Goal #48

Goal #48: finish the CD sorting.

I got most of the way through the CD sorting prior to the holiday.  I have about 50 CDs left to pick through, I would guess.  Options: keep, upload all, upload some, discard, some combination thereof.  I should be able to handle this.

Recap of goal #37: success!  Chips and queso, ancho sweet potatoes, jalapeno corn, chicken enchiladas, sangria, caramel rolls, three flavors of ice cream, Mexican hot chocolate.  I may be forgetting some things, but that's most of it.  Many thanks to my sous chef, K!

What I Watched -- Muscle Shoals

On P's recommendation, I picked up a music industry documentary called Muscle Shoals (trailer).  I am a music lover, but not a devotee of music history.  Regardless, the film is fascinating. 

It is a chronological profile of the development of the recording industry in the nowhere town of Muscle Shoals, Alabama.  The funny thing is that, despite spending nearly two hours investigating the mystery of the magic, no one seems to know the answer.  I certainly don't have it.  But there was something about the musicians, the town, the time -- it just worked.

It all started with Rick Hall, who opened the first recording studio.  Rick was just a kid then, and so were his musicians, a mish-mash of local boys called The Swampers.  They recorded Percy Sledge, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Clarence Carter -- some of the greats.  And he recorded all that soul with a white studio band.  In the 1960s.

Eventually, though, his studio band left him to open their own studio, where they did just fine, recording Alabama, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Allman Brothers, Jimmy Cliff, Steve Winwood, Bob Seger, Paul Simon.

The Stones, Rod Stewart, Joe Cocker, Willy Nelson, Carlos Santana, Dire Straits, Jimmy Buffett, all the way up through Alicia Keys (yes, still with some of the same studio musicians).  And those amazing musicians are just a tiny percentage of the total, but I got tired of keeping track.

Bottom line: a fascinating little bit of history I didn't know, and lots of great music.

"Now Muscle Shoals has got the Swampers, and they've been known to pick a song or two...."
 -- Lynyrd Skynyrd, "Sweet Home Alabama"

Random Links

Who wants a pet lamb?

Usually it goes better than this.

Cause of death? Beer flood.

Turns out Paul McCartney wrote some good stuff.

The Washington Post's exposé on St. Louis County's municipal revenue generation.

My current favorite British actor, acting like other people.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What I Watched -- Miele

SLIFF movie #5 was an Italian import called Honey (Miele) (trailer).  The title character's real name is Irene, but she goes by Honey for work.  And her quite illegal work is providing veterinary-strength barbituates to people suffering from a terminal illnesses.

Things begin to change for Honey when she finds out that one of her recent clients wasn't sick after all.

The movie is a refreshing, not-too-preachy look at the issues surrounding euthanasia.  It's critical, but not judgmental.  It's understanding, perhaps because it considers not only the toll of the illness on the patient, but also the toll of the job on Honey.

Bottom line: dark subject matter, but I really enjoyed it.

What I Watched -- The Frontier

SLIFF movie #4: The Frontier (trailer).

I did not love this movie.  I liked a lot about it.  I liked the actors.  I liked the ambiguity in the relationships.  I liked the music.  But the premise is that a long-gone son returns home at his father's request.  Their relationship is strained at best.  Then they have one 30-second fight and -- SPOILER ALERT -- everything after that is hunky-dory.  Almost.

That's not how things work.

Bottom line: skip it.  Maybe get the soundtrack.

What I Watched -- Animated Shorts

SLIFF movie #3 was really a dozen different movies -- the animated shorts!  (Not to be confused with animated pants, which are a totally different thing.)

Le Gouffre (trailer): two friends on a hiking trip run up against a seemingly uncrossable valley.  Their determination to get to the other side inspires the nearby townspeople, and they return the favor.  Verdict: loved it.

The Ledge End of Phil (trailer): a lonely cubicle dweller accidentally locks himself out on the window ledge of his office building.  Verdict: okay.

Canuck Black (trailer): this film uses an interesting combination of animation styles to tell the story of a bear cub who was adopted by a hunter.  When the hunter turns up dead, the bear is questioned by the police.  Verdict: dark and messed up, so of course I liked it.

Deep End (Bill Plympton site): this sketch celebrating topless girls sets a hilarious Bill Plympton song to film.  Verdict: quite amusing.

But Milk is Important (trailer): a wacky stop-motion animation about a recluse and his uninvited imaginary friend.  Verdict: some funny bits, but not a favorite.

Holding Brother's Hand, or How the Jelly Explodes (trailer): the sort of cute but also weird story of two brothers fighting and sticking up for one another.  Verdict: just okay.

The Centipede and the Toad: a graceful centipede and a cranky old toad cannot seem to come to terms.  Verdict: I didn't get it.

Dwarf Giant (trailer): a young Inuit trying to catch a bird gets more than she bargained for.  Verdict: okay.

Oh Willy... (trailer): very interesting cloth animation tells the very strange story of a man who returns to his nudist colony roots.  Verdict: um, what?  I'm confused and a little repulsed.

Imposteur (trailer): a man and a deer switch identities.  Verdict: another one I didn't understand.  (Maybe I was getting tired?  It was late, after all.)

Last Resort (trailer): two sisters are left in charge of the family resort and have to face their worst enemy, the four-year-old littlest sister.  Verdict: amusing.

Rabbit and Deer (trailer): another dual-animation-style film, this time about friendship's ability to endure change.  Verdict: loved it.

So we started and ended on a high note, with some questionable choices in the middle.  There was one film that wasn't shown, Somewhere Down the Line (trailer).  If you happen to see that one anywhere, let me know how it is.

Goal #47

Goal #47: cook a good meal.

As I mentioned, people are coming over on Friday.  It's less pressure than having to do a traditional Thanksgiving meal, but still.

Recap of goal #46: huge progress this weekend!  It's still not 100%, but enormous improvement.  (Which is not to say some stuff didn't just get jammed into my storage locker, but still....)

What I Watched -- The Homestretch

SLIFF movie #2 was The Homestretch (trailer), a documentary about three homeless teenagers in Chicago trying to finish high school.

The three kids are Roque, the undocumented son of an undocumented immigrant, Kasey, who was thrown out by her family for being a lesbian, and Anthony, a refugee from the foster care system trying to make it on his own.

Each kid's status as "homeless" is different.  Roque was taken in by a big-hearted teacher who noticed his plight.  He lives with her through his last year of high school and into college.  He still does. Kasey got a plumb spot in a great homeless shelter, but it doesn't last.  Anthony finds himself at the same shelter as Kasey, and is able to move from there into a small apartment.

The kids get some support from their schools in the form of bus passes, school supplies, and a "homeless coordinator" (it's that big of a problem) to keep an eye on them.  The kids get little to no support from their own families, and varying amounts of support from adults they meet along the way.  It's up to them whether to take the help that's offered or not, but it's not as easy as it sounds to accept.  They have a lot of baggage.

The screening of the film was followed by a Q&A with one of the filmmakers and the Homeless Coordinator for St. Louis Public Schools.  (Yes, we have one too.  SLPS has one homeless coordinator for the entire school system, despite having a higher percentage of students who are considered "homeless" than Chicago does.  But the Chicago schools were doing such a bad job taking care of their students that they were sued, and now have to have someone in each school building as a contact for the homeless kids.)

Bottom line: eye-opening, sad, but more hopeful than you might think.

What I Watched -- The Grand Budapest Hotel

I was killing some time one night last week at T's apartment, and he humored me by letting me watch The Grand Budapest Hotel.

I am not such a die-hard Wes Anderson fan that I went back and watched everything in his canon once I discovered him.  (I'm not a die hard fan in that vein of many things, particularly not having to do with films.  Who has the time?)  But I do like his stuff, so I try to see it when it comes out.  My introduction was to The Royal Tenenbaums, which I like more each time I see it.  I tried to watch Life Aquatic, but fell asleep.  Since then I've added Moonrise Kingdom and now Grand Budapest to the collection. I would like to see The Darjeeling Limited, but I just haven't gotten around to it.

Anyway, The Grand Budapest Hotel was all the things I love about Wes Anderson.  The cinematography was weird and interesting.  The colors were super saturated.  The actors were half a beat off. 

Bottom line: quirky and great.

What I Watched -- The Sum Total of Our Memory

It's SLIFF time again!  I took a break in the middle of the work day to go see my first film, a documentary called The Sum Total of Our Memory: Facing Alzheimer's Together.  The film profiles three couples, where one of the partners in each couple has received an Alzheimer's diagnosis.  Alzheimer's is just one of a handful of different types of dementia, but often the presentation of the different types of dementia is similar: first memory starts to go, then visual-spatial abilities fade (this is usually when people stop driving, or should stop driving), then analytic abilities weaken.

There were a few things about this film that struck me.  The first was that all three of the couples profiled appeared to be fairly affluent.  I talked to E a little bit about why this probably was.  The biggest risk factor for Alzheimer's is aging.  Affluence positively correlates with longer life span, for a number of reasons, including better nutrition and better health care.  That obviously doesn't mean less affluent people never get Alzheimer's, but it is probably less common, and has less of a chance to develop through all stages of the disease. 

The second was the grace of the caregiver in each couple.  There is a short segment specifically about caregivers towards the end of the film, but throughout it's amazing to see the patience with which the caregivers handle their day-to-day tasks, and how gracefully they've accepted their new role.  (One thing that the movie just mentions in passing is the population of elderly people with Alzheimer's who do not have a family member who is a primary caregiver.)

Though this movie didn't shed any new light on dealing with someone suffering from Alzheimer's, it is always good to be reminded of the importance of an emotional connection and practicing patience (not my strong suit).  Another big topic was the importance to an Alzheimer's sufferer of being useful.  One man, who had always been an animal lover, took a volunteer position with the San Francisco SPCA.  His duties weren't complicated -- just laundry.  But the job gave him somewhere to go every day, and it was still within his abilities.

The title of the film comes from a quote of one of the caregivers.  He wonders to what extent the loss of a person's memory equates to the loss of the person.  His wife, who can no longer remember her own history, has become the designated photographer for the friends in their boat club.  How ironic that she is now responsible for everyone else's memory, when she has virtually none of her own.

Bottom line: as with most SLIFF documentaries, not a happy film.  But always a good reminder.

What I'm Reading Now -- Wolf Hall

I know loads of people who have read Wolf Hall, but it was one of those ones that I just didn't have the fortitude to dive into.  I have it on CD, and since my last book on CD was such a failure, I went in a completely different direction.

My background knowledge is that it's historical fiction, and the first of what I think is a trilogy.

With that minimal background, here I go!

All Blacks v. Eagles

Three weeks ago, something awesome happened.

Are you on the edge of your seat?  (Hint: the answer is in the post title.)

That's right, I saw the New Zealand All Blacks play the USA Eagles.  T and I hopped in the car early on Saturday morning and made the trip on the first really cold weekend of the year.  And what a day to spend out in the fresh (cold!) air at Soldier Field!

We were there in plenty of time to enjoy the tailgate, and managed to catch up with M&M, the friends I was going to visit.  (Ahh, the wonder of cell phones and a good old fashioned jersey on a pole.  Makes it so easy to find people.)

Listen to this small world story: the game was sold out.  That's over 61,000 people.  Some significant percentage of that number were out tailgating in the parking lots around Soldier Field before the game.  Other than the group I was there with, I knew exactly one (1) person who was going to be at the game.  And he was at the tailgate right next to us!

We departed our tailgate about an hour and a half before start time to be sure we had plenty of time to get to the stadium, through the gate, and to our seats.  We undershot that by a lot.  We stood in line forever, and might still be standing there if people hadn't started pushing past the purse-checkers and ticket-takers because no one wanted to miss the Haka!

After having a few beers and standing in line all that time, I was in a bad way.  As soon as we got through the gate, I immediately found and employee and asked where the closest restroom was.  There were a few people who ended up pretty far behind me in line, so I just said that I'd meet them at the seats and dashed up the stairs that the woman had pointed out.

The stairs ended right at the last row of seats one level up.  Lucky for me, as soon as I got there, a Kiwi standing behind the seats saw me looking around.  "You want to see?" he asked.  "Yes!"  He and a buddy each grabbed me by an arm and lifted me right up over the last row of seats and stood me on the chairs so I could see the famous war dance.  For a video of the Soldier Field Haka and some history, click here.

The game was pretty much a slaughter.  74-6 was the final score, but the utter defeat of the Eagles didn't make it not awesome. Even the Eagles agree that it was just an awesome experience.

Just a couple quick pictures, because it's late and I want to go to bed.  And also, it's really something you should see for yourself!

And there was some other stuff in Chicago too, including brunch the next day at Dixie Kitchen in Evanston with J, T, &A.  And of course it was awesome to see M&M!

Random Links

Yes, a funny cat video. With awesome music.

10 hours of walking in New York.  Or, what it's like to be a woman.

The famous wire walker is at it again.

London commemorates the centennial of the closing day of WWI.

Finding your own perfect chocolate chip cookie.

The sounds of space exploration.

Goal #46

Goal #46: pre-Thanksgiving clean-up.

What I'm left with now in my apartment are the last odds and ends of things.  The ones that you really need to deal with, but they don't seem all that important, and you've sort of lost your motivation -- you know the things I mean?  Well, the week of Thanksgiving proper is going to be crazy, so this pre-Thanksgiving week is when I have to do some final cleanup.  And it's a busy week already!

There's a chance all this stuff might just end up in my storage locker.

Recap of goal #45: I have a pretty good idea of what the day-after-Thanksgiving menu is going to be!  But you'll have to come try it if you want to find out!

What I'm Not Reading -- All Gone: A Memoir of My Mother's Dementia, With Refreshments

I've read some books about aging.  Generally I find the topic to be interesting and educational, if somewhat sad.

I love food -- cooking eat, eating it, reading about it.

This book should have worked.  I got partway into chapter 3 before I called it quits.  Maybe I should have given it more time to get rolling, but life is short (reference paragraph 1, herein).  So I'm moving on.

Gold -- Take 2

Imagine my delight to discover that Gold is a novel about bike racing!

It's the story Kate and Zoe, friends and rivals.  They were both invited to an elite development camp, and been training together for thirteen years.  Each race brings their relationship to a head, highlights Kate's motherly instincts and Zoe's cruel manipulation.  They live lives off the track too, but even there, everything is a competition.

They dance this dance for years.  Their lives become ever more intertwined and their friendship balances on a razor's edge until their final contest.

Warning: there is a child with cancer, which can feel a bit like it's too easy of a tool for a writer to use.  But nothing's perfect.

The Man Who Loved China -- Take 2

The Man Who Loved China is one of those stories so fascinating stories that it's hard to believe you haven't heard it yet.

The only real character in the story is Joseph Needham.  He was a quirky Brit (the only other kind being incredibly dull) who fell in love with a Chinese woman, and then with China itself.  Despite that China was not his background, his training, or the reason for his employment, he parleyed his professorship into lifelong employment immersed in the subject he loved most.

I found the narrative a bit repetitive, but the story was so enjoyable that I didn't mind much.

Happy Birthday, Dad!

Goal #45

Goal #45: plan the post-Thanksgiving feast, and tidy up the odds and ends as best I can.

I'm having some folks over for a meal on Black Friday, because none of us believe in shopping, apparently.  (And hopefully I'll have my food shopping for that day done before that!)  I think we have a theme, so now I need a menu.

Recap of goal #44: I still have a ways to go, but I made major progress on my CDs this week.  Hooray!

What I Watched -- Hotel Rwanda

In commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the Rwandan genocide, I decided it was high time I watch the award-winning Hotel Rwanda.

I don't feel like there's much you can say about a movie about genocide.  It's dark.  It's heavy.  It's stressful.  But it's well done.

Bottom line: worth watching, but be prepared.

Art at the Table

I recently learned about a new thing that they're doing at Panorama, the restaurant at the St. Louis Art Museum called Art at the Table.  My friend M and I attended the "Whiskeys of the World" dinner to see what it was all about.

The main seating area of the restaurant is closed for the evening, although I believe the small tables along the two sides are still reserved for regular guests.  Seating is family style, so M and I were at a table of six.  The other four knew each other, and we got to know a bit about them over the course of the evening.  Two of the courses (1 and 4) were served family style as well.  Introductions to the food were given by chef Ivy Magruder; introductions to the whiskeys were given by a guy from Major Brands.

Course 1: fried oysters, buttermilk marinade, sweet potato puree, Andouille BBQ
Paired with: Tyrconnell Single Malt Irish Whiskey

Course 2: braised pork belly, grilled asparagus, apple mustard, poached egg, togarishi-spiced creamed corn
Paired with: Knob Creek Rye Whiskey

Course 3: grilled filet, smoked Gouda, caramelized onion-porcini gratin, glazed beets, whiskey demi
Paired with: Suntory Hakushu 12-Year Single Malt Whiskey

Course 4: candy plate (pecan pralines, chocolate fudge, peanut butter fudge, bacon fudge)
Paired with: Glen Garioch 12-Year Single Malt Scotch Whiskey and Canadian Club Small Batch Sherry Cask

My favorite whiskeys were the Irish and the Scotch - not the two I expected!  In restaurants, I tend towards the American, but I guess that's why something like this is such a good idea.  What's more, all the food was delicious; I've been back to the restaurant since just for a nibble, and I will go to another Art on the Table event for sure!

What I'm Reading Now -- Gold

I don't know how Gold came to be in my audiobook collection.

Strange though it may sound, this is a relatively common frustration of mine. Here's how it happens: someone recommends a book to me, so I added to my "list" based solely on their recommendation.  But there are problems with these "lists," which is why I'm putting them in quotation marks.

One version of it is an Evernote note to myself.  Another version is a Goodreads list.  A third version is my saved requests at the library (city or county).  A fourth is books I've downloaded into my iTunes.  Fifth is books I've uploaded into my iTunes, usually because Mom sent them to me.

I'm sure there are others, but that's all I can come up with right now.

Whatever form the list takes, though, there is very little in the way of opportunity to note who recommended the book or why I thought I might like it.  So often, I end up diving blindly in with no idea what to expect.

As for this particular book, the reason I need to get it out of my library is because iTunes, when it did its last update, lost the ability to distinguish between the book Gold, by Chris Cleave, and the CD Gold, by Ryan Adams.  I'm not sure what glitchy thing happened that caused that, but it's an easy fix and solves the problem for me of which book to listen to next!

TV Wins the Day

Sorry I haven't been writing; catching up on the new seasons of Mad Men and Downton Abbey has been taking up my evenings!

Goal #44

Goal #44: CDs, take 2.

Recap of goal #43: CDs are all still in boxes.  But I moved the boxes to a different area of my apartment!  Does that count for something?