Taigan

Well if you don't I understand it's been... kind of a while since I was on here. Heck I haven't even read other people's journal posts in months so if you're waiting for my reply to a life-altering epiphany you posted... oops?

Anyway, most of you know I was in a production of Shakespeare's "A Winter's Tale." It was awesome! I haven't had that kind of fun in a long time. Not to say it all went swimingly. Most notably was the Sunday matinee performance where I bent down to pick up a baby and my pants split wide open! Luckly I was wearing a long coat in that scene so the audience couldn't tell and that was the last scene before intermission so a quick sewing job and a lot of duck tape later and I was set to go!

Saturday night was the last night and also the cast party. Only thing I'm going to mention about that was the Shakespeare Mad-libs. The crew had gone around that day collecting nouns, verbs and adjectives. Then those of us who had long monologues in the play were given our speeches to do one more time... only now slightly altered.

I'd like to say that the free time of not being in a show will make me better about keeping up to date on this site, but I doubt it. ^_^;;

So, until I log in again or (more likely) I see you in person...

 

And... here's one reason I don't watch the show:
 

That's all for now.  Oh, my birthday's coming up this weekend.  Probably should do something about that. Hmmm....

 This is just a random thing I came across. A poem written by stand-up comic Demetri Martin. 

Dammit I’m mad.
Evil is a deed as I live.
God, am I reviled? I rise, my bed on a sun, I melt.
To be not one man emanating is sad. I piss.
Alas, it is so late. Who stops to help?
Man, it is hot. I’m in it. I tell.
I am not a devil. I level “Mad Dog”.
Ah, say burning is, as a deified gulp,
In my halo of a mired rum tin.
I erase many men. Oh, to be man, a sin.
Is evil in a clam? In a trap?
No. It is open. On it I was stuck.
Rats peed on hope. Elsewhere dips a web.
Be still if I fill its ebb.
Ew, a spider… eh?
We sleep. Oh no!
Deep, stark cuts saw it in one position.
Part animal, can I live? Sin is a name.
Both, one… my names are in it.
Murder? I’m a fool.
A hymn I plug, deified as a sign in ruby ash.
A Goddam level I lived at.
On mail let it in. I’m it.
Oh, sit in ample hot spots. Oh wet!
A loss it is alas (sip). I’d assign it a name.
Name not one bottle minus an ode by me:
“Sir, I deliver. I’m a dog”
Evil is a deed as I live.
Dammit I’m mad.

Do you see the brilliance of it? 
_{Hint: Try reading it backwards!}

Please bare with me, silly as it seems on the surface I do think this is important.

I am a fan of the Nickelodeon television series Avatar:The Last Airbender. Probably few of you are. For those who have never heard of it, it is a fantasy story telling of a world at war and a young hero, the latest in a series of incarnated "Avatars" tasked to keep the world in balance. For a so-called "kids" show, it had a surprisingly rich depth of characterization and good storytelling. Not to mention fantastic detail in the art.

Below are a few examples all taken from here:


A little less than a year ago it was announced that there would be a live-action movie version of this series directed by M. Night Shyamalan. Fan reaction was not completely positive.

I, personally, had already abandoned hope of it being any good. Yet even I was aghast when, a few weeks ago, the casting of the main characters was announced.

Every single one of main characters is cast as a caucasian!

Now tell me, looking at the pictures above, if you think that is appropriate for this story.

At first, I simply rolled my eyes and dismissed it as Hollywood idiocy. But a recent blog post by Derek Kirk Kim opened my eyes to exactly how wrong this was.

imagine if someone had made a “fantasy” movie in which the entire world was built around African culture. Everyone is wearing ancient African clothes, African hats, eating traditional African food, writing in an African language, living in African homes, all encompassed in an African landscape...
...but everyone is white.
How offensive, insulting, and disrespectful would that be toward Africans and African Americans?

There's is a pervasive tendency for Asian American's to be marginalized. Not being seen as "on the front lines" of the race problems in this country, they tend to be forgotten. Why do we allow this?

So I'm asking if you could be bothered to step up and say "no" to this. It may or may not be too late to change things in this film, but maybe we can prevent any further "whitewashing."

See how you can help here.

I know God's supposed to be omnipotent, but do you really think that means he can do anything? I mean, George Carlin used to talk about kids at his Sunday School class asking the priest all the trick questions; "Hey, if God is all-powerful does that mean he can make a rock so big that he, himself, can't lift it? Hey! We got 'im now! Ha!"

But those kind of logical gotchas aside, I think there is evidence of one inability that God possesses. Not saying it's beyond his power, just pointing out that he doesn't seem to do it.

Public Speaking.

Hey, I don't fault him. Lots of people - intelligent and eloquent - just don't do well talking in front of large groups of people. And God seems to be one of them. All the records I know of where God speaks directly (not sending angels or heavenly hosts) it's just to one person: Abraham, Moses, Jesus, Mohammed. They then go out and do the talking.

I'm sure it's something that God's worked on. I can just picture him an Moses up at the top of Mt. Sinai.

Moses: Ok, God, I've brought all the Children of Israel here out of Egypt. Now's the time for you to make your will and presence known to all.
God: All of them? Wow. That.... that's a lot of people.
Moses: You alright there, God?
God: Y-yeah. Fine. No problem. Just gotta... just going over a few things. *ahem*
[long pause]
Moses: You know, if this is going to be a while, we could send out for more manna.
God: Just don't rush me OK?!
Moses: Ok! Ok! Just sayin' ...
[another long pause]
Moses: You know what I do? I try to picture the audience naked.
God: I'm omniscient. I see them naked anyway.
Moses: Ah.
[yet another long pause]
Moses: Hey, um... would you like me to do it?
God: Would you?!
Moses: I mean, I don't think it'll quite have the same effect...
God: No, no! You'll be great!
Moses: *sigh* Fine. Can I see your lecture notes?
*THUMP* *THUMP*
Moses: Stone tablets?! You couldn't have used index cards?

I have no idea what this is. It appears to be a Japanese game show where a woman is supposed to share a small room with two Red Pandas. Stranger things I've seen, but still... this is just so... CUTE!!!

So several people fill up their journals with miscellaneous "Top Ten" lists. I scoff at such a practice. Instead, I give you my:

TOP ELEVEN BAD MOVIES FROM GOOD BOOKS

You know the kind I'm talking about. A book you love is going to be made as a movie, you're a little leery, but you give it a shot and find yourself asking "Did they even read the book?!" Or else you learn that a movie was based on a book and check it out only to find yourself wondering if you've picked up the wrong one as it seems to have nothing to do with the film you remember.

Now there's literally TONS of films to pick from, but I'm adding a few qualifiers. First, the movie needs to be a unique adaptation. It would be a waste to classify, for example, which versions of "A Christmas Carol" were good or bad. Second, the movie's badness has to stem from being different from the book; a bad movie based on a bad book doesn't count. (*cough*Twilight*cough*)

A will mention that I may bend these rules where it suits me. ^_^

Please note that the following will contain spoilers for both the books and movies.

So! Without further ado and in no particular order...

1) Logan's Run (1976)
I was shocked when I came across the original book by WF Nolan in the library years ago, and more shocked when I cracked it open. I guess I shouldn't be surprised: given that the book is all about underage sex, violence, and drug use - basically a sci-fi Lord of the Flies. If you've seen the movie, I'll just point out that, in the book, Lastday is on one's 21st birthday, not 30th; Box is a cybernetic serial killer, not an insane refrigerator, and the society is spread over the entire world, not just one domed city.

2) Wolfen (1981)
Witley Streiber's haunting novel of highly-evolved wolves being the origin of the werewolf myth gets dumbed down and turned into some kind of Native American eco-parable. Gone is the explanation of where the Wolfen come from, their past associations with humans, and their global reach. Instead, we get a sex scene with Albert Finney. *shudder*

3) Starship Troopers (1997)
I am forced to confess that when this movie first came out, I liked it. At the time, the idea of a co-ed military was thrillingly progressive and, of course, the visuals of giant killer bugs appealed to the sci-fi geek in me. Then I read Robert A. Heinlein's original. The thought-provoking look into this martial culture blew away the movie's lame attempt at gender-inclusion, and the descriptions of the "Bugs" as a technological society made the cartoonish monsters of the movie laughable.

4) Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)
Frankly the adaptation of this series to film has always been spotty. Really there's only so much you can do to fit a 300+ page book into two hours. But this one is simply where the wheels came off the wagon. The obvious hints at the identity of the villain aside, whole swaths of backstory were excised. I'll just point this out: since the movies have never established the presence of House Elves at Hogwarts or Hermione's founding of SPEW, how do the filmmakers intend to get to the big kiss scene in "Deathly Hallows?!" Not saying there's no way, just that it's going to be something far more blatant than JK Rowling had.

5) Fahrenheit 451 (1966)
Ooh! A movie, based on a book, about the elimination of books! What could possibly go wrong?! If ever a movie's existence made the point that it's plot couldn't it was this one. Let me share you one quote from Ray Bradbury's book: "The same infinite detail and awareness could be projected through the radios and televisors, but are not." Truer words...

6) Time Machine (2002)
Ok, breaking a rule here a little bit since there are at least two major versions of this (one from 1960), but this was SO bad I had to make a place for it. HG Wells' pioneering work in the genre of time travel and social allegory for the turn-of-the-century class war got turned into.... this. Some claptrap with fur-clad primitives and telepathic tunnel-dwellers.

7) League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
Yes, opening this category up to comic books presents a range of terrifying possibilities, but this is one beyond the pale. Alan Moore's highly literate fantasy with hundreds of details for the wary to spot was stripped for parts and turned into a sad, final note for Sean Connery's career.

8) Manhunter (1986)
Another bit of a cheat, since Thomas Harris's book was remade under it's own title, "Red Dragon," in 2002. Also, it's really not that bad a movie. But two things get it on this list. First, it shares with it's recently remade sibling a complete lack at the view inside the head of the killer which made the book so powerful. Second, it's psychological thriller aspect goes out the window for a major SWAT team shootout ending.

9) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Simply put: I dare you comprehend the ending without reading Arthur C. Clarke's book.

10) Congo (1995)
Really, a great number of Michael Crichton's books could go here, but I like to single this one out for special notice. You really have to hand it to the screenwriters who managed to find everything that made the novel interesting and excise it before putting it to film. Seriously, after you see Bruce Campbell get his head crushed in the first five minuets, there's nothing else worth staying around for.

11) Jumper (2008)
Having just seen the movie, I was absolutely shocked when I read Steven Gould's book. Beyond the title, name of the main character and the idea of teleportation, the book and film have NOTHING in common! In the movie, David realized he can teleport when he escapes drowning in a frozen river. In the book, it's when he escapes being gang-raped by a bunch of men at a truck stop. Slightly different character development. Most shocking was my dawning realization in reading the book that the "Paladins" the secret society in the movie that hunt Jumpers don't exist in the book! Here, David is the only one of his kind. And his mother, rather than being secretly his enemy, is killed in a terrorist attack at an airport and he spends the rest of the book trying to bring her killer to justice. Still, I highly recommend you try and find the original. And it's sequel "Reflex."

So that's all I've got! Any comments? Questions? Additions to the list?

Well, another year is coming to a close and, as I haven't put much up here, I thought I'd do one BIG post to try an catch up.

A year ago, I made only one New Year's resolution: "To Do Better." And thanks to the relative qualities of that phrase, I think I succeeded.

Seriously, while there were no real earth-shaking changes in my life this year there were several small things I am grateful for/proud of.

Top of the list was my re-assumption of acting thanks to Theater@First. Thanks to Nate and Andrea, the directors who gave me a chance. And thanks to Gilly, Heidi, Jenny and all the T@F people who welcomed me in. It's been a real high-point for me and I look forward to continuing in the next year.

On a more personal accomplishment is my return to cooking which several of you have had the pleasure(?) of experiencing. While my wallet still complains of too much take-out, I'm no longer eating Burger King and microwave pizza for every meal, so that would seem to increase the odds of me seeing a few more New Years. ^_^;;

This was also the year where I said "Good-Bye" to automobile ownership. I'd had the same '89 Honda since my dad gave it to me after graduation, but since moving to Boston there wasn't a single year where something didn't break down on it, and the formerly high gas prices made me realize that it really wasn't worth it. So, finding a place that would accept the donation I bit farewell to the old skidder. May it rest in pieces.

Another small but notable accomplishment was the first major cleaning of my room in the last five years. The whole "move-the-furniture-out-and-clean-EVERYTHING" type of cleaning.

There are still some things that need improvement of course. Top of the list being my job. While my attempt at promotion this year fell through, the truth is that I didn't really want it. I just wanted to do something else. I just have no idea what.

Next would be how I take care of myself and my space. The better diet will hopefully lead to me no longer looking at that cursed "3" on the first digit of my scale. And, while I did accomplish the above mentioned cleaning, I haven't finished assembling the extra bookcase and reorganizing all my books,DVD's, etc. Once that's done, I can start looking at the rest of the house and, maybe, get it to the point where I'm not actually embarrassed when someone comes over.

Lastly, I'd like to thank those who've been close to me this year.

I've already mentioned Gilly and the T@F people. You all have been great.

Also a special thanks to Mike&Kerri for inviting me to Movie Nights. I know I first started before last New Years, but I didn't have this journal then, did I?! Thanks again, and if you ever want to move closer and save me some travel time on Thursday's I'll be glad to help load the truck. ;p

Next is Chris. My old amigo who got schnookered into moving to Nashville. My heart goes out to you, dude.

Juan: It has been a singular honor to help you this and in years past with your comics. For the rest of you, you should check out his stuff on his deviantART site. Even if you're not into the stories he writes, his artwork is impressive.

Leah: You have the biggest heart of anyone I know. I think, of anyone I've ever known. In the last year, I've watched you grow and learn in some of the most wonderful and painful ways. I wish you all the love in the world for the coming year and hope the pains you've felt will be washed away, leaving only the wisdom behind.

For everyone else, I'm sorry for not mentioning you personally. But know that you've all been a part of my life this past year and I would say that this is probably the best year I've spent in Boston because of that.

Happy New Year to you all and may all your wishes come true.
-Brian

Holy Happidays!

This is me in the fall.

A little over a year ago, I stopped watching television. I still watch Daily Show clips online, buy some episodes of old shows from iTunes, and will tune in for Presidential Debates or such. But just tuning in to watch the programming is no longer something I do.

And occasionally, I am reminded why!

Seriously. Why? Just, why? Smallville was at least an entertaining premise, but fell apart when they stopped trying to tell the story of how Clark became Superman and started telling the entire Superman story set in Smallville! (Though it was pretty well doomed from the moment they relocated Metropolis to Kansas.)

I won't rant any further, someone else has already done it better than I ever could.
http://www.shortpacked.com/comics/20081007thegraysons.png

Is anyone going to see Nick in "Inherit the Wind" on the 10th?

Can I get a ride back with you? (I can get there myself, but getting home will be tricky.)

Hey all...

For the names on my "Friends Page," I've been a bad friend. ^_^;;

I haven't even read any of your entries for a couple weeks now. But thanks for those who just added me.

It's been the busy period at work, start of classes at Harvard makes the bookstore just a *little* busy. A few stories to tell from that- only one I'll share right now. At one point I discovered an unfortunate typo in our computer system. The book "Learning Capoeira: Lessons in Cunning from an Afro-Brazilian Art" had been misspelled with two M's instead of two N's. ;)

Rimers rehearsals going well. It's been a LONG time since I've been in a major production. I'd forgotten how much work goes in on the top just to keep us from colliding with each other out there!

I'll try and catch up with what's been going on with all of you. In the meantime, here's wishing Gilly a happy birthday on Friday!

Hey, remember when my email wasn't working? Funny story!


Turns out, it was because some @$$hole had hacked my mail account and forwarded all the messages to their account! "Why would someone do that" you ask? Presumably so that I wouldn't see the messages from paypal asking why I was sending over $100 to someone in Hong Kong!

So much for using one "unguessable" password for all my accounts.
_{Yes, I know that was dumb.}

Anyway. Account's has been fixed, passwords changed (and made different) and a disputed transaction notice was sent to paypal. So, hopefully, things will be settling down.

In the last 24 hours I’ve found that my email doesn’t work, I was stuck in the rain for an hour, and I lost the keys to my apartment.

I wouldn’t say I rely luck, but I do admit that I’ve lived a fairly lucky life. I’ve had no life-altering tragedies: no one I am close to has died yet, I’ve never had a major illness or injury. To paraphrase the song: “I don’t always get what I want, but I find I get what I need.”

I think that’s why when in small ways my luck gives out, I feel almost naked.

You probably never knew his face, but I guarantee you knew his voice.

R.I.P. Don LaFontaine (August 26, 1940 – September 1, 2008)

So, Yahoo! just posted its listing of the Top Box Office Bombs of All Time.

I wonder what it says about me that three of the movies on the list (Hudson Hawk, The Aventures of Baron Munchausen, and Howard the Duck) are among my favorite films? ^_^;;
_{I also thought Battlefield Earth was fun in a campy way, but I understand why no one would pay to see it. ;p}

Oh, and I got cast in Rimers of Eldritch as "Peck." First readthrough is today when I guess I'll figure out who that is.

P.S. My roommate is now on painkillers and antibiotics with an appointment for a root canal in two weeks, if you were wondering.

I'm going to feel really bad if that title turns out to not be sarcastic.

So I meet my roommate at the bus stop and she tells me her jaw has been hurting her. It's dark out so I have to wait until we get home to have a look at it. When I do, I see that there's a lump under her jaw the size of a golf ball!

Now, in what I think of as a sane household, this story would end with an emergency trip to the dentist and humorous anecdotes about what she was like under anesthesia followed by griping retelling of her misery as the pain returned tomorrow. What do I have to go through instead? Half an hour of arguing about how she can't possibly miss any work this week and she'll see if she can make an appointment on Saturday!

Whu... but tha... GEEZE!!!

So while I wait to see if her gums turn black and her teeth fall out, she's chugging anti-bacterial mouthwash and taking Advil for the pain.

.... seriously, what the h#%%?


Oh, and I also made a last minute audtion for The Rimers of Eldritch prompted by lillibet and my sudden realization that the audition/performance space is only two blocks from my house! It was a fun audition to do. Good luck to all who tried out!