| (no subject) |
[Jul. 22nd, 2007|01:06 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  aggravated | ] |
I just saw Transformers.
It sucked hard.
Mainly _because_ of the robots.
When it started as a remake of Herbie the Love Bug, I was totally on side.
Then Optimus Prime finally showed up, and everything transformed into crap.
You know how George Lucas edited together and then refilmed a whole bunch of clips from old third rate war movies to make the battle scenes in Star Wars?
Michael Bay re-edited and re-filmed a whole bunch of clips from old third-rate Michael Bay movies.
grrrrrrrrrrr. |
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| Two things: |
[Jun. 30th, 2007|11:06 am] |
One: A friend of mine has started to grow sub-facial hair. That is to say, it's hair growing under his chin and at the very edge of his jawline, but not on his actual face. He calls it an Abraham Lincoln. He told me he was inspired to grow it by my example.
I'm always a little shocked when my friends tell me I've influenced them in any way. I see myself as a follower. I dispense advice and opinion freely because I assume no one will take it seriously. On occassion, someone tells me that they do, and it throws me for a little loop.
Two: Speaking of influence, I just realized that the beard I have grown belongs, at least in part, to Umberto Eco.
Not that he would want credit for said beard ...
although he might be a amused by the possibility of a beard that has its own double-coded subtext of literary influence, a subtext which was not consciously intended by the beard's author. |
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| Un-ill an |
[Aug. 3rd, 2006|10:54 am] |
Well, looks like we can rule out "direct descendant". Looks like he didn't have kids.
Which isn't too suprising, I imagine any johnson clan would attempt to connect itself back to Samuel.
I'm still as intrigued by the discovery of this chunk of family lore.
Factual or not it reeks of truthiness (coming to a dictionary near you). |
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| Ill An |
[Aug. 3rd, 2006|10:37 am] |
So, I was recently told that I am directly descended from Dr. Johnson.
Yes, that Dr. Johnson.
Not that that's a totally solid fact, but my mum mentioned it, and said that her mother (who was born a Johnson) believed it to be the case--which is to say, it was believed by her family to be the case, and based on more than having the common surname.
Thing is, I've always thought of myself as more of a Boswell.
Other thing is, that makes Dr. Johnson the only ancestor of mine I have any idea about, going back more that one generation beyond people I have know in my lifetime. (I.e., I know only an iota or two of information--mostly geographical--about the parents of some of my grandparents).
There's even some ethnic confusion about ancestral family names, so its weird to have a historical celebrity suddenly expose himself from between obscured roots. |
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| Cartoons: Last Words |
[Feb. 13th, 2006|02:33 pm] |
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Danish Mohammed cartoons story but were unable to unravel from the shrieking mass media is probably covered in this Q+A with Doug Saunders of the Globe and Mail. You may need to register to see it. It will be worth it. Pass it around to interested people.
P.S. My brain is totally gay for Mr. Saunders. |
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| Protocols of the ELders of Copenhagen. |
[Feb. 8th, 2006|09:29 am] |
Sadly, this explains a lot about the Danish cartoon crisis. (Although it did give a chance for the Daily Show to run the graphic "Mohammed, Mo' Problems").
Cartoons of Mohammend as a dog and pig, and having sex with animals (I think), were circulated to Muslims as if they had been published in a Danish newspaper.
I had read rumours about this, and it is interesting/good to see it substantiated.
Basically, Danish Muslim activist, offended by original cartoons and unable to get appropriate response from mainstream Denmark, puts together a folio with the cartoons to show to leaders of influence in predominantly Muslim countries, in order to get some international outrage going (see: Canadian seal hunt).
He also includes PIECES OF PERSONAL HATE MAIL SENT TO HIM BY ANTI-IMMIGRANT NUT JOBS WHO OPPOSE HIS ACTIVISM, including crude, disgusting, anti Mohammed drawings. These hate mail drawings are also presumed to have been published in Danish newspapers, by the kinds of people who tend to form crazed mobs. Voila.
The 'net rumour cast him as a sinister agent provocateur (possible wearing same under the robes), distributing forgeries to bring about / inflame the Clash of Civilizations (TM).
Turns out he's just a well-meaning moron. |
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| There you go. |
[Feb. 3rd, 2006|08:46 am] |
From the Globe:
“The protests in the Middle East have proven that the cartoonist was right,” said Tarek Fatah, a director of the Muslim Canadian Congress.
“It's falling straight into that trap of being depicted as a violent people and proving the point that, yes, we are.”
That's quite a quote there. Dig that exasperation. Dude usually has his head on straight from what I've read.
I do feel that the EU newspapers have passed the tipping point from showing solidarity for free speech to deliberate nose tweaking, but whaddya gonna do?
I also believe that as with Toronto gun violence/French riots/Queens' Homecoming riots/what have you, the root cause of violent reactions to these cartoons is young men 15-27. But again, whaddya going to do? |
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| (no subject) |
[Jan. 24th, 2006|09:22 am] |
I am remarkably pleased with this outcome. As someone who despises the current incarnation of all four major federal parties, it's probably close to the mix I would have voted for, had we had that option.
Good things:
-We are no longer run by this country's version of Mexico's PRI
-The Liberal Party's nutsack gets a good tazering. They've needed it for a while.
-Paul Martin resigns. Maybe someone new and good can come along. (I suspect I'm an Ignatieff Liberal at heart, so we'll see how that plays out).
-The Cons did less well than predicted, and face three much more progressive parties.
-We now have two funcioning national parties, instead of just one. This, I hope, will raise everybody's game.
-The Bloc Quebecois lost seats and popular vote.
-NDP gained ground, which offsets IMO much of the Conservative advance.
-Now the "West" has _nothing_ to kvetch about. (Hah!)
-The federal politics are less crippled by the potentially fatal four-way regional standoff (AKA Canadian standoff).
-Conservative minority, with an actual or ad hoc coalition with either the Bloc or the NDP, occupies basically the same space on the political spectrum as the Liberal and old Progressive Conservative majorities have since 1984, if not earlier.
-Ignatieff in; Bulte out; Kent out; Stronach in (teehee); Chow in;
-The person I voted for did not get in, which is okay with me, because I really dislike her, and was none too pleased about having to choose her.
-If I thought my decision was a tough one, at least I'm not elligible to vote in the Palestinian Authority (good luck over there!).
-The Gomery business was close to the worst kind of political corruption. Hopefully we've taken care of it.
Bad things:
-Wappel in (grrrr!); Fry in (I think); Minna in; the Maritimes look like goofballs.
-Albertans still vote like Midwich Cuckoos, provincially and federally.
-I'm worried about the CBC |
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| Serenity--more than just a sponge. |
[Oct. 27th, 2005|04:04 pm] |
| [ | mood |
| | Cromulent | ] |
| [ | music |
| | Sports radio | ] |
I saw Serenity on Tuesday. (Oh, uh, _spoiler alert_, I guess).
Before I start kvetching, I'll say I enjoyed it, as did the guy I saw it with (who has never seen the show). Very glad I chose it over Domino and Doom. That said ...
The dialogue was often cover-your-ears bad, and many plot points were too predictable, which was especially disappointing since I had always found Buffy surprising. And Joss, stop setting your "campfire scenes" around actual campfires. When they did that in Blazing Saddles, it was meant to be a joke.
However, the story was decent, and hung together well, and the action was excellent, for the most part. The Operative was perfectly executed as a great pulp character, which is saying a lot since we've seen the type before. I wouldn't mind a spin-off series of some sort with him as the star. And the fact is, I really like the cast. Baldwin is becoming one of the actors I am most pleased to see. I hope he gets tonnes of work. And the women! One of Mr. Whedon's key strengths in all his works is casting a whole range of really appealing female actors--who don't necessarily fit the standard popsy model--and then giving them roles that make them even more appealing.
I have seen a few episodes of the TV series, and liked them well enough, but I have not yet made time to see the rest. Having seen the movie, I will probably seek them out soon.
I believe it was either Derrick Smalls or Nigel Tufnel who said "It's a fine line between stupid and clever", and after viewing Serenity, I realise that the concept rests on the stupid side of the line. In my books, that's not necessarily a bad thing. The concept of Buffy was blatantly stupid, but the execution produced some of the most clever moments of television this era. The Alias concept is stupid, but the show pretends not to notice, which worked pretty well for a while. Firefly/Serenity doesn't seem to realise it is stupid, has never come close to clever, that I've seen, and so ends up entertaining but unremarkable.
Notes:
-Serenity/Firefly obviously sprang in part from some of Mr. Whedon's Alien 4 notebooks.
-I have a personal problem with the allegorical aspect of the backstory. I've read some gloat about Joss's exhaltation of the US mythological model over French-style statism (eye of the beholder, okay?) or praise for the triumph of sloppy individualism over a quasi-fascist pacified utopia (never heard that one before), but I have trouble getting past a historical allegory where the heroes are from the side that fought to defend slavery. I also get creeped by the savage, amoral, cannabalistic Reavers. Yeah, they're kinda cool, but its hard to ignore that in this Wild West allegory, they cleary represent those treacherous Injuns.
-WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME THAT RAFI AND YAN WERE IN IT? They were the twins with the accents. Those guys went to my high school! I never spoke to either of them, they were a year or two behind us, but they were twins, and they were named Rafi and Yan, so they were kinda recognizable. But how did they end up with British accents in a made-in-Hollywood sci-fi movie? I don't think they were even in the drama club at school. My amazement is compounded by the fact that I usually keep careful track of people I barely know who achieve low levels of fame. How did they slide beneath my radar? Crankygrrl, you should have been on this from day one. |
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| Tsunami disaster relief idea |
[Jan. 2nd, 2005|04:57 pm] |
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BIG IDEA TO MAXIMIZE DONATIONS !!! (?)
Since the Canadian Government has pledged to give matching dollars in aid to the big charity organisations until Jan. 11 (for every private dollar donated, the gov't will give another dollar) American donors might want to consider directing their donations to the Canadian branches of their favourite charities (Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Branch of Unicef, Oxfam, etc.)
I believe those Canadian charities toll-free numbers will probably work for callers from the US.
I believe US donors would be effectively doubling their donations. The big name Canadian charities (as do the US) have very good ratios of overhead to aid reaching tyhe field.
I have a small friends list, so of you think this idea is correct and will work, please re-post or summarize it in your own journal, blog, or what have you.
Happy New Year to you all, be thankful for what you have.
P.S. For the past three days I've been working (to be clear, I'm a temp, not a volunteer) at a call centre for the Canadian Red Cross, and I've been very impressed by peoples' generosity. Even (especially) the people who take the effort to call and donate $20, or whatever they can manage.
The Red Cross is doing well, but the call volumes have been slowing at our call centre, so now is a great time to call, there are people waiting to answer the phones 24 hours a day. |
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| (no subject) |
[Dec. 10th, 2004|01:45 pm] |
Too much beer last night.
As I and a slightly less usual gang of idiots are just about to leave the Victory cafe (having, against the odds discovered a mutual appreciation of Sasha Baron Cohen's Kazahkstani journalist, and gone on to recreate each of his adventures we can remember) the girls at the next table ask if I would mind taking their picture with their camera.
Now, I'm in my cups, so it takes me a sec to figure out how to press the button on their digital camera--by which time G has pulled out his own camera, to document my fumbling.
So I say
"Hey! Meta-photography!"
At which point one of my "models" (I don't want to say posers) says "Did you just say 'meta-photography'?" So I slur "Yes, meta-photography." And then finally manage to take the photo.
I think we both found the exchange enriching.
Then
There was karaoke.
A sampling of my performance:
-Devil's Haircut
-Fell in Love with a Girl
-Buenos Aires*
-Don't cry for me Argentina*
-Short Skirt/Long Jacket
-Wango Tango**
-We're Not Gonna Take It***
-Fat Lip (Sum 41)
Also, when my turn came to select a song for another performer, I chose ... well I don't remember what the actual song was, but it was so technically difficult, that the performer, S, actually fell right over the table onto the floor, legs in the air, while in mid-chorus.
Yes, I'm sure it was the technical difficulty, and not the beer.
*Both from Evita. Both of which I could not find the tempo or the downbeat. Both of which were gonged and skipped before the second chorus by my audience of 3.
**Not from Evita, from Teh Nuge! But suffered the same fate as above.
***Selected by another singer for me to perform. During my rendition of this song, a young woman or two burst into our room to tell us we suck. Fortunately, the song's lyrics provided me with an instant comeback to her heckling. Indeed, I was not going to take it. |
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| Question for the floor: |
[Dec. 9th, 2004|11:21 am] |
Can any of you think of a scene in a movie or tv show, where a character answers a phone, and then uses prerecorded music on a tape player, and a series of fake voices, to convince the person calling them that they're rapped up in a large company's answering system?
I put this idea in a script, and now I feel like I may have swiped it, so I'd like some verification. |
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| Corrollary ... |
[Nov. 12th, 2004|02:36 pm] |
(... or something) to POINT NUMBER 4 OF MY LAST POST:
Its "common knowledge" lately that Canadians, as a group, are different from USians when it comes to politics. We're more progressive, more lefty, and whatnot.
But the revelation of the urban/rural split in the US election made me wonder to what degree our national differences are explained away by the fact that so many Canadians live in cities.
If the US split, creating a territory that had the same urban to rural ratio as Canada, would it also soon have public medical insurance, strict gun control, gay marriage, and a neglected military? Obviously they'd still be a bunch of loudmouths, but aside from that, would our political leanings then seem so different?
And just what exactly is it about urban living anyway? Or what is it about rural life? |
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| I have had four thoughts, which I would like to share. |
[Nov. 12th, 2004|11:43 am] |
I have had four thoughts, which I would like to share (but I can't guarantee they're original).
1. Although I loved the Incredibles the second time I saw it, I am very uncomfortable about the sexual politics it presents, particularly involving the arc involving the daughter and her relationship to her father, when considered in light of the father/wife arc. And I was just about prepared to dismiss my concerns as expecting too much politics from a single work of art, when I saw Elastigirl on TV shilling for fucking TIDE. I shit you not.
Still love the movie, though.
2. The fact that [Yasser Arafat was considered a human symbol of national liberation by the Palestinian] people tells you not so much about either Arafat or the Palestinian people, as it does about the nature of [human symbols of national liberation] thoughout history. It makes me relieved us Canucks no longer venerate Wolfe, but rather the frizzy-haired alcoholic on the ten dollar bill, and we're usually sarcastic when we do it anyway.
3. After considering point 1, I realised that Monsters Inc. is actually a pretty astute parallel about the Western world's petroleum addiction.
Even if casting the people of the Middle East/Nigeria/Venezuela as a *weally cute widdle girl* is rather condescending, we'd still be better off finding ways to make her laugh instead of cry.
4. My analysis of the geographic distribution of the US election results, and its correlation to why so many Canadians backed Kerry/are more progressive/etc.:
It's not North/South or centre/fringe or anything like that. It's simply urban/rural, and Canada (counter-inuitively) has a WAAAAAY higher percentage population living in big cities than does the US.
If we're going to get the right things done on this continent, everyone needs to really grok that geographic artifact. |
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| One more thing ... |
[Nov. 5th, 2004|12:22 am] |
Okay, so I may be slightly gay for this guy for some reason, but just after I'd written my last post, I noticed Colby Cosh has covered some similar territory, dealing mostly with Clinton and Bush, but he does so in a format which more resembles a structured essay, and in a manner which may point to a way out of this mess.
He's worth a peek, even if in his last paragraph he veers off course, back into the right-wing blogosphere.
Oh, and I learned something from the Democratic Underground--which offered an analysis of the three main groups of registered USian Democrats:I'm a Centre-left libertarian*.
And I have no theories as to how Canadians select our Prime Ministers. In fact, your average Canadian usually seems stunned by even our most predictable electoral outcomes, the way sheep get startled by the sunrise**.
*Note the l miniscule.
**Apologies to D. Adams. |
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monkeycommando's journal