80 thoughts on “November 24, 2015: Rhododendron”

  1. AMR . . . wow.

    The double handoff was a bit tricky, but we muddled through. I should probably refrain from handing off such fragile items in the future, but I wanted to give that one a try for a change of pace.

  2. Episodes IV-VI should be arriving from Amazon. I think my kids, at least the boy (9), need to see Star Wars so I can watch the new one. I'll probably borrow I-III.
    I have seen it suggested that the movies be watched in particular orders that may not be sequential. I'm curious what the Nation thinks of this.
    I'm also trying to recall how much "scary" (or inappropriate?) material might be in there that I hadn't noticed, and whether I dare including the littler ones.

    1. I've not tried it, but the order I've always heard is IV-V-II-III-VI (don't bother with I). I may check the library and try to do it this way, even though I hated episode II and used that hatred to not see III. (effing sand)

      1. II is sooooo bad. Also, it was functionally released on the 17th of May, 2002. Which is the day Giambi hit the grand slam in the 13th inning after the Twins went up by 3 in the top half. So, you know, just a rotten day.

      2. But without I, there's no pod races!
        It might not make a good movie, but it does make a good video game (played in one of those arcades-for-grown-ups with alcohol).

        1. It might not make a good movie, but it does make a good video game (played in one of those arcades-for-grown-ups with alcohol).

          This is true podracing!

    2. We've got 4-6 on VHS (and not widescreen... it was a gift).
      The older kids have seen them -- at least in parts -- multiple times.

    3. I just bought the IV-VI Blu-rays. I haven't watched them yet, but I did start watching (had to go to class before it was over) Harmy's Despecialized A New Hope which was interesting. I honestly don't really remember a lot of the pre-SE stuff, so I wanted to watch that before watching whatever it is that Lucas has decided is canonical now.

      I've also never watched III. I was recovering from foot surgery when it came out and never mustered the energy to head to the theater. I and II were both pretty bad, so I wasn't exactly sad I missed out. I suppose I should watch it before The Force Awakens.

      1. Might be best to just go with the knowledge that EP. I-III have no bearing on The Force Awakens since its actually a sequel this time. Then you don't have to put yourself through what it most likely a bad movie, but not in a good way.

        I need to find the non-SE versions of IV-VI. I recently borrowed IV from the library, so the defiled one is all I could get my hands on. The added special effects are simply embarrassing, and I know it'll annoy me watching VI when Anakin is replaced...

          1. One of my college roommates had the LaserDisc version of Episode IV on LaserDisc. Man those were awesome.

          1. Are you saying you haven't seen the newer versions?
            There are lots of extra creatures. The CGI is too fluid and slick compared to the puppets and miniatures.
            Greedo shoots first.
            CGI Jabba in Star Wars.

              1. I don't have that in my version. Some other dude.
                Hayden may have been cast at that point, but hadn't acted yet.
                "acted" -ftfm

        1. The Despecialized editions seem like the best way to go for the original versions of the films. I'm really, really, really hoping that now that Disney owns the property they'll bring a high def version of the original versions out of the vault, since Lucas never would. I'm not holding my hand on my ass waiting, but it sure would be nice.

      2. The first runs of IV - VI had horrible matte lines in the space scenes. If Lucas had just cleaned that up, and left the rest of the content alone, but no-o-o-o-o...

        We took Runner daughter to the re-release back when she was in elementary school. She cri-i-ed when Darth Vader died, because father.

    4. My advice, as always, is to avoid them all together. But you aren't going to take my advice, probably.

        1. Not really. I just never cared for the first one, so I quit there. (Note: I'm not a sci-fi fan at all.) I am amused by the fact that the last three have been generally panned but people keep going.

          The NFL, on the other hand, well, I'm like an ex-smoker. I'm a former fan.

          1. Also, I was on a business trip with a guy back when the first (really the fourth) one came out. He was jonesing to go find a theater on the East coast to go see it on the first day. I was in charge and I said, no, we are not doing that. He was really bummed out that he didn't get to see it on the very first day it came out. He wanted to skip work WHEN WE WERE TRAVELING AND PAYING MONEY TO A TESTING FACILITY to watch the movie. Lord, Almighty.

            And the movie sucked by all accounts.

          2. I am amused by the fact that the last three have generally been panned but people keep going

            Said the Timberwolves fan.

    5. I would go 4-6, then 1-3. The prequels aren't good, but I think their awfulness has been overstated and they do provide some background for the story.

      Probably the main problem with Machete order is the chance that the prequels bog you down and you don't get to six, which is better than the prequels.

      1. Though I would suggest that VI is better in light of III. Those two match up quite nicely in some ways.

      2. some background for the story

        It should be noted that we're (obviously?) not among the rabid fan base of the franchise. I did see I-III, but I'm not sure they were all in theaters. My wife was surprised to find that

        'Probably not a Spoiler' SelectShow

        I did have a minor meltdown.

        That said, I do find that the sountrack can give me chills. But John Williams will do that to you.

        1. I like Star Wars but wouldn't say I'm a rabid fan. I thought the prequels generally had the same problems as the original movies but the original actors fit their roles better (I hesitate to say they acted their roles really well, but they made the characters work.)

      3. Now that I have a name for it, I read the original article proposing Machete order. Seems like a good idea. Fullmetal Alchemist (and FMA: Brotherhood) does this a bit. Start with 3 episodes about the boys as State Alchemists. Then skip back to the beginning of their story. Catch up with them again. Then skip back to the origin of [another main character and how that story is intertwined with many others], then back to the culmination of it all (which I'm not through on FMA:B).

        Probably the main problem with Machete order is the chance that the prequels bog you down
        Also a problem with trying to watch them at all. It would highlight some of the inconsistencies, but not as badly as Obi-wan saying that Anakin was a great pilot when they met.

    6. See them in original release order: IV-V-VI-I-II-III. Otherwise the revelation at the end of V loses all its effect.
      I'm not a super fan, but I enjoy the series. The original trilogy much more so than the prequels. Strangely, I like Ep I the best of the prequels. I didn't mind Jar Jar like everyone else (at least not more than I hated C3PO - still can't stand him). I just didn't like how Anakin was portrayed by Christensen. His turn to the dark side just didn't flow well. The only saving grace to those movies were the last fight scenes.

      I do want to watch at least the original trilogy again before Ep VII. However, I have to break out the old VCR.

    7. I think the preferred order is

      'chronological' SelectShow
            1. If only Harrison Ford had played one of the humanoid cylons in Battlestar Galactica, I would possess a unifying theory of his entire filmography.

          1. No recollection? Maybe that was fallout from the nuclear explosion. Should have jumped in the refrigerator, CH!

          2. Oh, it was a popular meme around here or the previous basement. Perhaps during your Googl+onian exile.

            1. I actually saw it in the theaters – I just refuse to acknowledge its existence. Self-imposed amnesia.

              Perhaps during your Googl+onian exile.

              I'm like a Petrashevist back from Siberia!

              1. Self-imposed amnesia.
                I knew that and was making joke pretending to believe it.
                Ironic pedantry as humor.

    8. I've watched machete order with my girls. It was really nice. II was bad, but somewhat necessary as a "flashback" piece. III is stilted and has lots of bad acting, but if it was written 30% better with good acting it could have been pretty powerful. My oldest (11) had a jaw-drop at the end of III. Something I never was able to experience, so that was neat!

      We still need to watch VI together. I might take the 11-year-old to VII in the theater. Haven't decided.

    9. We got the BluRays of all 6 last week, so we could re-watch them all before VII comes out. We have now watched IV-VI with our 4.5-year old, with the almost-2-year-old in the room. (I briefly considered doing them 1-6 order instead, but was immediately shot down by my wife.) The little one didn't really pay any attention at all, but the older boy loved them. He cheered along with Han and Luke, thought the dogfights were cool, and laughed at the Ewoks. It was also awesome to see the surprise at the end of Empire Strikes Back. I don't remember a time when I didn't know that who Darth Vader really was, so getting to see the shock from him was like getting to experience it through him.

      As for age appropriateness, he wasn't really scared by anything, and the violence wasn't too much, either. But, of course YMMV on that one. We're pretty permissive as far as what we let him watch, as long as we're there to watch it with him. He got WAY more upset from watching the Rugrats movie than he did at the end of Return of the Jedi.

      1. immediately shot down by my wife

        Good woman, it seems.

        This is going to be fun. The 9-year-old may really enjoy this.

        1. Definitely, on both of those.

          It was a huge blast for both my wife and I to see his amazement, and of course to watch him enjoy something we both like so much. I thought it would be cool to show it to him, and to see him watching them, but it was way more fun than I expected.

          We are planning on starting in on 1-3 this weekend, so we'll see how those go.

          1. I wasn't quite yet born when Empire came out, so I'm not of the age to have had the fresh Star Wars experience. The big movie event of my early twenties was The Lord of the Rings. I'm hoping I can have similar fun showing them to my kids when they're a bit older.

        2. You got plans this weekend? If you don't mind fullscreen and VHS-quality, we could maybe get our 9yos together for parts. I still have the VCR connected to the TV.

        1. Yeah, that's the only one I am all that worried about. I'm generally pretty skeptical of movie ratings, considering the mess that is the MPAA and the big disagreements I have with what they think is bad for kids to see, but it's also the only one of the six that is PG-13 rather than PG

          1. Oh, plus what happens with all the young Jedi. That was the one specific part that worries me most, though it's been long enough since I've seen them that I'm sure I'm forgetting parts.

            1. That one hit me pretty hard as well, but I noticed that the kids didn't totally get it…or it didn't bother them or something. I mean in IV and V they saw Vader as evil incarnate. The emperor isn't really that "on the scene" yet. So I wonder if they just expected him to be evil and the parts where he is not evil were actually confusing. [And better acting/writing/directing means more emotional impact of the character falling caveats all over.]

  3. Speaking of the NFL, I happened to see a replay of the inadvertent whistle on Brady. I didn't realize that Phil Cuzzi was now refereeing NFL games.

    1. I still don't understand why they didn't stop the clock on the last play. The receiver made it out of bounds without being touched, as far as I understand, it shouldn't matter that he was on the ground before he made it out of bounds.

          1. Also Goodell's doing. Keep the Wolves down so as not to distract from the Vikings, so that rumors of the team moving allow extortion of public funds for a new stadium. Because he hates birds. It was a very long-range plan, but all the best plotting is.

            New stadium deal done...#1 draft picks start showing up. We're all just pawns.

  4. If anyone's looking to kill about 2 hours today, please watch this International Rules match. International rules is a hybrid game of Aussie Rules and Gaelic Rules footballs.

    httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgtWUllfHCM

    1. Now that's funny, free...would be funnier but fora couple global strategy types whose opinion I value, who have been pointing out that these kinds of things do start wars from time to time...

      1. Are these global strategy types friends or public figures? I'd be interested to hear/read their take.

        1. Former military mentor, a dynamic, self-professed non-academic type who got roped into a Ph.D. program for the Army. Prolific facebook poster (mostly family posts and music videos), which I find amusing, given his background. He's great to have for diversity of feed, but also for real-world kind of commentary on international events...i.e. (paraphrasing) "Whatever your conservative take on Obama, people, let's be real: Putin has little-to-no interest in America's well-being and should not be held up as a model or considered a friend." When events get his attention, I like to hear what is said.

          That said, I'm not sure where one would find a well-informed apolitical take on world events from a public figure, sadly enough.

          1. well-informed apolitical take on world events from a public figure
            I always assumed there were some Brits or Continentals we could look to. Do they not actually exist?

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