J. H. Authors

One Woman. Three Names. Many Books.

Random Thoughts

Balancing Act

by

Last week I was chatting with a colleague. We both work in the arts, though she is a generation younger than I am. She was explaining her devotion to her work/life balance, which includes a strict cap on the number of hours she works, and no email nights or weekends. A part of me wanted to laugh out loud. How was that even possible?

Another colleague and I were chatting about the same subject. This woman is a tad bit older than I. Her theory was that you can only handle two big things in your life. For her, her work is one of them.

As a frame of reference let me tell you that I am having a EAT/PRAY/LOVE aka mid life moment right now. Trying to figure out the work/life balance questions for myself. Also trying to reboot my writing life, get back to the gym, lose those unwanted pounds and leave some room for a social life of sorts. I know, madness.

Given all of this, and my past work/life issues, I am not accepting the two things rule. I just can’t. It would mean I only had room for one more thing (I have a job that definitely counts as one) and since I am a writer, that would mean the rest of it would be on another tier. Or that writing would move down, but that seems like an easy choice (given the current writer’s block I am experiencing) and one that would make  me very unhappy in the long run.

But keeping a cap on my work life? Why does that feel subversive to me? Obviously I need to do some work on that, if nothing else. Do I feel as though I am being a traitor to my career? Am I trying to prove something? To whom? Is this a greater challenge for women? Or for women of my generation (or older)? Does the younger generation (how I hate that phrase) have a different POV on these balance issues?

I think there are fewer answers to work/life balance then there are opportunities for conversation.  Hopefully my conscious considerations will yield some ideas. Or inspiration. If so, I’ll let you know.

Why is making good choices so hard?

by

I don’t mean the big life choices.

I mean writing instead of three hours of Angry Birds.

I mean fruit instead of cookies.

I mean yoga instead of sitting.

I mean sleep instead of TV.

Why is this so hard?

Changes

by

So I went great guns in December, but nothing since. A major job change (thrilling, exciting, exhilarating, scary) has refocused much of my attention, but it occurs to me that isn’t good. The thing is, once one part of your life changes every part changes somewhat–either with the time you can devote to it, or the way you look at it.

My new job is in theater, and I will be spending some blogging time in another capacity on that. This blog will be focussed on other parts of my life–my writing, my attempts at adult onset athleticism, Jane Austen, the Boston Red Sox, television, food, ideas, etc. The other parts that add up to me.

I really want to develop the discipline to do this regularly. I have that discipline for a job, or when I am in a group but when it is just me, not so much.

Hopefully this discipline will spill over to the other neglected areas of my life–working out, training, writing, querying, reading Jane Austen, etc. Anyway, that’s the hope. So short posts about how that is going will be forthcoming.

Alastair Sim

by

Given yesterday’s blog post about what makes a good adaptation I thought I would write about one of the best. This 1951 version is a favorite of a lot of people, and with good reason. Alastair Sim was a character actor who, I sense, was more than capable of chewing up the scenery. But the power of his portrayal is that he doesn’t. His performance has gusto, and is in keeping with the novel. But he has such human moments (“I am too old to change” he tells the Ghosts of Christmas Past and Present. He says it not a as a reproof, but as a cry.)

A lot of time is spent with the Ghost of Christmas Past, and several stories are fleshed out. We see Fan’s deathbed scene. We also see Scrooge’s emergence as a business man, including when he buys Fezziwig out. (I hate it when they do that in the stories. Takes away from the power of the Fezziwig memories). We also see when young Marley and Scrooge meet, as well as Marley’s deathbed scene. We also see Alice (this version’s Belle) in present day as a nurse/caregiver for the poor and dying. Some of the additions I like, some I don’t. But again, this version tells the story so well I just go with it.

There is an “Old Joe” scene. And we see the charwoman Mrs. Dilber again after Scrooge wakes up.  There is screaming and running around, but at the end it is Sim’s humanity that moves me. The joy that he gets from being kind is lovely. And the polka with Fred’s wife…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7NfDuDh0Uc&feature=related

A really great version.

Some Mid Month CHRISTMAS CAROL Musings

by

Well, the month is halfway over, as is my Christmas Carol Challenge. I’ve watched a lot of versions of the story, and have several more queued up. But I thought it would be helpful to come up with some benchmarks for what I look for in A CHRISTMAS CAROL adaptation. All of these elements don’t need to be there (and ALL of them rarely are), but they hit some of the elements I consider most important in the story. Here they are, in no particular order.

  • Tiny Tim: A couple of things. First, he has to be cute. Not sickening, but cute enough that you care he is ill. Second, in the Yet to Come scenes you need to feel moved when you realize Tim is dead. Extra points if the “this first parting” speech is included.
  • Marley: Between the door knocker and his arrival, you need to be scared. The whole jaw being tied up is optional, but always a nice touch. Extra credit to the versions that show the other ghosts who are powerless to help, and their agony.
  • Narrator: Is there one? Who is it? Seem to waiver between Bob and Fred (mostly Fred), but there are some other choices that are made.
  • The Ghost of Christmas Present: All too often he is shown as the Santa substitute. I like it when he takes Scrooge to visit a lot of different people, so they can spread the Christmas spirit. I think it helps explain the transformation. I also think Ignorance and Want should show up.
  • Belle: The Belle scenes are tricky. I like them best when Scrooge feels the loss, perhaps even more than he ever had.  Some versions show her later, and a couple of them even have Scrooge and Belle reconnect. Tricky stuff–I think it is best to leave her at the “you love another now” scene.
  • Old Joe: That whole “show me someone moved by this man’s death”, “show me some tenderness” and “who was that dead man” arc is tricky. I don’t love the Old Joe scenes, but I get their purpose.  That said, keep them short.
  • The Transformation: This is tricky stuff. The best versions don’t have Scrooge transform just because he doesn’t want to die. He needs to transform because he realizes he is running out of time to fix things. Different versions are better than others, and different actors carry the nuance better than others.

What am I missing? Anything else you miss when it isn’t included? Do you judge the way certain scenes are covered?

Tomorrow I will be back to the challenge.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL 1923

by

When I was a little girl silent movies freaked me out. The makeup, the jerkiness of the filming (which is corrected if they are screened at the right speed), the overacting, etc. In 1980 something I watched a series on PBS narrated by James Mason about silent movies. It helped me appreciate the form more. And I also have to appreciate what a huge leap film must have been during the silent era. Light and shadows, and live music. Magic.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL from 1923 starred Russell Thorndike, Nina Vanna, Jack Denton, and Forbes Dawson. It is short, with limited exposition (aka title cards). I do wonder if there was an expected familiarity with the story so that the audiences were going to see the film to see what they did with it. And the ghosts were semi transparent. And while all four ghosts visit, there isn’t any of the depth of the story. The Past only shows Belle’s goodbye scene.

The Present says that he will be spending the day at Scrooge’s nephew and clerk and all who love Christmas. Scrooge begs him to stay, but he says no. Then Scrooge says he is not the man he was. So is the transformation because he didn’t want to miss a good time? When Scrooge goes to leave and the Ghost of Christmas Future comes in and beckons Scrooge forward where he ends up on his own grave.

Missing is the Tiny Tim story line, the Fezziwig past, etc. But again, I wonder if it was more about showing the film and less about tell the familiar story. Tomorrow I will report on another silent version I watched, which made different choices in its adaptation.