a mixed update
I have completed my beta'ing obligation (and now owe a myriad of people a myriad of other things) so I am free to give update:
The wake went better (and weirder) than I thought. My friends are Mexican, and apparently they "go hard" when it comes to religious observances at wakes/funerals. People who are familiar with me know that I'm not a shrinking violet of a Christian -- I wouldn't call myself bold as brass either, admittedly -- but this was wildly unexpected. The funeral home was easy enough to find, as well as the chapel where the viewing was, but instead of milling people, a constant line of viewers, and small groups taking over sections of chairs, I came in to a section of the rosary being done in Spanish. I took French. (If you're amused, be amused. Even I found it funny at the time.)
Can I tell you, the rosary takes for-ever, especially when you're not used to it. I went to Catholic school for 2 years, but as an elementary-aged non-Catholic I never had to actually do the rosary even though I had several. There was a song, the same song, between each station, then there was a prayer, a big song, then a spoken word (all in Spanish). Seriously, it was like I'd gone to the funeral service. Had I been at the funeral service that would have been fine. Since I was at a wake it was very...odd. And tiring. The place was packed, there were no convenient seats, I was in work flats which are not condusive to long-standing, and I carry a ginormous bag. Well...mid-ginormous. Since it was all in Spanish, and b/c my frustration and grief were manifesting as disdain and anger, I was actually a heck of a lot less weepy at the funeral home than I was on the trip there. My friend's husband came by near-er the end of the service part to say hello to people, take the baby around, and perhaps to get away from the service-y part. I don't remember them as particularly religious, which added to the surprise of it all. As you can imagine, I ran into a few people I used to work with including one guy I had been thinking of this summer, and a couple of people who didn't recognize me (b/c I didn't work with them all that much at the time). Later he came by again with his son...such a cutey. That made me sad. Oh! And when he first came by he asked with all seriousness how I was doing. His wife had died and he wanted to know how I was. Anyway...
So her funeral was yesterday. I didn't go. I'd actually thought it was going to be Friday, but that's neither here nor there. I wouldn't have been able to make it anyway.
Saturday I saw TRON: Legacy with the gang. In one sense...a waste of both an IMAX experience and the money it costs to have an IMAX experience. The previews for a cute and cuddly orphaned animal movie that Disney is doing was more 3D than Tron was. I 'clare, people in the fourth row got milk splattered all over them by that baby elephant!
Ahem.
On the other hand, from what I've read from a critic who saw it both in 2D and 3D (and was wildly dissappointed), the special effects give a needed depth to the action scenes. However, after nearly playing with chimpanzees I and my friends still felt let down that I was dodging light discs and the like. Certainly the movie is full of pretty: pretty actors, pretty set design, pretty clothes (in their way, and boy could I not live in this world of skintight everything), pretty action. It's not the deepest movie, ever, although I wasn't expecting it to be. It's not even particulary bad. It's just alright. But I paid IMAX prices. I want more than alright.
Olivia Wilde was, for me, the best part of the movie. The two iconic shots of her -- lounging in a chair and clinging to Sam Flynn while he does something with a disc -- happen so fast you can blink and miss them. What I loved about her was the way she handled her character. I don't want to really go into it b/c while I don't think it'd spoil you, it may color your opinion. Basically I feel that she's portrayed as one way in previews and on posters to lure men folks in, but that's not really what you get on screen. Trust me, she's still uber-hot eyecandy. In a world of black, gray and neon, where the good guys where blue/white neon, you want your Hot Chick to have large, gorgeous blue eyes. A friend of mine did wonder, though, "Why is her wig askew." Hee. (Her bangs are asymmetrical.) io9 has lots of nifty articles about the movie. My favore is by far 7 Awesome Facts You Need to Know About Tron Legacy.
So I'm basically back on the grid. I think. I may be lying to myself. The day after my friend died someone else I know, from my childhood, died. He's older than my mom, but he and his brother worked at the community center I all-but lived in when not at school/home. I was always closer to his brother than I was to him (he was always this unreachable, uber-cool artist guy who did murals everywhere), but I still may be reeling from my friend's death. His wake is this Wednesday. I have a holiday party Tuesday, a Christmas show Thursday and Christmas Eve is Friday. Jag, I guess this means I must post tomorrow or get sucked into a vortex of not-having-any-time :s
The wake went better (and weirder) than I thought. My friends are Mexican, and apparently they "go hard" when it comes to religious observances at wakes/funerals. People who are familiar with me know that I'm not a shrinking violet of a Christian -- I wouldn't call myself bold as brass either, admittedly -- but this was wildly unexpected. The funeral home was easy enough to find, as well as the chapel where the viewing was, but instead of milling people, a constant line of viewers, and small groups taking over sections of chairs, I came in to a section of the rosary being done in Spanish. I took French. (If you're amused, be amused. Even I found it funny at the time.)
Can I tell you, the rosary takes for-ever, especially when you're not used to it. I went to Catholic school for 2 years, but as an elementary-aged non-Catholic I never had to actually do the rosary even though I had several. There was a song, the same song, between each station, then there was a prayer, a big song, then a spoken word (all in Spanish). Seriously, it was like I'd gone to the funeral service. Had I been at the funeral service that would have been fine. Since I was at a wake it was very...odd. And tiring. The place was packed, there were no convenient seats, I was in work flats which are not condusive to long-standing, and I carry a ginormous bag. Well...mid-ginormous. Since it was all in Spanish, and b/c my frustration and grief were manifesting as disdain and anger, I was actually a heck of a lot less weepy at the funeral home than I was on the trip there. My friend's husband came by near-er the end of the service part to say hello to people, take the baby around, and perhaps to get away from the service-y part. I don't remember them as particularly religious, which added to the surprise of it all. As you can imagine, I ran into a few people I used to work with including one guy I had been thinking of this summer, and a couple of people who didn't recognize me (b/c I didn't work with them all that much at the time). Later he came by again with his son...such a cutey. That made me sad. Oh! And when he first came by he asked with all seriousness how I was doing. His wife had died and he wanted to know how I was. Anyway...
So her funeral was yesterday. I didn't go. I'd actually thought it was going to be Friday, but that's neither here nor there. I wouldn't have been able to make it anyway.
Saturday I saw TRON: Legacy with the gang. In one sense...a waste of both an IMAX experience and the money it costs to have an IMAX experience. The previews for a cute and cuddly orphaned animal movie that Disney is doing was more 3D than Tron was. I 'clare, people in the fourth row got milk splattered all over them by that baby elephant!
Ahem.
On the other hand, from what I've read from a critic who saw it both in 2D and 3D (and was wildly dissappointed), the special effects give a needed depth to the action scenes. However, after nearly playing with chimpanzees I and my friends still felt let down that I was dodging light discs and the like. Certainly the movie is full of pretty: pretty actors, pretty set design, pretty clothes (in their way, and boy could I not live in this world of skintight everything), pretty action. It's not the deepest movie, ever, although I wasn't expecting it to be. It's not even particulary bad. It's just alright. But I paid IMAX prices. I want more than alright.
Olivia Wilde was, for me, the best part of the movie. The two iconic shots of her -- lounging in a chair and clinging to Sam Flynn while he does something with a disc -- happen so fast you can blink and miss them. What I loved about her was the way she handled her character. I don't want to really go into it b/c while I don't think it'd spoil you, it may color your opinion. Basically I feel that she's portrayed as one way in previews and on posters to lure men folks in, but that's not really what you get on screen. Trust me, she's still uber-hot eyecandy. In a world of black, gray and neon, where the good guys where blue/white neon, you want your Hot Chick to have large, gorgeous blue eyes. A friend of mine did wonder, though, "Why is her wig askew." Hee. (Her bangs are asymmetrical.) io9 has lots of nifty articles about the movie. My favore is by far 7 Awesome Facts You Need to Know About Tron Legacy.
So I'm basically back on the grid. I think. I may be lying to myself. The day after my friend died someone else I know, from my childhood, died. He's older than my mom, but he and his brother worked at the community center I all-but lived in when not at school/home. I was always closer to his brother than I was to him (he was always this unreachable, uber-cool artist guy who did murals everywhere), but I still may be reeling from my friend's death. His wake is this Wednesday. I have a holiday party Tuesday, a Christmas show Thursday and Christmas Eve is Friday. Jag, I guess this means I must post tomorrow or get sucked into a vortex of not-having-any-time :s