Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Dang!

I put up a couple of poems this afternoon that I wrote fora member who is a much-loved friend,and judging from the ratings they have both gotten, people liked them. I am thrilled.....and encouraged to try to write more.

Just wanted to thank the folks who took time to read and rate them.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-03-02 19:22:42

Sunday, February 27, 2005
Hum......

I've been thinking back over what I last wrote, and it occurs to me that I should not be speaking in such a disrespectful way about the royalty of another country. I want to apologize if my comments about Charles and Camilla offended anyone.

I guess, as an American, I am just used to the lambasting of my public officials, especially when there is much ado made out of what I see as their personal business. But I think perhaps many Brits have a love for their monarchy, and I would not want to seem disrespectful to their feelings.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-02-27 19:17:22

Sunday, February 27, 2005
Oscars, Royal Weddings, and Whatnot

I am awaiting the Oscars......this year, I care about them, because I want Million Dollar Baby to get the attention it deserves. Plus I always enjoy the film clips, and the retrospectives they put together.

Those of you from England......do any of you really give a rat-fart about Charles and Camilla? Does it matter that the Queen didn't go to their ceremony? How important is all that royal angst?

I do wish the press would quit dredging up the old scandal stuff about their relationship. Hearing about Charles's wish to become her.....erm......*unmentionable item*......once was enough.

Read a very good book this weekend.........Slammerkin, by Emma Donoghue. I highly recommend it to lovers of good historical/social fiction.

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-02-27 17:59:49

Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Letting Off Steam

This is as good a place to do this as any. And the others involved don't belong to this site, so it's a safe place.....

I am certainly no saint, and I have my bad days and grumpy moods. But I try to be positive and encouraging, for the most part. I am the same, pretty much, at every forum I belong to. What you "see" is what you get.

But at one site I have belonged to for a couple-three years now, there are two members who expressed the opinion that I was, quote, "hypocritical, venomous, cruelly sarcastic, and condescending."

Now, to be fair, I probably said one or two things which could be interpreted as sarcastic. I had no intent to be mean or furtively sarcastic when I made the comments. On the contrary, I was trying to be amusing and I guess my effort fell flat. I have been very encouraging about these members' writing, and generally felt even close to one of them. Now out of the blue - at least that's how it felt to me - they attacked my motives and communication skills.

I say this not to gain sympathy, but to reflect on how tricky internet relationships can be. Without visible body language and facial expression or audible voice tone, our messages can be very screwed up in the translation. What we mean to be humorous in a friendly way can be misconstrued as mean-spirited.

I am still trying to figure out the "venomous" and "condescending" part. Do I seem to talk down to people........I mean, does anyone here have that perception of me?

And venomous? Goodness, I can't even post right on the Zone's Abuse thread! I can't bear to say something mean about people! It's sort of a standing joke over there......

Well, forgive me if I seem like I'm just dumping, but I had to get that off my chest.

I

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-02-23 16:50:40

Monday, February 21, 2005
Close Oscars

I am really anticipating this year's Academy Awards, mainly because I have been fortunate enough to have seen four of the Best Picture nominees, and I care about who will win what.

Saw "Million Dollar Baby" twice over the ast week, and it just gets better. He wrote the music for the film as well as directed and acted in it. I would love to see Eastwood get the Best Actor nod, but I think Jamie Foxx has that award pegged down. His Ray Charles was perfection, have to hand it to him. I would be happy if diCaprio got it for his portrayal of Hughes in "The Aviator." All three men gave fine performances, each worthy of a statue, IMHO.

I loved Depp in "Finding Neverlanfd," but I don't think his performance will outweigh the others.

"Baby" should win Best Picture. It is a remarkably fine film, with richly textured characters, a stark cinematography befitting its subject, and just a darn good story. East wood wrote the music, lovely haunting piano barely intruding upon the scenes, more of a flavor, or essence.

I pick Hilary Swank for Best Actress, Morgan Freeman for Best Supporting Actor, and Cate Blanchett for Best Supporting Actress. But from what I can see, all these races are close, so we'll see.

In recent years, I haven't much cared who took home thre Oscars. There is so much infighting and politicking behind the scenes. All I really cared about was that Peter Jackson get his just recognition for his trilogy, a true masterwork that will stand the test of the ages.

But this year, I feel there are many truly exceptional performances, and I'd like to see them recognized.

So much for my Oscar ramblings.......feel free to comment and disagree with my choices!

Posted by Edea Baldwin 2005-02-21 14:08:06