Gasoline prices are surely putting the kibosh on the enjoyment of my new van! I found some for $2.87 today, which is about 8-9 cents less than most places around here. I am only driving where I have to go, though. I discovered that my new van has Sirius Satellite Radio. It is absolutely fabulous and I hope it lasts a long time! A car salesman told me that some car makers are offering that for a year as a perk with purchase. I sure hope that is the case with mine. My daughter didn't know anything about it. In case you are unfamiliar with Sirius, it is commercial-free radio which has many channels of different types of music, comedy, news, etc. I don't know how much it costs, but it is probably worth whatever they charge, and will be invaluable in rural areas.
Mr. kenju is out of town for a few days and I rented some movies I knew he wouldn't care to see. I watched Brokeback Mountain on Saturday, to see what all the hype was about. The scenery was fabulous and worthy of big-screen viewing instead of my 27" TV. I was sorry that I had not seen it in the theater. The story line bothered me a bit; not because it portrayed homosexuality, but because of what it did to their families. I kept thinking about the wives and the children, and how they were affected by the relationship of the two men. It seems a very selfish thing (to me) for men who have that genetic makeup to marry and have children. Perhaps I am not seeing it from all the angles.
Tonight I will watch Memoirs of a Geisha. I read the book about 3-4 years ago, and I don't remember much of the story. I heard that it is a "beautiful movie", so I am looking forward to it.
While playing Michele's comment game over the weekend, I read about a back and forth situation one woman experienced. She left a comment that was (I think) misunderstood, and the response from the other woman was fairly strong and didn't mince words. She thought she was being chastized. It is apparent that either the first blogger didn't really read the whole comment - or she didn't get the real meaning of it. I think it behooves us to fully read our comments and to be somewhat careful with our responses, in case we don't fully understand. What do you think about that?
11 comments:
It's a shame now that you have your new van, the gas prices are sky high. Maybe they'll come back down soon (I can dream, can't I?)
Thanks for the movie review. I've read a few now, pertaining to Brokeback Mountain and most simply bashed or emphasized the homosexual scenes.I kind of figured there had to be more substance to the movie.
You are exactly right about comment interpretation. I think if we raise an eyebrow to one of our comments, we could a)give the reader the benefit of the doubt and/or b)ASK them what they meant by it (clarify). Of course, blatant insults or vulgarity, in my opinion, would be better deleted than responded to at all.
Great post for having "nothing" in mind. :)
I think the big problem with comments, as well as instant messenger, is that you have no auditory clues nor body language to help interpret the true meaning behind someone's words, so, they could be taken different ways and emoticons don't help much. I've been burned before myself.
I have so much to comment on your post today...perhaps I should have sent an email.
On Sirius radio...I got it last July and have it here in my studio and I LOVE it! It's a bit pricey....$142.45 for a year, with a $10 activation fee. But I feel I've really gotten my money's worth!
I swear you and I are on the same wave length. This is like the 3rd time we both blog on the same subject on the same day...lol I watched Memoirs of a Geisha on Sunday and blogged about it this morning before coming here. I loved it and will be interested to see what you thought of it. A bit long though...2 hr. 25 minutes. Haven't seen Brokeback Mountain, but I have to agree with your take on it.
And re: your question on comments. I do feel we need to VERY carefully read comments, so as not to misunderstand. That can be a problem with this medium too...many times it's easy to take things the wrong way. Also...as my welcome page says, although I don't/might not agree with comments, it's free speech and as long as it's not nasty, I encourage it.
Have a great Tuesday, Judy!
Manblogger and I bought the Sirius Satellite Radio last fall. We love it. I think it it is $12 or $13 a month but worth every penny.
Thanks for the movie review. Like you, I would like to watch Brokeback Mountain to see what the hype is all about.
As far as comments go, I totally and completely agree with what Inanna said.
I never listen to the radio anymore (except between 9 & 10 each morning, when a DJ I used to listen to back in the day does "Nine songs at 9"; he picks a year and plays 9 songs from it that he really liked); I always listen to my iPod, that way I get to listen to what I like!
Brokeback Mountain: I think the Heath Ledger character didn't know he was gay until he met the Jake character; I think the Jake character was to blame for most of what went on, although people do have freedom of choice. I think that many men don't have the genetic makeup to marry, I mean, it's not the most uncommon thing for men to cheat, is it?
I didn't notice the controversy over at Michele's and agree completely that people need to slow down, read & understand what they read before blowing up.
Oh, and hi, Michele sent me!
Funny, I saw "Brokeback" in the theatre and liked it, but felt like I would have loved it if I'd seen it at home on my TV.
Hi - Michele sent me.
I thought Margalit really over reacted in that situation, Judy. The other woman was a little harsh, but not to the degree that Margalit implied.
Nyssa saw brokeback mountain, actually went with a group of friends including a gay young man. Their combined consensus was that it was boring and totally contrived. She said it was so boring that if they hadn't paid $7 to see it they would have walked out. Walk the Line, however got good kid reviews, even if they don't care for country music.
I agree that with commenting you miss out on the sound of the voice and the body language that can indicate the true meaning of the words. It is hard enough to really communicate your true feelings over the phone when you can hear the other person but not see them. Compound this in a comment. Besides, after the post below... you must take the PMS blues into account. (Wink)
I envy you your film-fest. One of our sons gave us a DVD player whilst he was here and we can't get the dam thing to work. My husband is even less techy than me.
Re comments I think it is a shame if people don't give others the benefit of the doubt. So far I have found everyone tolerant and would be cast down for days after strong criticism. Constructive crititcism I welcome.
Hey there, Judy! Good to be here and finally have a few minutes to play catch-up. Gene and I are at Wit's End and I believe he is doing same. He certainly is poking away overthere. :-)
Here's the thing about gay men and familyies: My suspicion (and I haven't yet seen the movie) is that, true to life, many gay men, way back in their youth, want it to not be so and will go a long way in their effort to live a traditional heterosexual lifestyle- until it all falls apart. I have two friends who both married, had children but eventually through in the towel on traditional marriage. Now they are each in longterm committed relationships with partners and still do well with their children but it's been tough.
Okay, what else? Oh- thanks for the movie review of Geisha. I'll rent that. And thank you very much for your persistent visits and kind comments!
As far as gas prices Judy..Here in L.A. they are $3.55 and up....Shocking, isn't it?
"Brokeback Mountain"..I think that what you were desturbed about is part of what the film is about..that these two men couldn't help what they felt for each other, but they also felt strongly about their wives, as well...though, as the film goes on, you see that each of them really cannot stay away from the other...the pain this causes everyone---wives, children, and themselves, was, to me, the heartbreaking struggle of this film...If they had been able to accept the stronger feelings for each other and bare society's disapproval..the hurts would not have existed because neither of them would have married in the first place....at least that is what I got from it...part of what was so devistating about the whole thing was that the one man especially could not make peace with what he really wanted in life...again, society's view and his own view of himself wouldn't allow him to make the choice that was really truer to his nature. A very very sad situation, all around.
I agree with you on being careful in how we comment...I am aware I think of the person you are speaking about and I kind of got lost in both these comments to each other...I didn't see what either of them saw, you know? So I guess sometimes it's what we bring to what we are reading, you know?
Complicated, isn't it?
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