La La Land

I've not seen the film La La Land. It definitely seems to be a Marmite film.  YP loved it. Frances Garrood held quite the opposite view. I've been holding back on expressing a view until I've seen it. However at The BAFTAS this evening (the first time I have ever seen the BAFTAS) when I discovered that I had never even heard of most of the films mentioned, La La Land swept the boards. It seems that Marmite is definitely in favour at the moment. I shall watch it with interest.

Amazon Reads Minds

We all know that with cookies etc set Amazon knows every thing that we have ever looked at on the Amazon website and tailors our Amazon home page and any marketing emails accordingly.

This morning I looked at Facebook on my phone and what did I see?

Now I'm sure you are wondering why on earth that should surprise me. The answer is that when I was with my Goddaughter and her partner and their young son (aged 2½) at the weekend  I mentioned that I'd taken young Catriona (at that time not yet a teenager) in NZ to see a film a few years ago but that I couldn't recall it's name but that, nonetheless I had actually enjoyed it. (Partly, I think, because it was my first 3D film experience since the days of the red and green glasses).  They went on line and produced a list of family films from that year and I immediately recognised the film: The Croods. I've certainly never mentioned it to Amazon though.

My dear brother commented that the Amazon appearance was scary on two counts: that Amazon could read minds and, more weirdly, that it was able to read my mind. It's a good job I love my brother.

Tuesday

The title has no relevance whatsoever apart from the fact that I'm writing this post today and today is, you guessed it, Tuesday.

I am now guestless. Anna left for Glasgow on the 1400 ferry and as I write this should be just about home in the burbs of Glasgae.

This evening I was watching The News whilst having dinner and then The One Show which I sometimes watch whilst clearing up was about the death of Barbara Windsor in EastEnders. Now, whilst I have watched various episodes of Coronation Street in the days of Ena Sharples and in New Zealand because Wendy was a true Corrie fan, I have never watched an episode of EastEnders. I did tonight.

Then, for some reason I cannot explain, I decided to watch The Railway Children.

Now some of you will not have read my blogs of times past when I described the effect the cancer medication had on me in the early days. In short I could be walking through the supermarket and suddenly burst into floods of tears for no apparent reason. Well this evening's choice of viewing had the same effect. 

I am now trying to recover my composure and to that end I'm watching QI and writing a blog post just to prove that I, despite being a male of the species, can multi-task. 

Tell No One

was one of two films we watched this week.  Anna had recommended Tell No One as a must see and I'd followed her advice.  Now I have it on very good authority (ie a female told me) that men are useless when it comes to following films.  The Matrix is an oft-quoted example.  I can't vouch for the voracity of the statement but I can confirm that I watched The Matrix, didn't fall asleep and still had absolutely no idea what it was about.  French films that I have watched are known for their depth (I am a Marcel Carné fan of many many years standing) and Tell No One lived up to that reputation.  It was shrouded in unintelligibility right to the last moment and by that I mean right until the end of the credits.  If you watch it then a short synopsis of the outcome would be appreciated by yours truly.

A long time ago in Blogland terms I was introduced to a new friend on Facebook.  I can't recall how but I seem to recall it was via a Blogland friend from New Zealand, Fi of Four Paws and Whiskers.  This friend, also a Fiona, used to play the violin professionally and is someone I feel that I know far better than circumstances would suggest.  At some time Fiona introduced me to Jay Ungar's Ashokan Farewell.  It is a piece of music to which I listen frequently.  The piece is used in the soundtrack of the film Legends of the Fall.  I bought the CD of the soundtrack.  I play that quite a lot too.  It is very emotional.  Last night we watched the DVD.  Now I know why the music is so emotional.  No one would ever suggest that it is a feel-good movie but for someone who has an overwhelming preference for feel-good movies I was absolutely riveted to it from beginning to end.  The superb acting of Anthony Hopkins helped.  It wasn't the simplest of movies either.

So that's two movies I have to watch again.

The Pianist (And, Incidentally, The Sacredness of Life)

I watched Roman Polanski's film The Pianist a few nights ago.  I watch films occasionally.  Often the same ones that I have watched before. Safe films. Films the ending of which I know. Films that entertain and relax me.  Not films that challenge me.  I can be a very emotional person and I like good emotions.  Like everyone else I have to face bad emotions from time to time in real life (and I've had a fair share of them so far) but, where I can, as in the make-believe life of films, I avoid them.  I'm done with the emotions generated by the horrors of the world of which there are far too many for me to do anything about.  So I have absolutely no idea why I chose to watch The Pianist knowing that it was a window into the evils that man perpetrates upon man.

And it did not fall short.  Ultimately it had the glimmer of a happy ending..... if one ignored the overwhelming unhappiness that had to be gone through to get there.  The fact that I actually watched it from beginning to end is, quite frankly, remarkable.

During the First World War the total number of casualties, both military and civilian, were about 37 million: 16 million deaths and 21 million wounded. 

Second World War casualty statistics vary greatly. Estimates of total dead range from 50 million to over 70 million.  The sources cited on Wikipedia document an estimated death toll in World War II of roughly 72 million, making it the deadliest ever. Civilians killed totaled around 47 million, including 20 million from war-related disease and famine. Total military dead: about 25 million, including deaths in captivity of about 4 million prisoners of war. Axis dead: approximately 11 million; Allied dead: about 61 million.

Now think.  Add to these possibly 88 million bodies, the dead of just two wars which took place during the last century, those of the conflicts in Ruanda, Vietnam, Bosnia, Croatia, Ethopia, Cambodia, Lebanon, Palestine, Gaza and so many more and I rest my case.

So why am I blogging about the dead of the last century (and I'm not excluding the present century either)?   What is my point?  What is my case? 

"I'm not really sure" is the answer to that question.

But it came about because I was thinking about death and the way people die. They weren't morbid thoughts but simply reflections arising out of a few recent deaths of people whom I know and the fact that I was told last summer in the UK that my death was 'only a matter of time'.  Of course it's only a matter of time.  Everyone's death is only a matter of time.  I'm just hoping that there's plenty between now and then.

Anyway I digress.  What worries me is not when I might die (although I hope that it will be some considerable time in the future) but how I might die.  At the moment there is a sporting chance that the cancer will get me.  And therein lies the rub (origin of saying please CJ).  Death by cancer is usually unpleasant and slow.  A good old heart attack may be unpleasant but it's usually quick.  

And  now to the point.  If I decided that I wanted to end things quickly why should I not be allowed to do just that.  It would save the NHS lots of money and my friends and relatives all that unpleasant waiting.  More importantly for me, it would save me lots of pain.

After all if the State can kill people by the hundreds of millions in one century (many, if not most, in the name of one god or another) how dare it presume to say that life is sacred. 

Oh, and don't worry, there's a happy posting over on the other channel.