rewatched Express

Murder on the Orient Express is a bit long-winded and a desperate attempt to match the introduction and writing style of Agatha Christie. While the star-studded cast was nice, acting okay, I forgot how much I didn't care for Albert Finny as Hercule Poirot, but that's okay. What was remarkable was that my father mentioned that he saw the movie, but it wasn't this version. Looking on IMDb, I saw nothing that he described as a murder in London with some other little bits. If there is someone who knows this "other" version, please let me know.

Sir John Guilgood played a butler. He had a larger role in Arthur, still a manservent. In 1974 Sean Connery was certainly no James Bond with very gray hair. Yikes, going back in for Never Say Die was a mistake.

My favorite line from the movie was when there was an interrogation of the passengers about a murder and a woman remarked that she knew a man was in the room, but didn't see him. When asked how she knew he was a man, she said (dismissing her 50's age) that she had known the wamrth of a few men.

"With your eyes closed (questioning)", was Poirot's quick response. So, Hercule has a sense of humor.

---- Spoiler! If you haven't read the book or seen the movie, read no further, thanks! ----

Returning to the 1974 movie, it was interesting the degree to which each character did the stabbing. Three of the characters did a spinning motion while the knife was in, widening the hole. Also, Anthony Perkins having a character with a strange attachment or detatchment to his mother was an allusion to Psycho, for which he was more famous.

phone blues

I was starting up the vehicle to get it warm, looking also for a belt extender. I found, to my surprise, a cell phone. My niece has lost or misplaced her repeatedly, so I guessed it was hers. I then thought, that it might have been one of her friend's. I called -- busy, called again, busy. I got the house finally and she warmly greeted me, almost tearing because the phone wasn't stolen, as she thought might have happened.

After dinner, I drove over to drop off the phone and she hugged me several times to thank me. She was reuinted with her phone. She was then again directed to continue with her chores. Cinderella went back to chores, but was happy to have the phone.

Chipmunk taxi service

I capture chimpmunks and relocate them in a park. Some years, I transport lots of them, some years, fewer. Today, I sense that they might seek to be moved. I drove one today, opened the cage. It leapt out, happy to be free passing through a line of bushes and trees; it turned and watched me, as if--"there's no fee, is there, cuz I got no money here."

I walked back to the car, none the financially richer, but happy that it has a better chance for a mate. Finding food may not be any easier there and this late in the year, stockpiling will be an emergency issue, but it's "safe".

Earlier in the day, birds told on the naughty squirrel. I would think that birds aren't that smart, but ... they beat against the window and sat in a line watching me from the front. What the? I thought instantly that they were out of food. I walked to the back and found a squirrel eating out of a feeder pulled to the ground. The birds had told on the squirrel. They are more like children than I believed.

I righted the feeder, filled the empty ones and put an obligatory pile of seed by a large tree. I find that donating to the squirrels makes them less likely to pester the birds and the feeders, as they have a more ready supply. That isn't always the case, as they have a heirarchy -- younger unestablished ones are of equal rank and don't battle. The others battle continuously over better picking areas.

So ... as adult, you serve nature, sometimes as a slave. I'm a host, food prep and taxi. I don't get paid for my services.