It's Actually Not That Complicated; Tuesday, Second Period, 10/04.

[died8yearsago]

"Last week," Rosa started, never being one to really spend a whole lot of time with small talk before getting right into things, "we talked about Meyers' directorial debut, and this week, we're going to be looking at her follow up, meta for What Women Want, which is a movie Meyers has stated she didn't even want to direct. She just wanted to write it, and is not even credited as a writer on the film. She'd just broken up with her husband and frequent partner-in-crime Charles Shyer and really wanted to sink her teeth into rewriting a script that landed on her lap called Head Games, which would eventually become this movie. She was really excited for the challenge of retooling it into something better, but Shyer insisted that she also direct it, especially coming off of her directorial debut. And she was all 'but I don't want to direct it' and he was all 'but you have to direct it.' And so she directed it. And didn't get credit for the part she invested so much of her energy in.

"Kind of ironic," Rosa stated with a snort, "isn't it?

"Anyway, the movie had middling success, and most people thought it was okay, with kind of a mixed message because it's meant to be focused on women but just seems like it can never elevate itself above stereotype, and it played a little on some of Meyers' earlier works as sort of an homage to screwball comedies, though it was a little more heavy handed on the whole morality-play of it all. There was a 2019 inverse remake with Taraji P. Henson about what men want, as well as both a Chinese and an Indian remake.

"So let's watch some, and then we'll get into discussing how it was definitely a different time back them, and whether or not we can genuinely say, in good faith, 'well....they tried' and get excited because this is just the threshold to the wide open door that will be leading up into the Meyers Renaissance."

American Inventions, Tuesday, October 4, 2022

[heroic_jawline]

"Have you ever heard the saying 'the greatest thing since sliced bread?'" Steve asked, smiling softly at the class. "Turns out that sliced bread--a machine doing it--has only been around since 1927, which makes it younger than I am."

"It was invented by American inventor, Otto Rohwedder," Tony added. "It doesn't sound like a big deal, but pre-sliced bread was a novel thing for many people. They can't all be big ones, you know?"

"Well, if you have a dull knife and a need for a sandwich, two pieces of bread the same size can be a big deal," Steve countered, still smiling.

"So, in honor of the invention... we brought sandwiches for the class," Tony said brightly.

It was pretty much the limit of their cooking skills. "And when we go to France together next week, compare these to sandwiches on different types of bread, which are not on pre-sliced bread," Steve said. "And we can decide which way is better."

Libraries and Books: Highlights and Dangers, Tuesday

[intheeyeofthebeholding]

Jon had set up the projector again today. And it was working! So he was in a fairly good mood, even if looking a bit ragged.

"Next week we'll be going on the fall trip, which involves Paris," he said, fiddling with the settings. "So I don't know if we'll have time to see any of the libraries there, but I thought we could do a bit of introduction to them today, so if you do have the time, you'll know what your options are.

He called up the first image. "The Bibliothèque Mazarine is the oldest public library in the country, and has a lot of texts and rare documents on French history dating back to medieval times, including a Gutenberg bible, though that may or may not be on display.

"The Bibliothèque Nationale de France has several sites, but the the Richelieu-Louvois site is particularly lovely, and houses some of the most ancient writings of humanity, along with pottery, coins, and other material history.

"The Bibliothèque Publique d’Information is a more modern library, with plenty of magazines and books to learn about modern-day France, along with free wi-fi.

"The Sainte Geneviève library is a public library, but also the principal university library in the city, if you're looking for more scholarly texts. Its reading room is rather gorgeous, honestly.

"And finally, the Bibliothèque Marguerite Durand contains a vast variety of texts of, concerning, and written by women, focusing on feminism, as well as a number of material goods testifying to the place of women in history."

He gestured to the projector. "I've got more pictures and information about each of these, so let's discuss."

How to Deal with your Dark Side, Tuesday - Fourth Period

[trigons_child]

"Until now, we've discussed ways to control yourself by calming your mind," Raven began class today. "But often times, it is an outside force that might be triggering your dark side. In my case, it was my father, the demon Trigon. He wished to corrupt me and use me as a gateway to this world so that he might conquer it. He would do such things and slip into my dreams and show me my friends in great peril, and tell me that the only way I could save them was to accept his power. The temptation was hard to resist. Or he might simply bombard me with pain and fear in hopes that I would submit to him to make it stop."

She frowned, remembering her experience as a student at Fandom. "As an aside, if you take nothing else from this class, please remember that you should be honest, with yourself and your friends and those you trust. Do not hide that you are struggling, because then it might become too late for them to help you. My friends were able to save me, but if they had been too late, or not strong enough...." She let her voice trail off and left it to their imaginations. The Earth would've been Trigon's plaything, and her friends would all be dead or enslaved.

Raven shivered and exhaled, pushing away the thoughts. "Today I would like to teach you the basics of defending yourself from such an attack. There are ways to build shields within your mind, to protect yourself from whatever outside influence seeks to affect you. I want you to try to meditate again, but this time, imagine there are walls surrounding you -- walls, or any sort of protective barrier. It could be an actual shield, or armor, or anywhere you feel safe and protected.

"Practice calling these shields to mind at a moments notice." Raven smiled a little mischievously. "Because next week, I am going to test your shields by trying to get past them. Unless you have some objection to me attempting to do so, of course."