Weblog 309
January 15, 2012~ 12:00 am
This has been a self-chosen long weekend for me. Listening to the weather report for Friday, I decided to take my first vacation day of the year. (We were supposed to have rain turning to ice, turning to snow overnight- with high winds and temperatures in the teens, and blowing snow on and off throughout the day.) I am ONE BIG CHICKEN with that kind of forecast.
Me on ice is about as dangerous as me on stiletto heels... either way, I'm gonna get hurt.
Naturally... (since I had the foresight to schedule the day off) the resulting weather wasn't nearly as bad as predicted, though I enjoyed my day inside- nice and snug, reading a good book and looking out on the blustery stuff. I'm sure I'll take some ribbing on Monday when I walk into work. "Here comes the canary".... LOL!! (For bad weather, I'm the office's equivalent of a canary in the mine- the first one to drop and warn the others there's 'bad stuff' ahead.)
Scary weather makes me feel like a little kid. As an older grown-up, there's just no one to ask. It'd be nice to have ...oh, God or someone to simply get the protective low-down.
Someone to walk up to and say, "Hey..... is it safe?" Without that, I have only my own inner sirens to warn me off the roads or to guide me in any way at all. Alas, my own judgment is often faulty; more often than not, I'll err on the safe side.
I was thinking about that as I peeked out the curtains, watching all the other cars travel past... thinking what an oddball I am. Practically a different creature than the people around me, ill-suited to sit at any table but my own.
(And in that picture, I can't tell you if I'm the lady in the white wig, or the dressed up animal beside her. LOL!!!) What I do know is...... there's a BIG difference between us.
Speaking of differences and animals behaving as humans, Wayne and I rented 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' for Saturday evening. I'd heard Andy Serkis on the radio a while back, interviewed about playing the main chimp, Caesar, and it was a wonderful interview. Now having seen it, what I can say is that it's pure 'B film' fare-- the actors wasted. Even John Lithgow in his small part as James Franco's father who suffers from Alzheimer's, didn't have enough of a role to flesh out in any real way.
Franco plays a research scientist who's working on a cure for his dad by using.... yes... laboratory chimps. Things go awry very quickly and the chimps have to be destroyed- except for a baby male, just born
whom Franco takes to his home to raise. The baby chimp ends up inheriting some of the serum that was used on his mother and becomes quite intelligent- a joy to both Franco and his father, who DOES respond to the serum as well. But true to form in these kinds of films, the animal is finally 'betrayed' following a nasty neighborhood incident, and 'Caesar'- as the chimp's been named, gets shipped off to a primate sanctuary that's anything but.
When the serum Franco had been illegally injecting into his father becomes ineffective, the desperate scientist develops a stronger serum, not knowing it will prove to be a toxic virus to humans. However, the apes respond fantastically well: they communicate. They organize under the tutelege of Caesar, who manages to break into Franco's lab and steal more of the stuff for his cagemates.
Yes, yes..... mankind is doomed, but the apes rise up! (That part of the film is terrifically exciting and the computer-generated apes are wonderful to watch, but overall, the story is pat and nothing we've haven't seen over and over.) What amazed me is how shallow the characters are, shallow and stereotyped. There's the black, ambitious research director... with a British accent. What's THAT about? (Are we such morons that we need a phony British accent in order to believe that an upscale corporation would have an African-American as its CEO? Is that essential to cinch his 'uppity-ness' in the minds of the viewers? ) Then there's the beautiful Indian veterinarian who becomes Franco's girlfriend, who is a total piece of cardboard. The actress is so wooden we care nothing for her at all, and we're not asked to. (I believe she's the film's 'eye-candy'. I had to ask myself.... "Who did this girl SLEEP WITH to be in this movie?" LOL!!)
Of course there's the 'required' sadistic, abusive primate's custodian, bullying around with over-acted sneering and heckling. (We've all seen this character. There's one in every animal movie.)
So the casting and the storyline are pretty much pat and lazy film-making. It's the computer-animation that's the real star here, and it's the genius of Andy Serkis as Caesar who presents us with the film's only real emotion.
The realism of the animation makes the ape uprising as exciting as possible, but that's the only time the film really takes off. This isn't a 'bad' film, but it's a lazy one. It could have been much better had it allowed us to care more for its human characters, but stereotypes are impossible to love. Their roles were shallowly written.... and the movie's FILLED with them.
(At least now, I can retire to my bedroom lair and jump right back into an interesting novel.) I'm reading, "The Spies Of Warsaw" by Alan Furst, which brings pre-world WWII eastern Europe into such tight, true focus, THIS.... is the movie for this weekend. Furst is a revelation to me. A novelist I've just been introduced to, who brings that time and those characters to living, breathing life. Thank goodness there is life beyond cardboard roles and computer generated imagery. Thank goodness there's the written word.
January 15, 2012~ 2:20 pm
Getting ready here to go and visit mum, do her laundry and have dinner at Assisted Living. (Unfortunately.... I've forgotten to buy more dinner tickets. Therefore.....
like "Oliver!", I'll be standing, beggar's bowl in hand and asking "Please, sir. May I have some more?" LOL!!!) I just hate when I do that. Oh, the staff knows I'll slap down TWO tickets next week, but still..... it's humiliating. (Of course, MUM thinks it's silly of me. "We pay enough for this place! The HELL with them!") She's a woman with a criminal mind, I'll tell ya'.... a regular Fagin.
I'm no 'Artful Dodger', however, I'm 'the little Catholic girl' to the core. Yes, I'll be humiliated.
January 17, 2012~ 7:00 pm
Here's something to stir your imagination and fatten your brain. (Every day, I hope to learn just one new thing I never knew before, and today..... it's the word: "rhyton". Pronunced: RYE'-tawn) Know what that is?
(If you do a Google image search, you'll find 22,000 varieties from various cultures) but the one that had me open-mouthed with wonder was THIS ONE....
That beauty is one of the Panagyurishte Treasures. It was unearthed in Bulgaria on December 18th, 1949 by the Deikov brothers, quite by accident, digging in local clay. Here's the trio, proudly displaying their find.
It was determined after examination by archaeological experts that they dated back to the 3rd and 4th century....B.C. Amazing!!! Further, the wondrous artifacts were SOLID GOLD, and Thracian in origin.....
For a closer look at the Panagyurishte Treasures click on that link. For OTHER finds, also click on Rogozen Silver Treasures, as well as the Lukovit Silver Treasures.... you'll be astonished at the beauty of those ancient objects.
(After a gloomy, 'all-rain' day in Pittsburgh, challenging my already droopy mood, it was terrific to be whisked away by magic like that. Hope you enjoy it as well. :) AAAaand....I have to say...... IT MAKES ME FEEL GREEDY. LOL!!
***
(Return To Weekly Archives)
This has been a self-chosen long weekend for me. Listening to the weather report for Friday, I decided to take my first vacation day of the year. (We were supposed to have rain turning to ice, turning to snow overnight- with high winds and temperatures in the teens, and blowing snow on and off throughout the day.) I am ONE BIG CHICKEN with that kind of forecast.
Me on ice is about as dangerous as me on stiletto heels... either way, I'm gonna get hurt.
Naturally... (since I had the foresight to schedule the day off) the resulting weather wasn't nearly as bad as predicted, though I enjoyed my day inside- nice and snug, reading a good book and looking out on the blustery stuff. I'm sure I'll take some ribbing on Monday when I walk into work. "Here comes the canary".... LOL!! (For bad weather, I'm the office's equivalent of a canary in the mine- the first one to drop and warn the others there's 'bad stuff' ahead.)
Scary weather makes me feel like a little kid. As an older grown-up, there's just no one to ask. It'd be nice to have ...oh, God or someone to simply get the protective low-down.
Someone to walk up to and say, "Hey..... is it safe?" Without that, I have only my own inner sirens to warn me off the roads or to guide me in any way at all. Alas, my own judgment is often faulty; more often than not, I'll err on the safe side.
I was thinking about that as I peeked out the curtains, watching all the other cars travel past... thinking what an oddball I am. Practically a different creature than the people around me, ill-suited to sit at any table but my own.
(And in that picture, I can't tell you if I'm the lady in the white wig, or the dressed up animal beside her. LOL!!!) What I do know is...... there's a BIG difference between us.
Speaking of differences and animals behaving as humans, Wayne and I rented 'Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes' for Saturday evening. I'd heard Andy Serkis on the radio a while back, interviewed about playing the main chimp, Caesar, and it was a wonderful interview. Now having seen it, what I can say is that it's pure 'B film' fare-- the actors wasted. Even John Lithgow in his small part as James Franco's father who suffers from Alzheimer's, didn't have enough of a role to flesh out in any real way.
Franco plays a research scientist who's working on a cure for his dad by using.... yes... laboratory chimps. Things go awry very quickly and the chimps have to be destroyed- except for a baby male, just born
whom Franco takes to his home to raise. The baby chimp ends up inheriting some of the serum that was used on his mother and becomes quite intelligent- a joy to both Franco and his father, who DOES respond to the serum as well. But true to form in these kinds of films, the animal is finally 'betrayed' following a nasty neighborhood incident, and 'Caesar'- as the chimp's been named, gets shipped off to a primate sanctuary that's anything but.
When the serum Franco had been illegally injecting into his father becomes ineffective, the desperate scientist develops a stronger serum, not knowing it will prove to be a toxic virus to humans. However, the apes respond fantastically well: they communicate. They organize under the tutelege of Caesar, who manages to break into Franco's lab and steal more of the stuff for his cagemates.
Yes, yes..... mankind is doomed, but the apes rise up! (That part of the film is terrifically exciting and the computer-generated apes are wonderful to watch, but overall, the story is pat and nothing we've haven't seen over and over.) What amazed me is how shallow the characters are, shallow and stereotyped. There's the black, ambitious research director... with a British accent. What's THAT about? (Are we such morons that we need a phony British accent in order to believe that an upscale corporation would have an African-American as its CEO? Is that essential to cinch his 'uppity-ness' in the minds of the viewers? ) Then there's the beautiful Indian veterinarian who becomes Franco's girlfriend, who is a total piece of cardboard. The actress is so wooden we care nothing for her at all, and we're not asked to. (I believe she's the film's 'eye-candy'. I had to ask myself.... "Who did this girl SLEEP WITH to be in this movie?" LOL!!)
Of course there's the 'required' sadistic, abusive primate's custodian, bullying around with over-acted sneering and heckling. (We've all seen this character. There's one in every animal movie.)
So the casting and the storyline are pretty much pat and lazy film-making. It's the computer-animation that's the real star here, and it's the genius of Andy Serkis as Caesar who presents us with the film's only real emotion.
The realism of the animation makes the ape uprising as exciting as possible, but that's the only time the film really takes off. This isn't a 'bad' film, but it's a lazy one. It could have been much better had it allowed us to care more for its human characters, but stereotypes are impossible to love. Their roles were shallowly written.... and the movie's FILLED with them.
(At least now, I can retire to my bedroom lair and jump right back into an interesting novel.) I'm reading, "The Spies Of Warsaw" by Alan Furst, which brings pre-world WWII eastern Europe into such tight, true focus, THIS.... is the movie for this weekend. Furst is a revelation to me. A novelist I've just been introduced to, who brings that time and those characters to living, breathing life. Thank goodness there is life beyond cardboard roles and computer generated imagery. Thank goodness there's the written word.
January 15, 2012~ 2:20 pm
Getting ready here to go and visit mum, do her laundry and have dinner at Assisted Living. (Unfortunately.... I've forgotten to buy more dinner tickets. Therefore.....
like "Oliver!", I'll be standing, beggar's bowl in hand and asking "Please, sir. May I have some more?" LOL!!!) I just hate when I do that. Oh, the staff knows I'll slap down TWO tickets next week, but still..... it's humiliating. (Of course, MUM thinks it's silly of me. "We pay enough for this place! The HELL with them!") She's a woman with a criminal mind, I'll tell ya'.... a regular Fagin.
I'm no 'Artful Dodger', however, I'm 'the little Catholic girl' to the core. Yes, I'll be humiliated.
January 17, 2012~ 7:00 pm
Here's something to stir your imagination and fatten your brain. (Every day, I hope to learn just one new thing I never knew before, and today..... it's the word: "rhyton". Pronunced: RYE'-tawn) Know what that is?
~An ancient Greek drinking horn, made of pottery or metal, having a base in the form of the head of a woman or animal.
(If you do a Google image search, you'll find 22,000 varieties from various cultures) but the one that had me open-mouthed with wonder was THIS ONE....
That beauty is one of the Panagyurishte Treasures. It was unearthed in Bulgaria on December 18th, 1949 by the Deikov brothers, quite by accident, digging in local clay. Here's the trio, proudly displaying their find.
It was determined after examination by archaeological experts that they dated back to the 3rd and 4th century....B.C. Amazing!!! Further, the wondrous artifacts were SOLID GOLD, and Thracian in origin.....
"The name of the population that inhabited the territory between the Carpathian Mountains and Aegean region, the islands, and also regions of Anatolia, the northern coast of the Black Sea, etc."
For a closer look at the Panagyurishte Treasures click on that link. For OTHER finds, also click on Rogozen Silver Treasures, as well as the Lukovit Silver Treasures.... you'll be astonished at the beauty of those ancient objects.
(After a gloomy, 'all-rain' day in Pittsburgh, challenging my already droopy mood, it was terrific to be whisked away by magic like that. Hope you enjoy it as well. :) AAAaand....I have to say...... IT MAKES ME FEEL GREEDY. LOL!!
(Return To Weekly Archives)
...
. or pay a visit to my Audio site to hear things
I've written- 
Some are just 'jotters', thoughts as they fly- going
nowhere but where they are. If you stop and read a few~ or post a
few~ thanks for
the perusal. Last of all, if you've a hankering for rants and raging,
try making a stop at my other blog- 
