gwynnega

From handful_ofdust and others, the year-end fandom meme:

Your main fandom of the year?
General Hospital. At the beginning of the year it was unwatchable and probably a breath away from cancellation, but Ron Carlivati and Frank Valentini have made it must-see TV (for the first time in well over a decade). I cannot describe how very fannish I feel about the presence of Anna Devane, Cesar Faison, Robert Scorpio, and Lucy Coe on my TV once more.

Your favorite film you watched this year?
Of the films I saw in a theater (not too many), probably The Avengers. Runner-up: Dark Shadows (though more for the experience of watching it in a theater full of hardcore fans than for the actual movie). Recently I rewatched Rosemary's Baby and The Exorcist on cable a couple of times each and fell in love with them all over again (especially Rosemary's Baby).

Your favorite book read this year?
Contemporary novel: Delia Sherman's The Freedom Maze. Runners-up: Available Dark and Radiant Days by Elizabeth Hand, and Blackout by Mira Grant.

Classic novel: The Bostonians by Henry James (which I spent many enjoyable months reading on dailylit.com).

Your favorite album or song to listen to this year?
Music that came out this year: Theatre Is Evil by Amanda Palmer (especially "Do It With a Rock Star," "Massachusetts Avenue" and "Melody Dean").

I listened to a TON of 1970s music this year while revising the Jo book. According to last.fm, my top 2 most-played songs of the year were "Cracked Actor" by David Bowie and "Where To Now St. Peter?" by Elton John, and I'm not in the least surprised.

Your favorite TV show of the year?
General Hospital, hands down. Runner-up: Homeland, which delivered probably the best hour of TV I saw all year (though a few episodes later it nearly jumped the shark). (Also it must be said that I spent many hours this year rewatching Dark Shadows, and now that I own the complete boxed set, this will surely continue.)

Your best new fandom discovery of the year?
It took several episodes for me to warm to it, but I am getting quite fond of Nashville.

Your biggest fandom disappointment of the year?
One Life To Live going off the air in January. (It may be back via Prospect Park next year, though I'll believe it when I see it.) Also Days of Our Lives starting out the year revitalized (especially with the hot, subtextual EJ/Will relationship) and then turning dull dull dull when the head writers got replaced. This season's Dexter was pretty disappointing, as well.

Your fandom boyfriend of the year?
Ron Carlivati, maybe? He is certainly my fandom hero.

Your fandom girlfriend of the year?
Anna Devane all the way!!

Your biggest squee moment of the year?
"Duke Lavery" turning out to be Faison in a Duke mask. Anna and Faison coming face to face for the first time since the early 90s. Robert melting off Faison's Duke face with fondue.

The most missed of your old fandoms?
I do miss the Buffy days (though back then the Buffyverse took over my brain to the extent that I could barely write anything but fanfic).

The fandom you haven't tried yet, but want to?
Well, enough people seem to love Once Upon a Time (I only saw the first couple of episodes) that I want to give it another go.

Your biggest fan anticipations for the coming year?
Not to sound like a broken record, but...General Hospital's fiftieth anniversary, and all the cast returns that will likely ensue as part of the celebration.

It is Monday, and I am feeling less than great and hoping my chiropractor can see me soonish. Bleh. But chapter 27 is coming along. I've been researching the beginning of the Iraq War for the Jo book, and it occurred to me I could actually use my 2003 LiveJournal entries for info. Turns out I went to three antiwar rallies around the time the war started (though I'd only remembered going to one). Stuff that was happening in Feb-Mar 2003: I was beginning to write the first draft of Eleanor Bell, I'd just been accepted to grad school, my friend Stew was doing a going-away show preparatory to an east coast/European tour, Buffy season seven was airing, and the slogan of choice among my LJ friends was Make Smut Not War.

This weekend I watched the Jane Campion version of The Portrait of a Lady, which was worlds better than the turgid BBC production and which further cemented Ralph Touchett's position as one of my very favorite fictional characters evah.

Some highlights of Writercon:

There were many wonderful panels and presentations, including redeem147's Bollywood 101, general_jinjur's podfic presentation, and Kristina Busse's celebration of fannish tropes. I had a marvelous time moderating the Making Old Monsters New Again panel, during which harmonyfb, Debra Doyle, inkandchocolate and I, along with pretty much the entire room, enthusiastically discussed vampires and zombies and ghosts etc. etc. (And I got to talk about Dark Shadows, hooray!)

Speaking of soaps, I got to talk with nwhepcat and 10zlaine and willowgreen about Ryan's Hope, and rant with 10zlaine and callmesandy about GH! (I think 10zlaine and I spent pretty much the whole cocktail party talking about soaps...)

My favorite restaurant of the weekend was Hell's Kitchen, where I had breakfast a couple of times. I think I will be longing for those pancakes until I get back to Minneapolis. Also the hotel restaurant, Fire Lake, was awesome, and we ate there many times. Strangely I did not gain weight this weekend, which seems impossible. In general the hotel was by far the best we've had for Writercon, and rivals only the Concourse for my favorite con hotel.

It was so wonderful to see old friends and to talk with new ones. Big thanks to the concom for putting together such a lively and inspiring convention.