Library Bookshelf

Marilyne · September 05, 2024, 12:04:15 PM

This morning I'm wishing you could all see the movie I watched yesterday, Wings of Desire. "Wim Wenders' elegiac hymn to a broken cold-war Berlin. Shot when the city seemed forever divided by The Wall, this intensely romantic story of an angel who longs for human love is unlike any other."

Unfortunately, it's only on one channel here, Max, which is only available free to those who have HBO. However think anyone can go to Max, and pay to see any movie??
I was so moved by the story and the way it was presented, that I plan to watch it again soon, and I think some of you will like it as much as I did. I found an online review yesterday that pretty much says it all, so I'll post the link, and hope that some of you will take a look.
Another quote: "The two angels roam freely, through the still semi-shattered city of Berlin and their musings are interspersed with archive footage of the destroyed capital in 1945."
(NOTE: these are not angels flying round in white robes, like in "It's a Wonderful Life". Just two men in suits and overvcoats.
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/jun/22/wings-of-desire-review-wim-wenders-elegiac-hymn-to-a-broken-cold-war-berlin

Marilyne · September 05, 2024, 12:15:41 PM

Please ignore the image thing under my message. I was trying to post a picture of the angel, but it didn't work. Then I was unable to delete it.

MarsGal · September 05, 2024, 12:17:17 PM

I am glad you got to see it Marilyne.

MaryPage · September 07, 2024, 09:21:51 AM

I only post in Norm & Seniors & Friends Leisure Activities these days, & these infrequently. I have no idea why this is so, except for old, old age. I keep up Norm in salute to the Past & to him. And Dot. Remember Dot? Well, I had tons of fun with all of the forums once upon the day. & the get togethers & the Bashes & the tours. Wow, thank you Senior Net! Now I am ninety-five & counting, & I have something important to warn you of: DEMENTIA! It took a long while for me to awaken to the fact that I am afflicted with it. I call it "my forgettery" and tell people I have "lost my mind." My memory is what I have lost, & I want to warn you. This will not necessarily be YOU, but it might.
Back in April of this year, early April, I relinquished my independent living situation & moved in with a daughter, who gives me full care. She also takes care of her husband, who has Parkinson's. She labored for several months & got my condo cleared out & cleaned out & turned back to the owners. Bless her boots!
I had disposed of a great deal of personal items, but not all by a long shot. I was beginning to realize I was lacking any detailed memories of my entire life. I did not forget who my most loved persons were, but most of me was gone. Disappeared into the foggy past.
Debi brought tons of paper files & small sets of personal stuff to her house for me to go through & dispose of. I had had a habit of keeping, not dairies, as such, but one of those spiral-bound annual engagement calendars put out by art places.
You know, about an inch for engagements each day for a week on one page, & a lovely painting on the other. Most of these I had thrown out back in the beginning of my clear out. Turns out she had discovered and brought back here about 7 years of these books I had missed. Wow! I read and rediscovered those years completely forgotten! What a blessed boon! I had been worrying myself into a great anxiety over whether or not I had attended friend's funerals, & remembering whether I had looked after my dearest family members before they passed, and when HAD they passed, and how. Reading those diaries relieved me of a HUGE amount of that! I did! I did! I did really well by them, & showed them the love I felt for them.
My purpose in telling you this is to wave the flag of This Might Be YOU! & urge you to keep diaries against the day.
Enough said! Love to all.

Marilyne · September 07, 2024, 12:36:44 PM

Mary Page - So good to see your message here this morning. I was beginning to worry about you, because it had been a long time since you had posted here or in Norm's Bait and Tackle. In spite of some memory loss, it looks like you're still doing a great job of remembering all of your loved ones, and the important events in your life. Keep on keeping on! We look forward to hearing from you in Library Bookshelf or Norm'sB&T, whenever you feel like writing!

MaryPage · September 19, 2024, 08:42:43 PM

Here I am, and no one else has been for quite some time!
I read the new (old, actually) book by Harper Lee, & this is my observation: obviously, she was an outstanding student of human nature back in her youth, but not nearly as skilled as she was with To Kill A Mockingbird. Good thing she scuttled her 1st book and took up writing that one! Otherwise, I very much doubt she would have become the world's number one author. Not on that first book alone. I have now, being in dementia, completely forgotten the name of it; but it can be found out in a New York minute. Well, now that she's dead & gone, there will be no more. And I have passed the new (old) book on to my beloved granddaughter Paige, who was named for me, except that my daughter Anne stuck an I in it! IMAGINE, sticking a letter in an old family name!
Life drones on here. The most exciting things in my life are truly that: exciting. They are little stories, all absolutely true, about my great grandson, Miles. He is only one of the 28 amazing, brilliant, beautiful & talented great grandchildren in my portfolio. But the stories about him about tickle me to death. Miles was the unplanned 3rd child who popped into this world early after much difficulty keeping him in the womb. I'll give you an example of a Miles story. By the way, Miles never hangs around & waits for you to entertain him. Not for a nanosecond! So one day my daughter Anne, whom he calls Nana, was babysitting him whilst his family were all elsewhere. Miles appears in front of Anne: "Nana! Do you have a piece of cloth I could use?" "I'm sure I do, MIles. What do you need it for?" Well, today is the day I am going to learn to fly (Miles is five or six at this time), and I am going to jump out of that window up there (pointing to a front window on the 2nd floor), and I thought it might be a good idea if I made a parachute first just in case I need it." "Oh no, you are NOT! Absolutely no learning to fly today!"

And that is the way it goes. Miles has a name longer than he is old: Miles James Gregory and-his-surname. Remember it; I'm betting you'll hear about him in the news one day. I'll be long dead & gone, dang it!

MaryPage · September 19, 2024, 09:54:26 PM

Go Set A Watchman.

The name of the new (old) Harper Lee book. I expect her kin wanted to make some money from her estate.
Can't say I wouldn't have done the same.

MarsGal · September 20, 2024, 06:37:17 AM

Ha! Your Miles story reminds me of the main character in Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga Sci-Fi book series. The only other Miles I ever knew, a nephew of a neighbor, died in the Vietnam War; he was only there a month. I doubt I will be around either, but I doubt I will forget his name. He sure sounds like a handful.

Speaking of SciFi, I just started reading the latest in the Laiden series, Ribbon Dance written by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller. Downloaded, but haven't started a Bill Bryson audio book, but forget the title just now.

I am spending more time with the TV the last few days than with my reading. I started watching Farscape from the beginning, and intend on watching The Mountain Detective on Amazon's Prime. It is a BBC production set in France. PBS lists it, so it must have been aired here (two seasons). It looks like I can watch it there too.

MaryPage · September 20, 2024, 11:48:08 AM

Miles had been given a motor bike. His mother, Melissa, came across that recently, spread all over the place in little bits. Miles had taken it totally apart. "What are you DOING???" "I'm making a go cart!"

And so he did. With complete success, and using every single component of the motor bike. I swear. Melissa swears. Anne swears. Those who know Miles are not in the least surprised; only full of the special Joy derived from that child. I hug myself as that Joy pours over & into me.

so_P_bubble · September 21, 2024, 03:43:37 AM

awesome Miles! WOW!

MaryPage · September 21, 2024, 02:57:56 PM

Thank you, Bubble.
We, in his family, all think so.

Miles is nine, now. His mind never stops whirling. The other evening, the family had a grill roaring outside so they could roast marshmallows. They began, & older brother Will explained to Miles that he had to keep moving his stick so the marshmallow would brown evenly. Miles eyes lit up. He put down his stick, and rushed into the garage, coming out with a drill. In no time at all, only Miles was the proud user of an automatically turning marshmallow! That kid! I tell you!

Marilyne · September 21, 2024, 03:06:35 PM

Mary Page . . . keep up the "Miles" stories! I love hearing about him and his always busy and productive mind! It must be a real challenge for his teachers, trying to keep up with him.

phyllis · September 22, 2024, 10:39:47 AM

Love the Miles stories. Sounds like my younger son who brought home a dirt motorbike that didn't work. He dismantled the engine, washed parts in my dishwasher , lubricated everything, reassembled it and it started on first try. His father's mouth just dropped open. He couldn't believe that with no training this kid could do that. I think he was born with that knowledge already planted in his brain.

RAMMEL · September 22, 2024, 01:06:53 PM

My younger son (no longer with us) was also that way. He did a motor job for a girl he knew while in high school. He and a couple of his buddies got admonished by the local police for running a go-cart they fixed on a local street. He wanted, and got, a large Craftsman Tool Set one Christmas.

MaryPage · September 22, 2024, 01:31:06 PM

Fascinating!
What would you call that thing they are born with?
And Rammel, my deepest sympathy.
I have sort of kind of been figuring it might be that Miles was a difficult one to keep in the womb:
& what I mean by that is my granddaughter's body was constantly threatening to miscarry him, and he was finally born prematurely. I have often read about gifted people only to find they were born prematurely. This is just me thinking through the hole in my head. I have NO idea what I am talking about. Not a scrap of it!

RAMMEL · September 22, 2024, 06:30:13 PM

Quote from: MaryPage on September 22, 2024, 01:31:06 PMI have often read about gifted people only to find they were born prematurely.

Very interesting. Both of my sons were full term, and C-section. Both very different in character. One a mechanic (Not by trade, but character), and the other an intellect. Who knows what makes the difference?

MaryPage · September 24, 2024, 05:11:03 PM

I have spent much of today going through boxes full of my files, brought from my apartment, & throwing out as much as I can for Debi's sake. I ran across a thick file labeled SENIOR NET, & so I got lost in reading.
So many memories came flooding back, but this one deserves a last printing here. Does anyone else here remember Robby Iadeluca? He had a PhD & posted a lot. Here is a poem he wrote:
It is titled "Identity Crisis"

As the missiles come hurtling in
Screaming their message of love;
It's important to know __ just before you go __
Are you a hawk or a dove"

As the twain refuse to meet
And neither East nor West will talk;
Be sure to find -- for your peace of mind --
That you're either a dove or a hawk.

As the world confusion grows
And the actions get out of hand,
It's important to state -- as you meet your fate --
On which side of the issue you stand.

No matter that people are people,
For the principles must hold sway;
It's either black or white (yes, the colors are right),
And we all forget there's a gray.

Somewhere in Utopia yonder
Where the strong offer help to the weak,
There's a hawk above -- singing songs of love --
And a dove with a spear in her beak.

Dr. Robert Bancker Iadeluca

MaryPage · September 24, 2024, 05:45:35 PM

I messed up in spelling love there, but was unable to fix it!

RAMMEL · September 24, 2024, 06:11:48 PM

Mary Page - I fixed it for you. I hope you don't mind.
I remember Robbie.

Marilyne · September 24, 2024, 06:24:47 PM

Mary Page: I like Robbie's poem very much! He's been gone now for many years, so I wonder how long ago he wrote it? It holds true in today's world, more than ever.
Don't worry about your typo. It was easy to see that you meant "love".

patricia19 · September 24, 2024, 07:32:42 PM

I remember seeing that! It was so long ago and yet seems like yesterday. Adrienne from San Francisco used to make bash videos and sell them to those interested at cost.

S&F is still going very, very slow, and I'd contracted Michael when I wasn't able to get in.

MaryPage · September 24, 2024, 08:34:39 PM

The extreme slowness is why my typo would not fix. I got in a spot (call to supper) & could wait no longer.
Thank you, Rammel! Of course I don't mind! The thank you is deeply sincere.

If you remember Robby, you MUST remember his Senior Net sidekick as well. Eloise! Lovely lady. Now one more before I shut up: do you remember Mal?[/color][/size][/font][/i][/b]

so_P_bubble · September 25, 2024, 01:39:22 AM

For you MaryPage

and for all of us to remember...

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/photos-and-more/photos-old-and-new/msg254809/#msg254809

Tomereader1 · September 27, 2024, 08:36:17 PM

Hope this gets to Library Bookshelf. I must highly recommend for your reading enjoyment..."Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett. She is in her finest form with this one, I love all her books, and it all goes back to "Bel Canto" which got me hooked on anything she writes. Of course, some are better than others, but all wonderfully written.

so_P_bubble · September 28, 2024, 05:13:36 AM

From MaryPage

https://www.seniorsandfriends.org/photos-and-more/photos-old-and-new/msg254912/#msg254912

so_P_bubble · September 28, 2024, 11:04:43 AM

I read something that made me ponder, and wish that it could be a new way of life everywhere.

"No one has a perfect life. Some are unhealthy, some lack money.
Some lack love and attention, some want a shoulder to cry on, others want encouragement.
Some are afraid, others find it difficult.
Some feel abandoned, alone or forgotten, others feel discouraged or betrayed.

You never know what someone is going through. Even though he is smiling, there may be many eyes hidden in peace.
So, We have to be kinder to each other. Let's ask instead of hitting.
Let's understand instead of criticizing. Let's support, not judge.

One of the most important things you can do on this Earth is let people know they are not alone!".

Marilyne · September 28, 2024, 11:56:59 AM

Thank you Bubble: Very well said. We need a reminder in times like this.

so_P_bubble · September 29, 2024, 03:16:13 AM

.

Marilyne · September 30, 2024, 11:24:22 AM

Good Morning everyone. Hope you're all feeling well this morning, and ready to ~~face~~ start a new week! I'm looking forward to hearing from everyone who posts here.

I read a good book over the weekend, and would like to recommend it to all my friends here.
It's by Jeannette Walls, who wrote the prize winning memoir, The Glass Castle. This new fiction book, Silver Star, is the same general theme as "Castle" . . . dysfunctional but loving mother, periodically abandons her two daughters, ages 12 and 15, to fend for themselves. It's a good story, that I think you all will enjoy.

MarsGal · October 02, 2024, 08:27:09 PM

I am currently reading Waiting to be Arrested at Night: A Ugyhur Poet's Memoir of China's Genocide by Tahir Hamut Izgit and translated by Joshua L. Freeman I feel like I am reading a real-life version of 1984, especially regarding the use of re-education camps and prisons, along with the banning of certain traditional Muslim words, phrases and names, yes names. Newspeak lives. It gives me shivers.

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