5.23.2009

ahh freedom


"Some 400 million Indians, 60 percent of all the eligible voters, had cast their ballots in the biggest electoral exercise in the history of the democratic world. Six million officials and security personnel had protected the voters and close to one-and-a-half million electronic voting machines were used in the exercise."

Wow. I tell ya, India should be focused on more positively in america. They are the largest, most hopeful democracy in the world. That's important.

Nate

5.10.2009

Seriously dudes?


You know that golf announcer who thinks American soldiers would murder Nancy Pelosi before touching Osama Bin Laden?

Not shockingly, CBS has declared it an "unacceptable attempt at humor." I love the added burn of calling it an "attempt."

How come all the disgruntled "comedians" like this douche and Glen Beck are invariably recovering alcoholics? One sign of alcoholism is allowing your actions to become socially unacceptable or extreme; you think they'd be more aware of the damaging nature of indulging irrational behaviors and feelings.

+++

Thinking about all this already, I ran into the single most obvious egregious of Obama Derangement Syndrome yet, a guy who accuses Obama of using his Iron Fist Socialist Inexperience to force Paramount Pictures into...sending over a copy of Star Trek. Yeah, I know. Nevermind the fact that Presidents have screened films in the White House ever since Birth of a Nation.

Just what is this guy getting at? Does he seriously think that Obama wanting to see Star Trek, or the press reporting on the fact, is a problem? What, precisely, is his point? Cuz I didn't see one in the article.

Lordy, these people are loons.

Nate

*(I'm not holding double standards, Bush Derangement Syndrome was a very real thing. I know this.)

5.07.2009

I don't...I can't remember. I'm sorry


Last night's Fringe really delivered. Not only did we get to see Michael Cerveris' ominous Observer again, but we got a cameo from Clint Howard, as well as the very satisfying death of the show's most irritating character.

What I love about Fringe is how many allusions it contains within one episode. The show assembles very familiar imagery and icons of sci-fi, then constructs a new, rich fiction from not just its plot, but also the audience's recognition of its allusions. Pop culture allusion is the show's bread and butter. For instance the Observer is obviously a shout-out to the bald, mostly silent Watcher of Marvel Comics, but his presence, meaning, and origin within Fringe's universe are entirely new, and founded within the show's own mythology.

Not convinced?

For a better example, last week's episode "Inner Child" referenced E.T. and 2001 very directly within the same scene to great effect. The E.T. reference arrives as Olivia uses Skittles to bond with the subterranean child, recalling E.T. and Eliot's shared love of Reeses Pieces. Twice during the episode when characters are having conversations behind glass, the child seems to understand them, much like HAL silently observed the plan to destroy him in 2001.

The purpose of these allusions was not just to provoke "oh look at that" moments of recognition; by referencing cinema's most iconic benevolent alien and villianous technology, the show poses a question to the viewer: Is this child a misunderstood being capable of love, like E.T., or is he a sign of the dangerous future that awaits our characters, echoing HAL's inhumane pursuit of progress. By recalling these two iconic film characters, the show can convey this dynamic without relying on dialogue or exposition.

You don't have to get the show's references to understand the story (it is rather self-contained), but recognizing these allusions enriches the story through the secondary narrative of the show's engagement with the iconography of the sci-fi pop culture world.

Smart TV is good, no? I'm pumped to hear that it shall be returning in the fall for a full season.

Nate.

PS:
John Noble's performance as Walter Bishop has become so moving. His navigation of the character's broken and haunted psyche has layers of depth that are just beginning to reveal themselves. The scene in the diner with Olivia last night was heartbreaking.

I'm beginning to think that John Locke is going to be trouble.



These are screen caps of my favorite moment on LOST last night. As I have suspected since "The Man Behind the Curtain", Ben's connection with Jacob is an outright lie, a lie that Locke has seen though from the beginning.

Ben's face in the first picture is in reaction to this accusation, and Locke's is in reaction to his reaction. He knows that he just pulled the rug right out from under Ben's entire scheme.

"Follow the Leader" will go down with most fans as one of the best episodes in the show's history, guaranteed.

There was no gigantic twist, no huge reveal, but over the course of the episode, our long-standing assumptions about many characters, and about the show itself, were completely subverted or confirmed, depending on your viewpoint.

Now we know that Richard isn't a benevolent spirit, secretly working for Locke's benefit. He is is master manipulator who is less all-knowing than he seems. I guess we know where Ben got his leadership style.

This episode also made it clear that one must read LOST's second-half narrative as a bizarre mirror image of the show's first three seasons.

Nate.

"[Obama's] just got a great smile."

This article is the perfect eample of why Obama's personality is his greatest political asset.

If Coburn, a die-hard right-winger, was "charmed" by Senator Obama on a personal level, how can the Right hope to demonize him on a national level?

The answer: they can't.

Nate

5.05.2009

this is all an illusion



God damn. Mulholland Drive. Jesus. So good.

This was my 4th or 5th time round, and definitely the best yet.

I would be more than okay with this as the consensus Best O' Decade pick...but then again, In the Mood for Love is pretty good...plus Crouching Tiger...

Nate

5.03.2009

To die would be an awfully big adventure


I was just discussing my deep-seated love of Peter Pan with one of my roommates, and the conversation ended up centering on PJ Hogan's 2003 film adaptation, of which I am a huge fan.
To me, Hogan's film is the single most thoughtful onscreen treatment of the Peter Pan mythology; it strays from the book in a few instances, but always in service of the story's fundamental purpose. It portrays Captain Hook and Peter as equally tragic figures, whose rivalry is more metaphorical than personal; Captain Hook is the embodiment of everything Peter fears about adulthood (cynicism, pettiness, and failed dreams) while Peter is a reminder of Captain Hook's lost innocence and joy. In the film, neither one is fully capable of love, but while Peter shuns the notion of deep love, Hook secretly longs for the simple comforts of family life. The film treats the source material with respect, accentuating the bittersweet nature of Peter's eternal youth while adding a complicated and engrossing level of nuance to the character of Captain Hook.
I'm done rambling. Sorry 'bout that. Go rent the film.

Nate

You don’t touch Sheldon! Do you want him to explode?


The A.V. Club interview with Jim Parsons is a fantastic read. Parsons plays uber nerd Sheldon on CBS' pleasantly surprising, often very funny Big Bang Theory. His character is the show's Kramer/Barney/Kenneth* breakout, and this is largely due to the deftly comedic performance from Parsons, who never stoops to rudiculing Sheldon's deep-seated social ackwardness. The interview is illuminating; I would love it if more sitcom actors put Parson's level of empathy for Sheldon into their performances, it adds dimension nicely.

Nate

* from Seinfeld, How I Met Your Mother, and 30 Rock, respectively.