Archive for October, 2006

B-1

F-15

Taken from our balcony. Saturdays in the fall are fun. They got a lot closer on their final pass, but I wasn’t taking pictures then.

We just watched Winter Passing and really enjoyed it. Part of its appeal for me is Zooey Deschanel, my latest movie star crush. If I were to give you a plot outline, it would sound horribly boring since it’s a character movie. And the characters are, perhaps, a bit overplayed, except for Deschanel’s, since all of her characters tend to be quiet and understated, with the exception of the disgruntled store clerk in The Good Girl. B+.

Though I’m sure the film makers would argue the point, Eulogy was a better family-oriented, indie version of The Big Chill (which Jonah really liked, and I more or less liked. B.). Eulogy too stars Deschanel who is probably the best thing about it. Jonah like this one better than I did as well, but I certainly enjoyed it. I’ve never been to a funeral, but I like watching movies about them. B.

I’ve also realized that even writing blurbs this short about everything in our Netflix history is unlikely to happen.

Election wasn’t bad, but wasn’t worth recommending. Average Hollywood fare. C.

I keep renting foreign films that annoy me. Aside from the steamy sex scenes, Lower City wasn’t very interesting. A plot about a weird love triangle that wasn’t weird enough to be intriguing. C.

SLC Punk is one of those movies I rented just so Netflix would stop recommending it. Since I expected it would probably be awful, I was pleasantly surprised. It was, from time to time, very entertaining. It was at least different and vaguely thought-provoking. Also very indie. B-.

Joanna and I both thought Secretary was brilliantly done. It’s a movie about two people who engage in sexually abnormal behavior, but the point, I think, is that they’re perhaps not as abnormal as we pretend they are. B+/A-.

If The Celebration wasn’t Dogma 95, it certainly looked and felt like it. I don’t like watching movies that were filmed on a camcorder. I realize that a lot of people probably disagree with me, but I think movies should be shot on film. At the very least. Production values aside, the plot was awful, the subject matter was unappealing and the subtitles hopefully didn’t do the Danish justice. D. (That said, Ben might like it.)

Under the Tuscan Sun is a typical hollywood woman-power story. Based on the memoirs of a loud feminist. C+.

Beautiful Girls is a decent indie film. Good characters, some excellent moments. And it’s got Natalie Portman in mittens. Always a plus. And now I’ve seen it twice, because I didn’t realize when I rented it that I’d seen it on IFC. B+.

The Votemaster is at it again. Electoral-Vote.com tracked polls during the 2004 presidential election and is tracking Senate races this time around (he also tracks House races, but not as much). This is the best source of polling data out there. You hear on the news each day about such and such poll over the whole nation swinging this way or that. But the truth of the matter is that there are only a few Senate races out there that will affect the outcome of the election. I read it every day.

Yesterday I cleaned the apartment, which needed it badly. I’d started vacuuming last weekend but then thought I’d better go through the boxes of my stuff that Mom brought when visiting in June. I threw out all sorts of things, but then I ran out of time.

And before I could vacuum, I had to dust off the tables in the living area. And when I say dust, sweep would probably be a more accurate word. Berck had disassembled his computer on the dining table, leaving old dust-covered components there along with all of the dust mice his machine had collected since the last time he took it apart. Then he took apart my computer and replaced my old components, which he placed on the other table, with his old components. (My computer runs much snappier now).

After vacuuming, I cleaned the kitchen, did all the laundry, swept and mopped the kitchen, vacuumed AND mopped the bathrooms (even Berck’s…except for the corner by his overflowing trashcan)…all to Madonna’s Confessions on a Dance Floor, which is quite good cleaning music (I think it’s her best work since Ray of Light, though there are a couple of weak songs on there).

I had energy to do all this because I made blueberry muffins that morning, and Berck came into the kitchen all excited because the mixer was running. “What are you making?” “Blueberry muffins.” “But I don’t want blueberry muffins!” So I started making Jarlsberg, onion, mushroom, and artichoke heart omelets. Berck said I didn’t know how to make omelets, so he did the actual construction. Then he asked me to make him some coffee, and of course, I wanted a cup too. I haven’t made coffee since May. So of course, I had to clean.

Today Berck woke me up and said, “Do you want to eat brunch at the Brown Burro this morning?” And I readily agreed, even though the Brown Burro is an hour and a half away in Fairplay. By the time we got there (after washing the car and such), Berck was more in the mood for a double buffalo burger, but I had my favorite, huevos rancheros. The way the Brown Burro makes it is a tortilla, some hashbrowns, two eggs any way you like them (I like over easy) all smothered in green pork chili. Then I douse it with their salsa and some Adobe Milling roasted jalapeno hot sauce (the best!).

Next we drove to Breckenridge, Leadville, and then back home. It was a good excuse to see the aspens all golden. I took lots of pictures, which Berck might publish one of these days BECAUSE THE CARD READER IS ON HIS COMPUTER AND NOT MINE, SO I CAN’T.

Tonight Berck carefully harvested the biggest leaves from our basil plant and made pesto. It was really tasty. We also had roasted potatoes and some Forest Glen Sangiovese, the best tasting wine to go with Italian food for under 8 bucks a bottle (it’s truly amazing).

Okay, time for bed. Another week is ahead.