Paranoia, from various angles

Alarmed about password security and the state of the world, I have recently stopped using variations on the same password for all my accounts, and I have even added numbers to some of my passwords--and not the lazy man's password numbers, which are adding "1," "111," or "123" to the ends of passwords. ("That's like a code an idiot would have for his luggage!") Essentially, my online identity is now impregnable. Or possibly, you could impregnate it, but you would have to get it pretty drunk first. The problem with this new regime, however, is that I can no longer remember my passwords for anything, and they're impossible to guess--by hackers, but also, by me. I can never clear my brower's cookies, or I will be dead in the water.

My project for this summer--for we must have goals, without them we are nothing--is to watch the entire series of The X-Files, from beginning to end, including the movie and all the later seasons which I have never seen. Returning to this show and watching it again has really helped me to realize how I've matured. (I'm being serious; stay with me.) Teenage Jocelyn couldn't get enough of Mulder, with his suffering and his convictions and his puppy-dog eyes. And the show is kind of obsessed with him, constantly finding ways to linger on those things. But Teenage Jocelyn also liked Skinner, and I have to say, in retrospect, that he's the much more interesting character of the two, because unlike Mulder he doesn't have puppy dog eyes, he's bald, and his life is constrained by danger and responsibility. He's like a grown-up! And Grown-Up Jocelyn can't get enough of him, and his head-butting! (I sometimes like to say, out loud, what I know the characters are thinking, and for Skinner it's usually: "STOP. SMOKING. IN. MY. OFFICE.")

Two other observations on The X-Files: (1) One thing I find hilarious about this show in the early seasons is the extent to which we are clearly expected to find Mulder adorable. He's always got his shirt off for one reason or another. Usually he is running or swimming or something, and all sweaty. And yet Scully is constantly appearing in her giant, superhero-esque overcoat over a series of puffy-shouldered power suits. What happened to the male gaze? Has it been disregarded completely? (2) The other thing I have noticed about this show, at least in the early seasons, is that Scully is in more or less constant danger. She is always being threatened, kidnapped, assaulted, held hostage, or otherwise messed with. And Mulder is always rescuing her, although sometimes she does a pretty good job of rescuing herself. Is her vulnerability because she is a woman (a) meant to reflect the fact that the world is a dangerous place (sometimes) for women, which I think is true (b) trying to suggest that she is weak, which I don't think is true or (c) just giving Mulder lots of chances to save her, since the show tries really hard to valorize him? I'm not sure. I hope it's the first one, and I really hope it's not the second.

Anyway, none of this matters at all. It's just the usual attempt, on my part, to clear my head. I'm not a TV-ologist, but I do watch a lot of TV.

Love,
The Joceosaurus

Earlier entry: In defense (well, sort of...) of CSI
Even earlier entry: Notes from Season 4 of The X-Files