This is a paste from a website where I sometimes discuss or debate movie related crap:
ME:
Robert Downey Jr. told him in front of the crew of Due Daye that he needs acting lessons.
Downey is a good friend of Mel Gibson.
Months later, there is still real tension in promotions for Due Date, and Zach went out of his way to be the spoiler in the Mel cameo plan.
I can understand Todd Phillips being nice to Zach. He has one movie to promote with him and then has to make it through Hangover 2. But sooner or later it must be clear Zach is pathetic and his act will wear out its welcome.
But a Mel Gibson, Alec Baldwin, Christian Bale blow-up as far as I'm concerned doesn't warrant dismissal of an actor with a body of work and pretty good reasons to vent (if not medical conditions that give them little choice).
I'm sure Robert Downey Jr. is worth seeing in Due Date, and that it takes his characters point of view, but I might not bring myself to sit through any more Zach shenanigans. Between Two Ferns was once funny when I thought he was PRETENDING to be a drooling moron.
Oh, well.
A.W.:
I suspect the negative marketing implications of including Gibson - a man who has damaged his brand - was also a factor and that it was not simply a matter of kowtowing to an actor.
ME:
The brand is a vague thing. The damaging of it arguably has been done by Oksana, various individuals in media, and whoever opposed Mel being in Hangover 2. I think it's pure bunk that the suggestion of Mel was thrown in the laps of the cast at the last minute.
If the n-word hadn't been part of the first recording released (perhaps not the first recorded) the damage would be minimal. There would still be a high-alert by those obsessed with portraying him as antisemetic. You could argue that The Passion "damaged his brand" but that and Apocalypto are excellent films. By his late 40's, he could have just sleep-walked through a string of actioners and played it safe. Instead he took risks, and I say that's an improvement on his brand.
Now - what a manic depressive alcoholic says to his nasty ex-girlfriend in the middle of a custody battle really shouldn't be any of our business. I'll go out on a limb and say that virtually every Hollywood sweetheart has zenophobia and class issues and perfectionist rages. That happens not to be the image being sold and that is not to say that their public persona is false. Mel's rage generally (apart from bio-chemical imbalance) comes from being right. I sure don't agree with Traditionalist Catholic crap any more than I agree with Scientology, but when it comes to being loyal and self-depricating Mel still has the same good reputation. There just happens to be a disproportionate amount of play on his dark side of late.
The main issue is how easily a popular entertainer can be targeted. If anyone finally breaks in we have to play a role even when we are talking to an enemy - especially over the phone. As a customer I don't feel Mel has failed me or failed Jodie Foster or anyone involved in The Beaver or How I Spent My Summer Vacation. But somebody else has robbed me of the chance to see those flicks. In order for them to be marketed, Mel does have to wade back into pop culture. I mean at least Alec Baldwin had 30 Rock already in progress and Christian Bale can count on a third Batman at least even if he becomes unhip. But people who leak audio and personal information are just hooligans as far as I'm concerned. They're not committed to "truth," because the truth is that everybody has highs and lows.
Mel was quite prescient in greenlighting Papparazzi (released two years before his TMZ drunk driving episode) and he didn't personally know the half of the damage the media can do.
P.F.
Just when I was starting to feel a bit sorry for old Mel in a 'how are the mighty fallen don't kick a man when he's down' sort of way, someone comes up with the same specious old arguments in the nasty bastard's defence - and even claims that 'The Passion' is an 'excellent' film - and I'm looking round for the first stone to cast.
A.W.
"THE PASSION..." represents the epitome and acme of debased torture porn... Gibson is a master at this kind of sadism...
ME:
If you got a hard-on watching it, then it's not for me to say it isn't torture "porn" for you. Just as if someone tells me Rambo and Conan the Barbarian are "homo-erotic." I know in any of the examples listed this was not the intent, but whatever floats your boat.
The Passion of the Christ is well made. You can't objectively cite fault in the production or the performances. If you feel it is selling something you don't want to buy (whether you admit that is what drives your opinion or not) it's east to be reductive by saying that a nerve-jangling, difficult to sit through, depiction of a flogging and crucifixion as (imagine that!) painful as "torture porn." I say the movie ultimately is an experience, and one that likely won't get a lot of repeat viewings (unlike porn). I found the movie to be transportive and unflinching. As a lapsed Catholic myself I didn't expect a "Jesus movie" to be riveting. I think the one failing of Gibson is that in his successful targeted marketing to church groups he neglected to remind them that it is Restricted and that children should not be brought along to the theater. The movie has a very effective flashback structure that offers few breaks in the present narrative that is terrifying and awful especially because it seems realistic in its depiction of the cruelty that functionaries are capable of participating in.
We agree that Gibson is a master, but I wouldn't call it sadism. In this, Apocalypto and somewhat in Braveheart there is a sense that anything can happen, a jeopardy that more safe (and saner) filmmakers don't offer. I have no interest in Vikings ordinarily, but the sort of home-invasion premise I've heard mused over by Mel for his planned and for now scrapped epic would be one of those films (like The Passion) I hesitate to dare see but I know it would be meaningfully and artfully done.
I know I'm being a little sarcastic at the start of this reply, but I don't intend to really stick the knife in with a back and forth. It's unfortunate people have to characterize a work and the people who support it with generalizations.
I'm prolonging this answer a bit because it is Halloween time and the suspense, terror, horror, torture porn tiers or classes of scary movie are worth discussing.
Kevin Smith says he hasn't seen the film because he knows the ending and it's like Titanic, "Jesus is gonna hit the iceberg." So if people haven't seen The Passion I can't say it'll win them over. Some people will hit fast-forward during the flogging for example. I didn't have fast-forward in the movie theater. But the ordeal of sitting through this does engage the empathy - like any good film does - and it makes vivid and real throw-away sayings like "your own cross to bear." It's difficult for me to feel sorry for myself with my own petty complaints and persecutions. Maybe I'd still be able to rage and yell and flip out if I had manic depressive disorder, alcoholism or some other condition (or being the target of actual conspiracies and not just theories).
P,F.:
To say The Passion is well-made is the same as complimenting Silence of the Lamb's serial killer on the stitching of his human skin waistcoat.
The only good thing I can find to say about it is thank heavens old Mel didn't cast himself as JC.
ME:
Paddy, Paddy, Paddy.
Not that I really want the back and forth but at the risk of spoon-feeding and seeming to condescend, I'd like to see how one "is like" the other. I'd indulge that. I only know how they are un-like.
a) Jame Gumb (Buffalo Bill)'s stitching is made possible by his own evil act of killing; The Passion's Oscar-nominated cinematography is made possible without any evil act and the only sacrifice being Mel's $25 million stake.
b) Impact and end result are also quite opposite: A serial killer's skin suit results in loss of lives and grief of families; making The Passion had a ZERO body count, and apart from Jim Caveizel being struck by lightning on the cross three times nobody got hurt.
c) Intention - One has sociopathic intent mixed with gender confusion; the other is making prayerful tribute.
d) One is loss-only for all concerned, the other boosted everyone involved.
e) Gumb crating a human skin suit is disregard for humanity; Mel telling a well-established story in the most palpable way puts people in touch wit their humanity.
Paddy, The Passion is used as a political football and people who are against it made their mind up long ago. Bashing it is like bashing someone for being Catholic. I know there are people who object to seeing a portrayal of the Nation of Islam assassinating Malcolm X or a Hundu causing Mahatma Gandi to be shot. The relay of those events is not seen as anti-Muslim or anti-Hindu by any reasonable person. The fact that there was Jewish pressure against a Jew 2000 years ago shouldn't cause any reasonable person to bat an eye. In short, there is a disproportionate outrage. Those of us who respect J.C. don't hate Jews anymore then he did when he said "Forgive them. They know not what they do" and aren't any more racist than the statement "There are many rooms in my father's house." Those of us who respect Malcolm X and Gandhi (superficially opposites) don't necessarily resent the discendants of their Hindu or Muslim assassins, let along people who belong ostensibly to the same religion.
Happy Halloween. Whether you celebrate it or not.
P.F.:
Bill, Bill, Bill.
To tell the story of the Passion without the essential comfort of the Resurrection and Ascension is all the giveaway of Mel's sado-masochistic, simple-minded and vengeful vision of Christian myth that one needs.
ME:
Spoiler warning
psst - Scroll down for it if you must.
What's this then, at the end, sir? With all due respect. . .
"If the world hates you, remember that they hated me first."
Call me silly, but I think that's a pretty worthy theme.
PF:
Oh yeah, I remember. Almost an afterthought rather than a culmination really. Not surprising I forgot it. Or had I walked out by then?
William, you have as much chance of converting me to this film as you do of saving my immortal soul.
But in case you think I have an atheist's contempt for the subject-matter, it may surprise you to learn that I'm a big admirer of Pasolini's 'Gospel' which, if you haven't seen it, I recommend as a beautiful telling of the Christ story with no semi-pornographic gloating over the Saviour's suffering.
Anyway, let's move on.
ME: Sure thing. The point isn't to convert anyone anyway, let alone "save" anyone. Not that I'm so "holy" myself. My main point is to use examples from the movie as evidence to defend it against inexactitude. I also don't consider it "gloating over the Saviour's suffering." It just is what it is. Glad you're moving along. I wouldn't know what else to do beyond posting the scenes.
I would say the Resurrection wasn't an "afterthought." Culmination is actually a good word. The victory over Satan is pretty spoon fed, with Satan screaming in defeat once the suffering is over. It's the same story as Mel's version of William Wallace - say the word that undermines your principles and your death will be quick and painless. Or call out for rescue from the supernatural and avoid the pain (choosing to reject your humanity). He stuck with it, which is what we all have to do (with usually a lot less pain) and accept the "persecution and reasonable questions from people at a loss to comprehend," as Joseph Campbell put it.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
Halloweekend
I still haven't decided what to be on Halloween. Maybe Col. Kurtz.
Somebody was asking for opinions about Peter Jackson doing The Hobbit himself afterall. Jackson could use a pre-sold hit.
The Lovely Bones was well-done even though the ending was a little soft for me.
Mainly it would be nice if this disease of more-is-better were cured.
King Kong could have lost a lot of the boat material and the dinosaurs he was so proud of from his abortive Kong plans back in the nineties.
The Hobbit as a two parter might mean a lot of unnecessary sweeping helicopter shots. But even then it should be said that Jackson is more judicious about pacing and his storytelling is more disciplined. del Torro is a little too smart for his own good. I have no idea what he would have made. He's a gormet of the type that if I lose my appetite over what he offers my taste pallat will be questioned. A gormet can offer baked bugs and still be a gormet. Jackson will give us the same KFC bucket we got from Lord of the Rings and I won't complain.
But I also don't care. Kevin Smith's Red State is finally being shot, and that's one of the few projects I'm looking forward to. A nice reverse from Cop Out, the movie with the title that says it all. Even though that film, like Mall Rats, is never less than entertaining. It just isn't quite the kick in the balls we sometimes need. Red State for all I know might even be shooting with money raised by Smith himself. It's not a fun Viewaskewniverse film. Whatever it is though I'm sure it will be worth watching.
I graduated Humber's Film and Television Production program in 1994. Kevin Smith had been to Vancouver Film School, dropped out and released Clerks by then so his career has been an interesting vicarious thing to watch unfold as a counterpoint to my own lack of one. I've had my projects, but I think I've been too comfortable. And whatever arguments people come up with about getting "in" and being on a conveyor belt of success versus remaining stagnant because the hand of God hasn't discovered you, ultimately there's no reason that any of us couldn't generate the count of SCREENPLAYS Kevin Smith has written over these 16 years. That comes down to either having a typewriter or computer or access to one and some time. If that lightning bolt were to strike me right now, even after writing FADE IN and FADE OUT with 100 pages or so in between at least once each year since 1988 I only have a couple of scripts that I would feel comfortable jumping right into without further re-writes. What I should have for each is also a character list, a location list, and a prop list, synopsis and anything else needed to be ready to go. I have storyboarded many drafts that have then been abandoned. But at least that process is a good exercise. It is directing without the hassle of a crew, cast and a deadline. I'll get there, but basically anything that isn;'t fuel for the fire needs to be tossed out. I can't keep living weekend to weekend with such short time at home to write. Some people do it. I also need to build a little more faith, but not the blind faith that has caused me to coast so many years.
I won't truly be sane until the first few of my features are done and shown and liked. Even getting one done won't be enough. But you do need to find a Scott Mosier, even though as Kevin Smith says on the Clerks II DVD "Nobody goes to film school to be a producer." There is a certain amount of glory in producing, but for me it is time and labor doing leg work I have no knack for that is taking away time and focus from the work I do feel I have a knack for - writing and preparation of directing. THEN you have to be careful about WHO comes along to "help" and be a producer. Are they putting all cards on the table? Maybe not. You have to know, really know, what they are getting out of it other than the credit and experience the alchemy of which can turn from thanks to shit pretty fast. More on that later.
Somebody was asking for opinions about Peter Jackson doing The Hobbit himself afterall. Jackson could use a pre-sold hit.
The Lovely Bones was well-done even though the ending was a little soft for me.
Mainly it would be nice if this disease of more-is-better were cured.
King Kong could have lost a lot of the boat material and the dinosaurs he was so proud of from his abortive Kong plans back in the nineties.
The Hobbit as a two parter might mean a lot of unnecessary sweeping helicopter shots. But even then it should be said that Jackson is more judicious about pacing and his storytelling is more disciplined. del Torro is a little too smart for his own good. I have no idea what he would have made. He's a gormet of the type that if I lose my appetite over what he offers my taste pallat will be questioned. A gormet can offer baked bugs and still be a gormet. Jackson will give us the same KFC bucket we got from Lord of the Rings and I won't complain.
But I also don't care. Kevin Smith's Red State is finally being shot, and that's one of the few projects I'm looking forward to. A nice reverse from Cop Out, the movie with the title that says it all. Even though that film, like Mall Rats, is never less than entertaining. It just isn't quite the kick in the balls we sometimes need. Red State for all I know might even be shooting with money raised by Smith himself. It's not a fun Viewaskewniverse film. Whatever it is though I'm sure it will be worth watching.
I graduated Humber's Film and Television Production program in 1994. Kevin Smith had been to Vancouver Film School, dropped out and released Clerks by then so his career has been an interesting vicarious thing to watch unfold as a counterpoint to my own lack of one. I've had my projects, but I think I've been too comfortable. And whatever arguments people come up with about getting "in" and being on a conveyor belt of success versus remaining stagnant because the hand of God hasn't discovered you, ultimately there's no reason that any of us couldn't generate the count of SCREENPLAYS Kevin Smith has written over these 16 years. That comes down to either having a typewriter or computer or access to one and some time. If that lightning bolt were to strike me right now, even after writing FADE IN and FADE OUT with 100 pages or so in between at least once each year since 1988 I only have a couple of scripts that I would feel comfortable jumping right into without further re-writes. What I should have for each is also a character list, a location list, and a prop list, synopsis and anything else needed to be ready to go. I have storyboarded many drafts that have then been abandoned. But at least that process is a good exercise. It is directing without the hassle of a crew, cast and a deadline. I'll get there, but basically anything that isn;'t fuel for the fire needs to be tossed out. I can't keep living weekend to weekend with such short time at home to write. Some people do it. I also need to build a little more faith, but not the blind faith that has caused me to coast so many years.
I won't truly be sane until the first few of my features are done and shown and liked. Even getting one done won't be enough. But you do need to find a Scott Mosier, even though as Kevin Smith says on the Clerks II DVD "Nobody goes to film school to be a producer." There is a certain amount of glory in producing, but for me it is time and labor doing leg work I have no knack for that is taking away time and focus from the work I do feel I have a knack for - writing and preparation of directing. THEN you have to be careful about WHO comes along to "help" and be a producer. Are they putting all cards on the table? Maybe not. You have to know, really know, what they are getting out of it other than the credit and experience the alchemy of which can turn from thanks to shit pretty fast. More on that later.
Fandom Menace
Picture two newspaper comic panels. In one there is a Star Wars Fan scatching his ass with a plastic lightsaber in a sidewalk tent outside a movie theater and in the other is a Stormtrooper from the movie Star Wars Episode VI: A New Hope.
Star Wars fan:
The difference between Star Wars and Star Trek is that in Star Wars there is no stun setting. They shoot to kill.
Stormtrooper (few minutes into A New Hope):
There's one. Set for stun. (shoots Leia) She'll be alright.
Inform Lord Vader we have a prisoner.
Star Wars fan:
The difference between Star Wars and Star Trek is that in Star Wars there is no stun setting. They shoot to kill.
Stormtrooper (few minutes into A New Hope):
There's one. Set for stun. (shoots Leia) She'll be alright.
Inform Lord Vader we have a prisoner.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Back to Back to the Future
I ended up breaking down and buying Back to the Future yet again, this time on BluRay, and again it is all-three-or-nothing packaging, which makes good business sense. But I was bummed to see that the Eric Stoltz versions of scenes are not available as their own special feature. All you get is just what you saw in the youtube clips from the Documentary. Chances are those were not from fans but from the studio itself, the unspoken implication that there was more to see. There is, but they only gave us what fit into the making-of. Interesting, but not worth buying these movies yet again.
I'm not a booster of BluRay either. I was fine with my regular DVDs. It's clearer, but it isn't like I have a huge screen. It's just my laptop. I guess I can keep my first-release DVDs for loaning out. I actually forgot the trouble those had been. I had bought those ones hot off the shelf only to find out later that BTTF Part 2 and 3 had flawed Widescreen releases. The cropping was off. I asked HMV about my complaint and sure enough they produced a copy of a flier they received from Universal asking customers to MAIL IN discs 2 and 3 to the Canadian office of Univeral and the corrected masking versions would be mailed to us. I went through that process rather than just throw up my hands and get the full-frame versions (like the VHS of BTTF) which would actually be more accurate to what was filmed because it actually WAS true full frame (not pan-and-scan) with more picture information at the top and bottom of the TV image. Yet it was a few years ago and I guess I've taken that box on my shelf for granted. I imagine if someone bought all three movies widescreen from that DVD debut there was a good chance they would end up buying the misalligned versions. Maybe those are worth more now.
Another pet peeve is that this DVD set introduces a new way to hold the DVDs inside the case. Instead of the center hole having a use now there are three points around the side that are pinning it in and they are extremely irritating. I guarantee that either popping a disc in or out will result in little dents around the edge. People want to be gentle with their DVDs especially when the set with tax comes to $54 you would never talk yourself into if you didn't have a stupid credit card. I am thinking of making history for taking DVDs back with the complaint being stupid, cumbersome packaging which threatens to harm the friggin' discs. Maybe someone else will boast of a knack for popping those things out. I haven't mastered it and hope never to see this type again.
I think I'll do without any new DVDs until THe Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman threaten my bank account before Christmas.
I'm not a booster of BluRay either. I was fine with my regular DVDs. It's clearer, but it isn't like I have a huge screen. It's just my laptop. I guess I can keep my first-release DVDs for loaning out. I actually forgot the trouble those had been. I had bought those ones hot off the shelf only to find out later that BTTF Part 2 and 3 had flawed Widescreen releases. The cropping was off. I asked HMV about my complaint and sure enough they produced a copy of a flier they received from Universal asking customers to MAIL IN discs 2 and 3 to the Canadian office of Univeral and the corrected masking versions would be mailed to us. I went through that process rather than just throw up my hands and get the full-frame versions (like the VHS of BTTF) which would actually be more accurate to what was filmed because it actually WAS true full frame (not pan-and-scan) with more picture information at the top and bottom of the TV image. Yet it was a few years ago and I guess I've taken that box on my shelf for granted. I imagine if someone bought all three movies widescreen from that DVD debut there was a good chance they would end up buying the misalligned versions. Maybe those are worth more now.
Another pet peeve is that this DVD set introduces a new way to hold the DVDs inside the case. Instead of the center hole having a use now there are three points around the side that are pinning it in and they are extremely irritating. I guarantee that either popping a disc in or out will result in little dents around the edge. People want to be gentle with their DVDs especially when the set with tax comes to $54 you would never talk yourself into if you didn't have a stupid credit card. I am thinking of making history for taking DVDs back with the complaint being stupid, cumbersome packaging which threatens to harm the friggin' discs. Maybe someone else will boast of a knack for popping those things out. I haven't mastered it and hope never to see this type again.
I think I'll do without any new DVDs until THe Six Million Dollar Man and The Bionic Woman threaten my bank account before Christmas.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
toronto zombies
Not exactly action packed, but eventually amusing.
May have to repost if the sample music that comes
with windows isn't considered cleared.
May have to repost if the sample music that comes
with windows isn't considered cleared.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
enterphone crank
So I plan to give a letter to my building tomorrow. Last night at half past mid-night my phone rang. No message. Then I heard my neighbor's dog in the hall returning from a walk. I'm pretty sure my neighbor pushed my entercode - my unit number, which isn't a very good idea when you think about it - as an irritation. Trouble getting back to sleep. I'm going to ask management to have security review CCTV from the main lobby and elevators to see if my neighbor's dog was seen, and my neighbor as described - hunchback monster with devil horns.
I hate games. But again, now that I'm beginning to accept the reality of it, I can remember a few of those occurrances.
Meanwhile I'm tidying my apartment while listening to Rob Zombie's Halloween II Director's Cut commentary track. I'm gradually continuing my October ritual of scary movies, most notably a few with Halloween in the title (although that skips a few Halloween sequels; never saw Halloween IV, V, or VI, and likely won't).
John Carpenter's Halloween
Rick (Bad Boys *) Rosenthal's Halloween II
Steve Miner's Halloween H2O
Rosenthal's Halloween Ressurection
Rob Zombie's Halloween
Rob Zombie's Halloween Direcor's Cut
Rob Zombie's Halloween II Director's Cut
On the subway I've been watching Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, which I hadn't seen in its entirety since the dawn of VHS. Could be wrong. I respect it a lot. The "coverage/non-storyboard" director who is in fashion today wouldn't have been able to make a movie like that or springboard a career. But I'm also a little bummed that I physically don't have the overdrive to just push a movie. Maybe I'll surprise myself if I lose some weight and people mistakenly regard me as if I have become more intelligent.
* indicates the Sean Penn Bad Boys, as opposed to Michael Bay's waste of Will Smith's time coasting on the "Bad Boys" tune made popular by "Cops." Just one of the earliest unfortunate results of reality TV. Interesting that Rosenthal uses Jamie Lee Curtis in a walk-by as an extra at the beginning of Bad Boys.
It's a bummer that we have to be over a certain age to refer back to that film.
Also noteworthy is the perfectly visible 35mm movie camera glimpsed in a fight scene at the end. It had to be pointed out to me by the commentary track. The acting distracts well enough, but it's amusing that it's there.
I hate games. But again, now that I'm beginning to accept the reality of it, I can remember a few of those occurrances.
Meanwhile I'm tidying my apartment while listening to Rob Zombie's Halloween II Director's Cut commentary track. I'm gradually continuing my October ritual of scary movies, most notably a few with Halloween in the title (although that skips a few Halloween sequels; never saw Halloween IV, V, or VI, and likely won't).
John Carpenter's Halloween
Rick (Bad Boys *) Rosenthal's Halloween II
Steve Miner's Halloween H2O
Rosenthal's Halloween Ressurection
Rob Zombie's Halloween
Rob Zombie's Halloween Direcor's Cut
Rob Zombie's Halloween II Director's Cut
On the subway I've been watching Sam Raimi's Evil Dead, which I hadn't seen in its entirety since the dawn of VHS. Could be wrong. I respect it a lot. The "coverage/non-storyboard" director who is in fashion today wouldn't have been able to make a movie like that or springboard a career. But I'm also a little bummed that I physically don't have the overdrive to just push a movie. Maybe I'll surprise myself if I lose some weight and people mistakenly regard me as if I have become more intelligent.
* indicates the Sean Penn Bad Boys, as opposed to Michael Bay's waste of Will Smith's time coasting on the "Bad Boys" tune made popular by "Cops." Just one of the earliest unfortunate results of reality TV. Interesting that Rosenthal uses Jamie Lee Curtis in a walk-by as an extra at the beginning of Bad Boys.
It's a bummer that we have to be over a certain age to refer back to that film.
Also noteworthy is the perfectly visible 35mm movie camera glimpsed in a fight scene at the end. It had to be pointed out to me by the commentary track. The acting distracts well enough, but it's amusing that it's there.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
DayMinder found
Sure enough, I looked up today's date and confirmed that there is no indication of a doctor's appointment for this morning. 9 am came and went and I was still at work because I couldn't very well impose upon my night guard at the last minute and ask him to stay awake three more hours. This was the appointment I got a "courtesy call" about late yesterday afternoon from ditzy Helene.
Sure if I want to take responsibility for myself 100 percent I could say that I could have kept better care of the business card the next appointment was written on or I could have immdiately reached into my bag and coppied the information into the DayMinder and then made a point of opening it and using it more frequently. But whatever I do I know this about myself: any appointment with a doctor or a dentist will sneak up on me and I won't be ready for it unless I get that week's notice.
I wonder how Helene decided on ONE days' notice. I know last time I complained that leaving a voice-mail on the Friday afternoon before a Monday morning wouldn't help me much in guaranteeing that someone can fill the morning part of my shift. I can tell myself that the week's notice is also a better way to lower blood sugar and weight just before getting weighed and having my fluids taken. But realistically I know I don't take much advantage of that aspect. What I need is the time and some kind of system that respects Murphy's Law, especially the municipal me-centered bi-law regarding choice of "courtesy" reminder time.
I don't know who it is who decided that everybody likes to get their one reminder the day before as opposed to a week before an appointment. If a poll was being taken I would choose 1 week;s notice. In fact, upon starting as someone's patient, I think we should get that choice in writing, right around the place where it asks if you have any additional medical considerations. I would say that I am an idiot savant prone to misplacing and not recording doctor's appointments or forgetting about them when they roll around three months later and that I require a week's reminder notice instead of one day.
In fact, as I said on the phone win my final conversation with Helene, the 24 hours notice required of me to cancel an appointment can't logically be met under the circumstances. And the interesting thing is that she works for a specialist in Diabetes wherein many of the patients might have such quirks and memory problems and might be on a lot of the same medications and under the same spaced-out stress that I am.
Considering the ballpark in which she works (I didn't actually say this to her) she is is a very special league of mediocrity - dangerous mediocrity and indifference to serving the interest of patients. I might even want to write that as a letter to the doctor but it might go through the gatekeeper in his outer office and go missing if my name is on it.
Sure if I want to take responsibility for myself 100 percent I could say that I could have kept better care of the business card the next appointment was written on or I could have immdiately reached into my bag and coppied the information into the DayMinder and then made a point of opening it and using it more frequently. But whatever I do I know this about myself: any appointment with a doctor or a dentist will sneak up on me and I won't be ready for it unless I get that week's notice.
I wonder how Helene decided on ONE days' notice. I know last time I complained that leaving a voice-mail on the Friday afternoon before a Monday morning wouldn't help me much in guaranteeing that someone can fill the morning part of my shift. I can tell myself that the week's notice is also a better way to lower blood sugar and weight just before getting weighed and having my fluids taken. But realistically I know I don't take much advantage of that aspect. What I need is the time and some kind of system that respects Murphy's Law, especially the municipal me-centered bi-law regarding choice of "courtesy" reminder time.
I don't know who it is who decided that everybody likes to get their one reminder the day before as opposed to a week before an appointment. If a poll was being taken I would choose 1 week;s notice. In fact, upon starting as someone's patient, I think we should get that choice in writing, right around the place where it asks if you have any additional medical considerations. I would say that I am an idiot savant prone to misplacing and not recording doctor's appointments or forgetting about them when they roll around three months later and that I require a week's reminder notice instead of one day.
In fact, as I said on the phone win my final conversation with Helene, the 24 hours notice required of me to cancel an appointment can't logically be met under the circumstances. And the interesting thing is that she works for a specialist in Diabetes wherein many of the patients might have such quirks and memory problems and might be on a lot of the same medications and under the same spaced-out stress that I am.
Considering the ballpark in which she works (I didn't actually say this to her) she is is a very special league of mediocrity - dangerous mediocrity and indifference to serving the interest of patients. I might even want to write that as a letter to the doctor but it might go through the gatekeeper in his outer office and go missing if my name is on it.
Monday, October 18, 2010
doctors and their assistants
I pop about 9 pills in the morning. Should be 10 except that the prescription ran out on that one. It was one that, fair enough, my diabetes doctor felt that my GP should prescribe. That another I haven't run out of yet. My last GP I had for 9 years and in the last couple of years he began to get twitchy. His staff was excellent and I never had any problem with them, but he used words like "us" to include his whole office when there was actually just a problem with him. For a year he kept saying, "we'll look into that," and variations of reassurance when there were no results on file for a barium enema and sygmoidscopic-something up my ass and x-rays I endured at the end of 2004. 2005 was a lot of patience and my last stretch of trust in doctors, capped by a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. In january I jad to phone around back and forth from the Rudd Clinic and that doctor's office. Nothing. But even with that collossal cluster-fuck, I stayed with that doctor out of sheer inertia. Come June just before my father passed away this doctor snapped at me perhaps provoked by an ancient letter on my file to not renew prescriptions over the phone, due to a miscommunication at Shoppers. During a regular appointment I then made the mistake of mentioning more than one ache or malady (still in the nostalgic headspace of those days when doctors were more holistic and felt one symptom might reflect an overall problem). He freaked out ranting about paying rent in downtown Toronto and not make money. This was the first I had heard of the rule that medical complaints had to be spread over several visits since the doctor gets paid per visit. Since he always had a packed waiting room, it's hard to see where those extra visits fit in and make a difference but I suppose they do. THEN he wanted to take my blood pressure. I waited until after Father's Day which was a couple of days before my father passed, and the funeral, before sending off my e-mail about these issues. I wish I had thought back then to go straight to OHIP and ask to see whether the procedures were paid for. But years later when I finally went through that process I found that whatever record of my tests there were some items that were never processed and must have been mishandled at the clinic. But considering a lot of communication that happens "as a courtesy" it is amazing that anyone ever getes well. What if I am somewhat addled by medication(s)? Like maybe 9 or 10 pills in the morning and a couple more later on? What if I was mentally challenged, worse than I am? Does that mean I just miss a lot of appointments?
Years pass, and I haven't gone through the mundane chore of resolving the issue of a new GP. Four years have passed. Four and a half sans family doctor. Some prescriptions I got from walk-ins, others from my diabetes doctor.
I don't want to disparage my diabetes doctor, and he knows what he is doing, but unfortunately his assistant manages to be more scatterbrained than myself.
I have been clear that if she was going to give me a "courtesy" reminder of an appoitntment it shouldn't be last minute or the day before because I have to advise a colleage at my jobsite and get the okay that I can be late. If not, I'll still need a couple of days to get someone else enough notice to fill in. And I am aware of my own shortcomings to put them forward: I will forget any appointment booked three months in advance or lose the card, as per Murphy's Law. I am not the one consulting a ledger every day. (And yes, that includes the Daytimer I actually have which may or may not have the upcoming appointment transferred into it and which is mostly used as a folder to stuff insane screenplay scrawlings and monologues and Mel Gibson defences which may never get typed up.
I never had any problem until this doctor moved to another hospital and a terrible assistant.
I don't know how that fits in to a questionaire about the state of my health and how it is coming along, but it will throw off my diabetes program as I look for a new doctor (in addition to a GP).
I have been thinking today about how I usually feel great for a few weeks when I have let my prescriptions run out and my thinking is clearer and I am more productive. I wasted this past weekend surfing the net, listening to a DVD commentary on The Thing, and generally catching up on illegally uploaded TV shows.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just fast or something. If there's nothing wrong with the doctor, it's the lead-assed assistant giving a "reminder" at 3:56 the afternoon before a 9am appointment. If it's not a week before I can't gear up for it. Also, if I went in this time it would ruin my pattern of weightloss. In small incriments each time I have been there I have lost a few kilos. I'm not confident I have stayed on that course. Three months go by fast.
Years pass, and I haven't gone through the mundane chore of resolving the issue of a new GP. Four years have passed. Four and a half sans family doctor. Some prescriptions I got from walk-ins, others from my diabetes doctor.
I don't want to disparage my diabetes doctor, and he knows what he is doing, but unfortunately his assistant manages to be more scatterbrained than myself.
I have been clear that if she was going to give me a "courtesy" reminder of an appoitntment it shouldn't be last minute or the day before because I have to advise a colleage at my jobsite and get the okay that I can be late. If not, I'll still need a couple of days to get someone else enough notice to fill in. And I am aware of my own shortcomings to put them forward: I will forget any appointment booked three months in advance or lose the card, as per Murphy's Law. I am not the one consulting a ledger every day. (And yes, that includes the Daytimer I actually have which may or may not have the upcoming appointment transferred into it and which is mostly used as a folder to stuff insane screenplay scrawlings and monologues and Mel Gibson defences which may never get typed up.
I never had any problem until this doctor moved to another hospital and a terrible assistant.
I don't know how that fits in to a questionaire about the state of my health and how it is coming along, but it will throw off my diabetes program as I look for a new doctor (in addition to a GP).
I have been thinking today about how I usually feel great for a few weeks when I have let my prescriptions run out and my thinking is clearer and I am more productive. I wasted this past weekend surfing the net, listening to a DVD commentary on The Thing, and generally catching up on illegally uploaded TV shows.
Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to just fast or something. If there's nothing wrong with the doctor, it's the lead-assed assistant giving a "reminder" at 3:56 the afternoon before a 9am appointment. If it's not a week before I can't gear up for it. Also, if I went in this time it would ruin my pattern of weightloss. In small incriments each time I have been there I have lost a few kilos. I'm not confident I have stayed on that course. Three months go by fast.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
deleted imdb reviews
Most of the time these are referred to as "comments" but when they are deleted the alert refers to them as "reviews." So I'll stick with that wording.
I'm not entirely sure why one or the other was deleted, except by another user.
I'll modify them when I get the chance and re-post, but for now I'll just paste them here as they were. The second one, for a terrible spoof movie, is a justifyable deletion. I think I pasted some wording from a critic's blurb. I don't fully recall. I thought I had changed the context of it. I recognize the first wording (for good or ill) as my own though at first skim.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Skip the reviews; watch the movie, 7 May 2010
(This review was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)
An ongoing pet peeve of mine is the ease with which critics publish falsehoods. I don't even mean subjective arguments with which I disagree, but unqualified statements contrary to the evidence on screen. Here is an example, having looked at a review of Iron Man 2 before seeing it, since I was thrown by a claim that caught my eye. Ordinarily I avoid reviews of movies I already intend to see.
False statement number one is that Mickey Rourke doesn't have enough screen time. Fact: he has exactly the right amount of screen time for a primary movie heavy. Does he have as much as in The Wrestler? No. Does he have as much as Nicholson's Joker in the 1989 Batman? Of course not, because there was no writer's strike during the shooting of Iron Man 2 and Tim Burton doesn't always know when enough Jack is enough. Jack had way too much screen time in that flick, entertaining as he was.
False statement number two is that we don't see Iron Man in the suit enough. This might actually be offered as proof the critic didn't even see the movie. We see as much of Iron Man in full costume as the story permits, which is exactly the right amount. Then we also get to see War Machine in his own similar costume, and Mickey again in something still similar. Not to mention the collection of Iron man suits on display in Stark's home. This of course is even clear to people who have seen the trailers. No spoilers here.
I could go point for point through the whole "review," but those were the to most laughable that drifted into my thoughts as I was watching them be disproved during the film. Proof once again that a movie should be seen as cold as possible (despite the omni-present trailer) and there is no point having a critic's nonsense rattling around in your head.
Let's face it, you are in better hands with the team behind Iron Man 2 than with even a competent critic. The themes are well explored, the character flaws of Stark are exploited for substance, and it is as it should be. I don't think I'll show up for any Stark parties or Expos, but I will keep showing up to his movies. If there's a quibble, it can be for the hurdles placed before the filmmakers by the studio when it announced the release date of this flick before telling its director - who then had to round out whatever draft of a script with an ongoing workshop with his cast. Let's hope they are given more time for part 3, but they managed to maintain the standard of the first one to a large extent.
I'm really only posting a comment at this point as a way to vent. I may never have the time to compile an archive website of disprovable quotes from critics, and there is the danger anyway that it might inadvertently promote their names.
Meet the Spartans (2008)
the first "place holder" movie, 28 January 2008
(This review was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)
Some writers write what they call place holders when they know a movie could use something here or there or an explanation or a name for a character. . .This is the first time I've noticed someone let a whole movie go through the process and keep the place-holders.
It's a generic piece of crap with nothing to say, least of all anything to say about the pop culture it references. I love spoofs. I love satire too. Naked Gun, Airplane, Mel Brooks, even the last couple of Scary Movie installments. This isn't even an attempt. It reminds me of an old TV charity event "Night of a Hundred Stars" which ended up cramming people in by having them step out and bow, one at a time if you are lucky. Except that this is not as inspired, hasn't got the stars, and hasn't got the charity.
The closest thing to a decent quote I can find is :
"Meet The Spartans makes Epic Movie look like Scary Movie."
Good quote # 2:
"The movie follows the essential narrative of 300, with some obvious detours.
It plays as if someone handed over a laundry list of popular-culture flotsam, and the recipient took it to be a script."
That's about all the good that has come from this movie being made.
A series of walk-ons for one look-alike after another.
It is made by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Any film that indicates these names as directors can be guaranteed to suck. What they do right is they say yes to distributors and get something shot which can be marketed close to a better film it is trying to ape. They keep the budgets around 20 million dollars and they make a profit in the first weekend before the teen audience realize that on every website the films are rated maybe two or three out of ten, and with single-digit percentages on the tomatometer. They are a brand name of suckage. Sadly a decent Canadian musical about vampires called Suck received no theatrical release and yet these garbage merchants crank out a place-holder called Vampires Suck and it gets between 2000 and 3000 screens. Why do Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer still get hired? They really have nothing to say about anything they are ostensibly spoofing. There are Second City improv troops who can whip up a 90 minute spoof on any topic or movie in much less time than it takes these dweebs. The studio heads need to get out more. The Kentucky Fried Theater was running for a while before Zucker Abrahams and Zucker ventured into film spoofs. Mel Brooks cut his teeth with the best of the best in live television. These putzes don't know how to generate comedy. I can watch hours of student films for all the energy and urgency and experimentation but I can't sit through the films of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for free on the internet or on a DVD that is handed to me or when I am forced to hang tight with others who are watching their crap. I have forced myself a couple of times and it is rough going.
--
Okay, by the time I was done reading over my post I realized it was not worth reposting something that had been an inexplicable word-count of mostly a published review someone else wrote. I decided to trash that and rip on the two dudes who have ruined spoof movies for half a decade.
Seriously thinking about deleting this blog or just posting elsewhere for obvious reasons. But at least it's a place to paste some useless observations while procrastinating about my own crap.
I'm not entirely sure why one or the other was deleted, except by another user.
I'll modify them when I get the chance and re-post, but for now I'll just paste them here as they were. The second one, for a terrible spoof movie, is a justifyable deletion. I think I pasted some wording from a critic's blurb. I don't fully recall. I thought I had changed the context of it. I recognize the first wording (for good or ill) as my own though at first skim.
Iron Man 2 (2010)
Skip the reviews; watch the movie, 7 May 2010
(This review was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)
An ongoing pet peeve of mine is the ease with which critics publish falsehoods. I don't even mean subjective arguments with which I disagree, but unqualified statements contrary to the evidence on screen. Here is an example, having looked at a review of Iron Man 2 before seeing it, since I was thrown by a claim that caught my eye. Ordinarily I avoid reviews of movies I already intend to see.
False statement number one is that Mickey Rourke doesn't have enough screen time. Fact: he has exactly the right amount of screen time for a primary movie heavy. Does he have as much as in The Wrestler? No. Does he have as much as Nicholson's Joker in the 1989 Batman? Of course not, because there was no writer's strike during the shooting of Iron Man 2 and Tim Burton doesn't always know when enough Jack is enough. Jack had way too much screen time in that flick, entertaining as he was.
False statement number two is that we don't see Iron Man in the suit enough. This might actually be offered as proof the critic didn't even see the movie. We see as much of Iron Man in full costume as the story permits, which is exactly the right amount. Then we also get to see War Machine in his own similar costume, and Mickey again in something still similar. Not to mention the collection of Iron man suits on display in Stark's home. This of course is even clear to people who have seen the trailers. No spoilers here.
I could go point for point through the whole "review," but those were the to most laughable that drifted into my thoughts as I was watching them be disproved during the film. Proof once again that a movie should be seen as cold as possible (despite the omni-present trailer) and there is no point having a critic's nonsense rattling around in your head.
Let's face it, you are in better hands with the team behind Iron Man 2 than with even a competent critic. The themes are well explored, the character flaws of Stark are exploited for substance, and it is as it should be. I don't think I'll show up for any Stark parties or Expos, but I will keep showing up to his movies. If there's a quibble, it can be for the hurdles placed before the filmmakers by the studio when it announced the release date of this flick before telling its director - who then had to round out whatever draft of a script with an ongoing workshop with his cast. Let's hope they are given more time for part 3, but they managed to maintain the standard of the first one to a large extent.
I'm really only posting a comment at this point as a way to vent. I may never have the time to compile an archive website of disprovable quotes from critics, and there is the danger anyway that it might inadvertently promote their names.
Meet the Spartans (2008)
the first "place holder" movie, 28 January 2008
(This review was deleted by IMDb based on an abuse report filed by another user)
Some writers write what they call place holders when they know a movie could use something here or there or an explanation or a name for a character. . .This is the first time I've noticed someone let a whole movie go through the process and keep the place-holders.
It's a generic piece of crap with nothing to say, least of all anything to say about the pop culture it references. I love spoofs. I love satire too. Naked Gun, Airplane, Mel Brooks, even the last couple of Scary Movie installments. This isn't even an attempt. It reminds me of an old TV charity event "Night of a Hundred Stars" which ended up cramming people in by having them step out and bow, one at a time if you are lucky. Except that this is not as inspired, hasn't got the stars, and hasn't got the charity.
The closest thing to a decent quote I can find is :
"Meet The Spartans makes Epic Movie look like Scary Movie."
Good quote # 2:
"The movie follows the essential narrative of 300, with some obvious detours.
It plays as if someone handed over a laundry list of popular-culture flotsam, and the recipient took it to be a script."
That's about all the good that has come from this movie being made.
A series of walk-ons for one look-alike after another.
It is made by Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer. Any film that indicates these names as directors can be guaranteed to suck. What they do right is they say yes to distributors and get something shot which can be marketed close to a better film it is trying to ape. They keep the budgets around 20 million dollars and they make a profit in the first weekend before the teen audience realize that on every website the films are rated maybe two or three out of ten, and with single-digit percentages on the tomatometer. They are a brand name of suckage. Sadly a decent Canadian musical about vampires called Suck received no theatrical release and yet these garbage merchants crank out a place-holder called Vampires Suck and it gets between 2000 and 3000 screens. Why do Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer still get hired? They really have nothing to say about anything they are ostensibly spoofing. There are Second City improv troops who can whip up a 90 minute spoof on any topic or movie in much less time than it takes these dweebs. The studio heads need to get out more. The Kentucky Fried Theater was running for a while before Zucker Abrahams and Zucker ventured into film spoofs. Mel Brooks cut his teeth with the best of the best in live television. These putzes don't know how to generate comedy. I can watch hours of student films for all the energy and urgency and experimentation but I can't sit through the films of Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer for free on the internet or on a DVD that is handed to me or when I am forced to hang tight with others who are watching their crap. I have forced myself a couple of times and it is rough going.
--
Okay, by the time I was done reading over my post I realized it was not worth reposting something that had been an inexplicable word-count of mostly a published review someone else wrote. I decided to trash that and rip on the two dudes who have ruined spoof movies for half a decade.
Seriously thinking about deleting this blog or just posting elsewhere for obvious reasons. But at least it's a place to paste some useless observations while procrastinating about my own crap.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Open Letter to Building Management
Friday 15 October, 2010
Dear XXXXXXXXX Management:
A matter has come to light which I feel should be reported in case it escalates.
This concerns my suspicion that a resident of unit XXXX in 9 XXXXX Place, most likely the female, has engaged in a petty and disturbing game. The name associated with the unit is S. Saad. I’ll describe what background I know after the immediate situation.
Today on the above date I found two brooms on my balcony, one of which I dimly recognized as my own balcony broom (no longer fit to bring inside once it has swept bird feathers and worse). The other I did not recognize. This one also had an empty grey plastic bag tied with a twisty aluminum tie at the handle. It would be consistent with whatever plastic bag she may be used when walking their black Mastiff. It is the closest thing to a clue about who deposited the broom on my balcony. I took photos before bringing
the brooms to deposit in the basement bin. Even my own had an unnatural amount of feathers
stuck along the handle, but they would have had to get onto my balcony to get hold of it.
The brooms were on the side closest to their apartment and a broom could be tossed from their
balcony to my own but it is doubtful that one dropped from above would be able to land
inside my own. It would have to be thrown laterally.
The plastic bag I untied and left further up the hallway, approximately across from 1414. That was around 5pm. Around 9:30 pm I opened my door to check and the same bag was directly outside my door.
The difference is that while 1414 has another unit’s door directly across from it and I had placed the bag beside that door so it is ambiguous as to where it came from there is only a wall across from my own unit. So something placed directly outside my door confirms that whoever found it knows which unit it came from. At the time of writing it is 20 minutes later and I expect it is possible that such a game could continue back and forth all weekend. Except that from my end it has already helped confirm that 1414 for whatever reason tied a plastic bag to a broom and threw it onto my balcony.
It must be said that whatever the outcome it won’t result with me being scared off. Being as open as possible about this nonsense I hope to nip it in the bud. She can move or grow up, or we can see whether this mischief can be addressed with legal recourse. It is definitely harassment on her part.
In fairness, the neighbor I assume to be her husband is a hospitable sort and I have no quarrel with him. If he and his wife are together at the elevator I address him and he seems normal and civilized. All I know is that he works in construction, apart from a couple of animated complaints he has apparently made at the management office about the drain cleaner and parking leaks. From the day they moved in I have been nothing but polite and friendly. I recall the wife sitting in the hall on some luggage and I said hello and asked if she was okay. Since then in comings and goings when we have crossed paths there has been silence to the obligatory nod or hello. But even that is water off a duck’s back. A couple of years ago my security post was at a condo and it was mostly about vetting people at the intercom and making sure people didn’t con their way in. Around that time the only event happened that I could possibly point to as a reason to be angry with me. My phone rang one night and the conversation went as follows:
: Hello?
: Hi. It’s me.
: Who is me?
: I’m at the door downstairs. I have the dog.
: What’s your name?
Then someone else must have let her in. Her comment about the dog hadn’t registered by the time I
asked for the person’s name. How odd that someone who gave me the cold shoulder feels comfortable saying “It’s me” and expecting me to know who it is. A few minutes later I heard her return with the dog.
I’ve suppressed the urge to complain in the past (about some bits of loose junk or sawdust that used to be tracked into the hallway from unit 1414 or hammering from there) and in some cases I didn’t know where something came from (actual poop found on my balcony, which I figured had fallen there but now I suspect could have been flung there). I’m not quick to complain and I’m not naïve that action can be taken. I don’t know if it is mental illness that might be involved or mere immaturity. But I want to know this is a matter of record in case there have been other complaints and this gives context. I also have to protect myself from any spin-doctoring that might occur.
(I'm actually planning to send this)
Dear XXXXXXXXX Management:
A matter has come to light which I feel should be reported in case it escalates.
This concerns my suspicion that a resident of unit XXXX in 9 XXXXX Place, most likely the female, has engaged in a petty and disturbing game. The name associated with the unit is S. Saad. I’ll describe what background I know after the immediate situation.
Today on the above date I found two brooms on my balcony, one of which I dimly recognized as my own balcony broom (no longer fit to bring inside once it has swept bird feathers and worse). The other I did not recognize. This one also had an empty grey plastic bag tied with a twisty aluminum tie at the handle. It would be consistent with whatever plastic bag she may be used when walking their black Mastiff. It is the closest thing to a clue about who deposited the broom on my balcony. I took photos before bringing
the brooms to deposit in the basement bin. Even my own had an unnatural amount of feathers
stuck along the handle, but they would have had to get onto my balcony to get hold of it.
The brooms were on the side closest to their apartment and a broom could be tossed from their
balcony to my own but it is doubtful that one dropped from above would be able to land
inside my own. It would have to be thrown laterally.
The plastic bag I untied and left further up the hallway, approximately across from 1414. That was around 5pm. Around 9:30 pm I opened my door to check and the same bag was directly outside my door.
The difference is that while 1414 has another unit’s door directly across from it and I had placed the bag beside that door so it is ambiguous as to where it came from there is only a wall across from my own unit. So something placed directly outside my door confirms that whoever found it knows which unit it came from. At the time of writing it is 20 minutes later and I expect it is possible that such a game could continue back and forth all weekend. Except that from my end it has already helped confirm that 1414 for whatever reason tied a plastic bag to a broom and threw it onto my balcony.
It must be said that whatever the outcome it won’t result with me being scared off. Being as open as possible about this nonsense I hope to nip it in the bud. She can move or grow up, or we can see whether this mischief can be addressed with legal recourse. It is definitely harassment on her part.
In fairness, the neighbor I assume to be her husband is a hospitable sort and I have no quarrel with him. If he and his wife are together at the elevator I address him and he seems normal and civilized. All I know is that he works in construction, apart from a couple of animated complaints he has apparently made at the management office about the drain cleaner and parking leaks. From the day they moved in I have been nothing but polite and friendly. I recall the wife sitting in the hall on some luggage and I said hello and asked if she was okay. Since then in comings and goings when we have crossed paths there has been silence to the obligatory nod or hello. But even that is water off a duck’s back. A couple of years ago my security post was at a condo and it was mostly about vetting people at the intercom and making sure people didn’t con their way in. Around that time the only event happened that I could possibly point to as a reason to be angry with me. My phone rang one night and the conversation went as follows:
: Hello?
: Hi. It’s me.
: Who is me?
: I’m at the door downstairs. I have the dog.
: What’s your name?
Then someone else must have let her in. Her comment about the dog hadn’t registered by the time I
asked for the person’s name. How odd that someone who gave me the cold shoulder feels comfortable saying “It’s me” and expecting me to know who it is. A few minutes later I heard her return with the dog.
I’ve suppressed the urge to complain in the past (about some bits of loose junk or sawdust that used to be tracked into the hallway from unit 1414 or hammering from there) and in some cases I didn’t know where something came from (actual poop found on my balcony, which I figured had fallen there but now I suspect could have been flung there). I’m not quick to complain and I’m not naïve that action can be taken. I don’t know if it is mental illness that might be involved or mere immaturity. But I want to know this is a matter of record in case there have been other complaints and this gives context. I also have to protect myself from any spin-doctoring that might occur.
(I'm actually planning to send this)
Thursday, October 14, 2010
One Annoyance Less Annoying
The way this came about may not be the best but one of the most notorious buggers -- I mean bloggers -- in the world has announced that he plans to be less katty and annoying. Mario something or other who calls himself Perez Hilton told Ellen DeGeneres that in this time where the media has decided to talk about the suicides of gay teens and those perceived as gay and bullied for it he has decided to be less of a bully himself. He has outed a few movies or TV stars which I won't name here. And he has in the past built his reputation on making up insulting nicknames for celebrities. He has decided no more outing or mocking or bullying at all. So it remains to be seen what Perez Hilton will do with his time and whether his nasty Nancy Nazi followers will stick with him. To be honest I've only seen whatever quotes of his make it into the "news" and a few youtube clips to form whatever opinion I have of this person. People will kiss up to him for marketing reasons, but his success is reason enough to ignore the media hype machine altogether. That said, I can understand the rush to try to claim a Tom Cruise as part of his team. It's the "red rover, red rover, we call the movie star over." The diddlers on the other hand, so to speak, will always be the ones left unchosen by either team. Officially, a man groping a boy's penis is supposed to be heterosexual because he claims to be and goes home to a wife (unless the culprit is a Catholic priest without the benefit of a wife to hide behind). A movie star doesn't get that benefit of the doubt. He may claim to be straight and also to have a wife or two, but the gossips and outers like Perez in bully mode knew better. They have that special insight, that sensitivity. Meanwhile we the ostensibly straight figure (unless we want to help spin doctor the mess to protect gays from further hate) male hand on boy's penis for some sort of rush equals NOT straight. The newest publicity about kids being called fag or being humiliated into suicide is at least though something that is being taken seriously. A few decades late, but as Robin Williams once quipped, "Better latent than never." Not that there's anything funny about this example of despair and loss. But we'll see how long the A.D.D. zeitgeist keeps attentive to this and whether it reforms the schoolyard rules that have been unofficially in play since there were schools. Kids are pre-moral, for the most part. Adolescents maybe have the bar raised a little higher. College students I suppose it's reasonable to expect adult responsibility and comprehension. But it will still be tough to get people to be tamed. Is the prank of a bully any less a self expression than somebody else' romantic interests? That question might actually be taken seriously some day.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
cafe phantasmagoria Part 3
Again this doesn't seem to fit the blog frame
because it is "HD" and you may as well just
click the title and go straight to youtube
for the proper frame. But I guess if you
see it cropped here it's no big deal.
You might just lose a few people.
Looking at it small might be preferable.
I realized in editing that the focus on some
of it is a little soft.
because it is "HD" and you may as well just
click the title and go straight to youtube
for the proper frame. But I guess if you
see it cropped here it's no big deal.
You might just lose a few people.
Looking at it small might be preferable.
I realized in editing that the focus on some
of it is a little soft.
gay teen suicides and movie star pests
I'm not saying "We" humanity are in our nature mean-spirited, but just as an individual psyche might me a microcosm of society and the zeitgeist of any group there are individuals who are abhorant. The sort of bully who focuses on outing and humiliating the schoolyard gay kid or tomenting others who seem "different" or vulnerable I have not seen grow up and change with new information. I know too many Bullies who have at best grown old and less able to bully, but they channel it different ways. I'm not sure they reform. Campaigns to "educate" either preach to the converted or to the culprits who will laugh it off and mock it and continue in one form or another. I think with this the focus has to be more about how students and even teachers, parents and finally employers are equipped to deal with bullies in general. Even with strict regulations it took our construction site at MLG months to get rid of a toxic foreman, a racist, even after he assaulted another boss.
I'll be honest that I roll my eyes when for example GLAAD scolds Jerry Lewis for using the word fag and doing a swishy physical thing about tennis or something. As if his core Rat Pack fans care. On the other side of the fence I laughed out loud in shock when I was watching a Kevin Pollack Chat Show episode on youtube and he opened with an obligatory "Happy Gay Pride" reference and them stared in silence at the camera with a bored smack. I had been pretty sure that kind of thing was just not allowed to be done anymore - somebody pointing out his own insincerety with something obligatory.
I like Ellen DeGeneres and I believe her heartache over a gay teen suicide - even though her heartfelt address to camera about the dog that was re-gifted to the wrong owner got a little more air time. And my reaction to her interview with TR Knight was that he was a crybaby and the much-publicized Issiah Washington deal left people asking why newspapers refer to faggot as the "f-word" when we already have a perfectly good "f-word." And when "The Hanging Garden" was making waves in Canadian film (among critics anyway) I thought it was absurd. This guy was afraid of (I think) his father knowing he was gay so he tried to hang himself as a teen?
I think the hype of this may pathologize gay teens even more. Like, "I suppose I'd better speak to you in a gentle tone so you don't kill yourself" which would be a new style of bullying. ALSO, frankly, why can't the "closet" be seen as a valid phase for them? There are a number of people I went to High School with who are now gay or lesbian. Most teens don't really know what they want to do for a living and only some idea WHO they want to do. There seems to be a myth that people should self-actualize even when they are dependant.
Possibly exploiting the tragedy of suicide either due to simply being gay or also having a psychological disorder - is less effective than the example given by Sir Ian McKellen, Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch (the only Glee cast member who doesn't belong on DeGrassi or some Afterschool special) and Tom Hardy who has taken over the role of Mad Max. But even then (getting back to that closet idea) how firmly established are some of these brave people before they are out? Either for being gay or for having done tabu things. Would they have been better off being in-your-face in high school? Growing up is fine, but I think inadvertently there is a form of bullying coming at TEEN gays from their own circle of support.
As far fetched as THAT might seem, look at the inherent cruelty of groups that make it their mission to "out" movie stars who are ostensibly straight. That is high-end bullying. The conceit is "be a role model - the gay poster child - or else." Jodie Foster was badgered for years, and tured in some good performances she might not have gotten had a lesbian identity coopted her PR exposure. When Anne Heche was cast in Six Days, Seven Nights, and the Ellen relationship story broke the studio was determined to recast since the film had a rom-com element. If Harrison Ford hadn't put his foot down on principle, she would have been recast. (would be a great story if the movie was any good) Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves - I don't pretend to know anything about them personally and I don't care what they may or may not have done. It should be their own business. There are plenty of successful bi people like David Bowie that could be held up instead of potentially damaging someone's action hero career.
That's an example of what may be called "liberal Hypocrisy." There are some people who may be well-meaning in defending a teen who has been outed and goes to commit suicide, yet many of that same core group has a sense of entitlement to force actors and celebrities to be "honest" about their personal life and questions that they have no business asking.
Most of this blog is re-used and recycled from a reply to a friend who is an activist for gay issues. I tend to take the Devil's Advocate stance on a lot of issues, and either that points to leaks in the proverbial boat or it's a mean slap in the face my me depending on your estimate of my nature. I'm in favor of gay marriage and gay adoption, but I'm against hyper-sensitive media run by fear of lobby groups. It's like the difference between 60's Star Trek and Next Generation - it was brave to have a multi-racial cast in the original. But even as PC as Star Trek generally is, the aggressive Klingons are usually played by black actors and the money-grubbing Ferengi are usually played by a Jewish-sounding actor. Some might complain that (apart from an episode of the on-line fan-made version) they haven't directly dealt with a gay character. Trills are paracites that can take over either a male or female host, but I'm not sure that would be held up as an example. This reminds me of the 60's writer whose body of work was very socially conscious and yet he never took on a black character. His reason when asked was that he didn't want to be "forced to write Sidney Poitier." No slight against the great actor, but it is true that once you HAVE TO write a character a certain way to appease an interest group then there's no point.
I'll be honest that I roll my eyes when for example GLAAD scolds Jerry Lewis for using the word fag and doing a swishy physical thing about tennis or something. As if his core Rat Pack fans care. On the other side of the fence I laughed out loud in shock when I was watching a Kevin Pollack Chat Show episode on youtube and he opened with an obligatory "Happy Gay Pride" reference and them stared in silence at the camera with a bored smack. I had been pretty sure that kind of thing was just not allowed to be done anymore - somebody pointing out his own insincerety with something obligatory.
I like Ellen DeGeneres and I believe her heartache over a gay teen suicide - even though her heartfelt address to camera about the dog that was re-gifted to the wrong owner got a little more air time. And my reaction to her interview with TR Knight was that he was a crybaby and the much-publicized Issiah Washington deal left people asking why newspapers refer to faggot as the "f-word" when we already have a perfectly good "f-word." And when "The Hanging Garden" was making waves in Canadian film (among critics anyway) I thought it was absurd. This guy was afraid of (I think) his father knowing he was gay so he tried to hang himself as a teen?
I think the hype of this may pathologize gay teens even more. Like, "I suppose I'd better speak to you in a gentle tone so you don't kill yourself" which would be a new style of bullying. ALSO, frankly, why can't the "closet" be seen as a valid phase for them? There are a number of people I went to High School with who are now gay or lesbian. Most teens don't really know what they want to do for a living and only some idea WHO they want to do. There seems to be a myth that people should self-actualize even when they are dependant.
Possibly exploiting the tragedy of suicide either due to simply being gay or also having a psychological disorder - is less effective than the example given by Sir Ian McKellen, Neil Patrick Harris, Jane Lynch (the only Glee cast member who doesn't belong on DeGrassi or some Afterschool special) and Tom Hardy who has taken over the role of Mad Max. But even then (getting back to that closet idea) how firmly established are some of these brave people before they are out? Either for being gay or for having done tabu things. Would they have been better off being in-your-face in high school? Growing up is fine, but I think inadvertently there is a form of bullying coming at TEEN gays from their own circle of support.
As far fetched as THAT might seem, look at the inherent cruelty of groups that make it their mission to "out" movie stars who are ostensibly straight. That is high-end bullying. The conceit is "be a role model - the gay poster child - or else." Jodie Foster was badgered for years, and tured in some good performances she might not have gotten had a lesbian identity coopted her PR exposure. When Anne Heche was cast in Six Days, Seven Nights, and the Ellen relationship story broke the studio was determined to recast since the film had a rom-com element. If Harrison Ford hadn't put his foot down on principle, she would have been recast. (would be a great story if the movie was any good) Tom Cruise or Keanu Reeves - I don't pretend to know anything about them personally and I don't care what they may or may not have done. It should be their own business. There are plenty of successful bi people like David Bowie that could be held up instead of potentially damaging someone's action hero career.
That's an example of what may be called "liberal Hypocrisy." There are some people who may be well-meaning in defending a teen who has been outed and goes to commit suicide, yet many of that same core group has a sense of entitlement to force actors and celebrities to be "honest" about their personal life and questions that they have no business asking.
Most of this blog is re-used and recycled from a reply to a friend who is an activist for gay issues. I tend to take the Devil's Advocate stance on a lot of issues, and either that points to leaks in the proverbial boat or it's a mean slap in the face my me depending on your estimate of my nature. I'm in favor of gay marriage and gay adoption, but I'm against hyper-sensitive media run by fear of lobby groups. It's like the difference between 60's Star Trek and Next Generation - it was brave to have a multi-racial cast in the original. But even as PC as Star Trek generally is, the aggressive Klingons are usually played by black actors and the money-grubbing Ferengi are usually played by a Jewish-sounding actor. Some might complain that (apart from an episode of the on-line fan-made version) they haven't directly dealt with a gay character. Trills are paracites that can take over either a male or female host, but I'm not sure that would be held up as an example. This reminds me of the 60's writer whose body of work was very socially conscious and yet he never took on a black character. His reason when asked was that he didn't want to be "forced to write Sidney Poitier." No slight against the great actor, but it is true that once you HAVE TO write a character a certain way to appease an interest group then there's no point.
Saturday, October 9, 2010
Jury Duty
A few weeks have passed since I lost hundreds of dollars thanks to the legal system.
I got a form with questions like "what is your occupation?" Of course I put "security guard" because that's how I pay my rent, whether or not it is my vocation. When I was living in North Bay in 1990 or thereabouts and actually served on a jury I had put "screenwriter." Actually one time during the week from hell in Toronto I had the pleasure of seeing the author of Ginger Snaps called up. "Film and television writer" was her career description. I don't know if she made the final cut of jurors. For her sake I hope not. But after sitting in the holding area and being called into one courtroom after another to hear about a pending case and see this or that accused person and then being sent back to the waiting area if your name isn't called, maybe getting the service out of the way is best.
Even after I told a judge that I couldn't commit 5 weeks due to financial hardship, since my security company doesn't compensate for jury duty. I was sent back to the holding area. Only after I pushed and finally got through to the right person did I get dismissed. I don't have to serve for another 3 years, apparently. But I didn't really have to receive any summons at all. Even though "security guard" isn't one of the listed occupations that is excused from jury duty, shouldn't the SYSTEM bloody well KNOW by now that security guards barely make more than minumum wage and that their companies WON'T compensate them for jury duty???????!!!!! The thing that burns me is that there MUST be lots of security guards called in, losing AT LEAST a day's wages. How many times do they have to be told financial hardship is an issue for them? It's the indifference over this issue that rankles me. Institutional indifference.
I suppose it calls for actually looking up the right person to send a letter, as opposed to posting a blog that goes nowhere. But I can call this practice.
Either that or just more free time wasted.
I got a form with questions like "what is your occupation?" Of course I put "security guard" because that's how I pay my rent, whether or not it is my vocation. When I was living in North Bay in 1990 or thereabouts and actually served on a jury I had put "screenwriter." Actually one time during the week from hell in Toronto I had the pleasure of seeing the author of Ginger Snaps called up. "Film and television writer" was her career description. I don't know if she made the final cut of jurors. For her sake I hope not. But after sitting in the holding area and being called into one courtroom after another to hear about a pending case and see this or that accused person and then being sent back to the waiting area if your name isn't called, maybe getting the service out of the way is best.
Even after I told a judge that I couldn't commit 5 weeks due to financial hardship, since my security company doesn't compensate for jury duty. I was sent back to the holding area. Only after I pushed and finally got through to the right person did I get dismissed. I don't have to serve for another 3 years, apparently. But I didn't really have to receive any summons at all. Even though "security guard" isn't one of the listed occupations that is excused from jury duty, shouldn't the SYSTEM bloody well KNOW by now that security guards barely make more than minumum wage and that their companies WON'T compensate them for jury duty???????!!!!! The thing that burns me is that there MUST be lots of security guards called in, losing AT LEAST a day's wages. How many times do they have to be told financial hardship is an issue for them? It's the indifference over this issue that rankles me. Institutional indifference.
I suppose it calls for actually looking up the right person to send a letter, as opposed to posting a blog that goes nowhere. But I can call this practice.
Either that or just more free time wasted.
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
Wonder Woman back on TV ?
The question is going around - who should fill Lynda Carter's boots, let alone replace her booty?
What this part needs if it is going to be a David E. Kelley show is deft comedy skill. And a decent set of boobies.
David E. Kelley is a promising name for this material though. It will be social commentary in the right hands. On TV he'll get away with more of that then they would in a feature.
The origin feature has been done as an animated DVD with Nathan Fillion voicing Steve. Good choice, and nice nod to Joss Whedon who likely would have cast him.
If they shoot another live action origin story they should use the animated one as an
animatic. I'd like to see a report on the process and why DC's animated division is so killer and their live action projects (without Nolan) bog down at the script level.
Also, Meryl Streep has a Commencement address on youtube where she notes that it is
not easy for heterosexual males to identify with a female protagonist. Even though Wonder Woman is a character we fall for and respect I think we are basically Steve Trevor and want to have her do all the work but still be in an artificially superior status. I'm not sure that's bankable for an all-eggs-in-one-basket $200 million feature. With a series they can play with that dynamic.
Castle, created by the screenwriter of Air Force One, has been pretty successful with something non-threatening to the male ego - Fillion is the mystery author who shadows a pretty homicide detective and models his newest character on her. She has the authority and status, but he is the civillian who proves each week that his intuition beats her hard-bitten proceedure.
I suspect that they may discover the next Lynda Carter, who will have some chops but be the "straight man" and the Steve will be someone funny who is the breakout star.
Wonder Woman running down modern streets would be interesting, though I hope they use the old uniform and stay away from the less patriotic look in the rebooted comic. One is an icon, the other is a reaction. I think now that we are in the Omaba era it is okay for people to be a bit patriotic. And I'm sure it will pass without much comment when Paradise Island sports more diverse-looking "sisters" for Diana. But even that aspect of the show needs a smart writer or it will be soft porn.
What this part needs if it is going to be a David E. Kelley show is deft comedy skill. And a decent set of boobies.
David E. Kelley is a promising name for this material though. It will be social commentary in the right hands. On TV he'll get away with more of that then they would in a feature.
The origin feature has been done as an animated DVD with Nathan Fillion voicing Steve. Good choice, and nice nod to Joss Whedon who likely would have cast him.
If they shoot another live action origin story they should use the animated one as an
animatic. I'd like to see a report on the process and why DC's animated division is so killer and their live action projects (without Nolan) bog down at the script level.
Also, Meryl Streep has a Commencement address on youtube where she notes that it is
not easy for heterosexual males to identify with a female protagonist. Even though Wonder Woman is a character we fall for and respect I think we are basically Steve Trevor and want to have her do all the work but still be in an artificially superior status. I'm not sure that's bankable for an all-eggs-in-one-basket $200 million feature. With a series they can play with that dynamic.
Castle, created by the screenwriter of Air Force One, has been pretty successful with something non-threatening to the male ego - Fillion is the mystery author who shadows a pretty homicide detective and models his newest character on her. She has the authority and status, but he is the civillian who proves each week that his intuition beats her hard-bitten proceedure.
I suspect that they may discover the next Lynda Carter, who will have some chops but be the "straight man" and the Steve will be someone funny who is the breakout star.
Wonder Woman running down modern streets would be interesting, though I hope they use the old uniform and stay away from the less patriotic look in the rebooted comic. One is an icon, the other is a reaction. I think now that we are in the Omaba era it is okay for people to be a bit patriotic. And I'm sure it will pass without much comment when Paradise Island sports more diverse-looking "sisters" for Diana. But even that aspect of the show needs a smart writer or it will be soft porn.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Star Wars 3D re-releases
From the pee-ing up a rope department, I may as well file this opinion about the annoucnement about Star Wars in 3D.
Beginning in 2012, George Lucas plans to re-release a Star Wars movie each year, ostensibly because it takes a year to do the digital 3D process to a feature. But he plans to release all 6 movies that are formally considered "Star Wars" live-action features. It's like a theatrical version of a boxed set. You want the good movies? Take these crap ones off our hands as well. He plans to release the films in numerical order, beginning with Episode One: The Phantom Menace, and says the rest will follow "depending on how well the others are received." ** Ahem. ** Well, the prequels made money, but I'm not sure how well they were received. The Original Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983) were well thought of enough that a desire for lasted nearly two decades. A set of novels about the original characters Luke, Han, Leia, and Lando in the early nineties began to rehabilitate a dormant brand. The re-release of the Original Trilogy went well enough, but you can't go home again. In 1999 Lucas explored elements of Star Wars we hadn't head of and frankly couldn't have cared less about. No word on whether the 3D version of The Phantom Menace would be edited or partially re-shot, let alone re-conceived. It is unclear how Lucas will sell the "triumphant return of a movie that was so bad it's follow-up Attack of the Clones had a notable drop in box office and theater chain faith.
The con behind this is that 3D tests have already been done a couple of years ago when fans at conventions go to see scenes from the original, popular, 1977 film converted to 3D. So Lucasfilm has actually had a good head start on that one and they likely won't need to take that "year" to convert it. If they have set aside Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope in order to spend 2011 converting The Phantom Menace, I'd like this to be a wake-up call where NOBODY bothers to go. Frankly I'm already old enough that my heartrate isn't exactly racing at the prospct of paying again to see GOOD movies I have on DVD. Even if it is 3D. Waiting 4 more years to see Star Wars in 3D is just one more benchmark of stagnant middle age for me.
It's the same process that was done to Piranha 3D, conversion of material shot in 2D.
When Han shoots Greedo under the table, I'd like to see him topple to expose a disintegrated lower half, Piraha-stile, with blood spewing everywhere. May as well really mess with us. Friggin horrify the kids who actually liked Jar Jar. They deserve a good scare. Something to jolt some sense into them.
Boycott The Phantom Menace, Boycott Attack of the Clones, Boycott Revenge of the Sith. Lucas knows nobody would go to these movies if they followed the good ones. They would have the fate of the Clone Wars animated feature (which by the way is much more entertaining than the live-action prequels, more in the spirit of the older films, but following characters and an era that the audience couldn't get excited about).
Beginning in 2012, George Lucas plans to re-release a Star Wars movie each year, ostensibly because it takes a year to do the digital 3D process to a feature. But he plans to release all 6 movies that are formally considered "Star Wars" live-action features. It's like a theatrical version of a boxed set. You want the good movies? Take these crap ones off our hands as well. He plans to release the films in numerical order, beginning with Episode One: The Phantom Menace, and says the rest will follow "depending on how well the others are received." ** Ahem. ** Well, the prequels made money, but I'm not sure how well they were received. The Original Trilogy (1977, 1980, 1983) were well thought of enough that a desire for lasted nearly two decades. A set of novels about the original characters Luke, Han, Leia, and Lando in the early nineties began to rehabilitate a dormant brand. The re-release of the Original Trilogy went well enough, but you can't go home again. In 1999 Lucas explored elements of Star Wars we hadn't head of and frankly couldn't have cared less about. No word on whether the 3D version of The Phantom Menace would be edited or partially re-shot, let alone re-conceived. It is unclear how Lucas will sell the "triumphant return of a movie that was so bad it's follow-up Attack of the Clones had a notable drop in box office and theater chain faith.
The con behind this is that 3D tests have already been done a couple of years ago when fans at conventions go to see scenes from the original, popular, 1977 film converted to 3D. So Lucasfilm has actually had a good head start on that one and they likely won't need to take that "year" to convert it. If they have set aside Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope in order to spend 2011 converting The Phantom Menace, I'd like this to be a wake-up call where NOBODY bothers to go. Frankly I'm already old enough that my heartrate isn't exactly racing at the prospct of paying again to see GOOD movies I have on DVD. Even if it is 3D. Waiting 4 more years to see Star Wars in 3D is just one more benchmark of stagnant middle age for me.
It's the same process that was done to Piranha 3D, conversion of material shot in 2D.
When Han shoots Greedo under the table, I'd like to see him topple to expose a disintegrated lower half, Piraha-stile, with blood spewing everywhere. May as well really mess with us. Friggin horrify the kids who actually liked Jar Jar. They deserve a good scare. Something to jolt some sense into them.
Boycott The Phantom Menace, Boycott Attack of the Clones, Boycott Revenge of the Sith. Lucas knows nobody would go to these movies if they followed the good ones. They would have the fate of the Clone Wars animated feature (which by the way is much more entertaining than the live-action prequels, more in the spirit of the older films, but following characters and an era that the audience couldn't get excited about).
Moon
Sam Rockwell appears in this under-rated sci-fi film by Duncan Jones. It's interesting to me because it's a "first feature." As such it is excellent. It is difficult to describe the plot without either lying or giving a spoiler. Kevin Spacey plays a computer voice for which he achieves a HAL 9000 without doing an impression of Douglas Rain. The end result simply reminds us of what we knew all alone. Kevin Spacey's usual tone is fairly measured and robotic to begin with, and like his character Gertie here he is someone we initially mistrust or from whom we expect and accept a wide range of possibility. I can't say that Moon is for everybody. It wasn't just a marketing mix-up that led to its fate. Moon involves a technology that is very trendy and mixes that with a third act plot device borrowed from Outland (which I admit I prefer) or High Noon if you like without being too overt about it. But it is closer in tone to Sodderberg's version of Solaris. There are things I like about Solaris, more than the Andrei Tarkovsky version anyway. But unless you are driven to see a wide range of films because you are in the industry or a cinephile, it's not necessary to see any film called Solaris. Jason X includes a space station called Solaris, perhaps as a nod of respect for a much critically-favored story/novel/film or films, but I'll admit I can recommend "Jason Goes to Outer Space" more easily and widely than either Solaris. And I'd much rather boast having made the pop-horror flick than the drifting narrative of a Solaris. Sam Rockwell keeps most of his whimsical side in check with Moon, since it is a more somber situation. But I would have preferred a more silly movie, frankly. Rockwell in serious mode reminds me too much of his unhinged psycho Billy the Kid in The Green Mile which puts up a barrier to empathy with him. But then keep in mind I'm one of the few people who want to see him play Zaphod Beeblebrox again. Most of the movie is a two hander of sorts between Rockwell and the computer voice of Spacey.
Portable cafe at Nuit Blanche
Here are some things that ran through my head last night, some being old thoughts and some about the subject at hand. All I had was a new camera case on my lap for the subway and streetcar ride, nothing to read or watch, no escape.
I had cold feet as I do about almost anything in which I plan to I participate. Had to race to find a blank DV tape even though I knew three new ones were somewhere in my disaster area apartment. I put a little Sony Cybershot still camera into what I thought was a side pocket of my new videocamera case, only to realize at my destination that it had been just an extra handle of some sort and that the cybershot had slipped through. So my evening had that weighing on me. I didn't remember hearing anything clunk but it could have dropped as I descended a hill beside my building. I had stills of Maple Leaf Gardens in its current state, something verbotten. I had a few stills where I searched myself for "skin tags" in anticipation of hopefully getting them removed. I know that's gross to even mention, but I'm in mid-life and heavy and have type 2 diabetes, so this is one of the expected bonuses you get with that combination. But after stressing that all night I found the camera on my bed, where it had slipped out silently.
I shot some pretty good video of the preparation and a couple of stops made by the Cafe AuBrey Friesner had organized, Cafe Phantasmagoria. The Parkdale public library got a few passers-by stopping in for the free coffee and cookies. The rising of the cafe framework was not as regimented as rehearsed, but it got done. Interesting to see the labor of constructing a structure turned into a ritual with choreography and chants. The Marching band David the juggler (of rods with glowing coils and then finally fire) were excellent and people on the street responded accordingly.
I was wearing the required white, opting for a disposable painter's jumpsuit which I had kept in my camera bag. I had an incident getting into it, though it was extra large. The zipper broke so it just gaped open like I'd been split down the middle. My pants and jacket were underneath, but at least you could see that I was wearing a weathered Porno the Clown "F**ked by Porno" T-shirt. This was in honor of the clips from PTC shorts that I had donated to be shown on the video projector. But outside the library there were some smaller kids so this time a video was shown of Dave McKay satirizing Toronto Mayor candidate Rob Ford. Very funny stuff. A passer-by chimed in with his own "I hate Rob Ford" rant, which was understandable but anticlimactic after a killer-funny video. The Cafe was taken down in another ritual fashion, ending with people baring the lit legs as polls like they are torches and singing a song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Although it had been given to us as the youtube link the lyrics trailed off a bit after "There's a light at the Frankenstien's place. . ." The idea was there.
Next we were to move northeast, ending up near some Burners and their "Heart Machine" display. But on the way I stepped into McDonalds to take a Mcleak after peeling off my painter suit which was stifling. It felt like one of those PSA's for United Way where a homeless person peels off their skin-suit and becomes healthy.
I followed the lights and caught up in time to see the structure put up again, this time a bit more smoothly.
Porno the Clown was shown, in the montage I had put together using clips from a few of the episodes. Jay Ould ended up being there, so we finally had an impromptu meeting to catch up a bit. It seems that when people come back from Burning Man, or a trip to Europe for that matter, it's harder to lock down where and when projects can be organized. Right now it feels like January, the stretch where there is almost no point making plans with people. Which is not a Jay thing but a people-in-general thing. Except me - I try to keep no life to the extent that I can always stick to a plan. "How's that working out for you?" Tyler Durden would say.
The next PTC short will involve Adam Bailey as a new character in the clown universe of PTC. Jay mentioned that he seemed enthused at a wrap party for Adam's new play. I had seen the play myself Royal Porcupine's production of The Shadow of a Boy. Earlier in Septmber I had run into Adam and one of his cast on Spadina while departing from a toxic buddy. They were coming home from a rehearsal and I decided to acknowledge my friend across the street and that was either a weird interaction or it was only that way in my head. I didn't explain to Adam and his actress Tanya that I was dropping off some DVDs I had borrowed from my quirky friend. I haven't spoken to him since but because this was part of my train of thought I'll follow through here.
A montreal filmmaker who had a couple of features I hadn't heard of had given my friend a disc of each to use in researching an article. He loaned them to me saying they were the only copy and don't damage them. I asked why not burn a copy of each and let those be the loaner copies. He said his computer couldn't do that and he had tried. After watching one disc (the most recent) I asked on the phone if I should burn a copy of the first in case I won't get around to watching it in two days. He agreed, and specially noted that this movie was not available in stores so copying it wouldn't be competing with a store-bought copy. Anyway, after copying the earliest feature of the filmmaker I phoned to say I was on my way over and I had checked my disc copy and it burned okay. He freaked out, insisting that he said I could "capture" the film onto my computer but not "burn" a DVD. We went back and forth arguing over what word was said. We had a few arguments over trivia in which he would say something like "Don't talk to me that way." And I respond "Okay I won't," and hand up. In this case the shrill "episode" was enough that I had to hang up a couple of times. Finally he took his turn hanging up after saying something bizarre about my father. If there hadn't been any sirens going off before, this would be it. I arrived with the discs and we were polite but I've silently resolved that being around people who seem stable and happy is necessary. Otherwise crazy is contagious. But like I said there was no point briefing these theater people about the whole thing, "Here's one of my hetero sci-fi geek mates who I am apparently breaking up with." Somehow if a woman is scolding me for something or having an episode I almost find it relaxing and necessary. But if it comes from a male - even a boss - the fight won't be over until I win. And that can take so much time and effort it's hardly worth it.
I left the cafe early, paid respects to a few people and hit the streetcar after what might be my final visit to McDonald's. I just can't afford to delay any further my celery-only diet. I think that has to begin right now and last until Thanksgiving at least. I think I need more cardio too. I had a hit of a joint before the cafe got going and caughed my head off. If I was doing the required hours of cardio per week, or more to lose instead of maintain, I would have enjoyed it all better. Well, I used most of the battery and a whole hour of tape so there should be something entertaining to cut together. Cafe Phantasmagoria.
I had cold feet as I do about almost anything in which I plan to I participate. Had to race to find a blank DV tape even though I knew three new ones were somewhere in my disaster area apartment. I put a little Sony Cybershot still camera into what I thought was a side pocket of my new videocamera case, only to realize at my destination that it had been just an extra handle of some sort and that the cybershot had slipped through. So my evening had that weighing on me. I didn't remember hearing anything clunk but it could have dropped as I descended a hill beside my building. I had stills of Maple Leaf Gardens in its current state, something verbotten. I had a few stills where I searched myself for "skin tags" in anticipation of hopefully getting them removed. I know that's gross to even mention, but I'm in mid-life and heavy and have type 2 diabetes, so this is one of the expected bonuses you get with that combination. But after stressing that all night I found the camera on my bed, where it had slipped out silently.
I shot some pretty good video of the preparation and a couple of stops made by the Cafe AuBrey Friesner had organized, Cafe Phantasmagoria. The Parkdale public library got a few passers-by stopping in for the free coffee and cookies. The rising of the cafe framework was not as regimented as rehearsed, but it got done. Interesting to see the labor of constructing a structure turned into a ritual with choreography and chants. The Marching band David the juggler (of rods with glowing coils and then finally fire) were excellent and people on the street responded accordingly.
I was wearing the required white, opting for a disposable painter's jumpsuit which I had kept in my camera bag. I had an incident getting into it, though it was extra large. The zipper broke so it just gaped open like I'd been split down the middle. My pants and jacket were underneath, but at least you could see that I was wearing a weathered Porno the Clown "F**ked by Porno" T-shirt. This was in honor of the clips from PTC shorts that I had donated to be shown on the video projector. But outside the library there were some smaller kids so this time a video was shown of Dave McKay satirizing Toronto Mayor candidate Rob Ford. Very funny stuff. A passer-by chimed in with his own "I hate Rob Ford" rant, which was understandable but anticlimactic after a killer-funny video. The Cafe was taken down in another ritual fashion, ending with people baring the lit legs as polls like they are torches and singing a song from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Although it had been given to us as the youtube link the lyrics trailed off a bit after "There's a light at the Frankenstien's place. . ." The idea was there.
Next we were to move northeast, ending up near some Burners and their "Heart Machine" display. But on the way I stepped into McDonalds to take a Mcleak after peeling off my painter suit which was stifling. It felt like one of those PSA's for United Way where a homeless person peels off their skin-suit and becomes healthy.
I followed the lights and caught up in time to see the structure put up again, this time a bit more smoothly.
Porno the Clown was shown, in the montage I had put together using clips from a few of the episodes. Jay Ould ended up being there, so we finally had an impromptu meeting to catch up a bit. It seems that when people come back from Burning Man, or a trip to Europe for that matter, it's harder to lock down where and when projects can be organized. Right now it feels like January, the stretch where there is almost no point making plans with people. Which is not a Jay thing but a people-in-general thing. Except me - I try to keep no life to the extent that I can always stick to a plan. "How's that working out for you?" Tyler Durden would say.
The next PTC short will involve Adam Bailey as a new character in the clown universe of PTC. Jay mentioned that he seemed enthused at a wrap party for Adam's new play. I had seen the play myself Royal Porcupine's production of The Shadow of a Boy. Earlier in Septmber I had run into Adam and one of his cast on Spadina while departing from a toxic buddy. They were coming home from a rehearsal and I decided to acknowledge my friend across the street and that was either a weird interaction or it was only that way in my head. I didn't explain to Adam and his actress Tanya that I was dropping off some DVDs I had borrowed from my quirky friend. I haven't spoken to him since but because this was part of my train of thought I'll follow through here.
A montreal filmmaker who had a couple of features I hadn't heard of had given my friend a disc of each to use in researching an article. He loaned them to me saying they were the only copy and don't damage them. I asked why not burn a copy of each and let those be the loaner copies. He said his computer couldn't do that and he had tried. After watching one disc (the most recent) I asked on the phone if I should burn a copy of the first in case I won't get around to watching it in two days. He agreed, and specially noted that this movie was not available in stores so copying it wouldn't be competing with a store-bought copy. Anyway, after copying the earliest feature of the filmmaker I phoned to say I was on my way over and I had checked my disc copy and it burned okay. He freaked out, insisting that he said I could "capture" the film onto my computer but not "burn" a DVD. We went back and forth arguing over what word was said. We had a few arguments over trivia in which he would say something like "Don't talk to me that way." And I respond "Okay I won't," and hand up. In this case the shrill "episode" was enough that I had to hang up a couple of times. Finally he took his turn hanging up after saying something bizarre about my father. If there hadn't been any sirens going off before, this would be it. I arrived with the discs and we were polite but I've silently resolved that being around people who seem stable and happy is necessary. Otherwise crazy is contagious. But like I said there was no point briefing these theater people about the whole thing, "Here's one of my hetero sci-fi geek mates who I am apparently breaking up with." Somehow if a woman is scolding me for something or having an episode I almost find it relaxing and necessary. But if it comes from a male - even a boss - the fight won't be over until I win. And that can take so much time and effort it's hardly worth it.
I left the cafe early, paid respects to a few people and hit the streetcar after what might be my final visit to McDonald's. I just can't afford to delay any further my celery-only diet. I think that has to begin right now and last until Thanksgiving at least. I think I need more cardio too. I had a hit of a joint before the cafe got going and caughed my head off. If I was doing the required hours of cardio per week, or more to lose instead of maintain, I would have enjoyed it all better. Well, I used most of the battery and a whole hour of tape so there should be something entertaining to cut together. Cafe Phantasmagoria.
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