TV Habits II

Have a look at last year's post, to understand this one. This should be the third in a trifecta (I love that phrase) of movie/ entertainment posts, as I benefit the from the blessing of increased lucidity in this month. My aim in this is pretty much the same with all writing - get it out of my head, and onto some form of record, thus freeing up mental RAM. A short pencil is better than a long memory, definitely, though it looks like we have more digital equivalents now. Once I'm done, I intend to switch writing high level-thinkery posts. Or just finish that poem that I've been trying to write for two and a half months.

So…yeah. TV habits. A lot changes in a year, and my habits are now different. That we now have a freesat box that has an embedded hard drive probably has something to do with it, as any series that I want to watch can be recorded later. Which is probably not a good thing, but meh.

From last year, I think I've stopped watching two of my three faves. Heroes has been discontinued, and I kinda agree with the decision, even if I will miss it. The show was going nowhere, and it seemed like it was continually trying and failing to reproduce the magic of the first season, where multiple story arcs cleverly crisscrossed and converged to a brilliant finale.

House…well. As far as I know, the show is still running. Only I don't watch it. It was brilliant, and I loved the idea of a flawed-maverick-medical genius Sherlock Holmes, but I think, again the show has lost it's magic. If you haven't seen it, a few episodes still stick out as being exceptional, and should be watched - Three Stories (S1E21), No Reason (S2E24), the whole of Season 4, and Broken (S6E1-2).

Hustle is still about, and I still like it, though I miss the chemistry the original cast had. Will probably watch it when it's back. No real change there.

To new stuff now, and I might as well go and look at the stuff I've set to record on the freesat. Spongebob and The Avengers made the cut - there was never any doubt about these two. (Yes, I'm still a kid at heart)

Then there's Frasier. It's funny to watch two brothers so educated and cultured, with such high opinions of themselves end up in chaotic and sometimes quite bizarre situations. The show is not just comedy and chaos though…some incredibly delicate situations are portrayed and played perfectly. The armchair psychiatry that one picks up has proved remarkably useful in some situations too.

Less frequently, F1. This I can only watch with my brother, oddly. I have a passion for tech and an interest in cars, and my brother has a passion for cars and an interest in tech. F1 is the perfect intersection of both, and we can discuss for hours the ramifications of rule changes, component failures, tactical pitstops, tyre degradation - the whole lot. You probably don't want to listen to us do so, though, unless you want to be bored to sleep. I have come to appreciate F1 as a sport in it's own right as well - an incredibly heady mix of talent, technology, and tactics. I don't know why I only watch it with him though, and feel odd watching it when he's not present. I guess it's a social thing as well that we bond over.

And finally - White Collar. I love this show. When I talked about being able to appreciate stuff done right in the movies post, this is what I mean. Every detail of the show is done perfectly - casting, production, direction, acting, and the script. A brilliant take on setting a thief to catch a thief, which works on plenty of levels. Just watch it.

Done. Till next year. I hope to report something better then.

The Training Scene

So I mentioned in the movies post, that once you've seen too many films, you begin to notice formulaic elements within films. For example, in rom coms, the guy and girl will get on well for the first half, then fight in the second, only to reunite at the end for a happy ending (500 Days of Summer being the only exception I can think of). But my favourite element of all the films I watch, that I love watching over and over again, are the training scenes. You'll mostly find them in action/adventure movies.

A couple of my faves:

Rocky

Self explanatory.

Kung Fu Panda

This is awesome because the teacher here knows that traditional methods aren't working. He almost gives up, but then he figures out how to properly connect to his pupil, and it works beautifully.

Avatar

You wouldn't think it was, but it is. Jake Scully needs to learn how to use his avatar, and he does. The sound of a girl laughing at his early attempts ringing in his ears is a unique kind of motivation…. it's a guy thing.

Iron Man

Not a training scene as such, but still an excellently made piece of cinematic art. It's done in parts - the making of the suit, and the testing of the suit. The test is the part I love - you could call it a "first flight" scene. He soars, he dives, he tries to break the altitude record for a plane, and nearly dies, only to save himself by a total reboot. The joy of the audience in seeing him take flight is then balanced perfectly by a comical moment at the end.

Karate Kid

"Wax on, wax off". In first making Daniel do manual housework does Mr. Miyagi strengthen the boys muscles, which are then trained through actual martial art training. The best, in my opinion, is when Daniel sees Mr. Miyagi execute a move which finishes in the crane position. Daniel consistently attempts this throughout the movie, and finally uses it properly to win the tournament.

X-Men: First Class

I won't ruin this for you, as most people haven't yet seen it, but when a young Charles Xavier helps his mutant brethren learn to control and master their powers, it is done in the most beautiful way… even in his youth we see the person who becomes the Professor, whose life calling becomes to help others master their powers, oftentimes helping them face their fears first.

And so on, and so forth. I could go on at length. But what I love is the message behind them. Dedication, focus, commitment…putting in the hours will eventually lead to mastery in any field.

Go for it. If your life was to be made into a movie, what part would be made into the training scene?

Late Working

I've just finished a week of night shifts. Most interesting. The shop where I worked was being refurbished, and in order to minimise disruption to trading during the day, it was decided that I would stay behind with the contractors, supervise them, and lock up afterward. Such are the joys of being a Responsible Person. Of course, I will be remunerated adequately, but this post isn't about that.

What I was most impressed with was the quality of the guys who worked. They were craftsmen. There is no other way to put it. The person I liked most was the foreman, a great hulk of a man, and a Russian to boot. He was like a jack of all trades, able to help with electrical, mechanical, painting, joinery, whatever. And yet, always in charge, and still able to crack a joke with the workers every now and then.

And from this I have another resolution. Eventually, because I know it won't happen soon, I want to be more involved with building/ DIY. I have already assembled a large amount of the furniture in my own home, but I want to be able to do more.

Like I said, eventually. No rush for now.

On Movie Watching

Some time ago, I did a review of my top 10 apps. I mentioned that one of the best, especially for project management was the Things app. Only recently I looked at it, and saw this:


It's not so bad. A swipe down reveals past ones and logs the date:


Only....

Only....

Only if you told me a year ago that I'd be using my phone to keep a to-watch list, I'd have said I wouldn't dare waste something so potentially productive on something so patently procrastinative.

I must have (because I can't actually remember) added one movie as a separate to-do, then more, and then decided that it would make more sense to have a "project" dedicated to watching films. But where did this habit come from? I think I may finally have an answer.

It is no secret to any longtime reader of this blog that I wasn't really very happy for most of 2009. But in film, I could lose myself for 90 or so minutes. And so I did, with some regularity. But something else happened. After watching so many, you begin to be able to appreciate what makes a good movie, and a good story.

Other stuff that you begin to be able to do:
- Anticipate plot turns with increasing accuracy.
- Notice formulaic elements within the same genre of movies.
- Cringe more often with really bad acting/bad storytelling.

Result? Since then, I have watched a LOT of movies. A conservative estimate of movies watched would probably be something like 100, a liberal one something like 175. The truth lies somewhere in between, with perhaps a small chance that I have seen more.

Proof? I just did a little experiment. Without pausing, I was able to name 50 films that I had seen in the 2 years. That's a lot. At the very least all that time could be put to better use.

And it will. Eventually. I am healed now, so I don't need to turn to them for comfort anymore. Truth be told, I probably shouldn't have turned to them for comfort in the first place. Now I just look for exceptionally brilliant, well crafted tales, and, by and large, I find them. Now that I know what I seek, I know I don't need to spend to much time looking for them.

Anyway, I can at least put my knowledge to good use and recommend a few films. These are not universally well known, but they are all very well made. Enjoy.

- Empire of the Sun
- Bigger than the Sky
- Pan's Labyrinth
- Elizabethtown
- Bobby
- Up
- Twilight Samurai
- Open Range
- Spirited Away
- Fried Green Tomatoes
- The Usual Suspects
- A River Runs Through It
- Tron
- The Motorcycle Diaries
- Serendipity

Rajab

If my blog has one tradition, or anything approaching a tradition, then it is this: every year, I will write a post about Rajab (1431, 1430, 1429). As I write this, I keep on thinking back to the one three years ago. I remember it so clearly. I was waiting so intently for the sun to set. And I felt something immense when it did. I was so, so glad to be inside the blessed month.

A lot has changed since then. And a lot has remained the same. I just wish the anticipation in awaiting this month had remained the same. But it hasn't.

To be clear: I am not sad, or ungrateful, to be seeing this month. I just wish, as the years go by, that I could see some measure of progress, that I knew I was becoming better as a Muslim, and as a human. I am most definitely grateful to be blessed to be seeing another of these months.

From experience, I also know, and am grateful for, what is about to come. It seems that the only time I manage to get a purely transcendental look at my life is in the next three months, like a gift of clear thought after months of muddied thinking. I hope I'm able to make good use of it this time.

Wishing all peace and blessings in this holy month, iA.