Anticipating the Buddha

I'm really looking forward to watching PBS's documentary on the Buddha that aired last night. It's a busy week this week so it might be Sunday before I get to settle down for long enough to watch it. Did anyone else see it yet? What did you think?

Pagans in Slate

There is an interesting article today in Slate on the efforts pagans sometimes go to in celebrating Samhain. It is not exactly the type of article that might recruit a lot of people since it presents pagans in a not unrealistic, but not super flattering light. I think pagans may recognize themselves and nod and smile while non-pagans might wonder why anyone would want to deal with all the hassle instead of just sitting in a nice comfy pew. Still, I was happy to see pagans addressed in a mainstream publication without having to justify their beliefs or refute a lot of myths.

Kind of Blue Turns 50

Still celebrating awesomeness, Miles Davis's Kind of Blue turned 50 yesterday. I wanted to commemorate this yesterday, but for some reason it didn't get transferred to my iPod and the physical disk is AWOL. This is truly one of the greatest albums ever, so if you've got it, give it a listen. Seldom do we ever get to see so much talent come together to make such a nearly perfect thing.

If anyone knows where my disk is, let me know.

Julie and Julia

I went to see Julie and Julia this weekend with my mother and Daughter E. I love Meryl Streep, I'm kind of a foodie and I enjoyed Julie Powell's book so I looked forward to the film. What I forgot was that a lot of Nora Ephron's work is crap.

Everything you have heard and read about Meryl Streep and Stanley Tucci is true so I won't go into it here. The modern day side of the story really gets short-changed though. Contrary to what other reviewers have said, this isn't Amy Adams's fault. The screenplay spends so much time on Jula Child that it omits much of the flavor (pardon the pun) of Powell's book. Structurally I understand what Ephron is going for here, but she has stripped away everything that makes Powell an interesting or sympathetic person. We get to see her as a wife and see the role of writing in her life, but we miss out on her wit and her relationship to the food.

As a woman and a film snob, I'm glad to see studios taking chances on films that feature women and those that are created by women. I mean, I loves me some Mamma Mia! in spite of its flaws. This is a good step both for women and for art. I just hope that they will open the doors a little wider to welcome women other than Ephron and a few others.

Coulter-flavored Irony

So when I clicked Publish Post on a my last post praising Jon Stewart, an ad for Ann Coulter's book popped up. I was not prepared for that. At least I can be pretty sure they are not tailoring the ads to the content.

Jon Stewart is the Most Trusted Newsman in America

This makes me giddy. I may have once casually referred to Jon Stewart as "my personal lord and savior" but only because he made it possible to get throught the Bush years still somewhat sane.

My only trouble now is that I cannot watch The Daily Show and Rachel Maddow at the same time. Life is full of difficult choices.

Jonesing For Harry, and Hermoine, and Dumbledore, and the Weasleys...

I still have six hours to go and I can't wait to see the new Harry Potter movie tonight. Daughter E and I have gone to each of the HP movies either on the opening weekend or opening day if it starts on a Wednesday. It's our tradition and I'm excited.

I've been jonesing to re-read the last two books, but I am about to finally finish the Dune series so I have to finish Chapterhouse Dune first.

I'm sure I'll have more to say later, either celebration and glee or scorn and dissappointment, but for now I'm just counting down the hours. I shall leave you with this: Hermoine rocks!

Mamma Mia and the Divine Feminine

I enjoy the film Mamma Mia in a visceral way. Watching it is just a completely joyful experience. So why is that? Why do myself and so many other women respond to this movie in such a powerful way? Artistically, it is far from the best film I have ever seen, yet it has worked its way onto my desert island list.

Last night, watching Mamma Mia with the girls had me thinking about this and I have a theory. Mamma Mia taps into the same hunger as The Davinci Code: a longing for the divine feminine. Both of these are flawed works, but they are so phenominally successful, I believe in part, to demonstrating the value of the feminine.

Mamma Mia is not a religious film. Most of the emphasis is on women's relationships with other women, and with themselves; the men are there to move the story along. Corny as it is, the scene where Meryl Streep plays pied piper while singing "Dancing Queen" is a celebration of the divine feminine. I know it's schmaltzy, but watching all of those women throw down their toils and responsibilities to run along and celebrate the dancing queen inside of each of them moves me. The film tells us that each of us has something that is strong and beautiful and independent, but it also craves connection with others on own terms.

It is directed by Phyllida Law, and the woman's touch shows. The interactions between the women ring true in a way that is uncommon in most films directed by men. Even's the film's sense of humor seems more feminine to me.

A lot of digital ink has already been spent on The Davinci Code, so I won't spend much time here. It's fair to say, though, that much of its worldwide success can be attributed to people being curious about or enamored with the idea of women having an important role in religion. There is a hole in male-dominated religions, and people responded in droves when even an over-hyped pot-boiler of a novel acknowledged that there was something to fill that hole.

Hopefully, we will see more art that either overtly or indirectly deals with the feminine as a source of inspiration and strength and spiritual comfort.

Bonding with Buffy

Daughter E and I will be bonding over Buffy the Vampire Slayer this afternoon. Tiny Daughter M is going to a sleepover and the big girl and I try to watch Buffy whenever she is away.

There have been many things, from Alice In Wonderland to Star Trek that I just couldn't wait to introduce to my children. I imagined how much they would love discovering these fictional worlds that meant so much to me and helped to shape who I am. Predictably, she has rejected almost all of them. The child doesn't even like science-fiction! How could I have a child with no interest in sci-fi at all? Instead she invests her attention in anime, etc. This was both shocking and disappointing to me.

I am a Buffy fanatic. Without much hope, I invited Daughter E to watch it with me last year. Dear readers, she loves it! We finally have a geek universe to share. It may be a small thing, but it's one thing we agree upon and share. I am looking forward to watching her experience all of the Slayer's adventures for the first time.