Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog

Created by Joss Whedon (of Firefly and Buffy The Vampire Slayer fame) during the 2008 Writer's Guild strike, this three-act 43 minute musical comedy starring Neil Patrick Harris (of Doogie Hauser fame) as the eponymous evil villain was designed for internet distribution and has earned a well deserved cult following since its release in the Summer of 2008. Dr. Horrible is an evil yet sympathetic underdog determined to get the credit his genius deserves at any cost. He competes unsuccesfully with the bumbling, crude and egotistical Captain Hammer for fame and the love of Penny, a kind-hearted worker with the homeless. The production is both humorous and poignant. We laugh at, yet sympathize with Dr. Horrible in his quest to defeat the undeserving "hero" Captain Hammer. The story ends with a cliff-hanger, and I for one would pay good money to see it resolved. You don't have to pay money to see it the story unfold. Here is the article at Wikipedia, and here is the first installment at YouTube:

When Puppies Play...

I am posting this merely as an excuse to share the adorable Getty Image. Jennifer Viegas of Discovery Channel, quoted at MSNBC, reports: "It may not be such a dog-eat-dog world after all, at least among puppies. A new study has found that young male dogs playing with female pups will often let the females win, even if the males have a physical advantage.

"Male dogs sometimes place themselves in potentially disadvantageous positions that could make them more vulnerable to attack, and researchers suspect the opportunity to play may be more important to them than winning...."

My thanks to Ed Thompson for bringing this article to my attention.

One Foot in the Grave "Hearts of Darkness"

This dark BBC sitcom is a US cult classic. The story of Victor Meldrew, a security man forced to retire from his desk job when he is replaced by an intercom, is frequently absurd in a way that resembles the very American classic sitcom, Seinfeld. Meldrew spends his day complaining about life's little miseries, miseries which he often goes to great lengths to get himself involved in. In one episode, he manages to get himself buried neck-deep in the garden by a man he has hired to dig a trench. In another, after he and his wife each mistakenly think that a friendly couple had invited them to spend the weekend at their sea-side residence in order to wife swap, Mr. Meldrew sets the offending wife's wig on fire while Mrs. Meldrew tosses the husband off a pier. This episode, Hearts of Darkness, starts slow, with an increasingly disastrous country outting, and ends with Meldrew leading a nursing home in revolt against its tyrannical staff. Here are Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3. Enjoy!

"The Religion of the Ancient Celts" J.MacCulloch

Originally published in 1911, and now available in Dover paperback, "Religion of the Ancient Celts," is a well written and engaging scholarly work.

Well worth its price, the work is suitable to the general public, while still valuable to those interested in the Celts from an historic, linguistic, mythological or ethnological standpoint. MacCulloch covers his subject matter clearly and thoroughly (referencing such things as parallels with Greek mythology and Sumerian religion) and writes in a style that will satisfy the expert without mystifying or losing the attention of the amateur.

The main text is 390 pp, is fully referenced in footnotes, and is fully indexed. Chapter titles include: Gods of Gaul - The Irish Cycle - Tuatha De Danaan - Gods of the Brythons - Cuchulainn Cycle - Fionn Saga - Gods and Men - Cult of the Dead - Nature Worship - River and Well Worship - Tree and Plant Worship - Animal Worship - Cosmogony - Sacrifice, Prayer & Divination - Taboo - Festivals - The Druids - Magic - Etc...

Although the book may be "dated", it is not "outdated". Given the scholarly standards of its time, this may be more of a virtue than a drawback. More recent results in the area are naturally not addressed. But the work is consistent with comparative methods, and considers the consensus without neglecting competing accounts. There is neither neo-Druidic nonsense nor needless pedantry. While the study is generally limited to the culture of the British Isles, as opposed to that of the Continent, this is due to the lack of Continental oral tradition rather than to lack of attention on the author's part.

MacCulloch is judicious. Yet he addresses issues such as the pre-Indo-European origins of the Mother-Goddess cult of Brigid, as the legends of the faerie-folk known as the "Side,"* (as in banshee) and as the stories of "Isles to the West" now sunk below the sea.

Fans of J.R.R. Tolkien will find this work enthralling and familiar, as it shows some of the sources for his magnificent "Middle-Earth." Avid youngsters, Celtophiles, students of Irish poet W.B. Yeats, followers of Marija Gimbutas (Civilization of the Goddess) and admirers of Robert Graves (The White Goddess) will likewise be pleased.

I can recommend this work, here at Amazon, unreservedly for readers of all persuasions. The text is also available free on line here at Sacred Texts.

* "Side" shows curious parallels to the word "seidhr" - magic learned by the patriarchal Norse Aesir god Odin from the pre-Aryan matriarchal Vanir goddesses, and to "Sedna" - the Eskimo/Aleut "Mistress of Animals" who lives at the bottom of the ocean.

Ravel's "Bolero" from Allegro Non Troppo

Bruno Bozzetto's Allegro Non Troppo ("Not so Fast") of 1977 is a parody/homage to Disney's Fantasia. It suffers from the second-handedness of a parody, both in spirit and execution. The music is downbeat, the animation obscure, the depiction of life pessimistic, and the interspersed live action scenes, shot in black and white, a poor mockery of the Three Stooges. This film is thoroughly European, cynical and self-mocking in a way totally opposed to the American exuberance and earnestness of Fantasia. But it is art. The music can be grand. One can fast forward through the live action bits. It is certainly worth renting from Netfilx, but is not suitable for viewing with children. Here is, perhaps, the best part, the animation of Ravel's Bolero, meant as the counterpart to Disney's animation of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

Bolero, Part 1



Bolero, Part 2

Patsy Cline on the 2008 Election

In an earlier post, I uploaded some video that ends with Homer Simpson saying "Don't blame me, I voted for Kodos." My thoughts on the current election are similarly grim. I am reminded of the last time I enjoyed voting for someone, which was for Ross Perot, who at least had a wonderful campaign theme song, Patsy Cline's "Crazy." I find myself singing that to myself more and more often as the election approaches. Here are some videos of America's Sweetheart singing three of her best hits:

Crazy



I Fall to Pieces



Walkin' After Midnight

Almodóvar "Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down"

Tie Me Up, Tie Me Down (Spanish Átame) was one of Pedro Almodóvar's most successful films, even given its original X rating upon its release, which sparked a lawsuit and the development of the NC17 rating as an alternative. The film depicts the story of Ricky (Antonio Banderas) a recently released mental patient and Marina (Victoria Abril) his ex-porn star love, whom he kidnaps and keeps tied up until she comes to realize his love for her. Considered risqué and by some feminists highly objectionable (one wonders if they saw the film) the film is a love story and features very little explicit nudity. The films joyous sense of life is excellently expressed by the cast and Almodóvar's vibrant signature direction. Enjoy this brief scene where Marina's sister Lola (Loles León) sings and dances at the cast party for Marina's latest film.