Music Love: "In the Long Run" by The Staves

The Staves is comprised of a trio of sisters that hail from the UK. What I enjoy most about them is their voices & the way that they harmonize. I also like that their songs tend to be sweet and sorrowful. I don’t own a ton of their music because, after a while, they start to sound a little same-y same-y to me. What I do own, however, I find incredibly soothing.

I like this song in particular for a reason that might seem odd on the surface: it reminds me of my early relationship with my husband. We were together for only a year when we got engaged. Two months later, he got a job in another state. At that point, I’d lived in the Pacific Northwest for ten years and I thought I was never leaving. To me, it was my home. I felt closer to my friends there than I’d felt to practically any other friends in my life. I had a decision to make.

So when The Staves sing these lines:

“But I can't be married, you'll take me away from everything that I love dearly
And we can't be lovers, you'll take me away from my home”

That hits me right in the feels.

I made the opposite decision of the woman in the song. I don’t think I would have seen my husband again, in the long run, if I’d decided to stay. I was married, and left my home. While I don’t regret the decision - it’s been a very grand adventure ever since - this song reminds me of that bittersweet time, in a good way. Every time I hear it, it brings a nostalgic smile to my face.

P.S. I chose this video because the live version, while quite nice, has some camerawork (EXTREME CLOSE UP!) that I don't care for.

Sci Fi Top 100, #33: "Silent Running" (1972)

Movie Stats:
Released 1972 (USA)
American, in English
Director - Douglas Trumbull
Stars - Bruce Dern

Plot Summary:
In a distant future where the few remaining Earth flora are kept alive in space greenhouses run by a corporation, Freeman Lowell (Dern), the gardener who tends the last greenhouses, is given the order to destroy them. He goes rogue.

Warnings:
Violence; minor gore; very minor blue language.

Bad Stuff:
I can’t stress hard enough how ridiculously terrible the soundtrack is.

The product placement is out of control.

It’s very preachy. I don’t exactly disagree with the message, but I also don’t care to feel like I’m being scolded while watching a film for entertainment purposes.

Good Stuff:
I really liked the opening sequence.

Dern is quite good. I was worried about one actor having to carry the vast majority of a movie, but he was the right choice for it.

I enjoyed some of the concepts. I particularly liked how it played with the idea that, if plants are no longer necessary for survival, humans could lose sight of their value.

The Verdict:
Mostly, I found it dull. It’s a lot of Bruce Dern taking care of plants and fixing things and stuff. There’s not much excitement. And for as much as it points fingers at corporations for only caring about the bottom line, it certainly had a lot of corporate sponsors. On the other hand, I liked the concept. Dern was really good. Also, a lot of the visuals were pretty cool, even though a lot of it was fake-y looking. In the end, I think it’s a bit of a wash. I neither loved nor hated it. It was simply okay.

I give it 3 stars.

Sci Fi Top 100, #34: "Galaxy Quest" (1999)

Movie Stats:
Released 1999 (Canada)
American, in English (some translated made-up alien languages)
Director - Dean Parisot
Stars - Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman, Tony Shalhoub, Sam Rockwell, and many others

Plot Summary:
The washed-up actors of a Star Trek-like TV show are unwittingly pulled into an adventure by real-life aliens who believe that their show was a documentary. Allen stars as Jason Nesmith; Weaver as Gwen Demarco; Rickman as Alexander Dane; Shalhoub as Fred Kwan; and Rockwell as Guy Fleegman.

Warnings:
Violence; gore; very minor blue language.

Bad Stuff:
There are some logical inconsistencies. [SPOILER-y] For example, the Thermians based all of their tech on a fictional TV show, so how is it that beryllium spheres actually exist? I looked it up, thinking that beryllium is fictional. Turns out it’s real but it’s rare and doesn’t seem to exist in easily mine-able spheres. [SPOILER]

I could see how this wouldn't be nearly as amusing if one isn’t familiar with Star Trek.

Good Stuff:
It’s hilarious. The scenario itself is funny. The characters’ reactions are also amusing. The best part by far, however, is the dialogue. I quote this movie all the time. It has so many great one-liners.

The acting is top-notch. It’s so top-notch that it’s difficult to single anyone out. Every time I think I have my favorites narrowed down, I remember someone else who shines. But here goes: Rockwell, who cracks me up in pretty much every scene; Shalhoub, whose laid-back reactions kill me; and Enrico Colantoni, as Thermian leader Mathesar, whose awkward laugh alone brightens the movie. Shoutout to Alan Rickman for being Alan Rickman. Also, it’s fun to see Weaver, who usually plays a bad-ass bitch in sci fi, playing a blonde bombshell who seems to lack a purpose outside of looking pretty.

It just makes you feel good.

The Verdict:
Years ago, on an unexpectedly beautiful late winter/early spring day, I played hooky from work with my then-new boyfriend (we would go on to be together for five years and remain good friends even now). One of the things we did was go to see this film. It had been out for a few months at that point, and I don’t think we were expecting much. Both of us were very pleasantly surprised. In fact, to this day, this remains one of my all-time favorite movies. I’ve seen it dozens of times and I still laugh every single time I do. Everyone is so good in it and the dialogue is so funny. I feel like it exists to make your day better. Its message certainly isn’t deep: be nice to your friends, don’t lie, don’t be cynical, and believe in yourself. Maybe it’s the inspirational poster of movies, but I don’t see anything wrong with enjoying a nice, fluffy film every now and then.

I give it 4.75 stars.

Woodland Enchantress Cross Stitch, Project Report 4

Time for the quarterly update on my cross stitch project!

Here's a reminder of what it will look like when I'm done:

Here's what it looked like during my last update in January 2017:

And here's what it looks like now:

This represents just 17.25 hours spread out over 10 days. That's the least amount of time I've spent on the project since I began, largely due, I think, to the move. Also, I'm sort of in the doldrums. Last night, I worked on it for two hours while watching a movie and all I did during that time was line after line of the navy blue you see on the right-hand side. And that part isn't even done!

Interesting side note: while looking this over to do my post, I realized that I've done 10 days worth of work every single quarter. The only difference is the amount of hours I spent on those days. Unintentional and a little weird.

Sci Fi Top 100, #35: "The Man Who Fell to Earth" (1976)

Movie Stats:
Released 1976 (UK)
British, in English
Director - Nicolas Roeg
Stars - David Bowie, Rip Torn, Candy Clark

Plot Summary:
A space alien who goes by the name of Thomas Jerome Newton (Bowie), seeking water for his drought-plagued planet, goes to Earth and builds a successful company. Torn co-stars as Nathan Bryce, one of Newton’s employees, and Clark as Mary-Lou, Newton’s love interest.

Warnings:
Full male and female nudity; sexy times; blue language; violence; minor gore.

Bad Stuff:
It’s SO BORING.

The soundtrack is overall quite terrible.

Sex scenes are gratuitous and just plain bizarre.

Bad, bad acting.

Good Stuff:
Um, I guess I like the idea of an alien coming to our planet with a mission and being corrupted by very human influences.

The Verdict:
It’s awful. Barely coherent. I literally can’t believe the glowing reviews it has on IMDB. Just because a movie is weird doesn’t mean it’s good. I consider this movie to be nearly two hours of torture. I hated it.

I give it .25 star.

Sci Fi Top 100, #36: "Inception" (2010)

Movie Stats:
Released 2010 (UK)
American & British, in English (minimal, translated Japanese; minimal, non-translated French)
Director - Christopher Nolan
Stars - Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Ken Watanabe, and many others

Plot Summary:
A group of people who engage in corporate espionage by extracting secrets from people in their dreams is hired to do the opposite: implant an idea in a dreamer’s mind. DiCpario stars as team leader Cobb; Gordon-Levitt as point-man Arthur; Page as dream architect Ariadne; Hardy as “forger” Eames; and Watanabe as Saito, the man who hires them.

Warnings:
Violence; minor gore; very minor blue language.

Bad Stuff:
I’m not a big on mind game story lines. I find them tiresome. This particular one is definitely over complicated for my taste.

It’s a slow starter. Takes a long time to set the stage and get to the point.

I hate the ending. Typically, I enjoy an open ending, but this one feels both cheap and predictable.

Good Stuff:
It’s extremely creative.

Visually, it’s quite stunning. The special effects have aged well, so it’s still nice to look at.

DiCaprio is amazing, as always. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a film of his that I thought he was bad in. Films of his that I haven’t liked? Sure. But not ones where I thought he was bad.

The Verdict:
I saw this in the theater when it first came out. I will always be grateful to it for three things (two of which are shallow, one possibly shallow): 1. JGL in formal wear. 2. It introduced me to Tom Hardy. 3. The JGL spinning hotel room fight sequence, one of my all-time favorite fight scenes. That being said, I’m not the biggest fan of this film. I think that’s largely due to #1 under bad stuff: I just don’t find “mind game” stories particularly engaging. Every TV show I’ve ever watched has to have a “mind game” episode and I always hate them. Just tell a straightforward story, please. A dream within a dream within a dream… and now you’ve lost my interest. It's not that I don’t like “Inception.” I love the visuals, the special effects, and most of the actors. I’m just not enamored with it the way many people seem to be.

I give it 3.5 stars.

Up with Geography: Cyprus

Country Name:
Cyprus

Capital:
Nicosia

Continent:
None - it's an island in the Mediterranean Sea; closest continent is Asia.

Map:

A close-up of Cyprus. I chose not to include the UN Buffer
Zone that divides Turkish Cyprus in the north from Greek
Cyprus in the south.

Neighbors:
The nearest neighbors are Turkey to the north, Syria to the east, and Lebanon to the southeast.

Water Border:
Mediterranean Sea

Total Area:
3,572 square miles

Five Largest Cities:
Limassol, Strovolos, Nicosia, Larnaca, Lakatamia

Famous Geographical Point:
Troodos Mountains

Famous Person:
İsmet Vehit Güney, artist, teacher, & creator of the Cypriot flag

Book Set In/About:
The People in Between: A Cyprus Odyssey by Gregory S. Lamb

To connect with the heritage she barely knows, a woman travels to Cyprus, where she learns about her family's history & the conflicts that have plagued the country for decades.

Movie Set In/About:
"Akamas" (2006), directed by Panikos Chrissanthou

Spanning two decades of Cypriot history (1950s-1970s), it's the tale of a Greek (Christian) Cypriot and a Turkish (Muslim) Cypriot who fall in love and get married, facing opposition at every turn. The Cypriot government banned this film from being shown in Cyprus.

Headline of the Day:
"Cyprus Reunification Talks Restart, Tough Challenges Ahead" in The Seattle Times.