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Michael Parker's Journal
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Thursday, June 30, 2005 |
Steven Speilberg's War of the Worlds scared up $21 million dollars on Wednesday, besting the Wednesday opening numbers of Batman Begins. These numbers make it Paramount Pictures biggest Wednesday opener. Read AP article here.
(In comparison, Revenge of the Sith opened with a $50 million first day take.)
Projected weekend grosses are $73 million.
Medical and Psychiatry groups are calling for Americans to stay home and not go out to the film because of recent comments Tom made to Matt Lauer. So we'll have to see if people stay away from a Speilberg film I believe is the best alien invasion film ever made.
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Wednesday, June 29, 2005 |
The big debate raging in the film industry and among critics these days is what factors are causing the biggest drought in twenty years at the box office.
So I introduced the topic to a few friends– Shawn (Assistant Editor & Managing Editor of two guitar magazines in California); Brian (technical writer and new father of twins); and John (published author)– in order to get their opinions. Their analysis on the subject echoes what we have been seeing in the news:
- Equipment for viewing films at home is more affordable-- better quality and has multiple uses.
- Increased cost of living (fuel, health care, etc.) is eliminating entertainment budgets
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You don't have to deal with unruly/noisy patrons.
Most films haven't been as good as other years.
There are annoying advertisements before the film begins.
DVDs have all the extras.
The Subject Matter of Films This Summer Leaves Out Kids
After seeing Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, however, I think I’ve discovered yet another factor that can be heaped on the mountain of factors already discussed ad nauseum. What is that? That this crop of films have left kids out of the calculation. Did the industry do this on purpose? No. That’s absurd. But this summer’s lineup of blockbusters has been dark and violent and intended for the older teen and adults. Starting with George Lucas’ dark and violent transformation of Annakin into Darth Vador (Revenge of the Sith), to the psychological horror and darkness of Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, to Steven Speilberg’s deeply disturbing alien invasion and images of annihilation, this has simply not been the summer for children younger than thirteen. Madagascar has been the only film of its sort light enough for parents to drag their kids too.
Take into consideration last year’s crop of films released before August and you’ll notice that the blockbusters were simply more kid-friendly-- Shrek 2 (5/19/04), Spider-Man 2 (6/30/04), Harry Potter 3 (6/04/04), The Day After Tomorrow (5/28/04), and I, Robot (7/02/04). (Well, there was one huge exception and that was Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ (2/25/04). Clergy of all Christian faith were promoting this as a family film event and families and church youth groups were flocking to it like it were the second coming.)
Note: And just to remind you that three of these films grossed enough to break into the top ten highest grossing films of all time– Shrek 2 grossing $436.47 million to sit behind only two other films, Titanic and Star Wars.
The rest of the year was just as friendly toward kids, with the release of Shark Tale (released 10/1/04, eleventh highest gross of the year at $161.41); The Incredible’s (released 11/5/2004, fifth highest gross of the year at $261.44); The Polar Express (released 11/10/04, tenth highest gross of the year at $162.75); and even the Indiana Jones like film National Treasure (released 11/19/04, ninth highest grossing film at $172.65).
But alas, as I have said numerous times, it is far too premature, quite too silly, and alarmist to surmise that film-going is doomed and on the way out, at least for the time being. Why? Because there is an incredible lineup of heavyweight blockbusters yet to see the light of day--Fantastic Four, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wallace & Grommit, The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter 4, and King Kong, to name just a slight few. It's a line-up that has Kids and Family written all over it.
IN closing, I say wait to call it the end of the cineplex until you see the whites of the For Sale signs. Well, okay, let us at least wait and see what Santa brings us.
11:40:00 PM | |
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Tuesday, June 28, 2005 |
If you've been reading the blog since April, you will be familiar with IBPC, an internet poetry board that consists of fourteen or so workshops and poetry zines. Each month, three poems are selected from each of these workshops & zines and sent to IBPC to be judged and awarded first, second, third, and honorary places. The following poem T.J. is this month's winning poem. (I'm including commentary from the judge on why he chose this particular poem as the best this month.)
T.J.
by Yolanda Calderon-Horn
He gave me to drink from his dented tin can.
It was surprisingly cool: not bad for tap water.
The living/kitchen area was vastly infertile-
with two lawn chairs posing as rainy-day furniture
and a gooseneck sink next to a circa 50’s icebox.
The place was clean.
One ill fitted window on a wall
faced a faded-yellow sheet that dangled
in place of a bedroom door.
He grabbed a towel, rinsed it;
with his hand quietly on my elbow,
he led me through the managing curtain.
My trembling stopped.
A twin bed, stack of law books and
nightstand huddled in the center of the room.
There was lunch neatly tucked in a napkin on the table
along with the leather box monogrammed T.J.
That's where he kept the old letters.
I dared to ask how he came to save them
when everything else was lost.
I must have appeared as an apparition
that traveled from the past and arrived
in pulled smoke- whose accident outside
the front yard disturbed a valley silence.
He wiped drying blood from my forehead,
asked if I was hungry. Before I answered,
he tore the cheese sandwich in half.
Commentary:
Coincidence is a vital force. It can't be stopped--only marveled at. The marvel of this poem is its willingness to let us inhabit the moment of a coincidence coming together, with all the disorientation, alertness, and wonder of the speaker--and without explaining too much. The careful attention to detail allows actions and images to speak for themselves, and we're left to luxuriate in the unanswered mysteries of the poem. Who is T.J.? What sort of letters are in that box? In the end, the answers are not important. The moment is. --Aaron Welborn
10:52:20 PM | |
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The reviews for Steven Speilberg's remake of War of the Worlds is getting excellent reviews, many calling it a classic. I've been formulating a preview article on this film, not realizing that it was already Wednesday tomorrow. Where is time flying to this summer? For crying out loud..... So I will try to get that out to you sometime.
8:51:29 PM | |
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Monday, June 27, 2005 |
I'm nearly one month from having my gall bladder removed. If you've been following my recovery, you know that just after my operation, I worked myself up to walking four to six miles most every day. Yet my heart is set on running long distances and the doctor gave me permission to start running when I felt ready, strong enough. Tonight was the night.
I had these goals in mind before setting out to my favorite running path, the Provo Canyon trail:
- Plan for 6 miles, even if you have to walk a majority of it.
- Start slow.
- Stop and walk if you feel pain near the healing incisions. For the gall bladder, those areas are just above the belly button; the right abdomen (two incisions there); and just under the right rib cage.
I ran 2.5 miles before I started feeling "stitches" on the right side by the two incisions. This really surprised me. Before the pain set in, I was changing my plans to do eight because I was feeling so well. But alas, this pain that I became accustomed to those first days after the operation when I had walked too far hit and so I stopped running within immediately. I ended up walking and running the rest of the way back to the mouth of the canyon. I'm guessing I ran around 4.25 total.
This is a good beginning.
10:11:02 PM | |
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Just a note to let you know that I updated my work of prose titled "My Son's Chants." I made these updates in order to post it on the poetry blog I belong to. I hope you like the additions.
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Sunday, June 26, 2005 |
Well, it looks as if book six in the seven-book series on the boy wizard Harry Potter is going to become the biggest selling book of all time. Click here for details.
I was just commenting to my friend John this week that J.K. Rowland's rags-to-riches life is one of the best/greatest of our time or possibly ever--a single-mom with no job creates a dynamic story with compelling characters (Dumbledore, McGonogal, Harry, Hermione, Ron, Hagrid) who experience/endure fantastical events and who have and portray such notable charactertistics that teach kids respect, courage, perseverance, determination, trust, foresight, awareness, etc. She's the best thing that has happened to children's literature. I cheer her successes and good fortune.
7:54:51 PM | |
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Saturday, June 25, 2005 |
Surfing through my favorite blogs this morning, I came upon Ron Silliman's post that highlights the poet Steve Benson and his compilation of poems titled "30 times in 2 days." I liked what I read--Ron's commentary and excerpts of Steve's poetry.
Steve has a straight-forward, matter-of-fact, conversational style at work in his poetry. In the examples Ron provided, I noticed stream of consciousness was minimal, there were no over-wrought poetic simile finding refuge in his verse. His style is linear, as if from one vantage point, one idea. He describes what comes to mind in complete, logical sentences. Take for example this excerpt:
Anyone can do it, but generally speaking,
few do. You can see it in the morning,
a subtle glimmer behind the glare. Whenever
treetops are brought plummeting down by
winter winds, lightning, or collisions, some
people, like animals, wake with a start. At
each evident instance, I start again. What
makes it seem one might be a perception
of ending, or it might be my refusal to
continue as I had been, as when, planning
or daydreaming or rehearsing recriminations,
I stop and notice that I am breathing again,
what color the moss is in this light, the
sounds no one is making
Now I'm not saying stream of consciousness or poetic simile is bad. I'm a avid fan of it. What I am saying however, is that Steve's style lends credence to....well...Steve's style. Ron describes it best, saying that it is a "high philosophical treatise." I concur wholeheartedly. Click here to read Ron's post.
3:03:43 PM | |
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Friday, June 24, 2005 |
My wife J is participating in the MS Bike Tour tomorrow in Logan, Utah. She’s been preparing for this event the last few months, physically and financially. You see, the amazing thing about the bike tour is that it raises money for people with MS. And J took it upon herself to make this fund-raiser a success.
J’s team consists of employees from four or so branches of a local bank; and J’s dad, who is an avid biker and plain and simply an awesome human being. To raise money, J created a raffle, calling local business to donate coupons, gift certificates, goods, anything to help fight the battle against MS. The response was overwhelming. Business and some of the best (favorite) restaurants in the area donated items, coupons, etc.
Raffle items included scrapbooking supplies, free 9-hole round of golf, free haircuts, day spa passes, two high class child’s dresses, sportsman’s supplies, coupons to restaurants that serve pizza, Italian food, southwestern cuisine, deli sandwiches, fast-food, gourmet hamburgers, etc. And for BYU enthusiasts, there was an autographed football from this year's football team, including the new coach, Bronco Mendenhall.
With the incredible kindness from customers and employees, J’s branch alone brought in more than $1,600 dollars, all of which goes to the MS Foundation.
J is awesome. Her hard work toward this cause has most impressed me. She is a wonderful person and I am so proud of her. I wish her a great ride tomorrow as she meanders her way around the foothills of the Logan mountain range of Northern Utah. I and the kids are cheering her on from home. We are very aware of what this race means to her and the dear souls struggling with MS. God bless them all and all of those people who donated their goods, money, and time to make this a great success!
11:55:35 PM | |
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Thursday, June 23, 2005 |
Nora Ephron’s adaptation of the much loved television sitcom "Bewitched" flies into theaters this weekend. Nora Ephron is most famous for her script to Sleepless In Seattle. She teams up with her sister on the writing credits, though she takes the helm as director.
Bewitched stars Will Ferrell and a very anorexic-looking Nicole Kidman. (Just look at the photo of her I’ve included in the post. I’m sorry, but that just doesn’t look healthy.) The film also stars Michael Caine and Shirley McClaine.
The synopsis of the film seems quite fresh and entertaining. Isabel (Nicole Kidman) is a good-natured witch trying to disavow her supernatural powers and lead a normal life. Jack Wyatt (Will Ferrell), meanwhile, is trying to get his acting career back. He believes he can update the 1960's tv show "Bewitched" and cast himself in the starring role of Darrin.
Fate steps in when Jack accidentally runs into Isabel. Jack falls head over hills in love with her, and her nose– kudos too that she has an uncanny resemblance to Elizabeth Montgomery, who played Samantha in the tv show. He convinces her to play the witch Samantha in his new series.
And for Isabel, she falls in love with Jack because he is normal and he could help her lead the normal life she so desires.
Will they get married? Will their show be a huge hit? Will Isabel have to use her witch powers afterall? Will Jack become successful and leave Isabel in the Hollywood dust? Answers to these questions and more if you see the film.
I don’t know about you, but I will see this film because of Nicole Kidman, whether or not she looks like a human toothpick or not.
For more information on the film, visit the official website.
10:41:20 PM | |
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Wednesday, June 22, 2005 |
Many of you are familiar with what happened to Birdie's 8 year-old son. For some of you, this will be news, even though it has been reaching a more national audience, as observed by it showing up on MSNBC's website. Here is the story:
Earlier this month, Birdie received a telephone call from the principal, informing her that 8 had been suspended and that she needed to come pick him up. Why? Because he had been caught reciting his very own rendition of the Pledge of Allegiance, which, understanding that he is an avid Star Trek fan, is an allegiance to the United Federation of Planets. He wasn't reciting his pledge to be funny or to be anti-American or un-patriotic. He's just like any other little kid who has created a persona (Captain) in a make believe place (Star Trek episode) and adapted it into real life. And you and I both know how monotonous it was having to recite the pledge day in and out. Hardly a misdemeanor and surely nothing to suspend him over. Anyway, read her account in its entirety here.
In honor of her son, I'm posting his very clever allegiance here. If there ever becomes a federation of planets, his pledge should be considered and he should be the first president or prime minister or chancellor or king or whatever leader they choose to represent them.
I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United Federation of Planets, and to the galaxy for which it stands, one universe, under everybody, with liberty and justice for all species.
P.s. For all you Trekkies, Birdie is selling t-shirts, mugs, handbags, etc. You can purchase them here.
8:14:25 PM | |
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If you have not seen the entertainment news the past couple of days, the American Film Institute compiled their list of the best (most memorable) quotes from films. I caught the news from Yahoo!
Without further adieu, here are the quotes that have made a mark on us filmgoers:
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." Gone with the Wind, 1939
2. "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." The Godfather, 1972
3. "You don't understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." On the Waterfront, 1954
4. "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
5. "Here's looking at you, kid." Casablanca, 1942
6. "Go ahead, make my day." Sudden Impact, 1983
7. "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." Sunset Blvd., 1950
8. "May the Force be with you." Star Wars, 1977
9. "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." All About Eve, 1950
10. "You talking to me?" Taxi Driver, 1976
11. "What we've got here is failure to communicate." Cool Hand Luke, 1967
12. "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." Apocalypse Now, 1979
13. "Love means never having to say you're sorry." Love Story, 1970
14. "The stuff that dreams are made of." The Maltese Falcon, 1941
15. "E.T. phone home." E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
16. "They call me Mister Tibbs!" In the Heat of the Night, 1967
17. "Rosebud." Citizen Kane, 1941
18. "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" White Heat, 1949
19. "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Network, 1976
20. "Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship." Casablanca, 1942
21. "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice Chianti." The Silence of the Lambs, 1991
22. "Bond. James Bond." Dr. No, 1962
23. "There's no place like home." The Wizard of Oz, 1939
24. "I am big! It's the pictures that got small." Sunset Blvd., 1950
25. "Show me the money!" Jerry Maguire, 1996
What are your favorite quotes? What quotes have they missed? I was thinking they missed the one in Sleepless in Seattle when Tom Hanks is telling his son "Didn't you see Fatal Attraction? Well I did and it scared the hell outta me!" And how about Sigourney Weaver in Aliens. Approaching the lair of the mother alien, in her attempt to save Lute, Weaver screams: "Leave her alone you bitch!" And though corny as it was, I don't know anyone who does not have engrained in their memory Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack) screaming "I'm the king of the world." And later, as Jack is hanging onto Rose (Kate Winslet), Rose chants over and over: "I'll never let go." Those two quotes have kept comedy alive since being spoken on the silver screen. What do you think?
6:55:44 PM | |
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Monday, June 20, 2005 |
An experiment in prose, stream-of-consciousness.
I'm holding my seven-month old by his hands so that he’s standing and he chants like a shaman using long syllables and song-like intonations that call down energy and power and he makes the sun set and the evening colors in the sky spread across the land and alight on the still snow-capped mountains. They turn pink like the salmon-colored roses blooming in his mother's garden but my mind can’t rest here in this pink land under a darkening violet sunset because the power behind my son’s sudden chants haunt me call up all my thoughts of the day and play them in the front of my mind like a dramatic movie and I think we say yes too easily, sounds absurd to even admit this, but yes, we say yes to anything that gives us meaning, something we can cheer about, anything that gives us the upper-hand the extra paycheck in the bank. The ten o’clock evening news starts and tragedy tops the hour each story after story the anchors sit with these stoic and sad masks reading queue cards about murder, war, missing children, court cases and car accidents but they take them off just in time for commercial breaks and just in time for the sports and the weather and the final "goodnight" segment so that the entire world seems set to right I assume so that not one soul not one state senator retires to bed suffering from heartburn from a pricked conscience while thousands of miles away we continue to say yes to war to murder to death to heartache to fear to abuse to empty promises changing ethics shallow beliefs and time ticks away and it has told us a million times that it can’t bring what has past back to us but we never listen we march into our homes and lock our doors and shut up our windows we pull down our blinds and create makeshift shrines of make believe and I swear as my son chants and sings down my awareness I hear women singing softly as they prepare another body for God.
11:16:39 PM | |
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Sunday, June 19, 2005 |
If I told you that there was a film in which its title was derived from the first word of the last chapter (Penelope) of James Joyce's famous poem "Ulysses," you might either be fascinated or utterly unimpressed. But it is true, according to the screenwriter and director of the film, Sally Potter. And her film Yes is the most anticipated film I want to see this summer.
Yes is a film about a love affair that blossoms when an American woman (Joan Allen) leaves her politician husband (Sam Neill) and embarks on a journey with a Middle-Eastern man (Simon Abkarian) from London and Belfast to Beirut and Havana. On their journey, they confront some of the greatest conflicts of our generation—religious, political and sexual.
If you read my post on Upcoming Films of 2005, you will remember that I explained that this film is unique because it is entirely written in verse, rhyming verse. You may ask why I am so captivated by this. Let me attempt to explain.
1) Sally Potter directed one of my all-time favorite films, Orlando, which she adapted a Virginia Woolf novel. The film became an internationally acclaimed film in 1992. Starring Tilda Swinton, Orlando received two Academy Award nominations, won more than 25 international awards (including the "Felix" awarded by the European Film Academy for the best Young European Film of 1993), and won first prizes at St Petersburg, Thessaloniki and other festivals.
I loved this film for its rich cinematography, incredibly dynamic script, and Swinton’s acting. I was swept off my feet in utter wonder at this film.
2) The cinematographer of Orlando, Alexei Rodionov, returned for the first time to work with Sally to shoot the photography for Yes.
3) The score is composed by Phillip Glass, who composed the Oscar nominated film The Hours, a masterful classic that moved me in such a way I had to purchase it.
4) Sally Potter wrote the film in rhyming couplets. I do not believe that there is any contemporary script that has attempted such a feat. I’m intrigued beyond comprehension. I read in an interview somewhere (and I apologize for not remembering where) why she chose to write the script in verse. Her answer is most profound:
"I read somewhere that in times of war the sales of poetry books go up. It's as though we need to use our most clear and rich tool, which is the tool of language, to express the subtleties and the nuances of our experience. And I think that verse is a kind of structure that allows us to explore language in a more interesting, more heightened way, then we tend to in everyday conversation."
I have been reading about the film on the Sony website for the film. I came across a Question & Answer section that was compiled from the Q & A sessions that Sally Potter held after the showing of Yes at the Telluride, London, and Toronto film festivals. There were two questions posed to Sally in regards to the poetic aspect of her script that I found most intriguing. Being that this is so unique, I thought I would share her comments for your preview:
Q: Did the poetry come to you easily?
SALLY POTTER: It came out in a torrent. It felt entirely natural as a way of expressing this strange blend of ideas; love and religion and war and death, which otherwise might have become rather heavy and didactic in everyday speech. They were big, big ideas to handle. But something about the form of verse, and iambic pentameter in particular, creates a flow to things that naturalises them.
I think of the film almost like a long song and the song form is something everybody knows. Rap is just one of its more recent incarnations. Poetry is simple and old and direct - from Icelandic sagas and Sanskrit to ballads and hip-hop. Both my experience of writing in verse and the actors' experience of performing it, was that it was liberating.
Q: What were your directions to the actors about how to speak the verse?
SP: Ignore the rhyme, ignore the form, just concentrate on the sense and the emotion. We talked a lot in rehearsal about what it meant, how they felt about it, how it related to their lives and so on. We worked as deeply as we could on rooting the language in their own experience and finding an authentic place from which to speak. In other words to naturalize it as much as possible. So it was a kind of paradox, that having written such a precise holding structure to contain the ideas, we then had to let it go, throw it away, or at least loosen it up. The words were adhered to precisely but there was an irreverent approach to the metre so the rhythms at the end of each line became less noticeable. I've had one or two private screenings where people who knew nothing about the film beforehand didn't even notice it was in verse. So, that was kind of interesting. I like it when people do notice and I like it when they don't.
11:29:05 PM | |
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In five weeks of release, Revenge of the Sith has brought in $347.8 million dollars at the box office. This makes it the 11th highest grossing film of all time. The top ten films break down like this:
1 Titanic ($600.79 m)
2 Star Wars ($461.00 m)
3 Shrek 2 ($436.47 m)
4 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ($434.97 m)
5 The Phantom Menace ($431.09 m)
6 Spider-Man ($405.85 m)
7 The Return of the King ($376.96 m)
8 Spider-Man 2 ($373.38 m)
9 The Passion of the Christ ($370.77 m)
10 Jurassic Park ($357.07 m)
The box office lure of Lucas’ final installment to the Star Wars trilogy is decreasing approximately an average of 37% each week. Last weekend, it brought in roughly 14 million. This week, it only summoned up 9 million. If the trend follows, Sith might only be bringing in a total of $13.79 million in the next 5 weekends. The breakdown looks like this:
$5.67 million
3.57 million
2.25 million
1.41 million
.89 million
It brought in an average of $3.5 million dollars during the week. If we apply the same calculation to this figure, then we can project that Sith will only bring in $19.17 million dollars during the next five weeks (including weekend grosses).
I project that Revenge of the Sith should become the 10th grossing film of all time at a total gross of $366.97.
This week marked the 17th consecutive weekend that box office total sales are behind last year’s totals for the same weekend grosses. But I want you to notice in the top ten list that there are three films from last year (The Passion of the Christ, Spider-Man 2, and Shrek 2). So we need to keep in mind that this year is being compared to an immensely lucrative banner year in regards to box office receipts.
4:19:02 PM | |
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Friday, June 17, 2005 |
The Internet Movie Database website posted a survey tonight asking their readers which Best Picture Oscar winning films of the 1990's is their least favorite. The winners consisted of the following:
Dances with Wolves (1990)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Unforgiven (1992)
Schindler's List (1993)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Braveheart (1995)
The English Patient (1996)
Titanic (1997)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
American Beauty (1999)
I picked Titanic as my least favorite of these films. Which film was your least favorite?
Let me take this a step further and ask which five films were your favorite. My choices would be:
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Schindler's List (1993)
The English Patient (1996)
Shakespeare in Love (1998)
American Beauty (1999)
10:01:49 PM | |
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Thursday, June 16, 2005 |
Just a note to let you know that I have seen Batman Begins and will post a review very soon. I'm not spoiling my review by saying this: Not only is this the best Batman movie ever made, but it is one of the finest, if not the best superhero movie ever made. Christopher Nolan's adaptation or vision of the Dark Knight ranks next to Sin City as the best film so far this year. Stay tuned for more.
10:17:20 PM | |
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Wednesday, June 15, 2005 |
Many of you know that I had my gall bladder removed the Friday before Memorial Day. But I never recorded what caused my symptoms. So let me catch you up to date on what the doctors found and the status of my recovery:
Upon removing and opening the gall bladder that morning, they discovered that the interior lining of the bladder was covered with crystalized cholesterol deposits. These deposits are the same makeup as gall stones, just smaller and more numerous.
This week, I had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon, in which he shared with me the results of the lab tests. They showed that the tissue of the bladder had a "moderate infection." I inquired what that meant and the surgeon replied that I didn't have gangrene but it was heading that direction.
"You should be feeling much better now," he added.
For the first time in weeks, I really do feel wonderful.
I have been doing exceptionally well with my recovery.
One of the tasks given me was to walk every few hours. (In fact, it couldn’t have been longer than one hour from awaking from the anesthesia that two nurses helped me out of the bed in the recovery room and walked me around the ward til I was back at my station. But to my surprise, they had removed the bed and replaced it with a LazyBoy recliner.) In order to be released from the hospital, I had to be able to walk around the ward without assistance, among other things I won’t mention now.
At first, the purpose of walking is to ensure that you keep the blood flowing, so blood doesn’t pool and create blood clots. But besides this, in general, walking promotes healing. So upon returning home, nearly six hours after the operation, I took my action task seriously. (I am a marathoner so I have this inner-conscience that helped me get up and walk.)
I started off walking down the hall and round the perimeter of the living room. The next day, I went outside and did laps around the circular sidewalk in front of our house. Four days after the operation, I had worked myself up to walking half a mile. On the evening of the fifth day, I was up to one mile.
What most amazed me during these two days was how noticeable the healing occurred. The pain was decreasing, I was ridding myself of the gas they pump into your stomach, and I was feeling stronger. Also, my gait, once at a mere shuffle, lengthened and quickened. I wasn’t power-walking by any means, but I was not walking like I had just had a major operation either.
I then traveled to Waldport, Oregon to vacation and continue my recovery at a rented beach house next to the Pacific Ocean. When it rained, I walked the perimeter of the dining room and the expansive kitchen–these two rooms laid side by side in the shape of block letter "P." When it was not raining, I walked the beach. By the end of the week, I had worked up to walking a six mile walk.
The beautiful beach house, The Sanderling, is three miles south of Waldport. Walking the beach, you can walk to the place where the Alsea Bay meets the Pacific Ocean. The Waldport Bridge spans the bay and many of my family members walked or ran their way to the edge of the bay (3 miles) just to catch site of it. This is exactly the walk I took to complete my six miles.
When I told the surgeon that I had walked six miles, he was literally amazed and then thrilled. "I wish all my patients would be as motivated," he replied. "I can’t tell you how worried we [doctors] are when we send our patients home with instructions to walk. So many patients don’t have this initiative and many get complications because of it."
And this was a revelation to me because just that very day, I was speaking with a co-worker who informed me that one of her old acquaintances had been recovering from a gall bladder operation and suddenly died from a blood clot. So I can’t stress enough the importance of keeping active after this procedure, or any procedure for that matter.
The good doctor gave me permission to start running when I felt my body was strong enough to do so. So I might try a mile or two later this week. I'm registered for the St. George Marathon in the Fall so I have to be ready for that. If I can do anything sooner, I'll be ecstatic!
For a reminder, maybe these doctors should hand out t-shirts to their patients that read in big red letters: "Avoid Blood Clots. Walk!"
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Tuesday, June 14, 2005 |
You are Percy Bysshe Shelley! Famous for your
dreamy abstraction and your quirky verse,
you're the model "sensitive poet." A
vegetarian socialist with great personal charm
and a definite way with the love poem, you
remain an idol for female readers. There are
dozens of cute anecdotes about you, and I love
you.
Which Major Romantic Poet Would You Be (if You Were a Major Romantic Poet)?
brought to you by Quizilla
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Sunday, June 12, 2005 |
I was tagged by Mike over at Chew Toys to complete a little survey on films. Here is my response:
Total Number of Films Owned: About 30.
Last Film Bought: Marc Forster's Finding Neverland. The noteworthy performances of Johnny Depp, Kate Winslet (she's amazing), Julie Christy, Dustin Hoffman, Radha Mitchell, and a group of brilliant child actors, especially Freddie Highmore as Peter, highlight a truly thoughtful and moving script.
Last Film Watched: At the theaters, the last film I watched was Robert Rodriguez’ fantastic film Sin City.
While I was recovering from my operation, I watched the following films on DVD:
The Final Cut (with Robin Williams, Mira Sorvino, and Jim Caviziel)– Intriguing concept and story of a memory cutter (someone who edits the memories of deceased people and prepares a Re-memory film for the funeral, memorial) who learns that he himself has the implant that captures every moment of your life. His very life is on the line when he wins the contract to edit the memories of the controversial CEO of EyeTech, the company who makes and installs the implants.
Finding Neverland
Pride & Prejudice (The A&E version, directed by Simon Langton; starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle as Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett.) This is a phenomenal production and a delight to watch. Clocking in at just over six hours, this is the best adaptation of Jane Austin’s incredible work. Oh, and by the way, there is another adaptation hitting the cineplex this fall. Do you think it can even remotely come close to this version?
Napoleon Dynamite. In this my third watching of this film, I’ve definitely been able to unplug the personal reflection machine inside of me and watch this for the pure fun of it. You see, I saw so much of Napoleon in my high school self that it was most torturous to watch the first time. Nonetheless, Napoleon is an amazing little film that might easily be one of the most influential films in recent memory. I can’t tell you how many teens and kids have taken on the lingo from the film, spewing out lines. Teens dress up and do their hair like the characters for parties. In fact, there are Napoleon Dynamite parties.
You’ve probably seen the Napoleon line of clothing that is on the racks at Hot Topic.
In this watching, I greatly enjoyed Napoleon’s antics– the way he gazes out of that ugly mop of a hair-do to the way he dresses; from his passive-aggressive replies and mannerisms to his chicken-liver attempts at courage. Napoleon has come to be the Everyman of teen angst.
If you have not yet seen this film, here is my plug. Get past how the characters look and you’ll find an oddly endearing and meaningful Everyman’s-type tale that has heart and a decent message, one about coping with the pain of growing up, trying to capitalize on opportunities, and developing future dreams by going after them now. As Napoleon said to Pedro (when Pedro confided in him that he didn’t know what to say in his campaign speech to the student body): "Just tell 'em you'll make their wildest dreams come true."
Beauty and the Beast. Alright. I admit. All the kids at the beach house were watching this and I crashed their party. This is a classic. No doubt about it.
Five Favorite Films That I Watch Frequently or That Mean A Lot To Me:
The Princess Bride
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
Dr. Strangelove
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Shrek and Shrek 2
The Incredibles
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Whale Rider
Russian Ark
Northfork
Love Actually
Among my favorites otherwise:
This is a very long list and one of these days I’ll get around to posting all of my favorite films. So for this post, I’ll just list the films that come immediately to mind:
Anything from last year’s top ten lists: here, here, and here.
Dr. Strangelove
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Gosford Park
Oh Brother Where Art Thou?
Fargo
Sin City
Lost In Translation
Magnolia
The Hours
Eyes Wide Shut
Apocalypse Now (Redux)
Star Wars
American Beauty
Being John Malcovich
The Three Kings
Gladiator
The Insider
Road to Perdition
Schindler’s List
Shakespeare in Love
Elizabeth
Hamlet (Kenneth Brannagh)
Howard’s End
The Remains of the Day
A Room With A View
Ghandi
The Silence of the Lambs
Ordinary People
Adaptation
Spirited Away
Waking Life
Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2
Pulp Fiction
Alien
Aliens
The English Patient
Cold Mountain
Saving Private Ryan
The Thin Red Line
Thelma & Louise
The Blair Witch Project
Das Boot (Germany)
Nosferatu (Germany)
Moulin Rouge
Romeo + Juliet
Miraculously, I want to see, and have not seen: Revenge of the Sith, Robots, Kingdom of Heaven, Crash, The Sea Inside, The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, Madagascar, The Bridge on the San Luis Rey,
Movie you would most like to see again if you could find it: Cradle Song (Spain). J and I saw this beautiful film at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Directed by Jose Luis Garci, Cradle Song is a story about a convent who finds a newborn left on their steps. They raise her, only to have to say goodbye when she falls in love and chooses to marry her handsome suitor. I echo the analysis written by Christian Gaines, writing in the Sundance film festival guide-- the strength of the film "lies in the consistent beauty Garci has created inside of the convent. The nuns go about their daily routines and observe strict rules, yet their personalities remain irrepressible. This is a film of breathtaking images. Light not only transforms the convent into an enchanting labyrinth of chambers with golden highlights but also signifies the freedom beyond the leaded windows. Like a good fairy tale, Cradle Song transports us to a serene world of truth, beauty, and innocence."
I want you to know that both J and I were bawling at the end. Having been invited in to see the relationship build between the nuns and Teressa, we felt as torn as the nuns when Teressa parted. Very powerful film, indeed.
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The boxoffice is in a slump. I'm sure you've heard the news before. But reviewing the films being released this summer and fall, and for the holiday season, I don't think the box-office folks should worry. But despite box-office hits, there is a crop of highly intriguing dramas that I can't wait to see. Here is a list of the films I want to check out. (Where I will get the money to see all of these is beyond me!)
June & July Releases
Christian Bale is going to do this up right you know-- Batman Begins; Tom Cruise’s newest role in War of the Worlds; a highly touted zombie film from Australia called the Undead; Heights; another superhero film along the lines of X Men, Fantastic Four; Ingmar Bergman’s last film Saraband, Terrance Mallick’s The Beautiful Country; and I don't want to miss the Sundance film festival double winner (Audience Award and Special Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary) Murderball, which is a documentary about the tensions that arise in the Paralympic Basketball match-up between teams USA and Canada at the Greece Olympics.
For all of you runners, here is a film that is opening in August– Saint Ralph. It is about an awkward Catholic school boy (Butcher) who enters and runs the Boston Marathon, thinking that a victory there will be the miracle his mother needs to awaken from her coma. Check out the film here.
For you poets and literature types, the upcoming release of Yes, by Sally Potter might be a film you should check out. Why? Because the entire screenplay, written by Potter, is in verse. And word on the street is that it is quite "exquisite." Yes is about a married woman who falls in love with a chef and their passionate affair takes them on a journey to Belfast, Beirut, and Havana. Might this be a possible Best Original Screenplay nominee? Check out the sight here.
August Releases
Bill Murray’s latest film Broken Flowers; The Skeleton Key; John Singleton’s Four Brothers; Disney’s animated film Valiant; the John Turturo musical Romance & Cigarettes; Terry Gilliam’s The Brother’s Grimm;
September Releases
John Madden’s Proof; Johnny Depp’s latest Oscar buzz role in The Libertine; Liev Schreiber’s Oscar buzz film Everything is Illuminated; Tim Burton’s newest clay-mation film Corpse Bride; and Roman Polanski’s Oliver Twist.
October Releases
Wallace & Gromit’s film debut in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit; Cameron Crowe’s Elizabethtown; Marc Forster’s new film Stay; Gore Verbinski’s The Weatherman; Meryl Streep’s latest Prime.
November Releases
Chicken Little; the adaptation of Alan Moore’s graphic novels titled V for Vendetta; Sam Mendes latest Jarhead; Chris Columbus’ adaptation of the huge Tony award winning musical Rent; Harry Potter and Goblet of Fire; Zathura; Harold Ramis’ film Ice Harvest, starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Dennis Quaid.
December Releases
The Chronicles of Narnia; Peter Jackson’s much anticipated remake of King Kong; the Oscar buzz film All the King’s Men;
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Saturday, June 11, 2005 |
This evening J and I, my two sisters (Ninna & Nicka), and my brother and his wife (Mateo & Kerri) surprised my parents with an Italian dinner we prepared and served under a canopy nestled in the corner of their wood patio. It’s their fourtieth wedding anniversary.
Being the oldest, I volunteered to serve them the meal. (Hooray, my university job as a waiter/host came in handy tonight.)
Without a doubt, Martha Stewart would be proud of the decorations, food, and presentation. The table was decorated with a bouquet of roses from J’s garden, candles, rose petals, and a menu I wrote up and printed on vellum paper, which J then mounted on a forest green cardstock, attaching the two with pearl-white beadwork in each corner of the menu. It was a most elegant creation. We framed a replica of their wedding picture and placed that on a side table, also decorated with a bouquet of roses. The final touch, the one we thought would add the most romantic ambiance, were the four long strands of white lights Matt and I strung along the inside of the canopy.
Let me introduce you to our menu.
For hors d'ouvres, J prepared crostinis, toasted mini-baguettes covered in an assortment of flavorful pastes: artichoke & cream cheese, sun-dried tomato, and sweet red pepper. I then served them a pre-packaged Parisian Salad from Costco (where God shops). If you’ve had this salad before, it is one of my favorites– an elegant blend of green leaf and frisee lettuces, crimson radicchio, sweet carrots, feta cheese, frosted almonds, and dried cranberries. We dressed the salad with the heavenly white balsamic vinegarette dressing that is included with it.
I served them a scoop of lemon sorbet to cleanse the pallet.
For the main course, Matt & Kerri prepared an incredible Pasta Milano that consisted of a generous bed of angel hair pasta decorated with seasoned chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms and dressed with Alfredo sauce. J baked a delicious focaccia bread. For the vegetable, Kerri boiled artichokes and mixed together a creamy lemon sauce that they could dip the meaty portions of the leaves.
We served them a delicious creme brulee, one of my personal favorite desserts. If you are not familiar with it, it’s a baked creamy custard topped with a caramelized sugar crust.
With their music playing through the window, they danced on the patio before the meal.
We set out to accomplish something low-key, yet romantic; something that would make a lasting impression. The effect was quite phenomenal, really for all involved. They were thrilled. We were most thrilled to do this for them.
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Wednesday, June 01, 2005 |
I'm going to take the next ten days off to recover from my operation. I'll be resting and enjoying the sounds of the Pacific ocean. There's something about the sea that enchants me like no other thing in the world. This break will be a good one. One of my favorite references to the sea comes from Greek historical text, The Anabasis. A Greek soldiering unit has been journeying through the inland country patrolling and protecting their territory. This journey has been especially hard on them; it has lasted years, producing low morale, depression, battles, illness, and death. Having grown up on the Aegean coast, they literally yearn for the comforts of home, the company of their family and loved ones, mom's cooking. There is a moment in the text, near the end of their journey, when the unit ascends a ridge and for the first time in years they set their eyes on the ocean. They rejoice, immediately chanting "Thalata, thalata."
I feel that same way everytime I see the ocean for the first time each year. My spirit is rejuvinated to be with family, to eat the fabulous feasts we prepare for each other. But there is something about feeling one with the sea, with the flow of tides that you can spend all day watching and listening to. In this watching and listening, there is a magic I do not know but I most always welcome and invite.
Have a great week, friends.
P.S. You have to check out this hilarious LateNight skit filmed when Episode 2 came out. Mad Dog interviews Star Wars Nerds who have been standing in line for days. While watching it this morning, I had to turn it off because I was laughing too hard I thought I was going to burst all my stitches!
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