Yeah, they could have transmitted the information to Mr. Universe, but after thinking about it a bit, I'm glad they did it the way they did. After all, what's the alternative? They can't transmit the info since that would wreck the plot, so they would have been forced to come up with some lame reason why it couldn't be done. Super duper encryption, maybe, or universal jamming technology by the Alliance.
Hell, why bother? Probably better to just leave the little plot hole hanging and blast into hyperspace.
On the other hand, I watched every episode of Buffy and loved it, and watched Firefly and hated it. And I hate westerns. So does this mean I should just give Serenity a miss?
I hated Buffy, and especially hated Whedon's style of awkwardly forced "snappy dialogue" (stale and obvious straight line, snarky quip which deflates tension, stale and obvious straight line, awfully similar-sounding quip which deflates tension, etc.). It's the second one that's especially keeping me away; people who like Whedon projects almost always specifically cite the dialogue as a selling point, which to my mind is a bit like saying you went to Mexico to pick up the tapeworm.
I'm going to solidify my reputation as someone who goes off-topic with this comment, but I wanted to let you all know that I saw Proof yesterday, and it wasn't bad.
The preview trailers were for Thumbsucker and The Squid and the Whale, both of which looked good. The S& the W was about a divorcing faux liberal professor. There's a great line where the guy's kid wants to hang out with someone, and the father says, "You don't want to hang out with X; he's a philistine." And the kid says, "What's a philistine?" To which the father answers, "Someone who doesn't like books or interesting films." And the kid says, "Sure I do, I'm a philistine."
That is why I don't like Whedon; everyone I know loves his dialogue and I think it clunks like a three-legged goat. They are people who imagine that Beasts and Superbeasts is a Rob Zombie album.
Toads and winna, I'm with you on the Whedon dialogue hating. But in this movie, the quips were, for the most part, either actually funny, or just faded into the background, because there was so much compelling action. (The western-speak was annoying, but not so much.)
Maynard, I guess it depends on why you hated Firefly.
As for the plot hole, it didn't really bother me; just noting it.
I like Whedon's dialogue; it sometimes clunks, but it's got a nifty rhythm. I think what makes it seem good, though, is largely the really awful TV dialogue out there.
I wondered why they didn't just beam the message, too, but at least they didn't try to explain it carefully with a lot of emphasis on their communications antenna being damaged or some such. Plus it's more fun to speculate (I bet the reavers would have got them if they beamed out the message!)
I was thinking about going to see Proof today, but then I realized that I pretty much never get to see movies, and now I feel all this pressure to pick the right one.
I've only gone to see a movie by myself a few times. One of those times was Y Tu Mamá Tambien, and there were only 5-10 people in the theatre, and I felt like a perv.
It's not just that I don't want to go by myself (something I've done plenty of times), as it is that the people I asked I particularly want to spend time with.
I haven't read any of Gaiman's novels but Sandman is a piece of crap. Dreadful.
I kind of feel that it's a shame to not be able to enjoy the stories in Sandman. I'd suggest it might help to get the annotations (available online), but, if you absolutely didn't enjoy it, probably not worth the bother. I don't think Gaiman is enjoyable because he is deep and profound (as winna implied above, though that may not have been her intention); he just spins some wicked tales. That said, Sandman is my favorite of his works, and I can't particularly recommend either Neverwhere or American Gods.
Being one of the only girls in E-school, I ended up with more comic books than I ever expected (as "I think you'd like this graphic novel" is kind of the geek boy mating dance) and I never really cared for any of them but Sandman. It's one of those things like Lost or Harry Potter, where the first few installments are OK but later on you realize they contained small premonitions of things that happen later and are even more impressed. I had the same feeling when reading Sandman that I later had when reading the Harry Potter books -- the author definitely had the entire arc of the series planned out before writing Book 1. Also, I have to love Sandman because a large part of it centers around one of my favorite stories, the Orpheus myth. I didn't really care for American Gods, though. Cryptonomicon was much better.
Yes, after I posted it, I realized it should have been "mating call". Still, I stand by the general principle. And it wasn't a slam -- geek boys are great, as long as they can avoid "nice guy" self-pity.
Yep. Sorry, didn't mean to imply they were written by the same author. I tend to consider the 2 Nei/als together because they both work in a "not quite sci-fi/not quite historical fiction" genre. It's probably an unfair comparison but it's an association that always comes to my mind.
21: You mean the e-boys didn't actually do the mating dance for you? You missed out. Did you at least get to see the post-coital geek-boy booy dance? That one's nearly as hard.
NB: 24 is not necessarily asking Becks whether she became intimate with any E geeks. She could have simply been around to see the dance which resulted from others actions. Indeed, as many are shy of showing off the booty dance to their partners, this is more often the case.
Hey, Reza's is fine. He's from our hometown, back in the homeland, and we used to go to his restaurant when he first opened, and my mom and aunt would taste the food and give him tips on the recipes.
Still, Noon o Kabab is better.
(But honestly, I'm just being a snob. Iranian food isn't so complex; good is good.)
Well, if I ended up going out that way (Albany Park-wise), I probably would end up going to City Noor anyway rather than Noon O Kabab, because I hear that they serve felafel made the proper way, with fava beans and not goddamned chickpeas.
Not that I have anything against chickpeas. Chick peas? Dunno.
It has a far more potent flavor. Chick pea felafel is sort of... bland. Also, for whoever cares, it should be served in patties rather than ball-like structures.
There's a pretty good Iranian place in Irvine. I've only been there once, though. The mother of an incredibly hot Persian (as she said) girl with whom I went to high school did the interior design, IIRC.
Yeah, they could have transmitted the information to Mr. Universe, but after thinking about it a bit, I'm glad they did it the way they did. After all, what's the alternative? They can't transmit the info since that would wreck the plot, so they would have been forced to come up with some lame reason why it couldn't be done. Super duper encryption, maybe, or universal jamming technology by the Alliance.
Hell, why bother? Probably better to just leave the little plot hole hanging and blast into hyperspace.
Posted by Kevin Drum | Link to this comment | 10- 1-05 10:44 PM
On the other hand, I watched every episode of Buffy and loved it, and watched Firefly and hated it. And I hate westerns. So does this mean I should just give Serenity a miss?
Posted by Maynard Handley | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 2:18 AM
I hated Buffy, and especially hated Whedon's style of awkwardly forced "snappy dialogue" (stale and obvious straight line, snarky quip which deflates tension, stale and obvious straight line, awfully similar-sounding quip which deflates tension, etc.). It's the second one that's especially keeping me away; people who like Whedon projects almost always specifically cite the dialogue as a selling point, which to my mind is a bit like saying you went to Mexico to pick up the tapeworm.
Posted by Isle of Toads | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 3:58 AM
I'm going to solidify my reputation as someone who goes off-topic with this comment, but I wanted to let you all know that I saw Proof yesterday, and it wasn't bad.
The preview trailers were for Thumbsucker and The Squid and the Whale, both of which looked good. The S& the W was about a divorcing faux liberal professor. There's a great line where the guy's kid wants to hang out with someone, and the father says, "You don't want to hang out with X; he's a philistine." And the kid says, "What's a philistine?" To which the father answers, "Someone who doesn't like books or interesting films." And the kid says, "Sure I do, I'm a philistine."
Posted by bostoniangirl | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 7:12 AM
That is why I don't like Whedon; everyone I know loves his dialogue and I think it clunks like a three-legged goat. They are people who imagine that Beasts and Superbeasts is a Rob Zombie album.
Also, Neil Gaiman is not deep and profound.
Man, that felt cathartic.
Posted by winna | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 9:22 AM
Toads and winna, I'm with you on the Whedon dialogue hating. But in this movie, the quips were, for the most part, either actually funny, or just faded into the background, because there was so much compelling action. (The western-speak was annoying, but not so much.)
Maynard, I guess it depends on why you hated Firefly.
As for the plot hole, it didn't really bother me; just noting it.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:08 AM
I like Whedon's dialogue; it sometimes clunks, but it's got a nifty rhythm. I think what makes it seem good, though, is largely the really awful TV dialogue out there.
I wondered why they didn't just beam the message, too, but at least they didn't try to explain it carefully with a lot of emphasis on their communications antenna being damaged or some such. Plus it's more fun to speculate (I bet the reavers would have got them if they beamed out the message!)
Posted by Cala | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:35 AM
I, too, saw Proof and it wasn't bad. But I didn't see anyone I knew in the background.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:38 AM
I was thinking about going to see Proof today, but then I realized that I pretty much never get to see movies, and now I feel all this pressure to pick the right one.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:30 AM
I was thinking about going to see A History of Violence today, but so far no one whose company I've solicited has replied.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:32 AM
Go by yourself, weenie.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:33 AM
I've only gone to see a movie by myself a few times. One of those times was Y Tu Mamá Tambien, and there were only 5-10 people in the theatre, and I felt like a perv.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:41 AM
It's not just that I don't want to go by myself (something I've done plenty of times), as it is that the people I asked I particularly want to spend time with.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 12:02 PM
I haven't read any of Gaiman's novels but Sandman is a piece of crap. Dreadful.
And Buffy's no good either.
Posted by David Weman | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 12:36 PM
I haven't read any of Gaiman's novels but Sandman is a piece of crap. Dreadful.
I kind of feel that it's a shame to not be able to enjoy the stories in Sandman. I'd suggest it might help to get the annotations (available online), but, if you absolutely didn't enjoy it, probably not worth the bother. I don't think Gaiman is enjoyable because he is deep and profound (as winna implied above, though that may not have been her intention); he just spins some wicked tales. That said, Sandman is my favorite of his works, and I can't particularly recommend either Neverwhere or American Gods.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 12:57 PM
Being one of the only girls in E-school, I ended up with more comic books than I ever expected (as "I think you'd like this graphic novel" is kind of the geek boy mating dance) and I never really cared for any of them but Sandman. It's one of those things like Lost or Harry Potter, where the first few installments are OK but later on you realize they contained small premonitions of things that happen later and are even more impressed. I had the same feeling when reading Sandman that I later had when reading the Harry Potter books -- the author definitely had the entire arc of the series planned out before writing Book 1. Also, I have to love Sandman because a large part of it centers around one of my favorite stories, the Orpheus myth. I didn't really care for American Gods, though. Cryptonomicon was much better.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 1:27 PM
Engineering? Economics? Ergodics?
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 1:30 PM
Engineering
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 1:34 PM
Orpheus in engineering school. (Or Eurydice.)
Discuss.
Posted by John Emerson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 2:28 PM
"I think you'd like this graphic novel" is kind of the geek boy mating dance
Yeah, and the little arm-flap and leg-shake which coincides with the recommending of a graphic novel really is a bitch to get down.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 2:28 PM
Yes, after I posted it, I realized it should have been "mating call". Still, I stand by the general principle. And it wasn't a slam -- geek boys are great, as long as they can avoid "nice guy" self-pity.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 2:36 PM
Cryptonomicon was much better.
Also, written by a different Nei/al.
Posted by slolernr | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 3:43 PM
Yep. Sorry, didn't mean to imply they were written by the same author. I tend to consider the 2 Nei/als together because they both work in a "not quite sci-fi/not quite historical fiction" genre. It's probably an unfair comparison but it's an association that always comes to my mind.
Posted by Becks | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 3:54 PM
21: You mean the e-boys didn't actually do the mating dance for you? You missed out. Did you at least get to see the post-coital geek-boy booy dance? That one's nearly as hard.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 5:07 PM
It's always around here that the thread starts getting creepy.
Posted by Isle of Toads | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 5:27 PM
I'll just assume that "booy" should be "booby". But that raises the question, why would the booby dance be post-coital? Boobies can precede coitus.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 6:00 PM
NB: 24 is not necessarily asking Becks whether she became intimate with any E geeks. She could have simply been around to see the dance which resulted from others actions. Indeed, as many are shy of showing off the booty dance to their partners, this is more often the case.
Posted by Michael | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 6:02 PM
Ah, booty dance.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 6:27 PM
geek boys are great, as long as they can avoid "nice guy" self-pity.
Amen.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:02 PM
A History of Violence: good.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:49 PM
why would the booby dance be post-coital? Boobies can precede coitus.
In my experience, doing the booby dance precludes coitus.
Posted by apostropher | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:51 PM
I didn't see Proof, or any other movie (I was paralyzed by the pressure), but I did eat some damned fine Persian food. ogged, I commend your people.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:51 PM
Where'd you go?
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:53 PM
Reza's. I know you keep saying all kinds of shit about Noon o Kebab, but damnit, Reza's is really close to my house.
Oh my, the lamb with rosemary with a bit of lemon squeezed on it...
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:54 PM
Hey, Reza's is fine. He's from our hometown, back in the homeland, and we used to go to his restaurant when he first opened, and my mom and aunt would taste the food and give him tips on the recipes.
Still, Noon o Kabab is better.
(But honestly, I'm just being a snob. Iranian food isn't so complex; good is good.)
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 10:58 PM
Well, if I ended up going out that way (Albany Park-wise), I probably would end up going to City Noor anyway rather than Noon O Kabab, because I hear that they serve felafel made the proper way, with fava beans and not goddamned chickpeas.
Not that I have anything against chickpeas. Chick peas? Dunno.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:01 PM
I've never been to City Noor, but good felafel sounds good. I don't think I've ever had it made with fava beans.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:03 PM
It has a far more potent flavor. Chick pea felafel is sort of... bland. Also, for whoever cares, it should be served in patties rather than ball-like structures.
Posted by silvana | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:05 PM
There's a pretty good Iranian place in Irvine. I've only been there once, though. The mother of an incredibly hot Persian (as she said) girl with whom I went to high school did the interior design, IIRC.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:21 PM
Good Iranian food is thick on the ground in Southern California.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:22 PM
Ro/za Mans/ouri, I believe was her name.
Posted by ben wolfson | Link to this comment | 10- 2-05 11:36 PM
The mother of an incredibly hot Persian (as she said) girl with whom I went to high school did the interior design, IIRC.
OK, is this sentence structure unnecessarily complicated or is it that my synapses fuse when I read "incredibly hot"?
Posted by ogmb | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 2:48 AM
Also: Only boring tv series worth watching for the hot female lead:
Smallville.
I'm on a roll here.
Posted by ogmb | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 2:51 AM
You and I have very different ideas about rolls then.
Posted by washerdreyer | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 7:43 AM
Anybody been watching Rome? The wife of the centurion, the one who had a child with her brother-in-law--that woman is ridiculously hott.
Posted by Chopper | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 8:36 AM
"I've watched my fair share of Buffy, and even seen an episode of Firefly, and never liked either, but Serenity is really good."
This doesn't actually make much sense. What's the difference between, say, Firefly and Serenity?
Posted by Gary Farber | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 9:27 PM
Serenity is faster-paced, has less distinctively Whedonesque dialogue, and ends after two hours, without the Ex trying to get me to watch another.
Posted by ogged | Link to this comment | 10- 3-05 9:30 PM