tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19065498376303970892024-03-12T20:03:04.340-04:00The Library PilgrimWherever I go, I'm looking for a library.The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.comBlogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-24087054905735591042023-08-31T13:03:00.005-04:002023-08-31T13:05:06.189-04:00Hot Dog, We Have A Wiener<p>The 1991 movie <i>Dogfight </i>opens with River Phoenix on a bus looking sad, probably sometime in the mid 1960s (and yes, I'm pretending that it hasn't been over a year since my last movie watch/blog post, thanks for going along with that). </p><p>We get a brief glimpse of sad Phoenix before the movie takes us back in time a few years to 1963. Phoenix and his fellow Marine buddies are gearing up for a last night on the town before shipping off to Vietnam. Just a bunch of good friends wanting to spend some nice quality time together before heading into battle, right?</p><p>Wrong. These guys are, objectively, assholes, and their fun last-night activity is to compete in something called a dogfight. The goal is to find the ugliest girl to bring to a dance, and the "dogs" compete for best in show, which is awarded to the ugliest one. Each douche-dude puts in $50 to compete, and according to the first website hit I got on Google, $50 from 1963 is worth almost $500 in today's money. So, big stakes for these douche-goblins.</p><p>Brief pause in the plot to discuss hair. Phoenix plays a Marine, and therefore has a Marine haircut which I think is something described as high (?) and tight (?). I did no research because I was expecting him to have a buzzcut, but it's not that, and I didn't bother looking up what it's actually called, but it kind of looks like this</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTJD4NSitLh8gX59Xc3hkBpzHWMPPuQp5iq40ufg_9rt2sXbRNkiXmgCn2U2x6PMj1ZIvciOUQ-90Yvi3swE7xqt-NyhqlBnT9LWwGk2MzRG88xRSvBCLq3s8uwpEtEL-C7rBoRS9Q2J5swIPO95XssLKOj_DF25ap-iziCFZi6xTsEhKE8p-fqGuBdL9H" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="781" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjTJD4NSitLh8gX59Xc3hkBpzHWMPPuQp5iq40ufg_9rt2sXbRNkiXmgCn2U2x6PMj1ZIvciOUQ-90Yvi3swE7xqt-NyhqlBnT9LWwGk2MzRG88xRSvBCLq3s8uwpEtEL-C7rBoRS9Q2J5swIPO95XssLKOj_DF25ap-iziCFZi6xTsEhKE8p-fqGuBdL9H" width="210" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Short, very non-floppy hair<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sue_Q_Solgot_Bell_River_Phoenix_Heart_%28Arlyn%29_Phoenix.jpg" target="_blank">Skyphoenix6</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Now, regular readers will know that 13-year old Amy was all about the longer, floppy hair, a style that I not only admired on young men but recreated on myself for many years (no idea what that means). So this very accurate to the time and setting hairstyle on River Phoenix in <i>Dogfight</i> would have been a major disappointment for young Amy, who would have happily eschewed verisimilitude for some floppy locks, Marine regulations be damned. Let's see if middle-aged Amy can get past it, let go and let god.<div><br /></div><div>Back to the movie. The marines are on the hunt (exact word they use), and it's pretty satisfying to see them getting turned down by these so-called ugly ladies. The women have no time for cheesy pickup lines, and in a mark of true misogyny, when one of the douche-deputies gets turned down, he tells the young woman that she's a slut. That insult gets leveled at a few other women in the movie who dare to not do exactly what a strange man tells them. Fun times, being a woman.</div><div><br /></div><div>The main two ways that women are unattractive, from what I can tell, is if they wear glasses, or if they have big hair. We don't see anyone that embodies both of these horrific attributes, as that woman would surely have broken all of the camera lenses with her awfulness.</div><div><br /></div><div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqr21P47e9bsUbjNxWM69XkXbvMeLwWe9JSqYIUJVW9UpjdsNcoWpswt4xJuerdLer96VfjR82MHe0VVbH5J5N0G8qtiGTBVtklLO208HxvXoypAK6_cM3MWY0OB9ZT4r7GOq6UONXevQ1lGuJ-jir0JbW7PV_mc-LQFVR57nwuQiFbWf0Mr2wNHCf72Ol" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="629" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqr21P47e9bsUbjNxWM69XkXbvMeLwWe9JSqYIUJVW9UpjdsNcoWpswt4xJuerdLer96VfjR82MHe0VVbH5J5N0G8qtiGTBVtklLO208HxvXoypAK6_cM3MWY0OB9ZT4r7GOq6UONXevQ1lGuJ-jir0JbW7PV_mc-LQFVR57nwuQiFbWf0Mr2wNHCf72Ol" width="187" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ugh, puke city<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://freesvg.org/female-avatar-with-glasses" target="_blank">birgitlachner</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />If you haven't seen this movie (and you should!), the film is commenting on the misogyny and objectification of women, not adding to it. So my comments here are directed at the characters and their terrible behaviour, not at the movie itself. Just in case the movie is reading this and getting its feelings hurt. I SEE WHAT YOU'RE DOING MOVIE, AND I'M HERE FOR IT! (Sorry for yelling.)</div><div><br /></div><div>So Phoenix (his character is named Eddie) is striking out just like his other buddies, and time is running out for him to get his entry into the fight. And the only thing that makes sense to me is that his panic is impacting his vision somehow, because he walks into a diner and tries to pick up the woman behind the counter who is, sure a bit too old for him, but otherwise quite pretty. Yes, she has glasses (retching noises), but she takes them off almost immediately, the international movie sign to look a little closer, she might not be a hideous four-eyed beast!</div><div><br /></div><div>But she is tired, she runs this diner, and she has no time for this douche-recliner's bullshit. Hard relate. No need to panic for our "hero" though, because he's found his contestant. He can tell JUST BY LOOKING AT HER BACK that she's the one. Reader, her back is completely normal, she's wearing a suitable work uniform (she's a waitress at the diner), and yes, fine, her hair is a touch large, but her back indicates exactly nothing about her appearance. Eddie's senses are on high alert though, and he goes in for the kill.</div><div><br /></div><div>This young woman is sitting in the corner, clearly on a well-deserved break, quietly playing the guitar and singing to herself. So of course, Eddie feels comfortable interrupting her. After all, this might be his prize pooch waiting to be chosen! His approach is the bold choice of both mansplaining and gaslighting her, making up a folk music writer, and telling this woman, who clearly knows her shit when it comes to that genre, that all of her favourite songs were actually written by this imaginary man. </div><div><br /></div><div>The woman is Rose, daughter of the tired older woman who runs the diner, played by the incredible Lili Taylor. And yes, this is a studio picture, and yes, this is the early 90s, and yes, Hollywood beauty standards blah blah blah, but let it be said that Lili Taylor would do TERRIBLY in a dogfight. I was about to write that sure, she's not conventionally beautiful, but I would be wrong. She is! She's stunning!</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic3YUKkBDqfV9p3ia224pixyJE6aJT4nfY38U77hPBd-X79S1fNIYT-MbtKPv9wmDOGwmD4vXa8e00sdK6hI_NVscnu6zWtUaY0cO1zQJIVF_5bTZCsVW1sz_sFiKExDYzWMvIELmeOzYB-xyjc8PH_-1AXFkoznlVHTiG2mlH5VEZeG1r4g2mwtAkkbtY" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="252" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEic3YUKkBDqfV9p3ia224pixyJE6aJT4nfY38U77hPBd-X79S1fNIYT-MbtKPv9wmDOGwmD4vXa8e00sdK6hI_NVscnu6zWtUaY0cO1zQJIVF_5bTZCsVW1sz_sFiKExDYzWMvIELmeOzYB-xyjc8PH_-1AXFkoznlVHTiG2mlH5VEZeG1r4g2mwtAkkbtY" width="139" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0101748/mediaviewer/rm3406969344" target="_blank">IMDB</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The photo above is from a press event for <i>Dogfight</i>. And yes, in the movie they alter her look somewhat, but still people, this is what we're dealing with.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGMxPQbO8v6x7qTg2KQ9OwVL85jsTZ4IOgKwj0Ihkynga9CK33cfGjxPobS8gL96mHXErRHxvcI8UHlKVWjfn9bC5k5GZ7JE_EtGS5MS_j2Zrjk6fnJPHNCtX2D2lUSfTpHmaGfPdc6PHmfsoEBIA5CMx3_gaEEUjdIi21GfuVXgrLyklvYLaSRCZLRuAW" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="589" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhGMxPQbO8v6x7qTg2KQ9OwVL85jsTZ4IOgKwj0Ihkynga9CK33cfGjxPobS8gL96mHXErRHxvcI8UHlKVWjfn9bC5k5GZ7JE_EtGS5MS_j2Zrjk6fnJPHNCtX2D2lUSfTpHmaGfPdc6PHmfsoEBIA5CMx3_gaEEUjdIi21GfuVXgrLyklvYLaSRCZLRuAW" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly worthy of runner up in a dogfight, right?<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.moviestillsdb.com/movies/dogfight-i101748/e60668" target="_blank">movienutt</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Joke break! What's the difference between a bag of trash and a brunette? Even a bag of trash gets picked up once in a while!</div><div><br /></div><div>BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!</div><div><br /></div><div>This very funny and not at all misogynistic/sexist joke was gleefully told to me in high school, and as a young woman with very dark hair, I believed it was true. I was destined to be the butt of a joke, and not the object of affection (this didn't end up being true, I married a very lovely man who appreciates my dark hair, except when it clogs up the drains, but that has nothing to do with its hue, rather with its plentitude). And it's not any better for blondes or redheads - we all got pigeonholed and objectified, just in a different flavour. Seriously, such fun times being a woman.</div><div><br /></div><div>Watching this movie at age 13 spun my head though. Because here is Lili Taylor, beautiful and radiant, but she's being cast as the dog. The object of ridicule. And at 13, I didn't have the savvy to realize that Hollywood is a big fucking machine with a very narrow definition of attractive, and that it bears no resemblance to lived reality. Just like I didn't have the savvy to tell those brunette-hating jokers that they were douche-fountains, and that they should crawl back under a rock until they could talk to women with respect. Not to worry, I channeled all that insecurity into trying to be funny and get a laugh, and hence you can track a line directly to this post and the, frankly, excessive amount of time I've spent coming up with nouns to attach to the word "douche." No regrets.</div><div><br /></div><div>Back, again, to the movie. Rose agrees to go to the dance with Eddie, even after she initially says she can't, he leaves, she changes her mind, rushes out of the diner, and finds him trying to pick up another woman. Red flag sweetie. And if you miss this one, there are other's on the way, don't worry.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin3hek87myCMnPe3grk0N5wp3VfS17LEhUFg8zH6YnRsN2kfyri9Mvnm9u-7pIcMCyum59KHeJICQ6lMKGjpyieFRR661SDYOsSbcBmdLkpsgMTjrkbeicQKvDH6Rb0OaTm75sJpXgr_BURpBfLppgp2c9vH1ZAlUs6yr5y3NyMRl0UovKTyUROuuErq6Y" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="659" data-original-width="524" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEin3hek87myCMnPe3grk0N5wp3VfS17LEhUFg8zH6YnRsN2kfyri9Mvnm9u-7pIcMCyum59KHeJICQ6lMKGjpyieFRR661SDYOsSbcBmdLkpsgMTjrkbeicQKvDH6Rb0OaTm75sJpXgr_BURpBfLppgp2c9vH1ZAlUs6yr5y3NyMRl0UovKTyUROuuErq6Y" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Who among us hasn't missed a few of these?<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image credit: <a href="https://freesvg.org/red-flag-13" target="_blank">OpenClipart</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Rose gets ready for the dance, and readers, she is adorable! She's got this little barrette in her hair, and you just want to give her all the flowers and puppies. Eddie feels a bit of remorse as he's starting to realize that she's awesome (somehow still hasn't figured out that she's attractive and therefore, in the parameters of the gross competition, he is doing terribly), and makes a half-hearted attempt to redirect them somewhere other than the dance of judgement, but Rose is all in.</div><div><br /></div><div>In the dance hall, we're reunited with Eddie's fellow douche-serpents, and we meet the girls they've brought to the contest.</div><div><br /></div><div>Pitch time! I want to see a movie about these women, these "dogs" as they are called. Because they look like a fun bunch. We already know and love Rose, and we've seen that some of the other ladies can bring the sass from earlier scenes. I'd like to see these women take down the patriarchy, or colonize Mars, or get really involved in alchemy, and when the men come by, they just yell "get out of here, we don't need you!" I would watch that.</div><div><br /></div><div>Rose drinks too many Mai Tais (out of real coconuts no less!) after being told they barely have any alcohol in them, and then she and Eddie are dancing, which is the moment of judgement. Three unremarkable and forgettable douche-toilets have the job of picking a winner, and they delight in how disgusting all these women are. Rose gets runner-up status when they witness her throwing up in the bathroom after all the drinks. Because normal human functions on a woman are the height of disgusto-rama.</div><div><br /></div><div>Here's where I really appreciate the structure of the movie. We're about twenty minutes in at this point, and while recovering in the bathroom, Rose learns about the true nature of the whole evening. The winner, the best "dog," is a ringer, brought in because she can remove her front teeth (which makes her look like a very cool vampire) and has, again, big hair. Eddie's buddy rigged the contest by telling this uggo what was going on, and offering to split the prize money, which he then reneges on. Marcie, the winner, makes a good point about the dudes not exactly being lookers themselves, but says it's not so bad because "they gotta be polite."</div><div><br /></div><div>Girl, raise your bar.</div><div><br /></div><div>For a lot of movies, the whole story would be the competition. Eddie would spend 90 minutes trying to hide the true nature of what is happening from Rose, and she'd find out near the end, after the audience has been in on it the whole time, at which point it's only a question of will she forgive him or not.</div><div><br /></div><div>But not <i>Dogfight</i>. Rose finds out what's going on, comes out of the bathroom guns blazing, and slaps up Eddie's face a few times, which is very satisfying. She lets him know what she thinks of him and this event in no uncertain terms, and I love her for it. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rose heads home, the night ruined, to sadly play her guitar, and my heart breaks. It's possible I related a little too much with Rose in this movie. Eddie feels bad about what a douche-trouser he's been, and he goes to apologize to Rose, which he does by writing a note on a piece of cardboard, climbing the wall, licking the note and sticking it to her window. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rose is still furious and storms outside to continue telling Eddie off, at which point Eddie drops the biggest red flag the world has ever known when he yells (!) at her that he doesn't apologize, ever, but he said sorry to her. </div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDVWsvJCGojsDlRRt9wvR0UCIlC2Sp8el3U6rJvUQ4H2kJZLqpTUMktVysCWPePwMwtGun_BtVvmGiw3oYqjNgxVMzkzPIcYqylvylcSSfs4COVMIs4RcjW5KEKxBw1vPLG-5Qhn6T4p2Y00ow1bNXG4sC9DQNe5ZuY3SiBgNuCUNkWIBqy5LIuevYNGjg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="388" data-original-width="604" height="206" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiDVWsvJCGojsDlRRt9wvR0UCIlC2Sp8el3U6rJvUQ4H2kJZLqpTUMktVysCWPePwMwtGun_BtVvmGiw3oYqjNgxVMzkzPIcYqylvylcSSfs4COVMIs4RcjW5KEKxBw1vPLG-5Qhn6T4p2Y00ow1bNXG4sC9DQNe5ZuY3SiBgNuCUNkWIBqy5LIuevYNGjg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rose missed this sign<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Avoid_Area_sign,_Millbank,_London_-_DSC08150.JPG" target="_blank">Rept0n1x</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>She should, of course, walk away, but she doesn't, and if I'm being honest, I get it. There's something about that time in life, the late teens, when the drive to be loved and accepted is so strong, and even when you know it's a mistake, you pursue it. Also, if she doesn't give him a second chance, there's no movie, so thematically we know what's coming.</div><div><br /></div><div>The rest of the movie juxtaposes Eddie and Rose's night out where they make a real connection (and where she orders her dinner with as many swear words as possible to prove a point about his potty mouth, including the line "son-of-a-bitching rice" which is perfection) and the night out he would have had with his buddies, which is all about distraction and not feeling your feelings. When you watch, keep an eye out for Brendan Fraser in his first movie role as Sailor #1.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF3gbcB6c4sh5DkRHzWOOljbDreOp5_jZP7yNJuJVqtUJ2lpc6raXCN8ezpsTfA_8rcriaV3YlBZ1LTFRyE2qcS2njFI2TxRL_wMp0G5CL_MDAGzUn5sBOOvEE-POry8prfbJvdbqxBRtvPlxy7F7QGSGGFhl6WUHrnZH9DOEDAC0SThoLMIsiliXtam8i" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="422" data-original-width="582" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjF3gbcB6c4sh5DkRHzWOOljbDreOp5_jZP7yNJuJVqtUJ2lpc6raXCN8ezpsTfA_8rcriaV3YlBZ1LTFRyE2qcS2njFI2TxRL_wMp0G5CL_MDAGzUn5sBOOvEE-POry8prfbJvdbqxBRtvPlxy7F7QGSGGFhl6WUHrnZH9DOEDAC0SThoLMIsiliXtam8i" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accurate representation of how long Brendan Fraser is on screen for in this movie<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0101748/mediaviewer/rm3406775296" target="_blank">IMDB</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Eddie develops real feelings for Rose through the night, and again I'll give the movie credit for not succumbing to the all-too-familiar trope of the dude removing the girl's glasses or overalls, and realizing she was pretty all along (puke). Rose doesn't need to change herself for anyone!</div><div><br /></div><div>Regular blog readers will know that my focus on these movie watches is to track the (too-short) career and artistic development of River Phoenix, and yes, he's great in the movie, very vulnerable, very real, but the true gem of this film is Lili Taylor. She is incredible, and whenever she was on screen, I was smiling. This movie, back when I watched it in 1991, might have been my introduction to Taylor, and I've been happy to see her pop up in other work through the years (you might remember her from the terrific show <i>Six Feet Under</i>). This is her movie, even though Phoenix is our primary POV character, and she has incredible control, vulnerability, and likeability. </div><div><br /></div><div>In August of 2020, Hadley Freeman wrote a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2020/aug/03/lili-taylor-i-knew-harvey-weinstein-was-a-pig-i-didnt-know-he-was-a-rapist" target="_blank">profile</a> on Lili Taylor in The Guardian. In it, she mentions <i>Dogfight</i>, and called it "now almost unwatchable." I think she was referring to the casting of Taylor as a dogfight contender, and how hard that must have been for the then 23-year old actor in a business OBSESSED with physical beauty, but I disagree with Freeman's thesis that the movie is not for our times. I think it has a lot to say about toxic male culture, the military, and what can change the world. I think it's a movie with a lot of optimism. And I know it's a movie where you get to spend 90 minutes in the company of Lili Taylor AND River Phoenix, and that, dear possums, is worth your time.</div><div><br /></div><div>Readers, we're all in for a treat, because next up in my Phoenix-watch is the 1992 movie <i>Sneakers</i> WHICH I LOVE!!! The cast is amazing, and I remember it as being fast-paced, exciting, and well-written. Stay tuned to see if my memory can be trusted!</div><div><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p><br /></p></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-3855762023201183202022-08-08T09:50:00.002-04:002022-08-08T09:51:10.884-04:00Possibly Now Old Enough for this Movie<p>Imagine it's 1991 and 13 year-old Amy has just learned that there is a movie coming out starring River Phoenix <b><i>and </i></b>Keanu Reeves. It may not surprise you to learn that 13 year-old Amy did not spend any time investigating the plot or themes of said movie as the leads made it a lock. When you put together that the movie in question is Gus Van Sant's <i>My Own Private Idaho</i>,</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSwJZLrsn6EWaV8Znhjye8O1DLQ5KvDldo5AP6TN9jESwBDKovPp3vl1MakLO0m5bnvszFsEnUu37hDNZc3AK1fVtoYfyprGN2jwOSIoLPOSroCWaOU_HMW9rt2xf4pi0Knlasgy7AAPhhd87Y_fpdgvrkEZ4uxcdxsggGjRcL0Ph3xol83UoHnNUwA/s696/Poster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="462" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvSwJZLrsn6EWaV8Znhjye8O1DLQ5KvDldo5AP6TN9jESwBDKovPp3vl1MakLO0m5bnvszFsEnUu37hDNZc3AK1fVtoYfyprGN2jwOSIoLPOSroCWaOU_HMW9rt2xf4pi0Knlasgy7AAPhhd87Y_fpdgvrkEZ4uxcdxsggGjRcL0Ph3xol83UoHnNUwA/s320/Poster.JPG" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Poster for the film <i>My Own Private Idaho</i>. IMDB, 2022<br />https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102494/?ref_=tt_mv_close</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><p>it will definitely not surprise you to learn that 13 year-old Amy was very confused when she first watched it. For <i>My Own Private Idaho</i>, despite its heartthrob leads, was not intended for 13 year-old girls with cartoon hearts for eyeballs. 15 or 16 year-olds, maybe. But not 13 year-old Amy.</p><p>It's the story of male sex-workers (called hustlers in the film, but I'm not sure if that's still a term in use) trying to get by and exist in America. Mike (played by Phoenix) comes from poverty, is trying to reconnect with his mother, and suffers from narcolepsy, and Scott (played by Reeves) is the son of a prominent politician, rebelling against his father in the last few weeks before he turns 21 and inherits a lot of money.</p><p>What 13 year-old Amy didn't know is that the movie is loosely based on the Shakespearean play <i>Henry IV</i>, which I'd like to claim is why I was confused in my first viewing of the film back in 1991, but 43 year-old Amy, who has an Honours English degree and studied theatre for two years, was also a bit lost (hey, I'm not a fan of Shakespeare's histories - I'm a <i>Twelfth Night</i> kind of gal).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwatV3EsEqOV4ofDNMwv5-zvUe73G7hJQYD-7OT0uZbUeJMFNjj05VY3fjzUTBz5MKhpKVvE7dKOZ5-4Zs_20fTZ4FW1eFPIllh4aB5t7vQhCtjlWpxVpv44A0cwMuRel9Cqaw4M2_PNNPNmUjdkHwzAdFopPJ8vhYVQmafmO5vkMP062hYqGKMt98hQ/s1813/Henry%20IV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1813" data-original-width="1346" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwatV3EsEqOV4ofDNMwv5-zvUe73G7hJQYD-7OT0uZbUeJMFNjj05VY3fjzUTBz5MKhpKVvE7dKOZ5-4Zs_20fTZ4FW1eFPIllh4aB5t7vQhCtjlWpxVpv44A0cwMuRel9Cqaw4M2_PNNPNmUjdkHwzAdFopPJ8vhYVQmafmO5vkMP062hYqGKMt98hQ/s320/Henry%20IV.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Source Material<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/uofglibrary/5122358159" target="_blank">University of Glasgow Library</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />I have virtually no memories of the film from my first viewing, a sign that it was well over my head in terms of themes. I do remember that I watched it with my parents at home as it was rated R and therefore I was unable to see it in the theatre. Given the...nature of the film's content (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102494/" target="_blank">IMDB</a> indicates that the R rating is for "strong sensuality," which I think is an excellent and also very sensitive description of the movie), I can only imagine what my parents must have been thinking when I asked to rent <i>My Own Private Idaho</i> from Blockbuster. I am choosing to believe that they thought I was some sort of film aficionado, advanced beyond my years, and ready for such complicated movies, rather than a hormone-struck confused teenager. We all have our delusions - give me this one.<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8T3uq4JjmK1XeqyL8Vzyd3YGgLuelbMDa3oV5jaxfe3M0v1IJKF3YsgFk4W29iYLqVnl1L_D0sbVT9eLUR8ShLifQ5Ntk4v4S_MIJbYuUr8vhz8mB3DW7Xb1MQxjSVx0iNP1KgqoQHVE5kaVAdAfGSxDDrkIu82cMMLvvlc5CvP-M0-5LL-1TQ47R-A/s791/Blockbuster.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="594" data-original-width="791" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8T3uq4JjmK1XeqyL8Vzyd3YGgLuelbMDa3oV5jaxfe3M0v1IJKF3YsgFk4W29iYLqVnl1L_D0sbVT9eLUR8ShLifQ5Ntk4v4S_MIJbYuUr8vhz8mB3DW7Xb1MQxjSVx0iNP1KgqoQHVE5kaVAdAfGSxDDrkIu82cMMLvvlc5CvP-M0-5LL-1TQ47R-A/s320/Blockbuster.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remember this place? What a time to be alive it was!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BlockbusterMoncton.JPG" target="_blank">Stu pendousmat</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div><br /><div><br /></div><div><i>My Own Private Idaho</i> was an indie film with a modest budget (2.5 million, according to Google), but I do think it's worth noting how revolutionary it would have been when it was released. Heck, still today! </div><div><br /></div><div>1991 was a pretty homophobic time in North America, and queer culture wasn't mainstream. Given that in 1993, two years <b>after </b>this movie, Will Smith <a href="https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/11/08/will-smith-ian-mckellen-refused-gay-kiss-scene-six-degrees-of-separation-confronted-red-carpet/" target="_blank">refused to kiss his male costar</a> in the film <i>Six Degrees of Separation</i> over fears about what such a kiss would do to his career, the fact that two rising Hollywood stars (Reeves and Phoenix) took on roles that put them in sensual scenes with each other and other men in a movie that was all about being queer and an outsider, was remarkable. And I'm so glad that their decision didn't hurt their careers (1991 was a wild time, my friends. I truly think it could have gone either way).<br /><div><br /></div><div>Although I've reflected on it during every movie I've watched in my quest to become a River Phoenix movie completist, watching <i>My Own Private Idaho</i> was the first time that it really hit me what a loss it was to films that Phoenix died so young. He's simultaneously fearless and vulnerable in every scene of this movie, and it seems effortless. Where Reeves has to work a bit with the Shakespearean text (and to be fair, he has more of it than Phoenix does), River Phoenix delivers the heightened 16th century language with the same ease as the modern dialogue. There are only five movies left after <i>Idaho </i>that Phoenix made, but if he hadn't died, I think his filmography would have been filled with diverse, challenging, complicated, fun, and genre-pushing movies. And it really sucks that we don't get to have those movies.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, look at his hair.</div><div><br /></div><div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_H24ts1Qh__4O0YlPi0nsd7s3idk1ZSHXkcL6hyDr56jyGzrAeACpfuQB-ytng44CVF3P08_48t0yyO9Hs6-qykaUaPbAJBBLxJFZGRRbtqHOkfSqxuN3tioUHseRkM9QN6R0_cSXOEZppzRFxmLoNz3HOHkAtXtYr1neaxFYYB1V0k_4oezmG2mZA/s520/Hair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="374" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd_H24ts1Qh__4O0YlPi0nsd7s3idk1ZSHXkcL6hyDr56jyGzrAeACpfuQB-ytng44CVF3P08_48t0yyO9Hs6-qykaUaPbAJBBLxJFZGRRbtqHOkfSqxuN3tioUHseRkM9QN6R0_cSXOEZppzRFxmLoNz3HOHkAtXtYr1neaxFYYB1V0k_4oezmG2mZA/s320/Hair.JPG" width="230" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This should be everyone's hair goals<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Still from the movie<i> My Own Private Idaho</i></span><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table>For those of you here for the hot hair takes, I'm afraid our next watch might be a bit of a downer. The film is great, don't get me wrong, but in <i>Dogfight</i> Phoenix plays a marine, so his hair is regulation short, which is not okay.<br /> </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMLiqNomY-GX_EG9esvdXOzj7t5USlC1yf42Ezc7g1zABqhDAS5j-OYMHHzqpKe37hUABKQdnJwTz9mCTddA1PWJV9UFkULKAnYn2eu2HopDM23X0QaeOZ8M6i9JG4V_GMsF0As1hkXLBWsoJphf3Gl52oKOQQC-v7cXqSggx9RFQhfyS-pcjBH59HQ/s438/Dogfight.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="438" data-original-width="340" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRMLiqNomY-GX_EG9esvdXOzj7t5USlC1yf42Ezc7g1zABqhDAS5j-OYMHHzqpKe37hUABKQdnJwTz9mCTddA1PWJV9UFkULKAnYn2eu2HopDM23X0QaeOZ8M6i9JG4V_GMsF0As1hkXLBWsoJphf3Gl52oKOQQC-v7cXqSggx9RFQhfyS-pcjBH59HQ/s320/Dogfight.JPG" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hair too short, unacceptable<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Poster for the film <i>Dogfight</i>. Wikipedia, 2022, <br />https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogfight_(film)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /><p>I hope you'll join me for it anyway. It really is a heck of a film!</p></div></div></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-51876033203298151702022-01-01T11:01:00.002-05:002022-01-01T11:01:23.330-05:00Adultery, Attempted Murder, and New York Pizza!<p>Between 1982 and 1983, Frances Toto tried to have her husband Tony killed five times. All attempts failed, and the couple (after Frances served some time) remained together. </p><p>In 1990, Lawrence Kasdan made the movie <i>I Love You To Death</i> based on this strange true story (although he condensed the time to a period of a week or so). </p><p>It's an odd (but good!) movie, probably because it's based on an odd story. In the movie, Rosalie, played by Tracey Ullman, and Joey, played by Kevin Kline, own a pizzeria in New York City. Watching their kids arrive in the restaurant after school and be served fresh pizza and have access to unlimited fountain pop made me wish I had grown up in a pizzeria.</p><p>Rosalie is bonkers in love with Joey, even though he's kind of a prick, expects her to take care of him as if he were a toddler, and, oh yeah, he cheats on her. A lot. </p><p>Some of the women he cheats on her with:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7n2jnrNOvvMtzUnnAsRFWvQMgQHW6KWIHAy81_vIi81zIXRL9AlLmeK6F1c2CyHSufmrpBmnNeODPZtbs_OJlpGtj4staag1h7b0w7mvOhkem_fimjybliNd1MabCfPrBnYQio4dug1UxlvF5RhYp-hixIIarO3F9RkhnUQ80cdi3oLlYlfCOd5Fv9A=s1698" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1698" data-original-width="1294" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi7n2jnrNOvvMtzUnnAsRFWvQMgQHW6KWIHAy81_vIi81zIXRL9AlLmeK6F1c2CyHSufmrpBmnNeODPZtbs_OJlpGtj4staag1h7b0w7mvOhkem_fimjybliNd1MabCfPrBnYQio4dug1UxlvF5RhYp-hixIIarO3F9RkhnUQ80cdi3oLlYlfCOd5Fv9A=s320" width="244" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Victoria_Jackson_2011b2.jpg" target="_blank">David Shankbone</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Remember Victoria Jackson? If you watched SNL as religiously as I did in the early 90s, then you've seen her work. She's very funny, although underused in this movie (honestly, all the women that he cheats with are basically walking props, but I guess that's what the story "needed").</p><p>Also, he cheats with her:</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOvNRPRQzyjDBVkxA4dDB_TtWmHr5EKERVJ0dmn06BDwKh4i7Vdf7wMz61uGtIbEfwbjG560RXZFCaEAS3sejYDSxQZlSobPXWe-pD6LG9peRoGkWCBFMZJHuYsMCdiS3cWz_S8aZOKQWHmff773BPsjBBwT6oArX2Xs-XrHkpWH0u4SnWWkwyi8vwsg=s367" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="367" data-original-width="290" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgOvNRPRQzyjDBVkxA4dDB_TtWmHr5EKERVJ0dmn06BDwKh4i7Vdf7wMz61uGtIbEfwbjG560RXZFCaEAS3sejYDSxQZlSobPXWe-pD6LG9peRoGkWCBFMZJHuYsMCdiS3cWz_S8aZOKQWHmff773BPsjBBwT6oArX2Xs-XrHkpWH0u4SnWWkwyi8vwsg=s320" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heather_Graham_cropped.jpg" target="_blank">Tyler Curtis</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Yup, that's Heather Graham!<div><br /></div><div>And interestingly, Joey also cheats with her:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0ndGJnWfM3KD9f-hFeIJkMJ2IHdpamMR1C4eP_zxNMcq9wRSZJX0nYgXLVKhQWfObc20pJKOXTGaemvp3Y1J7hRkmFbFAkmROidE_7YN5aMUoy0LHVrIgEXWTQ0IEK1xpFhazK7u5i0BkNyU7mqjM02p8l_cE7VKRZOTWrJTDgmLMSg02Dvd4WW20dA=s102" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="102" data-original-width="64" height="102" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEg0ndGJnWfM3KD9f-hFeIJkMJ2IHdpamMR1C4eP_zxNMcq9wRSZJX0nYgXLVKhQWfObc20pJKOXTGaemvp3Y1J7hRkmFbFAkmROidE_7YN5aMUoy0LHVrIgEXWTQ0IEK1xpFhazK7u5i0BkNyU7mqjM02p8l_cE7VKRZOTWrJTDgmLMSg02Dvd4WW20dA" width="64" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoebe_Cates_2.jpg" target="_blank">Alan Light</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Why is that interesting, you might ask? Well let's zoom out on that photo, shall we?<div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSYc0NRmW1ZYCPXwuOae9u5Z0DjP-sPiBvBb_luPlUGTRTUjc0pNRuHvfgDxZdrLcmjeFU2M4bxXsrGVC9FtPk4-v_lb9jlnEPiNWJ8RCylZ0RkoOoYhwnyltHy7MNNxgK09jNk-VYTjuzzhXu5OYZUSgY7yccSuRsLFTbP-U2bH73wrKAdPVfJZ_pvw=s461" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="286" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiSYc0NRmW1ZYCPXwuOae9u5Z0DjP-sPiBvBb_luPlUGTRTUjc0pNRuHvfgDxZdrLcmjeFU2M4bxXsrGVC9FtPk4-v_lb9jlnEPiNWJ8RCylZ0RkoOoYhwnyltHy7MNNxgK09jNk-VYTjuzzhXu5OYZUSgY7yccSuRsLFTbP-U2bH73wrKAdPVfJZ_pvw=s320" width="199" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Phoebe_Cates_2.jpg" target="_blank">Alan Light</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>That's Phoebe Cates with her husband Kevin Kline who played Joey. They would have been married just before (or possibly during) the shooting of <i>I Love You To Death</i>.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, Joey is giving it to a lot of women that aren't his wife, and she finds out and is devastated. </div><div><br /></div><div>Rather than leave the jerk, though, she plots, along with her mother, to kill him. Mom is totally on board with this murderous plan - she's never liked Joey. </div><div><br /></div><div>After a failed attempt with a bat-wielding assassin and an impotent car bomb, Rosalie spikes Joey's spaghetti with a lethal amount of sleeping pills, then calls in the services of their employee at the pizzeria, Devo, who happens to be in love with her. Devo is charmingly played by River Phoenix (more about him later).</div><div><br /></div><div>Devo shoots Joey in the head, but somehow doesn't kill him. Distraught and unable to pull the trigger again, Devo hires "professionals" to finish the job, but Joey remains unkillable. Wounded and bleeding out, eventually the police come, at which point the would-be killers are arrested, but not for long, because Joey has seen the error of his ways and bails Rosalie out, begging for forgiveness. What can she do, she's powerless against his charms. So it's a happy ending? I guess?</div><div><br /></div><div>The scope of the story pushes against the container it's in - this is a story we're used to seeing on a grand scale, with car chases and explosions, narrow misses and baited breath, but it all takes place in the family home, which starts to feel very close. I think that's the intention here - to bring the viewer into the mundane decisions surrounding this un-mundane (not a word) murder.</div><div><br /></div><div>But you're not here for the critical analysis, you're here for my take on River Phoenix!</div><div><br /></div><div>First, though, we need to discuss the crime that is Kevin Kline's Italian accent. It's worrying that no one noticed how bad it was. Was a dialect coach not even considered? Honestly, his accent is about as good as mine would be if I was off-the-cuff pretending to be Chef Boyardee in my kitchen to embarrass my children. I'll forgive it though, because he's Kevin Kline, and it's the only misstep in an otherwise very entertaining performance.</div><div><br /></div><div>You know who doesn't have an accent issue? Tracey freaking Ullman, that's who! </div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTI8-zKVXAQtvgwmPmNo5vn4r_VhXT5Da6m2sWn2va2NY-edmpxGhBg0ZjNq4xV0STpNBeQUw80ZRho052ZB5AyYAU9wzaDydDUXn-Rh4qf0vfES5Unnm0eJFg-x8bKwdkgghnBtX4S4i4YSeGQ-3lqfzV3xLJ49quqD7ZqLdxY9tjdd8_QjGkBhOCg=s573" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="453" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjDTI8-zKVXAQtvgwmPmNo5vn4r_VhXT5Da6m2sWn2va2NY-edmpxGhBg0ZjNq4xV0STpNBeQUw80ZRho052ZB5AyYAU9wzaDydDUXn-Rh4qf0vfES5Unnm0eJFg-x8bKwdkgghnBtX4S4i4YSeGQ-3lqfzV3xLJ49quqD7ZqLdxY9tjdd8_QjGkBhOCg=s320" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LOOK. AT. THAT. HAIR!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tracey_Ullman_at_1987_Emmy_Awards.jpg" target="_blank">Alan Light</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />This Brit pulls off a flawless New York accent. Take a note, Kevin Kline!<div><br /></div><div>This year, I learned that Tracey Ullman and Meryl Streep are best friends. I like that. I would like to be invited to one of their sleepovers, which I assume they have regularly.</div><div><br /></div><div>Okay, when will I get to the River Phoenix stuff, you ask? Now. I will get to it now.</div><div><br /></div><div>Phoenix is highly endearing as the young Devo who is in love with Rosalie. I was reminded of his May-December love affair from <a href="http://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-hottest-of-messes.html" target="_blank"><i>A Night In the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i></a> in concept only. There's nothing creepy about the relationship here, and you totally buy that he'd do anything for Rosalie, even though he knows she'll never feel the same way about him.</div><div><br /></div><div>There's a great deal of restraint in this movie, particularly in Phoenix's performance, which I think comes down to the fact that it's based on a true story and Kasdan is careful not to turn it into a cartoon, no matter how improbable the real-life events were. Devo could easily become a stereotype of a new-age hippie, but he's grounded in reality. The same can be said for the two stoned hired killers (played by William Hurt and Keanu Reeves), who are the broadest performances in the movie, but still feel rooted in reality. </div><div><br /></div><div>Did I have the same floppy hair cut as Phoenix in this movie from 1992-1994?</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiugI0NxEkhw5VUZfX8KE2KTxD-PAYqHNCjFUQCDXE-CFPK-B5u9-Mmr_YHejFQq5dIrZx1NXedAyiP5Jt-Nzkxn5yFqvDSdLVzSL27GMriadj6E3kslSesZ5r4cHVTEwnvhrdkiU3eWcMEbhEmtwH5pVPEcy9aEic08Z816VKKpFT8KS1igc7tdCXGow=s354" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="247" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiugI0NxEkhw5VUZfX8KE2KTxD-PAYqHNCjFUQCDXE-CFPK-B5u9-Mmr_YHejFQq5dIrZx1NXedAyiP5Jt-Nzkxn5yFqvDSdLVzSL27GMriadj6E3kslSesZ5r4cHVTEwnvhrdkiU3eWcMEbhEmtwH5pVPEcy9aEic08Z816VKKpFT8KS1igc7tdCXGow=s320" width="223" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo by <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_Phoenix.png" target="_blank">Alan Light</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br />Absolutely I did.</div><div><br /></div><div>Teenage Amy was thrilled to find River Phoenix AND Keanu Reeves in this movie, even though both played supporting roles. She was almost hysterical when she learned they would be together again in Phoenix's next movie <i>My Own Private Idaho</i>. Watching it at 13 confused her deeply as she was hoping for a non-threatening boys road trip movie, and she did not get that. </div><div><br /></div><div>43 year old Amy is looking forward to reviewing it, and is hopeful that she might understand it this time. <br /><div><br /><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-70809283717772948502021-07-31T11:53:00.001-04:002021-08-01T07:52:39.341-04:00Young Indiana<p>Possums, I've clearly been neglecting this blog. It's been months since I went on and on about the fashion in <i>Running on Empty</i>. In my defense, I've started getting up really early to write, which means I have to go to bed really early (because I adore sleep), and so movies have become harder to find time for. Which, I recognize, hampers my River Phoenix Movie Completist project.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdw3bW8gJvk/YQPTxIDx_yI/AAAAAAAALjU/zaldB127OZ4NF_3H9Co9vxBPMSz1Vr-2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Tired.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xdw3bW8gJvk/YQPTxIDx_yI/AAAAAAAALjU/zaldB127OZ4NF_3H9Co9vxBPMSz1Vr-2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tired.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Accurate representation of me in the mornings<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/niyosstudio-15115572/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5078407" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; margin: initial; outline: none; padding: initial; white-space: nowrap;">niyosstudio</a><span face=""Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; white-space: nowrap;"> from </span><a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=5078407" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; font-family: "Open Sans", Arial, sans-serif; margin: initial; outline: none; padding: initial; white-space: nowrap;">Pixabay</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>With a whopping running time of 2 hours and 8 minutes, I thought I might have to watch <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i> over two nights, but possums, for you, I bravely completed it in one. No need to thank me.</p><p>Although in truth, for the purposes of this post, I probably could have stopped watching the movie twelve minutes and twenty seconds in. Because that's exactly how long River Phoenix is on screen. He plays young Indiana in the opening sequence, and then Harrison Ford takes over (and he's fine, I guess), and Phoenix is wrapped and off to film <i>I Love You To Death</i> (great movie which we'll talk about in, if history is any indicator, several months).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h742svxUmNQ/YQPUqWQ-brI/AAAAAAAALjc/PanU2s-oSrUf271kSCZWOVQhdZmuseGqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/I.%2BJones.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="180" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h742svxUmNQ/YQPUqWQ-brI/AAAAAAAALjc/PanU2s-oSrUf271kSCZWOVQhdZmuseGqwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/I.%2BJones.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever, he'll do<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/140989741@N04/" target="_blank">Freeimage4life</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So I'm going to focus mostly on those first twelve minutes. I won't say much about the rest of the movie because it's Indiana Jones - you probably have a pretty good idea of what you're in for. Do you like watching people punch Nazis, boat chases, piles of squirming sewer rats, and excessive repetition of the word 'penitent'? Then you'll like the movie. Fair warning, though, that women aren't treated terribly well (wait, there's misogyny in action movies? Shocking!), and the part where Indy and his Dad realize they've both slept with the same woman is gross and problematic. Okay, done.</p><p>Back to those first twelve minutes. We meet young Indiana, aged 13, according to Wikipedia. I would have watched this movie when I was 12 or 13, and I can assure you, none of the boys my age looked like that, but it's Hollywood, so I give it a pass. Indy is on a boy scout horseback riding trip in Utah, 1912. He explores some caves (as you do) with his less than courageous friend, and they stumble upon some bad men doing bad things to...treasure? There's treasure/artifacts in the cave, that's all you need to know.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djGYcy_ojbE/YQQrpSUxjQI/AAAAAAAALjk/zpSxNJORx_QKYbrLkADUMlklVwoXPfO1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Treasure.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1365" data-original-width="2048" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-djGYcy_ojbE/YQQrpSUxjQI/AAAAAAAALjk/zpSxNJORx_QKYbrLkADUMlklVwoXPfO1gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Treasure.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shiny!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.stockvault.net/user/profile/161904" target="_blank">Pixabay</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Indy's moral compass points due north, and he knows that these artifacts belong in a museum, so he tricks the men to get the treasure and then we are treated to an excellent chase sequence on a circus train that features a rhino wielding its horn as a weapon. Indy manages to escape and takes the artifact to the sheriff, who makes him return it to the bad men and their mysterious leader, played by a Harrison Ford impersonator (clearly the effect they're going for).</p><p>We also get a first glance, or rather a first hear, of Indiana's father, who's a cool cat more interested in Latin verbs than his son. All great set-up for the meat of the movie.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KSJdYp6vgf8/YQRjW520ssI/AAAAAAAALkE/ox8VLdiUKBEbxMkfGR6nQT2PsjraBaeyACLcBGAsYHQ/s1032/Connery.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1032" data-original-width="632" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KSJdYp6vgf8/YQRjW520ssI/AAAAAAAALkE/ox8VLdiUKBEbxMkfGR6nQT2PsjraBaeyACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Connery.jpg" width="196" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spoiler - Sean Connery plays Indy's distant dad, and, further spoiler, by the end of the movie, they've grown closer!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sean_Connery_1999.jpg" target="_blank">Georges Biard</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I'm going to dig into all things Phoenix in a moment, but these twelve minutes form a fantastic mini origin story. Fans of the franchise are given so many gifts. In the caves, Indy's cowardly friend is spooked by a snake, but Indy picks it up calmly and chastises his friend. But wait, you say, Indiana Jones famously hates snakes! How could the screenwriter make such a mistake?</p><p>Fear not, friends, this is no mistake. Because in a few minutes we are going to see the event that causes Indiana Jones' ophidiophobia (that's the fancy word for fear of snakes, and in case you're about to be impressed, I had no idea what it was before googling 'what is a fear of snakes called' and then I had to check three times that I spelled it properly. Probably should have left this part out and let you all think I'm a freaking word genius, but here we are).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1dJWK5tlXdI/YQQshHMlJkI/AAAAAAAALjs/_nAQse5pwyk9Yk0veDvlsML82Q-dP4HXACLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Snake.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1490" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1dJWK5tlXdI/YQQshHMlJkI/AAAAAAAALjs/_nAQse5pwyk9Yk0veDvlsML82Q-dP4HXACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Snake.jpg" width="248" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I hope you don't suffer from ophidiophobia. If you do, you will likely not appreciate how ADORABLE this little friend is!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/78428166@N00/" target="_blank">Tony Alter</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>On the circus train, Indy is trying to get away from the bad guys when the suspension bridge he's climbing across above the reptile car gives way, and he falls into a box of very wiggly snakes, thus the fear is born. The sequence also shows us how Indiana gets his start with a whip when he falls into the lion's car and grabs the whip hanging on the wall. The first crack strikes Indy, and we see blood on his chin, which explains the scar on Harrison Ford's chin (the actual scar, I have just learned from the internet, came from a far less interesting car crash).</p><p>We even see how Indy gets his iconic hat. The Harrison Ford impersonator gives him the famous Panama hat after Indy is forced to return the stolen artifact that should be in a museum. Bad Harrison Ford gifts him the hat presumably because he likes Indy's moxie. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXRGfMnFGJ8/YQRCCKna63I/AAAAAAAALj0/N4oy5R9HY50rXJQyuLplDmUEfdICnElFACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/Hat.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="345" data-original-width="500" height="221" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EXRGfMnFGJ8/YQRCCKna63I/AAAAAAAALj0/N4oy5R9HY50rXJQyuLplDmUEfdICnElFACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Hat.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iconic<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bullwhip_and_IJ_hat.jpg" target="_blank">Gary Stewart</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Once Young Indy gets the hat, that's it for River Phoenix. Old Indiana Jones then spends 116 minutes fighting his way through Portugal, Venice, Germany/Austria, and Turkey. He travels by blimp at one point. There are worse ways to spend 116 minutes.</p><p>I'll speak briefly, as I always seem to, about Phoenix's hair, which is floppy and glorious and completely wrong for the period. A quick google search of men's hairstyles in 1912 shows us close cropped do's, mostly flattened to the scalp. No doubt styling products did big business in this era, so Phoenix's shaggy mop that falls dramatically in his face is anachronistic, but who cares, because this was exactly the way Young Amy always hoped River Phoenix looked in his movies. Zero disappointment from this corner. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uPFjNUWZl0/YQRhkz4HAWI/AAAAAAAALj8/lfVz4Dx3W9ACDTvj0H6O5se_Zm0YfGcrACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Phoenix%2Baction%2Bfigure.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7uPFjNUWZl0/YQRhkz4HAWI/AAAAAAAALj8/lfVz4Dx3W9ACDTvj0H6O5se_Zm0YfGcrACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Phoenix%2Baction%2Bfigure.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have just learned this River Phoenix action figure exists (thank you internet), and my life goal is now to obtain it. Look, he comes with snakes! SNAKES!!!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/popculturegeek/" target="_blank">The Pop Culture Geek Network</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Regular readers of this blog (hi Mom, hi Dad!) will remember that we've seen the pairing of River Phoenix and Harrison Ford before. Phoenix played Ford's son in <i><a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/12/1-star-misleading-title-not-enough.html" target="_blank">The Mosquito Coast</a></i>. This time they're playing the same character at different ages, and Phoenix gets to give his best Harrison Ford impression, and as usual, shows great skills. He's very earnest and steadfast, just as you would hope 13 year old Indiana Jones would be. Also scrappy and quick-thinking. So good job, casting director Maggie Cartier!</p><p>This twelve minute opening sequence inspired an entire other franchise, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Young_Indiana_Jones_Chronicles" target="_blank">The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles</a>, a TV show beginning in 1992 and running two seasons, then spinning off into a series of four Family Channel TV movies. I remember when this show was on the air, but don't remember watching a single episode (I wasn't the only one - Wikipedia tells me it was cancelled due to large budgets and low viewership). Likely I was subconsciously protesting the casting, which featured <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Patrick_Flanery" target="_blank">Sean Patrick Flanery </a>as Young Indiana, whom I will forever after refer to as the poor-man's River Phoenix. No shade intended (I'm sure he's a great actor), but there can only be one Young Indy. To be honest, I even resent Harrison Ford a little, and it was his part first. Flanery didn't stand a chance.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f4hw7jW7Nf8/YQVtRJGPoGI/AAAAAAAALkM/0AAp0V-cgC0DLiJK026c6Kh3iPgepOprgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Indy%2Bcereal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1065" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f4hw7jW7Nf8/YQVtRJGPoGI/AAAAAAAALkM/0AAp0V-cgC0DLiJK026c6Kh3iPgepOprgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Indy%2Bcereal.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If my parents had bought me this chocolate marshmallow cereal, maybe I would have enjoyed a bowl while watching <i>The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles</i>. I could have saved the show with my viewership! Missed opportunity.<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/terrible2z/" target="_blank">tOkKa</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Despite feeling like the movie could have used a lot more Phoenix, I enjoyed my re-visitation of <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>. It's a dude movie, to be sure, one that triumphantly fails the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test" target="_blank">Bechdel test</a>, but it's Indiana Jones! And, as far as I'm concerned, it's the definitive ending to the franchise, because we don't acknowledge the shameful disaster that is <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Kingdom_of_the_Crystal_Skull" target="_blank">Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull</a></i>.</p><p>Next up, as I mentioned earlier, is <i><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Love_You_to_Death" target="_blank">I Love You To Death</a></i>, the 1990 Kevin Kline comedy loosely based on a true story. I've seen it before, and remember enjoying it (Tracey Ullman is in it! She's incredible!). Phoenix, if memory serves, gets to play a bumbling doofus alongside Keanu Reeves. Right, it's all coming back to me now why Young Amy liked this movie so much. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx4FuISWeqU/YQVuMRG2ydI/AAAAAAAALkU/ppBlkOtRBEkofCZu5uGbA9MkCccZLsn2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s573/Tracey%2BUllman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="573" data-original-width="453" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Qx4FuISWeqU/YQVuMRG2ydI/AAAAAAAALkU/ppBlkOtRBEkofCZu5uGbA9MkCccZLsn2QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Tracey%2BUllman.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Incredible Tracey Ullman with incredible 80's hair!<br />Photo Credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/people/42274165@N00" target="_blank">Alan Light</a></td></tr></tbody></table><p>You should watch it in the interim as well. Don't worry, you'll probably have several months to get to it before I'm back.</p><p>Until then, possums!</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-15225864618736542032021-03-17T14:01:00.002-04:002021-03-17T16:39:06.220-04:00Hooray for Jumpsuits and Martha Plimpton!<p>I know you've all been waiting with rapt anticipation for my assessment, and I'm here to let you know that you can breathe a collective sigh of relief because the 1988 River Phoenix movie <i>Running on Empty</i> TOTALLY HOLDS UP!!!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FiBA60BVHd0/YFC2TBvLdaI/AAAAAAAALUU/F1ieX4KJvpEixYhFIg4UYkLzULhh_g-NwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Relief.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1483" data-original-width="1920" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FiBA60BVHd0/YFC2TBvLdaI/AAAAAAAALUU/F1ieX4KJvpEixYhFIg4UYkLzULhh_g-NwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Relief.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Super glad to be swiping left on this one!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Image by <a href="https://pixabay.com/users/johnhain-352999/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1172219" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none;">John Hain</a> from <a href="https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=1172219" style="color: #191b26; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none;">Pixabay</a><span face=""Open Sans", sans-serif" style="background-color: white; color: #191b26; white-space: nowrap;"> </span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />The politics of the movie are strikingly modern, without a whiff of misogyny, no homophobic "jokes" played for awkward laughs, no troubling stereotypes at all. It is not a terribly racially diverse movie, but if that's the worst thing you can say about something made 33 years ago, I think you're doing okay.</p><p>In fact, even the fashion holds up! First, check out Christine Lahti absolutely rocking this jumpsuit that I would 100% wear today.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KiMTE4MeyqU/YFC4MjTj4XI/AAAAAAAALUc/pc1EvmivKwEQzbzLpOnXfFXb9Bh4zhoQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s371/Jumpsuit.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="371" data-original-width="118" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KiMTE4MeyqU/YFC4MjTj4XI/AAAAAAAALUc/pc1EvmivKwEQzbzLpOnXfFXb9Bh4zhoQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jumpsuit.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Amazing</td></tr></tbody></table><br />The white t-shirt, relaxed-fit jeans look, which both Lahti and Plimpton are costumed in, is also incredible, and if I ever wear hard pants again, I'm stealing this style.<div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jlb87dASYt8/YFDCOANabyI/AAAAAAAALUk/TYxhCiZJj2YNwPR58YhDk4QuVqgL7CtwACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Lahti%2Bjeans.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1076" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jlb87dASYt8/YFDCOANabyI/AAAAAAAALUk/TYxhCiZJj2YNwPR58YhDk4QuVqgL7CtwACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Lahti%2Bjeans.jpg" /></a></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_AyycYveow/YFDCQWVB7nI/AAAAAAAALUo/nK59QwW0FvMRjUm099FvbX01g7OFuCDEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s512/Plimpton%2Bjeans.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="280" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g_AyycYveow/YFDCQWVB7nI/AAAAAAAALUo/nK59QwW0FvMRjUm099FvbX01g7OFuCDEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Plimpton%2Bjeans.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could be worth ditching the sweat pants for</td></tr></tbody></table><div><p>I would totally wear this dress that Plimpton has on when she attends her dad's stuffy chamber music concert in their living room.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kFgOkAe0WVs/YFDDVWAu4rI/AAAAAAAALUw/ELaNKkSA1fg5fAlZGiYbZr8XVImhqmTpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1264/Plimpton%2Bdress.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1264" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-kFgOkAe0WVs/YFDDVWAu4rI/AAAAAAAALUw/ELaNKkSA1fg5fAlZGiYbZr8XVImhqmTpgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Plimpton%2Bdress.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Curtain matching dress (not a euphemism)</td></tr></tbody></table><p>Very fine looks ladies, and congrats to costume designer Anna Hill Johnstone for both nailing the look of the late 80s, and also designing some fabulous costumes that are still relevant.</p><p>To the movie: Annie and Arthur Pope and their two kids have been on the run from the FBI for 15 years after the parents took part in a protest bombing that went wrong and paralyzed a janitor. They have to pick up and move town when the merest hint of a G-Man is in the air. Their oldest son Danny (Phoenix) is a talented pianist, and the movie shows how his options grow limited the longer he stays with his family on the run, but staying together is the only way they've survived so far. So, not an easy or light watch, but damn it's a good movie!</p><p>This movie marked my introduction to River Phoenix. I likely would have watched it in 1989 or 1990. I remember the VHS copy and being at a friend's house, which means I would have been 11 or 12 at the time. It's not a typical teen-movie at all (my husband Sam commented upon this, his first watch, that he would have been bored as toast watching it at 12 years old), and I like to think that it was more than just Phoenix's non-threatening boy good looks that made it a hit for me (although, that didn't hurt). It's not just me who thinks this was a stand-out performance; Phoenix was nominated for an <a href="https://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1989" target="_blank">academy award</a> for this film (he lost to Kevin Kline for <i>A Fish Called Wanda</i>).</p><p><br /></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MkNfc_qGto/YFDE-1b4SwI/AAAAAAAALU0/9o2OyXrKO3YtXfJyqcwHvALi_epkVERRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/Oscar.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="574" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--MkNfc_qGto/YFDE-1b4SwI/AAAAAAAALU0/9o2OyXrKO3YtXfJyqcwHvALi_epkVERRwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Oscar.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Running on Empty was the only time Phoenix was nominated for an Oscar<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: Mike Beuselinck via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebeuselinck/3664947529/in/photostream/" target="_blank">Flickr</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />I think the reason Phoenix is so strong in this movie, and why a movie like <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i> <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-hottest-of-messes.html" target="_blank">falls apart for me</a>, is that here he's pure vulnerability. Looking forward (which we'll do a little more near the end) to the roles that I've enjoyed him in the most, they're all ones that showcase his vulnerability as a performer, let him settle into that space and explore it. So good job director Sidney Lumet (I'm sure he reads this blog religiously)!</p><p>This movie also gave me such a gift in the casting of Martha Plimpton. First of all, she's a wonder on screen (as we saw during her brief appearance in <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/12/1-star-misleading-title-not-enough.html" target="_blank">The Mosquito Coast</a>). She also gave (and gives) me hope. Because she's absolutely gorgeous, but she's not what I would call pretty. Her character has a sharp wit and speaks her mind. Judd Hirsch's character describes her lovingly as being "full of beans." She's real and a bit dark, she's funny and loving, she doesn't look like she just stepped off a fashion runway, but you want to look at her all day. In the 1980s, women and girls were allowed, briefly, to be full people like this. And they were celebrated for it! Plimpton was an on-screen love interest for both River Phoenix and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098067/fullcredits" target="_blank">Keanu Reeves</a>, making her highly aspirational for young Amy. In fact, she even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Phoenix" target="_blank">dated Phoenix</a> in real life. Staring in the 1990s, a trend began where women started to need to look more and more polished, with fewer edges or sharp lines, and definitions of beauty began to get very constricted, which was hard to grow up with. Martha Plimpton, for a brief moment before all that, was everything, and I'm so glad.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka5No4s4S1E/YFDNKduQX7I/AAAAAAAALVA/glkQm4PRE1sgs6DXsJsqIp_FtlVxOZaXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/River_Phoenix_and_Martha_Plimpton.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ka5No4s4S1E/YFDNKduQX7I/AAAAAAAALVA/glkQm4PRE1sgs6DXsJsqIp_FtlVxOZaXwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/River_Phoenix_and_Martha_Plimpton.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walking the red carpet at the Oscars<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: Alan Light via <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/alan-light/2072256938/" target="_blank">Flickr</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Possums, we're heading into what I believe is the Golden Age of River Phoenix movies, which began here with <i>Running on Empty</i>. Next up is <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>, and we're also going to watch <i>I Love You To Death</i>, <i>Dogfight</i>, and <i>Sneakers</i>, all of which I have seen and loved, and also <i>My Own Private Idaho</i> which I watched for the first time waaaaaaaaaaay too young, and didn't understand, but I'm going to do some research going into that one, and I hope to be in a better position to appreciate it.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3dqpopuezLM/YFDOkrBG4OI/AAAAAAAALVE/gigJl0udhoswps9gF9LTOU1-jiQein22gCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/research.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1371" data-original-width="2048" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3dqpopuezLM/YFDOkrBG4OI/AAAAAAAALVE/gigJl0udhoswps9gF9LTOU1-jiQein22gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/research.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, hard at work, getting ready to understand Gus Van Sant<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: via <a href="https://pixnio.com/objects/books/knowledge-page-paper-reading-research-book-eyeglasses" target="_blank">Pixnio</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />So rest up, my lovelies, 'cause we've got a lot of movie watching to do!<br /><p><br /></p></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-89341051241890548712021-02-03T12:04:00.002-05:002021-02-03T12:07:44.853-05:00Little Ni-who-ta?<p>I might not have been in the best headspace when we sat down to watch the next movie in River Phoenix's <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000203/" target="_blank">filmography</a>. Three of his movies came out in 1988. The first was <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i>, which blog readers will remember was <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/12/the-hottest-of-messes.html">not well-received</a> (by me). </p><p>The last Phoenix movie of 1988 was <i>Running on Empty</i>, which marked my introduction to River lo these many years ago, and which I immediately loved (both him and the movie). I've seen it many times, but probably not for at least 25 years, and I'm so looking forward to seeing it again, and desperately hoping that it lives up to my memory and isn't full of homophobia or racism or other 1980s disappointments. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ldxObzr4Ew/YBh9xuoLb9I/AAAAAAAALRw/y7zQ_a_b0OQWyc5g8C2x_NRkbrQfHXqEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s200/fingers%2Bcrossed.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="200" data-original-width="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5ldxObzr4Ew/YBh9xuoLb9I/AAAAAAAALRw/y7zQ_a_b0OQWyc5g8C2x_NRkbrQfHXqEwCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/fingers%2Bcrossed.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PLEASE let <i>Running on Empty</i> have aged well!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://thenounproject.com/term/fingers-crossed/115782/" target="_blank">Matt Brooks</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /><br /></p><p>And the middle Phoenix film of 1988 is the one this post is about, <i>Little Nikita</i>. Caught between the horror of <i>Jimmy Reardon</i>, and my baited anticipation of <i>Running on Empty</i>, it's possible I wasn't as focused as I could have been. The notes I took while watching <i>Little Nikita</i> are sparse because...it's fine. It's a perfectly fine movie. It's a Russian spy story that seems to hold together. Sydney Poitier is in it and he's lovely (fun fact that my husband reminded me of: Poitier and Phoenix will work together again in the 1992 movie <i>Sneakers </i>which I am also looking forward to re-watching). My biggest complaint is that the audience learns the big secret in the movie early on and we then spend about 30 minutes watching Phoenix learn the same thing which isn't the most riveting storytelling, but it's fine. There's a perfectly fine chase scene at the end, and it's all just fine.</p><p>There's some fun early exploration of technology when Poitier's computer pulls up a "record" (see: single line of green text) of someone who has died, but that same individual, years after their death, opened a business, and the computer then blasts us with a very large text box in a different font declaring "DOES NOT COMPUTE." I actually wish this was how computers worked, so when I typed into Google "do I need a hyper-realistic dinosaur costume," it just tells me "DOES NOT COMPUTE" and I have my answer (I do need one, by the way. I don't care what Google has to say). </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0SYZVA1n04/YBRbFn37hEI/AAAAAAAALOE/4pU9pfc6T6AohyiNmXNwNARdHwYQVQJHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/Early%2BCoding.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-j0SYZVA1n04/YBRbFn37hEI/AAAAAAAALOE/4pU9pfc6T6AohyiNmXNwNARdHwYQVQJHwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Early%2BCoding.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's some snazzy early coding right there!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Monitor_Commodore_CBM_3016_with_BASIC_program-0309.jpg" target="_blank">Raimond Spekking</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Watching the opening credits it struck me that there are a lot of guys named Richard in this movie. Three of the main actors (after Poitier and Phoenix) are all named Richard, one of the characters is named Richard, and the movie was directed by a Richard. I thought about making a joke that this was a real dick movie, and I guess I just did.<div><br /></div><div>So while I don't have a whole lot to say about this movie plot-wise, I have a few things to say about River. Because while teenage Amy would not have liked River's character Jimmy Reardon (god, I hope she wouldn't have liked him!), I think she would have been smitten with Jeff Grant in <i>Little Nikita</i>. His hair is very swoopy and floppy, which for some reason was important to her. He twice (!) wears a tank top. And he goes on a completely charming date with his girlfriend Barbara in the middle of the movie. It's a scene that does nothing to move the plot along, but I loved it. They're at a drive in with a bunch of other kids, then Jeff and Barbara split off, share one kiss (chaste, but not too chaste), and then absolutely devour their french fries. A date like that with a non-threatening boy would have been right up young Amy's alley. Heck, I would still consider that a slam-dunk of a date.<br /><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XQ6CcjODU8k/YBh9OFG4qyI/AAAAAAAALRo/j7DPV9FTwO4vOad22nn-qhyv0smPSg9dACLcBGAsYHQ/s500/non%2Bthreatening%2Bboys.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="375" data-original-width="500" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XQ6CcjODU8k/YBh9OFG4qyI/AAAAAAAALRo/j7DPV9FTwO4vOad22nn-qhyv0smPSg9dACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/non%2Bthreatening%2Bboys.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Primo Reading Material<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Still shot from <i>The Simpsons</i></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I don't believe <i>Little Nikita</i> will stick with me, and that's not entirely the movie's fault, but rather its placement in Phoenix's filmography. I feel confident in saying that if you're going to watch one River Phoenix movie from 1988, it should be <i>Running on Empty</i>, but I will confirm that in our next installment!<br /><br /><div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-74570720094300373982020-12-26T12:33:00.001-05:002021-01-05T10:46:52.061-05:00The Hottest of Messes<p>The story of watching <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i> begins with my quest to find the movie. Since we subscribe to eleventy-million streaming sites, I thought for sure it would be on one of them, but no luck. Fine, I thought, I'll rent it, but neither Amazon nor iTunes carried the title. Will I have to buy this movie? I said to myself. My search on Amazon yielded a VHS copy that could be mine for the sweet, sweet price of $52 USD. Since I don't even have a VHS player, this was not a viable option.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJXC1L65ZMI/X9y1y3Q-RkI/AAAAAAAALLQ/mhNbndGjktkAgynp78p685Afo_jP472JwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/VHS.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="528" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yJXC1L65ZMI/X9y1y3Q-RkI/AAAAAAAALLQ/mhNbndGjktkAgynp78p685Afo_jP472JwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/VHS.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A portent of things to come<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo Credit: Toby Hudson</span><br /><br /><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><br />At this point my husband took over the search because he is better at internetting than I am. He was able to find a DVD copy for the more reasonable price of $12 that could ship from the UK. He ordered it, but then had another look online, and Vimeo offered up the director's cut, available for streaming. Thankfully he was able to cancel the DVD order because, spoiler alert, no one needs two ways to watch this movie!<div><br /></div><div>But wait, the version we found online was titled <i>Aren't You Even Gonna Kiss Me Goodbye?.</i> Is this even the same film? It stars River Phoenix, so I was committed, as either way it is required viewing for my completist project.</div><div><br /></div><div>I came into this movie knowing virtually nothing about the film. All my assumptions were gleaned from this poster.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksBPLWqhHSk/X9y4ep_N8kI/AAAAAAAALLc/hj8fXFwrOWQuxVZUpDSKxWL9Ft4_ls-cgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1440/Jimmy%2BReardon%2BPoster.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksBPLWqhHSk/X9y4ep_N8kI/AAAAAAAALLc/hj8fXFwrOWQuxVZUpDSKxWL9Ft4_ls-cgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Jimmy%2BReardon%2BPoster.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Highly misleading</td></tr></tbody></table><br />This is clearly an 80s high-school romp comedy, yes? That is what I went in expecting, but I was the victim of sleazy Hollywood marketing, because this movie is NOT what it appears. <div><br /></div><div>Here's where I stopped to wonder if the director's cut that we watched deviated so significantly from the theatrical release as to feel like an entirely different movie. Of course, the way to solve this problem would be to watch the theatrical release (if it can be found), but that would mean watching the movie again, and that is just...something I'm not prepared for. </div><div><br /></div><div>Some quick Googling has led me to believe that the theatrical release doesn't deviate in plot, perhaps only in tone, and one <a href="https://film.avclub.com/my-year-of-flops-case-file-89-arent-you-even-gonna-kis-1798212944" target="_blank">reviewer </a>suggested that the director's cut is significantly better than the theatrical release, and the director's cut is so very terrible that I need to never watch this movie again.</div><div><br /></div><div>A quick summary: Phoenix plays the titular Jimmy Reardon, a pretentious 17 year old beat poet who is in love with <strike>Lisa's breasts</strike> Lisa. But Lisa won't immediately yield to him in the yard outside her parent's house, and so Jimmy has no choice but to have sex with EVERY OTHER WOMAN IN THE MOVIE! Here's an actual line from the movie that is used to justify Reardon putting his penis in any and all available holes - "a vague insistence came from my lap." A vague bit of puke just came from my stomach.</div><div><br /></div><div>He has a best friend named Susie, who you know is his best friend because he says "Susie is my best friend," despite the fact that they have almost no scenes together, exchange perhaps three or four lines, and it is absolutely irrelevant to the plot that they are friends. But still, we know, because of that sparkling dialogue.</div><div><br /></div><div>The movie (and this may be the director's cut only) is narrated by Jimmy, except Jimmy, confusingly, sounds like a 56 year old smoker who owes you money.</div><div><br /></div><div>Also, this movie introduced Matthew Perry.</div><div><br /></div><div>Listen, if you haven't guessed yet, this movie is an incoherent and indulgent pile of absolute garbage, and I'm going to dive into some of the worst offences. If this is as far as you make, your take away should be that you should never watch this movie. Please let my suffering have been for something.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--qmUrfRHiRg/X9y_OzvQCKI/AAAAAAAALLo/UWdFjZq_fJw3zY-kM9emAWH-Fd6RLlxQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s275/garbage.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="183" data-original-width="275" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/--qmUrfRHiRg/X9y_OzvQCKI/AAAAAAAALLo/UWdFjZq_fJw3zY-kM9emAWH-Fd6RLlxQQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/garbage.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Is this a pile of garbage or <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i>? <br />Doesn't matter.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>Nothing is examined in this movie. It's ostensibly about class and wealth (Reardon's family is working-class and he has to pay for college; his friends are all rich), but the movie doesn't look beyond Reardon feeling that a great injustice has occurred in the world because he isn't fabulously wealthy without putting in any work. The only people of colour are literal servants, and that problematic situation is left un-examined. </div><div><br /></div><div>And the women! Jimmy claims to love Lisa and want to be with her, but fondles every breast he sees, and never feels remorse, never examines how he treats women. Does he make a horrendous "joke" about raping Lisa to try and make another dude angry? Yes he does. Does he chase Lisa and pin her to the ground when she wants to get away from him? Oh yes he does. It's not just Phoenix's character who has such contempt for women either. At one point, Jimmy's dad calls him a "son of a bitch," which is a lot to unpack. Jimmy's mother just sighs and returns to the stove. I'M NOT MAKING THIS UP!</div><div><br /></div><div>About two thirds of the way through the movie my husband asked me if I thought people actually talked like this in the 1960s, and I said, "this movie is set in the 80s," and that's when I learned that I had missed a title card at the beginning telling us that it was 1962 AND I HAD NO IDEA.</div><div><br /></div><div>I'll give the word on the 1962 setting to Rotten Tomatoes commenter Pete Vonder Haar:</div><div><br /></div><div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uHZr_UUfqNg/X9zA0sRBIRI/AAAAAAAALL0/p49zMgcpnKUiR3WrDUGmEsUKtvbCJWARACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="" data-original-height="109" data-original-width="363" height="96" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-uHZr_UUfqNg/X9zA0sRBIRI/AAAAAAAALL0/p49zMgcpnKUiR3WrDUGmEsUKtvbCJWARACLcBGAsYHQ/image.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He's right about the hair, but wrong in his generous rating</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><br />The movie was released in 1988 but filmed in 1986 which means Phoenix was 16, possibly 17, when it was shot. Knowing this makes the already awkward sex scenes (and there are many) that much more difficult to stomach. I'm going to go on the record here that 17 year olds should never film sex scenes. I'm not saying that characters that age shouldn't be having sex, but dear god, don't make these poor children pull of their shirts and simulate unwieldy pelvic thrusts. No one needs that.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>At one point I jotted down in my notebook that I wasn't rooting for anyone in this movie, and then I reflected on whether this movie might be the <a href="https://handwovenmagazine.com/history-hairshirts/" target="_blank">hairshirt </a>I must endure, although it's unclear what I'm being punished for.</div><div><br /></div><div>It also occurred to me that a 1980s movie with stilted unrealistic dialogue, multiple awkward and prolonged sex scenes, and a main character who screams "LISA!!!!" might be a precursor to Tommy Wiseau's 2003 film <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Room" target="_blank"><i>The Room</i></a>. I have to believe Wiseau watched <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i> and thought "yes, there's some good stuff in here."</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IJ_icDmulqU" width="320" youtube-src-id="IJ_icDmulqU"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ_icDmulqU" target="_blank">You're Tearing Me Apart Lisa!</a><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>I hope that even boy-crazy teenage Amy would have had problems with this movie. Indeed, it might have lessened the glow that I saw around Phoenix in those days. But, in all likelihood, I would have just enjoyed his hair and seeing him without his shirt on. For remember, teenage Amy was quite superficial. </div><div><br /></div><div>I am hoping that <i>A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i> is the lowest point in my journey to watch all of River Phoenix's movies. Dear god, I hope it can't get worse than that. Next up is another film I've never seen and know nothing about, <i>Little Nikita</i>. Based on this <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jWsrjotWzEc" target="_blank">trailer</a>...</div><div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bL2FrVChW64" width="320" youtube-src-id="bL2FrVChW64"></iframe></div><br />I am cautiously optimistic. <br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><br /><p><br /></p></div></div></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-24765359514894113562020-12-01T15:41:00.000-05:002020-12-01T15:49:36.731-05:001 Star: Misleading Title, Not Enough Mosquitos<p>Look, in a movie called <i>The Mosquito Coast</i>, I expect to at least once see someone swatting away a huge swarm of mosquitos buzzing around their head, maybe ingesting a few and then heaving in that really unattractive way we all do when we eat a bug. I figured there would at least be a sub-plot about malaria, but no, <i>The Mosquito Coast</i> contains none of that!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDrlr7_lwBQ/X7_upbFChuI/AAAAAAAALIs/Xs6yrUCPHC4wkiWic0zLTWkUnR5bvT6UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s245/swarm-of-insects1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="245" data-original-width="244" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDrlr7_lwBQ/X7_upbFChuI/AAAAAAAALIs/Xs6yrUCPHC4wkiWic0zLTWkUnR5bvT6UQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/swarm-of-insects1.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imagine this coming at you. You'll have to imagine, because it isn't in the ding-dong movie!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.soulshepherding.org/content-in-a-swarm-of-mosquitoes/" target="_blank">Bill Gaultiere</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>This very serious and not-at-all frivolous complaint aside, <i>The Mosquito Coast</i> is a good movie, and you should watch it if you haven't already (heck, watch it again, I'll bet it holds up!). This post will contain only mild spoilers mostly pertaining to River Phoenix's character Charlie, so feel free to keep reading even if you haven't seen it. </p><p>This movie is from 1986, so it's the same vintage Phoenix as <i>Stand By Me</i> (but this movie features, sadly, less Phoenix). Quick summary: Harrison Ford plays Allie Fox, River Phoenix's dad, and an inventor who thinks he's better than everyone, and is fed up with aspects of life such as having to do the job he was actually hired for, and not being able to buy products that were made in the USA! So, despite the many indications that this will not go well, he packs up his family (literally leaving dirty dishes in the kitchen sink) and takes them all by boat into the jungle where he can indulge in his white saviour fantasies and pontificate on the spiritual importance of ice. Allie is the worst kind of dude who thinks he's more open-minded and evolved than everyone else, but is really a racist a-hole.</p><p>I hadn't seen this movie before, and didn't know anything about it. In fact, based on my quick glance at this movie poster</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0RvkMLQbZc/X7_0lw2k4JI/AAAAAAAALI4/oyCIFPA1qdc_j1hvK_A8CJZUG-X0xhs9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s275/Mosquito%2BCoast.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="275" data-original-width="183" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W0RvkMLQbZc/X7_0lw2k4JI/AAAAAAAALI4/oyCIFPA1qdc_j1hvK_A8CJZUG-X0xhs9wCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Mosquito%2BCoast.jpg" /></a></div><br /><p>I thought the movie starred Nick Nolte, even though it clearly says Harrison Ford above the title (Nick Nolte would have been a very bad choice for the role). When I learned from the credits that this movie also starred Helen Mirren and Martha Plimpton I said "yes please!" Although I would soon learn that even with these two powerhouse women, the film sadly, just like Phoenix's other two movies we've reviewed so far, does not pass the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test" target="_blank">Bechdel Test</a>. I still liked it, but stay tuned for my feminist complaint about Mirren's character.</p><p>Early teenaged Amy would have been enthralled by the possibility of romance that is suggested between Plimpton and Phoenix, however we will need to wait until the excellent <i>Running on Empty</i> to actually see that romance in action (fun fact, we also get to see Phoenix and Ford together again in <i>Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade</i>, where Phoenix plays a young Indy). Plimpton plays the daughter of a missionary, and she and Phoenix meet on the boat taking them to the jungle. Her flirting technique is flawless. She begins by simply offering herself to Phoenix as a girlfriend (he does not respond). She then lays down the excellent come-on line of "I think about you when I go to the bathroom." She is so committed to this line that she mouths it to him again once they have arrived and are about to go their separate ways. I am stunned that her approach didn't work, but I encourage all of you looking to snag a partner to try out her line. And then please, <b>please</b>, tell me what happens.</p><p>We see Plimpton only once more, near the end of the movie, when things are going poorly for Phoenix. He sneaks up to talk to her, at which point she declares "you look disgusting, you got smaller, and your hair is gross." Even though she is only on screen for a few brief minutes, I love everything about Plimpton's character. Had I seen this as a younger person, it's possible I would have tried to emulate her. It would have gone terribly.</p><p>Things start to go badly in the movie for Allie and family when he decides that he needs to show a block of ice to a tribe deep in the jungle that has never before seen ice. He believes this will blow their minds. Well, Allie, hate to disappoint you, but you didn't need to travel all the way into the deep jungle for that. You just needed to come to my backyard circa 2014. Let me explain.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziRgccV3Zok/X8T_0jsTUwI/AAAAAAAALJM/A_E1gQhJy_s5VtHBVtHrEki36SP7mS7mwCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/Ice%2BCubes%2BDarren%2BHester.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ziRgccV3Zok/X8T_0jsTUwI/AAAAAAAALJM/A_E1gQhJy_s5VtHBVtHrEki36SP7mS7mwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Ice%2BCubes%2BDarren%2BHester.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mind blown?<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ice_cubes_openphoto.jpg" target="_blank">Darren Hester</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br />I'd just finished hosting a party in my yard and I was cleaning up while my then 3-year old daughter was playing outside. I dumped the ice cubes from the bottom of the cooler onto a patch of garden thinking that the melt would help whatever was trying to grow there, then went back to tidying. About two minutes later, my daughter appeared at my side her hands full of the shiny cubes and said "look mommy, cold jewels!" At this moment I realized that she had never before seen ice. Was she momentarily impressed? Yes, she was. Did she think it was pretty neat? Yes, she did. Was her life forever changed because, according to Allie Fox, "ice is civilization?" No. She soon grew tired of the ice melting in her hands, dumped it back in the garden, and demanded to be shown <i>Toopy and Binoo</i> cartoons.<br /><p>Ford's character is clearly unhinged, and suffering from mental illness. At the beginning of the movie he channels some of Han Solo's arrogance, but where Solo just keeps improving and making better choices, Fox keeps getting worse. He's blind to the needs of others, demands to be worshiped, and refuses to learn from anyone, but is the worst thing about his character the fact that he calls his wife Mother? Yes, yes it is.</p><p>I can't believe I have to complain about the credits of a movie again so soon after doing so about <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/10/standing-by.html" target="_blank">Stand By Me</a> (shakes fist at patriarchy!), but <b>DAME </b>Helen Mirren's (fine, she wasn't a dame then, but it's coming) character is listed only as "Mother" in the credits. Not even "Mother Fox" which would at least allow you to pretend that she was a whimsical Wes Anderson character trapped in the wrong film. No, just Mother. Even the actor who plays Phoenix's younger brother who basically just whines about how much he hates his dad (understandable) gets a name! (Jadrien Steele plays Jerry Fox and does a fine job, don't come at me with your Jadrien Steele defense, I'm just saying HELEN MIRREN SHOULD HAVE BEEN GIVEN A NAME!!!)</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HiNa_Z2lvqg/X8Utb4WpLvI/AAAAAAAALJY/cLsgJNnAcTw8MV1azmInClhL0TTbP0VZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/Helen_Mirren_2010.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2039" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HiNa_Z2lvqg/X8Utb4WpLvI/AAAAAAAALJY/cLsgJNnAcTw8MV1azmInClhL0TTbP0VZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Helen_Mirren_2010.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If anyone deserves a name, it is this goddess!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gageskidmore/4840549186" target="_blank">Gage Skidmore</a></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p>You might have noticed that this post is a little light on the Phoenix commentary, and I could make an excuse about how he's in a supporting role and that's why, but the truth is, Harrison Ford, for all that his character frustrates you and you want to slap his smug stupid face when he calls his wife "Mother," is captivating. It's hard to watch anyone else; he dominates the screen when the camera is on him. It really is a tremendous performance, which isn't to say that Phoenix (and Mirren, and Plimpton) aren't also giving wonderful performances, but the movie belongs to Ford. But don't worry, there's more Phoenix coming your way because...</p><p>next up in our watch is the 1988 movie <i>A Night In the Life of Jimmy Reardon</i>. I haven't seen it before, and Phoenix plays the titular character, so I'm guessing he gets a lot of screen time. It could be terrible, but he's entering the swoop stage of his hair journey, so I'm optimistic. I suspect young Amy would be very excited about this one. Stay tuned possums!</p>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-23877120079697680802020-10-26T16:31:00.002-04:002020-10-26T16:33:09.111-04:00Standing By<p>Possums! Welcome to the second installment in my <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2020/09/completist-aspirations.html" target="_blank">journey </a>to watch all of the late River Phoenix's movies, thereby becoming a Phoenix Completist. The 1986 movie <i>Stand By Me</i> was Phoenix's second feature film. Let that sentence sink in for a minute. The second movie you ever make becomes one of the classics of American film, and it's not like you've got some bit part, Agitated Boy #2 or something, you're one of the freaking leads!!!</p><p>Quick facts here for those living under rocks or born so late that this movie counts as a period piece (I mean, technically it is since it's set in the late 50s). The movie is directed by Rob Reiner and based on the Stephen King short story "The Body." Four boys from Oregon go on a two-day hike to find a dead body that they heard was in the woods. That's basically the whole plot, plus a loooooooooooot of daddy issues. </p><p>Before I begin to ramble somewhat incoherently about what this movie made me think and feel (you can look forward to my analysis of trains, a moment when I feel a kindred connection to Phoenix, and I'll introduce you to a fun game I play when watching the credits), a huge shout out to the casting directors for this film, Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins who managed to cast child actors without any duds. Phoneix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell all had decent careers post <i>Stand By Me</i>, and this movie also features a young Kiefer Sutherland as the bully AND a young John Cusack as the dead older brother (not a spoiler, he's dead from the beginning, and not the body that they go to find). I thought that was impressive.</p><p>So, the four main boys each strap a blanket to their shoulders and start walking, after telling their parents the always fool-proof 80s movie lie that they're all spending the night at someone else's house. No 80s parent checked on their children in any capacity ever, so that plot point holds up. They have all, however, neglected to bring food, so they pool their money and Wil Wheaton (his character has a name, I just don't care what it is) buys meat to make four hamburgers and four buns. This food somehow lasts them the entire two days and they never once complain about hunger. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ia988ZOBl_Q/X5CZCKKdCoI/AAAAAAAALFI/Yoq-d-wAh0gBUlK_CdLEGpuPyw83-LleQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/four-hamburgers-on-white-plate.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ia988ZOBl_Q/X5CZCKKdCoI/AAAAAAAALFI/Yoq-d-wAh0gBUlK_CdLEGpuPyw83-LleQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/four-hamburgers-on-white-plate.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly enough food for 4 people for 2 days</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />For some reason they take shelter in a junk yard with a known ornery owner and dog for a while, and they start squirting water out of their mouths into a bucket. Phoenix, I noticed, seemed to have a little trouble spitting the water, so I felt a kinship with him, as I too have had difficulty when required to perform a water stunt with my mouth on camera.</p><p>I was filming an intro scene for my husband's sketch comedy group years ago where I had to do a spit take right in his face (you can see it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TdsB5-kKktA" target="_blank">here </a>at the 2:24 mark, then stayed tuned for about 8 seconds of me fake laughing. If that doesn't sound like a long time, you're wrong). It was just after the director first called "action" that I learned I had assumed I would be able to do a spit take on command, nay at all, but we all quickly realized how wrong I was. For one take I just opened my mouth and the large gulp of water I had taken ran freely down my chin while I made no attempt whatsoever to spit. Is doing a spit take hard? No, it is not, which made this realization all the more embarrassing. After multiple takes where I got worse instead of better, my dear friend and fellow actor Trent Wilkie stepped in as my spit-take double, so the shot in the skit where Sam is getting sprayed in the face with mouth water, well that's all the work of Trent (he got it in one take, the bastard). Anyway, seeing River Phoenix also have trouble with on camera spit work, I felt that, had we met, our bond would have been strengthened through this obvious connection.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ll7_Y9TRJ30/X5CAsgtvD4I/AAAAAAAALEA/Z-YnqlUgYEQltUKhW8K7BzA5HvEcGc5CwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Water%2BSpit%2BNick%2BLooy%2Bpixabay.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="852" data-original-width="1280" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ll7_Y9TRJ30/X5CAsgtvD4I/AAAAAAAALEA/Z-YnqlUgYEQltUKhW8K7BzA5HvEcGc5CwCLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Water%2BSpit%2BNick%2BLooy%2Bpixabay.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unattainable <br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo credit: Nick Looy, <a href="https://www.needpix.com/photo/530015/water-spit-boy-guy-gay-nature-travel-summer-spitting" target="_blank">Pixabay</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />I have seen <i>Stand By Me</i> once before, and I remembered exactly two scenes from it: the scene with the train on the trestle bridge, and the scene with the leeches. I will begin with the leeches, which to me is the one scene in the movie that truly feels like it belongs in a Stephen King story (I guess the dead body tracks too), because these leeches are enormous. I will refer to them (in a nod to director Rob Reiner who also directed <i>The Princess Bride</i>) as L.O.U.Ss - Leeches Of Unusual Size. They are enormous, and I know of what I speak here, because once a leech curled up for a nap in between my toes (if this sounds cute and you're saying "awwww" to yourself right now, stop it, because my terrified 9 year old self went scream thrashing through the creek where I had picked up this slumbering hitch hiker, attempting to remove it by kicking wildly in the air (not effective). Turned out the creature was not sucking my blood, simply taking advantage of the body heat produced between my toes) and my leech was about 1/16th the size of the ones in the movie. Maybe they breed them big in Oregon, who knows. Anyway, the leech scene is gross.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VBALMNzIlVM/X5CBbU9dr_I/AAAAAAAALEI/niJHolSVoAgHmDwYKBwY5UQHJQlO6bzBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/Leech.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VBALMNzIlVM/X5CBbU9dr_I/AAAAAAAALEI/niJHolSVoAgHmDwYKBwY5UQHJQlO6bzBQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Leech.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Appropriately sized leech<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(photo credit: Bernard Dupont, <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/berniedup/7810267518/in/photostream/lightbox/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The train scene on the trestle bridge was another memory I had from my first viewing, specifically I remembered the anxiety I felt watching it as Wesley Crusher and My Secret Identity have to get to the end of the bridge before the train smashes them. It's tense friends, especially when Jerry O'Connell lies on the tracks in fear while the train barrels towards them WASTING PRECIOUS RUNNING AWAY SECONDS!!! I managed to quell the tension for myself by 1) remembering that they survive, and 2) realizing that their attempt to get out of the way of the train reminds me exactly of me trying to get out of the way of the approaching chair lift during skiing when I have inevitably fallen down while trying to dismount gracefully. Every. Single. Time.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1HleF9rUfLg/X5cmUocS9fI/AAAAAAAALFs/mHGE2Su0jCQfakRTrlWbMrtt_mpowVjKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1280/Chairlift.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1280" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1HleF9rUfLg/X5cmUocS9fI/AAAAAAAALFs/mHGE2Su0jCQfakRTrlWbMrtt_mpowVjKgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Chairlift.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I won't get out of the way in time<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo credit: LoggaWiggler, <a href="https://www.needpix.com/photo/download/3929/chairlift-lift-skiing-gondola-cable-car-free-pictures-free-photos-free-images-royalty-free" target="_blank">Pixabay</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />Trains feature heavily in this movie, and I've done no research but still feel confident in saying that the trains represent penises and daddy issues. It got me wondering what the female equivalent of this symbol would be in a movie about four young ladies on an epic quest. Would they just keep exploring mysterious caves? Would spelunking allow them a greater understanding of self?</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LOBhIU2p5NY/X5CFr9hN8AI/AAAAAAAALEY/M7NeMe-hawAg3Q-M2KqC_ecPNLLaD4v9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1024/spelunking.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="702" data-original-width="1024" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LOBhIU2p5NY/X5CFr9hN8AI/AAAAAAAALEY/M7NeMe-hawAg3Q-M2KqC_ecPNLLaD4v9QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/spelunking.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ooooo, mysterious jewel <strike>vagina </strike>cave<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo credit: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/orientalizing/29799532177/lightbox/" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)<br /><br /><br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table>Well, you don't need to worry about what it would be like for women in this movie, because there really aren't any. Before I launch into my next tangent about representation, let me start by saying that I don't think it's fair to dismiss or condemn movies from the past because they don't adhere to our modern notions, but I do think it's important to discuss the lack of representation because it helps us to see how we've got to where we are now with these issues. <div><br /></div><div>To start, there is not a single actor of colour in this movie. Now, it is set in Oregon which doesn't exactly have the most inclusive <a href="https://www.oregonlive.com/history/2020/06/oregons-founders-sought-a-white-utopia-a-stain-of-racism-that-lives-on-even-as-state-celebrates-its-progressivism.html" target="_blank">history</a>, but the overwhelming whiteness of the movie stands out when viewed with modern eyes (I mean, I'm sure it stood out to many people who watched it in the 80s as well, particularly eyes that belonged to any person who wasn't white). </div><div><br /></div><div>Women fare only marginally better in this film in terms of representation. There are exactly four women characters listed: Mrs. Lachance, Waitress, Mayor's Wife, and Fat Lady. Notice anything about those credits? That's right, not a single woman in this movie is given a name. <i>Stand By Me</i> is clearly focused on the male experience, and when I watch movies like this, there's a little game I like to play during the credits called "When Will the First Woman Appear?" Basically, you take note of how long into the credits it will be before you see a woman's name. I called this one early, telling my husband that we wouldn't see a woman in the credits until Casting (I'm not sure why, but casting is a job that tends to be held by women in Hollywood), and it wasn't like the women started rolling by after that. In fact, there were so few women, and I was taking such careful note of them, that I was surprised when I saw the job title of "Lead Woman" flash across the screen.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pp8b81XocoY/X5CJ9_HFz0I/AAAAAAAALEk/rtH2ooCpfcEalnwJFRVRI2dMB8XB8h7ZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/Looking%2Bfor%2Bwomen.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1920" data-original-width="1920" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Pp8b81XocoY/X5CJ9_HFz0I/AAAAAAAALEk/rtH2ooCpfcEalnwJFRVRI2dMB8XB8h7ZQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Looking%2Bfor%2Bwomen.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, looking for the women in this movie<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Image credit: Mohamad Mohamad Mahmoud Hassan, <a href="https://www.needpix.com/photo/1528936/searching-woman-hr-find-job-organization-interested-queries-business" target="_blank">Needpix</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><div>"What is Lead Woman?" I shrieked in my husband's ear. "What does that mean?" Neither of us knew, and neither, it seemed, did Google, so my husband took to an online forum to inquire (side note, I am pleased to see how invested he has become in my completist project; we're in this together). It took until the next day for us to learn that the title is given to the leader of the Swing Gang on set (not, alas, a group of spunky swing dancers who jump, jive, and wail all over the production), and the title of the leader is either Lead Man, or, if the person happens to be a woman, well, you can figure that out. However, before I had that information, I asked my husband, in total sincerity, "do you think...is Lead Woman the person who is in charge of all the women?" It seemed viable to me that perhaps, Lead Woman was simply the woman wrangler on set. Perhaps an alpha uterus to sync up all of the menstrual cycles, or just a capable woman to lead the spelunking expeditions. Honestly, anything seemed possible at that point.</div><div><br /></div><div>So women and people of colour don't get enough representation in the movie, and there are also some homophobic slurs bandied about playfully, although the movie does do a good job of depicting physical male friendships. Three of the four boys have a breakdown scene in the movie where they have to cry, and each time they are comforted physically by a friend, without any jokes about gayness, not even to diffuse the tension, so props for that. (Side note: I hope the boys were all treated well during the filming, because they had to go to some dark places emotionally, and I was a little worried for them. Given the overwhelming maleness of the movie, it had the potential to devolve into a real <i>Lord of the Flies</i> type situation. I hope it was a caring and nurturing experience instead).<br /><p>Okay, enough of my meandering chaotically from thought to thought, let's talk about River!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vSZzIwZLIQg/X5CNZKn6QKI/AAAAAAAALEw/9uUYc8I5Jzgg__uR2CZztyxkJNzYQVK0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/Phoenix%2B-%2BAlan%2BLight%2BFlickr.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="486" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vSZzIwZLIQg/X5CNZKn6QKI/AAAAAAAALEw/9uUYc8I5Jzgg__uR2CZztyxkJNzYQVK0gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Phoenix%2B-%2BAlan%2BLight%2BFlickr.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo credit: Alan Light, <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:River_Phoenix_-_hi_res_scan_(cropped).jpg" target="_blank">Flickr</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Even with the strong cast, it's pretty clear that Phoenix is a stand out in this movie (my husband used the word "smoldering" to describe him). The trajectory that his career took after this is not surprising, and I found myself wondering, I'm sure not for the last time, what he could have accomplished in his career had he lived past the age of 23. </p><p>And what would young teen Amy have thought of Phoenix in this movie? Well, I did watch it when I was younger, and it didn't stick with me, and I now have to face the reality that it's possible most of my affection for Mr. Phoenix was really for his floppy hair cut (see above photo). Never forget, young Amy was very superficial. Brush cut Phoenix just wasn't my jam.</p><p>Next up in this adventure is a movie that I haven't seen before and know virtually nothing about, <i>The Mosquito Coast</i>, also released in 1986. I look forward to learning what hairstyle Phoenix has in this movie, and I'd like to thank you for standing by me (satisfied chortle) during this post. Until next time!</p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RwfMwcvsuXY/X5CYB54oZgI/AAAAAAAALE8/Py0AlYCW_KgTFkM4hIuwuo2L8Gs7eDNYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s737/Mosquito-feeding.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="492" data-original-width="737" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RwfMwcvsuXY/X5CYB54oZgI/AAAAAAAALE8/Py0AlYCW_KgTFkM4hIuwuo2L8Gs7eDNYwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Mosquito-feeding.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Next time, nothing but miles of these along the coast line!<br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Photo credit: <a href="https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mosquito-feeding.jpg" target="_blank">Pratheep PS</a>)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> <p></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /><br /></p><p><br /></p></div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-13501900782001784472020-09-22T11:51:00.002-04:002020-09-22T14:00:16.427-04:00Completist Aspirations<p>Hi, hello, welcome, are you ready to come with me on a little diversion? I know you're all here for my hot library takes, but I'm shifting my focus slightly, and thought I would bring you along for the ride. If you want, it's not like there's an actual vehicle that I'm refusing to stop. Free will, baby!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFBfF5HVFJs/X2X8DaatlEI/AAAAAAAALAY/Z1ntCzwoAtUQPJd2i2ZtlFwqLNw8gKyRgCLcBGAsYHQ/s250/Diversion_11.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="250" data-original-width="250" height="200" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JFBfF5HVFJs/X2X8DaatlEI/AAAAAAAALAY/Z1ntCzwoAtUQPJd2i2ZtlFwqLNw8gKyRgCLcBGAsYHQ/w200-h200/Diversion_11.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(Image Credit under Creative Commons: Franklinz01)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p>I've started working on an essay about my adolescent feelings for the late River Phoenix, actor, musician, and my first and strongest celebrity crush. As a result of this essay, I've been going down a few Google-holes and searching IMDB to establish timelines, and I have decided, in the interest of very professional research, that I need to watch all of River Phoenix's movies. I will then be a Phoenix Completist, and you better believe that I will include this information in EVERY bio I am ever asked to submit in the future.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v3Qt3hs16xU/X2X9pQAzi0I/AAAAAAAALAk/9SpN_CvyFq4b7jQUoPrDvd1-g_VtaS8LQCLcBGAsYHQ/s960/Serious%2BReserach.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="960" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-v3Qt3hs16xU/X2X9pQAzi0I/AAAAAAAALAk/9SpN_CvyFq4b7jQUoPrDvd1-g_VtaS8LQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Serious%2BReserach.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I prepare to embark on some Very Serious Research</td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />And so, to make best use of this important research (since not all of it will end up in the essay), I have decided to blog my journey of watching River Phoenix's movies here for you all. I have also enlisted the company of my husband to come along with me. At this point, he believes it will only be feature films, and that <i>is</i> how we'll begin, but I have plans, upon completing all the movies, to dive into Phoenix's television and mini-series work, which means we'll be watching titles such as <i>It's Your Move</i>, <i>Backwards: The Riddle of Dyslexia, </i>and the television remake of <i>Seven Brides for Seven Brothers</i>. You'd better believe that alllllllllllll of these will be poor quality YouTube videos that someone uploaded from a nearly worn out VHS version. Hopefully I'll be able to tell which actor is River! My husband doesn't need to join me for these, as they will likely be very trying, but I may lord my Completist title as being superior to his if he doesn't. Which he likely won't care about at all. </p><p>And so, with great excitement (on my part), we began the journey with the 1985 family-friendly movie <i>Explorers</i>, Phoenix's first feature film. He plays Wolfgang Müller, a barely pubescent nerd who provides all the science in the movie. He's friends with less-nerdy (but still nerdy) Ben played by Ethan Hawke. Quick summary: Ben dreams in mid-80s video game special effects, and discovers some formula or equation in his sleep, which Wolfgang programs into a computer, and it becomes a sphere of blue light that they can use to travel through space. A third boy who is "cool" joins them. They trash a drive-in concession stand, and are momentarily chased by the police, but the stakes remain low throughout. Eventually, they make it to space, but not after pursuing their first impulse upon gaining this power which is to look at boobs. To be clear, this movie in no way even attempts to pass the Bechdel test; it's a story for the lads. Once in space, there are aliens, and some problematic inter-species flirting with young Phoenix. Also, James Cromwell plays Wolfgang's dad!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aEgVzEgRrYo/X2YIhAHtrJI/AAAAAAAALAw/A9cd0CHmCygNj9wqjxFNxdRyS-U2UKuVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1920/video%2Bgame%2Btunnel.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1235" data-original-width="1920" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-aEgVzEgRrYo/X2YIhAHtrJI/AAAAAAAALAw/A9cd0CHmCygNj9wqjxFNxdRyS-U2UKuVgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/video%2Bgame%2Btunnel.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lights! Tunnels! 80s! Video Games!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br />I had not only never watched <i>Explorers </i>before, I hadn't even heard of it. Phoenix's bowl cut and aggressively 80s glasses likely wouldn't have appealed to 13 year old Amy who, I'm now remembering, was a little shallow. 1992 River Phoenix was peak Phoenix as far as I was concerned, so this is proto-Phoenix. I wondered, would 13 year old me have been more impressed with Ethan Hawke? He certainly had the right hair. To be clear, this Completist project is mostly about reflecting on my teenage feelings and superficiality, but I will point out that even in this movie which doesn't give him much, Phoenix is a very good actor. I'd like to believe that at least some of my feelings had to do with his great talent, not just his great face.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nbcRZSb3uU8/X2YI9oF44wI/AAAAAAAALA4/qL028b47R3son2hDHNuuQopmX91SYt4rACLcBGAsYHQ/s354/River_Phoenix.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="354" data-original-width="247" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nbcRZSb3uU8/X2YI9oF44wI/AAAAAAAALA4/qL028b47R3son2hDHNuuQopmX91SYt4rACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/River_Phoenix.png" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phoenix Face (photo by Alan Light)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As the movie progressed, and the kids ended up in space, Sam turned to me and said "this is basically the same plot as <i>Flight of the Navigator,</i>" another 80s movie that I had not seen (also a "boy movie"), so we paused to watch the trailer. Yes, they are very similar, and <i>Explorers </i>clearly paved the way for <i>Navigator</i>. Also <i>E.T.</i> would have been influential. This has been my very thorough movie analysis of 80s space travel movies. Nothing has been left out.</p><p>And so, the first movie in Phoenix's filmography has been watched. Would I have enjoyed it as an early teen, when I would have been close to Phoenix's age? Probably not, there was precious little for the girls in it. Also, Phoenix was convincingly dorky, and I had access to dorky guys at that age (when I say access, I mean that they sometimes spoke to me), so there was no fantasy there. Will all this change with our next film, the 1986 classic <i>Stand By Me</i>? You'll have to...stand by to find out! (Sorry.)</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ysRgDBdnzvc/X2YKFjPRQHI/AAAAAAAALBE/qxhkDW232PQA-HbxggpbelfgS62x7WYSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Standby_button.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="257" data-original-width="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ysRgDBdnzvc/X2YKFjPRQHI/AAAAAAAALBE/qxhkDW232PQA-HbxggpbelfgS62x7WYSQCLcBGAsYHQ/s0/Standby_button.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(image by mo68kl, Creative Commons)<br /></span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-4468601961484333632020-08-14T17:07:00.000-04:002020-08-14T17:08:01.768-04:00Bad Deal<p>I am very bad at making deals. Thankfully, for the last decade or so, I have worked in a unionized environment where salary is standardized and not negotiable. At least, I don't think it's negotiable. I don't know because I've never asked because I'M BAD AT DEALS. I have accepted every starting salary ever quoted to me without question. I pay sticker price.</p><p>13 years ago, my husband Sam and I were planning a trip to Cuba. A friend who had been there before mentioned that they'd had to escort frogs out of their resort room each night; the frogs would jump in through the open windows. I have a problem with frogs. They're fine when they're just sitting there, all squat and warty, but then they release their spring-loaded legs and sproing right onto your face which I don't care for. I find them startling. I wasn't interested in removing them from my room on a nightly basis.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-2GonQydb8/Xzb56Pf2zkI/AAAAAAAAK7M/kBclO_BfW68sf4KaktjUXkW7jbnemgCCwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1200/Cuban%2BFrog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="674" data-original-width="1200" height="230" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-2GonQydb8/Xzb56Pf2zkI/AAAAAAAAK7M/kBclO_BfW68sf4KaktjUXkW7jbnemgCCwCLcBGAsYHQ/w410-h230/Cuban%2BFrog.jpg" width="410" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Those tucked in legs are a LIE!!!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>And so I approached my husband with a deal, a deal that I thought was particularly generous to him. I told him that he would be in charge of dealing with any and all frogs that got into our room. I, in turn, would be responsible for dealing with any bugs. There were bound to be more bugs than frogs, including potentially unfamiliar and strange (read: creepy) ones, and, I told him graciously, I would take care of the disposal of all of them.</p><p>He pondered my proposal for longer than I felt necessary. What was there to think about? He was clearly getting the better end of this arrangement. Finally, he spoke.</p><p>"But I don't mind bugs."</p><p>"Right," I answered, panic creeping in, "but you wouldn't have to worry about any of them!"</p><p>"I don't worry about them now," he said, his preternatural calm and composure, quite frankly, getting on my nerves. "You should have to deal with something that I don't want to deal with."</p><p>My husband, I learned in this moment, is good at deals.</p><p>"Well, what don't you want to deal with?" I asked. Would I be tasked with lizards? Small rodents? Recon missions to find the cleanest bathroom stall?</p><p>Sam considered this question for at least a minute before he said "you have to deal with talking to any people on the trip that I don't want to talk to. You have to be the buffer."</p><p>Well played sir.</p><p>I agreed. I took the deal that I knew was a bad one because I really didn't want to have to remove frogs. Also, I secretly believed the internal pressure to be a polite Canadian would be too much for Sam, and he wouldn't enforce that side of the deal.</p><p>I was wrong.</p><p>There was a team of French Canadian hockey players at the same resort as us, with some very over-bearing personalities among them. A couple approached us the first night, and after about two sentences, Sam just turned and left. No "excuse me", certainly no attempt to also extract me, just a straight shot to delicious mojitos at the bar. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOh51RVFK4o/Xzb7vA2qm7I/AAAAAAAAK7Y/yMOy4U7wGognh50dORbv5eMmzfwhqbG3gCLcBGAsYHQ/s430/mojito-cocktails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="430" height="314" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iOh51RVFK4o/Xzb7vA2qm7I/AAAAAAAAK7Y/yMOy4U7wGognh50dORbv5eMmzfwhqbG3gCLcBGAsYHQ/w344-h314/mojito-cocktails.jpg" width="344" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drink of choice the whole trip! <br />(Photo from bbcgoodfood.com)<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I continued nodding and murmuring little noises at this couple before I was also able to leave, a good five minutes later. Thankfully, Sam had a mojito waiting for me when I finally arrived at the bar.</p><p>We didn't see a single frog the entire trip.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-41177077003630855082020-07-29T16:59:00.000-04:002020-07-29T17:05:13.627-04:00An Update No One Has Asked ForHello Possums! I'm just popping in to bring you all some news about Paul. You might remember Paul as he's been with me from the <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-quest-for-pilgrimage.html" target="_blank">beginning</a>, and was also the subject of a 2019 <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2019/11/update.html" target="_blank">update</a>, but you haven't heard about him in 2020 (probably because I've barely written anything here this year!).<div><br /></div><div>This may be a short post, because I'm here to tell you no news is good news when it comes to a bunion. Paul has been in remarkably good temper these days, barely ever causing me to whimper in pain. At first I thought it was because my body clearly has remarkable healing abilities, but then I realized my lack of foot discomfort is all due to the pandemic.</div><div><br /></div><div>On March 16 my office got sent home to continue our work there for the foreseeable future, and so March 16 marks the last day that I spent any kind of significant time in shoes. Paul (and I assume all bunions) doesn't like the confines of footwear, and without that constant pressure on him, turns out he's not as much of an asshole (there's likely deeper symbolism there...).</div><div><br /></div><div>Now I'm not working in my pjs (although no judgement if you are), I'm changing into "work clothes" (a loose criteria, admittedly) every morning, but putting shoes on never occurred to me. Then I read an article on social media (okay, I read the headline, who am I trying to impress?) that recommended wearing shoes during your work day, even at home, to, I don't know, boost productivity? It could have been an article like this <a href="https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/8-tips-working-remote/" target="_blank">one</a>, or maybe like this <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danpontefract/2020/03/07/five-crucial-tips-for-working-from-home/#33a7aadf1ad8" target="_blank">one</a>, but whatever it was, it featured a photo like this:</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTJ7Ql_UjhY/XyHcLmm-t6I/AAAAAAAAK5M/XgIQiKgpPssG297dKpu1hh23m82WX18ywCLcBGAsYHQ/s600/heels.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="399" data-original-width="600" height="213" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pTJ7Ql_UjhY/XyHcLmm-t6I/AAAAAAAAK5M/XgIQiKgpPssG297dKpu1hh23m82WX18ywCLcBGAsYHQ/w320-h213/heels.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BAHAHAHAHA!!! (The sound of Paul and me laughing)</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /><br /></div><div>Now I don't wear shoes like that under any circumstances, but the idea of anyone putting those on to GO NOWHERE is, scientifically speaking, bananas.</div><div><br /></div><div>When the weather was cold, Paul and I mostly hung out in these through the day.</div><div><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZB2lD2AlB_s/XyHf1LFF15I/AAAAAAAAK5Y/_3TR33K9NvYnlEiqH4tWq1tlUBQzzfBAACLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/slipper%2Bsocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1536" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZB2lD2AlB_s/XyHf1LFF15I/AAAAAAAAK5Y/_3TR33K9NvYnlEiqH4tWq1tlUBQzzfBAACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/slipper%2Bsocks.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Basically foot sleeping bags</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div>Now that it's quite a bit warmer, Paul is free range, and I spend most days barefoot. Even when I leave my house for a walk or an errand, it's usually in sandals that afford Paul maximum comfort. </div><div><br /></div><div>There may end up being a lot of difficult adjustments when work-from-home ends and we have to go back into our offices, but for me, forcing Paul back into shoes might just prove too much. I may be a foot nudist from here on out, or at least a year-round sandal wearer (I can rock a winter socks and sandals look like you wouldn't believe). There's a lot of chaos and anxiety swirling around right now, mixed in with rather a lot of uncertainty and fear, but Paul has never been better. Small victories, wherever we can find them.</div>The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-68621390545271558922020-06-29T16:38:00.000-04:002020-06-29T16:38:35.836-04:00Return to the Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On Friday March 13th I sat with my colleagues sorting out how we would move our work online and home as it seemed inevitable that we would soon be called to do so. Rumours began trickling in about other businesses and services that might also close.<br />
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"I need to get to the liquor store," my colleague said, just as I said, in the same panicked tone, "I need to get to the library." He gave me a look that made me understand our quarantine experiences would be very different.<br />
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The next day I had planned to take my kids to <a href="http://www.kpl.org/" target="_blank">our library branch</a>, but I came down with a brief and ferocious cold. Given that we were entering a pandemic state, I didn't think it wise to take my dribbly face out of the house, so my husband took our daughters to the library. They came back with two very full bags, beaming. "We took out 40 books!" my eldest told me proudly. "Excellent," I replied, although I wondered how long those would last.<br />
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True to form, a week later all the library books had been read. Thankfully we were able to set the girls up with <a href="https://downloadlibrary.overdrive.com/" target="_blank">Overdrive</a> from the library, and their school provided them with <a href="https://www.getepic.com/" target="_blank">Epic </a>accounts, so the reading could continue. I also ordered online from a spectacular <a href="https://www.twicelovedbooks.ca/" target="_blank">used book store</a> in Elora that offered porch pick up.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2VTnQhuWCOM/XvpK22K-zyI/AAAAAAAAK2A/wlxO6-jS2H4NiWo8SggaQVepFoOTPA5rgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Twice%2BLoved%2BBooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2VTnQhuWCOM/XvpK22K-zyI/AAAAAAAAK2A/wlxO6-jS2H4NiWo8SggaQVepFoOTPA5rgCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Twice%2BLoved%2BBooks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The delightful Twice Loved Books, photo taken from their Facebook page</td></tr>
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Flash forward to mid-June when I was chatting with my good friend and work-wife Lauren, and she casually mentioned that she'd heard the library would begin offering curb side pick up. All other discussions immediately stalled as I confirmed on the library website that my friend was not cruelly pranking me; library books were returning! I began putting titles on hold as Lauren tried desperately to return the conversation to its original intention. I wasn't much of a conversationalist after hearing the news I'm afraid (to be fair, she should have known. I believe she is one of my 7 blog readers).<br />
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Finally, the day arrived when I received my first (in a long time) email notification that a book I'd put on hold was ready for pick up. I arrived at the library and was greeted by a friendly librarian who walked me through the safety procedures before I entered. I gushed about how exciting the day was, overful with joy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tSx9o_m4p7w/XvpLsqiX8JI/AAAAAAAAK2I/CEVskFXsHRQgQ7RFS8NnCyh46tfpNGD6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Curb%2Bpick%2Bup%2BKPL.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tSx9o_m4p7w/XvpLsqiX8JI/AAAAAAAAK2I/CEVskFXsHRQgQ7RFS8NnCyh46tfpNGD6QCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Curb%2Bpick%2Bup%2BKPL.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All you have to do is follow a few very reasonable safety precautions, and they will give you books! BOOKS!!!</td></tr>
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I entered that wonderful building and waited for my turn to present my card and receive my book. I had expected to feel elated to be back in the library after 3 months, and I was, but an unexpected feeling began to creep in. As I looked around the space, usually bustling with people, I became melancholy in its stillness. There were only a handful of librarians hard at work, maintaining distance and wearing their protective gear. The beautiful atrium area, normally a place to sit down with a coffee and reading material, was of course empty. Don't get me wrong, I was (and am) thrilled to be able to get books again, but standing there I felt how much more the library is than just books. Even the books, as a collection, were unavailable, as when I'm feeling overwhelmed I like to just be among the books in the stacks, possibly the nerdiest thing about me. (That's not true, the nerdiest thing about me is the fact that I have my 14-digit library card number memorized for efficient hold management. Or maybe it's the fact that I have this blog.)<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPctAQCuzKg/XvpL-cr7gBI/AAAAAAAAK2Q/bQEFV0sGVKYXE9oEHJVBzjFcSxJ8mTw4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Empty%2Blibrary%2B1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yPctAQCuzKg/XvpL-cr7gBI/AAAAAAAAK2Q/bQEFV0sGVKYXE9oEHJVBzjFcSxJ8mTw4ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Empty%2Blibrary%2B1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not a gathering place for a while still.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdDYpkokIII/XvpMKQC5TtI/AAAAAAAAK2U/1PIgaDUHpwwOYhswRVKhqzADKzW6pUGXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Empty%2Blibrary%2B2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IdDYpkokIII/XvpMKQC5TtI/AAAAAAAAK2U/1PIgaDUHpwwOYhswRVKhqzADKzW6pUGXQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Empty%2Blibrary%2B2.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The shelves of books that I cannot run my hands across.</td></tr>
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It's going to be a very different summer for us with the library only available for brief pop-ins to pick up our material. There won't be any stops in after a hot summer walk to cool down, maybe join in an activity, or just sit together and read. And, of course, it'll be much harder for people who depend on that space as a cooling centre in the stifling heat of July and August. I'm so thankful for all the librarians working hard to bring us back books. And I can't wait until we can return to the space for more than just books, for the community it provides.</div>
The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-31678175415266071592020-02-23T19:55:00.000-05:002020-02-23T19:55:17.984-05:00I'm Finally Writing About My China Trip!!!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello patient possums!<br />
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It's been four months since I was in China on a professional development trip, so I've owed you a post about it for about 3 months and 3 weeks (giving myself a little jet-lag recovery). What I'm saying is, this is very late in coming, and my apologies.<br />
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I visited Beijing and Xi'an with two of my lovely colleagues from work to get a better understanding of the Chinese student experience. We spent most of the trip touring university campuses and talking to colleagues there. The campuses were lovely, and many included a water element.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vcLdHx5QE3k/XlAatN5ILbI/AAAAAAAAKXs/rsdQA3bjW6IY5gzq0g18h2mOhPH2XWyugCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-2447.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vcLdHx5QE3k/XlAatN5ILbI/AAAAAAAAKXs/rsdQA3bjW6IY5gzq0g18h2mOhPH2XWyugCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-2447.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful pagoda</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_OvM3hX_lI/XlAauUMnYvI/AAAAAAAAKXw/RI8-tAL5P0gQg_5cakq-4S9xGoWkLxWvACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-2462.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-N_OvM3hX_lI/XlAauUMnYvI/AAAAAAAAKXw/RI8-tAL5P0gQg_5cakq-4S9xGoWkLxWvACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-2462.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Series of bridges</td></tr>
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I snapped a picture of the library at Beijing Jiatong University, but sadly our schedule didn't allow for a visit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bYY9-Zx3ZE/XlAbqEK-h-I/AAAAAAAAKao/6bT6oi1ZedkfN4cic2rKQOncI--pQKaOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-2446.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8bYY9-Zx3ZE/XlAbqEK-h-I/AAAAAAAAKao/6bT6oi1ZedkfN4cic2rKQOncI--pQKaOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-2446.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">University library that I didn't go into</td></tr>
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Our schedule was pretty packed, but we did manage to visit some incredible sights.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F5_z6XBXpiU/XlAcT1_6MbI/AAAAAAAAKb8/h4b_0MJHL4Iz2ky6FqIFaQOsrygnN0AJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-2288.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F5_z6XBXpiU/XlAcT1_6MbI/AAAAAAAAKb8/h4b_0MJHL4Iz2ky6FqIFaQOsrygnN0AJwCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-2288.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yup, that's me on the Great Wall of China. You better believe I rocked that fanny pack the WHOLE trip!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZW9Qs1yKNI/XlAozdTHpsI/AAAAAAAAKdY/BC0ZtH7t-GYK0ACIimUQaorYAYWYXyPgQCEwYBhgL/s1600/Forbidden%2BCity.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZW9Qs1yKNI/XlAozdTHpsI/AAAAAAAAKdY/BC0ZtH7t-GYK0ACIimUQaorYAYWYXyPgQCEwYBhgL/s320/Forbidden%2BCity.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Forbidden City</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hfGXD-fvEKg/XlMcuBm3btI/AAAAAAAAKpE/rvfoBNhelv4ty50U447M64Zi00_81PSegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG_2767.HEIC" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hfGXD-fvEKg/XlMcuBm3btI/AAAAAAAAKpE/rvfoBNhelv4ty50U447M64Zi00_81PSegCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG_2767.HEIC" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Breathtaking Buddha in the Lama Temple</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZCEFMucCKo/XlAcd2RRADI/AAAAAAAAKcA/qtFDoly5A3UbJNt7BjpEXeUFPp7l1hb7ACLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/IMG-4754.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7ZCEFMucCKo/XlAcd2RRADI/AAAAAAAAKcA/qtFDoly5A3UbJNt7BjpEXeUFPp7l1hb7ACLcBGAsYHQ/s320/IMG-4754.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having a sit at the Summer Palace</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XstS9Ery0uA/XlGkctkmcwI/AAAAAAAAKeQ/3e7RVNTdPZQe6oj2QlW8vzFoXq9ctCIiACEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG-2665.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XstS9Ery0uA/XlGkctkmcwI/AAAAAAAAKeQ/3e7RVNTdPZQe6oj2QlW8vzFoXq9ctCIiACEwYBhgL/s320/IMG-2665.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Either the drum temple or the flower temple in Xi'an</td></tr>
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But what, I hear you ask, about the libraries? I'm slightly ashamed to admit that, even though our hotel in Beijing was quite close to the <a href="http://www.nlc.cn/newen/" target="_blank">National Library of China</a>, I didn't make it inside. This omission was partly because we did have a very busy schedule, but I also found the entrance requirements to the library a little intimidating. Our lovely tour guide Jack (Tao) told me that I would need to bring my passport and exchange it for a temporary card before I could enter the building. I was a little concerned about navigating that process in a non-tourist destination where, in all likelihood, my lack of Chinese language skills would be a problem. So the closest I got was this shot of me in front of the building.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jN4aQs4K20o/XlBKfItuPiI/AAAAAAAAKdo/KGUWStNvvQI00g5rWsAgCOlNYavtxORLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jN4aQs4K20o/XlBKfItuPiI/AAAAAAAAKdo/KGUWStNvvQI00g5rWsAgCOlNYavtxORLQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/FullSizeRender.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fun fact, that umbrella was pretty flimsy, but made for very lovely pops of colour in photographs</td></tr>
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I don't feel too badly, though, because it turns out that I found little libraries everywhere! In the lobby of our first hotel in Beijing, I found this.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mystery library?</td></tr>
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To be clear, I don't know what the sign says, so maybe this isn't a library at all, but I suspect it's a "need a book, take a book, leave a book" kind of arrangement for travelers. Because I wasn't sure I didn't take anything, although there were a few English books that were tempting.<br />
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We popped into a convenience store/bubble tea emporium close to our hotel, and bam! Another library.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Surprise library</td></tr>
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People were working, parents reading with their kids, it was great! No English titles that I could find though, so I just soaked up the atmosphere.<br />
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Another library snuck up on me when we were getting some coffee and tea for the bullet train ride back to Beijing (and yes, the bullet train was very cool).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A few customers were reading while they sipped their coffee</td></tr>
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We also visited an INCREDIBLE bookstore in Xi'an. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So many books!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at all the books!</td></tr>
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They had a small section of English books, mostly classics, so I picked up a copy of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence as a souvenir.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's some good reading right there</td></tr>
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The bookstore featured, obviously, lots of books for purchase, but also had some library qualities, such as the children's area where staff members were reading books to the assembled little ones. (There was also, inexplicably, a substantial bulk popcorn area.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Children being read to, not popcorn</td></tr>
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<br />And so I managed to find libraries throughout my travels, and got to spend some time among my beloved books.<div>
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Also, the food was pretty spectacular.<br /><div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Everything in this meal was NOM NOM NOM!!!</td></tr>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-30263004747676556952019-11-03T18:14:00.000-05:002019-11-03T18:14:03.114-05:00Update<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hello dear readers!<br />
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I owe you a post because 1) it's been a while, and 2) I went to freakin' CHINA(!) and managed to visit a few libraries and bookstores, but I'm not here today to talk about that. Today I need to update you all on a situation. And that situation is named Paul Bunion.<br />
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Avid readers will remember <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2018/06/my-quest-for-pilgrimage.html" target="_blank">Paul</a> from my very first post. At that point Paul was just an obtrucance (obtrusion nuisance) that contributed to the Hobbit-like appearance of my feet, but wasn't a source of discomfort. Well, Paul's getting uncomfortable.<br />
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I went to the doctor and was told that, if things got significantly worse, the treatment is a horrific-sounding surgery where the bone (AKA Paul) is shaved down, which is terrible enough, but then you have to stay off of your feet for quite a while to recover. Turns out, I use my feet pretty much daily. So the doctor recommended I wear shoes that are spacious at the top, which was easy in the summer (hello sandals at work!), but is more difficult now that the weather is cold. So basically, I've done nothing to improve the bunion situation.<br />
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So I really shouldn't be surprised that Paul is now letting me know, in tiny little spurts of stabbing pain, that all is not well. Right now I'm able to push through and (mostly) ignore Paul, but I have a feeling he isn't going to like that. He had settled down a bit, enough that I had pretty much forgotten his recent displeasure, until I went ice skating today in very structured, toe-constrained figure skates. Less than one lap around the rink and Paul reminded me he would prefer I NEVER DO THIS AGAIN!!!<br />
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I wonder if they make wide-toed iced skates...<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul June 2018 - the early days</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Nov 2019 - have things gotten worse?!?!?</td></tr>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-30604472213822210642019-07-18T19:33:00.001-04:002019-07-18T19:33:22.674-04:00Actual Pilgrimage!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Possums! I'm here to tell you that I went on an actual library pilgrimage! Well, a pilgrimage in the sense that I traveled a great distance, but in truth, only one library was visited. But it was lovely!<br />
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In June we went on a family vacation to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponta_Delgada" target="_blank">Ponta Delgada</a> in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azores" target="_blank">Azores</a>, a wee, picturesque island in the Atlantic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Azores are part of Portugal</td></tr>
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Although our intention with this trip wasn't solely to visit a new (and European!) library, I will let you know that I confirmed there was a <a href="http://www.azores.gov.pt/Portal/en/entidades/pgra-drcultura-bpapd/?lang=en" target="_blank">library in Ponta Delgada</a> before I booked our <a href="https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/17682175?source_impression_id=p3_1563490196_hygLqJEOQJ8447LW" target="_blank">Airbnb</a>. I'm no fool.<div>
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Now I could go on and on about the views in the Azores,</div>
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or the natural wonders,</div>
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the interesting sights,</div>
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or the local flora,</div>
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but you're not here for all that (yawn!). You're here for the sweet, sweet library talk.</div>
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Conveniently, the library was about a fifteen minute walk from our apartment, which we discovered our first night on the island when we went on a gelato mission. From our favourite <a href="https://www.facebook.com/lagelateriapdl/" target="_blank">gelato </a>shop (we tried many) we could see the library. As it was after dinner, a plan was made to return the next day.</div>
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And return we did. The unassuming entrance to the library did not betray the beautiful design housed inside.</div>
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There was colour to be found in the library as well.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tile art on the stairs</td></tr>
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<br />Since we had been out walking in the sun, the first stop was the library cafe which had a courtyard (how civilized!) where we enjoyed some cool beverages.<div>
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Then we were off to explore the children's area. My older daughter quickly found a book on her favourite topic - didn't matter that it was in Portuguese.</div>
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My younger daughter was interested in the board games and puzzles that they had, so we grabbed Guess Who and took it to our table.</div>
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As we were getting the game set up I noticed how many teenagers there were in the children's area (turned out the library was crawling with teens; I think they were preparing for end-of-the-year exams). "They probably find it so babyish in this section," I thought, hoping the sound of our playing wouldn't disturb them.</div>
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After we finished our game, as we were putting it away, one of the teens came over to us, and in broken English asked if she could have the game. She took it back to her table and set it up to begin playing with her friend. Not so babyish after all.</div>
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We made our way up to the second floor once the games were done and all the cat pictures had been observed. Here we found more teens, but also some beautiful natural light and wood flooring.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">What a stunner!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All libraries should have a sky light</td></tr>
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And as we were wrapping up our visit, I looked down to the floor below me and saw a man reading possibly the biggest and oldest book I had ever seen.</div>
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I don't know what he was looking for, but it was clear that the history that was being housed in the library was put to good use.</div>
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It was a beautiful trip, and a lovely library. I hope to return one day. If you're ever there, stop in and have a peek.</div>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-32559468111864643322019-04-08T13:50:00.000-04:002019-04-08T13:50:07.104-04:00Next-Level Library Accessories<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Hellllloooooooooooo (that's the sound of me greeting you from far away because it has been SO LONG SINCE I'VE POSTED!)!!!<br />
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All my writing for the past few months has been for the course that I've been taking at work/school (spoiler - they're the same place for me!), but with my final assignment submitted, I'm DOOOOOONNNNNNNEEEEE!!! (sorry for yelling at you so much)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The smaller the bird, the bigger the yell<br />Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/OtuHOhuLeWk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Mathew Schwartz</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/yell?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a><br /><br /></td></tr>
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With my final essay submitted, it was time for me to return my research books to the library on campus (shout out to university libraries and their tremendously generous loan times - we're talking months at a time!).<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DQjXyWURus/XKuDGPyDEUI/AAAAAAAAIOg/ZBVssRT3wis6TUB1ZX3LCHGi5CiT47GQgCLcBGAs/s1600/Books.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3DQjXyWURus/XKuDGPyDEUI/AAAAAAAAIOg/ZBVssRT3wis6TUB1ZX3LCHGi5CiT47GQgCLcBGAs/s320/Books.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Not my actual books - think what I could have written with these beauties!<br />
Photo by <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/zvKx6ixUhWQ?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Chris Lawton</a><span style="background-color: whitesmoke; color: #111111; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; white-space: nowrap;"> on </span><a href="https://unsplash.com/search/photos/returning-books?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText" style="background-color: whitesmoke; box-sizing: border-box; color: #999999; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "San Francisco", "Helvetica Neue", Helvetica, Ubuntu, Roboto, Noto, "Segoe UI", Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; text-align: start; text-decoration-skip-ink: auto; transition: color 0.2s ease-in-out 0s, opacity 0.2s ease-in-out 0s; white-space: nowrap;">Unsplash</a><br />
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While dropping my books off I remembered one of my favourite new features of my at-work library which I am so excited to be able to share with you...</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">WHHHAAAAAAAA?!?!?!?</td></tr>
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IT'S A DING DANG SLEEPING POD!!!!<div>
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The front pulls around for maximum serenity, and you can program the length of your nap and the soothing sounds you would like pumped into your ears while you rest. NEXT LEVEL!!!</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So modern</td></tr>
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<br />It's like the dentist's chair, except soothing and relaxing, not jaw-clenching and anxiety producing. Now the real question is, would I feel too self-conscious to sleep in the library, in front of people who may judge me?<div>
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No. I would not. Sweet dreams!<br /><div>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-3628162102952357972019-01-01T10:47:00.000-05:002019-04-08T13:50:51.706-04:00Wine Shopping<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Happy New Year readers!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My classy cat, celebrating in style.</td></tr>
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New Year's Day seems like a good time to share my wine purchasing story. It doesn't really have anything to do with libraries, unless you consider a wine store to be like a library, except there aren't books only bottles, and you don't borrow the wine, so...nope, this story has nothing to do with libraries.<br />
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A while back my boss was leaving our office, so we decided to send him off with some booze (as all good employees do). I was tasked with procuring said booze, so I went to my colleague who knows about these things, and he looked up the LCBO's wine list, found a few good choices which were apparently in stock at the closest outlet, and jotted them down for me.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1EfjyNNXc8/XCuEiVQKIrI/AAAAAAAAIJs/TYRsT_6bmQc3JIQ4YwvUWa5auhOmtr8IQCLcBGAs/s1600/Wine%2BList.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="176" data-original-width="465" height="121" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Y1EfjyNNXc8/XCuEiVQKIrI/AAAAAAAAIJs/TYRsT_6bmQc3JIQ4YwvUWa5auhOmtr8IQCLcBGAs/s320/Wine%2BList.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
Off I went, and spent a good twenty minutes searching for the wine on my list. I double checked that I was looking in the right country and not trying to find a red in amongst the whites. All was good on my end, yet I couldn't find the bottle.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was not, apparently, my wine country.</td></tr>
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Finally, probably after longer than it should have been (I'm a bit stubborn), I asked one of the staff at the LCBO if he knew where I could find the wine on my list. He took my little scrap of paper, read the wine, and said "of course, follow me", and then took me over to the section of the wine store that I had always assumed was only for the revoltingly rich and from which I would be swiftly asked to leave should I enter - the Vintages.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So fancy, so classy.</td></tr>
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He quickly found the wine on my list while I marveled that there were wines here that didn't have enough value to put my children through university, that I, with my $30 in coins and small bills collected from my colleagues, could indeed purchase a fancy bottle of wine. I'm sure there were also wines in that area that cost a pretty penny, but they were probably behind locks or up high where my grubby paws can't reach.</div>
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I thanked my new friend and took my bottle over to the cashier when it dawned on me; I had never in my life, until that moment, bought a nice bottle of wine. All of my wine selections had come from the equivalent of the dollar store offerings, purchased "off the rack" as it were. </div>
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Armed with this new knowledge about the relative affordability of the Vintages section, I realize I could purchase more wine from there, but I haven't been back since. Partly it's because I don't actually buy a lot of wine, but I suspect that if I were to return to Vintages and peruse on my own, I would find my hands wrapped around a bottle whose price tag comes close to my pay cheque, and it would inevitably be at this moment that my clumsiness would stumble by, and I would be left with a very expensive pile of broken glass. I'll stick to dropping a $10 bottle of wine from the bargain section.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My inevitable future.</td></tr>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-79769934098159620452018-10-26T11:27:00.001-04:002018-10-26T11:27:32.291-04:00Small Town Libraries<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Avid readers of The Library Pilgrim blog (hi Mom! hi Dad!) will recall that we visited the lovely small-town <a href="https://librarypilgrim.blogspot.com/2018/08/summer-fun-fergus-library.html" target="_blank">Fergus library</a> this summer, and it ended up being one of three small-town libraries that we discovered.<br />
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While in Stittsville we walked over to the <a href="https://biblioottawalibrary.ca/en/branch/stittsville" target="_blank">Stittsville Library</a>, conveniently located right on main street. There we discovered one of my favourite additions to the modern library - the community puzzle.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat puzzle<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">
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<br />We all found our way to the table, and spent a pleasant half hour trying to fit pieces in. Even my 5-year old was engaged.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard at work</td></tr>
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We had such a good time with that library puzzle that we started our own 1000 piece odyssey when we got home.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It begins!</td></tr>
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The end of the summer took us to the lovely town of Port Stanley where we descended on the beach to celebrate my 40th birthday with a party I called Pineapplepalooza! The day before the party we explored Port Stanley, including a trip to their library. <div>
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The Port Stanley library is connected to the Festival Theatre, creating a lovely little culture hub. We arrived in the space, and my girls immediately settled into the library's offerings; comfy chairs and good books.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Girl in the Corner Reading</td></tr>
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Speaking of books, the check-out desk is made of them!<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Xfn2KFVhiE/W9MvoVQFxbI/AAAAAAAAIDY/7-lNM_O6LCsNwLuNZDHQSdBOyjIUSg_NwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG-0299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Xfn2KFVhiE/W9MvoVQFxbI/AAAAAAAAIDY/7-lNM_O6LCsNwLuNZDHQSdBOyjIUSg_NwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG-0299.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Look at the book desk!</td></tr>
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The decor is appropriate for a port town.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cute lighthouse</td></tr>
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So for this library nerd, the summer was full of wonderful new discoveries. Who knows what we'll find on our next adventure?</div>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-2279870584851319522018-08-21T19:04:00.000-04:002018-08-21T19:04:59.225-04:00Summer Fun Fergus Library<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Every summer we put together a checklist of all the fun things we want to do, the aptly named Summer Fun Checklist. It has gotten a little...unwieldy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NXxMNQTguHA/W3yWU-3tIOI/AAAAAAAAH8M/FfGXtlpupgYB1aKZX3KkSY9hDSkd7I2ugCLcBGAs/s1600/Fergus%2Bchecklist.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NXxMNQTguHA/W3yWU-3tIOI/AAAAAAAAH8M/FfGXtlpupgYB1aKZX3KkSY9hDSkd7I2ugCLcBGAs/s320/Fergus%2Bchecklist.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The 2018 edition<br /><br /></td></tr>
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And while I admit that the number of things still left to complete is giving me mild anxiety, I love the checklist and the way it shapes our summer. <div>
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One item that makes it on the list most years is "explore a small town," so this year we decided to visit lovely <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fergus,_Ontario" target="_blank">Fergus Ontario</a>. My children's priority was ice cream. Mine was finding the library. Neither of us left disappointed.</div>
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The Fergus library is housed in a lovely old building right on the main drag, and it looks like it has been renovated fairly recently. We quickly found our way to the children's area, guided by this beacon.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Slightly misleading ice cream statue</td></tr>
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We were all a little disappointed that the large cone didn't indicate that the library housed an ice cream bar, but my older daughter was soon appeased by the friend she found.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-broUWZ1j1Os/W3yXyyGowfI/AAAAAAAAH8g/m_0hSlype20dsjM16w7_3LkGaKxZnoxPwCLcBGAs/s1600/Fergus%2Bbear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-broUWZ1j1Os/W3yXyyGowfI/AAAAAAAAH8g/m_0hSlype20dsjM16w7_3LkGaKxZnoxPwCLcBGAs/s320/Fergus%2Bbear.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Puppy hug</td></tr>
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Perhaps my favourite feature of the children's area was the large wall-mounted TV screen that was showing a loop of Kitty Party and Puppy Party, which is exactly what you hope it would be. There was also this neat contraption.<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyzepp3qT3M/W3yYSPmPS1I/AAAAAAAAH8o/9NJK1lzaym4CJb8Yzc3t4C7QLEzS3HcrwCLcBGAs/s1600/Fergus%2Bgears.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Iyzepp3qT3M/W3yYSPmPS1I/AAAAAAAAH8o/9NJK1lzaym4CJb8Yzc3t4C7QLEzS3HcrwCLcBGAs/s320/Fergus%2Bgears.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gear city</td></tr>
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Soon I convinced everyone to go upstairs to the adult collection (not to be confused with a video store's adult collection), and it felt like I was becoming a member of the finer things club!<div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cgqbHfhqf2Q/W3yYsZD16oI/AAAAAAAAH8w/Os0NmkSNKWYSHQlrtkR9aDAuJRm962KBACLcBGAs/s1600/Fergus%2Bfiner%2Bthings.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cgqbHfhqf2Q/W3yYsZD16oI/AAAAAAAAH8w/Os0NmkSNKWYSHQlrtkR9aDAuJRm962KBACLcBGAs/s320/Fergus%2Bfiner%2Bthings.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Much flowers, such light, finer things!</td></tr>
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Not pictured were the plump armchairs facing a fire place, which looked delightfully cozy. But the best was yet to come. At the other end of the building was...<div>
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A reading balcony! Overlooking the river! With beautiful Muskoka chairs! By this point my children had become distracted by the Medieval Faire below us, and the prospect of finding ice cream, so I didn't ask if everyone just wanted to stay and read for the next hour (my preference), so off we went to explore the rest of Fergus which happened to include archery, blacksmiths, and medieval cosplay.<br /><div>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-9373957109089047612018-07-27T14:20:00.000-04:002018-07-28T17:11:19.318-04:00Slowing Down<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
On my lunch hour from work, I usually use the time to run errands on foot. In addition to getting things done, it has the added bonus of increasing my step count.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gyEaZnAk5so/W1tf-9WG_FI/AAAAAAAAH5k/RBkePtoKoP86sssqq5bD38tT9CLMmJVBQCLcBGAs/s1600/step%2Bcount.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-gyEaZnAk5so/W1tf-9WG_FI/AAAAAAAAH5k/RBkePtoKoP86sssqq5bD38tT9CLMmJVBQCLcBGAs/s320/step%2Bcount.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This photo is a complete brag, except for my sleep stat which is shameful.</td></tr>
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Because the main branch of the <a href="http://wpl.ca/" target="_blank">Waterloo Public Library</a> is walking distance from my office, it is a frequent destination. They have a great kid's section where I can pick up the next in the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramona_(novel_series)" target="_blank">Ramona Quimby </a>series to read to my girls at bedtime.<br />
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Usually it's just a quick stop to drop off or pick up books before I'm off to the grocery store to get something for dinner, or the drug store to spend a small fortune on sunscreen, but today...today I didn't have anywhere else to go. So I stayed and read.<br />
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Possums, it was wonderful.<br />
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The experience was made even better by the fact that it was frivolous reading. I picked up a magazine and read it idly.While leafing through the pages (and finding a recipe for a watermelon cocktail that I will absolutely be making tonight), I thought about the future. Retirement, when my kids are gone, and reading at the library could be my day's entire plan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Idle distraction.</td></tr>
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It's going to be fabulous.</div>
The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-7022230396695269832018-07-14T14:44:00.000-04:002018-07-17T12:40:25.190-04:00Writer In Residence<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
While a good chunk of my library use is the traditional borrowing of books, I also frequent the many programs and resources on offer. I probably check the library calendar once a week to keep up to date with all the opportunities (for free!).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The KPL calendar</td></tr>
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It’s through this calendar that I discovered the library’s Writer-in-Residence program which brings in an established writer to give lectures, presentations, and also offer one-on-one manuscript appraisals to a few lucky writers. I was especially thrilled this year when I discovered the WIR would be Camilla Gibb whose writing I enjoy and admire. When I got the email telling me I’d been selected to sit down with Ms Gibb to discuss my writing I was excited, but also nervous. You see, this wouldn’t be my first trip to the WIR rodeo. My first trip had also been through the KPL, a few years back, and it had not gone well.<br />
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When I’d been on maternity leave with my daughter I decided to write a young-adult novel. It was written mostly in half hour chunks while she napped in her swing behind me. It was about a high school production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and the main character was a student who was crossing over from the athletic world of jocks to the land of the drama geeks. When I saw that the library offered consultation with a professional writer, I submitted an application. <br />
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I got the email that I’d be meeting with the author and I submitted an excerpt. Now, because the Internet is forever, I’m going to take the high road and not name the author, but please know how much self-control that is taking. If you see me at a party (and particularly if I have a glass of wine in my hand), know that I will dish freely if you happen to be interested. Suffice it to say, our genres were very different, perhaps (as I would find out), not even compatible.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sadly not my glass of wine. Also not my hand.</td></tr>
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The day arrived, and as I sat clutching my work and waiting for my turn, I gave myself over to grandiose dreams. Perhaps this writer would put in a good word with a publisher. Could a movie deal really be that far behind? I was feeling good, is the point. The feeling did not last.<br />
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Given that I was an inexperienced writer, and this was my first novel, realistically I knew it wouldn’t be great work. I didn’t think (and I still don’t) that it was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XATukbJiK4" target="_blank">Nick Miller zombie novel</a> bad, but it absolutely needed some work (but come on, Nick’s book sounds amazing - I would totally read the heck out of it). The consultation started off badly when I realized I’d made a mistake. The application told me to send an excerpt if my work was longer than 2500 words (which it was), so I selected a part from the middle that I quite liked. It was a moment when my main character was feeling defeated, but finds an unlikely ally. Apparently, though, I was supposed to send the beginning, because that’s what the author assumed she was reading. I quickly told her that I hadn’t submitted the beginning, but rather a part from the middle, thinking that we would have a good laugh and continue, but...I don’t know, maybe she didn’t hear me? She kept right on telling me that I was presenting characters without context, that there was no build up to the story. I kept agreeing with her, that this would have been a strange place to start a story, but it seemed that once she had made her notes she wouldn’t deviate from them.<br />
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But I soon saw that even if I had sent the beginning of the book, this evaluation wouldn’t have been any better. She hated my writing. She told me repeatedly how boring my premise was, suggesting I turn the beloved drama teacher character into a sexual predator. At one point she asked me “why would anybody write about this?” I have no idea if this was a rhetorical question or not, but I certainly didn’t have an answer. On and on it went while I pretended to take notes but really just tried not to fall apart. Near the end she looked down at her notes on my work and said “wow, these comments are a little harsh.” Meaning that the evisceration I had been experiencing was the gentle version of her thoughts. I knew at that moment that I would never read her notes - I needed to preserve some self-confidence.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Actual photograph of my withered self-confidence.</td></tr>
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Our meeting concluded with her handing me my pages with her “harsh” notes scrawled all over them in red, and her parting words of “good luck” which have never been delivered so unconvincingly. I stuffed the notes into a drawer at home and have not looked at my book since. It was a remarkably discouraging experience.<br />
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So I was a little nervous about going to another Writer-in-Residence, but the university that I work at was bringing in writer Pasha Malla (who I’m happy to name here), and the timing coincided with a creative writing course I was taking. So I went to see him and it was fabulous. He gave me great advice, was encouraging, and even suggested I look at submitting the story for publication. My streak continued with the next WIR, Emily Urquhart, who was also incredibly generous, provided great notes, and invited me to read at a literary event held on campus. Writerly fame and fortune had to be close behind! (In spite of everything, I have managed to maintain my self-delusions.) <br />
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Bringing us back to present day. My confidence had been restored somewhat by these positive experiences, but I was still nervous about meeting Camilla Gill to talk about a new short story I was working on at the same site as my previous humiliation. Thankfully, right from the first moment, she was supportive and positive, the word boring never once leaving her lips. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Encouragement from Camilla Gibb!</td></tr>
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She had questions for me and she actually listened to my answers. Her suggestions took what I had already written further, rather than trying to change the path of the story. She laughed at the parts of the story that were funny. She liked my ending. With three good experiences now under my belt, I was able to see my first trip to a WIR as, perhaps, the anomaly, at least in tone. I was encouraged to work harder at my writing, rather than give up. And so, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go now to edit my story. I don’t want to disappoint Camilla Gibb.</div>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1906549837630397089.post-17078428197991718012018-06-11T19:59:00.000-04:002018-06-11T20:10:06.857-04:00My Quest for a Pilgrimage<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; text-indent: 36pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">For a while now I’ve been enthralled with the idea of pilgrimage. I’m drawn to the notion of an overarching purpose that guides and shapes a journey. The problem is, I am completely unreligious, so all of the pre-made pilgrimages don’t hold a lot of appeal. I don’t know my saints from my relics, so a religious pilgrimage would lack meaning for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">I am intrigued by the 500 mile </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camino_de_Santiago" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">Camino de Santiago</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> pilgrimage in Spain because it sounds terribly romantic, but Spain is a long, expensive plane ride away, and also I think I might be developing a bunion. That kind of a walk could end up being very unpleasant if my big toe joint continues on its current trajectory.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">So for a year or so I’ve been mulling different approaches to pilgrimage, trying to find one that both holds meaning for me and also fits with my life. I’ve got two young kids and a full-time job, so it’s not exactly viable for me to, say, hike every active volcano in the southern hemisphere. I love knitting, so I considered visiting sheep farms (which has the bonus of justifying a sweet trip to New Zealand), but what would I do once on the farm? Pet all the sheep? Snip a bit of fleece? The farmers might not find my pilgrimage charming, and at that point it's just trespassing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">And then it came to me, and I couldn’t believe I hadn’t thought of it right away - libraries. This part of the world is littered with them (aren’t we lucky?), they’re great places for little people to visit, and I’ll be among the books which is something that always calms and grounds me. So now, when we travel, I make a point of finding out where the local library is, and insisting on a stop there so I can look around. I try to get a souvenir of the place (a pin, a bag, or a shirt) so I can remember each one. And if this does turn out to be a bunion on my foot, I’ll still be able to complete my pilgrimage, just with a bit more of a hobble in my step.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">Now, I don’t travel all that much (remember the full-time job and small kids?), so don’t expect there to be frequent jet-setting to the oldest libraries in Europe, or the ancient Babylonian keepers of tomes. I do, however, have the advantage of living walking distance from an excellent </span><a href="http://www.kpl.org/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">local branch</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">, as well as working at a </span><a href="https://library.wlu.ca/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">university with a library</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;"> and is also walking distance from another </span><a href="http://www.wpl.ca/" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;" target="_blank">local branch</a><span style="font-family: "arial"; font-size: 11pt; white-space: pre-wrap;">. I am rich in the opportunity to borrow books. So mostly I’ll write about my trips and experiences there. But I’ll also probably lose focus (the working title of my, as of yet unwritten, autobiography is “I Got Distracted”), and write about other things I find interesting or amusing. And I’ll keep you posted about my bunion. I’ve named it Paul. Our relationship is deepening.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Impending bunion.</td></tr>
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The Library Pilgrimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13117013923568828599noreply@blogger.com0