The Marci Rating System

Working backwards through my wikipedia travels this evening…

- “death by misadventure” is a real cause of death, given out by a coroner in 2004 following an accident involving a Wild Mouse roller coaster

- the Wild Mouse roller coaster I was looking for a photo of was the Windjammer Surf Racers, a ride continually paired on wikipedia with the phrase “mechanical nightmare,” and whose tendency to stall whenever there was a “slight breeze” was called an “embarassment” by…

- Knott’s Berry Farm, an amusement park in California that was mentioned in the movie “Music and Lyrics” — Knott’s Berry Farm is also the name of a food company currently owned by Smuckers

- which leads back to the original google search for Knott’s Berry Farm, sparked by the KBF vending machine snacks I keep seeing

So, from chewy granola bars to death by misadventure. I think the lesson here is “don’t get hit by a rollercoaster,” with a side of “maybe I *do* need a cameraphone,” because every rambling post could be improved by a blurry shot of a vending machine.

Primer Notes, for valuable PFN pop culture trivia:
Saints vs. Colts, played in Miami
Halftime Show: The Who
Final Score: 31-17 Saints (!)

Viewing Goals Achieved:
1. See the Saints make Superbowl history (onside kick coming back from halftime).

2. See the Saints score a touchdown.

3. See a water-cooler-worthy (and awwww!worthy) Superbowl commercial (Google, falling in love in Paris).

PS: Thanks to my new work-on-Sundays schedule, I missed a lot of football this season. I also skipped a lot of the Superbowl, due to my near-inability to watch live sports without stress. I’m still doing a happy-dance-of-joy for the Saints right now.

White Collar recs from sansets, for 14 Valentines Day 4

Of particular note: china_shop’s Reasonable Doubt ‘verse is now complete, and it’s a long plotty story with a fix for the “how can we have an OT3 that doesn’t get us arrested” sticky wicket that I haven’t seen anywhere else.

It’s all going in one post this week, because it feels a little like cheating to write a post for every show:

1. White Collar:
I would just like to note that at *no point* in the episode did Peter say, “Man down! Man down!” He definitely did not say it while hovering over Neal, as was strongly implied in the preview. I feel cheated.

2. Psych:
It’s like they’re trying harder than ever to make the entire show a joke. I’m on board with that strategy. Also, I’d like to suggest that every episode starts with a moment of bunny zen.

3. Supernatural:
Michael! And I totally expected him to be all nice, like in fic. Question is, was he now!Michael or then!Michael? Also, the smiting-through-terrorizing thing is completely creepy, and also unangelic. I’m disappointed, God!

4. Burn Notice:
Seriously, are we supposed to remember all these names? Also, I have a fear of falling that this episode did nothing to relieve. And the more we learn about Michael’s childhood, the more bizarre it sounds. Someone could totally write a Supernatural/Burn Notice xover where Michael’s dad was a hunter.

Instead of writing, or working, or practicing, I’ve been reading fanfic all day (and last night).

sansets’ Leverage recs
Parker-centric story recs for 14 Valentines

scaramouche’s fic
Die Hard 4, Supernatural, even a Harry Potter!

1. *Andrea posted the 2nd half of When the Sky Calls You Home. Much, much love for this fic.

This was how it started, Dean thought. First they died for you, then they thought they could nag you about your feelings every five minutes.

In which the angels are hilarious and wonderful, Chuck and Becky show up (with Muffin!), and everyone talks. It’s not that the Apocalypse isn’t happening, it’s just that other things, like breakfast and hot chocolate and swords and feathers are so much more important.

2. I love TooManyTabs for Chrome. (I guess it’s available for other browsers too?) So many tabs, all happily set aside for me, even when I close the browser! ::hearts::

3. White Collar: “There’s a reason most crimes happen at night. Because people can’t see you!” (Moz)

It’s February! Which means 14 Valentines is up and running, with much joy, delight, and thought-provoking-ness for all.

Four years ago rageprufrock began the first 14 Valentines and she spoke of how women are praised in song, worshiped in poetry, and derided in culture. She spoke beautifully and elegantly of women, comparing our bodies to luminous flowers. She spoke of the state of women, and the need to remember what we go through, what women throughout the world suffer through.

We are daughters, sisters, mothers, and lovers. If we choose, we can bring life into world with our blood and nourish it with our bodies, but the world that we helped create, that women have bled for and fought for and cried for, doesn’t recognize us. Our history is one of abuse. We are not safe.

Women suffer from domestic violence and rape. We are devalued. We are taught that we are lesser. There is still so much work to do, so much for us to accomplish.

Women are being killed the world over, suffering from infanticide, dying from lack of medical care, killing themselves in the fight to be what society tells them they must. One in three women will still experience sexual assault in her lifetime. So much has changed and so much has stayed the same.

Forty years ago we declared that Sisterhood is Powerful, and it still is. We must remember that, must continue moving forward.

It’s 2010 and we’ve come so far, but there is still more work to be done. We deserve better, and we can do more. We’re strong. The next fourteen days is meant to remind us of that. It’s our time to take back our bodies.

V can stand for vagina, like Eve Ensler’s groundbreaking monologues. V can stand for violence, under whose auspices all women continue to make a home.

V can also stand for victory.

Dies Irae, or Something, by AlchemyAlice
SPN, Dean/Castiel, Sam/Gabriel, link goes to part 1, story is now complete (link to SPN tag on lj)

This is how it goes down, okay? It starts with headaches, and it ends in a clusterfuck. Dean remains of the opinion that God must have been on some truly perilous substances to have come up with it.

Why I Clapped in Delight Every Time a New Chapter Went Up:

1. Super!clever Dean ‘n Michael team-up, with Castiel remaining loyal first to Dean, then (somewhat grudgingly) to Michael.

2. They make a plan! A clever plan! (“Feels weird, doesn’t it?”)

3. Gabriel. Leviathan. “Awesome spear of awesome.” ‘Nuff said.

4. Gabriel coaches Sam through his chats with Lucifer. (Gabriel as life coach? Hilarious.)

5. I’ve *been* to the Luxor!

I’ve been Netflix-ing Burn Notice, which is just as fun in season one as whatever season it’s in now (3? I think?). A list of reasons why I like the show:

1. The things Michael and Fiona manage to make appear adorable and romantically sexy:
- home repair
- weaponry cleaning
- eating yogurt

2. The things Michael and Fiona manage to make appear not at all romantic or sexy, but still kind of hilariously adorable:
- walking on the beach
- holding hands

3. The fact that in Lithuania, the show title apparently translates as “The ticket of the wolf.” (In Venezuela, it’s called “Trapped in Miami,” which sounds like a great pitch for a sitcom to me. And in Italy they go right for the plagiarism angle and just call it “Die-hard.”) (Note: Thanks, wikipedia!)

The Friday, January 29th xkcd comic was a tribute to the Spirit Mars Rover. It was also incredibly sad. The alt text reads:

“On January 26th, 2274 Mars days into the mission, NASA declared Spirit ‘a stationary research station,’ expected to stay operational for several more months until the dust buildup on its solar panels forces a final shutdown.”

THANK YOU, INTERNETS, FOR FIXING THIS!

The Battersea Home for Lost Robots, by misswinterhill
xkcd/Doctor Who crossover

Rover angled its sensors to the sun, looking for the gleam of a rocketship, but seeing instead a rectangle of blue.