April 23, 2014: News of note! Continuing our Stargate Atlantis re-watch with…Vegas!

An update to a story I brought you last week concerning that french bulldog stolen from a local Vancouver tattoo shop – and it was all caught on camera.  A happy ending as the dog was finally reunited with its rightful owner:

http://www.petsearcherscanada.com/found-and-safe-stolen-french-bulldog-in-vancouver-do-you-recognize-this-woman2-updated/

Apparently the theft was the result of an ownership dispute over the dog (although, according to the police, the victim of the theft was the legal owner).  The fact that Chloe the bulldog was found “roaming a residential neighbourhood” speaks volumes about who had the dog’s best interests at heart.

In other news, someone brought this to my attention: http://www.policymic.com/articles/88221/it-s-almost-impossible-to-choose-the-most-racist-moment-of-avril-lavigne-s-new-video

I was prepared to be outraged.  I sat down alongside Akemi (who is Japanese by the way) and hit play.  After watching the video, Akemi asked: “Why they say this is racist?”.  Hmmm.  Good question.  It’s a terrible song.  A terrible video even. But racist?  Judge for yourself:

http://jezebel.com/avril-lavignes-new-video-is-a-monstrosity-1566182297

It looks like a subdued takeoff on almost every KPop and Jpop music video I’ve seen.  Kyary Pamyu Pamyu anyone?  http://youtu.be/UoK8DaJRDaM

I had a half dozen of my Japanese friends take a look at the video.  Their responses ranged from amusement to delight to genuine bewilderment at the fact that it was deemed racist.

My favorite response comment to the policymic article comes from a Japanese poster who writes: “Hmm… A white man, who obviously never seen a single J-Pop video, deciding what is racist to a Japanese woman. Seems legit. It would seem a Harvard graduate would know to do a little bit of research before writing about something he knows nothing about.”

Uh oh.  Time to invest in a hard hat.  http://phys.org/news/2014-04-astronauts-reveal-sobering-asteroid-impacts.html

File this one under “Yeah, don’t even bother”.  “Dr. Jensen says that a trip to the gym for 30 minutes or an hour may not be enough to combat all the time spent sitting.”

http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2014/04/22/is-sitting-for-long-hours-at-work-the-new-smoking/

IO9 is asking: “What’s your favorite comedy episode of a dramatic t.v. show?” - http://io9.com/whats-your-favorite-comedy-episode-of-a-dramatic-tv-sho-1566582826/all.  Both 200 and Window of Opportunity get some love in the comments section.  Your thoughts?

Continuing our Stargate: Atlantis re-watch with…Vegas!

Well, this just goes to show: you never know.  Akemi loved Robert Cooper’s previous script to screen epics, Malice and Time, so I figured this one would be a slam dunk.  Alas, no.  She was completely bewildered throughout and, despite my many attempts to explain the concept of alternate realities to her, she never got on board.

After the CSI-like tease: “Why am I watching detective show?”

After Ivon Bartok’s cameo at the dice table: “Why Ivon’s scene so small?”

She wasn’t a fan of the feature wraith (“Not so cute.”) but she was quite happy to see Todd again (“I like Todd the wraith.  Like seeing old friend again.”).

She did appreciate the AU versions of Rodney and Radek: “McKay looked so nice. So did Zelenka!”

Cons: “I didn’t like the music.  I didn’t like the fact I couldn’t follow.  I didn’t like to fast cut and choppy.”

Overall: “I guess I like more geeky stuff than action slash country-cowboy t.v. show.”

And finally: “Rob’s episodes always so confusing.  No consideration for second language people.”  Yeah!  What’s up with that, Rob?!