fishpatrol

1) I didn't like calculus the first time around, and now, four years later (read: four years without touching any form of math -- stats doesn't count), I'm trying to speed!learn university level calculus with limited success. When I see something like this "You observe that ∂x/∂α > 0, ∂p/∂α < 0, ∂q/∂α > 0, and |∂p/∂α| > |∂q/∂α|. You have a theory that x = f (p(α,β),q(α,β)), where f 1'(p,q) > 0 and f '2(p,q) > 0 for all (p,q). Are your observations consistent with your theory? Are your observations consistent with a theory that imposes the stronger restriction that f 1'(p,q) > f '2(p,q) > 0 for all (p,q)?" my brain stutters and then just stops. *headdesk*

2) In other news, I'm still playing catch-up with Bones. I've got my hands on Season 3 DVDs and I've been catching random Season 4 episodes on TV. The problem with watching the series out of order is that the timeline gets all screwed up in my head. Whatever happened to Angela's ex(? divorced? no divorce?)husband, and why was Hodgins popping the marriage question in the middle of Season 3 when they almost got married at the end of Season 2?

2.25) Lance Sweets is so adorable, seemingly professional until he slips up with a "totally" or "lame" and being tag-teamed by Brennan and Booth. I admit to squeeing a teeny bit when he said he did his undergrad in psychology at UofT -- and I started thinking, why didn't I go into abnormal psychology? Then I had to remind myself that I liked (like) social psychology much more as an area of research.

2.50) I don't usually read Bones fic, but I do have a massive soft spot for crossovers. So, recs!

Bones/SPN: This short Bones/SPN fic was the one that got me interested in Bones in the first place. I read it having no clue who Brennan and Booth were, but with dialogue like this:

Brennan considers this. "No, I don't think Sam and Dean are currently in a sexual relationship. But they're two attractive, virile young men who don't have much meaningful contact with other people. So it wouldn't be surprising if they developed feelings for each other."

Booth stares some more. "Only you would say that gay incest isn't surprising."

I decided that Brennan and Booth must be pretty awesome characters. Now that I've watched the show, Brennan convincing Sam and Dean that gay incest is a good idea doesn't seem very far-fetched at all. ;) Also: Sweets/Castiel (and sequel), hilariously brilliant, Y/Y? I watched the episode where Sweets convinces Brennan and Booth to go on a double date with him and his girlfriend, and all I could think of was, "Omg, B & B are going to meet Castiel. At a pottery class."

Bones/SGA: Abnormal Psychology by siriaeve, where Sweets is all cute and eager and totally fails to communicate with Sheppard.
a sam adams moment by the same author, where "Shep-Man" Sheppard and "Booster" Booth reunite in Atlantis, Rodney and Brennan bond over lab space, Cam Saroyan is the "other Colonel Cam", and Angela makes eyes at Ronon.

Bones/J2: Gunshy by setissma. This one isn't actually a crossover, but I'm sneaking it in here anyway. It's a J2 AU based off of Bones, with Jared and Jensen in the roles of Booth and Brennan, respectively. This one's also quite a bit longer than the other fics I linked (36 000 words versus 1000~2000, so make sure you have plenty of time before you sit down with this one ;)). It's long and plotty and, according to the author, scientifically accurate.

3) Speaking of TV...

Shows to follow when they resume in September:
-Supernatural
-Bones
-The Big Bang Theory
-Psych
-Merlin

Shows to possibly check out:
-Leverage
-Fringe
-Dollhouse
-Stargate Universe

School work? What school work? :D

In my next entry, I will talk about Yay: graduating, Doom: grad school, Itchy: strange bug bites? unknown allergies? But this entry is all about what I've been doing since I moved back home one week ago: watching TV. :D/

Supernatural

I didn't start watching SPN until Season 4 was well underway. I had, as per my habit, spoiled the plot for myself before I even started watching. All the stuff about angels and demons and showdowns intrigued me, which is why I picked up the show in the first place. Oh, and the hot brothers. Did I mention the hot brothers? I didn't much like the first season, which appears to be somewhat of an unpopular opinion. Monsters-of-the-week episodes didn't do much for me (especially since I had to cover my eyes throughout most of those episodes. Chicken? Who, me?). When I try to explain to RL friends why I watch it, I'm all, "Angels and demons and monsters and a great battle between good and evil except no side is actually all good and it's all very complicated and intense and did I mention the hot brothers who are totally in love with each other?" ...Okay, well, I usually leave out the "in love with each other" part.

I found that the show got much better when a stronger underlying plot was introduced that connected each subsequent episode. Season 4 had a few clunkers (like Season 5 of SGA -- the good episodes were fantastic, but the bad ones... Yes, I am thinking of that horrible bodyswap one. Okay, total tangent here, but I really, really want to see a Dean-and-Sam bodyswap episode. *__*), but was an overall good season.
( note: includes spoilers up to and including 4x22 )

I may have had more to say, but I watched 4x22 yesterday and watched, like, seven episodes of Bones since then, so, like, idk, it was a good episode? Better season finale than The Big Bang Theory? (Though, Sheldon's sense of humour + "Bazinga" = hilariously awesome, but, Show, really, stop beating the Leonard/Penny dead horse -- or dead ship, rather.)

Anyway...
Bones

I watched the first two episodes of Season 1 online a couple of weeks ago (I didn't want to study for my exams. What?) and then borrowed the Season 2 DVDs (couldn't get my hands on the first season) and marathoned through those during the past couple of days. First off: I like the colours. I don't know how to described them, but they're clear and contrasting and...sharp? Saturated? Can I just stick with "pretty" as a descriptor? After the dark, dark, and more dark of Supernatural, this was refreshing. But thanks to Supernatural, I've been mostly desensitized by the blood and corpses and I hardly ever have to look away from the screen when they drag out the rotting bodies. ;) I find the exposition to be excessive at times, but overall, it's a fun series. Using science to solve crime, yay. \o/ Also: I love smart characters.
( and so on and so forth )

Bones (the show, not the character), for me, is likely to be one of those shows I'll follow along but never veer off from the canon into fanon (and fandom), like Psych and The Big Bang Theory. But yay, new show to follow, now that there's no more SPN to watch. I fully intend to rot my brain with TV shows this summer. \o/