Creativity

Books vs. Movies – Part 1

/ still a dreamer

There’s something exciting about reading a terrific book and then going to the movies to watch the film created from it.  However, I, and most folks I know, are of the opinion that the book generally outshines the movie, if for no other reason that so much of a book’s depth and detail cannot possibly be portrayed in the short time allowed for a film. This is not always the case, but I get ahead of myself.

Having recently read The Bridges of Madison County, I rented the movie. I must say I was really disappointed. First, the book is a very short novel; the movie ran 2-1/4 hours long. As mentioned in an earlier post where I wrote about the book, I had my doubts about Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood cast as the main characters — both outstanding actors, but I didn’t imagine them in these roles. Again, my personal opinion. I would have much preferred Sam Elliot, or even Kevin Costner, (as he is now), as Robert Kincaid; maybe I’ve just seen Clint Eastwood in too many hard and/or violent roles. Meryl Streep, so brilliant, just couldn’t cut it for me as an Italian woman, now Iowa farm wife. It really took away from the story, and that seemed so drawn out over the course of the 2+ hour movie. I’d stick with the book.

So I’m wondering … did you read the book and/or see the movie? Who might you picture in the roles of Francesca and Robert? Or did Eastwood and Streep fill the bill for you?

p.s. This is just Part 1. Down the road, we’re going to have some fun with Part 2 and onward … it’s all about reading and imagination and what we see.

Doodle 4 Google – Vote by May 10th!

/ still a dreamer

Did you know that Google holds an annual contest – Doodle 4 Google – whereby children in 5 different school grade groups design the Google logo on a specific theme? I just found out, and the voting ends May 10!

The contest is sponsored by the New York Public Library, Crayola, and, of course, Google. This year’s theme is “If I could travel in time, I’d visit ….”   There are several tiers of prizes but the National Winner can really clean up! That person “will have his or her doodle featured on the U.S. Google.com homepage, will be awarded a $30,000 college scholarship to be used at the school of his or her choice, a trip to New York for an event on May 17, 2012, a Google Chromebook computer, a Wacom digital design tablet, and a t-shirt printed with his or her doodle on it. We’ll also award the winner’s full time school a $50,000 technology grant towards the establishment or improvement of a computer lab or technology programming.”  Holy moly! Go vote and help out some talented kid!

Check out the Doodle 4 Google web site for information, but be sure to vote for your favorite. In New Jersey in the Grade 10-12 group, Cynthia Cheng, an 11th grader from Edison, NJ, is our state’s winner, and chose the Vikings. Her artwortk is really fantastic, featured above in smaller format, and you can vote for Cynthia here.

What a great chance for young artists — and perhaps future illustrators — to be recognized. Signing off … I’m going to vote!

Making A Cup of Excedrin

/ still a dreamer

Perhaps you didn’t know … I only found out yesterday by chance … there was a massive recall in January of all Excedrin products by their manufacturer Novartis, as well as a recall of Bufferin, No-Doz, and Gas-X.

Yesterday, I woke with a screamer combo sinus/migraine headache. My go-to med is Excedrin. I have two scrips – one makes my heart race and the other knocks me out, though both are effective, just not if you want to have a pleasant day, or a day at all. Excedrin does the trick as a rule, but wanting to take it with food, I waited, and then happened across the recall information. So first I panicked – now I might have small pieces of other drugs in my Excedrin – even though Novartis’ web site says there have been no reported incidents and that it was a precautionary recall. Forget that I had two bottles and had already used a fair amount from both. Now I was in trouble. I checked the web site for lot#, but mine had been 2 bottles in a box and I no longer had the box. Maybe I escaped this fate! I called Novartis. Nope. My bottles were on the recall list. Crap.

So let’s forego the logic that the Excedrin I had on hand were OK so far. Now I eyed them suspiciously. I decided to try an experiment. I would make my own Excedrin.

Checking the amounts on the bottle for each tablet, I made up the equivalent by combining Tylenol, aspirin and a cup of coffee, (Yes, I looked up how much caffeine was in a cup, etc.) I took it all together, and wouldn’t you know … it worked!  It took a little longer than Excedrin alone as the delivery system was somewhat compromised, but still …

So if you’re stuck with a recalled bottle, make yourself up a cup of Excedrin! Or … use the ones that have already proven perfectly safe, or buy a generic/store brand in the supermarket. That’s what I did this afternoon, and they may work out every bit as well. But really, I prefer coffee.

p.s. A note for all you Excedrin takers:  According to the woman I spoke with at Novartis, the Excedrin that were not part of the recall and definitely safe were those that come in packages of 2, 4, 8 or 10.  So if we can find them, she said these are OK.

Trees …

/ still a dreamer / 2 Comments

Spring brings a particular delight to many who suddenly really notice the trees in their new, colorful finery. The weeping cherries, flowering plums, dogwoods and magnolias literally herald the season and confirm the retreat of winter. But for those of us who feel deeply connected to nature, trees are magnificent in all seasons. They are equally as beautiful in their fresh Spring blooming as in their Fall brilliance as in their Winter bareness, where the most basic structure of their being proudly holds forth.

Many authors have written about the wonder and beauty of trees over the centuries. In an earlier post I even took a turn on writing about trees myself. However, two lovely things have crossed my path in the last few days about trees … one a video, and one in the book I’m reading by Dr. Wayne Dyer, (Wishes Fulfilled.) He quotes 18th century poet, William Blake:

“The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a Green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all Ridicule and Deformity … and some scarce see Nature at all. But to the eyes of the man of imagination, Nature is imagination itself.” – William Blake

And with this in mind, passed on by a friend, an absolutely magnificent video of trees called Listen with Your Heart …

 

The Package Arrived — It’s Books!

/ still a dreamer

Surprise! It’s books! Hardcover, too!

With the annual Hunterdon County Library Book Sale just around the corner, (details here, if you want to go – you won’t be sorry), and with a decent size stash still waiting to be read, I almost … that’s almost, but not totally … don’t feel entitled to purchase brand new books. But alas, it is one of two indulgences I’ve allowed myself in this life, (the other being music), and so the books arrived. If you are reading this post currently, you will see them to the right. If you visit this blog regularly, you will note there are always two books there – one a novel, be it adult, YA or MG, and the other a book of an enlightening, metaphysical/spiritual nature. And so goes my reading. Picture books go too fast to even warrant a spot, but I may write about them here.

How to Save A Life kept popping up at me from different places and sounded terrific, so I got it. More on that when I read it. And then, while flipping channels last week, I came to a halt on Wayne Dyer and a PBS special, Wishes Fulfilled, also the title of the book. He is so on the money, and who doesn’t want their highest good manifested? So I’m starting on that, too.

But first, a word on Click. While waiting for said package to arrive, I felt drawn to read this again. It is a continuing story told chapter by chapter by different authors from the USA and the UK, each highly accomplished. It’s a great concept with each new chapter a revelation that could only result in the story being told this way. It starts off with Linda Sue Park, and then continues Chapter 2* with David Almond, one of my favorite authors. His chapter was so amazing and magical, I could have stopped right there. But I’m more than halfway through and want to enjoy the rest before I start my new choice.

In addition to these wonderful authors bringing the tale of Grandpa Gee, photographer and worldwide traveler, his family and those he encounters in his journeys to life, they have also contributed their book sale proceeds from Click to Amnesty International to save a few lives themselves.

*Here is a quote from Chapter 2 of Click by David Almond:

“I’m Annie Lumsden, and I live with my mum in a house above the jetsam line on Stupor Beach. I’m thirteen years old and growing fast. I have hair that drifts like seaweed when I swim. I have eyes that shine like rock pools. My ears are like scallop shells. The ripples on my skin are like the ripples on the sand when the tide has turned back again. At night I gleam and glow like sea beneath the stars and moon. Thoughts dart and dance inside like little minnows in the shallows. They race and flash like mackerel farther out. My wonderings roll in the deep like sails. Dreams dive each night into the dark like dolphins do and break out happy and free into the morning light. These are the things I know about myself and that I see when I look in the rock pools at myself.”    — David Almond