shopping on Craigslist this week:

Exercise gives you endorphins, and endorphins make you happy, and walking is the exercise I truly love. I would LOVE to walk for hours every single day…and have I mentioned just how cold and dark it is here? Daily walks outside are hit or miss, at best. But you know what else I love to do for hours every day? Watch TV. Really, really good TV, and really excellent movies.

2 + 2 = treadmill.

I am far from an exercise aficionado, and now I look forward to getting up and getting on the treadmill. It’s become my reward for getting up early, eating a good breakfast, and making time for morning prayer. Now I can blast my way through whole series at a time, guilt-free! Having just finished Angel (hello, heartbreak!), this morning I watched the first episode of SyFy’s Being Human. Despite my cardinal rule to not watch American remakes of much better British things, I decided to check it out. I haven’t seen the British version, and I’m really not that interested in yet-another-vampire-story, but I certainly am a sucker for good sci-fi/fantasy.

I am intrigued so far. And I like it.

post title: Weighty Ghost – Wintersleep