And every breath we drew was hallelujah

[rachg82]

I love lazy weekend afternoons. They're the best. Although this one can't be too lazy unfortunately, because I have to go to the store soon to get a birthday gift for my stepdad (and then over to their place for dinner tonight), but that's okay. I still got to rock the pajamas until noon, which is a beautiful thing.

I plan to do a Bones & Dollhouse post at some point in the next day or two, just as a heads-up, but right now I have a bunch of other random things floating around in my brain, so you know what that means. . .

Time for a Random List of Random, baby! This time with lots of extra rambling & even a few vids for good measure. I'll put each subject into its own cut though so you guys can just read what you want. I'm polite like that. Heh.


1. NBC: What a great network. . .FOR ME TO POOP ON! (that was for you, Triumph!)

How many of you watched Conan's final Tonight Show last night? I was so happy he decided to end on a positive note and take the classy way out. As much as I thought he had the right to tell NBC to go fuck itself, it would've been really depressing if the entire hour had been nothing but Jay Leno jokes & bitterness. I mean, the whole thing was totally like a vicious breakup--except on television--and it was certainly riveting to watch, but I wanted Mommy & Daddy to stop fighting and for Conan to be able to walk out the door with a smile on his face, y'know?

I hope he's able to take his crew & move to a new network in the fall (when the non-compete agreement ends), which I'm sure he'll be able to do. I think Fox would be a perfect fit for him, actually. They're full of crack & would probably let him do pretty much anything he wanted. It just sucks so hard that--from what I hear at least--he won't be able to take his old characters & bits with him. No more "In the year 2000", no more Masturbating Bear, no more Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. I don't understand that at all. What the hell is NBC going to do with them? Again, it takes me back to the vicious breakup analogy. It's like a national divorce and NBC is the pissed off husband who's all "Yeah, well, that's fine. But I'm keeping the Ikea bookshelf!" And Conan's all "What?! You don't even read!" And NBC's like "I DO NOW."

So, in summation:

NBC: You fail. Hard. You still get visitation rights, because I can't give up my Parks & Recreation and 30 Rock (and also want to watch Parenthood in the spring, because, hello: LAUREN GRAHAM!), but there'll be lots of door-slamming and awkward family dinners where we all just sit & glare at each other for a while. Just try to fail less in the future, m'kay?

Conan: Rock on dude, we love you. *smooches*



2. Modern Family: Still fuckin' great. I see now what some of you meant, when you said it had heart. This week's ep was fantastic and I couldn't love Cam & Mitchell any more than I do right now. I honestly think the show is historic for the way it's handling them & their relationship. I'm not sure how many of you notice this very often, but there haven't been that many same-sex pairings on American broadcast television that are part of the main cast. And certainly not many that are part of the main cast right from the beginning (i.e. not just something that gets brought in during sweeps & then abandoned two weeks later) and who are introduced to the viewers as having already been in a long-term committed relationship right from the start.

Not to mention the hugeness of their being a family & raising a child too. Usually, when TV addresses same-sex parenting, it's in a "We're obsessed with how they do it"-type way. Like, "So how do the women get pregnant? They go to a sperm bank, right? Let's make the whole episode about sperm!" Or the entire thing is just about the ~difficulties~ of adopting or something. It's almost never about two people simply raising a child like normal parents. And I know that sometimes happens to straight couples on TV too, but not NEARLY to the same degree. You can't turn and spit while watching most networks without hitting a long-term straight relationship or family right in the face. It just doesn't compare. And not only is that important in terms of how the straight community views same-sex relationships, but I also can't even begin to stress its effects on gay & bisexual youth & their feelings toward themselves & their futures.

And as if all that weren't enough, the show also strikes a perfect balance between "the fact that they are both men is just one part of their relationship; let's focus on everything else in their lives too" with "but we also can't ignore that part of their lives either." Like this week for instance, they weaved the plotline about Mitchell & his father in so gracefully while still keeping it from becoming a Very Special Episode. The show really does a wonderful job in my opinion of showing mainstream America a hint of some of the difficulties of being non-hetero while also portraying the normalcy of it. I mean, sure, there are some stereotypes in there. Cam is kinda over the top & flamey, but it's in an adorable way (seriously, I love him so much), and it's a sitcom so what do you expect? Everyone on the show is over the top. Regardless of that though, they are doing something amazing here & it is so appreciated. Much love, ABC.



3. Caprica: I haven't watched the pilot yet (it's sitting on my DVR from last night), but I felt the need to say something about it. Jane Espenson is going to be at the helm, right? Which, yeah, I don't know. On one hand, she's been a part of so many of my favorite shows--not just BSG, but also Gilmore Girls, Buffy, etc--and she wrote one of my favorite BSG eps ("The Hub"), but she also wrote The Plan, which I have to admit I was mostly underwhelmed by. Aside from a few good scenes, that is. And correct me if I'm wrong, but RDM won't even have much to do with it, right? So I'm not sure yet how different it'll be from BSG, and what to expect from it. I will say though that I'm hesitantly excited to watch it and am going into it with an open mind. At the very least, I'm really looking forward to finally seeing Adama's dad, and hope like hell we get to see at least one clip at some point in the series of Adama as a little kid. I mean, seriously, CAN YOU IMAGINE BILL ADAMA AS A CHILD? Like, holy shit, that'd be the best thing ever. All I can see is this five year old with a grumpy emo face, playing with his toys while talking in this super husky voice (like, the same voice he has now. Haha), all "Set Condition One throughout the fleet!" And then his dad would walk in and be like "Bill, those are just plastic soldiers, you know." And Adama would give him his Care Bear Glare and think to himself, "You don't even know, Dad! One day I'll have my own ship! And P.S. I'll be frakking the president too! WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THAT, HUH? MR. BIG-SHOT LAWYER!"



4. Haiti, telethons, and random music & BSG-related randomness: I realized I hadn't said anything here about this yet, and that's probably largely because I feel like anything I could say would be simply stating the obvious, but here I go anyway: What's happened there is an utter disaster, and not just a natural disaster, but a humanitarian one. Which, again, is stating the obvious. But my heart goes out to them and though I've already donated money, I wish there was more I could do to help, even just on an emotional level. The unfortunate thing is that they are just one disaster out of many. There are so many places in the world that are constantly in turmoil & crisis, and sometimes it's all you can do not to get overwhelmed at the sheer volume of help that is needed. But every little bit still counts, so I encourage any of you who have not yet donated to please do so if you can. Especially because the organizations that are helping Haiti also help all over the rest of the world as well. And not to be all "Won't somebody think of THE CHILDREN!" about it, but in Haiti's case specifically? They already had a problem with orphans, and now? That problem is going to be raised exponentially. And while adults can do a lot to try to take care of themselves in hard situations, there are tons of children there right now who have lost huge chunks of their families & who need help. They're alone, and they're hurt, and they're scared. Their schools are ruined, their parents are gone, and they're living in a tent on the street. In a country that was already impoverished to begin with. And they didn't ask for any of it. So even if it's only five bucks, even if it's just a drop in the bucket, it still helps.

And while we're on the subject, did any of you see the telethon last night? Maybe I'm just a cynical bitch, but am I the only one who sometimes gets a little annoyed by the way the celebrities talk when they're answering the phones & thanking others for donating money? I mean, obviously it's a good thing if it draws more attention to the cause, but their tone of voice & attitude sometimes bugs me. Not a lot, but a little. Like they're doing the world a favor by being there to answer the phone & talk to the "little people." And while a few of them acted like normal human beings (Steven Spielberg for one. I thought he came across totally un-full of himself & down to Earth), a lot of the others I saw had this super condescending tone, and were all "Aw, thank you so much for your donation! We'll do all we can to put it to good use!" And I swear one of them said that. I was like, "We'll do all we can? Since when are you the Red Cross? Reality Check, okay? You're a fucking actress who has tons of money and is answering phones for a tv show. Thank you for being here & doing your part, but please tone it down Mother Theresa."

Aside from that though, I thought it was pretty well-done. And I did appreciate all the celebrities being there, for what it's worth. And while this is totally random (but hey, that's what this entry is for, right?), I went a little flaily over some of the song choices. A bunch of my favorites showed up in there, and I especially enjoyed Justin Timberlake's cover of "Hallelujah." I love that song so much. Like, I want to make out with the lyrics, they are so gorgeous. And on an even more random note? Ever since I saw this fanvid by evg4815, I can never hear the song anymore without thinking of the BSG finale:

"" (Watch on YouTube)

Seriously, they are forever linked in my mind now. Heh. Sometimes a song just fits a show perfectly, you know what I mean? I guess that's why the kids these days make fanmixes, huh?[/is an old person] Hee. Like, "back in my day we just had songfics! And they were terrible! But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you? WOULD YOU? Now grab me my cane!"

Oh, and P.S. While I'm on the subject of BSG, two things: 1. I still plan to go back & finish my recapping of season 4.5. It'll probably happen in February/March. With Bones having its winter hiatus then & Dollhouse ending, that should give me plenty of time to do it. And 2. While watching the telethon and thinking about earthquakes, I had the most random BSG-related realization ever. You guys remember that deleted scene from Unfinished Business? Where Adama & Roslin are cuddling under the stars and she's talking about living for today? Right, well, here's the thing. While she's listing off all the ways in which they could die? She mentions earthquakes as being one of them. EARTH-quakes. As in, Earth, the planet that they're looking for and have never seen, and only know about through religious myths. WHY IN THE FRAK WOULD THEY CALL THEM EARTHQUAKES AND NOT, LIKE, CAPRICA-QUAKES OR GROUND-QUAKES OR SOMETHING? Seriously, I cracked up so hard once I realized that. Continuity Fuck-ups FTW! Hahaha.



5. Family stuff. I talked to my mom last night about her situation with pain pills and I'm glad I did. Not because I think it'll make some big difference, but just for myself. I'd been avoiding talking with her about it for a long time, and while I'm still going to stay removed from the whole thing for my own sake, it was still good to put it out there. Basically, I just let her know that I knew what had been going on with her, that I know she's been abusing them, that it's been hurting her relationship with my sister (they have been fighting like dogs), and that it's been making me not want to be around her as much. I also flat-out asked her if she was taking them for physical pain or emotional pain and she admitted it was the latter. Which, on a positive note, it's good she can be honest about that. Even if a second later she'll try to backtrack and deny the extent of the addiction, and then a second later admit it again, and bla bla bla. That's just how it goes. But I still appreciate even the momentary honesty. And I'm also glad her doctor has apparently put her on a contract, which should help prevent her from getting them all over town. Although they also gave her a medical marijuana license, and now my mom is going to be getting stoned all the time. Which I can't decide if I should be more annoyed or amused by. It's half & half at this point. Heh. I mean, to be real, I actually don't have a problem with it if the amount she can get is limited. I know the kidney failure gives her major stomach problems--including nausea--and marijuana helps with that. But my mom on weed? Lord help us all. I guess at least in my experience (yes, I've smoked it. Heh) weed just makes people stupid & nice, as opposed to pain pills, which turn her into a belligerent bitch from hell. So hey. We'll see how it goes.

Also, while I still haven't talked to my dad, they sent me a check for my birthday (which is next Wednesday. Gonna be 28, y'all. NO IDEA how that happened). I've said it before and I'll say it again: I do not understand them or what's going on in their heads. I have no idea what I want to say if/when we talk. I know I'm not going to call them on my own. But if they leave me a message, I have to figure out how I want to approach everything if I call them back. I was honestly tempted to rip up the check and be done with it. But I'm going to wait & see if they call me and just take it from there. Again, as I said above, I suppose we'll just see how it goes.



6. And lastly, a question for you all regarding political correctness & language: Recently I was talking with Jen (dosidella) about this topic, specifically the word "lame," and I was curious to see what others would say about it as well. I usually am on the more PC side of things, but in this case I came down on the less PC side for once. I could see where she was coming from--that the word originally meant people or animals with a disabled limb, and that it could be considered offensive that the word has evolved into meaning something bad--but at the same time that original definition was so long ago (and as far as I know, wasn't said in a negative way back then, right?) that I don't think most people, including disabled people, would even think twice about it now. But am I wrong? Have any of you ever heard of the disabled community protesting that word, or known an individual who was disabled & who didn't like it? So far the only people I've encountered who don't like it are not actually disabled themselves. I even looked it up to see what I could find about it and only came across one message board for disabled people who were talking about it, and none of them had a problem with it. Of course that was a message board for people in the UK, and maybe disabled people in America have different associations with the word? I'm honestly really curious to hear your guys' thoughts on this, if you have any. And Jen, I already know your thoughts, so you don't count. Hee.



Anyway, that's it for the day. I've got to go run to the store to buy that gift at the last minute like the procrastinator that I am, heh. But before I go, I figured it'd be appropriate to make my Vid of the Day a tribute to the two Conan bits I'm going to miss the most:

First up: In the Year 2000, Duchovny-style!

"Randomness with Rachael" (Watch on YouTube)

And lastly, I'll bid my adieu to Conan on NBC with my favorite dog on television, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog:

(P.S. This one has got to be my favorite Triumph bit of all time, hands down. Even years later it still cracks me up. And when Spock comes by & flips them off? Oh my God, I died. Haha.)

"Randomness with Rachael" (Watch on YouTube)

"Randomness with Rachael" (Watch on YouTube)

Comments

[britishwannabe1.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you talked to your mom hun. It's the only way things will get better <3

[torigates.livejournal.com]

I will just say amen to everything you said about Conan. He definitely took the high road, and it just made him all that much better.

[auroura76.livejournal.com]

That Attack of the Clones bit is SO MOTHEREFFING CLASSIC. The sad part is I watched it live, and it's shocking how young Conan looks. We're all getting so oooooooooold.

Thanks for posting these!