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The Upstairs Archives

~ A random repository of how-to-write and geekery, with an occasional snippet of accidental wisdom.

The Upstairs Archives

Tag Archives: cressida cowell

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Pillow Fort

06 Tuesday Sep 2016

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Uncategorized

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

cressida cowell, doctor who, how to train your dragon, selay'uu

I was surprised, this morning, to see a mountain of pillows go walking past my study door. I ran to the door and peered out after the strange apparition.

It was not, in fact, a walking pillow mountain, but the Eighth Doctor, his arms full of pillows. The pile was higher than his head. “Doctor! What are you doing?” He turned around, losing control of the pillow pile, and stared at me, startled, knee deep in pillows.

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Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Dinnertime with Paparazzi

03 Tuesday Nov 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard

≈ 13 Comments

Tags

bbc sherlock, brian jacques, c.s. forester, cressida cowell, doctor who, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, humor, marvel, redwall, sir arthur conan doyle, star wars

Last night some people from the Intergalactic Press came over and we were having dinner at the time.

The Doctor was eating in a hurry, focused entirely on getting back to the lab (from whence he’d been dragged by Pepper Potts, who had pulled Tony out at the same time). And Obi-Wan’s manners are impeccable, but he sometimes reads at the table.

Mistress El’ye went out to stall the journalists, but it wasn’t enough. She tried to text Darcy, but Darcy’s phone had been summarily destroyed when it fell in the tub (which is part of what the Doctor had been doing in the lab.) We didn’t learn this, however, until later, when the whole fiasco was over.

Mistress El’ye lead the press in… into a scene of chaos.

Dibbuns were having a food fight in the corner, Arden was just trying to get a cup of coffee before heading out but had already spilled it twice onto the Doctor’s coat, because Camicazi was having a sword fight with Archie Kennedy and kept jostling Arden. Cerasi had apparently gotten fed up with Merida trying to play the guitar (Merida is horrible, but keeps on battering away at it with that same Scottish stubbornness that keeps the Doctor in the lab day after day, trying to figure out a substitute for gluten) and was launching peas at her with a slingshot. Rassilon had made an appearance, but had been repelled with celery, pancakes, and bouillon-filled water pistols, and Moriarty got the same treatment. We let the Master sit with us for once, but he was building an intricate diagram out of squished white bread (which I kept demolishing on the sly by tossing bread rolls at it.) Sherlock was using John’s arm as a place to set his tea cup.

All in all, a typical Selay’uu dinnertime.

Into this mess marched a group of journalists, researching rumors for the penny dreadfuls. And stopped, aghast.

Almost instantly, a plucky and present-minded young photographer had his camera up and snapped a photo.

Obi-Wan and the Doctor both froze, an identical horrified look on both their faces. Obi-Wan had just bitten into a cookie, and the Doctor sat with his spoon halfway into his mouth. It was practically comical, except the circumstances weren’t.

I had to agree to an interview. That part wasn’t so awesome, except fortunately I was wearing black, so the spilled coffee (Arden takes it black, with no sugar or cream) wouldn’t show.

But I bribed the photographer for a copy of the picture. It now hangs, framed in glory, on my wall.

He said he couldn’t have published it, anyways, because it looked like Anakin was making a very rude gesture in the background.

(I know for sure he wasn’t, because he was next to Obi-Wan, he was just making the Whole World Right Here gesture, it just looks like he was being obscene, he really wasn’t. But Obi-Wan gave him a mild scolding anyway.)

Another uneventful (relatively) day in Selay’uu.

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: Fourth Of July Shenanigans

01 Wednesday Jul 2015

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard, Uncategorized

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

avengers, because food, brian jacques, c.s. forester, cressida cowell, doctor who, enthusiasm, fireflies, fireworks, food, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, humor, i have been neglecting my fandoms, independence day, j.r.r. tolkien, john flanagan, marvel, novels, ranger's apprentice, redwall, selay'uu, shame on me, shoes, star wars, taysee is the goddess of mischief and loki is jealous, the lord of the rings, writing, YEAH!

The Selay’uu Mansion has never seen such a hubbub since its founding. Not even at Christmas were things this mad (well, especially given that, on Christmas, the Doctor was probably off saving the world again; Obi-Wan was trying to arrange the New Year’s Ball on Coruscant–I swear that someone in the Senate must hate him, since it’s not protocol for a Jedi to be named Master of Ceremonies–when he wasn’t trying to restore order to the Jedi Order; Will, Gilan and Halt were celebrating in Araluen with Pauline, Alyss, and the now-royal family {Duncan, Evanlyn, and Horace}; Frodo and the rest of the Fellowship were celebrating at Sam and Rosie’s; and just about everyone else went home to celebrate with their families. I actually invited Horatio home to celebrate with us and pretended he was my date when going to some college-sponsored thing. It was all good fun.)

And the reason?

Not one, but two, of our friends’ birthdays were coming up, on the Fourth of July. Of course, one of those birthdays is pretty obvious (Steve Rogers’), but the other might surprise you.

Horatio Hornblower was born on the exact same day the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Ever since Alex, Siri, Rose and I had come to that conclusion, we had concluded there was only one thing to do–naturally, to hold a combined double birthday party and Independence Day celebration!

Of course, Gandalf was in charge of most of the fireworks, but other than that, it was up to us. Siri attacked the kitchen with gusto, explaining American staples such as potato salad to Rose with grave attention. Alex showed her artistic side with her inventively gorgeous decorations.

But now–this morning–the morning of the Fourth of July–we were into the last-minute crunch zone, and we still weren’t ready.

I was in charge of the cakes and had a corner of the kitchen to myself. Chocolate ganache was cooling on the stove, as was a coconut and pecan concoction in another pan. When in doubt, go with German chocolate and strawberry shortcake. The shortcake and strawberry sauce were already hiding in the refrigerator, Bucky was making short work of the whipped cream (with nothing other than his metal arm), and Obi-Wan, who we had taken into confidence, was outside working at the grill with Connor and Nat, who was trying to teach Connor the finer points of lighting a grill with no fluid.

I poured the last of my concoction onto the cake, shouted at Bucky that if he made a mess he’d have to clean it up himself and then make more, and heard a hiss. I whirled around and almost burst into tears as I saw the pudding I had attempted emitting black smoke. It had burned on. Hurriedly, Siri grabbed the pot and rushed it to the sink. “Boiled dry,” she said.

“I guess I’ll just have to do custard, then,” I said in defeat.


 

The Doctor finally brought Steve back from wherever it was they had gone, and Horatio was back from buying new shoes with Archie (we wear out an awful lot of shoes around here–mostly, I blame the Doctor). Both the Doctor and Archie were in on the surprise, so they delayed the two birthday boys outside until Bucky texted Archie to tell them that we were ready. Then they guided them inside. Bucky bulled into Steve in a tackling hug and Archie put his hand on Horatio’s shoulder as everyone shouted in unison. “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!”

Then it was chaos.

Tony Stark produced a pie tin filled with whipped cream out of nowhere and smashed it into Steve’s face– “a little white to go with your red and blue!” Horatio tried to escape, but Bush caught him–and hugged him. Steve caught Tony around the waist and picked him up, threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, and then sat him firmly down on the sofa next to a laughing Pepper. Will jumped on Steve from the rafters and gave him a hug. Someone started tickling Taysee, the resident youngling and purveyor of pranks and mischief, and the resulting shrieks of laughter threatened to deafen everyone. Obi-Wan clapped Horatio on the shoulder and then got tackled by Siri.

Dinner was no calmer. I pulled the pot roast out of the oven, and we put together our tremendous buffet. Fortunately, there was more than enough food for everyone. Clint Barton stuffed a whole bread roll in his mouth just to prove a point, to a chorus of “Ewws” from the girly-girls who were mostly marginalized. Calypso got over-excited and did a handstand on the table, nearly falling into the over-sized punch bowl full of lemonade. Sandy demonstrated a complex flip over the table, somehow not destroying anything as she went. Meg had expressed a desire to eat nothing but ice cream for dinner, but we convinced her to at least eat a roll first.

And then it was time for presents. Tony (of course) insisted that they open his presents first, to which everyone responded with an eyeroll and a “Sure, Tony.” But he had gotten them both lovely warm scarves, so we all chorused “Awwww”, deliberately, to embarrass him.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut had given them both incomprehensible drawings. Hiccup had entirely redesigned Steve’s gear harness with a more secure clip for the shield and a loop that would prevent it from shifting around when he did backflips. Will presented Horatio with a new pair of socks and forever debunked the myth that knitting is unmanly. The Doctor, who had recently taken apart Horatio’s watch in an attempt to fix something else, presented him with a new one, fitted with miniaturized navigational equipment, as an apology. Matthias gave Steve an IOU for lessons on how to better use his shield against opponents with bladed weapons. Everyone had come up with useful and fun things to give them. (I had knitted them each a throw, over a long stretch of time and with no little difficulty.)

At the end of the night, there was not much incident with the fireworks, except that there was a Dragon Incident (as always.) This time, though, it was not Merry and Pippin–who behaved themselves and limited themselves to setting off fountains–but the twins.

At last, we all had s’mores, even though it was a second (or even third) dessert for most of us, but who cares? S’mores don’t count, because there are always more of them.

At the end of the night, Horatio had a pocket full of fireflies and Steve had to carry Obi-Wan inside–I guess I’ve been working him too hard lately.

All in all, it was a lovely Fourth of July, and went off with surprisingly little fuss. I suppose that should make me worry about the future, but for now, I think I’ll just enjoy the moment.

The Weight of the Name

16 Tuesday Dec 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales of a Wandering Bard

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

because i can, completed stories, cressida cowell, dreamworks, fanfiction, how to train your dragon, short stories

Okay, I watch HTTYD 2 a second time, and this happens. It’s a double-drabble, of sorts…

Enjoy! (I was thinking of writing a companion piece, but that’s shelved until I can get the ideas a little clearer in my head.)

The Weight of the Name

                Over the years, I’ve been called a lot of things. Useless. Dragon master. Peacemaker. The pride of Berk. But none of those I’ve ever felt were really mine. A nickname is never earned. It’s stuck to you like a label to a package, and as anyone who’s opened a barrel of what’s supposed to be flour only to find it’s full of sheep’s wool can attest, labels can be misleading.

It’s confusing to be a hero. Other people honor you when you yourself don’t know what there is to when you yourself don’t know what there is to honor. It’s hard to understand why people like you when you yourself aren’t sure at all of what it is you have.

And maybe that’s why I only want to be called by the only name gifted rather than stuck to me. Maybe it’s because it’s only when I’m humbled beside true greatness that I can see clearly. I have no glory of my own. I must ride on the wings of those who are greater than I.

There is only one name that holds any meaning for me. There is only one name to which I will answer.

Hiccup Stoickson.

The Most Memorable Movie Soundtracks

04 Thursday Dec 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion

≈ 29 Comments

Tags

brave, captain america: the first avenger, cressida cowell, disney, dreamworks, frozen, how to train your dragon, j.r.r. tolkien, pixar, rigoletto, rise of the guardians, star wars, the avengers, the lion king, the lord of the rings, the prince of egypt, the war of the vendee

Hello, everyone! I don’t think anyone has done this one yet, so here we go. 😉

I will try not to do too many musicals–I am rating these movies for instrumentals or choral pieces which aren’t intended as “songs” sung by the characters to the audience. I may or may not decide to write up a Most Memorable Musicals list at some point in the future. Or I might just hand that one off to my good friend Iris. Hmmm, now there’s a thought… ;-P

Sadly, this list will have to be limited to movies I have seen…

Honorable Mention: Rise of the Guardians. Though I’ve heard this movie bashed for its “forgettable” soundtrack, the sounds of the movie did complement the story very well, highlighting its wonder-filled and hopeful aspect. For sheer enchantment, I’d rank it higher on my list than Frozen, but its soundtrack, while imaginative and beautiful, is somewhat predictable. Memorable? Yes. But mostly because of the association with the characters.

EDIT: On second thoughts, I have to add the “Fivel” movies An American Tail and Fivel Goes West to this list, under the honorable mentions clause. Why are there so many animated movies on this list anyway? *sigh*

10. Frozen. Yes, this one only made the lowest ranking on this list. (So what?) I know you Frozen lovers out there are probably mad at me for this, but first and foremost, it’s a musical, and its biggest strength is in its big musical numbers (not the best thing for a musical, which should be able to back up its musical numbers with instrumental tracks, like The Prince of Egypt does.)

9. Brave. This one is on the list because Celtic music. I have no other explanation. (Also, it’s a mom and daughter story, though I would have loved to see them take more time with Merida and Elinor’s relationship, maybe even have them show a little more remorse for losing their tempers with one another… yeah. If I had written Brave, things would have probably had a lot more drama and a lot less angst and rebellion, which might–might–have made a better story.)

8. The Lion King. Yeah, I know there are haters out there, but while the songs/musical numbers aren’t my favorite songs of all time, I do love this movie’s instrumental soundtrack. (How sad is it when one is reduced to watching Disney movies for the soundtracks only?)

7. Captain America: The First Avenger and The Avengers. These two ranked about equal on my list (except The First Avenger gets slightly more kudos than The Avengers, mainly due to its amazing theme pieces, but I couldn’t leave The Avengers out either…) The First Avenger was a triumph. It had a lovely vintage/retro feel to it. It was historically accurate without being corny or biased against the age it simulated. WWII technology was pushed without looking like something out of a pulp sci-fi novel. As a war movie, it is sympathetic and watchable. As a superhero movie, it’s a triumph, with a better plot and storytelling than Thor and (don’t bash me, Iron Man fans!) more heart than Iron Man. And it has a soundtrack to match.
The sounds of the movie tended more toward unobtrusive than loud or invasive, which makes it sound typical of its era. The main theme has a patriotic, triumphant sound without being stereotyped. And, perhaps most incredible of all, the composers and filmmakers knew when to leave a scene quiet (the ambiguous, ominous sense just before the train scene? Brought on by an absence of music.)
The Avengers had a good soundtrack as well. It sounds like a spy movie. It also sounds like a superhero movie. It has an alien invasion, but it doesn’t sound like an alien invasion movie, which was a good choice–portals rather than spaceships cuts new ground, after all. The sense of deep menace at points in the movie was amazingly well done. (COULSON!!!)

6. The Prince of Egypt. This movie has one of the most haunting soundtracks I have ever heard. The songs are pretty good, too, but in general… the way themes were used puts this on my list of all-time-favorite movies.

5. The Lord of the Rings. Howard Shore is on my permanent list of composers whose work to check out continuously. Not only did his theme for the Uruk-hai stick in all of our heads, but the background pieces he worked on instilled fear, or hinted at joy. Shore did an incredible job with the main themes, making minor themes into major ones or playing them slower and faster, re-mixing them brilliantly into something that was familiar but at the same time new.

4. The War of the Vendee. This movie is the Holy Grail of Christian indie movies. With a cast of all homeschooled children (not one actor above high school age, I believe), beautiful writing, incredible visuals, and marvelous acting, this movie is the sort of movie that all indie movies should be. The composer (whose name I can’t remember right now–bah!) is a protege of John Williams and in the music community is considered to be the next John Williams. There’s a story behind this–the director, Jim Morlino, met the composer, who was interested in Mr. Morlino’s work and said that he would love to provide the music for their next movie. So there you have it–one of the best soundtracks ever.

3. Star Wars. Even people who haven’t seen the movies know the soundtracks. Really. Who doesn’t occasionally hum the Imperial March at their dad (or the President, who probably thinks it’s funny too)? And who doesn’t know the theme music? (John Williams, we laud thee.)

2. Rigoletto. This one probably goes out to a limited audience. It’s a sort-of musical distributed by Feature Films for Families, with a relatively small fandom. It earned its spot on this list because though it is a musical, the instrumental parts are pure enchantment. If you haven’t seen it go check it out; I recommend it very highly. Especially this track.

1. How to Train Your Dragon, both the original and sequel. How to Train Your Dragon was perhaps the most ear-enchanting movie of the year it came out. Its soundtrack, unlike some of the other soundtracks I’ve heard, did not sound remotely like a rip-off of something else. This soundtrack brought the island of Berk to life, evoking soaring feelings to match the soaring of a dragon’s wings. I don’t know about anyone else, but I expected the soundtrack of the sequel to be more of the same.
It was not.
It went far beyond that.
How to Train Your Dragon 2 took the soundtrack from the original and played with it so it read as the same and yet new, original, and unexpected. Parts of it are deeply touching, while others carry an incredible thrill. None of HTTYD 2 disappointed at all, but the soundtrack has to be right up there alongside Dreamworks’ greatest triumphs.

So there you have it, my Top Ten Memorable Movie soundtracks. Do you agree? Disagree? Are there movies I’ve missed putting on this list that should have gotten better treatment (such as Disney movies that, again, I don’t really care for and only watch for the music)?

Anyway, thanks for reading and God Bless!

Making Humor Work

05 Wednesday Nov 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Uncategorized

≈ 14 Comments

Tags

brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america: the first avenger, creative writing, cressida cowell, editing, harping on an eyesore syndrome, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, kung fu panda, looney tunes: back in action, marvel, marvel superheroes, nanowrimo, nanowrimo 2014, national novel writing month, oocs, out of character syndrome, perelandra, ranger's apprentice, redwall, spontaneous expedient character defamation syndrome, star wars, story dynamics, the avengers, the chronicles of narnia, the lego movie, the space trilogy, who framed roger rabbit, writing

I know, I know, it’s been forever. :-S Sorry about the long hiatus. I really have no excuse.

On to the post…


I don’t like some animated movies.

Yeah, I know. BIG surprise. But seriously, I don’t. Why?

Because the humor doesn’t work. Well, at least not for me. (My dad tends to laugh in these movies, so maybe it’s really a subjective thing…? Anyway, I don’t find them awfully funny.) Who Framed Roger Rabbit is probably the best example of this. The humor doesn’t work. (And who among us wasn’t completely mentally scarred by that stupid movie in early childhood, anyway?!) It’s a mixture of slapstick, poking fun at the characters, and innuendo. Even without the innuendo, to me it would be offensive. I much prefer the wry humor Halt uses in the Ranger’s Apprentice books. And the fun word-play and occasional mild slapstick that appears in the Redwall books.

When a movie does that, I like to call it Harping On An Eyesore Syndrome.

Some movies are, to me, a mix of playful and painful. Normally the ones that are the least painful also have the most heart, probably because they’re the ones that the filmmakers either 1) actually love or 2) know what they’re doing with.

In Kung Fu Panda, I found myself actually laughing at some of the gags, though some of them still got a blank stare from me. Brave and Tangled, the same, though I think Tangled really takes itself a bit too seriously. (Come on, Disney! You can’t have it both ways. Either keep your trademark irreverent humor, or make a “serious movie”.) Cars… do not even get me started on this movie.

The Lego Movie? I thought it would be totally stupid, but win.

How To Train Your Dragon? Absolute win.

Loony Tunes: Back in Action? Okay movie. Not my favorite. It was a blatant rip-off of spy movies and Indiana Jones, but unlike The Lego Movie, it didn’t click. I think it was trying to do too much.

Prince of Egypt? Okay, some of the humor slipped up, but mostly it was good.

So, why does some humor work but other humor doesn’t?

I think that there are a number of factors.

First of all, does the movie have “heart”? What do I mean by this? Well, in my opinion, I think this means are the characters really relatable? They can’t be just punching bags (unlike Jar Jar Binks… seriously, guys, the reason you and/or other people hate on him? It’s because he has no character development. He’s a talking, walking cardboard-or-rubber-or-both stand-up. And yes, that was pun intended.)

This leads well into my first point. The humor must be acknowledged by the characters. They must reply realistically to it, whether it’s in hurt, gamely taking the hit, or pretending not to respond while inwardly being cut deeply by the jab, even if it wasn’t intended to be insulting.

Secondly, if the humor helps to acknowledge a point of the plot, so much the better. It helps it mesh better with the rest of the story, and doesn’t poke out like an eyesore.

Some of the humor in movies like Kung Fu Panda and Captain America: The First Avenger is like this. It acknowledges the pure sucking-ness of the main character before they become awesome. However, it should never be overdone, because then instead of being humorous, the result is laughable. They make too light of a matter that’s all too serious for the main character and lose the audience while they’re at it. (The First Avenger did a marvelous job using this type of humor; it made us want to both laugh and cry at the same time. Perfection.)

Thirdly, humor can be a character’s lifeline. Rather than going stark raving insane… um, was that an unintentional Avengers pun? Never mind. Anyway. Rather than losing it, entirely and permanently, they can deal with it by making a joke. Some of these jokes are sad, but some can be pretty darn witty. (The First Avenger again. Also How To Train Your Dragon–though that’s more sarcasm than actual humor–and Kung Fu Panda, which also made me want to cry in parts.)

Finally, sometimes the characters will just make a joke unintentionally, or crack one on the aside, to keep a plot moving, so the audience doesn’t get bored. (The First Avenger. Par excellence.) My absolute favorite line in Perelandra is when Dr. Ransom slips up:

In the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, here goes–I mean, Amen!

So, bottom line?


1. Humor can help keep characters sane.

2. Humor meshes well if it’s used to acknowledge something (as in lampshading a plot oversight and making it into a joke) in most cases, but don’t overdo it. (Cars. ‘Nough said.)

3. Do not poke fun at your main characters for no reason, or you may end up sacrificing character development and making your entire book into a bad joke.

4. Absolutely no spontaneous expedient character defamation or out of character syndrome. Because that is not funny. Most of the time, not even in what is referred to as “crackfic.”

5. Some characters are just pretty darn funny (like Halt, Major Montgomery, Bucky, Cap, Arven, Gobber, Gonff, Edmund Pevensie, Dr. Elwin Ransom, and Sir Percy Blakeney) without even trying.

So, that’s my post on humor and how to and how not to use it. Good luck, Nanoers. 😉

Thanks for reading, God bless, and have a great day. 😀

Reasons Why I Loved “Captain America: The First Avenger”

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Story Dynamics, Tales of a Wandering Bard

≈ 68 Comments

Tags

authors, brian jacques, c.s. lewis, captain america, captain america: the first avenger, characters, confusing nonsense, cressida cowell, editor, how to train your dragon, marvel superheroes, movie reviews, movies, nazi germany, rambling musings, redwall, science, science fiction, small rants, star wars, story dynamics, theoretic science, world war II, writer, writing

Hello, dear readers, and sorry about the absence. I really shouldn’t have an excuse and if I do have one, it’s 1) college, 2) rough transfers, and 3) poor time management. So, really my fault this time, and I hope you enjoy the post.

Now, on to the point! I’ve probably told everyone about how I saw Captain America: The First Avenger on Sunday and absolutely loved it. I’ll probably review it once I have the chance to see it twice (I make it a rule not to review anything until the second watching, for obvious reasons; not that the second watch often changes my initial opinion), but for now I’m making a list of reasons why I loved it and why you should go see it if you haven’t yet. 😉 So, without further ado (and in no particular order):

  1. Because underdogs. Everyone cheers for an underdog in a story, though it’s sometimes different in real life (because people in real life want to be on the winning side. Why else would Italy change sides halfway through WWII?) But more than just having an underdog-becomes-awesome story, The First Avenger also gives us a few reasons why it’s an underdog story. Because, as the nice scientist whose name I can’t remember states, a weak man appreciates what strength can do and, if his heart is in the right place, he won’t misuse it.
  2. It has a good portrayal of hero vs. villain. Rather than having all Germans be the bad guys, it is a German scientist who didn’t agree with Hitler (they don’t mention anything about him being Jewish, which in my opinion adds to the character dynamic) and fled the country who first sees something in the young Steven Rogers. Also, to be historically accurate, there were cowardly followers and Nazis who were the spawn of darkness (because. They were.) If this movie lacked anything, it was the nice Goring brother. 😛 (Yes, Herman Goring had a brother who could not agree less with his philosophy! Look it up! 😉 )
  3. Patriotism. And what’s more, a balanced portrayal of patriotism vs. nationalism. The Nazis were not patriotic. They were nationalistic. And the guys who repeatedly talk about killing Nazis? They’re nationalistic, too. Also ethnocentrist, but that’s occasionally justified. Steve just wants to get out there and fight for his country. And he’s not just fighting for his country, but he’s fighting for an ideal, which is basically what patriotism is and why patriotism is a Christian virtue. There have always been Americans who were also America-haters out there, but Steve puts these guys to shame. He’s not just fighting for his country. He’s fighting so that Nazi Germany can’t enslave more places (which is also technically ethnocentric, but this is one of ethnocentrism’s proper places, since the Nazi “ideal” was wholly evil.) He’s fighting for those back home. He’s fighting for those who can’t fight, too–especially since, at first, he was one of those.
  4. This brings me to reason #4. Here we have a guy in the public spotlight after becoming a folk hero, being used as an advertising gimmick. Basically, he has attention, but he doesn’t want it. We know that he really hates this and only goes along with it because it’s for the war effort. He really wants to be over there with the soldiers who are fighting and dying. He’s a symbol, and he never particularly wanted to be one. He’s also bad at keeping up the troops’ morale (when he’s not on the field). Yet, when he gets the chance to fight, he’s not disobeying the people higher up until his friend’s life is at stake.
  5. This movie is pretty darn funny! It’s great to watch, has humor, and can make you cry in places. It’s pretty well-balanced, in my opinion.
  6. The protagonist feels pretty helpless around girls. 😛 I think it’s charming, and pretty funny, but it does lead to some awkward moments. Basically what I’m trying to say here is he’s not a flirt, which in my opinion is the bane of the new Spiderman movies.
  7. Steve is really against violence. This is made, in my opinion, pretty clear when he makes the distinction between fighting for his country and killing Nazis. Not only is he against violence, but he also understands that sometimes–sometimes–violence is the only way to protect yourself, your friends, and your country. Also, in this occasion, he’s protecting others around the world from being overrun by Nazi Germany. (I believe C.S. Lewis made the point why he wasn’t a pacifist, and that’s what I’m talking about here.)
  8. Last, but certainly not least, he has a shield. No, I’m not going to rave about superhero weaponry… okay. Maybe a little bit. Because you’ve got to admit, that buckler of his is pretty darn cool. It operates on a similar principle to a bulletproof vest, for goodness’ sake! Anyway, though a shield can be used as a weapon (thank you, Roughnut and Toughnut, for that marvelous exhibition), it’s primarily a defensive one. You use it to keep arrows, pikes, lances, and swords (and in this case, bullets and knives) from hitting you. Though it can be thrown like a discus, the edges aren’t sharp like the edges of Racketty Tam MacBurl’s buckler, so it’s mainly used to stun rather than to kill. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi choosing to use Soresu rather than Ataru later in life, Captain America’s fighting style and weaponry are the ultimate statement of his life philosophy. Be ready to defend yourself when necessary; do not attack when not provoked. As Obi-Wan puts it, “There are alternatives to fighting.”

(More about the shield. Apparently, rather than hardening up to absorb impacts, thus spreading the impact around a larger area, like a bulletproof vest or liquid armor do, vibranium actually absorbs the kinetic energy of anything coming at it, keeping shock waves running through the shield virtually nil. For instance, if the shield were somehow merely hard enough to stop bullets and other objects at high velocity from penetrating it, the vibrations throughout the shield would be enough to actually break the bones in Cap’s arm and hand. However, since vibranium actually absorbs those shock waves, this is not a problem at all. This is one incidence in which I will not question Marvel pseudo-science, because though this has not theoretically been proven possible yet, it pushes the boundaries and is innovative, like good science fiction should be. I will, however, question the portrayal–if vibranium really absorbs all the kinetic energy, then why do things make noise when they hit it? And why does Steve sometimes stagger backward upon an impact? I know this is to make it look realistic in the film, but it does call the physics into question a little bit, doesn’t it?!)

The one thing that I did not particularly care for was the wording that the scientist uses to describe what happens to the personalities of those who receive the serum he created. Though I suppose we could attribute it to English being (probably) his second language. 😛 I don’t think the serum actually changes someone’s personality, per se. It merely underscores, magnifies, or works on what is already there. It gives a good man the opportunity to do great things, and gives a bad man the power to do worse evil. I don’t think it changes people’s personalities. In my experience, most of the time it’s only time and circumstances to do that, and with the serum, time is a factor that doesn’t really play in, since the transformation is relatively quick.

So there you have it, a quick critique and a short post on theoretic science all in one. ;-P

That much said, go watch the movie! 😛

Archivist of Selay’uu’s Journal: …oops?

14 Sunday Sep 2014

Posted by erinkenobi2893 in Living Life with Passion, Tales from Selay'uu, Tales of a Wandering Bard

≈ 16 Comments

Tags

advanced burglary, c.s. forester, cressida cowell, french, frightening foreigners, horatio hornblower, how to train your dragon, humor, john flanagan, ranger's apprentice, selay'uu, star wars, writing

I beg your pardon, my readers. I know it’s been too long since I posted. Sadly, this update is not from Camelot. Rather, it’s from one of my weekends back at Selay’uu.

Just before it started to rain on Saturday night, I was out, wandering through the woods of the estate, practicing my sneakery skills. Camicazi had beaten me in the last Burglary&Sneakery&Escapery contest, and I wanted to boost my skills before the next one. (Don’t be afraid, readers–I never participate in Burglary outside of the contest. And Hiccup always starts speaking Gallican whenever he competes. I think it’s a bad habit that Gobber sort-of pushed him into.) I had asked Gilan for lessons, but he was out at the moment.

I was almost at the border of the estate when I heard a whoop. Naturally, thinking someone might be in trouble, I turned right back around and ran for the wind-breaker tree line behind me, and as soon as I’m past the trees, I see it.

Will Treaty has somehow fallen through the roof of an ill-maintained outbuilding on the Selay’uu estate. (I should really talk to Mistress El’ye about taking care of the thatch.)

The rest of the day, naturally, was spent in trying to rescue him. And then it started to rain. Again. And we all got soaking wet, as Obi-Wan, Horatio, Halt, Winter, Isaac and I all tried to get him out of there…

At least we all got a good laugh out of it… sort of…

Oh well.

Thanks for coming by, as always, and don’t forget to offer Horatio and Isaac your condolences (they both have colds!) God Bless, and have a great day!

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