Quote of the Day------Goodreads

Almost seventy years later I remember clearly how the magic of translating the words in books into images enriched my life, breaking the barriers of time and space...
Mario Vargas Llosa
Happy 78th birthday, Mario Vargas Llosa! In 1990 the Peruvian writer ran for president of his country, but was defeated by Alberto Fujimori. In 2010 Vargas Llosa won the Nobel Prize.



Currently reading Bachelor Brothers Bed and Breakfast Pillow Talk by Bill Richardson

quote of the day------goodreads

Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart.
Kate DiCamillo
Happy 50th birthday, Kate DiCamillo! The author of Because of Winn-Dixie is currently the National Ambassador for Young People's Literature, a biannual honor from the Library of Congress that was established in 2008.

Quote of the Day-----Goodreads

Start writing, no matter what. The water does not flow until the faucet is turned on.
Louis L'Amour
Best known for his Western novels, author Louis L'Amour (born March 22, 1908) traveled the globe in his youth, sometimes as a merchant seaman, sometimes as a professional boxer (he later coached several Golden Gloves teams), and sometimes just hopping freight trains.

The Book Thief, a movie

The Book Thief, a movie adapted from a book by the same title.

Liesel's mother can no longer take care of her and her brother, however, before they reach the family who will become her mama and papa, Liesel's brother passes away during the train voyage - he is buried off the side of the railway tracks in the dead of winter.  Liesel and her mother continue their journey to her new life.

Liesel's new family are at odds with the Nazi regime.  Through Liesel's eyes we see how so many of the every day German population became victims of Hitler's hatred of those who are different.  Go along with his hatred or become an enemy of the state.

The narrator of the movie is certainly unique, and I will leave it at that in case you haven't seen this movie yet.

This was a very good movie, and we both enjoyed it very much.

Emily Watson gave a really good performance as "mama".

All is Lost, a movie

All is Lost, a movie starring Robert Redford.

SPOILER ALERT

Well, when one has a husband who sails, and then watches a movie about sailing, one is bound to get to listen to criticisms.  They are little things, but still if one is going to believe he survived the initial accident, then let's look at the little things.
 
My husband was annoyed that gloves were never worn, he never put his life jacket on, when the waves were pounding the boat and he was on deck, he should have tied himself to something to avoid going overboard. When one has a hole in the hull of the boat, you don't put epoxy over the hole without some sort of backing.

My criticism was when he was in the survival raft, his map was always dry - especially after it flipped over.  Come on.

Otherwise, it was an interesting film to watch.

Hannah Arendt, a movie

We watched this movie recently.  If you don't know who Hannah was, this movie will give you a brief glimpse into her life.
 
Hannah was a very influential German-Jewish philosopher, after WWII she was afforded the opportunity to "cover" the Adolf Eichmann trial in Israel.  After her "banality of evil" concept was brought to the public's awareness, Hannah lost the respect of most of her peers, and became the target of hate mail.

Be sure to watch the Question and Answer portion with the director, screenwriter, the two lead actresses and advisor to the film - this was most insight, and put a whole "new" 
light on Hannah and her beliefs.

This was a really well done movie, and I would watch it again.

Nebraska, a movie

Watched this over the weekend. Of course, the humor is directed to a certain age group. 
Bruce and June were right on in their parts.  Too bad the Academy doesn't have more categories for acting and picture, like the Golden Globes.  They both should have won!  She was an absolute "hoot" in her part!

The black and white photography brought back many childhood memories of watching films in that medium.  Black and white film gives the viewer a better chance to actually get caught up in the story, not watching all the colors swirling by.

If you haven't seen it, give it a "shot".

Quote of the Day------Goodreads

You want to know about anybody? See what books they read, and how they've been read...
Keri Hulme
Happy 67th birthday, Keri Hulme! The New Zealand-born author won a Booker Prize for her first—and only—novel, The Bone People.


The Bone People was a very good, very difficult book to read, I read it years ago.  Not for the "faint of heart".

Gravity, a Movie about Space

 

Well, this one certainly had us by the "seat of our pants", hanging on for dear life.  It was a long time before I exhaled.
 
I had heard the new Host for the Cosmos program being interviewed on NPR, he had only 3 complaints about the film - orbit was going the wrong way should have been going West to East, and Sandra's hair would have been totally out of control, not slicked back.  Can't remember the third complaint.
We enjoyed this movie very much.

Quote of the Day----Goodreads

Everybody talks about wanting to change things and help and fix, but ultimately all you can do is fix yourself. And that's a lot. Because if you can fix yourself, it has a ripple effect.
Rob Reiner
Happy 67th birthday, Rob Reiner! The director of When Harry Met Sally... and The Princess Bride got his start as a writer on The Smothers Brothers.


Many years ago, I read the autobiography of Franco Zeffirelli, in which he also discussed the "ripple effect."  One little action that you do in front of someone else can change the whole chain reaction of the world, whether it be a good word (or bad) or good work (or bad) that will travel around the world in very subtle ways.  So, be mindful of what you say and do.