I’m going to be baby — ha! — sitting my nephew, Jude, tomorrow.
Which should be fun.
So long as we can figure out what to do.
It might just involve persuading Mummy that buying a microSD card: so a Certain Nephew can … ah … borrow age-acceptable movie content from his uncle and plonk it on his tablet.
Which possibly makes up for this afternoon: the family trip to see Shazam didn’t exactly go to plan: as Jude found it a little bit too scary.
I can sort of see his point: people crumbling to dust isn’t exactly reassuring to an eight year old!
~≈§≈~
At ANY rate … ?
At any rate, we’ll have to see what we can do about that, shan’t we?
One … ? I’m getting better at tweaking the audio on these things.
The only shame?
Is that I can’t copy the audio from a given iMovie project, put it into — say — Audacity, add some weird effects …
And re-import it back.
One for the forums, maybe.
Two … ?
It’s Raining Men’s a fantastic song!
~≈§≈~
Moving on … ?
I have to admit, I was in Sainbury’s today.
And …
Here …
Basically? Their self-service tills now have cameras attached.
Frankly?
I can understand a certain amount of CCTV.
But these seem a little too intrusive.
~≈§≈~
Oh, and finally … ?
Finally, I’ve managed to catch one more episode of Westworld, seriestwo.
It’s OK: I’ve got an excuse!
~≈§≈~
Episode 6 — Phase Space — opens with Bernard and Dolores (Jeffrey Wright and Evan Rachel Wood) having one of their usual conversations: with a twist.
Dolores seems to be the one in charge.
Maeve’s group? Maeve’s (Thandiwe Newton) group are determined to return to the main Westworld park.
Maeve is still desperate to find her daughter … but not expecting any twists …
William (Ed Harris) and his daughter, Emily (Katja Herbers) are reconciled … only for Emily to find her fathers has abandoned her …
The episode closes … with Bernard and Elsie (Shannon Woodward) at the Cradle: the server farm that contains ALL of the host backup and core data.
And is haunted by Robert Ford (Anthony Hopkins).
Things … are going to get messy …
~≈§≈~
Now … am I still enjoying Westworld?
Yes, I am, thanking you.
Although this episode seemed a little weaker than earlier entries in the series, it has shown us that the going ons at the park are more complicated than we think.
And?
Hmmm … I’ve not read any of the series two overviews available.
I’d rather NOT walk into a stream of spoilers.
But, right now?
I’m guessing Peter Abernathy — Dolores’ father — contains not the intellectual property of the park … But the memory patterns of a senior Delos corporation executive: and that at least one other — Ford — himself.
All of it manufactured to make the company the only group in this universe that can grant immortality.
At least … given the fact that my 8 year old nephew has now worked out how to use Mummy’s phone — at least, the video call feature of Facebook Messenger — to give me a call.
In the middle of the afternoon, while I was having a cheeky snooze.
Bless him!
Quite what that implies for the future, I really don’t know. Or any more intro video*.
But I’m assuming Ruth — my youngest sister, and Jude’s mother — will be keeping an eye on her phone … !
He’ll get up to all sorts.
~≈§≈~
At any rate … ?
It’s a quiet Sunday night.
Which you’ve possibly noticed.
And, given I had little else to do … ?
Meant I could happily sit in with the next episode of Westworld, seriestwo.
Drifting … There’s possibly a lot one can say about drifting, right now.
The first thing I want to do, though … ? Is something for my fellow Mac users.
You may remember me mentioning that — in the wake of the update from one version of my operating system, to the next — that the update had affected iMovie.
Making it render videos extremely slowly: especially when the animated text featured was used.
Yesterday and today?
Yesterday and today, however, we seem to have improvements.
For starters, Apple released an update for iMovie: taking it from 10.1.10 to 10.1.11.
Right … I’m almost at the end of — get this — a day off.
Frantically realising, whilst wandering, washing up, having dinner with the family — my nephew says there’s a giant eyeball, over there … ! — that stuff’s a going on …
But have to give the Material Girl credit. She’s a good performer, she’s knocked out some very good pop tunes: my favourites get a look-in, in today’s Daily Teaser
And is possibly the savviest business woman in the industry.
Possibly one of the best business people, all round.
You don’t have a thirty-five year career in the music, without being clued up.
~≈§≈~
The day’s got a sad side, too.
The Queen of Soul died, today.
Aretha …
There is literally nothing I can say or do to describe how her voice made the hair on the back of my arms stands on end: beyond saying she was the first of only a few singers who could make the hair on the back of my arms stand on end.
The only fit way of remember the best voice in modern popular music?
Is to play some …
~≈§≈~
Sadness possibly doesn’t even start, now does it?
At any rate … ? Today has been a day off: one of mixed emotions … and extreme dampness.
I’ll admit to have a rough few days: almost — but not quite — walking away from a job I actually like.
Thankfully, I haven’t: although I have managed to wangle some time off.
Although not a pay rise: which could’ve been handy …
At any rate? A couple of days off … ? Means cashing in the ticket, buying a takeaway pie and chips, listening to Jean-Michel Jarre’s Revolutionsalbum …
… as it returns, stylistically to his earlier, Oxygène.
Although with something of a French Algerian feel to it. Possibly Arabian: as his father, Maurice, composed the music for Lawrence of Arabia.
I could go on for hours, couldn’t I … ?
I could …
But won’t … as I wanted to tell you I’ve taken the chance to do two things.
One? Post up today’s Teaser: I’m left handed so, given it’s Left hander’s day, a themed seemed appropriate.
I’ve got to admit to spending a frantic minutes, there: posting to Apple’s community support forums.
I’m having an issue.
For the past few hours, and using Safari 11.1.2, on a recent model iMac, running macOS High Sierra, 10.13.6?
Every time I go near Facebook, I get a message telling me “This webpage is using significant memory. Closing it may improve your Mac’s responsiveness.”
Yes, before you ask: I’ve cleared both my caches and my history.
And no, it doesn’t happen when I use the ever reliable Firefox.
I’m blowed If I know what’s happening.
If there’s anyone out there who’s got at least half a clue, I’d appreciate hearing about it!
It’s mildly frustrating.
~≈§≈~
That aside?
You’ve possibly realised — or possibly haven’t — that I’ve had a day off, today.
I’ve got a few bits done around the house.
Although less than I’d like.
One disadvantage of being single?
Is there’s no-one around to help do the chores.
To be frank, I thin I’d possibly hire a cleaner … if I had the dosh.
There is always that last bit you can’t be bothered to wipe, frankly.
At ANY rate?
I will probably have a chance to do more, tomorrow: as I’ve another day off.
Tonight?
I fancied catching something that’s been tempting me for a while.
Something I’d fancied seeing, as two previous Aronovsky films — π and Black Swan — had mildly impressed me.
And?
Strange … ?
~≈§≈~
mother! is set in a house in an isolated glade: owned by an unnamed poet — only referred to as Him, played by Javier Bardem — that’s been burnt down by a fire.
And being reconstructed by his equally unnamed wife — referred to as mother, and played by Jennifer Lawrence — who’s throughly enjoying the quiet life.
Until one day … ?
Their lives are interrupted by uninvited guests.
A dying, equalling unnamed, doctor — ‘Man’, played by Ed Harris — and his wife, ‘Woman,’ Michelle Pfeiffer.
Which is where …
Things …
Get …
Disjointed …
And mother’s life is irreparably changed …
~≈§≈~
Now …
Strange … ?
Strange is the word.
Or one word, certainly.
The other one I’d use?
Is ‘dream-like.’
Aronovsky has written and directed mother! so that it comes across with the disjointedness of a waking dream, with jumps from one line to another, Him disappearing from one door to come in at another, and discussions and conversations taking different directions: seemingly at random, and seemingly with no apparent cause.
mother get’s abruptly pregnant, for example: immediately after after a tastefully rough bedroom scene.
Him writing a poem which never, seemingly, leaves the house … only for his publisher to phone to say how much she liked it.
Leaving mother very confused: as this is seconds after she’s given her opinion of it.
Confusing?
Well made?
The answer’s got to be yes: to both questions.
~≈§≈~
Now …
You’re possibly saying “Paul, what did you think of mother! … ?”
Oh, that’s a tough one.
Frankly?
That really is tough …
Right now, I don’t know that I could tell you I liked it.
It is very well made: with — possibly — a lot of depth, meaning, and philosophy there, if you chose to look for it.
But I think it’s a film I found mildly confusing.
Not that I mind confusing, occasionally. I’m a fan of 1960s version of The Prisoner, which some will tell you is incredibly confusing.
And of Denis Potter’s The Singing Detective: which some will tell you is just as confusing.
Both of which? Both of which I found straight-forward, compared to mother!: even though both The Prisoner and mother! — in their final scenes — loop back around to their respective starts, after convoluted finales.
Personally?
mother!’s only getting two stars from me.
It’s a well crafted movie: and one that is, with its dreamlike logic, worth watching at least once.
