Crafty Haworth

Jayne Hat

2011-07-12T21:13:00.018-05:00

For some reason, in the culture world that is Geek, having a good looking Jayne hat is a mark of distinction. Being able to make them, also gives one a mark of distinction. I wanted to make my own and found a pattern that was simple and created a good looking hat (http://heyjulie.wordpress.com/2006/06/27/basic-earflap-hat/), though I altered it a bit because I didn't like how the ear-flaps turned out when I did them. So by doing the main body of the hat and then adding the ear-flaps on, I created something that I like.

Now, to be honest, this is not a "true" Jayne hat - his is more fluffy, not as head hugging, and comes to more of a point on top - but I like to look of these hats and so this is how I make them.

For "Regular" Size hat:
Using:
- Size 8 Needles (16" Circulars, Double-Points)
- Lion Brand Yarn "Jiffy" - Color: Gold (for "yellow")
- Lion Brand Yarn "Jiffy" - Color: Rust (for "orange")
- Lion Brand Yarn "Jiffy" - Color: Paprika (for "red")

Main Body of hat
- Cast on 77 stitches in "orange" color
- Do four rows of knit/pearl/knit/pearl/etc.
- Knit 13(ish) Rows of Orange (roughly 3.25-3.5")
- Knit in "yellow color"
- Knit 9(ish) rows of Yellow (roughly 1.5-1.75")
Start Decreases
- K9, K2tog, repeat
- Knit all (will have 70 stitches total)
- K8, K2tog, repeat
- Knit all (63 stitches)
- K7, K2tog, repeat
- Knit all (56 stitches)
- K6, K2tog, repeat
- Knit all (49 stitches)
- K5, K2tog, repeat
- Knit all (42 stitches)
- K4, K2tog, repeat
- K3, K2tog, repeat
- K2, K2tog, repeat
- K1, K2tog, repeat
- K2tog, repeat
- This finishes at 7 stitches - tie end through all.

Ear-Flaps - I do the ear-flaps from the underside because I like the "cleaner" look of them.
- Pick up 15 stitches in "red" color, 11 stitches from back center on both sides. Pick up stitches in the rows of knits ABOVE the 4 rows of ribbing on the inside of the hat.
- Do 16(ish) rows of Stockinette Stitch (roughly 3-3.25")
- K2tog, Knit 11, K2tog
- Pearl all (13)
- K2tog, Knit 9, K2tog
- Pearl all (11)
- K2tog, Knit 7, K2tog
- Pearl all (9)
- K2tog, Knit 5, K2tog
- Cast off.

Braids on Ear-Flaps:
- 3 strands about arm length, pull through above cast off in center of ear-flap and braid the strands together.

Poof:
- Make 2 paper circles: roughly 3.5" diameter with 5/8 to 3/4" center hole
- Pull 3 colors through center til can't fit anymore.
- Cut all strands along edge, tie around center between paper circle (I use 2 strands to tie).
- Using threads that tied center of poof to tack it to top of hat.

And that's my Jayne hat pattern. I think it's rather cunning.

Worst drivers in the world?

2010-03-17T21:47:00.005-05:00

So was just going to tweet this, but I couldn't adequately condense all my frustration (and fear of dying) into just 140 characters.

So I've lived a lot of places with bad drivers including Indiana road hogs, aggressive Texas drivers, insane LA traffic and even Columbia, MO where everyone I know has had some kind of car accident within 6 months of being there. And then I moved to St Louis and I have never seen people do the crazy no-brain stuff they do on the road here.

Used to, my go-to example story of bad St Louis drivers:
One day on a major thoroughfare, at a stoplight I watched as a person in the right-hand turn lane with their right turn signal on, turned LEFT across seven lanes of traffic.

That was my example of bad driving, at least until today.

So driving home from work, was nearly home and I was turning into the parking area for the condo. I have to turn left so had my left turn-signal on and I was stopped because there were cars coming the other way. The guy behind me decided waiting for 5 seconds was too long and decided to (illegally) pass me on the left directly into oncoming traffic. Much honking of horns and some swerving later, there was luckily no accident and when the road was clear of other cars I made my left turn.

But seriously, who in their right mind passes someone who is trying to turn left on the left side directly into oncoming traffic?

St Louis drivers that's who.

"Face it, girls, I'm older and I have more insurance." (Fried Green Tomatoes)

Percy and the Cliff Notes

2010-02-13T23:56:00.003-06:00

So went and watched Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightning Thief while visiting Mom; it's a kid's movie so Mom was interested in seeing it, and there's no talking animals in it so it's easier for me stomach. Mostly, though, I was curious as to how it handled Greek mythology. Overall, pretty good, but there were a few things I found a little annoying.

1: "Hercules"
Learning Greek myth in the museum Mr. Brunner talks of heroes in Greek myth including Hercules. Close, but Hercules was the Roman version of the Greek hero Herakles. I'm just going to attribute that one to not wanting to confuse ignorant Americans who only know Greek myth via the Disney animated movie.

2: Athena's daughter.
Athena was one of the three Virgin Goddesses of Greek myth, so no kids ever. Pretty self-explanatory my problem with that one.

3: A burning hell?
Greek mythology varies over time from author to author about the exact makeup of the Underworld (whether it's just one area or divided into three; whether it has one river or five rivers). But the one consensus is that there is not burning punishment; that is a Judeo-Christian belief. Not saying that some aren't punished in the afterlife, but those who are punished are sent to Tartarus, a deep, dark pit/abyss. Likewise the burning, winged and horned form that Hades himself uses, not present in any representation of Hades; this is much closer to the Judeo-Christian view of demons or Satan. Again, I think the fiery hell/demons are used to not confuse Americans who view the underworld as being solely a fiery hell.

4: Where's Cerberus?
While we're in the Underworld, where is Cerberus (the multi-headed dog that keeps souls from escaping). We get "hell hounds" but no Cerberus. This makes me sad 'cause I wanted to see how they would portray a multi-headed dog and how it would compare to the Harry Potter version. Alas, I feel that they avoided making Cerberus for fear that they would be accused of stealing it from Harry Potter.

5: Attributes?
In Greek imagery each God was given attributes because there was no other way to tell them apart visually. So when we're presented with the pantheon at the end of the movie we're presented with eleven (only eleven not twelve as Hades is not there) similar figures with no attributes. I assume that the only female who speaks would be Hera, since she interrupts and counters Zeus. Nope, it's Athena because there has to be a tie back to her daughter. Would it really kill them to have put some attributes in the costume design though?

Not saying that it got everything wrong, there were some things that I enjoyed.
1: The Lotus Eaters, an often overlooked/forgotten portion of Odysseus's return home, so nice to see it referenced.
2: The real lightning thief was the son of the trickster of Greek myth; very fitting.
3: The lecherous satyr.

Of course there are issues I had with the overall plot and reveals, but that is another list. And this just makes me more concerned about the Clash of the Titans remake scheduled to be out in April.

Anyone else find any disparities between Percy Jackson and Greek myth?

But for now, "I'm telling you, you're messing up the story, now get it right!" (The Princess Bride)

Movie Trio: Surprise (to me) Mockumentaries

2009-08-09T22:27:00.002-05:00

Finally saw Big Man Japan on DVD this week and it's a strange little, Japanese movie (which I know that's redundant as Japanese movies are often strange). I knew the basic premise of the movie before renting it, so knew that it was about a man who was a real-life giant super-hero working for the government saving the country from giant Godzilla-like monsters. What I didn't realize is that it was going to be mockumentary. This gave it an interesting twist as we got to see the life of this average man with problems like anyone else with ex-wife and a kid, who happened to be a super-hero saving the country; we also got to see how public sentiment had changed from when his grandfather was a super-hero to how it was for him in present day. It was an interesting take on Godzilla-like movies, and it only really worked because of the mockumentary aspect.

Seeing it reminded me of other movies that surprised me by being mockumentaries, and I think benefited from being told as a mockumentary rather than the usual narrative.

1) Drop Dead Gorgeous (1999)
When I first heard of this movie about a beauty pageant, I had no interest in it. But I knew of the cast and had a friend who said it was pretty good and not what I would expect, so I gave it a shot. What I discovered was a great black comedy with death and explosions and wicked pettiness; and what works about the film is that it's told through the lens of the impartial outsider as events unfold. So the camera crew is just as surprised as the audience when competition at the beauty pageant turns deadly, and it always keeps you guessing who's really behind it.

2) Surf's Up (2007)
This came out less than a year after Happy Feet; I had already seen that animated penguin movie and was very disappointed in it's need to go all "save the planet" when that seemed to veer suddenly from the rest of the movie. So I wasn't sure I wanted to see Surf's Up; but there were pygmy penguins in the trailer and that was enough to convince me that it might be worth a look. Much to my surprise, the movie started with a documentary-style interview of the main character and after that I was happily bemused by this mockumentary about penguins and their obsession with surfing. Surfing penguins (and one chicken) is super-ridiculous but somehow becomes more believable as a mockumentary.

3) The Blair Witch Project (1999)
When this one came out I had seen the "making of" special on SciFi channel and the Blair Witch website; so heading into the theater for the sold-out opening night I was under the impression that this was a true story (or at least based on one). Thinking this sold the movie for me as I felt that I too was lost in the woods and frightened about stick figures appearing in the night. It was only after seeing it that I found out that it was totally fictional. If this movie had been filmed in the usual style of horror movie it would have been dull and seemed empty of dialogue and plot; but with the close-quarters camera views and full panic of the actors, their experience became the whole movie.

Movie Trio: Indie Love

2009-07-26T13:56:00.002-05:00

(500) Days of Summer which has received much critical acclaim since it's release at Sundance earlier this year, finally got release in St. Louis this weekend. Kurt and I went and saw and were much amused by this film that is not a love story, but a story about love. In this day and age where most movies are sterilized and idealized stories about 2 people falling madly in love against all reason, it's a nice change to see a movie which shows all the ups and downs and foibles of a real relationship that doesn't end well.

Before seeing the movie and afterward I thought of other indie movies of the past ten years that also have different views of love and life.

1) Garden State (2004)
Zach Braff's directorial debut which is mostly just a collection of stories and urban legends he heard growing up; but there is also the love story of two people adrift in the world. It's a contrived romance and very predictable, but it's still heart-warming and the various stories are entertaining, if nothing else.

2) Juno (2007)
Second movie from Jason Reitman and is quite charming. A story of pregnant teenager who falls in love with the father of her child through the course of the pregnancy. Some have said that it tries to be too Indie and is contrived; I find it witty and endearing as she discovers that life does not always work the way you expect it to.

3) Brick (2005)
The first from Rian Johnson and one I love to be able to include in a list because it's such a good movie. One could argue that it's not a movie about love, but at it's heart it is. Brendan loves Em and wants to know what happened to her and why; through the unfolding we find out that Em is not love with Brendan but in love with.... well, I won't ruin the surprise. But it's the relationships of who is involved with whom that is a major part of this noir detective story.

But for now, "Just because she's likes the same bizzaro crap you do doesn't mean she's your soul mate." ((500) Days of Summer)

Movie Trio: Before they were in this Summer's Blockbusters

2009-07-06T23:53:00.002-05:00

I am a movie geek in that I can never seem to watch just one movie and I love to make connections between movies that don't seem to be otherwise connected. Starting in college, I liked pairing movies for "double feature" nights. Sometimes the pairings make sense, like Grosse Pointe Blank and The Big Hit (misunderstood & torn hit-men). Sometimes they're connected marginally, Fifth Element and Hannibal (Gary Oldman roles). Now that I've graduated (twice) and have a large and ever-growing movie collection, the movie pairings are starting to become trios. The themes can be anything and the only limitation is it has to be movies in the collection (though that's not too limiting with nearly 600 titles in our collection). So I feel like sharing these trios with others other than myself (though I know not many read this blog, so it won't be shared with many, but that's more than one).

With all the big block-buster movies this summer that are failures (not failure in their box-office takes, but as movies themselves) it makes me long for other summers and other movies, ones maybe not as marred by egos. So I have compiled a list of movies (not necessarily summer movies) that have actors from this summer before they were the heroes and in the spotlight.

1) Constantine (2005) - Shia LaBeouf as the comic-relief sidekick.
Between the failures of this summer's Transformers 2 and last summer's Indiana Jones 4, I am tired of seeing Shia cast as a hero only for him to be not-so-heroic. I long for when he was just a sidekick, because he works well as a sidekick. A hero has to carry a movie or the movie fails; a sidekick just has to follow the hero providing support where necessary, even if dying is considered part of that necessity. They can have witty dialogue and verbally point out plot-points that aren't always apparent to the audience; they appear on-screen just long enough to do their job and then disappear into the background. They do not have to carry the movie itself. So I longed for Shia in roles such as Chas from Constantine. This is the first movie I had seen him in, and he works in this role; he's a smart-mouth Jewish kid following around and supporting an emotional-less Keanu Reeves. This is how I like to remember Shia. Not as hair-obsessed Mutt or as image-obsessed Sam; but as the kid who really wants to emulate his hero and will follow him 'til the end. And luckily the whole movie itself ages well; it gets better with subsequent viewings as more details are noticed that aren't always caught in a first or fifth viewing.
Confession: There is a stinger after the credits; I had never seen it before re-watching the movie a couple weeks ago, and it actually adds a little bit to the movie.

2) The Chronicles of Riddick (2004) - Karl Urban as a warrior villain.
This summer's Star Trek is one of those few wins from this summer of bad movies. It's not great Oscar-worthiness, but it is a fun and enjoyable ensemble movie. Unlike many other good ensemble movies, though, it is a mostly unknown group of young actors and actresses pulled in to try to capture and portray characters that have been seen in TV and movies over the last 40+ years. And capture them they do. Anton Yelchin (who is Russian) is cute as Chekov; Simon Pegg does an interesting and hilarious variation on Scottie; and I think Zachery Quinto has that very essence that makes Spock, Spock. But more than anyone else, Karl Urban captures Bones perfectly. Even before he's said a line (let alone the line "All I've got left is my Bones"), once he appears on screen, you know that it is Bones. Looking up Urban to see what he had played in before, I discovered that he has done many action roles. The role I find most striking as a contrast to Bones is Vaako the villain in The Chronicles of Riddick; Vaako wasn't the high Lord Marshall ruling the vast empire, but was his most trusted lieutenant charged with hunting down Riddick. It is interesting to see Urban be able to have full command of two very different roles. Unfortunately this is not a movie that ages as well as Constantine; though, I somehow enjoy it every time we see it. It is one of my guilty pleasures.
Note: Kurt has pointed out that Urban played Eomer in the Lord of the Rings movies well before The Chronicles of Riddick, but I like the contrast that Vaako makes to Bones better.

3) Enemy Mine (1985) - Dennis Quaid as the human
As a contrast to the other movies, instead of before they were stars this is when he was a star. The yet to be released G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, which has not been rated well so far in the early test screenings, is a conglomeration of this summer's movies: an ensemble cast and robots (well, robotic suits). Among the ensemble cast which includes the likes of Christopher Eccleston and Joseph Gordon-Levitt leading the bad guys with pretty-boy Channing Tatum leading the good guys; also leading the good guys is Dennis Quaid as General Hawk. I grew up with Quaid as a household name; and in addition to Innerspace, Enemy Mine was a movie that was in the parent's collection. It is interesting now to watch a movie made before nearly all effects were computer-generated; to watch a big sci-fi movie with space battles and space ships that is concerned mostly with the interactions of two individuals who have been raised to hate the other. It is their story, and the movie depends on their performances and the characters themselves above special effects; something that most of these summer block-busters seem to have forgotten.
Interesting note: Channing Tatum is also playing Pretty Boy Floyd in Public Enemies this summer.

How about you? Any movies that you can think of of stars from this summer before they were stars?

But for now, "You're in Love. Have a Beer." (Hellboy II: The Golden Army)

Back at ya!

2009-06-23T00:35:00.002-05:00

Ok, so this is really more of a response posting as my husband already beat me to the mushy/glurgy blog posting on my b-day (that's what happens when my birthday is two days before his). But anyway, here goes the mushy stuff from me in celebration of his birthday today.

(**WARNING** The following not recommended for those prone to gagging at excessive sweetness or to tearing up at glurge. You have been warned).

I'm glad that you:
- put up with me tickling and hitting you. I'm sorry - aggressive female and that probably won't change, though I'm trying to cut down.
- let me play Super Mario Galaxy with you or just telling you what to do when you're playing whatever random game of the moment. I know it's hard to put up with a wife that likes video games (not).
- understand my love of reading and have figured out that reading myself to sleep is probably what I'll be doing until I'm a hundred and eight.
- share a love of movies. We might not always see eye to eye on all movies, but we both enjoy a well-crafted, cinema experience.
- are patient with all my various neuroses and compulsions, 'cause I know dealing with me takes lots of patience.
- trust me, even when driving your car when my driving scares the snot out of you.
- encourage me, whether it's in my random artsy projects or finishing my MA or even just going out with friends for a night.
- rub my feet when I've had a long day.
- take me out to a steak dinner every now and again, even though you're a vegetarian.
- get along with all my family and I yours so that we have no "dreaded in-laws". I'm especially amused that you're becoming friends with my brother.

And finally, I know I said that it was awkward being the only one at Megan's party who was in a happy/stable relationship because of all the male-bashing going on, but that was actually a good kind of awkward.

So yeah, we will have been together for five years this July and married for one and I can't imagine the next fifty years without you.

So, HAPPY BIRTHDAY! Okay, see you, love you, bye.

Happy Geek BDay to Me!

2009-06-21T22:42:00.006-05:00

So, today is my birthday and normally I keep it a quiet affair, but today had to share the great geek gift one of my friends got me. I'll preface this with both her and I are geek girls - we share a love of sci-fi books/movies/tv as well as japanese anime and Joss Whedon. So for my birthday she baked me some cookies and got me this:

That's right, she bought me a stuffed DRD!!! If you have no idea what one is, well, all I can say is WATCH SOME FARSCAPE (or actually just go here for quick info on DRDs). And if you're drooling you too can buy one on Amazon here or here. And for uber-geek there's even an "1812" version (sadly on backorder).

I think it looks real cute at the bottom of a bookshelf peeking out on the world:
(note the Cthulu and the greek amphora on the top shelf - yep, I'm a geek).

And now I think I'll have a cupcake, 'cause it's my b-day.

"You know, I'm going to track down this cute droid and rip off both his antennae." ("Farscape", season 1, ep 10)

Behind...

2009-04-23T20:43:00.002-05:00

This has been one of those week's in which I've felt behind all week. In work, at home in the evenings, when I wake up in the morning again. It's not that I'm actually behind or that I have projects that I'm in the middle of and can't finish, it's that I *feel* like I'm behind. And all the while my brain feels like putty; like I'm trying to think through fog. Maybe not fog, maybe just a light mist. Either way, can't think of anything interesting to expound upon.

So I think I'll just share something that was shared by Jon Hodgman via his twitter-feed a few week's ago. If you go here to this google map of a location in Pittsburg, and click on "Street View" you'll see them. No, go and look. I'll wait.

Seen them now? Yep, those are LARPers and they can be seen in another view which someone else blogged about here. It's not just some weird coincidence that these guys show up on Google maps. There was actually a big project to create specific scenes and groups of different people at different places in Pittsburg so that they would show up on Google Maps at street view. Or as Hodgman described it, "a street-long art project/google mind-eff." Full details of the project with pictures and everything can be found on their main website here. Go, browse, it's amusing.

Meanwhile I'm finally watching The Forbidden Kingdom. Not a great plot, but the kung fu is pretty good. I do enjoy some fun and/or drunken kung fu. Best fun kung fu though is not Jackie Chan's drunken style, but Jet Li's Monkey King; he really does gain all the winsomeness of a simian.

So for now, "Leopard style, Dragon style, fly through air, fight on water, Crouching Tiger, Spanking monkey." (The Forbidden Kingdom)

Of skeletons and crashing skies and trout...

2009-04-20T22:41:00.010-05:00

So, I was going to get a lot more blogging done this weekend and then I got caught up in movies and then got sick and then spent the rest of the weekend on the couch. But before sickness was Jason Webley.

Friday night was fun. Me and Kurt went out with a couple friends to a Jason Webley show. Kurt & I first saw Jason at a Dresden Dolls show in LA; he was one of many openers, and we greatly enjoyed the strange man with an accordion singing happy little songs about death. I bought one of his CDs, and while I enjoyed it, it wasn't as good as the live show. The live performance is so much better because of his energy and the audience participation. So, I joined the mailing list to keep up with any possible future performances in the area. Last year he did a couple shows in St Louis and Kurt & I went to one. And then we heard that he was to be back again this April, and we knew we had to go and bring friends.

Jason is an interesting entertainer; one day he decided he would start touring with what money he had and would stop once the money ran out. It's now been eleven years (he's having an anniversary show this July) and he's still going strong. Friday night's show was no different; there was a small crowd to begin with but we were energetic and our numbers grew through the show. The audience participation was even more fun than I remembered, and I got to be the one to eat the poisoned pear and die (go see a show and you too will understand).

Here's some pics I took:
Jason tuning his guitar before the show:

Crazy accordion-man (forgot the red-eye on the flash so he does look **crazy**):

The show will not stop even with a popped string:

An energetic performer, so always blurry without a flash:

A post-show pic of me and Jason (yep, I'm totally geeking out there):

So moral of this post is GO SEE A JASON WEBLEY SHOW! Yeah, it's fun and you'll thank me later. For now I will finish "Buffy" season 4.

But for now, "I showed up on time, so I get to be cowboy guy."
"Do you mind? I'm talking to my demon."
"I think I figured out how to steer by gesturing emphatically."
"I wear the cheese, it does not wear me."
"Wait, you'll miss the humorous conclusion."
*Singing* "And try not to bleed on my couch; I just had it steam-cleaned."
"We'd better build a fort." "I'll get some pillows" ("Buffy", Season 4, Season Finale)

Growing up...

2009-04-14T23:00:00.003-05:00

So this weekend was spent with Kurt's family celebrating the dual birthdays of April (his brother's on Saturday & his sister's on Sunday) with a big family get-together/lunch. Nearly the entire lunch conversation was centered on the recent pregnancy of Kurt's sister (about 2 months along, due in November). It was interesting to see her so happily pregnant when every story I've heard about her growing up (and even into college) was that she always said she was never going to have kids. This coupled with my own doctor's appointment today touching base with my OB/GYN and asking those last minute planning questions before Kurt and I start trying to have a kid of our own, it's starting to make me think, "when did I grow up?"

After hearing of the doctor's appointment today, Evan commented to Kurt that it was weird for him to think of his best friend's starting to have kids. My response to this is *I* still find it weird that I'm going to start have kids of my own. I was never in a hurry to settle down and start a family; I wanted to get school and work settled before trying to raise kids. But time passes and 30 is around the corner; that and over the past year life has become more settled. Last May I finished my M.A.; Kurt & I finally tied the knot in July; and in January Kurt & I found a new place with more room. The next step is obviously kids.

Even with all these steps and all the time that's passed since HS, I still don't feel like an adult most days. Yes, I work a full-time job and pay bills and all that jazz, but I come home and spend many hours a night on the couch reading comics & stuff online and watching movies. I look forward to catching at least a couple midnight showings of summer movies again this year. I still buy lots of amusing (yet strange) t-shirts to wear (over long-sleeves in the winter of course). I still feel like I'm a young twenty-something fresh out of college; at least until I start complaining about the state of the youth these days.

Oh well, I better enjoy it while I can, 'cause once you have kids your life changes; it'll be good change, but change is always scary. Until then I shall start taking my folic acid.

But for now, "That sure as hell sounds like some super-hero-captain-tightpants bullsh#t to me man." (White Noise 2)

Connect the ellipses...

2009-04-11T00:48:00.002-05:00

This is an addendum to the previous post "Connect the dots..."

This week's episode of "CSI" ("The Descent of Man") has Charisma Carpenter, who is better known as Cordelia on "Buffy"/"Angel." It all continues to be inter-connected.

Does your butt make me look fat?

2009-04-11T00:38:00.000-05:00

So I think nearly any TV series that deals with magic/dark forces and even several just sci-fi, there comes a point in the series when they do an episode where they switch bodies. Watching "Buffy" season 4 there is one such episode ("Who Are You?") which reminds me why these body-switching episodes are some of my favorites; mostly because they really show the strength of a series and of the actors.

Probably my favorite of the body switching episodes was the one from "Farscape," mostly because there are several body swaps, which keeps it interesting. Through all the swaps we get to see exaggerated caricatures of all the characters as perceived by the different actors. It gives one an interesting view of what others perceive to be the defining characteristics of a character. For instance D'Argo having Chiana's mind within him, Anthony Simcoe (who plays D'Argo) really emphasizes Chiana's sensual nature and how she holds her body; this overemphasis adds great comedic value. It also show Simcoe's acting ability as he can do more beyond the warrior D'Argo. So these body-switching episodes are a fun change of pace to a series, and we get to see the actors' real abilities on playing a variety of personalities in a short amount of time.

A variation to the body-switching episodes is an "alternate reality" where characters get to play their opposites; again, like the body switching there is much comedy and breadth of performance from the actors. My favorite from these is the "Buffy" episode "The Wish" in which we see a Sunnydale without Buffy, including Willow and Xander as vampires. Willow as evil vampire is quite fun.

Now, body-switching episodes don't always work; usually if they don't work it's because either the writers or the actors can't work outside of the box. But when it does work, it's great.

But for now, "Am I the only one who thinks his head looks like an octopus?" (Club Dread)

Welcome to Buffyverse.

2009-04-09T21:09:00.002-05:00

My first experience with a Joss Whedon creation was "Firefly;" my brother introduced me to it through the DVD box set and after two episodes I was hooked. I watched his set all the way through, and then bought my own set. I have watched the full "Firefly" series many times and have loaned it out to create many new followers. After "Firefly" came Serenity and then last summer was "Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-Long Blog;" I watched all and continued to be enamored with everything coming from Whedon.

But then there was the question of "Buffy." I had never watched "Buffy" - didn't interest me in HS/College and didn't have any friends that watched it. Then "Angel" came out, and I took one look at David Boreanaz's spiky (douchebag) hair and said "no." But having watched everything else in the Whedonverse, I thought maybe I should give "Buffy" a chance. That and the first two seasons of "Buffy" were on Hulu, which made it easier (and free).

First few episodes were ok, and then came the hyena episode (entitled "The Pack") and Alison Hannigan's comment on the zebra sex: "It's like the Heimlich... with stripes." After that, I was hooked to the glib interplay between the characters and the overall cheeseball factor. Since then I have followed Buffy and the gang through killing the Master/Buffy dying, Angel turning evil again, Buffy bringing Angel back his soul only to send him to hell, the introduction of Faith, the mayor is evil, and then they blow up the HS because the Mayor became a giant snake demon (sorry to all who I just spoiled the major plots of the first three seasons). And then once I finished the third season of "Buffy," I then of course had to start watching "Angel" in conjunction with "Buffy."

Now that I am halfway through "Buffy" season four and "Angel" season one, I have to say that Joss Whedon continues to amuse and entertain. And probably the thing that I enjoy most is the witty repartee, as with any Whedon show. That and they constantly ridicule themselves; any show with tons of demons and vampires and constantly fighting against the apocalypse can't take themselves too seriously or they'll collapse under their own weight (as "Heroes" seems to be doing this season). And every now and again there's a great moment that makes it all worth it, like Angel dancing in the episode "She" (the selling point of it is the happy, gleeful look on his face; the very antithesis of the brooding Angel).

So for now I'm really enjoying it, but I've heard that "Buffy" and "Angel" really change before the end of both series, so we shall see.

But for now, "We're going to make a covenant, Carl. Do you want to make a covenant?" (Yes Man)

Connect the dots...

2009-04-08T22:33:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I wonder if we (my husband & I) watch too many movies, and sometimes I wonder if I have too much movie trivia in my head. And then there are some days that I wonder both.

So last week was an odd week as we watched a lot of TV; I say odd because we're not really big TV watchers except for specific shows that we catch on DVD or Hulu. But last week we seemed to have a lot to watch TV-wise and then on Saturday I noticed a pattern to our watching for the week (note this is an entire week's worth of watching, not just one night).

So we watched "Heroes" and then later in the evening I watched an episode each of "Buffy" & "Angel"; Seth Green was in all of these (Oz in "Buffy"/"Angel" and a comic book store clerk in "Heroes"). Then there was an episode of "Bones" which has David Boreanaz, who of course is in "Buffy" & "Angel." Then we had in a disc of 3rd season of "House"; an episode of that had Marc Blucas as a Iraq War veteran; Marc played Riley on "Buffy" (4th season). Then there is the other obligatory Joss Whedon connections of "Dollhouse" (connected to "Buffy"/"Angel" through Joss Whedon, Elisha Dushku (Faith on "Buffy"), Amy Acker (Fred on "Angel"), and other Whedon regulars) and "Castle" (connected to "Buffy" through Nathan Fillion who shows up season 7). We didn't have an episode of "Battlestar Galactica" to watch, but if we did we would have seen Tahmoh Penikett who is now the FBI agent on "Dollhouse." All came full circle when we watched Groundhog Day (hadn't seen in ages and finally bought ourselves a copy); the insurance salesman who hassles Bill Murray on the street was played by Stephen Tobolowsky, who was on "Heroes" as Bob.

I think what we learn from this might not be that we watch too many movies, but maybe I just have a small obsession with all things Joss Whedon. Good chance of that, yeah.

Oh and I thought about inserting links for all the shows/people I mentioned in that run-through, but I decided that it was too much work and honestly you could look them all up yourself on IMDB.

But for now, "I'm a rogue demon hunter." (Angel, season 1)

Addendum: James Marsters who is Spike in "Buffy"/"Angel" is playing Lord Piccolo (green dude) in DragonBall Evolution coming out this weekend. Ah - it's a paycheck.

Redheads are feisty, blondes have more fun, and brunettes are... dependable?

2009-04-06T21:21:00.002-05:00

So, currently reading a fantasy novel calling itself a fairy tale for adults, which is centered on a man discovering that fairy tale characters are real. As a first act twist we find out that the raven-haired, dark-eyed beauty is an evil witch and that the fair-skinned blond is a good elf trying to save him. Really? That's the twist? The dark one is evil and the light one good? I figured that one out as soon as we were introduced to the characters. You know why? Because it's a fairy tale; and like any fairy tale there are rules on appearance traits that are reflections of character traits. So black/dark is always evil and light/white is always good. So this wasn't much of a twist, really.

But it got me thinking, this is a stereotyping that exists beyond fairy tales and stories in general, whether novels, tv, or movies. Even in day to day life there are stereotypes based on looks. Blonds have more fun or are stupid (or both). Redheads are feisty and have short tempers. Raven-tresses are exotic and dark (and these days Goth). Brunettes are... well... there's not really anything for brunettes. That's something I noticed growing up as I have the most medium brown hair possible; it's totally average and like many children I wanted to be different and not have my boring brown hair.

But this fairy tale with its stereotypes of appearance reflecting personality traits got me thinking again about my own hair; especially as I recently have decided to go back to my medium brown. Since my senior year of HS I had been dying my hair red; first started with red streaks and then to a full head of auburn (red-brown) to an ongoing variation of vibrant reds. I got compliments on how the red hair suited my pale complexion so I kept dying my hair; I was never particular about the shade so sometimes it would be subdued reddish-brown, sometimes it would be deep dark purplish-red, others a bright fire engine red. It was fun, but I got tired of having to re-dye it every six weeks to cover the roots. So last year I decided to change back to the brown, mostly for laziness and partially because I wanted to try brown again.

And so with my basic brown hair, I thought about stereotype appearances and fairy tale stories and I realized something. If I was a character in a story or novel or movie or what not, I wouldn't be either the hero or villain. With the average brown hair and hazel eyes I would be a background character or a good friend of the hero or a smart cousin or something. I'm not complaining I just find it interesting that I'm too average of appearance, so I wouldn't be anything interesting in a story. Oh well, I enjoy my non-eventful life.

But for now, "It's me, Hector 2. Quiet he might hear you." (Timecrimes)

A start...

2009-04-05T15:52:00.000-05:00

So, for a while now, I have been debating starting a blog so that I can post on my random thoughts on movies and geekness and my craft projects. I started doing twitter recently, which is good for random thoughts, but sometimes 140 characters is too limiting. So now this exists as an outlet for the longer thoughts.

And this isn't too much of a first post, I'm afraid, but my lazy Sunday afternoon watching movies and doing laundry isn't inspiring any long thoughts. Maybe tomorrow.

For now, "let the tuning commence." (Dark City, Director's Cut)