yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
That is SO my new ringtone. Last night’s True Blood served up equal parts hawt, horrifying and funny – as per usual. What I love about the series (both books and TV) is that you never get to pretend that vampires aren’t bad thing what want to eat you for dinner and maybe play with you a little beforehand (and even during). They’re actually MONSTERS. I dig that.
I have seen a lot of kvetching with regard to “oh noes, wimmen are victims.” To this I say: our media is a reflection of our society. Women are more often victims of crime (violent and not) and to pretend that would be otherwise with monsters who prey on the weak would ridiculous. Do I love it? No. But should it make you think? Absolutely. In fact, in this particular episode, Sookie WASN’T a victim and Tara was doing her best to fight back in a really really bad situation. Is it perfect? Of course not. On the other hand, show me someone fighting – someone trying – and I’m willing to go along for the ride. None of the women on this show are PASSIVE. That’s what I like about it.
Unrelated, I fucking love Lafayette. I heart Lafayette with the fire of a thousand suns. If the entire show consisted of Lafayette’s cooking in that bar I would still watch.
In other TV news, finally saw the Haven premiere. It could be good or complete crap – I’ll wait my decision on a couple of more episodes.
Tonight is new Closer AND Rizzoli & Isles! I’m inordinately excited about summer crime TV. I didn’t know that R&I was based on a crime novel series until I caught a very brief interview with the author on NPR this afternoon. Something to check out if I dig the series.
Yesterday’s movie marathon included TiMER, which was cute and interesting and I really enjoyed it. I also watched Daniel Tosh do standup (hilarious), Bright Star (Keats bio-pic-ish) which was very good and Suspect Zero which was…better than I expected. A bit predictable but all in all a decent film.
They suck.
My plan was to go to a book club meeting tonight (The Magicians by Lev Grossman) but unless I’m feeling SERIOUSLY better that won’t happen. The book itself was interesting and borrowed pretty heavily from the Narnia mystique. Imagine if Narnia were a Real place – a place where four bumbling kids don’t manage to do everything more or less right and the inhabitants aren’t all thrilled by their presence. Imagine it had real rules with real consequences. Unfortunately the book relies pretty much on the story of the protag who’s not all that interesting (especially when compared to that original premise) and has a LOT of time devoted to him “growing up” before taking a sharp left back to the original premise (with predictably dire results). It also suffered a bit from dwelling in some minutae of this alternate fairytale-ish world such that I kind of skimmed sections. All told an enjoyable book despite an unlikeable protag.
We watched Capitalism: A Love Story yesterday. Generally speaking I’m not a fan of Michael Moore. His Sicko didn’t accurately represent the experience of MANY Canadians I knew who came over the border to Michigan to get health care they couldn’t in their country. If you want me to take you seriously, you’ve got to point out the good WITH the bad rather than glossing over the bad – which makes me feel like you’re blowing smoke up my ass. I’ve got politicians to do that so I don’t need documentarians.
In point of fact, I think he’d have been better served to make Capitalism BEFORE Sicko. Capitalism is pretty fantastic and does an excellent job of explaining how 1) we don’t actually HAVE capitalism and 2) why we don’t want it. THIS film points out all the things that are currently broken with our system and actually talks about what some people are doing to fight it. THIS is a great film. That doesn’t mean I agree with everything he says. When you’re talking about subprime mortgages, the “subprime” refers to the borrower. Some of the borrowers knew full well that they didn’t have the money to do what they were doing and did it anyhow. I don’t think that’s robbery. I also think that the consumer has to put some consideration into their actions – it’s not like these companies were out FLEECING everyone. You signed a contract – a contract which if you didn’t read, I’ve got limited sympathy.
We also watched The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo on Netflix streaming. My second viewing, Spouse’s first. You know it’s a good film when you’re still riveted after 1) reading the book and 2) having seen it once already. I fucking love Salandar. That is all.
I’m considering making this for lunch/dinner today as I picked up a lovely mango from the store yesterday. It will depend whether or not the local grocer has some fresh mint but I might just compromise.
Today is about more Netflix streaming and more Kindle books. Oh, and quality time with my Neti pot. Fuck. I hate being sick.
And then someone you know (albeit not well) gets murdered. What the fucking fuck.
Best thoughts and wishes to the Flores family. Vonnie was a ray of sunshine and deserved better.
To spend Friday night recovering from your week? Because DAMN.
On the bright side, I got most of the heavy lifting done this week. All that’s left is purging the files and fixing the paperwork. Heh. ALL.
As for now, I’m enjoying a nice cold beer, awaiting some company and contemplating which book I’ll be reading next.
As a public service announcement: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is out on DVD. If you’ve been on the fence, rent it.
I’ve gone on to pretty much everyone who will listen about how much I enjoyed the Steig Larsson trilogy. I love that they’re mystery and suspense but set right now and crafted in such a way as to call into question all our biases about mental illness, women’s rights and the corporate stranglehold on media. Love.
I’m out of town doing training and – as a result -a bit closer to Aspen than usual. While on break yesterday I was flipping through the local rag and noticed that The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was playing at the Isis. Now this film has been on my ‘want to see’ list since before we went in Seattle. On the west coast I looked longingly at showtimes. Did the same thing in the midwest. Time crunches and family time take priority over films, alas, especially when I’m the only one who wants to see the film. That’s not to say Spouse wouldn’t have joined me but it’s not the same as making a movie outing for something we BOTH really want to see.
After I got off work this afternoon I headed up (down, actually. Or wait- both. Uphill, headed south.) to Aspen and got my tix. Despite TWO idiots having their phone go off during the film (and DUDE. I didn’t even know that shit STILL HAPPENED anymore.) it was as gripping as the book. It’s an excellent adaptation and I’m going on the record to say I fucking LOVE the chick who played Salander.
So. If you’re down for a great film, I give it two thumbs up. If you hate subtitles however, it’s not for you. If you aren’t sure you’ll like the books, check this out. If you like this film, you’ll love the books.
