A very nice speech by the president and A great time had by all in entertainment
First, serious stuff:
President Obama's speech at Cairo University this week (video & transcript), a call to unity, cooperation, and progress for people around the world. I am continually impressed by Obama's speeches, and in this one he does a lot of bridge-building. I am really glad we have this guy to help repair relations between the US and the rest of the world.
Now, less serious stuff:
Last night was the Blood and Cheese party proposed last week, wherein Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit and Twilight were watched.
Were-rabbit was unfailingly cute, and consistent with the wacky adventures I expect from the W&G series. There are always amazing details in the animation, and I particularly loved Lady Tottington. I am considering seeing it again. And I really hope they release the new W&G film A Matter of Loaf and Death in the US soon.
Twilight was, well, a train-wreck. It was better than the book, which longtime readers may recall I threw down in disgust after only 10 pages, but was primarily tolerable because we watched it MST3K-style with 8-10 snarky LGB peeps. Within the first 2 minutes, I had to get a "Show don't tell!" out of my system. For a movie! You know, motion picture? The acting is wooden when it's not full of simpering faked teenage angst. There is supposed to be tension between the characters, but it failed utterly. And at the end I could not believe Bella "fell down the stairs". The redeeming qualities were that the vampires do in fact sparkle and those moments when Alice was in the room. I am a lover of trashy vampire fiction but this film didn't even try.
What would have made Twilight better? 1) Seeing a little more of the bad guys. I guess not seeing them is supposed to make them scarier, but I would have liked to see better-developed villains instead of the stereotypical, "Humans are weak and food, so they are inferior and deserve to die!" 2) a subplot with Alice trying to seduce Bella. Because it was obvious that Alice wanted her, and I want to know for what. 3) Failing any of the above, a copy of the movie on fire so it cannot torture anyone else.
Also, last weekend I finished watching Read or Die, a short (3 x 40 min episode) anime featuring the Special Forces of the British Library. It's kind of brains meets Bond but with (sexy!) librarians. Yumiko Readman remains my favorite character in the series, and I am going to giggle a bit anytime I hear the phrase "the paper" from here out. I liked that Miss Deep was such a complex character in so few episodes. Though I loved Drake, the only main character who is obviously there for his brawn and military expertise, because he's also a smart guy (schmott guy?) who seems caught in the middle of everything and gets exasperated with the careless antics of The Paper. (I do think the Jägers would love him, with the addition of an appropriate hat. And if you don't read Girl Genius, you should!).
President Obama's speech at Cairo University this week (video & transcript), a call to unity, cooperation, and progress for people around the world. I am continually impressed by Obama's speeches, and in this one he does a lot of bridge-building. I am really glad we have this guy to help repair relations between the US and the rest of the world.
Now, less serious stuff:
Last night was the Blood and Cheese party proposed last week, wherein Wallace & Gromit: Curse of the Were-rabbit and Twilight were watched.
Were-rabbit was unfailingly cute, and consistent with the wacky adventures I expect from the W&G series. There are always amazing details in the animation, and I particularly loved Lady Tottington. I am considering seeing it again. And I really hope they release the new W&G film A Matter of Loaf and Death in the US soon.
Twilight was, well, a train-wreck. It was better than the book, which longtime readers may recall I threw down in disgust after only 10 pages, but was primarily tolerable because we watched it MST3K-style with 8-10 snarky LGB peeps. Within the first 2 minutes, I had to get a "Show don't tell!" out of my system. For a movie! You know, motion picture? The acting is wooden when it's not full of simpering faked teenage angst. There is supposed to be tension between the characters, but it failed utterly. And at the end I could not believe Bella "fell down the stairs". The redeeming qualities were that the vampires do in fact sparkle and those moments when Alice was in the room. I am a lover of trashy vampire fiction but this film didn't even try.
What would have made Twilight better? 1) Seeing a little more of the bad guys. I guess not seeing them is supposed to make them scarier, but I would have liked to see better-developed villains instead of the stereotypical, "Humans are weak and food, so they are inferior and deserve to die!" 2) a subplot with Alice trying to seduce Bella. Because it was obvious that Alice wanted her, and I want to know for what. 3) Failing any of the above, a copy of the movie on fire so it cannot torture anyone else.
Also, last weekend I finished watching Read or Die, a short (3 x 40 min episode) anime featuring the Special Forces of the British Library. It's kind of brains meets Bond but with (sexy!) librarians. Yumiko Readman remains my favorite character in the series, and I am going to giggle a bit anytime I hear the phrase "the paper" from here out. I liked that Miss Deep was such a complex character in so few episodes. Though I loved Drake, the only main character who is obviously there for his brawn and military expertise, because he's also a smart guy (schmott guy?) who seems caught in the middle of everything and gets exasperated with the careless antics of The Paper. (I do think the Jägers would love him, with the addition of an appropriate hat. And if you don't read Girl Genius, you should!).