Bulletin Board of the Brain

The Memorial Coatroom Literary Society Reads Colette

Last month, the Memorial Coatroom Literary Society met to discuss Colette’s “The Vagabond” (1910). By an odd chance (or inclination?) we chose yet another book translated from French, written by a famous woman author. None of us had read any Colette, though Courtney directed a play about Colette’s stint as a stage performer, so we [...]

Posted in Art, Bartending, Books, Cultural Shifts, History, Seattle | 1 Comment »

“Worthy of What One Great Woman Should Have Written of Another”: Gaskell’s Life of Brontë

The Life of Charlotte Bronte by Elizabeth Gaskell My rating: 4 of 5 stars In my late teens, I read nearly every Charlotte Brontë biography in the cannon, except the most famous one: the one written by her friend, fellow author Elizabeth Gaskell. I skipped it for a few reasons. One, every contemporary biography essentially [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, History, intertextuality, Quotes, theology | No Comments »

Little Did She Know…

Late at night, Friday April 15, I wrote yet another post about the many businesses in my adopted neighborhood of Lower Queen Anne that were closing their doors. What I could never have predicted, is that only 12 hours later, I would receive notice that the place where I’ve worked since 2006, the entire reason [...]

Posted in Bartending, Bravery, Cultural Shifts, History, Psychology/Being Human, Seattle, theatre | 4 Comments »

Block-Busted

Only a few weeks ago, I stepped out of the Closing Sale of the Lower Queen Anne Blockbuster holding the copy of Jane Campion’s Bright Star I’d just purchased for $5.99, and found myself facing the closed movie theater across the street where I had seen the film one year ago. Both businesses now bereft [...]

Posted in Cultural Shifts, Film, History, Lists, Seattle | No Comments »

For Unto Us A Hobbit Is Given

It’s an amazing day to be alive. It’s as if Father Christmas made it possible to relive all your favorite Christmases past, only you’d be reliving them in the present and receiving all new gifts. It’s as if, when walking out your front door this morning you discovered, instead of being in your cul de [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, Film, History, intertextuality, Pop Culture, theology | No Comments »

Les Miserables: Still Not Entirely Sure How Hugo Felt Abut Their Misery

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo My rating: 4 of 5 stars Having come to Les Miserables with only a North American osmosis-knowledge of the musical, memories of the 1998 film, and a lifetime of sermons referencing the encounter between Jean Valjean, the Bishop and the candlesticks, I am surprised by what I actually found here. [...]

Posted in Books, History | No Comments »

“What Yankee Candle Means to Me” Episode 4

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, Film, History, intertextuality, Lists, Music, Yankee Candle | 3 Comments »

The Time Machine of Not Leaving

Early last December, I was checking movie times online and it appeared that my favorite Lower Queen Anne movie theatre was no longer operating. “That can’t be!,” I thought, for just a few days ago, I had picked up my friend Richard there after he watched a matinee of “The Social Network.” How could it [...]

Posted in Film, History, Lists, Seattle | 1 Comment »

Patronizing Victoria

We Two: Victoria and Albert: Rulers, Partners, Rivals by Gillian Gill My rating: 3 of 5 stars I had high hopes for this new biography of the relationship between Queen Victoria and Prince Consort Albert. While I learned a fair bit and enjoyed walking through their history, the biography suffers from some of my most [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Books, History | No Comments »

My Top Ten Favorite Films Of All Time

For years, I’ve used the phrase “it’s in my top 10 films of all time” to defend or add credibility to a film that was getting overlooked or dismissed by somebody. Of course I’d only say it if it really was in my top ten, but a few weeks ago I got caught off guard [...]

Posted in Anglophilia, Film, History, intertextuality, Lists, Pop Culture | 2 Comments »