Daily Entertainment without Steph MuJi, day 5: Friday

[ostro_goth]

Traditional entertainment is watching stuff on TV, right? Any of you remembers that silly Romanian song, "Dragostea Din Tei'? I think we even briefly had a pup from it, when it was really popular. Well, essayel  pointed me to a full orchestral version yesterday, and then I found another by the guys who had done 'Discovery Channel' in the 90s...

When I told her I'm doing DE today, she suggested I link this for Indy-mun as well...

But as for watching TV -- seen Keith Olberman? I, being in Europe, got the link via Australia, i.e. Medusa-mun. No matter the political drift -- I just love the way he delivers that twelve minute rant, highly articulate and full of passion. We never get political commentary like that here! **amazed**

Which brings me to the DE topics I'll propose for today:

A - RP Version: Talk about your PB(s). Or whatever is on your character icons. What is special about them, how did you pick them, did you feel embarrassed about them recently, or, on the contrary, proud? Is there a difference between playing with drawings, or with a real face? Anything unusual about them? Or anything that you have to do to every picture before it can be an icon for that character?

B - RL Version: Many of us do this from work, most do it from a desk, and almost all would do this from a computer. So. Give us a snippet of the RL beyond the rim of your computer screen. As big or small as you like, words, pictures, drawings, from little haiku-sized impressions to satirical descriptions of the whole organisation -- anything that gives us a little taste of what it's like on your side of the internet.-

Have at!

Comments

[pheliskougra]

Well, my many, many pups have good to reasonable PB's. CJ still needs a new one, since I am totally unable to pick a 'new face' for him, and Ben Winchester needs a human face (Frankie Munitz is almost too perfect).

RL? My computer sits in this small room I reserved for it. Beyond that, there is a window to the backyard, and a door to the living room. Turning right out said door, there are the guest room and my bedroom (suite), and turning left, the front door and the hallway to the kitchen. The house is large for a person living alone, but I got it for a bargain since the previous owner scored a new job next state, and had to move in a hurry. My 'decoration' follows light color patterns (since I wear glasses, I like my house to be well-lit), 'ice' white walls, light floor tiles.

Ceremic floor tiles are popular here, since they are easy to clean (and I am terribly allergic to dust, so no carpets allowed).

I was pondering buying a plasma TV, but I already have a perfectly fine 29" flatscreen.

[ostro_goth]

What's wrong with the face CJ has now? I'm used to it, for one. That's what CJ looks like for me. He's a nice bloke anyway, especially for somebody coming from a game that's regularly being blamed for the downfall of civilisation. Whenever somebody goes on about the evils of GTA, I feel sort of impelled to grin and snicker.-

And ceramic tiles -- that makes me envious! I've got a somewhat dubious oak parquet everywhere except the bathroom, and I just wish I had ceramic tiles on the kitchen floor. It's a really stupid idea to have this sensitive and finicky wood floor where there's cooking and spattering olive oil from pans and water from washing up and cat food and a washing machine and whatnot.-

[ashen_key]

I like this topic! I shall reply!

Once I stop wanting to murder my internets for meebo not working. Don't make me go back to AIM Express, pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease.

[ostro_goth]

Hello you! Don't murder you internets; at this time of night, nobody will come and revive them.

AIM express, though, is ick!

[herdivineshadow]

PB: Most of mine are the actors who play the characters on TV. Otherwise for comics characters... Tara/Devi's PB is a couple of different women that I saw on some photo site - I just liked their expressions and they resemble the drawn versions of Tara.

Kohl...well. Technically, David Kohl is based on the writer of Phonogram imagewise. But Frankie Boyle looks like the comic version too. Kinda. Plus I'm going to see him in June.

RL: I'm at work, on my lunch break...so I have work things on my desk. Stuff to do, my mobile, my magic waterbottle...stuff. :D

[ostro_goth]

What's a magic waterbottle?

[buongiornodaisy.livejournal.com]

YOU CANNOT HAS KEITH. HEZ OURS. NOT URS!!!!!! *CLINGS TO KEITH* [This is why, as I told tahira_saki, I was reluctant to have Paul develop a crush on Ouranos, as I was not sure if this was entirely IC or OOC influencing IC.]

But this segues nicely in to topic A! Naturally, I will start with my PB choice for shecalledmefred, because it has a lot to do with the aforementioned anchorman that you cannot has. quaere_verum_xi chose Keith Olbermann as her PB for Ouranos, and I, having a long standing obsession with broadcast journalism that had been reignited due to the US presidential elections, the impending re-opening of the Newseum, and just talking to quaere_verum_xi, not to mention an insatiable tendency towards meta, thought it would be hi-larious if I picked up a character I could use Anderson Cooper as a PB for. For those not in the know, Anderson Cooper, like Keith Olbermann, is a cable news anchorman, though on the side of "crazy ass motherfucker" (you know, he's one of those journalists who thinks reporting in front of a firing tank in the middle of a war is great fun) than "ranty, opinionated motherfucker" (i.e. Keith Olbermann on the left and Bill O'Reilly on the right). I initially wanted to pick up a mythology character; however, I have absolutely no patience and my attention span generally hovers around zero, so I gave up and decided I'd pick a character from a book. And settled on the narrator from Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's.

Which opens up a whole other can of meta, let me tell you.

For starters, on characters alone, I used to play Truman Capote here (from Capote -- incoldwrit). For that, I did some research on Capote, reading the book the film was based on, and in the process learning some interesting facts about Truman Capote. Like his being friends with a certain heiress named Gloria Vanderbilt. Who happens to be the mother of a certain cable anchorman/reporter named Anderson Cooper. Meta aside, Anderson Cooper's voice also fits my version of Paul, as Anderson Cooper for some reason has a southern bent to his voice despite his being from New York City. Maybe I'm crazy for hearing that in his voice, but.

Most of my other PBs were chosen by casting directors, thus I don't really think much about them as, well, I didn't have a choice in the matter. I did have somewhat of a choice with callitavesper, and tend to lean on the Timothy Dalton Bond more than the others, as he's closest to the description of James Bond in the novels. And I like book!Bond. A lot.

I did choose the PB for argentine_rose -- I went through two, in fact, before I settled on her final one, Mía Maestro. I started off with Madonna, as that was who played Eva in the film Evita, then decided I wanted a Latina PB and settled on Rita Hayworth, then found Mía Maestro, who is Actually From Argentina, which is Even Better. I'm....really finicky like that, in that if a character is from a certain country I'd prefer if the PB was from that country, too.

[buongiornodaisy.livejournal.com]

As for RL beyond a computer, it generally takes place in a car, in bed, or in a store selling organic products.

(I.E.: driving, sleeping, grocery shopping. My life? So exciting.)

[adiva_calandia]

My RL currently looks something like this:


(Like the luridly purple suitcases? I figured the only people who would steal them would be adolescent girls.)

(That's a bar of dark chocolate my roommate left in the freezer that's currently serving as my breakfast. My roommate left SO MUCH FOOD in the fridge. Where, er, SO MUCH FOOD means a box of chocolate truffles, a bar of dark chocolate, and a bottle of amber ale I probably would appreciate more if I drank.)

In other words, fairly empty, because I go home to Alaska today. Bweeeeee! And I'm up way too early because I didn't know how long finishing packing would take.

OH CRAP, which reminds me, I still have to deal with the feminine hygiene products in the closet. CURSES.

. . . Er, TMI for Daily Entertainment? >.>;

[ostro_goth]

Erm, is there a special reason your bed is so high up? **wonders**

And I would totally steal purple suitcases -- I like purple stuff, as per character bleed from good old 'Suti. I wish I could find purple suitcases! I have a boring blue one, instead.

[notapurpledino.livejournal.com]

Well, out of my 4, two of the characters are, really, the actors who originated the characters, so that makes sense (Barney and Stark). I don't really have to fiddle with icons for them. It's easy! (though surprisingly hard to find good Barney icons)

On the other hand, I have my two Marvel pups. It was surprisingly hard to hammer out what I wanted in a PB for Eric. Zack Ward provided the right sort of face, and won out over Alan Tudyk because I couldn't picture Alan Tudyk being that much of a dick.

Herc, however, is one of those guys where you just go 'who the heck is that ripped?'

The answer is no one. So I stick with comics icons, for now.

[kali921.livejournal.com]

I actually prefer comic Herc icons. I can't think of anyone who'd really capture Herc's attitude in real life.

[father-sky.livejournal.com]

Well, KO's one of my PBs.

I picked him for OBVIOUS REASONS. DUUUUURRRRR.

And I obviously felt proud of him.



... okay, actually, I only picked him because of this icon. I only picked Ouranos because of this icon. I saw it, thought "HEY HE'S LIKE OURANOS IN THIS PIC LOL" ... and things just snowballed from there.

And now I have an amazing pup who I <3 very much.

[shecalledmefred.livejournal.com]

I <3 him very much, too.

[sdelmonte]

I have never used a PB once. All but two of my pups come from film or TV. OK, so did Sideshow Bob, but I could have found a PB for him if I wanted to. But I was content to use images of him from the show - that hair is not exactly common. And when I played Barry, I never quite got around to finding the right face. (I have one icon of him and Sara that uses the Flash from the 1990-91 TV show, but that is again not a personal choice and also the actor in the costume didn't look like comic book Barry.)

So onto RL. I work here, doing public relations. I have been here for longer than I care to say, but I like it here. It's a busy job and sometimes there are days when I cannot take the time to relax at all. There are days when things slow down or I need a break and I RP. I like to think that I have never let the game interfere with what needs to be done. I do the bulk of my RPing here, though if you catch me in the evenings or on Sundays, that's at home.

[sdelmonte]

OK, I have no idea why the formatting is wrong. I work at The Jewish Museum in NYC - www.thejewishmuseum.org.

[adiva_calandia]

As to PBs . . .

Epimetheus is the weirdest by far, but he was also easiest. *grin* Prometheus is played by Jon Spencer, one half of Heavy Trash (you probably want to turn down your sound before you click on that); I chose Matt Verta-Ray mainly to make Esther laugh. But then we came to the conclusion that they are totally brothers, and their dynamic in real life reduces us to flailing and yelling "BOOOYS" on a regular basis.

Kim was probably the hardest to pick, because I needed an actress who could pass for a guy but was still pretty. I toyed with Clea DuVall for a bit, and even considered using a guy for Kim-as-boy and switching to a girl with similar facial structure for Kim-as-girl . . . before finally smacking myself in the head and using Hilary Swank circa Boys Don't Cry. Bingo.

Charles and Carmela were both chosen by just searching through the Internet and PB archives. (Actually, Carmela may have been chosen by googling "Carmela Rodriguez" and getting Michelle Rodriguez as one of the first hits. Same dif.)

I remember very clearly how Anna Paquin got chosen for Nita's PB, because I was using images from the book covers for several months before that. My first April Fool's day at Milliways, someone suggested that for a prank, you put the name of your pup into Google Images and icon the first image you get, and use that all day. I got this: I wasn't immediately sold on it, but wiser heads in crackchat prevailed, and now I can't see Anna Paquin without thinking of her as Nita.

I chose Edward Norton for Tom because Edward Norton is hot. ...Yeah, that's pretty much it. He also has sort of an everyman look, which I like for a guy who's really just a guy thrown into a lousy situation.

Most of my other PBs, historically, have either been suggested (Eustace, Guinevere, Jennifer) or from their canon (Valerie, Ann Darrow).

Final thought on a comment that's gotten WAY too long: when Tanya Huff's Blood books became a TV series (Blood Ties) and I finally, finally, FINALLY had a face to put to Henry Fitzroy, I very nearly re-apped him. But alas, all his shagbuddies friends seem to have left the bar, and I fear it just wouldn't be the same.

[ostro_goth]

Oh wow I didn't realise they had made a TV series out of that!! I used to love the books. Tanya Huff is bloody brilliant anyway.

I keep telling about the reptile planet from 'Valor's Choice' and its unique customs at least once a week. There is always somebody who needs to be sent there.-

[camwyn]

*pops a couple of knuckles*

Well, now, most of my pups' icons are taken directly from their source material, since most of my pups are movie or TV canon. Annie Wells is one exception; her appearance in Dog Soldiers was confined to two mentions of 'my wife', one use of her name, and one shot of a blurry photograph that showed a smile and dark hair. I wound up Photoshopping the hair of an actress in the Crazy Person Version of Macbeth and using her at first. The rest of Annie's icons are other shots of that actress, with similarly dark hair.

Belar is a book-only character, but he's described repeatedly as an immature, boyish kind of god in his canon. He's also one of the scarier gods when it comes to wrath, because he'll set an entire warrior people on your ass for as long as it takes. I went with Owen Wilson for the immaturity angle, but for the rage and wrath stuff I took shots from Behind Enemy Lines, where Wilson played an American soldier shot down during the Balkan wars.

As far as Gordon Freeman goes, most of his icons were either game publicity art or panels from vgcats.com strips that had to do with Half-Life... and then I saw Speed Racer. Benno Furmann as Inspector Detector looks almost exactly like I imagine Gordon would in the real world. His eyes are the wrong colour (Gordon's are green) and he's several inches too short (Gordon is 6'2" and 186 lbs.), but his face in that movie and that movie alone (I checked- he's got a rounder face in his other roles, and the beard doesn't work anywhere else) is perfect. And the glasses are a damn close match too.

[ostro_goth]

I must admit that Owen Wilson hadn't come to my attention before my return to Milliways, so he's always Belar for me, not the other way around. I've seen him in 'Darjeeling Ltd.' since then and must say the immaturity angle is very much there.

He's still primarily Belar!

[calluna]

Also, Ouranos aside, for two of my now-deleted pups it was very easy to choose a PB.

ladysilverwheel was a very obvious choice, for me. Enya, aside from having a gorgeous voice, is a stunning woman. She's got this very ethereal quality to her, so when I chose her as a PB for Ari, I added stars to each of her icons. She's so pretty. <3

hysteriaprone took more of a search. I never pictured Roderick as particularly handsome, but the more I eyed the icons of him and Christina Ricci in Sleepy Hollow, the more I saw Roderick and Madeleine.

I really miss those two.

Choosing a PB for call_me_kick was also difficult, because canonically, she's brunette. Buuuut then I found Elle Fanning and went :D! because she is adorable and can totally pass as a relative of Paul Rudd (notjustnarrator's PB) so that was that. :P

[ostro_goth]

In 19th century canon, everybody is handsome unless described as ugly. **grins** And he fits Roderick Usher very well!

[kali921.livejournal.com]

For my comic characters, I actually prefer using non-PB icons because PB icons for someone like She-Hulk irritate the hell out of me, mostly because it usually involves watching people do a bad Photoshop job on pictures of various models or actresses. (Lucy Lawless seems to be a favorite as She-Hulk icon fodder.)

Besides, using comic images gives me a huge variety of images and artists to choose from. I particularly like Greg Horn's She-Hulk, which is odd since Horn most of the time leaves me unimpressed. (His Shulkie cover that was a brilliant homage to Jim Steranko's work is a great example of why I loved his work with Shulkie. (http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2393/2073576972_d4f8281931_o.jpg)) But most of his work with She-Hulk has been fabulous (as was some of his work with Elektra).

I also like Paul Pelletier's She-Hulk, as he's incredibly good with facial expressions. John Byrne drew She-Hulk for a long time, as anyone with knowledge of the character knows, and some of his work is gold, mostly because he obviously had a love affair with her hair. (Along with the rest of the character, to the point that some people have commented that they wonder how Byrne got any work done on the book at all.)

It's the same for Hawkgirl. Using comic images just gives me a whole lot more to work with, and it would be impossible to find PBs and then armour them up the way Kendra is because I don't have that kind of artistic skill. I particularly like Rags Morales' pencils of Kendra (http://image.comicvine.com:8000/item/7000/6903/197356-hawkgirl_400.jpg) in that he really draws her with soulful eyes.

I particularly love and cherish icons that other people have specifically made for my characters, since it's a generous gift of time and energy. I still quietly squee over all the Kendra icons that lienne made for me.

Speaking of which, I can't stand Ed Benes' work and wish he would stay in Brazil and never, ever pencil again for a major comic book publisher, but I do really love the way he draws Hawkgirl.

[ostro_goth]

Oh yes, icons by other people are love! **points**

[ashen_key]

Ajedrez: picked by Robert Rodriguez’s casting person. I have no complaints. Quite the opposite, actually. Because Eva Mendes? Oh. Yeah. I’d tap that. *beat* Also she took AJ and made her her own, so. Yes.

Marlowe: mixture of canon!drawings and Johnny Depp. I’d be happy with just canon!drawings, but…there aren’t that many of them, which makes me sad. Johnny Depp…okay, yes. I get embarrassed about that. Because, Johnny Depp. But he fits Marlowe perfectly – same length hair, same stupid beard, same shaped face, same dark twinkling eyes. So, embarrassed over PB being Johnny Depp, beamy-happy because he matches the canon drawings as if they were based off him.

And obviously, I have to eyepatch his right eye. Sometimes it works better than others; occasionally it feels like sacrilege.

Kore-Persephone: I remembered seeing some icons of Emily Browning from A Series of Unfortunate Events, and thought she looked suitably Gothic, but also non!Hollywood. And I hunted around, and sometimes her hair was dark and she looked almost grown up, and sometimes her hair was warm brown and she was goofing off, and it clicked.

Medusa: Started life being Amelia Warner – she was the closest I could find to my mental image, which was based off a Greek girl I went to school with. And then [Bad username or site: ”adiva_calandia” @ livejournal.com] made a post about race in RPs and PBs, and someone else made a comment how they try to find non-white PBs for pups unless the race is specified, so I went hunting. I hunted and hunted and finally found an icon post on [Bad username or site: ”hollow_art” @ livejournal.com] with Navi Rawat from her episode on Angel, where she played an insane slayer. And she was half-Indian, so looked like she could easily be north African, and also moderately insane given she was running around in most of the icons with bloody streaks down her face (bloody fingers run down face), and I bookmarked and continued hunting. And then on a whim googled Navi and went yes.

And now I can’t imagine anyone else, as she’s shaped how I view Meda’s personality. Not to mention, given her character Amita and Charlie's relationship on Numb3rs, I don't have to worry about trying to find Sam/Medusa icons AT ALL.

Dara: was Shannon Sossamon from the moment I contemplated taking her up – dark-eyed, brown hair cropped short, attractive although not classically beautiful, capable of looking sassy, flirty, girl-next-door and Chaosian Princess kicking butt and taking names.

[ostro_goth]

I could, if I for some reason found I had to, play Teja from canon drawings alone, but it's much better to have a human face to look at, or rather, that looks a you off the LJ comments page, so yes, I see what you mean. Even though Johnny Depp may be overused. Ahhhhhh, I remember when all this was still being invented, and he was Chidder in the old Discworld RPG. So much of a culture has developed since then.-

As for the Indian PBs -- as somebody who sometimes has phases of gobbling up Bollywood movies, they don't seem at all strange to me at all. I have a Preity Zinta faced charrie in my else!game, and if I ever found a reason to app a charrie with John Abraham as a PB, I'd do it before anybody can say 'Apps are open'. Alas, I totally fail to think of anybody I might want to play who might fit his face...

[trustydriver.livejournal.com]

Kit Baxter is the only pup of mine with a PB. I picked Marsha Hunt, a minorly famous model and actress from the 1930s and '40s. I stumbled onto a bunch of photos of Marsha when I was looking up 1930s fashions, and when I saw the picture in this post's icon, I thought "that is SO Kit." And that was that.

[ostro_goth]

She looks very right for that period, which is important for PBs. I mean, in his best icons, Teja looks like something from an early silent movie, and that fits very well.-

[bodldops.livejournal.com]

Alarm sounds at six
Not your fault, evil little machine
But I still hate you.

Eight O'Clock is bad
No time for a lecture, really sir
Yes we're all asleep

Dear cafe coffee slinger
Drinks should not cause comas
TOO MUCH DAMN SUGAR, thanks. >.<

Clinics in one month
Gonna be a real vet soon
Oh God, I know shit.

Just one request, please
To whoever sets the Davis temps:
Plz stop, we're melting.

*disappears off on a morning run before the temps soar over 100F again*

[ostro_goth]

Ahhhh what a lovely little set of haikus!

[whisper2ascream.livejournal.com]

Right now the laptop's sitting in a pretty empty looking apartment bedroom since graduation today and moving the rest of my stuff out. It's up on the third floor and faces the parking lot. So got a nice view of the currently rainy, windy day and watching the lot fill up with cars for graduation.

A lot of my pups are from TV or movies so PBs are pretty easy for them. I still use a mix of PBs for Draco since not sure if Tom Felton really looks that much like him. But since I found a bunch of icons for him that looked nice, currently sticking with it mostly. At least he smirks and cringes well.

I picked Thora Birch for Kate's PB since a lot of her pictures with dark hair look very close to her, and she's a good actress who I'd think could pull off somebody independent, determined, and blunt like Kate. Plus a lot of her expressions match up.

(Yes, I like to try to play casting director at times.)

[ostro_goth]

Playing casting director is part of the fun of picking PBs!

[newredshoes]

When I am at work, I am in a cubicle on the 15th floor of a very nice building in downtown Chicago. I have these pictures printed out and pinned to my wall to keep me company, with post-it speech bubbles (one of which currently reads "Quit staring! Back to work!"). I am right next to both a door and a major throughway, so I am terrifically paranoid about being caught not working and thus can't goof off nearly as much as I would like.

When I'm at home, I'm likely sprawled out on my big blue couch, while my very orange studio apartment remains a mess. Seriously, it's a shameful pit right now. I know what I'm doing with my weekend.

For PBs, the only faces I've had to choose that weren't already chosen for me were Prometheus (Jon Spencer) and Lady Macbeth (Cate Blanchett). Jon Spencer was a deliberate attempt to be unconventional. Hilariously enough, I wasn't that into him when I made the decision, and for a long time I would lament how I could never find enough images of him. This is simply because I was not yet obsessed enough to find out where to look.

Cate Blanchett was just intuitive. I mean, she is Lady M. Look at that and say it ain't so. I'm really looking forward to seeing her play the villain in the new Indiana Jones movie!

[ashen_key]

It's funny, with Prometheus - I can't imagine anyone else as him, anymore. Which makes it fun when Prometheus is mentioned outside of RP. Which he is. A lot. *wry grin*

[alemara.livejournal.com]

Most of my PB's were chosen for me: how could I possibly find a better avonlea_girl than Megan Follows? She doesn't exist. In general, though, my relationship with my PB's has been long and frustrating. subtle_will's PB, Dominic Cooper, came from the stage play of His Dark Materials, and though he was a talented actor it was damn near impossible to find pictures of him online. Now, of course, he's everywhere, which is singularly bizarre to me.

The only PB I've had to choose, and therefore the one I'm proudest of, is of course Jeremy Sumpter as the_seafarer. He was a spur of the moment casting choice: I was using book illustrations because I couldn't think of anyone who carried the blend of joy and age and youth that I needed. Then I remembered the move Peter Pan and thought, well, he's a little older now so it could work...But I struggled with it the whole time I was playing him. On the one hand, he was perfect. On the other, there were no period pictures and hardly any workable photos of him online, so I experimented with others. The best I came up with was James Franco as Tristan in Tristan and Isolde, mostly because of long chats with Mir, but in the end I stuck with Jeremy.

Which means I am still wary of the casting choice for the new movie :)

[ostro_goth]

I'm still wary, if fascinated, about the new movie in general. I had been wary about the first one as well, because of its backers, and was pleasantly surprised.

[misslucyjane]

At work, I'm in a cubicle in the middle of a GINORMOUS calling center. Fortunately, the calling center does more data processing than calling so it's not terribly noisy. I hate noise. Makes me growly. I've got one of the bigger cubicle, but it's also right next to the aisle so I get a little shake every time people walk by. It's not decorated a whole lot: I never got around to it after I was moved here last summer. One of these days . . . I do have a Take That, Time Zones! napkin on my bulletin board from Millicon v. 1, though.

At home, I'm usually on the couch with my laptop on a lap desk, or sitting on the floor with the computer on the coffee table.

PBs . . . the only one that isn't media-based is jack_inthegreen. When I decided to play him I wanted somebody who looks stereotypically Irish. My first thought was Donal Logue but I wanted somebody with more edge, and a friend suggested David Wenham--who is, of course, perfect, and has all those Faramir pictures for when Jack is more Herne-ish. I also use Billy Boyd for springtime!Jack sometimes, and Bernard Hill for winter!Jack, but he's David in my mind no matter which icon I use. (Plus he looks so good in green. Mmm.)

For me, a PB can influence how I play a character more than I expected. With David!Jack, he's more mature and fatherly; with Billy!Jack, he's much more playful and silly.

As for the media ones . . . well, brenin_ianto is Gareth David-Lloyd, of course, who's currently filling the Torchwood hiatus by playing with his band and doing conventions. I have to admit I didn't expect to like his band but I really, really do and he's a better singer than I would have expected. (He does a version of "Ain't No Sunshine" that just . . . mm. I'll be in my bunk.) And apparently in the last year he's gotten very good at conventions, learning to work the crowd and take all the crazy fangirling in stride. Though sometimes I read reports of gigs and things, and just think, Oh, Gareth. You're such a lad.

firstcptjack is Matt Rippy, who's not a household name. Yet. :D. I don't know much about him and I'm fine with that, though apparently he does his own website and that makes me giggle. I like geeks. Even tall handsome ones.

[ostro_goth]

You use the right sort of David Wenham pictures for Green!Jack, too. He looks like Green!Jack, not like Faramir.

He's an interesting charrie anyway; I'm looking forward to when Teja and he finally meet. Of course, we've set them up so some things will happen...

**plotty, plotty**

[minkhollow]

My favorite PB that I've had to put effort into choosing is Imp's. To my mind, there was no other choice than Orlando Bloom when I was 16, and there's still no other choice (Imp is still bopping around my headspace, he's just elsegame these days). Say what you will, but he's got the hair and the good looks, and thanks to the Lord of the Rings movies, there's a whole extra layer to the 'are you sure you're not elvish?' gag in Soul Music.

Finding good icon fodder for Angel was pretty well impossible until the film version of Rent came out. But actually? The most frustrating PB problem I have is Morwen. Canon's a bit specific about her, and I haven't seen ANYTHING that's remotely close. (Even one of the book covers I cropped down isn't entirely accurate - but the other one's a bad scan. GRR ARGH.)

Otherwise: I don't like most of what Ben Stiller does, but I'll never be short of Halloween costumes for snap_time; I don't understand people's obsession with River Phoenix, though it does mean most of Carl's best moments are on Youtube - also! seems he was young Indiana Jones in one of the original run of movies, which I somehow avoided knowing until the other day (seriously, what with a side of 'note to self: Halloween?'); and I only know enough about Ben Kingsley to know he's still acting in stuff.

[ostro_goth]

I think the obsession with River Phoenix is because he died; he did not grow up to act in 'The Matrix' as Keanu Reaves did, with whom he starred in 'My Own Private Idaho' which his how both of them came to my attention.-

You can't argue with death. Compare he public images today of a) Paul Newman b) Marlon Brando c) James Dean.

Savvy?

[moriendi.livejournal.com]

The writing desk is fairly beaten up. Cherry wood veneer that's scarred by the various times I have moved the printer around. And there's a light spot in front of the keyboard where I spilled acetone.

In front of me white and burgundy cotton curtains to keep out the afternoon light. If I opened them this particular room would get warm very quickly.

Behind me, the rest of the room. Mostly shelves of my mother's old, old school textbooks and my stepfathers old, old business and martial arts books that no one has the heart get rid of.

The dog's bed is in the farthest right corner but she has the tendency of climbing up into (or jumping up) into my lap when she wants to play--

--I usually relent at that point, because I like being able to breathe.

[ostro_goth]

Yes, and one would make them feel loved, so one can't push them away all the time.

My cat uses that for long skritching session when he feels I'd rather do something else, like answer tags or OMG work...

[453-died-angry.livejournal.com]

RL - in my line of sight I have some laundry, a green ceramic goblin and an oil lamp.

PB - Attila's PB was just handy. I wish I could get a few more facial expressions but he spent the entire show being pissed off.

[ostro_goth]

The poor man didn't have much to laugh in life, did he?

[canadabear.livejournal.com]

All of my pups, save one, are movie/TV characters, so I didn't need to go PB hunting. Vanth actually took a long time for me to settle on, and I still think she's just a little too pretty (even if she's supposed to be), but I liked the innocent quality the model had, she fit into what I was generically looking for, and she's Italian.

[ostro_goth]

Casting such a mythical figure that is not, as such, even described in canon must be hard, unless you cast by casting a random needle at a random haystack, which is basically how I picked Tower's PB.

[genarti]

RP? Well, River and Regan are canonically played by actors, so I just use those. (Even though Regan is in all of one scene, drat her, and there seem to be hardly any pictures of Isabella Hofmann around the net. So she has a very limited icon-set.) With River, I have taken a few from Summer Glau's appearances in panels and on other shows, especially now that she's a few years past canon and really should be looking older. It's hard to find ones that look right -- Summer has this bad habit of, you know, actually brushing her hair and wearing makeup and stuff when she's not playing River -- but I've found (and been given) a few that make me very happy.

For Piotr, I only use comics pictures. I'm not averse to using a PB, but he has a very specific look, and I've never found anyone who looks right to me. And the comics have a lot of really good pictures to choose from.

I spent a while looking for a good PB for Lan. Clive Owen is the closest I've ever found, even if he'll never have the right haircut, and I was really happy when I found him. He's perfect in a lot of ways, if not quite all, I can't see him without seeing Lan now. It's extra-nice because King Arthur means that it's easy to find pictures of him with longer hair and armor and sword; it's not the right style of armor and sword, but it'll do for icon purposes, and it's only a bonus that Keira Knightley (aka Moiraine's PB) is in the movie too.

[ostro_goth]

Even Summer Glau can't be a lost waif forever...

[ceitfianna]

With PBs, I'm sort of odd in that I start looking and just stumble on the right person.

For Will, I was searching for red headed models and not finding anything at all and then I just randomly searched for James McAvoy and went oh hi Will. Then Danii being her wonderful self photoshopped and I got Will icons. I do sometimes have to search for him looking intense enough and also kind of skinny enough. This also means that watching Atonement hurt even more and Becoming Jane made me glee, oh and the episode of Band of Brothers he was in, ow. Though that all helps for iconning purposes.

Demeter, well chat helped a lot with that and hollow_art, because I knew she had to be blonde and warm and a little rounder too. I found Judi Dench first and went oh, that's her in the Winter and then Kate Winslet and she just works really well.

At the moment, I'm on my laptop in the tv room of my parents shore/retirement house, from the front porch I can see trees and I have their lovely big screen tv to play with. Once I get a job and move out, this situation will probably change.

Edited because I'm forgetful, the other two are from movies which makes it simpler but its hard to find good not fuzzy screencaps from Pirates of Penzance.

[ostro_goth]

Will, Demeter, the Pirate King, and who?

*totally failed to notice if you got a fourth pup*