War Machine, Netflix

You know a historical movie is good when you rush out to research actual history after watching it. That’s what happened after I watched this comedic fictional version of events based on General Stanley McChrystal’s stint running the war in Afghanistan (2009-2010). I was captivated by the personalities involved and the complexities of our military operations there. It’s easy to say, “We should have pulled out all our troops,” but when you watch the general’s impassioned reasoning, you start to root for him and you hope he’ll be provided with the additional 40,000 troops he requested, if for nothing else, just to see how much more the conflict gets bungled.

We see very little fighting though. Without giving away the ending, let’s just say that politics in war is the same as politics everywhere-complicated and full of diplomatic landmines. But while this is no “Full Metal Jacket” or “Saving Private Ryan”, it was fun to see Brad Pitt portray a swaggering, arms-out-to-the-side rigid general. It was also a laugh and a half to watch Michael Hall, best known from Dexter, playing Michael Flynn’s character. Yes, that Michael Flynn. The interesting part is that the movie was filmed before Flynn became infamous for botching his role as director of the NSA (why on Earth was he ever appointed-he was a paid lobbyist for Turkey. But I digress). But Hall was still able to successfully adopt Flynn’s over-the-top angry and constantly incensed persona.

At any rate, I walked away from this movie curious about the story’s historical significance, and I ended up researching McChrystal’s real story (spoiler alert-the movie was fairly accurate). I also felt compelled to research the history of the conflict in Afghanistan (spoiler alert-our military is still playing the same war games, using the same reasoning). I guess we never really learn, we just switch out players.

Review: Anne with an "E", on Netflix

This is one of those addictive, binge-worthy series that sucked me in so hard that I had to finish it all in one day.  I literally cried through the entire first two episodes of this show.  As a caveat, I have not read the original book by L.M. Montgomery, or seen the 1930’s movie by the same name, so I can’t speak to the series’ comparison to the original.  But I was immediately taken by the compelling story of a rather plain orphan girl with a strong imagination trying to fit in after she is taken in by hardworking and aging farmers who were expecting to adopt a boy to help out.  

But more than an emotional journey of a young girl seeking love and acceptance after a harrowing life, “Anne with an ‘E’” is a metaphorical commentary on the competing beliefs of judging humans by their utility versus accepting others solely based on their intrinsic worth. In primitive cultures, those among us who lacked the ability to “do things,” and instead were born with creative imaginations, were given a place: as shamans, medicine men/women, spiritual healers—known to their people as quirky and socially awkward but held in high regard nonetheless. But post-modern society doesn’t hold that space for artists and freelancers, a.k.a. “leeches on society.”  Instead, like our protagonist Anne, their imaginations are only acknowledged subsequent to the great works that they are responsible for—like when Anne’s sharp mind finds a solution for a baby with croup or a raging housefire.  Einstein is another example.

Anne’s journey for acceptance continues on when she attends school and attempts to become just another person in the community. She finds that sometimes she must subjugate her peculiar nature and hide who she truly is just to assimilate. How much she allows her true self to shine through versus how hard she works to conform to society’s expectations is the enduring theme throughout. 

Why Law and Order SVU is so addictive

Okay, so I'm not going to say that the show "saved my life", like the author of this article:

http://www.thefix.com/content/mariska-hargitay-saved-my-life-11012

I have to admit, I have probably wasted countless hours watching endless episodes of Law and Order SVU for the sole purpose of the thrill of it.  Something about rape and child abuse and domestic violence and torture and sex trafficking has a profoundly personal feel about it that draws me in like a bad car accident.  But I can relate to the second to the last paragraph of the article:

“I think there’s an element of fantasy resolution in those episodes that people can escape into,” [Dr. Lawrence Rubin, a Professor of Counselor Education at St. Thomas University in Miami and a frequent blogger for Psychology Today]  says [about Law and Order: Special Victims Unit]. “There’s a neatness and tidiness there that people wish they could have in their own life. There’s high drama and pain that’s resolved. Though people recognize that it’s contrived, it still gives them an opportunity to process how trauma gets resolved.”

Bingo.  There's something deeply satisfying about watching a morally incorruptable-yet-flawed female detective go after the bad guys and at the same time, sit with the victims and comfort them in their biggest time of need.  It makes you feel like, if there are such people in the world, maybe they will be there for you in your time of need too (And there are, by the way.  I have encountered such angels in my road to healing from old trauma).

So it makes sense then, that I like to write fanfiction stories based on the TV series, where a rescuer comes in to help the main character in her biggest time of need.  I like the idea that someone is out there who cares, someone who will be there to comfort and listen and help a woman process the trauma she has been through.  I can't justify putting off doing laundry for one more day to watch countless re-runs, but at least I can justify occassionally watching something that motivates me to create an interesting and gratifying story. 

And I'm guessing I must not be the only person out there who enjoys such tales, judging by the number of readers following my stories.

Revelations from a Fringe Binge

Or, why I love TV. 

I grew up spending hours a day in front of the TV.  I went through a period of my life, in my late 20's and early 30's, where I gave it up for the most part.  I couldn't tell you who Doug was seeing in the ER, or who Johnny Depp played on 21 Jump Street, or who shot JR.  I felt a sense of self-satisfaction at my TV abstinence. 

My reasoning was purist--anything consumed in mass quantities is bad for you, whether it's drugs or alcohol, or something as seemingly benign as Dance Dance Revolution (although that at least has physical exertion associated with it).  In short, I didn't want my brain to waste away from mindless viewing of other people's fictional lives.

So I have to confess I was a little embarrassed last week when I watched four entire seasons of Fringe in about a week and a half (great show--I'll write about it in an upcoming entry).

I spent one guilt-filled hour after another consuming every detail of this disturbing yet addictive show.  But I walked away from it a better person, and here's why:  it made me a better writer.

I've come to view television (and movies, and other books) in a different light since I began to take writing seriously.  Nowadays, when I get into a story, I examine it to see what makes it so compelling.  Why was I so obsessed with it that I had to watch it streaming from Netflix over my smart phone for hours while I was working an overnight shift? Why did I get so annoyed that I had to stop my binge for five minutes when one of my kids fell and was gushing blood?  (This didn't really happen, by the way--as a writer, I like to embellish a little.  Please nobody call DFS)  And how can I turn my stories into THAT?

It made me want to drop everything and create that same level of suspense in my story.  After I walked away from my eye-glazing trance when the fourth season was over (the fifth season isn't on Netflix yet--I need to clear a few days from my schedule when it is), I was able to see places in my manuscript where I could throw in little hints instead of giving too much away, where I could create a cliff-hanger here or there, where I could make a little more tension between the main characters. 

So for now, when any story sucks me in so intensely, I am going to shrug off the guilt and let the show sweep me away, and I'm going to justify it as a boost to my creative abilities.

Or at least, that's what I'm going to tell myself.  Now leave me alone--I'm off to watch Hannibal!

Subjects Moms Once Thought Were Useless

Math

Son:  I ate four chicken nuggets. Can I be done?

Mom:  I gave you six nuggets.  There are four nuggets left.  That means you only ate two.  Keep eating.

Physics

ZhuZhu Pet Ramp Assembly Instructions:  Step 12.  Assemble the tunnel tops by pressing one hinge post into matching hinge notch on the tunnel section and then snap in the other hinge.

Chemistry

Silly putty + fleece = hardened vomit-looking stain.  Add vegetable oil + laundry detergent and water = fleece without silly putty.

Geometry

To remove an oval-shaped object (head of a 5-year-old) from a rectangle (space between two stair railings), turn sideways and pull back with force.

Word Problems

A car leaves the garage at 6:45 a.m. carrying two children, ages 3 and 5.  It travels five miles at 35 mph because of rush hour traffic, and spends an extra ten minutes waiting at red lights.  It waits in line at the drop-off for the school for 20 minutes, and then accelerates to 60 mph to rush off to the day care.  If the car travels another ten miles, what time does the driver arrive at work?

--C.J. Ragsdale, April 2013