there lies your love

[harborshore]

Comment on this post. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

erraticonstilts gave me the following:

bad tv:

This is a reference to a coping mechanism and an inside joke, all at once. I had a friend in college, let's call her Anita, who used to drag me into watching everything from Gilmore Girls to the most awful romantic comedies we could find at the video store. When she went abroad, we mostly corresponded through making each other watch different tv shows, sometimes quite terrible ones. And bad tv remains a coping mechanism of mine (one I will totally accept recs for).

dystopias:

I love stories that have authoritarian governments and people fighting against them. Bonus points if the powers of ART and MUSIC are involved. I'm also very fond of stories where the world ends, only not really, because people keep going and persevere in the face of hardship and take care of each other...

earthsea:

Earthsea is one of the best fantasy trilogies ever. Ever ever ever. Ursula K. LeGuin is more known for her sci fi work, but I love these so much more. They have magic, a non-white fantasy hero, a great female heroine, interracial romance, several genuinely scary villains, and they're so goddamn well-written I beam happily every time I reread them. And they feel real, not in the way where you think magic is real, but in the way where all the characters feel like real people.

genderbending:

Norms are dumb, but bending norms and fucking around with them? Really, really interesting, both in rl and in fiction.

intersectionality:

I added it to my interests during RaceFail, because dude, one kind of oppression is not like another. I'm a white girl from a European country, which means A LOT of privilege; I'm also a bisexual smart woman, which means I deal with a set of prejudices against me. All of these things are true. And I'm certainly not the most complicated case out there.

lord peter wimsey:

Favorite fictional detective. FAVORITE. ETA: EXCEPT MISS MARPLE. Smart, hilarious, empathetic, and with the best manservant ever. Yes, he's better than Jeeves. BUNTER.

zombies:

ZOMBIES. BRAAAAIIIIIINS. *shuffles forth*

Comments

[kickingrad.livejournal.com]

I'm with you there on bad tv as a coping mechanism: my favourite thing to do when I'm feeling really down and dribbly is to watch no-brainer american teen shows. They're comforting because they're so obvious.

&genderbending;

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

I know! Especially after taking playwriting at an American college, man--they were predictable before, and now I can name every single plot twists. T'is excellent for wiping the mind blank. (Using the icon I used for this entry is a little unfair--the first season of Veronica Mars was certainly better than average.)

YES. *uses appropriate icon*

In case you feel like doing the meme, I'd like to hear about: cooking with kuldeep, i'm glad you're alive, naked, newspaper cuttings, schparkle schparkle, water, we make our heroes.

[kickingrad.livejournal.com]

Cooking with kuldeep:

I once went on a weekend trip to Leicester and while sitting around in our ridiculous Fawlty Towers-esque B&B we discovered the local Indian TV channel. It played Bollywood musical, a deeply strange and faintly perverted kids show and Cooking with Kuldeep, a cooking show hosted by a very elderly man. Every other step of his recipes would be to "add juuuust a little more cream," at which point he would empty the pot and open a new one. I'd say Kuldeep's curries were about 89% cream. It was most entertaining

I'm glad you're alive:

The one-time slogan of the Mae-Shi, one of the most exhilarating bands out there. Their shows are completely demented. The last one I went to involved a parachute and the bassist rocking out so hard he lost a shoe and became hopelessl;y entangled in some fairylights. I have a t-shirt that says this, and whenever I wear it strangers stop me to say that they're glad I'm alive too. It's a very feelgood shirt.

naked:

I'm a closet nudist. If I'm at home, I'm probabaly naked. I also love life drawing and studying the naked form. It's endlessly fascinating.

newspaper cuttings:

I have an antique suitcase stuffed full of newspaper cuttings, photographs and odds and ends, like a gigantic scrapbook. It's a hoppy and a huge source of inspiration for my artwork.

schparkle schparkle:

Or sparkle sparkle; I'm a magpie of the worst kind.

Water:

I love anything and everything to do with it. I was born by the sea and I have the sea-longing. I sail and I used to swim competitively, dive, canoe, all of it. A great deal of my artwork is water-based. The beach and the ocean is my favourite place on earth.

We make our heroes:

I had a dream once that I ran a record company called We Are The Vertebrae. Our slogan in the dream was We Are The Vertebrae: We Make Our Own Heroes. In real life I made a limited run of t-shirts with this print because I didn't want to lose that idea.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

This: Water: I love anything and everything to do with it. I was born by the sea and I have the sea-longing, yes. I told softlyforgotten that my parents were always fairly sure I'd been a mermaid in a previous lifetime. I once bought a book because it was called The Sea, the Sea, and so many of my poems are about water, it's ridiculous.

I also want both those t-shirts. Life-affirming slogans that are not trite are wonderful things.

[mahoni.livejournal.com]

I would like to do the meme!

Cheesy entertainment is a coping mechanism of mine too. Cheeseball romantic comedies, silly superhero flicks, cartoons, ridiculous sf/f -- oh yeah.

I totally agree about Bunter.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Bunter is the bee's knees, for real. And cheesy entertainment is life-saving sometimes.

You shall tell me about: amelia peabody, discworld, outer space, rain, stovetop popcorn (I APPROVE), the continental op, what if.

[iamsupernova.livejournal.com]

Sounds like fun! Pick some of mine? :)

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Sure thing! Tell me about: being barefoot, cyberpunk, demi lovato's queerness, gay jews, mucca pazza, red vs blue, sleeping in.

[iamsupernova.livejournal.com]

being barefoot
I love being barefoot! I also love my converse but I never ever wear shoes at home, and if my feet were tough enough to withstand sharp things, grime, and less shock absorption, I'd walk around barefoot in the city. I think I'd like to try being barefoot at school, although I'd probably get my toes stepped on in the hallway and the escalators might pose a bit of a problem.

cyberpunk
I find cyberpunk, as well as steampunk, SO COOL. The wiki article is really interesting. Basically, post-industrial dystopias, evil governments controlled by megacorporations, and small groups of rebels who have sweet-ass gadgets. I am a geek geek geeeeek >:)

demi lovato's queerness
I expound upon my interest in Demi Lovato quite frequently (that is why I linked to a tag, and not a post or two :P). I have a wee tinhat rooting for Demi being some degree of queer - she often (if not always) refers to abstract romantic partners as "they" rather than "he". The way she dresses also gives me the impression she enjoys a certain degree of fluidity in how she represents herself - she goes between dresses and boyish suit-type outfits. (Not that I necessarily think that means a person is queer, but this is just my tinhat glinting in the light.)

gay jews
It's really simple - it puts two of the kind of people I enjoy hanging out with together all in one. Of course, I know gay douchebags and Jewish douchebags. The gay Jews I heart are not douchebags :P Some of my favorite gay Jews include Simon Amstell of Never Mind The Buzzcocks fame, Leonard Bernstein, and a bunch of my friends and my friends' friends. :D

mucca pazza
BADASS AWESOME PUNK ROCK FOLK MARCHING BAND

red vs blue
It's an online animated series created using footage from Halo and voiceovers. I've never played Halo but I've watched the entire series multiple times (some episodes more than others) because it's just so fucking hilarious. As Wikipedia says: "The story centers on two opposing teams of soldiers fighting a civil war in the middle of a desolate box canyon (Blood Gulch), in a parody of first-person shooter (FPS) games, military life, and science fiction films."

sleeping in
As I often mention on LJ, I'm an insomniac. It's incredibly difficult for me to fall asleep, unless of course I'm in the wrong place or at the wrong time. So naturally I prize any chance I get to extend my sleeping hours in the morning. Or afternoon. Haha.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Dude, sleeping in is the best thing ever. I'm not really an insomniac, except I invariably turn into one when i HAVE to get up the next morning. Which is not real insomnia, but, you know. I can sympathize. Also I like the rest of these a lot. ♥

[ciel-vert.livejournal.com]

Me me me! :)

Also, ZOMBIES! I think I might go the cheap/easy route for Halloween this year and be a zombie. It would be fun!

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

I feel like dressing up as a zombie would be a fabulous time, and I know the lady in my icon agrees with me.

Tell me about: breaking social norms, brian schechter: stealth creeper, curiosity satisfied!, gbas, sexuality, the way sisters, your jersey is broken.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna bend you. *leers* In all seriousness, hell yeah.

*refrains from more innuendos: adam t. siska, food, emo, hands up skirts, mylife, no old wives, others.

[absenteye.livejournal.com]

I CAN GET BEHIND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE INTERESTS. &you;

What are your favorite bad shows/movies? O__O That is a hardcore coping mechanism for me too, and I am always looking for more terrible (yet not horrific) entertainment!

I wish to participate in this meme! :D

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

NO YOU. YOOOOOOU. *watches while you sleep*

Good lord, ask the impossible, will you? Um, I love Bones, but I don't necessarily think it's a bad show, and the same goes for season 1 of Veronica Mars. BTVS, Angel and Firefly, the same. One Tree Hill, though, that's a really, really terrible yet entertaining show. It's pretty horrifically bad, though. As are a lot of shows on the CW network. I haven't seen it, but I hear the new Melrose Place fits the bill too (and it has bonus!Ashlee :D).

Tell me about creepy breathing, doomed love, hating gustav wasa, patrick/william wtf, pink dancing little bears, squid unicorn what? \o/, and stalking awesome people.

[blindmouse.livejournal.com]

Yes, he's better than Jeeves. BUNTER.

Really?

I don't think I can have read any of the good Bunter books yet. I barely noticed him.

Jeeves all the way, baby ;)

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

BLASPHEMER. Wait, have you not read the part where the Dowager explains how Bunter became Peter's servant? Because HOW COULD YOU NOT NOTICE THAT. *sulks*

I'm going to make you tell me about things as revenge, just you wait.

Tell me about: 2nd sopranos, bump of chicken, directional open endings, hot water bottles, obernewtyn, one night jam, spooky men's chorale.

[blindmouse.livejournal.com]

Ahaha I fail at the internet /o\

2nd sopranos are clearly awesome! And were incidentally most of my friends when my main social group was my uni's student choir!

Bump of Chicken is my favourite j-pop band! Of the, um, two that I know! Most cringy name in the world of ever but so happy-haunting-awesome and ... possibly intelligent lyrics? Bit hard for me to tell.

Directional open endings are my literary drug of choice. Endings that slam down an "ever after" with no wiggle room are the most frustrating thing in the world, whether they're ecstatic or tragic, and aimless open endings, where anything could happen, or f***ing hidden endings where the author won't tell you what's happened (Villette I am looking at you) are even worse. Endings with a direction and a new expanse and a face towards the future are the bomb.

Hot water bottles! It is spring and should be way too late in the year for them, but I got miserably rained on today and I am hugging a hot water bottle as I type. *pets it*

Obernewtyn was my first fandom! It was a non-fic-reading fandom, but I met cool people ON THE INTERNET, which was pretty new to me. The Obernewtyn Chronicles is an Australian YA post-nuclear-apocalypse sf/fantasy epic with psychic powers and snippy talking cats and a Chosen One, and it's still not finished but it's kind of awesome.

One Night Jam were my favourite completely unknown Australian indie band! And then they broke up and the lead singer/songwriter released a solo album and it was kind of boring, which, :'(

The Spooky Men's Chorale, oh man, also broken up I think, but the most hilarious gregorian chant group with somber black suits and weird hats who sang about their beards a lot. And also mastadons.

La la la.

[softlyforgotten.livejournal.com]

Oh man, bad TV, yes please. I'm trying to decide what new series to throw myself into after I'm done with Buffy, and Gilmore Girls is pretty high on the list. Also, seriously, BAD MOVIES ARE THE BEST. I have this aunt who is kind of stunningly intellectual, and so knowledgeable about the Asian indie film industry that it's kind of amazing. We talk a lot about books and things and I think from those conversations she may have gotten the wrong impression that I'm not, um, incredibly shallow, because now we frequently have these conversations--

Me: So want to go see a movie tonight?
Aunt: Oh, yes! Let's see, *INSERT FAMOUS, TALENTED DIRECTOR HERE* has a brilliant new film out, it's actually been banned in China but it deals with the complexity of both sides in the *INSERT ASIAN WAR HERE*, and--
Me: .... orrrrr we could go see something with Hugh Grant in it. :D? :D?

Anyway, pretty much everything on this list makes me do little hearteyes at you. But especially Earthsea. Oh, Ged. (Also genderbending. And dystopias. And -- no, okay, I'm going to shut up.)

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

The best thing about Anita was that we'd have the deep intellectual conversations and then switch to a very serious and in-depth dissection of the plot developments of, like, Gilmore Girls. Or Angel. Oh, you should watch Firefly! And season 1 of Veronica Mars! AWESOME THINGS.

♥! Oh Ged, indeed. And Tenar! I may love her VERY MUCH. I'm sure you're astonished by this, my love for a tenacious female character.

I would make you tell me things but you have only one interest listed. You could tell me why you love genderbending, if you want. And alex's sauce.

[softlyforgotten.livejournal.com]

Ahahaha, oh man, I HOPE YOU'RE NOT SUGGESTING FIREFLY ISN'T QUALITY TELEVISION. River owns my soul. I wrote her a little note saying so and everything. (Not really.)

Man, the second book -- I've forgotten the name -- creeped me out so much. I read it when I was twelve or something? And I remember being simultaneously terrified and so in love with Tenar that it wasn't funny. I need to reread those books now.

I love genderbending mostly because I'm fascinated with the ways people do it, whether it's Ryan Ross in his pretty little rose vest or the guy in my drama class who fulfills every stereotype of "drama fag" (as he refers to himself) ever but also gets in a lot of shit quite frequently about wearing bows in his hair or the butch girl who catches my train and smiles at me. And I love that I don't completely understand the term or its limitations and that I don't ever want to, because that would be way too simple. I read one post somewhere that said something along the lines of "(1) sexuality is too complex for any of us to ever understand and (2) thank god for that" and that's still the thing that pops into my head at the thought of it.

"alex's sauce" is because inovertime's brother has an LJ, which we creepily lurk from time to time, and his only interest is "sauce". His name is Alex. We are easily amused.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

NO NO NO. It's--bad tv isn't necessarily bad, or at least not the way we saw it. I mean, One Tree Hill is terrible but entertaining, but season 1 of Veronica Mars is incredibly well-written and I LOVE IT. And Firefly is amazing, so amazing.

It's so terrifying, oh my god. You know, I think I'm going to reread them this week, that's a good idea. Thoroughly engaging and great stories that are scary enough to make you really care.

And if I didn't already love you--that's it, yes. The way people knowingly or unknowingly flout the norms to find their own way to be. Also, on a shallow level, I find it ridiculously hot. Just as a side note.

Hee, that's hilarious. Brothers are fun.

[softlyforgotten.livejournal.com]

Ahhhh, I see what you mean, yes. :D I recently made my dad watch Firefly actually, and he started out all "bah, is this by the same guy who did that crappy vampire show you like? bah!" (I should note that my dad doesn't hate Buffy as much as he hates any and all form of vampires in pop culture) and then by the end more starry-eyed over Mal Reynolds than I've ever been.

Man, I am so cross, I just went on a big hunt for them and I think my copy might be in one of the (many) boxes we've yet to unpack. Well, guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

OH I FORGOT "HOT". YEAH, PUT "HOT" RIGHT UP AT THE TOP OF THE LIST.

[rilee16.livejournal.com]

I wanna do it!

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Hmm, tell me about against me!, chicana feminisms, horrorpops, live freaky die freaky, operation ivy, sleater kinney, and x-men.

[wasoncedelight.livejournal.com]

Bad TV is pretty excellent as far as coping mechanisms go. I'm definitely a very big fan, especially when accompanied by junk food. :)

Also, ZOMBIES! ♥

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

All of those things are necessary. Especially zombies. *eyes your brains interestedly*

In case you wanna tell me things, tell me about brian's life: so hard, capslock, experimenting in the kitchen, het, jersey, piglet tree way, what is my deal?.

[erraticonstilts.livejournal.com]

bad tv is great to watch when you don't want to think. i've started watching the tv show ten things i hate about you (yes, based on the movie); it's total crap but great when you're in that mood.

i've never heard of earthsea before, but it sounds interesting so i think
i'll check it out!

I LOVE GENDERBENDING.

[harborshore.livejournal.com]

Man, that movie was my favorite movie in the whole universe when I was fifteen. I probably still know it by heart, considering how many times I watched it. "Well, it obviously struck your fancy, so you see it worked! The world makes sense again."

Oh, it's amazing. Seriously fantastic. But you won't want to stop reading, so make sure you have the time for it. Fair warning and all that.

I KNEW I LIKED YOU.