Mark L. Van Name's Blog, page 43

It's gonna be a long four years

So we're gonna need all the Ramones we can get.  Might as well start here.



Brace yourselves.  Turn up the music loud.  Get ready to fight what's wrong.

It's really gonna be a long four years.

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them

was a delight from start to finish, a lovely bit of fantasy in a season that can use all the fun and fantasy we can muster.

The movie blends two plots--bad things happening in last-century magical New York, and a magician visiting the city with a bag full of fantastic creatures--to solid effect, with the threads inevitably and appropriately intertwining at the end.  The leads turn in solid performances, though I must admit that from time to time Eddie Redmayne's mush-mouthed delivery did frustrate me.

Like most films these days, Fantastic Beasts does not hold up well to critical analysis after the fact.  In particular, the magic community is both dramatically more powerful than the rest of the human world and also suffering under a highly questionable form of government and system of justice.  (Saying more would require spoilers, so I'll leave it at that; you'll know what I mean if you see the film.)

Though it certainly helps to know about the Harry Potter universe, that knowledge isn't really necessary to enjoy the film.  You can trust to the opening minutes to outline the setup, and from there, it's a new ride even for Potter fans.

If you want a fun couple of hours in the theater, definitely check out Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

We need to make it harder to get into Panciuto

As I've written here many times, I love Panciuto.  The blend of Italian and southern American cuisines that chef/proprietor Aaron Vandemark produces is consistently fantastic, so rich and delicious that I can never finish all I order.  He's been getting his ingredients locally throughout the restaurant's existence, and he's a great member of his community.  On a brisk fall night like tonight, sitting inside the cozy restaurant is a genuine treat.

There's really only one problem:  it's too easy to get a reservation.

Panciuto deserves to be thronged, so busy that they raise prices and still people are on waiting lists, so busy that I have trouble getting a table all of the many times I want to eat there.  I should have to beg to get in, and even then they should have to turn me away often.

Panciuto also deserves recognition as consistently delivering amazing, handmade pasta, something other places are starting to claim but which has been true there from the start.

Spread the word, and then go eat at Panciuto.  Tell your friends to do the same.

Make it hard for me to get to eat at my favorite local restaurant.

A delicious dilemma

I'm currently reading the latest Barry Eisler novel, Livia Lone.  When I checked my mail today, I found waiting for me two books from the UK:  the new Jack Reacher novel, Night School, from Lee Child, and the newest entry in the Rivers of London series, The Hanging Tree, from Ben Aaronovitch.

This is the sort of delicious dilemma that every avid reader enjoys.  Which book do I read next?  Which one thus has to wait?

I love having that choice.

The real problem, of course, is that I have stacks and stacks of great book candidates, and never enough time to read them all.

That is just a bigger version of the same problem, and I feel lucky to have it.

Heading home in the morning

This two-week work trip has been good, and I've enjoyed many excellent meetings and conversations with friends and clients, but I have to say that I am glad to be flying home tomorrow morning.

The only bad part of the return trip is that it starts so early, but so it goes.

The past two weeks have been difficult for the obvious reason, but I'm getting used to the new reality and starting to plan all the ways that I have to up my personal game in the face of our new political scene.

No matter how Trump and his team behave, the rest of us owe it to each other and to our country to try to be even better people, to take care of all of our fellow citizens, and to reject indifference and hate in favor of love.

Love is love

Now more than ever, we're going to need to keep remembering this basic truth.

Maybe this song will help.



When people are lucky enough to love one another, feel happy for them, and let them enjoy that love.  Don't try to tell them their love is wrong.

More generally, now more than ever, we need love.  Call me an old hippy, but we could use a whole lot less hate and a whole lot more love.

I mistakenly read some political news today

and of course couldn't avoid Trump's appointment of Steve Bannon as his chief strategist.  If you've missed this little jewel, check out this New York Times opinion piece on it.

Rather than think more about this topic, I'm going to look forward to diving into magic with this movie this weekend.



The world of fantasy is looking better and better.

Today's spam

wanted me to protect my floors, get a college degree, date Russian single women, and learn to code.

I was impressed by how constructive it all was.

Of course, when you start taking life advice from your email spam, something is terribly wrong.

Fortunately, I am not at that point...at least, not yet.

Am I in Austin now?

Heck, yeah, I am, as this amazing feast from Cooper's BBQ clearly shows.


Yes, there was a little Amy's ice cream afterward.  Just a little.

No, I did not eat all of that; this was an order for two.

Yes, it was every bit as delicious as it looks.

Check out the upcoming Luc Besson film

Luc Besson is back in the director's chair and is also one of the writers, so you know I'm not going to miss Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets when it appears next summer.  Check it out.



If Besson can deliver anything near the quality of The Fifth Element, I will be psyched!