“Avatar” came out about a week ago, and while the general consensus is that it hasn’t revolutionized filmmaking the way it claimed it would, it has still had a pretty significant impact. The visuals and animation techniques were stunning. The story had its flaws, but as Kevin pointed out, the fact that we’re still discussing it means it struck something deep. For some people, it’s the love story. For others, it’s the environmental parable. But for a lot of people – and this concerns me – it’s become a race issue.

The article that seems to be leading this opinion is called “When Will White People Stop Making Movies Like ‘Avatar?’” It’s a fair question. Many critics have cited “Avatar’s” similarity to “Dances with Wolves,” “Dune,” and “The Last Samurai,” all of which feature an outsider who joins a (historically repressed) group and eventually emerges as its leader against the group he once belonged to. These critics also claim this is an expression of a “guilt fantasy,” a way of artistically redeeming oneself from the “white man’s burden.”

Here’s the problem with that argument. Most famous movie directors? Are white males. What other movies did you see this season? “Princess and the Frog?” “Sherlock Holmes?” “New Moon?” Directed by Ron Clements, Guy Ritchie, and Chris Weitz, all white dudes. The amount of creative space taken up by white male directors makes it hard to attribute “Avatar’s” tree-hugging message to racial guilt. Would the message have been different if the director was African-American, or female?

And why is the issue immediately racism? Do viewers (who, in this country, are predominantly white themselves) feel guilt because of their implied roles in both the historical atrocities and the current environmental destruction? Or are critics quick to cry “racist” in order to avoid being labeled one themselves?

I think the deeper message in “Avatar,” and the reason why the movie is still stuck in everyone’s minds, is one of simple acceptance. Every human wants to be accepted and approved of by their peers. We are primates, and we rely on each other in a way that’s not divided by skin color or economic stature. Ask anyone who’s traveled extensively or studied abroad (or maybe just gone to a party alone) and they’ll tell you how anxious, uncertain, lonely, and fearful they were before they gained a certain level of acceptance. “Avatar” is about a man who has lost almost everything. (Slight spoilers follow) He lost the use of his legs in combat, his brother is dead, and as far as we know, he has no other family. He spends five years in a cryogenic state – five years! – and emerges on an alien planet to participate in a scientific project he knows literally nothing about. On top of everything, he discovers he’s going to spend the first third of the movie as a pawn for the most cliché jarhead of a general ever to grace the big screen. He is alone in a way none of us have ever experienced. Naturally, the rest of the movie must be about him finding his new place in the universe. He gets a new body, meets new people, learns a new language and culture, and he finds it more fulfilling than the one he used to be part of.

And let’s not forget that “Avatar” is science fiction. It’s supposed to be about seeing strange new worlds, feeling out-of-place, and making a new niche for yourself in a brave new world. In “Avatar,” Jake abandons his old world because it’s meaningless to him, but approaches the Na’vi with humility and curiosity, because he is genuinely interested in them. (Plus Neytiri is hot.) Yes, there’s a silly scene where he’s “chosen” by the planet as its savior, which frankly I think is what started this whole racism problem, but Jake doesn’t officially join the Na’vi until he has learned their language and customs and proven himself a true Na’vi alongside the tribe’s own young coming-of-age participants. He does not bend down from on high in all his white-man glory to mingle with the savages, only to repent his ways later. He sees a new and fascinating culture which can offer him more than Earth ever could, and it ultimately gives him the courage to stand up for his own ideals.

I also think that if “Avatar” had come out during the summer, none of this discussion ever would have happened. We’ve come to the conclusion that “Avatar’s” story wasn’t great, but the animation was shiny – golly, that sounds like every summer blockbuster ever. But because “Avatar” came out in the winter, it was automatically lumped in with the grim, serious, thought-provoking movies that only come out in winter (exceptions: “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel,” “It’s Complicated”). Shift “Transformers” to a winter release, and what would happen? Critics praising its sharp relevance to the conflict in Iraq. “GI Joe?” Commentary on our unhealthy relationship with Russia. “Wolverine?” Obviously a throwback to 80s conspiracy films, warning us of the dangers of government experimentation. “Avatar?” Those big blue cat people represent the evils of manifest destiny, and we should feel bad for thinking this movie was totally awesome.

The drive back to Washington was miraculously nice today. Not a single drop of rain, and only a few near catastrophes. One of them involved a cement truck merging out of a construction zone, and a guy who didn’t notice the very large vehicle entering his lane, and who swerved in appropriate self-preservation. I spent the drive listening to Christmas carols and songs from “O Brother Where Art Thou.” And when I got home, there waiting on the guest bed was a very drowsy Majka.

M: “Oh, hey. You’re here.”

Me: “Uh. Yeah. You look comfortable.”

M: “Yyyyyep. It’s pretty nice here. Sunny and stuff. You here to rub my belly?”

Me: “Uh…sure, I can do that.”

M: “Awesome.”

She stretched out and rolled over in that weird C-shaped twisty roll that only cats and gymnasts can do. I rubbed her belly and she purred.

Me: “So…how are things?”

M: “Oh, they’re great. There’s these other cats here but don’t worry, they won’t bother us.”

Me: “Majka, they live here. It would be nice if you got along with them.”*

M: (biting my hand) “I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Me: “…No.”

(*The first time Majka and Charlie met went something like this:
Charlie: “Hey! Uh, I haven’t seen you before. You must be another cat.”

M: “…”

Charlie: “Can – can we be friends? Is that how this works? Do you like me?”

M: “HISSSSSS.”

Charlie: “Oh. Um. Okay. I – I guess that’s fine.”

M: “MRRRR.” (At this point we carted her back to her room. Charlie was left behind, staring horrified at the doorway.)

Charlie: “She…she doesn’t like me.”

Me: “Sorry, dude.”

Charlie: “B-but…what did I do?”

Me: “Seriously, nothing. Don’t worry about it. She just doesn’t like other cats.”

Charlie: “Oh. I understand.”

And he spent the rest of the day hiding under my mom’s bed.)

M: “Now that you’re here, I expect constant feeding and playtime every hour and belly rubs all the time unless I’m taking a bath, in which case don’t freaking touch me.”

Me: “Hey, I got stuff to do. You’re free to explore, just don’t beat anyone up.”

M: “Mmmmmno. More belly rubs.”

She stayed in the guest room almost all day, and I don’t blame her – it’s on the front of the house and gets plenty of sun. This evening, though, Slicker decided to be his ornery self and stick his head in the guest room. Majka immediately went on high alert.

S: “It smells funny in here.”

Me: “Slicker, this is a bad place to be, you don’t really want to be here right now.”

S: “No, you know what, I DO want to be here. It smells WEIRD in here and I want to know WHY.”

M: (pre-pounce butt wiggle)

Me: “Slicker, you are bringing terror and pain upon yourself.”

S: “Oh, really? Because I don’t really see anything threatening in here.”

Me: “Hey, don’t try to be macho – “

S: “No, seriously, it smells weird but I can’t see past five feet. Is there something on the bed?”

M: (POUNCE)

S: (FLEE)

ME: “HEY! GUYS. STEP OFF.”

Slicker fled downstairs and Majka prowled around the hallway for a moment.

M: “Did you see that? I totally owned him just then.”

Me: “Okay, that’s earned you a time-out. Back in your room”

M: “You mean back where it’s sunny and warm and comfortable? Bummer.”

This morning we made biscuits. Kevin and I are going our separate ways (someday love will fiiiiind youuuuu) for the holidays, so today is the day to clean out leftovers and eat the stuff that won’t keep for the next few days, which doesn’t exactly include Grands biscuits, but whatever.

Using our oven has recently become a bit of a Wild Wild West standoff. Something oozed in the oven a while ago, and now every time we use it, we burn off a little more of whatever’s caked onto the bottom. This morning, when the oven was ready, I opened the kitchen windows and turned on the fan. Only then was it safe to throw open the door, drop in the biscuits and slam the door again.

Making cookies this week was a little more exciting. We made the basic recipe from the back of the chocolate chip bag, and even managed to blend everything together without an electric mixer (gasp!). We sat back down and awaited our delicious cookies.

BEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.

Nothing smelled smokey. There was no excuse for this.

BEEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.

The cat fled. Kevin and I jumped up to wave towels at the smoke detectors. Turns out only one of them was overreacting, and it was conveniently not the one nearest the kitchen.

BEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.

We opened all the windows, turned on the fans, and Kevin even used the door as a giant fan. Of course during all this, the cookies finished baking and I had to break rank to pull them out before things got worse.

BEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.

This smoke detector is located in a back corner where air doesn’t really circulate, so we finally had to prop up an electric fan aimed right at it.

We finally sat back down to enjoy our delicious cookies, but after a couple minutes we realized that cat hadn’t returned to her usual spot on the beanbag chair. She wasn’t under the futon, or on the bed, or eating or anything.

She was hiding in a closet.

She was not thrilled.

Add that to the fact that she’s staying with my mom and sister this week for Christmas, and we’ll be lucky if she ever forgives us. (The real problem is her dealing with two other cats in the house – the reason she lives with us now instead of Kevin’s family is because she doesn’t get along with other cats. I’m sure after the holidays I will have all kinds of fun stories about that. Sorry, Mom, I know you are taking excellent care of her!)

I got a full-time job! Today was officially my last shift at Video Store Job, and I start my new job on Monday!

We also saw “Avatar” today. And folks – if you can ignore the articles about “white man’s burden” and environmentalism, and if you want to see a visually stunning movie in the realm of “Star Wars” or “Lord of the Rings,” go see “Avatar.” Did you see “Beowulf,” the most recent motion-capture version? Have you noticed how computer-generated characters’ eyes seem lifeless or their movements a little awkward? All of that is gone. The colors, textures, lighting, is all brilliant and natural, even though the entire planet is bioluminescent and inhabited by twelve-foot-tall blue aliens with catlike tails.

Go see this movie. Plug your ears if the dialogue is a little awkward or preachy, because it happens. It’s not perfect, but is is awesome.

I’m not very good at following the news in general, so when my supervisor from Ireland emailed me to tell me about the horrible flooding that had hit Cork in November, I was shocked. Apparently it was the worst flooding in 30 years, and Cork was hit hardest. The office I worked in was under four feet of water at one point, and everything in it has been destroyed. My supervisor emailed me a picture of the office:

It’s heartbreaking and a little eerie to see what’s happened to the city. I emailed a few of my friends from the office, and I’m hoping I’ll hear good news from them.

December in Oregon can be pretty dismal. Last week we had clear skies and temperatures in the high 20s; this week, it’s in the 40s and constantly raining. Thanks to my minimal work hours, I don’t have much excuse to leave the apartment (that, plus it’s uh pouring), and we’re spending more time than we ought to sitting on the couch. Granted, it’s not all time-wasting – we’re applying for jobs, I’m working on my grad school application, and theoretically I’d like to say I’m still working on my book. But with Christmas coming up and people dealing with a lot of stress, hopefully the couch time can include some good holiday movies.

I’ll come right out and admit that this list will be woefully inaccurate because I’ve never seen the classics like “White Christmas” or “A Christmas Story.” I also haven’t seen most of the recent Christmas comedies, like “Christmas with the Kranks” or “Four Christmases,” mostly because I’ve heard they’re not that great. Still, there are mountains of other Christmas movies out there, some good (National Lampoon Christmas Vacation) and others not so good (Santa Clause 3?). These are a few of my favorites.

5. Home Alone. I’m not sure how many sequels ultimately wound up in this franchise, but the first one is deservedly a classic. The booby-traps this kid came up with went down in history, and I’m pretty sure anyone with a Y chromosome who saw that movie before age twelve wanted to be Kevin McCallister. (Probably a good number of girls, too, I’m just guessing.)

4. Die Hard. Originally I was going to use Die Hard 2, but then this conversation happened, after I told Kevin what I was writing about:

Kevin: “Well, I know what my favorite Christmas movie is.”

Me: “Die Hard 2?”

Kevin: “No, Die Hard!”

Me: “Wait, that one’s Christmas too?”

Kevin: “Oh, yeah! (in his Alan Rickman voice) ‘Now I haff a machine gun. Ho. Ho. Ho.’”

Which I guess pretty much sums up how awesome that movie is. If you’re like me and you’re getting tired of seeing clips from “A Christmas Story” everywhere you go, this should be a refreshingly destructive, profanity-ridden change of pace.

3. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/A Charlie Brown Christmas. These two tie for third because they fit in the same genre: old-fashioned feel-good holiday fun. “Rudolph” came out in 1964 and threw the old Rudolph myth right out the window. Now we have a misunderstood elf who wants to be a dentist! A rootin’-tootin’ adventurer with a team of sled dogs! An island of misfit toys! A really terrifying Abominable Snowman! Plus, this is the movie that gave us “Holly Jolly Christmas,” which is one of my favorite carols. And Rudolph’s crush on Clarice is pretty much the cutest thing to happen in any Christmas movie. The only drawback to this movie is that it can be hilariously sexist at times, what with the main concern being to “get the women home” before they can be eaten by monsters. Which is, you know, very nice of them, but today the modern girl would prefer that Clarice kick the monster’s butt herself.

Meanwhile, “Charlie Brown Christmas” came out in 1965 and if I remember correctly, it was the first animated program to use children as voice actors. I tend to write this one off when it airs on TV, but I end up watching it anyway and I’m always surprised by how heartfelt and revolutionary it really is. It broke the animation rules of the time by using children, as mentioned, and also for including so many biblical references. Linus’s speech – “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy” – concerned producers at the time, but I think it’s probably one of the most famous moments from the movie:

2. Love Actually. I’m not usually a fan of romantic comedies, but this one is so far from being a “chick flick” that I adore it. It takes the love and hope and optimism and renewal of Christmas and uses it as a prism for a huge assortment of love stories. And not just romantic, warm-fuzzy love, although there’s plenty of that. There’s the boy who has a crush on the cute girl in his class; the aging rocker trying to figure out what makes him happy; the body doubles falling in love on the set; the best man irrevocably in love with the bride. Even the more chick-flicky aspects of it (the guy flying to America to meet hot girls; Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister falling in love with his secretary) are outweighed by the dramatic subplots (a widower grieving for his wife; a woman coping with the revelation that her husband has been unfaithful). All of this centered around the everlasting hope that Christmas will restore the world and everything in it, which is, in the end, what Christmas is all about.

1. Muppet Christmas Carol is most definitely not as serious, because it has Muppets and Michael Caine and a whole lot of singing and dancing. It’s a quirky retelling of the classic story, featuring Gonzo as Charles Dickens, Kermit the Frog as Cratchit, and Statler and Waldorf as the Marley brothers. It has song and dance numbers, ice skating, and a Ghost of Christmas Present with short-term memory loss. The story of Scrooge can be preachy depending on the adaptations, but this one (due to the indomitable spirit of Muppets) is more gentle and hopeful and joyful than most. There’s one line in one of the songs that exemplifies the whole movie: “The message if we hear it is make it last all year.”

But here, don’t take my word for it:

Oh, what’s that? You’re not convinced this is the best Christmas movie ever?

I don’t draw much, and I’m not particularly good, but it’s one of those creative ventures like photography that I just need to do every once in a while to feel like I’m leaving something on this world. Jessica and I had a few fun nights in college doing comic jams, where one of us would draw the panel of a comic and pass it off to the other to continue the story. I think one of them involved a superhero on a unicorn.

Anyway, this is a quick tale about our cat, which will be followed tomorrow by the tale of why that cat now hates us. It involves burning chocolate chip cookies.

I’m reluctant to mention “Twilight” on this blog, partly because I don’t want to make any enemies and partly because I’m tired of people finding my blog by searching for crazy things. Ever since that Halloween costume post, the main search terms that have led people here involve Lady Gaga with or without clothing. I’m a little tired of it, and mentioning the most popular media crazyfest since Harry Potter will probably not help the situation.

But it’s a good story, so it’s worth the risk.

Kevin and I stopped in Hallmark over the weekend and spotted the world’s coolest ornament. We almost got it, but the claws are too brittle, and we’re afraid they would snap off and we’d be left with a significantly less awesome Wolverine. We resolved to get some cheap action figures and attach fishing line to them and make our own geeky ornaments.

Fred Meyer’s toy section let us down, but I did see something interesting on the way out: the Edward Barbie.

Kevin: “Don’t touch that! You’ll get it all over you.”

Me: “I just want to see what it looks like.”

It pretty much looked like a Ken, only with worse hair and maybe paler skin.

Me: “This is literally a mullet.”

Kevin: “Just put it down!”

I was surprised at how many were left, and how few Bella dolls there were. I would have expected a million unwanted Bellas and a shelf barren of Edwards.

Me: “I wonder where all the Bellas are.”

Kevin: “They’re sulking.”

Me: “HA. *high five*”

One of the smaller things I’ve had to adjust to when living with Kevin is the amount of football that gets watched. I try to care for his sake, but really, I am just not that into it. For example, during this morning’s game:

Me: “Huh, the Bengals have really terrible uniforms.”
Kevin: “You don’t like them?”
Me: “They look like…what uniforms would look like if Will Ferrell did a football movie.”

Speaking of football, Linfield’s team went to Wisconsin for the semifinals yesterday! It sounds like they played a good game but lost in the final quarter.

It’s not really any particular milestone, but I always forget to check that counter. Now we know!

The last couple days have been horribly, absurdly cold. 17 degrees at night and 35 during the day, if you’re lucky. Normally we try to avoid using the heaters, but even Kevin agrees that we need them right now. Apparently next week, things should return to normal – meaning 40s and raining – but I keep hoping it’ll snow.

I’ve gone to a couple more job interviews, both for temp positions in an office setting, which I would really enjoy. Video Store Job isn’t bad by any stretch of the imagination, but I don’t intend to keep it for very long. I’m hoping I’ll get an offer on these other positions, and then I’ll get to sequester myself behind a desk and sort through files and not worry about impressing customers.

And while I do appreciate the fact that Video Store Job is drama-free, I was sort of hoping that it would produce some entertaining stories. So far, though, things have been pretty quiet. My coworkers are nice, if a little eclectic, and I haven’t had to deal with any crazy customers yet. I will bide my time.

Outside work, things are still pretty quiet. I’m still working on getting the office organized, but I finally put up my bulletin board, along with a few drawings and some cool fashion shoots I tore out of “Vogue.” I’m beginning to realize that this room and I are destined for each other, because the heater mystically turns itself on, even though the controls say it’s off. I won’t complain until the heating bill comes.

We’ve also been putting up some decorations, and we finally got a Christmas tree!

This involved a truly epic battle with the tree stand we inherited, including a visit to the hardware store to get the right parts to hold the bolts in place. But it’s upright, and lighted, and my childhood ornaments are on it, and the cat hasn’t tried to climb it or anything.

Mostly because she sleeps all the time.

We also started what will hopefully be a weekly dinner-party get-together with Breck. For our first meal, we made pulled pork sandwiches, corn bread, and some pretty spectacular cole slaw if I do say so myself. I’ll even give you the recipes!

First up, the cole slaw:
4 cups cole slaw mix (or shredded cabbage/carrots)
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/3 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 tablespoon caesar dressing

I generally like sweeter, creamy cole slaw, but this recipe was originally too much of both. It even called for sugar, which I didn’t bother with the second time. I added the caesar dressing the second time for a little more flavor.

Seriously the easiest thing to make in the world – mix everything together and refrigerate it for a little bit. If it’s too sweet, add more vinegar. If it’s too tangy, add more mayonnaise. And if you like it even sweeter, add that tablespoon of sugar.

Next up, corn bread!
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cream of tartar (which, I learned, is a natural by-product of wine fermentation, and it stabilizes egg whites. Now you know!)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3/4 teaspoons salt
1 cup buttermilk (have leftover buttermilk? Make another batch, or throw it in some mashed potatoes with garlic.)
2 eggs
3 tablespoons melted butter

Beat the eggs, add the buttermilk. Sift the flour and add the other dry ingredients.

Add the liquids and the melted butter, and mix.

Pour batter into a greased 8×8 pan and bake 20 minutes at 425.

Okay, onto the pulled pork sandwiches. Honestly, we were flying by the seat of our pants for this one. We looked online to figure out what kind of pork roast we needed, but then the grocery store didn’t have that type. We had to get Jessica to call her dad for the cooking instructions. The whole thing was sort of hodge-podge, but if you trust our collaborative attempt at an actual recipe, here you go:

You’ll need about 3 lbs of pork loin roast, preferably with the fat trimmed. Put it in an over-safe dish and sprinkle it with salt and pepper. Cover the whole dish with foil and cook it at 350 for 2-2 1/2 hours. The rule is basically that it’s done when you can stick a fork in it and easily pull the meat apart. Once it’s done, go at it with forks and shred the whole darn thing. Once it’s all shredded, mix in your favorite barbecue sauce. My favorite is Sweet Baby Ray’s Honey Barbecue.

Final product!

Next time I think I would do the pork differently, maybe cook it for longer at a lower temperature. And Jessica just called saying her instructions said to add a little water to the dish, which we didn’t do. At any rate, this recipe will give you a very tasty pork sandwich.

And now I’m hungry. Tonight’s culinary adventure: turkey burgers!

Let the battle begin!