I can hunt, but can Mike hunt?

[vovat]

unclemilo posted about this ultra-conservative comic book, about "an Orwellian nightmare of ultra-liberalism." (Um, has this guy READ anything by Orwell?) Don't look at it unless you're in the mood to throw up. My favorite part is how they try to present Rupert Murdoch and Sean Hannity as people who would go against the government for their principles. Like they'd do anything to jeopardize their profits! As if their "Hooray for war!" and total ignorance of what liberalism actually is aren't bad enough, these guys have to augment it with misdirected hero-worship.

Another "fun" site I looked at recently was the Hermione Potter site, run by Harry/Hermione shippers. In between implying Rowling is an idiot for not re-reading her own books, they're constantly asking whether one character is "worthy" of another. Apparently relationships shouldn't be based on love or companionship, but on worthiness. I mean, you wouldn't want Harry or Hermione to date beneath their stations, right? The site maintainer also mentions that "we have the right to ship what we want without persecution, especially from Rowling." I don't know exactly what they perceive as "persecution," but if it's anything short of being fed to the lions, or, at the very least, excluded from country clubs, I would imagine that it's an inappropriate word choice. After all this, they have the audacity to imply that OTHER PEOPLE take Rowling and Harry Potter too seriously. (Why does all this remind me of a certain moderator on a certain other children's book discussion forum I used to be on?) This isn't to say that there might not be other equally ridiculous websites or communities devoted to other views on the Potter series, but really, when someone starts talking about being "persecuted" for their opinions on a work of fiction, they've pretty much thrown away any possibility of being taken seriously.

Anyway, now that I have that stuff out of the way, bethje and I watched The Neverending Story on Tuesday night. Thanks to revme for giving me the DVD! I'd seen the movie several times before, but this was the first time since reading the book. It's actually a quite faithful adaptation of the first part of the book. I understand that the Part 2 movie deals with the next part of the book, but I've also heard it sucks. And, from what I gather, Part 3 has nothing to do with anything.

We also watched the most recent episode of Stella. It was pretty funny, although a lot of the jokes were taken directly from the shorts.

Yesterday, I bought Beth a copy of the newest Carolyn Mark album from Tower in Philadelphia. I'll want to listen to it in the near future. That evening, we went out to eat at Applebee's, where I had the chicken fingers, and the Sizzling Apple Pie for dessert.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what to do about my ear. I was told to use the eardrops for ten days. Today is the tenth day, and I'm pretty much out of medicine. My ear no longer really hurts like it used to, but it feels numb, and still seems to be kind of stopped up. There's also some occasional pain in my jaw, which comes and goes, but usually can be taken care of by exercising the jaw a little bit. I don't know whether I should call the doctor or not. I guess I will if I start feeling pain again, but I was hoping to avoid it, because of the cost. Does anyone have any advice on this matter?

Finally, the Borders Rewards Club says I can take a Personal Shopping Day sometime this month, when I get 10% off pretty much everything in the store. It's a deal I would be loath to pass up, but I'm not sure there's anything I really want from Borders right now. Besides, 10% isn't generally all that much, unless you're buying a whole lot of things, or a few really expensive things.

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

Hooray! Glad you got it/liked it OK! I've had it for a while -- it was a gift, but I hate the movie, and when you mentioned on your journal a while ago that you liked it but didn't have it and were thinking of picking it up, I figured I might as well, you know, pass it along to someone who'd like it (and free up a centimeter or so of space on my DVD shelf, heh).

I didn't recall that there was a III, though -- was it direct to video or something?

[vovat.livejournal.com]

That's cool. I've always really liked the movie, so thanks again. I guess I should remove it from my Amazon wishlist now, huh?

I don't know for sure that Part 3 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110647/) went direct to video, but I'm betting it did. According to the IMDB listing, my guess that it has very little basis in the book is correct. Jack Black is apparently in it, as a bully or something.

[yosef.livejournal.com]

The third one is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I guess II isn't too terrific either (although still far superior to II), but I have childhood attachments to that one. So far I've read a chapter of TNES, and stopped right before the "Fantastica" part begins. Interesting that the filmmakers decided to take away Bastian's being fat. I'm guessing his being fat had to do with part of why he was picked on (at least at this point in reading), so I guess they decided it wasn't necessary.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I also noticed that Bastian's being fat was something they didn't use for the movie, but since it's never really that significant in the book, I guess you're right that they thought it wasn't necessary.

I'm sort of wondering if I should see Part II, even though no one seems to like it much. You know, just for the sake of completeness, or something.

[yosef.livejournal.com]

See it, see it! Probably the lamest thing though is that instead of "The Nothing" it's "The Emptiness."

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Couldn't they even bother to use the same translation? Or was this supposed to be a separate-but-similar problem?

I'm not even sure The Nothing even featured in the book after the part that the first movie was based on, but I can't remember for sure.

[yosef.livejournal.com]

It's a seperate-but-similar problem, only no one seems to notice.

[onib.livejournal.com]

Ok...

I looked at the site for the comic book. I can't believe anyone would find this concept believable, much less worth investing time and money into. Besides their laughable choice of heros for the book (um Oliver North was just some soldier who followed orders rather than doing his duty to question anything that would require him to break American law...and since when was Hannity a hacker), it has, as you noted, no concept of what liberalism is all about. I like that one of the "terrifying realities" of the future is that all broadcasts are passed through liberal censors that remove any conservative views. You mean the flip side of exactly what the right is trying to do in real life? Whatever. I just find it ridiculous and sad. Not only is it name-dropping, hero-worshipping, ignorant propaganda, it's also not even a very good comic book.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

So many of these ultra-conservative types seem to suffer from Pot-Kettle-Black Syndrome. I'm not sure whether it's because they're projecting their own faults on others, assuming that everyone's minds operate the same way theirs do, or lying outright. Or maybe they're just plain stupid.

Really, the whole thing seems like a joke, especially with the inclusion of North as one of the heroes. It's apparently not, though. (Mind you, I would probably also think George W. Bush being President was a joke, if I weren't painfully aware that it isn't.)

[zaph.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine thinks she has the whole Hermione/Harry thing figured out.

Basically, Hermione is the 'nerd' stereotype, and a lot of nerdy teenage girls are feeling resentful that, yet again, the hero chose the pretty athlete over the nerd. They're interpreting it as a rejection of themselves as much as a rejection of Hermione - basically reaffirming their belief that they'll have to 'settle'. Never mind what this indicates they think about Ron being 'not good enough', because really, I don't see that as 'settling' anyway. She's never harboured feelings for Harry beyond friendship, so it's not like she 'wasn't good enough' for him at all.

But yeah, when they say things like 'Rowling is wrong' and 'how can she do this to us?' I'm reminded of the word Emerson from Mugglenet used in his interview with Rowling: delusional. It's really not unlike the people who think bands write songs for/about them. Very much the personalised stalkerish attitude.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Basically, Hermione is the 'nerd' stereotype, and a lot of nerdy teenage girls are feeling resentful that, yet again, the hero chose the pretty athlete over the nerd.

So they're implying that there's something wrong with Ron then? Sheez, just because his name's not in the title....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Ron apparently isn't "worthy" of Hermione. Never mind that Ron has a lot of good qualities, and Hermione some bad ones. I mean, they're both young, and it's obvious they're not going to go about expressing their feelings for each other in a very mature way at first.

These people also say that a relationship based on bickering isn't healthy, which implies to me that they think two people in love should never argue. Not a very realistic attitude, if you ask me.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

Aw... well, they're young (I HOPE), they'll outgrow it (I HOPE ALSO).

Yeah... it seems to me it's the older readers who figured out the Ron/Hermione thing, it's younger ones who imagined the H/H... experience with REAL relationships and all....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I thought the Ron/Hermione thing was pretty obvious ever since Goblet of Fire, when Hermione said Ron should have asked her to the Yule Ball before anyone else. Then there's the whole issue with Ron being jealous of Viktor Krum. There was nothing comparable with Harry. It almost seems like Harry/Hermione is simply based on the idea that the main male hero should hook up with the main female hero, although the nerd thing that zaph mentioned is probably also relevant.

[majellen.livejournal.com]

I recommend calling your doctor despite the cost. I knew a teacher who had a similar problem, and she kept putting it off and putting it off - eventually she had two ruptured eardrums and was out for six weeks. Her hearing is also now down to 50%. Take care of your ears, the bills will work out later.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

I called the doctor's office yesterday, and they said someone would call me back. If I don't hear back by Monday (when the doctor I saw last time will be in), I'll call them again.

[rockonliz.livejournal.com]

You should go to an ENT--ear Nose and Throat doctor. I had a very similar experience a few years ago--twice--with my ear. I was sure I had an infection, and the regular doctor told me I did and prescribed antibiotics, and it didn't help. I saw an ENT, who told me that the reason it LOOKED like I had an infection was because of the scarring from early ear infections--but that the real problem was that I was clenching my jaw too much. That can actually make you feel like your ear is numb and you can't hear out of it correctly. He had me put a heating pad on it and watch how I ate, and it went away in just a few days!

The other thing is, I think it is possible to have an ear infection that takes two rounds of antibiotics, so that IS a possibility. Check with an ENT though--you'll get better results than just a family doc.

(My best friend's a doctor, so I hear about this stuff all the time)

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm going to check with the doctor I saw before first. If my problems continue for much longer, maybe I'll go ahead and contact an ENT. Thanks for the advice.

[rockinlibrarian.livejournal.com]

The site maintainer also mentions that "we have the right to ship what we want without persecution, especially from Rowling."

What I love is how they insist that THE AUTHOR WHO CREATED THESE CHARACTERS IN THE FIRST PLACE obviously doesn't know what she's talking about by how she made the relationships go....

[vovat.livejournal.com]

They say on their site that "JK Rowling can be questioned and criticized by her fans." That's essentially a straw man argument, though. It's one thing to say, "I don't like what Rowling did here," or, "Hey, that's not how I read that!", but what these people are saying is more along the lines of, "Oh, gee, that idiot Rowling doesn't even know what's going on in her own books!" Which is pretty stupid and insulting.