Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Ltd.

Archive for August, 2010

• RT @engrishfunny United States of Britain? – Engrish Funny: Engrish Pictures That Is Your Funny En.. http://bit.ly/b9W3O1 #
• Going to see Toy Story in 3d at IMAX. (@ Palladium Theater) http://4sq.com/dd7lPA #
• So the film got stuck in Toy Story; they gave us free passes and are letting us see something else now. We picked The Last Exorcism. #
• Scott Pilgrim was awesome and fun. #
• Quick thoughts on Last Exorcism: some cliches, some cliches turned on their heads, lots of cool ideas, but not sure how I feel overall… #

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I’ve never been to a movie theater and not been able to watch the movie I paid for.  I know it happens (a couple times at least to my younger brother), but I think don’t go to the movies enough for this to be a usual occurrence.  But just that happened when Jen and I went to the Palladium in San Antonio to see Toy Story 3 (in IMAX 3D nontheless); apparently the film got stuck in the projector (which was funny because all through the ads they played up the “all digital projection”), and the showing was cancelled.  The staff gave us free passes and also said we could go to any other showing of our choice.  Since we haven’t had cable TV since moving (and I don’t watch the local channels), I had no idea what else was playing.  After going through a few movies I hadn’t heard of, the staff member mentioned The Last Exorcism.  I had just heard about a viral marketing campaign for this movie on This Week in Tech, so Jen and I decided to check out this movie since it would get us out in time to eat lunch before Scott Pilgrim.

Neither of us had any idea what to expect going into this film, and I think that helped.  Normally, this is a movie that I would pass on in the theaters, since on th surface it’s a collection of cliches.  First, it’s another exorcism horror movie, which has probably not been done better than The Exorcist back in 1973.  Second, it’s another fake documentary horror movie ala The Blair Witch Project or Paranormal Activity. And to a certain extent it doesn’t rise above these cliches.  Much of what you see are things you would expect to see, such as the possessed girl vomiting (although non-projectile) and running around in the dark with a camera.  But I think that the filmmakers took their audience’s familiarity with the tropes of these genres into account, and it is here that this film becomes interesting.

The central character of the movie is Cotton Marcus, an evangelical preacher well known for rousing (if superficial) sermons, a theatrical flair, and performing exorcisms.  He began preaching as a kid under the tutelage of his preacher father, and performed his first exorcism at ten.  He no longer believes in God, however, and has just been going through the motions for years.  Even though the exorcisms he performs are elaborate hoaxes, the news story of the death of an autistic boy during a botched exorcism has convinced him to give up exorcisms and expose them as  hoaxes with the hope of dissuading others.  To this end he hires a documentary crew to film his last exorcism.

The suspension of disbelief is a necessity for the audience in any movie, and when The Last Exorcism keeps its main theme (belief) in the foreground, it’s at its best.  Throughout most of the movie, Marcus, his film crew and the audience struggle with what they believe is happening.  Is the girl actually possessed?  Is her father somehow involved or responsible?  These questions are raised constantly during the movie, and I thought this was a good way to play with the cliches and include the audience in the movie.

Unfortunately it is just in that suspension of disbelief that the movie falls flat.  After raising so many questions about the existence of the supernatural, something that is done very slowly and deliberately, the ending felt like it came out of nowhere.  For just that reason, I just didn’t believe it at the time.  I do think that some of the plot holes can be filled in after thinking about them for a bit, and both Jen and I found it interesting enough to talk about all through lunch and later.  But I also think that the movie still didn’t do enough to convince me that the ending is what should have (or even could have) happened.

• I just became the mayor of Robert G. Cole High Schol on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/9rZi34 #
• Hmmm… It may have been a mistake to go to HEB on Monday evening (@ H-E-B) http://4sq.com/861cDw #
• I just ousted @ilovechefbill as the mayor of Education Service Center, Region 20 on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/aFGxAQ #
• I've known this for a while, but listening to a speech today brought it home: I am neither inspired nor impressed by sports metaphors. #
• RT @CaliLewis: Why is congress being lobbied to have all music-playing portables equipped with FM radios??? http://geekbeat.tv/radios #
• I'm at Fort Sam Houston Golf Club (1050 Harry Wurzbach, San Antonio). http://4sq.com/cukDEA #
• Ah, at school on Saturday… (@ Robert G. Cole High School) http://4sq.com/9rZi34 #
• I just ousted Ricky N. as the mayor of Panda Express on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/a8nO11 #
• Jen and I decided to drive all the way around San Antonio just for the heck of it. Now it's snack time. (@ Whataburger) #
• @gmitx 410 would be too easy; we took 1604 all the way around. Went through places we didn't even know existed. in reply to gmitx #
• @gmitx Undiscovered Country was pretty goodm plus I'm generally pro Klingons quoting Shakespeare. in reply to gmitx #

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• RT @thechoirtweet: The Choir Burning Like The Midnight Sun new cd reviewed in the Chicago Sun Times today http://tinyurl.com/29j9q9x #
• My school year begins. (@ Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa) http://4sq.com/8gYMAC #
• After a two-hour long conference session I'm already worn out. At least I can ease into things. (@ Home) http://4sq.com/bOxoNX #
• I just became the mayor of Home on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/bOxoNX #
• Day 2: Why are so many trucks and SUVs parked in the Small Car lot? (@ Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort and Spa) http://4sq.com/8gYMAC #
• "It's not our job to prepare students for bad teachers." – Cool statement made in response to preparing kids for college. #
• @CaliLewis squished in reply to CaliLewis #
• I'm amazed by how long the graphite mark from stabbing myself in the hand with a pencil at least half a year ago can stick around. #
• It's basically a tattoo: a very painful (at the time), meaningless, and uncool tattoo (though not as uncool as barbed wire). #
• @rigby_eleanor Yeah… It'll be something to show my kids. in reply to rigby_eleanor #
• Day 5 of new teacher training. (@ Robert G. Cole High Schol) http://4sq.com/9rZi34 #
• @rigby_eleanor That's quite a lot. I've actually been pretty happy with the training I've been to; most of it's not just a rehash. in reply to rigby_eleanor #
• It's Friday the 13th, which means two things: 1) My first week of work is over and 2) I got paid today. Moving to SA is paying off. #
• @schezar Sounds like Lubbock, TX. Sometimes that town would just stink no matter where you went. in reply to schezar #
• Hmmm… I'm thinking it's time to go through my old computer hardware to see what works. #

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• I feel accomplished today: I mowed a lawn for the first time in 7 years (thanks to my Papa fixing our mower). #
• afuro gusou, afuro gunsuo wa afuro (afro sergeant, afro sergeant is afro) #
• Checking out "The Ghosts of World War II's Past (20 photos)" on My Modern Metropolis: http://ning.it/acVIF1 #
• I just unlocked the "Explorer" badge on @foursquare! http://4sq.com/dpebaU #
• @rigby_eleanor Jen and I bought a dolly specifically for moving our teaching stuff in and out of clasroooms when we were at Rice HS. in reply to rigby_eleanor #
• @DarylSurat It may be sophistry given Tokyopop's track record, but I agree with him that fandom can be too exclusionary and negative. in reply to DarylSurat #
• @rigby_eleanor I can understand that; it also takes up space in the car, which means less room for boxes, but we fit ours in the front seat. in reply to rigby_eleanor #
• @DarylSurat Very true, very true. Never trust anyone who called/calls themselves "DJ Milky." in reply to DarylSurat #
• Democrats want to raise taxes — but only on red states! | Washington Examiner: http://bit.ly/cMW8C2 via @addthis #
• Time for a hair cut. (@ Supercuts) http://4sq.com/9Zk9kj #
• RT @FakeeEtiquette: It is impolite to react to a mention of bacon in any fashion other than disproportionate excitement. #
• @DarylSurat Why so many people to discuss something so shallow? in reply to DarylSurat #
• RT @DLoesch: I think Levi Johnston was the inspiration for Joe Dirt, sans any redemptive qualities. #

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I always intend to use the summer to catch up on TV and movies that I haven’t had time for during the school year to watch; even with a DVR I still get behind. Our recent move from Lubbock to San Antonio cut into a lot of that, but I have been watching a few things as Jen and I make an attempt to live without cable. Here is a rundown of what I’m watching, and how I’m watching it.

First, I had already been using Netflix streaming on the Xbox 360 for a lot of my TV and movies. The experience is so good that Netflix is my primary source; if it’s on Netflix, that’s where I watch it. Because of the way Netflix works (these are generally things available on DVD), these shows are older.  So, here are the things I’m watching on Netflix.

Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex is a great example of what animation can do.  The show takes place in the near future, as people begin to become more and more “plugged in.”  Some are more artificial than others: cybernetics range from implants that allow a person to be constantly connected to the Internet to fully cybernetic bodies, such as that of the main character, Major Kusanagi.  Ghost in the Shell also represents on of the great failings of anime companies in North America.  This is a show that should have been on TV in the same time slot as 24 or Law and Order, not late night on Cartoon Network.  It’s a perfect example of truly adult animation.

Robotech: The Macross Saga is a beast of a different nature.  This is one of those shows that I have a great deal of nostalgia for as it was one of the first Japanese cartoons I remember watching.  Fortunately, unlike some of my other childhood favorites (G.I. Joe and Thundercats, for example), this one is still watchable after twenty-five years.

Although I didn’t watch all of it, Jen also watch most of season one of Arrested Development, which, despite personal recommendations from my brother David and a lot of positive reviews we never got around to watching.  The show is definitely great, and I will probably go back and watch the episodes I missed as I was doing other things while Jen marathoned them.

The second piece of hardware instrumental in getting rid of cable is a five-year-old laptop coupled with an IR remote sensor.  I’ve had a computer in the living room for years, but we primarily used it as a DVR with Windows Media Center (still my favorite DVR software).  I don’t use Media Center on this computer (I don’t currently have a USB tuner capable of receiving ATSC over-the-air content), but I do have two great pieces of software installed on it: Boxee and the Hulu Desktop app.  Through Boxee I primarily watch internet television such as that from Revision 3 (Film Riot, Tekzilla, and Hak5 are some of shows I watch from them).  Certainly for me Boxee goes a long way to replacing mainstream television almost entirely, but its compatibility with Hulu has been iffy, and that’s where the Hulu Desktop app comes in.

On Hulu’s website, the Desktop app is touted as being a lean-back experience for the PC.  We, however, are using it as a lean-back experience in the living room.  Running it with a remote is really easy (although I’m still looking for a way to start it from within Boxee or Media Center), and they have a lot of mainstream content right there.

On Hulu, I’ve been watching Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.  I watched a bit of the original version of this show when it aired on Cartoon Network.  I haven’t seen the original in a while so I can’t compare the two.  What I can say is that I really like the show; it’s got a good mix of comedy, action, and drama as the Elric brothers search for the elusive Philosopher’s Stone.  While not as smart as Ghost in the Shell, this show is no slouch when it comes to ideas either, whether it be faith and science, or a soldier’s responsibility in war time.

On the lighter side, I’ve also been watching Sgt. Frog.  I’ve read up to volume six of the comic for this, and it’s really funny.  The title character is Sgt. Keroro, an diminutive frog-like alien leading an advance reconnaissance mission to prepare Earth for invasion.  However, his crew ends up scattered in Tokyo, and Sgt. Keroro becomes the prisoner (or rather housekeeper) of the Hinata family.  The show is goofy and fun, as Sgt. Keroro struggles between his desire to conquer humanity, and his love of Gundam models.

Outside of Netflix, Hulu, and Boxee, I’ve also been watching some shows on Crunchyroll, an anime and Asian drama streaming site.  One in particular I’ve enjoyed is The Book of Bantorra. The show takes place in a world where people become “books” (actually, stone tablets) when they die.  These books contain the life of the person and are stored in Bantorra Library.  Because of the immense knowledge contained in these books, they are defended by the Armed Librarians.  The show has a great deal of action in it while still maintaining some good human drama.  Like Ghost in the Shell, one of it’s core issues is what it means to be human.  The primary antagonists of the show is a religious cult, the Shindeki Church, divide people into “true” men and meats (people used as slaves).  The first story arc focuses on a young man brainwashed by the Shindeki Church into acting as a bomb, and his struggle to accept that he is, in fact, human.

Well, there you have it: my summer watch list for 2010.  The jury’s still out whether or not we can totally go without cable, but we’re well one our way.

• Good news on fair use for educators and others: http://centerforsocialmedia.org/blog/fair-use/fair-use-victories-dmca #
• I uploaded a YouTube video — Weird Al – Cell Phone encore.wmv http://youtu.be/4bPZWHSh4ng?a #

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