All the Best People Are

Kurt's home again, so I could finally go to see Alice. I will not say I have always loved Alice because I haven't, but I have read Alice a kajillion times because it was the only book I had that was as weird and inscrutable as the Bible. I thought if I could make sense of Alice, I could make sense of anything. It is the inscrutable character of Alice that seems missing in this beautiful film. For me the transitions in the book were always weak like badly applied staples. You barely knew how you got from here to there. This Alice has a series of comparatively strong bonds that march along, and not just the hares. A less predictable score would have been nice too. Visually, this movie is Alice. Auditoraly, it could be any film, which is a shame given the uniqueness of this piece of literature.
I honestly prefer the Alice from the SyFy channel. Short on mass market appeal, it does a grand job of using Alice to stir up thinking about the great ideas and experiences of life. Every moment was packed with larger idea enshrined in an engaging narrative. It is not a version of Alice in Wonderland so much as it is clay wrapped around the literary armature wire. Visually it is beautiful. I intend to purchase it for my home library.
Disney's classic animated Alice snored on the Disney Channel frequently. It was always billed as one of their major features, but it was all vanilla sweetness. Faults didn't matter though as we could only enjoy films at home either on TV or after the invention of VHS on tape. Whatever was on was watched. I wouldn't want to watch it again. The only thing I liked was the Cheshire Cat. He is nearly impossible to mess up.

Egad!

I finally put all of my novel in one folder. I'm not even halfway through and I have--drum roll please--267 pages, 94,670 words, and 3,996 paragraphs. Wow! I knew I was obsessed, but that's a lot of work. My friend, Albert Bell, says he tries to have about 90,000 words in his finished manuscripts. Looks like there's a lot of revisions in my future. Please don't throw me in that briar patch. :)

Keep Talking

A timer running rapidly was a new addition to the news broadcast last night. It certainly carried the point that's been worrying me. We're at the place where universal health care is almost certain to happen within at least a decade if not by the time the clock runs out. I don't see that universal health care has to be a bad thing by default, but right now it is likely to be a bad thing. I'm sure that the people pushing for now, now, now are thinking that once the mess is in place then they can sort out the problems. That could happen, but it isn't the ordinary person's experience. On the other hand, I wish when we thought about universal health care we were thinking about all those people who will starve to death this year. Fortunately for us most of them don't live here dragging our premiums down. We can expect to have enough food to feed each other.
I think the thing that is most absent is consensus about such important issues as what is a fair death and what is a fair life? When I have a treat to distribute or a consequence to meet out, my children are pretty satisfied if everyone agrees the division is fair. Philosophy and politics may seem miles apart, but in this case a philosophical discussion is of the utmost importance. No one will like this system for long, unless everyone agrees that it is just. We don't have anything in any segment like that. We need to set aside numbers and start talking about those core issues and not just in think tanks, but in internet chatrooms, libraries and churches. When we all agree about what is fair we'll find we know how to make the money to pay the bills. All I'm saying is, just keep talking and listening. We Americans know how to get this kind of thing right, but we're going to need everyone to make it work.

Must See QVC

I do not as a rule watch QVC. Ok, Jim Shore with his quaint knick-nacks may lure me in for a moment, or I'll use the perpetual commercial to fill in ad space during family films on non-family channels. Otherwise, no, I do not watch home shopping channels--except for St. Patrick's Day.
I was ill a few years ago when we had basic, basic cable and there was nothing on. In desperation I turned on QVC and was mesmerized. Authentic Irish business people were hawking authentic Irish wares and all with that lovely accent. I watched hours of the stuff, but I didn't buy anything after all it was just QVC. The next year I found myself looking forward to St. Pat's for the sale. I hoped they'd have the things I almost bought and other things I might like even better. Long story short, I love St. Patrick's Day on QVC. You should check it out.

1% of a kind

The day after one of our births a nurse came by to explain the importance of teaching children to donate blood when they are grown. I don't think that's standard procedure that particular baby had a very rare blood type. I used to be a regular donor, but all those pregnancies had gotten in the way. Lucky for me my church has a regular Sunday blood drive, and this week I was able to get signed up. It's a simple procedure. Answer a few questions. Get poked twice. Enjoy some carbohydrates. Almost anyone can do it, and the more that do the better it is for everyone.
So, get out there and donate. You'll be a rare one percenter--no matter what your blood type.