Election Reflection

Wow.

Just wow, America.

I'm not talking about the results of this year's presidential election. I'm talking about people's reactions. And I am disappointed in many of my countrymen. Going through social media I have never seen so much hate-filled reactions as I have this morning. So many cruses, and demands to be disassociated with people who voted differently than them, and thinly veiled derogatory remarks made me very angry. Where is the 'tolerance' and 'love' that so many people claim to have (especially when things go their own way)? And don't start with the argument that 'it's all going to go away'; that's a cheap cop out.


This year's choices left much to be desired. There was no good option, just the lest bad option, and no one was going to be happy with the result. What we do now will define us. So stop complaining! We take the result that's been given us work with it and make the best of the situation. We have the right to vote, and we should not be belittled for exercising that right.



So America - respect each other!

Oh Humanity, you make me despire!

Members of the race of man for many years have lead me to worry about the future of our race.  I'm sure that everyone has had those moments where you wonder how in Heaven's name did the person before survive into adulthood without getting smacked upside the head a few times or just getting there in the first place.

Just sit in a public area and listen to those around you and see what you pick up.

I got a one:

A woman is trying to push a door open and is getting frustrated because it's not opening.  She stomps over to one employee and demands to know why the door is locked.  The employee calmly explains that you have to push really hard to open it.  The man with the lady pushes the door and it opens.  The woman than looks at the employee and says that there should be a sign on the door that says 'push'.  If the woman was willing to look she would have seen that in big letters says 'PUSH' right where you're suppose to push.  It's kinda hard to miss.


Please insert your own face palm or desk head bang here.

The Power of Words

I think it's been just over a month since my last post.  Life got in the way and there was nothing I could do about it.

Anyway...... On to the next post!

"Words, words - they're all we have to go on."



This quote is from a play I recently did working as an assistant director from 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead' by Tom Stoppard.  It is an absurdist, existentialist tragicomedy, one I would recommend seeing it about two or three times to understand all the subtle humour that is in it.

The above quote was the one of the few that stuck with me when I first read the script because it is so true.  The English language in particular has so many words in it that many people who take up English as a second language consider it one of, it not the most expressive language on the planet.  This makes sense when one thinks about the many influences other languages have had on it.

When one knows the English language well, one is able to create anything from expressive poetry to thinly or heavily veiled threats.  It's all in the words!

With that said it sadden me when I have talk with people who have been raised in an English speaking nation and the words coming out of their mouths sound nothing like the language.  For one of the many jobs that I hold I have to deal with a lot of young people, who, for some reason or another, speak, what I understand people call, Ebonics.

I have tried my best to understand it, but to me it sounds as though the person is too lazy to pronounce the  word and thus makes his speech sound like he is talking through mush.  At this point I would like to point out that I have little to no problem when is comes to accents or slang (i.e. That's so wicked! Dude! or even Yo!).  Accents and slang reflect a local area's culture; England has the Cockney accent, New York City has the Brooklyn accent, Texas has the Cowboy-like accent (I have no idea what the official name of it is).  Within these accents and slangs there is still some sense of grammar, none of which I can find in Ebonics no matter how hard I try.

Which brings me to the point that got this whole post started: 'Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead'.  This show has so much word play and subtle humour that is unfortunately went over the heads of many people in the audience.  When I work purely backstage for a show I enjoy listening to the audience's reaction.  For this show I was at least hoping for good heartfelt chuckles, but instead I should have brought a recording of crickets for most of the performances.  We did, thank goodness, have two good audiences (I cannot tell you how draining it is when you are on stage and you get no reaction from the audience).

The playwright, Tom Stoppard, said that this show had to been seen rather than read, I agree.  Reading a play and seeing a play are two completely different experiences.  But I have to say that when I first read the script I was laughing hysterically over the seemingly nonsensical syllogisms and explanations of actions.  It's all there in the words! 

Words are a powerfully thing that is no longer utilized by the common people.  We have been reduced down to cursing for anything ranging from a stubbed toe to getting frustrated at people.  Even using curses and swears to describe good things (that I can't wrap my head around).  I say it is time to reclaim the English language and use it the fullest potential!!

Find a word, use it, add it to your arsenal of words!!

Keep English alive!

Let us not be reduced down to '1984' simple speech!

Revisiting Childhood . . . Or At Least the Cartoons :)

On one of the few days I get off in a week I was mindlessly watching television flipping through channels not really knowing what I wanted to watch. As I channel surfed I realized that many of the shows on were kinda.....let us say dumb for a lack of a better word. For the purpose of this post I am keeping it to the cartoons to avoid an overly long analysis and getting people put off by my comments.

Let's begin with 'Adventure Time'. I really don't know a lot about the show only that it's about a boy (at least, I think it's a boy) and a . . . let's say a dog, going on adventures. I have seen a handful of episodes and each one makes less sense than the last; if there was a plot line in each of the episode I missed them entirely. The thing that really got me was the animation. After watching about ten minutes of the show I wanted to get the eye and brain bleach because it was so painful to watch. Just because it is a show aimed at children does not mean that the animation goes to the wayside. Children enjoy quality as much as adults!!

Another show with similar animation disaster is 'The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack'. As I understand, this show's animation was suppose to be akin to vintage adventure novels. I can see that a little in the design of the background, but the design of the characters and their expression invoked a gag reflex in me. (I'm laughing right now because you think I'm exaggerating -- I'm not) When I was able to watch the show without gagging, the stories were . . . shall we say blah? There was nothing really clever about the adventures the boy, pirate and whale (yes, I said whale) embark upon, just twenty or so minutes of uninspiring cartoon slapstick. The biggest crime of this cartoon is its insult to slapstick -- slapstick done right is unforgettable in the best sense (i.e. Abbot and Costello).

I'm not saying all the cartoons of today are awful. 'Phineas and Ferb' is a crowning achievement of Disney's in recent years where as most of their programing has been lacking. The animation is fun to the point that I am not distracted by the fact that one of the titular character's head is shaped like a triangle. Every child has the same problem Phineas and Ferb have -- to have as much fun as possible during summer vacation before school starts. The slapstick and running gags in this show has an actual point that plays out well in the episode and the series as a whole. Another thing that I found impressive about the show is it has jokes for the parents; it's not the 'if you know what I mean' humour, but the references to things that kids might not necessarily know or watch; two examples come to mind are CSI: Miami and the Shroud of Turin. The jokes for parents are still funny for the kids, and that's a big plus for me!

While I'm still on Disney let's talk about 'Kim Possible'; this is another one that is well done. This show, unlike 'Phineas and Ferb' is aim towards an older audience around 11 to 14ish years old about a teen girl, Kim Possible, saving the world between homework and cheer practice with her clumsy but lovable best friend, Ron Stoppable. It's a fun show with good plot that makes sense and keeps the viewer interested. It set during their high school years and include all the problems that happen during that time. Though the show also dealt with high school problems while saving the world it doesn't bog itself down with the tedious 'I like him - why doesn't he like me! Boohoo!' drama. It's a good mix of action, comedy, and a dash of romance to keep anyone entertained.

A show I find perplexing is 'Chowder'; I know there's something about a bakery and the people (or what have you) who run it. Other than that I find it difficult to understand the plot of the episode (if there isn't suppose to be one, please do let me know). The animation, I find, to be one where the animators were trying to be whimsical but ultimately it is a display of disturbing characters. The interaction between characters appears to happen for the sole purpose of slapstick that it becomes unsettling and unwatchable.

I do like weird cartoon, but they have to be done really well. I really enjoyed 'Courage the Cowardly Dog', I really did. Set in the middle of nowhere (literally) about a dog, Courage, who always has to protect his owners from the extremely strange, and unusual things that happen to them. Every episode leave the viewer with a feeling and wondering of 'what just happened?' What I really enjoyed about the show was that no matter what happened to the characters in the show they were always alright by the beginning of the next episode ready for the next weird thing. I wouldn't recommend this show for younger viewers just because the show is so weird and may leave a disturbing feeling with the kiddes. Each episode is self contained which works great for the set up of the show.

I want to leave this post on an up note so I will lastly talk about the DCAU cartoons. DCAU stands for DC Animated Universe which are 'Batman: The Animated Series', 'Superman: The Animated Series', 'Batman Beyond', "Static Shock', 'The Zeta Prodject' and 'Justice League/Unlimited' to name a few. These cartoons had everything from complicated plots that bleed into really engaging story arch to really touching moments between characters, things that gave viewers nightmares to things that gave hope. They were all connected with each other via references; it was possible to watch them separately without needing to watch anything else, but it added to the enjoyment when you did. What really amazes me is how long this continuance lasted; it started in 1992 with 'Batman' (same year as the Tim Burton Batman) and ended in 2006 with 'Justice League Unlimited' -- that's about 14 years. 14 years!!! That's a long time for any show, cartoon or live action, on television. To me that's just a testament of what good story telling can accomplish, and these shows had good story telling overall.

So this is my two cents (or fifty with inflation) on several cartoons.