sarea: (because natasha is a badass)
I've just found out something crazy. Lady Gaga is 5'1". :O I freaking love her "Bad Romance" video and I watched it again recently and was just noticing randomly to myself that she's super thin but not in a "I work out all the time" way, and it got me wondering if she was actually just a small person. And SHE IS. But I had no idea she was THAT small, she's even shorter than me! Weird. Talk about someone with a big personality.

The Avengers and Green Day's newest album are coming out on the same day. I feel like I should be taking a personal holiday or something. I already have the new album ("Oh Love" is still the best song from it), and I know my Avengers Blu-ray is on its way. With any luck I might even get it early (today)!

I. am. exhausted. 90% of that has to do with work, because of reasons. The other 10% is because I have recently read THREE awesome Avengers stories and must rec the snot out of them. Which isn't the best mental image but you should read them anyway. They're all so meaty and satisfying.

- White Blank Page by [personal profile] allisnow. For the last month or so I've been really hankering to read a long, satisfying, plotty fic with in-character Avengers and gorgeous Clint/Natasha, and that need has finally been met. You don't need the summary (it's not going to tell you much anyway), just go read it. To tell you the premise would be to give something away that I think is better to learn by reading. Just trust me, OK? I'm really glad I waited until it was fully done posting, though, because I'm a wallower, and boy did I enjoy being able to gorge myself on it in one long sitting, wallowing happily.

- Two for the Show by mousie tongue. Fuck. This story. Ohmygod. My heart was in my throat the ENTIRE TIME. I was like, "If this doesn't end well, I am going to destroy everything in my house." Clint. CLINT. He makes me want to stuff him in a little backpack and carry him around with me everywhere. I really enjoy stories where he's being abused and tortured, apparently. I don't know how other writers do it; I can't bear to do it myself, but I'll read the heck out of it. Anyway, this is a high school AU wherein Natasha ends up in the same group home that Clint's in. It's complete, but I'd give up my first-born child for one more chapter. This story blows my mind because Clint and Natasha are completely chaste. It's like an Asian drama, practically, because they don't fucking hold hands or kiss or outright state what they mean to each other... And yet. AND YET. YOU JUST KNOW. This could be like an instructional example of how to show and not tell, in storytelling.

- A Widow's Tale (series) by Mhalachai. OK, I reaaaallllly liked this series, but I don't rec it as qualm-lessly as I do the above two, because a) there's Clint/Natasha, but it's a very small part of the overall story (and you see/hear of Natasha with /Others, though not while she's with Clint); and b) it's a Stargate Atlantis crossover, which might not appeal to everyone, though it didn't make a single difference to me that I'd never seen a single Stargate show/movie/whatever. Also, I'm not sure that the series is actually done, though "Widow's Letters" totally has a satisfactory ending and could totally be seen as "the end" whether or not there are more stories forthcoming. The premise of this story is unique in that it keeps to Natasha's original comic book background -- she's a child in the 1940s and doesn't age due to the experiments that were performed on her (the vast majority of stories I've read simply bump her timeline up, so that she's the same age as Scarlett Johansson), a la Wolverine. Anyway, one of her deep cover assignments early on involved being married to Patrick Sheppard, with whom she had a son, John Sheppard (of Stargate Atlantis). The series is primarily about re-establishing their relationship after 30 years. The Clint/Natasha happens very, very gradually, and it's pretty fun to read a story where the tables are turned on the age difference between them, because even though Natasha LOOKS young, she literally has a son who is ONE YEAR OLDER than Clint. Sheppard actually refers to Clint as Natasha's 'boytoy' at one point. TEE.HEE. The best/meatiest story (and when C/N shows up) is the fourth story in the series, "Widow's Letters." I don't think you have to read the first three to understand it (as long as you know the premise), but it's nice to have the backstory, too.

All three stories above have very liberal doses of delicious angst. On the opposite end of that spectrum, I'm two scenes away from finishing a story, but it's a very silly AU that's going to need some significant pre-beta work. >.>

I'm rereading Wuthering Heights, because I absolutely loved it as a teenager and haven't read it since then. I don't know why, maybe I've been afraid that it wouldn't hold up or something. Anyway, of the Bronte sisters' works, it's my favorite, and it's always annoyed me that it doesn't get the same kind of accolades that Jane Eyre, which I've never cared for, has. I also find myself wondering about a chicken/egg situation -- do I love literary assholes because of Heathcliff, or did I love Heathcliff because I've always been attracted to literary assholes? *ponders deep thoughts*

And... I've also been watching a lot of TV. A lot. Don't be frightened. )

I've also been doing some minor exercise, which for me, is huge. I haaaaaaaaaate exercising. I used to go to the gym, and I dreaded it. DREADED IT. Renner apparently feels the same, which just makes him even more perfect. And obviously has way more discipline than I do, given his freaking body. -.-

GIFs. May not be safe for work, depending on how prudish your coworkers are. )

Went to a Seattle Sounders game this weekend. Unlike baseball, I enjoy watching soccer even when I'm not really following the team. I mean, you have agile guys in nylon shorts running up and down a field, what's not to like? I really didn't want to go (as [personal profile] adelagia can attest to, as I kept bitching about it), because it was with work people and I felt like it was cutting into MY weekend, but I ended up having fun. People have to fight tooth and nail to make me overcome my hermit tendencies. >.>
sarea: (while you were sleeping)
I tried McDonald's sweet iced tea for the first time last night and oh my giddy god is it SWEET. I don't know how it compares to the sweet iced tea found all over the South that I read about in Jane and Michael Stern's Roadfood, but if it's anything like that, I have to tell you I cannot take it. I felt an onset of diabetes just from the one sip I had. O.o I went home and watered it down by 100% and IT WAS STILL TOO SWEET. It's like drinking syrup! Plus there was no taste of lemon, and I like my iced teas very lemony.

[profile] jade_okelani is going to be here in ONE WEEK. How is that possible?! Eeeeeee! I still have a lot of cleaning and organizing to do, for my own sanity, because Jade has already said she doesn't care.

Now that it's the end of May, all the TV shows are wrapping up, and I have sooooooooo much to catch up on. It's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. Over the long weekend I managed to finish all of Fringe S4. Spoilers! )

I'm also halfway through Glee S3! More spoilers. )

I've also seen the first 8 episodes or so of Parks & Recreation S4. Yep, spoilers. )

Also, of course, there's the latest Game of Thrones episode, 2x9 'Blackwater.' You guessed it, spoilers. )

Did I mention that I finally received The Walking Dead compendium from the library? I would have loved to have gotten it even a month ago. Now with my Avengers obsession I really couldn't care less. >< Sigh. And I've waited SO LONG for it.

Finally finished reading The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley. It was recced to me by K's friend C, who LOVED it, and it's also got plenty of other accolades. I was totally underwhelmed by it. It's a work of historical fiction with two tepid (to me) romances, and far, far too much of the novel is pages and pages of dialogue describing some historical event! Horrible. I don't know how a novel like that could even get PUBLISHED, much less given praise. I can't believe it's compared to Diana Gabaldon's writing, because as much as DG gets far too into the history for my taste, at least her novels are complex and full of showing, rather than telling. Nearly all the characters and the plots of TWS left me cold or rolling my eyes. I hate to tell C what I really thought of it, though. She loves everything I've ever recced to her, and I know she really wants me to like it. Siiiiiiiiiigh.
sarea: (Default)
You know those days when you set your alarm, but don't realize until you wake up that you set it for PM instead of AM? Yeah. Thank goodness for Jaime's automatic feeder. When it went off at 7:30 I was like, WTF???

===

I don't often embed vids in my posts, but I hope you'll forgive this one... ahhhhhhhhh!!! 2011 cannot come fast enough. How awesome does GoT look? If they can make the trailers this sweet, I can only hope the show will be even more so. They are only raising my expectations at this point; a dangerous thing!



===

Finished Tongues of Serpents. I've finally been able to friend [profile] naominovik without fear of spoilers, lol. I enjoyed ToS very much, even though not a whole lot happens. I just love this universe.

I also just read My Sister's Keeper, the first Jodi Picoult novel I've ever read. She's one of those prolific authors who I stayed away from because she was so prolific ... quantity usually does not equal quality. However, I was pleasantly surprised by MSK. I'm putting the movie (who knew there even was one?) in my library queue. I really disliked Sara Fitzgerald in the book, so we'll see if Cameron Diaz can make me like her any better. I'm excited about Alec Baldwin playing Campbell Alexander, partly because I think that means they're going to nix the whole romance subplot with him and Julia Romano, which I could not have been less interested in. I skipped all those parts. Otherwise a very engaging story, and I sobbed buckets at the end.

===

My Citibank Mastercard account has been closed AGAIN due to fradulent activity. WTF. The first time, they closed it as a precautionary thing -- I guess some place where I used it had their records stolen or something. This time, they contacted me because someone was buying stuff online from another state with my card. HOW did they even get my card number??? I don't use this card to buy things online -- I could easily see how online transactions could open you up to greater potential for fraud. But this card, since my last statement I've only used it to pay for things locally (like at restaurants), and one time, to pay my electric bill. Argh! BTW, there were two fraudulent transactions, totaling about $100, for shoe/clothing stores. SURELY it's easy to catch people like this, since if they're buying merchandise they'd have to supply an address where it needs to be shipped?

===

Nearly done with Dr. Who S2... it's kind of sad how I've barely missed Christopher Eccleston, though I did enjoy him in S1. I guess the universe's own mythology (can't think of the right word for it) makes that easy, since we're told that it's really the same guy.

Random comment -- the ep where it was Doctor/Companion-lite guest stars a dude who looked SO familiar to me, so I looked him up and it turns out he played Blythe in that one episode of Band of Brothers. Seriously, other than Ron Livingston, was there ANYONE on that miniseries playing an American soldier who was ACTUALLY AMERICAN? LOL.

Also am rewatching BSG in the background while doing other things. I'm totally enjoying Baltar so much more this time around; he's hilarious! Also -- spoilery comment... )

===

For lunch I am planning to go to The Stone House, my new fave place. I was told the last time I was there, though, that they're going to stop serving lunch after Oct. 15 and only do dinner. :-( Since their dinner items cost like 3x as much as their lunch items, and since I usually leave the office well before dinner time, I don't see a whole lot of opportunity or reason to go there after they make the change. Alas! First El Greco, now this ... why am I not allowed to enjoy a favorite restaurant?!

===

A few more X-Files episode 'reviews' to continue my archival project.

The Jersey Devil )

Ice )

Young at Heart )

And that finishes off the 'reviews' I had for S1.

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