3 More Mixed Media

"Tat Tvam Asi" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 10X10 inches, on panel.

"Markets" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 11X14 inches, on panel.

"Intuition" Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, paper. 8x8 inches on panel.

Mixed Media

Mixed media, watercolor, acrylic, photography. 8X8 inches on panel.

Two Dark, Thought Provoking Films, and One Light

Incendies explores the layers of hatred and violence in a fictitious Middle Eastern country over the past 30 years. As the movie opens, two 20-something siblings are hearing their mother's will. They are given two envelopes. One to give to their brother, who they didn't know existed, and the second for their father, who they thought was long dead. From the safety of Canada, they are thrust into the dangerous world of the Mid-East to honor their mother's will and discover a bizarre outcome.

In a Better World is directed by one of my fave Danish film makers, Susanne Bier. The Danish title is, aptly enough, Revenge. Bier examines violence and revenge in two parallel stories: one set in medical camp for refugees in an un-named African country, the second in a Danish grade school. It also casts a sharp eye on families under intense stress. Lots of good acting from Mikael Persbrandt, Trine Dyrholm and the young Markus Rygaard. Also, check Bier's earlier work After the Wedding, with a great performance by my fave, Mads Mikkelson.

The story for In a Better World was written by Anders Thomas Jensen. For a more lighthearted film, see Flickering Lights, which he directed. Here some bumbling crooks try to escape from the mob, fleeing into the countryside, buying a run down house, and eventually opening a bad restaurant. It has a sweet vibe and a happy ending, whew!

Two Good, One Dud

I finally read Penelope Lively's Moon Tiger, 25 years later. After a bumpy start I found an insightful examination of History, with a capital H, and history, and of different kinds of families and love. The story is told in the death-bed reflections of an extraordinary woman. Lively was born in Cairo and spent her childhood there. Her chapters placed in the desert battles of WW2 were incredibly evocative. I was not so captivated by her recent Consequences, but, I loved The Photograph from a few years ago, which had a great conceit that was wonderfully developed.

I read another of Eliot Pattison's mysteries set in modern Tibet, Beautiful Ghosts. These books are really about the people, culture & religion of Tibet, and the brutal oppression of all things Tibetan by the Communist Chinese. In this volume, Pattison develops the true story of the 1904 incursion into Tibet by the British Army and the officers who stayed behind to become lama artists. If you care about Tibet, Pattison's books are a must read.







Charlie Smith's Three Delays got rave reviews last year for its "hallucenigenic prose". What I found was druggie ramblings of disfunctional characters who repeatedly washed down 'ludes and meth with gulps of rum. Oi vey, you can skip this one.