Two favorite picks from the grand night of the Oscars 2012....
1. Best Dress: Stunningly gorgeous
Milla Jovovich
2. Best Award: Well deserved and great acceptance speech
Meryl Streep
Denny fails to connect with any of this hoopla, from the fashion to the awards. He spends the time in the kitchen cooking food for the week.
He was sorry to have missed Jennifer Lopez's bust-line when she presented an award along with Ms. Cameron Diaz. I also thought something on J Lo's wardrobe malfunctioned. Sorry you missed it D.
When some Netflix titles end up in our mailbox, I often wonder if they've been delivered to the wrong house. They're usually Indie movies that vaguely register with me as having been added to the queue way back there in time. And so it was withCedar Rapids, a flick with a rather uninspiring description on the DVD sleeve. I had not a clue as to who, what, when, where or more importantly WHY this one made the cut. The movie sat around for weeks waiting. Waiting.
Sure; Cedar Rapids is a nerdy, raunchy, if not predictable flick but there were more than a few really, really good laughs along the way. Call me easily amused but this one was fun. Here's the trailer if you're so inclined.
Two tickets for the Prince Concert scheduled on 12/19/11 at the Tacoma Dome topped my priority list when tickets went online before Thanksgiving. Years back when Prince performed in Seattle on his alleged "last tour", I regretted never having seen him in concert. Determined not to allow another opportunity to wash by me, I bought tickets quickly, without thinking.
The problem was I didn't consider the month of December; always a rugged proposition for me. I've learned not to over-commit this time of year; life jam-packs with other events (birthday, anniversary, holiday parties and.....all that decorating). Turns out the Christmas party at Dad's adult family home was the same evening and a voice in my head kept saying, "Go to the party; you should go to the party". As days marched by, those tickets became a burden more than a highlight. No nibbles came from my Craigslist posting and now I wonder if the reason was that I was meant to go to the concert and enjoy the hell out of it. When I told Dad that I wouldn't be at his party because of concert tickets, he was fine with it.
D was never very enthusiastic about going to see Prince, insisting that Purple Rain was the only hit song he cared for. I gave some thought to going alone but then....on a whim, asked my sister if she would be interested. She had a two word response: "I'm in!" This was 24 hours beforehand and she was at home, in Houston.
Pertinent digression: Back in the 80's, that one-of-a-kind decade, she introduced me to Prince. Although she's forgotten this, it was she who enticed me to his movie, Purple Rain. I've counted on her on more than a few occasions to turn me on to new experiences. I remember thinking the movie was weird but the music grabbed me and I bought the album in short order. Years later the cassette tape, worn down by repeated play was replaced by a CD.I still pull it out when I want to go back to the 80's.
Picture this scenario: My sister arrived at the airport on a flight from Houston at 5:30 PM. Granted her trip here was planned but still....The concert started at 8 PM in Tacoma. Perfect timing.We stashed her luggage in the back end of the car, drove down I5 to the Tacoma Dome, grabbed a bite to eat, slapped in those earplugs (did we really?), and settled in for an experience in sound and light.
The concert was great; the back-up vocalists and musicians amazing. Purple Rain was the crescendo moment and save for the last performance (he did come back out for a short encore after that but what can top PR?). No first act; it was all Prince. He hasn't changed; rather timeless. Slight, nimble, a first rate musician, a performer. He looked great in his long, black do-rag, tunic top over pants, wearing one white and one black shoe (heels of course). He's 53. Time, it would seem, has done little to his physical appearance.
Here he is in 1984. Where were you in 1984? Were you even on this earth? Many in the audience were souls aloft in 1984. Many of us in the audience were much younger in body but I daresay, sporting the same spirit.
"I only want to see you laughing in the purple rain....."
We call it Spokanistan, this the largest city between Seattle and Chicago (at this latitude give or take a little). I'm spending the weekend with Miss Laura; arriving Friday late afternoon and heading back home later on today. It's a quick trip, made much easier by flying instead of driving the 4.5 hours on potentially slick winter roads this time of year.
I'm sitting in her living room finishing up my "instant Starbucks coffee". Her roommate, owner of the coffee maker, moved out recently and took the coffee pot. My addiction to a hot cup of coffee the second I'm vertical had us buying supplies Friday evening, intstant coffee granules infused with cocoa. Quite good actually. Laura is just up, watching TV.
We've had a great time together; lots of visiting, enjoying mojitos (homemade), great food, shopping, and last night took in a movie. Black Swan was intense, in one word. No wonder Natialie Portman won the Oscar for best actress for her magnificent performance in this film. From her body, thin and vulnerable, yet powerful to her spirit, tortured by demons and visions, yet propelled forward by the illusion of perfection, this film was riveting. Loved it. Loved it. I also loved to see her looking pregnant and very healthy at the Oscars, such a contrast to the image portrayed in Black Swan.
Today we're going to bake a cake for her boyfriend's birthday and perhaps get out for a walk. It's partly sunny (optimistic) out and not too cold. I don't leave until late afternoon so there's still time for more.
This next week will be extremely busy; I'm back on the hospital service for the next 7 days. Nice to have a totally different 48 hour experience in Eastern Washington to balance out "the wards".
A third of the way through KaylieJones's memoir,Lies My Mother Never Told Me, I figured out I've a great (new) interest in the years just before and during WW II. Several weeks ago The Postmistress , a fictional account of life on both sides of the Atlantic in 1941 by Sarah Blake, mesmerized me. Jones's memoir shines a light on her very famous father, James Jones, who wrote such classics as From Here to Eternity and The Thin Red Line, both about WW II, soldiers, heroism, and the often tragic unfolding of life. This morning, I watched From Here to Eternity, the movie from 1953, and was drawn in very quickly. Great acting and fabulous stars; who can resist Frank Sinatra, Montgomery Clift, Burt Lancaster, Donna Reed, and Deborah Kerr? The movie, a tamed down version of the book, published in 1951, was nominated for more Academy Awards than Gone with the Wind and ended up winning eight. The movie is "on demand" on Netflix so you can watch it right on your computer screen. I did and was thoroughly delighted.
I'm not quite sure from whence my recent fascination with WW II comes. I'm typically not too interested in war stories or movies. Guess I'll just let this interest take me wherever it may. I ordered used copies of these two famous books of Mr. James Jones from Powell's Bookstore today. I'll be interested to see how the screenwriter of From Here to Eternity, cleaned up Jones's words (some, it seems, were fairly scandalous by early post war standards) for the silver screen.
The beach scene with Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr was very cool by the way.....
