Thanksgiving

One of the biggest issues in my life right now is my grandfather and how much his condition breaks my heart.

Every Thanksgiving my great aunt, my grandfather's sister, comes up from Connecticut to have dinner with us.  In the past she's just been another person at the table to me.  I don't really know her, I don't know her branch of the family at all, and I doubt I ever really will.  For some reason, today was different.  Today, when I looked at her I saw my grandfather.  I saw him, alive, conscious, and vivacious.  I saw all the life that has drained from his eyes in hers.

She talked to my mother and grandmother about my grandfather.  About what he was like this afternoon when she visited him, how him recognizing her made her day.  She talked about how he loved to dance, dipping and spinning whoever his partner was no matter how much experience they had as a dancer.  She talked about how as kids her protected her and looked out for her, insisting she tag along no matter what he was doing.

I hung on every word she said.  I tried to soak it all up, every last drop of information she had to share.  

And I felt so insanely guilty about it.

Who am I to care?  Who am I to desire information about a man I don't have the courage to visit?  I won't go see him because I'm too afraid of tainting my memories of him and yet I'll leach off other people's memories who have the strength to go and visit him.  I had to leave the room so that no one saw the tears in my eyes.  I was being so selfish, I couldn't stand myself.  It made me sick.  

Twilight in review

Ok, so it wasn't as bad as I thought it might be, but I will say this: if you really want to experience the movie, bring a teenage girl so that you get the full gurgling effect.

It was very clear that this movie was (like the Harry Potter movies) Twilight 101.  You could clearly tell that things were glossed over.  For example, it seemed like the kids with whom Bella was friends with were either super-horny, super-confident boys or super-stereotypical girls.  For some reason I don't think Stephanie Meyer wrote them that one-dimensionally.  

The core story was pretty good, though.  The love and romance between Bella and Edward were handled well.  I thought Bella, though obviously mature for her age, was portrayed the way a real 17 year-old would behave in a similar situation; she was believable.  Edward was sufficiently dreamy, and creepy.  His, and all the other Cullens', whiteness was disconcerting, very vampire-like.  That was probably what they were going for, so that's cool.

I wish I was a Cullen just for the cars.  They were sweet.  Really sweet.

So, basically, go give it a chance.  From what I hear, the next book was better so hopefully the sequel will be even better.

A Lion Among Men

...is a novel I wish I had read in fewer sittings.

The third book in "The Wicked Years" series by Greg Maguire, A Lion Among Men was easily the weakest of the three books so far (Wicked, Son of a Witch).  That's not to say it wasn't a good read.

More straight-forward than the previous two books, this one told the tales of the Cowardly Lion and Yackle, an oracle that has drifted along the edges of the series thus far. Where Wicked and Son of a Witch were much more nuanced with their religious and political sub-texts, this piece was much more blunt about it, though much more infrequent with its comments.  

I don't know if it was me or the way Maguire wrote the book, but I couldn't care less about the Cowardly Lion (hereafter to be called Brrr).  Especially with a mysterious, compelling character like Yackle--one more relevant to the overall series--standing on the edges of the limelight waiting to shine.  Brrr's, well, a coward.  A blatant one.  One who isn't even ashamed of it.  So why would I want to read about that?

The parts where Yackle is the center of attention was fascinating.  Maguire throws some twists and turns at you throughout the story to keep this woman shrouded in mystery, which made the ending that much better.

The ending of the book seemed convenient to me, but I'm pretty sure that was because my reading of the book was so spread out.  I don't think I remembered all the details I was supposed to remember.  But the ending was satisfying.  All the questions were answered in exciting, twisty ways that still made perfect sense.

Yeah.  If you've read the other two, read this one, but if you haven't read any of the other ones, don't bother.

Wow! I haven't been this confused in a long time!

There's too much going on in my head right now.  Anger, sympathy, anxiety (the good king of anxious), anxiety (the bad kind of anxious), pure excitement, eagerness for a challenge, desire to bail on everything and move out west, self-loathing, an over-inflated ego, boredom, and an itch to do something else.

I'm glad I got to talk to Amanda today.

Quantum of Solace

BA-DAT!  BA-DAT!  BA-DAT-BA-DA-DA! 

I love Bond. James Bond. The new one that is. Before I saw Casino Royale I made sure I read the book. It was my first experience with Fleming's 007 in literary form.  His Bond was a lady's man, like we all remember, but he was more than that. He was an animal, a predator. He lived on instinct, cunning, and guts. He was not afraid to get his hands very dirty if it meant getting the job done.

The more I read, the more I realized this Bond in book form wasn't the one we saw on screen. That Bond, the Connery/Moore Bond that we all remember fondly, was too suave, too pretty. That Bond killed, but kept the blood off his hands. The act didn't wrinkle his shirt. That isn't how Fleming pictured his secret agent.

Then, I saw the new Casino Royale. It was visceral, violent, intense, and in your face. It started with Bond practically beating a man to death in a bathroom in black and white. It was a modern-day version of what I had read on the page and I loved it.

I tell you all this as a way to inform you that I might be a little biased. I love new Bond Daniel Craig. He understands that Bond is a feral dog out there to do the dirty work of the Queen, the stuff no one else will do. He personifies what Bond should be.

So, now that I've made clear how I feel about the current state of Bond, you probably want to know how I feel about the new movie.  

I loved it.

The opening car chase is one of the most intense on film.  It's not the longest.  It's not the most clear, but damn! As the viewer you truly feel like you are in the car with Bond and that your life is in jeopardy!

And it just gets better from there.  Picture Kill Bill in the Bond world.  Bond, who's already an pretty scary dude, is an angry man, which is not a pretty sight. He "pushes aside" (and by that I mostly mean kills) everyone and everything that stands between him and the people responsible for Versper Lind's (Bond girl prime from Casino Royale) death.

Needless to say, it's more complicated than that. The movie plays off the current eco-paranoia as the villains plot to profit off of the failing environment. Bond stumbles across this plot along with new Bond girl Olga Kyrasomethingorother (who, by the way, looks just like my assistant manager from Dunkin Donuts). She's also on a mission to destroy the man responsible for hurting her, so a team-up with Bond was only natural. Together they try to save the day while acquiring a quantum of solace.

The acting was on par with Casino Royale: a notch above typical Bond but, ya know, not gonna win any Oscars. Craig is Bond. Period. Dame Judi is amazing, par usual. Olga Kyrasomethingorother was good, for a Bond-girl. Mr. Greene was sufficiently creepy, though he didn't seem as evil as I would have liked.

The story was pretty straight-forward: angry Bond kills everyone unless it's a hot chick, then they have sex. There wasn't much complexity in regard to character development but, personally, I didn't care. We know Bond, we understand he's pissed.  When he calms down again, we can chat about his past and how he feels.

I would like to see more from this secret organization that no one knows about in future films. I bet it happens because there is at least one major player still out there. I can't wait.

I recommend this to any Bond, action, revenge, or good movie fan

P.S.--Entertainment Weekly and Sam are not getting along. You see, they told me that the Star Trek trailer would be playing with Bond and, well, I didn't see it. Pretty sure it wasn't there. I'm gonna fight someone.

Let the Bidding Begin!

Free agency in Major League Baseball begins today. As exciting as that usually is for us in Boston, I'm actually pretty scared this year. The Sox don't really have a lot of room to make a splash with a huge signing. I mean, they could use a starting pitcher, sure, but they don't need a number one starter. All they need is a 2, 3, or 4 starter. Those aren't expensive nor dramatic so, blah.

There is talk about signing Mark Texiera. The only way that happens is if they trade Lowell or Youk.  I don't see Youk going anywhere, especially after the great season he had last year so that means Lowell would be headed out.  I don't think there is a large market for an aging third-baseman with a bad hip, so who knows what they might get for him.

I guess we are just going to have to wait and see.

The Ringing is Constant

My right ear has been plugged since late last night. This happens to me every once in a while and I get over it, but when it's plugged I go nuts. You would think the world would be quieter or something, but that isn't the case. Instead, my world shrinks and becomes infinitely louder.

Throughout the day there has been a constant ringing in my ear. I've heard every breath I've taken today. Every chew of lunch, every sip of water, every pump of my heart. The air through my sinuses has echoed in my head each time I went up or down the stairs.  

I couldn't hear the people next to me over the thumping of my pulse.

It's smothering.  Consuming.

Hopefully this clears up soon.

From the Crater that was Urinetown

So, Urinetown is over. Hmmm. It's a strange feeling doing a musical with all its time and emotional commitments just to have it be done one day. It's somewhere between that feeling you get on the last day of school and the feeling you get after you graduate from high school. Obviously it's not as emotional as graduation where you are potentially seeing people who you've known for the vast majority of your life for the last time.  It's in the same sense, though. As a cast, you all invest a great deal of yourselves into a show and at the end there is a great deal of bonding that's occurred so it's scary to think this is the last time you might see these people.

Especially for me because it's been a long time since I've done a show of any kind so my frame of reference makes me feel like I won't see these people around much. Unless I put the effort in, that is, which I am absolutely terrible about doing. 

That's not to say I don't intend to continue this whole theater thing, though. I remember saying after the opening of Once Upon a Mattress that I wanted to do this for a living. I love it and have missed it.  I'm so happy Eric put his foot into my back and finally got me out there to do it. I've been bitten again and can't wait to get back out there.

Welcome to the NEW home of the Genious

Hello, and welcome to the new home of 'This is what genious looks like."  As I've stopped using MySpace as much as I used to I decided to start writing here as a more convenient way to get my propaganda across.  Plus, this way my little friends without MySpace can actually read what I have to say.

So, enjoy the crap that is to come!