Month: April 2016

Q is for Quitting

Once upon a time, I used to watch TV shows through to the bitter end just because I had started them.

 

bad idea

 

Then I realized that it wasn’t my job to stick with a show just because. It was the show’s job to keep me interested.

So today’s letter/entry is devoted to those times I realized I didn’t have to deal with a show’s shenanigans anymore–whether the show infuriated me or just bored me.

Here are a few reasons I have quit shows:

  • I realized I only liked one or none of the characters
  • People kept coming back from the dead
  • There was a dumb plot point involving a character I liked
  • A female character was raped so the audience would have sympathy for her
  • Brothers bonded over hiding a dead body
  • The show got too dark/grim/depressing
  • The show started to revolve around a character I didn’t like or didn’t care for
  • The major will they or won’t they character hooked up off screen and the woman got pregnant
  • I got scared something terrible would happen to the one character I did like

Basically, once I started to dread watching the show, I knew it was time to quit.

And, of course, I have quit shows because I don’t have time to watch them, which is an entirely different bucket of sad that I don’t want to get into.

The point is that life is too short to keep investing in things I don’t enjoy out of some misplaced sense of obligation. So I don’t do that anymore, and my life is better for it.

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for R!

P is for Psych

I love this show so much. I love Shawn and Gus both with my whole heart SO MUCH and you can’t make me choose which one of them I love more because NO. Also, they are a package deal anyway.

Gus thumbs up

This is one of the only shows that I have rewatched on purpose. (I mean, if a rerun of a show comes on in syndication, I’ll watch it, but rewatching shows is not something I normally do.) But with Psych, I will usually seek out specific episodes, especially if I’m in a crummy mood and need a pick me up. My usual go to for that is American Duos.

It’s not in the clip, but the actual best part of the audition is afterwards when Juliet says, “I can’t be seen with you. And not just because we’re undercover.” Her look of disgust is perfection, and I laugh every single time. Every. Single. Time.

Also, I have named my cell phone Gus “TT” Showbiz. The extra T is for extra talent, don’t you know?

I was going to buy a Yaris just so I could have my very own Blueberry. (I would have settled for ANY car in that color, to be honest. But I may or may not have sought the Yaris out specifically for that reason.)

This clip never fails to make me laugh. Context not needed.

They are amazing, and I love them. Also, please note the badass that is Juliet, consistently proving her badassery. And I haven’t even talked about Lassiter! Or Shawn’s dad! Or even the Chief!

So, basically, I love everything about this show, but especially this, one of the greatest exchanges in television history:

black people Psych
source

 

All of your arguments are invalid, forever. Gus just shut them ALL down.

 

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for Q!

It’s Monday! What are you reading? (4/18/16)

This past week, I finished:

Princeless, Vol. 3: The Pirate PrincessPrinceless, Vol. 3: The Pirate Princess by Jeremy Whitley
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 stars, rounding down

This was fine but VERY backdoor pilot. The whole purpose was to introduce Raven who has her own series, Princeless: Raven the Pirate Princess Book 1: Captain Raven and the All-Girl Pirate Crew. So there’s that.

Hot tip: This book is super gay, which I’m sure the shippers will love, especially because the subtext is actually addressed at the end of the book.

As always, the artwork is great, and Adrienne and Bedelia are A+–when we actually get to see them together.

View all my reviews

 

Princeless, Vol. 4: Be YourselfPrinceless, Vol. 4: Be Yourself by Jeremy Whitley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Ah, yes, back to the things I love in this series. Also: Devin! I love him. Good stuff with the sisters here and a fun side adventure with Sparky showing just how badass she can be. Yay Sparky!

View all my reviews

 

 

Last week, I posted:

Still going with the A to Z challenge!

[wrap-up-posts week=”15″ year=”2016″ category=”Blogging A to Z” listtype=”ul”]

 

As of today, I’m reading:

True story: I was all set to finish up Necessary Endings, but then I lost it. In my house. Turns out that it fell behind my bed–on the side I didn’t check. I only found it because I changed my sheets this weekend. Amazing. So! This week! I vow to finish!

My daughter read and loved Furiously Happy, so I promised her I would read it after she finished it. She finished and immediately told me to get started, so that’s happening this week. I’m on the first story of Demigods & Magicians and enjoying it so far.

Oh, and of course the Hamiltome, Hamilton: The Revolution. Was there any doubt?

Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children's lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.
Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children’s lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.

Happy reading, everyone!

O is for One Tree Hill

Okay, so One Tree Hill is the reason I decided to blog about fannish pursuits! Well, that and Sarah’s post on Dawson’s Creek. As I said on Twitter, I have a lot of feelings about both. And, as a follow up, I also said that might be an understatement.

(If you’re wondering why I didn’t post about Dawson’s Creek for D, it’s because I really cannot top Sarah’s post about it. I mean, seriously.)

One Tree Hill

 

The fact that I never finished watching this series is my greatest shame because it is, possibly, the show I am most fannish about.

(I didn’t finish because of grad school. I don’t want to talk about it.)

Anyway, I love this show with my whole heart. It was frequently terrible, but the showrunners valued what was important to me: emotional continuity and, of course, friendship. Also, they were supremely loyal to their ships. Never let it be said that having a couple get and stay together is boring: Nathan and Haley were a mainstay from season one. I think they had only one major break-up, and the show ran for nine seasons. NINE.

I can’t believe that either, honestly.

Sometimes I randomly think about what an ass Dan is and have a rage blackout. Still. After all these years.

However, instead of doing that today, I am going to post a vid of Nathan and Haley’s first kiss because it is one of my favorite first kisses ever. (Also, I can’t find a video of Bevin Notebook-ing Skills.) So!

 

Also, major props to this show because Peyton was probably my least favorite character in season one, and I actually grew to love her with my whole heart.

This is another one of those shows that I have TOO MUCH to say so can’t think of anything that adequately expresses the true depths of my love. I mean, I haven’t even talked about Keith or Karen or Lucas or Brooke or Mouth or Jake or…I mean, I could go on. Just know that I love it that much. Even if I haven’t finished the series.

 

A to Z 2016

 

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for P!

N is for The New Adventures of Old Christine

So I discovered The New Adventures of Old Christine when it was airing in syndication a couple of years ago. I instantly fell in love. This show is AMAZING. Fun premise, excellent characters, and lots of solid humor.

Christine is legit a hot mess. Observe:

Christine

 

I LOVE HER. I will never ever be upset if Julia Louis-Dreyfus wins all the awards in all the world because she is flawless.

Also? This show was my introduction to Clark Gregg. You know, Agent Coulson from the Marvel movies and TV show. It’s so weird seeing Richard as an operative. But whatever works.

So here is a clip of Christine being extra Christine after she hits her son Ritchie with her car.

 

She is a miracle.

 

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in Monday to see what I picked for O!

M is for Mulan

How do academics show how much they love stuff? They either write papers/articles about the things they love or create assignments about the things they love. One of my best assignments is probably my Mulan definition argument essay. It is brilliant, if I do say so myself.

 

Get it? Because I bow down to Mulan but the assignment is so brilliant the world bows down to me?

Anyway, the assignment was perfect for a summer class. Basically, I had my students watch the movie, and then they wrote an essay arguing that Mulan deserved a soldier’s pension even though she broke the law.

I’m putting the assignment overview and guidelines below. To prep for the assignment, we read a definition argument in their textbook and MLK’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and talked a lot a lot a lot about addressing a hostile audience, which is why King’s letter is so crucial.

Assignment Overview

Your assignment, then, is to take on the persona of one of the soldiers and argue that Fa Mulan fits the definition of a soldier because she exhibited the characteristics of a man suited for the rage of war as put forth by the Chinese army and deserves the bonus and the lifetime pension.

Assignment Guidelines

Your audience for the paper is the Emperor’s council, and your paper must explain how Mulan fits all of the criteria for being a soldier because she proved herself to be a man suited for the rage of war. You must provide examples of how she fits each criterion outlined on the previous page as well as anticipate and refute any objections the council may have. In order to be successful, you have to establish your credibility and authority to determine whether or not Mulan is qualified to be considered a soldier and use a tone appropriate for the audience. The council must be thoroughly convinced that Mulan deserves the bonus plus lifetime pension.

If anyone wants more details or the full assignment, please email me: theenglishist[at]gmail.com.

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for N!

L is for The Last Dragon

Ugh, why is it so hard to talk about the things I truly LOVE?

Like I can sincerely think of nothing to say about The Last Dragon because I want to say everything, and it’s all too much. It is, like the best childhood things, completely cheesy and absolute perfection. (Ha! This writer had the same issue. So I feel better now.)

So, here. Have a GIF of Richie breakdancing out of some ropes because THAT IS TOTALLY THE KIND OF AMAZING THING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS MOVIE.

source
source

It is magical.

I mean, as I am writing this, the title song is playing through my head as well as my favorite scenes. And I can actually recite the whole movie. I’m completely obnoxious about it, and that delights me to no end.

Oh, alright. Here is also a clip featuring Sho’Nuff because he is the meanest, prettiest, and baddest mofolo down around this town, so it would be criminal for me not to feature him in some way.

 

Okay, there is so much good there and not just the ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS things the women say (“I would like to peel this banana”? “How would you like to kiss on my fist?” — GOLD), but the fact that Leroy is 100% not scared of Sho’Nuff and there’s this moment when Sho’Nuff realizes it. It is brilliant. And Johnny calling Sho’Nuff a “string bean Rick James looking fool”? OMG.

Also, Sho’Nuff is INSANE. I love him. One more scene because I can’t resist.

Okay, okay. Last one. Because it is EVERYTHING.

I mean, really.

Also, I used to have “Sho’Nuff” as my ringtone for text messages. It was awesome.

 

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for M!

K is for Kim Possible

Kim Possible is amazing. Both the show and the character.

There is much to love about good ol’ KP. I love Kim and Ron and Wade and Rufus. Kim’s parents! The twins! I mean, seriously.

But the villains. OMG. They are amazing.

I’m just going to leave this here without comment because seriously. Best villains ever.

 

A to Z 2016

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for L!

J is for Jeopardy!

I have very strong feelings about Jeopardy! (I am not going to use the exclamation point going forward because it makes me seem more excited/upset than I am. But I do want to acknowledge the exclamation point exists and is part of the actual title for the show. Moving on.)

via Logopedia
via Logopedia

 

Most of them are, of course, related to Alex Trebek.

He is so smug! And it is exasperating. Newsflash, Alex: you only know all of the answers because they’re RIGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.

Ugh.

I find him the most insufferable when he is shocked the contestants actually know the answers, however. I mean, these people were chosen for knowing random stuff nobody else knows or cares about. (Except me. I care. I learn things when I watch Jeopardy.)

My friend said her grandmother wrote in to complain about Alex being condescending toward female contestants, and I have noticed that he can be particularly patronizing to young, pretty women. He’ll say things like, “That’s right, young lady!” Which…I don’t think I’ve ever heard him say that to a young, male contestant. (I’m talking about during the regular shows, not the kids, teen, or college tournaments.)

Another friend sent me the link to this vid of Alex laughing at a contestant just to make sure I knew how smug he really is/can be:

Oh, Alex.

 

Anyway, I also get frustrated with the contestants, especially the ones who blow a runaway with stupid wagering. Alex actually had to give a “how not to bid dumb” a couple of weeks ago.

It is really simple math, people. I mean.

Unfortunately, teachers seem to be the WORST at this since I see the most flagrant and terrible wagering during the Teachers Tournament. I mean, it is awful.

I also get 100% upset when the contestants don’t know stuff that I do. So I guess I am like Alex in that regard.

To end this on a positive note, I do really enjoy Jeopardy 99% of the time. I don’t know enough to ever be on it, but I know enough to keep up with most of the categories. I also used to have a tag on my LJ “stuff Jeopardy teaches me” because I do learn things when I watch, and that’s probably my favorite part of the show. (It is my favorite part of the show.) I am a nerd. What can I say?

A to Z 2016

 

For the A to Z challenge, I’m blogging about fannish pursuits (aka things I’m a fan of or have strong feelings about). Tune in tomorrow to see what I picked for K!

It’s Monday! Time for a reading update!

This past week, I finished:

The Adventures of Superhero GirlThe Adventures of Superhero Girl by Faith Erin Hicks
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is super cute and very slice of life, which is a thing I dig.

View all my reviews

 

The Storied Life of A. J. FikryThe Storied Life of A. J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I first started this book, I didn’t think I would like it, but I very quickly changed my mind. This was really sweet (but not twee) and very engaging. Great characters.

View all my reviews

 

Last week, I posted:

I’m posting about fannish pursuits for the A to Z challenge, and I have been keeping up with it rather well. Here are the posts I’ve made so far (and, yes, I don’t even want to talk about how I’m a fan of exercise. I’m just going with it.):

[wrap-up-posts week=”14″ year=”2016″ category=”Blogging A to Z” listtype=”ul”]

 

As of today, I’m reading:

Necessary Endings by Henry Cloud

Yes, still with Necessary Endings. Maybe this will be the week that I finish it?

I also have three books from the library on my Kindle, but I haven’t decided which one to start. Do I go for a tried and true author? The second book in a series that promises to be fun? Or something probably a little more grounded and serious? It all depends on how I feel tomorrow. I don’t want to say what the three books are because I may feel like something completely different when it’s time to choose. SUSPENSE.

Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children's lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.
Hosted by Kathryn @ The Book Date. Children’s lit version hosted by Jen Vincent @ Teach Mentor Texts & Kellee Moye @ Unleashing Readers.

Happy reading, everyone!