So I must admit that I’m confused by the negative reaction to my post It’s Not Easy Being Mean. I mean the title is even a Muppets reference. How much happier can you get?
This post has resulted in my admission to the Y being questioned and been described as disturbing in multiple ways. I fail to see the connection to either. Yes, I acted flamboyant for a scene in a movie. How else do you do a gossip report? My normal monotone wasn’t going to cut it. Yes I made rats squeak and scream. I think I made it clear that this was not an enjoyable experience, but required for the study I’m working on. All I did was pet them and hold them. I left my corkscrew at home. My final mean item was playing Troy in my movie. This seems pretty harmless. Sure he's a racist, sexist, stalking, metro, dense jerk, but this presentation does require a bit of acting on my part.
When I say something horrible, it’s probably sarcasm. Alternatively when I say something incredibly nice it’s probably sarcasm. In general when I’m speaking, writing or signing, it’s sarcasm.
I’m actually not hypersensitive, just confused as to what the comments meant exactly. Blogging is not the best medium for establishing a meaningful dialogue. In any case I’ll endeavor to be a sterling example of all things positive from now on.
Song of the moment: “Running out of time” Hot Hot Heat
Friday, March 31, 2006
Thursday, March 30, 2006
The Final Countdown
This is a writing exercise I did a couple weeks ago. The first sentence has 25 words, the next 24, all the way down to the 1 word “sentence” that finishes it. I’ve taken the character and written him into my first gothic horror story.
However hard he tried, all Father Adolfus could see in the painted frescos was leprosy spreading through the formerly health body of his dying church. Peeling paint curled away from the walls, themselves a deathly shade of grey; each fragment reaching out desperately, reaching for some kind of solace. But no solace was to be found: the painted fingers would each extend until the earth’s pull tore them from the scene. Like the decaying skin of so many lepers, they would die and peel away from the body, leaving it torn and battered. The only difference was that these leprous fingers would float gracefully to the church’s floor, drifting in the faint autumnal breeze. Perhaps another difference was that no one seemed to care; lepers would evoke some reaction, even if it was disgust. This leper received no disgust, nor sorrow nor pity: it was ignored until it seemed to no longer exist.
Standing at the front of the chapel, Father Adolphus looked out upon his once loving and caring congregation. It wasn’t just that they were becoming apathetic that worried him, but that they were completely absent. Each week fewer people attended his Mass, and those that did no longer seemed to care. They would bring their bodies before the altar, but they did not bring their souls. Their sacrifice was hollow, not holy, and still they saw no disease before them. These lifeless bodies, shuffling in mock reverence, could never resurrect the lifeless church.
Try as he might, his every effort had proven feeble and ineffectual. Preaching, praying, pleading and even pandering; his failure ate at him. He was the father, and his only child lay dying. A prodigal child to be sure, but his nonetheless. Surely redemption remained possible; for grace was never-ending. If he could find the proper penitence. A confession for his entire congregation. Repentance for all the earth. No, not for all. Just the leper. The sinner. Himself.
However hard he tried, all Father Adolfus could see in the painted frescos was leprosy spreading through the formerly health body of his dying church. Peeling paint curled away from the walls, themselves a deathly shade of grey; each fragment reaching out desperately, reaching for some kind of solace. But no solace was to be found: the painted fingers would each extend until the earth’s pull tore them from the scene. Like the decaying skin of so many lepers, they would die and peel away from the body, leaving it torn and battered. The only difference was that these leprous fingers would float gracefully to the church’s floor, drifting in the faint autumnal breeze. Perhaps another difference was that no one seemed to care; lepers would evoke some reaction, even if it was disgust. This leper received no disgust, nor sorrow nor pity: it was ignored until it seemed to no longer exist.
Standing at the front of the chapel, Father Adolphus looked out upon his once loving and caring congregation. It wasn’t just that they were becoming apathetic that worried him, but that they were completely absent. Each week fewer people attended his Mass, and those that did no longer seemed to care. They would bring their bodies before the altar, but they did not bring their souls. Their sacrifice was hollow, not holy, and still they saw no disease before them. These lifeless bodies, shuffling in mock reverence, could never resurrect the lifeless church.
Try as he might, his every effort had proven feeble and ineffectual. Preaching, praying, pleading and even pandering; his failure ate at him. He was the father, and his only child lay dying. A prodigal child to be sure, but his nonetheless. Surely redemption remained possible; for grace was never-ending. If he could find the proper penitence. A confession for his entire congregation. Repentance for all the earth. No, not for all. Just the leper. The sinner. Himself.
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
It's not easy being mean
Sadly my only talent in life seems to be my innate meanness. Although I’m immeasurably good at it, it is still no easy task. This week I’ve had to:
Become the ward gossip. We filmed our FHE movie this week (as opposed to my personal movie.) My role in our fake newscast was reading the gossip report. Perhaps the character will be distanced from myself in that I spoke with a lisp and was generally fruity. Among the many claims I made were accusing a friend of DUI (Dressing Ugly Incessantly), accusing the ward clerk of embezzling money, listing the members of the ward who were Democrats saying how often certain guys had been rejected the week before. I wrote portions of the rest of the movie as well, but left the filming shortly after my gossiping was done.
Make rats scream. As part of Neurobio lab we are stimulating the pleasure centers of our lab rats. They got their surgery last week so no longer have the top of their skulls. This week’s task was to handle them for an hour so they’d get used to human interaction. Our rat is not yet used to human interaction. He squeaks and screams every time you touch him. It was a great hour.
Becoming Troy. I’ve also started filming as Troy for my own movie, which entails me being mean to every other character in the movie. Luckily I don’t have to act too much since getting people to show up for their scenes has been an egregious pain and I get to channel my frustration into sarcasm.
Song of the moment: “Love the One You’re With” Crosby, Stills and Nash
Become the ward gossip. We filmed our FHE movie this week (as opposed to my personal movie.) My role in our fake newscast was reading the gossip report. Perhaps the character will be distanced from myself in that I spoke with a lisp and was generally fruity. Among the many claims I made were accusing a friend of DUI (Dressing Ugly Incessantly), accusing the ward clerk of embezzling money, listing the members of the ward who were Democrats saying how often certain guys had been rejected the week before. I wrote portions of the rest of the movie as well, but left the filming shortly after my gossiping was done.
Make rats scream. As part of Neurobio lab we are stimulating the pleasure centers of our lab rats. They got their surgery last week so no longer have the top of their skulls. This week’s task was to handle them for an hour so they’d get used to human interaction. Our rat is not yet used to human interaction. He squeaks and screams every time you touch him. It was a great hour.
Becoming Troy. I’ve also started filming as Troy for my own movie, which entails me being mean to every other character in the movie. Luckily I don’t have to act too much since getting people to show up for their scenes has been an egregious pain and I get to channel my frustration into sarcasm.
Song of the moment: “Love the One You’re With” Crosby, Stills and Nash
Tuesday, March 28, 2006
The Rock Snob Abides
The hardest thing about being a rock snob is that you can't just be listening to what other people are listening to. I suspect that if I reach the true level of rock snobbery I'll never turn the radio on at all. I'll focus exclusively on old music that no one's ever heard of and new artists that haven't been discovered by the populace yet. Reaching this level is actually quite time consuming and difficult to do. But in an effort to help the rest of you also be rock snobs (something a true rock snob probably wouldn’t do,) here are some bands I've discovered lately that no one else has heard of. Enjoy.
Lovedrug (A-)
I think this will be the most popular of my current picks. They're kind of Radiohead-light. They very much remind me of earlier Radiohead (The Bends, OK Computer) before they decided they could be as weird as they wanted to be. The melodies and smooth vocals will pull you, but not put you to sleep ala Coldplay. Once you're pulled in you start to listen to the lyrics that range from interesting to profound. Go out and get some today!
Say Anything (B)
I'm not a huge Emo fan. Whiney doesn't really do anything for me. I think they're generally better artists than strictly punk or hard rock outfits, but it simply doesn't appeal to me. Say Anything is like Heinz 57: emo with a kick. They've got that self deprecation and everyone sensibility common to emo, but will also take a bite out of others. They aren't nearly as high octane as rock, but have a more interesting beat than lots of similar artists. They do swear a fair amount, so this is definitely a qualified suggestion.
Moldy Peaches (B-)
Just plain weird. This is an extremely qualified suggestion. The Peaches have been around for a while and will never hit it big. They're one of those bands with horrible vocals and simple song structure, yet you still find yourself hooked. If you like weird, try them out.
Nine Black Alps (B)
I've only found 3 songs thus far, so have a pretty limited view of this band. But so far they rock. I think they're going to get some radioplay pretty soon, so you'll have to hurry if you want to know them before they were big.
Rob Dickinson (A-)
Whereas the last 3 bands are a bit edgier, Rob is quite mellow. Not boring really, but containing significantly less screaming, drug and sex references. For you crazy people who like your music lacking these elements, he could be your ticket. He’s got a Bowiesque voice (which I would qualify as a good thing) though not particularly the Bowie style. Not that you can really pinpoint a Bowie style, but he only tricked me into thinking he was David for about 10 seconds. Great stuff, but take my warning that My Name is Love will get engrained in your head after a single playing.
Ellie Lawson (B+)
Ellie and I go way back. I grabbed a couple free tracks of hers last summer, and just got around to getting some more. She falls somewhere between pop and lesbian music. Yes, lesbian music is a genre. It doesn’t mean the artist or the listener have sapphic tendencies, that’s just how you describe it. Acoustic, folksy, Lilith Fair stuff. She won’t blow your mind (which makes for poor driving music, incidentally) but she has enough variety to keep you interested. I think I may have heard her on the radio in Utah, which would indicate she was popular six months ago. But if you never heard her you should give her a listen.
Song of the moment: “You make my pants want to get up and dance” DR. Hook.
Lovedrug (A-)
I think this will be the most popular of my current picks. They're kind of Radiohead-light. They very much remind me of earlier Radiohead (The Bends, OK Computer) before they decided they could be as weird as they wanted to be. The melodies and smooth vocals will pull you, but not put you to sleep ala Coldplay. Once you're pulled in you start to listen to the lyrics that range from interesting to profound. Go out and get some today!
Say Anything (B)
I'm not a huge Emo fan. Whiney doesn't really do anything for me. I think they're generally better artists than strictly punk or hard rock outfits, but it simply doesn't appeal to me. Say Anything is like Heinz 57: emo with a kick. They've got that self deprecation and everyone sensibility common to emo, but will also take a bite out of others. They aren't nearly as high octane as rock, but have a more interesting beat than lots of similar artists. They do swear a fair amount, so this is definitely a qualified suggestion.
Moldy Peaches (B-)
Just plain weird. This is an extremely qualified suggestion. The Peaches have been around for a while and will never hit it big. They're one of those bands with horrible vocals and simple song structure, yet you still find yourself hooked. If you like weird, try them out.
Nine Black Alps (B)
I've only found 3 songs thus far, so have a pretty limited view of this band. But so far they rock. I think they're going to get some radioplay pretty soon, so you'll have to hurry if you want to know them before they were big.
Rob Dickinson (A-)
Whereas the last 3 bands are a bit edgier, Rob is quite mellow. Not boring really, but containing significantly less screaming, drug and sex references. For you crazy people who like your music lacking these elements, he could be your ticket. He’s got a Bowiesque voice (which I would qualify as a good thing) though not particularly the Bowie style. Not that you can really pinpoint a Bowie style, but he only tricked me into thinking he was David for about 10 seconds. Great stuff, but take my warning that My Name is Love will get engrained in your head after a single playing.
Ellie Lawson (B+)
Ellie and I go way back. I grabbed a couple free tracks of hers last summer, and just got around to getting some more. She falls somewhere between pop and lesbian music. Yes, lesbian music is a genre. It doesn’t mean the artist or the listener have sapphic tendencies, that’s just how you describe it. Acoustic, folksy, Lilith Fair stuff. She won’t blow your mind (which makes for poor driving music, incidentally) but she has enough variety to keep you interested. I think I may have heard her on the radio in Utah, which would indicate she was popular six months ago. But if you never heard her you should give her a listen.
Song of the moment: “You make my pants want to get up and dance” DR. Hook.
Monday, March 27, 2006
I need to hire someone to write my blog
I hate to wax formulaic, but it’s just what works best for me. A couple posts about odd events or crazy websites, followed by a recap of nearly a week’s events. It’s now time for one of those recaps.
I saw Munich last week. Lest you think I watch nothing but R rated movies I also watched an edited version of Gladiator and the Joseph Smith movie. It was very good, but I felt it was unnecessarily graphic. If you’re in the land of Mormons and can come across an edited version, you’ll get the same emotional impact and won’t lose anything. It had some very interesting views on terrorism, Judaism and nationalism. Highly recommended.
We had my birthday dinner on Thursday at Asuka, a local Japanese restaurant. Despite my Japanophilia I have relatively little experience eating Japanese food, but I quite liked this place. The sushi was overpriced, which seems to be a requirement of all sushi. At Laura’s insistence we sat on the floor (they have special tables set up to accommodate Provoans who like to pretend to be Japanese) and considered ourselves cultured for the evening.
We performed our play for my Literature Analysis class on Friday. Unlike all the other groups we made up our own play. That’s not to say it was improvised, we did follow our script exactly, but it’s so much easier when you wrote the lines yourself. I’d provide the script for you but it’s made up entirely of inside jokes from the class so would have very little entertainment value.
Friday was my annualish Freshman ward reunion. There’s 2 or 3 events a year, but one is usually designated as the real one, where those who have moved on to better places come back to Provo. Once there I realized that I always talk to the same handful of people, who are the ones I actually keep contact with anyway. I don’t really care about the rest of the group. Thus I’ve decided that reunions are for the most part useless and I don’t believe I will attend them with any regularity. Afterwards I watched Gladiator with some wardmates, who had never seen it before. I did have to explain every once in a while what had happened in a fight scene, but the editing was good for the most part.
Saturday we drove to Salt Lake to see the new Joseph Smith movie. I thought it was pretty good. There were some decisions I didn’t agree with completely, but I thought it was effective and a worthwhile contribution to the church’s multimedia resources. It didn’t have nearly the emotional impact of Testaments from a couple years back, but I certainly don’t consider that the determiner of a movie’s quality.
My social engineering of the week occurred after the movie. I orchestrated a trip of about 25 of us to go to the Pi. I’ve been intending to go to this famed pizza place for the last 3 years and figured I’d drag everyone with me. The pizza was incredibly greasy, but incredibly delicious. A good time was had by all.
I started filming my movie yesterday. Finally! I’ve been procrastinating for the last week, though admittedly many factors were out of my control. Chris finally got me his brother’s camera on Saturday, so I started pretty much as soon as I got it. We started the candid interview scenes, which are coming along well. Tomorrow should start the filming of the actually scripted material. I still don’t have all my parts cast, but Becca and I can start on our contentious dialogues, which end up taking up about half the film.
Song of the moment: “Mellow Yellow” Donovan
I saw Munich last week. Lest you think I watch nothing but R rated movies I also watched an edited version of Gladiator and the Joseph Smith movie. It was very good, but I felt it was unnecessarily graphic. If you’re in the land of Mormons and can come across an edited version, you’ll get the same emotional impact and won’t lose anything. It had some very interesting views on terrorism, Judaism and nationalism. Highly recommended.
We had my birthday dinner on Thursday at Asuka, a local Japanese restaurant. Despite my Japanophilia I have relatively little experience eating Japanese food, but I quite liked this place. The sushi was overpriced, which seems to be a requirement of all sushi. At Laura’s insistence we sat on the floor (they have special tables set up to accommodate Provoans who like to pretend to be Japanese) and considered ourselves cultured for the evening.
We performed our play for my Literature Analysis class on Friday. Unlike all the other groups we made up our own play. That’s not to say it was improvised, we did follow our script exactly, but it’s so much easier when you wrote the lines yourself. I’d provide the script for you but it’s made up entirely of inside jokes from the class so would have very little entertainment value.
Friday was my annualish Freshman ward reunion. There’s 2 or 3 events a year, but one is usually designated as the real one, where those who have moved on to better places come back to Provo. Once there I realized that I always talk to the same handful of people, who are the ones I actually keep contact with anyway. I don’t really care about the rest of the group. Thus I’ve decided that reunions are for the most part useless and I don’t believe I will attend them with any regularity. Afterwards I watched Gladiator with some wardmates, who had never seen it before. I did have to explain every once in a while what had happened in a fight scene, but the editing was good for the most part.
Saturday we drove to Salt Lake to see the new Joseph Smith movie. I thought it was pretty good. There were some decisions I didn’t agree with completely, but I thought it was effective and a worthwhile contribution to the church’s multimedia resources. It didn’t have nearly the emotional impact of Testaments from a couple years back, but I certainly don’t consider that the determiner of a movie’s quality.
My social engineering of the week occurred after the movie. I orchestrated a trip of about 25 of us to go to the Pi. I’ve been intending to go to this famed pizza place for the last 3 years and figured I’d drag everyone with me. The pizza was incredibly greasy, but incredibly delicious. A good time was had by all.
I started filming my movie yesterday. Finally! I’ve been procrastinating for the last week, though admittedly many factors were out of my control. Chris finally got me his brother’s camera on Saturday, so I started pretty much as soon as I got it. We started the candid interview scenes, which are coming along well. Tomorrow should start the filming of the actually scripted material. I still don’t have all my parts cast, but Becca and I can start on our contentious dialogues, which end up taking up about half the film.
Song of the moment: “Mellow Yellow” Donovan
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