Liquid Paper

I’m With The Band

Today I didn’t know what to blog about. So I followed my husband's advice and blog-hopped. I jumped from The Crusty Curmugdeon to Melodion after being lured there by the promise of an absurdly over-packaged order from Amazon.com. (I laughed out loud.) Once there, I scrolled down and what to my surprise did I find but the “Recent Tunes and Flicks” category. There I saw an image that has been burned into my brain – one that evokes many emotions for me. What could it be? If you’re thinking “the Band of Brothers DVD set” you are correct.

First of all, I must recommend that anyone who watched this during its run on the History Channel ought be aware that, if you are skeptical and have not seen the show beginning with disc 1 episode 1, you are missing out. I mention this because I was mystified and, quite frankly outraged, when one of my favorite bloggers Mark Steinbach dared to speak in lukewarm terms of this – dare I say it – masterpiece. (Mark, I apologize if this is a surprise to you – but as they say in The Winslow Boy, “Let right be done.”)

Second, and finally, I must also tell you that I am not particularly a big history or WWII buff – although I am married to someone who knows 100x more than I do about that and every other subject. But that didn’t stop me from falling in love with this series. It is so well done and well cast that I can literally find no fault in any single episode. Plus, if you read my last post, you know how I feel about little old men. So it will come as no surprise to you that each episode begins with documentary footage of the real men who are portrayed in each episode, and that I love that part.

So take my advice and watch this series… you won’t regret it. And if you do, you can talk to Mr. Steinbach (an otherwise seriously intelligent person) who unfortunately agrees with you.

The Envelope Please

Each day when I go to the mailbox I hope to find a slender red and white envelope with the word Nexflix printed on the front. On the odd day that Mark gets there first, he lays the new arrival on the kitchen countertop for me to notice and appreciate. I always notice, but depending on his selection I don’t always appreciate. He has a tendency to choose films that are foreign, which I love, but after a dozen or so in a row, I need a little English. So… I would say that it was with cheerful skepticism that I viewed his latest arrival The Barchester Chronicles. I was skeptical because it was a BBC miniseries from the 80s, and cheerful because it had two of my favorite actors in it: Alan Rickman and Nigel Hawthorne. I wasn’t too sure about the third star (Donald Pleasence) because the only thing I could remember from his filmogrophy was The Exorcist. After letting it sit on the countertop for a couple of days, we finally popped it into the DVD player and sat back and… enjoyed the show! Really. We watched all four episodes of disc one in a row. Here are the two things that surprised me the most:

1) Donald Pleasence was excellent as Reverend Septimus Harding. He was meek, humble, honest and passionate, just a great portrayal.
2) The story revolves around a strong Christian message that was unexpected and refreshingly well done.

The characters are not sticky sweet, but are human in that we get to see their flaws. Some of the best humor in the film comes out during the scenes where you see a character(s) struggling. I particularly love the parts that include any of the curmudgeonly, yet sweet, old men. There’s nothing I love more than a little old man and this film is full of them! Why do I feel this way? Who knows? Maybe its because I was always a Grandpa’s girl. Or maybe because my favorite actor is William Powell who starred in The Thin Man series of six films (circa 1930s-1940s.) Its just how I am.

Oh, and I can’t forget Alan Rickman as Reverend Obadiah Slope (long “o” in Slope). The gossip in the village of Barchester is that he changed the spelling of his last name by having the “e” added. He is positively smarmy and I love it!

Unfortunately, we’re still waiting for disc two to arrive in the mail. So… off to the mailbox I go to check for a little bit of heaven.

For Brooke

I may not know what to say… but I would like to say something. Matt and his family are friends of friends of ours. You can read about them here.

Dear ones,
This is the update I have been dreading to send. Matt has gone to be with the Lord. He died here at home today at 12:00 pm. We are rejoicing, as we know he is in the presence of our great God with no more cancer and no more suffering. But there is also the deepest sadness as our family will never be the same and our beloved Matt is now gone.

Services will be held here in Pittsburgh at North Park Church. Calling hours will be on Friday from 5-8 pm. and a memorial service on Saturday at 11:00am with a reception following. For directions contact North Park Church at 412-367-5000 or see their web page at www.northparkepc.org For any other information please contact New Hope Church at 412-766-2728.

Instead of sending flowers, Matt had requested that donations to help support our family be sent to New Hope Church at 2710 Shadeland Ave. Pittsburgh, Pa 15212. Please write in the memo "Smith Family fund" I cannot thank all of you enough for all of your prayers and love and concern. I promised Matt I would continue to write for some time after his death... there will be more to come as God continues to sustain us.

For now I will leave you with this verse so fitting for who Matt was... "How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!" Isaiah 52:7 Well done, Matt, well done.

In his peace,
Brooke... with Matt now with his Father

All Great Ideas...

This is the post that he's been waiting for... this is where I tell you about me and why I chose Liquid Paper as the name of my blog.

About Me
Actually, I plan to fill out my profile soon and when I do you can read about me there.

Why Liquid Paper?
The idea for Liquid Paper started last summer when we were at Worldview Academy in Seattle, WA. As we were sitting and talking in the cafeteria or maybe it was in a dormroom (it all bleeds together now) I told Mark about catching typos on other people's blogs but feeling that it would be rude to tell them about it. I mean, it's perfectly acceptable for me to point out typos on his site because I act as a sort of proof reader for him. But when I'm reading other people's blogs and I find a little typo I just don't tell them about it. It seems too nit picky.

Then we came up with the idea for a blog. It would be a place for me to post entries about typos that I found on other sites -- a proof reader for the blogosphere if you will. And Mark came up with the idea of calling it Liquid Paper. It was perfect. (And a tad grandiose as all good ideas are right?) Anyway, as all good ideas tend to lead to a generous amount of procrastination, I waited six months to do anything about it. Until now... I've finally bitten the bullet and started my blog. During the cooling off period I've scaled down my aspirations and am starting out with a small blog about me, my thoughts, opinions and whatever else I want to talk about. I know it isn't quite what I'd thought it was going to be, but I'm pleased with the results so far.

Oh, and just to stay in keeping with the spirit of the original idea I will be sprinkling it with a few typos of my own from time to time. Just to keep you on your toes!

In My Own Time

My dear husband has been harassing me ever since I started this blog (just 4 hours ago) to make another entry. So... this was for you honey.

Chardin

I'm testing out the image and text options here. This image is from a story that Mark tells as a part of one of his Worldview Academy lectures. See if you can find a reference to it on his website using the search feature... I couldn't.

Oh, and I only categorized it as Food and Drink because, ironically I think, there is no Art category option available. Not that I have anything against either food or drink.

Affectionately,
Laurie Bertrand