Pre-Friday

Friday is when most movie theaters start showing new movies -- and stop showing old ones. I had fallen behind in my filmgeek duties the last few weeks and found myself wanting to see three separate movies which were closing today. I was able to make two of them, and the third will still be showing up north somewhere for a while longer.

The reviews from my impromptu double feature are now up: Gerry and Irreversible. Please note that Irreversible was not vixy-, mormon- or (for rather different reasons) fishy-safe. The review touches on all of this, and while hopefully not as awful as the source material, is still probably not for the easily squicked.

Media Shock

Gulf War 2 seems designed to induce some kind of pomo media shock.

The presentation style screams reality tv. Raw footage, lots of personal interviews with soldiers, goofy bios, vague and silly mission goals.

The graphics used for news reports all look stolen from real-time strategic simulators. Spinning, rendered views of armaments with the stats listed. Maps with unit icons and cities with rendered flames superimposed. Some of the headlines, too. Civil uprising reported in Basra could be taken directly from Alpha Centauri.

Weirdest of all, CNN keeps talking about the Fedayeen, a militia group that reports directly to Saddam. It isn't a big leap to be reminded of the Fedaykin, the elite fremen shock troops from Dune. The really pomo thing is that 'fedayeen' is not a new word. Given how much Herbet based the fremen on arab/bedouin culture, it is entirely likely that 'fedaykin' is a reference to 'fedayeen'. And that's just too circular.

Yawners

Hi. I'm up late working to defend Seattle against bioterrorism (and help hospitals meet the April 14 HIPAA compliance deadline in the process).

I want to invent an LJ meme. This is probably a really pathetic thing to want. But I still want to.

I still need to repair/finish xiadyn's loom. And then deliver it to her in Portland.

I still need to get renter's insurance. But I've put it off for almost three years at this point. Another two months and I can just join vixyish's policy as her husband.

I need to start practicing guitar regularly for Norwescon.

How about a 'list your todo list' meme? So far it kinda sucks. I'll keep thinking.