The laptop, the archangels, film reviews
Feb. 22nd, 2009 06:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sea_thoughtsPhew, that was close. My laptop was refusing to start again today and I thought Oh God, here we go again... Another week without the damn thing, losing more money as PC World attempt to repair it. But no, after repairing it with the Operating System CD, it managed to start up properly, yay!
Trrying to finish three writing projects at once... maybe a bit too much, methinks. But who said I did things the easy way? Actually, that's a theme of my life, doing things the hard way because doing things the easy way feels like a cop out. Am beginning to think that maybe I'm my own worst enemy and starting out at the shallow end is not cheating or being cowardly.
Bought books on Japan and Prague today. Figure that if I'm going to visit at least one of them this lifetime, I ought to start researching them.
Currently finding out more about: archangels. Most people only know about two: Michael(obviously) and Gabriel (also obvious). How many men do you know called Michael/Mike/Micky or Miguel or Michel? How many girls do you know called Michelle or even Michaela? Everybody knows about Michael, if only through those many paintings of him standing on a serpent (plus he's the patron saint of soldier, fire fighters and police officers). Anybody who has read the Christmas story knows about Gabriel in his/her role as Angel of the Annunciation. Gabriel tends to be a more popular name in Roman Catholic countries for boys, though it does make an appearance in Protestant ones occasionally (it's seen as a posh name). Gabrielle/Gabriella is popular for girls no matter what demoniation. There's also Raphael (more popular in Roman Catholic countries), who features in the Apocrypha, and Uriel, who is the angel of scholars and prophets. And there are quite a few other archangels that don't get as much attention, and maybe should. (Though Azrael has been getting a lot of attention recently, as the Archangel of Death or Crossing Over, if you prefer.)
Yesterday I saw Bolt, which was very funny, funnier than I thought it would be. One thing I love about Disney and Pixar is the way they get animal personalities absolutely right: of course cats are sarcastic and snarky, of course dogs are gung-ho and totally dedicated, of course hamsters are hyperactive and psychotic. It all makes sense! This attention to animal behaviour was right on that mark in Bolt, along with hilarious cameos from pigeons and human beings, and it even made me choke up a little at the end. Today I saw Doubt. Wow. I haven't seen such a thoughtful examination of faith and, yes, doubt since... Dogma. The way they look at these subjects is totally different but Dogma has just as many good points to make as Doubt. Everyone has raved about Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and rightly, because the scene where they go up against each other is AMAZING, but I want to single out Amy Adams. This is completely different from any other role I've seen, and it's a difficult one, because it's the role of the innocent, but you believe in her innocence and you sympathise with it instead of getting irritated or bored by her faith and hope.
Now I should go and make myself some dinner.
Trrying to finish three writing projects at once... maybe a bit too much, methinks. But who said I did things the easy way? Actually, that's a theme of my life, doing things the hard way because doing things the easy way feels like a cop out. Am beginning to think that maybe I'm my own worst enemy and starting out at the shallow end is not cheating or being cowardly.
Bought books on Japan and Prague today. Figure that if I'm going to visit at least one of them this lifetime, I ought to start researching them.
Currently finding out more about: archangels. Most people only know about two: Michael(obviously) and Gabriel (also obvious). How many men do you know called Michael/Mike/Micky or Miguel or Michel? How many girls do you know called Michelle or even Michaela? Everybody knows about Michael, if only through those many paintings of him standing on a serpent (plus he's the patron saint of soldier, fire fighters and police officers). Anybody who has read the Christmas story knows about Gabriel in his/her role as Angel of the Annunciation. Gabriel tends to be a more popular name in Roman Catholic countries for boys, though it does make an appearance in Protestant ones occasionally (it's seen as a posh name). Gabrielle/Gabriella is popular for girls no matter what demoniation. There's also Raphael (more popular in Roman Catholic countries), who features in the Apocrypha, and Uriel, who is the angel of scholars and prophets. And there are quite a few other archangels that don't get as much attention, and maybe should. (Though Azrael has been getting a lot of attention recently, as the Archangel of Death or Crossing Over, if you prefer.)
Yesterday I saw Bolt, which was very funny, funnier than I thought it would be. One thing I love about Disney and Pixar is the way they get animal personalities absolutely right: of course cats are sarcastic and snarky, of course dogs are gung-ho and totally dedicated, of course hamsters are hyperactive and psychotic. It all makes sense! This attention to animal behaviour was right on that mark in Bolt, along with hilarious cameos from pigeons and human beings, and it even made me choke up a little at the end. Today I saw Doubt. Wow. I haven't seen such a thoughtful examination of faith and, yes, doubt since... Dogma. The way they look at these subjects is totally different but Dogma has just as many good points to make as Doubt. Everyone has raved about Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, and rightly, because the scene where they go up against each other is AMAZING, but I want to single out Amy Adams. This is completely different from any other role I've seen, and it's a difficult one, because it's the role of the innocent, but you believe in her innocence and you sympathise with it instead of getting irritated or bored by her faith and hope.
Now I should go and make myself some dinner.
