[Sæternes-dæg] Annotated Links #19: Wonders Outwards, Inwards, and Engineered

1. "This is Not a Real-Life Pokemon, Just the Poodle Moth." TechEBlog 23 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012.

This article focuses on an image of the poodle moth in nature, and as a pokemon card. It's a brief article that includes no extra description of the animal or an external link.

Nonetheless, this link is included because of its weirdness and how it shows the world's wondrousness.

2.Marable, Eileen. "This Nazi Space Buddha isn't science fiction — it's real." DVICE 27 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012.

According to this article, information on a Buddhist statue made from meteorite iron was recently released by researchers. This statue is from the 8th-10th centures, but the iron itself fell some 10,000 years ago, along the Siberia-Mongolia border. During the late 1930s it was brought to Nazi Germany, possibly because of the swastika on its chest. This article is written in a sensationalist, yet level-headed style.

This article is included because of its bizarreness.

3. Taylor, Kathleen. "The Brain Supremacy." Huff Post Science 24 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012.

An article that proposes that the field of neuroscience is going to be a hot spot for future scientific development - as the brain is increasingly better understood, the more it will be treated directly, and the more it will be pleased directly (with things like artificial experiences or direct thought-editing). At the same time, this piece raises the ethical questions important to a world where neuroscience can do all of these things. Taylor writes in a lecture-style register but keeps things moving along smoothly.

This one is included because the matter of brain manipulation is a curious thing.

4. Adams, James. "Why reading more carefully is better." The Globe and Mail 21 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012.

Adams explains the importance of reading slowly based on observations of reading brains and circulatory systems. According to this article, slow reading gives blood flow to all of the brain, whereas skimming something only gives a blood flow to certain parts of the brain. He writes in a casual but tidy style.

I had to include this one because any research into the body's reaction to reading needs to be shared. Especially when it proposes such positive benefits to slow reading.

5. Kooser, Amanda. "Nintendo zapper hacked to shoot high-powered laser." CBS News 26 September 2012. Web. 29 September 2012.

Over at North Street Labs in Portsmouth, VA, engineers have hacked an NES Zapper to fire a powerful laser. This laser can set things on fire, damage eye sight, or burn skin. A video demonstrating some of its applications is included with this article, and it's written in a direct, simple style.

Because this one is so amazing, it's included.

Back To Top
Closing

Tomorrow, watch for the next look-back/look-ahead entry!

Back To Top

[Freya-dæg] All-Request August Pt. 4: (Legend of) Earthsea

{The Legend of Earthsea's DVD cover, found on Wikipedia.}

Introduction
Plot Summary
The Good
The Bad
Judgment
Closing

Introduction

Normally, I don't do things that aren't movies, but when a request for the Legend of Earthsea (later shortened to Earthsea) came through, I simply could not refuse. Ursula K. Le Guin is a master of the crafts of fantasy and science fiction, and anything based on her work is something that I was sure I could find some good in.

So, let's see what I came out with.


Back to Top
Plot Summary

Ged (Shawn Ashmore) is a typical young man living in a small village. He's skilled with magic and learning from a local wise woman while his father (Dave 'Squatch' Ward) tries to corral him into blacksmithing. Amidst it all though, Ged would rather be spending time with his best friend, Diana (Erin Karpluk). However, beyond the island of Gont, trouble brews. The king of the Kargides, Tygath (Sebastian Roché), is plotting to bring all of the 1,001 islands of Earthsea under his command for the sake of peace.

The king's campaign eventually brings him to Ged's village, where the young wizard uses his wiles to outwit the king's soldiers, but at a terrible cost - the loss of his place as a mere blacksmith and the fulfilment of his greatest desire: to be somebody known and important.

With the promise of his powers pulling him onwards, Ged is thrust into a world of magic and wonder that he cannot begin to comprehend. At the same time, the Kargide king's plan to seize an ultimate, dark power from an order of priestesses is in full swing. Can Ged learn to control his power in time? Will the Kargide king's evil schemes come to fruition? The answers are sure shake all of Earthsea!

Back to Top
The Good

The mini-series begins with some typical fantasy things: the village boy with great hidden power, a mysterious old wise woman, and a call for adventure (some key ingredients in Joseph Campbell's theory of the "Hero's Journey"). Yet these elements are presented in a way that develops them.

We see Ged and Diana (with some of the best chemistry in the series) live out a relationship that's similar to Link and Saria's in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

In fact, the scene where Ged and Diana part ways is just as effective as that in which Link and Saria do the same. We also see Ged and his father's relationship very quickly develop as the two are brought into conflict over the death of Ged's mother and their differing views of what's best for Ged. Plus, the introduction of the great wizard Ogion (Danny Glover) is quite well done.

Earthsea's effects are also quite well done, considering that this was produced in 2004 and on the sort of budget that SyFy (formerly Sci Fi) seems infamous for providing its many mini-series.

In some ways these effects are reminiscent of the animations you'd find in Baldur's Gate on the PC, or of those seen in Hercules: The Legendary Journeys or Xena: Warrior Princess.

The effects aren't breathtakingly realistic (for the most part) but they aren't enough to break the magic and wonder that the mini-series is trying to portray.

On that subject, the world's magic is indeed interesting. Being based on the idea of all things having true names, it doesn't go out of its way to be terribly original (the idea was all the rage among Renaissance thinkers), but it does deliver some intrigue here and there.

The matter of Ged's summoning a shadow - a nameless one - is absolutely fascinating. In fact, this might be the single, best-done part of the movie since his shadow, the Gebbeth (Mark Acheson), is a very effective villain. He's just like Ged, but also always lurking and always threatening until the very end. Unsurprisingly, this is one of the few things brought over from the original novels.

The mini-series' climax definitely delivers, largely because it's the only instance of a real sword fight in the whole thing. This brief duel between Ged and the evil king Tygath is a great fight - possibly because it's the only one we see. Nonetheless, it's definitely a good sign when the series' writers and producers don't go and make their hero an instant swordmaster, and when fight choreography goes fairly smoothly.

Back to Top
The Bad

But the same can't be said for directors and those in charge of casting.

The mini-series' major characters (Ged, Tenar (Kristin Kreuk), Tygath, Thar (Isabella Rossellini), and to some extent Ged's fellow wizard Vetch (Chris Gauthier)) are fairly well-cast, but almost every other actor on screen just doesn't seem to be into it.

One of the essential things that an actor must do in any fantasy movie/mini-series is sell that fantasy; they need to become their character more than ever. This need for an actor to get lost in their role is essential because fantasy stories by their very nature ask their audiences to suspend their disblelief. If the actors aren't entirely into their characters or their lines, that disbelief will be awakened.

It's fair to aim the same sort of double-edged comment at the world's magic system.

The idea of "true names" is a good one to work with, but the reason why it was so popular historically is because it was explained. The original "true language" was thought to be some variation of Hebrew (or, in an eccentric case, Old High Dutch) since that's what the Old Testament was written in, or some sort of celestial or angelic language, since lost to humanity.

Regardless of the varying opinion of whatever the true language is, the point is: People latched onto the idea of an original, Adamic language during the flourishing of humanistic thought in Europe because there were logical speculations about which language is the true language. Not so in Earthsea.

Never are we told who spoke the language of the true names originally, nor how anyone learns true names for things (though there does appear to be a wizarding specialty in true names).

Because we don't get any kind of explanation for this concept it falls flat. Magic can be on the edge of logic (and often is), but it's still within logic. If you don't try to explain it, or even simply have a character say something like "that information is forever lost," then it suggests that you just don't care about keeping your magic system logical.

Moreover, late in the mini-series we learn that faith and magic are somehow opposed to each other. This could make sense if it was explained, but once again no effort is made to explain why there's a rift between two things that are ostensibly forms of extreme concentration.

The other major problem with this mini-series is that it simply tries to do too much. Up until the point where Ged leaves Ogion for the first time, we see enough that we can digest and understand and believe. But once he gets to the magic school the mini-series tries to encapsulate more than it can handle.

Where we could have had a fully realized school with a student body that's as dynamic as that in any of the Harry Potter movies, we get one where we only know the headmaster, Ged's fellow wizard Vetch, the bully Jasper, and a bookish girl who may as well have had a spell of silence on her.

{The redhead on the left communicates almost entirely through looks.}

What's more, the other side of the story, that which is going on with the Kargides and the order of priestesses in charge of protecting the seal on the nameless ones just drags and drags and drags.

Nothing of interest or intrigue is successfully accomplished in this plot-line because it's been done before in its entirey, and, what's more, everywhere it's been done it's been done better. Kossil (Jennifer Calvert) and Tygath's plot to force the high priestess into choosing her as her successor so that she can learn the words to break the seal and she and Tygath can become immortal is played out so predictably that it's almost cringe worthy to watch the transitions from Ged's plot-line to that of the order. Though what Kossil does with one of the women she has to murder along the way is kind of interesting.

Back to Top
Judgment

The TV mini-series Earthsea has its strengths and its weaknesses. It presents some decent actors and some curious characters and wraps them in a fantasy world based on one of the greatest works in the genre, but the essential thing to remember is that it's just that: Based on those books.

What the mini-series fails to capitalize on is the main focus of Le Guin's Earthsea: the conflict between Ged and the Gebbeth that he inadvertently conjures. The otherwise cookie-cutter fantasy story that we get is just filler, essentially. Though why they'd want to do this is beyond understanding.

The cost of making a high-intensity drama where a young wizard faces his inner demons couldn't be that large, and the cast of characters could be unaffected, since that wizard and his demons would have to interact to get across what Le Guin's words did in her writing. Yet this is what we get, this is the Earthsea that was committed to film and publicly aired.

It's an all right mini-series, but it just doesn't bring enough of its potential to bear. Alas, like the wizard that never finds a teacher, this mini-series never found a competent team to bring it together effectively. Watch it for its great beginning, cool climax, and excellent magic, but in between these high points be ready to feel like Ged and Vetch do throughout much of the movie:


So, Freya, grasp this one by the hand if you happen to pass over it, but don't pull, lest its muscled and mighty arm come off of its rotting, leprous corpse.

Back to Top
Closing

Next week, check back here for Part Five of All-Request August: a look for the good in This Means War. Also, check back here every two days for updates on the progress of my blogs' updates.

Back to Top

Annotated Links #16: Video Games: History and Experimentation

1. "The History of Sound Cards and Computer Game Music." MacGateway 13 July 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.

An extensive, chronological history of major sound cards from 1981 to the present. Each entry includes a brief history of the sound card and a set of examples of the sound card at work. The entirety of the article is written in a straightforward style.

This article is included here because of its depth, and because it gives a great overview of an important part of computer and video game history.

2. Maleficent Rea, Jasmine. "Adding a shock to a Sega Genesis is a bad idea." BitMob 7 August 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.

Two French gamers have rigged shock collars up to a Sega Genesis. The shock collar delivers a small shock to the player whenever their character takes damage. The article is brief, and written casually, but includes a video (in French, with subtitles) of the modders testing their shocking modification.

This article is included because it's a console mod in action, and though it's a less than useful one, it reflects human curiosity and the desire to experiment.

3. "Transforming a Nintendo 64 into a Handheld Console." slightlywarped.com 14 July 2012. Web. 14 August 2012.

A nearly step-by-step guide on how to turn a Nintendo 64 into a handheld console in pictures. This particular guide-in-pictures uses Goldeneye 64 as it's test game.

The guide has a place in this Annotated Links because it's curious, neat, and a great use for an old console. Plus, it shows ingenuity and lateral thinking.

Back To Top
Closing

Check back here tomorrow for an editorial and on Thursday for Annoted Links #17. Plus, don't miss Part Three of All-Request August: a look for the likeable in the deep-South worm-pocalypse flick, Squirm.

Back To Top

Annotated Links #8: Wearing in and Wearing Out

1. Turchin, Peter. "Cultural Evolution of Pants." Social Evolution Forum 7 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

Peter Turchin posits that pants are worn not because of any sort of comfort, but because of social norms - and that these norms evolved over time. His central argument is that in the Classical West everyone wore tunics or chitons, and they believed that only barbarians wore pants (and laughed at them for it, just as non-Scottish Westerners might laugh at men wearing kilts today). This is a blog entry, strewn with illustrative pictures and written in a casual professional style. The entry includes a link to part two of his argument, wherein he explains why horses led to the prevalance and social power of pants in Western society.

2. "Wearable Hummingbird Feeder." Heatstick.com 2010. Web. 18 July 2012.

The product known as eYe2eye is a hummingbird feeding helmet. This site contains videos and pictures of people using the helmet, and a detailed explanation of what the helmet is and what it's made from, all of which implies that the asking price is a fair one. All of the information is presented in a bright and stylized format, with text written in a simple and direct style.

3. Oremus, Will. "Hacker Uses 3-D Printed Keys to Crack Police Handcuffs." Slate 16 July 2012. Web. 18 July 2012.

A German security consultant known only as "Ray" demonstrated how 3-D printing can be used to make effective handcuff keys at a New York conference on Friday 13 July 2012. Police departments use one set of keys for all of their handcuffs from the same manufacturer, meaning that anyone with the right digital blueprint and a 3-D printer could create a key to all of a police department's handcuffs. "Ray" plans to make the digital blueprints for the key he used in his demonstration public to show police how new technology is changing the rules of the security game and to help them to keep vigilant. The article is written in a quick and light style.

Back To Top
Closing

Don't miss tomorrow's editorial entry, or part three of Nicolas Cage month on Friday with a search for the decent in 2011's Trespass. And, of course, come Thursday be sure to watch for Annotated Links #9!

Back To Top