The Dollar/Pound Exchange Rate Goes the Wrong Way

Posted on 4/11/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

Bugger!

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

Posted in Sabbatical, What the heck? | 1 Comment

Front Row Part 2

Posted on 1/11/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

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

Posted in General | 2 Comments

You must buy this dvd!

Posted on 1/11/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

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

Posted in TV | 2 Comments

The Kingdom

Posted on 1/11/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

Surprising. I hadn’t expected to enjoy this movie but I did. Sadly the trailer once again spoiled the experience by giving away events from the end of the movie. How about allowing the movie goer surprise, guys? That too can be an important part of the cinema experience. Movies do not have to be entirely predictable to be pleasurable.

This is definitely from the popcorn end of the pond but no less enjoyable for that. A great mixture of humour and emotion and some fine performances from Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Garner and Chris Cooper. The overall balance was not quite right with the first two thirds being mainly an investigation/character piece and the last third a shoot ’em up action movie. Oh well, nice to see the female lead hold her own in both parts though. Jason Bateman’s character didn’t work for me, I just did not see the point of his presence at all. He didn’t really add anything to the mix and if I’d had my way the character would have been cut from the script early on. He was totally superfluous.

My favourite scene came in the first third of the movie. The team has made it to Saudi and are going door to door in the compound interviewing survivors and family members. A husband describes his wife’s death and reacts to the presence of the Saudi police. The rawness of the moment is stunning, it rips your heart out. Guh!

This will be a great movie night dvd rental.

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

Posted in Film, Sabbatical | 1 Comment

A Mighty Heart

Posted on 31/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

Heart-wrenching. I must admit to having planned to avoid seeing this movie, when we headed to the cinema we had intended to see Breach. The Odeon website, however, had blown a gasket and it turned out our movie of choice was not showing. So we either had to head home or watch Angelina Jolie strut her stuff. I’m so glad we decided to stay as this was an incredible movie, most definitely a multiple hankie affair. It reminded me of United 93 in so many ways and again benefitted greatly from having a British director take on a sensitive political topic. The piece gives you a feeling of watching real life unfold. You see people at their best and worst and the full gamut in between.

Current temperature: here 12C/54F, there 39F/4C

Posted in Film, Sabbatical | Leave a comment

Tapping the night away

Posted on 22/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

So I was wondering how I was going to keep my tap skills in good shape with a year away from my tap class. Well I got lucky and the local adult education courses include an adult tap class for those with some experience, which is me! Yay. We tap for an hour and 15 minutes every Tuesday night and boy do we work up a sweat. June, our teacher, really pushes hard and there’s no standing around watching. It’s all tapping, all the time. I drink a whole bottle of water every class. The ladies (and one gentleman) are a mixture of ages and backgrounds. Quiete a few of the dancers have been attending this class for a number of years which can make it a little difficult to get involved with the conversation. I’m just glad to have an opportunity to do something that gives me a serious aerobic work out.

Current temperature: here 6C/43F, there 55F/13C

Posted in Live Performance, Sabbatical | 1 Comment

Close Range by Annie Proulx

Posted on 21/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

I’ve found that novels I’ve tried to read in recent years haven’t had the kind of themes I’m interested in and there are so many on line sources of material that the formally published book comes a poor second on my to-read list. So it seemed like a good idea to try a collection of short stories instead. Each story is not a huge commitment in time and if one is not to my particular taste well there is always the next. Much to my pleasure this collection proved a great success. I’ve only ever driven through Wyoming so I can’t comment too much on whether Annie Proulx has captured the way of life of the area with these stories but she has managed to catch something of the landscape and how I imagine people living in it might be affected.

There are a lot of very strange characters here. Mostly I found it hard to sympathise with the men because of the way they treated the women. Boy, do the women in these stories get short changed. They live hard, miserable lives and along the way are expected to have sex with any man who shows an interest. Brokeback Mountain is far and away my favourite of the stories. While entirely from a male point of view it was not difficult to sympathise with the characters’ predicament. I was surprised just how much of the story had been translated into the movie, and that made me love it all the more.

Current temperature: here 75F/24C, there 18C/64F

Posted in Books | Leave a comment

The Invasion

Posted on 21/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

Surprising. Given all the bad press about this movie I expected the worst which, of course, meant I was pleasantly surprised. Probably better as a rental, for a night on the sofa this wasn’t that bad a movie. Enough tension to keep me guessing as to what was going to happen, the middle third was probably the most interesting from a visual point of view. The first third was most problematic in being able to spot continuity problems and poor editing, the last third was when the ‘action movie’ drive kicked in plus the ending was way to convenient.

Current temperature: here 12C/54F, there 46F/8C

Posted in Film, Sabbatical | Leave a comment

Michael Clayton

Posted on 19/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

Taut. What might have been a pretty average thriller turns out to be much better than that due to a number of rather interesting performances. George Clooney inhabits these middle aged men who realise they’ve lost their way roles so well. There is a moment, standing in a field with three horses when the character hits rock bottom, the despondency just comes of the screen in waves. Tom Wilkinson makes what could have been a wacky joke of a character completely believable. Tilda Swinton is stunning and makes the whole movie for me. Her character is so constrained, walking a tightrope, trying to hold her own in the boys club. Definitely worth a trip to the theatre.

Current temperature: here 6C/43F, there 57F/14C

Posted in Film, Sabbatical | 1 Comment

The state of pottery

Posted on 18/10/2007 by WeatherGrrrl

We’ve finished our coil pots. Yay us! My coils were much better second time around, so the top of the pot is much prettier than the bottom. We also made lids for our pots. Once I attached a handle to mine the group’s consensus was my pot struck more than a passing resemblance to a strawberry. When viewed from a distance the pot doesn’t look too bad. Then we glazed our pinch pots which was great fun. I dipped mine in two different colours, white inside and a shade of green on the outside. Next time we’ll have the chance to paint some more glaze on to touch up the finish.

I’ve also learnt that the follow up pottery class which had been over subscribed now has some open slots for those of us on the waiting list. I heard that a number of people had to drop the class due to its changing day. Once the current the five weeks are done, I get 15 more. Yay!

Current temperature: here 5C/41F, there 54F/12C

Posted in Art, Sabbatical | 1 Comment