22 Friday Nov 2013
Posted in Movies/Television, Television
Tags
As an early heads up, Katherine and I are planning on another fun Friday of late-night Dracula liveblogging! More Boobarella! More Tesla name drops! More random ladies mud wrestling! Same Bat Time; same Bat Channel!
UPDATE: HAHA just kidding. Apparently, the 50th Anniversary of the assassination of President Kennedy is a little more important than Drac. Katherine and I will save the next episode for post-Turkey Day shenanigans!
21 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Historical Events, Victorian Hotties
Oh, Horatio! We all know Lord Nelson was a majorly kick-ass Naval commander — one of the most revered in English history. Nelson’s tactical skill and bravery won him many battles at sea, including the well-known Battle of Trafalgar where the combined French and Spanish fleet lost 22 of their 33 ships, and the British lost none of their 27. But did you know what a stone cold fox he was?
Later in his career, he had a very public affair with a woman who was recognized as the most beautiful woman in England, Emma, Lady Hamilton. An iconic face in contemporary painting, Emma was passed around by various British elite before meeting and falling in love with Nelson. Nelson was married and had been for years, but after meeting Emma, he fell in love with her as well. Problem was, she was already married to another old white dude, Sir William Hamilton, British envoy to Naples.
Emma, by George Romney, 1785
So Nelson loved Emma and Emma loved Nelson, and basically, Sir William was cool with this. He was so cool, in fact, that the three of them lived together openly in a righteous 18th century menage a trois while Nelson and Emma waited for Sir William to die so they could marry. He finally kicked it in 1803, but right about the same time Nelson was recalled to sea, and in 1805, he was killed at Trafalgar. Can someone please make a movie of this? Because I would definitely pay $13 to see it in 3D.
Oh yeah, and after his death, Lord Nelson became an immortal deity, as shown in this photograph. He was the man.
20 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted in Movies/Television, Reviews, Television
Heather/Point: Dracula has a great deal of potential but suffers from a lack of proper pacing and unnecessary/oversexed distractions.
So, we’ve had a couple of weeks to experience NBC’s Dracula, give or take a few episodes. We’ve encountered familiar faces, some familiar plot threads, and experienced a few standard vampire tropes. Obviously, as this is a modern retelling, we’re going to have some divergence; how are we enjoying what we’ve seen? Some spoilers ahead!
Pros: There’s no denying that Rhys Meyers has a powerful presence. His physicality and look are perfect for a modern Dracula. Katherine and I go back and forth on his accent, but mostly it works and he comes off as less of a lord interested in new digs and more of a Victorian Tony Stark, with his entrepreneurial interest in electricity/wireless technology. Mina is also fairly interesting, being a medical student (I still have to do research to see if women could have been medical assistants or students back then) and having more independent sensibilities. The actor who plays Harker is very convincing, Renfield is a powerful (and currently sane) presence, and the relationship between Van Helsing and Dracula is a fascinating twist that I’m not sure has been attempted before. I also really loved the twist they put in with Lucy in the last episode (i.e., hinting that she harbors unrequited feelings for her BFF). More often than not, Lucy is painted as some kind of glorious whore, made for the adoration of all the lovers and warriors around her. I feel happier about this development for her character in a feminist sense. I do enjoy the interactions between all these characters and see great potential for the future.
Cons: Katherine went on vacation for a couple of weeks and we missed a few episodes because frankly, I wasn’t going to do them without her. Be that as it may, we picked back up on the fourth episode….and hardly anything had changed. Now, I’m all about a character-driven series; I’m personally content with a show that spends time focusing on personalities and individual growth and not forcing major plot events every episode. That being said, a brand-new series needs to show progress, should drive the show forward to get us wondering about character motivation, and excite us for events to come. I have concerns when I can pick up the show so easily after missing several episodes, with nothing gained from missing them: let’s call it the “So What” factor. So, we found out that Dracula is working against some powerful, Fat Cat Order who controls and has infiltrated most of society. How is he going to do that? Manipulating tech and stock markets? Through inventions? Sexing up the powerful old crones? I still haven’t figured that out and I think that might be a problem. Make your ideas and major plot more clear, NBC; otherwise, how are we supposed to invest our time? There’s also a buxom blonde who appears to be a Buffy analog who has some investment in both Dracula and this order? Really, she just seems like gratuitous T&A, which is why we’ve dubbed her Boobarella.
Some of the best moments are when they get back to the main narrative; Dracula’s existence and his relationship (past and present) with Mina or with the other important original characters. There was a moment in last week’s episode where Dracula shields Mina from an explosion; they focused on him holding her in his arms, eyes closed, as a traditional Hollywood explosion burst all around them. It was absolutely breathtaking. More of that, please, and less of Boobarella and the random Victorian Mud Wrestling that you featured as a backdrop to a random sex scene.
Katherine/Counterpoint: Boobarella is a deep, well-developed character who is essential to the show’s plot-line.
Heather, I must strongly disagree. How could you be so short-sighted as to disparage Boobarella? She plays a pivotal role in this series, as I will explain in the next several sentences. First, without Boobarella, there would be no crazy, violent vampire sex, and a vampire story without crazy, violent vampire sex is…that’s right, it’s TWILIGHT.
Second, Boobarella has many well-developed character traits: 1. She’s blonde. 2. She has big, push-uppy boobs. 3. She kills vampires in slow-mo action sequences. As a matter of fact, I can’t wait to see what the writers have in store for her in the rest of the season. What will her boobs look like NEXT week? It keeps me up at night in anticipation!
Hmm…what else? Ok, third, she’s clearly a feminist character counter-balancing the show’s otherwise patriarchal hegemony. She does all kinds of empowered things like, 1. She clearly states in Episode 2 that her breast augmentation surgery was for her, not for any man. 2. She chooses to let Dracula grope her nether-regions at the opera, 3. She allows herself to be totally turned on by the Victorian women’s mud-wrestling match. In conclusion, Boobarella is not just gratuitous T&A as you argue, Heather! She’s only T.
And there you have it, folks: Dracula has tons of potential, some mildly inconsistent plots, magnetic characters, and a LOT of T.
18 Monday Nov 2013
Posted in Culture, Food, Tea, Teatorials
Happo-En garden in Tokyo
Greetings, readers! I have just returned from a two-week adventure in beautiful East Asia. And since it’s almost 11pm, and I am not even close to feeling tired (jet-lag is a beast), I’m going to write a post.
One of the time-honored traditions in Japan is the tea ceremony. Green tea was originally imported from China in the 8th century for its medicinal properties. The preparation and drinking of tea was ritualized in the late 1400’s, and the ritual adopted and propagated by samurai during the Edo Period. This is no English afternoon cup of tea, though. Like many attributes of Japanese culture, the tea ceremony is a spiritual and ritualistic act, with every action taken by the partakers having some purpose or meaning. You can’t just show up, dunk a biscuit, and call it a day. The Japanese tea ceremony requires a special set of tools, and participants go through a very specific set of actions in order to perform the ritual correctly.
On our trip, I was fortunate enough to participate in a tea ceremony, and I was given some instruction beforehand on how to perform the ceremony correctly. Tea ceremony is typically performed in a tea house, like the one shown below.
The tea served at the tea ceremony is called “matcha,” a powdered green tea that has a strong, bitter flavor, and this must be prepared by a trained person. She will use a number of different tools to do this. She will have to heat water in the kettle or “kama” shown below.
Artifact from the Tokyo National Museum
Tea is scooped from a tea jar into the tea bowl using a very particular type of bamboo utensil, shown below.
Artifact from the Tokyo National Museum
Tea and water are then combined in the tea bowl (chawan), shown below.
Artifact from the Tokyo National Museum
The maker then uses a bamboo whisk to whip the tea into a froth.
Now the tea is ready to drink, but here comes the tricky part. This is where the ignorant Westerners have to correctly pull off the consumption of the tea. The bitter tea is (mercifully) served with some kind of sweet in order to counteract some of the bitterness. I’ve got to be honest, this tea did not taste good. It’s not something you whip up to relax before “Sherlock.” But remember, medicinal properties.
Once the tea is served to you, you may start the drinking process. Hold the bowl with your left hand under it and your right hand around it, front facing you. Turn the bowl with your right hand clockwise twice to move the front of the bowl away from you (you don’t drink from the front). Then, lift the bowl into the air as a sign of thanks before taking your first sip. The hostess will ask you how it tastes, and you are to reply, “kekkodesu,” which means something like, “This tastes terrible, but I have to lie and say I love it because them’s the rules.” You are then free to drink the tea. I have heard other sources insist you have to drink the tea in three gulps, but I was not taught that specifically, so maybe only certain schools teach that. You drink the tea until it is all gone and slurp the last sip as a sign of appreciation. Then, you take your right hand thumb and forefinger and wipe the rim of the bowl where you placed your mouth. Turn the bowl counterclockwise twice so that the front faces you again, and then you may set the tea bowl back down on the table.
The Japanese tea ceremony may be complicated, but the focus should be on enjoying and appreciating the moment, and I think that is what drinking tea of all kinds should be about.
Stay tuned for Korean tea next!
15 Friday Nov 2013
Posted in Movies/Television, Television, Uncategorized
Tags
So, it’s been a couple of weeks since our last Dracula liveblog and some stuff has happened since then. Ummmm…..since we last saw him, Drac went to go get a mani-pedi, because centuries of grave dust can destroy your cuticles…
and Boobarella had to get breast reduction surgery due to back problems.
K: Thank goodness for the “previously.” I’m sure they can tell me everything important that happened in 1 minute.
H: Booberella seems pretty bad at her job. Also, that is a seriously swank house.
K: At least the action sequence was normal speed.
K: Hmm, guess I was wrong about the breast reduction.
H: THE HUNTER WAS A WOMAN. OF ALL THINGS! Oh the huge manatee!
H: Also, Dracula got one extra guy to help him with…what exactly? What’s his master plan?
K: Financially ruining this Order of the Dragon? It seems kind of lame for Dracula.
H: He doesn’t like how they’ve diversified their profiles.
K: He’s probably going to sell them a bunch of sub-prime mortgages.
H: Oh snap! Is he the one responsible for the mortgage crisis and collapse of 2008?? CONSPIRACY!!
H: I still think his American accent is highly suspect.
K: I think it’s ok. So Drac and Harker are buddies now? Interesting.
H: It goes between good and extremely nasal. He’s still got a great look and I really love that opening credit sequence.
K: You were right last time- he does have a Tony Stark vibe.
K: Crap, now we have to change the “X days without an accident” sign!
H: OSHA VIOLATION!!!
H: Also, I have to admit I LOVED that shot of him holding her. Gave me a chill.
K: Yeah…this show has really good elements and overall a good concept I think.
H: I definitely think it has potential. It’s kind of a shame that the ratings are in the stinker at the moment…
H: I think one of the problems is that it doesn’t seem to have progressed from the pilot. Dracula Stark is still playing with Tesla wireless and he has some plan to bring down the Fat Cats? Maybe?
K: They seem to be working to develop his relationship with Mina a bit, which is good. But yeah…I’m not sure we missed anything over the past couple of weeks.
H: Which is a huge problem when you’re starting a new series. What’s his deal with Boobarella? He playing with her? I mean, seriously, just kill her already if you think she’s a threat.
K: I think he was planning to meet her and charm her but changed his mind because of his feelings for Mina?
H: I think they should do more with Harker as his friend. That could be a fascinating dynamic to play on.
H: Also, do NOT get me started on how much I hate the idea of Carrie Underwood as Maria von Trapp.
K: I KNOW! Please don’t destroy one of my favorite things, NBC.
H: Wait, you’re an ages-old vampire and you’re talking smack about WITCHCRAFT??
K: Hmm…how to make Dracula’s heart function again? <clip to Mina> METAPHOR! sort of.
H: The attempt at some kind of dodgy vampire-science intrigues me. How do you make a corpse live?
H: And we have our exact date: 1896.
K: And I LOVE Lucy’s orange outfit.
H: Great clothes. And did we just get an unrequited lesbian love vibe from Lucy??
K: YES! Was just going to say that.
H: Aaaaand random Victorian Women’s MMA? In mud?
K: (sigh) I think Boobarella is just here to get sex scenes out there early in the series.
H: Yeah, are we getting a pretty obvious/boring vamp whore vs. pure virgin dichotomy with the ladies here. Boobarella likes SEX, VIOLENCE, SEX DURING VIOLENCE. ROCK AND ROLLLLLLLLLLLL. Mina, on the other hand, likes pretty frocks and SCIENCE.
H: Hey, look! People are actually *dying*. Surprisingly rare for a show called DRACULA.
K: I can’t unsee Edith’s schmucky old guy with this actor.
H: Nor can I. And what just happened? Are these dudes supernatural too?
K: Would be kind of cool if that were Irene Adler.
H: The time period is definitely right. Renfield is still a cool dude. I wouldn’t mind seeing his character develop beyond one season, to see if it delves into madness. Could be a GREAT arc.
K: Yeah, I agree. He’s so level-headed here. What makes him go crazy?
H: Bugs? Torn draperies? Having to deal with Drac’s stupid friends coming over all the time?
H: And what is this ridiculous scene. “Terminate” this relationship? Is she firing his sexual services?
K: Wait…did Drac’s plan with Boobs not work? So he’s giving up and just letting Klaus or whoever take her out?
K: And who is Harker investigating? Edith’s old man?
H: Yeah, I mean, that was such a poorly written scene. Something about emotions and power and something else stupid. I could write a better breakup scene than that.
H: I think he is? But maybe it’s this woman?
K OH! I get it now. This is how Drac earns her trust! Wow, he sacrificed his “brother” for this?
H: Yeah, that’s pretty good. But yeah, I mean. How long is she going to be swayed by that? And what’s with her special sword? Is she the Bride now from Kill Bill?
H: Gratuitous tub scene!!
K: I wonder if Drac is going to turn on Renfield at some point. Ren should be sweating.
K: HA! He just did one for his homies.
H: HA! Yes, I was just about to say, Pour one out for my homie.
H: Also, that “knight” bit was a bit overdone. That dude didn’t show that he was any better than a pawn.
K: That was a good tease for next week, though.
H: Yeah, it looks like you might get your wish about Renfield being driven to madness. Also, more Mina/Drac development.
Alright, that’s it for tonight, folks. Did you watch Dracula tonight? What were your thoughts? Now that Katherine is back from vacation, we’re hoping to do this more regularly. See you next week!
14 Thursday Nov 2013
Posted in Art/Photography, Daguerrotype
This is very much the sort of thing Katherine and I would do. Credit to Jack Mord.
11 Monday Nov 2013
Posted in Historical Events, Literature, Poetry
Today is a solemn occasion around the world. Whether you honor Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, or Veteran’s Day here in the States, we remember those who have served and continue to serve and say thank you for all you have done and all that you continue to do and sacrifice so that the rest of us may enjoy our freedoms. On days like these, only poetry will properly serve, so I give you one of the most famous WWI masterpieces of poetry: In Flanders Fields.
In Flanders Fields – Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, 1915
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
06 Wednesday Nov 2013
Posted in Art/Photography, Painting
My apologies for the sporadic posting, but an extremely dear family member of mine went through serious surgery late last week and I was otherwise occupied with assisting the family. In some ways, this may seem like an inappropriate time for an image like this, but with the chaos and stress of the last few days….well, Dark Romanticism seems somewhat fitting, non?
This unique painting is called “Hatred and Madness” and was painted by Serbian artist Pasko Vucetic (1871 – 1925) and framed by Croatian artist Viktor Kovacic (1874 – 1924). According to Sotheby’s, it was done in 1898/1899 in oil on an octagonal canvas with the frame being added several years later. The painting itself looks like it’s framed with fragments of human bone. Most interesting of all, there is an inscription in the lower center of the frame: “L’odio/ quondo tu dormirai … Stecchetti” or translated, “Hatred/As you shall sleep…”, and signed with the last name of the poet Lorenzo Stecchetti (aka Olindo Guerrini). To zoom around the image and enjoy (?) the details, visit this page.
The image and expression on the horrified man’s face is striking but the composition of the image, including the framing narrative of bones and subsequent inscription intrigues me even more. It indicates a man surrounded by death: the bones of his lover, scattered in his desecration? You can identify the rib cage, hip bones, and hands of the woman in the frame itself; a hint to the woman’s deconstructed and abused body and sexuality by the spurned grave-digger. In the poem, he also mentions something about “protruding” his “claw into your shameless womb!”, which indicates an emotional, spiritual, and physical violation of the female body. His fingering of her eye socket also serves this point and makes the viewer uncomfortable in its symbolism.
According to this site, the image was inspired by a poem by Stecchetti called “Il Canto dell’Odio”, or “The Song of Hate”, written in 1877, about a man who vows to torment his lover after her death because she (apparently) took a turn on Whore Island and decided that hanging out with soldiers and drunks was preferable to his company. In his mind, the only logical reaction to her betrayal is to dig up her bones, mess with them, and excoriate her in verse, making sure to soil her reputation in perpetuity. In short: “I shall forever dwell/A specter of vengeance and sin, a/monstrosity from hell.” Charming stuff right? Read the translation to hear about all the other horrible things he promises to do to his once-beloved (or enjoy it in the original Italian here). This line is particularly choice: “Why did you say no, when crawling at your/feet I implored your mercy/while your pimps out in the street awaited/for the next batch of Brits?” HILARious. Oh, you batches of Brits, corrupting these perfect Italian ladies with your tea and Brit-ness. Anyway, she probably friend-zoned him and he decided to go ballistic and did the 19th century equivalent of online bullying and/or Facebook public shaming. The inscription on the frame is the haunting first words of the opening line from the poem, the painting itself visually demonstrating what the lover plans to do as she attempts to rest in peace.
I hope to do more posts on this macabre trend in painting, identified as a branch of Romanticism called Dark Romanticism (into which literary category Poe already falls, natch). I studied the Symbolists in school and thoroughly enjoyed some of the nightmarish subject matter and bizarre compositions of some of the works of Redon, Munch, and other artists of the Decadent period. Sweet dreams everyone?
