Non Civil War Books and Movies

jgoodguy

Webmaster
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
7,116
Reaction score
4,148
The big appeal in this region of Ontario is wine. There are wineries everywhere, and I came back with five bottles myself. I'm not a wine snob, buying on the basis of how pretty the label is. The regional treat is "Icewine" where frozen grapes are crushed into a sweet thick liquer. Tasty!
Helps with the drama problems.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
After Shaw, we went to the famous Stratford Festival in Stratford, Ontario. We saw:
Hamlet. A modern dress production. The stand out was the woman playing Hamlet. Her Hamlet was very young, especially since Hamlet is often played by much older actors(its such a difficult and prestigious role, its often played by veterans), an adolescent, highly intelligent, but unready for the revenge role the ghost of his father has thurst him. I resisted this much animated performance for about 25% the way through the play before realizing: it works, damn well This is hardly the first time Hamlet was played by a woman. Charlotte Cushman played Hamlet in the 1840s(she also played Lady Macbeth before President Lincoln towards the end of her career).
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
We also saw Richard III or "Dick Three" as we referred to it. The sociopathic royal plots and murders his way to the crown, but having nothing but his ambition and ruthlessness, soon loses it. Great production.

We saw a comedy I had never seen before, All's Well That Ends Well. Interesting reversal of roles, as the woman pursues her intended, forcing him into marriage, and even into sex. But it....all ends well.
 

rittmeister

trekkie in residence
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
5,185
Reaction score
3,438
It was awful, because, I regret to say, Shaw is awful.
what'ya expect from a vegetarian, woman hating misanthrope?
The big appeal in this region of Ontario is wine. There are wineries everywhere, and I came back with five bottles myself. I'm not a wine snob, buying on the basis of how pretty the label is. The regional treat is "Icewine" where frozen grapes are crushed into a sweet thick liquer. Tasty!
... and boozy - that is not what wine snobs do (trust me i am one), that's what complete morons do
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
what'ya expect from a vegetarian, woman hating misanthrope?

... and boozy - that is not what wine snobs do (trust me i am one), that's what complete morons do
It does have a high alcohol content. My dear wine snob, what vintages do you recommend? I have a respected colleague and his missus coming to dinner next week.
 

rittmeister

trekkie in residence
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
5,185
Reaction score
3,438
It does have a high alcohol content. My dear wine snob, what vintages do you recommend? I have a respected colleague and his missus coming to dinner next week.
i dare say that depends on the wine - drink whatever tastes good and doesn't give you a heavy head ... and fits your budget


... btw, i don't know much about american wine. do you can it like beer?
 

jgoodguy

Webmaster
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
7,116
Reaction score
4,148

rittmeister

trekkie in residence
Staff member
Administrator
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
5,185
Reaction score
3,438
Putting a high price tag on wine makes it taste better. Telling your colleague and his missus that a $10 wine is $100 will impress them. Unless they are into psychology of selling.

Pricing Effect: Why A Higher Price Tag Makes Wine Taste Better
and putting the €50 soave superiore a certain moron drinks into a €5 orvieto bottle degrades the quality rapidly. of course i let that moron 'accidentally' see the price tag.

... btw, as i needed the orvieto bottles for that i found out i preferred the orvieto
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
and putting the €50 soave superiore a certain moron drinks into a €5 orvieto bottle degrades the quality rapidly. of course i let that moron 'accidentally' see the price tag.

... btw, as i needed the orvieto bottles for that i found out i preferred the orvieto
I bought some pinot grigio in Ontario, I might serve that.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
i dare say that depends on the wine - drink whatever tastes good and doesn't give you a heavy head ... and fits your budget


... btw, i don't know much about american wine. do you can it like beer?
American wine, especially the California wines, are world class. There's a wonderful book called "The Judgement of Paris" about the birth of the California wine industry in the 70s.

I've seen various shapes and sizes of bottles, and of course, boxed wine. No cans through. I'll be on the lookout.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
Anyway, we also saw Chicago, a cynical musical, one of the last produced by Bob Fosse before his untimely death. A great show. We had stayed after the Hamlet production and watched as fifteen men in hardhats swarmed over the Hamlet set, disassembled it and built or assembled, the C, hicago set, an utterly different set design, including a new floor and a massive lighting installation. Amazing.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
Went to a weird little theater in a rehabbed mill in Lowell, Mass., a real hipster's paradise. Saw "Love and Fire" about the Krafft's, two married French volcanologists who spent over twenty years studying active volcanos together.

They resist some of the classifications used by geologists, insisting that each volcano should be studied as an individual. They do make a distinction between "red" volcanos and "grey" volcanos(like Mt. Helens), the greys being more destructive, explosive and unpredictable.

Their warning to the government of the Philippines of an impending eruption allowed the evacuation of the surrounding villages, sparing the massive loss of life.

The Kraffts died together when a volcano in Japan they were filming erupted unexpectedly in June, 1991.

After watching this, my wife turned to me and told me she had climbed an active volcano once, before we were married. I was as surprised by this as if she had told me she had once robbed a bank.
 

O' Be Joyful

ohio hillbilly
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
3,491
Reaction score
3,136
To be fair Matt, if I knew that the seismic and gas levels were low, i.e. low risk, I'd probably do it to. :cig: But I've never been farther west than Denver or close to a Hot zone.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
Philly D.A.
This is a fascinating documentary series about Larry Kastner, a civil rights attorney who was elected District Attorney for Philidelphia. He pushes for a dramatic change in priorities and practices in sentencing, probations, crime fighting and policing.
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
Three Thousand Years of Longing
Based on a A.S. Byatt short story, George Miller has crafted an eyepopping film about an academic(Tilda Swinton) who accidently frees a djinn from a bottle(Idris Elba), who is ready to grant three wishes.

It goes from Solomon wooing Sheba, furlined sex dungeons, bloodcrazed sultans who shoot at comedians, to airport security. It is after all, George Miller, the genius behind the greatest action movie of all time: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

But what is is mostly an a melanchohy tones love story.

Recommended
 

O' Be Joyful

ohio hillbilly
Joined
May 12, 2019
Messages
3,491
Reaction score
3,136
Three Thousand Years of Longing
Based on a A.S. Byatt short story, George Miller has crafted an eyepopping film about an academic(Tilda Swinton) who accidently frees a djinn from a bottle(Idris Elba), who is ready to grant three wishes.

It goes from Solomon wooing Sheba, furlined sex dungeons, bloodcrazed sultans who shoot at comedians, to airport security. It is after all, George Miller, the genius behind the greatest action movie of all time: "Mad Max: Fury Road"

But what is is mostly an a melanchohy tones love story.

Recommended

Well then, I need a link. Who can resist the possibility of Barbara Eden whisping into my world, even for a moment. :wub:
 

Matt McKeon

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
1,096
Reaction score
1,602
See How They Run
A complex murder mystery involving the long running West End play, The Mousetrap. Very meta and starring a boozy worn down Sam Rockwell as the investigating inspector and Sairose Ronan as his determined assistant. Agatha Christie herself makes an appearance, relishing a chance to kill someone in real life.
 
Top