We did manage to get out of the house last night--dinner at TupTim Thai, and yum. And then Beowulf. (Which is good, because I don't think anyone is planning on leaving the house again until work on Monday. Thar be sleeting outside. I opened the door to grab a package off the porch, and it smelled like snow. Which is good, because there was snow-like substance on the ground. But mostly I thought--while I enjoy the smell of snow, because there's really nothing like it in the world, I do not enjoy snow, for it symbolizes a period of dark and drear, and while we never end up actually housebound due to snow, sometimes I wish that was the option instead of having to haul our butts through it for the next three months.)

I should probably write an actual essay about Beowulf some day, but for now I'll distill it to two paragraphs.

First, my reaction as the credits rolled: +150 points for having Grendel speak in Old English. -EVERYTHING ELSE for the song over the closing credits. dwinn or splash_the_cat id'd it as "anime-esque." That did not work for me.

Second--well, second is a bit longer. And maybe spoilery. But, the poem is like 1500 years old, and the twists in the movie plot aren't that unexpected. So, I'll leave this uncut for now. Second: are the concepts of the ring-giver and the peace-weaver, and the values of generosity and heroism in Anglo-Saxon society so darn difficult for modern audiences to grasp that we had to have this complex mess of motivations for Beowulf and Hrothgar and Wealhtheow? Is it really so hard for modern audiences to connect with another society's notions of right and wrong that the writers had to overlay a vague, weak, overly-obvious, sex-based plot?

Okay, for one thing, I think that nearly any Anglo-Saxon would think that sleeping with a hot demoness would be a price they'd be happy to pay in order to become a great hero. That's how important heroism was. That's how unimportant sleeping with hot demonesses probably would have been. The whole point of why Grendel and his mum were monsters was because they were descended of kin-slayers, which is why Unferth is such a complex and interesting character (being a kin-slayer himself)--further, the other reason Grendel is a monster is because he's got no society. No comrades. No mead-hall. Are themes of social isolation and kin-slaying versus loyalty and the value of friendship bonds too boring? Because you can't have Angelina's boobs on display if that's the way you go?

What about greed? Because the dragon in Beowulf is supposed to be the big monster because he's a hoarder who doesn't share, and in a society where you had to get along to go along, it was imperative that you not be looking out for yourself and hoarding shit. Dragon was a big damn insult to an Anglo-Saxon. And the movie almost, almost drew the connection; Grendel's mum had a hoard. She wanted that drinking horn. But it didn't work, not really, because the message was clearly about corrupt leadership, the choices Beowulf and Hrothgar made. Am I wrong to think it would have been much, much more interesting if it had been about the choices and the values of the whole society? I keep thinking of Wiglaf berating the faithless and cowardly at the end of the poem. Isn't that more the moral message we need in this time? That we need to stand up to greed and corruption and not just assume that some random hero is going to handle the dragons?

So. Fine. We do live in a world where Beowulfian style heroism is just... not even possible. To consider, let alone believe in. Nor is it really interesting. So, I can see complicating things, as the writer. I just don't know if I would have gone about it in quite the same way.

(Okay, I lied. We're well away from just one paragraph here.)

Alright.

The only other thing to say is, dannimal suggested splicing together all the "THIS IS SPARTA!" and "I AM BEOWULF!" bits in existence, and playing off a whole "Who are you?" "Where am I?" video. But neither of us are going to do *that*. Maybe someone already has.

We came home and watched a little tv and promptly went to bed early like some sort of old people. We got up at 8 and did chores, which prompted Dann to observe with amazement how much we'd done by 9:30. After that, thought, we stopped doing things, and felt like appropriate slugs by 1:30. I spent the rest of the day rearranging the pantry and figuring out what sort of things I'd like to be baking for the holiday season. (I think we'll take a page from a robinmckinley character and go for cinnamon rolls, though probably not as big as anyone's head.) I played "Guess what this unlabeled jar of white stuff is?" and I think the chickpea flour has gone off, or else chick pea flour tastes like crap. I honestly don't know which is the right answer, but it is kind of old.

I made stuffed shells for dinner, and tried Sundried Tomato Cottage Cheese Muffins, which were not a big hit with either of us. Either more parmesan or more salt or more muffin-like qualities (more flour) or better sundried tomatoes or maybe I just won't bother trying again. I haven't decided yet. Honestly, olives might be the answer... I will feed them to the kids on Monday, I think.

We inherited a box of rice pudding mix awhile ago, and I finally did something with it, doctoring it up with coconut, cardamom, allspice, golden raisins and pistachios. Which made it palatable to me, and made it unpalatable to dannimal. Funny how these things go.

I'm trying to make the ultimate dark chocolate/dark chocolate chip cookie, and I can't quite figure out how to approach it. Suggestions?