Posted 7:00 AM by Gerald So
Recently diagnosed with double pneumonia, Pope Francis apparently has had a setback and is in critical condition.
Having seen my mother diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia in 2022 and fortunate to survive then, I would advise preparing for the pope's possible death. I'm mostly in favor of how he's led the Church, and I wish him the best possible outcome.
Embed from Getty Images
Sunday, February 23, 2025
Friday, February 21, 2025
"Do I look like I give a damn?"
Posted 4:30 AM by Gerald So
This Daniel Craig CASINO ROYALE quote is how I choose to react to the news Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have sold creative control of the James Bond film franchise to Amazon MGM Studios.
It's bad news in that the movies will no longer have the personal touch that began with Cubby Broccoli, but I've also taken issue with how rigid the family has been, not in their depiction of Bond over the years, but with how the movies are written, produced, and directed. This breeds familiarity but not the most excitement.
Can impersonal corporate giant Amazon hype new Bond movies? I think it would be smart of them to retain some Broccoli flavor at least with their first movie. From there, they can branch out. The history of the Bond movies is a big part of why people get excited for them. It would be a waste if Amazon didn't tap into that.
Some worry that Bond will be spun off to death, dilluting the big screen movies. I don't know that that's a major problem. I'm primarily interested in the big screen movies and would continue watching them and leaving the rest, my approach to Star Wars. Meanwhile, though, smaller Bond-adjacent projects could make money to enhance the big screen movies. MGM alone had struggled with financing for decades. Original co-producer Harry Saltzman sold his stake when 1974's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN underperformed.
Another concern is EON has mined Ian Fleming's twelve Bond books repeatedly already. Notice for Daniel Craig's run, they used Fleming titles CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE but Craig's five movies were really one prolonged story, not the usual varied adventures. SKYFALL's and SPECTRE's opening themes hinted at finality: "This is the end," "The writing's on the wall." These may have been signs EON was genuinely out of ideas.
Amazon may be more willing to tap post-Fleming sources such as John Gardner's or Raymond Benson's sequels or hire someone to write a wholly new, cutting-edge Bond screenplay. Amazon also doesn't need to take EON's approach of casting actors to play Bond for several movies. They could cast someone right for one movie, then cast someone else right for the next. Ultimately we'll see if Amazon can conjure Bond movie magic. I'll let you know if I feel it.
This Daniel Craig CASINO ROYALE quote is how I choose to react to the news Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli have sold creative control of the James Bond film franchise to Amazon MGM Studios.
It's bad news in that the movies will no longer have the personal touch that began with Cubby Broccoli, but I've also taken issue with how rigid the family has been, not in their depiction of Bond over the years, but with how the movies are written, produced, and directed. This breeds familiarity but not the most excitement.
Can impersonal corporate giant Amazon hype new Bond movies? I think it would be smart of them to retain some Broccoli flavor at least with their first movie. From there, they can branch out. The history of the Bond movies is a big part of why people get excited for them. It would be a waste if Amazon didn't tap into that.
Some worry that Bond will be spun off to death, dilluting the big screen movies. I don't know that that's a major problem. I'm primarily interested in the big screen movies and would continue watching them and leaving the rest, my approach to Star Wars. Meanwhile, though, smaller Bond-adjacent projects could make money to enhance the big screen movies. MGM alone had struggled with financing for decades. Original co-producer Harry Saltzman sold his stake when 1974's THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN underperformed.
Another concern is EON has mined Ian Fleming's twelve Bond books repeatedly already. Notice for Daniel Craig's run, they used Fleming titles CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE but Craig's five movies were really one prolonged story, not the usual varied adventures. SKYFALL's and SPECTRE's opening themes hinted at finality: "This is the end," "The writing's on the wall." These may have been signs EON was genuinely out of ideas.
Amazon may be more willing to tap post-Fleming sources such as John Gardner's or Raymond Benson's sequels or hire someone to write a wholly new, cutting-edge Bond screenplay. Amazon also doesn't need to take EON's approach of casting actors to play Bond for several movies. They could cast someone right for one movie, then cast someone else right for the next. Ultimately we'll see if Amazon can conjure Bond movie magic. I'll let you know if I feel it.
Sunday, February 16, 2025
Submissions Open
Posted 10:30 AM by Gerald So
The original twelve-year run of my weekly poetry site, THE FIVE-TWO, ended because submissions dried up, perhaps because I left Twitter soon after Elon Musk bought it. The amount of wrongdoing since Donald Trump retook the U.S. presidency has me beyond consolation and thinking of rebooting the site.
I want your honest, powerful reactions to what you see as crime, couched in poetic technique and figurative language to avoid receiving a content warning or being taken down by Google.
Submission deadline Monday, March 24, 2025. Read the full guidelines and join me on Bluesky, Mastodon, and/or YouTube to show your support. If I accept enough poens, The Five-Two will relaunch Monday, April 7, 2025 as part of National Poetry Month.
The original twelve-year run of my weekly poetry site, THE FIVE-TWO, ended because submissions dried up, perhaps because I left Twitter soon after Elon Musk bought it. The amount of wrongdoing since Donald Trump retook the U.S. presidency has me beyond consolation and thinking of rebooting the site.
I want your honest, powerful reactions to what you see as crime, couched in poetic technique and figurative language to avoid receiving a content warning or being taken down by Google.
Submission deadline Monday, March 24, 2025. Read the full guidelines and join me on Bluesky, Mastodon, and/or YouTube to show your support. If I accept enough poens, The Five-Two will relaunch Monday, April 7, 2025 as part of National Poetry Month.
Thursday, February 13, 2025
THE RETURN directed by Uberto Pasolini
Posted 7:30 PM by Gerald So
THE RETURN is based on the final chapters of Homer's epic poem THE ODYSSEY and stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche as Odysseus and Penelope. Several epics were required reading in college (THE ILIAD, THE AENEID, Dante's INFERNO...) THE ODYSSEY was my favorite because Odysseus was not a demigod but a man, one even more renowned for his cunning than his fighting prowess. I learned of the movie premiering December 6, 2024. It came to DVD and Blu-ray January 18, 2025. I pre-ordered and watched it two weeks ago.
THE RETURN focuses on the end of the poem. Odysseus has made it back to his kingdom Ithaca ten years later than expected. Many believe him dead. Suitors are fighting in the palace for Penelope to remarry.
THE RETURN de-emphasizes the mythic aspects. No gods appear to aid Odysseus. He hesitates to reveal himself and reclaim Ithaca because he's incredibly weary from the voyage and unsure he is the man he was. Most of the people don't recognize him and treat him like a beggar, but we the audience know he is king. Already admiring the story, I was able to recognize plot points while completely transported by the Greek filming locations.
THE RETURN just might interest you in THE ODYSSEY, my highest praise for adaptations.
THE RETURN is based on the final chapters of Homer's epic poem THE ODYSSEY and stars Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche as Odysseus and Penelope. Several epics were required reading in college (THE ILIAD, THE AENEID, Dante's INFERNO...) THE ODYSSEY was my favorite because Odysseus was not a demigod but a man, one even more renowned for his cunning than his fighting prowess. I learned of the movie premiering December 6, 2024. It came to DVD and Blu-ray January 18, 2025. I pre-ordered and watched it two weeks ago.
THE RETURN focuses on the end of the poem. Odysseus has made it back to his kingdom Ithaca ten years later than expected. Many believe him dead. Suitors are fighting in the palace for Penelope to remarry.
THE RETURN de-emphasizes the mythic aspects. No gods appear to aid Odysseus. He hesitates to reveal himself and reclaim Ithaca because he's incredibly weary from the voyage and unsure he is the man he was. Most of the people don't recognize him and treat him like a beggar, but we the audience know he is king. Already admiring the story, I was able to recognize plot points while completely transported by the Greek filming locations.
THE RETURN just might interest you in THE ODYSSEY, my highest praise for adaptations.
The End of the World
Posted 5:30 AM by Gerald So
To calm fears, we like to say, "It's not the end of the world."
Another way of thinking is we are at one end of the world, the front end facing the future, the only end we can act on. The future hasn't happened, so it doesn't count. This is the end.
It can be positive if you do everything in your power while you can. Don't assume you have tomorrow. Most likely you do, but you get my point.
To calm fears, we like to say, "It's not the end of the world."
Another way of thinking is we are at one end of the world, the front end facing the future, the only end we can act on. The future hasn't happened, so it doesn't count. This is the end.
It can be positive if you do everything in your power while you can. Don't assume you have tomorrow. Most likely you do, but you get my point.
Thursday, February 06, 2025
Bluesky
Posted 6:00 AM by Gerald So
Previously on My Life Called So, in March '23, I quit Twitter and have been on Mastodon alone until today.
On Bluesky, I'll chat with friends and promote projects. I don't want to use Masto mods' limited resources for my BSP, but I'll continue posting to daily writing hashtags.
Previously on My Life Called So, in March '23, I quit Twitter and have been on Mastodon alone until today.
On Bluesky, I'll chat with friends and promote projects. I don't want to use Masto mods' limited resources for my BSP, but I'll continue posting to daily writing hashtags.
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