(no subject)
Much happier post today than the last one. Which is kind of funny since I don't really have much good news. Got an allergic reaction to some Sudafed I took on Tuesday. I took one pill after lunch in the hopes that maybe it'll unclog my ears and I'd be able to hear, when I started to feel really strange. I felt light-headed, a little dizzy, and just completely off-balance. I've had this reaction once before when I took a vitamin some 5 or so years ago that completely raised my blood pressure. So, I thought that's what happened. As calmly as possible, I texted my boyfriend, I texted my dad, and I made my way home after work. Dad wasn't home nor was he picking up his phone, so I called my mom to find out where the blood pressure machine was. Though I needed the machine, it was probably a mistake to call her because she went NUTS. She wasn't home to help me and since my dad wasn't home, she was terrified that I'd pass out and there'd be no one to take me to the hospital. My God, she had everyone we knew on alert. I told her I'd keep in contact with Anthony and that if I needed assistance, he'd drive over in a flash. That helped. Somewhat. She still called every 20 minutes to make sure I was conscious. God bless her, I love that woman, but sometimes she can drive a person to the brink. Anyway, what had happened was that my blood pressure had dropped, but my heartrate sky-rocketed. Hence the odd feeling I was getting. My dad finally got home and he took my blood pressure again, which was starting to normalize. My heartrate had gone down, so he gave me some coffee in order to let my BP get completely back to normal. It freaked me out so much, I decided to skip work yesterday and go to the doctor. Turns out, the problem with my ears wasn't so much congestion, as it was an ear infection. It's just one thing after another, huh? So, he prescribed another round of antibiotics, which had better work for the amount of money I paid for them. Seriously, can the American health care system be anymore fucked up? So now I'm on those. Keep your fingers crossed that whatever is messing with me goes away.
On the upside of things, the office is less stressful today. Maybe it was just me being tired and cranky that ratcheted up my nerves at work. Now I feel like I can sit at my computer and not have to worry about whether I'm bothering anyone. Also, I found out that Neil Gaiman is doing two panels for the PEN festival in NYC in about a month, so I'm totally excited and gearing up for that. Colm Toibin is also going to be there, which should be interesting. He wrote several books, one that I read called The Master, which is a fictional account of the life of Henry James. He wrote Portrait of a Lady and Turn of the Screw, I believe. Beautiful writing, but no real story. I kept waiting for him to get to the point and then the book ended. But I have another book of his, so I'll check it out and maybe I'll go see what he has to say.
Am reading John Barrowman's autobiography, "Anything Goes," and am having an amazing time with it so far. It's so entertaining and engaging! The best part are the footnotes, which do not clarify anything. I love that. After I'm done with this, I'm going to read Amber Benson's book, "Death's Daughter."
Oh! Also, saw Watchmen twice: So, I saw it twice. Once with Anthony on our anniversary (yeah, he's my romantic geek) and once with some friends the following week. Having read the comic and knowing what I know about the story and what little I know about filmmaking, I can safely say it's as masterful an adaptation as a Watchmen fan is going to get. There are moments in the movie where it feels like Dave Gibbons' art come to life. Like when Dr. Manhattan screams at everyone to be left alone before going to Mars. I almost thought I was looking at one of the panels for a second there. There have been some changes made to the story, but I figure it's all in the interest of preserving as much of the original plot as possible without making it unwatchable. I get that and I applaud Zack Snyder for being able to keep that balance. I thoroughly enjoyed it both times and even with the 2hr 45min runtime, I barely felt any drag. It's hard to pick the best performance as they were all so wonderful! Jackie Earle Haley has been praised non-stop as making an absolutely amazing Rorschach. I will have to agree, especially with the scenes of him in prison. I don't think I've ever been truly scared of a fictional character as I was the moment when Rorschach goes, "You don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me." The changes that were made in the film were also well-done. I get that not everyone has read Watchmen and therefore wouldn't get the whole "Giant Alien" thing. Especially since, given time constraints, there would not be a chance to really set up that part of the story. I also loved that he added little allusions to things that were cut out. My favorite being the Bernies at the end of the movie, when they see what's coming and big!Bernie runs to grab lil!Bernie to protect him. It was a bittersweet moment in the comic and even moreso in the film. Overall, I think the film was well-adapted and, even though it didn't hit the box offices the way some people had hoped it would, I feel it was a definite success.
There were one or two things that I took issue with, however. First was Matthew Goode. His performance as Ozymandias was relatively spot-on, that's not the problem. I liked him for the role and I think he carried out the concept of the soft-spoken, well-meaning villain in a way that was convincing. No, the problem I had was with his accent. In trying to suppress his British accent and substitute it for an American one, he came out somewhere in the middle, which sort of made him sound like he had a speech impediment. Of course, it could have been done on person to lend Adrien an even more effeminate air, as it was alluded in the film that he might be gay, but it brought me out of the film at times. And no, my slash goggles weren't on in this movie. It was genuinely insinuated that our beloved Ozy was possibly a closet-case. When introducing all the characters in the beginning of the movie, we first see Adrien in front of Studio 54 (THE hotspot for all partyboys and partygirls in the 80s), shaking hands with David Bowie and chatting with The Village People. Then later, when Nite Owl and Rorschach are hacking Adrien's computer, we see the folder with all his villainous schemes, but we also see a folder marked "Boys" and I can't imagine what else that could be about. It was also implied in the comic that he was gay, though, besides Rorschach's private speculations, the allusions were much more subtle. Trust me, I can't wear my slash goggles during a film like this. The comic is too important to me. It changed my perspective on comic books and on storytelling in general. I can't just turn it into a fandom fancy. Like all those fangirls who think Rorschach is sexy. I'll admit, Haley looks hot with red-hair, freckles, and biceps, but I just can't get past the fact that Rorschach is an unhygienic, bigoted, anti-social maniac with penchant for maiming anyone he considers a bad guy. He's also an awesome character who has a tragic past and a wicked tendency to snark, and despite all his flaws, he believes in the truth, which is more than can be said for some of the others. Rorschach is my favorite, but there is nothing in this world that can make me be attracted to him, not even Haley's baby blues. And you know, I get that fandom is going to interpret things differently than I do. I see the fangirling and the slashing of Nite Owl/Ozy/Rorschach (any combination of the three, really), and I see the sharp division of the new fans and the old fans. But this is one fandom I just refuse to participate in. I have no problem with the new fans, or fans who fell in love with Watchmen after the movie, or fans who think Rorschach is hot. But there is already too much wank and too much vitriol for me to feel comfortable. Even a bonafide lurker like me will get irritated. No thanks. But I digress. A lot.
Anyway, long story short, I enjoyed the movie. I'm still not sure if it should have been made, but I'm glad that Snyder, a real fan and not a Hollywood sockpuppet, made it.
So, that's how things have been. How about you?
On the upside of things, the office is less stressful today. Maybe it was just me being tired and cranky that ratcheted up my nerves at work. Now I feel like I can sit at my computer and not have to worry about whether I'm bothering anyone. Also, I found out that Neil Gaiman is doing two panels for the PEN festival in NYC in about a month, so I'm totally excited and gearing up for that. Colm Toibin is also going to be there, which should be interesting. He wrote several books, one that I read called The Master, which is a fictional account of the life of Henry James. He wrote Portrait of a Lady and Turn of the Screw, I believe. Beautiful writing, but no real story. I kept waiting for him to get to the point and then the book ended. But I have another book of his, so I'll check it out and maybe I'll go see what he has to say.
Am reading John Barrowman's autobiography, "Anything Goes," and am having an amazing time with it so far. It's so entertaining and engaging! The best part are the footnotes, which do not clarify anything. I love that. After I'm done with this, I'm going to read Amber Benson's book, "Death's Daughter."
Oh! Also, saw Watchmen twice: So, I saw it twice. Once with Anthony on our anniversary (yeah, he's my romantic geek) and once with some friends the following week. Having read the comic and knowing what I know about the story and what little I know about filmmaking, I can safely say it's as masterful an adaptation as a Watchmen fan is going to get. There are moments in the movie where it feels like Dave Gibbons' art come to life. Like when Dr. Manhattan screams at everyone to be left alone before going to Mars. I almost thought I was looking at one of the panels for a second there. There have been some changes made to the story, but I figure it's all in the interest of preserving as much of the original plot as possible without making it unwatchable. I get that and I applaud Zack Snyder for being able to keep that balance. I thoroughly enjoyed it both times and even with the 2hr 45min runtime, I barely felt any drag. It's hard to pick the best performance as they were all so wonderful! Jackie Earle Haley has been praised non-stop as making an absolutely amazing Rorschach. I will have to agree, especially with the scenes of him in prison. I don't think I've ever been truly scared of a fictional character as I was the moment when Rorschach goes, "You don't understand. I'm not locked in here with you, you're locked in here with me." The changes that were made in the film were also well-done. I get that not everyone has read Watchmen and therefore wouldn't get the whole "Giant Alien" thing. Especially since, given time constraints, there would not be a chance to really set up that part of the story. I also loved that he added little allusions to things that were cut out. My favorite being the Bernies at the end of the movie, when they see what's coming and big!Bernie runs to grab lil!Bernie to protect him. It was a bittersweet moment in the comic and even moreso in the film. Overall, I think the film was well-adapted and, even though it didn't hit the box offices the way some people had hoped it would, I feel it was a definite success.
There were one or two things that I took issue with, however. First was Matthew Goode. His performance as Ozymandias was relatively spot-on, that's not the problem. I liked him for the role and I think he carried out the concept of the soft-spoken, well-meaning villain in a way that was convincing. No, the problem I had was with his accent. In trying to suppress his British accent and substitute it for an American one, he came out somewhere in the middle, which sort of made him sound like he had a speech impediment. Of course, it could have been done on person to lend Adrien an even more effeminate air, as it was alluded in the film that he might be gay, but it brought me out of the film at times. And no, my slash goggles weren't on in this movie. It was genuinely insinuated that our beloved Ozy was possibly a closet-case. When introducing all the characters in the beginning of the movie, we first see Adrien in front of Studio 54 (THE hotspot for all partyboys and partygirls in the 80s), shaking hands with David Bowie and chatting with The Village People. Then later, when Nite Owl and Rorschach are hacking Adrien's computer, we see the folder with all his villainous schemes, but we also see a folder marked "Boys" and I can't imagine what else that could be about. It was also implied in the comic that he was gay, though, besides Rorschach's private speculations, the allusions were much more subtle. Trust me, I can't wear my slash goggles during a film like this. The comic is too important to me. It changed my perspective on comic books and on storytelling in general. I can't just turn it into a fandom fancy. Like all those fangirls who think Rorschach is sexy. I'll admit, Haley looks hot with red-hair, freckles, and biceps, but I just can't get past the fact that Rorschach is an unhygienic, bigoted, anti-social maniac with penchant for maiming anyone he considers a bad guy. He's also an awesome character who has a tragic past and a wicked tendency to snark, and despite all his flaws, he believes in the truth, which is more than can be said for some of the others. Rorschach is my favorite, but there is nothing in this world that can make me be attracted to him, not even Haley's baby blues. And you know, I get that fandom is going to interpret things differently than I do. I see the fangirling and the slashing of Nite Owl/Ozy/Rorschach (any combination of the three, really), and I see the sharp division of the new fans and the old fans. But this is one fandom I just refuse to participate in. I have no problem with the new fans, or fans who fell in love with Watchmen after the movie, or fans who think Rorschach is hot. But there is already too much wank and too much vitriol for me to feel comfortable. Even a bonafide lurker like me will get irritated. No thanks. But I digress. A lot.
Anyway, long story short, I enjoyed the movie. I'm still not sure if it should have been made, but I'm glad that Snyder, a real fan and not a Hollywood sockpuppet, made it.
So, that's how things have been. How about you?