Tuesday and A NEW BIRD
May. 15th, 2012 03:10 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
You guys! This is what was in our backyard today! I'd been hearing a new bird for the last few days, and I finally spotted this beautiful girl in a tree. How do I know it was a girl? Because ANOTHER ONE brought her a long strand of grass and then they boinked. :-D
Srsly, they are gorgeous birds -- a lovely pearl-grey all over, and with ferocious claws, so I was really surprised to see they are insectivores. Their call sounds kind of like a rusty grocery-cart wheel. I sure hope these two stay around.
I'm still thinking about last night's House, yes.
The more I think about it, the more it reminds me of the Richard/Clarissa storyline from Stephen Daldry's great movie The Hours. Richard is played by Ed Harris, Clarissa by Meryl Streep. They are life-long friends, with all the love and heartbreak that entails, and now Richard is dying. Clarissa wants him to live long enough to attend a literary event in his honor (Richard is a famous writer). Richard is ready to let go, but he doesn't want Clarissa to be sad, and at one point he asks her, "Would you be angry if I died?" In the end she says, "You do have good days still. You know you do," and he replies, "Not really. I mean, it's kind of you to say so, but it's not really true." It's all about learning when to leave, and how love expresses itself in so many ways, some of them unexpected and some of them not what we would wish, but love nonetheless.
There are a couple of other good posts I've seen on this episode (and beyond) -- two of them are by
deelaundry, here, and here, especially for this comment:
Wilson is not acting rationally on this at all; something deep inside him that is broken is pushing him to this decision. We're not supposed to think Wilson's decision is right. The journey House was on was one to determine if he could give up being right in favor of being there for Wilson.
There's also an excellent discussion going on at
sick_wilson, with some thoughtful and considered comments.
TL;DR, I'm looking forward to the finale next week.
Started reading Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers. It is violent and sometimes funny, not unlike Pulp Fiction.
Also, the great Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes has passed away, aged 83.
That's all I've got at the moment.
Srsly, they are gorgeous birds -- a lovely pearl-grey all over, and with ferocious claws, so I was really surprised to see they are insectivores. Their call sounds kind of like a rusty grocery-cart wheel. I sure hope these two stay around.
I'm still thinking about last night's House, yes.
The more I think about it, the more it reminds me of the Richard/Clarissa storyline from Stephen Daldry's great movie The Hours. Richard is played by Ed Harris, Clarissa by Meryl Streep. They are life-long friends, with all the love and heartbreak that entails, and now Richard is dying. Clarissa wants him to live long enough to attend a literary event in his honor (Richard is a famous writer). Richard is ready to let go, but he doesn't want Clarissa to be sad, and at one point he asks her, "Would you be angry if I died?" In the end she says, "You do have good days still. You know you do," and he replies, "Not really. I mean, it's kind of you to say so, but it's not really true." It's all about learning when to leave, and how love expresses itself in so many ways, some of them unexpected and some of them not what we would wish, but love nonetheless.
There are a couple of other good posts I've seen on this episode (and beyond) -- two of them are by
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Wilson is not acting rationally on this at all; something deep inside him that is broken is pushing him to this decision. We're not supposed to think Wilson's decision is right. The journey House was on was one to determine if he could give up being right in favor of being there for Wilson.
There's also an excellent discussion going on at
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
TL;DR, I'm looking forward to the finale next week.
Started reading Patrick DeWitt's The Sisters Brothers. It is violent and sometimes funny, not unlike Pulp Fiction.
Also, the great Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes has passed away, aged 83.
That's all I've got at the moment.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 09:06 pm (UTC)I just finished watching yesterday's House, and all I want is to watch it again.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 09:15 pm (UTC)Wasn't that an amazing episode? I am still thinking it over, mulling its points.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 10:52 pm (UTC)I'm just trying to help, hon, by assessing the damage ;). See, I *know* Clarissa (I have readMrs Dalloway so often my copy is falling apart). VW was so taken by her that she even has a cameo in The Voyage Out.
It was an amazing episode. I'll end up watching it every day for a week I suspect. More if the finale disappoints me, as it very well might.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 11:11 pm (UTC):-D
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 07:24 am (UTC)PS I find it interesting how differently buy books. With something of so easy access (must be in every English language library, not to mention online) I usually first read and then buy.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 05:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 07:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 09:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 09:19 pm (UTC)Well, I looked at a couple of other sites, and apparently they do also eat amphibians, small lizards, small mammals (i.e., mice), stuff like that. So there is a reason for those beautiful talons.
I hope something results from the boinking! And I hope we (and Chango) don't get dive-bombed if it does. Heh.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 11:26 pm (UTC)The news about Fuentes is saddening, but he was also not a young man.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 11:45 pm (UTC)Jackal, I was so delighted to see this gorgeous girl. She's still around, too -- I've heard her (or her mate) calling most of the day. They have such lovely wings, like boomerangs, almost.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-15 11:51 pm (UTC)If they're building a nest they'll stay unless the nest is disturbed or destroyed. If you have any small "pest" species locally you should also notice a drop in their numbers, because kites are adept at catching small fauna, and a pair have to work hard to bring up young!
Edited to add: A slightly different topic, but you might enjoy a leaping Tazi (named Tavi). From Querencia.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 12:11 am (UTC)ZOMG LEAPING TAZI IS AMAZING.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 12:24 am (UTC)I've gained a real appreciation for the sighthounds thanks to reading a couple of blogs that deal with the landraces as opposed to purely racing or show dogs. Did you see the promotional movie made by the UAE (or was it Qatar?) that I posted a while ago, showing racing saluki? The cinematography was superb, and when the dogs cut loose it really is a marvel to watch. (Link if you're interested.)
no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 05:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-16 05:45 pm (UTC)*hugs* :-D
no subject
Date: 2012-05-17 03:03 am (UTC)Drug your friend's coffee and dose them with chemo without consent? No consequences.
Choke your patient and continue to do even after you've made your point? No consequences except a temporary cane to the head.
Clog the drains? ALL THE CONSEQUENCES. GO TO JAIL. DO NOT PASS GO.
I don't know. I really liked the episode for so many reasons but that's really sticking with me.
no subject
Date: 2012-05-17 03:16 am (UTC)Heh. No, I know. Someone on another discussion thread observed that the drain-clogging allowed the writers to score some symbolic points with the water -- Wilson's tears, the references to the leaks, and the final breaking of the dam. And I actually think that yeah, that's probably what they were going for. That, and the fact that what House regards as pranks -- the thermometer in Tritter's butt, for example -- are sometimes the things that come back to bite him the worst.
But still. Fingerprints on torn, sewage-soaked paper? Ye gods, writers. All the consequences, for real. :-D