Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

My ankle has been feeling much better lately, to the point where I can limp around in my huge, padded boot/cast without a cane a good bit of the time (as long as I'm inside or on really level ground with hand-holds available should I need them), so I was able to go along with my sister and two friends on a short trip to nearby Racine yesterday, to take advantage of the free art museum admission there on the first Friday of the month. I took my Dad's old walker along to use in walking to and around the museum, just in case, but limped around okay without it for short excursions from the car later in the afternoon.

My sister had been planning this trip as a treat for me for some time, so I was especially glad that I was well enough to go along and get so much enjoyment out of it. Several of the exhibits involved depictions of pop culture or mythical characters in various media, and even though the upstairs galleries were closed yesterday, we enjoyed the exhibits we did get to see -- especially those with sci-fi/fantasy/superhero connections.

We only got to see the Ruffo Gallery portion of the exhibition of pop-up books and art-works (for instance, there was a wall plaque depicting "A Pop-Up Guide to Westeros" for George R. R. Martin/"Game of Thrones" fans), but what we did see was wonderful, reminding us of our favorite pop-up books in childhood (we had one about Robin Hood from 1969, and another from 1968 for Alice in Wonderland, and still another from 1970 on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea).

I really enjoyed the gallery notes on this exhibit, as well, tracing the origins of pop-up books back to medieval monks working on ecclesiastical manuscripts! :)

( Popular Culture that really POPS )

Here are some of my favorites (photographed by my sister) from the other main exhibit on the ground floor of the museum:

( Pop culture icons in ceramic, glass, and needlework )

On the way out, we took some time to enjoy the museum's window exhibits of Charlotte Kruk's 'Consumer Couture' recycled art (see also gallery notes here).

( 'The Politics of Having' )

Then we had a mid-afternoon lunch at Kewpee's Hamburgers, a well-preserved example of the 1950s 'Malt Shop', complete with home-made root beer and incredibly affordable but very tasty burgers and fries that don't start cooking until after you've placed your order.

( Pictures of the Racine Kewpee's )

Since Racine is the home of malted milk, I figured I ought to order a chocolate malted as my beverage/dessert, but I'd have been better off going with the much larger and less-expensive root beer float chosen by the rest of our party. The malted was tasty but somewhat gritty in texture, as though the soda jerk had simply smashed some malted milk balls and stirred them into a regular chocolate milk shake as an after-thought, rather than properly dissolving the malted milk powder in the shake. Well, if we ever go there again, I'll know that the root beer with free refill is the local specialty to order instead.

Most of the rest of the day was spent driving around, sight-seeing some Frank Lloyd Wright buildings, enjoying the breeze from Lake Michigan, and window-shopping at the unique shops in downtown Racine.

Even the pouring rain on the drive home couldn't dampen our spirits after all that. :)

Okay, so there's still no actual Chloe and/or Lex appearing in this chapter, but after this, I PROMISE there will be actual Lex, Chloe, and possibly Clark. It's taken a while to lay out the back-story, but we're nearly there.

For summary and disclaimers, see the Prologue.

"THE BIOLOGICAL PROGENITOR TRAP"

Chapter 1: "The Other Generation"

( Read more... )

tbc
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Since I had a preaching job last night (Christmas Eve, you know!) and won't be driving up to Wisconsin to celebrate with my family until next week, I decided to use my free time today to finally revise and post the first installment of a new fic I've been working on.

Surprise! I'm writing again! It's a holiday miracle. :)

"THE BIOLOGICAL PROGENITOR TRAP"

Summary: In the 32nd century, Brainiac Six (the young, partly organic offspring created by Brainiac 5, using the preserved genetic material of two humans with Kryptonite-enhanced healing abilities to supplement his own inorganic code) watches one too many ancient Disney films from the archives and decides to use a 'borrowed' Legion ring to go back to the early 21st century and try to spring his own version of "The Parent Trap" on his unwitting ancestors: Chloe Sullivan and Lex Luthor.

( Author's notes, disclaimer, and dedication )

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Prologue: "Parenthood"

( Read more... )

Chapter One: "The Other Generation"

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I'm planning to (finally!) take in a showing of "Pacific Rim" this afternoon, and maybe a second show of some sort thereafter, but on Tuesday of this week I was able to see both "The Wolverine" and the latest Shah Rukh Khan screwball comedy film "Chennai Express", so I'm counting this a good week at the movies already.

"The Wolverine" may not have been as instantly addictive to me as Hugh Jackman's first appearances in that role in "X-Men" and "X-2" (and to a lesser extent "X-3"), but it's not because he's lost any of that oh-so-FINE physical presence or that trademark Logan/Wolverine intoxicating mixture of angst, nobility, and pure snarky grit. No, it's just that this film felt more like an 'interlude', a 'palate cleanser' course, giving Logan a chance to finally work through some of the trauma related to Jean Grey's death in "X-3" and the unresolved relationship issues pertaining thereto.

On its own, it's a good film, a watchable and involving film, but it feels like it's not and was never intended to be THE major turning point in Logan's life, and so the emotional stakes (while high enough, for many reasons) are naturally somewhat lower than they were for Logan in the "X-Men" films -- though still HIGHER stakes and greater interest than in the prequel film "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" (I generally have a bit of trouble investing myself in prequel films, since we already know where the character ended up AFTER that, and so I can't watch most of them without a little, nagging "What's the point, again?" intruding in my thoughts -- and yes, that held true for Star Wars episodes I-III, as well as for films like "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom").

But as a link between "X-3" and the NEXT "X-Men" film (and yes, you really do want to stay through the relatively short run of closing credits to watch the extra scene at the end), I say it's a VERY good film, and well worth watching on the big screen.

And speaking of 'palate cleanser' movies, "Chennai Express" was a delightful sorbet of a film, complete with amazing, soul-satisfying and eye-pleasing colors in just about every scene, with 'in-joke' references to previous Shah Rukh Khan films at points that tickled me plenty, and lots of that frothy, Cary Grant-in-"Bringing-Up-Baby"-style comedic acting that I really adore from Khan.

DEFINIITELY worth seeing in the theater, if you get the chance!

I finally got to the multiplex to see "Iron Man 3" this afternoon and enjoyed it quite a lot. I didn't love it quite as much as I adored "The Avengers", but definitely better than "Iron Man 2", and possibly even a little, teeny bit more than the first Iron Man movie. Maybe.

All in all, a very satisfying conclusion to the [first?] "Iron Man" movie trilogy, making good use of what happened to and for Tony in last summer's "The Avengers" and progressing beyond that. Definitely a film I'd be glad to see again and again.( Read more... )

Of course, staying through the end of the credits did make me a bit late to "Olympus Has Fallen" (I came in just as the car with the First Lady was going over the edge), but that's okay. I enjoyed Gerard Butler's convincing portrayal of the ultimate hard-a*s Secret Service agent going all "Die Hard"/"Under Siege" at the White House, and tried not to let all the (many, many) things that didn't make sense about the plot and characterizations get in the way of my enjoyment of the action scenes. So, I saw it, and it sucked a lot less than I feared it might, and now I never need to see it again.

Just a quick note:

I saw the earliest showing at my nearest multiplex today, at noon, and then slipped into a showing of "Safe" that was starting a few minutes after "The Avengers" let out.

I got a big kick out of the "Avengers" movie, which displays many of Joss Whedon's strengths and few of his weaknesses as a storyteller. ( no spoilers )

As for "Safe", Jason Statham (whom I really enjoy in most of his roles, if the movie is even half-watchable) was really good in it, and the little girl playing "Mei", the Chinese schoolgirl being used instead of a computer by the Chinese mob in New York City, was very believable. ( possible spoilers )

What I'd been fearing for a while now (in a distant, maybe that might happen in a couple more months, 'sometime' kind of way) actually happened last night, when I'd been lulled into a false sense of security by thinking that I'd figured out how to more or less cope with the problem.

( The Dratted DVR Debacle of 2010 )

Goodbye to the entire 5th season of Dr. Who, as well as the last couple of specials covering the final appearance of David Tennant's Tenth Doctor!

Farewell, my 3rd and 4th season episodes of Chuck!

Buh-bye, all three seasons/series of Torchwood!

And the list goes on, and on, and on.

Kiss it all bye-bye.

["Good-bye, God! I'm going to Missouri!" -- quoted from Hal Holbrook's "Mark Twain Tonight".]

( Today, Xenos, everything is new again. We start fresh! )

No more hard decisions to be made about what to keep and what to delete. No more worries about my DVR having taken hostages, keeping me tied to it out of fear of losing all my lovely shows.

Today, I am free to try something new and different!

. . . And, of course, I'm adding lots of DVD sets that I never thought I'd need to my Christmas 'wish-list' for my siblings and parents to peruse.

One must be practical, after all.

I finally went to the multiplex to see "Iron Man 2" this afternoon (and yes, I stayed all the way through the end of the credits to see the little bonus scene, having learned my lesson about leaving too soon from the first "Iron Man" movie), and I'm very glad I saw it on the big screen.

Maybe it wasn't quite as emotionally involving as the first film, but I loved the banter and Don Cheadle as the new Rhodey, and there was quite a nice insight into some of what makes Tony Stark tick (or not tick) at several points.

I'd definitely recommend it, if you're one of the three other people in the world who haven't seen it (there were four, but I saw it today).

This is my new favorite word, 'cause the high point of tonight's Batman: The Brave and the Bold episode was definitely Green Arrow's indignant denunciation of Batman and a certain female criminal as "Flirterers!"

It's been so long since I could actually watch a cartoon on Saturday morning and thoroughly enjoy it -- not have my intelligence insulted, or be filled with an overwhelming desire to reach for the 'fast-forward' button on the remote.

But this morning the cartoon series Batman: the Brave and the Bold (which rarely occupies my full attention, and occasionally seems too lame even for watching while eating my Saturday morning oatmeal) finally justified its continued existence on my DVR timer list with a really clever, well-done rip-off of the BtVS episode "Once More, With Feeling": Mayhem of the Music Meister.

Neil Patrick Harris as the voice of the musical super-villain (hmm, wonder if anybody ELSE ever thought of doing that first?) is superb, singing his heart out and putting the 'fun' in 'dysfunctional' ( Read more... )

What a nice surprise to wake up to! I'd advise anyone who enjoys musicals and/or animated super heroes from the DC universe to check it out in re-runs, if you didn't catch it on the Cartoon Network this time around.