Jandals at the Clarence

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 09:30:04 GMT

Okay, apparently I posted five whole times in December? .... possible New Year's resolution: post slightly more often, y?

Today we (me, michanna, shihadchick, and Claire's mother) went on a lovely drive to a scenic lighthouse. New Zealand continues the prettiest. There is ocean EVERYWHERE. *hands*

In other news, frtdneatj, I was just looking at posts from May 2008 (CLAIRE YOU SEE WHERE THIS IS GOING) and the first few posts I made about bandom are totally locked and filtered. Awwww. *pets past!me on the head patronisingly*

I'm reading A Game of Thrones. Why yes, I am years behind the times, why do you ask? So far I am liking it a lot despite things that would need warnings in fic.

I DON'T POST BECAUSE I AM BORING OK.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 08:25:21 GMT

Oh noes! The snowflake cookies are no longer available and I didn't send some to some people I very very very much should have sent some to because I fail at the internet. So: if you are reading this, I send you a (slightly more) virtual cookie! <33333333

In other news, Claire accidentally tripped and fell on Rock Band for cheap and we are going to play it forever the end. (Dear Rock Band 2: GET RELEASED HERE IT'S BEEN FOREVER.)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 08:38:22 GMT

Thank you Glimmy and various "anonymous" people who are totally not in my garage for exciting lj gifts! <3333333

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 04:07:41 GMT

My Christmas parcel from my parents arrived today! They are ginormous dorks! They sent stuff in a stocking, including the all-important STATIONERY (argyle pens! madras binder clips! il my daaaaad) and I opened it and got in trouble when I called my mom. Oops. <3

Having said that: I got iTunes gift certificates! What music do I need, flist?

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:37:50 GMT

"There's nothing it's not funny to do to a balloon that looks terrified of you." - jessikast

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 03:37:25 GMT

"The Jonas Brothers touched me inappropriately!" - jocondite

ETA: and now all the noncon jokes in the world.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 06:19:26 GMT

I talked to my sister on the phone for like half an hour this week, which was so awesome (I miss talking about TV with her! We have a date in late March or early April to hole up and watch Glee and Buffy and Veronica Mars for a weekend, seriously), but like... I sort of don't miss my family, a lot of the time? Not that I actively want to not be around them (though sometimes I feel that way when I am home), but because... I'm not sure. I know I can't right now, I know I will in a few months, and I'm just not that worried about it.

And apparently they all feel the same way. It's weird - it took me 25 years to move away from my parents. Two months before I left, my sister did temporarily (she went to Edmonton to live with her boyfriend for the summer, because he had spring/summer classes). And the four of us have always been really close, I'm just starting to realise how close, and it's kind of remarkable how well we've all adjusted to this separation. I am not used to being this well-adjusted. I am not used to my mother being this well-adjusted.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:32:55 GMT

Green Day - Auckland, Dec 19
MCR - Sydney, Feb 25
*possible* Soundwave (mostly for MCR and the Weakerthans) - Melbourne, Feb 26
Cobra Starship - Auckland, March 12
Cobra Starship - Christchurch, March 14
~~fly home March 19~~
U2 - Denver, June 12
U2 - Edmonton, June 23

My family are so, so generally bewildered by me as a person right now. And don't know why (though they can probably guess, they've been dealing with this for years).

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 01:57:11 GMT

Hey, team Kiwi - anyone want to read Nocturnes by Kazuo Ishiguro? It's good, but I'm not going to read it again while I'm here and I don't particularly want to cart it home with me, so if no one wants it I'm going to chuck it on trademe.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:59:57 GMT

Back from the wilderness! Chris's grandma's place is possibly the most beautiful ever (even with all the spiders HI I AM LAME) and once I sort my pictures out I'll post some, but in the meantime I'm going to talk about Glee!

So this episode was basically designed to make my skin crawl in terms of Issues. Physical disability, mental disability, homosexuality and Wicked? It could have gone horribly, horribly wrong. And I think, by and large, it only went a little wrong, so I'm counting it as a win!

I fucking love that arrangement of Dancing With Myself. Possibly because it's Artie. I also love that Artie clearly has a double for the more difficult wheelchair moves.

I know I can't put anything past a world where Terri becomes school nurse, but how the hell did they get all the wheelchairs? In the middle of a plotline about how they need money? Not buying it, not with all the handwavium in the world. And while we're at it, why didn't Will need to spend some time in a wheelchair?

il Kurt's dad. That is all.

The plotline about Becky was clearly very well-meaning and they did most things right, or at least not actively wrong. They cast disabled actors and didn't patronize them or treat them like jokes, so win there. Actually the only part I had a major problem with was Sue needing a Good Reason to be able to treat someone with Down's the way she treats other people. I mean, I was totally pro her yelling at Becky, because that is how she rolls, and Will was being a dick suggesting that Sue should be unnaturally nice to her. But she should have been doing it because it's the right thing and not because she has omg hidden depths because of her sister.

The manager Rachel got to hire Finn is Vork from The Guild. FTMFW.

"I want to be very clear. I still have the use of my penis." MARRY ME, ARTIE. However, it was a little annoying just how often he was all "just like your stutter!" He was probably trying to normalize the wheelchair, but it came across like othering the stutter to me. And then he reacted so poorly to her confession - believably poorly, but still. She tells you this huge thing, she trusts you that much, and you go all "you're not like me, DIAF"? Not cool. (Marry me anyway.) ETA: Since writing this post, I have thought this paragraph through a little bit more, and am afraid I cam across as dismissive of stuttering of a disability. That was certainly not my intent - I have privilege in this matter, I don't get to decide who is or is not disabled. If anyone wants to call me on this use of language, go for it - I'm not editing it, because it's there, but I'm acknowledging that I could have been clearer/more thoughtful.

Defying Gravity ♥♥♥♥ So glad they let Kurt hit the high F in the audio release. PS Lea Michelle, why haven't you played Elphaba yet?

Proud Mary was a little too on the nose. I wish they'd just done a random song in the wheelchairs.

In conclusion: I love Artie. And also Kurt. And everyone else. (But especially Artie ♥)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 23:33:02 GMT

Heading up north with Chris! And then Claire's joining us in a couple days. I imagine internets will be sporadic to nonexistent, so no crises while I'm gone, please. <3333333

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 07:52:55 GMT

Hey, people who are paying more attention than me? Someone I know on Facebook is telling me she has tickets to see U2 in CALGARY. I can call bullshit, right? There weren't extra shows announced when I really wasn't paying attention?

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 08:32:29 GMT

Arrrrrrrgh I'd forgotten how much flying from Canada to the US SUCKS. Right now Calgary-Denver tickets for the weekend of the U2 show are $600 CDN. I found a $311 fare on travelocity if I was willing to arrive on the Saturday (which I'm not, but you know), but when I clicked on it, it had gone up to $600 as well in the time it took me to get to the next page.

I just want to see my friends and my band, is that so wrong?

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:41:37 GMT

It's not that I don't appreciate the pictures of Pete hanging out with the Jonas Brothers - I appreciate the hell out of Pete hanging out with the Jonas Brothers, you don't even know - but why are there no pictures of Pete with U2? DDDD: I mean. It's possibly because the universe doesn't want me to explode, but I'm pretty sure it would be worth it.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:59:46 GMT

To sign up for yuletide or not to sign up for yuletide? I don't knoooooow. :/ (yes, Chris, I know your feelings on the subject.)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:46:20 GMT

Does anyone know a good site for pics from Greek? And by "Greek" I mostly mean "Beaver." And "Ashleigh." (and everyone else too! I am lolpredictable and the worst at picking favourites.)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:08:27 GMT

For someone who never actually does anything (seriously: nothing. ever.), I'm really not around much, am I?

I'm good! Just boring as all hell! I still love you all even though I'm never around, never comment, and have missed approximately three thousand birthdays. /o\ I also love: ALL GREEKS, having U2 tickets, writing in coffee shops, and times when it isn't raining (ie not now).

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:30:56 GMT

The problem with U2 announcing tour dates I could conceivably get to (by which I mostly mean "will be on the right continent") is that I now have to make decisions about what concerts I will try to get to, with absolutely no idea what my life will look like at that point in time.

Dear the internet: help?

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 22:42:17 GMT

I'm like three episodes behind, but if Ashlee's being cut after episode 12, I don't think I'll bother trying any more. Katie Cassidy is AMAZING on it, but not amazing enough to justify my time and bandwidth.

I like how I don't post for a week, and when I do, it's about Melrose. /o\

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 00:42:47 GMT

I received a package from my family today - a tea strainer and a bunch of loose tea. When they found this tea at a random art fair, my mother and sister both emailed me to tell me about how Mom cried because she thought I'd like it and I wasn't there. (Note: I do like it. The tea strainer is the coolest thing ever, for srs.) Conveniently, it's still Canadian Thanksgiving, so I called and got to talk to all my faaaaaaamily on the holiday. <33333

Everyone seems to be good! The only immediate-family person I didn't get to talk to is my brother-in-law, who was down for the weekend but is back in Edmonton now, but my sister says he's also doing well. Part of me really really wishes I was home, but most of me is cool waiting till March to see everyone and everything. It's really only a few months away.

(Having said that, I am super fucking stoked to get a michanna soon, udek.)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 03:57:54 GMT

In our continuing efforts to Actually Leave The House, Claire and I hitched a ride to Newmarket with her mum, who was going to see a movie, and found a cafe with delicious coffee, slightly-too-delicious cake, and free wireless. So we hung out and tried to write. The actual prose google doc for the story we're writing has 1234 (yes, exactly) words in it now! ... the google doc with random bits from text messages/chats/emails has over 15k (and I'm sure a couple hundred words currently on our phones, waiting to be transcribed), but we'll worry about that later.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 09:44:25 GMT

Aw, I take it back, google street view. I did find my house, and my sister's car. <3333333

Still can't get to my bookstore on it. SIGH.

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:28:59 GMT

IHU GOOGLE STREET VIEW. It's been enabled for Calgary, and you can see the house on the north corner of the cul-de-sac where I live - four houses away from mine - but you can't see my house and I would like to because I haven't seen my house in three months.

(Please note, this is the longest I have ever been away as long as my family has lived there, which is nearly twenty years. It's just. Mine.)

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:20:54 GMT

I have been friends with shihadchick for a very long time and last night I finally, finally got to see Shihad live. I'm sort of deaf in one ear now, but it was so worth it. We hadn't planned on trying for the rail, but when we sauntered in (some time after the doors opened) there was still rail to be had, so we positioned ourselves in front of the speakers. The first three bands were varying levels of not-that-great to okay, but then The Living End happened, which was awesome, and then Shihad happened, which was scientifically the MOST AWESOME. Also they played really a lot off of The General Electric and Pacifier, which was really helpful, since I don't really know anything off their last two albums (SORRY KIDS).

Also - I knew this but I'd forgotten - Karl is REALLY ATTRACTIVE.

the end.

i haven't posted for way too long, so it also should be said that get__together was awesome and il fangirls. ♥

kathalcyon@gmail.com — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:25:53 GMT

Can someone please explain what "rape-rape" could possibly be if it isn't drugging a child and then forcing sex on her while she says no? What could more rapey than that?

ETA: I don't know why I'm focusing on Whoopi here when so many other people are also being child-rape apologists, but she seems the most immediate, I guess. Dear most of Hollywood: think about what you're doing, please. Think about what you are condoning here: not just drugging and raping children, but also fleeing the country after a conviction. How is that remotely a defensible position?