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Some boring personal matters
Rambles
Clean houses are really nice aren't they? *stares around in amazed appreciation* My boyfriend and I actually did housework this weekend and boy, it feels good! I'm in a chatty mood this evening, possibly because I've had a good weekend but a daunting week ahead of me. It's the annual sales conference, my first at my new company, and I'm sure it won't be as bad as the conferences at the Publishing Company of HellonEarth, but I'm still dreading it. Especially as I'll be internet deprived for a couple of days.
And with all the technical problems I've been having, this means I've missed out on a lot of my friends posts in the last week or so, so if anyone wants to point out interesting things I've missed, please feel free! I am not being intentionally rude if I appear to be ignoring you!
The Yahoo rant
Dear Yahoo
I hate you and want you to die. I am breaking up with you. Please take your stuff and vamoose. Please be so kind as to return all tokens of my appreciation (eg my FRAKKING MAIL YOU MOTHERFRAKKER!!).
Thank you.
K
Dear Gmail
I love you and want to have your children. That is all.
K
*is possible has gone a little mad*
Films: Matchpoint and Jarhead
I like war movies. I like war novels. It's a thing I have. It's possibly weird. I have resigned myself to it. And so Jarhead was an enjoyable Saturday night out for me. It wasn't the best war film ever, but it was decent and it gave me a visual on the Gulf War and some insights into what it was like. Essentially it was a 'difficult' film because it's subject was the absence of conflict. It essentially had no subject matter. That made it feel somewhat meaningless, but that was the point: the very experience itself was meaningless. I have heard it criticised for not being anti-war enough. It's a fair argument, because I am all for anti-war movies on principle, but I understood the point of this movie to be putting us in the shoes of a young, naive soldier and the war's meaning, or lack of meaning for him, and that's a valid purpose as well. Jake Gyllenhaal carried the movie wonderfully. He's one of those actors I could happily watch in almost anything. And it's great to see him getting such range. I keep remembering the line from an interview of his that I read: 'if you knew anything about the real Jake Gyllenhaal you wouldn't believe in him as a US marine or a cowboy'. He used it in the context of explaining that he liked to keep his private life private. I hope he succeeds, because I currently find him absolutely convincing in every role he's played, and I hope he doesn't become yet another Hollywood Star who becomes more visible than the characters he plays (Nicole Kidman and Jude Law obliterating any other meaning in Cold Mountain is a classic example).
Matchpoint... ah, what a joy! This movie had so many of my loves--beautiful soundtrack, morally ambiguous characters, large English manor houses and upper-class toffs bitching at one another over croquet, book-lined libraries, self-reflective humour, even some slashy subtext at the beginning... and extremely hot actors. *g* Jonathan Rhys Myers is simply delicious in this movie and the eye-candy alone would have made it enjoyable. Scarlett was somewhat overshadowed, but also definitely good eye-candy value. I thought the movie was going off the rails halfway through when the plot switches (vague non-spoilery comment) but the ending resolved itself in a satisfactory way for me (though I suspect it made some in the audience uncomfortable). I am so glad JRM got to play this role, which he seemed born to. It even made perfect use of his looks--so often the good looks of an actor are either irrelevant or faintly absurd--here they were deliberate and purposeful.
The BSG status: the countdown is down to a matter of 48 hours before I can dl the BSG eps I haven't seen yet.
Clean houses are really nice aren't they? *stares around in amazed appreciation* My boyfriend and I actually did housework this weekend and boy, it feels good! I'm in a chatty mood this evening, possibly because I've had a good weekend but a daunting week ahead of me. It's the annual sales conference, my first at my new company, and I'm sure it won't be as bad as the conferences at the Publishing Company of HellonEarth, but I'm still dreading it. Especially as I'll be internet deprived for a couple of days.
And with all the technical problems I've been having, this means I've missed out on a lot of my friends posts in the last week or so, so if anyone wants to point out interesting things I've missed, please feel free! I am not being intentionally rude if I appear to be ignoring you!
The Yahoo rant
Dear Yahoo
I hate you and want you to die. I am breaking up with you. Please take your stuff and vamoose. Please be so kind as to return all tokens of my appreciation (eg my FRAKKING MAIL YOU MOTHERFRAKKER!!).
Thank you.
K
Dear Gmail
I love you and want to have your children. That is all.
K
*is possible has gone a little mad*
Films: Matchpoint and Jarhead
I like war movies. I like war novels. It's a thing I have. It's possibly weird. I have resigned myself to it. And so Jarhead was an enjoyable Saturday night out for me. It wasn't the best war film ever, but it was decent and it gave me a visual on the Gulf War and some insights into what it was like. Essentially it was a 'difficult' film because it's subject was the absence of conflict. It essentially had no subject matter. That made it feel somewhat meaningless, but that was the point: the very experience itself was meaningless. I have heard it criticised for not being anti-war enough. It's a fair argument, because I am all for anti-war movies on principle, but I understood the point of this movie to be putting us in the shoes of a young, naive soldier and the war's meaning, or lack of meaning for him, and that's a valid purpose as well. Jake Gyllenhaal carried the movie wonderfully. He's one of those actors I could happily watch in almost anything. And it's great to see him getting such range. I keep remembering the line from an interview of his that I read: 'if you knew anything about the real Jake Gyllenhaal you wouldn't believe in him as a US marine or a cowboy'. He used it in the context of explaining that he liked to keep his private life private. I hope he succeeds, because I currently find him absolutely convincing in every role he's played, and I hope he doesn't become yet another Hollywood Star who becomes more visible than the characters he plays (Nicole Kidman and Jude Law obliterating any other meaning in Cold Mountain is a classic example).
Matchpoint... ah, what a joy! This movie had so many of my loves--beautiful soundtrack, morally ambiguous characters, large English manor houses and upper-class toffs bitching at one another over croquet, book-lined libraries, self-reflective humour, even some slashy subtext at the beginning... and extremely hot actors. *g* Jonathan Rhys Myers is simply delicious in this movie and the eye-candy alone would have made it enjoyable. Scarlett was somewhat overshadowed, but also definitely good eye-candy value. I thought the movie was going off the rails halfway through when the plot switches (vague non-spoilery comment) but the ending resolved itself in a satisfactory way for me (though I suspect it made some in the audience uncomfortable). I am so glad JRM got to play this role, which he seemed born to. It even made perfect use of his looks--so often the good looks of an actor are either irrelevant or faintly absurd--here they were deliberate and purposeful.
The BSG status: the countdown is down to a matter of 48 hours before I can dl the BSG eps I haven't seen yet.
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I too didn’t mind the ambiguity of it all — in fact, I thought it was realistic. Then again, I’ve had family and acquaintences who’ve been in the army and navy and air force to know that a lot of it is overhyped — that search for adventure oftentimes leads to boredom. It may have been a deeper and more intimate view, but it was view that I’d already had a glimpse of.
Though, it felt strange watching it with the boyfriend (on the day it came out here in The States) because, two years ago, he’s a conservative and thought the war in Iraq was a good idea and he was also a little aimless in life and so he enlisted. And though he identifies with the everyday stuff and protocol that goes on in the movie, I don’t know if he yet empathizes with the meaningless of the experience for Swofford (even if he does think a lot of the guys around him are idiots and relates to that).
Oh yeah, I also have an interest in military stuff from documentaries (Dad’s channel surfing constantly lands him on the Military Channel and I perk up when he does) and this whole “boyfriend deployed” experience is kindling an interest in movies and novels also. I’d read Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried back in college and am hunting down a copy to re-read it and am also thinking of renting out the movie A Soldier’S Sweetheart which is based on the chapter titled “Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong.”
If you’re interested in having someone to fangirl with, I’d also be willing to rent out or read what you’re up to. Hm. I feel like I should be on your books filter.
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It's interesting you discuss your boyfriend's viewing of the movie. I don't know how my own boyfriend would react to it. He was an airforce brat, and while he's never been part of the armed forces himself, he's always had a strong interest in that lifestyle. In the past I've dated a guy in the army reserve here as well. It's kind of strange as I'm quite anti-war myself, in a global sense. I would never take it out on an individual, though. And I'm fascinated by the individual experience of war. I don't judge the individuals that choose to partake--but I frequently dislike government's reasons for engaging them, if that makes sense.
So I found the meaninglessness for Swofford very sympathetic. I also really like Sebastian Faulks's Birdsong, and the series Band of Brothers. Both did a great job of showing the tragic absurdities and momentary meaningfulness of war.
I'll put you on my books filter! And I'd be interested to hear about what you're reading/seeing too. *g*