Gunpower Treason and Fiction
Today is Guy Fawkes day, the only holiday I have ever heard of which, instead of celebrating the person it's named after, celebrates his failure and public hanging by annually burning him in effigy. Not that I condone trying to blow up the Houses of Parliament, but if the guy had represented some repressed minority other than the Catholics, don't you think he'd be retrospectively labeled a hero by now?
Sorry for recent disgruntledness. I really appreciated all your good wishes for the test! I don't think I did great (I got home and immediately started torturing myself by googling questions I remembered being dubious on and proving I got them wrong), but I am hopeful that it was in improvement. I was certainly able to work through it more confidently. The best moment was when I found three questions on the exact stanza of Ode on a Grecian Urn I'd chosen on a whim to copy into my study notebook ("Heard melodies are sweet...).
Since I missed Recommendation Sunday due to my impulse to rant and niece's baptism, I'll do a few reviews of my recent reading/viewing.
**Mary Stewart's THE IVY TREE. I had this out of the library days ago and fell upon it eagerly as soon as my test was over. It was the perfect way to decompress, curling up with this suspense/romance while the remnants of Hurricane Noel lashed the outside of the windows. A young woman visiting the Northumbrian countryside gets wrapped up in a plot involving wills and inheritance, strange resemblances and mistaken identity, Roman ruins, secret romance, and the fate of a beautiful historic farm. The heroine is remarkably level-headed and intelligent for this kind of book, and the story and setting are engaging and occasionally surprising. A very cozy read. Let me know if you read it, because I'm longing to discuss the twists!
**STARTER FOR TEN starring James McAvoy and the chick from The Prestige who's not Scarlett Johansson. Very cute movie (though with a few too many embarrassing moments) set at Bristol University in the '80s. So nice to see James M. playing a character I could actually like*! Also has the guy who's going to be Willoughby in the new S&S, and a HILARIOUS cameo appearance by period drama staples Charles Dance and Lindsay Duncan.
**DAN IN REAL LIFE. Went to see this in the theater with several of the Girls' Night crew. We all loved it! Sweet and with a surprisingly realistic feel, it'snot at all like the normal preposterous, misunderstanding-fueled Romantic Comedy (not that I don't love those), nor is it anything like a typical Steve Carell comedy. You really see him as his character, which is pretty remarkable. Even Dane Cook manages to play a character. And of course Juliet Binoche rocks everything she does. Definitely see it!
Okey doke, hope that makes up a little for my lame posts of late. Enjoy the autumnness, everyone!
*Not that I don't love Mr. Tumnus... it's every other role he's played that's the problem.
Sorry for recent disgruntledness. I really appreciated all your good wishes for the test! I don't think I did great (I got home and immediately started torturing myself by googling questions I remembered being dubious on and proving I got them wrong), but I am hopeful that it was in improvement. I was certainly able to work through it more confidently. The best moment was when I found three questions on the exact stanza of Ode on a Grecian Urn I'd chosen on a whim to copy into my study notebook ("Heard melodies are sweet...).
Since I missed Recommendation Sunday due to my impulse to rant and niece's baptism, I'll do a few reviews of my recent reading/viewing.
**Mary Stewart's THE IVY TREE. I had this out of the library days ago and fell upon it eagerly as soon as my test was over. It was the perfect way to decompress, curling up with this suspense/romance while the remnants of Hurricane Noel lashed the outside of the windows. A young woman visiting the Northumbrian countryside gets wrapped up in a plot involving wills and inheritance, strange resemblances and mistaken identity, Roman ruins, secret romance, and the fate of a beautiful historic farm. The heroine is remarkably level-headed and intelligent for this kind of book, and the story and setting are engaging and occasionally surprising. A very cozy read. Let me know if you read it, because I'm longing to discuss the twists!
**STARTER FOR TEN starring James McAvoy and the chick from The Prestige who's not Scarlett Johansson. Very cute movie (though with a few too many embarrassing moments) set at Bristol University in the '80s. So nice to see James M. playing a character I could actually like*! Also has the guy who's going to be Willoughby in the new S&S, and a HILARIOUS cameo appearance by period drama staples Charles Dance and Lindsay Duncan.
**DAN IN REAL LIFE. Went to see this in the theater with several of the Girls' Night crew. We all loved it! Sweet and with a surprisingly realistic feel, it'snot at all like the normal preposterous, misunderstanding-fueled Romantic Comedy (not that I don't love those), nor is it anything like a typical Steve Carell comedy. You really see him as his character, which is pretty remarkable. Even Dane Cook manages to play a character. And of course Juliet Binoche rocks everything she does. Definitely see it!
Okey doke, hope that makes up a little for my lame posts of late. Enjoy the autumnness, everyone!
*Not that I don't love Mr. Tumnus... it's every other role he's played that's the problem.