somniloquence

After having a support call with my ISP that was like talking to the Comic Book Guy on The Simpsons, I'd finally had my last straw and was going to just go directly through CenturyLink, the DSL provider. Everyone said it would be easy peasy; instead it turned into a complete clusterfuck that resulted in me not having internet service for days. Every time I was on the phone with these assholes, I got a different person with a heavy accent (not in India, I'm not sure where they were but I never spoke to anyone who was skilled at English enough so that I could communicate with them well), who couldn't veer off their ridiculous scripts, so I had to keep explaining the same things over and over and over. And having to go through the phone blockade where you not only have to constantly punch the same buttons over and over but have to listen to how you can get blazing fast internet or handle all you support online -- when you CAN'T GET ONLINE.

It turned out they refuse to support any other modems but theirs, and I have a D-Link modem that has served me really well since the equipment I got from them initially broke down. Initially they told me it would be 72 hours till they could propagate the information for my account, and I actually yelled, in shock, "Three DAYS?" and I told them that was unacceptable, and insisted they escalate the call. Of course, then they were going to get it done by the next day (I had a book due), and that was still shitty, but I couldn't do anything about it -- I was going to be out all day on Saturday at a guest lecture at the UW, and at a bash with the Cannibals. When I finally got home last night, I had the worst of the support calls -- they kept telling me that the ticket was closed, and I finally got the information but I couldn't understand her at all, so it was horrific trying to get a password from her. I really wish they'd teach these people the military alphabet.

Of course, I had to call D-Link support to get my modem information updated. This infuriated me -- Saturday night and I'm trying to get support because CenturyLink won't support me. Yeah, I figured that'd work well. I thought I'd have to go through the pay for support option, but after a long hold and a guy I literally could not talk to (he had a really heavy accent and mumbled, which is not a good thing for a phone call), I found out I had to hang up and call a different number for waranteed modems. I was on hold for an hour and 20 minutes. Listening to the same shit over and over and over. It was unreal. Fortunately I could understand some of what she said, and she was the first person who actually seemed to understand what I was saying, and we got the modem set up and I was back online. I really don't get why I have to do this sort of thing to get my modem to work -- other than that CL want you to buy their equipment of course. It pisses me off so much.

I hate Comcast deeply, but the whole time, I was sitting there thinking, I wonder how long it would take to get Comcast out here and get a cable modem? And when I was on the call, suddenly I heard a ton of explosions, and she actually stopped and asked me if someone was shooting guns. It turned out there was some kind of private fireworks show on the beach below me, but I had no idea about it (the warning was buried in some paragraph a few weeks back that I never saw on the West Seattle Blog). It was extremely loud and incredibly close, and then seemed to inspire some asshats in my neighborhood to shoot off their leftover fireworks immediately afterward. My cats were terrified, and I was already vibrating with tension from all these horrible non-support calls, so that was really not good. I think private fireworks shows like this should be illegal, or at least, they shouldn't be allowed to do them on the beach -- it's really harmful to aquatic wildlife, and when individual citizens go out the next day to clean it up because they're concerned, that's...really shitty.

Anyway. I'm finally hooked up again, but I have to change a LOT of places where my old ISP email address is, and that's going to take forever. I mostly just want to hunker down with my borrowed copy of Winter Soldier and read that.

I was insanely grouchy (I have never sworn or yelled at support people before, but I actually did last night -- she kept saying the same bullshit from her script about their equipment vs. third party equipment, and I completely lost my rag), and I checked my email first thing when I got back online, and there was an email from belmanoir. I responded and was telling her about my clusterfucked evening, and she said, well, here's something that might make you feel better -- and it was a story she wrote for me!! Ed and Greg from Flashpoint!!!

To say I squeed a lot is putting it mildly. A long time ago a bunch of us in Seattle did a fannish gift exchange, and I got bel's offer of a fic. I think a lot of people dropped Flashpoint around that time, so it kind of fell by the wayside, but when she was over at my house the other night, I had FP on in the background and we were like, "They love each other sooooo much." She's also talked about writing a Thor as a salesperson at the state fair story for me, and asked me which one I would want when I ever so casually mentioned my birthday would be in five months... I was like, Don't make me choose! It's Sophie's Choice! And she found her notes and wrote it for me!

It's adorable and totally how I see Ed's inner monologue going. I absolutely love Ed Lane, and Hugh Dillon as Ed Lane, and I love Greg Parker (man, I wish I'd had Greg to talk to me during all these non-support calls, he would have helped keep me sane), and even though I'd got to a point where I wasn't totally paying attention to the show all the time, I still loved it and I miss it a lot. Because Hugh is just so perfect in that role -- I've loved him in other things, but as an actor in the TV projects he's done lately, this is where he really seemed to come alive as the character most. And he and Greg just love and trust and need each other so much -- even when they're on the outs, they're so close. (Also, Hugh looks amazing in the tech gear and cool pants) I think Belmanoir totally, perfectly captured that in this story. Go read and leave her feedback!

Will you walk with me out on the wire (2509 words) by belmanoir
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Flashpoint
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Ed Lane/Greg Parker
Characters: Ed Lane, Greg Parker
Summary:

Ed and Greg are sharing a hotel room at a conference. Ed thinks Greg's been acting a little distant lately.

How the frak did it get to be August 1st already? We just started summer a few days ago here in Seattle. This sucks.

I've had a few vid ideas seize hold of me, but I'm having trouble getting started on them. I'm finally able to breathe a bit with the work thing (one of the authors has hied off to parts unknown for vacay, so won't need his edits back till end of August, which, bad for me in that it'll be another month before money rolls in, but good for me too in that I can breathe). So I can actually try to vid, although all the recent fracas related to VVC haters has left me feeling quite... less than thrilled with vidding in general.

Since I am a bit stymied still, I thought about remastering some old vids, and once again found myself wanting to remaster all the vids on the first disc I ever put out with co-vidders, Don't Fight in the Snow. I can remaster digitally all vids except one, which is Jo's, and so I don't feel it's appropriate for me to remake it (I would love it beyond reason if we could have a remastered copy, myself, because the name of the disc comes from that vid, so, you know...). It's a shitload of work though.

There aren't a lot of vids on the disc, because DVDs were still pretty new at the time (when killabeez graciously made the compilation for us, she made it in both disc and VCR versions, and as I remember, it was primarily VCR versions that went out). But it's still a crapload of time -- I have to identify all the clips (not so easy with some of the shows; I cannot for the life of me remember where some of the shots in Sandy's and my Due South vid Stranded are located), clip all the shows/movies, and then try to match the shots. I know some people put the old video versions in their timeline and cut to that, but I have never found that successful for me, so I have to constantly refer back to the original vid.

It would be a long project. And I don't know if there's even any possible interest in such a thing. I still don't really know how to put a DVD online for download, but I could look into that, although I have a feeling space might be the biggest issue in that regard. But whatever I do, I'd like to feel like it's worth the time -- remasters are so much work for pretty much nil reward, and I would love to know if anyone is interested in this disc possibility.

Some of the vids are the only ones I know of for the fandom (Second Sight, for instance), and some of them are popular shows (Buffy), and some of them are just... I don't know, maybe of their time might be a good way to describe them (like the Witchblade vid, which, I don't know if anyone really wants to see a six-minute darkwave song for a rarely seen show at this point -- really, it seemed like a good idea at the time). The fandoms on the disc included two Mag 7 vids, Tombstone, Firefly (My Beautiful Reward, which has already been remastered), Buffy, Due South, Second Sight, Witchblade, La Femme Nikita, and the aforementioned Band of Brothers vid that started the whole thing, if we can get it.

And now that I've said that, I have to take a moment to squee about Flashpoint Friday night. Oh, show, you are so earnestly corny in that inimitable Canadian TV way, and I heart you so, especially when you give me Ed and Greg slashiness at the end and practically serve it up to me on a silver platter with caviar and toast points on the side. And OMG Hugh Dillon in that leather jacket at the end! I just about had a heart attack. My Hugh love is solely centered around Ed Lane and his (Hugh's) relationship to the show, so that makes me a little different from most of the Hugh fans I know, but when they give me that I just... I want to lock him away in my bedroom and do bad things with him.

Wow. I totally fucked that up. I was reminding myself all day that VVC reg was tonight at 9, and then what did I do? Forgot all about it. I was working for a while and then I went to lie down and get some things off the Tifaux and came back at almost 11 and it was all full. No idea if I'll get in but then no idea if I will be able to afford to go this year anyway. I suppose being low on the waitlist will solve my dilemma, and it's not really like anyone's going to notice or care if I'm not there.

****

Last night's Flashpoint made me so very very happy! Everything I love about the show was at the forefront, and the things I don't like about it were in the background.
( Ooooohhhh Ed Oooooohhhhh Greg! )

Cutest thing I heard this week was on a making-of for 3:10 to Yuma on HBO, where Ben Foster, who plays Charlie, talks about how he had never ridden a horse before, and early on he was black and blue all down his legs and butt -- "it was like I had chaps" and he was just lying NAKED in his hotel room, whimpering and crying. It was so funny, especially since Peter Fonda prompted him for that and then sat there laughing while he said it.