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wDec 12, 2008 | |
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Yeah, not letting it go I still can't believe this all-white main cast for the Avatar: The Last Airbender movie. I mean....jeez, even just look at the logo! What are those Asian characters doing there, between the words "Nickelodean" and "Avatar"?! Or the world map, where each nation is labeled with an Asian character. Or, you know, the entire series, where every costume, setting, name, and fight style is Asian-influenced. The Angry Black Woman also has a nice post here. But let me be blunt: one of the things that hooked me about this show was that it was set in an all-Asian world. And it wasn’t fucked up. OK, let me clarify. You know how usually, when there’s an Asian character in an American TV show, he (or more frequently she) ends up as the martial arts master, the (white) hero’s submissive love interest, the dragon lady vamp, or the magical elderly person dishing out nonsensical proverbs and occasionally a can of whoopass? The thing is, all of these stereotypes are present in Avatar to some degree. But because the whole world is Asian, they’re lost in a sea of non-stereotypical, non-exoticized, perfectly normal human beings. How amazing is that? Not only that, but Avatar actually depicts different Asian ethnicities. Though this is a fantasy world, there are clear allusions to the Inuit, Koreans, Mongols, Tibetans, several flavors of southeast Asian, various Indians, and more. The Chinese- and Japanese-analogues of the story actually come in several varieties (Earth Kingdom and Fire Kingdom, Kyoshi warriors, etc.). This is just so upsetting! Avatar is perhaps the strongest thing I have in common with my nephew, and I'm kind of disgusted that this amazing interest in a cartoon full of strong women and people of color is tainted now. My nephew even ASKED me for Christmas if I could find him action figures of Katara and Toph. A boy specifically asking for action figures of girls of his own volition! Amazing! [Also, how come now when I look on Amazon, I can only find Aang and Zuko?!] But now when he sees this movie I'm going to have to be all, "Don't you think it's weird that everybody's white in this movie?" Labels: family, movies, racism, tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 3:58 PM 
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wDec 10, 2008 | |
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Toph and Mai had better be in this damn movie. WHAT. Dear Hollywood, People of color like getting jobs, too. I AM SO SICK OF THIS SHIT. Labels: epic fail, movies, tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 1:06 PM
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wJul 19, 2008 | |
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I apologize for posting so much in the last 24 hours. OMF I lied! I'm here, watching Avatar LIVE, and will be LIVE-BLOGGING IT. I AM SO EXCITED, INTERNET. Spoilers will be posted at my LiveJournal, during commercials. Labels: tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 6:58 PM
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The end is nigh I'm not sure when I'll be able to watch tonight's 4-part finale. My nephew won his baseball game this morning (the second game his team won all season), and so he has to play again at 7pm. THUS, I'm not sure when I'll watch it, and I'm going to stay away from the Internet for once, because I am completely unspoiled. I feel like this is the first American cartoon I've seen that I would compare to an anime, in terms of quality of animation, storyline, and characterization. Samurai Jack would be a close second. Spoilers on the last two episodes, and speculation about the last 4 Okay, so like everyone and their mom, I've seen "The Southern Raiders" and "The Ember Island Players." I liked the recap episode; as with many things on this show, that's a very anime-esque move to make. I find it interesting that Sokka never told Suki about Yue! I don't care horribly about the romantic pairings on this show, but I would really like for Sokka and Toph to end up together. While I like that Katara and Zuko are friends now, I hope Katara ends up with Aang. I that the show allowed her to be angry when he kissed her, though. "I just told you that I'm confused!" She didn't wilt under the magic of his kiss or any of that crap. She remain confused, and Aang felt like an idiot afterward. I really liked Zuko's and Aang's worst nightmares being played out on stage. I'm hoping Iroh kills the Firelord so that Aang won't have to. I wouldn't mind Katara bloodbending again, but it was enough for me to watch her do it in the Southern Raiders, and watch Zuko's face as he figured out what was going on. Overall, I love how hyper-aware the show is of everything on the show. I love how they made fun of Katara's character; I loved Sokka saying, "You know, we were never really clear on that [Jet's death]." What do I want for the finale? I don't even know. I want Mai to kick ass. I want Ty-Lee to kick ass as well. I wonder if those two will help Zuko to bring Azula down. I wonder if the show will have Azula repent. Is she capable of that? No, she'll go crazy first. I want Katara and Sokka's father to not die. I want to see Aang majorly kick ass, with all four elements. I want to watch Katara and Toph and Sokka kicking some major ass as well. Basically, an amazing fight with every character ever would be ideal. In the end, I'd want for a main character to die (maybe I've been watching too much Joss Whedon), but this is a kid's show, and I'm not sure they'll do that. Labels: tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 5:33 PM
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wJul 17, 2008 | |
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Avatar: The Last Airbender; The Southern Raiders Spoilers! Okay, I feel like a pedophile, but Sokka looks really cute with his hair down. Does anybody want to take bets on Katara blood-bending the guy who killed her mother? OMG NINJA KATARA! LOL he lives with his mom. What a dick! He offers up his mom in exchange! Katara looks bad-ass in black. And Zuko offers up a good question: What will Aang do when he meets the Firelord? It's not really in character for Aang to kill anybody, but it doesn't seem like something you can just sit and talk about, either. OMG, IN TWO DAYS AVATAR WILL BE OVER FOREVERS, WTF. Labels: tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 11:09 PM
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wJul 15, 2008 | |
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Things I Didn't Know! Apparently, this week is going to be the end of the TV series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. They will air on Nickolodeon, presumably at 8pm eastern time, every night. Unfortunately, I don't think I'm going to be able to watch any of these live, except for the 4-part finale on Saturday. Hopefully I can watch that with my sister's kids! The episodes playing Monday-Wednesday have been leaked to the Internet over a month ago, but I CAN'T EVEN TELL YOU how excited I am to watch the final 6. Monday : Western Air Temple Tuesday : The Firebending Masters Wednesday : The Boiling Rock 1+2 Thursday : The Southern Raiders Friday : The Ember Island Players Saturday : Sozin's Comet parts 1-4: The Phoenix King, The Old Masters, Into the Inferno, Avatar Aang. 8:00pm-10:00pm Labels: tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 12:53 PM
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wApr 20, 2008 | |
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I promise I will work on my paper after this post! Okay, there were literally tears in my eyes as I watched this preview BECAUSE OMG IT LOOKS SO GOOD! OMGOMGOMG! It is a preview trailer for the second half of season three (which hasn't aired yet). But really, half the fun of watching Avatar: The Last Airbender is watching the preview trailers and being SO EXCITED for several months. Ignore the screaming fangirls you can hear in the background. Yes, the creators are MEAN, because every possible couple gets a moment or a glimpse of hope in this trailer. Does anyone else think that the Avatar soundtrack kinda sounds like the Battlestar Galactica soundtrack? I really want to keep the DVDs I bought for my nephew's birthday now, :D Labels: tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 3:24 PM
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wDec 18, 2007 | |
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Finals: These are Times of Insanity My sincere attempt to not spam my blog like I did yesterday will involve me keeping the write-a-post window open all day. I think that we will all appreciate it more this way! 10:29am: I've felt sick to my stomach today and yesterday. I'm hoping that it's stress. If I actually get sick...well, not really sure what I'd do. FREAK OUT, that's for sure. Today, my goal is to *not* watch 3 episodes of Angel and 2 episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender, like I did yesterday. Possibly, only one of each. Maybe I shouldn't watch Angel at all. Let's see how this goes. Right. Studying. Reminder to self: Your Genocide midterm is tomorrow. Okay. Am scared now. Off to study. 2:30pm: Spoilers for Avatar: The Last Airbender, Day of Black Sun and The Western Air Temple episodes 5:20pm: Chad decides he shouldn't take the time to go grocery shopping today. I hesitate, but then agree. My final is tomorrow morning, and I can go for groceries later in the day and not feel so badly about it. I retrieved my Women's Studies paper from campus today. 6:22pm: OMGDOYLE! Must study now. I feel like I'm about to be violently ill. This better not keep up. I spent my entire senior year of high school feeling sick after every time I ate, but I thought that I had figured out why. Stooooopppp, please. 6:51pm: A REVELATION. I had thought that the grade I received on the paper I picked up this afternoon was a BC, but then I looked over the critique sheet, and noticed that in every category, "Excellent" was circled. Well, what the shit is this? I thought, and then I realized that my grade was an A, and my TA's initials were BC. IT'S A WIN. 9:25pm: Why would I read old diary entries from my journal? That was really stupid. The last thing I need is memories bothering me, and falling into a pit of angst. I tend to fall into pits of angst all on my own, thank you. I don't need to remember all of the people who have made my life suck more. 10:12pm: I am such a snot. In discussion sections, it's generally hard for me to think of things to say because I find most thoughts that enter my head painfully obvious. Unlike many of my classmates, I opt not to share the obvious things. But, in reviewing the notes for tomorrow's midterm, I keep reading tallies in the the margin recording how many times I participate, so that I'm sure to do it at least once every week. Usually, there are one or two tallies - occasionally, there are three. But there was one very active participant (there always is), and because I'm a jerk like that, I decided to keep a tally for him as well. His tallies are more like 11, 13, 8, 10, and one particularly special week, which was 20. Sometimes, I wish that we were allowed to write reviews of our more vocal classmates, in addition to our professors and TAs. 8:40am: Am feeling very ill again, after eating. In fact, this morning I felt ill while I was eating, and had to stop and take a break. Oh, well. I'll leave on a bus soon, for my 10:05am final. Because I am that kid, the one who gets to the lecture hall 40 minutes early just because she knows that's one part of the exam that she can handle - showing up. 12:35pm: Well, I'm done with one of my classes. I really need to eat something. Probably ramen. Labels: college, finals, tv: angel, tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 12:44 PM
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wOct 15, 2007 | |
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OMF Heroes is on I haven't written for a while. Life got busy. I'm in the midst of midterms, which sucks. You know what also sucks? Missing a chunk of your big toe. After my Women's Studies lecture this morning, I was walking up some concrete steps, beginning my trek from campus to the Capitol. While going up the steps, I tripped. I almost caught myself, but end up falling, catching my upper body by jamming the palms of my hands into an upper step. Unfortunately, my right big toe somehow jammed into a concrete step, am hurt like hell. A guy walking next to me asked me if I was okay a couple of times, and embarrassed, I brushed him off, saying, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good, thanks." I was wearing brand new black tights at the time, which now had a hole in them. The toe-line of the tights was digging into the wound, so I made the hole a bit bigger, and examined the damage. The knuckle of the toe was scraped (like, a few layers of skin were gone), and a corner of the toenail was missing. I don't know where the missing part of the toenail went, but before it left, I think it was responsible for cutting off a few layers of the corner of my toe. Naturally, I was upset, and had to limp all the way to work. Of course, today was the day Senate was in session for the first time in months, and I couldn't get my dress-shoe on my right food without experiencing horrible pain. So, I got to work the gallery the entire time I was there, so that a minimal amount of people could see my Adidas sandal. WTF. I felt like crying in a "Why me?!" way because it seems like every freaking time I try to buy something nice for myself, it ends up going horribly, horribly wrong within a day. My tights have a hole in them now, and while I'm sure that I can wash the blood out, there is still a hole in them less than 24 hours after purchasing them. I was so excited about them, too. :( Also, cleaning the wound is excruciatingly painful, and I'm going to have to wear band-aids to bed, because I can't stand the thought of my bed-sheet touching the open wounds. Stupid steps! I thought that I was being smart by putting my close-toed dressy shoes that give my heels blisters in my backpack and wearing sandals, but oh no! I wasn't. There has to be something else to talk about than my wounded toe. I know! TV. Last Thursday's episode of The Office was the first hour-long episode this season that didn't feel like it was dragging, so that was good. Spoilers for Grey's, The Office, Heroes, and Avatar What else. Friday was "Ratatouille" with Steph and Antoine, and Saturday was Anime Club and a party for my friend Isa, who was visiting from Missouri. So, that party was why I couldn't attend the fan party that was this weekend. And midterms are why I can't do anything now. The end. Labels: tv: avatar, tv: grey's anatomy, tv: heroes, tv: office scribbled mystickeeper at 7:48 PM
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wSep 29, 2007 | |
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Autumn is beautiful. On Friday, I woke up quite early, packed, and drove home. Apparently, the high school was actually having a half-day, but I still managed to converse with the History teacher I was hoping to see (Brayko, Bunk was sick), and two of my old Spanish teachers. Talking to the Spanish teachers was sort of uncomfortable. They were already familiar that people are not allowed to "minor" in foreign language at UW-Madison, and when I explained that I already had two majors, they understood. Still, they were disappointed: "You were so good at it!" Maybe. I stopped taking Spanish after I got a BC in a course. I kind of regret not studying abroad during my college career. Once I'm done with school, I'd like to read some novels in Spanish (I still have the first two Harry Potter!) and brush up on it again, and get better than I was before. I miss it. But anyway. History teacher and I discussed life, school, the high school auditorium, and etc. He thinks I should be a teacher, and also wants me to talk to the AP Gov students when they visit the Capitol in the Spring. Explain my part-time job, I guess. WTF, teaching. I thought I remembered hearing at some point that one could just go to South Dakota and get a teaching certificate after teaching for a year. Maybe I should do that! Except that I don't really want to teach. I don't think that I would be good at it, and I don't think that I would enjoy it for more than a year. So. Friday, Mom made my favorite meal (corned beef) and Julie and her family came for dinner, and then I went to Julie's house to watch Avatar with her kids. Came home and did homework, woke up and did more. We went to visit my aunt and uncle, and then we got all three kids and went to a pumpkin patch. I procured 5 small gourds and some bound, colored corn for some festive decorations in my room. Tonight, we had dinner at my sister's house. My sister has two cats now, and they like to attack and hiss at one another. They also have their own "kitty jungle gym." It is pretty heinous. I handed my first paper in on Thursday, but I'm finding writing this one that's due Tuesday exceedingly difficult. Oh well. By tomorrow, I'll no longer have a choice, and will have to work on it! Being home always feels really weird. Right now, there are so many things I'm thinking and feeling, but I'd really rather not write about them. I am so cruel, I know. Instead, reading and then sleeping. Labels: family, high school, tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 11:59 PM
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wSep 24, 2007 | |
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This post is for Steffles, who hasn't blogged in over a year, and still admonishes me for 3-day delays In terms of classes and walking, Tuesdays and Thursdays suck a lot, but Mondays might suck the most. After a lecture, I walk from campus to the Capitol and work for 3.5 hours, and then walk from the Capitol to campus for a discussion. Also, Mondays are the only day I force myself to carry my 3,000+ page book because we actually use it in discussion (unlike lecture! The professor told us we had to bring it to lecture, but I see no reason why to do so, as she puts every poem up on the document camera anyway). So. I guess the only point of this paragraph is that you should pity me. I haven't blogged a Buffy update in a while, and I'm through disc 2 of season 4. I'll try to not be spoilery....right now, my favorite characters are Buffy (always!), Spike, and Xander. WTF, Xander is always saving everyone and being all funny, but never gets the love. Poor him. I really, really want to see the first season of Angel now....I miss him, and it looks like he's a lot more fun to watch now, given the crossover references. The season 3 premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender was pretty sweet, and that chibi-fied short afterwards was SO CUTE! Katara and Toph remain my favorite characters. I also like watching the two of them do their waterbending and earthbending the most. Holy crap, Heroes premieres tonight. How did I get sucked into so many TV shows?! I don't know. People from high school! I'm going home this weekend! So....if you're going to be home too, you should let me know. Or something. The plan is to head back Friday morning. Ryan, if you lied to me and won't be going home, I might kill you. Have we not seen each other since Christmas?! WTF?!?! Anyway. I'm actually....going to do my hair today. It's a big step, I know. What the hell, I haven't been in a good mood in a while. It's a bit frightening. Labels: friends, tv: avatar, tv: buffy scribbled mystickeeper at 9:22 AM
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wSep 20, 2007 | |
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I'm listeing to today's Conference Committee on WisconsinEye....I'm such a nerd, :) Firstly, The New York Times has finally written about the Jena 6. (If you don't have an account with the New York Times, you can get one for free with a .edu email address) If you have not been informed about the Jena 6 case, you definitely should read about it. It's hard to believe that stuff like this still happens. Racism sucks. :( I would apologize for not blogging for a few days, but I actually posted a Friends-locked post on my LJ between this post and my last public post. Too bad you blog-readers can't read it! You should all get LiveJournals, and then you can see the entries where the real shit goes down, :) Really, though I don't like to get too detailed about work or school in public places on the interwebs. I gave a presentation today in a class! Hopefully it didn't suck. It was the first major assignment that I've had due so far. I'm going home to see my family next weekend, and for this I am excited. It's been a while since I've actually been home - there was the Family Reunion, but that was a bit south of home, and my family came here to Madison to visit me one weekend, but I think that I haven't actually been home since July? Wow, has it really been that long? Needless to say, I'm excited. I might even be able to ask off of work and go home Thursday night....although it would be a complete and utter betrayal not to stay and watch the season premiere of The Office first. The season premiere of Avatar: The Last Airbender is tomorrow, and I'm pretty excited. Oooh! Maybe when I'm home next week, I can watch it with Dylan! (6-year-old nephew) When did I become such a TV-consumer? I'm excited for Avatar, Heroes, The Office, Grey's Anatomy, and I would be for Battlestar Galactica if it was coming back before JANUARY. I also kind of want to check out The Bionic Woman (Katee Sackhoff is in it!) and Private Practice, the Grey's Anatomy spin-off. Anyway. Time for bed. Labels: social commentary, tv: avatar, tv: battlestar galactica, tv: grey's anatomy, tv: heroes, tv: the office scribbled mystickeeper at 10:50 PM
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wAug 19, 2007 | |
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don't watch it happen again / gotta change rearrange Well, I guess that I should probably blog now before I fall asleep outside of my covers with my laptop on for like the eighth night in a row. Not a whole lot happened this weekend. It was Anime Club's August Showing on both Saturday and Sunday, and the theme was American cartoons, which meant that I saw a crapload of stuff. Some of it I didn't care for, either, so I also got lots of reading done. It's been raining for a few days straight now. It is partly nice, as it had been so dry here, but I imagine that I'll find it extremely annoying tomorrow when I'm standing at bus stops. Wow. I just realized that this is my last full week of work. I already requested off for next week so that I have time to take a deep breath (and hunt down the cheapest locales for all my needed books) before the semester starts. My classes for this semester look like they'll be pretty sweet. For my last science class at this University, I'll be taking Women's Studies 103: Women's Bodies, Health & Disease. For my Political Science stuff, I'm taking a Comparative Study of Genocide. I'm expecting it to be a bit of a downer. British Literature from 1750-present (required for the major). Reading list includes Pride & Prejudice (!!!!). Although, I have to read another freaking Charles Dickens book for this class. I HATE CHARLES DICKENS. TERRIBLE. Lastly, "A Theme in Medieval Lit: Women in the Medieval World." Reading lists includes Tristan & Isolde, Arthurian Romances, and Beowulf. BEOWULF!! Sweet. Also, without trying, my class schedule shook out so that I have no class on Fridays! Right now, I'm signed up to work 8-5 Fridays. Since Fridays are pretty dead at the Capitol, I'm hoping that this will mean that I get homework done before the weekend starts. That would be pretty sweet. Anyway. I should probably sleep now. Or something. I have one disc left in the first season of Avatar: The Last Airbender, and it is a pretty sweet show. I intend to write a more elaborate post about it at some point. Current Music: Hope on Fire = Vienna Teng Labels: college, literature, tv: avatar scribbled mystickeeper at 11:31 PM
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