"You're that stubborn?"
"I'm that right."
-- James Cromwell and Diane Lane as Ogden Phipps and Penny Chenery Tweedy, in Secretariat
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Recap Part IV -- Books -- Take 2
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: original post here.
I read this for book club, and I liked it. The vignettes I mentioned that fill the first half of the book I found to be more enjoyable than the second half, which is composed mostly of the legal side of things. Which I should find interesting, shouldn't I? But it just wasn't as colorful as all the background.
This is a short, rather plotless tale of two men having a conversation. The white man, we come to discover, is a professor who just tried to commit suicide. The black man is a formerly drug-addicted ex-con who's made it his life's work to try to help other people like him. They debate life and religion and reason. It's a short book and an easy read, but one that I've come back to several times since I finished it.
HBO did a movie version (trailer) of The Sunset Limited starring Tommy Lee Jones and Samuel L. Jackson. Haven't seen it, but if I do I'll let you know.
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Quote of the Day
"It seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table...."
-- The Eagles, Desperado
-- The Eagles, Desperado
Monday, December 5, 2011
Recap Part III - Other Fun Stuff
Lest you all think that I only do fun stuff so that I have something to write about, here's a sample of other things that I did while I was on my break from blogging:
London Tea Room: T and I went here once before, and it's so cute that I took a few hours off work to go downtown and try it again! They were super slow and overwhelmed this time, but it gave us a chance to sit and chat, so it was okay.
Copia: Another downtown outing! Look at me go! Copia fancies itself sort of a wine bar, but really it's just a restaurant with a big wine selection. To me, "wine bar" means more tapas style, with small plates for sampling and lots of wines by the glass so you can taste. (Technically, they call it a "wine market." I'm not really sure what that means.) This is a restaurant with a regular menu and most of their wines are by the bottle. Which doesn't mean it's not good. Indeed, everything was delicious. But our waitress seemed very put out when we didn't want a bottle, and instead opted for glasses of different types. Sheesh.
Addie's Thai House: Location-wise, there isn't a lot to recommend Addie's Thai House. It's in a nondescript suburban strip mall/blight at the corner of Olive and Woods Mill (across from another hidden gem of St. Louis, Paul Manno's - a restaurant so great they don't even have a website). But once you're through the door of Addie's, it's easy to forget what's outside. Asian flavor permeates the decorations and fabrics, the menu is extensive, and what we had was quite good - although I said 3 on a 1-5 scale of spiciness; 1 or 2 would have been a better choice. If you're out that-a-way and need a bite to eat, it's definitely worth a visit.
London Tea Room: T and I went here once before, and it's so cute that I took a few hours off work to go downtown and try it again! They were super slow and overwhelmed this time, but it gave us a chance to sit and chat, so it was okay.
Copia: Another downtown outing! Look at me go! Copia fancies itself sort of a wine bar, but really it's just a restaurant with a big wine selection. To me, "wine bar" means more tapas style, with small plates for sampling and lots of wines by the glass so you can taste. (Technically, they call it a "wine market." I'm not really sure what that means.) This is a restaurant with a regular menu and most of their wines are by the bottle. Which doesn't mean it's not good. Indeed, everything was delicious. But our waitress seemed very put out when we didn't want a bottle, and instead opted for glasses of different types. Sheesh.
Addie's Thai House: Location-wise, there isn't a lot to recommend Addie's Thai House. It's in a nondescript suburban strip mall/blight at the corner of Olive and Woods Mill (across from another hidden gem of St. Louis, Paul Manno's - a restaurant so great they don't even have a website). But once you're through the door of Addie's, it's easy to forget what's outside. Asian flavor permeates the decorations and fabrics, the menu is extensive, and what we had was quite good - although I said 3 on a 1-5 scale of spiciness; 1 or 2 would have been a better choice. If you're out that-a-way and need a bite to eat, it's definitely worth a visit.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Is that a real bumper sticker?
I know it's hard to read, so I'll help you out:
You must be so proud.
"My child was INMATE OF THE MONTH at County Jail"
You must be so proud.
Thursday, December 1, 2011
More Fun in the Solar System
Have we all accepted the fact that I love the Mars Exploration Project? Exhibit A. Exhibit B [I'm still a little sad about Spirit]. Good.
Some other fun at NASA:
-- Voyager 1 and Voyager 2: these guys have been flying since 1977. 1977! That makes them older than me! And Voyager 1 is sending back signals to Earth from 11 billion - billion - miles away, on less power than it takes to run three household lightbulbs. How is that not amazing?
In the next billion miles or so, Voyager 1 is expected to cross through the edge of our solar system and into interstellar space. I wonder what's out there... In any case, their little nuclear reactors are projected to last until 2025 or so, so we have some time to find out.
-- Mars Science Laboratory: a new Mars rover named Curiosity launched four days ago. It's bigger and heavier than Spirit or Opportunity, and has all sorts of fancy-schmancy equipment to tell us all about the Red Planet.
I hope they're teaching kids about this stuff in school.
Tangentially, NASA should get more money. They're about the only government department that seems to get stuff right.
Some other fun at NASA:
-- Voyager 1 and Voyager 2: these guys have been flying since 1977. 1977! That makes them older than me! And Voyager 1 is sending back signals to Earth from 11 billion - billion - miles away, on less power than it takes to run three household lightbulbs. How is that not amazing?
In the next billion miles or so, Voyager 1 is expected to cross through the edge of our solar system and into interstellar space. I wonder what's out there... In any case, their little nuclear reactors are projected to last until 2025 or so, so we have some time to find out.
-- Mars Science Laboratory: a new Mars rover named Curiosity launched four days ago. It's bigger and heavier than Spirit or Opportunity, and has all sorts of fancy-schmancy equipment to tell us all about the Red Planet.
I hope they're teaching kids about this stuff in school.
Tangentially, NASA should get more money. They're about the only government department that seems to get stuff right.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Recap Part II - Other Movies
Yes, it's true. In addition to the many, many SLIFF movies I saw, there were others. Witness:
The Princess Bride: ahh, a classic. We watched this one over Thanksgiving. Nothing like Billy Crystal as Miracle Max, young Fred Savage, and lovely Robin Wright all in a movie together. With sword fighting. And a giant. It doesn't get much better than that.
3:10 to Yuma: Russell Crowe is a pretty good actor, it turns out. He plays a good tough guy, with or without a soft side. And I've loved Christian Bale forever - from Empire of the Sun to Little Women to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. (He even voiced characters in Pocahontas and Howl's Moving Castle!) Winner.
Roots, episodes 1-4: working my way through these, but I still have a long way to go. Quite an impressive undertaking by Mr. Haley, I must say. As well as by me, for watching them!
The Princess Bride: ahh, a classic. We watched this one over Thanksgiving. Nothing like Billy Crystal as Miracle Max, young Fred Savage, and lovely Robin Wright all in a movie together. With sword fighting. And a giant. It doesn't get much better than that.
3:10 to Yuma: Russell Crowe is a pretty good actor, it turns out. He plays a good tough guy, with or without a soft side. And I've loved Christian Bale forever - from Empire of the Sun to Little Women to Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. (He even voiced characters in Pocahontas and Howl's Moving Castle!) Winner.
Roots, episodes 1-4: working my way through these, but I still have a long way to go. Quite an impressive undertaking by Mr. Haley, I must say. As well as by me, for watching them!
Sunday, November 27, 2011
Recap Part I - SLIFF
Lots has happened!
For starters, SLIFF was going on a couple weeks ago. I saw lots and lots of movies!
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (with K): varied oral histories are good to hear, but I would have liked a little more analysis.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (with K): starring Tilda Swinton, this is a super-serious film about a woman's attempt to understand herself and her troubled teenage son. Probably would have won the Audience Choice Award, if it had been up to me.
9:06 (with K): a Slovenian detective who comes to inhabit the life of the man whose suicide he's investigating. Weird.
The Welcome (with K and M): inspirational and intensely personal story about a group of vets from various wars coming together to heal, and being welcomed back to society by the town of Ashland, Oregon (home of the famous Shakespeare Festival).
Circus Dreams (with K): great movie about Circus Smirkus some really dedicated and hardworking kids whose dream it is to run away and join the circus.
Hell and Back Again (with K and mom): another story about a vet returning to society, this time after major injury. The Welcome is less intense, but I think I liked it better anyway.
The Athlete (with T): the story of the perseverance of Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila. Q&A session with the filmmaker/lead actor afterwards.
For starters, SLIFF was going on a couple weeks ago. I saw lots and lots of movies!
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (with K): varied oral histories are good to hear, but I would have liked a little more analysis.
We Need to Talk About Kevin (with K): starring Tilda Swinton, this is a super-serious film about a woman's attempt to understand herself and her troubled teenage son. Probably would have won the Audience Choice Award, if it had been up to me.
9:06 (with K): a Slovenian detective who comes to inhabit the life of the man whose suicide he's investigating. Weird.
The Welcome (with K and M): inspirational and intensely personal story about a group of vets from various wars coming together to heal, and being welcomed back to society by the town of Ashland, Oregon (home of the famous Shakespeare Festival).
Circus Dreams (with K): great movie about Circus Smirkus some really dedicated and hardworking kids whose dream it is to run away and join the circus.
Hell and Back Again (with K and mom): another story about a vet returning to society, this time after major injury. The Welcome is less intense, but I think I liked it better anyway.
The Athlete (with T): the story of the perseverance of Ethiopian marathon runner Abebe Bikila. Q&A session with the filmmaker/lead actor afterwards.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Turkey Day, loyal readers! In case you're finding yourself short on things to give thanks for, here are some ideas!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Wrap-Up
A few loose ends to tie up:
Went to Game 7 with T and his friend. It was awesome.
Finished Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Liked it a lot. Even went to a book club.
Read The Sunset Limited. Interesting. I think there's a lot more in there that I just haven't thought about yet.
Tried to watch Secretariat, but fell asleep. Don't blame that on the movie - I've had extreme narcolepsy lately. Going to give it another shot at some point.
In other news, I think I'm going to take a little break from blogging. Not sure how long it'll be; if I were interested in reading this blog, I'd probably check back every few weeks to see if I'm at it again. It might be two weeks; it might be two years.
Went to Game 7 with T and his friend. It was awesome.
Finished Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Liked it a lot. Even went to a book club.
Read The Sunset Limited. Interesting. I think there's a lot more in there that I just haven't thought about yet.
Tried to watch Secretariat, but fell asleep. Don't blame that on the movie - I've had extreme narcolepsy lately. Going to give it another shot at some point.
In other news, I think I'm going to take a little break from blogging. Not sure how long it'll be; if I were interested in reading this blog, I'd probably check back every few weeks to see if I'm at it again. It might be two weeks; it might be two years.
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