charts, facts, figures

It has been months since I've done this, but here: have the All Fic Edition of the Rec Triad.

Rec Triad June 2009

I've been catching up on The Mentalist, which is an adorably quirky show with fun characters about a mentalist who uses his crazy observational skills (and charming adorable sexiness personality) to help solve crime. If you watch the show, you will enjoy this fic immensely: Red Tables Turning. Don't be alarmed by its placement on fanfiction.net--although after reading this one I totally took a spin through some more and woah, at times it was painful, yet hilarious. But, the story linked above gives a great outside view of Patrick Jane and how he acts when our favorite guys from the BAU show up to talk about Red John. I was not expecting the crossover insanity, and it was fun. Only two chapters, but I'd love a long, meaty look at how they'd help finally (I mean, seriously, guys, on Criminal Minds they find serial killers all the time in approximately 40 minutes, you haven't done it in 23 episodes!)

In a different vein, apparently I not only enjoy believable and interesting AU ideas (whether this means "and Hotch and Rossi have been together since he divorced Haley, trufax" or "hey, the BAU is all in the circus!"*) I just read a bandom AU fic (shut up, don't judge me) where Professor Gerard falls for Frank his hot TA (these guys are all from My Chemical Romance, fyi) which was tons of fun and cute. So go read jezrana's "In Which Gerard Is a Quirky College Professor and Frank Is the Best TA Ever", parts 1, 2, and 3 (with more drabbles here).

This got me thinking about other Professor!AUs, which reminded me that I loved the Due South version where Fraser and Kowalski teach English Lit (Punk Academic); this love of professor/colleague/pretty much equal dynamic goes a long way towards explaining my own Elementary!verse stories.

But there has to be a story where John shows up as Rodney's crazy-haired TA who seems to have no background in the hard sciences but then busts out with some genius theory during TA hours (which Rodney monitors, just to make sure it wouldn't be a totaly disaster) and the way John's hands sketch the arcs of a mathematical curve makes Rodney's throat dry. Isn't there one? I have such a great mental image of this... help me out, guys!



*Not that there is a BAU-inna-circus!AU, but there definitely should be. Think of it: Reid wows as the Smartest Man in the World! Prentiss doing gymnastics atop a horse, or something! Morgan the Strong Man! Garcia as the awesome girl behind the scenes! Hotch as the hard-working and stressed owner of the circus and Rossi as the old co-owner that left years ago after a disastrous show but is back now for some "unfinished business"! I think this could work well...

Wow, I'm always so absent-minded about these! So, because they're fun, I bring you the first

REC TRIAD OF 2008!

A Fic:
I sort of forget if I ever told you about this, but approximately a million years ago, villainny recced multiple bandom fics. "Bandom" is a cute phrase for fandom that has sprung up around, in this case, Panic! at the Disco (I'm keeping the exclamation point because it's cute), My Chemical Romance, and Fall Out Boy. Even if you don't know their music (which is sad, because they're quite fun) the story Wednesday Night Boys takes a fanfic cliche (the one where they're all hookers) and makes it awesome.


A Book:
Anything by Josephine Tey. XD? I just finished reading several of her books, which are mysteries that aren't always concerned with the normal 'dead body' kind of mystery. The Man in the Queue is excellent, The Singing Sands is really interesting, and The Daughter of Time is a neat look at a mystery in history. Those all have the same detective, though her other ones are really cool too. So go read them!

A Show:
Over the holiday break, my older brother decided to catch up on the second season of Dexter, because our parents have cable on demand, and he'd gotten hooked while visiting our Second Oldest Sister. So we all spent many early morning hours staying up and saying "well... just one more". It's kind of violent and dark show about a serial killer who hides himself by working as a blood spatter analyst for the police in Miami. Don't worry... he only kills bad guys ;o) What makes this show for me is the humor and sarcasm behind it all. Most of the show is narrated by Dexter's internal voice, which is sharp and hysterically dry and lovely when juxtaposed with the action onscreen. All the rest of the characters are really interesting, and it's tons of fun. So go rent/Netflix the first season, or dig it up somewhere. Great bloody* fun.

*In the American vernacular, that is XD



MTV keeps showing reruns of old America's Next Top Model seasons, which I shouldn't find captivating, but I DO. However, I get to go to teach school tomorrow, which is mostly sit there and reign over the middle schoolers as they finish essays for their finals week. Think I'll bring my computer, just in case...

How's with all you?

Because I'd never really thought about how cool it was, I bring you the Rec Triad, Steampunk Version.

A Site:
The Wikipedia entry on steampunk including lists of lots of books that I want to read. Basically, it's Victorian-age fiction based on the idea that the steam engine (among other things) was invented long before it actually was. Alternate Universe of the ultimate kind. Fascinating idea.

A "Magazine":
It's a magazine that claims to "put the punk back in steam punk". Which I think is hysterical and cool. I haven't read all the fic yet, but it's really well written. Best yet? It's free and printable, and also seeks submissions. God love technology and online 'zines.

A "Movie":
So, there's the movie Hackers, which is mildly terrible and has Angelina Jolie and Johnny Lee Miller. Someone thought, "hey... hackers of computers. How about creators of machines harassing the world?" So there is Clockers, which is both a script and also a reading on mp3 that I haven't listened to yet. Interesting idea.

Watching Hackers, which is... mildly crappy. Mostly because Fisher Stevens creeps me out (seriously, dude, being in Super Mario Bros. was probably never a good idea. Although BOB HOSKINS was in it too, wow). There are also crappy "craaaazy computer effects" which are more distracting than entertaining. But hey, amusing.

I know I just did one of these, but I totally have to tell you how great the following things are, so I bring you yet another REC TRIAD (just picture me saying this like "piiiiiiiiiiigs in spaaaaaaaaaaaaaace")

Rec Triad!!!

A Song (among many):
Even though I haven't seen 300 yet, the music is fantastic. It's like house-techno-Middle Eastern-operatic-mastery of awesomeness. Gorgeous, and might make me actually see the movie. :o) So check it out. Review and listing here :o)

A Book:
Ever think that Greek myths should still occur now, with the whole gods and goddesse gettin' it on with mortals and siring demigods? Well, then you should read The Lightning Thief by Rick Ricordan, because Percy just discovered that the world is a lot closer to his Ancient History text than not... Hysterical first person narration and any and all classics geeks will love the in-jokes and side references to myths and sundry. Link to Amazon here.

A Movie:
This weekend rhymester and I watched Blood Diamond and it was amazing. First of all, the story is fascinatingly raw, the violent history of Sierra Leone and diamond smuggling and civil upheaval, etc. But then there's also the awe-inspring Djimon Hounsou, and Jenifer Connelley, and a stunning performance by Leonardo diCaprio (with a spot-on white African accent; at one point he even speaks an amazing dialect-language type thing... very fun). Sad and violent, but really interesting movie. And I have this new (ish) thing for movies and stuff about Africa.

I used to do this a lot and I feel that it's a travesty that I haven't. So, here is the long-lost, oft missed Rec Triad, where I tell you about three things that you're clearly missing out on. In this case, a Fic, a Site and a... Book.

A Fic:
Wide Open Ocean by setissma. It's a SG:A John/Rodney fic, but told in such a way that I loved it to pieces even though I've never watched the show. See, instead of working at the SGC, John has always dreamt of working with dolphins and other denizens of the sea, while Rodney is a slightly cranky scientist he meets down the road. Gorgeous language and description, which really pulls Tai's love of all things watery and Chicago into the mix. Go read it, it's beautiful (and John and Rodney are great).

A Site:
Slightly less cheerful but no less interesting is this website about the Not for Sale Campaign, which is working to end modern day slavery. It's happening in countries around the world and, as you read in these stories, sometimes even down the street. A worthy cause, and food for thought.

A Book:
If you've never had time for reading classic mysteries, then you're missing out. Take a few minutes and pick up an Agatha Christie; I especially recommend Murder on the Orient Express. It's a very engaging read and I really like Hercule Poirot as a detective, if only because his cases are frequently solvable only by him. There are a whole mess more, but I especially liked this one.

Today in the life of Flyakate, grownup by night and faux-schoolkid by day, I get to go on a field trip to a museum! Or rather, part of a museum. I'm intrigued, and a little amused by the though of my class to twenty-somethings all getting to wander around together.

The reunion (as alemara and rhymester have told you) was lots of fun and reminded me (intensely?) of how much I love Western Massachusettes. It was also fantastic to run into several old teachers I had and had missed: I know remember where my liberal tendencies came from *smirk* Also, Ms. Correct (names changed to amuse me later) had two small boys! They are FABULOUS and adorable and like leaping off picnic tables. Like you do. I also got to see Mr. and Mrs. alemara (Mrs. was overjoyed that I am going to teach. It was the height of cuteness) as well as many people I'd forgotten I'd known well in high school. My facebook friendslist has grown, as has my AIM buddies. Yay technology XD

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Because it has been so long since I've done this, and I find it entertaining, I bring you the glorious tryptych of a Book, a Fic and a Song (just to mix things up):

Book:

A glorious novel, Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder. It's a "novel about the history of philosophy" and both gives you a great sense of the connection between past and present philosophical thought and creates a neat little mystery-type story. A lot of the tone and the main character remind me of The Saskiad by Brian Hall (which I reccomend if you haven't read it, especially as a better bildunsroman/coming-of-age novel than Catcher in the Rye). Will tell you more when I've actually finished it.

Fic:

Awww, Kalyee/Mal. "From Horizon to Horizon" by musesfool: Part 1 and Part 2. It's like 15,000 words but it's absolutely tight and a wonderful read. I love our characterization of the whole crew.

Song:

Because everyone should experience the bizzare-aweomse, here is a cover of Bob Marley's Redemption Song... by Johnny Cash. His voice is perfect for it, and almost makes me cry every time I hear it.

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Does anyone have "Come a Little Bit Closer" (come a little bit closer, you're my kind of man, so big and so strong)? It's been stuck in my head for YEARS and I would love you forever if it was found. Although I suppose I could go to iTunes and... y'know, get a copy. But where's the fun in that? XD

Off to my field trip uptown. Yay being near Central Park!

Hope all is well (or will be well, as all manner of things will be well).