movies

Rainy Saturday

I didn’t do a whole lot today. It was cold and rainy, perfect don’t-do-a-whole-lot weather.

I worked on finishing up the April issue of Kaleidotrope, and while I didn’t manage to mail out any copies today, I did post the contents, with links for purchase. Check it out if you’re at all interested. I know that couldn’t have possibly taken the entire day, even with the proofing and the printing and the website tweaking, but I’m not entirely sure how else the day went by.

I’m not automatically discounting the idea of alien abduction and lost time. Though there may have been some reading and television involved instead, I’m not sure.

I do know this evening that I watched John Carpenter’s The Fog (the 1980 original). It’s an odd movie, both a very effective horror movie and a spectacularly lame one. There’s a lot to admire in Carpenter’s work, especially in the early going, as he builds tension and dread through effective locations and use of sound. But he’s undone, ultimately, by cheesy special effects, slasher-movie tendencies, and kind of a silly plot. It’s not at all a bad movie, but it’s not even close to Carpenter’s best. (Then again, given the hit-or-miss career he’s had, it’s also not even close to his worst.)

Sunday

So today I worked on the Sunday crossword, watched the first two episodes of AMC’s new show The Killing and saw Hanna with friends after our weekly writing group. I liked both the TV show and the movie, and the writing I did too — although with that, I’m not going to post it, since I think, with just a little bit of work, I could maybe turn it into a sell-able flash piece. I also finished listening to the audiobook of Tina Fey’s new memoir Bossypants. I also liked that.

It was pretty much just a Sunday of okay, likable stuff. Nothing wrong with that.

Saturday

I brought my car into our local mechanic for its yearly inspection this morning.

I worked on the April issue of Kaleidotrope.

I read a little.

I went for a walk and listened to a podcast.

I played with the dog.

I watched the insane Tai Chi Master.

And that’s about it. How about you?

The third of May

Things I did today:

  • I did my taxes, which took about an hour. I think my federal refund will pretty much cover what I owe to the state of New York.
  • I finished reading Bryan Talbot’s terrifically inventive and entertaining Alice in Sunderland. As John Tufail, “Carrollian scholar,” notes in his endorsement:

    Alice in Sunderland is parochial in its focus — but not in content. I believe anyone interested in the way history is formed and, in itself, forms culture, character and a sense of place will be entranced by it.

    It’s also a wild, meta-fictional ride into the life of Lewis Carroll and his most famous work.

  • I watched a quasi-documentary, Believe: The Eddie Izzard Story. There are some genuine moments, particularly when Izzard talks about the death of his mother, which has possibly forever scarred him. And it’s not uninteresting from a fan’s perspective, but it’s a fawning and superficial look at the man.
  • I actually managed to finish the Sunday New York Times crossword for a change this week. Maybe it was just easier, though I got even further than usual with the Diagramless.
  • I went for a walk.

And that, plus an early dinner before my sister, her husband, and their dog returned home, was my Sunday.