Thursday, April 13, 2006
Anglo-Mania
I was never much a fan of England as opposed to some other furreigner locale but after Sense and Sensibility and a heavy dose of the extremely likable Emma Thompson, who was a principal player in the movie — and then listening for several hours to a science podcast emanating from “the Eastern Counties”, called The Naked Scientist, (don’t ask me why, I have no idea), I am beginning to like the blokes.
The movie: Sense and Sensibility is a chick movie. It is better than PBS, but no great shakes. It is worth a lookee though because of the Emma. Thompson adapted the Austen novel for the screen and did a wonderful job. The commentaries, particularly the one with Emma T, is particularly involving. She is a bright, talented woman and as the Associate Producer says in his commentary with Ang Lee, “everyone on the set loved her”. She emanates a generosity of spirit and human warmth. I suspect she is one of those blessed with parents who made her feel worthwhile, loved. I’ll probably read some horrendously contradictory facts — but until then I’ll assume she has a sense of security as a person, a trust in herself and the audience, that communicates and must come from childhood affirmation.
The podcast has an English doctor and woman scientist talking science. I just listened to one from which the following was gleaned:
- In the Amazon there are clumps of trees that are all similar. That is unusual in this poster-locale for diversity. It turns out the ants that live in these areas kill the trees they don’t like to nest in by climbing to the top of the stems, nipping a hole with their mandibles, and dumping some formic acid down the hole. The inhabitants of the forest call the areas Devil’s Grove. They have stories to explain the unusually singular vegetation.
- The reason bees don’t sting when you smoke a hive is that they are genetically programmed to engorge with honey to protect the treasure of the hive at the first sign of fire and hence are nearly tipsy with their bloat.