Things 7 through 10

I thought I would do a few movie reviews this time, as I haven't read much in book format the past few weeks, but have watched a few movies.

First, the good review: The Fall, a 2006 movie by Tarsem Singh. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460791/

I wasn't sure what to expect from this movie, but it seemed an interesting premise: A 1920s stuntman is in hospital and meets a young girl, for whom he starts telling an epic story. The movie was visually stunning, and made me think of the Arabian nights tales, or Gulliver's travels. The girl of course brings her own touches to the story, so that it morphs around the teller and the listener into something that brings them together. There is a darker undercurrent that becomes apparent early in the movie, but I won't tell what it is so as not to ruin the surprise, but suffice it to say that there are quite a few tear-jerker scenes here. Some of the scenes could be seen as unsettling, since the main character is telling a story to a very young child with quite a bit of violence in it, but as it is a main part of the plot I don't think it would detract from the movie, but rather adds realism to it. It's a must see in my opinion.

Now, the ambivalent review: Nightwatching, a 2007 movie by Kees Kasander.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446750/?ref_=nv_sr_1

I'll admit it, I only got this movie out because the main role is played by Martin Freeman, the actor who plays John Watson in BBC's Sherlock. I was expecting something historical, somewhat romantic, and with some intrigue from what I saw on the back of the cover. What I got was something else. The movie is set up quite like a play, with the actors advancing on stationary sets and the camera mostly moving in and out from the characters when a closer shot is required. The language the actors use is contemporary, and by that I mean more street language than Shakespeare, though I expect the effect is meant to resemble a contemporary version of what Shakespeare would have written on this subject. The main plot of this movie revolves around Rembrandt's painting of members of the militia, where he discovers various plots and schemes and decides to incorporate them into the painting in retaliation, as a form of vengeance for the victim of the main plot.
Now while that all sounds like the makings of a great movie, there was a major element of the film that detracted from my enjoyment. I found that virtually all the characters had a crude enjoyment in gossiping about sordid deeds of their neighbours and contemporaries, which we would today call horrible crimes which we would report to the authorities. The fact that in those days there were no authorities to speak of does not detract from the fact that the characters, Rembrandt included, are absolutely phlegmatic and unemotional about the plight of the victims. I don't feel that this element of the artist's time should have taken such a large part in the movie's plot, but the directors and producers felt different. So most of the movie is spent in sordid gossip, political blackmailing and backstabbing, foul language, and sexual escapades. While there were some moving moments in the movie, the overall effect for me was more depressing than anything else. Overall excellent acting, but very dark subject matter. Perhaps someone of a more cerebral taste will enjoy this movie more than I did.

Things 4, 5 and 6

So when I saw that week two was about Twitter, I was apprehensive. I understand how it can be useful, and I even read the storm watch site's tweets about local cancellations, and others that are embedded in sites that I use. But I don't find I have much to say to the world at large, or at least not in 140 characters.

That said, I found that the page layout for twitter was easier to follow than the one for blogger, as far as changing settings is concerned. I prefer to change the privacy settings to the most private available when I create a new account on any site, though I refrained in this case so that my tweets would be readable by others in the course of this exercise. Perhaps I'll find it worthwhile once I get used to it; I will try checking twitter once in a while and see if what crops up is interesting.

A few negative aspects I found about twitter are first when you create the account, they prompt you to add 5 people to follow, then 5 more, then more, and I did not realise there was a 'skip' button at the bottom to go to the next step, since this button is pale grey and very small, very difficult to notice. I would have liked that button to be at the top, so that I could choose not to follow 'well-known people' or 'people you know' and just make my own choices. The unfollow function is very easy to use to mitigate that little irritation. The other negative aspect is that it seems that people or organisations tweet either too much or too little. When I saw what tweets were on my page I was dismayed that there were sometimes 20 or more tweets by one individual in a row, and very few by any others. I find this would make it difficult to find a variety of information from different sources, though maybe I'll discover a setting that changes that.

As for tweeting, I did post one, but I had difficulty finding something to post, and finally settled on one of my favourite quotes as a starter. Perhaps I'll get a liking to it later, but for the moment the jury is still debating.

Things 1, 2 and 3

You know when you're having a conversation with someone, and they start talking about something technical, and you have no idea what they're talking about, but you just nod and pretend you understand what they're saying? That's a bit how I am with new technologies. I'm not a complete Luddite, I get along fine with surfing the net, and doing bits and bobs on Facebook and whatnot when I want to. And if you give me a Popular Science or Maker magazine, I'll be ecstatic. But trying to convince me to adopt new online habits is a sure way to get my eyes to glaze...

I'm hoping that this training will get me a bit more comfortable with the wider online world. I may not adopt everything I learn here for my own, but I hope to know enough by the end to figure out what I like and don't like and why.

About myself, I'm the mother of an energetic preschooler, an avid reader, an amateur do-it-yourself-er, and a Jack of all trades when it comes to geekdom. If you name a fandom to me, if I'm not into it I will probably know someone who is. I quite enjoy the pride and open acceptance that geekiness and fans have been enjoying in the last couple of years, and my hope is that someday everyone can be geeky in any way they choose without being looked at weirdly by anyone. Even if they choose to dress in costumes when it's not Halloween.

Just to add a bit of librarian-ness to this post, here are a few book recommendations:

In the fiction category, I've recently read Mrs. Queen takes the train, by William Kuhn. It's a fictional look inside the life of our beloved British Monarch, and some of the thoughts and feelings hiding behind the formal façade. In this novel, the Queen decides to take an impromptu trip, which sends members of her household desperately scrambling about, fearing for the worst. Of course her Majesty is in no real danger. After all, they can't target her if they can't recognise her, right?
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13571784-mrs-queen-takes-the-train

In the non-fiction category, Below Stairs, an autobiography by Margaret Powell. She writes about her youth as a kitchen maid, later graduating to a cook in the 1920s. It's a glimpse into the lesser known facts about domestic service in the post-Victorian era, when the recovery from the first world war and the emergence of the flapper era was creating great changes in the world. It's a slim volume which garnered huge success when it was first published, and there is a follow up book titled Climbing the Stairs about Mrs. Powell's ultimately successful efforts to leave domestic service behind.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11966836-below-stairs