Conversation
When I was young, on a few occasions, I met people who consistently taught me worthwhile things I didn’t know. I loved that experience. I miss it. It is so rare these days to read something and think: That’s novel and worth remembering.
For example, I’m currently reading “The Escape of Sigmund Freud” by David Cohen. While it is interesting and enjoyable reading, I’m 100 pages in and I’ve yet to encounter an idea, from Freud or the author, that I’ve thought: That’s novel and worth writing down somewhere to remember it.
I think that’s why I write the way I do, and on the topics I write about – because even if most of my readers already know what I have to say, they’re might be a few for whom the ideas are new and worth remembering. I still want to receive that kind of information from what I read – so, that’s what I try to write.
I genuinely love learning. I have an emotional connection to it. I like real conversations about real, substantive topics. So, that’s what I discuss.
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Falling into the category of “If you can’t say something nice, you can at least be nice to others by expressing courteous criticism . . .”
I’m a fan of Jane Austen’s stories and the films based on her stories.
I tried to watch the famous 1995 TV mini-series version of “Pride & Prejudice“, starring two young actors whose later work I adore, Colin Firth & Jennifer Ehle. But after watching 30 minutes, I’d had enough. I could not enjoy the overacting, misinterpretations, and poor direction of a story that is far more clever and sophisticated than this rendering. Mrs. Bennett’s acting is an overstated caricature. Jane Bennett comes off as too smug, even for a character whose weakness is supposed to be pride. The 1940 and 2005 versions are better.
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What is one way to distinguish a good friend from a great friend?
A good friend has always been good to you, maybe even, in the past, great.
A great friend is still a great friend.
We are what we do.
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Levity
Texting.
Back when phones were first invented, people may have been suspicious if you’d said to them, “And in the future, about a hundred years from now, most people won’t use their phones primarily to talk to one another. Instead, many times a day, they’ll use them to send telegraph messages to each other.”
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“House of Pleasures” 2012 Mini-Review
The moral of the story for the film, in a sentence: Prostitution is a dangerous, unhealthy, and depressing line of work.
The problem with the story is we all know that moral before we see the film. So, the film, as a heavy-handed and unflinching morality tale, shares little new knowledge on the related topics.
The film is well cast and well acted. The cinematography and editing are good. The set designs, lighting, and costumes are excellent. But for the same reasons I don’t go see films about people trying to run across highways, I can’t recommend this film. For the same reasons I don’t go see films about people shooting themselves up on drugs and dying from overdose complications, I can’t recommend this film. I already know it’s dangerous to run across freeways and to smoke meth; therefore, I don’t need to watch 2 hours of footage of people trying to run across freeways or poking needles in their arms, then watching them get mangled by cars or watching their teeth fall out from drug abuse. I’m not saying it’s a bad film, I just can’t recommend it.
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The artwork atop this post is by Matthew Tammaro. © All rights reserved by Matthew Tammaro.
