My Thoughtful Spot

movie mood

This is so cool! I wish I could figure out a way to make it fit into one of my sidebars, but it's too wide for it. At least I can post it here! For today's mood, go to "on edge," number 8. Oy. (p.s. If someone knows how to put in the sidebar, please let me know.

white christmas

One of the really great things about living in Southern California is that we are right next to Hollywood and the film industry. While that may provide for some of the more ridiculous portions of our daily lives, it also means that there is a sub-culture of people who love and respect old Hollywood. One of the most obvious ways to appreciate an older movie is to see it as it was intended... on the big screen. But there are few places in America where this is possible on a regular basis. Not so here. And I'm truly thankful for that.

Last night, I had the distinct pleasure of seeing White Christmas on the big screen to a sold out audience who laughed at Danny Kaye's jokes and the corny lines. And we appreciated it. Before the movie started, we were given bits of trivia. Like the car that pulls up to take them to the train station in Florida has California license plates. That the train trip features the Atchison, Topeka, and the Santa Fe as well as the Southern Pacific train lines. But neither company ever went through Connecticut, which is necessary on a train trip from Florida to Vermont. That when Bing goes to the Ed Harrison show, that was actually filmed in a television studio, but they didn't want to show the television station on the cameras that were rolling so the guy working the camera covers the logo with his hand.

I had seen White Christmas one other time with Daniel in Danvers, MA. If you've ever been to Danvers, you might anticipate that it isn't the kind of audience who would appreciate such a film. That time, there were very few people in the audience, no laughing whatsoever unless it was a snicker, and no cool trivia. Certainly no clapping when the movie was over.

I arrived to the theater very early; I had no idea how long it would take me to get there in our infamous traffic and I wanted a decent seat. As people filled the theater, I saw people of all ages and walks of life coming in. Families, young people not dragged there by their parents, older couples who may have seen it when it was first released in 1954.

Just before they started rolling the film, they announced that the film itself was an original from 1954 and in Technicolor. A rarity, apparently. The gentleman sitting next to me was obviously a buff in this area and he mentioned that not even Paramount has an original Techincolor copy of the movie, so this must have come from a private collection. Awesome.

I never realized how blue Bing's eyes were.

holiday tea

For this month's book club meeting, we decided to go to the holiday tea at Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills. One person had to bow out and another had to go to a funeral, so our group of six was down to four. Which is fine, and we would have normally discussed the book. But when we all sat down to our tea, one of the girls admitted she didn't have a chance to finish the selection of the month, The Magnificent Ambersons by Booth Tarkington. So that means that only half of the group would be able to discuss it! (I hope I didn't set a bad example by not finishing Portnoy's Complaint last month.) We decided to just enjoy the tea and each other's company and discuss the book in January. I just hope I remember enough of it to discuss it in depth!

The mansion itself was beautiful and is used a lot for filming movies; I guess that's how the city of Beverly Hills makes a good portion of their money. So the inside had no furniture except what was brought in for our tea. It was a little odd seeing a "mansion" like that. I'm used to the Newport Mansions (Rhode Island) like The Breakers, The Elms, or even our own Hearst Castle that are completely furnished, often with original pieces and at this time would be decorated for Christmas. That's quite a sight to see, if you've never had the chance, by the way. Stunning.

Do you recognize the Greystone Mansion from any movies you've seen? I just saw "All of Me" on TCM and was thinking, "Hey! I was just there!"

zombieland

With all my talk about zombies, I'm sure I left the impression that I love to watch those freaky zombie movies. While I'm fascinated with zombie culture and preparing for the zombie apocalypse, I actually really dislike scary movies of any kind. Gore is fine. Shit, I deal with gore almost every day of my life. But don't make me jump in my seat, please.

Which is one of the reasons I really enjoyed "Zombieland." This is the second zombie comedy in recent memory (maybe ever?), the other one being "Shaun of the Dead." Also, it had a very unlikely troupe of likeable characters; people who have no logical reason for working together. There were great quotable lines and even a cameo by someone who has been funny for decades. (I won't spoil the surprise.) I wonder if he's a zombie freak? He must be to be in this movie. Or he could just realize that this is pretty much an instant cult classic and wants some of those royalties...

One of the characters had a list of rules for surviving in the zombie-infested world. There are over thiry of them, but as a strict follower of rules (I did not color outside the lines, thankyouverymuch), I wonder what they all are. We saw many during the movie, but never a whole list. My favorite rule is rule number 1: cardio. Who dies first in the beginning days of the infestation? Yep. Fatties. Like the old addage says, you don't need to outrun the bear, just your friend. But your fat freinds will only satiate the undead for so long, so make sure you stay in shape.

Don't let the fact that this is a comedy make you want to bring little ones or squeamish buddies. There is gore and plenty of it. Right from the opening sequence, as a matter of fact. It is a zombie movie, after all.

So go ahead. Give a zombie movie a chance. Time to nut up or shut up.

zombies ahead

If you've spent even a little time with us, you'll know that Daniel is very much into all things apocalypse-related. This started when he was a kid in the Northeast, back when the Cold War was going strong and they had school drills in case there was a nuclear attack. As an only child, he would play fallout shelter in his grandparent's basement, surrounded by shelves filled with canned foods and a tiny window letting a little bit of daylight in.

Fortunately for the world, the Cold War ended (there may be something else brewing now, though). Once the threat of a nuclear attack was gone, what else was left to bring about an apocalyptic world? Zombies, naturally.

Nearly every zombie movie ever made is about the near annihilation of mankind; only those who were a good shot and very resourceful ever survived an infestation. It was only natural for Daniel to transfer his apocalyptic fascination to another genre. In fact, there is a whole zombie subculture out there. We own a copy of The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead, World War Z, and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, just to name a few. I'm not even going to mention our zombie movies.

Oh, it goes far beyond the reading of books and the watching of movies. I am now a fan of zombies. Daniel successfully converted my brother (Steven) to like zombies. He has a friend with whom he must watch all zombie movies for the first time (it was from her we received The Zombie Survival Guide.)

It even goes beyond that. My brother and Daniel will frequently have conversations about when to evacuate and when to hold your ground, take up strategic positions on a roof, and shoot at the undead. And whether or not to shoot twice in the head, the "double tap," to ensure the brain was damaged enough to destroy the brain.

Apparently one of these other zombie nuts hacked into one of those electric signs the road workers use to let you know a lane is closed. They might read something like "THIS RAMP CLOSED 11P-6A ON 8/15." It was changed to read "ZOMBIES AHEAD." Daniel sent me an email with a photo of the sign and a simple question: "What would you do if you saw this sign on the way to work?" My answer was: "Turn around, go home, and load the shotgun."

Once we had to temporarily move to another apartment while they remodeled our kitchen, bathrooms, and changed the flooring. While we were in the temporary apartment, there was an hour long discussion between Daniel and Steve about how the temporary apartment is less zombie-defensible than our original apartment (due to placement of windows) and how to best defend the temporary one in case of an attack.

So I guess it goes without saying that we're all really excited about "Zombieland" being released in the theaters tomorrow. We won't be able to watch it this weekend, but, trust me, we WILL watch it. I hope the undead never take over the earth. But if they do, we'll be ready. And don't you all come running to our bunker unless you're adequately armed and have extra ammo. ;-)

is it cool now?

When I was catching up on Fringe today, I saw a full 60 second commercial for the new Star Trek movie, produced by Fringe's (and Alias') own J.J. Abrams.

It looks so awesome. Is it now ok to admit you like Star Trek?

Now I just have to wait for May.

blocking the path

As I mentioned in my last post, Daniel and I went to a movie premier last week. It's not as glamorous as it sounds; I didn't see Angelina Joile or walk down a red carpet with flashbulbs going off everywhere. But it was exceptionally important.

About two years ago, ABC ran a miniseries entitled "The Path to 9/11." I didn't see it at the time, thanks to work. But I do remember the big hullaballo that went on for the two weeks preceeding the airing of the movie. Politicians, all Democrats, were demanding that the movie not be shown or "severely edited." The movie we saw last week, "Blocking the Path to 9/11: The Anatomy of a Smear" is a documentary that discusses the making of the miniseries and the media blitz that occurred prior to it's airing: Who was behind campaign to get the movie pulled and never showed and what their motivations were. We also learned about the filmmaker and why he wanted to make such a film.

What alarmed me the most about the revelation of this information is the amount of censorship that occurred. "The Path to 9/11" is a retelling of the events leading up to our nation's greatest tragedy. You may not believe me, but if the movie had been by Michael Moore, I would be equally upset if he had been so censored. The crazy thing about it is that "The Path to 9/11" was not written by some "vast right-wing Christian conspiracy." It was written, filmed, and produced by people who described themselves as liberals.

What about the First Amendment? This is America; it's the freedom that many of us hold most dear. If this story of censorship is not told and people are not on the lookout for such infringements, we may find ourselves living in a country we never thought possible. This is not a partisan issue. It is an issue that should concern everyone who calls this country home.

Please, go to the website, watch the trailers. Buy the movie. Tell your friends about it. And don't ever let it happen again. (Warning: the trailer contains original footage from events that occurred on 9/11.)

permit #838

As my residency draws to a close, I'm realizing leaving is not as simple as turning in my badge and saying "See ya!" Last week, the chiefs were handed a packet of papers called the "Separation Packet." Apparently several different people at the main medical center need to sign off that I haven't left any loose ends like library fines or unsigned/undictated medical records. Which is odd, because every July I ended up taking care of some former chief's delinquent dictations and they were able to separate just fine.

One of the forms pertained to the VA. I have very mixed feelings about the VA. I love the vets. Here is a population of Americans who, of their own free will or not, defended our country and freedoms at some point in their lives. Often, it was in service to America that they became sick; post-traumatic stress disorder, alcoholism, paralysis, lung cancer... These brave men and women deserve respect and quality, timely care.

I despise the bureaucracy at the VA that prevents the vets from getting that care. A culture exists, not just at the VA, but at any government office, that the less work you can do in a day, the better. Lunch breaks get longer and longer, paperwork gets filled out for the sake of being complete, a phone call to ask a simple question results in six transfers to some other unmanned desck, and corners get cut. That may be tolerable at the DMV, but when people's lives are concerned, step up to the plate and do. your. job.

Back to the form -- the "Employee Clearance Form." I needed to go to various departments to make sure all my stuff was taken care of. The list was thirteen offices long. Thirteen.

1. Supervisor
2. Police (car decal)
3. Employee Health (I can't imagine why they wouldn't sign the form)
4. Uniform (never been there; didn't know where it was. Just got scrubs from the scrub machine.)
5. Canteen a.k.a. cafeteria
6. Library
7. Medical Records
8. Supply/Property Management (huh?)
9. Human Resources/Employee Relations (again, huh?)
10. Rideshare (they wanna know if I carpooled??)
11. Bills, Indebtedness & Travel Advances (because being a resident requires extensive travel)
12. Human Resources/remit badge
13. Resource management

As I was driving over there at 11am or so, I realized I wouldn't arrive until 11:30. Many people would soon be taking their lunch break or already on said lunch break. Add that to the fact that I didn't know where most of these offices were (and they were listed wrong on the form), and I was positive I would be there until 3:30 getting all these signatures. (3:30 VA time is 5:00 rest of the world time = time to go home.)

But luck was on my side and I managed to get all thirteen signatures in just over an hour. Yes, I have lapped the entire campus about three times and, yes, I was sweating bullets, but I was done. And I got lots of well wishes and said goodbye to many co-workers as we passed in the halls.

On one of my laps, my quest reminded me of one of the Twelve Tasks of Asterix, which is an old feature-length cartoon we watched as kids. It was originally in French, then dubbed in English. The general idea is that Asterix and Obelix are two members of a village in Gaul and are able to emerge victorious in battles against the legions of Ceasar by using a magic potion that gives superhuman strength. Ceasar meets with the village leader and a deal is hammered out; if the Gauls, represented by Asterix and Obelix, cannot complete twelve tasks appointed by Ceasar, he will seize their land and property. If the Gauls do complete the task, Ceasar will not only leave them alone, but relinquish rule of Rome to them.

One of the tasks was in Rome, in a governmental building, to get a simple form... Permit #838. Get the form and that task is completed. I found a video of this scene; the quality is a bit bad, but then again, so is my original copy. I don't even know if it's on DVD. If you have ever had to get anything done at a governmental office, then you know all too well this little clip is true.

My favorite part is when they go to the chief adminstrator's office and he's being pushed on a swing by his hot secretary...

holiday movies

Now that Thanksgiving is over, all the holiday movies can come out of hiding and I can start watching them all the time!

A Christmas Story Honestly, who doesn't like this movie? It's freaking hilarious. I try not to watch it too much early in the season, because TBS always does the 24 hours of Ralphie from Christmas Eve into Christmas Day. And we have it on for almost the entire 24 hours... ;-) To commemorate my love of this movie, just today I purchased this ornament from Hallmark. There is a button on the back that turns on the "lamp" and you hear Mr. Parker saying fra-GEE-lay. So many good quotes from that movie. "Scut Farkus staring out at us with his yellow eyes! He had yellow eyes! So help me God! Yellow eyes!" (After 24 hours, I've got every line memorized. Well, really after 12.)

Miracle on 34th Street I mean the old one. I love the Santa in this movie and his interactions with Natalie Wood (the little girl). "I believe, I believe, it's silly, but I believe." "But... but maybe he's only a little crazy like painters or composers or... or some of those men in Washington."

White Christmas Yeah, I know it's totally cheesy, but I like it. I love Bing Crosby (even though Daniel says he sounds like a dying goat). I've always liked Danny Kaye, too. He was in this one movie where he was a music professor and Virginia Mayo was being chased by her mob boyfriend and they fell in love. Wish I could remember the name of that one... Sorry, slightly off topic. Back to White Christmas. "Go to Smith? She couldn't even spell it!" Or "When what's left of you gets around to what's left to be gotten, what's left to be gotten won't be worth getting, whatever it is you've got left."

The Bishop's Wife This one isn't that popular, but I swoon for Cary Grant in any movie. Plus it's a good story. Cary Grant is an angel who comes to help a bishop who is so immersed in the building fund for his new cathedral that he basically forgets about his family. Cary Grant helps him realize how valuable his family is. There is an amazing boys choir that sings a forgotten Christmas carol in it, too. Bonus. "Nobody expects him to be normal; he's a bishop."

Santa Claus is Coming to Town and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer Watching these two shows brings back so many memories of childhood Christmases and makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. After all, that's part of what the holidays is all about, right? Cuz we just don't have enough warm and fuzzy the rest of the year, so I'm getting my fill. "You mustn't mind the tree monsters. Their bark is worse than their bite. ha ha ha!"

It's a Wonderful Life I like most of this movie. But there are parts that I simply cannot watch. The first one is when Uncle Billy is so happy about the Congressional Medal of Honor being awarded to George's brother that he loses the money at the bank. Yes, I realize that without this scene there would be no movie, but I don't have to like it. Or watch it. The second one is when George comes home and his whole family is getting ready for Christmas and he flips out on them and yells at everyone. And then there is the part where Mr. Gauer boxes George's ears for contradicting him. He was going to poison someone, George saved him, and George got hurt... bad. The rest is good. Thank goodness for my fast forward button. "Boys and girls and music. Why do they need gin?"

sunday seven

Episode 64

Film buffs will love this week's question! Imagine those wonderful movie moments helped by just the right thing said at just the right time, and you'll be able to tackle this week's challenge!

Name seven of your all-time favorite lines from the movies.
These aren't necisarily my favorite of all time, but they're the first ones I could come up with. Pretty good for getting only three hours of interrupted sleep, I'd say. :-P

1. "Hey, Unibrow. Why don't you double your dosage and leave me alone." spoken by Rosmarie (played by Gwynneth Paltrow) from Shallow Hal.
2. "You can hardly imagine that I and Lord Bracknell would dream of allowing our only daughter -- a girl brought up with the utmost care -- to marry into a cloak-room and form an alliance with a parcel?" spoken by Lady Bracknell (played by Dame Judy Dench) in The Importance of Being Earnest.
3. "Meat loaf, smeat loaf, double beat loaf. I hate meat loaf." spoken by Randy in A Christmas Story.
4. "I never look back, Darling, it detracts from the now." spoken by E from The Incredibles.
5. "I thought the Care Bears were here." spoken by Walter (played by Tom Hanks) in The Money Pit.
6. "Would you care for an olive in your martini, Mr. Babcock? Auntie Mame says you shouldn't use olives -- it takes up too much room in such a tiny glass." spoken by Patrick in Auntie Mame.
7. "Sometimes being a bitch is all a woman has to hold onto." spoken by Vera Donovan from Dolores Claiborne.
8. "When one woman strikes at the heart of another she seldom misses, and the wound is invariably fatal." spoken by the Marquise de Merteuil (played by Glenn Close) from Dangerous Liasons.

Yeah, yeah... I know this is eight. But the last one was so good I couldn't leave it out. :-P