Reads Randomly

Every time there's an LJ denial of service, it makes me wonder what I'll do if LJ no longer is around at all. Nothing lasts forever, especially not on the internet.

I signed up for a Dreamwidth account back when I first started, but it felt like I was starting from scratch. I just didn't see the point and I honestly still don't. If LJ goes up in smoke... I'm okay with letting that chapter of my life be over. I'll be sad to loose some of the more personal entries I've posted, but I can save those in other formats. My fic is all archived over at FF.Net. (I'd sign up for an AO3 account too if the idea of more cross-posting didn't give me a headache.) I'm now on Facebook, Twitter AND Google Plus, so I have plenty of platforms to keep in touch with the friends I've made. I haven't quite figured out what to do about keytus_tv  but I'm sure we'll come up with something if the time ever comes.

And that time may not ever come. We all might be done with LJ long before LJ calls it quits. We can't know what the future holds. All we can do is be grateful for what we have and be ready for what may come. And I'm really grateful for the chance to get to know you all here.

Okay, navel-gazing over. We now return to the usual random distractions!

On my way to work yesterday, a tourist stopped me to ask directions.

“I knew you were a local. You looked like you were from around here,” she said. I walked the rest of the way to work with a big grin on my face.

I love being from DC. It has it’s own culture and flavor that is hard to describe to outsiders. It’s very quirky and surprisingly apolitical. This Washington Post article from the Inauguration gets close. The politicians and the lobbyists may get all of the attention, but I’ve lived in a very different world from that, where people wear their government badges with geeky pride and Metro is main way to get around. It’s a pedestrian city. I bring this last part up, because the distance between places is the thing that The West Wing usually and consistently gets wrong.

I know I’ve complained before about the closing shot in 20 Hours In America when Toby, Donna and Josh all walk back into the city over the Watergate Bridge. It’s a beautiful image of the city. But you know what else? It’s at least a 30 minute walk to the White House from there. I should know. I’ve done it before!!

Last night, I watched “Shutdown” for the first time in years. I really enjoyed it (maybe even more than I did the first time around) but then Angela Blake said that the Capitol was only a five or ten minute walk away from the National Gallery, which is definitely an underestimate. Five minutes will get you to the Capitol Reflecting Pool. If you walk fast. And how would Josh, who had been working in and around the Capitol his whole life, not know how long of a walk it was?!

Then, as an added kicker, as CJ and Toby watch the news on television, the newscaster (a self-proclaimed twenty-five year Washingtonian) mixed up the National Archives with the National Gallery. You do not get those two building mixed up. Not to mention it’s close to another half hour from the Archives to the Capitol. Again, I know because I’ve walked it!

I remember at the time having trouble buying that Secret Service would be okay with Jed casually taking a stroll up Pennsylvania Ave. (Though I always figured that Josh ran the idea by the Secret Service first before presenting it to the President.) Now, after having gone through the most recent Inauguration (HE WALKED!), I realized one reason that the Secret Service would have been okay with President Bartlet setting out on foot: it’s mostly government building from there until the Capitol. Empty government building because the government was closed. Nice how that worked out!

Other than those blatant inaccuracies, it was a very good episode. It’s easy to forget those existed during Season 5. Yes, pod!Leo was in full force, but it’s was such a Josh episode. And in a lot of ways, this was the episode where Josh went from being Leo’s boy to Jed’s virtual stand-in. This was probably the episode that helped give root to number 3 on my fanon list. And Donna saved Social Security, which still just delights me.

Lately, I’ve been pretty trigger happy when it comes to ditching new shows. Life’s too short to waste it on stories that do nothing for you. So, needless to say, I’ve asked myself a few times last night why I’m still watching Dollhouse.

It’s not that it’s a bad show. It’s not. It’s well written and (sometimes) well acted and I already care about some (not all) of the characters. But I’m often impatient with the storylines. Frustrated when an interesting plot point tempts me into sticking around for another episode.

I think the root of the problem is that while the monster of the week (or crime as the case may be) is something I enjoy about both Fringe and Life, I’m not that into the ones on Dollhouse. It makes me impatient. I just want them to get on with the main mystery. With Fringe… well, taking my cue from Lost and Alias, I’m only along for the monster of the week ride (and The Peter & Walter Show). I do not care about the conspiracy or to try to keep track of a bunch of cryptic clue whose meaning won’t be revealed for another six seasons. In contrast, I can’t tell whether I like Life’s weekly mystery or bigger conspiracy more. That is a sign of a VERY good show.

I actually think the Dollhouse is in the wrong format. It should be a movie and the focus should be on Paul Ballard and the dolls themselves should be in the background… except for the characters that turn out to be dolls themselves. The audience should be more familiar with Caroline than Echo,so that everytime Echo appears, it's shocking. What little we do see of the dolls and the Dollhouse should be through the eyes of Boyd, Topher and Dr. Claire (but that might be only because I really like those three.) Actually, I think the series would befit from the focus being shifted away from the dolls and onto the investigation.

Anybody out there got an opinion they’d like to share?

While I’ve tried to keep my thoughts in order, don’t expect me to come to any conclusions.  This is just stuff that have been on my mind…