Too Fond of Books

{Take the 100 Things challenge!}

In the interests of not letting the blog site(s) I know and love die a slow and boring death, I'm going to be taking part in the meme above. My theme is long and complicated, but I think it's going to be awesome: "100 Pop Culture Things (Books, Movies, TV Shows, Songs, and Comics/Manga) That Have Made A Difference in My Life, for Good or Bad." The great thing is, there's no time limit or arbitrary deadline that will make me feel guilty for not getting to a particular number at a particular time--just lots of time to writewritewrite about things I love and hope that other people love, too, or hate, or just plain want to chat about. Huzzah!

Cadged from bottledgoose, anyone who wants to hear my voice is welcome to listen, or just hit the transcription button for textual fulfillment. :D



Voice posts are fun, right? You get to hear funny accents if your friends are from far, far away. All we really want is to hear your voice, we don't care what you're saying. So here's a list of typical meme questions that would otherwise be boring, but when communicated aloud - well, it's entertaining. Answer these questions in your post, and encourage others with voice-posting abilities to do the same.

1) What's your name?
2) How old are you?
3) Where are you from? Are you living there right now?
4) Is it cold where you are?
5) What's the time?
6) What are you wearing?
7) What was the last thing you listened to?
8) What was the last thing you ate?
9) What was the last thing you watched on tv?
10) What's your favorite tv show? Why?
11) Quick! Find a book, or something with text on it! Flip to a random page and read some of it! GO!
12) What was the last movie you saw? How was it?
13) Do YOU think you have an accent? Talk about that.

At the end of posting this, I was given the option of "listening to my message again". I thought, gargh, no! Listening to the sound of your own voice is one of the weirdest sensations you can have. It's bad enough listening to my answering machine message as I screen calls!

First of all, a meme:

* Comment on this post.
* I will give you a letter.
* Think of 5 fictional characters whose names start with that letter and post their names and your comments on these characters in your LJ.

lyras gave me 'D':

1) Dana Scully: When I was living in Japan, a friend of mine was recording 'X-Files' for me and sent one video tape that bore the scribbled notation "Scully carries a BIG GUN and KICKS ASS!" next to the episode name. Which, in a nutshell, is why I loved her--Scully might have taken a few knocks from the writer's school of plot devices, but when the chips were down, I knew that Scully would come through. Scully wasn't a card-board cut-out character, either. She went through all sorts of reversals of fortune, saw things that turned everything she knew and believed in upside down, and she didn't let any of it stop her. And she wore the most awesome pantsuits, too.

2) Diana Skouris (of 'The 4400'): I like to think that Dana Scully and Diana Skouris would have loads to talk about, and would get together in fictional character land for coffee once a week, to commiserate about the crazy of government agencies, discuss the life and habits of their respective work partners, and speculate about how their lives had completely changed as a result of what was happening in their careers. Diana Skouris is just as kick-ass as Scully, although perhaps without as much emotional baggage (as things start out, anyway.) It's also a pleasure to watch her be the voice of reason and common sense to a slightly more receptive partner than the one Scully had.

3) (Shizuka) Doumeki (of 'XXXHolic'): Doumeki really annoyed me at first. The strong, silent characters in manga are a hit or miss proposition with me, especially when they do speak only to make demands of the main characters. But, increasingly, I've come around to liking Doumeki--I think it was the hydrangea chapter that did it for me. Here is someone who didn't want to let his friend walk into the unknown alone, but when he realized that he couldn't stop him, he made sure his friend had a way back. Loyalty and perseverance like that have a way of winning me over. And where the story is right now...? I'm really glad Doumeki is around, and I suspect he will be the last thing Watanuki loses.

4) Despair (from 'The Sandman' series, by Neil Gaiman): I am sometimes saddened that this is the character from this series who I think of the most often. There's just something so true about the phrase "you will feel Despair's cold hook in your heart"--it's closest any writer has ever come to describing the physical sensation I get when I do feel despair. And, sure, Dream is broody and a bit whiney, but ultimately interesting; the Death in these stories is the Death I kind of hope might be waiting for me whenever; and the other characters are compelling, but Despair... well, damn. It's hard to forget that sensation, especially when it's been put into words so adroitly.

5) (The) Doctor (of 'Doctor Who'): This series, perhaps unintentionally, restored my faith in human nature and the importance of curiosity. A great part of that was/is the Doctor's character, and the way he looks at things around him: problems or not, they are all amazing and beautiful in their own way. Very neat.

And, for something slightly less edifying, ( there is 'Fringe'. )

Anyway. I would summarize the show this way: SCIENCE! SCIENCE IS BAD! NO WAIT SCIENCE IS GOOD! NO WAIT SCIENCE IS SORT OF BAD, BUT ALSO GOOD! CORPORATIONS ARE BAD! A SENSORY DEPRIVATION TANK AND LSD CAN ALLOW YOU TO TALK TO LOVED ONES IN COMAS! SCIENCE!

... yeah, I'm in a snarky mood. ^-^;;