Quiet

I was really, honestly shocked to learn last night that I’m apparently a quiet person. The Romgi was really, honestly shocked that I didn’t know that. Is he right? Am I quiet?

Delicate by Christine Lindstrom

Bizarre

When the Romgi and I were first married, we worked together at a call center. Our work day began at 6:30am, which meant we had to go to bed and get up early. I don’t know about you, but I hate the “Early to bed, early to rise” mantra. I’d much rather stay up until 2am and sleep until 10. Combine that with my poor self-discipline (which was even worse in those days) and it meant I usually didn’t get much sleep.

One day at Costco we saw a bottle of melatonin tablets, recommended for helping you sleep better. A quick summary of the Wikipedia article: mammals secrete the hormone melatonin during darkness, and some studies have suggested a link between increased melatonin levels and better sleep. It’s currently sold as a dietary supplement.

I think after we bought the tablets we went home and read the Wikipedia article, and picked up on the idea that melatonin can cause an increase in vivid dreaming. And no kidding – a few days were enough to convince both me and the Romgi that these were Weird Dream pills. The Romgi stopped taking them because the crazy dreams made him feel less rested. I took them for a while longer until I got baby-crazy, and the tablets aren’t recommended for use by pregnant women. (When I wean jr in a month I might try melatonin again. Maybe.)

Last night I watched a movie that was weirder than any dream I ever had on melatonin (or any other drug, for that matter).

Have you heard of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus?

I don’t even know where to begin on this. Did you see What Dreams May Come? Pretty bizarre movie, right? Imaginarium is much, much more bizarre. What confused me more than anything was that so many people were involved in the creation of the movie. I could understand if one person had a melatonin-induced crazy dream and wanted to bring it to life on the big screen. But how do you convince other people that it should be done? How do you convince Christopher Plummer and Heath Ledger, and three big actors after Heath Ledger suddenly dies, to take part in your hallucination?

Guys, this movie was weird.

Right now the Bwun is watching an episode of Dora the Explorer where Boots has turned into Sleeping Boots and Dora has to teach rocks to sing so she can become a true princess and wake Boots up, and all I can think is – this makes sense.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus does not.

You probably wonder why I watched the movie to begin with. One of the blogs I read, Where the Lovely Things Are, linked to the tumblr Mirrors & co. a few months ago. As I browsed the archives I found this fascinating still:

Now that I’ve seen the movie you’d think I could explain what was going on in this picture. No, not really. I might be able to recite the events that preceded the scene but it would be devoid of meaning.

Anyone else watched Imaginarium? Can you provide any insight, or should I just assume that the writers (and everyone else involved) had some heavy doses of melatonin before creating this?

Culmination

The Romgi and I got to go see the final Harry Potter movie on Friday. Yep, we actually went to the theater, on opening day! With popcorn and everything. (I feel obligated to scoff at the prices charged for snacks – a popcorn and a box of candy cost $12. If we ever go to a movie again, I’m definitely filling my purse up with our own snacks.)

When I read Book 7, I rushed through. I was really intent on reading it quickly because I wanted the whole plot at once. Interestingly, I do the same thing with my favorite meal, the Romgi’s french toast. I basically inhale it because I want the whole experience immediately. This is ok with food (except that it’s gone too soon), but doesn’t work as well with books. I’m already a fast reader. Going much faster than normal means I skim or even skip over parts that look less important. I consequently missed some of the Deathly Hallows experience. I’ll be honest, I thought it was my duty to be enthusiastic about Book 7. The Romgi didn’t love the book, but I enjoyed it and wanted to support it in all its importance. With the Romgi’s less enthusiastic response in mind, I haven’t ever re-read the book, and I was a little bit apprehensive about the movie. What if it was disappointing? Book-to-movie adaptations are always tricky, but this was to be the final movie in what might be the most influential series of my lifetime. I felt like there was a lot at stake.

So…what did I think?

Holy hannah. It was the best movie I’ve ever seen. (I make that claim without putting a whole lot of thought into what other movies I’ve seen. It’s more of an emotional statement than a rational one.) It was perfect. I thought the adaptation was amazing. As soon as the movie ended I was ready to watch it again. In fact, when we got home I picked up Book 7 to see how I like it this time. This may sound silly but I felt intensely emotionally invested in the movie, and it was a meaningful conclusion to the series.

Have you seen it? What did you think?