So last night for supper, I had two young men try to Mormonize me, which I had never had done to me before. It was interesting, like a date, a date with Jesus or Joseph Smith, maybe
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I'll take a look; did you read it and found it enlightening? Is it by an historian, disgruntled ex-Mormon, true believer?
On the topic of "why you would give your precious time," that is pretty much verbatim what D said! Human thing, I guess? I was watching a rerun of the previous "Hannibal" tv episode when they knocked, which is very gothic, with serious religious overtones, so maybe I was in a religious frame of mind and didn't shoo them.
Alot of it has to do with Mormon missionary work being a rite of passage for young people, like going away to college, albeit without the haze of sex, drugs, booze, and coffee. Why not assist in a young person's getting launched, but also, I got to experience two very earnest fellows bearing witness to the Good News, or whatever you call it. Sharing a very personal religious experience with me, a total stranger. As long as one isn't being an obnoxious dick about it, that's kind of nice, and human. I'm sure I mentioned a boss of mine who opened up at a party and told me the story of Vishnu and his stolen wife, and how much it meant to me that he shared the story, because it was personally meaningful to him.
Religious talk makes you vulnerable, open to rejection, ridicule, even persecution, so it can't be bad for the universe on average if I listen without judgement to your religious revelation. And, hey, maybe God wants me to be a Mormon! Hee hee. My semitic bearded sky-daddy is weird and mysterious and unknowable, so who knows what He might want? ;)
Krakauer is a journalist, known mainly for his writing about the outdoors, I believe? Ask Google, I'm sure it can tell you plenty about him. I found the book fascinating; a description of the beginning of a modern religion. If you're curious about Mormonism, I'm sure you'll find it a ripping read.
I've never heard about the boss who told you the story of Vishnu and his stolen wife. That sounds like an interesting one. If you'd care to repeat it, I'd listen.
I can't see choosing to spend time talking to Mormons. I think I'd rather go to the dentist, or discuss this year's tax return with my accountant. Thanks for the explanation. I remember being much more patient with religious zealots in my teens and early twenties.
I have spent many lovely hours chatting with Mormons about non-Mormon things; this is the first time I welcomed the sales pitch. And I definitely got pitched. Last night, I left those nice men a message thanking them for the three messages they left me since our meeting, and asking them to wait until next weekend to leave me more messages, because I had not finished reading the BoM. How fast do they think I read, anyway? The faux King James English makes this slooooow going.
Oh, sorry, I should have qualified that statement about choosing to spend time talking to Mormons with about Mormonism. I can't imagine choosing to sit down for the sales pitch. I'm sure there are plenty of nice Mormons out there, who are perfectly pleasant to talk to about other things.
Ye GAdz! You are actually reading the BoM?! Why? Did you run out of sci-fi paperbacks? Treat yourself to a Kindle immediately!
I've been enjoying the heck out of it, especially the constant preparing of Addams Family food - things that look dark, menacingly red and gnarled, served with white plates, but against dark wood, with ever-so-slightly-creepy garishes. or even really obviously creepy? And just like in the television Addams' household, no on in the family seems to notice the food is scary. Heh heh. LIke a running visual joke.
Finally this Friday's episode had to poke fun at this running conceit - Chilton is at the cocktail party, and picks up what looks exactly like a dead songbird leg, stuck upside down on a pate-coated melba toast, the little claws piteously curled into the air, and as part of the oblique conversation with Jack Crawford says, "Whatever this is..." hoisting the weird cracker a bit for emphasis, "... needless to say, I won't be staying for dinner."
Yes! I have been watching, and enjoying the heck out of it also. Weird that you should single out that one scene; as I was reading your comments about the Addams Family food, I was already imagining the dinner party and that very songbird leg... then you mentioned it! I agree that it was fun watching all the hob-nobbers gobbling questionable canapes. I'm loving the food too. In fact, I didn't expect to enjoy this series as much as I am. I'm really enjoying all the mind fuckery between Hannibal and Will; the madness of Will's brain fever, the drawings of one sided clocks, Hannibal's feeding Will an ear with a trach tube, the... ANTLERS... I'm surprised by how much I'm enjoying this stuff. The Chesapeake Ripper's intricate tableaus are weirdly enjoyable too, so long as one is willing to completely suspend disbelief; most recently, the practicalities of moving an entire tree-corpse installation into a parking lot, without detection. It's easy to give all this a pass, however, because the series is infused with a surreal quality.
As a throwaway, I'm getting a kick out of Scott Thompson as ME. Since I'm familiar with his sense of humor from Kids In The Hall, I'm distracted by thoughts of him suddenly turning scenes in the morgue into a comedy sketch.
Scott Thompson is distracting because I also keep expecting to see him take a turn to a KitH thing.
Props to Eddie Izzard for making Able Gideon not funny, but a surgeon who lost his mind and murdered his family. He should try to completely shed the Tim Curry thing he is carrying, but it might be a function of his Englishness, and him not being able to ape American speech sounds exactly? That being said, I don't see a comedian when he was playing Dr. Gideon. Scott always looks like Scott to me. It's like Eric Idle.
Is that a speech impediment? I have been puzzling out what was Danish accent and what was dental malocclusion. Whatever it is, it does give him a definite sound, doesn't it?
God only knows. I have no tools at my disposal for parsing one from the other. My brother provides professional dialect coaching to actors for TV and film, and I believe he heard that Mikkelsen was being coached to produce RP, which makes the whole thing weirder still.
That is weird. If he was going for received pronunciation, I think that is a swing and a miss, to my ear. If he was going for someone born elsewhere, but who learned British English in school, score. What do you think.
Also, if you want someone who sounds British, either get a Brit, or get someone with an ear for that kind of thing. Mads is all about physical acting, and he does that great, but all I got from the accent was a man obviously "other" parsing the English before he replies to anything. Which is exactly what Hugh Dancy does, so they make quite a pair when they are opposite each other on screen, as did Izzard and Mikkelsen. It's what Hugh Laurie doesn't do - he looks like an American guy speaking American English.
As to the thinking in casting comedians, I am really curious, because it is officially a thing on that show. The other forensic guy is a comedian, too, isn't he?
I had no idea Hugh Dancy was British! Obviously, Mikkelsen should be working with Dancy's coach. Two Brits trying to put on American accents, and a Dane trying to put on RP. Comedians as medical examiners and psychotic killers. Fascinating. What was the casting director thinking? Perhaps he or she is a sadist?
Is the other forensic guy a comedian? I don't know.
On the topic of "why you would give your precious time," that is pretty much verbatim what D said! Human thing, I guess? I was watching a rerun of the previous "Hannibal" tv episode when they knocked, which is very gothic, with serious religious overtones, so maybe I was in a religious frame of mind and didn't shoo them.
Alot of it has to do with Mormon missionary work being a rite of passage for young people, like going away to college, albeit without the haze of sex, drugs, booze, and coffee. Why not assist in a young person's getting launched, but also, I got to experience two very earnest fellows bearing witness to the Good News, or whatever you call it. Sharing a very personal religious experience with me, a total stranger. As long as one isn't being an obnoxious dick about it, that's kind of nice, and human. I'm sure I mentioned a boss of mine who opened up at a party and told me the story of Vishnu and his stolen wife, and how much it meant to me that he shared the story, because it was personally meaningful to him.
Religious talk makes you vulnerable, open to rejection, ridicule, even persecution, so it can't be bad for the universe on average if I listen without judgement to your religious revelation. And, hey, maybe God wants me to be a Mormon! Hee hee. My semitic bearded sky-daddy is weird and mysterious and unknowable, so who knows what He might want? ;)
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I've never heard about the boss who told you the story of Vishnu and his stolen wife. That sounds like an interesting one. If you'd care to repeat it, I'd listen.
I can't see choosing to spend time talking to Mormons. I think I'd rather go to the dentist, or discuss this year's tax return with my accountant. Thanks for the explanation. I remember being much more patient with religious zealots in my teens and early twenties.
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Ye GAdz! You are actually reading the BoM?! Why? Did you run out of sci-fi paperbacks? Treat yourself to a Kindle immediately!
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Finally this Friday's episode had to poke fun at this running conceit - Chilton is at the cocktail party, and picks up what looks exactly like a dead songbird leg, stuck upside down on a pate-coated melba toast, the little claws piteously curled into the air, and as part of the oblique conversation with Jack Crawford says, "Whatever this is..." hoisting the weird cracker a bit for emphasis, "... needless to say, I won't be staying for dinner."
Have you been watching?
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As a throwaway, I'm getting a kick out of Scott Thompson as ME. Since I'm familiar with his sense of humor from Kids In The Hall, I'm distracted by thoughts of him suddenly turning scenes in the morgue into a comedy sketch.
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Props to Eddie Izzard for making Able Gideon not funny, but a surgeon who lost his mind and murdered his family. He should try to completely shed the Tim Curry thing he is carrying, but it might be a function of his Englishness, and him not being able to ape American speech sounds exactly? That being said, I don't see a comedian when he was playing Dr. Gideon. Scott always looks like Scott to me. It's like Eric Idle.
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Also, if you want someone who sounds British, either get a Brit, or get someone with an ear for that kind of thing. Mads is all about physical acting, and he does that great, but all I got from the accent was a man obviously "other" parsing the English before he replies to anything. Which is exactly what Hugh Dancy does, so they make quite a pair when they are opposite each other on screen, as did Izzard and Mikkelsen. It's what Hugh Laurie doesn't do - he looks like an American guy speaking American English.
As to the thinking in casting comedians, I am really curious, because it is officially a thing on that show. The other forensic guy is a comedian, too, isn't he?
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Is the other forensic guy a comedian? I don't know.
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