My old posts are there, as well as several new entries (mostly about Star Wars.)
Monday, December 7, 2015
Thursday, November 12, 2015
Stages of Phone Grief
My
phone broke down to the point where the repairman worked in it for free because
it was “an interesting challenge.” If my phone were a patient in the ER then
this would’ve been one of those “would you mind if we bring in some interns to
watch?” situations.
So,
I went through the stages of phone grief, but I did it in the wrong order.
First came denial, So what if it randomly
shuts down and won’t turn back on? Next came depression, I guess I’ll just have to live with a broken
phone forever. Then bargaining, Maybe
the repair guys can fix it.
(P.S.
If you google “stages of g—.” Then Google will helpfully supply you with the
stages of genital herpes. That’s what I get for being too lazy to spell out ‘grief.’)
You’ll
notice that I skipped a step: Anger.
The
new phone arrived all shiny and new. My husband knows that changes in my routine
turn me into a fussy old lady who viciously attacks the landlord for telling
her that she can only have eight cats in her apartment. No way am I getting rid
of Mr. Snuffles.
So
my husband kindly activated my phone for me and downloaded a few apps. He
offered it to me like a priest throwing a sheep into an active volcano, hoping
desperately that the sacrifice will placate the roiling lava monster.
No
amount of sheep will fix this.
The
SD card didn’t have enough room for all of my apps. The phone only does about
60% of the things I need it to do. The calendar widget isn’t showing up. My
voicemail perpetually reminds me that I have messages even though the mailbox
is empty. The keyboard doesn’t even let me swipe yet so I have to pound. each. individual.
letter. one. by. one.
The Devil |
It’s
as if someone tore out all the pages to my planner, hid the books in my library,
stole the pictures of my baby, and then demanded another forty bucks before
they’d let me clean up the mess.
My
rage is entirely disproportionate to the size of the problem. A bigger SD card
will fix the problem. In a month I’ll finally finish entering my passwords into
each app and confirming each account. They’ll all be neatly organized just as
they once were. At that point I wouldn't want a new phone; in fact I'd probably fight you if you tried to replace it with a better one.
I’ll
experience the final stage of phone grief: Acceptance.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Gods and Magic: Fast and Furious Seven
For what it was, it was perfection. Let’s overlook the lack
of a sensible plot, the use of bikini-clad women as window dressing, and the
fact that near the end the writers were just crossing their fingers and praying
that no one would call them out for their ludicrous imaginings of a computer
virus. Let’s not view this as a modern movie with the coherent restrictions
that apply. View this instead as an epic in the ancient Greek style.
Unlike the earliest Fast and Furious movies, this one took
the pretense of realism and jettisoned it out the cargo bay. It was absurd to
the point of parodying itself. I didn’t know this going in, I asked my husband
annoying questions like, “If the bad guy wants those nurses to take good care
of his brother, then why did he kill everyone else in the hospital?” I finally
understood the treat I was in for when The Rock grabbed the tiny blonde and
shielded her with his body as the exploding building blasted them out the
window where they landed safely on the hood of a car. I laughed with joy. This
was not a movie about mortals and cars. This was a tale of gods and magic.
Like the ancient myths, the good guys are all handsome,
powerful, and the best in the world at whatever they do. They’re larger than
life characters with no limitations. Police cars and stop lights may have the
power to thwart you and I, but Dom and his crew barely acknowledge them. They
can solve any problem. Being chased by an evil military drone? Drive an
ambulance into it. Need to escape a penthouse? Steal a car and drive it out the
window of one skyscraper and into two subsequent skyscrapers.
Another major similarity to the ancient epics is the
bizarre honor system. If you and I stole a car it would be a bad thing. When
they did it, it was the only thing to do.
[Dom and Brian enter the Jordanian Prince's private
vault and see the W Motors Lykan HyperSport]
Brian O'Conner:
Do you realize what this is? Lykan HyperSport. $3.4 million, 0-60 in less than
3 seconds. There's seven of these in the world and this guy keeps it locked up
in a vault.
Dominic Toretto:
Nothing's sadder than locking a beast in a cage.
Brian O'Conner:
I wanna punch him in the face.
So stealing the car is the just and honorable thing,
everyone cheered when they took it.
Then there are the confrontations between our main hero
(Dom) and the bad guy (Deckard.) Over and over they have these pointless power
struggles for dominance where they play chicken in a parking garage, or Dom
leaves his friends to pursue Deckard down a mountain. The most laughable of all
is when Dom has a sawed off shotgun aimed at Deckard but instead of just
shooting him he puts the gun down and pulls out a pair of oversized wrenches
because that’s how you do it on the street. You and I probably would’ve just
shot the guy. But that’s not the point. It was never about killing Deckard, it
was always about showing off Dom’s prowess in battle. That’s why these movies
have no real story, the fight is the story.
I wouldn’t want all of my films to be this over-the-top display of poor judgment and awesome explosions. It’s boring if the good guys are always gods. But the simplicity of it speaks to me. Every now and then I want the absurdly wonderful, men and women with limitless ability, and the belief that anything is possible if you have your crew.
Tuesday, March 17, 2015
Gratuitous Baby Pictures or What I Did on my Blogging Vacation
And we’re back! The blog went dark for a few months but I
have a great deal to show for myself. I was busy turning this…
Into this.
Which became this.
And kept growing.
And growing.
Until I realized that I don’t have just a little lump of
proto-human material. I have a tiny person with his own opinions and
personality. For the purposes of this blog he is called Sweet Pea.
So I’m back to blogging but without the weekly regularity.
Most of my time is currently consumed by this little guy and job hunting. Until
next time!
Wednesday, October 8, 2014
Hiatus
Well darlings, the sad truth is that blogging takes time. Specifically, it eats up my writing time. Since I expect the birth of my first child in about eight days, writing time will soon become rare like dragon tears or unicorn blood. So I’m going to spend that writing time working on fiction because it makes me happiest.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Best Banned Books
Happy Banned Books Week y'all! It's time to celebrate all the great stories that curmudgeons deem unsuitable for public consumption. As far as weird holidays go I'd rank this as better than Talk Like a Pirate Day but not yet at Saint Patrick's Day levels.
Last year's most frequently banned books included these gems:
This is an amazing book.
The protagonist leaves the reservation to get a better education at the white school. Of course the book has offensive language and racism. How could it avoid that without candy coating the story? A realistic, flawed, and deeply relatable teenage boy tells the story in his own words--so of course it's sexually explicit. Adolescence is a time when we're all keenly aware and interested in sex.
Alexie doesn't pull any punches, he lets you really get into this kid's head, which is probably why this book is banned. Whenever someone writes about what it's really like to be a teenager, the book is always deemed "unsuited for age group."
Sadly, I haven't read the other banned books of 2013 so I can't vouch for their excellence. However, I will mention a few more great books. All of these were in the top ten most frequently challenged for their year.
Last year's most frequently banned books included these gems:
2013. Reasons: Offensive language, racism, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group
This is an amazing book.
The protagonist leaves the reservation to get a better education at the white school. Of course the book has offensive language and racism. How could it avoid that without candy coating the story? A realistic, flawed, and deeply relatable teenage boy tells the story in his own words--so of course it's sexually explicit. Adolescence is a time when we're all keenly aware and interested in sex.
Alexie doesn't pull any punches, he lets you really get into this kid's head, which is probably why this book is banned. Whenever someone writes about what it's really like to be a teenager, the book is always deemed "unsuited for age group."
2013. Reasons: Religious viewpoint, unsuited to age group
I haven't read this series in a while, so I can't recall why someone might have a religious objection to it. However, I can understand why some find this series unsuitable for children. There's the whole "I don't support children killing children" point of view and I respect that. However, I think this book is valuable for young readers. Lots of books play on our fear of death, this book asks us to think about how we'd feel if we were asked to kill. You might survive the hunger games, but think of the terrible things you'd have to do. The violence itself is as frightening and repugnant as death. Ultimately, the protagonist wins through a subversive act of pacifism.
2012. Reasons: Homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit
2011. Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit.
You know it's a great book when it's decades old and people are still angry about it.
2011. Reasons: offensive language; racism
When you ban an anti-racism book for racism you are missing the point.
2007. Reason: racism
2007. Reason: sexually explicit
2003. Reasons: occult/Satanism
Each of these books have made me a better person. Each of them has taught me something valuable. I think that the reason why so many people dislike these books can best be explained by Gloria Steinem "The truth will set you free, but first it will piss you off."
Happy Banned Books Week everyone.
Wednesday, September 10, 2014
Everything I Know About Pregnancy I Learned from Television
Most of what I knew about pregnancy came from television
and movies. I never believed that I would one day be an actual adult in an
actual marriage having actual babies so I didn’t make an effort to educate
myself. However, I was always a media-savvy kid so I picked up quite a bit
about the miracle of life through pop culture. There are three ways this can go
down.
Totes Adorbs
Comedy
We start with our
protagonist vomiting into the toilet. In the next scene we jump to footage of
the woman putting her hand over her stomach as the mystical realization dawns
on her I’m going to be a mother. This pregnancy will no doubt come as a
complete shock, maybe she never wanted kids, but eventually she rallies and
decide that she’s up to the challenge.
Then it’s time to tell the partner. He’s probably a
boyfriend who’s not sure if he’s ready for the responsibility/ a loving husband
who will probably die. If the woman doesn’t have a suitable partner at the
beginning of the film she’ll find one by the end because movies aimed at women
MUST include a romantic arc. Nevermind that she’s uncomfortable and grumpy and
doesn’t have time to pursue a relationship, somehow she finds true love.
Pregnancy romance is a real genre. People buy these books. On purpose.
This partner frets constantly about her health while making
a 2AM grocery trip to buy bizarre combinations of junk food. By now the film
has skipped straight to the dramatic third trimester so they can show her being
huge and “cute.” Also, the audience learns of a major event looming on the
horizon like a big business meeting or an emotionally fraught family reunion.
If there is no such event foreshadowed then you can expect someone to die,
emphasizing the connection between birth and death.
The woman attends a birthing class, hijinks ensue.
Something trivial like a mistaken coffee order will make her completely lose it
in public. Her personal and professional relationships start to unravel.
Never fear, the big foreshadowed event arrives and it’s her
chance to fix whatever’s broken in her life. But oh no! Her water broke at the
worst possible moment. Her loved ones gather around her and whisk her off
to the hospital and all is forgiven.
The delivery itself features glass shattering screams and
demonic moans. She will inevitably yell to her partner “You did this to me!”
She carries on until every girl in the audience vows to never bear
children.
Then it’s over! a beautiful, clean, three month old baby is
placed in the mother’s arms. In that tender moment her personal and plot
conflicts are all resolved as she realizes that her life will never be the same
again. Having a baby fixes everything. Roll credits.
So that’s the happy and normal portrayal of pregnancy and
birth. Cutesy and totally disconnected from reality, but at least it puts a
positive spin on things. At least it’s not…
Gritty and Inspirational
The expectant mother
is probably a teenager, or homeless, or dating an abusive drug addict. Either
way she’s in trouble. Her partner kicks her out, her family provides zero help,
but she may have some helpful girlfriends to give sassy-yet-insightful advice.
She decides not to have an abortion because then we don’t have our inspirational pregnancy story. She considers adoption, but the writers want this to be super-extra inspiring so the woman decides against all odds that she’s keeping her baby. She doesn’t have a steady job or access to childcare but all she needs is love. Lucky for her, this is a movie.
At first she struggles to survive on the streets. The audience sees her gradually make some responsible choices like talking with a social worker or interviewing for minimum wage jobs. Heart wrenching setbacks precede heroic efforts until she’s almost cobbled together a stable life for her unborn child. But wait! At the last moment her sure-thing-perfect job falls through and now the social worker can’t help her.
Now that everything is awful again the woman gives birth. Screams, drama, pain...really emphasize that pain. Once again the beautiful, clean, three month old baby is placed in her arms. Help comes from an unexpected quarter and fixes her financial problems. Everything is going to be ok and she knows that her life has been changed forever. The end.
While that pregnancy
story is terrible, it’s nothing compared to…
Mystical Pregnancy in Speculative Fiction
The chosen hero foretold in prophecy ain’t gonna gestate
himself. The woman likely got pregnant through magic, mad science, or
midichlorians. If not then the father is royalty or has some supernatural
power. Occasionally that supernatural father is literally the devil, setting up
the story for some demon baby horror.
If the “father” is human or some benevolent force then the woman will probably struggle through a long and difficult pregnancy all alone and gives birth to our hero in the desert. If she doesn’t die tragically in childbirth then she’ll probably kick the bucket early in her son’s lifetime so that he can be raised by monks or wizards.
If the “father” is essentially evil then lookout. The pregnancy itself might take only a few days, giving the woman no time to prepare for her precious bundle of supernatural joy. If the baby is evil then the heroes kill it, if it’s benign then a plot device will come and make it disappear. Either way the whole process of pregnancy and birth will be disgusting, life-threatening, and completely out of the woman’s control. Not to worry though, this is just a throw-away episode, next time we see her she’s recovered emotionally and her abs and flat once more.
Well...that’s a special kind of awful.
My Reality
Obviously some pregnancy stories are better than others.
Yet even the over-the-top saccharine comedies show pregnancy as this out
of control experience that ends in unbelievable pain. It’s something that happens
to women, not something that women do. It’s a small but significant
difference. When you do something you have power. When something happens
to you then you’re just a passive victim of biology. Sorry honey, take it
up with God.
But that’s a lie.
My pregnancy is so much better than expected. Yes. I’m unusually emotional, desperately tired, and ravenously hungry. But I chose this. I’m in charge of this process. When I watch real-life birthing videos I see women who are doing something that hurts, something hard. But they’re doing it. The action comes from strength not helplessness.
This isn’t an endorsement of natural childbirth, and it isn’t a condemnation of Hollywood. It’s just a reminder that pregnancy is like the rest of life--so much better than television told us it would be.
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