A Little Bit (Two InchesWide) of Ivory

Well, I'm nothing if not hypocritical . . .

2007-03-29T21:58:57Z

So, first I'd like to send a huge (and somewhat belated) shout-out to all the authors who participated in the L/L Reunion Ficathon. You guys wrote really wonderful stories, and they helped all of us get through what Gilmore historians of future generations will undoubtedly call "The Dark Ages."

Here's where this gets a bit embarrassing. The purpose of this post is to ask all the remaining authors who have not yet submitted to give me a shout and let me know the haps--where you are, when/if you'll finish the story, etc. Why is it embarrassing? Well, 'cause I'm kinda one of the delinquents. But I promise mine will get done--hopefully before the end of the season.

Anyway . . .yeah.

It's here! It's here!

2007-01-31T20:57:05Z

Okay, all, it's time to start posting those L/L ficathon stories (although I know a few of them--including mine--may be a few days late). Just reply to this post with your penname, the name of the person you were writing for, and a link to the story. Again, please be sure to link to Black&White&Red (www.gilmore-fic.net) or your own blog/lg/myspace page/whathaveyou. Please do not link to FanFiction.net

And while you're at it? Be sure to leave comments and reviews for the wonderful writers.

Can't wait to read everyone's stories!!

Gaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

2007-01-03T22:32:09Z

Okay, so it turns out that while I was away for the holidays visiting people whose idea of being high-tech is owning a VCR, some of you notified me that you did not receive your ficathon assignments. I think I have now gotten back to everyone who told me they didn't get an assignment. As far as I know, everyone should now have assignments or at least heard from me about problems. If you haven't heard (back) from me about the ficathon, please e-mail me at kinofille@yahoo.com and let me know.

Logistics? Notsomuch my strong suit.

Introducing the 2007 Luke/Lorelai (Smut)ficathon!!!

2006-11-15T20:23:55Z

OMG! Lorelai eloped with Christopher! That's the end of Luke and Lorelai, right?

Pfffft. Girl, please. Like a hasty, ill-conceived "marriage" is going to stand in the way of a love that's Written in the Stars.

We all know that it's just a matter of time before Lorelai (literally) wakes up and smells the coffee, Luke lets down his guard, and these two are back where they're supposed to be--together. The question is, what happens in that moment where they both admit that they're IT for each other? Where does it happen? When? And most importantly, how hot does it get? The answers to all these questions are completely up to you.

Introducing "REUNITED AND IT FEELS SO GOOD: The 2007 Luke/Lorelai (Smut)ficathon

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to write a fic that describes the reunion of Luke and Lorelai--post-elopement, post-Christopher. To sign up, just leave a comment to your post with the following:

Your penname
Your e-mail address
Three things you'd like to see
Three things you don't want to see
Whether you're willing to write smut (it's not required, but it is encouraged)
Whether you're willing to write a backup story.

Ficathon Schedule
Friday, December 1: Sign-up deadline
Friday, December 15-Tuesday, December 19: Assignments sent to participants
Friday, February 2-Monday, February 5: All entries should be completed and posted

A couple of "Please, please"s:
If you sign up, please do your best to get the story posted on time. People look forward to seeing how their requests are answered, and we'd hate to have one or two left hanging.

When you post your story, please post it at either Black & White & Red (www.gilmore-fiction.net) or your own LJ page/blog/whathaveyou. Please do NOT post links to Fanfiction.net

Be the light at the end of the tunnel!

So, there's this guy . . .

2006-06-18T00:35:41Z

Isn't that how all stupid, pathetic stories start?

WARNING: HERE THERE BE LOTS OF WHINING

In my off time, I like to go to my local Large Chain Coffee Shop That Shall Remain Nameless, get a caramel latte (no more toffee nut--it's time for a change!) and read a book or work on something I'm writing. It's a nice productive-yet-still-laid-back way to spend a few hours, and it gets me out an into the world.

Over the last couple of weeks, a guy who is also a regular customer has stopped and spoken to me a few times (he saw something I was reading and it turns out we have a common interest). He seems nice, he's cute in a hippie-surfer-PeaceCorps kind of way, and if he's not with my actual age range he's within striking distance of the lower end of it.

A few days ago, he actually sat down and we had quite the lengthy chat. Over the course of said chat, he started talking up Cool Event at Bar in Neighboring City, and kinda-sorta-basically invited me to go with him. He said "maybe we could go together." Being the savvy single city woman I am, I didn't want to ride to a bar in a strange city (in the dodgy part of the city, no less) alone with a guy I didn't know, so I said "yeah, or maybe we could meet up and I could follow you."

We left things kind of vague--he gave me his e-mail, and I said I would check on the start time for Cool Event and get in touch with him to let him know if/when, etc. Later that night, after a pep talk from Practical Person Who Has Known Me All My Life, I e-mailed him, said I wanted to go, and suggested we meet up at Chain Coffee Shop and ride together. He e-mailed back the next day and said he was going to a movie at the Local Artsy/Indie/Underground Cinema beforehand and suggested we meet there. Having only been to LA/I/UC once before, all I really know about it is that it's downtown--not happening, busy downtown, but dark, deserted, no central place to meet and park downtown. Despite my trepidation, I wrote back saying that meeting at LA/I/UC sounded fine, and asked what a good, central, meet-and-park spot would be.

After more than a day, he finally writes back--to tell me he's catching a ride with a friend to Cool Event and ask if he'll see me there. After waiting enough time to clear my mind of flashbacks to Rory's adventures in the Yale laundry room with Smiths Sticker Guy, I wrote back to say that it looks like I probably wouldn't make it after all. I mean, the whole point--no matter how cool the event was going to be--was to go with him, right? And I certainly wasn't up to driving an hour to a place I'd never been to in a city I didn't know to maybe meet up with a guy who at this point possibly wouldn't even hang with me when I got there.

My message was quite perky, though--wished him a great time and everything.

So . . .

Was it something I said/did?
Did I totally misread this whole thing from the beginning?
Is he just a flake/jerk/clueless dude?

Ah, well. Maybe the guy my stepmom wants to hook me up with will turn out to be a Clooney look alike with a great sense of humor, a solid investment portfolio, and an interest in British humor, classic Hollywood, and Pernice Brothers.

Just call me bibliofille

2006-06-12T21:58:17Z

So, I can see that my brand-new part-time gig at The Big Chain Bookstore Which Shall Remain Nameless is probably going to end up costing me more than it's paying me. I haven't even gotten my first check yet and I'm already taking advantage of the (pretty generous) employee discount. Today I made my first employee purchases:

Playing with Boys by Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (the author of The Dirty Girls Social Club, which I enjoyed)

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, Jonathan Safran Foer's 9/11-themed follow-up to Everything is Illuminated (which I also really liked)

Love Me by Garrison Keillor (hadn't heard of this before, but I'm on a PHC kick--see yesterday's entry)

and a golf encyclopedia (Happy Father's Day, Dad).

Now my only problem is deciding which one to read first. I'm thinking the Keillor.

In other news: Peanut Butter Cup Cookes? A little slice of Heaven right here on Earth.

On Alberto and Altman

2006-06-11T19:54:17Z

Seriously?!?

Hurricane season is only ten days old and we've already got our first named storm?

Seriously?!?

Okay, so looks like Tropical Storm Alberto is going to miss us (I hope), but still. I feel like I just got over last year's season, and I'm not looking forward to "boil water" orders, panicked lines at the gas station, and going without power for 2+ weeks. On the other hand, I do now have the world's largest supply of "D" batteries. (Yeah, I think that calls for a "dirty!")

But then, after what happened to the Gulf Coast last year, I guess a few days wishout power isn't really much of an ordeal at that.

In other (more positive) news, I got to see A Prairie Home Companion yesterday. It's an Altman film, and his sort of non-linear, improvisational style goes really well with Garrison Keillor's meandering storytelling. I've been a fan of the radio show forever, and it was so cool to actually get to see it. The film was shot in the Fitzgerald Theater, where the radio show us (usually) performed, and a lot of the PHC company appear in the film--Sue Scott, Tim Russell, sound effects guy Tom Keith, the Guy's All-Star Shoe Band--and it was fun to see the faces behind the voices. It sounds silly, but I actually got chills when they played the first notes of the theme song.

Of course, none of this will make sense if you've never listened to PHC . . .

Oops! I did it again

2006-06-10T14:47:11Z

So, it seems that for the third time in about six months I've been banned by TelevisionWithoutPity.

Here's what I don't get: They'll allow endless cycles of the same bitter, hysterical, unproductive conversation, but the person who points out how bitter and hysterical and unproductive said conversation is gets the boot?

Okay, so I'd love to blame this whole thing on the fact that TWoP is not a democratic community but is, in fact, a neo-fascist totalitarian state (just call me THX 1138. Or Neo). The problem is that this whole thing tells me stuff about myself that I'd rather not face. I've always considered my RL self to be a nice person. I'm usually kind to my friends and family, I'm polite in my interactions with strangers, and I've been known to pull of feats of diplomacy that had Madeline Albright e-mailing me begging for pointers.

Evidently, though, there is something about me and the way I interact with people that has caused these folks to (metaphorically) throw me out of their home three times now. And isn't it a little sad that I'm not willing (okay, usually not willing) to snap at people I know in real life about real issues, but I have no problem being rude to complete strangers about a t.v. show that has, like, no place in The Great Cosmic Scheme of Things (let's face it--it doesn't even rank that high in The Grand Scheme of Things: Television Division)?

Anyway, enough self-reflection. Maybe now I'll take my spare time and get a life. Or, you know, at least read a book.

Gilmore Girls: A Season 7 Manifesto (SPOILERS and SPEC)

2006-04-14T19:20:27Z

******THE FOLLOWING CONTAINS SPECULATION BASED ON SPOILERS FOR THE END OF GILMORE GIRLS, SEASON 6. DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE SPOILED*****

A Season 7 Manifesto

With the knowledge that episode 6.22 ends with Lorelai in Christopher's bed, and the possibility that the Showrunners are negotiating for two more seasons of Gilmore Girls, we are resigned to the possibility that at least part of Season 7 may very well center on Lorelai attempting a romantic relationship with Christopher. We are willing to grit our teeth and hang on white-knuckled as Lorepher plays out to its inevitable ending, but in return we have the following demands:

The “romance” should be shown to be a ticking time-bomb almost from the moment it begins. We have five-and-a-half seasons’ worth of textual evidence that Christopher the person is a feckless, immature (albeit charming and occasionally well-meaning) Peter Pan, and that Christopher the character is no more than a plot device in the narrative development of Lorelai (and, by extension, the Lorelai/Luke relationship). Any more than two episodes in which Lorelai is unproblematically happy with Christopher or considers him “the One” will be unbearable, more than four will be unacceptable.

Any L/C action must be balanced with angst-ridden L/L scenes making it clear that Lorelai is not over Luke, and that these two are still in love with and meant for each other (staring at each other through the diner window would be a good start; an accidental midnight meeting at the gazebo would be better). While we would like to ask that each episode in which Lorelai and Christopher are together end in such a scene, we are neither greedy nor naïve. We will accept a ratio of two L/L scenes for every three episodes.

The beginning of any L/C story should include at least one scene each in which Rory and Emily react to the relationship with confusion and concern. The gist of at least one of these scenes should be the irony that Lorelai has waited until her daughter is grown to make a relationship with Christopher and his other daughter. We are not, however, in favor of constant haranguing by Emily or Rory, nor do we want to see the Townies replace Lorelai’s pink ribbon with a scarlet “A.” We well remember the scene from High Fidelity in which Joan Cusack tells John Cusack to stop pestering his ex-girlfriend and her new man, warning that constant abuse will just make the ex and the new man a tighter unit. There should be no “you and me against the world” overtones to the L/C story.

We demand one gut-wrenching, cathartic scene in which Luke reacts to the L/C relationship to Lorelai’s face. While a rant would be nice, we believe that an intensified variation on StoodUpForPaintingDate!Luke and WeddingBellBlues!Luke would be most effective. We would especially appreciate a sad “well, I guess you got what you always wanted, huh?”After this scene, however, we demand a story arc in which Luke realizes his own part in this mess and resolves to be both more open and more trusting.

We further demand an increase in Luke/April bonding scenes to counteract any L/C schmoopiness.

We most strongly oppose a Who’s the Daddy? Story; a L/C baby would be an immediate deal-breaker.

We are willing to wait for this story to run its course, and we recognize that the Showrunners have set up a story which cannot—and should not—be resolved in one easy episode. We most strenuously insist, however, that the L/C relationship be wrapped up by the mid-season break of 2006-2007. If the Showrunners must hold David Sutcliffe to his remaining contracted appearances, we are willing to see Christopher attendng Rory's graduation (it's the least he could do), phoning in to check on Rory, or attending Rory's engagement party and/or wedding.

When the L/C relationship does end, it must end because Lorelai has realized that she could not—and does not want to—be with Christopher on a long-term basis. If the relationship ends because of another screw-up or betrayal on Christopher’s part, the door will always be open for Lorelai to forgive and forget. This will not be acceptable. The end of the L/C relationship must be clear and unquestionable, for the characters and for the audience.

Finally, in return for enduring episodes of a relationship that is distasteful to us as viewers and contradicts show and character history, we demand that the story of Luke and Lorelai’s reconciliation be told with all the romance and heat that the Showrunners have often attempted to repress in its earlier incarnations. Said story should contain multiple scenes of physical and verbal affection, connoting sexual chemistry, abiding love, and deep friendship.

If these demands are met, we are willing so suspend disbelief, fight down nausea, and follow the story through to its end. If these demands are not met, we remind the Showrunners of what happened to the French aristocracy in 1789.

cinefille @ 2004-08-04T10:32:00

2004-08-04T14:53:19Z

Luke and Lorelai: The Imagined Scenarios Fanfic Challenge

Write a Luke/Lorelai fanfic based on one of the following themes/scenarios:

Getting Tipsy Together

Our First Road Trip

The Stick Turned Pink

They're Playing Our Song

Why Rachel Left, Why Lorelai Couldn't Marry Max, and Why Christopher will never be "The One" (aka Confessions, Explanations, and Declarations)

Lorelai and the Green-Eyed Monster

Lorelai Enrolls in History of Luke 101

Breakfast in Bed

Truth or Dare

An Unexpected Evening Alone Together

Happy Birthday, Baby

High-Stakes Poker

Second Childhood

Car Shopping (new addition by special request)

This is intended to be a fun, very informal challenge. Pick a scenario (or more than one, if you're so inclined) and write a post-Season 4, stand-alone, Luke/Lorelai fic. All ratings welcome. At this point, I'm thinking the best way to submit is to post a reply to this entry with a link to your story. If that doesn't work for you, say so in your reply and we can make other arrangements.

Entry Deadline: August 31, 2004

Baby's First Day at School

2004-08-02T22:48:51Z

So, this is my first-ever post in my first-ever online journal. Hope to do more with this.

If you happen to run across this as you travel the backwaters of cyberspace, drop me a line!