Monday, March 30, 2009

Lost In Austen

I am an Austenophile. Every few years, it seems, I re-read her books with great enjoyment, always finding new delights. I even, on occasion, read some of the modern novels which build upon her originals. Some of these are good while others are really awful. It is interesting; however, to see where each author takes these characters.

A British television production, Lost in Austen, is now being shown in the States on the Ovation network. On Sunday last I was able to see the entire four-part production. I was thoroughly charmed. A modern London girl, who is also entranced by Austen and Pride & Prejudice in particular, has a strange thing happen: a portal between her world and Longbourne opens on the wall behind her bath tub. Eventually, she and Lizzy "exchange" places. Then the fun begins as Amanda tries to make the novel come out right.

I particularly liked the way Alex Kingston portrayed Mrs. Bennett. She wasn't quite the flibberty-gibbet, though she did have her worries, and could be called a steel magnolia. And, Captain (not Lieutenant) Wickham was not the complete cad, either. Of course, Lady Catherine is wonderfully obnoxious as always. I won't give away anything of the plot; but, I recommend this as a very pleasant diversion. **** (out of a possible 5)

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Mine Own Advocate

Has anyone else noticed the fact that people seem to be unable to take any type of criticism any more? In fact, to make matters worse, they try to turn it on you, making you the bad guy by calling you abusive when the only thing you have done is point out a mistake and are asking that it be rectified. They mishear strong advocacy as "yelling." I do not yell at people, call them names, or use any form of invective. However, at times I may be thinking these things as I have a very low threshold for stupidity of any kind. In addition, I do not like to be treated with an "one size fits all" mentality. I am an individual -- I am not to be squeezed into any generic category. So what if "most people only have"..... I am not "most people"! I do not want to be treated like "most people" -- I want to be treated as an individual.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Washington Post Eliminating Daily Business Section

Last night I heard on The Rachel Maddow Show that the Washington Post will be eliminating its daily business section. The reason that I sat up and took notice of this is that I am presently writing a longer essay, which I will be posting here, on my views of the current economic system and the changes which I believe will be necessary for the future. The current system is more than in a shamble. I believe that it is totally broken. In addition, we will be needing to create a whole new paradigm for the world's total Gross Worldly Product, rather than just the GNP. The idea that a company should be making money for parasitic investors by sending out the manufacture of goods to other countries with virtual slave conditions is not only immoral; it is also inherently bad for the company in the long run. However, too many so-called executives only believe in the short-term rather than the long-term as can be seen by their actions.