Been to the movies recetly?

Les Mis! Stunningly good. Only got 2 out of 5 stars from a particular reviewer of one national newspaper whilst Tom Cruise’s latest bang-bang-you’re-dead offering got 5, so I knew I was in for a treat. Even preferred the film to the live musical which, for a musical must say something, particularly as Les Miserables is one of my two all-time favourites, the other being Fiddler on the Roof. Amanda Seyfried had the perfect voice for her part (and she's beautiful), Anne Hathaway sang ‘the song’ with true feeling, Sacha Cohen (I hate Borat)  and Helena Bonham Carter made a great double act and Hugh Jackman put all he had into the role. Even Russell Crowe was acceptable. I did not, of course, see the Tom Cruise movie. Not with 5 out of 5 from that particular critic. The same film critic awarded Life of Pi only 3 stars, so that was definitely worth seeing. Wasn’t disappointed, either. In fact, the movie made more sense of the strangely unconnected beginning and end of Yann Martel’s astonishing novel.

Haven’t yet seen what the (critic) man says about Lincoln, but saw the movie regardless. Daniel Day-Lewis must surely go down in Thespian history as one of the greatest actors of all time. He was Lincoln… I swear he was. The real Lincoln must have crossed over from another dimension… perhaps made use of a closed time-space loop... and entered Day-Lewis’s body. Sorry, Tom, but you really must see this movie to learn what real acting is all about.

And now the Year of the Snake is upon us. Read somewhere it’s a ‘black’ snake this time round and for some that’s good omen, but they're not having a very good beginning in the Eastern sea-board States. 

Hate snakes. Don’t think I’ve ever eaten them, mind you… but who knows, these days? That’s the trouble with processed food. Soon we'll have to do DNA testing to find out what we’re really eating. Actually, horse as ‘cheval’ is quite popular in the French Swiss Canton of Vaud where our daughter lives… though could it possibly be ‘boeuf’ in disguise?  

Guess we’re lucky to have any food at all. 925 million world wide don’t have enough (2012 figure).  In 2010 in the USA 17.2 million households (approximately one in seven), were ‘food insecure’. The word ‘hunger’ no longer appears in official US statistics, but in the 6.7 million very food insecure households there must have been some pretty hungry children. 

And it’s still happening in America… the senseless loss of innocent young lives. 15 year-old Hadiya Pendleton was merely sheltering from the rain at a bus shelter when she got shot dead in Chicago. When will it stop? America, please, please listen to you president. Surely he’s not alone amongst US politicians  in wanting do something about this. Who really needs a gun… I mean really?

 A US smoker

A smoker in China

Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), China

Christmas in Edinburgh

Kittens in St Petersburg

Sunset in Turkey

Do mosquitoes have any friends?

Why did the chicken....?

Edinburgh again...

... and New York

What a beautiful world we live in! Why wasn't Hadiya allowed to live on? The US gun lobbyists bang on about their 'rights' under the Second Amendment, but what about Hadiya's right to live? Who really took her that right away from her?

Oliver Eade, 10th February, Chinese New Year

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