Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Passive Agressive Manipulation

An experpt from the Centre for Nursing Advocacy's analysis of The Nurse by the White Stripes:


"It's true that nurses are professionally obligated to protect their patients. But nurses have had more than enough of their expert care being associated with romantic relationships, a cliche that continues to undermine efforts to have their vital clinical skills recognized. It's also not hard to see some of the male vulnerability that has fueled the battleaxe nurse stereotype here, as the narrator stresses how "helpless," "alone" and "most ill" he is. What man wants to be at the mercy of some "suspiciously dusting" woman at a time like that? ...

The second stanza packs a real anti-nurse wallop, as the "maid you've hired," who's supposed to "mother" you, instead smothers you while you're "most ill." Clearly these roles--nurse, maid, mother--all run together here. But contrary to decades of the kind of handmaiden and maternal stereotyping in "The Nurse," modern nurses are skilled professionals with years of college-level education. A man may need a maid, as Neil Young once suggested, but not for nursing."

The Centre for Nursing Advocacy sent Jack White the Golden Lamp Award for Worst Portrayal of Nursing in the Media 2005:




White responded:



Something tells me this is going to go very badly...

PS: The Nursing Advocacy people titled their article: "Boy you have no faith in Nursing"... personally I think my title was wittier as I didn't make a b-line for the obvious.

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

3 Years Later and I still don't get it

I will sleep soon, but first, while my brain is still at its most alert... stupid movie still breaks my brain

Saturday, April 22, 2006

I'm not entirely sure what I just saw


I guess I kind of went in expecting a total fluff piece. When I went to see American Dreamz I was anticipating a sort of P-C slightly to the left amusing movie that kind of ripped on Bush and American Idol and in the end taught us all that "Americans aren't so bad after all, just a little silly". A feel good for Democrats. This was not the case. I actually disagree with a large number of critics who have said that this was fluff with no substance. Firstly, it was not fluffy; it was down-right unpleasant in some parts. Secondly, there was actually a certain amount of substance in the dark dark humour of the film. On some level it was actually quite scathing about American politics and the American way of life.

The thinly veiled look at the Bush presidency was sort of an on-the-side amusement rather than the Daily Show-esque Bush roast I enjoy on a nightly basis. The strangest thing was in typical Hollywood fashion I actually found myself sympathizing and even liking the president. Their president! In the movie! He was just so sad...
That said it was not especially kind to Bush or American foreign policy in its satirization, but it was probably not as harsh as it could have been either.

The movie features a number of hopeful Americans and American TV personalities involved with the hit TV show American Dreamz (aka American Idol). Middle America, corporate America, white trash America and Hollywood, no one is spared in this almost painful look at the American way of life. I think I can summarize it by saying that the the most likeable character... nay the ONLY redeemable character in the film is Omar, a contestant on American Dreamz who is part of a terrorist cell and being sent to blow up the president.

Really dark. Kind of weird. Kind of funny. Wait til it comes to Rainbow.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

Momentary Distraction

A miracle has occured. My Beckett essay has reached 8 pages. I may actually finish this tonight! At which point I will be officially finished university. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, and I am not going to comment on the quality of the essay (given that the last essay that I thought I ROCKED I got 72% on... stupid directing), but I think it will be sufficient to pass me in Theatre History II.

And now for the summer... anyone care to indulge me in an overly philisophical Liz-centric conversation about my future? :P

Unrelated: Stephen Colbert just made my night with the word "Bard". Stephen vs. Shakespeare at its finest. I will post the link for the video tomorrow when it's up.

PS: If anyone caught that random rant thing I put up at around 4:30 and took down at around 5:20, please ignore that... I just get like that sometimes. It's all good.

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Let the Eagle Soar indeed Mr Ashcroft!

"Oh but Liz, I'm not a crazy. I don't have Ornithophobia like you"
(that's right, it's a real phobia!)

You might call me crazy now, but you haven't seen The Eagle has Loitered. I defy you to watch that and not be at least a little creeped out.

Sunday, April 16, 2006

The A-Z of Me

Thanks for the time-waster Luke!

A = Available?
“For Children’s Parties”?

B = Best Friend(s)?
Jenny, Andrew and Steph

C = Crush?
Ewan McGregor (though at this point I’ll settle for anyone with a good Scottish accent and a field full of daffodils)

D = Dog Names?
Mog

E = Easiest Person To Talk To?
The Rootman

F = Friday or Saturday?
Friday

G = Gummy Bears Or Worms?
bears (sorry Stephen Colbert)

H = Hometown?
Hamilton

I = If You Could Move Would You?
Hm- a better question for me might be “If you should move, would you?”

J = Jesus is?

actually a man named Brian Cohen, part of the People’s Front of Judea

K = Kids?
none that I know of ha ha ha… oh yeah

L = Longest Car Ride?
I think it might have been the night Scott and I got lost in Fisherville…


I have added an M= Most favourite person I stole this quiz from:
Luke!

N = Number Of Siblings

1

O = One Wish?

Three more wishes

P = Phobia(s)
Birds and people biting on fabric

Q = Favorite Quote?
”I hate quotations”-Ralph Waldo Emerson

R = Reason To Smile?
You’re never fully dressed without a smile

S = Song You Last Heard?
The Fraggle Rock theme song (Season 1 DVD)

T = Time You Woke Up?

10ish

U = Unknown Fact About Me?
One thing I used to always want to do (other than be an actress obviously) was be an astronaut. I secretly wanted to do this well into my late teens despite a complete lack of skills in mathematics and physics.

V = Vegetable You Love?
Zucchini

W = Worst Habit?
Saying “What?” and then proceeding to answer because I actually heard exactly what you said. Any time I can do this in combination with opening my mouth to take a breath before I speak you know I am truly at my most absent-minded.

Also added: X = X-Man you would be if you could be one:
Rogue

Y = Yummy Foods?
Quizzno’s Veggie Subs, Cheese Quesidillas and Eggplant Lasagna

Z = Zodiac Sign?

Aries

Thursday, April 13, 2006

Hey, you're that ninja!

So I'm a super nerd and visit the RSC website regularly. They are doing the complete works of William Shakespeare and having some international groups come to present their works:

"New York-based theatre company, Tiny Ninja Theater, performs Hamlet for the first time in the UK using an inch-high cast of small, plastic ninja figurines"

I thought: No this is too good to be true. See for your self. I don't even have words.


Everything's coming up Milhouse!

So I've now had three solid days of eating relatively healthily, getting 7ish hours of sleep/night, going for walks and leisure reading. Not entirely amazing: my mood has significantly improved, I am getting a lot more reading and writing for school done, and I am feeling a lot healthier.
Also on the good news front: I got my apartment rented, so I get my money back!! YAY! In the short term this means more money! I like thinking in the short term. People ask me what I'm doing with my life. I tell them I'll let them know when I figure out what I'm doing in two weeks.

Also, I enjoy being able to pass off reading fun plays as getting school work done :)

Today's indulgence:

Nothing is funnier than unhappiness, I grant you that. ... Yes, yes, it's the most comical thing in the world. And we laugh, we laugh, with a will, in the beginning. But it's always the same thing. Yes, it's like the funny story we have heard too often, we still find it funny, but we don't laugh any more.

Tuesday, April 11, 2006

The Tramp's Wisdom

"Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot."

"Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself."

"Live without hope. Live for the moment."

"We think too much and feel too little."

"What do you want a meaning for? Life is a desire, not a meaning."

-Charlie Chaplin, various sources (actually I think they're mostly from Limelight)

Monday, April 10, 2006

Ten days late, but...

Borrowed from Angelo, as a momentary distraction:

Go to Wikipedia. Type in your birth date (but not year). List three events that happened on your birthday. List two important birthdays and one interesting death. Post this in your journal.

Events
1889 - The Eiffel Tower is inaugurated.
1918 - Daylight Savings Time goes into effect in the United States for the first time.
1967 - Jimi Hendrix burns his guitar for the first time at London's Astoria Theatre. He is sent to the hospital afterwards for burns on his hands. Sweet!

Important Birthdays
1948 - Al Gore, Vice President of the United States
1971 - Ewan McGregor, Scottish actor (for those who doubted that it was meant to be)

Important Death
I defy someone to beat this for depressing birthday-death:
1945 - Anne Frank, German-born diarist (b. 1929)

Friday, April 07, 2006

Study Break


Name a famous author who has kissed more boys than Lisa.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006

Lovely timing by the Colbert Report

On the off chance that you saw my directing class project and perhaps thought that I was exaggerating with the posters in the clinic watch Stephen Colbert's Balls for Kidz. Yes that's what it's called.

Be there or be square

Tonight the directing class students are presenting their final projects. Mine is a play called "The Most Massive Woman Wins" starring Jenny Hazelton, Sarah Gartshore, Nissah Slyke (shoot I better make sure I'm spelling that right) and Lindsay Wye. They are doing beautifully under ridiculous circumstances. I gave them the script two weeks ago and in that time have asked them to memorize the lines and find dimensions to four very complex female characters in emotional turmoil. I couldn't have asked for a better cast to tackle these difficult parts.

Also showing tonight:
Miss Stephanie Woolger's scenes from Stop Kiss
Mr Andrew Root's stage adaptation of Charlie Chaplin's Limelight
and Mr Torren Sylvain's unique staging of Variations on the Death of Trotski

It should be an excellent evening!

Saturday, April 01, 2006

No one who speaks German could be an evil man...

The European Commission has just announced an agreement whereby English will be the official language of the European Union rather than German, which was the other possibility..


As part of the negotiations, the British Government conceded that English spelling had some room for improvement and has accepted a 5- year phase-in plan that would become known as "Euro-English".


In the first year, "s" will replace the soft "c". Sertainly, this will make the sivil servants jump with joy.


The hard "c" will be dropped in favour of "k". This should klear up konfusion, and keyboards kan have one less letter.


There will be growing publik enthusiasm in the sekond year when the troublesome "ph" will be replaced with "f". This will make words like fotograf 20% shorter.



In the 3rd year, publik akseptanse of the new spelling kan be expekted to reach the stage where more komplikated changes are possible.


Governments will enkourage the removal of double letters which have always ben a deterent to akurate speling.


Also, al wil agre that the horibl mes of the silent "e" in the languag is disgrasful and it should go away.


By the 4th yer people wil be reseptiv to steps such as replasing "th" with "z" and "w" with "v".


During ze fifz yer, ze unesesary "o" kan be dropd from vords kontaining "ou" and after ziz fifz yer, ve vil hav a reil sensi bl riten styl.


Zer vil be no mor trubl or difikultis and evrivun vil find it ezi tu understand ech oza. Ze drem of a united urop vil finali kum tru.


Und efter ze fifz yer, ve vil al be speking German like zey vunted in ze forst plas.