WWotD - 15 January 2012

Today I was watching Pretty in Pink again, the touching story of a strong, quirky young woman who falls for a preppy guy from the right side of the tracks (aka Blane, emo before emo was cool)... cue star-crossed lovers scenario. Rounding out the cast of characters is Andie's father (in a deep funk since his wife left him), her punk friend and co-worker Iona, and everybody's favorite troll Duckie (who's not so quietly jonesing to hook up with Andie).

As is true with most stories, I wonder what happens after the story ends. Did I think Andie and Blane would stay together? My answer: no. When I thought about why she would ditch his ass after college in the fall, I had a revelation: everyone that Andie surrounded herself with was in some form of arrested development.

1. Andie's father stopped living after his wife left, forcing Andie to become the adult in the relationship.  
2. Iona was in her 30s and working in a record store, in destructive relationships typical of youth.
3. Duckie was afraid of the end of high school and what comes next... so he finds himself "in love" with the girl who represents his childhood.
4. Blane was afraid of what all people thought of him. Afraid of not living up to what his parents wanted, and craving the approval of his "friends". 

At the end of the movie, Andie's father makes his first steps to move on, Iona puts on her "mom" clothes and dates a normal guy, and Duckie finds his Duckette. But Blane? I don't think he's really grown. Andie has her shit together, the people in her life are finally getting their shit together, and she's not going to want to play mommy to her boyfriend.

Maybe I'm just overthinking a John Hughes film.

pu·er·ile

 adj \ˈpyu̇(-ə)r-əl, -ˌī(-ə)l\

Definition of PUERILE

1

: juvenile

2

: childish, silly <puerile remarks>

— pu·er·ile·ly adverb

— pu·er·il·i·ty noun

from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/puerile

WWotD - 13 January 2012

Finally, finally.... I finished reading all five of the A Song of Ice and Fire series (aka A Game of Thrones, for those prefer their books as TV series). I'm a quick reader, but 4000+ pages is a weeeee bit much to read continuously. It's been fun while it's lasted but I'm glad to move on to something new.

My impressions of George RR Martins series:

1. In Westeros, people die. Maybe. Or maybe not. We're taking Moldavia here. 
2. There is a lot of discussion and focus on food in the novels. Someone should do a count of all mentions of what's eaten. Any bets as to whether "dog" has been mentioned more than twenty times???
3. I appreciate that the characters are venal, myopic, unctuous and constantly equivocate. That is, they are human. What looks like heroism at first glance rarely stands up to any scrutiny, and heroes aren't guaranteed immortality. 
4. I find it fascinating that they have a history going back over ten thousand years but have only advanced to our world's Middle Ages era. I'm also trying to figure out how they can have summers or winters that last for years; perhaps it's in relation to their planet's axis and path around their sun?
5. Speaking of time... seriously, only two years have passed in the story? Some of the characters read years beyond their chronological ages. Makes me wonder how much their "years" differ from ours. And yes, I know that in the Middle Ages people grew up (and died) much younger than occurs in modern society...but come on!
6. I love that there are so many characters and that we see the story unfold through so many eyes. You can see why there is so much conflict and what motivates actions and reactions. If I were to nitpick, I only wish there were a couple characters who were less involved and more on the sidelines. 
7. I also love that the story isn't afraid to take crazy and inexplicable tangents which may or may not get tied up over time. My life is a series of unrelated tangents...thus far no higher purpose has occurred. 

My final word... how the heck is George Martin ever going to finish this series? It took over 1000 pages (and something like five years of writing) to handle half of his cast of characters in the most recent volume!

dire

 adj \ˈdī(-ə)r\

dir·erdir·est

Definition of DIRE

1

a : exciting horror <dire suffering>b : dismal, oppressive <dire days>

2

: warning of disaster <a dire forecast>

3

a : desperately urgent <dire need>b : extreme <dire poverty>

— dire·ly adverb

— dire·ness noun

from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dire

WWotD - 3 January 2012

Today my floor lamp decided to go all crazypants on me, and would only go one-way instead of three-way (that's what he said). I appreciate quality mood lighting as much as the next person, especially for pretending I'm in a speakeasy drinkin' some hooch and talking like Dorothy Parker. Nevertheless, most of the time it's good to see furniture instead of bumping into it.

Anyhoo, so I tried changing the bulb and still had the same problem. Double d'oh!  It was looking like it was time for a new floor lamp. *sigh*

And then I tried changing to a third bulb, and it worked. Yippie doo!

I'm not sure whether this is some kind of metaphor for life and not giving up on simple solutions, or a commentary on crappy quality of three-way lightbulbs. You be the judge.

ef·ful·gence

noun \i-ˈfu̇l-jən(t)s, e-, -ˈfəl-\

Definition of EFFULGENCE

: radiant splendor : brilliance

— ef·ful·gent adjective

from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/effulgent