(no subject)

[damkianna]

First, a little lyrics spam - I have memorized this song, and have been singing it to myself in the car on the way to and from work for the past couple of weeks. I figure I might as well preserve it for myself, in case I ever forget it.

Have you heard many a story
told by old and young with joy
'bout the faithful deed of daring
that was done by the Laughlin Boy,
that was done by the Laughlin Boy?

The Laughlin Boy was a boy of honor,
and he loved Virginia well;
but he would not fire a rifle.
So he sat in a cold jail cell,
so he sat in a cold jail cell.

He was pierced and he was beaten;
forty stripes he gladly bore,
for he would not serve the devil
in that awful Civil War,
in that awful Civil War.

Twelve grey soldiers stood before him,
and they aimed their rifles true;
he said, "Lord, oh, please forgive them,
for they know not what they do,
for they know not what they do."

Those young soldiers would not fire;
they defied the general's plan;
so the army changed his sentence -
who could murder such a man,
who could murder such a man?

They sent him far away to Richmond,
far away from his kids and wife.
There, pneumonia wracked his body;
that good man soon lost his life,
that good man soon lost his life.

Now his wife is sadly weeping;
seven children wonder why,
Lord, it seems like truth and honor
sure can come at an awful price,
sure can come at an awful price.

Have you heard many a story
told by old and young with joy
'bout the faithful deed of daring
that was done by the Laughlin Boy,
that was done by the Laughlin Boy?

There's a chorus - listen to me, children, well, I wouldn't tell a lie - but I'm not super-fond of it, and also I don't remember between which verses it repeats, so. I'm fond of this song partly because it's the only one I can think of written in this story-of-a-hero kind of way about a conscientious objector, and partly because Tracy Grammer's voice is fine. I have got to get my hands on some more of her music, because, damn. There's something about the tone quality of her voice that I just love.

The second ep of Warehouse 13 was overall probably not as good as the pilot - I think it had the same kind of problem, where the first half is pretty decent but they have trouble wrapping it up in a way that's not anvilicious, or trite, or stupid in some other way, and it's a lot more obvious when they only have an hour. Just like the pilot, there were a few things I liked about the end - Myka sneaking her phone into the person's pocket - but they were kind of overshadowed by the overall mehness. I think it's possible that they're trying a little too hard to be ~original~; I want to say, like, guys, it is srsly okay if you pick well-known or obvious or predictable artifacts, I am here for partner dynamics and banter. Still, I can't convince myself to drop it; I have already written snippets of ten (TEN! AUGH) Cliché-Bingo-based fics about Pete and Myka, and at least five more are trying to get out. My life is so hard.

BURN NOTICE. YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY. That is pretty much all I have to say about that. I know it's maybe a little silly, but I kind of love the ones where Michael wins people over through his noble refusal to leave them behind/let them get hurt/what-have-you - and also I am a sucker for Sam and Fi coming to the rescue. And his mom, OMG ♥. Madeline is MADE OF AWESOME. \o/ If I love this show any harder, I'm going to break something.

Tonight is Harry Potter Night, pretty much; my friends and I are all getting together to see HP6 this evening ... in costume, because we are all GINORMOUS DORKS. M is going to be Professor Trelawney, with scarves and bracelets and big glasses; J is going to be Tonks - she is for serious dedicated, she will be dying her hair pink; K is going to be Luna, because she pretty much is anyway; and Ka is probably going to be Narcissa Malfoy, as she is tall and pointy and blond. (Q is in Boston, doing an internship.) I was briefly contemplating being McGonagall, as I have a plaid nightgown (she totally had a tartan dressing gown on for about a page of OotP, okay, it is a TTLY VALID COSTUME), but then I had an apostrophe epiphany, and decided to be Irma Pince instead. I can totally rock a stern librarian outfit. And also I'll feel like not too much of a weirdo if nobody else besides us is dressed up, which is something I could probably not pull off in the nightgown.

In thesis news, I finally got the whole IRB thing sorted out, and made my first four calls to prospective interviewees today; I've got one set up for next Wednesday, and left three messages. \o/!