The Juice and Jack McCoy

Tonight I watched Capricorn One (on TCM naturally) which is a 1978 movie about a faked Mars landing starring James Brolin, Elliot Gould, Sam Waterson (aka Jack McCoy) and O.J. Simpson. It was really strange to see all the lead actors so young (I don't think that I have ever seen a movie with Sam Waterson without gray hair, not to mention James Brolin without white hair!). And it is always a little strange to see pre-trial O.J. Simpson. I have only ever seen him in the Naked Gun movies (and his scenes were always my least favorite) so it was strange to see him in a dramatic role. That being said, he didn't have to have a lot a talent to play his part in Capricorn One. Most of his lines were basically stating the obvious. But Sam Waterson did get to play kind of a smart-ass in the movie, which was quite enjoyable. Overall, I enjoyed the movie but for the most part I like the conspiracy theory movies (like The Manchurian Canidate and most Hitchcock movies [i.e. North by Northwest, Foreign Correspondent] and Sneakers) so I'm not really suprised that I liked it.

DALE: I can't afford to be out of commission for three days. As one of Arlen's leading skeptics, I've got my fingers in a lot of pies.
HANK: But Dale, you made a deal. What about all that great stuff you got from John?
DALE: Damn, the stuff! Stuff is my weakness!

More TCM love

I know I have mentioned in the past how much I love the TCM channel (it is one of my favorite channels and I usually check what is showing on the weekends). I have seen some great movies on TCM (like Now, Voyager, A Night At the Opera, and Christmas in Connecticut to name a few). But tonight, they are showing a bunch of Chuck Jones shorts as well as a short documentary about Chuck Jones and The Phantom Tollbooth (which is on at 11pm but Lucy is taping it for me). This is the perfect remedy to my somewhat stressful day at work.

MINH: Kahn, we have no nanny for Connie.
KAHN: Oh, cruel, cruel fate! This Maui speech could be my stepping-stone from systems analyst to senior systems analyst!

The return

I think that it has been about a month since I last did a book review (and I've actually finished 3 books in that time!) but finally here is another book review (I'm sure all of you were waiting for one!). The book for this week (or month) is "The Hours Before Dawn" by Celia Fremlin. It is a mystery novel set in 1958 London about a housewife named Louise with 3 children including a new baby that cries all night. The family lets a room in their house to a mysterious lodger named Vera Brandon. Strange things start happening around the house but Louise is so tired that she isn't sure what is real and what isn't real. On top of that there is a feeling on anxiety all though the house that may or may not be due to Miss Brandon. Since a lot of the action takes place in the house it feels very claustrophobic but also a little more terrifying since there is no safe haven for Louise. You also sympathize with Louise as she struggles to get through the day through her exhaustion (I'm sure anyone with a new born can understand Louise's struggle). The novel is pretty short (about 175 pages) but it really good. I discovered the book (which has a been out of print for a long time) through Bas Bleu which is one of my favorite bookstores (although it is really just an online store/catalog, there is no physical store). Every book that I have read that was recommended by the catalog (like Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day) has been fantastic. They specialize in more eccentric/lesser known books (basically the complete opposite of Oprah's Book Club). So there are more books from small publishing companies or companies outside of the United States and older books (and less well-known books) that have out of print (like the one for this review). I highly recommend "The Hours Before Dawn" (which may soon be making the rounds through my family) and Bas Bleu.

I'm officially an adult!

Because I did my taxes today (online)! Since I worked a month in Indiana, I have to pay the state of Indiana $6 (so I couldn't e-file) but I have to mail something on Monday so I am going to go ahead and send in all my tax stuff on Monday as well. And it wasn't too hard to do the 2 states (as well as the Federal) using TurboTax (it was much easier than I thought, or was afraid it would be). I was actully really nervous about doing my taxes (like I was going to mess it up and then get audited) but my company makes it easy to use an online service because you can automatically import your W-2 so I wasn't so worried about mistyping a number.

HANK: So Bobby, we got to think of a hero for you.
BOBBY: Do you have a hero, Dad?
HANK: I sure do, and it's Willie Nelson.
BOBBY: How come?
HANK: Well, you might say he's been my inspiration. See, Willie grew up in Texas, and I grew up in Texas. He loves golfing and playing guitar, I love golfing and playing guitar, he's had trouble with the IRS, and I must have spent six hours last April on that 1040 form -- EZ my ass.

It's a shark!

This past weekend I drove up to Ann Arbor for a surprise visit to Rachel and my mom. On Saturday, we all went to Costco (no IKEA for once!) and enjoyed a variety of free samples (although I think that Ellis enjoyed the jelly beans sample the most). We got these really cool (and large) kites (a dragon and a shark) to take with up the vacation house in August. And then we went to see the boat that Trey is working on and played Settlers of Catan while Ellis was napping (and Rachel basically creamed mom and I). Trey made a delicious trout dinner and then Rachel and Trey creamed mom and I at Hand and Foot (we did win one round though). On Sunday, Rachel, Mom, Ellis, and I when to Borders and then to Meijer while Trey got supplies to rebuild the shelves in their basement pantry. The shelves were mostly done by the time I headed back to Ashland, but I will require photographic proof!

LUANNE: And not one of my beauty school credits has transferred to junior college. It turns out you have to get at least a C.

Cecil Jacobs is a big wet hen

I love the book "To Kill a Mockingbird". I have a first edition that a friend got for me for graduation (which makes me love the book so much more because I am reminded of her). I also love the movie of "To Kill a Mockingbird" in part because the screen adaptation by Horton Foote is so well done. So I was very sad to learn that Horton Foote passed away today. I may have to watch "To Kill A Mockingbird" (and cry as usual) this weekend.