From 1985 to 2015: Back to the Future 30th Birthday Party

Let's time travel back to January, when I celebrated my 30th birthday. If you do the math, that would mean I was born in 1985. What else happened in 2015 and 1985? Doc Brown built a time machine in 1985, and used it to bring Marty to 2015, of course.

(PS: the real Back to the Future Day (the day they arrive in 2015) is coming up on October 21.)

I've actually had the idea of a Back to the Future 30th birthday party since sometime in college when I realized the 1985/2015 connection, so I was really excited about it and put waaay more time into planning and making decor than it really warranted. But I really like the final results (maybe we'll make a Back to the Future themed nursery when the time comes, so as to get more use out of them?), and had a blast making the props and having the party.

Costumes

Abe and I dressed, sort of - abstract interpretations of, maybe? - as Doc Brown and Marty, in their 2015 apparel.

Doc Brown: Loudly patterned (pink checkered was as loud as Abe has in his wardrobe) button up shirt, translucent tie, metallic sunglasses.

Marty: Iridescent cap, maroon tee shirt, inside out jeans (and of course, keep your hoverboard handy!)

Three Things Thursday: Good Movies Seen Lately

1. The Theory of Everything: The life of Stephen Hawking, as told in his wife Jane's memoir. (The main actor I couldn't place, and then finally realized that I recognized him from playing Marius in Les Miserables. 

I tend not to always like these types of "historical" (using the word loosely, as it's such recent history, but I think it's still roughly that genre) movies, but although somewhat slow moving and long, this actually kept my attention fairly well throughout. Though I was aware of who Stephen Hawking is and a very basic outline of his life, I wasn't aware of a lot of it, so it was really interesting to learn about! Definitely considering reading the memoir it's based on.

2. Into the Woods: A movie version of the Sondheim musical. I've seen stage productions of it at least twice (that I can specifically recall, but I feel like I've seen it more than that?), and it's one of Abe's favorite musicals. They stayed pretty true to the stage version, with some minor changes but most notably cutting out anything that overtly or subtly referred to sex (including the reprise of Agony, which is especially sad because they did a great job with the main Agony song). Which, I guess makes sense that they had to Disney-fy it, but still annoying. Overall enjoyable, nonetheless.

3. Gone Girl: Based on the book of the same name, which if you're anyone but me you've probably already read. I went into the movie with only a very vague concept of the general plot (and no idea about how it changes mid-way through), so it definitely kept me on the edge of my seat! Abe apparently had no idea what it was about at all, and was disturbed by the first half, but got caught up in the intrigue in the second half.

I don't know yet how it compares to the book - I am reading it now but only a few chapters in; so far there are some minor discrepancies but moving along the same track as the movie (I heard the ending in the book is different - but closed the website saying so before reading too far, so as to not be spoiled for the book). So I don't know if reading the book first makes the movie better or worse, but if you haven't read it, it's really great, very intriguing, and I would imagine it makes it better to not know what twists are coming up. 

I don't know if I can re-watch episodes of HIMYM without having an entirely different view on Barney, though. 

Can I Be a Gilmore Girl?

NaBloPoMo prompt: If you had to be trapped inside a movie for 5 days, which movie would you pick?

This is tough. Some of my favorite movies aren't really scenarios that I'd want to be in myself - for example, In the Land of Women, Identity, Serenity. I actually like movies that don't have happy endings, even to the point where the movie was kind of pointless. You get this glimpse into someone's life or an event, and then they just move on. It may have been an important learning experience, but it wasn't a dramatic turning point. Because I think that's more like real life. There's not necessarily a dramatic moment when everything changes, but there may be a period of time when you go through an experience and are gradually altered by it.

For for pleasant thoughts, I prefer TV shows, I think in part because if I enjoy what's happening to the characters, I'd like to continue watching it season after season, not have it be over in two hours. Favorites in this area include Firefly, Alias, Gilmore Girls.

If I had to be trapped inside a TV show, I would choose Gilmore Girls. There's drama, but less so than many other shows or movies, and at least it's drama created by people caring (possibly too much) about their loved ones, not from bad guys or real danger. Life there is full of fun, and even more importantly, joy.

Ender's Dilemma

I first heard of Orson Scott Card's book Ender's Game in calculus class in high school. We were learning about numerical derivatives (don't ask me now what those are), and the function in our graphing calculators was labeled nDer. We used that as shorthand in conversation - "then you take the n-der...". Mr. Glenn, who could easily go on Jeopardy and win, would often spout off random pieces of information, and one day segued from nDer to talking about Ender not knowing he was playing a game. The story sounded interesting, so I soon decided to read it.

I think that was my start of loving science fiction. I try to keep a quasi-minimalist household, so I don't own a lot of books, but about a third of my bookshelf is comprised of the Ender series, and it's some of my most well-read and worn books.

There have been rumors of a movie version of Ender's Game for many years. Finally, it happened! - starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford - and it's being released this Friday, November 1.

I posted something on facebook about going to a showing Thursday night (I still don't understand why the premiere showings start at 8 pm on October 31? Is this a new trend, that "midnight" showings are being pushed up a few hours, or is this just because it's Halloween?), and a friend replied with a link to the Skip Ender's Game movement. 

Card is Mormon, and has been actively involved in opposing gay marriage, even going so far as to claim that homosexuality is linked to pedophilia and paraphilia [source]. His 2004 essay "Homosexual 'Marriage' and Civilization" is quite nauseating, to say the least. Apparently, all gay people need to do to gain the legal rights of marriage is find someone of the opposite sex to get married to; children need a parent of each sex in order to have appropriate role models; not having a father results in a lack of moral judgment and self-confidence; most homosexuals became that way because of abuse; etc. 

But Card's personal views really have nothing to do with Ender's Game, which was published as a novel in 1985 and originally conceived as a short story in 1977 [source]. It's about the nature of humanity, how to be a leader, and weighing individual rights against the good of the many.

In subsequent writings, you can definitely see Card's pro-heterosexual stance - the sequels to Ender's Game are basically about finding purpose in life by securing a mate and raising children. But there isn't any anti-homosexual propaganda in his fiction that I've read, it's just clearly written from a culture that assumes heterosexuality as the norm.

A few ways I'm trying to justify going to the movie anyway:

1. I'll make a contribution to a pro-gay marriage organization to help offset any income from my movie tickets that would be indirectly going to support Card's political views.

2. Now that DOMA has been overturned, Card has basically conceded the point, at least as far as legal rights are concerned [source] (though I'm sure he still believes it will be our moral downfall). Although I understand not wanting to give income to someone who has done awful things in the past, it appears that we can nonetheless be assured that income from Ender's Game isn't going to be contributed to campaigning to reinstate DOMA.

3. Although Card has been fairly involved in the movie adaption, more so than some authors probably are, he's only one of several producers [source]. He's not the only one who's going to make money from box office profits, and the studio and other individuals involved have explicitly distanced themselves from Card's political statements [source] [source]. If you want to avoid supporting Card, I think a boycott of his books is more appropriate than a boycott of this movie.

4. Card has directly spoken/written against gay marriage, and presumably contributed money to related political campaigns - however, even if he weren't personally working on this anti-cause, he would still be contributing money to the Mormon church which would then be using it to campaign against gay marriage. Why did no one boycott the Twilight franchise? Although Stephenie Meyer has not, to my knowledge, spoken up about any specific political views, she is also Mormon [source], and no doubt tithes her (very large) income to the church, thus indirectly contributing a great deal of money to campaigns they are involved in. Although I think "voting with your dollars" is a great thing in terms of supporting companies that make socially conscious decisions, to take it to the point of boycotting an individual based primarily on their religious and political viewpoints makes me uncomfortable. 

5. Although the value from Card's writing cannot make up for his political actions, I think it has to be possible for a creative work to co-exist with whatever its creator has done personally, even if contradictory. Ender's Game is truly an amazing work of fiction, and I have a hard time believing that what it contributes to society should be ignored on grounds that exist completely outside of the book.

Would you see a movie that is written/produced by someone who has actively campaigned against a cause you believe in?

Les Miserables Sing Along

Although I politely refrained from subjecting a theater full of strangers from my singing when I first saw the newest version of Les Miserables, I knew I had to host a sing along party once it came out on DVD. (I then also had to wait until the end of tax season - but hosting guests was a great motivation to clean up the hazardous black hole that my apartment turns into by April 15.)

A quick trip to Goodwill provided some basic decor to set the scene: a red tablecloth and silver candlesticks. For food I went with more generally French-inspired, since the movie itself really only provides for bread and wine as refreshments.

Menu:

• Wine
• French toast casserole (from this recipe), with maple syrup
• Potatoes Dauphinoise (a vegan version that I was introduced to as Thousand Layer Potatoes - recipe below)
• Quiche - from Whole Foods freezer section
• Crackers and baguette slices with rosemary olive oil, Bonne Maman French preserves, and spreadable Brie cheese
• Swiss, cheddar, and smoked mozzarella cheese pieces
• Fruit - blackberries, strawberries, and grapes
• Veggies - rainbow carrots, grape tomatoes, and bell pepper
• "Red and Black" dessert - angel food cake dyed red(ish) and brownies
• My friends brought candy and French cookies

Thousand Layer Potatoes

Adapted from recipe by Chef Hugo Gutierrez at Haramara Retreat, Sayulita, Mexico

4 - 5 medium potatoes

1 can coconut milk

1 1/2 Tbsp Thyme

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Peel potatoes and thinly slice using a mandoline, then layer in a casserole dish.

Combine the rest of ingredients, then pour over potatoes. 

Bake until potatoes are soft, about 40 - 50 minutes.

Les Miserables

Have you all seen the new Les Miserables movie yet? I finally got around to it yesterday.

A shot from the final scene:

No, that's not the version you saw? 

That's me playing Eponine in high school. I had previously seen the stage show once (in Seattle or Spokane, I think?), a version with the rotating stage. Absolutely loved the music, and was thrilled when it was chosen as the annual musical my senior year.

I've read the abridged version of the novel once, and the unabridged version once. I made it through it by reading it one summer during college on my lunch breaks and 15-minute morning/afternoon breaks at work; this resulted in short spurts of reading so I didn't get bored by the random, lengthy social commentary, but no long periods of time without getting back to it, so I didn't forget what I had previously read.

Warning: spoilers ahead, if you're not familiar with the storyline. I definitely encourage you to see it though! Overall, I thought it was a very well done adaptation, and for the most part they stayed very true to the stage show.