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nompumelelomtshali0t4 · 1 year ago

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The NoteBook of Love

The Notebook, both the movie and novel by Nicholas Sparks, is a heartwarming love story that follows the enduring romance between Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson. It explores the theme of love, fate, and the power of memories as Allie struggles with amnesia and Noah, who later uses the pseudonym Duke, reads the novel to Allie, who stays in an institution to help her reconnect with their shared past.

True friends are those who still visit you after Alzheimer's has robbed you of your memory of them. In this case, Noah, Allie's husband, remained a true friend to his wife eternally. He sheds light on a valuable therapeutic approach throughout the movie, which is the importance of reminiscence therapy in the lives of individuals living with Alzheimer’s. Reminiscence therapy is an approach normally used by occupational therapists with people with dementia and Alzheimer's disease. It involves the recollection and discussion of past experiences, often through photographs, music, and sharing of stories. (Kennard.C, 2022)

Sharing memories and experiences from the past can evoke positive emotions and feelings of connection. As Occupational therapists, we tend to create a safe and supportive environment for clients to express their thoughts and emotions. (Woods, B. et al.) As OTs, we involve family members, as seen in The Notebook, to ensure that reminiscence therapy continues outside formal sessions. This encourages a support system that nurtures the patient's emotional well-being. As Noah reads their love story from the notebook, it not only helps Allie reconnect with her past but also strengthens their emotional bond. The shared memories evoke strong emotions and feelings, allowing Allie to experience moments of joy, love, and connection despite her condition.

Reminiscence therapy offers a sense of value, importance, belonging, power, and peace. This creates a feeling of intimacy and gives a special meaning to relationships, which in overall improves the client’s self-esteem and helps them develop interpersonal skills. (Kennard.C, 2022). In Allie’s case, it provided her with moments of happiness and a sense of accomplishment, reducing her feelings of confusion and frustration. This allowed her to maintain a conversation with Duke and to express herself clearly as she soon remembered the ending of their love story.

As Occupational therapists, we also use reminiscence therapy to help stimulate the cognitive functions of clients by engaging in conversations and activities related to their past, such as IADLs; meal preparation, community mobility, etc. By doing so, Ots activate the client’s memory pathways, potentially improving cognitive functions and memory. (Guler, A. et al.) Overall, reminiscence therapy promotes cognitive stimulation, emotional well-being, and social engagement, contributing to a higher quality of life for individuals living with dementia. (Braz. J, 2012)

In my mini-world of occupational therapy, ‘The Notebook” serves as a touching reminder that even when pages of memory seem to blur, the emotional connections remain vivid. The movie shows the profound impact that reminiscence therapy has on individuals who have cognitive challenges. Through the art of reminiscence, occupational therapists become the guardians of these treasured memories and stories that provide healing and bring a sense of purpose to those we serve.

References

Aşiret, Güler & Kapucu, Sevgisun. (2015). The Effect of Reminiscence Therapy on Cognition, Depression, and Activities of Daily Living for Patients With Alzheimer Disease. Journal of geriatric psychiatry and neurology. 29.10.1177/0891988715598233.

Braz. J. Psychiatry 34(4). (2012). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rbp.2012.05.008

Kennard.C. (2022, 04 23). Verywellhealth. Retrieved from Verywellhealth.com: https://www.verywellhealth.com/reminiscence-as-activity-and-therapy-97499

Woods, B., Farrell, E. M., Spector, A. E., & Orrell, M. (2018). Reminiscence therapy for dementia. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2018(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001120.pub3

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emmebook · 1 year ago

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DIÁRIO DE UMA PAIXÃO DE NICHOLAS SPARKS

ORIGINAL: The Nootebook 2010 Novo Conceito 276p⭐⭐⭐⭐

SINOPSE: Duke é um homem simples com uma vida modesta, mas amou alguém de todo o coração e, para ele, isso sempre foi suficiente. Na clínica de repouso em que vive, Duke se dedica a ler poemas para os outros pacientes, mas, para uma senhora que sofre de Alzheimer – e somente para ela –, lê um diário especial à espera de que um milagre aconteça. Nele está escrita a emocionante história de Allie Nelson e Noah Calhoun, dois jovens que descobrem o verdadeiro significado da paixão, mas são separados por uma série de obstáculos e mal-entendidos. Muitos anos depois, a vida dá conta de uni-los novamente e a paixão volta com todo o seu fulgor. Já noiva de um bem-sucedido advogado, Allie precisa optar entre manter o rumo estável de sua vida e se entregar ao verdadeiro amor, correndo todos os riscos. Com a leitura do diário, Duke recorda a própria vida e, às vezes, a senhora consegue romper as barreiras da doença e retomar sua antiga identidade alegre e vivaz. E, sempre que isso acontece, Duke tem a certeza de que o amor relatado nas páginas do diário é a força mais poderosa do Universo.

"Levamos uma vida inteira para aprender isso. Parece que somente os velhos conseguem ficar um do lado do outro sem nada dizer, e ainda assim se sentirem contentes. Os jovens, irrequietos e impacientes, têm sempre de quebrar o silêncio. O silêncio, é puro. O silêncio é sagrado. Ele aproxima as pessoas porque só quem se sente confortável ao lado de outra pessoa pode ficar sem falar: Esse é o grande paradoxo.

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adamwatchesmovies · 3 years ago

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The Notebook (2004)

Detractors will call The Notebook clichéd and predictable. Fans (including myself) will embrace the familiar elements and point out the strong performances and the on-screen chemistry between the leads. You’ve seen some of what this romantic drama has to offer before but this movie pulls all of those elements together and hits it out of the park.

At a nursing home, Duke (James Garner) reads a story from his notebook to a fellow resident (Gena Rowlands). Set in the 1940s, it follows Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) and Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams), the summer love affair that brings them together, their separation, and their insatiable longing while apart.

I’ll admit some of the big scenes feel a little forced. Passionate kisses in the rain, parallel stories with the nursing home patients and the couple in the notebook, unfulfilled love like the one here, are more cinematic than realistic… but they work. It's Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams. You want them to get together. When they’re next to each other, the sparks are tangible. Even when they argue, you can tell there’s something special present. When she catches his eyes, you remember what it was like when you met that special person. When he convinces her to go out with him, it’s like the first time your significant other said “Yes” to you. The film is unabashedly romantic and knows it. The objective is to make your heart swell and keep you guessing. Not whether or not they’ll get together, but how and when. It’s the meeting of your expectations and the payoff that makes this picture soar.

Sure Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling are treats for the eyes, but we all know we’ll eventually wind up as wrinkly old bags, which is why the film's wraparound story is so important. The Notebook assures us that life won’t end the minute you spot a grey hair. The period setting also helps bolster the romance. There’s something about the people of this time before. Their shyness, the way a first date’s climax might be the holding of hands or a single kiss. It asks you to be patient as the people involved slowly come together, going on many dates to truly discover themselves as a couple. Just like slasher films are best set before 1983 when cell phones came and ruined it all, romantic dramas get a solid boost by taking place in times we're nostalgic for; when seeing a woman’s ankle was scandalous and real men had to work with their hands out in the sun, their muscles glistening with sweat.

The picture resists the urge to introduce a villain, which is a relief. The obstacles are people who try their best and life, which often disagrees with our premade plans. In a world where people do wind up alone, where good guys lose in the end and some love goes unfulfilled, this couple’s passion is incendiary, a blazing testament to first love that ends on the perfect note.

Even the most cynical audience members - the kind who scoff at the idea of waiting for that one girl/guy for years - won’t be able to deny the picture's charms. When you’re in the mood for a sweet/sappy love story, you’ve gotta go with The Notebook. Nothing else will do. (On DVD, December 9, 2016)

#TheNotebook #movies #films #MovieReviews #FilmReviews #NickCassavetes #JeremyLeven #NicholasSparks #JanSardi #RyanGosling #RachelMcAdams #JamesGarner #GenaRowlands #JamesMarsden #KevinConnolly #SamShepard #JoanAllen #2004movies #2004films

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doe-rose-q · 4 years ago

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Since it’s 💘Valentine’s Day💘 2021 this Sunday...

I thought it would be appropriate to share my all time TOP 9 favorite romantic relationSHIPS from fictional movies and TV series. 🎥 🎬 👩‍❤️‍👨

What are YOUR Top 9 ships??? 😍

Please comment on this blog post with yours or make YOUR OWN blog post of them and tag me in it! 😉

Tagging @boltthrutheheart @courtneyshortney82 @twdmusicboxmystery @gala-art @paperdollgirl @bethgreenewarriorprincess @leighj11 @yourselina12 @djappleblush @bethgreeneprevails @texasbelle91 @rckyfrk @scarlettdixon @moonshineandcrossbows

Beth Greene + Daryl Dixon—a.k.a. Bethyl—from The Walking Dead TV series

Princess Leia Organa + Han Solo from Star Wars movies

Simon Bassett a.k.a. the Duke of Hastings + Daphne Bridgerton from Bridgerton TV series

David Addison + Maddie Hayes from Moonlighting TV series (1985 - 1989)

Chico + Diane from 7th Heaven silent movie (1927)

Tessa Young + Hardin Scott—a.k.a. Hessa—from the movie and book series by Anna Todd

Joe Harman + Jean Paget from A Town Like Alice movie (1981)

Baby Houseman + Johnny Castle from Dirty Dancing movie (1987)

Noah Calhoun + Allie Hamilton from The Notebook movie (2004)

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365days365movies · 4 years ago

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February 5, 2021: The Notebook (2004)(Part 1)

...Do I have to?

...The year was 2004. I was 13, my Mom was still into romance movies, and we had a Hollywood Video nearby. God, I miss Hollywood Video, you have NO idea. Anyway, I obviously didn’t watch this movie (or I wouldn’t be watching it now), but I do remember kissing in the rain...or was that just the DVD cover? Other than that, I got nothin’. Still, I like both Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling in other works, so I guess we’ll see.

I also can’t start this without acknowledging the fact that this is based upon a Nicholas Sparks book, and...I’m not into that. Sparks sucks, man. Sappy, overemotional, and constantly predictable folderol.

OK, Nicholas Sparks, let’s get this over with. SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Recap

We start with scenic shots of a boat rowing through a marsh, being visited by a flock of snow geese. As they fly off, an elderly woman (Gena Rowlands) looks out of a window over it. The woman is in an old-folks home, and is visited by Duke (James Garner), another resident. He’s here to read from a book, despite it not being a “good day,” according to the woman’s attendant.

The story in the book begins on June 6, 1940, at a carnival in South Carolina. There, Noah Calhoun (Ryan Gosling) sees Allie Hamilton (Rachel McAdams), and it’s infatuation at first sight. He’s a lumber yard worker, and she’s a rich heiress. He’s also EXTREMELY forward, and she’s EXTREMELY not interested. He approaches her for a dance (at a...carnival), and she says no, having literally never seen this guy before. He responds to this rejection by...butting into her date with another dude of a Ferris Wheel?

And when she once again rejects his offer for a date...he, uh...he threatens to kill himself off of the Ferris Wheel?

Um. Yeah, no. That’s a new level of manipulation. She pants him on the Ferris Wheel and humiliates him, but JESUS CHRIST, this dude is a lot. That’s compounded the next day, when he continues to pursue her, and she continues to be EXTREMELY not interested! DUDE. GET A GODDAMN CLUE HERE, she is NOT INTERESTED IN YOUR SHIT.

Is Noah the first simp? Because he’s really starting to seem like it. Anyway, Noah and his friend Fin (Kevin Connolly) basically set her up to go on a double date with Noah, and he continues to be overly forward. Maybe this is supposed to be romantic, but it definitely doesn’t feel like it to me.

We find out that Allie is a quite well-educated young woman, whose schedule is basically completely controlled by her parents, who want her to go to college as well. Noah questions why her life is so restrictive, nothing that she should be free, which she insists she is. He then lies down in the middle of the road, watching the street...lights…

Holy shit, he’s a manic pixie dream boy. HOLY SHIT HE’S A MANIC PIXIE DREAM SIMP. He does all these quirky things, and breaks the girl in the restrictive lifestyle out of said lifestyle. Even if his dumbass actions nearly get him and Allie killed. See, she lies down in the street with him, and they nearly get run over by a car. And this second near-death experience is apparently SO romantic, that Allie’s won over, and they...just dance in the middle of the street. Because Ryan Gosling has no idea where to dance, apparently.

Billie Holiday sings “I’ll Be Seeing You” in the background (which, yes, I love), and we cut back to Duke reading to the elderly woman, who correctly guesses that they fell in love. And yeah, they go head-over-heels, apparently. Which is symbolized by, just, the most graphic of PDAs over, lord.

Allie meets Noah’s father, Frank (Sam Shepard), a seemingly nice man and poetry fan (he’s a Tennyson man apparently). He asks her if she wants breakfast-for-dinner, and he’s my favorite character so far.

However, as if to set up the conflict to come, we’re reminded that this is a summer romance, and that they come from two different classes and worlds. Because of course they do, but whatever, moving on. That is when the following scene takes place.

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...Look, I’m a bird guy by trade, and even I think that was weird.

We get more glimpses of their romance, including them dancing at a gathering with...a bunch of black peopNOPE. HOLD YOUR TONGUE, 365, WAIT FOR THE REVIEW TO TALK ABOUT THAT SHIT. At the end of this montage, we meet Allie’s father, the uppity and rich John Hamilton (David Thornton), and his GLORIOUS mustache (mustache).

He invites Noah to Sunday brunch, which is being attended by...black servaHOOOOOOLD. NOT NOW 365 NOT NOW. We also meet Allie’s controlling mother, Anne Hamilton (Joan Allen). When Noah tells them how much money he makes, they immediately look down on him and his poor, poor ways. Anne reveals that Allie is headed to Sarah Lawrence, an all-girl’s school in New York. Which is, uh...NOT close.

Anne very much disapproves of her relationship with Noah, seeing him as a low-born of little consequence. Not that it matters, because the two head to a DEFINITELY HAUNTED house in the woods one night, which overlooks the marshlands. The bats from the Scooby-Doo intro fly by as the two walk in to, again, AN ABSOLUTELY HAUNTED HOUSE. This is the 1772 Windsor Plantation, home to...the Swamp Fox? Huh. Didn’t expect a crossover with the Mel Gibson movie The Patriot, but OK then.

The two talk about their house in the future, and somewhere in the house, a painting’s eyes move mysteriously. Allie plays a tune on the piano, which 1) sounds AMAZINGLY creepy, and 2) I’m pretty sure is the opening song, which is a neat touch. Guess that’s the theme for the movie, or possibly Allie’s leitmotif.

Anyway, it seems that the ghostly wails of Old Man Marion have gotten them both all hot and bothered, and they prepare to make love, right there in the old haunted house. The two undress while social distancing, then approach, significantly raising their risks of contracting COVID-19. Allie is CLEARLY very nervous, and as they attempt to begin the dirty deed, Allie can’t stop rambling about the current situation. Which is clearly putting Noah off the mood, but the two still clearly care about each other. It’s weirdly sweet, considering the fact that there’re, like, 50 ghosts watching, and God knows how many of those are slaaaaaaaAAAANYWAY

Fin suddenly bursts in, as it would appear that Allie’s parents have every policeman in town looking for her. Her parents are clearly upset, and her mother demands that Allie stops seeing Noah, whom she literally describes as “trash.” Jesus. And they aren’t exactly quiet about it, as Noah hears the entire conversation. He understandably leaves, and is also clearly disheartened by the whole situation.

When Allie catches up to him, he says he has to think about this whole thing, including the fact that she’s going to Sarah Lawrence, and he’s staying behind. And I’m not gonna lie, he’s actually being realistic about this whole thing, and she’s acting FAR less rational. She actually breaks up with him right then and there, and as she’s literally physically assaulting him, I realize that SHE is actually the psychologically unstable one, HOLY SHIT. Emotionally compromised or not, Allie goes BONKERS here.

The next day, her folks decide that they’re leaving, that very day. Allie doesn’t want to leave without making amends with Noah, and she’s regretting her actions the previous night. She goes to Fin, and tells him to tell Noah that she loves him, and that she’s sorry. Noah shows up a little too late, and goes to return the comments, but Allie’s already gone.

Noah somehow gets her address, and writes her 365 letters, one letter every day. He never gets one in response, so he gives up and moves with Fin to Atlanta. Allie’s mom is seen getting the mail, so we know EXACTLY what happened to those letters. Meanwhile, it’s now 1941, and it’s time for World War II for the USA! Fin and Noah fight with Patton’s troops, and Fin doesn’t make it.

Allie, meanwhile, is in college, and works as a Nurse’s Aide for war veterans. She sees all of them as Noah,,,which is weird because she hasn’t gotten any of his letters, so she wouldn’t know that he went to war, but whatever. One of these injured men is Lon Hammond, Jr. (James Marsden). And...aw...AWWWWWWW. Did I just type James Marsden? GODDAMN IT HE’S GONNA GET CUCKED

James Marsden seems to have only one role in movies, and that’s to be overshadowed by another dude, even though in many instances, he’s a totally fine guy. The X-Men films, Superman Returns, Enchanted, the Westworld series in a way, TELL ME I AM GODDAMN WRONG. Dude’s always in movies where he plays the love interest to a girl, and that girl is pursued by another guy, and he ALWAYS LOSES TO THAT GUY. You could argue that Cyclops in the X-Men escaped that fate, but need I remind that first, Jean died, and then she came back AND KILLED HIM. STOP SCREWING OVER JASON MARSDEN’S LOVE LIFE, MOVIES!!!!

Seems like we’re once again headed down that path, though, as the very injured Lon asks Allie out on a date while in recovery, then takes her out once he’s healed. And, since he’s about as forward as Noah was, but less crazy when asking her out, she falls in love with him quickly. And it’s Duke that makes that assessment, not me. And, OF COURSE, he’s a rich Southern boy, meaning that her parents are going to approve.

At a dance club in the city with...black performDEAR GOD IT’S GETTING HARD TO HOLD ON BUT I GOTTA DO IT MOVING ON

He proposes to her, with her parents’ full permission (of course, because he’s rich and southern, gross), and she gladly accepts. He jumps on stage and announces to the entire club that they’re getting married. However, she’s still missing Noah subconsciously.

Speaking of, Noah comes home from war, presumably in 1945, and finds that his father sold him the house in order to buy the Windsor Plantation. Around the same time, Noah finds out that Allie’s moved on, and is with Lon. So, what does he do? The only logical thing: he restores the entire plantation by himself in order to win Allie back FUCKING REALLY?

Dude, you rebuilt an entire house on your own, your father died, and you could EASILY get rich off of selling the house and continuing to restore other derelict properties in the area! Upwards mobility, my man! You don’t even need to stay in town anymore! Hell, THAT’S a better plan to win both Allie’s AND her parents’ approval! STOP SIMPIN’, AND IF YOU’RE GONNA SIMP, DO IT RIGHT!!!

He’s also sleeping with a war widow, Martha Shaw (Jamie Brown), and STILL thinks only of Allie, and her sweet, sweeeeeeet bathwater, probably. Speaking of, Allie’s trying on a wedding dress, when she sees a photo of Noah in the paper in front of the plantation, which certainly shocks her. Confused, she goes to see Lon at his job as a stockbroker, and laments to him her lost romantic whimsy, brought up by seeing Ryan Gosling (AKA a natural response). She tells him that she’s going to Seabrook to “clear her head.” Lon asks if he should be worried. She says no. SHE LIIIIIIIIIIES.

Halfway mark, and this is a good place to cut! See you in Part 2!

#the notebook #nick cassavetes #ryan gosling #noah calhoun #rachel mcadams #allie hamilton #james garner #gena rowlands #james marsden #kevin connolly #romance february #user365 #365 movie challenge #365 movies 365 days #365 Days 365 Movies #365 movies a year #supernovass #sincerelygabby

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playance · 4 years ago

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Romance novels you need to read now

Here are some of the best romantic novels to enjoy now, curated by the Playance review team.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

This man can write a love story. An older gentleman visits a woman with a fading memory every morning to read to her from a well-worn notebook. The notebook he reads contains the love story of Noah Calhoun and Allie Nelson and Allie’s quandary: to marry her fiancé or give it all up for Noah.

Whitney, My Love by Judith McNaught

Fresh from her triumphs in Paris society, Whitney Stone returned to England to win the heart of Paul, her childhood love...only to be bargained away by her bankrupt father to the handsome, arrogant Duke of Claymore. Even as his smouldering passion seduces her into a gathering storm of desire, Whitney cannot -- will not -- relinquish her dream of perfect love.

A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux

The lovely Dougless Montgomery is abandoned in an English church where suddenly appears a Knight in Shining Armor…from the 1500s. It’s Nicholas Stafford, Earl of Thornwyck, who has come to rescue his damsel in distress.

The Princess Bride by William Goldman

An immigrant father reads to a young boy recovering from pneumonia who wants to know if the book has any sports or is boring. His father says, "Fencing. Fighting. Torture. Poison. True love. Hate. Revenge. Giants. Hunters. Bad men. Good men. Beautiful ladies. Snakes. Spiders. Beasts of all natures and descriptions. Pain. Death. Brave men. Coward men. Strongest men. Chases. Escapes. Lies. Truths. Passions. Miracles." And the little boy, though he doesn’t know it, is about to change forever.

For plenty of romantic eBooks, please visit Playance.

#books #ebooks #playance review #playance reviews #romantic #novels #story #dream #perfect #forever

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bibboonme · 4 years ago

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THE NOTEBOOK

An American romantic drama film directed by Nick Cassavetes a talented and skilled director who turned the movie great it’s because it’s inherited to his father John who is a pioneer of American Independent cinema whose films are distinguished by exceptional realism and truth in the image of human emotions and played by actors and actresses who won different awards because of this movie: Ryan Gosling who is been identified as one of the best actors of his generation, Rachel McAdams who just a few months ago was the bitchy high school queen in "Mean Girls," here shows such beauty and clarity that we realize once again how actors are blessed by good material, James Garner and Gena Rowlands: they're completely comfortable in their roles, never striving for effect, never wanting us to take care we get the message .

This adaptation of Nicholas Spark’s best-selling novel on 1966 is all about the two young lovers torn apart by war and class differences in the 1940s. From a book turned into a visual and great one, the notebook movie later in 2004.

The Notebook is not just all about love but a movie of great love. The movie turned our minds into a deep ocean of heart-rending events. At first the movie started by an old man named Duke telling the story to an old lady. The main characters who played their role successfully: Noah Calhoun a son of a lumber-man and working in the lumber yard earning a salary of just cents, Allie Hamilton who has a to-do-well family background, summering in their mansion at North Carolina. The story started when Noah meets Allie at the carnival and hanging himself at Ferris-Wheel forcing Allie to go out with a date. The story runs with the two’s block because of social differences. Allie studied at New York and things came out unexpectedly. Revelation from her mom makes her realize whom she’ll live forever.

At the middle of the movie Duke’s identity makes the movie interesting same as the old woman in the nursing home. At the end of the movie it is impossible to hold your tears. It is then added that the movie is based on the novel and real events happened to an individual. I transfer my real self to the movie and connect my life to it. Some may say that the movie that is based on real event is not true well, this is just the result of pure, humane and eternal love thus, this is just the evidence that love exists in the movie.

Noah and Allie named the most favourite movie character over the past decades. This movie is highly recommended for those people who believe that love exists and thus, creates miracle.

Guide Questions :

1. What life lessons can be learned from the movie?

- Everything with love is possible. This movie has taught me many life realizations like the stament of Noah “I am nothing special, of this I am sure. I am a common man with common thoughts and I’ve led a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten, but I’ve loved another with all my heart and soul, and to me, this has always been enough.” This means there are special things on earth you have to be proud of and that is the person whom you love heartedly.

2. What part of the story told by the movie was the most powerful? Why?

- “Love creates Miracle” when and old Allie in the nursing home suffers Alzheimer’s disease suddenly remembered everything about her love with Noah together with the product of their love, their family.

3. Who was your favorite character in the movie? Why?

- Noah Calhoun is a man who is ready for everything for his love, Allie. But then with the concept of letting go and choose your lover’s happiness over you is something of being a great man and that is Lon Hammond Jr.

4. Did anything that happened in the movie remind you of something has occurred in your own life or that you have seen occur to others?

- When Noah didn’t let go Allie for the second time like he defended what’s his. Well, it reminded me of my principles and what I am fighting for my whole years living here on Earth for what’s mine.

#movies #movie review #the notebook

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kaitlinj16 · 8 years ago

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"Okay, okay, fine, I'll go out with you..." ~Allie Hamilton

#Allie Hamilton #Noah Calhoun #Duke #Allie Calhoun #the notebook

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sdvbrsb · 3 years ago

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running anywhere from 40 to 50 miles per week

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recentnews18-blog · 6 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://shovelnews.com/a-brief-comedy-history-of-the-beastie-boys/

A Brief Comedy History of the Beastie Boys

Photo: Paul Natkin/WireImage

“Our main goal was really just to crack each other up,” Mike “Mike D” Diamond writes in the new Beastie Boys Book, the massive memoir-cum-mixtape that’s bursting with seemingly every anecdote, photograph, paean, and, well, mixtape he and bandmate Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz could fit into its nearly 600 pages, alongside a miniature cookbook, an oral history of a fictional alien made out of ice cream, and a letter from Sasquatch. Diamond is referring specifically to the lyrics on Licensed to Ill, but he may as well have been talking about the Beastie Boys’ entire career — more than 30 years that Diamond, Horovitz, and the late Adam “MCA” Yauch spent goofing on each other, and generally behaving like the smart-assed punks they were. Comedy was always crucial to the Beastie Boys’ success, of course, as essential as their race; as novelist Jonathan Lethem articulates in one of many guest essays, it was comedy that allowed three nice Jewish boys to posture as rhyming-and-stealing street toughs, holding hip-hop at an ironic distance in a way that played off “the special cognitive dissonance of the white boy possessed by culture not possessible to him.” The Beastie Boys debuted at a time when hip-hop was already being dismissed as a fad, evident in the contemporary flurry of novelty rap singles. (Remember “Rappin’ Duke” — duh-ha, duh-ha? “Rappin’ Rodney”? Mel Brooks’s “The Hitler Rap”?) In this case, the Beasties were the novelty. They styled themselves as dopes pretending to be rock stars, which absolved them from so, so much. Comedy allowed them to sneak in the side entrance, bum-rush the whole show.

That said, the Beastie Boys weren’t really a comedy act — at least, not in the sense of someone like Weird Al, or “nerdcore” rappers like MC Chris. They wrote a lot of funny lines, but they mostly fall under the rubric of daffy wordplay over straight-up zingers. And while they were masters of the studio goof-around like “Netty’s Girl” and “Heart Attack Man,” it was usually a lot funnier to just imagine the addled, 4 a.m. context of their creation than to listen to their actual content. (Although, “Boomin’ Granny” is just funny.) Rather, where Beastie Boys intersected with comedy — the source of their quick rise to fame and their continued vitality — lives in that private space of the laugh shared between childhood pals: “We assume they’re joking, and many of us feel let in on the joke,” author Ada Calhoun writes, much more succinctly. Here are some of the most notable times they let us in.

“Cooky Puss” (1983)

The Beastie Boys officially transitioned from hardcore punks into hip-hop pranksters with this single built around a ramshackle dance beat and some rudimentary scratching — although it doesn’t feature much in the way of actual rapping. The vocals, such as they are, consist of a series of obscene prank calls placed to a local Carvel Ice Cream, with Horovitz demanding, with increasing hostility, to talk to Cookie Puss, the chain’s popular alien ice-cream character. As Horovitz explains in the book, “Cooky Puss” was conceived as a parody of Malcolm McLaren’s rap-and-punk-fusing “Buffalo Gals,” a song the group genuinely loved and therefore had to mock, as is the way of the New York hipster. Like “Buffalo Gals,” it became an underground club favorite, too, encouraging the Beastie Boys to pursue hip-hop full-time. But while “Cooky Puss” barely hints at the Beasties’ musical future, it does contain an embryonic form of the band’s doofus savant approach, not to mention kicking off the band’s venerable tradition of telephone skits and stand-up comedy samples. (That’s Steve Martin’s “Wild And Crazy Guy” getting shredded on the turntables). It was a juvenile way of getting noticed, but it worked — though Horovitz now says he feels bad about harassing that poor underpaid Carvel employee who unwittingly became part of hip-hop history, “we thought it was funny at the time”

“(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” (1986)

“We thought it was funny at the time” ends up being a common refrain in the book, especially when it comes to the song — and video — that broke the band wide. “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” was conceived as a parody of “party” songs, part of the group’s general mocking of knucklehead culture. But whatever irony was lost on the listener was completely flushed with the clip, a punk slapstick masterpiece that only crystallized the group’s image as beer-swilling, porno-loving dirtbags. It’s a spoof of “cheesy pop-metal videos (Motley Crue, etc.), with a healthy dose of Blackboard Jungle,” Diamond writes, beginning with two nerds who decide to throw a get-together while their parents are gone, only to have the Beasties crash it with a gaggle of “bad people” (including producer Rick Rubin, young LL Cool J, and a pre-fame Tabitha Soren). The clip played incessantly on MTV, and while Diamond writes that “obviously, us being white had a ton to do with that,” it also helped that it was wacky and louche in all the right ways, a Three Stooges short as filtered through Porky’s. Unfortunately, its massive success meant the Beasties had to play up those stereotypes to a live audience that was increasingly filled with the kind of assholes they were mocking. Eventually the group lost sight of the irony themselves, right around when they started closing every show by inflating a giant, hydraulic dick. (Again, “it seemed funny at the time,” Horovitz writes.) It was a gag they’d spend decades trying to distance themselves from.

The Late Show Starring Joan Rivers (1987)

Although the Licensed to Ill–era Beastie Boys were stomach-scratching caricatures, they still boasted some pretty quick wits. You can see that dichotomy on this legendary appearance on the Joan Rivers–hosted Late Show, which begins with Rivers introducing them by mangling the title as Licensed to Kill, then — upon being corrected — sarcastically shooting back, “That’s a stupid name for an album!” But any potentially awkward trainwreck became accidental TV magic as soon as the trio sloppily draped themselves across Rivers’s set, taking her snarky questions in stride (“How’d you all three get together — Juilliard?”) and playing dutiful, if feisty foils, with Yauch donning Rivers’s glasses and providing snappy retorts about his age (“I’m 12”), and Horovitz insisting he’s actually Frank Zappa’s son (“It’s Dweezil, Moon Unit, and me”). Not all their jokes land, and they probably didn’t do much to dissuade audiences who saw them, to quote Rivers’s intro, as “loudmouth brats,” but it was just an early glimpse of their improv skills, which led to a long, storied tradition of the Beastie Boys hilariously fucking with interviewers.

“Hey Ladies” (1989)

“Sabotage” gets all the attention, but “Hey Ladies” was really where the Beastie Boys’ whole ’70s fetishism began — and arguably, that of the entire 1990s. Like “Sabotage,” the clip’s comedy is largely steeped in costume design, with the Beasties donning wide lapels, garish-print polyesters, neon-yellow pimp suits, and a giant fake butt to strut around a disco floor, Saturday Night Fever–style. But the laughs also come from some surreal sight gags (Vincent van Gogh sitting at the bar; a deadpan mariachi band doing the cowbell break), as well as the group’s unwavering commitment to their characters. That’s particularly true of the blowdryer-toting Horovitz, who tries out his best Travolta with the line, “I’d really love to do your hair sometime.” Cementing the comedy bona fides, “Hey Ladies” was directed by Adam Bernstein, who went on to do the pilots for 30 Rock, Scrubs, and Strangers With Candy, and who directed the similarly funny, fake-butt-adorned video for Sir Mix-a-Lot’s “Baby Got Back.”

Roadside Prophets (1992)

Horovitz’s acting ambitions weren’t limited to just Tony Manero impressions. The same year “Hey Ladies” was released, Horovitz landed the lead in Lost Angels, playing a soulful teen delinquent whom Donald Sutherland tries to rescue. Two years later, he briefly turned up in the neo-noir A Kiss Before Dying, playing a drifter who picks up Matt Dillon. He also had an episode of The Equalizer under his belt. The book barely mentions Horovitz’s acting career, even his more recent, more dignified turns in indies like Noah Baumbach’s While We’re Young. (Of Lost Angels, he says only, “Please, if you care about me, do not look it up.”) Meanwhile, it completely ignores his foray into movie comedies, 1992’s Roadside Prophets, a relentlessly quirky, record-geek spin on Easy Rider (crossed with Straight to Hell) that finds Horowitz and X front man John Doe riding motorcycles around the desert, witnessing eccentric cameos from the likes of John Cusack, David Carradine, Timothy Leary, and Don Cheadle. It’s not a great movie; less funny ha-ha, more funny ha-Hey, is that Flea? Still, Horowitz is funny in a squirrelly sort of way — and as in his dramatic turns, Horovitz has a certain likable, sensitive stoner magnetism. Who knows? In an alternate universe, Horovitz might have been chosen to be Keanu Reeves, and Dogstar would have become huge instead of the Beasties.

“Sabotage” (1994)

As Amy Poehler writes of Spike Jonze’s addictive 1994 clip for the Ill Communication standout, “I truly believe there would be no Anchorman, no Wes Anderson, no Lonely Island videos, and no channel called Adult Swim if this video did not exist.” She may be overstating it a tad, but you can see where she’s coming from. There is a shared metamodernist streak, one that film scholar James MacDowell once identified as “a tightrope between a cynically ‘detached’ irony and an emotionally ‘engaged’ sincerity” — something that certainly describes the Beastie Boys paying loving yet ludicrous homage to 1970s cop shows. Plus, as in Anchorman, “Sabotage” gets a whole lot of comic mileage out of bad hair and silly clothes. (“Once we discovered wigs and mustaches, we just couldn’t stop, and would go out in disguises every night,” Jonze writes.) One thing it definitely did do was make Jonze’s bones, paving the way for a foray into movies that walked a similar edge between aloofness and vulnerability. “Sabotage” also significantly raised the bar for all future Beastie Boys videos, which would go on to riff similarly on kaiju (“Intergalactic”) and ’60s spy films (“Body Movin’”). But regardless of whether you consider “Sabotage” some Rosetta stone for millennial humor, it still remains as funny and badass the 1,000th time as it was the first (a hypothesis MTV certainly put to the test).

Nathanial Hörnblowér (1994)

Most of the world first met Nathanial Hörnblowér in 1994, when he stormed the stage at the 1994 Video Music Awards. Taking some much-needed piss out of R.E.M.’s “Everybody Hurts” beating “Sabotage” for Best Direction, Hörnblowér — dressed in lederhosen and carting an enormous pipe — railed against the entire “farce” while a baffled Michael Stipe looked on, blurting out, “I had all the ideas for Star Wars!” in his cartoonish Swiss accent before security finally carted him off. But Beastie Boys obsessives and a few unsuspecting journalists were already well familiar with Yauch’s yodeler-auteur alter ego, a filmmaker and renaissance man (he was said to have “pretty much invented snowboarding” and “built his own helicopter out of wood”) who also happened to be Yauch’s uncle. Hörnblowér was credited with directing nearly a dozen of the group’s videos as well as the artwork on Paul’s Boutique, but his greatest contribution to the Beastie Boys was as Yauch’s Tony Clifton–esque escape valve, a mythic personality he could escape into to say the most bizarre shit he could spin — like that time he wrote a letter to New York Times critic Stephanie Zacharek over her negative review of the “Ch-Check It Out” video, demanding she send him a goat. Yauch kept the joke running for years, even directing a 2006 short, A Day in the Life of Nathanial Hörnblowér, in which David Cross assumes the role to cross-country ski across Manhattan and play chess with a dog.

The Hello Nasty Infomercial (1998)

Released into the bowels of basic cable in 1998 (and today rescued on YouTube), the late-night infomercial created to promote the release of Hello Nasty took the group’s zeal for character work and bad wigs in an especially surreal direction. Tamra Davis, who’s helmed comedies like CB4 and Billy Madison (and is married to Diamond), stitched together this parody of low-rent miracle-product pitches, with each member taking a turn in the spotlight: Horovitz as an audience member freaking out over a juicer that plays Beastie Boys songs; Diamond, barely keeping it together as a braying fitness guru; Yauch as a Don Lapre–esque, get-rich-quick schemer. Although the infomercial was a joke, offering things like the all-in-one shampoo, cleaner, and spermicide called Sure Shine, viewers really could order the album via the 1-888 number on the screen, which also directed them to the just-launched website for the band’s Grand Royal record label. All in all, it was a brilliantly ahead-of-the-curve marketing scheme, one couched in a form of anti-comedy whose deadpan non sequiturs, deliberate shoddiness, and butt-ugly sweaters predated Tim and Eric Awesome Show by nearly a decade. So maybe Amy Poehler is onto something.

Futurama (1999)

Joining an esteemed list that includes Leonard Nimoy, Conan O’Brien, and Beck(’s disembodied heads), the Beastie Boys guest star as themselves in the first-season Futurama episode “Hell Is Other Robots,” still headlining arenas in the 31st century — and still doing “Intergalactic” — despite being craniums in jars. The group does a corny a cappella rendition of “Sabotage,” gamely plays along with cracks about the long wait between records (Fry: “Back in the 20th century, I had all five of your albums!” Ad-Rock: “That was a thousand years ago. Now we got seven”), and even turns up in Robot Hell, tormenting Bender with a little rap about the eternal punishment awaiting music bootleggers. The cameo reportedly came about because the Beasties were big fans of creator Matt Groening — “particularly Adam Yauch,” according to their publicist. Unfortunately, conflicts with the recording schedule meant that Yauch had to bow out; that’s Horovitz doing his best MCA impression instead.

“Triple Trouble” (2004)

In the book, Horovitz is a little down on To the 5 Boroughs, saying that the pall cast by September 11 inspired an album where “the serious ones feel a little forced, and the funny ones are a little flat” — an embodiment of a panicked and melancholy time when everyone, quite understandably, got in their own heads. Still, you’d never know it from watching the video for “Triple Trouble,” another Hörnblowér special that finds the group donning outlandish, Dave Navarro–meets–‘N Sync costumes to strut the red carpet and talk shit about Sasquatch, who then kidnaps the Beasties and forces them to play Pong and participate in a drum circle in his cave. As video concepts go, it’s kinda just one long pothead reverie, but it still gets in some decent jokes about celebrity culture and MapQuest — and at a time when dumb shit was more than welcome. Not to mention, it gave us 15 of the greatest seconds ever committed to video: Kanye West learns about Sasquatches.

30 Rock (2009)

The year 2009 was a dark one for the Beastie Boys. While readying an album and another major headlining tour, the group was forced to put everything on hold after Yauch was diagnosed with a cancerous tumor on his salivary gland. Yauch’s illness also meant that he had to sit out on this guest appearance on 30 Rock, where the group was meant to be part of a star-studded, “We Are the World”–style benefit song being put together by Alec Baldwin’s Jack Donaghy, solely to find his ailing father a kidney. Instead, Talib Kweli subbed in, joining Horovitz and Diamond — as well as Elvis Costello, Sheryl Crow, Adam Levine, Norah Jones, and too many others to name — as they rapped about how sometimes it’s better to just have one of something: heads, dogs attacking you (“There, we’ve proved our point!”). The episode ended up airing just a month before the Beastie Boys would play their final live show, a context that makes the otherwise very funny moment feel bittersweet.

Fight for Your Right Revisited (2011)

The same could be said of Yauch’s final video for the group, which brought everything full circle — its dizzying assemblage of celebrity cameos paying testament to the incredible influence the Beastie Boys had, across so many spheres, while also going back to where it literally all began. Picking up where “(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (to Party)” leaves off, the short finds Mike D, MCA, and Ad-Rock — now played by Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, and Elijah Wood — continuing to wreak drunken havoc across town, having run-ins with so many more famous people that it would be far more efficient to say who isn’t in it. (Okay, here’s a sampling anyway: Amy Poehler. Ted Danson. Rashida Jones. Steve Buscemi. Susan Sarandon. Robert Downey Jr. Maya Rudolph. Dan Aykroyd. Alicia Silverstone. Stanley Tucci. Kirsten Dunst. You get the idea.) Finally, the young Beasties come face to face with none other than their older, time-traveling selves played by Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, and Jack Black. The generational friction culminates in a dance contest, ending in everyone peeing on each other before they’re arrested by the cops (played by the actual Beastie Boys). It’s crude and sweet, ironically self-aware yet still deeply sentimental, painfully hip but also absurdly dumb — much like the Beastie Boys themselves. All in all, a fitting capper to such an accidental legacy, one created by three dudes who were always just out to make each other laugh.

Source: http://www.vulture.com/2018/11/a-brief-comedy-history-of-the-beastie-boys.html

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swimmingbouquettigerworld-blog · 6 years ago

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the notebook essay Analysis of The Notebook Essay Example for Free

Get custom essay sample written according to your requirements. Analysis of The Notebook Essay. The Notebook begins at a nursing home where an elderly man called “Duke” reads a love story that is written in a notebook to an elderly woman who is also a patient. The story is set in Seabrook Island, South Carolina where a local boy by the name of Noah Calhoun falls in love with a young heiress named Allie Hamilton. In order to get her to go on a date with him, Noah climbs up a Ferris wheel at the local carnival and threatens to jump off unless she agrees to go out with him. Their first date is at the movies and ends with the two dancing in the street. The end of their date leads into a beautiful summer love affair where the two fall deeply in love with each other. Allies parents are dead set against the two young people being together; this is mainly due to Noah’s status (being poor) in the world. Eventually the two break-up and Allie returns home to Charleston with her parents. Even though the two are apart they are still very much in love with each other. Noah writes a letter to Allie every day for one year; unfortunately Allies mother intercepts the letters and does not give them to her daughter. Since neither one hears from the other they decide that they have no choice but to move on. Noah goes on to fight in World War II, while Allie goes on to college and then volunteers as a nurse who cares for wounded soldiers. During her time as a volunteer Allie meets Lon; a young lawyer who comes from old money. The two date for a while and then one night while out with her parents Lon proposes to Allie and she accepts. Even though she is engaged to someone else Allie still thinks about Noah. In the meantime Noah returns home from the war and sees Allie eating at a restaurant with Lon and catches the two of them kissing. Noah decides to go back home and restore the plantations house, thinking that if he can finish it then Allie will eventually come back to him.... View more ...

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theintrovision-blog · 8 years ago

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The Notebook

At a modern-day nursing home, an elderly man, Duke, reads a romantic story from his notebook to a fellow patient.

In 1940s Seabrook Island, South Carolina, Noah Calhoun is smitten with seventeen-year-old heiress Allie Hamilton after seeing her at a carnival, and they have a summer love affair. Noah takes Allie to an abandoned house that he intends to buy for them. They try to make love, but are…

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moviesyouneed2watch-blog · 8 years ago

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Most romantic movie ever

'The Notebook" cuts between the same couple at two seasons in their lives. We see them in the urgency of young romance, and then we see them as old people, she disappearing into the shadows of Alzheimer's, he steadfast in his love. It is his custom every day to read to her from a notebook that tells the story of how they met and fell in love and faced obstacles to their happiness. Sometimes, he says, if only for a few minutes, the clouds part and she is able to remember who he is and who the story is about.

We all wish Alzheimer's could permit such moments. For a time, in the earlier stages of the disease, it does. But when the curtain comes down, there is never another act and the play is over. "The Notebook" is a sentimental fantasy, but such fantasies are not harmful; we tell ourselves stories every day, to make life more bearable. The reason we cried during "Terms of Endearment" was not because the mother was dying, but because she was given the opportunity for a dignified and lucid parting with her children. In life it is more likely to be pain, drugs, regret and despair.

The lovers are named Allie Nelson and Noah Calhoun, known as Duke. As old people they're played by Gena Rowlands and James Garner. As young people, by Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling. The performances are suited to the material, respecting the passion at the beginning and the sentiment at the end, but not pushing too hard; there is even a time when young Noah tells Allie, "I don't see how it's gonna work," and means it, and a time when Allie gets engaged to another man.

She's a rich kid, summering at the family's mansion in North Carolina. He's a local kid who works at the sawmill but is smart and poetic. Her parents are snobs. His father (Sam Shepard) is centered and supportive. Noah loves her the moment he sees her, and actually hangs by his hands from a bar on a Ferris wheel until she agrees to go out with him. Her parents are direct: "He's trash. He's not for you." One day her mother (Joan Allen) shows her a local working man, who looks hard-used by life, and tells Allie that 25 years ago she was in love with him. Allie thinks her parents do not love each other, but her mother insists they do; still, Allen is such a precise actress that she is able to introduce the quietest note of regret into the scene.

The movie is based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, whose books inspired "Message in a Bottle" (1999), unloved by me, and "A Walk to Remember" (2002), which was so sweet and positive it persuaded me (as did Mandy Moore as its star). Now here is a story that could have been a tearjerker, but -- no, wait, it is a tearjerker, it's just that it's a good one. The director is Nick Cassavetes, son of Gena Rowlands and John Cassavetes, and perhaps his instinctive feeling for his mother helped him find the way past soap opera in the direction of truth.

Ryan Gosling has already been identified as one of the best actors of his generation, although usually in more hard-edged material. Rachel McAdams, who just a few months ago was the bitchy high school queen in "Mean Girls," here shows such beauty and clarity that we realize once again how actors are blessed by good material. As for Gena Rowlands and James Garner: They are completely at ease in their roles, never striving for effect, never wanting us to be sure we get the message. Garner is an actor so confident and sure that he makes the difficult look easy, and loses credit for his skill. Consider how simply and sincerely he tells their children: "Look, guys, that's my sweetheart in there." Rowlands, best-known for high-strung, even manic characters, especially in films by her late husband, here finds a quiet vulnerability that is luminous.

The photography by Robert Fraisse is striking in its rich, saturated effects, from sea birds at sunset to a dilapidated mansion by candlelight to the texture of Southern summer streets. It makes the story seem more idealized; certainly the retirement home at the end seems more of heaven than of earth.

And the old mansion is underlined, too, first in its decay and then in its rebirth; young Noah is convinced that if he makes good on his promise to rebuild it for Allie, she will come to live in it with him, and paint in the studio he has made for her. ("Noah had gone a little mad," the notebook says.) That she is engaged to marry another shakes him but doesn't discourage him.

We have recently read much about Alzheimer's because of the death of Ronald Reagan. His daughter Patti Davis reported that just before he died, the former president opened his eyes and gazed steadily into those of Nancy, and there was no doubt that he recognized her.

Well, it's nice to think so. Nice to believe the window can open once more before closing forever.

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