Megalist Check-in: #113 - Watch Stargate SG-1

Warning: Spoilers for Season 8/9 of Stargate SG-1 Ahead (mostly casting)

It boggles my mind that I've been watching Stargate SG-1 since last July and even recently I still feel much on the fence on how much I enjoy the show. I have several times gotten close to considering not watching, and then there is a great episode that highlights the characters so well which wins me back.

And then there was the Season 8 Finale / Season 9 opening.

Going into the Season 8 Finale if felt like it was totally going to be one of the episodes I love, an episode where we get to see characters in different lights which lets the viewer know how much we know them, and want to see them as they actually are. Moments like saying "Daniel totally got over that!" or "Sam is more confident that that!" or "Jack...", okay O'Neill is on O'Neill 100% of the time, no mattr which permutation or parallel or re-interpretation; which is what makes him O'Neill. That's how Season 8 left us with, but than Season 9. Wow. Season 9 is totally different.

Season 9 has huge cast changes including the addition of Claudia Black as Vala. It's not her first appearance on the show but after a few eps it's clear she's here to stay. I love Claudia Black, I have from the moment I first saw here in Pitch Black and from years of seeing here on Farscape. But I don't love Vala. I feel like they wanted to add some OOMPH to the show and there she is, encased in leather and leaving a cascade of lured folks in her wake. I'm totally not digging it. It's actually one of the things I liked about the show was that they rarely had that element to it. But, at some point I realized to think of her as a sort of Han Solo character which works better, but it still isn't quite working for me.

Then we have the huge change with the addition of Ben Browler in Season 9, which I knew was coming and honestly thought it would be sooner, but even so it feels so strange. I also know him from Farscape and seeing him, especially how he is introduced to the show as wanting to lead/be a part of SG-1 but the original 4 aren't really 'there' as they've done their time. That theme has such a strong melancholy tone to it feels like it meta-echos the too-soon conclusion of Farscape.

It does seem to settle in after a few episodes but the shift in tone and focus stays and I'm not super-keen on. Even though I really love the new actors I'm not digging the show as much. With being so close to the end I can't imagine not really sticking with it, even though I'll freely admit I multitask while I watch and it's really the sense of completion along with watching being quite firmly entrenched in my schedule are the factors keeping me tuning it.

It's really strange to feel both compelled to complete watching but also not overly connected or even that well versed in the show or universe. But being a creature of habit and having cultivated the habit of watching it's unlikely I would do anything BUT finish it.

Only 1 1/2-ish seasons to go. Will I change my mind... again? Won't be too long to find out.

My Apartment - Feb 2012

A video to share my place with folks, especially my sister Suzie and brother Jason who live far away and haven't seen it yet. It's pretty messy and I'm still not totally unpacked since I moved in last July (not it's February), but I'm hoping to clear things away. I've also been thinking recently a lot about intention; and although I came to this apartment unintentionally I go have some intentions for it.

As I say in the video I want to do something, and I want to share - so this is that beginning.

126. Rewatch all TV I own on DVD - The X-Files (Season 1)

Mega-List Updating: 126. Rewatch all TV I own on DVD - The X-Files

Season 1 Check In.

I just BURNED through Season 1 of The X-Files, I honestly am not sure how I managed to watch the 24 episodes in just over 2 weeks especially considering there is a lot of great new programming on. I might have still been sick when I started, but whatever the reason I'm happy I did it because it's a really great show and it will take me a long time to get through all the seasons so I might as well get started.

That being said, I don't want to race through it as unlike others that I re-watch, I don't half watch it/half do something else with The X-Files. I *watch* it. Eyes on screen, all the time. I keep tabs on Mulder and Scully, looking for pieces that may thread into the larger arc, guest stars, if they identified (correctly or at all) the monster/focus of the week, if it was resolved, etc. Okay, occasionally I glance at my knitting..., but in general it's a full-focus-viewing experience. Maybe that's what's drawing me to it, because I want to have focused attention.

I really enjoyed re-watching Season 1 and I wonder if it will end up being my favourite season; it certainly feels like the one I know the best. I vividly remember when the series started and was an avid watcher then as well, taping it as it was on a time I often worked or was out (Fridays if I remember right), and then would watch in the wee hours when I got home or at a friends house. I can't believe that was back in 1993. Almost 20 years ago. Wow.

It's a pretty strong first season and although there are ones that really grossed me out (1.19 Darkness Falls), there are so many episodes I loved. In particular I really loved the pilot episode, even though there are some over dramatic moments, it still shines as a great introduction to the characters of Mulder and Scully, and has some great lines and moments. I also love how quickly they established the strength of Scully's character, and the banter between Scully & Mulder quickly and easily forms within just a few episodes. It's wild because so many of the ideas in terms of the paranormal they go through on this show I now see time and time again on other TV shows, but often this was the first place I'd heard of it. The season has some great guest stars, some really scary concepts (1.08 Space and 1.13 Gender Bender both really freaked me out) and possibly my favourite episode ever of the series: 1.07 Ice; which I now know was an intentional homage to the 1982 John Carpenter film The Thing.

After watching the finale of Season 1 of The X-Files earlier this week, I did really want to dive into Season 2, but I also felt really strongly about taking a moment to think about the season, write to about it here and check in on my thoughts which are mostly that it rocked. I was also slightly avoiding having to dig through the huge MESS of stuff that the season 2 discs where hiding behind (see below). Ah, the reality of small spaces and often lead to 'piling'. Sigh.

But, the happy news is, now that I've taken that moment and dived behind that piles, I can jump on to Season 2! Woohoo!

I track my X-Files viewings over at Get Glue, if you are a Get Glue-r you can see my updates here!

Update on 113. Watch Stargate SG-1

Mega-List update time! So I knew taking 'watch Stargate SG-1' was an big task, but holy moly I feel like I've been watching it FOR-EV-ER! And I'm not done. Started in July 2011 and I'm getting closer, but still not done. 128 episodes in and currently watching Season 8 (of 10) as it runs Monday - Friday on Space. They shifted the time from 6pm to 7pm earlier this year which totally messed me up, but I've since adjusted and now am back to seeing almost every episode, and I'm really thankful they continue to show it. Although my general natures is being a completist, I'm giving myself some leeway on this one when I've missed chunks of it when I'm covering festivals and such and considering there are 214 episodes I think it's okay to miss a few.

It's kind of strange to have been watching the series for so long now and continuing to stick with it even though I'm not a super fan or even really understand the world, logic, science or everything that happens. There are even some regular characters that I likely couldn't name. It's a lot of time to dedicate without having that energy behind it, especially for me. But again, the times I've considering stop watching it I always get won over by an amazing episode or moment that makes it worth it. Often guest stars win me like S7Ep03Fragile Balance with Michael Welch (who is fantastic in a very unique, and funny role), S7Ep07 Enemy Mine which had Michael Rooker and S6Ep05 Nightwalkers with Michael Eklund. Ha, who knew guest stars name Michael would win me over?

Characters do tend to be what keeps me with any series and I do like the main case and have also been quite taken with one of the reoccuring characters. But, it's odd that I'm a healthy way into Season 8 and there are characters I've heard about that STILL aren't on the show yet! I mean, there is only so much left. I'm actively not doing the time math to find out when I will sum up because if I had realized it would take this long going in I might not have done it (and I'll pretend to forget that when I tackle other 10-ish-seasons shows!).

My last GRR on the show is that I was tracking it pretty religiously on Get Glue (as well as my own spreadsheet of course), but at some point the page I would check into was deleted, likely as there were duplicate Stargate pages so I had to start again from 0 check ins. That did *not* make me happy! I want that super-dooper-elite-fan sticker! Ah well, just one of the many bumps I've had along the way, but I'm not going to let it get in my way! Carrying on I go!

If you too are a Get Glue-er, you can see my updates here.

Coriolanus: #128 Read/Watch all of Shakespeare

With the reading of all of Shakespeare Mega-ness, I made up a whole system of what order to read and watch everything in, but I decided to include some leeway in case an opportunity presented itself to see something outside my historically-based although somewhat-haphazard viewing order. I bumped up Coriolanus as there is the upcoming film adaptation directed by and starring Ralph Fiennes, although that wasn't the version I watched but rather a 1984 BBC Complete Works of Shakespeare production that I got from the library.

I think I'm willing to give a lot of give with this category, because the stories are so interesting, layered and rich that I know many of them I'll probably see again and again and again. Although I've committed to reading them first I've received a few interesting suggestions including listening to the plays via audio-book, or that the traditional way is to watch first and then read. I wonder if I'll try out those approaches. Only time will tell!

Even though Coriolanus isn't a play I was even aware of before this Mega-task, I can sense the keen pulse of the times to exploring it now as it deals with a man returned from war who is not received well (at least that's my basic interpretation/impression). Watching the BBC version was fascinating, it's very old school and I loved how they captured movement, crowds, and fighting in a theatrical way. I also was floored by the performance of Mike Gwilym as Aufidius, which reminded me that if I primarily watch film/TV then I miss out on a whole wealth of stage actors who are amazing. It's a very male-centric play, although there are some awesome women in it included Coriolanus' mother and the interesting character of Lady Valeria, plus it had great phrases like 'Praise Jupiter'. That was pretty awesome.

I'm looking forward to the Ralph Fiennes version which was at TIFF in 2011, and I keep my eyes open for a regular release date but nothing locked yet so far. I may even read it again before it comes out.

#128 Read/Watch all of Shakespeare

This is a sub-list for The Mega List to track item #128: Read/Watch all of Shakespeare. I've already read several of the plays and seen many of them performed either live or on film, but often it was by chance over choice. I decided to turn the tables and choose to read and watch them instead.

The order I came up with is as chronological as I could find with as much swapping back and forth between comedies, tragedies and histories while keeping any set of plays together. It's only a guideline though, I'm happy to jump around if films or performances are going to be available to see - although I will endeavour to read the plays first.

I'm primarily interested in doing this as the stories have survived for so long yet they continue to resonate through traditional and non-traditional interpretations. I'm oddly a fan or reinterpretation, and this is somewhere we definitely see. Plus - usually it's a fantastic opportunity to see fabulous acting.

Read: 3/40
Watched: 2/40

1. Two Gentlemen of Verona, The (read)
2. Titus Andronicus
3. Comedy of Errors, The
4. Romeo and Juliet
5. Taming of the Shrew, The
6. Henry VI, Part 1
7. Henry VI, Part 2
8. Henry VI, Part 3
9. Richard III
10. Midsummer Night's Dream, A
11. Merchant of Venice, The
12. Richard II
13. Henry IV, Part 1
14. Henry IV, Part 2
15. Henry V
16. Love's Labour's Lost
17. Much Ado About Nothing
18. Julius Caesar
19. As You Like It
20. Twelfth Night
21. Hamlet
22. All's Well That Ends Well
23. Troilus and Cressida
24. Merry Wives of Windsor, The
25. Macbeth
26. King Lear
27. Measure for Measure
28. Othello
29. Antony and Cleopatra
30. Pericles, Prince of Tyre
31. Cymbeline
32. Tempest, The (read Dec 2010* and watched)
33. Winter's Tale, The
34. Henry VIII - alt title: All is True
35. Two Noble Kinsmen, The
36. Coriolanus (read & watched)
37. King John
38. Timon of Athens
39. Love's Labour's Won
40. History of Cardenio, The

* I'm giving myself 1 out for reading The Tempest as I read in less than a year before this challenge in anticipation of the Julie Taymor film version.

Hands Up How To

Jamie encouraged us on a recent podcast and online to share something that we learned the hard way, in an effort to others that hard journey. Wouldn't it be nice if someone just told us to place a loaf of bread on top of eggs in a bag on their own and carry by hand? Okay, that was my first thought but I decided to something that might be more helpful for those of use who do a lot of online writing & posting and have to deal with formatting frustrations. You know 'em, formatting frustrations, when all of a sudden your post has oodles of added formatting be it text or odd images or who knows what and you can't get rid of it. Here's how.

You can easily ditch any formatting in one simple way: Use Notepad.

It's a text-based program, you'll likely find it on your computer under 'All Programs, Accessories'

Then...
Copy text
Paste into Notepad.

Voilà! No formatting.

See that accent on Voilà? It's courtesy of pasting into Notepad.

More Notepad de-formatting uses:

• You can past any accented letter: é, ǽ, ǿ....
• It's also great if you have a list in Excel but don't want all the formatting & columns? Paste into notepad!
• Have text within charts? Dump it in Notepad (might require some re-jigging to line things up)
• And of course any block of text with formatting attached to it, be it links or styles like bold, italics, etc.

But, ... I want my Formatting!

• Okay, we can make that work too. Notepad ditches formatting when you need it, but it can also keep it. For blog folk, you can copy the straight HTML from the 'Edit HTML' tab view of your post paste it into notepad. It will keep all that handy dandy HTML formatting. Remember when you paste it back to use the 'Edit HTML' post window again for the best results :)
  

More uses for keeping the HTML:

• Do you have templates you use for re-occuring posts? Save your template in HTML format in notepad, work on new posts there and then and you have the formatting all ready for your re-occuring posts to post online. You can even work with this template if you find yourself offline. Plus, you'll a back up.
• Also, having your work in HTML format is great way to share a post it if you are guest posting because it's more universal than sending a link or linked text in an email or post as it works across more platforms. It's also handy to have your bio, contact details, etc if you write guest posts, are a guest or contribute to a collective site.
• You can also copy your HTML post, put it in Word to spell check and then dump it back to Notepad to remove all the extra formatting Word adds.

What's so awesome about Notepad is that it can both retain or remove things you want to keep or want to ditch, once you know your formatting needs. I use it every single day and it's saved me hours of re-jigging, re-formattting and fixing. It works. I hope it saves you time & formatting frustration :)

Mega-List #123 Complete: Re-watch Moonlight

It's so funny how the easiest to complete are often finite. This one was to watch 16 episodes of Moonlight, a fantastic although short-lived vampire/human romance involving a PI & a crime journalist. It came out just before the Twi-Hype and stars Alex O'Loughlin (Hawaii Five-0) and Sophia Myles (Outlander) and I loved it. Again. I watched it in 2010 when the CW broadcasted it during the summer, but they missed 3 episodes that never aired (I believe due to the writers strike) which left for a confusing conclusion; I am very happy I watched all the way through as it runs much better in full sequential order. And as a bonus I get to cross this off not only my Mega-List but also my 2011 Owned/Unseen DVD list, which is a happy accident and totally unintentional. Another Mega-List task 100% complete!

Mega-List Update - The First of the Completes!

I am so exited to share that 2 of the items on my lists are completes!

Complete: 109. Watch Fringe Season 2 & 3

How I did this through the packed summer of the unexpected move and that crazy rush turn around on Season 3 which barely had time between DVD release and new episodes - and that was in and around TIFF. Wow. no idea how I did that. But I did! I'm not all caught up on Fringe and Suzie & I can podcast through Season 4 over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural. Big thank you to Suzie & My Mom for buying me these seasons on DVD for my birthday this year!

Complete: Rewatch all TV I own on DVD - Supernatural

This one has been an attempted-annual-summer tradition for a few years. I started watching Supernatural when it first came out but didn't like the gender stuff (which it's still not great at...), and then gave it another try again in 2009 when it's first four seasons went into syndication on Dusk.tv (then Scream), and almost caught up on Season 4 to watch Season 5 live but just missed it and had a bit of a cross over. Then in 2010 I tried to do this again and I got almost through season 4 but not 5 when a car ran into the house I was living in. So, no luck there. But this year even with the move I made it through all 5 seasons I have DVD and also re-watched Season 6 before it hit DVD. I really love this show, and the fact that it usually has a monster of the week + season arc makes it highly rewatchable. It also refers back to it's own lore over and over which again, merits enjoyable rewatching. But it's the sibling story of Sam & Dean that keeps me coming back for more. This is another one I chat about regularly with my sister Suzie over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural, we are talking about Season 7 right now but it was was one of the first shows we ever discussed. And if it goes into and 8th season in 2012 I will try to re-watch them all (again) next summer. It's tradition!

Progress on: Watch Stargate SG-1

Still plugging through and I'm into Season 4 (of 10) now with a few of Season 1 to catch up on . missed a few episodes during TIFF and a one of on the odd occasion. Usually I watch it while I work out, and although it's not super sticking with me. I also realized that the combination of military team + lots of historical-centric story lines is exact reason I didn't watch it in the first place as neither are terribly appealing. Yet, every time I think about giving it a miss an awesome episode comes out. So I'm going to keep at it.



Progress on: 28. See a film in each one of the 24 theatres at AMC Yonge & Dundas 24

TIFF had AMC Yonge & Dundas as one of their venues again this year which led to lots of film watching in oddly the same theatres:

AMC 2: The Raid, 388 Arletta Avenue and Arirang
AMC 7 (ETX): Fable of the Fish / Isda and Livid / Livide

Have to say, it was slightly strange to see the Filipino family drama Fable of the Fish / Isda in the crazy super huge mega pixaled ETX theatre. It was cool, but just not used to seeing non-action films there!

This has me at seeing films in 4/24 theatres. Not bad!



Progress Made On:

127. Read all the novels of Stephen King: 2 down, Many to go!

Read The Gunslinger which is the first of many in The Dark Tower series. Pretty dark, but pretty cool. Still not totally sure on the world, or how it works but it's definitely a western with threads in both supernatural and post apocalyptic woven in. I don't totally love the characters being iconic western vein of distanced and cold, but I'm curious about the story and the world and how it works. Will definitely continue to the next one.

128. Read & see performance/film of all the plays of William Shakespeare: 1 of 38 or 40 plays read

I read The Two Gentlemen of Verona, but honestly I didn't retain much from it. I remember a ring. And a woman. And a confidant. That's about it. I assume there were 2 gentlemen, but I don't remember them. A buddy relayed that the normal tradition is to watch the plays first, and then read which I'm considering but I'm worried that first watch will hold super strong in my head and one of the things I love about Shakespeare (or any play), is the countless possible different interpretations. I'm not sure if I'll switch to watching first then reading, but the good thing is with so many titles to get through I have the opportunity to likely test both methods to see which one I like best. I also was going to try to read them chronologically but I think I'll try Coriolanus next as it has the upcoming film adaptation Ralph Fiennes. I might actually own that one. Although finding it .. that will be the challenge.


Above: index cards that are my regular Sunday to do's. Yes, that is a lot of to do's!

Progress on: 79. Create/use a to do system that works for me

I've gone back to using a tickler system (from the Getting Things Done book by David Allen), which really works for me as I have lots of tasks that repeat, sometimes on regular intervals, sometimes not and this system allows for that flexibility. I also modified it a bit and actually carry my to dos of the day with me while I'm out and about and can re-file them when I get home. I don't always get everything done, but it's an easier way to be able to figure out what to do and what to leave especially since some things can wait a day, and some can't. I feel greatly empowered by knowing what I've done, what is left to get done and the best thing really is a sense of relief that I'm aware and in control of what I do. There is no niggling about the back of my brain wondering if I've forgotten something, and that is a huge relief. I've been using the system for several weeks now and it's a daily practice that is rally working for me. Hmm, because this is a perpetual thing, it's hard to say it's a 'complete' but it might be. I think I'll give it a few more weeks, maybe until the year and it's still sticking I'll says it's complete.

I have realized though that this system doesn't work (for me) as a Create/use an idea capturing system that works for me (#78.), but I'm hoping to find/use/implement one of those very soon.


And I can't help but again end on a cute cat picture. Again.

Mega-List Update: Reading, Watching & Push Ups

Library Loot recently had lots of Mega-List goodness in it!

Mega-List Update

Been a busy past 2 weeks and I’m made some progress on several of the Mega-List items. Been lax-ing on word collection as I’m still finessing my general idea collection system(s), but I have been following my nose when I find new words and trying to always be clear and use the correct words for things. But let’s look at what I did do, as opposed to what I didn’t.

28. See a film in each one of the 24 theatres at AMC Yonge & Dundas 24
I saw The Help in #3, which brings me to 3/24 theatres with no repeats (yet!). #3 is a mid-sized theatre and I've seen many films in that one especially Cinefranco in 2010 and several showings of The Wild Hunt. I don't know why I remember that.

33. Interview 20 directors / 34. Interview 20 actors
This was so exciting, not long after my original posting of the Mega-List I got and email asking if I would be interested in interviewing director André Øvredal & actor Glenn Tosterud on their film Trollhunter, a Norwegian documentary-style monster movie. I said HELL YA! Well, I said something a little more professional, but when I got the email I did a big happy dance and said "HELL YA!" It was great to chat with the guys, and I'm impressed I managed to pull off a long-distance, recorded call to the UK with 2 awesome guys about their films. I even did my best to speak a little Norwegian, I hope that went over well. You can read or listen to the interview, and I highly recommend checking out the film (see more info over at the film review). I interviewed them together so I guess that makes it feel like this counts as 1 interview. Woot!



109. Watch Fringe Season 2 & 3
I’m well into Season 2 of Fringe and although it’s not as arc-y or as tight as Season 1 I'm still really enjoying it. Love the characters BIG TIME. I can't wait to dive into more and every day I'm think to myself "Do I have time to watch some Fringe?" I've done some predictions and ramblings of the show over at Hexed: Sisterhood of the Supernatural, but I am working really hard to avoid any spoilers. I should finish Season 2 sometime with week and than have to wait until September for Season 3, which is coming my way thanks to my Mom who got it for me for my birthday this summer.

113. Watch Stargate SG-1
I’ve been continuing to work though Season 1 & 2 con-currently. It's still not really grabbing me, although I do know the characters better and there was one mid-season 2 episode that was really entertaining. I’ll stick with it.

125. Rewatch all TV I own on DVD – Supernatural
Still working through Season 4, watching Ep 19 Jump the Shark at this very moment and should be one to Season 5 sometime this week. Trick will be getting Season 6 in before the new season starts in late September.



127. Read all the novels of Stephen King
Actually have a complete – I read Carrie. Man, that's a messed up book. Very dark, very heartbreaking and a unique storytelling style that I enjoyed. And I see why the lots of the books are in order but not noted as a series, because there was a small character whose name I recognized from a totally different work by Stephen King which makes me happy with my decision to read these in chronological order. I’m planning on reading about 54 of his books, mostly novels, some non-fiction and maybe some collections. I’ll do a separate list of the titles at some point but right now I’m counting is as One Down, Lots to Go!

I'm made some progress on...

57. Write think pieces, or let them go
I've been working on several think pieces, although I haven't posted any yet I've worked through and written out some ideas & outlines which is a step up from just longingly thinking about it. Also had a great moment where I experienced, saw, felt and re-created telling something powerful through a story, which although I always 'got' conceptually I didn't really 'feel' before. It felt like a should, that that's the way it 'should' work, and people say you 'should' do it - but no, it's true. Telling through story isn't a should, it's just plain WORKS.

62. Create a habit of always proofreading posts & newsletters before sending them out
I haven't totally stuck to this but I have been more reliable & conscientious about it.

78. Create/use an idea capturing system that works for me
Ugh, not having this in place is driving me bananas. I started using a tickler again (Getting Things Done system), but that's more of the day-to-day and I haven't been keeping up to date. It's more for like 'write an article about this' or 'look into the relationship between this and this' or 'is the trend of X still going strong, or is it time to move on'. I don't know where to put these ideas in a way where I can get them later. Paper is to hard to find the idea, and I like stuff on the computer but I don't like having to transfer it there when I get home. Maybe there is an android app that I can sync on my computer... Hmm.

87. Do 100 push ups in a row
As a starting point I did a cold-try of where I'm at which was 13 a few days ago. Today I managed 15. My personal best ever was 50 and my best regular number was 30. 13 is my regular not-working-out-for-a-while number, so it makes sense that I started there.

Late Addition
I'm also adding to the To Watch list is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: Season 1 & 2 as I own them but have never seen it and somehow I missed them when I saw writing the original list. Their spine looks like Supernatural, I suppose. It's going to be #137 but I'm putting it with the TV stuff.

Lots of learning, reading, watching and saying HELL YA, which works for me. I hope there are more opportunities to say HELL YA to very soon.