Groaning about the working title for the next episode of the Star Wars trilogy “the Ancient Fear” has elicited many comments on the subject of facelifts and remastering and general bad story-telling. Among things as bad or worse than the character Jar Jar Binks (though there was similar criticism for the Ewoks), the list includes Darth Vader having actually been the one to build C3PO, re-inserting scenes that were on the cutting-room floor simply because now the producers had better technical capabilities and the introduction of the midichlorians—the microoganisms that are the welders of the Force (the director's nod to the fact that a human being cannot remain healthy and functional without his hitchhikers in the form of gut-flora).
I don't care for such trends at all—they did this not just to the Jedi but to the vampires and werewolves as well, implying that these powers are a treatable or manageable condition with the right drug-therapy and are not attributable to something supernatural. Fan at large Bob Canada also has a nice related review on kind of lame action figures that were brought to market for the prequels, including Ms. Jocasta Nu, librarian of the Jedi archives. Walk-on roles can be pretty fun, nonetheless.
Sunday 11 May 2014
solo shot first
catagories: ๐ฌ, philosophy, religion, Star Wars
Saturday 10 May 2014
crack-pot scheme
The ever-brilliant Colossal shares a thoughtful and patient post about the Japanese practise of kintsugi (golden repair)—rather than disposing of broken pottery or other objects or trying to conceal the chips and cracks and imperfections, the fine art of mending is intended to honour the history and trials of well-loved objects, putting the pieces back together again with jointing infused with precious metals. After the technique and philosophy was established, reportedly when a shogun in the fourteenth century sent a damaged porcelain tea bowl back to China, kintsugi became wildly popular with some breaking vases and urns on purposes so they could display the golden seams of wear and long-use.
foia or plenipotentate
RT reports (ะฝะฐ ะฟะฐะฝะณะปะธะนัะบะพะผ ัะทัะบะต) how new policies being instituted at the behest of America's Intelligence Czar are poised to seriously change the journalistic landscape of that country and make reduce the candor and transparency that is already lacking among officials:
catagories: ๐ฅธ, networking and blogging
Friday 9 May 2014
meรฐ lรถgum skal land byggja
As Scotland is herself poised for a referendum on whether to secede from the United Kingdom, the archipelago stretching to the ends of the Earth of the Shetlands, Orkney and the Western Isles also wants the question of its independence to be brought to a vote. The constituency’s motto is an Icelandic phrase, “with the law shall this land be embiggened,” and reflects historic and cultural ties to Scandinavian countries, especially Norway—having not become a part of the UK until the fifteenth century (actually as a dowry for the union of the Norwegian and British royal houses). The petition to instigate the plebiscite has already been signed by around ten percent of the population and if the measure is passed, the residents could then choose to rejoin Norway.
catagories: ๐ฌ๐ง, ๐ฎ๐ธ, ๐ณ๐ด, ๐ด๓ ง๓ ข๓ ณ๓ ฃ๓ ด๓ ฟ, ๐ด, foreign policy, language