Thanksgiving
Very relaxing thanksgiving. It was the first time in years that we didn't have guests, so we didn't have to clean the house or anything. I made turkey by the Good Eats recipe, with the brining process and all, but other than that (and the souffle) I just went all-out lazy this year: canned gravy, stovetop stuffing (I don't seem to be able to make Nanny's cornbread dressing to the satisfaction of the family anyway), frozen peas and corn, instant mashed potatoes (to be honest, I always use instant mashed potatoes), pies from Marie Callender's. Thus, a much more relaxing thanksgiving.
After dinner we went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The challenge of being unable to commit an 800-page book to the screen seemed to really work in the film's favor, as the filmmakers seemed to have to sit down and say "OK, this is what the story is about" and make everything concentrate on that one thing (that being the onset of puberty for Harry and his friends), and freed them to make the best movie they could, rather than the most faithful adaptation they could. It also focuses some of the thematic elements of Rowling's text. I hadn't thought about the tournament as metaphor for the trials of puberty and passing into adulthood, but in the movie it becomes pretty hard to miss. Dumbledore's speach before the maze, his warning that it can change you, drives the point home, to say nothing of the obvious freudian symbolism of the dragons and the lake.
It seems that each director has brought the qualities the series needed at the time. Colombus was a competent hack capable of taking the first two books and transposing them to the screen in a way that wouldn't piss off the fanbase. Cuaron brought the story to life at the point where people might have lost interest in the series, but kept things close to the book. And now Newell has released the story from the grip of it's source material. As a fan of the books, I still think Azkaban is the best movie-as-supplement-to-the-book, but Goblet is the best movie-as-movie.
Also? Asian chicks with Irish accents. A whole new level of cuteness that I didn't even know existed. And seeing the Kong trailer on the big screen is just...wow. Incredible.
Overheard at the theater: "I never sleep late. Unless I'm needed in Slumberland." Attention Random Dude at the Theater: Do not think I won't steal your joke!
Friday, I spent most of the day watching the Freaks and Geeks DVD that I picked up last week. This show is so good. I noticed several small walk-on roles from people in current WB shows: Wallace Fennell is on the opposing Mathlete team, and Logan (Rory's Logan, not Veronica's Logan) is the guy who beats up the freaks for spraypainting his car.
Saturday, I went to Brand Books, where there was a holiday sale going on. I bought a bunch of children's books to give as Christmas gifts, including several copies of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. Some of them were even annotated. Bobbie later pointed out that my friends' kids aren't really old enough to be reading Lewis Carroll. Jeez, how long are these kids gonna be reading picture books? Hurry up and grow already! Well, an annotated copy of Alice is something they can have on their bookshelf for the rest of their lives as a prize posession.
Saturday, I made turkey noodle soup from the legs, wings, thighbones, and some of the thigh meat from the turkey. Sunday I didn't make any dinner, so we could just finish off the leftovers. And there's STILL a shitload of turkey left!
I got a lot of reading done this weekend. It's so nice to have all this free time. I read Nicholson Baker's Checkpoint practically in one sitting (it's very short). It's a long conversation between two old friends in a Washington DC hotel room, one of whom is planning on assassinating Bush, the other trying to talk him out of it. I also started flipping through The Real Frank Zappa Book, which is one of those books that's fun to flip through now and then. Realy, just Zappa's stories about growing up in the 50's are hilarious. And I read a chapter of the Aleister Crowley biography that I started a long time ago but got bored with, and have been reading a chapter at a time here and there. And pretty much read the entire current Playboy, with the 50th anniversery of Lolita tribute. I think I'm going to read the Alice books now, since I have them sitting around anyway.
By Sunday, I had spent enough time relaxing that I didn't even mind cleaning the house in preperation for putting up the Christmas decorations. That may not seem like a big deal to people who don't know me, but if you realize how lazy I am, it's saying a lot.
Oh, and if you scroll down, you'll find a post about my favorite film noir, Nightmare Alley. For some reason, blogger chose to stick it down the page a bit.
After dinner we went to see Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. The challenge of being unable to commit an 800-page book to the screen seemed to really work in the film's favor, as the filmmakers seemed to have to sit down and say "OK, this is what the story is about" and make everything concentrate on that one thing (that being the onset of puberty for Harry and his friends), and freed them to make the best movie they could, rather than the most faithful adaptation they could. It also focuses some of the thematic elements of Rowling's text. I hadn't thought about the tournament as metaphor for the trials of puberty and passing into adulthood, but in the movie it becomes pretty hard to miss. Dumbledore's speach before the maze, his warning that it can change you, drives the point home, to say nothing of the obvious freudian symbolism of the dragons and the lake.
It seems that each director has brought the qualities the series needed at the time. Colombus was a competent hack capable of taking the first two books and transposing them to the screen in a way that wouldn't piss off the fanbase. Cuaron brought the story to life at the point where people might have lost interest in the series, but kept things close to the book. And now Newell has released the story from the grip of it's source material. As a fan of the books, I still think Azkaban is the best movie-as-supplement-to-the-book, but Goblet is the best movie-as-movie.
Also? Asian chicks with Irish accents. A whole new level of cuteness that I didn't even know existed. And seeing the Kong trailer on the big screen is just...wow. Incredible.
Overheard at the theater: "I never sleep late. Unless I'm needed in Slumberland." Attention Random Dude at the Theater: Do not think I won't steal your joke!
Friday, I spent most of the day watching the Freaks and Geeks DVD that I picked up last week. This show is so good. I noticed several small walk-on roles from people in current WB shows: Wallace Fennell is on the opposing Mathlete team, and Logan (Rory's Logan, not Veronica's Logan) is the guy who beats up the freaks for spraypainting his car.
Saturday, I went to Brand Books, where there was a holiday sale going on. I bought a bunch of children's books to give as Christmas gifts, including several copies of Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking Glass. Some of them were even annotated. Bobbie later pointed out that my friends' kids aren't really old enough to be reading Lewis Carroll. Jeez, how long are these kids gonna be reading picture books? Hurry up and grow already! Well, an annotated copy of Alice is something they can have on their bookshelf for the rest of their lives as a prize posession.
Saturday, I made turkey noodle soup from the legs, wings, thighbones, and some of the thigh meat from the turkey. Sunday I didn't make any dinner, so we could just finish off the leftovers. And there's STILL a shitload of turkey left!
I got a lot of reading done this weekend. It's so nice to have all this free time. I read Nicholson Baker's Checkpoint practically in one sitting (it's very short). It's a long conversation between two old friends in a Washington DC hotel room, one of whom is planning on assassinating Bush, the other trying to talk him out of it. I also started flipping through The Real Frank Zappa Book, which is one of those books that's fun to flip through now and then. Realy, just Zappa's stories about growing up in the 50's are hilarious. And I read a chapter of the Aleister Crowley biography that I started a long time ago but got bored with, and have been reading a chapter at a time here and there. And pretty much read the entire current Playboy, with the 50th anniversery of Lolita tribute. I think I'm going to read the Alice books now, since I have them sitting around anyway.
By Sunday, I had spent enough time relaxing that I didn't even mind cleaning the house in preperation for putting up the Christmas decorations. That may not seem like a big deal to people who don't know me, but if you realize how lazy I am, it's saying a lot.
Oh, and if you scroll down, you'll find a post about my favorite film noir, Nightmare Alley. For some reason, blogger chose to stick it down the page a bit.
posted by Chris Oliver at 8:07 AM
2 Comments:
I did Alton's bird last year. Turned out perfectly.
Freaks and Geeks is perfection. I highly recommend you pick up Undeclared (if you haven't already) because it's more of the same. And I couldn't be more delighted with the success of 40 Year Old Virgin specifically Seth Rogen netting a lead role in Apatow's next feature. The world needs more Seth Rogen.
Undeclared is next on the list, fer sure.
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