Gah. I keep telling myself that this climate-change weather could be bringing me way more problems than killer migraines...
Anyway.
John's got Louis C.K., who's in the new Woody Allen movie (along with such luminaries as Andrew Dice Clay). At the moment, Blue Jasmine has a 79% rating at RottenTomatoes (with 14 reviews), and 77% at metacritic (10 reviews). The synopsis at the movie site is:
After everything in her life falls to pieces, including her marriage to wealthy businessman Hal (Alec Baldwin), elegant New York socialite Jasmine (Cate Blanchett) moves into her sister Ginger’s (Sally Hawkins) modest apartment in San Francisco to try to pull herself back together again
A quick survey of google news reveals that "Woody Allen channels Tennessee Williams with Blue Jasmine", "Woody Allen, in his startling new movie, “Blue Jasmine,” has adopted the basic framework of Tennessee Williams's {a Streetcar Name Desire}", "Marin Serves as Key Backdrop in New Woody Allen Film 'Blue ...", and "'Blue Jasmine': Woody Allen on regrets - He's had a few". Also, "'Blue Jasmine' Review: Something Borrowed in Woody Allen's Dull ...". And apparently people think that the movie references Bernie Madoff's wife Ruth, and that star Cate Blanchett is amazing.
Stephen's got Kjerstin Gruys, author of Mirror, Mirror Off the Wall: How I Learned to Love My Body by Not Looking at It for a Year (rescheduled from one of the shows cancelled after his mom died). Here's the publisher's summary:
A scholar, fashionista, and bride-to-be spends a year without mirrors to get a better view of herself, her life, and what’s really important.
When Kjerstin Gruys became engaged to the love of her life, she was thrilled—until it came time to shop for a wedding dress. Having overcome an eating disorder years before, Gruys found herself struggling to maintain a positive self-image as her pending nuptials imposed a new set of impossible beauty standards. She decided to embark on a bold plan for boosting her self-esteem while refocusing her attention on the beautiful world around her. A memoir of discovery, Mirror Mirror Off the Wall charts Gruys’ awakening as she vows to give up mirrors and other reflective surfaces, relying instead on her friends and her fiancé to help her gauge both her appearance and her outlook on life. The result? A renewed focus on what truly matters, regardless of smeared makeup, crooked eyebrows, or messy hair.
In the honest, witty, self-aware voice that has made her blog so popular, Gruys explores what it means to be a feminist in a society where femininity is subject to destructive ideals of beauty and sex appeal. Having worked in the fashion industry before becoming a sociologist, Gruys draws on her frontline expertise to explore the gender inequities created by society’s obsession with a flawless female body image. Putting a human face on an important issue with humorous and poignant scenes from Gruys’ life, Mirror Mirror off the Wall sparks important conversations about body image and reclaiming the power to redefine beauty.
The blog is ayearwithoutmirrors.com. Various reviews (pubweekly, eatingdisorders.about.com, goodreads, alibrarianstake.com) and her page at UCLA's sociology department (she's earning her Ph.D) suggest good things.
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