An Evening of Awesome

I started following the Vlogbrothers back in August of last year. How did I discover them? I don’t remember, but robably through Wil Wheaton’s Twitter when he retweeted something from Hank Green, who ended up becoming my favourite Green brother. He’s cuter, more openly pro-science than John, and also an atheist where John is Christian. Though I realise that’s totally not fair, because John hardly ever brings up his beliefs on video, and really, he’s about as far from Bible-thumping dogmatism as you can get.

I started following the Vlogbrothers back in August of last year. How did I discover them? I don’t remember, but robably through Wil Wheaton’s Twitter when he retweeted something from Hank Green, who ended up becoming my favourite Green brother. He’s cuter, more openly pro-science than John, and also an atheist where John is Christian. Though I realise that’s totally not fair, because John hardly ever brings up his beliefs on video, and really, he’s about as far from Bible-thumping dogmatism as you can get.

And then I went back and watched their videos from the beginning. All nearly 1000 videos at that point, though most of them were 3 minutes long or shorter. I got to watch their lives unfold, and I saw Nerdfighteria grow around them, the connections with all sorts of awesome people, vloggers and non-vloggers. Who would have dreamed that would happen? I watched Hank sing a goofy song about Harry Potter, which led to more songs about Harry Potter, as well as angler fish, Helen Hunt, Tetris and subatomic particles, and now he’s got actual albums out. Who would have thought? And who would have thought it all would lead to more amazing collaborations like VidCon, Crash Course, The Brain Scoop, not to mention all the nerdfighter charities to decrease world-suck.

And Carnegie Hall? The Green brothers, plus The Mountain Goats, Neil Gaiman (!!!), Kymia Dawson and other amazing people, together on stage, this is surely their crowning moment of awesome. I’d never heard Kymia Dawson’s music before; I know she was on tour with Hank once and briefly appeared in one of Hank’s videos, but I didn’t know anything else about her. Boy was I missing out! Her songs are heartfelt and honest, full of gorgeous imagery and uplifting messages.

It just goes to show: you never know what something will lead to. The seeds you plant today could bloom into awesome trees years down the line.

Luminescence at the Vancouver Aquarium

It’s been over a week, and I’m finally getting around to uploading my photos of the Vancouver Aquarium. I hadn’t been in… almost 5 years? Really? Damn. Well, it was high time I fixed that. The special exhibit was called “Luminescence,” and showcased what underwater critters look like under black light.

It’s been over a week, and I’m finally getting around to uploading my photos of the Vancouver Aquarium. I hadn’t been in… almost 5 years? Really? Damn. Well, it was high time I fixed that. The special exhibit was called “Luminescence,” and showcased what underwater critters look like under black light.

Turns out it wasn’t really one exhibit, but several, scattered all around, plus one very cool interactive display where you could make a swarm of jellyfish light up from a computer touch-screen.

In hindsight, I should have brought my regular camera with me. Though my new phone does better in low light conditions, it seems to be crap at focusing through glass. Also, the battery was draining way too fast. Which means I don’t have photographic evidence for the amazing discovery that scorpions totally luminesce! Really, under normal light, they’re this dark red-brown, but under black light they’re this weird soft blue colour.

The focus was on anemones, though. And holy cow are they pretty!

Anemones under black light

Anemones and plants under black light

One of the Luminescence displays was an electric eel, which sadly didn’t light up anything unlike the one in Ottawa’s Sience and Tech Museum. It just sort of sat there at the bottom of its tank, not even zapping any prey or anything. Oh well.

The Aquarium doesn’t have just water-dwelling critters, though. The Amazon section has butterflies!

Butterfly sipping on nectar

(With warnings to not let the butterflies out when we enter and leave.) And birds!

Blue parrot

Back to the aquatic (or at least amphibian) beasts, we have frogs!

A frog's eyes

And penguins!

Penguins

And if you’ve ever wondered what the underside of starfish looks like, well, wonder no more.

Starfish underside

The Aquarium featured jellyfish both tiny and ghostly…

Ghostly jellyfish

…and huge and sumptuous.

Orange jellyfish

But you know what wins the prize for most memorable animal? The humble Dwarf Cuttlefish. I went to see it twice that day. The first time it was swimming among some rocks, too hard to see (plus, I think it’s got some kind of camouflage thing going on). The second time it was swimming right up to the glass, not trying to hide, but it kept drifting sideways, always angling up and to the left. Was that some kind of defense mechanism, trying to get higher than then big scary predator (ie: me)? Maybe. All I know is, on the only halfway good shot I managed to get, my damn phone just focused on the rocks in the background, leaving me with this weird blurry cuttlefish.

Then again, it’s kind of a pretty effect. I could tell people it’s engaging its cloaking device. Or that it’s really a Drakh cuttlefish. Anything’s possible with sci-fi!

(Except taking good pictures of otters, belugas or sharks. The former were too fast and hard to see, and the others just wouldn’t focus through glass or water. Yeah, next time I’ll bring a proper camera.)

Tiny cuttlefish

Movie review: The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

A not-very-long book stretched into three full-length movies? Part of me was dubious, but I trusted Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and all the others to respect the source material and deliver another great trilogy.

A not-very-long book stretched into three full-length movies? Part of me was dubious, but I trusted Peter Jackson, Fran Walsh and all the others to respect the source material and deliver another great trilogy.

I was right. An Unexpected Journey added a lot of material to the story (from the beginning up until Thorin’s company is saved from the orcs by the Eagles and deposited in Beorn’s land) but it never feels like padding—well, except the present-day scene between Bilbo and Frodo, which I think was necessary to tie in to the earlier movies, but probably should have been moved to the third installment. Then again, maybe not; I don’t know exactly how the story will play out.

So in addition to the book’s basic story, we’re treated to: Azog the Goblin, just a footnote in the books, now an ongoing villain probably for the remainder of the trilogy; Elrond, Galadriel and Saruman returning for an meeting of the White Council, discussing the Necromancer and what to do about him; Sylvester McCoy making a surprisingly awesome appearance as the druid-wizard Radagast the Brown, going around on a sled pulled by giant rabbits and briefly facing off against a Nazgul; a flashback of Smaug attacking the Lonely Mountain, following an absolutely dazzling look at a Dwarf city in its full glory; and various little bits of world-building taken from appendices or later books.

All great stuff, and that’s not even counting familiar elements brought to life: our old friend Gollum, alternating between creepy-sweet and murderous-creepy; the heart-stoppingly poignant rendition of “Far Over the Misty Mountains Cold,” which I saw in the trailers but still got me; edge-of-your-seat action; the lovely shots of Hobbiton.

Yes. A beautiful movie, and a wonderful start to another masterpiece. Can’t wait for next year!

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: The Coast is Queer

A wide selection of truly amazing shorts! Ranging from 1 to 10–12 minutes in length, they cover the gamut from silly to sexy to dead serious. I am always amazed at the amazing filmmakers that call Vancouver home.

A wide selection of truly amazing shorts! Ranging from 1 to 10–12 minutes in length, they cover the gamut from silly to sexy to dead serious. I am always amazed at the excellent filmmakers that call Vancouver home.

Treviano e la Luna

What do you get when you mix bears, opera, coffee and tips on facial grooming? This latest offering by Clark Nikolai is far more ambitious than his previous work (like last year’s silent short Lord Cockworthy) in content, style and camera work, but just as naughty and hilarious. Also, from what little I know the Italian dialog does match the subtitles, so bonus points there!

PS: Treviano e la Luna earned Clark the inaugural GayVancouver.Net Coast is Queer award, celebrating local queer filmmakers!

A Rendezvous

What looks like an awkward first date between two shy women is revealed to be something very different, as they jump together off a rooftop. This was an odd and disturbing film, with no obvious queer content, but I don’t believe that’s necessary to be included in the Queer Film Fest!

Sanity for Beginners

This short, written and directed by, and starring Jan Derbyshire, tells us that sanity isn’t as clear-cut as some professionals think. Again, no actual queer content, which just speaks to the diversity of our queer cinema!

The Other Mother

Pregnancy is a stressful time. It’s just as stressful when your partner’s pregnant, you’re unemployed and you have to choose between gainful employment or following your passion. A funny and touching look at lesbian parenting, and choices everyone has to make, lesbian or not. As a skeptic, I also liked the little digs at New-agey magical thinking. But since things worked out for the best, who knows? Maybe the universe really is looking out for our heroines.

Sunday Morning

Sometimes, you can’t just let go of your old community. And you shouldn’t ask your lover to do it either. An ex-priest, kicked out of his church, and his new lover, argue about why he should still be friendly with some of his old parishioners. Just because the church hierarchy doesn’t want him, that doesn’t negate the fact that (a) he loved his calling, and the kids under his charge, and (b) the kids themselves miss him and want him back.

In The Middle

A woman has to choose between two lovers, one male (and abusive, I think), one female. Which way will she go?

Choices

A simple little film about a woman dumping her boyfriend for an androgynous woman. Quick, sweet, and to the point.

Hooked Up (Reunion)

A young man realises his latest hookup was actually a guy who bashed him in the past. His revenge? Take discreet webcam shots of the two of them making out, then post them on the Web. Creepy and scary, and the only short this year to deal with a really serious topic like bashing.

Insert Credit

Queer nerds represent! This gorgeous animated short by David Nguyen, is an autobiography in the style of an old-school side-scrolling console game: dealing with high school crap, trying to connect with his father, moving to Vancouver, fighting mooses and laser-beam-shooting maple leaves, and finding true close friends.

Insert Credit earned David the Gerry Brunet Memorial Award. Congratulations!

Supa Stition

A funky drag-themed house music video by Michael Venus. The music’s not really my cup of tea, but it was pretty fun.

Freewheel and Fixie

Free-form poetry put to video, celebrating Vancouver’s queer cyclists and the bike culture.

Queers in Canoes

This ultra-short film is about… well, queers in canoes. Shot on a camping trip then later edited and released to hilarious effect. Starring Jen Crothers as the screaming woman in the canoe.

Anniversary

What to get your boyfriend for your one year anniversary? Flowers and candy just won’t do, you need to think outside the box! A sweet little comedy that left me smiling.

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: La fille de Montréal

La fille de Montréal is a beautiful celebration of Montreal, of life, and the things that make life worth living: friends, silly hats, goofy old art projects, dancing to bad French 80s pop, discussing the voices of trees, and teaching the younger generation about ancient Roman erotica.

God, now I miss Montreal! I never lived there, mind you, but it’s where my father’s side of the family comes from, and I’ve visited lots of times. I remember well the apartment buildings seen in the movie, with their dark brick fronts and outdoor winding staircases (though my grandparents and brother lived in Verdun, not the Plateau. And my other brother later lived in Ahuntsic, which is completely different. But I digress.)

Our intrepid heroine Ariane has lived in the same tiny, shabby apartment in downtown Montreal for twenty-five years. The paint is peeling, the plumbing is a joke, the stairs are narrow and steep. On the other hand, it’s got an amazing view of the nearby rooftops and a few trees, terrific natural light almost all day but especially in the morning, and it’s perfectly situated in the lively, diverse Plateau Mont-Royal neighbourhood. But one day she gets an eviction notice. Should she fight it, and probably lose? Or should she take this as an opportunity to do a major spring cleaning and take root someplace else?

La fille de Montréal is a beautiful celebration of Montreal, of life, and the things that make life worth living: friends, silly hats, friends in silly hats, goofy old art projects, dancing to bad French 80s pop, discussing the voices of trees, and teaching the younger generation about ancient Roman erotica. Everything Ariane uncovers and packs is a trigger for fond reminiscing or an outright flashback, like the friends’ conversation about Pope John-Paul II’s visit to Montreal in ’83 or ’84 (He came to Ottawa as well, and had a big open-air mass on the Lebreton Plains. And yes, my family and I went. A lot of the faithful wore JPII-branded t-shirts or waved around pennants with his face on it. Catholics are classy.)

The film is about celebrating your roots. Not just where you come from, though there is some of that, but being mindful of what nourishes you now—in other words, count your blessings. But also, that you shouldn’t be too tied to your roots, that it’s okay to sometimes take a chance and spread your wings. As Ariane despairs of finding a decent and affordable place in the Plateau, she gradually casts her net wider but categorically refuses to consider the suburbs. She loves walking, she loves shopping at the tiny family-owned stores just down the street, she couldn’t deal with soulless cookie-cutter residential-only neighbourhoods.

But the pickings are slim, and eventually Ariane considers something different: a house in the country about an hour out of Montreal. It’s got a garden, fruit trees, and gorgeous lilac bushes. Plus, room for all her stuff. After much thought, she decides to try the country. If it doesn’t work out she can move back, but the movie ends with her settling in nicely, and thinking it’ll be all right.

So, take a chance, and accept change. Things never stay quite the same, though there’s almost always some continuity. The 95-year-old owner of that candy store on the corner died and the place got turned into a trendy café—but the new owners repainted the bar and shelves with the same old colour scheme, and hung up a picture of the old owner. One friend of Ariane’s was diagnosed with AIDS and died not long after—but another friend was pregnant, and her son grew up into a handsome young man who’s an equal member of their circle.

Director Jeanne Crépeau, who was in the audience, said that this is not really a queer movie. And it’s true, queerness is not the focus. Ariane is a lesbian but has a wide and diverse circle of friends, a couple of whom happen to be gay. Queerness here is not that big a deal, just part of the human experience, another thread in the tapestry of life in the big city.

PS: It’s movies like this that remind me how much I miss hearing Québecois French. The accents, the slang, they were just music to my ears! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go read some Michel Tremblay and watch a few episodes of La petite vie

Vancouver Queer Film Festival Review: Nate & Margaret

This story of the friendship between a 19-year-old film student and his 52-year-old neighbour is a definite winner. It’s one part comedy, one part drama, all parts sweet and heartwarming, and my favourite movie of the festival so far.

A big part of its strength is the casting. Tyler Ross, last seen in The Wise Kids, is perfect as the sweet, kind-hearted Nate (and incidentally, seems to have filled out a bit, not that I looked or anything); Natalie West, who I knew way back when from Roseanne, brings the lonely, insecure and cynical Margaret to life like no other.

At first I wasn’t quite sure how to take the characters. Their very first scene, of shopping for weird assorted knickknacks in a thrift store, seemed to peg them both as eccentric loners. But as it turns out, Nate does have a life of his own; it’s Margaret who’s alone, with apparently no other friends but Nate, a dead-end job in a coffee shop, and dreams of doing standup comedy.

It also looked like a sequel of sorts to The Wise Kids, except with a different name for Tyler Ross’s character. And the action takes place in Chicago instead of New York. But, according to the film’s lovely director, Nathan Adloff, who chatted with some of us later on, that part was completely unintentional: Nate was in fact mostly created from his own life experience.

The plot isn’t anything earth-shattering, and I knew almost right away how things would play out: as soon as James turned into a fake, shallow bitch and did not hit it off with Margaret, I knew he and Nate would not stay together, and that he would create a rift between the two friends, leaving them both alone and unhappy, but the rift would be healed eventually, the friendship becoming stronger as a result. But did I care? Nope. I didn’t come for the complex plot or surprising twists; I came for Tyler Ross’s goofy smile, for the repeated warm fuzzies and for the uplifting lesson that things do get better if you trust your friends and your own better nature.

Some more thoughts:

The scene in the diner where James and Nate broke up, and Nate publicly accused James of owning underage porn, was shocking, much more than all the abuse standup comedy jokes, and it snapped me out of the story for a second. If true, it was unnecessary to the story because James was already evil enough. But if Nate made it up (more likely), that was fucking cold, and felt almost out of character even in his emotional state. But then, maybe, no worse than what he said to Margaret later. The horrible thing is, those words might have been at least a little bit honest. I imagine there was a part of him that pitied this strange old lady, was embarrassed by her, and tired of having to explain their relationship over and over.

Another point that bothered me: Given Margaret’s history of abuse and unhappy relationships, and Nate’s own bad relationship, it looks like the movie’s other message could be that Love Hurts? But I don’t think that’s the intent. There’s really nothing to suggest Nate won’t find a worthwhile boyfriend down the line—and Margaret too, why not? Early on her new manager seemed to be gently coming on to her, though that particular plotline was dropped. The movie’s focus is simply on the friendship between the two protagonists, who find joy not in boyfriends but in following their dreams, supporting each other along the way.

And that’s a happily ever after I can totally live with.

Shooting Stars

This Saturday I went out to watch the Perseids, at the Abbotsford Dark Sky Park. It was an amazing experience. It was too early to see many meteors, but a few did make an appearance.

This Saturday I went out to watch the Perseids, at the Abbotsford Dark Sky Park. It was an amazing experience. It was too early to see many meteors, but a few did make an appearance. In the meantime, we got to gaze up into a sky absolutely crammed with stars. I hadn’t seen a gorgeous sky like that since my trip to Tofino lo these many years ago, and it’s just as awesome and disorienting and humbling as ever.

(Since this was farmland, the other senses were kept busy too: I could hear the honking of ducks (there was a little river nearby, and I guess the cars and visitors kept them up) and the smell of manure (cos this was farm country). That’s how you know you’re out in the country!

I saw a couple of really spectacular meteors. I’ll never forget them: small dazzling white sparks with a soft smoky pearly trail, flaming out in a second or so. The light was perfectly steady, not like an oxy-acetylene torch or regular fireworks. It was otherworldly (well, literally, I guess), almost angelic, which is how it must have appeared to yesterday’s sky-watchers. What stories did Homo Erectus and Neanderthals tell about these dying stars?

And I discovered that my camera can actually take pictures of the night sky—as long as I crank up the exposure (15 sec), and improvise a tripod, I get something about halfway decent. I’ll need to practice more in the future.

PS: before we headed back, I saw two smaller shooting stars with perpendicular paths. I didn’t think that was possible. Aren’t they all coming from the same direction?

IMG_6727

Northern Voice 2012, Part 1: The Future And How To Get There

Northern Voice, the blogging and social media conference which I’ve been attending for two years running, happened again. This time in June instead of May, and at SFU Woodward’s instead of UBC. It’s a great venue, and suited me better, commute-wise.

I had an amazing time again this year, and of course I’m going to recap the hell out of it. Some of the talks complemented each other nicely, so I’ve decided to cover them together. Let’s start with the two morning keynotes:

Reilly Yeo of Open Media kicked the conference off on Friday with her keynote Using the Internet to Save the Internet. From Slacktivism to Interactivism. Open Media has led a number of campaigns, including Stopthemeter.ca, fighting the push by telecom companies to implement metered net use. That petition got over 500,000 signatures, made national news, and the decision-makers responded. More recently, their campaign to stop Bill C-30, the online spying bill made more national news, exposed yet again the raving paranoia of the Harper government in general and Safety Minister Vic Toews in particular. Again, the government blinked.

The moral of these stories? Online petitions do work! Online activism can make a difference! The term “slacktivism” is easy to throw around; and signing online petitions is just about the least you can do to call yourself an activist, but there’s a lot more going on than that. First, half a million “slacktivists” can’t be dismissed so easily.

Second, don’t knock petitions. Darren Barefoot said so way back in Northern Voice 2010: there are many ways to do good online, simple and complex, and it’s important to have a low barrier of entry to do-gooding.

Third, they (well, some, at least) are not just putting in a token ten seconds of effort, they’re getting informed, getting connected with like-minded people, and coming up with hilarious memes. The decision-making process is suddenly a little more human, a little closer to home. Netizens move away from passive consumption of lolcats and Justin Bieber, and towards responsible, mindful involvement.

Not that there’s anything wrong with lolcats, of course. Lolcats are awesome. But lols mixed with politics? Well, that’s best of all.

Second moral, BTW: the Harper government, for all its majority, isn’t quite the juggernaut it would like to be.

So maybe, Yeo argues, “slacktivism” isn’t the right term after all. She suggests “interactivism”: a new kind of activism, highly connected and savvy, with massive potential, and open to anyone.

But what is interactivism saving the internet for, though? Let’s ask Blaine Cook. In his Saturday keynote, The Wild Future (not to be confused with The Future is Wild, which I have on DVD and is totally awesome), Cook argues for the preservation of a “wild” internet, a net free to evolve organically, where difference is a good thing, multiple cultures can arise, coexist and enrich each other.

Let’s talk about Babel for a moment. Cook introduced it as a metaphor for the frustration we feel that we can’t accomplish the things we want, because we can’t work on things together. That’s one interpretation I’ve never heard before! And it’s true, we get more done when we work together. But when we work as one, we get the same things done, over and over. We put up the same towers, over and over. But one size does not fit all.

Case in point: UBC’s Buchanan Building is a fine example of Brutalist architecture, apparently modeled on a building in San Diego. The windows in that building relied on being set deep enough that direct sunlight wasn’t a problem. Problem is, they transplanted the exact same design 2,000 km north, where the sun is much lower in the sky, and apparently the building is an oven.

Brutalism’s been around for a long time. Many cities have a few examples, as office buildings or low-income housing, like the UK housing estates. Some worked, some became slums and got torn down. The lesson is: attempting to design urban utopias with a single, narrow vision leads to monocultures. “Machines for living in” don’t inspire community or organic cultural growth.

Seguing into the online world, Blaine drew a parallel between, on one hand, Brutalist architecture and on the other, the iPhone and social networks like Facebook. The iPhone, you say? (or at least, I said) This pretty, pretty thing with all the wonderful software, how is it anything like those giant ugly-ass buildings? Well, it’s controlled from the top down by a single corporation, and has built-in pesticides to limit the diversity of its software ecosystem. By contrast, the Android system is a much wilder place. Facebook likewise is pretty bland, omnipresent, and controlled by a corporation who calls the shots on your privacy.

Mind you, Facebook did have Cow Clicker, so it wasn’t all bad.

And let’s face it, sometimes you want the bland and the safe. It’s a push-and-pull thing, I guess. Humans settle, we make the wild places not-wild. For comfort, for support, for community. That’s not a bad thing. Not everybody can be a pioneer. But we need to be able to fork cultures, we need the space to create new spaces and ways to express ourselves, and this is something the Web enables like nothing else. As long as it’s not bled dry by big telecoms, strangled or spied on by a paranoid government, censored by churches, or turned into bland consumer networks by greedy corporations.

That is our wild future. The future of collaborative writing using Git, of open source software like Drupal, Firefox and Linux, of a hundred phone OS’s and Pinterest clones, of freely shared knowledge thanks to Wikipedia and others.

The world is so malleable, and we get to find the answers together by building them.

George Takei’s happy dance and The Batman 1943 film serial

Behold the greatest thing ever:

Behold the greatest thing ever:

Man, George has got some sweet moves! I’d never heard of this project before now, but I wish them all the luck in the world.

The timing’s interesting, though, because I just finished watching The Batman, a 15-part 1943 movie serial. It features the Dynamic Duo going up against Doctor Tito Daka, an evil Japanese-American spymaster and mad scientist out to sabotage the US war effort and bring this beacon of democracy under the heel of Emperor Hirohito.

Also it serves as a great showcase of WWII anti-Japanese hatred and paranoia. Let’s see how the narrator introduces Gotham City’s Little Tokyo:

This was part of a foreign land, transplanted bodily to America, and known as Little Tokyo. Since a wise government rounded up the shifty-eyed Japs it has become virtually a ghost street where only one business survives, eking out a precarious existence on the dimes of curiosity-seekers.

Emphasis mine. Yes, they really said that. Oh, and the business in question, the front for Daka’s sinister lair? A “Japanese Chamber of Horrors” where visitors can see what horrible people the Japanese are: exhibits include some Japanese soldiers, more Japanese soldiers menacing a helpless lily-white American lady, and yet more Japanese soldiers pointing their bayonets at an American soldier in a cage. Just so viewers don’t forget, this chamber of horrors is shown over and over at least every other chapter. Oy.

Aside from that, though, the serial wasn’t half bad. Horribly low-budget, of course, but pretty decent entertainment. It’s an interesting look at a very, very early Batman, probably before much of the mythology was fully developed. The serial makes no mention of the heroes’ tragic origins, instead just portraying them as costumed crimefighters who spend most of their time breaking up gangs and such, but occasionally take orders directly from Washington to handle matters of national security.

What’s also interesting is how thin the line is between Batman and Bruce Wayne. True, in public he behaves as a useless rich playboy, but he doesn’t even try to change his voice or mannerisms when in costume, and when in private or in their car will casually remove his cowl. Batman is very human, just doing the punchy-punchy thing with bad guys, no special bat-gadgets. Which I guess makes sense if “Batman” is just a costume to Wayne and not an identity—and of course could just be due to the low budget—but I wonder how true this was to the comics of the time?

A couple of other thoughts:

  • Daka is actually smarter and more restrained than I expected for an old-school serial villain. He’s very pragmatic about using his zombifying machine to get slaves and extract information, and only takes a few seconds to gloat in Chapter 14 before sending Batman into the pit. Of course it had to have a silly death trap, but there you go, sometimes you can’t buck tradition. No unnecessarily slow-moving death trap, no cliffhanger, am I right?
  • Damn, Edna Mode was right. In the fight scenes, Batman and Robin kept getting all tangled in their capes. Batman’s cowl almost came off accidentally a couple of times, too.
  • According to TVTropes, this serial created several elements of the Bat-universe we now take for granted, like the Batcave and Alfred’s usual appearance of a skinny British guy.

Next up: the 1949 Batman and Robin movie serial. Borrowed the DVD from a friend, this should be fun.

Mythbusters!

The Mythbusters were in town this Sunday! Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage took over the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for a couple of hours of fun and science. Though I’m a huge fan I hadn’t actually planning to go, since I’ve got volleyball on Sunday nights, and I didn’t think a live show would really add much to the experience—unlike, say, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, who graced the Vogue Theatre back in November.

The Mythbusters were in town this Sunday! Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage took over the Queen Elizabeth Theatre for a couple of hours of fun and science. Though I’m a huge fan I hadn’t actually planning to go, since I’ve got volleyball on Sunday nights, and I didn’t think a live show would really add much to the experience—unlike, say, Neil Gaiman and Amanda Palmer, who graced the Vogue Theatre back in November.

But no, this was totally worth it. Adam and Jamie brought lots of audience members, kids and adults, to participate in SCIENCE or play with cool tech like one of their high-speed cameras (ever see someone blowing a raspberry in slo-mo? Fucking hilarious). No explosions, because they couldn’t afford the insurance, but they did have a medley of their best blowing-shit-up moments on a big screen. (including the cement truck. That never gets old).

One thing that struck me was the number of kids, even on a school night. It’s great that their parents are raising them to love science and technology, to question and explore the world around them.

The men, the legends

Swami Adam testing his bed of nails

About to catch the arrow