Elayna's ramblings

I was 12 in 1976, I remember the excitement of celebrating that the country was 200 years old. Everyone seemed united in joy. I don't remember specific events, I'm not sure if my family did anything, only the overwhelming enthusiasm for acknowledging the anniversary.

I don't feel any of that excitement this year. Most of the references, jokes, etc., about the 250th anniversary focus on whether we'll survive as a country. I share the stress and concern. Our government is doing many horrible things that violate what I understand to be our values.

And yet, I have to believe that we'll get through this disaster, that at some point, we'll again have a government that believes in protecting and supporting all of our people, not just the Epstein class of grifting oligarchs and pedophiles. I can't accept our future is all chaos and destruction, so my fingers are crossed and I keep writing postcards to voters.

For the love of our country and the entire world, please vote, and vote in a way that constructively stops Republican enablers of the orange felon getting elected. Please.

Anyway, my house is clean, food is ready to be prepped. There's a neighborhood parade tomorrow and I will get lunch from a food truck. Then 13 people (though my nephews are Swifties, so now 13 is a lucky number) will come to my house for dinner and fireworks. The cats will be trapped inside all day, which they won't like but will appreciate when the noise starts. It should be a nice day and I will be celebrating the future. I hope all Americans enjoy the holiday.

Is anyone getting into LiveJournal? I've been getting an error message for the last day, so tried to look up the LiveJournal status page, and am getting an error message on that. I don't use it for much these days but do still check a few communities.

The newspaper had an article on upcoming TV awards (Emmys?, no looks like it must have been the Astra or Dorian Awards, he's been nominated in both), so I scanned through the nominations and the writer's suggestions of who should win, looking to see if there were any shows that I should try to watch. And Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was nominated Best Actor... in a Comedy.

And okay, looking back, I can see some characters that seemed exaggerated or situations that were a bit absurd, I guess those were supposed to be funny? I don't think that series made me laugh.

I know my sense of humor often doesn't mesh with what Hollywood thinks should be funny. Absolutely might be a 'it's a me, not a them' situation. But I'm still... Wonder Man was a comedy?

It has been renewed for a second season, I'll probably give it a try. The end of the first season seemed like it would lead to a somewhat different second season.

Catching up on shows I've been meaning to watch a while...I hadn't liked Iron Man 3, but I enjoyed Ben Kingsley as Trevor Slattery, an English actor hired to play an Asian terrorist. I thought it was a clever way to use The Mandarin, a character I assume the comic fanboys love and wanted to see, and have the racism be a part of the plot. I liked Trevor even more when he returned in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings. I knew nothing about Wonder Man (I assume it's a comic?) but I saw Trevor in the trailer and was interested.

Wonder Man is an interesting addition to Marvel television, as it's primarily about an actor trying to be successful in Hollywood, so if that's not your jam, skip on by. Powers are definitely used, but infrequently.

( more spoilers here )

I zipped thru finally watching season 3 of "The Mandalorian" this week and yesterday I saw "The Mandalorian and Grogu" with friends. Since "The Mandalorian" began, Barbana and I go back and forth regularly where I say, "I just don't like watching the mask, I want to see his face," and Barbana responds with, "But he is committed to The Way!"

In season 3, a group of Mandalorians have gone on a rescue mission, it's night, dinner is handed out... and then they all separate to hide among the rocks to eat their meal, leaving the leader the honor of sitting by the fire, so no one sees anyone's face. Because that is The Way, no one sees your face once you put on the mask.

I'm sorry, I'm sorry Barb! I think it's freaking stupid and weird. I don't get The Way and I'm not going to. How do they live their whole lives without ever seeing the facial expressions of family or friends? To never know a person's smile, to wipe their tears, to see age lines develop? How do they fall in love? I guess it could be argued that it's a purer love, not influenced by physical attraction? Do they have sex with the masks on?

But watching this 'separate for dinner scene,' I did think: wow, I appreciate the Klingons more. The obvious love that the ST:TNG writers had for the warrior culture and its blatant sexism, to even the point that Picard never cared about the treatment of women in the Empire, was always annoying to me. But you know? At least when the Klingons go on a mission together, they feast together and smile and laugh and glare and boast at each other. They understand the importance of expressing emotions.

So for The Mandalorian, I guess all I have to say is... Grogu is cute.

I didn't like that first (the 10t?h) season of The X-Files return, but all I really remember is Scully talking to Mulder about their child she gave up for adoption for its own protection and crying that she hoped the child didn't think she'd thrown it away like garbage. I wanted to hit the screen.

Around that time, on a Doctor Who episode, a man was pregnant, to a boy because for his people, the men birthed the boys, the women the girls, and he planned to put the baby up for adoption, but in the midst of a space station about to be destroyed, the Doctor's companion(s?) convince him he has to keep the baby because despite knowing almost nothing about the guy's life or culture, clearly the baby should be with the birth parent, that was always best.

Today Post_Secrets had a collection of postcards focusing on adoptions, and one of the adoptees mentions feeling abandoned and rejected all their life.

It drives me nuts, how our culture denigrates adoption and always assumes the very worst thoughts and motivations of the birth mother.

In 1957, at the age of 19, my mom gave her baby up for adoption. She had a high school diploma, one year of college, a job in a diner, a family that was ashamed of her, and a boyfriend who didn't want to be involved. The doctor arranged the adoption to a family where the man worked in construction and they had one child already. She always thought it was best for the child, a stable family that could give that child a better life than she could.

I was 8 or 9, I think, when she told me about my oldest sibling, so this is the attitude that I absorbed, that adoption is a good thing, a difficult but reasonable decision that puts the needs of the child first.

I watched two shows recently, Resident Alien and The Irrational, where a woman had given up a baby for adoption as a teenager and then as an adult, reconnected with the child, one a late teenager, the other a successful adult. And both reconnections were somewhat bumpy, with fraught emotions on both sides, but ultimately leading to positive relationships between the mom and child. I was very pleased at the nuanced but supportive depictions. (Though did note that both women were people of color, I guess getting pregnant accidentally is not something white girls do? *rolls eyes*)

My brother signed up with adoption agencies in the 1980s, trying to match with that kid. These days, I'm on Ancestry.com (and my brother was on 23andme until the bankruptcy), still trying to find our sibling. (Wow, we have a lot of 2nd and 3rd cousins once removed.) Our sibling would be 69, it's odd to think I could be biologically an aunt and great-aunt many times over, who knows? It's looking like I never will, but I continue to hope.

Children given up for adoption are not unloved and discarded. Or who knows, maybe sometimes they are, but I would be surprised. Being pregnant and giving birth is a long and difficult experience and I really expect most moms want the best for their babies. Certainly my mom did. I'm glad some media is beginning to push back with a better and more reasonable depiction.

I love figure skating and watched a lot of the recent Olympics and the Worlds competition. I've never been athletic or even very competitive, so it's hard for me to imagine what it must be like, to be such a powerhouse athlete, competing in front of the entire world, and especially when whoop! One popped jump and your chance for a spot on the podium is totally blown. That must be so devastating. But also so incredibly validating and overwhelming when you do power thru and claim one of those top spots.

It made me think about fandom characters, because what else is what we do in life except a reason to think about fandom? And how Daniel and Rodney are both brilliant scientists, doing cutting edge work in their respective fields, and yet, their views on competition vary so radically. Movie!Daniel especially, is so very excited at what's he's uncovering, and delighted to share, and somewhat confused at why people aren't responsive. He's thrilled to go live on an alien planet so he can keep researching and is not at all concerned about his discoveries being recognized by his peers.

OTOH, Rodney keeps working on top secret projects but absolutely wants that recognition, even if he knows he'll have to wait another decade or two. He craves acknowledgement, especially in the form of medals and prizes. He's brilliant and he deserves it, goddamnit.

O'Neil-O'Neill and Sheppard are both in non-competitive mindsets when their shows start. Movie!Jack is of course traumatized by the death of his son and accepts a suicide mission. Sheppard has been slapped down by the brass for trying to rescue friends and is quite content with his banishment. (Though also rattles off all the vehicles he can fly to a general, I feel the case could be made that he's not as mellow as he appears.)

Sheppard is delighted when he gets his promotion to Lieutenant Colonel. He might be focused on defeating the Wraith, but yeah, he'll beam with that extra recognition. I don't remember how O'Neill reacted to being promoted to General, I think he was more cranky about it? 'Ugh, more administration, I guess I gotta do this' attitude?

I would see O'Neill and Sheppard as fairly similar growing up, kids that liked sports and being athletic and were overall good at most, but also indoctrinated into being good sportsmen. I wouldn't expect either to cheat or sulk (much) if they lost.

Sam Carter really ought to be one of the most competitive characters on the show. Being a successful woman in two different fields is still an achievement that isn't handed to anyone. There's a little bit at the beginning, she's assertive about being on the team, but then mostly it feels like it gets dropped in favor of her being a supportive, loyal sidekick character.

Growing up in an agrarian society, being competition in terms of craving promotions or special recognition is not something Teyla would necessarily even imagine. Possibly her role as the leader of the village is an inherited position, but she is good at it. Her competitive nature is directed at taking care of her people, it's more maternal than cutthroat, but clearly she's up for challenges.

Teal'c also is a leader among his peers, though he's grown up in a closed society dictated by the ruler. Like Teyla, he's going to do what he perceives as best for his people, though it's definitely in a warrior way.

Poor Ford. He gets so little screen time. I know very little about the military but I assume he's gotta be somewhat competitive to be a lieutenant. Certainly he does his duty and does it well, generally gets along with people (though not always with the scientists) but I cannot think of a single moment where we learn anything about his future dreams.

Well, that's probably enough rambling about characters' competitive natures. My memory is mediocre, I can absolutely be contradicted if someone remembers moments that shed a different view on these characters. It was fun to think about. Fandom makes life better IMO.

So... Imdb lists Nathan Fillion as playing Guy Gardner in all 8 episodes of this series, but he's not in this trailer at all. Gardner's look in the Superman movie seems wildly discordant with the feel of this series. Also, Hal Jordan states no other Lanterns are human. I wouldn't be surprised if Imdb is wrong but if it's not, I'm definitely intrigued!

(Though the adversarial relationship between trainer and trainee is a bit *sigh* to me. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, the kind of warm relationship I'd prefer is not generally what TPTB assume appeals to the teenage boys and young men who are their desired demographic.)

Anyway, we shall see! Or I will, I don't know who else is interested. I feel Kyle Chandler has a significant following? Not coming until August, boo.

I don't anticipate getting fannish about either of these shows, but I enjoyed both. They are similar, in that both are mysteries, with a complicated plot that lasts the entire 6-8 episode season, tying together seemingly disparate threads. Tonally so so different.

Dark Winds: I've only watched the first two seasons, taking a little break before seasons 3 and 4. Set on a reservation in the 1970s, Dark Winds focuses on the local police force, led by Joe Leaphorn, and his two deputies, Bernadette Manuelito and Jim Chee. The clothes, furnishings, etc. were amusing to revisit, as I'm old enough to remember those styles, and the Native American culture interesting. Overall very serious, both because of the hard life on the reservation and the personal trauma suffered by Leaphorn.

Currently on Netflix/AMC. I don't usually binge shows, but I do like coming late to this show so that I can watch an episode a day. I'd have trouble keeping everything straight if I had to wait a week between each episode. Dark Winds is based on a book series by Tony Hillerman. I haven't read any of them, so can't speak to the faithfulness to the source material.

Deadloch: I've only watched the first season, as the second doesn't stream until March 20. Set in Australia in current days, Deadloch also focuses on the local police force, led by the lesbian Dulcie Collins, whose partner is the local veterinarian. A man is found murdered on the local beach, and Collins clashes with the detective sent to investigate, another woman. So many women in this series, almost all of the main characters, it's just delightful. The mayor, the rich matriarch, one of the deputies, the two young native women who find the first body, etc. Also, the victims are all male, which is a pleasing change.

Deadloch has lots of humor, which I admit I struggled with a bit, especially from the visiting detective, whose personality is really broad and makes lots of extravagant complaints. I had to consciously accept that she was supposed to be funny, and then she was hysterical. Occasionally I was a little confused by the cultural differences and a few of the accents were difficult for me, but overall well worth the adjustment.

On Prime, though hopefully will circulate to other channels for those who don't have it.

(Random scattered and significant spoilers for both the movie and musical (stage) versions, I'm assuming anyone reading has watched at least one.)

I think everyone in the TPM fandom loved Moulin Rouge! when it came out. Ewan was so young and gorgeous, the music so fun, the costumes and dancing dazzling, the heartbreaking loss of love so tragic. If anyone didn't adore the movie, they kept that quiet.

(I remain surprised that there wasn't a whole slew of AUs where Quinn found Christian's book and then sought him out. Fandom, you let me down!)

I finally got to see Moulin Rouge! The Musical last weekend. I've been wanting to see it since I saw it announced, and a touring company finally came to town.

It's often interesting to see different versions of a show you love. I've managed to accept it's not going to be the same, and to enjoy it for what it is. (Unless it's totally messed up and violates the heart of the original, of course.)

The stage version keeps what I'd consider the main songs, such as Lady Marmalade, Come What May, and Your Song. Many of the others are replaced by newer songs that fill the same basic plot points. I liked the original songs, but I found the replacements all very appropriate (and good songs).

There are a variety of other changes. Christian is American, with more of an 'aw shucks' vibe than Ewan's portrayal, the show within a show is now about a gangster, jettisoning the Indian setting, the Argentinian no longer has narcolepsy, etc. It feels less Christian's story, as it introduces the Moulin Rouge, Zidler, and the Duke before him, and it wasn't clear to me from Christian's comments about love if the audience would realize that Satine's death was inevitable. It's made very clear that Satine and the Duke have a sexual relationship, which now seems rather puritanical that she manages to avoid one in the movie.

The thing that really struck me though was that Satine in the musical never mentions wanting to be an actress. Even knowing that she's dying, she wants to save the Moulin Rouge for the benefit of the others, the people who are her 'family.' And then it wasn't really clear to me that she succeeded in that goal. I found that a little jarring. I mean, yes, in the movie, we know she's not going to be 'an actress' for very long, because we know she's going to die. But she does get her opening night! She achieves her dream for herself! And in the musical, she doesn't have her own goal for herself, it's all about taking care of others. *sigh*

I was relieved in later years that the movie had come out in 2001, before I was aware of the fannish discussions about the role of women in so many shows, and how often women die for man pain. Because yes, Satine does essentially die for Christian's man pain, that's the main plot point. But the movie was so tragic and heartbreaking and sometimes we just need that kind of story. The angst of losing love, *swoon.*

These days I'm much more likely to have an instinctive 'ugh' recoil at yet another show featuring woman death/man pain. Fannish discussion has made me aware of that theme and also female agency (or more often, lack thereof).

Anyway, if you loved the movie, I do recommend seeing the musical if you get a chance. I don't know that I could love any new version of Moulin Rouge as much as I love the original, but the musical was enjoyable and fabulous to watch.