The house we bought is across the street from the McDaniel Slough. The houses across the street have the slough in their backyard. We like the idea of the slough and the restored wetlands and are really glad that these public lands are being used so wisely. I have to admit we're also glad that the slough is not in our backyard. It's not so much the threat of rising tides, but the wildlife that these beautiful places attract. We were hoping to have fewer encounters with wildlife in our new house than we did in places like Port Townsend and Grass Valley. Yes, we absolutely love seeing bobcats and coyotes, raccoons and skunks, but we also love giving them the space they need to flourish and thrive. We humans have taken up so much of their habitat, it makes it harder and harder for our paths not to cross.
So, it was a bit of a surprise to have two raccoons and a skunk come into our yard Thursday night. There was quite a bit of snarling and screeching, and it only ended after the skunk sprayed. Luckily, it must have been a young skunk because the unbelievably horrible smell had dissipated by morning. But here we are again rubbing shoulders with wild critters.
We've been seeing lots of Cedar Waxwings in our yard, and even a Cooper's Hawk perched in the Cypress that's just outside the fence out back. There are lots of Barn Swallows swooping and diving everywhere and building nests under the eaves at our neighbor's house. A Peregrine Falcon did two flybys for us, and the vultures fly so close we could probably give them names and recognize them individually by sight (hah, just kidding!).
Interestingly one of the best, most wonderful surprises of the new house is the stunning view looking east. We have so much sky to look at, it is simply the best gift of all. When that fog is gone, we can see for miles and there is always something wonderful to catch our eyes, like this first full moon view.
This is our 1500th post. Quite a milestone for us to have kept with the blog for so long over all these years. I'm pretty sure that there were a few earlier posts pre-2005 that somehow got lost during some blogger transition. I remember posting something on election day in 2004, hoping that George W wouldn't be re-elected. Ah well, we all know how that turned out.
We've been settling in at the new house and enjoying it very much. We're looking forward to the window replacements, which is supposed to happen next Tuesday. We'll take before and after photos to share here, so you can see the difference.
It was intensely foggy the first several days we were here, so staying inside and putting stuff away was an easy task without too much distractions of sunlight and blue sky and clouds. But all that changed on Wednesday and Thursday. Beautiful skies in every direction. We could hardly stay inside, so we didn't!
We did get out to the marsh about an hour before sunset Wednesday evening. It was lovely out there, but still no dabbling or diving ducks. We're hoping something tragic isn't unfolding before our eyes, but the dearth of birds is quite unsettling. I made a short video clip of this heron hunting. We loved the light rippling on the dry grasses and on the Great Blue Heron's body. Sure is great to have this sunlight. We appreciated every minute of it. I tried to embed the video but the address youtube provided did not work, no matter how many times I copied and pasted it. It's just a 14 second video, if you're interested.
One last bit of news, the previous owners of the house left a hummingbird feeder hanging by the dining room sliding door. I just couldn't bear to let it go empty and have hungry hummers looking in at us while we were feasting on our meals. So, I'm feeding hummingbirds again, after more than a year of no bird feeding. At least we know that there won't be any bears coming to knock it down here. At least, we hope not!
PS: Much gratitude to Loren for emailing me to let me know I had inadvertently called this heron an egret. Getting old is so much fun! Yikes.
All of our earthly possessions have been moved into the new house. We have a two-car garage and more than half that space is taken up with Roger's tools and the boxes and boxes of stuff we never unpacked for the year we were in the rental. We've learned how to live without all of it. I even fantasized about not missing any of it. But, when we unpacked our art, our hearts soared and our eyes filled with tears. All the beauty we had not seen for so long. I had even forgotten about some of the pictures we hang on our walls. Seeing the photo of the Himalayas taken by a friend of Roger's in the 1970s took my breath away. This photo of Abbie Hoffman and Johanna Lawrenson, Timothy Leary, and Gregory Corso is a favorite of mine from 1982. My ex-husband took this at the Kerouac Conference. I couldn't believe I had forgotten it, but I had.
We placed all of the art all around the house just to remember and dream about where to hang it. It is like waking from a deep sleep, seeing all this again. Ah, we begin to become ourselves surrounded by the the pieces of life we have collected over the years. We have moved from the ascetic life to the aesthetic life.
We are getting to know this house after only two days here. Our first major realization is that we're going to replace every window that faces west, which is almost all of them. The previous owners preferred a sallow, bronze-tinted window for privacy. I find it utterly insane. I am a natural light window gazer, as you all know. This lighting is ridiculous. It cuts whatever available light is out there, which isn't much in this foggy northern clime.
When I open the sliding door to the deck, I see what the real light outside looks like. I do this often. It's not exactly bright, but it is much lighter than what seeps in through the tinted glass. We're happy that two large windows that face east are not so weirdly tinted, so I go into those rooms to give my eyes the light they seek. We are looking forward to making this change as soon as possible. I can hardly wait to see what it's going to look like. We may not even need skylights if the change is as grand as we think it could be. We'll keep you posted.
On a sadder note, Roger and I want to bid a farewell to our old friend Roland. We wrote about him last May. He was 94 years old and still very much in love with the far north coast of the Pacific. We loved talking with him when we visited with my mom in southern California. He lived in the assisted living facility there. Roland breathed his last breath Sunday morning, August 23rd. I know he knows we will say a farewell for him to the mountains and ocean that he so loved.
We're in the final phases of packing up and moving to our new house. The movers are coming on Friday. One of our kind neighbors let us use her pickup truck to take several small loads over these past few days. It's all happening pretty smoothly, except for you know who, our internet and telephone service provider who can't seem to get our new service order at the new house worked out. We have been given several different order numbers with several different turn on dates: 8/24 (cancelled by them); 8/26 (cancelled by them); 8/27 (cancelled by us).
We finally decided to go with their competition here and have telephone and internet service with a cable tv service provider. We had enough with the insanity and incompetence. How much can we endure while we're trying to move? We did get them to restore our service to the rental for this final week we are here. That was done Monday morning. A technician arrived at noon to do a hookup, which we did not need. He said he had called ahead. Oh really? Where did he call, we wondered. He told us the number and we had a good laugh. He called our old number in Grass Valley that we gave up more than 14 months ago. This is what we've been putting up with. But no more. We stopped. We said, ENOUGH. Whew.
The skies have been smoky again. I thought I should look through our windows of lunacy to see what tricks it could do with the crazy orange sun. It made me laugh out loud. I was so happy about that. Laughing makes everything just a little bit better.
Moving is a stressful thing. We should know. We've done it many, many times these past twelve years. It's not the packing as much as it's the communicating with everyone about when to shut off services in one place and turn them on in another. For most utilities, it takes a simple phone call, or an email, or a visit to the city office. But for A*T it takes several phone calls, online chats, and emails, and STILL they get it completely and utterly wrong. C'mon folks, it's just a request to turn off the landline and dsl service at one house and turn it on at another. How difficult can that be? Turns out, it is more than just difficult, it is "bang your head against the wall" impossible. As of this writing, we are not absolutely certain they won't try to turn on our service at the new address on Friday August 14th, while the sellers are still living there. We got an email yesterday that was all cheerful and excited with the subject line: Your U-verse installation date is almost here.
No, no, no it's not. We wanted it to be installed on August 21st, the day we are moving in, but since they got it wrong, they can't turn it on until August 24th. Oh okay, just three days without our landline or internet at our new house. Thank you A*T for your incredible attention to detail. But we're still not sure about the 14th, and we haven't received a cheerful confirmation about the 24th either. This after hours and hours on the phone with support staff. Ah, this what stress is all about.
But on the very bright side, I did have a lovely correspondence with Les Cowley at Atmospheric Optics. I had sent him the photos of the moon's multiple reflections in the window and asked him if he could explain the optics of it. He wrote back and said he would like to use the photos on his site to talk about how people are deceived by these images, thinking they are mirages or things other than reflections in multiple panes of glass. So, some time in the future we'll be getting our explanation. He liked our whimsical window of many lunacies. He was glad that I didn't think they were any more than that. It surprised us to know that people think they could be anything else. Ah well. The above photo was taken during a smoky morning here the other day. I tried and tried, but could not capture the color of the sun except in its reflection on our window. And, just to be absolutely clear, I did not at any time think there were two suns. LOL!
We've been going to the marsh lately expecting to see lots and lots of birds, but weirdly there are very few to be found. This has been going on for months. I checked photos from last year, and there were definitely more birds and more species to be seen here. Seriously, there are only a few Great Egrets, a few geese, and some Willets. We're starting to get worried, especially since most of the lakes and ponds are completely empty even when we're seeing fish jumping. Not a diver or dabbling duck to be found anywhere. Not a single grebe either. No pelicans. How can this be? We have no idea, but we are hoping that some crazy new migration pattern is happening and everyone is going to show up at once. We really don't want this to be a look at the future.
While we were looking around hoping to see some birds, we came across this wonderful post and information sign that has some high water predictions for the future. Roger is standing next to the post, and the colors mark where high water may be--given the rising tides and a 100-year flood.
A close-up of the key tells the story. The blue marker on the pole represents a 10.7 foot (3.25 meters) high water mark, if we had a 100-year flood this year. That marker is just above Roger's ankle, so I think we'd be okay.
The map doesn't show where in Arcata the water would rise given a 100 year flood 35 years from now, with the tide level already higher by predicted .34 meter rise in sea level. That would be marked in yellow, but the prediction is a 11.7 foot (3.58 meters) high water mark in the year 2050.
The scariest prediction is the orange 100-year flood level in the year 2100, with a 13.9 foot (4.24 meters) high water mark and a predicted 1.0 meter rise in sea level. Uh-oh. See that red arrow I put on the map. That's where the house we're moving into in a few days is located. Yes, we would be flooded, but only if we lived to be 150 years old. Good thing that is not going to happen.
What's interesting about these rising sea levels and storm surge predictions is that they have nothing to do with the other crazy threat on this part of the north coast, the Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake and subsequent tsunami. We'll be living just outside the tsunami zone, if the tsunami behaves exactly as the science predicts. Hah! The future looks like one wild ride here on earth. Wheee!
Roger turns 73 years old today. It seems crazy that he's been on the planet for 73 rotations around the sun, but he has. He received two birthday cards in the mail from old friends, and they both had grand messages. One said, "You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely," (a quote of Ogden Nash). The other had a lovely photo of redwoods with these words, "Birthdays always remind me of the giant redwoods on the West Coast. The way they stand tall and proud, year after year, century after century. Their majestic beauty never fails to take my breath away." Then, inside it says, "Thank you for planting them." Hah! Both cards capture the humor and pleasure of growing old and laughing all the way. That's the way Roger does it, with great joy and huge laughter.
We had an early, surprising birthday present on our neighborhood walk on Sunday. We usually head out around 10:00 am for our first walk of the day, but it was foggy and not particularly inviting. So we headed out a bit later after lunch. We were pretty close to this old cow pasture, the first one we photographed shortly after we moved here last year. There was a man standing nearby. He had a document and a pen and was busily looking around and measuring stuff. When we walked past him, he looked up and said, "Are you the Dharma Bums?" What? Did he really just ask us if we are the Dharma Bums, or were we imagining such a crazy question? We said, "Did you just ask us if we're The Dharma Bums? What?" He said, "Yes, I've been reading your blog for years. Congratulations on buying that house." Needless to say we were absolutely blown away. We would have never guessed in a million years that someone would actually read our blog and recognize us out in the real world. It was great and funny and a wonderful crazy birthday present for Roger.
So, Steve (the guy in the street) noticed I didn't have a camera with me. I told him that the skies were just not inviting the way they were yesterday (Saturday). I said, "Did you see the photo of the smoky crepuscular rays? They were amazing." He said he hadn't seen it. Then I remembered that I had actually posted it on Facebook and not here on the blog. I told Steve that I would post the above photo here for him. So, Steve, here it is. Thank you for recognizing us and saying hello!
It has been crazy foggy and smoky here. The skies are weirder than ever. The above photo is the sky about an hour before sunset. And the photo below is our car sprinkled with ash, and the fires aren't even that close by.
It's August in California, and it's Roger's 73rd birthday, and we're laughing at how crazy it all is everywhere all the time.


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Mostly cloudy, with a low around 46. North northwest wind 5 to 7 mph becoming calm in the evening.
Sunny, with a high near 64. Calm wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the morning.
Partly cloudy, with a low around 42. North northwest wind 5 to 10 mph becoming light in the evening.
A 20 percent chance of showers before 11am. Mostly cloudy, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 58. Calm wind becoming west 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon.
Mostly clear, with a low around 38. Northwest wind 5 to 9 mph becoming calm in the evening.
A slight chance of showers. Mostly sunny, with a high near 63.


text:
Chile: What Would It Take to Bring Down Piñera and His Regime?
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Mexico Hosts 4th IMT Panamerican Marxist School
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CMI - Chile
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Chile is living through a historic mobilization of a level not seen since the protests that toppled the dictator Pinochet.
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Recent days have fallen like an avalanche on the political ambitions of Governor Ricardo Rosselló. The power of the working class has brought Mr. Ricky to his knees.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Electronic Case Management Records System (CMRS): Goldbelt Security, LLC supports the City of Anchorage, Alaska through the Anchorage Safety Patrol (ASP) which is a long-term Program / Service that was established in 1996 to meet the designated requirements of Alaskan Statute 47.37.030 which establishes a secure enhanced detoxification and treatment center for persons involuntarily detained because they are likely to inflict physical harm to self or others. To enhance the program, we developed an electronic Case Management Records System (CMRS) that tracks every inductee from the time of pickup to release and all treatment received/administered while on the premise. Our CMRS is maintained as a permanent record and is now used by the Municipality of Anchorage as a key planning indicator to develop a long-term health care plan of action for repeat offenders.


text:
Fair winds for UK aerodynamics and fluid mechanics research
Willetts announces £13 million funding for National Wind Tunnel Facility
A new National Wind Tunnel Facility (NWTF) that will keep the UK at the forefront of aerodynamic and fluid mechanics research was announced today by David Willetts, Minister for Science and Universities, as he toured the Honda wind tunnel facilities at Imperial College London.
The total funding for the Facility is £13.3 million, with £10.7 million coming from The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and £2.6 million from the UK Aerodynamics Centre.
The National Wind Tunnel Facility will include seven wind tunnels spread across universities throughout the UK. For maximum UK benefit in the future, the UK requires a balance of academic and industrially-oriented facilities. To meet this need, EPSRC and the UK Aerodynamics Centre are working together to co-fund a portfolio of distributed, but co-ordinated, facilities so their usage can be optimised.
The NWTF will support research addressing problems in many sectors but with a primary focus on aerospace research, a key contributor to the UK's GDP.
Mr Willetts said: "This new investment will support research that is vital to the UK economy, including developing the next generation of fuel efficient heavy goods vehicles. This will create huge energy savings to businesses, as well as bringing environmental benefits. It is pioneering work that will help the UK get ahead in the global race."
David Delpy, EPSRC's Chief Executive said: "This new National Facility builds on our previous investments in Aerodynamics and Fluid Dynamics related research and PhD training across the institutions involved. These represent a total research portfolio of over £37 million."
The facilities will be available for use by researchers and industry and will be able to simulate a wide variety of environments to build understanding of both low and high speed conditions.
The facilities will be complementary in terms of the types of experiment they will support. For instance, while Cranfield University will support high-quality force measurements, Imperial College and Southampton will provide expertise in new techniques such as tomographic reconstruction of Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) data.
EPSRC has also recently announced funding for Centres for Doctoral Training in the areas of Fluid Dynamics, Fluid Mechanics and Aerodynamics:
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Fluid Dynamics across Scales - based at Imperial College London
- EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Gas Turbine Aerodynamics - based at the University of Cambridge
Behrooz Barzegar, Head of Flight Physics Integration, Policy and Integration, Airbus UK said: "Aerodynamics has historically been a core strength and a cutting edge capability in the UK. It is great to see such investments protecting and nurturing this capability. My congratulations to the UK Aerodynamics Centre and EPSRC for such foresight. Such initiatives are key to the architectural development of our aircraft towards cleaner and more accessible air transportation for our community."
Professor Dame Ann Dowling, Chair of the UK Aerodynamics Council and Head of the Department of Engineering at the University of Cambridge said: "I welcome this investment by EPSRC and the UK Aerodynamics Centre in a National Wind Tunnel Facility. It will give researchers and industry access to the world-class facilities and instrumentation vital for the development of future quiet, ultra-efficient aircraft."
Related Staff Member
Professor Bharathram Ganapathisubramani PhD
Professor Bharathram Ganapathisubramani is Professor within Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Southampton.
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Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
The Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) is the UK's main agency for funding research in engineering and the physical sciences. EPSRC invests around £800 million a year in research and postgraduate training, to help the nation handle the next generation of technological change. The areas covered range from information technology to structural engineering, and mathematics to materials science. This research forms the basis for future economic development in the UK and improvements for everyone's health, lifestyle and culture. EPSRC works alongside other Research Councils with responsibility for other areas of research. The Research Councils work collectively on issues of common concern via Research Councils UK. www.epsrc.ac.uk
The UK Aerodynamics Centre
The UK Aerodynamics Centre (UKAC) is part of a significant seven-year investment programme into the UK Aerospace Sector by Government and industry representatives. Focusing on aerodynamics as one of the UK's most prestigious areas of industrial expertise, UKAC has developed and guided the national strategy for the sector, which includes the allocation of major industrial research funds.
During the course of 2014 UKAC will be integrated with the newly-formed Aerospace Technology Institute, where it will continue its work to protect, sustain and grow the UK aerospace industry in collaboration with the wider community.
www.ukaerodynamics.co.uk
EPSRC Press Office: e-mail: pressoffice@epsrc.ac.uk, or telephone 01793 444404
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text:
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Data;
using System.IO;
using AddressesClassifier.Models;

namespace AddressesClassifier.Interfaces
{
    /// <summary>
    /// Чтение файла классификатора адресов
    /// </summary>
    public interface IReadFileClassifier
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по региону
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="code">Код региона</param>
        /// <exception cref="FileNotFoundException"></exception>
        /// <returns></returns>
        DataTable ReadRegion(string code);
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по всем регионам
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        DataTable ReadAllRegions();
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по улицам региона
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="code">Код региона</param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        DataTable ReadStreetsByRegion(string code);
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по улицам
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        DataTable ReadAllStreets();
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение наименований регионов и их кодов
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        DataTable ReadBaseInfo();
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по региону
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="code"></param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        IEnumerable<Region> ReadRegionModel(string code);
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по всем регионам
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        IEnumerable<Region> ReadAllRegionsModel();
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по улицам региона
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="code">Код региона</param>
        /// <returns></returns>
        IEnumerable<Street> ReadStreetsByRegionModel(string code);
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение данных по улицам
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        IEnumerable<Street> ReadAllStreetsModel();
        /// <summary>
        /// Чтение наименований регионов и их кодов
        /// </summary>
        /// <returns></returns>
        IEnumerable<Territory> ReadBaseInfoModel();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


The study examined the interaction between two of the likeliest candidates for cleanup duty – the loblolly pine and soil-dwelling, methane-eating bacteria.
The practice of planting chemically resilient trees and plants in contaminated sites to absorb harmful chemicals from the soil, known as phytoremediation, is highly appealing both to environmental cleanup agencies and to the communities near the hazardous sites. Phytoremediation is still in its infancy but has the potential to be relatively safe, sustainable and efficient – and the trees are aesthetically pleasing as well.
Microbes in the soil also play a key role: They help plants not only to absorb nutrients through their roots but also to soak up contaminants. However, the interaction between plants and microbes is not necessarily symbiotic, according to the study, which appeared recently in the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology.
Ms. Pacheco's research focused on methanotrophs, bacteria that consume methane in soils and in the process can also consume and break down a range of harmful organic compounds that may be present, such as the carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs, and trichloroethylenes, or TCEs.
However, not all trees work equally well with all kinds of microbes, and knowing how the different plant species affect the bacteria may be the key to effective and efficient cleanup, Ms. Pacheco said.
In her study, she focused on one tree species, the loblolly pine, a prime candidate for phytoremediation at a number of Superfund sites, particularly in the southeastern United States.
To answer this question, Ms. Pacheco isolated several different species of methanotrophic bacteria, fed them methane and added monoterpenes as well as TCEs, and then measured the bacteria's response to the monoterpenes by observing how oxygen levels in the samples changed over time. She found that while some species of the bacteria thrived when the pine chemical was added, the chemical appeared to be toxic to others. That, she said, suggests environmental engineers will need to choose both plants and microbes carefully when planning phytoremediation-based cleanup.
Scientists also want to address what happens to the contaminants after they've passed through the microbe-plant system.
The study provides environmental engineers with more of the information they'll need to design effective cleanup programs, said Robin Brigmon, principal engineer in the Environmental Biotechnology section of the Savannah River National Laboratory.
"Information like this on the terpene activity will really help – perhaps give us another monitoring device to look at environmental restoration," he said.
Furthermore, understanding the interactions between methanotrophic bacteria, the root systems of plants and chemicals in the soil has larger implications, Mr. Brigmon added.


text:
Solutions for a Healthier World and Filiberto's Team Up to Help Save Patients
Dec 20, 2017 | Business
Phoenix, AZ, December 20, 2017 –(PR.com)– Arizona based 501(c)(3) brings innovative stem cell therapies and treatments for autoimmune diseases to those unable to afford them.
Solutions for a Healthier World (www.solutionsfound.org) has teamed with Filiberto's Restaurants in Arizona to raise money for patients in need. The non-profit public charity and restaurant chain are conducting a three-month campaign to help pay for stem cell treatments for people with autoimmune diseases.
From now through February 28, visitors to Filiberto's Restaurants can roundup their bill for charity as part of the fundraising effort. Visitors can also donate $1 or more and receive an icon with their name to display in the restaurant.
"We're pleased to partner with Filiberto's to raise money for patients in need," Executive Director Lynn Behlendorf said. "They have a proven track record of success with similar campaigns and are well-known for their philanthropy. The money raised will be used to fund stem cell treatments for people like Claudia Rubies, a 25-year-old who has been suffering from lupus nephritis for twelve years."
"We feel fortunate to be able to help people with devastating diseases find new hope with this innovative medical treatment," Filimex Founder Juan Tenorio added. "It gives hope to people when they have no other course of treatment that is effective."
Solutions for a Healthier World has access to reknown medical practitioners in the stem cell industry. Stem cell therapy is a form of regenerative medicine and these medical professionals have already relieved the suffering of more than four thousand people worldwide.
For more information or to donate, visit any Filiberto's Restaurant in Arizona or go to www.solutionsfound.org.
Solutions for a Healthier World, Inc.
Lynn Behlendorf
www.solutionsfound.org
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Our Response to Recent Data Security Breach ⟶
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Learn about what sets Hospice of the Piedmont apart.
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We are passionate about the people who help us deliver care across central and northern Virginia. Whether you're interested in joining us as a coworker or as a volunteer, you've come to the right place.
Learn more about current employment opportunities and benefits or how you can give back to our community's most vulnerable neighbors with your work as a volunteer.
To apply for and view current job openings, please click here.
It takes world-class people to deliver world-class care. We are passionate about hiring the most dedicated, compassionate caregivers and administrators to live out our mission at Hospice of the Piedmont. As part of our commitment to our staff and volunteers, we're committed to offering:
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If you're passionate about providing care and want to use your expertise to make a meaningful difference in the lives of our community members, we invite you to join our staff by contacting us at 434-817-6908 or email hr@hopva.org.
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If you're interested in sharing the invaluable gift of time and care, we invite you to learn more about volunteering at Hospice of the Piedmont. Contact us at 434-817-6900 or volunteers@hopva.org or download our Hospice of the Piedmont volunteer application. Once you have downloaded and completed the application, you may either email it to volunteers@hopva.org or mail it to: Hospice of the Piedmont, Attn: Volunteer Department, 675 Peter Jefferson Parkway, Suite 300, Charlottesville, VA 22911.
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Chaux-Champagny ist eine Gemeinde im französischen Département Jura in der Region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

Geographie
Chaux-Champagny liegt auf , südlich von Salins-les-Bains und etwa 36 Kilometer nordöstlich der Stadt Lons-le-Saunier (Luftlinie). Die Doppelgemeinde erstreckt sich im Jura, im äußersten Norden des Plateau Lédonien (erstes Juraplateau), am oberen westlichen Hang des Erosionstals der Furieuse.

Die Fläche des  km² großen Gemeindegebiets umfasst einen Abschnitt des französischen Juras. Der Hauptteil des Gebietes wird von der Hochfläche des Plateau Lédonien eingenommen, die durchschnittlich auf  liegt, gegen Süden hin leicht ansteigt und teils von Acker- und Wiesland, teils von Wald bestanden ist. Das Plateau besitzt keine oberirdischen Fließgewässer, weil das Niederschlagswasser im verkarsteten Untergrund versickert. Nach Süden erstreckt sich das Gemeindeareal mit einem schmalen Streifen in die ausgedehnte Waldung der Forêt des Moidons. Mit  wird auf einer bewaldeten Höhe, welche die nordöstliche Fortsetzung der Côte de l'Heute darstellt, die höchste Erhebung von Chaux-Champagny erreicht. Im Norden reicht der Gemeindeboden über den Hang von Champagny bis an den Flusslauf der Furieuse hinunter.

Die Gemeinde besteht aus mehreren Ortsteilen, Weiler und Einzelhöfen, nämlich:
Chaux () am Rand des Hochplateaus über dem Tal der Furieuse
Champagny () am westlichen Talhang der Furieuse
Malaton () auf dem Hochplateau

Nachbargemeinden von Chaux-Champagny sind Bracon und Salins-les-Bains im Norden, Pont-d'Héry im Osten, Valempoulières im Süden sowie Chilly-sur-Salins und Ivory im Westen.

Geschichte
Verschiedene Funde weisen darauf hin, dass das Gemeindegebiet von Chaux-Champagny bereits während der gallorömischen Zeit besiedelt war. Erstmals urkundlich erwähnt wird Champagny im 12. Jahrhundert. Der Ortsname geht auf den gallorömischen Geschlechtsnamen Campanius zurück und bedeutet so viel wie Landgut des Campanius (Campaniacum). Demgegenüber wird Chaux vom lateinischen Wort calvus (kahl) abgeleitet und bezeichnet unfruchtbares Land.

Im Mittelalter gehörten Chaux und Champagny zur Herrschaft Valempoulières. Zusammen mit der Franche-Comté gelangten beide Dörfer mit dem Frieden von Nimwegen 1678 an Frankreich. Im Jahr 1972 fusionierten Chaux-sur-Champagny und Champagny zur heutigen Doppelgemeinde Chaux-Champagny.

Bevölkerung

Mit  Einwohnern (Stand ) gehört Chaux-Champagny zu den kleinsten Gemeinden des Départements Jura. Nachdem die Einwohnerzahl in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts deutlich abgenommen hatte (1901 wurden noch 161 Personen gezählt), wurden seit Beginn der 1970er Jahre nur noch relativ geringe Schwankungen verzeichnet.

Wirtschaft und Infrastruktur
Chaux-Champagny war bis weit ins 20. Jahrhundert hinein ein vorwiegend durch die Landwirtschaft und die Forstwirtschaft geprägtes Dorf. Noch heute leben die Bewohner zur Hauptsache von der Tätigkeit im ersten Sektor. Außerhalb des primären Sektors gibt es nur wenige Arbeitsplätze im Dorf. Einige Erwerbstätige sind Wegpendler, die in den größeren Ortschaften der Umgebung ihrer Arbeit nachgehen.

Die Ortschaft liegt abseits der größeren Durchgangsstraßen, ist aber von der Hauptstraße D467, die von Salins-les-Bains nach Champagnole führt, leicht erreichbar. Weitere Straßenverbindungen bestehen mit Chilly-sur-Salins und Ivory.

Weblinks

Ort in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Ersterwähnung im 12. Jahrhundert

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


In a slow start to the week, US Treasury yields have drifted higher, helping support the USD while the NZD is mixed on the crosses.
With the US public holiday on Monday and a lack of key economic releases, it has been a fairly slow start to the week. The market has been focused on the heavy wave of US T-bill and Treasury bond issuance this week – the start of a permanent increase in supply, as the Fed gradually reduces the size of its balance sheet and the US fiscal deficit widens significantly from here.
With not much else going on, this saw US Treasury yields drift higher during the Asian trading session, up to a high of 2.925% last night, drifting back down to 2.89% just ahead of the 3-mth and 6-mth T-bill auction before drifting back up to the current 2.91%. Bid-cover for the 3-month auction wasn't great but it improved for the 6-mth auction, with signs of foreign central bank buying.
In economic news, Sweden's underlying CPI figure for January came in 0.2 percentage points lower than expected at 1.7%, dowsing expectations for a rate hike anytime soon and making SEK the weakest of the major currencies, down 1% overnight and 1.3% lower since this time yesterday. The lack of inflation for an economy that has been traveling pretty well, supported by a cheap real exchange rate, negative interest rates, quantitative easing and a booming housing market is telling. It supports the view that some global disinflationary impulse is at work, something that applies when we look at a lot of other countries. It might well have been coincidental, but the timing of that release matched the peak in US 10-year yields overnight and German bund yields. The data certainly give some food for thought about the inflation outlook ahead for other countries.
In the day ahead, there'll be some focus on Australia wage data, with some pick-up required to awake the RBA from its neutral policy stance.
Markit PMIs for the US and euro area are expected to remain strong, indicative of the strong global growth pulse. The Fed's Harker (non-voter) speaks while the BoE's top brass, including Governor Carney speak in London tonight.


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Colorado: Attitudes and Opinions of Recreational Target Shooters Being Sought
The Northern Front Range Partnership has developed a survey on its website to gather information about attitudes, opinions and shooter interests along Colorado's Front Range. The Partnership is the US Forest Service (USFS), Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the counties of Boulder, Clear Creek, Gilpin and Larimer. The purpose of the Partnership is to develop "a landscape-level, multi-jurisdictional strategy to provide safe, responsible and accessible recreational sport shooting opportunities while addressing conflicts near residential areas and with other recreational users across the northern Colorado Front Range."
Last year, the NRA alerted our Colorado members that the USFS is in the process of amending the management plan for the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests (ARNF) to address recreational shooting along the Front Range.
Based on comments the USFS received to its initial announcement, including the letter sent by the NRA and 29 other national sportsmen's organizations, the USFS proposed a direction for managing recreational shooting guided by the four components listed below and invited public comment. The NRA submitted comments.
(1) Adding Forest Plan goals and objectives for recreational sport shooting.
(2) Identifying lands as suitable for dispersed recreational sport shooting.
(3) Identifying lands as not suitable for dispersed recreational sport shooting for safety reasons.
(4) Identifying sites that are suitable as designated shooting areas.
Details about the proposed direction can be found at www.fs.usda.gov/goto/arp/recshootingmgt, along with a map that shows which lands the USFS believes are suitable for recreational shooting, which lands are not suitable, and which are being proposed as designated shooting areas.
Completing the survey is the next step in seeking public comment. The NRA urges you to take the opportunity to answer and submit the survey as soon as possible to ensure your voice is heard. It is critical to the future of recreational shooting in the ARNF that shooters take the time and make the effort to engage in this planning process. Shooters and hunters who shoot on the ARNF are in the best position to chart the future of recreational shooting on over 1.3 million acres of forest lands.
Colorado Recreational Shooting
Ex-NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg Taking Aim at Self-Defense Bill in Mississippi Legislature
Arizona: Draft Forest Plan for the Tonto National Forest Addresses both Recreational Shooting and Hunting
Bloomberg Fumbles Facts, Laws in Gun-Control Policy Rollout
Member Spotlight: Meet the Woman Who Took on Beto O'Rourke
Caldara: I Want to Give You one of My Guns, Really (click for details)
In Some States, GOP Sees the Recall as Its Way Back to Power


Newly-launched mutual One Family plans to offer a mortgage which could help older homeowners use their equity to get descendants on the housing ladder.
It said the new-style mortgage should be unveiled in the next three months.
Today's 60-somethings, who paid an average of £12,704 for their first home in 1976, will have seen their investment rise 20-fold in value this year reaching £292,000 with an annual growth rate of 8%, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The lender is ramping up its plans to lead innovation in the equity release market after its launch of two lifetime products in early May.
The initial range included an interest roll-up product and a roll-up voluntary payment option, which allows the customer to repay 10% of the initial loan each year, without incurring an early repayment charge (ERC).
The fixed interest roll-up product starts from 4.98% with variable interest rates offered from 2.96%, while the roll-up voluntary payment option will attract fixed interest rates from 5.45% or variable interest rates from 3.44%.
The range also offers a down-sizing guarantee, fixed-term early repayment charges and the ability to stop paying interest and switch to one of OneFamily's other products.
OneFamily also confirmed plans to launch a fixed and a variable rate product linked to the Consumer Price Index.


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ACCEPTED

#### According to
The Catalogue of Life, 3rd January 2011

#### Published in
Lichenologist 40: 297 (2008)

#### Original name
Lecidea aleutica Degel.

### Remarks
null


Yet another question: How do we reply to an answer? For instance, on the planning thread, where there are so many comments, I may want to respond to a particular person's plan rather than to comment on the whole thread. I can see that other people have figured it out, but I'm stumped.
Denise, there is a light gray "add new comment" button at the bottom right of every answer. If you click it, your comment is nested under that answer.
Thank you! That definitely helps. Now if you could just do something like that for the main forum, too. I know how easy it is to clutter up a website, but perhaps it wouldn't be too much to put a small link at the top (next to the "all questions" link) for an "all answers" feed?
Oh, and here's one more detail for your webmaster to consider: It would be handy to have a link in the forum sidebar (or somewhere *easier to find* than on the "about" page) so readers can go back to the Moebius Noodles home page. Right now, I can go from there to here, but it's a one-way trip -- especially if I followed an email link to get here, so I can't use my browser's Back button.
The easiest way for me to keep up with *anything* is for it to come to my email or rss reader, because those tend to be the only things I check more than once a day. Is there any way to subscribe to a feed that contains all the questions AND answers for the whole Moebius Noodles forum? I see how to subscribe to questions only, or how to subscribe to the answers for a single, particular question. But I wish I could access *everything* all in one place.


To award the hosting of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2009 to Sweden.
Finally, the UEFA Executive Committee decided to postpone the decision on the appointment of the hosts for the UEFA European Football Championship 2012 until April 2007 to give the bidding associations more time for the fine-tuning of their bids.
Tomorrow, the UEFA Executive Committee will continue its meeting with a number of other topics.


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SE-JFJ
Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ESSA)
Parked at stand 69, Terminal 2 ESSA
Direct link: http://www.nordicrotors.com/SE-JFJ/5806
Parked at stand 69R, ESSA.
Mellingeholm Airfield (ESSN), Norrtälje
Henrik Boresäter
This image was shot by pilot Henrik Boresäter at Roslagens Helikopterflyg's base in Norrtälje in the northern parts of Stockholm's archipelago. The helicopter is kind of a rare bird here in Sweden as it's mostly based in Monaco.
Direct link: http://www.nordicrotors.com/SE-JFJ/685
Markus Herzig
Landing at a helipad in Monaco. This helicopter was the fourth Bell 407 registered in Sweden. It was purchased by Roslagens Helikopterflyg in year 2000.
Aalborg Airport (EKYT), Denmark
Michael Andersen (contact)
Parked inside a hangar in Aalborg, Denmark.
Information about SE-JFJ
Reg: SE-JFJ
S/N: 53418
Roslagens Helikopterflyg AB
C-GFNL, N2416G
SE-JFJ came to Sweden from the Bell Helicopter Textron factory in year 2000. It was the third Bell 407 in Sweden. SE-JFJ arrived to Patria Ostermans Aeros facilities at Arlanda Airport, Stockholm, in boxes. The assembly of the helicopter (including trials) was completed in less than two weeks.
The operator, Roslagens Helikopterflyg AB, picked up the helicopter from Patria Ostermans Aero in May 2000. It was based at Roslagens Helikopterflygs base in Mellingeholms airfield, in Norrtälje, for a while but was later sold to a private owner. The helicopter was stationed in the south of Europe from time to time, but frequently visited Sweden.
SE-JFJ was sold to a private company in Stockholm (MJ Constructor) in February 2015, replacing a Long Ranger (SE-JJB). It was purchased by Roslagens Helikopterflyg a year later, in February 2016.
This page was last modified on 11 April 2017 | click here to edit the page


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Rapport Go Totally '80s for "My Goodbyes" Video
The song appears on the Toronto band's debut EP 'In the Dark'
Rapport recently signed to Arbutus Records for their debut EP In the Dark, and now the Toronto-based trio have unveiled a video for "My Goodbyes."
"Sometimes it's really hard to walk away from things that you know are bad for you," singer-songwriter Maddy Wilde tells Exclaim! "'My Goodbyes' explores my relationship with vices; the bittersweet moment when you lean into something terrible that you've tried again and again to quit, and the relief you experience when you just give in to it. "
The video, meanwhile, sees the band embracing their communal "addiction to '80s pop clichés."
From the fashion to the camera effects, the clip is a total nostalgia trip.
Watch the video for "My Goodbyes" below.
In the Dark is out now via Arbutus. See the band's tour dates below, as well.
10/31 Sudbury, ON - Townhouse Tavern
11/08 Montreal, QC - La Plante
11/09 New York,NY - Sunnyvale
11/11 Philadelphia, PA - Anthorna Gallery
11/12 Cleveland, OH - Mahall's
11/13 Chicago, IL - Empty Bottle
11/23 Toronto, ON - Baby G
More Rapport
Moon King, Rapport, Mother Tongues Contribute to 'Happy Hollowdaze 2020' Compilation
Dozens of musicians from across Ontario have come together for Happy Hollowdaze 2020, a festive new compilation from the organizers of music...
Rapport Get Saved by Aliens in "Thirty Days Down and Out" Video
Last year, Toronto-based synth-popsters Rapport released In the Dark, their debut EP, which we named one of the Best EPs of 2019. To keep th...
Members of PUP, Hooded Fang, Ducks Unlimited Cover All Your Favourite CanCon Anthems
Get ready to revisit all your favourite '90s CanCon hits — members of Toronto indie bands like PUP, Hooded Fang, Ducks Unlimited, Rapport an...
Exclaim!'s 11 Best EPs of 2019
As much as people like to talk about how streaming has caused the death of the album, the LP format still reigns supreme. After all, pretty...
Rapport In the Dark
At this point, the '80s nostalgia craze has lasted longer than the actual decade did, but Toronto-based trio Rapport prove that there's stil...


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Tag: Jane Austen
Valentine Special – A tribute to the film-related influences that inspire 'Hearts Want'
On February 14, 2018 February 14, 2018 By ruthIn Random Thoughts12 Comments
Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!
Today is actually the only night where I don't have somewhere to be this week which is a treat for me. So my hubby and I are going to get some takeout from one of our fave restaurants (most likely Thai) while my hubby treat us w/ some chocolate-dipped strawberries for dessert. #yum
I often post something romance-related on V-day, such as favorite unconventionally-romantic films, cinematic romances or favorite romantic couples. But for this year I thought, since my short film is an indie romance, why not share some of my film influences (whether it's authors, filmmakers, talents or films) over the years. My short film is a subset of the feature screenplay of the same name. It centers on former lovers Lily & Jacques who reunite for a play by their drama teacher after seven years apart.
If you haven't seen it yet, below is the teaser to my short film…
This is no surprise at all to those who've read my blog regularly or follow my filmmaking journey. I mentioned in my the film's crowdfunding campaign that the story is partly inspired by my favorite Austen novel, Persuasion.
There's something so timeless about long lost love and second chances… and how the heart doesn't always fully recover no matter how long time has passed.
A man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart to such a woman… He ought not. He does not.
– Captain Wentworth
Seven years has passed when Anne Elliot were reunited with Captain Wentworth, but he hasn't forgiven the fact that she had broken their engagement. The agony of repressed feelings and fear of losing the ones they truly love is something so relatable even in modern society… and the fact that the story is told from Anne's perspective, a woman, makes it all the more significantly poignant.
I love that in Persuasion, Anne pointed out to Wentworth's friend Captain Harville that many literary works in that day were all written by men. 'Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story' Anne says. That's all the more reason I wanted to tell Hearts Want from the woman's perspective, who also has to own up to the decision she made seven years prior when she left the man she loved.
The beauty of Austen's work is that they're filled with wonderful, fully-formed female characters! Yes there are iconic men like Mr. Darcy and Captain Wentworth, but for me, it's the inner strength of Anne Elliot and Elinor Dashwood that always inspire me. Their patience and endurance seems like a lost art in today's world, but don't let their demure demeanor fool you, nor mistake their perseverance for weakness. As I've mentioned in this post, Elinor loves ardently but she's also fiercely realistic and principled, and she perseveres despite her emotional suffering. In essence, she is a survivor.
Phantom of the Opera (2004)
Though I don't go to the theatre as much as I would have liked, I've always been fascinated by the world of theatre. I have seen Phantom of the Opera three times on stage, including the not-so-successful sequel Love Never Dies in Adelphi Theatre, London.
The critics panned this cinematic adaptation but I LOVE the lush visuals and sensuality of this POTO adaptation. There's such a titillating mystery of love in a historic, vintage theatre. The setting of where a film is set can add so much to the atmosphere and mood of the film, especially in a romance. That's part of the reason I set the love story of Hearts Want in a theatre and I insisted that we filmed it in 100+ year-old The Southern Theatre in Minneapolis. It may not look like it from the outside but the inside could've been an antique theatre somewhere in Europe.
Amma Assante's Belle
As a fan of period dramas, I've seen a boat load of them, but it's rare to see a strong woman of color at the center of the story. Belle is a historical romance set in 18th century England, so naturally it's scandalous for a prominent figure in London society to take in a mixed-race girl as an adopted daughter.
Gugu Mbatha-Raw in 'Belle'
I love that Belle is an intelligent, elegant and headstrong woman who isn't afraid to speak her own mind. Gugu Mbatha-Raw is exquisite in the title role and her beauty definitely inspires my female protagonist Lily, who's a mixed-race woman born in London.
True love is never easy. It doesn't get more tumultuous than Jane & Rochester's gothic romance. As the old adage says… "If you love someone set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't, they never were." Easier said (or watched) than done, surely.
Every time I watched a Jane Eyre adaptations (the 1983 with Zelah Clarke & Timothy Dalton and 2006 version with Ruth Wilson & Toby Stephens are my personal faves), I'm always in awe of Jane's resolve to stick to her principles.
Inspiration can truly come from many forms. I don't usually listen to pop music, my car radio is always tuned to Classical MPR, so I often come across certain songs from YouTube. I remember seeing this music video of 1983 Jane Eyre set to a song called The Reason. I thought the lyrics about being sorry for the hurt one's caused and wanting to start anew resonates with me so much… we all have made mistakes in the past, don't we all wish we get a second chance to make things right?
Stanley Weber
Every writer needs a muse 😉 This dashing Frenchman isn't exactly the first actor who've inspired me in my literary journey. A certain Scotsman actually inspired me to write a novel that I never got around to finishing.
But Stanley is the first actor who've inspired my first screenplay! It just so happens I had seen him in a British rom-com (Not Another Happy Ending) as I just started writing my script and I was instantly smitten.
Photo by Madame Figaro magazine
Yes, the tall, wavy-haired, blue-eyed actor is extremely easy on the eyes, but the more I learned about him, the more I was intrigued by his versatility as an actor (juggling theatre, tv and movies in his native France and beyond) as well as his zest for life. I'd think that people who has such a passion for life would just be as passionate about love when he falls for someone. The Parisian also seems like a free spirit with a voracious love for the ocean (hence the sailing scene in Hearts Want), motorbikes, and traveling. Heck even his Instagram photos are inspiring!
If I had a time machine, I'd transport myself to Théâtre de l'Atelier in Paris to see Stanley on stage in Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie. Interestingly enough, the play has a Minnesota roots as the protagonist is from St. Paul! There are similarities between the play's male character Mat Burke to Hearts Want's Jacques, in fact, my feature script opens with a scene from this very play!
So yeah, thank you for the inspiration Stanley… he's definitely my dream leading man if I ever get to make the full version of Hearts Want 😉
Casablanca/Roman Holiday
The 'love is letting go' theme is perhaps more beautiful to witness in the movies than to experience in real life. Few romances are as heart-wrenching as the love story of Rick and Ilsa set during WWII. The WWII-themed play at the beginning of Hearts Want's short was partly inspired by this film, though the leather bomber jacket Jacques' sporting is directly inspired by Gregory Peck's 12 O'Clock High.
Speaking of Mr. Peck, some of you might know I was at one time obsessed with him. In fact I still owned a bunch of his dvds. The one that gets played a ton is Roman Holiday, and that beautiful but bittersweet finale gets me every single time.
I've mentioned that exquisite scene in my tribute to Roman Holiday…
Joe walking alone in the empty palace corridor as everyone has left, his steps echoing as he reluctantly leaves the building. As he passes the two guards, he still takes a glimpse towards the stage once more. Empty. The music swells up, forcing us to realize they're never going to see each other again. Joe keeps on walking towards the camera and disappears, carrying the memory of that day in Rome that he too will cherish for as long as he lives. Best. Finale. Ev-er.
I remember seeing this film on a nearly empty theatre at a press screening and I almost couldn't move when the end credits rolled. It's the story of a lonely writer dealing with an impending divorce who finds love when he least expects it. There's such a captivating male vulnerability in Joaquin Phoenix's soulful performance as he slowly but intensely falls for his AI Samantha (voiced brilliantly by Scarlett Johansson).
The euphoric joy and intense sadness he feels for Samantha is so palpable, it's perhaps one of the most emotional love story I've ever seen. Just because the love story is not between two human beings doesn't make it less emotional. Samantha said it best…
"Falling in love is a crazy thing to do. It's kind of like a socially-acceptable form of insanity."
I recall a review that says something about the spirit of the exquisite romantic pain depicted in this film. It's certainly one of the most painfully-exquisite portrayal of unrequited love.
Newland Archer: You give me a first glimpse of a real life, and you ask me to carry on with a false one. No one can endure that.
Ellen Olenska: I'm enduring it.
This may not be a violent film from Scorsese in physical term, but it's certainly a vicious one in terms of matters of the heart. Visually-ravishing as well as a visceral depiction of the agony of love. I guess I'm a sucker for tragic tale of impossible love, which has been done countless times, but few are as beautifully-crafted as this one.
Last but not least… I have to include at least one rom-com and nobody does the genre as well as Richard Curtis! The Anglophile in me naturally gravitates towards the London scenery, which is practically a character in itself in the film! It really makes me want to set my story in England, though I ended up choosing a small seaside town south of London that has a prominent theatre Hearts Want, it's called Chichester. There is one a similarity between Julia Roberts' Anna Scott in that my protagonist Lily is a successful actress, but of course the circumstances of the story is completely different.
In any case, I thought the opening scene is the perfect introduction to the film's protagonist and the world he lives in.
Ok so I don't necessarily count Shakespeare as one of my major influences, despite having seen quite a number of his plays. But I've always admired playwrights, hence I have a playwright (Martin) as a prominent character in my feature script and Hearts Want is the name of his play that reunited Lily & Jacques.
The Bard certainly knows a thing or two about writing romances. As he says in A Midsummer Night's Dream…
Thoughts on these talents/films? What are some of your own film influences?
41 favorite cinematic things to celebrate my b'day
So today's my birthday. I've been blessed to have been alive for 41 years! I have no qualms about admitting how old I am, heck you're only as *old* as you feel and I feel forever 21 😉
I was wondering what post to do for my b'day. I did a list of Favorite Films from Each Decade I Live Through last year and y'know what, I still love a bunch of stuff on that list. Just like many things in life, over the years you may feel differently about certain things and the same with cinema. You may grow to love something you weren't into, or the other way around. So today, I want to highlight the enduring cinematic things that I still love to this day (and probably forever) … as well as new faves I discovered recently 😉
1. The oh-so-heartbreaking unrequited love in The Age of Innocence
2. Timothy Dalton as James Bond
3. Nora Ephron's rom-coms… esp. Sleepless in Seattle & You've Got Mail
4. Spellbound… for introducing me to the impossibly beautiful Gregory Peck
5. Casino Royale & Eva Green as Vesper
6. Period dramas based on the works of my literary heroines: Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell (North & South) & Charlotte Brontë (Jane Eyre)
7. Emma Thompson's brilliant screenplay for Sense & Sensibility
8. Roman Holiday (1959)
9. Gladiator (2000)
10. Sam Riley as leather-wearing, Samurai-wielding, bad-ass Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
11. Tango scenes in movies
12. Alan Rickman as Col. Brandon (Sense & Sensibility)
13. Superman: The Movie… Christopher Reeve shall always be MY Superman
14. John Williams' Jurassic Park's score
15. The Gods Must Be Crazy… movie from my childhood that still makes me laugh
16. Phantom of the Opera (2004)
17.The beautiful period drama Belle… and its star Gugu Mbatha-Raw
18. Harrison Ford & Sean Connery pairing in Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade
19. Julia Ormond's Sabrina
20. Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester (BBC's Jane Eyre 2006)
21. The immensely under-appreciated Return to Me (2000)
22. Casablanca (1942)… a classic epic I'm glad I got to see on the big screen
23. Fiona in Four Weddings and a Funeral
24. One of the first Hollywood films I ever saw… Gone with the Wind (1939)
25. What We Do in the Shadows (2014) … guaranteed to make me laugh for years to come
26. The exquisite scenery of Not Another Happy Ending… Glasgow AND Stanley Weber
27. Great journalism movies… i.e. All the President's Men
28. The Bourne Trilogy
29. John Barry's music for Somewhere in Time
30. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1959)
31. Heath Ledger & Christian Bale in The Dark Knight
32. Richard Armitage as Mr. Thornton (BBC's North & South 2004)
33. The musical scenes of The Sound of Music (1965)
34. Awesome movie car chases
35. Idris Elba ('nuff said)
36. These 10 James Bond's songs
37. Hand-touching in period dramas
BBC North & South
BBC Sense & Sensibility
38. Disney Princesses Movies, especially Sleeping Beauty
39. Evocative rain scenes in movies i.e. this one from the sci-fi drama Franklyn (2008) w/ Sam Riley and Eva Green
40. Paris in the movies
41. Last but not least… movies about writers, i.e. Sam Riley as Sal Paradise in On The Road
Hope you enjoy walking down memory lane w/ me on my b'day.
FlixChatter Review: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (2016)
On February 7, 2016 January 29, 2021 By ruthIn Flix Reviews83 Comments
Jane Austen's brilliant work has endured over two centuries so far and it's as relevant as ever. I'm not a purist Austen fan, as I actually enjoy alternative/re-imagining of her work, i.e. Lost in Austen, Bride & Prejudice, Bridget Jones Diary, Austenland, etc. But none are as outlandish as what Seth Grahame-Smith's done in his book. I hadn't read it, but when I first heard of the film adaptation back when Natalie Portman was supposed to play Elizabeth Bennet, I was already sold. Fast forward 6 years later, Portman is still attached as a producer but this time we've got an ensemble of up-and-coming British actors.
As with any mashup, it ought to offer a good balance of the two genres. Whilst I think it has a good mix of both, I do think that this might offer more for fans of period dramas as it might not be bloody/gory enough for zombie lovers. It's heavy on action with a few jump scares and less on the horror side, which suits me just fine. It's especially thrilling that director Burr Steers (who also wrote the script) is loyal to Austen's text and the story is grounded in the timeless romance of Lizzie and Darcy. The social class commentary is also preserved, but of course we've got yet another layer beneath the lowest class, that is the undead.
The movie opens with the dashing Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley, perfectly-brooding AND bad-ass) who's now a Colonel, visiting a wealthy estate in search of recently-turned zombies hiding amongst the living. Within minutes, we see Darcy's decapitating an undercover zombie in his typical unperturbed stoicism. That scene is followed by a crafty storybook opening credit sequence that explains the fact that in lieu of the Napoleonic Wars, 19th century England is now overrun by hordes of the undead. In this universe though, people who've been bitten by the undead don't immediately turn into full-on zombie until they've consumed human brains, hence they can still somehow hide in plain sight.
In order to survive in the world plagued by zombies, they had to be trained in weaponry and martial arts. Apparently the upper class folks have been trained in Japan, whilst those of lesser means, like the Bennet sisters, were trained in China. There's an amusing bit where Lizzie speaks in Chinese to prove to Darcy that she's read the proper text of The Art of War. As they say, all is fair in love and war, and thus the zombie apocalypse certainly ups the stakes for everyone involved.
Faithful to the Pride & Prejudice text, the film still has the scenes that Austen fans would expect to see. We still have the Bennet sisters spending time with the family, except that instead of knitting, they're polishing their muskets and swords. "My daughters are trained for battle… not the kitchen," Mr Bennet says at one point, played with dignified grace by Charles Dance. We've also got the formal ball where Lizzie and Darcy first meet, and it's played out just like in the original in that they did not get off on the right foot. I must say Lily James is one formidable Lizzie Bennet, even if she is still too pretty for the role just like Keira Knightley was. Miss Bennet is already a feminist icon to begin with, here the female empowerment element is pumped up even more as she's a Kung-fu warrior who defiantly says that she'd "never relinquish her sword for a ring" and that the right man wouldn't ask her to.
But of course, the two headstrong pair soon find themselves attracted to each other. It's crucial in any Pride & Prejudice adaptation that Lizzie and Darcy has chemistry and here they have that in spades. Lizzie is no damsel in distress, and by the time she and her four sisters slash a throng of zombies in slo-mo fashion, it's Darcy who's hyperventilating. The entire Bennet sisters are pretty bad ass, even Jane (lovely Bella Heathcote) is no shrinking violet and gets to save Mr. Bingley's (Douglas Booth) life here. The numerous battle of wits are intact, with some intense physical battles thrown in to spice things up even more. The epic duel between Lizzie and Darcy is definitely my favorite part of the film, it's immensely fun to watch these typically demure characters kick and hit each other senseless, and undoubtedly release their repressed sexual frustration in the process.
This review from SFGate remarked that the zombies give Darcy a reason to brood about, and I wholeheartedly agree. I have to admit one of the issues I have with Mr. Darcy is that he's just so enormously wealthy that he doesn't need to work, and has little reason to justify his somber mood. But here, the titular character is given an intriguing backstory that naturally made him seem less preoccupied with finding a wife given the matters of life and death he has to face daily. There's also an even more compelling reason why he absolutely detests these zombies (AND Mr. Wickham). I've never been one of those Mr. Darcy groupies, but THIS leather-clad, Samurai-wielding zombie killer extraordinaire is a hero worth swooning for, ehm. Speaking of Mr. Wickham (a charming Jack Huston), I think the major twist in Austen's text involves his character. I won't go into detail about his character but lets just say he's quite um, friendly with the zombies. Heck, he even took Lizzie to a church where the patrons are not entirely alive.
I do have a few quibbles about the poor action sequences though. The blurry sequence during the zombie attacks/fight scene get irritating after a while, and there is some inconsistencies about the nature of the zombies as some can seem less *dead* than others. I also think Charles Dance wasn't given enough to do and neither was his Game of Thrones' co-star Lena Headey as eye-patch wearing Lady Catherine du Bourgh (Darcy's aunt). She's made out to be a fierce zombie warrior, yet we didn't see a single scene of her battling zombies! The whole sequence of her going after Lizzie in protest of her union with Darcy is rather silly as she brought along a henchman. You'd think a woman of such stature would never be in need of one.
Despite those flaws, overall I had a lot of fun with this one. The actors are fully committed to their roles and they play it straight throughout, no wink-wink nudge nudge as if they're doing a SNL skit. The deadpan humor is interwoven in the inherently bizarre plot and I was more than along for the ride. I think you'd enjoy this movie more if you accept the sheer audacity of mashing up these two genres from the get go. The fact that the most preposterous scenes are done with a straight face makes them even funnier. Matt Smith steals every scene he's in as the ridiculous Mr. Collins, though he's playing him far more flamboyantly than the previous versions. There's always been a hint that Collins might have a thing for Darcy and it's played up even more in this movie.
The set pieces and gorgeous costume design by Julian Day is delightful to look at. The soundtrack by Fernando Velázquez is also suitably elegant but with a touch of ominous brood. For fans of rom-coms, this is one where there is both romance AND comedy in equal measure. I definitely will watch this again, and on the big screen! I'm glad the movie ends on a cliffhanger as I wouldn't even mind seeing a sequel, but only if we have Lily James and Sam Riley back as Lizzie and Darcy. I like James more here than in Cinderella and she certainly can handle the action as well as the drama. I thoroughly enjoyed Sam Riley's portrayal of Darcy, he might not be as refined as Colin Firth but he plays up the strong-silent-type hero perfectly. He's said in interviews that if Firth is the Sean Connery of Darcys, he's the Roger Moore. But considering his bad-assery and special skills in weaponry, he's more akin to Daniel Craig's Bond mixed with Taken's Bryan Mills!
So yeah, I find this unlikely mashup more than a little agreeable. I do think the reason this movie works is a testament of the genius of Austen's writing. Not only does it stand the test of time, the core of the story is intact no matter what backdrop it's set against.
Have you seen this movie? I'm curious to hear what YOU think!
Musings on Clueless – random observations on the iconic 90s movie 20 years later
On July 26, 2015 July 26, 2015 By ruthIn Random Thoughts37 Comments
So apparently Clueless just hit its 20th anniversary this month, as suddenly there are a plethora of references on from the movie all over social media. In fact, my hubby was perplexed by some of them as he hadn't seen it before. So we thought, why not watch the movie Friday night since it's on Netflix streaming. To be honest, neither my hubby and I are into high school movies. I mean, of course I enjoyed John Hughes movies when I was actually still in high school, and occasionally there are good ones from the genre, like Me and Earl and the Dying Girl. But I wouldn't go out of my way to seek them out. I can't remember when I saw Clueless, but it must've been at least a decade ago. My memory of it is a bit hazy so it felt like seeing the movie for the first time.
So what's the verdict?
Well, for one thing he didn't hate it. He said it actually didn't make him cringe as he had feared, and overall it was enjoyable. I mean, for one thing the movie is hysterical! The movie obviously didn't take itself seriously and made fun of the characters' own preposterousness but yet it's not mean-spirited that it'd leave a sour taste in your mouth. Cher's driving test scene alone is a hoot… …but her BFF is an even worse driver, which made for one of the funniest scenes in the movie! When my hubby and I discussed it afterwards, we were wondering about, because neither of us went to high school in the US, was whether teenagers actually spoke like that back in the 90s as they seem to still have that same speaking style now. The constant use of the word 'like' is practically like 'as if' and 'whatever' in the film, and even those are probably not entirely absent from teens' vocabularies now as the movie still resonates to this day.
A Cultural Touchstone
I read this Vanity Fair article on the oral history of Clueless. Apparently the movie was a surprise hit back in 1995. The movie opened at No. 1 the weekend of its release on July 19, and went on to earn $56 mil in the US/Canada (a figure that the movie data-tracking site Box Office Mojo equates to $105.7 million in contemporary, inflated dollars). Not bad considering the budget was only $12 – $13 million. The movie definitely was a 'cultural touchstone', as EW pointed out in this article pondering what it'd be like if the movie'd been made today. Surely the age of selfies, social media and celebrity worship of today isn't all that different from 20 years ago, and maybe that's why the movie still resonates to this day. There are lots of gems in this movie that understandably become part of pop culture to this day. Ok so I'm not fond of Cher's outfits but clearly it was a hit for teens as they raid the local malls for plaid skirts and knee-high socks. I went to an all-girl Catholic school and those were our uniform so I'd never ever want to wear those combo nor would I consider those fashionable. But the movie is so darn quotable with tons of hilarious lingo that will forever be associated with this movie.
Source: Vanity Fair
Talk about great casting!
I can't imagine anyone else but Alicia Silverstone as Cher Horowitz, though the VF article did mention they were thinking of Reese Witherspoon at some point. Alicia's goofy facial expressions alone is a hoot to watch, she has one of those expressive faces that you can't take your eyes off. It was a no-holds-barred performance that to this day it's impossible to separate Alicia from her breakout character. Cher was an inherently ridiculous and obviously flawed character but there's something so sincere and straightforward about her, that she didn't care what people think. It's quite refreshing and amusing, that you quickly stop judging her and just accept her for who she is. I guess it's the same thing that happens to Cher herself in how she comes to terms with the people in her life.
The supporting cast was equally fun to watch, and they're pretty racially diverse which is pretty progressive for the time. The fact that the non-white characters, are in the same social class as the white, blond, rich protagonist would be considered progressive even by today's standards. Dionne (Stacey Dash) and her boyfriend Murray (Donald Faison) are both black, but both are equally as popular as Cher in school and there are also some Asian American girls in Cher's social circle. It's sad that Brittany Murphy is no longer with us, her portrayal of Tai is just as entertaining and iconic.
And of course there's Paul Rudd as Cher's stepbrother Josh. The VF article talked about how he almost didn't get to play Josh as he took another role (Halloween movie) and had his head shaved. Thankfully it ended up being a long journey to cast that particular role and casting director Marcia Ross said 'he never went out of consciousness.'
It's funny too that the same month this movie turns 20 years old, the 46-year-old Paul Rudd is a bonafide superhero himself with Ant-Man, and he still hasn't aged a day!! Need proof? Just take this Vulture quiz and see if you can guess how old he is from certain photos. If they made this movie today, Rudd could still totally play Josh!
Why the movie was sort of ahead of its time… and culturally-relevant to this day
As Jane Austen's work still resonates even two hundred years later, it's not surprising that writer/director Amy Heckerling was inspired by Emma, the novel she read as a teenager. The plot/characters/themes and values are all based on Austen's novel, as Emma too was clueless about her own feelings and the business of match-making. But like the Austen heroine, deep down she's a good person and her heart was in the right place. I love stories where the protagonist actually evolves throughout the course of the film. In her own cute and endearing way, Cher had some growing up lessons and disappointments just like the rest of us, she just had better more expensive clothes to go through them in. For how beautiful and privileged she is, Cher is surprisingly relatable. I mean who hasn't fawned over a guy and make a complete fool of herself? I thought it was interesting that they made Cher a virgin, which was rare then and still rare now amongst teens. The movie touched upon serious issues about chastity/abstinence but they didn't make her someone who's holier-than-thou kind of character. It's just another thing that made Cher unique, so the issue wasn't done in a preachy way. You'd think that this movie is all style and no substance, but that's actually no the case. As this Grantland article points out, despite the fact that the protagonist and her friends are all rich, "…the movie's messages are anti-capitalist: Money can't buy you love, and caring about other people is cool." Thanks partly to Josh, Cher realized her own ignorance and prejudices and genuinely made an effort to make a difference by volunteering and donating her stuff. She didn't just think differently, but she actually took action and do something about it. And she does it all by still being herself, which in and of itself is quite inspiring. There's also the genuinely heartfelt father/daughter relationship throughout the movie. Dan Hedaya is perfect as the workaholic dad who's tough but yet loving. Heck, raising a girl like Cher as a single dad can't be easy but somehow they made it through, and there's a sweet moment towards the end that show they have a pretty good relationship. It's also another proof that Cher isn't a heartless creature as she actually takes care of her own dad. Buzzfeed calls Clueless the best movie of all times and they sure made a compelling argument with all those hilarious gifs. I wouldn't go that far, but I wouldn't argue its special place in our pop culture and that it'd probably be iconic even a decade from now. Glad I saw this again. Certainly a movie worth revisiting and if you haven't seen this yet, well, give it a shot. You'd be surprised how much you'd enjoy it!
Have you seen Clueless? What do you think of this movie?
Five Favorite Movie Quotes from Inspiring Female Characters
On June 27, 2015 April 15, 2016 By ruthIn Random Thoughts, The Flix List35 Comments
I'm taking a bit of a blogging break and throughout the Summer I'm actually going to blog a bit less as I'm working on my novel/script [still deciding which format it'll end up to be], plus I just need a break from review writing.
But as I mull over the topic presented by guest blogger Izzy on this post about Gender & Hollywood Screenwriting, it made me feel compelled to write a reaction post of sort. Izzy's post made me ponder of some of my favorite movie quotes uttered by female characters. As Izzy pointed out, there are far fewer of memorable movie lines by female characters than the male counterparts, even fewer when it's not romance related or about wanting something from the male co-star of the film. For example, take these two quotes from one of Hollywood's biggest leading ladies, Julia Roberts:
"I want the fairy tale." – Vivian, Pretty Woman
"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her." – Anna Scott, Notting Hill
For me, some of the truly memorable quotes are those that represent the strength of the character, those that display their feisty-ness, survival prowess or willful defiant against what society dictate them to be.
Well, after raking my brains, here are five quotes I love from some of my favorite female characters of all time:
All About Eve – It was based on the 1946 short story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, although screen credit was not given for it (per Wiki)
Gone With the Wind – 1939 American epic historical romance film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel of the same name.
Now, this one I had to put the scene before it to put it in context. Eowyn is perhaps one of the most well-rounded supporting female characters in blockbuster films. It's no doubt one of the highlights of the final Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Return of the King:
Both Sense & Sensibility and Mansfield Park were based on Jane Austen's famous novels, which always feature strong female protagonists. I LOVE how both Elinor and Fanny are not defined by romance nor the men in their lives. Though they are in love with men who seem to be unattainable due to the societal norm of the day, they stick to their principles even if they have to emotionally suffer from it.
It's no surprise that four of the films above are based on narrative stories written by women. And nobody could argue that there's a shortage of female screenwriters [or female anything for that matter] in Hollywood. It's a pity because just in the past few years, the movies that made a big impression on me happen to be written and/or directed by women, i.e. In A World, Belle, Beyond the Lights, Brave, Gone Girl, Girlhood (Bande de Filles), not to mention these three French films I saw recently that are women-centric: Thérèse Desqueyroux, Violette and Pour Une Femme (For A Woman). I like them because the protagonists break the female archetypes of women being defined by men, but show women as being the complicated, flawed and conflicted beings that we are.
As my friend Cindy wrote in her comment in Izzy's Post, women are as complicated as men and their characters should represent that. Let's hope we'll see more women being active parts of Hollywood filmmaking process, both in front and behind the camera.
So what are some of YOUR favorite movie quotes by female characters?
Weekend Roundup: In a Period Drama Mood
On June 8, 2015 August 22, 2015 By ruthIn Weekend/Monthly Recap37 Comments
Happy Monday everyone! Another full week in store for me this week, but I'm excited for the Jurassic World and Inside Out screenings back to back Tuesday and Wednesday.
This weekend ends up being rather busy but I managed to fit in a couple of rewatches and a new movie I haven't seen before, the Irish animated fantasy Song of the Sea (review upcoming). My tumblr feed has been filled with all kinds of Jane Austen gifsets lately and so it puts me in a period drama mood.
BBC Sense & Sensibility (2008)
Most Austen fans would say that their favorite is Pride & Prejudice but for me, Sense & Sensibility reigns supreme, followed by Persuasion. So nearly every year I have to watch at least one version of this adaptation. The Ang Lee version is still superior on the whole, it's after all one of my top five favorite films of all time. But there are quite a lot of things I love about this version, especially in the casting of Hattie Morahan & Dan Stevens as Elinor Dashwood & Edward Ferrars, respectively. Oh and I also love Janet McTeer as Mrs. Dashwood. Hard to beat Alan Rickman but David Morrissey is more than adequate as Col. Brandon and I've grown to like his portrayal more and more. I didn't care for Dominic Cooper as the dashing cad Willoughby though, and still don't this time around.
Bride & Prejudice (2004)
This is a Bollywood version of Austen's most popular novel. I've reviewed it here, and this is such a fun movie to watch over and over. So goofy and at times hilarious, but I think it captures the essence of the story as Austen intended. Aishwarya Rai is mesmerizing as Lalita Bakshi (Lizzie Bennett) despite being far too beautiful in the role. Martin Henderson provides quite an eye candy as Darcy with his dimpled good looks, and fellow Aussie Daniel Gillies makes quite a charming Wickham. Gurinder Chadha did a nice job adapting the classic story and somehow fit it into the Indian culture. I thought that the portrayal of Lizzie's parents are spot on, especially Mrs. Bakshi who's unabashedly eager to marry off their daughters. Naveen Andrews makes for the most charming version of Mr. Bingly, can't imagine any of the British actors be up for THAT kind of vigorous dancing, ahah.
North and South(2004)
I've dedicated a post for Richard Armitage's performance as John Thornton in this amazing BBC miniseries a while ago. It still stands as one of my top five period dramas of all time!
From time to time I'd watch clips of this on Netflix streaming, but this weekend I watched the last two episodes… and of course the 'Look back… look back at me' scene gets me every time! Nothing like a gorgeous tortured soul to stir my heart and Armitage looks positively gorgeous as the venerable & vulnerable Mr. Thornton.
The Rise & Fall of Versailles (2009)
Speaking of gorgeous, of course not a weekend passes by these days without at least one Stanley Weber viewing 😉 And because of the recent casting news that Stanley will be portraying a French nobleman in Outlander season 2, I re-watched this documentary on King Louis XV. It's also available in the full French version called Le Soleil Noir (The Black Sun) which I've also seen despite not having English subtitles.
For anyone who's into French history, this three-part documentary that goes all the way to the French revolution is fascinating and insightful, not to mention damn right sexy! The French sure knows how to make history lesson so titillating by casting such hot young actors as their monarchs, ahah. Louis XV is known for being quite a virile King with a colorful sexual history and this documentary doesn't shy away from that. The set pieces and cinematography is fantastic for a TV documentary and it was filmed on location in Versailles. It's especially fun to watch this as I was just there last year. So Outlander fans curious to see Stanley in French aristocracy regalia, be sure to catch this one and it's on youtube and Hulu!
Well that's my weekend, what did YOU watch?
Weekend Roundup: Two Austen adaptations, an espionage comedy + a Hitchcock classic
On June 22, 2014 By ruthIn Flix Reviews, Weekend/Monthly Recap52 Comments
Wow, where has June gone? Can't believe July is just 10 days away, seems that we barely had Spring and now we have been having a very showery Summer 😦
I haven't done a Weekend Roundup in a looong time. Well, I didn't go to the cinema at all this weekend, but I did see some older movies and one re-watch. I must say it's quite fun to watch not only one but TWO period dramas with my hubby.
Inspired by my recent Austen Recasting post on Mansfield Park, I started watching the 2007 BBC version that I haven't seen before. My hubby was looking at stuff on his iPad next to me whilst I was watching this and I kept making a comment at how much I prefer the 1999 film version that he's curious to check it out. Well, since both are on Netflix, we decided to watch both!
Well suffice to say, the 1999 version by Patricia Rozema is still my favorite adaptation, though it's definitely a bolder and darker version than one might associate with Jane Austen. I think it's interesting that it touches on the issue of slavery as the primary financial income of the Bertram family, though I could use without the nudity [albeit a brief one] as it really detracts from the story. What I do like about the film version is how beautifully-filmed it is and the music by Lesley Barber is equally gorgeous and evocative. Plus the casting is fantastic all around, especially Frances O'Connor as Fanny and Alessandro Nivola as Henry Crawford. I also love the ending, it's romantic and sweet and Jonny Lee Miller has such an earnest quality about him that fits the role of Edmund. I actually like Fanny's narration in this movie and I'm not always fond of the use of narration on film. It seems that Fanny is not people's favorite's Austen heroine but I actually like her and I really connect with Frances' portrayal of her.
On the other hand, I'm not fond of the 2007 version at all. I really try to like this but I just feel that Billie Piper is so miscast in the role. Sorry but I find her teeth VERY distracting. I know it's not nice of me to say but I wasn't bothered by her when she was in Dr. Who but she just doesn't seem like she belongs in a period drama, and the way she's swooning over Edmund just feels wrong and stalker-ish. At the same time, there's no chemistry at all between her and Blake Ritson (Edmund), who looks like Adrien Brody but with slightly feminine features. All around the acting is just not convincing, most especially Joseph Beattie as the completely charm-less Henry Crawford! The abrupt ending is also very awkward that my hubby was like, 'what the heck was THAT??' I think this is my least favorite BBC adaptation of ANY literary works. I doubt I'd ever watch it again. I think the only fun part here is watching the lovely Haley Atwell as Mary Crawford.
On Saturday, we ended up watching an older spy movie that's been sitting in our Netflix Instant queue for some time.
I saw on the description that it was a lighthearted espionage movie, but we didn't realize that this was more of a comedy! The movie took a while to get going, but fortunately the cast kept me intrigued. The plot itself seemed complicated at first, as a lot of government conspiracy involving hacking, cryptography, etc. can be, but by the second act, it actually got to be pretty predictable. In fact, I had a hunch from the opening scene who the villain was. It's interesting too just how relevant this topic is with the whole NSA expose by Edward Snowden, etc. In fact, Kingsley's speech at the end about who controls the information is quite eerie because it's really not far-fetched at all.
It's quite amusing to see the likes of Robert Redford, Sidney Poitier, Ben Kingsley, David Strathairn, who are usually in serious roles being quite goofy in this one. Strathairn especially as a blind man with killer hearing power and instinct, but the last scene had him driving a truck directed by Redford on the phone! None of these actors are at their best here though, in fact, they seem underutilized for the roles they're playing, but still it's fun to watch.
Btw, really sad seeing River Phoenix here. This was released a year before his untimely death in 1993 at the age of 23. Like the rest, his role is so minor, similar to a tech guy in those Mission Impossible movies, with Redford as the Ethan Hunt character, y'know. I remember seeing Phoenix in teen drama A Night in the Life of Jimmy Riordan years ago and thought how talented he was. It's so tragic how these young talents were gone far too soon. In any case, I quite enjoyed Sneakers, especially the more action-packed third act and the humorous ending. James Earl Jones had a memorable cameo that's pretty hilarious.
Lastly, I saw Rebecca (1940), a Hitchcock film that won Best Picture Oscar, starring Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine. I shall have a review of it this Tuesday for my June Blindspot entry, so stay tuned!
Well that's what I saw this weekend. What about you? Seen anything good?


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