I've been doing my Project 365 photos every day, or at least trying to. There are a lot of close ups and macros in the set (link to Flickr), because you know what? When you work nights and sleep during the day, and it's pretty much dark by the time you get up, there's not too many things you can take pictures of. Well, there are things I could take pictures of inside the house, but it's all kinda blah, so I'm trying to avoid it. And it's usually way too cold in the evenings to go outside and take pictures. It's started to get lighter earlier and darker later, so I might be able to manage some better outdoor pictures soon. I'm looking forward to this week, when the Sulphur Mountain Gondola opens again. I'm going to try and make a trip up there with my camera, hopefully get some nice shots. I can't remember the last time I was up there, it was probably about two and a half years ago…

Only one more night and then I get three days off! I'm hoping to catch up on some reading, some writing, and some knitting. I foresee lots of tea drinking - speaking of which, I have to make a trip to the Banff Tea Company and get some plain black tea. Not that I don't love the Cream of Earl Grey (nomnomnom!), but something a little less flavored would be lovely as well. I've spoiled myself with loose leaf teas, and anything from a tea bag just tastes… pleh. So I shall have to drop by and have a chat with the lovely ladies there and pick something up. Mmmm, tea. That can get taken care of on the way to the post office. My yarn order from Colourmart was shipped on the 11th, and the one from WEBS on the 14th, so while I doubt either one is here yet, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to check. Also in the plans for the days off is a trip to Canmore to (hopefully!) finally visit the yarn store there. Despite having a bag full of sock yarn (from that big order I got from KnitPicks a while back), I'm kind of tempted to buy some Socks That Rock yarn, if they have any, or something in a hand-dyed colorway. Mainly, I just want something a bit thicker than Palette - it's a lovely yarn, but it's not really appropriate for winter socks, and now that I've finally managed to more or less master the sock, I'd like to make something a bit more substantial that I can wear with my (sadly unlined and therefore a bit cold) Doc Martens.

Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or a subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort. Not to mention hospital gurneys, and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, and soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction.

And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days are, in fact, here for a much larger and nobler reason: They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange. But I also know that it just so happens to be true.

– Karen Eiffel, Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Yeah. *burps* I think I'm going to go to bed now.

Seriously, the team dynamic is far, far better and more awesome than last season. Even the three who'd worked together before - Ianto, Toshiko, and Owen - didn't have that close knit feeling last year. And this year, with Jack having been gone who knows how long, with Gwen having led the team, they're working very smoothly and efficiently. And I love it.

Captain John Hart - time agent, con, Jack's ex boyfriend, apparently. I never really understood all the "OMG SPIKE ON TORCHWOOD!!!" squee that flooded the fandom when the news first came out, because, hey, guess what? IT'S NOT SPIKE. And yeah, OK, John had a lot of swagger and bravado, like Spike, but the lame could be said for Jack Harkness, Jack Sparrow, or hell, Jack O'Neill. I really liked Marsters's appearance, and am definitely looking forward to seeing him on the show again (as the preview showed, he'll be back!). Maybe even we'll find out who "Grey" is that John found and the news of whom had Jack speechless and shaken.

And while it's hard to pick a ship and stick with it on Torchwood (because let's face it, they're not exactly falling nicely into well-defined relationships or even orientations), the Jack/Ianto relationship is quite interesting. I never really saw it last year, mostly because I didn't find Ianto all that interesting, but having seen this episode, I'm all for it. And aww, poor Jack, so disappointed that Gwen's getting married. Of course, given that Rhys will apparently find out about Torchwood and what they do, and the recent trend in TV of killing off the mundane boyfriend of the main female character, well, I wouldn't be surprised if something happened there. Not that I'm rooting for it, because eee, Rhy Gwen and Rhys are so adorable (at least when they're not screaming at each other or dying or something), and I don't want to see anything happen to them. And clearly, even though Torchwood is certainly pushing the boundaries, I highly doubt they'll give us a canon relationship involving anything more than two people.

Still! Yay, show being back! \o/

I give up. I get that my roommates are all younger than me (by 7-8 years at least) and that they're stuck in some sort of limited worldview mindset. But I'm really sick of hearing "eww!" and "gross!" whenever there's something remotely approaching homoeroticism in any kind of tv show or movie.

I guess now I understand a little bit better how the hard(er) core slashers feel about the people who argue against it and say it's icky. *sigh*

Fannish goal #1 approaches - catch up on capping things. I've got half a season of Doctor Who, all of season three of Supernatural, and I'm thinking of starting to cap The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well.

And now, I'm going to watch Torchwood 2×01, "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" and get ready for my let's-avoid-the-rush-and-keep-to-our-budget-and-have-the-Christmas-party-after-the-New-Year Christmas party with people from the bookstore.

Why do you only have Terminator 2: Judgment Day on Blu-Ray DVDs? I don't have a Blu-Ray player, I just want the normal version.

Dear Michael Biehn,

This makes three movies with you I've watched recently in which you've died - Aliens (well, you don't die in that one, but you don't survive till the next one), The Rock, and Terminator. Please stop dying in movies, you're far too pretty.

Note to self,

Please avoid watching The Abyss anytime soon, so as to avoid seeing another Michael Biehn character die.

Plus, Bruce Willis being awesome! William Fitchner! Peter Stormare! Everyone else! I kind of want to smish them all.

It's a shame that I don't own this movie. I am going to remedy that today, I think. Maybe pick up Armageddon and The Rock, or something like that, for a double whammy of cheesy fun.

—————-
Now playing: Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard - The Gladiator Waltz (feat Russell Crowe)
via FoxyTunes

All in all, this was definitely the better version of the episode. Why couldn't they have put this on the DVD set? I guess if it does eventually get released, I'll have to buy it, too. For the moment, I'm keeping my eyes open for a torrent, but who knows if it'll actually get put up.

Now all we need to do is mount a campaign to get more two-hour movies made. I mean, Paul Blackthorne can't be that attached to the hideousness that is Big Shots, can he?

I mean, OK, they might have had to film an extra ten second scene to explain why Bob was stuck in the skull, but really, come on, I could have come up with a reason in my sleep, they had a whole freaking team and couldn't do it?

Strangely, Susan was a lot more palatable in this version. I don't know if it was the choppy editing, or maybe just the scenes that were left in the shorter version were that much weaker, but it just seemed to work better.

Also, eeee, Harry/Murphy kiss! I never shipped those two in the books, but in the show, that was a whole other matter. I know that in the books, the big romance was Harry/Susan, but I could just never get behind the show's Susan.

Of course, I'm going to miss it, since I'm at work at the bookstore until 9:30pm, and the second airing is at 1:30am, when I'm at work at the hotel, but maybe I can sneak into the lounge and watch it there or something. And hey, there's always the possibility that someone will put up a torrent.

This is all assuming that I don't succumb to this zombie cold in the meantime, first. I'd go to the doctor, but all they'll tell me is to drink lots of fluids and get plenty of rest, which, well, I've been doing, but it's not helping. At least I don't work at the bookstore today, so I can sleep through the afternoon if I need to. I was supposed to have a contact lens check (something's wonky with my prescription), but I canceled it and will reschedule next week when I'm not dying.

As a final moment of WTF?, I give you Time's article, "Can Atheists Be Parents?" which is so full of overwhelming wtfery that I can't even… *hands*

Look, dude, I know you have a job to do and that it takes time to do it properly. But either step on it and get it done already, or GTFO. Seriously, I bet none of the people in the Hive, Raccoon City, or anywhere else for that matter suffered this much.

I'd even settle for the idea of being a zombie, if it only makes my head feel less like it's going to explode.

Sincerely yours,

Me

Rrr… Seriously, I feel halfway to zombie-land right now. Hopefully the painkiller will kick in. I'm hoarding the last Imitrex, 'cuz I'm pretty sure it won't help with the sinus headache I've got, but the prescription anti-inflammatory might be able to help. And when I'm feeling a little bit more human and less likely to gnaw on random people on the way to the store, maybe I'll go and pick up some Neo-Citran or something, 'cuz my throat is starting to get all tight and sore.

And now, I'm going to turn off the light and close the lid on the monitor, because the lights are starting to hurt my eyes and head.

Rrr…