Visit: A Tale of Two Movies
The Rain Forest Site -- spare a little oxygen?
Weather: Today is bright and clear. Yesterday we had mixed rain, snow, and sun, but in the local drainage of Ashley Creek, the moisture level is about 25% of normal.
Our homeowners association is taking the developers of a new neighboring housing project to court, otherwise the law says we'd have to wait for our wells go dry before initiating any action.
Media Watch: We saw that Bride and Prejudice was playing at the Strand Theater last night -- and ran out to see it before it left town. (There were only three teenaged girls in the audience besides us.)
It was filmed in Amritsar (India), Goa, London, and Los Angeles by Gurinder Chadha, the director of Bend It Like Beckham. Bollywood superstar Aishwarya Rai is a wonderful actress, and the rest of the cast is very good indeed. The dialogue was all in English, and everyone seemed to have fun with the song-and-dance numbers. The use of color was gorgeous!
One criticism -- the male protagonist (played by Martin Henderson) wasn't particularly appealing. His basic character was never clearly drawn, and his actions tended to be awfully reprehensible. Whatever goodness he possessed was described rather than shown. The screenplay may have been adapted from Jane Austen, but it was crafted like a Harlequin Romance -- par for the course in Bollywood, but Ms. Chadha is capable of better than that.
The music was alright, with singer/dancer Ashanti performing most of the lead vocals and doing a brief number -- Bollywood stylings are a current Pop fad, after all. The nice lady at 'The Strand' gave us a copy of the movie poster too!
Informative Review Page
The Movie's Official Flash Site (rubbish)
In The Community: The opening reception for our annual FVCC Photography Exhibit at the Hockaday Museum was low-key, but fun. (I went over and shot some event photos after the movie.)
The Hockaday Museum of Art
The Honors Symposium last Wednesday was entitled The Dollars and (Non) Sense of Defense Spending and was presented by Stanford University graduate Dr. Karen Anderson, Political Science Professor at the University of Montana in Missoula.
Eisenhour's designated "Military Industrial Congressional Complex" is corrupted in the vast sums of money needed for re-election, furnished by the greedy business people who bid for the lucrative contracts supplying the military. When the Pentagon asks for so much, Congress gives them even more -- despite the fact that many of those additional things are un-needed, un-wanted, and contrary to national security needs.
Retired General VanSickle, an elderly gentleman, wanted the rest of the audience to know how the Pentagon procurement proccess worked from HIS point of view, and got to tell us. His information made Dr. Anderson's points even more clear, and scarier.
Next Week -- Karen's husband, Christopher Muste (a Washington Post writer) will speak on Public Opinion and the Media: Looking Glasses or Fun-house Mirrors?
On A Lighter Note: RAVES about FVCT's adaptation of Anton Chekhov's The Seagull
"...I'm speechless..."
Joel Siegel, The Today Show
"...hard hitting..."
Steven Seagal, star of Under Siege
"...soaring..."
Jonathan Livingston Seagull
"...made my day..."
Don Siegel, Director of Dirty Harry
"...a wake-up call..."
Robert Siegel, National Public Radio host
"...worth the gamble..."
Benny (Bugsy) Siegel, founder of The Flamingo
"...super..."
Siegel and Shuster, comic strip creators
"...plays like a guitar..."
Corky Siegel, blues musician
"...a slam dunk..."
Larry Bird
"...legendary..."
Brigham Young
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