Sunday, April 10, 2005

After several months of struggling with the Radio UserLand platform, which is just a bit too complicated for me, and probably more complicated than I need for such a simple blog, I've decided to move In Which Our Hero to the more user-friendly Blogger platform. You'll find me at my new home, here. Over the next few days, I'll be copying all of the posts from my time here to the new place, so it will eventually reflect the full history of IWOH. (Cause you know, they're all gems, and we wouldn't want to lose any of these precious posts, would we?) See you there! 3:30:40 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Saturday, April 09, 2005

Announcing the Unitarian Jihad; if you'd like to join, you can have a name assigned to you here. Yours in reasonableness, Brother Shotgun of Forgiveness. (via Electrolite) 8:42:02 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback [] MOVIES: Guess Who (Kevin Rodney Sullivan, 2005) Guess Who is a loose update of Guess Who's Coming to Dinner -- loose enough that the writers of the original don't get an on-screen credit -- with the races reversed. This time, we get Bernie Mac and Judith Scott in the Hepburn & Tracy parent roles, and Ashton Kutcher in the Sidney Poitier role. (Talk about phrases you thought you'd never need: "...Ashton Kutcher in the Sidney Poitier role." Oy.) The original movie really hasn't held up all that well; it's awfully sanctimonious; Spencer Tracy's illness is evident throughout, and you find yourself fearing that the character isn't going to survive the movie; and Poitier is saddled with the most Perfect of his Perfect Negro roles (a criticism of the writers, not of Poitier, who, as always, plays the part with great skill and charm). From a commercial standpoint, an update wasn't a bad idea. Kutcher and Mac each have a loyal fan base, and there's probably relatively little overlap between the two. The race reversal from the original gives us the possibility for a fresh twist and a take on the story that we haven't seen before. But here's what's weird about the movie: The couple whose relationship we're most interested in (and rooting for) isn't Ashton Kutcher and Zoe Saldana. Their ostensible romance isn't convincing at all, and they've got no chemistry. Their most romantic scene, a late-night stroll through her hometown, is painful to watch, and we believe they're a couple only because the script tells us so. No, the real storyline here is the courtship by Ashton Kutcher of Bernie Mac. That's the couple we see sleeping together; that's the couple that gets the most interesting dance scene. They even share the movie's poster, with neither of the women anywhere in sight. And when it looks as if the youngsters' relationship has been broken up, it's not Saldana who rushes to the train station to bring Kutcher back, it's Mac (and he's leaving the party at which he's about to renew his own wedding vows to do so). Is the movie any good? Eh. If you like Kutcher and Mac, you'll enjoy seeing them do their usual shtick -- ineffectual dithering doofus and slow-burn after slow-burn, respectively -- and the supporting cast is effective, if not terribly memorable. It's a perfectly adequate, and perfectly disposable, piece of Hollywood product. But that strange and unexpected homoerotic subtext is what's going to stick with me the most, and I'm damned if I can figure out what to make of it. 3:18:22 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Wednesday, April 06, 2005

BOOKS: The Jigsaw Puzzle, Anne D. Williams (2004) Williams traces the history of jigsaws, which were invented nearly 200 years as teaching aids; English schoolchildren used "dissected maps" to learn geography.Since then, they've become a popular form of recreation around the world, and occasionally -- notably during the Depression -- great fads have sprung up around them. Today, specialty puzzle makers create individually crafted works of art that sell for thousands of dollars. Williams also offers advice to the collector, and basic information on how to make your own puzzles. This book will probably be of limited interest to anyone who's not a games & puzzles fan, but for those who are, it's a solid, concise history. 5:53:51 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Tuesday, April 05, 2005

TV: American Idol -- musicals night It's show tunes night at American Idol, and everyone's performing pretty much to form; the folks you'd expect to shine do, and Nikko and Scott are still awful. The rundown: Scott, "The Impossible Dream" -- there are a lot of long, exposed notes in this song, and almost none of them were in tune; most of them went through three or four different pitches from start to finish of each note. It got a bit better at the end, but not much. Constantine, "My Funny Valentine" -- the arrangement was awful, and it played up Constantine's tendency to be a bit smarmy and sleazy. But if you must do the song this way, it was reasonably well sung. Carrie, "Hello Young Lovers" -- Paula called it "elegant," which it was. Very solidly controlled without being rigid or metronomic. Lovely. Vonzell, "People" -- a few minor pitch problems early, but nicely done for the most part, and the big note at the end was impressive. Anthony, "Climb Every Mountain" -- very bad song choice. The low notes at the beginning are breathy and lacking in power; the high note at the end is too high and isn't pretty at all. The arrangement is too pop; this is just not pleasant. Nikko, "One Hand, One Heart" -- not everything is R&B. And you shouldn't sing a song that consists almost entirely of long phrases if you're going to have to gasp for breath in the middle of each one. Anwar, "If Ever I Would Leave You" -- this was just boring, and overly filigreed with little runs and trills. Remember when we all thought Anwar was going to win this thing? Ah, those were the days... Bo, "Corner of the Sky" -- again, Bo screws up the words. Aside from that, not bad, and about as well suited to his style as a song from a musical is likely to be. Nadia, "As Long As He Needs Me" -- she clearly has no idea of the context of this song -- that it's sung by a woman in an abusive relationship -- but the lyrics are vague enough that you can get away with it as an unironic statement of devotion, and Nadia's back in fine form tonight. For the night: Carrie, Nadia, Vonzell, Bo, Constantine, Anwar, Anthony, Nikko, Scott. Still most deserving of the trip home: Scott and Nikko, and I don't much care which one goes first. 9:05:15 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback [] BOOKS: Cloud Atlas, David MItchell (2004) It's six, six, six books in one! Mitchell gives us an audacious stunt here. We get the beginnings of five stories, each interrupted by the next; the sixth story, at the center of the book, is presented in full, then the endings of the stories are presented in reverse order. Like this: 1 2 3 4 5 6 5 4 3 2 1. The stories are set over a wide range of time, from the early 1850s to a post-apocalyptic distant future, and there are connections -- some subtle, some less so -- among them. Each story is being read (in some form or another) by a character in the next; there is the suggestion that we may be following the progression through history of a single soul, reincarnated into each new time and place. And it's quite a variety of stories, too: a 19th-century journal of a Pacific explorer; the letters of a 1930s English composer living in Belgium; a corporate thriller set in the 1970s; the memoir of a London publisher, set roughly in the present; a 22nd-century tale of enslaved clones, set in Korea; and a far-future tale of life on Hawaii. So is the book worthwhile beyond the technical stunt? Absolutely. Each of Mitchell's stories is perfectly in style for its time and genre; the writing is clever and lively throughout. The composer's letters, in particular, are quite funny. Mitchell has smartly placed at the center of the book the two stories which will give the most readers (at least, non-SF readers) trouble; get the readers hooked in the first 4 half-tales, and they might not even notice that they're reading science fiction. (They will, however, surely notice the heavy use of dialect that makes the sixth tale rather rough sledding in spots; not quite as difficult as Russell Hoban's Riddley Walker, but surely influenced by it.) Mitchell gets a bit heavy-handed at the end, clubbing us over the head at every turn to be sure we've caught his theme of how the powerful exploit and take advantage of others (in the summary of one character, "The weak are meat the strong do eat."), and that made the second half of the book the weaker half for me. But that's a relatively minor flaw in what was otherwise a marvelous read. It's an ambitious book, and Mitchell succeeds almost completely. 6:22:58 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Friday, April 01, 2005

TV: A week of new stuff: The EYES have it I caught the first episodes of four new TV shows in the last week or so; mostly, they were a disappointing lot -- two god-awful sitcoms and one musty medical drama. But there's one potential gem in the bunch. Let's get the crud out of the way first, shall we? Fox's Life on a Stick advertises itself as "the voice of a generation," and gives us a bunch of none-too-bright, none-too-interesting teens who work in a mall's fast food court. We're trying to recapture the vibe of That 70s Show, but the jokes are obvious, the characters are cardboard, and the actors have none of the personality or chemistry of the 70s cast.. (One small exception: It is nice to see Amy Yasbeck working again after the death of her husband, John Ritter; she is the only one in this cast who even comes close to making any of this stuff work.) This one won't last long. Anything I say about NBC's adaptation of the British cult show The Office should be prefaced by noting that I have never seen the BBC version, so I'm judging the new one strictly on its own merits (which is, of course, how it should be judged). And those merits, I'm afraid, are thin enough that I'm having a hard time seeing them. The show is an exaggerated recreation of all the most hellishly embarrassing, awkward, and unpleasant moments that make up a day in the typical office, and I'm at a loss to find anything funny in that. The pacing is interminably slow; the actors are bland and listless. Steve Carell, who I've liked elsewhere, makes the best impression, I suppose, hurling himself into the role of the clueless and insensitive office manager with all the energy he can muster, but the scripts give him nothing to work with. In a way, this is even more unpleasant to watch than Life on a Stick; at least with that one, I can tell where it's supposed to be funny. The appeal of The Office escapes me entirely. ABC gives us Grey's Anatomy, about a group of four residents beginning their training to become surgeons. Sandra Oh as one of the residents is particularly good, and Chandra Wilson, as one of their supervising doctors, makes the most of a somewhat hackneyed Feisty Black Woman role. This isn't a bad show, it's just not particularly memorable or distinctive. It could have been made at any time within the last 20 years or so (with a bit of editing for sexual content and language, I suppose). Grey's Anatomy is thoroughly competent, but a bit stale. But finally, there was one bright spot: ABC's Eyes, a hip update on the private-eye genre that fits very nicely into the Wednesday lineup after Lost and Alias. Tim Daly stars as Harlan Judd, whose "risk management" firm skirts the edge of the law to satisfy its clients. Daly is surrounded by a fine supporting cast of actors, most of whom have been working steadily for a few years without really becoming recognizable names; this show should change that. Making the best impression in the first episode, I thought, were A.J. Langer (best known for My So-Called LIfe) as a recently hired investigator still trying to balance her military background with the occasionally shady tactics Judd calls on her to use; and Rick Worthy as Judd's best friend and most trusted partner, a gay black man who's only recently been released from an institution after an as-yet-unexplained nervous breakdown. They, along with the rest of the cast, have a nice chemistry. The writing is sharp and clever, and I suspect we're going to get a lot of entertaining "nothing is what it seems" con-game scenes (and I am a sucker for a good con game). I hope this one catches on. 7:06:05 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

BOOKS: Old Man's War, John Scalzi (2005) If I say that Old Man's War is an updated version of Heinlein's juvenile novels -- Starship Troopers in particular -- you're going to expect a callow 17-year-old protagonist and a story aimed at early teens. What Scalzi's actually given us is a 75-year-old hero, and a novel for adults (and smart teens with good taste). John Perry joins the Colonial Defense Forces as soon as he becomes eligible, on his 75th birthday. It's the job of the CDF to fight humanity's battles on distant planets, with the goal of wiping out hostile aliens before they get anywhere near Earth. The CDF recruits senior citizens because it wants people with a lifetime of experience and common sense to draw on. Those who join the CDF are never allowed to return to Earth themselves; if they survive their 10-year term of service, they are sent to live on one of the human colony worlds. But how (I hear you asking) can an army of 75-year-old soldiers have the strength and stamina to go to war? Why, by giving them nifty new high-tech bodies, of course. Each recruit has his/her mind downloaded into a younger version of themselves that's healthier, faster, and stronger than they ever were; they're no longer entirely human -- they're green, for one thing -- but they're perfect soldiers. Once that background is established, the novel is somewhat episodic, as John and his new friends go through training, and then from battle to battle, without much of a through-story. (The plot thread that does dominate the last third of the book is driven by a turn of events that's a bit too coincidental for my liking.) But the battles are terrifically entertaining, and Scalzi's alien races are interesting creations. I especially liked the Consu, who believe themselves so superior to any other race that negotiations are a degrading task, doled out as punishment to Consu criminals and outcasts. The prose is crisp and clean; the characters are well-rounded; and the story moves along at a brisk clip. This is a solid piece of entertainment, well-crafted and lots of fun. 6:04:52 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

Tuesday, March 29, 2005

TV: American Idol -- 90s night Very uneven night of performances tonight. My take: Bo, "Remedy" -- oy, that hat! This is a dull song, and Bo's performance, though competent, isn't particularly interesting. Jessica, "After All" -- another dull song, and it gives her absolutely no chance to show what she's capable of doing. It's an OK performance, though. Anwar, "I Believe I Can Fly" -- Randy nails it: he's got a lot of nasty pitch problems in his lower register, and he keeps winning the audience back with his big finish. I didn't think that even the big finish was up to his usual standard, though, and he looks very uncomfortable singing all that melismatic garbage. Nadia, "I'm the Only One" -- interesting choice, and nice to see that she can pull off something with a harder edge. Best of the night so far. Constantine, "I Can't Make You Love Me" -- the best pure singing he's done yet, but he doesn't seem to get the point of the song, and there's very little personality coming through. Nikko, (I have no idea what this song is) -- there's too much vibrato in his voice. His pitch is a lot better than usual tonight, but when it is off, it's way off. Anthony, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" -- he's done the best job in the last few weeks of figuring out what songs work for him; this is a very good choice for his voice, and is quite nicely done. Carrie, "Independence Day" -- there are a couple of notes at the very beginning that are too low for her, but otherwise, this is a fabulous performance, very exciting, and ideal for her style. Scott, "One Last Cry" -- even by Scott's low standards, this is horrible, bad enough that I find myself longing for the dulcet tones of Mikalah. The pitch is off throughout, the falsetto is unattractive; this is the single worst performance of the year. Vonzell, "I Have Nothing" -- solid performance, good showcase for impressive vocalizing. For the night, I'd rank them: Carrie, Anthony, Nadia, Vonzell, Constantine, Jessica, Anwar, Bo, Nikko, Scott. Overall: Nadia, Vonzell, Carrie, Jessica, Bo, Anthony, Anwar, Constantine, Scott, Nikko. Most deserving of the ticket home: Nikko overall, but as bad as he was tonight, Scott would not be undeserving. 9:17:23 PM  PERMALINK  comment []  trackback []

© Copyright 2005 Keith Chaffee. Last update: 4/10/05; 3:30:53 PM.