World Book Night!

I write an awful lot about my love of books and my need for a bookish intervention. (See the following previous posts: http://ttemkin.blogspot.com/2012/02/books-books-books.html, http://ttemkin.blogspot.com/2012/03/intervention.html)


But I adore books. One of the jobs I wish I could get is the reviewer of the children's books for the New York times, or any genre of books really. I think that would be a wonderful job.

www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1CHPJ_enUS360US360&ix=acb&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=107%26
Sure, I'm sure that sometimes it would be stressful (you must finish the book, and it won't always be a book you want) but still, to be paid to read? And given books? My goodness, my heart is all aflutter. Or that could be the two cups of coffee I've already had this morning, but really, who is counting?

Anyway, coming up is World Book Night! (http://www.us.worldbooknight.org/) It is the first time in the US that this event will be taking place, but I am pleased to say I am participating by giving away 20 copies of The History of Love. (I keep thinking the word 'secret' is in there.)




World Book Night will be taking place on the 23rd of April, which is UNESCO's World Book day! It is also the anniversary of Cervante's death (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miguel_de_Cervantes) and Shakespeare's birth and death.

This is a map representing the distribution of book givers in Wisconsin, each dot somewhere representing anywhere between 1-250 givers!

This is the total distribution over the United States

Images via World Book Night's facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/worldbooknightusa.

I'm super excited for it, and I'm already working on finding homes for the books, as I will be distributing them in the Law School to all interested parties. Which is the point of this post. If you would like a copy of The History of Love for yourself or another, please let me know! I think I have about 20 copies to find homes for.

I will be picking up my books in the next few days and then I will be bringing them to school to distribute. I'm actually fairly excited because I will be attending a reception and book distribution at Boswell Book Company, which is a lovely little independent bookstore. http://boswell.indiebound.com/ I know my cool points are just piling up right now, so I will end with this:

And now for a really dorky book joke:

http://failbook.failblog.org/2012/04/12/funny-facebook-fails-baby-got-book/

Who doesn't love a good (FREE) book?

Titanic- 15 years after the movie premiere and 100 years after her sinking

As I mentioned in my previous post about Casablanca (http://ttemkin.blogspot.com/2012/02/casablanca-raging-bull-and-oscars.html), I've had the Titanic movie sitting on my DVR for months now. In fact, I think it has been there since about October. But as April 15th is the 100th Anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, I decided to bite the bullet and finally watch this ridiculous film.


To clarify, there are several reasons why I never saw the film. The first is because it was released in 1997, when I was 8 years old...and it was a PG-13 movie. In those days, my mom and her friends (the mothers of our friends) would be the ones to take us to the movies. But generally, we younger ones were either left out entirely or the adults would see the film and decide whether to take us. (That was my understanding anyway. They might have just read reviews, which, at the age of 8, I didn't exactly have a handle on.) Regardless, the ruling on Titanic was no for me, but my sister saw it.


I remember that I was the only one not to see it of all of my friends, so I knew the ending pretty quickly. When it came out on VHS, my friend Andrea's parents got it for her. I started to watch it at her house, but the only part I was interested was the historical aspect of it. Which she fast forwarded through to the love story...which of course I didn't care about. I do remember that Kate Winslet's character had a hat. And then I had to leave, but that was the extent of my watching this film. Otherwise, I really couldn't care less for a love story. I've gotten slightly better about that with age, but really, please give me plot. I could care less about love triangles unless they end up with someone dead or banished. (Thanks Lancelot and Guinevere!)


Regardless, in honor of the fact that it is the 100th Anniversary, and the fact that this is on my list of 100 films and the fact that I just love coincidences like that, I had to watch it now. Though to be fair, I know a number of people who dislike it, and I was actually told to just skip it all together by my friend Stephanie.


I actually ended up deleting it from my DVR and going to see it in glorious 3-D (which btw, I somewhat dislike) with my friend Kate. But before we get (finally) to what I actually thought about the film, a few interesting articles:


WHY THE TITANIC SANK-It wasn't the poor Captain's fault!
http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2012/03/06/geek-news-titanic-crash-explanation-of-the-day/


Wreckage site:
http://geeks.thedailywh.at/2012/03/08/geek-news-titanic-wreckage-site-image-of-the-day/


Almost-Passengers included a VANDERBILT!
http://listverse.com/2011/12/09/10-people-who-did-not-board-the-titanic/


Wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Titanic


IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/


One of the 50 Worst films ever?
http://www.totalfilm.com/features/50-most-hated-movies-ever-made/titanic-1997


One of my personal favorites-Real time twitter feed from the Titanic:
https://twitter.com/#!/TitanicRealTime


I was always fascinated by the subject though not of the film. I've seen Broadway shows of it and museum shows of wreckage...but now my thoughts on the film!


WARNING-TITANIC SPOILERS AHEAD
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/2/22/Titanic_poster.jpg/220px-Titanic_poster.jpg


I think if I hadn't known the ending for the last 15 years, I think I would have been upset over the film, and its star crossed lovers. Instead, the most upset I got was towards the beginning (with the realization that all of these people are about to die), and again when the priest was praying as the boat was going down. Even then, I barely teared up. Admittedly, that might have mostly been touching because I knew the prayer. Whenever that happens, I feel like a better person and more involved with whomever is actually praying. The funny thing is, I'm one of those people who normally balls at movies or touching moments. I still can't handle Bambi, and yet I was dry eyed through the film that many people told me I was going to sob through.


I teared up more in the "Voyage of the Damned" Christmas episode of Doctor Who, involving a spaceship named Titanic.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TozoL_P0804

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a293/toolbox1234/voyage-of-the-damned.jpg


Regardless, I was somewhat "stonehearted" to use my friend's Kate's words. I found Rose to have some sort of chemical imbalance, and I felt Jack was a series of contrived archetypes. He was edgy (poor), an artist and charming, everything a girl like Rose shouldn't love. Boo hoo. 


The entire love story is apparently (not only the overall go to) James Cameron's only love story. Girl engaged to Boy, not fully happy. Girl meets strange Boy, who chance sent to whatever place. Girl engages in inappropriate act with said strange Boy, and fate trys to keep them apart, much as they want to be together. Is it Avatar or Titanic?


They were the same thing really.


But unlike Avatar, (though I didn't love that either), I was much less attached to Jack and his plight. I never loved him, though that might be because I knew he was going to die.  I felt that the less than a week wasn't time enough for Rose to fall in love with Jack, and instead she just latched onto him as a Christ-like, free spirit who embodied whatever she needed to get herself out of her seemingly hopeless situation.  I also felt that Jack, while he was more realistic, wasn't necessarily as in love with Rose as he felt a need to take care of her (they both had a save-people superhero-like complex.) Basically, had they both survived, I'm not sure they would have stayed together.


I was vaguely reminded of this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwnFE_NpMsE


I did feel for Cal though, as I thought he actually loved Rose (as I initially thought he intentionally put the necklace in her coat pocket), though he was a complete jerk. 


Admittedly, I feel like you only continue to feel for Rose and Jack because of some sentiment that you initially held onto since that first viewing 15 years ago, more so than anything. I also giggled at inopportune moments, as there were several very clever/silly lines towards the end of the film that, frankly, if you were further invested in the love story, you wouldn't notice or find as amusing as I, a fairly impartial viewer, did.


The thing that annoyed me most was that stupid necklace. Now, I didn't think Rose should have given it to the searchers (Brock?), mostly because he is a merchnary of sorts, and that is just silly. HOWEVER, you are telling me that you held onto it though 2 World Wars, the Great Depression, numerous smaller wars/police actions and recessions and you are from Grand Rapids, MI, which even in the 1980s is a dying town....AND YOU DUMP IT IN THE OCEAN????? Really? I don't think that Jack cared about that. In fact, as a poor boy with a thing for saving people, he would probably have rather you, I don't know, left it to your granddaughter or charity or SOMETHING? It was ridiculous. I spent that entire scene steaming over the impracticality of it.



http://data.whicdn.com/images/1804496/4474719296_b5c2ce3d49_thumb.jpg


I didn't out and out hate the movie though. I like Mr. Andrew's character (though he couldn't maintain his accent at all), and I loved how James Cameron (or whomever did the research) did a nice job mixing in the historic reality to the story that they were creating.  I was also super entertained by the use of 1997 movie technology, since I remember Titanic begin super cutting edge at the time. Props to Cameron for not really messing with his initial vision of the film...unlike some directors. http://scifi.icanhascheezburger.com/2012/04/11/sci-fi-fantasy-if-george-lucas-and-other-directors-restored-titanic/ 


I only learned there was actually a love triangle to the film about a week ago, when I watched the trailer for the first time since 1997, which a little bit blew my mind. (And then I saw the film.) I did have a few OMG moments (or omg might be better, as they were rather silly moments which I embraced. 1) Jack is from Wisconsin. (What?) 2) Titanic is where the line "Paint me like one of your french girls" comes from. I've been wondering for AGES where that is from, I've just never cared enough to find out.


I was slightly disaapointed by the end. Not because of any realistic or differing view, but because of how it was described to me back in 1997. When I was eight, my friend Sam told me that Jack came back as a ghost to keep Rose company, and I kinda wish there had been something to that. Instead, as a logical 22 year old, I realize that she might have been referring to the end scene where heaven is the Titanic, with everyone is in first class, and the lovers are reunited. Some part of me still longs for the ghost though.


Poor Kate though. She was so excited to see the film, and instead she ended up seeing it with me. I kept giggling, I got annoyed at the impropriety and practicability of Rose, and I exhibited far too much excitement following reading my text messages. At that point, I saw that the Florida Panthers, my beloved Hockey team, had beaten the New Jersey Devils in the second game of their seven game series in the race to the playoffs.


It makes us even going into the third game!!!!!!!!!



I think we had fun over all though. And the moral of the story is, if you know the story line already, you probably won't think the film is anything too special. Or you are about to come off as heartless.