Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Research: Napoleon Dynamite & ping pong.


(I had to use this picture because I love my macbook.)

So, I had an online assignment due at midnight tonight. I just turned it in at 12:02. I think they will live. It only took me about an hour to do and I got out of clinical around 3:30 this afternoon. (I'm a nursing student if you weren't aware) So, what important things was I doing that it took me 8 1/2 hours to do an hour's worth of homework? Well, I'll tell you.

First I took Harper for a walk. Then I ate supper (Yes, at around 4:30- I was hungry) Then I gave Harper a bath, which requires blow drying and woo-ing, followed with lots of treats. So, that took a while. He smells of Biolage conditioner and clean puppy now. =) Then I decided that I didn't eat enough for supper and was going to murder anyone who got in the way of me and some chocolate. To save myself some prison time, Harper and I took a trip to the local Kum n' Go and I got a 3 Muskateers bar.

After coming home and eating my much needed chocolate I finally started on my assignment. Almost immediately after Shan (one of my roomies) came home. She stated that there was a man collecting cans outside and we had two trashbags full in our dining room. It only seemed fair to make his day and give him two full bags of cans that he didn't have to dig through trash receptacles for. Shan and I are good Samaritans.

By this time it was about 7:30, I put some Crest White Strips on and watched the remainder of NCIS. (I also stared at my computer pretending to do the aformentioned assignment.) At 8:00 we watched The Mentalist because Patrick Jane is the cutest character ever.

During a commercial I asked Shan how she felt about ping-pong. We both decided it was an excellent idea and headed over to our clubhouse around 9. This is where the research begins.

We're pretty awesome at ping-ping and at one point got tired of playing with our dominant hand. I mean, no boundaries ping-pong does get boring after a while. We both then switched to our non-dominant hands (left for both of us). It was pretty brutal right at first, but eventually we got the hang of it and were almost as good left handed as were right handed. So, not only are we good sumaritans, but we're also stellar ambidextrous ping-pong players. Challenge us, I dare you.

After an hour of playing ping pong we were exhausted of course. I believe were were more mentally exhausted than anything as ping-pong takes a lot of concentration, especially when you're as good at it as we are. When we came back I was just famished from the events that had recently occured. I threw a bag of 94% fat-free Hy-Vee popcorn in the microwave and went to look for my roommate. She was sitting on the floor staring at her water bottle. Her eyes were a bit glazed over as I'm sure she was just as exhausted as I was. She then asked me if I wanted to watch Napoleon. Perfect! I had already started popcorn! We started the movie and I continued to piddle around with my assignment. About halfway through we began to ponder what the hell time period this movie is set in. Here is what we have concluded:


(Skip to here if you want the "meat" of this post)
Through evidence-based research including life experiences and some internet sites, we have determined that Napoleon Dynamite takes place in 1994. We have based this off of many observations.
#1- The movie takes place in a small town in... Idaho or something. I believe the town is called Preston. I went to high school in a small town, and we were always a little behind with the times. I was "cool" and "rich" because I had lived in Des Moines until I was 12, and my parents had 3 cars, none of which were more than 10 years old. The movie seems to take place in a town that's even more remote than my small town was. Therefore, it is easily deduced that they could be 5 or more years behind mainstream culture. IE- wearing clothes from the 80's and listening to music from the 80's (we think)

#2. Uncle Rico. (A) he owns a 1982 dodge Santana campervan (Wikipedia will say it is a 1975 Santana campervan, but I have found many sources that say it is in fact a 1982) The van is older, and not shiny, and Uncle Rico does not make enough money to buy brand new car. We think he may have obtained the van as a graduation present in 1982. He is also constantly referring to "back in 82'" This goes with point (B) that he is stuck in 1982. We can see this by his obsession with his football days (probably was okay in high school) If he did in fact graduate in 1982 it would make sense that he would drive a 1982 campervan and wear clothes from the early 80's. Like I said "back in 82'" (or rather, Uncle Rico says) (C) We think he looks about 30. If the movie does take place in 1994, and he was 18 in 1982 when he graduated high school, 12 years makes 30. It's science.

#3. The bracelets Deb makes were cool when I was in elementary school. (I was in 4th grade in 1994)

#4. LaFawnDuh and Kip. She dresses him in attire that was cool in the 90's (for some cultures): du-rags and chains make me think of Ludacris. She is from a big city (i'm assuming) therefore, her clothing attire and overall style should be more progressive than the people of Preston, Idaho.

So, as you can see we have ample evidence to back up our case that Napoleon Dynamite is set in 1994, the era of "trapper binders and rollerblades".

L McP

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