A Collection Of Random Thoughts….
Madeleine L'Engle
Madeleine L’Engle has died. It breaks my heart. Her death doesn’t come as a complete shock. She has been doing very poorly for years. But still I mourn her.
She was my favorite author growing up. Favorite author still. If I had to pick one book that influenced my life more than any other, it would be A Wrinkle in Time. Madeleine L’Engle shaped my religious worldview more than any class, any sermon. I even wrote my master’s thesis comparing her Time trilogy to Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials. She is my idol. The writer that I aspire to be.
Both MSNBC and The New York Times have wonderful articles about her, but I think the nicest is the one in was The Washington Post.
Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style
Well, unfortunately, as many have already pointed out, Tim Gunn’s Guide To Style was rather disappointing. MSNBC had a really excellent critique on the subject. Will I still be watching? Of course. It’s Tim Gunn. As the saying goes, I would listen to him read the phone book. But I really don’t expect this show to last long.
It’s basically just your standard makeover show. Though, unlike most programs, they do seem to try to make sure these changes stick. For the first time, a hairdresser talked about what to do to maintain this cut after the show was over. He said he would take pictures so she could show the person who normally cut her hair. Even the life coach was a good idea in theory. But in practice, anything that meant less Tim Gunn time is a bad thing. And Tim issues aside, I have a tough time buying that dancing in front of a couple of fun house mirrors while wearing a trash bag is going to suddenly cure decades of turmoil that led to poor body image.
I suppose this show was doomed from the start when they decided that it should be a makeover show. I mean, how many variations can you get with the same tired formula? What they should have done was take a page from another light-haired, bespectacled geek. Imagine a show more like Good Eats for fashion. Tim think every wardrobe needs ten basic items. Great. Spend an episode on each. Have an episode devoted to finding the perfect black dress to flatter your shape or a pair of jean that actually fit or how and where to wear a trench coat. That would be both interesting and practical! And, best of all, it really would be a show all about Tim Gunn!
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
So I finally saw this film. My youngest brother and I have seen the other four movies together and had made plans last winter to see this one. It not so easy considering that I’m in DC and he’s in Rochester. Finally we were in the same place at the same time. Strangely, there was only two movie theaters that were still playing the film, both a half hour away from my parent’s house. But one was an IMAX, so that defiantly made up for it.
As for the movie itself, one of the better in the series. I think the third is still my favorite, but this one comes in close second. There were things that I disliked about it of course, (That was not Tonks. Nobody can convince me that it was.) but for the most part, it was a really excellent film. I’ve found a good judge of how the film is how much of the plot I have to explain to by brother in the car ride home afterwards. This time I explained barely a thing, just some of the stuff that got left out.
Speaking of leaving stuff out, I might commit sacrilege here by saying… I actually wish the books had the streamlined plot of the movies. It’s just very tough to get angry over the interesting stuff that was excluded when you realize just how much they had to fit in… and how much was filler. Even JK Rowling now admits that book 5 was too long. It’s amazing how the movie can conveyed the same idea with just one look from Harry, raised eyebrow from Ron or a line from Hermione, that it took JK Rowling three extra chapters to explain!