Well, I semi-participated in Earth Hour. I was at a Contra dance. We turned most of the lights off at 8 p.m., but left the lights on the stage on, so the musicians could see what they were doing, and some lights in the balcony so that there was enough ambient light that we dancers didn't trip over one another. And of course, we left the sound system on, so that we could hear the band and caller.
It's great that the organizers of the Contra dance did what they could to observe Earth Hour. I know I read about one woman who had organized a charity event for Saturday and panicked when she realized that Earth Hour was taking place on the same night. However, she decided to push back the charity auction that was going to be held at 8:00 and have everyone eat by candlelight.
I rather liked H. Rider Haggard's _She_, but then I tended to view Ayesha as the heroine despite the author's intentions. *g* Haggard's writing certainly seems dated, but indicative of his era. Indeed, there's some similar prejudices that pop up in Arthur Conan Doyle's work too. For instance, the portrayal of Tonga in _The Sign of Four_ made me feel quite uncomfortable. Definitely a difficulty for modern readers.
To be honest, She was my least favourite of the three novels. Other than her vast knowledge, it seems as if her only redeeming quality was that she was so beautiful. Ergo, it was fine for her to commit murder and be forgiven because of her beauty and the fact that she could bewitch any man who looked at her face. And, yes, obviously there's always been this belief that the ideal woman is beautiful above all else, so I'm not sure why I'm picking on H. Rider Haggard. I guess I just couldn't warm to Ayesha or any of the characters in that novel.
There are definitely prejudices that pop up in Doyle's work, including his unfortunate portrayl of Tonga in The Sign of Four. However, with Doyle, I don't think the prejudice is as pervasive. With H. Rider Haggard, I felt like I was constantly being whacked on the head with it.
It sounds like _Fire_ was quite a spectacle!
Yes, it was quite the spectacle! The musical performances were fabulous, though I enjoyed other elements of the production as well. :-)
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timeasmymeasure
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Date: 2008-03-31 05:01 pm (UTC)It's great that the organizers of the Contra dance did what they could to observe Earth Hour. I know I read about one woman who had organized a charity event for Saturday and panicked when she realized that Earth Hour was taking place on the same night. However, she decided to push back the charity auction that was going to be held at 8:00 and have everyone eat by candlelight.
I rather liked H. Rider Haggard's _She_, but then I tended to view Ayesha as the heroine despite the author's intentions. *g* Haggard's writing certainly seems dated, but indicative of his era. Indeed, there's some similar prejudices that pop up in Arthur Conan Doyle's work too. For instance, the portrayal of Tonga in _The Sign of Four_ made me feel quite uncomfortable. Definitely a difficulty for modern readers.
To be honest, She was my least favourite of the three novels. Other than her vast knowledge, it seems as if her only redeeming quality was that she was so beautiful. Ergo, it was fine for her to commit murder and be forgiven because of her beauty and the fact that she could bewitch any man who looked at her face. And, yes, obviously there's always been this belief that the ideal woman is beautiful above all else, so I'm not sure why I'm picking on H. Rider Haggard. I guess I just couldn't warm to Ayesha or any of the characters in that novel.
There are definitely prejudices that pop up in Doyle's work, including his unfortunate portrayl of Tonga in The Sign of Four. However, with Doyle, I don't think the prejudice is as pervasive. With H. Rider Haggard, I felt like I was constantly being whacked on the head with it.
It sounds like _Fire_ was quite a spectacle!
Yes, it was quite the spectacle! The musical performances were fabulous, though I enjoyed other elements of the production as well. :-)