January 2, 2012

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo trilogy

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – Book, Swedish Movie & American Movie – Noomi & Rooney

On December 31, we completed our The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy; the Stieg Larsson book in 2009, the Swedish movie in 2010 and the American movie in 2011.

As everyone in Scandinavia knows and most everyone in the rest of the western world knows, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is the first book in the posthumously published Stieg Larsson Millennium trilogy: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. It was an instant success published in Sweden and received the best crime novel of the year award in 2006. As it was released in other European countries, it continued to win prizes. Larsson was awarded an ITV3 (British TV) International Author of the Year in 2008, almost four years after he died in November 2004.

When The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was released in the United States in September 2008, it received nixed-reviews by NY Times’ Alex Berenson, The Los Angeles Times and the Simpsons writer, Matt Selman. These reviews were either not read or ignored and the book shot up the Best Seller Lists and has sold over 15 million copies, propelling the 2nd and 3rd books of the series to similar recognition and sales.

The story centers on Mikael Blomkvist, a writer-editor of the investigative journal Millenium, and his search for a solution to a 40 year old “Locked Room” mystery of the disappearance of a teen-aged girl member of the prominent Vanger family.  The character that propels the story, and is forever memorable, is Lisbeth Salander, a 24-year-old computer hacker, a tattooed asocial punk driven by her vindictiveness due to a tragic past. Larsson’s Salander was inspired by Pippi Longstocking.

We loved the book and bought and loved the two other books of the trilogy as soon as they were available.

The Swedish movie (2009) was released in the USA in 2010. It starred Noomi Rapace as Lisbeth Salander, Michael Nvqvist as Mikael Blomkvist and Lena Endre as Erika Berger. Directed by Niels Arden Opley, with music by Jacob Groth and cinematography by Eric Kress. The movie followed the book faithfully in storyline and mood. All of the actors seemed to step out of the novel onto the screen. Noomi Rapace, of a Swedish mother and Spanish father, possibly part Roma, is Lisbeth Salander.

We loved the movie and have seen it twice – so far. It will rise to the top of our Netflix queue early next week for another viewing.

So, how do we feel about the American version?

David Fincher (dark, stylish thrillers; The Social Network) directed the American version. Steven Zaillian wrote the screenplay. Daniel Craig was an excellent Blomkvist. The Erika Berger part while important is the Swedish version was a particularly weak here. One exceptional scene is the rape of Lisbeth; it is a horrific portrayal not sexual. The music score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross was somewhat disruptive, like it was for another movie. In spite of that, Critics Choice nominated it for Best Score.

Lisbeth Salander, the character that makes the novel and Swedish movie outstanding, is played by Rooney Mara in the American version. (How’s that, Rooney replaces Noomi?) While Mara plays the “part” well and portrays a fierce Lisbeth, there are no glimpses of the damaged, vulnerable Lisbeth felt in the book and Swedish film that make up her special humanity.

So, how do we feel about the American version? It’s okay, but not in the authentic and memorable way that the Swedish version is. We had the feeling when we left the theater, that if you were one of the few people that hadn’t read the book or seen the Swedish movie you might not really understand the plot.

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November 25, 2011

Winner! The NaNoWriMo 2011 prize is on the wall!

At 10:45 pm, Nov. 23 I finished my NaNoWriMo 2011 novel with over 56,000 words. About 8:09 am cst I collected my 2011-Winner-Certificate

Before I  went to bed Wednesday night, I had completed a 23 day writing marathon that I had doubts about at the outset. The minimum daily average of words to reach the prize is 1667. At the starting line, I had my eye on 2000 words per day knowing there would be days when little writing time was available. In the end, I averaged 2443.5 words.

How did that happen? In my last post on Oct. 29 I commented, “I am not comfortable writing fast.  I am basically a plodding writer who constantly goes back to change, correct or rethink what I’ve written…”

What I did was follow the advice of the NaNoWriMo team and the experienced writers of the pep talks. In my case, I started off with a couple of characters starting on a journey west in search of truth. Not “On the Road,’ but a more subdued late ’40s search.When I knelt down at the starting line my mind was focused straight down the track. I sprinted for the first day, seven hours, and reached just under 2200 words. I would like to say I never looked back, but when you are writing in Word, those squiggly green and red lines are hard to ignore. However, I found that what I’ll call inspiration comes in short bursts. That gave me time to catch my breath and clean up the squiggles.This meant that 23 days later, I had a readable novel.

This experience was fantastic! It was everything the NaNoWriMo folks promised. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Thousands upon thousands of people have participated in the past and are participating this year. The whole point though is that, while you are doing it with thousands, you are really just doing it by yourself. It is like the marathon runner – the crowds cheer him on, but he has to take each one of those steps that take him 26 miles 385 yards to the finish line by himself.

I can’t wait ’til next November. But, what write to until then?

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October 29, 2011

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo

When I restarted this blog on Oct. 1, “Rising from the Ashes,” I wrote “NaNoWriMo begins in less than 31 full days and it is past time to limber up stiff fingers and a brain sotted by politics. Dr. WordPress  prescribes “a blog a day” therapy.” Good advice that I did not fully follow because life is many other things.

That morning, though, I had decided to see if I could win the NaNoWriMo prize – complete a 50,000 word novel in the 30 consecutive days of Nov.

My problem is that, while I can write fast, I am not comfortable writing fast.  I am basically a plodding writer who constantly goes back to change, correct or rethink what I’ve written in the near past, whether that is minutes, hours or whatever.  It is obvious that that modis operandi will not win the prize.

Neither, I believe, will starting on Nov. 1 with “It was a dark and stormy night,” and then, letting an unplanned stream-of-conciousness story stream out for 30 days. At least for me. I do not think I have the writing stamina to be able to sustain a blind race.

So, it came down to some planning. I needed a plot that would get the story started and at least temporarily carry it toward some ending – that could and probably will change once or more times. I needed a few starting characters. And I needed a mood that I could be comfortable with.

Now, as I write this, NaNoWriMo will begin in about 2 days and 10 hours. I have a story; at this time titled, “A Young Man’s Quest.” I have plan for a beginning, a time-line, a small list of places and few people who may show up, and what I think/hope will be the last line. I think that should get me underway at 5 am next Tuesday morning. Then, we will see how it goes.

Many thousands have done it before.

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October 17, 2011

Danica Patrick – Race driver

Indy Car or IRL racing has been my favorite since moving to Indianapolis in 1956. Danica Patrick has been one of my favorite Indy Car drivers since she first ran 2005. As yesterday’s race marked the end of her career as a regular Indy Car driver it seems a good time to write a few observations about her.  From now on she will be racing full time in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, where she has raced a partial schedule since 2009, and drive in up to 10 premier Sprint Cup races for Dale Earnhardt Jr. team.

The tragic Las Vegas Speedway Indy Car race yesterday was a somber finish for the 32 year old Danica Patrick’s illustrious Indy Car career. A horrific 15 car crash on lap 13 claimed the life of the popular 2011 Indianapolis winner Dan Wheldon. The race was never restarted.

Danica, who started 9th, was running low coming out of the second turn when, caught by her onboard camera, one of the airborne cars that was on fire sailed just to her right. She held her line and managed to leave the accident behind with no damage to her car.

“There was debris everywhere, you could smell smoke and see the billowing smoke,” she said.

In a tweet late last night she said, “There are no words for today. Myself and so many others are devastated. I pray for Suzi and the kids that god will give them strength.”

Danica came to Indy Cars and the Indianapolis Speedway in 2005. That year she was named Rookie of the Year for both the Indianapolis 500 and the Indy Car series. She finished 3rd in the 2009 500, the highest finish ever by a woman and she is the only woman to win an Indy Car race – the 2008 Japan 300. This year she had one top-five finish and nine top-ten finishes. She  has driven for the successful Andretti team for five years. She has completed 50 consecutive Indy Car races, a record- the next highest total is 32. She was voted Most Popular Driver of the Indy Car series the past six years and is favored to win again this year. Her availability, straightforward manner, humor (though testy at times), good looks and advertising sense has made her popular with all ages. Her sponsorships make her one of the highest earning women athletics in the world. She is famous for her alliance with GoDaddy.com – or is it the other way around?

She will be missed on the Indy Car circuit and, I’m sure, will add excitement to NASCAR.

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October 16, 2011

The final Indy Car race of 2011 – RIP Dan Weldon

Before the race…

The last Indy Car race of the season is being run this afternoon on the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a wide oval 1.5-mile NASCAR track that allows flat-out racing 3 and 4 cars side-by-side. Near constant race speeds of over 220 mph are expected. The race is billed as the 2011 Indy Car Championship Race – Dario Franchintti (Chip Ganassi team) is only 16 points ahead of Will Power (Penske Team). Either can come out of this race the winner.

Tony Kanaan will be on the pole followed Orio Servioi, Ed Carpenter and Alex Tagliani. Power and Franchintti are in the 17th and 18th spots. Danica Patrick, running  her last Indy Car race before going full time with NASCAR, starts in the 9th position. Earlier,she had a 5th place finish here in a NASCAR race. There are 34 cars in the race, a few driven by drivers with little practice.  Veteran driver Davey Hamilton, who was severely injured in a 2001 and retired from regular racing to be a team owner, started 24th. He only competes on ovals because of his severe leg injuries.

Dan Weldon, winner of this year’s 500 (he had earlier 1st and 2nd place finishes), will start in last place and compete for a special $5 million dollar prize if he finishes 1st.  He recieves half and a spectator fan receives half.

After 12 laps,,,

The race began on time with a clean start. Kanaan led the field through 12 laps with all of the action taking place in the middle of the pack where cars were racing four abreast looking to improve their position. Weldon had moved up to about 17th when on lap 13 his car was in the middle of a horrific fiery 15-car accident that red-flagged the race.

Reruns seemed to show the car driven by Wade Cunningham swerved and was hit by Hildebrand who became airborne while Cunningham slammed the wall. After that it was a chain reaction bedlam as cars swerved and slowed. Powers car ended on its side in the fence. Weldon hit a slowing Paul Tracy and went airborne into the fence. Smote, flames and debris were everywhere.  Later, Danica Patrick, whose drove through unscathed while her in-car camera recorded bedlam around her, said that “it looked like a movie scene.”

Weldon was rushed to the hospital by helicopter. Power, though he seemed unscathed at first, also went to the hospital with back pains.

With Power out of the race, the title automatically went to Franchitti, but with little joy.

After almost three hours the drivers and team owners were called into a meeting. When there returned, it was obvious that they had received bad news. Shortly, IndyCar CEO Randy Bernard announced that Dan Weldon had died. The race was cancelled and the 19 remaining cars drove a somber five-lap tribute to the 33 year old Weldon who leaves behind a wife and two young children.

10/17/2011. Added Media coveerage

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/16/dan-wheldon-crash-las-vegas-indy-300_n_1014336.html

http://indycar.com/news/show/55-izod-indycar-series/50911-wheldon-succumbs-to-injuries-in-crash/

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/motorsport/indycar/8830667/IndyCar-death-Dan-Wheldon-killed-in-15-car-accident-at-Las-Vegas-Motor-Speedway-circuit.html

http://saintpaulcalling.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/lvindy300starting-grid.pdf

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October 15, 2011

The Good and the Sad

Yesterday’s blog was about the quiet, unceasing work of the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Paul, the hundreds of volunteers and thousands of contributors who over twenty years have helped well over 100 thousand immigrants, working poor and their children who subsist below the poverty level by supplying them with nourishing food and clothing. An example of people helping those less fortunate – no strings attached.

Then, this morning newspapers carried a story that Archbishop John Nienstedt states that his top issue is to get the amendment banning gay marriage passed in 2012. To do this he is “urging” parish priests to form committees to “educate” parishioners. “It is imperative,” he said, “that we marshal our resources to educate the faithful about the church’s teachings on these matters, and to vigorously organize and support a grass-roots effort to get out the vote to support the passage of this amendment,”

His top social priority is getting this amendment passed so that the Minnesota constitution deprives a minority of a right that when exercised has no effect on the majority and does it no harm. It’s just that this right doesn’t sit well with conservatives.

We used to think that poverty, poor health, immigration injustice were top diocesan issues. It seems, that was then…

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October 14, 2011

Francis Basket Food Shelf 20th Anniversary

Being involved in the First Weekend Food Drive for the Francis Basket Food Shelf at Lumen Christi Catholic Communitee, finding out that this food shelf was going to celebrate its 20th anniversary, seemed like a good reason to create a post and give these great and necessary people a thumbs up.

November 8 will mark 20 years of providing help to people living in the Saint Paul Siblley Square area. Operated by the Franciscan Sisters of Saint Paul, the food shelf began operating in an apartment in Sibley Manor Apartments at 1293 E. Maynard Drive just south of Seventh Ave. West. It is now located in several basement rooms near a back entrance.

Many of the people in this area are immigrants and working poor, most subsisting below the poverty level. Without this food shelf many would not have sufficient nourishment. Two-thirds of those benefiting are children.  The clients come from many parts of the world: Cambodia, Cuba, Congo Republic, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Mexico, Russia, Somalia, Sudan, Togo, Ukraine, Vietnam and the United States. There has always been a need for the food shelf, but in these times the need has risen exponentially.

Donations of food and money come from over 200 organizations, businesses and individuals. There is always a need for more as, many times, the shelves empty faster that they can be restocked. Stocking and distributing the food is handled by the director Dee Huntsley, Celia Garibay, Sister Clara and, this past year, 25 volunteers.

Associated with Francis Basket is Clare’s Closet that distributes clothing and household items.

Dried and canned food items, clothing and small appliances are always in demand. Cash donations translate into 35% more food as they can buy in bulk. Anyone who wishes to contribute can click on the Francis Basket or Clare’s Closet links above for information.

 

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October 13, 2011

A bus ride to Philosophy

A week ago I posted about our God and Suffering class at the St. Thomas U. Selim Center. This class with Dr. Joseph H. Hallman delves into the various aspects of the relationship of suffering (and other bad things) to God as interpreted by man through the words of philosophers and lesser men.

After signing up for the class and paying the tuition, a bargain at $70 per, the challenge was getting there when parking at the U. is at a premium and the surrounding streets are posted. The answer was the 87 bus on Cleveland. Doing this, though, was a new St. Paul experience for us. And, as we found it is an enjoyable addition to this learning episode. The buses are on time, the driver has become an acquaintance and each class session begins and ends with a pleasant experience. That says a lot for the Metro System.

Today’s session was a discussion on the views of René Girard, Augustine and Thomas Aquinas with a few Socrates and his student Plato moments. Someday, soon I hope, I will write a summary of what was covered today, but I need a bit of research first. “What’s that you say? …you can’t wait. Well…”

One interesting interjection by Dr. Hallman was that Socrates is noted for never (never) having contradicted himself. Also that he repeatedly chided Plato for his contradictions.

Enough for today,

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October 12, 2011

The day after a nice day

Dark, rainy, cold – all good words to describe this day. There is little atmosphere in which to find inspiration for this blog-a-day blog-post. 

Now, yesterday was different – sunshine, temps in the upper half of the 70s, just the lightest of a breeze. It was a perfect afternoon to spend at an outside table at Starbucks in Highland Village.  This Starbucks is a busy coffee shop on a busy corner, separated from the street traffic by the strip parking lot. On summer afternoons, when the tables are out of the sun, there are always groups of regulars and a constant flow of individuals and two-or-threes. It’s a stimulating place to spend a couple hours reading and writing and enjoying a couple cappuccinos.

I was there yesterday trying to map out a plot for NaNoWriMo . While I have a germ of an idea to start me on my way, I still need enough plot to carry me through 31 days of writing to the prize of at least 50,000 words. Coming from a technical background where words, sentences and paragraphs were slowly agonized over, writing with abandon as NaNoWriMo requires does not come easily. Even this post, quickly jotted down, doesn’t show the writing promise that will be needed. At this point I’ve put down 213 words. On a NaNoWriMo day I would still have 1454 more words to go to meet the average for the day.

Maybe these today’s feelings are unduly influenced by the “atmosphere.”  Yesterday, though, was good and I made quite a bit of headway with the plot.  And people were stimulating. And the cappuccino was great.  And tomorrow the return of the sun is in the forecast.

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October 11, 2011

Netflix to Qwikster – Delete those last two words.

In my Oct. 8 post about the movie, “The Girl from Paris,” I commented, actually dissed, Netflix’s announcement that “…the old Netfix DVD operation has been shuffled over to another company called… What is that name???…  Right, “Quikster.”  That doesn’t make much sense as that site has something to do with a pot smoking Elmo. Well, I’m sure they can straighten that out.”

So, yesterday they did straighten it out when an e-mail, DVDs will be staying at Netflix.com, showed up in my Inbox telling me that, “It is clear that for many of our members two websites would make things more difficult, so we are going to keep Netflix as one place to go for streaming and DVDs. This means no change: one website, one account, one password…in other words, no Qwikster.”  They also mentioned that they value me as a customer.

What they didn’t say is that in their new pricing scheme I was automatically entered in their Unlimited streaming + 2 DVDs out-at-a-time plan even though I’ve never streamed. Their quick billing of $19.98 plus tax was my notification. While I corrected this to DVDs only at $11.99, they did make an extra $8 on me. That $8 multiplied by the number of other customers could add. Is this to compensate for the thousands of customers lost during the Netflix/Qwikster debacle?

After several weeks of stumbling forward with the “Qwikster,” finally backtracking and, above all, many sarcastic and harsh words of observation and advise by the blogging community, it looks like Netflix has a plan that their remaining customers can live with. My only hope is that the superb DVD service that made Netflix famous, continues to be superb.

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