It’s all different now. Yesterday was the day of my last big effort in the fall semester, when I sat down for most of the day to put together two final exams. I got them done! I posted them online! The ball is in your court now, students! My sense of relief was immense. It was so great that I went online and watched a movie*, while not feeling the customary dread that I’d forgotten something.
I’m not quite done, but it’s just clean-up left. I have an administrative meeting this morning, and I’ll have to grade those finals this weekend — but one is an optional exam that only a few students will take, and the other is designed to be machine-gradeable.
This morning I woke up to incredible silence. We’re at the beginning of a major snowstorm, and everyone is staying home, swaddled up to keep warm. No cars! Everything is blanketed with snow, muffling the sounds further! Even the birds have gone silent! It’s a good thing my exams are all totally online, everyone should stay safe at home. It’s still snowing, and is expected to snow all day, and keep snowing through Friday.
I should probably stay home too, but I might get out for a walk this afternoon, if it isn’t too icy. Big fat flakes coming down, temperatures that are reasonably warm (right around 0°C), that’s pleasant.
Man, it feels good to shed that load that’s been clinging to my back the last few months.
*The movie was Slash/Back, an Inuit/Canadian horror movie. I liked it! The setting gave a glimpse into the lives of a group of Inuit kids — there were honest illustrations of poverty and alcoholism, but also showed off their amazing self-reliance and casual adaptability. The alien monsters were cool and creepy, too. On the negative side, these kids were clumsy self-conscious actors, the ending was a bit abrupt and rather pat, but I forgave it all for being refreshingly different. I enjoyed it more than the last slickly-made Marvel movie I watched.
I doubt that the spiders are willing to listen to excuses of snow. On time feeding is demanded by your overlords!
From the description here, this sounds a lot like Attack the Block, a very good low-budget alien invasion movie set in an English housing estate. Not a bad well to draw from.
I was reading about Slash/Back. Apparently the movie was the first acting experience for the kids in the film. I spent a couple of years in Nunavut, and the film makers got the life in the villages down really well. I am definitely going to have to see the film.
It is a huge storm though, Hitting everywhere from Colorado to Wisconsin and halfway up Manitoba to the top of Lake Winnipegosis. I’m rather jealous actually – all we are getting here in the Mid Atlantic is some rain and possibly ice.
I forgot to mention, this is how your neighbours to the North in Winnipeg deal with the winter weather. They turn the neighbourhood into a huge ice rink.
https://winnipeg.ctvnews.ca/harvard-gardens-river-heights-neighbours-join-forces-to-create-massive-skating-rink-1.6192088
“On the negative side, these kids were clumsy self-conscious actors, the ending was a bit abrupt and rather pat, …”
We are so awash in entertainment that we no longer feel compelled to give attention to less than stellar productions. We should remember that everyone must start as a rank beginner, and try to give a little support to amateurish efforts. Search out the little community theater troops, the open mike nights at comedy clubs, and the bands playing in dive bars trying to be heard over the drunks and the clanking of glassware. Also, go check out your local renaissance faire (or similar type of thing), the smaller, the better. You just might be surprised at how much fun you can have if you attend with an open and welcoming attitude.
I am looking out at snowfall and the temperature is expected to drop to -20°C. Not much more to do than watching TV.
I am recovering from some bug – flu or maybe vaccine-breakthrough covid- and I am drinking blueberry soup and thanking my luck that I have nice neighbours who are willing to shop for me.
If you can find it, The Worlds End the last film in the Cornetto trilogy has a fun plot with Englishmen fighting off space aliens.
Look, more from God Awful Movies –GAM382 is available on Youtube!
Hah, yeah, I laughed at a remark by one of the kids in the movie: “she gets to go to Winnipeg for summer vacation”. I guess if you live in Nunavut, a trip to Winnipeg is like summering in Cabo.
Sure, watching this movie I did feel like the kids were genuine, authentic kids, which meant their acting wasn’t up to pro standards, but that was part of the charm…and you can tell everyone was proud of their work.
I’ve heard that folks in the north and west are in for lots of snow. Here’s hoping for the best for you.
I’ll be going to Seattle by train in February, and I’ve allowed an extra day both ways just in case Amtrak’s
Empire Builder gets stuck in a snowdrift…or something.
“if you live in Nunavut, a trip to Winnipeg is like summering in Cabo.”
The school trip the year I was in Iqaluit was to Costa Rica.
The price has fallen since (a monopoly formed and the government allowed it as long as they cut the price) but back then it cost $3k round trip from Iqaluit to go to Ottawa or Montreal, which were the two options. Kids from Pang would also need to pay about $500 round trip to get to Iqaluit.
At the point that you’re $3500 in, why not fork out an extra 10% and fly on to basically anywhere in the world?
I watched the movie a few weeks ago and, yes, these aren’t trained actors but there were some who definitely have potential. I’d love to see them get more opportunities and watch them grow into the craft. I also loved Land Back message on Maika’s coat and in the closing titles.
Attack the Block is good, and you get the fun of watching some early work by actors who are now rightly far more famous.