I usually get upset when you all make fun of Tunch’s weight, but I walked into the living room and saw this, I knew I had to share it:
For some reason, he now has decided his favorite place to sleep is on the arm of the couch with his backside facing outwards. Why? Because he’s a cat, that’s why.
Today was just hectic as hell. I’m finally sick of this weather and sick of feeling tired and drained. And no, I don’t have a vitamin D deficiency or any other health problem, I’m just sick of everything being gray and nasty outside. Think tonight is going to be another PG Tips and movies night.
Also, I’m just totally dispirited about the events in Egypt, because my fear is that honest good kids who want to be free over there are going to bring down the regime, and in the vacuum, some group will take power and put in place a far more repressive government. Additionally, the idiocy about making all of this a domestic partisan squabble is getting me down.
Cap'n Phealy
If the couch makes Tunch’s ass look fat, shouldn’t you buy a new couch?
PG Tips is awesome, with miraculous powers to aid in recuperation.
morzer
Tunch is the big brown one – right?
RossInDetroit
PG Tips = Brooke Bond tea in the pyramid packets. Good call. It’s our new wintertime staple. For some reason our coffee addict household wants tea when it’s cold out. Maybe because it’s still drinkable when it (quickly) reaches room temp.
Lincolnshire Poacher
Tell people Tunch is one of those Russian cats, the ones that are big boned and can weight up to 50lbs.
What movies are you planning on watching? I have one from the library I need to see before I have to return, The Station Agent.
Josie
Those of us who have known a few cats realize that, by the time you figure out why, he will have chosen a new favorite spot. You might use one of those lamps with the full spectrum type light similar to sunlight to get you through the gray period. I’m afraid nothing will help with the Egypt thing except to quit watching the news and reading stupid people’s opinions.
Chuck Butcher
Today I’m starting to see some bare patches of ground for the first time since the first week of Dec and it is quite grey and … well – grey.
Tunch seems oblivious to the fat cat references, otherwise you might be missing a face.
jeff
You sum up my own feelings about Egypt. I admit that I don’t know much of anything about Egypt after about AD 150.
I would hate to see this period of dangerous exuberance end behind a wall of religious oppression. There are a lot of people there that the Brotherhood would probably round up and murder, should it end up on top. Coptics had already been subject to terrorist attacks recently, and gays and freethinkers would fare no better than Christians.
Does anyone (other than at Andrew Sullivan or National Review) know if greater democracy with human rights for minorities a possibility?
RossInDetroit
@Lincolnshire Poacher:
The Station Agent was difficult to watch but Peter Dinklage’s performance was just outstanding. The guy has a screen presence that few match these days.
Alexandra
PG Tips FTW. Was surprised to see it on supermarket shelves when over from UK in Annapolis last year.
Loves me some Tunch, too. Also.
Comrade Luke
@Lincolnshire Poacher: The Station Agent is excellent!
My cat is just under 14lbs, and showing (very) early signs of diabetes, so the doctor prescribed a new regimen of 3/4c of high protein food per day.
It’s the same food I already give her. And 1/4c more. Sigh…
Gustopher
Perhaps if you watched better movies, Tunch would actually face forward.
Comrade PhysioProf
I’m not so sure about that. I have been hearing comments from people who know a lot about Egypt that the real money people are behind the ouster of Mubarak and that they want some sort of democracy, because it will be good for their bottom line.
Chuck Butcher
Funny, Egypt has a population of about 77 million and Isreal a population of 7.5 million and Oregon a population of 3.5 million. Do you suppose Oregon would benefit from 1/2 the attention and concern Israel gets?
But then Oregon only has 2 Senators and 5 Reps…
Cat Lady
@Lincolnshire Poacher:
That is a great movie – one of my top ten. Just a quietly told story that’s captivating while nothing actually happens. The dwarf actor is amazing and teh hawt, also too.
Southern Beale
I guess you don’t want to hear that it was sunny and 65 degrees in Nashville today, huh?
:-)
We’ve had such a horrid winter though, it was like the first day of spring! Everyone was out, riding bikes, jogging, walking, walking dogs and baby strollers. It was incredible. We took our dogs to one of the city’s greenways and the place was packed. Then we went to an awesome little taco place and everyone is sitting on the patio drinking margaritas. And then we go to the shopping plaza where the Whole Foods is and a million people are outside walking around. Everyone was happy and in a good mood. Husband whistling. I mean, first day of spring RAWKS. Even in January.
So this will be coming your way soon, I promise!
The Commenter on BJ formerly known as arguingwithsignposts
As someone who just had a cancelled flight because of a nor’easter keep me from The Someone for another week, I sympathize. I always forget how much I hate winter.
Southern Beale
Re: Egypt, from January 21:
Southern Beale
Well I screwed that blockquote stuff up but I’m sure you guys get the gist …
mr. whipple
I think he’s saying, ‘kiss my fat ass’. Cats are like that.
Steaming Pile
An even more oppressive government who doesn’t have the respect for the Camp David accords that its predecessor had. Then we have something else to worry about.
wobblybits
Can we get a picture of the girls? You know because both sides need representation or something like that.
Culture of Truth
I have not made fun of Tunch’s weight, but on more than one occasion I may have remarked on his size. He’s freaking huge.
Loneoak
Got some bad news today: I didn’t get my dream job.
In good news, however, the likely new addition to our household is this creature.
de stijl
From the context I’m assuming that PG Tips is tea (and googling confirms this). My go-to tea is loose Twinings Irish Breakfast. Can anyone tell me why I should switch?
IOW, what’s so great about PG Tips?
Nicole
Dood, it was just a suggestion. Don’t want anything to happen to the guy who runs the blog. Where else would I go for my snark? Gawker? Too much Kardasian blah blah. (Or however it’s spelled.)
wobblybits
@Loneoak: puppeh!!! That is just what I needed. I have been sitting here moping and missing my pup (she is in Cali at the moment). Thanks for the smile :)
ETA: Sorry about the dream job. Hopefully something even better will come along.
R-Jud
Could be worse, you could live over here on the Island. There was a flaming ball of light in the sky today. Very unfamiliar. We spoke in whispers to avoid angering it.
I also feel you about being drained. My doctor recently decided to step back my B-12 shots to once every two months. When I wasn’t sleeping this past week, I was tearfully asking everyone why they put up with me when it’s so obvious I’m a complete shithead.
I had my shot yesterday afternoon, and today I steam-cleaned the entire house.
Vitamin deficiency is weird.
Peter Dinklage: also awesome in In Bruges. Which I recommend highly.
ETA: Hmm. I appear to be Italicized. I’m not gonna name names, but I think it was Loneoak. (sorry, Southern Beale)
R-Jud +3
Culture of Truth
Peter Dinklage is going to star in HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
PeakVT
Latest Al Jazeera liveblog.
wobblybits
@wobblybits: weird, my comment seems jammed into another comment. Stupid WP.
Culture of Truth
Regime change reminds me of that line in M*A*S*H
“I could wind in a place worse than this?? There’s no place worse than this!”
benjoya
guy from the station agent owns a bar here in bklyn, called minibar. not making this up.
benjoya
@Southern Beale:
The proposal would recommend eliminating the annual US$200 million of economic aid to Egypt.</i.
but not the 1.3 billion in military aid, of course.
The Dangerman
Everyone give Loneoak The Look For Breaking It.
Loneoak
Yeah, everything is italicized, starting with my above comment to Southern Beale. How could I have done that?
FYLoneoak.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@jeff:
It’s an interesting question, and I’ve thought about it a lot, but I can’t come up with a definitive answer. All I know for sure is that the type of democracy we have didn’t happen overnight. You have to go back to the events at Runnymede in 1215, and trace the long slog through a civil war followed by a glorious revolution in 17th century England, onwards to our own revolution, Jacksonian Era spread of the franchise to un-propertied white men, our Civil War and women’s suffrage movement, the Voting rights act of 1965…And we still must remain vigilant in order to protect our democracy.
The French can point to their 18th century revolution, and Central Europe to the revolutions of 1848, but those continental democracies didn’t take hold overnight, either. I see these demonstrations and revolutions in the Arab world as the first steps in a very long journey, and it’s liable to get worse before it gets better.
lamh32
post on twitter says the Mubarak’s wife has left Egypt for London…
Anyone think this is indicatino of anything…
RossInDetroit
This is the first time I’ve ever seen text rendering weirdness on B-J, even when everyone else was bitching about it.
Hey! Look at me! I’m ITALIC!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Loneoak:
Damn you!
RossInDetroit
Anyway, Peter Dinklage. He’s very watchable. He’s handsome, has a lot of charisma and intensity. Kind of reminds me of Ray Burr, but short instead of gay.
Woah. Back from Italic. That was briefly thrilling.
de stijl
@benjoya:
Does Dinklage drive a Mini Cooper? Cuz that would be all kinds of awesome on so many levels.
Loneoak
Man, nothing is going right for me today. I’m going to go cry into a pillow.
wobblybits
nevermind, my comment just appeared @26.
Again, thanks Loneoak for the puppy pic. It put a smile on my face.
The Commenter on BJ formerly known as arguingwithsignposts
@Loneoak: dom’t feel bad. it happens to the all of us.
R-Jud
Also, here’s a UK PG Tips ad, with the somewhat nasty Jonny Vegas.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@de stijl:
Naw, he drives something he bought fro a Shriner.
jeff
@Loneoak:
That sucks. I actually was offered my dream job, but I’m turning it down on Monday because I can no longer physically make the commute (I can’t walk, and the office is in the midst of a vast nature preserve that I’d have to walk to each day.) It’s actually not quite my dream job, I guess, but I know how you’re feeling.
bjacques
Tunch is the orange tabby that big fat white cat is sitting on, right?
I mean, all I can see of Tunch is his tail.
joe from Lowell
@RossInDetroit:
I’m Irish-Italic, but people frequently think I’m Jewish.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Loneoak:
Was that the K College job?
RossInDetroit
@de stijl:
Back in my restaurant days I knew a diminutive entertainer who worked as a party clown for grownup events. He was absolutely fearless. The baby outfit and the whole deal.
Drove a yellow Tercel with his corporate logo on the door.
Great story about him in a Superman costume in a bar.
gbear
I’ve been listening to NPR lately and hearing some stories about Wanda Jackson and her new album. I just need to say in a public forum that Jack White should be shot for the production and song choices that he forced on Jackson. Just an incredibly shitty record and it’s 100% White’s fault.
Poopyman
To continue blockquotes, put a DOUBLE underscore between paragraphs. I dunno where that italic stuff came from.
It’s hard to tell in the Tunch pic where gut ends and hips begin, so I can’t remark on His Hugeness. Although Archie is long enough to stand on his hind legs and see over countertops, now he’s getting beyond the “big boned” stage. I’m afraid to find what his weight might be.
Anyway, re Egypt, I really think that there’s enough of an upper and middle class to put the kibosh on a Muslim Bro-hood takeover. But, as with everything, we shall see.
Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen
More like Does This Ass Make My Couch Look Fat?
(Yes!)
Yutsano
@R-Jud: Oh no. I’m not falling into that trap. I’ve heard of the horror that is British advertising. Not gonna go there tankyewverymuch.
BTW wanna hop a BA flight to Seattle and come steam clean my house?
Heh. Indeed. Lexie has been whining at me all morning cause her food bowl is empty. I go out to the store, get the food, come back…and she JUST SNIFFS IT. Damn furballs. It’s the cuteness that keeps us from killing them.
Poopyman
@Thoughtful Black Co-Citizen:
Is this what you meant?
Loneoak
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Yup.
Poopyman
@R-Jud: The one at the PG-Tips website is quite lame, even by British standards.
Poopyman
I’m sitting here drinking a Guinness that tastes well past its drinkability date. I hope Mrs. P gets home soon so we can eat.
R-Jud
@Yutsano:
Eh? British advertising is frequently hilarious and sharp. At least compared to the maudlinpalooza that is US ads. And while Jonny Vegas is disgusting in his stand-up act, he is all clean and sober for Middle England in that ad.
MUNKEH!
Ahem. Sorry. Seattle! I’ve only ever been to the airport, on my way through to Alaska.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Loneoak:
Ah, crap. That sucks.
ETA: It sucks that it was your dream job, not that it was K College…Although that sucks, too.
jeff
You know the head of Eygptian Antiquities, Zahi Hawass? He’s on TV about 4 hours a day lately, and is a huge publicity whore. For some reason, I’m wondering whether he was on the first or second jet to London.
Also, this guy, Haroon Moghul, argues at Huff Post that this is a hopeful development and that Islamism is not a threat; he warns that it is erroneous for Westerners to think about Iran as an analogy.
Not sure where this guy is coming from, and I’m too ignorant to comment on most of what he says in his article, but one of his reasons for a positive outlook seems totally true: the Iranian Revolution was about Islam, and nobody in Egypt is talking about religion….but just getting rid of Mubarak.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/haroon-moghul/4-reasons-why-egypts-revo_b_815848.html
Gina
Tunch is looking very healthy. He’s just big boned, don’t listen to the haters.
I really want another cat. One like this.
srv
John,
Bean bag chairs and couches don’t go together.
Poopyman
@Poopyman: And there she is!
Later!
eemom
there is nothing wrong with the size of that kitty’s tush.
It is time we eschewed the anorexic fashion model aesthetic of beauty for ALL species.
Gina
@Yutsano: Maybe she wants it cleaned. Or the bowl is just boring and she’d like something new.
Been through that wringer a few times with my crew.
Loneoak
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I’ll have more shots at different sorts of dream jobs, but this was a particularly desirable job because of its location near our families. I will now probably end up in a big research university (where I can be perfectly happy, too), so it’s also a little grieving at a particular life that could have been.
Yutsano
@R-Jud: Heck I’d even top it off with dinner at the rotating restaurant at the top of the Space Needle. Ya gotta do at least one touristy trap thingy here. That and duck a fish. Yes they really do throw them.
Although I guess they’re closed now cause of construction. Cwap.
Davis X. Machina
@jeff:
Not originally, not entirely. Or it would not have succeeded.
Jules
@eemom:
Indeed.
Tunch is a big beautiful kitty and John you must stop letting others remarks bother you.
Celebrate his Tunchness….revel in it.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@jeff:
Not at the time. Not expressly, anyway. The vanguard of the Revolution were secular, soshulist students with grievances against the Shah and his government, with Islamists joining in because they had grievances of their own.
CaliCat
File this under “Oh, For Fuck’s Sake”: The president didn’t say he was going to ban bunnies but you know he was thinking about it. Thank god we stopped him from outlawing bunnies with our preemptive outrage. (pats selves on back)
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/1/29/939305/-What-the-president-did-and-didnt-say-about-Social-Security
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Loneoak:
Just as long as that dream job doesn’t become Calvin or Hope, you’re good in my book.
schrodinger's cat
Kiss my ass, haters,
says Tunch.
Jay C
John, I think you’re being just a tad too pessimistic here (maybe it’s the weather) – but Egypt isn’t, I don’t think, like Iran in 1979, where there was a tightly-organized Islamist movement standing by in the wings to co-opt a popular uprising – if for no other reason than Iran exists today as a bad example. It’s always dicey predicting the future of political movements – but it just seems like Egypt has a fundamental choice of governmental structures to bgo with from here on in: either a continuation of the same sort of de-facto one-party authoritarian state (though not under Mubarak); or, some type of modification of it giving the general public some more input into the governmental process. Or at the minimum, the appearance of it. Myself, think the latter is a more likely: but it will depend on what the military and the moneyed classes think they will do the best with (and the old -existing – system ain’t gonna make it: not with this level of public discontent)
Ab-so-fucking-lutely. And it seems to be a basic principle that the more wrong the commenter was about Iraq, the louder they are going to squawk about Egypt. Depressing.
Southern Beale
@R-Jud:
I totally did not get In Bruges. Husband loved it, I hated it. I found it pointless. Must be a guy thing.
jeff
@Davis X. Machina:
Thanks, I was just saying what I had read. That’s too bad. The article I linked to also has three other reasons why that won’t happen in Egypt. I have no idea, but hope for the best for the Egyptians. I just am worried about the vulnerable Egyptians–and an Iranian-style outcome would literally mean their deaths. Thanks for the info.
One thing that bothers me–though I should expect it–is that all the opinions from informed people I am reading are pushing an agenda. For example: CNN has an American Egyptian Christian commentator who is saying stuff, but he’s got shit he’s pushing; or, some sites (andrewsullivan.com) want to see this as a reflection of their own domestic politics; or, I’ve read Sunnis saying that Iran sucked because they were Shiites and that can’t happen to Egypt.
So, I like to read informed content from people who are smart but not participants.
I’m going to go to Juan Cole’s blog now, btw.
Davis X. Machina
@CaliCat: You can’t prove a negative, but it makes for a mean blog post anyways.
Southern Beale
I don’t know what all of this itallicized stuff is about as I don’t appear to have the slanties.
But somehow I feel guilty anyway.
Violet
@Southern Beale:
Opposite with me. I loved “In Bruges” while male person I saw the film with hated it. Peter Dinklage was awesome in it, I thought. Love “The Station Agent.”
I spent the day planting things and am now going to take a shower and wash the dirt off me. I hope I get blackberries in the spring/summer after all the work I did. Apples and plums too. Among other fruits and vegetables. The citrus is done except for one tangelo left on the tree. I should pick it but then the citrus will be completely done and I’ll be sad, so I just can’t bring myself to pick it.
Southern Beale
@gbear:
Have not heard the Wanda Jackson album. Jack White is a weird dude, though. But have you heard his Loretta Lynn project? Curious how the WJ project compares to Van Lear Rose.
JCT
@Loneoak:
Oh man — been there, done that. My husband and I are both academics and I had my dream job explode (while I was already looking at houses no less) when they couldn’t make him happy. Still painful. 5 years later we’re going through it again and I’m starting to get the bad vibes that this will implode as well. So disappointing.
But the puppeh iis adorable — hopefully will take your mind off things or at least keep you busy!
Hang in there!
mai naem
i didn’t know you got upset when we made fun of Tunchmeister’s wt. Also too, I think this is the first post i have made on this redone site. Haven’t been paying much attention to stuff because of work but did Princess Sarah really not understand what the Sputnik moment was about? For real? The stupid woman is the daughter of a science teacher and she didn’t know what the Sputnik moment was about? Oy vey. And she still will get 35 percent of the vote against Obama if she ran. We are a stoopid country.
Yutsano
You want blackberries? Come to the Pacific Northwest. They’re EVERYWHERE and regarded as a pest plant. Almost as bad as Scotch broom. Mom used to send us out with buckets along the roads every summer and we couldn’t come back until they were full. Fortunately they also tend to be prolific fruit producers.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
Uhhhmm….You guys realize that it wasn’t Peter Dinklage in In Bruges, it was Jordan Prentice. Well, you do now, I guess.
Comrade Mary
@Loneoak: Oh, awful news about the job. But the puppeh looks absolutely winsome.
@de stijl:
If your loose tea of choice is a bold, bright, malty Assam, but you drink so much tea that cost becomes an issue, or you want/need the convenience of teabags, then you’re looking for the best supermarket tea you can get.
If PG Tips teabags are fresh, they produce really, really good supermarket tea. But they HAVE to be fresh. In Canada, they’re sold in a standard flimsy cardboard box with some cellophane wrapping, and they taste like dust. But you should find that the PG Tips you buy in the States puts about 32 bags into a separate foil wrapper inside each box. This is the only reason why I think the tea I had at my brother’s place in Colorado was so amazing compared to what is available in Toronto.
But if Brookes Bond and PG Tips are basically the same tea, I’m going to have to see if if any of the BB I’ve seen on the shelves here actually have fresh, properly packaged teabags inside.
Tunch looks magnificent at any size.
jl
But how long will the couch last now?
I missed where some other commenter said ‘No, Tunch makes the couch arm look thin.’, so I won’t say that. Because I am a nice person, who hopes Cole gets his spirits up soon.
Buck
“Dogs have masters, cats have staff.”
All cat owners know this.
Southern Beale
@Jay C:
I’m finding it hard to articulate the deep antipathy I have for the American right and right wing media where Egypt is concerned. I have to say I’m just immediately tuning out the people who have always been wrong since forever. Perhaps it’s wrong of me but all I’ve heard so far is BS like “the revolt is happening because Obama is weak and isn’t respected internationally.” I mean, Nobel fucking Peace Prize and since when do you people give a shit about what furriners think anyway?
So you know it’s like “Oh. You’re making this a partisan political issue. Okay, well, that is the least of my worries right now so pardon me while I tune you out.”
It’s so fucking frustrating. EVERYTHING is partisan. EVERY SINGLE THING is a fucking partisan political issue even the goddamn weather. It’s INSANE. Why is everything so damn partisan? I’m so fucking over it.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Seriously? Okay, I feel stupid. Well, I only saw it once when it first came out, so I was writing that from memory. But still…that’s pretty much like saying “all [fill in blank] people look alike.” Ugh.
Loneoak
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
*shivers, mutters a spell to ward off evil sprits*
@JCT:
Two-academic families sure have it tough. I know everyone has a hard time finding satisfying work, but I think we academics have a peculiar kind of shitty employment situation that its hard for outsiders to understand. So, thanks for your kind words. (BTW, it sure seems like we have a lot of academics on Balloon Juice.)
Fortunately, my wife is a nurse so we can move anywhere. I am still in line for a more prestigious, if perhaps less satisfying, job. And if that doesn’t work I’ll still have employment. So I’m not miserable, just disappointed.
Buck
@Southern Beale: Me too. Has me worn down.
hilts
From Wingnut Central
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
You are not the first person to make the mistake. I made the same mistake while watching it in the theater, but luckily, because my kid and I always stay until the lights come up (never know when you’ll get the extra something at the end of the credits), I caught my mistake before I left the theater.
Lesley
Tunch’s ass makes the couch look fat, how about that?
I love it when cats turn their back on the world. Cheeky.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I replied to you once already, but thought I’d add this since my edit time expired. Apparently people do think they look alike since they showed up on the Daily Doppel as doppelgangers. I don’t feel quite so stupid. They do look quite a bit alike.
John O
Me three. Worn down by it all. Didn’t even watch the SOTU.
I know what the SOTU is, and it isn’t good.
Southern Beale
Tweet of the day from Andy Borowitz:
Sad but true …
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I usually do too, but the person I saw it with hated it so much we left pretty much as soon as it was over. If he’d had his way we would have left about a quarter of the way into it. LOL.
Comrade Mary
Did the Italics Fairy make a visit?
EDIT: Nope. Must have been a weird caching thing.
So did the Easter Bunny make a visit?
::looks hopeful::
Comrade Luke
I wonder if this will stop the italics…
Southern Beale
@hilts:
Yes please run, John Bolton. Please. That would be a tremendous for us all.
Yutsano
@Comrade Mary: This must be a browser-specific issue because I don’t see anything on my end. Or I’m just crooked anyway.
Violet
@Comrade Mary:
It was all in italics and now it’s not again. Just another thrilling day with FYWP.
Southern Beale
Am I the only person who doesn’t see italics?
Anne Laurie
Okay, has the Italics Rash gone away for everybody? I manually yanked a couple of “corrective” posts, and things look okay for me on Firefox…
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
Heehee…I broke up with a woman in no small part because, after (a month or two earlier) sitting through the entirety of Titanic for her and acting as if I enjoyed it, she started pissing and moaning about The Big Lebowski about 10 minutes in, and never stopped. Man, was I wrong about her…
Buck
I don’t see italics either. Is it because of an earlier post I made? I used italics.
Sorry, if that is the case.
gbear
@Southern Beale:
I’ve heard a couple of songs from the Loretta Lynn project and I didn’t like them much. To me it sounds like White is trying to put these artists into a format more appropriate for someone 50 years younger. It always ends up sounding like it’s more about him than the singer, and it all sounds mismatched.
In the MPR interview, Wanda Jackson referred to White as a ‘velvet brick’ because he was so uncompromising in the studio, and she also said how much she disliked the Amiee Mann somg that White had her record for the first single.
I really dislike Jack White.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Anne Laurie:
Jes…
Southern Beale
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Totally hated The Big Lebowski. HATED it. Again: must be a guy thing.
And what’s funny is the husband was just, literally 2 seconds ago, going off on how much he hated The Piano. Like, literally going into a 10 minute monologue about how awful that film was.
And I loved The Piano and told him it was a feminist movie and a metaphor and he’d never get it and just drop it but ohhhh noooo I have to hear more about how he hates films that are metaphors.
SIGH
Litlebritdifrnt
PG Tips Pyramid tea bags are my tea of choice. They are so strong I can actually make a couple of pots out of one, then add another bag and make a couple more pots or three. I ran out recently and am now on Typhoo which is a good substitute but a run to World Market is in my future cause there is nothing better than “monkey tea” as my Daddy used to call it.
Violet
@Yutsano:
We have wild blackberries here too, but they’re smaller than the ones I planted and kind of a pain to get. They grow in places that aren’t all that fun to go, like along train tracks or by the side of freeways. And they harbor snakes, which can be dangerous. I’ve gone picking them before, but it’s much more pleasant to grow your own. Plus the variety I’ve planted produces much bigger fruit. Well, if the neighborhood kids don’t steal it. I’ve planted them along a fence that is near a sidewalk. I’m hoping the thorns will discourage the theft somewhat. It should grow away from the fence, as that is south.
Southern Beale
@gbear:
A friend of mine worked with White & Lynn on Van Lear Rose and let me just say it was traumatic. I think he’s a bit of a nutball.
Alison
No italics for me, on Firefox as well.
My Saturday evening is about to consist of attempting to clean/pack for my upcoming move. Health issues make this rather imposing, so I’m not thrilled, but it must be done. Whee!
Lojasmo
Have you had your vitamin D levels tested? Unless you take 8,000 units per day you likely ARE deficient, living at your latitude.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Heh. I didn’t hate “The Big Lebowski”, but I didn’t love it. I was all primed to love it after Fargo, but I was underwhelmed. I think it’s one of those films that plays better on DVD when you can watch it with a bunch of people and point out things and repeat lines and so on. Kind of like Office Space, which didn’t do all that well in the theater but is a complete cult classic now.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Southern Beale:
Hmm…I like both of those films, though I enjoy Lebowski more.
Have you ever discovered the middle ground of romantic films between men and women, titled Il Postino, or Cinema Paradiso?
Luci
Tunch is a glorious cat and deserves to be worshiped… as we all do. I suspect most of the people making fun of his size think he’s rather cool too, although I cannot prove that. I don’t see too many mean spirited people here.
@Loneoak That is ONE FINE PUPPEH you maybe are gonna gets there! Seldom have I seen such cuteness! One wants to kiss all over its little face!
@John Cole… are you getting out with the dogs and walking? I used to get massively depressed and feel totally confined and miserable in the winter. Then I got a friend with a dog who had to be walked, and walk her we do. It improved my spirits no end. Frankly, I think it’s better to go with someone if you can, but just getting outside and getting outside light in your eyes is supposed to help with the winter blahs! Good luck with it anyway.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Love, love, LOVE both those films. Both of them are so fantastic.
quaint irene
Aaargh!! Sorry. Just agreeing about the recent weather. Last Wednesday we were supposed to get 3 to 8 inches. We got 19. On top of the 2 and half feet we have on the ground already, of course. I swear, this winter it seems this part of New Jersey has a bulls-eye on it.
After the last storm when I finally got my car out, between the snow mounds and the massive spread salt, it felt like I was driving through a lunar landscape.
On one of the morning shows they had the obligatory shrink, smilingly saying how we could all beat the winter blues. “Don’t cocoon. Get out and exercise! Take a walk in the sun!!”
What sun? Exercise where? Twit.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
Oh, and Office Space didn’t do well in theaters because Fox barely advertised it, and it opened on a small amount of screens. I saw it the Saturday after it opened, and there’s a joke in there- that Peter lives on Morningwood Lane- that you can’t even see on the small screen.
Southern Beale
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Loved Il Postino! Loved Cinema Paradiso! Yes loved them both.
We see a LOT of movies, husband is a major movie freak but I find myself increasingly being dragged to violent films I really have no interest in. And I’m sorry but the last Harry Potter movie might as well have been named Harry Potter And The Deathly Boring Film That Would Never End. I’m SO OVER that franchise.
Mnemosyne
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Thank you! I was starting to doubt my own memories of In Bruge and think maybe he was in there somewhere because I knew for sure Dinklage didn’t play Jimmy.
Southern Beale
We saw “I Am Love” and both totally hated it. Over the top and hysterically melodramatic.
Buck
@Luci:
Exactly true. Lack of sunlight, such as during winter time, has been proven to bring on bouts of depression. Sunlight is your friend. Absent any, bright overhead lights tend to help. My sister deals with this type of depression every winter. And leaving on an overhead light makes a big difference.
gbear
@Southern Beale: A nutball with a large fanbase that thinks he can do no wrong. Oh well.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Yeah, there are lots of reasons why movies don’t do well, and I’m sure Fox didn’t promote Office Space well at all.
Mnemosyne
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
@Southern Beale:
I used to say that I was holding out for a straight guy who loved Sense and Sensibility. And as soon as I found him, I married him to prevent him from escaping.
:-)
He’s probably the only straight guy in America who loved that movie, but he has a massive crush on Emma Thompson. If she showed up on our doorstep, he would leave me in a heartbeat. Fortunately for all of us, she seems to be quite happy with Greg Wise.
gogol's wife
@quaint irene:
I’m in a similar situation. It’s horrible.
I’m sorry I missed the Colin Firth lovefest yesterday. Today I’ve been thinking how strange it is that all these people have just recently discovered what a great actor he is. He was a great actor in “Pride and Prejudice” and “Bridget Jones” too, but that couldn’t be recognized because only “chicks” like movies like that. But the acting was already there.
Southern Beale
To any New Yorkers in here, today my niece FedEx’d us some cookies from Momofuko Milk Bar and let me say they are a slice of heavem, squared.
gogol's wife
And I forgot to say that I love Tunch as much as I love Colin Firth.
JCT
@Loneoak:
Yup– my field is more medically oriented so I am the easier one to place. Well, last time this happened to me they made my existing job better (thank goodness for retention packages), so hey, the more prestigious one may work out better for you. I have to admit with the benefit of hindsight, that in the long term my career may have benefited from staying put — but whoa, it really stung at the time. Big time.
And I’m with you — hard to really bitch given that we are still employed.
Southern Beale
@Mnemosyne:
You are a very lucky girl indeed!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Southern Beale:
The kid and I used to see a lot of films together, but for a few reasons (he’s in college and working third shift on the weekends, and I’m not flush with cash), not as much any more. I’ve had more comic book-based films forced on me than I should have allowed (they aren’t all bad), as well as films from the vampires vs. werewolves vs. giant robots genre. But occasionally I can get the kid to agree to something he wouldn’t see on his own, and he usually appreciates it. And now that he’s got a film appreciation course under his belt, he’s renting some cool things on his own (when not playing WoW).
Sorry that you’re being dragged to violent films. It’s hard to avoid ’em these days. There are some directors- Scorcese, Tarantino and a few others- who usually do violence in the right way (I give QT a pass for the Kill Bill flicks because they were an homage), but far too often it’s just used in a pandering manner.
Violet
@gogol’s wife:
There was a Colin Firth lovefest? And I missed it? How did that happen? Oh, I love me some Colin Firth. Has anyone seen “Easy Virtue”? I saw it a few years ago in some film festival type thing and he’s so scruffy and sarcastic and wonderful in it. Yum.
JCT
@Southern Beale: Right you are — had some at the Union Square market before the holidays. Wicked good.
Mnemosyne
@gogol’s wife:
I fell for Colin Firth when he had a five-minute cameo at the very end of a Hallmark production of The Secret Garden. I was still in high school, but I was totally mesmerized. He’s aged very well, but 20 years ago? Yowza.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
I think Fox put Idiocracy in less than 10 theaters. I think they feel stuck with Mike Judge, and do everything to fuck with him, but the dude’s films are relatively cheaply made, and they end up raking in the money. Go figure…
de stijl
@Violet:
It may just be the photo you linked to, but Jordan Prentice looks remarkably like Diedrich Bader (the really stupid guy on The Drew Carey Show).
gogol's wife
@Violet:
lamh32 started it in an open thread last evening, but I didn’t see it until this morning. I haven’t seen “Easy Virtue.” Sounds good.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Mnemosyne:
Yeah, its good to have standards. Personally, I’m looking for the woman who can appreciate the works of John Stagliano.
Violet
@de stijl:
Diedrich Bader’s now in “Outsourced” on NBC. His character is kind of stupid there too. Yeah, that doppelganger site isn’t all that good. The photo of Jordan Prentice on IMDB looks a lot more like Dinklage.
Mnemosyne
@Southern Beale:
Believe me, I know! We don’t have precisely the same taste in movies — I have an unreasoning affection for Italian horror movies from the 1960s — but there’s enough overlap that we either both like something or both hate something.
We split a bit on In Bruges, but that’s partly because most of the commentary I’d seen talked about how funny it was, so I wasn’t really expecting what I got. It has funny parts, but it sure ain’t a comedy by any stretch of the imagination, so I was a little pissed at the reviews I’d read.
RossInDetroit
I used to get serious, debilitating winter blues starting after Thanksgiving. Happened for over 20 years. Only vigorous workouts or undesirable meds helped. Now I have a job that runs my ass right flat off for 40 hours/week and the bad winter blues are reduced to just being mad at the weather. Physical exhaustion as mood therapy. Who knew?
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I still haven’t seen Idiocracy. On my list, but just haven’t made the time.
@gogol’s wife:
“Easy Virtue” isn’t a great film, but with Colin Firth and Kristen Scott Thomas, it’s got some good acting. Jessica Beil is okay, but somehow to me seems a bit miscast. It’s based on a Noel Coward play, so the dialogue is witty and parts of it are very good. But Colin Firth….sigh. Even scruffy and unkempt he’s fantastic.
ms badger
@Gina: Plus, the demon cat has, like, a moustache. I would sleep in body armor.
Violet
@Mnemosyne:
Weren’t the reviews TOTALLY off? It was crazy. I thought it was going to be a funny film, mostly a comedy, with a bit of violence. It’s pretty much the other way around. I felt like the reviewers maybe only watched the first quarter or third of the film or something.
Mnemosyne
In cat news, poor Keaton has been extremely stressed for the past couple of weeks because we’re catsitting Charlotte’s sister and they’re driving him absolutely insane. Today they were stalking him like they were a couple of raptors, so I let him into the bedroom to nap by himself all day. He’s a much happier kitty now.
eemom
@gogol’s wife:
OMG. Here I must interject to exult that that version of P&P — BBC circa 1996, iirc — was absolutely the most brilliant adaptation of a book into a film that I have ever seen, and that it seriously succeeded in doing justice to Jane Austen, which is an almost impossible feat.
I humbly submit my cred on this point, i.e., I was a Jane-ite before being
a Jane-ite was cool.
Everyone should immediately drop what they are doing and watch that production.
quaint irene
Forgot to add that Tunch is one big magnificent bastard!
____________________
Katie’s supply of Milk Bones runs out before I go to the store tomorrow. So I made her some homemade cookies. Usual recipe-Whole wheat flour, egg, honey and chicken broth. But I added a little minced kielbasa, a slice left over from the tomato and chickpea soup we had for dinner.
She gave them an enthusiastic thumbs up.
gogol's wife
@eemom:
Yes, Jennifer Ehle is fantastic too. I was disappointed that she didn’t have much of a role in “The King’s Speech.” Some of the other roles (like Claire Bloom’s) were also small but had had real dimension to them. Hers was nothing.
RossInDetroit
Maybe I’m turning into a cranky old fart but I think that films generally are more violent than a generation ago and the reaction to film violence has changed. Compare the most recent Batman and Bond films to those of the ’80s. We accept brutality much more easily these days. It bothers me.
Mnemosyne
@Violet:
That was the impression I got, too, but I was pretty sure as soon as they showed the child’s murder that it wasn’t going to be what I had been led to expect. Are the reviewers just that inured to violence? I like a good violent movie myself (see my love of Italian horror above) but, Jesus, people.
Anne Laurie
Chiming in to agree that MOAR LIGHT can at least mitigate some of the winter sadness (especially if you’re also living where the snow piles are shoulder-high and exercising outdoors is tricky/dangerous. I like the Ott Lites — they are not cheap, and the bulbs in the older models got very hot, but they are really really good reading / sock-sorting / pituitary-stimulating lamps. If you’re in the USA there’s probably a Michaels craft store near you, and you can usually find a coupon from the website (or your Sunday paper) for 40% off. (We’ve stockpiled a couple backup bulbs using coupons as well, but in our experience the company’s 10,000-hour pledge is reasonable.)
It’s also possible to rig shop light fixtures with full-spectrum tubes and hang them, but the Ott lights are easier to install and move around.
Maude
@quaint irene:
Fasten your seatbelt. Heard on WCBS that there may be a tad of snow Monday night. I had heard Tuesday there might be a delighful wintry mix, enough for the whole family. Id Christie going back to FLorida?
@Southern Beale:
I think the word you’re looking for is repulsive. They are so self involved that they only see themselves. The pundits are ignorant and why they have voice boxes, I don’t know.
I haven’t read the the Congressional Republicans have been griping about Obama…yet.
Mnemosyne
@RossInDetroit:
It doesn’t seem like films are more violent per se, but that violence is much more normalized than it used to be. In films from the 1960s and 1970s, violence is shocking, and those films are still shocking today. Current films seem to throw it in for the sake of having it (and being “edgy” like Tarantino without any understanding of why and how Tarantino does what he does).
And, of course, now that this interesting topic has come up, I have to leave for dinner. :-(
(edited for clarification)
Violet
@Mnemosyne:
I don’t know what the deal was with that film. I’ve read reviews of other films that discuss the violence. But somehow with that film all the reviews talked about was the comedy. And it just wasn’t all that funny. There were some funny bits, but it was NOT a comedy.
asiangrrlMN
TUUUUUUUUNCHIE! There is my handsome boy. Who’s a handsome Tunchie? YOU are! He is NOT fat, Cole. Harrumph.
@Lincolnshire Poacher: The Station Agent is one of my top five fave movies. It’s just a great movie.
Now, I will read the thread.
Dee Loralei
@Southern Beale: Lawrence O’Donnell had the facebook guy and some girl who taught at an American HS for one year to discuss it on his show last night. Totally flabbergasted I was. Until he had Dennis Kucinich on a wee bit later to discuss it as well. My eyes rolled so much they fell out of my head and onto the floor where the cats played with them til they were dead, and then the dogs each ate one. I mean it was that breathtakingly awful.
Cat Lady
@Mnemosyne:
I had a similar experience with “Let the Right One In”. I couldn’t get past the first 20 minutes or so – maybe the rest of the movie was “heartfelt and spectrally beautiful” as I was led to believe from a couple of reviews, but field dressing an unlucky pedestrian in a cold Swedish night was not my idea of how a quirky love story gets going.
RossInDetroit
@Anne Laurie:
In my windowless workshop I use lots of double-tube 48″ shop light fixtures. I load them with 1 ordinary fluorescent bulb and one plant/aquarium bulb. The light is nicer and I’m told it has many of the benefits of daylight. Less eyestrain for close work as well. Pet stores will usually sell quantities of the specialty bulbs at a discount compared to hardware or department stores.
TooManyJens
@RossInDetroit:
I’ve started drinking hot tea again, and it’s a mystery to me how, even though I like iced tea and I like cold milk, I find hot-tea-with-milk that has gotten cold undrinkable.
WereBear
@Loneoak: OMG, that is one adorable creature. You are waiting a bit, I hope?
We adopted a 3 week old kitten and still haven’t gotten good sleep on a reliable basis, though he’s five months old now.
Tristan, in the windowsill
And… TUNCHEEE RULEZ.
He’s not fat. He’s rather bigboned, and cats have a big butt naturally… the better to pounce on you with, my dear.
KG
@Southern Beale: I have a sickness, I was just looking at recent polling numbers and playing around with an electoral college calculator for 2012. I am pretty clearly convinced that a Palin nomination would mean that Obama would probably win at least 350 electoral votes… She only leads by 1 (one!) in Texas and puts way too many red states in play. I couldn’t even imagine what a Bolton nomination would do to those numbers
Polly
Tunch is not all that big. It’s the camera angle; anyone would look enormous shot from behind at that low angle.
Poor furry guy, being mocked by people too far away to claw or bite to teach them some manners.
stuckinred
That cats ass is two-axle handles wide, quit makin excuses!
asiangrrlMN
@Loneoak: Sorry about the job, man. That sucks. But, puppeh is cute.
@Mnemosyne: Aw, poor Keaton. Glad he got some alone time. PICTURE! He is so damn handsome.
@WereBear: Tristan is growing up to be a very handsome young man! Is he still an alpha?
Southern Beale
@KG:
Run, Sarah, Run! Palin/Bachmann 12!!!!!
Southern Beale
In keeping with my early discussion about my husband’s sucky taste in movies it seems we are watching Red on PPV right now and it truly sucks on a whole bunch of levels.
However, I will say this: Bruce Willis is in awfully good shape for a man of his years.
KG
@Southern Beale: the funny part is, I have a lot of political conversations with my dad, who gets most of his information from talk radio (he drives a lot and not much of an internet user), and his perception (which I assume is the perception of most who mostly get their information from talk radio) is that Democrats are scared of Sarah Palin. When I tell him what the polls actually say, he doesn’t quite believe me
asiangrrlMN
@Southern Beale: Is it really that bad? I love Helen Mirren. Does she have a sizable role in it?
RossInDetroit
I was all for Palin running in ’12 for my amusement. Then she made such an embarrassing hash of her follow-up to the Tucson shootings. She’s unable to consider that she might not be 100% right. I mean, not won’t but CAN’T. Keep reloading and not a step backward. That flaw is often entertaining in a politician, for as long as they last. But Tucson just disgusted me and I want her out of my sight. That joke isn’t funny any more.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
Well, it’s a black comedy dealing with themes of guilt and redemption- and it’s about the guilt and redemption of two hitmen, so of course it’s going to be violent.
Here’s one that just popped into my head: The Matador. It’s a nifty, if overlooked, film.
Southern Beale
@asiangrrlMN:
We are about 2/3 of the way through this movie and Helen Mirren has not appeared yet, however I remember from the previews she’s supposed to be in it so I suppose she will show up at some point. Also, Morgan Freeman was only in the first 1/4.
It’s extremely lame and pointless.
RossInDetroit
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Pierce Brosnan was GREAT in that. The way he rocks a Speedo, a cigar and boots in the hotel pool scene was awesome.
Southern Beale
@KG:
Yeah they think Democrats are scared of everything. Good, glad they think we’re scared of Sarah. I am in scared of her, in the sense of: God help us all if she ever gets within spitting distance of the reins of power. But I don’t think that will happen.
What’s funny is Palin’s gross persecution complex. She can’t seem to believe that America just doesn’t like her. We really, really don’t like her. REALLY. Go the fuck away.
Southern Beale
Oh HERE’S Helen Mirren! Finally!
asiangrrlMN
@RossInDetroit: I felt a deep disgust for her since the second time I heard her talk, and I want nothing more than for her to disappear from the public eye.
@Southern Beale: Well, phooey. I guess I won’t bother watching it.
@Southern Beale: Give me an estimate of screen time.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@RossInDetroit:
Kinnear wasn’t bad, either, but Brosnan did indeed rawk.
RossInDetroit
We were going to on-demand a movie tonight but I’ve been up since 5:00 am on 5 hours of sleep so I haven’t got 2 hours of stamina left.
We did see In Bruges and I didn’t get the joke either. It was bitter, dark and violent. Some good performances but it was a general downer whose quality didn’t redeem the brutality to us.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Southern Beale:
Dame Helen shares her birthday w/Mick Jagger, Jeremy Piven, the late author Jean Sheppard, the late director Stanley Kubrick, the late playwright George Bernard Shaw and, amongst others, yours truly.
lamh32
@Southern Beale:
Aw damn, I like Reds. Maybe cause of the scenes in NOLA (I kept telling my friends “Oh I’ve Been there..”)
I did start the Colin Firth/Yul Brynner love fest on the last thread.
I don’t know why, but I love musicals. I realize that if I had the money, and the opportunity, I’d be seeing Broadway musicals all day! I love the classics, and there are even newer musicals that I love too.
Right now on ABC, they’re showing “Dreamgirls”. I love “Dreamgirls”. I had the opportunity to see the travelling company of “Dreamgirls” and the live show gave me chills that the movie just couldn’t give ya.
Still, for movie adaptations this was a good one for Jennifer Hudson’s performance alone:
Dreamgirls on ABC!!! Perfect timing. BEST SCENE EVAH!!!
And I Am Telling You…
P.S. Eddie Murphy was robbed!!!!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@RossInDetroit:
I think the larger joke- or, being black comedy, the larger anti-joke- was that it set two streetwise Irish thugs in this city so full of culture that one wouldn’t normally associate with Irish thugs. Bruges itself is a character. It’s the classic “fish out of water” comedy scenario.
Played as straight drama, Bruges would have meant nothing. The setting could have been Liverpool. London, Dublin or Derry.
stuckinred
@Southern Beale: We have just finished season 6 of Prime Suspect, this is the second time around and it’s even better this time!
Comrade Luke
@Southern Beale: I think the GOP is more scared of Palin than the Dems. She won’t make it out of the primary, but she’ll get enough votes that some other candidate(s) will suffer.
Southern Beale
@lamh32:
There were only like 2 scenes in NOLA and that was it!
Ah well …. I will say this, we saw a nice little indie flick last night that was kind of quirky and sweet called Please Give. Some folks might like it …
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: I thought you were talking about Chief Inspector Tennison!
Phoebe
@Lincolnshire Poacher: The Station Agent is GREAT. As is Central Station, a completely different movie.
lamh32
@Southern Beale:
yeah, but I’ve been to both places they showed…lol!
RossInDetroit
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
This is true. The city is beautifully photographed and looks gorgeous in the film. As captivating as the characters are repellent.
Yutsano
@Comrade Luke: They’re more afraid that she WOULD make it out of the primaries, and then be totally unelectable in the general election. Not even racist dogwhistles would stop Obama from a second term in that scenario.
stuckinred
@Phoebe: Seen “The Secret in Their Eyes”? We loved it.
Southern Beale
@asiangrrlMN:
I’d say this is mostly a Bruce Willis, Mary Louise Parker film with a heavy dose of John Malkovich and everyone else is a bit player.
Southern Beale
@lamh32:
The crappy motel? Really? You’ve been there?
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@RossInDetroit:
Yeah, but they represent anyone who feels guilt and searches for redemption, but they’re over-the-top representations, ya know? They’re very human, admirable at times, tragic at others. You even have to respect Fiennes character at the end for at least one reason- he proves himself a man of principle.
stuckinred
@Southern Beale: God, after the 2001 Sugar Bowl we moved from a nice Canal Street hotel to a joint near the airport to save a couple of bucks. The horror!!!!
lamh32
@Southern Beale:
It’s a hotel called the Capri Hotel I believe. It was on Tulane Ave across from an abandoned warehouse at the times I remember. I used to work “up the street” from the hotel. I’ve never stayed there, but I’ve walked past it, driven pass it, or seen is passing by while on the bus.
I think my aunt (who was on drugs at that time) did stay there though.
Jules
In Bruges great flick, my hubby liked it and so did I.
Colin Firth…be still my heart.
He’s on my list..wink-wink-nudge-nudge….along with Alan Rickman, RDJ and a young lovely English actor named Benedict Cumberbatch. What a name.
lamh32
@Southern Beale:
Actually my aunt before and after Katrina worked/works at one of the “crappy” hotels that litter a lot of the thoroughfare in the city.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
The new Sherlock Holmes, right? He’s a goooood actor.
I’ll start my list with Allison Brie. She’s been killing it on Community for the last two years.
Benjamin Cisco (mobile)
It’s not the couch that makes his ass look fat, it’s the fat that makes him look fat.
__
/snark
asiangrrlMN
@lamh32: I LOVE musicals. I can suspend my need for logic, a strong plot, and character development if there is singing, dancing, and JAZZ HANDS!
@stuckinred: I love, love, love her in the Prime Suspect series. I have one ep left, and I have put off watching it for a long time because it’s the last one. She’s just so perfect.
@Southern Beale: Feh. I’ll scratch it off my list of movies to see.
asiangrrlMN
@Jules: Hands off Alan Rickman. He is MINE!
@Benjamin Cisco (mobile): Heh. I snorted. So, I will not poke you with my rusty pitchfork for making fun of Tunchie because you were funny
stuckinred
@asiangrrlMN: The first time around our dvd player audio was screwed up, every time there was background music the dialogue was unintelligible. We enjoyed it but this version and the blu-ray player has made it much better.
Jules
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
Yep….that’s him.
Allison Brie is quite the actress; funny as Annie in Community (really that is one great show) and well, awesome Trudy on Mad Men.
hilts
@Southern Beale:
Gosford Park was a great film with a wonderful cast including Helen Mirren, Clive Owen, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant and a brilliant cameo from Stephen Fry.
lamh32
Damnit, now I can’t stop watching “Dreamgirls”.
I’ll say it again…Eddie Murphy got robbed at the Oscars!!!
Jimmy Early (Dreamgirls) – I Meant You No Harm/Jimmy’s Rap
Southern Beale
“Red” is very Shakespearean in the sense that by the end of the movie about half the cast are dead
Southern Beale
I need to go back to NOLA it’s been years and years …
asiangrrlMN
@stuckinred: Yeah, it would be difficult to watch under those circumstances. Glad you got to watch it unblemished.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Jules:
At its worst it’s head and shoulders above almost every other sitcom in production right now; at its best- like last year’s Modern Weaponry (paintball) episode- it ranks right up there as some of the best tv comedy ever.
joe from Lowell
I just watched Citizen Kane for the first time.
Wow.
That movie is as good as they say.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@joe from Lowell:
“Rose Bowl…” [/Newsradio snark]
It’s a great film, but in the last few years it’s been supplanted at the top of my list by Chinatown.
hilts
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again): @joe from Lowell:
Citizen Kane and Chinatown are both amazing films, but what about The Godfather and The Godfather Part II?
gogol's wife
@Jules:
Here’s how anglocentric I am when it comes to actors: I have no problem identifying Benedict Cumberbatch, but I had to google RDJ.
If Jeff Bridges or James Franco wins that Oscar I’m going to be very upset.
Southern Beale
@joe from Lowell:
Citizen Kane used to be my favorite movie of all time and it’s still an amazing classic but I have to say I really love Shawshank Redemption too.
joe from Lowell
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I might have to go with the original The Manchurian Candidate. I watched it with Mrs. joe from Lowell a couple of months ago, who’d never seen it before, and it was like watching it for the first time again.
The big scene when Angela Lansbury mentions the card game, she yells: “GASP! HIS ______!?!”
So awesome.
RossInDetroit
Metropolis. A weird, flawed piece of work. Amazing for its time and I still love to watch it. I can’t imagine something coming along to knock this out of my #1 spot.
Violet
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I loved “The Matador.” Pierce Brosnan was excellent in it. The hotel lobby scene was priceless.
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I get a kick out of “Community” but my very favorite part of the whole show is the Troy and Abed bits at the end. They could just do the Troy and Abed Show as a spinoff and I’d be happy.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@hilts:
Also great, but I just don’t think they’re composed quite as well as the first two.
What I love about Chinatown is that it’s so…Spare…Nothing is wasted in the storytelling, although it’s hard to notice that until you watch it a few times. Every scene- every shot- matters.
Jim, Once
@Southern Beale:
Wow. You and I are two girlfriends that can never go to the movies together. LOVED In Bruges, think Liebowski is one of the funniest movies in the history of cinema (I don’t rewatch movies, but I’ve seen Big L three times), and really did not like The Pianist, but that had as much to do with Adrian What’shisface as much as anything. That facial expression of his never changed – it always looked like Fake White Jesus about to die. So what’d you think of O Brother Where Art Thou?
Violet
@gogol’s wife:
I’m pretty sure it’s Colin Firth’s “turn.” That’s how the Oscars work. Not that he didn’t earn it, but it also has to be “his turn” or they won’t vote for him.
RossInDetroit
@Violet:
Into the pool. Totally didn’t see that coming and laughed out loud.
It’s nice to find something well made and enjoyable that advertising hasn’t pummeled us over the head for weeks to go and see.
Jim, Once
@Southern Beale:
Ha! Great. Which reminds me … I taught Hamlet in all its variations, and I still hate it.
hilts
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
That’s exactly the way I felt when watching The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. I also have to give props to Lawrence of Arabia.
RossInDetroit
@Jim, Once:
The one filmed in 70mm 15 years ago at Blenheim palace was gorgeous, but once you know how it ends…
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@hilts:
Well, if you and I had to make atop ten films list- no specific order- I think we’d see a lot of common choices.
joe from Lowell
So, which version of Hamlet should I Netflix?
The one with David Tennent and Patrick Stewart, or the one with Mel Gibson and Glenn Close?
Emma
@asiangrrlMN: I met Rickman, you can have him. Rude and unpleasant.
Alison
@joe from Lowell: I saw that for the first time in my early 20s, and all I knew of Lansbury was Murder, She Wrote and her as sweet old Jessica Fletcher. It was quite an experience to see her in such a, um, different kind of role :) She ruled.
Emma
@Litlebritdifrnt: Builders’ tea.
gogol's wife
@Alison:
You have to see her in “Gaslight.” A small role, but she is amazing.
Alison
@joe from Lowell: Oh lord. Even putting aside Gibson being a fucking monster, he’s AWFUL as Hamlet. Blech. Do not bother with that one, please.
Jim, Once
@RossInDetroit:
That’s the one I always showed my kids. You’re right – it’s gorgeous, and Kate Winslett is outstanding as Ophelia. But I still hate the play. (I loved Blenheim when I was there – Mel Brooks was filming History of the World Part I when my friend and I were there back in in the day. She got a bit part that night – the same night Mel had a heart attack. I don’t think there was a connection.)
joe from Lowell
@Alison: And what about Frank Sinatra?
Easily, easily the best thing he ever did in any aspect of his career.
Alison
@gogol’s wife: Recommendation noted :) That’s one of my mom’s favorites too, so I’m sure she’s got it to lend. Sweet!
Jim, Once
@joe from Lowell: A friend of mine who was a New York playwrite and stage manager gave Mel’s version a B+. My students loved it, though – Zeferelli knows how to stage Shakespeare. For someone who wants EVERY WORD of the play, go for the Branagh version.
RossInDetroit
Ethan Hawke’s Hamlet was actually pretty good. YMMV.
Alison
@joe from Lowell: Hmm. I think I’m missing something here…
gogol's wife
@Alison:
And of course you know that she’s playing Lawrence Harvey’s mother in “The Manchurian Candidate” but she was only three years older than he was. It’s like Jessie Royce Landis playing Cary Grant’s mother in “North by Northwest.”
gogol's wife
@RossInDetroit:
I was going to recommend that one too. Liev Schreiber’s great in it. And I love Ophelia as a mopey Columbia student (or was it NYU?).
Alison
@gogol’s wife: Haha, yes – but it worked :)
joe from Lowell
@Jim, Once: If I want four hours of Hamlet, I’ll get both of the other versions.
But I don’t.
the problem child
@morzer: Yeah, whichever one has the tail.
Jim, Once
@RossInDetroit:
Gawd, I hated that version. Even your reminder makes me slightly nauseated. Which probably means you should ignore any of my recommendations.
Violet
@Jim, Once:
I was required to memorize Hamlet’s soliloquy in high school. I can still recite it. That comes in handy on occasion, for things like pub quizzes or the occasional party trick.
hilts
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
I wouldn’t put these films in my Top Ten list, but I’d put them in my most overlooked list – The Spanish Prisoner, The Daytrippers, Sammy and Rosie Get Laid, The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, Next Stop Greenwich Village, and Husbands
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Jim, Once:
Ooooo…Branagh’s Henry V….Time to watch this scene again.
Jim, Once
@joe from Lowell: I couldn’t agree more. But this whole conversation also tells that a. there has yet to be a really great movie version of Hamlet, or b. such a thing is not possible. I’m going with b.
RossInDetroit
@Jim, Once:
Sorry for the unpleasant memory. I don’t mind pop culture variants on the Classics now and then. It’s not really Shakespeare, but after 400 years, what is?
hilts
@joe from Lowell:
If you can get past Jack Lemmon being cast in Hamlet, the Kenneth Branagh production is very impressive.
Jim, Once
@Violet: “To be or not to be” I presume?
hilts
@gogol’s wife:
And Anne Bancroft was only 6 years older than Dustin Hoffman, but The Graduate still works for me.
Jim, Once
@RossInDetroit: Yeah, you’re right. I point to the Leonardo DC/Claire Danes version of Romeo and Juliet as Example A. But hey – it got my kids absolutely sold on Shakespeare, so I’m not gonna say anything negative here about it.
Comrade Mary
@Emma: Yes, builder’s tea is the most beautiful liquid [1] in the world.
[1] For certain values of the word “liquid”. I believe that its ability to leave your spoon standing is a feature, not a bug.
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@hilts:
Hmmm…I’d have to think about this a bit…I’d definitely have Bound For Glory on there…And the loved/hated Terrence Malick version of The Thin Red Line, which I love…And one that I think gets ghettoized, but is really a great film, A Hard Day’s Night. I’ll see if I can come up with more as I go buy some nails for my coffin.
burnspbesq
@gbear:
I’ll take your word for it re the quality of the new WJ record, as I’ve only heard one track on the radio, but a new generation is hearing her and will hopefully go back to the great stuff from the 50s, which isn’t a bad outcome.
Jim, Once
Aaand Laurence Fishburne and Kenneth Branagh in Othello. High school seniors love that stuff. And now I’d better quit, because I feel like the thread’s being taken over, and really don’t want it to be.
Violet
@Jim, Once:
Yes, of course, the classic one. I didn’t like having to memorize it at the time, but I’ve come to appreciate it over the years. It has stayed with me and my understanding of it has deepened with time and experience.
hilts
@Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again):
A Hard Day’s Night has one of my favorite opening scenes and the music is timeless. I never saw Bound for Glory. I liked The Thin Red Line, but I thought Days of Heaven was a better Malick film.
asiangrrlMN
@Emma: You. Met. Alan. Rickman?! I am crushed to know he was rude, but I’m envious you met him. Alas!
Jules
@Emma:
lalalalalalala
I can’t hear you.
lalalalalalalalala
Violet
@hilts:
I’ll add “Don Juan DeMarco” to the list. Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando and Faye Dunaway and a really fun script. Great Valentine’s Day film, if you’re looking for something fun and romantic.
Speaking of Brando, I also love “The Freshman.” Brando’s riff on his “Godfather” persona is priceless.
burnspbesq
@Southern Beale:
Oh, how sad for me, the midtown Momofuku is a block from my hotel. Guess I know where I’m going after the game tomorrow.
Jules
@gogol’s wife:
To the Ends of The Earth is on Netflix instant and very, very good.
You even get to see the lovely Mr. Cumberbatch naked in a couple of scenes….
RossInDetroit
@Violet:
Is that the one with Matthew Broderick and a monitor lizard? if so, I liked that.
hilts
@Violet:
I’ll second that.
hilts
Kristen Wiig is doing Michele Bachmann on SNL right now
Violet
@RossInDetroit:
Yep that’s the one. Supposed to be a komodo dragon. The scenes with the komodo dragon always crack me up.
Yutsano
@burnspbesq: Salt. Wound. U. Rub. In. I should curse you to forever dealing with Jacksonville ACS for that. Or you could ship me some. :)
RossInDetroit
@Violet:
I asked our local reptile pet store and they say it’s a Water Monitor. Of course a Komodo Dragon would be pretty dangerous, and illegal, to use in a film. There’s a scene where he straps it into the back seat of a Lincoln and the lizard just shreds the leather upholstery with its claws. In a few seconds you see hundreds of dollars of damage happen.
RossInDetroit
Up for 19 hours now. Gotta sleep….
Violet
@RossInDetroit:
Yeah, I’m sure they didn’t use a Komodo Dragon, but for me, it’ll always be a Komodo Dragon, since that’s the role it plays in the film. Every scene it’s in cracks me up. It’s so utterly ridiculous and yet perfect for that film.
burnspbesq
@asiangrrlMN:
Alan Rickman has the dubious distinction of playing the stupidest male character in the history of the movies, i.e., the idiot in Love Actually who cheats on Emma Thompson. Cheat on Emma Thompson? What kind of a dumbfuck cheats on Emma Thompson? Good God, man, if you’re having a midlife crisis, do what I did. Buy a Porsche.
Steaming Pile
@mr. whipple: Ah faht in yer general dierection! Yer mother was a hamstair, and yer fathair smelt of elderberries!
Temporarily Max McGee (soon enough to be Andy K again)
@Violet:
It was a Grant’s Monitor, IIRC.
burnspbesq
@hilts:
Don’t forget about “On the Waterfront.”
Violet
@burnspbesq:
Kenneth Branagh cheated on Emma Thompson in real life. They were married and he screwed around with Helena Bonham Carter. Never understood that. What kind of fool cheats on Emma Thompson?
matoko_chan
wallah, John Cole has learned nothing either it seems.
at least the Muslim Brotherhood will be democratically elected.
Like Hamas was.
burnspbesq
@Yutsano:
I have to deal with Philly. That’s penance enough.
Yutsano
@Violet: Heh. Beat me to it. And it wasn’t Kenneth’s only affair either. He is apparently quite the cad as R-Jud would label such things.
@burnspbesq: Hey at least it’s not Buffalo. Those folks do NOT play nice there.
Violet
@Yutsano:
I’ve felt that his career headed downhill somewhat after his marriage with Emma fell apart. I know he’s done some good stuff since then, but not quite at the same level as before.
matoko_chan
@Cole
well, at least that group will be EGYPTIANS you dumbass cudlip.
after 128 years of western colonial occupation and strongman puppet rulers how could the MB be any worse?
GTFO Big White Christian Bwana.
Yutsano
@Violet: There is a theory of marriage that you should mate with someone capable of taming your wildest impulses as well as the other compatibility factors. I see this play out in my parents who are coming up on year 50. I think Kenneth lost that balance when Emma left him. That and he has focused more on stage work in London, but yeah, his movie forays have been disastrous.
On another note: possibly only of interest to me and wifey, but should you ever go to China or know a traditional Chinese family, this is good shtuff to know. Note: Almost all this applies to Japan as well.
Violet
@Yutsano:
Hmmm…interesting. I don’t think I had heard that theory before. Did Emma succeed in taming his wildest impulses? One wonders, if he did indeed have multiple affairs. They worked really well together as a team on film, though.
I knew that first one about the chopsticks! I never put my chopsticks in rice so they stick up. Always, always lay them horizontally.
jeff
@matoko_chan:
Yes.
Yutsano
@Violet: The tea one I found really interesting. I know in Japan when you finish a drink you’re supposed to slam your glass on the table. I wonder if that’s where that came from.
Anne Laurie
@Emma:
Don’t know how you feel about sci-fi-comedies, but in GALAXY QUEST, Rickman plays a sneering Shakespearian forever berating his fellow actors, and the universe in general, that he should be reduced to playing a rubber-appliance-equipped alien in a fourth-rate tv show. At the climax of the film, Mr. Royal-Shakespearian discovers that his crappy pay-the-rent stunt-casting career has meant enough to an innocent viewer that it could inspire genuine, self-denying heroism. He may be a gumboil as a human being, but in that scene, Rickman does an amazing job of going from condescension to enlightment to shame (and onward to resolve) without ever saying a word. Starting about 2:00 in this clip:
RossInDetroit
@Yutsano:
So you think The Wild Wild West wasn’t the pinnacle of cinematic accomplishments?
Yutsano
@RossInDetroit: You must be more snarky when you’re exhausted. Did you get any sleep BTW?
RossInDetroit
Looping back to the tea discussion at the top of the thread made me want more lapsang Souchong. My favorite brew for very cold weather. Smells like a campfire. I just ordered 16 oz, which should get me through until spring.
RossInDetroit
@Yutsano:
Sitting up arguing with my wife about work, pets, politics, etc. Too wound up to sleep now. Gonna have a Scotch and solve some math problems. Tha tshould do the trick.
RossInDetroit
And no, I’m actually a mean bastard all the time. When I’m well rested I just remember to cover it up ;-)
Yutsano
@RossInDetroit: So then more or less you’re doing this, but slightly more advanced. Isn’t this swell?
Kat
Ahhhh…Love Tunch, no matter how fat he gets.
WereBear
He’s on the borderline between Alpha and Beta; we think he’ll settle on an Ocicat kind of thing.
We honestly wouldn’t have picked him out; we would have figured him to need more room that we can provide. But the Universe gave him as a gift; we’ll just have to move if need be :)
Triassic Sands
Cats’ sleeping habits remain one of life’s great mysteries.
asiangrrlMN
@burnspbesq: I agree with this. I mean, sure Mia Sara is nice eye candy, but come on. Emma Thompson? The scene when she realizes the necklace isn’t for her is heartbreaking (though the gift he bought her is actually better as he put more thought into it).
@Yutsano: So what you are telling me is that I am destined to remain single for the rest of my life? Thanks. Oh, and I knew three of the five customs listed. Number one is VERY important.
@Violet: THREESOME! (With Emma and HBC, not Kenneth. Ew).