Christmas, Christmas Time Is Here!

Ah, a December Saturday evening...I'm tucked up in my warmest jimjams with a cup of tea and an English muffin preparing to do one of my favorite lame seasonal activities: watching Christmas episodes of television shows on DVD. And if you think I'm SUPER lame for doing this...well. Sustained, I guess. But I AM super lame and this blog generally documents my lamitudes and you find that delightful, DON'T YOU? Ahem.

ANYWAY.

I'm starting with My So-Called Life,"So-Called Angels." I'm about 30 seconds in and oh, Ricky. I started here because I've been listening to the Extra Hot Great podcast (And if you're not, you should be. And the Pop Culture Happy Hour. Seriously. They both bring me much glee at work. And really, who couldn't use more glee at work? You could. I know you could) and they were talking about MSCL and it made me remember how much I love that show. (Also, 10 minutes in and I remember how much I loathe Angela's sister Danielle. Shut UP, Danielle, GOD.)

So here's what I've got on deck (Literally, I have a pile of DVDs sitting next to me):

• Gilmore Girls, "Forgiveness and Stuff," season 1, episode 10. Everyone is still mad at everyone after Rory and Dean stayed out all night after her first dance. The Richard goes to the hospital with chest pains and they get over it. Oh, season one Gilmore Girls. How much you did not suck! Remember when I you didn't want to slap Rory?
  
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer, "Amends," season 3, episode 10. The one where The First Evil makes its, um, first appearance and tries to corrupt Angel. And Willow tries to seduce Oz in an adorable fashion. I know most people don't like this episode but it's full of angst delicious angst and I love it.
  
• Joan of Arcadia, "The Uncertainty Principle," season 1 episode 11. This one fudging a little because it's not a terribly Christmasy episode but it revolves around the winter dance. God tells Joan to go to the dance with a troubled boy (Who played Andrew Schillinger on Oz and it weirded me out to see him here) and things get all dramatic. I always get the chills during the last five minutes of this episode.
  
• Veronica Mars, "An Echolls Family Christmas," season 1, episode 10. Veronica is hired to find out who stole the winnings from a 09er poker game and Keith investigates a famous actor's stalking. There's a shanking. It's pretty awesome.
  
• Doctor Who, "The Christmas Invasion," series 2, episode 1. God, I love this episode. David Tennant's first episode as the Tenth Doctor and he totally kicks ass. I got annoyed with Ten toward the end (SHUT UP WITH YOUR EMO MAN PAIN, FOR REAL!) but I adored him when he first started.
  
• The West Wing, "In Excelsis Deo," season 1, episode 20 and "Noel," season 2, episode 10. The first is when a homeless veteran dies wearing a coat that Toby donated to Goodwill and Toby arranges a military funeral for him. The second is the one where Josh has PTSD and is my second favorite episode of TWW EVER (My first favorite, like everyone else ever, is "Two Cathedrals").
  
• The Office, "Christmas Party, season 2, episode 16. Yaaaankee swap and Jim gets Pam a teapot. (I also hate Michael Scott.)
  
• Scrubs, "My Own Personal Jesus," season 1, episode 11. The gang deliver a baby in a park. Dr. Cox is grinchy.
  

So...what's YOUR favorite Christmas episode? Something I didn't mention? Do you hate Danielle Chase as much as I do?

Boston, Genre Novels and This American Life

Since I've received reports that my repeated rounds of Marry, Cliff, Shag are appalling my Uncle Volstaag (I didn't even know that was possible!), let's talk about something else, shall we?

I just got back from a rockin' trip to Boston to visit EGT and Dr. Smarty-Pants. (Not to be confused with Dr. Fabulous. I know lots of doctors, ok?) I'd never been to Boston before, so I was quite excited. Of course, I hurt my back again right before the trip and spent the days before in a flurry of muscle relaxers and chiropractics. I was taking the train and it's a 6-hour ride. I wasn't sure how well this would go, as sitting is especially uncomfortable. But it turned out ok, I could walk up and down the aisles when my back got too stiff. The people in the car with me probably thought I was really weird, but whatever. I am really weird and it's not like I'd ever see them again. Generally, I love taking the train; it's my favorite way to travel. I read and listened to NPR podcasts on Frank the iPod. I discovered that if it appears that you are reading gay porn no one will sit next to you. Even on a crowded train car. HA!

So, I got to Boston and EGT and I attend a very elegant cocktail party that Dr. Smarty-Pants is hosting. (Martinis with marshmallow Peeps in them. I must get the recipe) It was SO much fun. I can be fairly reserved around people I don't know, but everyone at this party was so awesome and smart and funny and welcoming and I had a great time. In spite of a near-death experience with a flying champagne cork and getting my ass kicked at Wii Tetris, a good time was had by all.

EGT, Dr. Smarty-Pants and I went on a tour of Boston the next day. I saw Harvard! And other stuff! I bought my mother a postcard of whatever stadium the Red Sox play in just to annoy her. (It worked!) EGT pointed out various historical sites. Either she is very well-versed on her local history or she is very gifted at making up plausible-sounding historical lies. Probably the former. She also pointed out every alley that we saw because I made her watch one episode of Criminal Minds because it was set in Boston and she was appalled by the lack of locational accuracy, particularly the oversized alleys.

Then we watched hours and hours of Doctor Who and geeked out about it the way only DW fans can. Well, maybe Buffy or Veronica Mars fans. They can get pretty enthusiatic. And then we made the folly of ignoring warnings from The Gods of Takeout Food and ended up ordering Chinese food from three different places, only to be foiled twice and then end up with the Worst. Chinese. Food. Ever. And no fortune cookies! (Says EGT the next morning: "Why didn't we just eat cereal?" Bea & Dr. Smarty-Pants: "...") I made them watch the season four finale of DW, "Journey's End" because I hadn't seen it and I thought there was no way it could be as bad as they'd said it was. OH MY GOD, IT WAS. I felt guilty for inflicting it on them. They were very forgiving and we cleansed our palates with John Simm's turn as The Master. (I can't stop watching either of those clips. They crack me up. I...may have problems)

It was a really fun trip. (Still sorry about "Journey's End," you guys!)

So, Mame has been devouring the Sookie Stackhouse novels. Mom and I already burned our way through them, so I've been enjoying her up-to-the-minute text messages, phone calls and IMs as she progresses through the series. HA. Examples: "OH MY GOD, ERIC!!!" "BILL, WTF?!?!" "QUIIIIIINNN!!" "I LOVE SOOKIE!!11" The next book is out in May and we are eagerly anticipating it. You guys, the show and the books are awesome and you should check out both of them. Join us in the insanity! It's fun over here and we have cookies!

I've just started the Harry Dresden series and I like it quite a bit. I'm only on book two, but it's pretty great. Anyone else read them? (My, I'm linky in this post!)

The book I was reading on the train that was possibly gay porn was Corambis, book four on the Doctrine of Labyrinth series. I blogged awhile ago about my adoration of the first two books in the series, Melusine and The Virtu. The third book, The Mirador, was pretty good. But I LOVED Corambis. It's probably my favorite of the series. It's not nearly as tawdry as the cover would suggest, but really well-written and Monette even manages to introduce a new character (The guy in chains on the cover) and get me invested in and care about him. That's no mean feat as I was really desparate to know what was going to happen to Felix and Mildmay. I zipped through it in three days and can't wait for it to come out in paperback so I can buy it. (I hate buying hardcovers and I want my books in the series to "match." I know, I know, I'm weird)

Mom and I recently attended the live show of This American Life and it was AWESOME. They filmed it, I think, in New York City and beamed it to movie theaters. Ira Glass is so cute, you guys. Mike Birbiglia (Who I LOVE) gave one of his funny/cringey routines about a car accident, Starlee Kines did a bit about therapy and killing your parents (...figuratively!) and Dan Savage talked about his mom's death and his quasi-return to Catholicism. It was really funny and touching and might have made me cry. I'm hot/cold on his sex column, but his writing is pretty excellent. There was a very strange cartoon about a cat head and an abusive mouse and Joss Whedon sang a song from the musical commentary of Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog. I quashed the urge the yell, "WHY DOES DOLLHOUSE SUCK?!?" but his performance was very fun. I think they're doing a second airing in early May and I HIGHLY recommend going.

So, that was really long. What have you been up to? Mame, any news you want to share?

I've figured it out!...or, how I am going to win your arguement against Obama as a president.

OK, my very good friend, and pen-pal Henry Rollins, once said, "Know your enemy. Listen to your enemy. Get to know them on a serious level, then you can figure out where they are coming from and why. Then you can break down their arguments on a more personal level."

That being said, I've figured out this entire Anti-Obama stance that some people in the USA are taking. Here are the top five arguments I've heard and my response to them:

Argument One:
I don't agree with his policies. The things he mentioned in the campaign, I don't agree with them!

Answer:
The president cannot fix/destroy taxes on his own, nor can he make changes to the constitution on his own. During the campaign (this one and all the others before it) candidates explain what they would do to fix certain things wrong with our country; however, a president cannot do anything alone. They need congress to back them up. I realize that we now have a Democratic congress and it will be easier for a Democratic president to get bills passed, etc. but the Equal Rights Amendment never did pass despite having a same sided-congress/executive branch. And that was the Equal Rights Amendment!!

Argument Two:
That preacher he hangs out with - he's a radical! And Obama won't renounce him!

Answer:
My father is a terrible racist. He's tried to overcome it, but he's from a different era, and has had a different view on things than I. But he's my father. He says things I don't agree with and does things that I can't understand. I can't renounce him -he gave me life, and provided for me. He's not perfect, but I'm certainly not going to condemn him in public.
Obama didn't have a father, and this man brought him to Christ. As a Christian the person who is with you when you finally make the decision to turn your life over to Christ is a mentor, a father-figure. He says things that Obama says that he doesn't agree with, but he can't renounce him or what he says. I understand that.

Argument Three:
He's a Muslim! His middle name is Hussein!!

Answer:
He's not. We can see his taxes (thank you, Freedom of Information Act) and we see that he tithes regularly to the aforementioned church. Also, if he WAS a Muslim (which he is not) we have a freedom of religion just as important as our right to bear arms.
And as far as Hussein...it's a name. It means "good" or "beautiful" and is a very popular and common name. During the 1940's, the most popular name in Europe (and widely used in the US as well) was Adolf. We can't help what people who have our name do.

Argument Four:
He's the anti-Christ! It's been predicted in the Bible!

Answer:
OK, it's been awhile since I took my religion classes in college, but I took my first one in spring of 2000. There was a lot of talk that the end of the world was predicted in the year 2000. So we talked about the various predictions in the Bible and if I remember accurately: 1 John chapter 2 refers to many Antichrists present at the time while warning of one Antichrist that is coming. The "many Antichrists" belong to the same spirit as that of the one Antichrist. John wrote that such Antichrists deny "that Jesus is the Christ", "the Father and the Son", and would "not confess Jesus came in the flesh." Likewise, the one Antichrist denies the Father and the Son.
This one Antichrist is spoken of in more detail by Paul in 2 Thessalonians chapter 2. Paul uses the term man of sin to describe what John identifies as the Antichrist. Paul writes that this Man of Sin (sometimes translated son of perdition) will possess a number of characteristics. These include "sitting in the temple", opposing himself against anything that is worshiped, claiming divine authority, working all kinds of counterfeit miracles and signs, and doing all kinds of evil. Daniel 11:36-37 speaks of a self exalting king, considered by some to be the Antichrist.
OK, after all that: even if he is, there isn't anything we can do about it. But I seriously doubt that an elected official of a not even three-hundred year old country is anything of the sort.

Argument Five:
He has no experience!! How can he run our country with no experience?!!

Answer:
George Washington had no experience either. He only knew his farm and the battle ground. But he led our country during its formative years. Neither did James Madison, John Q. Adams, Abraham Lincoln, or JFK (among others). The beauty of our country is that you don't have to have executive experience to be elected. That means that anyone can be president...anyone!! Isn't that wonderful?

God I love being American.

This American Zzzzzzzzzzzz...

Ok, NPR junkie over here, right? My favorite podcast is This American Life. I have such a crush on Ira Glass, you guys. (Ira! Call me! We have so much in common! I have nerdy glasses too! We could be SOUL MATES!) Frequently, the show makes me cry. Like last week's segment about the daughter who went to prison to be with her mom, who was serving time for murder. (No, Mom. I'm not going to go to prison if you should ever go. I don't CARE if that makes me a bad daughter, ok? I have a delicate constitution!) Anyway, I love it a lot. So, this week's show is titled "Another Frightening Show About The Economy." I was excited to listen to it so maybe I could finally understand what's going on. I had a lot of data entry-type stuff to do at work that requires approximately 1/4 of my brain, so perfect timing, right?

Oh my GOD, YOU GUYS. I almost fell asleep! Not even the This American Life staff could make that stuff REMOTELY interesting to me. Except for vague feelings of impotent anger that I occasionally felt a twinge of, I WAS SO BORED.

Ugh, maybe if someone could explain it with songs and dance sequences? I feel really stupid right now...

Movie Review: The Proposition

I was listening to NPR the other day and...yes, AGAIN. I realize I do that a lot. I start many, many sentences with that phrase. ANYWAY. Fresh Air had an interview with Nick Cave. I adore Nick Cave. "Where The Wild Roses Grow" is the most romantic song you'll ever hear about a bludgeoning. And he was talking about his new cd and the score he'd composed for The Assassination of Jesse James and it was all terribly interesting and he has a lovely accent so it was very pleasant-sounding. And then he got to talking about the movie The Proposition, for which he'd written the screenplay AND the score. The movie sounded pretty great and also familiar. Then I remembered that I'd actually purchased the dvd a while ago during a Blockbuster binge brought on by a gift card (I loathe Blockbuster. I usually only go there if someone gives me a gift card.) and had never watched it. Oops. Well, I scurried home and remedied this straight away.

AWESOME MOVIE, YOU GUYS. The Proposition, a western set in the Australian Outback (Why aren't there more of these?) is a vivid, violent film. It was depressing as hell, so naturally I loved it. Guy Pearce (Who I love, why isn't he more famous? He's a great actor and HOT. THOSE CHEEKBONES.) plays Charlie Burns, a member of the outlaw Burns gang who is captured along with his younger brother Mikey by Captain Morris Stanley (Ray Winstone) for the murder of the entire Hopkins family, including the pregnant Eliza. Captain Stanley offers Charlie a deal: he'll pardon him and Mikey if Charlie tracks down his older brother Arthur (Danny Huston) and kills him. If Charlie refuses, Mikey will be hanged. Apparently, Stanley wants an example made of the violent Arthur and what's worse than being brought down by your own brother?

Pearce plays Charlie with exhaustion and dead eyes, his angular face appearing cadaverous. Charlie left Arthur's gang and took Mikey with after the Hopkins murders and he doesn't seem to have much hope that this mission is going to go any better than anything else ever has. The kid who plays Mikey, Richard Wilson, does a beautiful job and broke my heart. Mikey is very, very young, about 14 years old and is completely terrified and frantic without either of his brothers, imprisoned with everyone blaming him for the murders. It...doesn't go well for him, let's put it that way. Danny Huston plays Arthur with an odd kind of good humor. (Doesn't Huston ALWAYS do that? He always plays a brigand of some sort, usually pleasant but also terrifying.) Arthur loves his brothers and his gang but turns with frightening viciousness on anyone else.

Almost everyone in the movie is kind of an asshole, but I guess the "hero" of the piece would actually be Captain Stanley. Yeah, it's a dick move to send one brother to kill another, but the Burns gang really does need to be stopped. It's Stanley's intention to "civilize" the land. Um, good luck with that, dude. The remaining members of law enforcement have none of Stanley's good intentions and really don't seem much better than the Burns gang. Eden Fletcher, who holds some kind of authority, I was unclear as to just what his position was, is particularly loathsome. (He's played by David Wenham, who was Faramir in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Faramir was my absolute favorite. Nice job by Wenham here, because he's a total douche and not a bit like the honorable Faramir. More's the pity.) Emily Watson plays Martha Stanley, the captain's sheltered wife. He spends most of his time with her trying to shield her from the harsh realities of their life. That doesn't go so well either. I enjoyed their relationship; he was very tender with and protective of her and she was very sweet and loving toward him. Winstone and Watson have a very believable warmth between them. I like Emily Watson very much despite never having been able to get through Breaking the Waves. Winstone was great and I'd like to see more of his work, but I'm never going to watch Beowulf. You hear me? NEVER.

This movie is FULL of random actors that I really like. John Hurt turns up in a totally insane role as some kind of deranged bounty hunter. (Though I could have just said "John Hurt plays a bounty hunter. " The total insanity would have been inferred.) It's the kind of role that gets a lot of attention because it's all wacky and shit but doesn't do much for me. All the supporting roles are pretty great.

Also! I just found out that the same guy who directed this, John Hillcoat, is directing the film adaptation of The Road. That gives me a bit more hope that it won't totally suck. Hillcoat handled this material deftly and he could, I imagine, develop quite the niche for himself directing incredibly depressing westerns. And he's got Nick Cave doing the music for The Road, too. Nice! And the music in The Proposition is beautiful. An interesting combination of traditional hymns and melancholy instrumentals. One piece in particular reminded me of the music from The Two Towers for the Rohan scenes, which was my favorite bit of music from the whole trilogy.

Wow, I had a lot to say about that movie. Huh.