Mary's LJ

So the problem with not posting for a long time is that it becomes harder to post because you think "I CAN NEVER CATCH UP!"

So I won't try. :-)

The big news is that I have moved, and all that entails: sold a house, bought a house, moved (twice--long story), quit a job, got a new one, moved two cats.

I live in the Sunset District of San Francisco. Here's why I love where I live now. Got up, drank my coffee in my breakfast nook looking out at Golden Gate Park. Went to check my email in my study overlooking my koi pond and waterfall. Had to run some errands: Post Office, Library, ATM, Notary Public, pick up some fresh veggies. I was able to do all these things during a walk on a gorgeous, clear, sunny day within 6 blocks of my house. (It would have been 2 blocks except for the Library!) New job is 8 miles away -- appx. 6% of my previous commuting distance.

So, Life Is Good.
~~~~

In Not Real Life:

Gale's motorcycle accident was over a year ago, and he's back to work, finishing up a movie, so yay, it will be so nice to see his pretty face around again!

I saw Green Day 6 times this year and I love them as hard as ever. Best Live Band in the universe. And they will be on the American Music Awards on the 22nd. They will own my heart forever and ever. That is all.

Which segues nicely (in a "When Fandoms Collide" way) to my fabulous shiny new fandom toy, Adam Lambert. Adam will also be taking the stage at the AMAs, in what I have great hopes will be a "Who in fucking world is THAT?" performance for a large part of the viewing audience. "For Your Entertainment" is an electro-pop dance track -- so NOT my kind of music --but I fully expect an epic performance. His debut CD drops the following day. With the exception of 21st Century Breakdown (of course!), I can't recall the last time I was so excited for a CD. Today they released a b-side that is made of so much awesome, I can't understand why it isn't on the album. It's like Depeche Mode, only transported from the 80s to this decade...for real!



I've missed you LJ...I promise not to neglect you like this again.

***GALE! My beautiful pretend boyfriend really IS returning to Desperate Housewives! *throws confetti* This makes me incredibly happy. Now I have to put DH back on my TiVo. YAY, oh YAY!

In a motorcycle accident, Gale Harold, now fully recovered, returns to Desperate Housewives as Susan's ex, Jackson, on May 3. ..."Quite frankly, I think he looks even better [than before the crash]," says series creator Marc Cherry with a laugh, adding that Jackson reappears with a "very important question for Susan -- one that she's kind of stunned by."
Harold's unexpected hiatus forced Cherry to do some fancy footwork storytelling-wise -- we learned through Susan that Jackson abruptly left town to pursue a teaching opportunity -- but the scribe says it all worked out in the end. "We were planning to end his storyline [around midseason]," he explains. "But because of the accident, we get to bring him back for the end of the season, which will be a nice kind of full circle journey for Susan in season 5."
As for season 6? Although Cherry says no decision has been made about Harold returning next fall, he hints that the once-commitment-shy actor may be warming to the idea of sticking around long-term. "I think Gale may have changed his priorities [since the accident]," Cherry concedes. "But those decisions won't be made until May."
source

***In more YAY! news! Green Day will be starting their tour with some dates in the US in June! June! I get to see Green Day live in TWO MORE MONTHS! (Yeah, I'm assuming they'll start in CA. Don't hate.) New single, this month. New album, next month. New tour, the month after that. And now I have to watch an NCAA basketball game this week to see the sneak preview -- oh the sacrifices we make! BUT BE STILL MY HEART! *squeeeeeeeeeeeeee*


***Because I have an evil streak, I posted this over at adamlambertai8 on April 1st:

American Idol: Adam Lambert Disqualified From American Idol

It was fun. *evil cackle*

***I can't wait to watch SPN. I hear the shout outs to the fan base are so deliciously over-the-top meta that fangirl heads exploded all over the internet. THEY TALKED ABOUT WINCEST! Huh?

***I want to be wealthy so I don't have to work anymore. Apropos of nothing. :-/

YAY! Finally! The first pictures of Gale since his accident that have surfaced.

They are from an Elton John sponsored AIDS benefit last month. I'm not a big fan of the scruff -- this is true in the general case for me -- but hell, at least he's alive and mugging for the camera. But. Boyfriend. I gotta say: EAT SOMETHING. Gale Harold has always been a slender man, but he just looks painfully skinny. Like QaF Season 1 Brian Kinney skinny. Or skinnier even. Anyway, I'm glad he's out and about, and I hope they find a way for him to make at least a cameo on Desperate Housewives this season. I've heard rumors that they may bring him back next season, but frankly, I think those are along the lines of wishful-thinking conjecture, not based in any facts.

plumduff did a meme a few days back about 10 fictional characters you'd like to sleep with. Very cleverly, she managed to list 10 characters played by Gale Harold that did NOT include Brian Kinney. This meme is a total failboat for me though, because I just don't get into fictional characters at all. (Although interestingly enough, I would do Brian Kinney!) I don't go to or watch movies, and the only TV show that I watch that's fictional is Supernatural. (And DH, when Gale was on, of course!) But still, I don't want to do Castiel or Sam or Dean...I want to do Misha or Jared or Jensen. (Or all three. Heh.) Sort of goes along with me liking RPF/S but not so much on the FPF/S.

Now that I've said that, I read an absolutely stunning Castiel/Dean fic by fleshflutter the other day. "whose wings, though tattered, shall carry me home" It's only 2200 words and if you've ever seen SPN you should read it. :-)

I'm bummed that the Prez is speaking on Tuesday and making me wait an extra day to see what Adam does with Motown week. That also means the results show will conflict with SPN on Thursday. What's a fangirl to do?

Hope y'all are having a pain-free Monday!

That's really sad news about Natasha Richardson. Skiing on a bunny slope, took a fall, seemed fine, now has been taken off life support. There is nothing scarier than the patients that "talk and die." Reading between the lines of news reports, it appears she had what's called an epidural hemorrhage. A small skull fracture disrupts a major artery causing bleeding, but it takes several hours for the symptoms to become apparent. Surgery can be a life saver, but sometimes it happens so fast that nothing can be done.

This is what I was initially afraid had happened to Gale Harold. However, we never heard that he went to surgery (which really means nothing) but I think that rather than a bleed (a subdural or an epidural hematoma), Gale probably had diffuse injury and swelling. It's not better or worse, just different. I reiterate that this is all conjecture on my part. It's been 5 months since Gale's accident, and although it's been great to get the reports that he's up and about and looking good, I still won't be completely satisfied until I see him on screen. As far as Desperate Housewives goes, there hasn't been a word. I do hope they at least bring him back for a cameo in the season finale.

OK, Adam sweetie, I take it back. I've been listening to your cracked out version of Ring of Fire all morning and you know what? It's really grown on me. A lot of people have been comparing you to Thom Yorke (Radiohead) and Matt Bellamy (Muse) -- you could do worse. I want to know how you go up two octaves in one breath with out a break. I've also been looking at some high res pics from yesterday. When Kara said they were looking for a "package" artist, I'm not quite sure that's what she meant!

I really love his sort of sheepish smile when he's listening to the judges, and how he doesn't do the stupid back-talking. He knows he's over the top, he's OK with it. (Although I do think Lil should have slapped Simon down for his unfunny and disrespectful refusal to get her name correct.)

Also, did someone on my flist say they liked their men "bendy?" (Of course, we also like them, ahem..."straight" too.)

Well, I failed yesterday: I didn't make a post. It's not like I didn't have time or anything. I just didn't have anything to say and I forgot to make something up in time!

Much excitement yesterday in Green Day Land on the flist. At least 3 flisties got passes to see the premiere screening of "Heart Like a Hand Grenade" in LA next week. Even if the boys don't show up for their documentary, I expect a good time will be had by all. And I want detailed reports!!!

There was a musical clip circulating around the internet purported to be from the new CD, however a number of people called it out as fake: It was actually from an Oasis song. The irony of this is that about two years ago Noel Gallagher was bitching in the press about how "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was a ripoff of "Wonderwall." This was amusing not only because it had been at least two years since BOBD had been on the charts, but mostly because A)it's not like he invented that incredibly common chord progression, and B)in that case, did he forget to list the Beatles as co-writers on all his albums?

I suppose I could have babbled a bit about American Idol, except that my boy Adam advanced to next week to the surprise of exactly no one. But someone needs to clue-in the little girls drowning out Ryan Seacrest with their screams of "I love you, Adam" that they sound dumber than usual. Do they actually believe those drag queen pictures weren't really him?? Next week is country week, which will present a bit of a challenge to my lovely guy-linered gay glam rocker. Personally, I think he should do "Crazy" by Patsy Cline.

Studio version of "Black or White." It's a lot more controlled than the live version.


Barb has reminded me that Supernatural is on tonight. Boy, my TV watching has skyrocketed of late. I've got AI on Tue and Wed, SPN on Thurs, and I had Desperate Houswives on Sun, but now that Gale's gone (sob), I guess that's free again. Good thing I don't have one of those...whatchacallums...oh, lifes.

I've got a few days off, which has been nice, but not much else new going on. You know, sometimes I think I like my life like that. Off to go grocery shopping, woohoo!

Gosh, is it 8 January again?

Yep, it's my 3 year LJ-versary. And I so cannot imagine my life without it and YOU all in it.

It's also been forever since I posted. I'll start with the fandom related stuff first.

I'm continuing to get excited about the upcoming Green Day album. It's been mentioned on all the year-end here's-the music-coming-in-2009 reviews that I've read, but no one has a title or release date yet. The article in AP magazine did give some tentative song titles though, and some enterprising and clever web savvy geek took that information and ran with it. Over on GreenDayCommunity a newly registered poster looked up the web registrations of all the song titles from the article, then noted a whole slew of domain names registered on the same day by the same law firm.

So here's what we got from the AP article:

21st Century Breakdown
Know Your Enemy
Viva La Gloria
Before the Lobotomy
Christian's Inferno
Last Night on Earth
March of the Dogs

And here's what we got from our GDC sleuth.

21 Guns
My Drama Queen
Edge of the Earth
Last of the American Girls
American Eulogy
Little Drama Queen

Still no title though. Given Green Day's penchant for secrecy, it probably won't be released until it leaks (and I'm sure it will.) The sleuth thought it would be American Eulogy, but I really doubt it. I don't think they would name it so similarly to their last album.


In QaF/pretend boyfriend news, Gale Harold appears to be recovering from his near-fatal motorcycle accident, but his return to Desparate Housewives is still only hoped for. He is reported as saying that he would be returning to the set this month, but we've gotten no word that he actually has. We're all keeping our fingers crossed. The good news is on this past Sunday's episode there was a 10 second clip of his voice (on an answering machine) that was recorded after the accident. Of course, it's been made available to listen to over and over again...not that I'd ever do that. :-) http://www.gale-harold.it/audio/Jackson-voice-on-answering-machine.wav
(Thanks to www.gale-harold.it & buzziecat for finding it.) Some people have stated that they think it sounds like he was over-enunciating (as if he were having problems speaking) but I think that's WAAAAAAAY too much over analysis.

They are clearly setting up the plot so they can either keep him in or write him out as needed -- his character Jackson has been offered a job in a new town. But as someone pointed out, this particular episode was being filmed when he was still in the hospital, when the prognosis was still quite uncertain. I'm just soooo anxious to see him back again. In the meantime, I am spending far too much time reading 8 years of accumulated QaF fan fiction. Makes it difficult to explain when someone asks what books I've read lately.


I've been unable to completely resist the great sucking force that Supernatural seems to have on LJ, but only to the point where I enjoy the show, read the occasional fanfic, and look at pictures of pretty boys. I read about a major spoiler on a TV site and was chatting with and_ed about it a couple nights ago:

[21:57] and_ed: as I said to thelackey, there's a deplorable lack of brain cells in this fandom
[21:58] revid: Ahaha and extra helpings of batshit.
[21:58] and_ed: nah...its gonna be a weird fantasy/dream sequence/something
[21:58] and_ed: exactly
[22:00] and_ed: I don't understand why people can't just relax and enjoy the ride, man. They can't be enjoying themselves when they're having fucking coronaries over every little spoiler
[22:01] revid: Too much time on their hands.
[22:01] and_ed: I guess
[22:02] and_ed: thelackey said the stupidity is a result of all the porn. LOL Cause really...what does SPN fandom have in droves? Wank...and porn. More porn in this fandom than in anything else I've ever seen, too...and I come from a BOYBAND fandom.

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA


So in personal stuff...I spent Xmas in Colorado with my sister, which was quite pleasant. I'm trying to sell my house, which is not so pleasant. California real estate is just a blood bath for sellers these days. Great news if you're a buyer, in that home prices in San Francisco are down 30% in one year. Less fun if you're a seller. It's also a slow time of year, of course. Got some interest and showings, but no offers. Also, it's a giant pain in the butt keeping the house so freaking clean all the time. :-)

Not much other news. New job is OK. The cats turned 13 this month, they're OK (though not real thrilled about the strangers traipsing through their territory.) Weight, post holidays? Uh, not so good. Must.Start.Diet.

Hope you are all well.

So what's up with me, you might ask?

Or maybe not. But hey, feel free to skip.

I went up to San Francisco last weekend to look at homes. It was a pretty fruitful experience actually. I saw one or two homes that I could picture making offers on even. I feel comfortable with the agent I'm working with, which helps. (It was also nice to see Kat for about 30 seconds! ;-) )

Of course, buying a house in SF is wholly predicated on selling my current home. And it looks like it will be going up on the market this weekend. Which now has the crap scared out of me, to be frank. Some of it is related to time constraints, and some of it is related to the OMGWhatamIdoing seller's remorse type feelings. But really, I've been thinking about this for almost a year now, and none of the reasons that I want to move have changed. I love this house, but I need a change bad, and I just don't see it happening if I stay here. Some of the trepidation is also related to the general angst/trauma that's involved in moving, too. Moving sucks, folks. I am sooooo not looking forward to it.

The pleasant news (and the reason for my reference to time constraints) is that I'm leaving on Saturday for a week of scubadiving in Cozumel, Mexico. I'm going with a group of eight, one of whom has been to Coz something like 30+ times, so we'll be hitting all the good diving and eating spots, I'm sure. My RE agent thinks it's a great idea to have the home available over the holiday week for viewing to vacationers looking for a second home by the beach, so I have to get it ready to go before I leave! ARGH. So down comes the Green Day shrine on the fridge.

Speaking of Green Day....THERE'S NEWS! REAL, HONEST TO GOODNESS GREEN DAY NEWS! My God, what will we do? As I'm sure most of you have heard, The 9 December issue of AP will have an interview with GD where (theoretically) they will be talking about the new album due next year. Good God guys, four and a half years! Good thing you didn't rush into anything! But I promise, make it good and I will forgive you, OK? I've missed you.

The last thing that's been on my mind is not quite as good news. It appears that Gale Harold is being written out of Desperate Housewives due to the injuries he received in his motorcycle accident over a month ago. Last night's episode was his last, and of course, he was absolutely gorgeous and adorable. But they had to use a double for one scene (with his face conveniently not shown), which fooled exactly no one. I suppose it's theoretically possible that they could write him back in next season -- given Susan's unstable love life, it's not completely out of character -- but that may be wishful thinking. As I've opined here before, the real question is whether Gale's head injury is so serious that he'll be able to resume acting at all. The one positive piece of information that we received is that he was able to be discharged to home, rather than a TBI (traumatic brain injury) rehab center. However, I believe this will probably be the last thing we hear for a very long time. As dedicated as his fans are, Gale is hardly an A-lister, so no one else really cares, and Gale has never ever been terribly interested in publicity. Sigh.

Hope everyone is having a good week. Time for me to get back to getting the house in shape!

So my pretend boyfriend's pretend boyfriend, the gorgeous and talented (and v. v. gay) Randy Harrison actually did appear as planned at a QaF/The L Word convention last weekend in Paris, much to the amazement of the fandom, who were sure that it was some kind of Halloween joke, or a zombie who had taken over his body.



(pic by dirtyprettyhome)

And more to everyone's surprise, he seemed to actually enjoy himself there, instead of nervously glancing at the exits every 2 minutes.


I don't get exactly why, but some of the audience performed the dance to "The Bad Touch" with Randy as their captive audience:

WTF?


lazyshades went and did an amazingly detailed write-up of her experience.

My favorite quote, of course, was in reference to Gale.

Was it difficult to do a sex scene with a straight actor?
"No. It would have been difficult with a bad actor."

He didn't say anything publicly about Gale, but a fan asked him and he said he was going to be fine. However it was also clear that it was a topic that he didn't wish to speak about, so it might have been a stock answer. But I'll take it. Since he's now at home, we're unlikely to get any information at all about his condition. Sigh.

So the Gale news is always two steps forward and one step back. Not Gale's condition, which has probably been flat, or slow steady improvement over time, but the news that we get.

Gale is continuing to progress but the anticipated time of healing may take a bit longer than initially hoped for. He will be released from the hospital on Friday and will have friends and family staying with him for at least a month to aid in his rehabilitation. His medical team, friends and family will work on the cognitive therapy to help rebuild his memory. He’s walking well, and healing nicely and anxious to return to his home. His shoulder will take 6-8 weeks to return to full function. His parents will remain through this week.

This sounds very, very realistic to me. Boyfriend spent 10-11 days in ICU. Still seems iffy whether or not they'll be able to keep him on Desperate Housewives, but we haven't heard anything one way or the other about that since the day after the accident. They would like to keep him, and the show goes on a filming break next month, so they might be able to work around him until then. He's healthy and I'm sure he's a very motivated patient, so perhaps that will be enough time for him to be able to return to work. I'm keeping the fingers crossed, that's for sure.