I do realize that St. Patrick's Day is over and everyone is moving on to the Spring Equinox (right?) but I felt I should jot down my thoughts on the "Hey let's show all the travel episodes about Ireland" marathon on Create. Don't know the Create channel? It's PBS's Food Network/HGTV/DIY/Travel Channel mash-up. Otherwise known as my drug of choice. Who doesn't love a little Ming Tsai in the middle of the day? I can quit anytime I want to...
Back to the Ireland marathon. All the big boys are here: Rick Steves, Rudy Maxa, Burt Wolf. Burt started everything off with visiting the Guinness brewery. Apparently you fill the glass up to the "Guinness" and then let it sit. You're welcome. Then he featured the Book of Kells which is the four gospels in Latin with beautiful ornate calligraphy and artwork. It is so cherished and delicate that the museum only turns the page once a month. Wait. Burt Wolf didn't tell me that part. Rudy Maxa did. You see, he also did Dublin. And went to the Guinness brewery. But instead of telling us to let the pint sit, they showed us how to do the shamrock in the foam. So it's different, OK?
One of the shows had some poor actors reenacting something somewhere. It made me uncomfortable.
Rick didn't go to Dublin. He went to Waterford and Kerry. Did you know that it takes at least eight years of training to be a Waterford crystal glass cutter? You can thank Rick for that tidbit.
Rick also pimped out his family for this episode. He explained that on this trip his kids are getting a bigger allowance but they are responsible for their internet and "they must keep a journal". Yeah, he said, "must". I wonder if those journals contained the words "forced", "journal" and "not worth the extra money".
I tease Rick but he really knows his stuff. And how can you not love a travel show with outtakes at the end? Not all of them have them but this one did. One outtake shows Rick tripping over peat and making a Gerry Ford reference. And it was filmed in 2002. God bless him.
And on an unrelated note: I so love the American Airlines ad theme, "Ooooo. Oo Oo. Oo Oo."
What did I learn from the Ireland travel show marathon? Ireland was never conquered by the Roman Empire. Ireland in the Dark Ages was known as the Age of Saints and Scholars. Ireland has a field hockey kind of sport called hurling. Yeah, I actually learned real stuff. Erin go bragh, y'all.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Masterpiece Classic: The 39 Steps
Mustard Scene.
Rupert Penry-Jones and the Suffragette Lady rub mustard on each other. They are both scraped up and in pain so to alleviate the discomfort, they rub mustard on each other. Not all over. But mustard...on each other. He first puts some on her bare shoulder and there is a lot of longing looks and sexy wincing. And then she says, "Let me do your back." To which I replied, "Hell yeah, sister!"
OK. That's out of the way: The 39 Steps.
Penry-Jones plays Richard Hannay, a dashing man. He apparently worked at a mining company in Africa and now he's back in London and he's bored. But lucky him, his neighbor busts in his apartment saying that there are men outside that want to kill him and take his notebook. So what does one naturally do in this situation? Make that man some eggs! Yes, Penry-Jones (in a tux, I might add) makes breakfast for this guy. Oh and then the guy's killed by some Germans. And the police think Hannay did it.
Penry-Jones is now on the run with the notebook. He has a conversation with a ventriloquist dummy on a train. He does a North by Northwest tribute in a grassy field. Then he meets the Suffragette, Victoria. Turns out Hannay is a wee bit misogynistic. Cracks about women voting and petticoats getting dirty, etc. This causes lovely 1930s movie-type banter between the two. (Quick comment: I missed what year this was supposed to be set so I was looking for clues. OK, English guy in Africa. Imperialism. Hmmm...oh! Archduke Ferdinand assassinated! Thank you.)
Now Penry-Jones is on the run again but now with Suffragette in tow. They smear mustard on each other and discuss the code in the notebook. They must get to Captain Kell. Kell is played by Alex Jennings who I saw on stage in London. Whenever I see him in something I feel like I discovered him. Like his part as Prince Charles in The Queen would not have happened without me. (My other discoveries include Chiwetel Ejiofer, Bill Nighy and David Tennent.)
Penry-Jones finally finds Captain Kell, only to discover that the Suffragette works for Kell. And that the Suffragette's Uncle George was the double-crosser! It's now about an hour and ten into this and no mention at all of...finally: the 39 steps. It comes up in a great scene where Hannay and the Suffragette work out all the clues in a matter of seconds. He says the guy-who-wouldn't-eat-his-breakfast dipped his finger in milk. She says, "Invisible ink!" They're good.
Uncle George is arrested. The main German bad guy is arrested. Hannay and Suffragette kiss. And then she's shot! She falls in the water and he dives in after her. She's gone. And in his grief he joins the military? Yes, four months later he is at a station about to ship off to war. And then he sees the Suffragette across the crowded station. "She'll see you after the war," he's told. He smiles. Most likely dreaming of mustard.
What did I learn from The 39 Steps? Mustard helps with pain relief. Mustard makes it OK to touch a woman you are not married to. Mustard will now make me think of Rupert Penry-Jones.
Rupert Penry-Jones and the Suffragette Lady rub mustard on each other. They are both scraped up and in pain so to alleviate the discomfort, they rub mustard on each other. Not all over. But mustard...on each other. He first puts some on her bare shoulder and there is a lot of longing looks and sexy wincing. And then she says, "Let me do your back." To which I replied, "Hell yeah, sister!"
OK. That's out of the way: The 39 Steps.
Penry-Jones plays Richard Hannay, a dashing man. He apparently worked at a mining company in Africa and now he's back in London and he's bored. But lucky him, his neighbor busts in his apartment saying that there are men outside that want to kill him and take his notebook. So what does one naturally do in this situation? Make that man some eggs! Yes, Penry-Jones (in a tux, I might add) makes breakfast for this guy. Oh and then the guy's killed by some Germans. And the police think Hannay did it.
Penry-Jones is now on the run with the notebook. He has a conversation with a ventriloquist dummy on a train. He does a North by Northwest tribute in a grassy field. Then he meets the Suffragette, Victoria. Turns out Hannay is a wee bit misogynistic. Cracks about women voting and petticoats getting dirty, etc. This causes lovely 1930s movie-type banter between the two. (Quick comment: I missed what year this was supposed to be set so I was looking for clues. OK, English guy in Africa. Imperialism. Hmmm...oh! Archduke Ferdinand assassinated! Thank you.)
Now Penry-Jones is on the run again but now with Suffragette in tow. They smear mustard on each other and discuss the code in the notebook. They must get to Captain Kell. Kell is played by Alex Jennings who I saw on stage in London. Whenever I see him in something I feel like I discovered him. Like his part as Prince Charles in The Queen would not have happened without me. (My other discoveries include Chiwetel Ejiofer, Bill Nighy and David Tennent.)
Penry-Jones finally finds Captain Kell, only to discover that the Suffragette works for Kell. And that the Suffragette's Uncle George was the double-crosser! It's now about an hour and ten into this and no mention at all of...finally: the 39 steps. It comes up in a great scene where Hannay and the Suffragette work out all the clues in a matter of seconds. He says the guy-who-wouldn't-eat-his-breakfast dipped his finger in milk. She says, "Invisible ink!" They're good.
Uncle George is arrested. The main German bad guy is arrested. Hannay and Suffragette kiss. And then she's shot! She falls in the water and he dives in after her. She's gone. And in his grief he joins the military? Yes, four months later he is at a station about to ship off to war. And then he sees the Suffragette across the crowded station. "She'll see you after the war," he's told. He smiles. Most likely dreaming of mustard.
What did I learn from The 39 Steps? Mustard helps with pain relief. Mustard makes it OK to touch a woman you are not married to. Mustard will now make me think of Rupert Penry-Jones.
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