"lynn-updates" via Lynn in Google Reader

61 - "Everything Leads Back to Magic Mike"

2012-05-25T04:18:54Z

Corene and Lynn discuss Corene's new button-maker, Magic Mike, and the Great Gatsby trailer. This week's topics: Movie Madness, Pekoe's Peccadilloes, In the News.

Conversation snippet: Awry

2012-05-23T21:26:03Z

(Transferring these entries over; actual conversations, originally listed under Endless.)

“. . . and things would just go awry.”

“Did you just say ‘awry’?”

“Yes, I did.”

“That is so weird. Nobody says ‘awry’.”

“I know. I don’t know why I said it.”

Mini-break! - May 2012

2012-05-21T23:13:51Z

Hi guys! Just a li’l note to let you know that I’m taking the next week and a half off. I really need to recharge and enjoy the summer a bit, so new strips will be back on the 31st. After that, the next break will be for a couple of weeks starting in mid-June, due to another Southern Alberta adventure.

(In case you missed it, this was my first Southern Alberta adventure. Whoo!)

(Also in case you missed it, here’s a short clip of us Lady Avengers from earlier this month.)

In the meantime, this weekend I’ll be checking out VanCAF — no, I’m not tabling, but I’ll be lingering shyly as I gaze in awe at some of my favourite comic artists who will be in attendance. (Go ahead, ask me who they are. Let me wax poetic in under 140 chars.)

Due to my moonlighting gig as a spy, I’d blend in too well in the crowd, but hey, if you manage to spot me there, feel free to ask for a Medusa or Hugo & Bana postcard. If you utter the secret code (“Tuesday With Everything In It”), I’ll draw something for you. Partly because I like you, but mainly because I really like the idea of having a secret code.

Aboard Samson V

2012-05-20T01:19:24Z

Conversation snippet: Comic immortalizing

2012-05-18T20:48:46Z

(Transferring these entries over; actual conversations, originally listed under Endless.)

“Thank you for immortalizing me.” — my first-year film T.A., after I drew him in the college comic strip above. He really did start a fire on set, as it happens. He also made copies of the above strip for posterity. Some things you just take pride in.

#184

2012-05-17T07:59:50Z

The Hairnet brings back some unpleasant memories.

#183

2012-05-15T07:36:17Z

Happy tummies make for happy mercenaries.

Conversation snippet: O-positive

2012-05-14T20:43:31Z

(Transferring these entries over; actual conversations, originally listed under Endless.)

“Oh, so you think K’s not good enough for you but good enough for me? Thanks a lot!”

“Ahh, but see, you’re like O-positive blood. You’re compatible with anybody. I’m like AB-minus blood, very hard to match.”

Happened last week while we were getting ready for the movie

2012-05-11T17:41:24Z

Chandri: I built an arc reactor! How many other people get to say they did that?

Me: Well, I guess one.

Chandri: Well, yeah.

Later:

[Chandri with her arc reactor off, within reaching distance. I put forth a finger and push.]

Arc reactor: Click. [lights up]

Me: [giggle]

Chandri: Okay, that’s the last time you get to do that.

60 - "Why Mess With Perfection"

2012-05-11T03:59:06Z

Corene and Lynn discuss the upcoming Van Helsing remake, GI Joe: Retaliation, and Attachments. Technical hiccups mean a short podcast and bonus outtakes at the end. This week's topics: Movie Madness, Whhhhhhhyyyyy?

This -- THIS -- is why I can't settle in and read my book for one uninterrupted half-hour straight

2012-05-10T23:54:59Z

#182

2012-05-10T07:46:37Z

Related to the above, I would like to present: “No Your Other Right,” along with its sequel, “Jazz Tentacles.”

Conversation snippet: Procreate

2012-05-01T21:55:18Z

(Transferring these entries over; actual conversations, originally listed under Endless.)

“She’s starting to procreate! Well, actually, she’s already procreated, it’s been incubating. In her belly. For about three months now.”

“. . . Are we still talking about a baby?”

#181

2012-05-08T07:27:41Z

It amuses me to think that Tuy has given his assigned dorm room a complete overhaul, furniture and all. The only thing keeping the portable cooking stove from turning into his own private kitchen is the lack of necessary hookups and fixin’s.

Peeps: Hey baby hey baby hey

2012-05-04T02:14:18Z

If ever you were curious as to what Peeps sounds like when he tries to woo Sin, here you go:

#180

2012-05-03T07:20:10Z

Poor birdie. It just can’t catch a break.

#179

2012-05-01T07:55:35Z

Capybaras are the rock stars of the rodent world. They’re just so cool.

Am back! Hi and thank you

2012-05-01T07:20:45Z

Hi guys! Am back. Just wanted to say hi and welcome to new readers, and thank you to longtime loyal readers. Pull up a chair, get comfy. :)

And those of you who’ve been spreading the word and linking to Tuesday With Everything In It, you are awesomesauce. Thank you!

Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland

2012-04-29T07:15:27Z

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland appears to be one of those films — yes, those films — where the viewer rarely comes out feeling ambivalent towards it, but rather feels strongly either side of the spectrum. I happen to belong to the “like it” camp, and thought I’d share my reasons for enjoying it.

As far as I can tell, those who have issues with the movie primarily attribute their distaste to the CGI (and, perhaps on a minor level, to Johnny Depp’s look). I find the special effects pretty much a non-factor, aside from providing the usual Tim Burton quirks — for instance, the Red Queen’s large head (and, hey, Johnny Depp’s look). This is a subjective matter, I’m sure, and we all have our different levels of tolerance and acceptability. I admit to having felt a little hesitant myself when first approaching the movie. I had braced myself after hearing early reports. My wariness was unfounded, as to me, the real-life actors blended into the fantasy world pretty well. Except for a couple of instances, there wasn’t a moment when I was actively conscious of the foreground not jiving with the background, unlike a lot of other movies out there (hello, Hulk. You know I still love you).

One of the key reasons I like this movie is because of the fascinating way it reimagines Lewis Carroll’s story. Quite frankly, I can’t stand the many TV and film adaptations of Alice in Wonderland, because they always go through the material by rote — the story is stagnant, the characters are flat, and it isn’t so much an adaptation as it is a monotone recital. Forget the retelling, it becomes just a telling.

In Tim Burton’s film, however, every character is twisted away from the original version, whether by a smidgen or a complete unhinging. Not only that, they’ve been given a little extra something, just for that typical Burton-esque touch. For instance, it might’ve been enough to portray the White Queen’s floaty, noncommittal persona as a break from the usual staid characterization, but those quick bits of her trying not to gag? The two-toned becomes three-toned. Johnny Depp’s breaks (mental retreats?) into sinister Scottish burr are an excellent touch. Alice’s deep reserve, in the face of typical female protagonists’ descent into overly-emotional outbursts, is a welcome breath of fresh air.

During my most recent rewatching of this movie, I thought of Labyrinth. Why yes, there might be an unfortunate lack of David Bowie and magic pants in Alice in Wonderland, but both films, a generation apart, involve a young woman dropped into a fantasy world and taking on a quest. Not because she feels she has to prove herself to her peers or fears being punished, but because it is the right thing to do.

In Labyrinth, even though Sarah is rescuing her baby brother, it’s because she essentially loves him and the right thing to do, not because she dreads her parents finding out. In Alice in Wonderland, though Alice initially rejects the role of slayer that everyone seems to impose upon her, at no point do you feel the other characters truly forcing her or get the impression that her spirit isn’t strong enough to repel their force it they tried — and in the end, though they may hope, the choice is hers. Both women, though they have their moments of doubt and their fantasy worlds toss them every which way, are the ones making the decision to do what they do.

Also, let’s face it, Alice dons some truly excellent dresses in this film. Bonus points in its favour. She does her adventuring while wearing those dresses. Further points from mine hand.

And there you have it: reasons why I like Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland. You may certainly agree to disagree, and we can all sit down together for a nice cup of tea and talk about other things. Like our love for Helena Bonham Carter, for one.

P.S. I’d like to point out that a woman, a previously-unknown actress, carried this movie. Yes, I know Johnny Depp was the primary driving force in the marketing actor-wise, and that his name comes up first in the credits, but let’s face it: You can’t have a story about Alice without Alice herself. Same thing with Labyrinth. Fantasy adventure movies with lead female protagonists that appeal to both sexes? Not as strange a concept as one might think.

My baby has a bald spot

2012-04-28T03:40:31Z