skippy_fluff

03:10 pm: Fandom meta: the doomsday clock
Gawker has put forward a formula for when to quite watching a tv show. Subject to further refinement, I think it is reasonable. The principle issue is whether past performance is a good predictor of future results, and given the usual slide downwards, I think it is almost too generous. There are always outliers, of course, and some of my favorite shows would have been dropped after the 3rd episode with this.

But programming this into my dvr, with a little biometric feedback? Sign me up.

11:05 am: Fandom meta: the multiverse proposal
Catching up to the continuity disaster that is Smallville, I had the distinct feeling that the most recent two episodes ("Kandor" and "Idol") not only failed to follow each other in any kind of narrative arc, but that they were actually in two different Superman continuities.

And, actually, one of the few ways to make sense of Smallville these days is to see each episode as a window on to a new parallel world. Sure, they may occasionally seem to be the same world--that can occur whenever the two have not drifted apart by much or have differences not obvious to the viewer. But they can also be wildly different; we could have an episode any time now where Jimmy and Jonathan didn't die and where Lex and Clark remain friends.

That doesn't mean "Kandor" wasn't a ball of suck and "Idol" whimsical and fun; they were. It just deepens that to imply that "Kandor" was in universe that happened to be at a ball of suck moment, where "Idol" was not. And so the different Clarks and Chloes and Loises and Olivers are naturally different. Sure they may look the same (great chests on all four in any universe), but, deep down, it's a case of "same planet--different worlds".

Or possibly they just ran out of steam six seasons ago and I'm sticking to it because the fan fiction is good. In some universe, no doubt each reason is true.

05:22 pm: Oh by the way
I am back in Japan. Have already bought Pocky (strawberry flavor); this time, there does not seem to be a typhoon in the future. Wheew.

07:46 am: Question 1
I am increasingly convinced that civil rights in this country cannot win while it allows tax-exempt organizations to be political actors. Once again, Catholic and Mormon money has been used to strip civil rights from a suspect class. This despite a very well run campaign that fought off a huge number of lies, include a constant drumbeat of "gays want to rape your kids".

Speaking as a Christian: tax the churches. It is the only way.

01:15 pm: Well, some good news
Obama has signed the Matthew Shepherd Hate Crimes Act as promised. Attached to a defense bill, naturally, but at least it is real.

01:01 pm: Paid vs. permanent?
Is there any way to tell when a livejournal account is paid through (and whether it is permanent?). tv_elf'sjournal is coming up to a year since she passed away, and I'd like to extend it if others haven't done so already. I couldn't find an FAQ on it, but I thought someone would know or could suggest a place to post the question.


Edited: I found a page, http://www.livejournal.com/paidaccounts/friends.bml which shows which friends have paid accounts, which might like them, and includes data on whether the paid accounts are expiring soon. So there is no date given, but at least you can tell whether it is "soon".

01:21 pm: Saw the news today, oh boy...
Actually alumni news, rather than real news, but it had a picture of the first guy to ever ask me out on date, as he is now. He's lost his hair, grown a pair of bifocals, and changed his body shape in ways that make me suspect I wouldn't have known him had we met on the street. It made me feel a bit old, honestly, as my memory of him is of a very hot young man that I was too nervous to say "yes" to.

On the other hand, he appears to remain as passionate about his work as he ever was, /ge was in because he was judging an undergraduate competition, and they seemed very pleased with his work. His body may have grown old, but his intensity still seems as bright as ever. I hope he's found someone who wasn't too nervous to say yes to him, somewhere over the years.

11:28 am: Go-go gadget jet lag
I am back, and I have been up at all hours. Jet-lag sucks.

The trip, on the other hand, was very enlightening. Not in the all-in way that my more religious moments might prefer, but in small ways. I now understand why one of our products has such odd branding (to allow one of our customers to pretend it is related to something they used to use). I also understand why one political current in the office runs the direction it does, and why this isn't as contrary as it looks. I grok why everyone in the office flies to Tokyo and takes the train to Osaka (they can mostly upgrade, and the seats in business on the 747s are the same as First for the 777s).

Oh, and I remember why I hate being around smoking at dinner time. Damn good sashimi flavored with menthol tobacco is a shame.