An appropriate icon in two ways

[bironic]

Thundersnowstorm, you guys! I'm so pleased DC is finally getting some accumulation after a season of being passed over while the south and north get slammed. (Although it won't be as much fun if we lose power; the wind is picking up across snow-laden branches and wires, and the light in here keeps flickering.)

Meanwhile, in Festivids, I got up to the letter "H" on Sunday, and I have a new favorite: Serpent Charmer. I've never seen the source (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), but I can't stop watching this vid. It's about young man's (Ford's) obsession with his role model (James) and James toying with him, pushing him—who seemed already vulnerable to it—into this frenzy of desire/envy/hatred that results (off-screen) in what the title says. There's beautiful, haunting imagery, and a fantastic bit in the middle with Ford likened to a snake in James' hands. It's got the sort of magic that happens when you come upon a vid that's edited in a certain way and set to certain music. It's personal—the vidder's technique has to be something that works for your vid-watching brain, and you have to love the song—but there's objective skill to it; it has to be exquisitely edited to work. I've watched it probably 10 times and downloaded the song (Iron & Wine's "Serpent Charmer," which is angling to replace "Boy with a Coin" as my favorite by him; you may recall my formula). Anyway, big rec for this, and I do also recommend the vidder's summary and Isis' comment if, like me, you don't know the movie.

And still not even halfway through the alphabet! There could be more vids as entrancing as this one. I'll be a lucky person if that's true.

...Yep, there go the traffic lights. *keeps flashlight close, just in case*

Comments

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

That vid sounds amazing. I don't know the song or the movie, but I'm going to give it a look.

The light's flickering here too, and my internet keeps cutting out. Yay for my phone, I guess.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

There was this one eerie blue flash 20-30 minutes ago that just hovered there -- I guess there's nothing like a sky full of snow to magnify lightning.

Hope I didn't hype the vid too much by the time you get to it. :) It just really did it for me.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

The view is really impressive and I'm enjoying it, just trying not to think too much about tomorrow. D:

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Maybe you'll have a snow day?

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

We don't get snow days anymore. I might be able to work from home, but there's a limited amount of stuff I can do without my work computer.

[bironic.livejournal.com]

Oh, bummer. I have my computer here, but there's no guarantee of internet tomorrow.

Meanwhile, there must be an accident of something up the road, because there's a traffic jam outside. What are all these people doing on the road right now in the first place.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

I often ask myself that question when I'm driving down that street. :D

[bironic.livejournal.com]

...holy shit, something electrical keeps exploding up there.

[alpheratz.livejournal.com]

Funtimes! Our powerlines are holding on. I wonder if it would help Pepco stay alive if we all thought wonderful things about it, a la Tinkerbell!Doctor.

[alizarin-nyc.livejournal.com]

You're exactly right about that vid. Thanks so much for the rec.

[elynittria.livejournal.com]

Oh my. All that electrical activity doesn't sound good. I hope your power doesn't go out! We had thundersnow during the last big storm (a week or so ago), but didn't get any this time around.