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Two things today (so far) either amused me (first incident) or had me thinking.
You know how everyone pretty much agrees that the book is never as good as the movie? There's historical precedent for this, so i discovered while i was reading Samuel Peyps's diary on the bus this morning. He went to see a play, Henry the Fourth, (New Year's Eve day, 1660) having bought the written play earlier in the day. He wrote that the play wasn't that good, and he thought perhaps it was because he had the book already (i.e. had read the play first) and if he hadn't, he might have enjoyed it more. In the same entry he notes that he shared a coach with a young Frenchman with one eye that was going his way. (He doesn't make it clear whether it was an eye that was turned or if the fellow was traveling in that direction though i assume the latter). He found it strange that this man that he didn't know seems to have given him chapter and verse on his whole life. I've had complete strangers give me their life history or at least imparting information that seemed wayyyyy too personal to be confiding in with someone whose name you don't even know! The more things change, the more things stay the same. I had a cartoon once that showed a man in a little space pod zipping through the air... with his coffee cup on the roof of it :)
The second incident was from reading an excerpt from an interview (in this week's Time Magazine) with Lauren Bacall in the paper. Someone mentioned to her that Nicole Kidman was a "legend" to which she retorted that wasn't possible at Nicole's age. LB is 80. She also used words (in reference to Tom Cruise) such as "vulgar", "inappropriate" and "shocking behaviour" *snicker* Anyway it got me thinking about legends and women in particular. Current women that have(living) legend status in my mind include Shirley Maclaine, Judi Dench, Maggy Smith, Sophia Loren, Barbra Streisand, possibly Catherine Deneuve. Names that everyone knows. Women that will definitely have legend status if they don't already: Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Sally Field (where's she been lately anyway), Mary Tyler Moore, Any others? Nicole probably will if she continues on as she is doing, also Julia Roberts. I"m basically focussing on acting and names that are known no matter where you live. There's obviously loads of actresses that are well known but not so much if you don't follow movies and entertainment in a particular region like Japan, Australia, India, Canada etc. I like actresses like Brenda Blethyn but though she's been in American movies, she's better known in the UK mainly. olympia Dukakis and Diane Ladd are also wonderful but probably better known in America even if you've heard of them elsewhere. Anyway, blathering on a bit here. You get the drift. Any additions or omissions of your favourites gladly accepted.
You know how everyone pretty much agrees that the book is never as good as the movie? There's historical precedent for this, so i discovered while i was reading Samuel Peyps's diary on the bus this morning. He went to see a play, Henry the Fourth, (New Year's Eve day, 1660) having bought the written play earlier in the day. He wrote that the play wasn't that good, and he thought perhaps it was because he had the book already (i.e. had read the play first) and if he hadn't, he might have enjoyed it more. In the same entry he notes that he shared a coach with a young Frenchman with one eye that was going his way. (He doesn't make it clear whether it was an eye that was turned or if the fellow was traveling in that direction though i assume the latter). He found it strange that this man that he didn't know seems to have given him chapter and verse on his whole life. I've had complete strangers give me their life history or at least imparting information that seemed wayyyyy too personal to be confiding in with someone whose name you don't even know! The more things change, the more things stay the same. I had a cartoon once that showed a man in a little space pod zipping through the air... with his coffee cup on the roof of it :)
The second incident was from reading an excerpt from an interview (in this week's Time Magazine) with Lauren Bacall in the paper. Someone mentioned to her that Nicole Kidman was a "legend" to which she retorted that wasn't possible at Nicole's age. LB is 80. She also used words (in reference to Tom Cruise) such as "vulgar", "inappropriate" and "shocking behaviour" *snicker* Anyway it got me thinking about legends and women in particular. Current women that have(living) legend status in my mind include Shirley Maclaine, Judi Dench, Maggy Smith, Sophia Loren, Barbra Streisand, possibly Catherine Deneuve. Names that everyone knows. Women that will definitely have legend status if they don't already: Glenn Close, Meryl Streep, Sally Field (where's she been lately anyway), Mary Tyler Moore, Any others? Nicole probably will if she continues on as she is doing, also Julia Roberts. I"m basically focussing on acting and names that are known no matter where you live. There's obviously loads of actresses that are well known but not so much if you don't follow movies and entertainment in a particular region like Japan, Australia, India, Canada etc. I like actresses like Brenda Blethyn but though she's been in American movies, she's better known in the UK mainly. olympia Dukakis and Diane Ladd are also wonderful but probably better known in America even if you've heard of them elsewhere. Anyway, blathering on a bit here. You get the drift. Any additions or omissions of your favourites gladly accepted.
