To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive

O Flist, I've found myself watching some Northern Exposure episodes of late, and I'm contemplating a complete (well, complete through the first six episodes of S6, anyway) rewatch. Anyone feel like joining me? (P.S. If you like quirky, charming, intelligent, unexpectedly moving dramedies, now would be an EXCELLENT time to discover this one!) I've given a thought to making a rewatch comm, although I only lasted until the end of S4 on the recent B5 rewatch. Then again, NX only had fifteen episodes total for the first two seasons, so it wouldn't be quite as long as five seasons with a show that had 20+ episodes each year.

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In other news, JMS is trying to re-acquire the rights to B5. What for, no one's sure.

My first reaction is OMG REBOOT REBOOT REBOOT!!!!, but I'm not sure how one would change the story significantly enough to make it worth it.

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Finally, a poem I recently read and loved:

Because You Asked about the Line Between Prose and Poetry
by Howard Nemerov

Sparrows were feeding in a freezing drizzle
That while you watched turned to pieces of snow
Riding a gradient invisible
From silver aslant to random, white, and slow.

There came a moment that you couldn’t tell.
And then they clearly flew instead of fell.

Last night's Castle: X-Files spoof for the COMPLETE AND UTTER WIN. This might even top "Vampire Weekend" in awesomeosity.

Oh, Castle. Last week I lambaste you for losing your spark and your humor, and here you go and prove me wrong. I like it. Please continue.

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As it is right now 45F, windy, and threatening rain, I'd say fall is just about over. Alas. :( I can never decide whether winter or summer is worse; each seem equally miserable when we're in the throes of them. At the moment, the prospect of not feeling my nose or fingertips again, even inside, until March thrills the least. Brrr.

Winter tends to make me want to watch Northern Exposure, for reasons which are perhaps obvious. Maybe if I have a little mini-marathon tonight, it will inspire me to finish the fic where Maggie spends a week as Fleischman's roommate after her house burns down. I haven't really figured out a plot for it beyond "they annoy each other a lot and there is awkward UST," but that was kind of the plot of several of their storylines, so I guess it's not that big a problem.

Winter also makes me want to read X-Files fic, especially non-case-related stuff set in the early years, before quite so many awful things happened to them. Currently I am re-reading Paula Graves's various "Twelve Degrees/Steps" series, which are as good and comfort-reading-like as I remember them being in 1996.

Title: A Field Guide to North American Songbirds
Author: icepixie
Wordcount: 2,157
Rating: G
Pairing: Maggie/Joel features, but it's mostly a gen piece
Summary: A story about the birdhouse Joel Fleischman built in his soul.

( Joel noticed the birdhouse on his porch the day he moved in. )

I'm testing out this crossposting thing. I have no plans to completely abandon LJ, but I would like to start posting to both LJ and DW at the same time, rather than importing entries every few weeks. We'll see how annoying it gets to change my icon each time I crosspost to LJ, though.

In other news, argh, titles. I cannot think of a suitable one for my Northern Exposure vid, and that's all it needs to be finished. Woe.

Ugh. You have no idea how much I want to just say, "Thursday and Friday are October break. No one wants to be in class on Wednesday. Let's just cancel it," in order to avoid preparing for Wednesday's class. (It's not on a particularly challenging topic; I just don't wanna.) Of course, then I really would have no excuse not to grade the stack of papers sitting on my table. I got one section done this weekend, and I managed to power through their homework during my office hours, but I still have the contextual analyses from the other section to get through.

I finished my to-do list early on Sunday, and ended up taking a four-mile walk on one of Knoxville's greenways, which I'd heard of but never tried before. The one I was on was pretty awesome--it runs right by a railroad track, so I got to see two trains going by in addition to pretty trees and plants. I also ran across a shopping center I didn't know existed near me--I guess because it's hard to get to by car. It has two dollar stores, though, and a Subway. I should investigate more some day.

Then I came home and watched several episodes of Northern Exposure, because really, what better way to while away free time? Ah, Cicely. I wish you existed so I could live there.

That kind of free day usually leaves me ready to get back to work, but not so much this time. Bleh.

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I worked on my daily schedule for 102 this weekend, and sadly, I'm going to have to dump The Sparrow from the reading list. It's just too long to fit comfortably into the course as-is; there is, technically, enough room for it at a not-horribly-brutal pace (for freshmen, anyway), but I also have teaching-of-writing goals that need to be accomplished, and some essays we need to read in that space in order for them to do their third paper.

I'm substituting The Forever War in its place, as I read it basically in one sitting Saturday after frying my brain grading, and thought it was most excellent. And I can do it in two weeks instead of the three-plus-spring break Sparrow would take. That, the aforementioned essays, and assorted short stories and TV episodes should do the trick. (I would really like to use Le Guin's "Paradises Lost," but that's ninety pages--the length itself is not a problem, but scanning in that many pages would take a long time, and I'm not sure how willing I am to put in the effort.)

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Anyone got Warehouse 13 fic recs? I can't believe I'm asking that, as I only managed to watch the first three episodes before giving up, and then this evening while I was eating dinner I tried to watch the season finale, and got through about two-thirds before I realized it was actually making me want to prep for my classes rather than continue. But I'm in the mood for lighthearted banter, and I've read all the good Castle fics. In fact, I think I've read all the good bantery fics out there in all my fandoms. (Note to self: find more fandoms where the canon isn't a decade old.)

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Now I really have no excuse not to be working. *mopes*

Today, I led a twenty-minute discussion in which, after the first leading question, I said exactly nine words. It was awesome.

Unfortunately, it was with graduate students in my pedagogy class rather than with freshmen in a composition class. *sigh*

But it underscored the difference that teaching what you're interested in makes; instead of what the doctoral students I TA for are doing, I got to give people Irish poetry, which I love. ("What Language Did," by Eavan Boland, for those who care.) I must go find awesome texts I can sneak into 101...

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wintercreek gave me the following associations:

( Thatcher/Fraser, Hem, Tennessee, Northern Exposure, English )

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The iTunes single of the week is again a throwback to 1983. I don't know where this trend is coming from, but I approve.

For wintercreek and anyone else who wants it: mp3 of Maggie's Theme from NX 4.01, "Northwest Passages." It has more dialogue (well, technically monologue) in it than I remember, but you can hear the score clearly underneath.

I accidentally recorded three seconds of the previous scene at the beginning. I adjusted the start time in iTunes so it starts in the right place, but I don't know if it'll translate into other programs.

I have mostly assuaged my Pushing Daisies-inspired yen for pie by picking up the following candle at CVS today: click here.

Yes, it is an apple pie-shaped and scented candle. Hee.

In other food-related news, I bought a bunch of some of the best grapes ever yesterday. Mmmmm, grapes. Mmmm, food. (Thursday has become my grocery shopping day. I am luxuriating in food, food food! Well, not that I didn't have a well-stocked pantry and freezer*, so perhaps I should say "food you don't have to cook," or even more accurately "snack food," but you know what I mean.)

Re: the current media hubbub: All I can say is that I hope, somehow, this inspires a Northern Exposure reunion show. *g*

* Especially freezer, which is currently about to overflow. I'm pretty sure I can't fit one more thing in there. Cooking for one makes lots of leftovers, and I think it'll be awhile until I can face the last of those quesadillas I made almost a month ago.

Okay, I've seen the Broccoli Test on my flist, and this I have to play.

[It's supposed to test nonverbal communication between two characters in a close relationship. Would one be able to communicate to the other from across a store that they need broccoli, but without words or pointing at the vegetable in question?]

( Answers )

Well, I just saw rowdycamels off home. :(

We had a good time, though. Did a bit of walking at Radnor Lake. Then we came back and watched a lot of TV. I have thoroughly introduced her to Northern Exposure, I think. We watched...ten episodes? Ish? In twenty-four hours? We took a tour through some of the more dysfunctional episodes of seasons three, four, and five. Plus there was Blackpool horror. I'm scarred for life now.

We also watched the DW Christmas special.

( Runaway Bride )