Sunday, July 31, 2005
Lots of Stuff To Tell About
It's been more than a week since I last posted, so here's the scoop:
I went to Carowinds theme park a bit more than a week ago. It was awesome! There are two main rides that made an impression on me:
1) Drop-Zone: This was one of those rides where you sit down and get pulled up a long tube. Then, when you reach the top, it drops you and you freefall back to the ground. The only thing that prevents the ride from crashing is brakes. I had never been on a ride like this before, so of course I had to try it. I loved it. There's nothing like getting to the top, seeing an amazing view of the park, and then suddenly plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground.
2) The Borg Assimilator: This was the newest roller coaster there. It's a "flying" roller coaster. I had heard of those, but never actually seen one. They're incredible; this was quite possibly the best rollar coaster I've ever been on in my entire life. Basically, you sit down, pull a harness over your head and another harness up over your legs so you won't fall out. Then, the seats rotate so you're lying on your back, facing up at the ceiling. Then the ride starts, and you go up the first hill looking at the clouds having no idea how high up you are.
Then the fun begins.
Right as you start down the hill, the track twists so suddenly you're facing downwards. There is nothing between you and the ground except those harnesses. When you go into loops, you don't see a track, just sky. It feels like you're flying, hence the name. If those harnesses were not there, you will definitely die. I loved it. That's the most terrifying and thrilling coaster I have ever been on.
Two days after Carowinds, I went off to the MK Retreat. It was fair. Nothing life-changing. Some parts were good, some parts were bad. We were staying at a camp in Texas. One of the worst parts was the tap water - it was really soft so when you finished taking a shower or washing your hands it felt like you were still covered in soap. It was kinda frustrating. There wasn't much to do at the camp during free time except go play minigolf, which got old after a while.
The best part was when we went to a mall on Friday. They gave us all $50. I bought t-shirts, including this one, as well as two books and a DVD. Yay.
There's a whole lot more I could say about the retreat, but it would take way too long to talk about everything. That's the problem with not having computer access - you get home and there's too much to write about. So I guess I'll leave you my thoughts on movies I have seen before and after the retreat:
Sleeper: A hilarious Woody Allen movie about a guy who wakes up after being cryogenicall frozen for 200 years, and what he finds. It's got Allen's trademark dialogue and slapstick situations. I got the feeling a lot of this movie was modeled after old silent movies. There were many scenes (particularly the action ones) where there wasn't a lot of sound, campy music was playing, and all of the comedy was physical. And as usual with Allen's movies, there's a statement about society to be found. This movie showed what the world would be like without democracy (one Leader runs everything), meaningful relationships (in order to have sex, people step into a machine for 3 seconds - there is no intimacy), and everything was run mechanically. It's definitely a statement about society today. Good stuff.
Seven Samurai: It's Akira Kurosawa's most famous movie - many critics consider it to be the best Japanese movie of all time. And I can see why. Although it's in black-and-white and 3 hours long, it's really quite good. A lot of movies these days were indirectly, if not directly, influenced by it (The Magnificent Seven, for example, is basically the same movie except as a Western). The story is one we've all seen before, even in kid movies (A Bug's Life, anyone?). There's a poor village being tormented by bandits, so the townspeople find warriors to come help them fight. Even though this plot has been done countless times, its original incarnation is still excellent. The characters were great, and each had a different personality to make things interesting. They were well-developed - there are plenty of subplots that really give the movie a well-rounded, believable feel. I liked it. At first it was kinda awkard getting used to the old-fashioned production quality of the movie, but Kurosawa's directing made it so in many ways it feels like a contemporary film. A true classic.
Kicking and Screaming: Fair. It's not Will Ferrell's best movie, but when you realize it's targeted at kids, I guess it's okay. I totally related to the coffee stuff.
Manhattan: Another Woody Allen movie. I liked this one too, but not quite as much as Sleeper. It's much more serious, but it has its funny moments. The main problem with it was that I couldn't really see what Allen was trying to say; I know it's a commentary on relationships, I just can't figure out the specifics. It certainly is interesting, though. It starts out with 42-year-old Isaac, played wonderfully by Allen, as he dates a 17-year-old girl named Tracy. Meanwhile, his best friend Yale is having an affair with a girl named Mary. Isaac's second ex-wife is writing a book about how their marriage failed and his response to her becoming a lesbian. The relationships between Isaac, Tracy, Mary, and Dale gradually change and become more and more crossed. I was astounded by how easily Allen lets his characters fall in love, break up, and get in more and more of a mess with each other. I have a feeling there's a whole lot of stuff he's trying to say in this movie, but I just couldn't grasp it. The ending didn't allow me to come to any conclusions. To make matters even more complicated, the whole "Allen dating a much younger girl" element has an obvious parallel to reality. It makes me wonder how much his life influenced the script, or vice versa.
It's a good movie, and I feel like it does have many things to say, but it just wasn't clear enough for me. Maybe that was the point, I don't know. It's definitely the most complex of Allen's movies that I've seen. Other, much smarter IB students than myself would most likely have a field day with it. Story-wise, it's great. Analytically, though, it made me feel like I missed out on something.
Quote of Da Moment:
"You know what you are? You're God's answer to Job, y'know? You would have ended all argument between them. I mean, He would have pointed to you and said, y'know, "I do a lot of terrible things, but I can still make one of these." You know? And then Job would have said, "Eh. Yeah, well, you win."
--Manhattan
"I'm not really the heroic type. I was beat up by Quakers."
--Sleeper
I went to Carowinds theme park a bit more than a week ago. It was awesome! There are two main rides that made an impression on me:
1) Drop-Zone: This was one of those rides where you sit down and get pulled up a long tube. Then, when you reach the top, it drops you and you freefall back to the ground. The only thing that prevents the ride from crashing is brakes. I had never been on a ride like this before, so of course I had to try it. I loved it. There's nothing like getting to the top, seeing an amazing view of the park, and then suddenly plummeting hundreds of feet to the ground.
2) The Borg Assimilator: This was the newest roller coaster there. It's a "flying" roller coaster. I had heard of those, but never actually seen one. They're incredible; this was quite possibly the best rollar coaster I've ever been on in my entire life. Basically, you sit down, pull a harness over your head and another harness up over your legs so you won't fall out. Then, the seats rotate so you're lying on your back, facing up at the ceiling. Then the ride starts, and you go up the first hill looking at the clouds having no idea how high up you are.
Then the fun begins.
Right as you start down the hill, the track twists so suddenly you're facing downwards. There is nothing between you and the ground except those harnesses. When you go into loops, you don't see a track, just sky. It feels like you're flying, hence the name. If those harnesses were not there, you will definitely die. I loved it. That's the most terrifying and thrilling coaster I have ever been on.
Two days after Carowinds, I went off to the MK Retreat. It was fair. Nothing life-changing. Some parts were good, some parts were bad. We were staying at a camp in Texas. One of the worst parts was the tap water - it was really soft so when you finished taking a shower or washing your hands it felt like you were still covered in soap. It was kinda frustrating. There wasn't much to do at the camp during free time except go play minigolf, which got old after a while.
The best part was when we went to a mall on Friday. They gave us all $50. I bought t-shirts, including this one, as well as two books and a DVD. Yay.
There's a whole lot more I could say about the retreat, but it would take way too long to talk about everything. That's the problem with not having computer access - you get home and there's too much to write about. So I guess I'll leave you my thoughts on movies I have seen before and after the retreat:
Sleeper: A hilarious Woody Allen movie about a guy who wakes up after being cryogenicall frozen for 200 years, and what he finds. It's got Allen's trademark dialogue and slapstick situations. I got the feeling a lot of this movie was modeled after old silent movies. There were many scenes (particularly the action ones) where there wasn't a lot of sound, campy music was playing, and all of the comedy was physical. And as usual with Allen's movies, there's a statement about society to be found. This movie showed what the world would be like without democracy (one Leader runs everything), meaningful relationships (in order to have sex, people step into a machine for 3 seconds - there is no intimacy), and everything was run mechanically. It's definitely a statement about society today. Good stuff.
Seven Samurai: It's Akira Kurosawa's most famous movie - many critics consider it to be the best Japanese movie of all time. And I can see why. Although it's in black-and-white and 3 hours long, it's really quite good. A lot of movies these days were indirectly, if not directly, influenced by it (The Magnificent Seven, for example, is basically the same movie except as a Western). The story is one we've all seen before, even in kid movies (A Bug's Life, anyone?). There's a poor village being tormented by bandits, so the townspeople find warriors to come help them fight. Even though this plot has been done countless times, its original incarnation is still excellent. The characters were great, and each had a different personality to make things interesting. They were well-developed - there are plenty of subplots that really give the movie a well-rounded, believable feel. I liked it. At first it was kinda awkard getting used to the old-fashioned production quality of the movie, but Kurosawa's directing made it so in many ways it feels like a contemporary film. A true classic.
Kicking and Screaming: Fair. It's not Will Ferrell's best movie, but when you realize it's targeted at kids, I guess it's okay. I totally related to the coffee stuff.
Manhattan: Another Woody Allen movie. I liked this one too, but not quite as much as Sleeper. It's much more serious, but it has its funny moments. The main problem with it was that I couldn't really see what Allen was trying to say; I know it's a commentary on relationships, I just can't figure out the specifics. It certainly is interesting, though. It starts out with 42-year-old Isaac, played wonderfully by Allen, as he dates a 17-year-old girl named Tracy. Meanwhile, his best friend Yale is having an affair with a girl named Mary. Isaac's second ex-wife is writing a book about how their marriage failed and his response to her becoming a lesbian. The relationships between Isaac, Tracy, Mary, and Dale gradually change and become more and more crossed. I was astounded by how easily Allen lets his characters fall in love, break up, and get in more and more of a mess with each other. I have a feeling there's a whole lot of stuff he's trying to say in this movie, but I just couldn't grasp it. The ending didn't allow me to come to any conclusions. To make matters even more complicated, the whole "Allen dating a much younger girl" element has an obvious parallel to reality. It makes me wonder how much his life influenced the script, or vice versa.
It's a good movie, and I feel like it does have many things to say, but it just wasn't clear enough for me. Maybe that was the point, I don't know. It's definitely the most complex of Allen's movies that I've seen. Other, much smarter IB students than myself would most likely have a field day with it. Story-wise, it's great. Analytically, though, it made me feel like I missed out on something.
Quote of Da Moment:
"You know what you are? You're God's answer to Job, y'know? You would have ended all argument between them. I mean, He would have pointed to you and said, y'know, "I do a lot of terrible things, but I can still make one of these." You know? And then Job would have said, "Eh. Yeah, well, you win."
--Manhattan
"I'm not really the heroic type. I was beat up by Quakers."
--Sleeper
# posted by Andrew Johnson : 7/31/2005 06:32:00 PM 
