Marilyn Stays Home Sick
Marilyn has been sick since yesterday (and still isn't good today). I think it's influenza. I feel so bad for her to end her vacation this way.
Last week was our annual first week of July (July Fourth - Independence Day) vacation. Because the Portland Blues Festival always runs at this time, our festival office has to be closed during the run. They are set up all around our building -- the main stage is literally right on top of Marilyn's office. Might sound like fun having the music right there, but trust me that's not the case! Very LOUD. Anyway, it means our office is officially closed for three days for the Fourth (rather than one). So Marilyn only has to use up one ACTUAL vaca day, anyway...
She needed the time off. This was the most stressful year and stressful and difficult festival ever for her. And as you can figure, I'm much of that reason...
Anyway! Today we spent the day both of us RESTING. (I did gather some garbage and other very minor chores, but nothing much.)
And we spent the day doing what we often do when one (or both) of us is sick -- watching movies on TV.
Here's what we saw:
Movie: ‘A Woman, a Part’ - TOMATOMETER 92% (Rotten Tomatoes)
An exhausted, workaholic actress, Anna Baskin, 44, abruptly extricates herself from a successful but mind-numbing TV role, returning to her past life in New York to reinvent herself. But despite the desire for transformation, she cannot find herself outside of her career. When an upsetting personal betrayal unexpectedly leads to the role of her life, she must confront the reality of her past relationships in order to clear a path forward. The intimate story of Anna and her friends Isaac and Kate become magnified by the film's surrounding themes: gentrification, addiction, autoimmune disease, burnout, sexism in the film industry and 21st century marketing of the self.
We found it interesting -- really worth watching.
Movie: "Away from Her" - TOMATOMETER 94% (Rotten Tomatoes)
Married for almost 50 years, Grant and Fiona's commitment to each other appears unwavering, and their everyday life is full of tenderness and humor. This serenity is broken only by the occasional, carefully restrained reference to the past, giving a sense that this marriage may not always have been such a fairy tale. This tendency of Fiona's to make such references, along with her increasingly evident memory loss, creates a tension that is usually brushed off casually by both of them. But, when it is no longer possible for either of them to ignore the fact that Fiona is being consumed by Alzheimer's disease, the limits of their love and loyalty must be wrenchingly redefined.
We were torn on this one, which seemed manipulative to us. But Julie Christie was BEAUTIFUL and did an excellent job. So still very much worth seeing. Plus it deals in part with senior sexuality -- a subject we both care about.
Movie: "Shattered Glass" - TOMATOMETER 91% (Rotten Tomatoes)
The true story of journalist Stephen Glass, the twenty-something whiz kid who quickly rose from a minor writing post in Washington, to a feature writer in such publications as Rolling Stone and the New Republic. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington--until a bizarre chain of events suddenly stopped his career dead in its tracks.
Delightful! We'd been asleep and missed much of it, so eventually started it over again from the beginning. Based on real people, you can't help loving Chuck Lane...
Then tonight we watched:
Triump in Thailand: ABC 20/20
"The rescue that captivated the world: ABC News goes inside the mission that saved the Thai soccer team trapped for weeks in a cave."
Heartbreaking to hear when Petty Officer First Class Saman Gunan died, having come out of retirement to aid in the search. His wife said, "He's been praised as a hero because of who he was," she said. "You are the hero in my heart."
A great story with a MIRACULOUS tale! Who thought rescuing all of them could be managed?
Now we're off to bed.
I'm going to seriously get back to my blogging again. More about that soon!
I've missed you and wish you all well!
Last week was our annual first week of July (July Fourth - Independence Day) vacation. Because the Portland Blues Festival always runs at this time, our festival office has to be closed during the run. They are set up all around our building -- the main stage is literally right on top of Marilyn's office. Might sound like fun having the music right there, but trust me that's not the case! Very LOUD. Anyway, it means our office is officially closed for three days for the Fourth (rather than one). So Marilyn only has to use up one ACTUAL vaca day, anyway...
She needed the time off. This was the most stressful year and stressful and difficult festival ever for her. And as you can figure, I'm much of that reason...
Anyway! Today we spent the day both of us RESTING. (I did gather some garbage and other very minor chores, but nothing much.)
And we spent the day doing what we often do when one (or both) of us is sick -- watching movies on TV.
Here's what we saw:
Movie: ‘A Woman, a Part’ - TOMATOMETER 92% (Rotten Tomatoes)
An exhausted, workaholic actress, Anna Baskin, 44, abruptly extricates herself from a successful but mind-numbing TV role, returning to her past life in New York to reinvent herself. But despite the desire for transformation, she cannot find herself outside of her career. When an upsetting personal betrayal unexpectedly leads to the role of her life, she must confront the reality of her past relationships in order to clear a path forward. The intimate story of Anna and her friends Isaac and Kate become magnified by the film's surrounding themes: gentrification, addiction, autoimmune disease, burnout, sexism in the film industry and 21st century marketing of the self.
We found it interesting -- really worth watching.
Movie: "Away from Her" - TOMATOMETER 94% (Rotten Tomatoes)
Married for almost 50 years, Grant and Fiona's commitment to each other appears unwavering, and their everyday life is full of tenderness and humor. This serenity is broken only by the occasional, carefully restrained reference to the past, giving a sense that this marriage may not always have been such a fairy tale. This tendency of Fiona's to make such references, along with her increasingly evident memory loss, creates a tension that is usually brushed off casually by both of them. But, when it is no longer possible for either of them to ignore the fact that Fiona is being consumed by Alzheimer's disease, the limits of their love and loyalty must be wrenchingly redefined.
We were torn on this one, which seemed manipulative to us. But Julie Christie was BEAUTIFUL and did an excellent job. So still very much worth seeing. Plus it deals in part with senior sexuality -- a subject we both care about.
Movie: "Shattered Glass" - TOMATOMETER 91% (Rotten Tomatoes)
The true story of journalist Stephen Glass, the twenty-something whiz kid who quickly rose from a minor writing post in Washington, to a feature writer in such publications as Rolling Stone and the New Republic. By the mid-90s, Glass' articles had turned him into one of the most sought-after young journalists in Washington--until a bizarre chain of events suddenly stopped his career dead in its tracks.
Delightful! We'd been asleep and missed much of it, so eventually started it over again from the beginning. Based on real people, you can't help loving Chuck Lane...
Then tonight we watched:
Triump in Thailand: ABC 20/20
"The rescue that captivated the world: ABC News goes inside the mission that saved the Thai soccer team trapped for weeks in a cave."
Heartbreaking to hear when Petty Officer First Class Saman Gunan died, having come out of retirement to aid in the search. His wife said, "He's been praised as a hero because of who he was," she said. "You are the hero in my heart."
A great story with a MIRACULOUS tale! Who thought rescuing all of them could be managed?
Now we're off to bed.
I'm going to seriously get back to my blogging again. More about that soon!
I've missed you and wish you all well!