i will find you

So tonight is my first night back on my own, so to speak. DBF moved back into his residence hall on campus. While I will miss having him around, it's not like we don't see each other every day during the semester. So it will be alright. I'll just miss having to roll over and shake him to stop his snoring. heh. Oh okay and I may just miss him for other reasons too. but enough of that. lol.

A friend of mine came over to hang out with me tonite, something that we rarely get to do. She's a filmmaker and documentary producer and has done some really cool stuff in her life. We get along great but just are both busy and have a hard time coordinating time to do stuff. So taking the evening to relax, catch up, watch some Olympics, eat some great food and then introduce her to the all-time classic film "The Last of the Mohicans"...was just too fun.

As we were watching LOTM, I couldn't help but think back to my first viewing. I was 12 years old just about to turn 13. It was the summer before I would make the big switch from our grade school to high school (both were boarding schools) which was on a completely different island. I was so excited to be going away to the BIG school but also nervous about becoming a teenager and starting that phase of my life. I remember seeing this movie and just being so caught up in the drama and passion of it. I was utterly enthralled. I think I cried. The movie was, to me, a Very Big Deal. I remember hunting through magazines by candlelight later on that night to find a one-page ad of the movie poster, ripping it out and posting it on my wall. That page was to follow me to school to be posted on my dorm room wall and back home each break. Eventually it came back to the States with me and was posted on my bedroom wall there. I think I finally retired it from my wall decor sometime in college, but it still lies in a storage box somewhere. Witness to my childhood obsession with romance, passion and adventure.

I got ahold of a tape copy of the soundtrack and played it incessantly. I taught myself how to play the main theme songs on the piano and would lose myself in the music. Whenever I had a chance to rewatch the film, I did so. I recall sitting in Biology class with a girlfriend and writing notes back and forth about how hot Daniel Day-Lewis was in the kissing scene. (come to think of it, this note-writing thing...was kinda like blogging and texting...back in the old days).

All of these funny little memories came back to me tonight as I watched the film yet again with my friend and witnessed her reactions to it. And you know what? It really is a great movie! It's not just my 12-year-old nostalgia apparently. She loved it and was totally drawn in. And she does this stuff (make films) for a living. heh. We had a good time.

I can't talk about LOTM without leaving you with the ultimate kiss. In retrospect, I still think it's an awfully HOT scene despite the fact that both characters are fully closed and nowhere near a bed. The total focus and absolute connection between the h/h is far more passionate than any bow-chicka-bow that I've ever seen. This is romance, folks! Enjoy!

Doctor...Who?

Well I'm now officially addicted to another TV series. Ever since I realized belatedly that I've had BBC America all this time on my cable line-up (I thought it had gone away when we cancelled the extra set of channels but stupidly never bothered to check), I have been revelling in the ability to satiate my Richard Armitage fetish by DVRing Robin Hood. Now, thanks to a hot tip from Carrie Lofty, I've added another show to my 'record all episodes' DVR list. Thanks a lot, Carrie...now I'll be sure to waste hours and hours in front of the tube! lol.

Do I dare to even try give a summary as to what the show's about? I've only watched five episodes so far - the last three of season 2 and the first two installments of season 3. I don't even have all of the characters or plot lines remotely straight. There's this quirky guy who doesn't have a name other than "The Doctor" who travels around space and time in a police box and sorts out problems dealing with various alien forces and manifestations. In the episodes I saw, he was accompanied by a side-kick or assistant named Rose. Now it appears that she won't be in the next season and another gal is being set up as the side-kick. I'm sure that fans have their opinions as to the relative merits of this development. Me, I don't have an opinion. Other than that what I saw made me want to go back and see how the relationship between the Doctor and Rose developed because it was quite obvious in the season finale that there was a something very real and deep between them.

What I quite liked about what I've seen so far is that this show is not strictly sci-fi. It also has strong elements of drama, comedy, adventure, and even little hints of romance. And while I found myself laughing at the almost Peter-Pan like whimsy of the Doctor on than one occasion, the "bad guys" and their nefarious intentions are very real and quite dark. Who would have thought that a tin can that looks like a squared-off version of R2-D2 could actually be scary. When it's gliding around screeching "Exterminate!" in maniacal-robot tones and then shooting people into dust bits, it starts looking a lot less cute. And then there was this super-creepy part in which the humans are being conquered by these machine-like beings and having their brains sucked out and installed into metal bodies. eep!

What makes it all watchable is the human element. The Doctor is a multi-faceted character who is alteratively really funny, incredibly smart, deadly serious, and deeply intuitive. You get the impression that beneath his cheerful and often flippant mannerisisms he is an old soul. From what little I saw of Rose, she impressed me as having her head screwed on straight and not just being a TSTL female side-kick installed for the purpose of making the male lead look stronger and smarter. She's in touch with her emotions, but she's also strong and resourceful. I quite liked her and look forward to seeing the previous seasons.

Now I'm off to netflix to see if I can't find the aforementioned previous episodes. Yay for more entertainment to fill my already busy schedule.

North and South Week - Wrap-up

It's been quite a week! Kristie, Kate and I had so much fun planning and posting about North and South. Flurries of emails, AIM chats to iron out the details, bouts of squeeing over Richard Armitage, hunting down photos to match posts, editing out the more salacious elements of our PJ party (oh wait...we left most of those in, for our sins...) And how cool was Lisa Kleypas' interview? I am not really sure how to follow that. (how bout with a picture of Richard Armitage?)

I moved back to my house a few days ago and am basking in the boundless capacity to surf and post and just dawdle on the internet. Saturday evening I curled up in bed with my laptop and rewatched the entire North and South miniseries in one go. It's actually been quite some time since I've watched it, as I'd lent it out to a friend. I fell in love with it all over again and realized that as much as I've enjoyed posting and sharing and talking about it, I'd almost forgot how genuinely awesome it was. There were so many little nuances and details that I have overlooked the previous times I'd seen it. Details that I now noticed because of something Lisa mentioned in her interview or that Kristie and Kate talked about in our chats.

A good film like a good book is something that you can go back to more than once. That's why we call those books "keepers", and I suppose I would call those films personal classics. No matter how many times you've seen them, they can always bear repeat viewing. And like a good book, you can get even more out of them or see things in a different light because of a discussion with a friend. This open exchange of ideas and enriching debate is something that I love about the internet and the blogosphere in particular. I feel really lucky to have found such a neat community of people around the world with whom I have some things in common and whom are also very different from me in other ways. Without them, I might have never even known about this movie and I definitely would not have had such fun talking about it and obsessing over it.

So if I have any final thoughts it is that I'm really grateful that I had the good luck to be introduced to this film and that I hope that all of you out there who haven't yet seen it get the chance to do so in the near future. And that we continue the discussions!! :)

And now for Kristie's final thoughts:
First off, hopefully anyone who is at all intrigued by this awesome series, I urge you to try and track down a copy and watch it. It isn’t often something blows me away as much as North and South has. It’s the kind of thing that gives you shivers, like an extra special song or a really good book, the kind you will remember forever. We did go a bit goofy, devoting an entire week to it, but if you’ve seen in, I think you might know why and if you are planning on it, hopefully you will see why.

It’s not just that Richard Armitage is so devastatingly attractive, although he is. When you are watching, it’s like you’ve been transported into the time and are an observer of a slice of history we don’t always see. The acting is incredible. We feel John Thornton’s pain and anguish again and again, as he is dealt blow after blow, first of all being rejected by Margaret when he declares his love to her and then again when he thinks there is someone else in her life. From the first time we see him as he is beating on an employee, we slowly see beneath the surface to a man who hides his pain and his passion behind layers of gentility. We see his own self doubts, his loneliness. We see that although he is a master, he does genuinely care about his employees. And finally we see his triumph when he finally sees that Margaret does love him.

But something else I’d really like to mention is the fun this has been for me working with Sula and Katiebabs. All the emails we’ve exchanged and the chats – once we finally figured out how it works :). I know I’ve made two really great friends and that is a wonderful thing. We’ve had a riot, sighing and ooing and awing over some of the great clips on YouTube. We hope to keep this going – although not a whole weeks worth, but we do still have plans up our sleeves. Thanks to Sula and Katiebabs for joining in and promoting something we’ve all come to love!!


And finally, Katiebabs shares her parting comments:
So what can I say about North and South that hasn't been already mentioned? Well I have found a new appreciation for a classic and now I want to read the actual book and experience the passion, romance, and social issues that are brought up in the movie. If a movie adaptation is so good, that means the book must be even better. I've always been a big fan of BBC productions along with Masterpiece Theater and North and South must be one of the best productions I have ever seen. Almost tied with Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth.

We have gone on and on about Richard Armitage's portrayal of John but we also have failed to mention the actress Daniela Denby-Ashe who played Margaret. She was perfect and so lovely looking. These two actors played these two wonderful characters to perfection. Each look, touch and word spoken that came out of their mouths were scripted perfectly. Their chemistry was incredible and I truly believed they were John and Margaret.

There are two scenes that come to mind that made a big impression on me. I could say it was the swoon-worthy final train scene or when John watches Margaret leave him and says the simple statement, "look back", but there are two other scenes that are also as good and stick with me.

The first time Margaret enters John's mill and as she looks through the flowing white flakes that looks like snow, she spies John and my heart went thump. All is silent and both are shown as quiet and stoic.

The other scene was the party scene. John is making his rounds with his guests and when he meets a female guest, he grasps her gloved hand for only a moment. But when he goes to Margaret, he holds her un-gloved hand for a full minute before he releases it. That is just as sexy as a passionate kiss!

This whole experience has been incredible. From wonderful conversations with Kristie and Sula who are very intelligent women to getting the word out about works of art that are not usually discussed, I thank you for welcoming to be a part of this!

And every time I see a train, I will think of John as he smiles and gives his one love a simple yellow flower that means so much to her. Not one word of love has been spoken, but there it is in a simple gesture, look and of course a kiss.

....

And we leave you with the climactic "train scene" to bring some serious romance to your day. (if you haven't seen the film, this would constitute a spoiler...but oh WHAT a delicious spoiler!!)