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So it is ME then who causes all those interruptions!

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In Reply to: RE: So it is YOU then who causes all those interruptions! posted by Victor Khomenko on April 16, 2010 at 09:43:15

Victor!,

I'm not sure I alone could manage hogging Netflix bandwidth, but I have noticed more frequent problems with the TV cable service- pixelations and an annoying delay message- "Such and such Channel is not available" which is on screen only three seconds- it seems to remind me how fragile the system is. About once every two weeks, the modem reboots in the middle of something and this takes 3-4 minutes and requires turning it back on. I'm really fed up with Time-Warner- every day there are more defects in the service and while it declines in quality, they just raised the price for me $18 per month.

Your problem with defective discs is a new concern- I've only had three and the sleeves and discs do look rather ropey. As there's is really almost no protection in those lightweight envelopes, actually I'm surprised there aren't more problems.

Will be seeing "Andrei Rublev" on DVD in the near future. You must know this great Tarkovsky movie- the story of the 15th Century Russian icon painter who has a creative crisis and organises a village cast a new church bell- which is big as a house. It's been 25 years since I saw it but I still remember the wonderful photography. It's kind of beautifully austere and quiet - really good.

I wish Tarkovsky had done a treatment of Rasputin- are there any very good ones?

Cheers,

Bambi B

Follow Ups:

Can't think of any good films on Rasputin... but... - Victor Khomenko 12:42:15 04/16/10 (4)
...here is the nice Bonny M song for ya!

You might want to look at Agoniya:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081991/
- Is this what you had in mind? (Open in New Window)
- Rah! Rah! Rasp-u-teen! - Bambi B 15:30:52 04/16/10 (3)
  PAINTING: Man pulling his Beard
  
  Victor!,
  
  Thanks do much! Yes, I've been searching for years for a good disco song about Rasputin- from which I learned he was "big and strong"- as poetic as disco gets. Hoever, I think the lead singer was confusing "Rasputin" with "Rastafarian".
  
  Rasputin is fascinating to me- and had one of the best dodges I know- perfect religious logic: in order to be more religious I must sin like hell with sex and alcohol so the nature of sin is familiar and so as to provides more repentance opportunities. Brilliant, and something I intend to try when the economy improves!
  
  I did see Agoniya years ago, but it seemed unusually flat- a very static film that did help understand the sequence of events that led to his relationship with Alexander & Co, but didn't depict the kind of hypnotic presence and intrigue- the manipulation of the Czar's family- I was looking for after reading a Rasputin biography.
  
  Forget the discount, infantile magic of Humpy Potter when there was a real sorcerer that influenced world events- and took about 5 methods to kill.
  
  Someone should do a really strong Rasputin treatment- unfortunately it would probably star Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka the child molester- again.
  
  Cheers,
  
  Bambi B
  - Are you saying he actually was small and weak? - Victor Khomenko 15:53:27 04/16/10 (2)
    For some reason his figure does not hold much fascination for me. He also preyed on the weak and not too bright, so his powers are grossly overstated. Many people actually saw him for what he was. I think there is tons more depth in the characters like Ostap Bender, fictitious as he, is he sparkles with brilliance and good humor.
    - No! BIG and STINKY! - Bambi B 23:55:45 04/16/10 (1)
      PHOTO: Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin
      
      Victor!,
      
      I suppose it's the fascination of the mysterious, but on another level I find Rapsutin interesting as a cult figure. You're right, he was crude, brutal, and hated by many who felt challenged by an unwelcome outside influence. I'll wager there were plenty in the Bush administration who resented Karl Rove's influence on policy and political logistics- because Rove was so extremely good at his work.
      
      Rasputin though relied not on analysis but a shrewdness and a mysterious, hypnotic quality that supposedly landed him in the bed of hundred's and some plum jobs advising the Czar through Alexandra. Alexandra saw him as a prophet and miracle healer - What his name's Hemophilia- and so on. I don't know current thinking, but I'd read somewhere there were rumours that Rasputin had added Alexandra's knickers to his trophy cabinet. In all that, Rasputin was an early iteration of a celebrity TV evangelist only without the Platinum Rolex- and Rasputin didn't have have to pay for the sex.
      
      Certainly, Rasputin was a reprehensible figure, but his personality and the Svengali-like cult of celebrity that grew up around him is a reminder that empty, ambitious, manipulative, stupid and/or evil people can rise to the top in any era.
      
      However, I'm convinced we have never gotten the real picture. Rasputin's history was shaped entirely by his enemies and is heavily skewed. In this portrait, Rasputin was pure evil, a gluttonous, smelly, Satanic Angel/Devil that seduced 1000's of 12 year olds- and 12 year old Scotch- that had to be stopped for the noble causes of the murderers- who stood to lose power and/or money. Possibly true, but there are also those diametrically opposed accounts of Rasputin believed he was helping, being generous, liked by children, and kind, never greedy for money, was cheerful, and a bit shy!
      
      This is why I'd like to see a good movie treatment of Rasputin- his story needs the complexity he seems to have had. "The Grigori the Great Teddy Bear Story: Episode Three: Cuddles at the Winter Palace", or what do you think of "The Evil and the Cuddly"
      
      Rasputin, as a character for study is also useful as a symbol of the decadence of the Czarist era. Rasputin is backwards-looking, representing the Old Russia that Peter the Great tried to eliminate: not the feudalism, but the superstition, moral/ethical remoteness of the ruling class, wearing beards, and religious zealotry. These were all the things the Revolution wanted to abolish again and 250 years later.
      
      Rasputin was a timely prophet of the Czarists' doom, murdered on December 29, 1916. At that point Nicholas and Co. and the 500+ year Czarist era had only a couple of years left.
      
      There's an old Russian Proverb I'm sure every Russian knows, "Если только богатые человек имелии уродских дочеи, то царь бы былдревесин-тюнером" > "If only rich men had ugly daughters, the Czar would be a wood-turner."
      
      I don't understand it either. I'll have to wait for the movie.
      
      Cheers,
      
      Bambi B
      - Alexandra was not his best catch - Victor Khomenko 05:57:13 04/19/10 (0)
        
        In Reply to: RE: No! BIG and STINKY! posted by Bambi B on April 16, 2010 at 23:55:45
        
        Supposedly there were scores of more beautiful women.
        
        Be it as it may, I am still not fascinated by that guy... having seen Jones, Koresh and others in action - whatsa big deal about yet another such crook?
        
        That "Russian" proverb apparently has spent long time in on-line translation, believe me, I tried to absorb it... but... :) I failed you, man! :(

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