New Bloggy Update! 2/18/24

Look at these sweeties… 🙂

Charlie took a recent picture of some visitors on our back deck. Aren’t they the most adorable things in the world? Yes, we put out some food for a few ‘outdoor’ kitties in the neighborhood (not ours – just wanderers), but these fuzzy nuggets decided any food found outdoors is fair game. I love them. They’re welcome anytime.

It’s getting close to the end of February and I’m going to be honest – I’m not in the proper mindset to start in on Draft #2 of In a Corner, Darkly: Volume 3. I’ve been dealing with some major weirdness (back pain) that came out of nowhere and have been going to P.T. While it is better than that initial nightmare of the first week and a half, it’s still there, just at a reduced volume. I have at least 5 more trips to P.T. and have been doing all I can to remedy this. Sometimes, when physical things crop up, it’s hard to focus on being creative.

I have been searching for events for ’24 and even THAT’S been difficult. I found some pretty cool shows/events here and there, but the table fees are outrageous. One was over $900 (granted, it was for three days, but seriously? My price point is $10 per book – in person – so I’d have to sell NINETY books just to break the table fee). Many are closer to $300 which I consider still way too high. As of now, I only have four scheduled for the year, but I’m still heavily on the lookout for others.

Oh, hey, while I have your attention, if you know of any artists and/or music folks, PLEASE send them my way. I feel like I’m yelling into the chasm on FB, trying to stir up some interviews. All they need to do is send me a quick email at srovens@yahoo.com. I’ll take it from there. Thanks!

So, what the heck have we been watching?

Enys Men (2023) – Living on an island off the Cornish coast, a wildlife volunteer’s daily observations of a rare flower takes a dark turn into the strange and metaphysical, forcing her to question what is real and what is a nightmare. (Google) I have one word (ok, maybe two…): Art House. I had to go back and look this one up, trying to remember what it was and why I gave it such a low number. Now, I remember. It’s the most “art house” of “art house” movies! Not much dialogue at all. Lots of random scenes. Shots and camera angles that seemingly came out of nowhere. This is a movie that belongs in a film class. If you dig that kind of thing, this will be right up your alley. If not, hang with us – I gave this a 3.0 and Charlie gave it a 0.9.

Strays (2023) – Abandoned on the mean city streets by his lowlife owner, Doug, a naive but lovable dog named Reggie falls in with a fast-talking, foul-mouthed Boston Terrier and his gang of strays. Determined to seek revenge, Reggie and his new canine pals embark on an epic adventure to get him home and make Doug pay for his dirty deed. (Google) This movie was SLAMMED in the reviews, and sure, I can see why. It’s not something I would normally go for (I don’t like when film makers make it look like animals can talk), but it looked like it might be ‘fun’. If you can get past the crass/crude humor and language, there are some laughable moments. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of this, but a one-off was fine. Lots of defecation/sexual humor. (Note: Even though this is an “animal movie”, this is NOT for kids. For real.) I have it a 6.5 and Charlie gave it a 7.0.

RRR (2022) – A fearless revolutionary and an officer in the British force, who once shared a deep bond, decide to join forces and chart out an inspirational path of freedom against the despotic rulers. (Google) From the blurb and the looooong run time (over THREE HOURS!), I thought that I’d tap out within the first twenty minutes. But not only was this a pretty entertaining and easy to follow movie, watching Charlie get into the Bollywood dancing/singing was entertainment enough. (lol) This is a fun romp with a little bit of historical intrigue throughout. Yes, it’s long, but believe it or not, it keeps moving with no ‘downtime’. Give it a try.

Mephisto Waltz (1971) – A frustrated pianist himself, music journalist Myles Clarkson (Alan Alda) is thrilled to interview virtuoso Duncan Ely (Curt Jurgens). Duncan, however, is terminally ill and not much interested in Myles until noticing that Myles’ hands are ideally suited for piano. Suddenly, he can’t get enough of his new friend, and Myles’ wife, Paula (Jacqueline Bisset), becomes suspicious of Duncan’s intentions. Her suspicions grow when Duncan dies and Myles mysteriously becomes a virtuoso overnight. (Google) I’m actually reading this book right now (almost done). I wanted to watch the movie as sometimes the book and the movie versions are different enough to not spoil things (and to be fair, I had a rough idea of the story and ending before embarking on either). I must admit, with so many famous people in it, plus a faded memory of the commercials for the movie back in the early ’70s, I thought this was going to be another Burnt Offerings or The Sentinel (two movies that I love from the same time period). Sadly, I was left pretty disappointed. It’s kind of like whoever did the screenplay did a hatchet job on the book. The film felt disorienting (and not in a good way), nonsensical, and thrown together. You can get the gist of the plot but it barely scratched the surface. Clipped, choppy, and barely creepy enough to work, I slogged through it. The story might have been there (in the movie), but I’d recommend the book far over the film adaptation. I gave it a sad 4.5 and Charlie gave it a 6.0.

And that is a wrap for today, folks. Again, PLEASE send artists/music folks my way – any professional level is welcome. As long as they are making ‘art’ for others, they can be part of the blog.