Monday, July 18, 2011

Francis Plays Outside

Once upon a winter morning, there was a boy called Francis. Little Francis who was 8 years, 3 months and 2 days old that day decided to go outside to play. It was really cold out, a good thick layer of snow had fallen overnight. He was so excited that morning though, he didn't bother with such things as a jacket, a scarf or mittens. He went outside to play in just his pajamas and wellingtons (he didn't want soggy feet).

Francis stepped outside - the snow all the way up to his knees. The white silky snow covering the entire neighbourhood and he was the only thing that was not white standing around that morning. Francis was careful not to be too loud. He didn't want to wake his parents who would definitely spoil his fun. A delightful feeling started to bubble in his little body. All this snow, all to himself. He didn't feel the cold at all, he was too excited to feel cold.

In his little wellingtons Francis ran in the snow all along his street. Well, it was actually more like hopping rather than running, as the snow was so thick he could barely move in a straight line. But he was having too much fun to care. Francis made snow balls and threw them at the snow-covered cars that looked like tiny bunkers. He imagined he was a soldier lobbing grenades at the enemies hiding in the bunkers. All the while the snow was still lightly layering more snow on everything - more for him to play with. He ran and he threw, he ran and he hid, then he did it all again. He did this for quite a while, entertaining himself immensely.

After about an hour Francis was tired. Having had all the fun to be had, he was ready to go home. So Francis looked up to see which way he should go but he didn't really know. The snow had continued falling and everything was white. All the houses looked the same. He was running (hopping) and playing so much he had not kept count of how many houses he had actually passed or which direction he actually went from his house. And really all the cars that looked like bunkers still looked the same. He couldn't recognize dad's red car because all of them was covered in white. Francis started to feel very cold now; his hands were shaking, his nose was running, his little body was shivering, even his knees were knocking against each other. Only his feet were not that wet in his wellingtons but that really was no comfort to him right now. Little Francis out in the snow alone, poor little Francis.

Committed

by Elizabeth Gilbert

Just finished this book. I bought it a week or two after it was out. I read the first chapter at Borders, bought it, and have not touched it ever since. But now, I felt I need a change of pace and book after so much of the fiction I have been reading. So I decided to give this a go, and it was a wonderful change it was. I finished the book in three days, which was surprisingly quick for me.

A short synopsis. This book is a non-fiction semi-autobiographical account by Gilbert as she is about to get married for a second time. It follows on from Eat Pray Love, where she has fallen in love with a man she met in Bali, Filipe. When they go back to the US, the face difficulty at customs as Filipe cannot stay in the US indefinitely because he is not an American citizen. So they have to actually get married for Filipe to stay in the States. They apply for a visa to enter America again and Gilbert is with Filipe traveling in South Asia whilst waiting for the visa to be processed, and this process takes about a year or so. Though the 'forced' marriage is inevitable, Gilbert is still unsure of the justification of marriage, especially after her first failed marriage. So too, Filipe who has also had a failed marriage. So this book is Gilbert's contemplations and study of what it means to be married, what it means to her and what can be different this time around. She explores the many aspects of marriage; the history, social, moral and material implications.

This book is wonderful from start to finish. It is however less personal and less emotion driven compared to Eat Pray Love. I would say it actually is more Malcolm Gladwell-ish in style. It was perhaps more fact-based and as it needed to be, because Gilbert was exploring the meaning of marriage. For me, it was very eye-opening and some of my preconceptions of marriage and even relationships are now forever broken. I would say this is a life-altering book. It clarifies the differences between what love and infatuation are, and also the expectations of marriage in this generation and past. There is so much to talk about from this book, which I will do in some other post.

Gilbert's writing itself is witty and never boring. Her logic is reasonable and where parts that it seemed emotionally-charged, it is broken down into understandable bits. So you always get to know what is happening, and what is being felt. Great book about marriage and relationship for anyone who is absolutely clueless about such things like me. Even if you do know about these things, it would be a good book to read anyways if just to open your perspective on marriage, love and relationships.

Friday, July 15, 2011

A Lie of the Mind

by the Blak Yak Theatre Company


I went to see the last showing. Description from the Blak Yak website.
Set in the gritty American West, the story alternates between two families after a severe incident of spousal abuse leaves all their lives altered until the final collision at an isolated cabin.
The two families, one composed of Baylor, Meg, Beth, and Mike, the other composed of Lorraine, Sally, Frankie, and Jake are connected by the marriage of Jake and Beth.
Beths beating and subsequent hospitalisation at the hands of Jake initiates the beginning of the play. Exploring family dysfunction and the nature of love, the play follows Jake as he searches for meaning after Beth, and her family, as they struggle with Beth's brain damage.
Directed by Matt Longman and featuring Shell Berg, David Bowyer, Ben Kotovski-Steele, Marsha Holt, Alan Kennedy, Alex Jones, Joy Northover and Julia Hern
23, 24, 25 June. 1, 2 July Midland Junction Arts Centre 276 Great Eastern hwy (cnr Cale st) Midland

First the story. I am not sure whether it has been altered in any way or not because I have not seen the original but what I felt is the plot seemed to be great in the first 2/3s, felt like it was building up to something very interesting, a climax. But it sort of just fizzled down with any substantial explosion of clarity of where the plot was heading. Even the people beside me were saying, "So what was all that about?" Perhaps it takes a very observant or smarter person to get what was happening at the end. Well, I felt I got the message pretty well, unless there was any double entendres going on. But I think not, what happened in the end is actually all the characters are just plain crazy and they suit each other just fine. I feel it may work in some instances, not in this story. It just felt like lazy story-telling. Sort of like, 'let's just wrap this shit up because I can't be bothered to resolve all the tensioned dynamics created in the first 2 acts.' Anyways that's what I have to say about the plot, first 2 acts great, third act crap. The dialogue and pacing was good though.

A great positive I have to say that the acting was great though, the characters were acted out pretty well. However I question the need for American accents. It was clear some of the actors were struggling with it. If they adapted the whole play to be 'Australianized' I feel they would have been more authentic and believable. Perhaps it is a copyright issue that they cannot do this. But still, a great job by BlakYak, they are one of the best community theatre groups in Western Australia. I will watch pretty much anything they put on.

What I've Been Up To

Okay, I haven't blogged in a while. Couple of reasons; had to do a conference paper, colloquium presentation and other stuff too. Well, the final one is I've been sick for the past week (how can it be so long to be sick?). Anyways, I am getting better now (hopefully).

I have not read much either I must say, been dispirited somewhat. No idea why. Have not written much either, have gotten rejection from AHWA for the competition though. Well, dispiriting times. Anyways, I think I will be getting my groove back soon.

Anyways, I have been back playing the piano again. Getting reacquainted with Erik Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1 and also the Flight of the Bumblebee. Anyways that's beside the point, I will get back to reading soon. Feel I have gotten out of this rough patch rather unscathed. Ready to forge onwards soon enough. Second half of the year, let's get it done.