Thrown Together in a Hat Box
Jan. 21st, 2005 09:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
morrigirlLast night on the 5:00 news channel four did a piece about why there aren't many women and minorities in the NYFD. One activist boiled it down to the Bloomberg administration not doing enough to recruit these individuals. He said "This administration is doing less for minorities than the Guiliani administration, and when you're doing worse than Guiliani when it comes to racial issues, that's saying something."
It sure is.
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On the same news cast I listened to a reporter do a critique of Dubya's inaurgural speech. He said something to the effect that the speech was about issues facing "a post 9/11 world." And it got me thinking about how often the phrase "post 9/11 world" gets thrown around in the press. Ultimately it is an arrogant combination of words and ideas. While the events of 9/11 have had an effect the world over, due mostly to our own country's need to make our pain everyone elses, fact is the rest of the world doesn't define itself in relation to what happens on US soil. While Americans may divide time into pre and post 9/11, the rest of the world doesn't. Terrorism has been a fact of life in countries across the globe for decades. There are people who live with the threat of terrorism on a day to day basis. We had one attack, and since we're a super power we expect the rest of the world to define themselves according to that one attack. It's natural for people who experience great trauma to divide their lives into "before" and "after" said event. But the people in France didn't experience 9/11 the same way we did. No one took a chunk out of their biggest city. They were not traumatized by the event itself therefore there is no reason for them to define the world as being a post 9/11 one. You know there is something wrong when your country assumes everything that happens on its land can and should be felt world wide.
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I wish I had a voice like Ann Wilson's.
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Lately I've been catching reruns of Angel I missed while at Knox, season 3 to be specific. Can I just say Grue and Cordy were made for each other? They are so similar in temperment and personality. Both are good naturedly dumb, both are inquisitive, both are gorgeous. You just know if they comshucked and Cordy got knocked up those kids would turn out to be super models. Then again, Cordy and Angel are also pretty perfect for one another. I don't know why fans got so up in arms when they introduced the romantic aspect of Cordy and Angel's relationship. It's not like we didn't see it coming. You spend 24/7 with someone for three years, you're gonna start feeling a little more than friendly affection for them especially if that person looks like Charisma Carpenter or David Boreanaz. I know all my fellow Buffy fans carry a torch for the old Buffy and Angel days, but those days were LONG gone by the time the romance with Cordy came up. Both Angel and Buffy had moved on. The progression from friends to more than friends with regard to Cordy and Angel, was slow, deliberate, and so masterfully executed that it didn't feel forced. It felt like a natural progression for both characters. What DID feel forced was the dissolution of that bond once the viewership weighed in with their distatse. Then the writers solved the problem by making Cordy go all evil. Stupid stupid stupid. I contend that the writers should have stayed true to the characters despite the viewership. Evertually all the Angel fans would have gotten over it and learned to love the entire Cordy/Angel romance.
Besides, even if that had hooked up on an emotional level it's not like they could've taken it any further. We all know mind blowing sex makes Angel go galactically evil. And while we're on the subject why hasn't anyone ever thought to change that? I mean, let's see, Angel is connected to some of the most powerful witches and wizards in the buffyverse: Willow, Giles, even Wesley's spells seem to work out well on the whole, why have none of them attempted to modify his curse? Afterall this IS magic we're talking about, anything is possible. Why couldn't Willow, who has assisted Angel in numerous magical workings over the years, is the only living person to ever successfully reensoul him, and is unanimously thought to be the single most gifted witch in the buffyverse not add a new clause to the curse? Something that would allow him to keep his soul even after experiencing true happiness. Of course then the curse wouldn't be a curse anymore, but a mere spell. But seeing as they've de-souled and reensouled Angel on a regular basis over the years, there's no reason they couldn't just uncurse him and then place this modified spell on him. He would still feel the need to repent for his past wrong doings, he'd still be able to turn into Angelus with the help of a crafty magic worker. The show has lost nothing and Angel has been made a little more human. Where's the problem?
It sure is.
...................................................................
On the same news cast I listened to a reporter do a critique of Dubya's inaurgural speech. He said something to the effect that the speech was about issues facing "a post 9/11 world." And it got me thinking about how often the phrase "post 9/11 world" gets thrown around in the press. Ultimately it is an arrogant combination of words and ideas. While the events of 9/11 have had an effect the world over, due mostly to our own country's need to make our pain everyone elses, fact is the rest of the world doesn't define itself in relation to what happens on US soil. While Americans may divide time into pre and post 9/11, the rest of the world doesn't. Terrorism has been a fact of life in countries across the globe for decades. There are people who live with the threat of terrorism on a day to day basis. We had one attack, and since we're a super power we expect the rest of the world to define themselves according to that one attack. It's natural for people who experience great trauma to divide their lives into "before" and "after" said event. But the people in France didn't experience 9/11 the same way we did. No one took a chunk out of their biggest city. They were not traumatized by the event itself therefore there is no reason for them to define the world as being a post 9/11 one. You know there is something wrong when your country assumes everything that happens on its land can and should be felt world wide.
....................................................................
I wish I had a voice like Ann Wilson's.
.....................................................................
Lately I've been catching reruns of Angel I missed while at Knox, season 3 to be specific. Can I just say Grue and Cordy were made for each other? They are so similar in temperment and personality. Both are good naturedly dumb, both are inquisitive, both are gorgeous. You just know if they comshucked and Cordy got knocked up those kids would turn out to be super models. Then again, Cordy and Angel are also pretty perfect for one another. I don't know why fans got so up in arms when they introduced the romantic aspect of Cordy and Angel's relationship. It's not like we didn't see it coming. You spend 24/7 with someone for three years, you're gonna start feeling a little more than friendly affection for them especially if that person looks like Charisma Carpenter or David Boreanaz. I know all my fellow Buffy fans carry a torch for the old Buffy and Angel days, but those days were LONG gone by the time the romance with Cordy came up. Both Angel and Buffy had moved on. The progression from friends to more than friends with regard to Cordy and Angel, was slow, deliberate, and so masterfully executed that it didn't feel forced. It felt like a natural progression for both characters. What DID feel forced was the dissolution of that bond once the viewership weighed in with their distatse. Then the writers solved the problem by making Cordy go all evil. Stupid stupid stupid. I contend that the writers should have stayed true to the characters despite the viewership. Evertually all the Angel fans would have gotten over it and learned to love the entire Cordy/Angel romance.
Besides, even if that had hooked up on an emotional level it's not like they could've taken it any further. We all know mind blowing sex makes Angel go galactically evil. And while we're on the subject why hasn't anyone ever thought to change that? I mean, let's see, Angel is connected to some of the most powerful witches and wizards in the buffyverse: Willow, Giles, even Wesley's spells seem to work out well on the whole, why have none of them attempted to modify his curse? Afterall this IS magic we're talking about, anything is possible. Why couldn't Willow, who has assisted Angel in numerous magical workings over the years, is the only living person to ever successfully reensoul him, and is unanimously thought to be the single most gifted witch in the buffyverse not add a new clause to the curse? Something that would allow him to keep his soul even after experiencing true happiness. Of course then the curse wouldn't be a curse anymore, but a mere spell. But seeing as they've de-souled and reensouled Angel on a regular basis over the years, there's no reason they couldn't just uncurse him and then place this modified spell on him. He would still feel the need to repent for his past wrong doings, he'd still be able to turn into Angelus with the help of a crafty magic worker. The show has lost nothing and Angel has been made a little more human. Where's the problem?
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no subject
Date: 2005-01-21 04:44 pm (UTC)Firefighters call each other "brothers"...doesn't seem to be the most welcoming place for tha ladies.
no subject
Date: 2005-01-21 05:29 pm (UTC)not a big fan of grue though, I didnt think he was all that cute.
Willow actually re-ensouled angel twice, i guess they just never thought of letting him have sex. I mean when Darla is all seducing him in his dreams & stuff they have sex, obviously cause how else could she get pregnant, apparently he just can't have sex with people he loves because that's when the true happiness happens and he goes all "galatically evil" - i like that phrase. anyways, they probably just never thought of it. i mean angel could have gone through all the trials & such that spike went through to get his soul back as well, you would think, unless he would have to be angelus in order to do it, and angelus wouldnt want to...
as for the "post 9/11 world" I dont think it's necessarily as arrogant as you do, I mean how else is the newscaster supposed to phrase it? he's talking to US citizens, and as you said, to us it is a post 9/11 world, that's our world view. now if he was talking to people in France or China or something, then yeah, arrogant, but when talking to US citizens, that's how we see the entire world, esp. if you consider the fact that so many americans' world views dont extend beyond the borders of this country. that's not arrogance, that's just ignorance, in most cases anyways. In France you'd have to say a post 9/11 US, but here, post 9/11 world makes sense to us, you know?
no subject
Date: 2005-01-21 09:36 pm (UTC)