Currently listening to: The voices in my head
Another thing that scares me, but to a far lesser extent--well, okay, maybe surprises me is the correct term--is that I'm beginning to understand the humor in Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block, specifically that of the show Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
C'mon, certainly some of you out there have seen this, right? The french fries, the milkshake, and the meatball? Okay, good, we're on the same page.
Every night, I get off of work at midnight. It's usually 12:15 before I actually get the library closed up, and then I go running for about a half hour. I usually get home around 1:30 or so. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was working on my cartoon whenever I got the chance. Now that that's done, I've been watching a ton of television and surfing a ton of web, quite a feat when you take into consideration that neither of these media have actual weight. All this media is not healthy for me. I should be reading books.
But, because of this, I've seen a considerable amount of really dumb programming that somehow made it onto television. Nick at Nite is the only thing worth watching before 2:00, so I get my dose of Roseanne, which comes on right after Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The fact that Fresh Prince is on Nick at Nite makes me feel really old now. Anyway. Then I watch Futurama, a thoroughly funny show that I missed years ago when I gave up television watching for a while. After that, it's either Robot Chicken or Aqua Teens, depending on the night. I detest Robot Chicken--it's a stupid, stupid show using up the dregs at the bottom of the cup from which Family Guy once sipped. But Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a 15-minute long show that is very, very hard to follow.
That is, unless you watch a lot of it. It's a well drawn show with lots (lots!) of comic book influence, and while, as with most television, there is a certain level of...let's call it unwholesomeness...about the show, I'm beginning to appreciate the way the show is set up. This program is DENSE. They pack a whole 30-minute episode into half that time. There are jokes coming at you in a non-continuous pattern, non-sequiturs, background details, and very fast dialogue. Part of the problem is that half of the characters don't seem to have any attention span at all, so the dialogue goes all over the place. It's only at this point that I've come to appreciate that this is fully intentional for a specific effect. I'm still divided over whether I think that it's a good set-up for a show, because I'm beginning to recognize the importance of timing and pace in cartoons. But I appreciate that the guys who do this are able to fit so much humor into fifteen minutes. It's like Firesign Theatre for my eyes.
Anyway, I think the point I'm trying to make here is that I am feeling sick and bloated with internet and television culture. I went to the Waldenbooks store in our local mall today because they're having a closeout sale. For twenty-two bucks, I got a hardback copy of half of the Oz stories, and paperback versions of Maniac Magee (by Jerry Spinelli) and The Chosen (by Chaim Potok). The Chosen is really good so far. Jewish people and culture interests me, and I'd like to know more. It makes me upset to know that there has been so much anti-Semitism within the Christian faith throughout the centuries. As far as I can read it (and I'd like to think I have a good level of reading comprehension), the Bible says not to be hatin' on the Jews, the logic being, if God chose them as his people and chastised them so harshly throughout history, even to the point of retracting his presence from among them, why do we (as Christians) think that we're completely secure? The parable used was that of a plant and its branches, the Jews being the original branches, and Christians being branches that were grafted on. If God cut off the original branches from the vine, do we really think that he can't cut off the branches that weren't there to begin with? I suspect that there's probably a lot that Christians can learn from Jews as far as matters pertaining to God and religious life go--I mean, they had a relationship with him a lot longer than Christians have had, and I'm guessing that there's probably some degree of cultural memory there, too. I've been having a lot of really interesting conversations with a Jewish girl who works at the library--well, okay, mostly I'm listening, because she's such a wonderful person to listen to, so very intelligent and well-spoken, which I find amazingly attractive--ahem--and it's just so fascinating to learn about Jewish life.
Seriously, this book (The Chosen) is making me fall in love with reading again. I'm sad that I'll be through with it so soon. But hey! I've got tons of unread books at home. I'm set for a while here. And even though my copy of the Oz books doesn't have pictures, I can use my imagination and draw some. So, hey, this isn't a promise or anything, but if I do, I'll show them to you right here. So stay tuned.
C'mon, certainly some of you out there have seen this, right? The french fries, the milkshake, and the meatball? Okay, good, we're on the same page.
Every night, I get off of work at midnight. It's usually 12:15 before I actually get the library closed up, and then I go running for about a half hour. I usually get home around 1:30 or so. Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was working on my cartoon whenever I got the chance. Now that that's done, I've been watching a ton of television and surfing a ton of web, quite a feat when you take into consideration that neither of these media have actual weight. All this media is not healthy for me. I should be reading books.
But, because of this, I've seen a considerable amount of really dumb programming that somehow made it onto television. Nick at Nite is the only thing worth watching before 2:00, so I get my dose of Roseanne, which comes on right after Fresh Prince of Bel Air. The fact that Fresh Prince is on Nick at Nite makes me feel really old now. Anyway. Then I watch Futurama, a thoroughly funny show that I missed years ago when I gave up television watching for a while. After that, it's either Robot Chicken or Aqua Teens, depending on the night. I detest Robot Chicken--it's a stupid, stupid show using up the dregs at the bottom of the cup from which Family Guy once sipped. But Aqua Teen Hunger Force is a 15-minute long show that is very, very hard to follow.
That is, unless you watch a lot of it. It's a well drawn show with lots (lots!) of comic book influence, and while, as with most television, there is a certain level of...let's call it unwholesomeness...about the show, I'm beginning to appreciate the way the show is set up. This program is DENSE. They pack a whole 30-minute episode into half that time. There are jokes coming at you in a non-continuous pattern, non-sequiturs, background details, and very fast dialogue. Part of the problem is that half of the characters don't seem to have any attention span at all, so the dialogue goes all over the place. It's only at this point that I've come to appreciate that this is fully intentional for a specific effect. I'm still divided over whether I think that it's a good set-up for a show, because I'm beginning to recognize the importance of timing and pace in cartoons. But I appreciate that the guys who do this are able to fit so much humor into fifteen minutes. It's like Firesign Theatre for my eyes.
Anyway, I think the point I'm trying to make here is that I am feeling sick and bloated with internet and television culture. I went to the Waldenbooks store in our local mall today because they're having a closeout sale. For twenty-two bucks, I got a hardback copy of half of the Oz stories, and paperback versions of Maniac Magee (by Jerry Spinelli) and The Chosen (by Chaim Potok). The Chosen is really good so far. Jewish people and culture interests me, and I'd like to know more. It makes me upset to know that there has been so much anti-Semitism within the Christian faith throughout the centuries. As far as I can read it (and I'd like to think I have a good level of reading comprehension), the Bible says not to be hatin' on the Jews, the logic being, if God chose them as his people and chastised them so harshly throughout history, even to the point of retracting his presence from among them, why do we (as Christians) think that we're completely secure? The parable used was that of a plant and its branches, the Jews being the original branches, and Christians being branches that were grafted on. If God cut off the original branches from the vine, do we really think that he can't cut off the branches that weren't there to begin with? I suspect that there's probably a lot that Christians can learn from Jews as far as matters pertaining to God and religious life go--I mean, they had a relationship with him a lot longer than Christians have had, and I'm guessing that there's probably some degree of cultural memory there, too. I've been having a lot of really interesting conversations with a Jewish girl who works at the library--well, okay, mostly I'm listening, because she's such a wonderful person to listen to, so very intelligent and well-spoken, which I find amazingly attractive--ahem--and it's just so fascinating to learn about Jewish life.
Seriously, this book (The Chosen) is making me fall in love with reading again. I'm sad that I'll be through with it so soon. But hey! I've got tons of unread books at home. I'm set for a while here. And even though my copy of the Oz books doesn't have pictures, I can use my imagination and draw some. So, hey, this isn't a promise or anything, but if I do, I'll show them to you right here. So stay tuned.
posted by Casey at 10:43 PM
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