My mother had Bette Davis eyes and in this picture, I think the resemblance to Ms. Davis is striking. That's Bette in a still from Jezebel, the movie she made when she wasn't selected to play Scarlett in Gone with the Wind. I think my mother had better eyebrows. (And she could raise just one of them--a talent I lack and envy.)
Thursday, August 9, 2012
But what about Shakespeare and dogs?
Just in case you're wondering if I have something against dogs...there is some persuasive evidence that William Shakespeare really didn't like them very much. Here's a really interesting blogpost on the subject from Dr, Metablog back in 2006.
Shakespeare and Cats
Painting by Susan Herbert |
You might also be amused by the paintings of Susan Herbert, who re-imagined famous scenes from Shakespeare with cats. Check out her other work in a playful YouTube video or The Cat's Gallery of Western Art.
There's probably a story in here somewhere
The household has been unsettled for a few weeks now--earthquakes, illness in man and beast, and a singular slowness of cash flow.
Today it all came together in a sort of crescendo of misery. I've been up since three this morning with the corpse of my cat, waiting for the local pet crematory to open. In the past my best friend has attended to the "arrangements" for me but he is sick as a dog and hasn't slept for two days, so this one is on me.
To distract myself, I caught up on the latest episode of Drop Dead Diva. The storyline was about a bereaved fiancee named Kathy fighting with her soon-to-be mother-in-law over her fiance's ashes. what were the chances?
Sigh.
And it's August 9, which would have been my mother's 84th birthday and I was already missing her. (My mother loved cats and when I came home to take care of her in her final illness, I brought my gray tabby Kichi,who adopted her and spent hours on her bed, available for petting or just companionship.)
Life sucks sometimes.
At least my pet wasn't a horse. Cremating a horse costs $1200.... except for something called a "mini." I'm not sure I want to know what that is, but I'm going to ask anyway.
Sigh.
Today it all came together in a sort of crescendo of misery. I've been up since three this morning with the corpse of my cat, waiting for the local pet crematory to open. In the past my best friend has attended to the "arrangements" for me but he is sick as a dog and hasn't slept for two days, so this one is on me.
To distract myself, I caught up on the latest episode of Drop Dead Diva. The storyline was about a bereaved fiancee named Kathy fighting with her soon-to-be mother-in-law over her fiance's ashes. what were the chances?
Sigh.
And it's August 9, which would have been my mother's 84th birthday and I was already missing her. (My mother loved cats and when I came home to take care of her in her final illness, I brought my gray tabby Kichi,who adopted her and spent hours on her bed, available for petting or just companionship.)
Life sucks sometimes.
At least my pet wasn't a horse. Cremating a horse costs $1200.... except for something called a "mini." I'm not sure I want to know what that is, but I'm going to ask anyway.
Sigh.
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Mark Twain filmed by Thomas Edison
This may be the best "found footage" movie ever.
A short clips has surfaced of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain taken by Thomas Edison, who was a friend, in 1909. (One of the places I saw this posted reminded me that Clemens was also friends with Nikola Tesla, which made me think of all sorts of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter-style shenanigans that could be written.)
You can see the clip here.
A short clips has surfaced of Samuel Clemens/Mark Twain taken by Thomas Edison, who was a friend, in 1909. (One of the places I saw this posted reminded me that Clemens was also friends with Nikola Tesla, which made me think of all sorts of Abraham Lincoln Vampire Hunter-style shenanigans that could be written.)
You can see the clip here.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Hamlet--the real story in Royal Deceit
Before he donned the Batman's black cape, Christian Bale sported a red cape as Amled, prince of Jutland (Denmark) in this movie based on a chronicle by Danish historian Saxo Grammaticus, which was also the source material for Shakespeare's epic drama Hamlet.
In Royal Deceit (a really terrible title), the set-up is much the same as Hamlet--the young prince of Denmark has seemingly gone mad following the murder of his father (and in this case, brother as well).
Although the murder is blamed on two "scouundrels," the real murderer is the king's jealous brother (Gabriel Byrne), who co-opts the queen (Helen Mirren, looking luminously ageless). From the moment the uncle "modestly" accepts the crown in Amled's place, the story begins to diverge from the one we know, although elements remains--like the characters who became Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the girl who was the model for Ophelia, here called Ethel (long E, pronounced EEE-thul), and played by a very young Kate Beckinsale. (She mostly wears shapeless costumes that make her look pudgy, which is unfortunate.)
In Royal Deceit (a really terrible title), the set-up is much the same as Hamlet--the young prince of Denmark has seemingly gone mad following the murder of his father (and in this case, brother as well).
Although the murder is blamed on two "scouundrels," the real murderer is the king's jealous brother (Gabriel Byrne), who co-opts the queen (Helen Mirren, looking luminously ageless). From the moment the uncle "modestly" accepts the crown in Amled's place, the story begins to diverge from the one we know, although elements remains--like the characters who became Rosencrantz and Guildenstern and the girl who was the model for Ophelia, here called Ethel (long E, pronounced EEE-thul), and played by a very young Kate Beckinsale. (She mostly wears shapeless costumes that make her look pudgy, which is unfortunate.)
Labels:
Andy Serkis,
Avengers,
Brian Cox,
Christian Bale,
Gabriel Byrne,
helen Mirren,
royal Deceit,
thor
Review of Luminarium by Alex Shakar
As his twin languishes in a coma, a man seeks spiritual enlightenment
and meaning, aided by texts and emails that seem to be coming from his brother.
Alex Shakar’s Luminarium is a
beautifully written book that mashes up philosophy, pop culture, recent past,
quantum mechanics and a story about a man whose twin brother is dying.
It is the summer of 2006 and Fred Brounian is not in a good place. The
video game company he and his brothers founded has been stolen by a military company
that uses its game engine to run extremely realistic training scenarios for its
wannabe warriors. His fiancée Melanie
has broken up with him and taken up with someone new (or so he’s heard). And
despite being in a coma, his dying twin brother George has been sending him a
series of enigmatic emails—Help Avatara—that mean nothing to him.
Fred joins a group studying spirituality, and finds the experience
alternately liberating and frightening, made more complicated by his attraction
to Mira, the woman facilitating it. He reatreats into the cranky comfort of his
relationship with his father Vartan, a failed actor but decent musician who
performs at kids’ birthday parties in an act that George conceived when he and
Fred were in high school.
This nook is a dazzling, dizzying romp through pop culture, recent
history, East Indian myth, quantum physics and a whole spectrum of other
elements. It’s lovely to see a story in which the myth is not the same old
Catholic and Celtic tropes that have been done to death, and the author does a
graceful job of integrating the myth and the mundane. (He’s particularly good
with the various game scenarios and the texts and messages Fred gets from …
wherever he’s getting them from.)
Luminarium works on many levels. At its simplest, it’s
the story of a man whose life is falling apart, making him ripe for the “faith
without ignorance” spiritual awakening that Miri is offering. It’s the story of
a man coping with the impending death of his twin, his other self. It’s a love
story. It’s a tale of quantum revelation in which “real physics” coexists
alongside things that could not possibly happen, and yet do.
Labels:
Alex Shakar,
China Mieville,
Chuck Palaniuk,
Luminarium
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