Bruce Campbell

Tom Cruise

Kate Moss caricature

Cash and Carter

Bruce Willis

Families

Just spent a weekend with my mom, daughter, and older sister. How interesting to see the differences in relationships between generations, and personalities. I've always thought of myself as an outsider, which has given me the opportunity to observe my familial ties with a rather disconnected view. I hardly take anything personally, as I am not sure that the various relationships are the most significant for me now. Perhaps they were at one time, forming my views and attitudes during adolescence, but now I've grown past that and understand that who I am now has nothing to do with the way my mother or sister sees me. The one significant relationship, with my daughter, has more to do with shaping my views and perspectives. It was revealing to see how my close relationship with Lindsay is affected by her close relationship with her Grandmother and aunt. Though they value her, and dote on her, while disregarding my relationship as her mother, I sensed a note of jealousy from them. There were some comments made to the effect that grandma and aunt should be valued more than mother...and there have been strenuous efforts from them to achieve that. Though it is valuable for my daughter to see and select from several different feminine role models, I doubt that they have the impact on her that they seek. Lindsay is not blind to the coercion and favoritism that exists in our family, particularly amongst the women, but she chooses to value the relationships of all her female family. However, she also chooses to treasure the bond between mother and daughter most of all. I am confident that I have her love and respect, that she has the love and attention from my mother and sisters, but that our bond is first and foremost.

movie review

I saw Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer last night. I wrote it about on my facebook, but here are some further thoughts.
I mentioned that I thought the voice of Lawrence Fishburne was totally misplaced for the Silver Surfer. Not only was the lip-synching a major flaw, but the voice just sounded odd. Doug Jones as the Silver Surfer was marvelous...lithe, sinewy, graceful. His movements were poetic and fitting to the character. The juxtaposition of slender elegance and deep, resonant voice just did not convince me of the authenticity of an alien being.
Though I enjoyed the interplay between the characters, particularly Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm, their banter seemed a bit forced at times. I was more interested in watching Dr.Doom, Thing, and the Human Torch than Sue Storm or Reed Richards. Though Ioan Griffudd is a good choice for Richards, I've never liked the character much. I was not convinced that there was any chemistry between Sue and Reed - they seemed more like brother and sister than passionately in love with each other. Note to costume designers: since you did such a great job improving the Thing's costume, could you work on Jessica Alba's contact lenses? At least, make the colour consistent! Watching her eyes go from dark blue to grey to light blue, then back to dark blue, is just annoying.
The movie is silly, which I don't mind. It is entertaining to watch a purely silly, comic-book movie at times. The special effects team really did their job well; the chase sequences between the Surfer and Johnny, then again with Doom and the Four were awesome and delightful. It was fun to watch the jets and Doom spinning around the world. It was unfortunate, however,that the story was entirely predictable...I got very frustrated waiting for the inevitable to happen. There were some truly humourous moments that I enjoyed: Stan Lee getting turned away at the wedding, and Ben Grimm's reactions to various situations were highlights for me.
Overall, I would give this movie a 3 out of 5.

It's been too long!

I was chatting with a friend last night, who reminded me that I hadn't updated my blog in a very long time. I hadn't realized how long it had been! I've now graduated school, moved back home to Saskatoon, and got a job. I'm still looking for a design job, but that will happen. I promise myself that I will regularly update this blog, so people can see what's happening in my life.