The state of Anne

I'm waiting for my mom to come over for a movie day blitz. She'll watch the incredibles, we'll order some pizza, etc.

Today has been practical, otherwise. I had drum practice, where I continue to make improvements. Still, I need to practice more. I need to talk to my music friends about getting together to jam more. Perhaps bring over the kit, and play at least weekly.

The weather is being a tad moody. Currently it is breezy, cool, and consoling. Earlier it was all emotional and weepy and rainy.

I also made a chocolate cream pie for the first time. I used 2/3rds splenda versus sugar in it. Aside from that, and using whole wheat flour, and using only 1% fat milk, I didn't change the recipe, so it's not all that healthy. I'm doing an experiment with the crust. In the past, my baked crusts, even when I follow directions don't strike me as cool enough. Furthermore, they tend to get soggy under the cream filling, or lemon filling. So, today I am trying an experiment. I cooked the crust with pie weights as normal, but then I took it out of the oven, let it cool a wee bit, then put an egg wash on the whole thing and baked it for another 10 minutes until the egg wash seemed cooked. What came out was a golden brown, somewhat shiny crust. We'll see what happens now that the pie is chilling with a chocolate cream filling.

Incredibles

imlac brought it to my attention that some folks are saying that the Incredibles is rife with Ayn Rand references. A quick google search brought up some articles, including this one.

Overall, I do not agree with this assessment. Yes, the Supers are like "Atlases". But they sure as hell aren't John Galts. First, the government drove the exile of the supers, whereas, in the book, the supers chose to create their own big rock candy mountain and live in their super elite commune, leaving the mundane world to stew in their own whiney, no-talent juices. In the Incredibles, the heroes still have a love/desire/need to save humanity.

As for the notion of incompetence with regard to Syndrome, I don't think that lives up to Ayn Rand's concept of the less talented masses. He's a sick puppy; a villain. Despite him not winning in the end, he was still fairly talented. No, his inventions weren't fullproof, but despite the fact that he was a villain and a jerk, he'd hold his own among the Atlases in Ayn's book. He is a pretty creative inventor, despite his fanboy syndrome gone wrong. In fact, Incrediboy/Syndrome is a clear example how not all "Atlases" are a benefit to society via achieving their own exceptional form of individuality.

In the end, the Supers don't abandon the mediocre humanity. They live among them, and do find some contentment in the non-super world. The Incredibles does not harbor such a blatant disdain for people not gifted with superior skills.