something to sing about

It's been a week since Obama's acceptance speech from Grant Park in Chicago, and I have to say it: congrats on not fucking up, America. The last time Americans had a leader who really was the best person for the job was last fucking millennium. Okay, I cried. It still surprises me how moved I was by the speech, and the moment. Wasn't it great? It felt like New Year's Eve, like you should be calling all your friends or leaning out of windows banging on pots and pans. The next day shone bright and sunny here, birds tweeting and strangers smiling at each other. All. Damn. Day. Long. Everybody's happy - can't you feel it?
It's amazing how very different the Democrat and Republican mindsets seem to be. Democrats seem all about Christmas, with programs! and diversity! and pizza for everybody!, while the Republicans are all about Halloween, with scary socialized medicine! and scary gun control! and scary gay rights! But regardless of all that, ditto on what Obama said about ending divisivness:
"I promise you, we as a people will get there. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other."
As the Buffy cast sings in the incomparable musical episode, "What can't we face if we're together?"

buy buy buy!

Best Buy has Buffy and Angel DVD sets on for twenty bucks, with a free DVD of a 2008 cast reunion with purchase. Crafty folk will buy the sets one at a time, thereby accumulating quite a hoard of bonus DVDs. I splashed out on the bottomless pit of despair that is season 6 Buffy, because:

-Musical episode!

-Anya episode ["Selfless"]

-I've never seen the S6 finale. Ever!

-the steaming hot bowl of oral sex that is Spike

banned candy

Happy Bats is using their powers for good, again; this time they're running a cool Buffy contest/giveaway until the end of the month. Friends of the batfolk have diabetes, and since there won't be any Buffy musical this year [and the last few Buffy singalongs have been for charity], the two great tastes that taste great together [charity, and Buffy] have come together to kick diabetes in the slats.

Even if they hadn't dangled a chance to win Buff stuff in front of me, I would still be first in line to donate; I found out this spring I have type II diabetes. Going sugar-free isn't too bad, except for when I really, really want a Caesar, which it turns out are just loaded with sugar. Thank god for sugar-free sweets: I've found a reliable source of sugar-free 70% chocolate and maple walnut ice cream at, respectively, Denny's Farm Market and 6th Ave Deli, both in New Westminster.

Anyway. Life with diabetes isn't all sugar-free sweets. There's also the fun of making sure your feet don't turn black. I'm just glad I can take a once-daily pill at this point to control it, and don't have to monitor my bloodsugar beyond occasional bloodwork, and best of all, no needles.

So go give. You have until October 31st, and even a few bucks gets you a chance at a cool prize, good karma, and, again, the chance to kick diabetes in the slats.

Go here for news of Buffy screenings and the link to donate to the Canadian Diabetes Association, and hints of the bound-to-be cool prize from Happy Bats:

http://flickerbat.typepad.com/being_there/buffy-musical-tickets.html

June 23rd: Happy birthday, Mr. Whedon

The one Buffy scene that chokes me up whenever I think about it is in the final minutes of the very last episode, "Chosen", where the potential Slayers all over the world feel the effects of Willow's spell and feel, well, *Slayerness* just wash over them. This little girl playing baseball, can't be more than 8 or 9, is standing at bat, and you can see from the look on her face that she's wavering a bit. Willow's Slayer power-share spell kicks in, and the little girl lowers her gaze and you know from the look on her face that *she knows* she's going to knock it out of the fucking park.

When asked,"Why do you write these strong women characters?" Joss said,

"Because equality is not a concept. It’s not something we should be striving for. It’s a necessity. Equality is like gravity. We need it to stand on this earth as men and women. And the misogyny that is in every culture is not a true part of the human condition. It is life out of balance, and that imbalance is sucking something out of the soul of every man and woman who is confronted with it.

We need equality. Kinda now."

That's why I love Joss Whedon. That, and the fights on Buffy were so exciting. Oh yeah, and Giles.

Return of the Buffy Musical, sort of

...a lot of stuff has happened since January: Chinese New Year parade and dinner, new job at ACC [Anonymous Call Centre] and oh yeah, summer. But it took Buffy on the big screen to get me off my lazy, fat, wobbly sofa and actually post something.

The skies actually cleared for this past weekend. Which wouldn't be unusual for June, except the last 2 weeks have been the coldest on record with unrelenting, *pissing down* rain. And it's freaking JUNE. Anyway, Sunday saw the Car Free Vancouver Day -- lots of merry people milling around, skateboard ramps, vendors, sidewalk cafe tables moved to the middle of Main street and goth cheerleaders with flaming batons. Whee!

My favourite video store on Main & 15th, Happy Bats, had a block party, with their short film festival SunScreen [rigged together with a computer that played DVDs, a projector and miles of cable] and an impromptu showing of Once More With Feeling, the Buffy musical episode. Happy Bats has hosted the Buffy musical a couple of times before where they've rented a theatre and sold tickets. Sadly, it looks as though Sunday's showing will be the closest we'll be able to get until...okay, I don't know *why* Fox isn't letting these screenings happen. Not this year. Picked up [another] Bats t-shirt and a used copy of The Golden Compass, adding to the growing Daniel Craig collection chez Juno. Anyhow, SunScreen '08 highlights included a "Sweded" version of The Fugitive, "fugitive in 6 mins. by Ronan and Dan", Sylvia Coates ‘Coffee Break’ [discarded muffin + hungry pigeon + marauding crow = more entertaining than you'd think], and Jaclyn Smith's ‘I’m Flicking the Lights Off’, Jaclyn’s own version of the Sarah Silverman ‘I’m F*cking Matt Damon’ video. Hee. Check out ‘I’m Flicking the Lights Off’ on YouTube!