Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

I was feeling a little stir crazy facing another grey/ rainy weekend, so my folks and I went to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The Gardner museum was thrust in a limelight in the early 1990s when thieves made off with several pieces of priceless artwork.

To this date the theft remains unsolved and the art work which included paintings by Rembrandt, Manet and Degas have still not been uncovered. According to Gardner’s will, the museum could not be altered. For this reason, empty frames hang where the stolen art work is. It’s a very strange feeling seeing an empty frame.

Fellow Mass residents who have never been I would recommend going to the Gardner. The highlight for me is the courtyard, which is just amazing. In addition to the mosaic center piece, there are dozens of plants and flowers, including gorgeous hydrangeas. Every room is like a treasure hunt, the wallpaper, the tops of the wall and even the ceilings have artwork.

There’s a documentary about the thefts (it’s on Netflix) called Stolen.

My father also recommended Mrs. Jack: A Biography of Isabella Stewart Gardner by Louise Hall Tharp.

Further reading: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: A Companion Guide and History by Hilliard T. Goldfarb.

http://www.gardnermuseum.org/

Film Club - David Gilmour

When I first heard about Film Club on NPR I was intrigued. When David Gilmour’s son, Jesse, begins to have trouble with school, David swaps houses with his ex to live with Jesse. It soon becomes apparent that Jesse is miserable in school and Gilmour fears he may lose his son.

“I also knew in that instant – knew it in my blood – that I was going to lose him over this stuff, that one of these days he was going to stand up across the table and say, “Where are my notes? I’ll tell you where my notes are. I shoved the up my a#@. And if you don’t lay the f*@k off them, I’m going to shove them up yours.” And then he’d be gone, slam, and that’d be that.”

Gilmour takes the unusual step of telling his son that he can drop out of school. In return, his son has to promise not to do drugs and to watch three movies a week with his father.

So, begins three years of movie watching. While his father grapples with ups and downs in his career, Jesse suffers several misadventures in love. They watch a wide and eclectic mix of movies from Annie Hall to the Exorcist to Show Girls.

This is a sweet and tender story about a father and son. It’s also has several interesting insights in to movies. Among the things I found interesting, Stephen King did not like the Shining (movie version).

“King went to an early screening of The Shining and came away disgusted; he said the movie was like a Cadillac without an engine. “You get, you can smell the leather, but you can’t drive it anywhere.” In fact, he went on to say he thought Kubrick made movies to “hurt people.”

I got a kick out of the fact that after they watched The Exorcist, Jesse slept on the couch that night, with a light on. I remember seeing that movie in college. My roommate was gone for the weekend. I was so freaked out I slept on the floor of my friend’s dorm room.

Gilmour’s love and deep knowledge of films and the love he has for his son comes through on every page.

His son ends up going back to school. Although it may sound strange that he let him drop out, it’s clear that Gilmour was conflicted about his decision but did it because he thought it was the best thing for Jesse.

Here’s one passage I liked about picking movies (I can relate to this. I also feel it can apply to books. “Sooo this was one of your favorite books. Hmmm. Interesting.”

***************

“Picking movies for people is a risky business. In a way it’s as revealing as writing someone a letter. It shows how you think, it shows what moves you, sometimes it can even show how you think the world sees you. So when you breathlessly recommend a film to a friend, when you say, “Oh, this is a scream – you’re going to really love it,” it’s a nauseating experience when the friend sees you the following day and says with a wrinkled brow, “You thought that was funny?”

Father-Son 'Film Club' Keeps Teen on Track, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=90225967&ft=1&f=1032

Betsy gets an unnecessary makeover

Another vampire series that I enjoy reading is Mary Janice’s Queen Betsy series. It started off with Undead and Unwed and is now up to number seven with Undead and Unworthy. I don’t enjoy these books as much as Sookie Stackhouse – I don’t feel they’re as rich and complex. They are, however, are fun, light reads. Perfect summer reading and although I hate to use the term very chick lit.

When I received the latest book in the series, I did a double take. Past covers featured whimsical illustrations. I don’t even know how to describe the new cover – it almost felt YAish. I don’t know what prompted this change, but not a big fan. I thought the illustrated covers really matched the writing style.

Morsels

Jezebel had a great post today on cheesy 1980s romance novels that might have had more than a hint of misogyny.

From Jezebel:

In what I can only assume was a backlash against the feminist movement and increasingly independent portrayals of women, these romances contained an appallingly misogynistic bent made even more disturbing when you think that they were written both for and by women. The plots feature doormat heroines and sadistic, domineering males who see through their feeble protests and know that 'no' means 'yes.'

Just so we're clear though, the works of Betty Neels - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Betty_Neels - remains beyond reproach. Why do I mention Betty Neels? Um, no reason in particular…

http://jezebel.com/5019950/1980s-romance-novels-hair+raising-lip+mashing-horror-shows

Morsels

USA Today’s "Authors fixate on their extreme passions" takes a look at authors who are willing to test their limits for their craft.

For instance, Reading the OED: One Man, One Year, 21,730 Pages chronicles Ammon Shea’s year long read of the massive, exhaustive, ENORMOUS OED. (Have I mentioned lately that word lovers should really check out The Professor and the Madman? If you’re interested in the OED, it’s a must read).

One author who is a mainstay in this genre if you will is A.J. Jacobs. He wrote Know It All about his quest to read the encyclopedia and The Year of Living Biblically.

http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2008-06-23-extreme-authors_N.htm

Fine Lines finds a publisher

One of my favorite haunts online is Jezebel. I think it’s quirky, cutting, insightful, and interesting. Sure it’s also sometimes befuddling and infuriating, but definitely worth checking out.

One regular feature is Fine Lines, which Jezebel describes as “a sentimental, sometimes critical, far more wrinkled look at the children’s and YA books we loved in our youth.”

Lizzie Skurnick's take on The Secret Garden: But The Secret Garden, more than anything, is about those who are locked up, and those who grow — both literally and emotionally

Jezebel posted this week that Harper Collins will be publishing a book featuring previously published Fine Lines and new material.

I wonder why some of the fondest memories we have of books are the ones we read in our childhood. For instance, some of my favorites are Anne of Green Gables, The Secret Garden, Lloyd Alexander's Chronicles of Prydain series. Is it because we start learning the true magic of reading when we’re young. That when have less pressures and worries it's easier to find time to read? I still remember being teary eyed at the end of Charlotte’s Web (and so a lifetime of crying while reading sad stories began).

Other childhood favorites: For some reason The Donkey Prince was a favorite. A prince is under a curse where he’ll remain a donkey until he finds true love. The Little House – LOVE IT. New favorite would Hug, which I usually always include as part of baby gifts.

I would love to see a Fine Lines on that often overlooked girl detective – Trixie Belden. Move over Nancy Drew! Unfortunately, the series was out of print for a number of years. While Random House has reissued the first five, the series had many, many more books – 39 to be exact.

Speaking of Nancy Drew: Nancy Drew: Curious, Independent and Usually Right - http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91753085&ft=1&f=1032

To All Our Fans, With Love, From Lizzie, http://jezebel.com/5019004/to-all-our-fans-with-love-from-lizzie

Fine Lines

The Chocolate War: Life’s Tough Kid, http://jezebel.com/378750/the-chocolate-war-lifes-tough-kid

A Wrinkle in Time: Quit Tesseracting Up, http://jezebel.com/5013495/a-wrinkle-in-time-quit-tesseracting-up

The Secret Garden: Still No Idea What A Missel Thrush Is, http://jezebel.com/381385/the-secret-garden-still-no-idea-what-a-missel-thrush-is

Update: Amazon weighs in too.
http://www.omnivoracious.com/2008/06/a-book-about-bo.html

Future reading: Bruce Campbell

While I eagerly await the new season of Burn Notice, I got an email the other day that brightened my day. I had put If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell on my paperbackswap wish list. It was available and is one its way to my house!

You might remember Campbell from Evil Dead, Xena or Hercules. He was also in the Majestic, a gem of a movie starring Jim Carrey.

I think Campbell is hilarious and so great on Burn Notice. Campbell describes Burn Notice as "Highway to Heaven with carnage and mayhem." Brilliant.