Questionable

To blog or not to blog

I have to admit that I'm diggin' Facebook. It is an easy way to reach lots of people quickly. And, I really like using Twitter to update my FB status. These two marvelous inventions have contributed to my lack of blogging. It is really easy to dash off a tweet rather than compose an entire post. So, if you like my stuff here, I encourage you to also follow my Twitter feed (or join FB - I'm looking at you, Shan).

Lots of stuff has been happening around here, mostly to do with the move that deserve mention, but are going to get short shrift. But here's a few:

I sold my curio cabinet to a woman who sells antiques and home goods. She showed up to get it by herself, wearing a foot boot/cast. I don't trust myself enough to carry a heavy, glass-sided piece of furniture down my front steps. So, J helped her move with the assistance of my neighbor, who we had to call for help at the last minute. I was happy to get rid of it, but surprised at the woman. She told us she was planning on moving it herself.

As if you didn't know, Craig's List is full of scammers. $300 seems to be a sweet-spot for them. List something for that price or more and you are bound to get an email saying something about a cashier's check. I'm not so stupid, but I wonder how many people are taken by these scams.

Speaking of furniture, are you sure you don't need a big closet/cabinet or a bedroom set?

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We move J into his little studio this weekend. His new position starts next week. I'm hoping this house will sell. We are putting about $4000 into the house just to put it on the market for the same price we bought it for seven years ago. One bright spot is that sales seem to be up and my price range seems to be a sweet spot for St. Paul, but I'm worried. We had the electrician here last week and the plumber here this morning. Next week the handyman arrives followed by the painters the next week. The house is a disaster and I'm tired of living in the mess, but I guess this is how it has to be.

We moved our king bed into the garage this past weekend when I had a bunch of guys over to move things around. So, I'm sleeping on the futon in the guest room and J is in the basement on the bed that will move into our bedroom once it is painted. I can't sleep in the basement because of my allergies. I feel like a college student in my futon.

We've spent the last few weeks really cleaning out the crap and donating lots of nice things to Goodwill. We've also given a number of things away (more to come). And, are trying to sell the rest. It isn't a great time to be selling furniture because everyone seems to be doing it. Bad economy = selling things to make food money. My electrician, one of the highest rated ones in the city, was telling me just two years ago he had a crew of five. Now it is just him. His wife was laid off and they are selling everything in their house to afford college tuition for the kid. He just has no business.

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Finding J's studio in Chicago was interesting. We ended up with a tiny, but very sunny unit right in the Loop a few blocks from his job. One problem was trying to find a place that permitted a six-month lease. That limited our options. We ended up looking at three places in one building and one in another. The building he selected has few amenities, but is cheap, while the other building had everything under one roof, but was expensive. I rooted for the one he ended up picking because it is on a corner and gets cross-ventilation.

He'll be home every weekend for a while because he is teaching a class at the U, which has been move to Sunday nights. It was that or do it via video conference, which the students don't like.

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I am really beginning to feel normal. The more activity the better, but my stamina is still really not there. Moving, cleaning, and packing isn't the best way to get back in shape, so I'm looking forward to walking as soon as it is slightly warmer. I might even get in a short walk later today. One of the biggest problems I'm having (along with just being generally weak and inflexible) is with my feet. The one that I broke a few years ago is back to acting up and the other one has terrible plantar fasciitis. I'm thinking both of these things will go away (again) when I am walking more. I am doing my stretches, which is helping, but I need working feet. After trotting around all day in Chicago, I didn't go out at night because I couldn't imagine any further walking.

Earlier this month I went and visited the kids via the train. It was the first time I traveled by myself or on public transportation since I caught cancer. It was wonderful to see the kids in their own element again. I'll get the pictures posted to Flickr one of these days, but I have uploaded the videos to YouTube. There are a bunch under the username questioningyou. Here is a super cute one to get you started. Note that she has a cold so her upper lip is full of snot.




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Guess what? My entire family, sans J, is going to Disneyworld in October. My brother, the dad, really wants to do this trip so his tax return is going toward paying for their family. He is looking at it as a celebration of health and life. The kids will be 5, 5, and 3. Oatmeal is already suspicious of our plans. We speak in code, but she still figures out we're talking about Disney. She knows more about the place than I do.

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I liked the changes at the Oscars, particularly when the old winners came out and said nice things about the nominee. I also liked the first and later musical numbers. They were fun. And, I loved Kate Winslett's dress.

When we were in Chicago we watched Milk via on demand. I liked this movie far more than I thought I would. Two thumbs up for this one.

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J needs a new computer (he is using a laptop that I got almost seven years ago). So, I got a new MacBook Pro (bought with his student/teacher discount) and he is getting my old one. The coolest thing ever is how you can connect the two laptops and just move everything from one to the other.

Minor Rant: If you Bring a Baby to a Movie, Sit By the Door

Obviously, I haven't been able to see many new movies over the last six months. I've generally had to avoid crowded theaters and I often didn't feel like venturing out. But, I really wanted to see Benjamin Button. My immune system is getting close to the lowest point it will ever hit, but I figured if I went during the day (only $5), there wouldn't be many people there. I knew I could find a seat in a corner away from others. And I did. I found a seat that sufficiently isolated me from the other theater-goers.

I arrived about 15-20 minutes early and noticed a couple sitting smack-dab in the middle of the theater. And, the woman was holding a baby, probably about six months old. The movie is almost three hours long. This family arrived earlier than I did, plus there were previews. Did the family really expect their kid to be quiet for almost four hours? Just as the movie started, the baby started crying so the mom crawled over all the people in her row to take her outside. Then she crawled back into her seat. Then she crawled back out. Over and over. Every time the kid started making noise. I think they family eventually left because I didn't see them when the movie ended. This wasn't that distracting for me, because I sat a bunch of rows up from them, but I can't imagine what the other people in their row thought as the woman and the baby kept going back and forth.

I actually don't mind babies at movies if they are quiet. Parents need to get out too. And, she was polite enough to leave any time the child made noise. But, couldn't they have sat on an aisle near the door?

Film Fodder

I was thinking that I hadn't written many reviews lately. I'm not really in a reviewing state of mind. And, I don't have much to say about restaurants. We're still going, but nothing fun nor exciting has really popped up. It did occur to me that I've seen bunch of films that I haven't mentioned here. Briefly, here's some comments about what I've seen recently.

Forgetting Sarah Marshall - I saw this one by myself and loved it. I don't usually completely dig Apatow movies. They are a little bit juvenile for me, but this one had just the right tone. It was funny and sweet.

Iron Man - Another winner. And RD Jr. was HOT!

The Visitor - You've probably never heard of this movie that broke my heart. It is about a sad, lonely, widower who encounters two illegal immigrants in his unused NY apartment. He befriends them. He finds joy. Then the unthinkable happens. I was almost sobbing at the end of this movie. Even knowing how it was going to end, didn't prepare me for my reaction. Telling J about it a few days later still made me cry. The scenes on the Staten Island ferry of the Statue of Liberty bring about thoughts of all that is good and bad about immigration in America.

Prince Caspian (Narnia) - Horrid! I heard this one was better than the first. It isn't. It is way too long. Editing might have made it better, but it still is different from the book. And Prince Caspian can't act his way out of a paper bag.

Indiana Jones - I wanted to love this movie. I really did. I liked it. It was fun. But the green screen and special effects ruined the magic.

The Oscars - I'm sure you've read about them by now

Snooooooooooze

I even watched the E thing before hand (on my computer). There's two hours of my life I won't get back. Ryan Seacrest was not on his game. The Gary Busey/Jennifer Garner thing was interesting, but that was about the only excitement of the entire night.

Javiar Bardem was particularly cute when he thanked his mom.

The dresses were long and fancy.

I guess people like red.

WTF was up with the song choices? Where were the songs from Into the Wild? Eddie Vetter at the Oscars, I would have like to see.

In other news, remember the I'm Fucking Matt Damon video? Well, Kimmel had a response to it last night, I'm Fucking Ben Affleck. It is a far grander production than the first one, with lots of Hollywood cameos. I'd rather watch it over and over again for 3.5 hours than sit through last night's Oscars again.

Too bad string instruments can't bleed

I've seen all the best picture nominees, with the exception of Atonement (which I will not see.) I bagged There Will be Blood last night. I have only this to say about it:

The score is a character in the movie. There were moments when I wanted to individually pluck each and every string from each and every violin/viola/cello and strangle the composer.

That is all.

Lazy Linking

Interesting stuff I've seen on the Interwebs:

Brian Lambert's analysis of the right-wingers who hate McCain. Don't forget to read the subsequent comment discussion.

Interesting article on delegate math.

Short article on Wisconsin polls.

Consumerist is looking for the worst company in America.

The first trailer for the new Indiana Jones movie.

Excellent Vanity Fair article about the Indiana Jones movie, Spielberg, and Lucas. There are some spoilers, so beware.

Via Kottke. What color is the Empire State Building?

Oh, and finally, guess these asses butts. (Click for a bigger view.)

We were screwed out of seeing Hotel Chevalier: Comments about recently watched movies

I see movies for three reasons: the acting, the look, and the music. I rarely see a movie for the story. There are just so few new stories. Stories almost never surprise me. Sometimes I see an ending a few minutes into the movie. This is why I rarely see romantic comedies or silly Apatow-type movies (go back and read what I said about Knocked Up. I had to pay attention to the plot because there was nothing else. So I didn't really like the movie). Thus, my movie experiences and descriptions are often different from my friends and family. Keeping this in mind, recently I've seen the following:

Darjeeling Limited - I loved this movie. The Indian scenery, the nuanced performances. But, I'm pretty crabby that I didn't get to see Hotel Chevalier. When the movie was originally released to the festivals it came with a short prequel that sets the stage for one of the characters. At the time the movie was first released, prior to wide distribution, the prequel was not shown. Instead, the viewers were supposed to go to iTunes to watch it. I didn't. I planned on watching it after I saw the movie. However, by the time I got around to it, the movie had been removed from iTunes because now it is being shown before Darjeeling. Bah. I hate movie distributors.

Lars and the Real Doll - A very sweet story. Gossling nails the character. But you know why I really loved this movie? It captures Wisconsin's rolling terrain perfectly. And the early winter, steel gray skies are perfectly reminiscent of what I saw out my window growing up.

American Gangster - Great soundtrack. Decent enough movie. Not as violent as I expected.

Into the Wild - You don't go to this movie for the story. You know what happens at the end. And, it sometimes moves too slowly. But the scenery is unbelievable. Shot on location around the U.S., you see this movie to see this movie.

Weekend Reviews

Michael Clayton - This is a good movie. A really good movie. Even though it did sort of meh at the box office, I'm thinking it has staying power, so you'll have lots of chances to see it.

But I was distracted by Clooney's non-hotness. In the Ocean's movies, he is so yummy. In this movie, not so much. His hair was too short, his face puffy, his skin drawn. I never even looked at him and thought, "ooh la la". Plus the eyeliner he was forced to wear was really distracting.

Longfellow Grill - The food at Longfellow is always decent enough and the service good and friendly. I forget about this place sometimes and am always pleasantly surprised when we go back.

Mairin's Table - We have had some excellent meals here and they still have the best hummus in town, but they have to figure something out or this place will close. I ordered their hamburger (which is really more a Jucy Lucy). The last time I had it, I raved about it. This time it was bland and overcooked. J ordered the lamb kabobs and had nothing much to say about them. They were fine, but certainly not flavorful enough. The interior was so warm, we almost walked out. But, there were so few people there that we felt sorry for them and stayed. The restaurant is located in hip NE, right behind Bulldog, so location should not be an issue. Maybe the vibe is too stuffy. With a little bar and a big cappuccino maker, you expect to feel energy. Instead the table cloths and bad soft jazz probably chases people away.

And I fucking hate westerns

My dad loves westerns therefore I hate them. That's the way the world works. My childhood was filled with boring John Wayne epics. Oh, how I despised Rooster Cogburn. But after reading a number of excellent reviews and not being able to pass up Russell Crowe and Christian Bale, I decided to go see 3:10 to Yuma (J teaches at the U on Wednesday nights so I often go see movies). It really was a fantastic movie. I hated the westernishness of it, but the acting and the character development were superb.

Harry and Hairy

Harry Potter - The Movie
Good enough. I liked it more than the avid fan and about as much as the critics. I knew it had to be drastically cut back from the book. There was no way to capture everything in 2ish hours. I didn't love that Sirius' death was changed to include the killing curse, but that was really my only big complaint.

Harry Potter - The Book
I fully expected Harry to live, but I still thought the book would be much darker with many more deaths. But I shouldn't have considering the book is for kids. I missed Hogwarts. I missed the other DA and OOTP members. I really grew to like the other school kids and their absence from much of the book made it less compelling. The camping was tedious. The Hallows stuff was a distraction. Rowling pulled away from the important deaths to make them less emotional. Was this an effort to make it less jarring for the wee ones? Probably. In the end, I liked it well enough, but I was disappointed to some degree. I expected something more emotional and with more battles. The beginning and the end were decent, but the middle was just filler.

Hairspray - The Movie
I wasn't sure I even wanted to go to this movie because of Travolta's presence, but my curiosity got the better of me and I went tonight while J was at GeekGroup. Since I started grad school and have been consumed with doing critical analysis, I can't see social commentary movies like this without picking apart every word, scene, and casting decision. (I've never seen the musical and I only vaguely remember the first movie). Generally speaking, I am not going to be a huge fan of a fat acceptance (and racial equality) movie casting almost all thin people with the exception of the African American mother. Making things worse is the role of the white mother being played by a thin man wearing a fat suit (who is also a gay-hating Scientologist). I get that in the original movie John Waters cast a transvestite as the white mother, but this movie is really just a watered down, family friendly version of the musical. Thus, I don't understand casting Travolta as the mom. To make matters worse, I found Travolta to be extremely distracting. I didn't like the character - she was really superfluous, but I also didn't like him. The voice, the squinty eyes, the strange singing. Blech. Every time he was on the screen I found myself looking at my clock or rolling my eyes. He and his character really ruined the movie for me. On the positive side, I loved Queen Latifah, she stole the show. I also liked Michelle Pfeiffer. Christopher Walken was underutilized and the lead girl was fine, but she certainly didn't wow me.