Julian Fellowes creator and writer of Downton Abbey also wrote the screenplay for the newest version of Romeo and Juliet with Oscar nominee, Hailee Steinfeld (the new True Grit) and Douglas Booth (LOL). Needless to say I think everybody should see this movie if not because William Shakespeare is a genius then for the love of Downton Abbey's impeccable script. Then once said movie has been said please comment to let me know if I should see it as well.
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Season finale of Downton Abbey was this past Sunday. (Already?! It seems like it just begun! If you do not watch the show feel free to skip this post. Maybe we shouldn't really be friends, either. Awkward.) It seemed a touch anti-climatic for me, as I can't say I was "looking forward" to Rose's coming out debutante ball this entire time (who knew she was even going to come out?). The concept of the coming out was very foreign to me, probably to many people who don't live in 20th century England, and it's comical how it means something a lot different today.
The Dowager Countess and Isobel continue to shine - Julian Fellows, well done with the script for those two. Mrs. Patmore and Daisy are adorable, and the ending scene with Carson and Mrs. Hughes holding hands was beyond precious. I'm getting a little tired of the Barrow and Mrs. Baxter thing (Was she a prostitute? Is anyone going to figure out that he's gay? His character is such a dick. Almost wrote "suck" there, talk about a Freudian slip.), and the whole Edith went away and came back thing was quite abrupt - so she had the baby, yes? Gave it up, informally, yes? My dad kept asking when she was going to pop for the first half hour of the show...Mary's suitors - indeed, let the games begin. How long will we have to wait this time for the next season? Lord knows it's probably already being shown in the U.K. (okay, that's a lie, but they will still see it ages before we do). Who knows, but when it doubt, think: WWTDCD (What Would The Dowager Countess Do?), duh. People were very serious at work today with things they shared in our conversations. I've learned that many people will share a lot if you just ask them questions and sincerely listen to them. One thing my mother reinforced as we grew up was to be a good conversationalist - especially by asking questions and being a good listener. And I used to think I wasn't a very good conversationalist, but I realize after having a job like I currently have and various others in the past, I can usually hold my own (it can be easy if you don't feel/want to talk about yourself). At work today, I first spoke with an older gentleman who asked me if I wanted to be a "career woman" or if I wanted to have babies and a family (he later went on to say that he thought it was a "woman's world" today...I kept my mouth shut about the idea that women still only get $0.86 (or something similar) to every man's dollar, for instance). I didn't really think much of it - just a nice man having a conversation - but one of the therapists I work with later asked me how I felt about having that question asked to me (as he almost felt a little uncomfortable). The therapist asked me, "Why does it have to be one or the other? We [as in men] never get asked questions like that." And he's right. I don't think it should have to be either/or, and I probably should have felt a little more offended at the idea of the question, just because I'm a woman. It's the 21st century. Every person is capable of choosing a career, family, or both, right? But just the idea of this question shows that things are still unequal. Maybe it's a generational thing, and that's fair, but maybe it's not. Another patient I was talking to today came in with a black eye. I acted normally, was pleasant and cheery, and got her started on her exercises. I asked her about her weekend and she calmly responds, "It sucked. My boyfriend beat the crap out of me." (i.e. the cause of the black eye) She went on to tell me a few more details about the situation, and tacitly allowed me to ask her more questions (I can be frustratingly curious). Eventually the conversation comes to a point where she goes, "It's alright. I'm alive." I could not have been more amazed at the courage and calmness that this woman showed, even if she was a mess on the inside. The other serious talk I had with a patient today was about her daughter's children, adoption, and abortion (eek! one of those topics you aren't supposed to talk about!). This patient's daughter had six children, three of her own and three adopted. It sounded like two of the adopted children had some mental and physical disabilities. The daughter had taken these adopted children in from separate families who had beaten and neglected these children (one child had been thrown against the wall when he was practically an infant). Abortion came up because the patient brought up this doctor, Gosnell, who would kill babies after they had been born by severing their spinal cord (see an article here; he has been thrown in jail). I tried to be careful not to get into too much political song here (I think I succeeded), but the very concept of killing babies by severing spinal cords with scissors is revolting. This family (patient + daughter + extended family) sounds like an amazing family to be a part of - I'm really glad there are people in this world who want to genuinely care for others (why aren't there more happy stories like this on the news?). This is the great thing about people. We all look differently, so you would gather, then, that we all think differently. But we don't tend to assume that. We tend to assume that people think and act in certain ways - stereotypes, generalizations, assumptions. But I think this is one of the reasons why I'm so curious, especially about people: every person is different, with different viewpoints on everything, from brushing your hair to working with a family to loving those you shouldn't. I'm like a sponge with that stuff - I want to meet every kind of person! Because in the end, we're all living on the same earth - knowledge leads to understanding (okay, cliche of the day done). antfarmairplanesnailmailescargotcruiseledodeck In case you-all don't follow the running world, USATF reversed their decision/Jordan Hasay withdrew her (? aka Salazar's) protest, and Gabe Grunewald is officially going to Poland. Hasay recently posted on her website. Oy. Let's hope the face of USA Track and Field will one day be interesting/mature/un-corrupt/respectable.
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