(no subject)

Was hunting for a poem read at church by Mary Oliver - regarding the full catastrophe of life, but found this instead...

Next Time by Mary Oliver

Next time what I'd do is look at
the earth before saying anything. I'd stop
just before going into a house
and be an emperor for a minute
and listen better to the wind
or to the air being still.

When anyone talked to me, whether
blame or praise or just passing time,
I'd watch the face, how the mouth
has to work, and see any strain, any
sign of what lifted the voice.

And for all, I'd know more -- the earth
bracing itself and soaring, the air
finding every leaf and feather over
forest and water, and for every person
the body glowing inside the clothes
like a light.

Zen parable read at church that I found rather interesting:

A zen monk decides to take a long walk...and he starts paying so much attention to the flowers, he loses track of where he is going...until he becomes quite lost. Before long he hears the growl of a tiger. So he takes off and runs - only to come across a cliff with a 50 foot drop. About ten feet down he sees a solitary branch, so he takes a deep breath and jumps and just manages to grasp hold of the branch. Sighing in relief he looks up to see the Tiger sit down to wait for him to either fall or attempt to climb up again, below, alligators are beginning to circle. And directly in front, he notices a couple of gophers pop up and begin to gnaw on the branch. After a few moments he also sees a wild strawberry...hanging from the branch just within reach.
The monk takes a deep breath and uses all his strength to pluck it, then he eats it with rapture and exclaims "delicious".

I thought this was an excellent metaphor for life...tigers in front, alligators below, gophers gnawing away...but hello! Strawberries!!

TV Slut: Project Runway, Lone Star and The Even Reviews

Finished watching Project Runway during lunch. Agree with who was in the bottom and the top, but not with who won and who lost.( Project Runway Spoilers )

( Lone Star Review, vague spoilers, which you probably already know if you read any other reviews or saw any commericials on it )

Compare and contrast to The Event - which surprised me. I did not expect to like this one. It looked like another run-of-the-mill conspiracy thriller a la Flashforward and Fringe - neither of which held my interest for very long. But, it's not. For one thing it has a compelling lead in Jason Ritter (son of the late John Ritter - who has inherited his father's likability and dramatic everyman spirit) - a versatile actor, Jason has to date played everything from a cripple to a teacher. He's not as pretty as Wolk and that is part of the appeal. He emotes pain and fear well and does it through the eyes. I was riveted whenever he was on screen. But The EVENT is an ensemble piece and has to introduce numerous characters and plot fairly quickly - unlike Lone Star it does more showing in the regard than telling. The only things it tells us are names, dates, and locations. Since we jump back and forth in time and between three points of view this is necessary or we'd be confused. I wasn't. Had no problems following it and unlike a lot of similar shows, did not find it predictable.

It also poses a lot of why questions, each time one is answered, another pops up in its place. Plus we are given an appealing everyman hero, who to my knowledge is not motivated by Daddy issues, but rather by his love and affection for his girlfriend who disappeared just before he meant to propose to her on a cruise ship. How she disappears and what happens to him on the cruise ship is both realistic and unnerving. Or it is rather a fear I've had, so it worked for me.
I thought the EVent would frustrate me - these types of shows often do, but the way it is constructed - makes that not a problem. Borrowing from Lost (all these shows do), it tells us where the character is now, then shows us how they got there and why.

( vague spoilery review of The Event )