Sabbath report February Sundays

February 5

Lovely, lovely, LOVELY day! There was reading and napping in bed. There was watching a movie. There was walking to the park, sitting in the sun and writing a letter. There was idly reading email. And then, because I felt so rested, I happily ended my Sabbath and cooked the vegetables I didn’t have time to cook yesterday, so I would have something to eat this week.

February 12
I was lazy on Saturday and didn’t get anything done and so it was a struggle to have a rest day today. But the last time I tried this Sabbath thing that was exactly what sunk the project: I would be lazy on Saturday and then feel like I had to work on Sunday to make up for it. Today I read in bed for a long time then went for a walk and had a delicious lunch at Saraveza and walked home for more reading.
February 19
I had a volunteer work shift at church today during the second service and so I went to that. The rest of the day (both before and after) I spent reading. Which is not exciting for you to read about, but was quite nice for me.
February 26
Good, I think. I apparently forgot to report and here it is March and I remember nothing.

Just one thing: Weeks of February 2012

Week of Jan 29-Feb 4

Clean out three ring binder of recipes.
Did it. There were two binders and now there are one. Also when I was cleaning I found a lot of recipes I had forgotten about. So I will be visiting this binder now and then for direction/inspiration.
Week of Feb 5-Feb 11
Shift around bookshelves so I can clear off the top of the filing cabinet.
Didn’t do it.
Week of Feb 12 to Feb 18
Move cat litter boxes to their new place in the closet.
Did it.
Week of Feb 19 to Feb 25
Tape up cord that provides me Internet
Did it! Though to be truthful, I did it, then assigned myself the task just so I could say it got done.
Week of Feb 26 to March 3
Clean off the edges around the doors. Condensation due to previous, ineffective clothes dryer, built up on the windows, settled there and got a bit moldy. We need to put a stop to that!
Did it! We are mold free!

Three sentence movie reviews: My Week with Marilyn


This is one of those movies that makes me quite glad I don’t know any movie stars as they seem–as portrayed by Hollywood–incredibly exhausting, not to mention completely self-involved. I found the plot overall a bit “eh” but it was an incredibly gorgeous movie to watch: costumes, sets, actors. I think this would be a good movie for a plane ride, or a quiet night at home.


Essay: So you are going to see the movie adaptation of a book you have read.

Brace yourself. What you are about to see on the screen will be different than what you read on the page. The book world is limited only by the author’s imagination, has only one puppet master (the author), and the narrative is not hemmed in by the pesky human need to go to the bathroom, thus can extend longer than two hours. Movies? They are limited by what computers and movie magic can create, have many puppet masters and must tell their story comprehensively, succinctly and briefly. They are two different animals. Here are three tips for successful viewing of your book-to-movie adaptation.

Let go of the book. Though it is rare, movies sometimes use novels as a jumping off point to tell an entirely different story. So the story you read might not be the story you watch. Movies also need to condense narratives, eliminate characters and change endings. What you read will not be what you see, so just let it go right now.

Realize that these are two mediums. A book where we mostly live in the character’s head will probably not make a very good movie. (A-hem Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) Books are a medium of “telling.” They use words to let us into their world and the words can be used in a variety of ways: jumping into various characters’ heads to capture their thoughts, giving hefty background plot using a narrator, painting elaborate portraits of families, landscapes, careers. Movies tell by showing. Sometimes we get a voice over, to varying success, but mostly movies reveal things by showing us things: through dialogue, through action, through picture or the classic montage. Remember that how you learned about things in the book might not be revealed in the same way in the movie. It can be frustrating, but it’s necessary and sometimes the movie can explain things better than the book did.

Stop keeping score. It’s hard, but the more you forget you ever read the book, the more you can lose yourself in the movie. Sure, the movie people may have eliminated several characters, including your favorite, but just let it go. What have they done in place of those characters? Were those characters necessary to the plot of the story the movie is telling? The time for comparing the book movie format is after you have watched the movie. If you are too caught up in the fact that the main character is driving the wrong car, you might miss an extra detail the movie brings out that was skimmed over in the book.

As someone who loves both books and movies, I can say that I nearly always find the book a superior method of storytelling than the movie adaptation. But consuming both the book and the movie allows for interesting contrast. It also tends to be a nice commentary about society and allows for a juicy discussion of just what is up with Hollywood that they would have made exactly the movie they did. And once in a great while a movie will elevate your book into something really marvelous. All of those are reasons to take in both the book and the movie.

Three sentence movie reviews: The Iron Lady


I feel uneasy about portraying a powerful political woman through the lens of dementia, especially given that (as Friend Kelly observed) this will not be the way they frame the Ronald Reagan story whenever they get around to telling it. The acting is fabulous, and for that you should watch this, but the story didn’t seem to have a common thrust to carry it through. Also, Margaret Thatcher’s politics aren’t my politics, so it was at times, difficult to root for her.

Three sentence movie reviews: Flight of the Conchords Season 1


My brother recommended this series several years ago and I finally got around to watching it, even though he properly sold it to me, telling me “And there’s singing!” And he was right about how much I would enjoy it because this is a very funny TV show. Perhaps next time I will seek out his recommendations in a more timely manner.