SharondaWoodfin.net

Introducing Florida One! | Nuts About Southwest

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That's a beautiful plane! Shame there's no Missouri One. The bigger shame, though, is that since this plane is under 12 and from Florida, some idiot's bound to tase it.

The Problem with Karma

Some incarnations are stickier than others!

Whore (AKA "An Irishman and a Kiwi Walk Into a Ludu...")

Last night, I watched my very first episode of Spartacus: Blood and Sand. The episode was titled "Whore". It could've been named for any of several characters, although it does eventually become evident where the titling came from.

The show's reputation for being a bit racy is not, in and of itself, why I've been avoiding seeing it. The show's reputation for being a whole lot racy, along with my certainty that there are situations I never want to see Xena: Warrior Princess in, in addition to reading that Lucy Lawless' intitial reaction to filming certain scenes sounded more like trauma than triumph? That complex combo was my reason for avoiding the show up until last night.

Eventually, temptation got the better of me, and I'm glad it did. I may never, ever watch this show again, but there were a few positives. The negatives, first, though: 

1. Bloody head was just too bloody. I would've gotten that the chick was done, and why, even without the Gore-O-Vision.
2. Two out of three sex scenes were more squick than squee. And I'm pretty sure at least one of those two wasn't intended to be a squick, but a squick it certainly was.
3. I didn't learn anything. Yes, I know it's not the entertainment industry's job to teach. On the other hand, it's easier to justify wasting my time on said entertainment if I can bring some new perspective or useful bit of information away from the experience.
4. The swordplay seemed a bit slow and lumbering to me.
5. Do some of these guys actually want to be gladiators?

And the positives:

1. Lucy Lawless is skilled as an actress. Thank the gods. Lucretia didn't look like Xena, didn't sound like Xena, and didn't act like Xena. Consequently, I wasn't traumatized. At least not beyond what FIN already did to me.
2. Breasts. There were bare breasts all over the place. And, at first, my internal monologue was basically "Yay, breasts!" Eventually, though, that became "Breasts? There were breasts?" While that second reaction (or lack thereof) may be caused in part by my eye's inability to look away from all the merkin shots, a bit of culture-wide desensitization to seeing naked breasts would be a good thing. You know, in the interest of things like breast feeding and the 14th Amendment.
3. I like hearing the word "Thracian" bandied about. 
4. Subtext? Was that subtext? 
5. Take away the violence and the sexuality, and there was still at lease one compelling scene. Wigless, angry, vulnerable Lucretia -- and that scene's dialog with her husband -- was worth sitting though some of the squickier stuff.

Before I fully convince myself that the breast issue makes this show a champion of the greater good, there's just one thing I'd like to point out to those of you who would want to see Renee O' Connor do a guest spot: No. The separation between Xena and Spartacus is clear, as things stand. But that line could easily get murky once Lawless and O' Connor are in the same scene.

Besides, if you thought the Gabdrag was bad with gore done Xena-style...

When I Say "Bokken"...

I'm using the term incorrectly. That said, it's still the best term I have for this:

I used to call it my "burglar beater", but that's inaccurate, since I've never encountered a burglar, and since it's never been used to beat anyone but me. For many reasons, I refuse to call it a "big stick". Besides, when it was cut from the tree (shrub? maybe...) growing next to the front porch, its shape immediately reminded me of a katana (this is one of the reasons I consider it a gift of Tao), making the term "bokken" (or "wooden sword") appropriate, if not accurate.

Much like some of my favorite web browsers, my bokken has add-ons. For those of you curious enough to go beyond just wondering what the hell I'm talking about when I tweet the word "bokken", let's get a closer look!

This section of jute twine was my bokken's first add-on. I've found jute twine to be pretty much useless for every other conceivable application, but it does a fine job of marking off a safe place for my left hand to grab the far end of the bokken when/if I want to use it as an all-too-short staff. Those little spikes that you can see on either side of the twine are vestiges of the tiny limbs that were growing from the plant when it was cut. Other than the naturally-formed handle, there are very few places on the bokken where the spikes are far enough apart to get a comfortable grip.

This is a child-sized headband that I found in a parking lot. It reminds me of my favorite pair of shoes ever: Nike Air Delta Force A/C Snakes. Mine had green trim, but like this headband, they came in a purple version, too. Also, bare wood gets a bit uncomfortable against my hands after a while. The headband provides a bit of cushiony comfort. Not much, obviously, but every little bit helps.

This is a pink ribbon that I found in a parking lot. It's pretty. I have no other excuse.

To anyone who's been reading long enough to already know all of this: Pardon my redundancy. It happens, sometimes.

Spring Has Sprung!

Or at least the magnolia trees on my street seem to think so!

I don't really have anything to add to that, except that it was nice to get out and play with the macro setting on my camera.