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Category: Random Stuff

The catch-all category for random things about life in Austin, food & drink, politics, the occasional rant, whatever else.

A Hunnert

June 8, 2006 • • 3 Comments

Today when I got home from having lunch with my family, the thermometer read: 99.9. I waited and did a few chores, checking back on the thermometer from time to time. Finally… 100 F (that’s a hunnert here in Texas).

I can’t remember when we’ve had triple digits this early before, but despite all the dire thoughts about global warming that this conjures, I was kind of excited. Why would anyone be excited about triple digit temps, you ask (or I imagine you asking anyway)?

Cycling. I love cycling and one of my favorite things is riding during the hottest part of a summer afternoon. Usually, I’ve finished writing for the day and being on my bike for an hour or two gives me the chance to think about whatever I’m writing, to work through story and character problems, and also to just burn off energy and enjoy the feel of the searing sky and still air. I find it cleansing.

Today, the sky was full of clouds so there were occasional respites from the sun, but those never came while pushing uphill. It was deliciously hot, and I’m kind of worn out now – I only did about twelve miles – but what a wonderful feeling to feel so close to the sun.

I’ll be sick of this by October when it finally cools off, but for now there’s nothing quite like triple digits while cycling the trails and streets of my little corner of this oven we call central Texas.

Lunch

June 7, 2006 • • 3 Comments

During summer vacation I can actually eat out, enjoy Austin’s many great restaurants, try new things, eat whenever I want, and yet my favorite lunch is to sit at home, read a magazine, and listen to something on the stereo while the dogs watch for dropped food.

Today it was National G, Bill Frissell, and my all-time favorite summer lunch prepared haiku style…

Tuna fish sandwich
Chips, and a glass of iced tea
Good Dog, Happy Man

Monday Movie Roundup

June 5, 2006 • • 5 Comments

Do long movies count twice?

Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)

During the spring of 1994, I interviewed for admission to NYU’s graduate film school. The interview was conducted in a small windowless room where I sat across a long table from three professors. They asked questions about filmmaking, my experiences, my ideas and then they asked me to name my favorite director.

“Joel Coen,” I answered truthfully.

One woman rolled her eyes. The man in the middle gave a snarky half-smile and said, “How about someone who isn’t an NYU graduate?”

I had no idea that Coen went to NYU; he just happened to be my favorite director. Still, they assumed I was trying to flatter them.

The three awaited my answer, and I heard myself saying something to the effect of, “Uhhh…..duhhhhh…..ummm…” while my mind promptly emptied itself of the names of every director who’d ever exposed film. Flailing, I finally said, “Steven Spielberg.”

Which is of course the wrong name to give to a group of film school professors. I assume they thought either I was cuaght up in the Shindler’s List hype or that I was just some doofus who liked Raiders of the Lost Ark and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (both of which I do) but either way, I seemed pretty clear that they didn’t think I was NYU material.

The fact is, though, I really do like Spielberg’s films. There are many movies that in the hands of a less accomplished director would not be enjoyable, but Spielberg is a master of his craft, he knows how to lead an audience and sometimes, he really does make films that rise above summer blockbuster entertainment.

Munich is one such film. The film claims to be inspired by true events and so I take it for what it claims to be: historical fiction. It tells the tale of the aftermath of the 1972 Munich Massacre is which several Israeli athletes and coaches were kidnapped and murdered by a group of Palestinian terrorists. After this, a number of PLO agents throughout Europe started showing up dead, murdered by Israeli secret agents.

The film focuses on Avner, a low-level Mossad agent who is tasked with leading a team that will hunt down and kill the people responsible. The film works on two levels. It is first and most interestingly a meditation on the effects of violence on those who commit violent acts. Avner and his team begin their work filled with a spirit of vengeance and a desire for justice. Eventually, the humanity seems to drain away from them as they get deeper and deeper into a world of chaos, paranoia, and death in which they themselves become the terrorists they abhor.

Because this is a Spielberg film, it also works as a cold-war era cloak-and-dagger picture full of the kind of shadowy intrigue and sneaking around in Europe’s great cities that made cold-war era spy novels so thrilling. In Spielberg’s capable hands, Munich is both an action-adventure tale of international intrigue and an unsettling tale of what happens to those whose business is killing.

The film was criticized for excessively humanizing the Palestinian targets that Avner and his team dispatch, but Spielberg’s film carries little sympathy for the Palestinian cause or methods. It simply tells the story of what happens to individuals caught up in events bigger than themselves. Individuals who on both sides must sacrifice the ideals they claim to fight for in order to protect those ideals.

I wonder if Munich had come out when I was interviewing at NYU if I’d have gotten the brush-off the way I did. Still, I must have done better than I thought because I was accepted. Then I came to my senses and decided that paying student loans for the rest of my life wouldn’t be worth it. Instead, I paid in-state tuition to UT’s graduate film school and though Joel Coen never went there, I can say that I don’t owe them a dime.

And though Spielberg isn’t my favorite director, films such as Munich certainly move him up the list.

Monday Movie Roundup

May 30, 2006 • • Leave a comment

Yeah, yeah, a Monday Movie Roundup on Tuesday, but it was a long weekend so in a way this is kind of like Monday besides I’m a teacher so it’s actually kind of like Saturday for the next two months. So there.

To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962)

I showed To Kill a Mockingbird to my classes during the last week of school. One class had read the book and I figured the rest of my classes would enjoy it as well. Many of the kids had already seen it in their regular schools, but all who had seen it were thrilled to see it again. Some even told me that it’s “pretty good for a black and white movie.” I didn’t mind watching it five times in one week either. The performances are great, especially Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

200 Motels (Frank Zappa, Tony Palmer, Charles Swenson, 1971)

I like Frank Zappa’s music, and the blurb for 200 Motels made it sound like a documentary about the Mothers of Invention. Sometimes a movie sounds good, but then you find that it’s really just an opportunity for someone to expose some film and try to capture all kinds of weirdness. I think the Mothers were trapped in a fake nightclub. I think it was weirdness for the sake of weirdness. Sometimes that can be okay. This time it wasn’t. I suppose some people liked Zappa for his bizarre sense of humor, but I’ve always been very impressed with his musicianship as well as that of the Mothers. Unfortunately that’s not what this movie was about. Made dinner and turned it off after fifteen minutes to watch something on the science channel about the ion engines on NASA’s Deep Space One.

Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (George Lucas, 2005)

If I were to be a Star Wars character, I would – like everyone else – be Han Solo, but apparently if I were to be a Jedi Knight, here’s who I would be…


how jedi are you? :: by lawrie malen

Revenge of the Sith was the best of the three Star Wars prequels. Honestly, I think it might be a bit better than Return of the Jedi. The thing that is so frustrating about the prequels is that the ideas are great. The story is great. There’s a lot to sit around and talk about as my sister-in-law and I do on many occasions. Unfortunately, George Lucas did it all himself and I think that’s part of why these three movies don’t live up to their potential. Still, I do enjoy watching them from time to time and I like the way everything comes together in this final installment. I don’t buy everything about the story (Padme dies of a broken heart ?!?) but then this is a series of movies in which space ships make noise in the vaccuum of space so I guess I can suspend disbelief a bit here. Technically well made, but flawed in writing and direction.

X-Men: The Last Stand (Brett Ratner, 2006)

We saw X-Men: The Last Stand yesterday. Despite the lousy reviews it’s gotten, I enjoyed it. It focused on the resurrection of Jean Grey aka Phoenix, a classic story in the X-Men mythology. Once again mutants are being oppressed by normal humans who have now developed a “cure” for mutation. Magneto, the best super villian ever, builds an army of mutants to take over the world and make it safe for mutant kind. The movie is a perfect example of a smart summer blockbuster filled with interesting characters (where was Nightcrawler, though?) and dynamic action sequences. It’s a solid end to the X-Men trilogy, but leaves plenty of room to expand the franchise. Probably indefinitely. Well made, fun, entertaining.

The Endless Summer 2 (Bruce Brown, 1992)

The Endless Summer 2 follows the trajectory of Bruce Brown’s brilliant 1966 surf documentray The Endless Summer but adds modern cinematic technology as it follows the adventures of Pat and Wingnut who retrace the path of their heroes from the original Endless Summer. The two look for the best waves and surf spots in Costa Rica, South Africa, Indonesia, Fiji, Australia, and Hawaii.

There are a few changes from the original itinerary and the movie isn’t quite as a innocent as the 1966 film, but it’s still a great diversion and the cinematography is truly stunning. As with the original Endless Summer, my favorite parts are when the surfers explore South Africa. They return to the “perfect wave” from the original film, though because of development it’s not quite as perfect, and they have plenty of run-ins with the local wildlife. Apparently, lions really like to eat wetsuits.

If you like surf guitar, beautiful ocean photography, gnarly surf sequences, and a sweetly dorky sense of humor you can’t go wrong with either of the Endless Summer films.

Monday Movie Roundup

May 22, 2006 • • 2 Comments

It’s been awhile since I watched any movies to round up.

The Count of Monte Cristo (Kevin Reynolds, 2002)

I Showed The Count of Monte Cristo at school. It was in the lesson plans for one of the classes I had to take over, and the kids had been looking forward to it. It was a solid action-adventure with a little bit of romance and humor. Everything was well done. Works nicely as a school film because it gives a lot to discuss in terms of revenge, forgiveness, and perseverance. Big Hollywood action that gets you cheering for the good guys. Three and half stars.

My Side of the Mountain (James B Clark, 1969)

My Side of the Mountain is another movie that the kids in one class were looking forward to watching after finishing the book. The book, which I recently read and really liked, tells the story of young Sam Gribley who runs away from home in New York City to live off the land in the Catskills. He spends a little over a year living off the land by gathering plants, hunting (often with the help of his falcon, Frightful), trapping, and fishing. It’s a neat tale about learning to live with nature. I wish I could say the same for the movie.

Good lord, it was bad. Almost everything that made the book so charming was stripped from the movie which attempts to sanitize Sam’s experiences living off the land. Sam doesn’t hunt or trap; he only steals a deer that some poachers had already killed so that it won’t go to waste. In a particularly stupid break from the book, Frightful gets killed by a hunter who accidentally shoots her while trying to kill a game bird that Frightful was attacking. Sam calls the hunter a murderer and the hunter tells him that Frightful was a killer too. Sam is sad, but the point is made that killing animals is supposed to be wrong. Now, I’ll go with the idea that trophy hunting is repugnant, but if you’re living off the land, you’re probably going to have to hunt. And if you’re an animal, such as a falcon, hunting is probably okay. I mean, those talons and razor sharp beak aren’t there for giving hugs and kisses to smaller birds.

The movie descends further into idiocy when Sam packs it in after getting snowed in (he lives in a sort of hollowed out tree/cave) one day around Christmas. This happens in the book as well, but Sam manages to survive and learns to avoid that predicament in the future. He makes it through the winter and is able to see the mountain blossom into new life with the coming of spring. Not in the movie. Sam gets rescued by two adults and he happily goes home, thus giving up on his dream of living in nature at the moment when he finally starts to see that nature is for real.

The last thing that bugged me, though my students didn’t notice, is that the whole story had been moved north. No longer did Sam run away from New York, now it was Toronto. Instead of the Catskills, he ran away to Quebec. Oddly enough, it was a Quebec in which no one spoke French, and Sam had no problem communicating with the few people he ran into because they all – every one of them – spoke flawless English. Stupid, stupid, stupid movie. No stars.

Scotland, PA (Billy Morrissette, 2001)

Dimwitted Joe and his ambitious wife Pat McBeth work at Duncan’s, a small fast food joint in Scotland, PA sometime in the late 60s or early 70s. Joe dreams up the concept of the drive through window but he’ll never profit on it as long as he works for Duncan. Three witchy carnys and Pat all convince him that Duncan’s could be his. Pat and Joe kill Duncan and create their own fast food kingdom: McBeth’s. Everything looks good until Lieutenant McDuff (Christopher Walken) shows up and starts asking questions.

Scotland, PA is a witty and dark comedy based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Despite the comic tone, though, the film is not a parody. It’s a retelling in a modern context. If you know the story of Macbeth, you know this is a tragedy, and it doesn’t end well for the McBeths or for a number of the other characters. It’s funny, sad, at times grisly (interesting deaths can occur in a fast food joint), but always witty and clever. Four stars.

Sheila, Take a Bow

May 19, 2006 • • 6 Comments

This is Sheila. She’s a Honda Civic Hybrid (my wife and her colleagues have decided that hybrids are female) and great fun to drive.

Honda Civic Hybrid

We ordered the car in January and it arrived last week. It has that nice new car smell and it runs beautifully. We’re getting close to 40mpg in the city. The stereo sounds great.

Sheila, take a bow.

Power, Corruption & Lies

May 12, 2006 • • 6 Comments

No, I’m not writing about New Order’s excellent 1983 album, though there does seem to be a new order in this country that thrives on that unholy trinity.

Today I read Paul Burka’s Texas Monthly article “Without Delay” that told the tale of the rise and fall of Tom Delay, a man whose every friend, ally and associate seem to be felons. It’s all icing on a very depressing cake.

The more I read the more depressed I become about the state of politics in America. My brother and I were recently discussing the potential for Democrats to take one or both houses of Congress back this year. The polls look good. Wave after wave of scandals are breaking on a seemingly daily basis. Bush’s staff are leaving like rats fleeing a sinking ship and yet, I’m not hopeful.

People want the bastards thrown out, but I worry that they don’t want to throw out their own bastards, only the bastards in the other districts that waste government money by bringing the bacon home to other people.

We’re seeing yet another problem inherent in our two-party system. Republicans are willing to defend the very things that they would consider indefensible if they were being perpetrated by a Democrat president. I can’t imagine how anyone can honestly say that they think it’s a good thing that Bush is allowing the NSA to spy on Americans, that Bush’s aides should be allowed to out covert agents and still keep security clearance, that Americans would ever – EVER – justify the use of torture, that the government would eliminate due process protections at whim, that… well, the list is long and time is short.

The sad thing is that our representatives in congress let this happen by abdicating their constitutional responsibility to check the executive. Since the Republicans control congress they will always make excuses for all abuses. We see that Republicans clearly love their party and their power more than they love their country. It’s a sickening sight.

Now, I am not foolish enough to think that Democrats are naturally less corrupt. Power breeds corruption and the problem is that the Republicans are the party in power, and they have a dangerous lock on that power. The most dangerous aspect of it lies in the fact that any who suggest that the constitution is being gutted are labeled terrorists, traitors, dangerous. This from the party of strict constructionists. This from the party that once wanted less government and more individual freedom.

The Bush problem is one of either incompetence or crookedness, or more likely both. At this point, the only way to address this problem is accountability of the kind Americans were not wise enough to demand in 2004. That accountability can be acheived through divided government, which is why anyone who truly cares about the direction of this country, about competent leadership, and indeed the constitution itself should be supporting Democrats this fall.

It’s not about being liberal or conservative anymore, it’s about ensuring that our government doesn’t continue its ineptness or devolve into a truly autocratic regime. We’ve already seen the dangers of the former and we’re closer than we probably realize to the latter.

Party On, Dude

May 10, 2006 • • 1 Comment

Beer and Syringes

Yeah, you get looks at the grocery store when all you’re buying is beer and syringes, but what can I say? My dog gets allergy shots and, well, I get thirsty.

There is cause for celebration, though: I’ve finally finished editing the Camp Periwinkle yearbook video. This is a task I normally complete late in February, but due to multiple hard drive failures and having to start over at square one (twice) it is now May and I’ve only today sent off the approval copies to the camp and foundation directors.

Video editing is a tedious and frustrating, but ultimately rewarding endeavor. Nothing seems to work, the shots I wish I had don’t exist, I can’t find the one shot I remember shooting. Basically, there’s lots of cussing and wishing I was outside playing kick the can with all the other kids.

I then remember why I’m doing it and I keep going. For some kids with cancer the video becomes a reminder of one of the few times they were happy or felt normal. For some parents, it’s a chance to see their kids, who are fighting for their lives, actually smile or even laugh. It’s worth giving up every Saturday for four months.

But the technical frustrations build until just as I begin formulating excuses for why there won’t be a video this year, I watch what I’ve got and it starts to hold together. It becomes a maze and I can see the way out by tightening a shot here, moving a sequence there, and then all of a sudden the thing comes alive with the speed of a runner racing downhill.

Suddenly, the next thing I know I’m sending approval copies off to the powers that be and stopping at the grocery store to pick up a celebratory beer and a bunch of syringes. For my dog.

Party on.

Weekend Hound Blogging: Nigel George

April 30, 2006 • • 9 Comments

This week we remember Nigel “Bubba” George, my parents’ dog, who after a long and happy life went off on Friday to chase after the great tennis ball in the sky. My parents’ dogs have always outlived their expected lifespans and Nigel, who was a big guy, was no exception.

Nigel

Nigel was a lover of opera. He enjoyed standing by the stereo speakers, waiting for the tenors to start singing and then he would howl sing along. He liked hiking, but had to be carried across creeks so his feet would stay dry. His favorite game was ball. And don’t forget Nigel’s cameo appearance in this blog a few months ago…

Nigel and the Bone Box

Dogs and cats really become part of the family and so it’s hard to see them go, but it’s good to remember that he was happy and always up to something to make people laugh. Take care, Bubba, and here’s hoping your feet stay dry.

Monday Movie Roundup

April 17, 2006 • • 5 Comments

Danny Deckchair (2003, Jeff Balsmeyer)

Danny’s life as a cement worker leaves only one thing to look forward to: vacation. When his girlfriend cancels on him everything seems lost, and Danny falls into a tailspin of misery. In a bout of self-pity and frustration, he ties a bunch of helium balloons to a deckchair and rises into the air, leaving his life in suburban Sydney far behind.

When he finally comes down, it is in the small town of Clarence. Here he meets Glenda, the town’s one parking cop, who is stuck in the same kind of rut that Danny just escaped. While in Clarence, Danny discovers happiness and self-fulfillment and begins to live the kind of life he had only imagined. Meanwhile, he has become a fixation with the Sydney media as journalists try to track him down, and his old girlfriend enjoys her newfound celebrity.

Danny Deckchair is a well-crafted independent film that’s occasionally predictable, yet quirky enough to stay engaging and full of such a whimsical charm that you can’t help but smile through the whole thing. What could have been a routine romantic comedy turns out to be a ride as magical as the view from Danny’s deckchair as he drifts uncertainly over the Australian countryside. Three-and-a-half stars.