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Yeah. The last post I made was kinda long and went off topic a bit, didn't it?
Well, I finished the first chapter of A Wizard of Earthsea and I really don't have much motivation to read further. The setting is rich and colorful, but the characters are flat. The vast majority of the chapter was exposition told from an omniscient point of view. There was very little dialog. What there was was short and usually one-sided. A couple lines from one character might be given, then the rest of the exchange paraphrased.
The writing, from a technical standpoint, is quite good. Tending a little too much toward long, complex sentences, but good. And the descriptions are lovely. But they tend to be flat and analytical. The same emotional weight is given to a battle scene as to a boy's coming of age ceremony.
And remember the omniscient pov I mentioned? It's used to tell, not show, what the characters are like. I was told by the narrator that Duny's father didn't care much for him, but that wasn't shown. It felt fake, flat, and condescending. As if the author didn't trust the readers to analyze the characters from their actions and come to their own conclusions.
How this became a fantasy classic is beyond me, quite frankly. There isn't even anything particularly original so far. Youngster with a gift for magic becomes great hero. Whoopee. We're even told in the first sentence of the book that he becomes arch mage and dragon tamer. I guess it could be interesting finding out how, but right now I really don't care all that much.Current Mood:  tired Current Music: (watching something on TruTV) |
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Not all books make good movies and vice versa. The two media are very different and the way one tells a story is restricted accordingly. Because of this, authors are often dubious about sending their precious babies to the slaughter houses known as movie studios.
As an aspiring writer, I sympathize with these authors and am more than willing to acknowledge the anger and frustration when sweeping changes are made to the story.
But as a reader of books and watcher of movies, I also have to admit that sometimes the changes had to be made. There is, after all, only so much you can fit into one and a half to two hours of screen time. The best the author can hope for is that some of the less essential bits get left out or glossed over.
Remember now, I said the best the *author* can hope for. How good the movie is sometimes has very little to do with how faithful it is to the original. There seems to be a general consensus, for instance, that Disney's The Little Mermaid is several magnitudes better than the original Anderson story, which the movie only resembled vaguely.
My impression is that there are just a few outcomes for the book-to-movie journey.
The movie makers could take great pains to make a movie as close to the original as possible, as if to prove that this story should never have seen the light of day to begin with. (I can't think of an example at the moment, but I'm sure there is one out there somewhere.)
The movie makers could take equally great pains to make the movie faithful to the original, with the realization that the information contained in those long tracks of exposition are going to either have to be ignored or presented in a rather more visual manner. The quality of this method depends a great deal on the quality of the original work. (Though people will probably argue on for decades as to whether the right choices were made in the Lord of the Rings movies.)
The movie makers could say, 'hey, cool concept,' and work a mostly new story around those cool ideas. Here the quality depends on the skill of the movie makers, the quality of the original (the lower latter and higher the former the better), and just how rabid the fanbase of the original is. Because, let's face it, some aspects of quality are subjective.
And, lastly, the movie makers could completely ignore the source material and make something up out of whole cloth. (I, Robot, I'm looking at you.) Here the quality of the original is irrelevant unless it was so bad that no one cares what anyone did with the movie, in which case why was a movie even made? What will make a difference is the size of the angry mob armed with torches and pitchforks marching up to the studio gates.
All this brings me to the actual reason I wanted to write this post.
I recently saw Studio Ghibli's new movie, Tales From Earthsea (properly Gedo Senki, which seems to translate as Ged Battle Strategies or something like that). I rather liked it, though I was rather concerned during the slow parts as to how they'd wrap things up before the end of the movie. Probably didn't help at all that I was watching it online and so could see just how much time was left. Takes away from enjoying the moment.
Well, I noted in the credits that it was based on a series of books, so I did some research. And found a rather curious article writen by Ursula LeGuin herself. I say curious because of the combination of understanding and displeasure evident in the work. I nearly said 'ignorance' instead of 'displeasure,' but that would have been unfair. Not all of the problems she seemed to have were the result of ignorance.
The article certainly made me curious as to what the original source material was like, so I just today borrowed a copy of the first book, A Wizard of Earthsea, from the library. Honestly, I didn't expect much, given my experience with Howl's Moving Castle. (The movie was a great deal better than the book, for reasons that could be an entire post in it's own right.)
What I've read of the book, so far, comes later. Right now, to the article.
"It was explained to us that Mr Hayao wished to retire from film making, and that the family and the studio wanted Mr Hayao's son Goro, who had never made a film at all, to make this one. ... I am told that Mr Hayao has not retired after all, but is now making another movie. This has increased my disappointment."
This is why I nearly used the word 'ignorance' above. Miyazaki-san has tried a number of times to retire. It almost seems like every movie he makes is 'going to be his last one.' He probably means it every time, too. It just doesn't last very long. Frankly, I don't think he's capable of retiring by any means short of death. An event that I hope is a long time in coming.
"We were given the impression, indeed assured, that the project would be always subject to Mr Hayao's approval....We realised soon that Mr Hayao was taking no part in making the film at all."
I do wish she'd explained exactly how they (she and her son) realized that. It would help convince me of the validity of that last statement. Oh, I'm quite certain that Miyazaki-san gave his son as much freedom as was asked for, it just seems strange that a promise like that would go unheeded.
"Mr Goro Miyazaki asked me just as I was leaving, 'Did you like the movie?' It was not an easy question to answer, under the circumstances. I said: 'Yes. It is not my book. It is your movie. It is a good movie.'
"I did not realise that I was speaking to anyone but him and the few people around us. I would have preferred that a private reply to a private question not be made public. I mention it here only because Mr Goro has mentioned it in his blog."
No idea why she would think such a question would be private, at least for any great length of time. Surely she realized that the instant the movie was released she'd have to give a public response to that question? In any case, it was a very diplomatically put answer.
"The excitement was maintained by violence, to a degree that I find deeply untrue to the spirit of the books."
Was she watching the same movie I was? Because there hardly seemed to be much violence, certainly in comparison to some of Studio Ghibli's earlier works. Heck, the kid couldn't even draw his sword for 99% of the movie!
"Both the American and the Japanese film-makers treated these books as mines for names and a few concepts, taking bits and pieces out of context, and replacing the story/ies with an entirely different plot, lacking in coherence and consistency. I wonder at the disrespect shown not only to the books but to their readers."
Now this got me very interested. It reminded me a lot of some of the things I'd heard about Howl's Moving Castle, which I've already mentioned was better than the original book, in my eyes. In any case, I wouldn't have called the movie 'incoherent,' exactly. There were a lot of unanswered questions up until the end, but that's part of the reason one keeps watching. To find the answers to those questions.
"I think the film's "messages" seem a bit heavyhanded because, although often quoted quite closely from the books, the statements about life and death, the balance, etc., don't follow from character and action as they do in the books."
This is where I go into my reading of the first book. Now, granted, I haven't gotten very far. Page six, to be exact. But those first six pages where almost entirely exposition with some mention of the balance thing. If much more of the book is like that I can see why the movie, while quoting from the book, would sound a tad "preachy" as she says later on.
"The moral sense of the books becomes confused in the film. For example: Arren's murder of his father in the film is unmotivated, arbitrary:"
She goes into detail at this point, which would be a major spoiler so I won't quote it here. Suffice to say that she would rather the motive have been presented at the beginning as she did with Ged in A Wizard of Earthsea instead of held in suspense until the last third.
This leaves me rather dreading further reading of that book, since it seems having such a clear answer from the start would defeat the purpose of turning the next page.
"But in the film, evil has been comfortably externalized in a villain, the wizard Kumo/Cob, who can simply be killed, thus solving all problems."
Well, yes. Here we get back to the whole book medium vs movie medium again. Movies are very visual. If there isn't anything happening on screen people won't pay attention. You can have an internal struggle, but there better be an external one, too, so that people have something to watch other than the character angsting. Ghibli's Tales From Earthsea have both, and while LeGuin might not like physical struggles with external evil it sure does make for a compelling story.
One more question, did she even notice that the good guys tried to talk Cob out of doing something stupidly evil? Perhaps not.
There's also the issue she had with the skin tone of the characters. Apparently the people of Earthsea are mostly dark skinned. I wouldn't have known that from the first six pages of exposition, but apparently that was her intent.
Now that I have gone through what an author had to say about the movie based on her books, I want to make one last note on what I thought of the movie. Not Studio Ghibli's best work, but a very good watch. Now I shall see if the other 191 pages of this book measure up.Current Mood:  not enough sleep Current Music: rabbit grooming. *flapflapflap* |
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This is a book about rabbits. cute little wild rabbits in the British country side that run from foxes and fight each other to the death. It's a wonderful book that was recommended to me by a councilor, since I like rabbits so much.
Well, I love the book, so I thought I'd look up the movie.
Overall, the movie is pretty good about condensing the essential story. And I love the treatment of the gull, Kehaar. *kerthunk into ground* "Perfect landing."
There are just a few little issues that I have with it.
One - The events after leaving the Sandleford warren are shown out of the original order. This makes things more than a bit confusing at times. I don't know if it would be confusing to those who haven't read the book, but it sure does for me.
Two - Nothing is mentioned of the hutch rabbits after the attempted escape. It is implied that they didn't get out, which makes Hazel's sacrifice rather meaningless. In the book all but one made it out and Hazel was praised as a hero.
Three - Cowslip doesn't join them after they leave the farm warren. Actually, the whole bit with the farm warren is cut down to barely anything, leaving the event feeling rushed.
Four - We aren't shown how Hazel escapes from the cat. He just shows up later. In the book quite a bit more is made of this and considering that the whole movie is barely an hour long I don't think it would have hurt to show these events.
Five - El-ahrairah is barely mentioned after the opening. That doesn't really matter much for the bulk of the story and I can understand why all the mythology was glossed over or cut out. The way a story has to flow in a movie is much different from the way it can flow in a book. That being said, all those stories being left out makes the ending just a bit confusing. And that's on top of problem four. I really think they could have handled that a bit better. The ending in the book made me cry my eyes out. The ending in the movie made me say, "What?"
I just realized that it's funny that there are five problems with this movie. One of the characters is called Fiver (hrairoo). Actually, hrair means 'many' for rabbits, as they can't count passed four.Current Mood:  sick Current Music: none |
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I watched Marley and Me this weekend. It was funny. In case the commercials confused you, it's the story of a young couple who buy a yellow lab puppy. The puppy turns out to be chaos incarnate. Of course, then they add babies to the mix and life gets even more interesting.
Not entirely sure how it got rated G, though. There really isn't anything offensive in it, exactly, but the language gets a little rough and there's no secret made of where the babies came from. Huh.
Apparently it's based on a real life story. I really want to find the book and read it. lol
Also watched Eragon, which was a lot better than online chatter made it out to be. Okay, so the dragons are a little off the fiftieth percentile. The story's tight, fun, and full of action. Now if I could just find out if they're planning a sequel. Or maybe find the book series.Current Mood:  cheerful Current Music: Watching Clone Wars series |
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I didn't go to school today. There's a very good reason.
I got up, ate, dressed, and chipped the ice off my car before starting out. I even managed to drive a few blocks.
Then a big, bright red minivan appeared in the intersection ahead of me. I slammed on the brakes but the right side of that van just kept getting bigger and bigger and...
WHAM!
All I could see was white. What the heck happened?! It took me a few moments to realize that the air bag went off. Mainly I realized that because the bag had deflated enough for me to see the windshield.
What was left of it, anyway. Though I didn't take that in yet. At that moment my attention was taken by a middle aged man opening the driver side door of my car and asking me if I was all right. I said yes and he proceeded to try to dial 911 from his cell phone.
So I took that moment to assess the situation. I was in one piece. My back pack in the seat next to me seemed to have barely moved. The car, however, had turned nearly 90 degrees to the right along with the minivan, which had a very large but mostly cosmetic dent in the rear passenger side door.
I also noticed that the driver side airbag had ripped the central part the steering wheel to shreds, there was the broken end of a knob from the steering column on the dashboard, also some sort of washer/nut thing the origin of which I couldn't even guess, and there was some sort of smoke that was making me cough. That cough probably didn't make my response to the other driver terribly convincing.
Then I noticed the little green shards of glass on the dashboard. Why does broken glass look turquoise? Anyway, I looked over and saw why. The panel covering the passenger side airbag and popped up (at roughly 100 mph, according to one of the cops who eventually arrived) and smashed up a good half of the windshield.
It was about then that the gravity of the situation sunk in and I started crying. Bawling, actually. Between the 911 operator, the guy from the corner house who called 911, the other driver, the lady who stopped to help, and the two cops I kind of lost track of how many times I had to tell people that I was physically unhurt.
Now here's the irony of this situation. The airbags, installed as a mandatory safety measure, actually caused me and the car more harm than the crash alone. A *safety* device caused harm. Now, the harm to me was mostly psychological. Being temporarily blinded at the moment of impact did *not* help my frame of mind. That smoke, which turned out to be something akin to talcum powder, and the cough it produced didn't help either. The big kicker was the gaping hole in the windshield. Do you have any idea how much new windshields cost?? Low end is around $150.
The harm to the car, obviously, was very physical. There was much more airbag related visual damage than actual impact damage that I could see. The front bumper of my car was cracked up and there was what looked like a black felt strap sticking out, but other than that it was fine. Strictly cosmetic. The engine hadn't even skipped a beat. The windshield, all that broken glass inside and outside of the car, and that whatever it was on the dashboard however...
And the stupid thing didn't even prevent me from hitting the steering wheel! I didn't even come in contact with the airbag at all! I was wearing my seat belt.
I would love to simply tell the body shop to forget about replacing the airbags. Just vacuum up the glass, replace the windshield, and check the headlight alignment. But that would be illegal. Air bags are a necessary part of cars, whether it makes sense or not, that's the law.
You know what? I think air bags are a really stupid idea. That's not to say they haven't come a long way from the early days when they could blow out eardrums and possibly kill someone shorter than, say, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Here's a thought, if you're really worried about people bumping into the steering wheel during an accident, why don't you make the steering column retract on impact? Or use some sort of smart material that will turn rubbery on impact? Or even both. Use the smart material for the part of the wheel you hold and retract the column.
I think it's doable. I mean, there's already a device out there that can stop a circular table saw so fast that it won't even cut your hand a tiny bit. (There are sensors of the blade that detect skin or something like that. It read a hot dog as a human finger so I don't know what exactly it's measuring.) Granted, the mechanisms are shot afterward and have to be replaced, but this is something that stops and retracts a full speed circular saw in a fraction of a second. I think something can be arranged for a car's steering wheel that won't require full replacement on use.Current Mood:  annoyed Current Music: none right now |
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AEYIIIIIIIIII!
I have a rabbit. I have a not even close to rabbit proofed apartment. I have tried several times to set up a barrier to keep him out of the unsafe areas. However, he isn't satisfied with the kitchen and pantry. He wants to explore the rest of the apartment!
Can't say as I blame him, but he has to stay on his side of the fence!
I so need a proper gate. Right now I'm working with a baby fence, a bookcase, and a box. The whole thing is a little over three feet tall.
And he very nearly cleared it.
*facepalm*
What he did do was knock the box off and land on the other side. He's done that several times now.
I can't let him out of his cage at night because I'd have to get up several times to collect him when he escapes. But keeping him locked up means I get to listen to him bang and rattle inside his cage all night.
Help!
Now, to put what I'm dealing with in perspective the world record for the bunny high jump is 39.17 inches. That's 3 feet 3.17 inches.
I have a bunny athlete!
Oooog.Current Mood: exhausted Current Music: something of TruTV |
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I'm home for the holidays. It's been great. Well, mostly.
Yesterday the house felt unusually cold. Mom found out why toward noon. The furnace had died.
The repairmen showed up promptly but there was a problem. A part needed to be replaced. Not just any part, mind you, it was a part that was back ordered. It'd take nearly a week to get in.
In the meantime, they loaned us a couple space heaters.
With those and the ones we already own we've managed to make parts of the house fairly livable.
Dad said, "This reminds me of the good old days. And why I never want to go back!"
At least we don't have to use out houses.Current Mood: cold Current Music: various family noises |
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Your rainbow is intensely shaded green, brown, and violet. What is says about you: You are an intelligent person. You appreciate the roughness of nature. You feel closer to people when you understand their imperfections. You are patient and will keep trying to understand something until you've mastered it. Find the colors of your rainbow at spacefem.com.
Looks rather muted to me.
And the last one isn't entirely true. I'm not particularly patient. I am, however, very obstinate and will keep pushing at things and people until I get answers.
P.S. Note to self. When there's a change in expected routine for the evening don't do anything except watch the clock. Otherwise I'll lose track of time and bad things will happen. Like missing evening mass for the holy day of obligation. Which means I have to find a time to go tomorrow. When I have two classes. That take up most of the day. GAAAAAA!Current Mood:  GAAA! I forgot about Mass! Current Music: Battle for Wesnoth background music |
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I ripped this transcript off of ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) mineka_c I haven't been able to find the original video, however.
This whole thing was so ridiculous that I just had to tear it apart point by point.
>>>
If Your Child is a Gothic, Reform Through the Lord! Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that young teenagers are prone to participating in. The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child:
(Um. Okay. Well, really being Goth is pretty nasty from my understanding. Then again, anything that depressing would be.)
* Frequently wears black clothing. [ Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<gosh,>') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.] I ripped this transcript off of <lj user="mineka_c"> I haven't been able to find the original video, however. This whole thing was so ridiculous that I just had to tear it apart point by point. >>> If Your Child is a Gothic, Reform Through the Lord! Listed below are some warning signs to indicate if your child may have gone astray from the Lord. Gothic (or goth) is a very obscure and often dangerous culture that young teenagers are prone to participating in. The gothic culture leads young, susceptible minds into an imagined world of evil, darkness, and violence. Please seek immediate attention through counselling, prayer, and parental guidance to rid your child of Satan's temptations if five or more of the following are applicable to your child: (Um. Okay. Well, really being Goth is pretty nasty from my understanding. Then again, anything that depressing would be.) * Frequently wears black clothing. <Gosh, the jacket I most often wear is mostly black. Does that make me goth? Does wearing black pants to church count?> * Wears band and/or rock t-shirts. <Or maybe the kid likes those bands. *shrug*> * Wears excessive black eye makeup, lipstick or nailpolish. <Well, maybe. It certainly does indicate poor taste.> * Wears any odd, silver jewelry or symbols. Some of these include: reversed crosses, pentagrams, pentacles, ankhs or various other Satanic worshipping symbols. <Ankhs? Up until then I was halfway buying this sublist. Not that reversed crosses are necessarily Satanic. They're also the symbol for one of the saints, Paul I think, who was crucified but requested that he be hung upside down so as not to be killed in the exact same manner as Jesus.> * Shows an interest in piercings or tattoos. <... Uh, ever heard of teenagers?> * Listens to gothic or any other anti-social genres of music. (Marilyn Manson claims to be the anti-Christ, and publicly speaks against the Lord. Please discard any such albums IMMEDIATELY.)<She does? Well, I don't really know anything about her so I couldn't say. This point actually has some validity as music is a rather powerful conveyor of ideas. I wouldn't recommend freaking out, though.> * Associates with other people that dress, act or speak eccentrically. <Define eccentric. Under the dictionary definition just about everyone I know, including my parents, are eccentric. And none of us are Goth.> * Shows a declining interest in wholesome activities, such as: the Bible, prayer, church or sports. <The key word here is declining, which would seem to indicate that the kid had an interest before. Which is different from me, since I never had an interest in sports and would dispute it's inclusion as a wholesome activity. Not necessarily related to the kid being Goth, by the way. Could be the kid is experiencing religious doubts, had a change in interests (it does happen, you know), or maybe something more serious. I'd worry about drugs before Goth.> * Shows an increasing interest in death, vampires, magic, the occult, witchcraft or anything else that involves Satan. <Inquiring minds want to know. These are teenagers we're talking about, right? Their finding out just how big and strange the world is. Death, at any rate, doesn't mean the kid's gone into Satanism. Maybe some kids at school were discussing the death of someone. Maybe he/she saw something on the news. Death is scary. As for the rest... there can be dangers, but don't flip out because your kid brought home a copy of Bram Stoker's Dracula.> * Takes drugs. <Get the kid help.> * Drinks alcohol. <Ditto.> * Is suicidal and/or depressed. <This is an indication of a chemical imbalance. Bring the kid to a doctor.> * Cuts, burns or partakes in any other method of self-mutilation. (This is a Satanic ritual that uses pain to detract from the light of God and His love. Please seek immediate attention for this at your local mental health center.) <Or the kid is looking for attention. Still, seeking medical advise is a good idea. Just don't rant to the doctor about how your kid sold his soul to the devil.> * Complains of boredom. <This guy never had kids, did he. I think everyone over the age of 5 complains of boredom. Frequently. Threaten to give the kid chores and they'll be busy in a heartbeat.> * Sleeps too excessively or too little. <Hello! Puberty! All kinds of crazy changes in the body that can seriously mess up the sleep cycle.> * Is excessively awake during the night. <Some people are just naturally night owls. *coughmecough*> * Dislikes sunlight or any other form of light. (This pertains to vampires promoting the idea that His light is of no use.) <Maybe. Or there could be something else going on. Like maybe the kid's sick.> * Demands an unusual amount of privacy. <One word: TEENAGER! I wasn't exactly a normal teen, but I did shut myself up in my room a lot. Hey, I'm the oldest of four. Little siblings are annoying at that age.> * Spends large amounts of time alone. <See above. Sheesh. Maybe the kid's just an introvert.> * Requests time alone and quietness. (This is so that your child may speak to evil spirits through meditation.) <Again, these are teenagers we're talking about here. Maybe the kid's introspective. Maybe the rest of the family is noisy and he just wants time to himself to relax. These kids are trying to find out who they are and it's hard to do that when there's a lot of noise. The inside of their heads is crazy enough without a lot of insanity outside.> * Insists on spending time with friends while unaccompanied by an adult. <... Do I even have to explain how that's perfectly normal?> * Disregards authority figures; teachers, priests, nuns and elders are but a few examples of this. <The rebellious teen is a stereotype for a reason.> * Misbehaves at school. <Normal, but should be dealt with for disciplinary reasons.> * Misbehaves at home. <Same. Seriously, has this guy even seen a child before?> * Eats goth-related foods. Count Dracula cereal is an example of this. <Say what??> * Drinks blood or expresses an interest in drinking blood. (Vampires believe this is how to attain Satan. This act is very dangerous and should be stopped immediately.) <Gee. I guess that African tribe that mixes cow blood with their milk are all Satanic vampires. Seriously, though, this doesn't bode well in our culture and really should be looked at.> * Watches cable television or any other corrupted media sources. (Ask your local church for proper programs that your child may watch.) <Cable is the work of the Devil? I better let EWTN know. (In case you don't know, EWTN is a cable network run by *nuns*.> * Plays videos games that contains violence or role-playing nature. <*bangs head against wall* You know, the funny thing is that kids who play video games are actually less likely to be violent in real life than kids who don't. There have been studies on this. I mean, sheesh, I've played a few first-person shooters. I stink, but I have tried. I also play AD&D and the occasional LARP (live action role-play). And for the record, I go to church every week.> * Uses the internet excessively and frequently makes time for the computer. <Well, this is an indication of something that starts with 'g', but it's not Goth. *coughgeekcough*> * Makes Satanic symbols and/or violently shakes head to music. <Satanic symbols, not good. Violently shaking head to music... Well, it's that or tapping your feet and at least in a car that isn't a good idea.> * Dances to music in a provocative or sexual manner. <Pick a tradition dance style. Any traditional dance style. Well, maybe not the polka.> * Expresses an interest in sex. <Excuse me while I die laughing.> * Masturbates <Ew. But not necessarily Goth.> * Is homosexual and/or bisexual. <Gee. You're really helping us religious sorts look tolerant and open minded. What does a sexual dysfunction have to do with Goth? Or what he really seems to be talking about, Satanism?> * Pursues dangerous cult religions. Such include: Satanism, Scientology, Philosophy, Paganism, Wicca, Hinduism and Buddhism.-Wears pins, stickers or anything else that contains these various phrases: "I'm so gothic, I'm dead", "woe is me", "I'm a goth". <Philosophy is a religion??> * Claims to be a goth. <Okay, then you can worry.> If five or more of these apply to your child, please intervene immediately. The gothic culture is dangerous and Satan thrives within it. If any of these problems persist, enlist your child into your local mental health center. <Some of the above points do warrant a visit to a mental health center, but if the kid really is involved in Satanism then I'd recommend finding an exorcist.> Current Mood: annoyed Current Music: none at the moment |
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* Take a picture of yourself right now.
* Don’t change your clothes.
* Don’t fix your hair
* Just take a picture.
* Post that picture with no editing. (Except maybe to get the image size down to something reasonable. Don’t go posting an eight megapixel image.)
* Include these instructions.
My hair is in a pony tail, that's why you can't see most of it.
Is it just me, or do I look like I'm trying to intimidate the camera?
Quite a little slice of myself here. My stuffed animals on the shelf behind me, my Inuyasha wall scroll beyond that, that big blue book next to the stuffed animals is Bartlet's Familiar Quotations, not all my shirts fit in the one dresser drawer so I can't close the drawer... man I gotta get this place organized.
Sep. 25th, 2008 @ 05:00 pm
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| » Some things I'll never understand. |
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The few times I pay attention to the news I sometimes hear about "hate crimes." I watch a lot of crime docudramas and there'll often be mention of "hate crimes."
But what exactly is a "hate crime"? People seem to ask if something was a hate crime when extreme violence was involved and the victim was black, gay, or some other special group. A "hate crime" seems to be a crime committed because the criminal hates what the victim is.
That's silly. If one person beats or kills a second person it seems reasonable to assume that the first person hated something about the second person. If that emotion wasn't involved that'd be much more scary. The idea behind "hate crimes" seems to be legislating how people think. That doesn't seem right to me at all.
But then, I believe people should be treated equally. I really don't care what color skin the victim had or what sexual perversion if any he or she subscribed to. I don't even care if the victim was biologically male or female.
This is all intellectually, of course. If I hear that the victim was a small child that tugs at the heart strings. Any crime of violence is terrible, but the impact is worse when the victim is helpless. But a "hate crime"? No. I don't acknowledge that as a legitimate category. Call it what it is, whether that be assault, battery, attempted murder, or even murder.
Sep. 17th, 2008 @ 10:50 am
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| » Silly and serious |
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I ran into a discussion about whether yoga and tai chi are incompatible with the Catholic faith. Seems a lot of people put those exercises in the same class as tarot cards and idol worship.
... Uh, reality check please?
Just because something comes from a pagan culture doesn't make it instantly bad and incompatible with Catholicism. Or do these people also want to rid the world of mistletoe, wedding rings, and just about every well known holy day (Easter, Christmas, Halloween/All Saints Day...).
Okay, so these exercises involve the flow of energy through the body and the occasional meditation. It's New Age! It's the work of the Devil! Panic in the streets! AAAA!!!
~.~ Point one: There is energy in the body. No, really. Our bodies generate small amounts of electricity. There's also blood, lymph, and who knows what else. Now what exactly flows while doing these exercises I don't know. It could be all of these or none of these but something else entirely. I know that with acupressure, which also helps with the body's flow, that something gets moving that makes me feel better.
Point two: What's wrong with meditation? It's a huge part of Catholicism. Don't want to contemplate your navel? Who says you have to? Lots of Catholics who perform these exercises contemplate their faith while relaxing their bodies.
All in all, I don't get it. There are a lot of things connected with New Age that actually work. But just because I drink herbal teas, use natural remedies, eat a lot of organic foods, see a chiropractor, and try some Eastern exercises doesn't mean I'm going to buy the philosophy.
Aug. 25th, 2008 @ 09:59 pm
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| » Silly creatures. |
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Humans are silly creatures.
Nothing against people, all creatures are silly. At least the ones with a central nervous system. Dogs are silly. Cats are silly. Rabbits and hamsters and lizards and turtles are all silly creatures.
But you know what makes a creature even sillier? When it takes itself seriously. Ironically, the people who are the most serious and against being silly are the silliest of all. That's what makes cats sillier than dogs. Dogs being silly are just being dogs but a cat doing something silly are much funnier because they try to hide that silliness so much.
So embrace your silliness and you become less silly, but also more comfortable with yourself.
Be silly! Revel in silliness! Bleat like goats and sheep while climbing mountains! Roll in the grass like a puppy! Enjoy life!
Aug. 10th, 2008 @ 02:08 pm
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| » It's tiresome |
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You know, I try to ignore the hateful things some people say about my religion. It was fairly easy up till now because I live in a rather strongly Christian community. Then some bozo from the University of Morris just an hour or so up the road had to make a stink about the Eucharist. He called it a frickin' cracker and several other things. Mostly he called it a cracker. He also seems to be under the impression that the Catholic Church as one of its dogmas claims that Jews are inferior.
... Right. Obviously someone doesn't know what dogma is.
"But according to a long-standing usage a dogma is now understood to be a truth appertaining to faith or morals, revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the Scriptures or by tradition, and proposed by the Church for the acceptance of the faithful. It might be described briefly as a revealed truth defined by the Church -- but private revelations do not constitute dogmas, and some theologians confine the word defined to doctrines solemnly defined by the pope or by a general council, while a revealed truth becomes a dogma even when proposed by the Church through her ordinary magisterium or teaching office. A dogma therefore implies a twofold relation: to Divine revelation and to the authoritative teaching of the Church."
From The Catholic Encyclopedia.
Okay, so the definition isn't exactly simple. Basically it's the stuff about the Church that doesn't change. Jesus is God and Man. That's dogma. God is Three Persons, One God. That's dogma. Read the Apostle's Creed. What's in there is dogma. There really isn't much else that is.
But back to this rather sickening business. I was tempted to pull out all my apologetic stops. Do research and counter argue every one of his points.
But that would involve actually reading his stuff. I did, in part. I was sickened. He claimed to be getting death threats, though he never posted any excerpts. He did post other letters he got. Mostly saying he's evil or they're going to pray for him. One accused him of being a Freemason, which is pretty weird I think. But yeah.
It's just tiring. There's no way I'm going to change his mind. Anyone who's mind I might change could just as easily go to any one of a number of apologetic sites on the web. Most of which are much better than anything I could come up with.
And I'm just so sick of this attitude. This is part of the reason I left college in the first place.
Sigh.
Aug. 5th, 2008 @ 10:56 am
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| » Is it a full moon? |
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On taking a look at the news, Dad made the comment, "What? Did someone let all the loonies out today?"
There is some odd stuff in the headlines.
Flight Diverted After Man Strips, Tries to Open Exit Door -- It gets better. He was stopped by a soccer team that just happened to be on the same flight.
Enormous Whale Carcass Falls Off Hawaiian Truck -- This is when Dad made that comment
Pilot Leaves Controls of Plane to Free Parachutist -- Er. Who's flying the plane?
Two in a Million: Twins Born - One Black, One White -- Uh. Whoa.
Katie Holmes Seeks Career Suicide -- ... Who?
Service Monkey Lawsuit -- Say what?
2 Florida Men to Spend a Year Prison for Killing Goose -- And just when you thought animal rights couldn't get any weirder...
Okay, okay. Most of these stories make sense once you start reading them. But still.
And I know these are all from Fox News, the big bad boogy of cable news. They have some neat stuff, what can I say?
Jul. 19th, 2008 @ 10:45 pm
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| » The meme of extreme length. |
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100 books, so many of which I haven't even heard of.
The Big Read reckons that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed."
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.
4) Reprint this list in your own LJ so we can try and track down these people who've read 6 and force books upon them ;-)
WATCHING MOVIES DOES NOT COUNT!!!
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen A doorstop book. But a good doorstop book.
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien Best fantasy series **EVER**.
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling All of them. The last one almost in one sitting.
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible Well, not all of it. I skipped over Numbers and a few of the other boring bits.
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott I cried and cried.
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare Eventually. Maybe.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien Heck. Dad read it too me before I *could* read. I was practically raised on this stuff.
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams Gotta borrow it from Dad sometime.
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll Nowhere near as surreal as the Disney movie.
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame Well, sorta. Most of it was read to me when I was small. But I have read some chapters myself.
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis Another series I was raised on.
34 Emma - Jane Austen Never again.
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen It sounds interesting.
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis Duh.
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne So much cute!
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell Creepy.
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery I was a little disappointed with the ending.
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert I think Dad has this book, too.
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen Maybe.
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley Did I say Animal Farm was creepy? This is creepy squared.
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas I read a picture book version of it once. ^^; Kinda curious about it now.
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker It was really cool until they killed the female vampire. It got kinda long after that.
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett Classic.
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens Some bits were kinda random, but it was good.
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White I didn't like the ending.
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle I've read some of the stories, but not nearly all. The Speckled Band was cool.
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare Idiot title character.
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo
That's, what, 18 that I've read?
Wow.
Jul. 8th, 2008 @ 09:37 pm
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| » Anime Review: Shugo Chara |
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Her special power is being able to hold her hands like that.
I really have mixed feelings about this anime. On the one hand it's a pretty good story about a girl who's trying to figure out who she is. It even manages to make fun of some of the conventions of the magical girl genre, mostly by having Amu flip out when she first transforms or gets a new weapon. The ease with which she uses her powers is even explained by the fact that the Guardian Characters are partially controlling her actions, and they know what they're doing (usually).
On the other hand... so much pink. @.@
Seriously, now. Friendship speeches and the obligatory making friends out of enemies thing aside this series has some serious problems. Not the least of which is how slow it is in the beginning. The first few episodes is little more than Amu flipping out over the weirdness thrust upon her alternating with bishie sparkles whenever one of the Guardians shows up. (Guardians as in the insanely powerful school council, not the Guardian Characters who are little chibi manifestations of a child's would be self. Yes, it does get confusing.) Apparently adults can have Guardian Characters, too, though early in the series it's mentioned that the GCs disappear as the person grows up. Continuity, please?
Then there's the romance angle. This is almost always a sticking point with me in shojo series as the people involved tend to act like idiots. And not the funny kind of idiot like in Takahashi-san's work. We're talking competence goes out the window level idiocy. This show doesn't have that so much but Amu does have a huge crush on one guy, a sort of crush on another guy, and a love-hate relationship with a third. Then there's the near platoon of guys who are crazy about her. Yeah, definitely shojo.
But wait, there's a surprise. She's in fifth grade!!! I'm getting Cardcaptor Sakura flashbacks. Someone, help me. Never mind that every guy I ever knew at that age who liked a girl expressed it by teasing her mercilessly. Never mind the improbability of a girl that age wanting to pursue such a relationship because of mutual immaturity. Never mind the nervous tick inducing weirdness of a third grader stalking a fifth grader because of a crush.
What I really want to know is what is up with that cat-boy!! He's obviously several years older than the main cast and yet he's obviously flirting with Amu. He even bites her ear, forces her into an indirect kiss over some ice cream, and reaches into her pockets! And that's not even counting all the pastel love sparkle moments.
Hello! You're hitting on a preteen! A preteen!
Good grief. I haven't even mentioned her parents yet. I've almost gotten used to the idea that anyone over the age of 20 is more than likely going to be incompetent, but Amu's parents take it to a whole other level. They aren't parents, they're the instigators of her 'cool and spicy' fan club. Seriously, they act exactly like her classmates do when she does something 'cool and spicy.' And why do they say 'cool and spicy' in English, anyway? In fact, why do they use English for the transformation names, and the into narration, and the attack names, and so many other random things? It's not even like they can speak it very well.
"Anrokuk!" for "Unlock!"
"Amureto Harto!" for "Amulet Heart!"
The list goes on.
I guess it's kinda cool that they think using English is cool, but it just sounds weird. The only English that's actually done well is the opening narration. Making me wonder where they got that from.
Over all, this is a strange, disturbed series. No idea why I've watched as much as I have. Aside from a certain amount of curiosity over the characters' goals and moments of cuteness.
It's also a pretty good model for me on what not to do.
Jul. 7th, 2008 @ 03:55 pm
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| » Wall-E is so cute! |
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If you haven't seen this movie, you really should. Now. It's so cute! I want a Wall-E plushie!
I went yesterday with my Dad and little brother. ^_^
The story is very anvilicious with it's message. Dad described it as having the subtlety of a pile driver. But when one's following the wacky antics of an adorable little robot, nobody really cares! Besides, it's anvilicious in a way I can handle. Humans are not the bane of all things. In fact, the humans who get lines are very nice people.
A nice, upbeat movie. ^_^
I mentioned that some of the humans get lines. They actually get more lines than most of the rest of the cast combined. Not all that surprising given that most of the cast has two or three words in their entire vocabulary.
Wall-E himself doesn't speak for several scenes at the beginning of the movie. Of course, he doesn't have anyone to talk to, but he's also not the brightest bulb in the box. But he makes up for in in shear determination! And cuteness! Did I mention that he's cute! He's adorable!
Jun. 30th, 2008 @ 08:25 am
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| » My bunny's bleeding! |
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I was trimming his nails. It's the third time I've done that and the first time I cut a nail too close. It didn't help any that I was in the process of positioning the clipper when he kicked and as a startle reflex my fist closed.
Man, rabbits bleed a lot from their nails. I've got some quite respectable sized blood stains on my shirt and pants from my attempts to keep him still long enough for me to staunch the blood. I think he's stopped bleeding now, but he won't let me close enough to tell.
He doesn't like me right now. T.T Not that I can blame the little guy.
I really wish I had some cornstarch.
Jun. 5th, 2008 @ 09:32 pm
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