The Bridal Train

Vikki Thorn of The Waifs wrote this wonderful song in celebration of her grandmother's experience in WWII as an Australian war bride. I ripped the story of Grandmother Betty's recollection of the time she was summoned to the bridal train from West Australian newspaper The Wagin Argus:

Betty lived in Perth with a lady who entertained many Americans.

"I walked down the corridor at 9pm one night and there was a party going on. There was this very good looking American man in uniform who said: 'Where did this flower come from?' I thought what a silly comment and put it out of my mind. Later he sat beside me and we talked all night. Bob was a chief petty officer; he had a lot of commendations. He had been stationed in Hawaii for two years. He watched Pearl Harbour being bombed. As the war effort moved closer to Australia his ship the Anthedin was transferred to Fremantle. He was 26 when we met and when we were married he applied for a shore job."

When Bob was transferred to the Philippines, Betty, expecting her first baby went home to Mum in Wagin.

A telegram was delivered in Wagin on a Thursday at 1pm. Betty and her 11-month-old daughter had to be at Dalgety's, the shipping agents, in Perth on the Friday, to be prepared to travel to the USA. There was no telephone and no taxis. Betty did not even have a suitcase. She and one of her two brothers, who had both returned from prison of war camps on the Burma railway, cycled into Wagin and brought two suitcases back on the handlebars of their bikes.

"I had half a day to pack. Time to see three friends, have a big cry and catch the midnight train to Fremantle."

She left Perth station one year to the day after her husband left Fremantle, with a daughter he had not seen.

"There were about 50 brides from Western Australia. Perth Station was awash with tears. I had Sue, but she was a good baby. We were joined by girls from all over Australia, more got on the train in South Australia and Melbourne."

They traveled on a large American luxury liner, the Monterey, which had been taken over by the army during the war as a troop ship.

"We were naval wives, but traveled under army regulations. Three of us and children had a first class cabin with big windows and a bath tub.It took three weeks to get to the States, we went as war brides."

She travelled to Colorado where Bob met her and there she met his family.

Another bridal train continued across the US dropping off brides.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

I saw David Fincher's beautifully realized The Curious Case of Benjamin Button today, mainly because of the multiple Oscar nominations and also because members of the Filmspotting forum whom I respect had recommended it. What an excellent film! Yes, it's a love story, but it's also an affirmation of life in general and of aging in particular. The text of the film looks death directly in the eye and doesn't blink.

Cate Blanchett is amazing as Daisy, and Brad Pitt is compelling as the aging-backward Benjamin. The scenes of Daisy dancing and Benjamin on the motorcycle are worth the ticket price.

The art direction and cinematography are flawless. Snowy scenes, seascapes, New Orleans' Bourbon Street and other sites are all beautifully shot.

It's a grand experience. I hope you'll go and enjoy it as much as I did.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Part 4

The story of the Count of Monte Cristo ends where it began...at the Port of Marseilles. The count repents for his motive of vengeance, seeing that he has no right to assume he's the agent of God, no one can be. He visits the home of his dead father and finds there his lost love whom he's able to comfort and forgive. He promises to help her young son whom his actions against the father had harmed. He brings together young lovers whom his actions had separated. He frees his young slave girl and restores her fortune. In the end the count finds peace, happiness, and the love he deserves. In the final scene he sails away from the port of Marseilles to a new life.

Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3...prior installments at this blog

That Great Aussie Holiday!

Lunch with friends in the park beside the Swan River

Ella

Our Ella was a flower girl at her mommy's friend's wedding. She had fancy hair and beautiful dress.

Bruschetta with Tiny Tomatoes, Red Onions, and Basil

When we were in Italy, we really enjoyed the very fresh ingredients on the wonderful chewy bruschetta. I am experimenting with growing my own tiny tomatoes and basil for bruschetta.


Here's a recipe for topped bruschetta (which I shamelessly ripped off the internet, including the photo):

Ingredients:
* 2 cups assorted cherry, grape, and teardrop tomatoes, halved
* 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
* 3 tablespoons olive oil plus additional for brushing
* 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
* 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
* 1 large loaf focaccia, halved horizontally (or any chewy bread loaf)
* 1 garlic clove, peeled, halved (purple garlic is very flavorful)

Combine tomatoes, onion, 3T olive oil, basil, and balsamic vinegar in medium bowl. Season tomato topping with salt and pepper. NOTE: This topping can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover and let stand at room temperature, tossing occasionally.

Brush bread half with olive oil. Toast bread in broiler until top is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Immediately rub cut side of bread all over with halved garlic, then cut bread crosswise into 4 equal pieces.

Top toasted bread with tomato mixture and serve.

We made it with cherry tomatoes and fresh basil and red onion. It was tasty, just not as colorful as the photo. Bruschetta goes well with Viognier or a hearty red.

Garden Update 2

growing basil for bruschetta

our prolific tomato plant

cute tiny green bell pepper.

Garden Update: Our Tomatoes

We have tomatoes coming off everyday, all from one big plant.

Weeds: Putting the Herb in Suburb

In the dark comedy Weeds, Mary-Louise Parker plays suburban California housewife Nancy Botwin who resorts to selling marijuana to maintain her lifestyle and keep her young family together after the untimely death of her husband. In season 1 she's a newbie, learning the game. By the end of season 1 Nancy is the Godfather of Grass, organizing a "family" of growers, sellers, and moneymen. Season 2 follows a story arc of extreme success to extreme distress as Nancy learns that the new man in her bed is a DEA agent and that her competition plays rough.

I'm looking forward to season 3 but I haven't found it available here on dvd.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Part 3

Edmond Dantès as the Count of Monte Cristo sees himself as an agent of a vengeful God and sets out to destroy those who falsely imprisoned him. He sets his plan in motion in Paris and stays his course of revenge even though the lives of his three targets are complicated by relationships which did not exist when they had a hand in Dantès imprisonment so many years ago. The plot escalates, ruining each man, but also bringing harm to their innocent children, finally ending in the near-death of a daughter and the sure death of a son of one target. At this point Dantès questions his motives and understands that his revenge has consumed him to the determent of those innocently involved.

Look here and here for prior installments.

w00t!

BARACK OBAMA, 44th US PRESIDENT

24

We've returned to "24" and our favorite samurai, Jack Bauer. Season 6 awaits. It's rumored that Jack will face nukes, terrorists and even threats from within his own family. There will be White House intrigue and torture, of course. It's a right-wing love fest!

Bye, Bye Bush

It Was a Beach Afternoon!

It was over 100F today, so, yeah, the beach beckoned! All the neighbors were there. At first,the ocean was flat, then the seabreeze came in and the waves came up. Still the water was so clear that we could see the white fish against the white sand as we swam.

Personal Marathon #3: Essential Clint Eastwood

Again the Filmspotting forum recommended films for my next personal marathon: Essential Clint Eastwood.

Eastwood, now 78 years old, is saying in interviews that Gran Torino is his last starring role, so I included it on the list.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly (1966) *
Paint Your Wagon (1969) *
Play Misty For Me (1971) **
Dirty Harry (1971) **
High Plains Drifter (1973) *
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976) **
White Hunter Black Heart (1990) *
Unforgiven (1992) **
Gran Torino (2008) *

**already seen at least once, but will watch again
* never seen and obtainable

Since all these films are available, I'm looking forward to finishing this marathon quickly!

UPDATE: Going to a sneak of Gran Torino on Saturday even though I feel like the preview shows me most of the film, oh well...

The Wrestler

Could I be any more excited?

Tomorrow The Wrestler finally opens in Australia. John and I will be there! While I don't expect it to be the Best Film of 2008, I'm fully expecting that Mickey Rourke will knock my socks off with his performance. I've heard "Mickey Rourke gives a performance for the ages in The Wrestler, a richly affecting, heart-wrenching yet ultimately rewarding drama." Gosh, a performance for the ages! I hope so. Anything less will sorely disappoint me.

UPDATE: It's raw; it's powerful; it's the performance of the decade, for sure.

Hand and Foot Canasta

John and I like to play cards together at the end of our day. We have a wonderful outdoor setting and by 5pm the seabreeze is in, so we can be outside with a glass of wine and a deck of cards...

Or 3 decks of cards, as that is what it takes to play a two-handed game of Hand and Foot Canasta.

There are almost as many sets of rules to Hand and Foot Canasta as there are people who play it. Here are the rules we play by:

Object of the Game:
The aim is to get rid of cards from your hand (11 cards), and then from your foot (11 cards), by melding them. A Meld is a set of three to seven cards of equal rank placed face up on the table. A Meld cannot have fewer than three cards. After a Meld of three or more cards has been started, you can add further cards to it until there are seven. Then it becomes a Book. You can meld cards of any rank from A, K, Q, ... down to 4. Deuces (twos) and Jokers are wild cards and can be used in melds, as long as there is at least one more real card than wild cards. You can not meld wild cards alone. 3s are special cards. Black 3s freeze the discard pile and, if left in your hand or foot, cost you 100 pts each. Red 3s add to your score 100pts unless caught in your hand or foot in which case they count against your score by 500pts.

There are two types of melds:
A Clean(Natural) Meld has no wild cards and may become a Red Book.
A Dirty(Wild) Meld has wild cards and may become a Black Book.

A Meld of seven cards is complete and is called a Book. While melds are laid out face up for everyone to see, completed Books are piled up and the card placed on top shows the type - a red card for a Red Book, a black card for a Black Book. Cards of equal rank can be played on completed Books. Wild cards cannot be played on Books.

You score points for cards you have melded and for each Book. If you did not go out, you lose points for any cards left in your Hand and/or Foot at the end of the play. The round ends when someone gets rid of all the cards in their Hand and Foot, by melding/booking or discarding them.
In order to go out, you must:
1. Have reached your Foot and played it completely.
2. Have at least one Red Book and two Black Books.

Card Values:
Jokers = 50 points (Wild Card)
Deuces = 20 points (Wild Card)
Aces = 20 points
Eight through King (8-K) = 10 points
Four through Seven (4-7) = 5 points (unless minus threes are used)

Deck Options:
Players+1 - decks equal the number of players + 1 (2 players = 3 decks)

Round Points Options:
50/90/120/150
Round 1, cards points must total at least 50 to play
Round 2, cards points must total at least 90 to play
Round 3, cards points must total at least 120 to play
Round 4, cards points must total at least 150 to play

Book Points:
300/500
Red Book = 500 points
Black Book = 300 points
Player going out gets 100 bonus points

Play Discard Option:
5 - Pick up last 5 discards (top card and 4 previous)

In order to pick up the discard pile the following criteria must be met:
1. You must have 2 matching cards in your hand
2. You must meld the top discard
3. You must have the required round points
The top discard may not give you the required round points

You receive two scores per hand. One for the books, then the combined face value of all cards played on the board, booked or not. Once your books have been counted then all the cards you played, including those in the books, are added up at the card point value.
This applies to all players, not just the person going out. If you did not go out, and are caught with cards in your Hand and/or your Foot, those points count against you. If you did not go out and you have books and or cards on the board, those points count for you.

The person with the most points at the end of the rounds, is declared the winner.

The Play:
• Draw two cards from the deck.
• Meld your cards. To meld, your board points must match or exceed the points required for that round.
• Discard one card (any card).
• As the play comes back to you, continue to draw two cards, play on your books as you draw cards that play, then discard one card, until you get rid of your Hand.
• Picking up your Foot can be done two ways:
1. Going straight to your Foot, means all the cards in your Hand play without a discard. You may pick up your Foot and play out of it immediately.
2. You play all the cards in your Hand except one, then discard. You will be able to play out of your Foot on your next turn.
• Play continues until a player goes out. You can not go out until you have at least one Red Book and two Black Books
.When going out, you do not have to discard.

The Count of Monte Cristo, Part 2

Chateau d'If

Our hero Edmond Dantès many years imprisoned is on the edge of losing all hope when he happens to meet another prisoner Abbé Faria in Chateau d'If. This man changes Dantès' life by first providing human contact, then educating Dantès in the ways of the world and the ways of society as well, and then by telling him where a great treasure is hidden. Unfortunately, the abbé dies as the two are planning an escape from Chateau d'If. However, after the death Dantès escapes on his own, finds the fortune, and begins a grand scheme to get his revenge on the trio who had him falsely imprisoned.

So many years have passed and Dantès' prison experience was so devastating that upon his return to the outside world no one, not even those closest to him, recognize him. Aside from the physical transformation, he has advanced intellectually due to the abbé's teaching and also has a great fortune. However, the greatest change of all is in his psychology. Dantès is no longer trusting and naive. Now he is cynical and conniving, set on revenge. In fact, all these changes make it possible for Edmond Dantès to re-invent himself as the Count of Monte Cristo and set his plot in motion.

The first installment is in this prior post.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)

The second movie in my Essential James Stewart marathon is John Ford's The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance starring, along with Stewart, John Wayne, and Lee Marvin. US Senator Ransom Stoddard returns to Shinbone where he made his name as the man who shot notorious outlaw Liberty Valance and tells the truth about his past deed. The real reason for his return to Shinbone is to attend the funeral of his close friend Tom Doniphon who played a key role in Stoddard's successful life at the expense of his own reputation and well-being.

Stewart is very convincing as the bookish, somewhat clumsy, but principled young lawyer. Wayne is perfect as the town's gritty protector who is the only one who will stand up against Liberty Valance and his gang of thugs. It's a Western about the coming of civilization in the form of statehood to the US territories, of the educational demands of democracy, and of the forgotten heroes of that struggle.

John Ford's direction is impeccable. Every shot is memorable. His use of black and white and of shadow, the composition of his scenes, and the acting he gets from his stars are all remarkable.

Lee Marvin's turn as the vicious, black-hearted Liberty Valance is without apology or humor or room for sympathy. He is perfectly despicable.

Great supporting performances by Andy Devine as the town's cowardly sheriff and Edmond O'Brien as the newspaper editor and Vera Miles as the love interest round out the terrific cast.

The Shield

We committed to one season of The Shield to see how we liked it.

Why is this an award-winning show? The acting is just OK (even the leads), the camera work is clunky (to say the least), the direction is all over the place, and the writing is, well, poor. I get the conflicts within the "barn" and the edginess of having morally ambiguous cops, but still there are too many speeches, too many redundancies, too many coincidences, and too many characters in the right place at the right time. Worst of all, the lead character Vic is not sympathetic, and that ruins any chance of his abuses being understood on a practical level.

This is going the way of Lost; after one season, we're outta here!

Filmspotting's Top 25 Films of 2008

Adam and Matty have posted their Top 25 Films of 2008 at the Filmspotting site. Actually they posted 30 films at the top of their lists and a few at the very bottom of their lists. They have also listed their Top 5 Lead Male and Female Performances and the Top 5 Supporting Male and Female Performances for 2008.

To hear Adam and Matty discuss their choices, listen to Filmspotting 238, 239, and 240. On the January 17th show (241), they will present the 2008 Blowout which includes surprises, disappointments, and lots of other year-end movie trivia which completes their film year for 2008.

Traveling in Dubai, UAE, part 4

As Westerners who traveled in Dubai in May of 2005, my husband and I found out a few details of travel there that I'll share here in part 4:

Take a tour on a bus. It's informative, air-conditioned, and reasonably-priced. It's the best way to see the city. The tours start at Wafi City (shopping mall) early in the morning and run all day. We took two tours. One went out-of-town to the area which is in development because we wanted to see Bur al-Arab. We did stop in front of the hotel long enough to take a photo. The tours of the hotel were $65 per person to enter the lobby when we were there. We passed on the tour, but it probably would have been a very interesting experience. That bus tour also took us past the indoor ski area and the underwater hotel, both of which are finished now, I believe. We got off that tour bus at the Mercato shopping mall at Jumeirah Beach area where we ate lunch and took a taxi back to our hotel from there.

The other tour we took was in town. It stopped at the museum and also at the gold and spice souks, all of which are must-see experiences. Do not leave Dubai without visiting those three locations. The bus tour for this is hop-on, hop-off so you can spend as much time as you like. About the gold: it is all 18c or purer. It appears orangey because of the high gold content. Take your camera with you and take lots of photos. The gold is near market-value/ounce which means the craftsmanship is free. From the gold souk we walked through a series of alleys to the spice souk. In the gold souk there is no hard sell. You may browse as long as you want without anyone saying anything to you. However, in the spice souk, it's a different story. Everyone will try to sell you something and the spices, dates and nuts are all so beautiful! If you don't want to buy anything, tell them you are going back to Australia. They know the importation laws of every country and understand that it's very difficult to enter Australia with their goods. We bought pastacios and dates, also saffron.

In the alleys between those two souks are the vendors. Here are the real bargains in Dubai. The street market is the place to look for souvenirs and bargain to your heart's content. The vendors will practically give their wares away to you. The men in the market love to bargain with the women. A handy hint is to have a little cheat sheet with currency conversions on it. With this we could quickly convert the Dubai dirham to US currency. Once a vendor sees this little tool, he'll start converting for you. They are very wily with currency exchange. No one will try to cheat you. In fact, they'll help you figure it all out.

None of the people working anywhere are Emiratees. Some are from the Middle East, most are Asian.

This post links to this previous post.

Australian Open

Begins January 19th...I'll be blogging the interesting stuff...outfits...odds...early losers...surprises.

Winners? Anyone but Sharapova!

Gotta bet on Nadal, but Murray is really looking promising.

Hewitt...he'll be fine in the early rounds, but fade inside the sixteen.

My favorite, Marat Safin, of course. He came to Perth for the Hopman Cup with two black eyes and a stiff right hand...bar fight...gotta love this guy!

Word of the Week...2

Jeremiad

Say it in 4 syllables: je re mi ad
Accent on the third syllable.

It means a prolonged lamentation or complaint also a cautionary or angry harangue.

In the current economy, we should all be able to use it, own it.

Oh, My!

Seeing Venus in the daytime reminds me of the letter to the Ask Why section of the local WA newspaper which asked, "Why can we see the moon in the daytime?"

Why indeed!

Indiscreet

Proof that the thinnest of plots when well-acted can produce the best movies is Indiscreet. Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman are perfect as lovers who find happiness beyond deceit. They were beautiful together in Notorious in 1946 and again in Indiscreet in 1958.

The West Wing

Wow, just Wow...what writing!

I've been catching up with The West Wing, a TV series I loved but lost touch with due "to and from-ing" between the US and Aus. I've recently watched Season 5 and 6 and I'm finishing Season 7 now. I wish I had watched these last 3 seasons before the recent US campaign for the Presidency. Such insight!

Rarely is TV so entertaining, so involving, so informative, and so well-acted. Hats off to the entire ensemble cast of The West Wing.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

We wish all our friends and family happiness, health, and fulfillment in 2009!