22 January 2009

No, I haven't.

I have not watched Yankee Doodle Dandy yet, and I suspect it might be a while before I do.
However, I did see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and I think it will be relevant to write about it, since it has just gotten itself nominated for an Oscar.
Benjamin Button was, at best, a haunting film about time, life, and everything that falls between. At worst, it was a sentimental, overly-long weepfest. I tend to lean more toward the latter opinion than the former, although I do appreciate the nicely done special effects (makeup and such).
I read the book by F. Scott Fitzgerald by the same name, and found myself laughing at the intentional absurdity in which the author portrayed the life of the titular character.

BREAK FROM TRAIN OF THOUGHT:
I am working in the Writing Center at school, and another student just came in and needed me to sign something. When I asked if that was all she needed, she said, "Yes m'am."
What?! I guess it just slipped without her thinking about it. Scary moment, though.

BENJAMIN BUTTON, CONTINUED:
So, in other words, I liked the story by Fitzgerald very much. It bore little resemblance to the movie. The movie pretty much kept the idea of a boy named Benjamin aging backwards, but left everything else about the book by the wayside. It worked fine for the movie-the things that the movie changed about the story-- the presence of Benjamin's father, Benjamin's home life, Benjamin's love life, etc. --made the plot-line more sensational, more epic, more...Hollywood?
If they had done the movie "exactly" like the book, they would've had to keep on their toes a little more in order to make it work. In the book, Benjamin falls in love and marries, but as he gets older (younger?) he loses interest in his wife's aging body. Oh- and he has a son, who begs his father to call him "Uncle" once Benjamin reaches the little boy stage. That was pretty heartbreaking.
END OF BENJAMIN BUTTON DISCUSSION. (I am already tired of talking about it.)

Movies checked out from the library:
The Commitments
Michael Palin's New Europe Adventure
Hanky Panky
Wife vs. Secretary

The Commitments- a movie I just happened to hear of while perusing an article about Glen Hansard, lead singer of the Irish band The Frames and Once actor, on the NPR Music website. And I just happened to come across the movie while working at the library that very night. Coincidence, huh?
Michael Palin's New Europe...- I had been wanting to check this out (for obvious reasons) ever since it came into the library system. However, the library director checked it out before I could even finish reading the title.
Hanky Panky- A Sidney Poitier directed movie that stars Gene Wilder and Gilda Radner. I have only watched 30 minutes or so, being interrupted by my laptop battery's death. The movie promises to be a fairly funny one, and I have to say that the scene on the bus with Gene Wilder's character Michael Jordan dressed in a stolen magician's suit made me giggle uncontrollably.
Wife vs. Secretary- I basically got it because 1)I like Myrna Loy 2) it looked family friendly.

Books checked out from the library:
100 Careers that Won't Chain You to Your Desk
Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story
The Sherlock Holmes Casebook
Biography of Sherlock Holmes
The Way to Freedom: Letters of Bonhoeffer v. II

100 Careers that Won't Chain You to Your Desk- um, it is pretty much self-explanatory. Even though I know what I want to do, it is still interesting to know that I could be a CIA spy. If I wanted. I think I would die before I would go to work (full-time) somewhere that requires me to be behind a desk 9-5:00. I mean, you miss the best and most beautiful part of the day!! I do acknowledge that I may have to work that kind of dreaded job sometime, but NEVER will I as a career.
Invisible History- also self-explanatory, if you are a member of my family. If you are not, then I will let you know: As soon as I graduate, I am going to go off somewhere to do missions. The specifics of which I do not know, I just know what God has let me know. And right now I am reading about Afghanistan because...well, my church has very deep ties with an ethnic group based in Afghanistan (the Pashtun people) and so I feel like I should know about the people and the region that I have been praying for. I also really really would love so very much if I could go there and be a part of the missions effort that we have going on there after I graduate.
Sherlock Holmes- Because, frankly, I cannot get enough of Holmes.
The Way to Freedom- refer to my talking about missions. I am also trying very hard to read the views and accounts of different missionaries. This has proved to be kind of difficult, for as much as I love what they have to say, the prose of which they write can sometimes be a little...impenetrable.

Music I am listening to:
Nothing new. I have been having some problems with my WinZip/WinRar, so I have not been able to access new artists/songs as easily as before. I have been listening to my new Chris Tomlin cd, as well as my new Belle and Sebastian cd...some more Radiohead...etc etc etc.
I have a cover of "Umbrella" by a band that I just forgot the name of. It is a prominent indie band...poop. It left me. Anyway, I love the song "Umbrella" because it is so darn catchy and great, but since I do not have the original, I am more than content with a nice rock cover. I think the band's name starts with an "M"...oh well.

And that is it for now.

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