(no subject)

[oloriel]

Yeah, April was meant to be Back to Business month, but it's also Catching Up with Stuff month more generally.

For instance, I was so busy writing and stamping and posting about stamping and posting about writing in March that I missed the entirety of The Return of the King on Mark Reads. And after that he moved on to The Princess Bride which I know and love as well, so now I'm catching up with that. (Unlike Mark, I do not have the willpower to limit myself to just one chapter per day, so I'm reading the whole thing in big gulps until something or someone interrupts me.)
So I'm now in Chapter Six, The Festivities, and Mark (who is, for once, entirely spoiled because he's seen the movie about a thousand times) has reached the point where the Machine is first tested.

I did not think of it at the time, because I did not grow up on The Princess Bride, neither book nor movie (but I think the Machine wasn't in the movie anyway?), and just read it much later in my life and only three or so times and only watched the movie once, so it hasn't engrained itself in my brain the way other books and movies have. But now that it's been brought back to my mind - and I'm sorry to say this, and I'm especially sorry if that puts all of you off the having babies thing for ever and ever - I'm kind of sad about it, because the way Morgenstern Goldman describes what the Machine is like for Westley sums up perfectly why giving birth to Felix was such a difficult experience for me, and haunted me for so long.
I could not take my mind away.
In one way, of course, that is a good thing, because really, that's such a life-changing thing that you should be there with all your being, including your mind, instead of fantasizing about Maedhros and Fingon, I mean, honestly, woman, what are you doing.
On the other hand, it's not exactly the most pleasant experience on this planet. Or it wasn't for me, anyway. And normally, I take my mind away from unpleasant experiences. Even the mildly unpleasant, like doing the dishes or trying to make the 3km walk to our bus stop in less than 15 minutes, and certainly the majorly unpleasant, like a visit to the dentist's. And birthing was majorly unpleasant, and I could not distract myself. I had no control over what my body was doing and I couldn't even control my mind, either. And that was what made the first weeks so rocky, too, and what made me feel like such a failure. (Well, not just that. But it was part of the package.)

OK, that was random and disturbing. I find it helpful, though, so deal with it (or ignore it, of course).
For instance, I know that there are classes that deal with preparing the mind for the birthing process, and there's hypno-birthing and all that - and crazy as it may sound for the uninitiated, I think I'll look into that when we decide to turn Felix into a big brother.
So there.

Brought to you by my mind & The Princess Bride. (Do read that if you haven't. You probably have to see the movie as a kid or you won't enjoy it as much, but the book works perfectly even for adults. Perhaps even more for adults.)

Comments

[http://users.livejournal.com/macalla_/]

Hm. Ich glaub, ich bin der einzige Mensch auf der Welt, der The Princess Bride gelesen hat und dem es nicht sonderlich gefallen hat.
Ich werde mit dem Stil nicht warm, auch nicht mit dem Inhalt und nicht mit den Charakteren.
Für mich bleibt das Ganze irgendwie ... flach. Ich finde auch den Film nicht so besonders aber das ist ja sowieso wieder ein ganz anderes Kapitel.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Bist du bestimmt nicht. Man trifft ja bloß immer auf die Anderen.
Ich dachte ja auch, ich wär der einzige Mensch, der ASoIaF nicht mag. ^^ Da hatte ich ja wiederum die Probleme mit Stil und Inhalt und Charakteren!
Den Film fand ich auch nicht so dolle, aber deshalb nehme ich halt auch an, man muss den als Kind gesehen haben.

[flower-star.livejournal.com]

Hm, ich habe den Film ebenso wie das Buch sehr genossen. Es kann sein, dass ich ihn lieber gemocht hätte, wenn ich ihn als Kind gesehen hätte - im Sinne dessen, dass es dann ein heiß geliebter Lieblingsfilm geworden wäre, wie er es oft bei englischen Muttersprachlern ist, die damit aufgewachsen sind ... Kann ich so natürlich nicht beantworten (Moment, ich reise mal in der Zeit zurück und zeig ihm meinem achtjährigen Ich *g*), aber ich kann definitiv bestätigen, dass man den Film auch als Erwachsener das erste Mal sehen und schön finden kann :).

(Ich mag allerdings auch ASoIaF :p.)

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Kann man bestimmt, wenn man mit anderen Erwartungen rangeht. Ich hatte gerade das Buch gelesen, dann verzweifelt versucht, den Film zu kriegen, und rechnete mit etwas auf dem kostüm- und bühnenbildnerischen Niveau von Herr der Ringe. Ich wusste ja nur, dass der Film bei amerikanischen Nerds (und nicht nur denen) absoluter Kult war, aber ich hatte vorher nicht mal Screenshots gesehen (die hätten mich zumindest auf die Kostüme und die generelle 80er-Jahrigkeit des Films vorbereitet).

Und das ging dann halt schief. ^^

In dem Fall lag der Fehler also eindeutig bei meiner Ahnungslosigkeit und Erwartungshaltung. Als Kind wäre mir das wohl nicht so gegangen - erstens waren die 80er Jahre da noch kein Schnee von vorvorgestern und zweitens hätte ich mich da sicher so oder so in der Story verloren.
Heut tut mir ja auch Prinzessin Fantaghiro weh, rein optisch.

[flower-star.livejournal.com]

Kann sein, dann war es mein Gewinn, dass ich den Film eher zufällig gesehen und das Buch danach gelesen habe - Erwartungshaltung gleich Null ^^.

[allamistako.livejournal.com]

You and me.

[http://users.livejournal.com/macalla_/]

Thank you!

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

Told you so ;)

[chili-das-schaf.livejournal.com]

Deutschen Lesern kann ich das Hörbuch wärmstens empfehlen. Denn es wird von Jochen Malmsheimer und Bela B. gesprochen. Großartig.

[independence1776]

It didn't sound disturbing to me, and actually, that's a lot how my brain works, so it makes sense that being forced to be present is counter-productive.

You have to see the movie as a kid or you won't enjoy it as much, but the book works perfectly even for adults.

You know, that makes a lot of sense. I didn't see it until I was twenty or so, and while I enjoyed it, I didn't quite see why it's so popular. I was warned off the book though, because I was told that it's nearly impossible to find non-abriged versions. I don't know how true that is or not.

[oloriel.livejournal.com]

:D
Actually, the "non-abridged version" does not exist. All through the book, Goldman - the author - keeps up an act of only having abridged the original book (which does not exist) by S. Morgenstern (who does not exist either) because he found the original too tedious. Just like the father-reading-to-his-sick-son story, it's part of the framework (and meta-commentary on historical/fantastic romance).
So it is true that you'll only find abridged versions, or, as Goldman puts it, "the Good Parts version". ^^ Whoever warned you was apparently being tongue-in-cheek. (Or else falling for Goldman's pretense.)

[independence1776]

Huh. Maybe I'll see if I can find it. And I honestly have no idea which-- it was so many years ago I was told that, I only remember being told, not even by whom.

[nelyo-russandol.livejournal.com]

I watched "The Princess bride" movie when it first came out. I was not a child any more, but I thoroughly enjoyed it, so OTT! And I have the book, right abovce me, on my shelf. A classic. Must read it again, it's been a few years.

On birth as an unpleasnat experience, I can relate to that, even though my bad memories have faded completely. I was lucky, both my deliveries were textbook, and the second one under water, just for the fun. But yes, I remember the seemingly unbearable pain and lack of control, and I approve of your comparison to the Machine.