Coming soon from the BBC... The Final NEW Jane!

So in January of 2008 when PBS did their "The Complete Jane Austen" broadcast, I only had one beef. We got brilliant new productions of everything but Pride and Prejudice (they showed the 1995 Colin Firth), and Emma (they went for the 1996 Kate Beckinsale). Now, to reshoot Pride and Prejudice is obviously unnecessary, but to my mind there has never been a great film adaptation of Emma. So why not try and fix it, no?

Well thank goodness the BBC decided not to wait too long, and there will be a new 4 hour miniseries of Emma broadcast on the BBC in October of this year. We should expect an airing on PBS here in the states soon after. The cast look pretty good to me with Romola Garai as Emma, Jonny Lee Miller as Mr. Knightley, and Michael Gambon as Mr. Woodhouse. Hopefully this will live up to the beauty of the other recent adaptations, (Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion in particular.)

Here's a sneak peek from the BBC...



Also, I don't normally go in for the video mash-ups on youtube, but I do find this one rather amusing. Seems like a perfect modern song for all the old romantic novels.

Trust is quicksand...

I've been working on a new project lately that has involved a lot of musical research. This week I discovered the band Sleeping at Last, and after downloading their album I've fallen in love with the lyrics to this song. They may end up being fairly instrumental to the project.

I shiver every time I read this:

Quicksand by Sleeping at Last

There are wires in between
Human heart and machine.
I will wait for mountains
To tell me you’re okay…

On paper my future will lay.
I’ll fold every failure into a crane.

Trust is quicksand,
Claiming everything I have,
All to give me life, all to give me life.

Slow down, hide your eyes!
The sun is setting fire
Through glass, branches deep.
I cough only to breathe.

Trust is quicksand,
Claiming everything I have,
All to give me life, all to give me life.
One thousand more to go,
I’ll send every prayer from below.
I was swallowed by a whale.

Slow down, you’re all words
And love is made of yarn.
Scissors,
A slip of the hand, a slip of the tongue;
God knows I meant no harm, I meant no harm.

In between every promise and lie there is a kiss.
In between tempers and suitcases there is a kiss.

In between medicine and the sick there is a kiss.
In between arrows, aim, and release, there is a kiss.

(Anchors in reverse
Lead us back to birth.)

Japanese Trailer for Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.

There are no words for how amazing this looks.

Britains Got Talent, indeed!

Check out Miss Susan Boyle of Scotland. This just taught me a lot about how cynical I've become since moving to New York.



Youtube has disabled the embed feature for this clip, but follow this link to the video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

A Drop Of Golden Sun...

At least that's how this little video makes me feel.

Quite the cheerer upper on a grey Friday morning.

Make sure to watch the whole thing with sound.
You won't believe how big it gets.

It's Very Hard to Keep the Line...

The trailer for the HBO adaptation of Grey Gardens, starring Jessica Lange and Drew Barrymore as Big Edie and Little Edie Beale respectively is finally out! Based on the iconic 1970's documentary of the same name, the movie will explore the backstory as well as the documentary period, of Jackie O's eccentric relatives.

I have to admit, when I head they had cast Drew Barrymore as Little Edie I was very, VERY skepticle, but this trailer is giving me a bit more hope. She seems to have the voice down at least. Jessica Lange looks so much like Big Edie it's downright creepy.

I may have to subscribe to HBO for the month of April just so that I can actually see this before it comes out on DVD.

Somethings Coming, Something Good...

This photo from the new Broadway revival of West Side Story exemplifies everything I love about music theatre. This is what makes my student loans worth it.

(photo: Joan Marcus; courtesy of NY Magazine)

By the way, have you seen this West Side Story tribute spread over at Vanity Fair?

(Photos: Mark Seliger; courtesy of Vanity Fair)

We get Jennifer Lopez as Anita, Rodrigo Santoro as Bernardo, and tons of great tongue in cheek current stars including; Robert Pattinson, Camilla Belle, Ashley Tisdale, Chris Evans, and Ben Barnes. There's a 10 photo slideshow, so definitely go check it out here.

If I only get to see one show this year, this will definitely be my pick. Incidentally, it also features Cody Green (the season 1 winner of Bravo's Step It Up and Dance), as leader of the Jets, Riff. He's the one in the Red.

(photo: Joan Marcus)

My NYC/Kansas Dichotomy

I've always had trouble explaining to people why I love living in New York so much. I miss Kansas, and love the relatively simple life I had there, but there is just something about this city that lets me know I'll never leave. At least not unless there is a major change in my life sometime soon.

I just read this poem by one of my all time favorite poets Anna Ahkmatova. To me, this says it all.



Somewhere there is a simple life and a world
Transparent, warm, joyful ...
There at evening a neighbour talks with a girl
Across the fence, and only the bees can hear
This most tender murmuring of all.

But we live ceremoniously and with difficulty
And we observe the rites of our bitter meetings,
When suddenly the reckless wind
Breaks off a sentence just begun —

But not for anything would we exchange this splendid
Granite city of fame and calamity,
The wide rivers of glistening ice,
The sunless, gloomy gardens,
And, barely audible, the muse's voice.


-Anna Ahkmatova

I could sqeeze right?

Today I pose a simple question...

Why are these shoes not in my size?

via Dear Golden Vintage on Etsy

My sadness...

I've known about this for days now, and still have no idea what to say. Domino Magazine, my favorite shelter mag, is officially dead. In the past year we've lost House and Garden, Cottage Living, and Blueprint. They just keep falling one by one. I must try to not get attached to any other magazines in the near future. I must say it's like losing a friend. I know when my final issue of Domino arrives in the mail it will be an evening that I will savor. A cup of chai and a comfy chair, a final hour or two with my friends the editors. Ugh, now it sounds like a wake.

This is depressing now, so I will stop. Thank goodness I saved all my back issues. Sniff.