Tuesday, September 10, 2013

10 Places I've Seen Before I Died

[I review the movies "The English Teacher," "Oblivion," "How to Survive a Plague," "I Wish," Shirley Jones' memoir and comment on food and fashion.]

But first






This now classic travel guide calls us to exotic places and experiences, but as a retiree, it's unlikely I will get to Robert Louis Stevenson's home in Samoa or Namibia's Skeleton Coast or stay at The Ritz before I die (unless I win the lottery) -- but, I guess, you never know. 

However, I have been to Balzac's house in Paris, climbed the "The Old Man of Coniston" in the Lake District (England) and lived in an apartment in Venice.

With the exception of a cross country trip in the 1970's, my traveling life began in the mid-1980's.  I have been to England countless times, in most part because hubby's work took him there frequently.  I have also been to Europe many times, especially to Sweden, because my son studied there, and I have relatives there.

Since my humble blog cannot compete with the "1000 places" book, and I can't possibly recount all of the great travel experiences I have had while traveling without it also turning into a book, I have pulled out the ten places I have seen before I died -- the ones that were stand-out experiences and hopefully some of these might be experiences you would like to recreate for yourself.

So won't you join me
 as I share some of my own
"Places You Must See Before You Die?"


1.  Tallin, Estonia, from Stockholm by overnight ferry.

I was warned by a colleague not to go to Tallin on the weekend because that was where the Finns and the Swedes go to drink.  I guess it was a sign as we got off the subway and walked to the ferry that hordes of people were getting off the ferry that had just returned from Tallin, pulling pallets piled high with cases of beer -- and getting on the subway with them! 

You see, it is very expensive to drink in Sweden.  Not so much in Tallin, so it was a destination for Swedish folk, much like our going to Costco to stock up, I guess, except it involved a boat ride.

The overnight ferry to Tallin is actually a smaller version of a cruise ship, with all of the requisite amenities.


So we had a lovely stateroom with a view of the sea.  We spent some time up on deck enjoying the sunny day and an adult beverage, and then took our seats for dinner. 

After dinner, we headed to the main stage area where the Cruise Director was giving out information on the evening's entertainment. After discovering that not much was going on there except little children writhing around on the dance floor, we decided to explore more of the ship. It dawned on me that we were the only Americans on board. 

When we discovered a bar that was going to have karaoke, Hubby's ears perked up.  As an aspiring rock star, he is always up for a bit of karaoke.  I have fond memories of him back in the day blowing the audience away with his version of "You Put a Spell on Me."  So he signed up.

The show began with a matronly woman who appeared to be a regular.  Her specialty was Estonian folk songs.  We couldn't figure out why mushrooms appeared on the video behind her while she was singing.  Was she singing about mushrooms?

Then it was Hubby's turn. 

He sang Tom Jones' "You Can Keep Your Hat On," complete with gyrating hips and footwork.

He was followed by a couple of other locals. 

Then it was the folk song lady again.  More mushrooms on the video screen.  Must be an Estonian thing.

Then Hubby came on again and sang Roxy Music's "Love is a Drug."  Now the audience was growing and he was getting big applause.

Mushrooms.

Hubby

Mushrooms.

Then the Cruise Director came over to our table and asked Hubby to close the evening.  She was clearly impressed.  He closed the evening with the full version of "Bohemian Rhapsody."  You had to have been there.

As he was leaving the stage to full applause and whistles, I could see a woman approaching him and touching his arms.  Later Hubby told me she had asked him, "When will I see you again?  Will you be on the boat coming back?"

Hubby, in full rock star persona, said, "I can't.  I'm here with my wife," to which the poor woman replied, "No, no, no.  I just wanted to hear you sing again."

Later we were joined by a young Swedish man who was Hubby's first Swedish groupie.  He complained about the Mushroom Lady, who I guess is always on the boat and couldn't stop gushing about Hubby.  He also seemed to like the United States too, which was refreshing.

One thing about Sweden:  almost everyone speaks English.  I was astonished the first time I turned on the TV and Oprah was on without Swedish subtitles.  Hubby's theory is that there are 6,000,000 people in Sweden speaking Swedish, a language no one else speaks but them.  If they don't learn English, they won't have anyone else to talk to!

Tallin is a the oldest capital city in Northern Europe and has never been razed or pillaged.  It's a medieval town, but when you discover the disco across the street doesn't even open until 11am, you know it's a party town!  At our hotel, we had a disco on one side of us and strippers on the other!




2.  Paris

What can I say?  Paris is, well, Paris.  The whole City is an experience, but once you have done the museum and the usual sights, here are a couple of special experiences:

***Pont des Arts Bridge AKA "Lover's Bridge***
It's my understanding that this is becoming a phenomenon all over the world, but Paris is for lovers so this is THE place.  You bring your "Love Lock", you lock it to the bridge, kiss, and toss the keys into the Seine to symbolize your unbreakable love.  Awwww, I know.  But we have almost 30 years to celebrate.  Must be somethin' goin' on there.





If you forget to bring your lock with you, I noticed you could buy one right there on the bridge, which cheapened it a bit for me. 

So that my children and friends can find our lock, I specifically counted the poles on the bridge.  The lock is toward the center of the bridge around the 4th pole on the left as you walk toward the Left Bank. I wanted to be able to describe where it was so others can find it when they go to Paris. 

Think they will?





***Crepes***

The Rue de Rosiers in the Marais is a special street unto itself but is made even more special if you stop at the window where the fellow makes you a crepe while you wait. 



This last time I had a Nutella and banana.  Yum. 

While we were waiting, a young woman approached us.  She was not only American, but from Seattle, and had been living in Paris for several months.  She noticed Hubby's ever-present Mariner's cap (I know, I try to get him to stop wearing the damn thing, especially in Europe.  Gee, do you think people can tell we are Americans?).  Anyway, she was very sweet and just wanted someone to speak English with.  But in so doing, she also recommended a lovely restaurant called Chez Robert et Louise, which turned out to be a wonderful Parisian experience that we would not have otherwise had.  So don't underestimate those short but sweet interactions with those you encounter when you are traveling.




3.  Oxford, England by way of a narrowboat on the Oxford Canal

Who would think this would turn out to be one of our most wonderful vacations?



As the Anglophile that I am, I subscribe to a few magazines devoted to the UK.  I read an article about renting a canal boat in England.  I had also seen them in the canal in the town where we mostly stayed when Hubby was in England for business and the idea fascinated me.

We invited my Swedish cousin, Jane and her then boyfriend, Lars (they are now married), our daughter and my sister.  We all met in Oxford and headed out to secure out boat, "The Damselfly," which we had reserved months before.

When we arrived, we didn't realize we had to schlepp our bags over several boats to get to ours.  Did I really need one suitcase just for shoes?  I was beginning to question this whole idea.

When we were situated on the boat, which had three bedrooms, two bathrooms and everything we would need, we were given brief instructions and off we went.  Hubby took the wheel which was outside at the end of the long boat. 


When we arrived at the first lock, there was immediate confusion.  Do you think the guys had read the instruction book on the counter?  No!

Daughter and Lars at a lock


I read the instructions, relayed them to the guys at the lock and off we went again. 

And then the rain came.

Since the driver has to be outside all of the time, this was not a good thing. Thankfully, there was only one day with rain and Lars had a flask for the driver.

You can't travel more than about two miles per hour.  There are signs all along the canal about the speed, especially when you pass people who are tied up to the bank and living on the boats.  One time Hubby cranked it up to 4 miles per hour and a boat resident came out and shook his fist at us.  He was probably making a cuppa tea and we rocked his boat!



But slowing cruising through the English countryside is bliss.  And I mean slow.  This was our itinerary.

Day 1
8.4 miles to Thrupp.

Day 2
7.7 miles to Lower Heyford.

Day 3
13.5 miles to Oxford Aristotle Bridge.

Day 4
6.7 miles to Eynsham Lock.

Day 5
1.5 miles to the Boathouse.

Total 37.8 miles in four days!

At night, we would tie up at a village pub, have dinner, get to know the locals and then head back to the boat where we drank wine and played music. 

My older sister, Posy, enjoying some down time.

When it came time to turn around, once again Hubby had not paid attention to the instructions. 

What is it with men and instructions/directions?

We knew we could only turn around at a wide place in the canal specifically for that purpose (called a "winding hole," pronounced as in the wind that blows, not the top you wind), but as usual Hubby had not read the directions and went in the wrong way, thus flummoxing his attempts to turn around.  With some help from the locals, we made it out.

Did we bump into things?  Duh.

The boat had no brakes - the only way to turn was to increase the engine and turn the rudder.  When we were heading back into the Thames to return the boat, the rudder would not turn the boat because of the wind coming from the direction Hubby was trying to turn into. So we kept going straight - right into the tree!  The rest of us were all sitting in the front talking and laughing when all of a sudden I saw a tree looming ahead.  Boom.  Into the bank we went.  Comes with the territory.  The boats are fitted with metal sides for just such occurrences and amateurs like us.



The last night, we tied up just outside of town, no one was near and we blasted our music and had a wonderful time finishing off all of the booze and singing "Red, red wine" at the top of our lungs.

Our ages ranged from 20-70, from three different cultures (Sweden and East and West Coasts of the U.S.), close quarters for four days and nary a cross word.



4.  Smaland, Sweden

My mother's parents both immigrated from Sweden at the turn of the century.  Most Swedish immigrants came from there as the land was so rocky it couldn't be farmed and there was a great deal of poverty. 

My mother went back to meet the relatives that remained and that is when she met my cousin, Jane.  Jane's grandmother was my mother's first cousin. Jane was a teen when she met my mother and really wanted to come to America and she did!  She stayed with my parents for a time (I had moved to California by then) and then found work as an au pair. 

I knew about this connection but had not met Jane.  However, when my son wanted to study in Lund, Sweden, I wanted to connect with Jane so my son had someone to call upon if necessary.  My mother and father were gone by then so I took some chances with some emails - "Are you the Jane who...?" and found her.  We arranged to meet and the rest is history. 

Jane has connected us to all of the remaining relatives who have all been welcoming and kind. 



We have been there several times to visit, but the highlight is always visiting the family home, where my grandmother was born in 1880.  It's still in the family, outhouse and all (would be tremendously expensive to put in indoor plumbing because of that rocky soil I mentioned earlier).



I can't tell you the feeling to be in that house, to walk down the road, to breathe that air that my grandmother did as she decided to leave her family and go to America. What made her decide to go off to America all by herself?  I wish I knew the whole story.  I do know that Jenny, my grandmother, went back to Sweden to visit and tried to get her sister (Jane's great-grandmother) to come back with her to America but she was afraid or her father wouldn't let her.  How that would have changed things for my cousin Jane!


5.  Vienna

Though we toured "The Ring," the Hofburg Palace and The Opera House, what I remember most is the art nouveau architecture.  We did quite a thorough tour of the many art nouveau buildings that were a protest against the historical style.


 But the most fun was the "Toilet of Modern Art."  



I made use of the facilities.




6.  Lower Slaughter, the Cotswolds, England

Here is my very favorite English village. 


I have been an Anglophile for as long as I can remember and read a book called "Life in Lower Slaughter" by Robert G. Deindorfer.  It was written in 1975 and painted the most idyllic picture of life in the English countryside. I had to go there. 

The second time I accompanied my husband on one of his business trips to England, since I had to entertain myself while he was working and I was in England, for god's sake, I finally got up the nerve to drive a car and went in search of this village. 

There is a walk you can do from Lower Slaughter to Upper Slaughter, through a sheep pasture, over some stiles and then around again on a country road.  I was all alone and couldn't believe that here I was, in this bucolic setting all alone in England. 

I have gone back there several times, each time encountering more and more people taking that walk.  The last time we stayed there overnight in the Washbourne Court Hotel (now The Slaughters Country Inn) and after dinner walked out into the foggy evening.  I get goose bumps just writing this.  There we were.  We had the sleepy, quiet town all to ourselves. 

I could pretend for a moment I lived there.




7.  Venice

All I can say is...no, the canal does not stink, you can get away from the crowds and if you don't see Venice before it collapses into the sea, you will have missed one of the most magical cities in the world.

During one trip we stayed in an apartment with my son and his wife.  We were off the beaten track and could walk the narrow walled streets out to the little supermarket and feel like locals.  We were right across from a hospital so an ambulance would go by from time to time -- an ambulance boat, I might add.

Our View from our apartment.


A big thrill was having a drink at Harry's Bar. 



Though it's a bit of a tourist trap these days, I still felt in the presence of Hemingway and other expats who frequented the place and the staff was surprisingly friendly, which isn't often the case with famous places like this that have become meccas for tourists.  Like a tourist, I was craning my neck all around looking for celebrities, while trying to act and look like I was also one!

When we were there with our son and his wife, we sat near some young fellows who were drinking quite a bit and then all of a sudden there was a commotion and the bartender ran out.  Those fellows had run out without paying their bill. 

Must have been those prices!




8.  Prague

Here is another special City. 




One caveat: Some cabbies that pick you up at the train station are not honest.  So what happened?  Despite our knowing about this, we ended up in one of those.  When we arrived at the hotel, Hubby was enraged to find out how much the guy was charging us.  Our travel guru, Rick Steves, had offered that when this happens go into the hotel and report them.  Hubby did just that but the response in the hotel was "Welcome to Prague." Hubby was not amused. Needless to say, when we left, the hotel booked us an honest cab driver.

A highlight of Prague was the Jewish Cemetery. 


Twelve thousand headstones; 100,000 people buried in this small space.

I have a little work story about that.  When I worked as a research librarian, I was asked about the oldest grave in the cemetery.  A tourist had just been there but was not able to remember what that was.  This was pre-Internet days and searching through indexes and articles didn't help me.  However, I was able to find an email address for the gift shop at the cemetery.  I sent them an email saying "A librarian in the U.S. needs your help" and shortly after, I received a nice reply with the answer I needed.   The oldest grave belongs to the Prague rabbi and poet Avigdor Kara from 1439, just in case someone asks YOU that!




9.  Bruges, Belgium

This medieval city is a wonderful walking town.  Too bad it rained the entire time we were there! 



But we stayed in a gorgeous hotel - Grand Hotel Casselburgh (highly recommended) for a good price especially compared to what our hotels were like in Paris and London, for the same price.



We had fun interacting with the young bartender who wanted to open a Belgian Beer Bar in San Diego!  You know how I feel about young, er, good bartenders!



And then there was the Frites Museum!  According to them, our fries should be called Belgian Fries, not French Fries!


For a tour of Bruges while watching a really good film get In Bruges.






10.  Victoria, B.C.

Closer to home is one of my favorite cities. 

In fact, when we were contemplating our move from California to the Northwest, it was between Portland and Seattle and I voted for Seattle so we could be closer to Canada.

Now that we have been to Victoria many times and done the tourist things such as Butchart Gardens and tea at the Empress, I now have my routine.

We get to the hotel, walk around the Inner Harbor and then I head for Murchies to get my tea (they have the best tea ever and you can order online) and then over to Munro's Books, one of the last great independent book stores which was recently featured in "16 Bookstories You Have to See Before You Die."  (Do you sense a theme going on there?).  I am always looking for biographies and autobiographies of lesser known British actors that are rarely available in the U.S.

In the evening we have a drink in the Bengal Lounge, a recreation of England's Colonial era in the Empress Hotel



and stroll back to the hotel admiring the lights around Parliament.



In the morning we walk over to the best Starbucks in the world in Cook Street Village, where we can hobnob with the locals and pretend we are one of them.





Oh, I forgot to warn you.

"This list goes to 11.  It's one longer."



11.  Iceland

From Seattle, one of the less expensive ways to get to Europe is via Iceland on Icelandic Air.  And it comes with a stopover in Iceland in either direction where you can stay for as long as you like for no added expense.  So we availed ourselves of this one year. 

Iceland is like being on another planet



But it's such an interesting culture.  There are Icelanders who can read the Viking language because it is so close to Icelandic. 

Since there are no trees, the buildings are mostly tin imported from Norway. 



We rented an apartment and had a wonderful time, the highlight being swimming in the Blue Lagoon, a natural hot spring in the middle of a lava field. 

If you go, just know they want to make your stay easy.  They will pick you up at your hotel or apartment to transport you to some outdoor adventure and cater it with fine dining.  It's an outdoorsman's paradise.

I remember joking to Hubby, wondering if the Blue Lagoon had a swim-up bar. 
Guess what?





I have had so many wonderful travel experiences, it wasn't easy to choose which to share. 

But those are some special places I've seen before I died and now I need to work on those other 990!



If you had to pick your all-time favorite travel experiences, what would they be?





Rosy the Reviewer's
Week in Review



Films




Really liked this film especially seeing Julianne Moore in a lighter role.  This also stars Nathan Lane who always makes me laugh.

Rosy the Reviewer says...an enjoyable comedy with dramatic overtones that didn't get a lot of attention when it came out.  Worth a look.

Oblivion (2013)








Had no idea what was going on here. But keep your eye on Andrea Riseborough.  She starred in "Shadow Dancer," which I recently reviewed. 
 

Rosy the Reviewer says...Oblivion is where this film belongs. 
Sorry, Tommy.  I have always loved you but couldn't get my head around this one. 









Touted as one of the best documentaries of 2012, this history of the AIDS crisis reminds us of the stigma involved with this disease when it first came to light, a stigma so intense that hospitals were turning people away and no one was working to find the proper drugs to treat the disease.  But through activism things changed.

Rosy the Reviewer says...a case of the patient curing himself.  But we must not get complacent.  AIDS is still out there.  An important film.



I Wish (2012)





I wanted to like this film as I am a sucker for adorable children, especially highly animated, joyous kids.  In this Japanese film (and yes, subtitles), two little brothers who have been separated by divorce believe that if they make a wish at just the point that two bullet trains pass each other, their wish will come true.
So they and their friends make the trip.

Rosy the Reviewer says...slight premise and overlong but the child actors were delightful.





Food

If someone can give me recipe that actually turns out well in a slow cooker I would be amazed.  So far everything I have made in a slow cooker has been tasteless and/or mushy.  The only reason I can think of to use something that takes 7-8 hours to cook is to have your food ready when you get home from work.  But if the food tastes bad, what's the point?  You might as well cook for an hour when you get home.

Rosy the Reviewer asks...is being retired and using a slow cooker an oxymoron?



Fashion

Remember last week, I told you that a big trend for fall is "bedazzled black? " 

Well, aren't these hot?


Am wearing them to Hubby's and his partner's big rock & roll gig this weekend!

Rosy the Reviewer says...no comments.  I am wearin' 'em. 
Now I need to start practicing my twerking!




Fun

---Reading



"Shirley Jones: A Memoir"


And what a memoir it is.  Mrs. Partridge, we hardly knew ye!

Rosy the Reviewer says...if you like celebrity autobiographies that dish the dirt, here it is right here.  Delicious!




---Stair walking...

Am starting to question why this falls into the "fun" category. 

On this last walk of 90 minutes, 2.6 miles and 588 steps down and 477 steps up, it occurred to me as I dragged my butt up step number 450 that it was surprising we were not more like Pavlov's dogs. 

Shouldn't we have an aversion to getting up and getting in the car to head to a stair walk when we know how much it is going to hurt? 

Gulp!



And yet we continue to do it. 

Must be the "No pain, no gain" principle.  

But if it has to hurt, then I like the pay off - the gorgeous views and the sense of accomplishment.

As we head down some stairs, we catch a glimpse of someone's deck.

Can you believe someone actually gets to live with that view?




Well, that's it for this week. 

See you next week when I plan to do an appreciation of Lifetime Movies. 
Or not.



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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

20 Books and Films That Helped Shape This Baby Boomer's Life

We all have books and films that evoke something of the past in us. When we think of them we are reminded of a moment in time. 

But there are also books and films that did something more...changed us in some ways or added a new layer to our lives. 

These books and films are not necessarily on any "best lists" or necessarily highly rated.  I have different lists for that. 


These are films and books that helped shape my life or changed me in some way.
(In a somewhat chronological order)



***Books***


1.  I have to start with a book that I now can't find. 

I know I was in middle school or early high school and was at my friend Linda's house.  Her parents had a book on their bookshelf called something like "100 Masterpieces of World Literature."  This would have been the late 1950's or early 1960's, so it wouldn't have any titles published beyond that.  I remember it listed "Alice Adams" by Booth TarkingtonSomerset Maugham's "Of Human Bondage" and "Not as a Stranger" by Morton Thompson, authors not much read today. 

But that book made me want to read every one of the titles listed --  so I did. 

I started at "A" and went all the way to the end, reading my way through that list. 

It was a thrill to go to the library and search in the dark stacks for the next books on my list, finding those titles and reading  "adult" books.  And some of them were quite educational!  I was already a reader and a library user, but it fueled my desire to read books I was not familiar with and to learn about the world outside of my small town in Michigan. 

I think I might have stopped when I got to "Ulysses."
(though I read that later in life.)




2.  "Gone with the Wind" by Margaret Mitchell.

 


I was 12 and reading my first book over 1000+ pages. 

I was already in love with Clark Gable and had seen the movie when I was really young.  Can't remember why I wanted to read the book, but all of my friends were, possibly because the movie was coming to town again. 

With all of our technology and ability to see movies on DVD only months after their release in the theatres, we forget there was a time when, if you didn't catch the movie when it came to town, it was lost forever to you.  So "Gone with the Wind" was playing again, and there I was in the theatre, reading the last few pages of the book as the lights went down and the curtain rose.  A politically incorrect book, I know, but the character of Scarlett O'Hara was a mesmerizing one and the story riveting. 

Margaret Mitchell's life was also an interesting story, and it is amazing that this was her only published novel.  When my daughter lived in Atlanta, I toured her home and an homage site outside of town.  Neither was very impressive. 

The book and movie so affected me that I thought there would be a recreation of Tara on Peachtree Street!






3.  "Marjorie Morningstar" by Herman Wouk.

I read this in high school and as a fledgling actress it spoke to me. 

It's the story of a young girl who also wanted to be an actress.  One thing I still remember vividly in it was her saying she didn't need to be a star, but she had to try to make it as an actress or she would forever wonder if she could have.  However, she ends up a housewife in some small town.  So that was my mantra. 
"I don't care if I am a big star, but I just want to be an actress so I won't wonder what could have been." 

Guess what?  Well, I didn't end up a housewife, anyway.






4.  "What Every Driver Must Know" - State of Michigan

Not exactly a book, but reading this spelled...

 

freedom!
 
(I warned you that this wasn't a critically acclaimed list!)







5.  "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

 

Not sure which came first, this book or my interest in true crime. 

But when I heard about this book and that it would be published in installments in the New Yorker, I moved heaven and earth to get copies of those installments, which wasn't easy in the pre-Internet days.  My library didn't carry the New Yorker, so I had to get photocopies through interlibrary loan.   I then read it again when it was published in hardback and that book scared the crap out of me.  To think that an innocent family like the Clutters could be living their lives out in the country in Kansas and be so brutalized was just astonishing to me.  Capote's prose was sparse but dramatic and he drew you in - you were there. 

The book was so riveting I have since been a fan of true crime, but I am also now afraid to be alone at night.





6.  "Primary Philosophy" by Michael Scriven.

Philosophy 101 - Freshman year. 

Though the text was not just about the existence of God, his arguments for and against faith and beliefs affected me. He argued that faith alone was not an adequate way to prove the truth of beliefs.  

My father was a Christian Scientist and my mother was a Lutheran.  I went to church every Sunday, mostly at the Christian Science Church.  My father felt he didn't ask much of us so he expected we would do that for him, get up and go to church.  So we did. 

When I went to college, I took advantage of being away from home to not have to get up on Sunday morning and go to church as I had for the last 15+ years.  But  I can't remember how fervent my beliefs were when I went to college, though I believed in God.  Reading this text, however, made me question faith and what that meant, andthink that's what college is supposed to do, make you question things. 

Years later, I was at a party far from where I went to college and somehow this subject came up.  I was talking about how affected I had been by this book, but couldn't remember the name of the textbook or the author, but when I described it, one of the people in the discussion shouted, "Scriven!"  So I was not alone.

My son-in-law is a philosophy professor and I bought him a copy for Christmas, so I had a chance to look at it again 40+ years later.  I found it as I remembered it - asking all of the right questions.

A rational look at belief and faith.






7.  "Baby and Child Care" by Benjamin Spock

Dr. Spock's advice was still relevant in 1980 when my son was born, even though his book was first published in 1946.  Since I was born in 1948, it was probably the advice my mother took as well. 

He was the first to espouse parents being more affectionate and flexible when raising their children so most of us Baby Boomers probably benefited from his advice. However, the fact that he also was a liberal who was against the war in Vietnam led critics to brand his parenting advice as permissive and entitling, that we somehow expected instant gratification, and because of that, in turn, they blamed him for young people becoming protesters during the 60's and 70's.  Kind of a leap. 

But we Baby Boomers are getting it on both ends.  The current younger generation also blames us for the world as it is now and leaving them with school loans, a bad economy and who knows what else. 

But wait, our children were also brought up on Dr. Spock.  And aren't the Millennials (most of our children) the "Me generation?

And those children born in the 1980's constitute a birth rate almost as high as the Baby Boom generation. 

Here is what USA Today said about them in 2007:  "Developing a meaningful philosophy of life" decreased the most, across generations, from 73% for Boomers to 45% for Millennials.

"Becoming involved in programs to clean up the environment" dropped from 33% for Boomers to 21% for Millennials."

But this generation also appears to be even more liberal than us Baby Boomers, supporting gay marriage and other social issues.

I wonder what their legacy will be.






8. "The Giving Tree" by Shel Silverstein

This was a favorite book for both of my children and I am now reading it to my grandsons. 

 I defy any of you parents out there to read that thing without crying. 

My god, after giving the boy everything, her fruit, her branches, her trunk, until she was reduced to a stump...the boy came back...



–”I don’t need very much now”, said the boy. “Just a quiet place to sit and rest. I am very tired”.
–”Well”, said the tree, straightening herself up as much as she could, “well, an old stump is good for sitting and resting. Come, Boy, sit down… sit down and rest”.
And the boy did.
And the tree was happy."


Geez, I'm crying right now. I can't stand it.







9.  "Wild, From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail" by Cheryl Strayed


This is a very recent book for me but it had a profound impact. 

I tend to read mostly nonfiction these days, biographies, true crime, pop culture stuff, but this book will appeal to fiction readers as much as nonfiction readers. 

After the traumatic loss of  her mother, Strayed decides to walk the Pacific Crest Trail on her own.  She describes her day-to-day journey and it goes from harrowing to exciting to insightful. 

But the bottom line, the takeaway for me was, no matter what life throws at you, keep putting one foot in front of the other.







10.  Search Inside Yourself, The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace) by Chade-Meng Tan.

 

Here is another recent find.  The author was a trainer at Google, which might explain why Google is doing so well.

It's self-help, but it's humorous and a fun read and attempts to help you deal with triggering situations.  I found this when I became interested in meditation but this goes further. 

 My big takeaway was his mnemonic.

"Siberian North Railroad" helps you remember to Stop, Breathe, Notice, Reflect, Respond when dealing with triggering events.

Try it, it works (if you can remember the mnemonic).




***Films***


1.  "Gone with the Wind"
 

The movie had even more of an impact on me than the book. 

The film was released in 1939, but its popularity was such that it would be re-released from time to time.  My mother took me to see it when I was five and it is one of the few memories I have that far back. But it's a vivid one.  Then I saw it again in 1960 and then several times after that.

That was when I decided I wanted to be an actress and it was probably because Scarlett O'Hara got to wear so many beautiful clothes.  But hey, we all have our reasons.






2.  "Hard Day's Night"


If you have been reading my blogs, you know I am not only a huge Beatles fan but that I also feel they have great significance to the popular culture of Baby Boomers.  

In case you missed it, here is the link. 

I have probably seen this film 10 times or more.  In my youth, all I cared about was that it was about my idols.  But now, of course, it is recognized as a brilliant little film directed by acclaimed director Richard Lester. 

I think the Beatles and this film spoke to me and other Baby Boomers, because as the Wilson sisters ("Heart) said in their recent oral history with Charles Cross, "Kicking and Dreaming" , they didn't want to marry the Beatles, they wanted to BE the Beatles.  I so get that.

Though I have to say I did want to marry Paul, this film also made me want to be them, to be there (in England) and do what they did. 




3. "West Side Story"



 

This film changed the face of musical theatre and musical films forever.  

It was such a big event that it played in the theatres like a stage play.  My friend Linda's parents took me to Chicago with them and we saw it there.  It was the first time I had sat in a movie theatre while an overture was played, with the skyline of New York City superimposed on the movie curtain.

Of course, "West Side Story" had already taken Broadway by storm, but for a girl of 12 from Michigan who didn't have a prayer in hell to get to New York City, seeing this movie was a revelation. It took on social issues, combined those with a classic story, and a sublime score and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim.  It was gritty, beautiful and sad and changed my little 12-year-old self forever. 

I must have played that soundtrack thousands of times in my room, and when I die, I want "There's a Place For Us" sung at my funeral.






4.  "Citizen Kane"


Orson Welles was just too much of a genius to play the Hollywood game.  That's my theory anyway, because all of his films are classics but he didn't get to make very many, and he didn't make much money.

Citizen Kane" gave me a tutorial in the art of innovative filmmaking.  He was the first to shoot a camera looking up from below and his scenes at the breakfast table between Charles Foster Kane and his wife show the disintegration of a marriage in six short vignettes all within two and a half minutes.

Here it is.

Brilliant just brilliant.







5.  "Rebel Without a Cause"


James Dean.  Natalie Wood.  Sal Mineo.  Teenage angst.  Drag racing.  Sounds like teen spirit. What could be better when you are a teenager yourself in the late 50's and early 60's?  And then Dean was killed in a car crash. 

I was agog.








6.  Easy Rider"

And then came the 1960's version of "rebel." 

I literally let out a yell in the movie theatre at the final scene.









7"Up Series"

This incredible series of films has followed 16 British children every seven years since 1964 when they were all seven.  The first film was titled "7 Up," followed by "14 Up," "21 Up," etc.  The most recent, "56 Up," was just released this year. 

It began as a study in class where the assumption was that each child's class would predict his or her future.   The premise of the film was taken from the Jesuit motto "Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man", which is based on a quotation by Francis Xavier.

The aim of the series is stated at the beginning of 7 Up as: "Why do we bring these children together? Because we want to get a glimpse of England in the year 2000. The shop steward and the executive of the year 2000 are now seven years old." 

But it is a study in realism, dreams realized, dreams dashed.  We see these kids grow up before our very eyes.

Director Michael Apted has been chronicling these children's lives since the second installment for an incredible 42 years.  What a feat!

This is probably the documentary that inspired my life-long love of this genre (and why, dare I say it?  I love reality TV). 







8.  "Night and Fog"

This is also a documentary - a shocking depiction of the Nazi concentration camps shortly after the war. 

If you have any doubt the holocaust happened, you need to see this film.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 



9.  "Taste of Honey"

This 1961 British film, directed by Tony Richardson, father of Natasha and Joely, is part of the "kitchen sink realism" that changed the face of film.  Speaking of faces, this is when actors and actresses started to look like real people, you and me.

There was one "art house" in town and my friends and I were able to get into see the films there, even though you were supposed to be 18 (and we weren't).  I  think we had fake ID's.

Rita Tushingham starred and I related to her because it was the first time I saw a movie where the lead actress wasn't classically beautiful.  She had an odd look.  Since I wanted to be an actress but was insecure about my looks, it heartened me to see a successful actress who didn't have the classic Hollywood face.










10.  "51 Birch Street"

A son discovers the secrets of his parent's marriage after his mother dies in this documentary about  the more subtle forms of repression, secrecy and denial within a family, and the complexity of marriage. 

I remember sitting on the edge of the bed with my Dad when I was about 12 and asking him why I knew my friends better than I knew my mother and him.  He said something about parents not wanting to worry their children.  But even as a young girl, I wanted to "know" and "be known." 

As humans, I think our deepest desire is to be known by others, but we don't know how to do it. 

That's what this movie is about. Cinema verite at its best.



What books and films shaped your life? 

Let's get a discussion going!





 


***Rosy the Reviewer's Week in Review***


Films

A great week for movies.




"Amour"

This French film was not only nominated for an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (which it won), but for Best Picture and Best Screenplay as well and there is a reason. 

It's a wonderful story about the love between an old couple and what happens after the wife has a stroke.  It's all about dying with dignity and what we are willing to do to make that happen. 

 I have thought about this very thing when I think about my Dad, who died at home with his loved ones around him, and my mother, who died alone in a nursing home.





Rosy the Reviewer says...a must see.  I know, you have to read subtitles but do it,  it's worth it.





"Trance"

This psychological thriller directed by Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire") reminded me of "Inception," with it's "is this real or imagined?" scenes.



Rosy the Reviewer says...despite some "huh?" moments, James McAvoy and Rosario Dawson are outstanding.





"Shadow Dancer"


This British-Irish drama is about Colette, a young IRA member who is arrested and given the choice of working undercover or losing her son.  Andrea Riseborough as Colette is amazing and Clive Owen is always good.



Rosy the Reviewer says...Taut thriller and I didn't see the end coming at all.




Food

Took a break from the Bumbershoot Music Festival to have a lovely meal at the Tilikum Place Café in Seattle.  Had the most delicious hand-cut pasta in sage butter as a starter, followed by pork tenderloin on a bed of creamed corn.  Hubby had a wonderful New York steak with onion rings.  And the onion rings were done right.  Don't you hate it when you eat onion rings and when you bite into them, the onion comes out of the coating?  These didn't do that.  They were perfect.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Seattlites and visitors - this is a special place.  Don't miss it!





Fashion

According to Elle Magazine, fall is all about polka dots, nautical-meets-military and surrealism.  Colors include bedazzled black, navy and pastels. 

Rosy the Reviewer says...so dress accordingly.

 
 
 

I think I can manage the black and bedazzled thing.







Fun

This week it was all about Bumbershoot, the three day music and arts festival that takes over Seattle every year over the Labor Day weekend.  We attended on Saturday with the express purpose of seeing Heart but also found some other up and coming acts.

Diamond Rings

Davidson Hart Kingsbury

Lake Street Dive

The Jason Bonham Experience opened for Heart on the main stage.  Jason is John Bonham's son, John of Led Zeppelin fame.  So it was all about paying homage to Led Zeppelin.  Heart followed with all of their hits.  Both Nancy and Ann were in fine voice.  Mike McCready of Pearl Jam came out to play with them on "Crazy on You" and the encore included six Led Zeppelin songs accompanied by Jason Bonham and his band.  Ann Wilson sang Robert Plant better than Robert Plant!  Gorgeous Pacific NW day.  Fabulous concert.

Rosy the Reviewer says...Bumbershoot is an annual event I look forward to and a great way to support new, young talent.

 
See you next week!