Posted on

Mystery Date

So, I’m checking out my professional library blogs via RSS this afternoon and come across a post from one of my favorites, Chronicles of Bean. I’ve never met Cindi, but we’ve exchanged a couple tweets in passing on Twitter and she gives reliably good and sensible blog. So how has she been spending her time lately?

Today’s stoopid web quiz

OK, so I took a couple of these… I am part Jim, part Ryan from The Office, I would have been in Gryffindor, I am Hagrid (the outcast with a heart of gold), I am part Hiro, part Peter from Heroes, but best of all:

What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?

And she goes on to say that it was dead on, matching her with the “geek” type and even displaying a picture of Tobey Maguire, which apparently works for her.

So, I worked through lunch today and it’s 4:00. Who’s my Mystery Date?


What Kind of Guy Will You Fall For?
You would fall for the sensitive guy. You’ll find your future man wherever turtlenecks are sold. He will have depth, introspection, and a disturbing knowledge of musical theatre. And he may be a little weird. But hey, while your girlfriends cry over broken hearts, you’ll be having Shakespeare read to you every night.
Find Your Character @ BrainFall.com

Holy moley. Jake Gyllenhaal reading me Shakespeare?! Do you really think he has a “disturbing knowledge of musical theatre?” It is scarily accurate, I’d say. But I think I’ve got a pretty sensitive guy already. And if he already knew a whole lot about musical theatre, what would be left to teach him!?

Posted on

Gaiman Spins a Dark Fantasy for Kids

CoralineMy reading theme for vacation last week was catching up with books being adapted into films. Neil Gaiman’s dark fantasy for youth is called Coraline, and it tells the tale of a girl who stumbles upon a terrifying nightmare world right next to her own in the last couple of weeks of summer vacation. Think back to your childhood; think back on your summer vacation. For many, the last couple of weeks in August herald a transition time. The summer is starting to get a little boring, and while your mind was once occupied with exploring, playing, dreaming, now thoughts turn excitedly toward school. Such is the case with Coraline. Her parents don’t have time to keep her entertained, and while the eccentric tenants who live in the other parts of her building provide curious diversions, they aren’t quite enough. One day Coraline discovers that the door in the study which usually opens to a blank brick wall now opens to a long, dark tunnel. What else is there to do in the dog days of summer but explore the tunnel?

What Coraline finds is a strange world where her other-mother and other-father live. The eccentric tenants are represented as well, as is the aloof, black cat that lives out in the yard. The people are interesting, but a little off-kilter, and instead of eyes, black buttons stare unblinkingly form their faces. For the better part of a day, Coraline enjoys exploring this new, strange world, but when it comes time to leave, Gaiman’s fable takes a decidedly dark turn. In the days leading up to school, Coraline must fight for her soul, the souls of the children who have come before her and the lives and souls of her parents.

Gaiman spins a tale reminiscent of the fairy tales of youth. There is something safe and comforting about them even as the plucky heroine faces chilling and very-real danger. Here’s hoping Coraline makes for a good film-adaptation, and since it is animated, the visuals will surely have a huge impact on its success. The film is currently in post-production and is scheduled for release next year. It will feature the voice of Dakota Fanning as Coraline, Teri Hatcher as her mother (and her other-mother), and the brilliant Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders as two of the neighbors. This is a quick read, and I highly recommend it.

Posted on

Cloud Nine

Javier Bardem - 9 is not a rating, it’s his next filmMichael told me about this the other day, but it never really sank in until I read on Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals that Javier Bardem has been cast as Guido Contini in the film version of Nine. (For non-theatre people, Nine is a musical based on a film by some unknown director named Fellini. But it’s a half-number better.)

In his blog post, Chris rightly points out that it’s hardly an issue if Javier can’t sing beautifully — dude’s hot. Who cares? (Wait, did you say there were some women in the movie too?)

But my real question is this: Why do Spanish-speaking actors keep getting cast in this Italian role? Raul Julia, Antonio Banderas, Javier Bardem. WTF? Not saying they can’t do it, of course. I just have this feeling that it seems “close enough” for America. (Zhang Ziyi in Memoirs of a Geisha, anyone?) Eh, could be worse. Could be Mickey Rooney as a Chinese landlord.

Posted on

Sing along — You know the words!

I was just saying to Michael that I’m waiting for the day the Village People get their props — not as artists, of course, but as truly brilliant subversive social revolutionaries. Doesn’t it make you giggle to think of millions of sporting fans the world-over semaphoring along to a song about gay sex?

And how brilliant would it be to hear it in Finnish?

I love how this man dances.