Thursday Tunes

Thursday Tunes is a weekly event hosted by S. Krishna, devoted to sharing the music we love.

S. Krishna usually features a new artist each week - just to be different, I'm going to focus on a specific song, because it's the song that hooks me. There are very few artists whose entire body of work is in my MP3 player, but I have thousands of songs I love.




Okay, I've resisted long enough - time for some Christmas music! Here's a fun, lesser known Christmas song - watch out, you might find yourself singing it over and over again. =)

The Nonfiction Files

The Nonfiction Files is a weekly journal of my adventures reading my toppling piles of nonfiction books. I won't be posting reviews, but rather my thoughts about what I'm reading, while I'm reading it.


I'm joined in The Nonfiction Files by Jehara. If you would like to play along with us, let me know!

My current read: The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann


Synopsis from publisher:

After stumbling upon a hidden trove of diaries, acclaimed New Yorker writer David Grann set out to solve "the greatest exploration mystery of the twentieth century": What happened to the British explorer Percy Fawcett and his quest for the Lost City of Z?

In 1925 Fawcett ventured into the Amazon to find an ancient civilization, hoping to make one of the most important discoveries in history. For centuries Europeans believed the world’s largest jungle concealed the glittering kingdom of El Dorado. Thousands had died looking for it, leaving many scientists convinced that the Amazon was truly inimical to humankind. But Fawcett, whose daring expeditions helped inspire Conan Doyle’s The Lost World, had spent years building his scientific case. Captivating the imagination of millions around the globe, Fawcett embarked with his twenty-one-year-old son, determined to prove that this ancient civilization—which he dubbed “Z”—existed. Then he and his expedition vanished.

Fawcett’s fate—and the tantalizing clues he left behind about “Z”—became an obsession for hundreds who followed him into the uncharted wilderness. For decades scientists and adventurers have searched for evidence of Fawcett’s party and the lost City of Z. Countless have perished, been captured by tribes, or gone mad. As David Grann delved ever deeper into the mystery surrounding Fawcett’s quest, and the greater mystery of what lies within the Amazon, he found himself, like the generations who preceded him, being irresistibly drawn into the jungle’s “green hell.” His quest for the truth and his stunning discoveries about Fawcett’s fate and “Z” form the heart of this complex, enthralling narrative.

My thoughts:

I'm happy to say I'm back in the groove with this week's selection - once again, this is a great piece of nonfiction.

Percy Fawcett had a troubled upbringing, with each of his parents unable to provide any real affection. Fawcett later states that perhaps this lack of emotional support was good for him, as it forced him to turn inside himself for strength. A member of the British Artillary, it was at his post in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) that Fawcett met the love of his life, his wife Nina, and discovered an obsession with discovery that would last the rest of his life.

Grann alternates Fawcett's story with his own tale, and each story is equally fascinating. Grann's wife is, understandably, skeptical when he proposes finding an explorer who disappeared 80 years before, but as he uncovers more details, he is unavoidably drawn into this incredible mystery.

In this section of the book, we see the beginnings of Fawcett's life as an explorer in the Amazon jungle, and the start of Grann's search to find an explanation for Fawcett's disappearance. We also learn about the beginnings of the Royal Geographical Society, which had as its goal to map the entire surface of the world. I think this is the first book I've ever read about explorers, and I am struck by just exactly how fragile and dangerous their world was. Setting off into the unknown, many times with not much more than the clothes on their backs and what little food they could stuff into a pack, these men and women set out to see what the world held. Many - maybe most - never came back. Grann says, "...these accounts made me aware of how much of the discovery of the world was based on failure rather than on success - on tactical errors and pipte dreams. The Society may have conquered the world, but not before the world had conquered its members."

I am thoroughly engrossed in the stories of Fawcett and Grann, and can't wait to see where their journies take them next.

Movie Reviews - Cautiva and Summer Palace

Two more movies reviews for the Orbis Terrarum film mini-challenge:


Cautiva (2003) - Argentina

Synopsis:

A young Argentinian girl celebrating her 15th birthday is shocked to discover her parents have been lying to her. She is not their biological daughter - in fact, she was taken from her parents at birth. Her parents were some of the "disappeared", political dissidents who were imprisoned by the government, tortured, and never seen again. Cristina must come to terms with the truth of her birth, and try to accept her new family.

My thoughts:

A couple of years ago I watched The Official Story, another Argentinian film that dealt with similar subject matter. This movie seems to be its natural companion - The Official Story tells of an adoptive mother who finds out her daughter might be a child of the disappeared, and Cautiva tells of a teenaged girl who is told her parents are part of the disappeared. Each dealt with the heartbreak and guilt that would come with finding out such news, and each was a powerful movie in its own right. This movie is well acted and directed, and I do recommend it, although you should know it has some scenes of violence and nudity.



Summer Palace (Yihe Yuan) (2006) - China

Synopsis:

A girl from a small town in China is accepted into the university in Beijing, where she falls obsessively in love with a boy, and is witness to the Tiannamen Square protests.

My thoughts:

This was likened to Doctor Zhivago - I see the comparison in the obsessive love affair, but I don't think it was nearly as good a movie. It had moments of being quite beautiful, but for the most part seemed long and plodding. The scene in Tiannamen Square, however, was riveting, and I'm glad I watched the movie for that alone. However, it does have prolific nudity and sexual situations, and I'm not sure I can recommend this one for a number of reasons.




And with these two movies, I have complete the Orbis Terrarum film mini-challenge - Yay!!


Here is the complete list of movies I've watched:

1 - Au Revoir Les Enfants (France)
2 - Journey from the Fall (Vietnam)
3 - The Namesake (India)
4 - The Band's Visit (Israel)
5 - 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Romania)
6 - Good Morning, Night (Italy)
7 - Let the Right One In (Sweden)
8 - Rudo y Cursi (Mexico)
9 - Cautiva - Argentina
10 - Summer Palace - China


This is a great challenge - I am already looking forward to next year. Thanks to Bethany for hosting the Orbis Terrarum challenge.