Just a short post today . . . Jean Luc Picard always referred to his second in command as "Number One". Is that a nautical term, I wonder? In any event, I refer to my number one daughter as my Number One as well. Not because she is my second in command (although sometimes we do need to remind her who is the parent int he family), but because she is my oldest and most like me in temperament. Unlike Dawn, who is my opposite and therefore an endless mystery to me, Emica is like me and a mirror in whichI see my own strengths and flaws.
Today, I was driving to work and this song came up on my MP3 player. As soon as I heard it, I thought of Emica. So here is my little love letter to my 'number one' whom I am so proud of, ready to spread her wings. go have a listen . . . Always on My Mind
Friday, August 29, 2008
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Summer Vacation
Well, this week got off to a fairly good start. I went into Portland on Saturday and walked around the Old Port. Took some nice pictures of the schooners around the State Pier and later walked down to where the Amistad was docked. Below is the Wendameen coming into dock. Originally, I had planned to go out on her or the Bagheera one evening this week with Dawn.
However,
disaster struck on Monday night when my Mom fell and broke her hip. First to the emergency room in Skowhegan, then to Mercy Hospital in Portland and finally arrive by week's end at New England Rehabilitation Center. The rest of the week was spent cleaning up seemingly years of accumulated grim off the farmhouse. to make matters worse (if possible), this week has been the longest stretch of rain-free weather the entire Summer. My recurring thought (while tedding hay on the last day of my vacation) was the only thing that could have made this vacation more miserable would have been to actually have been working. So here is my little pity party for a week I'll never get back. boo hoo!
What I Have Been Watching
I had watched the series on Hulu.com, but seeing it again from the beginning is just heartbreaking. There was so much potential in the series; so many ways the show could have gone. I watched Episodes 1 & 2, the original pilot and plan to ration it out over the next few weeks. Then I'll top it off with Serenity and start all over again.
Halo
The first and still the best in my mind. Maybe because I have played it enough for each scene to be familiar, but it was like being with an old friend. I should really write more about how playing Halo changed my life - truly. But suffice to say that I have had few experiences, religious or secular, that have matched playing that game.
I got a chance to play "In the Maw" for an hour or so and Breanne and I played a 'co-op' game that degenerated into killing each other over and over again after we had cleared Episode 2 - "Halo" on easy.
Afrita Hanem
In the Cut
Interesting film. I guess we can thank Jane Champion's work with direction, camera focus etc. from letting this slide into another slasher movie. And Meg Ryan's performance is very powerful. Cudo's to all the cast, actually, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Bacon provide facinating characters as well. You have a feeling that there are lot's of stories there that we just don't have time for in this movie. The whole movie is very erotic, yes, but with such an underlying sense of danger throughout. It is the old 'gun on the wall' adage, but you just know when she goes to live with her half sister over the strip club, (more) bad things are bound to happen. It is also a grungy, side of New York that ain't no "Happily Ever After". I was frankly, surprised at the ending, which to me, means Champion did a better job than I gave her credit for for setting me and the other characters up. Good movie, but not for the faint of heart.
However,
disaster struck on Monday night when my Mom fell and broke her hip. First to the emergency room in Skowhegan, then to Mercy Hospital in Portland and finally arrive by week's end at New England Rehabilitation Center. The rest of the week was spent cleaning up seemingly years of accumulated grim off the farmhouse. to make matters worse (if possible), this week has been the longest stretch of rain-free weather the entire Summer. My recurring thought (while tedding hay on the last day of my vacation) was the only thing that could have made this vacation more miserable would have been to actually have been working. So here is my little pity party for a week I'll never get back. boo hoo!
What I Have Been WatchingI had watched the series on Hulu.com, but seeing it again from the beginning is just heartbreaking. There was so much potential in the series; so many ways the show could have gone. I watched Episodes 1 & 2, the original pilot and plan to ration it out over the next few weeks. Then I'll top it off with Serenity and start all over again.
Halo
The first and still the best in my mind. Maybe because I have played it enough for each scene to be familiar, but it was like being with an old friend. I should really write more about how playing Halo changed my life - truly. But suffice to say that I have had few experiences, religious or secular, that have matched playing that game.
I got a chance to play "In the Maw" for an hour or so and Breanne and I played a 'co-op' game that degenerated into killing each other over and over again after we had cleared Episode 2 - "Halo" on easy.Afrita Hanem
Sort of an Egyptian Bollywood, this movie tells the story of a genie, a nightclub singer and his (imagined) girlfriend and her father. Made in 1951, it features, frankly, a pretty sexy genie; cool clothes and cars; the ubiquitous goofy sidekick and lots of singing and dancing, albeit the former in arabic. It was amazing to me watching it to think that this came from a Moslem culture. I don't know as much as I would like about how Egyptian cultural history, especially under Nassar (would he have been in power at this time?), might have lead to this very secular production. There is a spiritual or moral aspect to the story, certainly, and a prophet-like character who provides the moral compass for the film. But it also includes singing and dancing (both traditional and modern) and drinking and parties. Part of the charm of watching foreign films is all the actors and actresses you do not recognize. What defined beauty in 1950's Egypt? What defined a hero? Anyway, if you like Bollywood films, that means you already tolerate subtitles and songs in languages you can't understand and people breaking into song and dance seemly without provocation, you would enjoy this movie. The only drawback to Afrita Hanem is that it is in black and white - but maybe that is a good thing . . . leave you to imagine what those costumes and sets would have looked like in color.
In the Cut
Interesting film. I guess we can thank Jane Champion's work with direction, camera focus etc. from letting this slide into another slasher movie. And Meg Ryan's performance is very powerful. Cudo's to all the cast, actually, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kevin Bacon provide facinating characters as well. You have a feeling that there are lot's of stories there that we just don't have time for in this movie. The whole movie is very erotic, yes, but with such an underlying sense of danger throughout. It is the old 'gun on the wall' adage, but you just know when she goes to live with her half sister over the strip club, (more) bad things are bound to happen. It is also a grungy, side of New York that ain't no "Happily Ever After". I was frankly, surprised at the ending, which to me, means Champion did a better job than I gave her credit for for setting me and the other characters up. Good movie, but not for the faint of heart.
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