Now

Well, When I first opened blogger, it was because I wanted to rant. Ranting is good, I suppose somewhere between gazing at a website designed for anti-feminists, the wikipage for misogyny, and opening youtube for some background noise, I realized that there's nothing I can do about deluded, selfish, egocentric, and utterly incorrigible people. Sure, I can rant, but it'd probably be a task better saved for when I can type and think clearly (i.o.w, not at 1 AM), and When I've thoroughly thought through my issue. Getting things out clearly is a plus.

I am going to post the mini-comment-rant I had started earlier, in reply to a troll on thefbomb.org, though. I often rant at this guy, but then end up deleting it because I hate feeding the troll, and he doesn't listen to what anyone says, only takes it as an opportunity to spew out more garbage.

And why is it such an issue that women have the rights to their OWN bodies?
When a man carries a child for 9 months, giving it part of his very own life and soul, and then goes through the pure agony of birth, then it might make sense for him to have rights over the body of his child pre- and post- conception.
And when a man and a woman can be in a committed and trusting relationship with one another, with all equality and humanity involved, not to mention love, then it only makes sense that they share the rights of their children. Believe it or not, Commitment actually means COMMITMENT. It means that you're in it together. So if one of the partners suddenly decides "Oh hey, this isn't working for me", It only makes sense that that partner would at least fill their part of the bargain, to help raise THEIR child -not his, not hers, theirs- in whatever way works. If that means child-support, so be it.

It could have, and would have, been a lot longer, but I stopped. Then ended up here.

At any rate, I think I've come across a purpose for this blog. Instead of neglecting it, I'm going to video/song reviews. I remember doing one of Taylor Swift/Lady GaGa for my feminist litterature and works by women class, and despite hating essays, I liked the process. I'll post the essay I wrote, at some point, and then I think I'll start doing a few (smaller, less lengthy) other reviews/things with a few other songs.

And for my references, Here are some of the songs I'd like to do to get me started.
Natasha Bedingfield- Strip Me
P!nk- Raise Your Glass
Taylor Swift- mine

Slow Death by Rubber Duck

I recently finished reading Slow Death by Rubber Duck, an informative book about "toxic chemicals in everyday life". Despite the fact that I've rarely, if ever, read and enjoyed a non-fiction book, I could hardly put SDbRD down. The book follows two mens quest to understand the toxic nature in products that are all around each of us each day. They focus on 8 or so main toxic chemicals in; Teflon, Fish, Flame retardants, Fragrances, Plastics, and Antibacterial soaps.

The two authors, who are both environmental activists, do a study on themselves to understand the nature of these common, everyday chemicals, and how they effect their own health (Sort of like the guy in "supersize me"), and their results are rather astounding. In just a couple days they managed to increase the amount of chemicals in their bodies dramatically, simply by doing things most people do in everyday life.

I really appreciated this book. It was well written, it was carefully thought out and researched, and was quite easy to understand, even as someone who knows very little about chemistry in the first place.
I feel a lot more aware about what I do, eat, use, and otherwise consume. The book has a great message, one that is, or at least should be, life changing.

I really don't do it justice, trying to describe it, but I know I'm glad to have read it. And the new awareness that comes along with it, isn't bad either.

Also, it's pretty cool that it was written by two Canadians.

The Picture

I watched "Dorian Gray" the other night, and I must say, I was thoroughly disappointed.
To be fair, the movie had a lot to live up to... Oscar Wildes book was incredible and well written. A classic worth reading... It's well known for a reason.
But the movie, on the other hand... Just didn't do it for me. Maybe it was because it really didn't follow the book at all. Other than the Character names, and a few key moments from the book's plot, everything seemed wrong to me.
For example, the main characters:
Dorian Gray, Henry Wotton, and Basil Hallward.
Dorian was supposed to be a blushing boy, at the beginning of the book, Innocent and all together impressionable. I suppose they got some of that right... but just barely. Ben Barns was certainly a dashing looking young man who fit the "look" of the character, but at times the acting was rough... Or at least it didn't follow the way i felt Dorian Gray would have acted.
Henry Wotton was even worse. In the book, he's a smooth talker, with a dashing mind. Suave, i would say. The movie portrays him as kniving, and not very subtle. What i liked about the book version of Henry Wotton, was his subtlety, the fact that his words were so true... and yet so wrong. The movie does use a few of his monologues in it, which is nice, but I don't feel it's true to the spirit of the book.
Basil Hallward's role in the movie was cut short, and i believe it could have been fleshed out much better. In the movie, he's hardly a main character really, just someone who needs to be there, to get the ball rolling.. And as soon as he's not needed, his character is snuffed. Not so in the book. While he spends a lot of the time on the sidelines, he's the voice of reason and security, and really makes a lot more sense.
Another problem i found, was that the plot was spoon fed to us. There were obvious and gaudy times of forshadowing, both visual like "Flash forwards" as well as audible, in what the characters said to each other. Forshadowing can be very good for a movie... as long as it's kept subtle. I think part of the intrigue of the original novel is that while you have an idea of whats going on and going to happen, there's still that chance that something else may happen.

I think the additional character of Emily Wotton was quite nicely done. She's a very refreshing and enjoyable character... though she truly doesn't belong in the book. She works well for the movie adaption, and probably one of the high points in the movie.

The movie also pays too much attention to the sexual side of Dorian Gray. Yes, dorian is corrupted and corrupts others, but scene after orgy scene is quite enough, thank you. I've got nothing against a sexual scene or two... But a good section of the movie is about nothing but Dorian scandalous sex life. Again, the subtlety of the book does this much better than the movie. The book mentions "What happened to" so and so, and how certain women cannot show their faces again in public because of Dorian... We know what happened, or can at least assume, but there's nothing more said. It keeps things simple.

One last qualm...
The sets. The amount of mahogany used in Gray's mansion made me think of a stage. If it was supposed to be realistic, it fell very short.

I can't help but wonder whether i would have liked the movie if i had seen it before i read the book... That i'll never know.

Why do I tire?

I can't stand popular music. I don't know what it is. Maybe the fact that i hear it played and overplayed on the radio constantly at work. Maybe the fact that i can't go anywhere without hearing it. But seriously. I don't like it.

Which is sort of sad, in a way. There are a lot of good songs or good artists, that i wrinkle my nose at simply because they're "popular" and overplayed. Take Owl City, for instance. They are an amazing band and i love the lyrics and mellow melody to all of their songs. But play "Fireflies" near me, and I'll probably be a lot less excited about it than you would expect. Despite the fact that the song is gorgeous.

The same goes for Lady Gaga, Kesha, and probably one hundred million other mainstream popular artists. I've heard some gorgeous stuff from Lady Gaga. But it's not the popular stuff. It's not her singles.

I wonder if this feeds into my... Obsession with CD's, rather than MP3's, my obsession with playing the album right through from start to finish, and not simply skipping to my favorite singles on the CD. Because a lot of the time i don't have a favorite single.

I guess though, i'm being slightly unfair. I really enjoy some singles from Artists like Jason Mraz, and Maroon5... But i love the rest of the CD's too.

Lately, though, my favorite music is slightly underground/unusual, the kind that takes time to fully appreciate. Mother Mother, for example. They're absolutely fabulous. I also enjoy hearing random hillbilly type music. Foreign music. Elevator music. Stuff from the past.... Really, anything EXCEPT the top 20 of today.

Sad. Very sad.