completely random, found this in an old Phillip Moffitt article about the pysch. of dealing with disappointment:
"First is the creation of a false identity, a you that is solid and never-changing which is continually reinforced by the story. Just by observing yourself closely, you can see that this isn't true and that your ego is really comprised of a group of personalities which are constantly changing.

The second error is that the story-making can create the illusion that your loss is a fresh event when it is actually something that has passed. These two errors combine to lock you into a ghostlike state in which there is no freedom...you have to actively work to see through these errors and to realize that there is no continuing, unchanging person and no experience that is still happening."

Shopgirl, with Steve Martin and Claire Danes. I'm vaguely interested in reading Martin's novel, which this film is based on, but the movie wasn't quite enough to actually interest me. It was quite cute, quite artsy with quality cinematography, quite good acting, and the characters and story were certainly interesting. But, the story as a whole just wasn't...connected well, there was something not very cohesive about the whole thing - which is where my interest in the novel stems from, that is, I think the movie's structure would have worked better in that format.

really tiny art

and finally, the photos from Colorado; they pretty much all turned out to be from the Denver botanical gardens (which so far blew away my other experience with botanical gardens - basically Cleveland - it wasn't even funny, just...sad for Cleveland) and a couple from the Denver aerospace museum.

The Summer of Katya, by Trevanian. Hm, I still can't get over the whole one-name-thing for the author. Anyway, I liked this novel many, many times more than the other novel I've read by him (her?), Shibumi, which admittedly just plain upset me to read. Katya is a whole different ballgame of writing, however, with plenty of witty and snappy repartee. Beyond that, as a thriller (which I'd normally not be very interested in) it quite held my interest and had me guessing right up till the last few pages.

So the illustrious Sensei Tony was giving an introductory talk to the idea of ki last night - both in the somewhat-metaphorical sense, that of extending one's 'intent,' and in the more scientific/practical sense, that of learning to consciously engage muscles and body structure that wouldn't normally be accessed. For example, in the case of the "unbendable arm" trick, if one focuses on keeping their arm straight, it's easily bent, but if one 'extends their intent' to, say, an opposite wall, a little mental trick occurs where the shoulder aligns into a solid frame and one's much larger back muscles are engaged, making it very, very difficult for someone to bend the arm in question.

Anyhoo, my thought in the middle of all of that was to flip not so much the concept of ki, but that certain aspect of it around to meditation and/or general mindset. That is, the idea that there's more that we realize that can be accessed with just a little mental trick of intent within us - whether in our unconscious or 'heart' or otherwise - in the same way that a trick of intent can reshape our bodies and how we use them almost without us realizing. Just something to ponderball, as it were.

Saved!, with Jena Malone and Macauley Culkin. I went into this movie thinking it would just be a shallow satire of fundamentalist Christians, based purely in its jokes, but was pleasantly surprised to find myself really liking some of the characters (especially the adorable Malone and hilarious Culkin) and finding a certain sincerity. Now, one's average fundy probably wouldn't watch this movie, but I firmly believe they should be tricked into watching it if at all possible, and not just for the hilarity of seeing their reaction.

Nice little rundowns of forward and backbends

The tenth anniversary of the Age of Apocalypse epic was apparently celebrated in a miniseries - which was awesome. Basically, it serves the same purpose as Serenity or The Peacekeeper Wars, concluding a series that would have forever been a cliffhanger otherwise. And while it is a bit condensed and some characters take some thought to figure out where the hell they popped up from, I'm not sure they could have done a better job of concluding AoA...except to continue it, natch....

Word of the Day: pleonasm - the use of more words than are necessary to express an idea - heh, probably something I'm constantly guilty of

Wizard and Glass, by Stephen King. As usual with the Dark Tower books, just wow. Tip of the hat again to Mr. Scott for getting me started, and Ms. Connie for bringing me back to them. This is one of those novels where I'm not sure what to write here, as I'd rather go back do something on the order of how I did my thesis on Dune, with all the attendant time and research put in. I'll just note quickly that if you're interested in Roland's backstory, but doesn't want to read the rest of the novels, this is the one for you.

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty, by Anne Rice under a pen name. Heh, first time I was ever lent this kind of book, for true. I liked the word one reviewer used, 'monotonous.' Who knew Rice was that into spanking? While this does serve it's purpose as erotica to a fair degree, a little variety would have been nice. There are some points that pull off flourishes of language...amidst a lot of repetition. That all could have been saved by allowing for a little more depth of character and much more depth of detail, I think - if some of the sensitivity and depth of Secretary had rubbed off on this story (no pun intended) that would have gone a long, long way in its favor.

and quickquick-
The Wedding Date, with Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney. Fluffy rom-com - pretty fun. I like Messing better with curly hair, but alas.
Love Actually, with a lot of people. More fluffy rom-com, but I liked this one very much more, for several reasons - structure, actors in question, and general story...or stories, in this case. A movie to smile at, for true.

Here's one of my random conflations: this time, between the comic Exiles and Stephen King's Dark Tower series. Nothing really of any depth as yet, unfortunately, as I've yet to pick up some copies of Exiles (which is basically kind of like Sliders+X-Men), but I'll note that both jump from world to world, in a kind of ka-tet (for King readers), and both have the aim of repairing or protecting reality from breakdown/entropy/wrongness. There's way, way more to both, but I'm bereft of knowledge of the one, and don't want to over-simplify their pleasant complicated-ness.

Interesting quick little quote - "...there's a big difference between doing yoga and simply making an asana out of yourself." - David Swenson

X-Men: The Last Stand, with a good several people. And Kelsey Grammer as Beast - which rocks. Funny thing: my mom started snoring not even one minute into the movie, and every five to ten minutes thereafter, but that might actually be taken as an indication that it's a good movie, ironically, if that makes any sense. Overall, I enjoyed the movie a lot - I just took issue with a couple things, such as what they did with a few of the characters, and that the story was spread a little too wide in my opinion. I know the quick response to that is what the hell do you mean it was spread too wide, but I'll stand fast to that claim, I think they could have focused it in one of a few directions and been the better for it.

Interesting maps

Really, why do they have to spell extreme that way? I think they're compensating.

Humans!

Memnoch the Devil, by Anne Rice. Well, I've officially been de-virginized to Rice - thank you, Ms. Jasmine. I have to say, I did like it for the most part; though the vampires that Rice is particularly known for were completely ancillary to the story, it was a good introductory book for me to read in how much I enjoy variations on the story of Lucifer. This variation was of special note in my mind because it hadn't particularly occurred to me before that most other variations use only a traditional view of heaven and hell - this one very much doesn't.

To flip the coin, there was something continously...presumptuous about the writing, or perhaps the story. Well, perhaps it was more that I was torn between the wonderful and awe-ful story the devil-in-question told, and the complete opposite of those aspects brought on by having the God-in-question so personified. As much as it really was a great variation, that personification just made the implacable, omnipotent force of nature into another character, equal to or even less than the others in stature. I suppose that might have been exactly what Rice was going for, but I was still a bit leary of it.

Veronica Mars is a great show that Ms. Connie found; it's got a touch of The OC, which I'm not sure whether to call fortunate or unfortunate, but it works, and otherwise is a snappy combination of a mundane Buffy and a Janet Evanovich novel.

The Purifiers, with Kevin McKidd and Dominic Monaghan. This is what I happened to watch after coming home from a cross-country flight, and eating a bowl of leftover tuna. I had only planned to flip channels, but Monaghan's presence (not out of any particular liking, but because I thought it odd he'd be in a kung fu movie) and some vague promise of original and good choreography held me. Oh my, but was it bad. I'd say the ADD editing during the fight scenes was 'stylized' if I didn't think it was to hide poor, poor quality. And the plot and writing were...cute. But not in a good way, if that makes any sense. Like I wanted to pat it on the head, for making an effort despite being a ripoff of The Warriors with a weak near-future twist.

Backwards light? Besides that I don't really get the concept still, what application could there be?

Awww, heartwarming. And...uh...polyp-y.


Cool, but I can't imagine it could be as fun as cutting up a pumpkin

Acacia, with Shim Hye-jin and Kim Jin-geun. Well, Ms. Kim got me to watch the first scary movie I've watched in a long ol' time. I don't really do well with scary stuff, as much I really do love it - it completely messes with me and fascinates me at the same time. Anyway, I don't think most devotees of Western horror or slasher flicks would enjoy this too much, but if you're interested in well-layered imagery and understated, quality cinematography, that pretty much sums the movie up. That said, there's a strong beginning, which continues for most of the movie, only stumbling near the end, which wasn't disappointing, but...I think, since most of the scares in the movie were interestingly based in the imagery/created-symbols involved, that the explanation at the end stopped that pattern was something I'd rather they'd done differently; still okay, though. Ah, perhaps it was more that it couldn't decide on whether to maintain the supernatural? But there's a certain element of debate ready to be had as the quality of supernatural throughout the whole thing. Call this movie a thriller with a touch of the supernatural, then. Who'd have ever thought a bloody tree could be so creepy, though?

interesting, kind of poetic thought:
"It might seem strange to us that the yogis place the seat of wisdom in the heart [symbolized by sun], which we typically associate with our emotions, and not the brain. But in yoga, the brain is actually symbolized by the moon, which reflects the sun's light but generates none of its own."

Heh, I guess I'd like to think that the first part of this is a true statement, though I can think of some people I know who do yoga while seemingly actively striving to live against its principles. As to the latter part, I'm inclined to remember that the 'supple' here implies a combination of great strength along with flexiblity - something that will adapt, but not break:
"All practicing yogis are, by necessity, yoga philosophers. At stake is whether we will become as supple in our minds as we are in our bodies."

Completely random: I think a good model for archery in a video game would be to have it where the longer the button is held, the more powerful or far-reaching the shot is, but the less accurate it becomes - thus, reflecting the fact of muscles getting tired in drawing a bow. And looking for the resulting sweet-spot that would be needed between strength and accuracy would be fun for a video game.

Pubs and used books? Hell yeah.

I just want to note my dad's response to watching to watching Eurotrip: "Ahhh, this brings back memories." Hmm.

I don't expect to find these puppies, but I've been wanting to try goji berries for a while

The Great War: American Front, by Harry Turtledove. Well, I decided to give Turtledove another chance, as the first novel I'd ready by him was a mishmash of gratuitous sex, violence, and bad science fiction. Which, you know, might make for a fun beer-and-pretzel novel, unless it's written in a too-dry, academic-historical manner that takes itself too seriously.

Anyway. This novel was better, though less engaging, ironically. It's like a really long docu-drama, and is about as exciting - which fits the topic better, in the end, without cheesy science fiction and pulp-style violence. But as interesting as the topic certainly is (what if the Confederates had won the Civil War - would the South fight the North all over again in WWI? who would become allies? what roles would slaves, Amerindians, and Mormons play?), I'd almost rather have it all in a fictional timeline than in stories of bland characters that seem to all blur together despite their random jumping around.

New X-Men: Academy X Vol. 1 I got this little compilation on Free Comic Book Day, mainly because I couldn't really decide on any of the main X-Men titles. But, I have to say, I was quite pleasantly surprised; the art is great, the writing is pretty light-hearted but not too silly, and it's an interesting expansion of the mutant part of the Marvel setting, in my opinion. From another angle, I prefer Academy X much more than the more serious, but not as interesting, previously run Generation X, I have to say.

I'm always a sucker for playing with words, and a Tank Girl reference will always win my heart

A couple subsequent thoughts on Mission: Impossible III. One, I thought the use of technology in the movie was deftly handled. While the film might not have an 'ageless' quality like, say, The Bourne Supremacy, which could have possibly taken place in many eras of espionage, it instead took advantage of current or near technology within the narrative without doing it gratuitously - the technology served the story. I'll note the gradually increasing prevalance of 'future' technology in narrative that's similar to that old favorite shared setting of mine, Shadowrun (unrelatedly, glee!), such as the bomb-in-the-brain and the use of drones.

Secondly, I find it curious that they gave the Mission: Impossible movies a numbering, because they don't so much seem sequels to me as variations on a similar theme. Each has Ethan Hunt wanting out of the IMF, each has a girl, each involves a traitor in one capacity or another. So, as Wyatt pointed out to me, in a sense they could have been similar to the James Bond movies, each of which has little connection to the others, but follows a similar narrative structure each time.

Mission Impossible III, with Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames. And Laurence Fishburne, Maggie Q (whom I want a poster of in that red dress she wears...), Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, and Michelle Monaghan. Basically, a lot of actors I have a high opinion of, when it comes down to it. And it was directed by J. J. Abrams, which apparently turned out to mean the story played out like a really long Alias episode (not to mention the identical signature cinematography and approach to the espionage groups in question). Which, in my opinion, is a good thing. I was certainly kept on the edge of my seat for a good solid portion of the movie, though I almost wish they'd had a bit more of an expansive setting in combination with that Alias style, but that obviously is only viable in a continuous setting like a television show or comic book.

interesting trivia from an article on the fight/flight reflex -
"Muscles that have tensed are left shortened and do not automatically go back to their former length. On the contrary, spinal reflexes make them contract if they begin to lengthen: After the danger has passed and the brain lets the muscles relax a little, the spinal cord immediately tells them to tense up again. At first, they go through a very rapid cycle of relaxing a little and then contracting, again and again."

Mmm, flowers. Hibiscus tea steeped for twelve hours is insanely sweet and hurts your teeth, but it's good. As are rose-flavored turkish delight, though they have a subtler flavor. Ocotillo blossoms are sweet when you pull out their insides to suck on, and different kinds of pricklypear petals each have a unique, spicy or sweet flavor. Any other ideas?

Springtime in the Sonoran desert! When stuff is actually green for a while - not so green as during the monsoon (hey....Feifei might be here during that! awesomeness.), but green enough. It's actually probably more colorful, than just verdant, in the end - flowers are everywhere. Every palo verde in the city is festooned in chartreuse, and the mesquites have their flourescent caterpillar pollen stems, ocotilla reds, every kind of pink and orange and yellow and red and green cactus flower abounds - and I even saw some saguaro blossoms! Which makes me suddenly realize - hey, I haven't seen the wildflowers in Sabino Canyon yet....hmm......

Without a Paddle, with Seth Green and Matthew Lillard. First of all, I could barely stand Green in the role they had him in; I realize he often plays roles that approximate the 'neurotic' or the 'oddball,' but never to such a dippy extreme. Secondly, the writing was also dippy. As well, the feel-good messages. Burt Reynolds has a small role, which was kind of eh. Did I mention that I only happened to be sitting in the room, while this movie played, and willfully sought to devote my attention to other things?

and an interesting experiment

Here's an interesting article conferring aspects of meditation from yogic (specifically Patanjali's Sutras) and generalized Buddhist points of view. I think it would have been interesting had the author had room to delve into some other variances, such as the Siddha yoga that I subscribe more to, or different schools of thought on Buddhism, but it's a nice article as is.

In other news, I noted another little physical habit that I can have fun correcting - while having to stand for a protracted period of time, I noted that my feet were hurting beyond what they should have been. After all, hadn't I corrected my posture enough that my skeleton was aligned with gravity to bear the weight of my flesh without my muscles having to work? But: I noted the inside sides of my feet were dipping inward, putting a bit of strain on the insides of my ankles and knees. I could tell the muscles weren't used to it, but a bit of attention towards shifting my weight more evenly to the inside and outside sides of my feet did wonders for the issue.

I thought this was interesting in how it could be applied to nigh anything -
"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't." - Margaret Thatcher

an article on the positive effects of yoga - I thought it was kind of interesting in that as much as I'm into yoga, were I asked I'm not sure I could think of a good, clear answer of what it really does

Ultimate Avengers, with...several voices of various people. This is one movie I would not have gone out of my way to see, or perhaps a better way of phrasing that is I only watched it out of obligation. It wasn't unpleasant to watch; it was actually a decent animated movie, it's plot wasn't entirely cohesive or deep in any way, but it didn't need to be. I was never really a fan of the Avengers as a comic nor the Ultimate spinoffs, so that probably colors a large portion of my opinion. That said, if you like the Avengers and that kind of traditional, superhero comic, this movie is actually probably quite enjoyable.