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yakalskovich) wrote2008-01-02 03:09 pm
yakalskovich) wrote2008-01-02 03:09 pm
Varia
I woke at noon, with my head cleared and my lungs slowly clearing; unless I provoke a relapse, that cold has had its neck broken and should now peter out naturally. So mentally, I am back now and no longer apt to do odd things, whinge, or potter aimlessly.-
My apologies to anybody who got on the receiving end of that cold.-
I also woke with a text that I have meant to write for a while forming itself in my mind, so I started the computer, sat down, and wrote it all in one go. It is now out there, submitted to the first two people that will be involved with that putative project. I can't say anything about its nature yet, no vague hints even, as it's not mine to decide about; but it has been a large important item on my winter holiday to-do list, and has now been done and is moving as planned, if a little late due to work, family, and cold.-
Also, I watched Apocalypto on New Year's eve and mentioned it in crackchat; so for the people that asked about it, here is a brief review.
Some points on 'Apocalypto':
On the con side, there are:
On the pro side, surprisingly:
My apologies to anybody who got on the receiving end of that cold.-
I also woke with a text that I have meant to write for a while forming itself in my mind, so I started the computer, sat down, and wrote it all in one go. It is now out there, submitted to the first two people that will be involved with that putative project. I can't say anything about its nature yet, no vague hints even, as it's not mine to decide about; but it has been a large important item on my winter holiday to-do list, and has now been done and is moving as planned, if a little late due to work, family, and cold.-
Also, I watched Apocalypto on New Year's eve and mentioned it in crackchat; so for the people that asked about it, here is a brief review.
Some points on 'Apocalypto':
On the con side, there are:
- splatter -- lotsa blood and gore
- WTF is with that name? It not correct in any language that I know of, and even if it was meant to be Greek, WTF is it doing in ancient Mesoamerica?
- conservative values -- family and village, against the artificial hierarchies of the big city
- a terrible lot of silly coincidences -- an eclipse of the sun, the landing of the Spaniards, and a jaguar! Using eclipses to impress Native American cultures has been terribly clichéd since Hergé did it in Tintin in the 1950s, I think it was
- What Mayans what? Jaguar Paw might be a woodsy Mayan, but the others must be Aztecs, Olmecs, any old -ecs, because when the Spaniards landed, the Mayan pyramid cities had been abandoned for centuries
On the pro side, surprisingly:
- the movie totally wins you into a paleo-Mesoamerican aesthetic
- it is full of images from reliefs, codices and early accounts of the Spaniards, coming to vibrant life
- it has been very well researched
- you don't mind them speaking Maya at all
- all these people have lots of historically correct body modifications; it does not make them bizarre or alien. You easily accept that those strange mostly naked creatures full of spikes and nose-rings, elongated ears, tattooed glyphs and strange, strange hairdos are the effective professional soldiers of their time
- that, of course, is without artificially flattened skulls and sliced-up schlongs, which for obvious reasons can't be done or shown, but which were common also; but some of the aristocratic officer types might have the latter underneath their loincloths; so what?
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I still think that Mel Gibson should be locked away but the non splatter part of the movie was really okay.
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