Dread
(still on borrowed puter)

I went to see the film adaptation of the Clive Barker story, "Dread", this evening. It was the world premiere and everything. And the film's sexism seriously spoiled it for me. The main two female characters' fears were gendered, in ways that the male characters' fears weren't, and in the case of the one female character who was in the original story, by added sexual trauma that was pointedly absent from the short story. (At the Q&A I asked the director why he'd added that; he said it was to make the fear more personal.) The other important female character's dread was entirely about her appearance. And then there was the film's use of strippers, which exploited female nudity to showcase a male character's gory visions of mutilated flesh.

After the screening, I did get to tell the director I hadn't liked the sexism (and that brief partial male nudity in a shower scene didn't make up for it). I didn't have time to stay to explain in detail, however, as I had to catch a ride home before the metro closed and the buses stopped.

I think some of my questions may have been filmed. I don't know if they'll show up online.

I did think it was a reasonably well-made film; better elaborated on than had been the case for "Book of Blood", which was more atmospheric but underdeveloped and poorly structured and thereby robbed of dramatic intensity. But I liked "Dread" much better as Clive Barker wrote it; the film added sexism, but it also lost the story's ethos and poetry.

All three of the films I've seen so far at this year's Fantasia Festival (two from the UK, one from the US) were very, very white. I'm looking forward to the Japanese and Korean films I'll be seeing next, and to the fact that at least one of those is by a female director.

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FantasiaFest
(On a borrowed computer.)

I bought tickets to six different movies playing at Fantasia. Two horror films based on Clive Barker stories, two South Korean romantic comedies, one bizarre SF flick involving mpreg starring Lincoln Burrows, Jr. and Alex Rousseau/Linus, and an action double feature of revenge! (that calls for the exclamation mark) from Japan. I can't wait. I'd like to see more, but I'm trying to restrain myself.

There's HP&tHBP coming out this week; I'll definitely want to see The Hurt Locker, and I didn't manage to watch Public Enemies since the cinema had technical difficulties when I went to a matinee the other week. Fantasia's not the only cinematic highpoint of the month, but to compare other releases to peaks would relate Fantasia to a mountain range I might explore at my own risk.

So it's too bad that I couldn't bring myself to justify seeing the Thai pirate movie today, because I felt dizzy from the spending already.

I wouldn't mind owning the Fantasia '09 t-shirt, though.

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Have not fixed computer yet, though I will try al_zorra's advice if and when I get the courage to turn it on again, probably. But I used someone else's computer to print out a LJ payment form and I mailed a money order which I hope will arrive safely and be processed without hassle. Or getting lost, this time.. I have a little over a month of paid time left.

Saw Star Trek: the reboot; didn't see Terminator 4. Mobile posting interfaces do no lend themselves to lenghty reviewing; it took me like 5 minutes to type that HTML. And I can't copy-paste. I'm not completely internet-deprived, but it's really cramping my self-expression. Tweeting is useful in a pinch, but it doesn't allow for a lot of development on an idea.

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NB: I'm on Twitter with the same username.

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the voice from the baggie
*headdesk*

I'm still stuck with a malware type thing that redirects me to spam sites whenever I try to Google something. Firefox and some of the security add-ons I've tried at least tend to put up big red warning signs when it happens now, but I still haven't rooted out the damn bug that's causing the problem, in spite of having actually managed to run a free anti-spyware (Spyware Terminator -- and I don't even know if it's entirely legit or kind of adware-y itself, kind of like Cameron) that found and destroyed some malicious codes.

I am stressed out and in internet withdrawal. I'm even nervous about checking my e-mail on this computer, because the malware's misdirecting Google links. And Internet Explorer, that vile creature, often starts running in the background when I haven't opened it, which I don't know if it's just a Thing with Windows, or if it's because it's being used in unspeakable ways by some other underhanded applications. I SEE YOU, Internet Explorer! Taking up 40 Mb of RAM in the Task Manager!

As Tiptree would say: please spray this LJ entry with roach killer and keep it in a plastic baggie. Or send professional help.

***

Meanwhile, elisem is holding one of her shiny sales over on her LiveJournal, because she will not be selling her shinies in the dealers' room at WisCon this year. There are auctions for tektites, and markdowns on lots of cool things. Her entry is here:
http://elisem.livejournal.com/1473318.html

Or, if you're having computer problems and don't trust links, type in her LJ's main url directly and scroll down to the appropriate entry.

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Have downloaded Firefox. Still can't do shit about the spyware I already have, but at least it's not IE and that might stop advertising crap I haven't visited from popping up in my browser history.

♫ aaaargh. ♫ État d'âme : aaaargh.

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Does anyone know of another spyware remover I could try before going through the drastic process of uninstalling Norton so I can try to reinstall Malwarebytes's Anti-Malware, which Norton is not letting me use? Something that might actually destroy, say, carny_ride.exe? And get rid of those fucking *dotfind parasites?

IE, XP, Windows sucks, I need backups, etc., but I don't have the option of using another operating system right now, so "scrap everything and start over from scratch" wouldn't be helpful.

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Seriously, Norton, I HATE YOU: you're not letting me run Malwarebytes's Anti-Malware.

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ugh. viruses (the virtual kind)
I got infected by the fake antivirus WinPc software earlier tonight (yeah, don't tell me about the weaknesses of M$, I KNOW). I *think* I got rid of it, by shutting it down with the Task Manager and deleting the files directly from the directory. I hope it's gone. I couldn't even get Malwarebyte to start up.

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Flashpoint is doing a school shooting episode.

We have way too much real-life experience to compare this to. They're treading a delicate line fictionalising such material.

...I wonder if any of the Tories who didn't attend the screening of Polytechnique are watching?

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toe dipped in dreamwidth
http://ide-cyan.dreamwidth.org/

Yeah, same username everywhere. I've had it for over ten years.

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A remake of Drop Dead Fred?
Heard via fandom_lounge that a remake of Drop Dead Fred is planned. I'm not sure what to make of the news (Rik Mayall == One True Drop Dead Fred!1!eleven!11 etc.) but if there's a chance for a re-release of the original on DVD or Blu-ray (in widescreen, dammit), that might be good news? Anyhow I made a macro.

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Character Meme: Noranti
selenak picked Noranti from Farscape.

1) Do you like this character?

Yes. She's excentric, and genial, not harmless, and has an underlying moral sense that maps onto her own experience of the world. I like her as a character, and she'd probably be cool to hang out with, in a well-ventilated space.

That said, I'd still avoid her cooking.

2) What name(s) do you call this character?

Utu-Noranti Pralatong. *checks to be sure* (And I got it right from memory, except for the hyphen!) She's also called Granny and Wrinkles and various other nicknames on the show -- but who isn't, on Farscape?

3) What image/color do you associate with this character?

Technicolour yawns, red robes, third eyes, and dustclouds full of drugs blown in one's face.

4) What song do you associate with this character?

Er, that number from "Lava's a Many-Splendored Thing" is kinda hard to forget. "I am the flower, and you are the bee!"

5) What blood-type do you think this character is?

Nothing that matches human serology.

6) Which character do you like to put this character with?

She's kind of the descendent of Aughra from The Dark Crystal, if Aughra did more drugs and mellowed out as a result. But the character on TV right now who seems closest to her would be Walter Bishop on Fringe.

...and actually I think that would make a scarily plausible pairing. He's a mad scientist! She's a mad scientist! They drug people without their consent! And then apologise for it!

And they were both in Florida in the mid-1980s, although Walter was married at the time and not quite as mad yet.

7) What would you want to say to this character?

Would you like a breathmint?

8) What do you want to do with this character: shake hands, hug, or kiss?

None of the above, because of the body odour issues. Maybe shake hands, particularly if I wore gloves. If I were feeling adventurous, though, she'd probably be the person to go to for fantastic mind-altering substances, but not to have as a spotter watching out for you in case of overdose.

If you want to play, comment, and I will give you a character.

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The Collector
I actually found the S1 DVD of The Collector! For sale in a local store! On the actual shelf, not backordered! When I wasn't even looking for it! Of course I bought it (since I still had some money).

Which makes this totally the DVDs-from-Hell week. Heh.

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creativity outlet
I bought a botmo package for April, which arrived earlier this week, and I made a couple of things with it. I've uploaded pictures in this scrapbook gallery, and made two posts about them to the aforementioned community.

It's weird making these things. I kind of feel proud of them, but at the same time I don't think I'd wear them, or not much. I'll probably hang on to the first earring pair; they're a bit heavy, but I do like them, and they're a first. As for the rest... I wonder if I should try selling them, or find someone to whom to give them. Even though the pendant's also a first, I feel it should go to some Harry Potter fan more devoted than I am who could also see the Dark Mark in the pattern of the stone, but not be as creeped out by it.

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Hammertime!
Julia or Mahogany?

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Hellraiser Puzzle Box DB/DVD!
I haz one!

Went to two Future Shops to find it (for complicated reasons having to do with my sister giving me a lift on her way to IKEA, and dropping me off at a store in the middle of nowhere that didn't have it in stock), but then after I got back home I went for a walk and to run some errands and lo, there was one I could've bought for two dollars less at the neighbourhood Blockbuster.

The box is made of cheap plastic, FYI, and iz obviously larger than the movie prop because it has three discs inside it. And nothing else. Nada. No booklet or liner notes or anything. Feh. But there are the discs with the movies on them.

I only had a quick look at the Blu-ray and the details of Frank's disgustingly dirty fingernails are pristinely rendered.

Oh, and speaking of Hellraiser: I found the unreleased Coil themes for it online last night. Wicked.

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It's raining and the ceiling's leaking in the same room where it usually leaks. Luckily I heard the dripping sounds before the water completely soaked through the couch underneath the leak.

***

I'm... not sure what I should do about Dreamwidth. I have an OpenID, because that was relatively easy, and I got an invite to create an account in the OpenID lottery thingie, but I don't know what I would do with that account. And I'm so tired of having to think of new passwords for everything.

I also signed up for Twitter, though I haven't posted any tweets. I needed an account in order to view other people's updates. I can see how it could become really addictive, but the format for conversations between users is a pain in the ass to follow from the outside and/or retroactively.

***

I'm coughing off the last of the mucus from last week's cold, which has left my upper respiratory tract but is still in my lungs.

***

I'm not feeling very outgoing or expressive; this, as usual, aggravates the gap to overcome in order to have significant interactions with people, which in turn presents obstacles to communication that make me less expansive.

***

I am looking forward to the arrival of some shinies I bought for myself a few weeks ago.

I am thinking of getting the Hellraiser Blu-ray/DVD Puzzle Box set with birthday money. It might be redundant for some collectors, but I only have those first two movies on VHS tapes. I think I could also preorder Tanya Huff's The Enchantment Emporium, or that Supernatural meta nonfiction book she's contributed to, though I'd be happier if I could look at that one in a bookstore first, but it doesn't seem to be shelved in any Chapters/Indigo stores nearby.

On the birthday front, I also got the DVD of Dice from the UK as a present.

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So I'm keeping both DVD sets mentioned in my next-to-last entry. Too much of a Whovian to give them up. Couldn't think of anything I would want so much more that I'd trade them in to have instead.

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things that are much more amusing in retrospect
Vince, walking into a straight pub, telling Stuart on the phone to come rescue him if he uses the codeword "twilight".

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