(no subject)

Been busy today, although at the same time don't feel I've accomplished much. It's sunny but cold - windchills in the teens and 20s. Didn't stop me from wandering about though. Went to church - where the sermon was basically just various love poems - from Pabulo Neruda to Adrienne Rich. She said that we need not figure out the meaning and if we don't like poetry, to just relax and listen to it. I rather like poetry - no problem at all understanding its meaning since I sort of think that way anyhow, but I proceeded to doze all the same. My eyes falling shut. My mind drifting away, the words ships carrying it out to sea. Not really in the mood for love poems, since lately been feeling oddly bereft of love, my mind protects my body and pulls us both out upon the air to the sea sleepy musings until the voice soft as a lullaby ends and the music begins.

( But in case you are in such a mood, here's the love poems or snippets from them - Pabulo Neruda and Adrienne Rich )

( personal stuff )

Quickly jumped on Facebook and rapidly jumped off again. I really despise Facebook.
Too much information on that thing. I now got to see, finally, the stupid redneck cowboy Dad with the 45 - who shot his daughter's lap-top. Sigh. I feel very lucky to have grown up in a time period in which the internet did not exist. Adolescence was humilating and crappy enough without the internet. Can imagine how horrific it would be with it? Now you get to have people humiliate you and/or your family and friends in front of millions of people worldwide instead of just the handful in your small town. Poor kid - when she's in her 20s or 30s, applying for a job or to college, some joker is going to send that youtube video to either her employer or dean of admissions and she won't get in. Folks? Don't post stuff like this on the internet.
Bad idea. You keep stuff like that private. The rest of us do not need to know.
Anybody else miss the good old days when we didn't? Which were...oh I don't know maybe 10 years ago?

Discussed romantic films with the Momster. She thinks the most romantic film of all time was The Way We Were...tragic but poignant. I never made it through it. Barbara Striesand grates on my nerves. She does in all her films. I don't know why exactly.
Have similar issues with Liza Minelli.

Anyhow...here's a brief list of good ones off the top of my head:

An Officer and a Gentleman
LadyHawk
The Philadelphia Story
Pride and Prejudice (pick your favorite version)
How to Steal a Million
Marnie
The African Queen
Woman of the Year or The Desk Set (pick your favorite Spencer/Hepburn)
Romancing the Stone
Splash
Dirty Dancing
Last of the Mohicans
Beauty and The Beast (pick your version - there's the French film and the Disney Cartoon)

Tragic Romance of John Gilbert and Greta Garbo...

I haven't seen the film The Artist yet, but every film review I've read sounds like a run-down of what happened to silent film star John Gilbert, and his great and doomed romance with Greta Garbo.

I am a bit bemused by the fact that none of the reviewers seem to know about Greta Garbo and John Gilbert, the silent film stars that the film appears to be based on. Instead they keep talking about Charlie Chaplin. And as far as I can tell from the reviews? The film has zip to do with Chaplin. Chaplin wasn't the only silent film star, just the most translatable to modern times. And he didn't do these types of romances nor was his life tragic in that way. According to one professional reviewer they borrowed from Rudolph Valentino, Chaplin and Gilbert. But...the plot provided in each of the reviews is however, very similar to the real life events of John Gilbert's life not really Chaplin. I think I saw a made for tv miniseries in the 70s about it as well? Can't remember, but I can swear I've seen the story before. And certainly both A Star is Born and Singing in the Rain referenced it.

Here's what Wiki says about John Gilbert:


Known as "the great lover," he rivaled even Rudolph Valentino as a box office draw. Though he was often cited as one of the high profile examples of an actor who was unsuccessful in making the transition to talkies, there was speculation that his decline as a star had to do with studio politics and money and not the sound of his screen voice.
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