You may remember Michelle from the approximately 2,342 times I’ve mentioned her over the years, or at least from her cameo on Tuesday’s post:
Today is her birthday, and I’m so happy she was born.
We met on the MRMB (Michael Rosenbaum Message Board – ah, fandom), where I knew her as ravenluvslex (raven for short, which is still the name she’s listed under in my phone). I met Michelle when I still had my first blog on livejournal (RIP). We traveled to Kansas City together to meet up with other fans where no one turned out to be a serial killer and we sang happy birthday to Michael Rosenbaum’s face on a cake.
We also met back before I carried a phone that takes pictures everywhere I went, so most of my documentation of our early days is in writing or in a picture album somewhere. Or on videos taken by other fans that we don’t really need to see.
I still have a lot of pictures of her sticking out her tongue (see above and below).
(Aw, orange couch)
(aw, Bochy’s)
There are so many things I adore about Michelle.
She’s always up for a good time.
She lets us take group pictures of feet even though she hates them (feet, not group pictures, to be clear).
She loved going to the club as much as I did.
(It’s not blurry. It’s ARTSY.)
(We should go again sometime. I promise to only spend a minor portion of the evening crying about the old place.)
She gave Nelly Cat a great life.
(Aw, Nelly Cat. *pets*)
She helps me locate Billy Boyd when necessary (the world is just better knowing that somewhere, he is).
And sends me pictures of her face when I tell her I miss it (which is even better than Billy Boyd).
She also made this super cute kid:
I love Michelle’s passion, her compassion, her boldness, her humor, her honesty, and her insight. I love that we have just as much (or more) fun together binge-watching TV and sharing delicious snacks as we do going out.
Michelle/Raven/Rupert, I love you. So, so much. Happy birthday, friend.
“The miracle is this – the more we share, the more we have.” -Leonard Nimoy
So today was the last workday of the year for me. I have been counting down HOURLY. I have never been more excited about having a little time off. The week has been fairly busy but not too much, and that’s good because I’ve just been too excited to focus as well as I usually do/at all in any way. I spent the afternoon finalizing student withdrawals and making sure I had everything ready for when I come back on January 4. And now it’s officially done.
All this is to say that I haven’t really had the extra focus I needed to post about joy every day, so we get to prolong the magic of this series probably into the new year. I mean, I’m still hoping my elusive industrious self will resurface over the next couple of weeks (once I’m well-rested again) and thus that I can double up on some days and finish in time. But just like sending Christmas cards or some of my Advent calendar things that feel more like busy work than anything helpful this year, I’m going to actually take the advice I frequently give others and let some of the things that don’t have to happen slide. When you’re juggling 14 balls at a time, it’s ok if some of them drop (My INTJ/Enneagram 5 brain PASSIONATELY disagrees, but I plan on feeding it pasta pretty soon to appease it).
A practice that I started one year when I wanted to make sure I posted at least once a week (heh – remember those days, some of you? Good times.) was Friday Five. I would choose five things I saw on the internet that week that made me think, made me believe in humanity a little bit more, or just gave me joy, and I would share them with my readers. To my delight, what I found is that the act of sharing these things was itself a joy. In sharing them, I got to relive them, and I got to imagine the happiness they might bring to other people.
So here is today’s Friday Five – five things I saw on the internet this week/month that I hope can give you a fun start to your weekend. And yes, to share some joy.
For fans of Schitt’s Creek (and if you aren’t yet, Netflix binge it and become one and you’re welcome) – a little Christmas treat.
This Twitter thread – spoiler alert, a lonely little girl finds out fairies are real and gets to meet one.
Just in case you’re wondering how to wrap a goat for Christmas (you could be…I don’t know your life)…in related news, I am open to accepting gift-wrapped goats for Christmas.
Tabitha Brown is a treasure. When she posts her videos, I feel like she understands my sadness and wants me to know that it’s ok to feel sad but I also sort of feel like she knows how to fix it and I would trust her to do so. I want to support everything she ever does.
Jen Hatmaker making risotto is the recipe-writing style to which I aspire. Best line? “Have you ever thought, ‘This has too much butter and cheese in it?’ No you haven’t. Don’t get weird.”
There’s a meme going around on social media that asks you to list the five shows that you would have someone watch to get a good sense of you and your taste. Yesterday, a coworker asked me to identify my favorite fandom. These tasks were harder than you might think.
I love TV. I don’t get to watch it very often, and I certainly don’t keep up with shows very well, as I do not have cable and forget to keep up with streaming. But I love TV the same way I love all storytelling. I think the stories we choose to tell and the ones we pay attention to do say a lot about us.
So here is my attempt at answering the 5-show question.
Ally McBeal – Ally McBeal was on the air when I was in grad school. It resonated with me on several levels. Ally’s struggle with feminism and trying to hone who she was as a woman in the world sort of mirrors what I was sifting through at the time, and that was what drew me to the show. What got me hooked, though, was its portrayal of loneliness and what that looks like on different people. As someone who has felt alone/lonely for large portions of my life, I often feel misunderstood when writers try to address the issue. They almost always get it wrong (or, at least, wrong for me). Ally McBeal was right on the money. Also, John Cage is my favorite TV character of all time, so there’s that.
The Newsroom – I knew an Aaron Sorkin show had to make the list. I like every show of his I’ve watched. I admire the way he writes. I love The West Wing and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. But I love The Newsroom the most. It speaks to the importance of integrity and being great at whatever you choose to do. Where it really wins with me, though, is the rampant idealism, often expressed through the Don Quixote theme that runs through it.
Firefly – Firefly is my fiesty side. I grew up watching…no, that’s inaccurate…being subjected to westerns. Traditional westerns are hard for me, because I didn’t always see the “good guy” as someone who was all that good. A lot of them were jerks, frankly. Even when the characters on Firefly are jerks, though, there is usually a reason behind it that is consistent with a code of honor that I can get on board with. And in this world, people who are different aren’t necessarily wrong. In fact, people who are different seem perfectly capable of operating a ship in the middle of nowhere just fine. Firefly is what I wish all westerns were.
Elementary – I love all things Sherlock Holmes. Love the books, love (almost) every interpretation that’s been filmed. Elementary stands out, though. I particularly like this version of Sherlock and Mycroft. I also love that Watson is female in this series. I like gender bending original stories, and this show does it well.
Pushing Daisies – A theme you may have noticed in this list is an absolute adoration of whimsy. Pushing Daisies is my favorite whimsical show. The writing is perfect. The characters are amazing, and the acting is fantastic. It’s a tragedy that it only lasted two seasons.
I’ve watched Gilmore Girls so often I can quote it, but it’s often just background noise. So that doesn’t really scream “reflect me and my taste” to me. Smallville is the only fandom I kept up with for any length of time while it was happening, and I am definitely a sucker for superhero shows (Flash. Arrow. Supergirl [omg Cat Grant!].). But there were seasons where the fandom critiques and fanfiction were all that got me through it. The five shows listed do a great job of reflecting my general taste.
Well, I did it. I turned 42, which really does feel like an answer to something. Getting through this year has felt like an accomplishment. I wonder if this is how every year from now on will be – more aches, less patience with the world and its ridiculous ways, more unlearning and relearning. It’s not so bad, I guess.
Last year at this time, I was freaking out over my blood pressure being high for the first time ever. This year, I am happy to report that it is back to normal (but my heart rate still runs high…because anxiety…working on it) and that my food and activity choices have had a lot to do with that. I have a number of pounds lost, which will make my doctor happy, but I’m happier about other things.
Today’s list is made of stories with which my 42-year-old self identifies.
Addie Zierman’s Of Lent and Emptiness – On fasting/not fasting and Whole30, which I still refuse to try but if I were to try it, posts like this would be what would change my mind. Also, I weirdly miss fasting for Lent.
Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls – Our church is starting the second annual collection of books for our Book Bag Project. We give three or four books to graduates of a local preschool to encourage their love of reading. More and more, I am convinced that writers (and artists and musicians and etc.) have incredible power to unlock story and innovation and progress, and I want to be a part of that.
Sometimes, Ray Palmer is my spirit animal. Also, I love Legends of Tomorrow. And Flash. And even Arrow. And especially Supergirl (i.e., Cat Grant). And will always rewatch Smallville and will always, ALWAYS be angry at Season 4. Fandom squee for life.
Whew. It’s been a rough week for fandom. Saying goodbye to David Bowie was saying goodbye to part of my childhood. And Alan Rickman inspired me with his late-start-but-still-phenomenal career and as a person in general. I can’t even go on Facebook right now because I am at work and a damn professional, and I am mainly working very hard at not sobbing into my keyboard.
Yesterday, The Bloggess posted her tribute and thank yous in a beautiful way, and I want to do something similar here. There are a lot of people, like Bowie and Rickman, whom I will mourn along with the world when they pass. But there are roughly a dozen people whom I’ve never actually met whom I will mourn as if I have. Whoever my boss is when those terrible days come – be advised I will take a few days off. Trust me – you’ll be glad that I do.
I have a lot of fandoms, so it was difficult to narrow down the list to six, much less five. But here they are:
Bernadette Peters – I have loved her since I could barely even love anyone. She played Lily St. Regis in the 1982 Annie, and in my 7-year-old mind, she was so fancy. I love her grace and the way she just takes over the stage. My favorite thing she’s done was her performance as the witch in Into the Woods. When I saw the newer version last year, I missed her. I mean, Meryl Streep is awesome – would that we all developed and displayed our talents so brilliantly – but I missed Bernadette Peters in the role. In my mind, it will always be hers.
Michelle Pfeiffer – Confession: when I grow up, I kinda want to be Michelle Pfeiffer. From reenacting her rendition of “Cool Rider” in Grease 2 in front of my friend Ginger’s camcorder to her depiction of Catwoman to her marriage to David E. Kelley (lucky guy…and sure, also a fantastic writer and producer…who gets to be Michelle Pfeiffer’s husband), she has the sort of career/life I would want if I were an actress. She has an impressive body of work that I could gush about all day.
But seriously –
Peter MacNicol – He played my all-time favorite television character on my all-time favorite show. I can’t see him in anything without thinking of Ally McBeal‘s John Cage. He delivered my favorite lines and my favorite speeches from the show. When people ask what fictional character I relate to most, unlike most writers, who will name someone from literature, I name a character from television – John Cage. I will be inconsolable when anyone in the cast of Ally McBeal dies, but his death will be the hardest.
Michael Rosenbaum – I teared up even typing his name. He’s only a few years older than I am, and frankly, I hope I go first so I don’t ever have to deal with his death (after we’ve both lived long, happy lives, hopefully well into our late 90s, of course). Michael Rosenbaum played Lex Luthor on Smallville, and while he’s done many awesome things since then, that was his role that actually has had an impact on my personal life. I love his portrayal of Lex. I loved it so much that I joined his message board to talk about it with others who loved it as much as I did. And then I followed a lot of them to Livejournal to discuss it even more in-depth. Thus I began my first blog – my first regular writing practice. So when I become published, Michael Rosenbaum will be in the acknowledgements of people whose work was instrumental in getting me there.
Then I met some of the people whom I knew from the message board and from Livejournal, and I still keep in touch with a lot of them today. Some of them, I’ve never met in person but still consider good friends. Some of them, I have met in person and consider some of my best friends, like my friend Michelle. I can’t imagine not knowing these people, and I have Michael Rosenbaum to thank for that as well.
Nathan Fillion – Need I really explain this one? Firefly. Castle. Dr. Horrible’s Singalong Blog. Nathan Fillion’s awesomeness is pretty apparent. He makes an excellent TV boyfriend. I love him in everything he’s been in, but I might love his Twitter best of all. Some days, it’s the only reason I still have a Twitter.
I would join his message board so hard (if I were still in my twenties and had oodles of time to spend on the Internet. And if message boards were a thing people even did anymore).
And because five is not enough…
Lauren Graham – Lorelai can never die. Neither can Sarah Braverman. That’s the rule. You hear me, universe? I won’t stand for it.
After this week, I’m in serious need of a weekend of self-care, which specifically will consist of a vat of roasted veggie soup and Veronica Mars (oh, God. Kristen Bell. YOU BE GOOD, UNIVERSE!).
M. Suzanne Terry 