Summer is definitely in full swing here in Southeastern Idaho. Daytime temperatures have been in the 90s yesterday and today; right now, it's 99 degrees fahrenheit (37 degrees celsius). I'm trying to see how long I can survive in my apartment without turning the AC on. As warm as it is, I still much prefer practicing in heat to practicing in AC; there's just something about practicing in an artificially-cooled room that takes energy away. Earlier today, for instance, I practiced led primary to Sharath's count. The heat lent a certain lightness to the practice; I like to think this brings me a bit closer to what it must be like to practice in the heat in Mysore (as in Mysore, India).
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I've been watching a lot of sci-fi lately. Yesterday, I went with a couple of friends to see World War Z. It's actually a pretty good movie, if you try to let go of any expectations you may have gathered from having read the novel; this may be one of those instances in which it could be better to watch the movie without having read the novel. In any case, both Brad Pitt and Marc Foster (the director) make no pretense about the fact that their story departs greatly from the novel. The story is actually quite tight and convincing in its own right. I don't think this is going to go down as one of the great classic zombie movies (although I may be wrong), but it's still worth watching.
At the recommendation of a friend, I've also started watching Battlestar Galactica (the 2003 remake, not the 1978 original) on Netflix. It's actually a very compelling re-imagining of the original, with more contemporary political tropes ("We don't negotiate with terrorists") thrown in for good measure. Another thing about this remake that should immediately jump out at longtime yoga practitioners (or anybody who is familiar with Sanskrit chants, for that matter) is the use of Indian devotional chants in the series. For instance, the series's opening theme has the Gayatri Mantra in it. Check this out:
Which strikes me as being very apt for a story which is basically an interstellar retelling of Noah's Ark. I loved the original 1978 Battlestar Galactica theme (remember that?), but there is something powerfully haunting and moving about hearing the Gayatri against the backdrop of deep space, set to a story about a bunch of humans on a space odyssey to find this mythical place called Earth while being pursued relentlessly by a bunch of cybernetic beings that they had created themselves. Does anybody know who came up with the idea of putting the Gayatri mantra in Battlestar Galactica? I'm really curious to know, but couldn't find any information on Google about this.
Indeed ;-) Well, I seem to be doing alright in the self-control department so far, if only because I don't own a TV, and actually have to watch on my laptop, which limits the number of episodes I can comfortably take in in one sitting...
Just watched the pre title couple of minutes from the first episode......may well be hooked already
"we got 32 minutes people", sucker for clocks.
We really going to invest 80 hours in this Noble? Shouldn't we be reading some Kant or something.
WWZ was good, everyone I know who read it went in with ZERO expectations and ended up enjoying it, think I had a kumbhaka of thirteen minutes at one point. and Moneyball brad too, was sure he was about to apologise to one of the Zombies he'd just bludgeoned
Well, as they say, all philosophy and no play makes Immanuel a dull boy :-) Kant, incidentally, was also a sucker for acting by the clock... remember that story about how all the housewives of Konigsberg could set their clocks by the time (4 p.m.) he went for a walk everyday?
That said, I actually think there is philosophical payoff from watching BSG; themes like the existence/nature of God and religious belief, civic society versus technocracy, individual rights/liberties vs. security, etc. keep coming up. I also just discovered that there's actually "Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy". I'll probably get a copy of it on Amazon soon.
WWZ was great, at least if you try to forget that the novel ever existed for the duration of the movie. Yeah, Mr Pitt did appear a little apologetic. What really cracked me up, though, was how that Harvard-trained epidemiologist who was supposedly humankind's best hope basically just fell on his gun and shot himself before he even saw any action... well, I suppose this tells us something about what Mr Pitt thinks of a Harvard education...
captcha was ytSer.4780 for heaven sake, was sure I'd get it wrong, (0v0) has the best captcha thing (did you know capt-cha stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test, Damn you Alan) she has games, but google wont let us use it on blogger.
Oh no significance, just how complex they've become, upper and lower case, letters numbers and now punctuation marks too, hadn't seen punctuation marks on them before.
Battlestar is SO good! I swallowed the whole thing in one gulp. That's the real reason I don't watch television... lack of self control.
ReplyDeleteHave fun. :)
Indeed ;-) Well, I seem to be doing alright in the self-control department so far, if only because I don't own a TV, and actually have to watch on my laptop, which limits the number of episodes I can comfortably take in in one sitting...
DeleteFrack!! Happy video binge :-)
ReplyDeleteFrack me :-)
DeleteJust watched the pre title couple of minutes from the first episode......may well be hooked already
ReplyDelete"we got 32 minutes people", sucker for clocks.
We really going to invest 80 hours in this Noble? Shouldn't we be reading some Kant or something.
WWZ was good, everyone I know who read it went in with ZERO expectations and ended up enjoying it, think I had a kumbhaka of thirteen minutes at one point. and Moneyball brad too, was sure he was about to apologise to one of the Zombies he'd just bludgeoned
Well, as they say, all philosophy and no play makes Immanuel a dull boy :-) Kant, incidentally, was also a sucker for acting by the clock... remember that story about how all the housewives of Konigsberg could set their clocks by the time (4 p.m.) he went for a walk everyday?
DeleteThat said, I actually think there is philosophical payoff from watching BSG; themes like the existence/nature of God and religious belief, civic society versus technocracy, individual rights/liberties vs. security, etc. keep coming up. I also just discovered that there's actually "Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy". I'll probably get a copy of it on Amazon soon.
WWZ was great, at least if you try to forget that the novel ever existed for the duration of the movie. Yeah, Mr Pitt did appear a little apologetic. What really cracked me up, though, was how that Harvard-trained epidemiologist who was supposedly humankind's best hope basically just fell on his gun and shot himself before he even saw any action... well, I suppose this tells us something about what Mr Pitt thinks of a Harvard education...
captcha was ytSer.4780 for heaven sake, was sure I'd get it wrong, (0v0) has the best captcha thing (did you know capt-cha stands for Completely Automated Public Turing test, Damn you Alan) she has games, but google wont let us use it on blogger.
ReplyDeleteOkay, you lost me here, Grimmly... what is the significance of ytSer.4780?
DeleteOh no significance, just how complex they've become, upper and lower case, letters numbers and now punctuation marks too, hadn't seen punctuation marks on them before.
ReplyDeleteJust watched episode 8, now I'm hooked.