Let's see ...

http://www.impactstudio3d.com/IMAGES/film-roll.jpg

OK, what can we look forward to on the big screen in 2009?

(Films are not ordered in alphabetical or any other order known to mankind. It's haphazard.)

Twilight, of course, though it's a 2008er. I loved the book and from what I've read about and seen from the film so far tell me that I'd enjoy that, too. My main concern with films based on books is consistency and faithfulness to the style (in broad sense) of the book, not so much comprehensiveness. A whole book cannot fit into a film, no matter how long the film or how short the book, when it's a novel, I mean.

Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince has already been delayed once, so my expectations are huge-ish. The task of the filmmakers is no easier because of the fact that the sixth book is possibly my favourite, though it is hard to choose the best among equals. It is certainly the book that made the greatest impression on me. How come? It's the horcruxes. The idea of splitting your soul by the most violent act--murder--and capturing the pieces in in/animate objects got me. It may not be completely original, but it doesn't matter, I haven't heard of it before. It made sense to me. Premeditated murder is the ultimate act of evil going two ways: taking the victim's life splits the soul of the perpetrator. Multiple murders means multiple splits until the soul is so destabilized it can hardly heal. And yet, the book says that there is a way: deep and sincere remorse. By extension, any evil damages the doer's soul as much as it damages the other person (potentially even more so, because taking someone's life does not entail taking their soul). That realization, in a so-called children's book, struck me the most. I hope the film does justice to that idea.

The Changeling is a tale of a mother's quest to find her lost child starring Angelina Jolie. Based on a true story, if I remember correctly. Some comfort after A Mighty Heart failed to make an appearance in our cinemas. I'm not sure I'll like The Changeling, but I think it would be worth seeing it.

Revolutionary Road starring Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the Titanic couple. I love them both and the trailer looks promising, so I think this would be a film of some substance and next to zero special effects.

Duplicity http://www.duplicitymovie.net/: just spotted this one, so I thow in that link for more info. Right, Tony Gilroy is the director. I like his style; he mixes up the plotlines, so it's a bit difficult to follow, but comes up with very multi-layered characters. He did Michael Clayton, which I watched a few times (always a good sign with me), so I'd look out for this one. Julia Roberts and Clive Owen starring. Out in March in the civilized world:)

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button http://movies.zap2it.com/movies/the-curious-case-of-benjamin-button/170920 is about aging backwards, growing younger instead of growing older. Intriguing. Goodlooking. Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett directed by David Fincher.

Much talk around State of Play. Always good to know what Russel Crowe is up to, even if it's a bloody thriller. To be released in April.

I'll stop here leaving the door open for more films to come in :)

A travel into the unknown...when, due to lack of interest, tomorrow is cancelled

I suggest that anyone who enjoys fantastic photos and likes to revisit the beauty around us, check out this blog:

http://www.zaveqna.blogspot.com/

More often than not, we miss out a lot of our everyday world: we see it, we talk about it, but we doesn't really stop to think. This blog does:

http://societyproduct.com/byronesque/

P.S. I'm happy to say that I know the creators of both blogs and they are wonderful, sparkling personalities. Keep up the creative work :)

'A Life Lived in Fear is a Life Half Lived'*

http://www.australiamovie.net/

Oh my, would you look at that site! On opening it, I expected the typical film website, you know, cast and crew info, trailers, gallery, downloads perhaps ... However, this one looks like a fan website: it's got news, videos, its own forum even!

Anyways, back to the film itself. It's been a while since I've seen some drama, so I'd be a tad more positive about it. (I've recently revisited Legends of the Fall, but that doesn't count as it's not new and I've seen it numerous times. Heartbreaking film, but it's another story). It seems that the heady mixture of war, death, romance, wilderness, race and ethnicity is not every director's cup of tea. Of course, it's been done before, but it's a slippery slope: Pearl Harbour (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0213149/) has got quite a number of unfavourable reviews.

Regardless, World War II still fascinates filmmakers. Understandably so, it changed the balance of power in the 20th century world at the cost of millions of lives and thus providing millions of potential plots. This is one of the reasons, I think, we'd continue to see more World War II films made. It's such a complex human experience that I don't think its continual on-screen representation would wear down, become boring, lessen its significance, etc. At least it shouldn't.

Australia takes place mostly in the early years of the War, but it's background until the Japanese air attacks on Darwin when the main characters' lives are seriously threatened. There's more than enough of explosions and soldiers, but I find it a bit stylized and lacking detail. It doesn't bother me so much as the focus of the story is not the war itself, but of 3 people following their own agenda and caught up in the middle of it. As so many civilians are ...

I think Nicole Kidman did a great job with her Sarah Ashley: she's got the looks and she pulls off the emotions convincingly. I've never seen her as a versatile actress; I think she leans towards more personal-tragedy-prone characters. Nothing wrong with that -- she plays them beautifully.

As for Hugh Jackman, I like him generally, though he isn't in any of my favourite films. I'm not an X-men fan, The Fountain was original in a weird way. In Australia, he does the macho-like cowboy aspect of the character very well, but I am not swept off by his performance in the more dramatic scenes. I think he's got a good face for comedies, though.

The boy, Nullah, played by Brandon Walters, was a masterstroke. Luhrmann made a great casting choice. He hijacked many scenes from Nicole and Hugh, in my view. (OK, I admit, I'm biased, deep, dark eyes mesmerize me. I believe this is what people call fathomless eyes). Having him as the narrator of the story was brilliant, too. It adds authenticity.

All in all, I enjoyed Australia and would see it again, if I get the chance. It can be easily criticized as being melodramatic, but it doesn't go to extremes, so I don't see it as a drawback. After all, you can't be dispassionate in love and war.

* used in the movie Strictly Ballroom (1992) and also in the very beginning of Australia.

I festively swear I'm up to no good today!

and tonight:)

Home Sweet Home

As Margaret Fuller says: "A house is no home unless it contains food and fire for the mind as well as the body."

So on a festicious note:

Want a fireplace in my house some day:

Cat for traditional crafts: rugs, wicker baskets ...

Wouldn't mind having such a ceiling. Wood creates such a homey atmosphere!

Winter Theme

Most of these are from the small town of Tryavna. With the gently falling snow, it felt like you are in a fairy tale ...

The Twilight Movie

http://www.twilightthemovie.com/ says the Twilight movie will hit us as late as February next year!
My, they're taking their time. I don't see what's the good in missing out on the Christmas season ...

Name Diary

I love the names in the Twilight series, especially Esme, Carlisle, Emmett, Jasper (it's great when they call them Em and Jazz:) And Renesmee is a very clever one as well.

I wonder if they mean anything ...

P.S. I forgot to mention Seth, Leah, Jared and Quil:)

Breaking Dawn

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html

SPOILER WARNING!

I just thought I'd throw in a few things about about Breaking Dawn. It's been a while since I finished it, but I had to chew it over, and now that I finished the series, I turned to the fandom to check what's going on over there. I still have a lot of catching up to do on that front:)

I've read that one almost overnight, literally, it was riveting.

In the first two books I felt very badly for Jacob. His pain was almost heartbreaking. Prior to the book, I wondered how things with him will turn out. It didn't look likely that Bella would choose him over Edward; if she has never met Edward, then maybe, but as it is ...

It was very clever of Stephanie to make Jacob the narrator in the second book. We got a clear view of the extent of his love for Bella and his suffering because of it. We also got some of the pack dynamics firsthand (or firstpaw, should I say). He was more or less a helpless witness through Bella's quick pregnancy and transformation; I don't know what he would have done with himself for the rest of his life if he didn't imprint on Bella's daughter.

Although Edward and Bella didn't like this at first, I find it a perfect solution: it's as if Jacob's Bella and Edward's Bella split in two persons: one remaining Bella (Edward's Bella) and the other, Jacob's Bella -- becoming Renesmee. After the transformation, Bella admits that she no longer longs for Jacob; she dismisses her need for him as some human weakness, but maybe she feels that way because that part of her went into Renesmee.

I must admit that Bella's transformatiion in a vampire worried me a bit because of all the things about newborns that we learnt in Eclipse. Bella herself was worried, too, at one point -- about how she would not be able to think of anything else but her thirst, how that can even obscure her love for Edward, how she would not be able to see her parents or any human friends.

But her trasnformation exceeded anyone's expectations. True, she felt thirst, but it was not anything like blinding obssession. My explanation is that Bella's chief motive for becoming a vampire was her love for Edward. This somehow kept her mind focused, this was the core of her being and so she managed to keep it through the transformation. What's more, her llove and desire for him became even stronger as her mind and abilites expanded when she turned into a vampire. It suited her perfectly, which made me accept it more easily. Her gift is remarkable. Finally, we have an explanation why Edward couldn't read her thoughts or the Voulturi torture her. It turns out that her mind carries a kind of protective shield which does not allow any outer influence, manipulation, illusions, nothing from the outside. Ultimately, it was her gift that saved them, or at least significantly contributed to their saving from the Volturi. At first glance, it doesn't look like a powerful talent: it doesn't sound as cool as reading minds or foreseeing the future. Its power is protection not intrusion or attack.

I liked the ending very much: finally Bella got what she wanted and managed somehow to bring all the people she cares about together. She is with Edward and the Cullens, she has her daughter, she sees Jacob and the other werewolves, the treaty is upheld. She bridges the gap among humans, vampires and werewolves. She even manages to see Charlie, and to keep the secret from him at the same time. No wonder the Volturi wanted her. She's eons away from the average girl she saw herself as at the onset of Twilight.

It's always good to have a big showdown towards the end, but I find that the Volturi overreacted; surely, a single vampire child (as they saw Renesmee) couldn't pose much of a treat for them. OK, the werewolves could be a problem for them as well. They like to show off, but still ... it just a bit patched up to me.

Overall, I enjoyed Breaking Dawn enormously. It's a great end to the series.

Film Frenzy

Winter is a good season for movies.

I've been to the cinema twice for a week -- Body of Lies is finally here and I've seen one film (well, better than none) from the film fest, This is England.

And ... Twilight the movie was released on 21 November ... in the US (Hurray! nevertheless).

So I'm waiting ... and chewing over Body of Lies in the meantime:)

Feeling Flowery ...

Colourful regards:)))

New

I've been aiming to add more links forever. Here is a very interesting one on myth:

http://journeytothesea.com/

It drew my attention in connection with the Harry Potter series and The Lord of the Rings so I'm sure I'd be discussing bits of it now and then.

On Films

It's not that I forgot I wanted to blog on films as well. It's just that I haven't seen anything new recently. Because there's not much to see. OK, there's plenty going on, but not much to my taste. Speaking of the cinema scene, (excluding the ongoing film fest for the time being) I've noticed that for the past year or maybe a little more, the cineplexes are premiering more and more Bulgarian and European films (nothing wrong with that, though I'm not a huge fan) accompanied by, bizzarely, low-quality (according to my standards) Hollywood. I say low quality, because I do think that there is high quality Hollywood and I count most of my favourite films among them (e.g. The Departed). I don't think big budgets, A-list stars and directors are detrimental to the quality of a film. On the contrary, they offer huge opportunies because they can better develop plots, chracters, sets, etc. Entertainment can be art. (OK, more seldom the case now, but still).
My point is that we're missing on good Holliwood stuff (I wonder where are Body of Lies, A Mighty Heart, The Edge of Love ...).

P.S. I wonder when Twilight will be reased here. The US premiere is in four days. I hope it's before Christmas at least. Any cinema would be mad to miss on the holliday season.

Phase in Jacob Black

http://twilightsource.com/tsgallery/?level=album&id=5&plog_page=3

SPOILER WARNING!

When Jacob Black first appeared in Twilight (maybe I'm repeating myself, but anyway), I didn't think he'll pay such a major role in the series. He turns out to be a werewolf, an Alpha, a born leader, though he didn't want that birthright.

From the very begining, he's likable and easy-going and Bella often says that it's so easy to be with him. Thinking about him, I was struck by how much he changes since Twilight. Initially he is carefree and entertaining company, then after he learns that all the werewolf legends are true, he goes through a period of denial and fear of rejection. He becomes a bit more comfortable when Bella doesn't abandon him because he can now transform into a giant wolf, but his struggles have only just began. He's one of the characters (if not the one) that I empathise most with. He knows that he loves Bella and that she loves him back, but that she loves a vampire and is prepared to become one herself in order to always live with Edward. One of the problems is that vampires are mortal enemies to the werewolves and Jacob feels a real aversion for the person (ok, vampire) Bella cannot live without. In the course of the series, he manages to overcome that aversion so as not to lose Bella. He is devasted by the knowledge that she wants to become a vampire, but eventually, when her life is in danger, he would accept even that, so that she can continue to exist. Her personality does not change much after the transformation, so that is a comfort, but still, Jacob is ina pretty bad situation: his love is doomed: even though Bella loves him, she can never choose him over Edward. Jacob is more of a friend or family to her. He saved her from the desperation and depression following Edward's departure. Edward started tolerating him initially because of that.

But what can the future hold for Jacob after Bella's transformation? And then he imprints on Bella's half-human, half-vampire daughter and that drives her crazy.

I'll see how this one will turn out, but I think this is a pretty good outcome for Jacob, at least now he has any chance of being happy with a person closer to Bella than anyone. What's more, this imprinting bridges so many gaps: among the human, the vampire and the werewolf worlds. Bella thought the feud between werewolves and vampires unnecessary and Jacob's falling for a half-vampire girl emphasizes that idea. Maybe there will be a happily ever after for Jacob as well.

Breaking Dawn

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilightseries.html

SPOILER WARNING!

Did it again. OK, didn't make it quite to dawn, though it was pretty much morning when I put down Breaking Dawn, half-way through. This blog suspiciously look like a Twilight fan blog, but it's not. It just takes time to go through the thousands of pages that make up the series.

This last book is the size of a brick and it's pretty dramatic, I must say. Bella's wedding and pregnancy, and transformation, Jacob's imprinting ... I can't say I'm so surpirised with that: he's a too good character to be left to howling in the distance ...

Eclipse in the night

http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/eclipse.html

SPOILER WARNING!

I've got quite a few favourite books, but it is not often the case that they keep me up till 3.a.m.
That was Eclipse's job. Part of it had to do with the fact that I know I'd have very little time for reading today (I was right). The bigger part was that I couldn't just put it down. OK, I pronounce it my favourite from the Twilight series so far (having not read Breaking Dawn yet, though I leafed through it). That has not so much to do with what happens next and how it ends. I know that this isn't the end since there's one more book. It's more to do with why it happens. How it turns out for Bella, for Jacob, for the Cullens.
Thinking about it, I'd have to admit, I'd pick The Half-blood Prince as my favourite from the Harry Potter series and it's the penultimate book, just like Eclipse. Both are not so much action driven, but more like emotion-driven, will-driven. It's more or less clear what will happen towards the end in both: Harry learns he has to find all the Horcruxes, while Bella knows that sooner or later Victoria will lcome for her. In Eclipse it is very interesting to see how the dynamic between Bella, Edward and Jacob turns out, between the Cullens and the werewolves, etc. Bella has to make some really definng decision, she can't be split in two or three, even: between the human, the vampire and the werewolf worlds.

To be continued ...

P.S. I wonder what's with the cover? This one and the New Moon's are the two that I find the most curious ...

Eclipse

Already sank my teeth into Eclipse.

It's good to see Bella somehow reconciling the Jacob part of her life with the vampireful rest of it ...

Enter Bella Swan

http://twilightsource.com/tsgallery/?level=album&id=5

SPOILER WARNING!

The more I think about Bella, the more I find that there is more to her than meets the eye.

Starting with her looks: she sees herself as rather plain and 'klutzy', but as Edward says, she doesn't see herself clearly. Even though I was spoilt by the pictures of Kristen Stewart (who plays her in the Twilight movie, http://www.twilightthemovie.com/), I didn't imagine her like that (and still don't). I think Kristen is prettier, though she captures the unusualness quite well. Anyway, what Stephanie Meyer says about Bella's appearance on her site draws my attention:

I have decided to tell you what she looks like to me. But I want to stress, Bella's looks are open to interpretation. ( http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/twilight_faq.html#bella)

Shall I take this to mean that it's the reader and not the author who interprets the text and that the author has almost no say in how their own creation is interpreted? I like that, but not to the extreme: every reader has his/her own view, but the author can always say what their intention was and how they pictured the character, the plot, etc.

Anyway, back to Bella. I side with Edward on the point that she's not as ordinary as she thinks. And she's been through a lot. She had to learn to take care of herself early on, because her parents got divorced and she had to look after herself and her carefree mother. And she didn't seem to complain, not even through her teenage years, when everyone complains a lot about everything. When she moved to her father, she again was quite capable of taking care of both.

What is quite striking is that she is not afraid of vampires. What's more, she wants to be one of them, even though she is told that it's extrememly painful, even though she sees that it's very difficult to get the better of the thirst for human blood, etc. And she seems extraordinally detached from humans: she is quite capable of forming relationships with vampires (and werewolves later on), but not people. Vampires and werewolves are mortal enemies (or should I say immortal?) and yet she is friends with both. But that's not all. The fact that Edward's talent to read thoughts, Aro's talent to read minds, Jane's talent to torture do not work on her make me think that she is not ordinary at all and that she has some talent, which will surface when she becomes a vampire. I think she will, because it looks like Aro's guard will track her down eventually if she doesn't. (I'm getting to the end of New Moon).

In Twilight, she is ready to let James kill her to save her mother (and arguably Edward) and in New Moon she is ready to save Edward, even though there's a slim chance of success and a strong likelihood of being killed. Her sacrifice reminds me of Harry's in Deathly Hallows in a way. Only when they surrender to the thought that this is what they should do and that's the end of it, does the sacrifice really work. Harry saves the day, while Bella has to be saved by the Cullens. Still, she manages to escape from Alice and Jasper's watchful eyes and she really accpes the fact that James will kill her.

I didn't expect the Cullens to leave her. But I am still more amazed that she manages to get out of the severe depression she sinks after that. True, with a lot of help from Jacob, but it takes quite some strength of character and recklessness, as it turns out.

So, these are my first jumbled thoughts on Bella. I'm sure there will be more of them as I read on.

Coming Soon ...

I am not sure what I do with the time, but it's certainly gone before I know it these days.
Anyways, I've got lots of posts on Twilight on their way!
I thought of starting with some first thoughts on characters, which will be fleshed out as I read along.
So I want to start with Bella, Edward and then the rest of the Cullens.
On a separate note, I've got some really good sites I want to link; they are more Harry Potter-related, but not only.
It occurs to me that the lack of movie discussion is conspicuously missing from my (at least partially) movie-dedicated blog. I certainly haven't given them up for good, but there is a reason (not to my liking), which I'll dwell on later.
There. My blog post plan. Kind of.

Update: I don't know how I missed out on Jacob Black, but after New Moon, I'd say any discussion without him will fail poorly. I suspect his part in the series will get even more important.

On the Scent

http://www.amazon.com/Twilight-Book-1-Stephenie-Meyer/dp/0316160172/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1224446862&sr=1-1

Yeah, I know -- it's been too long. One of the reasons (the best one) is that I've been reading the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer (yes, the very same one that brought about this blog; for further details, see my first post).

Twilight spoiler warning: some book details may be revealed whenever I discuss the books or the movie, so beware:)

I still cannot quite get used to the idea that I find a vampire book so unputdownable, but, really, it's riveting. Part of it is the suspense of what happens next, no doubt. That's not all, though: I'm sure I'll be going back to these books more than once. There are many Whys here, but I'll deal with them in other posts.

It's been a while since I read an American novel and that has its own attractions -- it's in the usage; she uses expressions that I simply don't see in contemporary British writing. The author herself said that the book is quite visual and having finished Twilight, I see what she means: it's her description technique -- it's really easy for my imagination to picture a scene or whatever it is she is describing.

I'm now racing through New Moon and must admit that the Volterra adventure was a bit too much for my no-fan-of-vampire-books self, but I guess I'll recover; I still got hundreds of pages to the end of Breaking Dawn (the last book).

I decided not too get too much into the Twilight fandom stuff until I finish the series so I don't get spoiled, but my curiosity may get the better of me: I'm already leafing through the end of New Moon ...

And on that note, I put a stop now (I don't need to yawn all day tomorrow).

His majesty the cat ...

This is is the cutest, most playful cat I've seen in a long while. He climbs everything, plays with everything, he's a real joy:)

I left him to chase the strap of my camera and as you can see on the left, he rose to the task beautifully:)

The Love Letters of Dylan Thomas

I go for novels whenever I can; that is, when I read fiction.

Novels are the best place for developing characters and putting them in plausible circumstances ... and submerging oneself in them ...

Anyway, along with buying the Twilight series (naturally), I grabbed a copy of The Love Letters of Dylan Thomas, something I would probably not have done were it not for the cover.

Yes, I know you can't judge a book by its cover, but my film fan self could not resist. The Letters has Sienna Miller and Keira Knightley on the cover. I love Keira's films (not that I've seen them all, but Pride & Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean are among my favourites) and I vaguely remember reading about a film based on Dylan Thomas' letters.

So I got it and I read it.

To be honest, I found it a bit difficult at first, because I was not familiar with his style and it's rather strange to read a real person's letters ...

For one thing, you don't get the addressee's responses, you don't get previous correspondence ...

Thomas writes to various women, so it's not a continuous narrative and it's hard to piece things together. And there's something to be said about reading personal correspondence--there's definitely a very different feel to it when you know that these letters were really written to one person and supposed to be read only by them ...

Dylan Thomas writes mostly to his wife and you can tell that he loved her immensely, but judging by the other letters as well, it seems to me that he had a great capacity to love, but he also hinted he had a bit of temper. In any case, alothough you can draw a lot from these letters, you can't get to know him fully. That's what he says a letter is:

What's a good letter anyway? To put down a bit of oneself to send to someone who
misses it? To be funny and sefconscious or selfconsciously formal, or so very
natural that even the words blush and stammer?

His letters are often rambling, almost stream-of-conscousness, but he has an ironic sense of humour, which is very endearing because he often directs it at himself. It seems a bit ironic that his letters have been turned into a film when in one of them he says:

I hate film studios. I hate film workers. I hate films. There is nothing but glibly naive insecurity in this huge tinroofed box of tricks.

Of course, I cannot agree with that, but I do hope that The Edge of Love film does him justice.

P.S. His comments on America are quite insightful.

Some Sweet Food For Thought

That'a a good place for chocolate greetings:

http://www.virtualchocolate.com/

There're some weird ones, but most are pretty cute:)

My personal favourite:

Happy Birthday!

A very happy birthday to me (a bit late, but this is what happens when you celebrate it too many times:)))

Rereads

It occurred to me that it may seem a bit odd to finish Bridget Jones and not follow it up with the sequel immediately. The reason is that I read both books some time ago and this was a reread. And since I have a lot of unread books clamouring for my attention at home, I prefer to leave the sequel for later:)
Perhaps I should also explain that I like to go back to books I've enjoyed; not just because I've enjoyed it them, but because each time I find something I haven't noticed before; or I have changed in the period between the two readings and the book seems different each time. I simply see it from new angle.

P.S. Dylan Thomas's Letters would definitely need a reread. They deserve their own post, though. Once I get round to it. Better finish the Letters first.

The Green Island

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been on holiday recently. I spent most of it on the greenest of green islands, Ireland. No wonder it's dubbed the Green Island. The grass riveted my eyes (more so when it's sunny), but that's not the only reason I found Ireland charming.

For such a comparatively small country with small population it offers quite a variety of things to do and see. Dublin has a simmering cultural life (Festival of World Cultures going on while I was there, more info on http://www.festivalofworldcultures.com/), inviting flowery parks and unique sights such as the Guiness Brewery and Old Jameson Distillery (some of the Dublin sights are listed here: http://www.virtualtourist.com/travel/Europe/Ireland/County_Dublin/Dublin-296021/Things_To_Do-Dublin-TG-C-1.html). The city also offers fantastic jewelery with Celtic symbols and motifs (such a temptation!). These people have a fantastic sense of humour, which can be seen on any T shirts or beer mats sold in the gift shops. A central topic on all of these is drinking -- a subject which could not escape the sharp observations of Oscar Wilde (born in Dublin and incidentally one of my favourite quotation sources) who remarked: "I drink to keep body and soul apart."

Ireland also seemed to me to be a country of signs: everywhere there are road signs -- some giving directions, others - prohibitions, still others I foud quite fun, at least at first glance.

Here's a taster:

Can't have put it any clearer.

If the entrance is hidden, why put up a sign? Well, that's not the point, apparently:)

Glendalough area; more info on http://www.glendalough.ie/

P.S. While I am still under the spell of the Green Island, I think I'll be posting some of my Irish photos here and there.

Bridget's here at last

It's been a couple of weeks now, I mean, since I finished Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary.
I've been on holiday and that delayed this post. Anyway, let's get down to it now.
Bridget Jones's Diary has a lot to do with Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and in many ways for me it reads like a Pride and Prejudice from the 20th century. Both books even share a character with the same name, Mark Darcy. Both take up the point of view of a spontaneous woman, who, despite her own claims for being open minded and unconventional, turns out to be prejudiced and has to go through a number of obstacles to finally end up with Darcy. Elizabeth and Bridget both have dysfunctional families and impossible mothers who never tire of trying to marry them for the richest man in sight.
Fielding's chosen diary form achieves a very honest tone and despite the absurdities of Bridget's life a lot of it actually rings true: think of the busy city life she lives, her work and relationship problems, for example. By means of a hilariously funny and fresh style, Fielding pokes fun at all modern city obessions like the stressful Christmas shopping, the mania for self-help books, the feminist theories, the eternal pursuit of the perfect figure, which results in the almost inborn memory for calory amounts; it's like knowing the times table, Bridget says at one point. Bridget lives alone and is much closer to her friends Sharon, Jude and Tom than to her own family; she is a modern city girl through and through, complete with her inability to cook anything or to keep her flat in order. Her attempts to convince herself that singletons rule is put under merciless pressure from the smug marrieds. Her frank indignation at the commercial and manipulative nature of occassions such as St. Valentine's Day and Christmas is quite endearing: "The whole thing is ridiculous and meaningless. Complete commercial exploitation." Yet she admits being quite excited about 14 February and such polarizing atttitudes go through the entire novel giving lending a lot of length and breadth to Bridget's character.
Despite the fact that she doesn't get on well with her family, it is her mother's involvement with a conman that brings Bridget together with Mark in the same way that Lydia's elopement brings together Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.
After all her worries and troubles, Bridget deservedly gets her happy ending just as Elizabeth does, but not without admitting a truth universally known (even though uttered by an "adulteress, criminal's accomplice and G-list celebrity, ie her mother): "Don't say 'what', say 'pardon', darling, and do as your mother tells you."
All in all, a book worth reading and rereading both for its fun and refreshingly honest look on modern working women.

Bridget Jones's Diary

12 August. Oh, goody. I'm so excited about reading Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, it's so much fun!
But better not spoil this post by rushing through it in a manner of a drunk behind the wheel. Yes, it's much better to listen to calm and inspirational music to instill zen-like awareness of self and come up with a brilliant post afterwards.

How Ricky Blue Eyes smiled and found its home here

I've never fancied myself as a blogger -- perhaps I haven't given it enough thought or simply thought I couldn't be bothered ...That is, until today.

To start at the beginning, I must confess that I am an avid Harry Potter fan. Today being Saturday, I was doing my regular Harry Potter news check of the fansites, when I came across a post on www.mugglenet.com about an interview with the Twilight series' author Stephenie Meyer.

Ah, right, I was going to check what this was all about for ages, I thought. Now was the time(though still haven't got around to listening to that interview, but all in good time). And lo and behold -- the last book of the saga, Breaking Dawn, has just hit the book shelves! And there was a film coming out in December! My film/book-loving self couldn't resist it -- I was on to it like a curious cat. I wasn't disappointed: the treasure trove I discovered was promising. The book covers looked evokative, the bits of back story and first chapters I read (all could be seen at http://www.stepheniemeyer.com) told me this was a captivating story masterfully told, a must-read for me, definitely. After devouring countless clips, interviews and what not about the film based on the first book, Twilight, I felt very much drawn to the plot, the characters, the film-making process, the whole fandom living behind it. I couldn't pipoint exactly why, though. This wasn't the kind of books I usually enjoy. It was like watching Scorsese's The Departed (one of my all-time faves, though again, not the genre I would usually go for) -- characters teetering on the brink who can take any side at any moment ... I mean, I got a sense of the intensity of these books; choice seemed a big theme there (one that I am intensely interested in, incidentally)

All these and other first-impression thoughts prowling my mind until in some obsure corner they sprang on an idea: why don't I write about these initial Twilight reactions, why don't I discuss other books and films, haven't I always wanted (well, for a long post-school time, at least) to write film/book reviews?

Not that the above falls within that category, but then it occurred to me that the best place to do it would be simply to start a blog.

So that's the short behind-the-scenes story of the Ricky Blue Eyes (I used to have a blue-eyed cat, the most gorgeous Siamese, so hence the name). Books and films will be the main course here (I do enjoy desserts as well), but I suspect that it won't be long before it spills over, well, other things about the world around me, but you'll see (I will be no less surprised from the outcome, I am sure)

Any comments on anything you've read /watched or anything interesting you've noticed are welcome:)