Category: Film

Juno

Jeff and I watched Juno last night and I loved it.  The script, the acting – a wonderful movie, and Ellen Page and Michael Cera make my Canadian heart explode with pride.  Also, it makes fun of Unitarianism.

Yesterday I prepped my MacBook for working with Windows software by installing a virtual machine.  We’ll see how this plays out… Jeff’s going to help me with an XP install  With any luck I won’t have to turn it into a Vista machine.  The long term point of this is to allow me to work from home, as the contact management and call center software is all Windows and internet based.

My payroll problem has been straightened out.

Gizmo and the downstairs dog, Meadow, are getting to know each other.  Meadow is so anxious for someone to play with that it’s very cute.  Gizmo’s body language says it all.  Scornful, not the slightest bit scared.  Eddie made tracks like his little black tail was on fire as soon as he poked his head through the door and saw the dog.

I have now entirely s-canned my original homily, as well as the two subsequent attempts, and I’m staring at the screen with disbelieving horror… can my normal fluency have deserted me for this most important topic?  Can I restrain my usual desire to turn everything into a gag?  Will I find myself in the pulpit on Sunday next, eyes like dog’s balls, stammering, incoherent and bereft of a single cogent sentence?  Stay tuned.  On the plus side, there will be jazz at the service, most likely.

I would just like to tell the universe, briefly, that I’m tired of getting what I need and would like to get what I want for a change.  Okay, back to the homily.

Shoot ’em Up

When the trailer first hit the internet for Shoot em Up I said to Keith, “You know, I have to see this movie.”  And I watched it last night, and Jeff and I had a blast.  If you want balls to the wall hardcore action with a body count in the stratosphere, have fun. Otherwise, don’t bother.  Paul Giamatti plays one of the best villains ever, and Clive Owen does steely eyed testosterone fueled intensity like nobody else.

Political punditry and conspicuous consumption

This dude takes on ‘bittergate’ – supposedly Obama’s bitter misreading of middle America.  As is frequently the case, the post is excellent and some of the comments are even better.

What kind of strange middle class fffreak am I turning into?  Going shopping at IKEA?  Yes, we bought a kitchen table and some kitchen shelves.  I rented the Montana (finally learned how to put the back seats down and up again, with some struggle) and we went to the Richmond IKEA and I have to say Monday evening around supper time is a way better time to shop there than the weekend.  The last time I was there on the weekend I thought I’d died and gone to a special corner of hell.  I’m glad Patricia suggested eating in the cafeteria at IKEA.  The food was excellent (they have a license! but of course I had a CAN car so I stayed off the sauce) and with milk and cookies and meatballs included it was 16 bucks for the two of us.
The car smelled funny.  I am almost inclined to get it detailed to try and offload the curious “what the hell is that?” aroma that is in the car.  The Prius was like that too, especially on a warm day.

After much delay, I’m off to see Katie K tonight.  What with her staging her condo and me moving, it’s been ages since we’ve seen each other and we are long overdue for an earflapping.

There was snow at the same time the sun was out yesterday; then snow pellets; then this morning a skin of ice on everything.  Winter is clinging like a cast off lover with a personality disorder.  Except, of course, you can’t call the cops on the weather.  Even if you could, I can’t hear Mother Nature saying, “Don’t tase me, bro!”

Eddie has been to the vet, and now he has medicine.  The vet at Petcetera is pretty good and his staff are too, so says Jeff.

When I come home tonight, the furniture will be assembled.  I asked if I could help, and Jeff just looked at me like I’m nuts; being my brother he gets to do that a lot, since I provide loads of evidence that it’s true. Let us hope all the hardware is in the fracking box.

Man, is BSGs4 going to a dark place or what???

Watched Breach last night.  That was a damned good movie.  I may want to see it again sometime.   If you want to see a movie that has very little swearing, no graphic violence whatsoever and only one little bit of violence, no explosions and no car chases, but a gripping plot, good acting and a great script, check it out.
Shoot.  It’s 7am.  Time to don the gay apparel and grab the next shuttle to the mothership.

Food and family

Keith and Paul were here. We ate leftovers, but there were loads in the fridge, and then I made lovely rice pudding for dessert. I bet it’s all gone by the time we get home tonight.

Then we watched The Big Lebowski which is one Powerfully Strange movie, but very funny, and I thank Joe the fanboy for loaning it to us.
I wrote a tune on the mando yesterday. No lyrics, it’s all picking. It’s called Willie’s Lament. I did laundry and admired the activities of the 59000 Sun Runners on the psychic plane. Between 420 and the Sun Run there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell I was going downtown yesterday.
Tonight, off to Ikea for a kitchen table.

The thrice-blessèd Jeff silenced the toilet (the noise alternated between hissing and a tick tick tick noise that made one think of a limpet mine), installed smoke alarms (the one that came with the house was wired into the AC and kept going off hoarsely at odd intervals) and put up cup holders so now we have Places to Hang Things in the kitchen.  He also got the internet running on the big screen in the living room which means we can now play Youtube Bingo where everybody can see it.  Honestly, watching Youtube videos with friends is a truly fine experience and with the wireless keyboard, you just hand it to the next person and see what insanity comes up.  Of course THIS is what he played first (lyrics not safe for work, and yes I previously posted it).  I heard the first few bars, started giggling and ran out into the living room.

I had a great three days off.  But I’m happy to be going back to work.  Sick, hunh?

Weird weather in Vancouver

Last night at about 8:30, Keith and I were watching Cool Hand Luke (Keith’s first time, my fifth at least) when someone outside the house fired the biggest flashbulb ever.  At least, that’s what it looked like.  Both windows in my field of vision lit up like daylight for a fraction of a second.  I had time to look quizzically at Keith, then turn back and shrug, before the thunder arrived.  We estimated that it was about four seconds after the flash; long enough for both of us to dismiss the flash as something other than lightning.  We were wrong.  The thunder was like an earthquake; the house shook violently and I felt the shaking throughout my body.  I couldn’t figure out how the thunder could be that loud if the lightning strike was so far away; Keith suggested that it had indeed been far away, but right above us.  That would explain what we observed.  Of course, what made this particularly interesting for us was that it occurred at the point in the film where – you guessed it – there was a thunderstorm.  Anyway, soon after this event, it started to snow.  And this morning, snow covers the ground.  This is going to be a weird year for weather.

Biscotti for partti

There will be an assortment of other pleasant things to munch which I won’t enumerate out of respect for my parents, who might be tempted to get on the ferry and join us if I did.  I am feeling very odd still, but I think it’s a migraine.

Jeff says he drifted off to sleep last night to the smell of almonds toasting, and now we are waiting for the first bake to be done so’s I can slice ’em and throw them in the oven. Lost my bank card last night, or at least one of them.  As I’ve had to replace it twice in the last year through no fault of my own I was a bit blasé about the whole thing, but earned a mercifully brief lecture from Jeff about being more organized, and maybe I should just leave it off there while pointing to the small grin distorting my phiz at the moment.  I am also smarting from having packed the season two disk one DVD of Deadwood in the *^%^* DVD player, which is resting comfortably in storage. Hopefully that will conclude my acts of dummheit, and I can fix these problems on the weekend, and hey, maybe even do some important banking that I had been putting off.

Okay! the biscotti, a perfect 10 of goldenbrown-ness, are sliced and back in the oven. If the downstairs neighbours are awake they are probably wondering what’s up – it’ll fill the house for sure.
Patricia’s coming home with me from work tonight and we are going to prep for the party together.  Either that or start partying early, I wouldn’t put it past us.   No.  I wouldn’t.   Turn up ze musique!  Dansez, mes enfants!  I have made the determination that just in case the Luddite shows up I am going to stay reasonably sober (he doesn’t care, but I do) by which I mean having three whole beers, instead of maybe six over the course of the evening.  We shall see.

One last comment.   I watched The Thing, the last 45 minutes, last night.  I had forgotten what an amazing bloody movie that was.  Then I watched Planes, Trains and Automobiles, which was on my lifetime list.  It’s always good to have a conversation starter for the office….

Bear Stearns comment and the rest is all domestic

Yeah, I can just believe that the buyout will be the last we see of the troublesome financial problems in the US. Good riddance eh?  The movie business is doing great, or so I’ve heard.

I just cooked my second family meal and first family dinner at Geek House.  Lemon pepper halibut lightly anointed with butter, steamed broccoli and homemade medium cheddar sauce (with arrowroot, a new one on me), romaine salad with celery, carrot, mushrooms and tomatoes.  Home made chocolate muffins for dessert if anyone wants them.

Yeah, I think I’ll be eating better from now on.  Next up – lentil soup.  I’m going to mess with something daal like, and then to cross culture it up I’ll serve it with cilantro and full milk yogurt rolled in corn tortillas.  Or perhaps some serving method that doesn’t make so much mess.  I will think on it, but first, I suppose before I do anything like that I should consult with the Master of Geek House.  I am the not quite Dowager Duchess of Geek House. Hm.  That would make Keith the Cadet of Geek House?  I’ll just cut that line of enquiry short.
I am not packing everything from the old place.  I want to, but I’m glad of the opportunity to shift some hardened energy out of my life.  That’s what most of that stuff is, solidified energy.  I had such thoughts and then I watched Natalie Portman’s first professional movie and then the Luddite dropped by for a brief and bracing visit, so of course I’m more cheerful.

It was so good seeing Keith.  I feel quietly happy right now, listening to the rain.

I’m home,

but I’m not where my bed is.  I pulled out the guit and the mando tonight and HOLY CRAP is my bedroom LIVE when it doesn’t have any furniture in it.  It’s a little tiled cell in which the sound of my breathing echoes like there’s a Balrog stuck in the corner.  All I practiced was Spinal Clinic and one of the new ones (These Things Happen).  This after watching Robert Downey Jr (can he do a bad acting job? the man is incredible) in this movie.
I am a woman of noisy enthusiasms.  Jeff keeps scowling at me; if I laugh at something with my usual vigour  (read volume) whichever of the cats is cuddling with him messes off the couch with a disgusted air.   And hey, two new-to-me Robot Chicken episodes and the season finale of Atlantis (it being the first Stargate Atlantis I’ve ever seen).  I’ve heard his fame well sung, that Rodney guy from Stargate Atlantis…. Now’s the time to queue up some Lady Miss B.
Patricia let me cry on her today. Thank you Patricia.  I’m not very aesthetic at the best of times; snivelling over onion rings is an incorrect form.  It was a summer storm, I’m not upset anymore.  She wants to meet the Luddite.  Like Ambrose Bierce, I have my doubts that all my friends should be introduced to each other even if they all rock.

Lady Miss B’s instrument was plucked from its case whilst being inspected by TSA goons, who played it laughing and broke a string.  May they receive the blessings of heaven and it not enough to spare them the lashings of hell.

Long trip home

I got on the ferry at 5:30 due to a volume delay (I’d been aiming for 4), and cleared my door at home at precisely 9 pm.  I then drew a bath and contemplated my weekend past including all the movies, teed up a date with the Luddite for next week, and talked to another friend on the phone for a bit.  Then we went gah! it’s 11 pm and we both gotta work tomorrow, and so to bed.  It’s Presidents Day so the phone should be slow.  I have a pretty bad cough; there’s been a doozy going round the office.

My aunt Mary picked me up a copy of Eric Frank Russell’s WASP, a book so full of richness that I re-read it at least every couple of years, and have done so since I was about 11.  Wonderful book.  When I write, I try really hard to write like Eric Frank Russell.