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redfiona99But with some wrestling, some fic writing talk and the film meme.
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The best thing about being a wrestling fan on this side of the Atlantic, other than some of the PPVs being sort of free (we have Sky Sports as part of the attempted peace plan re: Nan and Colin), is that someone else watches it first, which means that I know which parts are worth watching.
Therefore I stayed up to watch the first half hour of RAW.
I'm not sure if I loved Morrison's limp of determination or Punk's crouch of damn it more.
I'd also like to thank Missy for linking to the slo-mo pantomime. I think it actually kind of worked because of who it was. Even if the Undertaker's serious business stare has started to resemble Sam the Eagle.
Also, I firmly believe the correct response to 'I will end you' is 'suck it'.
~~~~
On a related but different theme, researching a sub-culture I have a lack of sympathy with for a fic is not fun.
~~~~
Film Meme:
Day 25 - Favourite film villian
I find there is a problem with a lot of film villains. That they're more fun than the heroes. Sometimes the problem is that Hollywood seems to think hero = boring, which is annoying. Other times the problem is that the villains are sometimes a lot more sympathetic than the heroes, and not just in the 'sympathy for the devil' sense.
I grant a personal preference for 'there are no villains, just different people with colliding wants' as a philosophy, but if it's going to be a black and white dividing line sort of film, I want to cheer for the hero.
Before I give my top 2, I'm going to give three honourable mentions:
A - Commodus in Gladiator - has he been messed up by his upbringing? Yes. Does it justify his actions? No. I like how Gladiator does it. They give the bad guy depth while never buying into his belief that it's all Daddy's fault.
B - Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man.
Almost didn't make it in because he isn't the villain, Cocteau is. But I'll be damned if he doesn't manage to be fun in the scenery chewing way of villainy. The good thing about Demolition Man is that he is balanced out by everyone being great fun too (I <3 Edgar Friendly, but I also <3 John Spartan's reaction to his rant).
C - The Killer Shark in Tom And The Waterbabies (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078477/) - written in on behalf of my Mum. Much like Simon Phoenix, he's great scenery chewing fun (and okay, my Mum finds it amusing because he's an evil shark with a broad Yorkshire accent [in context, it makes sense]) but again, he's balanced out by everyone else.
I think the balancing is very important. The good guys can't be too po-faced or else people's sympathies wander.
Now, onto my two choices.
The Kurgan from Highlander
It's a role that could easily have gone horribly wrong. (Actually, Highlander as a whole is a film that teeters on the brink of horrible wrong, that's what makes it awesome, it shouldn't have worked) The Kurgan could have been too interesting. He's a cool villain, he has awesome armour, he's got sword skills, he gets to insult nuns.
And yet, at no point do we cheer for him, because he's utterly horrible.
And scary. We shouldn't forget scary. Part of it is Clancy Brown's physical presence. He's huge. Part of it is the voice, the armour, the sense of an ancient evil. And of course, it's what he does.
The villain from The 6th Day
I was introduced to 'The 6th Day' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216216/) by N. I didn't want to watch it, I'd been told it was bad Schwarzenegger, and given that I'm not that fond of good Arnie (I admire the Governator, even if I disagree with his politics frequently) I didn't much fancy it. I was wrong.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a brilliant film, but it's good and at least it does interesting things. What I love the most, the clones in it are no better and no worse as people than their originals, and they give a reason why they're the same as the originals.
The other thing I love about the film is the bad guy, Michael Drucker. He's clever, he's sensible, he is only sneaky when he has to be. He tries to legalise the bad thing he does rather than just trying to make even more money.
He's evil, but the man in the grey suit sort of evil.
Day 1 - Favourite Foreign Language Film
Day 2 - A film that is underrated
Day 3 - A Film That Brings Me Unadulterated Happiness
Day 4- A film cliché that you love
Day 5 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 6 - Favorite actor/actress
Day 7 - Most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 8 - Best Opening/Closing Credits
Day 9 - Best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favourite classic film
Day 11 - Favourite black and white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure...
Day 14 - A film that you used to love but now hate
Day 15 - Favorite film sequel
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Day 17 - Favourite quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A Moving (Emotional) Scene
Day 21 - Favorite film from your favorite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favorite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - Character You Relate To The Most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 26 - Favorite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favorite film from your favorite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favorite film
Day 30 - Your favorite film of all-time
~~~~
RL
I just got into an argument about feminism with a (female) friend of a friend on Facebook. Yes, I know, but I suffer from XKCD syndrome (as described here - http://xkcd.com/386/).
I am also aware that I have a real double standard on this one. A man who declaims that woman aren't repressed gets the 'you're an idiot' glare, and maybe some useful numbers. A woman who says it causes frothing rage.
This woman came out with such wonderful comments, like 'women aren't repressed' and 'feminists should get over it'. I mean, the (male) friend whose wall this was on is conservative (both kinds) and even he thinks she's wrong. His line is that if she hasn't been, it's because she's high earning and educated, and that better education for all is the way forward.
She's of the 'I'm not a feminist because I (personally) don't feel I have been discriminated against, and therefore it doesn't happen. Also, I feel that feminists want female domination, and I believe in equality'.
Now, the second half of that, I at least understand (she obviously didn't have my year 9 science teacher who insisted that science was too difficult for tiny female brains), because hey, that's what I want too.
I want equal pay for equal work.
I want reproductive rights for all parties.
I want everyone to be equal and represented by the law.
That means I have to be a feminist because the party (if we look at the world in terms of the division between male and female) that don't get that are women.
I like to imagine she's sitting there thinking I'm one of those women. Because I really don't mind. I might not particularly agree with the wing that spell it womyn, and I have my own entirely objectional blind spots, but heck, I'd rather be with them than with the 'I'm alright, Jack' lot.
~~~~
The best thing about being a wrestling fan on this side of the Atlantic, other than some of the PPVs being sort of free (we have Sky Sports as part of the attempted peace plan re: Nan and Colin), is that someone else watches it first, which means that I know which parts are worth watching.
Therefore I stayed up to watch the first half hour of RAW.
I'm not sure if I loved Morrison's limp of determination or Punk's crouch of damn it more.
I'd also like to thank Missy for linking to the slo-mo pantomime. I think it actually kind of worked because of who it was. Even if the Undertaker's serious business stare has started to resemble Sam the Eagle.
Also, I firmly believe the correct response to 'I will end you' is 'suck it'.
~~~~
On a related but different theme, researching a sub-culture I have a lack of sympathy with for a fic is not fun.
~~~~
Film Meme:
Day 25 - Favourite film villian
I find there is a problem with a lot of film villains. That they're more fun than the heroes. Sometimes the problem is that Hollywood seems to think hero = boring, which is annoying. Other times the problem is that the villains are sometimes a lot more sympathetic than the heroes, and not just in the 'sympathy for the devil' sense.
I grant a personal preference for 'there are no villains, just different people with colliding wants' as a philosophy, but if it's going to be a black and white dividing line sort of film, I want to cheer for the hero.
Before I give my top 2, I'm going to give three honourable mentions:
A - Commodus in Gladiator - has he been messed up by his upbringing? Yes. Does it justify his actions? No. I like how Gladiator does it. They give the bad guy depth while never buying into his belief that it's all Daddy's fault.
B - Simon Phoenix in Demolition Man.
Almost didn't make it in because he isn't the villain, Cocteau is. But I'll be damned if he doesn't manage to be fun in the scenery chewing way of villainy. The good thing about Demolition Man is that he is balanced out by everyone being great fun too (I <3 Edgar Friendly, but I also <3 John Spartan's reaction to his rant).
C - The Killer Shark in Tom And The Waterbabies (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078477/) - written in on behalf of my Mum. Much like Simon Phoenix, he's great scenery chewing fun (and okay, my Mum finds it amusing because he's an evil shark with a broad Yorkshire accent [in context, it makes sense]) but again, he's balanced out by everyone else.
I think the balancing is very important. The good guys can't be too po-faced or else people's sympathies wander.
Now, onto my two choices.
The Kurgan from Highlander
It's a role that could easily have gone horribly wrong. (Actually, Highlander as a whole is a film that teeters on the brink of horrible wrong, that's what makes it awesome, it shouldn't have worked) The Kurgan could have been too interesting. He's a cool villain, he has awesome armour, he's got sword skills, he gets to insult nuns.
And yet, at no point do we cheer for him, because he's utterly horrible.
And scary. We shouldn't forget scary. Part of it is Clancy Brown's physical presence. He's huge. Part of it is the voice, the armour, the sense of an ancient evil. And of course, it's what he does.
The villain from The 6th Day
I was introduced to 'The 6th Day' (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0216216/) by N. I didn't want to watch it, I'd been told it was bad Schwarzenegger, and given that I'm not that fond of good Arnie (I admire the Governator, even if I disagree with his politics frequently) I didn't much fancy it. I was wrong.
Don't get me wrong, it's not a brilliant film, but it's good and at least it does interesting things. What I love the most, the clones in it are no better and no worse as people than their originals, and they give a reason why they're the same as the originals.
The other thing I love about the film is the bad guy, Michael Drucker. He's clever, he's sensible, he is only sneaky when he has to be. He tries to legalise the bad thing he does rather than just trying to make even more money.
He's evil, but the man in the grey suit sort of evil.
Day 1 - Favourite Foreign Language Film
Day 2 - A film that is underrated
Day 3 - A Film That Brings Me Unadulterated Happiness
Day 4- A film cliché that you love
Day 5 - Favourite love story in a film
Day 6 - Favorite actor/actress
Day 7 - Most surprising plot twist/ending
Day 8 - Best Opening/Closing Credits
Day 9 - Best soundtrack/score to a film
Day 10 - Favourite classic film
Day 11 - Favourite black and white film
Day 12 - A film that permanently altered your point-of-view
Day 13 - A guilty pleasure...
Day 14 - A film that you used to love but now hate
Day 15 - Favorite film sequel
Day 16 - Favourite film character
Day 17 - Favourite quote
Day 18 - The best overall cast in a film
Day 19 - The most hilarious film you've seen
Day 20 - A Moving (Emotional) Scene
Day 21 - Favorite film from your favorite actor/actress
Day 22 - Favorite Academy Award acceptance speech
Day 23 - Character You Relate To The Most
Day 24 - The best page-to-screen film adaptation
Day 26 - Favorite film poster
Day 27 - A film that you wish you had seen in theaters
Day 28 - Favorite film from your favorite director
Day 29 - A piece of trivia from a favorite film
Day 30 - Your favorite film of all-time
~~~~
RL
I just got into an argument about feminism with a (female) friend of a friend on Facebook. Yes, I know, but I suffer from XKCD syndrome (as described here - http://xkcd.com/386/).
I am also aware that I have a real double standard on this one. A man who declaims that woman aren't repressed gets the 'you're an idiot' glare, and maybe some useful numbers. A woman who says it causes frothing rage.
This woman came out with such wonderful comments, like 'women aren't repressed' and 'feminists should get over it'. I mean, the (male) friend whose wall this was on is conservative (both kinds) and even he thinks she's wrong. His line is that if she hasn't been, it's because she's high earning and educated, and that better education for all is the way forward.
She's of the 'I'm not a feminist because I (personally) don't feel I have been discriminated against, and therefore it doesn't happen. Also, I feel that feminists want female domination, and I believe in equality'.
Now, the second half of that, I at least understand (she obviously didn't have my year 9 science teacher who insisted that science was too difficult for tiny female brains), because hey, that's what I want too.
I want equal pay for equal work.
I want reproductive rights for all parties.
I want everyone to be equal and represented by the law.
That means I have to be a feminist because the party (if we look at the world in terms of the division between male and female) that don't get that are women.
I like to imagine she's sitting there thinking I'm one of those women. Because I really don't mind. I might not particularly agree with the wing that spell it womyn, and I have my own entirely objectional blind spots, but heck, I'd rather be with them than with the 'I'm alright, Jack' lot.
