I knew that I should have done this back when others were doing this, but I procrastinated (as always), and now I can't remember the details. Anyway, there are various challenges about numbers of books to read/movies to see/episodes to watch. I don't remember the numbers, but I'm not really striving for numbers anyway, I just want to see how many books I read and episodes I watch in a year.

So...
( Here are the books... )

If you couldn't tell, I tend to read only during my lunch hour, so the books I choose aren't exactly high literary classics or anything. (Actually, I don't ever think I've truly enjoyed reading high literary classics, even when I did read them. Give me escapist action-adventure/mystery any day.)

And, about that last one. I am solidly behind the writers in this strike, as I feel they deserve respect and a reasonable cut of what is being made from their shows. However, I really am a little disgusted at the industry after reading that book. The fact that even below-the-line people make enough to afford almost half a million dollar homes? Knowing that the creator of Seinfeld, Larry David, made something like 400 million off of syndication fees alone? Knowing that staff writers can be fired after one episode and can still pull in $25,000 (or more!) for each episode made after that even though they do absolutely no work toward it? Knowing that a guy (most likely, as over 90% of writers are guys) can be pretty much set for life after one writing job? As a teacher who makes a pittance a year, I really don't like reading that.

I know that I can stop contributing to the insane Hollywood financial culture by not going to movies, using Netflix, or buying DVDs, but I am too weak. (I do so like my television.) And, apparently so is the rest of America, so this financial disparity will continue. Oh well. Doesn't mean it has to make me happy.

Anyway, back to the meme (in which I show just how much I do contribute to the coffers of Hollywood. *sigh*...
( Episode list )

Damn that's a lot for a month! In my defense, the House episodes were while I was creating icons, so I wasn't paying 100% attention to them. (In all actuality, I rarely pay 100% attention to the television, usually doing something else at the same time.) Still, that's an awful lot of television. I guess it helps that I'm an insomniac. Oh, and I still haven't seen the most recent Lost (hence why I am avoiding my friends' list so as not to be inadvertently spoiled), so that'll be on there soon.

Tags: 2008 list, meme

So, I decided that I was bored with my layout, as I'd had it for a year and a half. smilla02 had made me a La Femme Nikita icon that I liked a lot, so I decided to create a header and layout around the icon. (Although, I did, for a second, consider using a current/active fandom. *grin*) I currently have a header up, but I made two additional versions, and I want help deciding which looks best.

( 3 large images behind the cut, but they're all black and white so small file size )

I know, I know, it's not earth-shattering stuff, but I would love people's opinions.


Also, I was responding to old comments and realized in my new layout that the comment pages look nice, but they make it really, really hard to comment. (Nothing like black text on a black background when picking userpics for example.) Does anyone know how I can tweak this? If not, does anyone know how I can edit just the comments section? And if not, I know that there used to be a way to have the comments page revert to the basic LJ style (like what happens in basic accounts, such as at ncis_newsletter), is there still a way to do so, and if yes, how? Jeez, this is complicated!

Okay, so I am supposed to be cleaning, as we have a city inspector coming by on Wednesday and last time he said that there was entirely too much stuff in the attic, but I cannot bring myself to get off of the couch. Thus I am finding excuses to procrastination. First, I updated my icon journal for the first time in over a year. I added a bunch of NCIS icons and a handful of other icons.

Now it's time for a completely random life update. First, the child that I talked about being evaluated the other day was diagnosed and will start receiving services soon. Yay! (That brings our ratio of children to therapists to 14:8, I think. Granted, a couple of children see more than one therapist, but still!)

Yesterday I braved the Black Friday crowds to go shopping. I was supposed to get presents for family and friends. This is what I ended up with...
4 small presents for my mother
2 small presents for my sister
Seasons 1-3 of House (for only $50!) for me
Season 6 of Gilmore Girls (I wasn't planning on ever buying it, but it was only $15) for me
Batman Begins, X2 and Underworld (for $4-5 each) for me
2 shirts for me

Considering that within the last couple of weeks I also purchased the first season of Battlestar Galactica and The Pretender movies, I apparently am making my own Christmas this year. *grin* I'm actually rather frustrated with buying Dana gifts. Last Christmas I bought her a camera. She broke it somehow almost immediately and never bothered to get it looked at. When she mentioned that she might like a new camera for this Christmas, I asked why she didn't just get the other one repaired, and she replied, "because it is not under warranty anymore." (But it was until recently! *headdesk*) Then, for her birthday, I bought her a video ipod. I also transferred all of the songs that we both own on to the ipod and downloaded and converted 2 seasons worth of shows and uploaded them on there for her (a fairly time consuming task). She still hasn't bothered to use it (her birthday was in June) and she managed to erase everything I put on there by allowing someone else to add something to it. Every time I ask her why she hasn't used it, she says that I haven't shown her how. (Really? Is using an ipod that hard, especially when you've already used itunes? *headdesk*) I have offered several times to go through using an ipod with her, but she never takes me up on it. She also put books on her list, but she hasn't read the last three that she's gotten as gifts, so I don't want to give her more. I'm so at a loss as to what to do for her for Christmas this year. *sigh*

I was planning on also adding mid-season review of my television shows to this post, but Dana just came home, and I need to at least pretend to be working on the attic! *grin* I guess that gives me a reason to take a break tomorrow. (As if I really need a reason.)

I hope all Americans had a Happy Thanksgiving and that everyone else is having a good weekend.

For whatever reason, my fandom love at the moment is NCIS. (This is liable to change, even as soon as next week, but for now...) I don't know that many people who write Ziva-centric fic, though, and that was what I was in the mood to read. So, I went over to "the Pit" to see if I could find anything. After searching for Ziva as a main character, this is what I found. (I didn't actually look at all of them, as a couple looked decent, but were pairings (Ziva/Abby, Ziva/McGee) that I don't read.) All misspellings are by the authors, not me.

( 1. )

( 2. )

And, really. Why do so many fanfic writers need to type out "Zee-vah" or "Ni-kee-tah" anyway? Can't the readers be trusted to imagine how Tony and Michael might be saying those names?

( 3. )

( 4. )

That last one had 176 reviews. (14 positive ones for the first chapter alone?!?!) That depressed me so much that I just couldn't go on. Anyone happen to know of anything Ziva or Ziva/Tony that they would like to recommend? A general case file (as long as it isn't focussed on McGee, as I just don't care too much about him) would be good as well. Sigh. I suppose I'm asking for too much.

Speaking of asking for too much, no one would happen to know of any Burn Notice stories other than the ones at bn_coverstories, would they? I adore that show, but there is no fandom presence for it whatsoever. I know that it is on cable and all, but the lack of an Internet presence is still a little mystifying. (On a related note, if anyone has yet to see this wonderful show and has any desire to do so, I may or may not have links to share.) I refuse to believe that there are only a handful of decent stories in this fandom anywhere on the Internet, so if anyone knows of anything...


( In funnier/more positive news, here are some videos that people might have seen already, but which I feel are worth watching if you haven't. )

Tags: burn notice, ncis, rant, rec

Now that I am officially back and have done the requisite emo "why I've been gone" post, I have a slightly silly question to ask...

I used the phrase TPTB in a post and was told that many people do not know what it stands for. As I have heard the expression used for years (first probably on a Highlander mailing list eons ago) and have heard it used in mainstream media (I'm thinking Entertainment Weekly off of the top of my head, but it could have just as easily been TV Guide, or both), I was wondering about how widespread use of the term is. Thus, I bring you this frivolous poll...

Poll #1082521 TPTB
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Do you know what TPTB stands for?

Thanks for assuaging my curiosity!

Even after I said I was back, I so wasn't back. Thus, now that student evaluations are done and parent/teacher conferences are planned for (wow, it's difficult to come up with a good way to tell parents that their child needs physical/speech/etc. therapy, even after 10 years doing this job), I have decided that I am going to post regularly. I'm aiming for something small every day, instead of hoarding up things for a big post that never gets made. I might not make this every day thing, but I figure if I aim for that I might end up actually posting a couple of times a week. So, here is the first of these posts...

First of all, I have to thank whomever gifted me paid LJ time. My last post was in no way a plea for assistance, but it gave me such warm fuzzies to see that. Thanks so very, very, very much.

Second of all, I saw that msgenevieve posted a youtube link to a La Femme Nikita video and I realized that I never pimped the LFN video that giandujakiss made for me as part of Sweet Charity. It is amazing. It is awesome. There are really no words. Check it out here. (Warning, NWS, and images from all five seasons of the show. You can possibly appreciate the video without being familiar with the show, but familiarity definitely helps.)

Last, everyone else is doing it, so here is my ( Visual DNA thing... )

I know I haven't been around much and that I owe people things that I said I'd do/get for them, so while I keep thinking I'm going to wait until things get back to normal and make a huge regular post, I figured I should just give up and write a brief note instead.

Some of you know that I don't have a car and have been walking to/from work (almost two and a half miles each way). That combined with the hours I work means I typically leave the house at 7:15 in the morning and get home at 6:45 in the evening. On top of that, I have lesson plans to make and prepare for, evaluations to write, observation reports to make out (so that a couple of children with developmental delays can get the necessary help), etc. In addition to that, I have to go out of town (with no Internet access) every third weekend, usually. And, as if the time problem weren't enough of an obstacle to getting on here, my computer is on its last legs. It has so many things wrong with it that as soon as I fix one (like the overheating issue), something new crops up. Thus, until I get around to buying a new one (with the money I was saving up for a car *sigh*), my presence online is/will be even spottier.

I just wanted to let you know (not that I'm sure it was a crisis matter for any of you! *grin*) that I will eventually get everything straightened out, and work cannot be horrible forever, so I should hopefully be back to stalking you all commenting madly and posting random meta and memes and maybe even making icons again. (Wouldn't that be nice!) Oh, and I swear that all of those things that I promised to do will get done as soon as I can. Really. It's actually making me feel rather guilty that I haven't completed them yet. (Which for the majority of them is sort of silly, as a birthday present is even more of a surprise and pleasure when it comes months later, right? Right? *sigh*)

So, hopefully everyone is doing well, and I'll 'see' you soon.

Friends, please feel free to ignore this. I was going to put a list of my fandoms on my profile page, but then I decided to elaborate a bit and it got too big/clunky for my profile and I moved it here.

( Shows/Fandoms that interest me (warning minor spoilers for the last completed season (not the current one) of each show (LFN, NCIS, WaT, Bones, GA, Lost, GG, Cold Case, The Pretender, SPN, BSG HL, SVU...) )

( Shows I also watch (but they have not captured me enough to seek out fandom... )

( Other characters/pairings that interest me (but I don't watch/care about the shows)... )

I think that's it! I don't know if anyone managed to wade through all that. It does give you an idea of my interests. (It also shows you that I really cannot shut up once I start! Fair warning... *grin*)

To my flist... Sorry to spam, but I wanted to get this up while I still had brain function.

Oh, and this isn't a GIP, as I have a bunch to talk about, but I love this icon. It always makes me giggle.


Okay, I was sick and in bed for a long period of time last weekend and continued a lethargic existence this weekend, so I watched a bunch of shows on videotape and download. I’ve finished the last season of most of my shows, and have started watching the current seasons of some of them. I’m sure there really isn’t anyone who cares of my opinions about these shows, especially at this late date, but I wanted to write them, so here they are anyway.

( First up, CSI, because the ending of last season pissed me off so much... )
If ever CSI goes back to being about interesting (not sensationalistic) stories with twists and turns and no excessive personal stuff, I might consider watching it again.

( Next is Lost because I’m a little excited about the season opener, no specific spoilers... )
I thought of a lot of stuff to say when I was watching the episode; however, everyone else has said it so much better in their journals, so I’ll leave that to the others. Not ‘The Others’, just the other LJers. *grin*

( I’m probably in the minority on LJ, but I think seasons 3 and 4 of NCIS were definitely better than season 2 and arguably season 1... )
For the past year or so, NCIS has definitely been one of my favorite shows, and the fourth season looks to be continuing in the same strong vein as the third. I hope that it doesn’t let me down.

Speaking of being let down by a favorite show...
( As far as Gilmore Girls goes, I think I like David Rosenthal; however, he was left in such a bad spot by ASP, that I don’t know if the show can be saved... )
I’m still watching, but I just don’t enjoy the show as much as I used to.

( And I had my annual attempt to watch and enjoy a Veronica Mars episode... )
I think if this show were “Daddy Mars” with only a side story of Veronica instead of the other way around, I’d be much more likely to enjoy it. Oh well. I will probably try again in a few months. Maybe. (Shouldn’t 4 episodes be enough for me to be sure that I don’t like the show without feeling guilty that I didn’t give it a chance? Apparently not, as I’m still feeling guilty.)

( I’m undecided about Heroes, so no real spoilers/plot discussion... )
I really want to like the show, but so far? Not so much. I do have to say that it is really odd to watch in real time and to see Studio 60 after Heroes. They are not very similar and even though I like both well enough, it’s a bit jarring to go from one to the other.

( I’m still not a huge fan of House, but I’ve seen the first three episodes of this season... )
I might end up giving up this show, as my Tuesdays are already so crowded (see NCIS and Gilmore Girls, plus there is also Friday Night Lights, which I have yet to watch, but which I’m told is great). Eh. We’ll see.

( I have seen eight episodes of Supernatural now, and I just don’t get the mass LJ appeal... )
So, I’ll keep watching, but I don’t see it becoming an obsession unless something changes.

( I think I’ve overdosed on Grey’s Anatomy... )
All that being said, I think Grey’s is one of my favorite shows right now.


And that got way, way too long, so although I don’t want to give each show its own post (because that would be spam to the highest degree, I will devote a separate post to Without a Trace. (Of course, that allows me more time to formulate it, as I think that post might be the one that I can actually find a couple of people to care about. :)

Tags: csi, gilmore girls, heroes, house, lost, meta discussion, ncis, supernatural, veronica mars

Thanks to everyone who left kind words and well wishes on my last post. I had meant to respond individually with comments when I had good news; however, there isn't really any good news. Midnight came home Thursday night, but he relapsed again. We brought him back to the vet Saturday morning, and the vet put him through surgery ($700 worth) again. She said, however, that it wasn't a permanent solution and she thought it would just happen again. I tried to get her to state my options, but she wouldn't. Well, it turns out that because it's environmental, there really are no options. (My kitty was apparently so stressed about something in the house that even when on anti-anxiety medication, he couldn't make himself pee.) She agreed that because he does fairly well at the office after surgery, she would be willing to have us release him to her and she would see if she could adopt him out from there. If not, we've given her permission to euthanize him. (We even paid for it.) She's supposed to let us know if she has to end up doing that, but we said our goodbyes this afternoon. It might not be a great chance at life for him, but at least it's a chance. He's such a sweet, friendly, playful cat (if not quite so smart) that I have to hope for the best. *sigh*

I was going to also add in a funny story about having to go collect Dana while she was (and actually still is) drunk, but I don't feel like it at the current moment. Maybe later today (as I'm up for good, after having been awakened to go fetch Dana).

Anyway, thanks again for the thoughts.