May's Books & Movies

First things, first: Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings! Let's go, Red Wings!!

I will not even comment on how much Sid the Kid is disgusting me with his whiny-ass attitude and poor loserness to say nothing of his incredibly lame-ass play-off beard. If you can't grow one, SHAVE!!! You look stupid.

Now, on to our previously scheduled programming:

It's the beginning of a new month and we all know what that means. I bore you with my reading and movie watching lists for the previous month.

I did a LOT better in May than I had in April (which was beyond pathetic).

Books

Paper Lion by George Plimpton – 374 pages – this was the 40th anniversary edition with photographs never before seen. I couldn't care less or know less about football, but this book was quite enjoyable. When he would describe plays that he had to learn, my eyes would glaze over, but thankfully, they were rare, indeed. I'm sure I appreciate this book more because it was about the Detroit Lions, as opposed to any other team, but I think it's a book worthy of being read. I wanted to watch the movie, but it's not out on DVD yet. DAMMIT!!!

The Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs – 368 pages – I was absolutely loving this book and already predicting its nomination as Book of the Month, but then (HUGE SPOILER ALERT) the main character died and it pissed me off so badly, it wasn't even funny. A woman in my own knitting club also read it and at our monthly get together two weeks ago she mentioned it and how much she hated it (it was particularly bad for her because her mother had just died). Honestly, it could have been writing by Danielle Steele, the ending sucked so much.

You're Wearing That? Understanding Mothers and Daughters in Conversation by Deborah Tannen – 248 pages – Darn near every woman who stopped by my desk while I was reading this book picked it up and read the jacket and expressed interest in reading it. Obviously, it struck a chord with them. I don't know how helpful it was for me, because darn near all the examples in the book didn't apply to me or my mother. Figures that I have to be different even in that regard. My mother never says "You're wearing that?" Although she hates my haircut, she's learned not to say anything. And she's never ever ever ever said anything like "When are you going to get married?" So, while my mother might drive me crazy in some respects, she knows where NOT to go.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman – 336 pages – I had read this before, but with the movie out on DVD and a copy from Netflix being in my house, I wanted to read it again, so I can be appropriately ticked off when they change the story to suit some BS reason. I still liked it even after a second read. You'll notice that the movie didn't get watched, but it wasn't from lack of trying. The DVD that I got from Netflix was unplayable, but I have to say I saw enough to know that I'm going to be highly annoyed when I do finally watched it.

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer – 203 pages – That link takes you to the original Outside magazine article on which Krakauer based the book. Even though I have read other books by Jon Krakauer, I had never read his first. I picked it up sometime last year and finally got around to it. I haven’t seen the movie yet, but I think I might be adding it to my queue soon. I felt sorry for Chris/Alex, the young man about whom the article and book are written. At the same time, I was very much impressed at all he did in the short time he tramped around the continent. I know that do not have the wherewithal to survive in the circumstances he created for himself. And I don't just mean his final trip to Alaska, but all of it. I feel very sorry for his family who had to suffer with not knowing where he was for those 2-3 years of his tramping, but also not knowing why he was so angry with them that he would take off and not tell them where he was. A very sad book.

No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts with new postscript from the author – 356 pages – A good dozen years ago I got into reading mountain climbing books, including Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer. In that book, Krakauer talked a bit about Ed Viesturs and all he had done (along with his team) to help the survivors of the '96 Everest tragedy. In all the other books I've read, nobody has ever had anything bad to say about Ed Viesturs, so when I saw he had finally written his own book about being the first American to climb all fourteen 8000 meter mountains without supplemental oxygen (and only the sixth person in the world to do it), I had to get it. Ed Viesturs is a man whose hand I would like to shake. He seems like one of the truly good people in this world. His mantra is "Getting to the top is optional (or great or something like that), getting down is mandatory." He talks about the friends he has lost in the mountains over the years, including the two guides on Everest in '96, which made me tear up all over again. So sad. (if you're going to say something negative about how they do it to themselves and how it's not necessary to climb mountains, or some such BS, I don't want to hear it – just for the record – do it at your own blog.)


Movies

5/5 – Ocean's Thirteen (K) – What can I say? I like the Ocean's movies – all three of them. I think they're fun and smart.

5/11 - The Sandlot - 1993 – We watched this at my sister's house on Mother's Day (in an effort to get my brother-in-law's nephew to shut up about his video game – if I could remember the name of the game, I could tell you all about to beat it, because this kid talked for HOURS about it). The YS and I were the only ones in the house (except for Mom and Grandma, who don't really count because they never see movies) who had never seen this movie. Everybody would walk into the room and say, "Oh you're watching The Sandlot." It was pretty darn funny. I have to say that I quite enjoyed it. I could see at one point where the plot was going to go and I dreaded it, but in the end I quite enjoyed the movie.

5/18 - Waitress (N) – 2007 – I rented this because of my Nathan Fillion obsession. The YS watched it a month or so before me and didn't know who Nathan Fillion was (sad, so sad) and asked me "Is the bad husband?" so I was all worried that he played someone icky and that would have made me sad. Thankfully, he didn't play the icky husband. Whew! I have to say that I loved this movie. I even watched it a second time right away with the commentary. It's a sad movie, not in plot, but in knowing that the director who also wrote it and acted in it was murdered shortly after it was finished and before it appeared at Sundance, and that the little girl at the end with Keri Russell was the director's actual daughter. It makes me sad thinking about it.

5/26 - Because of Winn-Dixie - 2005 – My boss lent me this book a good 3 years or so ago, and I quite enjoyed it, so when I saw the movie was showing on TV, I DVRd it. I should learn from this, because I didn't re-read the book and I quite liked the movie, even though I'm pretty sure there were things in the movie that weren't in the book. I thought Jeff Daniels was perfect as the preacher father and the little girl who played Opal was amazing. I would definitely recommend this movie, especially to people who have children.

5/26 & 27 - Flying: Confessions of a Free Woman (Sundance) – 2007 – My DVR only captured Chapters 1-3 & 6 of this mini-series and it bummed me out a little bit. I'm not quite sure what I think of this show. It's not really a movie, per se, but a female director basically films herself talking to her girlfriends, about her relationships, etc. I found it quite interesting, as the director is a single woman about my own age, but, perhaps, it's the difference of living in Detroit vs. New York, or maybe it's just the differences between the two of us, but her life is vastly different from mine, and I don't mean in general terms, but more in how we view relationships with the opposite sex, etc. I had a little trouble relating to her, but that could be my Catholic upbringing… ;-)

5/28 - Garbage Warrior (Sundance) – 2007 – The Garbage Warrior is an architect who has used garbage to build houses in the deserts of Santa Fe, NM. The houses are self-sustaining – no electrical or water hook-up – and made from bottles (plastic and glass) or tires, etc. It was utterly fascinating, especially watching him fight the New Mexico legislature trying to get laws passed that encourages people to be creative and try new things (after losing his architect's license). The film showed him in the Andaman islands after the 2004 tsunami where he was asked to build houses that can withstand another earthquake/tsunami. The whole villages turns out to help and are thrilled with what he shows them (the children of the village collected plastic bottles to be used as construction material and were paid a few rupees per bottle). After the Andaman islands, he's next shown in Mexico after Hurrican Rita where he discusses how countries ravaged by natural disasters are more willing to learn new ways to do things. After these events, the NM legislature finally sees the benefits of his bill and gives the green light for his experimental area. I would definitely recommend this movie, especially for those people who like the whole idea of living "off the grid" or new ways to put garbage to a good use.

Book of the Month has to be No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks by Ed Viesturs and David Roberts. It was a toss-up between this book and Paper Lion, but while Paper Lion didn't make me want to read more books about football, No Shortcuts has me going through my bookshelves picking out the mountain climbing/adventure books I haven't read yet.

Movie of the Month is Waitress - and not just because it had Nathan Fillion in it. ;-)