26 November 2007 @ 12:20 pm
Monday Miscellaney  
1. Almost every time I watch Pirates of the Caribbean, I end up having a conversation about whether or not Jack and Will's stunt with the overturned boat would have worked. Anyone who has ever owned pool toys knows that trying to drag a noodle or a boogie board (or anything intended to float) underwater is very tough to do, and it seems like it would be impossible to hold an air-filled boat under the water, unless you were in possession of super human strength. I'd thought maybe the weight of a wooden boat would help keep it submerged, but I've never been convinced that it was actually possible. IT BOTHERS ME, OKAY. So I was thrilled to see that Mythbusters is doing an episode on PotC during which they will put this trick to the test. Wednesday at 9:00!

2. I feel very strongly that if you are in a band and your band fails at enunciation, then you have an OBLIGATION to print your lyrics in the liner notes. If your label won't spring for more than four pages, or if you are a pretentious asshat who prefers cryptic artwork or elaborate photo shoots, then you should at least have the courtesy to post your lyrics at your website. In an obvious place and labeled properly! I do not want to have to poke all over your stupid webspace to find them because you are too creative to have an intuitive site. GOD. Why do I even buy music?

3. One of my sisters loves the Jonas Brothers, and it is not who you would think. Little Miss Ten Whole Years actually calls them the Bogus Brothers -- and she claims to have made that up herself which, frankly, makes me proud. Heather is the fan, and she has been inflicting them on the rest of us all weekend. Surprisingly, I think they are kind of cute and do not mind them at all. I keep catching myself humming "Hold On."

4. I did manage to see Enchanted, so go me. It was so overwhelmingly sweet that I sort of felt as if I should go eat a lemon or seventy afterwards, but it was a fun time at the movies. It is very much a homage to the Disney Princess classics, so if you like those I would definitely recommend it.

5. I watched some of the Planet Earth encore with my sister tonight and got a little weepy during several parts. We have such a beautiful planet, you guys! But I am kinda disappointed with Fearless Earth. It is very... melodramatic.

6. I find it difficult to comprehend that Japan is going to kill 50 Humpback Whales from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary. Can you imagine going into a restaurant and being all like, "I WILL HAVE THE HUMPBACK WHALE. MEDIUM RARE, PLZ." You must have to be a SERIOUS DOUCHEBAG. I assume it is a conspicuously expensive meal, which makes it even grosser. According to this article linked by [info]gelxgel, the Japanese government is actually spending millions of dollars to promote the consumption of whale meat, which has waned in popularity over the past few decades. How messed up is that! I also read that whale (and dolphin) meat is particularly high in mercury and other toxins. So it makes even less sense to me than it did before. JAPAN MUST BE STOPPED, YOU GUYS. Somebody call Hayden Panettiere!

7. Blake Lively is awesome in this clip from The View. She addresses a rumor that she and Leighton aren't getting along, and instead of just denying it, she points out how sexist the rumor is and that none of her male costars have had to deal with articles speculating about their professional relationships. FTW!

8. ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN IN THE SEC, LADIES AND GENTLEMAN. Tennessee won in their fourth overtime, which was hard to stomach since it means that Georgia's season is basically over, aside from whichever probably awesome bowl game we will get. And watching the LSU/Arkansas game was SO CRAZY. On the one hand, Arkansas winning was a fun upset, and I do enjoy seeing grown men cry. But LSU is >>> OSU and Kansas and probably Missouri, so it is sad that they will not get to play for the championship. But that is always the way! The SEC eats its own and then watches other teams play for the glory. (Admittedly, we were not as fantastic as usual this year, but neither was anyone else, so.)

9. I am really, really hoping the the WGA strike will end this week. Talks resume today, and everyone sounds hopeful, so fingers crossed. In the meantime, go watch the best video to come out of the strike so far: hungVP158 gives us the AMPTP's perspective on the issues. God, I miss The Colbert Report.
 
 
hearing: Shiny Toy Guns, apparently
 
 
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the brontosaurus is not a real dinosaur: tatsumi asks why[info]thermopylae_h on November 26th, 2007 05:39 pm (UTC)
I am with you 100% percent on the lyrics thing. I do not care about the band's artsy-fartsy photos, I want to know what they are saying >:(

And yes, Japan must be stopped re: the whales! What is wrong with that country in regards to environmental issues, I don't even know. Related story: my sister was telling my mother about how the Yangtze River dolphins went extinct because people kept catching them to eat, and my mom was like, "Oh, well...it can't be helped". Uh...yes, it could??
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Caitlin: !!! | D: | Phooey[info]caitiedidit on November 26th, 2007 06:02 pm (UTC)
I didn't even realize that people caught the Yangtze River dolphins for food; I'd thought it was purely the pollution that killed them. But I remember how sad I was when I heard that they'd officially been declared extinct. One of the most memorable articles I've read in National Geographic was about a woman who kayaked down a river in Myanmar and met fishermen who thought of the river dolphins as family; they would actually help herd fish into the fishmen's nets, and in return the fishermen would give them some of their daily catch.
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living every week like it's shark week[info]boosette on November 26th, 2007 11:02 pm (UTC)
Food, and pollution, and the dam they built that killed the dolphins' food as well.
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the brontosaurus is not a real dinosaur: john bauer - geese[info]thermopylae_h on November 27th, 2007 12:40 am (UTC)
Yeah, what Candice said. Which year was that article in?
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Caitlin: topics | politics | Environment[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 02:18 am (UTC)
It was the May 2006 issue, which coincidentally also included the very excellent article on drilling for oil in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge.
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"Q" is for "quiddity": Go Bucks![info]q_sama on November 26th, 2007 06:14 pm (UTC)
The SEC conference is brutal, and any realistic kind of championship game would probably have an SEC team against another SEC team.

As much as I'm a Big Ten fan, I'll own up that it's a MUCH weaker conference.

(I'm still pulling for OSU. So there. :P)
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gelxgel: Sam bitchface[info]gelxgel on November 26th, 2007 06:54 pm (UTC)
You know, a friend of mine told me (and thus I have no evidence to back me up ~_~) that nobody actually eats the humpback whale meat because for on thing, you feel kind of evil, and another thing apparently it tastes kind of awful. So the whaling is less about an actual demand for whale meat, and more about preserving culture and the whaling tradition.

Oh, and now I've found an article that says that too (well, it seems to disagree about how the meat tastes, but I imagine that's all personal):
The price for whale meat in Japan has decreased in recent years -- falling to $12 a pound in 2004 compared with $15 a pound in 1999. Demand for whale meat has been anemic. Last year, the industry put 20 percent of its 4,000-ton haul into frozen surplus.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/18/AR2005061800890.html

So yeah, it's a pretty tough situation. I mean, on the one hand, I'm all for preserving tradition and respecting a centuries old practice, and I know that they try to do it sustainably. But at the same time, killing endangered species is just so repugnant, and I know I would never in a million years order whale meat. And if it's a situation where no one's even eating the meat, and you're just killing them because it's what you do/always have done? Then it becomes even more awful.
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Caitlin: !!! | D: | Ew![info]caitiedidit on November 26th, 2007 07:14 pm (UTC)
I don't think it's a tough situation wrt Japan. They're one of the richest countries in the world, and their fishermen are not desperate. There is absolutely no reason for them to be killing species of whale that are considered to be in danger, especially straight out of a sanctuary. Several developing nations in the area allow their people to catch a small number of whales during specific times of the year, but they must use traditional equipment and methods, and they have a legitimate need of the meat. I'm fine with that.

But thanks for the links about whale meat! That's interesting that there's not a lot of demand. In a way, it also makes it even more DEPRESSING. I mean am sure that there are a plethora of organizations who would pay the fishermen ten times that amount per pound to convince them not to kill those whales.

Edited at 2007-11-26 07:18 pm (UTC)
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gelxgel[info]gelxgel on November 26th, 2007 07:47 pm (UTC)
well, I think the cultural preservation aspect of it all doesn't have a lot to do with economics. The problem with the argument, with regards to Japan especially, is that it sometimes feels like they're trying to wedge themselves under an umbrella they don't necessarily fit into. I mean, at first when I was writing my comment I was going to mention that I think some Inuit tribes also do a certain amount of whaling since it's an important part of their culture, but I didn't because really, they're different things - a lot of Japanese whaling is commercial, as opposed to limited whaling with traditional methods and all, like you mentioned. But when you have commercial whaling without a lot of economic demand, then you've got to wonder if maybe the reason for it isn't entirely economic/commercial, and that's where the whole cultural tradition might come in. But at the same time, 'gourmet grocery store' doesn't exactly scream 'traditional Japanese culture' to me. So when I say 'it's a difficult situation', I suppose I just mean that I can't wrap my head around the 'why' - it's bad economic sense, but the cultural arguments are kind of shaky as well.

I watched the Hayden Panettiere dolphin rescue thing awhile ago, and even though I'm not a big animal rights person, I still found it really disturbing. I mean, dude, they left the other half of the pod swimming in their family's blood for the night so they could finish the job in the morning. That's just amazingly screwed up and awful.

Oh and I just watched the Blake Lively on The View clip. See, Serena isn't my favorite character on the show, but in all her promo appearances that I've seen, Blake Lively comes off as so poised and intelligent I can't help but like her a whole lot. The same thing applies for Penn Bagdley (is that how you spell his name?)
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Caitlin: fen | tv | GG | B & S[info]caitiedidit on November 26th, 2007 08:40 pm (UTC)
Maybe the Japanese consider the consumption of whale to be a cultural tradition worth saving, but the whaling itself is obviously commercial. I also find the government's efforts to present whale meat as a "healthy and delicious source of protein" to be entirely baffling; I doubt whale stocks will ever recover to a point where their meat could be considered anything but a delicacy, and it results in a ton of bad press for Japan. It's like, why bother?

I mean, dude, they left the other half of the pod swimming in their family's blood for the night so they could finish the job in the morning.

Yeah, it just seems incredibly cruel. The fishermen trap them, and then the dolphins watch as their pod is slaughtered one by one. Knowing what we know about their intelligence and their dedication to each other, it's really distressing for me to think about. So I try not to! I am not a vegetarian, so I suppose I am ill-qualified to criticize. At least they are supposed to kill them in a more humane way nowadays.

See, Serena isn't my favorite character on the show, but in all her promo appearances that I've seen, Blake Lively comes off as so poised and intelligent I can't help but like her a whole lot. The same thing applies for Penn Bagdley (is that how you spell his name?)

You spelled it right! And ITA about Serena/Blake. My biggest problem with the show right now is Serena's characterization, but Blake Lively is awesome and one of the reasons I watched GG in the first place.
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them0rgue[info]them0rgue on November 26th, 2007 07:02 pm (UTC)
shit was gg new thanksgiving week? am i going to have to dl it from itunes? FUCK. the blake lively clip was fantastic--she seems really articulate (save for the one "i think... it's bad" moment).

also: word on the humpback whale thing. MAY I HAVE A BALD EAGLE DRUMSTICK APPETIZER PLEASE?
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Caitlin: fen | tv | GG | Blair smiles[info]caitiedidit on November 26th, 2007 07:23 pm (UTC)
No, it wasn't! They took a break for the holiday weekend. The new episode this week is actually the Thanksgiving episode, which is definitely weird. I can see how the promo clip they showed would have confused you.

MAY I HAVE A BALD EAGLE DRUMSTICK APPETIZER PLEASE?

DON'T FORGET TO TRY THE CHARGRILLED PANDA!
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Madeleine: gg: you make me smile[info]themis on November 26th, 2007 07:59 pm (UTC)
Well, Blake Liveley just got one hundred coolness points from me!
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living every week like it's shark week[info]boosette on November 26th, 2007 10:58 pm (UTC)
>> So I was thrilled to see that Mythbusters is doing an episode on PotC during which they will put this trick to the test. Wednesday at 9:00!

Oh man, thankyou so so much for telling us that cause I totally would have missed it otherwise. (I do not follow Mythbusters as religiously as I feel I ought in order to maintain my geek-cred, woe.) And yes, that stunt has always bugged me as well :)

>> I do not want to have to poke all over your stupid webspace to find them because you are too creative to have an intuitive sit

YES. Also, can you tell this to the Department of Customs & Border Patrol, too? I swear, their website was designed by the same people who do all the artsy bands' websites, and it's equally unnavigable.
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Fashionably Loud (is a Novak Djokovic fan!): [office uk] trifling[info]very_vogue on November 27th, 2007 12:40 am (UTC)
Um, clearly, Mizzou > Everyone!

No but seriously, as I was watching the Tennessee/Kentucky game, I was thinking about how you needed KY to win. Sorry about that :(
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Caitlin: !!! | D: | Phooey[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 02:21 am (UTC)
What made it especially painful was that it went into so many overtimes! Between that and their narrow last-minute win over Vandy the week before, I am convinced that Tennessee has it in for me, sigh.
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Highway Girl: SP -- rock[info]flanneryflyer on November 27th, 2007 01:48 am (UTC)
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Caitlin: music | Listening To[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 02:15 am (UTC)
I do use songmeanings.net a lot, but they always have so many MISTAKES since they're all user submitted. I really prefer to go straight to the source.
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Reena!!: kitsune XD[info]reenalaughalotz on November 27th, 2007 05:39 am (UTC)
"OH NO! OH NO! THEY ARE NOT SHOWING THAT ON TELEVISION!!"

LOL @ Penn on The View clip. =D
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Caitlin: !!! | :D | LOL[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 06:30 am (UTC)
Poor Penn. His mom totally sold him out, and he was so embarrassed.
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An anagram of "Aimless"[info]lexy_ on November 27th, 2007 06:04 am (UTC)
I have always wondered about that PotC thing. I always think, at some point water would've gotten in!

tbh, I've always had a feeling it was kind of cheesy to have lyrics in the liner notes. I don't know why. But I hate not knowing for sure, but I'd rather have them online or something.

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Caitlin: music | Listening To[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 06:37 am (UTC)
If they could keep the boat submerged with the air pocket, they should be okay. I just don't really think you can keep that much air trapped under a boat with just two people holding it down. It would just be too hard to hold on to it!

Cheesy? Really? To me, lyrics in liner notes is kind of like the definition of practicality. I mean, if it's a Dashboard Confessional album, I could see the cheesy. But that is not really the fault of the liner notes.
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An anagram of "Aimless"[info]lexy_ on November 27th, 2007 08:07 am (UTC)
I never understood the logistics of that scene. :\

idk, there's something too poppy(?) about putting in the lyrics. Like it's something Hilary Duff would do, but not someone like Radiohead, although I can't say them for sure because I don't own an album of theirs, but someone more musically serious. Maybe it's just one of those pretentious "indie" mentalities. I don't really know how to explain it :(
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Caitlin[info]caitiedidit on November 27th, 2007 04:39 pm (UTC)
Weeell, I love Radiohead and everything, but they are an eye-rollingly pretentious band. But I just checked their best album (OK Computer) and they do indeed have the lyrics in the liner notes.
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An anagram of "Aimless"[info]lexy_ on November 28th, 2007 12:05 am (UTC)
Okay, well then maybe it's just me, lol.
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Laura[info]bactaqueen on November 27th, 2007 04:58 pm (UTC)
This post is a perfect example of why I love you and your posts so much.

So I was thrilled to see that Mythbusters is doing an episode on PotC during which they will put this trick to the test. Wednesday at 9:00!

Yessssssss! While this is one of my favorite scenes in the movies, I've wondered whether it's actually possible or not. So this is going to be cool.

2. I feel very strongly that if you are in a band and your band fails at enunciation, then you have an OBLIGATION to print your lyrics in the liner notes. If your label won't spring for more than four pages, or if you are a pretentious asshat who prefers cryptic artwork or elaborate photo shoots, then you should at least have the courtesy to post your lyrics at your website. In an obvious place and labeled properly! I do not want to have to poke all over your stupid webspace to find them because you are too creative to have an intuitive site. GOD. Why do I even buy music?

AMEN. Nirvana was notorious for not sharing their lyrics. My least favorite excuse for not sharing lyrics? "We want the fans to interpret the songs for themselves." THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "CRIMSON PLACES" AND "CLIPS AND PHRASES." The flip side of this, of course, is when they do share the lyrics, you discover what terrible spellers your favorite writers are. :( I am still bothered by "throws" in "Silver and Cold" and I've stopped reading Rancid's lyrics.

All of #6 made me boggle and repeat "WTF?" like a mantra. Like, I understand that whaling is a huge part of some cultures, and I can even sort of see this as a publicity stunt to maybe remind the Japanese of their cultural heritage, but... that's just huge. Fifty whales? Millions in advertising? I could be wrong, but isn't it possible that the decline in the popularity of consuming whale meat has waned in the last few decades because overwhaling? When I wanted to be a marine biologist, I remember being horrified at the decline in the whale populations, and I think I remember being especially horrified with the Japanese and the Norse countries. Weren't there laws in place to regulate the whaling industry, thereby limiting the availability of whale meat? I could be wrong. Maybe I should Google this... Fifty whales seems excessive. Humpbacks are not small creatures! And the whales are coming from a Sanctuary. That's so wrong. Sanctuary is supposed to be a safe place.
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Laura[info]bactaqueen on November 27th, 2007 05:01 pm (UTC)
Christ. Google "japanese whaling laws" and prepare to be horrified.
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Caitlin: !!! | :D | LOL[info]caitiedidit on November 28th, 2007 02:32 am (UTC)
POUR SOME SHOOK-UP RAMEN
THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN "CRIMSON PLACES" AND "CLIPS AND PHRASES."

YES, exactly. I am happy to interpret the lyrics myself, but first I MUST UNDERSTAND WHAT IT IS YOU ARE SAYING.

Probably this is why you were horrified by your Google Fu, but JIC... It's 50 Humpback Whales. The Japanese probably kill closer to 2,000 whales every year in the name of science. It is bullshit, basically. But at least most of the whales are species of whale that are closer to being recovered. Although I heard they even killed 5 Sperm Whales last year, and I would think that they are pretty endangered, but I'm not sure.

When I wanted to be a marine biologist,

Ahahaha, you too? I am pretty sure every little kid ever had their I Want To Be A Marine Biologist moment. I totally wanted to be one until I decided that fishes are kinda gross when they are not behind glass.
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Kelly: Airbender Avatar Statue[info]oicrylic on November 29th, 2007 02:59 am (UTC)
This has probably nothing to do with your post, Sis, but I was wondering if you could POSSIBLY send me the Jane Austen Bookclub...

I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO THIS WEEKEND (besides work and stuff). I WILL GO INSANE!!!!!!!
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Caitlin: !!! | ??? | SRSLY?[info]caitiedidit on November 29th, 2007 05:01 am (UTC)
Um, no. I cannot. Do you know how huge the file is? How would I get it to you? I will look for the original link and try to see if it is still active, kay?
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