!General thoughts and ratings for Angel 5.4, "Hellbound"

Meh. This episode was a whole lotta nothin'.

[Begin Spoiler for Hellbound — Highlight to view]

I was fascinated by Fred's hair in the beginning. It's like her hair is better than mine; non-curly, but complete over all the head. So she can leave it to go kind of wavy as well as to straighten it, or enhance the curl.

I've been really groggy and irritable all day for no real reason, and I'm not citing that as a reason, but I didn't understand half of this damn episode. I'll give it a 5 because I'm being nice. All the pseudo-science and black magic made no sense at all, which is okay, because I didn't care.

The episode was Spike-centric, and I still don't care, and they also threw in Eve as a bonus, who still can't act, still is useless, and still annoys me. However, I have found that since season 4, I've been liking Angel more and more. Well, it is his show. And I was almost warmed to Spike given their interaction in this episode.

But then ... NO! No, you stupid, stupid bitches. No. No. Spike calling Angel "Liam" is not continuity. It's just stupid . There is no reason he should know Angel's name, other than Angel. Seriously. I could only except this if they showed the bad-hair flashback of this bonding session.
"So, you're William, huh? Me too, actually. I went by Liam, though. More ethnic."
"Wow, we have so much in common! Also ... you're kind of attractive."
"Hey, you too!"
"Let's make out!"

Sorry. ... Sorry. Valerie has this profile pic (or, as the journal set call it, an "icon") of Spike and Angel sitting on the couch, with the caption "Subsequent mansex is axiomatic." For almost, seriously, the entire episode, that was the only thing I could think about. Subsequent mansex is axiomatic.

But, yeah, apparently the Mutant Enemy writers are still misguided on the concept of wit. Also, I don't really know that much about drinking games, but I hope the ones out there have some stipulation about whenever a character gives completely unecessary backstory. It bothered me more than usual for some reason. Probably because we're only 4 episodes into the season, and yet in every single one the characters have had to explain to each other that they except an evil law firm's offer to run its LA branch and now they're trying to run it and help the helpless like they used to do when they ran a detective agency without being corrupted by said evil law firm. Oh, and Angel is a vampire. But he has a soul.

Speaking of that, I hope they don't try to pull this "Spike will Shanshu" crap like I can already tell they're thinking about. I also hope they don't pull in with Angel, because (and I honestly hope I am not the first person to point this out) -- but Angel already Shanshued. The episode was called "I Will Remember You." Angel became human. The Powers That Be Released him from their service. A while later, Wesley read a prophecy, announcing that the vampire with the soul would become human. Now, I know that episode took place after IWRY, but the prophecy was written before that! It's over!

Speaking of the writers disappointing me, I was starting to wonder when we needed to see Spike with his shirt off again. I think, contractually, it needs to be in a fourth of all episodes, so we need to see it at least six more times. But, oh, I underestimated them, he was pant-less too. Good job, writers.

I don't really even care about discussing the rest of the episode. It was, like, really close to being interesting.

[End Spoiler]

General thoughts and ratings for Angel 5.3, "Unleashed"

Hooray! Thanks to the Drama of TNT, I can now begin watching the 5th season of Angel (minus the first two episodes, which I already saw). And you know what that means! It's extremely belated review time! I'm sure this will mildly interest at least three people. A word of warning, though, no one spoil me for what's already happened in later episodes. If I ponder about certain things, do not confirm or deny my suspicions. General comments like "I never thought of it that way" do not count. If you spoil me, I will change the address of my blog and refuse to give it to you for the rest of eternity. I will shun your grandchildren's grandchildren ad perpetuum.

Sorry, I had to peel miniature potatoes this evening, and the process was filled with trials.

I also just watched the second episode of Lost , and I am of the opinion that this show is rather badass. Also, Dan Kwa, who will be reviewing the show at Television Without Pity, has earned my undying love by being really really funny. Also, with any luck, people will learn who Naveen Andrews, Harold Perrineau, and Daniel Dae Kim are, so I won't feel so utterly alone in that knowledge. Although, I'm reasonabley sure that Kim played Gavin Park, so the more hardcore of Buffynerds should know who he is. Anyway, talented chaps all.

I tried to get to reviewing earlier, but sadly, the rerun schedule is not ideal. My mother comes home between five and six, and she needs attention when that event occurrs. I need to watch my show! Also, they mess with the commercial breaks, so I'm sure I'm not getting the full dramatic effect as it is scripted. Anyway.

[Begin Spoiler for Unleashed — Highlight to view]

Hush! Quiet all! I like my spoiler tags, so they shall remain.

I liked the first scene. Perhaps because it was an "All New" episode after I have been so long without them. But I liked the interaction with the characters. I'm surprised that they were after Gunn so soon about the fact that he might be evil. It showed an incredible forsight for characters created by Joss Whedon. Sadly, though, I think Amy Acker's acting skills were way, way rusty. She looked cute, though.

I thought up so many comments about the first scene, like, "Hey, back off there, Wesley! I think he's kind of cute, too." And I didn't really have many thoughts on the rest. I mean, it was nice. It was a good story, I give the episode overall about an 8. I totally thought that chick was Julie Benz when I first saw her. They look similar. And though her personal struggle was, at this point in the game, old hat, I liked her talks with Angel about being a monster, and all that. And the girl was a good actress and the character seemed like she had more than one dimension, which was nice. I liked the fact that she lived with her sister and took ridiculous classes. It made her seem like an actual person.

Spike, apparently, is a distraction. It's weird everytime they mention him, because he *doesn't belong in this story*. I'm actually really interested in how they're playing this storyline so far, and what the characters think about it and all this, and then I'm reminded that Spike is there, and I get annoyed. "Hey, I'm the situtation, remember?!" Oh, how could we forget, Spike? How ever could we forget?

Anyway, I don't really see what the big deal would be with letting him slip into nothingness. I, personally, wouldn't give a shit, and I do believe this is the reason he doesn't want to tell Angel about his predicament, because I'm sure Angel would feel the same way. I do appreciate the fact that the characters, at least, seem to know he's ridiculous, and take him down a few notches. "Angel killed him with a pen." Ha!! Suck on it, IdiotBitch! Hmm. "IdiotBitch." I like it! Oh man, though, if I were Wesley, I'd be pissed. That pen was really nice.

Also, someone needs to rent James Marsters a lot of stale English period dramas before he ever again tries to claim that he can do an English accent. I mean, the decline has been massive. And his slow, halting speech in his first scene of this episode was ... horrific. Anyway, I think Spike's interest in Fred is a sinister one.

I really like that they had Lorne read the employees. Good job writers! My only problem is: Why wasn't that the first thing they did ?? Seriously! They want to know if the people there are evil, they want to know if they can trust these people, why wasn't asking Lorne to read all the employees the very first thing they did? Oh well, it only took them a month, though, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Also, what happened with the dude who was trying to be Marlon Brando in The Freshman? I think, somehow, I missed the part where he learned his lesson. And yet, we're done with him now?

I've become firm in my belief lately that Angel the show is superior to Buffy the show. Seriously. I think I would like this show just as much if there had never been a Buffy preceeding it. And so far, I'm liking season 5.

Oh, but what was up with the sappy music they played over the last couple scenes? What? What was that? I don't remember crappy songs ever being played over the credits before. It was awkward and ill-advised. I think silence would have made it much nicer. I didn't need the song to realize it was a nice moment. It was, anyway.

Yes, and then there was Spike. [sigh]

[End Spoiler]

Pause. Gasp!

I just saw a commercial for the RBS, and the scenario is a wedding, a blond girl is marrying an assface, who starts ... saying something about banks, I don't know. I wasn't really paying attention, because after a second, I realize, I know her! !! That's Katya!

When I was a freshman, Katya Campbell was an MFA II, and taught my intro acting class. She also wrote me a recommendation and we infrequently met outside of class, and she was an all around awesome personal. That's so awesome! And since the company is international, I'm guessing this commercial is at least a national.

In other, less exciting news, I did not get to meet Crystal. [frown] Oh well. Someday. Instead I went down to a birthday dinner for my Auntie Pat, and that's always emotionally rewarding. However, this did interrupt my attempt at watching Indiana Jones And the Raiders Of The Lost Ark which I have never seen before. I wasn't really watching that closely either, which is why I don't know if I should be upset about the monkey, as I don't know if it was explained. The monkey had a prehensile tail. IN EGYPT!! But it was obviously also a Nazi monkey (which made me sad) so I suppose they imported it. Eh. The Last Crusade is still better.

Pretty

as 238 pictures.

And that's only of what we kept! Please bear in mind that the pictures got better as the shoot went on, so I hate all of them with that first shirt. I really like the ones where I'm in the purple jacket, but none of the ones where I'm smiling really did it for me, and the jacket is to ... something for a serious picture. Bah! I wound up picking 160 and 170. You can tell because they've been retouched to high holy heaven. Yay! My photographer rocks. Even though he's about twelve years old!

Incidentally, perhaps the greatest thing that I learned from this is the following: I have greatly misjudged PhotoShop. It is God. And I want to own it.

Please explain to me that I am pretty.

All these posts are written by me!

Or so sayeth the manage posts page. Man, I started making this post yesterday, and then I stopped. But I changed the date just so nokirk gets confused.

I'm utterly bored with the internet. I've spreed like a proverbial monkey on the board. I expect reproofs from any administrative types! And Blurty is cranky. So, I might as well blog like I promised my friend Pat I would. Part of my entry is about Harry Potter! I know! Again!

I'm fine after having been through my crashing ordeal. My mother is occasionally cranky about it, but then recovers herself.

I've been seeing a lot of movies lately, mostly on HBO. This is remarkable because I *never watch television*. I mean, I do but ... no. The movies seem to be of a similar genre, as well:
The League Of Extraordinary Gentleman
Underworld
Firestarter: Rekindled
Merlin
X2

The Firestarter one I didn't really watch too much of. I just thought I should give more Marguerite Moreau movies a try. Merlin I only watched half of, because I've seen it before, and I opted to watch the X-Men premiere instead. So I got to see my beloved Sam Neill and my beloved Ian McKellen both! And also my best friend, Jason Done. I also surprised myself by not disliking TLOEG. I kinda dug it! I am, however, glad that it did not have Dominic Monaghan in it, which for some reason I thought it did, and that that was in fact Shane West. He can be it bad movies, I won't care. I actually liked all these movies, for the most part. This further proves my theory that I've just been very forgiving with my entertainment choices lately.

I bought the "allure" magazine with Kirsten Dunst on the cover. The article left something to be desired. I admire her for getting a Prius, though. Good for her. There's also some things she spouted which pissed me off. Zach Braff, writer, director, and star of the movie Garden State claimed that when you're a teenager, your body goes through puberty, and in your twenties, your mind does. Which is an interesting philosophy. I think that could adequately describe Ms. Dunst at the moment. She's currently ill-at-ease with having been a child star, and doesn't know that she's going with her life what she really wants to do. And that's all fine, except that she also asserted that she "didn't have a normal childhood" -- or didn't have any, possibley.

This pisses me off to a great extent. You didn't have a normal childhood? Pardon me, but who did? Seriously? I didn't. Who are the people who had these fabled idyllic, happy, perfect, "normal" childhoods? Who? And I especially hate the "I didn't have a childhood" nonsense. You worked when you were young. That *was* your childhood. People have been doing it for a millenia. I'm sorry that it wasn't ideal, but that *was* your childhood. Some children are orphaned, some are abused, some children attempt suicide at the age of ten. And *that* is their childhood. That's it. You don't get a second one. And if you hadn't been acting, if you hadn't been overworked, emotional screwed up, whatever, you still would not have had a "normal" childhood. Because no one does. So get over yourself.

And now let's talk about Harry Potter! That was weird. That issue bothers me greatly, but I wasn't feeling upset when I started writing it, so I thought I would have trouble conveying how I felt. Not so!

The Harry Potter part is actually very short, and doesn't really even need spoiler tags. I saw the last bit of The Chamber Of Secrets playing on ... some station the other day, and I noticed two things:
1. Chris Columbus really is an asshole. I didn't even realize how much better the series was under the direction of the Mexican-porn guy, until I saw the first two again. What the hell, Chris Columbus? What the hell?
2. I think, and I feel pretty confident about saying this, that in ten years time, Bonnie Wright will be far hotter than Emma Watson. I've got a nickel to back me up.

When it rains, you also get into car accidents.

Um, yeah. I was just in a car accident about an hour ago. As my mother is injured, I've been driving her around today. Earlier, we went to pick up some prescription drugs, take the vacuum cleaner to be fixed, and dropped off some film to be developed at the local CVS's 1hour service dealy. So, one hour later, I was headed back to pick up the pictures. In retrospect, I probably should have walked, as it's only about six blocks away. But, no, I was in a car, and turned off my tiny small residential street onto a slightly larger street making a left turn (see diagram below). I looked (and this is important) both ways and saw absolutely nothing coming. I nosed out to get a clearer view, and there was a goddamn stupid SUV parked on the street, which I had to lean forward to look around, and still nothing, so I make the turn. ... And then see the white car which is barrelling towards me. I think I knew even before it happened that it was not my fault, as she (young chick, mid-twenties probably)was going far too fast for the street. Also, if she attempted to slow down, it didn't do much. So, I got hit directly in the driver's side door, and I screamed because I did not know what the fuck was going to happen. Then the window shattered and glass fell over me. Obviously, I am alright, as I am online now. A little old man who was passing by told me to turn off the engine, lest the car explode. I didn't want to move, because I was covered in shards of glass that had also fallen into my shirt and the back of my jeans. The other driver immediately came over to me and said "Oh my god! Are you alright?" Aside from some surface cuts and being a bit shaken up, I was. A police person was actually passing by on the street and pulled over, and issued cops arrived soon after. As I was only a block from my house, I called my mother and she walked over. After some minor drama of not being able to find her insurance information (it was under the passenger's seat, for some reason) she drove the car home, and I walked (I didn't want to sit, as I had glass in my underpants. Not cool.) I got home and took a shower to rinse the glass off. My mother called a cab to take her to the 4 o'clock doctor's appointment that I was going to drive her to. Then I called my sister, who calmed me downed and suggested I call my father. If I feel hurt tomorrow, I should go to the doctor, is her advice. I vacuumed out the car. I called my father (he's going to the US Open all this week) and he said he'll call me tonight to see how I feel. And, now that you mention it, my neck is starting to hurt. And so, here we are!

It has not been that long

and yet, I think I promised Pat I would update.

Thanks to Val's party I have: 1. Finally heard the music of Loreena McKennitt and Lucinda Williams. Williams I like quite a bit. 2. Removed one item from my list of People I Hate. 3. Eaten almost nothing but corn chips, all weekend.

Uh ... I actually think that's it. My mother fell yesterday, and hurt her wrist in doing so. I think it's probably fractured, so I'll be forcing her to seek some medical attention tomorrow. On the plus side, I drove her around today and she neglected to scream, hiss, and grab onto the car for dear live. Progress?

There are some days when, historically, nothing happened.