I really enjoyed watching women's weightlifting. If whoever runs the 100m is the fastest in the world, then I suppose whoever lifts the most would be considered the strongest in the world. Those asian women are so much smaller than me, but they can lift 2 me's into the air. So cool.
The women's road race was pretty exciting. It was raining, which made the road slick (and caused the cameramen to repeatedly wipe off their cameras), so quite a few crashes occurred. I really wish I had had time to watch it all the way through, but because of work and other events to catch up on, I had to fast-forward through most of it. For much of the race, the US team stayed up at the front to avoid crashes, but later on, the Dutch kept attacking to lead and pick up the pace. Toward the end, Vos of the Netherlands, Armistead of Britain, and Zabelinskaya of Russia pulled ahead and stayed close till the very end, getting gold, silver, and bronze, respectively. It was quite the riveting finish!
The men's 4x100m freestyle relay was exciting, too. It looked like we had it won, but the French caught up to us in the last 50m--exactly the same thing that happened in 2008 but the other way around!
NBC did a special on Kim Rhode, who won gold in individual skeet shooting, becoming the first American to win individual medals in 5 consecutive Olympics. She's only missed once in all that time! Wowie! And Dana Vollmer won gold in the 100m butterfly in world record time, becoming the first woman to swim it in under 56 seconds--faster than most men! Yay for American women!
Monday, July 30, 2012
Saturday, July 28, 2012
The 2012 games have begun
I loved London's Opening Ceremonies. It really showed off how much great stuff Britain has produced for the world over the centuries. The progression of time was a cool framework for the show, starting out with quaint agrarian life (reminiscent of Hobbiton), transitioning to the Industrial Revolution (towering silos coming out of the ground reminded me of the intro to "Game of Thrones"), and then on to the digital age (feature texting and modern music). The musical ride from the 50s to today was very neat and well-done. I'm glad they saved Pink Floyed for the fireworks finale--so fitting!
The short film featuring the Queen and James Bond (Daniel Craig) getting into a helicopter was fun, then seeing "them" jump out of it into the stadium right before Her Majesty's declaration of opening the games was very clever! Roan Atkinson "playing" the Chariots of Fire theme was HILARIOUS! I could not stop laughing through that entire song. I also greatly enjoyed watching top-hatted Kenneth Branagh wander around hordes of people whilst chomping on a cigar and posing with fists on hips.
The idea of having one copper pedal for each country come together to form one Olympic flame was ingenious. And Paul McCartney was a great closer, leading the crowd in singing "Hey Jude." My favorite part, however, was the children's literature segment. JK Rowling read a passage from Peter Pan, kids jumped and flipped on movable beds, costumed nightmare creatures danced around sleeping children, and a giant Voldemort was defeated by many Mary Poppinses!
Danny Boyle's production turned out to be incredibly creative, visually interesting, and intensely entertaining. China's awesome ceremony in Beijing was impressively big, but I liked this one better. I do hope to see the good Doctor somewhere in the closing ceremonies, though.
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I noticed that some of the cyclers in the men's road race were chatting it up during the first part of their ride, when everyone was still in a big clump. What a great example of the Olympic spirit! Seeing athletes from different countries being friendly and nice to each other, especially during competition, is one of the main reasons why I love to watch them. It's always see great sportsmanship at the Olympic level--makes me wish it was more common in US pro and college sports. Another thing I enjoy: seeing older athletes and underdogs win! 38-year-old Vinokourov of Kazakhstan surprised everyone and took home the gold for this race.
There was an Irishman named Kieran Behan competing in men's gymnastics with an inspiring backstory. He's had quite a few bad injuries that had doctors thinking he wouldn't walk again, let alone compete in the Olympics! But he recovered from them all to become the second man from Ireland ever to qualify for the Games. He didn't get to the finals, but he sure had the time of his life. How cool is that?
Ryan Lochte won the gold by a longshot in the men's 400 IM (individual medley). His extra hard work over the last four years has really paid off, and as he said, he's "ready to rock" for the other events. Michael Phelps got 4th. Just goes to show that busting one's ass can really make a difference.
The short film featuring the Queen and James Bond (Daniel Craig) getting into a helicopter was fun, then seeing "them" jump out of it into the stadium right before Her Majesty's declaration of opening the games was very clever! Roan Atkinson "playing" the Chariots of Fire theme was HILARIOUS! I could not stop laughing through that entire song. I also greatly enjoyed watching top-hatted Kenneth Branagh wander around hordes of people whilst chomping on a cigar and posing with fists on hips.
The idea of having one copper pedal for each country come together to form one Olympic flame was ingenious. And Paul McCartney was a great closer, leading the crowd in singing "Hey Jude." My favorite part, however, was the children's literature segment. JK Rowling read a passage from Peter Pan, kids jumped and flipped on movable beds, costumed nightmare creatures danced around sleeping children, and a giant Voldemort was defeated by many Mary Poppinses!
Danny Boyle's production turned out to be incredibly creative, visually interesting, and intensely entertaining. China's awesome ceremony in Beijing was impressively big, but I liked this one better. I do hope to see the good Doctor somewhere in the closing ceremonies, though.
_________________________________________________________
I noticed that some of the cyclers in the men's road race were chatting it up during the first part of their ride, when everyone was still in a big clump. What a great example of the Olympic spirit! Seeing athletes from different countries being friendly and nice to each other, especially during competition, is one of the main reasons why I love to watch them. It's always see great sportsmanship at the Olympic level--makes me wish it was more common in US pro and college sports. Another thing I enjoy: seeing older athletes and underdogs win! 38-year-old Vinokourov of Kazakhstan surprised everyone and took home the gold for this race.
There was an Irishman named Kieran Behan competing in men's gymnastics with an inspiring backstory. He's had quite a few bad injuries that had doctors thinking he wouldn't walk again, let alone compete in the Olympics! But he recovered from them all to become the second man from Ireland ever to qualify for the Games. He didn't get to the finals, but he sure had the time of his life. How cool is that?
Ryan Lochte won the gold by a longshot in the men's 400 IM (individual medley). His extra hard work over the last four years has really paid off, and as he said, he's "ready to rock" for the other events. Michael Phelps got 4th. Just goes to show that busting one's ass can really make a difference.
Monday, July 23, 2012
This year has been interesting so far.
2012 started off pretty well. I did some soul searching and figured out that I wanted to become a librarian. I wouldn't quite call it my life's passion, but after working at a library as an aide (aka page), I realized I could see myself staying in that environment long-term. Here was a job that I could make into an enjoyable and fulfilling career. So I started doing research on grad school for a Master's in Library Science.
Then I read Lissa Rankin's book What's Up Down There? about women's health, which enlightened me in regards to how I should view my body and overall health. Her websites OwningPink.com and LissaRankin.com illustrate her innovative view of "whole health," which includes other aspects of life besides just physical well-being. She's also a champion of living life according to what she calls your "Inner Pilot Light," which basically means being true to yourself and listening to yeart heart and conscience.
My research on Lissa's ideas eventually led me to an inspiring TED talk by Brene Brown, which helped me more clearly form my outlook on life and people in general. I already believed in something close to what she said in the lecture, but my feelings on the subject were unfocused. Brene uses her extensive research on shame and vulnerability to posit that being vulnerable is the key to having healthy relationships with oneself and others, which, in turn, leads to contentment with life and prevents feelings of shame. Basically, she provided me with a clear outline of proof supporting my view of how the world works. I was so amazing that I bought both her book (which are excellent) and continue to gobble up everything she publishes.
In the midst of all that, however, was great tragedy. My Grandma Pat died on February 10th after fighting against numerous ailments that hit her back-to-back in a short stretch of time. We knew she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months earlier, but what started the avalanche that buried her was a stupid little blood clot. It all happened too fast for me to write about while it was going on, and I still having trouble thinking about it now, five months later. In a way, though, I'm glad she didn't have to go through a long drawn-out process with chemotherapy and lingering discomfort. I do selfishly wish I had had more time with her, but she's no longer in pain and no longer has to feel anxious about impending treatment for terminal illness. I believe she is in a better place.
I definitely feel that I've grown a lot as an individual over the past few months. I've learned new things about myself and the world, I've come to terms with my outlook on life, and I feel closer to my family after spending so much time with them surrounding my grandma's illness. I've had some pretty rough times this year, but getting through them made me stronger. I feel like I have a purpose again, something to strive for, and even though I may need to dig a little deeper to find out whether librarianship is my true "calling," it's still something I care about deeply enough to pursue with vigor. This is where I'm at so far:
I don't feel a need to help kids learn directly, I aspire to help them want to learn. I guess that's why being a teacher doesn't really appeal to me but being a librarian does. A teacher has an obligation to try to impart knowledge on a specific subject, whether or not their students actually care to learn about it. A librarian has an obligation to aid someone who asks for knowledge, but if a person has no desire to learn about a certain topic, there is no obligation for the librarian to pursue the matter. A librarian's main goal is to make information available to everyone who wishes to learn it and to encourage learning across a broad spectrum. Teachers are like steering wheels and librarians are the road signs! The real trick is to inspire people, especially kids, to want to explore new ideas by making them fun, easy, and intriguing. Doing this for kids, especially, helps them grow into intelligent, confident, and inquisitive adults who continue to learn throughout their lives.
Then I read Lissa Rankin's book What's Up Down There? about women's health, which enlightened me in regards to how I should view my body and overall health. Her websites OwningPink.com and LissaRankin.com illustrate her innovative view of "whole health," which includes other aspects of life besides just physical well-being. She's also a champion of living life according to what she calls your "Inner Pilot Light," which basically means being true to yourself and listening to yeart heart and conscience.
My research on Lissa's ideas eventually led me to an inspiring TED talk by Brene Brown, which helped me more clearly form my outlook on life and people in general. I already believed in something close to what she said in the lecture, but my feelings on the subject were unfocused. Brene uses her extensive research on shame and vulnerability to posit that being vulnerable is the key to having healthy relationships with oneself and others, which, in turn, leads to contentment with life and prevents feelings of shame. Basically, she provided me with a clear outline of proof supporting my view of how the world works. I was so amazing that I bought both her book (which are excellent) and continue to gobble up everything she publishes.
In the midst of all that, however, was great tragedy. My Grandma Pat died on February 10th after fighting against numerous ailments that hit her back-to-back in a short stretch of time. We knew she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer a few months earlier, but what started the avalanche that buried her was a stupid little blood clot. It all happened too fast for me to write about while it was going on, and I still having trouble thinking about it now, five months later. In a way, though, I'm glad she didn't have to go through a long drawn-out process with chemotherapy and lingering discomfort. I do selfishly wish I had had more time with her, but she's no longer in pain and no longer has to feel anxious about impending treatment for terminal illness. I believe she is in a better place.
I definitely feel that I've grown a lot as an individual over the past few months. I've learned new things about myself and the world, I've come to terms with my outlook on life, and I feel closer to my family after spending so much time with them surrounding my grandma's illness. I've had some pretty rough times this year, but getting through them made me stronger. I feel like I have a purpose again, something to strive for, and even though I may need to dig a little deeper to find out whether librarianship is my true "calling," it's still something I care about deeply enough to pursue with vigor. This is where I'm at so far:
I don't feel a need to help kids learn directly, I aspire to help them want to learn. I guess that's why being a teacher doesn't really appeal to me but being a librarian does. A teacher has an obligation to try to impart knowledge on a specific subject, whether or not their students actually care to learn about it. A librarian has an obligation to aid someone who asks for knowledge, but if a person has no desire to learn about a certain topic, there is no obligation for the librarian to pursue the matter. A librarian's main goal is to make information available to everyone who wishes to learn it and to encourage learning across a broad spectrum. Teachers are like steering wheels and librarians are the road signs! The real trick is to inspire people, especially kids, to want to explore new ideas by making them fun, easy, and intriguing. Doing this for kids, especially, helps them grow into intelligent, confident, and inquisitive adults who continue to learn throughout their lives.
Thursday, June 7, 2012
Snow White and the Huntsman - 2 out of 5 stars
Snow White and the Huntsman was incredibly disappointing. It has a lot of the elements that a great film needs--complex themes; excellent style through costuming, set design, and cinematography; an amazing score (by James Newton Howard); and interesting characters--but the pieces don't quite fit together to form a satisfying whole.
The script is all over the place, but it's no wonder, with 3 writers credited for the screenplay. Lots of great ideas pop up here and there, but many of them aren't explored or fully explained. The evil queen rising out of a milky bath makes for a chilling image, but what purpose does it serve the story? Snow White apparently has magic of her own, but the nature of it isn't quite clear--it seems to exist solely to allow her to defeat the queen. The theme of life and light (Snow White) versus death and darkness (the Queen) is hinted at, but there is no direct illustration of it. In an ingenious bit of writing, our heroes come across a village of women who have found a way to protect themselves from the Queen's habit of sucking the youth and beauty out of girls throughout the kingdom, but aside from simply presenting this scenario, not much is done here--I would have liked to see one of these girls befriend Snow White and accompany the protagonists to the end, but the village is just one of many quick stops on the way to forward the plot.
And that seems to be one of the big problems with the film's storytelling--intriguing elements are introduced to progress the plot in some way, but the elements themselves aren't given much thought. Many of these elements were characters. The dwarves, for example, basically serve as exposition, comic relief (which I really wish had been more prevalent), and as a means to infiltrate the Queen's castle (in a highly ridiculous scene that is hard to take seriously); but we never get to know any of the dwarves as individuals. We never really have a reason to care about them for their own sake.
The writing pretty much fails at character development in general. We get one glimpse of Queen Ravenna's past that adds a tiny drop of sympathy to the character, but it's not enough to really make us sorry for her. Even the main character, Snow White, is not completely believable as a leader of armies and killer of evil due to a lack of inner turmoil and personal growth. She spends the majority of the film being led and saved by others, then all of a sudden, when it's necessary, she just "knows what to do."
The one part of this movie that really makes it worth watching is the character of the Huntsman, beautifully performed by Chris Hemsworth. He's a sympathetic anti-hero who starts out as a raving drunk widower and ends up being the only character to show significant growth over time. I will even admit that I teared up during a monologue of his at a crucial moment in the story. He is the reason I was invested in the outcome. Kristen Stewart's Snow White falls flat as a truly strong protagonist worth rooting for--it was for the Huntsman's sake that I wanted her to win. Even Charlize Theron sometimes goes a touch over the top as the evil Queen Ravenna.
The movie's marketing led us to believe that Snow White and the Huntsman would be a new twist on a familiar fairy tale, but there's not much real innovation to be found. I REALLY wanted to like this movie, and with just a few tweaks here and there, I'm convinced I could have loved it, but the story just doesn't quite work. First-time feature film director Rupert Sanders obviously has a talent for imagery and motif, but he may need to hone his storytelling skills. The film is far from a disaster, and as a 12-year-old kid, I would have been engrossed (having seen less movies and been less familiar with cliches), but this movie isn't intended for children. The level of violence and dark themes are quite adult; it's just too bad that the telling itself seems rather juvenile, relying too heavily on archetypes and simple answers.
The script is all over the place, but it's no wonder, with 3 writers credited for the screenplay. Lots of great ideas pop up here and there, but many of them aren't explored or fully explained. The evil queen rising out of a milky bath makes for a chilling image, but what purpose does it serve the story? Snow White apparently has magic of her own, but the nature of it isn't quite clear--it seems to exist solely to allow her to defeat the queen. The theme of life and light (Snow White) versus death and darkness (the Queen) is hinted at, but there is no direct illustration of it. In an ingenious bit of writing, our heroes come across a village of women who have found a way to protect themselves from the Queen's habit of sucking the youth and beauty out of girls throughout the kingdom, but aside from simply presenting this scenario, not much is done here--I would have liked to see one of these girls befriend Snow White and accompany the protagonists to the end, but the village is just one of many quick stops on the way to forward the plot.
And that seems to be one of the big problems with the film's storytelling--intriguing elements are introduced to progress the plot in some way, but the elements themselves aren't given much thought. Many of these elements were characters. The dwarves, for example, basically serve as exposition, comic relief (which I really wish had been more prevalent), and as a means to infiltrate the Queen's castle (in a highly ridiculous scene that is hard to take seriously); but we never get to know any of the dwarves as individuals. We never really have a reason to care about them for their own sake.
The writing pretty much fails at character development in general. We get one glimpse of Queen Ravenna's past that adds a tiny drop of sympathy to the character, but it's not enough to really make us sorry for her. Even the main character, Snow White, is not completely believable as a leader of armies and killer of evil due to a lack of inner turmoil and personal growth. She spends the majority of the film being led and saved by others, then all of a sudden, when it's necessary, she just "knows what to do."
The one part of this movie that really makes it worth watching is the character of the Huntsman, beautifully performed by Chris Hemsworth. He's a sympathetic anti-hero who starts out as a raving drunk widower and ends up being the only character to show significant growth over time. I will even admit that I teared up during a monologue of his at a crucial moment in the story. He is the reason I was invested in the outcome. Kristen Stewart's Snow White falls flat as a truly strong protagonist worth rooting for--it was for the Huntsman's sake that I wanted her to win. Even Charlize Theron sometimes goes a touch over the top as the evil Queen Ravenna.
The movie's marketing led us to believe that Snow White and the Huntsman would be a new twist on a familiar fairy tale, but there's not much real innovation to be found. I REALLY wanted to like this movie, and with just a few tweaks here and there, I'm convinced I could have loved it, but the story just doesn't quite work. First-time feature film director Rupert Sanders obviously has a talent for imagery and motif, but he may need to hone his storytelling skills. The film is far from a disaster, and as a 12-year-old kid, I would have been engrossed (having seen less movies and been less familiar with cliches), but this movie isn't intended for children. The level of violence and dark themes are quite adult; it's just too bad that the telling itself seems rather juvenile, relying too heavily on archetypes and simple answers.
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