I should have worn heels -- life at 5'3"

11:56 am - Smaug's Treasure Pile

If you've been following Ken's blog/FB, you may have noticed he's referred to Smaug's Treasure Pile a few times.  I thought y'all could use a visual, so here ya go (and this isn't even all of it!) !



And because he is just so adorable, I have to add this pic, too.  (Ken's step-brother and our nephew.)  Okay, everyone, all together now.... AWWWWWWWW.



Hope ya'll have a fun and safe 4th of July!

01:44 pm - Baby Shower Pics

Hey y'all.  I was terribly lax about taking pictures at the Oregon City baby shower - or anywhere else we've been for that matter.  If you have any pics from the shower, we would love to see and copy them.  I guess that's a good sign when people are having so much fun socializing that cameras are forgotten.  :)

04:22 pm - Live at Locus Awards Weekend + Baby Stuff

Ken and I are hangin' at the Locus Awards this weekend.  We're grabbing some writing/rest time in our room before heading back out into the crowd.  It's been a pretty cool weekend so far, though I missed all the fun last night.  Babies decided mommy was too tired to party (but still gave her insomnia!) so we hid in the room.  But Ken seems to have carried the Fun Torch for all of us.  Hopefully tonight will be a different matter.  The girls really enjoyed the awards banquet.  I think they thought the applause was all for them, because whenever everyone claps - which was every few minutes - I got a good kick, punch or squirm.  I think they thought they could accept awards for people.  They're already so ambitious!  :)

Had a lovely first breakfast with kenscholes , Kelly Young and Jenna Pitman.  Happy birthday to Kelly!  Then had a delightful second breakfast with bhagwanx and frabjouslinz up in Ballard.  They also introduced me to a great cupcake store.  Alas they did not have the cupcake onsies I was looking for.  So I had to move along.  It's probably a good thing that I didn't impulse buy, but I may have to go to their website at a later time to see if they've restocked.

I have been very lax in posting about the babies and the baby showers... or anything else of late.  I'm not sure if this is due to busy-ness or lazyness, but I'm going to opt for the former.  I still have so many thank yous to send out.  I must get on that.  And I do have much heartfelt gratitude for all of our friends, family and co-workers who have come out to share in the celebration of these two little ninja princesses. 

So a couple of things... our friends Kalle and Angus were clever and found a new acronym for the Scholes Family.  We are now the J.E.R.K.S.  (Jen, Elizabeth, Rachel and Ken Scholes).  Very clever.  We got a good laugh out of that.

Then... ta da!  I went and got a henna tatoo on my belly!  Most of you have seen it in the flesh already, because I've been practically flashing everybody my belly since I got it, but here are some pics, too.  This is with the paste still on, so it's very dark.  The artist, Melanie Schwartz, did such a great job.  She's local to Portland and is also at the Saturday Market.  You can view here stuff on her website at  http://www.bluelotushenna.com/index.html.  And here are a few samples of the art she did (free hand!) on me...

  

07:57 pm - Baby Update at 30 weeks

It has been far too long since my last update.  We just had another ultrasound today, as well as our first NST (Non-Stress Test).  I'm now a little over 30 weeks (7 weeks to go!).  The babies are growing like crazy.  Last month, Elizabeth was measuring 16% smaller than Rachel, which had us... watchful.  If the twins had gotten more than 20% difference in their size, we would have started to get a little worried.  But little Elizabeth (or little Leila Ali as I've sometimes called her) had quite the growth spurt.  She's gained more than a pound and is now a robust 3lbs 5oz.  Rachel is still slightly bigger at 3lbs 12oz.  I'm going to have some robust babies (robust for twins anyway).  What's funny is that Elizabeth, the little one, seems to have pushed Rachel into some awkward positions in their womb.  Rachel often will stick out of my side, and on the ultrasound, her head was cocked in a funny, uncomfortable-looking way.  Elizabeth wants her space!  It's looking pretty crowded in there.  I'm not sure there's enough room for two babies and all my internal organs!

The babies have moved around a bit, too.  Elizabeth is still head down with her face pretty much pressed up against the "exit." She loves to stick her butt against my belly.  Rachel did a little spin a few weeks ago, which I felt in the middle of the night when she went sideways and felt like she was exploding out my side.  She's now head up and banging her head against my ribs.  Occasionally, she'll stretch out and bang her head on my ribs and kick her feet into my hip bone.  She's going to be a long baby.

Then I got to lay on a table hooked up to the NST machine for almost an hour while the technicians tracked their heartbeats and my contractions.  Yes, my contractions.  I get them almost everyday now.  But they're pretty mild, and as long as I don't have more than 6 in an hour, I'm doing fine.  (And you haven't been complimented until your doctor tells you what a great, healthy and strong cervix you have.)  I just have to stay rested and hydrated.  And the technician seemed pretty impressed with all the movements going on in there.  The babies were jumpin', jivin' and whalin' in there, as usual. 

All in all, we're doing well.  We're pretty much out of the woods for the Twin to Twin Transfusion.  We're now just making sure the cookies get baked all the way. 

And in case you didn't catch them on Facebook, here are a couple of recent pics...
   

Current Mood: happy

11:26 am - 23rd Century Technology

This is not my original thought - though it IS presented in Jen-speak.  I was either talking to someone earlier this week and can't remember who, or I heard this from a caller who called in during an interview with J.J. Abrams on Fresh Air.  Either way, the question that was postulated has stuck with me for days.

So, there have been a few babies born during the various episodes and movies in the Star Trek universe.  Of all the ones I've seen (and I haven't seen them all, I'm sure, because I have not watched every single spin-off), the birthing scene always has the same huffing and puffing of the mother trying to push the watermelon out of the lemon-sized exit.  (Well, I'm assuming from the huffing and puffing that the aliens had similar object-to-opening size ratio... damn it Jim, I'm a writer not an obgyn!) 

And here's the question... why not just use transporter technology to beam the kid directly from the womb to the doctor's awaiting hands?  Bypass all the huffing and puffing and pushing (and blood and tearing and mucus plugs and all the other stuff they usually don't show on cable TV or IMAX - and really, I don't EVER have to see a birth on IMAX.  Really, really.  That is going a few light years too far.  Birth - in high-def on a 29 Ft screen.  No thank you.  But I digress.)  I mean if Kirk's crew can beam a couple of humpback whales (one of which was pregnant) and however many tons of seawater into the cargo bay of a Klingon ship, then surely a baby (or two), a placenta and some amniotic fluid would be a piece of cake. 

I'm just sayin'.

06:16 pm - Travel

One of my Bucket List goals is to set foot on every continent (including Antarctica).  So far 3 out of 7.

04:27 pm - Mother's Day - page i

I say "page i", because since the girls aren't born yet, this is sort of a pre-Mother's Day.  A Mother's Day prequel.  Or like those extra pages of stuff that start out with roman numerals before the actual page numbers start.  I realize I'm being a good mom by taking care of myself and, therefore, them.  So I am thoroughly enjoying my first Mother's Day.

Today started out very nicely with me waking up from a sweet dream about the girls.  It was very short and simple.  I walked into the baby room where they had been sleeping.  And they were at an age where they weren't quite crawling yet.  They were awake, and when they saw me, their faces just lit up, like they were saying, "Hi, Mom!"  I like these dreams much better than than the anxiety-ridden ones.

I received two lovely Mother's Day cards upon waking up.  One from Ken (the sweetest husband EVAR) and one from the twins.  He said they tapped a message to him in morse code to let him know what kind of card to pick out.  How cute is that?

Then we packed up and headed to my parent's house where I was making brunch for my mom.  Well, it turned out to be more of a joint effort between the two of us.  I know we're supposed to be all pampered and spoiled, but we love to cook/bake and so we experimented with a long-forgotten recipe from the cookbook she made the family for Christmas this year.  The brunch came out beautifully.  We had asparagus and swiss cheese crepes with fruit salad and maple flavored sausage links served with orange/mango/pineapple juice.  It was the perfect balance of sweet and savory.  And playing in the kitchen with my mom is one of my favorite pasttimes.

After brunch, I even got my mom on Facebook.  So maybe she's reading this crosspost even now! 

My sister, her husband and Ken and I crossed paths as we passed through our parents' house.  As we were leaving, they were arriving.  And of course, there were belly pics to be taken.


   
The proud parents-to-be.

  
The pregnant sisters.  Can you tell which one of us is having twins?  (I'm a 25 weeks, I think she's at 18 or 19 weeks.)

And for the rest of Mother's Day, I'm spending it with my favorite daddy-to-be.

Current Mood: happy

09:02 pm - Freedom of Speech or National Security?

Whenever I have to send a package at the post office, I'm asked if there are any hazardous or dangerous items in my package.  Often I'll joke with the postal worker, saying, "only ideas."  Well, hazardous or dangerous ideas are no joke in the U.K.

I was listening to NPR today, and they were discussing on World Have Your Say the U.K.'s list of 16 people banned from entering the country for "fostering extremism or hatred."  I read these people fell under the far-right religious, anti-gay, anti-abortion, racial separatism, etc. headings. Now I couldn't disagree more vehemently with their viewpoints, and I'm all for advocating tolerance and acceptance of people of all lifestyles, races, sexes, orientation, etc.  But it does seem odd to me to ban certain people from entering a country because they've got some crazy ideas they want to express.  If they are doing so in a lawful way, then why not let them?  They can then be lawfully ridiculed for being nuts (or short-sighted or narrow-minded or whathaveyou).  It is unfortunate that the message many of the extremists is hurtful to so many groups.  But banning these people isn't going to change their minds or their message; it will only fuel their delusional vitriol.  I'm pretty sure that the argument for tolerance and acceptance can withstand any civil debate these people can dish out.  Healthy debate keeps us from becoming a stagnant, unquestioning population of drones. 

I'm still not sure exactly how this becomes a National Security issue requiring banned entry into the country.  Are these people plotting bombings?  Gathering terrorist cells?  From what I heard, it sounded like they just wanted to blow hot air and hold demonstrations. 

Now for all I know, the U.S. could have similar lists of banned people.  It would not surprise me if we did, but it would sadden me. 

The networks show the movie "The American President" on TV quite often.  It's a good film.  Michael Douglas, Annette Benning.  And I remember the first time watching it, the scene at the end where Michael Douglas as the President addresses the American people.  He has this big, long, moving, Hollywood-style monologue that wraps up the movie in a nice little bow and leaves you feeling all tingly about being an American.  Hollywood aside, there was a bit in that monologue that always stuck with me.  He says:

"America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say, "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating, at the top of his lungs, that which you
would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours."

It's a reminder that our rights and freedoms aren't intended for when things are easy and everyone's in agreement.  We have these rights and freedoms exactly for those times when we don't agree.  Everyone gets a voice.  Even the crazies.  Besides, who's to say that one day, I might be labeled the "crazy" with the subversive ideas?  And if that time comes, I'd want to know that I still had a right to my voice... before the people with the butterfly nets came for me.

Current Mood: thoughtful

08:24 pm - More crazy, weird stuff

So I've entered the Leg Cramps From Hell phase of pregnancy.  You know, those charlie horses that wake you up in the night biting into your pillow so your screams don't wake your significant other.  And your calf muscle is visibly bunched up and whatever power has seized you just refuses to let up.  And then when it finally does, you're sore for three days afterward... from the last day you had the cramp, so if you've had them for days in a row, you're pretty much screwed.  Oh yeah, they are fun.

I started asking people what they've done for leg cramps, and I've gotten some good and some really weird responses back.  I've listed them below

1.  Stand up.  (Ouch, but this actually got the cramp to cease.)
2.  Put a bar of Ivory soap at the foot of your bed or under your mattress (wtf? I would love to know how that works.)
3.  Eat more bananas for potassium. (Just bought some, have eaten one.)
4.  Take a magnesium/calcium supplement.  (I eat TUMS regularly.)
5.  Drink raspberry leaf herbal tea.

So what weird advice have you tried or heard of to get rid of leg cramps?  Or really, what weird home remedies have you heard of to cure any ailment?

Current Mood: sore

10:59 am - The Weirdness of My Head

Another weird pregnancy dream. 

Our dreams are so obviously our subconscious trying to work out stuff while we sleep.  Of course, being that it's our subconscious, it's sometimes hard to piece together what the heck is going on inside our noggins.  But I think this one is fairly clear cut.

I woke up this morning from a dream in which I couldn't find any maternity clothing stores, so I embarked on building my own.  I picked a plot of land in the middle of nowhere that had too many trees growing close together to erect a building.  The trees had to go.  Now, here's where it gets weird.  I didn't hire a lumberjack or even pick up a chainsaw myself.  No, I enlisted the help of He-Man's Battlecat, and while riding in the big cat's saddle, we tied rope around the trees and used his super cat strength to pull them out by the roots.  The dream never progressed beyond that scene, because I think my conscious mind kicked in and said, "Battlecat?  Really?"

So yesterday (and over the weekend too), it became apparent that I could no longer squeeze into my first round of maternity clothes.  (Btw, when the sales person says to just buy your normal size because the special elastic will grow with you, DON'T BELIEVE her!)  My jeans and two work pants are now in the "Loan to My Sister" pile.  (If you recall, she is pregnant too, about 5-6 weeks behind me, but only having one baby, so might not get as ginormous as me.)  I did a Google search for maternity stores in Portland, and I swear, you'd think that I was trying to locate Osama Bin Laden.  I did get 4 hits in the greater Portland Metro Area, but they were these upscale boutiques that sold pants for $80+.  (Considering where I work, I really shouldn't talk.  But still.) Or, it was that one store that stills holds on to that classic maternity look:  Frumpy Mu Mu Chic.  What I've discovered is that many stores have these unadvertised hidden areas with small collections of maternity clothes, but you have to know which individual stores carry them.  It's a serious scavenger hunt out there.

To make a long story short (too late!), I see a clothes shopping hunt in my future.  Unfortunately, I won't be able to take Battlecat.  Most stores don't allow animals.

 

06:26 am - Useless Wisdom of the Day

Unopened emails are like ringing phones.  There is a compulsion to interrupt whatever you're doing to open/answer them.  It's just torture let it just sit there.

03:46 pm - And in the morning, I'm making WAFFLES!

So, have you ever wondered what would happen if/when a prego encountered multiple cravings at once?  Well, I'll tell you.

I woke up this morning craving waffles.  Waffles on a Saturday morning sounded dee-lightful.  With bacon.  Must have bacon, too.  And I wanted to make them with my fancy little Belgian waffle iron.  Because making breakfast taps into this weird nesting instinct that creeps up out of nowhere.  Unfortunately, I couldn't decide what kind of waffles I wanted to make.  And just plain Belgian waffles just wouldn't do.

Aside:  you know, the packaging companies really should be more careful when they are posting their "delicious recipe ideas" right there on the box for any prego to see! 

Ken, being the wonderful man that he is, volunteered to run to the store for supplies.  He had no idea what hair-brained idea I'd concocted.  Because in the end, I went with my usual modus operandi for all major decisions involving choosing from a selection:  why choose when you can have both (or all)?  Thus, behold my breakfast creation!  My chocolate chip Belgian waffles with strawberries, walnuts, whipped cream and a drizzle of maple syrup.  In the end, I think it was the maple syrup that went just one step too far.  (And no, I did NOT eat the whole thing.)


 

Current Mood: hungry

06:59 pm - We'll Miss You, Ken

Well, another writer has typed their proverbial *END*.  Tonight, Ken Rand passed away.  Even though most of us knew it was coming, it still doesn't take the bite out of what still feels like a sucker punch.  After battling it out with his illness for the last couple of years, he decided last week that enough was enough.  So I guess you could say that he went on his own terms.  And that's just the kind of guy he was.


 

Conventions have come and gone with Ken's absence noticeable.  Blog posts and announcements.  Sporadic emails.  An occasional phone call.  And last summer, I spent several of my lunch breaks in the park by my work with a manuscript of a psychedelic story of music and talking bubbles.  What an incredible imagination.  Yet, to me (with my super powers of denial and self-delusion), it's felt like there's this empty chair in the room that no one else can sit in.  That person has just stepped out, took a call, went to the bathroom, he'll be right back.  He's not coming back.  And the chair will stay empty.  I'll miss you, Ken.

 

Current Mood: sad

01:57 am - Belly pics and other updatery

Well, since I'm having another one of these ever so frequent bouts of insomnia, I figured I had no excuse for not posting those belly pics that I promised.  So, here ya go...  Jen at 21 1/2 weeks!

   

   Doest thou deign to pet me?                Yes, you filthy cat.           Reading through inutero osmosis

Other updatery...

Shimmer 10 is out and about in the world along with a cool trailer created by the illustriousmaryrobinette.  www.shimmerzine.com/2009/03/29/issue-ten-the-trailer/.  My interview with Cory Doctorow can be found amongst the pages.

I actually did some work at Norwescon that was not related to Ken-Wrangling.  (Maybe I missed my calling.  How does Writer Wrangler-for-hire sound?)  So there will be more interviews forthcoming at an unspecified time in unspecified locations.  How's that for cryptic?  Actually, not so cryptic.  Just have some irons in the fire.  The babies have been somewhat all-consuming lately, but I really don't want to lose sight of my writing in the midst of all the chaos.  Okay, show of hands for who can relate to that one? 

Have questioned my sanity on a number of occasions.  Most often as the result of spotty memory lapses and frequent word salad.  At the end of the day though, I'm pretty much left with the burning question, Can I really do it all?  Be a hip and cool mother of twins, be a hip and cool wife, progress in my day job career, grow my writing career, manage the less creative side of Ken's writing, maintain and grow my friendships, keep the house from sliding into superfund status and still get in the requisite amount of Fun needed to be a healthy individual all the while conducting myself with a modicum of grace and a dash of Jen's trademarked brand of weird.  And the answer is inevitably, Yes.  Why?  Because.  Because, why?  Well, what other answer is there, really?   As many other well, and not-so-well adjusted folks before me have said, you just do it.  Of course it does sort of feel like taking a deep breath, jumping and trusting that you'll figure out how to swim.

Also, I never did a proper update of our trip up to Bellingham last month.  I could go into long detail, I suppose, but instead I'll just say it was a lot of fun seeing Ken's old alma mater.  And I really enjoyed hanging out with some friends old and new.  But really, this is just a segue into this interesting pic taken on the campus of Western Washingon.  This is Ken and Marshmallow Jen in front of the requisite college homage to reproduction.  Seriously, do all universities have some sort of symbol of reproduction artistically displayed somewhere on campus?  U of O did.  Anyway, here ya go...



Okay, that's it for miscellaneous updatery.  It is now ridiculously late.

 

09:13 am - Coming out from under my E-Rock

Hi everyone!  It's been awhile.  Well, unless you count actually interacting in flesh and blood with a lot of you.  In this brave new world of e-friendships, facebook, LJ, chat, does interacting face to face with your peeps still hold the same power as it once did?  I'm going to weigh in with a big YES on that one.  And the main reason being smell.  Now granted, the olfactory senses can back fire on you - especially if you walk by the gaming room on the Sunday of a con - but really, it's the sense of smell that creates a much more visceral experience of the world and the people in it.  And research has suggested that the sense of smell is also closely tied to memory recall.  This is really all just an excuse for why I suck at maintaining non-work related email correspondence and regular LJ/Facebook updates.  It is also the result of getting 12 hours of solid sleep following a week of sporadic insomnia followed by a long weekend of a smelly-in-a-good-way-mostly convention. 

Okay, prego update:  as mentioned above, I'm now experiencing pregnancy insomnia.  I've surprised Ken a number of times now by being awake and bustling around before even HE wakes up.  One 3 a.m. morning saw me baking blueberry muffins, and another coaxed a nice foot rub out of the "culprit of my current condition", so other than being completely exhausted during the day, I can't complain too much.

The babies are starting to seriously kick now and can be felt from the outside.  It's such a weird feeling.  And at our last ultrasound, they were being their usual precocious selves.  They snuggled a lot, Elizabeth resting her head on Rachel's bum... until Rachel twitch-kicked and did something that sounded like flatulence on the monitor (doubt that's what it was, cause I don't think there's air in there) causing much laughter in the room and another episode of kicking, twitching and rolling in the womb.  My sister, who is just 6 weeks behind me in her pregnancy, came with me to the appointment.  It was a nice bonding moment between sisters and cousins.  And since our favorite ultrasound technician, Cherie, is also pregnant, we were actually outnumbered by babies.  All in all, I've got a couple of healthy spawn growing in there.

I'll not go into detail as to the other weird prego stuff that's starting to happen, but those of you who have experienced this probably can guess.  I'm just going to say that my body is no longer my own.  And my belly is getting HUGE!  And I'm only a little more than halfway!  We're starting to experience clearance issues when trying to reach for stuff or move about a crowded room or even just give a hug.  If Steven Colbert can have the Colbert Bump and the Obamas can have the Obama Bump, then I think I should have the West-Scholes Belly Bump!  I do have a couple more pictures that I'll try to post later today or tomorrow.

And despite my inability to sniff y'all over the internets, I still enjoy hearing/reading from you in those oceans of time between visits and conventions.  Enjoy the weekend!

(PS, Yes, I'm weird.)

Current Mood: weird

06:14 pm - Judges, the envelope please...

And the verdict is in.  We're having twin GIRLS!!!  Both are healthy and well, just perfect.  They are the perfect size for their development.  They have all the parts they're supposed to have at this stage.  They are just the cutest little over-achievers ever.  And they still look like alien puppies.  They are so active, too, as Ken found out last night.  He can now feel them move, too.  And they are such daddy's girls already.  They respond to his voice and his touch.  In fact, the ultrasound technician was trying to get one of the twins to move so she could measure something, but the little girl was being stubborn.  At my suggestion, I had her daddy talk to her and sure enough, as soon as he started talking (cooing is more like it), she moved.

It was so fun watching them today.  Both were active.  One of them at one point was sitting on the other's head.  And soon after they were playing what looked like a game of either patty-cake or pull-my-finger.  Who knows?  But they were being all squirrelly in there.  No wonder I've been feeling weird gurgles and twinges.

Current Mood: happy

03:41 pm - More belly pics

Okay, to satiate the masses, I had Ken take a couple of pics of the belly this morning.  This is me at 17 weeks (i.e. a little more than 4 months).  I also got creative and did a "Bellycam" shot so you could see what I see when I look down.  Notice, my feet are NOT in the picture.  I can still see them if I lean slightly forward. 

       

I can feel them move now.  At least, I THINK that's what I'm feeling.  I had expected more thumps and twitches.  But what I'm feeling from time to time is this really weird gurgling that I can only really describe as feeling like there are a couple of large marbles rolling around in there.  It is so bizarre.
 

Current Mood: cheerful

08:59 pm - By popular request...

... a couple of belly pics.  These are from Radcon about a month ago - so I would have been at about 3 months.  You may have seen one of them if you're on Facebook.  I'll try to get better about documenting the ballooning belly.  :)

 

05:00 pm - Oh, the nesting

The Nesting... she has begun. 

My parents and I drove out to Hillsboro this morning to be first (or nearly first) in line for the FHM (Full House Moms and Dads) annual Spring sale.  I have found FHM to be a really cool organization so far, although really all I've done until now is shop.  They are an organization for parents of multiples.  They packed out the Washington County Fairgrounds building with all kinds of baby and toddler stuff.  And they were selling so CHEAP!  I'm glad I had thought to ask my parents to drive out with their truck, because we needed it.  Actually, I think I had the biggest pile of stuff out of everyone there. 

I picked up (with generous contributions from Grandma and Grandpa-to-be) a nice changing table, a twin stroller (tandem), two highchairs, a mattress for the crib, a Pack n Play travel playpen/bassinet/changing station, two travel swings, a diaper genie, a bed sheet set with matching mobiles and little pillows.  My dad insisted on buying us this potty training seat.  We won't be able to use it for a couple of years, but it really is cute and quite the conversation piece. 



He also got us the warming baby wipes.  Grandpa is already spoiling the kids.  :)  All-in-all, a great haul.  I now have to go update my meager registry so I don't have duplicate stuff.

I also talked my parents into looking at some mattresses with me on our way back to the house.  Ken and I have been talking about getting a king size bed for almost a year now.  And since there was a pretty good sale going on, we figured we'd just bite the bullet and do it.  We'll have to wait a bit to get a fancier bed frame, but at least I will run less risk of getting clocked in the head by a flying elbow.  So our queen is going to journey down the hall to the guest room.  It'll be a tight squeeze, but I think it will work.  And the new bed won't arrive for a couple weeks, so we'll have a little bit of time to measure and figure out spacing.

Meanwhile, Ken has been schlepping books and bookshelves all weekend.  We finally bought a corner shelving unit for the office, and he is now unloading the 100+ boxes of books onto the shelves (alphabetizing party anyone?). It really makes the office look like a Den of Ken.  And with the books now out of the garage, we'll have room to store other stuff out there so we can make room for the babies' stuff.  The master plan is working.  The house is a disaster at the moment, but I can see it all taking shape. 

Well, I think we've done our part this weekend to stimulate the economy.  Time to lay back with my feet up.

Current Mood: accomplished

12:19 pm - To Watchmen or not to Watchmen...

that is the question. (Fairly spoiler free.)

As of Friday, I had so far heard two reviews (from NPR) that painted the movie Watchmen as a lackluster film that just didn't capture the magic of the graphic novel.  kenscholes and I saw the movie last night, and I can completely see why the reviewers, and in fact many American viewers, would not like this film.   That said, I still completely disagree with both reviewers and viewers who panned Watchmen.  You're entitled to your opinion, but really, I just think you missed the point.

I should first admit that I have not read the graphic novel.  I came into the movie only knowing that it was an alternate history dystopia of sorts.  It looked dark.  I expected dark.  I got dark.  I liked the unglamorous, more realistic portrayal of the super"heroes".  Because seriously, you'd either have to have some kind of major sociopathic malfunction, emotional brokenness, psychotic detachment or an extreme case of naive optimism to be a superhero.  Each of these cases were represented in the characters.  I found the subtle, and not so subtle, psychologies of the characters intriguing.  I liked that they were flawed and dark and stripped of their humanity (literally in some cases). 

This is not a happy movie where the villains get their comeuppance and the heroes fly off victorious with the liberated victims all safe and sound.  This movie does not have clear "good guys" and "bad guys".  And as for happy endings... well, as Obi Wan Kenobi would say, it "depends on our own point of view."  The movie asks hard moral questions, and as such, gives ambiguous answers.

As for the graphic violence, there were times I closed my eyes.  I admit to having a certain level of squeamishness when it comes to blood, guts and gore.  But it fit with the storyline and the characters' motivations.  It would have felt like cheating if the movie held back because of my "delicate sensibilities".  Besides, that's what eyelids are for.  And it's not like I spent the entire movie with my eyes closed.  I only self-censored a few rather icky scenes involving a meat cleaver or a power saw.  Bleh.

As for what Jon Stewart referred to as "swinging some blue pipe", I say bring it on.  Too long has the balance of nudity in films rested on the - er - shoulders of the female cast.  I say, let's give the boys a shot.  On a serious note, I thought the "blue pipe" was handled (bad choice of words, I realize) very artistically and unobtrusively.  Like looking at a blue David in a different medium maybe.  One of the things that always bugged me about the Hulk was that despite how rapidly he grew and shredded his clothes, his pants never completely tore off.  Speaking as someone who is at the moment growing rather rapidly, I can personally say that it would be impossible to grow that much that fast without some major chafing.  Even spandex only stretches so much.  And really, in the end (another bad choice of words, I realize), is it more shocking to see a man split open the head of another man several times with a meat cleaver or see a large blue schlong stroll across the stage?  Well, I know which scene I closed MY eyes at.

The only thing that felt a little off in the movie was the timing.  And I think that only stems from the sheer amount of story that they tried to pack into almost 3 hours.  The movie didn't feel needlessly long.  But it felt long because there was so much material, and all of it was pertinent to the story.

So, if you like ambiguity, darkness, a certain kind of realism and blue schlongs, go see the movie.

If you would prefer something more escapist that leaves you with a solid sense of right and wrong in the world, you might take a pass.

IMHO, of course.

Current Mood: lazy