Rosencrantz & Guildenstern, Ltd.

Author Archive

• RT @ryan_connolly: This really sucks! Guillermo Del Toro is no longer directing 'The Hobbit'! – http://bit.ly/bqTcmT #
• RT @RawRock: what the crazy? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5RYCWgY7-o #
• I'm finding the tendency of documentaries to use the same footage over and over (especially stock footage with little relevance) annoying. #
• To all the veterans who read this: Thank you for your service; I'm glad this day is not specifically for you. #
• Those who blame others for their problems and look to others for solutions are easily manipulated. #
• @StarShipSofa We had a grapevine when we lived outside Memphis, TN, but we never had to do anything with it but make grape jelly. in reply to StarShipSofa #
• Bill Nighy + Doctor Who = Brilliant! #

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• RT @ryan_connolly: Someone who deserves to be remembered – http://bit.ly/amJYkz #
• It's Doctor Who time!! #

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• RT @edgarwright: An old lady just stopped me in the street to ask something. The question? "Could you estimate how wide this road is?" #
• I know I'm behind on this, but the Google logo is a playable game of Pac Man! #
• BBC America + Star Trek: TNG = what the heck?! #

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• So, the power's out at school; it couldn't have waited until after lunch started? #
• Power's back on; it was off for about 40 mins. I'm not looking forward to squirrely kids this afternoon. #
• "Just because you don't call it 'god' doesn't mean belief's not involved." from @livingsac #
• RT @FakeAPStylebook daylight saving time – not "savings," thanks to those tax-and-spend democrats, are we right? #
• Finally! I got a call to set up an interview with Marshall High School in Northside ISD. #
• Job interview set up for Monday! While it is just an interview, it helps to know someone's looking at all those apps I've filled out. #
• At the United Spirit Arena, waiting for Jen's graduation ceremony to start. http://twitpic.com/1nt7se #
• @alexlindsay With a goatee, you remind me of Robert Downey, Jr. In Iron Man with shorter hair. in reply to alexlindsay #
• Iron Man, Iron Man, Does whatever an iron can #

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• I uploaded a YouTube video — Metal in the Courtyard 2010 http://youtu.be/QOJFocmQbOo?a #
• RT @Heritage U.S. citizens apparently don't have the right to wear the flag in public in CA. What country is this? http://bit.ly/bQwzlc #
• RT @amandapalmer slut (the title of the picture, not a reference to the original poster ) twitpic.com/1lj3v8 #
• RT @Heritage More lawyers, lobbyists and government jobs. It's a recovery only Washington could love. #tcot #tlot http://bit.ly/9BqRYs #
• RT @Apreche via del.icio.us: Bag End Dollhouse bit.ly/9ZQoXM #

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• I have survived TAKS for another year. #
• Getting ready to see As I Lay Dying and Demon Hunter at the Cactus Courtyard! \m/ #
• Finally in after waiting 1 1/4 hrs. Was taking them a long time to check I'd. #
• Demon Hunter show was typically awesome; waiting for As I Lay Dying. #
• As I Lay Dying are great showmen; a wonderful concert all around, even though we missed the first band waiting in line. #
• Jen and I with Demon Hunter!!! – http://twitpic.com/1k7da9 #

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• RT @digitalkitty He did has cheezburger http://twurl.nl/4v05l4 #
• Although I didn't know it at the time, Robotech was my introduction to anime. #RIPCarlMacek #
• RT @Heritage Must Watch Video: Journalists chased away from covering public protest outside White House. http://bit.ly/aQH0yY #tcot #
• "An adventure is only an inconvenience rightly considered. An inconvenience is an adventure wrongly considered." G. K. Chesterton #
• RT @FakeAPStylebook infrastructure: to be used for public works projects and government property if no one knows what they're talking about. #
• The Gamer Mentality: Objects in Mirror are Losing: Bob's House of Video Games http://bit.ly/az5d33 #
• RT @digitalkitty I can tell that I am supposed to go to sleep now, because the day star is coming up. #
• RT @DLoesch This breaks my heart: Homeless hero dies in the street and no one helps him: http://bit.ly/bOIz86 #

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• "I"m the Doctor; I'm worse than everybody's aunt." – The Eleventh Doctor #
• Favorite quote from a podcast today: "We don't live in a world of government sugar fairies and welfare unicorns." #
• @severanced I think it would have to be a movie based on a Philip K. Dick story; _Next_ with Nick Cage comes to mind. in reply to severanced #
• From Jen: "Disney's Oceans: rated R for 'hot smokin' whale sex.'" #

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• Get those #PowerPoint presentations on YouTube, fast! http://www.authorstream.com/ #
• @AshleySuperfly The best level. in reply to AshleySuperfly #
• "It looks like one of those Chinese crested dogs, but I think it's some sort of root." – my wife, Jen, while watching Food Network #
• RT @DLoesch: A must-read on the persecution of @ewerickson : http://bit.ly/daWHTv #tcot in reply to DLoesch #
• RT @MikeStackpole: Great moments in Invisibility: http://tinyurl.com/ycuk34h (I'm still giggling.) in reply to MikeStackpole #
• Saw iPad and Kindle commercials one after the other. The iPad may be the more compelling device, but the Kindle commercial is cooler. #
• Okay, either my phone is possessed or my Zune has figured out how to use a touchscreen (which means it's also possessed). #
• RT @Heritage: Obamacare Side Effects: Indiana might have to dump insurance program for low-income residents. http://bit.ly/c4TI3K #hcr #tcot #
• @severanced That may be, put for some reason I still like Maison Ikkoku. in reply to severanced #
• @digitalkitty Probably from the French tendency to put the adjective second (e.g. Attorney general) in reply to digitalkitty #

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Note: I thought I had already written this up and posted it, but apparently I never got around to it.  So, this is now a month out of date as I first saw Alice in Wonderland on opening day.  Oh, well, here it is anyway.

Alice in Wonderland brings together three of my favorite creative people: Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, and Johnny Depp, so I was understandably excited about this movie.  So much so, in fact, that I went to see it on opening night, which is something I rarely do because of the crowds and smelly teenagers (both of which were in force Friday night).  Until I can see the movie again on DVD, I can’t really write a full review, but here are my quick thoughts on the movie having just seen it last night.

First, the design, music and performances were great.  It is true (but no surprise) that Johnny Depp’s Hatter steals the shows; in fact, that’s generally true of any adaptation of Carroll’s books.  I have been involved in two productions of play adaptations of the books (my wife and I directed one together, and I later directed it on my own), and in each the Tea Party was my favorite scene.  Hatter, with the March Hare and Dormouse, is just such a crazy character that toning it down would, I think, miss the point.  While some people have criticized the amount of screen time Depp gets, I have no problem with it.

Second, I love that this movie recognizes that some of us are big Lewis Carroll nerds.  There are in-jokes throughout that only someone who’s actually read the books (rather than just seeing the film adaptations) would get.  For example, in the opening scenes, Alice has to dance a quadrille with her potential fiance, a nod to the Lobster Quadrille in the books.

Finally, the movie is not entirely even.  I feel like things move a little too quickly once Alice gets to Wonderland; I think there should have been a few more things happening before the Red Queen is introduced.  Also, the whole dance the Mad Hatter does was, to my mind, entirely useless.  Yes, I understand that this sort of nonsense (in the bad way) is meant to appeal to children, but I think it breaks the feeling of the film, especially the modern dance music.  This sort of thing should be put out on some separate DVD that’s used to gouge parents rather than thrust upon us in the theater.

So, overall I enjoyed it very much and will get it on DVD.  I think it works nicely as a modern companion to Carroll’s original works.