Next up, Frost/Nixon!

I've seen a lot of Oliver Stone films and I'm not sure I can agree with the sentiment on the movie slip cover of W. which reads "the best film ever." I'm not sure this is the best Oliver Stone film, let alone ever. I liked it. I was intrigued. Ebert points out that Stone's other films (JFK, Nixon) contain revisionist history and in this one Stone chooses to stay within the known and accepted in crafting this film. Considering the proximity to Bush's actual time in the White House, I think that was wise.

I felt more tolerance for Josh Brolin as George W. Bush than I did for the real man. Something about our former president scares the bejeezus out of me and I'm still just a bit stunned as to how he could be elected once and then re-elected four years later. Watching the character of Condoleeza Rice nearly pushed me over the edge, but Richard Dreyfuss as Dick Cheney worked for me. There were moments when I expected someone to pop out and shout "Live from Saturday Night" because it felt spoofish -- perhaps too recent in history and the news media for me or something.

I found the character of Laura Bush to be intriguing. I wanted to know HER thoughts and motivations and what was really going on in that head of hers. The film portrayed her in a different light than I'd seen her and yet, I'll admit, I've not paid all that much attention to the real woman when there was so much going on with her husband. I real life she'd always seemed sort of empty and puppet like and in the film she seemed like a person with thoughts and everything...

Ellen Burstyn's portrayal of Barbara Bush was a surprise and I guess I really don't know much about her either. I felt Stone chose to paint George H.W. Bush in a sympathetic light and he seemed to emphasize what the Bush family might have felt at watching their son turn the family name into the next four letter word.

If you are a fan of George W. Bush, you probably won't enjoy this movie. Though I have to admit, I'm not a fan and I didn't enjoy the film much either. Some might enjoy seeing someone's weakness, but for me it was a reminder of eight bitter years and how this affected and affects us all.

Not Quite What I Was Planning

I'd first heard this book mentioned on someone's blog. I found a copy at the library awhile back and have finally had some time to explore the book. Can you describe your life in six words? That's what the editors of storytelling magazine SMITH asked readers in 2006. The book is a collection of those 6 word bios (some by famous people, some not). Here are some favorites (and the page numbers I found them on):

"Soul'd out so I could prophet." --Gotham Chopra (Deepak's son p 15)

"Watching quietly from every door frame." --Nicole Resseguie (1)

"Nobody cared, then they did. Why?" -- Chuck Klosterman (2)

"I asked. They answered. I wrote." --Sebastian Junger (3)

"I still make coffee for two." --Zak Nelson (7)

"Wolf! She cried. No one listened." --May Lee (6)

"Wasted time regretted so life reinvented." --Vicky Oppus (9)

"Followed white rabbit. Became black sheep." --Gabrielle Maconi (13)

"Strange name. Transparent shame. Instant fame." --Bumble Ward (16)

"I am still trying in every regard." --Lionel Shriver (16)

"Likes everything too much to choose." --Rachel Lindenthal (18)

"Wanted world. Got world plus lupus." --Liz Futrell (22)

"Barrister, barista, what's the diff, Mom?" --Abigail Moorhouse (27)

"Anything's possible with an extension cord." --Billy SIRR (28)

"Found love. Married someone else." --Bjorn Stromberg (30)

"Fight. like. hell. for. the. living." --Susie Bright (33)

"Blogging is easy. Writing is hard." --Jennifer Shreve (35)

"Macular degeneration. Didn't see that coming." --Ian Gould (36)

"Tow truck drivers are my psychiatrists." --Joanne McNeil (36)

"Lived in the moment until moment sucked." Janine Goss (39)

"Afraid of everything. Did it anyway." --Ayse Erginer (42)

"Montana Jew--drives Toyota; holsters pen." --Michael Finkel (44)

"Discovered moral code via Judy Blume." --Beth Greivel (59)

"My first concert: Zappa. Explains everything. --Janet Tashjian (71)

"Little bit Lucy, tempered by Ethel." --Tami Maus (107)

"Revenge is living well, without you." --Joyce Carol Oates (128)

"Lived like no tomorrow. Tomorrow came." --C.C. Keiser (139)

"The freaks, they always find me." --Ginger Lime (158)

"Palindromic novels fall apart halfway through." --Chuck Clark (164)

"Just a rockin' readin' knittin' kitten." --Emmeline Friedman (212)

What Do We Do When the Current Model is Broken?

Just saw this video in our teacher inservice. We're learning about 21st Century Skills. Interesting stuff.

Celebrate Your Inner-Thief.

Wordless Wednesday -- Word Bird Edition

image found on this blog

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

This movie made me tired just watching it. The majority of the film takes place in one sleepless night in New York City, looking for Norah's drunk friend who has gone missing and ultimately looking for a mysterious band called "Where's Fluffy." It's a teen movie and for some reason I was expecting more. In the first 15 minutes I was convinced I was going to have to buy the film, but by the end it was more or less just another teen love flick that didn't do much for me. Michael Cera, as Nick, is pretty great. So is Kat Dennings. They did a nice job. It was perfectly rentable. It just didn't blow my mind.

Cupcake O' My Heart

the last cupcake

A little over a week ago I special ordered a dozen cupcakes from Dakota Harvest Bakery in an effort to relive the magic of the dreamy cupcake I ate last November 14th at the RRVWP Writing Retreat. I would have settled for one, but week after week I came up empty handed at the bakery and finally decided to special order them since they must only make this variety for catering. It's a simple cupcake with tinted cream cheese frosting. But the frosting is unlike any I've had before.

I will say that this time round, the cupcake portion was a wee bit dry... like corn bread muffin dry. Of course, that was especially true by the time I ate the final cupcake... but they started that way when I got them on Monday. The cheesecake frosting was divine, however.

I am certain I don't need to do this again or if I do I may try to find a way to split the order with a friend or two so I can avoid the daily cupcake temptation. There is no need for cupcakes with breakfast.

The irony? I hate cake. I'm not a fan of any cake, really. And certainly not of cupcakes, or muffins for that matter. I don't like frosting, which is a big part of it, I'm sure. Yet, in a moment of impulse last November, my life was changed forever. You think I'm being dramatic? You haven't tasted the cupcake.

On Saturday, I tried to come up with my own version of the magic cupcake. I found a recipe online. It claimed to be "the last cream cheese frosting recipe you'll ever need." I used a cake mix for the cupcakes, which turned out far moister and more delicious than the expensive ones. The frosting recipe, however, failed me. It looked pretty. (I tinted it green... ye olde shamrock day is approaching.) I tasted like any other kind of frosting with merely a hint of cream cheese. It felt overly sweet. I wish I could find out the ingredients for the recipe from the Bakery... at least then I'd be in the ballpark when trying to reconstruct it.

The quest is not over. That recipe is my holy grail.

The Reader

Based on the award-winning novel, The Reader (Der Vorleser), by Bernhard Schlink, this film is all about pivotal decisions and secrets and shame. I had the idea it was a holocaust film and I have to say I was relieved to see that it only figured into the film in a small way. Of course, it looms large in the plot, but the story really isn't ABOUT that.

Ralph Fiennes plays Michael Berg all grown up in 1995-- a lawyer with a grown daughter. His actions reveal him to be a cold, distant, meticulous man as he bids farewell to the beautiful woman who shared his bed the night before and she remarks on how little she knows of him.

He is taken back into a memory as he stares out the window and suddenly he is 15 and it's 1958. Sick with the beginning stages of scarlet fever, young Michael (David Cross) vomits on his way home and it's Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet) who cares for him and sees him home. Months later, when he's finally better Michael stops by with flowers to thank her. While it's probably innocent to this point, something happens on that visit that suggests they both want more and the next day, when he returns without reason, a torrid affair ensues--one that would last for only a summer but would impact the rest of their lives.

If nudity in films or affairs between 34 year old women and 15 year old boys makes you uncomfortable then this film may not be for you. There is a LOT of nudity and sex.

On the other hand, it's a real tribute to books. On each visit, Michael also reads to Hanna. This starts after their third meeting when they finally ask each other's names. It begins with Homer's Odyssey and I guess that's probably symbolic because it essentially begins Michael's journey into manhood. I have to say that while Hanna clearly seemed to be enjoying the sex, she seemed nearly as orgasmic listening to the stories--like she is a starving woman and this is her bread. As a person who is passionately in love with story in its manied forms, I have to admit there is something beautiful about that.

The pivotal moment in the film happens in 1966 when Michael is in law school and he encounters Hanna Schmitz again as a defendant in a landmark case against female guards who were part of the selection for Auschwitz. While her guilt is indisputable, Michael is privvy to information that might provide a lighter sentence and that is his great decision in the film.

There is a great moment in that scene when Hanna is questioned about her role in the selection and she explains the process. She's not hiding or denying the things she did. She explains it was her job. It's a bit horrifying to hear her calm, matter-of-fact rationales. When further pressed, she askes her inquisitor, "What would you have done?" And in some ways that is the question of the film. At every moment when we are heavy with judgement over someone else's failures... "what would you have done?" We'd like to think we'd have done things differently. We want to believe that about ourselves. But really what do MOST people do?

I remain undecided as to how I "feel" about this film. I feel as though I need to read the book or let it digest a bit more. I didn't love it. I didn't hate it. Yet, it impacted me. I am never a fan of aging make-up, but I was so focused on the story that I didn't have time to mentally critique that aspect. I love Kate Winslet, but the story could work without her. It did, I guess. It was a successful novel first. I believe Winslet was the perfect woman for this role. She's deep and dark and sexy and sad. It works.

I was rushing to see as many Academy Award nominated films as I could before tonight's ceremony. I did alright; though, the true goal is to see the best picture films and most of them haven't made it to the screens in my town. I still haven't done my "picks" yet.

Here's a ballot you can print.

What Would Be in Your Bag?

This is so me.

This is a page out of a web comic, Tiny Kitten Teeth, created by a new favorite artist, Becky of Becky and Frank. According to their site, Tiny Kitten Teeth updates every weekday morning. The comic follows the slice-of-life adventures of Mewsli, a fish out of water in Owltown, a compact metropolis built around a particularly affluent arts college.

Becky, aka Pocketowl on Deviant Art, has the most fantastic style. It's very old-school vintage and yet entirely hip and modern. I love, love, love it.

Oscars de la Rentals

The Changeling (2008) was more disturbing than I realized. I don't know what I was thinking. A woman's son disappears, three months pass, and the LAPD produce "her son" who she swears is an imposter. And so the story goes. It's based on the true story of what happened to Christine Collins beginning in 1928. Angelina Jolie plays Collins with beauty and style-- capable phone operator girl on skates at work, and single mom at home. Christine Collins appears dutiful, skilled, at all sorts of good things and when faced with a false son she's horror struck but her fragility seems to get in the way.

I was struck by how there was a scene in the film when Collins is in a mental institution and I thought, my goodness, did they take this footage right out of Girl Interrupted. Jolie plays crazy well, even if crazy isn't so crazy.

It's hard to watch a film like this and not measure thing to the rights and reactions of people today. I had to keep reminding myself it was 1928 and she was a woman and what did that mean to most everyone. The film is about police corruption as much as it is about her private battle, but there are times when it all converges and it's bloody and horrifying. I was certain I'd be unable to sleep. This film is not for the faint of heart.



Frozen River (2008) explores desperate times for desperate people. Set in upstate New York near the Canadian border, the film opens with Ray (Melissa Leo) bargaining with the delivery man regarding their new double wide trailer. She assures him she'll have all the money when he brings the other half. He shakes his head and drives away leaving nothing. Her two kids are wandering dejectedly around the sad, barren, wintry property, listening, waiting. It turns out their gambling-addicted dad took off in the night taking the deposit with him--one week before Christmas. Her oldest son wants her to go after him. Find him. But Ray has to go to work at the Dollar Mart where she's worked for two years without promotion.

When she spots her husband's car at Bingo on the reservation everything changes. Convinced he's hiding out somewhere she follows the Native American girl who is driving the vehicle and it leads to a lonely trailer in the middle of the woods. Lila (Misty Upham) claims the car was abandoned with the keys in it and that she could sell it for money. Soon Ray, desperate for a double-wide down payment, is driving into Canada with Lila Littlewolf and participating in smuggling people into the US for cash.

Though it's clearly not the best idea, Lila stresses that the law can't touch them on reservation land as they drive across the frozen river. The biggest danger is the river that took her husband when she was too pregnant to go with him. Now her son is a one year old living with her mother-in-law who took him from the hospital and won't let Lila near him. Both of these women have something to fight for and this is the only way they know how.

The film was pretty bleak, depressing, felt sort of fatalistic from the get-go. Things don't go well. But they could be worse. And in the end I felt there was a glimmer of hope on the horizon.

My Kind of Superhero.

I am now in love with Blanca Gomez.
Great style, Great stuff.
Here's her website. Here's her blog.

Two Movie Rentals

Ghost Town (2008) is about a rude, antisocial dentist Bertram Pincus D.D.S (Ricky Geravais) whose life changes when he suddenly develops the ability to see ghosts all over Manhattan... dead people with unfinished business who need his help. Greg Kinnear plays a cheating husband who is suddenly struck dead, but in his remorseful ghost state wants to help his wife avoid a remarriage he is convinced is wrong. What follows is comic, touching and worth the rent. For a person who HATES films with ghosts in them, I was pleasantly surprised.

The Visitor (2008) is about a depressed economics professor from Connecticut who is coerced into going to the city to present a paper at a conference. He arrives at an apartment he and his late wife shared in NYC and is surprised to discover two illegal immigrants living there. He lets them stay for a few days until they find a place and in the process he gains new friends who begin to help him find purpose in a life he's lived by rote for far too long.

The films have little in common. The Visitor is far more bleak, but touching too. I'm not sure I'd watch it if you are having a "blue day." Ghost Town had a bit more of a comic element. I enjoyed them both. Next up... The Changeling and Frozen River.

Wordless Wednesday -- The Smiley Edition

photo taken by Stacey Rygh

Two Movie Saturdays.

For a few weeks now I've been managing to do a double feature of films on my Saturday nights. This works pretty well to satisfy my Oscar and Golden Globe nominated film craving. About a week ago I saw two films back to back that left me a little weak in the knees.

Slumdog Millionaire has all the best picture Oscar buzz after taking home the win at the Golden Globes. I expected to like it based on the little I knew and I was not disappointed. The story is mostly told in flashback fashion as Jamal, a poor young man raised on the streets of Mumbai, is interrogated following his shocking success at the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire." Convinced he was cheating because "how could a slumdog know the answers" he's forced to recall the moments in his past that taught him the answers to the questions. Some memories painful, some answers gained at a terrible price. It's a story of resilience. A story of friendship, love, crime, poverty, brotherhood, and betrayal all tinged with heartbreak and humor. I loved this film. See it.




Rumor has it Gran Torino is Clint Eastwood's last film and I believe the Academy completely missed the mark this year. How this could be missed in the nominees for Academy Awards is beyond me. Maybe I just need to see more of the films to understand why this one was passed by, but for now I think someone made a grave mistake.

When the film begins Walt Kowalski (Eastwood), a racist Korean War veteran, is at his beloved wife's funeral. Immediately, we are disgusted with his ungrateful, rude, grandchildren who seem to have little regard for the somberness of the moment and even less consideration for their living grandparent. Evidence? When he stumbles upon his teenage granddaughter smoking in the garage at the post-funeral reception back at the house, she asks him if she can have his car, you know, when HE dies. Of course, the relationship disconnect can be shifted back on him as we see how he's managed to alienate his own sons too. Kowalski is a difficult man to be around.

A friend saw the film and felt the shift from big ol' meanie to decent guy happens a bit too quickly but I believe that losing a spouse, discovering your family doesn't really give a damn and can't really be bothered, and then facing one's own mortality might make a person begin to assess his life. The Kowalskis may have been the last hold out in the old neighborhood which has quickly become a Hmong neighborhood. Considering Walt's background he's less than pleased with the neighbors. Yet, circumstances change and suddenly he's involved. He needs them and they need him. It's not as easy for me to sum this one up. But I loved it. I loved that your basic sonovabitch can have a heart. It reminded me of my dad? It reminded me of Charles Bukowski. It reminded me of every crude, racist, jerk in the world who still understands human decency and recognizes the worth of a person, beyond the color of their skin. Maybe the film is unrealistic. But I guess I'd like to believe that within every person there is something that good. Someone that selfless.

A Tree for All Seasons

Love birds, heart of glass, a key to my heart, red and sparkle and scrabble and all things joy-filled.
That's my tree-o-love.
I made the scrabble ornaments myself!

Sam Potts and Barack Obama

A few months back I discovered an inspiring 20 minute TED award acceptance speech video by Dave Eggers and I fell in love with his vision for pairing community volunteers and students who need tutoring. In San Francisco, they set up a tutoring center in conjunction with a "fake" store front... a Pirate Supply Company. The gimmick worked better than they ever expected and now their store actually makes a profit. Other tutoring centers have cropped up all around the US and one in Brooklyn is fronted by this Brooklyn Superhero Supply store. Sam Potts did the design work on the storefront and on the product lines within. It's fantastic, especially for a superhero fan like me.

Recently I ran across the name Sam Potts Inc in conjunction with an entirely different venture. On a website I visit regularly I read that Sam was giving away pamphlet copies of Barack Obama's speech from March 2008. I quickly emailed him and my pamphlet arrived in the mail on Thursday. I was thrilled. I am sure it seems silly to be so excited by something like this. Except that it's lovely and did I mention, free.

And as I emailed my mailing address to Mr. Potts I had a student working on a project that included Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" and we paused for a moment and speculated what bits of politics today might have lasting impact... that 50 years from now, or 100 years from now might be remembered or studied. Perhaps this will be one of those. Maybe not. Either way, I have a lovely copy of the speech and I will treasure it. Thank you, Sam.

Happy Vintage Valentine's Day!

I love the punny language of these old cards.
here are dozens more that I love,
but I didn't want to overdo it.

Links of Love.

I love the idea of this ring.
It is designed to leave a message behind when the ring is removed.
For sale here.

These are pretty adorable and so simple!

I love this idea. I don't have lollipop molds,
but I'm thinking I should get some!
Click here for directions.

I did do a little crafty fun earlier.
I've discovered all kinds of super downloads.
One for some cutey-patootie valentines you can print and use.
One for a papercut valentine.

One for a sticky note cozy.

I Find this Pretty Amusing.

Maybe someone should move those signs to Butte, MT.

E-Valentines.

This is an example of one of the many e-Valentines you can send from the Kate Spade site. Check it out.

An idea. A poem. A challenge.

SERVICE
by Dallas Clayton

You should leave your house today
with an empty garbage bag
and some walking shoes
and start off toward no where at all.

On the way you should pick up every piece of trash you find
that hasn’t already been claimed
by a smaller animal
and stuff it into your bag.

You should see how far you make it
before your bag is full,
and once it is
you should turn around and walk back.

On the way back
you should think about your neighbors
and how they aren’t bad people
and don’t consider themselves filthy
But how they managed to waste so much
and leave it all out here
for you to carry home.

When you get home
you should put the bag on your kitchen counter
and draw a face on it with a magic marker
and give it a name
and take a picture of it
and make it some tea.

While you drink the tea
you should talk to it,
and tell it a secret that you’ve never told anyone before.
After you’re done you should stuff it into a trash can
and gently close the lid
and put it out on the curb for collection.

After that, you should go lay down
and close your eyes
and think about yourself
and how you aren’t a bad person
and don’t consider yourself filthy
and how nice it is to go for a walk
and clear your head
on a beautiful day like today.



Dallas Clayton is a children's book author, illustrator, artist, and generally clever man. He just released a new children's book called The Awesome Book.

Wordless Wednesday--The "Auntie" Edition.

I Wish I Could Send You Some of This Water.

We are drenched in water right now... rains and melting snows and I'm praying it all dries up before it turns to ice again. Yeah, right. I'm sure we won't be that lucky.

Right now there are thousands of people in Australia without homes, entire towns were torched in the freakiest display of bush fires the country has known. At least 130 people died in these fires, but for some reason this sad little koala is the one who moved me to post on this. I feel an ache in my heart for those in Australia who are so in need.

A koala sips water from a bottle offered by a firefighter.

"David Tree noticed the koala moving gingerly on scorched paws as his fire patrol passed. Clearly in pain, the animal stopped when it saw Tree.

"It was amazing, he turned around, sat on his bum and sort of looked at me with (a look) like, put me out of my misery," Tree told The Associated Press on Tuesday. "I yelled out for a bottle of water. I unscrewed the bottle, tipped it up on his lips and he just took it naturally.

"He kept reaching for the bottle, almost like a baby."

The team called animal welfare officers to pick up the koala Sunday, the day after deadly firestorms swept southern Victoria state." Read the entire article here.

The following images are from an email sent by my pal Julia before the fires, when the biggest problem everyone was facing was the insane heat wave in Southern Australia.