An effulgent entry. Only not really.
May. 20th, 2004 04:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sarea
The other day, as part of the Get More Fit regime, I bought some weights. They were fairly inexpensive, which is only annoying because easy access to weights was one of the reasons I delayed leaving my health club for so long. Anyway, I got 8lb weights for bicep work, and 5lb weights for tricep work (oh for those days when I had graduated to 12lb weights). I've only been doing curls and such for a few days, but I already have more muscle definition! I noticed today. Crazy. Oh, and I also got a sit-up bar, which will make it much easier for me to do full sit ups rather than just crunches (though aren't full sit ups supposed to be bad for your back?).
Every time I remember what my doctor's office told me when they gave me the cholesterol news, I get bitter. "The doctor wants you to maintain a low-fat diet. Okay? Then we'll see you in three months." Oh, a low-fat diet, is that all? Because yeah, if it were that easy, I wouldn't have been doing it all along. :-l
Does anyone know of a free tool I could download to edit MP3s/WMAs? I'm a big fan of making myself mix CDs -- particularly now that I'm trying to take long walks and such -- but sometimes, especially with live albums, there's junk on a track that I don't want, and would like to be able to edit it out.
Speaking of music, the discman that I purchased when I moved to DC nearly six years ago now has finally died. It served me well, though I had hoped it would last even longer. But now I've gotten a new one, the Panasonic SL-MP77 (though the link is to the MP75; I can't seem to find the MP77 anywhere -- WTF is up w/ that? I SWEAR it's SL-MP77 on the packaging). It roxors because it can play MP3s! Which means I can include a buttload of songs on a CD and not tire of it as quickly.
***
When it came to Roswell, I shipped all over the place. I was, of course, into Max/Liz, which was the primary couple. I also, at one time or another, also shipped:
- Michael/Liz
- Kyle/Isabel
- Alex/Isabel (though mostly after it stopped counting)
- Michael/Isabel
- Tess/Horrible Fiery Death
When Max turned into a complete asshole at the end of S2, I still liked the show, but I was no longer as into Max/Liz (which is sad because it's such a great ship in the first season and a half). I was half-heartedly searching for fanfic one day when I came across the idea of Michael/Liz. The idea intrigued me, and intrigues me to this day, at least theoretically. It'd never really work on the show. Anyway, then I found The Polar Novel by Whiteotter, and it was so. fabulous.
Here's what it's about, in the author's own words: "The Polar Novel is the official recording of Michael and Liz's secret lives together in Roswell, New Mexico. The recordings begin when Liz Parker left Max Evans in the desert and then backtrack to when Michael returned Liz's journal to document how their relationship first began."
After reading the fic (it was a WIP when I started reading, and when my Roswell interest waned, I stopped keeping track ... but I don't think it was ever finished. Doesn't matter; it's incredibly long and you can still get something from it), I was made into a certified Polarist (so called because Michael and Liz are polar opposites). In a way, given how much I love the whole opposites attract premise, it's surprising that I only turned to Michael/Liz when the chips were down. That probably speaks to how strong the Max/Liz was -- that despite their not really being opposites, I was compelled by them anyway. (I was never really into Michael/Maria, because they were too similar, and while I love Maria, I find her to be an incredibly annoying girlfriend. Whereas Michael is like Draco, only hotheaded.)
Lately I've been feeling the hankering to read it again, even though I've rediscovered my Max/Liz love. Michael/Liz is just such a fascinating dynamic, especially in terms of fiction and what you could do with it. So much built-in angst, what with them being such a mismatch, and with having to deal with Max, etc. If you have ever had any hankerings to see what Polarism might be like, I highly encourage you to read this story. :D
As for the actual DVDs, the original music is sorely missed. It's not just because I have associations w/ certain songs from certain eps (though I do, and I will always regret that they had to replace Ginny Owens' "If You Asked Me To," which was so utterly perfect for Alex and his situation), it's also because the music from back then reminds me of the great music of that time, and often, it was the show that had turned me on to a particular song/artist. It's missing things like Garbage, and Sarah McLachlan, and Jewel, and Vertical Horizon, and Santana featuring Everlast, I could go on and on. I'm sure that Jason Katims and the gang are somewhat glad by this development, because Roswell's budget was never very much and they seemed mired in having to use Christian rock music. And that doesn't exactly support the secular themes of the show. But you know what, some of that Christian music was awesome. And yes, while it's a bit strange to try and associate the lyrics w/ guys and gals or whatever when you know the artist is actually talking about God, that's also just true to what we had to do when the show was on. That music is part of the show.
I didn't realize how much I missed the music until, after watching my DVDs, I pulled out some of my old taped episodes of Roswell to see if I could tell a difference. And I so could! Which makes me bitter because now, of course, I can't tape over these episodes. I have to have the originals. What I'd really like to do would be to download the original episodes off Kazaa or somewhere, and burn them to a DVD. I wonder if that BitTorrent site![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
corianderstem uses would have those. Hmmm.
NO OTHER SHOW that's gone to DVD has had this problem, that I'm aware of. Why Roswell? Was their budget smaller, because no one had any faith that the DVDs would sell? Was it just that they had more music than any other show? But is that even true? It seems to me that the WB frequently uses popular music in their TV shows, because they always pimp the artists under their labels after an episode airs. So Roswell wasn't unique in that way, was it? I just don't get it. I'm bothered because they had such great music, and it really does feel like something's been taken away.
When push comes to shove, however, I'm glad that we have the DVDs at all. And of course, the music doesn't make the show; the heart is still there (though if they hadn't even gotten Dido to do the theme, I might not be singing the same tune <g>). It was just ... the blood that goes into the heart. Okay, maybe not quite that important, but pretty darn close!! :((
Okay, I think I'm done whining about this once and for all.
Every time I remember what my doctor's office told me when they gave me the cholesterol news, I get bitter. "The doctor wants you to maintain a low-fat diet. Okay? Then we'll see you in three months." Oh, a low-fat diet, is that all? Because yeah, if it were that easy, I wouldn't have been doing it all along. :-l
Does anyone know of a free tool I could download to edit MP3s/WMAs? I'm a big fan of making myself mix CDs -- particularly now that I'm trying to take long walks and such -- but sometimes, especially with live albums, there's junk on a track that I don't want, and would like to be able to edit it out.
Speaking of music, the discman that I purchased when I moved to DC nearly six years ago now has finally died. It served me well, though I had hoped it would last even longer. But now I've gotten a new one, the Panasonic SL-MP77 (though the link is to the MP75; I can't seem to find the MP77 anywhere -- WTF is up w/ that? I SWEAR it's SL-MP77 on the packaging). It roxors because it can play MP3s! Which means I can include a buttload of songs on a CD and not tire of it as quickly.
***
When it came to Roswell, I shipped all over the place. I was, of course, into Max/Liz, which was the primary couple. I also, at one time or another, also shipped:
- Michael/Liz
- Kyle/Isabel
- Alex/Isabel (though mostly after it stopped counting)
- Michael/Isabel
- Tess/Horrible Fiery Death
When Max turned into a complete asshole at the end of S2, I still liked the show, but I was no longer as into Max/Liz (which is sad because it's such a great ship in the first season and a half). I was half-heartedly searching for fanfic one day when I came across the idea of Michael/Liz. The idea intrigued me, and intrigues me to this day, at least theoretically. It'd never really work on the show. Anyway, then I found The Polar Novel by Whiteotter, and it was so. fabulous.
Here's what it's about, in the author's own words: "The Polar Novel is the official recording of Michael and Liz's secret lives together in Roswell, New Mexico. The recordings begin when Liz Parker left Max Evans in the desert and then backtrack to when Michael returned Liz's journal to document how their relationship first began."
After reading the fic (it was a WIP when I started reading, and when my Roswell interest waned, I stopped keeping track ... but I don't think it was ever finished. Doesn't matter; it's incredibly long and you can still get something from it), I was made into a certified Polarist (so called because Michael and Liz are polar opposites). In a way, given how much I love the whole opposites attract premise, it's surprising that I only turned to Michael/Liz when the chips were down. That probably speaks to how strong the Max/Liz was -- that despite their not really being opposites, I was compelled by them anyway. (I was never really into Michael/Maria, because they were too similar, and while I love Maria, I find her to be an incredibly annoying girlfriend. Whereas Michael is like Draco, only hotheaded.)
Lately I've been feeling the hankering to read it again, even though I've rediscovered my Max/Liz love. Michael/Liz is just such a fascinating dynamic, especially in terms of fiction and what you could do with it. So much built-in angst, what with them being such a mismatch, and with having to deal with Max, etc. If you have ever had any hankerings to see what Polarism might be like, I highly encourage you to read this story. :D
As for the actual DVDs, the original music is sorely missed. It's not just because I have associations w/ certain songs from certain eps (though I do, and I will always regret that they had to replace Ginny Owens' "If You Asked Me To," which was so utterly perfect for Alex and his situation), it's also because the music from back then reminds me of the great music of that time, and often, it was the show that had turned me on to a particular song/artist. It's missing things like Garbage, and Sarah McLachlan, and Jewel, and Vertical Horizon, and Santana featuring Everlast, I could go on and on. I'm sure that Jason Katims and the gang are somewhat glad by this development, because Roswell's budget was never very much and they seemed mired in having to use Christian rock music. And that doesn't exactly support the secular themes of the show. But you know what, some of that Christian music was awesome. And yes, while it's a bit strange to try and associate the lyrics w/ guys and gals or whatever when you know the artist is actually talking about God, that's also just true to what we had to do when the show was on. That music is part of the show.
I didn't realize how much I missed the music until, after watching my DVDs, I pulled out some of my old taped episodes of Roswell to see if I could tell a difference. And I so could! Which makes me bitter because now, of course, I can't tape over these episodes. I have to have the originals. What I'd really like to do would be to download the original episodes off Kazaa or somewhere, and burn them to a DVD. I wonder if that BitTorrent site
corianderstem uses would have those. Hmmm.NO OTHER SHOW that's gone to DVD has had this problem, that I'm aware of. Why Roswell? Was their budget smaller, because no one had any faith that the DVDs would sell? Was it just that they had more music than any other show? But is that even true? It seems to me that the WB frequently uses popular music in their TV shows, because they always pimp the artists under their labels after an episode airs. So Roswell wasn't unique in that way, was it? I just don't get it. I'm bothered because they had such great music, and it really does feel like something's been taken away.
When push comes to shove, however, I'm glad that we have the DVDs at all. And of course, the music doesn't make the show; the heart is still there (though if they hadn't even gotten Dido to do the theme, I might not be singing the same tune <g>). It was just ... the blood that goes into the heart. Okay, maybe not quite that important, but pretty darn close!! :((
Okay, I think I'm done whining about this once and for all.
