Thoughts and "I/we did"s...
♣ It's funny how you can't help but notice which card games were popular during certain periods of history, based on how frequently they were mentioned in contemporary literature. Whist is always popping up in Austen, for example-- and in books set "between the wars", bridge seems to be the game of choice. In at least one of the E.F. Benson Lucia novels, all the characters are obsessed with it, and now I've just finished Agatha Christie's Cards of the Table, in which bridge plays an even more important role in the story. I don't guess I have any interesting commentary on this subject, though. It's just amusing to notice.
♣ The most recent (only?) TV adaptation of Cards on the Table is awful. I mean, I'm really fond of David Suchet as Poirot, so as far as that goes, I was happy, but did the writers have to change so much of the story? Nearly every aspect of the novel was distorted, often beyond recognition. This is the second time I've seen an adaption of an Agatha Christie that I'd actually read. That one was also altered significantly... and horribly. (Interestingly, both of these adaptations saw fit to inject homosexual themes where they didn't exist in the novels. I guess the writers thought that would make a juicier story for modern audiences. ...?) The downside: It's disappointing that it may be difficult to find a faithful adaptation when I want one. The upside: Maybe this means I can read all those Poirot novels I've watched adaptations of and still find the plot virtually unspoiled. (g) (My remarkable ability to forget things also helps in this respect.)
The main reason I don't understand major rewrites in adaptations (particularly in these Agatha Christie mysteries, where the plot is pretty much everything) is this: You have a carefully plotted story all ready to go. It's been proven successful! Yay! All you need to do is figure out how to transfer it to the screen. But no. You decide to change how characters behave-- their relationships to one another-- the motive of the murderer-- maybe even the murderer's identity. But why? Your audience can be divided into two groups-- those who have read the novel and those who have not. For those who have not read the novel, the original plot will be entirely new. (See? No need to change a blessed thing!) And those who have read the novel, yet still decide to watch an adaptation must've liked the original plot, right? I mean, if they hated it, why would they bother watching it on TV? It makes no SENSE.
♣ Sometime within the past few weeks, we (mostly Donald) put up a ceiling fan in the breakfast room. Last summer, we decided it would be a good place for one-- so now we're all set!
♣ I spent a portion of the morning cleaning out and reorganizing our pantry-- with the result that it is probably the most organized "room" in the house, now. (Probably ought to do something about that...)
♣ I sewed a washable pad for my Swiffer Wet Jet from a piece of an old towel and a couple snippets of elastic. It seemed to work pretty well (cleaned the floor, stayed put on the Swiffer during cleaning), so now I'm interested to see how it holds up in the washing machine. If the elastic doesn't work out, I may try velcro... but I have a feeling elastic is much cheaper (even if I have to replace it every so often.) ...Or I may try making one side of the pads out of some fabrics that tend to cling to the velco on their own...
