asta77

It's been about four weeks since I posted. Is that considered a personal best or worst? There are numerous reasons as to why I haven't been posting. I think the overwhelming factor is when I had the time, I was too drained to muster up the energy to do so. I have been keeping up (mostly) with my reading list and commenting, which is likely why I didn't get any "Are you OK?" emails. ;) Also, Twitter is damn addictive! And easier to post to.

When last I posted, I was on my way to Washington DC and New York City. The trip was great! 50mm was a wonderful hostess and I was able to see pretty much everything I wanted to (unfortunately, the National Gallery was closing in a half hour by the time we got there) including the Smithsonian's American History Museum (it seemed fitting on Memorial Day weekend), the World War II and Korean War Memorials (again, seemed fitting), the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and the Washington Memorial when you consider you can see it from everywhere. We also had some fabulous food including lots and lots of seafood. And tapas! And homemade ice cream! And coffee! Not from Starbucks! :)

On my next trip to DC - and their will be a next trip - I expect to be better prepared. This trip was so last minute (for me) I'm just thankful I got to do as much I did.

As I mentioned previously, the White Collar panel was moved and they filmed in studio during my time in New York City. Of course, the following week they filmed about ten minutes from my hotel. ::weeps:: I ended up walking around Central Park and visiting The Frick Collection for the fist time. The Frick is an amazing convergence of art, furniture and architecture. My favorite part of the collection was The Fragonard Room. I could have sat there for hours, but it was one of the few areas with no seating for the public. :/ I also met up with no_detective for a dinner of yummy Mexican food and fannish discussion.

When I got home, it was back to work.....and a cold. I wasn't shocked I got sick. I had been stressed before I left on my trip and had very little sleep during. Unfortunately, my colds never last just a few days and it wasn't until a week later that I started feeling like myself again.

What else have I been doing? There's work and the aggravations that go with it. Let's not discuss that! I've been working on making jamiebambernews a more active comm, at a time when there is very little news to report. That's a challenge. And the other night, when it took hours for me to put together a post on my old VAIO (I'm typing on the netbook right now), I realized I have to buy a new computer ASAP .

TV! I've been watching my fair share, but haven't felt motivated to dissect/discuss it. nightcamedown made a comment to me when we were exchanging thoughts on the AWESOME Justified finale that resonated with me in regards to why, perhaps, I'm not posting about TV more: "I feel like watching Justified (or other wholly realized fictional worlds like Friday Night Lights, The Good Wife, or even Dexter) is like looking at a wonderful painting - I can love it, and encourage others to see it, but ultimately I'm more interested in appreciating it than interacting with it. I don't feel like there's anything I could add to it that would make it better or more interesting."

I certainly can (and will) encourage people to watch Justified and the equally superb, if not more so, Friday Night Lights, but what more can I say that isn't on screen? You know I adore Battlestar Galactica and while it could be extremely complex, it could also be flawed. My posts could be as much rationalization as analysis. I felt I was meant to fill in blanks rather than just want to sit back and watch.

There are other shows I enjoy - Burn Notice, Leverage, Doctor Who, True Blood (OK, True Blood I enjoy making fun of ;), but I don't feel are at the same level as the other shows I've mentioned, nor am I particularly invested in them. Where does White Collar fit into all of this? It's at the opposite end of the spectrum from BSG in terms of story and character complexity, not to mention tone, yet I have just as deep a desire to talk about it. Maybe it's because not everything is presented to us on screen. There is still a lot we don't know about Neal Caffrey and I enjoy speculating about, and dissecting, his character. I also enjoy teasing the subtext we will never see on screen. And, like BSG, the writers encourage fan involvement, thus making me want to have conversations on what I'm seeing.

The Angel rewatch has stalled. The past two weeks my IM buddies were otherwise indisposed and I'm not sure what next weekend is going to look like for me. Fortunately, we are still in Season 1 which was a) was very episodic and b) uneven in terms of quality. Though, Spike's Buffy bashing and mocking of Angel's feeling for her is hysterical when you consider his personal epiphany a year later.

So, that's a brief recap of events in my life. I do hope to post more regularly in the future, White Collar returns on July 13th. That will help. :)