Love, Blood and Rhetoric

Stolen, in my case, from wal_lace

Ask me my Top Five Whatevers. Fannish or otherwise. Any top fives. Doesn't matter what, really. And I will answer them all in a comment.

Go to!

As stolen from kirke_novak

a) everyone has dirty fandom secrets or guilty pleasures or unpopular opinions.
b) list five of yours.
c) get cries of OMG YOU TOO or WTF ARE YOU SMOKING
d) profit.

1. Alan Moore is hugely overrated.

Let's face it - if you're into comics, sooner or later someone will bring up Alan Moore and talk about him as the greatest comics creator ever. But, you know what? I'm entirely indifferent to him. Actually, I'd go so far as to say I actively dislike the guy who comes across in interviews, particularly whether the subject of movie adaptations come up. For a man who made a career of riffing and ripping off other people's creations, whether it's the Carlton characters for Watchmen, or the numerous literary characters he used in League of Extraordinary Gentlemen or Lost Girls, he's quick to toss about suggestions that his work should be treated with some kind of reverence. Me, I don't think it deserves that reverence and I take the view that anyone who can take a character from children's literature and show them fucking a crocodile is both someone who I wouldn't invite to dinner and a steaming hypocrite who deserves absolutely no reverence.

And, you know what? I actually enjoy the adaptations of his work as much as the original work itself. I love the V for Vendetta movie and the original graphic novel equally - I find them both trite. I think the League of Extraordinary movie is a load of fun and doesn't lend itself to being taken seriously and the original series is kinda fun, but nothing special.

So, Alan Moore? Not that great.

2. I actually think Willow going gay in Buffy was pretty crap.

I meet any claims that it was actually progressive by countering that it felt shoe-horned in just to show how progressive Joss Whedon actually was, rather than being genuinely so. Willow, in my (unpopular) opinion had far more chemistry with Oz than she ever did with Tara. A character I like, but who was introduced with only one purpose - to be Willow's girlfriend - and who lingered for two seasons, systematically victimized, tortured and eventually fridged. I can't see in what way this was progressive - it served to present a gay relationship on mainstream television and, I guess, maybe that was something new in the US.

But to me the claims from Whedon that Willow was always gay, the emphasis on her sexuality from that point on and many other considerations just made me feel that the move didn't work as a story. And it didn't work as progressive either - abrupt, heavy-handed, more like a straight-guy's fantasy and for all the writers' claims that they wanted to present Willow and Tara's sexuality as a non-issue, they made sure to pack the scripts with as many gay jokes as they could (although, considering how progressive Whedon supposedly was the Buffy scripts always seemed to lean towards the "hee hee, look at the funny gays! That guy thinks Xander's gay but he's not! hee hee" innuendo). At the end of the day the relationship seemed to exist to promote Whedon as an inclusive creator, more than serve the characters or same-sex couples.

And while we're at it:

3. Joss Whedon's not actually very funny.

People often excuse his dreadful plotting in Astonishing X-men by claiming that "at least the one-liners are great!" They're not. He basically has one joke - characters just saying or doing something random and unexpected for lols. Logan's random "I like beer". Emma's random "Needed to pee." Big bad vampire Spike liking daytime soaps. Practically any speech by The Master. And Dr. Horrible? Really not as funny as the premise suggests.

And don't get me started on his supposed feminist credentials.

4. Rose is nothing special.

Seriously, maybe those coming to Doctor Who for the first time loved Rose, but by the time the second series rolled around, Rose was becoming increasingly irritating. For a start, while she's supposed to be the every-man (or in this case, every-woman) character in Doctor Who, that has the end effect that Rose is actually rather bland. Still, in series one she was a good foil for Chris Eccleston. Come series two and the Tennant era, Rose was increasingly presented as a love interest to the Doctor, grew increasingly arrogant and cocky, whilst demonstrating a complete lack of regard for pretty much everyone they met, while also growing increasingly dependent on Ten. And smug. So goddam smug. It got so bad I was actually disappointed the character didn't die in the climax. And damn, what was worse was turning the Doctor into a lovesick puppy, enabling her. I hope we never see her again.

5. Lady Gaga is just awful

She's not "fresh, innovative and talented". She's not a unique snowflake. She's a bloody attention-seeking pillock who's less Mark Bolan and more Mud. God help us all. And, seriously, put some clothes on, luv.

In a meme stolen from fullmetal_cute, and because I'm feeling mostly human again:

Pick any of my fandoms (or, hell, even something that's not my fandom but you know I have a passing knowledge of) and I will answer the following:

* Favorite Character:
* Least Favorite Character:
* Character with the best hair:
* Character with the best eyes:
* Character I'd most want to kiss:
* Character I'd most likely screw:
* Character I'd make lunch:
* Character I'd go singing in the rain with:
* Character I'd go shopping with:
* Character I'd go dancing with:
* Character I'd take over the world with:
* Character I'd most want to cosplay as:
* Favorite M/M pairing:
* Favorite F/F pairing:

A new music meme for you.

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to. Feel free to snag if you like!

I'm on a bit of a nostalgic indie kick at the moment. Although not entirely.

The Wonder Stuff - Sleep Alone

From the classic "Never Loved Elvis" album, released in 1991. Damn I feel old. The soundtrack to my teenage years, though. RIP Rob "The Bass Thing" Jones and drummer Martin Gilks.

The Cardiacs - Is This The Life?

I can't remember whether I first heard this track on John Peel or Mark and Lard when they were on late night Radio 1. It was stuck on one of my radio-recorded compilations for years though. I still love how... out there it sounds.

Nirvana vs Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give Your Teen Spirit Up

What?

Kirsty MacColl - There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis

A little before my time, really. I missed Kirsty's golden years. But I still miss her. She guested on a bunch of albums I did own, whether it was the Wonder Stuff, Billy Bragg, The Happy Mondays, The Smiths, The Pogues. Her tragic death in 2000 was a terrible blow.

Weird Al Yankovic - Hardware Store

Yes, I'm obsessed with this song. Still.

Johnny Cash - God's Gonna Cut You Down

Should I admit that I heard this for the first time a few months back in an Eastenders trailer? Probably not.

Carter USM - Do Re Me (So Far So Good)

Still appropriate, even if it's not 1992 any more. "Where are the songs about boozers and buildings,
banning the bomb and abusing the children?" Fruitbat's shorts and cycling hat, less appropriate.

Using ONLY SONG TITLES from ONE artist, answer these questions:

1. Are you a male or female: "Nowhere Man"

2. Describe yourself: "Here, There, and Everywhere"

3. How do you feel about yourself: "I'm a Loser" "I'm So Tired"

4. Describe your ex boyfriend/girlfriend: "I'm Happy Just to Dance with You"

5. Describe your current boy/girl situation: "Tomorrow Never Knows"

6. Describe your current location: "We Can Work It Out"

7. Describe where you want to be: "I'm Only Sleeping"

8. Your best friends are: "Across the Universe"

9. Your favorite color is: "For You Blue"

10. You know that: "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"

11. What’s the weather like: "Rain"

13. What is life to you: "Getting Better"

14. What is the best advice you have to give: "Think for Yourself"

15. If you could change your name, what would it be: "I Am the Walrus"

Thanks John, Paul, George, Ringo, Fred and Jeremy Hillary Boob.

Comment with a fandom and I'll reply with answers to these!

1. The first character I fell in love with:
2. The character I never expected to love as much as I do now:
3. The character everyone else loves that I don't:
4. The character I love that everyone else hates:
5. The character I would shag anytime:
6. The character I'd want to be like:
7. The character I'd slap:
8. A pairing that I love:
9. A pairing that I despise:
10. Favourite character:
11. What are my three favourite things about the fandom.
12. What are my three least favourite things about the fandom.
13. Who are my three favourite characters.
14. Who are my three least favourite characters.
15. What are my three favourite pairings.
16. What are my three least favourite pairings.
17. Which character are you most like.
18. What is my deep, dark fandom secret.

Here goes.

Don’t take too long to think about it. Fifteen books you’ve read that will always stick with you. First 15 you can recall in no more than 15 minutes.

1. The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien
Probably the first epic novel I read - well above the reading levels of my friends at the time and it opened up the genre of fantasy to me.

2. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
I didn't read this until later in life but it's now one of my favourite books. There's nothing not to like in this tale of racial tension in 1930s Alabama.

3. The Bottoms - Joe R. Lansdale
Like the previous book, The Bottoms is the tale of a young boy in depression era rural America confronting racism, but in this case with the addition of a terrifying serial killer.

( More books under the cut. )

 

In the final part of my Top Five meme, kirke_novak asked for Top 5 Comic Books You Wish Never Existed.

Now, that's an open category. Are we talking series or individual issues? And in the days of online solicitations, I'm usually able to avoid books that look horrible.

And, let's face it, bad books are often easy to avoid. Or used to be. An issue of the X-men where the X-men encounter a villain that turns into ice cream? Easily dodged! Onslaught Returns? Did anyone even notice? So, to be truly a book that I wish never existed, it has to be something that was not just horrible in its own right, but by its existence screws up a bunch of other stuff that I actually care about too.

And, let's face it, not wanting to be a Yellow Hat, most of that's… um… well, let's just say we're talking last five years for my top picks.



But, for the record, I present my top five:

( Read more... )

Posted this meme:

"Ask me my fannish Top Five [Whatevers]. Any top fives. Doesn't matter what, really! And I will answer them in a new post."

Only one response? Bah! I'm bored, give me something to do, people!

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Wile E. Coyote.



See?