Until 1:30 this morning, we were without power for 31 hours. Thanks to about six inches of very wet and heavy snow, our neighborhood was again in the dark, and cold. It was a chilly 52 degrees F (11C) in our house last night when we went to bed. Needless to say, we were without the Internet for that same period which eliminated my ability to keep up with VRW online. But it did give me plenty of time to finish a Virago Modern Classic yesterday. All things considered, I would have preferred not to lose power.
The other thing that made it difficult is that we weren’t prepared for a storm and so both of our work Blackberries and my personal mobile were almost out of battery charge. And since we have cordless phones that require electricity to operate we felt really cut off. Then about 20 hours into the outage I remembered that we have a hardwired phone in the basement. So at least we had the comfort of being able to communicate with the outside world.
Besides having time to read–at least as long as it was daylight–we also got lots of time to snuggle with Lucy.
Last night to get out of the cold we went to see a movie. When we got to the theater the only thing playing that we thought would be tolerable was a film called No Strings with Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman (I think that’s who it was.) We were wrong, it wasn’t tolerable. It was awful. This is the kind of movie that convinces me that Hollywood should no longer make movies. Full of all kinds of inappropriate messages.
And I am so sick of Hollywood pandering to the straight man’s desire to see two women kiss/have sex. Which brings me back to the wonderful world of Virago Modern Classics. A world where if the women are kissing or having sex with each other, it is because they are Lesbians or at least are doing it for their own enjoyment, not for the prurient interests of salivating straight men.
Thankfully I am connected again and can continue reading all the other great VRW posts around the Intertubes.
hogglestock 
I'm sorry to hear about the power outage! I live near Philadelphia and we, too, were without power but not for as long. Fortunately we didn't have to resort to “I'll see any movie as long as there's heat.” I saw the trailer for No Strings (when I went to see The Kings Speech, as if those two movie audiences would have anything in common!), and it looked truly awful. I'm glad you finished a book, anyway!
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Power outages are fun until it's time for a cup of tea, then things turn ugly.
It is beyond frustrating just how much garbage is offered up by Hollywood. When a fabulous film does come out, many times it ends up in a small theatre because the distributors don't think it will have a large audience. Quite insulting really!
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I didn't leave my apartment yesterday. There was no way I would have made it out to the Hudson Valley to get to work! I'm sorry your power cut out – I would be lost without power where I live – I'm on too high a floor to even contemplate life without a lift!
No Strings Attached makes me disappointed in Natalie Portman. I always thought she chose interesting and thought provoking films. This proves me wrong. I'd expect juvenile crap from Ashton Kutcher but Natalie Portman! Never!
Totally agree about the woman on woman action too – it's really quite disgustingly demeaning.
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We were in the same boat electricity wise. Thank goodness for our old telephones (that people tease us about too often!). My family loved out evening reading in front of the fire and feeling “connected” in a different way. But gosh, we were cold!
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I'm so sorry to hear you were without power — it must have been uncomfortably cold — I'm glad you had a warm puppy to snuggle.
And I am sorry to hear about your movie experience. I also saw a preview when I went to see The King's Speech — I'm very disappointed in NP. I thought she had better taste than that. Well, maybe she committed to the movie with a different script and co-star. I can only hope.
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That sounds like a really bad film. I hope you never have to go through anything like that again.
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Power outages suck! So sorry you to go through that – UGH! At least you got snuggle time with Lucy :) As for the movie – sounds like a typical Hollywood film. I have to say that I was surprised to see Portman doing this type of film and then to be doing it with Ashton Kutcher – what happened there? I loved Portman in Black Swan – she was excellent! So, to see her doing this type of film – blah! I guess she's trying to change her image.
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How miserable! I saw how awful the weather has been on the east coast and it is not fun, I know. I wouldn't mind the reading time, but I would definitely want to have electricity more. As for the movie–this is why I rarely see new movies and always have a hard time picking something good from Netflix. Hope it's all warm and toasty in your house now!
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I know nothing about No Strings Attached other than the poster for it, and that convinced me it would be awful. My friend Lorna and I love going to see dreadful films and laughing at them, or we did before she moved to Paris (sob) but I think that might be a step too far. And to think Natalie Portman will probably win an Oscar!
Glad you're back with us now, Thomas :)
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I saw on IMDB that No Strings is the #1 movie for the week. I don't care. I'll run right out and avoid it.
Your Virago collection is dazzling.
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Here's something else to cheer you up: there is a preview of the new Upstairs, Downstairs up on the Masterpiece website.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/upstairsdownstairs_preview.html
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Here's the real link…not sure why it didn't paste correctly…
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/watch/upstairsdownstairs_preview.html
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Think I fared a little better movie wise – the kids asked for Narnia which was very entertaining. Perhaps Natalie Portman in Black Swan would have been more entertaining? But the extra reading time is great, right? I always find that when the internet is not available, I read much more. And still no power for us. Packed up to a hotel. Much more comfortable now.
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Oh my! 31 hours is a really long time. I'm glad ya'll are back in business up there and hope you remain so. As Darlene said, power outages are only fun for a very short time.
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11C inside, that's terrible. I can't imagine how you can sleep in that temp. But I'm glad to know you're warm and toasty again.
I so agree with you on your second to the last paragraph. And women not only tolerate that interest but feed it too, ugh.
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So sorry to hear about your power outage! :( I'm glad that all is well now!
In agreement 100% on your perspective of Hollywood and their portrayals of this part. When, oh when, will we be able to not have to deal with those infantile scenes?
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