This is kind of amusing. Sitting next to me at a workstation is a pair of girls who are complaining about having to watch An Inconvenient Truth. "I mean... the professor's entitled to his opinion... but..."

It's stunning the effect that the conservatives have had on obscuring the facts about global warming, or "climate change" (huge sarcasm marks there), to the point where it's viewed as an "opinion".

"People with a “red” [conservative] entertainment preference think a lot of programming is in bad taste and doesn’t reflect their values. They don’t like a lot of things on TV, but their two favorite channels are Fox and Fox News."

From Zogby International, via Wired Game|Life

Unsolicited Opinion Time

And now for the part that everyone loves about blogging: unsolicited opinions! Everyone's got opinions, and rarely do people care about what other people's are. But hey, it's free, so I might as well "express" myself, right?

Well, anyway, I somehow got the thought into my head that I would write about why I don't love Avatar: The Last Airbender. No, I don't hate it. But I should love it. Why? I suppose because everyone else seems to, but also because Avatar seems like something that would be precisely the kind of thing that I love. And I have tried hard to love it, but all I come out with is a resounding "eh, it's pretty good".

I suppose a bit of backstory is necessary for those uninitiated. It's a show on Nickelodeon, but not like the other cartoons. It's a dramatic fantasy serial about a land where people have the ability to manipulate the basic elements, kind of like Pyro or Iceman from X-Men. And the big Dalai Lama type figure is called the Avatar. He's reincarnated and has the power to use all the elements, whereas most other people can only manipulate one.

The show is in a "sort of" anime style, and features heavy use of Chinese (no, not Japanese) and eastern cultural aspects throughout. Which is what first turned me off from the show. However, I have to admit on having watched for a decent amount of time that despite the co-opting of culture, it's done in a tasteful fashion. So that mark against it can be wiped away, albeit not forgotten entirely.

Now, the main villains of the show are the Fire Nation, who apparently went all Napoleon on the world and are trying to conquer the whole thing. Each element has its own nation, water, air, fire, earth, etc. Now the Avatar is supposed to be the great prophet that is able to bring balance to the force-- er, to the elements.

The problem is that the Avatar is only 12 years old, didn't receive proper training, and was frozen in a block of ice while all the conquering happened. So he's gotta learn all the elements while at the same time fight back the evil empire.

Now, I'm sure as you're able to tell, this is a lot different than most of the shows Nickelodeon has put forth before. It's serial, it's an action-adventure, it's molded in the same fashion as, say, Dragonball Z or Naruto. However, it's better than those two. Despite being anime-like, it doesn't always fall back on the usual shorthand of silly faces and sweatdrops and fanservice. The characters are all treated with some degree of respect, even those who serve for comic relief. And the plots are remarkably mature; last night I watched an episode about an Orwellian city where the denizens are prohibited from talking about the looming war outside their walls.

And even though there are a few disabled characters, they are treated as actual people rather than simply as their ailments. One character in particular, the blind girl, isn't presented as the nicest girl on earth who has overcome her adversity. She's a rich, spoiled brat, who's actually got some degree of depth. There was some episode with a kid in a wheelchair (and yes, I know it sounds cheesy), but it too was handled quite well and maturely, rather than the "very special episode" style you'd find in, say, Transformers and whatever kid was in that show with a wheelchair. Or that kid in the Burger King Kids Club that had the wheelchair. You'll note that I can't remember their names, because all they were was their wheelchair. They were token additions. Now, the reason I can't remember blind girl's name is something entirely different, I assure you! It's because I'm bad with names.

Anyway, the show reminds me of adventure serials like Tintin, the films of Miyazaki, and epic adventure trilogies like Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, etc. But the thing is, it always feels, to me at least, very "inspired by". I see all these elements which I've described and which I really like, but the impact of the show seems to be wanting. There are all these great aspects to the show that would look like a great list of features if I were to put them down on paper, but they somehow fail to gel into something great. It is merely something good. I can list plenty of shows that it is better than, and reasons why, but I just can't seem to bring myself to bring a complete damn about it. I certainly respect what the creators are doing, and the impeccable choice in inspirations that they've chosen, but when it comes to the finished product it lacks punch.

Of course, that's a very vague thing to say, and I need to actually identify what about the show it is that lacks such punch. I want to like the show very badly! But for some reason, my attention is always pulled away when watching. It doesn't grab me as much as it should. So that's what I'll chat about next time.

Pixel art is alive and well

Mario in blue and white chalk on brick

Song analysis- "I'm Impressed"

For illustration.

I'm Impressed is the first track on They Might Be Giants' new album, The Else. I didn't terribly care for it when I first heard it, but on further listening I've grown to really like it. What I didn't quite get from my first listen was the anti-war rhetoric that's included. It's not terribly overt, so I don't think it was a big miss on my part to interpret it very literally; I thought it was about a guy who was impressed by a film he was watching with terrifying special effects. However, the song has some decidedly military notes to it- the idea of a "Torpedo in a vest" barking orders, for example, is of course intended as some sort of member of military brass. And Generalissimo is, of course, very obvious.

"I find that my head's nodding yes though my legs are not following"- this I saw as the idea of a chickenhawk, someone who urges a nation towards going to a war without willing to participate or having participated himself. "I'm inspired by events to remember the exits in back of me" reminds me of those democratic senators who first voted for the war, but now wish to get some kind of exit plan.

"On the one hand he'll give you five good reasons to follow him." This is a message of coercion, the "five good reasons" are the fingers of the Generalissimo curled up into a fist.

"On the other hand you see nobody leaving the stadium"- this line I admit has been colored by my viewing of the video. The idea that, if you do follow the Generalissimo's orders, you're going to wind up dead anyway. It's the damned if you do, damned if you don't situation. Or the idea that if you go off to war, you're going to stay there for a while, perhaps permanently.

"When that torpedo from the west crushes buildings I'm impressed"- this line I see as having to do with the Shock and Awe campaign at the beginning of the Iraq War, the idea that the military is so impressive it's like a force of nature. But a tornado is also unguided, and destroys everything in it's path. Similar thought goes with the "Godzilla" line.

Then there's the "Torpedo in a vest barks his orders" line. This is the embodiment of a weapon in human form, a person who's so military that he has become like himself a weapon, with little other purpose in life. It's an alarming thought.

And of course, attention must be paid to the song's title. "I'm Impressed" has a double meaning. To be impressed means to be forced into military service, like the British navy did in ports in the 17th century. The song's lyrics are about being manipulated by propaganda into military service, through impressive and frightening images. So, while there's no actual draft for this war, the message remains the same: that coercion remains the primary motivator for instigating a war and driving the people to fight, and I don't think it's unfair at all to say that this song was likely inspired by recent events.

Near the end is a military drum cadence, which reinforces the militaristic theme.

And now for a few comments about the video. (Damn, it's hard not to say I'm impressed now that the phrase is stuck in my head.) I think it's damn good, particularly because it doesn't take the lyrics too literally and put them on screen. It's an interpretation of the text, and really, what is a better image of militarism than the Romans? Roman robots with tanks and airplanes, I love it. The robots I think are there to give the video the necessary ironic distance that They Might Be Giants provide to their material, and also helps us distance ourselves from the bloodshed occurring. But we still don't expect the blood, heaps of it, mounds of it, coming from robots. I think that's what makes the video so disturbing, we expect that robots will simply be chopped up like machines into metal shavings, but there's just so much blood and gore.

I've watched it many times, and I still think it's absolutely perfect for the song. It doesn't try too hard to relate to the current war, but instead delves into the past (and the future) in order to create a world that's different yet similar to ours, in order to show how little has changed. Today's military conflicts are like the gladiatorial combats of old, and one who propagates this violence will find it returned to their selves, as the generalissimo receives at the end of the video. And one can't help but think of Julius Caesar's assassination.

The one boggling thing to me is the generalissimo's wife. She appears for just about half a second, and seems to be something used to pacify the populace. It's an awkward little scene, as she looks back and sees the pile of gore on the arena floor, and the crowd suddenly stops cheering. I'm not quite sure what to make of it.

Then again, maybe Garfield is depressing enough by itself

Garfield randomizer fun!











For some reason, I was drawn to make the most depressing Garfields ever. And for some reason, I find this hilarious.

Here's what I don't understand about Renaissance Fair(e)s. The costumes. Why would people want to dress in what is probably the absolute lamest period with regards to clothing? Those clothes look stupid! I could totally go for a Victorian fair and wear those early-modern style suits with top hats, but the Henry VIII look I think is something that should have stayed in the 16th century.

I've been doing some amount of research into my family's genealogy, and it's fairly frustrating. Passenger lists from ships have turned up little, and the census records, while valuable, have had entirely too few details. What I have determined is that the branches of my family have been around in America for a decent amount of time, probably first having arrived in the early 19th century. Even earlier than the potato famine, with regards to the Irish parts. As I previously understood, the different nationalities appear to be Irish, English, and Scottish, which I suppose means I'm essentially British Isles through-and-through. Which is no surprise. I'm white as a polar bear.

Voted off the islands

In ancient Greece, there was a practice called ostracism, the politician who was viewed as the most dangerous to the state was exiled from the land for ten years. Anyone wish that still was around?

Objection!

I wasn't able to get any good photos of the Republican debate going on at the University, or any of the hubbub surrounding it. I did get this, however.



I'm pretty sure that makes it all worthwhile.

Fujichrome

I've read a few things about photography, and taken some tips on how to shoot flowers. I don't really care for flowers, but they apparently make for damn good subjects for photographs. These were all taken in Prescott Park where they have a rather nice garden display.


I liked this one despite the fly on the outskirts of it.


This too came out quite well.


A group of the same yellow flowers. I should really find out what the breed name is.


Another yellow flower group.


This one looks vaguely obscene, I think.

Without The Dark

Took a few more photos at work, this time earlier in the day, so there's more sun.



This is the kitchen. I tried to replicate the angle in the following W----- photograph, which was impossible. He must have been using a wider lens camera.



Full frontal housery.



Door, I liked this angle.



For the best lighting, I should probably get there earlier in the morning, but I don't see that happening. Anyway, it continues to make for an excellent model for my noodling around with the camera.

Wild, wild, life

I finally got a chance to see the deer my parents have mentioned they've spotted behind my house. And I had my trusty new camera with me.



And here's a video for the more motion-inclined.


About just as soon as I stopped taking photos the groundscrew that my father hired came along with their weedwhackers and such, assuredly frightening the animal away.

Curiously, this event echoes what I read in another blog I've been reading recently.

Simpsons Christmas Boogie

I've been seeing a lot of ads lately for the Simpsons movie. Things are not looking promising. The jokes in the previews are lame, including referencing two other popular summer movies (Spider-Man and Harry Potter) in an effort to garner more widespread appeal. My secret hope is that the worst jokes they put in the ads because they have the greatest chance to appeal to a wide audience, but I'm not very hopeful.

If maybe the Simpsons had made a movie about seven years ago, it'd be great. But it's a little too late for that, needless to say. I don't know why the Simpsons has been so mediocre these recent years, but I'm willing to guess it's simply because they've run out of material. That, or the writing staff has cycled to crappier and crappier members.

I could be wrong. I'll probably see it anyway.

Rhapsody in Green

I heard Rhapsody in Blue in the car this morning, while driving to work. Coincidentally, I had started re-reading The Great Gatsby during my downtime at work. Rhapsody in Blue and Gatsby are two pieces that have always gone together in my mind, the only two cultural touchstones of the 1920s that I've really been familiar with. Of course, Gatsby was part of my grade school curriculum, not once, but twice, due to the fact that I changed schools. I always felt rather intrigued by the whole wild '20s atmosphere presented in the book, and not just a little envious as well. However, it struck me recently that I've never actually read the whole damn thing! American classic, and one I enjoyed enough when I read pieces of it, but never sat down to absorb the whole thing. So, I've been picking it up while at work.

It's usually rare for me to actually read a piece of literature in my spare time. I can pretty much count the books I've done it for on one hand: 1984, Brave New World, Animal Farm. Hm, rather three fingers I suppose. Hopefully I'll persevere through the rest.

Work It Harder

Time to talk a little bit about my life. CAN YOU FEEL THE EXCITEMENT?!



This is where I work, at the W__________* House, as a guide. I suppose you could use the word docent, but that's mostly used for volunteers. You can probably tell that there is a slight bent to the photograph, this is not due to any natural sloping, but due to the fact that I think my neck is a little crooked naturally. So pretty much every photograph I take slopes one side or the other. Great, my career as an amateur photographer is over before it started.

It's usually not terribly busy while at work. I happened to take this photograph during work hours, so you can see that I have the opportunity to mess around and do things like... take photographs.



My workspace is located in the 18th century warehouse to the left of the mansion. You can see various cards here which describe the former inhabitants of the house, this is nice because it means I don't have to do the spiel every time somebody wants a tour. Plus, I think people enjoy reading more than listening to some young fellow like myself.



This is the view out front, on the Piscataqua river. Not a great photograph, but it really is quite a nice location. There are definitely worse places I could be working.

And now for something completely different.



M_____'s* our new cat. Well, new as in a year old. She's crazy. Meows all the time, jumping on bookcases and refrigerators and the like, but I'm a big fan of hers regardless. She's got personality. And camouflage designed for my parents' bed, apparently.

In other news, my parents apparently both saw a deer outside the back of our house. My mother saw it in the morning, and my father in the afternoon. What a perfect opportunity to use my new camera! Alas, when I tried hunting for it (not literally) my quarry had disappeared from the small woods behind my house. He'll probably be back though. They always come back.

*I've chosen to block out all names due to some unnecessary desire for personal privacy, but also because it's like you often see in 19th century novels, and I get a kick out of that.

The Least Popular Breakfast Cereals of 2006.

Robert Frosted Flakes
Apple Johns
Condi Rice Crispies
High Fructose Corn Syrup Smacks
Brunch in a Box
Crouton Crisp
Soggix
Burnt Toast Crunch
Hilton-O's
Cracklin' Goat Bran