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| Lacuna by Andrew Ramiro Tirado, CSFAC |
Currently reading:
Noblesse Oblige by Cynthia Smith: An oldie I found on my mom's shelves.
The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig: Only 3 more hours to go!
Posted:
Welcome to Château Mouton Rothschild, the most famous winery in Bordeaux.
Movies:
Proposed alternate title: Royal Rumspringa
It's the eve of VE Day, and all of London is celebrating. All except Princesses "Lilibet" and Margaret, who are trapped inside Buckingham Palace until they escape (with their parents' permission, the rebels) and spend the night amongst the little people.
There are two things I learned from this movie: one, it's apparently illegal to show Queen Elizabeth kissing someone who's not Prince Philip, even if she's not married to him at the time. And two, the British have no appreciation for the irony of the Poor Little Rich Girl trope. Or at the very least, this movie doesn't. Other than that, it was enjoyable. It spends a little too much time establishing a motivation for the girls to leave the palace, and the whole thing with getting their parents' permission was lame. But once they got out in London, it turned into a fairly delightful romantic-ish comedy, with vignettes of various London neighborhoods during WWII to satisfy your inner historian.
This documentary is about four things: "living legend" Anna Wintour; the intersection of industry and art in fashion; the glamor and celebrity of the Met Gala; and the work that goes into setting up both a major exhibition and a major event. One thing I definitely have to give the filmmakers props for is how they captured the sensuality of the clothing and fabric–even if you know nothing about fashion, it'll make you appreciate the level of artistry and craftsmanship in those gowns. Oh, and the exhibition China: Through the Looking Glass looked super-cool. If you're interested in either fashion or curatorial practices, this is an absolute must-watch.
These weeks in heidenkindom:
I'm back to being busy, writing-wise, which is good. I don't know why September is one of those months that always seems to be hectic when you're a writer, but if I didn't have a bunch of deadlines this month, I'd be worried.
I've also been busy Doing Things. Most of these things involve preparing for Japan and getting various problems with my car fixed–something I've been putting off for way too long–but I've also been doing fun things! Last week I went to an exhibit of Dalí illustrations of The Divine Comedy, something I've wanted to see ever since I wrote my "short" introduction to art and the Comedy.
We also went to a lecture on the national parks and conservation by John Fielder, who's a famous Colorado photographer. They had free food! Empanadas, yummmmm. Also, the photographs were pretty cool, although I think Fielder might be a little crazy. He spent 50 days camping in every corner of Rocky Mountain National Park. 50 days of camping with 100+ pounds of camera equipment, plus camping equipment, climbing 14,000-foot peaks. Let that sink in for a minute.
Finally, this past Saturday I went to the Mile High Author Event with my mom. It was packed! Daisy Prescott let me have a free donut with Fruit Loops on top that was really good. Then on the way back we got stuck in a nightmarish traffic jam that lasted an hour and a half, and came thisclose to being involved in a road rage pile-up. There was also a full moon last night. Coincidence?
Bonus:
Want to read more diverse books? Participating in the Diversathon? Check out Xicanti's post on diverse books you can download on Scribd and buy for cheap in ebook format.
Have a great week, everybody!
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