And hamsters turn on frequently

[austin_dern]

The week's turning out pretty entertaining. Last night Channel i showed Fierce Creatures. It's an amusing film about zookeepers resisting new corporate overlords. I recommend it, not just because the lemurs get a gun. Also not just because the zookeepers are in fursuits for the last third of the film. And not just because, while the characters do ridiculous things, they don't do stupid things. No, it's because of Susie, one of the coatis held up as an example of the sort of irresistibly cute animal that doesn't fit the new ``dangerous animals only'' policy. (I think zoo attendees are drawn to animals that do interesting even if not dangerous things, but I'm not management.) Also there's a wonderful moment about ``making contact''.

The costumes reminded me of some poor souls I saw at the Singapore Zoo ambling about as Tony the Tiger and other breakfast cereal mascots. From what I gather being in a fursuit is marking time until heat stroke; I can't imagine what it takes to survive on the equator in the midday sun while wearing eight feet of synthetic fur as kids hug you.

Tuesday, Central showed Blazing Saddles with an even more schizoid view of what Words May Not Be Said On Broadcast TV than the U.S. typically manages. Disney Channel wants everyone to know they have Atlantis 2: Milo's Return, in case somebody suddenly cares. Also on Central recently or soon: Sleeper and Young Frankenstein.

Trivia: The Lunar Orbiter satellite high-resolution cameras had a 610 mm lens, and used Kodak SO-243 film. Source: Destination Moon: A History of the Lunar Orbiter Program, Bruce K. Byers. NASA TM X-3487.

Currently Reading: Quest of the Three Worlds, Cordwainer Smith.

Comments

[chipuni.livejournal.com]

I'm curious...

What words did they bleep, that they could have said in the US?

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

No full words, as it happened -- not even The S Word, which was permitted through in the broadcast (at 10 p.m.) and in commercials (at 8:30 and maybe earlier). Fierce Creatures hasn't got much that's too explicit, but there were a few odd moments where one character referred to another as a ``[ silent ]hole!'' ... though the silent part was used by itself elsewhere. More or less the same standard seems to be applied to Blazing Saddles, though I wasn't paying close attention.

The S Word I've seen on Channel 5 and Channel i in movies shown at 7:30 p.m. (or earlier), which is all the more startling since cuss words of any sort are really quite rare in ordinary conversations here. I believe I've heard The F Word on broadcast channels, although (ahem) I can't swear to it.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

Easily one of my favorite films, I have to say - and almost one I walked out of, on first viewing, being one of the eight people in North America who saw it cinematically upon its release. (There would've been nine, but the traffic was bad)

Though I doubt at this point anyone reading this hasn't already seen it, if they've ever been so inclined, I'll pad around the actual instant; suffice to say, it's shortly after the sentiment "he wouldn't really do that" is expressed by one of the group of keepers.

Thankfully I stayed, and enjoyed a comedy of substance, with a nicely spiky satirical edge. I remain impressed they managed to find so many advertisers willing to go along with the sponsorship joke.

And I've yet to see any answers to "How much does he want in the end?", unless one counts the recent Bond title starring a media tycoon.

Definitely, highly recommended.. that "making contact" scene was quite wonderful, and part of the film's genuine warmth.

As for TV censorship, I'm reminded of some US station (perhaps one of the former Turner networks) broadcasting Hoffa. Not, perhaps, the best programming choice, if you're shy of airing profanities. (How did they handle Blazing Saddles - dubbing, bleeping, blanking, or masking?)

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

In Blazing Saddles, all they did was silence in some spots -- I believe just ``[ silent ]holes'' in a few spots. Everything else, including the campfire scene, went right through. Mind, this was on Central, which is (in part) the Arts and Culture station, so I assume they get greater latitude in showing stuff because, you know, it's Culture. (Mind, this is the timeslot where they've recently shown The Apartment, Annie Hall, Psycho, The Fly, Gone With The Wind and quite a few more, so they can reasonably assert that they're in the Quality business there and any cuss words are Important Literary Events.

Now, Fierce Creatures is one of the handful of movies I have seen in the theaters -- I believe it was a matinee showing at Latham Circle Mall. I liked it, but only modestly, when I first saw it, but I've grown to like it a whole lot more. I think I'll go out and hunt down the DVD. For those who collect Austin Dern trivia -- I believe their movie web site was the first movie web site I ever went to on purpose. They had details on the animatronic Susie.

I've also come to appreciate more that it's character-driven humor. There's quite a few punchline jokes, like the shocking `` he wouldn't really do that'' moment, or ``this used to be the lion cage but since it's no longer fit for animals, we're using it for middle management''; but mostly the movie's watching people who happen to be funnier than the average person quite worked up. It also incorporates some Monty Python-style characters and scenes seamlessly, for a wonder.

I'm just wary about the satirical view of advertising and product placement, since satire about capitalism never just stays wild exaggeration. See also: Network.

[moonfires.livejournal.com]

Make sure you get the UK version, 2 disk expanded edition. The US release sucks ass, as it's pan and scan only. You probably have a region-free player being over there. And if not, buy one!

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Ooh, good tip, thanks. My DVD player is nominally Region 3, but the sales clerks specifically sold it as multi-region; there's some games you play with the remote to reset the firmware. It turns out a lot of DVD players are set up like that, where if you go the menu/setup/stereo and then enter something like ``314159'' or ``13971397'' or whatever you can reset the region to anything, including zero. It's all amazingly silly.

Nominally Singapore resides in DVD Region 3, but the Region 1 section of stores is at least as big, and there's healthy representation from 5, 2, and 4. The TVs and DVD players handle PAL/NTSC/SECAM conversions too, so you can actually just buy stuff and use it instead of dickering around with standards and region codes.

[dglenn.livejournal.com]

"(I think zoo attendees are drawn to animals that do interesting even if not dangerous things, but I'm not management.)"

E.g. otters!

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Oh, yes, otters are a great example. At the Singapore Zoo there's almost always a crowd admiring the short-clawed otters and another at the raccoons -- good choices, since they are cute, yes, but also bright, active, and there's one or two dozen of each so there's invariably someone up to something interesting, and drawing a few others into the goings-on.

Always popular. And that's not even counting the sale of raccoon plushes and backpacks.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

I recall hearing an A-F code about what makes exhibits popular at the Zoo: "Active, Big, Cute, D(something), Elephants, Felines.". Can't recall what D was, but it seemed an apt summary of what people do seem to crowd around: Animals that tend to move instead of laze about, are sizable and impressive, are cuter than the standard- and Elephants and the big cats always being solid draws.
Heck, I'll linger a lot longer at a mongoose exhibit if they're in full-scurry mode instead of in lazy-flopped mode. Even a majestic or hyper-cute animal is more interesting when in motion.

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

I don't specifically recall a mongoose enclosure that I've seen recently, although meerkats are poised right next to the lions at the Zoo -- the strangest thing I saw there was one afternoon when the lions were roaring; after each roar the meerkats hummed back -- and, oddly, next to the ostriches at the Jurong Bird Park, I guess because meerkats are flightless too. They're usually a good show, when they do come out at all, since they are perky when they're awake.

I'm curious what D might be; maybe oliver_otter will catch this and give us the real story.

[chefmongoose.livejournal.com]

Fierce Creatures was a good film, indeed. I did like the Meerkats making an appearance as 'Pirhanas of the Desert'. Don't recall the Coati though, I will have to give it another watch. Skoob pestered me terribly about seeing hte movie due to "Lemur with a gun!".

--Chiaroscuro

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

The Coatis -- Killers of the (I forget what) are featured just before the Meerkats, actually, as the zookeepers try to make the case that all their animals are really quite vicious. While coatis do show up now and then in petting zoos -- and, in the 1950s, in the children's ward of the University Hospital in Ann Arbor, Michigan -- I don't think I'd just leave a tribe out un-fenced. Yes, coatis are generally good-tempered and sociable, but we have got really quite a few very sharp teeth and an ability to shred limbs -- and, of course, are fine hunting in packs.

After that it's just Susie that really gets much screen time, along with the other Most Adorable creatures Rollo gets stuck with. You'll spot her in bed and spelling cereal.

[xolo.livejournal.com]

> From what I gather being in a fursuit is marking time until heat stroke; I can't imagine what it takes to survive on the equator in the midday sun while wearing eight feet of synthetic fur as kids hug you.


For me at least, the sun's not really an issue - the fur seems to stop it. Humidity and wind (or lack of it) are the important factors in enduring in a fursuit. Air temperature seems to be all about the same above 80 or so. If it's a non-humid, windy day, you'd be surprised how much you can take, even if the air temperature's high and the sun's out. If the air's still and humid, that's when it gets brutal.

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Ah! Well, I believe Singapore had a non-humid day as recently as the Little Ice Age, come to that. I don't think there's ever been a completely non-breezy day, but there are long stretches without much air flow, so I'm still impressed they could take it. Even the un-furred humans have to duck into air-conditioning shelters or sit down in front of ice-misted fans often enough. Still, one does adjust to the heat and humidity remarkably well.

[nikonraccoon.livejournal.com]

I saw this on Snopes: Weird News (http://www.snopes.com/daily) page a few days ago.
Singapore gets tamer "Sex and the City" (http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml;?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=5690283)

I wonder what folks out there really thing of the censorship?

[austin-dern.livejournal.com]

Oh, it's not all that weird. But yeah, there's the ``broadcast TV'' cut of Sex and the City coming up; Cosmopolitan magazine was until recently banned; and there's generally what looks to me like a random set of sex topics banned or minimized here.

Occasionally there are gripes to the papers or to public affairs programs about it, and now and then there's a letter thanking the board of censors for protecting public decency, but overall, people don't seem to get all that worked up about it. Whether that's the notorious reluctance of Singaporeans to speak out on controversial issues or just that they can't bring themselves to care about Sex and the City I'm not at all sure.