Saturday, July 7, 2012

True Blood vs Southern Vampire Mysteries - The Final Throwdown

(This is the LAST POST that'll appear on this blog - I think. Unless I change my mind. Please check out my new and improved website and follow my blog there. Noni wants you to! I want you to! See ya in the new neighborhood, okay?)

So if you've been playing along, you know that Kirstin McFarland and I have done a series of posts comparing True Blood with the books on which is was based, The Southern Vampire Mysteries. We've alternated blogs, so if you're just stumbling over this and want to catch up, the first post was on her blog HERE, #2 was on my blog HERE, and #3 was on her blog HERE. We've talked about differences in tone and humor, compared notes on Sookie, and generally had a blast.

So enough rambling already. Here's the last post, in which we ask...

Who does Sookie end up with?

(Wait, here's a short (arguably unnecessary) disclaimer. I wrote this before reading Deadlocked, the newest Sookie book. I think it's safe to say my answer wouldn't change much if I'd read the book first.)

LR: Okay, so we’ve covered some of our likes and dislikes and the humor thing and some of our ideas about Sookie. Now I gotta ask you, who does she end up with? Ms. Charlaine has said that Sookie will find her HEA (happily ever after) with someone at the end of the series. From your perspective, which guy should that be?

KM: Oh, man, that’s such a tough question.  At different stages of the show, I would have given different answers. At first, it would’ve been Bill because Eric was so cold and, well, inhuman. But after the second season, Eric starts to warm up and Bill loses a lot of his luster.

Right now, I’d say Eric. Bill clearly has issues with who and what he is (hello, super-disturbing sex scene with his Maker!), while Eric is quite comfortable with his life as a vampire. Yes, he has done despicable things, but he is who he is, without lying or faking. Of course his whole memory loss muddied those waters a bit, but the fact remains that Bill has consistently lied and used Sookie to further his own agenda. Eric treats Sookie like a partner, sharing with him in the danger, while Bill treats her like a delicate flower he must protect from danger with lies and manipulation. (Okay, that’s not great parallelism, but you get my drift.)

Look at Sookie’s disappearance into Faerie and the two men’s reactions to it: Eric buys her house and keeps it for her, and Bill tells people Sookie was out on a secret mission for him. Both actions are meant to help Sookie and to make her transition back into this world easier, but one vampire protected the world she knew and the other embroiled her in another set of lies.

On the other hand, can she end up with a vampire? Her blood is basically vampire heroin. Can you really be in a relationship with someone who is addicted to you?

So, I’ll toss this hot potato right back to you: who should book-Sookie end up with?

LR: Ack! That’s THE question, isn’t it. I think the pool of candidates is bigger in the books – Alcide, Quinn, and even Sam are all distinct possibilities. I’m not sure of the answer, either, but I can tell you that I DON’T think she’ll end up with a vampire. She’s already struggling with the fact that she could end up an old woman with a lover who looks like he’s in his twenties.  Alcide is too much the were-version of Eric – a leader who puts his responsibility towards the group ahead of his personal needs. And Quinn’s got family baggage that will always come ahead of Sookie.  He’s cute, but awfully broken.

It may be that after so many years of being friends, she and Sam realize that their values and needs line up and the friendship becomes something more. Yeah, that could happen, though it leaves me feeling kind of meh.  What I hope – and I know I risk being slammed by Team_____ adherents everywhere – is that Ms Charlaine has a new character in the wings, someone who’s a grown-up, someone who has a paranormal background but who gets older like Sookie will. We’re down to the last couple books, so she’d have to work fast, but there’s still time to bring in someone new.

And with that, I think I’ve exhausted what I’ve got to say about The Southern Vampire Mysteries.  I’m looking forward to the May 1 release of Deadlocked and might even check out the next season of True Blood. The biggest burning issue I have that’s still unresolved whether or not they did put Eric in pink & blue Lycra for that scene in True Blood.
~
Alas, they did NOT dress Eric in Lycra, or I would totally have posted a picture for you to see. Thanks, Kristin, for sharing your knowledge and insights. From what I hear, Season 5 of True Blood is tearing up Sunday nights. And for those of you reading along, which is your preference, the books or the TV series? Or are you equal-opportunity Sookie fans?
Peace,
Liv

(I'm posting the True Blood theme song not to show a preference but only because the books don't have a theme song. And as you watch it, ask yourself why vampires can't seem to wipe their mouths after drinking someone's blood. I totally want to run after them with a napkin...)

Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Baby You Can Drive My Car

(Just a reminder...The fabulous Laird at Memphis McKay has totally overhauled my website (www.livrancourt.com) and it's new and amazing and I love it. That means I'll be leaving Blogger behind in the next week or so. Please check out my new site, and if you're one of the lovely Rancourtesans who has been following through Google Friends Connect, you can easily hook up to the RSS feed or Feedburner or email to get posts from the new blog. Thanks so very much!)


I'm worried about my husband.

See, there are two kinds of drivers in the world: those who can drive a car with manual transmission, and, well, the REST of us that drive automatics. And these days, the REST of us make up the clear majority.
How many of you can drive a car with manual transmission? Like, do you know when to step on the clutch and shift from first to second gear and so forth?  Probably not many of you. Trolling websites like Digital Trends showed me that these days only something like 6 - 7% of new cars sold have manual transmission.
And why would you want one?

I mean, anyone who tries to navigate a daily commute in stop and go traffic while farting about between first and second gear either has way too much time on their hands or is crazy. Bonkers. Like that. And throw a couple kids in the back? Not even.

And therefore my concern for my husband.
This is what my husband's car WANTS to be.
He drives a brand new 2012 Chevy HHR with a standard transmission. And he loves it, despite the fact that for the last several months, he's been commuting to a job site through one of the busiest traffic corridors in our area. While I get the appeal of the wanna-be bad ass image you project in the '40s gangster inspired car as you pop it into 5th gear on the open road, the daily grind of moving up the freeway at between 10 and 20 miles an hour without stalling the thing out would make me crazy.

But then he always has been the patient one.

I drove it the other day. We were having a typically Rancourtian how-many-events-can-we-cram-into-one-48-hour-period type of  weekend, and me and the kids had to meet him at a barbeque. I took his car because his had gas and mine didn't. And, because the beautiful city of Seattle has some of the worst traffic in the country, I got to navigate a chunk of I5 at under 25mph. I managed it without stalling, but it's not something I want to repeat any time soon. Or ever.

So if you're on the road this holiday, stepping on the clutch or turning the key or punching the button, keep your seat-belt buckled and have a safe trip. Happy 4th of July (or Happy Canada Day a little late)!
This video is by a band called The Hot Rats. Never heard of them before, but I like their version of The Beatle's "Drive My Car". Their video catches the spirit, too. Enjoy...
Peace,
Liv

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Team Sophia: Aloha Edition

There’s really not a lot I need to say here. YOU, the readers of this blog, raised over $2000 to help Stacey take Sophia to visit Grandma & Grandpa in Hawaii. They’re there now, and just the other day, Sophia got to be the flower girl at a wedding where this picture was taken.
Thank you.
Stacey sent this message along with the picture:
A huge mahalo to all those who helped get us to Hawaii. We are perfectly pink in Paradise.
You guys rock. You really do.
Peace,
Liv

(Just a reminder...I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is that the fabulous Laird at Memphis McKay has totally overhauled my website (www.livrancourt.com) and it's new and amazing and I love it. The part I have mixed feelings about is that we've built a new blog on the website, and I'll be leaving Blogger behind. Please check out my new site, and if you're one of the lovely Rancourtesans who has been following through Google, you can easily hook up the RSS feed or email to the new site. I'll be posting here for the next couple weeks to allow time for the transition. Thanks so very much!)