Sun, 19 Oct 2003
Potato Head
So there's this family, the Blackadders, and they figure prominently in the history of England and the events
are captured in a television show from the BBC. I've watched the second
season lately a few times, with Queen Elizabeth and
Sir Walter Raleigh and the
Bishop of Bath & Wells and so on. It's a bit like Wile E. Coyote with a variety of road-running
targets for our hapless protagonist to chase after.
The episodes on the second season DVD are:
- Bells - Cross-dressing, homoeroticism, easy-listening parodies, this start to the season is quite a joy and nicely sets the tone for the
misadventures of Lord Edmund Blackadder.
- Head - Here we find Edmund given a new position, attendant staff, and responsibility over who lives and dies. Of course he makes a mess
of things through his recurring error of delegating to his minions, and has to undergo a variety of contorting impressions to attempt to retain his head.
- Potato - Sailing, eyepatches, conquest, discoveries, cannibals and a legless Tom Baker. This one is laugh out loud funny.
- Money - This episode has a cute prostitute. Some other stuff happens, including a recurring gag about unfunny practical jokes and the
inability of Edmund Blackadder to hold on to any money, but the important part is that the prostitute is really cute, right down to her toes. Some jibes at
the clergy of the day which seem practically prescient considering more recent Catholic
scandal and hypocrisy.
- Beer - My favorite episode of the season, it's got fake breasts, drinking, and Puritans. Wicked Child!
- Chains - Season ender. Silly accents, sheep-fucking, light-hearted torture and hostage-taking and the obligatory all-fall-down
ending. The blood, you see, is compulsory.
So quite fun, and the most concentrated Blackadder I'd seen in such a short span.
posted at 13:51 PDT (-0700)
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Oh Heathcliff!
Vylar brought this set of mechanics suitable for roleplaying Wuthering Heights style tragedies, should that be the kind of
thing you're in to. Reminds me of something lloyd or Josh would be pleased by.
posted at 13:45 PDT (-0700)
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Words, Words, Words
This year, instead of going to ICON, I went to Bookfest. I'd never been
before and it was a real treat. I saw a couple panels, the net effect of which is what I want to read Michael Gruber's
Tropic of Night, and anything by Kage Baker and I now know that
Bruce Schneier is just as erudite in person as he seems in prose.
I managed to escape buying only one book, an L.E. Modesitt, Jr. novel,
Archform: Beauty, which I let him sell me [and autograph] largely because it sounded
like an inverse Rashomon's structure. I bought a book-holding apparatus of
nifty design for stormagnet and something for Vylar but nothing for
Crag, since he's not really a reader, as such.
I had a splendid time, but transportation issues prevented my going for the second day, and I'd definitely recommend it to you. Yes, you. If you're reading
this, you're literate enough to groove on the bookfest. You have no excuse.
posted at 13:35 PDT (-0700)
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Back, and to the Left
After a previous false start, I took another run at James Ellroy's
American Tabloid and got through it this time.
This is a thoroughly gritty angle on the run up to the JFK assassination, one of the subjects near and dear to my heart. It follows three fictional
protagonists through their machinations to make a buck, seek redress for wrongs, and pursue their rendition of the American Dream. It's populated with
realistic character sketches of real people, including:
along with fictional support characters, as well as notables I couldn't find quick and easy links for.
It's a story of violent crime and short-sighted goals having long term ramifications. I don't know that I'd recommend it to someone who has idealized
the Kennedys or who has trouble discerning fantasy from reality, but for someone who enjoyed, oh,
The Illuminatus! Trilogy, this should be great fun, a romp through history with sex and snideness.
First Ellroy I've ever read, but certainly not my last.
posted at 13:11 PDT (-0700)
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Get It? Got it. Good.
After years of hearing it referenced, I sat down with The Court Jester and saw what the fuss was all about.
This quirky musical comedy from 1956 has hypnosis-as-magic,
silly songs, magnetism,
heroic escapades, poison and, oh yes,
Danny Kaye.
It's a fun romp, with lots of clever wordplay, banter, nice emotive acting, and a storyline which is one disaster for our hero after another. It's got a baby
with a birthmark, a squatter on a throne, a daring highway robber, some sword fights and at least one dance routine. Fun, light-hearted romance full of twists
and turns, with quotable and memorable lines which I'd heard before and now have a context for. I recommend it.
posted at 11:12 PDT (-0700)
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