Oncoming BPAL and medicated (but only over-the-counter) ramblings.

I JUST GOT MY CLICK-N-SHIP.

This should be Holday Moon, bottles of Shanghai and Empyreal Mist (the two I've been wearing most often), and a pack of imps including most of the ones I've been lusting after and unable to find on alchemylab (like Dublin! although I forgot Yew-Trees, and don't entirely remember what imps I ordered, and asked for a mystery imp or two anyway, so it'll be a nice surprise.)

Can't wait!

Also just ordered Blood Rose and Hemlock from alchemylab--hadn't bought any imps in ages, but I've made a little headway in the to-be-reviewed pile, and the Rapaccini's Garden line seems to have been doing me well so far (there was Belladonna, which is quite nice, and Mantis, which is a darling...) Being sick seems to make me Paypal-happy; I should stop before I do something stupid, like buying seasons of Trek.

In the meantime, a meme:
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around and look for the coolest book you can find. Do what's actually next to you.

Screw with Chinese Herbs

from Here Speeching American: A very strange guide to English as it is garbled around the world, by Kathryn Petras and Ross Petras.

As soon as I saw that was the closest book on hand, I knew the meme would be worth it. ;) Maybe someday when I'm not entirely woozy I'll post some of my favorites from that.

Currently: sore throat + headache + sinuses that won't drain + general wobbliness and sleepiness. Although I almost feel like eating something atm. o.O

Finally finished watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith--which is a startlingly good sick movie, because it becomes a touching tale of love holding two people together through anything, plus Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie blowing shit up and having sex, which is really the point anyway. Will return it tomorrow, thus freeing up my third Netflix spot. More DS9, here I come!

Currently out, for cheesy fun, Day after Tomorrow, which I've seen once before (on an airplane) and wasn't impressed by, but which is worth seeing again because I belatedly realized (first viewing was before I got woobie over him) there is Teh Jake. Mmmm, Jake.

Someday should post the full saga of My Shift At Work Yesterday, complete with the profile of the Deadbeat Boss, but I wouldn't do it justice now.

Bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles bouncing beebles and bubbling, bubbling, bubbling beebles!

How Voyager Could Have Been Better: The Kazon.

A little context: For a while now, I've been developing in this currently stuffed-up head of mine (cold, sadly, not great thoughts) a series of theories, some about characters, some about specific episodes, some about aliens or overarching developments or general issues, about how Voyager could have been better. Today, sick and bored, I randomly started writing one down; what follows is a lot of speculation about one of Voyager's particularly lusterless ventures into alien-culture-creation: the Kazon. What follows is more ramble than essay, I'll admit, mostly filled with wild speculation on how the Kazon could've gathered a little more grit and uniqueness. I hope it'll be interesting; I also hope that it'll be the first in a series. What'll be next? The underuse of the Vidiians? The lost potential of Neelix? Janeway's character flaws, and why nobody seems to notice them? How Kes Has Balls? Who knows? Probably just the next thing to sieze my attention.

A general sort of disclaimer: I am not a Voyager basher. I have a deep and t00by love for Voyager. I practically grew up with Voyager--it started when I was eleven, finished when I was seventeen. It's worth noting that I've shelled out for seasons of Voyager on DVD, yet not done so for TNG or DS9, both of which I think are better, simply because I like Voyager that much. Nor have I spent days upon days wrestling seasons of the other shows out of torrents, just to have them on my hard drive for obsessive rewatching--no, I downloaded Voyager first. (Sorry to show my love through piracy; am broke.) And part of the reason I like it is my fondness for picking over episodes, characters, aliens, plotlines, etcetera, and realizing just how much unexplored potential there was in the show, how much better it could have been. (And in a way this almost makes it easier to fic about, as there are more cracks for our bunnies to breed in.) So everything I say here is friendly, not antagonistic criticism, with a basic love for Voyager as a whole, but also with the understanding that it had some, ah, flaws.

As far as flaws go...ahhh, the Kazon. Possibly the most underwhelming major villain to ever growl its way out of the brains of the Trek writers, much mocked and maligned, and little, little missed. How the hell, most people doubtless ask, could the Kazon have been better? Better strike them out of the story alltogether. Spend more time with the angst-ridden history of the Vidiians, perhaps. Or trying to give Harry a backbone or Chakotay some verve.

Well, the answer lies in a quote I remember from some interview with one of TPTB: that the Kazon were originally concieved as a sort of interstellar biker gang.

( Biker gang? Well, here we go! )

( Possible points of expansion: the Kazon versus the Maquis. )

( Origin stories need more than licks and promises, Trabe or no Trabe. )

( Feminists Meet Kazon, Fur Flies. )

( In which it is obvious that I suck at conclusions and am always a fic-writer by nature. )

Bwahahahaha!

Look, Neva, I'm a precog!