| Modernism only works if you have lots of money |
[Jan. 15th, 2007|10:23 pm] |
Read: Cashel Byron's Profession. George Bernard Shaw was one of my earliest 'must read anything I can find by' authors, but it's been years since I've read any. This is the fabulous story of how the rich, intelligent, independent Lydia falls for Cashel, a magnificent physical specimen with a tough exterior and soft heart. She thinks he has a 'profession', in other words, a proper job, unlike the society wimps who surround her, but he really is a 'professor' of the art of boxing. Why hasn't this been snapped up for a Hollywood remake? I'm picturing Kirsten Dunst as sharp but beautiful Lydia and Heath Ledger as dumb but gentlemanly Cashel.
Watched: back to back, and on paper there's no competition. In the right corner, we have downmarket ITV prime time current affairs programme Anne Widdicombe v. the hoodies", in the left corner we have the cultural haven of BBC Four and a classy programme about a classic of modern architecture". It's a no-brainer. And yet, and yet, and yet... to see in such immediate juxtaposition the grimy council estates designed by modernist architects concerned more with making a statement than providing people with public spaces that feel safe and encourage community, and the same style of architecture where money can ensure the high quality finishes and where the austere building is not forced on the inhabitants but is a deliberate lifestyle choice, reflecting the persona of the architect himself... It must be nice to design these buildings and then retreat to your own remote country estate: do such architects never think that other people do not have that luxury? |
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| New Year resolution: ReadWatchListen |
[Jan. 7th, 2007|07:31 pm] |
My plan for 2007: last year, I kept a list of everything I read. No comments, just a list. This year, I want to move on to the next step: journaling significant things I've read or seen or heard. Not the complete list, but writing down thoughts stimulated by what I read.
So, to begin:
Read: Virginia Woolf's Jacob's Room
I wanted to feel that my first book of the year was something worth reading, a book that would give me something back again. Virginia Woolf is easy to read - not easy to understand, but her sentences flow so beautifully. You can read for this alone, or you can take her visions and be inspired by them. She makes every bead on the chain of her prose tremble with beauty, and then suddenly shake into dazzling significance.
Watched: This Life +10. This programme was such a must-see for me ten years ago. Also a shared experience with so many friends - our last-episode party at the end of series 2 is still a fond memory. So I had to watch this - the same old mixture of utterly annoying plot developments (in particular, I've always found the Egg/Milly relationship utterly unrealistic), utterly annoying scenes (oh for heaven's sake, we've all realised that documentary filmmaker and Egg have a bit of a thing going on), dramatic brilliance (Miles suddenly cantering up with a stunning woman), and this-is-how-our-lives-really-are-ness (the best ever 'this is how friends argue about politics' and 'how 30-something women really feel about having/not having chidren' moments). So yes, with my usual caveats, I loved it. Especially, let's be honest, Miles' hair.
Watched: Green Wing special. I fell so massively out of love with this programme after the last episode of series 2. And again, not flawless. But this episode was the perfect ending: it had to end completely surrealistically. And not depressing, either. So I'll buy the DVD, but only so that I can watch it and skip the far too many Statham/Joanna scenes. |
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lucinatrivia's journal