After I posted that last pic of Darkseid for President, it occurred to me that I hadn’t specified a running-mate.
Then I thought it would have to be one of Darkseid’s two chief henchbeings – either the ruthless tyrant Granny Goodness or the master torturer Desaad.
And then it occurred to me that our two current front runners look a hell of a lot like Granny Goodness and Desaad already:
Be afraid. Be very afraid.
Hmmmm …
“In order to have any real impact, the strike will have to be at least as long as the ’88 strike, which lasted six months.” – J. Michael Straczynski, on Nov. 1st
“As the WGA strike begins its 4th week, I’ve been told positive news about today’s resumption of contract talks between the writers and the producers. … a very reliable source tells me that there appears to be a deal seemingly in place between both sides. “It’s already done, basically,” the insider describes. – Nikki Finke, today
I should point out that these two reports are not necessarily inconsistent.
For some interesting debate on the respective merits of Ron Paul versus None of the Above as libertarian choices in the current presidential campaign, see here and here.
As for those favouring yet a different direction, a third option is available:
So, what do you get if you cross Dodes’ka-den with batteries not included?
This, apparently.
Just finished watching Razor (excellent, by the way), our last dose of Galactica until March or April, when Sci-Fi will start giving us the first half of season four. As for the second half, it remains to be seen whether it’ll ever get made; the writers’ strike has placed the show’s continuation in jeopardy. (See the story here; for background from Ron Moore see here, here, and here.)
Or at least that’s how everyone online seems to be describing it – even those sympathetic to the strike. But how is this situation supposed to be specifically the writers’ doing, or the strike’s doing?
Yes, it’s true that the writers could quickly get BSG out of danger by cancelling their strike. But it’s equally true that the media companies could quickly get BSG out of danger by giving in to the writers’s demands. It takes two sides to make an impasse; the fact that responsibility for the impasse is being assigned one-sidedly, to the writers, shows how pervasive is the assumption that whatever the employers want is the default reality. That fact by itself is presumptive reason to support the writers’ side; when one side in a dispute has acquired that kind of default status, that’s evidence that it has been enjoying an unfair power imbalance in its favour.
P.S. – Galactica fans will know why I picked this particular photo to illustrate this post ….
I saw Beowulf today – in 3D, which is definitely the way to see it (well, I suppose IMAX 3D is the way to see it, but there’s no IMAX venue in Auburn), and I suspect 3D will become a more and more frequent format for big-budget action movies. (The theatre showed three previews for upcoming 3D films: Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, a Journey to the Centre of the Earth remake, and – for some reason – a U2 concert film.)
It was a lot of fun, especially the amazing fight with the dragon at the end – which really made me want (even more) to see movies of The Hobbit, and The Children of Húrin, and Dragonriders of Pern, and Elric of Melniboné, and a proper version of A Wizard of Earthsea …. (Incidentally, I thought I detected an homage to Dragonslayer’s Vermithrax.)
Grendel, by contrast, didn’t strike me as quite right – he seemed a bit too modern in conception, a distinctively 20th-century nightmare. As for the human characters, the ability of computer animation to convey human facial expression has improved dramatically, though it still isn’t quite there – with the exception of Beowulf’s excellently done face, on which they clearly spent the most time and effort. (He often seemed like a real person surrounded by video-game people.) The bawdiness in the hall, and particularly the initial portrayal of Hrothgar as a drunken fool with his clothes falling off, struck me as overdone; the 1998 cartoon did a better job of capturing the dignity of the original poem. But Hrothgar (voiced and semi-faced by Anthony Hopkins) certainly recovers with his more subtle performance through the rest of the movie. And John Malkovich did his best Severus Snape as Unferth. Happily, none of the characters seemed to have an American accent – though, truth be told, each character appeared to have a completely different accent from all the others! I guess Castle Hrothgar was a more cosmopolitan place than we had thought.
There’s even some Old English in the movie; the bard who recites the tale of Beowulf later in the movie does so in the original Saxon tongue (albeit unaccountably, since that’s what everyone else has supposedly been speaking all along), and even the etymology of Beowulf’s name is given correctly (“bee-wolf,” a kenning for “bear” – sadly, the only kenning that survives into the film). Plus Grendel speaks a dialect that is clearly meant to be reminiscent of Old English, although I think it’s mostly just modern English with a funny pronunciation.
On the other hand, for those who know anything about the cultural background, Hrothgar’s claim to have been the slayer of Fafnir is startling (though admittedly the original Beowulf poem does contain a misattribution, or variant attribution, of Fafnir’s slaying – to Sigmund rather than to his son Sigurd/Siegfried – yet certainly not as far afield as Hrothgar), as are the references to Beowulf’s supposed fame in Iceland and Vinland (in the 6th century, some 300 years before the settling of the former and some 400 years before the discovery of the latter); and the screenwriters seem not to know the difference between “lay” and “lie.” I suspect most viewers will manage to overcome any discomfort caused by these errors.
Easy-to-miss moment: Beowulf briefly sees Grendel’s momma in her true form (on the cave ceiling) – and doesn’t realise it; she just looks like more of the treasure with which the walls are encrusted.
Weirdest self-parody moment: Ma Grendel has stiletto heels – despite having no shoes. This was the film’s most jarring reminder that we are dealing with Hollywood rather than Heorot.
Oh, and the theme song sounds okay when the queen (who looks distractingly like an ex-girlfriend of mine ….) is singing it in the mead-hall, but not when it’s being sung in clearly modern fashion over the closing credits.
Passing from Heorot to Camelot, and from swan’s riding to Starfleet – okay, this has nothing to do with Beowulf, but if you have any geek in you at all it’s a must-see.