Most of you need not be informed of my obsession with Jane Austen's works. I have read all of them numerous times and seen almost every TV adaptation out there. Now, to my delight, there are a few new versions coming out.
PBS is doing a Jane Austen marathon of sorts, playing all the newest TV adaptations of her classic novels. For this purpose, Masterpiece Theater has produced new versions of Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, and Northanger Abbey, among others. BBC produced a new, and much needed, adaptation of Persuasion, as well. They are airing on PBS every Sunday for the next couple of months. (I noticed that they didn't even attempt reproduce Pride & Prejudice that A&E, BBC did over ten years ago now. Can you improve on that?! I think not.)
I tuned in to see Masterpiece's Mansfield Park on Sunday night. Cass and I got comfortable on the couch, eating popcorn and crochetting my latest baby blanket. What I have seen thus far of Masterpiece Theatre (Jane Eyre, Northanger Abbey) have been quite impressive, so I had high hopes for Mansfield Park. At the very least, I believed they wouldn't butcher the storyline.
I was sorely disappointed.
Perhaps their most fatal error was trying to cram 412 pages of literary genius into less than 90 minutes. Or perhaps it was the fact that Fanny, the main character of Austen's novel, is something of a side character in this latest adaptation, with only a few screen appearances and even fewer speeches (certainly nowhere near Mr. Rushworth's "two and forty"). Or perhaps, even more aggravating, was their apparent lack of research into the social decorum of the day. Fanny and Edmund began waltzing at the end of the movie (a dance that had yet to become acceptable to most of society and would certainly never have been learned by these two). Lady Bertram wore a hat in her own home, and Fanny's hair was shoulder length and worn down the entire movie. Every feeling revolts!
Someone obviously didn't consult the Jane Austen Handbook. Or any historical source for that matter.
There was little to no character development, with people's personalities being stated rather than shown. Mix this with some bad acting and poor scripting and you have one TV adaptation I would not recommend, I am sorry to say.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
My New Piano
I have long wished I had a piano in our small apartment. But there were always two major problems: the fact that our apartment is small (crackerbox could be a good way to define it), and the lack of funds to purchase said piano. My parents have two pianos in their house, one of them an upright player piano (you know, the super old kind that plays rolls by itself!) I love that piano and hope to someday have a home in which I can "store" it for my parents:-) However, Dad's condition is that it has to be on the ground level. He hates moving that thing. It weighs like a thousand libs, practically.
Anyway, so I really want a piano. Music soothes the soul, and I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to sit down and just play the piano to release tension or nerves. But alas, my two friends who used to have pianos in the building have moved. So I have been going up to Cassidy's place to play hers. But now that their baby is coming in only a few short weeks, they need the extra space. So they were going to put it under their bed (it's a Yamaha electronic). That would mean, once again, no piano for me to play on.
When Cassidy asked if maybe I wanted to keep it for them for awhile, I jumped at the chance! But there was still that problem of no room...So after weeks of talking, planning, and compromise, Stephen has finally allowed me to move some stuff around...and squeeze it into our living room.
While a little more crowded, I think it looks great! And I'm so excited to have a piano at my own disposal for the next year! Thanks Skip and Cassidy!
Anyway, so I really want a piano. Music soothes the soul, and I can't tell you how many times I have wanted to sit down and just play the piano to release tension or nerves. But alas, my two friends who used to have pianos in the building have moved. So I have been going up to Cassidy's place to play hers. But now that their baby is coming in only a few short weeks, they need the extra space. So they were going to put it under their bed (it's a Yamaha electronic). That would mean, once again, no piano for me to play on.
When Cassidy asked if maybe I wanted to keep it for them for awhile, I jumped at the chance! But there was still that problem of no room...So after weeks of talking, planning, and compromise, Stephen has finally allowed me to move some stuff around...and squeeze it into our living room.
While a little more crowded, I think it looks great! And I'm so excited to have a piano at my own disposal for the next year! Thanks Skip and Cassidy!
Thursday, January 3, 2008
An Eventful Trip Home
As most of you probably know by now, we have returned to our little home in Chicago. After a week and a half away, I was more than ready to get home and get to work on the mass of trivial but important details that needed to be accomplished before school starts in two weeks.
Stephen and I departed the Quad Cities at about 4 pm Tuesday afternoon after dropping of little Friedrich, picking up James Davenport, and stopping back past the Willcox household to pick up the forgotten Nalgene bottle and iPod (can't leave that behind!). We had intended to drop in on Stephen's aunt and uncle in Port Byron with a little loaf of pumpkin bread and our Christmas card. Aunt Melinda was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so it was even more important for us to see her.
It had snow quite significantly the day before, adding to the 12-15 inches already on the ground. Tuesday afternoon the winds had begun to pick up, and by the time we made it to Jim and Melinda's house, large drifts of snow had begun to form over their once plowed driveway. They live in the country, and their driveway is quite long. The drifts weren't too bad at first, and my little Mazda Protege was holding out well against them. But all too suddenly, in the fading light, we founded a bend in the driveway and drove straight into a huge drift. When I say huge, I mean quite subsantial. The drift itself was the entire length of the car, and when we found ourselves quite definitely stuck, Stephen opened the car door in to snow. The snow had drifted over two feet high, and our car wasn't going anywhere.
I took the wheel and the boys pushed. First from the back, and the from the front. But it was no use. Stephen says he's fairly certain we burned a quarter tank of gas just trying to get out. When it was quite apparent that we were not going to get out of this without help, we pulled on coats for the long, bitter walk to the house.
The wind was howling, and the windchill was well below zero. None of us had more than small shoes on, and we trudged through drifts up to our knees before we finally reached the house, frozen to the bone.
This is the part where I love being a girl. I stayed inside and warmed up with Melinda and Olivia and got to visit while the boys went back out and dug us out. An hour and a half later, we finally left.
"So much for 'dropping by,'" I said as we pulled out of the driveway.
It was now quite dark out as we turned once again towards Chicago on I-80. We soon encountered another problem: the moisture on the inside of the windows was freezing. I don't know if our car doors just don't quite seal well, or if it was just that cold out (perhaps a combination of both?), but it wasn't long before all Stephen could see was a little circle in front of him out the windshield.
James and I began feverishly scraping the ice off the windows with the ice scrapers. This helped for about 5 minutes, when we would repeat the process. Because we were desperately trying to get the windows to defrost (the defroster doesn't really work...), we had it on full defrost the entire time, so there was no floorboard heat. Since our feet were encased in snowy, wet shoes and socks, by the time we finally arrived in Chicago 2 1/2 hours later, my feet were bright red and I could only feel parts of them.
However, we are home safely and not intending to go anywhere for quite some time. I am much relieved. This snowy cold can go away any time it wants to.
Stephen and I departed the Quad Cities at about 4 pm Tuesday afternoon after dropping of little Friedrich, picking up James Davenport, and stopping back past the Willcox household to pick up the forgotten Nalgene bottle and iPod (can't leave that behind!). We had intended to drop in on Stephen's aunt and uncle in Port Byron with a little loaf of pumpkin bread and our Christmas card. Aunt Melinda was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, so it was even more important for us to see her.
It had snow quite significantly the day before, adding to the 12-15 inches already on the ground. Tuesday afternoon the winds had begun to pick up, and by the time we made it to Jim and Melinda's house, large drifts of snow had begun to form over their once plowed driveway. They live in the country, and their driveway is quite long. The drifts weren't too bad at first, and my little Mazda Protege was holding out well against them. But all too suddenly, in the fading light, we founded a bend in the driveway and drove straight into a huge drift. When I say huge, I mean quite subsantial. The drift itself was the entire length of the car, and when we found ourselves quite definitely stuck, Stephen opened the car door in to snow. The snow had drifted over two feet high, and our car wasn't going anywhere.
I took the wheel and the boys pushed. First from the back, and the from the front. But it was no use. Stephen says he's fairly certain we burned a quarter tank of gas just trying to get out. When it was quite apparent that we were not going to get out of this without help, we pulled on coats for the long, bitter walk to the house.
The wind was howling, and the windchill was well below zero. None of us had more than small shoes on, and we trudged through drifts up to our knees before we finally reached the house, frozen to the bone.
This is the part where I love being a girl. I stayed inside and warmed up with Melinda and Olivia and got to visit while the boys went back out and dug us out. An hour and a half later, we finally left.
"So much for 'dropping by,'" I said as we pulled out of the driveway.
It was now quite dark out as we turned once again towards Chicago on I-80. We soon encountered another problem: the moisture on the inside of the windows was freezing. I don't know if our car doors just don't quite seal well, or if it was just that cold out (perhaps a combination of both?), but it wasn't long before all Stephen could see was a little circle in front of him out the windshield.
James and I began feverishly scraping the ice off the windows with the ice scrapers. This helped for about 5 minutes, when we would repeat the process. Because we were desperately trying to get the windows to defrost (the defroster doesn't really work...), we had it on full defrost the entire time, so there was no floorboard heat. Since our feet were encased in snowy, wet shoes and socks, by the time we finally arrived in Chicago 2 1/2 hours later, my feet were bright red and I could only feel parts of them.
However, we are home safely and not intending to go anywhere for quite some time. I am much relieved. This snowy cold can go away any time it wants to.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Goodbye, Friedrich
This Christmas season was not without its sadness. After nearly two years of wondering if I was really allowed to have a bird in our apartment but being too afraid to ask, I finally succumbed to my conscience. The answer was not what I had hoped for. Alas, I am not allowed to keep my fine feathered friend, and so I sadly began looking for a temporary home for him.
After asking a half dozen people who enjoyed Friedrich and wanted one just like him, we were having a hard time finding people who were really able to keep the little guy until we get out of school (a year and a half). Finally, we found a friend who already has two parakeets that can give him a home for us. She lives back in Iowa, though, and so we brought Friedrich with us home and dropped him off with her. It was a sad day, and I tried not to think about it too much so I wouldn't cry. I succeeded. Mostly.
However, upon coming back to our apartment and spending the morning unpacking and putting away groceries, I began to miss him quite a bit. It's awful lonely in that apartment without him. He used to fill the quietness with his pretty whistles and warbles. Now there is just silence. I keep thinking I hear him chirp or grind his beak contentedly, and I begin to call out "Hey, Freed!"...but then I realize he's not there. Now there's just a large, empty spot on our computer desk, and it makes me awful lonely for him. I need to find something to put there. Suggestions?
After asking a half dozen people who enjoyed Friedrich and wanted one just like him, we were having a hard time finding people who were really able to keep the little guy until we get out of school (a year and a half). Finally, we found a friend who already has two parakeets that can give him a home for us. She lives back in Iowa, though, and so we brought Friedrich with us home and dropped him off with her. It was a sad day, and I tried not to think about it too much so I wouldn't cry. I succeeded. Mostly.
However, upon coming back to our apartment and spending the morning unpacking and putting away groceries, I began to miss him quite a bit. It's awful lonely in that apartment without him. He used to fill the quietness with his pretty whistles and warbles. Now there is just silence. I keep thinking I hear him chirp or grind his beak contentedly, and I begin to call out "Hey, Freed!"...but then I realize he's not there. Now there's just a large, empty spot on our computer desk, and it makes me awful lonely for him. I need to find something to put there. Suggestions?
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