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oyceterStill trying to figure out how to use this thing. And am now annoyed because I couldn't go buy my books because apparently all stores close at 5 on Sunday. Why did I not know this? You'd think that after all the shopping I've done, I would have figured this out sometime. And then my prox somehow demagnetized itself or something so I couldn't get in my dorm. Stupid prox.
So I took this survey for someone's senior thesis on ads in women's magazines and how they affect body image, stuff like that. I don't know. It seems kind of silly to me. Not that I don't think body image isn't an important issue. Er. I mean. I think body image is an important issue. But I feel like these kinds of surveys and studies kind of trivializes it somehow? I don't know how much looking at skinny models affects me. I think looking at skinny people in malls wearing clothes I want to wear affects me a lot more. Because, models, not so much like real people to me. And I just like looking at ads because I like looking at pretty things. Yes, I'm superficial.
Second semester officially starts tomorrow, and I'm not excited at all. I feel like I should be, since this is my last semester of college and all, and I have interesting classes, but I'm just not. Maybe it's because I don't have any books to buy. I think mostly though it's my thesis. The closer to graduation, the closer the thesis deadline, and the more behind I get. I hate my thesis. I don't know why I can't just sit down and write some crap. The boy says I care so much about it and stress out so much about it being perfect that I can't even start outlining it. I think he's right, but I still don't know what to do about that. Well, I'm procrastinating more and watching Buffy. Almost up to Surprise! I think![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
kita0610 is right. I'm highly influenced by the fact that I started watching around seasons 5/6.
Charting Buffy obsession, slightly spoilery for Buffy S7 and Angel S5
Basically, I used to think Buffy was stupid back in seasons 1 and 2, just like all the other WB shows that my cousin watched. I kind of grouped it with Dawson's Creek and Real World and all that stuff. I was also highly anti-teenybopper and "typical American teenager" stuff too. So I actually halfway watched part of the episodes with the Judge and Spike in the wheelchair. Even back then I thought he was the most interesting person on the show. See, I have this thing for half-redeemed or sympathetic villains. I always feel like they could use some love or something and then they'd just turn around. I know, the whole stupid "serial killer in prison" thing that David Fury so hates. And generally books or movies I read just bash my poor little unloved villains to the ground, and it breaks my silly little heart. Which is why Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy is so great! Yay Daemon. *ahem*. Sorry.
Anyway, the funny thing was, I have this vague impression that I thought Spike was one of those villains, and that he liked Buffy, which was horrible because obviously she would never like him back. So I figured Buffy was a silly teenybopper show, obviously would not treat my poor villain nicely and would just kill him off and humiliate him and not give him the slightest bit of sympathy. That was the end of any thoughts of Buffy for quite awhile, at least until I kept reading about Buffy in things like Salon.com and the NYTimes. Made you stop and think.
The killing blow came sometime during Thanksgiving about a year and a half ago, when the FX all day Buffy marathon was running. I was staying at a friend's house, and there was nothing on TV, so somehow we landed on Buffy, smack in the middle of "Something Blue." I was really confused about the whole Riley thing (still stuck with the idea of Angel), but there was Spike! And he was white-blond and fabulously snarky. And with Buffy. Then "Fool for Love" came on right after it, and that was it for me. The strange thing was, I didn't even think that much of FFL when I first saw it; I thought the Victorian recreation felt very made-for-TV, thought Riley was boring, was confused by the existence of Dawn, Anya and Tara, and generally thought William was a boring fop. But Spike. Mmm Spike. Spike was still evil enough to be interesting, and having him constantly dumped by unattainable women made me want to hug him. I wonder why that is? It feels very much like a romance novel cliche. There was Spike with his North London accent and his bravado and his Billy Idol look. And then the final scenes, starting from Buffy telling him that he was beneath her to the beautifully understated scene on her porch, completely sold me. The way JM changes his expression wordlessly, the head tilt, the awkward pat on the back... It was wonderful.
But I still had no way of getting to Buffy, seeing as how my dorm room has about three TV channels, and put it aside for a while, apart from looking for information on the show in general online. Then came the Salon.com article on "Smashed," telling me that the villain that I knew for sure was never going to be appreciated by the writers actually had his wish granted, and I knew I had to see it. Found Morpheus, started downloading episodes like mad, and there started the obsession. Unfortunately, it happened during reading period, when I should have been writing a thirty-page term paper, which was instead pushed aside for Buffy watching.
Then I started reading fanfiction, and all of them mentioned Angel the Series. And eventually I heard so much about it that I decided I had to watch that too. (Luckily?) For that one I started out having no definite 'ship in mind, so I just watched the entire thing starting from episode one. I'm still not quite sure which show I'm fonder of. I still probably haven't seen as much Buffy as I have of Angel, and I must admit, I'm not that enamored of early Buffy. I'm still working my way through season two. I also have a kind of strange perspective, since I started out watching with the idea that the entire Buffy/Angel relationship was essentially over.
I love early Angel, especially the feeling of family that Angel, Cordy and Wesley/ Angel, Cordy and Doyle, created. And after watching more early Buffy, I think perhaps that may be what a lot of the older viewers may be missing from the newer seasons. I feel as though that sense of intimacy has been slowly seeping away from Angel, due to the additional people in the cast and the multiple dramas being played out among the AI people. It doesn't so much feel like Angel Investigations banding together against the demonic world; rather, it feels much more like AI splitting up and going their own ways now. Which I feel is where Buffy is at right now, but I didn't mind that so much.
Although now, after watching more season two, I really miss the early, close friendship that Buffy, Willow and Xander had. But I also love the later seasons, because of the dark tone and Spike. Yeah, I'm one of the people who liked Spuffy. On screen. Although I do think that Wesley/Lilah was handled much, much better. But Spike is MY character (I am very possessive and protective of characters I like. It rips my heart out when authors kill off or hurt my favorite book characters. Don't get me started on George R. R. Martin). And since he loves Buffy, I want Buffy to love him. Because I'm unreasonable like that.
I'm not sure what I think about season seven right now. I love most of the episodes, especially the new, improved, undepressed Buffy, but there seems to be something missing from all of the characters. I think it's because they've matured a bit more and aren't as snarky or quirky as they used to be. I wonder if it's possible to mature on TV without losing the interesting qualities. Spike is not as snarky anymore. And although I still adore him, I miss snarky, evil Spike too. But my little shippy heart still squeals with joy during moments like the rescue in "Showtime" and Buffy telling him that she believes in him. There's hope yet! And somehow I can say this because I've read so much fanfiction dealing with the various nasty issues of season six Spuffy that somehow I feel like they have been dealt with, even though they haven't really, onscreen. I'm a kind of pathetic little fangirl. Hee.
And now perhaps I will watch more Buffy. Yay! I feel better and less depressed about school starting now.
So I took this survey for someone's senior thesis on ads in women's magazines and how they affect body image, stuff like that. I don't know. It seems kind of silly to me. Not that I don't think body image isn't an important issue. Er. I mean. I think body image is an important issue. But I feel like these kinds of surveys and studies kind of trivializes it somehow? I don't know how much looking at skinny models affects me. I think looking at skinny people in malls wearing clothes I want to wear affects me a lot more. Because, models, not so much like real people to me. And I just like looking at ads because I like looking at pretty things. Yes, I'm superficial.
Second semester officially starts tomorrow, and I'm not excited at all. I feel like I should be, since this is my last semester of college and all, and I have interesting classes, but I'm just not. Maybe it's because I don't have any books to buy. I think mostly though it's my thesis. The closer to graduation, the closer the thesis deadline, and the more behind I get. I hate my thesis. I don't know why I can't just sit down and write some crap. The boy says I care so much about it and stress out so much about it being perfect that I can't even start outlining it. I think he's right, but I still don't know what to do about that. Well, I'm procrastinating more and watching Buffy. Almost up to Surprise! I think
kita0610 is right. I'm highly influenced by the fact that I started watching around seasons 5/6. Charting Buffy obsession, slightly spoilery for Buffy S7 and Angel S5
Basically, I used to think Buffy was stupid back in seasons 1 and 2, just like all the other WB shows that my cousin watched. I kind of grouped it with Dawson's Creek and Real World and all that stuff. I was also highly anti-teenybopper and "typical American teenager" stuff too. So I actually halfway watched part of the episodes with the Judge and Spike in the wheelchair. Even back then I thought he was the most interesting person on the show. See, I have this thing for half-redeemed or sympathetic villains. I always feel like they could use some love or something and then they'd just turn around. I know, the whole stupid "serial killer in prison" thing that David Fury so hates. And generally books or movies I read just bash my poor little unloved villains to the ground, and it breaks my silly little heart. Which is why Anne Bishop's Black Jewels Trilogy is so great! Yay Daemon. *ahem*. Sorry.
Anyway, the funny thing was, I have this vague impression that I thought Spike was one of those villains, and that he liked Buffy, which was horrible because obviously she would never like him back. So I figured Buffy was a silly teenybopper show, obviously would not treat my poor villain nicely and would just kill him off and humiliate him and not give him the slightest bit of sympathy. That was the end of any thoughts of Buffy for quite awhile, at least until I kept reading about Buffy in things like Salon.com and the NYTimes. Made you stop and think.
The killing blow came sometime during Thanksgiving about a year and a half ago, when the FX all day Buffy marathon was running. I was staying at a friend's house, and there was nothing on TV, so somehow we landed on Buffy, smack in the middle of "Something Blue." I was really confused about the whole Riley thing (still stuck with the idea of Angel), but there was Spike! And he was white-blond and fabulously snarky. And with Buffy. Then "Fool for Love" came on right after it, and that was it for me. The strange thing was, I didn't even think that much of FFL when I first saw it; I thought the Victorian recreation felt very made-for-TV, thought Riley was boring, was confused by the existence of Dawn, Anya and Tara, and generally thought William was a boring fop. But Spike. Mmm Spike. Spike was still evil enough to be interesting, and having him constantly dumped by unattainable women made me want to hug him. I wonder why that is? It feels very much like a romance novel cliche. There was Spike with his North London accent and his bravado and his Billy Idol look. And then the final scenes, starting from Buffy telling him that he was beneath her to the beautifully understated scene on her porch, completely sold me. The way JM changes his expression wordlessly, the head tilt, the awkward pat on the back... It was wonderful.
But I still had no way of getting to Buffy, seeing as how my dorm room has about three TV channels, and put it aside for a while, apart from looking for information on the show in general online. Then came the Salon.com article on "Smashed," telling me that the villain that I knew for sure was never going to be appreciated by the writers actually had his wish granted, and I knew I had to see it. Found Morpheus, started downloading episodes like mad, and there started the obsession. Unfortunately, it happened during reading period, when I should have been writing a thirty-page term paper, which was instead pushed aside for Buffy watching.
Then I started reading fanfiction, and all of them mentioned Angel the Series. And eventually I heard so much about it that I decided I had to watch that too. (Luckily?) For that one I started out having no definite 'ship in mind, so I just watched the entire thing starting from episode one. I'm still not quite sure which show I'm fonder of. I still probably haven't seen as much Buffy as I have of Angel, and I must admit, I'm not that enamored of early Buffy. I'm still working my way through season two. I also have a kind of strange perspective, since I started out watching with the idea that the entire Buffy/Angel relationship was essentially over.
I love early Angel, especially the feeling of family that Angel, Cordy and Wesley/ Angel, Cordy and Doyle, created. And after watching more early Buffy, I think perhaps that may be what a lot of the older viewers may be missing from the newer seasons. I feel as though that sense of intimacy has been slowly seeping away from Angel, due to the additional people in the cast and the multiple dramas being played out among the AI people. It doesn't so much feel like Angel Investigations banding together against the demonic world; rather, it feels much more like AI splitting up and going their own ways now. Which I feel is where Buffy is at right now, but I didn't mind that so much.
Although now, after watching more season two, I really miss the early, close friendship that Buffy, Willow and Xander had. But I also love the later seasons, because of the dark tone and Spike. Yeah, I'm one of the people who liked Spuffy. On screen. Although I do think that Wesley/Lilah was handled much, much better. But Spike is MY character (I am very possessive and protective of characters I like. It rips my heart out when authors kill off or hurt my favorite book characters. Don't get me started on George R. R. Martin). And since he loves Buffy, I want Buffy to love him. Because I'm unreasonable like that.
I'm not sure what I think about season seven right now. I love most of the episodes, especially the new, improved, undepressed Buffy, but there seems to be something missing from all of the characters. I think it's because they've matured a bit more and aren't as snarky or quirky as they used to be. I wonder if it's possible to mature on TV without losing the interesting qualities. Spike is not as snarky anymore. And although I still adore him, I miss snarky, evil Spike too. But my little shippy heart still squeals with joy during moments like the rescue in "Showtime" and Buffy telling him that she believes in him. There's hope yet! And somehow I can say this because I've read so much fanfiction dealing with the various nasty issues of season six Spuffy that somehow I feel like they have been dealt with, even though they haven't really, onscreen. I'm a kind of pathetic little fangirl. Hee.
And now perhaps I will watch more Buffy. Yay! I feel better and less depressed about school starting now.
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