Originally uploaded by grange85.
After four weeks, one of our two new cats has decided that we aren’t so scary after all and regularly visits us on the sofa rather than hiding behind it. As the observant will notice she has heterochromia which adds to her allure.
That’s a good word.
I came across a Dorothy Parker quote I hadn’t seen before - “This wasn’t just plain terrible, this was fancy terrible. This was terrible with raisins in it.” (does it date it if raisins are considered “fancy”?) - and I was reminded of a couple of my favourites:
Katharine Hepburn “ran the whole gamut of emotions from A to B.”
News Item:
Men seldom make passes
At girls who wear glasses
This is a great quote wrongly attributed to DP:
“If you want to know what the Lord God thinks of money, just look at those to whom he gives it.” - it was Maurice Baring (though it should be noted that even after consulting tried and trusted sources, it is difficult to locate original sources of quotes).
My favourite poem when I was young and miserable was Résumé:
Razors pain you
Rivers are damp
Acids stain you
And drugs cause cramp.
Guns aren’t lawful
Nooses give
Gas smells awful
You might as well live.
How annoying that I have just found this entry because I just put an order in yesterday at Lush . Not that my backside needs any treatment…
I am amazed at the overwhelmingly positive reviews of Road to Perdition over at Rotten Tomatoes and on IMDb. This was po-faced, self-important and plot-light. Almost literally nothing of note happened for the first 40 minutes except an extended wake and hootenanny which was supposed to set up the rest of the film but instead had me itching for a better script and editing. There was a scene with dice to show us that Rooney was essentially The Godfather (with orange skin in his mouth) and a lingering shot of bad Connor exhaling cigarette smoke to show that he must be bad because he smokes. Why bother casting Jennifer Jason Leigh in the dullest of dull roles when it could have been anyone for all it mattered? The pacing was off with scenes that should have cut to make the drama tighter. Did either father or son really care about the death of mother and other son? I don’t remember any sign that they did but I do know that Michael’s favourite subject at school was biblical history. As for the massacre in the pouring rain in total silence and slow motion, give me strength! - two clichés for the price of one (which is another, I know). The Grant Wood farmers were excruciating plot devices – I don’t need to be told that they are wonderful, trusting, simple folk but a close up at any time of the husband might have been helpful for us to care about them.
Still, on the positive side, Lake Michigan looks nice.
Whenever I have a colon vs semi-colon moment I google colon semi xena to find The Blue Quill which uses the Xena and Gabrielle characters in suggestive situations to illustrate good grammar. I always thought it was a clever and fun way of presenting the subject and that was before I discovered fan fiction (which now puts it into context: I was so naive…).
I love ellipses…
For his ninth (!) birthday treat, we are taking Adam and a few of his friends to see Aurelia’s Oratorio at the Lyric, Hammersmith. We three went last year and it was a fabulous experience. I can’t wait to see it again.
Prophecy Girl (Joss Whedon)
“Even I was bored. And I’m a science nerd” “Don’t say that” “I’m not ashamed. It’s the computer age. Nerds are in. They’re still in, right?”
“Well, Willow’s not looking to date you. Or if she is, she’s playing it pretty close to the chest” (rather pathetically I love suggestive dialogue like this)
“I’m not him. I mean, I guess a guy’s gotta be undead to make time with you” (harsh indeed, Xander does not take rejection well and then goes on to insult Willow who has the sense to tell him she wasn’t going to on a date with him as second choice)
“Willow! I really like your outfit!” “No, you don’t” “No, I really don’t, but I need a favour” (Cordelia is so much fun this time around)
“I wish to God I were! But it’s very plain! Tomorrow night Buffy will face the Master, and she will die”
Buffy quits:
“I don’t care! I don’t care, Giles, I’m sixteen years old. I don’t want to die” (Sarah Michelle Gellar is amazing as Buffy and it is far too easy to forget how good she is. Her “I quit” scene shows off her exceptional talent)
“And you had your whole life ahead of you” “Yeah” “Must be nice” (poor Buffy)
We’ve just had the “I don’t want to die” scene and we don’t really think Buffy can get much darker because, you know, Buffy isn’t going to die and this is just a show for teenagers. Then we are confronted with a room of murdered students and it’s horrible and it’s black and it’s very serious.
“The part that gets me, though, is where Buffy is the Vampire Slayer. She’s so little” (Jenny says it for us)
“When he wakes up tell him, I don’t know. Think of something cool, tell him I said it” (Buffy stuck for a funny remark: things are bad)
What’s this? The Master kills Buffy! Xander and Angel are too late. That’s not right. What is going on? What is this show?
Cordelia drives in the school, now that’s cool.
“No, I feel strong. I feel different” (what’s with that? She was different in season six but not in season two which is a pity because it would have been nice to explore that idea of being different after death particularly with Kendra in the picture)
“I may be dead, but I’m still pretty which is more than I can say for you” (oh no, what terrible dialogue (at this point in this episode anyway))
The rest of the episode is reasonably exciting but the good stuff has all happened. The best stuff is still to come in season two when it becomes more daring, shocking and even funnier.
Out of Mind, Out of Sight (story by Joss Whedon, written by Ashley Gable & Thomas A. Swyden)
I love the premise of this episode: that someone is so invisible to her classmates that she literally becomes invisible. As an occasional invisible girl myself, I would have preferred her not to become quite so insane and murderous but as it is written it’s chilling. Unfortunately, the ending is atrocious and casts a pall over the episode: government involvement has no place in BtVS (oops).
Clea DuVall was excellent as Marcie but rather miscast because she is one striking woman. By the way, Marcie was not “unpopular”, unpopular children are actively disliked whereas no one even saw Marcie to care.
Cordelia developed (at last) from being a funny bitch (“I don’t recall ever seeing you here before.” “Oh, no, I have a life.”) to become a bitch with a hidden heart: “You think I’m never lonely because I’m so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It’s not like any of them really know me. I don’t even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when I talk, everyone’s so busy agreeing with me, they don’t hear a word I say.”
Willow was wearing a Scooby Doo t-shirt! 
It’s a pity her hair’s in the way.
“Well, I don’t even like chocolates. Okay, that was the lamest comeback of our times.”
“A vampire in love with a Slayer! It’s rather poetic in a maudlin sort of way.”
“Oh, my God! ‘Have a nice summer. Have a nice summer.’ This girl had no friends at all.”
“Oh. ‘Have a great summer.’ See, I cared!” (Willow’s response here is so in character)
“Nothing is keeping me from the Bronze tonight!” “Can we just revel in your fabulous lack of priorities?” “If I’m not crowned tonight then, then Marcie’s won! And that would be bad. She’s evil, okay? Way eviler than me.”
“Let me see. I think we should start with your smile. I think it should be wider.”
Nightmares (story by Joss Whedon, written by David Greenwalt)
This is an interesting episode because it is the first to explore the boundaries of the show. It was atmospheric and spooky and sort of like Restless but without the cheese and with a moral.
The nightmares are all very recognisable though to be honest for Xander’s to work he would have needed to be naked because he looked distinctly all right in his undies. By far and away, the worst nightmare was Buffy’s father’s brutal treatment of her, which was shocking and cruel (but not the most shocking and cruel of things that Buffy and co are eventually put through by cruelty meister Joss Whedon). Though Buffy being buried alive and Willow’s terror on stage were pretty horrible too.
Blimey, the Annoying One is called Colin – what kind of scary name is that?
Hmm, vampire Buffy: “I’ll tell you something, though. There are a lot scarier things than you.And I’m one of them.”
“When Buffy was a vampire, you weren’t still, like, attracted to
her, were you?” “Willow, how can you? I mean, that’s really bent! She was grotesque!” “Still dug her, huh?” “I’m sick, I need help”
Not much in the way of inspired dialogue (partly because it is a visual episode) but “at least I know my name”.
Since there is a gibbous moon, here are the lyrics to Ghost World by the marvellous Aimee Mann:
Finals blew, I barely knew
My graduation speech
And with college out of reach
If I don’t find a job
It’s down to Dad and Myrtle Beach
So I’m bailing this town
Or tearing it down
Or probably more like hanging around
Hanging around
Everyone I know is acting weird
Or way too cool
They hang out by the pool
So I just read a lot and rode my bike
Around the school
‘Cause I’m bailing this town
Or tearing it down
Or probably more like hanging around
Hanging around
And all that I need now is someone
with the brains and the know-how
to tell me what I want…anyhow
12th of June, a gibbous Moon
Was this the longest day?
I’ll walk down to the bay
and jump off of the dock and watch
the summer waste away
Then I’m bailing this town
Or tearing it down
Or probably more like hanging around
Then I’m bailing this town
Or tearing it down
Or probably more like hanging around
Hanging around
Hanging around
Hanging around
So tell me what I want