3 posts tagged “qotd”
What time period would you have lived in, if you could have lived at any time?
This is a hard one for me because, duh, history degree - I know lots of downsides to every time period. The times that are the most fascinating to me - the late middle ages in Europe (mostly France and Italy) and Renaissance Italy - for their cultural contributions, are of course as filthy, disease-ridden, and violent just as much as they offered beautiful dresses, art, and gothic cathedrals.
I don't think I'd want to actually live an entire life in that period, but I deeply wish there was some way to time-travel, just to witness what it must have been like. I can hardly imagine, sometimes. There is so much that I want to experience - the Bonfire of the Vanities, mass at Chartres, the Sistine Chapel in its original state, (the Illuminati, ahem,) the republic of Florence, the wars between Venice and Milan, the sacking of Rome, the Great Schism, the building of transi tombs, alchemy as an accepted science... you can see where it would be a problem for me to pick a period and a geographic location.
I am also curious as to what life was like in the ancient Mediterranean (especially the Minoan mystery cults), Japan's Tokugawa period, China's Song dynasty, and 1940's America during WWII, particularly in the Pearl Harbor area. (I actually have an elderly cousin who was standing on the beach, holding her infant child, and watched the whole thing happen.)
What books are on your nightstand?
I am in the middle of this book (which is quite funny), although I have not made a lot of progress on it since I headed down to wine country (too much shopping and wine tasting to do!). Next up, before school starts, is Chuck Palahniuk's Diary and Christopher Moore's Bloodsucking Fiends.
The rest of the books on my current To-Read list can be found here.
What movie would you really recommend renting or seeing this weekend?
Since I'm an Arthurian legend fanatic, I have to recommend this movie. It's not the be-all end-all rendition of the classic tragic love story, but it is really well done. The basic premise is that Isolde is an Irish queen set to marry, by cosmic joke, to Mark of Cornwall, Tristan's liege lord. Unfortunately, Tristan and Isolde have already met and fallen in love.
This is set against the backdrop of semi-accurate medieval British politics (more of a "this COULD be true" than "this is how it happened" sort of deal) where, after the fall of the Roman Empire, tribal groups are battling for control of the Isle. Isolde is set to marry Mark to unite all of them underneath their reign. Of course, it all goes horribly wrong, as you can imagine, and ends tragically.
This is a different take than the original tale (the original had a love potion and a mythical dragon), but it works nicely because it seems somewhat more realistic. I believed it when they fell in love.
Speaking of love, there are some extremely hot love scenes, despite the PG-13 rating. I'd never been a fan of James Franco until this movie; there's something really appealing about his melancholic brooding (the name "Tristan" means "melancholy," actually) and he plays the quiet-but-brave romatic hero well. Sophia Myles, also, is one of those incredibly beautiful actresses that seems lit from within - you want to ask her what her skincare regimen is and what makeup she uses. Her lovely accent doesn't hurt, either. I felt that they were both very believable actors - everything that wasn't in the dialogue was all in their eyes and the long looks they gave each other behind Mark's back.
I don't know how many non-romance-loving guys would like this movie - I know my boyfriend liked it, but he has a gooey center - although there is a lot of intrigue and sword-fighting action. But if you're single and don't have to worry about what someone else thinks, or have your significant other whipped (tee hee) then I would recommend this movie.
