(no subject)
Oct. 17th, 2015 03:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
gwydion* "Trump blames Bush for 9/11, triggers establishment Republican outrage:"
* A Christian Church congregation beat a teen and his brother for fourteen hours, killing the older teen for allegedly wanting to leave the church. No word on why they tried to murder the five year old. "Witness describes fatal church beating:" http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/10/16/teen-killed-in-church-carroll-pkg-ac.cnn
* "Kids Who Wear Turbans Are Being Bullied, Here's How To Stop It:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kids-who-wear-turbans-are-being-bullied-heres-how-to-stop-it_561fc406e4b028dd7ea6d8ec
* "Argentine Trans Activist Diana Sacayan Murdered:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/10/argentine-trans-activist-diana-sacayan.html
* Mansplaining, Sexism, and the Trans experience: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/131334106947/robothugscomic-new-comic-link-this-week-i
* "Could ExxonMobil go the way of Big Tobacco?:"
* "New alarm over fracking-related earthquake threat to oil storage:"
* President Obama is not going to sell any new leases for Arctic drilling, nor will they renew current licenses. Shell is giving up on their current exploration because it's too hard.
Now to make sure the next President doesn’t over turn it.
* "Ancient fossils reveal diversity in the body structure of human ancestors:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/uom-afr030915.php
* "Neanderthals shape up as globe's first jewellers:" http://phys.org/news/2015-03-neanderthals-globe-jewellers.html
* "Prehistoric stone tools bear 500,000-year-old animal residue:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/afot-pst031915.php
* The lead researcher is named Borgia an they got control samples fro the Poison garden in Northumberland! yes, the Alnick Garden! A place I wish I could visit! "Poisons, plants and Palaeolithic hunters:" http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/poisons-plants-and-palaeolithic-hunters
* "Ancient Africans used 'no fly zones' to bring herds south:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/wuis-aau030615.php
* "Ancient artifacts found on Ashkelon beach:" http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4635226,00.html
* "People Ate Pork in the Middle East Until 1,000 B.C.—What Changed?:" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-ate-pork-middle-east-until-1000-bcwhat-changed-180954614/?no-ist
* "Ancient Receipt Proves Egyptian Taxes Were Worse Than Yours:" http://www.livescience.com/50139-ancient-egyptian-tax-receipt.html
* "The largest known bronze mask of Pan uncovered by researchers:" http://phys.org/news/2015-03-largest-bronze-mask-pan-uncovered.html
* "Clay tablet with oldest recorded customer-service complaint on display at the British Museum:" https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/at-the-british-museum-oldest-recorded-184633671.html
* "COPS & VLOGGERS - THE YOUTUBE EFFECT:"
* "Throwback Thursday - Lincoln-Douglas Debates:"
* "An Illinois Mayor Gets Parodied on Twitter:"
* I know, I know. I shouldn't be spending money on things that are not cat food, but Sunday is my birthday and my present for myself this year was one matinee ticket to see Crimson Peak today. Afterwards, I voted. Yes it's an off year election, but local elections are important. This year the ballot was massive, with not only the usual slate of local and county officials, but a large collection of measures to do with taxation, redistricting, and rules for what the city council can and can't do. I know this sort of thing is technical and unromantic, but look at what gerrymandering has done to the Congress and tell me again having fairly drawn voting districts isn't important. Things like clean water and mental health diversion instead of warehousing the mentally ill in prison are incredibly important issues. Again, not glamorous, but I want my city to stay on the right track. I keep a close eye on school boards because that's one of the places people who want to gut history and science education tend to try to get in to destroy local schools. I live somewhere pretty safe that way, but I still like to keep an eye open. (My candidate made it into the run off!)
Seriously folks, pay attention to local elections to things like Sheriff, city council, school board, and port authority. They have a huge impact on your local quality of life. It's a really good idea to keep a look out for targeted right wing tax measures designed to strip funding for schools and/or infrastructure or to constitutionally tie the hands of the legislature to fund key parts of government. I don't know what issues are going on where you live, but please check out your voter guide and research measures and candidates online.
Also, if you live somewhere with early voting, I urge you to take advantage of it. This is especially important if you live under Republican rule as their aggressive war on the right to vote continues. It is better to vote early so you have plenty of time to fight to get your rights reinstated if you've been unconstitutionally stripped of your right for being trans or poor or a person of color.
Please, please, please vote.
* Crimson Peak (I'm going to be as general as I can manage for the spoiler adverse):
First off, I must mention how beautifully designed and shot the film is. The visual language in this film is so specific and symbolic, particularly the use of Black, red, white, and yellow. (It reminded me a little bit of Hero in this, though the aesthetic is entirely different). This is one of the things I love about del Toro's work. I'm going to have to watch it again when it comes out on DvD so I can test a whole collection of theories I have about what he's doing with colour and the the through lines on each. It's also stunningly beautiful, which likely goes without saying, my favorite thing being the intrusions of the natural world into the unnatural one in the main hall of the manor, the leaves and snow and the bleeding of the earth. Gorgeous and magical. There is so much detail in each shot that again, I'll have to watch again, but I love the use of costume to talk about character. It is explicit in Edith's noticing of Lord Sharpe's suit and shoes, but you can see it particularly in the contrast between Edith's ultra up to date bright wardrobe and Lucille's clothes which are about twenty years out of date and likely her mothers. I could pour over the use of art and furniture and visual texture for days and likely will when I have the chance. I love that for the second half of the film Edith in particularly, but pretty much all of it could have been drawn by Edward Gorey. There are all this little visual references to other art and other films in the genre. There is the way the walls sometimes look like the raw meat of a hollowed out body cavity.
Similarly, the sound editing impressed the hell out of me. I have tracked the tendency in films to completely muck up their sound levels at least as far back as the '80's, but it's been way worse and more common the last decade or so. Let us blast loud intrusive music over everything punctuated with crude sound effects, then suddenly have very soft dialog, then blast loud music with crude sound effects again! After all, why would people want to hear the dialog when they could be listening to really loud manipulative incidental music! This movie was the antithesis of that. The piano music which did matter for plot and character reasons was well balanced, the incidental music unobtrusive, the dialog properly balanced with music and sound effects, and the sound effects were excellent. Seriously, the use of sound to establish atmosphere was well done, but the sound in the last fifteen minutes or so? Was brilliant the way that the flies on the first zombies in the first episode of walking dead were, by which I mean they were gruesome and really brought home the visceral horror of what was going on. The sound effects really made it feel real in a way the blasted canned effects over loud orchestral swells never could.
Which brings me to the film itself, which was classically Gothic, by which I mean the literary tradition stretching back to Walpole and Radcliffe. Seriously there are about three hundred years of literary and filmic traditions consciously layered into this piece by a master filmmaker. I can't list them because spoilers, but a very long list is reeling through my head right now. This film is engaged in a deep and complicated conversation with the likes of the Brontes, Poe, Mary Shelly, Walpole, Radcliffe, Stoker, James Whale, Vincent Price, Universal and Hammer horror films, and on and on and on. In it the supernatural side of the genre and the more psychological/character side represented by books like Jane Eye and Northanger Abbey (which was itself an parody of and conversation with early books in the Gothic tradition) meet and mingle. Like a lot of Del Toro's work it is quietly feminist. Women are central: intelligent and strong willed and willing to do what it takes to survive in a world that neither protects them nor readily yields the means to protect themselves.
There should be some sort of special award for doing a whole movie in which there is even a woman bathing scene in which we see way more of the male lead's body than that of the female lead. In the world of Game of Thrones "sexposition," it is really refreshing to see a movie that goes the other way.
It is a hard movie to watch and not for the weak of stomach. Do not take small children to see it. It is beautiful and horrifying and very intellectual beneath a surprisingly gore filled surface. This is a movie I'm going to want to take apart and put back together over and over because there is so much going on underneath a deceptively simple, classic gothic plot.
I suspect there is going to be a massive gulf between people who pay attention to the spoken text only and those reading the visual language as well, likely even worse than with Pacific Rim, because it's a similar issue: very simple plot with this massive amout of meaning layered into the visual language.
* I honestly can't tell you if Scream Queens is any good or not, despite all my watching of it. It is very pretty and I am amused by the music cues, but the Slasher genre isn't my genre and I really, really never liked the Sorority/Fraternity system and I would like it to go away forever, which makes it hard for me to connect with. I like Zayday? I like the aesthetics? I think beyond my disconnection from the subject matter, it is too exaggerated even for me and my fondness for stylized film and parody. I just can't suspend disbelief and am always being pulled out of it as a result. It likely does not help that this is the third Ryan Murphy thing I've seen Emma Roberts play this character in and I didn't particularly like this character the other two times either. It's just boring to watch and there is nothing new to say about her.
* People are still reblogging "Historically Authentic Sexism." O.o I have an anniversary reblog scheduled in... I'm thinking early December? But it's blowing up my feed again the last couple days.
* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
* A Christian Church congregation beat a teen and his brother for fourteen hours, killing the older teen for allegedly wanting to leave the church. No word on why they tried to murder the five year old. "Witness describes fatal church beating:" http://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2015/10/16/teen-killed-in-church-carroll-pkg-ac.cnn
* "Kids Who Wear Turbans Are Being Bullied, Here's How To Stop It:" http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kids-who-wear-turbans-are-being-bullied-heres-how-to-stop-it_561fc406e4b028dd7ea6d8ec
* "Argentine Trans Activist Diana Sacayan Murdered:" http://transgriot.blogspot.com/2015/10/argentine-trans-activist-diana-sacayan.html
* Mansplaining, Sexism, and the Trans experience: http://gwydionmisha.tumblr.com/post/131334106947/robothugscomic-new-comic-link-this-week-i
* "Could ExxonMobil go the way of Big Tobacco?:"
* "New alarm over fracking-related earthquake threat to oil storage:"
* President Obama is not going to sell any new leases for Arctic drilling, nor will they renew current licenses. Shell is giving up on their current exploration because it's too hard.
Now to make sure the next President doesn’t over turn it.
* "Ancient fossils reveal diversity in the body structure of human ancestors:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/uom-afr030915.php
* "Neanderthals shape up as globe's first jewellers:" http://phys.org/news/2015-03-neanderthals-globe-jewellers.html
* "Prehistoric stone tools bear 500,000-year-old animal residue:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/afot-pst031915.php
* The lead researcher is named Borgia an they got control samples fro the Poison garden in Northumberland! yes, the Alnick Garden! A place I wish I could visit! "Poisons, plants and Palaeolithic hunters:" http://www.cam.ac.uk/research/features/poisons-plants-and-palaeolithic-hunters
* "Ancient Africans used 'no fly zones' to bring herds south:" http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-03/wuis-aau030615.php
* "Ancient artifacts found on Ashkelon beach:" http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4635226,00.html
* "People Ate Pork in the Middle East Until 1,000 B.C.—What Changed?:" http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/people-ate-pork-middle-east-until-1000-bcwhat-changed-180954614/?no-ist
* "Ancient Receipt Proves Egyptian Taxes Were Worse Than Yours:" http://www.livescience.com/50139-ancient-egyptian-tax-receipt.html
* "The largest known bronze mask of Pan uncovered by researchers:" http://phys.org/news/2015-03-largest-bronze-mask-pan-uncovered.html
* "Clay tablet with oldest recorded customer-service complaint on display at the British Museum:" https://ca.news.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-buzz/at-the-british-museum-oldest-recorded-184633671.html
* "COPS & VLOGGERS - THE YOUTUBE EFFECT:"
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
* "Throwback Thursday - Lincoln-Douglas Debates:"
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
* "An Illinois Mayor Gets Parodied on Twitter:"
Get More: Comedy Central,Funny Videos,Funny TV Shows
* I know, I know. I shouldn't be spending money on things that are not cat food, but Sunday is my birthday and my present for myself this year was one matinee ticket to see Crimson Peak today. Afterwards, I voted. Yes it's an off year election, but local elections are important. This year the ballot was massive, with not only the usual slate of local and county officials, but a large collection of measures to do with taxation, redistricting, and rules for what the city council can and can't do. I know this sort of thing is technical and unromantic, but look at what gerrymandering has done to the Congress and tell me again having fairly drawn voting districts isn't important. Things like clean water and mental health diversion instead of warehousing the mentally ill in prison are incredibly important issues. Again, not glamorous, but I want my city to stay on the right track. I keep a close eye on school boards because that's one of the places people who want to gut history and science education tend to try to get in to destroy local schools. I live somewhere pretty safe that way, but I still like to keep an eye open. (My candidate made it into the run off!)
Seriously folks, pay attention to local elections to things like Sheriff, city council, school board, and port authority. They have a huge impact on your local quality of life. It's a really good idea to keep a look out for targeted right wing tax measures designed to strip funding for schools and/or infrastructure or to constitutionally tie the hands of the legislature to fund key parts of government. I don't know what issues are going on where you live, but please check out your voter guide and research measures and candidates online.
Also, if you live somewhere with early voting, I urge you to take advantage of it. This is especially important if you live under Republican rule as their aggressive war on the right to vote continues. It is better to vote early so you have plenty of time to fight to get your rights reinstated if you've been unconstitutionally stripped of your right for being trans or poor or a person of color.
Please, please, please vote.
* Crimson Peak (I'm going to be as general as I can manage for the spoiler adverse):
First off, I must mention how beautifully designed and shot the film is. The visual language in this film is so specific and symbolic, particularly the use of Black, red, white, and yellow. (It reminded me a little bit of Hero in this, though the aesthetic is entirely different). This is one of the things I love about del Toro's work. I'm going to have to watch it again when it comes out on DvD so I can test a whole collection of theories I have about what he's doing with colour and the the through lines on each. It's also stunningly beautiful, which likely goes without saying, my favorite thing being the intrusions of the natural world into the unnatural one in the main hall of the manor, the leaves and snow and the bleeding of the earth. Gorgeous and magical. There is so much detail in each shot that again, I'll have to watch again, but I love the use of costume to talk about character. It is explicit in Edith's noticing of Lord Sharpe's suit and shoes, but you can see it particularly in the contrast between Edith's ultra up to date bright wardrobe and Lucille's clothes which are about twenty years out of date and likely her mothers. I could pour over the use of art and furniture and visual texture for days and likely will when I have the chance. I love that for the second half of the film Edith in particularly, but pretty much all of it could have been drawn by Edward Gorey. There are all this little visual references to other art and other films in the genre. There is the way the walls sometimes look like the raw meat of a hollowed out body cavity.
Similarly, the sound editing impressed the hell out of me. I have tracked the tendency in films to completely muck up their sound levels at least as far back as the '80's, but it's been way worse and more common the last decade or so. Let us blast loud intrusive music over everything punctuated with crude sound effects, then suddenly have very soft dialog, then blast loud music with crude sound effects again! After all, why would people want to hear the dialog when they could be listening to really loud manipulative incidental music! This movie was the antithesis of that. The piano music which did matter for plot and character reasons was well balanced, the incidental music unobtrusive, the dialog properly balanced with music and sound effects, and the sound effects were excellent. Seriously, the use of sound to establish atmosphere was well done, but the sound in the last fifteen minutes or so? Was brilliant the way that the flies on the first zombies in the first episode of walking dead were, by which I mean they were gruesome and really brought home the visceral horror of what was going on. The sound effects really made it feel real in a way the blasted canned effects over loud orchestral swells never could.
Which brings me to the film itself, which was classically Gothic, by which I mean the literary tradition stretching back to Walpole and Radcliffe. Seriously there are about three hundred years of literary and filmic traditions consciously layered into this piece by a master filmmaker. I can't list them because spoilers, but a very long list is reeling through my head right now. This film is engaged in a deep and complicated conversation with the likes of the Brontes, Poe, Mary Shelly, Walpole, Radcliffe, Stoker, James Whale, Vincent Price, Universal and Hammer horror films, and on and on and on. In it the supernatural side of the genre and the more psychological/character side represented by books like Jane Eye and Northanger Abbey (which was itself an parody of and conversation with early books in the Gothic tradition) meet and mingle. Like a lot of Del Toro's work it is quietly feminist. Women are central: intelligent and strong willed and willing to do what it takes to survive in a world that neither protects them nor readily yields the means to protect themselves.
There should be some sort of special award for doing a whole movie in which there is even a woman bathing scene in which we see way more of the male lead's body than that of the female lead. In the world of Game of Thrones "sexposition," it is really refreshing to see a movie that goes the other way.
It is a hard movie to watch and not for the weak of stomach. Do not take small children to see it. It is beautiful and horrifying and very intellectual beneath a surprisingly gore filled surface. This is a movie I'm going to want to take apart and put back together over and over because there is so much going on underneath a deceptively simple, classic gothic plot.
I suspect there is going to be a massive gulf between people who pay attention to the spoken text only and those reading the visual language as well, likely even worse than with Pacific Rim, because it's a similar issue: very simple plot with this massive amout of meaning layered into the visual language.
* I honestly can't tell you if Scream Queens is any good or not, despite all my watching of it. It is very pretty and I am amused by the music cues, but the Slasher genre isn't my genre and I really, really never liked the Sorority/Fraternity system and I would like it to go away forever, which makes it hard for me to connect with. I like Zayday? I like the aesthetics? I think beyond my disconnection from the subject matter, it is too exaggerated even for me and my fondness for stylized film and parody. I just can't suspend disbelief and am always being pulled out of it as a result. It likely does not help that this is the third Ryan Murphy thing I've seen Emma Roberts play this character in and I didn't particularly like this character the other two times either. It's just boring to watch and there is nothing new to say about her.
* People are still reblogging "Historically Authentic Sexism." O.o I have an anniversary reblog scheduled in... I'm thinking early December? But it's blowing up my feed again the last couple days.
* Organizations helping with the refugee crisis: http://captainofalltheships.tumblr.com/post/128790538169/an-updated-list-of-organizations-to-donate-to-help
* A list of LGBTQA Charities to donate money to instead of seeing the racist Stonewall Movie that decided to portray a black trans woman activist as a cis white man. http://awkward0w1.tumblr.com/post/126399233673
* Want Game of Thrones without the creepy? We desperately need new players. We are very inclusive. "Game of Bones MUSH:" gobmush.wikidot.com
(no subject)
Date: 2015-10-18 03:59 pm (UTC)