Gosford Park

The other night I watched Gosford Park, a sort of old-fashioned, Agatha-Christie styled movie directed by Robert Altman. It was a little confusing because in the first 10 minutes you are introduced to about 25 characters who all mumble in English accents.

The relationships and conflicts seem pretty cliche, and the lack of emotional response to the murder at the center of the plot was a bit forced. The final revelation at the end was not as dramatic or interesting as it might have been.

Flight

The other night I watched Flight, a movie starring Denzel Washington as hard partying commercial airline pilot who manages to land a plane under the most intense conditions. He remained calm during this incredibly intense and frightening incident and is seen as a hero. However, aspects of his life surrounding the flight lead to an investigation, and from this point on I was uncertain what direction the movie was going in -- was this going to be a conspiracy movie? a movie about terrorism? a movie about personal redemption? Well, only one of those was correct.

I liked Flight. It kept me interested, and most of the performances were solid (John Goodman was atrocious though -- totally overacted in a badly-written two-dimensional part).

Puzzles: 2016

Here are the puzzles I did in the fall of 2016. I guess theres a cat theme. These were all 500 or 550 pieces. The one with the fire place was the hardest.

Puzzles: some from former years

I decided I want to add puzzles to this blog. This post is a bunch of puzzles I've done in recent years.

An Alice in Wonderland (500 pieces); a tooniverse (550 pieces); a special one of a childhood photo (500 pieces); a Wizard of Oz (500 pieces); and a Charlie Harper (550 pieces, I think); a French painting (500 pieces); another tooniverse (550 pieces), and 1,000 piece poker cards puzzle -- the image is of the box, but I did eventually finish it.

I like doing 1,000 piece ones the most, but the cats make it difficult.

Of Human Bondage

For a month or so I have slowly been reading Somerset Maugham's Of Human Bondage. I started just reading a little a night. I had read this before in my teens or twenties, but do not remember much of it from then, and probably didn't get it.

I loved this book. Reading it slowly works well, as it's an in-depth coming of age story, starting with the death of Phillip's mother when he was around 8, and ending when he is 30. He is introspective and isolated in his childhood, largely unhappy and friendless, and has a club foot which separates him from his peers and others. It is a source of shame but also provides an opportunity for him to see the people around him from a unique, at times painful, perspective.

There is an unrequited masochistic love story that is central to the plot, but to me Of Human Bondage is more about someone who thinks and feels deeply exploring different ways of living in the world, and his meditations on love, art, human nature, suffering, religion, etc were not dry and pretentious, but earnest and heart-wrenching.

Unfortunately the ending was rushed and I thought a bit too pat. I was disappointed. Also, I would have liked to continue to read about Philip. I wish Maugham had pulled a "Rabbit" a la John Updike.

Beth Orton at Carnegie Hall

At the beginning of this month I saw Beth Orton perform at Carnegie Hall. I have loved her for years (decades?). Central Reservation was a very important album for me at the time; I listened to it obsessively. I have also very much enjoyed Trailer Park. Her ethereal, emotional voice combined with her tempos and synthetic sound create such a haunting, intimate landscape.

This was the second time I've seen her and in both concerts she seemed shy and self-deprecating. She performed with a backdrop of visuals that I thought were nice but unnecessary. As for songs, I was totally into her newer ones that I was not familiar with, but of course really loved most the old favorites.

The Office

 In October I binge watched all 9 seasons of The Office.  I started watching it just as something entertaining to have on while I did other things, but the particular humor of this show was not something I could only half pay attention to.

The Office depicts a mundane world of unexciting characters doing boring, almost pointless, work while held hostage by their self-absorbed, performance oriented boss. The interactions are awkward and uncomfortable, but also incredibly hilarious and even surreal. The characters have seemingly little in common, yet they must co-exist in a small depressing space hour after hour. The antics are largely based on situations where dominant aspects of one character clash with another, and in an amazing and special way, it is through these juxtapositions of flaws that a unique joy emerges. Dunder Mifflin is really fun. In small and silly ways, like when they all get swept up in betting about every little thing.  And The Office is often touching, as unlikely friendships form and awful behaviors are seen from a more compassionate perspective.

Steve Carell is incredible as Michael Scott, and the last seasons when he was gone seemed unfocussed and disappointing, but it was also during these seasons that the characters' narratives really took off. It became less about the office and more about their lives. I was shocked by how moved I was by the final few episodes, where the documentary about them over all theses years is finally aired. They get to see themselves, and, beautifully, while the viewer expected them to be exposed as petty and sad and crazy, their lives are instead shown as meaningful, and they get the unique opportunity to watch their past unfold before them.  As much as I laughed out loud during 8 and a half seasons, I was totally crying during those final episodes. I was caught off guard by how moving it was. Something that particularly touched me was the friendship that formed between Oscar and Angela.

I liked it so much it is possible I will soon start it again from the beginning!