May 2005 Archives
Okay, I freakin' did it. I bought Civilization III, and it's of course taken over my free time. But, it's so goddamn fun, and it's exactly what the Doctor ordered. Some people destress with first-person shooters. I like the turn-based strategy games, myself. Problem is, it's impossible to play a 15 minute game, and it's near impossible to stop yourself before you've wasted 3 hours of your time. So.. the trick is not to play too often, and to save after you give yourself mini-goals. Such as obliterating Japan, Russia, Germany and France (damn those French, they were the hardest of the bunch!)
Oh well. It went so fast, and I have nothing to show for it but more weight and less beer in the fridge. But, we had a great time doing it, with two barbeques and lots of family & friend visitings. I feel oddly refreshed by the social engagements, which usually take it out of me. I even got a lot to sleep last night (10 hours!) -- though tonight will fare much worse, I'm sure.
What are we remembering, anyhow? :)
This one is WWI, I think, right? Or is it WWI and WWII? In any case -- thanks guys for fighting the good fight so I can char meat on the bbq and speak English with my American friends. I really mean it -- I am truly appreciative of those who fought in wars that actually meant something to the peace and prosperity of the USA. They are so few and far between these days. Instead, we have... wars for the American way of excess, which while I partake in the advantages, I can't morally get behind it. I'm of the 'love the troops, hate the war' mentality. I mean, I do not blame the people in the field at all - in fact, they are the most patriotic poeple in the world, and they deserve our support and gratitude. I also dont' mind that they totally believe in the war and their commanders, because we need an armed force that doesn't ask questions of the command structure and that does their duty from the heart. What we do need is a better top-teir, and we need to stop allowing the military to be run by the political arm.
Anyhow, thanks guys for fighting, and some for dying, so that I might stay American.
Today we went to Stinson and hung out with Julie's parents and with her aunt Janice and Uncle Lou. It was dang good, and one of the best parts was I got the cabin to myself for like 30 minutes so I could read while everyone else was out on the beach. I can't explain to others why a) I am not a huge beach fan, and b) I LOVE to be alone at the beach, but indoors, reading, or doing something else, while I hear the waves outside.
That's all I have to say.
Okay, most people wont' give a shit about this at all, but it's a window into my childhood. BBS's, the proto-internet, was very popular in my circle of friends, and I ran my own BBS (Blackmoor Tower) for a good 6 years. It provided a social avenue to those who were otherwise devoid of a social life, and polished my desires towards programming. I can blame my entire career on this phenomenon.
BBS: The Documentary is shipping: "Cory Doctorow:
Jason Scott is the maintainer of Textfiles.com, a collection of all the textfiles ever posted to a BBS during the golden age of dial-up modems. He's also a former Boing Boing guestblogger.
For several years now, Jason has been pursuing his labor of love: a five and a half hour documentary on the history of Bulletin Board Systems, called BBS: The Documentary. Now BBS: THe Documentary is finally shipping. Congrats, Jason!
Link
(via /.)
(Via Boing Boing.)
I'm back-filling (and cheating) but don't miss my posts in earlier date slots.
I've been completely overwhelmed in my professional and my personal life, and this morning, I just snapped. I won't go into the gorey details, but right now is not a happy time in the D-A household. It's time to regroup and get back on the same team with Julie, and we need to enter into some deep level negotiations. It appears that neither one of us is very happy right now, and I'm certain we're no longer communicating properly. I'd like to lay the blame on having another child in the house, and certainly that has brought our issues out in relief, but in reality we're still struggling with the same issues we've been struggling with since the beginning of our relationship, and I'm wondering if we might need some help.
Sigh.
I guess every day is a journey, and nothing is ever figured out completely. Relationships take work and effort, and it's time for a tune-up on this here old betty. I think we just need to get back to the point where we feel like a team, and working from the same game plan. I'm so exhausting, dealing with it all is a bit overwhelming itself, but nothing really is more important than this right here and now.
Damn nasty filthy bugsies. The code we've just integrated into the Pachyderm project that replaces our old templating system is buggy, and it's got us stumped. And, it's critical path, so no other work can get started really before this one gets finished. Ugh. The joys of debugging. We spent the entire day today hammering at the code, and got a little along the way to solving the issue, but we're far from finished, I can feel it.
Eli has invoked the nuclear option and refused his macaroni and cheese for dinner. It's clear that the battle over consumption has more to do with wills and less to do with taste. He's not eating veggies, and he's not eating his dinners, and we've started to enforce 'consequences'. No TV if he doesn't at least eat some of his vegetables, and if he doesn't eat his dinner, he goes straight to bed. I have no idea if this is going to work in the long run, but the kid is totally pushing our buttons here, and we have to be firm in our resolve but not react to his prodding. I personally have found this a difficult battle, but I'm coming around to being able to detatch myself from the conflict.
Mostly, I dont' get it -- as a kid (and an adult) I have loved food of all types and kinds. But this kid -- well, if he never had to eat again, I truly believe he wouldn't. I suppose it's good he's not food fixated, as he stands a chance to avoid the weight problems I have struggled with my entire life. However, he needs the fuel to grow body and mind, and I don't him to miss out on these formative years in terms of nutrients. So, it's consequence time, and eventually he's gonna get it, or he's going to lead a very boring drab life :).
And you know, if this is the worst that he can bring to the table, we really have to consider ourselves very fortunate parents.
With this final installment of Star Wars, we've been told that it's all been wrapped up, put to a close, no more stories in movie form for the Star Wars universe, and perhaps that's a good thing, but... part of me... is unsatisified, and I think some of the magic could be brought back if they decided to film the final three movies of the nine-part saga. Remember, George had plans for nine films, and many have written books about what happens after the end of ROTJ. Luke establishes a Jedi Academy, Leia and Han get married, have children -- those children learn the ways of the force (as does Leia). It'd be great to see the former actors take the screen one more time (or three more times), and perhaps their particular chemistry would bring A New Hope to audience-goers... but alas, it's just a fantasy. It's fun to imagine them, however, done right -- the way we thought the prequels would go while waiting for the release of Episode I. Mmmm...
Okay, this isn't mine, but it's a forward I got on a mailing list. It's brilliant.
OPENING SCROLL: Two years have passed since the last movie. Things suck for the Jedi. Our beloved demigod Mr. George Lucas, henceforth known only as George, has realized that he now has only one last chance to redeem himself for Jar Jar Binks and "I truly, deeply love you." HERE WE GO.
ANAKIN: What would be a movie without me flying around?
LITTLE DRILLING BOTS: Mwahaha.
OBI-WAN: Well, shit.
R2D2: Dude I love CG effects. Look at all teh uber cool things I can do that I won't be able to in Episodes IV-VI.
ANAKIN: Hehe Episode I flashback. Hanger away!
Inside the hanger, ANAKIN and OBI-WAN kick droid butt. The ELEVATOR gives them trouble. ANAKIN drops behind OBI-WAN. OBI-WAN whirls and ignites his lightsaber.
GEORGE: W00T would you LOOK at that foreshadowing? I am SO good.
DOOKU: I will own your sorry Jedi butts like I owned you back in Episode II. Remember? I owned your sorry Jedi butts!
ANAKIN: Nut-uh, because I'm TWICE as strong now.
ANAKIN and OBI-WAN and DOOKU fight.
ANAKIN: How symbolic is this? I'm twice as strong, and now I keel you with twice the saber!
DOOKU: Ummm, master? Sort of, kind of, you know, DYING here?!
PALPATINE: Yup.
DOOKU: omg!betrayed *dies*
AUDIENCE: .....wtf? Bad boy villian gone in the first five minutes? How can a stupid coughing droid compare?! WOE.
-------------
PADME: I LOVE YOU.
ANAKIN: I LOVE YOU.
PADME: K, now that we've established that, let's move on before we get accused of cheesy dialogue again.
ANAKIN: You are so beautiful because I'm in love with you! Out there, every second I was thinking of you. Protecting the Outer Rim became a torture. The longing became UNBEARABLE. I've never been so happy as I am at this moment. Like back on Naboo, when there was nothing but our love...
PADME: DAMN IT, ANAKIN. There goes the Oscar for Best Screenplay. Oh and I'm pregnant.
MEMBERS OF THE AUDIENCE WHO HAVE SEEN THE TRILOGY: OMG! Luke and Leia! THAT'S LUKE AND LEIA!
-------------
PALPATINE: I put thee on the Jedi Council.
ANAKIN: Whoohoo!
MACE WINDU: Anakin, we don't trust the Senate, we don't trust the Chancellor, and we don't trust you.
ANAKIN: *sulk*
MACE WINDU: So you're on the Council, but you're not a master.
ANAKIN: *sulk*
OBI-WAN: And you're really on the "Council" to spy on the "Chancellor."
ANAKIN: This. Is. So. Frickin'. UNFAIR.
OBI-WAN: You've said that before.
ANAKIN: *sulk* Oh yeah, and Obi-Wan? You're a kickass sort of guy. My buddy. Now say nice things back to me so my turning will be all the sadder.
OBI-WAN: I am very proud of you.
ANAKIN: That'll do. Bye!
------------
PALPATINE: They sent you to spy on me, didn't they?
ANAKIN: Um.
PALPATINE: The Jedi are teh suck.
ANAKIN: Maybe?
PALPATINE: I sense the fear in you. Listen to this sob!story of the Sith that, were I a respectable Chancellor, I probably wouldn't know. You know, with the Sith and their uber secrecy and all.
ANAKIN: Mmhmm interesting.
PALPATINE: I know things about the Force. The *dark* side of the Force.
ANAKIN: How I still haven't guessed you're a Sith Lord is beyond me.
AUDIENCE: Us too.
PALPATINE: LIKE, UUSSEEEE THE DAAAARRRRKKKK SIIIIIDDEEEE, Anakin!
SOUNDTRACK: OMINIOUS! like whoa.
ANAKIN: *blinks*
PALPATINE: OKAY. You Jedi are frickin' dense. Me = Sith Master. You = my next apprentice if you want your wife to live. Saavy???
ANAKIN, MASTER OF MISSING THE OBVIOUS: ..@)%!!!
--------------
YODA: Go to Kashyyyk and Wookies, help I will.
MACE WINDU: Um why?
YODA: Worship us, trilogy lovers will. Huggable young!Chewie, save prequels, will.
MACE WINDU: Score.
--------------
OBI-WAN: Where's General Grievous?
TION MEDON: Up there. With craploads of battle droids.
OBI-WAN: *meets General Grievous and craploads of battle droids*
GRIEVOUS: WHOO! FOUR - COUNT 'EM - FOUR LIGHTSABERS.
OBI-WAN: Pffffttt.
GRIEVOUS and OBI-WAN fight. OBI-WAN, after having been pitifully knocked out in the first ten seconds with Dooku, finally starts getting his Jedi on.
GRIEVOUS: *dies*
OBI-WAN: I DA MAN.
-----------
ANAKIN: Hey Mace, bad news. Palpatine's a Sith.
MACE WINDU: Is not.
ANAKIN: Is too.
MACE WINDU: Is not.
ANAKIN: Is too!
MACE WINDU: IS NOT.
ANAKIN: IS OMGWTF TOO!
PALPATINE: I am a Sith.
MACE WINDU: Meh. Guess he is.
EXTRAS WITH MACE WINDU: *cut down in milliseconds*
MACE WINDU: You guys seriously SUCK.
EXTRAS WITH MACE WINDU: We sorta slept during choreographing practice. Sorry.
PALPATINE: *does the lightning thing*
MACE WINDU: YOUR PUNY LIGHTNING DOES NOT FRIGHTEN ME.
PALPATINE: *does the I'm helpless thing*
MACE WINDU: ANAKIN, do NOT, NOT, NOT fall for it.
ANAKIN: *falls for it*
MACE WINDU: DAMMNNIIIiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiittttttttttttttttt. *dies*
ANAKIN: Crap. Oh crap. I should not have done that. I SHOULD NOT have done that!
PALPATINE: So, join the Dark Side?
ANAKIN: *getting over Mace's death rather quickly* Fine. I pledge my life to you, my master. I will do anything you command. I will be LORD VADER.
AUDIENCE: ......that's it? That's IT?
GEORGE: Um, yeah.
-----------
PALPATINE: Do the 66 thing.
GEORGE: Oh the symbolism! Academy, are you paying attention?
CLONES: *do the 66 thing*
SOUNDTRACK: WOE! WOE! WOE!
ANAKIN: *slaughters*
SOUNDTRACK: WOE! WOE! OMGWTF WOE!
WILLIAMS: I am SO going for the Oscar.
------------
PALPATINE: SO. We shall strip all you of all your Senatorial power, rebuild this "Republic" in the form of a dictatorship, eliminate all freedom, and probably kill all of you for good measure.
SENATORS: HUZZUH! HUZZUH!
PADME: Oh good grief. It's a room full of George Bush's.
------------
OBI-WAN: Who slaughtered all these children?
YODA: Um.
AUDIENCE: -_- These Jedi really are dense.
OBI-WAN: NO. NO. He's like my BROTHER, okay? I CANNOT kill him. Do not ask me to kill him! I can't! I won't! I BLOODY WON'T.
YODA: Done, are you?
OBI-WAN: ...
YODA: Kill him, you must.
OBI-WAN: Screw you.
--------------
OBI-WAN sneaks onboard a ship. PADME, OBI-WAN, and R2 arrive at the Flaming Planet.
ANAKIN: Padme! The love of my life! My passion, my fruit - !
PADME: *noticing the eyes of glaring EVIL* Did you get contacts?
ANAKIN: No...?
PADME: *gasp* So you ARE a Sith!
ANAKIN: No, I'm not. Really I'm not. Well, okay, maybe I am. But look, I did all this to protect you. I LOVE YOU. I thought we'd established that! See, THIS is why we need more corny lines!
OBI-WAN: *chooses the most inopportune moment to appear in the doorway*
ANAKIN: OMG! You've been cheating on me!
PADME: Huh?
ANAKIN: *does the choking thing*
OBI-WAN: You need to see a relationship counselor, mate.
-------------
SIDIOUS: You are no match for me.
YODA: Think not, I.
SIDIOUS and YODA fight. YODA, despite outward appearances to the contrary, actually has decently proportioned legs. AVALON'S HEAD was not in the gutter when she wrote that. YODA loses his lightsaber. Some cool Force action occurs. YODA falls several hundred feet. SIDIOUS searches for him to no avail. YODA crawls through some pipes and conveniently finds a hole where BAIL ORGANA is waiting with an ESCAPE VESSEL.
YODA: Meh, into exile, I now go.
BAIL: Why now?
YODA: Two hours into movie, are we, and not at Dagobah yet, am I. To chop chop, need I.
-----------
ANAKIN: Look, despite the black cloak, the red-orange eyes, and the slaughter, I'm really NOT evil. I'm protecting the Empire.
OBI-WAN: You mean the Republic?
ANAKIN: ....sure. That.
OBI-WAN: Now I KNOW you're evil.
ANAKIN: Then let us whip off the cloaks and fight!
OBI-WAN: Why are we even wearing these cloaks? You do realize I've taken this thing off about fifty times in this movie, right?
SIDIOUS: And I've put ON a cloak.
GEORGE: I wonder if there's some symbolism here...
HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS: Oh we could probably BS something.
-----------
ANAKIN and OBI-WAN are fighting. The TOWER decides to fall.
OBI-WAN: ANAKIN, could we PLEASE finish this some other time?
ANAKIN: SHE. IS. MINE.
OBI-WAN: Fine, whatever. You're the one who is supposed to fall anyway. Haven't you seen how scarred you are in Episode VI?
ANAKIN: SHE. IS. MINE.
ANAKIN and OBI-WAN fight while surfing on lava.
OBI-WAN: I have the higher ground now.
GEORGE: OMG the symbolism! Higher ground physically and morally! OMG!
ANAKIN: *gets legs chopped off* Argh.
OBI-WAN: Give up.
ANAKIN: Just a flesh wound.
OBI-WAN: YOU WERE THE CHOSEN ONE.
ANAKIN: *goes up in flames*
GEORGE: The SYMBOLISM! The SYMBOLISM!
OBI-WAN: You stupid, stupid idiot! You were supposed to, like, DESTROY the Sith.
YODA: Read the prophecy wrong, we may have.
OBI-WAN: YOU THINK?
----------------
SIDIOUS: Wow our ship made good time.
VADER: *in artificial body*
SIDIOUS: You are teh powerful now. Teh 1337. Oh and btw, you killed your wife.
VADER: I didn't! Unless I did. In which case, RAAAAWWWWWRRRRRRR.
SOUNDTRACK: WOE! WOE! WOE!
AUDIENCE: Oh MAN. This movie *almost* wasn't terribly corny.
-------------
DOCTOR: Twins!
OBI-WAN: Twins!
YODA: Twins!
AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO HAVE SEEN THE TRILOGY: See? SEE! IT'S LUKE AND LEIA!
PADME: Luke.
BABY: Whhaaaaa!
PADME: Leia.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO HAVE SEEN THE TRILOGY: *gloat*
PADME: *dies of heartbreak from her husband becoming a Sith*
AUDIENCE MEMBERS: What a way to ruin a happy moment.
GEORGE: LOOK AT THAT ALLUSION. Appointment in Samarra anyone? Academy? Did you catch that?
BAIL: We'll take Leia. Luke will probably become as whiny and prone to the dark side as his father.
YODA: Oh, Obi-Wan, Qui-Gon's also figured out a way to commune with us although he's dead.
OBI-WAN: Score!
AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO LIKED QUI-GON: Yay! We can see Qui-Gon again!
BAIL: Hun, I've brought home a baby girl!
OBI-WAN: And here's a baby boy for you two!
OWEN: Do we KNOW you?
OBI-WAN: No. Does that matter? Oh wait, man, go back to that pose! That's EXACTLY how Luke will stand some twenty years from now.
GEORGE: I have such m4d sk1llz! And I think we'll leave it there.
THE END.
AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO LIKED QUI-GON: What? Where did Qui-Gon go?! WHY EVEN MENTION HIM IF LIAM NEESON WOULDN'T BE MAKING A CAMEO?
AUDIENCE MEMBERS WHO GREW UP WITH STAR WARS: *sob* End of an Era!
So, one more post to fill in the missing week, and I'll get there if it kills me, dammit!
Thar be spoilers here!
So here's my theory on Anakin Skywalker, as given by evidence in the films. Let it be known that this is not the story that I would have had told from the original trilogy, but was the best that I could put together from the story I was told. This interpretation of the six-film saga is most consistent in my mind.
My thesis is -- Palpatine created Anakin.
What we know:
We know that according to Schmi Skywalker (Episode I), Anakin was immaculately conceived. Qui-Gon calls Anakin a 'Vergence', and tells us he was born of the midichlorians. We know that Anakin has the highest count of midichlorians ever measured, including master Yoda. Therefore (through correlation or causation), he is the strongest in the force yet known.
We know that there was once a Sith master named 'Darth Plagus', who had the power to cause midichlorians to create life itself. We are also given to read into the subtext that Darth Sidious (Palpatine) was the apprentice to Darth Plagus, that Darth Plagus taught him everything he knows, and ultimately Sidious betrayed and killed Plagus. Therefore it stands that Sidious would also know the secret of causing the midichlorians to create life itself. Sounds a lot like a vergence to me.
So, here is some theoretical postulation around why Anakin would be created, and why he is on Tatoine, and why certain events unfold as they do:
If I were a Sith Master who discovered the secret of creating life (i.e. causing a conception) through the midichlorians, I would probably make it my goal to create for myself the perfect apprentice. I might create a bunch of experiments until I got them right, but in all cases -- especially in the era of the Jedi council, I'd want these experiments to be tucked away in the outer rim, where no one would notice them and scoop them up to take them to be identified and trained. I'd probably want to farm them out into the lowest levels of society, as not to be noticed, and making them part of the slave class would definitely help me in the long run, getting my apprentice used to subservience to a master. So, the son of a slave (and a slave himself), on a backwater desert planet is a good candidate.
Other good qualities in a Sith would be high levels of passion, and a lack of control of these passions. Anakin fits the bill there as well. I wouldn't want him trained in the Jedi ways too early, but if they did accidently get picked up at a later age, I probably could turn this to my advantage later. In any case, I'd keep a close eye on my experiments and send my current apprentice to protect them if need be.
Being born without a father, Anakin forms an expecially strong attachment to his only parent, his mother, and doesn't have a male rolemodel in his life other that Watto. Hungering for some sort of father figure, Anakin takes to Watto, but also takes to any strong male rolemodel well (Qui-Gon, Obi-Wan, Senator Palpatine).
It's really the power of the light side of the Force that brings Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan to Tatooine to rescue Anakin and to give him the foundations necessary to carry out his ultimate prophecised destiny -- to bring balance to the force.
So, Palpatine creates Anakin, gives him strong emotions and strong attachments (his mother) which he can later manipulate to his advantage when the time became apparent. Schmi, Anakin's mother, is strangely kidnapped by the Tuskin raiders for no apparent reason, and is then tortured to the brink of death. It seems wildly out of the MO of the raiders to do this -- they are scavengers, not kidnappers, and are more interested in mugging and stealing than torture. However, this tactic of torture has been used by the Dark Side later in the story -- by Anakin himself, actually -- to generate enough disturbance in the force to bring Anakin back to Tatooine. Of course, when he appears and his mother dies in his arms from her wounds, he loses his strongest attachment and goes ballistic -- giving in to the Dark Side for the first time, and bringing him closer to Palpatine. What better way to get a proto-Sith to release his anger than to kill his mother?
The second attachment that Palpatine augments and tries to take advantage of, is Padme. While it is questionable whether or not he could have influence Padme's first visit to Tatooine, he definitely saw the potential for attachment between Anakin and Padme, and promoted Anakin's contact with her. He then uses Anakin's attachment to Padme to mirror his loss of his mother, and sends him visions of her dying in childbirth. He then reacts to his attachment with passion, and is driven even further towards Palpatine, with the promise of being able to save his beloved.
Really, Anakin has little choice in these matters. He's been created by evil for this role that he's playing, and it's only through the emergent quality of the Force itself that he is given any goodness within him. The greater story of Anakin Skywalker's victory is not of a man over his own passions, but of the Force over a passionate man. Even when Darth Vader throws the Emporer over the side into the reactor in Jedi, he's making the same decision he's always made -- when the chips are down, and faced with the threat of authority or protecting his attachments, Vader is selfish and acts on his own self benefit.
The difference of course with Luke is, Vader had to sacrifice himself in body to save his progeny. Maybe that selfless act is his true transformation, but it is not a return to goodness in my opinion, but a final arrival.
So -- Tragic hero, Anakin is not. He is, instead, a failed Sith experiment, showing that no matter how hard the Dark Side tries to stack the cards in its favor, the Light Side always prevails. Vader finally brings balance to the force.
Okay, so here it is -- I've waited enough days that if you're worried about spoilers, you better just go out and watch the goddamnforsaken movie.
I've got a bunch to say about this film, so I'm breaking up the review over a series of days. Today I will talk about disappointment, because that's what I felt when I walked out of the movie theater Thursday morning at 2am or whatever time it was. I had waited several days in inclimate weather for this movie, and althought I already knew in my head that it was probably gonna suck lemons, I gave myself over to hope. I mean, for Christ's sake, all the papers were giving it awesome reviews, and Kevin Smith HIMSELF gave it good marks. He's a geek like us, right? Goddamn it! So yeah, I went in and started watching the movie, and I was disappointed even by the crawl text. The fucking crawl text! That's supposed to be sacrosanct! The one part of the movie he can't screw up, he can't botch -- it's all hope, right?
Wrong.
While the beginning 'War!' is reminiscent of WWII, it's still a little ridiculous for an opening sentence. Really, what irked me was this 'There are heroes on both sides. Evil is everywhere' bullcrap. Christ, who writes this crap? I was bewildered -- what did that mean, heroes were on both sides? This is STAR WARS, things are black and white. What heroes are there on the side of General Greivous and the droid army.
...And while we're discussing Grevious --what's up with that fucking name?! Between Grevious, Tyrannus, Sidius and Plagus -- Lucas has shown us that villains have to have silly super-hero-esque names that echo some sort of bad association. What's wrong with just making up a goddamn name? What does 'Vader' mean in this context? in-vader? Shit, don't fuck with Vader!
So, the opening scene past the crawl text actually rocked, I must fully admit. The movie was really good (like all of the prequels) until people slow down and start to talk. This film died the moment Anakin speaks with Padme in the hall. Padme, Former queen and current senator Amidala, woman who has been the target of kidnapping and assassination attempts, woman who takes no shit or prisoners and who is the perfect template for Princess Leia -- has been eviscerated and turned into a subserviant weak-willed concubine that only has enough backbone to rush off in a ship to meet Anakin, but not enough to take a stand for what she believes in. No wonder he fucking chokes her.
Let's get back to Grievious -- I know, let's get a robot who wheezes and give him four lightsabers, but let's not allow him to use them with any proficency beyond whirling them around like sawblades. I know, I know -- watch 'The Clone Wars' and you see him in the cartoon, cool and villanous. In this movie, he's comical and unexplained. It's obvious he's some sort of cyborg with an organic part that must breathe, and which cannot breathe well (should have gone to the emperor for a suit, Jack -- you'd be dressed in black, instead of looking like some stupid scarecrow fish) but... he can expose himself to the vaccuum of SPACE no problem. Good thing he dies quickly.
Who else can I rip on? Let's see -- how about Yoda? What sort of retarded forced backwards-speak are they shoving into his mouth now "Not if something about it to say I have!" -- WTF? Come on? "Back off on my Jock, you must!" Hire a freaking linguist and get the phrasing right for Yoda. At least he fights good. I loved him throwing the imperial guard like they were all so much kleenex. Still, too much Mexican Jumping Yoda in the fight against Palpatine.
Palpatine -- while he's one of the few believable characters in the movie, he's definitely got some lemons. What's this crap with scarring himself? That's a poor excuse for continuity, and they could have just left it alone. Age can do its own damage, without having to blame force lightning.
Kenobi was wel done by McGregor, but dude -- ever hear of a mercy killing for your best buddy in the whole world? No, you just let him burn like a sadistic bastard. You deserve to have him come back and fucking decimate your kind. Jedi must die for your sins! Seriously George, you could have just made some sort of physical barrier that would disallow kenobi to finish the job, because he was 5 feet away, and it is just and kind to commit a coup de grace, even to your worst enemy.
Dooku was also wonderful, but brief. Thanks for the memories.
I am, of course leaving the worst for last. Anakin. I know, what the hell was I expecting after II, but crap man -- this was your last chance to show Anakin as the tragic flawed hero, but George ignored all the rules of tragedy and failed to make Anakin a compelling hero, and therefore failed to make his fall meaningful. He's a whiny self-centered punk who is given the opportunity to jump up the ladder and takes it. Oh sure, he has some minor moral quandries that he pretty much gets over in like... seconds. He was soo ready to join the Dark Side, you might even say he was DESIGNED For it (this is the content of a future installment of my criticisms -- come back tomorrow or the next day on that one.) It's a flimsy excuse that he went on a killing rampage against the 'Younglings' (how frickin' ridiculous is THAT? Turn a term of affection Yoda uses in II and make it retarded vernacular) just to gain enough dark side points to cast the big bad don't die spell (TM) on Padme. He did vaguely approach Yoda on the issue, but he pretty much dropped the light side solutions when Yoda told him to chill. Exhaust all your options before you turn, or at least show a bit of remorse. No, Anakin is not a convincing hero, and therefore didn't fall convincintly. We were robbed of the story we imagined in our heads when Obi-wan gives us the scoop in 'A New Hope' -- we saw a great man who was seduced by the Dark Side of the force and fell. Instead, we get a punk that bent over willingly for the Rod of the Dark One.
I really liked the set design, especially the Alderaanian cruiser (Tantive IV anyone?), but I also felt like we had too many locations. Kashyyk was a freaking footnote so that George could kick Mayhews some money and cameo Chewie. Lame and superfluous. The only good thing about that whole sequence is that it was over quickly and George didn't buttfuck us by making Chewie do a tap dance or blow a sand person.
Okay, so I really disliked it coming out the first showing. By the second and definitley by the third viewing I got more out of it, and have managed to piece together a relatively interesting tale about the meaning (and true history) of Vader, but it's a lot of reading-in and extrapolation, and I'm probably giving Lucas too much credit by postulating it. I will disclose that theory/story within the next few entries as well.
So, one might wonder why people would voluntarily subject themselves to the cold harsh elements in naught but their rain gear and flimsy urban camping trappings to view a movie that they would most likely get a reasonable seat in if they just waited for the next showing. Hell, if they just showed up for the same showing only 4 hours before the movie, their seats would be fine. I mean, it's bad enough we were there since three days previous, sleeping with tents on concrete in less-than-summer weather, with wind as a major adversary -- but on Wednesday it rained one of the worse squalls we've seen all season, and any reasonable person would be indoors protected from the elements. It got so bad that we literally had to have our umbrellas open while we were under the awnings of the theater, to keep the rain from hitting us at a 60 degree angle coming in from the side. We all knew how ridiculous it was, and yet, there we were, and not a single one of us regrets our time out there even now.
Were we there to see the movie? Sure, but it wasn't just about watching the last installment of a series of films that profoundly affected each and every one of us. We all knew that after episode I and II the likelihood of III being a real stinker was high, and yet -- there we were. We were with our friends, our brothers and sisters of common ancestry, giving our hope over to almost certain disappointment one last time, because it was the last time, and because no one else could feel our pain, our hope, our enthusiasm but those who were waiting in that line with us. We spent three days and nights talking about the original trilogy, about the other prequels, about what worked, what didn't, our hopes, our fears, our resignations, our disappointments. We watched A New Hope together while piled into a tent that was designed for one-third the people, with a television and vcr powered by stolen electricity from the building next door, while it rained and stormed outside in the parking lot. We drank rum and cokes, played games, laughed, and had a genuine good time. It was like a three-day tailgate party.
It was the type of congregation that only happens around events, where everyone is in anticipation of the same thing, and in similar ways. In those three days, we were a tribe. For those three days, I was partaking in community that exists only in a specific frame of time, in a specific place and in a specific setting. Those people are still my friends, and we have formed a deeper bond, but the tribe which was the Episode III line has packed its bags and moved on.
I was out there to participate and to experience the energy and emotion of belonging. I felt quite frankly like a kid again, excited to share a play date with other kids on the playground. I reached out and asked 'do you want to play?' and the answer was of course, 'yes'.
This week has been dominated by the release of Star Wars Episode III, Revenge of the Sith. I have been preoccupied with line waiting and film watching and post-watch analysis. I will be filling in the posts of this past week with different articles, analyses of the film and its themes, and my own personal experience of the adventure. So, look for updates throughout the weekend as I find time to put my thoughts into words. For now, take a look at this article while it still exists:
So, earlier today we took Isaac into the after-hours care unit at the hospital because he was coughing so bad that he was vomiting up his feedings, and we were concerned that he needed some sort of medical care. Of course we were just being paranoid new parents, and he was fine -- no chest cold, his ears are fine. They said his cough was probably nasal drip through the night and the best thing we could do is just feed him more when he throws up, and have him sleep in his car seat. So, sick baby. yay. I guess you can't dodge the bullet forever. At least it's not some nasty chest cold ear infection thing, and other than vomiting, Isaac's in a pretty good mood. We count our blessings.
On other news, I stopped by the Star Wars line this evening around 9pm and hung out until midnight and went home. It's right here, and we all can taste it. I found out that a) there's power that can be stolen by a local establishment's wall socket and b) there is an open wireless network that can be jacked, so I may be working from line part of Monday and Tuesday if I can work it. I did find out one spoiler that does give me pause to whether or not I will be bringing Eli to see the film, but I will only decide after first viewing the film myself.
May the Force be with you!
Today Lara came over and had me help her transfer the hard drive out of her old deceased laptop into an external USB enclosure so that she could pull off her personal files and stuff them onto her new laptop. Something that is infinitely easy for me, but for the lay person can sound like brain surgery. It was nice to have the ability to share the love at that level for such low personal costs. Besides, we scored excellent hang-out time with a good friend we don't see very often, and free chinese food dinner!
My good friend Jason has been working for a company on the peninsula for over three years, and for two of those three years, he's been totally miserable. His boss is an idiot, the company is running itself into the ground with bad decisions, and they've all but told him there's no room for advancement for him. In any case, he's been wanting to break free for a long time, but has felt trapped due to the fact that he's supporting a family, and trying to make it in the north bay. Well, several weeks ago he got an offer from O'Reilly publishers and accepted, and today is his last day. He's been so overwhelmingly happy, it's like seeing a brand new friend. And today is his last day. He's going out to party with friends tonight, and I was going to join him, but I've had such an exhausting day with the kids, I think I'm going to have to pass. But, congratulations Jason my buddy, and party it up. I'll see you in line for Star Wars next week!
Josh
That's right. I said I wasn't going to do it, but I went and goddamn did it. I've gone and gotten excited about episode III coming out in one week. Okay, I've officially caught the bug. I said I wasn't going to do it, but I did, and there's no going back from the dark side. I've been watching the movies all week long with Eli, I've been listening to the new soundstrack, I've even been singing Isaac to sleep with the Imperial March. Next week I start up the star wars line, and will be giving the daily blow-by-blows. But for now...
May the Force be with you.
Okay, this is a really awesome (and free) collection of songs put together by a DJ that calls himself 'RX'. I've been rocking out to this, and it's freaking great. Go and download the songs, burn them to a disk, play it for others. Buy the shirt, and help support this creative artist so he can continue to host the album, and create a new one.
Wish it were a Sunday
Because that's my fun day
What do I have to say about today? I am tired, and my brain hurts. Talk to me later in the week, when I have something better to say.
How many of you are aware that they've closed the 'Where the Wild Things Are' exhibit in the Metreon? Apparently it's been closed since January this year, but Julie and I didn't know that as we took Eli out for Mother's Day to the city to check it out. We were all excited, got ourselves into the elevator, and rode all the way up to the top floor to see... a closed off and curtained area, with signs indicating the attraction was no more.
Man, how can they do that? I hope it's just being restored and not being replaced with some stupid store. I feel like the Metreon contract has been broken, and over time, little by little it's been bitten apart, digested and reconstituted as a really high-priced mall. First we lost the secondary attractions, like 'How things work', then the airtight garage got axed in favor of a more mainstream 'portal one'. We lost the Discovery store a long time ago. Now it's just a big freakin' arcade and movie theater with high-priced toys. Oh well. It was fun while it lasted, I suppose...
I'll miss you, Max.
Tonight we had our good friends Jen, Jason, Bryce and Emily over along with their kids, Iris, Alexandra, and we met William for the first time. All so very cute children. At one point all three mommies were breast feeding at the same time, and I was quite amused at the synchronized boobage. After dinner, Bryce, Jason and I 'withdrew to the library' to engage in lively discussion. It felt very provincial and old-school, and amused the hell out of my internal feminist. But that being said, I really enjoyed having the time with my friends in that setting, and my hat goes way off too the women of our lives who managed and wrangled our children, which is no small feat, especially since Iris and Eli become crazy nuts in each others' presence.
I think that the forum of the salon is something we've lost as a culture, and something I hope to revive in my own life. I happen to have a lot of intelligent, well-read and well-researched friends, and sharing in their mental activity is stimulating to me. As Jason said, our minds were firing in ways we don't normally indulge in, and it felt good. At three, the numbers were a little thin, and I think adding a few more to the mix would only enrich the conversation.
1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth full sentence.
4. Post the text of the sentence in your journal along with these instructions.
5. Don't search around for the coolest book you can find. Use what's actually nearest to you.
"He fixed up our throats so we could talk." -- City by Clifford D. Simak
Tonight I watched Baraka for the first time -- actually, it is just coming to a close as I type this, and I must say it's a beautiful collection of powerful imagery. There is so much in it that is striking, moving, powerful, beautiful, horrifying, illuminating, that I won't even try to describe it. The movie at its base appears to be about human perception and activity, and about how we manifest creative and destructive power, and yet how we are just in the constellation of being of the world. In all of our power and expression, we are motes of dust. I know, you've heard all this spiritual mumbo jumbo before, but when it's displayed before your eyes in this way, it cannot but touch you.
I will pull out one thing that touches me. Throughout the movie there are places and objects of spiritual import, and there are devotees paying loving reverence to objects, icons, artifacts. They kiss, touch, love these physical trappings, not because what they are, but because of what they represent. The wailing wall, icons of Christendom, objects of Islamic import, buddhist reliquery -- they are items that are touched by God, that represent God's beauty and power. For me, I also see these symbols, but they are not objects - but people. The most holy thing, the one physical manifestation that most truly expresses God's creative power to me... are people. My children, my wife, my family and friends. A stranger on the street. I bow in reverence to the manifestations of life, and most specifically, in the human form. Nowhere else do I so clearly see the powers of the most holy. To kiss a cheek, or to gaze into the eyes is the deepest of meditations. To forgo these things is to miss the point of being here.
So, watch the movie. It's great either alone, or with loved-ones. Straight or modified, I'm sure it'll blow your mind.
Hey, check it out! It's the Hunter S. Thompson lodge!
Motel offers free LSD to guests: "Mark Frauenfelder:
Cory says: 'I live in Oakhurst, California, South of Yosemite. On the way into town this morning I caught a glimpse of the Best Western Yosemite Gateway Inn's sign. They're offering Free DSL. Their sign, however, says they're offering 'FREE LSD.'
'The link is to the post where I blogged the shot.'
Link
(Via Boing Boing.)
I went out to Aroma Cafe again after about a two-month haitus and got a little writing done for Horizon:2150 issue #2. It's been a while since I've applied myself to the process (gee, since Isaac was born) but it came pretty easily, though I was mega tired from being out all night the night before and not gettting more than 3 hours of sleep. But, I felt it was important to go out and make an effort. I had set the date with my friend Scott over 3 weeks ago, and I had to do it. It really feels good when your ego gets out of the way and you just start writing. Is it good? Is it crap? Just don't think about it and write away. You can edit it later, add to it, tweak it, trash it -- but if you don't start, it won't happen at all.
On other non-related issues, today is Beltaine, the day to celebrate copulation! Go have a good time.
