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floatingleafSo I did go shopping yesterday, but entirely failed to find any suitable winter boots or clothing. Instead, I bought a pretty summer blouse (it was ON CLEARANCE, for TWELVE BUCKS, it was BLUE and had a lovely frilly design - need I say more?... LOL), a new lunch box, a towel (in a nice geometric pattern of blue, green & gray), a pair of socks and a can of tea. THIS can of tea:
Bad picture taken with my "dumbphone" (as my friends call it) - because while my iPod Touch takes better pictures, I cannot then email them to myself, since I don't have WiFi.:( Anyway - how could I have resisted that? I hardly need more tea, I am running out of shelf space to house all the tea I already possess... but when I saw this nifty blue box (it is indeed royal blue, you have to take my word for it - no flash on the dumbphone camera, LOL), I had an immediate case of grabby hands, and so it was added to my already impressive tin collection.:P
Then I watched my latest Netflix DVD, Agora, which turned out to be another biopic about a scientist.:) Something I actually wasn't expecting, because the blurb on the DVD envelope entirely neglected to mention the fact that any of the characters were historical figures. I was expecting an entertaining period drama/romance - which would have been perfectly fine - but what I got instead was a truly stunning depiction of the turbulent events that shook the fabled city of Alexandria around 400 A.D. The central figure of the film is Hypatia - the famous philosopher/mathematician who ran her own school there at the time, teaching free men and slaves, pagans, Christians and Jews alike (her role is quite wonderfully played by Rachel Weisz). Yes, one of her slaves has a crush on her - but it only matters because of who he becomes later in the story, so the whole love interest is a plot device, not some gratuitous excuse for a sex scene or two. In fact, there are NO sex scenes in the film at all. There is the complex historical context, and in the midst of it, this totally awesome woman scientist who is passionately in love with knowledge. She rejects her suitors, because she knows that getting married would mean relinquishing her freedom to study. She is highly respected in the city and sought for her counsel - until Christianity becomes the dominant religion, and she is suddenly forbidden to teach (there is a convenient Bible verse that claims a woman cannot be allowed to teach a man) and accused of witchcraft. And... well, I hardly think those are spoilers, since the film is based on a true story, and you can Google Hypatia to find out what happened, in case you don't know already (or make an intelligent guess, based on what usually happens to independent, accomplished women in theocratic states across space and time). But I will leave it there, since I didn't actually know the whole story, and was quite shaken by it. I can't believe I had never heard about this movie, since it came out in 2009. But I'm guessing it wasn't very highly publicized here in the US (it's a European production, directed by Alejandro Amenabar). Possibly because, unlike typical Hollywood productions depicting a similar time period, it doesn't quite show Christians as the shiny good guys triumphing over the bad, idolatrous Romans. It shows the cultural melting pot Alexandria was at the time, with clashing ideologies and plenty of morally dubious behavior on all sides. The characters are charismatic, complex and compelling. The settings, architecture and costumes are absolutely beautiful. The ancient history geek in me was having a field day, and I was actually thrilled that Hypatia in the film makes a scientific discovery that in fact happened a few centuries later (she COULD have made it, based on what she knew; there is just no record of it, due to the time and manner of her death). So, in short, an amazing movie that made me curious enough to do some background research - which is always a good thing (to quote one of my favorite fiction writers, all knowledge is worth having :). And a very non-stereotypical period drama. Heartily recommended.:)
So, those would be the highlights of my current mini-vacation. Now I think I am going to take a bit of a break from updating this journal and focus on catching up with letters and emails. There aren't very many people I correspond with - but apparently I have a LOT to say to each of them, and I generally don't bother saying anything unless it takes a reeeally looooong tiiiiiiime to say.;) (yes, another quote, too easy to guess, so no reward :P) So thank you for your patience, and good night.:)
Bad picture taken with my "dumbphone" (as my friends call it) - because while my iPod Touch takes better pictures, I cannot then email them to myself, since I don't have WiFi.:( Anyway - how could I have resisted that? I hardly need more tea, I am running out of shelf space to house all the tea I already possess... but when I saw this nifty blue box (it is indeed royal blue, you have to take my word for it - no flash on the dumbphone camera, LOL), I had an immediate case of grabby hands, and so it was added to my already impressive tin collection.:P
Then I watched my latest Netflix DVD, Agora, which turned out to be another biopic about a scientist.:) Something I actually wasn't expecting, because the blurb on the DVD envelope entirely neglected to mention the fact that any of the characters were historical figures. I was expecting an entertaining period drama/romance - which would have been perfectly fine - but what I got instead was a truly stunning depiction of the turbulent events that shook the fabled city of Alexandria around 400 A.D. The central figure of the film is Hypatia - the famous philosopher/mathematician who ran her own school there at the time, teaching free men and slaves, pagans, Christians and Jews alike (her role is quite wonderfully played by Rachel Weisz). Yes, one of her slaves has a crush on her - but it only matters because of who he becomes later in the story, so the whole love interest is a plot device, not some gratuitous excuse for a sex scene or two. In fact, there are NO sex scenes in the film at all. There is the complex historical context, and in the midst of it, this totally awesome woman scientist who is passionately in love with knowledge. She rejects her suitors, because she knows that getting married would mean relinquishing her freedom to study. She is highly respected in the city and sought for her counsel - until Christianity becomes the dominant religion, and she is suddenly forbidden to teach (there is a convenient Bible verse that claims a woman cannot be allowed to teach a man) and accused of witchcraft. And... well, I hardly think those are spoilers, since the film is based on a true story, and you can Google Hypatia to find out what happened, in case you don't know already (or make an intelligent guess, based on what usually happens to independent, accomplished women in theocratic states across space and time). But I will leave it there, since I didn't actually know the whole story, and was quite shaken by it. I can't believe I had never heard about this movie, since it came out in 2009. But I'm guessing it wasn't very highly publicized here in the US (it's a European production, directed by Alejandro Amenabar). Possibly because, unlike typical Hollywood productions depicting a similar time period, it doesn't quite show Christians as the shiny good guys triumphing over the bad, idolatrous Romans. It shows the cultural melting pot Alexandria was at the time, with clashing ideologies and plenty of morally dubious behavior on all sides. The characters are charismatic, complex and compelling. The settings, architecture and costumes are absolutely beautiful. The ancient history geek in me was having a field day, and I was actually thrilled that Hypatia in the film makes a scientific discovery that in fact happened a few centuries later (she COULD have made it, based on what she knew; there is just no record of it, due to the time and manner of her death). So, in short, an amazing movie that made me curious enough to do some background research - which is always a good thing (to quote one of my favorite fiction writers, all knowledge is worth having :). And a very non-stereotypical period drama. Heartily recommended.:)
So, those would be the highlights of my current mini-vacation. Now I think I am going to take a bit of a break from updating this journal and focus on catching up with letters and emails. There aren't very many people I correspond with - but apparently I have a LOT to say to each of them, and I generally don't bother saying anything unless it takes a reeeally looooong tiiiiiiime to say.;) (yes, another quote, too easy to guess, so no reward :P) So thank you for your patience, and good night.:)
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(no subject)
Date: 2015-01-05 12:57 am (UTC)Since you mentioned tea...I seen a quote yesterday that reminded me of you that you might have heard before...and just so happens to be a quote by C.S. Lewis, interestingly enough (since you mentioned Christianity)...anyway...the quote: “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.”
(no subject)
Date: 2015-01-05 01:33 am (UTC)Oh, I wasn't familiar with that quote. Probably one of very few things me & C.S.Lewis would agree on...;P