(no subject)
Happy New Year! Happy Valentine's Day! Happy...every other thing that comes between late December and early March. President's Day. Groundhog Day. The whole nine.
So, I'm alive and well, despite my lack of online presence. I had this crazy dream a few nights ago in which I gave birth to this screaming, writhing, purple baby girl. The birth was completely smooth and painless, but I was terrified of being a shit mom. Suzie, Dr. Dave, and Stewart all drove me to the hospital, and Suzie was reassuring me, saying, 'Well, this is what you've always wanted, right?' And I cried, 'Yes, but not so soon! Not now! I'm not ready yet!' After I gave birth they drove me to a condo to face my grandmother, mother, and older sister with my illegitimate baby. I walked towards my mother with the baby in my outstretched arms, but I accidentally dropped her. I was crying and upset, certain that I had fucked up my baby for life, but my mom calmly picked her up and handed her to me in an action reassuring me that I would neither be a social outcast in the family nor a bad mother.
I try to diagnose what the meaning of this could be, other than the base 'friends will accept your inner dreams and desires, but family will surprise you and accept you, too,' definition strained from the barest of details. It's kind of funny that I actually gave birth, too, since I'm usually pregnant if anything. I think it's a good sign, overall.
Wow, have I seen a lot of movies lately. Most recently I saw 'In Bruges,' and I was jazzed from the previews because I, too, have been to Bruges, and I, too, thought it was a shithole. I liked it, though it was vastly different from the 'Grosse Point Blank'-inspired previews. Not so much a black comedy as a moralistic tale peppered with lots of surliness and the random inappropriate joke. This past week I also saw 'Penelope,' a modern fairy tale about a girl born with the nose of a pig, and I really enjoyed that one. Stylistically it was gorgeous, and the underlying message was modern and respectable. The week before I saw 'Be Kind Rewind,' which was okay, but not as good as I'd hoped. I liked the anarchist/indie film spirit that ran its course, and there were some truly funny moments, but otherwise it was, well, kind of a downer. I thought that it raised some good issues and made some excellent points (especially about modern day film companies) and in the end I'm glad that I saw it, but I won't plan on seeing it again any time in the near future. 'Jumper' was better than expected, but I think its saving grace was its brevity. Any longer and I'd have been rolling my eyes and glancing toward the exit. 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' was totally decent. Though it is a terrible cliche to even think, let alone mutter, the books were much better, in my humble opinion. However, the film's deviations from the books were forgivable for its wonderfully moving ending which had my sisters, my dad, and myself all in tears. Henceforth the film adaptation will be added to my collection of moving father-daughter tributes, alongside 'A Little Princess,' 'What A Girl Wants,' and the latest version of 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Since Moo resumed her afiliation with Netflix, we have been watching a great many DVDs of late alongside our trips to the cinema. 'The Brave One' was surprising, and though I found Jodie Foster's character's penchant for discovering crime on her home turf mildly laughable (even NYC isn't that bad, for heaven's sake!) it was a good story, despite its slightly unrealistic leanings. 'Eastern Promises' was one of the best films I've seen in a long time, and all the more so as it was a surprise hit for me. I pride myself on seeing the outcomes of plot twists and turns if there is even the remotest inkling of what direction the film might take, but this one caught me completely off guard, if not in the middle twist, then definitely at the film's major plot turn toward the close.
So, I'm alive and well, despite my lack of online presence. I had this crazy dream a few nights ago in which I gave birth to this screaming, writhing, purple baby girl. The birth was completely smooth and painless, but I was terrified of being a shit mom. Suzie, Dr. Dave, and Stewart all drove me to the hospital, and Suzie was reassuring me, saying, 'Well, this is what you've always wanted, right?' And I cried, 'Yes, but not so soon! Not now! I'm not ready yet!' After I gave birth they drove me to a condo to face my grandmother, mother, and older sister with my illegitimate baby. I walked towards my mother with the baby in my outstretched arms, but I accidentally dropped her. I was crying and upset, certain that I had fucked up my baby for life, but my mom calmly picked her up and handed her to me in an action reassuring me that I would neither be a social outcast in the family nor a bad mother.
I try to diagnose what the meaning of this could be, other than the base 'friends will accept your inner dreams and desires, but family will surprise you and accept you, too,' definition strained from the barest of details. It's kind of funny that I actually gave birth, too, since I'm usually pregnant if anything. I think it's a good sign, overall.
Wow, have I seen a lot of movies lately. Most recently I saw 'In Bruges,' and I was jazzed from the previews because I, too, have been to Bruges, and I, too, thought it was a shithole. I liked it, though it was vastly different from the 'Grosse Point Blank'-inspired previews. Not so much a black comedy as a moralistic tale peppered with lots of surliness and the random inappropriate joke. This past week I also saw 'Penelope,' a modern fairy tale about a girl born with the nose of a pig, and I really enjoyed that one. Stylistically it was gorgeous, and the underlying message was modern and respectable. The week before I saw 'Be Kind Rewind,' which was okay, but not as good as I'd hoped. I liked the anarchist/indie film spirit that ran its course, and there were some truly funny moments, but otherwise it was, well, kind of a downer. I thought that it raised some good issues and made some excellent points (especially about modern day film companies) and in the end I'm glad that I saw it, but I won't plan on seeing it again any time in the near future. 'Jumper' was better than expected, but I think its saving grace was its brevity. Any longer and I'd have been rolling my eyes and glancing toward the exit. 'The Spiderwick Chronicles' was totally decent. Though it is a terrible cliche to even think, let alone mutter, the books were much better, in my humble opinion. However, the film's deviations from the books were forgivable for its wonderfully moving ending which had my sisters, my dad, and myself all in tears. Henceforth the film adaptation will be added to my collection of moving father-daughter tributes, alongside 'A Little Princess,' 'What A Girl Wants,' and the latest version of 'Pride and Prejudice.'
Since Moo resumed her afiliation with Netflix, we have been watching a great many DVDs of late alongside our trips to the cinema. 'The Brave One' was surprising, and though I found Jodie Foster's character's penchant for discovering crime on her home turf mildly laughable (even NYC isn't that bad, for heaven's sake!) it was a good story, despite its slightly unrealistic leanings. 'Eastern Promises' was one of the best films I've seen in a long time, and all the more so as it was a surprise hit for me. I pride myself on seeing the outcomes of plot twists and turns if there is even the remotest inkling of what direction the film might take, but this one caught me completely off guard, if not in the middle twist, then definitely at the film's major plot turn toward the close.