To Read Makes Our Speaking English Good

Cross-posted at Bloomsbury Revisited because all things BtVS transcend categories :).

Look what's coming out on September 9:



$15.99 at Amazon

The following is Part One of a two-part response to the flurry of "Twilight" themed op-eds that are popping up all over the internet with the release of Stephenie Meyer's "Breaking Dawn." I chose to respond to Brian Lowry only because he's the first one to catch my eye (and piss me off), but there are many others like him weighing in on the "phenomenon" of women who think vampires are sexy. Part Two of this will be a closer look at my own opinion about the hows and whys of girls attracted to the vampire myth, or the mysterious "It" that he just doesn't get.
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( Bite Me: Vampire Fangirls In (and Out) of Culture )

In all my Spuff-tastic squee, I tend to forget that it all started with the Bangel. Spike would have no reason to taunt Buffy about how "vampires get you hot," and she most definitely wouldn't have started the affair with him had she not already crossed the invisible Vampire Boyfriend Line. When I find myself unable to pack any more, I've been popping in BtVS season three; I finally made it to Graduation Day I & II last night and I have one thing to say:

Damn!

No, really. Damn! I've seen three a fair amount, but it's one that I watch less often than others (like, say, season six). But somehow I had completely forgotten just how hot the whole "curing Angel with the blood of a slayer" scene is. The have some mad chemistry, even if their affair tends to be a little too moony-eyed and emotionally wrenching-bordering-on-self-indulgent for me sometimes. Not that I don't empathize with Buffy a little; one of the lesser known definitions of frustration is being completely unable to jump David Boreanaz's bones when he's got those hungry eyes storming your way.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my "Damn!" moment with everyone else:

Well, actually it's the Anya and Xander way. Scarleteen has an article about things you should consider when deciding to enter a sexual relationship (the site is designed for late teens and college-aged people). Scroll about halfway down the page and they've got a list of fictional couples with interesting relationship issues characterized by the same emotions and problems that arise fairly often in real life. Anya and Zander from BtVS are featured:

Anya and Xander (Buffy, the Vampire Slayer): Xander had an end goal of marriage in the moment, and asked Anya to marry him, who shared that end goal. As his feelings changed, and he discovered he wasn't ready for that after all, he didn't communicate with her in revamping their relationship model. Instead, he left her at the altar, resulting in her not only having her heart broken, but in going back to being a vengeance demon.

( Other fictional examples from Scarleteen's article )

Wheeeee! I love it when BTVS sneaks into my fave webcomics.

I love Joss Whedon for the same reason I love Russell T. Davies. They both understand that human sexuality is much more varied and complex than we like to admit and they can see a future in which sexuality is not an "orientation" or an "identity," but a natural expression of human affection. As an ardent feminist I totally understand the need for identity politics as a necessary step towards equality for all marginalized groups. But if we can put enough subversive art out there to permeate culture with gender fluidity and a broadened sense of the "Other," then maybe we can eventually live in a world where people like Captain Jack and Buffy are the norm.

( Edited to include a shamelss Jack/Ianto video )

Nerf Herder has a new album!

The unofficial fan consensus is that Buffy (self-proclaimed "Capricorn on the cusp of Aquarius") celebrates her birthday sometime between January 17-20. I usually consider it to be January 18, so that would put our fearless leader at age 27 today:

Back in August, Sam and I nearly wet ourselves when James Marsters started talking about his upcoming guest role on the BBC's Torchwood season 2. Details about kissing John Barrowman were almost too hot to handle. That's why this gem of a find posted on Whedonesque today nearly sent me into convulsions:

I've finally put my thoughts about Brian K. Vaughan's Faith arc down on "paper," and my fandom journal seems to be a logical place of entry. This review covers "No Future for You," parts 1-3 and primarily focuses on the portrayal of post-Chosen Faith. So here goes:

LOL! Pierre Bernard's Recliner of Rage takes on the fine folks who run Dragon*Con! I find myself wondering why poor Pierre was deprived of a dragon badge; perhaps he was a Day Tripper and therefore deemed unworthy. Hmmm...guess that's another point for pre-registering.



Also, this is quite the fun little Buffy Quiz:



Looks like obsessively watching the DVDs for three years has paid off in it's own little way.

This video accurately sums up all of my feminist ass-kicking squee:

Just when I'm about to lose all confidence in California's ability to vote with competence (Arnold? seriously?), the legislature--elected by said residents of sunny CA--passes this California "Vampire Slayer" Law in an effort to reduce energy consumption.

Hee.

If you like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and want more slayer mythology, check out Joss Whedon's Fray. The myth centers on what happened following Chosen, the concluding episode of the Buffyverse; the explanation in Fray is that "...some hundreds of years ago, in the twenty-first century... there was a battle. A Slayer, possibly with some mystical allies, faced an apocalyptic army of demons. And when it was done... they were gone. All demons, all magicks, banished from this earthly dimension." Now, the demons are back and looking to reclaim the earth, much like they constantly tried to do in Sunnydale during Buffy's tenure as the Chosen One. The language is different (vampires are called lurks and look less like humans and more like the Uber vamps of season 7), the Watchers Council has disintegrated (Maleka's "watcher" is actually a demon) and the cars fly (read the introduction to Fray for Whedon's amusing criteria for creating future worlds); however, the evil is still just around the corner, the good guys and bad guys are still interchangeable, and it's still up to a tough, confident and street-wise teenage girl to save us from ourselves.

sdwolfpup made the icon. She rocks the BtVS icons like nobody's business.

Podcast: http://www.podfeed.net/podcast/cool+refreshing+zima/5965#
Blog: http://coolrefreshingzima.blogspot.com/

Okay, I'm going to shamelessly plug a really fun podcast and blog that I stumbled upon today while looking for a free internet radio broadcast of Buffy music (my soundtracks are, sadly, at home and not at work). I'm rather surprised that I didn't stumble onto this podcast earlier, as Whedonesque is one of maybe four websites that I peruse daily. Oh, well. Better late than never.

From what I've gathered, the group is called Cool Refreshing Zima, which the truly hardcore will recognize as a quote from the episode "Storyteller" in season 7 (easily one of the funniest and also emotionally moving episodes of the season). Fans of the Troika will also recognize the subtitle of "The Not-So-Evil Trio." The podcast basically consists of 3 high school girls who review episodes of BtVS in a round-table sort of fashion. If you are one of the 20 people who own the updated 2005 2-disc edition DVD of Free Enterprise and you've watched all of the special features, then think about Cafe Fantastique. It's just like that, but with teenage girls. If you are not a shameless fangirl/boy or a dork, then think about the last time you drank a couple of bottles of wine and discussed anything (politics/religion/movies/books) with your friends. It’s kind of like that (but sober).

Squee! I love seeing fangirls of all get their fangroove on. Buffy squee is like no other and these gals have it. Let’s hear it for the next generation.

So I think I need a place to collect all of my random fangirl musings and LJ seems like an ideal choice. Oh, look! Here comes a musing now.

I was opening the mail at work the other day and thinking about how many really worthy fandoms there are out there. My brain's logical conclusion to such a thought was to play the "Deserted Island" game. It's a simple game. All you have to do is fill in the blanks: If I could only have one ___________ on a deserted island, it would be _______. I find this game to be especially useful for the person who never has a favorite anything, but has a reasoned argument for why each thing is special in its own way (otherwise known as me); it forces a decision based quality of creation within a certain medium, quantity and quality of layers of meaning and interpretation, emotional resonance, and sheer entertainment value (these are the things that are good and also rock, for those of you who like Tenacious D..."it doesn't matter if it is good; it only matters if it rocks!"). While many canonical works excel in one or more of these areas, few can boast excellence in each category.Sometimes, the answer to the Deserted Island question doesn't necessarily match your "favorite" choice under normal circumstances.

The point of this little explanation? To give a bit of background so you know what I mean when I say that if I could immerse myself in only one fandom for the rest of forever on a deserted island, it would be Buffy the Vampire Slayer. It's all about the Prophecy Girl and her vampire boyfriend (not the one who moved to L.A.)




That said, I think I'm going to indulge the indecisive part of my brain and record random musings on why different fandoms are excellent in different areas, not because I think anyone else cares, but because I don't want to forget all of this stuff when something new and cool comes along, as I am proned to do under normal circumstances. So there it is. My critical fangirl manifesto, in a nutshell.