Hello everyone, or anyone who is still reading this,
I know it's been a long time since I've posted. I guess I've been busy! Since before my lasts posts (which don't really count, as they're rants), I have interviewed for a PhD position-- which I figure went OK but I learned my chances of getting the position are now 1/30. I do have a couple of backup plans. There's another Italian PhD program I applied for, and there's one in Scotland that the head of my course sent along to me, and I'm currently in the midst of applying (application due in July).
I've also been working on my thesis experiment-- got a ton of participants through the university-wide emailing list, and I'm optmistic my study will get some good power from all of them. I'm also 7000 words through the write-up-- I have most sections complete except for the discussion, which is partially finished. I also finished putting together my powerpoint for a talk I'm giving at the upcoming Experimental Psychological society conference. Haven't practiced it yet, but I got 3 weeks! I also also found a house to live in next month (closer to the psych building, too, which is a bonus!), learned more MATLAB (I'm getting pretty good at the basics), and have prepared for my Scotland hiking trip which sets off later this morning.
I figured, I'll try to get something written today, and then promise to write about my trip next week. I should have a lot to say about it! On Saturday, we're going to hike the tallest peak in the UK (which isn't saying much but it's still cool, as I've never hiked a real mountain before, small or otherwise), then Sunday and Monday we'll be on the Isle of Skye. Adventure awaits. I can feel it! The brisk morning air gives me the feeling it's very close.
Hmmm maybe I won't say much about what's been going on in my life recently. See, the only people who read this blog are people I do actually talk to on occassion, and I'd like something to say other than "Did you read that in my blog?" for a change. See, it works both ways, dear friends and family. Blogging makes you feel isolated in the big wide web if there's no communication. So we'll leave it at that! Now you know if you (or I) ever call, we'll have a lot to talk about-- and none of this "Oh, nothing much has been going on" from your end! Something's been happening! I'm feeling nostalgic for Ohio so even something as mundane as shopping or chilling is of interest. And of course, whenever people get together for conversation, it becomes that much more interesting.
Interaction! That's what I crave this early in the morning.
Right now I'm washing my bedding (it's been a while cos I haven't gone away for more than a day to give my sheets a chance to dry in the open air, cos I don't have a dryer), and I turned the heat on with my clothes over the radiator to try to finish drying some things I washed two days ago (which are still damp) to bring them with me to Scotland.
I am waiting for the grocery store to open. I don't think it does until 7AM. Need to buy a couple of bananas for the road. Although this upcoming trip was very cheap (80 pounds for 4 days/5 nights) and MOSTLY inclusive (transportation, breakfast, hostels, dinner one night), I am still required to provide my own lunch and dinner on most days. Not that bananas will hold me over, but I'm trying to pack light.
I figure I'll buy sandwiches/eat out when I can-- it's just easier since we're restricted on the luggage and I don't want half of mine to be food. Besides, pub dinners are great. They provide the ultimate post-hike comfort food! They're one thing I really love about England, especially the English countryside. No matter how small the village, no matter how expansive the wilderness, you know there's always a pub closeby serving chips and soup and dinner pies.
Mmm! And on that note, I'm going to go have some breakfast.
I'll be back Tuesday night!
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Who even knew that Han shot first?
Okay, this rant has been coming for a long time, and I just saw the DVD version of the first Star Wars episode the other day so all the content is fresh in my mind. Now, there are a couple of things I would like to say about this movie...
First of all, let's get all this "Han shot first" business out of the way. So I see college kids running around in their "Han shot first" t-shirts, and I've had discussions with more than one Star Wars nerd about all this hoo-hah. So apparently, in the original version of Star Wars, Han Solo killed this little green man-- not in self-defense as it appears in the other films (when the green man shoots his weapon at him first)-- but as a badass who just wants to get a troublesome bounty hunter out of the picture (when Han shoots first). Er... right. Maybe people don't remember, but right before this little standoff takes place, the little green man makes it very clear that he intends to kill Han Solo. I think he says something along the lines of "I'm going to kill you now." Han was, in fact, provoked, and had reason to believe his life was in danger. Therefore, it doesn't matter if he shot first or second, you understand he intended to shoot regardless, to save his own skin.
But no, some people aren't satisfied. "He's still more of a badass if he shoots first," they say. "It's a matter of principle, Lucas shouldn't have messed with the shot." Granted, Lucas did make a lot of alterations to his earlier films. My biggest beef is with the CGI creatures in place of the puppets, which obviously took so much mroe work, and looked so much cooler than the computer-generated graphics. Which brings me to my next point...
I REMEMBER watching Star Wars with the puppet characters intact. It was part of my childhood. I've always had an appreciation for intricate puppetry, such as that created by Jim Henson. So I was upset to discover watching the DVD version that all those amazing creations were cut from the film. These people who go on about "Han shot first"-- most of you weren't even BORN when Han shot first. You probably watched the new version without even being aware of that little change. You still loved the movies. It didn't change your opinion of Han Solo, who is STILL a badass. You should have no personal grievance with the change. You only learned post-hoc, as the scientists say. It doesn't COUNT!
I also realized that everyone I talk to about this has the same arguments, almost the same problems with it, word for word. It seems to me that some old obnoxious geek who saw Star Wars in theaters and watched the old version of the movie on some video format before VHS so religiously, that when the special edition VHS did come out, he actually noticed the change. I can't imagine more than one lone obsessive psycho would have noticed... I seriously DOUBT IT. Then he got online and logged into some Star Wars fandom-based late-1990s chatroom forums and whined "BUT HAN SHOT FIRST IN THE ORIGINAL" and everyone else probably said ".......so?" and he whined some more "BUT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND...?" and then went on to point out all these meaningless things about it changing the character. Then everyone else probably said, "Hey!... You're right!... If I had known Han actually shot first, I would have thought he was so much MORE badass!" after which they'd go on to alter their memories and say "Wow, come to think of it, the movie is so dumb with that change. It's like everyone who's been criticizing me for liking a kids movie is right-- it is a kids movie if Han shot second! Wow, what I would give to see the original movie. I would love it SO much more I betcha cos it's for grown-ups and I'm a grown-up, and now I have an argument when normal people say 'But Stars Wars is for kids'. Nope! Only the newer versions are! I would have been an even MORE OBSESSIVE FAN of the original, just like this guy who pointed out the change in the first place."
After all that, you're not considered a REAL fan unless you agree. So the devoted fans have to prove their loyalty to the franchise and go about spewing their secondary source to whoever will listen. "Oh, Han shot first-- isn't that great? Isn't George Lucas LAME for editing that out?" I would like to point out to ALL of you that you did not learn this on your own. Someone else told you and convinced you of its importance. That is ALWAYS the case, because you can't GET the original version anymore! Form your own opinions people! Just because one psycho fan took it personally, doesn't mean you all have to, to prove your love for Star Wars! There are other ways to do this!
So yes, my final points are: 1) Han was shooting in self defense whether he shot first or not. 2) You are not fooling anyone- nobody thinks the problem you've made with the newer versions of the film is your own. You have taken somebody else's problem with it and adopted it as your own in an effort to prove your devotion/knowledge of the story.
Why isn't anybody miffed about the CGI characters? REALLY? They are a much bigger change to the movies, are much more obviously inserted, and they disregard the hard work of excellent puppet-makers. I'm still mad about CGI Yoda in episodes 1-3.
Oh my God... I just realized they may have turned Yoda to CGI in episode 5 as well! I'm going to have to google this and find out...
Okay good, they didn't replace Yoda puppet! GOOD. Because that would have sucked BALLS.
All right, my Han Solo rant is over. I have one more rant, so stay tuned.
First of all, let's get all this "Han shot first" business out of the way. So I see college kids running around in their "Han shot first" t-shirts, and I've had discussions with more than one Star Wars nerd about all this hoo-hah. So apparently, in the original version of Star Wars, Han Solo killed this little green man-- not in self-defense as it appears in the other films (when the green man shoots his weapon at him first)-- but as a badass who just wants to get a troublesome bounty hunter out of the picture (when Han shoots first). Er... right. Maybe people don't remember, but right before this little standoff takes place, the little green man makes it very clear that he intends to kill Han Solo. I think he says something along the lines of "I'm going to kill you now." Han was, in fact, provoked, and had reason to believe his life was in danger. Therefore, it doesn't matter if he shot first or second, you understand he intended to shoot regardless, to save his own skin.
But no, some people aren't satisfied. "He's still more of a badass if he shoots first," they say. "It's a matter of principle, Lucas shouldn't have messed with the shot." Granted, Lucas did make a lot of alterations to his earlier films. My biggest beef is with the CGI creatures in place of the puppets, which obviously took so much mroe work, and looked so much cooler than the computer-generated graphics. Which brings me to my next point...
I REMEMBER watching Star Wars with the puppet characters intact. It was part of my childhood. I've always had an appreciation for intricate puppetry, such as that created by Jim Henson. So I was upset to discover watching the DVD version that all those amazing creations were cut from the film. These people who go on about "Han shot first"-- most of you weren't even BORN when Han shot first. You probably watched the new version without even being aware of that little change. You still loved the movies. It didn't change your opinion of Han Solo, who is STILL a badass. You should have no personal grievance with the change. You only learned post-hoc, as the scientists say. It doesn't COUNT!
I also realized that everyone I talk to about this has the same arguments, almost the same problems with it, word for word. It seems to me that some old obnoxious geek who saw Star Wars in theaters and watched the old version of the movie on some video format before VHS so religiously, that when the special edition VHS did come out, he actually noticed the change. I can't imagine more than one lone obsessive psycho would have noticed... I seriously DOUBT IT. Then he got online and logged into some Star Wars fandom-based late-1990s chatroom forums and whined "BUT HAN SHOT FIRST IN THE ORIGINAL" and everyone else probably said ".......so?" and he whined some more "BUT DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND...?" and then went on to point out all these meaningless things about it changing the character. Then everyone else probably said, "Hey!... You're right!... If I had known Han actually shot first, I would have thought he was so much MORE badass!" after which they'd go on to alter their memories and say "Wow, come to think of it, the movie is so dumb with that change. It's like everyone who's been criticizing me for liking a kids movie is right-- it is a kids movie if Han shot second! Wow, what I would give to see the original movie. I would love it SO much more I betcha cos it's for grown-ups and I'm a grown-up, and now I have an argument when normal people say 'But Stars Wars is for kids'. Nope! Only the newer versions are! I would have been an even MORE OBSESSIVE FAN of the original, just like this guy who pointed out the change in the first place."
After all that, you're not considered a REAL fan unless you agree. So the devoted fans have to prove their loyalty to the franchise and go about spewing their secondary source to whoever will listen. "Oh, Han shot first-- isn't that great? Isn't George Lucas LAME for editing that out?" I would like to point out to ALL of you that you did not learn this on your own. Someone else told you and convinced you of its importance. That is ALWAYS the case, because you can't GET the original version anymore! Form your own opinions people! Just because one psycho fan took it personally, doesn't mean you all have to, to prove your love for Star Wars! There are other ways to do this!
So yes, my final points are: 1) Han was shooting in self defense whether he shot first or not. 2) You are not fooling anyone- nobody thinks the problem you've made with the newer versions of the film is your own. You have taken somebody else's problem with it and adopted it as your own in an effort to prove your devotion/knowledge of the story.
Why isn't anybody miffed about the CGI characters? REALLY? They are a much bigger change to the movies, are much more obviously inserted, and they disregard the hard work of excellent puppet-makers. I'm still mad about CGI Yoda in episodes 1-3.
Oh my God... I just realized they may have turned Yoda to CGI in episode 5 as well! I'm going to have to google this and find out...
Okay good, they didn't replace Yoda puppet! GOOD. Because that would have sucked BALLS.
All right, my Han Solo rant is over. I have one more rant, so stay tuned.
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