Now playing: Andy M. Stewart and Manus Lunny - Freedom Is Like Gold
via FoxyTunes
I was at the bookstore a few days ago and came across "Immortal Poems of the English Language." Intrigued, I picked up a copy and found many a good gem, though it seemed to be missing a few that I really enjoyed. In light of it only being 600 odd pages from about 150 authors, I can see why some of the more prolific poets aren't quoted in full. The "Anonymous" section has proved fertile ground for poems about love, and this one particularly caught my eye.
Love Not Me
Anonymous
Love not me for comely grace,
For my pleasing eye or face,
Nor for any outward part:
No, nor for a constant heart!
For these may fail or turn to ill:
So thou and I shall sever.
Keep therefore a true woman's eye,
And love me still, but know not why!
So hast thou the same reason still
To doat upon me ever.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Friday, April 25, 2008
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Since School is fair to middlin'...
Now playing: Cris Velasco - Minotaur Boss Battle
via FoxyTunes
...I'll talk about leisure for a bit instead.
I finally finished the first God of War, and it really is quite a good game. I'd say it covers the "epic" base where Devil May Cry covers the "badass."
The three moments that I knew it was an awesome game are as follows...
- The beginning of the road to Athens, where you climb a large set of stairs to an overlook of an enormous plain where the host of Athens is gathered. And right there in the middle of the battlefield stands Ares, monstrously large, scooping up soldiers by the handful and crushing them. I knew I was in for a tough time when the camera crested the stairway and brought that sight into view.
- Near the end of the game I found myself (that is, the main character, Kratos) trapped by Ares in some trans-dimensional area with my resurrected wife and child, defending them from scores of doppelgangers. And the clincher was that the circle button, which had been used to deliver all sorts of pain to enemies and the occasional (off screen) sexual act (God of War definitely earned its "mature" rating) was now used to embrace his family, transferring some of his health to them in order to keep them from dying at the hands of the evil clones. After a full game of ripping, stabbing, dismembering, and otherwise annihilating scores of baddies, as well as many un-heroic acts on the part of Kratos, I found this tender mode of gameplay very touching, made especially so by the battle going on around his loved ones.
- Finally, the grand finale of the Challenge of Hades in Pandora's Temple: a giant, steampunk minotaur who can literally chew Kratos up and spit him out, all while the amazing soundtrack blasts hellishly in the background. Observe...
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
...I'll talk about leisure for a bit instead.
I finally finished the first God of War, and it really is quite a good game. I'd say it covers the "epic" base where Devil May Cry covers the "badass."
The three moments that I knew it was an awesome game are as follows...
- The beginning of the road to Athens, where you climb a large set of stairs to an overlook of an enormous plain where the host of Athens is gathered. And right there in the middle of the battlefield stands Ares, monstrously large, scooping up soldiers by the handful and crushing them. I knew I was in for a tough time when the camera crested the stairway and brought that sight into view.
- Near the end of the game I found myself (that is, the main character, Kratos) trapped by Ares in some trans-dimensional area with my resurrected wife and child, defending them from scores of doppelgangers. And the clincher was that the circle button, which had been used to deliver all sorts of pain to enemies and the occasional (off screen) sexual act (God of War definitely earned its "mature" rating) was now used to embrace his family, transferring some of his health to them in order to keep them from dying at the hands of the evil clones. After a full game of ripping, stabbing, dismembering, and otherwise annihilating scores of baddies, as well as many un-heroic acts on the part of Kratos, I found this tender mode of gameplay very touching, made especially so by the battle going on around his loved ones.
- Finally, the grand finale of the Challenge of Hades in Pandora's Temple: a giant, steampunk minotaur who can literally chew Kratos up and spit him out, all while the amazing soundtrack blasts hellishly in the background. Observe...
Enough, More Later.
- James
Thursday, March 20, 2008
You know when it's a good time to blog...
Now playing: Rodrigo y Gabriela - Diablo Rojo
via FoxyTunes
...when you've got two finals back to back the next day, both in foreign languages. At least they're late in the day, so I can have the morning to study.
Good ol' Preston bounced me this link, and I found it wondrous fascinating...
http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/the_prosody_of_itaking_the_hobbits_i/
If I may be so bold as to quote him (as he always does sum things up rather nicely), it's a "Perfect example of using something very accessible as a doorway into something that's not." Though the subject may be right up my alley, it certainly doesn't mean that it's everyone's.
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
...when you've got two finals back to back the next day, both in foreign languages. At least they're late in the day, so I can have the morning to study.
Good ol' Preston bounced me this link, and I found it wondrous fascinating...
http://www.thevalve.org/go/valve/article/the_prosody_of_itaking_the_hobbits_i/
If I may be so bold as to quote him (as he always does sum things up rather nicely), it's a "Perfect example of using something very accessible as a doorway into something that's not." Though the subject may be right up my alley, it certainly doesn't mean that it's everyone's.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Busy and Not Busy
Now playing: Solas - The Ploughman
via FoxyTunes
So what have I been up to? Uploading things like this...
and like this...
The whole collection can be found here. I'm quite proud of it, and still have more to add. And yes, I'm doing quite well in all my classes, thanks. :P
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
So what have I been up to? Uploading things like this...
and like this...
The whole collection can be found here. I'm quite proud of it, and still have more to add. And yes, I'm doing quite well in all my classes, thanks. :P
Enough, More Later.
- James
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Catch Up
Currently in Earphones: "Partition" Soundtrack by Brian Tyler
So I had a wonderful time with the ladyfriend this past weekend, though I caught her cold. Though having pancakes for breakfast, lying in the grass in the Arboretum, and holding hands while drinking tea more than made up for it.
However, let it be said that I do like to get paid for work. Missing my normal hours on account of being told, in a good-natured fashion, to "Go away until you're not contagious," does make me worried. Especially since I had 7 perfectly good sick hours snatched away from me on account of the fact that they were earned in a different department. Robbery, I say.
Need to start work on my papers for Origins of Rhetoric and Medieval Latin. That AND the Berkeley Tournament this weekend AND me being sick may be a little much, but I'll be damned if I miss the third Collegiate tournament for the third time in a row.
And now, a wide change in topics due to my disease-addled brain: This looks really awesome and I want one. And it ages, like a fine wine. The light actually AGES. Flippin' sweet.
Also, my newest flash game fixation: Vector Tower Defense. I can't seem to get past level 40...on the easy maps. Anyone out there with some strategy?
Yeah, that's about it. More after the ensuing academic and athletic craziness.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So I had a wonderful time with the ladyfriend this past weekend, though I caught her cold. Though having pancakes for breakfast, lying in the grass in the Arboretum, and holding hands while drinking tea more than made up for it.
However, let it be said that I do like to get paid for work. Missing my normal hours on account of being told, in a good-natured fashion, to "Go away until you're not contagious," does make me worried. Especially since I had 7 perfectly good sick hours snatched away from me on account of the fact that they were earned in a different department. Robbery, I say.
Need to start work on my papers for Origins of Rhetoric and Medieval Latin. That AND the Berkeley Tournament this weekend AND me being sick may be a little much, but I'll be damned if I miss the third Collegiate tournament for the third time in a row.
And now, a wide change in topics due to my disease-addled brain: This looks really awesome and I want one. And it ages, like a fine wine. The light actually AGES. Flippin' sweet.
Also, my newest flash game fixation: Vector Tower Defense. I can't seem to get past level 40...on the easy maps. Anyone out there with some strategy?
Yeah, that's about it. More after the ensuing academic and athletic craziness.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
For Those who would like a recap....
Now playing: E Nomine - Mitternacht
via FoxyTunes
Here's a fantastic video highlighting what's happened so far with the whole Anonymous vs. Scientology foofarow...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4cr9g_the-road-to-february-10-2008_politics
Enjoy!
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
Here's a fantastic video highlighting what's happened so far with the whole Anonymous vs. Scientology foofarow...
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4cr9g_the-road-to-february-10-2008_politics
Enjoy!
Enough, More Later.
- James
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Why I can't finish The Fountainhead
Currently in Earphones: "Walking with Dinosaurs Live" Soundtrack by James Brett
First a little section from a nicely translated version of the "Goliardic Confession" by the Archpoëta (if you're wondering about that spelling, see diaeresis, to which the umlaut is a young, upstart pretender)...
"There are poets, worthy men,
Shrink from public places,
And in lurking-hole or den
Hide their pallid faces;
There they study, sweat, and woo
Pallas and the Graces,
But bring nothing forth to view
Worth the girls' embraces.
Fasting, thirsting, toil the bards,
Swift years flying o'er them;
Shun the strife of open life,
Tumults of the forum;
They, to sing some deathless thing,
Lest the world ignore them,
Die the death, expend their breath,
Drowned in dull decorum. "
(Complete, yet oddly lengthly, translation here. Original Latin, strangely missing these verses, here)
Pertinent to the following? Perhaps.
So, it's been a good few months since I've put down The Fountainhead, mainly because I finally threw up my hands and read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia. I can't honestly say that it's a bad book: The story is intriguing and the characters original. I suppose one could say that my problem is with Rand's philosophy. Now I'm all for the celebration of the individual and all that jazz, but to me the protagonist, Roark, skirts too close a line to being altogether less-than-human.
What I find completely maddening is that the line is so widely blurred. One could argue that he functions as his character dictates and as Rand's philosophy dictates, which isn't hard to do considering how distastefully Rand paints all he stands against. I couldn't give you an example that couldn't be countered somewhere, but the closest I can come to is his brutal rape of Dominique. As her character twistedly compliments Roark's, proponents could argue that it was what she wanted and did her no harm. However, in the general sense, when was rape ever a good thing to begin with?
This may be a single point in a very large work, but for me it crests the wave of rationalizations and paves the way to firmly illustrating the bigger points of unease. Being true to yourself is a good maxim in general, but to pursue it past the point of social rationality to me denies an essential element of humanity. Sure, there are folk out there who function just dandy on no social interaction and a hermetical lifestyle. But they are a small slice of a very big, and very varied human pie.
I don't begrudge the people for whom Objectivism works and gives them happiness. But I DO begrudge the same system of philosophy which makes the greater majority of people alone and unhappy because it squelches social necessities under the guise of individualism. For those of you who skipped the Nathanial Branden article due to TL:DNR, here's an excerpt...
"...I re-read the opening chapter of The Fountainhead. It really is a great book. I noticed something in the first chapter I never noticed before. Consider these facts: The hero has just been expelled from school, he is the victim of injustice, he is misunderstood by virtually everyone, and he himself tends to find other people puzzling and incomprehensible. He is alone; he has no friends. There is no one with whom he can share his inner life or values. So far, with the possible exception of being expelled from school, this could be a fairly accurate description of the state of the overwhelming majority of adolescents. There is one big difference: Howard Roark gives no indication of being bothered by any of it. He is serenely happy within himself. For average teenagers, this condition is agony. They read The Fountainhead and see this condition, not as a problem to be solved, but as a condition they must learn to be happy about -- as Roark is. All done without drugs! What a wish-fulfillment that would be! What a dream come true! Don't bother learning to understand anyone. Don't bother working at making yourself better understood. Don't try to see whether you can close the gap of your alienation from others, at least from some others, just struggle for Roark's serenity -- which Rand never tells you how to achieve. This is an example of how The Fountainhead could be at once a source of great inspiration and a source of great guilt, for all those who do not know how to reach Roark's state."
Sic Dicta Est. And when it comes to The Fountainhead as a story, I found that it ended exactly as I thought it would. Sure, there were some character arcs I didn't expect, but I would have finished out the thousand-odd pages to nothing that a 5 minute perusal of a summary of Objectivism could tell me. The protagonist is finally recognized for the genius he is, despite the fact that he is stubborn, hermetical, and sociopathic. The antagonist fails miserably despite being competent, friendly, loving and flexible. Tell me this doesn't sound like some emo early-teen's wish-fulfillment fantasy. Rand's idea of a hero is too close to some dark alternate-universe version of a Mary Sue for me to take seriously.
I started reading The Fountainhead because I wanted to get a better idea of Rand's philosophy and because I wanted to read a good story. Little did I know that I already had a fair idea of Rand's philosophy, and found myself not caring about the story halfway through. My last rationalization for reading her work is that Atlas Shrugged is an "important" book to have read. This may fall through if it's anything like The Fountainhead, but I'm willing to give it a try in the name of literature, just don't expect to see my thoughts on it unless it turns my thinking around. Considering all I've just said, not bloody likely.
Enough, More Later.
- James
First a little section from a nicely translated version of the "Goliardic Confession" by the Archpoëta (if you're wondering about that spelling, see diaeresis, to which the umlaut is a young, upstart pretender)...
"There are poets, worthy men,
Shrink from public places,
And in lurking-hole or den
Hide their pallid faces;
There they study, sweat, and woo
Pallas and the Graces,
But bring nothing forth to view
Worth the girls' embraces.
Fasting, thirsting, toil the bards,
Swift years flying o'er them;
Shun the strife of open life,
Tumults of the forum;
They, to sing some deathless thing,
Lest the world ignore them,
Die the death, expend their breath,
Drowned in dull decorum. "
(Complete, yet oddly lengthly, translation here. Original Latin, strangely missing these verses, here)
Pertinent to the following? Perhaps.
So, it's been a good few months since I've put down The Fountainhead, mainly because I finally threw up my hands and read the plot synopsis on Wikipedia. I can't honestly say that it's a bad book: The story is intriguing and the characters original. I suppose one could say that my problem is with Rand's philosophy. Now I'm all for the celebration of the individual and all that jazz, but to me the protagonist, Roark, skirts too close a line to being altogether less-than-human.
What I find completely maddening is that the line is so widely blurred. One could argue that he functions as his character dictates and as Rand's philosophy dictates, which isn't hard to do considering how distastefully Rand paints all he stands against. I couldn't give you an example that couldn't be countered somewhere, but the closest I can come to is his brutal rape of Dominique. As her character twistedly compliments Roark's, proponents could argue that it was what she wanted and did her no harm. However, in the general sense, when was rape ever a good thing to begin with?
This may be a single point in a very large work, but for me it crests the wave of rationalizations and paves the way to firmly illustrating the bigger points of unease. Being true to yourself is a good maxim in general, but to pursue it past the point of social rationality to me denies an essential element of humanity. Sure, there are folk out there who function just dandy on no social interaction and a hermetical lifestyle. But they are a small slice of a very big, and very varied human pie.
I don't begrudge the people for whom Objectivism works and gives them happiness. But I DO begrudge the same system of philosophy which makes the greater majority of people alone and unhappy because it squelches social necessities under the guise of individualism. For those of you who skipped the Nathanial Branden article due to TL:DNR, here's an excerpt...
"...I re-read the opening chapter of The Fountainhead. It really is a great book. I noticed something in the first chapter I never noticed before. Consider these facts: The hero has just been expelled from school, he is the victim of injustice, he is misunderstood by virtually everyone, and he himself tends to find other people puzzling and incomprehensible. He is alone; he has no friends. There is no one with whom he can share his inner life or values. So far, with the possible exception of being expelled from school, this could be a fairly accurate description of the state of the overwhelming majority of adolescents. There is one big difference: Howard Roark gives no indication of being bothered by any of it. He is serenely happy within himself. For average teenagers, this condition is agony. They read The Fountainhead and see this condition, not as a problem to be solved, but as a condition they must learn to be happy about -- as Roark is. All done without drugs! What a wish-fulfillment that would be! What a dream come true! Don't bother learning to understand anyone. Don't bother working at making yourself better understood. Don't try to see whether you can close the gap of your alienation from others, at least from some others, just struggle for Roark's serenity -- which Rand never tells you how to achieve. This is an example of how The Fountainhead could be at once a source of great inspiration and a source of great guilt, for all those who do not know how to reach Roark's state."
Sic Dicta Est. And when it comes to The Fountainhead as a story, I found that it ended exactly as I thought it would. Sure, there were some character arcs I didn't expect, but I would have finished out the thousand-odd pages to nothing that a 5 minute perusal of a summary of Objectivism could tell me. The protagonist is finally recognized for the genius he is, despite the fact that he is stubborn, hermetical, and sociopathic. The antagonist fails miserably despite being competent, friendly, loving and flexible. Tell me this doesn't sound like some emo early-teen's wish-fulfillment fantasy. Rand's idea of a hero is too close to some dark alternate-universe version of a Mary Sue for me to take seriously.
I started reading The Fountainhead because I wanted to get a better idea of Rand's philosophy and because I wanted to read a good story. Little did I know that I already had a fair idea of Rand's philosophy, and found myself not caring about the story halfway through. My last rationalization for reading her work is that Atlas Shrugged is an "important" book to have read. This may fall through if it's anything like The Fountainhead, but I'm willing to give it a try in the name of literature, just don't expect to see my thoughts on it unless it turns my thinking around. Considering all I've just said, not bloody likely.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Go, Anon, Go!
Currently in Earphones: "Robin Hood" soundtrack by Andy Price
I'm out there in spirit, and am greatly looking forward to the news and videos that are sure to pop up on YouTube shortly.
Also, as a preview for a more lengthly post later ("Why I can't finish The Fountainhead"), a link to something I've probably already posted before. The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Also, Dicewars! Kinda like Risk on speed. See how addicted you become.
Thirdly, Captain Disillusion. Another one (stylishly, and for the YouTube Age) joins the ranks of Randi and Carroll.
And finally, some wag created a database a la Bash for.....Limericks? It's everything I'd hoped it would be.
Enough, More Later.
- James
I'm out there in spirit, and am greatly looking forward to the news and videos that are sure to pop up on YouTube shortly.
Also, as a preview for a more lengthly post later ("Why I can't finish The Fountainhead"), a link to something I've probably already posted before. The Benefits and Hazards of the Philosophy of Ayn Rand
Also, Dicewars! Kinda like Risk on speed. See how addicted you become.
Thirdly, Captain Disillusion. Another one (stylishly, and for the YouTube Age) joins the ranks of Randi and Carroll.
And finally, some wag created a database a la Bash for.....Limericks? It's everything I'd hoped it would be.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Monday, February 04, 2008
A little more on the subject....
Friday, February 01, 2008
Because I think it would be worth mentioning...
Currently in Earphones: "Tomorrow Never Dies" Soundtrack by David Arnold
Enough, More (Thoughts on the subject) Later.
- James
(Arrg, Blogger isn't letting me embed the image, click it to see the whole animation)
Enough, More (Thoughts on the subject) Later.
- James
Monday, January 28, 2008
...the Fuck?
Currently in Earphones: The whacked out techno of the first video...
Seriously, what the fuck?
(Also, Fuck Yeah!)
Edit: Yeah, the first video does make some good points, I still give a bit WTF to the Engrish, among other things.
Also, concerning the second video, I'm simply happy that folk are hopping mad and not gonna take it anymore, not specifically that I laud Anonymous up one side and down the other. Case in point, I very much like this Robert Todd Carroll-like fellow: Epic Win, but yoar doin it wrong
Enough, more later.
- James
Seriously, what the fuck?
(Also, Fuck Yeah!)
Edit: Yeah, the first video does make some good points, I still give a bit WTF to the Engrish, among other things.
Also, concerning the second video, I'm simply happy that folk are hopping mad and not gonna take it anymore, not specifically that I laud Anonymous up one side and down the other. Case in point, I very much like this Robert Todd Carroll-like fellow: Epic Win, but yoar doin it wrong
Enough, more later.
- James
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Another part of my childhood mutates
Currently in Earphones: Two Journeys by Tim O'Brien
So I had heard rumblings that a number of dinos had been reclassified as, indeed, being feathered creatures. It didn't hit home until today, when I was perusing Wikipedia and found the pages on our favorite raptors all of a sudden had new pictures. It was jarring only in that I'd known these guys from my dinosaur books of old for so long as scaly, grim lizards.
The bird/dino connection has been around for a while, and makes perfect sense. Archaeopteryx has stood as a testament to that since when I was a wee one. Despite it's faulty portrayal of Velociraptors, Jurassic Park made sure to point out how similar the Dromaeosauridae are to birds. Now I'm not sure what new discovery prompted the feathered shift that seems to have just occurred, if the cultural image was considered too ingrained or the new one too jarring. Whatever the reason, I wonder how the Walking with Dinosaurs aggregate (touted as damn-well researched series, which I quite agree with) will cope, given that they've now started their Live tour around the US with decidedly old-school dinos.
I don't feel robbed or anything, just slightly off kilter. Eventually I'll get used to it, but it certainly feels quite the shift, even though this is information about a species long since extinct. That's cultural relevance for you, I guess.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So I had heard rumblings that a number of dinos had been reclassified as, indeed, being feathered creatures. It didn't hit home until today, when I was perusing Wikipedia and found the pages on our favorite raptors all of a sudden had new pictures. It was jarring only in that I'd known these guys from my dinosaur books of old for so long as scaly, grim lizards.
The bird/dino connection has been around for a while, and makes perfect sense. Archaeopteryx has stood as a testament to that since when I was a wee one. Despite it's faulty portrayal of Velociraptors, Jurassic Park made sure to point out how similar the Dromaeosauridae are to birds. Now I'm not sure what new discovery prompted the feathered shift that seems to have just occurred, if the cultural image was considered too ingrained or the new one too jarring. Whatever the reason, I wonder how the Walking with Dinosaurs aggregate (touted as damn-well researched series, which I quite agree with) will cope, given that they've now started their Live tour around the US with decidedly old-school dinos.
I don't feel robbed or anything, just slightly off kilter. Eventually I'll get used to it, but it certainly feels quite the shift, even though this is information about a species long since extinct. That's cultural relevance for you, I guess.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Belated Happy New Year and all that Jazz....
Currently in Earphones: American and British Folk Songs sung by the Westminster Choir
So winter break is drawing to a close, and what a break it was! The events in no particular order...
- I started to gather supplies to create a few bookshelves for my room in the Bay, and I'm currently waiting for the weather to dry out before I actually put them together.
- My lovely girlfriend came up to visit and we spent a number of days sightseeing.
- Christmas saw a good amount of loot. Damn I got a lot of CD's!
- I went and saw Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience. My inner six year old was rejuvenated.
- My last grandparent died and my dad flew across the country to be with my aunt. The small glimmer of fun was that I helped him pick out a traveling laptop. That's life for you, I guess.
- I got a lovely pile of new books to read for pleasure, and more are on the way. This will come in handy because...
- I learn that the power is out in Davis due to these crazy storms we've been having. I'm actually somewhat titillated at the thought of using candles, but I bet it'll get old quick. At least it'll only be for a few days.
- I have gotten crazy hooked on The Wire. BEST DAMN SHOW EVER.
Yeah, that about covers it. Back to Davis and dear Academia soon.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So winter break is drawing to a close, and what a break it was! The events in no particular order...
- I started to gather supplies to create a few bookshelves for my room in the Bay, and I'm currently waiting for the weather to dry out before I actually put them together.
- My lovely girlfriend came up to visit and we spent a number of days sightseeing.
- Christmas saw a good amount of loot. Damn I got a lot of CD's!
- I went and saw Walking with Dinosaurs: The Live Experience. My inner six year old was rejuvenated.
- My last grandparent died and my dad flew across the country to be with my aunt. The small glimmer of fun was that I helped him pick out a traveling laptop. That's life for you, I guess.
- I got a lovely pile of new books to read for pleasure, and more are on the way. This will come in handy because...
- I learn that the power is out in Davis due to these crazy storms we've been having. I'm actually somewhat titillated at the thought of using candles, but I bet it'll get old quick. At least it'll only be for a few days.
- I have gotten crazy hooked on The Wire. BEST DAMN SHOW EVER.
Yeah, that about covers it. Back to Davis and dear Academia soon.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Busy busy busy
Currently in Earphones: "Way Down in the Hole" by Tom Waits
So, between making some shelves (from scratch!) for my ever increasing book collection, playing an interesting game of Lexicon, getting addicted to The Wire, Alison visiting in a few days, Dickens Fair, running hither and thither with the parents, and the general hyper attitude of the holidays, I'm not going to have much time to post. See you all in the new year and the new quarter, most likely.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So, between making some shelves (from scratch!) for my ever increasing book collection, playing an interesting game of Lexicon, getting addicted to The Wire, Alison visiting in a few days, Dickens Fair, running hither and thither with the parents, and the general hyper attitude of the holidays, I'm not going to have much time to post. See you all in the new year and the new quarter, most likely.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Wednesday, December 12, 2007
You know what's awesome?...
Currently in Earphones: "Ultraman: Towards the Future Opening Theme" by Shinsuke Kazato
...when you revisit something neat from you're childhood and find that it's still just as kick-ass now as it was then, even if you can see its flaws.
Case in point: back when I was a young thing in the early nineties, a show called Ultraman: Towards the Future came out, and after a few episodes, I thought it was the bees knees. Giant Monsters, a hero who shot laser beams out of his hands, futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and a sweet soundtrack. It had it all, and I watched the 3 or so episodes I had the forethought to catch on tape over and over again.
I had an inkling that it originally was Nipponese in origin, but the fact that it was in English made it seem like the rest of the sci-fi shows at the time. The difference being that my 6-7 year old mind thought it was the most AWESOMEIST THING EVAR.
Spring forward to today, when for some reason the show popped into my head again. In my "Should be studying for finals, thus goofing off," mode of thinking, I log on to YouTube and find a plethora of clips from the TV show. Despite the special effects looking rather dated and the Kaiju nature of the show looking silly in places (which is kinda the point), I still loved every second that I found. Here is my reasoning.
1. The Kick-Ass Orchestral Score: I don't know how many hours I wasted looking for the soundtrack to Ultraman at my local record stores, but it was a lot. The main theme may borrow a bit from Williams and his contemporaries, but it's still a magnificent song in it's own right.
2. They shot the monster slug-fests with juuuuust the right amount of slow-mo: Though I know that the appeal of most Kaiju is the camp factor, the camera-work for U:TTF gave the men in the suits enough weight to lend more credence to the idea that they're 10 stories tall. But then again, how much realism can you really have in such a show?
3. The rest of the generally high (at the time) production values: Really, those are some nice looking 'splosions. And the dialogue may be hammy at times, but the actors look like they're having fun, which makes up for it.
Anywho, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still enjoyed U:TTF, even after the space of 15 years.
Enough, More Later.
- James
...when you revisit something neat from you're childhood and find that it's still just as kick-ass now as it was then, even if you can see its flaws.
Case in point: back when I was a young thing in the early nineties, a show called Ultraman: Towards the Future came out, and after a few episodes, I thought it was the bees knees. Giant Monsters, a hero who shot laser beams out of his hands, futuristic weaponry and vehicles, and a sweet soundtrack. It had it all, and I watched the 3 or so episodes I had the forethought to catch on tape over and over again.
I had an inkling that it originally was Nipponese in origin, but the fact that it was in English made it seem like the rest of the sci-fi shows at the time. The difference being that my 6-7 year old mind thought it was the most AWESOMEIST THING EVAR.
Spring forward to today, when for some reason the show popped into my head again. In my "Should be studying for finals, thus goofing off," mode of thinking, I log on to YouTube and find a plethora of clips from the TV show. Despite the special effects looking rather dated and the Kaiju nature of the show looking silly in places (which is kinda the point), I still loved every second that I found. Here is my reasoning.
1. The Kick-Ass Orchestral Score: I don't know how many hours I wasted looking for the soundtrack to Ultraman at my local record stores, but it was a lot. The main theme may borrow a bit from Williams and his contemporaries, but it's still a magnificent song in it's own right.
2. They shot the monster slug-fests with juuuuust the right amount of slow-mo: Though I know that the appeal of most Kaiju is the camp factor, the camera-work for U:TTF gave the men in the suits enough weight to lend more credence to the idea that they're 10 stories tall. But then again, how much realism can you really have in such a show?
3. The rest of the generally high (at the time) production values: Really, those are some nice looking 'splosions. And the dialogue may be hammy at times, but the actors look like they're having fun, which makes up for it.
Anywho, I was pleasantly surprised to see that I still enjoyed U:TTF, even after the space of 15 years.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Thoughts on The Golden Compass
Currently in Earphones: Bioshock Score by Garry Schyman
Edit: Thanks for the notes friends, but I *did* see the trailer. Yes, I know they shot the original ending of the book and have decided to put it at the beginning of Subtle Knife. I thought that by mentioning how the general public was placated by end of the movie demonstrated my knowledge of the fact that they cut it for that purpose. I don't live under a rock! I have internet! Plus, if you're a hardcore fan (to whom this would matter), I don't need to mention something ya'll already know on my blog. Sorry if the above sounds snarky, for the couple of good friends who made the point, but I was getting a little tired of having my fanboy knowledge second guessed.
- A Full Theater = Awesome.
- Over half the audience having read the book = Super Awesome.
- The fact that those who read the book also didn't know about the major change to the ending = not so awesome.
So, all in all, I applaud Chris Weitz' work on adapting Pullman's novel to the big screen. It hit all the right notes for me and I was happy with all the trimming that had to be done for the sake of pacing. Of course, I'd have wanted more of the parts of the book that I enjoyed, i.e. more Iorek andRagnar Iofur Ragnar, more Lee Scoresby (and a sadly neglected Hester!), and more Asriel.
The upshot of having so many fans of the book at the theater was the enthusiasm. I love it when people get so into a movie that they cheer or vocalize. I may have been spoiled by watching the particularly gory Planet Terror right before, but I actually found the shocking end to the polar bear duel almost clinical. I was happy that the majority of the audience gave a collective "PHWOAH! Did I just SEE that?" whenIofur's Ragnar's jaw went flying past the camera, and I still think that Ian McShane's culminating "IS THAT....ALL?!?!" speech was the shit (matched only by Iorek's response).
Speaking of the panserbjørne, I love me my Ian McKellen. But I always felt that Iorek would have been more middle aged, and as full of gravitas as McKellen's voice is, it just sounded too old to me. I really would have liked to hear Nonso Anozie's work (and he was slated for a while, you can hear him for about two seconds on the "contract with a child" line in one of the teaser trailers).
Also, Derek Jacobi is awesome, even as a bad guy. And did Christopher Lee know he was only getting one line? Or have I become so used to him being a major player in any film I see that I find it hard to believe when he gets a cameo?
Bravo for the most part, Mr. Weitz. But boo on you for making all the wrong people (fans of the book) mock, deride, and outright laugh at the criminally hacked ending. Yes, the general public went out going "Well that was new and interesting;" I guess it was simply the luck of getting a large amount of people familiar with the book in the same screening as I.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Edit: Thanks for the notes friends, but I *did* see the trailer. Yes, I know they shot the original ending of the book and have decided to put it at the beginning of Subtle Knife. I thought that by mentioning how the general public was placated by end of the movie demonstrated my knowledge of the fact that they cut it for that purpose. I don't live under a rock! I have internet! Plus, if you're a hardcore fan (to whom this would matter), I don't need to mention something ya'll already know on my blog. Sorry if the above sounds snarky, for the couple of good friends who made the point, but I was getting a little tired of having my fanboy knowledge second guessed.
- A Full Theater = Awesome.
- Over half the audience having read the book = Super Awesome.
- The fact that those who read the book also didn't know about the major change to the ending = not so awesome.
So, all in all, I applaud Chris Weitz' work on adapting Pullman's novel to the big screen. It hit all the right notes for me and I was happy with all the trimming that had to be done for the sake of pacing. Of course, I'd have wanted more of the parts of the book that I enjoyed, i.e. more Iorek and
The upshot of having so many fans of the book at the theater was the enthusiasm. I love it when people get so into a movie that they cheer or vocalize. I may have been spoiled by watching the particularly gory Planet Terror right before, but I actually found the shocking end to the polar bear duel almost clinical. I was happy that the majority of the audience gave a collective "PHWOAH! Did I just SEE that?" when
Speaking of the panserbjørne, I love me my Ian McKellen. But I always felt that Iorek would have been more middle aged, and as full of gravitas as McKellen's voice is, it just sounded too old to me. I really would have liked to hear Nonso Anozie's work (and he was slated for a while, you can hear him for about two seconds on the "contract with a child" line in one of the teaser trailers).
Also, Derek Jacobi is awesome, even as a bad guy. And did Christopher Lee know he was only getting one line? Or have I become so used to him being a major player in any film I see that I find it hard to believe when he gets a cameo?
Bravo for the most part, Mr. Weitz. But boo on you for making all the wrong people (fans of the book) mock, deride, and outright laugh at the criminally hacked ending. Yes, the general public went out going "Well that was new and interesting;" I guess it was simply the luck of getting a large amount of people familiar with the book in the same screening as I.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Filmic Rant
Currently in Earphones: Beowulf soundtrack by Alan Silvestri
So, lots of academia on the plate and the siren song of the Blog calls once again. Next time I'll stuff cotton into my ears and have Moose tie me to a bedpost. You'll pardon me if I descend into a ZeroPunctuation-style rant, but I've had a healthy dose of Croshaw's wit and the snarky, venomous metaphors in me are aching to see the light of day.
I'd like to take a moment to voice my inherent dislike of any film by Wes Anderson. I'll begin with a caveat that I have never seen any of his films in full, but I have caught the last 15 minutes of The Royal Tenenbaums and even then I had no desire to know what happened for the first 90. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate character driven work, but I'm always getting this odd vibe from Anderson's films. There's this glum apathy that seems to ooze from every poster, the characters lined up and staring straight ahead blankly, that begs for attention: "Look at me! I'm trying SO HARD to be a French-influenced tragicomedy!" Who knows, the films may indeed succeed in that aspect, but I'm not a snobby film student who gets a high from watching reel after reel of depressing conversations.
OK sure, most films of this genre tend to have some good moments of absurdist comedy thrown in to balance out the downers, but I really couldn't find any sort of release in the few trips to the Department of Strange Back-story that the director makes. Really Wes, while you don't need to have a stand up comic pop up out of nowhere to deliver a few jokes, please try have moments that will at least get a rise out of me. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the ultra-absurdist stylings of Beckett and Stoppard that are so off-the-wall that they become funny, or perhaps they simply have a better sense of humor than Anderson does. Call me strange but I'd be more inclined to see a film about the bleak way that the gears of life turn if a friend mentioned in the same breath that it was also somewhat humorous. Having never heard such a thing from the few friends of mine that enjoy these films, I'm more likely to shun these celluloid tales like a black turtlenecked, beret wearing art student sitting smugly in the back of a coffee shop.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed dreamer with his head in the clouds, but I was under the impression that we watched movies to be entertained, to be taken somewhere and shown something that normally doesn't happen. I'm not saying that every film needs to be some foolishly hopeful escapist fantasty, but I don't settle down in the theater to relive the experience of seeing promising people stuck in dead end jobs, chafing under a dysfunctional family, or dealing with the everyday gremlins of boredom and purposeless. Really, real life does that fine for me, I don't need to re-tread those paths by sitting in a dark room with a giant image in front of me for an extended period of time. If I do go see a tragic film, you can be damn sure there will be characters I can root for to whom bad shit will go down.
In sum, I think I might start going to see Wes Anderson films the minute the promotional materials stop looking like oddly placed police line-ups. However, since there seems to be little chance of that happening, I'll continue to see the unrealistic, rose-colored and implausable films that I wouldn't mind paying a wad of cash for.
Enough, More Later.
- James
So, lots of academia on the plate and the siren song of the Blog calls once again. Next time I'll stuff cotton into my ears and have Moose tie me to a bedpost. You'll pardon me if I descend into a ZeroPunctuation-style rant, but I've had a healthy dose of Croshaw's wit and the snarky, venomous metaphors in me are aching to see the light of day.
I'd like to take a moment to voice my inherent dislike of any film by Wes Anderson. I'll begin with a caveat that I have never seen any of his films in full, but I have caught the last 15 minutes of The Royal Tenenbaums and even then I had no desire to know what happened for the first 90. Don't get me wrong, I can appreciate character driven work, but I'm always getting this odd vibe from Anderson's films. There's this glum apathy that seems to ooze from every poster, the characters lined up and staring straight ahead blankly, that begs for attention: "Look at me! I'm trying SO HARD to be a French-influenced tragicomedy!" Who knows, the films may indeed succeed in that aspect, but I'm not a snobby film student who gets a high from watching reel after reel of depressing conversations.
OK sure, most films of this genre tend to have some good moments of absurdist comedy thrown in to balance out the downers, but I really couldn't find any sort of release in the few trips to the Department of Strange Back-story that the director makes. Really Wes, while you don't need to have a stand up comic pop up out of nowhere to deliver a few jokes, please try have moments that will at least get a rise out of me. Maybe I'm just spoiled by the ultra-absurdist stylings of Beckett and Stoppard that are so off-the-wall that they become funny, or perhaps they simply have a better sense of humor than Anderson does. Call me strange but I'd be more inclined to see a film about the bleak way that the gears of life turn if a friend mentioned in the same breath that it was also somewhat humorous. Having never heard such a thing from the few friends of mine that enjoy these films, I'm more likely to shun these celluloid tales like a black turtlenecked, beret wearing art student sitting smugly in the back of a coffee shop.
Maybe I'm just a starry-eyed dreamer with his head in the clouds, but I was under the impression that we watched movies to be entertained, to be taken somewhere and shown something that normally doesn't happen. I'm not saying that every film needs to be some foolishly hopeful escapist fantasty, but I don't settle down in the theater to relive the experience of seeing promising people stuck in dead end jobs, chafing under a dysfunctional family, or dealing with the everyday gremlins of boredom and purposeless. Really, real life does that fine for me, I don't need to re-tread those paths by sitting in a dark room with a giant image in front of me for an extended period of time. If I do go see a tragic film, you can be damn sure there will be characters I can root for to whom bad shit will go down.
In sum, I think I might start going to see Wes Anderson films the minute the promotional materials stop looking like oddly placed police line-ups. However, since there seems to be little chance of that happening, I'll continue to see the unrealistic, rose-colored and implausable films that I wouldn't mind paying a wad of cash for.
Enough, More Later.
- James
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
The Deep Breath before the Plunge
Now playing: George Fenton - The Beach in Patagonia
via FoxyTunes
So what does one do when you're in the 9th week of classes, got papers and projects due soon, and have those few days when you don't really need to start anything, but really should? You Blog!
The Cal Poly Turkey Tourney was all right, fencing wise. I placed middlingly and hope to do better in the upcoming collegiate events. What made it really good was that my girlfriend came up from Santa Barbara to visit, and I spent a wonderful evening in downtown San Luis with her after the tournament.
Ironically, a few days later I returned to SLO to spend the Thanksgiving vacation with my family. I had hoped to piggyback a trip to visit my girlfriend in LA on the last few days, but transportation fell through. And speaking of transportation, I'm still grateful to Daniele giving me a ride there and back. Hopefully I didn't bore her too much with my overly-Tim-O'Brien-ed travel mixes, and hopefully I have found a new Cribbage buddy in her. I'm itching for a good go with the pegs, and perhaps I can get a game or two out of her once school calms down a bit.
The Davis Photo Rally is this Saturday! Toes and I are trying to get at least 3 teams going, though we're rocking the "resource less college student" card, as the scoring ceremony will be at our house, on my laptop. Please let me know if you are interested!
Crap, I just spent half an hour looking at fonts to spice up the Photo Rally packet. Time to get to some real schoolwork!
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
So what does one do when you're in the 9th week of classes, got papers and projects due soon, and have those few days when you don't really need to start anything, but really should? You Blog!
The Cal Poly Turkey Tourney was all right, fencing wise. I placed middlingly and hope to do better in the upcoming collegiate events. What made it really good was that my girlfriend came up from Santa Barbara to visit, and I spent a wonderful evening in downtown San Luis with her after the tournament.
Ironically, a few days later I returned to SLO to spend the Thanksgiving vacation with my family. I had hoped to piggyback a trip to visit my girlfriend in LA on the last few days, but transportation fell through. And speaking of transportation, I'm still grateful to Daniele giving me a ride there and back. Hopefully I didn't bore her too much with my overly-Tim-O'Brien-ed travel mixes, and hopefully I have found a new Cribbage buddy in her. I'm itching for a good go with the pegs, and perhaps I can get a game or two out of her once school calms down a bit.
The Davis Photo Rally is this Saturday! Toes and I are trying to get at least 3 teams going, though we're rocking the "resource less college student" card, as the scoring ceremony will be at our house, on my laptop. Please let me know if you are interested!
Crap, I just spent half an hour looking at fonts to spice up the Photo Rally packet. Time to get to some real schoolwork!
Enough, More Later.
- James
Monday, November 05, 2007
Observations
Now playing: Solas - Boy / Girl Tune
via FoxyTunes
- Next time we throw a party, we're having more food, or more control over the bar.
- I really want a USFA rating. Evidently I'm good enough, but it looks like I'm really gonna have to earn it through multiple tries at rated events. Look for me at DFA when open tournaments roll around, I should have a new body cord by then (for the record, it's really frightening when you're in your DE's and it looks like all your equipment is failing due to a single wire being out of place)
- I need to start my Latin paper and finish it in a week, and as usual, I'm being a lazy bastard. I'm getting on it as soon as I finish writing this post, damn it.
- I'm really warming up to Umberto Eco. I devoured The Name of the Rose and a collection of his short articles, and am now relishing (mostly) Baudolino. I should get back and finish Focault's Pendulum one of these days.
- Whenever I have a sip of green Chartreuse, I tend to wig out like Stansfield after a dose. It's that damn intense. I'm switching to the yellow because the taste is darn interesting, but I don't want to feel like I'm drinking straight Absinthe (which is roughly the same proof).
Enough, More Later.
- James
via FoxyTunes
- Next time we throw a party, we're having more food, or more control over the bar.
- I really want a USFA rating. Evidently I'm good enough, but it looks like I'm really gonna have to earn it through multiple tries at rated events. Look for me at DFA when open tournaments roll around, I should have a new body cord by then (for the record, it's really frightening when you're in your DE's and it looks like all your equipment is failing due to a single wire being out of place)
- I need to start my Latin paper and finish it in a week, and as usual, I'm being a lazy bastard. I'm getting on it as soon as I finish writing this post, damn it.
- I'm really warming up to Umberto Eco. I devoured The Name of the Rose and a collection of his short articles, and am now relishing (mostly) Baudolino. I should get back and finish Focault's Pendulum one of these days.
- Whenever I have a sip of green Chartreuse, I tend to wig out like Stansfield after a dose. It's that damn intense. I'm switching to the yellow because the taste is darn interesting, but I don't want to feel like I'm drinking straight Absinthe (which is roughly the same proof).
Enough, More Later.
- James
Sunday, October 21, 2007
The Rally Cometh!
Currently in Earphones: "Wandering" by Tim O'Brien
It's official! Toes and I have gotten our acts together and the first Davis Photo Rally will commence on December 1st of this year. Here is the janky website I threw together solely to host the better constructed and thought out leaflets.
http://www.geocities.com/davisphotorally/
I've already created a Facebook group and sent out the invites, but if any of you all are interested, please don't hesitate to call me or Toes. Though it's gonna be somewhat close to finals for the Davis folk, I hope it'll allow sufficient time for studying. Besides, it's only the one day. I have hope that we can get at least 3 if not 4 teams going, which should be enough, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised by more. It's a whole month and then some away, so that should be enough time for all the maybes to figure things out.
In other news, things go well with Lovely Weird Girl. We talked for almost an hour on the phone tonight, and that makes me happy. I'm very much looking forward to seeing her at Cal Poly next month, and hope that we can visit each other at some point over Christmas break. At the moment, life is good :).
Enough, More Later.
- James
It's official! Toes and I have gotten our acts together and the first Davis Photo Rally will commence on December 1st of this year. Here is the janky website I threw together solely to host the better constructed and thought out leaflets.
http://www.geocities.com/davisphotorally/
I've already created a Facebook group and sent out the invites, but if any of you all are interested, please don't hesitate to call me or Toes. Though it's gonna be somewhat close to finals for the Davis folk, I hope it'll allow sufficient time for studying. Besides, it's only the one day. I have hope that we can get at least 3 if not 4 teams going, which should be enough, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised by more. It's a whole month and then some away, so that should be enough time for all the maybes to figure things out.
In other news, things go well with Lovely Weird Girl. We talked for almost an hour on the phone tonight, and that makes me happy. I'm very much looking forward to seeing her at Cal Poly next month, and hope that we can visit each other at some point over Christmas break. At the moment, life is good :).
Enough, More Later.
- James
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)