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This week's Entertainment Weekly highlights their picks for the 100 great characters of the last 20 years. Some of their picks are out there (their number 7 is Edward Scissorhands), and I'm only passing familiar with others (Gilmore Girls, Lara Croft). So I thought I'd compile my own, shorter list for fun. These are all taken from EW's list, and are listed in the same order.

1. Homer Simpson
2. Harry Potter
3. Buffy the Vampire Slayer
4. Tony Soprano
5. Rachel Green (from Friends)
6. Hannibal Lecter
7. Carrie Bradshaw
8. Cosmo Kramer
9. Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski
10. Ally McBeal
11. Roseanne Connor
12. Cartman (from South Park)
13. Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield (from Pulp Fiction)
14. Stephen Colbert
15. Forrest Gump
16. Beavis and Butt-Head
17. Sarah Connor (from Terminator 2)
18. Keyser Soze
19. Elmo
20. Harold and Kumar
21. Corky St. Clair (from Waiting for Guffman)
22. Annie Wilks (from Misery)
23. Edward Cullen
24. Juno
25. Barney Stinson
26. John Locke
27. Borat
28. Kara (Starbuck) Thrace
29. David Brent (from the original "The Office")
30. Dr. Gregory House
31. Karen Walker and Jack McFarland (from "Will and Grace")
32. Napoleon Dynamite
33. Marge Gunderson (from "Fargo")
34. Lisbeth Salander
35. Tim Riggins

I was glad to see a couple of names especially: Kara Thrace, Roseanne, and Tim Riggins.

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Bourgeois died today at age 98. This article from Suzanne Muchnic of the LA Times was instructive to me:

"Bourgeois often left viewers with questions about the meaning of her work, but made no secret of painful experiences that shaped it. The spiders---including 'Maman,' a 35-foot-tall piece commissioned for the inauguration of the Tate Modern gallery in London in 2000---are a tribute to her beloved mother, whom she described as a pillar of inner strength who was 'clever, patient and neat as a spider.'















"Her father, whom the artist perceived an a domineering philanderer, didn't fare so well. In 'The Destruction of the Father'---a 1974 installation . . . ---Bourgeois re-created a youthful fantasy of her father being dismembered and devoured by his family.

















"'She smashed a taboo,' said Christopher Knight, The Times' art critic. 'Bourgeois was the first modern artist to expose the emotional depth and power of domestic subject matter. Before her, male artists had only nibbled around the edges, and women just weren't allowed.'"

Here's one of her drawings, which I quite like:
















But an embarrassing confession: I have, all these years, been conflating Louise Bourgeois and Louise Nevelson [her sculpture is below]:

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I learned from my friend Eve today that public pools rarely have diving boards anymore, and none have high dives. The insurance risk has become too great. Another way in which children today miss out. And another way in which my own childhood has become a whole different era. When I was growing up, going off the high dive for the first time was a rite of passage. Now it's gone the way of unattended play outdoors and walking to school.

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Click and Enjoy

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Or as CuteOverload.com might call him, "Disapproving Toad":

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The author of "The Sociopath Next Door" noted that we often come up benign interpretations of disturbing behavior instead of accepting the obvious one. We know in theory that people do evil. We've seen the news; we've read history. But when it comes to a specific person in a specific situation, it kind of seems outlandish. We're not monsters; our friends aren't monsters. It's hard to believe that anyone else is.

Several young women appeared on Oprah this week to tell the horrible tale of their families' involvement with a pastor named Tony Alamo. He ran a ministry with thousands of followers and several isolated compounds. After his wife died of cancer, he made a habit of trolling his ministry's devotees for girls to take as his "wives." Parents handed over their girls, as young as 8 years old, to this man, who proceeded to rape and beat them after a makeshift reciting of wedding vows in his home. They weren't allowed to talk to outsiders; even calls to their parents were strictly rationed and monitored. The house was wired with security cameras, and his followers were ready to spring into action if anyone tried to escape.

Eventually each girl did, and, now in their twenties, you can see how haunted they are. Their childhoods were stolen, and their parents rejected them. Eventually they spoke out, and Tony Alamo was tried for his crimes. He's now serving a 100-year prison sentence.

One young woman, the one who seems to have come out the least damaged, took Oprah's crew to the house where she was held and beaten. She pointed to it and said, "No one knew what went on inside there. Inside was Hell." But no one investigated; no one questioned the security cameras and multiple girls. The message that she and Oprah hammered on time and again was this: If something doesn't look right or feel right, stick your nose in it. Don't tell yourself it's none of your business. Make a call. Realize that the worst could be happening.

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This kind of detailed, dense drawing is right up my alley. One interviewer asked Wiley about breathing new life into the past by using symbolic imagery from previous eras. Wiley responded, "It is more like I breathe in the present. The imagery and symbols . . . for me hold power, mystery, instruction."
































(Interview from http://myartspace-blog.blogspot.com/)

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The Hauser Winery is near Gettysburg, PA, and has a lovely tasting center with beautiful views. Dad, Dee, Jay, and I paid a visit today.

Nearby is the Round Barn:













Dad's reaction to "Pickles":













Dee's reaction to "Pickles":













On the deck of the tasting center:

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Started thinking about Jefferson's greatness today while walking Rocky. It's not just that he was brilliant and fought hard to start the US off without slavery. Detractors have rightly noted that whenever he was short of cash and wanted a fresh shipment of books from Paris, he'd sell off a fellow human being to indulge himself. But that's exactly why he knew slavery had to be outlawed. How many can resist the immense financial benefits of slavery, if allowed? The Bible warns again and again about how easily we are corrupted by money, and yet we always try to get around this stricture. Even those who will swear to a literal interpretation of the Bible in every other way will find a way to justify the accumulation of wealth. Our greed is like water pushing through the rock of morality, finding any fissure to seep through, wearing down the foundation, looking for a way to stream out.

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This Swedish film is based on a novel by the same name. It's a vampire story with some of the old tropes (will burn in sunlight) and a truly creepy realism. When a bullied 12-year-old boy meets the strange girl next door, he finds first friendship and eventually a complicated relationship. I loved the first half of the movie, but the last third or fourth of it fell apart for me---partly because of storytelling issues and partly because of where the characters went.

The best part of the movie is not visible from the shots below, unfortunately. It's the incredible, crisp cinematography of snowy landscapes and cold interiors. The quality of the light and colors is great, and the camera shots are inventive.

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. . . and eating ice cream every night in a vain attempt to reach 100 lbs., this is what I would be wearing this summer:

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I'm struck by the beauty of the overhead shots, so much so that I almost feel guilty reproducing them, turning a tragedy into a thing of beauty. But the photos of the wildlife are heartbreaking.

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Written on the occasion of the recent birthday of one of them:


BIRTHDAY

AT 2 MONTHS
I didn't want you to leave your swaddling blanket
Your body snug and warm
Only your lovely face peering out
You were perfectly happy and perfectly safe

AT 4 YEARS
I didn't want you to go to school
With all the machinations of the classroom and playground
As potent and complex as any boardroom

AT 7 YEARS
I didn't want you to grow out of your car seat
You would still jump out of the minivan and yell "Aunt Lynnie!"
At the top of your lungs

AT 16 YEARS
I didn't want you to become a man
And lose your smooth skin
And vulnerability
And right to be protected

AT 22 YEARS
I didn't want you to graduate and get a job
To step into a world of compulsion from which
You'd only be freed by retirement, death, or a really lucky ticket

AT 25 AND 27
I don't want you to
Grow old
Be disappointed
Hurt in love
Ever get divorced
Put a child in the ground
Cry
Suffer
Mourn

AT 46
I've done most of these things
And still feel free and happy and dashing and innocent
But still
Promise me that you won't
Or if you do
You'll wait till I'm 90
And too blind to see it

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It helps if you've seen Inglorious Basterds:

LINK GOODNESS

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THIS

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Julie Taymor is making a film of The Tempest:




















And if you think that's Helen Mirren in motorcycle boots, you're right.

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Sharp Top Mountain, as seen from our lodge:













Our lodge, seen from the top of Sharp Top Mountain:

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I saw this Swedish movie yesterday, based on the popular thriller by Stieg Larsson. Great pacing, perfect casting, suspenseful even though I'd read the novel.

But what I most liked about this movie (and the book, actually) was that the detective figure (the journalist Mikael Blomqvist) was a normal, kind guy. So many detective figures are gruff, stoic, silent types---from Morse to Wallander to Ian Rankin's Rebus. It gets boring after a while. Sometimes the author will add a random trait to the detective (Adam Dalgliesh is a poet as well as a detective inspector), but the template is the same. Mikael Blomqvist talks. Smiles. Acts scared when threatened. Looks hurt when he's hurt. And the actor perfectly conveyed the mensch-like quality of the character; his kindness emanates from him without being forced. You see why Lisbeth Salander is attracted to him, even more so than in the novel. He's not demanding or manipulative, and he appreciates her.

The actor who played Lisbeth was great as well. Her face was tough but she occasionally let's you see just how young she is. There are some hard scenes in the movie, and they were handled about as well as they ever could be.

I copied this from someone's profile just because I like it

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I think it's a still from 101 Dalmatians.