"Sure. Fine. Whatever."

[raven]

Liverpool is apparently nothing but a giant building site right now. As we all know, and have bewailed, Chavasse is the worst of the lot. No longer a nice grassy area with benches and trees and a view of the water, it's - well, a building site. With giant cranes and people in hard hats. It is not what I would call a vast improvement. In fact, this irritates me: Liverpool is European Capital of Culture because of what it is, what it was. Reacting to the announcement by bulldozing large parts of the city and replacing them with bland American-style shopping malls seems to me to be symptomatic of someone's having missed the point somewhere.

(That said, I am very amused by the Capital of Culture billboards popping up on the trains and stations. My favourite one is: "Twenty million people are coming. Move down the train, please." Also, the naked statues that hang off the architcture keep acquiring "Capital of Culture" boxers.)

Anyway, I was there today for purposes of shopping. Not as much fun as it sounds, because I was running errands for a multitude of people. Still, shopping by yourself is surprisingly fun; you can linger where you want to and if you want to spend a long time looking at hair dye, no one's within their rights to stop you. In the end, I managed to get what I went for, namely a gift for my cousin-sister Nupur, who apparently got to be sixteen without my noticing and wants something for her Homecoming dance.

At this point I asked, as you do, what Homecoming actually is. I think it's one of those words like "erstwhile" and "Plantagenet" that you sort of know the existence of, but not what relevance they have to anything. After five minutes of her explaining I was more confused than ever. Wiki helped a bit, and Nupur assured me that there is a boyfriend - my little sister has a boyfriend, oh god! - and a dress involved. The dress is black with silver bits or possibly the other way around, so today was spent partly looking for black-and-silver jewellery. And quite by accident, I found exactly what I wanted. I have no idea whether it's the sort of thing she'll like, as she really, really doesn't take after me - as in if we were actual sisters, I'm fairly sure The Taming of the Shrew would come up in conversation a lot - but I rather did. Anyway, it's an onyx set in silver as the pendant on a short silver chain, and I was pleased with it. We shall see.

(We shall also see the boyfriend. I hope I don't have to kill him. She said, quite calmly, "You had a boyfriend when you were my age."

I said, irrationally, "That was different."

"Why was that different?"

"Because that was me!")

In fact, it's been a vaguely productive day. I also managed to acquire reading material for the trip - SFX and Cosmopolitan, because I am just that predictable and besides this month's SFX has Supernatural on the cover and I've just downloaded the pilot of that, yay - as well as a lot of chocolate to feed to chocolate-deprived Americans, some very bad sushi and a banana Muller yoghurt. This last thing is important, as I'm not sure I will eat anything else through the academic year.

And, and, I confirmed my domestic flights. I can't quite believe that today is Thursday and on Monday I will be in Chicago OMG. OMG. OMG. Leigh and Meredith and CRABCAKES OMG. I am ridiculously excited. So, um, that's about it. I want to pop up later and post some scribbled fannish thoughts, and I wanted to review the XF episodes "Little Green Men", "Grotesque" (so, so good) and... uh.... Syzgy. Syzygy. Syzyzyzyzgy. Long word without any vowels. It was good, anyway. And LGM was the most depressing piece of television I have seen in years. Intentional, in the good way, but not exactly upbeat viewing.

In other news, I did have a post of wank and emo here last night, but I have deleted it in favour of trying to be cheerful.

Also, amchau: I'm home for the rest of tonight, please do call me whenever.

Comments

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I forget how vast the cultural gap can be, and then something like Homecoming comes up and I remember all over again. Homecoming is such a big deal over here, at least in my experience. (Kib is going to her second one this year, and it still freaks me out, although I don't think there's a boy involved.)

YAY on your download of the pilot! Let me know what you think; and keep in mind that the show does get better in... say, the latter half of the season, so don't exactly expect to be impressed now.

Syzygy is one of my favorite words ever; it's so subversive. We don't need no steenkin' vowels! (I also like aeaeae for the same reason, and there's a pleasing symmetry--six-letter word with no vowels, six-letter word with no consonants.)

OMG. OMG. OMG. I actually have to do some shopping too, to make sure I have random necessities for visitors--I'm about to run out of milk! How do I not have a bathmat? The sofa needs cushions!--and of course the eternal unpacking, and I'm still hoping to make time for a trial run to O'Hare, but I am so. excited. And I can't believe you can even still think about crabcakes, much less type the word.

*runs around in circles*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I'm going to be so out of my depth it's not funny. I am at a loss among American cultural traditions!

I really wanted to watch the SPN pilot before leaving, but er, we're leaving in five hours and I am yet to go to bed! So I shall have to come home and tell you what I think. Ditto Studio 60, actually. I seem to be accumulating pilots all over the place.

I strongly suspect that Chris Carter made an X-File about planetary alignments and then threw in some murders as an afterthought for the sole purpose of calling the result "Syzygy". Not that there is anything wrong with this. Quite the reverse. More shows should have episodes about planetary alignments and, er, Satanic vodka-drinking. (And I have to know: what does "aeaeae" mean?)

OMG OMG OMG. OMG it is time to leave. I have to shut my laptop down now because I'm leaving OMG!

[gamesiplay.livejournal.com]

The S60 pilot seems a little slow to me (well, not slow as in pace, but slow as in not as quick to develop the way TWW's was), but it's still enjoyable, and I have high hopes for the show. Can't wait to hear what you think!

"Aeaeae" means "magic," basically. It comes from the name of the island where Circe reputedly dwelt. I know, who comes up with this stuff?

OMGGGGGGGG. Have a safe trip! If you need anything, you have my number, and also of course my email. Enjoy yourself in the early parts of your visit, and get here soooooon! I cannot wait to see you!

[hathy-col.livejournal.com]

You are going away before I can see you again because I'm nancing off to camp with people who hit each other with sticks. When will you be back? I leave two weeks on Saturday and I must see you again before that. *nods*

Anyway. HAVE FUN YOU.

(A Plantengenet, as far as I know, is one of the crappy kings of England that kept on dying and having wars with their mothers and their sisters and stuff. I dislike them. I know they stop with Richard III, anyway.)

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I will be back before then! I shall come visit and cling to you like a mad thing before you leave.

And you have fun too! Enjoy hitting people!

(Ah, thank you. My previous knowledge on the subject was provided by The Da Vinci Code.)

[rosariotijeras.livejournal.com]

I'm an American and I don't understand homecoming.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*grins* My confusion is infinite.

[avendya.livejournal.com]

Homecoming is tradionally the first home game of the season, but now, most schools pick their Homecoming time. There's a parade, and a King and Queen are sometimes elected (i.e. Prom King, etc.). The game - American football game, actually - is usually on a Friday, and usually an excuse to trounce your opponents. Either after the game or on Saturday, there's a dance. It's formal, very close to Prom!expensive.

As a matter of fact, I did live in the South. So shoot me.

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

I feel obliged to point out that we don't have proms, or kings or queens or whatever, here, and so the essential concept remains a mystery. :)

[avendya.livejournal.com]

Right. Ok, a prom is a formal dance at the end of your senior year. People usually spend at least $100 on the dress, sometimes much, much more. (Think a quinceanera, if you know what that is.) Basically, it's an excuse wear expensive dresses and do your hair for a lot of girls. It's also a "good" excuse for guys to ask out random girls (which they do).

Prom king and queen are voted on by the senior class - it's basically a popularity contest/beauty contest for the girls.

[ladyvivien.livejournal.com]

Liverpool! That is...kind of my home city. As in, it is the city closest to my small town and I got drunk there a lot when I was 17. *feels homesick*

[loneraven.livejournal.com]

*laughs* It's my home city, too. I always miss it when I'm not there.

[ladyvivien.livejournal.com]

I'm heading back to the Wirral (yes, I'm from the other side of the river...) for a weekend next week, to catch up with the parents, and possibly go dancing in the Krazy House ;) And hopefully the Planetarium!