In Which Germs Knock Me Out

[thedeadlyhook]

My apologies for being so out of the loop lately - as hubby toysdream has already reported in his journal, we've both been sick. I've also been wrestling with a larger ennui, all out of sorts and upset with the world and a lot of things in it. I hate feeling like I'm neglecting my flist, especially when there's such great conversations to be had and friendships that need keeping up with, but as antisocial and uncreative I feel at the moment, it's probably best that I lurk. Hopefully, some energy will return once I kick this cold. In the meantime, my best thoughts to you all.

And now, just so I'm not totally wasting your time, a bit of this and that.



Power Rangers: Operation Overdrive
I must go on record as being kind of annoyed by the most recent addition the Operation Overdrive team, a boring blondy-blond alien pretty boy with a Tragic Past (TM). I yawn, especially since he used to be a much more interesting lizard-skinned Conflicted!Monster character. Sigh.

Anyway, the other team members are much cuter in their cartoon-colored character quirks. In today's episode, the Rangers went on a talk show for a segment called "the heroes behind the helmets" - this is something I've always wanted to see done in a Buffyfic, by the way, in some kind of alterna-universe where the Slayers were "out" heroes. Since this particular team mostly consists of people who were already stars in their respective fields before they pulled on the spandex - a race car driver, a master thief-for-hire, a genius who was a child prodigy, etc. - they're all pretty comfortable with fame except for the guy who used to work as a stunt man. Because as much as he wants to be the star and not the stunt double, he's just not used to having the camera pointed at him. CUTE.

I am sometimes easy to please.



Vocabulary Fun
germaine_pet coined a new word for me today ; adorkable. So appropriate. I've already added it to my active vocabulary, along with recent additions: airwolf (adj.), courtesy of Dave's Long Box, and dicksmoke (n.), courtesy of Airheads, the movie, which I rewatched the other night in an oddly sychronicitous double-feature with Shaun of the Dead. Check it: both films start right off with the everyman protagonist (I'll allow "aspiring rocker" as an everyman character) being dumped by his girlfriend as a loser, and goes on to spend the rest of the movie proving himself, and getting her back. Huh! Crowd of zombies wanting to eat you = crowd of metal fans wanting to cheer you on? Who knew?

Irwin Allen and Mondegreens
This sentiment was prompted by AMC playing Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea as part of a classic sci-fi and horror marathon the other day. For those who haven't seen it (or heard its syrupy opening music - holy lounge lizards, Batman!), it's a submarine movie, not totally unlike Disney's rendition of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, although when Irwin Allen tackles Jules Verne-style sci-fi, it was less with the deep thoughts about human nature and more about more straightforward "what if" stuff. Hey, what if you were in a high rise, and it caught on fire? What if you were on a cruise ship, and it rolled over? What if you were on a submarine, and you surfaced, and OMG THE SKY WAS ON FIRE!?!?

I heart Irwin Allen. Seriously, the dude made movies about questions that five-year-old kids might ask, and you could do a LOT worse as an excuse for snazzy special effects. Because it was those ideas, even more than the spectacles, that stuck in the mind.

Speaking of ideas that stick in the mind, I heard the old song "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" (1976, #2 in the U.S.!) playing at a restaurant the other day, and just because I'd never been able to figure out the lyrics to one of the lines ("I'm not talking 'bout... Bolivia?"), I ended up Googling a line I was sure of, and got pointed to a number of pages on the misheard lyrics of England Dan and John Ford Coley. Not only was I a long way from the only person who heard "Bolivia," the line I'd thought I'd had right was another mondegreen.

Dig it: the line I'd assumed since childhood was "there's a warm wind blowing the stars around" is actually supposed to be "there's a warm wind blowing, the stars are out." Which unfortunately just goes to prove that Messrs Dan and Coley were definitely not poets and simply did not know it. Windblown stars is a poetic image. The true line is unimaginative, and since it was not sung with a pause where the comma is, it's also a metric cheat.

This adds up to: a sobering reminder that what you write and what people perceive are sometimes two different things, and the result may have nothing to do with the inherent talent of either. The image of a night so romantic that the wind moves the stars can be laid at the door of two guys with a tin ear, and they didn't even write that. Food for thought!



Stargate SG-1, Stargate: Atlantis, and Spike: Shadow Puppets
Okay, eventually, I'll be doing longer writeups on all these - I've got a file underway - but today's energy may be spent. As placeholder text, I offer these nibbles.

The LAST-EVA episode of Stargate SG-1
A super-sized "Meh." And was it REALLY necessary to turn Daniel Jackson into a world-class A-hole?

Stargate: Atlantis
Flying Altantis = Lost in Space. And the Weir phase-out is not being handled all that gracefully, is it?

Spike: Shadow Puppets
Thumbs up. Dude, it's a really good comic. I'll have more to say on this later, re: why, but in the meantime, go read and enjoy. Spend $$ on it. It's worth it.

Comments

[toysdream.livejournal.com]

I guess we're both cranky and sick this weekend. Let's gang up on the world!

Check it: both films start right off with the everyman protagonist (I'll allow "aspiring rocker" as an everyman character) being dumped by his girlfriend as a loser, and goes on to spend the rest of the movie proving himself, and getting her back.

And what's more, both movies end up in siege situations where the hero and his chums barricade themselves inside a cruddy little building that embodies all their limited aspirations. In Airheads, I recall a newscaster sneering that the Lone Rangers have lashed out at the only symbol of authority their tiny minds can understand--a radio station--while in Shaun of the Dead David describes our hero as "a man whose idea of a romantic nightspot and an impenetrable fortress are the same thing." Now I'm wondering if we should check out Assault on Precinct 13 for comparison purposes...

Love your Mondegreen musings, and looking forward to your judgement on the 'Gates.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

I will move up Assault on Precinct 13 in our queue. I think I added it in a welter of other prison-and-car-and-revenge movies in the aftermath of seeing Grindhouse. Which reminds me, after Banned in the Bible wraps, we should roll Lady Vengeance.

I have some scribbled notes on the SG-1, mostly about how the recyclo-rama time-bubble plotline has been done better in other places, including SG-1 itself (if you count "Window of Opportunity," which is kind of hard not to, since Sci-Fi conveniently played it as the lead-in to the finale), but on Atlantis, not much to say, other than to gripe about Comcast's shitty broadcast glitches. So if you have any sparkling insights on that one, have at - beyond a general feeling that Ronon Dex should totally be made the leader, because that would be funny, and the weird parallel-plot thing with SG-1 (OMG, trapped under a relentless beam and our time is running out!!), I'm a blank.

[asta77.livejournal.com]

And the Weir phase-out is not being handled all that gracefully, is it?

No, it isn't. Btw, now that the season is finally over and everyone knows her fate is a bit murky I can point out that since the show began she has worn A RED SHIRT. Yes, she was DOOMED from the beginning!

As for Daniel, my impression of the scene softened a bit on third viewing, but I still think they could have toned it down a couple of notches. Did he have to shout at her? No. On the plus side, it gave Claudia the opportunity to be awesome.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Yes, she was DOOMED from the beginning!

Heh! Although... hm, I dunno on the red shirt. I mean, don't get me wrong, it always annoyed the hell out of me to see the commanding officer so casually dressed when a lot of her subordinates are in uniform - weird costuming decision, that, and always made me wonder what they were trying to achieve there (a sort of "gets her hands dirty working-class vibe? casual Friday relaxed-ness?). But iconographically, in Star Trek anyway, it either seems to mean "possible candidate for sudden death" or "reliable worker in a background support position," ala Scotty or Uhuru. Maybe that's what they were going for.

Or maybe I'm just a GIANT GEEK. Which is by far more likely. *g*

On the plus side, it gave Claudia the opportunity to be awesome.

She was wonderful, true, but for me that just made things worse - he humiliated her so thoroughly, and Claudia sold it so well, that there was no way I could switch from that to her apparently feeling grateful and happy that gee, he might have feelings for her after all. Yuck. I would've been far happier to see Vala respond by kicking him really hard and then flouncing off to bone General Landry for the next half-century - I mean, really, what was Daniel thinking? What's gonna be more uncomfortable in the long term - trying to deal with Vala as a possible romance, or screaming at her until she either avoids him or hates him? Gah! My credibility was just so not there in that scene.

[asta77.livejournal.com]

I would've been far happier to see Vala respond by kicking him really hard and then flouncing off to bone General Landry for the next half-century

GAH! The image...no...must...not...go there.

I didn't get a Vala being grateful vibe. Happy, yes, because Daniel finally saw that it wasn't just her wanting to get into his pants. What would have worked better though was if she had gotten in a good punch before she let him kiss her.

I don't really think Daniel was thinking. His goal seemed to be to put an end to her advances, believing she wanted nothing more than a fling, and he didn't consider the long term consequences. Because, yes, things would have been majorly awkward.

[lynnenne]

This post didn't show up on my flist, either. LJ does that sometimes. *kicks it*

I'm glad you like that word! I think it's perfect. I don't know if I deserve credit for coining it; I'm pretty sure I've read it elsewhere. But I'll take it, until you can find a source. *G*

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Well, you're the first person I've heard use it, so you're it! Thank you, sweetie!

I'd have the LJ-not-showing-a-page thing happen a few times before on other people's pages, but for some reason it never occurred to me that it might be happening to my page too. And now I'm all paranoid about what I might've been missing out there!

[willowgreen.livejournal.com]

the line I'd assumed since childhood was "there's a warm wind blowing the stars around"

That's what I've always heard, too! And it's a much better line. The other line I always heard as "I'm not talkin' 'bout the linen," which I always thought was a subtle way to imply that he didn't think they should necessarily have sex that very night. Turns out he meant "I'm not talking 'bout movin' in." Well, fuck you very much, Mr. Romance!

Nevertheless, that song was a hit during the first year I really listened to the radio, so nothing can destroy my residual affection for it.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

Nevertheless, that song was a hit during the first year I really listened to the radio, so nothing can destroy my residual affection for it.

Oh, it's still undeniably catchy - it's been running through my head ever since I heard it, so I can't exactly call it a bad song. And you're lucky it counts as one of your first pop radio songs - I think for me, it was "Billy, Don't Be a Hero."

The other line I always heard as "I'm not talkin' 'bout the linen," which I always thought was a subtle way to imply that he didn't think they should necessarily have sex that very night. Turns out he meant "I'm not talking 'bout movin' in." Well, fuck you very much, Mr. Romance!

Hah hah, yes! Isn't it just mind-blowing the way the whole meaning changes just from that one line? I'd always kind of knew that they weren't really singing "Bolivia," but that's all I had to go on, so my mind came up with a meaning of "we don't have to go anywhere special."

[lyr]

So, it wasn't Bolivia? What was it supposed to be? And thanks for the word "mondegreen"!

And was it REALLY necessary to turn Daniel Jackson into a world-class A-hole?


I know! I was hopping mad about that.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

So, it wasn't Bolivia? What was it supposed to be?

Oh, it was "I'm not talkin' 'bout movin' in." It's way too many syllables for the line, which is why the "'bout movin' in" part blurs into nonsense.

Eventually, I'll have more rantage to air about the Daniel Jackson thing. Not just because that scene offended me, but because after a huge emo scene like that, we then segue to 50 years of no conflict? Lame!

[spikeverse.livejournal.com]

Huh. I always thought it was "There's a warm wind blowing the stars around" too. It's a much better line.

I think it's odd that "I'm not talking about movin' in" seems to be the most misheard line. I heard it clearly.

And Daniel Jackson definitely way over reacted and ought to have been made to regret it.

[thedeadlyhook.livejournal.com]

I think it's odd that "I'm not talking about movin' in" seems to be the most misheard line. I heard it clearly.

Really!? That's neat. Because I was always aware that I wasn't hearing it right - I could tell that there was something I just couldn't make out being said there, but no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't make it out. But then, my hearing isn't the best - my ears are very flat to my head, and I have to strain to pick up voices sometimes when there's a lot of background noise. I wonder if it's something that simple, just that certain people have different issues hearing different sounds?

And Daniel Jackson definitely way over reacted and ought to have been made to regret it.

Yeah! I mean, it's like I got the idea of what that scene was trying to accomplish, but I just couldn't make the leap to romantic while I was still boggling over what an asshole he was being. Humiliation, really not a turn on!