I finished reading The Great Gatsby yesterday afternoon, so I finished watching the movie this morning. The book impressed me. I wondered what the hell I had gotten out of it in high school, since I didn't remember much. This time it had me laughing and thinking. It made me think about college, and how in the hell you're supposed to read a book once and be able to have something interesting to say about it. I got the sense that there were all kinds of things to notice, and while I did notice some, I felt I was missing thoughts that I would probably have if I read the book again. This is a book to taste rather than gobble- lines that needed to be examined and chewed on. I try to keep my library at a manageable number with just the books that I think I will read again, and this one will stay. I have another Fitzgerald on my reading shelf, and I am looking forward to that.
But the movie... felt... too glossy for traction. I didn't mind the modern music- I think that was an attempt to make it relevant. It just didn't seem to have a bite. I got the sense that the actors knew what weight they were carrying, and tried to convey that into perfect, intangible scenes, but I wasn't feeling it. I liked Carey Mulligan better than anyone else, but I disagreed with a lot of the interpretation of the pacing and the lines. See, this is why it's a bad idea to turn a book like this into a movie. I can see Robert Redford a lot easier as Gatsby- he seems to have that smile that Nick describes, along with the calm style that I picture Gatsby with. And maybe Leo seems wrong because I know him in younger roles, but I like him better when he is angry and emotional, and that's not how I read Gatsby. I didn't think he did a bad job, I think he had an impossible job. He did his own thing with it that I felt was pretty successful, especially in certain moments like after he threw the shirts down. But what was this frantic driving and losing his shit in the hotel room? Gatsby loses Daisy right there, but I didn't get the sense from reading that argument that Gatsby starts acting like some brute. And Myrtle? She was a bit extreme and her husband somehow beefed up on his way from the book. Not that they really followed the book, anyway.
I found myself thinking, "I thought Baz Luhrmann directed this." Oh, he did. Well, I got that from the party scenes, but not the rest of the movie. Moulin Rouge lent itself to that kind of spastic weird fun- did he go for this movie for the party scenes? I wasn't expecting it to be the best thing ever, and I hear that the Redford version isn't that great, either. Maybe that's because it feels impossible to recreate the feelings created by the book, which I would say are sadness, a little confusion, and a lot of wistfulness. How do you show that in a movie without overdoing it? And oh, by the way, as it's mentioned about 45 times in the book, Jordan is TAN. She's a golfer, for crying out loud.
If the book has an intentionally indescribable quality, how can you describe it? I wondered what people could have possibly made of this crazy movie without reading the book. Weird. But now that's out of my system and I can move on to another movie.
Riley is snoring under my desk after spending over two hours working on a Bento ball treat. I've never seen her so aggravated over a toy, and she really wore herself out. I'm going to let her nap a bit while I run to the store for some ingredients. I'll be cooking tonight, after all my chores are done. Might as well let her rest up before she has to chase and bark at the vacuum cleaner.
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Mystery of Easter Island
My favorite thing today is this:
It's on Netflix. If you don't have Netflix, you can watch the whole thing here:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2299677471/
I urge you to watch it. How neat. You learn a lot about Easter Island and will be full of information should you ever need to discuss it. The main point of this documentary, though, is about how the moai were moved from where they were carved to the coasts. Wait until you see how they know where they were carved. The whole thing is neat. But this documentary is about the experiment of how to move them. According to the oral history of the Rapa Nui people, the moai walked there. There have been many attempts to explain and recreate the method, but none of it has worked so far... until now. Watch this and you'll be cheering and trying to participate from the couch, like I was.
It's on Netflix. If you don't have Netflix, you can watch the whole thing here:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2299677471/
I urge you to watch it. How neat. You learn a lot about Easter Island and will be full of information should you ever need to discuss it. The main point of this documentary, though, is about how the moai were moved from where they were carved to the coasts. Wait until you see how they know where they were carved. The whole thing is neat. But this documentary is about the experiment of how to move them. According to the oral history of the Rapa Nui people, the moai walked there. There have been many attempts to explain and recreate the method, but none of it has worked so far... until now. Watch this and you'll be cheering and trying to participate from the couch, like I was.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
HSIOW
It became fall today.
The wind picked up, leaves ran across the road, and it got cold. It didn't smell like autumn yet, but it smelled like it was coming. I need a zippy outside instead of just inside now.
I met up with several coworkers at the Brewery tonight. I think it was productive: we vented, had a beer and good food, came up with ideas, and found a reasonable starting point.
Poor Riley got shortchanged tonight, but I took her to Petsmart, where she received love and cookies from her favorite Petsmart people. We brought home a new cat brush that works WAY better. I got the Kong brush for short hair cats, and though I just brushed her last night, it was crazy how much more hair I got. There are all kinds of hairball remedies, but apparently brushing is the most effective. I see why. And Solo loves being brushed anyway, but she LOVES the new brush. Score.
I'm going to bed early. I cannot believe it's only Tuesday.
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Sunday, September 15, 2013
Where did that weekend go?
Friday was just... kind of amazing. I got a chance to start proofreading at work on a larger scale than what I've been doing. That doesn't get me a different job yet, but it could. At the very least, I'll get experience doing what I went to school for.
There are so many things to do- when can I have a couple days off to accomplish them? Oh, this weekend? I was too busy. I watched Chariots of Fire, Mud, and Invictus. Ok, I watched half of Chariots of Fire. Aside from hearing the world famous Vangelis song, I'm not so sure why that movie is so awesome. Of course, I didn't get to the end because I had to stop it a couple times and go back when I fell asleep, and by that point, I didn't care anymore. Mud was pretty good. I read that Matthew McCon-a-hey (not gonna look that up right now) is taking on some more serious roles than his rom-com stuff and this certainly was different for him, but he still kind of ends up being the scoundrel you can't help but love. Besides, I have never seen a homeless guy with a body like that. Invictus was good, but I'm more interested now in learning about Nelson Mandela and would rather have watched a documentary about him than a story about this uplifting sports moment. That story is neat, but could have been summarized in a People magazine article.
I just traded in some movies at Blockbuster and tried to rent Pain & Gain, because I think Mark Wahlberg and The Rock are funny guys, and I can't wait to see them in a comedy together. Added bonus- this one is based on a true story. What could be better than that? I also rented Gatsby, but I'm not going to read that until I get through the book. I read it high school, but I don't remember it being funny. Maybe I was too busy scowling, I don't know. I found the book at T.J. Maxx a few weeks ago, marked down to $1. That is funny and sad, just like the book.
So I walked up to the counter with my two movies, and the guy looked at me sadly and said, "Oh, this isn't the movie." I had brought up a box that was simply marking the spot where Pain & Gain goes. Well, now I feel old and confused.
"Let me see if we got one in!" he says. "Nooo, sorry."
I went wandering back into the aisles to find another movie and was only in there for about 30 seconds or so before he came over to me.
"Just got one in!" he said, but I suspect that he walked over to the Pain & Gain section and found me the right box.
"I do believe you've got a successful career in customer service ahead of you, young man," said the old biddy in her head as she teetered out to the parking lot and backed into a planter without noticing and drove off into the afternoon.
But that's not all I did, Mom, don't worry. I also walked the dogs with Jody on Saturday morning. Then I pretended to clean and took a nap instead before it was time to drive out to Cabela's. For those who don't know what Cabela's is, it's a huge store for hunting and fishing where the greeter mans the gun check station. This was NRA-Waterfowl Weekend, which included taxidermy exhibits and a duck call competition, but I was there for this:
"Cabela’s continues its free self-defense and personal protection seminar series this Saturday at 1 p.m. with the 90-minute ASAP (APEX Stay Alive Program) class."
Well, not exactly. It was more like 90 minutes of fear mongering with a few helpful tidbits thrown in to try to lure us into signing up for the full day version. I did learn some helpful information about body language to quickly identify someone who's about to start some shit. We were encouraged to throw our purse or wallet behind the person mugging us, so that we could then turn and run, but we were also shown the disarming technique we could learn in the full day class. Didn't get to try it out- that's for the paying customers, but I have been trying to practice it at home. What I have learned is that I can't do it without making sound effects.
I think I'll go to someone else for the paid version, because this guy- while he did have the credentials- seemed a little too excited about shooting an intruder. He told us that it was perfectly ok to keep a loaded gun by your bed- even if you have kids. I suspect he doesn't have any. I also saw no wedding ring. Can't imagine why.
Saturday night, I met Jenea for Quiznos (And no, they did not have the steakhouse beef dip, Tracy. Unacceptable.) and then we headed to her favorite bar. This morning, Solo yowled in my ear and walked across my pillow and my body until I fed her, so I didn't have any trouble meeting up with John for breakfast on time. After a carb overload, we walked through the farmer's market and I got some potatoes, cucumber, and heirloom and cherry tomatoes. We got to sample some white nectarine and miracle aloe lotion before we headed to Duds n Suds. I haven't been near my laundry room since someone put either orange lipstick or crayon in the dryer. I'm going to give it time to get all over someone else's clothes before I try that again, so I had a bit of a backlog. I'm going to have to get him out with Jenea and I sometime, because she talks like a trucker, and he is a trucker, so that'll be fun.
I just made dinner and realized that I never make dinner because it makes the kitchen a mess and now I have to go clean it. I had the organic mac & cheese (healthiest version possible) with a little bit of ham steak, Brussels sprouts, and a handful or two of cherry tomatoes. My living room is mostly picked up, my sheets are clean, my laundry is put away, Riley has been taken on a long walk, my recycle has been emptied, and my toes are waiting to be painted in front of a Ted talk. I would finish my first crochet square, but I'm not sure how. Looks like I need to contact my crochet people for Round 2.
Ahh, Monday. Here we go.
There are so many things to do- when can I have a couple days off to accomplish them? Oh, this weekend? I was too busy. I watched Chariots of Fire, Mud, and Invictus. Ok, I watched half of Chariots of Fire. Aside from hearing the world famous Vangelis song, I'm not so sure why that movie is so awesome. Of course, I didn't get to the end because I had to stop it a couple times and go back when I fell asleep, and by that point, I didn't care anymore. Mud was pretty good. I read that Matthew McCon-a-hey (not gonna look that up right now) is taking on some more serious roles than his rom-com stuff and this certainly was different for him, but he still kind of ends up being the scoundrel you can't help but love. Besides, I have never seen a homeless guy with a body like that. Invictus was good, but I'm more interested now in learning about Nelson Mandela and would rather have watched a documentary about him than a story about this uplifting sports moment. That story is neat, but could have been summarized in a People magazine article.
I just traded in some movies at Blockbuster and tried to rent Pain & Gain, because I think Mark Wahlberg and The Rock are funny guys, and I can't wait to see them in a comedy together. Added bonus- this one is based on a true story. What could be better than that? I also rented Gatsby, but I'm not going to read that until I get through the book. I read it high school, but I don't remember it being funny. Maybe I was too busy scowling, I don't know. I found the book at T.J. Maxx a few weeks ago, marked down to $1. That is funny and sad, just like the book.
So I walked up to the counter with my two movies, and the guy looked at me sadly and said, "Oh, this isn't the movie." I had brought up a box that was simply marking the spot where Pain & Gain goes. Well, now I feel old and confused.
"Let me see if we got one in!" he says. "Nooo, sorry."
I went wandering back into the aisles to find another movie and was only in there for about 30 seconds or so before he came over to me.
"Just got one in!" he said, but I suspect that he walked over to the Pain & Gain section and found me the right box.
"I do believe you've got a successful career in customer service ahead of you, young man," said the old biddy in her head as she teetered out to the parking lot and backed into a planter without noticing and drove off into the afternoon.
But that's not all I did, Mom, don't worry. I also walked the dogs with Jody on Saturday morning. Then I pretended to clean and took a nap instead before it was time to drive out to Cabela's. For those who don't know what Cabela's is, it's a huge store for hunting and fishing where the greeter mans the gun check station. This was NRA-Waterfowl Weekend, which included taxidermy exhibits and a duck call competition, but I was there for this:
"Cabela’s continues its free self-defense and personal protection seminar series this Saturday at 1 p.m. with the 90-minute ASAP (APEX Stay Alive Program) class."
Well, not exactly. It was more like 90 minutes of fear mongering with a few helpful tidbits thrown in to try to lure us into signing up for the full day version. I did learn some helpful information about body language to quickly identify someone who's about to start some shit. We were encouraged to throw our purse or wallet behind the person mugging us, so that we could then turn and run, but we were also shown the disarming technique we could learn in the full day class. Didn't get to try it out- that's for the paying customers, but I have been trying to practice it at home. What I have learned is that I can't do it without making sound effects.
I think I'll go to someone else for the paid version, because this guy- while he did have the credentials- seemed a little too excited about shooting an intruder. He told us that it was perfectly ok to keep a loaded gun by your bed- even if you have kids. I suspect he doesn't have any. I also saw no wedding ring. Can't imagine why.
Saturday night, I met Jenea for Quiznos (And no, they did not have the steakhouse beef dip, Tracy. Unacceptable.) and then we headed to her favorite bar. This morning, Solo yowled in my ear and walked across my pillow and my body until I fed her, so I didn't have any trouble meeting up with John for breakfast on time. After a carb overload, we walked through the farmer's market and I got some potatoes, cucumber, and heirloom and cherry tomatoes. We got to sample some white nectarine and miracle aloe lotion before we headed to Duds n Suds. I haven't been near my laundry room since someone put either orange lipstick or crayon in the dryer. I'm going to give it time to get all over someone else's clothes before I try that again, so I had a bit of a backlog. I'm going to have to get him out with Jenea and I sometime, because she talks like a trucker, and he is a trucker, so that'll be fun.
I just made dinner and realized that I never make dinner because it makes the kitchen a mess and now I have to go clean it. I had the organic mac & cheese (healthiest version possible) with a little bit of ham steak, Brussels sprouts, and a handful or two of cherry tomatoes. My living room is mostly picked up, my sheets are clean, my laundry is put away, Riley has been taken on a long walk, my recycle has been emptied, and my toes are waiting to be painted in front of a Ted talk. I would finish my first crochet square, but I'm not sure how. Looks like I need to contact my crochet people for Round 2.
Ahh, Monday. Here we go.
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