Saturday, February 27, 2016

I Listen to a Grandma Rant

The cast of Phineas and Ferb perform "Car...
The cast of Phineas and Ferb perform "Carpe Diem", which includes many characters drawn on the show. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I had just finished writing my last post when I realized that I could write about something that happened yesterday, because it did inspire me to write about it (all of our entries are supposed to be about research, writing, or our topic).  My grandmother is a closet Phineas and Ferb addict, and she's gotten me hooked, too, so yesterday afternoon, I set myself on the couch with tea and tissues, while she took the love seat, and we watched a block of episodes on Disney XD. 
Everything was fine until the second commercial break, when they ran two commercials that didn't just push her buttons-- they stomped on them.  The first one was for a game called Gas Out (I think the name is supposed to be a play on "gross out"), a card game where Guster the Gas Cloud farts at random intervals. There's several videos on YouTube, if you're curious. 
The second commercial was for a toy called "Booger Balls" (you can get this on Amazon).  You mix it up in a bowl, then throw the balls at your friends, covering them with slime, and hilarity ensues.
Grandma pretty much freaked out, and I learned that one of the things that gets on all her nerves is the "rampant vulgarity that is consuming this country."  She didn't stop at the commercials, either.  A certain presidential candidate came in for extra abuse ("even his hair is disgusting, and when he talks, you want to duct-tape your ears shut for fear of being contaminated!"), and so did the FX network for some sitcom I never heard of before.
Now, don't think that my grandma is some kind of uptight old lady who can't take a joke (the rant was hilarious!  I laughed myself into a coughing fit).  She meant it to be funny, but she also meant it, period.  
Net result?  I kind of agree with her.  Aren't you supposed to outgrow the need to gross people out?  And, her strongest point was about the message this kind of thing is sending kids.  "Do we really need to make being revolting an asset for an attractive personality?" Then I imagined some little runt hitting me with one of those balls, and I was completely on her side.  But I can't let her know, or she might pull me into a crusade that would have me marching outside Toys 'r Us with a "NO MORE BOOGERS!  NO MORE FARTING GAMES" sign.  Btw, did you know that there's recipes for some kind of food called "crusty booger balls"?  They came up first when I was searching for an image of the toy.
Hey!  Look at how much I wrote.  This should count for 2 or maybe even 3 entries, right?  Please?

The Sinus Infection from Hell

English: An infection of the maxillary sinus a...
Is this gross, or what?!!
An infection of the maxillary sinus as seen on CT
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Yeah, I'm sick.  I've had fully-loaded sinuses since Christmas, and earlier this week an infection set in, swelling up my eyes and blocking my ears.  Luckily (?), my school week was over on Wednesday, so I didn't miss any classes.  I've even kept up with my research schedule, since I didn't feel up to anything but reading.  I'll have my bibliography done on time, and my definitions essay is coming along pretty well.
The rest of the time I've been hanging out with my grandmother.  She came to live with us a few months ago when she sold her house (it was too big for her to keep up).  Dad asked her if she'd like to make our house her home base (she wants to travel with a couple of her friends), and it was all set.  She watched Age of Ultron with me, but gave up when I started watching my three possible scenes over and over.  She had some good ideas, so I was sorry she left.
I'm on my second day of antibiotics, and I still don't feel any different.  I'm worried about school on Monday.

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Coming up with a research schedule

I'm not really sure how to schedule my research, but right now I plan to spend an hour a day searching until I have enough for the annotated bibliography and the definitions essay.  I will probably go to the library tomorrow after class, assuming I get the okay on my proposal.  So, that's as much as I can say about that right now.  

I'm still thinking pretty hard about my movie (oops- got to get used to using "film" when I'm working on this project).  Avengers:  Age of Ultron has several scenes I'm thinking of using.  I'm definitely going to use the scene near the end with Clint and Wanda, where he lays out what it means to be an Avenger, and I'm looking at Tony and Bruce deciding to use the staff for Ultron, but I also need Cap chewing Tony out for not sharing info.  I think.  That's as far as I've gotten on my primary research to date.

Sunday, February 14, 2016

Waiting is the Hardest Part

The "Heroic Age" roster of the Aveng...
The "Heroic Age" roster of the Avengers. Cover art for Avengers vol. 4, #12.1, by Bryan Hitch. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I turned my research proposal in on Wednesday, so I figure I'll get it back on this coming Wednesday.  Tomorrow (Monday) seems too soon, based on last semester's assignments in all my classes.  I'm really hoping she okays it.  I'm sticking with Avengers:  Age of Ultron and a men's studies approach, but I narrowed it down to the code of the team.  My initial research question is:  Do the Avengers all keep to the same code?

The reason I'm asking this is that it seems to me that they don't, and they probably should for the good of the group.  This brings me to the fact that I am worried that I am partly drawn to that conclusion because I have a pretty good idea what the filmmakers are planning for the future films, thanks to my older brothers, Paul and Brian.  I'll get to that in my next post.

Monday, February 1, 2016

Men's Studies and Avengers: Age of Ultron

Captain America and The Avengers
Captain America and The Avengers
 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Today's lecture was on men's studies, and I've decided to use that for my approach to Avengers:  Age of Ultron.  What interested me most was behavior codes, specifically warrior codes.  Watching the film again had me noticing all sorts of things I didn't think about when I first saw it.  For example, it's kinda obvious that they've all been working together a lot, since they have developed team moves, like Thor hitting Captain America's shield with his hammer and knocking out a large group of soldiers at one time with the shock wave.  What struck me the most, however, was when Captain America talked about losing "together" if it was necessary.  The basic cause of the action is Stark wanting to work alone or just with Banner and wanting not to even discuss his plans with the rest of the team.  Is this just because he's so used to getting his own way he can't stand to be thwarted?  Or is it that he isn't sure that he wants to be part of the team when they're not actually fighting?  Either way, the code of the group seems to involve being a group and being open with the group about things involving the group.
I've got a lot of thinking to do, and a proposal draft due on Wednesday, so I'd better get to it.