Death of the movies

In the last couple of months, I have taken two long aeroplane flights. During those I watched many movies on the in-flight entertainment, more than six. OK, I confess I didn't watch any of these movies all the way through, I fast forwarded through the boring bits, of which there were many. In my opinion, all these movies were unimaginative, written to a formula, and it was always a relief to me when any of the dreary characters in the movies was blown to bits. The movies were either "action" movies, which means the plots are exactly the same, with different costumes. (Handsome hero, cute girlfriend, powerful villain who almost, but not quite kills hero, big battle 15 minutes before the end of the movie, happy ending with enough loose ends to allow a sequel if the box office permits.)

Alternatively, the movies were sentimental romantic comedies with awkward hero, stupid behaviour and happy ending etc.

I kept congratulating myself on not having wasted my money paying to watch this nonsense in the movie theatres.

Then I saw that there was an oldies channel showing Bogart and Bergmann in Casablanca.

Bliss.

A movie with interesting ideas, characters you care about, imaginative dialogue and a story which connected to the real lives of the audience.

Then this morning I heard an interview on the radio with the director of the American television series "House of Cards". In his opinion, the real entertainment these days is on television, not in the movies. I can see his point, television has more opportunity to try new things, a series can allow development of the characters, and content can be delivered in many ways, over the internet, on DVD's and is available whenever you want it.

Are movies dying?

Near me, cinemas are closing, and the one successful theatre spends half its time showing live recordings of concerts, operas and plays, and reruns of old classic movies.

Back when TV started, people predicted that it would kill the movie theatres, but it didn't then, but maybe it is finally happening. The only thing the movies provides is a cheap night out of the house, but is that enough to keep the movies alive?

Meanwhile, we will be seeing more and more "blockbuster" movies based on comic books.

Seriously? 

These comics weren't much good when I read them as a child, I refuse to pay to watch them now. Has Gone With The Wind really morphed into Superman?

Or are the movies dying?

Michael Putney

I just heard about this interview with Bishop Michael Putney of Townsville  (which is on the North coast of Queensland, near the tropics).
I first heard about him in a radio programme about meditation. He became interested in this and introduced a period of meditation at the start of every day in the Catholic schools in the Diocese of Townsville,  for all classes, from Kindergarten to year 12.

One of the places in the Diocese is the Aboriginal community of Palm Island, and the meditation in the school on Palm Island was the subject of the radio programme I listened to.

Apparently the meditation was valued by all the students and teachers in the schools, and Bishop Putney observed that the small children in remote areas were in fact praying and meditating in the same way as Medieval monks.

Now, I heard that Bishop Putney has terminal cancer, and he talks about this in this interview:

Among friends

Yesterday I went to the Mass at Matt Talbot hostel, as I have been doing for the last year. I realised then how much I had missed this while I was away. There is a real sense of community with all the people there, even though people come and go regularly.

I also missed talking to some of the men who can always surprise you with the things they know. For example, while I was walking in France, I visited a museum in the town of Figeac which was dedicated to Jean-Francois Champollion, who used the discovery of the Rosetta stone to translate Egyptian hieroglyphics. Before seeing this museum, I didn't know who Champollion was, but one of the men knew it.

I also learned yesterday that next month China will be launching a moon lander called Chang'e.

Another astronomical activity is the Mars One project which was started by a Dutchman and plans to send people to colonise Mars. Apparently they have asked for volunteers to make the one-way trip to Mars, and 20,000 people from Australia responded.

The things you hear!!!!

The universe strikes back

Yesterday I was surprised to learn that Miss Venezuela had just been crowned Miss Universe in Moscow:

Don't misunderstand me, I am sure Miss Venezuela is a worthy winner, what surprises me is that the Miss U contest is still going. This is another reminder to me that the certainties of my past often go up in smoke.
When I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, the universal assumption was that beauty pageants were hangovers from the past and would certainly die out. In those days, everyone would have said beauty pageants just did not fit in a modern world and the new role of women in society.

Now, here we are, almost 50 years later, and TV shows are devoted to choosing the dress to be worn by Miss Australia in the contest. Plus ca change, plus la meme chose (excuse my French).

Another example of changes that never happened is the attitude to days like Anzac Day  and November 11. In the sixties and seventies, the universal (there is that word again) opinion was that these were just days for old drunks to glorify war. Anyone who wanted to be modern would mock days like that. I remember a comedy show on ABC TV making a joke of lighting a cigarette from the Eternal flame in an RSL club.
But now, days like this are treated with more reverence than any religious practice. Many more people remember November 11th than November 2nd.

Which one of our "certainties" of today will disappear by 2050?

Hot and humid

It's hot and humid today and everyone is expecting a thunderstorm tonight.

In the meantime, there is a big ship in the overseas terminal of Sydney Harbour.

And a view of the Harbour Bridge behind some old warehouses:

Feet

I can feel a small pain on the sole of my left foot. It feels like a small corn and it started a couple of months ago. Most of the time I can't feel it, but I decided to visit a doctor.

He said it was just an irritation between the skin and bone, due to age and rubbing inside shoes. His poetic, but not so helpful analogy was "it's like you kept opening doors with your nose. Eventually you would have a sore nose".

I have orthotics, but he is an orthotics sceptic. His argument is that the foot is a complex mechanism and should be made to work. Jamming it in with orthotics might not be a good idea, though some conditions might require it. He recommends soft padding in the shoe, and well made shoes. He likes some types of walking boots made in Germany, but they are not imported here. They are however available over the internet.

I think the boots I have fit very well, but the soles are worn out and I don't think it's easy for a bootmaker to replace them.

My kingdom for a shoe!!!

Talking about the weather

I arrived back in Sydney yesterday at 7 in the morning. The weather was cool, around 17 degrees and cloudy.

But now it is 10 degrees warmer, with a bright, blue, cloudless sky...

What next? They are predicting rain for the week end,

Every journey ends with the next step

It is now All Souls' Day and the beginning of my last day here.

This afternoon we will visit again the fine people of the Sant'Egidio Community here to share their enthusiasm and optimism.

Many thanks to Abby and Bart and Joe for their unbounded hospitality.

Thanks to all the people I had the pleasure and honor to meet over the last 2 months.

tot ziens, à tout à l'heure, bis spater, see ya later alligator.......

Yummm

I remember my parents once visiting me in Belgium and saying the strawberries here are delicious, much better than any in Australia.

They still are. Full of flavor and red all the way through, without the tasteless white centre that we get in Oz:

Take your pick