Monday odds and ends.

We had a successful weekend, I think. I enjoyed the Super Bowl, although I didn't watch the whole thing, having to switch over to Emma on Masterpiece Theatre during its last hour. I did make artichoke dip, and it was spectacular (thanks Katharine--great recipe! Marmota, now that I understand canned artichoke hearts, your recipe with spinach is the next one I'm trying). I made a total hog of myself with it. And the conclusion of Emma? I really enjoyed it. Not as much as I would have enjoyed it if PBS wasn't cheap and hadn't deleted scenes that were shown in the British version, but still...Below please find a clip from the ending with a nice extra scene between Knightley and Emma.

In reading news, I started the collection The Best Creative Nonfiction vol. 3, but I really only enjoyed the opening two essays by Sean Rowe and Julianna Baggott (about prison food and the novelization of her great-grandmother's operation of a whorehouse, respectively). I also started Malcolm Gladwell's collection of journalistic pieces titled What the Dog Saw, but was not in the mood. Finally I just gave up and started reading the actual novel of Emma, which I've never read before. (I know: gasp!) I thought maybe I should wait until after the movie isn't so clear in my mind, but what the hell. I'm enjoying it immensely anyway.

Comments

[Angie]

What?! PBS deleted scenes?? I had NO idea. Thank you so much for posting this extra scene - so lovely to watch over my lunch break.

[Sarah]

Artichoke dip isn't about the artichokes; it's about the mayonnaise and parmesan cheese etc. Did you watch the Puppy Bowl on Animal Planet?

[Citizen Reader]

Angie,
They've cut scenes from the British versions of all of these adaptations, which is ridiculous. (Their adaptation of "Persuasion," in particular, without its missing scenes, is nearly incomprehensible.) What's worse is that the DVDs WGBH releases of them in the US are STILL the edited versions! Only the British DVDs are released uncut. As if I needed another reason to wish to be British.

Use technology as your friend and watch the full versions of these movies at YouTube--they're widely available, and they're much better.

Sarah,
You're right, I enjoyed the artichoke experiment, but let's not forget it's basically a pan of melted cheese you're dipping crackers into. What can go wrong in that picture? Nothing, that's what.

Sadly, no cable, so no Animal Planet, so no Puppy Bowl. But I already had two things to watch so it was probably good I didn't have a third option. I'm really not much of a multitasker.

[Marmota]

I hope you enjoy "Emma". I remember thinking it was funny and "light" for Austen (not that she's ever very heavy, but no one ruins her reputation in this one). It's my favorite Austen, next to "Pride and Prejudice"

[Citizen Reader]

Marmota,
I am LOVING Emma. I am starting a list of reasons why Mr. Knightley is my new favorite Austen Man. It'll be a close one between him and Frederick Wentworth.

[Ruthiella]

CR, please to explain why you would prefer Frederick Wentworth over Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley? "Persuasion" is my least favorite Austen novel after "Mansfield Park". Mostly because Anne is such a doormat.

[Citizen Reader]

Hi Ruthiella!
Actually, in giving it more thought, I think Mr. Knightley and Mr. Tilney (from Northanger Abbey) are probably my favorite Austen men--they both seem to have a little sparkle.

I simply like Frederick because he's got staying power--he's a purely fictional creation in that he keeps on loving the one woman for him (although he has a little flutter, which he later regrets, with Louisa Musgrove). All women dream of the man who remembers them and stays faithful to them, don't they?

I don't think Anne's a doormat at all. I think she was a young girl whose relatives were a bit overpowering at an age when she didn't know herself very well yet. When she was older and more at ease with herself and what she wanted she got out there and got what she wanted (and, more importantly, told her icky cousin who wanted to marry her to get lost). I love the older characters and the sense that "all is not lost" that Persuasion offers.