seek niche and pursue it

So, I pushed all my little anthills into one dust pile because I got sick and tired of having to manually search through my colonies to find that ONE drone. 

The above post became too saturated with links. Therefore, it has become expedient to open a necessary (though inconvenient) Part II.

Separated these from the above sections because, because, because.

Why is this so funny

tl;dr: Mulder isn't hoarding, he's trying to fit.

It's interesting because Mulder lives a very simple life: by necessity, on the couch, in the basement. Even Scully agrees he chooses a Spartan existence in pursuit of his aims.

However, I'd make the case that he's also a very nostalgic man-- celebrating a launch at NASA (a childhood dream), pouring memories of happier times into Scully's ear (ala Aubrey, Home, etc.), watching old movies (preferably in black and white), struggling with modern technology and preferring to live off the grid (even in the original series), the list goes on.

Yet when his apartment was hollowed out and renovated (and his boxed and boarded pieces probably dumped somewhere) in Dreamland II, Mulder just... moved on. In a way, his bedroom was cluttered up by an existence he didn't live-- papers and gear and a four-poster bed-- and, once emptied, provided him another habitable (if still simple) space to exist in. A proper pillow, a proper sink. And he chose to live there, which is interesting.

May 13, 1995: "Its a New Age show, definitely," Duchovny agrees while poking at his muesli. "It's a secular religious show. It's saying that miracles do happen. Critics have said that the show is dark, but its actually light not in tone or execution but in philosophy. Most TV shows depict the world as being extremely dangerous. the x-files ushers you into a world of latter-day saints where we can still have magic. The time of miracles has not passed, it says. We're living in it."

In one episode, Mulder contemplates his faith in his sister's abduction: "This belief sustained me, fueling a quest for truths that were as elusive as the memory itself - to believe as passionately as I do was not without sacrifice. But I always accepted the risks to my career, my reputation, my relationships, to life itself." If you're thinking "to boldly go where no man has gone before," you're not alone. Even the grammatical construction known as the otherworldly infinitive prompts deja vu.

In Hollywood, they're talking X movie. X novels are published by harperprism, and topps brings out a monthly X comic book. An X cd is under way, said by producer David was to be a search for the "midpoint between moody ambient music and death metal."

Last June X-Philers, as they are called, gathered at a convention in San Diego to exchange enthusiasms, listen to speeches by supernumerary characters and to wear FBI-style name tags. Since then, similar conventions have been held or are planned for more than a dozen cities.

America Online, Delphi, and other computer services sponsor discussion of the episodes and allow viewers to download FAQs (frequently asked questions). There are online simulations in which fans can assume roles from the show. Here, one can speak the secret language of true fans who gush over Duchovny's WPDF (wounded puppy dog face) or his tendency to be V&C (Vulnerable & Cute). Only aficionados can talk about the CITDBTB (Conversation in the Dark by the Bed), the time when Mulder tells Scully about his sister's abduction.

Online, one can learn the arcana of the show: Mulder is the maiden name of creator Chris Carter's mother. The agent's computer password is trustno1.

The clock next to Mulder's bed always shows 11:31 because November 21 is Carter's wife's birthday. Both Carter and director R.W. Goodwin had cameos in last season's finale as, respectively, an FBI agent and a gardener. Scully's name is a homage to Lost Angels Dodgers announce Vin Scully. Online gossip even suggests that the evil Krycek may somehow be related to Carl Kolchak from Kolchak: The Night Stalker, Daren McGavin's atavistic serioes from the Seventies.

The differences between the X-Files and its ancestors are illuminating. The Twilight Zone and the Night Stalker always maintained a dimension of ambiguity in their spookiness. The twilight zone's famous syncopated theme song reinforced the show's either -or premise: Is it true or just a dream? You decide. Doo-doo-doo-doo.

The X-Files asks no such question. Strange sh-t most certainly does happen in this world: That really was an alien clone dissolving into an aquamarine puddle of ectoplasm. The ambiguity is left to be found in how we explain the mysteries of the universe. Scully wears a cross, but her sister consults crystals.

"The belief in other worlds is a time-honored human endeavor," Duchovny says. "Not to show any disrespect for organized religion, but it is a similar enterprise. People want to believe in another place, a better place, where good people are rewarded. This world is definitely not that place.

Found a tidbit of information that I've not only never seen before but never heard discussed--

July 17, 1996

GILLIAN: My husband Clyde (art director Clyde Klotz, 33) is Canadian and our 14-month-old daughter, Piper, was born in Canada - but after the show ends we'll move to the States.

BONUS

"The Move Has Rounded Everything Out"