... Likes Sands Through an Hourglass

My birthday was Sunday, and the weekend became very Me-centric. Since I turned 25, Mom and Dad felt that a celebration was in order. Friday evening, I met my parents at the Asian market near the university, and we bought salmon, halibut, grouper, and beef tenderloin for Saturday's cookout. In addition to this preparation, I baked a chocolate cake (with homemade milk chocolate frosting) for the festivities on Thursday.

The cookout was suppose to be a pretty small affair but quickly ballooned to a full-fledged party with twenty-two people, games, an impressive buffet (there's still food left), and many birthday cards. Dad and Poppy grilled all of the fish and beef as well as shrimp, chicken, and all the vegetables Mom didn't roast. My brother and his girlfriend drove up, and all the area family came. After we ate and most of the people left, we played a few games of Blokus, two games of Liverpool Rummy (the variation my family plays), and a game of Fluxx. Afterward, I was exhausted and went to bed after watching Rocky which I got as a promotional from Columbia House a few months ago.

The next morning, Dad made waffles, and I left for Jason's after breakfast. For my birthday lunch, we went out for Cane's chicken (one of my favorite places to eat). I opened gifts. Jason introduced Stephanie and me to Spades, a card game the bears a slight resemblance to Hearts. We played three games and all won one apiece. We watched the Ross Kemp episode of Rick Gervais's brilliant Extras.

We used the DruidCraft tarot deck that Stephanie got me for my birthday. She did a reading for me with a spread new to us. It was extremely interesting and fun. Sunday night, I did a Celtic Cross reading for her which wrapped up at around 5:30 in the morning.

Usually, I get very depressed and inconsolable on my birthday, but this year was different; I was in a pretty good (if somewhat unstable) mood. On the way home of Monday, I did have a moment of nervous anxiety and irrationally low self-esteem.

Last night, I was able to get away from most human contact and had some alone time. I watched Olivier's Hamlet and a 1934 Dick Powell film called Dames which was very low on plot and high on humor and spectacle.

Breakdown of birthday presents:

• Ticket to see The Drowsy Chaperon (Mom and Dad)
• White FiestaWare pitcher (Nana and Poppy)
• Autographed and framed photo of Joan Fontaine (Jason)
• Autographed Jason baseball card (Jason)
• DruidCraft tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant (Stephanie)
• Metallic necklace (Stephanie)
• Color-it-yourself tarot deck (Stephanie)
• Zen: the Perfect Companion by Seung Sahn (Stephanie)
• DK Eyewitness Film (Trish)
• Merchant-Ivory's The Bostonians (Shari)

Quick Thoughts of Some Films

I haven't watched that much this month since I got the fourth season of Boston Legal and watched it in an embarrassingly short amount of time. So I thought I would dash down my thoughts on the films I have watched this July.

The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Fantastic film that I watched on TCM. It's the story of an exiled prince and a beggar thief who team up to defeat the wicked Jafar and reunite the prince with his throne and the woman of his dreams. Along with The Black Swan, this is one of the movies I've seen recently that I wish I'd seen as a preteen. I would have been instantly immersed in the world these films create; I would have made up stories about the world and its inhabitants.

Woman in the Moon (1929)
I got this film during the last Kino sale. It's a Fritz Lang silent film and one of the first films that explores space travel. In typical Lang fashion, the idealistic scientists are hijacked by a network of spies for shady businessmen (and one cigar-chomping businesswoman) who wish to control all of the purported gold caches on the moon. There's espionage, romance, and a breathable atmosphere on the moon.

Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Another TCM showing. The amazing thing about this film was the way it evoked warm, fuzzy feelings about vacations I've been on. Somehow, it encapsulates the anticipation, the heady feelings of travel, and all the little frustrations and inconveniences that inevitably crop up. Though it's a slapstick comedy in the vein of Chaplin, it feels very realistic and truthful.

Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Watching this, I realized that I'd seen parts of it a long, long time ago. Either that or it has a familiar quality. I love Streep and Hoffman in about everything, and this was particularly moving. I can see why it won Best Picture that year. Also, the late 70s were a very brown time.

King Solomon's Mines (1950)
The TMC showing coincided with me finishing reading the book. Another film I would have loved when I was little. It's interesting the deviations they took from the book. Most of the book's actions happen, but the emphasises are different. The book is basically broken into four sections: the introduction, the trek across the desert, the battle of the tribes, and escaping the mines. The book adds a trek to the desert which takes up over half of the film. From that point on it covers the over plot points quickly and deletes the epic battle. I really enjoyed it and now have yet another reason to love Deborah Kerr.

I'm Not Good at the Internets

It's been over a month since I last updated and not because I have a lack of things to say/report. Mostly, I just don't think about updating. When it does occur to me to write an entry, I'm usually busy doing something else (ex. driving home, showering, fretting).

Added to this is my aversion to "Internet culture." Social-networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter produce all of the anxiety of more direct communication without any of the payoff. A generally water-downed version of a person is brandied about without any depth of relationship and real understanding. While they are attractively concise, these tidbit offerings leave me cold. Of course, I'm primarily interested in understanding myself and part of this process is believing that others are just as interesting and interested in exploring themselves. And personal Internet information seems transitory and smacks of unneeded compromise. Which is my way of saying, "Whoops, I'll try harder in the future!"

Onward to the news:

1. Shelter

Everything on the buying-a-condo front is going smoothly. I got a call from the realtor today, and she informed me that the condo passed the termite inspection. Last week, the house inspector gave me his report which cited only an estimated $450.00 in repairs; these consisted entirely of things I had planned to replace. After this, I sent all the paperwork and documents to the mortgage company who has since sent it to the closing company. (I had no idea this would be so complex! The image in my head was of speaking with George Bailey at the savings and loan, striking a deal, and ending with a handshake.)

Unfortunately, the entire process has been plagued with minor inconveniences: the seller was out of town and unreachable for a week, my realtor's husband is ill, the seller's realtor gave us the wrong key when my parents came to look, one of the credit bureaus put the wrong credit history on my report. Through all this I've remained relatively calm and positive. I've even had a couple days when I was excited. Still, there is a persistent, foreboding voice in my head that keeps warning that I'm going to end up messing up my life more than I already have.

2. Education

I received all the acceptance letters and paperwork. I've filled everything out and sent it in. I do need to get a student ID. I was happy to find out that I will be monetarily compensated for the workshop I have to attend in order to teach first-year composition. I also received some of the articles and essays that I will use in the class. I'm excited about how structured everything is and am beginning to feel that I may actually make a success of this little endeavor. (I'm steering clear of any teacher-schmaltz.)

3. Birthday

I'm about to start my birthday weekend. I'm turning 25 (a quarter of a century) and won't have another landmark birthday for a number of years. Mom, Dad, my brother, and his girlfriend are coming up tomorrow for a cookout that will feature all of my favorite grilled seafood and roasted vegetables. I baked a chocolate cake and made the icing for it yesterday and will assemble it tomorrow morning. On my actual birthday, I'm going over to Jason's to hang out for awhile. Beyond that I haven't any plans except to watch a couple good movies and relax.

My Reading List

Yesterday, I finished reading Jose Saramago's haunting novel Blindness which was published three years before he won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1998, and I realized that I really haven't blogged about the stuff I'm reading (with the exception of Ian Fleming's Casino Royale) so I decided to jot down thoughts about my reading list for this year.

This is my second year to have an official reading list, and I've found that it's an interesting process. I find it helpful to have a list since Fours (such as myself) find solace in organization and direction. By constructing a list, I can better understand my reading habits and interests and also remember books I've read or want to read. (I have problems with remembering and accurately placing things in time.) Like I said, this is my second year to do this, and already I've learned so much about the process and a little about myself.

Last year, I developed a list after getting the idea from a project of Stephanie and Shari's. The challenge was to choose eight categories/genres and read eight books within those parameters. I sat down in late January and completed a list of sixty-four books.

I can say with qualms that this list was a failure. It failed for a couple of reasons. 1) I neglected to include "fun" reading. Most of the books on the list were longer than average and could be called "classics." 2) The process was very forced. I completed the list in one day and hardly deviated from it during the year. In the end, I only read twenty-two books. While having a list was really good for me, it was too limited, and I found myself unable to break away from it.

In December I started compiling a list of categories/genres I was interested in and came up with six: action/adventure fiction, literary classics, poetry collections, award-winning books, non-fiction, and book I own but have not yet read (not a genre but definitely something I wanted to address). Within these, I chose three or four books to start from, my thought being that I could build the list throughout the year. I've since added three additional categories: children's literature, religion/theology, and a free-for-all category.

The nice thing about having a freer structure and fewer initial titles is that I'm able to be inspired by the things I read or develop an interest in to pick up novels I had no intention of reading. And I don't have to bump another book from my list. There's no set number of books for each category. Thus, I've dropped the challenge aspect of the list. I don't do well with challenges. I tend to panic and shoot my self-esteem all to hell.

Another thing that's really helped me is Shelfari, which Shari introduced me to early this year (see my shelves to your right). It helps give me a visual idea of what my reading habits are. Also, if a book stays too long on my "I'm reading" shelf, I start to get antsy and quickly finish it. This year I resolved to read more than I had in 2008, and I'm already close to fulfilling that resolution.

Will This Madness Ever Stop?!?: Memorial Weekend Post #3

As I mentioned, we went to Hastings over the weekend to check out their sale. I bought way too much, but the sale was pretty good. I bought eleven films (including two coveted used Criterion releases and two coveted cheap Disney films) for $68.00. We also went to Blockbuster where I found a few things for $3.99 and $1.99.

Blockbuster Buys
Look Both Ways
an Australian film I watched recently with Stephanie and loved

Tanner on Tanner (2004)
a mockumentary follow-up to Robert Altman's Tanner '88

Vera Drake (2004)
a drama starring Imelda Staunton as a woman who performs illegal abortions

Play It Again, Sam (1972)
a film adaptation of Woody Allen's play; the first movie pairing him with Diane Keaton

Hastings Buys
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
2-disc Criterion; one of my favorite movies of last year

That Obscure Object of Desire (1977)
Criterion release; Luis Bunuel film

Toy Story 2 (1999)
a Pixar/Disney flick I didn't have and a really good one (I watched it last night.)

The Fox and the Hound (1981)
a Disney flick I didn't have; this was actually new but in the used wrapping

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)
one of my favorite films of last year and just the newest addition in my Woody Allen collection

The Duchess (2008)
one of the best period dramas I've seen in quite some time

Frozen River (2008)
a moving movie about the undeterred human spirit

Love in the Time of Cholera (2007)
pretty sure this is really bad, but I read the book last year, and it looks so pretty

Ghost Town (2008)
quirky comedy I saw in the theater last year

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (2008)
cute teen rom-com I saw in the theater last year

Synecdoche, New York (2008)
film I wanted to see in the theater but was boycotting the only AMC showing it.

Add to this the Ultimate Oliver Stone set (12 movies on 14 discs!) which I bought from fye for $9.99 + shipping/handling, and my film collection has ballooned recently. As I told Stephanie yesterday, I have lots and lots to watch!

Movie Thoughts: Memorial Weekend Post #2

For me, any long weekend affords a prime opportunity to take in a few (or many, some would say too many) movies. Usually when I watch a large amount of films in such a short amount of time, there is at least one that does not quite live up to expectations. However, this weekend was an exception. Everything that I watched was wonderful!

The Band Wagon (1953)
Jenna and I watched this since we both love Singin' in the Rain and An American in Paris and other movie musicals of that time frame. Though this film wasn't as sophisticated in its storyteller or technical artistry, it was still highly entertaining. Fred Astaire plays Tony Hunter, a has-been movie star who returns to the stage at the behest of old friends who've written a light musical comedy. Unfortunately, an overly zealous director/producer turns it into a modern telling of Faust. Hilarity ensues.

Some Came Running (1958)
The next day we watched this drama about the quiet desperation of small town America (also directed by Vincente Minnelli who directed The Band Wagon). Frank Sinatra plays a man who arrives back in his hometown after getting out of the army. Once there, he reconnects with his brother and starts to fall in love with a teacher. He also meets an alcoholic gambler played by Dean Martin (this was their first pairing) and a former hostess turned brassiere factory worker (played by Shirley MacLaine).

Speed Racer (2008)
I watched this with Dad who really wanted to see it. I know it's not a great film, but it's not as bad as the reviews claim. It's definitely flawed, but the simple message and stunning visuals are fun to watch and always leave me a bit happier.

Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)
I just received the Criterion release of this film last week and watched it with Jenna. I think she enjoyed it, but I can never really tell with her. It follows the coming-of-age of a boy living in an asbestos mining town in Quebec. It's a very subtle movie dealing with discovering love, sex, and death.

Brideshead Revisited (2008)
Because of the lackluster reviews and the shuffling into the realm of forgotten movies, Stephanie and I spent a lot of this movie waiting for it to fall apart. Instead, it was a great adaptation of a incredibly complex novel. It was nice to see Matthew Goode is something that wasn't Match Point.

Ghost Town (2008)
Rewatched this with Stephanie and Jason. It's a fun take on the romantic comedy and quirky-afterlife comedy. Everything that Ricky Gervais says is hysterically funny. Tea Leoni is adorable and slightly odd. Greg Kinnear is an asshole. Fun times!

I've Loved You So Long (2008)
This was probably the best film I watched over the weekend. It's definitely the one that I've thought most about. It's an unexpectedly moving story about people in very painful, difficult situations. Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein play reunited sisters, and I'm amazing at how much they can relay in simple motions and quiet moments. Everything felt so organic and genuine; nothing was obligatory. Despite the rather depressing subject matter, I thought it was an uplifting film. It portrayed so well the human need for connection and love.

I'm Glad I Was Asked: Memorial Weekend Post #1

During the summer session, I've switched to four day work weeks and get Saturday through Monday off. Since I was not working on Memorial Day, I got Tuesday off and had a nice four day weekend.

Friday evening, I went to my parents' house and spent Saturday with them. The official plan was to go through the boxes I have stored there, but I decided to have fun instead. Jenna and I watched several movies, and I did a bit of reading. Dad and Joel attended the Byron Nelson golf tournament in Irving, Texas. Mom worked on a quilt for my cousin. It was such an enjoyable visit.

Sunday morning, I left my parents' and went to stay with the Stephanie's family. (For a detailed breakdown of the weekend's events, read Stephanie's stellar post here.) In addition to Stephanie and her parents, Shari and her family and Jason spent the weekend having fun and hangin' out, yo. We played games, watched movies, ate excellent food, drank mixed drinks, beer, and wine (not all together, mind you).

Stephanie, Jason, and I went to scope out the sale at Hastings which culminated in me buying too much and coasting into line minutes before the store closed. When the store is about to close, there is a soothing woman's voice that asks you to make your final selections and please proceed to the checkout line where you will be served with a smile. The promise of a smile is so prominent that I imagine not making your final selections and proceeding to the checkout line will result in being served with a scowl and/or snarl. Thankfully, our cashier was terribly nice.

I also watched a Redbox being used for the first time. Does anyone rent from Blockbuster anymore? If so, why? It was such an easy process and so cheap! We had a code to get a movie for free, but had we not, it would have only been $1.00! I'm genuinely excited about this. One of the reasons that I acquire so may DVDs is that renting is so expensive. This gives me another option to see a newer film without finding space on my shelves for it.

Over the weekend, I learned that I sporadically suck at games. Over the course of a couple days, I lost Monopoly (new with credit cards and an earnest worldview), Monopoly Deal (a fun card game), The Friends Trivia Game, Television SceneIt!, MarioKart, and croquet. I warned Stephanie that next time I visit, I'm going to bring something that I can win. (This may mean playing chess with her kid nephews.)

Unfortunately, there is always a drawback to so much time off. It was incredibly hard to go back to work, especially ten hour work days.

News on the School Front

Jason graduated this weekend, and the ceremony included bagpipes. Afterward, we all went to eat Mexican food and then over to his condo for cake and conversation. The guests slowly dwindled until only Jason, Stephanie, and I were left.

Over the weekend, we went shopping and I bought too many movies. Hastings is having a sale on their used films, and I was able to get several of the awards season films from last year, including Milk, Rachel Getting Married, The Reader, and Doubt. Unfortunately, Frost/Nixon is too new for them to have used copies. I also picked up The Black Swan and A Letter for Three Wives, two films from the Fox Studio Classics collection.

Stephanie and I watched a couple more episodes of Buffy and an episode of Avatar. We all watched License to Kill which pits Timothy Dalton as James Bond against a suave drug lord who operates under the cover of a research facility, puppet President, international bank, decadent casino, and religious cult. Sufficed to say, everyone is pretty busy. At one point there were ninjas.

Stephanie gave me another tarot reading which went really differently than the first. I still didn't feel comfortable asking a question so it was open. Though I did get the Death card again (this time in the Hopes and Fears position), I didn't freak out and stayed generally calm and collected. The cards that she used were very pretty, and I'm contemplating borrowing some of her books and learning more about tarot. It's fascinating.

After the days of merriment, I returned home and opened my mail. Happily, I received my letter of acceptance from the English department so I'm officially going to graduate school in the Fall. In an unforeseen twist, they offered me a graduate teaching assistantship which I didn't expect at all since I missed the deadline posted on their website. This would require me to teach to first-year composition courses per semester in exchange for a 6 credit hour tuition waiver and a stipend of approximately $12,000 per school year. I'm extremely excited about this opportunity and can't wait to get enrolled and started.

Thoughts on a Fifth Season

Warning: spoilers
The season finale of Desperate Housewives aired Sunday evening, and I watched it online Monday evening after returning home from Jason's. Hatred runs deep for the show with many people rolling eyes and shirking when I bring it up. Unfortunately, their disparages seem slightly valid after this season. I never rolled my eyes, but I'm pretty sure they glazed over from time to time. In the hopes that the sixth season will offer a little more, I give you a list of six things I liked about the fifth season and six things I disliked.

Liked #1: Katherine and Bree's bonding
One aspect of the show that I enjoy is when the relationships between the various housewives are explored. Unfortunately, there wasn't much of that going on what with so many minor characters and rehashed plot points cropping up. However, time was taken to examine the tumultuous relationship between Bree and Katherine, expert caterers. Early in the season, some of the old animosity between the two returned when Bree turned into an egomaniac. Unfortunately, things were quickly cleared up, and the Katherine/Bree dynamic was swept off screen along with the catering kitchen scenes and Andrew, star assistant.

L#2: Orson's kleptomania
When Orson was introduced, he quickly went from jovial dentist to psychotic wife/mistress/Mike killer. While he actually hadn't participated in much foul play (and failed at the evil he attempted), he was still scary as hell for a while. It was nice to see some of his less pastel sweater personality traits shine through. When he realizes that his aim is to hurt Bree, I think I clapped. Bree needs to be hurt. She's been insufferable this season, and on top of that, she sent him to prison. No wonder his sanity is slipping a bit; mine would be gone.

L#3: Karen & Roberta, amateur detectives
When Lily Tomlin showed up, I cheered. When she and Kathryn started sleuthing, I was ecstatic. The chemistry and comedic timing that they have is wonderful. I would like to watch a show about them solving mysteries and kicking ass.

L#4: Edie Britt
Edie returned with this season's mystery in tow. During the season, her usual sluttish ways had been amended, and she seemed to settle down. However, she retained a coquettish edge. One of my favorite moments of the season was when she realized that her marriage was a sham. Her last few minutes made for great television. While her death wasn't particularly emotional, she got to narrate which was wonderful, and the tribute episode was one of the best of the season.

L#5: Gaby, formerly glamorous party-crasher
My favorite five-year transformation was Gaby who gained weight, two kids, and a frazzled stupor. One of the funniest visual gags was Carlos, completely unaware of his status as a party crasher, waving and grinning for nonexistent photographers. Gaby's ill-conceived attempts at parenting and covering up her fallen status were very entertaining. Unfortunately, she has since transformed into Gaby, awful and awfully rich person.

L#6: Lynette's job
The pizzeria closed, and Lynette gets to wield her powers of manipulation. It's a win-win situation!

Dislike #1: Dave and Dave's plans
Dave is not scary at all. They could have made him scary, but it was too important that he also be a tragic figure so he comes of as slightly unbalanced in a mostly harmless way. The sad thing is that Dave could have been frightening in his quest for revenge. Instead, he killed the one obligatory guy and talked about the Plan of No Sense (PNS). Despite living for no other reason and planning on killing himself afterward, Dave concocts the PNS to make someone's (first Katherine then M.J.) death look like an accident during a trip (first camping then fishing). Thankfully, Hallucination-Edie and Hallucination-Lila point out that Dave should just shot M.J. in the head. Unfortunately, the PNS's fishing trip comes to fruition.

D#2: Katherine & Mike
Possibly the most overwritten and under-planned plots of the season. Katherine and Mike have less chemistry than Susan and Mike. Hell, Susan and Katherine would make a better couple. During these scenes, I could literally see the writers around the table, trying to find something for Katherine and Mike to do.

D#3: Porter Scavo, fugitive
Porter didn't start the fire, but he did start lots of legal problems that we had to listen to. It seemed that the investigation and charges and conversations and worry would never end. (However, the fallout of Dave's revealed accusations faded away quickly after one punch.) While Porter's legal woes did give Bob more screen time, this just reaffirmed how bland Wisteria Lane's resident gays are. (And we didn't even get to see Karaoke Night at Bob and Lee's.)

D#4: Lack of casualties
This may be a crass thing to say, especially about a season that featured a fire, stabbing, and electrocution. However, everything seemed so pedestrian. Despite a dramatic buildup and a montage of characters in distress, only unnamed bystanders perished in the Great Club Fire. As for the obligatory murders, Dave still isn't scary, and we were already aware that every time Carlos and Gaby regain financial stability someone minor has to die.

D#5: Susan's love life
Susan's love life boils down to slapstick that is uncomfortable to watch. Susan's quest for love started with an under wraps relationship with Jackson that proceeded with unmitigated craziness. The middle contained scary possessive tendencies toward hapless Mike. It ended with a soulful declaration of love, a sham marriage, and deportation. Oh, that Susan.

D#6: The season finale
Since the season finale centered around Dave's PNS and tried to escalate it to a Plan of Awesome Revenge (PAR), it was bland, anti-climatic, and nonsensical. The PAR (really still the PNS) seemed to involve lots of driving; everyone seems to be driving around for an entire day without getting anywhere. Everything the PAR(NS) touches seems to become equally confusing. There's a cemetery in the middle of the woods. There's an intersection which exists in perpetual night. Other people unconnected with the PAR(NS) did regular stuff. And then Mike gets married to a mystery woman who is hopefully Felicia Tilman.

To Boldly Go...

Recently, I've had a resurgence of interest in sci-fi which led me to watch the second pilot of Star Trek: the Original Series (the first pilot was apparently not aired). Prior to this, I had only seen a few of the movies, random episodes of Next Generation, and a Voyager marathon on Sci-Fi Channel.

I wasn't expecting much from the series, but after watching only six episodes, I'm hooked. (I even have a favorite character, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy.) It's such an entertaining and interesting show. So far, they've tackled such lofty themes as the duality of human nature and the difference between Man and God in a mostly sophisticated way. Sure, it's campy and low budget, but the story lines find that balance between entertaining and thought-provoking.

In addition to watching Star Trek, I pulled out season 1 of Stargate: SG-1 and started watching where I last left off last year. My favorite thing about season 1 is that every episode has roughly the same plot: the team goes through the gate to explore a new world, something disastrous happens to all or one of them, everyone copes. (After one day on the job, I would be begging someone for a transfer.)

Saturday, I received my letter of acceptance from the Graduate College of the University of Oklahoma. (I'm now waiting patiently for my letter from the English department.) To celebrate I went to see J.J. Abram's Star Trek reboot which was very good (though I like the original series better). Somehow, it manages to update the concept, infuse it with action, and still retain the original series' sheen of campy fun. My one complaint is that everything moves so quickly that had I not already been familiar with these characters, I don't think I would have connected with them at all. It felt at times that everyone involved in the movie's production was afraid to slow down and really explore characters or themes, fearing (I assume) accidentally veering into Nemesis territory.

Through all this sci-fi watchage, I'm not quite sure what prompted my renewed interest. When I was in high school, I avidly read science fiction which replaced mystery as my genre of choice. However, this period was very brief, and I soon started reading predominately fantasy/adventure books. But the time I was in college, I had stopped reading straight genre novels in favor of books with a bit more substance. Since that small period in high school, I haven't actively sought out sci-fi shows or books.

I think it may have something to do with the intentions of these types of shows. An interview with Amanda Tapping is included in the Stargate season 1 box set, and she talks about how the show strives to make people see things in a different way and think about things outside of their reality. I think that's why I'm drawn to the genre. There's something thrilling about space exploration and the thought of discovering new worlds. That's why (technical issues aside) I prefer TOS to the new movie. The series is more about the prospects of new worlds and experiences while the newest movie is firmly in the action/adventure/blow stuff up mindset. It's that conjuring of the unknown that I like.

Random note: While writing this post, I was perusing the news and read that the Atlantis is blasting off to repair the Hubble telescope, and I'm enthralled by this. It must be amazing to actually leave Earth and glimpse everything that's beyond.

Random Spring Sales!

On Stephanie's suggestion, I stopped by Big Lots on Monday to check out the new Warner Bros. arrivals. I ended up buying six of those plus three other films.

Warner Bros. Classics
Johnny Belinda (1948)
Flying Down to Rio (1933)
The Band Wagon (1953)
I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932)
Dames (1934)
Gold Diggers of 1935 (1934)

Other Films
Look At Me (2004)
Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
A Man For All Seasons (1966)

The only one I've watched so far is Fly Down to Rio which is the first movie that paired Ginger Rodgers and Fred Astaire. It's one of those movies from the 1930s that low on plot and character development yet with comedy, dancing, and spectacle in spades. At one point, Fred and Ginger dance the Carioca on a rotating platform that consists of five grand pianos. At this scene, I realized that I had seen this film years and years ago on TCM.

The next day I got an email from the campus bookstore about bargain books and decided to check it out. They had a large selection of $1 and $1.99 books, and I ended up buying a lot more than I need.

For Me
Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
Insatiable: Tales from a Life of Delicious Excess by Gael Greene
Harvest for Hope: A Guide to Mindful Eating by Jane Goodall
The Imus Ranch: Cooking for Kids and Cowboys by Deirdre Imus
Biba's Italy: Favorite Recipes from the Splendid Cities by Biba Caggiano
Artemis Fowl: The Time Paradox by Eoin Colfer
Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire by Eileen Blumenthal

For Nana
Sacred Cows by Karen Olson
an anthology of short mystery stories
three Janet Evanovich novels

For Shari
Seeing Redd by Frank Beddor
Peter and the Secret of Rundoon by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson
Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

I also got several moleskin notebooks for $4.50 a piece which is good since they generally retail for $18+.

Glancing through the two cookbooks, I've found quite a few recipes I want to try out. Biba's Italy looks especially good. It's organized by regions and features quite a few dishes I've never heard of. The Imus Ranch cookbook is heavily vegetarian and vegan which will be fun to experiment with. My meals generally feature meat in some way, and though I don't want to go vegetarian, eating less meat would be good for my health.

Other than reading the first few pages of Insatiable and Harvest for Hope and looking at the pretty pictures in the Julie Taymor book, I haven't had a chance to really look at them, but several will definitely be put on my reading list for this year.

Cimarron (1931): Best Picture/AFI Post #1

Cimarron (USA 1931 35m)

d Wesley Ruggles; p William LeBaron, Wesley Ruggles; w Howard Estabrook, Edna Ferber (novel); c Edward Cronjager; ad Max Ree; fe William Hamilton; m Max Steiner

Richard Dix (Yancey Cravat), Irene Dunne (Sabra Cravat), Estelle Taylor (Dixie Lee), Edna May Oliver (Mrs. Tracy Wyatt), George E. Stone (Sol Levy), William Collier Jr. (The Kid), Stanley Fields (Lon Yountis), Robert McWade (Louis Hefner), Eugene Jackson (Isaiah)

Cimarron won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Art Direction, and Writing, Adaptation in 1931. It was also nominated for Best Cinematography. Wesley Ruggles was nominated for Best Director, Richard Dix was nominated for Best Leading Actor, and Irene Dunne was nominated for Best Leading Actress.

I was excited to see this film for multiple reasons. For one thing, I've heard multiple times from different sources that it is the worst film to win the Best Picture statuette, and since I personally believe that Forrest Gump is the worst film to ever win and will remain the worst film for decades to come, I had to make sure that one of the most disregarded of the lot wasn't actually worse. After watching Cimarron, I remain resolute in my Forrest hating convictions.

Secondly, the film is an adaptation of an Edna Ferber novel. Ferber wrote the plays that Dinner at Eight and Stage Door were adapted from as well as the novel Show Boat is adapted from. Also, the film was Irene Dunne's first major role, and I'm while I'm not terribly familiar with her as an actress, I loved her in Show Boat and My Favorite Wife.

Cimarron tells the story of the Cravats, the gentleman pioneer Yancey and his long suffering wife Sabra. It also tells the story of Oklahoma after the Indian reservations were made available in the first Land Rush. The movie starts just before the gun signaling the beginning of the Rush, and we meet Yancey who has his sights set on one particular parcel of land. Unfortunately, he tells a female competitor who snatches it up in a cavalier fashion. Having failed, he returns to Wichita, collects his wife and son Cim (and unintentionally Isaiah, a black teenaged servant), and returns to set up a newspaper in the dirty, savage town of Osage, Oklahoma. The film follows that trials and tribulations of the family through the decades.

With the exception of all the talking, the beginning feels just like a silent film. The visual spectacle of the chaotic land run reminded me of the battle scenes and cavalry charges of The Birth of a Nation and Battleship Potemkin. Every individual scene works as a moving painting, set up compositionally for thrills and whimsy.

The acting (especially that of Richard Dix) is boisterous and verging on melodramatic. Dix had made dozens of silent films and seems to be working within that acting style. Of course, he’s playing a larger-than-life character with a natural proclivity toward grandiose speeches and spurts of intense emotion. Most of the minor actors are given character parts that lend themselves to stereotyped portrayals. Dunne is the most naturalistic though she sometimes gives in the general spirit of overacting.

She’s also the core of the movie. While the movie is epic in scale, the real focus is on the love of two people. All other thematic devices are kept in the background. Sabra’s racism, the antics of the Cravat children, the antics of the townspeople, and the metamorphosis of Oklahoma all take backseat to Sabra and Yancey’s tumultuous marriage.

The other citizens of Osage are a mixed bag of types. Trouble manifests itself in the form of devious Lon Yountis, an outlaw who shot the previous editor of the newspaper and is generally unwashed, and The Kid, the young leader of a band of bank robbers. There’s the Jewish peddler (later shopkeeper), the kindly saloonkeeper, the socially awkward printer, and the immigrant furniture salesman who also operates the morgue in Osage’s early days. The loudest is the matronly battleaxe, Mrs. Tracy Wyatt whose function is to be prudish and haughty and dislike prostitution. However colorful, these characters pretty much stay – along with the Cravat’s two children – on the peripheral of the story, making token appearances when necessary.

For his part, Dix plays the husband with such abandon that it’s hard not to like him despite his many faults. Yancey's tragic flaw is hyperactivity. He operates like an overly intelligent kid perusing a toy store while on a sugar rush. Sure, he understands that sweatshops manufactured the toys and that the paint probably contains lead, but everything is so excited and cool looking. He’s often the voice of reason and many times supports the underdog, coming to the defense of Sol Levy, Osage’s seemingly sole Jew and a peddler of lace, zippers, and other accouterments, and Dixie Lee, the ruined woman who has to resort to operating a brothel to stay alive. He’s also the only respecter of the Native American population.

However, his sense of reason and compassion is easily overcome by his wanderlust. When he gets the telegram that the Cherokee Indians have been swindled out of their lands, he's momentarily pensive, looking forlornly out the window. But he quickly realizes that this means he can again help build something where there was nothing. He disregards the plight of the Cherokees and abandons his family and newspaper to gallantly ride into the sunset.

So Yancey becomes an irresponsible blowhard. He’s wrapped up in his own needs which seem to also be the needs of the growing United States. His desire of more is so intense that he often cannot see those around him. When Isaiah is shot trying to save Cim during a shootout with The Kid, he doesn't die instantly but falls unnoticed in an alleyway. After being wounded and killing The Kid, Yancey slowly marches toward home, passing the alley where Isaiah is lying. Though Isaiah reaches out and weakly calls for Yancey, he's unheard and dies. When Sabra is obviously scared of the future, he rushes off for years at a time.

It’s easy to see why the film has such a dubious reputation. (It has the worst imdb and rottentomato ratings of any Best Picture winner.) Even though it has great compassion for its minor characters, the film often stereotypes them, sometimes for comedic effect. I suppose it seems outmoded today and doesn’t “age well” (a phrase I dislike). It hovers in that area between silent and talkie, imbibing in the aesthetic and technical aspects of each. It’s a very flawed film with its poor handling of minorities, its hammy leading man, and its out-of-control plot points. Still, it’s a wonderfully entertaining movie that really highlights the sprawling landscape of pre-statehood Oklahoma as it transforms into a civilization of skyscrapers and acres of towering oil wells.

watched on April 17, 2009
**

Scones Are Really Easy to Make

I spent an extended weekend in Texas with Stephanie which was a lot of fun and more than made up for the day of swine flu jokes I endured. The trip down was relatively uneventful. On the way to her house, I stopped by Jason's condo to pick up things to deliver. The only other excitement stemmed from a particularly bad accident involving two semi-trucks which held up traffic for half an hour. Once I arrived, we had four days of merriment. We watched movies, talked about feelings, fell into Lifetime original movie territory, quickly retreated, and baked scones.

Stephanie also read my tarot with her new set of cards. I had asked her to do this since it's a subject that I've been mildly interested in for a long time. (Tarot is one of those things regularly featured on mystery shows such as Murder, She Wrote which I watched religiously for years.) Before we started, she explained that the process was not meant to be mystical or seen as an exercise in predicting the future. I expected to enjoy the reading but was surprised at how active I got in the process. The reading ended up taking roughly four hours, and several times I had strong reactions to the cards. Had I not actually shuffled and cut the deck I would have sworn that Stephanie had stacked it. The cards had very interesting things to say, and Stephanie and I also found quite a few things to say. It was nice to have such a structured forum in which to examine my life. (I didn't ask a question at the beginning since I felt too inexperienced.) Though the question of "how" could be troubling, it does not seem inconceivable to me that the cards and people are connected through the universe and thus ordered on some level. Perhaps my excessive Romanticism and pseudo-Existentialism is showing.

During all this scone-baking and card-reading, we watched quite a few movies including The Band's Visit, an Israeli film about the travails of a police band traveling to a gig from Egypt, The Taste of Others, a charming French film about the events and people surrounding one man's personal journey from being a boring office drone to a person interested in art and love, The Nines, a series of interlocking vignettes about a man who doesn't understand who or what he is and two women who are trying to help him, and Look Both Ways, an Australian film about death and the ways it effects us. We also watched filmed stage productions of Company and Sunday at the Park with George which I checked out from the library.

On the way home, I stopped by Mom and Dad's house. They showed me the new quilts including a beautiful one for me. Dad showed off his new golf club which is one of the most interesting clubs I've ever seen. I'm so glad that he enjoys it.

Remembrances of Days Past; or The Man Who Talked Too Much

Last week I happened upon a wonderful deal on Fiestaware at a pharmacy/gift shop that's merging in with Walgreens. So I coordinated Mom's birthday presents from me and my siblings. (By "coordinated," I mean I bought things and notified them that they owe me money.)

After procuring such a kick ass gift for Mom, I started obsessing about Dad's gift. My dad is notoriously noncommittal when it comes to giving ideas for gifts, and Mom's idea was socks. (I should explain that Mom and Dad's birthdays are insanely close together.) Finally, Joel told me that Dad wanted a hybrid golf club and that his three iron had recently broken. So we bought him a new hybrid three iron, and he used it Tuesday and really liked it.

Jenna was over last weekend, and as usual, we watched far too many movies. We watched The Trojan Women, My Fair Lady, and Anastasia. On Sunday, we visited Grandma and Grandpa and chatted about poetry and graduate school.

I also had a spontaneous burst of creativity and wrote three poems as well as the second part of another and the beginnings of several others. I've been writing much more than I did last year which is very encouraging. Also, I recently took a major step and actually read several of my recent poems to Nanny, Poppy, and Mom. Either they enjoyed them or imagined that I would throw myself in front of a train if they didn't. So my spirits were lifted, and while I can't let them see some of my racier poems and poems dealing with subjects they probably don't want to deal with, I feel that they now have some small idea of the things that I do with my spare time.

Monday evening, I watched George Cukor's The Women which was a lot funnier than I thought it would be. Much like Robert Wise, Cukor is one of those prolific directors who has directed quite a few movies that I've seen and love. I'm a fan of Joan Fontaine, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard, and Marjorie Main so I enjoyed seeing all of them performing together. Russell especially is a riot to watch; she so ostentatious and relishes every manipulation and drama with almost irrepressible glee.

I loved the movie so much that I needed more and attempted to watch the 2008 remake. Okay, I realize this was a stupid thing to do, but how was I suppose to know that something with so much actresses I adore could be so bland. Maybe it was unfair to try watching it so soon after watching the original, but I doubt that I could have made it past the 24 minute point in any situation. It wasn't even bad; it was mind numbingly adequate.

Since the remake proved unwatchable, I watched Robert Altman's Dr. T and the Women instead since it too sports an eclectic set of actresses that I love. Now, I bought this for secondspin for two dollars, and I was expecting a bad movie and ended up completely surprised. It was so vibrant and funny.

Then I blissfully got online... People hate this film. No, I think that's too lenient. People loath this film. Even die hard Altman fans despise this film, and I have no idea why. It's not as good as Nashville or Short Cuts, but it's still Altman being extremely Altmanesque. It's hysterically funny, poignant, and whimsical. I mean Farrah Fawcett's character is suffering from a "Hespia Complex," a fictional mental condition where women who are loved too much retreat into a childlike state. And despite the ludicrous nature of her condition, the film makes the pain it causes her husband very real.

Now, I'm getting ready to spend the weekend plus Monday visiting Stephanie. (I may have to call in sick Tuesday.) All week I've been stuck at the circulation desk so I'm very tired and looking forward to relaxing. I've also been melancholy for the last two weeks. So much time at the circulation desk has been it crushingly clear that I currently have the same job I had in high school and most of college. This makes me wonder what the hell I'm doing.

Anyway, I'm over it now and hoping that this control that I've recently had over my bad moods will continue to grow. I need to learn to take my natural depression and use it to my advantage. Still, I'm looking forward to visiting Stephanie! I'm sure there will be merriment and spirits, movie watching and possible tarot reading! I've also decided not to bring a large amount of films this time. I'm bringing three things, one that we will watch and two that she can decide yes or no at her convenience. I'm such a good friend.

First, Some Exposition

For the last few days, I've been thinking of some fun semi-regular feature that I could do for this blog. Then I realized that I could simply combine it with a fun film project that I'm already doing. Several years ago, I decided to watch all of the films that have won Academy Award for Best Picture and also all the films that are on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list from 1997, plus the twenty-three additional films that made AFI's updated 2007 list.

So as I watch movies that fall into those categories, I'll post about them. I would promise analytic essays that invoke intelligent discussion, but most likely the posts will consist of me saying "I like this movie" twelve different ways, namedropping, and musing pseudo-intellectually about that one sentence of Rousseau that I remember. Hell, I may resort to fanfic. I mean, the market could be ripe for the sequel I've written for Casablanca, a buddy picture following Rick and Louis as they drive from Casablanca to Cairo to meet up with one of Rick's old girlfriends.

A Day in the Life Of...

There are many things that I enjoy talking about that the majority of people I know don't enjoy talking about. Countless times I've noticed that glazed expression develop in the eyes of family, friends, and acquaintances as I prattle on about Tracy/Hepburn films or whatever classic novel I'm current obsessed with. Now, there are things that I don't really talk that I'm sure would conversational numbness, and one of these is my job. However, I'm bored at the moment and thought that you should be bored too.

I work at an academic library, specifically in the archives and at the circulation desk.

I suppose the one thing to remember about library work is that everything is counted for statistical purposes. Half of the job is proving that the library is needed. So we mark down every question, book used, and visitor. These are ultimately used to show people that people in fact use the library.

At the circulation desk, I help people check out books, check in books, handle their fines, send faxes, and sundry errands.

I'm also part of the Interlibrary loan team (Go Team ILL!) and mainly deal with outgoing (borrowing) requests. This means processing request for materials made by our students, staff, and faculty. Basically, it boils down to asking a string of lending libraries if they would be willing/able to loan us their materials. A major part of this involves researching loaning policies to make sure that they do lend the type of materials we're seeking and aren't going to charge us fifty dollars. I also take part in managing all requests database which details all incoming/outgoing requests and their statuses. This is generally easy unless it's time for final papers or the occasional person going berserk. (For example when someone first realizes that attempting to get new releases through ILL is cheaper than Blockbuster or when someone wants every recording of an obscure Italian Cat Stevens cover band.)

I'm also the assistant to the archivist which entails lots of research into moldering tomes and newspapers. (Sometimes I get the archivist coffee.) Besides research requests, I handle a large amount of indexing and processing new acquisitions.

I generally like my job and have no real complaints beyond the minuscule pay and the lack of personal fulfillment. I'm not wealthy enough for existential angst concerning my noncareer so I try not to think about. Most positions of this type are transition jobs taken by those who wish to go to graduate school or work their way into a cushier administration gig.

So concludes a day in the working life of a archives/circulation technician. And now, Gentle Reader, I leave you to your own devices and hope that I have made some impact whether interesting you in the field of librarianship or curing your insomnia.

The borrow the mannerisms of Comic Book Guy: Most. Boring. Blog. Ever.

10 Favorite Television Characters

Stephanie decided to do a list of ten favorite television characters so I thought I would join her. Here's my list:

Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development (2003-2006)
"Oh, hello, Buster. Here's a candy bar. No, I'm withholding it. Look at me, 'getting off'."

I laugh at everything that comes out of Lucille's mouth, whether she's belittling her children or joking about her neighbor's widowhood. She's like a Hitchcock mother without the decency to have a limit to the verbal and manipulative cruelty she can reek. Part of reason the show's premise works is due to the fact that with Lucille in their lives, I have no problem seeing how the characters became so dysfunctional.

Bree Van de Kamp Hodge from Desperate Housewives (2004-present)
"I know you think I'm kidding myself, but I'm not. I'm nothing like you people. I just don't have a compulsive personality."

In my opinion Bree is the most satirical character on the show, putting the roast in the oven and the walking past her framed picture of Reagan and out the door of her spotless house to plant drugs in her son's locker. Like Lucille, Bree manipulates but always quietly and properly and if she had learned her techniques from Miss Manners. Bree's antics are always my favorite on the show.

Andy Millman from Extras (2005-2007)
"The happiest day of my life - oh, quick, I'll do the invites and bake a cake and get a press tent."

There are exactly three things from television shows that always make me cry - two are crises of C.J. Cregg and one is the brilliant speech Andy Millman gives in the Christmas special. The time I enjoy about Andy is that he's a terrible person and basically a good guy. His penchant for rudeness and insensitivity come from his failure to obtain his dream of making it as an actor and creating an intelligent sitcom. He's unable to balance his ambitions with the actualities of the world, and it's only when he's sunk to the very depths of selling out that he's able to redeem himself.

Dr. Frasier Crane from Cheers (1982-2003) and Frasier (1993-2004)
"I'm listening."

Though I tend to gravitate toward minor characters, I've always liked Frasier the best. He's urbane and pompous and cared only for the finer things in life. While he seems to have all the answers and a first class education, he's just a man seeking validation and happiness... and the prestige of winning a local broadcasting award.

Hyacinth Bucket from Keeping Up Appearances (1990-1995)
"Rose, you will not commit suicide, I forbid it. No one in this family has ever committed suicide, and I'm sure we're not going to start on the day I'm having the new vicar for tea and light refreshments."

Change my situation slightly, and I could be Hyacinth Bucket and succumb to the wonders of etiquette books, cookbooks, and plans for spectacular candlelight suppers. More than any other television character I know, she wants the world to be a happy place with no pollution, musical galas, and an air of pleasant snobbery. She's just so lovable as she looks down on poor relations and trying to create a beacon of gentility and good breeding in her English suburb.

Jessica Fletcher from Murder, She Wrote (1984-1996)
"There's just something that doesn't seem right."

Who wouldn't want the resolve of Jessica Fletcher? Yes, a plethora of her friends and acquaintances have been murdered, but she still continues to write bestselling novels and do some freelance sleuthing on the side.

Murphy Brown from Murphy Brown (1988-1998)
"I hope you're better than my last secretary."

Who couldn't like Murphy Brown as she asks the hard hitting questions and sings Motown standards in a voice that gives Simon Cowell nightmares? My parents watched Murphy Brown while I was growing up so I identify it with my childhood.

Lisa Simpson from The Simpsons (1989-present)
"Wait Dad! Good news, everyone! You don't have to eat meat! I've got enough gazpacho for everyone."

Part of the reason that I finally decided to pick up a book about Buddhism is the episode where Lisa becomes a Buddhist. She encapsulates the motivational dichotomies in my own personality.
I love Lisa because despite her preaching and air of mental superiority, she also enjoys watching violent cartoons and taking part in the brain dead antics of her father and brother. Yes, she plays jazz and read Faulkner, but she also prank calls Moe.

Veronica Mars from Veronica Mars (2004-2007)
"Some girl going wild? As I understand it, it happens all the time in college. I'm on the verge of it right now. "

Veronica is smart and sassy despite the world-of-television odds. When we met her, her best friend has been murdered and her place in the world has been shattered. Most television characters (with the exception of Jessica Fletcher, see above) would fold under these insurmountable circumstances, but armed with a taser and rapier wit, she proves herself to be tough and capable, yet there are heartbreaking moments where you realize just how vulnerable she is.

Claudia Jean "C.J." Cregg from The West Wing (1999-2006)
"Sir, this may be a good time to talk about your sense of humor. "

It was difficult to choose a single character from The West Wing since much of the show's brilliance comes from the interplay between the characters. If you take one away, the both the show and the character become less than they were. (When Sam left, it took a little time for the show to adjust.) However, C.J. is the standout character, the one that I could watch in a different setting and get just as much enjoyment out of it. Strong and opinionated, she oscillates between being to voice of reason and the voice of emotion. She also grows more than any other character, taking on new challenges and relationships as the series progressed.

Honorable Mentions

Lorelai "Rory" Gilmore and Emily Gilmore from Gilmore Girls (2000-2007)
Jessica Tate from Soap (1977-1981)
Brendan Small from Home Movies (1999-2004)

"I like them; I really like them": 10 Favorite Movie Characters

I found another meme floating about the film blogs that I read and couldn't resist its call during my lunch break. The challenge is to compile a list of your ten favorite cinematic characters. This was a lot harder than I thought it would be, and the final list is probably more a list of ten of my favorite characters and not my all time favorites.

Without further ado, here's my list, alphabetized by film title and complete with photographs presented in dazzling WarnerColor! (I'm joking about the WarnerColor.)

Julia Lambert from Being Julia (2004)

"I'm tired, I'm utterly exhausted, and I need a holiday."
Julia is not only a bitch - she's a theater bitch which is much, much worse. She lives as if she were on stage and treats friends and family like minor characters in one of her plays. Yet to me she's lovable and endearing. Perhaps it's cathartic to see someone who can behave badly, get away with it, and still maintain authenticity in their thoughts and feelings.

Matthew Harrison Brady from Inherit the Wind (1960)

"I do not think about things I do not think about."
Apparently, I like showboats. Brady descends on a small town courthouse with an amiable air and the fire of God. His aim is not to prosecute the teacher but to keep Darwinism out of the school. His amiability gives way to fire-and-brimstone passion as he rails science and sin. However, his behind the scenes reasoning isn't against science at all but against stripping away faith from those who need it. Though his passion and hubris are his undoing, you get the feeling that he grasps the bigger picture more than Henry Drummond.

Joey from Interiors (1978)

"What happens to those of us who can't create?"
Joey (far right) is the most damaged and least accomplished of her family. She's not the pretty one nor is she the smart one. She's not the favorite of either of her parents. Due to insecurities and a general artistic ineptitude, she has no idea what to do with any of her bitter feelings or aimless aspirations.

Frank Ginsberg from Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

"I just want everyone to know that I am the preeminent Proust scholar in the United States."
Apparently, I also like failures. Frank does act like a person who just tried to commit suicide or lost his unrequited lover to his academic rival or just got fired from his university job. He seems merely melancholic. When he describes the failed life of Proust, there's more than a hint of respect. You have to wonder if perhaps he patterned his life's mistakes after the author's.

Linda Partridge from Magnolia (1999)

"Now, you must really shut the fuck up now, please - shut the fuck up."
Linda Partridge, like all the film's characters, is having a bad day. However, I get the feeling that most of the characters have generally mundane days while Linda exists in a cloud of angsty drama. She's the woman who always drinks too much, says the exact wrong thing, and displays all the symptoms of bipolar disorder. Adding insult to injury, Linda's horrendously bad day is her errand day. She goes to the doctor to get her husband's prescription, the lawyer's office to go over her husband's will, and then to the pharmacy all while having an increasingly desperate mental breakdown. Fortunately, she's the toughest character in the film, surviving a suicide attempt and an overturned ambulance.

Nina "Ninotchka" Ivanoff from Ninotchka (1939)

"I'm so happy, I'm so happy! Nobody can be so happy without being punished."
As an unfeeling communist, Ninotchka fills her days surveying Russian endeavors and studying architecture and political infrastructure. As a woman in love, she dances and drinks uninhibited; she laughs. After finally finding that existence doesn't have to be bleak, she straddles the line be Communism and Capitalism and shows that the best mode of living is a compromise.

Max Bialystock from The Producers (1968, 2005)

"Shut up. I'm having a rhetorical conversation."
Max is oily and scrupulous as he circumvents the law and seduces a string of elderly women, and yet I always root for him. He's had his fifteen minutes and just won't let it go, won't see that perhaps he was never very good at his job. I'm pretty sure that he's much more theatrical than any of the plays he produced.

Coalhouse Walker, Jr. from Ragtime (1981)

"I read music so good, white folks think I'm fakin' it."
Coalhouse is an embodiment of ragtime, and there's a cool confidence about him when he first encounters the white family caring for his lover and child. However, just when he begins to find happiness and build a life, he's the victim of petty racism that thrusts him and all of his acquaintances onto a path to ruin. His principles are the kind that can't exist in his world. Though his quest for justice and validation takes erratic, grandiose turns, he never seems ridiculous or even unreasonable.

Jack Gurney the 14th Earl of Gurney from The Ruling Class (1972)

"For what I am about to receive, may I make myself truly thankful."
Jack has the misfortune of being born into the ruling class and has spent most of his time in a discreet asylum. When he unexpectedly becomes the fourteenth earl and returns home, he believes that he is Jesus Christ and begins a zany campaign to spread peace and goodwill. His quest to usher in an era of happiness is thwarted by friends and family who can't stand his delusion or its results. A man with a hijacked identity, he remains largely unaware of the animosity the surrounds him.

George from Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)

"Martha, will you show her where we keep the, uh, euphemism?"
George is a disappointment trapped in a disappointing life and clinging to a shell of dignity. He braves the insults and taunting from his wife with a stiff drink and a series of sneering quips. His resolve to have a dismal evening and worse morning almost never wavers, and it's interesting to watch a man with no purpose be so driven.

"The things I do for that newspaper!"

Libeled Lady (USA 1936 35m)
-Warner Bros. Classic Comedies Collection

d Jack Conway; p Lawrence Weingarten; w Maurine Watkins, Howard Emmett Rogers, George Oppenheimer; c Norbert Brodine; ad Cedric Gibbons; fe Fredrick Y. Smith; m William Axt

Jean Harlow (Gladys), William Powell (Bill Chandler), Myrna Loy (Connie Allenbury), Spencer Tracy (Warren Haggerty), Walter Connolly (Mr. Allenbury)

Libeled Lady perfectly fits the "screwball comedy" label stuck on it. There's loathing that gives way to romance, jaded characters who learn to love, outrageous hi-jinx that would seem ridiculous in the real world yet feel somehow sophisticated on the screen. It's an urbane screwball. It never submerges itself in the absurdity of Bringing Up Baby nor does it completely succumb to the "Idiot Plot" of Top Hat. It's a film built around awry intentions and the manipulation of manipulations.

As with any screwball comedy, the plot makes very little practical sense. Due to an erroneous front page story, Connie Allenbury is suing the New York Evening Star for libel to the tune of five million dollars. This will drive the newspaper into bankruptcy, humiliating its owner and avenging Mr. Allenbury's failed political career. Editor Warren Haggerty employs suave, broke Bill Chandler to pose as a married man, seduce Connie, and discredit her in a public fashion that will get the libel suit dismissed.

Conveniently, Haggerty has a fiancee, Gladys, who unwilling marries Chandler and poses as his adoring wife. After the quickie nuptials, Chandler dashes off to England in order to save Connie from hired paparazzi and woe her on the boat ride stateside. Of course, the attempts of the devious man to integrate himself into the Allenbury family's good graces are fraught with humor and indifference at first sight. Once the boat lands, Mr. Allenbury invites Chandler on a fishing expedition where he and Connie warm to each other. To further complicate things, Gladys is starting to fall for Chandler and may or may not still be married to her first husband. Chandler and Connie may be falling in love. Mr. Allenbury may suspect something, and Chandler and Haggerty start a game of cat and mouse.

Both Gladys and Connie are initially presented as archetypes: Gladys as the opinionated shrew and Connie as the jaded ice queen. Without ceremony of any kind, Gladys arrives at the newsroom in a whirl of aggravation and white roses. Her wedding is being postponed, and she's turned into a woman scorned. She threatens, insults, demands, and laments. As she snarls, we can see why Haggerty was so eager to avoid marriage at the beginning of the film.

Jean Harlow's performance is extremely captivating. She's alternately worldly and clueless. She wisecracks and tosses out zingers and one liners in every situation. Harlow isn't afraid to look comical and undignified either (in Public Enemy (1931) James Cagney mashes a grapefruit in her face - a cinematic incident parodied with great effect in Kiss Me, Stupid). She doesn't bat an eye when asked to help in a fishing demonstration or when appearing in a hair dryer from Hell. As the film goes on, her verbal (and physical) attacks become less pronounced as she developing romantic feelings for Chandler, but she never loses her edge or vigor. By the end, she's shown us exactly why Spencer Tracy's Haggerty is in love with her.

Alternately, Connie is first seen indifferently standing by as her father talks on the phone with the newspeople she's about to destroy. She's aloof and only mildly engaged. Unlike Gladys, she's getting exactly what she wants. Her civil hostility toward Chandler during their maritime encounters . As he attempts to play games with her, she dupes him again and again. However as Chandler gets to know her, he sees her vulnerability and the reasons for her distance. An international playgirl (why is there always an international playgirl/boy?) has to harden herself to keep her reputation.

Like Harlow, Loy is a joy to watch. (She's one of my favorite actresses.) This is one of the 1936 batch of films Powell and Loy did together after The Thin Man (1934). The repartee between the two is fantastic. The success of a screwball comedy rests on clever candor, and these two don't disappoint.

Likewise, the film reminds us of the comedic timing of Spencer Tracy who I saw in dramas such as Inherit the Wind and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner before finding out about his comedies. His character here is the brains of the operation and tries to keep things going and the paper running. He's a compilation of Hollywood types (the career newspaperman, the harassed finance, the manipulated manipulator) who are known for their brashness.

Of course, most of the confusion is cleared up by the end, and the lovers end up (more or less) with the right person. Despite the absurd antics and obligatory drama, the film presents a world that we want to live in, a world where everything works out in the end.

They Came from the 50s and Had Horrible, Horrible Titles

Warning: Mild spoilers abound so beware!

Tuesday TCM had an evening of 1950's sci-fi movies so for the first time this year I decided to watch a film on television. I ended up watching three of the five and would have continued on without trepidation except I had to go to work Wednesday morning.

The first film was Gene Fowler Jr.'s I Married a Monster from Outer Space (1958) which has a great tag line: "The bride wore terror." Despite the atrocious DVD cover art and disparaging remarks made by Steven Spielberg, the film was very sleek and well done.

The characters were developed as fully as they could be in the contrived situation. Far from the screaming woman on the posters, Marge Farrell (Gloria Talbott) was an intelligent, resourceful heroine (which are hard to come by in sci-fi). I expected her to descend into hysterics and rush about the film looking terrified and slightly confused. Instead, she did all the things that you're suppose to do after finding out that your husband and several other townspeople are aliens.

One of my favorite aspects of the film was the opening. It begins with two businessmen pulling into a restaurant and discovering a couple making out in a convertible. After trying to antagonize the young lovers, the businessmen continue into the restaurant to find two jaded women at the bar who are checking out a quintet of cynical men, four of whom are wisecracking about marriage and women. Now, any of these stock characters would be prefect fodder for a sci-fi film introduction. They are immediately engaging and personable enough to get a elicit a bit of sympathy when vaporized by alien invaders. However, the first victim is the dashing, quiet man who's nuptials are the next day.

Next, I watched the original Invasion of the Body Snatchers which was by far the best of the bunch. It's a surprisingly chilling film. The fundamental question behind the predicament it portrays is how well do we know the people around us. Do they have our best interests in mind? One aspect of a person or their beliefs can change and alter the way we feel about them.

At the beginning of the movie, Miles Bennell (Kevin McCarthy) is telling a psychiatrist his bizarre story. He recalls all the oddities he observed upon returning home after a medical conference but says that he simply dismissed them at the time. It made me think of all the things I come across that seem odd or slightly off and that I simply dismiss. The feelings and emotions of people are covered up large problems with general, disparaging terms such as mass hysteria. I realized how easy it really is to allow others to talk you out of things.

The last film I watched, The 27th Day (1957) was definitely the weakest. Five seemingly random people are abducted by an alien who entrusts each of them with a set of capsules in a box only they can open. The capsules have the capacity to kill all human life in a 3000 mile radius. The alien explains that his planet is dying, and while their moral code doesn't permit them to kill intelligent life, they are hoping that humanity will wipe itself out. The five people reflect the factions of the times so the main conflict is between Russia and the United States though the film was surprisingly compassionate toward both the Russian guard and the Chinese woman who received capsules.

All three films share a wariness about authority. In all three, normal people's lives are disrupted in such a way that appealing to the authorities or following the best course of action is ineffectual and even damaging. In both Married and Invasion the authority figures (policemen, psychiatrists, doctors, etc.) have already been overtaken. In 27th the governments of the individuals entrusted with the weapons are concerned with their own survival over the survival of the planet. Both sides feel that a world without them would be worse than the end of humanity. Turning the weapons and their secrets over to the government has dire consequences.

For me the appeal of classic sci-fi is different from the appeal of other film genres. I watch disaster films to imagine myself in those situation and modern sci-fi to be thrilled by spectacle. However, these classic movies touch on some of my innate fears about losing touch with those around me or finding myself in a situation where I don't know the people that I love. Conversely, there's the fear that I will become someone that family and friend don't know. Also the fear that everything you know and all the rational actions and thoughts won't work in a situation. These movies force one to confront these fears without the availability of an alien entity on which to place the blame.

The Culturing Life

Yesterday I went to a poetry reading by Charles Simic who won a Pulitzer in 1990 and was the U.S. Poet Laureate (I love that word) in 2007. One of the pluses of working for a university is that you are always aware of the special guests and programs that are available.

Beforehand, I did something uncharacteristic and read at the open-mic poetry reading sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. It was a pleasant if somewhat nerve racking experience. I had forgotten how apprehensive I am reading aloud in front of people who are not Stephanie. I only decided to go a few minutes before I got off from work so I just printed random poems and later thought, Really? I chose this one? I was also a bit daunted by the other people who showed up. One woman performed her poems and had visual aids. Several others expounded on the meaning of poetry. I sat there thinking, I sometimes randomly write stuff down. Mostly, I watch too much television and play around too much on the Internet. I think poetry is cool because it's something that I can do reasonably well and I can't be a doctor. But despite my anxiety, I had a lot of fun and found out about several monthly readings that go on in the area.

The poetry reading broke up about fifteen minutes before Simic entered to do his reading. My favorites were the descriptive poems about his neighborhood and apartments. He also read a wonderful poem about unmade beds, observing them as if they were a breed of wild animal. He had the most wonderful voice and accent, and I came away very inspired and in that lofty frame of mind I get after realizing that the world is full of beauty and sublimity. I'm excited to read more of his poetry and plan to buy a few of his books soon.

Last Sunday I went to a production of Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The Rivals which was excellent. The play was written in the 1770s, and most of the humor is derived through irony, class mockery, and wordplay so it was definitely the type of play I find enjoyable.

One of my coworkers played the role of Captain Jack Absolute who has come to Bath in the guise of penniless Ensign Beverly. His plan is to woo Lydia Languish, an heiress who wishes to defy her aunt and marry someone impoverished. To further complicate Jack's charade, his father, Sir Anthony Absolute has come to Bath in order to set up an arranged marriage between his son and Lydia. Once in Bath, Sir Anthony starts to fall for Lydia's aunt, the vocabulary-challenged Mrs. Malaprop. Since this is a hybrid of comedy-of-manners and restoration comedy, more people descend on Bath with their own convoluted, drawing room agendas including a country squire and an Irish lord both vying for Lydia's hand, a fretful friend of Jack's whose courting Lydia's cousin, and a host of devious and/or loyal servants.

The entire production was wonderful. It had a great set that sparsely outlined the outside of a Georgian townhouse and employed movable doors to help set up the various rooms. It also featured some of the best costumes I've seen in a college production. They had a very authentic feel to them.

So I've had a culturally charged week so far. However, I've tampered it with copious gaming (The Sims 2 has become more and more interesting to me as it becomes obsolete. The Sims 3 will come in this June and looks like as major an improvement over 2 as 2 was over the original.)
and reading children's literature. I've also been wading through the vast amount of movies I purchased a several weekends ago. So far I've only watched The Spiderwick Chronicles and Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School. From the batch before that, I've watched King Kong (1933), Interview, Be Kind Rewind, and Death at a Funeral.

Next Step: Penthouse Apartment in the Sky

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