Alone

Sometimes it seems that's how we all end up, doesn't it?  Alone.  In the Great Buffy Rewatch (which only has one week to go - and you really don't want to miss "Chosen"), Buffy is having a lot of "alone time" and most of it is not by her choice.  It's funny, in a non-funny way, how much "not choosing" goes into being the "Chosen One."  Of course, that's a theme Whedon returns to again and again.  Cynthea Masson is in charge of this next-to-last week of posting and she manages the difficult feat of bringing it all full circle.  Scholar/fan, Slayer/Potential,  blogger/commentator - there's something here for everyone.

Over at the film class, things have wrapped up.  I had good papers on Surrogates (in fact, I was gratified at the comments on the use of color - something students said more than once they'd never consciously noticed before this class!), but even those were turned in alone.  This was the only film that I strongly encouraged the students to watch on their own and, while it works, I miss the communal viewing experience.  That's going to be the "new normal" for next semester, when I'll teach the class again, but that version will be online.  Oh, don't worry, I'll keep posting here about what that's like, but I'm expecting a number of things to be different, due to the technology and the "alone watching."

I posted the following link for my film class in their last class announcement.  While we all have holiday classics that we enjoy watching (maybe you're a Rankin-Bass Claymation fan or maybe for you the holidays aren't complete until you've seen one version or another of A Christmas Carol or It's a Wonderful Life), you may never have seen Santa Claus Conquers the Martians.  Thanks to Hulu, you can see it here for free!  But be warned - this movie is so bone-deep awful that you probably want to hide all sharp objects and loaded firearms before you begin watching.  And don't watch it alone - you'll need a friend to turn to and say, "Are we really watching this?  Wouldn't it be less painful to just drink straight from a car radiator?"

Speaking of alone - Christmas is just around the corner and it's not a good time to be alone.  Yet many, many people are.  Keep them in your thoughts and help out the individuals and groups who try mightily to bring holiday cheer to the lost and lonely among us.  Christmas miracles aren't that hard to come by, but God needs hands and feet on this earth, and as St. Theresa famously said, yours are the ones He's got.  Go get used!