Wordplay.
Seen at Seattle's Harvard Exit Theater on Capitol Hill. I'll be putting up a review at MatchFlick tomorrow and linking to it from here.
Hadn't been to the Harvard Exit in years. It's kind of a quirky place. There's a "lounge" on the main floor with seating and a baby grand piano. A fun place to watch this particular movie. Lots of the folks in the theater found the movie funny and laughed at parts you'd probably only get if you do crosswords yourself.
It's a little embarassing to find out that Mike Mussina, a guy I would usually write off as an uneducated jock, is better at the NY Times crossword puzzle than I am. I mean, if it'd been Barry Zito or something I might not be too surprised but I never really thought of the Moose that way.
And I didn't go see it just because John Stewart was in it, but that didn't hurt.
Monday, July 03, 2006
What I didn't do today
It was about 80 degrees this afternoon in Seattle. Driving down the street today a few blocks from home, I passed a three-block long stretch of road that had sprinklers on in a wide median full of grass and trees. I found myself thinking what fun it owuld be to just pull over and go running through those sprinklers!
Of course, then I convinced myself I'd look silly, that it'd be more fun if someone was doing it with me, that I didn't want to mess up my leather seats by getting back into the car in wet clothes, that I'd do something embarassing like slipping and falling on on my butt. All of that went through my mind as I drove those three blocks. So I didn't get out and do it. I wish I had -- but at least I thought of it. :)
Of course, then I convinced myself I'd look silly, that it'd be more fun if someone was doing it with me, that I didn't want to mess up my leather seats by getting back into the car in wet clothes, that I'd do something embarassing like slipping and falling on on my butt. All of that went through my mind as I drove those three blocks. So I didn't get out and do it. I wish I had -- but at least I thought of it. :)
Sunday, July 02, 2006
Gee Ricky, I'm really sorry your Mom blew up
John Cusack is 40.
I was just over at MatchFlick updating my profile and trying to decide if I list him as one of my favorite people in film; there was a time when I’d see anything with John Cusack in it, because I knew it would reflect some part of my own life. I’m part of that generation who grew up with John’s comedies in the 80’s. And his name in Better Off Dead was Lane!
I loved the change from dorky comedies to Say Anything. It seemed like John was growing up, which meant I was, too. And at the time I really identified with Diane Court, a girl who didn’t really click with people her age because of how smart she was. How I wanted my own Lloyd Dobler! And yes, I know that’s not a particularly original sentiment. Most girls back then felt the same way (at least those of us who wanted the sensitive guy).
And then years later, as I’m thinking about my own high school reunion, along comes Grosse Pointe Blank. So he’s still doing it, keeping pace with the stuff that happens in my own life. Which is a weird kind of comfort that makes my life seem less random. As while I'm in grad school studying literary theory, he comes out with the artsy Being John Malkovich.
All of which is just a round-about way of trying to say that I was a little freaked when John’s info popped up and it said 40 years old. Well, at least he’s not taking roles where he’s playing Lindsay Lohan’s dad.
I was just over at MatchFlick updating my profile and trying to decide if I list him as one of my favorite people in film; there was a time when I’d see anything with John Cusack in it, because I knew it would reflect some part of my own life. I’m part of that generation who grew up with John’s comedies in the 80’s. And his name in Better Off Dead was Lane!
I loved the change from dorky comedies to Say Anything. It seemed like John was growing up, which meant I was, too. And at the time I really identified with Diane Court, a girl who didn’t really click with people her age because of how smart she was. How I wanted my own Lloyd Dobler! And yes, I know that’s not a particularly original sentiment. Most girls back then felt the same way (at least those of us who wanted the sensitive guy).
And then years later, as I’m thinking about my own high school reunion, along comes Grosse Pointe Blank. So he’s still doing it, keeping pace with the stuff that happens in my own life. Which is a weird kind of comfort that makes my life seem less random. As while I'm in grad school studying literary theory, he comes out with the artsy Being John Malkovich.
All of which is just a round-about way of trying to say that I was a little freaked when John’s info popped up and it said 40 years old. Well, at least he’s not taking roles where he’s playing Lindsay Lohan’s dad.
Starting Online
So as I’m starting to think about things I want to do to “get a life” again, I’m recognizing that one problem is having people to do them with. I have a small group of friends here in Seattle who’ve been close for years, but most of them now have small kids. Which means we can’t do a lot of last minute things, and that they just don’t have the time for a lot of things I’d like to do with them (travel is definitely out!).
And when there aren’t a lot of activities going on, I tend to focus too much on the limited plans that I do have. For example, I got a call yesterday from one of my friends (I’m going to have to come up with some pseudonyms or something for each of them – I think I’ll call this woman AlphaDog, not because of how she relates to our group of friends but for her relationship with her two dogs. She’s definitely in charge there.) Anyway, AlphaDog calls me; I didn’t pick up because I’m in watching the World Cup and assumed it was my sister (aka, the Bear). AlphaDog wants to go see An Inconvenient Truth. So I hear the voicemail and I assume she means that day. I call back, we’re doing the phone tag thing, and the day goes by. Maybe she meant sometime over the holiday weekend, again, because with two dogs, two kids, and a husband whose work schedule makes me look like slacker, she needs to plan. She’s actually done more than almost any of the rest of our circle to make sure we see each other, but I can’t just depend on her.
I need to reach out to other people who have more time to give. I’m baby-stepping it, though, (no pun on my friends’ fertility intended). First, there are some website forums where I’ve been lurking on and off for a while – I need to get involved in their conversations. They’re full of smart people that I have common interests with. So that’s resolution #1 – getting involved at Television Without Pity, MatchFlick, maybe Daily Kos. Then we'll see about IRL stuff . . .
And when there aren’t a lot of activities going on, I tend to focus too much on the limited plans that I do have. For example, I got a call yesterday from one of my friends (I’m going to have to come up with some pseudonyms or something for each of them – I think I’ll call this woman AlphaDog, not because of how she relates to our group of friends but for her relationship with her two dogs. She’s definitely in charge there.) Anyway, AlphaDog calls me; I didn’t pick up because I’m in watching the World Cup and assumed it was my sister (aka, the Bear). AlphaDog wants to go see An Inconvenient Truth. So I hear the voicemail and I assume she means that day. I call back, we’re doing the phone tag thing, and the day goes by. Maybe she meant sometime over the holiday weekend, again, because with two dogs, two kids, and a husband whose work schedule makes me look like slacker, she needs to plan. She’s actually done more than almost any of the rest of our circle to make sure we see each other, but I can’t just depend on her.
I need to reach out to other people who have more time to give. I’m baby-stepping it, though, (no pun on my friends’ fertility intended). First, there are some website forums where I’ve been lurking on and off for a while – I need to get involved in their conversations. They’re full of smart people that I have common interests with. So that’s resolution #1 – getting involved at Television Without Pity, MatchFlick, maybe Daily Kos. Then we'll see about IRL stuff . . .
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