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Fic: Serendipity (White Collar/Bones, PG)
Apr. 5th, 2011 03:13 pmTitle: Serendipity
Fandom: White Collar/Bones
Characters: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Jack Hodgins, Seeley Booth, Angela Montenegro
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1000
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Fanfic, for fun, not profit.
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
crossovers_las. The prompt was "When Pigs Fly". I automatically thought of Jack Hodgins. Even if he didn't end up the focus the of the fic, he inspired it. Oh, and this is slightly different than the las-posted version. Because I just can't stop revising. *headdesk*
( “I’m not going to let you walk around a museum filled with priceless antiquities unaccompanied, Neal.” )
Fandom: White Collar/Bones
Characters: Neal Caffrey, Peter Burke, Jack Hodgins, Seeley Booth, Angela Montenegro
Genre: Gen
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1000
Warnings/Spoilers: None
Disclaimer: Fanfic, for fun, not profit.
Notes: Written for
crossovers_las. The prompt was "When Pigs Fly". I automatically thought of Jack Hodgins. Even if he didn't end up the focus the of the fic, he inspired it. Oh, and this is slightly different than the las-posted version. Because I just can't stop revising. *headdesk* ( “I’m not going to let you walk around a museum filled with priceless antiquities unaccompanied, Neal.” )
I follow Jeff Eastin (creator of White Collar) on Twitter and he had been posting bits of White Collar scripts in the days leading up to each new episode as the season came to an end. I read these little script-bits because I'm always interested in see the creative process at work.
Script writing (like most writing) is done in drafts, but scripts for plays or shows or movies is not a "pure" art -- as in the end result isn't the vision and work of just one person. Rather everyone who is involved in the project adds a dimension to the written words. The best work comes when the parties involved work together and share a common vision. Everyone brings something extra to the project and you end up with gestalt-- the final "whole" is much greater than the sum of it's parts.
The scripts Jeff Eastin posts are the shooting scripts. The words and actions on the page are actually the words and actions on the screen when I watched it. Yet the scene I read on the page is so very different than the scene that I watch on the screen. On the screen it just works. On screen, it has more depth, more feeling, more purpose than just words on the page.
And I get that. When you write a script, most of the details are in the writer's head. Only the dialogue and most basic directions are put on the page. All of the emotions, the connotations, the meanings are in the minds of the writers and the directors and the actors. It's the cooperative talent of all those people, sharing and refining the vision, that makes the finished product a work of magic.
Which is why trying to understand the appeal of a show or of character based on scripts/transcripts is almost impossible. And why writing fanfic for a show based solely on scripts/transcripts is unadvisable.
Even worse is to watch a show through recaps and reviews. I'm not even talking about recappers and reviewers who get the actual details wrong. And that's happens a great deal. I've seen recaps that actually quote dialog wrong. That have actions in the wrong order. That put people in different places then they were in the show. I've read some recaps and really wonder if the recapper had watched a different show than I had.
Of course, even if all the details are right, the recappers job is more than to just tell what happened. The recapper's job is to entertain while recapping. To share their views and opinions, even if only in a general way. If it's not entertaining or clever, it's not part of the recap. Even the most objective of recappers will bring some of their own personal opinion into the recap. (I've written recaps, I know this is true.) Recappers will often leave out small parts that deal with characters they don't like or a subplot they didn't enjoy. They will interpret lines to fit their own preferences in the show. I've seen recappers take what I saw as a casual, throw-away line and interpret it into a scathing condemnation of character. Or soften a line or two to make a character they like be more sympathetic.
When the recap is mixed with a review, well, the problem is compounded. Then controversial plot lines and writer choices suddenly become fair game to spin. This is most often seen with OTPs. Nothing like looking at a show through "romance goggles" to skew a show. Of course, the same can be said when the recapper/reviewer loves one character above all others.
That's the point of reviews, I suppose. The fun in writing and reading recaps. The problem is, they aren't actually true representations of the show.
I read a lot of crossover fic. A great deal of the crossover fic deals with shows that I don't watch. I have, at times, gone back and read reviews, recaps, or summaries of the shows to get a feel for the characters and events that are being written about. Later, when I can, I find and watch the shows. It's rarely the show I thought it would be. I watch an episode looking for a scene that is focused on in fanfic, and I often find that it isn't at all the way I had understood it to be. I meet a character and I'm surprised to find that they aren't at all the way they were portrayed in the recap.
This is one of the reasons I love Netflix so much. I can watch these shows and see for myself what they are like. I mean, if the scripts, written by the creator of the show, doesn't manage to capture the ambiance and milieu of the show, how can I expect a viewer to do so?
I like looking at shows from different angles. I enjoy tension and complications. I love the small details of interactions and the subtle play of inflection and body language. I prefer a show that makes all the characters sympathetic, flawed and real.
Recaps, reviews, even scripts, because of what they are, can't deliver that. You can't judge a show based on those things. And you certainly shouldn't dislike a show based on them.
But it sure is fun comparing them all.
Script writing (like most writing) is done in drafts, but scripts for plays or shows or movies is not a "pure" art -- as in the end result isn't the vision and work of just one person. Rather everyone who is involved in the project adds a dimension to the written words. The best work comes when the parties involved work together and share a common vision. Everyone brings something extra to the project and you end up with gestalt-- the final "whole" is much greater than the sum of it's parts.
The scripts Jeff Eastin posts are the shooting scripts. The words and actions on the page are actually the words and actions on the screen when I watched it. Yet the scene I read on the page is so very different than the scene that I watch on the screen. On the screen it just works. On screen, it has more depth, more feeling, more purpose than just words on the page.
And I get that. When you write a script, most of the details are in the writer's head. Only the dialogue and most basic directions are put on the page. All of the emotions, the connotations, the meanings are in the minds of the writers and the directors and the actors. It's the cooperative talent of all those people, sharing and refining the vision, that makes the finished product a work of magic.
Which is why trying to understand the appeal of a show or of character based on scripts/transcripts is almost impossible. And why writing fanfic for a show based solely on scripts/transcripts is unadvisable.
Even worse is to watch a show through recaps and reviews. I'm not even talking about recappers and reviewers who get the actual details wrong. And that's happens a great deal. I've seen recaps that actually quote dialog wrong. That have actions in the wrong order. That put people in different places then they were in the show. I've read some recaps and really wonder if the recapper had watched a different show than I had.
Of course, even if all the details are right, the recappers job is more than to just tell what happened. The recapper's job is to entertain while recapping. To share their views and opinions, even if only in a general way. If it's not entertaining or clever, it's not part of the recap. Even the most objective of recappers will bring some of their own personal opinion into the recap. (I've written recaps, I know this is true.) Recappers will often leave out small parts that deal with characters they don't like or a subplot they didn't enjoy. They will interpret lines to fit their own preferences in the show. I've seen recappers take what I saw as a casual, throw-away line and interpret it into a scathing condemnation of character. Or soften a line or two to make a character they like be more sympathetic.
When the recap is mixed with a review, well, the problem is compounded. Then controversial plot lines and writer choices suddenly become fair game to spin. This is most often seen with OTPs. Nothing like looking at a show through "romance goggles" to skew a show. Of course, the same can be said when the recapper/reviewer loves one character above all others.
That's the point of reviews, I suppose. The fun in writing and reading recaps. The problem is, they aren't actually true representations of the show.
I read a lot of crossover fic. A great deal of the crossover fic deals with shows that I don't watch. I have, at times, gone back and read reviews, recaps, or summaries of the shows to get a feel for the characters and events that are being written about. Later, when I can, I find and watch the shows. It's rarely the show I thought it would be. I watch an episode looking for a scene that is focused on in fanfic, and I often find that it isn't at all the way I had understood it to be. I meet a character and I'm surprised to find that they aren't at all the way they were portrayed in the recap.
This is one of the reasons I love Netflix so much. I can watch these shows and see for myself what they are like. I mean, if the scripts, written by the creator of the show, doesn't manage to capture the ambiance and milieu of the show, how can I expect a viewer to do so?
I like looking at shows from different angles. I enjoy tension and complications. I love the small details of interactions and the subtle play of inflection and body language. I prefer a show that makes all the characters sympathetic, flawed and real.
Recaps, reviews, even scripts, because of what they are, can't deliver that. You can't judge a show based on those things. And you certainly shouldn't dislike a show based on them.
But it sure is fun comparing them all.
Meet My Mom...
Mar. 25th, 2011 11:15 pmWell, my mom when she was a just a country girl.
Here's two pictures of my mom with her friend, Judy, a neighbor from across the way. My mom has the bob and Judy is the blonde.
This one is a few years earlier. She is standing on the steps up to her porch with Jerry, Judy's brother.
Here she is with the whole neighboring clan, she's on the right, holding hands with Judy.
I completely adore this picture. It must have been taken in the mid-1950s. It's not your typical picture of kids growing up in the 50's, certainly different than the media/TV images that you get. These were farm kids. They worked in the fields, they drove the tractors and took care of the animals. They were tough and capable, and the picture shows that.
Here she is with a calf that she raised.
It's a damn cute picture and, to this day, Brown Swiss are her favorite cows. Easy to see why, with those big brown eyes. They're good cows, too. Gentle, good milkers. A while after this was taken, their entire herd was diagnosed with Bangs Disease and all but two animals had to be shipped off to be put down. My mom tells of how she rode along when the herd was shipped off and how the calf (by then a cow) was scared and stayed by her the entire time. She still tears up when she talks about it. They lost their entire livelihood with that diagnosis. More than that, when you raise animals it hurts when you lose them, even if they're not pets. It's not easy, being a farmer.
Anyhow, I thought I'd share the pictures. I did a similar post for my dad a while back, you can see it here if you're interested.
Here's two pictures of my mom with her friend, Judy, a neighbor from across the way. My mom has the bob and Judy is the blonde.
This one is a few years earlier. She is standing on the steps up to her porch with Jerry, Judy's brother.
Here she is with the whole neighboring clan, she's on the right, holding hands with Judy.
I completely adore this picture. It must have been taken in the mid-1950s. It's not your typical picture of kids growing up in the 50's, certainly different than the media/TV images that you get. These were farm kids. They worked in the fields, they drove the tractors and took care of the animals. They were tough and capable, and the picture shows that.
Here she is with a calf that she raised.
It's a damn cute picture and, to this day, Brown Swiss are her favorite cows. Easy to see why, with those big brown eyes. They're good cows, too. Gentle, good milkers. A while after this was taken, their entire herd was diagnosed with Bangs Disease and all but two animals had to be shipped off to be put down. My mom tells of how she rode along when the herd was shipped off and how the calf (by then a cow) was scared and stayed by her the entire time. She still tears up when she talks about it. They lost their entire livelihood with that diagnosis. More than that, when you raise animals it hurts when you lose them, even if they're not pets. It's not easy, being a farmer.
Anyhow, I thought I'd share the pictures. I did a similar post for my dad a while back, you can see it here if you're interested.
Planless...
Mar. 13th, 2011 10:51 pmI don't make plans. I know that sounds odd, because so much of the world everywhere is about making plans and keeping them. In fact, not planning things is often seen as a failure of character. A sign of a person with no vision and no drive.
I don't know, it could be.
I hate making plans because I feel like such a failure when they fall through. Everyday Wil says to me "What's the plan for the day?" If I say "Writing" but don't write, how do I explain that? If I say "Cleaning" but don't clean, then what? I mean, if I can't even do something as simple as keep that kind of a plan, what does that say about me?
And big plans -- going out, getting together, going to Madison -- those are really hard. When those plans fall through, then I've got nothing. No way to make it better for everyone. No way to fix the issues that come with all that uncertainty.
When plans fail, it affects everyone around me. My job -- my only job -- is to make sure that everyone around me has a smooth ride. When plans fail, I fail. Wil and Myr have so much that they are dealing with, they don't need the added stress of me being unable to handle the plans, of me not being able to keep things going and smooth it out.
And that makes me seem way more self-sacrificing than I am. Not to mention it makes my family seem unreasonable and inflexible. And that's not true. In either case. If anything,
I'm made of fail so often lately that not planning eliminates some of that fail. Not to mention, if I don't plan then I'm sure that I'm not forcing Wil and Myr to do something they don't want to or would rather not do or that they would be unhappy about. I know that they cater to me and I'd rather not have that happen. Lord knows I'm wrapped up in myself enough as it is, I don't need to dictate what everyone else does. And, in all honestly, I'm more than likely not going to be able to keep any of the plans I make anyhow.
Of course, none of that really matters. Life events require planning, even if I'm not the one who wants to do it. And life, being what it is, makes those plans totally worthless.
And I am, once again, made of fail.
I don't know, it could be.
I hate making plans because I feel like such a failure when they fall through. Everyday Wil says to me "What's the plan for the day?" If I say "Writing" but don't write, how do I explain that? If I say "Cleaning" but don't clean, then what? I mean, if I can't even do something as simple as keep that kind of a plan, what does that say about me?
And big plans -- going out, getting together, going to Madison -- those are really hard. When those plans fall through, then I've got nothing. No way to make it better for everyone. No way to fix the issues that come with all that uncertainty.
When plans fail, it affects everyone around me. My job -- my only job -- is to make sure that everyone around me has a smooth ride. When plans fail, I fail. Wil and Myr have so much that they are dealing with, they don't need the added stress of me being unable to handle the plans, of me not being able to keep things going and smooth it out.
And that makes me seem way more self-sacrificing than I am. Not to mention it makes my family seem unreasonable and inflexible. And that's not true. In either case. If anything,
I'm made of fail so often lately that not planning eliminates some of that fail. Not to mention, if I don't plan then I'm sure that I'm not forcing Wil and Myr to do something they don't want to or would rather not do or that they would be unhappy about. I know that they cater to me and I'd rather not have that happen. Lord knows I'm wrapped up in myself enough as it is, I don't need to dictate what everyone else does. And, in all honestly, I'm more than likely not going to be able to keep any of the plans I make anyhow.
Of course, none of that really matters. Life events require planning, even if I'm not the one who wants to do it. And life, being what it is, makes those plans totally worthless.
And I am, once again, made of fail.
Writer's Block: Round and round
Feb. 26th, 2011 10:52 am[Error: unknown template qotd]
Yes. Lots of them, in fact. I tend to get a song stuck in my head. If it fits my mood or my current writing atmosphere, I'll set it on one song repeat and let it go. If I ever think "Hmm.. didn't I just hear this?", then I'll take it off repeat and let it go to whatever is next.
This is why I have songs that have played hundreds of times on my iTunes. I'll do this with albums or short playlists, too. There are some songs that need to be dispersed among other songs or they become monotonous (to me at least) but if I love a song, I can listen to it forever. Or at least 20 times.
Yes. Lots of them, in fact. I tend to get a song stuck in my head. If it fits my mood or my current writing atmosphere, I'll set it on one song repeat and let it go. If I ever think "Hmm.. didn't I just hear this?", then I'll take it off repeat and let it go to whatever is next.
This is why I have songs that have played hundreds of times on my iTunes. I'll do this with albums or short playlists, too. There are some songs that need to be dispersed among other songs or they become monotonous (to me at least) but if I love a song, I can listen to it forever. Or at least 20 times.
Politics, Propaganda and Reality
Feb. 22nd, 2011 12:37 pmI hate politics. Hate them with a passion that I reserve for very few other things. Politics is all about power and manipulation and propaganda. There's a great quote by Noam Chomsky that I was reminded of this past week: ...propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state (ref). These past ten days in Wisconsin we have been overloaded on propaganda. It's been a state of people with "propaganda bludgeons" trying to beat everyone into submission. Catchy slogans, rousing speeches, banners and placards covered with graphics that not-so-subtly warn of impending doom. All captured in 30-second sound bites that play well in the media.
Everyone has their own side to the story. Everyone has their own spin. Twitter, Facebook, blogs everywhere are full of "proof" that their side is the only right and just side. It all sounds good, but I don't see how it can all be right.
( I call my sledgehammer Propaganda )
Instead of running everyone over with propaganda tanks, instead of calling names and playing politics in order to curry favor and power, instead of focusing on one or two pet causes, tell me is what you are propagandizing going to fix the underlying problem? That's what we need. Anything else, to quote Shakespeare, “is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”.
Everyone has their own side to the story. Everyone has their own spin. Twitter, Facebook, blogs everywhere are full of "proof" that their side is the only right and just side. It all sounds good, but I don't see how it can all be right.
( I call my sledgehammer Propaganda )
Instead of running everyone over with propaganda tanks, instead of calling names and playing politics in order to curry favor and power, instead of focusing on one or two pet causes, tell me is what you are propagandizing going to fix the underlying problem? That's what we need. Anything else, to quote Shakespeare, “is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.”.
Idiots and fraud at the protests...
Feb. 19th, 2011 03:34 pmThis just breaks my brain: Doctors are signing fake sick forms for those teachers protesting in Madison.
Isn't that both unethical and fraudulent? Doesn't it count as criminal behavior?
You can watch a video of one of the doctors saying what she is doing here and here. Just in case you want more proof, check out the actual notes that were being handed out over here.
People better get in trouble for this.
If you're going to protest, you should have the courage of your convictions to stand up and say where you were and not to defraud the taxpayers who pay your salary. If you're going to lie and take pay under fraudulent pretenses, then you don't deserve to be put in charge of children at all. Criminal behavior should be grounds for dismissal, no?
Plus, I wonder if these doctors can be trusted with writing prescriptions if they are so willing to lie like this? I mean, heck, I could be both sick and in need of some really good drugs, right? Are these doctors willing to stand by their statement that the teachers were sick? They going to swear under oath that they examined the person and that they felt there was medical reasons for this?
Yeah. That's not likely to work. At least I hope not.
Isn't that both unethical and fraudulent? Doesn't it count as criminal behavior?
You can watch a video of one of the doctors saying what she is doing here and here. Just in case you want more proof, check out the actual notes that were being handed out over here.
People better get in trouble for this.
If you're going to protest, you should have the courage of your convictions to stand up and say where you were and not to defraud the taxpayers who pay your salary. If you're going to lie and take pay under fraudulent pretenses, then you don't deserve to be put in charge of children at all. Criminal behavior should be grounds for dismissal, no?
Plus, I wonder if these doctors can be trusted with writing prescriptions if they are so willing to lie like this? I mean, heck, I could be both sick and in need of some really good drugs, right? Are these doctors willing to stand by their statement that the teachers were sick? They going to swear under oath that they examined the person and that they felt there was medical reasons for this?
Yeah. That's not likely to work. At least I hope not.
