Last night Lisa Lampinelli made her first appearance in her long career on The David Letterman show. She is a funny lady but her brand of crude humor is often not what one would find on Dave.
Dave seems to like odd funny but not especially crude funny. Still Lampinelli was funny, skewering both Letterman and Paul Schaffer.
Dave seemed a little uncomfortable and indeed a few of her comments were squirm inducing. It will be interesting to see if she is invited back.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters is the movie from that Star Wars, E T period that is often forgotten. A Stephen Spielberg movie, this movie is a sale of obsession. Early in the movie there is a blackout in a small nameless Western City. An electrical engineer is sent out by the power company and has a close encounter with a spaceship.
Played by Richard Dreyfuss he is the hero of the film if there is one. He becomes obsessed with visions, first forming mountains in his mashed potatoes. Eventually he scares his wife and children to the point of leaving as he is fired from his job, and builds a dirt mountain on the families dining room table.
Across the world a French scientist is exploring a phenomenon in India that seems to be related to alien encounters. Deciphering a musical note through some process that I never quite grasped they decipher the code to be longitude and latitude. This site is A Devils Mountain in Idaho.
The government creates a fake railroad spill of dangerous gasses to evacuate the area. Our electrical worker is living an unkempt life obsessing on a picture in his mind. Watching the news he sees his vision, the mountain area that is being evacuated by the government.
He travels to the area, sneaks through the military cordon and is there to witness what happens. We never really see the government folks put together what is to happen but clearly they have a good idea what is to happen.
The ending is neat, the first time I saw the movie I did not see what was coming but now watching it I am surprised I did not see it coming. It is a good movie, a bit dated surely but still entertaining.
Played by Richard Dreyfuss he is the hero of the film if there is one. He becomes obsessed with visions, first forming mountains in his mashed potatoes. Eventually he scares his wife and children to the point of leaving as he is fired from his job, and builds a dirt mountain on the families dining room table.
Across the world a French scientist is exploring a phenomenon in India that seems to be related to alien encounters. Deciphering a musical note through some process that I never quite grasped they decipher the code to be longitude and latitude. This site is A Devils Mountain in Idaho.
The government creates a fake railroad spill of dangerous gasses to evacuate the area. Our electrical worker is living an unkempt life obsessing on a picture in his mind. Watching the news he sees his vision, the mountain area that is being evacuated by the government.
He travels to the area, sneaks through the military cordon and is there to witness what happens. We never really see the government folks put together what is to happen but clearly they have a good idea what is to happen.
The ending is neat, the first time I saw the movie I did not see what was coming but now watching it I am surprised I did not see it coming. It is a good movie, a bit dated surely but still entertaining.
The Angel Esmerelda by Dom Delillo
Dom Delillo is considered one of the best novelists of his generation. I have read a couple of his books and was particularly impressed with Underworld. Still, even in reading that I was not overwhelmed thinking this was the voice of a generation.
With the recent release of the above named collection of short stories and with my being a big fan of short fiction I was pleased to get this from the library.
I was sorely disappointed. It was not bad, it was just not interesting. I read five of the stories and here two days later can remember nothing of import. Having learned that with so much out there to read that is good that I must be ruthless I have tossed it aside.
At the same time I am reading Cormac Mccarthy and Sullivan's Pulphead and Delillo suffers in comparison.
So much good to read and Delillo suffers terribly in comparison.
With the recent release of the above named collection of short stories and with my being a big fan of short fiction I was pleased to get this from the library.
I was sorely disappointed. It was not bad, it was just not interesting. I read five of the stories and here two days later can remember nothing of import. Having learned that with so much out there to read that is good that I must be ruthless I have tossed it aside.
At the same time I am reading Cormac Mccarthy and Sullivan's Pulphead and Delillo suffers in comparison.
So much good to read and Delillo suffers terribly in comparison.
We are Going to Be Friends by Bright Eyes and First Aid Kit
Making me feel better for noticing First Aid Kit as a band I very much appreciated I was pleased to see them join Bright Eyes, otherwise known as Conor Oberst for a cover of this Wild Stripes song.
Bright Eyes always sounds good and this is a good song. I expect big things from First Aid Kit in the coming year, at least in indie circles.
A neat little track.
Bright Eyes always sounds good and this is a good song. I expect big things from First Aid Kit in the coming year, at least in indie circles.
A neat little track.
Monday, January 2, 2012
Game of Thrones
We signed up for HBO the other day. We saw that HBO GO was going to be available in the next ten days and plan to use that to catch up on Boardwalk Empire and Big Love, but in the interim have decided to watch Game of Thrones.
I have never read the book series the show is based on and am not a big fan of that type of book genre though there is a huge segment of folks who do. Still HBO has put much money into the show and they usually do things correctly so today I watched the first episode.
Never having read any of the books I have come into this blind and have come away from the first episode--very impressed. In the first episode we meet Ned Stark who protects the Kingdom of the North- Winterfell. Strange happenings are about...white walkers are seen, The Kings man, a right hand sort of figure has been killed and the King is traveling to ask Stark to replace him. Across the river in another kingdom a prince is seeking to weld an alliance with a group of savages by offering his sister for their leader.
Intrigue continues in Winterfell when the Kings Wife and her twin brother seem to have a very close relationship which leads to misfortune for Ned Stark's youngest son. All of this in the first episode.
More nudity than I think necceary but the show itself offers much promise and I am very looking forward to future episodes
I have never read the book series the show is based on and am not a big fan of that type of book genre though there is a huge segment of folks who do. Still HBO has put much money into the show and they usually do things correctly so today I watched the first episode.
Never having read any of the books I have come into this blind and have come away from the first episode--very impressed. In the first episode we meet Ned Stark who protects the Kingdom of the North- Winterfell. Strange happenings are about...white walkers are seen, The Kings man, a right hand sort of figure has been killed and the King is traveling to ask Stark to replace him. Across the river in another kingdom a prince is seeking to weld an alliance with a group of savages by offering his sister for their leader.
Intrigue continues in Winterfell when the Kings Wife and her twin brother seem to have a very close relationship which leads to misfortune for Ned Stark's youngest son. All of this in the first episode.
More nudity than I think necceary but the show itself offers much promise and I am very looking forward to future episodes
Sunday, January 1, 2012
War Horse
Yesterday afternoon we went to the movies. It was a dreary day and we, evidently along with everyone else decided to go to the movies. My wife and daughter wanted to see We Bought A Zoo and while that looked entertaining I had seen the trailers for War Horse and the bit of history implied made it interesting for me. So, to my wife's shock I was not worried about going to a movie by myself, this fact became moot after my wife's mother joined us and chose War Horse as well.
I do not like going to the movies late but somehow we arrived there with little time to spare and by the time we entered the theatre of our movie it was very full. I was able to spot two seats in the stadium seating and regretfully bothered a couple of people so that we might reach them. It was a necessity however as if I have to look up at a screen my neck is very sore.
The movie was long and very good. It was a bit slow moving at first. The sequence where Albert Narracot teaches the horse to plow the rocky bottom farmland seemed to drag on forever and with the ensuing crop then destroyed by rain did little to advance the plot. That is a small trifle however with a movie as good as this.
In telling my daughter about the movie after the fact I compared it a bit with the children's book Ribsy that she and I and perhaps most of us in a generation had read. In that book a dog is lost and goes through several owners and experiences before he finds his way back to his master. This horse does much the same thing.
Joey the horse, sold by the father, to a soldier entering World War I ends up performing his duties on both sides of the war. I thought that it was admirable for Spielberg to make both sides of the war, English and Germans full of admirable characters. Truly wherever Joey ends up he finds people who admire him and want to keep him well.
For me the most memorable scene is when Joey after losing his rider ends up in no mans land at the Somme caught up in barbed wire and fortifications. A brave English soldier attempts to rescue him under a white flag only to be joined by a German solider with wire cutters. This scene strikes all of us who appreciate men being men, doing a job, and understanding there does not have to be animosity in competition, even competition such as war.
Late in the story the young boy who trained him, and whose Dad sold the horse into the war effort has joined the army. One would expect a reunion of miraculous good fortune and one would not be disappointed. Still the movie remains plausible and the ending is made to make one feel good.
I liked this movie, I liked the history, I liked the scenery and some scenes were very good. Still it seemed to be less than its parts if that is possible. Maybe because the star was a horse and the movie was filled with actors I did not know. The movie was very good, highly recommended but still lacked something. I am not sure if that makes sense.
The crowed liked it, lots of applause at the end. I liked it too.
I do not like going to the movies late but somehow we arrived there with little time to spare and by the time we entered the theatre of our movie it was very full. I was able to spot two seats in the stadium seating and regretfully bothered a couple of people so that we might reach them. It was a necessity however as if I have to look up at a screen my neck is very sore.
The movie was long and very good. It was a bit slow moving at first. The sequence where Albert Narracot teaches the horse to plow the rocky bottom farmland seemed to drag on forever and with the ensuing crop then destroyed by rain did little to advance the plot. That is a small trifle however with a movie as good as this.
In telling my daughter about the movie after the fact I compared it a bit with the children's book Ribsy that she and I and perhaps most of us in a generation had read. In that book a dog is lost and goes through several owners and experiences before he finds his way back to his master. This horse does much the same thing.
Joey the horse, sold by the father, to a soldier entering World War I ends up performing his duties on both sides of the war. I thought that it was admirable for Spielberg to make both sides of the war, English and Germans full of admirable characters. Truly wherever Joey ends up he finds people who admire him and want to keep him well.
For me the most memorable scene is when Joey after losing his rider ends up in no mans land at the Somme caught up in barbed wire and fortifications. A brave English soldier attempts to rescue him under a white flag only to be joined by a German solider with wire cutters. This scene strikes all of us who appreciate men being men, doing a job, and understanding there does not have to be animosity in competition, even competition such as war.
Late in the story the young boy who trained him, and whose Dad sold the horse into the war effort has joined the army. One would expect a reunion of miraculous good fortune and one would not be disappointed. Still the movie remains plausible and the ending is made to make one feel good.
I liked this movie, I liked the history, I liked the scenery and some scenes were very good. Still it seemed to be less than its parts if that is possible. Maybe because the star was a horse and the movie was filled with actors I did not know. The movie was very good, highly recommended but still lacked something. I am not sure if that makes sense.
The crowed liked it, lots of applause at the end. I liked it too.
The In Laws
We watched this movie the other day, this movie being the original starring Peter Falk and Alan Arkin. I love this movie, I think Peter Falk is a great actor, always someone to remember. Some actors just ooze personality and Falk is one of them.
A simple story, a CIA agent and a dentist. The agent caught up in some kind of currency manipulation scheme by South American dictators robs the U S Mint. Alan Arkin, as the New York City dentist, who gets caught up in it keeps saying he just does not want to be shot at.
Still as the story progresses he admits he finds his future in law crazy but with something lovable about him. And no one will ever forget the serpentine scene.
Comedies are hard for me. This is a great one.
A simple story, a CIA agent and a dentist. The agent caught up in some kind of currency manipulation scheme by South American dictators robs the U S Mint. Alan Arkin, as the New York City dentist, who gets caught up in it keeps saying he just does not want to be shot at.
Still as the story progresses he admits he finds his future in law crazy but with something lovable about him. And no one will ever forget the serpentine scene.
Comedies are hard for me. This is a great one.
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