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Friday, 12 July 2019 11:26I think I want to use Dreamwidth again, but I gotta clean up my reading list. To many people and accounts that I just don't recognize anymore
people still don't know they're on the internet?
Wednesday, 22 August 2018 16:58I, a person on the internet, want to recommend to you, via the internet, a thing that exists on the internet.
But you definitely don't need a hyperlink.
(this is one that I'm guilty of, too, but it makes me SO MAD.)
But you definitely don't need a hyperlink.
(this is one that I'm guilty of, too, but it makes me SO MAD.)
musings on how I use dreamwidth v twitter
Tuesday, 21 August 2018 14:58I knew that one of the reasons I use Twitter ![[twitter.com profile]](https://p2.dreamwidth.org/e0caa790ec10/-/twitter.com/favicon.ico)
zviltv so much and Dreamwidth so little is that Twitter feels more lightweight.
I thought this meant that because Twitter strongly encourages brief statements and Dreamwidth encourages long ones, I just felt bad about posting a couple of sentences on DW.
But looking at my Twitter feed, so much of what I put on Twitter is retweets. Putting all those retweets together definitely gives you an accurate picture of my fannish self and opinions! But it doesn't require me to say anything, just curate.
I don't know if there's anything to do with this observation. But if I move more of my activity to Dreamwidth, I'll have to talk more and smile less.
P.S. zvi on pillowfort, but I'm not really using it.
I thought this meant that because Twitter strongly encourages brief statements and Dreamwidth encourages long ones, I just felt bad about posting a couple of sentences on DW.
But looking at my Twitter feed, so much of what I put on Twitter is retweets. Putting all those retweets together definitely gives you an accurate picture of my fannish self and opinions! But it doesn't require me to say anything, just curate.
I don't know if there's anything to do with this observation. But if I move more of my activity to Dreamwidth, I'll have to talk more and smile less.
P.S. zvi on pillowfort, but I'm not really using it.
Why you gotta be gross, man?
Saturday, 18 August 2018 11:09I watched a relatively new fun version of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It had a lot of strong performances and some interesting ways of translating Shakespeare to a contemporary scene. It translated a thing I've seen in theater, highlighting the fact if theatrical performance and storycrafting in the format of the production, to film, so that the editing and some of the setting drew attention to itself as a construction.
But also it was grossly make gaze-y above and beyond the requirements of the Elizabethan text.
Also, no one needs Demetrius apologism. He's gross, you know he's gross. That's why you cast Finn Witrock's smarmy little face to play him.
But also it was grossly make gaze-y above and beyond the requirements of the Elizabethan text.
Also, no one needs Demetrius apologism. He's gross, you know he's gross. That's why you cast Finn Witrock's smarmy little face to play him.
The Last Jedi: Yes. This is for me.
Saturday, 23 December 2017 15:14There's something about a movie where all the villains are white space Nazis or an angry young white man who was made angry by a scared old white man, but our heros are black and Latino men, white women, Asian women, that feels healing and necessary.
This spoke to me beyond The Force Awakens, which felt like a great science-fantasy picture, while this feels like a message.
April 3, 1968 - I've been to the mountain top speech - Martin Luther King Jr
Carrie Fisher's death hung all over this movie. It made you ache in places. Especially because you see so clearly how they intended each film of this new trilogy to put away a member of the old trio, and the next movie would have been hers. 😞
( reactions to individual story lines, a little spoilery, not too much )
The Last Jedi Vlog. My feelings are much the same as Foldable Human's.
fangirlJeanne has been preaching about this movie for the past few days. I especially like this thread about the ethical reset around bloodlines we get in TLJ.
This spoke to me beyond The Force Awakens, which felt like a great science-fantasy picture, while this feels like a message.
Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live - a long life; longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. So I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.
April 3, 1968 - I've been to the mountain top speech - Martin Luther King Jr
Carrie Fisher's death hung all over this movie. It made you ache in places. Especially because you see so clearly how they intended each film of this new trilogy to put away a member of the old trio, and the next movie would have been hers. 😞
( reactions to individual story lines, a little spoilery, not too much )
The Last Jedi Vlog. My feelings are much the same as Foldable Human's.
Call Me By Your Name: a well-made movie I didn't like much
Saturday, 23 December 2017 15:00I watched this movie hoping for the spark of self-recognition, or for transcendent beauty, or for glorious melodrama and emotion, and I didn't get any of those.
The most pleasure I got from the movie, honestly, was understanding characters speaking French, and recognizing they were speaking Italian. (Oddly, the subtitles for the two languages were styled the same way. An unfortunate choice, because the language use was meaningful, to my mind.)
I guess I didn't find either the protagonist (Elio) or his love interest (Oliver) particularly attractive myself, and the reasons people might want them are things that I actually find sort of repellent. Also, because the desire they felt was so carefully hidden from everyone else and each other, the longing didn't hit me, until suddenly they were touching each other, and then suddenly they were together.
I actually paid for this one, and didn't wait to use my Moviepass, as there had been some difficulty finding a showing of it. I don't regret that in any way, but if I go to see it again, I shall have to make sure to use my Moviepass.
I kind of want to go see it again, because I thought it would be…happier or brighter or something, so I was watching it through the lens of it not being the movie I wanted. I might, on rewatch, be better able to watch the movie it is.
The most pleasure I got from the movie, honestly, was understanding characters speaking French, and recognizing they were speaking Italian. (Oddly, the subtitles for the two languages were styled the same way. An unfortunate choice, because the language use was meaningful, to my mind.)
I guess I didn't find either the protagonist (Elio) or his love interest (Oliver) particularly attractive myself, and the reasons people might want them are things that I actually find sort of repellent. Also, because the desire they felt was so carefully hidden from everyone else and each other, the longing didn't hit me, until suddenly they were touching each other, and then suddenly they were together.
I actually paid for this one, and didn't wait to use my Moviepass, as there had been some difficulty finding a showing of it. I don't regret that in any way, but if I go to see it again, I shall have to make sure to use my Moviepass.
I kind of want to go see it again, because I thought it would be…happier or brighter or something, so I was watching it through the lens of it not being the movie I wanted. I might, on rewatch, be better able to watch the movie it is.
I'm really excited by the vocabulary of this evening's work, even more than Friday's Black Girl.
Dance vocabulary, the way I think of it, is made up of the actual motions, the ways the motions are transitioned between (which are still motions, I know), and the attitude/intentionality with which the motions are made.
There's a fair amount of concert dance that's hip hop or that draws on hip hop vocabulary and inflections. But there's more to popular American black gestural language than hip hop, and this performance drew on the breadth of it. There were people walking with swagger and standing up on each other and falling back, but, not necessarily in an acting way. They were drawing on these gestures as movements, as pieces of movement vocabulary from which you could make art dance.
It reminded me of Paul Taylor's Esplanade, not that the pieces resembled each other, but that it was building art dance out of ordinary movement.
I found the piece really exciting and I would have liked to watch it again. I sincerely hope the Kennedy Center invites the company back. Ms. Brown did mention Friday that they already had engagements for Black Girl through 2019, so we shall see.
Dance vocabulary, the way I think of it, is made up of the actual motions, the ways the motions are transitioned between (which are still motions, I know), and the attitude/intentionality with which the motions are made.
There's a fair amount of concert dance that's hip hop or that draws on hip hop vocabulary and inflections. But there's more to popular American black gestural language than hip hop, and this performance drew on the breadth of it. There were people walking with swagger and standing up on each other and falling back, but, not necessarily in an acting way. They were drawing on these gestures as movements, as pieces of movement vocabulary from which you could make art dance.
It reminded me of Paul Taylor's Esplanade, not that the pieces resembled each other, but that it was building art dance out of ordinary movement.
I found the piece really exciting and I would have liked to watch it again. I sincerely hope the Kennedy Center invites the company back. Ms. Brown did mention Friday that they already had engagements for Black Girl through 2019, so we shall see.
BLACK GIRL: Linguistic Play
Friday, 1 December 2017 22:15Camille A Brown Dance Company
I don't think I've ever seen a contemporary dance performance entirely by Black women before. That's not entirely true. I've seen duets, and I've seen pieces that were performed as part of a larger evening. But five Black women dancing, and that's the night? I don't think so.
I was in a very bad mood when I saw this. I felt hot and uncomfortable. And the was a group of people who seemed to be unwrapping an entire fucking candy store as soon as the lights went down.
But I loved it anyway.
The movement vocabulary was drawn from pay ground games, from imitating 90s music videos, from that period starting when you're 12 and you keep moving your buddy around to see what it can do now.
There were parts with people trying on being sexy, parts where they were pushing each other to move with intricacy and complexity, and parts that were just about moving in unison, being together.
There was a middle section that gave me flashbacks to middle school and that time my friendship with a girl totally fell apart and I didn't know why and I couldn't make it better.
The music was interesting, somewhere on the border of art music and prog rock. It occasionally quoted pop music, but it wasn't pop music at all. The musicians danced heavy with their feet and we sometimes part of the score.
The part of the staging I found most interesting was the mirrors mounted at angles high above the stage, almost in the lights.
The dancers didn't interact with them, and they weren't really angled for the audience to see a lot in them. It made me think about CCTV and how everything we do is hypervisible, but I don't know if that was intended.
I don't think I've ever seen a contemporary dance performance entirely by Black women before. That's not entirely true. I've seen duets, and I've seen pieces that were performed as part of a larger evening. But five Black women dancing, and that's the night? I don't think so.
I was in a very bad mood when I saw this. I felt hot and uncomfortable. And the was a group of people who seemed to be unwrapping an entire fucking candy store as soon as the lights went down.
But I loved it anyway.
The movement vocabulary was drawn from pay ground games, from imitating 90s music videos, from that period starting when you're 12 and you keep moving your buddy around to see what it can do now.
There were parts with people trying on being sexy, parts where they were pushing each other to move with intricacy and complexity, and parts that were just about moving in unison, being together.
There was a middle section that gave me flashbacks to middle school and that time my friendship with a girl totally fell apart and I didn't know why and I couldn't make it better.
The music was interesting, somewhere on the border of art music and prog rock. It occasionally quoted pop music, but it wasn't pop music at all. The musicians danced heavy with their feet and we sometimes part of the score.
The part of the staging I found most interesting was the mirrors mounted at angles high above the stage, almost in the lights.
The dancers didn't interact with them, and they weren't really angled for the audience to see a lot in them. It made me think about CCTV and how everything we do is hypervisible, but I don't know if that was intended.
I am an extremely cultured person
Saturday, 25 November 2017 20:22Movies I have seen of late
( God's Own Country ) Recommend (High recommend for slashers)
( Coco ) High recommend
The Frozen "short" that comes before it is very long and very missable. If you're running late, watch the previews and then pee and get snacks and drinks during Olaf's Frozen Adventures. You'll be equally as happy.
( Justice League ) Not recommended, but also not not recommended. If it's the kind of thing you like and you go with lowered expectations, you could have a good time. Definitely catch it on Netflix or cable if you miss it in theaters. Don't make any effort to see in theaters. If this were a Marvel movie, it would rank somewhere around Iron Man 2.
Thor Ragnarok This movie is made of awesome and jokes. It is primarily about relationships, this is Cate Blanchett's second role as a gay icon of the 21st century, there is so much color. Tessa Thompson is a treasure, and so is Valkyrie. Idris Elba finally gets to do something! Goldblum at his Goldblumiest. High Recommend
Theater I have seen of late
( Nina Simone: Four Women ) High Recommend
( Gobsmacked! ) I recommend, but I paid too much to see this since it was at one of the main stages at the Kennedy Center. This is about $40 worth of live entertainment. Also, don't sit too close to the stage, they use an entirely unnecessary and overdone amount of smoke effects. A poor kid sitting behind me was choking the whole night.
( Twelfth Night ) High recommend, with the caveat that I think a fair number of people are not going to like it because it doesn't feel sufficently comic. I'm going to go again if I remember to buy a ticket.
( A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theater ) This is a pleasant diversion, entirely suitable for a family outing and introducing your child to how to behave at the theater. There are some momentarily frightening stage effects, so might be best for five and up.
( The Pajama Game ) Recommend if you like mid-twentieth century Broadway musicals
DEMO by Damian Woetzel: Jerome Robbins--American Dance Genius
This was an evening retrospective of Damian Woetzel, who studied under Robbins, of his teacher, an American Dance master. It was intimate, entertaining, and loving. Really enjoyed this piece.
Antony and Cleopatra at the Folger Theatre
The title characters seemed really young in this production. Foolish, self-absorbed, mesmerized by their own lusts. Almost more R+J, than A&C.
The presentation in the round with a rotating stage was a very interesting and well-used staging. Honestly, I tend to dislike theater in the round, most directors do not quite ever get the hang of not having a back of the action, but this did quite well.
I recommend keeping an eye out for all of the actors and the director to see what other work they have going.
So, mostly good stuff, with a little mediocre mixed in. And tomorrow I go to see the Nutcracker and possibly Roman J. Esquire. (Or maybe just Thor again.)
( God's Own Country ) Recommend (High recommend for slashers)
( Coco ) High recommend
The Frozen "short" that comes before it is very long and very missable. If you're running late, watch the previews and then pee and get snacks and drinks during Olaf's Frozen Adventures. You'll be equally as happy.
( Justice League ) Not recommended, but also not not recommended. If it's the kind of thing you like and you go with lowered expectations, you could have a good time. Definitely catch it on Netflix or cable if you miss it in theaters. Don't make any effort to see in theaters. If this were a Marvel movie, it would rank somewhere around Iron Man 2.
Thor Ragnarok This movie is made of awesome and jokes. It is primarily about relationships, this is Cate Blanchett's second role as a gay icon of the 21st century, there is so much color. Tessa Thompson is a treasure, and so is Valkyrie. Idris Elba finally gets to do something! Goldblum at his Goldblumiest. High Recommend
Theater I have seen of late
( Nina Simone: Four Women ) High Recommend
( Gobsmacked! ) I recommend, but I paid too much to see this since it was at one of the main stages at the Kennedy Center. This is about $40 worth of live entertainment. Also, don't sit too close to the stage, they use an entirely unnecessary and overdone amount of smoke effects. A poor kid sitting behind me was choking the whole night.
( Twelfth Night ) High recommend, with the caveat that I think a fair number of people are not going to like it because it doesn't feel sufficently comic. I'm going to go again if I remember to buy a ticket.
( A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theater ) This is a pleasant diversion, entirely suitable for a family outing and introducing your child to how to behave at the theater. There are some momentarily frightening stage effects, so might be best for five and up.
( The Pajama Game ) Recommend if you like mid-twentieth century Broadway musicals
DEMO by Damian Woetzel: Jerome Robbins--American Dance Genius
This was an evening retrospective of Damian Woetzel, who studied under Robbins, of his teacher, an American Dance master. It was intimate, entertaining, and loving. Really enjoyed this piece.
Antony and Cleopatra at the Folger Theatre
The title characters seemed really young in this production. Foolish, self-absorbed, mesmerized by their own lusts. Almost more R+J, than A&C.
The presentation in the round with a rotating stage was a very interesting and well-used staging. Honestly, I tend to dislike theater in the round, most directors do not quite ever get the hang of not having a back of the action, but this did quite well.
I recommend keeping an eye out for all of the actors and the director to see what other work they have going.
So, mostly good stuff, with a little mediocre mixed in. And tomorrow I go to see the Nutcracker and possibly Roman J. Esquire. (Or maybe just Thor again.)
no subject
Saturday, 11 March 2017 00:58It's one AM and I feel too fidgety to go to bed. I'm so tired. I had a coffee drink with breakfast and chocolate shake with lunch and I just can't handle this calfeine.
I woke up tired
Daylight savings is Sunday.
I live in a dystopia.
I woke up tired
Daylight savings is Sunday.
I live in a dystopia.
