the luminous outset became the interminable middle

Glee was so good tonight. I don't know how to deal. More on that tomorrow.

Germany v Italy! I'm not really into friendlies so I'm not stressed about it.

Raising Hope is an effortlessly funny show, and I should talk about it more. Tonight's episode made me laugh.

First day of nano and I did more than the bare minimum (~1900) so I'm pleased and I recognize the key is a steady pace. Tomorrow should be lighter because I'm off but I seriously need to plot. Right now I definitely have a favorite to write and I need to expand more but I'm liking it so far.

The Walking Dead: I liked the episode but I did feel it started off slowly. I'm not that fond of the friend but the main guy grew on me though he does have some too stupid to live moments but I think he'll grow out of those as the series progresses. One thing that catches me is how the zombie mythology doesn't exist in a lot of zombie movies, like not even someone saying 'oh I've read about this and I've been ready for years' and even if that person ended up not actually surviving, because the imagination doesn't compare to actually facing a zombie horde.

So yes, I am checking in next week for it.

Champions League tomorrow!
Time for some predictions...

The only match I care about completely is Inter v Tottenham and I think that will be a great match to watch, even if you are neutral (like me). Spurs have something to prove and they will be at home so I do see them scoring, maybe Bale will be anointed again by the scoring deities, but I still think Inter are most likely to come away with a win if there is a draw.

The other matches don't really interest me as much but I'm hoping for Schalke and Lyon wins.

Tomorrow Scott Westerfeld (Uglies, Leviathan, Behemoth is hosting a live chat on ustream at 6pm ET. I just finished Behemoth and enjoyed it more than the first book actually so I'm going to be hanging around there to see what he says.

( Mad Men stuff )

The Event is not a bad show but I'm not that invested in the characters or the mystery.

Hawaii Five-0 is not trying to break out of any boxes but that's okay. It's enjoyable and it has DDK all on my tv screen so I'm not upset. It's not a show I'm going to go out my way to catch but if I'm awake I'll watch it.


Just finished World War Z and I completely loved it. There were some things that I didn't love but overall, a very successful book. Now I'm on my way to see what others had to say about it.


Yes I did keep up with soccer/football happenings this weekend: on Saturday after I looked up the scores because I couldn't watch the games and then I took deep breaths and wondered if it was possible to experience WTF blackouts. Ties, losses, omg I'm so glad I didn't skip out on plans to watch those games. But this week provides new chances and the only thing I can do is move on and look forward.

Shall I try predictions again? Will they also go horribly wrong?

Tuesday
I've got nothing! Seriously, the only thing I'm mostly certain of is a Chelsea win.

No plans for nano but they last time I had a plan and didn't finish so perhaps now the opposite will be true.

I still haven't settled into this Fall's TV schedule. Right now Glee, Mad Men, It's Always Sunny, Community are definite. Criminal Minds is on my maybe list because of the cast shakeups and how poor the spinoff episode was; also there's the issue that I think the show has given me everything it can now and I'm not feeling as attached. I'm definitely giving Undercovers a chance too but I'd be very surprised if I became fic fannish about it.

What are some thoughts on the new Fox show 'Lone Star'? When I first saw the clip, I was impressed but I mentioned how it felt more like a movie than a show that would have seasons behind it. So the show looks good but I wonder how many people are going to stay committed to a show about a con man. I'm going to give it a shot though unless it interferes with the other shows.

I just wrapped up Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld and I enjoyed it. Nice YA steampunk with strong male and female characters. I'll talk more about it later but Alek did seem younger than his age. But later, I have a host of books to mention and I'm too tired to go into detail.

Have I mentioned that I've been keeping up with soccer (more on those exploits later) but I've fallen for Arsenal with a soft spot for Liverpool. This happened after watching a number of last season's matches and just reading different blogs and watching the current season. It was not a quick decision. After some time watching games, I'm ready to make predictions--

Arsenal v Sunderland - I think they can pull out a win here, hopefully they can keep a clean sheet too but I won't exactly bank on it. //crossing fingers// (Yes, I'm still riding a 6-0 high. Let me swim in that for a bit)

Liverpool v Manchester United - Hmmm, last week I was distressed about this b/c I didn't want to see a massacre on the field but after the Europa match (4-1 !) now I have hope for more of a fight. Still, I think United may win this one but I hope Liverpool prove me wrong.

Those are the ones I've thought about but I do like Blackpool--every time they play they make me smile, maybe it's the tangerine.

Hopefully I can catch some Serie A and La Liga this weekend.

By Sunday I will be out of the clutches of the World Cup and not this unproductive version that I've been since this entire thing has started.

( just in case you haven't caught the latest match )

This has to be quick because when Brazil v. Chile starts I will be completely engrossed.

Through a random course of events I started watching the World Cup this year. I can't fully explain why, probably a mixture of all my shows being off, having not a lot to do during the day and daytime television is hideously boring, and a certain picspam that made me question what took me so long to give soccer a chance. But now that I've gone through the group stages and some knockout matches (whoo! lingo!) here are my thoughts:

ontd_football is pretty much the best place for someone new like me to follow. I watch the matches along with them and follow their commentary and get gifs and pics of the matches. For a picspam fiend, that place is heaven. Also it's great to see the wide range of fans. Leading to--

England seem to have the highest concentration of fans that are armed with back handed praise. It's amusing to watch even when they definitely have a point. Brazil fans remind me of Laker fans in the sense that they both support really good teams and are often labeled as entitled. But Brazil do put on a good show at times and I'm very interested in seeing them against the other teams.

The U.S. didn't suck completely so I was satisfied. Even though I wasn't a big soccer fan, I don't like seeing my nation suck horribly at stuff, so just them making it out of groups was enough; and I do plan to continue to follow them. Soccer (yes, I know it's called Football everywhere else) is pulling ratings numbers over here and I'm excited. I don't see it getting as big as Football and Basketball here but I applaud any bit of growth.

I have a feeling I would be more bothered by C. Ronaldo if I knew more of the history, but I don't, so I actually like him a bit: lulzy goals and all.

Oh, France. At first it was kind of funny, then it became a sort of trainwreck, and now I do feel like I'm missing an extra layer of subtext going on here; though I did remark to my mom that I can hardly think of the last time a major sporting event was reported on here and had quotes from a philosopher that were supposed to be taken seriously. Also: how is Yoann real? Honestly, I'd think someone fashioned him out of fantasies and romance novels and then breathed life into him.

That ESPN 30 in 30 documentary, The Two Escobars, made me teary a bit towards the end.

GERMANY! The thing is after their 4-0 victory of Australia, I wasn't rooting for them too much because I like to support underdogs and I just thought they would sail through; but then Serbia happened and I listened to more of the chatter around them (they're a young team! and stuff) and then I was sort of won over. Even if they don't win it, I'm definitely waiting to see what else they do because they are a young squad and they play so cohesively together. It's impressive.

This piscpam + commentary of the group stages is full of all things wonderful.