Selkie

Saw Serenity, and feel almost the same way about it that I did about Firefly: solid, but not engrossing. It's one of the best films I've seen this year, but that says at least as much about the weakness of the other contenders as it does about this movie. It was good, and I liked it, but I didn't love it.

Some of the subtle changes from the series left me feeling "ehh" - the ship felt more industrial and less like home, Mal's wisecracks were individually fine but collectively made him come across as a dick, and an awful lot of the crew's personalities felt flattened. (Kaylee's interest in the doctor being reduced to something purely sexual was especially disappointing). Oh, and what will it take to rid the world of the Buffybot? Bad enough Zoe's still running around wearing Buffy's necklace from Dead Things.

On the other hand, the surprise near the end did a lot to heighten tension, and I was genuinely gripped near the ending. If only the entire film had been as engaging, I would have loved it as much as other Whedon faithfuls seem to.

FWIW, the non-Firefly person I took to see it was utterly bored by the experience.

Thanks, guys! The DMP was my inspiration from yesterday, and that's definitely what I'm leaning toward. I'm already sending out my minions to collect cigarette containers and empty bottles of alcohol. I planned on a container of food coloring as a blood drink for the vampire, but Red, I love the idea of a smoking drink for the skeleton. Hmm, where can I lay my hands on a tiny quantity of dry ice ....

Keeyah, I agree - the dead wouldn't play fair. Maybe that's how the wound up dead in the first place!

Hunting regs are mostly state by state here.  Hunting with dogs (including while bird hunting?) may indeed be illegal in Illinois, but it's legal in California

http://www.fgc.ca.gov/2005/mammalregs05.html

and I think in most other states, though I'm sure it's subject to regulation in all places.

Interesting. I know it was illegal in CA to hunt deer with dogs (other animals were perfectly legal) as of even a few years ago, and my understanding was that it was a federal prohibition. Or, at least, those people who owned packs of hunting greyhounds were terrified they'd get loose, kill a deer, and receive all sorts of nasty fines and legal action.

Mind you, I'm not about to do it, but I do know at least one CA resident I'm forwarding that link to.

Again, I don't know how things are in Illinois, but I'd be surprised if one were allowed to hunt on the outskirts of Chicago or any non-exurb suburb.

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Trust me, it's legal where I live, which is quite close to the city, although it's a privilege not often exercised. (That's in part because there are restrictions as to how far from the road you must be, and it's difficult to find many areas far enough to be legal.) Yes, we have a tragedy every so often, although not in recent years.

What you do is, train him to chase them without barking. then you both just set off after ONE, and keep after it till it  gets exhausted!. then he grabs it, and you stick it.

 

This can be done, people and dogs do it here in NZ.

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Illegal to hunt deer with dogs anywhere in the U.S., even in the areas (like mine) that are so horribly overrun with deer that they starve to death on the roadsides during winter. Mind you, it's legal to hunt them with guns right near residential neighborhoods, but never with dogs. Americans do love their guns, oh yes they do.

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Would have loved to see you all, but as it turns out there's no way I'm going to make it that weekend. Say hi to the gang, and cheer up Christian for me, 'k?

I'm looking for some advice from the peanut gallery about this year's Halloween yard display. I had it all planned out, but today inspiration struck and I think I might have found an even better option. What do you think?

The Players:

Bob - a six foot high standing foam vampire with folded hands. Key word here is "standing" - no articulation.

Jack - a five and a half foot tall resin skeleton cast from a human original. Has a surprising amount of articulation and amazing detail, and can be posed in a variety of ways.

The Hand - a large man's severed bloody fleshy hand.

The Props:

Baby hatchling vulture

Two grave markers, one life-sized, one child-sized

Beat-to-hell 19thC chalkware human bust, about 1/4 lifesize

Various snakes, lizards, frogs, spiders, eyeballs, bats, and black cat

Seven deadly sins gargoyle candleholder with eyeball shaped tea lights

Life sized rotting skull

Floating "Grim Reaper", about 26" tall. Designed to be hung, but has enough tattered "robes" that I might be able to stuff them so he could sit.

Scenario 1: Giving a Hand

Jack is kneeling over a freshly dug grave, "giving a hand" to The Hand which is sticking up out of the soil. Bob the vampire looks on. A bubbling cauldron with various critters in and spilling out of it sits nearby. The Grim Reaper is ... somewhere, probably hanging from a nearby tree.

Scenario 2: Dead Man's Party:

Bob, Jack, and The Hand all sit around a table, smokin', drinkin', and playin' cards. The chalkware bust sits in the middle. The two grave markers, again with fresh soil in front of them as though recently dug up, sit a short distance away as if their occupants have just escaped to join the party. The Grim Reaper might be able to join them, or could just be floating around nearby. Not sure what to do with the cauldron - put it somewhere in the vicinity of the graves, maybe.

Thoughts, opinions, spare change? Have any creative uses for some of the props listed above? The baby vulture in particular is outstanding, but I'm having trouble integrating him into any of the scenarios I've listed.

I was a relatively late convert to Lost, and liked it very much though I was never one of the fanatical true believers. Somehow, the summer hiatus cooled my enthusiasm, I found the contents of the hatch were underwhelming, and the fact that the second episode of the new season felt added almost nothing from the first episode hasn't rekindled my interest. I liked the show much better when it was about the group dynamics of a bunch of people from disparate backgrounds clinging to each other to survive. Now that we've been introduced to several new sets of players, and the original group is scattered over three locations, a lot of what interested me about the series has been diluted.

Hope you guys don't mind a VM newbie who's sitting on the fence about watching S2 jumping in with a question:

Would someone who started watching four episodes from the end of S1, and who liked but didn't love three of them but found the resolution of the rape storyline to be screamingly awful (get me started on why at your peril) be likely to enjoy the previous episodes? Worth my taking a chance on the DVDs when they come out? Am I likely to need to know what happens in them to watch S2? I think I know all the broad strokes and it seems like they resolved all the major plotlines, but if it's likely that some detail from episode 3 is going to become critical to understanding what's going on, I won't bother.

Josh Speaks The Truth. Trust me, Inca, trying to make sense of American prudery, especially Midwestern prudery, regarding sex will only make your head hurt. I live here I've always lived here, and I don't understand it at all.

But at the moment I'd much rather rage at the latest news regarding torture of prisoners by U.S. troops, which the American news media seems to be addressing ... not at all.

Were you ever tempted to mail him a copy?

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If I knew where she still lived, I absolutely, positively would have. Not worth the time and effort to find her now, even for some poetic justice.

So I went there for a talk and the guy rejected me on the basis that my work was "too far down a path towards a certain style, and far too realistic" and that they were looking for "students we can mold according to our ideas of art, and who aren't looking for representation of reality in their art". I'll remind you again, I was trying to get into ILLUSTRATION, not art in general. it seems to me like illustration would kind of benefit from the artist wanting to capture reality but the waht the fuck do I know?

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Try being a sculptor interested in realism. I dare ya.

Anyone know if/when this program is going to air on BBC America? I couldn't find it after some light Googling, but that doesn't mean much. Sounds interesting, and like it might be a nice validation for some of my artistic choices, and reinforce my deep-seated loathing of art instructors. There's at least one I'd love to shove my acceptance letter for the Art Show at the Dog Show into a deep, dark orifice.

Worst Film: Eyes Wide Shut. Really, is there any contest?

Worst Song: Happy Birthday. I hate that piece of drivel more than words can say.

Worst Television Program: Trading Spaces. However tempting it was to nominate something dreadful like Becker, or Wife Swap or Everyone Hates Raymond, it's Trading Spaces that launched the onslaught of house porn that infests cable, and it regularly commits unspeakable crimes against good taste. Feel for me, for I am regularly subjected to this shite against my will.

Worst Single Issue Comic: Cyberfrog #1. So bad I couldn't bear to finish it. Plastic Forks runs an all-too-close for comfort second.

Many thanks for the sympathies, all.

Red, I heartily commend your living in the moment. Do let the rest of us know how this turns out, preferably with more details than is socially acceptable....

I've been chuckling maniacally all morning. Because my mother can't drive and my father won't shop, I've been put in charge of replacing his entire stock of casual clothes (all of which are torn, faded, stained, or otherwise unfit to be worn in public) in one fell swoop. You guys can not understand how amusing I find this. My father at least admits he has no taste in clothes, but thus farhas been resistent to any changes to his wardrobe. I have hated this clothes for years, and the fact that I have to do his laundry a couple times a week means I can never, ever escape the torn-to-hell jeans and walking billboard t-shirts. Now I get to "Queer Eye" him and there's not much he can do about it .... BWA HA HA HA HAHA!

Favorite Soundtrack: Henry V

Favorite Album: Are you kidding? I wouldn't have a clue. Maybe 18.

Aside from the presence of David Boreanaz, who is playing a very un-Angel-like character, I'm not sure why someone would compare it to Buffy. (Though it would be nice if someone explained to the make-up department that while a 5 o'clock shadow looked sexy as hell on Boreanaz' Angel castmate Alexis Denisof, it looks like hell on Boreanaz himself).

I think the show's aiming squarely after the CSI/NCIS/Cold Case audience with a Mulder-and-Scully like vibe between the two leads. There's some sharp dialogue, potentially interesting supporting characters, and enough good aspects that I'll stick with it for a few more episodes to see if it grows legs or gets crushed under a shower of anvils.

Want to convey that your female protagonist is out of touch with pop culture? Have her say at least four times "I don't understand what you mean" in response to references by her co-workers. Want to convey that she's physically tough? Have her knock four different guys, in four separate instances, to their knees. Ignore the fact that none of these men turns out to be an actual threat - though admittedly, a couple do exercise poor judgement - so that she comes across more as a hair-trigger nutjob than a woman who can take care of herself. We must also make sure to drag in mention of terrible childhood trauma to explain why she's smart, driven, but emotionally distant (because, of course, no woman possesses these qualities absent abuse). If you're going for a Mulder-and-Scully relationship, it is also essential to refer to them by name in the first episode, so that your female lead can say "I don't know what you mean."

Even the pacing was rather off. The characters act perpetually in a rush despite the fact they're investigating a two-year-old murder, and a lot of the charm of the banter was lost to the actors trying-to-speak-as-quickly-as-they-could, and the scenes of Emily Deschanel trying gamely to walk as fast as her co-star when there was no earthly reason for them to be in a hurry. Very strange.

I'm watching Rome, and feel like it finally kicked into gear in episode 3. Love the look and feel of it, and finally the plot and characters are coalescing into something I look forward to. Mark, I'm not sure I'd characterize the ations described in your spoiler as "accidental" so much as "opportunistic." It's a shame that the event is apparently one of the plot deviations from historical fact, because I love it.

Did anyone else catch the series premiere of Bones last night? I think it has many of the right elements necessary to turn into something enjoyable, even if only as a guilty pleasure, but there were so many missteps in the episode that I suspect it won't last long. I'm so ready for a show with a female lead in a non-traditional profession who is smart, feisty, and abrasive, but I fear this one isn't going to be it no matter how hard it tries. A pox on all writers who use "childhood trauma" to explain why a female character isn't all warm and cuddly!

Josh, to answer a point you made upthread, please don't be concerned about offending me about making comments about my family. Believe me, nothing you can say is likely to be as strong as the things I say inside my head. Best of luck in getting your life in order. I'm feeling much the same way myself, but haven't found the magic solution to pull order from chaos.

We arranged to meet up yesterday evening, and proceeded to break into "Botanical Garden", which is a massive park in Oslo, which unfortunately is closed from 8 PM. Climbing over the fence, we strolled around in the very nice twilit park for hours in the rain, under my sturdy big umbrella. Then we went to my place to watch "Memento".

And a nice time was had by all.

:D

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Ladies, is this about the most romantic date you've ever heard of occurring IRL, or what?!

Ouch, Grinning Fellow. I wish you and your dad the very best.

Anyone have any suggestions for unusual items to give trick-or-treaters? This year I plan to supplement the usual candy with the McDonald's Happy Meal toys that are cluttering my house. I've used comics before, with mixed but generally positive results, but absolutely everything child friendly has gone to The Kid and I don't think I'm willing to buy comics to give away as I have in the past.

We're all here for you, Christian.

Babe who loves blades checking in .... (because I imagine this thread would benefit from more estrogen).

Don't actually own any cool weaponry, but still sob over the 19thC French hunting sword I had the opportunity (and at the time, the money) to buy but never did. Silly antique dealers marked it down because it had been an actual functional object in its day, rather than being hung on a wall to look pretty. In all my subsequent years of antiquing, I've never seen another like it, either. Wah!

Currently I'm drooling over several Hibben fantasy knives. Even though I know I'd never buy one, a girl can dream. If I ever live in an environment wher I can release my Goth decorator fantasies on a room, though .... that Jackal is mine!