vilakins | And now, it's the yay meme

Entry tags:

meme

And now, it's the yay meme

As I said in a somewhat more honest rant than the first rather forced rant on ranting I did in the previous post:

I tend to rant about things which make me really angry and they usually do because I can't change them, so ranting doesn't help. It don't even make me feel any better because it only makes me think about something I have no control over (like the changes in the IT industry) when I'd rather not. So if it doesn't change anything and doesn't make me feel better, what's the point?

So here's the meme reversed into a yay meme as

kerravonsen has done, and posted because I responded to hers:

Comment with any subject that you would like me to enthuse about.
I will reply here.
Post this in your own journal, so that you may do the same for others.

It's gloriously hot and sunny, the cicadas are buzzing in the trees outside (I love cicadas), and I feel happy and holidayish, so hit me with one.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Farscape! Because I've been complaining about various aspects of it lately, and want to be reminded of how cool it actually is. :)

Linguistics.

Being Kiwi, or if you prefer, living in Auckland.

I like this. The meme has mutated and evolved.

Cats!

B7's sets and FX. :)

I love Farscape for its complex and likeable characters, inventive aliens, amazing special effects, and its story arcs.

A living ship with a symbiotic pilot is a very original idea and is splendidly realised with Moya's organic-looking interior, and a Pilot who is one of the most lovable characters on board. Having only one human is a great idea because it allows for a wonderfully varied cast of regulars and avoids the skewed world of Star Trek where the crews were human with the occasional token alien. OK, apart from the Muppets, they're all bipeds who look extremely human (and one wonders how a plant would evolve to look just like one, complete with mammary glands), but the makeup is superb. You do occasionally get facial ~~bump~~ mottling of the week (e.g. Sikozu) but D'Argo is magnificent, Zhaan eerily beautiful, and Chiana really does look as if she has deeply-hollowed alien bone-structure in her upper torso.

There have also been some very interesting aliens (insectoid ones like Diagnosan, non-humanoid bipeds like the impressive NamTar). They're almost always a pleasure to look at and often a delight with their quirky personalities (I have a real soft spot for Grunchik).

The special effects are stunning. Some, like John and D'Argo floating above a burning planet, and Scorpy standing on the stairs as water cascades down, are simply unforgettable.

And the stories! Individual eps might be disappointing, but the characters are continually changing their relative positions. Many shows would have had a static plotline with Crais in perpetual pursuit of Crichton, but this one turned him into an ally. Scorpius, originally a cruel torturer turns out to have a tragic and lonely past and a goal one can understand and sympathise with, and he too is now an ally.

I haven't seen it all yet but I'm enjoying a hell of a ride.

Perhaps I shouldn't have that in my interests list as I haven't studied it as a science. By linguistics, I mean the structure of language and the origin of words. I love languages and have learned eight in proper classes and picked up enough of others to get by. I'm particularly fascinated by the evolution of English and its history, and get a real kick out of tracing the ancestors of a word back to the original French, German, or Latin (languages I have some knowledge of). The program 'The History of English' was a highlight of my viewing week when it was on here, and I enjoyed a linguistics night-class so much I'm considering another.

Detective work is fun. To a friend's surprise, I guessed that Hindi forms the present tense from the present participle (e.g. I am liking vindaloo) and repeats adjectives for emphasis (e.g. That is a tasty-tasty dish) from his English speech patterns. And recently on

linguaphiles I asked an Irish member if it was true that Irish has no words for yes and no, and he said I was right. Go me! I guessed that from watching Ballykissangel and hearing exchanges like this:

"Would you like a drink?"
"I would."
"Are you going to town today?"
"I am not."

Hey, language is fun!

Hey, language is fun!
Yep.

Me, I'm the other way around: I did study a bit of linguistics (oh yes, the history of English is interesting) but I suffer from monolingualism, and am not really motivated enough to change that state.

I am in great admiration of your observant deductions. I just usually wonder what the origins of random words are, but don't usually follow up.

Hey, this is a yay meme, not a rant one! ;-)

Sorry, but first you'll get a small rant. I loath the term 'kiwi'. I am a human. 'New Zealander' has the same number of syllables as 'Australian' and 'American', so why can't we dignify ourselves with our proper name? If we insist on calling ourselves birds, why not the intelligent, cheeky, and fun-loving kea? It might have done wonders for our national self-image instead of a shy, retiring bird that can't fly. [/rant]

OK, it's Auckland. :-)

Auckland is a beautiful city when it's sunny--as it is now, and has been for over two weeks. It sprawls between two seas and is full of inlets, lagoons, trees, parks, reserves, and gardens. The seaside is only five minutes away by car and I can see a film beside it, choose from a large selection of good restaurants, and wander along the beach with a gourmet ice-cream--and that's just one suburb (Mission Bay). I live surrounded by trees full of birds and, at this time of year cicadas, and we even have a possum and a morepork--and I'm only 20 minutes from the centre of town, traffic permitting. We look over leafy suburbs to the city and the Sky Tower, and from the top of our driveway, I can see the sea, the peninsula of Eastern Beach, and on a clear day, Coromandel in the distance. I didn't like the Sky Tower at first, but I've grown fond of it and I love the Harbour Bridge too, despite its traffic problems.

For anyone who wants to see where I live (our house and favourite bits of the city) and a few other things, have a look here (http://www.farsight.net.nz/mypics.htm).

The meme has mutated and evolved.
No, it was re-designed by me. None of this random mutation stuff (pokes out tongue).

Yay! Thank you. That supplied the desired jolt of fannish enthusiasm very nicely. :)

You make me want to come visit. 8-)

Here are a couple of excellent sites for word and phrase origins, with good indices and archives:
The Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/backidx.html) - American, witty, entertaining, and well-researched
World Wide Words (http://www.worldwidewords.org/index.htm) - British, factual and erudite.

I always want to visit Melbourne! You might have a lot of weather, but I think it's better than ours, judging by my holidays there, and the city has a European feel. Our culture is more 'Pasifika' with our big Polynesian population.

Cats are simply the most beautiful creatures on this planet. They're slinky, sinuous, sensual, silky, soft, and serendipitous--it's always a delight to walk into a room and find an unexpected cat. They're exactly the right size for a human lap (even if they think that two or three will fit) and it's so soothing to stroke their velvety fur. I love their big mysterious almond-shaped eyes, their cute paws, their expressive ears, and the soft rumble of a contented purr. Each one has a different personality: Claudia 'The Thug', who leaps onto us when we least expect it and butts us with the top of her head which makes it all worthwhile; Tessa who gazes adoringly into my eyes, touches her nose to mine, and stretches her paws up towards my neck as if to embrace me; and Vic who lies in wait to bat our ankles as we walk past and squeaks like a baby kitten. These guys are time-wasters: I could spend hours looking at them and cuddling them--and I do. Sitting in a chair in the sun by the window with a good book and a sleeping cat is hard to beat.

People go on about the wobbly sets, but Blake's 7 has, quite simply, the most beautiful and elegant spaceship on TV. The Liberator is also well portrayed on the inside, with its spaciousness, glowing panels and organic hexagonal theme. The flight deck is wonderful. It's beautifully laid-out so that we can see all the crew including Zen, who still looks mysterious, alien, and futuristic 25 years on. Orac too is well-designed to look unlike anything from the 70s, or indeed 2005, so that neither computer will date. B7 SFX are at their best when they are truly inventive (e.g. the floating images displayed by Zen and Krantor's mirror--technology) and less inspired when they build on existing tech of the era (e.g. the Klute's chess game).

Season 4 doesn't do quite as well with technology: the flight readouts under the credits (love them though I do) and the ancient monitors with huge numbers on their screens may have given a more immediate feel but the technology has dated all too quickly. However Scorpio is well done: a rust-bucket on the outside, and claustrophobic, bleak, and past its best on the inside--just like the season.

The SFX are cleverly kept to a minimum so that the characterisation, dialogue, and plot which are the show's strengths are not overshadowed by flashy pyrotechnics.

Very true:):):).

I wish Noki was the size of a human lap. *grin*

A kitten my father rescued when I was a kid grew so big (not fat, all muscle and big bones) that he was uncomfortably heavy on our laps, though we still let him on as he was such a sweetie. He still thought he was a kitten though and was never content to stay in a lap but would try to climb onto our shoulders. He was lovely, a tabby with eyes the exact colour of my jade bracelet. He lived to 18 and died just a few years ago.

I should put up a page devoted to previous cats, including the two I had when I lived in Israel.

Brava!

Personally, I find the wobbly sets endearing. Also that bit where MK is hiding around the corner from the teleport set, waiting for his cue. :)

Rant accepted. Personally I only type kiwi because I'm too lazy to type New Zealander. I hardly ever use the term in conversation except with other New Zealanders, as most people I interact with, don't know what it means. I'm not sure about referring to ourselves as keas though. They can be a mighty nusance, and despite the fact that they're only found in NZ, they're another breed of parrot. There are no other versions of kiwis around the world, that I'm aware of. Takahe? Or is that another parrot?

You know, I've never been big on Auckland, being a Cantabrian by birth, and Wellingtonian at heart, but that impassioned enthuse is making me rethink. Now I want to go spend some time there. Well done!

How do you manage to keep your cream couches free of dark cat hair? *boggles*

Ah, but one could argue that nature redesigns genes to be better suited to their environs. And I didn't mean to imply it was random, so I apologise. However, point taken.

How long were you in Israel for? I spent a few months there in 1999, although due to hubby's work we were mainly staying in the touristy area of Tel Aviv. I enjoyed it immensely and am firmly determined to go back some day.

And a lovely enthuse on cats.
could spend hours looking at them
Don't we just! But, no complaints here. :)

You're the second person I know who knows eight languages! What an impressive acheivement! Do you have difficulty switching between them during conversations?

I'm fascinated by the origins of placenames, and streetnames and so forth. Particularly in England there's a lot of "Upper Bottomly", "Upper Middle Bottomly", "Upper Middle Little Bottomly", and so on, which I find amusing.

Aww. But that could be Vila having a sneaky eavesdrop, or putting of the inevitable as long as he could. Not that I can remember which scene it was.

I don't really know eight languages, I've just studied them. :-) The only one I'm really fluent in and can think in (besides English) is German. I do mix up the others sometimes; for some reason random Hebrew words creep into the lesser-known ones.

The UK has the strangest names. There's a site somewhere with the ruder ones, but I can't remember where.

spacefall posted it a while back. You enter a post code and it gives you a list of suggestively named places near you. I just whacked random number in for fun, but our big map-book of Britain was a source of amusement while we were touring.

Personally I only type kiwi because I'm too lazy to type New Zealander.

Oh, so am I! I only type NZer. :-)

I used to live in Wellington (Lower Hutt) which I loved--I could do a rave about Wellington too--and Greg comes from Christchurch, another lovely city. Actually, I love them both and would love to live in Christchurch, but Auckland and Wellington are where the work is, and I do find the earthquakes a bit scary down in Wellington. I just hope we don't get a new volcano up here.

I didn't think it was a very passionate rave about Auckland though. I had to pick the best bits out. It is lovely when it's like this, but when it's wet, it's horrible, the traffic's appalling, and the cost of living is a shocker. I suspect I could do a better rant about it. :-)

However we're off to the cinema in Mission Bay this afternoon, followed by a Thai meal. The seaside suburbs make it all worthwhile.

Oh, forgot the couches. they're actually a light mushroom with darker flecks, and a course weave fabric. Fur doesn't stick to them anywhere near as badly as to the velvety blue furniture we also have. Those are covered in pale fur: even Tessa, the brown one, moults light under-fur. The Dyson vacuum-cleaner sucks it all up though.

I was in Israel for 7 months, at first in K'far Hachoresh, then in Dovrat, near Afula. I worked half-days and studied Hebrew half-days. I loved it too, and now I've come over all nostalgic thinking about it.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

And now, it's the yay meme

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject