What I Watched -- Much Ado About Nothing

I heard ages ago that there was a new version of Much Ado About Nothing (trailer) coming out, but it escaped my brain for a while.  And in much the way the making of this movie was casual and low-budget, the release of the movie seemed to fly pretty much under the radar.  Luckily, my ear caught some info about it and I was able to see it at the Tivoli with P.

Much Ado is possibly my favorite of the Bard's comedies, probably because I've seen it a million times, starting when I was about six.  Accordingly, I had high hopes for this version, and it did not disappoint.

It is not the classic interpretation a la Kenneth Branaugh, but it is well-shot and has a character all its own.  It was produced and directed by Joss Whedon, formerly of such diverse projects as Roseanne, Toy Story, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Firefly, Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog, Dollhouse, The Cabin in the Woods, and The Avengers.  The thread that ties most of his work together is an element of the fantastic - something imaginary or impossible in our world. 

A couple of things I love about Joss Whedon (who recently recorded an enjoyable interview with him on Studio 360, which I listen to as a podcast):

1. He has a sense of humor.

2. He takes Nathan Fillion with him almost everywhere he goes.

3. He made a damn good superhero movie.

About Much Ado in particular, it's an honest adaptation - modern, but not alternate-universe-y like Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.  There are only one or two small tweaks to the actual text, and probably the weirdest thing for me was that all the actors didn't have British accents like I'm used to from Kenneth Branagh's version. I really liked the casting of Conrad as a woman (played by Riki Lindhome, whom I know from her work as half of the quirky acoustic comedy duo Garfunkel and Oates, but who apparently has done some other small things as well).

Bottom line: loved it.  But I expected to.

Quote of the Day

"Eat things that have been around for 10,000 years, because your body knows what to do with them or you wouldn't still be in the gene pool."
  -- John Stamstad, holder of the Ultra-Marathon Cycling Association's 24-Hour Off-Road world record (352 miles)

Goal #30

Goal #30: still. need. to. get. it. together.

I accomplished very little last week except hanging out with R the Wonderdog, getting him to and from the vet, etc. Not that those aren't worthy pursuits, but it feels like the weekend was pretty non-existent.

Mom came in town for the week to help me tend to the dog, which also hopefully will make it easier to get other stuff done too. We made big lists for ourselves last night over sangria at Mango.

Recap of goal #29: see paragraph 1, above.

Random Links

The intersection of law and opera.

Get out of your comfort zone.  It's good for you.

Amazon.  Yesterday.

Though Michael Pollan would say we could make some use of this, I have to say it: only in Japan.

I was far too young to be of the Marx Brothers generation, but this is some amusing stuff, and some talent!

Baseball: a waste of a good afternoon?  Or a study in "the manly art of shelling peanuts with one hand"?

Curiosities

Why do they have instructions in multiple languages on tape dispensers?  Is that really necessary?  It's tape - it works the same way in every language, and it's not complicated.

House of Cards

While I was in Seattle with J, I started watching House of Cards, the Netflix original series about dirty politics in our nation's capitol (based on BBC miniseries of the same name).

I know, I know, the last thing I need right now is more to do, but I had heard good things about HoC, and Kevin Spacey is just so good - as is Robin Wright, for that matter.  I also really like Kate Mara as spunky but uncertain Zoe Barnes, intrepid newspaper journalist.

Goal #29

Goal #29: keep breathing.

To wit, E sent me a very lovely e-gift in the form of a gift certificate to Urban Breath Yoga, which was such a lovely surprise!  I'm not sure I'll make it this week, which is already pretty full, but I'm looking forward to trying it out!

Recap of goal #28: I did take some time this week, mostly in the form of a trip to Seattle to see J.  I'll probably write a short post about it -- right after I get around to those posts about C's wedding which are now several weeks overdue.

Quote of the Day

"For so it falls out
That what we have we prize not to the worth,
Whiles we enjoy it, but being lack'd and lost,
Why, then we rack the value; then we find
The virtue, that possession would not show us
Whiles it was ours."
  -- The Friar, William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing

Goal #28

Goal #28 (and as many weeks thereafter as are necessary): breathe and reboot.

I really need a break.  R the Wonderdog has taken a sudden and rather serious turn for the worse, my apartment, for which cleaning has been a goal about a dozen times so far this year, is still an epic disaster, I've been out of town and am going out of town again, I've had people in to visit, I'm not billing as many hours as I need to at work and I'm falling back into some of my bad habits.

I do have some overdue posts which I will try to get written and published soon.

Recap of goal #27: obviously: fail.

Random Links

Nik has done it this time.

Historical photos.

The last of a breed.

Totally sappy and 100% adorable dog rescue story.

I can't believe this was ever allowed, but I'm glad it's been stopped.

Dream job.

Quote of the Day

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.  Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan 'press on' has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race."
  -- Calvin Coolidge

Wisconsin -- Day 1

Early afternoon on Friday, and off we went for "a fantastic place called...Wisconsin!"  G&G, K and I all piled in the car and headed north for C's wedding.  And along the way we stopped for Steak 'n Shake, because how can you not?  Nevermind that it was three in the afternoon.

Hooray for wind energy!

We got to our lovely bed and breakfast, Victorian Dreams in Lodi, Wisconsin, in plenty of time to head out for dinner with Dad and D, who had arrived earlier in the day.  (They got there early enough for the wine and cheese reception; we missed that.)  We headed off to Fish Tales for dinner.  And look what we found in the parking lot - a car all the way from Florida just for K!

So, here's the thing about the food at Fish Tales: it's all fried.  The six of us shared three apps - Courageous Curds (delightfully delicious fried cheese curds), chicken wings (fried), and deep fried mushrooms (obviously).  Dinner for me was fish and chips (fried and fried).  And for the record, the haddock I ordered was from the "Lighter Side" portion of the menu - I think because it was only two fried fillets of fish.  And chips.

By the end of that, it was everything I could do just to get back to the B&B without falling asleep at the wheel.  But I'm glad I made it, or I would not have heard K exclaim about the wonder of the bed in our room: "The pillows smell so good! The sheets are so soft! The blankets are so heavy!"  It really was chore to keep her out of bed once she made those discoveries.  Every time we came back to the room, even for a minute, K went headfirst for the pillows.

Which did smell lovely, I have to admit.

Goal #27

Goal #27: clean!

My apartment is a wreck.  It isn't so much dirty as it is messy, but it's making me CRAZY.  I haven't had a chance to get organized in weeks, and it really, really needs to happen.  Or else.

Recap of goal #26: I did work my butt off this week, but it wasn't always at work.  But I'll keep at it -- there's plenty to do!

St. Louis Architecture Series

St. Louis Public Library, Central Branch

Olive between 13th and 14th

Happy Birthday, Everybody!

Quote of the Day

Connubial by Stephen Dunn

Because with alarming accuracy
she'd been identifying patterns
I was unaware of--this tic, that
tendency, like the way I've mastered
the language of intimacy
in order to conceal how I felt--

I knew I was in danger
of being terribly understood.

Wait Wait -- The St. Louis Edition

Two years ago, T and I happened to be in Nashville with his family while the crew of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! was there filming a live show, which we were lucky enough to get tickets to!

There's so much to see at the live taping that they don't show on the air.  Some of it is a bit...odd, I guess is the word...because they have to do certain things for the radio show that seem silly when you're sitting there watching them.  But it is fascinating to see what goes into the making of a radio show, and they really do have it down to a science.

The real fun, though, is that there are lots of jokes - especially the off-color humor - that doesn't make it into the radio show, but you get to see because you're there.  So entertaining!  The whole thing probably takes about two hours, and it's a 45-minute show, so there's lots that the radio-listening audience doesn't get to hear.  Our panelists were Mo Rocca, Kyrie O'Connor, and Brian Babylon.

And it's totally worth it!

I Feel Safe. Don't You?

In case you can't read it, that duct tape says "out of service."