April Conference Jewelry

These were also created in April. Yeah, I'm really behind on posting.

I made these:

 

My mom made these:

A Visit to the Natural History Museum

How's this for taking a long time to catch up. These pictures are from an April trip to the Natural History Museum.

Kitten sitting in the basket (or pretending to)

I love this picture!

She's as big as a dinosaur foot print

Jekyll & Hyde: The David Hasselhoff version

I rented this movie from the library with a little trepidation. I'm not a real David Hasselhoff fan and had not heard real great reviews of him, but I really wanted my mom to be able to see the musical, since wasn't able to go when we were in Chicago.

I have to say I really was pleasantly surprised at this movie. David Hasselhoff was really good. So, so, so much better than I had anticipated. It was fun to see this after seeing it performed in Chicago. The stage in this movie was much smaller, but they worked well with what they had. I wish that the camera had stayed still in the audience instead of zooming in and out and moving around the stage. I feel like I missed some of the musical because I wasn't able to see the whole stage all of the time. Also, it's a little odd having a close-up of someone acting on stage, because their features are more exaggerated.

The singing was really great. David Hasselhoff really was amazing when he sang as both Jekyll and Hyde. I was saddened that they had omitted several of the songs in this version - one of my favorites no less. I realize it's not really appropriate, but I like Bring on the Men. I also really like Insane, which was also missing, among others. It was interesting to see another actor and director's take on the story. This version wasn't nearly as seductive (or violent) as the Chicago version - which I realize I'm partial to. The difference in the emotions during the song Dangerous Game in both versions was interesting. I really didn't like this movie's take on it.

If you haven't seen the musical, this is a really great introduction to it. If you have, it's a lot of fun to compare and contrast it to other stage productions.

Scents and Sensibility

I watched this movie last week. As you know I am not a real fan of Sense and Sensibility, but I thought I'd give this one a try. It had some actors that I knew, which is what got me interested in the first place. I have to say that it really was quite enjoyable - more so than any of the other movies (From Prada to Nada excepting). They came up with a clever and somewhat realistic modern take on the story. Normally I'm just annoyed with the characters in this story, but I rather liked all of them in this telling. It has it's silly moments, but over all it is a fun and delightful little movie. I'd definitely watch it again.

BBC Jekyll

After seeing the musical in Chicago last month, my brother recommended that I watch the BBC show Jekyll. It was definitely unexpected. I thought it was going to be like three episodes, but in reality it was around seven, I think.

I really liked the imaginative take on the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. The first episode comprises the life of Dr. Jackman (the Jekyll character). In fact I don't think you actually meet Hyde until the end of the episode or the start of episode two.

It was interesting how they intertwined the characters lives, all of them. I also liked how they changed Jackman into Hyde. Just a couple of subtle changes to his face and voila, you have Mr. Hyde. They did a really great job of making Hyde super creepy. Most of that came about because he was so unpredictable and his motivations were unfathomable.  Initially you just like Dr. Jackman and feel sorry that he has to deal with Hyde, but as you get to know Hyde you start to like him as well.

 Mr. Hyde & Dr. Jackman

Dr. Jackman & Mr. Hyde

It also was interesting how they tied in the 19th century Dr. Jekyll to Dr. Jackman. The appearance of Robert Louis Stevenson was also quite interesting. Stevenson guesses at what is in the potion that transforms Jekyll to Hyde and it's so interesting when you finally find out what it is. (As a side note they pronounce the earlier Dr. Jekyll as 'Gee-kell.' I don't know why I find it so humorous, but as I read his name that pronunciation runs through my head.)

This was by far the grossest and most 'cool' moment of Mr. Hyde.

Then at the crux of the movie are Dr. Jackman's wife and his nurse assistant. Their roles were fascinating. It was so interesting to see who they developed into as the story progressed.

Overall, the series was fascinating and I would recommend it to anyone who like the Jekyll/Hyde story. However, that being said, it is a British movie and they have a tendency to use the F-word more than I'd like. I don't know if I will ever watch it again, but I don't think the haunting originality of the story will ever really leave me.

A Fun Day!

The downtown city library had this cute art display down in the Children's section, so one Thursday, Mom and Addie met me at the library and we all took a look at it. It was several famous paintings all done with cats.

We got the tail end of a salute here.

After that we went to lunch and then out to play with Eli and Zoe.  We spent part of that time reading library books and even Eli paid attention for a few of them.

We also had dinner out there. These two girls were just having a great time together!