Oct 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
Just watched the movie last night. First, let me say I have a graduate minor in history. I know this movie is historically incorrect.
But I still enjoyed it. ((Guilty shrug)) I have no problem with making Saladdin a smart, honorable guy (uh, he was a bit more blood-thirsty than that, really, but that's never stopped Hollywood before). I have no problem with making the Crusades a bad thing. They were a bad thing, and though you can't blame all the poor guys who went to fight for the glory of God, you sure can blame the greedy misguided idiots who sent them in the first place. Religious fanatics of any stripe are reprehensible.
But this movie reminds me of old Hollywood epics, and I liked that. It has the pagentry of Cleopatra and Ben Hur, and a couple of Shakespearean moments that almost seem cribbed from Henry V. “I am what I am,” says one guy. “Someone's gotta be.” For some reason, this reminded me of Ancient Pistol.
Over all, a decent Hero's Journey type movie, in spite of some stretching of credulity in places and a couple of clunky transitions. Two slippahs up.
Oct 17, 2005 | Uncategorized
I'm in a quiet moment, sort of, between the day's activities and tonight's jogging. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow is playing on the television. I find it dull and stupid, but since I picked it (yes, me), I'm watching it through to the end while Mike has a nap. I am also blogging because it doesn't take much attention, frankly, to follow this fluffy movie. I can suspend disbelief, sure, but my difficulties began with the name Totenkopf. I started expecting the SS to show up. I could even buy the fact that the Death's Head units would build great big robots, and when Polly and Joseph and everyone else kept wondering who was behind everything, I kept saying, “Sheesh, how dumb can you be? It's Hitler of course!”
But the joke's on me because Totenkopf is the name of a scientist (German, naturally) and not the traditional Totenkopfverbande I expected. But I think it would have been far more interesting if Hitler had instructed the SS to create robots to take over the world instead of this rogue scientist with a Noah's Ark complex who wants to found a new world. Sheesh.
The other major annoyance of the day is Dan Brown and The Da Vinci Code. Oh my God, this book is awful, and not because I'm offended by the subject matter. Where was this man's critique group? Where was his editor? No one in my writers' group writes prose this bad. If they do, they don't do it for long. Here's the best explanation possible as to why this writing sucks. Syntactic swill, I believe this fellow says. By far one of the funniest articles on the subject is here. I suggest, however, that easily offended Christians not read this one. This guy is definitely not a Christian, and he doesn't care who he pisses off. 🙂
In the meantime, I'll soothe my offended grammarian genes with some great writing. Ann Patchett, anyone?
Oct 14, 2005 | Uncategorized
Fellow Aloha Chapter member Sally Sorenson has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize!!! Her story “Kaneloa,” which appears in Ghosts at the Coast, has just been nominated. Awesome news! The Pushcart Prize features the best of the small presses and is quite a big deal. 🙂
Oct 14, 2005 | Uncategorized
Watch tonight as Jay shows the Maui Writers' Conference “Pitch to America” segment! A friend, Malena Brooks, may be on there pitching her women's fiction novel. With a name like Malena you'd think she's Hawaiian, but no, she's African-American. She's a lovely lady with the most infectious attitude you ever came up against. No matter how down I might feel, an evening talking with Malena always brightens my outlook. The woman is smart and classy and she knows what she wants. 🙂 So tune in tonight and see if Malena made the cut!
Oct 13, 2005 | Uncategorized
I haven't felt like blogging lately. In fact, I'm planning to cut back a bit so I can concentrate on my writing. Blogging is great fun, but it's almost as tough as writing fiction because you end up thinking about how you can use something in your blog, the best way to convey what you want to convey, etc. And I ain't getting any younger. 🙂
This weekend, Mike and I went to Waikiki and spent time at a hidden bar in the International Market. It was fun, and I listened in to some interesting conversations, but now I don't really feel like giving it the attention it deserves to be a good entry. There was an older man who'd gone to an Elton John concert in California once. He took his mother, then was embarrassed when Elton had giant phalluses and breasts hanging over the stage. And he'd gotten these $365 each tickets for free from an acquaintance who knew Elton's bodyguard or some such thing.
Then there was the young guy working hard to make ends meet. He lives in Hawaii on less than $10 an hour. He and his girlfriend rent a crappy apartment and live day to day. No college education, no prospects or desire to get one. Except he's 20-ish now and that's okay. What happens when he's 30 something and still working as a day laborer? How long can he afford Hawaii like that?
And then there was the bartender, a decent guy with a 2 year degree in sociology. He said he had fun tending bar and it was a good sociology study for him. I don't remember if he planned on going back to school or not, or what else he did for a living.
Mike and I shared giant Heinekens, pouring them into two plastic cups and watching the people go by in the market. Heineken isn't really beer when you've lived in Germany, but what the heck. It was a better choice than Bud. When we got hungry, I went and found a chinese takeout close by. I ordered potstickers and beef cake-noodle. It was yummy.
When we finished the beers and dinner (eaten at the bar), we walked through the market, checking out the gold and silver jewelry, listening to the sales pitches. We crossed the street to the Sheraton Moana Surfrider, which is I believe the oldest hotel in Waikiki. It's a gorgeous, stately old place with a wide veranda and rocking chairs spanning the front. We sat in the chairs and rocked for a bit, and I wondered if the Queen of Hawaii ever sat there and did the same. Poor lady, had her country taken away from her because she was a woman and because Americans wanted to rule where they'd once been guests. Read Hawaii's Story by Hawaii's Queen.
Oct 6, 2005 | Uncategorized
“The worldwide glut of wine has become so huge that for the first time in history, France is distilling some of its higher-rated wines into fuel. It is a painful proposition in a land where winemaking is a labor of love and the fruit of that labor is celebrated as much as any art.”
I'm going to faint. Read the rest here.
