The return of fridge poetry

Now we’re in our new house I’ve got the fridge poetry out again. Our creations come from Freaky Fridge Poetry and Queer Fridge Poetry.

The following are the first two poems on our new fridge:

My lesbian partner
Together our happy family
Will survive & celebrate in this straight world
– by Laura

Discover a rainbow
Be open, outlandish and unusual
You are the queen of courage
– by Emma

Round-up: June 8th – 14th

Malcolm X (1992)
Seen on Sunday June 8th

I think I was expecting too much from this film and therefore came away unsatisfied. I wanted more context, more history I guess. Washington was good but the pace was poor. I can’t remember more than one scene that I felt involved in. However, as a result of seeing this film I’ve ordered some books up from the Bod to read. They are:

DeCaro, L.A. (1998 ) Malcolm and the cross: the Nation of Islam, Malcolm X and, Christianity. New York: New York University Press

Mervin, D. (1992) Malcolm X and the moderation of black militancy. Coventry: Department of Politics and International Studies, University of Warwick

Witness (1992)
Seen on Monday June 9th

A solid thriller with the added interest of an insight into Amish culture. I’m glad I’ve seen it again but I think twice is enough.

Michael Clayton (2007)
Seen on Friday June 13th

When this film came out I thought it had a really lame title. Couldn’t they have come up with anything more interesting I thought. I was still thinking this as I began to watch the film as I struggled through the slow start not really knowing or particularly caring where it was going. But then around 45minutes in I started to focus. It didn’t matter what was going on with the plot, what this film was really about was Michael Clayton. This all became clear to me an hour in during a conversation between Michael and Arthur Edens which ends with these two lines:
MC: I’m not the enemy
AE: Then who are you

This question keeps coming up throughout the film and mostly people are asking it of Michael because to them it seems clear that most of the time not only are they not sure who he is but neither is he. This is Clooney back on his game.

Kidulthood (2006)
Seen on Saturday June 14th

A shocking look at the lives of Britain’s inner-city teenagers. As you might imagine sex, drugs and violence are the overriding themes. Well written, acted and directed but thoroughly depressing. I’m looking forward to catching its sequel Adulthood which is released this weekend.

Round-up: May 25th – 31st

Away from Her (2006)
Seen on Sunday May 25^th

I’d been waiting to see this film since it came out in 2006 and unlike a lot of other films I’ve been eagerly looking forward to this one didn’t disappoint. This is a wonderful exploration of relationships, fantastically acted and tenderly directed. Who would have thought that the girl I watched as Ramona growing up would end up as one of the most up and coming female filmmakers today?

This is definitely one to add to your rental list if you’ve not already seen it.

Caramel/Sukkar banat (2007)
Seen on Monday May 26^th

I hadn’t heard much about this film before I went to see it last week. I knew it was set in Beirut and centred on the lives of five women, the workers and customers of a beauty parlour. If I’m honest I probably wouldn’t have gone to see it on my own but Laura was keen so I thought why not. What a gem! I was completely engrossed in the lives of these women and really didn’t want the film to end. But end it did and that was the only fault I can place with it. I can’t say how or where I would have ended it but the style seemed to change suddenly and it jerked me back into reality too quickly.

I will definitely by buying this when it comes out on DVD.

The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
Seen on Wednesday May 28^th

I’ve heard mixed opinions about this early Coen brothers’ film but I put it on my rental list so that I could see for myself. It reminded me a lot of The Man Who Wasn’t There (2001) but I can’t for the life of my think why as it’s nowhere near as dark or as abstract. One of the main draws to this film for me is Jennifer Jason Leigh. Her performance here reminded me of that in Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle which was also released in 1994. She absolutely exhausted me in this film – I couldn’t decide whether it was her character or that she was completely overacting. I’m hoping it was her character as I saw signs of this caricature in Paul Newman’s character Sidney J. Mussburger.

I enjoyed this film but having recently seen No Country for Old Men it’s clear the Coen’s have come a long long way.

Consenting Adults (1992)
Seen on Saturday May 31^st

Laura would describe this film in two words – “lame as”. Before watching this I read a brief review in a Halliwell’s film guide which remarked on its failure as a Hitchcock style thriller. This knowledge made the whole experience unbearable as I was constantly on the look out for these botched nods to Hitchcock.

Equal Opportunities

I went to a training session at work last week on the roles and responsibilities of a staff representative. At the end, as at all training sessions, we were asked to complete a feedback form. The form also included an equal opportunities section and I was pleased to see that it included a question on sexual orientation.

As well as giving feedback on the session we were asked to give verbal feedback on the form as it had recently been redesigned. Another member of the group proclaimed her dislike of the sexual orientation question. She said something like “I’m offended by being asked to tell you who I have sex with.” I responded that I liked seeing this question on the form and that it quite clearly stated that you should only answer questions you were comfortable with.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the reaction to this question and I’ve found that I’m actually quite offended that other people would be offended by the presence of this question, especially when you have a choice of whether to answer or not. What I’m most distressed by is the wording of this specific reaction; your sexual orientation is not just about who you have sex with, it’s about your identity.

Speaking from the minority I found it refreshing to see this question appearing alongside questions of ethnic origin, age, gender and religion. Maybe it’s different if you’re in the majority?

East coast road trip

Laura and I have just returned from a two week adventure on the east coast of the USA. We began our journey in New York, then drove to Boston, Ithaca and Washington D.C before returning to New York to fly home. We kept a joint journal of our trip but as you might guess it’s rather too much to copy up here so below I’ve provided for you the edited highlights.

New York, NY
The Shake Shack
Runner up in our survey of burgers. Bonus point for crispy chips and smooth shakes.
Tip: Arrive 10-15 minutes before it opens for an early lunch to avoid the ever growing queue. Or if you’re close enough check out the live shack cam to time your arrival for when the queue is at its lowest ebb.

Boston, MA
Old South Meeting House
First stop on the Freedom Trail. This museum was made much better for us thanks to a wonderful guide who was showing a group of grade 6 (UK: year 7) students around. She had the group split into two sections, Patriots and Loyalists, with each student playing the part of a significant figure from the period. Her talk was informative and fun which made the kids want to contribute. I was very impressed with her knowledge and ability to capture the students’ imaginations.

Concord, MA
Orchard House
The home of Louisa May Alcott, author of Little Women. This was a treat for us, we had our own private tour and spent a further 1.5 hours in the museum talking to the staff about cultural and social differences between the UK and US.

Ithaca, NY
Glenwood Pines
Home of the Pinesburger – voted Ithaca’s best burger and best burger of Laura and Emma’s east coast odyssey burger survey.

Washington D.C.
National Air and Space Museum
Highlights:
Albert Einstein’s Planetarium – I thoroughly recommend seeing Cosmic Collisions, it blew my mind.
How Things Fly – the science of flight complete with interactive displays, great for big kids.

National Museum of the American Indian
Highlights:
Community galleries – divided into universes, peoples and lives the community galleries give an insight into the world of the American Indian throughout history and today.

National Postal Museum
This was my favourite of the three Smithsonian museums we visited. If you only get the chance to go to one, make it this one.
Highlights:
Postal Inspectors: The Silent Service – a look into postal crime and the people who fight against it (ends February 2009).
Stamps: An American Journey – created by the History Channel, this video looks at what it takes to design a stamp.

Arlington, VA
The Silver Diner
A first class diner with all the atmosphere of the 50s plus a juke box at every table!