Rich man, Poor man, Beggar, Thief

Last Saturday, I went to my beloved AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring to see the new movie adaptation of John Le Carre's Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.  This adaptation was chock full of British actors that I know and like including Colin Firth, Mark Strong, Gary Oldman, Cirian Hinds, Toby Jones, John Hurt, Tom Hardy, and Benedict Cumberbatch (which means Sirius Black starred in a spy thriller with Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Knightley, Captain Wentworth, and Mr. Darcy).  So I really liked the movie. Beyond the great casting, the director did a great job with establishing the fear and paranoia of the Cold War.  And the set design and costuming was really good.  But I have to say this is a movie that will benefit from repeat viewing.  Once you know the basic plot, you will probably notice/understand more of the subtle plot points and will make the movie more enjoyable (this is how I feel about the movie Gosford Park, by the 3rdv viewing I figured out what the familial relationship and who the couples were).  All in all, it was a good way to spend an afternoon.  However, there was one guy at the movie who both did not turn off his phone (and then didn't seem to understand that his ring tone was ruining the movie, seriously someone had to tell him to turn off his phone) and then fell asleep during the movie (I could hear his snoring, he was only a few rows in front of me).

Beautiful Meloncholy

Today I listened to a podcast called To The Best of Our Knowledge from Wisconsin Public Radio.  This is a podcast that I really enjoy, but hasn't made it into my weekly rotation. And really it should, because the shows are really interesting and kind of similar to This American Life where they take a topics and do short news/non-fiction pieces about it.  The episode I listened to today was called Why Do We Love Sad Songs.  And I was introduced to this amazing piece of music called Adagio for the Strings by Samuel Barber:


It premiered on the radio in the late 1930s but gained popularity as song played at funeral after being played several times following the death of FDR.

Spelunking

In honor of finally being able to hear the latest series of Cabin Pressure, a BBC Radio 4 show that I adore, I thought I would write a post about discovering shows like Cabin Pressure.  While living in Ohio, I got used to listening to audiobooks from time to time (my local library had quite a selection).  So when I moved home, I tried the website Audible.com which lets you download a variety of audio programs which, fortunately for me, includes BBC radio shows.  The first thing I search for was David Mitchell and Robert Webb, who are the creators of a TV show I enjoy called That Mitchell and Webb Look.  And then I decided to look up actors that I really like.  The first was Marcus Brigstock, who wrote in and starred in a one season show called The Savages.  And I discovered this weird but funny radio show The Museum of Everything (which I can't really accurately describe). This was followed by searching for Benedict Cumberbatch (who Steven Moffat or BBC fans will know plays Sherlock in the updated series).  And through that I discovered the show Cabin Pressure which is a work place series that takes place in a small contract private airline.  I really love this show, it is a great combination of warmth, cynicism, and humor.  It doesn't hurt that is was written by John Finnemore who also worked on That Mitchell and Webb Look.  But I think on my favorite discoveries is Richard Armitage (of North and South and The Vicar of Dibley) narrating the work of Georgette Heyer, who wrote Regency novels.  And so those audiobooks represent the meeting of two things that I love.  Until Alan Rickman starts recording audiobooks (can you believe that he doesn't? I would listen to him reading the phonebook), Richard Armitage will do in a pinch (I've listened to one several times while falling asleep).  By searching for actors that I enjoy, I was able to find other projects from these actors that I truly enjoy. 

Because it is that time of year

In honor of Thanksgiving this Thursday, I thought I would write about a few things that I am grateful for:

• My Parents: I am so grateful for my parents.  Most things that I like about myself or my tastes are either a direct result of them (like my love for Paul Simon and Masterpiece Mystery) or due to the way they raised me (like my work ethic).  I know we don't always agree on everything, but I know how lucky I am that my parents are so supportive and willing to help me (and really they have been so patient with the number of hobbies my sisters and I have picked-up over the years like beekeeping, raising goats, soapmaking, cheesemaking, and quilting to name a few). 
• My Sisters (and their husbands and children):  My sisters are some of my favorite people in the whole world.  Sometimes I complain about being the youngest but I know that my life has been easier because of my older sisters giving me advice and support (and their husbands in more recent years).  And I love being an aunt so I'm thankful that my sisters and their husbands have given the opportunity to spend time with all my nephews.
• My Job:  Since the economy is still crappy, I know I am lucky that I have a job.  But I am thankful that I have the job that I have now.  I really love my job and it has given me a chance to explore a new part of the country and do something I love.  And I really like my co-workers a lot as evidenced by the fact that one of my co-workers got me an Agatha Christie book (the HarperCollins reprints with the awesome covers) as a thank you gift and that my boss and I talked about how great Paul Simon's Graceland CD is over lunch last week.  I know that I was lucky to be able to leave a job I didn't like and have time to really think about what kind of job would make me happy and feel fulfilled (thanks to my family and Rachel suggestion that I see a career counselor).
• Technology: I know this sounds like a weird one, but hear me out.  I love my iPod and I use pretty much every day.  I listen to music or podcasts at work all the time and it makes the time fly by.  Because of the internet, Facebook, and Blogger to name a few, I feel connected to my friends and family as well as the world at large and more informed.  Plus, I am listening a Paul Simon concert from Indiana University as I write this and earlier today I watched 4 episodes of Law & Order.  
• NPR:  It's just awesome.  I get so much from listening to programs from NPR.  I learn so much and every week there is at least one super fascinating story that I hear on NPR that I try to follow up on or learn more about.  Ditto for PBS.  
• My Freedom:  I was reminded of this while I was driving to work listening to a story about Saudi Arabian women fighting for the right to drive (and vote and walk in public places with men to name a few things).  I think too often we take our freedom for granted so I want to remember how fortunate I am to live in a time and place where women have freedom.    

I'm in a quilting sprint!

I finished all the handquilting on a quilt that I made when I still lived in Ohio (so I think I've had it pieced for about 2 years).  I had it mailed to me during my six month stay in Vermont and made a lot a progress on it but I hadn't put any real work on it for about six months.  Then last month, I decided to get to work on it so when I saw my mother at Thanksgiving, we could put the binding on it and I could finish.  After about 2 weeks of intense quilting almost nightly (with episodes of Midsomer Murders keeping me company), I finished it rather quickly.  So spurned on by this success, I decided that I would finally finish the first quilt I pieced.  I have worked on the quilting on and off for about 8 years. I wish I were kidding but I'm not.  I set it aside for the first time to make a quilt for Bridget and then my sisters kept having babies (and I made a king size quilt for Rachel which took me about 3 years, I pieced that monster quilt throughout most of grad school).  Now I am closer than ever to finishing it, I have about 1.3 pieces of border left to finish.  Since this was the first quilt that I worked on, I can see how poorly my first attempts were and how much better my stitching has become.  I kind of want to rip out those old bad stitches but I sort of want to be reminder of how I started.  So now, I'm sprinting toward the finish line of Thanksgiving with a quilt that I made with my grandmother and for that reason alone, I will always keep it with me. 

What I've learned from Film Noir

I have seen 12 film noir movies over the past two weekends so I thought that I make a list of what I've learned from those movies (and well as the many many other film noir movies I've seen in the past):

• If you have to see a psychologist or psychoanalyst because you may have murdered someone, makes sure the person is of the opposite sex.  He or she will be more invested in your recovery because there is a 80% chance she/he will fall in love with you and help you clear your name. 
• Do not let yourself get locked in a house (yours or someone else) or a building. More than likely the person who is holding you hostage will be in the process of convincing anyone that could help you that you are crazy.  
• Do not install frosted glass in your house.  In the case of the above situtaion, it makes it that much more difficult to get someone's attention.  Plus your hostage takes could sneak up on you (I'm looking at you Ida Lupino in Beware My Lovely).  
• If you husband is trying to run you down on the street, make sure that someone else is dressed very similarly (and hopefully in cahoots with your murdering husband). 
• Do not work in a bank.  At some point someone is going to either force you to rob the bank or rob the bank and make you the fall guy. 
• If you are a twin accused of murder and your psychologist is doing a word association exercise with you, it does not bode well for your twin if you answer to "mirror" is "death".  And don't dress alike, especially if you are not under 5.  It's just creepy.  
• If you are dealing with twins and one might be evil, only talk to the twins in person not on the phone. 
• Cats can either help you or draw unwanted attention to you.  It's really a toss up.  But trust dogs, they are always in the right.  
• If you have escaped from prison with a group of men and you've decided that you are going after a stash of money, things are not going to end well for almost your entire group.  Best to escape with only one other person (and don't get attached then either).  
• Do not marry, work for, or live with a person that is very attached to the parent of the opposite sex.  And for goodness sake, don't stay in his or her motel!
• It is probably a good idea not to get in a car that you are not driving. 
• Don't be friends with a gossip columnist.  
• Sometimes the police a helpful and other times the police are completely useless.  So sort of like cats.  The FBI is usually helpful (like dogs). 
• If you are involved with a married man, he is never going to leave his wife.  If he has a first wife, more than likely he did not divorce her, he killed her.  
• And most importantly, do not be a push-over.  Be proactive, be aggressive, and be willing to trick your adversary in any way that you gives you an advantage, gives you extra time, or shows that you are willing to fight back. 

Tales from AFI

On Sunday, I watched 3 Film Noir movies: Laura, They Won't Believe Me, and High Wall.  I'll skip over Laura since it is probably one of the better known films.  They Won't Believe Me opens with the main character on trial for the murder of his wife/mistress (it isn't clear which murder he is being charged with, point is both are dead).  I have to say I enjoyed this movie because for once, it is not a bad woman leading a good man astray.  The ending was a little bit of a surprise mostly due to the change required under the Hayes Code.  The last movie from Sunday was High Wall.  The plot of the movie is the main character thinks that he strangled his wife but his a suffering from blackout due to a blood clot in his brain (which gets fixed by surgery).  Because of the black out condition, he is sent to a psychiatric hospital for evaluation by Dr. Ann Laurson.  She believes that he didn't kill his wife and tries to help him prove it.   I liked High Wall even though on the most basic level it is a less good version of Spellbound (with a less good cast). 

One other weird story from being that AFI for most of the afternoon: I went the bathroom before seeing High Wall and there was a man using one of the stalls in the women's restroom (and I only knew it was a man because he didn't close the door).  I am not 100% sure that he was drunk, but he did do a very theatrical burp that was reminiscent of Barney Gumble (from the Simpsons) (alcohol is served at the theater but you can only buy one at a time so the guy either went back multiple times or is a lightweight). 

One more thing, I am pretty sure that the AFI Silver was only theater in the DC metro area that was showing Margin Call because the line was huge for every showing (and it was showing in the biggest of the 3 theaters).

It's getting dark

It's the first weekend of the DC Noir Fest at AFI Silver so I spent most of my day in Silver Spring.  I saw 3 movies today so I thought that I would do a little write for all the movies that I am going to see over the next few weeks.
Experiment in Terror:  A bank teller gets grabbed in her garage and her attacker demands that she steal $100,000 for him or he will kill her and her sister (and he generously offers to give her 20%).  She calls the FBI and works with an agent (played by Glenn Ford!) to find the bank robber.  The movie was really enjoyable and it was interesting to see the what the idea of the FBI was in the 50s (because in the movie people called the operator and could speak to an agent).  The ending is really good and the climax takes place at Candlestick Park after a Giants-Dodgers game.
Crashout: Very rare movie, not available on DVD.  A gang of six men band together after a prison break (or crashout) with the plan of finding and splitting  a $180,000 one of them stole in a bank robbery.  And you can imagine how well this plan goes.  Someone in the row in front of me complained that the movie end very ambiguously without totally tying up the plot.  I kind of wanted to say both "Well, it is film noir" and "Um... try watching I Am a Fugitive From A Chain Gang, that might be most ambigous ending ever.  It just fades to black after Paul Muni's last line. " (and that movie made me love Paul Muni!)
Loophole: Another rare movie, not available on DVD.  A bank teller unknowingly gets almost $50,000 stolen from his drawer.  The FBI agents who work on the case believe he is innocent but the special investigator working for the bonding company representing the bank, does not believe him and start relentlessly pursuing the bank teller in an attempt to get him to reveal the location of the money.  After talking with the FBI agent, the teller (Donavon) remembers that there was a second bank examiner that counted the money in his drawer (and swiped the money).  Donavon crosses path with the actual robber a few times, which lead to someone in the audience yelling "Come On!" during the movie.  This is another interesting movie that is definitely of a very specific time.  It takes place during the height of McCarthy-based paranoia and the relentless pursuit of an innocent man is very reminiscent of that time. 

And once again it comes down the grammar

I don't know if anyone else is following this story (if you heard the Two-Way blog on NPR, you've seen the posts about it), but ESPN will no longer being playing a Hank Williams Jr. song to open Monday night football.  This is due to a Hank Williams Jr. comparing Obama to Hitler and then calling both Obama and Biden the enemy when talking about the golf game between Obama, Biden, Speaker of the House Baynor, and I think the fourth person was the Governor of Ohio (but I'm not sure).  So EPSN pulled the song and then Williams Jr. released these statements:

"Some of us have strong opinions and are often misunderstood. My analogy was extreme — but it was to make a point. I was simply trying to explain how stupid it seemed to me — how ludicrous that pairing was. They're polar opposites and it made no sense. They don't see eye-to-eye and never will. I have always respected the office of the President.
"Every time the media brings up the tea party it's painted as racist and extremists — but there's never a backlash — no outrage to those comparisons... Working class people are hurting — and it doesn't seem like anybody cares. When both sides are high-fiving it on the ninth hole when everybody else is without a job – it makes a whole lot of us angry. Something has to change. The policies have to change."

"I have always been very passionate about Politics and Sports and this time it got the Best or Worst of me. The thought of the Leaders of both Parties Jukin and High Fiven on a Golf course, while so many Families are Struggling to get by simply made me Boil over and make a Dumb statement and I am very Sorry if it Offended anyone. I would like to Thank all my supporters. This was Not written by some Publicist."

And this is my response: It is unnecessary to say that this was not written by "some Publicist" because I would hope that a publicist, who by the very nature of the job needs to be careful about what is being said, would know when to and when not to capitalize words.   And later he said this:

"After reading hundreds of e-mails, I have made MY decision. By pulling my opening Oct 3rd, You (ESPN) stepped on the Toes of The First Amendment, Freedom of Speech, so therefore Me, My Song, and All My Rowdy Friends are OUT OF HERE. It's been a great run."

Again, what is up with the crazy capitalization?  He is protected by the First Amendment (and all of it's toes), but there is no reason to not follow grammatical rules. 

DVD recommendation

While I'm a run of movie recommendations, I am going to strongly encourage everyone to see the Japanese film "Departures" which won the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2009.  It is about a cellist who loses his job in an orchestra in Tokyo so he and his wife return to his hometown to his mother's house (his mother passed away 2 years earlier).  He ends up getting a job as a person who prepare bodies for burial or cremation.  Given the premise, there are many scenes that take place at funerals so the movie could have been depressing but there are so many scenes that are funny or touching that make the movie really enjoyable.  And the cello music throughout the film is really fantastic.   The movie is available on DVD and Instant Watch on Netflix.

I must admit I was wrong

Back in July, I did a little run down of all the trailers I saw during my Captain America/Harry Potter double feature and one of these trailers was for Steven Soderburgh's movie Contagion. I kind of blew it off saying that it looked like a remake of Outbreak.  However, due to the good reviews that I had heard/read, I decided to go see it this morning (and since the showing I went to was a 10:30, it only cost $6).  And I must say, I really liked the movie.  The cast is superb (and almost tailor-made to me it seemed) and included Laurence Fishburne, Kate Winslet, Gwyneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Gould, Jude Law, Matt Damon, Enrico Colantoni, Bryan Cranston, Demtri Martin (the first time you see him, he is a bioharzard suit and you only catch a glimpse of his bowl cut hair so I was hoping it was him!), and most importantly (because the character is fantastic!) Jennifer Ehle.  A (somewhat biased) reason that I liked it the positive light that both the CDC/WHO and science were portrayed.  And it reminded me that for about a year when I was 15, I wanted to be an epidemiologist (or at least work at the CDC, which I still think would be awesome).  It also reenforced my nerdiness because I thought that the computer modeling of the viral protein structure was cool to see. It was make you want to wash your hands constantly, but overall it was an enjoyable movie (though I wish the blogger with shady reasons for peddling a homeopathic "cure" for the flu got a bigger comeuppance). 

Reading history

I mentioned on Facebook last week that I have several very thick (500+ page) nonfiction history books that I plan on plowing through this fall and winter.  I have a book about the Balkans, post World War II Europe, English history, and the history of MI5 (plus I have a couple very long fiction books that I should start reading).  But the books I am starting with is And The Band Played On which is about the early days of AIDS research (including the actual identification of HIV).  I'm only about 30 pages into the book which opens around 1985.  And as I was thinking about it, AIDS has been a public health issue for almost my entire life.  So far it is kind of interesting to read about a world without the shadow of  HIV/AIDS. 

Art and Artist

As a lover of movies, books, art, and music, there is an idea that I think about from time to time which is can you and should you separate the art from the artist?  I think about this is for artists that I admire and those I don't admire (the artist personally not the work of the artist).  Would I appreciate Van Gogh's paintings as much if I didn't think about his mental anguish he underwent while painting?  But on the flip side, can I separate the ideals/beliefs of Richard Wagner from enjoying listening to the Ring Cycle?  When ever I see a Roman Polanski movie I think about this.  I enjoy his work as a director but I can't completely separate Polanski the director and Polanski the person. This kind of feeds into the idea that there is a thin line between genius and madness.  To what extent should we accept the madness to experience the genius?

Being an optimist

Two weekends ago I went to the AFI Silver in Silver Spring to see Hitchcock's Torn Curtain with Paul Newman and Julie Andrews.  I didn't check the Metro website before I left so I didn't know that there was Metro station in Silver Spring was closed so I had to take a Metro Shuttle bus to the Silver Spring station.  Which means that I was about 20 minutes late for the movie.  But I actually didn't mind being late (I have seen the movie before).  It was kind of nice to go on the surface streets of Takoma Park and Silver Spring versus the elevated and relatively secluded location of the Metro Rail (though I did recognize some graffiti which allowed me to determine that I was close to the Silver Spring Metro Station.  But the most interesting thing about the bus ride was that it took me right based the Walter Reed Army Medical Center.  It is a little strange to think that the center is closing in the near future but I was kind of cool to see the center before it closes.  But kind of sad as well knowing the history of the Walter Reed Center, both good and bad. 

East Coast Living

It has been quite an exciting week for me, here in Maryland. As you may have heard, on Tuesday there was a earthquake with an epicenter about 90 miles south of here. And it was my first earthquake. Thankfully, nothing was damaged (I was actually working in the lab at the time). And then this weekend, sometime Saturday afternoon, hurricane Irene is expected to reach my little part of Maryland on her way up the coast. Since I live a little bit inland from the coast, I'm hoping that the rain and wind won't be too bad but I am fully expecting to lose power at my apartment. I was hoping to move into my new room and out of the government housing but moving during a hurricane is just a bit too adventurous for me (but I smartly created a huge pile of stuff in the middle of my room that I can run into in the dark whenever I feel like it this weekend, so that should a good source of amusement). So I'm just getting ready for losing power on Saturday. I have some bottled water (and lots of Coke) and I plan on cooking stuff in the morning that can be eaten hot or cold as well as lots of candles for reading/quilting/creating a fire hazard. Mostly importantly, I've charged up my jump box so I can charge my phone or iPod when the need arises. So heads to people whose number I have, I may be calling you when I get bored. I do have 3 Netflix movies (as long as I have a chance to get my mail on Saturday before it starts pouring) to watch as long as the power hold out. It will be a very interesting weekend. On the plus side, now there will only be a few natural disasters that I have not experienced (maybe I should spend a year or two in Hawaii so I can experience a volcano eruption).

I might be the only one

If you haven't noticed, I am a bit of a film nut. In general, I prefer older movies but I enjoy more recent movies as well with a special enjoyment of period pieces. I especially love it when a movie is set in relatively recent time (20s-70s) and made by one of the old studios (Warner Brothers, MGM, Paramount, etc) and instead of using the most recent version of the studio vanity card, the movie will use the vanity card from time period of the film. I just finished Fincher's Zodiac (set in the late 60s) and they used the both an older version of the Paramount and Warner Brothers vanity card. Another good example is Peter Jackson's remake of King Kong. Now if only RKO Pictures still existed!

Quite the quandary

So one my AFI memberships perks is half off a DVD from the Warner Brother Archive. A few years ago Warner Brothers basically released all the films from the Archives to be purchased on DVDs by demand for about $20 (so instead of making 10,000 DVD copies, Warner Brothers will produce one DVD when you order it) or you can download the film for $15. Now I am faced with a tough decision of what DVD to get and more than likely I haven't seen the movie, except I have found one so far that I have seen called Doctor Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (about Paul Ehrlich, those who have read Microbe Hunters will remember him). One of the first movie that looked promising was Above Suspicion with a Hitchcock style thriller with Fred McMurray and Joan Crawford. But then a few pages later I stumbled on Confession of a Nazi Spy with Edward G. Robinson which I confess was my laptop wallpaper a few months ago when it was on TCM. And since seeing the poster every day for about 30 days, I really want to see the movie. Most likely, I am going to look through the entire Archive and pick out a few gems. In the mean time, I am totally enjoying the made-for-tv movies and cheesy movies from the 60s-90s that are in the Archive. Let me just say there are multiple movies that feature ": A Love Story", including Champions: A Love Story and Divorce Wars: A Love Story. Any suggestions of old Warner Brothers movies worth checking out?

For your listening pleasure

And because I've been obsessed with this song since Saturday night (and as a side note, this is the same composer that wrote the music for The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly)



And does anyone else miss pre-Waterworld Kevin Costner? And Andy Garcia for that matter?

A Single Drawback

A drawback of living alone/with 1 other person, is that I am less motivated to want to bake something for the sole reason that fewer people means increased likelihood of having to throw away a stale baked good. Living with Rachel's family last year lead to baking in a weekly frequency to the point that I completely memorized a couple of recipes (pancakes and pita bread specifically). Now that I am living in a reduced household and without a mixer (when I moved out here, my job was temporary and to last 6-9 months), my desire/motivation to bake is greatly diminished. However, due a consistent craving for chocolate chip cookie dough and a well timed sale (thank you Target), I bought a hand mixer. And tonight, I made blueberry muffins using one of my favorite recipes from The King Arthur Cookbook. I have used all sorts of fruit in this muffin mix including blueberry, raspberry, cranberry, strawberry/blueberry combination, and once (for Ellis) chocolate chip. I love this recipe, the muffin always turn out really well with a nice crumb. And my favorite part of the recipe is that you alternately add flour and milk (which is similar to what you do when making a cake). What I love about this step watching the batter become too thick with the flour and then too thin with the milk until you reach this perfect balance between the two extremes. It's like baking alchemy. And it's delicious.

Please enjoy

For all you anglophiles out there:


The panelists are Richard E. Grant, David Mitchell, Fern Britton, Martin Clunes, Lee Mack, and Sanjeev Bhaskar (from the Kumars at no. 42) and hosted by Rob Brydon.