Weblog 266
March 20, 2011~ 12:00 am
So this is the night of the SUPERMOON..... the perigee. The moon of bad portent.
(I haven't been out to see it. Probably won't. I have my robe on and the damn neighbor next door has chosen tonight to keep her damn SPOTLIGHT on in their backyard.) I thought I could quietly sneak out there for a look, but fu*ckit.
I know I've been down and sort of agitated for over a week now. (Shall I blame it on the moon?) Who knows what it is... I just feel 'not myself' and vacillating between agitation and 'flatness'.
I did want to review 'The Fighter' (which I've finally watched) and in particular, wanted to pay close attention to Christian Bales' performance since it garnered him a Best Supporting actor award; the same for Melissa Leo. In my opinion this was a 'good' movie but not a great one. When I think of great boxing movies, immediately 'Rocky' and 'Raging Bull' come to mind. I have a feeling in the years to come I won't remember this one.
Even though it's based on a true story of boxing brothers from a lower-class family, and that seems like fertile fodder for a good story, it didn't pack --(no pun intended)-- a 'hard punch' and is, for the most part, fairly predictable. Christian Bales was twitchy and hyper as a stary-eyed crack addict, but his portrayal of Dicky Ecklund felt 'caricaturish' to me. Wahlburg as 'Irish' Mickey Ward is much more accessible and vulnerable as a real person in his role, and Melissa Leo also seemed to be doing formulaic stuff as the hard-nosed, street-smart and overly ambitious manager/mother. She walked away with best supporting actress but honestly, I would have given it to Amy Adams. In a heartbeat.
She's the one to watch in this film. Her performance is absolutely authentic, and shows a side of this young actress I never would have thought she was capable of bringing off, but she does it seamlessly. For me, she was the best part of the film.
At the very end as the credits are rolling, there's a wee bit of footage of the ACTUAL two former boxers, sitting at a diner counter and gabbing to the camera. I wish I could see more of them; I know I'd enjoy a documentary-style film about their life in the ring. The film version? Well.. it was just 'too Hollywood', too 'been there/saw that'... with no surprises other than Amy.
I'm halfway through a novel I'm enjoying a great deal. It's E.L. Doctorow's
'Homer And Langley'. It's beautifully written, told in the first person narration of Homer, one of two eccentric brothers (more brothers! lol) who lived in New York City in the earlier part of the 20th century, eventually becoming hoarders in a crammed world of their own making. Doctorow writes with a sensitivity that touches me deeply. It's a terrific read.
I guess I'll attempt a few more times to see this legendary full moon tonight (the neighbor's light is still on!) and I'm sure I'll be visiting the 'earthquake/psychic/sensitives' sites on the net tonight as well. I'll be there with the nuts-- as well as the legitimate scientists who are trying to determine if indeed the earth is going through some kind of crisis, not just of a nuclear kind, but political--- societal, geological --- (the 'tilt/tilt' I seem to be feeling) and it appears I'm not alone: lots of folks are edgy. I have a sense of heavy forboding.
(Somehow, the prediction about '2012, fade to black' doesn't seem very far-fetched at this point.) We seem to be melting down in more ways than one, with humans fast becoming a race of chronic, attention deficit disordered sensation junkies with no more depth than a puddle.
The shallowness and callousness I see around me is quite disheartening, I do know that. And oh Lord......... now the MOON.
March 23, 2011~ 5:00 pm
The most beautiful face in the world just passed on today......
and with her, winged away a great deal of my growing up memories. I watched Elizabeth Taylor all through my own awkward years, longing to have just a fraction of that beauty. She's mezmorized me. (I know she had a special place in the heart of my brother-in-law, who's adored her forever... and my writing partner Al Ferber.... he's been smitten his whole life with 'Elizabeth worship'.) I hope her passing was peaceful. 79 seems an awfully young age for a legend, but for all the physical ills she's endured over the years (and the gossip) she lived about as rich a life as anyone could ever imagine... and her warm heart and charity work superceded all the rest.
Except her talent. How many truly beautiful women are also so gifted in front of a camera, and how many others are mostly 'props'? Liz was the real deal, a one of a kind, once in a lifetime lady (and she got to marry my favorite actor......twice!) So here, Liz. This one's for you. You've given me so much joy.
(You know, I read today that she was born with two distinct lines of eyelashes....an anomaly certainly, but coupled with those unbelievably VIOLET eyes, she was magnificent. Wow.)
March 24, 2011~ 6:15 pm
Well, there was a tornado in the Pittsburgh area yesteday afternoon. (All I got was two bouts of the BIGGEST HAIL I've seen) but thank goodness no funnel clouds-- though it was black as night for a while. Luckily (blessedly) with over 30 homes completely destroyed and another 60 'uninhabitable' for the time being, having just gone through an F2 class tornado, its incredible there were no deaths and no serious injuries. (We had good warning, but I shudder to think what might have happened had this come through in the middle of the night.....sheesh.) We have no air sirens set up to warn us. With all these hills and mountains we rarely see such things happening here, so we were very, very lucky.
After work today, I stopped to see Mum. As I was getting off the elevator on the second floor, THERE SHE WAS, coming along with her walker and it startled both of us. LOL!!! "What are you doing down here? Did ya' come out to greet me?"
"I didn't know you were coming today" -(I visit each Thursday. lol)-"I was just going down for Romeo Hour. See what that's all about."
ROMEO HOUR???? (I have no idea what that's supposed to be, but it was listed there in her daily activities sheet they pass out every Sunday.) O, my goodness how I laughed. "Mum!! You have to ask what that is!"
"Oh I'm not gonna ask, " she said. "It's probably just something dumb. They can kiss my ass." And she rolled her remarkably blue eyes at me and blinked.
So my 'unexpected' but actually very predictable visit may have thwarted the JULIET in my mother. Who knows. (It's never too late to get lucky. LOL!) And if she were here right now, she'd be punching me in the arm. An endearment.
***
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So this is the night of the SUPERMOON..... the perigee. The moon of bad portent.
(I haven't been out to see it. Probably won't. I have my robe on and the damn neighbor next door has chosen tonight to keep her damn SPOTLIGHT on in their backyard.) I thought I could quietly sneak out there for a look, but fu*ckit.
I know I've been down and sort of agitated for over a week now. (Shall I blame it on the moon?) Who knows what it is... I just feel 'not myself' and vacillating between agitation and 'flatness'.
I did want to review 'The Fighter' (which I've finally watched) and in particular, wanted to pay close attention to Christian Bales' performance since it garnered him a Best Supporting actor award; the same for Melissa Leo. In my opinion this was a 'good' movie but not a great one. When I think of great boxing movies, immediately 'Rocky' and 'Raging Bull' come to mind. I have a feeling in the years to come I won't remember this one.
Even though it's based on a true story of boxing brothers from a lower-class family, and that seems like fertile fodder for a good story, it didn't pack --(no pun intended)-- a 'hard punch' and is, for the most part, fairly predictable. Christian Bales was twitchy and hyper as a stary-eyed crack addict, but his portrayal of Dicky Ecklund felt 'caricaturish' to me. Wahlburg as 'Irish' Mickey Ward is much more accessible and vulnerable as a real person in his role, and Melissa Leo also seemed to be doing formulaic stuff as the hard-nosed, street-smart and overly ambitious manager/mother. She walked away with best supporting actress but honestly, I would have given it to Amy Adams. In a heartbeat.
She's the one to watch in this film. Her performance is absolutely authentic, and shows a side of this young actress I never would have thought she was capable of bringing off, but she does it seamlessly. For me, she was the best part of the film.
At the very end as the credits are rolling, there's a wee bit of footage of the ACTUAL two former boxers, sitting at a diner counter and gabbing to the camera. I wish I could see more of them; I know I'd enjoy a documentary-style film about their life in the ring. The film version? Well.. it was just 'too Hollywood', too 'been there/saw that'... with no surprises other than Amy.
I'm halfway through a novel I'm enjoying a great deal. It's E.L. Doctorow's
'Homer And Langley'. It's beautifully written, told in the first person narration of Homer, one of two eccentric brothers (more brothers! lol) who lived in New York City in the earlier part of the 20th century, eventually becoming hoarders in a crammed world of their own making. Doctorow writes with a sensitivity that touches me deeply. It's a terrific read.
I guess I'll attempt a few more times to see this legendary full moon tonight (the neighbor's light is still on!) and I'm sure I'll be visiting the 'earthquake/psychic/sensitives' sites on the net tonight as well. I'll be there with the nuts-- as well as the legitimate scientists who are trying to determine if indeed the earth is going through some kind of crisis, not just of a nuclear kind, but political--- societal, geological --- (the 'tilt/tilt' I seem to be feeling) and it appears I'm not alone: lots of folks are edgy. I have a sense of heavy forboding.
(Somehow, the prediction about '2012, fade to black' doesn't seem very far-fetched at this point.) We seem to be melting down in more ways than one, with humans fast becoming a race of chronic, attention deficit disordered sensation junkies with no more depth than a puddle.
The shallowness and callousness I see around me is quite disheartening, I do know that. And oh Lord......... now the MOON.
March 23, 2011~ 5:00 pm
The most beautiful face in the world just passed on today......
and with her, winged away a great deal of my growing up memories. I watched Elizabeth Taylor all through my own awkward years, longing to have just a fraction of that beauty. She's mezmorized me. (I know she had a special place in the heart of my brother-in-law, who's adored her forever... and my writing partner Al Ferber.... he's been smitten his whole life with 'Elizabeth worship'.) I hope her passing was peaceful. 79 seems an awfully young age for a legend, but for all the physical ills she's endured over the years (and the gossip) she lived about as rich a life as anyone could ever imagine... and her warm heart and charity work superceded all the rest.
Except her talent. How many truly beautiful women are also so gifted in front of a camera, and how many others are mostly 'props'? Liz was the real deal, a one of a kind, once in a lifetime lady (and she got to marry my favorite actor......twice!) So here, Liz. This one's for you. You've given me so much joy.
Purple Smoke I heard she was gone, and suddenly all the violets in the world were weeping, no longer in her eyes. The velvet girl with the sweeping, sooty lashes and that flash of life. The diamond Queen of hearts departed today, threw arms around old Richard, come to greet her - hugged him close. I think I could hear them laughing, ghost and guest.
(You know, I read today that she was born with two distinct lines of eyelashes....an anomaly certainly, but coupled with those unbelievably VIOLET eyes, she was magnificent. Wow.)
March 24, 2011~ 6:15 pm
Well, there was a tornado in the Pittsburgh area yesteday afternoon. (All I got was two bouts of the BIGGEST HAIL I've seen) but thank goodness no funnel clouds-- though it was black as night for a while. Luckily (blessedly) with over 30 homes completely destroyed and another 60 'uninhabitable' for the time being, having just gone through an F2 class tornado, its incredible there were no deaths and no serious injuries. (We had good warning, but I shudder to think what might have happened had this come through in the middle of the night.....sheesh.) We have no air sirens set up to warn us. With all these hills and mountains we rarely see such things happening here, so we were very, very lucky.
After work today, I stopped to see Mum. As I was getting off the elevator on the second floor, THERE SHE WAS, coming along with her walker and it startled both of us. LOL!!! "What are you doing down here? Did ya' come out to greet me?"
"I didn't know you were coming today" -(I visit each Thursday. lol)-"I was just going down for Romeo Hour. See what that's all about."
ROMEO HOUR???? (I have no idea what that's supposed to be, but it was listed there in her daily activities sheet they pass out every Sunday.) O, my goodness how I laughed. "Mum!! You have to ask what that is!"
"Oh I'm not gonna ask, " she said. "It's probably just something dumb. They can kiss my ass." And she rolled her remarkably blue eyes at me and blinked.
So my 'unexpected' but actually very predictable visit may have thwarted the JULIET in my mother. Who knows. (It's never too late to get lucky. LOL!) And if she were here right now, she'd be punching me in the arm. An endearment.
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