The Movie Whore and "Elizabeth"

Boy was the Movie Whore confused! …but you’ll have to wait to read why. (…and sorry about the pronouns here. They are inconsistent and I know it. I think I’m becoming schizophrenic.)

Our friend Bozo posted in a recent blog post some movies for the Movie Whore to review that Bozo knows about. Where Bozo lives, she doesn’t have a lot of opportunity to see movies right away, so Bozo often doesn’t have much to relate to when the Movie Whore talks about the latest new release.

So the Movie Whore decided that Elizabeth sounded like a good place to start, of the movies listed that we don’t know. We went to the library and checked out the “Elizabeth” movie starring Cate Blanchett and took it home to watch.

First of all, what a fascinating beginning! It reminded me of The Godfather! – all that plotting in another language, and using the church as a cover for their crimes! (Don’t jump ahead, if you know where this post is going. The Movie Whore will get there.) Wow, pretty exciting and very modern, even though, you know, it isn’t modern at all!

This movie makes the Movie Whore very curious about the genuine history of Elizabeth. When I was in Jr. High, my best friend was English and as a project for History class, she wrote “A Shorter History of England”, which was 100 pages or so including all her pictures. We were all annoyed that she so exceeded the bounds of the assignment, but she insisted that it was shorter than the whole thing. I believe her.

Somehow, with all my personal knowledge of England’s history via a young friend, and even having visited England a couple times, and toured the Tower of London, I still seem not to have paid enough attention for the Movie Whore to know the difference between what in this movie is based on fact and what has been assumed about the queen. The Movie Whore is very mean, and is now chastising me about reading so much fiction when I could have been reading things that would help her out here!

Random thoughts about "Elizabeth":

The Movie Whore thought there was too much emphasis on the romance between Raleigh and Bess. (…wait for it…) But then, we’re not romantic. We like our history without fluff.

Geoffrey Rush. Yeah. Wasn’t he the King’s tutor in The King’s Speech? He seems to be destined for roles in support of the royalty!

The Catholics kept referring to the Virgin Queen as a whore, and the Movie Whore is very curious as to whether they use that word the way she does - non-literally, or if there is any knowledge that Elizabeth had a history of sexual promiscuity! (…wait for it…)

She is also curious as to whether there is documentation of Elizabeth’s anxiety about the execution of Mary. (I hope that wasn’t a spoiler. Since it’s an historic event, I don’t think it can be.)

Being a big Monty Python fan, the Movie Whore might have shouted “NO-O one expects the Spanish Inquisition!” in a snarky English accent at the TV. She might have done this more than once. (and maybe listed their chief weapons…)

The Movie Whore congratulated my inner bibliophile for having read a historical-fiction novel a while back that gave us background knowledge about the fire stations on the coast that were used to relay the news of the attack. (...wait...)

One question came to mind when I saw the tagline at the end about the “Loss of the Armada was the greatest defeat in Spain’s history”. Why was there no more focus on this attack? They spent so much film on a romance that was really kind of a side-bar, and barely any on this amazing historical defeat! (…wait for it…) 

AND… (NOW!)

Because the Movie Whore is even worse as a DVD Whore, and must watch all the extras, we watched the extras and the interviews, and it was then that I realized…

I WATCHED THE WRONG MOVIE!

DOH!

Who knew there were two!?

I had in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, which apparently is the sequel to the one Bozo listed!

…which explained why I never noticed the scene Bozo referred to!

Fortunately the Movie Whore didn’t get upset, because she was laughing her evil laugh too loudly to be angry.

...Laughing at me.

For being a goober.

Which I am.

Well, Bozo? You’re getting a two-fer. Because obviously my next step was to go check out the first one. The Movie Whore will be back shortly with that review.

Reply All = EPIC FAIL!!!

This is TOO GOOD NOT TO POST!

So, it’s late in the workday, and I got an email from someone about planning a major meeting involving several lord-high muckymucks for sometime in March, and requesting response about the better date.

The date choices offered were 3/16 and 3/23. I have plans in the evening on 3/23, which wouldn’t really be a problem, but I’d prefer the 3/16 option, since the location is up-state. (Delaware’s small, but still…) I added that some of us might even enjoy going out to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day after the meeting adjourned, since it will be an all-day affair and we don’t all see each other very often, being spread across the state.

After suggesting going out after the meeting I added the phrase, “I know, beach party animal, me” with a smiley face. Because in the state of Delaware, those of us who live near the beach are notoriously more laid-back and carefree, and presumably drink and party more than those up north. It's just a stereotype... Really... Shut up.

Because these emails are typically sent by one of my counterparts, to all the rest of the people in our same position, I hit “reply all”, as I usually do. Because I enjoy being around my counterparts and again, it doesn’t happen often, so I wanted to include anyone who might find the suggestion agreeable.

My first two replies were from people who do NOT hold my same position.

Hmm…I must have made a mistake. How did Mary and Susan know about this meeting if it was just for us? (Mary and Susan are friends of mine, who actually work in an office closer to my home, and who I have in fact gone out with. It would be great if they were there! Awesome!)

Let me just look at the “sent to” portion…

Holy. Crap-eroni! With bells on.

CC’ed to ALL the superintendents, all the administrators, some people from other offices I don’t usually deal with and who therefore don’t-know-about-my-witty-humor-and-good-nature, and THE BIG BOSS HIMSELF!!!! (who is a very nice guy, but not someone I want to go out with on St. Paddy’s)

Epic. Fail.

My office-mate and I laughed uproariously as I recited names off the "sent to" and "CC" list.

Then I attempted a “message recall”. The list of people with “recall failures” (meaning they’d already read my faux pas) is pretty humorous, too…including a previous supervisor with a great sense of humor who I’ve no doubt will have something to say!

Boy, is my face red.

I then sent a more specific email to only those I thought I was “replying all” to, explaining my thoughts on potentially going out that night. Schadenfreude being what it is, they should all get a laugh! (it’s German, look it up.)

(I know, I'm posting twice in one day. Please don't ignore my previous post, I'm still seeking feedback. Just had to get this out there.)