University removes Firefly Poster

Chancellor attempts to stop the signal.  Sees quotation from Firefly as professor’s threat of violence against students.

Some commentators have pointed out there must be a history to this incident because it really doesn’t make a lot of sense.

Also see here and here and here.

Related articles

• IN WISCONSIN, IT’S BROWNSHIRTS VS. BROWNCOATS: ‘Firefly’ and Anti-Fascism Posters Get Professor Thr… (pajamasmedia.com)
• Theater Professor’s Firefly Poster Declared Threatening [Censorship] (gawker.com)
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• Kevin L: The Clear and Present Danger Posed by Space Captains (reason.com)
• University of Wisconsin-Stout Chancellor Charles W. Sorensen Defends Firefly Poster Censorship | Popehat (gruntdoc.com)
• Censored Firefly Poster of the Day (geeks.thedailywh.at)
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Ringer: Pilot

Image via Wikipedia

Watched the first episode of Ringer last week.  I was a bit trepidations about it because I had read such dismal previews. It wasn’t great but it wasn’t horrible.

However, due to circumstances, I didn’t see the second episode but I’m going to remedy that.

Flaws

I didn’t really feel connected to any of the characters and whew! there were a lot of them.  Not even the twins that Gellar is playing were appealing.  Everyone was pretty flat and there was no connection between any of the characters.  Gellar was playing to nothing because she’s taken both parts but the other actors seemed to be oblivious to other human beings in the scene too.

Not much of the funny.  The show needs it.

But then Vampire Diaries‘ pilot was the worst I’ve ever seen and now it’s one of my favorite non-nutritional TV shows.

Potential

Lots and lots of lies and secrets, and I like intrigue.

Many bad guys skulking about, most of them plotting to kill both Gellars.

Gellar in some glamorous dresses.

The teenage daughter Juliet amuses me, I hope she’ll play a big part.

*SPOILERS SPOILERS*

E is for Embroidery

Image by romana klee via Flickr

E is for Embroidery or, actually hand cross-stitching.

A few years ago, I was thinking that I didn’t have any material thing hobbies.  I collected things and learned how to do things but that’s not the same.  I started looking through all kinds of hobbies: candle-making, hair jewelry, plastic spoon art.

I finally settled on cross-stitching which startled my family a bit the first time that I brought out my embroidery bag.  I used the Klutz Guide to Simple Embroidery to learn.  It was perfect for me. Each stitch came with a little project.  I just copied it free hand from the book and did it.

At the end was project that used all the stitches together but I didn’t do it.  First, I am lazy.  Secondly, I wasn’t interested in the scene.

Now I have the rudimentary skills to make the stitches but I still don’t know much about when to use them.  When do you use a French knot and when do you  use a backstitch?  Dunno.

Next step was to find some pre-made patterns.  I learned that counted cross-stitch is very, very different from free-hand cross-stitch.  I don’t think much of counted cross-stitch, it’s like putting together a puzzle that takes a really, really long time.  I want my embroidery to have a quicker payoff.

Turns out there are lots and lots of sweet aphorisms and cute little animals.  That’s about it.  While I wouldn’t say no to a Hello Kitty pattern, I want to move onto something different.  Steotch.com is much more along the line I want.  But they do counted cross-stitch.  Boo!

I have all these hobbies supplies that make me so happy.  I have a wooden embroidery hoop and someday I plan to get a metal one.  I don’t like the plastic kinds.

My family gave me tons of embroidery floss one year.  Thanks!  I want to buy some gold thread too.

There are all kinds of needles but I just bought a basic set of 16.

I have a cute strawberry pin cushion but I lost a needle in it and and now I just use a magnetic tray.  Safer for me.

My niece was interested in what I was doing.  So, I gave  her kid sized hoop and floss and needle and started her on a pattern.  Next time, I see her I hope to show her more.

Here are useful links:

History of Embroidery

Printed Resources

Beginner’s Guide

Another Beginner’s Guide

Related articles

• Subversive Cross-Stitch by a Prisoner of War (neatorama.com)
• Samplers (stanfordblogging.wordpress.com)
• Space Invaders Cross-Stitch Sampler (neatorama.com)
• Hand Embroidery: Easy Tips to Help You Get Started (rockbottomt-shirts.com)
• Subversive Finds Worldwide: Steotch (craftzine.com)
• Tribute To Turkish Embroidery (trishburr.com)

Netflix and I: Looking Ahead, pt. 5

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I once saw a t-shirt that read:  Theatre is life.  Cinema is art.  Television is furniture.  I can’t speak for theater, since I rarely indulge.  But for the last 5 years at least, cinema has been forgotten takeout and television has been freshly baked bread.

More and more, I find that I give mainstream feature films 15 minutes (and that’s far too kind) before I turn them off.

I have returned to older films from 1930 to 1970 for enjoyable movies.  Most of them are competent and some are downright delightful.

I am also turning to non-English language films.  At least, if they disappoint me, it’ll be in a different way.

But my big treat has been fiction TV shows.  Some of my favorites:  My Name is Earl (at least the first and third seasons); Veronica Mars (season one);  House M.D. (season one); The Closer (all pretty good); Castle (season two way better than season one);  Chuck (mostly because of Zachary Levi/Adam Baldwin/Sarah Lancaster); and PUSHING DAISIES (this was good.)

I have never been much of a short film watcher but the intranets have been curing me.  One  short  at a time.  If you know of any others, please, please let me know.

So, here I am 8 years later.  Reading back through the list is like reading a diary.  It brings back a lot of memories.  I wanted to have something philosophical to say about how watching films changes a person or something but  I don’t have that kind of wisdom.  I do know that my life has been richer for them.

Netflix and I: Love Rekindled pt. 4

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The difficult days continued. However, I got a part-time job.  There also was an upsetting family crisis, which is mostly resolved now.

I began the science fiction project, and thoroughly enjoyed the early movies.  But my watching companions had so much going on that they couldn’t continue it with me (see crisis), and I lost interest after the 1970s scifi movies.  I did manage to get through my list after hacking out most of it.

I tried later to do a Jane Austen project but I could barely begin.  I think the chronological viewing projects are over for me.

OK, here’s a guilty pleasure.  My sister K used to watch Charmed, and one time I commented, “Why are you watching that junk?”  She stopped watching it shortly afterwards.  Me, full of loving kindness.

The joke was on me because a couple of years later, I started watching it.  And she wouldn’t watch it with me.  I watched 4 seasons.

I got discouraged with it because my favorite characters were Cole (Julian McMahon) and Piper (Holly Marie Combs) and they were paired with my least favorite characters, Phoebe (Alyssa Milano) and Leo (Brian Krause) respectively.  I would have watched it to the end if Combs had been paired with McMahon instead.

Charmed has a lot to be embarrassed about and many other sites will point these flaws out to you.  But I liked it.  I think I liked so much because the fantasy of living in a beautiful house with my sisters appealed to me on a level I couldn’t resist.  Plus, they were magic sisters.

Watched a lot of good movies and series during this time.  When I start losing my memory, I’m gonna watch them all over again for the first time.

Netflix and I: Difficult Days, pt. 3

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Parts one and two.

I went back to school during these years and I was employed part time.  I was lucky to get in 2 movies a month.

Then I finished school and was unemployed for far too long.  Because I didn’t have much money, I couldn’t afford the internet but I didn’t give up Netflix because I had to have something nice coming in the mail.

It was during this time that I noticed that anime series starting disappearing, and this was followed by live action movies.  They almost always stay grayed out.

Then Netflix threatened to remove multiple queues.  I was very upset by this and protested several different ways.  It really is the third most useful feature, aside from #1 no late fees;  and #2 mail them back. The company thought better of it.

I was dismayed by the ending of the second season of Veronica Mars – it seemed contrived.  I liked the whole of the season though. But still, I couldn’t watch the third season until just recently.  First season was excellent though.

Began my mystery movie project which was thoroughly satisfying.  Mysteries are usually solid and I hadn’t seen a lot of the classics.

The biographical movie project, on the other hand, was very  weak.  Not many good biopics – at least that I found during the project.

Netflix and I: Widening Horizons, pt. 2

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After I got accustomed to how Netflix worked, I stopped getting the latest releases and went for the older or lesser known movies.  I realized that I had gaps in my viewing, and that there was a broader selection of kinds of movies to watch.

Here’s where I began watching documentaries:  American Nightmare; Mad Hot Ballroom; Paper Clips;  Our Daily Bread; This Film is Not Yet Rated.

I was disappointed in a couple of television shows and stopped watching TV shows on disc for awhile.

I began watching fewer touted anime series. Then I discovered Satoshi Kon’s wonderful films, which are like Studio Ghibli for grownups.  High quality, immersive and provocative.

K and I came to the end of Buffy.  It was emotional and we had a final episode party. (This was before season 8.)

At this point, I began the first of my genre movie projects.  I picked horror because I refused to watch horror movies till I went to college.  Too much of a cowardy-custard.

I’m glad I wasn’t blogging when I started watching horror movies because I think I would have triggered a vigilante group.  One time I mentioned a a certain horror movie was awful and, judging by their reaction, I ruined my friends’ childhood.

I did find a few gems, and it was worth it.  Horror seems to be one of the easiest genres to do and one of the hardest to do well.   The only classic horror movie now I haven’t seen is Rosemary’s Baby.  I keep meaning to.

The Netflix and I: The Journey Begins, pt 1

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Disclaimer:  No gifts were made to me by Netflix.com.  I don’t even get those bonus discs my friends get from time to time.   *grrr*

I was inspired by Film Fanatic’s post to reflect a bit on my film watching habits.  Ever since I discovered her site, I’ve wanted a book like Peary’s.  But it’s OK.

Let me take you back to the olden days.  The first VCR that my family bought was about $500.  There were little VHS stores everywhere in those days.

Time passed, and chain stores with bigger stock opened up.  My family were avid movie watchers.  No section was safe from our foraging.  I remember after we had been renting for 2 years, I went to ask the clerk to recommend a movie for us.  She threw up her hands and said, “You watch everything.  I can’t think of anything.”

Later, when I was on my own, I continued to rent movies.  I was constantly getting caught by late fees and coming home with movies that I had little hope for.  Then my brother’s girlfriend (now wife, hey there W!) told me about Netflix.  I didn’t own a computer or a DVD player but I borrowed her computer and signed myself up.

That was in 2002.

I took my movies to my friends’ houses or my parents’ house to watch them.  It was a little difficult.  But eventually, I bought my own DVD.

There were so many classic films that I had read about but couldn’t find. Now I could get them.  So many of them were disappointing but enough of them were stellar, and kept me going.  I have loved movies for a long but now I could watch all the Godzilla/Gojira movies chronologically.  I see Rashomon instead of simply read an analysis of it.

And the extras and commentary.  It really opened my eyes to the process of film-making  and I gained new respect for how hard my favorites worked and how incredibly smart they are.

I discovered Joss Whedon in this period and joined the Whedon cult.  My sister K agreed to watch Buffy with me.  Those are some fabulous memories. (love you K, and thank you for ‘buffyizing.’)

I had read about Bollywood for years but never saw any of it.  My first was Rangeela AKA Colorful. I still love it even though I’ve seen better since.

Quick note:  Hidden Fortress has little to do with Star Wars, you’re better off watching Buster Crabbe’s Buck Rogers serials.

These lists are sampling of  the movies I rented during that time.

Bucket List for Geeks.

I am utterly against #20: DO. NOT. WANT.

#32 or the Intersect.

I think there could be a more diverse bucket list for geeks. Hmmmm….

TV Meme

List your five favourite TV shows and answer the questions below.

Five favourite TV shows in no particular order:

1. Pushing Daisies
2. Coupling
3. Veronica Mars
4. Firefly
5. Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Who is your favourite character in #1?
Emerson Cod – Chi McBride

Who is your least favourite character in #2?
Sarah Harper – Kate Isitt

What is your favourite episode of #4?
Out of Gas

What is you favourite season of #5?
Season 3

How long have you watched #1?
completed both seasons

How did you become interested in #3?
Became a fan of Kristen Bell in Reefer Madness the Musical

Who is your favourite actor in #4?
Adam Baldwin as Jayne

Which show do you prefer out of 1, 2, or 5?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

How would you kill off your favourite character in #2?
Somehow Jeff would be suffocated by a pair of guest breasts.

Which show have you seen more episodes of? #1 or #3?
Pushing Daisies

If you could be anyone from #4, who would you be?
YoSafBridge

Give a random quote from #1:
Please don’t attack the window treatments

Would a #3 and #4 crossover work?
No, but I would have loved to have seen an attempt

Pair two characters in #1 that would make an unlikely, but strangely okay couple.
Olive Snook and Emerson Cod

Overall, which show has a better cast, #3 or #5?
Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Which has better theme music? #2 or #4?
Firefly