The last ten days
It's been . . . rough. There's been goodness, but the tough stuff has been . . . pretty tough: Jay's departure, the shootings at SPU. Still, I want to focus on good things; good things are where life reaffirms itself.
The last films of SIFF: Well, these are notes about the last films I saw at SIFF; many more than this played. First, I want to note that I missed two films for which I had tickets because my mind was, predictably, elsewhere: Seeds of Time, a documentary about the seed bank beneath the Arctic Circle, and Garden Lovers, about a Finnish couple and their garden. The films I did see included To Be Takei about actor/activist George Takei's life and career, which was utterly charming, and House of Magic, an animated film about the adventures of an abandoned cat who finds himself in an enchanted house, embraced by its kindly owner but rejected by the owner's other companion animals. As I said on Facebook, clearly created for the younger set, its logic did not bear close examination and it was obviously manipulative. The good guys and bad guys were painted in broad, clear strokes. At the same time, it was sweet (with all the predictable messages about the importance of honesty and friendship), entertaining and pretty. And it had a cat so, there you go.
The house and the new appliances: The new fridge, dishwasher, and range are now in the kitchen and all the old ones have been hauled away. In prep for the installation and so on, I'd moved furniture and removed things from the wall to ensure space for movement and that nothing got broken. As often happens, having deconstructed a couple of rooms, I find myself examining everything with a fresh eye and thinking about a complete reorganization of the main floor. I've rehung some of the art that I took down, but--yeah--I suspect that more changes are afoot.
Visitors: I had a lovely visit with davidlevine this weekend. Between seeing movies, taking a sun-drenched mini-hike at Carkeek Park, and attending papersky's reading at University Bookstore, we kept ourselves busy, out and about. My allergies got in the way of our lounging around on the balcony in the way we'd hoped, but all in all--an excellent time. If anything lacked, it was that I didn't get a little more of a proper visit with papersky, but we did get to see each other and at least say hello. It was all good.
The Sekrit Project: Work continues on the Sekrit Project, which I and my co-conspirator hope to announce in a timely fashion. I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out thus far. There have been a couple of glitches, but they're working themselves out, one way and another.
The last films of SIFF: Well, these are notes about the last films I saw at SIFF; many more than this played. First, I want to note that I missed two films for which I had tickets because my mind was, predictably, elsewhere: Seeds of Time, a documentary about the seed bank beneath the Arctic Circle, and Garden Lovers, about a Finnish couple and their garden. The films I did see included To Be Takei about actor/activist George Takei's life and career, which was utterly charming, and House of Magic, an animated film about the adventures of an abandoned cat who finds himself in an enchanted house, embraced by its kindly owner but rejected by the owner's other companion animals. As I said on Facebook, clearly created for the younger set, its logic did not bear close examination and it was obviously manipulative. The good guys and bad guys were painted in broad, clear strokes. At the same time, it was sweet (with all the predictable messages about the importance of honesty and friendship), entertaining and pretty. And it had a cat so, there you go.
The house and the new appliances: The new fridge, dishwasher, and range are now in the kitchen and all the old ones have been hauled away. In prep for the installation and so on, I'd moved furniture and removed things from the wall to ensure space for movement and that nothing got broken. As often happens, having deconstructed a couple of rooms, I find myself examining everything with a fresh eye and thinking about a complete reorganization of the main floor. I've rehung some of the art that I took down, but--yeah--I suspect that more changes are afoot.
Visitors: I had a lovely visit with davidlevine this weekend. Between seeing movies, taking a sun-drenched mini-hike at Carkeek Park, and attending papersky's reading at University Bookstore, we kept ourselves busy, out and about. My allergies got in the way of our lounging around on the balcony in the way we'd hoped, but all in all--an excellent time. If anything lacked, it was that I didn't get a little more of a proper visit with papersky, but we did get to see each other and at least say hello. It was all good.
The Sekrit Project: Work continues on the Sekrit Project, which I and my co-conspirator hope to announce in a timely fashion. I'm pretty pleased with the way it's turning out thus far. There have been a couple of glitches, but they're working themselves out, one way and another.