(no subject)
Nov. 7th, 2012 03:30 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* I know I've been focusing on Syria but that doesn't mean I'm not watching Bahrain. The government continues to resist Arab Spring and people continue to protest demanding democracy and die. The bombings continue as people get more and more frustrated. Both sides are accusing the other in the deaths of some street cleaners who died when five bombs went off in the capital.
* I know I have been doing periodic updates on the Japan/China crisis, but I'm not sure I've expressed the urgency. This is quite possibly the scariest thing happening in the World right now, right up there with Israel/Iran. We, meaning the whole world desperately need a peaceful solution there, preferably sooner rather than later. The tension alone is endangering the already fragile world economy. I do not think I need to explain why a hot war is about as bad an idea as I can formulate. A hot war between China and Japan with us likely backing Japan has no good outcomes at all and has the potential to be a species and life on earth ender. Seriously, this shit is massively scary.
* It's important to remember that amoung the Sandy casualties are 67 dead in the Caribbean as well as the 120 here and in Canada. It's easy to focus on our own losses and forget how tragic it was for the islands.
* The President won re-election! Elizabeth Warren won! Clair McCaskill beat Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin! Disabled Veteran Tammy Duckworth beat that asshole who was attacking her for appearing in public while disabled and therefore flaunting her military service! Donnelly beat "Rape is God's plan" Mourdock! Tammy Baldwin is our first openly Lesbian Senator! We are keeping the Senate!
* Other less pressing election stuff: Florida is Fubar again. It turns out that contrary to popular belief, the general public is bright enough to remember four years ago and who caused the financial crisis. This is a pleasant and comforting surprise to me. Olympia Snow's seat went to and independent. I don't know much about him, so this is mostly a note to self to look him up when I'm less tired. The House is still republican, so expect two more years of them insisting on passing symbolic votes to outlaw birth control instead of actually accomplishing something. I have no idea why people vote for that to happen, but the people have spoken. Sigh.
* My state is entirely write in so it's impossible to tell what the actual results are for a few days. Fingers crossed for Equality and a whole bunch of races and measures.
* Squirrel lured me out to The Man With the Iron Fist, which means I'll be checking late returns tomorrow instead of tonight.
* The Man With the Iron Fist
My hope was that it would be an homage to the Kung Fu films of my childhood, preferably with a satisfying plot and some decent fight choreography. It took a little while to get used to the mix of classic '70's style and modern big budget production and cinematography, but once I adjusted I was very impressed with just how genre savy this film is. It has all these beautiful little references to important other films fit together like a puzzle within the narrative. It is exactly the right sort of stylized not just as homage, but in a way that is intrinsic to what the filmis trying to say. It was wonderfully cast and terribly pretty with fun to watch completely over the top violence and wire work. Was it deep? No, but you could see how much everyone involved with the film loves that genre and loved what they were doing. It's campy in the way these films often were, but it isn't making fun of the films, but riffing on them, which was just right. For the record, there is also eye candy for nearly everyone.
* Delightfully silly Tolkien themed Air New Zealand Ad.
* They postponed the Dragon Cave Halloween drop because of the hurricane. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to get any, but I was okay with that as honestly, it's a small thing and the good of the many. (People literally died and survivors are still huddled in wreckage with a North Easter bearing down on the already shattered coast. Dragon eggs are just pixals, damnit. The BPAL board folks bombarded me with hatchling offers, so I got mine after all. this is why I love the board:
* I know I have been doing periodic updates on the Japan/China crisis, but I'm not sure I've expressed the urgency. This is quite possibly the scariest thing happening in the World right now, right up there with Israel/Iran. We, meaning the whole world desperately need a peaceful solution there, preferably sooner rather than later. The tension alone is endangering the already fragile world economy. I do not think I need to explain why a hot war is about as bad an idea as I can formulate. A hot war between China and Japan with us likely backing Japan has no good outcomes at all and has the potential to be a species and life on earth ender. Seriously, this shit is massively scary.
* It's important to remember that amoung the Sandy casualties are 67 dead in the Caribbean as well as the 120 here and in Canada. It's easy to focus on our own losses and forget how tragic it was for the islands.
* The President won re-election! Elizabeth Warren won! Clair McCaskill beat Todd "Legitimate Rape" Akin! Disabled Veteran Tammy Duckworth beat that asshole who was attacking her for appearing in public while disabled and therefore flaunting her military service! Donnelly beat "Rape is God's plan" Mourdock! Tammy Baldwin is our first openly Lesbian Senator! We are keeping the Senate!
* Other less pressing election stuff: Florida is Fubar again. It turns out that contrary to popular belief, the general public is bright enough to remember four years ago and who caused the financial crisis. This is a pleasant and comforting surprise to me. Olympia Snow's seat went to and independent. I don't know much about him, so this is mostly a note to self to look him up when I'm less tired. The House is still republican, so expect two more years of them insisting on passing symbolic votes to outlaw birth control instead of actually accomplishing something. I have no idea why people vote for that to happen, but the people have spoken. Sigh.
* My state is entirely write in so it's impossible to tell what the actual results are for a few days. Fingers crossed for Equality and a whole bunch of races and measures.
* Squirrel lured me out to The Man With the Iron Fist, which means I'll be checking late returns tomorrow instead of tonight.
* The Man With the Iron Fist
My hope was that it would be an homage to the Kung Fu films of my childhood, preferably with a satisfying plot and some decent fight choreography. It took a little while to get used to the mix of classic '70's style and modern big budget production and cinematography, but once I adjusted I was very impressed with just how genre savy this film is. It has all these beautiful little references to important other films fit together like a puzzle within the narrative. It is exactly the right sort of stylized not just as homage, but in a way that is intrinsic to what the filmis trying to say. It was wonderfully cast and terribly pretty with fun to watch completely over the top violence and wire work. Was it deep? No, but you could see how much everyone involved with the film loves that genre and loved what they were doing. It's campy in the way these films often were, but it isn't making fun of the films, but riffing on them, which was just right. For the record, there is also eye candy for nearly everyone.
* Delightfully silly Tolkien themed Air New Zealand Ad.
* They postponed the Dragon Cave Halloween drop because of the hurricane. I knew I wouldn't have a chance to get any, but I was okay with that as honestly, it's a small thing and the good of the many. (People literally died and survivors are still huddled in wreckage with a North Easter bearing down on the already shattered coast. Dragon eggs are just pixals, damnit. The BPAL board folks bombarded me with hatchling offers, so I got mine after all. this is why I love the board: