Cavendish and I went to see Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom on Friday, mostly attracted by the movie's hugely impressive cast list including such illustrious names as Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Tilda Swinton, but with very little to no idea what else to expect.

As it turned out, we might have easily seen one of the finest and intriguing films of 2012. While its basic plotline doesn't account  to much more than "Sometime in the mid-1960s, two smitten-with-each-other teenagers on a small New England island run away together while the involved parents and other rescuing parties aren't exactly amused", Moonrise Kingdom presents its viewers with a fascinating microcosm of the surreal and the hilarious, managing to touch upon the light and the funny as well as the sad, touching and sincere.

This almost incredible mixture of poignant and fluff is in large parts carried by a breathtaking script, great imagery, and yes, actors who just know how to highlight their characters' more comic aspects as well as a rather rare sense of personal dignity.

If you should have the opportunity to see this movie while it still runs in theatres, go, see it!

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Does anyone know what happened to Livejournal's "spell checking in comments" function?

I tend to heavily rely on that one, mostly because I'm one of the worst typists who ever sat in front of a keyboard. And for the last couple of days I've been noticing that instead of marking any misspelled words, pushing the preview/spell check button only leads to rendering the whole comment in bright red.

Please tell me there's a way to revert this glitch back to normal...

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A rather normal Tuesday afternoon at Casa Bimo, roughly about 5 o'clock. BimoDad comes in, they both have coffee and apple pie, chatting about this and that. After a while BimoDad gets up from the coffee table, walks over to Bimo's TV set and grabs a S1 box set of Boston Legal lying on top of the DVD player. The following dialog ensues...

BimoDad: Oh, Boston Legal! Daughter, please don't tell me you actually bought this?
Bimo: Well, I didn't. Cavendish did.
BimoDad (frowning): Well...
Bimo: We've just watched the first bunch of episodes and to tell the truth, we rather like it so far. You think it's rubbish?
BimoDad: Not at all. Shatner's brilliant. And that guy who was Daniel Jackson in the original [Stargate] movie is great, too. [A small pause, more frowning, though BimoDad appears rather amused] You two really should have learned by now.
Bimo: What?
BimoDad: To come to me first. I've got all seasons on DVD. This is just like the Farscape incident...

During the minutes that followed I had trouble stopping my father, in his enthusiasm, from giving away some important S1 plot developments and thus spoiling me, as we really are just a bunch of episodes into the show.


Oh, and on matters completely unrelated to this: I just got a reply from the ZDF broadcasting station regarding my inquiry about the brief Robert Gwisdek feature I was interested in but cannot watch/record myself for technical reasons:


Sehr geehrte Frau Bimo RealName,

vielen Dank für Ihr Schreiben.

"Abgeschminkt - Robert Gwisdek" 22.03.2012

Leider können wir ihnen erst dann ein Angebot machen, wenn die Sendung ausgestrahlt wurde.
Wir bitten sie deshalb ihre Anfrage erst dann zu starten.

Thank you for that non-answer folks. (They basically said, they can't get back to me/make any offer before the feature's been broadcast.) All I wanted was to know in advance if I can simply obtain a copy via the ZDF of if I have to try finding someone in my circle of friends/relatives who can record the feature for me.

ETA: The ZDF people just got back to me. Yup, apparently it's possible to obtain a copy from them. Yeah! :-)

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1. Leave a comment to this post.
2. If requested, I will give you a letter (feel free to comment if you've already had a letter from elsewhere or don't want one).
3. Post the names of five fictional characters whose names begin with that letter, and your thoughts on each. The characters can be from books, movies, or TV shows

selenak gave me an F of all possible letters.

Francesca Vecchio (DueSouth): Younger sister of Ray. Lively. Chaotic. Determined. A natural at driving even the calmest and most patient people completely nuts. Courageous, a dreamer. Very particular, somewhat over the top clothing style. Not exactly healthy attraction to Fraser, but otherwise suprisingly good judgement skills. The love-hate relationship she has with her brother runs rather deeply and is highly enjoyable to watch. Often brings out Ray's softer, protective side. Also: the actress in question, Ramona Milano rocks big time.

Fee Cleary (Thorn Birds, TV mini series): Mother of Meggie. Very calm, in a rather odd way extremely dignified, distant character. Her relationship with her children as well as with her husband seems to be overshadowed by inner struggle between diverging emotions. Bitterness. Resignation. Love. Jean Simmons portrays these subcurrents in a wonderful way.

Freder Fredersen (Metropolis): Okay, I'm not exactly the biggest fan of Metropolis, so my views on Freder might be rather biased. Well-meaning but naive, especially in his first couple of scenes. Actor Gustav Fröhlich makes this character appear strangely soft.

Fiona (Four Weddings and a Funeral): Sharp witted, somewhat cynical. I rather liked how she finally admitted her secret feelings for Hugh Grant's character, even though I had seen this revelation coming right from the start. Oh, and when I first saw the movie at our local cinema, I applauded when she got Prince Charles in the end! Kristin Scott Thomas is just fab in this role.

Frank Drebbin (The Naked Gun): Complex, angst-ridden, and haunted by a terrible and tragic past. Not. I think it suffices to say he was played by Leslie Nielsen ;-)

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Friends, readers, countrywomen...

still remember the early pre-internet 1990s when getting hold of certain interviews, articles and tv features was incredibly hard for the interested but unfortunately German-based viewer? A time where failing to record a show on your VHS meant that you probably had lost all chances of viewing said show unless you were really incredibly lucky and there was a re-run, or you happened to stumble across a kindred soul who had taped just the thing that you'd missed and was willing to share? Thus, when I was 17 I used to write very polite inquiries to German broadcasting stations, a lot. Would there be a re-run of X? Or was there any chance to perhaps acquire a copy of Y on VHS for a certain fee? Lucky for me, the necessity for writing those letters of inquiry lessened considerably over the years, mostly thanks to the emergence of the internet and all the wonderful possibilities and networking opportunities which it offered. If you are reading this, you probably know what I'm talking about *g*


But, guess what I just did only a couple of minutes ago... Yup. Wrote another one of those damned inquiries, at least in advance, as one tends to be more well-informed and organised with increasing age.

Recipient: ZDFKultur, a more culturally oriented sub branch of the ZDF (Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, one of our main public-service television broadcasters). Unfortunately only available via satellite and cable, which I cannot receive for technical reasons.

The show in question: Abgeschminkt, 22./23.03. 2012, a brief documentary about German actor/artist/musician Robert Gwisdek, son of actors Corinna Harfouch and Michael Gwisdek.

Why would I possibly be interested in viewing this? : Well, Robert Gwisdek is interesting. Rather promising, highly talented actor, and judging by his interviews and music projects apparently also equipped with a very well-functioning brain. When Gwisdek's not busy acting, traveling or doing something entirely else, he is making something (under the pseud of KÄPTN PENG), that can only be described as inhabiting the borderland between "a type of music usually so not my cup of tea that I don't even know its proper name" and bloody brilliant, bizarre performance art video installations with rather unique lyrics.

Kreisfilm, Shaban & Käptn Peng on Youtube

One of my favourites:



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I'm usually rather skeptical about Web 2.0 type social media (hesitant to register, hesitant to use), and before I ever register on Face Book, hell will probably have frozen over about three different times in a row. However, a couple of days ago I succumbed to temptation and got myself a shiny new Pinterest account (Pinterest is a bit like a virtual scrapbook, a visual and less complex version of Delicio.us and will probably prove to be just the same type of "fun as long as it lasts" thing.)

Well, what do I say. I surf, I see and I like to impose some sort of order on my findings as much as the next internet user does. Also, I'm fascinated by the comparative speed, easiness and arbitrariness of the whole affair.



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Probably all over the place but first spotted at selenak 's.



First fandom I had self-insertion fantasies about: Phew, a rather close tie between ST: TNG and MacGyver I'd say, which I both watched religiously during my teenage days. I guess the only thing preventing me from writing it all down and publishing it somewhere is the fact that this was still the mid 1980s.


First fandom in which I interacted (online and in person) with other fans: In person: ST: TOS, at a way earlier age than most people do. Thanks to my dad, I had all the advantages and contacts that come with being the second generation fan and not the fannish pioneer of my family. My first online interaction with other fans took place sometime during the 1990s, X Files and also the absolutely fantastic German ER Mailing list.


Pairing in the first slash fanfiction I read: Highlander, Duncan MacLeod/Methos. While I wasn't quite convinced of the DM/M pairing, some of my favourite authors were, so I simply followed them wherever they chose to go, simply because the quality of their writing spoke for itself. I think that this reading experience of continuously dealing with a fannish reality that isn't quite mine has had a huge impact on my interest in alternative character interpretations, alternative perspectives.


First fanfiction I read that made me think, 'YES, this is exactly the kind of fanfiction I'd like to write...' :
The first one that hat this kind of impact on me? Well, that would be "Leap of Faith" , a full-blown novella length X Files/Quantum Leap crossover by Livengoo. It took me years to realize that no matter how much I might love novellas and other, lengthier pieces, my own, personal talent as a writer clearly lies with what I tend to call "short distance stories", seldom exceeding 1000 words.

Pairing in the first fanfiction I wrote: Well, to be honest, I fear my writing brain doesn't seem to work along the lines of pairings, however attractive or fascinating those might be. I'll gladly make use of an established canon or fanon relationship between characters once in a while, but that's not really what my stuff is about.


First OTP: Fraser/Thatcher, dueSouth.


First RPS/F OTP: I fear, I don't really have one, at least not in the conventional fannish sense.


First fannish friend I met in person: We are talking about online friends met in person, here, aren't we? Well that would definitely be selenak, followed by kathyh.


First character I formally roleplayed: Well, for about a year or so I was albert_campion over at Theatrical Muse.

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Heh, it's been nearly two weeks now, but I finally got around to resizing some of the pictures Cavendish took during the grand kitchen exchange...


( Quite a difference )

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Some of you might already know Cavendish and I ordered ourselves a shiny new kitchen, back in November. Massive wooden cabinets made from alder wood, and a counter top made from thermally treated beech. Ceramic sink, state of the art LED cupboard lights. Quite luxurious and fancy, but, aw, well... We worked, we saved, we waited.

One could say, it was about time. ;)

Our old kitchen, a bright yellow quality product bought by Cavendish's grandma during the late 1970s, has served the inhabitants of this house well for over 34 years. If there were such a thing as a furniture hall of fame for well-used and durable things, you'd surely find a picture of this yellow old kitchen there, together with a little commemorative plaque.

It has only been for the last couple of years that this kitchen truly started to show signs of age. Crumbling chipboards, malfunctioning drawers. You get the picture. A couple of weeks ago, when all I wanted was to take out a spoon from one of the drawers, I suddenly held the drawer's entire front in my hand.

So, yes, about time. Also, I suspect that I tended to use this kitchen more intensively than any of the previous inhabitants ever did. Countless dinners and lunches, traditional German dishes, Italian, Thai. Weird experimental cooking. My occasional misguided attempts at baking a cake which doesn't owe all its ingredients to "Dr. Oetker", the ultimate German cake mixture manufacturer. (I'm a fairly competent cook, but couldn't make a proper cake from scratch if my life depended on it.)

It feels rather strange to go into that trusty old kitchen now, not in order to prepare a meal, but to empty all its cupboards and drawers, and to stuff everything into huge boxes.

But, yay, the new kitchen is coming next Tuesday. You have no idea how much I'm looking forward to that!

Whee!:D

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Yesterday evening, I tried doing one of the "My Year in Fandom" memes that seem to be floating around at the moment, but eventually I had to acknowledge the fact that my personal TV year has been far too retro-oriented to tackle most of the questions. So, here's a format-free version of the time warp that Cavendish and I have been performing...

Apart from the most current season of Doctor Who (which wasn't exactly my cup of tea), the by far "youngest", most up to date shows I watched were ST: Enterprise (2001-2005) and Farscape (1999-2003). Perfectly fine turn-of-the-millennium genre tv, and ideal for a study in contrast, regarding about every aspect that one could possibly think of.

The most noteworthy difference, however, would be how differently both Farscape and Enterprise dealt with the aftermath of 9/11. One show - the one which had started out with a clearly pacifist mission statement - suddenly laden with unreflected militarism and themes of retribution, therefore alienating a good portion of its core viewership, including me, and the other show - the often wild, violent, chaotic, over-the-top maverick - offering its viewers the much more differentiated, complex approach of "Terra Firma". My love for Farscape has never been greater than during that scene in which a visibly upset Jack tries to explain the impact the 9/11 attacks have had on American society and himself, but ultimately leaves his son John unable to understand.

Poignant and valid on several levels, just as good television should be. (Btw., when I wrote this entry, I caught myself making a rather intriguing Freudian typo, "fathermath" instead of "aftermath".) As I've already said to selenak, Farscape's S4 brought along not only some of the show's worst episodes but also the very best.

So much for my first TV highlight of 2011. For the second one I really have to thank Cavendish, who, once we had finished our business in the Unchartered Territories, kindly suggested to re-watch two of his own childhood favourites, and thus catapulted us straight into the realm of the 1970s mini-series.

Rich Man, Poor Man (1976-1977) and Roots (1977). As incredible as it might seem, to say those shows were equally fascinating to watch (the occasional "head desk" moment included), would be an absolute understatement. The creators of both shows were ambitious, the format fresh, and the production values high. I guess, to do both series justice in regard to their origins, contents, scripts, and acting I really ought to come up with another entry.

So I'll leave you with this:

Most generally underestimated actor/director of my personal TV year: Bill Bixby. Yup, the Bill Bixby.

Favourite female character: Maggie Porter (Susan Sullivan), workaholic and highly competent lawyer and part time love interest of Rich Man, Poor Man's male lead Rudy Jordache (Peter Strauss) during the show's somewhat uneven and soapy, but nevertheless extremely addictive second season.

Favourite male character: Roots' s Chicken George Moore, played by the wonderful Ben Vereen. Chicken George and his wife Mathilda (Olivia Cole) would also be my number one candidate for "favourite TV couple" and the characters I wouldn't mind being adopted by.

Sorry John, sorry Aeryn ;-)

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