3 Movies

 Sunday night our friend Chris came over for a mini-movie marathon. We watched "Wake Wood" an Irish film about parents who broker a deal with a local villager to resurrect their daughter from the grave. Shockingly, this proves to be ill advised. It's nothing you haven't seen before, but it is well made and the actors do a convincing job of expressing the pain of their loss. B.

Also on the agenda: "In Time" a sci-fi thriler starring Justin Timberlake. In a future where lifespan is the currency of the age, Timberlake plays a poor working stiff who exists by scraping by, always hours away from literally running out of time and falling dead in the street. It's a silly premise, and really just an allegory for a perceived inequity in our own economic system. Still, I've seen worse thriller/Robin Hood tales. B

Our last flick: "The Ward", a 2011 John Carpenter film set in a psychiatric institution in 1966. There are some glowing reviews out there, and Carpenter fans seem willing to disembowel you at the merest criticism of the movie. What the hell - my stomach is too big as it is; the movie SUCKED. It's a cookie cutter plot with bits of Shutter Island, Identity, and The Ring tossed in like a poor man's 'Scary Movie', and other than the shrink I thought the acting was right up there with the best of off-off-off-off Broadway. Yeck. The only thing saving this one was that the hospital itself defied cliche, with male orderlies acting professional and refusing sexual advances, and a psychiatrist who seemed to care. That earns the film a reluctant C+.

Zone One by Colson Whitehead

 Today I finished reading "Zone One", a novel by Colson Whitehead. It is, on the surface, a zombie book, tracing the life of a single soldier assigned to Zone One, an area of Manhattan being cleared for reoccupation. What the book really is is a beautiful examination of our selves, our fears, and what it means to be human. It's a powerful literary work, and Whitehead can dance with the English language like he's one of the few to hear the music. I loved it. A+

2 Films

 2 films tonight.

First up: 'The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane', a 1976 suspense film staring a 13 yr old Jodie Foster. The 'shock' was plain to see from the start and honestly, the danger that powers the whole film could have been avoided if the girl had just locked the front door (not once, but many times people just walk right in). I also strongly objected to a full T & A shot of Foster. Not only was she a middle school aged minor, it was unnecessary to the plot. Grade: C

2nd billing: "These Amazing Shadows" a documentary that I streamed because I was told that it was about the preservation and conservation of our movie heritage. That's something I strongly believe in, and long ago in the pre-Lisa days I would occasionally donate some of my pay to restoration efforts at the Library of Congress. Anyhow, about 10% of the film was about that, with the rest being the standard self-serving documentary Hollywood loves to make about itself. Of great interest, however, was the shocking side by side clips of the censored & uncensored versions of "Baby Face" (Barbara Stanwyck, 1933). The censors changed the whole philosophy and drive of the film simply by tinkering with a few key moments. Revolting. Grade: C+

Hamburger Mary's

 I took three of the kids (LK was at Grandma's) plus one of YaYa's friends to Hamburger Mary's for dinner. Nice place, friendly staff, decent (but not mind-blowing food), but the price . . . yowsas. (and remember I usually dine with 6 people, not 5).

FYI

For those of you in Milwaukee, at 3:30 this morning Channel 58 (the CBS affiliate) will be airing Timothy Dolan's elevation to Cardinal. Other local stations will stream it online, but this is your chance to view it live on television. I've been getting up for work at around 5:30 this week, so it'll be a stretch, but I'm going to set my alarm and hope for the best.

A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas

We watched "A Very Harold and Kumar Christmas" last night. It isn't as funny as the original, but c'mon, who could match that? Anyhow it's a fair approximation and way better than the gawd awful 2nd film. I LOL'd several times and found the plot pretty decent, given it was just an excuse to get the guys in awkward situations. They all but abandoned the adoration of weed, which is sad, but in exchange the film did have a baby try cocaine and Ecstasy. B+

Gary Carter

Gary Carter, the ever-smiling Hall of Fame catcher that was synonymous with the Montreal Expos, died today of brain cancer. He was 57. 

RIP

My Kiddos

 

Naturally

When it rains it pours - years struggling to find a decent job, and now that I've got one, what happens? I get a voicemail from a hotel asking me to come in and speak about an unnamed position that 'just opened'. Could be a management gig, could be a $7/hr desk clerk. We'll see, but it's worth a call.

Lisa with her friend Jessica's new baby 

 

The Grammy's

Damn good Grammy's show, no? Beach Boys (w/ a shaky Brian Wilson), Paul McCartney, Adele, Taylor, Glen Campbell, Foo Fighters, Katy Perry - sweet.

Congrats, so far, to Adele, Fergie, Taylor Swift and the Foo Fighters

Damn I love Paul McCartney.

Bam! Just rename the statue the "Adele" already :) Congrats yet again!

Ok Facebook. Grammy's are over, Danny-boo is freshly washed and my clothes are laid out. In 9.5 hours I start my new job, and hopefully begin my rise back to the middle of the bottom third of the middle's bottom third.;) Cya later.

Blue and Gold

Today was the Cub Scout's Blue and Gold luncheon. It went much better than I expected, even despite the fact that my kids were [redacted] grouches from the minute they woke up. They especially liked the Order of the Arrow Native American dancers, joining them for one of the dances. Of course the pics I sent from my phone never posted to FB and I deleted them assuming they had . . .

X-Men First Class

Just finished watching "X-Men First Class". Wonderful, action packed movie with a solid script. I wasn't expecting to like it at all - Marvel's obsession with mutants bores the hell out me - but there ya go. Well done. A.

Quote

 Don't go wobbly

Whitney Houston

 OMG!!!!

BREAKING NEWS Whitney Houston is dead at 48. RIP

This Queen Won't Fit

I spent a good part of the afternoon moving a queen mattress/box spring across town only to discover the box spring can't be moved upstairs because it fails to clear my stairway by about a third of an inch. Debating what to do - and generally disgusted with life.

watching Martha Stewart on Baking with Julia (Child). Great to see two legends together.

Stormhouse

We just watched a Brit horror film called 'Stormhouse' about a ghost captured and housed by the Brit gov't. How was it? Let's say this: when a character yelled "Is it over?" I prayed the answer would be 'yes'. A turd of a film. Grade: D.

 i have spent waaay too much time driving kids here and there in this snow. Ugh.

Lump's Drawings

 

Wild Thing by Josh Bazell

I just finished reading Josh Bazell's "Wild Thing". It's a sequel to "Beat the Reaper", a book I reviewed in '09 (you'll find the link in the first comment below). Our resident MD/former mafia assassin is sent into the wilds of Minnesota to verify the existence of a mythical creature that's allegedly chomping up folks in a lake. Along the way there's meth dealers, gunfights, and, naturally, a sword wielding Sarah Palin. It's a very enjoyable novel, and I continue to be a fan of Bazell's style of annotating the text. On the down side the character is more than a little bit of an as*hole - and judging by the afterword, that goes for the author too. But if you can put aside his ludicrous political, religious and social opinions, you've got a heck of a read. Grade: minus the author's paranoid rants, an A. As is, with nuttiness embedded, a B/B+

Doctor Who Season Six

 I stayed up waaaay too late last night to finish watching season six of Doctor Who. 1st half of Volume 2: "Let's Kill Hitler" was a hoot, "Night Terrors" was ho-hum, been there/done that, and "The Girl Who Waited" was pretty ho-hum itself until the last third, when it really gave your heart a wallop. I literally cursed at the Doctor when he closed the door on 'Old' Amy, the heartless bugger.

2nd half, volume 2 of series six: "The God Complex" was smart and creepy and continues an important theme of Moffat's tenure; dumping the demi-god status granted the Doctor by Rusell Davies. "Closing Time" was grand, a LOL romp marred only by the presence of the Cyberman. It was far too bit of a part for them, and should have been pawned off on another species. Finally, the "Wedding of River Song". CLASSIC Who, just perfect. There's not a wasted line of dialogue in this show; everything comes back to haunt you at some point. Grade: Grade? It's the greatest sci-fi show EVER. There isn't a grade high enough to rank it.

Top Gun

Watching the end of Top Gun on THIS. Just as much fun as when my Dad took me to see it back in the day. Still, not much in the mood for TV or films tonight, so I may just read before bed. How very 1934.

At the Park

 @park with the kids, seeing as my 'on call' shift at work was cxl'd.