A Brighter Light

We've all got something in our lives, one little something, that brings us irrational joy, feeds our creativity, and makes us look forward to the next volume/issue/episode when the rest of the world is making us crazy. For the longest time, that thing for me was Guiding Light. When most kids were coming home from school and watching the Smurfs, I was watching GL. I had the biggest crush on Mindy Sue Lewis and couldn't decide if I wanted to be a Bauer or a Spaulding - so I decided to be both. GL was my fanfic training wheels, though I didn't know it at the time. It was a show I loved with characters I adored and a theme song I hummed.

But then the light started to dim.

All soap operas have their ups and downs. But something happened, not just at GL but all across the board. The entire genre started to suffer because the networks changed their minds about what the demographic should be. New and real talent wasn't coming in to the writing ranks. Things went beyond crazy - they become tired, old, and stale. The older actors got pushed out in favor of nubile 20-somethings, and GL lost it's focus. "Family" no longer mattered, nor did having characters people loved and cared about. It was now openly about "I love you" thump (or thump "I love you" depending on the couple). And after just over 20 years with the show, I walked away.

That was about 10 years ago. In that time, I've discovered other shows, the true meaning of fanfiction and fandom, met Doc, and become quite happily settled. I had checked in with my show from time to time (and I still have a terrible crush on Mindy Sue), but nothing ever held my attention. Then, just a few months ago out of no where, Doc discovered Olivia and Natalia

"Who?" you ask.

That would be Olivia Spencer and Natalia Rivera - GL's newest supercouple in training. I can't believe it, myself. Guiding Light, my Guiding Light, the show I gave up on, is giving me a well thought out, slow paced love story between two women. I was floored. Partly because Doc suddenly wanted to watch GL, because she's always hated the show. But mostly because of how good the show as a whole has become in the last 2 years. Ellen Wheeler (Cindy from All My Children) is now the head writer, most of the filming is being done outdoors in Peapack, NJ rather than in a New York studio, and the older actors are front and center. Not that there aren't pretty 20 somethings around, but they aren't the be all, end all that they have been for so long.

I'm in love again.

Now, about this wonderful love story everyone refers to as Otalia. It's starts out with the typical cliche of them hating each other, and with good reason. You see, Olivia is in love with Gus, but at our starting point in this storyline, he's married to his long lost love, Natalia. These women do not like each other, and shortly Gus will die in an effort to save Olivia. This is when things really start to get good.

Over the next year - yes, a whole year - Olivia and Natalia go from grudging friendship to real love. It's been wonderful to see the true and honest character development going on, particularly with Olivia. She's always been so one dimensional as a character, always the sexpot spoiler there to keep the destined couple apart. Now, she actually is in love and it both thrills and terrifies her. Chrystal Chappell plays it to perfection and with wonderful enthusiasm, and (as she always is when she has good material) she has been a joy to watch. Jessica Leccia, who plays Natalia, is the perfect, passive-aggressive counterpoint to Olivia, and the actresses have wonderful timing and chemistry with each other. They honestly seem to enjoy what they're doing, and they've embraced their fans. Check out the podcasts here (The Goddess Edition & Lattes with Leccia) for a good example of that (and some fun, non spoilery hints at things to come).

Some other great links to help keep up with the storyline and play in the fandom:

• Big Purple Dreams - the message board for Otalia, this is the fandom. These guys started it all and they are a riotously fun group of people.


• Superhero Lunchbox - A GL blog by someone with a wicked sense of humor and excellent writing style. She makes the best case I've seen so far for saving GL and, like me, sees Frank Cooper as more than just the 3rd wheel in this relationship.


• Olivia & Natalia fanlisting - run by the ausxip folks of Xena fame, this is a fun and informative site. Lots of info for the newbies coming in and some... interesting "Legovision" videos, just for fun.


• Otaliafan's Channel - for the latest video clips and music videos

Lego-vision!

Just for fun, one of the outtakes from Definitions of Longing and Desire... in legovision!

Live from Savannah

After 3/4 of a year of craziness and not having either the time or energy to play around with the cyber side of life, things are finally getting back to where I like them. We drove Doc's parents down to Savannah for a long weekend and so far have had a wonderful time. Our first night down here we took the advice of the hotel bartender and stopped in at the Olde Pink House for dinner. To keep it simple, we ate in the downstairs Planter's Tavern instead of the main restaurant. They serve the same menu, just a bit less frufru, and I have to say it was one of the best meals I've had in my life. We all picked something from the appetizer menu rather than going to the full menu. Between the four of us we had crab cakes on fried green tomatoes, shrimp and grits, jumbo scallops, she-crab soup, salad with fried oysters, and real keylime pie with house made real whipped cream. There wasn't a loser in the group - even the mini biscuits and cornbread muffins were perfect. We're going back tonight before trekking out into Haunted Savannah.

Just for the trip, we went down to Best Buy and bought ourselves a Garmin nuvi 255W. We have named her Garminia, and she's proved to be a handy little gal to have around. She got us through detours without breaking a sweat and found us gas stations, CVS, and Starbucks immediately upon request (though I haven't had a chance to stop at Starbucks yet, Vic's coffee on River Street is just as good for a late night latte). We love our little Garminia and hope to take her traveling often.

As a side note of the anime kind, if you don't already own it, go buy Vandread now. Funimation has acquired the license from Geneon and released the whole series in a box set. It's one of the funnest and most underrated shows ever released in R1, wrongly labeled as a harem by a lot of folks even if they've never seen it. There's also a lot of confusion tossed about regarding the couplings in the show, again mostly by those who have never seen it. Ignore these people and go enjoy one of Gonzo's better series. Funi retained the BangZoom! dub, and it's one of their best efforts. I don't typically like dubs, but we've been watching it again recently, this time entirely in English. My only complaint with it is the way they pronounce "Dita." That says a lot right there.

Picture of Maiya - Thanks, Kae!

As part of our little kick-off to Hand of the Goddess, Kae drew this wonderful picture of Maiya and the fugly naked mole-rat the Plutonian people were comparing her to. The detail in the picture is great, and one of the traits that makes this artist so good. Thanks, Kae! I love it!

Story Update, Emma, and a Movie!

For those who might not have found it yet, I've posted the first part of Hand of the Goddess on the DocSpace forum. We're taking a detour to the past with this one, and will focus primarily on Setsuna. The story does tie in with the Fate universe, but as a prequel will stand completely on it's own for those not familiar with any of the stories that were written before it.

Want to get in a recommendation for Emma: A Victorian Romance while I'm here. I want to do a review for it once I get through the second viewing of the season one, but will say that this show comes highly recommended and is one of the best I've had the pleasure of viewing. The animation is incredible and extremely detailed, the storyline is a nice change in pace from standard anime, and the setting is well researched so nothing feels out of place. RightStuf did a great job with the packaging giving us a gorgeous box set with one of the best and most useful extras I've ever seen. The Victorian Gazette goes into all kinds of detail about the series and the era in a thick booklet that fits inside the box. Go out and grab it, then pre-order season 2, which comes out at the end of October. Be one of the first 1000 people to pre-order from TRSI before the end of July and you'll get your name in the credits. :)

Last night I abandoned Doc to go see the X-Files on opening night. I enjoyed it a lot and was surprised to find it more monster of the week than mytharc. Avoiding any and all spoilers will do that to you. :) No complaints whatsoever here -- good story with a familiar feel, actors completely back in character, a good supporting cast, Chris Carter directing. Would have liked to see Mitch Pileggi a little more, but at least they got him in when it counted. Skinner is the only man in Washington with "the balls to get things done." Woohoo!!!