Chocolate Lollipops

I know I am extremely late at getting around to posting this, but I still wanted to share these pictures. For Christmas we made chocolate lollipops using this recipe from Ina Garten. They came our really good and were a great project for me to do with my daughter. She was able to be really involved without it getting frustrating because there wasn't anything she could mess up. Plus, she was really proud of them and liked to tell people she had made them.

Colorizing Films

Sometime in the past three years I obtained a collection of Shirley Temple Films. I have watched some of the shorter ones with my daughter, but yesterday was so blisteringly cold that we decided not to brave the outdoors after a trip to Target. We came home and decided to watch The Little Princess and drink Silk Nog.  

Imagine my horror when I turned on the film to find it was colorized. The shorter films we had watched previously were not colorized. I know that it is not always clear why colorization is so bad, so let me explain. To me films are works of art and not simply works of entertainment. When the films were made colors were chosen for the shade of grey that they would become when shot with black and white film. If you were to visit a set while they were shooting the colors would seem very odd. For instance to give the impression that women had deep red lipstick on the actresses actually wore a garish brown color that translated to what appeared to be a rich velvety red color on film. Directors of photography (DPs) trained their eyes to see in shadows and shades of gray as opposed to seeing in, so to speak, technicolor. It is an amazing skill that has for the most part been lost.

If you compare a black and white film shot in the last twenty years to one shot in the 1940s the difference is very apparent. Black and White Films nowadays tend to have a washed out look with many of the grays being similar shades. Contemporary DPs can see light and shadows, but are not as good at looking at colors and seeing gray. You can even see this in photography if you compare older photographs with newer ones. This also has something to do with film vs digital. Film can get a really wonderful, rich black color that digital just can't reproduce. Digital doesn't have the range of color that film has and it becomes very obvious when you are dealing with a gray scale because the grays start to match and you lose contrast. When you colorize a film some random colorist, completely disconnected from the film, is sitting at a machine deciding what color a dress the actress should wear, what color their hair should be, how green a tree is, etc. All of these choices were made previously by people collaborating on the actual film and are now being changed.

Not only is random color being applied to the film, but the choices that were originally made are being obscured. Sixty and seventy years ago film was not as sensitive as it is now and lights were huge and powerful. Painting with light (as cinematography can be referred to) was so much more difficult then and to see what DPs were able to do can be awe inspiring. They had to control the light in ways that we no longer have to; technology has made it very easy to shoot with available light and small lights. They had to think about every ray of light shining on to the set and they had no way of previewing what they were doing the way we do now with video assist or playback. You could walk onto a set and it would seem glaringly bright, but then when you watched the film the light would seem low and nearly dark. Past DPs really were true visionaries, even just the ones working on small B films or Shirley Temple films. When you colorize a film you lose all those details that they worked so hard to obtain.

Lastly, I believe it is beneficial to be appreciative of the past and those that came before us. There is a tendency to think that if something is new then it is better, if something is more expensive it is better, and so on. So often you get eye rolls about watching something in black and white, which makes no sense to me. I understand not being in the mood for subtitles (I've felt that way before particularly with a toddler running around), but black and white? I think a well executed black and white film is often significantly more beautiful than a run of the mill color film and is on par (and can even exceed) any of the great color films. I thought this argument had been made and colorizing films had been admonished (I can be so naive sometimes). In just the last two weeks I have run across two colorized films (when I bought Miracle on 34th Street the colorized version is publicized and the original B & W version is simply an "extra") and people are so nonchalant about it. I wonder if everyone would feel the same way if I suggested sprucing up some of Picasso's paintings from his blue period. They are kind of drab don't you think? Shades of blue? Wouldn't it be nice to add a little red? Some nice bubblegum pink would surely make them more appealing.

My daughter was so excited to watch Shirley Temple (she drinks that drink, as she repeatedly told me) that I continued watching and will no doubt watch it again. Our collection includes three discs so I am hoping that some of the other films are in glorious black and white.

(Picture Sources:  Photo 1, Photo 2)

Day 22: What I love about my job.

I am not sure if I will be able to post tomorrow because it is Thanksgiving. We shall see. So here is my 22nd post. Currently, I don't really have a job. I guess I consider a job for me as a teaching job.

What I do now is take care of my daughter and work on my (almost done) documentary. For this purpose I will consider it my job (even though I don't really like thinking of raising my daughter as a job per say). What I love about being a filmmaker is growing artistically and using the skills I have developed over the years.

What I love about being a mom is being that person that can calm her and that sometimes I am the only one she needs. Sometimes that is a heady responsibility, but mostly I really cherish it. Today is the forty-fourth anniversary of the White Album being released and beginning when my daughter was little and even now, I have sung Blackbird to her to calm or help her to fall asleep. So I thought I would share it today.

Day 19: Myself, one year ago.

This project has made me realize that I don't really take pictures of myself. I haven't been able to find pictures of me a year ago. At least not of my face. My daughter took some pictures of me driving from her car seat while we were driving last November. The best thing about them is that they show very different landscape that we used to live in! Trees galore.

Thunderstorms

Today the clouds have rolled in and a thunderstorm seems to be in my future. I can hear the rumbles currently and the light outside is magically shadowless. My daughter is asleep and I hope she will stay there for awhile so that I can use this time to organize the footage that I have recently captured from my documentary.

I still have slides to scan from so long ago. They are just sitting on my work shelf, waiting, collecting dust. Perhaps, I will get to them this Holiday weekend. The problem I am having is that my daughter loves to look at them as well and she is only starting to understand the concept of "being gentle."

On Roses, Drawer Knobs, and Buffaloes

 

I have been trying to be really crafty the past few weeks, but somehow I can't seem to get anything finished. These rose knobs are intended for a jewelry box that my dad made. Of course, when I told him I was making knobs for it, he told me he had wooden knobs to put on it.  Hmmmm...I wonder why they were not on there when he gave it to me? Anyway, I guess i will see how these rose knobs work before abandoning them for wood knobs.  I have one step left before installation, which is to glaze them. For some reason this is taking me the absolute longest time to get done. Actually, I know the reason - she is about three feet tall and loves to "help" with just about anything I do. Particularly, if it involves coloring and a paint brush is an indicator of a type of coloring even if the paint I'm using is clear. So, I wait for an appropriate nap time where the house is clean, the documentary in order, emails answered and so on. The waiting continues.

In an unrelated subject, I am very upset that Colorado was snubbed by the NCAA tournament. This isn't just me acting as a grumpy graduate bemoaning on behalf of her alma mater, many sports people agree with me. Even the ones on ESPN. By the way, I watch college basketball, mostly the Tar Heels, but I watch CU when I can, though they usually are losing. CU is not a men's basketball school (the women on the other hand, rock). But, not THIS year, they actually did good. And what happens? They get snubbed. I don't understand it. If there is one thing I have learned after leaving Colorado is that everyone is this country loves Colorado. Funny, cause I always thought it was a little square (Hee Hee). I just had to put it out there that I'm upset. Go Buffs. Oh, and, Beat Duke (this is a plea to anybody that plays them, please).

Warmer Days Are Here Again, For Now

I know that there will be another cold snap, it's inevitable. I think of March as the coldest month, though it seems in recent years that has not always been the case. We have been having beautiful weather here. On Monday my daughter and I went on two hour-long walks. Tomorrow I have plans to finish off that 36 roll of slide film so I can stop posting these slacker digital pictures. I had a particularly stressful time with these pictures since I was unable to control focus, but I love these ribbons on this tree. I'm assuming they are left over from a wedding, but not positive. The gardeners have left them up for awhile and they were still there on Monday, faded. Perhaps they will still be there tomorrow.

Tonight, my husband is at a UNCG basketball game and my daughter fell asleep early, so unexpectedly I have the house to myself. I'm not sure what to do, I have not been alone at night in a very long time. I feel as though I should be doing something very monumental to maximize this time, but I can't think of anything. So, instead I am watching the Carolina basketball and perusing the internet. Not to bad.

Things Happen in Threes

 

Have you ever noticed that things tend to happen in threes? Inevitably, when a famous person passes away, two more are sure to follow within the week.  Well, to put a positive spin on the idea, this past week or so two bloggers that I read fairly regularly both announced pregnancies, here and here. So I am wondering who will be next? Rest assured it is absolutely, unequivocally, not me. But hence, I thought I would share some cute little baby feet on a summer day for the occasion. It makes me wistful for barefoot weather.

A Trip to the Beach

This past weekend my family and I took a quick trip to the beach. Normally, when we go we stay with friends and it is as much about catching up with friends as anything else. This time we stayed in a hotel at the end of Wrightsville Beach. We just wanted to get away and not talk about anything going on in our lives. My daughter loved the hotel room, she loved the sand, and the restaurants. It's funny how we lived there and got tired of the restaurants and now we miss some of them like crazy! All and all the trip was a huge success and was relaxing. Of course, as the week goes on the stress of waiting increases. I guess we will just have to go back again this weekend! I wish.

I also took pictures of the sunrise with the 35 mm camera, but these are the digital pictures. I know I have been so slack about developing film. My current role has 36 frames and for some reason it seems to take a lot longer to finish 36 over 24. Hmmmmm...

Thoughts on Tchaikovsky and Disney

I still have some of these black and white photos to post from late summer. This was a lime cake with a blackberry sauce. It was pretty easy and really good, though straining the blackberries was slightly tedious. Check out the recipe here.

Lately, I've been watching a lot of Disney. Classic Disney. I have no idea what they are making currently. Actually that is not completely true I know they are returning to some hand drawn animation. Thank goodness, all the digital animation looks the same to me, which is why I don't know what production company made what film. The classic films seem to take more risks and are even somewhat experimental. Of course Fantasia is pretty obvious, but as I watched it during vacation in hopes of lulling my little one to sleep I was impressed, again. I only watched the Nutcracker Suite segment, though I watched it many times, but it amazes me how a major motion picture such as this focuses so much on visual interpretation of music. In some ways it makes me think of Stan Brakhages late films. In my last year of college I saw him speak about how he was attempting to use each frame to visually represent a musical note from any given work of music. For instance he showed this film, Water for Maya. Fantasia is significantly more accessible than Brakhage, but it interests me that they merge conceptually.

At first my daughter would only watch Belle, not even all of Beauty and the Beast, just the parts with Belle. Now she is just starting to broaden her horizons and she will watch some of Sleeping Beauty. I remembered that the film used parts of Tchaikovsky's score, I assumed the most famous parts, but in reality the film uses most of the score. The entire film was clearly created around the music; it inspires the entire film. Much like Fantasia, of course there is a story and characters in Sleeping Beauty. Contrast this with the most recent cinematic interpretation of The Nutcracker, that appears to focus only on the violence of the original story. Granted I've only seen the trailer, but I don't think music is the inspiration behind the film since barely any Tchaikovsky plays in the trailer, just a few notes of Sugar Plum. On a side note, my other complaint about this film is that it credits Tchaikovsky with story and music, when the story should be credited to E.T.A. Hoffman. If your seriously adapting a story it seems as though you'd know who wrote it.

Tchaikovsky has always been a personal favorite of mine. I know for someone who loves ballet that is a huge surprise. I am so excited that my daughter appears to like it as well (or that she wants to like what I like - I know that won't last). I just ordered the entire score of Sleeping Beauty for us to listen to and I am on the edge of my seat waiting for it to get here.

As I have been refreshing myself on classic Disney I am amazed at how each film has its own look and style. For instance Bambi is a watercolor interpretation and Sleeping Beauty has a medieval art look to it. There appears to be so much more thought and care given to these films that I don't see/feel in very many films of today. It is amazing to rediscover them.

A Day of Infamy and Cold

It snowed this weekend! 2.5 inches. Of course, it was as beautiful as can be and I didn't get any pictures. I really need a small camera that I can keep in my purse to use as needed. I have a digital one that I recently found in an old purse, but I don't want to mix digital/film too much. It snowed on Saturday and on Sunday most of the picturesque sights melted quickly. You wouldn't know it though from the weather today since we have not gotten above freezing. My daughter has a slight cold and I don't want to take her out in the freezing weather. We've spent all day inside and looks as though tomorrow is more of the same. I need to think of cold weather activities for us. I got out crayons today and some things were unnecessarily "decorated," such as an upholstered chair and the floor.

I was also taken aback by the passing of Elizabeth Edwards. Since it was only yesterday that it was announced that her cancer was no longer treatable. It is amazing to consider all of the heartache she had gone through in her life and, yet, she always seemed to be upbeat and grateful. A couple years ago I worked with a cancer survivor and John and Elizabeth Edwards came to our campus. My colleague was able to share a small moment with her when they shook hands and it was impressive how through the few words that they shared Elizabeth Edwards inspired such hope in and created a personal connection with my colleague. It is rare that a person can do that and we are lucky to have had her be a part of our country and our great state. May she rest in peace.

Our Halloween

I remember being excited for the first Halloween where I lived in a house (one that was divided into two apartments). I had lived in apartments up to that point (or went out for Halloween) and had not handed out candy before. The promise of cute kids in costumes was very excited. Unfortunately, I was very disappointed because most of the students had no type of costume at all! When we bought our house and Halloween came around on the calendar I thought finally: costumes. While there were much more cute costumes there were still the costume-less. I wonder when this phenomenon started. Aren't costumes required? Though I have to admit I still gave the kids candy. I'm not going to be the mean lady who won't give kids candy.

This year was different. Every single kid had a costume, pretty much. There was one little boy whose sister, dressed as a princess, told me he was nothing. When I turned my gaze toward him he started talking about his costume, but I couldn't really figure out what he was saying. He was probably three. My guess is his parents didn't think he would be into Halloween, but turned out he was ready. I don't think he counts. There were cute costumes, scary costumes, odd costumes. Plus my parents were on Skype and able to be part of our Halloween. They live on a short street that doesn't get a lot of trick or treaters so they had fun as well. Halloween is much more fun with costumed trick or treaters!

My daughter would run up to the door and look at all the kids as well. It was so cute. There was one other Little Red Riding Hood that we saw as well (though her costume wasn't home made, but still very cute). Earlier that day we took my daughter to Harris Teeter to get some groceries and she was the star, not that she noticed. Everyone kept stopping to say how cute she was, though most thought she was Snow White because she wasn't wearing her hood and was carrying an apple. She likes to get a piece of fruit at the grocery store.

All in all it was a very pleasant Halloween and beginning to the holiday season. Yay!

Little Red Riding Hood

I have been so busy making my daughter her Halloween costume. I think, perhaps, I have gone a little overboard because she isn't old enough to go trick or treating or eat candy. Of course if I didn't have to rip out everything I do two or three times it wouldn't have taken me so long either. On Wednesday night I think I spent a good hour and a half completely ripping out the bodice of her red riding hood dress.

The one thing about making her costumes by hand is an a true feeling of satisfaction when I am through. The last thing I have to do is sew in the zipper it's pinned and ready to go, but I think I will be a little disappointment when it is all done. It has been so rewarding to figure out the pattern, though I don't think I followed it very well. I just made it work. Kind of the same way that Robert Altman uses a script when he makes movie; very loosely, if at all. I used red corduroy to make the hood and it looks so structured and professional.

I have to rolls of film to scan into the computer so hopefully will have new pictures soon. Happy Halloween to everyone! Don't eat too much chocolate...

Little Ray of Sunshine

It rained last night and this morning making the gardens have a really pretty mist around them that was accentuated by the fall colors. Of course I didn't have my camera so it lives only in my memory. The gardens were also very empty no joggers or dog walkers.

Midway into our walk we met another frequent visitor to the gardens. She is a grandmother who is originally from Russia who walks her full grown poodle. We have walked with her before my daughter likes to hold her hand and pretend she is walking the dog as well. She smiles holding both our hands and looks up at us while walking. I am not sure what our walking companions name is and she doesn't speak the greatest English, but that only makes our walks that much more charming.

Today she said to me, "You don't need a son when you have her (motioning to my daughter)." I wasn't sure what to think about the comment. I was trying to remember if Russia had a predominant preference for sons similar to China. It was a little perplexing, but soon I realized she meant, " You don't need THE SUN when you have her." Very sweet. I have been calling my daughter a little ray of sunshine all day!

Rain, Rain

Though I spent a lot of this week trying to persuade my daughter from the door. She constantly points at it and hands me my shoes so we can go outside. A couple times I thought if she realized it was raining outside she would want to stay inside. But, it turns out she likes to play in the rain just as much as the sunshine.

I love rainy days inside and when I could distract my daughter from the door with a book or crayons and we sat and listened to the sound of the rain on the roof; it was blissful. Soon, I'm sure I will be dreaming about letting her run around the yard again. For now I am so excited about the change of weather and am thinking I will even be able to change my summer clothes out for autumn/winter. The excitement.

In a couple weeks we are visiting Asheville, NC, which is in the mountains. I hope that the leaves will be changing there so I can get some good pictures. We have just a few select trees that are no longer green, but the piles on the ground seem to be getting larger everyday.

Photo From the Past: Pink Roses

Starting late last night we experienced an intense thunderstorm with plenty rain and wind. It was akin to the hurricanes/tropical storms that I lived through in Wilmington. Last night I woke up around 3 or 4 for some reason and looked out the window. The sky was red and the wind was whipping through the trees and pushing the rain sideways. Always a sight.

Today my daughter and I took a walk in the gardens to survey the remnants of the storm. The bog garden was full of big puddles; some much, much bigger than normal puddles. My daughter wore her new rainboats (we bought them yesterday) and she had fun splashing. After splashing in the puddles she would sit in them. Luckily, I had dry pants in the car.

I have gotten a new battery for my camera and lot's of film and should have new pictures soon (hopefully of rain and ducks). Enjoy the weather where ever you may be.

Varied Thoughts

My camera battery is dead and my supply of photographs is dwindling. It's times like this that I am thankful that I go overboard when taking photos of flowers at the various gardens. Hopefully, I will remedy this tomorrow. We have had an exciting past few days. Yesterday, we were rear ended at a stop light. Luckily, we're fine and looks as though our bumper took on all the pressure. I've never been in an accident as a passenger and it is a definite shock to the system because I had no idea what was coming. Of course, a crying baby and the immediate, desperate concern for her well being probably also had to do with the tension in my shoulders. Within a minute of my freeing her from the car seat she was laughing and playing; thrilled to be able to crawl all around the car while we waited for the police. Thank goodness it is all over.

It has been raining nearly non-stop these past few days. We are greatly in need of rain here, so it is a good thing. Plus, I am so tired of these 90+ days, I desperately want to pull out some sweaters and long sleeved shirts. Even all the rain hasn't made it too much cooler due to the thick humidity. On our walk today I saw plenty of joggers in minuscule shorts. Oh well. I know fall is on the horizon because the leaves are slowly changing, but it sure is taking an awful long time. I know that I will wake up one morning and the leaves will all seem to have changed over night. It always seems to happen that way.

The Dancer in the Garden

This wonderful sculpture is hidden in the trees at the bicentennial gardens in Greensboro. There are many sculptures throughout, but I never noticed this one until my daughter found the swings in the memorial garden. As we were swinging one day I looked over and there she was. So lovely, yet somehow fleeting. Most of the sculptures in the gardens are solid and were placed in clearings to highlight them. I wonder why she is so hidden, just an outline. Yet, there is something about her that is full of life and beauty.

Until I was about sixteen I really wanted to be a ballerina. There is something so magical about tying the ribbons on your pointe shoes. I still have a pile of them that keep in a box under my bed. My very first pair I hang on the wall. I'm hoping to spend this year working on a documentary about ballerinas. It has always been my goal for my two loves to intertwine: ballet and film. Here's to dreams.

Late Summer Flowers

Somehow all these flowers keep holding on around town. The leaves are starting to fall, though I am not sure from where since all the trees are green. I keep thinking that soon the flowers will be gone, but they seem to hold on and on. It seems as though the seasons change very quickly and the moment that I stop looking a the flowers I am sure that the leaves will suddenly change. It never seems to come gradually. In October we will be going to visit family in Asheville and I hope that the leaves have changed by then.

My mom is visiting this weekend. We picked her up at the airport today: me, my husband, my grandmother, and my daughter. Quite a welcome, huh? We are excited she is her and I may not be posting much until she leaves next Tuesday. I have been so busy this week that I did not get a Flip'n Friday edited. Hopefully, next week I will be able to edit a trailer for Drowning Slowly. 

Mother and Daughter Night

Tonight my daughter did not want to fall asleep. It wasn't the cranky, I'm too tired to go fall asleep kind of night. Instead, she was playing and eating graham crackers and having fun. She only fell asleep about ten minutes ago so I haven't had anytime to write a good entry today. Hopefully, you will enjoy these photographs taken at the gardens during one of our mother-daughter walks.