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Jun. 18th, 2013 04:39 pmToday, as I was walking to campus to use the internet, I came across a duck placidly emerging from the grass. I stopped so as not to startle it, then waited for it to notice me and flee anyway. This did not happen. Just as I was starting to wonder why, she came out far enough into the clearing for me to see the line of ducklings tumbling after her. A mother duck and her ducklings, right in the middle of the city. (A grassier part, but also not far from some very busy streets.) And yes, the ducklings really do walk in a line. I stood there and watched them until I couldn't see them anymore and thought about the miracle of timing: a minute sooner or later and I never would have known they were there.
And now for stuff wot I have consumed.
Week of June 10 :
Books:
* Afternoon of the Elves, Janet Taylor Lisle
* The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths, Pat Brown and Bob Andelman (I never realized how many books have subtitles until I started keeping track of my reading. This particular book is interesting but obscurely annoying; I find Pat Brown to be an intelligent woman and an irritating human being whom I would probably not like very much, even if she is good at what she does. I could use a lot less of the word "psychopath" being thrown around, for starters. That is not an accurate technical term! The people she's applying it to sound generally like they have Antisocial Personality Disorder, which is better described by the word "sociopath," which is also not a valid technical term, but it is more accurate than "psychopath." I would have liked to see an explanation for her choice of words here, because otherwise it comes off to me as choosing a word guaranteed to evoke the emotional response Brown is obviously going for here, which I find inherently sketchy. It definitely doesn't encourage me to trust in her professionalism! Also, I'm sure there is a word other than "effeminate" that could have been used to describe the potential pedophile. ALSO also, you're not gonna get a medal for homeschooling your kids, lady, okay, so stfu about how awesome you are for doing it already.)
* Quiet, Susan Cain (Hey, guess what? Introverts are awesome! And if extroverts don't get that, they are missing out on our awesome and that is totally their problem and not ours. . . . is probably not exactly what Cain is going for here, but I'm tired of feeling like being an introvert is something I need to make up for, so that's part of what I decided to get out of it.)
Television:
* Hannibal 1x11, "Roti" (SPEAKING of sociopaths. Helping, Hannibal: you're doing it wrong.)
* Warehouse 13 4x15 (Basically a perfect forty-five minutes of television. The A plot was great, the B plot was great, the pacing was perfect, the character development for HG and Claudia was beautiful, Abigail is a worthy replacement for Leena, and the appearance of Tuc Watkins brought back fond memories of when he played my very favorite soap opera serial killer on General Hospital like fifteen years ago. This might actually be my favorite episode of this show.)
* Warehouse 13 4x16 (And this might be my second favorite, alarmingly hallucinogenic appearance of Garrett Jacob Hobbs notwithstanding. Steve got his turn in the Romantic Storyline spotlight! Artie and Claudia! And I'm really glad I got around to watching The Runaways a couple of months ago, because otherwise I would have had no idea of how awesome the ending was. If the show stays this strong, it's going to have a really fantastic send-off.)
* Hannibal 1x12, "Relevés" (WORST. AT. HELPING.)
And now for stuff wot I have consumed.
Week of June 10 :
Books:
* Afternoon of the Elves, Janet Taylor Lisle
* The Profiler: My Life Hunting Serial Killers and Psychopaths, Pat Brown and Bob Andelman (I never realized how many books have subtitles until I started keeping track of my reading. This particular book is interesting but obscurely annoying; I find Pat Brown to be an intelligent woman and an irritating human being whom I would probably not like very much, even if she is good at what she does. I could use a lot less of the word "psychopath" being thrown around, for starters. That is not an accurate technical term! The people she's applying it to sound generally like they have Antisocial Personality Disorder, which is better described by the word "sociopath," which is also not a valid technical term, but it is more accurate than "psychopath." I would have liked to see an explanation for her choice of words here, because otherwise it comes off to me as choosing a word guaranteed to evoke the emotional response Brown is obviously going for here, which I find inherently sketchy. It definitely doesn't encourage me to trust in her professionalism! Also, I'm sure there is a word other than "effeminate" that could have been used to describe the potential pedophile. ALSO also, you're not gonna get a medal for homeschooling your kids, lady, okay, so stfu about how awesome you are for doing it already.)
* Quiet, Susan Cain (Hey, guess what? Introverts are awesome! And if extroverts don't get that, they are missing out on our awesome and that is totally their problem and not ours. . . . is probably not exactly what Cain is going for here, but I'm tired of feeling like being an introvert is something I need to make up for, so that's part of what I decided to get out of it.)
Television:
* Hannibal 1x11, "Roti" (SPEAKING of sociopaths. Helping, Hannibal: you're doing it wrong.)
* Warehouse 13 4x15 (Basically a perfect forty-five minutes of television. The A plot was great, the B plot was great, the pacing was perfect, the character development for HG and Claudia was beautiful, Abigail is a worthy replacement for Leena, and the appearance of Tuc Watkins brought back fond memories of when he played my very favorite soap opera serial killer on General Hospital like fifteen years ago. This might actually be my favorite episode of this show.)
* Warehouse 13 4x16 (And this might be my second favorite, alarmingly hallucinogenic appearance of Garrett Jacob Hobbs notwithstanding. Steve got his turn in the Romantic Storyline spotlight! Artie and Claudia! And I'm really glad I got around to watching The Runaways a couple of months ago, because otherwise I would have had no idea of how awesome the ending was. If the show stays this strong, it's going to have a really fantastic send-off.)
* Hannibal 1x12, "Relevés" (WORST. AT. HELPING.)