rachg82

( Rizzoli & Isles )

I don't have much else to talk about today, so let's skip right to that meme now.

( The X-Files and Community )

Thanks to the influences of the interwebz, I rewatched XF's "Paper Hearts" tonight. How good is that episode? I mean, really. Not to mention the entire season. It's a bit ridiculous. I'm really tempted to make some more XF icons now. Which, yeah, considering I already have a mess of BSG icons I'd like to make, I think it's time to buy more space. Or, as an alternative, I could just make them & not use them. But I don't like that alternative very much. Heh.

Aside from wanting to drop by & share my "omg XF ILU" flailyness, this entry doesn't have much of a point. I did want to add four more things though:

1. I am hereby transferring my happy ass back into Spoilerphobe Land when it comes to Bones. I let myself check out a few things about the premiere, got my fix as I go through summer withdrawls (I just want to see/read/know anything new, yo!) and it is now time to go back into the dark. God help me be strong.

2. Double rainbow all the way!. I have not been able to stop laughing over that guy for about an hour now. And I'm sure everyone's seen it already, but if not, GO. And then listen to this. "What does it meeeean?" Haha.

P.S. The best part is I saw that video after spending the day with Aimee last weekend, and (jokingly) asked that exact question about all the butterflies we kept seeing. "What does it meeeeaan, dude!" She was like, "probably means it's summer."

3. Mel Gibson is a psycho. Not that this is new information obviously, but wow. When will these d-bags learn not to flaunt their d-baggery when there are recording devices/cameras/etc available to catch their ass in the act? Chickity check yo'self, Gibson.

4. ( I got the test results back from my doctor )

For my Vid of the Day, I'm gonna go with something different today. Behold, one of my favorite moments of The X-Files:

P.S. The first time I watched this episode, I thought it was boring & ignored it. Probably because I was a 14 yr old shipper and was pissed there were no Mulder/Scully scenes. (heh, I keeps it real) I then unjustly cut it out of my rewatches over the years until finally giving it another chance during the epic rewatch I had with dosidella in '04. Together we decided it was basically the best thing ever. Okay, so maybe not EVER (hello, "Bad Blood". Also, this just in: I like to exaggerate. Hee), but still. It rules. Cancerman is Forrest Gump, people. A disgruntled, evil Forrest Gump. I rest my case.

All right, yo! Who's ready to travel back in time with me to September, 1993 (ignore the pilot timestamp; it's only there to confuse fans who foolishly attempt to make sense of the show's timeline)? I can remember where I was, can you? Little rachg82 was sitting in class, annoying and/or amusing her 6th grade teacher (it's fairly safe to say it was probably one or the other), and little did she know that on her television screen that weekend, a show called The X-Files would premiere. Nor did she know that only three years later it would drag her into the world of fandom for the next 14 years, and change television forever.

Now, I'm not going to say there weren't other shows prior to it that didn't change television too, because there undoubtedly were. TV & fandom both owe a huge debt to Star Trek, just to name one of many. Plus shortly after XF, Buffy came along and most certainly changed fandom as well. There's really not a single fandom I come across that isn't touched by Whedonverse fans in one way or another (right down to the way we talk. I was talking like a Buffy fan before I ever even watched the damn show, thanks to the internet). Still, XF made a lasting & widespread cultural impact that can't be denied.

It was the first television show to be sold on DVD in the United States (and back then it was $100 a season, and yes, I spent the money & then laid the DVDs out on my bed just staring at them like they were the most amazing thing I'd ever seen). It was watched around the world, from Australia to Japan (if I remember correctly, it was the first American show to be sold on VHS in Japan, and Aussies went absolutely APESHIT for the show when it was released there. Seriously, don't try to deny it, I've seen the YouTube vids of Gillian's first visit there in '95! Y'all are some crazy bitches. People were crying like they just saw The Beatles). The first sci-fi show to go truly mainstream here in America (remember in season 5 when it was pulling in 20 million viewers a week?). The first show to actually grow up with an online fandom, and really can be credited imo with creating online fandom in the first place (much in the same way that Star Wars & Star Trek basically paved the way for fandom before the internet). It gave us the terms "shippers" and "UST." It gave birth to an entire generation of fanfic authors who are still writing to this day (I still spot old XF authors that I used to read as a teenager ALL THE TIME in my other fandoms on a regular basis & it never stops tripping me out. I love how almost none of us felt the need to change our pennames, hee). And most of all, it defined so much of the mentality of America leading into the 21st century. Mistrust of the government, a sense of alienation & a desire to know that there's something else out there, something bigger than ourselves that we can believe in, fear of what we can't know, fear of what we *can* know, fear of our technology, fear of ourselves. . .the list goes on.

So, really, to sum it up: it's just some all-around epic shit. And I'm really quite excited to start this rewatch with you all. But don't worry, even with all the epicness, a lot of this (more like most of it, let's be real) is just going to be me flailing all over the place & yelling in capslock & talking smack. As one does.

So whaddya say we get right down to it? You guys ready to yell at Chris Carter with me and join me in undressing Mulder & Scully with my eyes on a weekly basis? Then buckle in for some serious ramblin' & let's do this thang.

( X-Files Rewatch: The Pilot )

ATTENTION ALL FANGIRLS:

Your vote is needed.

As we all know, Roslin sadly got voted out already, but many of my other homegirls are still alive over there. Now: Lorelai, Brennan, Buffy, & Veronica all have safe buffers at the moment & are sittin' pretty, and Kara's so far behind I'm just gonna let her go (sorry, Starbuck), but Scully. . .as in Dana frakkin' "I AM A MEDICAL DOCTOR & I WILL PWN YOU WITH MY SKEPTICAL EYEBROW" Scully. . .is less than a hundred votes above Dean Winchester. DEAN WINCHESTER, PEOPLE. WHO ALREADY WON LAST YEAR. DON'T MAKE ME PULL A ROSLIN & AIRLOCK ALL OF LIVEJOURNAL, BECAUSE I WILL. SCULLY HAD BETTAH WIN THIS BITCH, SO HELP ME GOD.

And if you need more reasons to vote Scully?

( I am here to help )

1. Happy Valentine's Day, all! Especially to my fellow singles. As one can guess by my current subject heading (points to whoever can say what movie it's from!), I am NOT celebrating it with a special someone tonight. Not that I'm bitter about that. . .or anything. Heh.

2. That being said, I have been too distracted by the fabulousness of this post all day to care. I was so entertained I had to make an icon, ha. It's times like these that I feel sorry for people who are not into BSG, because it has got to be one of the most cracky, fun fandoms I've ever participated in.

3. My loud & annoying upstairs neighbors moved out today. I could not be more thrilled, seriously. I may throw a party. *gets out confetti*

4. As planned, I spent a few hours playing with my niece last night, which was a total blast. On the "not a blast" side of things though: my mom & stepdad ended up coming along to dinner with my sister after my nephew invited them, which nearly ruined their whole evening because they caused a humongous scene apparently (and when I say a "humongous scene," I'm really not exaggerating. We're talking a "screaming and shoving and blocking traffic"-type scene). I am so, so glad I wasn't there. And also glad my nephew was in the play area, so he didn't see it either. But I felt SO bad for my sister after she told me all the details. And I was really pissed that it happened because the whole point of the evening was me trying to give my sister a pleasant night out for once while also allowing me some one-on-one time with Izzie. And yes, I got the second half of that accomplished, and my sister said her whole night wasn't ruined, but they completely put a damper on things. They are just so freaking selfish & rude sometimes. Oh, and also, did I mention that I found out my mom has been to over a dozen doctors in the last month (gee, wonder why!), and is now going to a "pain management" place that is giving her 90 pills a month so she can take them morning, noon, & night? It's a good thing our conversation about her addiction issues recently made such an impact, huh? God, whatever. I'm in full-on avoid mode with her right now, because I just can't deal with her bullshit.

But despite all that, spending time with Izzie was great & I really enjoyed it. She's so damn cute it should be a crime. Like, someone stick this child in Baby Prison already, because it's just too much. Hee. I can already tell she's going to be a complete nightmare when she turns two though. This baby has a major attitude, heh. She's like a one year old HBIC, trufax. Don't mess with her.

5. Figuuuuuure skaaaaating toniiiiight! (you know I'm excited when I start putting extra letters in! Hee. Just be glad I managed to hold in the capslock)

6. And speaking of figure skating, I had forgotten that was gonna be on tonight, and as I was otherwise preoccupied today (I ended up getting my eyebrows done this afternoon, for instance, & then went shopping & cleaned, etc), it looks like I won't have time to post the Dollhouse stuff I wanted tonight. But I did at least rewatch the finale this afternoon & take my notes in preparation for my entry, which I'll probably be able to post by mid-week. Ahh, TV obsession, it's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it. Hee. (P.S. Yesterday my sister asked me what I planned to do today, and in addition to the stuff above, I told her I planned to write about tv in my online journal--she knows I have one, but doesn't have the link--and she was like "that's. . .cool." And I said, "thanks for pretending you don't think it's weird" and she was basically like "no problem." Haha.)

7. To make up for my belated tv-postage, and also in celebration of Valentine's Day, I now hereby give to you all a special Super Shipper Edition of the Vid of the Day, which will include a vid for each of my three favorite pairings (Mulder/Scully, Adama/Roslin, and Booth/Brennan). Enjoy the cutetasticness!

( I ship, therefore I am )

Question: how lazy does it make me that I still haven't taken down my xmas lights? I suppose I should probably get around to that, huh?

And speaking of things I need to get around to, I think it's about time I wrapped up my end-of-the-year stuff considering it's, you know, January. I technically never did finish my End of the Decade Vidfest (there were still a few left I'd wanted to include), but that's not a big deal. Afterall, I do post a vid with every entry anyway, so it's not like I can't just throw the remaining ones back in the mix to share at a later date. At least I still got a few good BSG ones in there, along with some other 2000-2009 fave shows as well. So it all works out.[/unnecessary ramble]

Really, the only things left that I care to finish now are my 2010 resolutions, and the Top TV/Pairings of the Decade post I mentioned in my last entry. (yes, I will use any excuse to flail over television. Are you surprised?)

First up, resolutions:

1. Attend more events for my meetup group and be more social in general
2. Find some poor fool to go on a date with me
3. Be more physically active & lose weight in a healthy way. (I somehow already lost 4/5 pounds just by making a few smart changes in my diet--i.e. "yes, Rachael, oatmeal for breakfast is better than fried bacon"--so here's to a good start!)
4. Perform well at my job so that I can be hired on permanently when the hiring freeze lifts

And, maybe--no promises--but I will try to see if I can get myself to take at least one class (even if it's just online) and/or get my chicken-shit ass in a car & try driving again. WE'LL SEE.

Now, with that out of the way, onto the End of the Decade TV Lovage!

After much careful deliberation, I decided to make it a Top 10 list. . .with a few extra honorable mentions because I'm an indecisive cheater like that. Hee. And then, once that's done, I'll finish things out with my Top 3 Shipper Pairings. If I do my job right, you should all be 100% OD'd on TV goodness & joy by the time we're through.

( Top 10 Shows of 2000-2009 )

( Top 3 Shipper Pairings )

This entry marks the memory of two very different events.

Number one, the most obvious: the 8-year anniversary of 9/11. Years may have passed, and new tragedies may have unfortunately continued to occur all around the world since, but my memories from that day are still as fresh as ever. The moment I heard my sister on the phone say to me "The twin towers are gone! They are completely gone!" is not something I'll ever forget. The only other time I ever cried that much in a single day was when my grandpa passed away six months before.

Number two, and much less important on a grand scale (but significant to me nonetheless), is that as of 12:04 am on 9/12/09 (yes, I checked. I am a nerd) it will be exactly seven years since my very first entry on livejournal. That is crazily crazy. I mean, just think about it for a second: a good chunk of you have now known me for most of my adult life, and have never even heard my voice. It's both incredibly weird and incredibly special, all at the same time.

So in honor of these anniversaries, both big and small, this entry will be about taking a look back (complete with a crazy picspam o' pics to better illustrate our Trip Down Memory Lane). I'm even breaking out my very first icon and everything. The oompas are back, yo. Ready to give you nightmares all over again! Haha.

(there'll also be a Vid of the Day of course, but I'm leaving you all in suspense as to which fandom it's for. I'll give you a hint though: which show was Rachael ape-shit obsessed with in 2002? Hmm, that's a tough one![/sarcastic])

( Here's to 7 years, one livejournal account, and a lot of epic rambling. Cheers, y'all )

I'd like everyone to think back to where they were in 1994/1995. Go ahead, close your eyes. Picture the scrunchies, the doc martins, the flannel. And just for fun maybe throw in some knee-high socks, mary jane shoes, and babydoll dresses (Oh, 7th grade memories!). Recall what your favorite show was at the time. No, not Melrose Place. (hee) Well, okay, you can think of that one too if you want, but only to fondly remember Kimberly flinging off her wig and blowing up the apartment complex. (Good times.)

No, right now I want you to think more along the lines of Angela, Rickie, Rayanne, Brian, Sharon, and Jordan. Think back to the best teen show ever. Are you with me? Good. And if you aren't, I have good news for you. Hulu.com just got the rights to My So-Called Life (which I'm of course choosing to see as a shout-out to my recent post mentioning it. Heh). Every brilliant episode of its first and only season is available for online viewing, totally free. So if for some reason you've never watched the show (because you were either too old, too young, or living in the Congo at the time perhaps studying apes), now you have another chance.

I actually own the DVDs, but I was still all "OMGYAY!" when I heard the news. I even broke out said DVDs and watched a few episodes last night. Heh, what a dork. But honestly, that show just never gets old. I watch the Christmas episode probably every December, and still start to tear up the minute the ep starts.

It's one of those funny things too, because while you can get angry over the fact that the show was cancelled, at the same time it's almost a blessing that it never had the chance to diminish in quality. It never had a sophomore slump; it never started to suck. It's like this timeless, untainted gem. Always there to revisit and fall in love with all over again.

So, to those of you who never had the opportunity to catch it when it originally aired, get thee to hulu.com, post-haste. Trust me, you won't regret it.

And for everyone who did watch it, feel free to leave comments waxing nostalgic about your favorite My So-Called Life memories, and what kinds of embarassing clothes you were wearing back in the early to mid '90s. As for me, I think I pretty much tipped my hand above. Hee.

Speaking of things that make me happy, I felt inspired for my entry today to share with everyone the following listy list.

5 Random Things That Bring Me Joy:

including the following subjects --

-being a shipper
-the best video I've ever seen on YouTube
-Jerry Springer the Opera remixed
-Drunk!History
-Lauren Graham.

( I am an expert in the art of time-suckage, ask me how! )

This icon is dedicated to the customers I had to deal with this week at work. Sometimes there's no response better than to simply bitchslap someone upside the head with a briefcase, know what I'm sayin'? One of the situations involved catching a son who stole his father's credit card and identity, and another involved a non-profit organization who fell off the face of the Earth and sold our printer online to some unsuspecting person for $700 immediately after joining our program (which involves allowing a customer to own a printer for free after three years of printing a certain quota every month & purchasing supplies through us, which this customer hadn't even begun doing yet). So, yeah. Bring on Brennan and a briefcase to the face.

Anyway, now that that's out of the way, onto the main purpose of the entry. Which is to picspam you all with new pics of my nephew and niece. I know I said I was going to upload pics of my recent vacation to Pittsburgh, and I still plan to, but I don't have those uploaded to my computer yet. So in the meantime here is a bunch of disgustingly cute pictures of Jayden and Isabella to ooh and ahh at.

Before I post those though, here's a few other tidbits of things I wanted to write about today as well:

1. I gave in and finally bought season 1 of The X-Files on DVD. I still have all the episodes on VHS, complete with lots of commercials circa 1997 (I recorded them back when they used to rerun everyday on F/X. Anyone remember that? Plus the marathons they used to do every Thanksgiving? I miss those), but my VCR isn't even hooked up right now and my DVD collection felt so unbalanced having only seasons 2-7. Plus I had a sudden and unstoppable urge to rewatch the show from the beginning recently, and it could not be denied. (don't you like my excuses for spending money? I know I do) I mean, I've watched random episodes from the series here and there over the last year, but this is the first time I've watched each episode from the beginning in order since at least 2004/2005 or so. I can't get over the giant cell phones and ancient computers, not to mention the wardrobe. Haha. Oh, Moose & Squirrel, I've missed you and your flashlights and your trenchcoats and your crazy drawn-out sexual tension. Welcome back.

(Also: My X-Files rewatch inspired me to find & rewatch the classic Bree Sharp ode to David Duchovny the other day and I still can't stop laughing over it. I totally used to know all the words to that song. And if you are unfortunate enough to have never seen the video, get thee to this youtube link immediately. Like, right now. Like, do not pass go, do not collect $200. It is a thing of beauty. And as a bonus, here's an ode I found for Scully in my search that I'd never seen before. Oh YouTube, I heart you. Now if I could only find a vid online to that "Agent Scully" song from the '90s then I could link to that here as well. I may have to just upload that one myself because it needs to be shared with the world, for real. Heh. If you've never heard it, I hereby give you one of its lyrics: "Agent Scully, I wanna lick your gun." 'Nuff said. Hee.

2. While on the topic of YouTube, you all have got to watch the vids this music teacher from NYC posts. I've known about him for a long time, but I'm constantly blown away by the talent he draws from these kids. He is seriously the coolest damn music teacher I've ever seen in my life. He has his kids sing everything from Tori Amos b-sides and Bjork songs (bear in mind I was obsessed with both of them as a teenager) to Fleetwood Mac to Coldplay to Lady Gaga. And yes, you heard me, Lady Gaga. It's like watching a real-life version of "Glee." They even have their own cover of "Don't Stop Believing" and everything.

3. On a recommendation from dosidella, I read "Friday Night Lights" and finished it this last week. Definitely one of the best books I've ever read. And I don't even give a crap about football, so that's really impressive. I'm going to have to watch the movie & try to rent some of the DVDs from the show. Like I need another show to be obsessed over. Heh.

4. Frank McCourt died this week. He is one of my favorite authors of all time, and "Angela's Ashes" is quite possibly my favorite book (certainly in the top 5). The fact that I'll never be able to look forward to another memoir by him is very sad indeed, but his life is still an inspiration. Here's to you, Frank.

5. I saw the new Harry Potter movie this weekend and enjoyed it. I've never read the books and only saw the first couple movies, but I was mostly able to follow it. I think I should go back & watch the last couple movies I missed though to get more out of it. I had the most annoying family in all the universe sitting next to me though. The mother especially. Like as in see above, re: "briefcase to the face"-annoying. She was draped in her seat all at an angle practically with her head in my lap, laughed like a hyena at every joke, and talked non-stop with her children (who had to go to the bathroom every minute, which inspired her to announce to me "I'm sorry, my son has diarrhea" one time as she passed. TOO MUCH INFORMATION, LADY). Then when there was a suspenseful moment she screamed so loud I nearly jumped out of my seat. After we left, my sister and I were like "I WANTED TO HURT HER."

( But enough with the blathering, onto the pictures! )