Long Saturday
It's a slightly dreary Saturday after the Good Friday with much to do: bake cookies, make the cat's food, take the dog for a walk, chop the heads off dandelions, do some creative/commercial writing for job submissions, and a couple of spec sound-scapes that have been germinating in my head for a project down the road--I can think about 'em all the time I want, but once I get the raw materials gathered, there's nothing like the basic construction to gel the concepts. Anyway, there's plenty of stuff to do.
So, I'm blogging.
(K's out at the gym--she has her Big Island Walk next week-end and is in her final power-down in training) The Fulghum recording yesterday was a pleasant end to a pleasant week of fact-gathering: I had two lunches with two of my favorite--and long-lived--people in the community: Birney and Vincenzo. Birney I've known since he was the Promotion Director for a funky rerun-based television station here in town (that has since gone corporate), then he worked for Boeing, then for Microsoft (where we hooked up again), and then went into Technical Writing, which is what I was quizzing him about on Wednesday over a fine latino meal at Mama's. Vincenzo worked with me at the studio and started his own "salon" studio in town that has been thriving in an industry that has seen more changes and gone through more fads than only one--the computer industry, which in no small way affected the former. That's the general gist of things I got--things have changed. Not only can you do more out of your house--more is being done out-of-house. Makes one wonder if the BIG RECORDING STUDIO is just a wired dodo-going the way of the printing shop as the next casualty of technology. You wouldn't think so from the advertising I've been researching in the recording magazines. But then, that's advertising.
What I got from the talks is there's a big future out there, and that the recording technology is going to take another Armstrongian "giant leap" in ease of use in the very near future. A touch easier, I should say. I'd start investing in screen-cleaners.
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And while the world's technology marches forward, the cabin's takes a couple back into the rustic era. We were eagerly watching our latest Red Envelope from Netflix (watch, this all relates) on Tuesday when the screen started flickering. Then, the lights. Then, Bur-Zzztt! the television, DVD player and stereo shut down, as well as all the lights in the living room (or the Big Couch Room as we call it--we fell asleep there last night watching flicks, woke up at dawn and stumbled to bed to un-kink our necks and hips). I looked outside. The folks next door had outdoor lights on, but they were the only house on the block that wasn't completely dark at 9:00pm. Hmm. Power-failure? I called PSE, found that we were the first to report any problems and were assured that the problem would be attended to. We made it an early night with an extended Intermission.
Mr. PSE came out the next morning, and informed us it wasn't a power-failure--just us. The neighbor's madrona had rubbed one of our lines a bit raw this winter and that was causing some problems. He did what he could do outside, made the wires all new and shiney, but we're still having flickering lights, and I've noticed (Mr. Sharp-Ears) that it coincides with a flutter in the circuit box. Oh no. We called the electrician today. We'll see what develops. In the meantime, we've re-routed the things we want to work around the outlets that don't. Life goes on.
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Speaking of problems with wiring, there's one member of the house-hold I rarely mention--the cat. The Ancient Cat (23 years now)--Mrs. Fu (and the story of that name for another time). The Ancient, Ornery Cat. I was puttering around the kitchen, making room for another round of dish-washing, when Foozie attempted a lateral over my feet, and stumbled. She fell right over. Lost her balance, as my feet did not move. I
picked her up, she was fine. But I've been noticing a "hitch in her git-along"--a slight dragging of her back feet. Some months back when jumping on the bed was becoming a problem, I got her a little light-weight "kitty staircase" so she could come up at night. Sometimes, she'd been be moving forward with just her hips. Neurological problems, I think. What a drag it is getting on. She's still very healthy. Very healthy. She eats three times a day, and demands more. Never a problem with her pipes. Any of them, as she's quite vocal. She seems content--a warm spot to sleep (even if it is next to the dog) and she's happy. She has a good life, and I'm sure she's lasted this long because she intends to outlast the dog (the little interloper).
And the dog (who is at least five times her weight) is scared of her, which is how she likes it.
You can grow old gracelessly and still have it be a good life, I think.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
At both of my lunches, NetFlix came up--"Boy, that's just the greatest thing" And it is. Since we don't have cable on the Island, K has re-established our NetFlix account, and we eagerly anticipate each next arrival. It's allowed me to see a few things I'd missed, and experiment a bit to be pleasantly surprised. K set it up for her tastes and what she considers mine: she gets foreign films, and I get things she thinks I'll like. Things like "The Day After Tomorrow." Surprising to me, but I didn't see it, so, hey, why not. But here are some things we've seen lately with very, very brief comments.
The Day After Tomorrow: Never intended to see this, but it was interesting to see that Hollywood can be just as over-the-top about global warming as it can be about asteroids and volcanoes. Dennis Quaid plays a climatologist whose alarm-level is always at a pinched 85% (Quaid, a conservative, carries a slight air of disbelief in the performance), and it does contain a "peril" sequence that just made me hoot Jake Gyllenhaal and buddies trying to out-run a deadly ice-freeze taking over the New York Public Library. My favorite part was the discussions of what books they were going to burn to stay warm.
So, I'm blogging.
(K's out at the gym--she has her Big Island Walk next week-end and is in her final power-down in training) The Fulghum recording yesterday was a pleasant end to a pleasant week of fact-gathering: I had two lunches with two of my favorite--and long-lived--people in the community: Birney and Vincenzo. Birney I've known since he was the Promotion Director for a funky rerun-based television station here in town (that has since gone corporate), then he worked for Boeing, then for Microsoft (where we hooked up again), and then went into Technical Writing, which is what I was quizzing him about on Wednesday over a fine latino meal at Mama's. Vincenzo worked with me at the studio and started his own "salon" studio in town that has been thriving in an industry that has seen more changes and gone through more fads than only one--the computer industry, which in no small way affected the former. That's the general gist of things I got--things have changed. Not only can you do more out of your house--more is being done out-of-house. Makes one wonder if the BIG RECORDING STUDIO is just a wired dodo-going the way of the printing shop as the next casualty of technology. You wouldn't think so from the advertising I've been researching in the recording magazines. But then, that's advertising.
What I got from the talks is there's a big future out there, and that the recording technology is going to take another Armstrongian "giant leap" in ease of use in the very near future. A touch easier, I should say. I'd start investing in screen-cleaners.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
And while the world's technology marches forward, the cabin's takes a couple back into the rustic era. We were eagerly watching our latest Red Envelope from Netflix (watch, this all relates) on Tuesday when the screen started flickering. Then, the lights. Then, Bur-Zzztt! the television, DVD player and stereo shut down, as well as all the lights in the living room (or the Big Couch Room as we call it--we fell asleep there last night watching flicks, woke up at dawn and stumbled to bed to un-kink our necks and hips). I looked outside. The folks next door had outdoor lights on, but they were the only house on the block that wasn't completely dark at 9:00pm. Hmm. Power-failure? I called PSE, found that we were the first to report any problems and were assured that the problem would be attended to. We made it an early night with an extended Intermission.
Mr. PSE came out the next morning, and informed us it wasn't a power-failure--just us. The neighbor's madrona had rubbed one of our lines a bit raw this winter and that was causing some problems. He did what he could do outside, made the wires all new and shiney, but we're still having flickering lights, and I've noticed (Mr. Sharp-Ears) that it coincides with a flutter in the circuit box. Oh no. We called the electrician today. We'll see what develops. In the meantime, we've re-routed the things we want to work around the outlets that don't. Life goes on.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Speaking of problems with wiring, there's one member of the house-hold I rarely mention--the cat. The Ancient Cat (23 years now)--Mrs. Fu (and the story of that name for another time). The Ancient, Ornery Cat. I was puttering around the kitchen, making room for another round of dish-washing, when Foozie attempted a lateral over my feet, and stumbled. She fell right over. Lost her balance, as my feet did not move. I
picked her up, she was fine. But I've been noticing a "hitch in her git-along"--a slight dragging of her back feet. Some months back when jumping on the bed was becoming a problem, I got her a little light-weight "kitty staircase" so she could come up at night. Sometimes, she'd been be moving forward with just her hips. Neurological problems, I think. What a drag it is getting on. She's still very healthy. Very healthy. She eats three times a day, and demands more. Never a problem with her pipes. Any of them, as she's quite vocal. She seems content--a warm spot to sleep (even if it is next to the dog) and she's happy. She has a good life, and I'm sure she's lasted this long because she intends to outlast the dog (the little interloper). And the dog (who is at least five times her weight) is scared of her, which is how she likes it.
You can grow old gracelessly and still have it be a good life, I think.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
At both of my lunches, NetFlix came up--"Boy, that's just the greatest thing" And it is. Since we don't have cable on the Island, K has re-established our NetFlix account, and we eagerly anticipate each next arrival. It's allowed me to see a few things I'd missed, and experiment a bit to be pleasantly surprised. K set it up for her tastes and what she considers mine: she gets foreign films, and I get things she thinks I'll like. Things like "The Day After Tomorrow." Surprising to me, but I didn't see it, so, hey, why not. But here are some things we've seen lately with very, very brief comments.
The Day After Tomorrow: Never intended to see this, but it was interesting to see that Hollywood can be just as over-the-top about global warming as it can be about asteroids and volcanoes. Dennis Quaid plays a climatologist whose alarm-level is always at a pinched 85% (Quaid, a conservative, carries a slight air of disbelief in the performance), and it does contain a "peril" sequence that just made me hoot Jake Gyllenhaal and buddies trying to out-run a deadly ice-freeze taking over the New York Public Library. My favorite part was the discussions of what books they were going to burn to stay warm.
Word Wars: "Spellbound" for Adults. "Wordplay" for Scrabble.
This documentary leaves you with the impression that where Crossword Puzzle and Spelling Bee tourneys are attended by the merely obsessed, Scrabble champions are the geeky dregs of society. There's not a person featured in this documentary that you wouldn't wish to taser if they got within ten feet of you. A documentary that just makes you shake your head. 
Monsoon Wedding: Mira Nair's multi-tiered middle affluent Indian wedding pic is delightful all the way around, but one is left with the nagging feeling afterwards--would a family patriarch really take the word of a niece over that of his white benefactor in the country of bride-burning? Really? Well, one is left with a hopeful picture, even if one has their doubts. Highly recommended.
Celebrity: A lot of prominent beautiful people have fun with the outlandish behavior of celebrity in Woody Allen's nebbishy black and white film. Kenneth Branagh plays Woody in this one and you just want to slap him. "Stop with the tic's, already!" It feels a lot like "Crimes and Misdemeanors" and "Hannah and her Sisters," so it's Woody writing "like Chekhov" as one of the characters says. He must have just got done reading "The Grasshopper" on this one. Still its nice to reconnect. The last film I saw was "Manhattan Murder Mystery." Been awhile. Nice to see that not much has changed.
The Lady in the Water: Didn't go see this, and didn't want to after the critics called it a stinkeroo. Too bad. This is M. Night Shyamalan 
abandoning the "Big Surprise at the End" scenario, and going into full "Narnia" myth mode. But "Narnia" for non-believers...and the marginalized. A great cast (Paul Giamatti...but also Jeffrey Wright...and Mary Beth Hurt...and Bill Irwin!), with Shyamalan veering between loopy comedy and "heart on his sleeve" earnestness, it's his loosest job of directing and feels like he's tapping a bit more deeply into his culture and myth-making. It has the feel of a Native American tale of redemption. It's not for everybody and he made mistakes casting himself in it, and making a less-than-likable character a critic (though I think a valid point is made there). But one can see folks going to see an "M. Night Shyamalan movie" and being surprised and disappointed when confronted with this. Personally, I think its a big advance. It's certainly not the failure that the Conventional Wisdom claims it is.
abandoning the "Big Surprise at the End" scenario, and going into full "Narnia" myth mode. But "Narnia" for non-believers...and the marginalized. A great cast (Paul Giamatti...but also Jeffrey Wright...and Mary Beth Hurt...and Bill Irwin!), with Shyamalan veering between loopy comedy and "heart on his sleeve" earnestness, it's his loosest job of directing and feels like he's tapping a bit more deeply into his culture and myth-making. It has the feel of a Native American tale of redemption. It's not for everybody and he made mistakes casting himself in it, and making a less-than-likable character a critic (though I think a valid point is made there). But one can see folks going to see an "M. Night Shyamalan movie" and being surprised and disappointed when confronted with this. Personally, I think its a big advance. It's certainly not the failure that the Conventional Wisdom claims it is.
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