- Monk begins the end tonight, Obsessive Influence. It’s a good show really, and I must say I never considered the impact it might have on TV. Good for it. I did like the bit in the article about Psych and The Mentalist because Psych came first and it’s more fun. And a great hour of TV once a week. Good old USA network. You used to have JAG reruns, now it’s NCIS three times a night. Which I appreciate because I can get caught up on those in between years I didn’t watch. Early bon voyage, Monk.
-Is it strange that I only really know about a cultural icon in one genre through the medium of another? This weekend is the Newport Jazz Festival, in its 55th year (one year older than my father…and four years younger than the recently late John Hughes, another cultural icon), and last was the city’s Folk Festival, celebrating its 40th year. Why is this significant? Well, because of my roundabout reference which gives a clue to how my brain seems to work. Associative. See, I know what the Newport Jazz Festival is, or that it exists at all, because it was mentioned in High Society, the musical version of The Philadelphia Story, which is one of my favorite movies. Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn were in The Philadelphia Story (incidentally, one of the days this month in TCM’s month of stars is Cary Grant day, but Katharine doesn’t seem to get one…) and Bing Crosby, Grace Kelly, and Frank Sinatra (he also gets a day this month with TCM, and the movie poster on the website for him is High Society) were in High Society with this guy in a supporting role named Louis Armstrong. He and Bing (ever awesome) did a song about jazz and it was mentioned Bing’s character’s home was being lent to the festival. I’m not a huge jazz fan, but I do recognize some of the names from the schedule, Dave Brubeck of course and the Marsalis last name, a brother of Wynton.
But to get back to my original question, I suppose it’s not that strange. How many kids (well, people) my age or younger are only going to know about the Woodstock concert (A Moment of Muddy Grace) because of the movie that’s coming out soon? Along those lines, Julia Child…Meryl Streep plays her in a movie coming out today and a good half of the movie is basically about how awesome she was. Her kitchen is in the Smithsonian for pity sake, there was a huge…okay, a few articles really…deal about her pots coming to the Smithsonian from an exhibit in California where they’d been sent after her death until the exhibit closed, which it just did. But Julia herself? She was mentioned as part of a rant by Toby about PBS on the West Wing…I don’t even think I’ve ever seen an episode of her show. She was mentioned, I know she was a big deal in the cooking world but still…that reference is still there. And what about something like Mr. Potato Head? Are kids going to know what the toy is because of Toy Story and not because they see it in stores or their parents manage to find one?
Life’s funny that way. Vonnegut said, “Life happens too fast for you to ever think about it. If you could just persuade people of this, but they insist on amassing information.” The thing is, now dead Kurt Vonnegut (who wrote rather well, really), we’ve built a whole culture online helping people amass information and giving them the chance to think about life. What do you think this blog is anyway?
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movies. Show all posts
07 August 2009
03 August 2009
Musings, Part FF
- Generation Y - They're 20-Something and Already Nostalgic True, I suppose...ah, the 90s.
- Down With Presidential Birthright Seriously people? This is how you decide to attack him? For the love of everything holy...
- Film Food, Ready for It’s ‘Bon Appetit’ Again, I picked the wrong career field. If only I was a decent cook….and baked for show rather than to eat.
- Reimagining Fahrenheit 451 As a Graphic Novel This might actually work…
- Full Stomachs, and Full Marriages Too When and if I get married, I’d like my husband to be as supportive of me as Paul Child was of Julia.
-Twittergraphy I think I’m going to have to start using some of these. Roselite.
-On Hollywood’s Strong, Self-Hating Women So, I know you can read a lot into a movie or TV show. Believe me, I blathered (well, not blathered, wrote rather well really) on for 100 pages based off of a few month’s research for my capstone that was all about what was in (I decided) some films and a couple TV shows. Yeah, I like romantic comedies and no I haven’t seen the films mentioned in this article but do I agree with it? That’d be a definite yes. Why can’t we have a movie where the woman is a strong character and the guy’s a strong character and both soften a little? Oh wait…that’s Pride and Prejudice…and You’ve Got Mail…But why does everything have to be Taming of the Shrew? What about Much Ado About Nothing? Beatrice doesn’t really give in or become less than herself, you know she was just covering the attraction to begin with, all she had to do was admit it, same with Benedict. Literature seemingly has ruined me for modern romantic comedies. Whatever shall I do? Delight in my feminist ways, I suppose.
- Down With Presidential Birthright Seriously people? This is how you decide to attack him? For the love of everything holy...
- Film Food, Ready for It’s ‘Bon Appetit’ Again, I picked the wrong career field. If only I was a decent cook….and baked for show rather than to eat.
- Reimagining Fahrenheit 451 As a Graphic Novel This might actually work…
- Full Stomachs, and Full Marriages Too When and if I get married, I’d like my husband to be as supportive of me as Paul Child was of Julia.
-Twittergraphy I think I’m going to have to start using some of these. Roselite.
-On Hollywood’s Strong, Self-Hating Women So, I know you can read a lot into a movie or TV show. Believe me, I blathered (well, not blathered, wrote rather well really) on for 100 pages based off of a few month’s research for my capstone that was all about what was in (I decided) some films and a couple TV shows. Yeah, I like romantic comedies and no I haven’t seen the films mentioned in this article but do I agree with it? That’d be a definite yes. Why can’t we have a movie where the woman is a strong character and the guy’s a strong character and both soften a little? Oh wait…that’s Pride and Prejudice…and You’ve Got Mail…But why does everything have to be Taming of the Shrew? What about Much Ado About Nothing? Beatrice doesn’t really give in or become less than herself, you know she was just covering the attraction to begin with, all she had to do was admit it, same with Benedict. Literature seemingly has ruined me for modern romantic comedies. Whatever shall I do? Delight in my feminist ways, I suppose.
18 July 2009
Musings, Part DD
- Strange but true: Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo. What's it mean? Well...for starters, it's a grammatically correct sentence, believe it or not.
- Weird Al! He's great and in my opinion, very talented. Meet Weird Al, Stealth Pop Musicologist. Michael Ian Black's praise.
- When will politicians realize that by holding the office they do they should be held, and even (shocker) hold themselves, to a higher level of scrutiny and accountability for their actions, whether they can be labeled as part of a personal life or not. By running for office you give up that personal life, whether that's fair or not. Especially if you lay a claim to a higher degree of moral righteousness because you always, always get proven wrong on that score. And you always get caught. And they you try to talk your way out of it and can't. So, politicians, don't be jerks (insert more appropriate euphemism or pejorative) and just don't cheat on your wives or be interesting in the shady legal or moral sense because it's not interesting when you cajole people into believing in you. Then it's just a betrayal. Not just of your family but your purported beliefs and your constituents. And makes your rivals giggle with glee. Every tower topples so go against the stereotype and be a stand up guy. Shock us, I dare you. (Side note: Way to stand up for yourself South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford) Also, Marion Barry, it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not to hire significant others to work in your office on the taxpayer’s dime…it’s the appearance issue and again, the betrayal of public trust. You of all people should understand the importance of appearing to have high morals that the voters usually hold politicians to.
- Oh, and Sarah Palin? Thanks for confirming every thought I’ve ever had about you. Way to flake out on your constituents.
- In 'D.C.,' A Mayoral Race That's Every Bit As Tight As Spandex The problem with superheroes is that they always look better on paper and in a crisis...not too good at the day to day stuff. And they'd always be running off trying to save the world or whatever.
- The Defenestration of Prague...in Legos!. For those of you who don't know the significance, it was a prelude to the Thirty Year's War and gave us the term defenestration...one of the words out there where the first three letters are in order alphabetically. And it's fun. And we probably got the word from the German word for window, fenster, plus de for…well, un.
- And now I really want to be in London: ‘All Around London, An Invitation to Make Music’
- Schott’s Vocab- inflationary language Too twoderful for words.
- I like how 4 of the top 10 cities are in Florida. 10 Meanest Cities
- Apollo Moon missions article by John Noble Wilford. Happy anniversary Apollo 11.
- Ten Ways to Get Punched While Seeing the New Harry Potter
I’d like to add to the woman behind me in the theater saying “he’s going to die now” and totally jumping the gun by about 7 or so minutes. I mean, of course he was, but you don’t ruin the set up. Also, I was worried the New Moon trailer right off the bat was going to spoil the whole thing (talk about attempting to hook onto an audience…and really annoying those of us who found the books after the 1st to be whiny and annoying, though to be fair, she was kind of annoying in the first too) but it didn’t. Granted, things were moved around and secondary characters were completely shafted but the plot was advanced, the set up was set up for the next movies and I appreciated the emotional recognition on behalf of two of the trio…better in the book and perhaps more true to life in the book, but there was that added camaraderie. They’re going to be great in-laws.
- Sea monsters? The ‘Zombie’ Follow-up: ‘Sense and Sensiblity and Sea Monsters’ Seriously? Sense and Sensibility is the one book of Austen’s where none of her heroes are active military people (Colonel Brandon’s retired) and none are in the Navy. Now Persuasion with sea monsters where Captain Wentworth is doing the Pirates of the Caribbean Davy Jones thing? That’s more plausible…which is why I guess they made resolutely landlocked S&S the one with the sea monsters. Still, I’m going to read it.
- Weird Al! He's great and in my opinion, very talented. Meet Weird Al, Stealth Pop Musicologist. Michael Ian Black's praise.
- When will politicians realize that by holding the office they do they should be held, and even (shocker) hold themselves, to a higher level of scrutiny and accountability for their actions, whether they can be labeled as part of a personal life or not. By running for office you give up that personal life, whether that's fair or not. Especially if you lay a claim to a higher degree of moral righteousness because you always, always get proven wrong on that score. And you always get caught. And they you try to talk your way out of it and can't. So, politicians, don't be jerks (insert more appropriate euphemism or pejorative) and just don't cheat on your wives or be interesting in the shady legal or moral sense because it's not interesting when you cajole people into believing in you. Then it's just a betrayal. Not just of your family but your purported beliefs and your constituents. And makes your rivals giggle with glee. Every tower topples so go against the stereotype and be a stand up guy. Shock us, I dare you. (Side note: Way to stand up for yourself South Carolina First Lady Jenny Sanford) Also, Marion Barry, it doesn’t matter if it’s legal or not to hire significant others to work in your office on the taxpayer’s dime…it’s the appearance issue and again, the betrayal of public trust. You of all people should understand the importance of appearing to have high morals that the voters usually hold politicians to.
- Oh, and Sarah Palin? Thanks for confirming every thought I’ve ever had about you. Way to flake out on your constituents.
- In 'D.C.,' A Mayoral Race That's Every Bit As Tight As Spandex The problem with superheroes is that they always look better on paper and in a crisis...not too good at the day to day stuff. And they'd always be running off trying to save the world or whatever.
- The Defenestration of Prague...in Legos!. For those of you who don't know the significance, it was a prelude to the Thirty Year's War and gave us the term defenestration...one of the words out there where the first three letters are in order alphabetically. And it's fun. And we probably got the word from the German word for window, fenster, plus de for…well, un.
- And now I really want to be in London: ‘All Around London, An Invitation to Make Music’
- Schott’s Vocab- inflationary language Too twoderful for words.
- I like how 4 of the top 10 cities are in Florida. 10 Meanest Cities
- Apollo Moon missions article by John Noble Wilford. Happy anniversary Apollo 11.
- Ten Ways to Get Punched While Seeing the New Harry Potter
I’d like to add to the woman behind me in the theater saying “he’s going to die now” and totally jumping the gun by about 7 or so minutes. I mean, of course he was, but you don’t ruin the set up. Also, I was worried the New Moon trailer right off the bat was going to spoil the whole thing (talk about attempting to hook onto an audience…and really annoying those of us who found the books after the 1st to be whiny and annoying, though to be fair, she was kind of annoying in the first too) but it didn’t. Granted, things were moved around and secondary characters were completely shafted but the plot was advanced, the set up was set up for the next movies and I appreciated the emotional recognition on behalf of two of the trio…better in the book and perhaps more true to life in the book, but there was that added camaraderie. They’re going to be great in-laws.
- Sea monsters? The ‘Zombie’ Follow-up: ‘Sense and Sensiblity and Sea Monsters’ Seriously? Sense and Sensibility is the one book of Austen’s where none of her heroes are active military people (Colonel Brandon’s retired) and none are in the Navy. Now Persuasion with sea monsters where Captain Wentworth is doing the Pirates of the Caribbean Davy Jones thing? That’s more plausible…which is why I guess they made resolutely landlocked S&S the one with the sea monsters. Still, I’m going to read it.
05 June 2009
Musings, Part BB
- Escapism in Minutiae of Daily Life. Now I just need the computer to play it.
- Either this guy just writes well or he really is a cool guy. Why I'm Giving Away $1 Billion. Kudos to you Peter Peterson.
- Intriguing idea: Other Shows That Could Use A Giant 'Wipeout'-Style Catapult. You know, I might watch some of these if they made hurling people into the air a regular practice...
- Wow, thanks DC weather. Great for my birthday but on the day I'm roaming about after work in nice pants and shoes, we get a severe thunderstorm warning. April was the showers month, this is June. And we're not supposed to have sympathetic weather up here for Florida's hurricane season. And if it's going to rain, how about lowering the temperature on the day it rains, not just briefly the day after?
- One of those constants: Tom Hanks is a nice guy. Cool too. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Tue, June 2, 2009.
- I want my marriage (when I have one) to be like this when I'm their age...though without the Alzheimer's. Still, if it's like this after 60 years...that's a life well lived. 60 Years of Marriage: Laughter is Love.
- Nancy Drew! She's awesome and can do anything. And then go to luncheon. Why Do Lawyers Love Nancy Drew? It's No Mystery.
- I find myself rewatching Fantastic Four now that I've seen the Horatio Hornblower: New Adventures movies (and Netflix, get on the ball and let me get the original 6 disc collection, I see it mocking me in Borders, why can't you be a friend like you have been all these months and move it from saved into my queue?). I just not sure which Ioan Gruffudd is better...but I think I have to go with the one with the accent. You win, Horatio. Sorry, Reed. You're awesome and smart and all but I have to stick with the Napoleonic war era naval genius version. I'm sure you understand.
- Speaking of movies, I totally lucked out and got the Thin Man collection for my birthday. The banter is mine, all mine! And I now have the William Powell and Myrna Loy collection, five other delightful movies with the pair of them. I wonder why they don't get touted as a great screen couple like Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy...they were in quite a few together, had great chemistry, and great dialogue. Well, at least I can appreciate them.
- Either this guy just writes well or he really is a cool guy. Why I'm Giving Away $1 Billion. Kudos to you Peter Peterson.
- Intriguing idea: Other Shows That Could Use A Giant 'Wipeout'-Style Catapult. You know, I might watch some of these if they made hurling people into the air a regular practice...
- Wow, thanks DC weather. Great for my birthday but on the day I'm roaming about after work in nice pants and shoes, we get a severe thunderstorm warning. April was the showers month, this is June. And we're not supposed to have sympathetic weather up here for Florida's hurricane season. And if it's going to rain, how about lowering the temperature on the day it rains, not just briefly the day after?
- One of those constants: Tom Hanks is a nice guy. Cool too. The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Tue, June 2, 2009.
- I want my marriage (when I have one) to be like this when I'm their age...though without the Alzheimer's. Still, if it's like this after 60 years...that's a life well lived. 60 Years of Marriage: Laughter is Love.
- Nancy Drew! She's awesome and can do anything. And then go to luncheon. Why Do Lawyers Love Nancy Drew? It's No Mystery.
- I find myself rewatching Fantastic Four now that I've seen the Horatio Hornblower: New Adventures movies (and Netflix, get on the ball and let me get the original 6 disc collection, I see it mocking me in Borders, why can't you be a friend like you have been all these months and move it from saved into my queue?). I just not sure which Ioan Gruffudd is better...but I think I have to go with the one with the accent. You win, Horatio. Sorry, Reed. You're awesome and smart and all but I have to stick with the Napoleonic war era naval genius version. I'm sure you understand.
- Speaking of movies, I totally lucked out and got the Thin Man collection for my birthday. The banter is mine, all mine! And I now have the William Powell and Myrna Loy collection, five other delightful movies with the pair of them. I wonder why they don't get touted as a great screen couple like Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy...they were in quite a few together, had great chemistry, and great dialogue. Well, at least I can appreciate them.
01 June 2009
Musings, Part AA
And we've rounded the alphabet!
- I'm not sure if they could have crammed any more positive adjectives in this review, but good for them: 'Up': A Pixar-Styled Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed. Well, I think Up was adorable. Great messages, beautiful scenery and lovely. Pixar's 'Up' Dominates Box Office. And yes, I teared up.
- Good for her: Kansas Girl, 13, Wins National Spelling Bee. Girls rule.
- NY Phil clarinetist Drucker Retires After 60 Years. That's a long time to be in one job but good for him. Yay clarinetists!
- Giles! Anthony Head: From Taster's Choice To TV Crime.
- So the MTV Movie Awards, being generated via fan votes, i.e. teenage girls, are usually pretty stupid and IQ draining but as the NPR blogger pointed out, this is actually kind of chuckle worthy while pointing out something true and a staple of action films: "Cool Guys Never Look at Explosions". A Needle in the Haystack of Stupid at the MTV Movie Awards.
- Dead Man's Switch: CC Me from the Other Side. This is a pretty interesting idea. The concept that we live on online after we're gone occurred to me after a friend of a friend, who I sort of knew but not as well as I would have liked in retrospect, was killed (which leads to a whole other thing and to sum up I now can say I went to school with a guy who's on death row...not something I really needed to check off the to-do list). Facebook suggested him as a person I might know months after he was gone. Unless someone had his password his profile is now frozen the last way he left it on Facebook forever, unless they take them down and I haven't heard about such a policy, only one for fake profiles not...deceased ones. I figure I'll, if I get the gumption to do so, write up a list of passwords that someone will need to access my various online...presences lets call them, and indicate I'm no longer among the living. I might even suggest permanent away messages or final postings where appropriate. Then I'd just have to hide it well enough that the average potential burglar can't find it but after I'm gone someone will be able to with relative ease. Hmm. Quite a pickle.
- Okay...now this is even more weird. Not only was Benny Goodman born on the same day I was...he died the same year I was born. Is this fate's way of telling me I really should've stuck more with music? I wasn't that good....I mean, I was okay, 1st or 2nd chair in the top band in high school but still. Weird. Benny Goodman: Forever the King of Swing.
- I'm not sure if they could have crammed any more positive adjectives in this review, but good for them: 'Up': A Pixar-Styled Lift, Pretty Much Guaranteed. Well, I think Up was adorable. Great messages, beautiful scenery and lovely. Pixar's 'Up' Dominates Box Office. And yes, I teared up.
- Good for her: Kansas Girl, 13, Wins National Spelling Bee. Girls rule.
- NY Phil clarinetist Drucker Retires After 60 Years. That's a long time to be in one job but good for him. Yay clarinetists!
- Giles! Anthony Head: From Taster's Choice To TV Crime.
- So the MTV Movie Awards, being generated via fan votes, i.e. teenage girls, are usually pretty stupid and IQ draining but as the NPR blogger pointed out, this is actually kind of chuckle worthy while pointing out something true and a staple of action films: "Cool Guys Never Look at Explosions". A Needle in the Haystack of Stupid at the MTV Movie Awards.
- Dead Man's Switch: CC Me from the Other Side. This is a pretty interesting idea. The concept that we live on online after we're gone occurred to me after a friend of a friend, who I sort of knew but not as well as I would have liked in retrospect, was killed (which leads to a whole other thing and to sum up I now can say I went to school with a guy who's on death row...not something I really needed to check off the to-do list). Facebook suggested him as a person I might know months after he was gone. Unless someone had his password his profile is now frozen the last way he left it on Facebook forever, unless they take them down and I haven't heard about such a policy, only one for fake profiles not...deceased ones. I figure I'll, if I get the gumption to do so, write up a list of passwords that someone will need to access my various online...presences lets call them, and indicate I'm no longer among the living. I might even suggest permanent away messages or final postings where appropriate. Then I'd just have to hide it well enough that the average potential burglar can't find it but after I'm gone someone will be able to with relative ease. Hmm. Quite a pickle.
- Okay...now this is even more weird. Not only was Benny Goodman born on the same day I was...he died the same year I was born. Is this fate's way of telling me I really should've stuck more with music? I wasn't that good....I mean, I was okay, 1st or 2nd chair in the top band in high school but still. Weird. Benny Goodman: Forever the King of Swing.
28 May 2009
Musings, Part Z
- Fallingwater as a Lego set? Count me in! A Frank Lloyd Wright Masterwork- In Legos.
- Up! Looks awesome and I'm glad critics seem to like it. Pixar's Small Wonder. And a brief history of the company: "Up", Up and Away With the Kids. And Giacchino's done the score again? Awesome. And the director did Monsters, Inc and worked on Wall-E? Awesome. 'Up' and Away With Pixar's Pete Docter.
- Interesting times we live in: Bush v. Gore Foes Join Forces to Fight Gay Marriage Ban.
- In Praise of Broadway's Orchestrators. You know, you don't think about it much but a composer can't crank out all of it for a show. A symphony maybe, but a show? Not quite.
- Benny Goodman! Born on my birthday. When I decided (apparently, at least that's the story my parents tell) to be born late I must have been planning even then to follow my dad and play clarinet so I'd have to be born on a famous clarinetist's birthday. How Benny Goodman Won Over America.
- I wonder where the closest one to DC is...Company's 'ATM for Books' Prints On Demand.
- DC's just exploded with Lincoln related exhibits at museums for the bi-centennial. And now the Archives got a letter written by him. Lost Lincoln Letter Donated to National Archives.
- Up! Looks awesome and I'm glad critics seem to like it. Pixar's Small Wonder. And a brief history of the company: "Up", Up and Away With the Kids. And Giacchino's done the score again? Awesome. And the director did Monsters, Inc and worked on Wall-E? Awesome. 'Up' and Away With Pixar's Pete Docter.
- Interesting times we live in: Bush v. Gore Foes Join Forces to Fight Gay Marriage Ban.
- In Praise of Broadway's Orchestrators. You know, you don't think about it much but a composer can't crank out all of it for a show. A symphony maybe, but a show? Not quite.
- Benny Goodman! Born on my birthday. When I decided (apparently, at least that's the story my parents tell) to be born late I must have been planning even then to follow my dad and play clarinet so I'd have to be born on a famous clarinetist's birthday. How Benny Goodman Won Over America.
- I wonder where the closest one to DC is...Company's 'ATM for Books' Prints On Demand.
- DC's just exploded with Lincoln related exhibits at museums for the bi-centennial. And now the Archives got a letter written by him. Lost Lincoln Letter Donated to National Archives.
26 May 2009
Musings, Part Y
- Hall of Presidents! One of my favorite parts of Magic Kingdom. I was wondering if they'd updated it yet. Animatronic Obama Going to Disney World With High-Tech Style.
- I'm glad I'm Catholic: From Polygamous Royalty to FLDS Lost Boy. Very glad.
- Hooray for the Smithsonian (of which I'm now a member)! Belle of the Mall.
- A beard contest? Apparently there is one. Imagine the work that has to go into some of these. Alaska Hosts the Battle of the Beards.
- I still love Sesame Street. Not just because it reminds me of my childhood but because it's still clever and funny after all these years. I'm thrilled they have a YouTube channel so I can find all my favorite bits. And Big Bird is still better than Elmo even if the little red guy has pushed him out. My loyalty is with Bird. Happy 40th! How Sesame Street Changed the World.
- And another childhood touchstone: American Girl's Journey to the Lower East Side. And the company's as old as I soon will be. My doll was Samantha, still is, I suppose. She's in a box now though. But still awesome.
- Yay! And now the battle begins. And everything I remember (I hope) from the two Supreme Court classes I took in college will come back during the confirmation process. Should be fun to watch. Obama Chooses Sotomayor for Supreme Court.
- I've started a new needlepoint project and it's brought to mind an interesting occurrance. Colors and names of colors don't always match up. This kit has an orangish background that claims to be tan. It's not. It's orangish. Tan is sorta skin colored. This I suppose could be called fake spray on tan. Or, orangish.
- Wow. Way to completely freak me out Newsweek article. I thought the author had actually lost her mind. Thank goodness for comments. Lithwick: Put Palin on the Supreme Court. By the way, that would be the absolute worst idea in the world, secondary only to electing her to some national office or a place of real influence. Gah. Shivers down my spine.
- I'm glad I'm Catholic: From Polygamous Royalty to FLDS Lost Boy. Very glad.
- Hooray for the Smithsonian (of which I'm now a member)! Belle of the Mall.
- A beard contest? Apparently there is one. Imagine the work that has to go into some of these. Alaska Hosts the Battle of the Beards.
- I still love Sesame Street. Not just because it reminds me of my childhood but because it's still clever and funny after all these years. I'm thrilled they have a YouTube channel so I can find all my favorite bits. And Big Bird is still better than Elmo even if the little red guy has pushed him out. My loyalty is with Bird. Happy 40th! How Sesame Street Changed the World.
- And another childhood touchstone: American Girl's Journey to the Lower East Side. And the company's as old as I soon will be. My doll was Samantha, still is, I suppose. She's in a box now though. But still awesome.
- Yay! And now the battle begins. And everything I remember (I hope) from the two Supreme Court classes I took in college will come back during the confirmation process. Should be fun to watch. Obama Chooses Sotomayor for Supreme Court.
- I've started a new needlepoint project and it's brought to mind an interesting occurrance. Colors and names of colors don't always match up. This kit has an orangish background that claims to be tan. It's not. It's orangish. Tan is sorta skin colored. This I suppose could be called fake spray on tan. Or, orangish.
- Wow. Way to completely freak me out Newsweek article. I thought the author had actually lost her mind. Thank goodness for comments. Lithwick: Put Palin on the Supreme Court. By the way, that would be the absolute worst idea in the world, secondary only to electing her to some national office or a place of real influence. Gah. Shivers down my spine.
20 May 2009
Musings, Part X
- Not That High School Musical. Glee is actually not bad, it's got a pretty good cast from what the pilot shows and it was actually a pretty fun hour.
- I hope he's screaming in agony in hell: The Fuhrer Returns to Berlin, This Time Saluted Only By Laughs. I think the combination of the play, and the banners that replace the swastika with a pretzel (genius, by the way) is the best thing that can happen to Berlin. They acknowledge the burden but slap the man responsible in the face, well, metaphorically. Satire at its best.
- Well, whenever I get homesick I can just go here: Disney Buys Land for Future Resort Hotel at National Harbor.
- Hubble! A Space Mission Worthy of Our Attention.
- Designing 'Up'-Well-Rounded Boy, Meet Old Square. I still think Carl's adorable. Grumpy old man or not, he's cute. And he's a balloon salesman? Awesome.
- Do two occurances qualify as a curse? I have now been to a concert at the DAR Hall here in DC twice now, once this past October for Jason Mraz and once last night for Keane. Each time there was a woman near me who was either high off of something (I'm going with drunk) or just really was the type of person who needed to go to a concert in a club without seats so everyone was being loud and dancing along. Last time the woman wanted people to be standing because heaven forbid we use the chairs we paid for and some of us are still getting used to the concept that concerts mean more than staying still and quiet while appreciating the music quietly until a piece is over (and make sure it doesn't have multiple movements because clapping after one? total faux pas). Last night the woman must have not had any bones because she was all over the place dancing, security managed to calm her down though I think, all I cared about was that she was out of my line of sight.
Beyond that, the concert was great. Wow are they energetic. Lights, always moving. You could tell that the lead singer was absolutely drenched in sweat by about the 5th song. Putting aside the energy he put into the performance, those lights have to be incredibly hot, they're certainly bright enough on my end. Great group, great songs, great supporting acts. Mat Kearney (the one I'd heard about) even quipped about his claim to fame saying that you write these songs for yourself and friends and someone decides a doctor should make out to it and you say of course that's what you wrote it for. Grey's Anatomy used "Breathe In, Breathe Out". I think my ears have fully recovered.
- Also, trying to ride the Blue/Orange lines of the Metro through the downtown stations around 5:30 is akin to suicide or hell or a highly concentrated new Disney attraction line. Crazy, insane, I'm so glad I live on the Red line, though it has it's crazy times as well.
- So, I confess I have read the first 3 Twilight books. I have an electronic copy of the 4th and I guess I'll read it one day (I've skimmed enough to get the main details) but I'm currently in no hurry. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Yes, it's an interesting take on the whole vampire-human thing with werewolves thrown in because they always seem to be the other piece of the triangle. I liked the first but then...they got whiny. Bella got on my nerves and I never cared for Jacob. And I like vampire stories in general, it's kind of fun comparing the different ones and how they deal with the whole human-interaction thing: sun, no sun, how to kill them, blood issues, etc. Maybe my problem with vampire book series is the style of Meyer's writing and her tone. Perhaps these books will be better, there are certainly more of them and hey, adults are the focus, not teenagers who I suppose are inherently whiny. Vampire-Loving Barmaid Hits Jackpot for Charlaine Harris.
- Question: Who's the Longest-Running Fictional Character Ever? Sort of who you'd expect.
- By the way, love the originality of NCIS: Los Angeles. I was really pulling for a new intialization, as NCIS was the spinoff from JAG. Alas, not to be.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle's on Hulu? Score.
- I hope he's screaming in agony in hell: The Fuhrer Returns to Berlin, This Time Saluted Only By Laughs. I think the combination of the play, and the banners that replace the swastika with a pretzel (genius, by the way) is the best thing that can happen to Berlin. They acknowledge the burden but slap the man responsible in the face, well, metaphorically. Satire at its best.
- Well, whenever I get homesick I can just go here: Disney Buys Land for Future Resort Hotel at National Harbor.
- Hubble! A Space Mission Worthy of Our Attention.
- Designing 'Up'-Well-Rounded Boy, Meet Old Square. I still think Carl's adorable. Grumpy old man or not, he's cute. And he's a balloon salesman? Awesome.
- Do two occurances qualify as a curse? I have now been to a concert at the DAR Hall here in DC twice now, once this past October for Jason Mraz and once last night for Keane. Each time there was a woman near me who was either high off of something (I'm going with drunk) or just really was the type of person who needed to go to a concert in a club without seats so everyone was being loud and dancing along. Last time the woman wanted people to be standing because heaven forbid we use the chairs we paid for and some of us are still getting used to the concept that concerts mean more than staying still and quiet while appreciating the music quietly until a piece is over (and make sure it doesn't have multiple movements because clapping after one? total faux pas). Last night the woman must have not had any bones because she was all over the place dancing, security managed to calm her down though I think, all I cared about was that she was out of my line of sight.
Beyond that, the concert was great. Wow are they energetic. Lights, always moving. You could tell that the lead singer was absolutely drenched in sweat by about the 5th song. Putting aside the energy he put into the performance, those lights have to be incredibly hot, they're certainly bright enough on my end. Great group, great songs, great supporting acts. Mat Kearney (the one I'd heard about) even quipped about his claim to fame saying that you write these songs for yourself and friends and someone decides a doctor should make out to it and you say of course that's what you wrote it for. Grey's Anatomy used "Breathe In, Breathe Out". I think my ears have fully recovered.
- Also, trying to ride the Blue/Orange lines of the Metro through the downtown stations around 5:30 is akin to suicide or hell or a highly concentrated new Disney attraction line. Crazy, insane, I'm so glad I live on the Red line, though it has it's crazy times as well.
- So, I confess I have read the first 3 Twilight books. I have an electronic copy of the 4th and I guess I'll read it one day (I've skimmed enough to get the main details) but I'm currently in no hurry. I wanted to see what the fuss was all about. Yes, it's an interesting take on the whole vampire-human thing with werewolves thrown in because they always seem to be the other piece of the triangle. I liked the first but then...they got whiny. Bella got on my nerves and I never cared for Jacob. And I like vampire stories in general, it's kind of fun comparing the different ones and how they deal with the whole human-interaction thing: sun, no sun, how to kill them, blood issues, etc. Maybe my problem with vampire book series is the style of Meyer's writing and her tone. Perhaps these books will be better, there are certainly more of them and hey, adults are the focus, not teenagers who I suppose are inherently whiny. Vampire-Loving Barmaid Hits Jackpot for Charlaine Harris.
- Question: Who's the Longest-Running Fictional Character Ever? Sort of who you'd expect.
- By the way, love the originality of NCIS: Los Angeles. I was really pulling for a new intialization, as NCIS was the spinoff from JAG. Alas, not to be.
- Rocky and Bullwinkle's on Hulu? Score.
14 May 2009
Musings, Part V
- I think I might want to see this movie now...Tarantino's 'Inglourious Basterds'- A 'Bunch of Guys on a Mission' Movie. And really, if I'm going to sit through Brad Pitt, I prefer him when he's a touched unhinged, like in the Ocean's trilogy. That's the Brad Pitt I can stand.
- Oh, Bonnie and Clyde. Fun times. Who knew people were so into you? Yeah, a lot of people I guess. Bonnie and Clyde, America's Deadly Sweethearts, 75 Years Later.
- I seem to write about space a lot, maybe because it's just that time of year, what with the movie and all. Anyway, funny book titles really can help: The Universe and Its Mysteries - To Go. The book title is You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe.
- I admit I play the Sims. I haven't for ages but only because I'm worried about space on the computer and the game running slow. However, when I get my new one, I'm definitely getting Sims 3. Making Sims Into Neighbors You Can Relate To.
- It's amazing how many male politicians can be absolute scumbags in their personal lives: The battle of the Berlusconis. Cheating is inexcusable. Period.
- On a lighter note, Ewan McGregor is perhaps the very definition of a Father-what-a-waste, thankfully he's just playing one. Ewan McGregor on the Vatican, Kilts & His Accent.
- Oh, Bonnie and Clyde. Fun times. Who knew people were so into you? Yeah, a lot of people I guess. Bonnie and Clyde, America's Deadly Sweethearts, 75 Years Later.
- I seem to write about space a lot, maybe because it's just that time of year, what with the movie and all. Anyway, funny book titles really can help: The Universe and Its Mysteries - To Go. The book title is You Are Here: A Portable History of the Universe.
- I admit I play the Sims. I haven't for ages but only because I'm worried about space on the computer and the game running slow. However, when I get my new one, I'm definitely getting Sims 3. Making Sims Into Neighbors You Can Relate To.
- It's amazing how many male politicians can be absolute scumbags in their personal lives: The battle of the Berlusconis. Cheating is inexcusable. Period.
- On a lighter note, Ewan McGregor is perhaps the very definition of a Father-what-a-waste, thankfully he's just playing one. Ewan McGregor on the Vatican, Kilts & His Accent.
11 May 2009
Musings, Part U
- So Star Trek...was awesome. And (warning, spoilers) while I'm upset that they killed Vulcan, I'm kinda happy for Spock, finally gets a girl. The ship was gorgeous, having Leonard Nimoy in it was awesome. The whole alternate, parallel, reality thing might appease some diehards I think, and be interesting for those of us who like the time episodes (as in, I'm one of them). I really, really enjoyed it. And have listened to the soundtrack on repeat since I got home from the movie yesterday.
- This will likely be the space post, surprise surprise, I know. Anyway, last Hubble mission lifts off today. That is one thing I miss about home (Florida), being able to see the shuttle launches. Special Tools Required For Last Call to Hubble. Space Shuttle Blasts Off on Hubble Telescope Mission, on schedule and with no problems. Yay!
- And of course, various articles with spoilers for the film and about the box office numbers. NY Times: Starship Franchise Zooms to Top of Box Office, The Two Sides of 'Star Trek'. Washington Post: Star Trek: The Early Days of Kirk, Spock, Bones, Star-crossed lovers: 'Trek' ship mates lock lips, Hank Stuever Essay: The Trouble With Quibbles and Niche Fandom. And for real science in Star Trek, PRI: Warp Speed Ahead!. Oh, and dropping by SNL: Update Feature: Star Trek. Too bad none of them got to host.
- Joss Whedon on commentary...singing! This American Life: Return to the Scene of the Crime, his section starts at 27:52. I really need to get this DVD now...
- So, I'm one of those people who like languages from sci-fi and fantasy works. From the computer series starting with Myst I have a thing on the D'Ni language and I use the numbering system. From Tolkien I have the Languages of Middle Earth book (see name of blog for an example) and yes, I use the words all over the place from my email address to my AIM screenname. So articles like this? Kind of up my alley: There's No Klingon Word for Hello.
- This will likely be the space post, surprise surprise, I know. Anyway, last Hubble mission lifts off today. That is one thing I miss about home (Florida), being able to see the shuttle launches. Special Tools Required For Last Call to Hubble. Space Shuttle Blasts Off on Hubble Telescope Mission, on schedule and with no problems. Yay!
- And of course, various articles with spoilers for the film and about the box office numbers. NY Times: Starship Franchise Zooms to Top of Box Office, The Two Sides of 'Star Trek'. Washington Post: Star Trek: The Early Days of Kirk, Spock, Bones, Star-crossed lovers: 'Trek' ship mates lock lips, Hank Stuever Essay: The Trouble With Quibbles and Niche Fandom. And for real science in Star Trek, PRI: Warp Speed Ahead!. Oh, and dropping by SNL: Update Feature: Star Trek. Too bad none of them got to host.
- Joss Whedon on commentary...singing! This American Life: Return to the Scene of the Crime, his section starts at 27:52. I really need to get this DVD now...
- So, I'm one of those people who like languages from sci-fi and fantasy works. From the computer series starting with Myst I have a thing on the D'Ni language and I use the numbering system. From Tolkien I have the Languages of Middle Earth book (see name of blog for an example) and yes, I use the words all over the place from my email address to my AIM screenname. So articles like this? Kind of up my alley: There's No Klingon Word for Hello.
22 April 2009
Musings, Part N
- I think I want one of these...Judging a Book (Bag) by Its Cover.
- Save Chuck! Ferris would approve.
- Wow are people stupid. Who would have thought they couldn't even properly read a dictionary or Google properly (By the way, for Earth day, the Google image on the main page was gorgeous)? So, last night's Moment of Zen from the Daily Show featured a clip from some Fox News program (and now I have to sterilize my keyboard for writing that) but they said that Chavez called President Obama an ignoramus and that meant, and the woman actually had to Google this (which is sad and depressing to begin with), an ignorant lawyer, to which they pointed out the fact that he is a lawyer. The thing is...they/she got the definition wrong! Yes, Ignoramus was the name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus by G. Ruggle in 1615 but that's only because the word ignoramus is Latin for "we ignore" or "to be ignorant of"! It's supposed to be ironic...a pun of sorts, because the lawyer would have to know Latin for his work. Besides, 1615...plenty of people spoke Latin, at least the ones who understood plays. Well, fine, maybe just the educated classes who would have known the word and could laugh about the character's name because ignorant means uneducated, and while lawyers can be annoying, they do have education. Absolutely no definition I found (here's dictionary.com's slate) specifically says it's an ignorant lawyer, there's about every entry in a thesauras for ignorant (simpleton, fool, dunce, etc) but no "ignorant lawyer" save the mention of the word's origin. The label was misapplied...and for pity's sake, don't say that you had to Google the definition of a word everyone should know. It's not that hard to figure out...sounds like ignorant, mus can be presumed to indicate more. You can fake by saying it's a really ignorant person. Thank you, my bleeding heart liberal educated brain for being better. Wonder what her SAT Verbal score was...
- Happy Earth Day! Here's some pretty awesome aerial views of this here planet of ours: GeoEye. Everything from Angor Wat, to the Palm Island of Dubai, to the Mall of DC on Inauguaration Day 2009, to Yankee Stadium.
- On a slightly more somber note, I'm not at all looking forward to the day I'm in Christopher Buckley's shoes (Mum and Pup and Me). By his account he didn't really get on swimmingly with either of his parents and I'm definitely doing fine with mine. How about we all decide to table the whole dying thing until we figure out a way to avoid the whole situation? I'd be okay with that.
- Imagine the cost to change all the signs and everything: Confusion over NZ's islands' names. Reminds me of the West Wing episode wherein there is discussion on dropping the 'north' from North Dakota to promote tourism to the state because the 'north' scares people away. Does it really matter if the island names aren't properly registered? What if the whole country is named wrong/illegally/sorta-kinda-not really correctly because they forgot part B of form 23, which is obviously essential to the whole recognized name deal?
- Cool! A Fairy Tale Beginning: Snow White, She's Not. Among Disney's Royal Ladies, Tiana Is a Notable First. Go Disney.
- Save Chuck! Ferris would approve.
- Wow are people stupid. Who would have thought they couldn't even properly read a dictionary or Google properly (By the way, for Earth day, the Google image on the main page was gorgeous)? So, last night's Moment of Zen from the Daily Show featured a clip from some Fox News program (and now I have to sterilize my keyboard for writing that) but they said that Chavez called President Obama an ignoramus and that meant, and the woman actually had to Google this (which is sad and depressing to begin with), an ignorant lawyer, to which they pointed out the fact that he is a lawyer. The thing is...they/she got the definition wrong! Yes, Ignoramus was the name of an ignorant lawyer in the play Ignoramus by G. Ruggle in 1615 but that's only because the word ignoramus is Latin for "we ignore" or "to be ignorant of"! It's supposed to be ironic...a pun of sorts, because the lawyer would have to know Latin for his work. Besides, 1615...plenty of people spoke Latin, at least the ones who understood plays. Well, fine, maybe just the educated classes who would have known the word and could laugh about the character's name because ignorant means uneducated, and while lawyers can be annoying, they do have education. Absolutely no definition I found (here's dictionary.com's slate) specifically says it's an ignorant lawyer, there's about every entry in a thesauras for ignorant (simpleton, fool, dunce, etc) but no "ignorant lawyer" save the mention of the word's origin. The label was misapplied...and for pity's sake, don't say that you had to Google the definition of a word everyone should know. It's not that hard to figure out...sounds like ignorant, mus can be presumed to indicate more. You can fake by saying it's a really ignorant person. Thank you, my bleeding heart liberal educated brain for being better. Wonder what her SAT Verbal score was...
- Happy Earth Day! Here's some pretty awesome aerial views of this here planet of ours: GeoEye. Everything from Angor Wat, to the Palm Island of Dubai, to the Mall of DC on Inauguaration Day 2009, to Yankee Stadium.
- On a slightly more somber note, I'm not at all looking forward to the day I'm in Christopher Buckley's shoes (Mum and Pup and Me). By his account he didn't really get on swimmingly with either of his parents and I'm definitely doing fine with mine. How about we all decide to table the whole dying thing until we figure out a way to avoid the whole situation? I'd be okay with that.
- Imagine the cost to change all the signs and everything: Confusion over NZ's islands' names. Reminds me of the West Wing episode wherein there is discussion on dropping the 'north' from North Dakota to promote tourism to the state because the 'north' scares people away. Does it really matter if the island names aren't properly registered? What if the whole country is named wrong/illegally/sorta-kinda-not really correctly because they forgot part B of form 23, which is obviously essential to the whole recognized name deal?
- Cool! A Fairy Tale Beginning: Snow White, She's Not. Among Disney's Royal Ladies, Tiana Is a Notable First. Go Disney.
20 April 2009
Musings, Part L
- Well, the Washington Post has jumped on the Pride and Prejudice and Zombies train (Zombie? Let Austen Flesh It Out) , with other delightful additions that I now have to hunt down. Is it weird that I'm really looking forward to Grahame-Smith's Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter?
- YouTube is now Hulu? Deal Brings TV Shows and Movies to YouTube. I suppose it will be useful, though I'm used to watching things on there in 10 minute bits and as long as people still can upload their own videos (I mean, how can they ask us to give up Hamster on a Piano?) then I'm okay with this...I think. Time will tell.
- As you might imagine, I am a huge mental_floss fan. It's quirky, it's random, it has great info on the weirdest things...take 12 Oddly Specific Museums Preserving Our History or How to Stop Unwanted Phone Books or 8 Countries and States That Moved Their Capitals or the difference between pyramids and ziggurats (hint, ziggurats have ramps) or in the magazine, all about furniture, like the history of La-Z-Boy. And the shirts...awesome. A sampling: An Apple A Day still leaves you 2-4 servings short of your daily fruit recommendations. Friends Don't Let Friends Derive Drunk. Idioms are for the birds. Inconsistency: It has its ups and downs. Hokey Pokey Anonymous. A place to turn yourself around. Veni Vidi Wiki: I came. I saw. I edited collaboratively. Vampires are a pain in the neck. The Constitution: I read it for the Articles. Archaeologists will date any old thing. And two of my favorites: Easter Island: Why the long face? and Pluto, 1930-2006: Revolve in Peace. Gah. Absimally clever.
-Oh, Daily Show. I love you. You always come through for me and my liberal ire against idiots. Tip of the hat and salute.
- WB thou art awesome today. Because I just discovered, with a little help from NPR (Inside 'Hollywood's Attic': Warner Opens Its Vault), your archive. More from Cary Grant? And Katharine Hepburn? A film or two for my book (with the possibility of more, oh please add Kisses For My President [a 1964 film with the dad from The Happiest Millionaire, and the guy from Double Indemnity whose name escapes me...Fred something, but it has a female president which would totally be great for the book])? And a 1931 version of Private Lives, one of my favorite plays (Noel Coward is a master of banter)? And they're all under $20? Awesome. Check it out: Warner Archive.
Edit: The actor is Fred MacMurray. I knew it was Fred something. He was in over 100 movies and a TV series. He may be best known for Double Indemnity but he's more fun in Happiest Millionaire. Which would make sense based on the title.
- Why have a giant dish when you can have a network of dishes? Switch-on success for superscope. Again, part of me wishes I'd gone into astronomy or some other scientific space thing. These pictures promise to be awesome. Besides, I could totally get away with putting an X-Wing or an Enterprise model on my desk.
- Oh good, Ask brings back butler Jeeves. I hope it'll be useful while working for kgb_ now. Except...it better not cut into the volume we get.
-The Pulitzer Prizes were handed out today: 2009 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music, 2009 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism, Damon Winter's A Vision of History-Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography (this guy can take a picture, no doubt about that). Not quite sure the 13 short stories should count for the fiction award (isn't it supposed to be a book?) but whatever, it works I guess.
- YouTube is now Hulu? Deal Brings TV Shows and Movies to YouTube. I suppose it will be useful, though I'm used to watching things on there in 10 minute bits and as long as people still can upload their own videos (I mean, how can they ask us to give up Hamster on a Piano?) then I'm okay with this...I think. Time will tell.
- As you might imagine, I am a huge mental_floss fan. It's quirky, it's random, it has great info on the weirdest things...take 12 Oddly Specific Museums Preserving Our History or How to Stop Unwanted Phone Books or 8 Countries and States That Moved Their Capitals or the difference between pyramids and ziggurats (hint, ziggurats have ramps) or in the magazine, all about furniture, like the history of La-Z-Boy. And the shirts...awesome. A sampling: An Apple A Day still leaves you 2-4 servings short of your daily fruit recommendations. Friends Don't Let Friends Derive Drunk. Idioms are for the birds. Inconsistency: It has its ups and downs. Hokey Pokey Anonymous. A place to turn yourself around. Veni Vidi Wiki: I came. I saw. I edited collaboratively. Vampires are a pain in the neck. The Constitution: I read it for the Articles. Archaeologists will date any old thing. And two of my favorites: Easter Island: Why the long face? and Pluto, 1930-2006: Revolve in Peace. Gah. Absimally clever.
-Oh, Daily Show. I love you. You always come through for me and my liberal ire against idiots. Tip of the hat and salute.
- WB thou art awesome today. Because I just discovered, with a little help from NPR (Inside 'Hollywood's Attic': Warner Opens Its Vault), your archive. More from Cary Grant? And Katharine Hepburn? A film or two for my book (with the possibility of more, oh please add Kisses For My President [a 1964 film with the dad from The Happiest Millionaire, and the guy from Double Indemnity whose name escapes me...Fred something, but it has a female president which would totally be great for the book])? And a 1931 version of Private Lives, one of my favorite plays (Noel Coward is a master of banter)? And they're all under $20? Awesome. Check it out: Warner Archive.
Edit: The actor is Fred MacMurray. I knew it was Fred something. He was in over 100 movies and a TV series. He may be best known for Double Indemnity but he's more fun in Happiest Millionaire. Which would make sense based on the title.
- Why have a giant dish when you can have a network of dishes? Switch-on success for superscope. Again, part of me wishes I'd gone into astronomy or some other scientific space thing. These pictures promise to be awesome. Besides, I could totally get away with putting an X-Wing or an Enterprise model on my desk.
- Oh good, Ask brings back butler Jeeves. I hope it'll be useful while working for kgb_ now. Except...it better not cut into the volume we get.
-The Pulitzer Prizes were handed out today: 2009 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music, 2009 Pulitzer Prizes for Journalism, Damon Winter's A Vision of History-Winner of the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography (this guy can take a picture, no doubt about that). Not quite sure the 13 short stories should count for the fiction award (isn't it supposed to be a book?) but whatever, it works I guess.
13 April 2009
Musings, Part I
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself .
- Leave Pixar alone, Pixar’s Latest Film Has Wall Street on Edge. I think Up looks great, then again I like…everything Pixar has done (even Cars which isn’t really my…well, it doesn’t speak to my very limited sports interests and isn’t my music genre of choice). I loved Wall-E. It was adorable and amazing to look at and Up doesn’t look any different. And the cranky old guy? He looks kinda cute. How cool would it be to float away in your house by means of hundreds of balloons?
- This recent NY Time article, Somali Pirates Said to Seize Ship with US Crewmen reminds me of a Daily Show report from last year, from after the election called The Buccaneer Stops Here. One of the many things I love about the Daily Show, besides the irreverent humor that nonetheless makes very good points about, well, everything, is John Oliver’s reports. I’m not sure why he’s my currently my favorite correspondent, possibly the British thing, possibly because he tried to refuse to do Dickensian English during his first reports on the show, during the Queen’s visit to the US, but I find him hilarious. So the whole pirate thing in the news brings to mind his report from November. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh.
- It’s funny how certain things become associated with other things in your mind. I think that’s one of the ways I learn, I link stuff up in my head and it may not make sense, but it seems to work out okay. So the association of today is Vienna Teng’s new album. I love her stuff. Unwritten Letter #1 is one of my top…three favorite songs. Anyway, her third album either came out or I found it when I was studying abroad in London. I, as I always do with new music, listened to it pretty much constantly for a while there. That semester in London was also when I decided to see what the deal was with Doctor Who, since I was in the country it came from. Turns out, the newly revamped series (the only part I’ve seen) is pretty much…awesome. I could go on and on about how cool it is and how great the 10th Doctor’s hair is (it’s pretty awesome) but since I was watching Doctor Who and listening to Vienna Teng’s third album those two are now linked in my brain. I can’t watch an episode without one of the songs sort of starting up in my head and vice versa with listening to the cd. I have the same problem with Eiffel 65 and one of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? computer games. The game was pretty cool but the show, of course, was better. Oh Rockapella.
- An ode to peanut butter: Peanut Butter: It’s More Than A Sandwich. I like PB. Jif is the best kind, hands down no others need apply. Despite having sort of sworn off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I decided freshman year of college that 13 years of them in school was quite enough to last a lifetime) I still enjoy PB toast and PB in other things, mostly Reese’s Peanut Butter cups which are my favorite candy. And the article is right, it is very American. You can’t find proper PB in Europe. Not just because we process things different but because they have things like Nutella and don’t understand our fascination with PB. PB is one of those simple foods that is just plain good on, well, quite a lot of things actually. My mom swears the best PB is from the top of a fresh jar, which yeah, is probably true. I’m not sure I’d refrigerate PB like the author of the NPR article does but a friend of mine refuses to refrigerate butter (which is just weird to me) so maybe it’s just a quirk.
- It’s kind of amazing to have friends who remember your quirks and indulge them for you.
- Leave Pixar alone, Pixar’s Latest Film Has Wall Street on Edge. I think Up looks great, then again I like…everything Pixar has done (even Cars which isn’t really my…well, it doesn’t speak to my very limited sports interests and isn’t my music genre of choice). I loved Wall-E. It was adorable and amazing to look at and Up doesn’t look any different. And the cranky old guy? He looks kinda cute. How cool would it be to float away in your house by means of hundreds of balloons?
- This recent NY Time article, Somali Pirates Said to Seize Ship with US Crewmen reminds me of a Daily Show report from last year, from after the election called The Buccaneer Stops Here. One of the many things I love about the Daily Show, besides the irreverent humor that nonetheless makes very good points about, well, everything, is John Oliver’s reports. I’m not sure why he’s my currently my favorite correspondent, possibly the British thing, possibly because he tried to refuse to do Dickensian English during his first reports on the show, during the Queen’s visit to the US, but I find him hilarious. So the whole pirate thing in the news brings to mind his report from November. Watch. Enjoy. Laugh.
- It’s funny how certain things become associated with other things in your mind. I think that’s one of the ways I learn, I link stuff up in my head and it may not make sense, but it seems to work out okay. So the association of today is Vienna Teng’s new album. I love her stuff. Unwritten Letter #1 is one of my top…three favorite songs. Anyway, her third album either came out or I found it when I was studying abroad in London. I, as I always do with new music, listened to it pretty much constantly for a while there. That semester in London was also when I decided to see what the deal was with Doctor Who, since I was in the country it came from. Turns out, the newly revamped series (the only part I’ve seen) is pretty much…awesome. I could go on and on about how cool it is and how great the 10th Doctor’s hair is (it’s pretty awesome) but since I was watching Doctor Who and listening to Vienna Teng’s third album those two are now linked in my brain. I can’t watch an episode without one of the songs sort of starting up in my head and vice versa with listening to the cd. I have the same problem with Eiffel 65 and one of the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? computer games. The game was pretty cool but the show, of course, was better. Oh Rockapella.
- An ode to peanut butter: Peanut Butter: It’s More Than A Sandwich. I like PB. Jif is the best kind, hands down no others need apply. Despite having sort of sworn off peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (I decided freshman year of college that 13 years of them in school was quite enough to last a lifetime) I still enjoy PB toast and PB in other things, mostly Reese’s Peanut Butter cups which are my favorite candy. And the article is right, it is very American. You can’t find proper PB in Europe. Not just because we process things different but because they have things like Nutella and don’t understand our fascination with PB. PB is one of those simple foods that is just plain good on, well, quite a lot of things actually. My mom swears the best PB is from the top of a fresh jar, which yeah, is probably true. I’m not sure I’d refrigerate PB like the author of the NPR article does but a friend of mine refuses to refrigerate butter (which is just weird to me) so maybe it’s just a quirk.
- It’s kind of amazing to have friends who remember your quirks and indulge them for you.
03 April 2009
Musings, Part F
- I rambled on a couple entries back about Pride and Prejudice and how I feel about re-imaginings. I think for this ramble I’ll turn to Star Trek, mostly because of the article ‘Star Trek’ Sequel Is Coming (Wrath to Be Determined). A) Pretty gutsy of Paramount to already greenlight a sequel when they were so wishy-washy with the actual series and the later TNG (The Next Generation) movies. That being said, kudos to holding onto the franchise. B) I am not an Original Series (TOS) fan. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the every series’ canon and Spock is awesome but I like the movies more than the series itself for Kirk and the gang. Granted, I haven’t watched much but I’m going with the gut reaction on this one. Since I’m not a fan of TOS I’m not dreading what they do to the characters. By going back to the beginning with Enterprise they already mucked about with ST canon so no, I don’t care if Spock and Kirk never met in the Academy. Like with Watchmen (which I watched for the story and revisionist history as opposed to the violence and sex, which didn’t throw me like it did some but only because I have the graphic novel and I know Moore’s style) I’m watching for the world created and because well, it’s Star Trek and the trailers look awesome. Though I’m still perplexed about the whole classic car over the cliff thing but I was also upset with Casino Royale for destroying part of Venice (and the wrecking of JB in the most recent movies shall come later in this entry) so…it’ll just be a small mark against it. Besides the movie looking cool I think we could use some hopeful visions of the future right about now. Because that’s what Star Trek does well, it is a hopeful future. Yes, I imagine this movie will make things a little darker, as is the style of re-imaginings of late (see Batman and Battlestar Galactica [2003] for reference) but they can’t muck with the core of the franchise: different beings and backgrounds coming together for a common goal, and Earth becomes a paradise. Just look at what they did from TOS to TNG, they turned the Klingons, the enemies and Big Bad of TOS and most of its movies (perhaps all, it’s been a while since I’ve seen them, and Voyage Home with the whales? Totally the best one) into allies and part of the Federation, mostly through Worf but once DS9 came around the head of the Klingon Empire was best buds with most of the series’ regulars. I suppose there’s also an argument to be made about the changing nature of diplomacy and politics in there too but that’s cool with Star Trek, there’s plenty to grab from and it’ll probably be relevant to today’s world no matter where you stick it.
- So, James Bond. I’ve seen every one of your films (except that random Sean Connery one that isn’t in the official canon of films). I even watched them, up until the last 3 or so, in chronological order the summer after high school. While I dislike how women are treated in the first several films I understand they are a product of their time and of the novels themselves (and yes, I have read Casino Royale and will be reading the others as they come available/I get my hands on them). I even like the two Timothy Dalton contributions because I see that as the major turning point in how the women are treated. However, I can’t really bring myself to completely get behind the latest two Daniel Craig offerings. It’s not the violence (I don’t think I needed that torture scene in Casino Royale) and it’s not that he’s blond, which is a whatever thing, it’s the lack of quintessential Bond elements. The lines, mainly. “Bond. James Bond” and “Shaken, not stirred.” And of course the lack of Q. How can you not have Q? If you have Brosnan’s M, which I think they intimated was the first female M of the agency, then how can you dump Q? Yeah, yeah, going back to the beginning, blah blah blah. Q is Bond. What happened to the spy gear that made the other movies so awesome? So it’s over the top, all of Bond is over the top. Villains giving long monologues detailing their plans while setting up an elaborate method of killing Bond that of course he’ll get out of…this doesn’t happen in the real world. Real world is more like Indiana Jones facing the whip guy and just shooting him. Bond is cool gadgets, whacko villains, and quips. I miss Q. I want him back. Bring back some levity. Bond also, though it’s not a trait that should be copied by others nonetheless defines his character, doesn’t hold on to women. This whole still ticked off about a betrayal in the next movie thing? So not Bond. Get over it already. Yeah yeah, just starting out, whatever. And you don’t repeat a stunt like they did in Quantum of Solace with the girl covered in oil. Seriously? That was an iconic image from Goldfinger and probably the one thing most people remember and has certainly hammered home the idea that you leave space for the skin to breathe if you’re going to go for the whole body paint thing. You don’t repeat methods of killing people in Bond. Creativity, people, creativity. And with that creativity, get better opening credits. There’s another hallmark of Bond films, great credits. Casino Royale’s were okay, with the card suits and such but the dunes in Quantum? Lame. And it was a bad theme song. Okay, ish, on it’s own but tied into the credits just bad. There’s another missing element, truly great theme songs. My favorite will always be Goldeneye from Tina Turner (which is also my favorite Bond film) but those that came before were also quite good. So, to sum: put back in the classic lines (they’re classic for a reason, put Q back in, make Bond himself again, fix the opening credits, and get a good theme song(s). We’ll have to see what they do (if they do one) to the next one. Better fix stuff though. And don’t destroy part of Venice again.
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself.
- So, James Bond. I’ve seen every one of your films (except that random Sean Connery one that isn’t in the official canon of films). I even watched them, up until the last 3 or so, in chronological order the summer after high school. While I dislike how women are treated in the first several films I understand they are a product of their time and of the novels themselves (and yes, I have read Casino Royale and will be reading the others as they come available/I get my hands on them). I even like the two Timothy Dalton contributions because I see that as the major turning point in how the women are treated. However, I can’t really bring myself to completely get behind the latest two Daniel Craig offerings. It’s not the violence (I don’t think I needed that torture scene in Casino Royale) and it’s not that he’s blond, which is a whatever thing, it’s the lack of quintessential Bond elements. The lines, mainly. “Bond. James Bond” and “Shaken, not stirred.” And of course the lack of Q. How can you not have Q? If you have Brosnan’s M, which I think they intimated was the first female M of the agency, then how can you dump Q? Yeah, yeah, going back to the beginning, blah blah blah. Q is Bond. What happened to the spy gear that made the other movies so awesome? So it’s over the top, all of Bond is over the top. Villains giving long monologues detailing their plans while setting up an elaborate method of killing Bond that of course he’ll get out of…this doesn’t happen in the real world. Real world is more like Indiana Jones facing the whip guy and just shooting him. Bond is cool gadgets, whacko villains, and quips. I miss Q. I want him back. Bring back some levity. Bond also, though it’s not a trait that should be copied by others nonetheless defines his character, doesn’t hold on to women. This whole still ticked off about a betrayal in the next movie thing? So not Bond. Get over it already. Yeah yeah, just starting out, whatever. And you don’t repeat a stunt like they did in Quantum of Solace with the girl covered in oil. Seriously? That was an iconic image from Goldfinger and probably the one thing most people remember and has certainly hammered home the idea that you leave space for the skin to breathe if you’re going to go for the whole body paint thing. You don’t repeat methods of killing people in Bond. Creativity, people, creativity. And with that creativity, get better opening credits. There’s another hallmark of Bond films, great credits. Casino Royale’s were okay, with the card suits and such but the dunes in Quantum? Lame. And it was a bad theme song. Okay, ish, on it’s own but tied into the credits just bad. There’s another missing element, truly great theme songs. My favorite will always be Goldeneye from Tina Turner (which is also my favorite Bond film) but those that came before were also quite good. So, to sum: put back in the classic lines (they’re classic for a reason, put Q back in, make Bond himself again, fix the opening credits, and get a good theme song(s). We’ll have to see what they do (if they do one) to the next one. Better fix stuff though. And don’t destroy part of Venice again.
- So, Jesuits. Pretty cool people usually. Within the myriad Catholic religious orders, they’re the most famously academic. If you see ‘Jesuit’ attached to the name of a college, you know it’s going to be a good one. Most are more than just a priest, they’re encouraged to be in the world and keep going in whatever profession they came into the order with, which was usually something academic. Here’s another reason they’re cool, a sense of humor: God to Man: Get Over Yourself.
01 April 2009
Musings, Part D
- I adore Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite book in the whole wide world. I read it several, well….just many times a year and usually that’s the whole thing, not just a good parts version which I admit I do with the BBC adaptation because while I can read Lydia, she’s just annoying on the screen so the second disc really comprises my “good parts” version when I watch it. I’ve read all of Austen’s novels, even Persuasion which I once vowed never to read because I heard it was her worst…funny, I know, considering the topic of the book (Northanger Abbey is now on the outs with me and Persuasion is as beloved as Mansfield Park with Emma close behind). I’ve been to the Jane Austen Center in Bath, I’ve walked up to the Royal Crescent where they filmed part of the 1995 version of Persuasion, I’m even a member of the Jane Austen Society of North America. Too bad there’s no membership card because that would be awesome. I’ve read the re-imaginings of the books, mostly the ones from the male lead’s perspective and seek out those re-imaginings online because really, some of them are quite good. Like I just finished an updated version of Persuasion where the guy writes about the end of their relationship and his current feelings towards his ex in a daily column in the Chicago Tribune and the girl is just as confused as Anne because his writings and actions don’t match up. It was great. I have the offshoots too: the Annotated Pride and Prejudice, The Wit and Wisdom of Jane Austen, a guide to regency life through her books, and others are on various to get lists. I have the movie versions and the soundtracks. I write all this to give background when I say that I’m quite excited to read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I heard about it a while back and now that it’s finally coming out and getting attention I really can’t wait. He made Elizabeth even more awesome by having her fight zombies? Where’s the nearest bookstore? I might even see the Pride and Predator when it comes out though, aliens? Really? It’s probably strange that I’m more tolerant of the addition of sci-fi elements rather than some of the sequels that mess with the characters. Most of the sequels I won’t read. If you’re going to mess with the characters, do so inside the story itself don’t muck about with them after the fact. Don’t add more scandal that’s rather unnecessary as Austen has one rake per book, don’t make a nice guy into one too. For further stuff on the zombie book and the various re-imaginings/mucking abouts see Pride, Prejudice, and Zombies, Oh My!. And the mystery series? Sounds awesome. I bet they’d be like Nick and Nora…
- By the way, for those of you curious about the Pride and Predator thing, check this out: In New Movie, Alien Attacks Austen-Era Britain.
- I agree with this entry’s title wholeheartedly, ‘ER’: No, It’s Still on TV. And Has Been Since Man Discovered Fire. Except the blogger forgot Law and Order in the list of long running shows. Because it? Really has been on for freaking forever. And the only version I like? Just started in the UK. Hey, they wear wigs and Lee from BSG’s in it. Thus, I watch. Besides, it’s a fascinating look at the British legal system. And it makes me pine for London.
- Thank goodness: Facebook Backpedals As An Angry Mob Waves Pitchforks. I have always been proud of Facebook for not being MySpace, I didn’t want it to be Twitter. I wonder if they still have the pirate language feature…
- April Fool’s happenings: CADIE. Pretty sure it’s an April Fool’s Joke, if only because it was posted at 11:59:59 on March 31…and of course I had to Google it and it is:
Google’s April Fools’ Prank Tradition Continues with CADIE; NPR: No Lions And Orioles And Bears? Oh My!. This one’s truly scary: Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink. Apparently the Brits really embrace April Fool’s: Martin Wainwright on some of the silliest April Fools tricks . I really like the one about the M25 and I think it could be adopted for DC’s Beltway or I-4 in Orlando.
- By the way, for those of you curious about the Pride and Predator thing, check this out: In New Movie, Alien Attacks Austen-Era Britain.
- I agree with this entry’s title wholeheartedly, ‘ER’: No, It’s Still on TV. And Has Been Since Man Discovered Fire. Except the blogger forgot Law and Order in the list of long running shows. Because it? Really has been on for freaking forever. And the only version I like? Just started in the UK. Hey, they wear wigs and Lee from BSG’s in it. Thus, I watch. Besides, it’s a fascinating look at the British legal system. And it makes me pine for London.
- Thank goodness: Facebook Backpedals As An Angry Mob Waves Pitchforks. I have always been proud of Facebook for not being MySpace, I didn’t want it to be Twitter. I wonder if they still have the pirate language feature…
- April Fool’s happenings: CADIE. Pretty sure it’s an April Fool’s Joke, if only because it was posted at 11:59:59 on March 31…and of course I had to Google it and it is:
Google’s April Fools’ Prank Tradition Continues with CADIE; NPR: No Lions And Orioles And Bears? Oh My!. This one’s truly scary: Twitter switch for Guardian, after 188 years of ink. Apparently the Brits really embrace April Fool’s: Martin Wainwright on some of the silliest April Fools tricks . I really like the one about the M25 and I think it could be adopted for DC’s Beltway or I-4 in Orlando.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
