I finally got to see Grizzly Man last night. It really helped to round out the picture of Treadwell that I had from reading his book and the various books written about him after his death. I found some of the interviews a little distracting because the interviewees were so clearly conscious of the camera. I guess I'm used to documentaries and reality tv that work hard to either film people until they forget the camera is there, or else to give the impression that that's the case. So I was a bit put off by some of the scenes, like the one where the coroner gives Treadwell's watch to Jewel Palovak, because the people were so clearly playing for the camera.

The scenes I enjoyed most were the ones containing Treadwell's own footage. Though often clearly laughable, he also had quite a bit of charisma (or, as the tv producer on The Simpsons might say, "Zazz! Zing! Zork! Kapowza! Call it what you want, in any language it spells mazuma in the bank!") His very foolishness had a certain underlying charm, and the scenes of him doing take after take in different bandanas reminded me of the way a 10 year old would borrow the family video camera and "make a movie". He was so serious about it all even while the results were so amateurish.

One thing I especially liked was the way Herzog included scenes of Treadwell and Timmy the Fox. When the movie started out with Treadwell talking to the bears in a singsong voice and saying that he loved them, I think most people in the theater (me included) were thinking, "what a freak! Here's someone who clearly doesn't understand that you don't treat animals like people!" Then, as we watch Treadwell talking to the foxes, we realize that the way he talks to them is hardly any different than the way we speak to our own dogs and cats at home. In this way, we find that Treadwell is maybe just at the far end of a spectrum that we all participate in, and our own behavior becomes complicit in creating the anthropomorphic world view that Treadwell fell prey to.

Anyway, if you haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend you check it out on DVD.

Ok fine. I've been a little AWOL from blogging for a couple of weeks. I'm sure you're just dying to know things like... how many dead fish did I find on the beach near my brother's house in Seabrook, what did Ben Holloway eat when we got together for dinner, where am I going in a week or so for a job interview? Well, keep waiting, suckas. No, that's not right. What I mean is, "Dear loyal blog readers, please excuse my absence. I am once again breaking the inertia of not posting by crafting a short entry that leaves you with more questions than it answers. For this you have my sincere appologies and promise of reform."

I'll just say a couple of things right now. It snowed 6 inches last night and I'm dying to get out tomorrow and finally try some sledding in this part of the world. Truth to tell, I can't really remember if I've been on a sled since I was a wee one in Wyoming and all of 5 years old. I can't wait! Perhaps A and I will make snow angels too. This Texas-raised girl swoons for snowstorms.

I'm also a little bit in love... with a few pieces of jewelry. Have you ever seen anything as gorgeous as the stuff Ananda Khalsa makes? I'm absoultely certain I'm going to buy something from her, but I can't for the life of me decide which is my favorite. I'm also drooling over the stuff in Anne Gericke's Botanica collection. Plus the Promenade gift shop at Krannert had so many cute earrings and necklaces. And this one isn't jewelry, but I was also completely charmed by the Buddha Board.