Posts
Be Kind, Rewind is a funny little film about friends who make 20-minute versions of Hollywood films. Why, you ask? Because the videos in the video store one of them works in (Mos Def) are accidentally erased by his friend (Jack Black) after he becomes magnetized after trying to sabotage a power station. Logical, right?
It's actually a wonderful premise, but it never works as well in the movie as it does in one's own imagination. With the help of a girl from a dry cleaner's (Melonie Diaz), they badly act out such films as Ghostbusters and Rush Hour 2 for a hand-held video camera. This all happens while the owner of the store (Danny Glover) is on a fact-finding trip, staking out DVD stores to find out what customers want. Oh yeah, his store is slated for demolition and the city wants to move him into "the projects." It kind of has a Goonies feel, like time is running out, we have to save our neighbourhood from the wrecking ball!
Had the film stayed focused on the efforts of the amateur filmmakers trying to restock Glover's store with their own knockoffs I think it would have worked; however, we're supposed to believe that in the 21st century, a VIDEO STORE OWNER has no idea what a DVD is or how to stock a store. Uh-huh. It simply becomes too feel-good toward the end, when the entire neighbourhood helps make a film about some made-up local jazz legend to try to raise enough money to save the store. And I don't think they curse once through the entire film. This could have been a good film, but it loses focus and I lost interest.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End was even worse. It wanders all over creation, killing off well-known characters as it goes and making absolutely no sense. I can't tell you what the plot is. As an example of its waywardness, William Turner and Elizabeth Swan are married by Barbossa ... during a sword fight and a maelstrom. Uh-huh. I got a lot of knitting done during this film.
The one bright spot is, as always, Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow. There are a couple of engrossing sequences where he is apparently losing his mind and having conversations with many clones of himself. Depp can truly make gold from straw.
To not give the ending away, I will only say that even though they "marry," Elizabeth and William will be apart for ten years, perhaps longer. Something to do with Davy Jones' locker and the Flying Dutchman always needing a captain. The special effects weren't even that exceptional, especially after watching Hellboy II. Fortunately it was a renter.
So Mike and I decided to break the bank and watch two new films on a Friday night at the local theatre. Originally we were only going to see Get Smart, but one of the previews was for Hellboy II and, since I love Guillermo del Toro and Mike loves action films with comic book characters in them, we thought we’d check out this film as well.
First, Get Smart. It was funnier that expected, but you really can’t go wrong with Steve Carell. Well, perhaps with really bad writing you can, but Carell is nothing short of a comic genius. I guess you don’t need to hear the plot – I’m not even sure what it was. There’s KAOS and Control and one wants to blow up the President and the other is trying to stop it. (So what else is new?) Carell is the great bungler, and Anne Hathaway as Agent 99 is forgettable. Then again the female characters in these male-driven films usually are. But Carell is very funny as usual, so I did enjoy it.
Hellboy II was great fun. First, however, I should state that I can’t
stand Hellboy the character. He is
physically repulsive (even moreso than his fishy friend Abraham Sapien) with an
annoying voice and grating personality.
But for Hellboy, Hellboy would be an amazing film. Fortunately they have Guillermo del Toro back
as writer and director, so all is well despite the protagonist. Pan’s Labyrinth is one of my absolute
favourite films, so I was very excited to see the creatures in this film. I was not disappointed. Del Toro creates “monsters” from air, rocks,
the most innocuous things. His
imagination continues to provide visionary delights that even non-fantasy fans
like myself can appreciate. Oh yeah, the world of mythical creatures has a truce with mankind about one sticking to the cities and the other to the forests. One side chooses to break the truce and go to war with the other. Awesome-looking beings fighting ensues. Definitely worth seeing in theatres.
That's apparently what I'm creating. I've been practicing using double pointed needles with beer cozies for awhile now. I tried every trick I could think of to get rid of the bloody ladders - switching stitches between needles, using four instead of three, keeping the working needle on top, etc - and it's made no difference. Fortunately you can't see the the ladders well in this photo! One of the four (the best one, actually) was done on just regular needles, then I sewed the ends together. Now I'm working on perfecting the mattress stitch, another challenge unto itself. Plus I'm working on another block of tofu, which means more mattress stitch. You'd think with all this practice I'd be better at this ...
Our apartment is pretty hot this summer. Since we only have maybe two months of hot weather per year, however, we can't justify spending hundreds of dollars on an air conditioner. So Tubbs has been spending a lot of time on the balcony lately. When she finally decides to come in she tries to find the coolest spot in the place, which I guess is by the door. Perhaps there's a nice draft on her bum. Apparently her tummy is pretty warm too, since she's airing it out. I'm sure she can't wait for cooler weather.
Photos of the pets I encountered this weekend:
This is Maddy. This pic is from my camera phone so the quality isn't so great. Maddy is the resident cat at Basket of Yarn. She's a small, friendly kitty who hangs out in her chair or near the door.
This is Buddy the dog, as opposed to my Buddy the cat. I know, poor lighting. Buddy is the dog of my mom's friend Ruth, who hosted a jewellery home party on Sunday. Ruth also has two cats of whom I didn't get pictures, which is unfortunate since one has the largest eyes I've ever seen on a cat and the other is a gorgeous Siamese. Buddy followed us around but made it difficult to pet him as he was more interested in jumping on the petter. I tried anyway. ;-)
Aaand, just to show what my Buddy goes through every six weeks:
This is my boy-cat getting a trim around the bum. He picked his hind legs up off the table, so his back end is being held up by his tail. Oh, the fit he has every grooming session. The groomer is Lisa, and her hubby Anthony is the "muscle." When it's all over he hides under the bed for awhile to rebuild his self-esteem.
Saturday my friend Hope, her Mike, my Mike and I went to Upper Tantallon to check out Basket of Yarn. I had heard about this LYS when it was announced they were going out of business. Much to their customers' delight, Susan & Patrick have decided to keep the shop open. I won't tell you how much I've spent there over the past two Saturdays.
Then we took the scenic route to Have a Yarn in Mahone Bay. This is the first time I've been to this LYS. They have quite a selection as well as books and a few videos. I won't tell you how much Hope spent in there in one Saturday.
I managed to pick up all the yarn I need for a multi-strand afghan, as well as a double-knitted scarf. So I'm good to go for the summer. So far I haven't been very good at buying yarn for the sake of buying yarn; my stash doesn't contain anything non-spoken-for. I'll have to work on that ...
And a gratuitous picture of Tubbs, wanting in off the balcony but not before Mummy takes a picture with her camera phone:
So here is my first attempt at this tofu:
Yes, it's pretty lumpy. And yes, I forgot to add the facial features before sewing it up. And you can't see it, but I sewed one of the side ends on wrong side out. Ahem. But I did it, and it was fun! I'll be trying it again with a better yarn (did I mention Vanna's Choice sucks?). I'll also be modifying the pattern a bit, 'cause I can't help myself.
So we've had Buddy for about 10 months now. And in those 10 months, he's been in the bathroom at least once a day. And 90% of those times, he's following me in and hanging around while I pee. And almost every time he sees me flush the toilet.
But for some reason, in just the past month or so, Buddy has become fascinated with the flushing toilet. He flits from one side to the other, poking his head in and watching the water disappear and reappear. He is equally fascinated once the cycle is complete and nothing is moving. That's when he dips his paw in. I'm just waiting for the day he jumps in for an impromptu bath. Another reason to keep the lid down.
Voila!
I'm not showing you the worst parts. ;-) DPNs are indeed the devil. I have some serious ladders going on behind the can, but I've learned a new trick that will hopefully help with Attempt #2.
I've also learned I do not like Vanna's Choice, or "cheap" acrylic - it squeaks on my needles and is inflexible. (Moda Dea Fashionista is good though.)
My Groups
-
House Cats Updated: Yesterday
-
Knitting Updated: Yesterday
-
Ravelry Updated: 3 days ago
Neighborhood
Explore friends, family, friends & family, or entire neighborhood.
