stepping around the one million year trap

The worst thing when it has been one million years since I've written a blog post is how I want to say something about how it has been one million years and then I dither for an ADDITIONAL million years and then I'm tired and go to bed.  My strategy this time is to just baldly state it and then get on with it. Will it work? Would it work twice? These are questions that lack answers at this time.

Here is a bullet list of things I've wanted to blog about, but then fell into my one million year trap:

•  12th century French werewolf
• butts of the ancients part 2 
• garden panic!!
• my sore throat and how I hate it and how I hate that I can't write one single thing that doesn't have me whining about my sore throat and how I hate it. 
• Nashville
• Bunheads
• and how I love both of them
• POEMS: are they just the right thing to read when my attention span has contracted to the size of a penny? (I blame the internet, by the way. and when I say that I mean my own lack of impulse control.) 
• Hamlet. Man, that guy has problems AND a ghost, which is also a problem but sort of the least of them. Although it does egg him on a lot. 
• SMARTPHONE. I have an ancient dumb phone (I notice that they are called "feature phones" and that the "features" are things like voicemail and numbers on a keypad.) Anyway - this is probably a bit more info than a bullet indicates, but I think I'm going to go with Ting.com which treats mobile stuff like a utility instead of like some kind of bad contract with Rumplestiltskin deal. You buy your phone outright and then just pay for what you use voice/text/data wise. I'm trying to decide which of their phones I want. It's all android, which is fine. I'm a mac user everywhere else, so I'm finding it all kind of exciting. It's good to learn new things, if only I could make up my mind.
• I keep having this fantasy where someone delivers 3-5k to my doorstep and I can just spend it on electronics. It's BIZARRE as this is not normally the kind of thing I spend too much time thinking about. But I want new everything. I blame the impending spring and that my laptop cursor keeps skipping around. Nothing is dire (except the phone) and I'm just being wanty
• those black ants that are everywhere: my nemeses
• SECRET THING (I can/will tell eventually, just not yet) 
• my favorite podcasts and what kind of thing I like in a favorite podcast and do you have a favorite podcast?
• Remember when Hugh Jackman hosted the Oscars and he was so charming and funny? 
• flickr revival! 

There are more things, but I'm going to read a poem, or read Hamlet stabbing some people and go to bed.  It's raining, which is my very favorite sleeping weather of all time/seasons. 

it was more of a figurative tomorrow

Common Spring Fever is a stealth problem with untold victims. Sufferers may become confused and antsy, believing perhaps that they are losing their marbles/religion/car keys. The fact is, this affliction -- this Vernal Itchiness -- is caused by a combination of weather, allergens, and of course the potent Northern Hemisphere Spring Virus. Wind and blossoms, hail and bird's nests, rainbows and mud, gentle breezes and cutting wind. WTF, April?

Some Symptoms of The Fever:

1) Poor choices: Yesterday I went barelegged to work, even though it was really too cold for no tights. The sun was shining and I had to do it! (maracas dress, which NEVER FAILS to make me laugh aloud at least once when I'm wearing it.)

2) Crazed impulses: I could not settle down long enough to write this blog post until I first put my hair into braids and tied a hand dyed silk ribbon around my neck. I look like a waitress in a theme restaurant. (theme: impaired judgement.) But I did it just in time! knock knock knock. I've found that interactions with door to door do-gooders go a little smoother and more quickly if they think you might be crazy. (this time it was a gentleman named Rogue from the Sierra club who was handily dispatched since I'm already a member and he was looking for someone named Katherine.) I have no real beef with door to door do-gooders; I know it's a thankless job and most of them are trying to DO GOOD, but I have to say I do appreciate the ones who are gracious (like Rogue!) opposed to the ones who call you a "panda killer" if you don't have the time or inclination to sign their petition and agree to donate X dollars per month in perpetuity. (This made me laugh and laugh and laugh. "Maybe tomorrow, hippie," INDEED.)

3) allergies

It's Still National Library Week:

Here are a couple of cool things I found via the library's internal reference blog. I read it when things are slow on the desk. (yesterday was pretty slow, which I'm chalking up to THE FEVER.)

1) Did you know that the New York Public Library now has a page on iTunes where you can subscribe/download some really great material FOR FREE? I love this kind of stuff, and there's even more available on the NYPL website.

2) EW.com has a feature on 18 Sexy Trips to the Library Stacks. I have to say that their description of sexy is so broad as to be ridiculous (Philadelphia? really?), but to their credit, they did track down 18 movies that feature libraries in honor of National Library Week, and let's face it: "18 Sexy Trips to the Library Stacks" sounds a lot more catchy than "Hey! We thought of 18 movies that have libraries in them."

List of cool places to keep lists to come sometime this weekend! I've run out of time and want to do give it a little more thought. Happy Passover/Friday/Spring Fever!

you have to play the tuba

SOME SHORT LISTS


on the list titled "necessary to delay impending madness":

1) haircut! my hair has reached the length where I look like I have traveled in time (either frontwards or backwards) from the Era of Stupid Hair. Unfortunately, even though I really like the girl who cuts my hair (she has an awesome chicken tattoo!), I really hate making an appointment. HATE IT. Eventually my hair hatred will override my appointment-making hatred and I'll have cute hair again. It's just sad when a person has to resort to an internal hate fight to get a freaking haircut. I think this time I'll make an appointment for next time while I'm there!

2) knee boots. This has been creeping up on me for a long time. First it was one of those jokes that's more of a test -- out loud: "ha ha ha! go-go boots/boots to the knee? suuuure." (inside: secretly covet but think they may be too weird, too much, too loud) -- but I have moved out of that stage and into Acknowledgement Of My Desire. I almost tackled a woman in the library yesterday because she had the coolest non-slutty boots to the knee I have seen in a long time! And then another one came in! it was boots, boots, boots, everywhere! They are so perfect with dresses and skirts in this weird spring weather. I have a pair that come about 6" from the knee, but it's just not the same. sigh. The good news is since we're coming out of boot-season here, I might be able to find some for cheap.
 
recently learned at the library:
 
1) little boys of a certain age (around 6-7) find garfield HILARIOUS. I would have thought it impossible for anyone to do so, but I have seen it with my own eyes!

2) this technically was at staff day and not at the library proper, but I think it counts. Ursula Le Guin was a guest speaker (gracious and wonderful), and during the Q & A she was asked about her advice for aspiring writers. She said (paraphrase): get a good job! You'll need it because hardly anyone gets paid for writing anymore. (she further recommended the kind of job that doesn't devour your every thought and will to live so that you have time to write.) The other thing she recommended, and she was rather apologetic, was practice, practice, practice. She said that it was the unfortunate truth of any of the arts; if you want to play the tuba, you have to play the tuba.

More lists tomorrow, including online places you can keep lists.
 

sundry Austen items

+TV reminder: tonight Masterpiece Classic's Complete Jane Austen continues with Northanger Abbey. I've never read NA! (note to self: get on the stick.)

+ via Smartbitches , a HILARIOUS ultra-condensed Collected Work of Jane Austen:

The Collected Work of Jane Austen
by Jane Austen
Ultra-Condensed by Christina Carlson and Peter da Silva

Female Lead: I secretly love Male Lead. He must never know.

Male Lead: I secretly love Female Lead. She must never know.

(They find out.)

THE END

read more condensed literary works at: Book-A-Minute

+via Meg Cabot -- a link to vote on your favorite Austen hero, Masterpiece Classic-style. (Please have smelling salts at the ready so you don't faint from surprise when I confide that Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth, has a healthy lead.)

Persuasion v. Persuasion

I wanted to do a comparison between the 1995 adaptation and the 2008 adaptation, but decided that it wasn't fair since I've only seen the 2008 version once (why didn't I record it?!?), whereas I have seen the 95 version somewhere in the 4-7 times range. (most recently this afternoon while I worked on that infernal quilt.) It was so interesting to me since they are both modern adaptations, both from the same source material, etc. etc. How they each chose to get the same information across was fascinating. (plot-moving lines from the book would pop out of different character's mouths, etc.) The newer version focused (I think) more exclusively on The Romance, while the older version certainly did as well, but it was grounded in a larger context.

I quite enjoyed the new one with a few quibbles -- I probably would have liked it more if I weren't so familiar with the other.
Quibble 1) Anne looked at the camera so often that I was put out when she didn't take the good advice I was so generously dispensing from the couch.

Quibble 2) OMG -- that running at the end. The whole ending felt rushed (especially when compared with the 95), but all that running, running, running to get to Wentworth (after she found out so he could find out, etc.)... it felt like an engineered gimmick (thank god there were no airports in 1814 Bath), which kind of bummed me out because there was plenty of drama in the situation without having to give her shin splints at the same time. I did like how the actress looked as though she might puke or cry at any minute -- that seemed eminently plausible considering her emotional state.

Quibble 3) The very end, with Anne and Wentworth in front of some gigantic manor -- I think it was intended to be a massive STFU to her status-crazy busybody family, but since wealth and prominence were things that Anne discovered she didn't value as much as her unctuous relations, it seemed pretty hollow compared to the excellent ending of the 95 version. (Anne on the deck of a ship with her husband, whom I'm convinced she would have gone with whether or not he'd made his fortune in the war.)

some things I really liked about Persuasion 95:

+ the sense of historical context -- since the royal navy was so important to the story (Wentworth made his fortune at sea, many other key players were navy affiliated), it was nice to have a sense of what was going on (temporary peace while Bonaparte was exiled to Elba) and how naval officers fit into Society. (not at all, according to Anne's snobby father.)

+ the sense of familial context -- so much of the drama in Jane Austen novels isn't just the Will They Ever Get It Together of the romance, but how the community at large has such an influence over the lives of Our Hero and Heroine. (I loved the scenes early on when Anne is visiting her hypochondriac sister Mary -- played by the wonderful Sophie Thompson -- and every one of her extended family, all very fond of her, take it entirely for granted that she will sort their petty issues out. This is shown with brief little moments of them each saying "you must blah blah blah blah" and we see Anne get more and more tired and resigned as they all vent their grievances, often directly relating to the gripe she just heard a moment before.)

+It felt like there was enough time for the story to play out as it should -- minor characters were highlighted and served their purpose without seeming like they should be named "Guy Who Gives Bad News" or "Dragon Lady" or "Nurse Exposition." This really goes back to the context thing. The 95 movie was only 10 minutes longer than the new one, but when something is less than 2 hours long, ten minutes can be a long time.

+ So much of the interaction between Anne and Wentworth happened in front of a group of people who had no idea (even worse, wouldn't care if they did) about their history and how tense and fraught it was -- lots of subtle acting, double meanings, significant glances and repeated breaking of my heart.

+ the end -- I loved that at the almost end where Anne catches up with Wentworth (in another of those moments that is hugely significant to them -- the "they find out" moment, but ordinary business to the present but oblivious Charles Musgrove) there is a parade of theater performers, stilt-walkers, etc, who are not just out of the blue but have been set-up beforehand. The streets of Bath celebrate along with us! I also loved that we got this moment where they know (and we know they know) and instead of that being THE END, we get to see a little bit of how it will play out with their family and friends.

Anyway -- if you haven't seen it, I recommend doing so if you like that sort of thing (Jane A. smart women, the royal navy, dandies, fops, insufferable relatives, meaningful glances, oblivious but well-meaning friends and relatives, scoundrels, great costumes, setting right things that once were wrong, etc. etc.). It is one of my favorite Austen adaptations from that period of 95-99 where you couldn't sit down without seeing one.

bagpipe solo

I was thinking about this resolution stuff and thought that I could really torture myself and anyone who happens to read this by drawing it out all month! mwahahaha! I don't think I will (because I'm not entirely evil), but here are a few more related to entertainment:

Read More -- I didn't keep count of what I read this year until a couple of weeks ago -- it was more than I thought, but not as much as I'd like. I want to introduce a little more variety and challenge to my reading diet. I have been reading a lot more poetry and non-fiction which is what I wanted to do a couple of years ago, so yay me! But even so -- there are so many books I want to read, I really don't have a good excuse for not reading them. (I have plenty of excuses, but none of them are good.)

Mix It Up -- 2007 was a lousy year for me making mix cds which I used to love to make all the time! I think it was in part because I wasn't listening to much new stuff due to my need to cocoon my rattled self with the familiar. But like I said last post, change is good! (in fact, I think that could be my 2008 motto -- where I always get it wrong with "change is good" is that my mind immediately goes to the opposite of what I want or am familiar with and assume that change will be this terrible disruption, which of course is ridiculous! I mean, sometimes it is horrible, but not always. Not even usually. Besides, change happens whether I like it or not, so I'd rather be happy about it and maybe even get to the point where it's not a disruption but a fun new twist. what? It could happen.)

Where was I? MIX CDs! yes! I think maybe I'll try to do at least one a month for myself. (including theme mixes of stuff I have already. I like the notion of putting things I love already in a new-to-me context.)

My ipod needs a major refresh as well. Wheeee!

What To Watch? -- Well, TV is going to be dire for a while so I think it's time to plan some themed movie events. The library has so much (including a ton of TV on DVD -- there was a guy in a panic today because he was returning Dallas season 5 and his hold for Dallas season 6 had expired the day before. I'm sure you'll be relieved to know that it all worked out) -- it shouldn't be too hard to come up with something fun and interesting. I had an inadvertent Carole Lombard festival this summer which was very enjoyable, so with a little bit of planning I figure I could have a whole lot of fun. Actor? Genre? Year? Director? Coolest Cover? Close My Eyes And Grab? Farscape Marathon? Recommendations? Some top 100 list or another? The possibilities are endless!

My favorite item processed at the library in the past week: about 10 pieces of bagpipe specific sheet music. I love this for many reasons: 1) someone is learning the bagpipe! I'm glad the hoodlum children who live next door have thus far limited themselves to the trumpet. 2) someone learning the bagpipe thought "I wonder if the library can help me out?" 3) The library has a ton of sheet music! (central has a whole sheet music department. it's awesome) In this collection is music intended for learning the bagpipe! 4) it was all pretty old and had quaint retro bagpipe-design covers. 5)honestly, I don't think I can type the word "bagpipe" enough times.

shortest day/longest night

Happy Solstice! I think it's tonight.. As I ably proved during the full lunar eclipse in August, astronomical time-telling is not exactly INTUITIVE for me. (But I'm pretty sure that the solstice was tonight around 10ish for those of us on the west coast of the united states. Everyone else: I'm sure it's soon, or has happened already. please adjust your celebrations accordingly.) Anyway -- I always love the winter solstice because it means the days start getting longer again -- good news for me here in dark cloudy rainland.

Bird Brain: Today I was thinking about the different birds that I've seen at the park -- mostly crows, although there's one seagull who is constantly crashing the crow party. (hilarious, if you allow that socially awkward seagulls can be hilarious, which I DO.) Occasionally I see small birds of prey (I think they're falcons of some sort -- when they're sitting in the tree they look JUST LIKE the statue of the maltese falcon, except Not A Statue, which I believe is exactly how John James Audubon would have identified birds if only the pop culture of his era had supported it.) This morning I saw about a dozen tiny yellow finches! They were hopping around eating bugs or whatever it is they eat on the ground. They were so small (about the size of my thumb) that at first I thought they were leaves. Very cute, very busy -- a wholly unexpected pleasure to see.

Speaking of the squirrels, I KNEW IT!

In other park news, the Stick of Damocles remains. There is this stick (it is between stick size and limb size) that has been caught in the branches of another tree and hanging over the path for almost a year. It dangles menacingly, although "dangle" doesn't really sound too threatening. The deceptive dangle! We've had huge wind and still it hangs. I've seen other park regulars try to talk the tree-maitenance guys into removing it, but it remains. I'm certain that it is going to fall on my head and kill me instantly. (This has replaced my previous Death Certainty, which was that I would be run over by a car going the wrong way on a one way street the ONE TIME I didn't look both ways before crossing.) The Stick of Damocles was much easier to ignore in the summer when it was hidden by leaves.

As for television (and why not), I loved VH1's top 100 of the 90's. It's cheesy, it's nostalgia for things that are barely over, but it's also what this channel does best: make lists. I love lists! These shows are great to listen to while I work on projects. Some of the talking heads are incredibly lame, some of the comedians are of dubious quality -- I don't think comedy means what they think it means -- but Sir Mix-A-Lot should be on every show they produce. I, of course, have quibbles (how is it possible that Deee-Lite was in the 100-80 section??? They should have been in the top 50 at least! Bootsy Collins, people! astronomical!), but it was almost as fun to be outraged as it was to think "I love that song!" Last night I was having a top 100 related IM with a friend that largely involved me going " OMG! How could I forget about XYZ!!! they're so wonderful/ terrible." A sample exchange:

Her: That one guy always makes me think of gnomes
Me: hee hee hee!
Her: I think you know the one I mean!
Me: the one with the gnome beard?
Her: yes!

(actual answer: Spin Doctors)

here are a couple of videos to celebrate the solstice! or something! First, No Diggity by Blackstreet. I am not a huge fan of modern R&B, but I forgot how crazy I was about this song.



And, of course, Deee-Lite -- so lovely and delicious!

would you be an outlaw?

I am so tired, but in such a good mood! The tired I get (my sleep schedule has gone wonky -- SLEEP! I miss you! please come back before 2 AM), but the good mood I have no explanation for. It's a mystery I'm willing to live with, however.

this & that:

crafty: ( side note: I always think of that Beastie Boys song She's Crafty whenever the word "crafty" comes up, unless it's "hello, crafty" in which case I think of Hello Nasty, also by the Beastie Boys. I don't know why this is.)

I can't knit. I mean, I can knit a plain regular stitch (I don't even know what it's called!) scarf or something, but anything more complex is beyond me. It looks like magic when people clack those needles together and actual PATTERNS emerge! (Although one time I did knit ONE slipper but when it came time to do the other one (years later) I had no memory of what I should do or how I even completed the first one. It was like an out of body knitting experience.) I would like to learn some day, but until then I will content myself with...

crochet! It only takes one tool, which is a hook. A HOOK! I can say I have a hook hand, which automatically makes it appealing. Plus it's easier. I'm only slightly more skilled at crochet than knitting, but it feels like a skill I can improve fairly quickly. I just made a simple (but adorable) scarf out of The Happy Hooker in one evening! (of course it was one of those evenings when I stayed up WAY TOO LATE, but let's focus on the positive, which is that I finished it!)

Willamette Week (portland's alt weekly newspaper) just did a cover story on the craft movement in this city. Crafts (both the furniture making and sweater making kind) are big here, which is very convenient if you like that sort of thing... and I do. In the past 2-3 years it has blown up and there are more and more places to buy/sell/admire handmade items and the supplies necessary to make them. It's an interesting piece which tackles some tricky grey areas of traditional women's work, third wave feminism (just because you're under 40 and making granny squares does not automatically make you a some kind of rebel or political feminist, in case you were wondering) and yarn acquisition.

a song stuck in my head: Thirteen by Big Star -- I think I first heard this on the Gilmore Girls soundtrack (which is v. good, IMO), but most recently while listening to a Big Star collection. It just guts me with its beautiful quavery vulnerability. I don't think these feelings are limited to the age of thirteen, but maybe thirteen's around the last time they are presented so unselfconsciously. "Won't you tell me what you're thinking of/ Would you be an outlaw for my love/ If it's so, well, let me know/ If it's no, well, I can go/ I won't make you" It has a lot of my beloved lalalala's, which doesn't hurt, either.

movie I can't wait to see: I'm Not There by Todd Haynes. I've been hearing little bits and pieces about this for ages and have been all atwitter waiting for it to arrive. This excellent piece in the NYT Magazine has shifted my atwitter to aflutter, which comes right before hopping up and down. I love that it promises to make no linear sense, but to make sense in a bigger, more holistic way -- which seems to me the only way you can properly take on a subject like Bob Dylan. Anyway, I hope it makes its way here soon because I can only take so much anticipation.

music video I still adore, even though I see snips of it several times a night in an oft shown commercial: Feist's 1, 2, 3, 4. This entry on Quiet Bubble, which breaks down the whole video in such a smart and interesting way, proclaims it "one of the best movies I've seen this year." I think this is a fantastic blog post, and not just for use of the word "ramshackle." (although I have a ramshackle soft spot.)

I ran out of time: I have more to say (always!) but time has gotten away from me. I forgot that Blondie's picking me up in half an hour to go see Ira Glass. Ooops! and also Hooray!

the mystery of my bad attitude

THE CLUES (found while using a magnifying glass and blue roadster convertible/sweater set or narcotics/deerstalker cap, depending on your position on the Nancy Drew/ Sherlock Holmes detecting spectrum):

1. empty mailbox

2. 5 day sinus headache

3. worry that I expect too much or not enough

4. messy desk

5. list of things that are not urgent, but are starting to press

6. the absence of all creative thought

THE ANALYSIS (conducted in a clubhouse or bathrobe or at 80 mph):

1. waiting gives me more time for worrying, which leads to the Bad Attitude because I am trying to be above all that worrying bullshit. ( Is there no book called Being Above All That Worrying Bullshit For Dummies? Because I would read it!)

2. allergies and the freaking barometer mean this is not the time to be offhand or forgetful about claritin.

3. I don't know. Maybe the thing to do is to think about what I really want. Work harder. Think bigger. Stop tripping over little things that don't really matter.

4. I believe I have tipped over the, uh, tipping point in how messy is okay with me.

5. maybe I should write down this list instead letting it take on freakish proportions in my brain.

6. Wah!

THE CONCLUSIONS (arrived at while listening to that bore Ned Nickerson drone on and on or in a dining room with assembled suspects, or perhaps while gardening or gossiping with the vicar):

1. there is nothing I can do but wait (goddammit).

2. take the pill! Keep track of when I can take it again and take it again!

3. Think Goethe Thoughts, like this one: Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.

4. I need to make a cleaning list and do things that are on it! But I think I should maybe start backwards from my normal routine if I hope to get any further than my usual stall-out point.

5. Make another list. I'm usually not very paper-list oriented, but special times call for special measures.

6. oh, get over it already!

formula one jazz nutjob

Thanks to vast and varied collection of DVDs held by the Multnomah County Library (all praise their name!) and the end of the regular network tv season I have been watching movies. I plan on having a Movie Summer. There are so many (SO MANY) movies that I've never seen and so many ways to indulge micro-obsessions (my favorite kind!) that I think it will be a worthy warm weather endeavor.

So, here are some that I've seen in the past few months that were all new to me. Time to warm up for Movie Summer! (note to self: get better catch phrase. note to others than myself: there will probably be a couple of these posts.)

The Lady Vanishes: (1938/ Alfred Hitchcock) The DVD case says it is "the best-loved of Hitchcock's British-made thrillers" and I can see why. It was much fun and actually suspenseful without giving me 1800 cheap jump out of the closet heart attacks. I've seen it referred to as "frothy" and "fluffy" and I suppose it is (especially compared with later Hitchcock), but I enjoyed it very much. It reminded me (even though it came well before) of some of the early Elizabeth Peters romantic suspense novels: adventure, a little romance, hijinx on a train, international intrigue, and a charming and mostly capable central pair of investigators. (they're not professional detectives and often get things wrong.) Unrelated to anything: from certain angles Michael Redgrave and Jason Dohring (Logan from Veronica Mars) do not look dissimilar.

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby: (2006/ Adam McKay) Honestly, I did not have very high expectations here -- I usually like Will Ferrell because he just Goes For It, no matter how absurd -- however, NASCAR comedy is not an area in which I have a lot of interest. I must say I laughed a lot -- especially at Sacha Baron Cohen as Ricky Bobby's Formula One French nemesis Jean Girard (referred to by Our Hero as a "formula one jazz nutjob"). Cohen employed a ridiculous over the top ball-bearings and peanut butter french accent that made me laugh every time he opened his mouth. I also liked Gary Cole as Reese Bobby, Ricky Bobby's no-good long-lost daddy who gets thrown out of Applebees for kicks.

Paper Moon (1973/ Peter Bogdanovich) For the 1000th time, I can't believe I'd never seen this before! It was so charming to me -- b&w father/daughter confidence trickster prohibition roadtrip adventure! Tatum O'Neal was FANTASTIC. I loved watching the wheels turn in Addie's head as she figured out (as the smartest person in the movie by a long shot) what she had to do to get what she wanted. For all her scheming, she was still very vulnerable. Funny, sweet yet tart and poignant without being saccharine or preachy.


What's Up, Doc?: (1972/ Peter Bogdanovich) I picked this up at the library shortly after seeing Paper Moon. It was the same director and said Screwball Comedy right on the cover. I love screwball comedies! Hooray! was my general thought. I am sad to say I found this very disappointing. Maybe because the central relationship is so closely modeled on Bringing Up Baby that I couldn't help but be reminded of how NOT Bringing Up Baby it was? As appealing as I found Ryan O'Neal in Paper Moon, he's no Cary Grant (nobody is, so I can't really hold that against him, I suppose), and Barbara Streisand did not strike me as a particularly convincing high spirited troublemaker in this role. She made lots of trouble, but I didn't believe her. I really wanted to like it -- San Francisco, mixed up luggage, Madeline Kahn, mistaken identity, over the top set pieces -- these are all things I normally enjoy. But to me it felt like a broad pantomime of a classic screwball and I had a constant feeling of "not quite" while watching.

Black Narcissus: (1947/ Powell & Pressburger) I remember exactly how I came to watch this movie -- I was reading a message board and one of those How Film Snobby Are You quizzes came along -- one of the questions was "your favorite Powell & Pressburger." The first person to respond said "Black Narcissus, no question!" I'd only ever seen one other P&P movie (I Know Where I'm Going) which I liked well enough but it didn't send me rushing out to see the rest. But "no question!" got me surfing over to the library's website to see if it was available. I'm so glad I did!

This movie is an erotic himalayan melodrama with no sex and NUNS. I had no idea what to expect, but it was so good! There's no real high-driving plot but there is an almost palpable murky conflicted atmosphere that is so interesting. A British order of nuns tries to make a school in an Indian palace that formerly housed courtesans. Complications ensue. The moody lighting and the technicolor are visually outstanding, and the film also features one of the best examples of crazy eyes that I can remember seeing. I have to admit I was thrown out of the story a little bit by the super short shorts of The Man in the movie -- I'm sure the intention was for him to be this brazen masculine sexual energy (one more thing for the nuns to battle along with the unforgiving altitude and the unwelcoming local populace), but he just looked goofy to me in his hilariously short trousers. I should watch it again and see if having the surprise factor taken away makes me less likely to break down into helpless fits of laughter. Despite laughing in a couple of places where it was not intended, I don't mean to give the impression that it's an inadvertent comedy. I thought it was very evocative of a particular kind of unsettled feeling when purpose and commitment are called into question.

hooray!

Guess what, guess what! I received a skinny letter from the hospital today. My skinny letter did not say that which I dreaded (where is our money??) but instead said "Legacy recognizes that medical bills are often unexpected and difficult to pay..." and went on to tell me my balance was ZERO! Woo!!!

I have already paid quite a bit toward various other doctors and services not covered under the "hospital bill" portion, but this was the big scary thing that has been hanging over my head for months. I've been thinking about it even when I'm not thinking about it. You know how it is.

Anyway, hooray! (and lest you worry that I am defrauding tax payers or taking vaccines from little babies -- which I HAVE ALREADY WORRIED ABOUT -- this is a private hospital which makes these assessments from on top of a big pile of foundation money. YAY!)

next on the agenda: INSURANCE! and lots of fun. The second part should be easy since friends are coming over in a few hours for craft night. Hooray!

edit: and in the spirit of WHY NOT? (and also because they made me laugh):
+If The Beatles Were Born Today
+Other Options Available On The New Poetry SUV
+Possible Titles for Future Sue Grafton Novels After She Runs Out of Letters.
+Horror Movie Titles on a Three-Letter Budget (and Subsequent Blurbs)