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13 Writers on the Screen

February 10, 2011November 30, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Oscar Wilde Wilde, 1997 - Stephen Fry is just freaking brilliant in this movie that depicts Oscar Wilde's career, wit & torment as he struggled with a family, his homosexuality (represented by the jazzy pink suit) & the absurd trial that resulted in his being sentenced to hard labor - a sentence that eventually caused his death.2. Sylvia Plath Sylvia, 2003 - While I can't stand Gwyneth Paltrow (who can?) I really enjoyed this film about Sylvia Plath & Ted Hughes. Of course, there's some other business about Bell Jars & sticking heads in ovens, as one might expect.3. Truman Capote Capote, 2005 - I went to see this movie at the theater & have a clear recollection of being bored more than anything. This film is really more about the conception of Capote's novel, "In Cold Blood" & is less about the writer himself. While Philip Seymour Hoffman isn't really capable of delivering anything close to a shitty performance, his acting...

13 Mothers of Invention

April 2, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Sybilla Masters - d.1720 Sybilla was an American colonist back in the day. Now and then, the native population would give the colonists the gift of corn - you know, as opposed to baking them pies. Sybilla invented a mill that would clean and grind the corn, which allowed the colonists to use it for various food and clothing products. Sybilla's husband Thomas was granted a patent for the mill in 1715 by the British courts. Thomas Masters actually held two patents on behalf of his wife, since women and minorities had no right to own a patent, because who in the fuck did they think they were, anyway? Sybilla was the first American woman inventor in documented history, but it's a pretty safe bet that women have been inventing and getting shafted on the credit since the beginning of time. 2. Mary Dixon Kies - 19th CenturyIn 1809, Mary was issued a patent for inventing a process for weaving straw...

13 Movies That I Want to Watch (But Don’t Exist)

March 19, 2009January 25, 2021 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Don QuixoteTerry Gilliam has already tried to make this one. Evidently, the movie didn't want to be made - flash floods, an injured lead actor & the Spanish air force proved to be rather expensive & inconvenient flies in Gilliam's ointment. The good news is, Gilliam is rewriting the script as I write this post. Hopefully his second try will turn out better & we won't end up with Lost in La Mancha II: The Next Disaster.2. JerichoThe show that, in spite of being saved once by an insane amount of peanuts, eventually came to an end. A feature film is in development. Unfortunately, "in development" doesn't necessarily mean the same thing as, "Fuck yes, we are definitely making this movie!" So, until then... I wait.3. Arrested DevelopmentWhy this show was canceled to begin with is beyond me. It's one of those stupid things that happens. It doesn't make sense & can only be explained with the statement, "some...

13 Women of Literature & Poetry

March 5, 2009December 1, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

1. Sappho - c. 625 B.C.E. - Greece Sappho was a lyric poet who studied the arts on the Greek isle of Lesbos. Her poems were written to be accompanied with some nice backing tracks of lyre music. Sappho had refined her style and composed her own music, eventually leading to what is referred to as "sapphic meter." Many works of Sappho are well-known because of the fact that not only were they written from her own view point, rather than those of the Gods, but also because the target of her affections were usually women. Not only was Sappho the ancient Greek equivalent of a fucking rock star, but she was also, like Xena: Warrior Princess, an awesome lesbian icon.2. Ban Zhao c.45-116 - China Ban Zhao was the very first female historian in China. The daughter of a historian and author, Ban Zhao finished her father's encyclopedic work, The Book of Han after he was imprisoned and executed. Ban Zhao...

13 Stinky French Cheeses

February 19, 2009November 29, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

As one might expect, moving to France required me to learn a few things. First of all, I've had to learn to speak French - which I don't do all that well. However, I've also had to learn about hundreds of stinky cheeses. My French speaking may need some work, but I do speak "fromage" very well... & let's face it - here in France, that might actually be more important. * * * 1 - Bleu d'Auvergne Bleu d'Auvergne is produced in the Massif Central between Puy-de-Dôme and Cantal. A cheese producer back in 1854 found some mold on his bread & thought to himself, "Hey, I bet this shit would be great if I mixed it with some cheese." Kind of like the chocolate & peanut butter guy, but with mold instead of chocolate & cheese instead of peanut butter.2 - Cantal Cantal is hard to semi-hard cheese from the Cantal region of France. It's one of the oldest cheeses in France...

13 More Warrior Women

February 5, 2009November 23, 2020 by Rasmenia Comment Closed

Ok...I've done a list like this one before. However, there's a significant difference this time - these women aren't fictional characters. These women are actual historical figures & didn't have any stunt doubles.1. Queen Tomyris of the Massagetae - Massagetae, now eastern Iran - c.550 B.C. When the Persian emperor Cyrus the Great attempted to invade the Iranic Massagetae of Central Asia, his army was beaten & forced to retreat. Cyrus' boys then persuaded him to trick the enemy into getting drunk on wine because they were hash smokers & likely to be lightweights when it came to booze. It worked - while the opposing army was shitfaced, the Persians came in & slaughtered them. Tomyris' son was at the head of the drunken army. When he sobered up, he killed himself. When Tomyris got the news, she sent a message to Cyrus telling him what a rat bastard he was & called him out to another fight. Another battle ensued,...