Ann's blog

Frankenstein (1931)

Frankenstein (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection)

Just a few notes of comment for myself.  There are spoilers, in case someone reading this has no idea how this 79 year old movie might end.

I knew going in that it was nothing like the book, except in the broadest ways.  Keeping in mind the effects that the film-makers had available, it was appropriately dark and creepy.  Karloff as the Monster shows how great his characterization was even without CG.  Today's effects guys could learn a bunch by going back to basics.

The themes of the movie were basically the same as those of Shelley's book: fear or at least doubt of electricity and unbridled scientific experimentation, which still has repercussions for us today.  What if a scientist takes his research too far?  How will it affect society?  How will society respond?

The end of the movie was sort of a let-down and confused me.  The Monster throws the scientist from the top of a building, then gets torched by the angry villagers.  The scientist lives, but there is no closure.  Does he marry his fiancee (a big question, since the Monster prevented the ceremony from getting underway)?  Or does fiancee run off with her best friend, who makes no mystery of his feelings for her?  The finals words were from the scientist's father, a toast for the health of the son of the house of Frankenstein.  How weak!

the end of time

Doctor Who: The End of Time, Parts 1 and 2

Finally caught up with this Doctor Who ep last night.  Ultimately, I don't think I liked it, which is sad, since I've liked the new series so much in general and David Tennant in particular (Christopher Eccleston made an excellent Doctor also, but that's a tangent for another post).

When did the Time Lords get mind-reading and energy-control powers?  Not in this epi, but recently I remember the Doctor performing the Vulcan Mind Meld on someone.  The Master and Rassilon both shot electricity from their hands (although Rassilon looked like he had to use a glove to focus his energy -- was the glove the source of his ability, or only a mental focus tool?).  Oh yeah, and the Master uses horcruxes.  We've hit most of the big franchises now.

Who was the woman who kept appearing to Gramps?

When a new planet appears in the system, I'll grant that its influence is probably not going to be felt immediately, having to overcome the Earth's momentum and all.  But if it is between the earth and the sun, surely that's going to be one massive eclipse; it's not going to look like it's just really overcast that day.

Already all the details are fuzzy in my mind.  I really wish I had liked this episode more.  And I feel really sorry for the new guy, because he has big shoes to fill (cf. the Fifth Doctor picking up for Tom Baker) (that's where we are in the viewing of the old series).  These doctors keep getting younger and younger -- I wonder if he's really Merlin, living his life in reverse time.

november

wow, this month has been full and gotten away from me.  The first weekend of the month, on Saturday, there was a Louisiana Classical Association meeting -- in which I was promoted to the new post of Blog Administrator.  Does this replace the Newsletter Editor, or just represent a shift in technologies?  Not sure, but I got the new blog set up today ( http://laclassical.wordpress.com if anyone is interested).  Sunday we went with another couple to the Renaissance Festival in Hammond.  When we first entered, we got serenaded by a wandering bard!  Spent too much money probably, but we got some worthwhile stuff, so it'll be okay in the long run.

The second weekend was our road trip to Charlotte, for the US-K Martial Arts tournament.  That was a great experience, and while there were a lot of things I could have done better, I know now how to prepare next time.  Even with some mistakes, I still took first in forms in my division (red belt women), and third in sparring (advanced).  That sparring trophy is pretty significant, because we few women asked to be mixed in with the men, so the sparring was co-ed.  It was really a mistake, and we should have instead been forced to spar each other, even though that would have meant the three women from the Chi Institute were sparring each other ... again.  My first opponent was a 17-yo Tae Kwon Do boy.  The match was 2 minutes, or first one to five points.  I took some good shots to the gut, and by like 1:55, I was ready to quit.  Time was called as I was telling the judge I needed to stop.  And it turns out I won the match, beat the kid on points.  HA.  I opted to sit out the next round though, which is why I only took third (the judges had to compress the brackets a little, because it was getting late, I guess).  Had a heck of a bruise on my arm later, but no long-term damage.

The third weekend we turned around and had testing at the Chi Institute.  Everything went smoothly, no one freaked out, but I was sick, and probably should have asked for an extension or something.  Some students came down from the Wisconsin branch for their dan test, so there were seven students promoted to black belt that day total, four from our own school.  Big crowd!  After the test, a bunch of us went to the Ren Fest again, mostly to see Ordo Procinctus in action -- lots of the Tang Soo Do crowd wants to get in on that now.  It was a soggy cool day, and probably made my cold worse, but it was fun to be with a group of like-minded people.

Tuesday my cough was so bad and my throat hurt so much that I actually stopped at the walk-in clinic to ask for some meds.  First time since college -- but I was afraid that I might be getting laryngitis, and I've done that dance before and did not like it.  Feeling much better today, although I'm still clearly not 100%.

We just stayed home for Thanksgiving, didn't invite anyone over, didn't crash any parties.  Pork chops and corn casserole was our big Thanksgiving dinner, and it tasted darn good to me.  I was thankful for my husband being there to care for me, and for cooking, and that we had decided to spend a weekend at home rather than traveling.

One more week of classes, then the dreaded final examinations, and at last, winter break.

TSD class, 11/2

I was honored and privileged to be asked to assist last night during class.  Ko Dan Ja Nim Romero was instructor, but there were no other black belts to help out, so we red belts had to step up at various times.  It was weird, I hadn't thought of myself as ready to assist in class, but when I actually do the math, K and I are about 9 months away from our black belt test.  Ive come a long way from those stumbling, bumbling days as white belt.

QotD: Circus Act

If you joined the circus, what act would you most want to perform?

Ever since I watched Circus of the Stars as a kid, I always thought it would be most supremely fun to be on the trapeze.  It looked like swinging, only with more altitude, and when they're done, they get to fall into a big bouncy net.  What's not to love?!

My second choice would be juggler, because you don't need a lot of equipment to perform, so you can do it anywhere.

My third choice would be to learn anything those Cirque du Soleil people do -- so dexterous and agile and strong!

TSD Demo

Saturday we got up early to participate in a Youth Festival at the YMCA, sponsored by the O'Brien House.  There were lots of groups performing for the audience of kids and their parents, mostly dance groups.  I'm surprised there wasn't a singing group.  This was the first demonstration that I'd been to, and so I wasn't sure what to expect.  There were seven of us total, Master C of course, young Mr. B, Mr. R, and Mr. B, one of the newest (and the oldest) black belt; K and I the red belts; and Mr O the orange belt.  Young Mr. B performed Bong Hyung Ee Bu, and then did a black belt form with Mr. R.  Then I broke a board on stepping side kick (needed a second try, because my aim was way off), Mr O did some sort of hand technique, and Young Mr B (the star of the show, since he's only fourteen and a shining example for the school and for this audience) finished with a flying side kick.  The big finale of course, Master C chopped the cucumber on Mr O's stomach with his katana. 

We didn't have much time for mingling and fielding questions afterwards, because it was also gameday on LSU's campus, and even at noon, the traffic was already getting crazy as people trolled for parking spots.  We have a parking sticker for the Chi Institute though, so we have guaranteed spots and will not get towed, if we ever decide to go down for tailgating.

For lunch we walked to Voodoo BBQ and enjoyed some good food and beers before heading home to take a nap.

Go Goku!

Dragonball: Evolution

Surprisingly non-cheesy!  All the elements of the anime were there, but with enough reference to the "real" world to make it seem relevant.  They didn't try to overwhelm the story by introducing too many characters -- there was one bad guy (Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, actually) and his one henchwoman.  The hero had some allies of course, and a mentor (Chow Yun Fat, awesome in Replacement Killers).

Full stop, my favorite scene is the one where he doesn't fight the high school bullies at a party. 

a lot funnier than I remember

Blazing Saddles

I saw Blazing Saddles (1974) for the first time as a youngster -- no clue how old I was, but I'm pretty sure I saw it on HBO or maybe videotape at Shelby's house.

I was hesitant to see it again, because I didn't think it was all that good the first time.  But it came up in my Netflix queue, so I watched it again the other night.  I realize now that I was entirely too young to get it the first time around.  I was quite a naive and protected child, and I grew up in a mixed community, without much overt racism (or at least, I was not aware of any -- could come back to my basic nature).  I think I honestly didn't know what the n-word meant, and just didn't understand why everyone was making a big deal over a black guy coming to town to be the sheriff.  Also, fart jokes never amused me, and still don't, but I digress.

Having seen it now with more mature, less naive, eyes, I can honestly say that movie is funny!  And the ending, with the action spilling over onto other sets, made me think immediately of the end of Python's Holy Grail (which was released in '75 -- I hadn't realized it was a contemporary almost of Blazing Saddles).

and speaking of tv...

I hate the rule of the guest star (I really need a proper name for this) = Narrowed It Down to the Guy I Recognize.

Whenever there's a big-name guest star on a murder mystery (CSI, L&O), he is always the guilty one.  Always.  Unless it's an episode with multiple big names, but that happens only rarely.  And I hate this because it takes out all the mystery, of trying to figure out whodunnit and why.  We already know who, so then figuring out why is usually a short leap.

The TV tropes link above says pretty much the same thing, but with more words, and a metrick butt-load of examples.

I guess I can understand why tv people do this: the show gets a Big Name Star to come on; the Big Name Star gets a chance at a meaty role, to Be Bad and Act (Genius! Thank you! No Thank You!).  But sometimes it just sucks all the enjoyment out of an episode.  I'm on this rant today after watching The Closer last night, which was a really mediocre story once Tom Skerrit came in and revealed himself with his mere presence as the bad guy.

tv junkie

I watch waaay too much tv, but I guess I'll learn to accept it.  I started watching Kings on NBC a while ago, and was truly disappointed when the network announced that the show would not continue beyond the first season.  Thankfully, all the episodes are being broadcast (have been?  I am behind in my PVR viewing), so I don't have to wait for the dvd to learn the end.  This show could really have been special.

I heard on NPR recently that Cheers had dismal ratings for almost two years before it clicked and found an audience -- there's no time for shows to mature anymore, and that's regrettable.

I started watching a new show called The Colony, which is a post-apocalyptic experiment reality-type show, but (I hope and pray) without the drama of a competition.  This group of colonists are living in an abandoned warehouse after a biological disaster, and have to use their skills and wits to survive -- so it's a staged experiment, and they are somewhere in LA, because they were gathering water from the LA River (that trickle of water running through the concrete culvert, which shocked me when I learned that was really a river, but I digress).  There are hostiles who come around making noise in the night and scaring the colonists, and I'm sure these attacks will escalate, although the psychologist running the experiment has instructed the "hostiles" not to injure the subjects -- but the subjects don't know that!  Tonight was ep 2, but I haven't watched it yet.  I think it's supposed to last 10 weeks, maybe on Discovery Channel, a little bit Survivor or Survivorman, a little bit Junkyard Wars, a little bit Jericho (fictional P-A show from a few years ago).