Carol Wiebe

Julianne’s comments are “off,” so I will tell you, here, how stimulated I was by her post “Shell Game.” Julianne’s lifelong shell collecting has changed from seeking “perfect specimens” to those that are “broken” (thus able to reveal more of their interior), or studded with barnacles and stones. Perhaps this shift in my vision is a natural factor of aging. That the reflected wrinkles on the face in the mirror may move me to look for beauty that is beyond the proscribed norm.

I watched the movie Mary and Max this weekend. Twice. This clay animated film (think Up) has some great narration, including Toni Collette and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Bethany Whitmore was incredible as the young Mary. Voice actors have traditionally been so underrated, but celebrity voice actors are the “new sound of animation.” This is not a film for children. It portrays a somewhat dark, even macabre outlook on life. But it is balanced by laugh-out-loud humor, and the crazy