I watched the Coen brothers' True Grit last night and enjoyed it. Mattie Ross was really impressive and formidable for a teenager, saying things matter-of-factly with "no sugar" or deference to characters that try to argue with her. She's hell bent on avenging her father's death, and nobody will stand in her way. At one point, she irritates the LaBoeuf character so much that he spanks her and tries to hit her with stick like a disobedient child. He is stopped by Rooster Cogburn, who apparently respected her for stubbornly crossing the wide, deep river on horseback to catch up with them. As the movie goes on, Rooster and Mattie form a bond, as well as with LaBoeuf, who is trying to catch the same man Chaney and take him to Texas for a reward. Mattie is opposed to him at first, before learning to like and trust him. The characters all have an odd way of talking, which I hear is true to the book. They are eloquent and thoughtful, measuring their words carefully even in weird situations. It's a grim movie with many deaths, injuries, and hardships. I found the ending somewhat abrupt when we changed to the adult Mattie, but I liked that she didn't mind who she turned out to be. Still strong and independent, with no sugar and softness. I would have liked more information about LaBoeuf, though.
In other news, a panel of judges is still considering Texas's voter ID law. Some people live 120 miles away from a DMV center, and couldn't get a driver's license without undue burden. (And as I saw on the news the other day, even living close doesn't mean you won't have to miss hours of work waiting in overcrowded lines.) It's laughable for the lawyer Hughes to argue that this is okay, and easy to get an ID. The voters' polling places are presumably closer to where they live because their right to vote is so essential. Either make more DMVs close to where they live and reduce overcrowding in urban areas too, or drop the freaking ID requirement. Voting should always be easy and free.
I'm also glad that Apple returned to EPEAT. Their decision to suddenly pull out all their products from certification always seemed abrupt and boneheaded. Why did they imagine they wouldn't receive criticism for it? There is a wide swath of Apple-haters ready to pounce on them for anything, and even neutral or Apple-positive people would have a hard time defending this.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
Friday, July 13, 2012
Elementary at Comic Con
Apparently Elementary was at Comic Con, and the audience got to see the whole pilot. I wish I could have been there.
Then the actors and the writer Rob Doherty answered questions. Here's a summary at TVLine, and here's a liveblog version. This article is more in depth, and CBS posted video clips on their website. You have to click each video separately.
They say that the episodes will be new cases rather than adaptations of the canon. They'll also hold off on an appearance from Mycroft but make Holmes's father into a looming presence. I would prefer that they don't introduce Moriarty right away. Just wait for a few episodes, please? Like five or six. You've got 22 episodes to work with. Please don't rush it. There's plenty of other great villains like Charles Augustus Milverton, Grimesby Roylott, and John Clay. (Or do equivalents of them, given that you're not adapting the book cases.)
I hope it will be like the 1950s Ronald Howard series, where even though they made up plenty of original cases, the stories sometimes had echoes of the canon even still.
Then the actors and the writer Rob Doherty answered questions. Here's a summary at TVLine, and here's a liveblog version. This article is more in depth, and CBS posted video clips on their website. You have to click each video separately.
They say that the episodes will be new cases rather than adaptations of the canon. They'll also hold off on an appearance from Mycroft but make Holmes's father into a looming presence. I would prefer that they don't introduce Moriarty right away. Just wait for a few episodes, please? Like five or six. You've got 22 episodes to work with. Please don't rush it. There's plenty of other great villains like Charles Augustus Milverton, Grimesby Roylott, and John Clay. (Or do equivalents of them, given that you're not adapting the book cases.)
I hope it will be like the 1950s Ronald Howard series, where even though they made up plenty of original cases, the stories sometimes had echoes of the canon even still.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Elementary and AD
In happier news, Jason Bateman announced that Arrested Development will start filming in four weeks. Huzzah!
CBS finally announced its fall premiere dates, and Elementary will start on September 27th. I hope it starts filming soon too.
CBS finally announced its fall premiere dates, and Elementary will start on September 27th. I hope it starts filming soon too.
Voter ID laws
Texas is one of the states that passed a voter ID law (and is still waiting for a court ruling on whether it's okay to put it in effect). Republicans claim that it's to prevent voter fraud and that citizens should have no trouble getting an ID, such as a driver's license. And yet on my TV news today was a story about how most DMV centers are hopelessly overcrowded, with hours of waiting time, and backlogs for driving tests. There's going to be a "megacenter" opened to try to relieve the congestion, but what if the voter can't get to the megacenter? Or if the voter is elderly and has stopped driving? How are they gonna get a precious driver's license so they can vote? It's insane that Republicans assume that it's easy for a citizen to get an ID. They shouldn't have to get an ID, anyway, that they have to pay for. That's a poll tax discriminating against the poor. Voting is a right, not a privilege. It's not fair at all, putting in more obstacles that prevent real citizens from voting. Fuck these voter ID laws.
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Fuck you, Rick Perry
I'm not really surprised at Rick Perry's decision to opt out of healthcare reform, but he's still an asshole for doing it. The Texas Republicans always assume that they're speaking for the whole state, while ignoring all the Democrats who oppose their stupid policies.
According to the article, though, "any state that refuses to set up a health insurance exchange will have one set up for them by the federal government", so something will be set up in Texas. But Perry is refusing all that Medicaid money that Texas so desperately needs, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Medicaid expansion was optional. Fuck them.
The Texas primary runoff elections are July 31, and it's a case of dueling endorsements among the Democrats. I still don't know who I'll vote for, and I still feel helpless about the November election. Fuck all of this.
According to the article, though, "any state that refuses to set up a health insurance exchange will have one set up for them by the federal government", so something will be set up in Texas. But Perry is refusing all that Medicaid money that Texas so desperately needs, and the Supreme Court ruled that the Medicaid expansion was optional. Fuck them.
The Texas primary runoff elections are July 31, and it's a case of dueling endorsements among the Democrats. I still don't know who I'll vote for, and I still feel helpless about the November election. Fuck all of this.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Millie Warne
This appears to be the only picture of Millie Warne that I can find online.
It's part of a website about Beatrix Potter, and there's no more info on Millie. I do find it interesting, though, that the website points out that Beatrix Potter's parents Rupert and Helen were Unitarians who never celebrated Christmas, when the film Miss Potter prominently featured a Christmas party and said that the Potters had one every year. Well, since they felt free to change the circumstances of Norman's proposal and his death, I shouldn't be surprised. I wish I could learn more about the real Millie Warne. I even tried looking under her formal name Amelia Warne.
In other news, I found They Might Be Giants on Netflix and have been watching it. It's the one with a judge who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes. Goofy and offbeat, but sad and earnest too.
Speaking of Netflix, I'm trying to figure out how to turn subtitles/captions on for streaming movies, but either the movies don't have it, or I just can't turn it on. That's rotten, since surely the DVD versions ought to have subtitles available. It's really going to impede my movie watching, since I find that I can't hear dialogue easily over action/music/special effects on my TV. Maybe I need better speakers, but I can never find anything affordable that I can add to my system.
It's part of a website about Beatrix Potter, and there's no more info on Millie. I do find it interesting, though, that the website points out that Beatrix Potter's parents Rupert and Helen were Unitarians who never celebrated Christmas, when the film Miss Potter prominently featured a Christmas party and said that the Potters had one every year. Well, since they felt free to change the circumstances of Norman's proposal and his death, I shouldn't be surprised. I wish I could learn more about the real Millie Warne. I even tried looking under her formal name Amelia Warne.
In other news, I found They Might Be Giants on Netflix and have been watching it. It's the one with a judge who thinks he's Sherlock Holmes. Goofy and offbeat, but sad and earnest too.
Speaking of Netflix, I'm trying to figure out how to turn subtitles/captions on for streaming movies, but either the movies don't have it, or I just can't turn it on. That's rotten, since surely the DVD versions ought to have subtitles available. It's really going to impede my movie watching, since I find that I can't hear dialogue easily over action/music/special effects on my TV. Maybe I need better speakers, but I can never find anything affordable that I can add to my system.
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