I will be reviewing some movies from the upcoming Napa Valley Film Festival in the next few weeks. But in the meantime, I am posting a recent interview profiling my background writing “scribbles” in the newsletter by the same name distributed by my writers’ group, Central Coast Writers. Some of you have been asking for more information about my future writing plans. Here it is–“All about me”.
MEMBER PROFILE in the October issue of Scribbles, the newsletter for Central Coast Writers
From semiconductors to Buddhism, Diana Paul’s writing subjects...
“The Mayor of Casterbridge”–A Victorian Drama for Today
Victorian values seem remote — the language is obtuse, the character development Shakespearean in complexity. However, I adore Thomas Hardy. As the master of labyrinthine plots, Hardy surprises when the viewer least expects it. And the BBC/A & E mini-series, “The Mayor of Casterbridge” (2003), capitalizes on every deviant turn with brilliant acting, cinematography, and contemporary sensibility.
Hardy’s novel is immensely captivating in cinematic form. “The Mayor of Casterbridge” is an astringent tale. The dark and mordant Michael Henchard, mayor...
Social Networking–A Mixed Bag of Tricks
I received so many public and private comments from readers about my last post on Internet usage (see “The Current Digital Divide”–Instant Gratification Anyone?), that I started to think some more about how social networks have transformed our lives. People (yours truly included) are spending more and more time on the computer. I set a timer so I don’t spend all day in one never-ending time-suck glued to the computer either web-surfing or social networking. For discipline’s sake, I look at Facebook only once every other day or so.
I do agree with social...
Picasso–Multiple Images of the Master
Opening on June 11 and closing on October 9, the deYoung Museum in San Francisco continues to host an exhibition of more than 100 masterpieces of Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) from Paris’s world-renowned Musée National Picasso. The Bay Area exhibition is made possible only because of the Musée’s temporary closing for extensive remodeling. I have seen the collection in Paris, of which there are more than 5000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, prints, and collages, an almost overwhelming experience. About two percent of that collection is now on view at the deYoung, demonstrating some...
“Blue Valentine” –Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
This critically acclaimed Sundance 2010 darling features Michelle Williams (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Ryan Gosling in a Generation X’s portrait of a marriage from hell reminiscent of Tennessee Williams’ classic, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” and John Cassavetes’ “A Woman Under the Influence”.
Blue Valentine’s story is simple and straightforward. A young nurse, Cindy Heller (Williams) lives with an abusive father, an adrift mother, and cares for her ailing grandmother. She has endured a violent relationship with a...
Bridal Shower Anyone?–Do you know what a “laminated list” is?
We hosted a bridal shower last weekend for our daughter Maya and 20 of her young friends. Bridal showers aren’t what they used to be…dreary events with most of your mother’s friends, not yours. They might not be the equivalent of a bachelorette party for wildness, but I learned new vocabulary, which I am not likely to forget!
On a beautifully warm but overcast day, for a mid-afternoon lunch on the deck, we prepared a whole salmon two different ways: one with a spicy paprika rub, one half grilled with cucumber slices. Grilled squid with a spicy sriracha-laced dipping...