At World's End

This installment of the Pirate series has lush scenery, detailed costumes, amazing battle scenes, some truly hilarious moments and simply fantastic special effects. If you can put your brain on hold, you will probably enjoy the movie. The plot is convoluted to the point of absurdity and in some points the movie does drag. If you rent this lavish spectacle just remember, STOP TRYING TO THINK. Sit back, munch a tub of popcorn and ignore the entire lack of logic in the entire story line.

Spoiler alert!! Warning!!

One aspect that I found accidentally hilarious was that the enemy chosen was the West Indian Company-or East Indian Company?. Apparently, making money is bad if you are a business-at least that seems to be the message of the film. At one point the company hangs scores of people for associating with pirates, including one little boy with an angelic voice.(Yes, they hang the sweet faced child) To further illustrate that big business is the enemy, one of the representatives of the company repeats over and over again as his ship is exploding(great special effects, by the way), "It is just business, just business...."

Of course the real irony, and very funny if you think about it, is that the makers of this film are making an awful lot of money on the merchandising of this series. Although I see nothing wrong in getting rich, it does seem to be a bit hypocritical for the writers to make big business the bad guy without realizing that everyone involved in this film is a member of big business. Ah well, Hollywood and common sense probably are not compatible terms. LOL

Don't look for the love story of Will Turner and Elizabeth Swan to make any more sense. At one point the couple seem to have lost all affection for one another. This isn't as upsetting as one would think as Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley do not have much chemistry together. They both seem like decent actors, just not particularly well matched to play lovers together. At some point the writers must have remembered that they hadn't provided any romance for the young couple because near the end of the film Turner and Swan are suddenly back in love.

The advantage of the lovers' rediscovery of one another is that there is a rousing battle in which they fight a group of soldiers and fish human mutants. In the midst of this battle the two are wed-yes while fighting against amphibian people-by Captain Balbosa. Um..Okay...didn't I warn you not to think too deeply while viewing this film?

A plus for this movie is that many of the actors are pretty good in their individual parts. Johnny Depp apparently could make a reading of the phone book entertaining. Jack Sparrow is a great character not because of spectacular writing(take my word for it, this movie Does NOT have that) but because Depp throws himself into this part. In fact, I wish that they had killed off the young lovebirds and kept just the pirates!

Captain Balbosa, played by Geoffrey Rush, is a great foil for Johnny Depp as the two continue their fight for the Black Pearl. Bill Nighy manages to bring life to the character of Davy Jones despite being completely entrenched in tentacles. His method of killing one of the British men who had stolen his heart-literally, not romantically- and forced the Captain to fight on the East Indian Company's side made me squirm. In fact, the memory of this kill is causing my nose to itch right now.

If the movie could have simply stuck to a basic plot line it might have been a great popcorn movie. Sadly there are so many illogical twist and turns that your head begins to hurt keeping track of them all.

Tia Dalma, the witch, returns but now she is the former lover of Captain Davy Jones. This might have proved interesting, especially considering that Davy Jones is allowed to come to shore one day every ten years for some R&R. Strangely though, the writers decided to make Tia a fifty foot goddess in the form of a female mortal. Um...did I tell you not to think to hard? Apparently, the pirate ancestors, along with an angered Davy Jones-Tia had stood him up on their ten year date- had bound the goddess into human form. Moral of this particular plot is, don't play with the sensitive feelings of octopus men!

Once she is released she morphs into the above mentioned fifty foot woman and then into a very large pile of crabs. I think that she created a whirlpool to separate the pirates from the British ships but this wasn't very clear. Not wanting to give myself a brain hemorrhage, I've decided not to think about this section of the plot.

Very predictably, Swan becomes leader of the pirates because, like in every single modern movie with a plucky female, she has to teach the males in her life how to be strong and tough. Yawn.

I am not going to give away the ending, you will just have to watch this for yourself. It is worth seeing, just remember...DONT THINK!

Little Dorrit

Remember that famous line in Catcher in the Rye about "all that David Copperfield kind of crap"? Well pbbbtt... on you J.D Salinger, Charles Dickens is one of my favorite writers.

Years before, I had read Little Dorrit and I vaguely recall that it is about a seamstress, but admittedly I've completely forgotten the plot. I don't think that it is one of Dickens greater known novels like David Copperfield or Great Expectations. In fact, I was a little surprised to see it in the tiny library that serves my husband's military base.

Thus far, I haven't been disappointed in Little Dorrit but then I have only finished the first and part of the second chapter. My goal is to write about each chapter that I read until I finish. If you've read the novel please feel free to jump into the discussion.

Chapter one opens in a Marseilles prison. Dickens describes the August heat of the region adequately-I really don't think that describing surroundings is one of this writer's strong points.

In a jail cell are two prisoners: Monsieur Rigaud and the Italian, John Baptist. This is the area where Dickens shines as a writer. He is able to make his characters come alive. Already I dislike Monsieur Rigaurd and feel a fondness for the small, good natured, John Baptist.

Rigaurd views himself as a gentleman and to prove this he asks his fellow jail mate: "Have I ever done anything here? Ever touched the broom or spread the mats, or rolled them up, or found the draughts, or collected the dominoes, or put my hand to any kind of work? Have you ever thought of looking to me to do any kind of work?" John Baptist Cavalletto's response of "Never" seems to please Rigaurd.

One part of the chapter that seemed unrealistic to me, was the fact that the jailer brings his young daughter with him when he feeds the prisoners. Perhaps jails were safer in the 1800's then they are now. Having the very young, innocent child pass dinner to the prisoners does help to differentiate between the of the two prisoners.

Someone has sent Rigaurd a large meal to supplement his daily prison share of bread. As the little girl passes the food to him she seems to dread touching his soft, smooth, well-shaped hand. Yet her attitude toward the little dark Italian is notably different. She put the lump of coarse bread into the swart, scaled, knotted hands of John Baptist with ready confidence and when he kissed her hand, had herself passed it caressing over his face.


Once the jailer and his little daughter have left, Rigaurd begins to defend himself to the quiet John Baptist. Rigaurd first points out that there was nothing strange about the death of his wife's first husband. Men over sixty are likely to die after all and the widow was a beautiful woman of twenty-two. Her young age and his handsome appearance made it only natural that she would marry him-according to Monsieur Rigaurd.

Unfortunately, the first husband settled his will completely on his young wife, so she has charge of the purse strings. This, combined with the fact that her family dislikes and distrusts her new husband, is the source of many arguments between the young couple. As Rigaurd says of his treatment toward his wife: I may have slapped her face-nothing more. I have a light hand; and if I have been seen apparently to correct Madame Rigaud in that manner, I have done it almost playfully. Oddly enough, the family of his young wife aren't pleased with his manner of correcting his bride.

One day, the new groom and his bride take a scenic walk along a cliff overlooking the ocean. According to Rigaurd, his wife flies at him in rage, screaming loudly and then throws herself over the cliff. Neither the woman's family or the authorities believes the husband's story and he is imprisoned. Now he is waiting to see the judge who will decide if he goes free or gets the guillotine.

A guard of soldiers arrive to take Rigaurd before the judge. There is fear that an angry mob will tear him apart before he reaches his trial. John Baptist watches him leave under the protection of the guards.

The beginning of the second chapter confused me. It opens with a dialog between two men, Mr. Meagles and Mr. Clennam. At first I thought that John Baptist was talking to someone.

Apparently a group of english travelers have been detained on suspension of carrying the plague. Mr and Mrs. Meagles are traveling with their daughter, Pet,(I assume that this is a nickname) and Pet's maid, Tattycoram.

Tattycoram's real name is Harriet Beadle. At a young age, she was taken from a foundling hospital to work as Pet's personal maid. The name Tatty came about because Mr. Meagle felt that she would be happy to recieve something as fond as a nickname and Coram was the name of the hospital's benefactor. It seems arrogant to change a person's name but it seems that the Meagles meant well.

Their daughter Pet is described as a lovely but spoiled girl of twenty. Alreadyin the novel she seems, to me, to be very close to her parents. Mr. Meagles explains that she was concieved when the Meagles were older. Pet was not always an only child. Her twin sister died while still a toddler. This probably explains why Dickens describs Pet as being a little spoiled.

An interesting character in this chapter is Miss Wade, a very reserved Englishwoman who seems to want no company. She does display some hidden passion while discussing what her feelings would be if she had ever been imprisoned. If I had been shut up in any place to pine and suffer, I should always hate that place and wish to burn it down, or raze it to the ground. I know no more.

I haven't gotten any further in the novel, but I will try and continue to post as I read.

Shameless Plug

By the way, Amazon gives me a tiny bit of money for each book that you buy through my website. If enough books are sold then I can buy even more books! Hooray! So, if you are interested in any of my reviews and want to read the corresponding book, please click on the books that are listed on my blog to do so. I really, really, really want to buy more books. LOL

According to Wikipedia, NC-my location- is 77% Protestant and only 10% Roman Catholic. This means that as a convert to Catholicism, I get asked a LOT of questions. Personally, this doesn't bother me but it is very important for my children to understand not just what they believe but why they believe it. Amy Welborn's book PROVE IT is not only informative but at times humurous as well. I found myself learning a lot from this little book. I also very much appreciate that she was not mean spirited in her defense of Catholic beliefs while at the same time presenting the truth of our faith without any sugar coating. I am going to assign this book to my sixth grader this year.

My Favorite Poem

This was written by William Ernest Henly. The poem is a reflection of the author's own resilince after having his leg amputated.

Invictus

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of Circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of Chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

Tough Women

Everyone has pet peeves and I have mine. Occasionally I will have a discussion with other women in which they imply that somehow women had no real internal strength until the coming of 1960's feminism. Usually it is a young woman speaking and she expresses gratitude for being born in an era when she is allowed to be 'a strong woman."

Um...have these ladies never read books written by women prior to the 1960's or studied history? Simply because our fore mothers' daily lives were not written down in history books does not mean that they were weak, helpless creatures. In fact, I would imagine that our female ancestors had more internal fortitude then any modern young woman today.

The majority of our fore mothers were not sitting around bored, drinking tea and embroidering beautiful tapestries. They were resilient women who endured a lot of suffering without complaint. I dare say that they would be a bit contemptuous of their descendants for having become so weak and whiny.

Think logically for a moment about life before the twentieth century. Poverty was common. Not simply the belt tightening kind of poverty but intense suffering and hunger. Men and women both were expected to work hard for their bread. Even those women who did not have to work outside the home had to do household work without the appliances that we depend on today. There was no washing machine or bread maker. You couldn't just turn on the oven. You had to heat up a wood or coal stove. Your child needs winter clothes? Sister, you better know how to sew.

In 1853, chloroform was invented and it was administered to Queen Victoria for the birth of her seventh child. Up until that time, women often went without any pain medicine during labor. Pain was a fact of life and you simply endured it. By the way, Doctors did not understand that they should wash their hands before attending a birth until 1840! I remember my grandmother telling me that her mother-who was a midwife early in the twentieth century- told her that 'a woman in labor is a hair's breadth from death. '

Even if you did give birth safely, there was a real possibility that your child might not make it to adulthood. There were no antibiotics before the twentieth century. Imagine all the times that your child has needed antibiotics today. One of my own children suffered a bout of pneumonia as a toddler. If we had lived a hundred years ago, my son might not have reached his current age.

Due to the fact that hardships was common, you would not be aware at how difficult your life was. In fact, if you had shelter, adequate food and clothing, you would count yourself highly blessed no matter how hard you had to work. Society before our modern age seems to have disproved of excessive complaining and so you would probably not consider venting your problems out loud. You couldn't even complain that your life as a woman was harder then a man's because your husband's life would have been as difficult as you.

We tend to only appreciate those individuals who make it into the history books. Let's face it, before the modern era there were few women philosophers, painters, explorers or scientist. Some of this was no doubt caused by sexism but I think that females of long ago were simply too darned busy to do the types of activities that get one immortalized by history. That doesn't mean that they weren't tough, capable females who could probably whip the stuffing out of us modern women.

So the next time you hear a young woman say, "Women who were born long ago weren't allowed to be strong women." Or even worse "I wish that I lived long ago so I could have teas and sew quilts." Throw one of these books by women writers at her and tell her to actually learn something about the hardy women who came before us.

David Copperfield

I remember clearly the first time that I discovered Dickens-a writer that I have developed a life long love affair with. I was a geeky(not much has changed), shy high school girl who spent most of her free time wandering the school's library in search of something to read. It was a hard choice for me, I wanted to read everything but I dreaded checking out a book only to find out half way that it was a boring read. What compelled me to pick such a thick novel as David Copperfield, I don't know. I suspect that I chose it due to its thickness. After all, I wasn't likely to finish it in one study hall.

Thanks to a very thorough public school education, I had never heard of Dickens. So, I had no preconceived notions about him or his writing. Yes, I had heard of Scrooge but I certainly didn't know who had written A Christmas Carol.

I fell in love with the novel. Few authors have made characters come as alive or seem as real as Dickens manages to do.

Here are just some of the wonderful, vibrant characters that will remain in the readers memory:

David's faithful nurse Peggoty

the obsequious and sneaky Uriah Heep

the two women who loved David. First the spoiled and immature Dora and then the wiser more worthy Agnes.

The Micawbers-based on Dickens own family. They end up in debtor's prison just like Dickens own father did

The eccentric Betsy Trotwood, David's aunt and eventual guardian

The books plot is simple. It starts with David's birth, his mother's marriage to his cruel stepfather, David's difficult youth and his eventual escape to his aunt Betsy. From there he is educated, marries twice and becomes a novelist. It is a plot summary that on the surface, doesn't sound very exciting. But the book is wonderful.

Parts of the novel are dark. Dickens deals with the very real problems of child abuse, cruelty, poverty and debtor's prison. Yet, Dickens also has a strongly developed sense of the ludicrous and therefore, is able to find humor in even the darkest parts of his novel. He points out the hypocrisy of the Victorian age and yet is sympathetic to his characters weaknesses.

Overall this is a great novel and one that I think is underrated today.

History for my 4th and 6th grader

I teach my nine and eleven year old from the same history curriculum. This saves me both time and money. I simply require a bit more work from my oldest daughter in terms of research and writing then I do the younger. This year I am trying something brand new. Instead of purchasing a ready made curriculum I created my own using books that I purchased from Amazon. We are studying ancient through the Roman period along this year.

I started with a basic but enjoyable history book. I wanted one that was fun to read as well as informative. So, I chose M.B Synge's History series beginning with On The Shores Of The Great Sea. This book was written in 1903 and is religious in nature. I have to add that I only use this book as a springboard for our study.

After reading Synge's book, I decided to get several supporting books. These good easily be purchased from the library. I split our year into several historical sections that I thought would interest the girls. Thus far we have studied ancient Egypt, and the Phoenicians. We are currently beginning a unit on ancient Greece and will study Greek myths.

Egyptian History Books For My Daughters.

This is a list of the books that I used to support my daughters study of ancient Egypt. If you have an older child I would recommend having your child do research and write a short essay. Kids learn a lot from research.

Flatulence

Answer this question, on what other blog about great books can you read an article on flatulence?

During my daughter and my perusal of The Dangerous Book for Boys, we came across this advice for dealing with girls. Avoid being vulgar. excitable bouts of wind breaking will not endear you to a girl, just to pick one example.

When dealing with most young ladies this would be excellent advice for young boys. The majority of girls aren't impressed by a flatulence. Of course, my lovely daughter, Sarah, isn't most young ladies.

Recently my daughter expressed a great deal of admiration for the boy next door because he has the ability to pass gas whenever he wants. I overheard Sarah, one day, excitedly asking him 'to crack one off.' I have no idea where she got such a crude expression, but despite what the authors claim she is one girl who is very impressed by the passing of gas.

Due to the fact that the boy's mother and I are spoil sports who want our children to grow up to be ladies and gentlemen, we have put a stop to such activity.(I mean the encouragement of purposefully passing gas, not the act itself. I don't want our children to explode!)

Women, Stop Whining About The Title!

The Dangerous Book for Boys is difficult to describe. It has a jumble of information that the authors thought that mainly boys would find interesting. There are chapters on how to tie knots, how to make a bow and arrows,how to build a tree house, the seven wonders of the ancient world, astronomy etc. None of the subjects go into depth but it is good starting place for young children to discover what interest them.

I've heard a few women complain about the title. "We can't let our daughters read the book" "Our daughters would love the books except they won't read it because of the title."

First off, if you have a daughter who would be interested in such activities as skinning a rabbit then she isn't going to be put off by the title. I bought this book for my youngest daughter, Sarah. She gravitates toward more boyish pursuits and the title simply intrigued her. There is enough educational information that she and I can read it when I home school and count it as a learning experience.

Besides are we all so shallow that we will only read books in which the main character is like us? In high school I was assigned Richard Wright's Black Boy while I was in High School. Should I have refused to read the novel because I am neither a boy nor black? What about Treasure Island? Why read Treasure Island, after all, I am not a boy like the main protagonist?

Sometimes, in America, we take good ideas and ruin them by going to extremes. It is a very good thing that today we can find more positive portrayals of women, minorities and the handicapped on both television and in books. But that doesn't mean that the only characters that we can identify with are those who are exactly like us or that we can't read novels that are aimed at the opposite sex or at a different race.

So parents-mothers particularly-if you think that your daughter(like mine) would enjoy such activities as making a battery, or discovering that urine makes great secret ink(I've forbidden her from trying this) then buy the book and don't worry about the title.

Nicholas

I think that by now, you have already figured out that I am a fan of Dickens. So it should come as no surprise that I am reading Nicholas Nicklby by Charles Dickens. Many years ago I read this book, but I have forgotten most of the plot.

As is true of most of Dickens novels, he mixes the darkness of Victorian life with humor and compassion. I did though find myself wincing at the portion of the book dealing with the boys' school that was run by the Squeers. It speaks to Dickens skill as a writer that I found myself wanting to physically beat Mr and Mrs. Squeers and spank their children! My apologies to Ms. Sally Field, but when it comes to abused children I am as ferocious as any man.

My mother's heart went out to the boys that were caught in this cruel school. Parents, believing in some cases that their children were being well cared for, sent their boys to the Squeers' boarding school. In reality the school is a hellish place where the boys are purposely underfed, stolen from and beaten. The point in which Nicholas beats Mr Squeer for abusing one of his charges made me want to stand up and cheer.

Of course I am not even half way through the novel, but thus far this is what has occurred.

After a failed attempt at speculation, the older Nicholas looses his entire estate and passes away in grief. His death leaves his wife alone to care for her two adolescent children, Kate and Nicholas(I think he is 19). Impoverished, the family travels to London to ask their father's brother, Ralph, to assist them. The Nickleby's desire is not that he support them financially but that he help secure them honest jobs by which they can make a living.

Due to Nicholas' open hearted and boldness, Ralph takes an immediate dislike to the young man. This shouldn't come as a surprise, after all how many older people today automatically are suspicious of older adolescents.

Uncle Ralph's assistance consists of placing his nephew as a tutor in the above mentioned Squeer's school. I suppose that Ralph hoped that his nephew would rot and never bother his uncle again. Of course the open hearted, Nicholas can't stomach the mistreatment of the children. But his pity and wrath is especially moved by the treatment of a wretched, young man named Smike.

Smike is a tall, ungainly man who is dressed in the same clothes that he arrived as a boy at the school. Abandoned by his family, Smike is treated as a drudge and often beaten. There is a pathetic scene in which he hopefully asks if any mail has come for him despite the fact that he hasn't heard from his family since his arrival at the school. He is cruelly mocked for his tears when he discovers that again nothing has arrived for him. It is obvious that Smike is mentally handicapped, although the book doesn't make clear if this condition was present at birth or resulted from his near starvation and cruelty at the hands of the Squeers.

After being dragged back home, Smike is captured and about to be beaten mercilessly when Nicholas intervenes and thoroughly beats Mr Squeer(Hooray!) He and Smike then flee the school.

While this has been occuring, Kate has been give a job as a seamstress to support herself and her mother. She works long hours, which wouldn't be so bad except for the seamstress' assistance, Miss Knag. Miss Knag is an older, vain woman who becomes offended with Kate when the younger woman is complimented and preferred by one of the customers. She makes work very unpleasant for Kate and when the owner of the shop becomes bankrupt, Knag takes over. Of course, Kate is told that her presence is no longer required.

I haven't gotten much further then this but I am really enjoying this work by Dickens. Although it sounds depressing there are some very funny moments in the book. For example, upon leaving the Squeers' Nicholas and Smike are stopped by a giant of a man named John Browdie. Previously Nicholas and John had been drawn into a quarrel over John's fiance. So, when Nicholas sees the larger John carrying a staff he assumes that he is about to be beaten up. Instead John listens to his story and is amused by the fact that Nicholas beat up Mr. Squeer. In fact John roars with laughter and asks Nicholas for his hand. He then pushes some money on the young Nickleby so that the two men won't have to walk the whole way to London.

As I said before, this is as far as I have gotten but so far this is a very entertaining book that makes me happy that I was not born in Victorian England.

Another Great Blog

Stephanie H has a great blog for book lovers. Her articles make me want to run out and purchase the books that she is writing about. Because book lovers need to stick together I am including a link to her blog.

http://somanybooksblog.com/

Big Wish

This collection by penguin is causing me to drool all over my key board. At more then $7,000 though, this collection is sadly not one that I can afford. But I can sure dream.