tomatocages

DONE WITH FINALS!!!

+In fandom-related news, I've started watching a couple of new (to me) shows: White Collar (I love it!) and Avatar: the Last Airbender (Delightful!). 

The things that appeal to me about White Collar are its usage of art history and characterization--I'm only four episodes in, but I think the actors have fabulous chemistry, and I love the portrayal of Peter and Elizabeth's marriage. Peter reminds me (a very little) of my father, mostly in appearance and in his speech patterns; I also like how he talks to his subordinates. Neal is so charming he of course cannot be taken seriously. Which I'm pretty sure is the point. A cursory glance at the fandom seems to indicate that people are super into the idea of the Burkes and Neal having a polyamorous relationship and I'm not at all into that reading--I think a single person can have a very close and complicated relationship with a married couple without sex and/or romantic love being a component. BUT THAT'S A DISSERTATION FOR ANOTHER TIME, and I am looking forward to catching up with the series. 

I think I watched a few episodes of A:tLA back in 2005, but that was right when I was leaving fandom, so I never finished it. After viewing season one, can I just say I love Sokka and Katara? I think they have a very real sibling relationship, and I think Katara is a great character. I'm liking it a lot! It's also a show that I can watch with my younger brother, who I've discovered is a big fan. We have different ideas about what's enjoyable, but this is a decent middle ground. I actually love children's television, I think, because in many ways it presents a coherent adventure narrative focused on both the struggle between good & evil while at the same time creating a poignant and relatable coming-of-age story. Additionally, these narratives rarely display content that I find objectionable or uncomfortable*. It also relies on a lot of folklore staples, as does children's literature--I just finished a class on this topic and it was really enjoyable, in case you did not notice that I am a nerd. 

*I got uncomfortable reading The Babysitter's Club, so I have...a low tolerence. 

I'm technically a free woman until mid-January, so if you have questions, ask 'em now. We can do that meme where we answer back and forth? I love those. I know. I'm sorry. (I'm not sorry.)

I was reading a few selections of a book my mom brought home from work –I think it’s called “What we hope for our daughters,” and it’s kind of the history of this bridal shop somewhere in Illinois. The book is made up of a numerous personal narratives about women preparing for their marriages, buying wedding gowns, encountering obstacles, etc. It’s a nice gesture at the very least, even if it is one that doesn’t really speak to me—I’m single and my sister still isn’t engaged, so I haven’t been to a bridal shop since my BFF asked me to help her try stuff on in 2009.
 
Still, there were several sections where women talked about their faith and about what they hoped for in their marriages (and parents also talked about what they hoped for their daughters). As someone who is religious and who believes that marriage is a sacrament, I thought it was nice to see that these women were not treating their vows lightly (even if their understanding differs from my own; by the way, I’m not saying that anyone goes in to a marriage thinking it’s no big deal or that it is a thing to be treated lightly; I just mean the book was focused on THE DRESS and THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE AS A PARTNERSHIP).
 
What I’m a little perplexed and bemused by is the section on “preserving purity.”
( Marriage, kissing, virginity, sex: Vern rants about topics she has approximately zero experience with )