What DVD's are we Watching?

[wolf]

Lots of netflixin' today.

Watched a British Docudrama from the 1950s, The War Game, which was a simulation of a nuclear attack on a small community that hadn't expected being hit by an a-bomb, but of course, those things don't always fall where you want them. Surprisingly realistic.

Finished out the Father Brown Mysteries, I'm nearly finished the last book in the set as well.

And now I've settled in for a long run of Hikaru No Go. It's an anime about a kid that gets possessed by the spirit of an ancient Go master.

Makes me want to play go, but I don't know how to play, neither do any of my friends, although we keep talking about wanting to learn. There aren't any local go clubs that are still active, so I'm having a hard time breaking into the game. Yes, I know I could just get on the internet go server, but even reading about the game I'm not getting the sense of rhythm about it that I would like to have. And so, I watch Japanese Cartoons instead. There's a Go lesson at the end of every episode.

[BigV]

I play Go.

The single hardest concept for me to grasp, the thing that was the most different from all other games (and I've played many, many games) is that Go is not about the pieces on the board, but about the empty space surrounded by the pieces on the board.

Pente, Reversi, Checkers, these games are played on boards that are similar to a Go board. They have pieces that are similar to Go stones. The first three, the game is happening with the pieces. The score, the strategy, the action, it has mostly to do with the pieces. There is some aspect of the game that has to do with empty space, can you land on an empty square if you want to jump a checker, if I close a gap with my reversi piece I'll connect a block of pieces, there's something to space with these games. But with Go, the whole idea is about space. That was a fundamental difference. When I grasped that, I could see a Go board in an entirely different way.

[BigV]

The Vanishing

Scott Pilgrim vs The World

The Grifters

[wolf]

I want to read the book. There are supposed to be documents related to her treatment reproduced in the book.

Hm. I wonder why that might be interesting to me ...

[BigV]

Watched "The Wave", available streaming via Netflix. I give it five stars. Here's the description from imdb:

A high school teacher's unusual experiment to demonstrate to his students what life is like under a dictatorship spins horribly out of control when he forms a social unit with a life of its own.

I found it fascinating, so fascinating that my inability to speak German was no impediment to my enjoyment despite the fact that the contrast on the built-in subtitles was often poor (white on white) rendering them unreadable. I understand how the movie would have extra special resonance in Germany, but I found the story entirely plausible, a cautionary tale that applies equally to our society here. Strongly recommended.

[wolf]

I will have to add that.

[UncaDollas]

[wolf]

Netflix has added a bunch of rock documentaries featuring classic albums. Just watched Iron Maiden Number of the Beast (wonderful bit in Portmerion, btw) and Queen Night at the Opera.

[Clodfobble]

Season 1 of Portlandia is the funniest goddamn thing I've seen in a long time.

Admittedly, this may be because Austin is exactly like Portland in all the ways they're making fun of, so the humor hits closer to home. Here's the opening scene of the first episode:

[Gravdigr]

Portland is a city where young people go to retire.

Looks awfully vanilla, but, Ima try it.

[wolf]

Just saw Dark Shadows. Far less awful than I expected, but I'm still not happy. Loved the crusty old sea captain cameo ... somebody should have him on their death list, I might add him if he makes it past this year. Oh, and the original Collins family cameo, that was hip, too.

[DanaC]

Wolf, you should check out the Dark Shadow audios. They're apparently more in keeping with the original tone.

http://bigfinish.com/ranges/released/dark-shadows

Some of their stuff is available at libraries, might be worth checking if your local library is able to get hold of them? Also, they often appear for cheap on ebay.

[wolf]

Dark Shadows audio? How wonderful.

I have the series soundtrack album ... some of the tracks include Jonathan Frid and David Selby reading poetry.

When I am dead my dearest by Christina Rosetti is chilling and beautiful.

[DanaC]

Yeah. There are some enhanced audiobooks (one main reader, a second voice and some sound effects) and they've recently started doing full cast audio plays.

I havent heard any of them yet, but if they're half as good as their Doctor Who and Stargate audios, they'll be a fun listen.

[infinite monkey]

I won't be watching freaking Termite: The Walls Have Eyes because the pre-order I put in just POOF disappeared in to thin air and BigWarriorWoman has no record that I ordered it (though I know I DID I posted about it) and the video is no longer available and they don't know if or when it will be available.

I was looking forward to it even more so than Citizen Ruth (great!) and Sleeping Dogs Lie (frightfully good considering the subject...not for everyone for sure) and a few others I got.

Effers.