some thoughts on moby as relates to my life ~

friday's are always somber as the grave around here, so i'm just going to blither incoherently (not much sound or fury, but plenty of typing nevertheless).

in sarah vowell's book, there's a discursive paragraph in the garfield assassination chapter about herman melville and how he worked at the custom house all his life for 4 dollars a day, six days a week, and never in 24 years got a raise. sometimes i think melville haunts me a little (and not because of the job-thing). melville wrote the first really "great" American novel and yet died poor in obscurity. instead of writing, he dedicated his life to keeping the custom house honest (no small task in that era). vowell lauds his altruism, but laments the loss to literature. it's something to think about: the choices we make with our lives.

anyway, i'm not a "fan" per se of Moby Dick, though used it a great deal in my teaching. and i seem to run into it often in random places. this, coupled with my terror of the ocean all make for an interesting gooey hilosophical conglomerate.

today, for example, i did a silly book meme and got Moby Dick as my "great book".

like all memes, it's chockful of "insightful" personality analysis based on characteristic traits drawn from the text. but i thought i would eviscerate this one in particular because it poked me into an interesting place.

( all about me meme )

just call me moby in the moooorning, baby

fröhliche nächte ~ !

i haven't done a film review in a while. tonight i watched Joyeux Noel (which i think is its official title, though it's a french/english/german film and i've seen posters in all three languages (and spanish to boot).

i loved this. feel-good entertainment at its best (even if it is a wee bittersweet).

based on a true story (though i am guessing loosely), it tells the story of three armies (the french, the scottish, and the germans) calling a cease fire Christmas eve and the ensuing fall out from it.

soldiers, snow ~ i've said it before: i'm easy.

but this is also wonderfully developed, beautifully shot, and has all the good stuff you want to see in a movie. i recommend it especially for the lovers of all things military on my f-list, and my Christian f-listers as well. the holidays are over, but it's nice to keep them alive in our hearts all year 'round.

: D

this film was nominated for a slew of awards in 2005 and 2006, but didn't win any big ones. and apparently its original "R" rating got knocked down to PG-13 when critic Roger Ebert criticized it. it's definitely PG-13, i think (okay there's a pair of breasts in there that could have been cut). but i still think it's worth a family viewing. it's unapologetically corny, just the way it ought to be.

so, run out and git you some!