I Was Just Thinking

Quick Note: I may have trouble with vacuum cleaners, but at least I don’t have this guy’s problem.

Some Random Thoughts for Today

August is like the Wednesday of months. It’s not the beginning of Summer, nor is it the beginning of Fall. It’s still hot, but every now and then there’s a cool breeze that teases me that Fall is actually coming.

Birthday cake is just as good when it’s a left-over.

I saw Hairspray with my friend and her daughter, who said she was there for the music, but I think it was for Zac Efron. It was a great movie, though not as edgy as the original. And Christopher Walken and John Travolta’s musical number was so romantic.

That last sentence is the weirdest sentence I’ve ever typed.

I love taking a walk and hearing the faint rumble of drums from the high school band practicing. It’s another sign that Fall is coming.

Fall is my favorite season, can you tell?

How long do you have to keep birthday cards before you can throw them away without feeling guilty?

Why do gray hairs stick out straight, rebelling against the curl of the other hairs?

Gerard Butler. I saw 300 and it was amazing.

You’d think a library card would stay active as long as it was being used, wouldn’t you.

On the same page in the local paper were ads for two concerts: Marilyn Manson and Hannah Montana. Hannah Montana sold out within hours.

Would it be weird for me to write thank you cards for Al’s birthday gifts? I don’t think Al will do it, and I get to enjoy his gifts, too, so maybe it’ll be OK.

The Snickers commercials are too weird; they almost make me not want one. Almost.

My mom gave me this award:



Yea for nepotism! I’m supposed to pass it on, but I’m too nice to leave anyone out, so everyone gets the award.

Just Thinking Out Loud

It’s back-to-school shopping time! I know it’s scary to hear, but I loooove back-to-school shopping. The pens! The notebooks! The folders! The organizational tools! I’m just salivating. I want to be buried in an office supply store, then I’m going to come back and haunt it so I can write with all the pens in all the journals.

The only drawback to back-to-school shopping is that you have to fight the crowds of kids and stressed out moms. I heard a mom losing it because “you have to have a yellow spiral notebook. It has to be yellow!” Sometimes those school lists are a little silly. In San Antonio, a friend of mine would get so frustrated because of the school’s detailed list of exactly what type, brand, color, size, everything that the child should bring to school. They have to all be the same because we don’t won’t anyone to feel inferior because they couldn’t afford the Pirates of the Caribbean folder. Plus, heaven forbid anyone should show any sense of individuality.

Apparently there’s a lot more to school supply peer pressure than I realized.

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I watched Beowulf and Grendel this weekend, too. I didn’t rent it because of some great need for literature and epic poetry. I got it because Gerard Butler and Tony Curran are in it.

And yes, they look great and did a great job. Well, they did as well as they could with what they’d been given. And the scenery is amazing, and I’m sure it was a very difficult movie to make, but it doesn’t matter a flip if it’s boring. And if I want to look at amazing scenery, I can do that on Globe Trekker. SPOILER: I’m going to talk about what happens, so if you haven’t seen it and don’t want to know, then you might want to skip this next part.

It’s not that I found the movie boring, which I did, or that I couldn’t understand half the things they said, which I couldn’t, or that I’m one who thinks that movie adaptations have to be loyal to the text, which I don’t. It’s that this Beowulf is a kind post-modern deconstruction that just drives me batty. It’s been years and years and years since I’ve read Beowulf, but this movie seems to have a pretty contemporary view, while keeping the blood and gore of the violent time.

Grendel isn’t a monster and descendant of Cain who kills and wreaks havoc on the Danes, but rather a misunderstood orphan who saw his father killed, so he kills only those who have hurt him. We still have to kill him, but isn’t it sad that we have to do that?

Hell, Beowulf doesn’t even kill Grendel. He kills himself by cutting his own arm off, rather than Beowulf ripping if off like the mighty man and strong hero he is.

And I don’t remember a witch who had Grendel’s son. And I thought Hrothgar was supposed to be a great king and Beowulf’s mentor and teacher, not some guilty wimp who knows why they are being attacked but won’t confess it to anyone. And I really don’t remember Grendel being referred to as “a fucking troll.”
But, that’s just me. That’s why they don’t ask me to make movies.

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Speaking of Tony Curran, he's going to be Pentheus to Alan Cumming's Dionysus in Euripide's The Bacchae for the National Theatre of Scotland. They're opening in Edinburgh on 11 August, running through the 18th, then onto Glasgow and London. I would love to see it!

On second thought, maybe I wouldn't. I blush easily and this is a play that should result in a lot of blushing. It's so . . . well, it's . . . um . . . it's Greek. There's vengeance and blood and gore and debauchery and sexual repression and orgies and cross-dressing and ripping of limbs, and well, you just don't want to piss off a god. If I went, I would only distract the actors because I would be that red glow in the dark.

I would guess they'll be amazing in this. I can't imagine a better Dionysus than Alan Cumming.

Oh well. Maybe they'll tape it and put it on PBS? Yeah, I don't think so either.

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Ace of Cakes is back for a new season! I love this show. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a reality-based show on the Food Network featuring Duff, ultra cool cake maker and his talented friends at Charm City Cakes. They make the most amazing cakes. I don’t know how good they taste, but who cares. One of the multi-talented people on that show is Geof. He’s my favorite. He reminds me so much of my good friend in Louisiana, but he writes poetry instead of makes cakes. I always miss him after I watch this show. Here’s one of the amazing cakes they’ve made—the Sutton Hoo cake. Cool, huh?

















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I had a doctor’s appointment the other day—just a yearly check-up. The doc asked if I have any concerns, and I said yes, I’m having a hard time controlling my anger. I keep losing my temper and then I sulk. I don’t even like to be around me! She just looked at the file and I braced myself for it: “Well, you are in your 40s now.”

Well Hell’s Bells! I know that. So, it’s hormones, huh? How does she know? Maybe it’s a brain tumor. Maybe I’m borderline psychotic/manic depressive. Maybe I’ve developed multiple personalities and I have the “evil Kell” and the “sulky, wimpy Kell.” Maybe it’s not me at all! Maybe it really is everybody else! Maybe I really should be pissed off! *pant pant pant*

I think I need some chocolate. Young’s Double Chocolate Stout should do nicely.



I think I'll do that "blog rating" now. I bet I'm up to an R with this post!

No Harry Potter Book Spoilers

Mostly it was a Harry Potter weekend. Our friend’s retirement ceremony and party went well and we had a great time at the dog show, but basically, it was all about Harry.

I did read the book as soon as I got it because, like everyone else, I wanted to know what happens and I wanted to read it before someone let something slip and ruined all the fun and anticipation. I love anticipation.

So, what do you say when you don’t want to really talk about the book so you won’t give anything away, but you want to say something to express your views? How about: I wasn’t disappointed. And just ask Al, I’m hard to please. I also didn’t think the book was too surprising, but then, we have had something like 15 years of theories and thinking on this. I feel satisfied and won’t be craving another Harry book and wishing she hadn’t ended the series (although I didn't need an epilogue to reinforce that feeling). I did hit a point a little more than half-way through that I thought Oh just get on with it! These books are written for a younger audience and maybe they have a better attention span than I do, but I think that Ms. Rowling lingers a little too long sometimes and drags out scenes that could be wrapped up a little quicker. But that’s just me. I couldn’t get through the Lord of the Rings trilogy because I got bored with 3 pages of scenery description.

I think one of the reasons it took so long was that there were a lot of characters to bring back and events/relationships/secrets to close. It’s the 7th book! We don’t want to leave without knowing what happened to . . .well . . . interject your favorite character here.

Yes, I cried. I couldn’t help it. I’ve been a little weepy anyway—I cried through my friend’s retirement ceremony, I cried watching a slide photo presentation of the retreat that the kids at our church went on this summer, and I cried during some lame commercial on TV. I expected deaths in this book (they are at war after all), but I didn’t realize I would take it so hard. But worth it! I did get a little confused near the end, but I think that’s because I was so anxious to know what was going on that I started to skim a head a little. But you can’t skim these books—you’ll miss some little thing that will end up important later.

I loved this series and I got caught up in all the excitement early on and spent a lot of time discussing what might happen. However, by the last couple of books, I turned off that part of my brain and just read for the pleasure of it. It made them much more enjoyable for me that way.

But, if anyone wants to discuss Snape, let me know! (heh heh)

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I took time out of the reading to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix this weekend also. I can’t believe I wasted 2 ½ hours there when I could have been reading.

OK, it wasn’t that bad, but this definitely was not one of the best of the films. It was so slow and plodding. This book is an emotional turning point for Harry so it’s not going to be constantly full of action like the others, but a little energy would have been nice. It was as if the director said, “Ok everyone, we’re going to have long pauses after each character speaks and sometimes even in the middle of your own lines.” The movie shines when there’s stuff going on, such as Harry teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts and the dueling in the end, but it crawls the rest of the time.

I thought it was pretty obvious that this one was written by someone different than the last 4. Thank goodness Steve Kloves will return to write 6 and hopefully 7. I always thought Kloves did a great job pulling out what really seemed important in the books, while keeping to the spirit of them. There are always things that can’t be filmed from the books (I know, I know. They’d be over 4 hours long if they didn’t cut some things out), but I thought this movie left out some really cool stuff and changed some things around that I don’t think made the story better. Shorter, obviously, but not better. It didn’t seem quite as cohesive as the other films. And the ending was horrible. And there was a lot panting and heavy breathing in this movie, and it had nothing to do with the kissing scene. It was like Harry had asthma or something.

But this was definitely one of the best cast movies. Imelda Staunton as Umbridge and Evanna Lynch as Luna are wonderful and brilliant.

Anyway, I’m a little biased because I still consider the 3rd movie (Prisoner of Azkaban) the best. I even liked the 3rd book best, too. And, who knows. People who haven’t read the books might of thought this movie was brilliant. It’s easier to be harsh when you know where the plot and action comes from.

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I’ll post some pics from the dog show later. I need to recover from magical overload.

Open Letter to Christopher Nolan

Dear Mr. Nolan,

I love your movies. I don’t hesitate seeing them because I know I’ll be in for an intense and wonderful experience. I’m not an expert at film-making and am not really interested in how everything is done—that just takes away from the magic. So, this letter isn’t a dissertation of your skill as a writer, director, film-maker, skillful as you are. No, just an old fashioned, “Gosh Mr. Nolan, I really liked your movie” letter.

What brought all this on is that I finally saw The Prestige. I love being challenged and surprised in a movie. I sat enthralled as I watched Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale reading each other’s journals, intermingling real time with flashbacks. I admit to a little confusion at times, but I caught on. I have a problem with always trying to figure out where a movie is going instead of just enjoying where it’s taking me. Once I gave up that control, I enjoyed myself a lot more.

I think the fact that your movies challenge me is what I like best about them. They don’t take the easy way out by telling a straight-forward story. They have layers and elaborate twists of logic and are thought-provoking. The movie may end, but that doesn’t mean my thinking ends. I need time to recover before I can move onto something else. It’s the same when I read a good book; I can’t just pick up another one immediately. I have to contemplate it for a while, and if someone is around, I’ll talk about it. I really should watch your films with someone so that I can have a conversation afterwards.

Memento was mind-bending and brilliant, Insomnia was disturbing, and Batman Begins was fantastic. I can’t wait for The Dark Knight and I still need to see Following; I know I won’t be disappointed.

So, thank you. I’ve enjoyed your movies and look forward to what’s to come.

The Fuzz

We rarely go to the movies together. Al has what I have come to call “bad movie karma.” Inevitably, a small child who is too young to be there sits next to him or the tobacco-chewing good ol’ boy sits in front of him or the so-much-important-than-you person who can’t be bothered to turn off the cell phone sits behind him, and of course, the phone rings at least once.

So, Al doesn’t go to the movies very often. But this weekend, I made a command decision when my friend R called and asked if we wanted to go to the movies with them. They were going to see Hot Fuzz, even though she really didn’t have any idea what it was about or what to expect. I, on the other hand, couldn’t wait for the movie to come out, and since I knew Al wanted to see it, too, I told him we were going.

Actually, I wasn’t nearly as decisive as that. I told her we’d meet them there but would call if we couldn't make it. Then I asked Al if he would like to go. But I knew he’d say yes.

Hot Fuzz is by the same people who made Shaun of the Dead, which is one of our favorite movies. Simon Pegg and Edgar Wright wrote the screenplay and Wright again directs. Pegg and Nick Frost pair up again, leading a long list of talented and famous actors, including Timothy Dalton, Jim Broadbent and Edward Woodward just to name a few.

So, you knew I’d love it, right? Well, I did. It’s hilarious and oh so very clever. I don’t think calling it a parody, which some do, does it justice. Hot Fuzz is an homage to cop movies. They take their adoration very seriously, as they did with zombie movies in Shaun. Even within the movie, there’s Danny (Frost) who loves cop movies and peppers newcomer Angel (Pegg) with questions, wondering if he had ever done the things he’s seen in the movies. And as the movie goes on, he’s able to act out all his favorite movie moments.

Londoner Angel (Pegg) is an outstanding police officer (not policeman, that’s sexist). He’s so good that he’s making everyone else look bad, so he’s transferred to quiet and quaint Sandford. There is no crime in Sandford, but there are an awful lot of accidents. Angel begins to think there’s more to these “accidents” and starts investigating, uncovering the serial killing of townspeople. To tell you any more would ruin the fantastic second half of the film.

Pegg and Frost are brilliant. This is not Shaun of the Dead in police uniforms. No recycling here—new story, new characters, new conflicts.

The jokes are so fast and so many that you may want to see it twice to try to catch them all. And then, unless you know every cop and cop-buddy movie inside and out, I’m sure you’ll still miss something. But in the end, who the hell cares? Just enjoy it because it’s good movie.