Post 115: Counterpoint - Mulan

So, as some of you may know, I have a series dedicated to finding the plot holes in things. In this post, I am going to be doing the opposite. I am going to try and fill the plot hole in.

The plot hole I am going to be working with today? Mulan. 

Recently, I stumbled across a post on a blog that was dedicated to the 7 biggest movie plot holes. Mulan was listed, because Mulan was sent home for not being able to keep up with the other men. It was pointed out that her father would not have done any better, he could barely walk without his cane and therefore definitely wouldn't have been able to run with them. 

Definitely seems like a big plot hole, so let's see if we can't fill it in. 

The best explanation I can come up with other than 'its just a movie, don't over think it' is seniority. Her father had a suit of armor just sitting in a closet. So, he had obviously been to war before. Mulan, or "Ping", was a new recruit who had never seen battle or been trained for battle. 

So, my guess is that her father would not have gone through the same kind of training. He would have more likely been recruited as an officer or general. Perhaps, he would even be responsible for some of the training. 

If he was of a higher rank, he would most likely not have needed to face the same tests - therefore, it wouldn't have mattered that he couldn't run, because they wouldn't make him run. 

I think this point is further supported in that none of the other people Mulan is training with are older. They are almost all relatively young men. So, my guess is that older men, were sent somewhere else to train.

Or did not need the same training as their younger counterparts. 

Either way, he would have been in danger because he would be leaving the safety of his own home to go out to where the battle was being fought. And since he handed his cane away, it might have implied he was the type to push himself too far and end up getting himself hurt just by not properly taking care of himself. So, Mulan's actions still made sense as a way of protecting her father. 

In conclusion, I say it was not a plot hole. Just something that went unexplained. 

Post 114: Quotables 3

I wasn't really expecting to continue this series too much. I mean, at some point you run out of different shows and things. But, since I've recently started new shows and decided to do movies as well, it could be a never-ending series as new movies and shows continue to come out. However, in an attempt to keep them sorted, I am going to categorize them more.

So, this will be the insult/insulting comments/comebacks edition. Only to be used under certain circumstances, if at all.

American Horror Story:
Season 4, Ep. 4 - 'Edward Mordrake Pt. 2'

E: "You are a tattered waste of oxygen who bolsters herself with contempt for others."

Monk:

Season 7, Ep. 14 - 'Mr. Monk and the Bully'

R: "I hear you went a little crazy since high school. Now I just need to know, is it funny crazy or sad crazy?"

Veronica Mars:

Movie (2014)

W: "When Logan said 'jump', did you actually say 'how high' or was there just an understanding that you would achieve max verticality?"

Reign:

Season 2, Ep. 8 - 'Terror of the Faithful'

C: "The only people in bed past noon are drunks and reprobates."

Pretty Little Liars:

Season 5, Ep. 4 - 'Thrown from the Ride'

"Aria, you need to take a psychological selfie right now."

Pan Am:

Season 1, Ep. 10 - 'Secrets and Lies'

D: "I thought you'd be gone. And by thought I mean hoped."

Buffy the Vampire Slayer:

Season 3, Ep. 20 - 'The Prom'

G: "For God's sake, man, she's 18, and you have the emotional maturity of a blueberry scone. Just have at it, would you, and stop fluttering about."

Post 113: The Wait Continues

I'm growing more and more anxious every day waiting to hear back. But I know that it will be at least another ten days. But it is getting to be too intense. How much longer will I be able to take it?

It is crazy. I feel like I am going to go crazy. This happened last time as well.

Though, it was better last time because it was stories instead of poetry. Poetry is so much more personal and while I enjoy writing stories, they aren't just for me. Poetry I write for me.

Anyway, I have been trying to keep my mind off of it.

It hasn't been working and writing this isn't helping.

Which is why this post is going to be so short, so short in fact that I am actually going to end here.

I'll write more next time.

Post 112: Catching Flies

I think this phrase is not particularly accurate. Not that I have spent much time trying to catch flies, and if I were, it wouldn't be with honey or vinegar it would be one of those fly strips. I mean, let's face it, sure the flies will go to honey, but as sticky as it is, it might not actually trap them unless they land in it.

The same way just being nice to people might attract them to you, but it won't actually guarantee their continued presence in your life. Not to say that it would be better to be sour to people. However, there is more to keeping friends than just being nice.

Actually, I read an article that says being nice all the time can actually hurt you. Not in the 'people might take advantage of you' kind of way, but in a people find it annoying and tiresome. The article recommends that for every four good deeds you reach around and slap someone in the back of the head. Not literally, I suppose, but...who knows.

Still, it makes sense. People finding it off-putting when they are around people who are always happy or cheerful, seems like the same would be true if they were around someone who was always nice and sweet but never anything else.

If changed to 'attracting' flies with honey it might make more sense. But even then it is a little sketchy. If someone genuinely wants to attract people, they obviously will be nicer to them.

However, what works even more accurately is -

'You attract more flies with B.S. than with honey'. While literally it makes sense, metaphorically it also rings a little true.

Telling someone what they want to hear as opposed to just being nice, will more than likely get them to come by easier.

Like, 'you are such a great singer' sounds a lot better than, 'it wasn't bad, but I think you should probably do something else'. However, it could hurt them more in the long run.

Anyway, I like the phrase and there are moments where it does make sense. But, other than moments where someone is being annoying or rude to someone else, wherein they know exactly what they are doing, it serves no real purpose.

Post 111: How To: Survive Week One.

So, I started a diet a few weeks ago. As many others who have dieted know, the first week is the hardest as you get used to the shift in your diet: from normal foods, comfort foods, and sometimes junk foods to healthy foods.

My mom and I have done lots of different diets and I have had family do a variety of diets. The one that has been the most beneficial and had the most impact, I've found, is the South Beach Diet. The first two weeks are by far the most extreme. 

The first two weeks is no fruit, no starches, no sugar. Basically, it is vegetables and meat. However, one thing that doesn't go away is cheese. Though, it is still limited. It also has morning and afternoon snacks. Anyway, this post isn't about the South Beach Diet (http://www.southbeachdiet.com/) it is about surviving week 1 of a diet, any diet. 

The three biggest tips I can give:

1. Start a blog/journal/diary. 
2. Don't sweat the small stuff. 
3. One weigh or no weigh. 

It is helpful to start a blog/journal/diary. Each one will have a different purpose depending on which is best for you. Journals are good as a way of keeping track of what you ate, drank, or did (like exercising). Diaries are more of a narrative. You keep track of things still, but when you talk more about other things as well like how you are feeling and things like that. Blogs can be a combination of the two, but is really best for support. There are a lot of people out there who are doing them who you can support and you will find that people will support you as well. 

Don't sweat the small stuff is a very important lesson to learn. I have seen people throw away a diet because they cheated in that first week. It is important overall, but especially in that first week, not to let cheating become a reason to quit. If you cheat once or twice, don't just give up on the diet. Don't throw the towel in. Think of it like learning a skill, just because you stumbled or struggle doesn't mean you should just give up. It is better to cheat once and awhile than give up on the diet completely. 

One weigh or no weigh is something that I think might work for some people more than others. I think that for the first week, stay off the scales entirely or only weigh yourself at the beginning. The first week, I think it is important that you focus on how you feel. Some people feel like they lose a lot of weight during that first week, even when they only lose 2 pounds. After the first week I think it is important to remember this as well. Losing weight in healthy weigh is only a few pounds a week, so checking more than once a month can be discouraging. Overall, I actually don't check the scale at all. I think this helps me because I am not doing the diet because I want to be a specific weight. The main reason I am doing it is because I want to be healthier and feel healthier. 

I think that looking at the numbers too much can detract from that. And week 1, when you are still at the beginning, and not truly committed yet it is easy to be disheartened when you are craving things the most and not seeing results yet. 

So, that is my advice. 

Post 110: WYCLF - Veronica Mars

There are lines everywhere. I don't mean lines at amusement parks. I don't mean geometric lines. I mean, lines in the sand, lines dividing two things under two different labels. The difference between being a strong character and a mean character, for example.

Most of the time, I like Veronica. She is strong and independent. She takes care of her friends and genuinely seems to empathize with her clients. However, there are a few times where she goes too far.

She talks a lot about how she was treated at the school. Her back story is a pretty classic, girl was popular something happens, girl is no longer popular so her "friends" turn on her. She says she cannot pretend that nothing happened and she is mad at them for what they did. However, she seems to lump together all the students in her school with the ones that turned on her.

The only friend she really has is someone who is new to the school.

And she is kind of rude to everyone else. A girl who she doesn't even really know comes to her after her dog goes missing and Veronica blows her off. She not only blows her off but does it in a really mean way. She later helps her, but she was still mean.

On her first day of University in her Criminology class, the Professor sets up have a game. The point of the game is a murder mystery, like Clue, but without the board. Everyone gets a card with their back story and everyone goes around and interviews people to figure it out.

The TA holds the current record for the fastest time to solve it.

Veronica Googles the game and finds the answer. She then mocks the TA for taking so long. She didn't really prove anything. She didn't show herself to be that smart. Anyone could have Googled it. She also ruined it for everyone. This was supposed to be a fun activity for everyone to do, not just to introduce them to the course but to get them to talk to each other.

What she did ended the game after only 5 minutes. She didn't break the rules, but she did violate the spirit of the game. Like using a Dictionary while playing Scrabble or mouthing the word during Charades.

Her then turning around and mocking the TA was horrible, because he actually put in the effort to get the answer by playing the game. I mean, she acts very superior. But I can't help but wonder, would she have been able to solve it as fast if she hadn't looked it up? He copped some attitude about her reading instead of playing, so I get why she would be annoyed at him, but, really, it wasn't the place to be reading to begin with. If she was finished she could have told the Professor or done something else, but reading a magazine gave off the impression she didn't really care about the class at all. It was almost like she was daring him or the Professor to say something so she could throw it back in their face.

And she was actually wrong. She said she knew who solved it, but she didn't. It was either a man or a woman, and she didn't know which. She counted on either the Professor or TA giving it away. If the professor had said 'their' instead of 'his', then she wouldn't have known.

There are several other moments where she crosses the line. This got me thinking about her as a character. I don't think I could be friends with her if she was a real person. She seems sort of two-faced.

She realized that she was perceived negatively, but she didn't seem to think she actually was doing anything wrong.

Anyway, the point I'm making is that in the 3 seasons the four or five moments where she crosses the line between stubborn and strong-willed into being right out mean really have an effect on how her character is seen.

Her character was always kind of witchy (with a b) from that first moment she crossed the line on.

I think this kind of speaks to the point that there are some lines you can't really come back from once you cross them. 

For example, if you start off being mean to someone, you never really get their trust back.

And that sometimes when writing female characters, there is a difference between strong and independent and rude and arrogant.

Like the difference between CJ and Mandy from West Wing.