FYI: I have to work on several major research projects in the next few days, so if I'm not blogging, that's why.
Here is a slice of life: midnight again for the umpteenth night in a row, I'm surrounded by papers/books/articles/journals, and I'm poking at my laptop and yelling at it (and at my project) in about three languages. Coffee, tea, and cookies (and empty ramen packets) are scattered everywhere. The TV is on to keep me awake (I can't work if the apartment is 100% quiet because I just fall asleep), so I have a mountain of DVDs.
This time, old movies are the theme: "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" (musical fun!), "Red River" (John Wayne!), "Spartacus" (Kirk Douglas!), "My Fair Lady" (musical fun -- and Audrey Hepburn), "Roman Holiday" (Audrey again, with Gregory Peck), and what is probably my favorite classic film set in the ancient world, "Ben-Hur" (that chariot race is legendary, and I love it).
Do you have any suggestions?
By the way, I already watched "Planet of the Apes," but that turned out to be a bad idea, because it only inspired me to yell "Take your stinking paws off me, you d%^& dirty ape!" often -- and for no apparent reason. (It is, I confess, in direct violation of my "polite language only, please" blog policy.)
I also watched "A Streetcar Named Desire," but, in all honesty, I didn't like it very much or Vivien Leigh either (what is it with her and Southern ladies?). Still, that made me run around and yell, "Stellaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!" for no apparent reason.
12 comments:
Can we get video of all this? Sounds like a lot of fun. To watch, of course.
I'm in much the same boat at the moment, though I think I'm probably much less entertaining about it.
Good luck with it all!
Good luck to you too! Are you also buried in history stuff or is it some other form of brain-torture?
Well, history is certainly involved, in some way that I haven't quite figured out yet. And culture. And, okay, I guess I can admit it to a fellow nerd-in-training, I'm going to be a . . . a . . . CULTURAL HISTORIAN!!!
*sob*
My mother is very distressed over it all.
How about Stagecoach, On the Waterfront, The Big Sleep (Humphrey Bogart, of course), The Killers (the one with Burt Lancaster) and one definite chick flick, Sorry, Wrong Number!
Thanks, Pat! I've never seen "Sorry, Wrong Number!"
Oh, and lumpenscholar? A cultural historian! My sincerest condolences to your poor mother. *grin*
Yes, the whole family is rather puzzled by it. "He was such a good boy . . ." they say.
Oh, and for movies, how about "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence"? John Wayne & Jimmy Stewart, can't go wrong there.
My relatives seem to think that I was going to be a doctor or a lawyer or something -- or a software engineer like my Sibling.
I did "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" during a previous research-binge. What a great flick!
Yeah, I was supposed to be an engineer. Now that I'm in grad school with nary a math course to my name, I think my dad is secretly hoping I'll move over to the law school.
Hmmm . . . How about Wayne's "The Cowboys" or "The Shootist"? "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"? I'm probably not telling you anything new here. Sorry.
Um, next time why don't I ask _you_ for advice on movies to watch? That seems to make much more sense at the moment.
A fellow grad student once tried to convince me to go to law school instead. A prof once tried to convince me to go into area studies and be an analyst for a think tank or State Dept. or something on Far Eastern matters. But nope, here I am, pottering around trying to teach 18-year-olds who don't seem to think any history existed before their births.
On movies: I've never seen "The Shootist" OR "The Cowboys." I'm sure I'm missing out! ;-) I've only just lately discovered the joys of old Westerns...
As for old movies, I submit that grad school can feel a lot like Hitchcock's "Birds."
O/T-Several years Bruce Dern used to come to Palos Verdes and run hills with the track club I belonged. We would always welcome him but at the end of the run we'd always yell and point out that there was the guy who shot John Wayne (The Cowboys) in the back. Dern always came back even though he lost his temper several times.
Pat, that's hilarious!
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