ThingsPondered

I was feeling absolutely non-verbal due to the onslaught this morning of super-contagious stomach-painful-abdomen-virus racing around my workplace.  So, when Bruce wanted to know what kind of muffins I brought home, I opted for acting it out rather than speaking.

I was trying to communicate “banana nut” as the type of muffin.  Sadly, Bruce is very low-skilled at Charades.  However, we had two things going for us (I thought):  [1]  I am very good at acting out clues and [2] evening is his highest energy time of day.  Strangely, he did not know the standard signals of the game.  I mean, wasn’t this a popular television show many times over?  And, although Bruce did not grow up with TV, he certainly has embraced it now.  Or, maybe that’s just for football and Law and Order. 

After a few whispered words to teach him the signals for number of words, number of syllables, and “it sounds like..”, we were off.  He struggled, but finally got “banana” down. Next I signaled: “one word, one syllable.”  Cleverly, I depicted a male urinating and then got to the pair of naughty bits below the sprinkler. He guessed balls, gonads, genitals, scrotum [hello? ONE syllable?]. Banana-gonad muffins?  I had to switch to the “sounds like…” options for clues.  So, I pointed to my derriere. He guessed ass.  Banana-ass muffins?  Sweet baby Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!  And, by this point he was having a senior moment and forgot the word banana!  I wonder where and when he has feasted on gonad-ass muffins?

Well, at least a good laugh was had by all.

I have been to Richmond a few times in my life: several times decades ago and most recently for a job fair months ago.  I have made a conscious decision to move to central Virginia, despite lack of family, employment or buddies there (yet.)  Why, one might ask?

I could suggest all sorts of illogical reasons. For one, Richmond is the home of DrumBum – a totally cool online percussion supplies business.  I visited its offices during my job fair trip.  (I would love to win one of the free T-shirts, hint hint —   ) Or, I could say that the name “Parham” has mystical attraction for me.  Also, Virginia is a commonwealth, as is my current state.

Here are some of the more motivating reasons:  Richmond is within driving distance to my family and friends who are largely in PA, NY, and east coast states.  It is closer to the ocean than my current home.   I do not need to live on the oceanfront, but I surely would like to get to it more frequently than I now do.  According to city-data , Richmond has more days of sunshine than does my current home.  As I have Seasonal Affective Disorder, I am suffering where I live now in “below-average-land.”  Furthermore, the city of Richmond has many colleges and universities – I want to be near people with intellectual curiosity and who may be liberal-minded.  In fact, I am told that the Fan district is similar to a New York City SoHo and Greenwich Village.  WooHoo!   Additionally, I want to be near a city large enough to support live theatre and live classical music performances.  I think Richmond fills the bill there.  Also, I am counting on many more job opportunities in a large city. 

Thus, I have focused on Richmond as the answer to my needs.  Future employers, what can I offer you?

Let’s explore the common features.  Both give the viewer unvarnished pictures of Indian poverty.  Furthermore, both focus on children for the majority of the story.   In addition, the films were made in the last 5 years by Brits in India, although Slumdog is more of a cooperative effort between Brits and Indians.

Slumdog was completed in 2008 and is in theatres now (January 2009.)  Its story occurs in the city of Mumbai (Bombay.)    Although it is not officially a Bollywood film, it contains many of the Bollywood elements such as melodrama, star-crossed lovers, and much good music.  In contrast,  Born is a 2004 documentary, transpiring in Kolkata (Calcutta.)  It won an Oscar in 2005 for best documentary, whereas Slumdog has yet to be judged.  Slumdog is listed as R-rated comedy-drama, which is a good way to describe it, though I think that it comes close to fantasy, as well.  Many things are left unexplained or poorly developed, asking the viewer to willingly abandon expectations of credulity.  On the other hand, as Born is a documentary – it is totally true in revealing its happy or less-than-happy endings for various characters.   Many newspaper reviews call Slumdog a feel-good movie, but I beg to differ.  The many instances of graphic violence in Slumdog surprised me and did not make me feel good.  Furthermore, I think that Born is much more uplifting because it is more than “possible;” its happy resolutions are real.

One thing I am glad both pix do is contribute to American knowledge and respect and probably appreciation of things Indian.  Sometimes, persons in the U.S. focus on perceived negatives of the brother and sister humans who do not speak English or worship in Judeo-Christian establishments.  Both of these movies draw the viewer empathetically into the very difficult and courageous lives of the characters.  The films succeed in changing Indian people from “them” into “us.”

Inspecting Carol is the unlikely title of a humorous Christmas play.  The “Carol” is not for a female’s first name; it is short for Charles Dickens’s immortal “A Christmas Carol.”  The “Inspecting” part refers to the imminent visit and evaluation of a theatre company by a representative of the National Endowment for the Arts.  Thumbs up means the company will get its grant and live happily ever after.  Thumbs down means it will fold.

If you can imagine all the uniquely strong personalities in the TV series The Office and transfer them to stage actors, you have a good sense of what this show is.  The action is almost entirely a depiction of the drama behind the drama.  There is a pompous person, an insecure person, some creatively off-the-wall people, one normal person, and a few just trying to stay afloat.  Add to this many incredibly good  zingers in the script!

I recently saw this performed by the Marple Newton Players, a well-established community theatre outside of Philadelphia.  Kudos for a job well done and thanks for giving me some belly laughs!