One of my favorite very short pieces of music has, in my opinion, a completely inappropriate title. The piece is from Handel's oratorio Solomon, and is entitled The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba. Now, wouldn't you expect that music announcing the arrival of a queen would be rather grand and stately? But this music is light and lively; it conjurs up, for me, a bevy of fairies, with gossamer wings, flitting from lily pad to lily pad down the length of a pond. It's light-hearted running, or in-and-out flight; it is not the arrival of the Queen of Sheba. I never have any luck embedding links, but I'm going to try again, with the Youtube link. Hope you are able to listen!
Ha! I did it! Can't believe it. Anyway, as to the rip-off part of this missive: I recently ordered season 2 of the British T.V. drama series Blue Murder, which ran 2003-2009 in England. I had been given Season 1 by a friend, and really enjoyed it, 'though comprehending the Manchester accents (one of the interesting things about this show is it is not set in London) can be a real challenge. Another interesting thing about it is that the Chief Inspector, in charge of finding all those murderers, is not only a woman, but a single mother-of-four (she caught her husband in bed with the nanny when she came home with the happy news of her promotion). And not only that, but she's overweight! Hardly obese, but she could definitely stand to lose a few pounds. So here is this frazzled woman dealing with a small son afraid of bullying at school, a teenaged son getting in with the wrong crowd and doing some bullying himself, a daughter who is mortified by what her mother is wearing whenever she makes a televised press statement, but also hates it when her mother puts on perfume and eye makeup when a man comes over, and a new baby (she was pregnant when she was promoted/caught her husband in flagrante)along with ever-changing nannys...while at the same time running hither and yon solving crime. She's a smart, funny, unusual heroine, played by Caroline Quentin, an actress known more for her comedic roles. And there's a very cute, sexy actor, Ian Kelsey, playing her second in command.
So there you have Blue Murder, which I ordered the second set of, my little once a month splurge on something that is not rent/food/gas/electic bills/sewer bills/water bills/oil bills/medical bills...and there are only four episodes on the two discs! There were three discs, six episodes in Set 1. Why two fewer? I've already watched the four! What a rip-off!
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5 comments:
Melody - Free associating here with a suggestion for another TV series to explore: Slings & Arrows. From Canada maybe 8 years ago; only 3 seasons (I wanted MORE!!) - about a Shakespearean Theater company and all it's heights and depths. Great characters; funny, poignant, insightful, and dramatic, and a wonderful look behind the scenes at life on and behind the stage. Takes 3 or 4 episodes to get hooked but stay with it....
Gosh, Melody, don't you belong to Netflix? They have both seasons of Blue Murder and so much more. Ten bucks a month and you've got the world of cinema in your mailbox.
Ruth, Slings & Arrows sounds like exactly the sort of thing i would like. I love shows about behind-the-scenes in the world of theatre, or cinema. And Joey, the problem with Netflix -- besides the $10 a month -- is that you have to send them the movies back. Shows like Blue Murder, that i really enjoy, i want to keep, in my (fairly extensive) video collection. Maybe it's the librarian in me, i.e., the conserve in me. You keep, you don't send back.
Do you really watch the movies you own repeatedly? I rarely watch a movie more than once a decade, so the trouble with owning is that the technology changes every decade. I have four or five movies on videotape, but I can't stand watching videotapes now that DVDs have spoiled me with their superior picture quality.
The thing I really like about Netflix is the selection. It's huge.
Joey - I'm sure i've watched "Thunderheart" (the movie that inspired me to "go save the Indians") at least eight times. "Casablanca" about the same. The various Star Trek movies, two or three (in one case, four) times each. And so on and so forth. Yes, i watch the movies i really like more often than once in a decade. And i have no problem with watching a movie on video cassette. Don't forget, i also listen to vinyl records! I'm just an old-fashioned girl, in a world that is quite possibly too modern for its own good.
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