Resolve...

For years, I did a headstand (sirsasana) every day. I took it for granted.

Then about ten years ago I got lazy (and unwell) and stopped doing it. Now... I can't. I just can't get up there. There's nothing stopping me but lack of practice.

So: I have a new resolution for 2007. By the end of 2007, I plan to be able to do a headstand again.

John Barrowman hosting Elaine Paige's show...

What a lovely way to start a Sunday morning - listening to John Barrowman on the radio!

Now: yoga.

Ando and Hiro

I was talking about sidekicks on Friday answering the fannish5 Friday 5 question. When I started answering I was thinking that I don't like sidekicks - who are sideliners by definition - but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that wasn't true.

And in conversation with monsieureden this morning, I realized that I'd missed one of the best sidekicks ever - which ought to be fresh in my consciousness, because it's a current, beloved show - and the character is Ando, who hangs out with Hiro Nakamura in Heroes. He's a classic sidekick, and he's wonderful.

I think the thing I love most about Hiro is that though he's Japanese, and hardly spoke English at the beginning of the season, there's nothing 'foreign' about him - he's the most accessible 'everyman' international sort of character I can think of. Besides that, I love his courage and sense of adventure.

And Ando is a worthy sidekick for him!

Jane Eyre...

Jane Eyre is one of my favourite books of all time. I'll never forget my first reading of it - I was twelve, and couldn't put it down. Mr. Rochester became my model of the great romantic hero of all time, and he was perfect. Jane was less perfect - she was, in fact, a Victorian prude, but it wasn't her fault. When she chose to leave Rochester rather than live in sin with him I was screaming at her, "No! You can't leave him!" but she did. But it all came out all right in the end. Oh dear, I've just spoiled the ending of Jane Eyre for all who haven't read it. Well, if you haven't read it, read it. One of the best books in the world. Aaah, how I loved that book.

So tonight I watched the recent four-hour Jane Eyre that aired on PBS, with Toby Stephens as Mr. Rochester and Ruth Wilson as Jane. They changed some scenes, they cut others, they added some scenes entirely - but I've seldom seen a filmed version of a novel that I thought was so faithful to the book. Neither Stephens nor Wilson looked quite like I pictured Rochester or Jane, but they were so true to the characterization and style that they felt just perfect.

In fact, the whole thing was like that. The changed identity of the gypsy fortune teller was strange, but nicely cinematic and effective. Blanche Ingram was less vapid than I expected, and that was good. Everyone else was just about perfect.... Especially Mr. Rochester. There was only one change I couldn't stand and it was, unfortunately, a change in my very favourite scene in the book. The rest of the show was so good I was able to ultimately overlook it, but it was a big blot on an otherwise perfect adaptation.

They rewrote dialogue to sound natural and clear and it was just as it should be. Nothing too modern, nothing too stilted.

I thought the actor playing St. John Rivers was most attractive. Why did he look familiar? I've never seen him before, but felt as if I had.

I'd like to watch the Timothy Dalton version again to see how it compared, with the test of time. It was previously my favourite filmed version of the book; all the others I've seen were terrible, though I missed the Zeffirelli version - which, horror of horrors, had Anna Paquin in it. Maybe I'll just bypass it entirely.

I want to go and reread the book. I read it once a year through all my teens, and favourite passages more often than that; but I probably haven't read it since. maaseru was shocked that I had forgotten Bessie. And I would have sworn Mason's first name was John, not Richard.