| Jan. 25th, 2009 @ 06:43 pm a boring sunday afternoon update. |
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Current Location: McMurray, PA
Current Mood:  contemplative
Current Music: Wagner - Twilight of the Gods
Well, Kira and I have spent most of the weekend ignoring the homework piling up.
Friday night, we spent the evening talking with Eric and a small host of his friends and were provided with an excellent chili!
Today, we finished Roshamon (or however that's spelled), which I liked a lot, and Casablanca, which I also liked.
Now, we're watching Smart People. Thus far, the only decent character in the entire fucking movie is Thomas Hayden Church's poor, crass character, who serves mostly as the screwup, "eventually going to teach you something" half-brother. This said, the rest of the characters (besides the son) are trite and predominantly versions of snooty kids that I've never met, and would never want to. Having spent some time now with english professors, I find movie versions poorly done (except for Wonderboys, but that could be because all the english professors have prob seen it by now, recognized how cool Michael Douglas character is, and assimilated themselves).
It was humorous to me to see the emphasis most of these "smart people" (and i'm talking about the Gilmore girls here as well) in fictional shows put on achieving perfect scores and attending Ivy League schools. Perhaps it's because I'm incapable (either by faculty limitations or laziness) to achieve a perfect score, but I don't find it that entirely important or telling of one's intelligence. Most of the "smart" i've met, many of whom have taught at ivy league (or OXFORD, mind you), have been crass and rather honest, nice people. In fact, i'd say I'm more cantankerous than most of the English faculty members I know. Then again, Harold Bloom's as big a cockbag as they come...but...I only know that from reading him..not from talking to him. He might be a nice guy, I guess. Anyway, my point is, I don't buy Smart People's BS. The only other awful thing they could have done was make him a grammar nazi, because that's the poorman's version of English faculty. I'm still trying to puzzle out why he was teaching the Faire Queen (and it's alternate spellings). I had to listen to some asshole Salon-reader lecture me the other day on how that's a major flaw in the movie....Since it's spelled wrong behind the Lit professor during one of the exams.
News flash: Even though the Victorian's LOVED F.Q. a great deal, that didn't stop Spenser's spelling from fluctuating with Early Modern. Besides, it might have been some idiot pion like me that wrote it, and the professor just happened to come and sit down. Or, perhaps some idiot extra wrote it and no one picked up on it. Who cares! It's such a stupid thing to talk about when the movie sucks for so many other reasons!
This brings me to follow up point: forced relationships. Now, I've been striving to fix my contrived relationship in The Apology of the Sword. In the process, I've been watching how relationships unfold in movies. So far, I've been unimpressed. Both Roshamon and Casablanca have pretty forced relationships, relying mostly on shallow amorous dialogue and annoying scenes highlighting drinking (or, in Ros, melodramatic eye movements). I guess my point is not to criticize these movies but to take heart in the fact I'm working with far less: 1) I have one person's voice and 2) I only have words. What good are words! (quiet hamlet)! Anyway, I took heart in the limitation of even these two decent movies, though I remain unimpressed by most movies love scenes.
I was disheartened to learn that my wife in Fable 2 was slain by a Banshee while I was fighting highwaymen on a road, some hundred or so miles away. Furthering ruining my gaming day, my son was removed from my custody by some civil agency! I felt very much like the rock giant in Neverending story, powerlessly shrugging my titan like shoulders...as my son was, rightly, removed from my power.
But, it made me think of the Hercules story line based on the myth of Orpheus and his wife, where he tears heaven and hell asunder to find his slain friend...only to have his friend die again (if you know the myth or you wikipedia stuff to act like you do, then you know the myth goes a lil' different).
Ugh, now back to work some on my story. |
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