Very Productive

I had a very productive weekend, and by productive I mean I got a lot of reading and movie watching done. This no TV thing really gets me motivated to do other stuff, you know like watch movies. Actually, if you will indulge me for just a moment - and you kind of have to because this is my blog - I got to thinking yesterday about entertainment, as in holy god, how much entertainment do we need? Even without the TV we still have netflix, and the internet, an xbox 360, and a bunch of audiobooks, podcasts, and music on our ipods and that's just electronics. We also have lots of books and magazines, so many that I often feel like I'm getting behind, as if reading things for pleasure is my job and I'm missing deadlines or something. I think that the big difference with TV vs. these other types of entertainment is that I actually have to make a choice in the evening. Hmm which movie will I watch, or book will I read, and with TV the choices were basically being made for me. Last month when it got down to it and we realized we were only looking forward to watching 2 programs (Lost and Battlestar Gallactica) and everything else was just filler we decided to turn disconnect it after the season finale of BSG. So in essence, all the time during the week when I, not really so much Mike, was watching and neither of those shows were on, it was just filler, crappy noise pumped in to fill the time because I was too lazy to chose something else for myself. Anyway, it made me feel really gross, so in beginning week 2 of no TV I'm feeling pretty happy about the choice.

On to my weekend productivity. Friday night I watched Prairie Home Companion. I love Garrison Kellor and the NPR Radio Show by the same name, which the movie basically mimics. Really this movie is just a little love letter to the show, which has been on the radio for many many years and was very well done. Lindsay Lohan is in this movie, along with Merryl Streep and I was shocked to learn that both of them can really sing quite beautifully. Lilly Tomlin, who was also in the movie made a good effort but sadly cannot. If you do not like the radio show, you are not going to like this movie. It's like people who don't like fish being surprised that they don't like sushi, just because it's in a different form doesn't mean it's going to be more palatable for you. I give this movie a woot! it misses a double woot because it's kind of cheesy.

Last night I watched The Darjeeling Limited, which if you don't know is a Wes Anderson film. Who is Wes Anderson? What? Are you kidding? Only one of the best writer/directors ever - Rushmore, Royal Tennenbaums, Steve Zisou - sound familiar? Of course Owen Wilson is in this movie, as is Angelica Houston, Bill Murray, and Jason Schwartzman (who was involved with the writing) all familiar actors that Anderson works with often. I really like it when directors use the same actors in their films over and over. It really makes sense to me as in there must be a huge level of bullshit that doesn't need to be worked through when new actors are brought in for each project. Wes Anderson movies are beautifully melancholy. This movie took place in India and was so stunning, and the shots so beautiful it was like watching a moving painting. Many people don't like Anderson movies because they seem slow moving, or too symbolic but I have loved each of them,the combination of music, dialog and cinematography keeps me on the verge of tears throughout the entire film because of the beauty and sadness. The plot is this - 3 brothers, Owen Wilson, Jason Shwartzman, and Adrian Brody are on a train traveling through India to visit various spiritual sites and visit their mother. This is the first time in a year the brothers have been together since the death of their father a year previously. The relationship between the siblings is perfectly represented. The movie is an examination of that relationship - adult siblings and their relations with one another. How quickly they revert to childhood roles, and simultaneously embrace yet resent them. Ok, enough said, Double Woot.

I pounded through a book this weekend as well. The Devil and Miss. Prym by Paulo Coelho was so good I read it in about a day. A man comes to a small town and tells the townspeople if they murder one of the residents, he will give them 10 gold bars. He does this because he figures it's an easy way to find out if people are basically good or evil. It was a bit slow at first, but after about 20 pages I couldn't put it down. I have read a lot of Coehlo's stuff, I loved the Pilgrimage, the Alchemist etc. lately his books have been pretty Christiany which I don't like at all, and though this did have a lot of references to the Bible etc. it wasn't too overwhelming and I was still able to enjoy it. Double Woot!

Finally just an exercise note - not a big deal for you active people but I ran a half mile today without stopping. This is a huge huge deal for me. As I was running I thought about the Presidential Fitness Test I had to take in Jr. High, and how after I ran a mile for that I barfed in the girl's locker room. Anyhow, I got to thinking that I should look up those goals and see if I can be as fit as what the gov. says a 17 year old girl should be :) Although, just now I saw that they have a lifestyle thing for adults, maybe I will sign up. Only if I can get a gold plated plastic medal with JFK's face on it though...Ok that's it I'm out. Thank you for reading.

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