With Which 10 Folks Would You Most Like to Drink Wine?

(May contain spoilers.)

I'm freshly back from enjoying Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 2 on the big screen. Wow. I'm not sad to have come to the end of the movie series. I'm excited I got to see J.K. Rowling's books translated into film at all.

I agree with the critics who said the last film is the best of the eight. Part of the reason why it's such a bittersweet pleasure is Severus Snape, played with subtlety by Alan Rickman. A couple of weeks ago on her blog, Jennifer Spiller wrote a post called "Don't you just LOVE Alan Rickman?" The short answer is yes.

The long answer is this: The hormonal tide had turned in such a way that I was predisposed to cry at the movies today. When I read the book, I wept profusely as Harry valiantly marched into the forest to meet Voldemort. At the movie, I got choked up over Fred, Remus and Tonks. (I'm a huge Remus and Tonks fan.) What really made me weep, though, was Snape cradling Lily Potter's lifeless body. Harry going off to die? No problem. Snape's love for Lily, on the other hand, brought on the waterworks. Jennifer Spillman totally called that one.

And he was Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility, opposite Kate Winslet. No one does repressed longing like Alan Rickman. I only wish he could play Colonel Brandon in a film version of Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters.

Yesterday while blog hopping yet again, I came across "10 People I'd Meet For a Glass of Wine" by Kim at My Inner Chick. Kim's wine list is as follows:

1. Maya Angelou
2. Sean Penn
3. Johnny Depp
4. Madonna
5. Oprah Winfrey
6. Elizabeth Berg
7. Ellen DeGeneres
8. Billy Graham
9. George Clooney
10. Jane Fonda

That's a pretty good list - feminist, literary and with a couple of hot guys thrown in for eye candy. In my comment on My Inner Chick, I composed the following extemporaneous list:

1. Maya Angelou
2. Toni Morrison
3. Sapphire
4. Madonna
5. Courtney Love
6. Camille Paglia
7. Lady Gaga
8. Gloria Steinem
9. Christian Bale
10. Winona Ryder

Now that I've had some more time to think about it, though, I'd like to revise my answer slightly. While I do admire the author of Push, the basis of the movie Precious, and think Sapphire would be fascinating to have a drink with, I'm going to ditch her in favor of Alan Rickman. Kim had Johnny and George to drool over, while I only gave myself Christian Bale.

I know, I know..."only" and "Christian Bale" don't even belong in the same sentence. To say I only have Christian Bale to drool over is like saying I only have five sweaters and a heat lamp to keep me warm. He's more than adequate. He's the male yumminess equivalent of an entire chocolate chip cheesecake. With cherries. Yet somehow in my daydreams I can still have more. More English dudes. Ones who have those British Charm Units that make this American gal want to drop her knickers. (I think they made Christian Bale surrender his when he applied for American citizenship.)

I can't ditch Toni Morrison; she wrote Beloved. No way would I even consider ditching Madonna. Courtney Love would be super-interesting, especially if we seat her next to Camille Paglia, with whom she's had a public battle of contrasting feminist theories. Plus, Paglia can talk about poetry like nobody's business. Break, Blow, Burn, anyone? It's an astounding book.

Lady Gaga would make me drool, dance and wish I'd worn something more Alexander McQueenish, plus provide an interesting foil for Love, Madonna, and Paglia, so she stays in. Gloria Steinem is an icon, an inspiration and Christian Bale's stepmom, so she stays on the guest list. The only other one who's remotely expendable is Winona Ryder. Girl, I love you in everything from Little Women to Dracula to the new Star Trek, but you gots to leave...so I have a spot for Colin Firth.

The BBC's Mr. Darcy is my newest crush. He never made it into the Potter films, but he was in The King's Speech with Michael Gambon (Dumbledore), Helena Bonham Carter (Bellatrix LeStrange) and Timothy Spall (Wormtail). He definitely comes with the British Charm Unit.

Image attribution:
Lily image by Hokusai; public domain within the United States
Alexander McQueen Spring 2010 collection image: Michelle Ng, Creative Commons license

Nobody's Daughter and the Return of Courtney Love

I listened to the Hole album Nobody's Daughter for the first time today. I sort of vaguely remember hearing about this album a year ago, when it came out, but this is the first time I ever had the chance to hear it. It's absolutely brilliant.

Courtney Love is the only band member left over from the original Hole, yet the sound is essentially the same. The best songs on it are the title track, "Skinny Little Bitch" and "How Dirty Girls Get Clean." I liked them as much as I liked "Malibu." I'm always going to consider Live Through This as Hole's greatest album, and I also harbor a certain enthusiasm for the early Velvet Underground covers. I can easily see Nobody's Daughter fitting into my music rotation, though.

Although Courtney Love considers herself a feminist, this book blogger finds it interesting to note that Love has publicly feuded with author Camille Paglia. In a 1997 Q+A for Salon.com, Paglia unfavorably compared Love to Madonna. In a November '97 interview in Rolling Stone, in which Love appears on the cover with Madonna and Tina Turner, Love said Paglia's criticism did not hurt her. "I'm a secret Camille Paglia fan," Love told the magazine. "Her criticism of me is probably the only criticism I ever actually paid attention to - if only to argue about it in my head. But in terms of rock & roll, she just got it wrong. She applies all her wacky feminist theories to tribal dance music, and she doesn't understand Led Zeppelin or where it comes from."

The 1997 RS interview also contains my favorite Love quote ever. Love was asked about the female role model who most influenced her. She answered, "It changes all the time. It's like the 12 signs of the zodiac. What mood are you in? Are you in a Bette Davis mood? Are you in a Stevie Nicks mood? They're like goddesses. You use archetypes from popular culture the way Greeks used gods and goddesses."

Love her music or hate it, you must admit Courtney Love has a fascinating perspective on pop culture. If she's going to make albums like Nobody's Daughter, I hope her pop culture star is once again on the rise.