I found out today that my brother is getting Lasik surgery. I have to admit that I'm very jealous. I wear thick glasses to correct a terrible astigmatism. Even if I wanted to wear contact lenses, they would have to special fit them. The standard Toric lenses they sell don't work for someone like me. Lasik isn't an option either (even if I had the money). They can only reshape your cornea so much.
On the plus side of this equation . . . Never mind. There is no plus side to this.
Subtitles or Dubbed?
Plainbellied's recent post on movie remakes made me think of a related issue: subtitles on foreign films. There are a number of different opinions on this issue. Some people prefer dubbing because it means they don't have to read the bottom of the screen to know what's going on. Others prefer subtitles because they want to hear the cadence of the people speaking. For example, watch "Life is Beautiful" in Italian, then try it in English. Roberto Benigni's delivery really makes the film in a lot of ways, and the dubbed English version is a tragedy.
Personally, I prefer subtitles unless it's an action movie or something where I feel they will be too distracting. I get the feeling I'm missing something when I watch dubbed films. Sometimes, if a film has bad audio, we'll put on the subtitles anyway. That's one great thing about DVDs--you can change the audio or subtitle track to what you want. One fun thing to do is to compare the subtitles with the dubbed dialogue. Often they don't match up. It's pretty funny.
I really like watching kung fu movies. They translate all of the special moves each fighter is known for directly, so you get things like the "Flying crane maneuverable death kick" and the "Buddha palm hurricane fist." I think that's fun.
When I watching Spanish films with my wife, I tend to critique their translations. She gets tired of hearing things like, "That's not quite what he said." I'm naturally a know-it-all.
Personally, I prefer subtitles unless it's an action movie or something where I feel they will be too distracting. I get the feeling I'm missing something when I watch dubbed films. Sometimes, if a film has bad audio, we'll put on the subtitles anyway. That's one great thing about DVDs--you can change the audio or subtitle track to what you want. One fun thing to do is to compare the subtitles with the dubbed dialogue. Often they don't match up. It's pretty funny.
I really like watching kung fu movies. They translate all of the special moves each fighter is known for directly, so you get things like the "Flying crane maneuverable death kick" and the "Buddha palm hurricane fist." I think that's fun.
When I watching Spanish films with my wife, I tend to critique their translations. She gets tired of hearing things like, "That's not quite what he said." I'm naturally a know-it-all.
Salad bowl and cups
I'm posting these images in response to a question from a friend, who wondered what the bowl and cups Plainbellied traded her pig for looked like. Again, my photographs aren't very good, but you can see that the bowl has a motif of birds attacking worms. I've included shots of the inside and the outside of the bowl. We originally had four cups, but I could only find three right now. But you get the idea that they are made with raised designs on the outside. We use them a lot. So now you know.
Well, lookee here!
Plainbellied located a photograph of the pig I mentioned in my previous post. She also gave me permission to put it up. Of course, she pointed out the technical deficiencies of the piece. I just like it. Note the Salvador Dalí lip couch. I think it's very whimsical.
Plainbellied back in action
While we are out west this summer, Plainbellied is going to take a ceramics studio class. I'm very excited for her. While I've been doing my PhD, she's put a lot of things on hold, including ceramics. Over the past five years, she's focused more on 2-D art, when she is really much more comfortable molding clay. I am definitely not an expert, but I've seen some of her work, and I really like it. I've posted a few of her earlier pieces below (stuff I like), along with a description of what I know about them.
These three pieces are part of a series Plainbellied did. She has helped me learn to appreciate abstract art. It doesn't always have to make a statement. Sometimes it's all right for art just to look cool. I think she succeeded here. I should apologize for the picture quality. I took them all myself, and I am not very gifted with a camera. These are in my sister-in-law's New York apartment, so we tell people that they're on display in New York.
This photo probably requires more explanation. Apparently, the art department where Plainbellied studied had experimented with a flexible mold material some years ago. They had molds of baby heads and celery bunches. Plainbellied stuck them together. These are on top of the bookshelf in my home office (hence the dust I should have noticed when I took the picture). While admittedly weird, they look cool when put together like this. It's like a bunch of baby comets or something.
I wish I still had a photo of another piece she made of a reclining pig with pearl necklace. Basically, it was a parody of the reclining nude portraits so many artists seem compelled to paint. Sadly, Plainbellied traded it for a nice set of a salad bowl and cups made by a friend (sad that we don't have her piece, the bowl and cups are very nice).
These three pieces are part of a series Plainbellied did. She has helped me learn to appreciate abstract art. It doesn't always have to make a statement. Sometimes it's all right for art just to look cool. I think she succeeded here. I should apologize for the picture quality. I took them all myself, and I am not very gifted with a camera. These are in my sister-in-law's New York apartment, so we tell people that they're on display in New York.
This photo probably requires more explanation. Apparently, the art department where Plainbellied studied had experimented with a flexible mold material some years ago. They had molds of baby heads and celery bunches. Plainbellied stuck them together. These are on top of the bookshelf in my home office (hence the dust I should have noticed when I took the picture). While admittedly weird, they look cool when put together like this. It's like a bunch of baby comets or something.I wish I still had a photo of another piece she made of a reclining pig with pearl necklace. Basically, it was a parody of the reclining nude portraits so many artists seem compelled to paint. Sadly, Plainbellied traded it for a nice set of a salad bowl and cups made by a friend (sad that we don't have her piece, the bowl and cups are very nice).
New Music
Today I purchased two new CDs: "Fly by Night" by Rush and "At Budokan" by Cheap Trick. I'm very happy with them. "Fly by Night" was the first Rush album to feature Neil Peart on drums (John Rutsey, their original drummer, refused to tour). Apart from the fact that he's an amazing drummer, he pushed the band into much more interesting musical directions. They started using 5- and 7-beat patterns and longer melodic arcs. While there are still weak spots on this album, it has "Anthem" and "Fly by Night" on it, and both are great tracks. They've got a new album coming out soon, and the one track I've heard from it gives me hope that it will be good. Plainbellied has agreed to go with me to see them live this summer. It will be a major milestone in her life, as she's never been to a rock concert before. This is a pretty good place to start, since Rush has been around for 33 years and has an older following. It will be much mellower than when I went to the Lollapalooza tour in 1993 and Ministry threatened to stop playing because people were throwing sod patches onto the stage. I was on the lawn, and people started ripping the wood fence apart and lighting bonfires. The next year, the venue (Great Woods in Mansfield, MA--now the Tweeter Center), banned the tour.
As I write this, I'm listening to Cheap Trick, and the lead singer just announced that "This next one is the first song on our new AL-bum. It just came out this week, and the song is called 'Surrender.'" Classic. We used to listen to this all the time when I was a kid. Unfortunately, the remastered version has lost a lot of character and made the vocals difficult to distinguish. I'm a bit disappointed. This live album, recorded in Japan, actually pushed the band into popularity. I think that's pretty cool.
As I write this, I'm listening to Cheap Trick, and the lead singer just announced that "This next one is the first song on our new AL-bum. It just came out this week, and the song is called 'Surrender.'" Classic. We used to listen to this all the time when I was a kid. Unfortunately, the remastered version has lost a lot of character and made the vocals difficult to distinguish. I'm a bit disappointed. This live album, recorded in Japan, actually pushed the band into popularity. I think that's pretty cool.
Campout!!!!
Well, we finally took Her Nibs camping. It was really fun. We did foil packs for dinner and roasted marshmallows for dessert s'mores. In the morning, our friends made us breakfast, and we all scarfed down eggs, bacon, and pancakes. As if that wasn't enough, then we had a barbecue and an Easter egg hunt for the young 'uns. Her Nibs got 10 candy-filled eggs and had a blast doing it.
There were only two minor glitches: it got down into the 30s at night, and the ground we slept on felt like concrete. The temperature wasn't a problem except that the county has a burn ban on now because of dry conditions, so we could only light charcoal, which isn't as fun as a full-on fire. And the ground wouldn't have been a problem if we owned an air mattress. We don't, so Plainbellied and I both woke up with sore backs. I also have a cut on my knuckle that I don't remember getting. Overall, though it was a great trial campout. I think we're going to try the beach soon.
I'm sure Plainbellied will have more to say on her blog.
There were only two minor glitches: it got down into the 30s at night, and the ground we slept on felt like concrete. The temperature wasn't a problem except that the county has a burn ban on now because of dry conditions, so we could only light charcoal, which isn't as fun as a full-on fire. And the ground wouldn't have been a problem if we owned an air mattress. We don't, so Plainbellied and I both woke up with sore backs. I also have a cut on my knuckle that I don't remember getting. Overall, though it was a great trial campout. I think we're going to try the beach soon.
I'm sure Plainbellied will have more to say on her blog.
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