The Women of One Chicago

You know what?

I'm watching this week's Chicago PD finale and I've had a bit of a realisation.  I don't like any of the female leads in the Chicago triumvirate of Fire, PD and Med.  That'd be Gaby, Erin and Natalie.  I find them all rather spoiled, rather entitled, rather pouty and very much annoying.  I love  all the other female characters in the shows, but those three really irritate me.

Now I wonder why that is.  What is it about the way these three shows are written that makes me find those characters unsympathetic?  I have no clue.  But at least it doesn't stop me from watching the shows - in fact, I love ALL the Chicago shows, Justice too.  I wonder why the female leads on that show don't bug me?

It's interesting to mull over.  :)

Musing on A Song of Ice and Fire vs Game of Thrones

I stopped watching Game of Thrones back in the beginning of Season 2.  I don't rightly know why, I just did.  I am up to date on A Song of Ice and Fire, having read through A Dance of Dragons, however.  Last night was the premiere of Season 6 of GoT on HBO and it was all over my Twitter timeline and Facebook, so much so that I actually dreamt about it, the TV return, that is - Jon Snow hadn't died, he'd gone off to be a pirate and returned to Westeros at the head of a pirate fleet.

So as I lay in bed this morning, I ended up wondering if George R.R. Martin ever regrets selling the series to HBO when he did.  Now that the show has apparently caught up with the books, and it's been officially announced and reiterated that what is seen in the show will not be following the books in many cases - many more cases than it already has - it sets me to wondering.

I know that GRRM has shared his vision of the story with the producers of the show, but God knows if they're all going to end up in the same place now.  I wonder how that feels, to have one's arguably best piece of work taken from your hands and reformed before you even get the chance to do it your way.  The first time.  The original.   I think he must at some point, no?  Have regrets?  In the wee small hours?  Do all the $$ and recognition he's received thanks to the TV show make up for it?  Again, when he's all alone in the wee small hours, I wonder....

I also wonder if A Song of Ice and Fire, his story,  will be tainted by Game of Thrones and what the TV producers come up with as their story.  Does the original vision of Westeros become something shared between GRRM, David Benioff and DB Weiss instead of GRRM's alone?

That was all some heavy thinking before my first cup of coffee!

(x-posted to Dreamwidth)

Well Now...

Seems like the last time I was here was back in August of last year.  Shame on me!  One day I'll get this journalling/blogging thing down straight.  *LOL*

I find myself looking for a place to put down thoughts and observations I have that is longer than Twitter and less... well, less possibility for douchebaggery than Facebook.  God only knows what these thoughts and observations will be other than mine - we'll just have to see.  Hopefully this means my hibernation/anti-socialness/depression is finally lifting.  *crossing my fingers*

So what was I on about today.  Well, to start off with, I was bemoaning the fact that most authors don't put maps up on their websites.  See, I read a lot of fantasy and a lot of the books contain maps of the made-up lands/worlds.  And I read a lot - a whole lot - on my ereader, which doesn't show maps very well at all.  Or, as one of my Twitter pals pointed out when I tweeted my desire, family trees.

I stitched some this afternoon while I watched my soaps and my Bondi Vet show.  I'm working on a new project that I have to add to my cross-stitching blog.  It's for Michael because he loves, loves, LOVES wolves.  This is what it looks like...

I really hope my writing mojo comes back soon.  I miss it.  I miss my writing buddies too.  I hope I get over this stupidity soon.  

I also have to think about upgrading to Windows 10 on the desktop.  I've been using it on the laptop for a couple of months and I can't say I've had any problems with it.  I still have a few months - until July I think - to make up my mind.  One of these days I'll have to do some online research and see what folks have to say about it after using it for a bit.

And speaking of the desktop, I really have to find a new chair.  The one I bought last spring is not working for me.  I need to get a new one that has a tilt seat and adjustable arms as well as the height, of course.  Michael needs a new one too.  His is totally falling apart.  So if I get a new one, he can have my old one.  And then maybe I'll be able to sit at my desk for longer than a half an hour.  

Y'know, I wish I could still drink coffee at night.  I'd do damage to one right now.  

Killing the Good Men

So I read a simple phrase over on a blog entry at Dear Author where Jane said: The book sounds interesting but … I’m not interested in another George RR Martin type of story where all the women are raped and all the good men are killed. It stuck a chord in me.

Leaving aside the whole all the women are raped discussion because it's a whole 'nother ball o' wax that I'm not willing to get into at the moment, what hit me was the all the good men are killed.

I love the George R.R. Martin Song of Ice and Fire series of books. Its setting of Westeros is a land of extremes in a time of great turmoil and things just aren't that simple. I don't buy the all the good men are killed idea. I think what GRRM does is give us characters that make us think about what actually makes a good man and whether or not men (and women) can realistically be all good or all bad. And to wonder if there can be redemption for those that we have labelled 'bad'. And if that redemption is indeed enough to, if not wipe out, overcome all the bad in that person's past. Nothing has been black and white in those books since the beheading of Eddard Stark in Book One and even then, Eddard was a noble man, an honourable man, a responsible man, but was he actually GOOD? I'm not convinced.

GRRM has been able to perform some miracles with his characters, in my opinion. He took at least two main characters, awful people when we met them, and actually was able to render them likable, even at times admirable. He has also taken characters that were, upon first meeting, heroic, honourable, good people and managed to have them commit some atrocious acts as the tales continue. Pause and take a look at the story arc so far of the great feminist hope of Daenerys Targaryen, the Khaleesi. The young lady ain't no angel!  Nor is Arya Stark, far from it.  And Jon Snow, the everyman, the one offspring of the afore-mentioned Eddard Stark that seems the most like his father.. he has his moments of shameful actions as well, yet he is considered one of the good guys. One of the good men, all of whom are killed, some say.

It's just far too easy to say that all the good men are killed. It's way too facile. Way too black and white. And real characters are seldom, very seldom, black and white.  Thank God.

 

DWTS Musings and Meanderings

I have been thinking thoughts.  I know, scary, right?  Well, sometimes that's what happens in my head.  *LOL*  And sometimes there are more thoughts that will fit in a little 140 character window on Twitter.  So, setting aside a hefty, hefty bag of skepticism...

First off, as I said on Twitter last night, I think that since Season 10 of DWTS, when we had Evan Lysacek and Nicole Scherzinger and Erin Andrews 'battling' it out for the Mirror Ball Trophy, the producers have been demanding more and more and more of their celebrities, leading to injuries all over the place.   Currently, we have Danica's fractured rib, Meryl's broken toe and something with her wrist, Amy's spasming back and Candace's crippling performance anxiety.  If I'm not mistaken, James had a shoulder issue earlier this season.  The only one who seems to have escaped unscathed so far is Charlie - but then he had to shave his chest (SHAME!  SHAME!).   These people are not professional dancers, why do they need to be pushed so hard to perform more and more difficult stuff and end up hurting themselves?  Good TV?  I don't enjoy it.  And while I do know that my opinion is not the only one that counts, surely I can't be alone in this?

Then there's the ongoing "Why is Charlie getting hosed" discussion.  Well... I don't think he's getting hosed, folks.  At the beginning of the season, there was talk about how both Charlie and Meryl were going to have to make the transition from ice to wood - and this is after 17 years of 'dancing' on ice.  At first, it looked as if Charlie was the one adapting more quickly than Meryl, but right now, I think he's hit that last stumbling block to get over so that moving on the dance floor becomes almost as second nature as moving on the ice.  Last night, he looked to me like he was still expecting his feet to slide as they do on ice and was a little surprised when they didn't.  Meryl seems to have overcome that last hurdle.  Is it easier for her because she's the female?  Possibly.  All that hold, leading and stuff might make things easier for the lady of the couple.

And has anyone noticed that many of the things coming out of Sharna's mouth sound rather familiar?  I know the Maks fans will find them so.  And I don't say they're not warranted.  I love Sharna.  She has become my favourite of the ladies now that Anna isn't around.  I love her honesty, her brashness, her outspokenness... many of the same things I like about Maks, BTW.  But sometimes Maks has been known to hyperbolize where his partner was concerned, I think that Sharna might be as well.  And that's FINE!!  It's how they should be supporting their partner, shoring up confidence, letting their partner know that they have their back.  So, what does Sharna have to do?  Get Charlie out of his technical head for one thing.  Maks has been able to get emotion out of Meryl (something I thought no one would ever be able to do after watching her skate) but Sharna hasn't been able to get the same out of Charlie.  Charlie also has to stop focusing on the darned 10s.  He wants them way too badly.  It's blocking him from accessing his emotions, I think, and it makes him sound whiney.   When it comes down to it, right now, Meryl has made the transition from ice to wood and is the better dancer of the two.  That doesn't mean that Charlie is BAD by any means, he's just not as complete, IMHO.  And I also think that Charlie is STELLAR in a rom-com type of dance, but the intense stuff?  Not so much.  Again, it's the emotion thing.   Donald O'Connor instead of Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain", y'know?

(So now, the skeptic in me says, that the script will now focus on Charlie rising from the latest ashes as has been predetermined from Day One, but I am trying to quell it.  *LOL*)

Now, I don't know what magic Meryl has woven to gift us with this Maks.  I have long suspected that this is what lurked behind much of what we saw on DWTS over the years, when he's not shoehorned into playing Mr. Crankyass.  I just hope that TPTB aren't grooming Sharna for that role in the future.

And while I'm at it.  Damn, Bruno... coming on to James like he did last night.  Dirty Old Man much???   Just let a 58-year old man come on to a 23 year old young woman like he did and everyone would be horrified.  And rightly so.  This was equally as distasteful.  Every season he's got to step over that line at least once.  *sigh*

And let it be noted that I am not a fan of these big production numbers for the couple dances.  Even all the crowdede mucking about at the beginnings.  I'm starting to sound like Len now.  *LOL*   It makes my DWTS look like my SYTYCD and I don't want, need or appreciate that.   And it's funny... I've agreed with Len pretty much all along so far with his comments and scores.  Sometimes it's like he's the lone sane voice crying out in the wilderness.  *g*  (And that scares the bejeesus out of me!)  Oh, and let's not forget, Len was the one that gave Charlie the 10 in Disney Week despite the wandering cane.

Look, I'm no expert, but I know what I enjoy and one does not need to be an expert to 'feel' a dance.

Now, come on, aren't these two adorable??  :)

Just Some Things

I've just noticed that all I've managed to post here lately have been little blurbs about the books I've read and links to my reviews on Booklikes.  So, to change things up a little, these are some things that have trotted through my mind over the last little while.

First off... I am heartily sick of winter.  It's almost the end of February, so here in Quebec we have another month of wintery weather to get through, all things being equal, but I seriously could cry when I see the lower than -10c temperatures or the snow swirling outside.  I want spring.  Not summer, but spring.

I've been having a lot of thoughts about books and book-related things, I realise, things that might not gain me friends.  *LOL*

Like... I wonder if I'm the only one who feels that so many of the Dreamspinner book covers look childish and well... cheap.  So many of them look like bad anime fan drawings - as bad as the horrid photomanips that adorn so many unprofessional offerings.  And unfortunately, my knee-jerk reaction to those covers is that the books are going to be lousy and amateur.  I honestly don't buy those books from Dreamspinner any more unless I get specific recs from folks I trust or they are authors I already have tried and enjoyed.  It's not all of the DSP covers - some of them are professional-looking and I hate to admit, but those I'll try before one of the others.  Dreamspinner is probably the biggest publisher of m/m romance and erotica and as such... well, I expect better.

And then there's what I call proprietary fanning.  There's this one (among many) authors that I follow on Facebook among other social media platforms, and I think she has a gal who sort of moderates her FB page for her?  All well and good, I mean, if you have a busy FB author/group page, then it's a good idea to have someone to manage the day-to-day nitty gritty.  But what bugs me about this one is the air of 'ownership' this chick has.  To the point where it seems like the author's characters also belong to her. And she posts about them all the freakin' time in a way which I would expect only the author to post.  ALL THE TIME.  It puts me off and it stops me from interacting with other fans in the group, sadly.

One of the authors that I enjoy and admire a lot has announced that she's taking on a pen name under which she's going to publish books that - to paraphrase - are different from what she's published up until now, one of the reasons being that she doesn't want readers to be upset when they buy this new book and find out that it's not the same as what she's become known for.  It's also a branding thing, but that's not what made me ponder things - what made me ponder things is, what kind of fan is against an author expanding their horizons, so to speak.  I guess it's the same as fans of musicians and bands who get pissed off when the newest album by their favourites doesn't sound exactly like that last five.  Well, that's not me.  I love when artists I enjoy - print, film, music etc... push their boundaries and grow and experiment.  Sometimes it might not work, but most times, I think, it does work - at the very least, it continues to encourage and nurture their creativity.  So kudos, Marie! I can't wait to read the new book this summer!

Speaking about singers... I was listening with half an ear to a Britney Spears interview on Extra or one of those infotainment type shows and then a little while later, Miley Cyrus was talking about something and I noticed that these girls have speaking voices SO much different from their singing voices.  Both of them kind of deep and hoarse and not in that good, sexy, smokey way either.  It made me wonder if these girls are going to develop throat problems when they hit their 40s.

I think I've probably gone on long enough here.  *LOL*  So that's it for now!

Because I Found It Interesting

One of my favourite authors, Heidi Cullinan posted the link to the following article on her FB page and I found it very interesting and thought to share it.

  Becoming Human - The Evolution Of Female Characters In Media By Amber Topping. 

 In her FB post, Heidi said: "I always feel like I'm circling around this issue, even when I'm not writing about women directly. What I like is that they address that part of the problem is there's no clear right way. Any time you put a woman in a story (or leave her out) someone will come in and tell you what that means. Usually five someones, usually angry, usually contradicting each other. It's why I wish lesbian/bisexual romances were as embraced as gay romances in mainstream reading, so we could dive into the feminine more deeply. But this insane tension and instinct to snipe and judge even the simplest comment is probably exactly why that's not happening. That Venus de Milo illustration is so apt. Put a woman in there and everybody's rushing to cover/define her THEIR way. Meanwhile, she gets three seconds to be herself before culture takes over. 

And yes, for the record, a lesbian/bisexual romance is on my bucket list, coming up soon in fact."

I am really looking forward to this. :)

2013 - The Year that Was

It was a year.  :)  And it's just about done.  Reflecting back on it, there were more good times and things on it than bad, so we'll put it in the plus column of the ledger book.  There are some things that stick out in my memories and thoughts of the year.  Things other than the day to day activity of life that is really what living is.  :)

My blood was good all year!  Go me!  The COPD and phlebitis sucks and makes things difficult to do at times, but it is what it is.  I've not smoked in 2 and a half years, which is a good thing.  (I still do crave a good cig every once in a while, but it passes quickly.)  In the coming year, I have to find a way to get more active.  I had the greatest plans for walking when I retired but the COPD put a HUGE spoke in that wheel.  But I am going to work on that.  For now it will have to be inside because the lungs really, really, really don't like this arctic cold thing the weather has going on this winter.

I had some family and friends going through really shitty times this year and I wish I was closer to them so I could help, you know?  At the very least to offer hugs and coffee.  To them, I hope the new year brings peace, happiness, good health and a very limited amount of crapola.  *hugs them all*  

Speaking of friends, I got to know someone a whole lot better this past year and she's become a very good and close friend.  The internet is really good for some things.  

I read a lot of good books this past year, among them, Dirty Laundry by Heidi Cullinan, the Inn BoonsBoro Trilogy by Nora Roberts,  Beyond Shame, Beyond Control and Beyond Pain by Kit Rocha, Touch & Geaux by Abigail Roux, Forever Promised by Amy Lane, Catch a Ghost and Long Time Gone by SE Jakes are all among my faves.  Here is my Pinterest Board of Books I Read in 2013 if anyone is curious.  

Movies that I saw this year include Frozen from Disney that I highly recommend to anyone who will listen.  *LOL*  It turns all those Prince Charming, romance and Knights on white chargers tropes on their heads in a most wonderful way.  I wanted to have All The Daughters so I could take them to see this one.  :)  And this song... THIS SONG!!  There are no words to describe how I love this song.  Yeah, I'm a headbanger, I know, but THIS SONG!!!!

Some great TV watching this past year.  All the regulars of course, Dancing With the Stars, The Voice, NCIS, NCIS:LA, Hawaii Five-0, Survivor, Arrow, Revolution, Chicago Fire, White Collar, Once Upon A Time, The Amazing Race... there are even more.  *LOL*  I've enjoyed them all.  And the new additions to the schedule, Blacklist, Almost Human, Sleepy Hollow, Agents of Shield, Tomorrow People, The Originals and my latest total obsession Strike Back.  They have all kept me occupied in the best ways.  :)  Check out one of the best opening credit sequences in television -

So that's about it.  In the coming year?  There are things I want to do, get more active, write and complete something, things of that nature. I want to enjoy my family and friends.  I want to read good books, enjoy good movies and watch good TV shows. I want to enjoy my retirement.  :)

Happy New Year, everyone!!  *HUGS FOR ALL*

He Loves the Tango

I was up early this morning - well, early for me - and as is my habit, I turned on the TV for the morning shows.  I've been watching Good Morning America since I retired because I prefer their people to the others on Today or CBS This Morning.  And yes, I'm a terrible Canadian because I don't watch the Canadian morning shows.

Anyway, today on GMA, Robin and Josh are over at The Vatican doing reports on the Pope and his Christmas message and how the past 9 months have been since he took over the job, and it made me ponder.  Made me think about my mom who's been gone 15 years now.  She would have loved Pope Francis.  His message, his demeanor, the love he shows for everyone - yeah, she would have dug him big time.  :)  And you know, he's a lot like my mom was.  She was a real good lady, not a mean bone in her body, she loved everyone and everyone loved her.

My family is Catholic.  Very Catholic.  I was taught by nuns for my first few years of school in Cincinnati, until we moved back to Canada, where I went to Catholic school - elementary and high school.  Church every Sunday without fail, grace before meals, prayers before bed, rosaries said when the family got together, mass cards, no meat on Fridays, confession, the whole nine yards.  However, when I left home, I basically left organised religion behind. The by rote praying and church worshiping and the very strict dogmas of the Catholic church hinder my spirituality rather than enhance it. I don't get a religion whose church so often acts against the basic beliefs of itself.   I believe in the tenets of love thy neighbour; do unto others as you'd have done unto you; love, tolerance, appreciation, all things that Jesus taught and that are really at the base of most religions, no matter who's doing the teaching.  I am a lapsed Catholic as they call them or used to call them in the olden days.  *LOL*  And I'm okay with that!

All this to say, Pope Francis is truly a breath of fresh air.  No, he's not perfect.  He's not going to overturn centuries of dogma and practice and beliefs and rules and all those things in a matter of months, or probably years or even his total tenure as Pope.  But he is changing things.  He's changing the ATTITUDE of the Catholic church.  He's an extremely smart man as well as being a very religious man and you know what?  He's full of love.  It radiates from him!  Love and humility and UNDERSTANDING.  I truly believe that the Catholic church will undergo a shift in attitude.  Maybe not an about-face, I think that's far too much to ask, but I think there is a gentling going on.  The church is trying to become more about love and acceptance and I believe that under Pope Francis' guidance, it will.  Hope.  Pope Francis has brought hope to so many of those who have been disenfranchised.  It really is wonderful to see... and I wish my mom was still around to see it.

After all, who can resist a Pope who loves the Tango?  :)