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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Fantastic Flying Books

(If you must have politics, please scroll down)

Hat tip to Farmer's Letters for the following delightful video of this 2012 Oscar winner (Best Animated Short Film):

12 comments:

  1. I see that most bloggers today are posting about last night's primaries.

    Hence, my choice of something apolitical.

    Besides, I think that the GOP is headed for a brokered convention, anyway.

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  2. Animation has really come a long way from Mickey Mouse. The music is interesting also.

    Debbie
    Right Truth
    http://www.righttruth.typepad.com

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  3. How touching that is! The images are rich and beautifully detailed, the ideas fresh and meaningful, even though the opening sequence owes a great deal to the 1939 film version of the Wizard of Oz -- but instead of alighting in Munchkinland the thoughtful, rather wistful young man finds himself transported to that magical Old World Library where the books literally come alive and befriend him.

    Once again Emily Dickinson has just the right words to say about it:


    There is no Frigate like a Book
    To take us Lands away,
    Nor any Coursers like a Page
    Of prancing Poetry ––

    This Traverse may the poorest take
    Without oppress of Toll ––
    How frugal is the Chariot
    That bears a Human soul!


    From nursery rhymes right on through Hans Christian Andersen, The Brothers Grimm, Maeterlinck, Kenneth Brhame, Jane Austen, Dickens, Thackeray, Edgar Allen Poe, Edith Wharton, Virginia Woolf and J.D. Salinger one can never be lonely, bored or depressed, if one has an appreciation of good books.

    Thanks for his lovely change of pace, AOW.

    ~ FreeThinke

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  4. FT,
    I liked this video so much I shared it with my students, most of whom are avid readers.

    "There Is No Frigate like a Book" is the poem I used to use to introduce Dickinson to my 6th graders -- back in the days when I taught elementary school.

    When I change the pace here at my blog, those posts typically don't get much attention. We've become too obsessed with politics, huh?

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  5. Good morning, AOW!

    People are not so much obsessed with politics as with negativity in general. I blame that on the corrupt popular culture. But, I guess "politics" and "negativity" may have become virtually synonymous.

    I love these little changes of pace you offer, even if they don't draw as much response as you might hope.

    Yesterday marked another Leap Year, and no one seemed to take any notice. I've never understood why we have "Leap Year" every four years, do you know? I'm sure someone explained it to me in childhood, but their words must have gone in one ear and out the other.

    Well today is the first of March, and our friend Emily Dickinson had something to say about it. One of her lesser-known poems, but a good way to mark the occasion, I think:


    Dear March -- Come in --
    How glad I am --
    I hoped for you before --

    Put down your Hat --
    You must have walked --
    How out of Breath you are --
    Dear March, how are you, and the Rest --
    Did you leave Nature well --
    Oh March, Come right up stairs with me --
    I have so much to tell --

    I got your Letter, and the Birds --
    The Maples never knew that you were coming -- till I called
    I declare -- how Red their Faces grew --
    But March, forgive me -- and
    All those Hills you left for me to Hue --
    There was no Purple suitable --
    You took it all with you --

    Who knocks? That April.
    Lock the Door --
    I will not be pursued --
    He stayed away a Year to call
    When I am occupied --
    But trifles look so trivial
    As soon as you have come

    That Blame is just as dear as Praise
    And Praise as mere as Blame --


    Did you ever see Julie Harris as The Belle of Amherst? Public Television presented it ages ago when my father was still alive. We watched it together. Father was a stoical type -- I guess men were trained never to show their feelings in his day -- but, even though he knew next to nothing about her poetry, he was tremendously moved by Julie Harris's performance as Emily Dickinson. It was in fact the only time I ever saw my father cry.

    ~ FreeThinke

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  6. FT,
    Good morning!

    Quick response here as I'm finishing up getting Mr. AOW his breakfast and feeding the wildlife (squirrels and birds).

    Yes, politics and negativity have become synonymous. My soul aches as a result. I think that you know what I mean.

    Back later.

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  7. FT,
    I've never seen The Belle of Amherst. Perhaps Netflix has the DVD or streaming for it.

    Back when I was in high school, I had a very peculiar English teacher. He despised certain writers, including Dickinson. As a result, I didn't discover Dickinson until much later.

    I don't know what was wrong with that English teacher. Clearly, he was descending into senility. But something else was wrong with him too.

    I was going to post about Leap Day but got overwhelmed with matters relating to the Mustang. We're having it towed to a better garage, one run by a Christian fellow who works only on late-model Mustangs. And we can trust him as he's proven himself in the past. All that the present garage wants to do is replace the motor.

    We may give the Mustang to my USMC cousin, who is stationed near here for the remainder of his tour of duty. He wants a "project car." But before we divest ourselves of the car by giving it to a beloved family member, we want a clear diagnosis. If the Mustang needs only an intake-manifold gasket, I might be able to drive the car this summer.

    I've cried for days over the car. It's hard to blog through tears. **sigh**

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  8. FT,
    I found The Belle of Amherst at Netflix.

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  9. That was nice. You do post some very positive goodies, good food for an old grump like me.

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  10. Black Sheep,
    Well, I'm not sure that you're an old grump.

    I do post some positive things. Otherwise, I might lose my sanity!

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  11. Glad to know The Belle of Amherst is available to you on Netflix. As a great fan of both the poet, and of Julie Harris, whom I think extraordinary, I highly recommend it.I hope you may find time to enjoy it soon.

    Let me know what you think, even if you didn't like it. I'm always interested to know how other people react to things.

    Ms. Harris also did a wonderful job as Mary Todd Lincoln in a somber opus called The Last of Mrs. Lincoln. I saw that on the stage. Don't know whether it was taped or not. I certainly hope so. It takes a true genius to be able to hold an audience spellbound for an entire evening when one if the only performer onstage with minimal props, no scenery and no "special effects."

    Sada Thompson was (hopefully still is?) another such performer. She did a magnificent job portraying three sisters -- and their mother == in four separate-but-interrelated acts. This took place nearly forty years ago in a play called Twigs. It was one of the most enthralling experiences of my entire life.

    ~ FreeThinke

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