Repo: The Generic Opera
The movie "Repo: The Genetic Opera" has been receiving piles of hype from all kinds of sources, so when I found out it was being screened at this year's Three Rivers Filn Festival, I decided that we had to go see it. We had dinner down the block from the theatre and showed up an hour before the show to get tickets.
When we arrived, we found two lines in front of the theatre. It turned out that one of the lines was for people who already had tickets. Let me just say here that advanced ticket sales for movies is one of the evils of modern society. The other line was for people waiting to buy one of the 50 tickets that had been "reserved" for at the door ticket sales. "Reserving" tickets for people who show up an hour early for a movie? Craziness. Anyway, we would up getting numbers 43 and 44 when numbers were finally handed out, which means we had to hunt for some of the last empty seats in the theater. Somehow, we found two seats together.
Anyway, the question becomes, "Was it worth it?" The answer is yes. I can't think of a better crowd to have seen this movie with. It's a big show, so seeing it with an enthusiastic crowd is important. People will be talking about this movie for years, so seeing it as early as possible is vital. You want to form your own opinion before reading innumerable blog posts. (Hey, so if that's true for you, you should stop reading now before I get into my opinions.)
"So is the movie worth it?" Almost. So much about this movie is dead on perfect. The acting is good; the actors were clearly into their roles, no matter how campy and over-the-top. The sets were terrific. The costumes were wonderful. The lighting and camera work were top-notch. The story was great; it's twisted and involved, with multiple operatic layers. However, the songs really bite. If you're going to make a musical, you need good songs. Not one of them is memorable, some of them aren't even coherent, and many of them aren't even sung. If you're going to hire people like Sarah Brightman (the former Mrs. Andrew Llloyd Webber) to sing for you, you should hire real songwriters. If you're going to call your musical and opera, all this speak-singing just won't do.
In short, see this movie when it appears and before it disappears. It won't be nearly as cool to watch at home on video. You will have to put up with the costumes for decades, but hopefully you'll never hear the music again.
2008.11.18 at 12:00am EDT
So What Have I Been Doing?
OK, since I haven't been working on a novel, and I obviously haven't done much posting to my blog, what have I been doing with my time? Considering I'm 'between contracts' right now, that's a pretty fair question.
Well, I've been braiding of course,
completing a very long braid that took me most of a week of braiding,
some useful braiding to actually use for something,
and a bunch of screwing around experimenting.
In braiding-related project work,
I made a third marudai,
this one constructed with nuts and bolts
so it can be disassembled for travel.
I also read Neal Stephenson's latest book, Anathem. It's 890 pages of theory and practice, plus a glossary and some appendices. I liked it a lot, but then I'm a big fan of his writing. I know that quite a few people find his books insufferable, and this one probably won't change their opinions, but it's a good book and a I enjoyed it. It's a constant surprise, which is difficult to maintain for ~900 pages, but Stephenson is a master.
I've also been doing a bit of woodworking, on a project that I don't want to talk much about right now, but has needed a fair amount of precision work, so it's taking a bit of time. I'm really happy with it so far.
Lastly, I've been taking care of some things from the "Dumb Things I Gotta Do" category in my To Do list. Examples of things still on the list include putting new planks on the tops of my sawhorses (3/4 complete, but the last one has some stuff sitting on it) and repainting my license plate frame. Excitement!
2008.11.17 at 12:00am EDT
Not Novel Not Update
Friend EZ asks (via text message), "How's your not novel not coming along?" Answer: It's not coming along not great! I've been so totally not busy not writing my not novel I've been not posting to my blog (it's an actual blog) not nearly daily.
Anyway, I'm not upset or anything, but anybody who sends text messages should be aware that they are not included in my payment plan. I leave them activated because some times they come in handy and it's totally worth the dime or whatever they charge me, but just be aware that I judge every text message I receive as to its dimeworthiness.
2008.11.15 at 12:00am EDT
Bunch of New Braids
I finished up braiding all of that blue and grey silk yarn last week, and so this week I'm posting pictures!
Don't you worry, though, I've already gone back to the store and bought more yarn.
2008.11.05 at 1:30pm EDT
Election Day
I Voted
2008.11.04 at 8:23am EDT
NaNoWriNoMo
Welcome to "National Not Writing a Novel Month". I, and many others like me, will be doing our darndest to avoid writing a novel for the entire month of November. You can chart my progress by watching this blog and making sure I don't post a number of pages I've written each day. With your encouragement, I know I can get through this entire month without writing a novel.
2008.11.00 at 12:00am EDT
Not Politics
So, what else has been going on in my life?
Well, braiding of course. I have five braids in my Edo Yatsu collection now, though I haven't posted about most of them. Each uses the same two colors with different start positions that yield different plaits even though they all use the same braiding pattern. I'm also in the middle of making a third marudai; this one comes apart to make it easier to transport.
Did a bit of travelling. Had to go to Boston to do family stuff. Sorry to most of my Boston friends, since we barely did any socializing at all, mostly just family stuff. Took a quick tour through the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Their small Japanese collection is interesting. (I spent an embarassing amount of time trying to examine the braided cords from which the scrolls hang.) Their temporary exhibit of Yousuf Karsh photographs is amazing. Their book store is great, though I didn't buy anything. If you stay at the Sheraton in Newton, don't let them give you room 606; it smells bad.
Finishing up my current contract. For months this project has been bumping along with little guidance and no deadline, then suddenly this past Thursday the client asked if they could have the document. I managed to communicate to them that I needed a few days to finish it up, but I'm gone after that.
Been a little sick. Basically the same cold I had last December, but I destroyed my voice talking too much at the family thing. Maybe I'll only cough for a couple of weeks this time, instead of for about a month.
See how easy it was to get through an entire post
without mentioning politics?
Vote Obama.
2008.10.30 at 11:00am EDT
PoliPolyday: Bitter?
I really was going to try to avoid the temptation to make every post between yesterday and election day a politics post, but then the Pennsylvania Republicans sent a flyer to our home asking if I'm "bitter".
Damn straight, I am bitter. I'm bitter that despite the fact that the voters of Pennsylvania voted to support Al Gore in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004, we've still had to put up with the policies and actions of George W. Bush for the past eight years. Now, there are those who believe that either Gore or Kerry would have been a worse President than Bush. Believe me, they exist and I have talked to them. Myself, I do not see how it is even possible they would have been worse. Bush's policies and actions have been awful for the people of Pennsylvania, and I am certainly bitter that we've been forced to put up with them. The rest of the country does not seem to have PA's best interests in mind when they make decisions, and I am bitter that they want us to say, "Thank you sir, may I have another."
I definitely think John McCain would have made a better President than George W. Bush has been. I think McCain rolled over and showed the Bush administration his belly in return for their help in 2008. I think they managed to convince him they were going to be great in office and he'd be unstoppable in 2008 with them behind him.
Unfortunately for him, and unfortunately for us, they were wrong in almost every possible way. Despite this, McCain has not turned his back on their policies and their help, but has embraced the viewpoints, ideas, strategies, and staff of the Bush/Cheney campaign as his own.
I'm so bitter that the Republicans are still acting like they're right all the time when they so clearly are not. I'm so bitter that they act like Pennsylvanians ever wanted them in charge of the country.
Bitter? Yes. Bitter Pennsylvanians for Obama.
2008.10.29 at 11:30am EDT
PoliTuesday: One Teeny Weeny Week
Just one week to go until election day, and I am so tired. Here in Pennsylvania we don't have any early voting, and we need a good excuse to get an absentee ballot, so we're stuck waiting to vote until the last possible day. Even though it look like Obama has 14 times the likelihood of winning in a landslide than McCain has of winning at all, we still have to wait a week to watch the drama play out.
Almost a year ago I announced my support for Barack Obama, contingent on his adding Senator Clinton to the ticket. Over the course of he next few months, she lost my support due to her awful campaigning. I thought John McCain would be a good opponent, but he's run an even worse campaign than Sneator Clinton did. He's given in to the most vile parts of the Republican party, and I'm glad he's losing.
I'm confident Barack Obama is going to win this election. Not just because I want him to win and like his position more, but because he is already winning. He's winning in opinion polls, in tracking polls, and in actual polls where early voting is allowed.
I have certain fears that Obama's win won't be accepted by some, and will be unacceptable to others, but I know he's the better candidate.
2008.10.28 at 3:45pm EDT
Breakfast
When a bowl of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries dreams, it dreams of being a bowl of French vanilla yogurt with fresh strawberries and granola.
I'm just sayin'.
2008.10.24 at 10:30am EDT
"This blogging business. LJs and what-not. Over-rated, if you ask me. Silly stuff. Nothing in it."
All text and graphics copyright © 2008 Elliott C. Evans except where otherwise noted.
