Fools Of Us All - Chapter 15 (See June 28)

I did not wake up slowly or gently. A loud sound roused me from my enforced slumber, causing me to strain forward against restraints that I could not remember being placed on me. My eyes flew open for a brief second, slamming shut against the bright light that seemed to surround me. I took a moment to evaluate.
My jaw was aching, a dull pain that spread to the rest of my head. My arms and legs were strapped down tightly, too tight to even consider moving. The room was uncomfortably warm, which, when combined with the bright light, made me think that I was in some sort of interrogating room. Slowly I cracked open one eye, giving it time to get used to the light. It was impossible to see anything else, so I sat back and just listened instead.
A humming sound was in the background, faint, almost like a mosquito flying around the room at night. The shuffle of at least two pairs of feet on the tile floor came to me, which, when combined with the fact that I was very firmly strapped onto a table, showed that they really did not want me to escape. That, however, was my first order of business. I just wish I knew how.
"I thought I saw her eyes move," came a voice. "What should we do?"
The humming sound grew louder. "I can't tell if she is awake or not. This equipment is a piece of..." The thought was left unfinished as the door opened. Two pairs of feet snapped together.
I cracked open one eye and watched as the General I had noticed before entered the room. He dismissed the two soldiers who had been watching me. As the door closed behind them I noticed the General's aide, the one with the cold eyes, regarding me thoughtfully as he conferred with one of the M.E.R.C. soldiers. Just before the door swung completely shut I heard the soldier say something about 'the other one'.
Before I could process any of this information, the General spoke. "Well my dear," he said, sounding friendly, considering the circumstances. "So we meet at last."
I opened my eyes fully now, able to stand the light, and knowing that there was no point in feigning sleep any longer. But I didn't speak, instead letting him carry the conversation.
"I must say, your picture doesn't do you justice. I see that your time in the past has greatly improved your sense of fashion."
I looked down at myself, at the dress and shoes that I was still wearing, a disguise from a time not my own. The wig had long fallen off, but at least a couple of the rings were still on my finger. A shrug was about the only reaction I allowed.
The General smiled down at me benignly. "Oh come now dear, don't be so bashful. After all, we are all friends here."
There was something about the way his smile changed that did not sit well with me. What exactly did he mean by that? A moment later the door opened and I had the answer. A large man walked through the door, a man large enough that he almost filled the entire doorway. He turned and spoke to his guard. "Don't let anyone in," he intoned, but that booming voice was hard to hide. He turned back to me.
"Bastard."
He took the epithet silently, merely staring at me. Behind him his guard seemed to be waving his hands or doing something. Whatever it was the General didn't seem to appreciate it because he went and closed the door manually.
Silence stretched out before us, covering the past that had been between us. It was he who spoke first, but only because I could find no more words to say. "I did not imagine, Caz, that when I took you under my wing that it would be you who would end up in this position." Dun, the man who had mentored me, trained me, and in many ways, been a father to me, stood before me now, hale and hearty, looking much less dead than the last time I had seen him. "The prophecy was quicker in being fulfilled than I had imagined it would be." He exhaled heavily. "I thought there would be more time before the chosen one was revealed."
Words found me again. "I suppose," I said vehemently, "that you wanted to spare me, or that you didn't want anyone to get hurt."
He shrugged. "It would have been my preference, but I'm not all that concerned. Death does not bother me, not when it happens to those who stand in my way."
"You make me sick." It was impossible to tell if my tears were those of anger or of sorrow.
That comment seemed to sting him ever so slightly, putting him in a mood to pontificate. "I think you are failing to see the entire picture here, but that is my fault, I suppose. You see, the prophecy which was shared with you was not the entire story. The prophecy that you knew was that you are destined to find the one to save the world, that you were to stand with him at the end, victorious. That was only partly true."
Despite myself, I was interested. What more was there to the prophecy? I raised an eyebrow, signalling him to go on.
"Still feisty I see." A small chuckle escaped his lips. "That is good to see. It will make your death easier. Because die you will. The original prophecy does not end so triumphantly for you, I'm afraid. The warrior will lead humanity to salvation, says the omen, but his herald, the one sent to bring him to this new glory is destined to die. There is nothing you can do, your story has already been told."
"But I don't get it. If I am going to die anyway, why did you have to betray the entire organisation, and why are you so determined to kill me now? What do you gain if my story is already told?"
"Funny thing about prophecies - they are notoriously hard to predict, and even harder to recognise when they are happening. The organisation was concerned about this, and so I was sent to find out all the information that I could. What I found shook my faith and changed my point of view.
"All of my life I had been raised with this promise, and as I grew older and joined the organisation I was extremely enthusiastic. But then nothing seemed to happen. There were great promises from the leaders, and preparations to be made, but nothing ever seemed to change. The world got worse and worse and by the time I was sent on the fact-finding expedition, I was wracked with doubt. As we explored the ancient teachings I found some seeming inconsistencies, some questions that I couldn't reconcile with the prophecy as we knew it. So I dug deeper, keeping my findings to myself.
"The prophecy we knew wasn't the only one out there. Another oracle had spoken, foretelling of one who is to wield fantastic power, greater than that of any mortal man before. To get that power, all that person had to do was kill one other person. But not just any other person. No, the one who died was very specifically laid out. It was the herald of one who would come to save the world. It was you.
"Understandably, my faith was shaken. How could both of these prophecies be true? I never reported my findings to the organisation. Instead I waited and studied, seeing what I could find. In the end I came to the realisation that one prophecy was false, and one prophecy was true." Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a gun and levelled it at me. "Your fate was sealed the minute you walked into that meeting, Caz. I am sorry that it had to be you, but I cannot stand in the way of destiny."
A pair of loud thumps sounded in the hallway outside the door. It took a moment, but Dun finally turned and looked at the General, who merely shrugged and motioned at the door. With a heavy sigh the large man turned and opened the door. One of the M.E.R.C.s was standing facing the door. On either side of him were two soldiers lying motionless on the ground. There was a moment of shocked silence as the soldier looked to either side of himself and that back at Dun, shrugging with theatrical nonchalance, as if to say he didn't know what was happening either.
Then he raised his gun and shot.

It sits on a person's lap. Let's call it cheese!

I bought a laptop. It's a Toshiba Satellite with 80....something....of hard-drive and....aw heck, I'm not even going to pretend I have clue about what's in it. I am so computer unaware that it is amusing. I just want the blasted things to work for me. I do know that I would like to upgrade my graphics card. Or Video card. Or something along those lines. It doesn't have a very good one of whatever it is. Also, the battery only lasts a couple of hours. I don't know if that is about normal, I would like one that lasted around five hours or so, but it's not a big deal.
Generally, though, I am happy with my new laptop. It saves a great deal of room in my...room. I also am finding that I like the keyboard more than my old computer. The layout takes a little getting used to, there are a few extra buttons, the caps lock key is easier than usual to accidentally turn on, and the 'home' key is right beside the backspace key, so sometimes I go to delete a letter and find my cursor magically moved to the beginning of the row, but other than that, I have no qualms. I even like how it sounds better than my old keyboard. Also, it means I can have a computer when I go to Germany, which is good. The old desktop probably wouldn't have fit in my suitcase.
I gave it to Jeff because he hasn't had one for the past year or two. So now he has a computer which is good for him, and it is still a decent computer, not top of the line or anything, but it will run most things that he wants to run.
So it looks like everyone wins. Except the Roughriders. They lost.
Sigh

Love in Fraggle Rock.

As you may know, I am a huge fan of Fraggle Rock. Most children shows just aren't done as well now, and frankly they weren't done as well back then either. Honestly, I think that it is probably the best children's show ever made. It is for slightly older kids who are 'too old' for Sesame Street, the 5-10 year olds I guess. I have 'too old' in brackets because you are never too old for Cookie Monster or Super Grover. But I have discussed my thoughts on the show before, I don't need to go over that again. I will someday, but not today.
I'm watching some episodes right now and something occurred to me: I have always thought about the Fraggles' love lives. The show is mostly focussed on Wembley, Boober, Red, Mokey and Gobo. Wembley, Boober, and Gobo are guys and Red and Mokey are girls.
Red is a brash woman, very loud and brazen, a sporty sort of chica, willing to do whatever anyone else can. She is very straightforward.
Gobo is the leader, a brave and honest fraggle. He is very practical, making sure everyone is doing what they need to do. He tends to be a bit almost selfish at times, thinking that what he likes is what everyone should like, and he is a bit hard on Wembley sometimes. Of course, Wembley is "a wimp" (his own words) so he brings it on himself. But mostly Gobo is a good friend, willing to spend time helping others.
Mokey is an airhead, a hippie. She is very 'new agey', a stereotypical artist type. She is very concerned about others, but a bit unaware of the world around her. She thinks she knows the best for most fraggles, but she is usually just a bit off.
Boober is a depressed little fraggle. He does the laundry and loves it because it is tedious and boring, a case of being miserable to be happy. He is grim, often looking at any situation and finding the worst possibility. He has even composed a funeral dirge for his own inevitible demise, and is suitably irritated when Red and Gobo pick up the tempo, causing them to "lose the maudlin quality!"
Wembley is essentially unable to make decisions. He wants everyone to be happy all the time, so he has trouble saying 'no', but often has trouble saying 'yes' as well because saying yes might mean having to say no to someone else. He is a loyal friend, though, and when he has to he is capable of being brave and making decisions when he has to.
So when I watch the show, I often spend time wondering which fraggles should fall in love. I think I've settled on some pairings.
I think Red should date Boober. They seem to have nothing in common, but they seem to compliment each other. Red can be a bit forward, almost angry about stuff, and Boober is a downer. Together, they are angry and sad. But that is only the outer shell. Both of them are much deeper than that on the inside, and those 'insides' are acutally quite complimentary. My guess is they would probably bicker quite a bit and look like they weren't always happy, but they would be fiercely loyal to each other.
Gobo would probably date Mokey. These two are polar opposites and I imagine they would moderate each other. Gobo would let his artsy side out a bit, and Mokey would become much more practical. She really is a hippie. They seem to be the most mature of the fraggles and together their leadership would bring the fraggles into a new age of propserity.
Wembley is a friend to all. He doesn't have an interest within the group. However, the show took care of that for me. There is an episode where he meets a girl fraggle named Lou. They seem to fall in love, but she never shows up again as far as I know. Their relationship is mostly off camera I guess.
So there you have it - more proof that I think about odd things.

My mistake...or was it?

As some of you know, I like to know trivia about movies. When I watch a movie I almost always read trivia about the movie immediately afterwards. For instance, did you know that after filming The Jackal, Bruce Willis and Richard Gere (reportedly) mutually decided to refrain from ever working with each other. It's been ten years and they haven't yet, either. My choice for a source of trivia is the internet movie database, found at www.imdb.com. Listed with the trivia there is usually a section of goofs, and I sometimes read those, but not always. The reason is because I find them to be overly nitpicky and I start to almost take them personally, like I'm getting offended on behalf of the filmmakers. Some of the things are extremely ridiculous, like saying that a microphone is visible in a shot, but when you look at the shot, the mic is visible for only one frame and you have to watch frame by frame and rewind it a couple of times to see it. I don't know, maybe I've been exposed to too many "Comic Book Guy" types, the type that is scornful of any little mistake that a director makes, despite the fact that they can't make anything even remotely creative on their own. I just don't like that sort of attitude.
But all of that to say this: I am introducing a new feature to the BLOG, called Incorrectly Regarded As Goofs. Because I think that it is much more interesting to look at 'mistakes' and to come up with rational (or wildly irrational) explanations. So I will take some of the goofs from a movie and explain why they aren't mistakes. For instance, in the movie Night At The Museum (starring Ben Stiller), there is a crew member visible in the background behind the character. That is the 'goof'. The fact is that the movie is set in New York, and that man is crazy. He thinks he is filming a movie and he goes around wearing movie crew clothing that doesn't fit his surroundings. It's NY City. It's possible. Incidentally, I looked a few times and I could never actually see the supposed crew man where they said he/she was visible. Anyhoo, without further ado, we begin:

First up - Elf.

The Goof: Continuity - When Emily is eating the breakfast that Buddy made her, an utensil switches between being in the bowl to on the table between shots.
The Fact: Emily used to be a master pickpocket, and her former life of crime has left her with the nervous need to play with something when confronted with strange situations (such as a man who thinks he is an elf). So while she appears calm, she is actually moving that utensil, but due to her former life, she is able to move it quickly and without sound.

The Goof: Crew or equipment visible - When Buddy chases Michael down the street from the school, a crew member in a yellow hat can be seen trying to duck back behind a doorway of a house on the street.
The Fact: That man is not a member of the crew. He is a young man, so the fact that he is not dressed for the winter weather doesn't mean anything. Young people tend to be a bit stubborn when it comes to the weather. Also, the reason he ducks down is because he has
anthropophobia (the fear of people or society), so when he notices Buddy and Michael, he ducks behind a doorway, trying to hide. He wouldn't even be out but he has to buy a new hat because the yellow one makes him too visible.

The Goof: Revealing mistakes: When Buddy discovers Santa in Central Park, a tether holding the lead reindeer in place is plainly visible, running from his harness off the left-hand side of the screen.
The Fact: Oh, I don't know, maybe Santa tethered the reindeer so they wouldn't go anywhere. I don't think he would want to have to chase them down if they ran away. (Editor's note - I may get sarcastic from time to time if I think the 'goof' is particularly silly or dumb).

The Goof: Continuity: After the boardroom meeting when Miles knocked Buddy over onto the floor and the picture fell off the wall, in the next scene the picture is back up on the wall. Also, Buddy is sitting down in an opposite position from the last scene when he got knocked down on the ground.
The Fact: The picture frame was actually from the North Pole, a special one modified to return to its place if knocked down. As it does so it releases a small bit of specially designed amnesiac gas so that no one remembers its movements. This also explains how Buddy got turned around - there was actually a small bit of movement by the characters, but Buddy, having just been beaten, was a bit wobbly and spun in a half circle.

The Goof: Continuity: The position of the blue book in the executive's hand behind Buddy when he first meets and sings for his father changes repeatedly between shots.
The Fact: Elves make that executive nervous, as does off tune singing. Using the powers granted to him as a master of Tai Chi he can move the blue book without anyone being able to see!

The Goof: Continuity: When the nun puts Buddy down he has a bottle, but when we next see him the bottle is gone.
The Fact: Baby Buddy ate the bottle.

The Goof: Continuity: When Walter and Buddy are in the "tickle fight" on the bed, there is a red piece of yarn or fluff that moves around Walter's shirt from shot to shot.
The Fact: That 'fluff' is actually a highly evolved being from a distant planet, sent to Earth to be an emissary of peace, bringing humanity into a new age of prosperity! The creature can move quickly using thousands of tiny little pincer feet. Sadly, he was lost in Walter's belly button shortly thereafter, thus dooming the world to total annihilation.

The Goof: Continuity: When Buddy and Michael take cover behind the snow bank during the snowball fight, rips in Buddy's tights can be seen in his inner thigh area during one shot, but not in the others.
The Fact: Is it so hard to believe that an elf, who we have just seen throwing snowballs at super speed, can sew faster than the eye can see, even while throwing a barrage of snowballs? I think not.

The Goof: Continuity: When Buddy goes to work with his dad, he has a coat on when greeting the secretary, but it has disappeared in the next shot.
The Fact: Adult Buddy ate it.

The Goof: Continuity: When Buddy is at the apartment having dinner with the family, the coke bottle is near Michael's right hand. When Buddy goes to drink the coke it is right next to him. He never asks for the coke to be passed.
The Fact: He didn't have to ask. Emily is a good hostess and she sees to the needs of her guests.

The Goof: Miscellaneous: During the central park scene when Buddy sees Santa, it shows the reindeer attached to the sleigh. At least one of the reindeer in the front makes no movement at all and they are obviously fakes.
The Fact: Santa's reindeer are all highly trained ninjas. While the others chose not to use there skills at that particular time, that one, we'll call him Dasher, thought that freezing in place would be the best camouflage. The reindeer may be ninjas, but they are still pretty dumb.

So there you have it, mistakes easily explained away.