Haunting the Night of the Living Dead

I am relieved to have the teaching week over. The real week isn't over yet, but the part of it in which I have to teach is over. It's been a bear of a week, what with a four day a week class, four hours a day. Although I have to say I've have a great group of students -- who require little in the way of nudging to get conversations going -- and a fun topic.

Yesterday we watched the Robert Wise-directed The Haunting with Julie Harris and Claire Bloom (in her fabulous Mary Quant wardrobe). It's a beautiful, subtle and incredibly effective film. I am always amazed at the way the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I hear the sounds of the haunting begin. Wonderful!

And Night of the Living Dead! What a well crafted film -- it draws on so many of the late 60s anxieties: race tensions, generational rifts, gender anxieties, class difference. It's all there and subtly presented in the film. We had a great time reviewing all the scenes -- and contrasting their views of the 60s from the media with what the "reality" was (the 70s were FAR MORE UGLY than you think, no really far more ugly!). Funny to see huge old phones, giant radios and ice boxes. A very different time!

Phoning

Why does telephoning make me nervous? Always has. I've been putting off a phone call that I was actually looking forward to having -- it's just that the idea of it made me nauseous, so I delayed, wrote more questions and thought, "maybe tomorrow."

But I did it! At last I did. I'm sure he didn't notice how strangled my voice sounded. He was quite charming and pleasant.The interview itself won't happen until February March because they both have to be there. I did manage to run both Skype and GarageBand, so I could test the recording tech -- worked fine.

Yes, I am being a bit mysterious, but I'll tell you about it afterward. It may be a bit of a hint to say, thank you again, Pádraig! I owe you big time.