Tales to Tell

One of my favorite books: The Outspoken Princess and the Gentle Knight

It has been on my mind a lot lately... Possibly because Ethan loves books so much, and I have been thinking about getting him some actual stories rather than just the one-word picture books we've had around the house. There is much to love in this book, which I would use to enhance rather than replace a collection of fairy tales.

The thing I love about it is that it turns traditional fairy tales on their heads, and brings out some of the quirkiest characters we've been privileged to know. Petronella takes on the role of the third son-- er, daughter-- and has an amazing adventure that breaks all the rules. The Wrestling Princess is just that, and yet manages to find her true love anyway! The Dark Princess is sweet and sad and makes me cry every time I read it. (Is that a good thing?) For some reason, it reminds me of Arabian Nights

It's an exceptionally well-made miniseries that showcases several of the famous stories from A Thousand and One Nights by Sir Richard Burton, stories about Aladdin and Ali Baba and many other great characters. The special effects are outstanding and the acting is generally excellent, and I love the way that Scheherezade's tales are later used by Schahriar to find solutions to real-world problems he is facing. Anyway, when you've got four hours or so to spend, watch it!

Creating Armor

No, that isn't a metaphor for developing a better buffer between yourself and other people... I'm actually considering making a sort of shoulder-armor called a "spaulder." I saw it in the Starz series Spartacus: Blood and Sand. We've watched a few episodes, and let me tell ya-- it ain't for the weak of heart. It's sort of in the style of 300, with similar special effects during fight scenes, lots of slow motion, and exaggerated and almost comic-book type movements at certain times. It is also directed squarely at adults, and makes no apologies for being strictly grown-up entertainment. I've only watched two or three episodes so far, and have blushed more times than I can count at the very mature content. Speaking of which: Holy moley, Lucy Lawless--I don't remember you acting this way when you were Xena: Warrior Princess! Sheesh Louise!!

Anyway... we're still watching it, but be prepared for lots of lasciviousness to go along with your basic gladiator mayhem. (And by lasciviousness, I mean this could sometimes get a soft-core rating; yipes!)

The main actor, Andy Whitfield, is pictured below wearing his typical gladiator gear. This photo really shows off his segmented leather (?) spaulder, which I want to try to replicate for Joel to wear during Burning Man.


I also found a less theatrical one for sale at ElvenForge, a company that makes armor and weaponry for everything from re-enactments to Hollywood. The picture below, from their website, will give me more of an idea of where to put the grommets that will attach each "scale" of leather together. And an even better idea of how much these things normally cost! ($195 + shipping, in case you were wondering...)


I'm planning to use old purses from garage sales, plus a belt, and keep it low-cost and more in line with the Burning Man DIY ethic. Can't wait to get started on it!

Yo Gabba Gabba

Holy moley, people; this is the most bizarro kids' show that I've ever seen. Seriously. The guys who designed this must have been on one long trip, starting around 1982, punctuated periodically by overdoses on pixie sticks and possibly some bad 'shrooms.

We just bought the DVD below because Joel thinks Ethan likes it (hah), but also because he thinks it will greatly enhance our Burning Man experience. As in, it will make everyone who visits our RV and watches it trip out hardcore. It is super weird, with all of these 1980s Atari-style graphics popping up out of nowhere, and just way-out-there voices and sounds and songs. S-t-r-a-n-g-e.



We're thinking about bringing Yo Gabba Gabba costumes with us to Burning Man, actually. Joel, of course, would go as DJ Lance Rock:

... while I'm thinking of going as Foofa:


Well, you know, my version of Foofa. It will involve pink, and flowers, but will probably be different in several other ways. Once I get my costume together I'll be sure to post up some pics.

Chick Flicks

We just got finished watching Love Actually, a film I really enjoy, when I realized that we own very few chick flicks. I mean, our typical DVD purchase is something like Batman Begins, Tropic Thunder, or even the latest seasons of The Venture Brothers or Flight of the Conchords. We own very, very few romantic comedies, mostly because I'm not a huge fan. Looking through our cabinets, I can find certain "girl"-oriented films like Chocolat, which is of course brilliant and beautiful and a sweet fairy tale of a movie, and also The Royal Tenenbaums, one of my all-time favorites. There is Twelfth Night, a lovely update of Shakespeare's comedy, and A Couch in New York, also based on a play, and.... uh.... not much else in terms of movies marketed directly to females, and particularly as romantic comedies or romantic dramas.

Does that make me an atypical girl, this dearth of chick flicks? Does looking through my DVD collection reveal hidden truths about me? Do I have to give back my "woman" card now? Don't get me wrong-- I enjoyed watching movies like The Proposal and 27 Dresses, but it just isn't my first choice when we go to the theater. Or, um, rent DVDs. Or, well, borrow movies from friends and family.

Sigh.

Okay, fine, I admit it. I'm a dude.

My Favorite Scary Movies

Ghost Story-Scary:
Not a lot of gore, but some seriously good jump-in-your-seat scares. Play out like thrillers, with the tension rising right up to the end.
- The Others Amazing ghost story, with plenty of great scares. Also,
bring your kleenex because there are some seriously sad parts.
- Stir of Echoes ACK! This one always leaves me jumpy. Creepy, scary, crazy, ants-in-your-pants ghost story.
- The Sixth Sense, Signs, UnbreakableI guess I just like most of M. Night Shyamalan's work, no matter what the critics say. Oh, and add in The Village to that list; might be predictable for some, but still has some good ghost story elements.

Funny-Scary:
Less scary, more funny, but awesome movies. Gore is definitely present, but always done with a humorous slant.
- Shaun of the Dead Classic Simon Pegg humor, excellent satire of contemporary culture, and they even throw in some actual pathos (okay, I cried in one scene, sorry). Fu-nay stuff.
- Zombieland (in theaters now) Excellent movie, complete with deadpan humor, "Best Zombie Kill of the Week," narration by a nervous survivor with IBS, and great special effects. Fun for everyone, as long as you can stand the opening scenes with bloody carnage in slo-mo.

Horror-Scary:
Some (or a lot of) gore, blood, mayhem. Not big on malicious torture, so you won't find that here. But you will definitely run across some seriously bloody scenes. Don't say I didn't warn you!
- 28 Days Later Virus in the UK = Horror gold in Hollywood. This movie rocks, shocks, and even raises philosophical questions for the viewer (what would *you* be willing to do?). Featuring Cillian Murphy in his first major blockbuster; he would later play the evil psychiatrist in Batman Begins.
- The Descent Women, a cave, spelunking, and vicious terrifying creatures on the prowl. Sounds like a great vacation to me! This one hits all your fears (claustrophobia, fear of heights, fear of the dark, fear of being eaten) at once.
- Dawn of the Dead I thought this remake was actually pretty good. Especially loved the Richard Cheese "lounge" version of 'Get Down with the Sickness.' Dark, gory, scares, even though it brings up the usual "Why would they do that? Are they stupid, or what?" horror movie questions.

And two you may not have heard of...
- Let The Right One In An awesome vampire movie from Sweden, this one is at the top of my list. Poignant, frightening, intense, and quite moving-- definitely watch it. Not for children, but features child actors (who are brilliant, by the way).
- Pontypool Definitely the thinking person's scary movie, this one is from Canada and 98% of the film takes place inside a radio studio. It's more about what happens in your head when horrible things start taking place around you... creepy.


Great; now I have the itch to go watch several of these before Halloween!