one more miracle

Three things that just made me cry:

1. THE NEW MERLIN EPISODE (2x08). That - that was. That was exquisite storytelling. "Merlin?!" you might be thinking. "No, she must have the wrong show!" OH NO, MY FRIENDS. That was an EXQUISITE HOUR OF TELEVISION. Bradley James, I take my hat off to you sir. Unbelievable. And Colin Morgan, and Anthony Head. Incredible, incredible performances on all sides. Add in a wonderful guest star, a few scenes in which Morgana literally stole my breath away, and a gut-wrenchingly powerful emotional payoff - well. WELL. That was amazing. ♥_____♥
   
2. This gif (snagged from latenightcuppa):
   
   KARA. LEE. ♥____♥ If I had to choose one pairing of my heart, these two would be strong contenders. And never more so than in moments like this, rare moments of naked, unrestrained love and warmth. This is the Kara and Lee I was fighting for the whole series - this is the Kara and Lee they tried so hard to bury. In the end, they couldn't quite manage it. My pilots! ♥♥♥
   
3. This music video, courtesy of William Beckett:
   
   Thirty Seconds To Mars - Kings + Queens - HD
   
   
   30 Seconds to Mars | MySpace Video
   This is one of the most stunning pieces of cinematography I've ever seen. I can't describe it in any meaningful way, except to say that when it came to an end, I actually said a little bereft "no!" because I didn't want it to be over. Just watch it, I promise you won't regret it.

Ugh, I'm so tired I almost can't see straight. X___x Have arrived safely in Salt Lake City, many hours ago after 12 hours of travel. (There are no airports within a decent distance, and I had a connection. Blah.) Me and my fellow chemists from F&M (we're at the American Chemical Society conference, if I didn't make that clear) went out to dinner and then went over to the evening poster session, mostly for the free beer. So I am now a little drunk on TOP of being so tired I might fall over. A happy consequence of the time difference is that it's only 10 PM so I'll get a good night's sleep, so I can face a very long day tomorrow.

The in-flight movie was TWILIGHT. I didn't bother to listen, but it's such a horrid LOOKING film, all washed out and blue, and the bits that I glimpsed were so ludicrous! One second they're practically flying up a tree trunk, and the next they're sitting at a piano together. ?! Later they're playing baseball and looking utterly ludicrous in their uniforms. I LOL'D. The most hilarious part though was the fact that the old man sitting next to me got out a headset and WATCHED THE WHOLE THING. I don't know how he managed it! I was boggling.

Instead I chose much better entertainment for myself. I read half of The Umbrella Academy (the first volume) because I've owned it for a while but never got around to reading it. After successfully making it through Watchmen the novel though I felt like I was primed for more comic goodness and I'm really enjoying it. I also watched half of Rachel Getting Married, which is a very difficult film to watch (hence only getting through half - I'm sure I'll get to the rest later), the Doctor Who episode The Idiot's Lantern, and the BSG episode Maelstrom. KARA ;_; That scene between Kara and Lee in the hangar deck is simultaneously my favorite and SO painful. The way he looks at her, with such open love and trust and confidence... it's beautiful, but it's totally the wrong thing to do at that moment in time. SIGH PILOTS WHY MUST YOU RIP MY HEART OUT.

Also, Leoben/Kara paint!sex is HOT.

Ok I'm just rambling. I'm bored on the internets recently because my choice of fandom has severely limited my sources of amusement. I don't even have the source (Watchmen the movie, obvs) at hand so I can't rewatch obsessively like I want to! There's only so many times I can watch the Rockstar trailer or Matthew Goode's Screen Test interview (though, HEARTS FOREVER). And the fic is extremely limited, particularly because it's not a pairing I fangirl so much as a character. CLEARLY MY LIFE IS HARD.

Oh the one nice thing from the poster session was that I met a lovely woman from UMich who's doing some post doc research on how to improve the graduate experience so as to encourage women to stick with science longer. It was really interesting, a lot of the stuff I've been thinking about recently, and she was very nice. I look forward to seeing her again when I go to UM!

Okay sleepy times. <3

Goodbye, Battlestar Galactica.

Goodbye, Kara Thrace. Goodbye, Lee Adama.

Goodbye Bill Adama, Laura Roslin, Helo and Sharon Agathon, Saul and Ellen Tigh, Gaius Baltar, Caprica, Leoben, Sam Anders, Galen Tyrol.

I'll miss you. :(

( One frakking huge spoiler )

*sniffles*

I have arrived safe and sound in Ann Arbor! I was ushered here in a swank black sedan from a limo service that I shared with a nice girl and my friend Andy, who goes to college with me and is also visiting UM this weekend. The hotel is lovely and classy, complete with old heavy keys for the rooms. The welcome pack is AMAZING - a white tote bag with the classy logo of the program, and inside was a white long sleeved tshirt (also with logo), a fat folder of information, a 1 GB USB KEY (?! seriously! ALSO with logo, of course), and apple juice, Sun Chips, and a Snickers almond bar. AMAZING. :D

So my weekend has started out in style, hee. It doesn't look likely to let up either! I'm excited.

My 6th floor room has a beautiful view across the roofs of Ann Arbor. While not as exciting as Seattle obviously, it's still a beautiful place, filled with incredible old houses and so many trees. It's a familiar sight, since I've been here dozens of times, but I've never paid terribly much attention to the city as a whole, basically going to my uncle's and then leaving. It's very different to look at it through the eyes of a potential resident!

I finished A Storm of Swords on the flight over. OMG. strikesoftly, come flail with me! WITH THE! AND THE! It had been winding down and then the end was a really awesome one-two punch. Actually even more than that. I am so pleased.

I also read more Watchmen and I maybe love it a whole lot. I loved the chapter about how Nite Owl (the original) decided to become a superhero. And Rorschach's journal just makes me chortle. "Possibly homosexual? Must investigate further." Heehee. ♥

Tonight is BSG finale part uno! *flaps* My hotel has Sci Fi so if I'm done with events by that time I'm TOTALLY watching live. Eeeeeeep. On that note, I glimpsed a guy's newspaper on the airplane and it said something about BSG's finale not being the end! Yay movies, or something! \o/ I am so not ready to let go of my Kara.

Andy and I are going to go wander around (it's a beautiful, clear, sunny day) so I'll leave you for now! I'll be back with further updates I'm sure :)

<33

Wow, I am just bowled over by the birthday wishes! Thanks everyone!!

I treated myself to a bottle of Bushmills Irish whiskey (rather anticlimactic - for one thing, I've bought alcohol approximately a bazillion times, and for another SHE DIDN'T CARD ME) and I'm now drinking it on the rocks. Oh GOD it's good. All smooth and rich with just a bit of burn and mmmmmmmmmmm. Yeah, I'm a whiskey girl.

I wanted a six pack of Corona, but apparently in PA liquor stores can only sell wine and spirits? Beer is sold elsewhere! I was most miffed. I'm going to have to hunt down a good beer store because homg I miss beer like CRAZY. There was Guinness on tap at the Empires show but I couldn't have any ;_;

My current state of intoxication (which is pleasantly fuzzy and will only degenerate) means that I won't finish teh Empires post tonight. Sorry! In short - LOVE. But you will get long tomorrow. I promise.

Mmmmmmmmmmmm Bushmills.

Oh yeah and I talked to my daddy for like an HOUR. Do you know how much I love my Daddy? THIIIIIIS MUCH. I asked him if he still had a copy of the song he wrote for me when I was born, and he sang me some of the melody! "She's a miiiiracle girl!" UGH DADDY. He's my favorite, you guys.

I just watched the S1 episode of Battlestar Galactica, Flesh and Blood, where Kara interrogates Leoben. Starbuck + Callum Keith Rennie = HOMG. I was vibrating. He's so fucking GOOD and so fucking hot and nnrrrgh. And now I'm going to watch more Due South and he's going to be a cynical sarcastic ridiculous cop and i'm gonna laugh and laugh.

TOM CONRAD. The end. Yes I took that picture.

ETA: OH YEAH. I just found out that We The Kings is playing in my town NEXT WEDNESDAY! :O I went to the website for my local venue and THERE THEY WERE! $10 for a walking-distance show! Sweeeeet. I'm now giving their album a listen and they're funnn! YAY MUSICS.