Media « Adam Luke

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Summer 2010

I started writing this entry six months ago…but then things happened and I never finished it. This is an entry about all the Fun Things I did over the summer break.

Watching

Christina Hendricks animated gif

Mad Men: I could say more, but I think the above gif explains a significant portion of the show. Pretty sure everyone needs a bit of Christina Hendricks’s ass in their life.
Community: it’s so meta and about ten different kinds of lulzy. I…I just love all the pop culture references and callbacks and continuity nods. Um, yep.

Reading

I stopped regularly reading fiction a long time ago. Non-fiction is where it’s at.

The Ancestor’s Tale: A Pilgrimage to the Dawn of Life by Richard Dawkins: as some of you may have realised by now, Dawks is one of my favourite people, and I would regard this as one of the best books I’ve read. It follows the course of human evolution back through time, from humankind to bacteria. It’s a longass book, and, admittedly, got a bit tedious towards the end, but it’s an excellent popular science read for a non-biology-studying person like me (and for biology people too, I imagine).
Mistakes Were Made (But Not by Me): Why We Justify Foolish Beliefs, Bad Decisions, and Hurtful Acts by Carol Tavris and Elliot Aronson: we all find it hard to admit we’ve made a mistake. Cognitive dissonance is a well-established theory in social psychology and demonstrates that rather than owning up to a mistake or apologising for a hurtful action, people will instead start rationalising and justifying their decisions.
Quirkology: The Curious Science of Everyday Lives by Richard Wiseman: a magician-turned-psychologist writes about quirky science of the everyday and various offbeat topics. For instance, did you know that there is an over-representation of marine biologists named Dr. Fish?

Playing

Diablo II: I get the urge to play this again about once every year or two. It’s still great this many years later, what with the hacking and slashing and all. Blizzard is great. I’ve avoided becoming addicted to their latest offerings, but I’ll definitely be playing Diablo III when it is eventually released.
SimCity 4: at first I was a slightly (okay, extremely) greedy mayor. Apparently it pays off not to tax the shit out of everything. Who knew?

June 17th, 2011 · Media · 2 Comments »

lol twilight sux

I’m Adam and I can justifiably abuse Twilight.

But before that, this:

I have a habit of bashing stuff that I’ve never even given a chance. This applies to people, too. I kind of have misanthropic tendencies and have “strongly disliked” a lot of people, only to realise they’re actually not so bad! Really, some of the people I’ve hated throughout school have ended up becoming quite good friends, and are actually cool people. I judge people too often and too early.

Also I used to say Glee was crap. I mean, it looked really, really crap. But then I had guy friends who recommended it, and at work, it was playing constantly for a while, and I realised it might actually be semi-decent. And then I gave it a chance, and although it is ultra-cringeworthy and nothing like shows I usually enjoy (think Battlestar Galactica, Entourage, Lost, Weeds), I actually do enjoy it. Also I swear the only reason Quinn is even on that show is for me to stare at.

I even gave Lady Gaga music a chance after saying it was awful, and…well actually it still is awful, save a few songs that are too catchy for their own good. NEVER AGAIN SHALL I DELVE INTO MAINSTREAM MUSIC (kidding).

Now, how is Twilight relevant to this? Well! Back in high school (at a time when it was still in relative obscurity), I attempted to read it. Obviously if I were to do that now, it would be pretty freaking sad, but at the time I just thought it would be a fun vampire/adventure novel! But man was I wrong or what? If I knew then what I do now, I never would have gone near it. But it does mean that I am justified in my criticism (I’m not all “lol twilight sux”, when I’ve never given it a chance). Admittedly, though, even with all my perseverance, I couldn’t come close to finishing the first book. But that just backs up my point that it sucks.

And why does it suck? Um, probably because 90% of the writing on the page is about ~*Edward’s perfectly sculpted amazing hot body*~. Can’t think of anything I care less about, pretty much. Also Stephenie Meyer can’t write for shit. NOT THAT I CAN. But I’m also not getting published. Oh and it’s a girlygirly romance novel. So yeah.

So there you have it, I gave Twilight a chance, realised it was godawful, and thus am justified in my criticism of something for a change.

November 3rd, 2010 · Media, Reviews · 14 Comments »

In Which I Babble About Tim Burton

Well that was a fun weekend. Carmen and Michael (whom I met in Canberra) were down in Melbourne, for round two of Fun Times. Also present was Amanda (who is always down in Melbourne), Kieran (whom I just met), and others who don’t have URLs for me to use. Activities undertaken included eating and drinking. Um, it’s more fun than it sounds?

On Sunday, we visited the Tim Burton exhibition at ACMI (from the Museum of Modern Art in New York), which was pretty interesting. They basically had a lot of his sketches and paintings, as well as costumes, props, and models from his films. In particular, though, I enjoyed watching Burton’s rare 1982 adaptation of Hansel and Gretel. It was like, super low budget. Seriously, the background for the forest was a very unironed sheet with trees painted on. I guess money was conserved in that area for the “special” effects. But the acting was hopeless, and it was essentially so terrible that it was hilarious. The fight scene between Gretel and the witch was especially hilarious.

I like Tim Burton’s movies, but I don’t think there are any that I’ve found superawesome or anything. Here, have some random quick thoughts on some of them:

Batman (1989): Not a Batman fan! I mean, obviously Batman is better than Superman. But Burton and non-Burton Batman movies have not really appealed to me.
Edward Scissorhands (1990): It was fairly good, but the whole romance aspect was tacky and not believable.
Sleepy Hollow (1999): Good for a horror movie! Horror movies mainly suck. Of course, I still watch them, because I’m morbid and enjoy torture porn more than the next guy.
Big Fish (2003): Apparently an eight year-old Miley Cyrus had a role in this movie, haha what. I did not notice this.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005): Far behind the awesomeness of the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. I loved that movie so much as a child. Well, maybe I still do. The remake left much to be desired.
Corpse Bride (2005): I’m kind of a sucker for good animated movies. I especially enjoyed the Piano Duet.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007): I totally dressed up as Sweeney Todd to a themed-party a few years ago. I looked pretty ace¹.
Alice in Wonderland (2010): I’ve gotta say, it was kind of a letdown. Well, the screenplay was my main issue, so it’s not all good ol’ Tim’s fault. But partly? It is.

Focus questions: Do you like Burton’s work? What is your favourite Tim Burton film?

Characters from Burton films are popular at themed parties. There were various Edward Scissorhandses and Mad Hatters (among others) at a recent uni ball I was at. I, on the other hand, dressed up as the rapist Alex DeLarge, from Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange.

September 28th, 2010 · Internet and Websites, Media · 13 Comments »