Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 261
December 17, 2010
No email for me tonight
If you're trying to reach me on email, you might as well give up until after I wake up Saturday (afternoon, I hope). My provider is doing maintenance for most of the night, so I have no access to personal email. You'll have to catch me tomorrow. Sorry about that.
Is it Love Actually time already?
Why, yes, it is. Thank you for asking.
As long-time readers know, around this time each year, I hold a dinner and viewing of this fine Richard Curtis film, one of my very favorites movies. Tonight, we watched it again, and I found it as powerful and charming and moving as the first time I saw it years ago.
What amazes me about Love Actually is that even though I know what the director is doing, even though every tug on my heart strings is abundantly clear, it works, it just works. The magic parts--and there are many, many of those--retain their magic no matter how many times you see it. Just as importantly, the characters are real enough and there is enough pain sprinkled among the happy segments that the film, at least for me, never cloys.
And the plotting, ah, it is a joy to behold. Many details that pass by almost undetected prove to be important, and at the end you realize you've watched a masterful construction.
I also greatly admire director Richard Curtis' utter and complete dedication to pursuing the magic of love no matter where that chase leads him. If the story's logic calls for an otherwise insanely improbable event to occur, you can bet that event will come to pass--and it will make sense, story sense, that it does.
If you haven't seen Love Actually, I can't recommend it too highly. If you have, now is a grand time to watch it again.
As long-time readers know, around this time each year, I hold a dinner and viewing of this fine Richard Curtis film, one of my very favorites movies. Tonight, we watched it again, and I found it as powerful and charming and moving as the first time I saw it years ago.
What amazes me about Love Actually is that even though I know what the director is doing, even though every tug on my heart strings is abundantly clear, it works, it just works. The magic parts--and there are many, many of those--retain their magic no matter how many times you see it. Just as importantly, the characters are real enough and there is enough pain sprinkled among the happy segments that the film, at least for me, never cloys.
And the plotting, ah, it is a joy to behold. Many details that pass by almost undetected prove to be important, and at the end you realize you've watched a masterful construction.
I also greatly admire director Richard Curtis' utter and complete dedication to pursuing the magic of love no matter where that chase leads him. If the story's logic calls for an otherwise insanely improbable event to occur, you can bet that event will come to pass--and it will make sense, story sense, that it does.
If you haven't seen Love Actually, I can't recommend it too highly. If you have, now is a grand time to watch it again.
December 16, 2010
Eating logic at our house
Email from Sarah to me in the middle of the afternoon today, a day in which snow and sleet fell all morning.
We clearly had to go. In fact, we clearly needed two vats of cheese dip.
After eating, we discussed the menu options for tomorrow night's annual gathering to watch Love Actually. We considered going with traditional British food, but, well, you know. So, instead we settled on Indian; after all, some of the best Indian food I've ever eaten was in London.
Then began a game of give and take:
Hey Dad, when are you planning to come home tonight? And might there be a chance of ElDo? I hear they have seasonal decorations on their boat now.What could I do? Ignoring the river of cheese at our favorite nearby Mexican place is always a risky proposition, and it's doubly so on a day of inclement weather.
We clearly had to go. In fact, we clearly needed two vats of cheese dip.
After eating, we discussed the menu options for tomorrow night's annual gathering to watch Love Actually. We considered going with traditional British food, but, well, you know. So, instead we settled on Indian; after all, some of the best Indian food I've ever eaten was in London.
Then began a game of give and take:
I need to go to a Barnes & Noble.Which is how, a short time after dinner, I found myself at a cash register in the corner of the local B&N buying a full cheesecake.
Did you know Barnes & Noble sells Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes?
That's right!
And what goes well with Indian food?
Cheesecake!
There's a Barnes & Noble in the shopping complex right across the street.
So there is!
The weather isn't all that bad...yet.
True.
We were obviously meant to go.
Obviously.
December 15, 2010
Check out the decked-out tree
We have quite a few holiday traditions, as you may have gathered from posts in this and past Decembers. One is a tree-trimming party, in which a group of us gather, string lights, hang a zillion ornaments, and eat dinner. Here, courtesy of Gina, is how the tree looks after tonight's party. (Click on any photo to see a bigger image.)
As you can see, the tree is now carrying a rather weighty coating of ornamentation.
What's a tree, though, without a lovely dog posing in front of it?
Hardly anything, Holden answers.
Neither Holden nor Pixil could stand to let the tree outshine them, so they turned into circus performers. Here's Pixil in full stretch, with Holden getting ready to join her.
Not to be outdone by his sister, Holden then showed how the big dog does it.
Yes, it is true: Holden is the best dog in the world.
As you can see, the tree is now carrying a rather weighty coating of ornamentation.
What's a tree, though, without a lovely dog posing in front of it?
Hardly anything, Holden answers.
Neither Holden nor Pixil could stand to let the tree outshine them, so they turned into circus performers. Here's Pixil in full stretch, with Holden getting ready to join her.
Not to be outdone by his sister, Holden then showed how the big dog does it.
Yes, it is true: Holden is the best dog in the world.
December 14, 2010
Sherlock
My friend and fellow writer, John Lambshead, recommended this BBC series to me when I wrote about the recent Sherlock Holmes film. Trusting John, I picked up the Blu-Ray collection when it became available. We finished watching the last of the three ninety-minute episodes tonight.
It was magnificent.
I was originally more than a bit suspicious of the concept of updating Holmes to today, but I relaxed as soon as I learned that the wonderful writer Steven Moffatt was one of its creators. Moffatt and co-creator Mark Gatiss indeed delivered the goods: taut tales full of vintage Holmes deduction and action--but all set in contemporary London.
The two lead actors, Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson, are superb and make a formidable, if rarely entirely in sync, partnership. Cumberbatch is a particular joy to watch, his haircut odd, his eyes odder, his movements frequently not quite human. Freeman's Watson is every bit as normal on the outside as Cumberbatch's Holmes is strange, but inside this Watson is an ex-soldier who can kill without remorse and who is still trying to find a place other than the battlefield in which he belongs.
If you've ever been a Holmes fan, catch these shows on TV or buy a DVD set, but do not miss them.
I already regret that the BBC won't broadcast the next series until August and so I will not get to watch them until about a year from now.
It was magnificent.
I was originally more than a bit suspicious of the concept of updating Holmes to today, but I relaxed as soon as I learned that the wonderful writer Steven Moffatt was one of its creators. Moffatt and co-creator Mark Gatiss indeed delivered the goods: taut tales full of vintage Holmes deduction and action--but all set in contemporary London.
The two lead actors, Benedict Cumberbatch as Holmes and Martin Freeman as Watson, are superb and make a formidable, if rarely entirely in sync, partnership. Cumberbatch is a particular joy to watch, his haircut odd, his eyes odder, his movements frequently not quite human. Freeman's Watson is every bit as normal on the outside as Cumberbatch's Holmes is strange, but inside this Watson is an ex-soldier who can kill without remorse and who is still trying to find a place other than the battlefield in which he belongs.
If you've ever been a Holmes fan, catch these shows on TV or buy a DVD set, but do not miss them.
I already regret that the BBC won't broadcast the next series until August and so I will not get to watch them until about a year from now.
December 13, 2010
Yeah, we like a big Christmas tree
Long-time readers may recall that last year's try was a stately beast that stood about ten feet tall.
Some of us thought it was a fine size.
The more sensible among us (for a sufficiently loose definition of "sensible") disagreed. In fact, that group--Sarah, Scott, and I--felt we had erred on the conservative side. We are, after all, the folks who use a thirty-five-pound, industrial stand rated to hold trees up to fifteen feet tall.
No point in not being prepared.
We vowed not to be quite as conservative this year.
The result is the one you can see in this picture, which I took right after we stood up the tree. It's already a great deal broader as the branches are slowly descending.
To give you a little perspective, Scott is in tennis shoes and so is standing close to 5'11".
Yeah, we're closer to twelve feet at the very peak this year.
Oh, yeah, that's a tree.
Wait'll we get the lights and approximately 3.7 million ornaments on it.
On a completely unrelated note, some folks I care about are going through some rough times right now. They're feeling alone, as if no one understands them or what they've been through or are enduring now. To some degree, of course, they're right; each of our experiences is unique. In a greater sense, though, they are not alone. I'm here, others who care about them are around, and even if only in spirit, we are with them. I've linked to this song before, but it fits now, for them, so I'll use it again. (Sorry about the commercial; it's the cost of a free, high-quality video.)
Some of us thought it was a fine size.
The more sensible among us (for a sufficiently loose definition of "sensible") disagreed. In fact, that group--Sarah, Scott, and I--felt we had erred on the conservative side. We are, after all, the folks who use a thirty-five-pound, industrial stand rated to hold trees up to fifteen feet tall.
No point in not being prepared.
We vowed not to be quite as conservative this year.
The result is the one you can see in this picture, which I took right after we stood up the tree. It's already a great deal broader as the branches are slowly descending.
To give you a little perspective, Scott is in tennis shoes and so is standing close to 5'11".
Yeah, we're closer to twelve feet at the very peak this year.
Oh, yeah, that's a tree.
Wait'll we get the lights and approximately 3.7 million ornaments on it.
On a completely unrelated note, some folks I care about are going through some rough times right now. They're feeling alone, as if no one understands them or what they've been through or are enduring now. To some degree, of course, they're right; each of our experiences is unique. In a greater sense, though, they are not alone. I'm here, others who care about them are around, and even if only in spirit, we are with them. I've linked to this song before, but it fits now, for them, so I'll use it again. (Sorry about the commercial; it's the cost of a free, high-quality video.)
December 12, 2010
The weather outside is frightful
and so has sapped my will to blog. All I want to do is hide in the bed. It's cold and wet and much like living under an old gray dog blanket that's been in the woods covering a kid's fort during three weeks of steady rain.
Here's a snapshot from a local weather service of a main road here.
So, news of my company's party and last night's UFC fights will have to wait another day.
Trust me: if you were here, you'd agree with this choice.
Here's a snapshot from a local weather service of a main road here.
So, news of my company's party and last night's UFC fights will have to wait another day.
Trust me: if you were here, you'd agree with this choice.
December 11, 2010
Scott snags his first college acceptance
Many interesting events occurred today, but the most important of them, to me, was that Scott was accepted to the one university to which he applied early action. (That means that the school accepted him early but he is not obligated to attend it.) That college was one of his top choices, so he now locked down an option he quite likes. As is typical of students at his high school, he's applying to quite a few colleges, so the process is far from over, but it's still nice to have an acceptance early.
I am so very proud of him.
More tomorrow on some of the other stuff.
I am so very proud of him.
More tomorrow on some of the other stuff.
It may not sound good
but a sandwich with fried bologna, bleu cheese, roast beef, muenster cheese, and ham is a tasty concoction indeed, particularly after you heat it up in a panini maker.
I'm just sayin'.
No one else seemed to appreciate my magnificent creation, but when are artists, even sandwich artists, truly appreciated in their lifetimes?
Yeah, it was make-your-own-sandwiches night here as we indulged in the annual viewing of the unrated cut of Bad Santa.
I'm just sayin'.
No one else seemed to appreciate my magnificent creation, but when are artists, even sandwich artists, truly appreciated in their lifetimes?
Yeah, it was make-your-own-sandwiches night here as we indulged in the annual viewing of the unrated cut of Bad Santa.
December 9, 2010
Writer line of the day
As I've mentioned before, I'm a big fan of the fine books from Subterranean Press. If you're not already buying books from them, I strongly encourage you to check them out. Bill Schafer, who runs the show there, is also a swell guy, another reason to buy from them.
Yesterday, I received from them a copy of Hellcats and Honeygirls , a book I ordered the moment I heard about it. This lovely hardback collects all three of the short mystery novels that Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake published under pseudonyms. I greatly admire the work of both of these writers, so I can't wait to read their collaborations.
Block provided an introduction to the collection, and in it I found a line, from Westlake, that hit home with me. I suspect it will with many, if not all, writers. Here's the excerpt that contains the line, with it in bold.
I suspect they'd be lying.
Yesterday, I received from them a copy of Hellcats and Honeygirls , a book I ordered the moment I heard about it. This lovely hardback collects all three of the short mystery novels that Lawrence Block and Donald Westlake published under pseudonyms. I greatly admire the work of both of these writers, so I can't wait to read their collaborations.
Block provided an introduction to the collection, and in it I found a line, from Westlake, that hit home with me. I suspect it will with many, if not all, writers. Here's the excerpt that contains the line, with it in bold.
When Don agreed to have Hard Case Crime reissue some of his early books--crime novels, I should point out, which had nothing to apologize for--a mutual friend asked him why he thought this was a good idea. The money didn't amount to much, after all, and the work was not as good as what he'd produced since then, and--I'm sure some writers would disagree and claim not to feel that way.
"The difference between being in print and out of print," Don told him, "is the same as the difference between being alive and being dead."
I suspect they'd be lying.
