wApr 14, 2007


A post devoid of anything that matters

Holy shit, it's the weekend. THANK GOD. I need two days to procrastinate until my Shakespeare exam! Verily, I do. Let's see. I know I have things to talk about.

I still haven't watched the season finale of Battlestar Galactica. I know the two major reveals that occur, and I guess I have absolutely no faith in the show in that they pulled it off well. Why can't this show be consistently good, instead of alternating between awesome and crappy? :/
On a similar vein, a discussion was started in a BSG fan community about why the genre of science fiction has such a stigma, and isn't well-respected. You can find it here. It really is a strange phenomenon, though. Most movie plots, especially say, romantic comedies, are extremely unbelievable. Why is it sci-fi and fantasy that get singled out as "too" out there? I don't know. But I do know that people who avoid it miss out on some good stories; similarly, people who restrict themselves to it miss out on good stuff, too.

If you haven't seen this yet, please do so. Alanis Morissette singing "My Humps."

I was too burnt-out to make it to "Heart of an Empire," which aired Thursday night as part of the Wisconsin Film Festival, but I did appreciate the people in Star Wars costumes who were all over campus. The Daily Cardinal caught a couple of amusing pictures: here and here.

I find this news story extremely disturbing. A preacher's wife shot and killed her husband with a shotgun, after years of being mentally, physically, and emotionally abused by her husband.
"It's just a lot of stupid stuff," she said. "I love him dearly, but gosh, he just nailed me in the ground. ... The first of our marriage, I just took it like a mouse, didn't think anything different. My mom just took it from my dad -- that stupid scenario."

But Winkler said she got a job at the post office and that experience taught her to stand up for herself. "That's the problem. I have nerve now, and I have self-esteem. My ugly came out."

Her ugly came out? Why is it ugly to have a self-esteem that forces you to stand up for yourself? I think it's sad that she calls it stupid that both she and her mother put up with abuse from their husbands. That's not stupid; it's sad. I don't understand how people can allow themselves to remain in relationships like this. I know that there are some who are adverse to divorce, but still - there comes a point when you need to recognize an unhealthy relationship for what it is and get out of it.

Romeo x Juliet
This is an anime series that just started airing in Japan. As I'm currently finishing up my second semester of two courses that basically cover Shakespeare's entire writing career (we read about 25 plays total, plus the sonnets), I was naturally intrigued.

Everyone knows the story of Romeo and Juliet, but I found the promo pictures interesting, so I'm going to give this series a shot.

Spoilers for premise of the series lie here
Luckily, Gonzo (the animation studio) has decided to spice up the plot of Romeo and Juliet by adding in touches of Robin Hood and the Anastasia story (the lost last girl of the Romanov family). In the first moments of the episode, we are first introduced to the setting: Neo-Verona (lol), a floating continent surrounded by clouds. Amidst music played by horns and strings, we see swirling snow and gothic castle peaks. Pegasi are ridden by the nobility. Here, the rivalry between the Capulets and the Montagues is not a simple feud, but is actually a power struggle over who will rule Neo-Verona. Agents of the Montagues are running in the castle, killing the members of the Capulet family in what appears to be a coup d'etat. The child Juliet witnesses the murder of her father, and then escapes with another girl a bit older than herself, whose relation to her is not explained. The actual series takes place 14 years later.

Spoilers for the first episode lie here
Soldiers prepare to kill a girl whom they accuse of being "the surviving Capulet." This girl is saved by "The Red Whirlwind," a seeming man who arrives on the scene with a feathered hat, cape, and sword, and saves the day.

Romeo is sipping tea with his friend Benvolio, and they witness the Red Whirlwind and the girl he is trying to save fleeing from soldiers. The two (Benvolio a bit reluctantly) mount their pegasi not a moment too soon, and Romeo saves the Red Whirlwind as he loses his footing on a rampart and falls. After being rescued, the Red Whirlwind stalks off. Romeo demands thanks, the Red Whirlwind says that if Romeo really wanted to be a hero, he would have saved the innocent girl from the soldiers in the first place.

The Red Whirlwind returns to his abode, which appears to be in a playhouse that performs plays written by "Willy." The Red Whirlwind's friends refer to him as "Odin." In private, with only a female friend as witness, the Red Whirlwind removes his hat and reveals himself - as Juliet Capulet.

Juliet and her friend go to a masked ball. Juliet's memories are stirred and she realizes that this is the castle in which her family was murdered. She recognizes some of the perpetrators. She runs outside to a fountain to catch her breath, where Romeo finds her. It appears to be love at first sight - just like the play. Although, Juliet should recognize Romeo - he's still wearing the same clothing he was earlier, when he rescued her while she was dressed as the Red Whirlwind. It's possible that this love affair could begin one-sided, but we'll have to wait until the next episode to find out.

The nods to Shakespeare
...were not terribly subtle, but still cute. Posters promoting "Otello" appeared on some of the walls, and Shakespeare himself is a character at the playhouse, where actors complain that they're performing scenes for a play that isn't even finished yet. Also, Juliet's cross-dressing is actually a common theme in Shakespearean plays, although it doesn't occur in Romeo and Juliet itself.

I've only sampled 3 new series, but thus far, this one is my favorite.

Current Music: Not the Doctor - Alanis Morissette

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scribbled mystickeeper at 12:40 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:

THANKS for coming to the drag show!!!! I hope your soap opera party was fun!

By Blogger Gretchen, at 1:26 PM, April 14, 2007  

Yeeahhhh! Steph and I had a good time! I need to spend 2.4 hours walking around the bookstore some time, writing down titles/authors. Steph and I were in awe of some of the stuff there.
You put on a good show!

The soap opera party fizzled out not too long after we got there, but it was fun while it lasted.

By Blogger mystickeeper, at 1:48 PM, April 14, 2007  

lol, 5 minutes later. Anyways, I soooo need to catch up with Galactica and that Romeo and Juliet Anime seems really cool.

See yah whores.

By Blogger Unknown, at 3:39 PM, April 14, 2007  

I LOVE Alanis for this. I saw it on tv and I'm so glad you posted it. Gordon said, "lol...lol lol lol lol"

That woman...wow. She thinks her husband was such a "wonderful man" and still killed him? I would think you'd have to really hate someone a lot to kill them. And you'd think if she gained self confidence, she'd leave him or yell at him back, not shoot him.

But that's beside the point. I don't understand why we can't ingrain some confidence in our fellow woman. How does such an archaic social institution like male dominance live on? I would probably have been killed for my obstinacy in the old days =(

I think that "my humps" video (the original) and the article you linked are closely related. I mean, one might argue that in the video she's trying to "take control" of her sexuality and the black eyed peas are saying you can be empowered by your body, but the point is that she's still objectifying herself! I think that's taking it in the wrong direction. We need to teach our daughters to forget all that, not use it for manipulation (especially to get "ice!" For crying out loud!)

As much as it's tempting and socially encouraged to remain a sex symbol while the social status of a woman rises, it's counterproductive! Ugly men can be sex symbols but only attractive women are sex symbols. I want to see a fat woman as an icon or a really squirrelly one! We've gotta get past this beauty-and-sex-first stigma. When women are forced to remain dependent on their looks no matter what they're talented in, their self confidence will never improve.

Believe it or not, my mom knows a woman whose husband cheated on her, and her mother-in-law was like "So, what? My husband has had a mistress since we were married. That's just what men in this family do," and told her just to deal with it and that getting a divorce was deplorable. What a disgusting family.

By Blogger Steph, at 4:31 PM, April 14, 2007  

Ryan: Indeed! Next time we meet up in Green Bay, perhaps, after a day of being social, you and I can be anti-social and I can show you some badass anime. Or, you could come visit meh! I'll be here all summer now, and I definitely have lots of room, lol.


Steph: I agree. I think it's really sad when girls think that they need to "dress like a slut" (in their own words, no less!) to feel pretty, or to get attention.
And re: the woman whose husband has been keeping a mistress since they got married: WTF!! If I ever get married and my husband pulled shit like that, he would be beaten and then locked out of the house. Part of me thinks, "Well some people can live with situations like that and you should respect that," but at the same time, there are just some things that shouldn't be done - ever. There's no way that that can be healthy for a relationship. I feel really bad for the daughter-in-law of the "so what?" woman.
:/ If I ever get into a similarly deplorable situation and seem to accept it, you totally have permission to slap me upside the face and ask what the hell is the matter with me.

By Blogger mystickeeper, at 10:35 AM, April 15, 2007  

Hey,

Thanks for invite. I will definitly take you up on that. You definitly should come visit me too. The beaches, bike trails, and hippie goodness are second to none up here.

By Blogger Unknown, at 4:41 PM, April 15, 2007  

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