Binary Betty

I’m in that stage of mad crazy busy where [...]]]> So, we’re busy. It’s the second week of the new semester for most of us, and we’re all running around like proverbial chickens with our heads cut off. For this week’s Hump Day Round Table, we’ll explain just why we haven’t been posting. [blush]

Binary Betty

I’m in that stage of mad crazy busy where everything I’ve got going on is swirling in my head. You know the type of busy? I find myself making lists (I always make lists), but then having to insert something easy at the top because the rest is too overwhelming, but I NEED the satisfaction gained when one crosses off a list item. As an actual example, this morning I made a list of what MUST be done today. Ten minutes later I realize I need to read like 9 books for class, write like 3500 words for other classes and obligations, respond to words others have written, etc whatnot blah blah blah and more. Upon gazing at this horrid list of impossibility, I made my classic cheaters move: I squeeze above the top line the words “Make List.” This way, I get to cross something off then go have a smoke. It’s not a perfect system, but it does make me feel better. Anyway, that’s why I’m too busy to write a proper blog. Which is unfortunate, because I have a lot to say about my recent discovery of the creepy, creepy lusty attractions I felt toward Harry Potter in this last film. I tried to squash them, but the guilt and tainted woman emotions refuse to be purged… so I need to write them out as an exorcism!

Book Ali

Busy busy busy. If I could write that a hundred times, it’d explain everything! Second week of the semester, things are kicking into gear. It’s the first week we’re open at work, and we’re still working out schedule kinks. The Novel Writing class I’m taking consumes every free minute I have (so I guess they aren’t really free!) and I’m trying to get ahead in Children’s Lit and Film. AND I’m switching to a new healthy lifestyle, and that involves many hours in the gym (no pain there – I’m hopelessly addicted) and working on my hoop-dancing skills. Hopefully I’ll get in the groove soon, and things will be less hectic. :]

Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny is so busy with the new semester and moving to a new house that he didn’t have time to write! Oh noes!

Strangeness Abounds

SA…busy…?! Yes, dear friends, it’s true. She’s actually doing something constructive, for once.

SA has had a plethora of queries for publication fall into her inbox this past week in addition to continuing her search for a full-time job. And as if she weren’t busy enough with manuscripts that read like Lifetime movies crossed with pornos and recalcitrant hiring managers, she is trying to get everything in place for graduate school in the spring. However, SA knows her limits and realizes that graduate school may not happen in the spring as she so desires, but in the summer of 2010.

Also, SA has been busy on Facebook and Youtube. :-P

TDF Pamela

If I might be allowed a brief moment of vulgarity, holy shit, am I busy. I’m taking three classes (one on American Antebellum literature, one on religion in children’s/YA lit, and one in which I will write a novel by the end of the semester), teaching two, and I’ll be working on my comprehensive examination and not-a-thesis proposal this semester.

[twitch]

On top of that, I’m kind of getting burnt out. It happens to all grad students, I think; we all hit the point where we wonder what the hell we’re doing, stressing ourselves out like this and wouldn’t it be more enjoyable in the long run to just run off with the circus and learn the trapeze or fire eating or something like that?

This week I’ve got an enormous pile of Transcendentalist readings, some of The Swiss Family Robinson to read, stuff to read for the classes I’m teaching, write about 3300 more words on my novel, and respond to my groupmates’ writing [waves at Book Ali]. And I have reviews to write for the blog.

Right now, I just want to work on the novel. Or possibly play Sims 2. Or Civilization: Revolution. Taking over the world helps me deal with the stress.

If you’ll excuse me, I need to make up some study timetables and complete my transformation into Hermione Granger.

Binary Betty

Binary Betty is on vacation this week!

Book Ali

Book Ali is moving into the dorms this week! Can’t write when [...]]]> Welcome to The Discriminating Fangirl’s inaugural Hump Day Round Table! This week, we discuss the best media we consumed this week, be it movies, books, tv, comics, or what the heck ever.

Binary Betty

Binary Betty is on vacation this week!

Book Ali

Book Ali is moving into the dorms this week! Can’t write when the computer’s packed up!

Lord Fanny

The movie begins with scenes of dancing feet and Kenny Loggins’ unforgettable title tune, “Footloose.” It’s rather ridiculous looking; a pair of dancing, sneaker clad feet is replaced by dancing high heels, which are replaced by dancing boots. You don’t really think about how ridiculous single aspects of dancing look until attention is drawn to them. But I think that’s part of the point of the movie, which was made for a tween-teen audience; dancing looks ridiculous, and there’s nothing middle and high school students hate more than the thought of looking ridiculous. I would argue that for pubescent boys, dancing is one of the most terrifying activities one can ponder. Very few boys feel like they can dance; most of them are mortified at the thought. Yet dancing is a required social activity in school, especially if one wants to “hook up,” “score,” “get some,” or even “go steady.” Girls seem to love dancing just as much as guys hate it, which leaves the boys perpetually confused, and eventually might even teach them a few life lessons. Sometimes, to get what one wants, one has to do unpleasant things. Sometimes those unpleasant things turn out to be not so bad. And sometimes, it doesn’t really matter what others think of you.

From there the movie cuts to idyllic scenes from a small farm town. Jonathan Lithgow’s voice rings out over the fields and mountains, his words the timeless refrain of those who don’t understand how they got so old:

“And he is testing us. Every, every day, our Lord is testing us. If he wasn’t testing us, how would you account for the sorry state of our society? For the crimes that plague the big cities of this country, when he could sweep this pestilence from the face of the earth with one mighty gesture of his hand? If our Lord wasn’t testing us, how would you account for the proliferation these days of this obscene rock and roll music, with its gospel of easy sexuality and relaxed morality? If our Lord wasn’t testing us, why, he could take all these pornographic books and albums and turn them into one big fiery cinder like that! But how would that make us stronger for him?”

Lithgow, the preacher for this small Midwestern town, sets up the entire movie as an epic struggle between good and evil, with rock and roll and dancing playing the part of the devil. It would be easy to write Lithgow’s character off as hopelessly old-fashioned and outdated. But his character is not a flat stereotype, as he shows repeatedly throughout the movie. He may be the primary antagonist, but he is acting on good faith and intentions.

So why is Footloose one of my favorite movies ever? Well, there’s the kickin’ 80s soundtrack. There’s Kevin Bacon, who’s yummy, but there’s also the fact that it’s a positive teen movie. Look at the specifics: What are the teens in Footloose guilty of? Wanting to dance. They’re not drug users or dealers; as a matter of fact, drugs are utilized in the movie to identify the “bad” guys, Chuck and his crew. They’re not fornicating or fighting or tearing shit up. They just wanna dance. And by the time the credits roll, we’ve seen a positive teen role model help to energize a high school and force members of the adult community to deal with the teens with respect instead of condescension. Good vs evil, old vs young, order vs chaos… It’s all there, just waiting to cut loose…

(It also helps to watch the movie as if it were a musical… The scene where Ren (Kevin Bacon) dances out his frustrations with the town can be a little bit goofy otherwise…)

Strangeness Abounds

Due to the recent commencement of a quest for “something truly, genuinely, smartly funny,” I came across Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life (I was born in 1987, so yes, there is some media considered “classic” that I have not yet discovered). Irreverent in religious humor and full of delightful irony, The Pythons reach a zenith through The Meaning of Life. To top it all off, the running credits show that the versatile main actors (The Pythons) also wrote the sketches and original songs. Let’s hear it for multi-talented entertainers!

My personal favorite sketch would be Episode 1: Birth in which a new young mother gives birth in a sterile, machine-laden operating room. The irony that the doctors and nurses treat the machines and the administrator’s opinion as far more valuable than the new mother is both true to life and hilarious. My favorite quote within this sketch:

New Mother [panting, sweating]: To Doctor – “What do I do?!”

Doctor: “Nothing, dear! You’re not qualified!”

I highly recommend the entire film for those who enjoy a hearty bowl of English humor chowder.

TDF Pamela

As I was wandering around in the comic book store today, looking for new issues that I might like, I came across an X-Force trade paperback. It was volume two, but I’ve been curious about that title for a while (and being the lazy comic book buyer that I am, I just hadn’t picked it up yet) so I bought it. And then I went to two separate Borders stores to find volume 1. Because it’s one of those kind of days, the ones where I latch onto something (in this case, Wolverine) and spend pretty much the whole day in that headspace.

So, I sat down today and read X-Force Volume 1: Angels And Demons.

Oh my god, I love this title. Why the hell didn’t I start buying it when it came out? I have no idea! But I love it!

This is the line the X-Men never would cross, but Cyclops has finally realized that there are things that just need to be done. Nasty things like revenge and torture and murder, things that he wouldn’t put on any of the X-Men’s hands, but if they have to be done… what do you do?

You call Wolverine, of course.

I love Wolverine’s conscience; he knows he’s damaged goods and will happily take out the Purifiers, a bunch of religious zealots formerly run by William Stryker who are bent on purging mutants from the world. But Logan doesn’t want vengeful murder to be on Rahne, Warpath, and Laura/X-23′s consciences. Wolvie’s got enough blood on his hands that he believes it’ll never come off; he’ll never be completely free of all the things he’s done. But he doesn’t want the others to become what he thinks he is. Oh, Wolvie. I LOVE that he decks Cyke when Cyke tells him that he’s already asked Laura to join the team.

It’s kind of nice to have a team-based book with the same level of violence that the mature-rated Wolverine titles have. It’s also nice to see Wolverine have to take on the mantle of leader despite his own hesitation and his protests that he’s no leader. This works with his show of conscience; he’s now responsible for the team, not just his own ass, and he knows that he’s responsible for turning them into murders, just like him. I’m really hoping we’ll get some serious, dirty character development out of this title. Same goes for Laura; I love seeing her struggle to understand what being human means, instead of just being a weapon. It’s a very nice juxtaposition against Wolverine’s internal struggles.

And the cast of villains? AWESOME. That’s all I’ll say.

The artwork, by Clayton Crain, is amazing. It’s very dark but incredibly clear and downright beautiful, even when he’s drawing scenes of carnage. And the artwork meshes perfectly with the storytelling, so the story progression is clear and understandable. If that sounds like something weird to observe, I’ll just say that I’ve been reading a lot of Claremont lately and leave it at that.

One last thought: HOORAY FEMALE SHIELD LEADERS!