I've read this phrase on the BSNYC blog comments: "mimes make a careful study of the way things are done, and then they do them in the correct way." For some reason, it really caught my attention; may be because mimes are so mesmerizing, moderately creepy and seem to be completely out of place no matter the circumstance. In any case, I've caught myself trying to analyze the way people do things, but soon drifted into trying to figure out WHY are they doing all these things. Unfortunately, this thought is not at all new, and already a while back I've established that making sense of people's movements is hopeless, and that the only thing to do it to take things for face value.
One thing still bothers me though. Child shows. Muppets. Passpartout. Sesame Street. You name it. Think about the concept itself, think slowly. Adults produce an unnaturally lit space in which half-paralyzed, disproportional figures move as epileptics in a rave. These furry relatives of Chucky are presented in quasi-normal setting doing seems-so normal things. However, any time I see one of these shows I feel somewhat disconnected from reality, and not in a good way. The kind of disconnection you get when you are standing on the edge of a cliff or a tall building, and a sudden gust of wind takes you by surprise; and for a split second you have this double vision - in one you are still standing, and in the other already falling. I don't know if kids actually enjoy that kind of thing, but I clearly remember how I was afraid of the dark for an entire two weeks after I watched 5 minutes of the Muppet Show when I was about 4 or 5. Seriously, I just fail to understand how can somebody like red fuzzy big-mouthed frogs lip singing out of sync!
I think what freaks me out so much is that the life of all these creatures, anthropomorphic or otherwise, is grossly oversimplified; since it refers to the common actions that we perform on the daily bases I inevitably end up putting myself in the shoes of a clumsy, chubby, shaggy creature squeezed into a theme park created by a group of college design students on acid, who forgot that centi- and millimeters are not the same thing. Subjective? Yes, no denying. I'm just tired of people turning on the nostalgic look in their eyes and starting to sing whenever they see one of these things.
Don't get me wrong though, I don't hate all kids' stuff. I love cartoons. I adore some of childrens' literature. But childrens' music and shows are, and always were, beyond my understanding.
What triggered the rant above is that when I mention the word passpartout to some of my friends, they instantly think of the show. Not the master key, which is actually what the french word means, not the character from the classic "Around the world in 80 days," but the show. Of course, there is no shows' fault in it, and plenty of other references to world-wide classics go unnoticed, but... that is already an all different rant on the North American popular education and common knowledge, into which I don't want to get once again.
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
Showing posts with label time. Show all posts
10/15/08
6/23/08
Making sure summer is real
This year I decided to witness the first sunrise of the summer. Getting up at 4 am was out of the question, so I stacked up on tea, coffee, and energy bars and prepared for the night of stargazing and daydreaming. To add to the pagan nature (summer solstice, etc) of the event and to feel more primal, I also decided to bake some bread. The recipe has already been tried a few times on previous occasions (less pagan and primal, I must admit) and proved itself worthy.
In case you are curious here is this premium vegan bread recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5716.0
The only modification made was the addition of herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme and sauté-ed onions (what?! what do you mean "not a herb!?").
I completely messed it up. Poured too hot water into the yeast and later forgot to put it in when it was supposed to be inserted; as a result, the dough didn't ride. It took over an hour in the oven, formed bulletproof crust and stayed completely raw inside. Coda. However, since all the ingredients can be pretty much eaten uncooked, I took the chances and tried this gastronomic catastrophe. Despite the density of a neutron star, the taste was actually quite good. The onions are just right, oregano not overdosed, rosemary is noticeable.
It is now 3.45 am, the bread is cooling on the counter, and... O MIRACLE! First light of the summer!
So after the another (seventh) cup of tea and freshly underbaked bread, the sky color pallet is upgrading:
Dawn at 4.30am:
Behold friends, summer is not a hoax! It is actually here! I saw it arrive with my very own eyes!
In case you are curious here is this premium vegan bread recipe: http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=5716.0
The only modification made was the addition of herbs: rosemary, oregano, thyme and sauté-ed onions (what?! what do you mean "not a herb!?").
I completely messed it up. Poured too hot water into the yeast and later forgot to put it in when it was supposed to be inserted; as a result, the dough didn't ride. It took over an hour in the oven, formed bulletproof crust and stayed completely raw inside. Coda. However, since all the ingredients can be pretty much eaten uncooked, I took the chances and tried this gastronomic catastrophe. Despite the density of a neutron star, the taste was actually quite good. The onions are just right, oregano not overdosed, rosemary is noticeable.
It is now 3.45 am, the bread is cooling on the counter, and... O MIRACLE! First light of the summer!
So after the another (seventh) cup of tea and freshly underbaked bread, the sky color pallet is upgrading:
Dawn at 4.30am:
Behold friends, summer is not a hoax! It is actually here! I saw it arrive with my very own eyes!
6/10/08
Before the summer
The warm weather jump starts Montreal summer a dozen of days before the "official opening." Here is the quick recap of the events that marked the beginning of the month of June.
The area of Little Burgundy celebrated the change of seasons by a pineapple fight. The commercial and political connotation (promotion of locally grown fruit) of the event attracted such a number of environmentally responsible citizen that the reporting crew could only witness and photograph the aftermath.
The Organization for Humane Treatment of Edible Plants (OHTEP) responded by stigmatizing the activity as encouraging the melting of the Antarctic ice cap. Our analytical department is presently working on tracing the connection between the two.
The city of Montreal introduces innovative landscaping this summer. Young plants of new species, genetically engineered to survive in the urban environment are to be introduced in the places previously unthinkable. The tree seen on the photo extracts nutrients from the remains of food thrown into the can; it also receives its daily caffeine dose from disposable cups. Leaving a bicycle near one might not be the best idea, since some species planted near garages and gas stations were found to have particular liking for rubber and aluminum. The lack of foliage decreases the loss of water, thus diminishing the need for maintenance. This new kind of trees is independent, self-sufficient and resistant; it got everything to be fully integrated into the urban milieu of the 21st century.
Nightlife is not to be missed! Along with downtown bicycle renting service, summer '08 features the "uniglass" project, designed to reduce the use of disposable cups. Participating cafes, restaurants and bars are provided with standard glasses (seen on the photo). People that take their coffee or drink to go, walk off with a real glass, later leaving it anywhere in the downtown area, which is patrolled by a team of cycling volunteers; they pick up the glasses and bring them to the washing station, from where they are redistributed back to the businesses.
The area of Little Burgundy celebrated the change of seasons by a pineapple fight. The commercial and political connotation (promotion of locally grown fruit) of the event attracted such a number of environmentally responsible citizen that the reporting crew could only witness and photograph the aftermath.
The Organization for Humane Treatment of Edible Plants (OHTEP) responded by stigmatizing the activity as encouraging the melting of the Antarctic ice cap. Our analytical department is presently working on tracing the connection between the two.
The city of Montreal introduces innovative landscaping this summer. Young plants of new species, genetically engineered to survive in the urban environment are to be introduced in the places previously unthinkable. The tree seen on the photo extracts nutrients from the remains of food thrown into the can; it also receives its daily caffeine dose from disposable cups. Leaving a bicycle near one might not be the best idea, since some species planted near garages and gas stations were found to have particular liking for rubber and aluminum. The lack of foliage decreases the loss of water, thus diminishing the need for maintenance. This new kind of trees is independent, self-sufficient and resistant; it got everything to be fully integrated into the urban milieu of the 21st century.
Nightlife is not to be missed! Along with downtown bicycle renting service, summer '08 features the "uniglass" project, designed to reduce the use of disposable cups. Participating cafes, restaurants and bars are provided with standard glasses (seen on the photo). People that take their coffee or drink to go, walk off with a real glass, later leaving it anywhere in the downtown area, which is patrolled by a team of cycling volunteers; they pick up the glasses and bring them to the washing station, from where they are redistributed back to the businesses.
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