Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia!

Best-selling author Uncle Si!? (1/26/14)

This past Christmas my mother gifted me with a Chia Pet. Not just any old Chia Pet but a Duck Dynasty one. I have only seen about 5 minutes of Duck Dynasty (which was more than enough to determine I need never watch it again) but my mother thought I might think it was funny to have one as I have a beard. I'm not very familiar with the "cast" of Duck Dynasty but I'm fairly certain this is not the one who caught heat for insensitive comments in a recent interview. Believe it or not (and I really have a hard time believing it--but props to him), Uncle Si is the best-selling author of the book Si-cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty's Favorite Uncle.

I have wanted a Chia Pet since I was a child and this wintry afternoon seems like as good a one as any to embark on my Chia-dventure (like Uncle Si, I too like puns)!

Step 1a. "Soak your Chia Planter in water for 1 hour." (1/26/14)

Step 1b. Leave it there for 1 hour. (1/26/14)

"Step 3. Fill Chia Planter with water and place in drip tray provided." (1/26/14)

"Apply seed mixture to the grooved surfaces of your planter..." (1/26/14)

I am a little hesitant to predict the "lush coat" promised in Step 6, and am really crossing my fingers that this afternoon project yields better results than the ill-fated Sea Monkeys farm back in 1976. I will definitely share Chia Si's progress one way or another...

Embrassez votre été invincible!

Outside my front door in beautiful Upstate New York on January 21, 2014,
on a welcome sunny winter day.

It's once again that time of year where the perception on the part of most is that the winter season has dragged on too long, been too cold and generally too much; the key word in that statement being, of course, "perception."

Though we in upstate New York are nowhere near the empirical "depths of winter," (despite the occasional nor'easter tail end of frigid air) it certainly feels as though that is the case: the ongoing lack of consistent bright daylight, fluctuating temperatures, and a general malaise have many of us feeling a little wintry. Some personal events of the past few weeks, have put yours truly a bit of a funk. But, even in the early-morning/late-evening darkness (some real, but the most dangerously self-imposed), it is important to remember that we, you and I, all hold within us the potential warmth of the invincible summer.

In times like these, I try to focus my mental energies on quotes or mantras that were previously useful in adjusting my mindset to better assist me in barreling through the challenging winter months. One quote, in particular, that I find myself returning to when feeling a little blue (or in today's case, grey), is ironically, from noted Existentialist ("a sense of disorientation and confusion in the face of an apparently meaningless or absurd world.") philosopher and author of The Stranger, Albert Camus:

"O light! This is the cry of all the characters of ancient drama brought face to face with their fate....In the middle of winter I at last discovered that there is in me an invincible summer."

To those who have not read Camus broadly, the use of his lines as inspirational mantra will certainly seem ironic. He remains closely associated with the dark and brooding black-and-white photographs that perpetuated this image of the artist as an "intellectual Frenchman." Despite those iconic photos, Camus' writing does include quite a few nuggets of warmth, as evidenced by the one above.

It is in these recent grey, cold days that it becomes even more important to make the concerted effort to grab that inner light and hug it close! Until the outside world (as accurately communicated by the local news) more closely matches my desired sunny state. By continuing to do one's best to keep the sun inside stoked and burning, hope remains of influencing one's perception of the winter to stir a sunnier disposition, rather than the other way around.

Trading Cards: Star Date 1979

10 year-old me would be psyched to know that I eventually did end up with all 88 cards!

Once again I've gone back to the old box of trading cards my mother recovered from her attic months ago, to seek inspiration for a blog post. The late 1970's were a great time to be a young science-fiction fan. Following the success of Star Wars, television networks were trying to cash in with shows like Buck Rogers in The 25th Century! and one movie studio, Paramount Pictures, attempted to breathe new life on the big screen into a short-lived television show, Star Trek.

The original crew was back looking none the worse for the wear after a decade away.

Released 10 years after the original series was cancelled in 1969, Star Trek the Motion Picture (1979) was not very successful, likely due to the filmmaker's efforts to go "big" with special effects rather than focusing on the smaller human stories that Star Trek episodes did so well during its brief 3 year run. Like most potential sci-fi franchises of the era such as Disney's The Black Hole or television's Space: 1999, the Star Trek movie was supported by a set of trading cards, that, like the movie itself, never really caught on. Even now, thirty-plus years later, a complete set of the Topps Star Trek the Motion Picture "picture card series" (with stickers, too!) can be had on Ebay for anywhere from 10 cents to $12.

Hunky newcomers Persis Khambatta and Stephen Collins were introduced as hip,
new Enterprise crew members.

I have fond memories of seeing the movie as it was a passion of my father's. Though it may not have been as action packed as this then-ten year-old would have liked, it was Captain Kirk, Mr. Spock, Bones and the gang on the big screen, which was (and remains) good enough for me. Flipping though these old cards, and fondly remembering the movie and my life when it came out, must be what it was like for baseball card collectors back-in-the day; I never felt as invested in sports memorabilia, but have a similar affection for most things sci-fi and comic booky.

Unfortunately alien practical effects and costumes failed to advance much in
the 10 year's since Star Trek the television show had been cancelled.

Count me as a fan of the hippie looks both Spock and McCoy sported
at the beginning of the film. Will always be a DeForest Kelley/McCoy fan.

Not only are these two cards almost exactly the same, they'r ordered right next to one another!?

I spent nearly an hour this evening sorting through my Star Trek the Motion Picture Topps trading cards, and it was time well spent. Not only did it remind me of simpler times, but it also gave me the opportunity to verify, after all these years, that I had indeed managed to get a full set (minus the stickers). I'm willing to make this concession to my momentary desire to have the entire set--as a ten year old, stickers often found their way onto notebooks, wall sand other places. For a young fanboy just learning to fly his geek flag, that's where they belonged anyway...

Entertainment Archetypes

From page 47 of the November 8, 2013 issue of Entertainment Weekly.

It seems as though this year I have had literary archetypes on the brain.

This all started when reviewing potential titles for reading in AP 12 English this year (my first time with the course). To make the analysis of each piece more manageable for both myself and my students, I'll often look for some "connective tissue" between works that can be used as a gateway to deeper analysis. Given some of the potential titles (Beowulf, Frankenstein, The Hobbit, Macbeth, The Canterbury Tales), a the potential for using basic character and thematic archetypes beginning with Seamus Heaney's Beowulf and moving toward a deeper consideration of the Heroic Journey (with significant help from Joseph Campbell, naturally) with The Hobbit seemed a natural, if obvious, direction to go in.

While sitting at the doctor's office last week, I was pleased to come across some more modern examples of preliminary literary archetype analysis in a relatively recent issue of Entertainment Weekly. Not surprisingly, the cinematic Sauron (the big bad from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy that follows Tolkien's The Hobbit) makes an appearance.The brief grid also opens the possibility for legitimately sharing Toy Story 3 (courtesy of literary character Cathy Ames cinematic  ancestor Lotso) during a future flex class (just kidding... kind of)!

Seen It: Lair of the White Worm (1988)

With the continuing nostalgia for most-things Eighties, one can only hope that some of the more unusual cult films of that era will be rediscovered in this New Year. A director certainly ready for rediscovery is British filmmaker Ken Russell (The Who's Tommy, Altered States, and many others). While well-known by film aficionados, I suspect that there are a number of college students who would appreciate his eccentric, sexually charged storytelling--college is where I first came across his literary-based films. While studying British Luterature I came across Gothic (1986) about the night that prompted Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and, later, The Lair of the White Worm (1988).

The Lair of the White Worm is a 1988 British horror film based (very) loosely on the Bram Stoker (Dracula) novel of the same name; a novel which itself draws upon the English legend of the Lambton Worm. Written and directed by Russell, Lair stars then-TV starlets Amanda Donohoe (L.A. Law) and Catherine Oxenberg (Dynasty), as well as a very young Hugh Grant (About A Boy, Bridget Jones Diary). Of more modern interest might be the co-starring turn by a young Scot named Peter Capaldi, who was just recently been selected to play BBC TV icon Dr. Who.

I hadn't watched Lair in its entirety in almost 20 years, so was excited to come across it on Netflix a few nights ago. I am even more pleased to share that it has aged fairly well. Being an update (of sorts) of an even older story probably helped, as did Russell's tongue in-cheek approach to what he considered his "horror film." For many reasons, his experimental horror film was ahead of its time (and ours). Russell's clearly anti-Christian bent would be hard pressed in our more conservative culture (regardless of what talking heads say about "left wing media") to secure financial backing in our more modern cinema. Russell always was one to push the boundaries of acceptable content (Whore, anyone?) and the use of psychedelic visuals (the background on the poster to the right does appear n the film) and depictions of crazed pagan nude dancing and simulated sex would be late-night SyFy horror in lesser-skilled hands.

Peter Capaldi, the new Doctor Who, as Scottish archaeology student Angus Flint.

The performances by all are splendid, from the headlining stars to the now-familiar British character actors who turn up in a variety of small roles. It struck me is how under-appreciated Hugh Grant is, and I was wondering why he isn't used more frequently in films. Here is at his easy-going best, nimbly expressing a calm and cool demeanor as the foppish Lord James D'Ampton who is destined to fight the evil, serpentine Lady Sylvia Marsh (Amanda Donohoe). Grant makes acting look easy, emitting a devil-may-care vibe thoughout. It is Lord D'Ampton who gets to the crux of the problem when he surmises that, while brainstorming with Angus Flint Capaldi), "...a conflict between Christianity and some early pagan cult... possibly involving even human sacrifice" is afoot. As Grant's adversary, Donohoe is a charismatic snake-pire in blue body paint and fangs, capable of delivering hallucinogenic venom. It is Donohoe's topless performance as Lady Marsh, as well as some rather tame (by today's standards) "gore," that likely was responsible for Lair's R-rating.

Lady Marsh (Amanda Donohoe) get's freaky during a hallucination.

The Lair of the White Worm (1988) [Rated R] is a highly recommended horror film, that while short on straight up scares, does aim for a sort-of realistic approach to fantastical concepts. Creative direction and fun performances make this a worthwhile Netflix viewing experience suitable for ages 17 and up.