WeatherGirl’s Station

I noticed a while back that my posts had really freaky time stamps on them. Well, um, my setting were still as if I was in Minnesota posting in the Central Standard Time zone. This has now been corrected. All times should be Greenwich Mean Time (GMT.) Not to be nationalistic or anything!

Current temperature: here 7C/45F, there 41F/5C

We are now two weeks in to our fifteen week pottery class. There are at least three times as many students and a different teacher so the whole dynamic has changed. I’m really glad I took the short class though because I think I gained enough insight and technical expertise from our original teacher so that I feel like I know what I’m doing. The new teacher is a lot more loosey goosey and go with the flow which is not the greatest way to pick up good technique but we are already making more pots and having the opportunity to be more expressive. Together the two of them could team teach a stupendous class!

The first week I made three pinch pots. One I turned into wide mouthed bowl, which is okay looking but nothing to write home about. The other two I joined together, which had me a little suspicious at first. It wasn’t clear if I could make anything the slightest bit interesting but as it has evolved this ‘pot’ has taken on a life of its own. It sort of has the feel of an Easter Island standing stone though I’ve cut holes in mine which freakily look like eyes. I’ve begun making marks in the surface that add to its strangeness. I suspect I’ll be using oxides rather that glaze for the finish but we’ll have to see how the burnishing goes.

Current temperature: here 7C/45F, there 43F/6C

We are called to live ‘in the virtue of that life and power that takes away the occasion of all wars’. Do you faithfully maintain our testimony that war and the preparation for war are inconsistent with the spirit of Christ? Search out whatever in your own way of life may contain the seeds of war. Stand firm in our testimony, even when others commit or prepare to commit acts of violence, yet always remember that they too are children of God.

Current temperature: here 8C/46F, there 37F/3C

Engrossing. Apparently, despite the 18 rating and the quite explicit advertising, customers at the theatre we attend, had been complaining over the content of this movie. It’s a Russian mob movie. Do you expect peaches and cream? There were several hiding behind my hands moments, most especially when the knives and razors come out. The violence was mainly explosive and fleeting with the exception of the bath house scene which lasted for several minutes. That scene in particular had a very overt sexual dynamic. The homoeroticism was effectively used to exaggerate the vulnerability of Viggo’s character at the same time as threatening the machismo of the clothed assassins. This isn’t a movie I’d say I ‘enjoyed’ but I found certain performances compelling and the meandering way the tale is told with flashes of extreme violence sucked me right in.

Viggo Mortensen was so scary yet there was an under current of warmth and human affection running under the surface that it was quite a surprise to think about just how nuanced a character he was playing. Armin Mueller-Stahl was disgustingly good as the fatherly mob boss who is really utterly evil. Naomi Watts had the most thankless role in the movie but acquitted herself well. As for Vincent Cassel, isn’t this baffoonish drunken lout he continually plays becoming a bit trite? The sexual tension between Cassel and Mortensen was well leveraged to great effect and watching them prowl around, each manipulating the other just by their mere physical presence, in an attempt to get what they need, kept me engaged.

Current temperature: here 3C/37F, there 39F/4C

Diverting. So we didn’t see this on its initial release for some reason so I rented the dvd to see if Michael Mann had captured some of the spirit of the original and to see how Foxx and Farrell measured up.

I had enjoyed watching the original tv series when it first aired. My parents thought I was only just old enough to watch it so it was quite something for that to happen given how adult the material was. On rewatching recently, with a more critical and experienced eye, it certain was a show where style won out over substance though I found the Sonny becomes his alter ego story line held up well. I’m just a junkie for all that angst.

So the movie provides quite a big bang for your buck and I loved the style of the piece and the set pieces. I didn’t feel very emotionally engaged but it certainly was not wasted time looking at the pretty.

Current Temperature: here 7C/45F, there 25F/-4C

Underwhelming. This was so disappointing. They managed to make a pretty exciting and riveting story hugely boring. I had a hard time staying awake. There were some stunningly beautiful images but they did not make up for the complete lack of life in this piece.

Current temperature: here 5C/41F, there 32F/0c

What a spectacular production! The experience was surprisingly cinematic. The combination of visuals, soundtrack and on stage costume changes gave the whole production an epic sweep. The cast made the text completely accessible and there was never any point at which it dragged or was incomprehensible. The fight scenes were frighteningly violent and the actors conveyed the idea that they could actually wield real weapons and defend themselves well. There were only ten actors in the cast so everyone but the lead played multiple parts which I rather enjoyed as you had the opportunity to see different aspects of each of them.

With an all male cast I wasn’t sure what to expect with the female roles but they were played seamlessly. Nigel Gore as Volumnia (Coriolanus’ mum) was the stand out. The power and emotional depth he brought to the part was incredible.

A number of memorable moments

Coriolanus is seen alive for the first time after the ferocious battle, mainly back lit, in a door way that reached the full height of the stage and covered in blood. This gave me goose bumps.

Cominius trying to persuade the proletariat that they should accept Coriolanus as consul. He does what Coriolanus has baulked at. Hugely powerful.

Aufidius and Coriolanus’s reconciliation played in such a homoeroticly charged way that you completely buy them turning from enemies to allies.

Wow, this was just mind blowingly good. Can’t wait for Julius Caesar.

Current temperature: here 8C/46F, there 34F/1C

Bugger!

Current temperature: here 7C/45F, there 48F/9C

We haven’t seen Coriolanus yet, that’s tomorrow night, but we attended the second of these talks about the upcoming all female production of Julius Caesar. A couple of the actors, the director and the line reader came to talk to us about the production and let me just say I am so pumped to see this you wouldn’t believe. This time we got a little insight into how they go about analysing the words and putting together a performance. It was quite remarkable. Very quickly, as the two actors performed a scene for us, you forgot they were two women and instead saw them as the male characters.

Only two weeks till we see this, yay! This is one of Shakespeare’s plays where I’ve actually read the text. A long time ago when I was at school, admittedly, but I’m sure a lot will come back when I hear the words. I memorised a lot of this play when I was fourteen.

Current temperature: here 14C/57F, there 29F/-1C

It’s called, North and South, not the novel/tv show about the US Civil War but a four part BBC production of Elizabeth Gaskell’s novel. It is an almost perfect production with great writing, direction and a pitch perfect cast. It has a number of similarities to the Pride and Prejudice production staring Colin Firth which I adore but this is even better. Yes there are a few convenient events that make the story work but I must confess they are most satisfying. Every time I watch the end of episode two, even though I know what’s coming, it just tears me up inside.

Go, buy, make yourself happy!

To buy or find viewer reviews and a more detailed description of the production, check it out here amazon.co.uk or here amazon.com.

Current temperature: here 13C/55F, there 39F/4C