The Shawshank Conspiracy

I saw the movie. Finally. After thirteen years. This was not an easy accomplishment. So, you might be asking, "Saw what?" and "What was so hard about that?". The "what" is The Shawshank Redemption. You know, the movie that came out in 1994 that everyone but me has seen.

I was busy finishing a graduate degree in 1994. I had no time for movies or pleasure reading until January 1995 when, degree in hand, I was finally free to catch up on movie watching and book reading. I had quite a list after almost 10 years of higher education. I didn't get around to The Shawshank Redemption until about 1999. Since 1999 it has been one thing or another every time I try to see this movie. For instance:

• Attempt #1 - Blockbuster has the movie, but not really. It's checked out. Permanently.
• Attempt #2 - Hollywood Video has the movie. I take it home. The video in the case is not The Shawshank Redemption even though the case says it is. I return to Hollywood Video. The Shawshank Redemption can not be found.
  
• Attempt #3 - The Shawshank Redemption is on cable TV! I sit down with my popcorn and hot chocolate, the movie starts and ... the electricity goes off for about 1 hour.
• Attempt #4 - The movie is on cable again. Unfortunately, I need to be at work. I consider calling in sick but decide to record the movie instead. I plug in the tape and set the VCR. I'm not sure what happened. When I try to play the tape all I get is a blue screen.
• Attempt #5 (last week) - I request the DVD through my Netflix account. The movie arrives. I watch 1 hour and 40 minutes. I get to the part where (SPOILER ALERT!!!) Tommy has just been shot thereby destroying Andy's chance of being released from prison (end spoiler alert) and ... wait for it ... what could possibly happen this time ... the picture freezes. I stare at the screen while holding my breath (as if this might help). Thirty seconds later I decide to breathe again and the DVD begins hopping from one scene to another in no kind of sequential order for about 10 minutes. I either need to remove the disc from the player and walk away from it or risk taking a hammer to something in frustration. I decide that destroying things is not the answer and I calmly remove the disc from the player. Then I go into the other room and scream into my pillow.
  

It's a cosmic conspiracy. I just know it. For some reason the universe doesn't want me to see this movie. Maybe I'll consult with Mary-LUE over at Life, the Universe and Everything. According to Google, Mary's blog will be able to help me answer questions about the meaning of all of this. I truly hope so.
__________________

Postscript

My friend Robin, at Just a Blip, has set the universe right. She owns a copy of The Shawshank Redemption and she rushes her disc to me so I can see the last 40 minutes. And a very important 40 minutes this turns out to be! Just when everything is looking very grim, the movie begins to resolve. Will it be tragic or triumphant?? I've waited so many years for this ....

EPILOGUE: All is now well in my universe (smile).

Tag! You're It! (123 Book Meme)

Looks like I've been tagged by Mary-LUE at Life, the Universe and Everything for the 123 Book Meme. Gosh, I feel like I've been picked to be on a team or something! Fortunately it doesn't involve connecting a bat or a foot or hands to a ball. I can't tell you how BAD I am at ball sports. Here are the instructions for the 123 Book Meme:

1. Find the nearest book.
2. Name the book & the author.
3. Turn to page 123.
4. Go to the fifth sentence on the page. Copy out the next three sentences and post to your blog.
5. Tag three more folks.

I've chosen to post a few sentences from American Gods by Neil Gaiman.

"A wraith appeared on the right of the church, while on the left of the church something with a half-glimpsed, pointed, unsettlingly birdlike face, a pale, Boschian nightmare, glided smoothly from a headstone into the shadows and was gone. Then the church door opened, a priest came out, and the ghosts, haunts, and corpses vanished, and only the priest and the drunk were left alone in the graveyard. The priest looked down at the drunk disdainfully, and backed through the open door, which closed behind him, leaving the drunk on his own."

OK! So, that was an interesting three sentences. I have not read this book yet, so I'm curious to place these three sentences into the context of the story. I bought this book to satiate my current interest in the use of various mythologies in current literature. This book promises a story that includes the use of mythologies (mainly European), worldview, religions, and metaphor.

I must now tag 3 others ... so "Tag! You're It!":**

1. Robin H. at Just a Blip
2. Mel at Actual Unretouched Photo
3. Pam at MarillaAnne Blog

**Hopefully the 3 I've tagged have not already been tagged for this meme and don't mind being tagged to play. My apologies if you have and you do.

Ta-da!

Well, I finally did it. I updated my blogger template. I switched over to the new blogger a few weeks ago, but hadn't gotten around to updating the template. I was actually glad to update the template. That old one was starting to depress me. The black background with white text was just no fun to look at anymore. Hopefully this one will be easier on the eyes!