23 December 2009

The Princess and the Frog

I was skeptical about Disney's latest attempt to recreate an animated classic. Not just because they usually fail to quite capture the original attraction of the earlier animated features when they attempt to recreate them, but for one because The Princess and the Frog takes place in a somewhat alternate-universe, fairly sugar-coated version of historical New Orleans. I'll also admit to some skepticism because of the politically correct nature of having the requisite black Disney Princess. They've covered Native American, Asian, and Middle Eastern, as well as a redhead, a brunette, a blonde and Snow White (who is not brunette because her hair is black). Darnit, missed a nationality, gonna have to do a movie now!

However, it was fairly true to the traditions of Disney Princess movies, which I appreciated, and the songs were well-done and catchy. At one point I thought they were going to go for a Shrek ending, which would have surprised me, but they played it pretty safe. They had one of the good characters die, which did surprise me. I couldn't think of another Princess movie in which someone dies partway through. Am I just missing something? Anyway, there's a reason The Princess and the Frog is a critic's darling, it just took the Disney Princess formula (prince + girl + adapted classic fairy tale and etc) and repeated it.

I was not a fan of the villain. This may be historically accurate as far as New Orleans goes, but he was a guy practicing voodoo with 'friends on the other side' and that was iffy, for young children especially. There were voodoo dolls dancing during some of his songs, and some fairly scary-looking talking masks. I would have been slightly more comfortable with it if the voodoo had been portrayed as entirely bad, but there's another character who seems to be a voodoo woman and is portrayed as being kind, if a little eccentric. If I'd had my two- or three- or four-year-old there, I would have been covering their eyes.

Morals-wise, I think the prevailing messages were well-chosen, that what you want is different from what you need, and that money can't buy everything. Tiana (the main character) works very hard, but misses out on some fun things and almost misses out on love. We focus so much on money, especially in first-world countries, that it needs to be said.

I'd probably be bored if I sat through it again, but The Princess and the Frog is a decent addition to the Disney Princess franchise. They could have done a lot worse.

12 December 2009

Global warming plz and thnx?

Extreme wind chills this weekend. This is a warning that extreme wind chill conditions are imminent or occurring in these regions. Monitor weather conditions. Listen for updated statements.
Bitterly cold Arctic air has settled over Northern Alberta. Cold temperatures combined with brisk northwest winds will produce wind chill values as cold as minus 50. Conditions will gradually improve Saturday morning in the Edmonton, Grande Prairie and Peace River regions as winds diminish under a cold Arctic ridge. Eastern Alberta may see wind chill values below minus 40 throughout the weekend. Temperatures will remain well below normal this weekend across Northern Alberta. At these extreme wind chill values frostbite on exposed skin may occur in less than 5 minutes.


Brisk. That's what we call it here. 'Brisk northwest winds.' Oh, and also, see how it says conditions will improve this morning as the 'brisk winds' diminish under a 'cold Arctic ridge'? Does 'brisk' > 'cold'?

It's the kind of weather you wait for so that you can wear your scarf and hat and mittens that all match. Or maybe I'm the only one who does that.

11 December 2009

No using Google!

Christmas Quiz

1. CHRISTMAS MUSIC: Name a Christmas carol whose tune is attributed to George Frideric Handel.


2. CHRISTMAS SPORTS: What NHL teams are playing on December 25, 2009?


3. CHRISTMAS LITERATURE: Circle the name Charles Dickens did NOT consider for the character Tiny Tim from A Christmas Carol: Little Larry, Wee Will, Puny Pete, Small Sam.


4. CHRISTMAS FOOD: What is the most common candy decoration seen on a gingerbread man? (Hint: think Shrek.)


5. CHRISTMAS HISTORY: Explain why December 26 is called Boxing Day.


6. CHRISTMAS MOVIES: In Miracle on 34th Street, an old man claiming to be Santa Claus goes by what name? (Hint: Both first and last name begin with the letter K.)


7. CHRISTMAS SCRIPTURE: Fill in the blanks: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him ________, which means, "___ ___ ___.”


8. CHRISTMAS MYTHOLOGY: Give as many alternate names for Santa Claus as possible.


9. CHRISTMAS FLORA: Poinsettias are poisonous – circle TRUE or FALSE.


10. CHRISTMAS FAUNA: Name all nine of Santa’s reindeer. (Bonus point if you can list them in the same order as in T’was the Night Before Christmas.)


11. CHRISTMAS SYMBOLS: Give the names of the five Advent Candles. (Bonus point if they’re in order.)


12. BONUS: Name all the gifts given in the carol The 12 Days of Christmas, and add up all the gifts mentioned to give the total.

See how you do. My youth group did decently, and I thought I made it pretty hard.

04 December 2009

We're insane.



climategate |ˈklīmitgāt|
noun

An incident in which emails between staff at the Climatic Research Unit at Britain's University of East Anglia were hacked and posted on the internet. Communication contained in these emails seemed to indicate abuse of temperature data to create an artificial semblance of rising global temperatures. Widespread blogger hue and cry ensued, and a suspicious lack of coverage by the mainstream media. Climategate could prove the undoing of these so-called scientists.


Can we plz stop spending government money on fake climate change nao?

The economy has been in a slump for the last year or so, the US government is billions of dollars in debt, and money is being spent on changing a climate that, even if it WERE changing, has never been changed by human intervention before.