So I know I promised Disney pictures in my last post, but it seems that the great Apple Computer has chewed up the hundreds of pictures we collectively took and has spit out 13. That's right, we have 13. Don't ask, because honestly I have no idea how this happened. Needless to say, that's the last time I ever let someone else use their computer as a repository for my pictures.
I think we still have some on the memory card in our camera. I'll take a look tonight and see if there's anything worth posting. Anything there would be from our last morning in the Animal Kingdom, so I'm not holding out a lot of hope.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
I'll Make You an Offer You Can Refuse
So, yeah... wasn't expecting this to be my next post, but we've officially made an offer on a lovely south Minneapolis house. If you're among the interested, let me know and I can send you the listing so you can see pictures and such. Nothing's a done deal obviously as there are still inspections, appraisals, and all to be done, but at the moment we're feeling pretty good.
I'll follow up with more as soon as we know more. Pictures from Disney to follow once I get them in the mail, too.
I'll follow up with more as soon as we know more. Pictures from Disney to follow once I get them in the mail, too.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
The Brothers Bloom
Meaghan and I went down to the Uptown last week to catch writer/director Rian Johnson's new con man film, The Brothers Bloom. If you're not familiar with Johnson, he's responsible for 2006's brilliant high school noir Brick. If you have seen Brick, leave your preconceptions at the door as this movie is nothing like it.
Brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo - Zodiac, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Bloom (Adrien Brody - The Pianist, The Darjeeling Limited) were foster children. Bouncing in and out of homes during their youth, Stephen quickly discovered that the only way to cope with his life was to write it for himself. He would concoct elaborate plans (complete with flow charts) and Bloom acted out whatever part the plan called for.
Over the years, with the help of the enigmatic Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi - Babel), the brothers become the best con men in the world. They have it all: money, women, fame. But Bloom doesn't have the one thing he wants more than anything in the world: an unwritten life. He's been playing roles in Stephen's schemes for so long that he doesn't know where the role ends and he really begins. At the top of their game, Bloom walks away to find out exactly who he is.
Two months later, Stephen tracks Bloom down for one last big con. If all goes well, they could walk away with millions, and Stephen will promise to finally leave him alone. Enter the fabulous Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Fountain) as the unwitting and completely eccentric million-dollar mark. The rest of the film, which I won't detail here, is the story of the final con of the Brothers Bloom.
Equal parts mad-cap comedy, action flick, and touching character piece, The Brothers Bloom walks the tightrope well somehow managing to balance all of its disparate moods. Quirky and stylish, at its heart you're still able to feel Bloom's pain and the love that the brothers have for each other. Even though the acting is superb throughout (the 3 principals are among my favorite actors working today which never hurts), the real star of the film is Johnson's sparkling script. Scene after scene leaps off the screen until the bullets from Chekhov's gun are finally fired in the final act.
In a world full of poorly written work, it's always a joy to find something so well done. I highly recommend you track this down in the theater, or at the very least add it to your queue.
Brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo - Zodiac, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and Bloom (Adrien Brody - The Pianist, The Darjeeling Limited) were foster children. Bouncing in and out of homes during their youth, Stephen quickly discovered that the only way to cope with his life was to write it for himself. He would concoct elaborate plans (complete with flow charts) and Bloom acted out whatever part the plan called for.
Over the years, with the help of the enigmatic Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi - Babel), the brothers become the best con men in the world. They have it all: money, women, fame. But Bloom doesn't have the one thing he wants more than anything in the world: an unwritten life. He's been playing roles in Stephen's schemes for so long that he doesn't know where the role ends and he really begins. At the top of their game, Bloom walks away to find out exactly who he is.
Two months later, Stephen tracks Bloom down for one last big con. If all goes well, they could walk away with millions, and Stephen will promise to finally leave him alone. Enter the fabulous Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener, The Fountain) as the unwitting and completely eccentric million-dollar mark. The rest of the film, which I won't detail here, is the story of the final con of the Brothers Bloom.
Equal parts mad-cap comedy, action flick, and touching character piece, The Brothers Bloom walks the tightrope well somehow managing to balance all of its disparate moods. Quirky and stylish, at its heart you're still able to feel Bloom's pain and the love that the brothers have for each other. Even though the acting is superb throughout (the 3 principals are among my favorite actors working today which never hurts), the real star of the film is Johnson's sparkling script. Scene after scene leaps off the screen until the bullets from Chekhov's gun are finally fired in the final act.
In a world full of poorly written work, it's always a joy to find something so well done. I highly recommend you track this down in the theater, or at the very least add it to your queue.
Ker-smash!
This is the sound I would have heard last Wednesday night had I awoken when both of our parked cars were hit by some idiot. Have no fear, though, they drove off without leaving a note. Instead, we got a sadly incomplete white paint job on our nice blue Neon, a broken side mirror, and something wrong with the left front wheel that makes it go clunk-clunk-clunk when I brake hard. I'm going to try to limp over to the shop later this week to get the official diagnosis.
[I'll punch this up with an awesome picture tomorrow, if I can figure our newish camera out.]
The Caliber survived mostly intact with a mere 7 in chunk taken out of the rear bumper. You know, the bumper that was just replaced in January after our run-in with a semi over Christmas. You can't say we're not doing our part to help the auto parts industry, whether we like it or not.
The police have it narrowed down to a rusty white sedan. The errant driver was decent enough to leave behind a broken headlight of his own, so I suppose they could probably figure out a make from it if they wanted to. Considering the fact that I saw five rusty white sedans on a recent walk to a local restaurant (none of them had our stolen blue paint -- I looked), I think it's only a matter of time before the police find our man.
[I'll punch this up with an awesome picture tomorrow, if I can figure our newish camera out.]
The Caliber survived mostly intact with a mere 7 in chunk taken out of the rear bumper. You know, the bumper that was just replaced in January after our run-in with a semi over Christmas. You can't say we're not doing our part to help the auto parts industry, whether we like it or not.
The police have it narrowed down to a rusty white sedan. The errant driver was decent enough to leave behind a broken headlight of his own, so I suppose they could probably figure out a make from it if they wanted to. Considering the fact that I saw five rusty white sedans on a recent walk to a local restaurant (none of them had our stolen blue paint -- I looked), I think it's only a matter of time before the police find our man.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
#95: Schindler's List
I'm going to keep this short and sweet because I'm way behind on 1997 movies here. If you're like I was and you've never seen Schindler's List before, stop what you're doing now and add it to your Netflix queue. There's a reason it's on everyone's "Top 10 Movies of All-Time" list.
The acting is superb throughout, but then what do you expect when you put Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley together in the same film? It manages to be emotionally affecting without dipping into Spielberg's usual bag of tricks to manipulate the viewer. Thankfully, he understands that you don't need to add any pathos to the Holocaust to make it a truly horrible thing. When he chooses to play things straight like this, he really can be a brilliant filmmaker.
The movie actually came out in 1994, so you might be wondering what it's doing as part of this project. When it made it's much ballyhooed TV premiere in 1997 it was as a "Director's Cut", so that's what I watched here. From reading on the Internets, there doesn't look to actually be anything different in the Director's Cut other than an extended closing credits sequence in which cast members and Schindler survivors place stones on Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, I'm glad I continue to make exceptions like this. If I didn't, I probably still wouldn't have seen this remarkable piece of work.
Coming up hopefully soon as I've already watched them:
#96: Marvin's Room
#97: Strays (written and directed by Vin Diesel? It's true)
#98: Enchanted Tales: Hercules
The acting is superb throughout, but then what do you expect when you put Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley together in the same film? It manages to be emotionally affecting without dipping into Spielberg's usual bag of tricks to manipulate the viewer. Thankfully, he understands that you don't need to add any pathos to the Holocaust to make it a truly horrible thing. When he chooses to play things straight like this, he really can be a brilliant filmmaker.
The movie actually came out in 1994, so you might be wondering what it's doing as part of this project. When it made it's much ballyhooed TV premiere in 1997 it was as a "Director's Cut", so that's what I watched here. From reading on the Internets, there doesn't look to actually be anything different in the Director's Cut other than an extended closing credits sequence in which cast members and Schindler survivors place stones on Schindler's grave in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, I'm glad I continue to make exceptions like this. If I didn't, I probably still wouldn't have seen this remarkable piece of work.
Coming up hopefully soon as I've already watched them:
#96: Marvin's Room
#97: Strays (written and directed by Vin Diesel? It's true)
#98: Enchanted Tales: Hercules
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
The Return of Chuck
My TV watching has been cut down pretty dramatically of late, but one of the shows that I continue to enjoy week in and week out is Chuck. This season ended on a Matrix-esque cliffhanger (spoilers), but because of NBC's budget-cutting and insistence on trotting Jay Leno out there at an earlier time slot no one knew if it would be coming back next year.
Until now. Woo hoo!
Until now. Woo hoo!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Deja Vu All Over Again
Meaghan and I have been talking recently about where to go on vacation this summer. We knew it had to be shorter and less expensive than last year's magnificent two week binge in Disney World. We are looking at buying a house in July or August after all. A camping trip somewhere, maybe? That would be pretty cheap and fun. We could go up north and hit Itasca. Hike to see the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi. Perhaps we'd wander to the west and see the sights of South Dakota: the Badlands, Mount Rushmore, Wall Drug. On Sunday, our choice became clear. Our trip this year would be to Walt Disney World in Florida.
Wha? Huh? But you...
This is apparently what you get when you don't return phone calls. Last Monday evening we got a message on our answering machine from Meaghan's mom. Her annual Summer trip to see her family back in NJ and PA had apparently fallen through and she was looking for somewhere else to go. Perhaps they would come visit us for a few days instead, she said. If only that were the case. Meaghan had late lacrosse practice all last week, meaning that she didn't get home until 8:30 or so every night. From Thursday evening on, my parents were in town for the weekend. There was no chance to call her back until Mother's Day.
In the five days that had passed, Meaghan's parents had decided that they weren't coming to visit, but were instead going to Disney in June and had already booked flights and a hotel. They also wanted to know if we wanted to come along. I guess they saw that we had such a good time with my parents there last year and wanted to recreate the magic. In the process, they seem to have missed the point that this was just last year. We like the Mouse and all, but we've never wanted to be the type of people who go to the same vacation spots year in and year out. So why are we going?
Meaghan's grandparents live in Florida, and we pretty much only get to see them at weddings. This trip includes spending a weekend with them. And although they seem indestructible, those of us who have been through it know how quickly people can disappear. We also don't see Meaghan's parents all that often, least of all when they're happy. And there's nothing like themed rides, shows, and games to bring out the happy in everyone. Consider it $1000 well spent on improving everyone's mental wellness... I hope.
It wasn't my first choice of vacations, or really in my top ten for this year, but it'll be fun. If it floats your boat at all, you can't go to Disney and not have fun. What more could you ask for?
Wha? Huh? But you...
This is apparently what you get when you don't return phone calls. Last Monday evening we got a message on our answering machine from Meaghan's mom. Her annual Summer trip to see her family back in NJ and PA had apparently fallen through and she was looking for somewhere else to go. Perhaps they would come visit us for a few days instead, she said. If only that were the case. Meaghan had late lacrosse practice all last week, meaning that she didn't get home until 8:30 or so every night. From Thursday evening on, my parents were in town for the weekend. There was no chance to call her back until Mother's Day.
In the five days that had passed, Meaghan's parents had decided that they weren't coming to visit, but were instead going to Disney in June and had already booked flights and a hotel. They also wanted to know if we wanted to come along. I guess they saw that we had such a good time with my parents there last year and wanted to recreate the magic. In the process, they seem to have missed the point that this was just last year. We like the Mouse and all, but we've never wanted to be the type of people who go to the same vacation spots year in and year out. So why are we going?
Meaghan's grandparents live in Florida, and we pretty much only get to see them at weddings. This trip includes spending a weekend with them. And although they seem indestructible, those of us who have been through it know how quickly people can disappear. We also don't see Meaghan's parents all that often, least of all when they're happy. And there's nothing like themed rides, shows, and games to bring out the happy in everyone. Consider it $1000 well spent on improving everyone's mental wellness... I hope.
It wasn't my first choice of vacations, or really in my top ten for this year, but it'll be fun. If it floats your boat at all, you can't go to Disney and not have fun. What more could you ask for?
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