#opening thoughts

[captainr3ginald]

I could spend another 2 hours on homework, or I can take a break and liveblog Remaking of an Age, by @eggroyalty. Not a very hard choice.

[ann-jujimi]

Opening thoughts: Trying to stay positive and focused on a Monday morning feels counterintuitive. Mondays shouldn't start early. We should be able to wake up at 10 and roll slowly out of bed to face this first day of the week on our own sometimes unsteady terms.

[shacestudies]

Digimon Tamers: Opening Thoughts

Here I sit, about to rewatch a show that was literally my kick into fandom; the first fanfictions I read and wrote were Tamers fanfictions, the first forum I joined was a Tamers fan forum (does anyone even remember forums anymore?), my first written roleplays were Tamers based. I technically started drawing Pokemon first but Digimon Tamers was what really brought my creativity to new heights. Digimon Tamers is the main reason I learned how to use the internet as an efficient tool... My point is I have a LOT of nostalgia for the show.

I was 12-13 when I watched this for the first time, and honestly, I was in a rough place in life. I don’t really want to go too deeply into details, but I had a lot of reasons for leaning into the gothic/emo scene like I did in those days. It was something that brought a little bit of happiness to my Saturday mornings. I’d keep going through the week, knowing that there was an episode of Tamers waiting for me at the end.

But that was then, and this is now. Am I just wearing nostalgia goggles? Is this show as good as I remember? I really hope so!

Also an apology to those who follow the Digimon Tamers and Digimon tags, because you’ll be seeing a lot of me if you don’t block or blacklist the shacestudies tag!

[humanrights70th-blog]

Yuan on Human Rights

When it comes to human rights, many questions go through my mind. What are human rights? Is our current list of human rights complete? When did human beings all over the world realize that they have these rights? Do the different understandings of human rights mean different developmental stages of human culture all over the world? What can be considered as true progress on human rights? Why aren’t human rights yet universally supported in every country, and just the more developed countries? Should people who live in comparatively freer countries, who have more rights, ignore the violations of human rights happening in other counties today, such as in North Korea and China? These are just some of the important questions about human rights. By doing this research project, we hope to gain a more comprehensive and deeper understanding about where human rights are being violated in today’s world, and what we can do to support people who are suffering as a result of being deprived of their human rights. As I see it, human rights are some rights that allow people to live in dignity, knowing that their volition will be respected, as an independent human. Human rights should be international, which means people should pursue the goal of common human rights for all human beings, regardless of their nationality. Unfortunately, some countries are not doing so well on this issue, for example, China, which sends back all those that try escape from North Korea. Should we protect the human rights of other countries as the way we fight for the human rights of our own country? I was born and have spent almost all of my life in China. In my culture, the belief that every human being is entitled to certain rights originates from an ancient text, the Analects of Confucius. Among his teachings, the most representative one is “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” However, in my observations of the people in my hometown, I noticed that they barely talk about human rights, since they think that the concept is not related to them. And when I reckon my human right to freedom of expression is being abused or denied, so many people around me tell me exactly the opposite, which makes me question whether fighting for freer expression is just look at the issue from my perspective and understanding of “deserved human rights”. In my current situation, if I fight for common human rights, most of my fellow citizens will ignore me, and not care. Then what should I do? What am I able to do?

[cenobitic-anchorite]

Managed about 90 minutes of D2 before passing out last night.

I am ridiculously happy with it, even the slightly tropey but very well executed Castlevania Depowering Scheme. The villains have personality straight out the gate. I feel actual hurt as my beloved Tower gets wrecked. Seeing the faction trio is character defining, fun, and plot important worrying all at once.

I miss Dinklebot so much, but North handles the forlorn change in his voice note perfectly. I feel like he's much better out the gate this time - I get Nolan North fatigue, but he is very good at what he does, and not having to redo someone else's performance is clearly in his favor here.

There are odd little bits that are reminding me of things in Titanomachy, but as ever, I'm sure they're coincidence. But it's got me thinking about that reboot of Nyx. Especially the way this game opens. Nyx Falling, Aster Rising. Something like that.

I made no other plans and cancelled work today. My ass just made a pot of coffee and fluffed the bean bag.

[tronzix-blog]

Well...tumblr

Okay. Let’s get started?

[the-haven-of-fiction]

Haven’s Austen Talks ~ (The HAT Project)

This week I will be starting a series of posts about film adaptations of Jane Austen’s novels.  Below the cut you will find some thoughts that I think will shed light on my general attitude about this great author. Please let me know if you have any thoughts or questions!  I would love for this to be a conversation and not a lecture. I am also happy to tag any interested parties.  

Thank you coalea for the original request that led me to this!

My theoretical bias tends towards New Historicism. I approach Austen with a sort of literary anthropology perspective.  I don’t think we can separate her stories from the era that formed them.  In a certain sense, you cannot attempt to “update” her stories for a contemporary audience because such an action violates the original text.  

I am of the opinion that those who are charged with the great task of writing screenplays for these films should have a great respect for the original text and an understanding of the era.  Any changes that are made must be rooted in the narrative and must make sense. Changes must never be made simply for dramatic effect; they must be necessary or serve as a logical enhancement to the original text.  

Having said all of this, I think Andrew Davies is the King of Austen Screenplays.  He respects the original text and understands it, which serves to guide him in making any additions or changes.  One of the major issues in adapting Austen for the screen is that much of the action in her narratives is not specifically depicted; it is related to the reader, often in the pretext of being related from one character to another. Choosing how to translate information like this onto the screen is a delicate endeavor and I think Andrew is a master at this, as well as a master at adding or rewriting scenes.  Case in point…

To the best of my knowledge, there is exactly one scene in the entire Austen cannon that involves only men. It is in Mansfield Park when Edmund and Sir Thomas are deciding what to do with Fanny after she has rejected Henry Crawford’s proposal.  In his screenplay for the 2007 S&S, Andrew added a scene between Mr.Willoughby and Colonel Brandon in which Brandon questions Willoughby’s intentions towards Marianne.  There is no authoritative older male present in Marianne’s life and I think this addition makes sense within the context of the original text.  

I think that Austen can be successfully translated to the screen without sticking strictly to her original dialogue.  I do not find anything poetic or particularly striking about her prose and it can be extremely irritating structurally, meaning that those paragraph long sentences drive me batty.  She needed a competent editor.  Basically, as long as the language in the screenplay is mostly believable and appropriate for the period, I am satisfied.  

I do not consider her stories to be romances.  To me they are social commentary on matters of economy, marriage as a commodity and means of survival, and the role of interpersonal relationships in the pursuit of a comfortable existence.  For the most part, I consider many of them to be their own genre of Fairy Tale Realism.

I will try to keep the individual posts following a set structure.  I will explain what I think are a few weaknesses and strengths of each version and share what I enjoy about them.  I will try to be mostly rational, but I may descend into some fangirling now and then.  I may briefly comment on superficial aspects, such as costumes, but that will not be the main content of the posts.  I am more interested in focusing on the story and characters themselves.

Please feel free to join in the discussion, send any questions or thoughts!

domaris68 purple-daisies-love