| Sunday, May 04, 2008 |
| Ready for the scrapheap |
This is slightly embarrassing, but it goes to show what a drooling "Indiana Jones" fangirl I am: I had read that the trailer to the upcoming "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" was playing before "Iron Man," so I actually brought my iPod to the theater so I could close my eyes and play loud music during the trailer because I was afraid of spoilers. I don't want to know anything about the movie before it unspools onscreen in 3 weeks. I want to be surprised, just as I was when I saw the original "Indiana Jones" movie many years ago. I may not be a kid anymore, but I still have a childlike enthusiasm when it comes to this series. (Of course, I don't want to get too excited... as one blogger of my acquaintance pointed out, "I do have three words of warning we should all keep in mind. Star. Wars. Prequels.")
[Warning! Warning! Warning! If you are planning to see "Iron Man" and don't want to know anything about the movie's plot points, stop reading now.]
Anyway, I agreed to go with Joe to see "Iron Man" because it had gotten a lot of rave reviews ("Cartoon thrills for thinking people!"), but after seeing it, I honestly think I'm done with the whole comic book movie genre. I am so obviously not the target audience for "Iron Man." It's a movie for 14-year-old boys who are impressed with girls, guns and gadgetry. Seriously, the first hour of the movie is about a guy building a robotic suit, and the second hour of the movie is about a guy perfecting the suit. Ho-hum. Yes, Robert Downey Jr. does a nice job sending up his pre-rehab/jail reputation, but in the end the movie is just one guy in a CGI robotic suit fighting another guy in a CGI robotic suit, and I'm thinking maybe I should have gone into the city to see "a film that uses indigenous nonprofessional actors to tell a simple but transcendent story of daily life" instead.
I Sit Through The Credits So You Don't Have To: If you liked the movie, you really should stay for the credits because at the very, very end, the filmmakers include a scene setting up the sequel. I mean, wild horses couldn't get me into the theater for "Iron Man II," but there it is. |
posted by 125records @ 3:24 PM  |
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| Saturday, May 03, 2008 |
| The adoption saga comes to an end |
On Wednesday, I mentioned that the puppy was spending a few hours with some potential adopters. The good news is that they really liked him. The bad news is that they really, really, really liked him.
The Dad and his adorable young daughter returned Ace on Wednesday evening, around 9 PM. He had already submitted an application to the rescue organization, which would have to evaluate it and make the final decision. I tried to explain the process to him. Afterwards, I sent an email to the rescue group stating that they seemed like a perfectly nice family and I thought they would give the pup a good home.
Thursday morning, I got the following email from Dad: "I was wondering when we might hear from the rescue group. My kids are very excited about adopting Ace and we would like to bring him to our home as soon as we can." I responded that presumably, someone would contact him shortly, and mentioned that I had put in a good word for them. In the meantime, I had a tremendous amount of work to do so I kind of hoped myself that it would be sooner rather than later, since caring for the tiny pooping, eating and sniffing machine was a time consuming project.
Thursday afternoon, another email from Dad: "I hate to bother you, but I have still not heard from [rescue]. I'm actually confused... I would have thought that when you have a family ready to adopt one of your puppies, you'd want to jump on that and 'close the deal' so to speak. If for some reason she doesn't want us to have the pup then I'd appreciate her just telling us that we can tell the kids, but they're excited and its not really fair to keep them in suspense like this. Anyway, sorry for venting to you, but I'm a bit frustrated."
For any of you reading out there, here's a tip: adopting a puppy from a rescue organization is not the same thing as going to the store and buying a bag of oranges. It's analogous to adopting a baby -- anybody with functioning lady parts can make her own baby (with a cooperative gentleman involved, of course), but if you want to adopt or foster a child, you're stuck enduring home visits, interviews and reference-checking. Pretty much everyone involved is a volunteer, most of them with other jobs. It took about 2 weeks between the time I first saw Hobie and when I brought him home.
Anyway, I was dealing with about 10 other things that were stressing me out, and coping with a pushy puppy adopter was pushing me over the edge. I was caught in the middle. However, Joe and I determined that the family had to be the perfect match for Ace, since he was just as jumpy and impatient as they were.
Finally, late Friday afternoon, I got the word that they had been cleared to adopt Ace. They picked him up this morning. Incidentally, they are planning to rename him Scruffy, which is kind of cute and appropriate, I think.
One of my projects was attempting to house-train the pup, which I did with mixed success. He went about a week with no accidents in the house, always using the same part of the yard to do his business, so I slacked off a little bit in watching him like a hawk/keeping him confined to whatever room I was in at the time. Of course, then he had another accident, so I went back to monitoring his every step when he was indoors. This morning, we came downstairs to wait for Ace to be picked up and found the messy remains of an accident. I have no idea when he could have done it, since he slept in his crate all night and I thought I'd had my eye on him all day Friday. As Joe cleaned it up with a roll of paper towels and a spray bottle of orange-scented wood cleanser, I could only sigh fondly and think, He's someone else's problem now! |
| posted by 125records @ 6:52 PM |
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| Wednesday, April 30, 2008 |
| Swell |
The puppy has taken a brief field trip to a local family that is interested in adopting him. The big question: will he get along with their cat? I hope things work out, because I'd like to see him find his "forever home." I thought if I fostered a dog and helped him to find a home, it would help me get over my grief. I really do want to help homeless animals, and I owe a lot to the rescue folks. But after Ace is placed, I think I need to take a break from dogs for a while... I still miss Hobie so much, and Ace has been fun to have around, but he's also made me realize how rare and special my relationship with Hobie was. When this comic ran in the Chronicle a few months ago, Joe said I needed to clip it out because it seemed so appropriate. He was right; Hobie did complete me, and there's an emptiness now. I know someday I'll find a new companion, but it's not time yet.
One of my clients sent me an article she had written called "Finding a new best friend." It says: "Here's what I would like to say to anyone whose heart is aching: Believe in your fur angels. They won't let you pine for too long. They're interceding in pet heaven on your behalf to send you a new companion." OK, that sounds a little dorky (I'm not a big believer in heaven for either pets or humans), but it does provide me with some comfort. My new dog is out there somewhere and when the time is right for both of us, we will find each other.
In the meantime, life goes on. Joe and I went to see the Swell Season at the Paramount in Oakland on Saturday. Since I was an early adopter of the duo (better known as "the guy and the girl from the movie 'Once'"), you'd think I'd have seen them on one of their other appearances around town before they became Oscar-winning superstars capable of selling out the 3,000-seat venue. But those appearances weren't conveniently here in the East Bay. Anyway, Glen, Marketa and their band put on a nearly flawless 2-hour show, which started off with Glen coming out on stage and played one song solo acoustic, unamplified. Even in the huge theater, it was easy to hear him, as long as every person in the room sat quietly and listened. Which they did. I didn't even see a single cell phone flicker during the entire concert. The audience was so rapt that Glen even commented favorably on it towards the end of the show. Sometimes I worry with "trendy" bands (and I think one that just won an Oscar qualifies) that the room will be full of people more interested in making the scene than paying attention to the music, but Swell Season fans, at least those in the Bay Area, obviously know how one should behave at a concert.
I'm also trying to decide who to root for on "Dancing With the Stars" now that my second-favorite twosome, Shannon and Derek, have joined Adam and Julianne in Eliminationville. I'm mesmerized by the hunkiness that is Cristian de la Fuente, the sexy Chilean actor I will admit I'd never heard of until DwtS. But will his arm injury (a ruptured tendon) cause problems next week? I might root for Kristi Yamaguchi, who has suddenly been thrust into an underdog position after a couple of low scores placed her below Jason Taylor for the first time. Really, I can't believe how hooked I am on this goofy show, but no matter how low I may be feeling, it never fails to cheer me up, and what more can you ask for? |
| posted by 125records @ 5:43 PM |
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| Thursday, April 24, 2008 |
| I Love Eurovision! |
American fans of European sports like rugby or Premiere League football can almost always find a local pub to go hang out and watch the games. But pity the poor Eurovision fan. We are a lonely lot when we cannot spend the spring in Europe. We long for the saturation, Super Bowl level coverage the annual contest gets overseas. Sure, a lot of can be found online, but it's somehow just not the same. You want to be able to watch Eurovision with someone who understands how important it is.
Like a thirsty woman coming upon a desert oasis, I found Griet Verlinde's Eurovision blog over at Seattle's Stranger web site. Griet is Belgian, so he totally gets it, but he also explains the contest in such a way that even newbies can follow along. Every day, he's been posting three YouTube videos on the blog together with his commentary. If you're a longtime fan, you'll love gems like these:
The prize for most philosophical lyrics so far goes to the fantastic quote "if it ain't right, it's wrong" [from Norway's entry, by a singer named Maria]. Well, yes. Thank you. Which brings me to the realisation that unless I'm very much mistaken, I've not yet heard a single "Fire/Desire" rhyme in the contest so far. Fire/Desire rhymes are essential to Eurovision... That, of course, made me nostalgic for the winning entry from 2005 (when I was in Sweden during Eurovision), Helena Paparizou's "My Number One" ("You're my fire/and desire"). If only I could spend every May in Europe!
Here are Griet's comments about Estonia's entry:
Girls in gold bikinis? Check! Girls waving Estonian and -- for some reason German -- flags? Check! Weird guys who can't hold a tune? Check! Eurobeat? Check! Slow-mo Riverdance? Check! Guy pretending to do unspeakable stuff to a piano? Check! Posters of cakes and is that an onion or a bomb? Check! The final event will be telecast from Belgrade on Saturday, May 24 at 20:00 GMT, which is, if I'm not mistaken, noon here in California. Proper protocol for me would be to watch the webcast with a small Swedish flag to wave during Charlotte Perrelli's performance of her disco anthem "Hero." |
| posted by 125records @ 2:36 PM |
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| Tuesday, April 22, 2008 |
| Anyone want to adopt a cute puppy? |
This is Ace. Or Rascal. Or Angus. I'm not sure yet. I am fostering him for Wonder Dog Rescue. Linda had named him Rascal, and Joe immediately renamed him Adam, or Ace for short (in honor of Adam Carolla, whose nickname is the Aceman). Later, however, Joe thought he might look more like an Angus. I'll just call him Ace for now.
Linda has about a zillion dogs (only a slight exaggeration) looking for homes. They have all been rescued from shelters where they were at risk of euthanasia. I am so not ready for another dog, but Linda asked if I would foster a dog for her and I decided to try. I chose Ace because I figured I could work on training him, which would make him more adoptable, and the very fact that he's an adorable puppy (about 12 weeks old) means that he should be quite easy to place.
I'm taking him to the vet tomorrow to get his shots and make sure he's healthy (he was exposed to a couple of dogs with kennel cough).
Ace slept through the night in the crate, and seems very happy to spend time in his little "den." He isn't housebroken yet, which is presenting a couple of challenges, but I'm studying the topic on the internet and hope to help him figure out soon that he needs to use the yard and not the floor. He barks a bit when he hears other dogs in the neighborhood barking, but on the whole he is quiet and well behaved.
I feel that Ace's destiny lies with another family, and not with us, but I hope he finds a loving home, and that I can help him along the way. |
| posted by 125records @ 2:10 PM |
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| Sunday, April 20, 2008 |
| Don't forget "Sarah Marshall" |
Joe has made a muxtape too, so give it a listen.
My record on comedies from the Judd Apatow factory is somewhat mixed: loved "The 40 Year Old Virgin" and "Knocked Up"; lukewarm on "Walk Hard"; disliked "Superbad." "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" seemed to be more from the "Virgin"/"Knocked Up" school of grown-up raunch comedies, so I figured I should see it before all of the really funny jokes make their way into the popular culture, a la "Borat."
I'm not sure I agree with Richard Roeper that "Sarah" is one of the 50 funniest comedies of all time -- not that I've made a list or anything, of course.* It's got some laugh out loud moments, but it's mainly the bittersweet story of a young man's effort to get over the girl who dumped him and Find Himself. Jason Segel's Peter isn't a total loser; he composes the music for a popular TV show modeled on "C.S.I." (the scenes parodying the drama, which costars William Baldwin, hit the satirical target). However, he is given to spending days at a time in his sweatpants eating Froot Loops out of a giant mixing bowl, and he's definitely not as hot or successful as English rock star Aldous Snow, the guy girlfriend Sarah hooks up with.
If you didn't believe Seth Rogen could get the girl in "Knocked Up," well, I found Segel to be less handsome and charismatic than Rogen, who has a certain teddy bear cuddliness about him. But Peter is, like all the leading men in the Apatow-verse, a genuine Nice Guy. The Apatow flicks, as well as the recent "Definitely Maybe" (not an Apatow production), may be guy-centered romantic comedies, but what matters is that they're well-written with (mostly) fully rounded characters and storylines that entertain without insulting your intelligence. They're about as good as mainstream Hollywood comedies get right now. But now that we've seen a bunch of them, I would love to see an Apatow movie about a schlubby woman who hooks up with a babe-licious guy. Considering that Judd's next directorial effort will star Adam Sandler, I'm not holding my breath. And even though not everything Apatow touches turns to gold ("Drillbit Taylor," anyone?) you know that if he did produce a movie from a chick's point of view and it did poorly at the box office, everyone would say that female-centered rom coms just don't sell.
I Sit Through The Credits So You Don't Have To (it's time to bring back this feature!): Don't leap out of your seat when the credits roll or you'll miss a very funny trailer for a fake TV show. After that, not much of interest, although there is a pleasant Hawaiian language version of "Nothing Compares 2 U."
* A few of my picks for all time funniest comedies: "This Is Spinal Tap," "The Big Lebowski," "The Naked Gun," "The Producers," "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut." I honestly can't think of a single hilarious comedy starring women, although I can name two about fake women ("Tootsie" and "Some Like It Hot"). |
| posted by 125records @ 10:53 PM |
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| Saturday, April 19, 2008 |
| Muxing it up |
My friend Steve has been getting into something called muxtapes, and as I was listening to four versions of the Zombies' "This Will Be Our Year" (I really like that song), I thought, "Hey, I should look into this whole muxtape business!" Unfortunately, I quickly realized that it requires uploading MP3s; the trouble with our internet access is that while I can download an hour's worth of music in a few minutes, our upload speed is deadly slow. So I hope you will take the time to listen to my muxtape, because it took, like, 4 hours to upload all the songs. (OK, I'll admit, I wasn't uploading that entire time -- I got distracted watching "What Not To Wear" in the living room.) All you have to do is click on the first title, and it'll play through.
There's not a lot of rhyme or reason to the songs I picked -- I had to put Shearwater and Spoon on there because I'm so obsessed with them right now, but the rest of them are just songs I happened to notice as I was browsing through my iTunes library and thought, "Oh, that's a great song."
It looks like you can only mux 12 songs at a time per username. The page has an RSS feed, so if you subscribe to my feed, you'll presumably be notified if I decide to swap out, say, Kristin Hersh's "Under the Gun" for Beck's "Cellphone's Dead." Considering our sloooow uploading, though, I'm not sure how often I'll be re-muxing. |
| posted by 125records @ 1:01 AM |
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| About Me |
Name: Sue
Home: San Francisco Bay Area, California, United States
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