NYC TTT Moot Part 1

[lavendertook]

Hi! I'm back from NYC where we went to see the TTT symphony, Fellowship! Musical parody of FotR, and a book signing with Doug Adams and Howard Shore. The musical was hilarious and my favorite of the events. The symphony was terrific and spot on and we had the perfect seats, but I had a creepy, annoying guy sitting next to me that ruined much of it for me, so it wasn't a great symphony/film experience for me this time. The signing was really nice, and Howard Shore talked about Frodo and Sam like he shipped them.




There were 3 pairs of hobbit dolls accompanying us and making sure we didn't get into any trouble.



And all these lovely people. Plus the vivacious grey_wonderer and her sweet friend T. who we didn't get to see enough of. Plus I got to talk on the phone with the delightful delux_vivens, though we didn't get the chance to meet up--next time. I still haven't finished reporting from the Sept RotK Moot and Ladysnaps Moot, so I'm going to finish up those before I do a full report of the NYC Moot, but I just wanted to give a prelude, say hi, and I hope I'll be keeping up better with everyone and posting a lot more now that moot season has passed.

Comments

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad it was wonderful, but sorry you had the leg-bouncing person next to you. It's terrible to be next to someone doing aggravating things. I am guilty, though, having once been silently quelled at the Kennedy Center watching Verdi's Requiem. I hadn't realised it, but I was so revved, the concert was so great, my right leg was sort of gyrating. Not making any noise, but it must have caused a vibration. I was oblivious until the woman sitting next to me clamped a hand on my knee and gave me a quelling stare. I wanted to crawl under the theatre. But I learned to keep my vibrations, however good for *me*, in check when in public venues.

Hey, Lavender, my husband just sent me a link to a great article about owning and loving cats he read today in the New York Times online. Just in case you haven't seen it, here's the link below. I think it will, um, "resonate" with you.....

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/cat-people-are-people-too/?emc=eta1

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Well, when I went to my post office this morning, it had a stand of pet cards--all dogs except for one card of a cat--so yeah, she's right. I thought lolcats might have given cats an edge up in the internet age, but maybe not.

No, no, this was nothing like that. And the woman should have asked you before escalating to touching you--that's not right. Asking you gives you the chance to say sorry and for the asker to offer comfort in return if your trespass was done unconsciously and you're embarrassed. So she overstepped, and you really shouldn't feel bad. And if it were bouncing in time with the music he was doing, I might not have had a problem with it.

No, it would escalate when Eowyn or Arwen were on screen, and a lot of his inappropriate laughter happened when Wormtongue was talking with Eowyn. Yeah. I don't call a nerd a creep easily, nerds being my tribe, but this was a prime specimen of Nerdus creepius.

Asking politely is where I started for a couple of tries. The first stopped him for a few minutes. The second more annoyed request--still a request, got a "You can't tell me what to do in my seat!" "Cut it out!" and then "Would you just behave yourself!" only got momentary stopping and "I can't understand what you're saying!" back.

So the hard kick in the ankles is something I worked up to after the intermission. He recoiled, then renewed the bouncing with more vigor for a few minutes, then looked at me and got up and left. It was hard to relax, not knowing if he was coming back, but much nicer to have him gone for the rest of the show, and I'm gratified to have ruined his experience as he had ruined mine, with hopes that he may remember this and behave better next time he's sitting in an auditorium to avoid conflict, and some other poor person gets to have a better viewing experience.

[mechtild.livejournal.com]

That is really, really weird, or I guess I should say that person was really, really weird. No wonder you were ill at ease, besides miffed. I'd have been stewing.

I've been in LotR audiences where people did/said really annoying, or even offensive things, but they usually weren't sitting close enough for me to be able to give them a piece of my mind. When I went to the trilogy last December, driving down to Minneapolis and staying overnight in a cheap hotel so I could see the all day event, there was someone sitting in the middle of the audience who'd cheer and/or applaud whenever a protagonist was hurt or killed. I could have strangled him, but I couldn't see who it was. But then, right behind me, some guy started blabbing as soon as TTT started -- making comments, not very loud, but so that I could hear them clearly, as if he were watching the film on TV by himself and was in the habit of making comments non-stop. When he was still doing it through the Emyn Muil scene, I turned around and whispered into the dark, "Are you going to talk through the entire film???" He shut up immediately. Didn't hear another peep out of him. I thought of the woman who clamped a hand on my bouncing knee and was sorry to be so abrupt, maybe spoiling his experience, but I had come a long way to see the films and didn't want to hear his ongoing commentary.

Afterwards at home, I decided I just wouldn't see the films anymore in fannish settings. I resent that they are treating the showings as a party venue. But, when I thought about it, that's just what they are, or have become. It is I who am being a poor sport, spoiling the fun of fans gathered together to have some LotR-based good times. Me, I just want to see the films. Well, maybe if they're re-released for theatrical runs before The Hobbit comes out, I'll be able to see them again in a normal [attentive] film audience.