These are your dreams among my dreams

[sovay]

A small self-serving entry.

Postcards from the Province of Hyphens is now available from Prime Books' website.

Thank you.

. . . still ridiculously happy . . .

[edited 2005-05-12 18:13]

Because rushthatspeaks tagged me for this, and I forgot all about it:

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
Twenty-seven, assuming that all of I, Claudius counts as a film. In several ways, I am not a very good choice for this meme: I'm focused much more strongly around books and music than film. If you asked me, for example, how many CDs or tapes I owned (between 200 and 220, depending on how you count albums that exist only in MP3 form) or how many books are in my apartment (at a rough estimate by bookshelf, box, and windowsill, somewhere around 1200), then we might be in business.

2) The last film I bought:
Er. For myself? To be honest, I don't think I've ever bought any. I am pretty sure I bought some DVDs for family and friends over the holidays, though . . .

3) The last film I watched:
In theaters, probably The Aviator. (Look, it's been a busy semester.) On the small screen, Victor/Victoria last Friday with a bunch of friends.

4) Five films I watch a lot that mean a lot to me:
Again, there are few films that I watch repetitively. Splash is one of the few exceptions: counting all the times I watched it over and over again as a small child, I may have seen that film somewhere in the vicinity of two dozen times. You may now contemplate what that did to my brain. But as for films that mean a lot to me, in no particular order: Splash, Alien, Darby O'Gill and the Little People, Blade Runner, and Secretary. Really there should be five or six more films on that list, to provide a slightly more balanced picture, but you'll have to ask me off-meme if you're curious.

5) I am not going to force this meme on anyone, but I'd be curious to see what shirei_shibolim, fleurdelis28, yuki_onna, oldcharliebrown, and fetishpunk have to say on the subject.

Comments

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

...blue seas among sunbeams.

Frabjous day!

Nine

[kythiaranos.livejournal.com]

Congratulations! That's wonderful news. *g*

[sovay]

Thank you!

[sovay]

Calloo, callay, and all!

[muchabstracted.livejournal.com]

Congratulations!

*holds breath until Singing Innocence and Experience comes out*

[spectre-general.livejournal.com]

On the topic of movies, I have to second you on Darby O'Gill. I spent many a childhood afternoon searching the forests for King Brian of Knocknasheega. :) Also, that coiste bodhar terrified the living daylights out of me. I love Splash and Blade Runner, too, but they weren't as formative.

Do you mean the 2002 film Secretary? If so, I'd be really interested in why you enjoyed it so much. When Andrew and I were in Paris, there were advertisements for it on every corner, and I've been intending, though frequently forgetting, to see it ever since. After all, a romantic comedy based on BDSM? How could it not be interesting?

Ainsley

[sovay]

The 2002 film Secretary, yes, with James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal: it was fantastic. (My only criticism: it fumbles the tone slightly near the end of the film. But not by much, and it recovers soon.) I highly recommend. For starters, it's an excellent romantic comedy; and that's not a genre to which I am particularly drawn, as my idea of a romantic comedy generally has Katherine Hepburn and/or Cary Grant in it,* so when I find one I love, I'm really impressed. On top of that, it's a very intelligent film, in that it always treats its characters like real people and neither pieces in a plot nor symbols of a lifestyle, as I could very easily have seen happening with a poorer script. It's got terrific music. It's thought-provoking. It's romantic as well as erotic. And it is the only BDSM romantic comedy I have ever seen in my life. I should really get a copy one of these days.

Did that answer your question?

Also, that coiste bodhar terrified the living daylights out of me.

Likewise: I think I was actually more scared by the death-coach than by the banshee. But you get extra credit for being able to spell the thing. Did you know that Darby O'Gill is now out on DVD, by the way? I know what I'm doing with my poetry royalties . . .

*Splash is the other exception, although it wasn't until recent rewatching that I really thought about the film as a romantic comedy. When I saw it originally, it was the folkloric elements that impressed themselves on me: the shape-changing, the sea, and the choices between one world and another. (I've since read that it was originally conceived as a modern retelling of "The Little Mermaid," but it still strikes me as much more of a selkie story or, this time around, a Melusine variant.) Something about Eugene Levy's myth-obsessed scientist also touched resonances for me, but again I think I missed most of the humor in the character beyond the obvious physical comedy—and the fact that he's a near-total shmuck for most of the film. And I got that it was a love story, but not the bawdier aspects. I think John Candy's entire role went right over my head. Fortunately, this only made the whole film that much better this latest time around.

[fetishpunk.livejournal.com]

okay then :)

1) Total number of films I own on DVD/video:
Errm, probably half a dozen or so? I just chucked out a load of videos and only have those movies which I'd want to watch repeatedly rather than just ones I've liked. I'm not one for hanging onto things, be they books or movies, I'm happy just to just consume them then get rid of them...

2) The last film I bought:
Bought the latest Rollins DVD but that was for my brother, Big Fish and Finding Nemo for Jen, so i guess the last one would be Fight Club which was about two years ago :)

3) The last film I watched:
Gus Van Sant's "Elephant" and the French movie "Baise Moi". Elephant was very good and I really like Van Sant, just for his range and experimentation if nothing else, whilst Baise Moi was a far more interesting phenomenon in itself rather than the actual movie...

4) Five films I watch a lot that mean a lot to me:
"meaning" can only go so far when it comes to movies but I guess I'd say Fight Club (for being a near-perfect film on so many levels), Camille Claudel (for its relevance to jen and I), Halloween (just a classic horror movie), Lost Highway/Mulholland Drive (Lynch showing the rip-off merchants just how it's done). I guess i could also add in Lurhmann's Romeo and Juliet, again for meaning to J and I.