I’m still on hiatus–more details coming in a few days–but I thought I’d toss this out as a discussion topic. Here’s something on the, er, controversy from Vox. And feel free to talk about anything else you want to as well, as per our usual arrangement.
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@Masse_Mysteria
Yes, if you think your vote doesn’t count, I can understand thinking that voting is a waste of time. I cannot understand thinking that you should obey your spouse (or parent, for that matter) and not vote because they say so. I also would look funny at anybody who needs instructions on how to vote from their spouse (or parent or other authority figure). Discussion, yes – Mr. Parasol and I hash over political decisions all the time. If it’s an issue I really care about, and he agrees to it, he may happen to vote the same way I do, but I certainly don’t look over his shoulder to make sure he votes “correctly.” I feel the same way – he’s brought up an issue that he’s researched, and he makes his case for how I should vote, but he doesn’t look over my shoulder.
(And frankly, he’d have an easier time of it – he’s 6 ft 5 and I’m 5 ft 7. The man can look over my *head* without straining himself.)
I know there have been occasions when we didn’t vote for the same candidate, because we’ve talked about it afterwards, but it’s never been a source of marital discord. Heck, we have more heated arguments about the cultural value of musicals (I love them; he doesn’t, except for *The Wizard of Oz*), but he still buys me the super-awesome DVDs/Blu-Rays of the movie musicals I love.
I’m sure the injuries, occasional lack of teamwork, and drastic underfunding had nothing to do with it, nope.
Not that the MAGAts GAF about women’s sports 99% of the time, especially not that sissy foreign sport. Despite the fact that every American under 60-65 played soccer in school if not at home. Even the RW white kids.
@milotha: Straight white “Christian” cis-men, to be exact.
@Mexican Hot Chocolate (the best kind): Excellent point. Also overlooks the fact that the same people are now 4 years older.
@Dave: Exactly! But hey, one less self-hating RW vote.
@Lumipuna: I too use whichever sounds better, but that’s not going to help a non-native speaker. To me, “towards” has more of a shade of physical space and movement than “toward” does. Being American, I go for “toward” most of the time. Do check the CMoS.
@Masse: Sweden has been considered “woke” or whatever the RW buzzword of the year was at least since I was a kid in the 70s. Undoubtedly earlier.
@Vicky P: I am the one who reads all the fine print of the propositions to summarize the pro and con arguments for the Mr. Also I look at various non-partisan websites. He still marks his ballot. We are both Team Musical.
@Alan: Maybe he should have “put a bird on it!” Or, y’know, not be an asshole, but that’s too much to expect of right-wingers.
@GSS ex-noob
Have y’all seen Schmigadoon?
The fact that The Wicker Man is a musical is hill I am prepared to die on.
It has 13/14 songs. Including this banger.
@Alan
A folk musical where all the songs are diegetic, no less. It’s a neat demonstration of how music can both reflect and enforce a society.
It’s a pity Christopher Lee didn’t get to sing more, but we got what we got.
@ Vicky P
I’m a bit of a heretic in Wicker Man circles as I actually prefer the ‘one day’ version; but I would like an edit with just that song back in.
“You call that dancing? Cut some capers, man. Use your bladder!”
@GSS ex-noob
I used to think that this must be hard on the right-wingers, considering the stereotype that Sweden has all the beautiful blonde ladies, who, on the other hand, should be chasing the RW aryan dudes as per the natural order. Then I learned that all the Nordic neo-nazi organisations are interlinked despite trying to camouflage themselves as “healthy” nationalism, so it stands to reason that nothing is supposed to make sense in some circles.
@Alan
I think both versions have their merits. For example, the “one day” version keeps the story tight, which can add to the suspense. The longer version gives us more worldbuilding.
I’m just happy to own both versions so that I can pick what I want to watch. (First I got the American VHS version, then I got the fancy wooden DVD box set, which is worth the money just for the sheer joy of seeing Edward Woodward going around the locations and talking excitedly about his memories of the shoot.)
@ Vicky P
Have you heard the commentary track with Robin Hardy, Christopher Lee, and Edward Woodward?
Robin and Chris mention the (as of then) upcoming remake and how they have been approached to contribute, and it’s clearly the first time that Edward W had heard about it.
“Wait, what remake?” “What do you mean, asked to be in it?” “Was it a letter or an email?”
@Alan
I believe that commentary track is on the DVD I have, but it’s been a while since I watched it. So many other good movies and TV shows to watch, so little time.
The remake is worth getting just for the commentary. It’s basically a two hour long apology.
It’s sad really, the people involved clearly loved and respected the source material. But the old ‘executive meddling’ thing. They’re very funny on it though.
“There is a scary bit, honest.”
“Wait for it!”
“Here it comes!”
“See; told you”
“Well, it was a bit scary”
@Alan
Mr. Parasol and I joke that DVD commentaries come in two flavors: British and American. American commentaries tend to focus on the art and craft of the work. Lots of talk about difficulties on location, work that the actors did to develop believable relationships for their characters, praise for the costume designer/props/DP/etc. Occasionally a funny story will be shared, but generally it’s a serious discussion aimed at film students and film appreciators.
British commentaries will include gems such as, “Ah, yes, I was married to her for a few years, and then we discovered we didn’t really care for each other. Lovely woman, though – she invited me to the wedding of her son from her third marriage.” Plus anecdotes from other productions various people have worked on together.
ETA: Usual disclaimer about how there are exceptions, stereotypes are only mostly true, etc. If there’s one thing that makes me sad about the rise of streaming, it’s that we’re not seeing as many DVDs with extras such as commentaries.
@ Vicky P
In the commentary for Harry Brown, Michael Caine rambles on for the first few minutes about showbiz friends, then when his name comes up in the credits he says “Ooh, I’m in this.”
One of my favorite commentaries is from Conan The Barbarian, made by Arnold Schwarzenegger and director John Milius for the twenty-fifth anniversary. They are both pretty clearly stoned out of their gourds, and Schwarzenegger’s glee is palpabale.
“Here’s where I punch the camel! Watch me punch the camel!”
@Vicky P: I would love to, but I don’t have whatever it’s on. I can only afford one streaming service, and being a Star Wars and Marvel nerd with friends who get discounts on merch and theme parks, you can guess which one.
I loved “Galavant”, though, being on free TV. Ooh, I wonder if that’s on streaming.
@Alan: Agreed sort of. Although the fact that all the songs are diegetic takes it out of the category of “musical” stricto sensu.
Still a magnificent film. You can’t beat Lee and Woodward, they don’t make them like that any more.
I should buy it, but I can’t tell from the listings which, if any, of the NTSC versions have the commentary. If anyone can help me, much obliged!
Do BluRays even have commentaries, or just special video extras?
@Lumipuna
Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, 5.250
Thanks, GSS and Kat.
@GSS ex-noob
Understood! If it ever comes out on physical media, I recommend snagging it. In the meantime, check out all the references stuffed into this song:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wece6G6oIjc
For the non-musical theater types, Jane Krakowski’s rollerskating skills are legit – she was in the original Broadway cast of Starlight Express, which required all players to undergo some rigorous rollerskating training. The trapeze stunts were her idea, and she underwent additional training for the purposes of this number.
Victorious Parasol:
And then there’s the commentary track for Evil Dead 2, which is both– Raimi and Campbell clearly love to talk about all the technical details of making a low-budget horror film, and just as clearly are old high-school buddies who love to tease one another.
Allandrel:
I think he just might be always like that—he’s equally delighted by the scene in Total Recall where Sharon Stone attacks him.
@GSS ex-noob
The recent BluRays I’ve bought have had commentary tracks: Knives Out, Jojo Rabbit, Everything Everywhere All at Once. The Jojo Rabbit commentary is delightful, since Taika Waititi basically plays host to a party of his friends, but with plenty of geeky details about the film, and several of the actors call in to offer their opinions about their characters or the performances.
One bit I loved to hear is that Waititi stated that he framed the scene of
@Vicky P: Good to know! I shall have to research WM discs more closely to figure out which (affordable) version has commentary.
I do have the songs on streaming audio.
@Allandrel: Arnie was a notorious stoner in his youth; I expect that hasn’t changed much over the years.
You didn’t expect him to say all those ridiculous one-liners sober, surely?
[bang, bang!] “Consider that a divorce.”
[A terrorist is hanging by his gun strap from a missile] “You’re fired!” [pushes button]
[to an alligator] “You’re luggage!” [bang, bang]
“Asta la vista. Baby.” [bang, bang]
“You. Are. Terminated!” [explosion]
Attractive woman in video store, may have been Angie Everhart: “You were in a movie?”
Ahnold: “Why, yes. It was called ‘The Love of My Life’ and it starred you!”
“Leo the Fart is going to pass gas one last time.” [roughly 10 minutes later] “Silent but deadly!”
“May I speak to the drug dealer of the house?”
[bad guy with red glass eye flees after losing a fight] “Got to catch the red eye!” [pursues]
“Hahahaha! You think this is the real Quaid? It is!” [bang, bang]
“You’ve just been erased!” [explosion]
[Character played by Ahnold, to Ahnold himself] “You know, I don’t really like you. You’ve brought me nothing but pain.” [No, it wasn’t in a commentary track.]
Woman: “You’re late!”
Ahnold, having just parachuted from an exploding plane and then stolen a car: “Traffic.”
And who can possibly forget “Iced that guy … to cone a phrase!”
@Allandrel:
In all fairness, Arnie/Conan punching out the camel was awesome hilarious.
Both times.
Hi everyone. I hope things are going better for you all.
Hi Ooglyboggles! Eh, ups and downs here. Hope you and all the Mammotheers* and Mammoth-wrangler-in-chief David are all OK 👍🏾🐘 (putting an elephant because no mammoth emoji available)
*especially all those dealing with Stuff, of whom I think there are quite some several 😕