Catching up on things
May. 18th, 2008 03:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
I've been offline for two and a half days (so I'm pretty terrified of the flist volume at the moment). However, many things to discuss.
Doctor Who:
Obtained. Seen. Amused. Thought the ending was meh, but I enjoyed the cheese thoroughly for the first 35 minutes, so it's in the "like" column. Mostly.
Knitting and Fandom:
The BBC is discussing licensing the Mazzmataz knitting patterns. Good. That's the best outcome all around. According to this article, the BBC had been planning to create a line of stuffed adipose, so Mazz's knitting pattern was a direct threat to that particular marketing line, making the C&D suddenly make a great deal of sense.
I find the last paragraph of the article particularly interesting, because it points out the problems of 20th century copyright/trademark law in the 21st century: What makes the episode more significant is that changing technology is making it easier for fans to create and distribute content based on their favourite programmes, causing a dilemma for copyright holders who have to decide whether to risk bad publicity and threaten legal action, or let them run. The current law is blunt: not reacting fiercely and protectively towards anything that might dent the trademark is required, lest the trademark slide into public domain. However, it's a PR nightmare when that is aimed at fans, be it knitters or high schoolers with Harry Potter info sites. So, perhaps it is time that some wriggle room be written into the law.
Knitting, personal:
The Roma project isoverrun by barbarians dead. Too ambitious. Too half baked. However, it has been replaced by a series of test-knit patterns for a book currently titled $600 of Therapy (And a Free Afghan). More discussion later as that one bakes past the halfway point, and I may in future call for some test knitters. The general gist is that all of the afghans are based on the same block size, require the same tools, are stress-free for even a novice knitter to understand, and every single project is portable.
New York, New York (it's a helluvatown):
Went up to NYC with
fandance yesterday and met up with
suricattus and
hhertzof. (And y'know that pattern I promised you HH? I had it *with me* the entire time, and do I remember it until I come home? *facepalm* Be aggressive, and ask oblivious me next time; I *do* have it for you!
We rushed around a bit too fast, but it was worth it, because in the end, we got to do everything we wanted to do - see the Superhero costume exhibit (Online gallery here), walk in the park on a lovely day, buy shoes, look at yarn (I saw something perfect for a project, leading to the $600 comment that turned into a title), take a look at one of the many street fairs, see the Patrick Stewart Macbeth, and eat at my favorite restaurant.
The Superhero Costume Exhibit:
If you click the link and read that intro, you'll know why I was at a bit of a simmer the whole time, because that writing? Was utter pretentious crap.Which kept it a bit in keeping with the whole thing, actually, but still. Basically, there would be one costume from a movie (the exception was Lynda Carter's Wonder Woman costume) and then a bunch of designers would come up with something that was sort of vaguely along that theme. Some were pretentious, some were silly, some were just bits of bondage gear thrown together. But one was really beautiful (and gave Candy and me flashbacks to costume competitions) and the Spider(wo)man gowns were all really cool.
It was, however, a bit sad to watch the physical emaciation of women over time. Lynda Carter was NOT a fat woman, but her costume bagged on the mannequin - and one of the last costumes was the Mystique prosthesis, which would maybe wrap around one of Lynda's thighs. Watching the movie women get smaller and smaller was frankly freaky.
Macbeth:
Patrick Stewart was brilliant, although his choice to do Maccers as basically a manic-depressive (as
fandance pointed out) was... interesting. My main comments, both good and ill, are with the staging and directoral choices. Some were brilliant and unexpected - there was a lot of subtlety in this version - and some were very, very poor. Like having a sink bolted to the stage that was there *the whole time,* including when the "underground kitchen" was also an English music hall, a dining room, and Birnam-bloody-Wood. Also, most of the exits and entrances were made via elevator. This sometimes worked (one of the subtle touches was that right after the murder MacB & wife were the only ones to go *down*) but sometimes also fumbled badly (there was an unexpected comedy bit right after the murders when Lady M tried to close the gate door with her elbow to keep blood from smearing on the controls).
Because the whole play was done on a not-quite-bare set redressed as necessary, the whole Porter "here's a knocking, indeed!" speech was annoying as hell to me. It's not funny, it exists so the actor can play for time while the set is redone, and to have someone in a kitchen just going on and On and ON instead of answering the damn door is just - Gah!
Banquo at the banquet was fascinating. I've seen productions have the ghost show up. I've seen productions leave the ghost out and have Maccers raving at nothing.
This one did both.
Just before the intermission, the dinner party begins (a scene that always makes me inappropriately giggle because of one of the Shakespeare Scum throwaway lines - "If she would just learn how to throw a proper party, this would never happen!") The witches/nurses/servants poured the soup and passed out the rolls and stood patiently waiting, backs to audience, butcher knives clutched in their hidden hands. First one little tendril of red spead from the slowly lowering elevator, then another, and finally huge spreading blorts of blood were projected on the walls while Banquo, who'd had a bucket of blood thrown on his face - appeared and marched down the table to stand, glaring over him. MacBeth screams and rises.
Intermission.
After the intermission, they rewound to the beginning of the scene and replayed it... no butcher knives, no spreading blood, no ghost. That was interesting.
Now I just want to see a production set on the cliched dark and stormy night, when you only see the ghost when the lightening flashes. That would be cool!
Cover me - I'm checking the flist for the first time in too long.
Doctor Who:
Obtained. Seen. Amused. Thought the ending was meh, but I enjoyed the cheese thoroughly for the first 35 minutes, so it's in the "like" column. Mostly.
Knitting and Fandom:
The BBC is discussing licensing the Mazzmataz knitting patterns. Good. That's the best outcome all around. According to this article, the BBC had been planning to create a line of stuffed adipose, so Mazz's knitting pattern was a direct threat to that particular marketing line, making the C&D suddenly make a great deal of sense.
I find the last paragraph of the article particularly interesting, because it points out the problems of 20th century copyright/trademark law in the 21st century: What makes the episode more significant is that changing technology is making it easier for fans to create and distribute content based on their favourite programmes, causing a dilemma for copyright holders who have to decide whether to risk bad publicity and threaten legal action, or let them run. The current law is blunt: not reacting fiercely and protectively towards anything that might dent the trademark is required, lest the trademark slide into public domain. However, it's a PR nightmare when that is aimed at fans, be it knitters or high schoolers with Harry Potter info sites. So, perhaps it is time that some wriggle room be written into the law.
Knitting, personal:
The Roma project is
New York, New York (it's a helluvatown):
Went up to NYC with
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
We rushed around a bit too fast, but it was worth it, because in the end, we got to do everything we wanted to do - see the Superhero costume exhibit (Online gallery here), walk in the park on a lovely day, buy shoes, look at yarn (I saw something perfect for a project, leading to the $600 comment that turned into a title), take a look at one of the many street fairs, see the Patrick Stewart Macbeth, and eat at my favorite restaurant.
The Superhero Costume Exhibit:
If you click the link and read that intro, you'll know why I was at a bit of a simmer the whole time, because that writing? Was utter pretentious crap.
It was, however, a bit sad to watch the physical emaciation of women over time. Lynda Carter was NOT a fat woman, but her costume bagged on the mannequin - and one of the last costumes was the Mystique prosthesis, which would maybe wrap around one of Lynda's thighs. Watching the movie women get smaller and smaller was frankly freaky.
Macbeth:
Patrick Stewart was brilliant, although his choice to do Maccers as basically a manic-depressive (as
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Because the whole play was done on a not-quite-bare set redressed as necessary, the whole Porter "here's a knocking, indeed!" speech was annoying as hell to me. It's not funny, it exists so the actor can play for time while the set is redone, and to have someone in a kitchen just going on and On and ON instead of answering the damn door is just - Gah!
Banquo at the banquet was fascinating. I've seen productions have the ghost show up. I've seen productions leave the ghost out and have Maccers raving at nothing.
This one did both.
Just before the intermission, the dinner party begins (a scene that always makes me inappropriately giggle because of one of the Shakespeare Scum throwaway lines - "If she would just learn how to throw a proper party, this would never happen!") The witches/nurses/servants poured the soup and passed out the rolls and stood patiently waiting, backs to audience, butcher knives clutched in their hidden hands. First one little tendril of red spead from the slowly lowering elevator, then another, and finally huge spreading blorts of blood were projected on the walls while Banquo, who'd had a bucket of blood thrown on his face - appeared and marched down the table to stand, glaring over him. MacBeth screams and rises.
Intermission.
After the intermission, they rewound to the beginning of the scene and replayed it... no butcher knives, no spreading blood, no ghost. That was interesting.
Now I just want to see a production set on the cliched dark and stormy night, when you only see the ghost when the lightening flashes. That would be cool!
Cover me - I'm checking the flist for the first time in too long.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 10:11 pm (UTC)I'd say that the existence of the two Who crafting communities and the long run of Extermaknit untouched on the Internet are pretty good examples what while they can turn a blind eye, they will.
But when something similar to something they plan on selling was already being sold, they really do have to do something.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 10:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 10:11 pm (UTC)cause even more troubledo even more stuff...no subject
Date: 2008-05-18 11:31 pm (UTC)Or else we'll just have to meet up again. :)
I knew what the Superhero exhibit was in advance (what you described) and I just assumed the rest of you knew that too, or I would have said something. Though I don't remember where I read about it. I've got several comics news related feeds in RSS, even though I don't read that many comics any more.
I skimmed my friendslist this morning since last night I was too tired to do much except watch DW. But I've been busy with work related stuff all day, so I haven't done much more than that.
no subject
Date: 2008-05-19 02:36 am (UTC)Though I did get to see the Liev Schrieber one in the park two years ago, and actually saw it on a windy, not-quite-raining-but-almost night, where the gusts would kick up every time something creepy was happening on stage. I started looking around for wind machines, it was so perfectly timed.