R.I.P. ASMR!

Ah, it really looks like it's the end. I'm not entirely sure for what, but when it comes to fandom, all things die slowly. ASMR (aka MoonRomance.net) seems to have finally kicked the bucket-- there's not even a goodbye splash or anything; the page is just 404 down. No connection. *le sigh* It's depressing. But the last time I was there, it wasn't as if the place had been updated in ages. I had stopped really posting a lot of my fics (SM and otherwise; they DID open up to other fandoms a few years ago) there because it was so damn inconvenient. I realize Andrea and George put a LOT of effort into the archive, and for a long while, it was amazing. They also probably made a lot of leaps and bounds in terms of archives (for the era), but now it seems like they fell by the wayside.

*sniff* You will be missed, ASMR! I'm a bit ashamed I never got around to doing my "Azurite's Return to ASMR Punch!!" series of fics, but I do still have bits and pieces of things sitting around. Maybe I'll try and whip something up for TAFF Day (aka Halloween). In the meantime, there are still a number of good SM archives out there, along with mailing lists and Usenet. Anyone with suggestions or recommendations of particular ones, please let me know!

Way to get my goat

If I had an angry Frank icon right now, I'd use it. But I settle for my usual amazed cat icon.

So, the Army is out on the Oviatt lawn today, recruiting and the like. Today they're going all-out like they never have before, with 3 trucks, including a rock-climbing wall, a motion simulator, and free dog tags. They're also giving away (or gave away, I think the drawing was from 12-1pm) Army-emblazoned iPods. The ROTC of CSUN (which is partnered with UCLA's branch) is here, but they don't call themselves the "ROTC Club" or anything (not anymore, anyway); they're "Modern Warriors."

All well and good; anyone that knows me knows this sort of stuff makes me grin, not cringe. But what DOES make me cringe are the crowds of students who gather together in some sort of dumb rally to protest the Army recruiting. They screamed stuff like "Education, not militarization!" or some B.S. like that. Let me explain why I think what they're doing is pointless and foul:

(1) The recruiters are not stopping anyone. They are not blocking the pathways (that wouldn't be allowed, anyway), they are not accosting people walking by. People that want to come up and win an iPod, get a dog tag, or go in the motion simulator CAN. If they don't want to hear a brief schpiel about the Army, then they shouldn't go up to the booths. That's what the booths are there for, and the Army *is* sponsoring the event.

(2) People that want to enlist in the military do so of their own free will. There is no brainwashing involved. I didn't enroll in JROTC back in high school because there was some underground machine sending out Super Sekrit waves to muddle my brain. So if people walk up to the recruiters and give them their info, it's their prerogative!

(3) The rally cry is really stupid. By having a presence on the campus, the Army isn't "militarizing" CSUN. Again, people that want to be in ROTC, that want to enlist, etc. are not doing so because of brainwashing. And you do LEARN in the class, or else
a) it wouldn't be accredited/for credit
b) people wouldn't take it, semester after semester, year after year
c) the people in it wouldn't STAY in it, and then hope to recruit MORE people into it, like they are now

I will state this for the record: I learned a hell of a lot when I was in JROTC back in high school. And that's HIGH school, not college, not seeking-a-degree! I imagine SROTC can teach a hell of a lot more. You learn more than what's on the syllabus or in the textbook, and I honestly wish I hadn't dropped out of the class. Yeah, I bitched and whined about the class and the unfair AI and SAI like the rest of them, but hindsight is 20/20, yeah? Looking back, JROTC was my chance to really learn how to be a leader, but I didn't feel like handling the responsibility. I slacked off, I stressed, and I figured I had to drop something in order to get back on track.

Now, I did learn my lesson-- I hated flunking two classes, taking Night School for them, and surviving off McDonald's for practically every night (that's pretty damn disgusting). But part of me looks back on that and wonders why it was so easy to give up instead of keeping on going, which is a big chunk of what ROTC is about.

I think people that bitch/whine/moan/complain about something but don't do anything about it, or haven't experienced it have no right to b/w/m/c. Those ralliers who haven't sat down in an ROTC class should put up or shut up. If they don't have friends in the military to talk to about the experience, then they ought to shut their traps. I'm not saying I'm the best voice or a total advocate of all things Army or ROTC, but I've BEEN in the class, I HAVE friends in the military. While I don't support the war, I do support the troops-- those guys are my friends, classmates, and schoolmates. I do have pride in my country (most of the time), and I REALLY got a lot out of ROTC.

And for those that bring up the whole concept of demographic profiling or whatnot? Again, people sign up for the military IF THEY WANT TO. If a particular demographic isn't represented in the military, well, that sucks. The military can try to recruit them, but it can't MAKE them enlist, show up to training, or go ANYWHERE.

Hmph.

All good things...

Ah, well, it seems no matter how hard I (or the Geeks on YTDAW, or the fans on Dollars For Sense) wish, Sara Sidle will be disappearing from CSI. Okay, maybe "disappearing" is the wrong word, all things considered, but Jorja Fox will be leaving the show as of S8x08, according to the latest Entertainment Weekly exclusive (which, incidentally, I saw during my J371 class while doing a newspaper assignment using the Daily News).

Unlike the TV Guide article that was circulating for a few weeks, this one has Jorja Fox definitively saying she's going to be leaving. She says it's not because of the money, though, but because she wants to get away from the violence of the show; not for good (and she even admits it may be the stupidest thing she's ever done, but she won't know until she tries). She wants to pursue other projects... who knows what they might be.

Personally, I would have rather found this out by watching; I see no point to revealing major spoilers for episodes still more than a month away. That said, I am a BIT glad that the episode where she'll supposedly (come on, it hasn't been aired YET) leave isn't the one that was filmed on campus, otherwise I would have really kicked myself for not seeing it in the plot. It makes more sense that way; like I said when I posted my article and talked about the filming on campus, I can't see an episode involving a major character leaving having the usual multiple crime scenes. 42 minutes is NOT a whole lot of time, and for something THAT major, it should be one crime scene at the most, with the rest devoted to the character interaction and the plot involving the character leaving.

What else:
* I pray to all that's holy that they don't kill her off. I don't think they will, given that they had that chance at the beginning of this season and they didn't do it.

* I think that if GSR was 7 seasons in the making (to become canon AND known to the whole cast), they can't destroy it in one episode. I can't see Grissom hooking up with Lady Heather, Sofia, or any other major female character with Sara gone.

* While part of me would LOVE to see Sara leaving because she married Grissom and got pregnant, I think it's a bit too fluffy for CSI. What I don't get is the gap of 4 episodes between Grissom's proposal and Sara's (supposed) departure. Sara could theoretically say (like I mentioned in my previous theorizing post) "I need more time" to figure out her answer, but... somehow I don't see that happening. If she's been with Grissom this long, I really think she'd just KNOW. Something traumatic or major would have to happen for Sara to a) say something like that or b) turn him down and have a reason to leave.

But I can't see her flat-out saying no because... well, the tagline for the episode is "The moment GSR fans have all been waiting for." And hey, I may be a n00b GSR fan, but I'll tell you I haven't been waiting for a moment when Sara rejects/breaks up with Grissom, when Sara dies and leaves Grissom super-depressed, etc. I've been waiting for Grissom to get the balls to propose and Sara to get over her issues and say yes. From there... well, that's the CSI writers' job, to balance the procedural part of the drama with the character portion of it. I know they can make it work without turning it into Desperate Housewives or Grey's Anatomy or whatnot.

If this news has yet to hit DFS or YTDAW, I'm a bit surprised; I hardly think I'm "in the know" (despite my one article that became fandom news...). I wonder if it's worth it to keep sending in flyers and the like to CBS when it seems that at this point, it's not a matter of Jorja leaving on account of a lousy raise, it's her own personal decision to try other things. The last thing I think ANY actor wants is to be solely defined by the one role they stuck with for years and years, and if Jorja Fox can do a character that goes above and beyond Sara Sidle, more power to her. I'd love to see her in more things.

Unlike a lot of CSI fans, I don't think I could really say "If Sara leaves, I leave." I'll probably still watch CSI to see if it starts stinking and if it does, then of course I'll stop watching. That happened with a lot of shows I was initially excited about (and even ones I stuck with until the end, like Alias and Star Trek: Voyager had their Serious Moments of Suck). Of course, I hope it doesn't happen with CSI, but part of the reason why I really enjoyed the show was because of the characterization, specifically the interaction between Grissom and Sara. Hell, if even Spike TV can recognize the "sexual tension" between these two in that simple locker scene from before Grissom went on sabbatical, then it's not like GSR is some sort of minority that the evil CBS writers want to crush into the ground and laugh at.

I'm hoping that however Sara leaves, it'll be with the possibility of future guest appearances. Hence, even though my idea is downright fluffy and would probably never happen, I'm hoping for something at least a LITTLE along those lines, because if she leaves under GOOD circumstances, there's a better chance of her showing up again when Grissom needs some more fleshing out.

If anyone's got ideas on how Sara Sidle could gracefully bow out without being killed or breaking Grissom's heart, I'd love to hear it. I honestly think those are the two extremes, and I really hope the writers don't resort to that.

It seems today's a day for goodbyes, though, whether possible or past, present or future. *sigh*