![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwynToday I started my very first real honest to gosh freelance job. It means I won't get my unemployment moolah for the week, of course, but I'm much more interested in getting clients and word of mouth. It's not much, just a proofing job, but it's for a coffee-table style niche magazine for guitar geeks published here. I'm about halfway through, just finished the longest article, and it's really a gorgeous book. I looked at a newsstand copy a while ago and was very impressed with what they did, but most important for my music-geek soul, I'm reading about all these guitar legends and the behind the scenes things like building specialist guitars and other fretted instruments, and one of the articles in this issue is on Les Paul. I mean, my first lil' "I'm trying a new career path" job involves reading about Les freakin' Paul!
I've established a domain and email account for business, and am writing blurbs for the various groups I belong to so I can get listed in all the freelance places. I need to prepare copy for a web site and really get the resume in good online order, but overall, with my "do a thing a day" plan, it's going okay. Hopefully I can get some momentum going, though getting ready for spring quarter class will kind of throw a spanner in those works.
Blues and Olive still can't get along. Every time I think there will be a thaw, and Olive starts to lick him (she's a licking kitty), he smacks her, the little doofus. And the rest of the time, he's trying to get her to pay attention to him, so she's smacking, hissing, snarling, and growling at him. I just. Cats. But it's so fun to watch him racing around the backyard like a maniac. He's such a dork, and still growing into his feet. He's utterly fascinated, too, by the computer, and I took some pics of him while I was vidding that I'll try to put up.
Speaking of vidding, my Keen Eddie vid for Pacificon is going well. I like it so far, even though it really doesn't have any sensible storyline or anything. It's just one big goof, a collection of clips that are just silly examples of the perfection of the Monty/Eddie relationship.
And I have been avoiding talking about The Wire's final season, because in some ways it was letting me down, and also, I have been so far behind everyone else that I felt foolish talking about it. I'm only up to 8, and everyone's talking about 9, but I have read most of the spoilers so I have an idea of what's going on.
There have been some things about the season that bothered me, both from a storytelling point of view and also from a character point of view. I can't quite reconcile McNulty doing what he's done. Yeah, he's an asshole, blah blah, but the one thing he never seemed to be was a wackjob. He's too good of a cop. I get that he's frustrated but I have never quite been able to believe him going off the deep end. However, as much trouble as I had with it, I'm often willing to let my shows slide, but this time... Lester, man, wtf? It was funny, of course, that Lester started telling Jimmy what he'd done wrong, and even funnier watching Bunk blow a gasket, but I just simply don't see Lester putting everything in jeopardy that way. I can buy him going to Clay Davis. I can buy him taking the money from Jimmy to put his case in order. But I can't for the life of me really accept that Lester, of all people, would willingly create such a dangerous and stupid fiction.
So, there was that problem. And then my other problem was the whole Baltimore Sun thing. Maybe because I was trained as a journalist and have worked at publications (never a major daily, but still), I've had a hard time believing that someone so obviously Jayson Blairish/Steven Glasslike can skate by and that people weren't suspicious of him beforehand. Yes, Gus doesn't think he has talent, but the rest of the newsroom, especially Guttierez, could certainly see him every day, slacking, pouting, sucking up, exhibiting all the Glass symptoms. And while I do know that managing editors and publishers are often clueless about what it means to really work the line on these types of jobs, the ME and publisher here are such caricatures concentrating on the bottom line and being all "You go, boy" to Templeton that they feel like a joke to me. It's stupid and facile and way, way beneath Simon to write such an obvious ploy.
But if I look past that, there's still all the great usual stuff. I was deeply saddened by Prop Joe's death, but I saw that coming for a while. But Cheese... he has to die, man. Cheese just has to die, the weasel. I hate him. And I pray that they get Marlo -- because even though he'll be replaced (probably by Kenard, the way that kid's going), I don't think anyone is as sociopathic and power-mad as that boy is. Stringer and Avon, they had feelings, they were people. Marlo isn't even human. In a different world, he'd be a serial killer for real -- there is nothing but dark empty space inside that guy.
I had a terrible feeling they were going to make this Omar's last stand. But I was hoping so much that I was wrong. I hate the way he went out. I almost wish in a way that he'd died going off that balcony, because then he would have gone out doing something. He wasn't doing anything, and that was a really crappy way to get rid of a character that pretty much everyone loves. Mr. Simon, I boo hiss you for this one. Omar deserved better, especially since he was trying to avenge Butchie's murder. Omar was larger than life, and his death should have reflected that. I don't know if I can even stomach the end, because I fear that if they're willing to send Omar out like that, then what else are they going to do?
I love that Kima's trying to be a mom, but she's sort of McNultyish in her own way. I still love Cedric with all my heart, but I fear for him in this position, that he will become Carcetti's pawn. It sounds like he gets some good time in 9, though, so I'm looking forward to that.
And the kids. God, what Michael's become. That scene with Bunk interviewing him was amazing, as was Bunk trying to talk to poor Randy. Dukie's future terrifies me. I loved seeing Poot again, working at the shoe store -- his line about "That shit got old" was just... divine. Utterly divine. I want so bad for that to be Dukie's future, too, but I know from what people are saying it's not. I don't want Dukie to end up like Bubbles, even if Bubbles is clean this season. I fear that that won't last, either. Oh please, just let Bubbles live, and live well. He's such a sweet man, he deserves it. But I fear that Simon won't let us have that, either.
I don't think I've ever been so wrapped up in a show this way. It's different from the way I've been wrapped up by my fandom shows, like Buffy or Pros or something. These people feel so real to me it hurts, it's crushing to watch their failures and deaths, and transcendant to see their successes. I would never ever want to see their world, and yet it feels like I could step outside and meet someone like them at any time. And it going away will leave a huge hole in my world. The season started poorly for me, but it is definitely improving, and I think a lot of that has to do with the way the case is unraveling and Gus is catching up on Templeton. They're not deal-breaker problems, but they have left me feeling like I'm not sure I'd want to watch this season again as much as the early ones. And I'm not sure I can ever see Omar getting zipped up in that body bag again without sniffling.
Omar Little, you were a man with a code. You are missed.
I've established a domain and email account for business, and am writing blurbs for the various groups I belong to so I can get listed in all the freelance places. I need to prepare copy for a web site and really get the resume in good online order, but overall, with my "do a thing a day" plan, it's going okay. Hopefully I can get some momentum going, though getting ready for spring quarter class will kind of throw a spanner in those works.
Blues and Olive still can't get along. Every time I think there will be a thaw, and Olive starts to lick him (she's a licking kitty), he smacks her, the little doofus. And the rest of the time, he's trying to get her to pay attention to him, so she's smacking, hissing, snarling, and growling at him. I just. Cats. But it's so fun to watch him racing around the backyard like a maniac. He's such a dork, and still growing into his feet. He's utterly fascinated, too, by the computer, and I took some pics of him while I was vidding that I'll try to put up.
Speaking of vidding, my Keen Eddie vid for Pacificon is going well. I like it so far, even though it really doesn't have any sensible storyline or anything. It's just one big goof, a collection of clips that are just silly examples of the perfection of the Monty/Eddie relationship.
And I have been avoiding talking about The Wire's final season, because in some ways it was letting me down, and also, I have been so far behind everyone else that I felt foolish talking about it. I'm only up to 8, and everyone's talking about 9, but I have read most of the spoilers so I have an idea of what's going on.
There have been some things about the season that bothered me, both from a storytelling point of view and also from a character point of view. I can't quite reconcile McNulty doing what he's done. Yeah, he's an asshole, blah blah, but the one thing he never seemed to be was a wackjob. He's too good of a cop. I get that he's frustrated but I have never quite been able to believe him going off the deep end. However, as much trouble as I had with it, I'm often willing to let my shows slide, but this time... Lester, man, wtf? It was funny, of course, that Lester started telling Jimmy what he'd done wrong, and even funnier watching Bunk blow a gasket, but I just simply don't see Lester putting everything in jeopardy that way. I can buy him going to Clay Davis. I can buy him taking the money from Jimmy to put his case in order. But I can't for the life of me really accept that Lester, of all people, would willingly create such a dangerous and stupid fiction.
So, there was that problem. And then my other problem was the whole Baltimore Sun thing. Maybe because I was trained as a journalist and have worked at publications (never a major daily, but still), I've had a hard time believing that someone so obviously Jayson Blairish/Steven Glasslike can skate by and that people weren't suspicious of him beforehand. Yes, Gus doesn't think he has talent, but the rest of the newsroom, especially Guttierez, could certainly see him every day, slacking, pouting, sucking up, exhibiting all the Glass symptoms. And while I do know that managing editors and publishers are often clueless about what it means to really work the line on these types of jobs, the ME and publisher here are such caricatures concentrating on the bottom line and being all "You go, boy" to Templeton that they feel like a joke to me. It's stupid and facile and way, way beneath Simon to write such an obvious ploy.
But if I look past that, there's still all the great usual stuff. I was deeply saddened by Prop Joe's death, but I saw that coming for a while. But Cheese... he has to die, man. Cheese just has to die, the weasel. I hate him. And I pray that they get Marlo -- because even though he'll be replaced (probably by Kenard, the way that kid's going), I don't think anyone is as sociopathic and power-mad as that boy is. Stringer and Avon, they had feelings, they were people. Marlo isn't even human. In a different world, he'd be a serial killer for real -- there is nothing but dark empty space inside that guy.
I had a terrible feeling they were going to make this Omar's last stand. But I was hoping so much that I was wrong. I hate the way he went out. I almost wish in a way that he'd died going off that balcony, because then he would have gone out doing something. He wasn't doing anything, and that was a really crappy way to get rid of a character that pretty much everyone loves. Mr. Simon, I boo hiss you for this one. Omar deserved better, especially since he was trying to avenge Butchie's murder. Omar was larger than life, and his death should have reflected that. I don't know if I can even stomach the end, because I fear that if they're willing to send Omar out like that, then what else are they going to do?
I love that Kima's trying to be a mom, but she's sort of McNultyish in her own way. I still love Cedric with all my heart, but I fear for him in this position, that he will become Carcetti's pawn. It sounds like he gets some good time in 9, though, so I'm looking forward to that.
And the kids. God, what Michael's become. That scene with Bunk interviewing him was amazing, as was Bunk trying to talk to poor Randy. Dukie's future terrifies me. I loved seeing Poot again, working at the shoe store -- his line about "That shit got old" was just... divine. Utterly divine. I want so bad for that to be Dukie's future, too, but I know from what people are saying it's not. I don't want Dukie to end up like Bubbles, even if Bubbles is clean this season. I fear that that won't last, either. Oh please, just let Bubbles live, and live well. He's such a sweet man, he deserves it. But I fear that Simon won't let us have that, either.
I don't think I've ever been so wrapped up in a show this way. It's different from the way I've been wrapped up by my fandom shows, like Buffy or Pros or something. These people feel so real to me it hurts, it's crushing to watch their failures and deaths, and transcendant to see their successes. I would never ever want to see their world, and yet it feels like I could step outside and meet someone like them at any time. And it going away will leave a huge hole in my world. The season started poorly for me, but it is definitely improving, and I think a lot of that has to do with the way the case is unraveling and Gus is catching up on Templeton. They're not deal-breaker problems, but they have left me feeling like I'm not sure I'd want to watch this season again as much as the early ones. And I'm not sure I can ever see Omar getting zipped up in that body bag again without sniffling.
Omar Little, you were a man with a code. You are missed.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 12:46 pm (UTC)OK, so re: McNulty - I had a hard time with this too (because while I've hated things he's done in the past, I've never felt truly contemptuous of him before) but I think the critical piece here is that fifteen months have passed since season 4 and McNulty genuinely believed this time that things would be different; he bought into Carcetti's "new day" nonsense and because he bought into it, I think he fell harder than he would have done at any other time. The parallels for me are really with Frank Sobotka in season 2 - someone doing something they KNOW is wrong with the very best of motivations (although some of McNulty's motivations are less pure - his desire to "win" at all costs, which we've seen before!)
As for Lester, I too was shocked that he took part in McNulty's scheme, but then I thought about it for a while, and I think Lester is, in his own quiet way, just as obsessed with winning and being the smartest guy in the room (which he very often is!) as McNulty is. So I'm good with that.
Agree that the newspaper story is one of the less nuanced ones on this beautiful show - I wonder if that's because of the cuts to the timelines. Perhaps with a couple more episodes, they would have been able to flesh out stuff a bit better.
Re: Omar. I think it's precisely BECAUSE he's such a larger-than-life character, he had to go out that way - otherwise he wouldn't have been credible? Plus, there's a mythic element anyway to being slain by the unforeseen element - Omar as Achilles, or if you want to see him as a character from American mythology (the lone gunman of Western lore), then his fate fits in so well with fictional (I've heard "The Wild Bunch" mentioned often!) and real (Wild Bill Hickock) characters.
If it helps, in episode 9, Omar's legend continues to grow :)
no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 03:26 pm (UTC)The Omar death--I, too, wanted something more done with that, but at the same time I can totally see why it was appropriate that it happen the way it did--showing that, after all, Omar was not Spiderman, that he could die the same way so many have, you know?
no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 03:46 pm (UTC)I'm loving the Blues & Olive updates - he sounds like *such* a character, and while she'll eventually thaw, I bet it will be on her terms. no letting that upstart run the house!
I'm looking forward to seeing you at Pacificon - and seeing your Keen Eddie vid. I adored that show so much, and some Eddie/Monty hijinks will be great fun.
no subject
Date: 2008-02-28 09:25 pm (UTC)If she's licking him at all, and he's trying to get her attention at all? In my book, they're getting along. *g* And yay, about the freelance job! That's got to be encouraging, to get that!
no subject
Date: 2008-02-29 05:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-03-02 02:32 am (UTC)I totally agree about the editors being caricatures. I understand their time concerns to me but it just reeks of Simon's journalism issues and I find it hard to connect with the storyline. And that contrasts so much when I'm watching the other storylines that break my heart because they ARE real in a way many characters from other shows aren't. I don't think I'll ever love to rewatch this season as much but I hope they wrap it up while going on the top because this show really deserves an amazing finale.