Citizen Reader

Do you think you go through different phases in your adult life where your brain needs something different than the usual?  Periods when your usual learning style needs a little break, and you feel like doing something entirely different?

I do.  And I think I'm having such a little break right now.  Don't get me wrong: I'm still reading.  It's not even like I don't feel like reading, which I do sometimes after a run of particularly not interesting books.  It's just that I feel like doing something a little different.  I've also been referring to it as the Great Movie-Watching Renaissance of 2008, because I've been more in the mood for movies than I have been for years.

Okay, I know it's a stretch to refer to watching movies (and BBC series on DVD) as "learning."  But I think there's value to be had in watching movies.  (At least that was the story I tried to sell Mom, way back in the day when I was a Communication Arts major, taking classes like "Introduction to Television" and "Introduction to Film.")  Just last weekend I re-watched Bull Durham, and had to appreciate the fantastic writing; the re-watching of Say Anything was a good lesson in character development.  We also saw Get Smart in the theater, and I have to admit, I loved it.  There I learned that Alan Arkin is the finest actor of his generation, and had some good laughs to boot (I also learned that Mr. Citizen Reader has a little crush on Anne Hathaway.  VERY educational.). 

I've also been listening to more books on CD lately; currently I've got Alison Weir's Queen Isabella going, and although it's too detailed, that's okay.  I listen at a leisurely pace, missing some details while I'm busy thinking about others.

All of which is a very circuitous way of saying Ive not been doing much recreational reading.  By the time I've finished watching and listening, I find I am full up for the day, and just don't want to put any more in my head.  Has this happened to you too?

In apologies for the non-post, I would like to offer (what I consider to be) a fun piece of Brit actor trivia.  Because I am a BBC DVD addict, I spend a lot of time at the Internet Movie Database looking up Brit actors and trying to find out what else they're in.  (I'm learning how to research.  Really!)  While I'm there, I'll admit that I often click on their biographies to see how old they are, where they were born and live, and to whom they're married.  And this is what I've discovered: Brit men, bless 'em, seem to like older women. 

Damian Lewis (from the Forsyte Saga), 37, married to Helen McCrory, 40.  Jack Davenport (of Pirates of the Caribbean and Coupling), 35, married to Michelle Gomez, 37.  James Murray (Under the Greenwood Tree), 33, married to Sarah Parish, 40.  James McAvoy (Wanted and Atonement), 29, married to Anne-Marie Duff, 37.  All I can say is, right on, British men (or, more appropriately, right on, British women!).  And there's your piece of useless trivia for the day.