September 26, 2003

• WEBSITE OF THE WEEK

  
  

   

  
  

  

  
  

  
  

   
  

  Secret Service Test

  
  

   

  
  

  This is basically a really sophisticated online quiz (except there’s no HTML code to post into your Xanga site, which is why I’m making it Website of the Week instead of putting it on my quiz page). For the first few sections of the test, I couldn’t figure out if it was in relation to any spy franchise that already exists or whether it was just generic (It is in relation to James Bond, but you don’t find that out until late in the test). What I like about this is that it’s not a personality quiz with choices so obvious you can easily cheat. It’s got general knowledge, (simple) optical illusion and “reflex” testing, not to mention a little James Bond trivia. Go on over and see if you have what it takes.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Previous Websites of the Week:

  
  

  The Deadly Follies of Stick Figure Warning Man and Family

  
  

  Jennifer Government: Nation States

  
  

  Cannot Find Weapons of Mass Destruction

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

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  Well, it appears that I’m going to be co-chair of the Denison AIDS Task Force. On top of that, I may be directing Stages of AIDS (if I can get it approved for this year). Right now, Tasha (the other co-chair) and I have to write a proposal to get re-instated as a DCA committee.

  
  

   

  
  

  Fencing went pretty well Tuesday. I beat two of my opponents, Liz (a different Liz from the one I’ve talked about before) and some guy whose name I don’t know, as well as my instructor/coach (I don’t know what the correct term is). My other two bouts didn’t go as well. I lost to Ross, but the fact that he’s at the advanced level and I’m still beginner might have something to do with it. I also lost to Cherie, but she’s left-handed and it’s hard for right-handed people to beat left-handed people (and I suppose the opposite is true).

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  On Wednesday, I sacrificed a DISA meeting so I could go to my movie for History of Cinema. This time the movie was Sunrise, made in 1927 and directed by F.W. Murnau.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Murnau is probably more famous in the United States for his German vampire movie Nosferatu. That was made in 1922. By 1927, Murnau was in Hollywood, and Sunrise was made for Fox. All but about 2 shots were made inside a studio, including a long scene with a cable car (that was done in one take). The forced perspective in the city scene (which Murnau accomplished by creative set-building and by making children and dwarves look like full-grown adults farther away in the scene) is very well done, especially for a movie made in 1927. It’s also got crude sound effects as well as music in a soundtrack, but no spoken dialog (and whoever did the intertitles must’ve been in a silly mood). The film is a romance movie (even though the beginning makes it look like it’s going to be something else) involving a married couple. The husband made me think of Jimmy Stewart, at least when he wasn’t slouching (which he did-a lot; then he reminded me of Quasimodo), and the wife bore a striking resemblance to Drew Barrymore. She’s actually played by Janet Gaynor, who became the first recipient of the Best Actress Oscar (for Sunrise). Apparently, when it first came out, critics praised it as “the most beautiful movie ever made.” I personally wouldn’t go that far, but it was nice. Marisa would probably like it. It’s kind of a tearjerker, and my professor warned that those of us who cry easily at movies should bring a box of Kleenex. I didn’t cry (I usually don’t, so that’s no surprise), but about five guys behind me (including Aram and Mike) were sobbing, as well as the guy sitting next to me. The only guy who did bring Kleenex didn’t cry (actually, he only brought the Kleenex because he had a cold, but the other guys were teasing him about it before the movie started), nor did his girlfriend, who was the only other girl there besides me. Anyways, I’m sorry I had to miss a DISA meeting, but it was a nice movie.

  
  

   

  
  

  By the way, Marisa, the Metropolis anime is (loosely) based on the 1927 silent movie that I saw on Monday, not the other way around. Also, we’re not going to see A Clockwork Orange, so you needn’t worry. The only Kubrick film we’re going to see is The Shining, which is the one and only Kubrick film I’ve seen. However, that’s not until the end of the semester.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Last night I went to see Ben Stein’s speech. I ended up in the balcony because I forgot that if you want a good seat in a convocation, you have to arrive at least a half-hour in advance (I arrived ten minutes in advance). The first weird observation I made was that there were three people a few rows ahead of me who were wearing identical Halloween masks. I don’t understand what that was about. They weren’t even students. Two of them looked old enough to be professors, and the other one was a kid. If it was some sort of protest, I don’t think it was very effective because I didn’t understand it and I’m probably on the same side (For the record, about 90% of Denison students, including me, are liberal and Ben Stein is a republican, albeit a moderate one. I don’t think most of the students who went had any political motivation, though. They just went because he’s famous. I know that was my main motivation). My most superficial observation about Ben Stein is that he has a lot less hair than it looks on TV. He opened his speech with a bunch of long jokes that the Gaming Guild members (all of whom were sitting in the balcony) found hilarious. He then went onto the bulk of his speech, which was talking about general rules for success (he’s written a book called How to Ruin Your Life, and for the first half of his speech he used sarcasm, then he switched gears and gave genuine advice). Most of his advice was common sense stuff (like “stop and smell the roses,” don’t do drugs, and be nice to people), and not all that political in nature. He got somewhat political near the end of his speech, but by then I had decided he was the type of person who respects opinions different from his (one of his pieces of advice was to listen to those you disagree with as well as those you agree with) and as such, I could respectfully disagree with him instead of getting mad, like I do with George Bush, the caustic ultraconservative guy on Crossfire (I think his name is Novak, but I’m not sure. However, I can respectfully disagree with Tucker Carlson, the moderate conservative on Crossfire. I don’t watch Crossfire, but I would if James Carville were on it), Jerry Falwell, and a lot of the current administration. After the speech ended, he took questions (that’s where a lot of the political stuff came in). Some questions were expected, like his opinion on the Iraq war and the California recall. One guy asked him what he thought of The Passion (the new Mel Gibson movie about the days leading up to the crucifixion of Christ; it’s been embroiled in controversy for the past several months over fears that it could cause anti-Semitism). Ben Stein responded by saying that he hasn’t seen it yet so he couldn’t pass judgment, but his Aramaic was a little rusty (The movie is going to be entirely in Aramaic and Latin. I heard a rumor somewhere that it originally was not going to be subtitled, but Mel Gibson was finally pressured into subtitling it). And yes, we did get him to do a round of “Bueller…Bueller…Bueller” (Apparently at dinner they got him to do the Clear Eyes monologue). So that’s two convocations down, one to go (actually, there are more, but I was only planning to go to three).

  
  

   

  
  

  The D-Day band was announced at the Ben Stein convocation (actually Ben Stein was the one who made the announcement). D-Day is Denison’s big concert event, when they try to bring in the most well-known band they can get (which doesn’t usually mean much, since Denison’s a small school). This year the band’s going to be Third Eye Blind, which I’ve actually heard of.

  
  

   

  
  

  I had some whacked-out dream last night involving magic tables, freaky fans, and a Star Wars video game (that doesn’t exist). What’s amazing is that a (semi) famous person showed up in my dream and they were NOT related to Chris (usually when famous people or characters show up in my dreams they are somehow related to Chris; I’ve dreamt that Robin Williams was Chris’s step-father and that Captain Picard from Star Trek The Next Generation was his father, among others; I’m not sure why my subconscious keeps making that connection). However, all that was put aside by the good (albeit small) omen of the day: They had spudsters at breakfast. Spudsters are basically deep-fried mashed potatoes. It sounds disgusting, but they’re good. I have a feeling that this weekend is going to be relaxing, if not downright enjoyable.

  
  

   

  
  

  My latest discovery is that my computer does play VCDs. Hmmmmm...

  
  

   

  
  

  I just found this on Styx’s website. It’s kind of abrupt, but I have no hard feelings, so good-bye and good luck, Glen, and hello, Ricky.

  
  

   

  
  

   

  
  

  Well, I’m hearing thunder outside right now (actually, there was a huge BANG about an hour ago as Liz and I were going to dinner), so I think I’ll get off now and enjoy the storm. Have a nice weekend!

  • 8:07 pm
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