The Review - Moonrise Kingdom

On Monday, Luke surprised me by taking me to a movie. Actually, surprise is the wrong term, because when he said he had something special planned for Monday night I kind of figured out that he was taking me to see Moonrise Kingdom, simply because I had mentioned wanting to see it a few days before.

At the moment, we're very fortunate to be living about 200 metres away from the Embassy, one of Wellington's best cinemas. It's a really beautiful old theatre that has been made into a cinema (now with 2 deluxe screening rooms on the ground floor). This is actually where they premiered The Lord of The Rings: The Return of the King. Anyway, one thing I really love about the Embassy, apart from its beautiful design and interior, is that the movie posters have to fit where the names of theatrical productions had been surrounded by flashing lights. For this reason, they employ someone to paint horizontal rectangular movie posters, and for some reason it really warms my heart that someone still does this job.

Anyway, I digress. So yes, I had been wanting to see Moonrise Kingdom ever since I saw the trailer. It's a Wes Anderson film, and it must be said that all of his movies have a very particular take on the world. To be honest, the only other one of his movies I've seen is The Darjeeling Limited. I remember that I enjoyed this but I don't remember too much else. He also did Fantastic Mr. Fox, but my mother, who is the absolute authority on all Roald Dahl books, refused to see that because they made Mr. Fox and his friends wear clothes, so out of respect for her I decided to miss it.

Again I digress! As I always say, I've never met a tangent I didn't like. The storyline of Moonrise Kingdom is pretty simple - it's the fun and quirky characters that really bring it to life. Set in 1965, it tells of two 12-year-olds who meet on a New England island called "New Penzance". Sam Shakusky is an orphan from a slightly troubled past who is attending the "Khaki Scout" summer camp, while Suzy Bishop, a bit of a loner, lives on the island with her attorney parents and three younger brothers in a house called Summer's End. The two meet during the previous summer, and decide to run away together next summer. The story follows their escape and the locals' attempts to find them.

This film stars some well-known actors, who to be frank look as though they're having a lot of fun. I really enjoyed Moonrise Kingdom, but perhaps it's not for everyone. You really have to be prepared to enter into Wes Anderson's perspective on the world, and I understand that it might not be everybody's cup of tea. 

I really loved Anderson's use of music in this film, especially the orchestral pieces and choir numbers. There is something very endearing about the characters and how comical yet somber they all are. However, be warned: there is one rather awkward scene with Suzy and Sam on the beach. Luke and I both kind of looked at each other, eyebrows raised, thinking: "Was that really necessary?" It's unfortunate when one bad scene can slightly ruin your enjoyment of a movie. But apart from that, it was a good film.

Scout Master Ward: Jiminy Cricket - he flew the coop! 

Sam: Why do you consider me your enemy?
Redford: Because your girlfriend stabbed me in the back with lefty scissors.
Sam: She's my wife now.

 Captain Sharp: It's been proven by history: all mankind makes mistakes.

Here is the trailer - enjoy!

 Until next time :)

The Holiday - Our Second Anniversary Part Two

On the second day of our mini-break to Auckland, Luke wanted to take me to Waiheke Island, where he and his family lived for 6 years. So we jumped on a ferry from Devonport and cruised our way there. We were fortunate enough to have the most glorious weather.

 There were so many nice beaches. I can see why the locals are very proud to call Waiheke home. 

Luke also wanted to take me to Whittakers Music Museum. This is run by an elderly couple who have a passion for restoring historic musical instruments, particularly pianos. The really incredible thing is that they allow you to play them. Some of these pianos are very old and really show the progression of music technology. The craftmanship is really something to behold.

 

 From memory this was a missionary organ - nice and compact to travel with.

 I had no idea that you could change the sound of older pianos before electricity, like you can with modern organs and keyboards.

 

 We were fortunate enough to have Lloyd play a few bars for us on several of the instruments. The only thing I know off by heart is Canon in D, and let's face it, no one wants to hear that. 

 This one was an organ for the opera. It was nice and small to fit in the orchestra pits, and with the push of abutton you can transpose keys to different octaves. Lloyd played a couple of bars of the Phantom of the Opera theme and my heart leapt for joy.

 Check this out! You're looking at the orginal iPod. The Mikiphone Pocket Gramophone.

 They just don't make pianos like this anymore.

Now this one was fascinating. It's an orchestral piano and actually has an orchestra inside! Well, not quite, but it does have a triangle, xylophone and bongos (as well as the piano itself, of course). In addition, it was a player piano, so it could play music automatically from punched paper rolls.

So if you're a music lover and you're ever around Auckland, I highly recommend going here.

Until next time :)

The Verse - Psalm 22

I remember the first time that I read a commentary on the fulfilled prophecies of Christ which are found in Psalm 22 - which, by the way, was written 1000 years before it came to pass! I was absolutely dumbfounded at how specifically and literally the Psalm 22 prophecies are fulfilled in Christ. After reading it, I remember thinking: Wow, surely any unbeliever who read this would have to admit that the Bible is true and that Jesus is the Messiah. Later on, however, I came to understand that although God uses the fulfillment of prophecy to prove that the Bible is His Word and that its message is completely true, it is only by God's grace and through the working of the Holy Spirit that people can be saved. Regardless of this, I still get shivers up and down my spine when I read Psalm 22. I thought I would share it with you today, in case you've never read it before or thought of it in terms of a prophecy concerning Jesus.

Even before we start reading the Psalm, the musical directions in the title are in themselves a kind of prophecy. You see, the instrument to be played is called the "Morning Star", which is also a term for the Messiah who would save Israel.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

These very words were spoken by Jesus as He hung on the cross (Matt 27:46). Jews back then memorised Psalms, so many of them after hearing Jesus would have been reciting the rest of the Psalm in their head. This may have lead the the centurion to say, "Truly this was the Son of God." (Matt 27:54.)

Galatians 3:13 says that Jesus became a curse for us and that He suffered God's wrath as payment for our sins, so we might be free of the curse of sin and God's judgement. During Jesus' crucifixion and death, the Holy Trinity that had existed from eternity past was in fact broken; God turned His face away from His Son as Jesus hung on the cross bearing the sins of the world and God's wrath.

² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praises of Israel.
⁴ In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

⁶ But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.

To discover the prophecy here, we need to dive a little into the original Hebrew. The word translated “worm” in our Bible is actually a name of a very specific type of worm in Israel. It is a worm that would be first dried out and then crushed in order to extract a red dye. Why is this significant? This word for "worm" occurs 42 times in the Old Testament. It is rendered as "worm" only eight of those times, while in the other places it is translated "crimson" or "scarlet". In other words, Jesus had to be crushed in order for us to receive His precious redemptive blood. After all, the Bible teaches that without a blood offering there can be no forgiveness of sins. 

⁷ All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
⁸ “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

This accurately describes what the crowd was doing during Jesus' crucifixion, and was literally fulfilled in Matthew 27:39-44.

⁹ Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
    you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
¹⁰ On you was I cast from my birth,
    and from my mother's womb you have been my God.

Only Jesus could say that He had a right relationship with God from His mother's womb. This is because He was not conceived in sin but rather by the Holy Spirit. By contrast, the rest of humanity are conceived in sin and born enemies of God, due to Adam's fall.
 
¹¹ Be not far from me,
    for trouble is near,
    and there is none to help.

¹² Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
¹³ they open wide their mouths at me,
    like a ravening and roaring lion.

The "strong bulls of Bashan" refer to Roman soldiers, and this passage can be interpreted as describing their treatment of Jesus. So brutal were the Romans that they can be accurately called beasts who used their horns of power to torture their victims.
 

¹⁴ I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;
¹⁵ my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

Just before Jesus died, He called out "I thirst!", before saying "It is finished!" and dying on the cross. (John 19:28.)

¹⁶ For dogs encompass me;
    a company of evildoers encircles me;
they have pierced my hands and feet

Now this is the one that blows my mind. You have to remember David wrote this Psalm a thousand years before Jesus fulfilled it. And get this: crucifixion wasn't even invented back then! In fact, it wasn't invented until hundreds of years later! Yet this form of punishment is described here. Jesus did indeed have His hands and feet pierced with nails. "Dogs" was also a common Jewish term for Gentiles, and there were many Gentiles at Jesus' crucifixion.

¹⁷ I can count all my bones—
they stare and gloat over me;

It is recorded in John 19:36 that not a bone in Jesus' body was broken. 
 
¹⁸ they divide my garments among them,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.

John 19:24 speaks of how the Roman soldiers gambled for Jesus' clothing. I mean, talk about a specific prophecy!
 

¹⁹ But you, O Lord, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
²¹     Save me from the mouth of the lion!
You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen!

²² I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

This verse is actually speaking about Jesus' resurrection. After rising from the dead, He appeared to His apostles and told them that God had triumphed over Satan. (John 20:26.)

²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
²⁴ For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.

²⁵ From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
²⁶ The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
    May your hearts live forever!

²⁷ All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before you.

This prophecy was fulfilled after the life of Christ. There are millions of Christians in different countries around the world today, worshipping God and thanking Him for the power of the Gospel and His work of salvation through Jesus Christ.
 
²⁸ For kingship belongs to the Lord,
    and he rules over the nations.

 God is already the King of the universe, and thus has power over all the nations of the earth. More specifically, though, Christ will rule directly over the world after He returns (see Revelation 19:15).

²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    even the one who could not keep himself alive.
³⁰ Posterity shall serve him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
³¹ they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that he has done it.

The Dress - Maroon Swirls

What does my wardrobe have in store today? This is the outfit that I took with me to our anniversary getaway. I love wearing long floating skirts in winter. They are so elegant and they go very well with my princess coat.

 Cardigan: Old Navy 

Yes, I know; I have way too many black cardigans. But they really do go with everything. This one is quite light, so I'm planning to wear it a lot in summer.

 Skirt: Bettie Page Clothing 

I bought this skirt from Modcloth a few months ago. You might remember a similar-looking one in the very first blog entry I wrote. This skirt is the same design as that one, but obviously with a different colour and pattern.
Actually, this winter I've started to incorporate maroon into my wardrobe for the first time ever. Until now I wouldn't touch anything maroon with a 10-foot pole, simply because my high school uniform was that colour. I mean, everything was maroon. Our school bag, blazer, jumper, sports bag, hat, pencil case, diary... everything! Hence this colour has always made me think of school. However, high school was six years ago. (Oh my goodness, six years! I can't believe it's been that long!)

Shoes: Clarks

These shoes were such a great buy. They're so comfy and stylish, which are very difficult qualities to find in shoes, by the way!

Until next time :)

The Song - The Big Apple Contest

At Full Swing, the dance company where Luke and I learn swing dancing, we have recently been learning swing dance routines. I’ve been doing partner dancing for a few years, but my first introduction to dance was in the form of ballet, tap and mainly jazz, which was naturally all routine based.

We’ve learnt a few routines in class before - mainly when not enough leads turn up - so I was keen to add to my swing dancing routine repertoire, which until recently consisted only of the Shim-Sham.

A few weeks ago, our wonderful dance teacher Racheal decided to teach us the Big Apple. And oh my goodness, it was challenging. Not only is the music unbelievably fast, but the footwork is also extremely difficult, with multiple break steps that are very similar with slight variations. Personally, I would  like to question Frankie Manning about the reason for this.

So what is the Big Apple? Well, I’m glad you asked. It is a partner and circle dance (I told you it was complicated) which came from the African American community in the USA at the beginning of the 20th century.

However, the Big Apple is thought to have gained popularity during the early 1930s among the African American youths who danced at the Big Apple Club (hence the name, I guess). From there it spread as more and more people saw and fell in love with the routine's high energy and general madness.

By the end of 1937, the Big Apple had become a national dance craze. On December 20, 1937, Life Magazine even featured the Big Apple in a four-page photo spread. The magazine predicted that 1937 would be remembered as the year of the Big Apple.

Eventually it was immortalised in the movie Keep Punching, with Frankie Manning's choreography and performed by a swing dance group called Whitey's Lindy Hoppers. It is this version of the dance that is most frequently taught, and this is the one we learnt.

Curious to see how crazy fast a dance can be? Check out the clip below from Keep Punching.

Until next time :)

The Look - 1920s Makeup

So tonight I'm going to a 1920s Ball. So excited! My outfit is sorted, but more photos of that later. Although I have to admit it's not authentic 1920s style. I mean, really, you have to have no shape at all in order to pull off those dropped-waist dresses properly. While researching 1920s makeup, I found these gorgeous advertisements at the Vintage Glamour Guide.

I also found the website Return2Style quite useful for explaining colours and techniques, and furthermore there's a surprising number of Youtube videos.

 Typically, film stars used very dark eye makeup, as they needed to accentuate their features to allow the camera to pick them up. So even the gents packed on the makeup: lipstick, eyeshadow, the works!

 Finger waves to perfection.

 I think this is my favourite. It is absolute elegance. A perfect example of the 1920s bow lip.

 It was fashionable to have thin pencilled eyebrows that extended beyond the norm at the ends. They were often done straight across in a sad kind of shape. 

 Grey eye makeup was very big in the 1920s. It was mostly grey with some brown and a splash of turquoise or green now and then.

The apples of the cheeks were often red and rosy.

 Look, it's Clara Bow from Mantrap as the face of Maybelline.

Until next time :)