21 October 2011

Some Thoughts After a Long Day...

...that promises to be repeated tomorrow. Anyway:
      I spent a good 5 hours sewing today. It's not often that I get to sew in that concentrated an amount, but since it was just addressed LAST WEEK that this year's Reformation Party will deal with the Scottish Reformation rather than Luther and the start of the Protestant Reformation. Which means I have to make a Celtic-y/Highland-y dress, because I can't help myself. Believe me, I tried-- I finished an absolutely gorgeous, medieval-style gown that I am in love with (actually, it's Yvaine's dress from Stardust. The blue one. Stardust is one of those things that I love greatly and inexplicably. Claire Danes herself is another). Anyway.
     In between sewing and studying, I had time to read a few of Chesterton's old articles (I found a book of them at a used book store. Used bookstores rock), and was particularly struck by one on "Victorian Sensibilities and Modern Fiction"...or something like that. I could look it up, but as I've said, it's been a long day. Anyway, in it Chesterton said, and I think it still applies to today's fiction, that most modern authors don't start with basic moral truths, and instead spend their entire book searching for some kind of truth. He compared it to the difference between "searching" and "researching"-- the searcher knows what he is looking for, while the researcher is just seeing what he can find. Someone like Dante had a basis, an assumption of absolute truth from which his stories sprung, while modern authors don't assume this absolute truth and spend their books searching for some kind of moral law. While this can be interesting to read, it's ultimately hallow.
   That's a really fascinating perspective, and I want to apply it to some modern TV shows/movies as well as books, since it's definitely prevalent there.
   Also, just curious, is anyone else as absolutely freaked out as I am by trying to shave while having a leg cramp? It feels like you're gonna slice your calf in half. Truth??
 

18 October 2011

My Evil Powers

So, you know how sometimes you say something, and the the exact opposite thing happens? The "jinx" effect? Well, I have the reverse of that...if I complain about it, I kill it.
     Case in point (spoiler alert if you've missed out on the past century-and-change), the first time I read The Man in the Iron Mask, I mentioned casually that Porthos was super annoying and pretty useless. You have to admit this is true. The only reason he agreed to do anything in TMITIM (That's an acronym for The Man in the Iron Mask. I thought it would roll off the tongue better.) is because he was convinced he was going to be made a baron-- which is the exact motivation he had ten years earlier in Twenty Years After (I'm right here: do the math with me: Three Musketeers + Twenty Years= Twenty Years After + The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later = The Man in the Iron Mask. Nothing simpler). Anyway, even if he is annoying...and fat...and kind of dumb, Porthos is essentially harmless, and I really didn't wish any harm on him. But after I said that he was useless, LO AND BEHOLD, a few chapters later, Porthos died. I couldn't help but feel partially responsible.
    Which brings me to my next point, which needs some background info (and probably lots more parenthetical statements). I've been watching Doctor Who, the new series that started in 2005, because it's on Netflix, I'd heard it was good, and I needed it to replace my other sci-fi shows which have all been either 1. Cancelled or 2. massively inappropriate after luring me into a sense of false security. Anyway, it is really good, and I'm in love with David Tennant, but a few days ago I mentioned that Rose can be well, kind of annoying. Which is, again, true, but that doesn't mean I don't like her. Annoyingness can be endearing. But after I said that, LO AND BEHOLD (and once again, spoiler alert, but this time only if you've missed out on the past six years or so of super nerdiness) she gets stuck in a parallel universe never to return. Just because I'm occasionally annoyed by her pouty lips and overdone eye makeup doesn't mean I want her in an alternate, Doctor-less universe!!
So from now on, I'm only going to say bad things about characters that I really want to disappear/be killed off. And maybe find some more current franchises.