March 28, 2007
March 26, 2007
Keeping up with the Davidseses
David explains his ordeal and the future of his brain: http://www.streamdavid.com/2007/03/26/a-traumatic-week/
March 22, 2007
i'm so glad you asked! To answer your question...
->'When are you actually moving?'
Thursday, March 29th. We'll load up the U-Haul with all the cds and Star Wars gear we've pilfered from our unsuspecting roommates, poke an air hole in whatever box the cat landed in, and drive off into the sun...north. There will be a brief return to Elk Grove on Saturday the 31st to get Josh's car and attend a gathering, but the Day Of Moving is Thursday, a week from today. (yikes)
->'Do you need help moving? Please say no.'
Technically we probably need help, but we're not organized enough to manage a team and we'd probably get more stressed out dealing with stuff AND people. Our ever-loving parents are helping and i think we're set. You're welcome.
->'You know it gets hot there, right? Like, REALLY hot??'
*sigh, roll eyes, walk away from you*
->'Is it true the house has a meth lab?'
No. That is a complete myth with no substantiation other than the marijuana grow room in the garage.
->'What's happening to your Elk Grove house?'
Our precious, stinky roommates are also moving out; Brandon is getting his own place in Sac and John is going to Costa Rica to drink coffee and write his manifesto.
->'Is Kahlua going to Costa Rica too??'
The Most Beautiful Dog On Earth is going to live with John's mom in Lake Almanor until John gets back and will come visit us in Redding whenever Bev goes on holiday.
->'Who gets the Nintendo Wii?'
Brandon is Wii-sitting while John galavants in the tropics. We'll buy our own; the people of Redding need it. (i hear Wiis make EXCELLENT housewarming gifts...)
->'When are you going to post pictures of your house?'
We have photos, but the previous residents had not moved out, and their...um, i guess you could call it 'aesthetic' (or standard of cleanliness) was not good, so we'll take pics of the empty house and post them as soon as possible.
->'When is the inevitably awesome housewarming party?'
Tenatively scheduled for the last weekend in April.
->'How did you get so pretty?'
God and Darwin made a bet. God won.
Thursday, March 29th. We'll load up the U-Haul with all the cds and Star Wars gear we've pilfered from our unsuspecting roommates, poke an air hole in whatever box the cat landed in, and drive off into the sun...north. There will be a brief return to Elk Grove on Saturday the 31st to get Josh's car and attend a gathering, but the Day Of Moving is Thursday, a week from today. (yikes)
->'Do you need help moving? Please say no.'
Technically we probably need help, but we're not organized enough to manage a team and we'd probably get more stressed out dealing with stuff AND people. Our ever-loving parents are helping and i think we're set. You're welcome.
->'You know it gets hot there, right? Like, REALLY hot??'
*sigh, roll eyes, walk away from you*
->'Is it true the house has a meth lab?'
No. That is a complete myth with no substantiation other than the marijuana grow room in the garage.
->'What's happening to your Elk Grove house?'
Our precious, stinky roommates are also moving out; Brandon is getting his own place in Sac and John is going to Costa Rica to drink coffee and write his manifesto.
->'Is Kahlua going to Costa Rica too??'
The Most Beautiful Dog On Earth is going to live with John's mom in Lake Almanor until John gets back and will come visit us in Redding whenever Bev goes on holiday.
->'Who gets the Nintendo Wii?'
Brandon is Wii-sitting while John galavants in the tropics. We'll buy our own; the people of Redding need it. (i hear Wiis make EXCELLENT housewarming gifts...)
->'When are you going to post pictures of your house?'
We have photos, but the previous residents had not moved out, and their...um, i guess you could call it 'aesthetic' (or standard of cleanliness) was not good, so we'll take pics of the empty house and post them as soon as possible.
->'When is the inevitably awesome housewarming party?'
Tenatively scheduled for the last weekend in April.
->'How did you get so pretty?'
God and Darwin made a bet. God won.
March 21, 2007
Update
David is doing much better. He's sitting up, talking, laughing, eating solid foods, and playing peek-a-boo. (Wait, are we still talking about a grown man?? Oh, scratch the peek-a-boo.) Apparently seizures sort of run in the family and he only had the one and none since. Still awaiting results from various tests, but everything's looking good.
March 20, 2007
Pray for David!
David is at Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego after his hosts, Eric and Tiana found him unconscious Monday morning. He'd had some seizures and had to be intubated (quick! reference all that jargon you learn from tv medical dramas!) and heavily sedated and strapped to his bed, but an EEG revealed that he wasn't having any more seizures. He's since been extubated and taken off sedation and will soon be moved out of ICU. He'll have an MRI and tests tomorrow to try and determine what the cause of all this was, but he's fine for now and is surrounded by family and friends. Being the vagabond artist he is, David doesn't have any health insurance and is of course listed in the hospital files as 'HOMELESS'.
March 02, 2007
February 20, 2007
What i Did On My Presidents' Day Vacation
Friday: Josh took the day off (a phenomenon that occurs once every 9.34 years, depending on the strength of the Yen) so we slept in and then met David at the Pleasanton b.a.r.t. station and went into The City. SanFran= BREADBOWLS + SHOPPING. i willy wike it. It was pretty quiet and everything closed early so we left. The guy at Baskin Robbins was cool though. Went home and played Wii whilst Kahlua showed off for David.
Saturday: More Wii, then a late lunch at Lodi Brewery with MaryBeth. Went wine tasting at Jewel and kind of offended some boozy middle aged ladies who were trying to get their flirt on with Sam The Tasting Room Guy. Then, of course, back home for more Wii. Josh made wings and they were good.
Sunday: Decided to piggyback on the youth group's trip to Sierra At Tahoe so we packed up our snow gear and sleeping bags. While they all left for a long slow caravan full of road sick 13 year olds, we went into Sacramento and showed David around the Capitol and ate our brains out at Michaelangelo's. We also played 'Guess What Your College Friends Will Name Their Future Children' which was pretty fun. (sorry, the results are sealed for our safety) Got to South Tahoe Community Church around 10 and slept poorly on floors and chairs after all the little hoodlums finally fell silent.
Monday: Got up at 6. 6!!!!!! on a day off!!! Good grief. A flat tire en route to the slopes delayed Josh and MaryBeth until around 1, so they didn't get very many runs in, but it was beautiful day. i played lodge-mom out on the deck, which sounds very hepful and sacrificial but it really just means that while everyone else is out on skiis/boards/tubes i go through their lunches and swap their Doritos for my Lays and eat their pudding. It also means i'm privy to conversations like the following one from some of the junior high students, who spoke in all seriousness:
"If Jesus were here, would he ski or snowboard?"
--"He'd probably ski because old people ski." (ouch)
"What about God the Father and the Holy Spirit?"
--"The Holy Spirit would totally tube!"
---"Yeah!"
----"He's a tuber."
"And God would snowboard."
--"Yeah, i could see God boarding."
Don't try to find the logic. Just appreciate that they weren't talking about their cell phones for once. On the way home we stopped for fries and David and Josh ignored me when i said those Animal Style fries would not be kind to them. i was right. We vegged and recovered and had a yummy steak dinner while we caught up with the Heroes and Kahlua demonstrated her utter inability to perform her 3 tricks out of their usual order.
So that was le weekend. We've now made our contributions to David's road trip, so we're set.
Saturday: More Wii, then a late lunch at Lodi Brewery with MaryBeth. Went wine tasting at Jewel and kind of offended some boozy middle aged ladies who were trying to get their flirt on with Sam The Tasting Room Guy. Then, of course, back home for more Wii. Josh made wings and they were good.
Sunday: Decided to piggyback on the youth group's trip to Sierra At Tahoe so we packed up our snow gear and sleeping bags. While they all left for a long slow caravan full of road sick 13 year olds, we went into Sacramento and showed David around the Capitol and ate our brains out at Michaelangelo's. We also played 'Guess What Your College Friends Will Name Their Future Children' which was pretty fun. (sorry, the results are sealed for our safety) Got to South Tahoe Community Church around 10 and slept poorly on floors and chairs after all the little hoodlums finally fell silent.
Monday: Got up at 6. 6!!!!!! on a day off!!! Good grief. A flat tire en route to the slopes delayed Josh and MaryBeth until around 1, so they didn't get very many runs in, but it was beautiful day. i played lodge-mom out on the deck, which sounds very hepful and sacrificial but it really just means that while everyone else is out on skiis/boards/tubes i go through their lunches and swap their Doritos for my Lays and eat their pudding. It also means i'm privy to conversations like the following one from some of the junior high students, who spoke in all seriousness:
"If Jesus were here, would he ski or snowboard?"
--"He'd probably ski because old people ski." (ouch)
"What about God the Father and the Holy Spirit?"
--"The Holy Spirit would totally tube!"
---"Yeah!"
----"He's a tuber."
"And God would snowboard."
--"Yeah, i could see God boarding."
Don't try to find the logic. Just appreciate that they weren't talking about their cell phones for once. On the way home we stopped for fries and David and Josh ignored me when i said those Animal Style fries would not be kind to them. i was right. We vegged and recovered and had a yummy steak dinner while we caught up with the Heroes and Kahlua demonstrated her utter inability to perform her 3 tricks out of their usual order.
So that was le weekend. We've now made our contributions to David's road trip, so we're set.
February 06, 2007
my turn
My old cronies from the PLNU philosophy/theology shoebox have tagged me in their game of 'Name The 3 Most Important Theology Books Of The Last 25 Years'. Silly boys! i have the bad habit of only reading theology when assigned by a grown-up to do so. My first love is literature, so Scott suggested i list the 'The 3 Most Important Theology NOVELS of The Last 25 Years'. A curious challenge indeed, Mr. S., and since i'm pretty sure all you eggheads are totally void of proper fiction, i'll accept in the hopes that you actually read a story now and then in between your Hauerwas and Cavanaugh binges. (for their picks: Charlie, Matt, Kaz)
This wasn't easy. The 25-year limit killed me, mostly because it eliminated the best of John Steinbeck. Other gems for consideration (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Carrie, To Kill A Mockingbird, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Catcher in the Rye, The Illustrated Man, Slaughterhouse-Five) were also lost to the past. i honestly don't think that the 25-year rule should apply to novels, but rather than blorgue (yes! i made up an AWESOME word! it means to argue over blogs :P) i'll work despite it. Also, i didn't know whether i should judge the books on the theological impact they had on ME, or their general theological content. Furthermore, novels with great social commentary didn't always carry eqvuilelant theological theses. Tricky. Nevertheless, here you have it. The final three ended up being very, very different from each other in settings, characters, and purposes. i'm sure there are better options, but i'm exhausted. i would fully appreciate disagreement, suggestion, etc.
A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving, 1989 (you know i can't make a list without it)- Time magazine reviewed it with the following: "Framed by the myth of victim as redeemer, the book removes guesswork without reducing expectations. One knows going in that the mischievous author is staging a kind of 'Gospel According to Charlie Brown.' But anyone familiar with Irving's mastery of narrative technique, his dark humor and moral resolve also knows his fiction is cute like a fox... Through the miracle of literary hindsight, the mess of two decades is foreseen by a sawed-off Christly caricature, Owen Meany, a granite quarrier's son who speaks in capital letters and believes the sacrificial arc of his life has been plotted by God." Excerpt: I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. I make no claims to have a life in Christ, or with Christ--and certainly not for Christ, which I've heard some zealots claim. I'm not very sophisticated in my knowledge of the Old Testament, and I've not read the New Testament since my Sunday School days, except for those passages I hear read aloud to me when I go to church. I'm somewhat more familiar with the passages from the Bible that appear in the Book of Common Prayer; I read my prayer book often, and my bible only on holy days--the prayer book is so much more orderly. Read it, theo-junkies, you'll laugh, cry, and wet yourself. i promise.
Beloved- Toni Morrison, 1987 - The ghost (known only as Beloved) of the baby whose mother cut its throat to save it from slavery returns as a woman to haunt her mother and family. One womanist theologian wrote: "This text grapples with problems of human fallibility. It is concerned with the tragic, active forgetting of community, history, and the power and cultural origin of myths. Beloved examines the ambiguous powers of memory and community, which can be both creative and destructive. Memory is vital for revisioning communal and social transformation that is healing. ... Morrison's work is not Christocentric, but presents a combination of Christian and pre-Christian worldviews. Beloved suggests that Jesus Christ is within the community of ancestors. ... Jesus perfectly embodies the power to save lives and hold together that which would otherwise fall apart. Christian womanists are called to proclaim a theology whose pragmatic consequences are the preservation of life, the healing of wounds, and the sustenance of community. Beloved reminds us of our own creative and destructive potentials." Excerpt: Everybody knew what she was called, but nobody anywhere knew her name. Disremembered and unaccounted for, she cannot be lost because no one is looking for her, and even if she were, how can they call her if they don't know her name? ... By and by all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what it is down there. The rest is weather. Not the breath of the disremembered and unaccounted for, but wind in the eaves.... Certainly no clamor for a kiss. Beloved. Read it. There's a reason Toni Morrison's a Nobel Prize winner.
Mystic River- Dennis Lehane, 2001- Said the New York Times in its review of Clint Eastwood's film version (which, in my opinion, was as true as humanly possible to Lehane's book) : "Dave's abduction is an act of inexplicable, almost metaphysical evil, and this story of guilt, grief and vengeance grows out of it like a mass of dark weeds. At its starkest, the story is a parable of incurable trauma, in which violence begets more violence and the primal violation of innocence can never be set right. ''Mystic River'' is the rare American story that aspires to -- and achieves -- the full weight and darkness of tragedy....When Sean realizes he must tell his old friend Jimmy that his beloved daughter is dead, he wonders what he should say: ''God said you owed another marker, and he came to collect.'' This grim theology is as close as anyone comes to faith, but Mr. Eastwood's understanding of the universe, and of human nature, is if anything even more pessimistic. The evil of murderers and child molesters represents a fundamental imbalance in the order of things that neither the forces of law and order nor the impulse toward vengeance can rectify. The problem -- the tragedy -- is that grief, loyalty and even love spring from the same source. When Jimmy learns that he has lost the child who saved his life by forcing him into responsibility, he rages like a rabid beast, and you know his fury will only lead to more hurt. ''We bury our sins, and wash them clean,'' he declares later as he prepares to enact his vengeance, but this is wishful thinking, mere sentiment, and you suspect that Jimmy knows it." Excerpt: When Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant and carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them. It became a permanent character of their clothes, the beds they slept in, the vinyl backs of their car seats. Sean's kitchen smelled like a Fudgsicle, his bathroom like a Coleman Chew-Chew bar. By the time they were elven Sean and jimmy had developed a hatred of sweets so total that they took their coffee black for the rest of their lives and never ate dessert. The only non-required reading i've ever read with a pen in my hand.
This wasn't easy. The 25-year limit killed me, mostly because it eliminated the best of John Steinbeck. Other gems for consideration (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Carrie, To Kill A Mockingbird, One Hundred Years of Solitude, Catcher in the Rye, The Illustrated Man, Slaughterhouse-Five) were also lost to the past. i honestly don't think that the 25-year rule should apply to novels, but rather than blorgue (yes! i made up an AWESOME word! it means to argue over blogs :P) i'll work despite it. Also, i didn't know whether i should judge the books on the theological impact they had on ME, or their general theological content. Furthermore, novels with great social commentary didn't always carry eqvuilelant theological theses. Tricky. Nevertheless, here you have it. The final three ended up being very, very different from each other in settings, characters, and purposes. i'm sure there are better options, but i'm exhausted. i would fully appreciate disagreement, suggestion, etc.
A Prayer for Owen Meany- John Irving, 1989 (you know i can't make a list without it)- Time magazine reviewed it with the following: "Framed by the myth of victim as redeemer, the book removes guesswork without reducing expectations. One knows going in that the mischievous author is staging a kind of 'Gospel According to Charlie Brown.' But anyone familiar with Irving's mastery of narrative technique, his dark humor and moral resolve also knows his fiction is cute like a fox... Through the miracle of literary hindsight, the mess of two decades is foreseen by a sawed-off Christly caricature, Owen Meany, a granite quarrier's son who speaks in capital letters and believes the sacrificial arc of his life has been plotted by God." Excerpt: I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice--not because of his voice, or because he was the smallest person I ever knew, or even because he was the instrument of my mother's death, but because he is the reason I believe in God; I am a Christian because of Owen Meany. I make no claims to have a life in Christ, or with Christ--and certainly not for Christ, which I've heard some zealots claim. I'm not very sophisticated in my knowledge of the Old Testament, and I've not read the New Testament since my Sunday School days, except for those passages I hear read aloud to me when I go to church. I'm somewhat more familiar with the passages from the Bible that appear in the Book of Common Prayer; I read my prayer book often, and my bible only on holy days--the prayer book is so much more orderly. Read it, theo-junkies, you'll laugh, cry, and wet yourself. i promise.
Beloved- Toni Morrison, 1987 - The ghost (known only as Beloved) of the baby whose mother cut its throat to save it from slavery returns as a woman to haunt her mother and family. One womanist theologian wrote: "This text grapples with problems of human fallibility. It is concerned with the tragic, active forgetting of community, history, and the power and cultural origin of myths. Beloved examines the ambiguous powers of memory and community, which can be both creative and destructive. Memory is vital for revisioning communal and social transformation that is healing. ... Morrison's work is not Christocentric, but presents a combination of Christian and pre-Christian worldviews. Beloved suggests that Jesus Christ is within the community of ancestors. ... Jesus perfectly embodies the power to save lives and hold together that which would otherwise fall apart. Christian womanists are called to proclaim a theology whose pragmatic consequences are the preservation of life, the healing of wounds, and the sustenance of community. Beloved reminds us of our own creative and destructive potentials." Excerpt: Everybody knew what she was called, but nobody anywhere knew her name. Disremembered and unaccounted for, she cannot be lost because no one is looking for her, and even if she were, how can they call her if they don't know her name? ... By and by all trace is gone, and what is forgotten is not only the footprints but the water too and what it is down there. The rest is weather. Not the breath of the disremembered and unaccounted for, but wind in the eaves.... Certainly no clamor for a kiss. Beloved. Read it. There's a reason Toni Morrison's a Nobel Prize winner.
Mystic River- Dennis Lehane, 2001- Said the New York Times in its review of Clint Eastwood's film version (which, in my opinion, was as true as humanly possible to Lehane's book) : "Dave's abduction is an act of inexplicable, almost metaphysical evil, and this story of guilt, grief and vengeance grows out of it like a mass of dark weeds. At its starkest, the story is a parable of incurable trauma, in which violence begets more violence and the primal violation of innocence can never be set right. ''Mystic River'' is the rare American story that aspires to -- and achieves -- the full weight and darkness of tragedy....When Sean realizes he must tell his old friend Jimmy that his beloved daughter is dead, he wonders what he should say: ''God said you owed another marker, and he came to collect.'' This grim theology is as close as anyone comes to faith, but Mr. Eastwood's understanding of the universe, and of human nature, is if anything even more pessimistic. The evil of murderers and child molesters represents a fundamental imbalance in the order of things that neither the forces of law and order nor the impulse toward vengeance can rectify. The problem -- the tragedy -- is that grief, loyalty and even love spring from the same source. When Jimmy learns that he has lost the child who saved his life by forcing him into responsibility, he rages like a rabid beast, and you know his fury will only lead to more hurt. ''We bury our sins, and wash them clean,'' he declares later as he prepares to enact his vengeance, but this is wishful thinking, mere sentiment, and you suspect that Jimmy knows it." Excerpt: When Sean Devine and Jimmy Marcus were kids, their fathers worked together at the Coleman Candy plant and carried the stench of warm chocolate back home with them. It became a permanent character of their clothes, the beds they slept in, the vinyl backs of their car seats. Sean's kitchen smelled like a Fudgsicle, his bathroom like a Coleman Chew-Chew bar. By the time they were elven Sean and jimmy had developed a hatred of sweets so total that they took their coffee black for the rest of their lives and never ate dessert. The only non-required reading i've ever read with a pen in my hand.
February 02, 2007
text messages out of context (or are they?), vol. 3
Ameno7
i love wine
Sweet! Loose morals!
Tallyho!
i have been sad ever since the Fergie dream.
Yeah, but i'm prudish enough to kinda like being prudish.
i'm watching 'The Last Kiss' with my grandparents and it's really uncomfortable.
Colbert on O'Reilly. Bound to be classic.
Jeff Purganan's ugly twin brother is playing Jason in basketball right now.
Ah you have to use the stinky piss one now!
Is it wrong that i really hate it when people say "it's a god thing"?
Ya, i just teared up a little watching a 'Beauty and the Geek' preview, so what?
Jason fell off a cliff and i had to go to Starbucks. Worst day ever.
Did i ever tell you about the time [pet's name] attacked [spouse's name] while we were [censored]?
i love wine
Sweet! Loose morals!
Tallyho!
i have been sad ever since the Fergie dream.
Yeah, but i'm prudish enough to kinda like being prudish.
i'm watching 'The Last Kiss' with my grandparents and it's really uncomfortable.
Colbert on O'Reilly. Bound to be classic.
Jeff Purganan's ugly twin brother is playing Jason in basketball right now.
Ah you have to use the stinky piss one now!
Is it wrong that i really hate it when people say "it's a god thing"?
Ya, i just teared up a little watching a 'Beauty and the Geek' preview, so what?
Jason fell off a cliff and i had to go to Starbucks. Worst day ever.
Did i ever tell you about the time [pet's name] attacked [spouse's name] while we were [censored]?
January 30, 2007
one of those silly internet games...
...where you plug in different facts and it gives you the following:
Your movie star name is Raisen Floy
Your fly girl name is K Mar
Your detective name is Puppy Foothill
Your barfly name is PB Mojito
Your socialite name is Pally Sanfran
Your rock star name is Rolo Hummingbird
Your Star Wars name is Kalcos Marjos
Your punk rock band name is The Sticky Horseshoe
Your movie star name is Raisen Floy
Your fly girl name is K Mar
Your detective name is Puppy Foothill
Your barfly name is PB Mojito
Your socialite name is Pally Sanfran
Your rock star name is Rolo Hummingbird
Your Star Wars name is Kalcos Marjos
Your punk rock band name is The Sticky Horseshoe
January 17, 2007
whitney's funny dream
"Last night i dreamed that you and Winter were best friends with Fergie and her new backup dancers, and when i came to see you guys you told me that learning the choreography to 'London Bridge' was the most important thing EVER and that you couldn't be my friend anymore--which you told me while dancing the"choreography" which included moves that went something like: chicken wings 3 times, stomp to the left, twist twist, stomp to the right, twist twist, fist in the air, head down, pump fist, pump fist, flying karate kick and SCREAM!!!!! I know because the ENTIRE TIME you guys talked to me you were doing it, with Fergie yelling like a crazed drill seargent in the 
background. She was really mean, i don't know why you guys were friends with her. Anyway, i was really sad you picked Fergie to be your friend instead of me and i started crying and then i woke up right as Fergie was calling me a 'wussy cry baby ass monkey'. Weirdly enough the entire dream took place on the set of The Office, which is funny because I don't watch The Office. And America Ferrera gave me her hankie when i started crying--what she was doing there, i don't know. "
January 06, 2007
movie review
CHILDREN OF MEN
Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Claire-Hope Ashitey
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
i'll just quote the imdb.com summary: "In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind."
This film opens with Theo (Owens) and in the background the death of 'Baby Diego', the youngest person in the world/the last baby born 18+ years ago, is announced. Everyone but Theo is stunned and overwhelmed with grief. We learn through voiceover that Theo doesn't feel much of anything anymore. "I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?" Theo goes to visit his friend Jaspar (Caine) and there's a little more exposition about what's going on in the world. It's not clear why no one is fertile anymore, but the world is a mess of war and all nations but England have essentially dissolved into chaos. In response, England has turned Orwellian in its governing and has outlawed any and all immigration. Jaspar used to be a political cartoonist and his wife was a photojournalist, but after she was tortured they went into hiding out in the woods. Jaspar smokes alot of pot and listens to the Beatles. Michael Caine is always great, especially when he's given more flavorful characters than 'Elderly Man to serve as sage/touchstone to more younger, manic characters". (i know you hear me too, Morgan Freeman!)
Anyway, Theo gets approached by Julian (Moore), his ex and a political fugitive, and her band of activists because they need his help procuring transit
papers for a girl who is not a citizen. Theo can only get papers for her if he goes with, so he does and meets Kee (Ashitey). Things get crazy and Theo very soon finds out that Kee isn't just any girl, she's 8 months pregnant. No one has been pregnant for almost 20 years. The activists are trying to get Kee to the coast where she'll meet a hospital boat disguised as a fishing boat, run by the mysterious Human Project. Theo has to protect Kee from all angles: any system or group who finds out about her would want to lock her up, use her for political leverage, study her, etc. Plus there's violence and insanity all around them. Jaspar hooks them up with refuge and convoy, but the rest is up to them.
i hope that's enough info, i didn't want to give too much away. This is a good movie, and a very rewarding one if you're one of those people who catches seemingly insignificant details in the background. There is very little exposition about the state of the world, but if you pay attention to the billboards, news, and characters in the background as Theo moves about London you'll notice how thorough the film actually is. It begins with a universal emotion: the death of a celebrity, and there are scenes that are very reminiscient of Princess Di's death and the like. Theo appears to be the only one unaffected. Clive Owen is always a tad wooden, so i guess he was a good choice to play a numb character. The movie then shifts to the single experience: Theo and a handful of others are the only ones who know about Kee, who herself is alone in her experience. The end of the movie shifts back to the universal in one of the most effecting scenes i've seen in a long time. i can't explain it because it's a spoiler, but it's amazing.
Alfonso Cuarón adapted this movie from the book by PD James (which i will be reading asap) and did an amazing job of setting the film and paying attention to what the details of a childless world would be. For example, the frequency of animals. There are always dogs, cats, etc around, forcing humanity to recognize that it will die and the beasts will go on reproducing. Also the women in Theo's office weep over the death of Baby Diego and Cuarón shows you gently that they're not crying for only one baby, but for those they cannot have. The film is also beautiful, which is kind of strange since the cities are in ruins and everyone is being shot and all. Caine is memorable, Moore is actually believable as a political outlaw and leader of a violent revolution, Owens, like i said, tends to be wooden, but the moments of pure emotion for Theo, and there are just enough, were well-played. i like that in the course of the film he didn't go from numb opportunist to blubbering moral hero. It was very natural. Claire-Hope Ashitey is very good as Kee and i also appreciated the restraint she and the writers exercised. There were no 'woe is i!' fits, but she wasn't unidentifiable either. The predominant theme is very natural in the sense that 'we do what we must to carry on', which of course stands out in the midst of a world that has turned very unnatural in its failure to reproduce and its bent toward destruction in every sense. (Oh yeah, when Theo goes to visit his government-official cousin in what Julian calls 'the art ark' we learn that they've even stripped art away from the masses. Picasso's Guernica makes an appearance, as does Michaelangelo's David.) Anyway, i loved it and so did those i went with. Aside from a little awkward dialogue here and there, it's a great movie with alot of important things to say. 4 out of 5 helpful gyspsies.
Clive Owen, Michael Caine, Julianne Moore, Claire-Hope Ashitey
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón
i'll just quote the imdb.com summary: "In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind."
This film opens with Theo (Owens) and in the background the death of 'Baby Diego', the youngest person in the world/the last baby born 18+ years ago, is announced. Everyone but Theo is stunned and overwhelmed with grief. We learn through voiceover that Theo doesn't feel much of anything anymore. "I can't really remember when I last had any hope, and I certainly can't remember when anyone else did either. Because really, since women stopped being able to have babies, what's left to hope for?" Theo goes to visit his friend Jaspar (Caine) and there's a little more exposition about what's going on in the world. It's not clear why no one is fertile anymore, but the world is a mess of war and all nations but England have essentially dissolved into chaos. In response, England has turned Orwellian in its governing and has outlawed any and all immigration. Jaspar used to be a political cartoonist and his wife was a photojournalist, but after she was tortured they went into hiding out in the woods. Jaspar smokes alot of pot and listens to the Beatles. Michael Caine is always great, especially when he's given more flavorful characters than 'Elderly Man to serve as sage/touchstone to more younger, manic characters". (i know you hear me too, Morgan Freeman!)
Anyway, Theo gets approached by Julian (Moore), his ex and a political fugitive, and her band of activists because they need his help procuring transit
papers for a girl who is not a citizen. Theo can only get papers for her if he goes with, so he does and meets Kee (Ashitey). Things get crazy and Theo very soon finds out that Kee isn't just any girl, she's 8 months pregnant. No one has been pregnant for almost 20 years. The activists are trying to get Kee to the coast where she'll meet a hospital boat disguised as a fishing boat, run by the mysterious Human Project. Theo has to protect Kee from all angles: any system or group who finds out about her would want to lock her up, use her for political leverage, study her, etc. Plus there's violence and insanity all around them. Jaspar hooks them up with refuge and convoy, but the rest is up to them. i hope that's enough info, i didn't want to give too much away. This is a good movie, and a very rewarding one if you're one of those people who catches seemingly insignificant details in the background. There is very little exposition about the state of the world, but if you pay attention to the billboards, news, and characters in the background as Theo moves about London you'll notice how thorough the film actually is. It begins with a universal emotion: the death of a celebrity, and there are scenes that are very reminiscient of Princess Di's death and the like. Theo appears to be the only one unaffected. Clive Owen is always a tad wooden, so i guess he was a good choice to play a numb character. The movie then shifts to the single experience: Theo and a handful of others are the only ones who know about Kee, who herself is alone in her experience. The end of the movie shifts back to the universal in one of the most effecting scenes i've seen in a long time. i can't explain it because it's a spoiler, but it's amazing.
Alfonso Cuarón adapted this movie from the book by PD James (which i will be reading asap) and did an amazing job of setting the film and paying attention to what the details of a childless world would be. For example, the frequency of animals. There are always dogs, cats, etc around, forcing humanity to recognize that it will die and the beasts will go on reproducing. Also the women in Theo's office weep over the death of Baby Diego and Cuarón shows you gently that they're not crying for only one baby, but for those they cannot have. The film is also beautiful, which is kind of strange since the cities are in ruins and everyone is being shot and all. Caine is memorable, Moore is actually believable as a political outlaw and leader of a violent revolution, Owens, like i said, tends to be wooden, but the moments of pure emotion for Theo, and there are just enough, were well-played. i like that in the course of the film he didn't go from numb opportunist to blubbering moral hero. It was very natural. Claire-Hope Ashitey is very good as Kee and i also appreciated the restraint she and the writers exercised. There were no 'woe is i!' fits, but she wasn't unidentifiable either. The predominant theme is very natural in the sense that 'we do what we must to carry on', which of course stands out in the midst of a world that has turned very unnatural in its failure to reproduce and its bent toward destruction in every sense. (Oh yeah, when Theo goes to visit his government-official cousin in what Julian calls 'the art ark' we learn that they've even stripped art away from the masses. Picasso's Guernica makes an appearance, as does Michaelangelo's David.) Anyway, i loved it and so did those i went with. Aside from a little awkward dialogue here and there, it's a great movie with alot of important things to say. 4 out of 5 helpful gyspsies.
January 03, 2007
Don't drink the water!
JOSSELYN AND DEVEN ARE PREGNANT TOO! They're also having their little goober in July. "A baby is God's opinion that the world should go on." -Carl Sandburg
January 02, 2007
Catching Up
The weekend of December 9th we went to The City with Jesse and Lyn to shop and Photoshop and got to meet up with Jamileh, Matt and Erin so there was a small FHS class of 99 reunion. We left Josh's truck overnight at the BART station in the hopes that it'd get stolen and we could get a new car, but unfortunately it was all present and accounted for when we returned. Next time we'll leave it at the Richmond station instead :P
The next weekend we drove to San Diego with Travis, Amber and Atticus to help BonBon pack up her too-few boxes (in this clotheshorse's opinion) and hang out in America's Finest City for a bit. We deserve medals because we managed to sit in traffic in 3 out of the 4 CA cities that even have noteworthy traffic. Jesse and Lyn flew in (they follow us around because we're THAT fun) and did a little filming for Bonnie and Andy's wedding video. It was cold. i stood on a cliff holding a big shiny disc in the wind. After all that we got to show Les Rostens Our City and they had the appropriate response: rapture. San Diego rocks. We miss it alot. It was strange though, to be there and not have a bucketful of people to see. They've all moved away to better housing markets. But Ashley and Josh took me out and Whit and TanTan joined us for tacos so it was still a very productive visit.
As soon as we got back it was time for the final Christmas push. Josh and i were up late every night painting masterpieces to give as gifts and we had a good time. We make a very good team, artistically, with his technical know-how, creative ability, artist's eye and my capacity for eating paint and getting it everywhere BUT the canvas. Cosmo helped too, by batting at the paintbrushes while we were using them and rolling around on the expensive paper. i'm glad he's smart enough to not try to drink the turpentine.
Then it was time for Josh's mom's birthday. We all gathered at Chili's, where we learned that little children should not eat candy canes, chips and salsa, pizza, fries and milkshakes in quick succession. Josh and i also realized that out of our group of married friends, we hit the jackpot in in-laws. (we'd known this before, but we got the thinking about it again)
The next day we had early Christmas with the Extended Bakerses in Loomis and got into some cutthroat Uno. We met Mrs. Roy, who is a male puppy, and watched the gloves come off when the gift exchange began. Battle French Press will not soon be forgotten. Everyone scored new socks and had a good time.
Christmas Eve was spent at Robyn and Gary's with gift exchanging and other deliciousness. i got a cool book on Steinbeck and California, Josh got a bunch of women's underwear that he'll have to return in order to get the Target credit, courtesy of Adam. That evening we vegged watched the Vatican's midnight mass with Brandon.
Christmas Day meant helping Laverne make dumplings, gorging ourselves with those tiny chocolate liquer bottles and duking it out in the annual Walth gift card exchange. Evidently no one in Josh's family likes bookstores or movies, so we left with the same gift cards we brought. Score! Then we drove to Redding and had gift time with my parents and siblings while Cosmo drank the tree water and ate houseplants. More fun presents including a fondu set and some new clothes.
THEN we looked at real estate until our eyeballs fell out and picked out a few good future residences. Now it's up to the loan folks to decide how many millions of dollars to give us.
We left Redding, spent one night back at home, waved to the roommates, and got in the car again to drive to Redlands and keep Winter and Jason awake when they got back from Costa Rica. No jet lag allowed! Future Supreme Court Superstare Aaron Friberg joined us and we had a superfun New Year's Eve with cards, shots, and cats. The next day Matt, Bren and Lizzie "Miss New York"Alexander arrived along with Laurie and we got a very brief but very worth-it reunion squeezed in before we had to get back on the road and come home.
Tons of driving, mucho quality time, oodles of hugs and yummies. A good holiday season. Pics to come when we unpack.
The next weekend we drove to San Diego with Travis, Amber and Atticus to help BonBon pack up her too-few boxes (in this clotheshorse's opinion) and hang out in America's Finest City for a bit. We deserve medals because we managed to sit in traffic in 3 out of the 4 CA cities that even have noteworthy traffic. Jesse and Lyn flew in (they follow us around because we're THAT fun) and did a little filming for Bonnie and Andy's wedding video. It was cold. i stood on a cliff holding a big shiny disc in the wind. After all that we got to show Les Rostens Our City and they had the appropriate response: rapture. San Diego rocks. We miss it alot. It was strange though, to be there and not have a bucketful of people to see. They've all moved away to better housing markets. But Ashley and Josh took me out and Whit and TanTan joined us for tacos so it was still a very productive visit.
As soon as we got back it was time for the final Christmas push. Josh and i were up late every night painting masterpieces to give as gifts and we had a good time. We make a very good team, artistically, with his technical know-how, creative ability, artist's eye and my capacity for eating paint and getting it everywhere BUT the canvas. Cosmo helped too, by batting at the paintbrushes while we were using them and rolling around on the expensive paper. i'm glad he's smart enough to not try to drink the turpentine.
Then it was time for Josh's mom's birthday. We all gathered at Chili's, where we learned that little children should not eat candy canes, chips and salsa, pizza, fries and milkshakes in quick succession. Josh and i also realized that out of our group of married friends, we hit the jackpot in in-laws. (we'd known this before, but we got the thinking about it again)
The next day we had early Christmas with the Extended Bakerses in Loomis and got into some cutthroat Uno. We met Mrs. Roy, who is a male puppy, and watched the gloves come off when the gift exchange began. Battle French Press will not soon be forgotten. Everyone scored new socks and had a good time.
Christmas Eve was spent at Robyn and Gary's with gift exchanging and other deliciousness. i got a cool book on Steinbeck and California, Josh got a bunch of women's underwear that he'll have to return in order to get the Target credit, courtesy of Adam. That evening we vegged watched the Vatican's midnight mass with Brandon.
Christmas Day meant helping Laverne make dumplings, gorging ourselves with those tiny chocolate liquer bottles and duking it out in the annual Walth gift card exchange. Evidently no one in Josh's family likes bookstores or movies, so we left with the same gift cards we brought. Score! Then we drove to Redding and had gift time with my parents and siblings while Cosmo drank the tree water and ate houseplants. More fun presents including a fondu set and some new clothes.
THEN we looked at real estate until our eyeballs fell out and picked out a few good future residences. Now it's up to the loan folks to decide how many millions of dollars to give us.
We left Redding, spent one night back at home, waved to the roommates, and got in the car again to drive to Redlands and keep Winter and Jason awake when they got back from Costa Rica. No jet lag allowed! Future Supreme Court Superstare Aaron Friberg joined us and we had a superfun New Year's Eve with cards, shots, and cats. The next day Matt, Bren and Lizzie "Miss New York"Alexander arrived along with Laurie and we got a very brief but very worth-it reunion squeezed in before we had to get back on the road and come home.
Tons of driving, mucho quality time, oodles of hugs and yummies. A good holiday season. Pics to come when we unpack.
Betting has closed.
The next baby out of our group of college cronies will be born to Rachel and Jason Jenkins!!! Little R2/J2 is due July 4th and will most certainly have gorgeous blue eyes and a predilection for bunnies. CONGRATS TO RACH AND JASON! A reunion in the northwest is definitely in order.
December 20, 2006
i believe the word you're looking for is 'it's-a-Christmas-miracle'
Having awkwardly hauled cupcakes to a potluck just last night, i am thunderstruck by this. 
Folks, meet the Cupcake Courier.
"The Cupcake Courier is a rectangular, translucent plastic container that holds three stackable cupcake trays. Each tray has 12 deep cups to hold each cupcake secure. It has a comfortable handle, and 4 bottom latches that hold the base securely.
The Cupcake Courier is able to transport and/or store up to thirty-six cupcakes or muffins all in one easy, great looking container!
The Cupcake Courier's 3 trays can be removed, and the unit can double as a cake courier."
Folks, meet the Cupcake Courier.
"The Cupcake Courier is a rectangular, translucent plastic container that holds three stackable cupcake trays. Each tray has 12 deep cups to hold each cupcake secure. It has a comfortable handle, and 4 bottom latches that hold the base securely.
The Cupcake Courier is able to transport and/or store up to thirty-six cupcakes or muffins all in one easy, great looking container!
The Cupcake Courier's 3 trays can be removed, and the unit can double as a cake courier."
December 13, 2006
Puttin' on the Ritz!
Emmy-winning actor Peter Boyle, who played the dancing monster in the movie "Young Frankenstein" and grouchy father Frank Barone in the TV series "Everybody Loves Raymond," has died, his publicist said on Wednesday.The 71-year-old former Christian Brothers monk died on Tuesday after a long battle with multiple myeloma and heart disease, his publicists said.
Boyle, who often played cantankerous characters, shot to fame as a foul-mouthed, working-class bigot in the 1970 film "Joe."
He also played one of Robert DeNiro's fellow taxi drivers in Martin Scorsese's "Taxi Driver" in 1976, the cruel, racist father to Billy Bob Thornton in 2001's "Monster's Ball," and took a comic turn as the Frankenstein monster in the 1974 Mel Brooks spoof "Young Frankenstein."
In recent years he played numerous roles on television, including the father to Ray Romano's character. He acted in 201 episodes of the situation comedy from 1996 to 2005 and received numerous Emmy nominations.
He won an Emmy for outstanding guest actor appearance on "The X-Files" in 1996.
Beatle John Lennon was the best man at Boyle's 1977 wedding to journalist Loraine Alterman, then a Rolling Stone reporter.
He is survived by his wife and two daughters, Amy and Lucy Boyle.
Despite playing some unsavory characters, he refused roles that glamorized violence, including the lead role of Popeye Doyle that went to Gene Hackman in 1971's "The French Connection," according to the IMDb entertainment Web site.
Boyle suffered a stroke in 1990 and recovered, then had a heart attack on the set of "Everybody Loves Raymond" in March 1999. He returned to the show soon after heart surgery.
(obit courtesy of Reuters/TVguide.com)
How 'bout we all watch Young Frankenstein tonight? Peace out, Peter. Thank you for making us laugh.
December 10, 2006
movie review
APOCALYPTOStarring: Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, and the last of the Mexican rainforests
(i'm still processing, so bear with me. )
i read that Mel Gibson's inspiration for this movie came in part out of his desire to do a really great chase scene: not with shiny cars or planes and trains, but an intense, edge-of-your-seat, primal chase. Essentially that's what the second half of this movie is.
Plot overview: Jaguar Paw's Mayan village is ravaged and everyone is taken as captives to be used as human sacrifices for another Mayan group. Jaguar Paw is able to hide his very pregnant wife, Seven, and their little boy, Turtles Run, in a chasm before he's captured. The rest of the film is him trying to escape his captors, avoid getting his heart carved out of his chest, and get back to his family.
The story is simple, but of course tells the larger tale of the decimation of the entire Mayan civilization. It also has much to say about living in a culture of fear and violence.
Speaking of violence..........it was graphic. Well, it was a Mel Gibson film. Think of how many times you peeped through your fingers during Braveheart while someone's skull was getting smashed, or in The Passion of the Christ when the soldiers were whipping Jesus. It's kinda like that. i only covered my eyes three times, but maybe i'm desensitized. For those who want to see the movie, but are a bit squeamish, i'll give you three warnings: Beware the valley after the corn. Beware the jaguar. Beware the waterfall.
Now to the main reason i wanted to see this movie: CULTURE. i feel incredibly lame saying this, because i know zilch about the Mayans, but it was so REAL. The 'set' (if you can reduce the rainforest to being a 'set'), the costuming, the scope of it was unfathomable. i couldn't help thinking of old westerns when they'd through a few feathers in a brunette's hair, put some brown slippers and a fringed skirt on her and call her Indian. In Apocalypto, you couldn't tell if the crazy tattooing or bone piercings were costume or not. i love wondering how many of the actors and extras were in their own skin, so to speak.
This movie exists in the strange dichotomy of being a gorgeous representation of stark, mind-boggling destruction. Everything and everyone is utterly believable. Maybe that's because i don't know any better, but i don't care.
Rudy Youngblood is amazing as Jaguar Paw. Whole stretches of story pass without dialogue (oh yeah, it's in MAYAN. You know how Mel loves those dead languages!) and he has to play punch drunk, deadly-calm, pure adrenaline, and primal fear kind of all at once for 3 hours. Dalia Hernandez (Seven) also deftly juggles mortal fear and bad-ass determination. Turtles Run: cutest little boy EVER, but i digress. Look up any of the actors in this film and you'll see only this film on their resume'. They're communicating the unreachable nightmare of a mysterious civilization in a dead language. Impressive.
If you don't let the violence get in the way of appreciating the undertaking, you'll enjoy this movie. i did, and it seemed like the rest of the packed theater for a late Sunday showing did. 5 out of 5 helpful poison frogs.
December 03, 2006
general update
Umm, where to start... Our Thanksgiving was busy: Hang out with Winter and Jason on Tuesday and Wednesday, drive to Redding, have a gourmet cheese-laden Thanksgiving followed rapidly by Bonnie's birthday and some impressive gingerbreading (we won), drive back to meet up with J and Winter again and go straight to Stockton to see the Thunder take on the Alaska Aces (overtime, then a shootout! we got out-aced though), Saturday was the requisite wine tasting and lunch at Lodi brewery followed by some desperate Wii-playing once John got home from SD with the Nintendo, then Sunday was Thanksgiving with the Markles, including more Wii and good times. That Monday, Kallie T. and i learned how to use BART and went into the city to do a little shopping and get our hair did by Cousin Margaret and now we're catching our breath. Josh is going to Chicago tomorrow (without ME!) for what i'm sure is some serious Christmas shopping for yours truly under the guise of 'doing business' and i'm getting the house decorated and wrapping the last few gifts. (Yes, our Christmas shopping is FINISHED. Yay US!) We're going to the city again this weekend to see Korina and so Josh can go to a Photoshop conference, then next weekend down to San Diego to visit friends and get Bonnie out of her dorm...after that....Christmas! Whoa. i'm gonna have to turn on my holiday tunes before it's all over. i guess that's it for now...
Can't talk, Eukanuba's on.
The AKC Eukanuba National Championship is on, and it makes me wonder if my life went in the wrong direction... but i guess it's not too late to have that puppy farm.
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