Technically speaking this is my 1500th post, though technically speaking it also isn't, because I shaved a couple of months off the beginning of this blog, I'm not sure I know why I did that, it was no better or worse than the rest of the thing - it was some idea I had. Anyway, I kept all that (who knows why I did
that either) but can't put it back at the beginning - so, gee whiz, society and culture's loss I guess. So as things currently stand, this is my 1500th post, thanks for being here.
The last couple of days have been spent largely at home though I did take the three beagles (Barry's mother Taffy is still hanging here and in fact has a couple more weeks - it's been a very satisfactory arrangement - she and Barry get on very well and there's no more pressure on Charlie to entertain Barry who is a very demanding companion) to the toxic waste dump yesterday. It's a wonderland for beagles. I gather there is no actual exposed toxic waste there these days. I wouldn't want to live on it (or would I? Hmmm...) but I am not worried about the toxicity of hanging out there once every few months. Lot of thistles.
Last night we watched 4 episodes of
Boardwalk Empire until
Dog Day Afternoon came on. I'd never seen it. You know one thing about this film that surprised me is that it seems pretty nonjudgemental on gayness, which is as it should be but perhaps not what you'd expect from a film made in 1975. I vaguely remember it being on at the movies when I was ten or eleven, and I don't know what it was rated, but I probably couldn't go even if I wanted to, I don't recall much about it. Maybe it was also on at the Valhalla when I was a little older.
Oh well I say it was nonjudgemental on gayness I suppose that element of the storyline was a bit weird, with the Leon character accepting uncritically a psychiatrists's suggestion that he have a sex change, etc. But it was Sonny's relationship with his female wife (as typified by the phone conversation) that seemed like a throwback to the 1950s... and her complete lack of engagement with his other 'marriage,' in fact, I don't think she mentioned it once, she seemed like an idiot automaton. Not that the Leon character wasn't a bit of a cliche. But the Sonny character, I have to say, probably wasn't a cliche at all. There were a lot of resonances in this film with the present day concerns with the news cycle, media manipulation etc (and also relatively contemporary mediafear/media critique movies like
Newsfront).
Anyway I liked it. It was a beautiful print they showed on Channel 9 last night, too. I wonder if it was the director's cut.
Boardwalk Empire is a decent soap (thanks Annabel for lending us this) and made me more interested from a perspective of my other interests (urban history stuff) of prohibition and its day-to-day implications. The linking of prohibition with women's suffrage is really great historically. The (often heavy handed, though how could it be anything else? the similarities are so vivid) comparison with the current war on drugs is utterly pertinent.
Also while I was cleaning out the drawer I came across a laserpointer that Mia's sister Kerstin gave us a few years ago, and said it was fun to play with cats with it. I don't think I was able to interest Bela or Asha in it then but wow, it is Butterball's raison d'etre now. He can't get enough and is entirely entranced, and will chase that light everywhere. In fact he is sitting a few feet away from me right now possibly just hoping I'll turn it on again. Bela and Asha are so uninterested in the laser light they apparently cannot even believe it exists, so when Butterball comes to close to them when he's chasing it they think he's being inappropriate and cuff or bite him. For his part, he only has eyes for the light so doesn't care at all. There was a moment I have to say though that I thought maybe be had come to associate the 'click' of me turning the pointer on with the light, and was more interested in looking at the pointer itself than the light on the ground/wall/furniture. He is smart. But surely not that smart?
Today? More dog walking. We have almost no money to last us the next few days, so I guess we will just amuse ourselves with artistic endeavours. It's for the best.
Technically speaking this is my 1500th post, though technically speaking it also isn't, because I shaved a couple of months off the beginning of this blog, I'm not sure I know why I did that, it was no better or worse than the rest of the thing - it was some idea I had. Anyway, I kept all that (who knows why I did that either) but can't put it back at the beginning - so, gee whiz, society and culture's loss I guess. So as things currently stand, this is my 1500th post, thanks for being here.
The last couple of days have been spent largely at home though I did take the three beagles (Barry's mother Taffy is still hanging here and in fact has a couple more weeks - it's been a very satisfactory arrangement - she and Barry get on very well and there's no more pressure on Charlie to entertain Barry who is a very demanding companion) to the toxic waste dump yesterday. It's a wonderland for beagles. I gather there is no actual exposed toxic waste there these days. I wouldn't want to live on it (or would I? Hmmm...) but I am not worried about the toxicity of hanging out there once every few months. Lot of thistles.
Last night we watched 4 episodes of Boardwalk Empire until Dog Day Afternoon came on. I'd never seen it. You know one thing about this film that surprised me is that it seems pretty nonjudgemental on gayness, which is as it should be but perhaps not what you'd expect from a film made in 1975. I vaguely remember it being on at the movies when I was ten or eleven, and I don't know what it was rated, but I probably couldn't go even if I wanted to, I don't recall much about it. Maybe it was also on at the Valhalla when I was a little older.
Oh well I say it was nonjudgemental on gayness I suppose that element of the storyline was a bit weird, with the Leon character accepting uncritically a psychiatrists's suggestion that he have a sex change, etc. But it was Sonny's relationship with his female wife (as typified by the phone conversation) that seemed like a throwback to the 1950s... and her complete lack of engagement with his other 'marriage,' in fact, I don't think she mentioned it once, she seemed like an idiot automaton. Not that the Leon character wasn't a bit of a cliche. But the Sonny character, I have to say, probably wasn't a cliche at all. There were a lot of resonances in this film with the present day concerns with the news cycle, media manipulation etc (and also relatively contemporary mediafear/media critique movies like Newsfront).
Anyway I liked it. It was a beautiful print they showed on Channel 9 last night, too. I wonder if it was the director's cut.
Boardwalk Empire is a decent soap (thanks Annabel for lending us this) and made me more interested from a perspective of my other interests (urban history stuff) of prohibition and its day-to-day implications. The linking of prohibition with women's suffrage is really great historically. The (often heavy handed, though how could it be anything else? the similarities are so vivid) comparison with the current war on drugs is utterly pertinent.
Also while I was cleaning out the drawer I came across a laserpointer that Mia's sister Kerstin gave us a few years ago, and said it was fun to play with cats with it. I don't think I was able to interest Bela or Asha in it then but wow, it is Butterball's raison d'etre now. He can't get enough and is entirely entranced, and will chase that light everywhere. In fact he is sitting a few feet away from me right now possibly just hoping I'll turn it on again. Bela and Asha are so uninterested in the laser light they apparently cannot even believe it exists, so when Butterball comes to close to them when he's chasing it they think he's being inappropriate and cuff or bite him. For his part, he only has eyes for the light so doesn't care at all. There was a moment I have to say though that I thought maybe be had come to associate the 'click' of me turning the pointer on with the light, and was more interested in looking at the pointer itself than the light on the ground/wall/furniture. He is smart. But surely not that smart?
Today? More dog walking. We have almost no money to last us the next few days, so I guess we will just amuse ourselves with artistic endeavours. It's for the best.
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