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Year C - 33rd Sunday in Ordinary Time (November 14, 2010)

In many ways this is the last Sunday of the Lectionary Year.  Next Sunday (Christ the King Sunday) is rather a hinge or bridge between the two years.  At some point during the service, point out the green paraments and other signs of this season, recall their meaning, and alert worshipers to coming changes in colors and other worship props.

HOPE    HOPE    HOPE    HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE   HOPE

HOPE is the theme that underlies all today’s texts.  The Old Testament texts offer the positive statement of the theme proclaiming that God has a wonderful plan and that in the end that plan will be realized.  The New Testament texts take the darker side of the theme warning that though God’s good plan will one day be realized there will be some tough times before that happens.  It is in such times that we need to live on hope.

One way to introduce the theme is to remind worshipers what it is like to see a movie for the first time and the fifth time.  Recall your frightened, worried feelings the first time you watched the scary parts of The Lion King or Beauty and the Beast.  You wanted to warn the characters of the dangers.  Then describe watching the same scenes for the second, third, even fifth time when you knew the ending.  Note that once you knew the ending you sometimes wanted to tell the hero not to worry during the scary parts and sometimes you want to warn the heroine to be careful when everything is going well.  The Old Testament texts tell us the ending.  The New Testaments texts advise us on how to live until the ending comes.

Isaiah 65:17 -25 

If you use the movie illustration, introduce this text as the ending of the story of God’s world.  Since there is a lot of poetic imagery that will be hard for children to grasp, pick one to unpack especially for them.  One of the easiest is verse 21 and the first half of 22.  Give worshipers apple slices to eat.  Talk about how good they are and describe the work of the migrant laborers who tend and pick them.  Note that those people often do not have enough money to buy good food for their families.  Read the two verses.  Point out that in when God completes creation, this situation will change.  Tell about one way your congregation is working with God to help bring this change, e.g. food pantry, migrant ministries, etc.

This could be presented as a time for children.  It would be even more effective if included in the sermon with ushers passing bowls/baskets of apple slices to the whole congregation. 

Isaiah 12

The second verse of this poem about trusting God is key for children.

I will trust in the Lord and not be afraid

For God is my strength and power.

What it needs is a story that illustrates its abstract truth.  David facing Goliath is one good choice.  Rather than tell the whole story, focus on David’s conversation with Saul (1 Samuel 17: 32-37) and his response to Goliath’s taunt (1 Samuel 17: 45 and 47).  Because David trusted God’s power, he was able to do something about Goliath while others cowered in fear.

Being able to do something scary because you trust in a power greater than yourself is like a child jumping into a parent’s arms in the swimming pool or attempting a dive off the diving board with that parent watching from the side. 

Older children will be interested in the trust expressed in the “Eternal Father Strong to Save.”  Before singing it, introduce it as a hymn loved by sailors and as the Navy Hymn (if appropriate).  Point out the repeated last line and note that the first verse remembers that sailors can trust God because God made the sea.  Other verses recall that Jesus calmed the storm at sea and once slept through a storm that scared his disciples badly.   

Malachi 4:1-2a

All the detail of Isaiah’s vision of God’s new creation makes it a better choice of Old Testament texts for the children. 

The fact that this comes from the last chapter of the last book in the Old Testament is of interest to some children.  Show them it’s location in the Bible.  Read the 2 verses.  Note that people were waiting for God to act.  Then, tell them the secret we know that they didn’t.  Jesus was coming.  If you wish, connect it to Christ the King Sunday next week and Advent that follows.  This could be done as a Time for Children.  Or, invite the children to gather around you and the Bible for the reading of this text for the day.

Psalm 98

This psalm of praise and thanksgiving was suggested for last week and seems to fit better there than here.   I’d use the Isaiah psalm today.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-13

The writer of this letter has two bits of advice for people waiting for God’s new creation to be realized.

The first is that we are to work while we wait.  Work is described as a blessing and a good way to be God’s partners in creating the new creation. 

If you develop this theme extensively, remember that school is children’s work.  Cite illustrations from children at work at school among others about adults at work in a variety of jobs.

People often ask children “what do you want to be when you grow up?”  Use this as an opportunity to urge children to choose work that makes the world a better place.  Point out that they are called not to do something just because they like to do it, but to do something that will make life better for everyone around them.  Describe ways a variety of jobs do that.

One of the best current stories about the importance of work is that of Greg Mortenson,the mountain climber who became the builder of schools in Pakistan.  Listen to the Wind is the child's version of Three Cups of Tea which tells his story for adults.  The book is a little long to read in worship.  But showing some of the pictures in it as you tell the story in your own words brings the story alive.

The second is don’t be weary of doing what is right.  When God’s new creation is complete, it will be easy to do what is right.  Everyone will do it every day.  But, now it is not.  Doing the right thing is not always wildly fun or exciting or cool.  Sometimes people look at you funny or laugh at you.  (Choose keeping one or two of the Ten Commandments  or keeping Jesus two great commandments as illustrations.)  Reread verse 13 and identify it as something to remember when we get tired of doing what is right.

We are not always forthright with children about this fact.  They appreciate our honesty when we are.  It also encourages them when they are choosing to do something they know is right, but that definitely would prefer not to do. 

Luke 21:5-19

The basic message of this passage is that there will be tough times and that the only thing to do during tough times is to endure them trusting that in the end God will win.  The other readings for the day offer more specific help for sharing this message with children.

Late Addition:  Yesterday, it seemed like “the world is going to end” talk is not currently floating through the world of children.  But, this morning the fifth and sixth graders brought up something they are hearing about “we’re all going to die and the world will end with natural disasters in 2012.”  I did not get all the details, but apparently there is such talk around – at least in this area.  The easiest way to address this with children is simply to read them Jesus’ statement that no one knows this date, then to restate to them “anyone who tells you when the world will end is wrong PERIOD.”  Be emphatic.  Put yourself on the line, telling them that if anyone tells them that the world is going to end on a certain date they can tell them that their pastor says Jesus says that is not true.  A blatant conversation like that will linger in the back of minds until it is needed.  

Wait until Dark

1967 Helen Keller biopic

Rating: 13/20 (Jen: 12/20)

Plot: The Three Stooges look for a doll stuffed with packets of heroin in a blind woman's apartment.
They concoct a really complex plan

Other than a couple nifty suspense scenes, including a suffocating and intense climax which has the second best use of a refrigerator I've seen in a movie during the last couple weeks, there's not much to see here. The story's ludicrous, that aforementioned plan involving numerous telephone calls, costumes (seriously, why are costumes necessary to fool a blind woman?), signals, and a van making no sense for a criminal who apparently doesn't have problems resorting to brute violence. And why do they need to mess with the blinds in the apartment to signal to their cohorts in the van? Wouldn't a flick of the lights (you know, since the woman is blind) work well enough? Plot holes galore, plot holes big enough that Audrey Hepburn's blind character could probably see them. Speaking of Audrey, I really didn't think she was right for this role. The cutesiness didn't seem to fit her right here, and she was really awkward when interacting with the terrible child actor. Alan Arkin's character is more interesting, but there's just something unnatural about the performance, like he's working too hard at being cold and calculating. There's entertainment value here, but most of what happens here is stuff that can only happen in a movie, like it had it's very own Wait until Dark logic. It really hurt my chances to completely enjoy the movie although the suspenseful moments were really well done.

Recommended by Cory.

First Men on the Moon

1964 documentary

Rating: 15/20

Plot: International lunar landers touch down at the same exact spot on the moon where they'll find a piece of paper and a withered flag proving that people had actually already visited the moon seventy years before. Back on earth, they visit the elderly and likely cuckoo former writer/amatuer astronaut to get the scoop. The scoop turns out to be really silly!

Here's a movie featuring Ray Harryhausen's effects where the effects don't completely steal the show. The effects you'd see and say, "Oh, that's Harryhausen alright," are even more of a distraction than anything else. At times, the moon beings, anthropoids with bee features, are animated but most of the time they're costumed people. Kind of weird. You also get a skeleton and a pair of monstrous centipede things. With the latter, it's almost like Harryhausen said, "Hey, I still have some time. Let me throw another creature in there." Now, the space effects and the moon atmospherics are impressive. I really like this version of the moon, one that would no doubt annoy the type of person who looks for scientific accuracy in their sci-fi films. I really enjoyed the set design though. This is better acted and written than your typical B-picture, dialogue peppered with some humor and good characterization. Edward Judd and Martha Hyer bust out of what could have been pretty generic roles as a pair of lovers, and Lionel Jeffries is very good as a crazed scientist character, very reminiscent of Back to the Future's Dr. Brown actually. I figured I'd mention him since I'm seeing Back to the Future references everywhere these days. I like the story despite the goofiness (Jeffries' character has created an anti-gravity paste which he applies to a metallic bulb in order to travel to the moon; the characters wear diving outfits for the trip), and it's only a big moment and a much better ending away from being really good. That ending, which just sort of grabs you and jerks you out of the story before throwing a "The End" on the screen, really is a stinker. Definitely worth checking out for fans of Harryhausen, H.G. Wells, and creatively preposterous science fiction movies.

Howard the Duck

1986 box office sensation

Rating: n/r (I couldn't finish it.)

Plot: A duck named Howard and his recliner is yanked from his planet and ends up in an alley somewhere in Cleveland. He meets a punk rock girl who takes him to a janitor to help him get back home. There's probably a bad guy later on, and I'm sure Howard has to try to phone home with a mouth full of Reece's. It's just another one of those cases where somebody has ripped off the plot of E.T. and managed to make an even more disagreeable movie.

The only movie I can think of that might be worse than a trip to Cleveland, Ohio. I watched this for three reasons:

1) I didn't think it could possibly be as bad as I remembered or as everybody seems to think.

2) If it is as bad as I remember or as everybody seems to think, it might fall into "good-bad" territory, and I could point and laugh at it.

3) I wanted to use a "quacking up" pun on the blog.

Unfortunately, it's not either of the first two. It's a terrible movie--poor writing, embarrassing effects, a main character who is impossible to like, auxiliary characters who aren't any better, an incoherent plot, dozens of details that date it--but it's nowhere near entertaining. It's excruciating, so excruciating that I gave up on it after Tim Robbins' second appearance. Like the majority of decisions in my life, the decision to watch Howard the Duck was a bad one, leaving me depressed and very unlikely to quack up any time soon.

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Where do you find INSPIRATION?

One of the questions that writers often get asked is 'where did you come up with the idea for your book?'

I admit I always like to hear the behind-the-scenes details of how a story started.

 
But, I know from experience it's one of those questions that's difficult to answer because often the 'idea for your book' starts as just a tiny kernel of a thought. Like the idea for THE FAERIE RING really just started with a pickpocket in Victorian London. I had my character - now what? It's hours of hard work at the computer: writing, thinking and developing characters, that eventually morphs that little crumb into a full-blown story.

I guess the good news and bad news for me is that I never seem to run out of ideas for stories.  What I don't have is enough time to write all the stories I think up. Or at least, I haven't had enough time yet....

Anyway, I saw a video yesterday that was TOTAL inspiration for a story. This is EXACTLY how a story begins in my head - some intriguing little fragment that catches my fancy and off we go. The video has gone viral so you've probably seen it. If you haven't - take a look:  (This guy is quite chatty so you might want to skim forward to the black and white footage (but I do love listening to those Irish accents...)

Is that not FASCINATING?  I LOVE stuff like that.  So much possibility. I can tell you now - there will be a time-travel book in my future (and probably in the future of 5,000 other writers too - ha!)

So that's the sort of stuff that inspires me to think about a new story. What inspires you?

Best in Show

2000 mockumentary

Rating: 17/20

Plot: Eccentric show dog owners travel to compete at the Mayflower Kennel Club Dog Show.

This is a really funny movie until Fred Willard pops in. Then, it gets side-splintingly hilarious! It seems like a lot of these mockumentary subjects are about things I'd never watch a real documentary about. I have no interest at all in dog shows. But I still really liked how Best in Show played the dog show part so straightly. The actors play their roles as comic caricatures, not believable in the least, but the dog show itself, other than Willard's hilarious non sequiturs and dada commentary as an unqualified announcer, isn't played for laughs much at all unless their actions/words just add a bit to the previously established quirky character traits. I think that makes the "umentary" part of this a lot more realistic. The "mock" part, as you'd expect from a Christopher Guest joint with this ensemble cast, is great. There's not a lot instantly quotable here, nothing truly classic, but all the subtle pokes and tickles add up to a great time. A lot of the funny is nonsense, verbal slapstick and easygoing visual silliness, but there's some nice subtle satire in there, too. Guest is the type of comedic writer (though a lot of this has an improvisational feel) who understands how flawed, miserable, and disturbing human beings are but who also knows that's what makes them kinda funny. I'm not sure how much the presence of these beautiful and classy doggies helps these sore thumbs of humanity stick out, but that might have something to do with it. This may have gotten a bonus point for poor ventriloquism. And in case I didn't make myself clear, everything Fred Willard says in this is hilarious.

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (again)

2008 action movie

RatingPlot/: see my original thoughts here

I saw this again for a pair of reasons: 1) Abbey wanted to see it. 2) Cory promised he'd watch the brilliant comedy The Happening if I watched this again. My thoughts are about the same. I really enjoyed the first half, and completely disagree with people's complaints about Harrison Ford being too old to do this sort of thing. I think he does a remarkable job with a character that he hasn't touched in twenty years. And during the first half of the movie, I don't mind Shooby Leboof either. I think he and Ford have a nice rapport, although maybe not quite as good or as funny as Connery and Ford in the third movie. I really like how the franchise is pulled into the issues and fears of the 1950s, and the alien twist, although on the surface seeming completely out of place in an Indiana Jones movie, works as a link to B-movie sensibilities of that era just like the original movies borrowed so heavily from the ebb and flow of the action serials they were based on. One difference in my opinion is that I don't like the overall look of the film as much as I thought I did. There's an onslaught of special effects and computer graphics, at least compared to the earlier films, that just does not fit. The second half of the movie, pretty much from the beginning of the jungle chase scene on, ain't pretty. I'd say that things just keep getting dumber and dumber and dumber, but the Shooby Leboof Tarzan impression happens too early. That's definitely a low point of the franchise. No, Indy 4 is not Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I still think it serves its number one purpose--entertaining dumbasses.

Revised ratings: I should probably go ahead and give Raiders a 20 since it might be my favorite movie of all time. Temple is a 12, but that's being generous. Crusade is a 16. And this one is in the 13/14 range, right in between the other two sequels. Indy 5 needs to have either Short Round or a young Greedo in it or I'll be pissed.

Feet First

1930 talkie comedy

Rating: 15/20 (Abbey: She didn't watch enough of this to give it a rating, but she sat down and watched a little bit, declared this "the worst movie ever," and left.)

Plot: Harold (I'm guessing that's his name since that seems to be the name of every other Harold Lloyd character) is a shoe salesman with much, much loftier ambitions. He meets and falls for a girl, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and through no fault of his own, convinces her that he is a big wig in the leather industry. Through some fault of his own, he winds up on a cruise with them and has to fight to not blow his cover.

Abbey's wrong about this being the "worst movie ever," but this probably has my vote for the "gayest movie poster ever." Look at that thing! The thing Harold Lloyders (that's the term I've come up with for his fans) will notice is that Lloyd pretty much plagiarizes his own Safety Last! with an up-the-side-of-a-tall-building stunt that takes up the last twenty or so minutes of the film. But it's different because he gets to talk in this one, so we get to hear both his fear and racial insensitivity. A dimwitted black janitor (played by Willie Best in one of the most racially-insensitive movies of all time [The Littlest Rebel, with Shirley Temple in blackface]) shows up for comic purposes, and Lloyd gives him the nickname Charcoal. Since, according to the Wikipedia page for this movie, Lloyd had parts of this redubbed to change his name from Harold to Charlie for reasons never explained, it seems like he could have redubbed it so that he said "Hey, black janitor!" instead of "Hey, Charcoal!" But it's a minor quibble, and my man Buster had more embarrassing moments in his career. Anywho, Lloyd's building hijinks, here the result of accident rather than in Safety Last! when he climbs the building intentionally, are just as entertaining, straddling a line most film makers wouldn't have even known existed between dangerous and hilarious. So I can forgive the whole "My first talkie stunk, so I'd better recycle an idea that worked well in an earlier film" thing. There's not much to see with the plot here. There are a lot of funny moments and sight gags, but you have to trudge through a lot to get there. The movie really picks up when Lloyd gets on the boat. Like Safety Last!, this is not a movie I would not recommend to my acrophobic (or homophobic, I guess, because of that poster) readers.

shane-movies trivia: This is the second movie in a row with a Samuel Taylor Coleridge reference. That beats my previous record of one.

Spring Vacations 2011

 Holland and Belgium in Spring

 April 20th and the 21st, 2011

Depart on an overnight flight to Brussels, Belgium. Upon arrival, transfer to our elegant hotel, located just steps from the Grand' Place, one of Europe's most beautiful market squares. After time on your own, meet fellow travelers for a welcome reception and dinner. Hotel Amigo (D)

 April 22nd

Journey to Brugge, the birthplace of Flemish painting, where much of the remarkably preserved old town dates back to the 13th century. On a walking tour admire celebrated Gothic architecture, venture down narrow cobbled lanes, and cross arched bridges over canals dotted with swans. Stop to see Michelangelo's "Madonna and Child" sculpture at the Church of Our Lady Enjoy time to explore Brugge on your own before continuing to Antwerpen, where our riverboat awaits. Sample Belgian ales and local specialities at dinner on board tonight. M.S. Swiss Jewel (B,D)

 April 23rd

Spend the morning exploring Antwerpen, from the ornate railway station-considered one of the finest in Europe-to the opera house and City Hall. Visit the Rubenshuis, a museum in the home of 17th-century artist Peter Paul Rubens. Then learn about Belgian chocolate making and enjoy a tasting at a local chocolatier. This afternoon, cruise the Albert Canal and join the captain for a welcome reception and dinner on board. (B, L, D)

 April 24th

In charming Maastricht, our walking tour includes Vrijthof Square and the 16th-century Spanish Government House. Pass through Helpoort, an imposing gateway built in 1229, and visit the Basilica of St. Servatius, where portions of the church date back 1,000 years. Pay your respects at the Netherlands American Cemetery and Memorial, final resting place of some 8,300 U.S. soldiers who lost their lives during World War II. Then head into the countryside for a specially arranged culinary experience at Chateau Neercanne, a 17th-century castle set among renowned terraced gardens. Meet the chef in the kitchen before sitting down to an extraordinary meal in the castle's wine cellar. Later, enjoy time to explore Maastricht on your own. (B,L,D)

 April 25th

Sail the Maas River north to Nijmegen, one of the country's oldest towns. Stroll among the ruins of the Valkhof, Charlemagne's 8th-century stronghold, and see art and ancient artifacts at the Museum Het Valkhof. Visit St. Stevenskerk, a 14th-century church, and wander through the Grote Markt. Cruise to Arnhem, where local performers come abroad for an evening of traditional music and dance. (B,L,D)

 April 26th

Choose between two excursions today. Delve into the history of the World War II Allied airborne assault on Arnhem and visit the Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek. Or spend the day in De Hoge Veluwe National Park and examine works by Vincent van Gogh and other renowned artists at the park's Kroller-Muller Museum. Later, meet the ship at Devemter and glide along a branch of the Rhine called the IJssel River, enjoying a performance of classical music as you go. (B,L,D)

 April 27th

The day begins in the picturesque seaside town of Enkhuizen. Step back in time at the Zuiderzee Museum and see a reconstructed 19th-century fishing village. Continue to the legendary port of Hoorn, which saw its heyday during the Golden Age of Dutch exploration. Learn on a walking tour, or take an excursion to the Alkmaar region to visit the Schermer Museum Mill and watch a cheese-making demonstration at a local farm. (B,L,D)

April 28th and 29th

Dock in Amsterdam, and journey overland to the gardens of Keukenhof. Once the tidy herd garden for a castle kitchen, Keukenhof is now known for its dazzling patchwork of tulips, daffodils, and hyancinths. In the afternoon, discover the treasures of Amsterdam on your own. The following day, gaze at the works of Rembrandt and other Dutch masters at the world-renowned Rijksmuseum before a lucheon cruise along the city's canals. After a final afternoon to explore Amsterdam, enjoy a festive farewell reception and dinner on board. (B,L,D daily)

April 30th

Disembark after breakfast and transfer to the airport for your flight home. (B)

Information Expedition Cost:

Category 1 $4,190 (located on Emerald Deck)

Category 2 $4,475 (Located on Emerald Deck)

Category 3 $5,160 (Located on Ruby Deck)

Category 4 $5,500 (Located on Ruby Deck)

Category 5 $6,185 (Located on Diamond Deck)

Category 6 $6,985 (Located on Diamond Deck)

**prices are per person, double occupancy. For single cabin, add $1,676 in Category 1 and $1,790 in Category 2. Call for single prices in other categories. Gratuities to the ship's crew are included in the expedition cost. Airfare is not included  in the expedition cost.

Email me for more information or to get a trip quote shelly@uniquetravelconcepts.com

or call me at 619-464-6426 or 800-879-8635

Allure Of The Seas

Featuring an AquaTheater Spectacular, An Aerial Acrobatic Show, The Tony, Oliver and Grammy Award-Winning Broadway Musical Chicago, Themed Parades, Character Meals, 3D Theater, World-Class Contemporary Art Gallery, Guess Accessories, and much more!

"A one-of-a-kind vacation awaits you. An amazing experience and a superior value. Book your Allure Of The Seas cruise today, arriving December 2010.

Visit www.uniquetravelconcepts.com and find the "for more information of to request a trip quote" link on the home page and then click the "contact us" on the bottom of the page or call 800-879-8635.

Aussie Word Of The Day!

Fossick-Originally meant to search or pick around for gold or gemstones, but is now used in the more general sense of searching for something.

Showing vs. Telling - how do you know the difference?

As writers, we’ve all heard it a hundred times: Show, don’t tell. But sometimes it’s not as easy as it sounds. Show, don’t tell, can be a nebulous concept to an author just starting out and even for more experienced authors.

Here’s a simple example of the difference:

  

Tell: Katie walked toward the classroom. She was one of the smartest girls in school.

Show: Katie collected her books. Latin. Trigonometry. Physics. And those were just for her morning classes.

Can you see the difference? We *saw* the subjects that Katie was studying and that revealed much more information than to just tell us she was smart.

Here’s another one – let’s see if you can decide which shows and which tells:

Peter was so angry he broke the mug.

With a roar, Peter grabbed the mug and slammed it down on the table so hard it shattered into a million pieces.

I think it’s obvious which of those two sentences drops the reader right into the scene. And that’s the key to showing: Drop your reader right into the scene. Let us feel the emotions, the cry of rage, hear and feel the mug not only breaking, but shattering into razor sharp splinters under our fingers. 

A scene shows us action in real time. The events unfold as we read. 

What makes a scene real is to include all of our senses: 

 

Do we smell the scent of fresh baked bread?

Do we feel the softness of the bunny’s fur?

Can we taste the bite of the jalapeno pepper?

Can we hear the whistle of the train as it approaches the station?

Can you see the sad eyes of the elephant in the zoo?

Scenes also include settings that the reader can picture, as well as dialogue. Sometimes a writer will “tell” the story by narrative summary, which can cause a reader to disengage and lose interest. Instead, “show” your story by pulling your readers into the scene. Make them use their senses and emotions to experience what’s happening. You won’t lose their interest that way.

However – there are places where narrative summary is appropriate – to vary they rhythm and texture of your writing. But small doses can go a long way.

Little Clues - often times, the words ‘had’ and ‘was’ are indicative of telling. Take a look at your manuscript and see how often those words appear. And when you find them, try and say the same thing in a different way using words that show the setting or the character. 

What techniques do you use to make sure you’re showing rather than telling?

The Most Dangerous Game

1932 adventure movie

Rating: 15/20

Plot: Bob, a famous big game hunter, is having a blast hanging out with his friends on a boat, drinking cognac and saying profound things like "There are two kinds of animals--the hunters and the hunted. Luckily, I'm the hunter and nothing can change that." But then his boat explodes and sinks, and all of his friends drown or are eaten by sharks. Oh, snap! Luckily for Bob, he washes ashore on the island of Count Zaroff. He's a hunter as well, so they have all kinds of things in common! Things are going along swimmingly until Count Zaroff tells Bob that he's going to send him out into the wild so that he can hunt him, ending their friendship before it even gets started.

And it's a 1930's film, so you know exactly how it's going to end. I don't feel bad about giving away too many details up there because the poor dialogue in this (and the title) makes it fairly easy to figure it all out really quickly anyway. The problem in this movie are the same problems I have with the short story, one of the worst I've ever read. The story's kind of cool although very unrealistic. All the scenes that take place on the boat are a hoot. The camera tilts at one point (you know, because the boat is sinking), and the characters all flail in different directions, some while emitting girlish screams. Then, you've got some shark stock footage and a classic line--"Oh! He got me!"--screamed by a guy who the shark just got. And Robert Armstrong's portrayal of a drunk guy, sort of a cross between Harry Caray and a low-budget W.C. Fields, is absolutely terrible. Unlike the short story, this has a lot of redeeming qualities. The second half of the film (the part with all the huntin') is exciting enough, and the jungle they're racing through (King Kong's jungle actually) and Zaroff's pad are ideal settings, creating a nice atmosphere for the adventure story. I really liked the guy who played the evil Count Zaroff, a guy named Leslie Banks, even though you could put (see Leslie Banks as Count Zaroff in The Most Dangerous Game) after a definition of "hammy performance," chewing up the scenery with teeth that could rival those of any actor. Joel McCrea and Fay Wray (I think she was in King Kong, too) are fine in typical 1930's roles, and the music, although nearly constant, is pretty good. The best thing about this is the duration. At just over an hour, this doesn't really waste any time with extraneous details. It gets to its point, has the characters run around for a bit, and then ends. The short story, if I'm remembering correctly, is just the opposite. That thing seemed endless. The world would probably be a better place if Leslie Banks would devour every last copy of that short story.

My Winnipeg

2007 "docu-fantasia"

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Canadian director Guy Maddin revisits his sleepy hometown while at the same time attempting to escape it. He combines reenactments, archival footage, and oddball imagery to construct a portrait of Winnipeg. Well, it's not Winnipeg exactly. But it's his Winnipeg.

"Docu-fantasia" is not my word, by the way, but it does manage to capture what is going on with My Winnipeg. Maddin is the director of The Saddest Music in the World, Careful, and Brand upon the Brain!, all which showcase his appreciation for all things antiquated--silent melodrama, antique cameras, title cards. It's gimmicky, but it's a gimmick I can appreciate, so I love the movies. This is a heavily-narrated documentary on Winnipeg, sentimental and at times bitter, and also on Maddin's childhood, but the director's style--and this is a melange of influences working here--and a lot of the more fantastical elements of the city's history that he creates--frequent references to a hidden pair of rivers beneath the pair of rivers that are on the surface, the story about the horses trying to run through one of the rivers and freezing with only their heads being above the ice surface, the long-running television show about a guy who threatens to jump off a ledge and is talked back into the apartment by Maddin's mother every week (see poster)--give you more of a general feeling than information. Sure, I came away from the documentary knowing a little more about Winnipeg, but more importantly, Maddin's able to use the images and his narrative text to help me feel some of the more unique aspects of Winnipeg. Maddin's Winnipeg is a Winnipeg that hits you in the gut. It's a movie about loss, ennui, regret, family, hard work, values, escaping the past, and other stuff, shared in a way that I think most people can connect with despite a lot of bizarre subject matter and the off-the-wall film techniques. The movie also has this amazing ability to make things that just shouldn't be important into things that seem really important. I laughed frequently, but there were several moments that were downright touching. I really liked the extended sequence about the hockey players and the old sports arena, and the reenactments, featuring what I assume really is Guy Maddin's actual mother, are endearingly pointless. I'd recommend this, but somebody who's already seen (and enjoyed?) some of Maddin's other films would probably appreciate it a little more.

Edit: It's not Guy Maddin's mother. It's actress Ann Savage who was most famous for playing Mrs. Thornhill on Saved by the Bell. My apologies to everyone involved.

Blog ReDesign!

Well, it wasn't easy and it wasn't quick - but the ol' blog has a new look now - with a TON of new information.  I'm starting to think I don't really need a website with all the cool stuff you can do with Blogger.

What do you think?

~Kiki

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The Script and The Art of Songwriting

As you know, I love music. LOVE it. I would probably never turn on the TV if I had my way and would only have my music going - loudly.  Now that my daughter is older we are going to concerts once again. I've been to a LOT of concerts in my life and I have to admit there are only a few bands who will actually motivate me to go out and battle the crowds any more.  The Script, an Irish band out of Dublin, is one of those bands.

The last concert we went to was in August at The Gorge to see John Mayer and Keith Urban.  It's an open air amphitheater (is that redundant?) and holds 25,000 people. Imagine how totally awesome it was to go to the Showbox SODO in Seattle last weekend - that probably holds 200 people max -  and watch one of the most amazing bands around!
Here's our view: ( we were closer than it looks)

The view from the stage: (You can see the place was NOT very big.)

If you haven't checked out The Script yet - go to iTunes or You Tube RIGHT NOW.  I guarantee you will love them! The true test of any band for me is how they sound acoustically and these guys are SO amazing. If you do nothing else - watch this video and you'll know what I'm talking about:
So how does this tie into writing?

Well, as an author I am constantly evaluating and choosing how I want to say something in my writing.  Trying to pick the right string of words to form a sentence that is evocative of the emotion and mood I'm trying to convey. In my opinion there is no medium where you have to be more succinct than songwriting. And though the guys in The Script are young (in their 20's) they are already gifted songwriters. Not only have they created beautiful melodies but they have written songs that are a fusion of contemporary styles: rap / soul / rock with lyrics that mean something.

Some of my favorite lines:

"Just a cigarette gone, no you couldn't be that far"
"There's so much sad gonna flood the ocean, we're all in tears for a world that's broken"
"We were sitting with our backs against the world, saying things we thought would never hurt"
"What am I supposed to do when the best part of me was always you"
"You've touched these tired eyes of mine, mapped my face line by line, and somehow, growing old feels fine"

They've written so many great lyrics it's hard to pick just a few lines.

Check out a couple other videos:
 (My daughter played guitar and sang this song (The Man Who Can't Be Moved) for her 8th grade talent show last spring - in front of 800 people!)



And the so beautiful 'I'm Yours' - (as Danny O'Donoghue, lead singer said, "written at 3 am after copious amounts of red wine" - if only wine would inspire such talent in the rest of us!!!!)


If you have a chance to see these guys - grab it now because my prediction is that next time they come around they'll be superstars and playing big venues. They have a new album coming out in January and I can't wait to see what fantastic new music they've created.