Audrey Hepburn - Roman Holiday

Which would you report first? How absolutely wonderful is Audrey Hepburn in this role, or, how is it that a movie can be so nearly perfect you will see it again, for the first time? That’s what happened yesterday. 

Years ago, Margaret shared this moving with me - probably long before the age of Netflix. Probably this was also several hundred movies earlier, too. Has anyone invented a way to keep time in terms of number of movies they’ve seen? If so, I’m getting older faster, I think.

That was some random thinking, I’ll admit. “You have my permission to withdraw.”

That famous line is spoken several times by our “Princess Ann” (a.ka. Anya Smith) in this movie. I should like to include that line in my repertoire, as a polite way of asking a person or people to leave the room. 

Watching the trailer for Roman Holiday is also a hoot. It’s the Gayest Spree A Girl Ever Had!

Logically, I’ll have to assume you’ve seen this one. If not, do.

Only Thursday - Day Three

Margaret is away and even our three little doggies are feeling the pain. Rocky is asleep in the hallway, just outside my office door. Randy is content to be right beneath my chair (always leaning against at least one of my feet, so he’ll know if I move). And Angel is probably in either the bedroom or mommy’s closet, nestled in with Margaret’s shoes. 

Tomorrow, I’m going to make myself breakfast at home and start on a path to improving my energy level. I’ll have to get up early, as I always do, but focus completely on that task until my tummy is full. Any distraction, any writing I need to do, any email that needs a response will have to wait.

That’s the new promise. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Day Two, The Saga Continues

Three things I am grateful for; my wife thinks I’m pretty smart, my dogs provide unconditional love (they don’t care if I’m goofy or geeky), my friends think I’m funny (sometimes). And, I mean funny, ha-ha, as opposed to funny, peculiar. If they only knew!

As I write, Randy is at my feet chewing up his favorite toy. Angel is probably in mommy’s closet, feeling a bit insecure since mommy is not home, and Rocky; he pretty much marches to his own drummer. He’s blind and gets up every once in a while is search of cooler tiles to comfort him. We’ve had him since 2002, so he’s getting up there in years. He seemed like a puppy with his exuberance, when we brought him home from San Rafael - he’s a Marin County boy and not stuck up at all about it!

He wears a diaper, too. I had the pleasure of reporting to mommy that he has had a dry diaper since she left. So, I must have the timing just right on the doorman work I do around here.

That’s all for now. Day two is nearly in the bag. Just a couple more things to write and I’m done!

 

OK, Day One Ends

The saga begins and day one was not stellar, but I’ve lived right up to this point, so it was not a total loss.

I’m writing, which is good, because it is always one of the answers to the question; “what makes you happy?” I’ll check the style guide later on that punctuation. Yes, that’s just me!

Not so long ago, it might have been yesterday, or last weekend - I’ve forgotten, now - I promised to do three things each night before bedtime. Oh, that’s right, I got it from a video created by a successful blogger. I probably already shared it on Fb or Tw, so I won’t go search it out right now.

Man, it’s hard to write well with a dog on your lap! Let’s see if I can get a picture. Yep, I did. Not only did I get a picture with Randy on my lap, I took a second one with Margaret on the phone and sent it to her in a message! I’m getting pretty good with this high tech communications stuff. OK, that’s all for now.

The Spectacular Now

You can read enough about it online that I’ll not try to describe what it’s all about here. What I will say is that in so many movies that include action, chase scenes, or special effects, or some situation that could not possibly happen in real life, I’m disappointed by the distance I feel between what is on the screen and what is reality. Sometimes, I have to abandon reality entirely to allow myself to enjoy a movie.

This was not the case with “The Spectacular Now.” It is a story that is way too close to what is (or could be) some young person’s reality. Fair warning, there is so much pain in this movie that even now, as I write, I’m having to do my best not to recall certain details, lest I burst into tears and cry all over my keyboard.

If you go, you’ll fall completely for the main character, right out of the gate! Then, when he meets a new girl, you’ll have that same experience with her. As quickly as all of that gets going, you start to see the flawed situation and how wrong things might go from here.

That’s all I’m willing to share with you about the plot. My advice is, bring tissues and prepare for an emotional ride. You could see this movie with your eyes closed and it would work as well. I’m sure I’ve never said that before about any movie.

Enjoy!

The Purple Rose of Cairo

Thank you, Dominique. If you don’t know Dom, ask me for an introduction. She and I both like the movie, Blade Runner. As a result of our conversation about movies, she recommended the movie title of this post.

Tonight, I saw Jeff Daniels and Mia Farrow and Danny Aielo is a wonderful performance of a lovely fantasy. Funny thing is, it struck me as having a strange resemblance to “Nights of Cabiria” - another of a few movies I’ve seen a few times. I’ll probably have to see that again, soon, to see if I’m right.

In any case, Mia Farrow certainly impresses with her skills as an actress. I completely believed her genuine love of the movies and the characters from the movies. She has that naïveté that is so endearing and I bought it. What a great role for Jeff Daniels - although he is a scoundrel in the end.

This may be the only time I’ve heard a character in the movies say something like; “It only happens in the movies.” I’m paraphrasing, but I did enjoy the irony. The Purple Rose of Cairo is a fine movie, and reminds me of just how clever Woody Allen can be.

Entertaining start to finish, with predictable results, this was most enjoyable. Still, I recommend Fellini’s Nights of Cabiria - if you haven’t seen it, you might want to have a look.

Also Unusual

Has it been nearly a week since I last wrote. If you follow this blog, I apologize. OK, I forgive me. 

Since I may be the most ardent reader of this material, I will let the writer off with a warning: Don’t leave me hanging, lest I leave you completely!

OK, now that I’ve had that conversation with myself, I know where I stand, where we stand, my standing, our standing, and our understanding. This is not outstanding. Get over it.

If you turn an understanding upside down, does it become an overstanding?

Are we having fun yet? What was the goal?

Are we there yet? Where were we going?

So many unanswered questions help us to appreciate tomorrow!

Enjoy.

Why - A First

You won’t often see this in my blog, but I am nearly at a loss for words.

I can report, however, that this was an interesting day. One of meetings attended, meetings rescheduled, obligations met. Yes, that was a phrase and not a sentence. Something you won’t often see here, either. 

Insouciance, indeed! Callous disregard for protocol. Shameless indulgence of my bad mood. Deal with it.

Toastmasters is always interesting. Today was particularly challenging. Our two scheduled speakers had other things come up and they could not attend. This creates a difficult situation, one that demanded quick thinking, a willing participant, and heroism at the local level. All of that is easy, if you have a good club.

We do. We are a group of people who pitch in, stand in, stand up and stand out. You are welcome to come and see for yourself. Send an email, if you want details.

Writing in the evening sometimes presents a problem. Today is one of those days. The morning I would say was successful, in spite of my bad mood. The end of the day was even better, as I did my work very well and achieved a successful outcome in spite of difficulties. And that’s the first time I’ve ever used the phrase, “in spite of” in two successive sentences.

I’m done now. I hope you get me.

The Butler and Jobs

Two current movies, neither of them moved me like Cate Blanchett did in Blue Jasmine. However, I’m just a reporter sometimes, so here you have it.

Jobs was as expected, especially given that you could have followed the story as it unfolded, as I did. By that, I mean, in real time, as Apple came into existence, I researched Steve Jobs and followed along as he rose to fame, flamed out, did the Phoenix, became a superstar, then a supernova. In short, the movie was predictable and could not possibly be complete. Jobs is one of those people who simply leaves me lamenting. You fill in the blanks here.

The Butler, more a movie about civil rights than anything else, left me flat. Not that it did not meet expectations; it did. But, “meets expectations” is not a stellar review. See it, anyway. The mingling of actual footage from history makes it interesting. The human interest angle was almost lost on me. There is also one huge flaw in the plot - as far as I’m concerned - where too many things come together in one scene. “Only in the movies,” I’m likely to say.

Here are two examples of why great movies deserve more attention. These are not.

Sling Blade

Billy Bob Thornton is some kind of character. Recently, he was on the radio talking about how he got Sling Blade made. If I had more of that detail, I’d share it here. I’ll have to go search it out and get back to you.

Here’s a link to part of an interview on Inside the Actors Studio from YouTube. Near the end of that clip, Billy Bob makes reference to his brother, Jimmy. No spoiler alert here, because you can see it for yourself, if you like.

Back to Sling Blade, a movie I’ve seen beginning to end, at least a few times - because I’ve memorized much of the script, it takes some effort not to say the lines along with each scene. If you do see this movie, or if you see it again, watch the last line spoken by four characters, because they each say the same thing. Again, I won’t spoil it for you here.

There’s a scene that is particularly touching and funny. Karl is discussing things with Frank and they end up talking about potted meat. This is an R rated movie, and my blog is definitely PG at best, so I won’t give you all of the details. Let me just say, this is a scene in this movie that makes me cry (every time) and I end up laughing, because old Karl has a sense of humor.

Enough said; “mmm-hmm, you gotta love them french fried potaters!”

Late Again

Even my fingers are moving slowly tonight. It may be an after effect from bowling, or I’m just really tired.

Saw most of this movie tonight, Executive Suite. It was about a corporate power struggle, between a bean-counter, profits, bottom-line, shareholder value guy, and our hero, who wants to continue to produce quality products through innovation. There’s always that conflict, between profits and the expense of investing in your own company. 

IT guys always want to buy something new, better, faster, more powerful, or just upgrade the systems already in place. The Finance guys only see the drain on the budget. 

Some things never change. And yet, change is the only constant!

Good night.

Eeeyikes.... It's Late!

I just posted three things to Facebook in the last few moments. Funny how late at night and first thing in the morning are my most creative times.

I found this site and it inspired me. So, I posted a response and then posted that response on Fb.

Here it is, in case you don’t “do Facebook.”

Blogging daily is like having coffee, it just helps get your day started in the right way. Once, someone asked me, “how will I get people to subscribe to my blog?” I said; “Why not write something valuable anyway, for your own sense of accomplishment and for the pure joy of writing?” I don’t know if it makes sense for everyone, but, for me writing helps me in many ways. Most of what I write is for myself, an edification process, potentially not very interesting to a mass audience. Some of what I write probably appeals to a large audience, but they’ll have to find me to get the goods. If you think of yourself as a writer, I think you should write a blog – make up your own reasons and just do it! 

Blade Runner Again

It’s rare, but I’m now able to say that being naive is sometimes beneficial. 

Due to an overwhelming response to my brief review of the subject movie, Blade Runner, I’m now spending some time considering the possibility that our protagonist may have been an android/replicant. 

Thanks to Dominique Fruchtman, I now have to review what I remember about the film and consider the evidence provided by further research. As in, this entry from Wikipedia. Deckard and his antagonist, Gaff, played by Edward James Olmos, play a game significantly different if considered in this light.

If Gaff suspected Deckard, things change. My thinking was that he was after him only because he was fostering a relationship with Rachel, who was clearly an android. This being against the law, I thought that that was the only reason Gaff had an interest. If Deckard was a replicant, then the dogged pursuit by Gaff makes more sense.

Do I really have to see this movie, to fully experience it with this new precept? Maybe I should. Poor me, I’ll have to watch my favorite movie all over again!

Sling Blade or Barfly?

Two more dark movies deserving review, which would you choose? 

I’ve seen Sling Blade a few times, probably more often as an already in progress, happened to catch it on some channel, kind of experience. In other words, as we surf channels, if we happen upon Sling Blade playing, chances are we’re going to sit down and watch it to the end.

Barfly, last I checked is nearly impossible to get on video. Now, I’ve just checked Amazon and you can get a copy for about $34. Amazing, since I saw collectors versions available for hundreds of dollars last time I looked. I really like this movie, because it looks at living life from the down side. 

I’ll write both reviews. But it makes sense at this juncture to see who has a comment on either of these selections.

Enjoy!

Za - what I had for dinner

Za is slang for Pizza. Za is also the 11th and 17th letter of the Arabic alphabet. There are 10 entries in Webster’s Z section prior to the word, zabaglione. There are alternate spellings.

Zabaglione is Italian Cookery. a foamy, custard like mixture of egg yolks, sugar, and Marsala wine, usually served hot or chilled as a dessert. Here’s the Google on that one. It looks yummy!

Z gets about seven and a half pages in the big book, replete with pictures of African places and a couple of wild animals. Then our story just kind of fizzles out altogether, with ZZZ, used to represent the sound of a person snoring.

This is the end, my only friend, the end.
Lyrics by Jim Morrison of The Doors.
Before you look it up, be forewarned, it is quite nasty.

YABA

OK, I made that one up, myself! It is an acronym I created for, “Yet Another Backup Article” - it was created around the time I was writing my fourth or fifth article on why people should be diligent about backing up their computer data. Go ahead, search for; “Yet Another Backup Article” - with or without the quotes and you’ll find my blog post!

Now that I’ve done my own search on the acronym, I’ve found that YABA was already in use. Sosumi!

Back to Webster’s, we find ya, yabber, and yabby. Ya is what ya think it is; an abbreviation of “you.” Yabber is perhaps an altered form of jabber, a word based on ya-speak, talk, in Gabi (Australian Aboriginal language spoken in the Maryborough district, S Queensland). Yikes, it’s sometimes tought to type entries from the dictionary! 

Yabby is a small Australian crawfish, of the genus Cherax, inhabiting streams and water holes. This word is derived from that ya-speak mentioned above, which is also called yabiji, spoken around Wimmera, Victoria.

So, there ya have it. Most of the words in the first column in the Y section are about Australian things. One more thing about acronyms for YA, from my programming education; YACC means, yet another C compiler.

 

Xanthan

This stuff can be boring. Xanthan is a water-soluble natural gum produced by the fermentation of sugar with certain microorganisms and used as a binder, extender, or stabilizer in foods and other products. Unless you’re a chemist, it probably has all of the appeal of an emulsifier. 

OK, so not much to work with there, but the last entry in the W section is wyvern, which is a winged two-legged dragon having the hinder part of a serpent with a barded tail. So, we’ve got that going for us (he said, wistfully).

Only Y and Z to go now, as we near the end.

There are not even two and a half pages of X words in my Webster’s Dictionary. Given this book was first produced in 2001, is it reasonable to assume there are a few more words that begin with X by now?