This is why you can’t trust April Fools’ Day news; this is actually happening:
OT: TMB Movie Club - Use this thread for feature films in theaters or streaming....
- Thread starter Midnighter
- Start date
I started 'Asteroid City' but found it way, way too 'Anderson-esque' - just to the Nth degree. All the uniforms, sets, dialogue - I just couldn't take it. I did really love Anderson's 'The French Dispatch' since it didn't seem to care about such items as much. This movie looks more like Asteroid City unfortunately....
Just gonna say it - very disappointed with Marvel using an alternate version of the Silver Surfer where (apparently) his wife, Shalla Bal, sacrifices herself to be Galactus’ herald to save her planet instead of Marvel canon Norrin Radd. And the CGI looks awful. Really want this to be good…
I hope you on the board do watch this. You’ll learn a lot.
One thing you should know about me: I’m not culturally deaf. The movie probably has a discussion of “deaf” versus “Deaf;” I’m not “Deaf.” It’s complicated and 63 years after becoming deaf at age 5 I’m not sure I’ve yet figured it out. When I became deaf my mom was bound and determined that I would be “normal,” which meant no sign language. I was brainwashed about this, is the best way to put it. I remember my mom starting to sign to me the summer she died, when I was 10, so maybe if she had lived things would have been different. Then she died and my dad was overwhelmed, let’s say. I really was brainwashed and I could be a real dick about it. I’m not putting it entirely on my parents. I was loved and we were all clueless.
Why am I telling you all this? Because I was on the faculty when this went down and I was one of the five faculty who voted against DPN. Do I regret voting this way? I remember being shocked that the Board chose a hearing President, I absolutely did not see that happening. I don’t regret the way I voted but I’m sad that I was so clumsy about it. But I got zero pushback from the Deaf about this. “Jim’s a mathematician, that’s how his mind works.” Happened again in 2006, this time the board picked a Deaf woman who didn’t check all the boxes, let us say. I again picked the losing side but at least I was consistent. Maybe the mathematician part really is a thing.
So:
1. I’m the last person to ask about Deaf culture. I can give you my own experiences, perhaps as I’ve tried to do here, but nothing beyond that. I won’t pretend to know what I’m talking about and always err on the side of caution.
2. It made no rational sense for me to attend Penn State instead of going straight to Gallaudet after high school. No rational sense at all. Think about it for ten minutes and anyone could tell that there was absolutely no way I could have graduated Penn State. A whole lot of this is because I didn’t know how to be deaf in a hearing world. I really was clueless. Fun fact: Deaf people can be noisy. It would have been really really nice if someone had told me this basic fact before I discovered the reality of whistling snots in the elevator I once shared with a cute coed in Pattee Library. I’m chock full of these sort of charming anecdotes, no lie.
2a. Y’all know how much I love talking about my mathematics. I loved teaching math in American Sign Language. I was damn good. My math has been a great, constant joy. If I had gone straight to Gallaudet I would have ended up a professor of Literature. I know I would not be as happy a person if this were the case.
3. I’m extremely oblivious about just about everything aside from my finances and my mathematics. Know what’s worse than being oblivious? Being oblivious to the fact that you ARE oblivious. Good grief. Took me until 2006 to realize this, 23 years into my time at Gallaudet.
4. I taught at Gallaudet for 38 years and never once did someone try to put me down or make me feel bad. Thirty-eight years. It was more or less “Jim, you’re the most oblivious person anyone has ever met but we love you anyway.” So much understanding and forgiving, wow.
I loved my job. Such a privilege. They gave me professor emeritus yesterday and I was bawling on the stage.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. XO
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When I was a student at PSU back in the 90s, one of my part time jobs was being a note taker for a deaf student. PSU payed to have someone sign for him in class, and I got paid a couple of bucks per class to take notes on carbon paper. I tended to get better grades in those courses for two reasons. One, getting paid a few bucks killed any desire to skip class. I even got paid if he didn’t show as long as I turned a copy of the notes into the Disability Services office in Boucke. Two, I had an automatic study buddy. Since my handwriting isn’t the best, I always wanted to meet with him to go over the notes. While it was a symbiotic relationship, I’m afraid it was more beneficial for me than him. It was a struggle for him, and after his second year he decided to take some time off to figure out what he wanted to do. Sadly, I lost touch.
At least your friend understood the need to somehow position himself to succeed while at PSU. Every student, deaf or hearing, needs to take stock of their strengths and weaknesses and strategize accordingly. I didn’t have that particular skill, didn’t realize its importance.
I've been watching trailers each week but I have to say I hope the trend towards horror and violence winds down soon.
We have a Brad Pitt special coming up in June.
We have a Brad Pitt special coming up in June.
Watched ‘The Brutalist’ over the weekend and didn’t much care for it. I heard it was amazing and as an architecture enthusiast I was really excited, but the second act (after the intermission) didn’t work at all for me. I loved the beginning - with Laszlo coming to America and him sort of slumming it until someone discovers his talent. I loved the scenes that focused on the actual design and architecture, but felt they could have used more exposition or description of his artistic point of view. The acting was overall very good (save Guy Pierce who appeared to be doing his best Mr. Pewterschmidt impersonation) and hard to believe they did as much as they did on a rumored $10mm budget, but I felt like the ending fell flat and it was way too long, with several unnecessary scenes, with no real payoff.
We tried watching Bringing up Baby on TCM but had to turn it off because Katherine Hepburn talked too fast. She completely ruined what could have been a good film with Cary Grant.
His cadence reminded me of Wilson Fisk from the Daredevil series. I thought he was awful.
That's one of Katherine Hepburn's many quirks. I happen to like her as an actress but I can understand why some might not. I doubt someone like her would be successful in today's Hollywood.
Thanks for sharing!! Congratulations on your emeritus position!!
You’ve heard me say that my dad graduated Texas in mathematics before teaching at psu in engineering. His saying? Or mindset? “There are no problems. Only equations to be solved”!!! I’m sure you are of the same mind
congratulations again!!!
Don't like any current political overtones or just bad (or both)? Cast and talent around this is solid....so, curious.
Just bad, nothing to do with political overtones. I was excited to watch, but it was bad from the start