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January 30, 2007
random film reads
I saw The Departed Saturday night and want to write a review, but there's too much goin on.
Here's Manohla's review at the NYT.
Here's Ty Burr's review at the Boston Globe. (not as well-written as Manohla's.)
Excellent critique of Dreamgirls by Ann Powers in the LA Times
Mildly amusing riff on acceptance speeches by Caryn James in the NYT.
Posted by cj at 10:36 PM | Comments (0)
January 28, 2007
Life of a Cancer Patient...
Okay, that title is a bit melodramatic. It's been my refrain this whole weekend. In some ways, that's worked out rather well for me: my folks graciously let me hold Isaac most of the time he was here this afternoon. In some ways, that has been stupid: I bought three pairs of shoes at Bloomingdale's on Saturday. In the moment, I got a rush from the great bargains. But now I have buyer's remorse - the thigh high boots are made of man made material (not leather) and the Cole Haan pumps will probably cause blisters because there isn't enough padding to protect my feet from the decorative grommets near the toes.
In any event, I'm excited that my mom is making me two new scarves to help me cover up the scar that will be left on my neck. Plus, soft scarves are like mini-security blankets.
I can't tell you how long the surgery will be. I'll be under full anesthesia. And I have to be at the hospital at 7 a.m. That's if I get my insurance straightened out - it's a frickin mess. I got a form letter stating that my work health insurance (Blue Cross of California) wont cover pre-existing conditions until May 1. This counters the verbal advice I received from HR - that pre-existing conditions would be covered as long as I've had six months of continuous coverage prior to the start of the work plan. And then there's the $1.27 that Ceridian thinks I owe them for my January Cobra coverage. (The bill they sent me was $1.27 lower than the price they now claim for this month.) I sent in a check for two bucks on Friday and hopefully all of this will be sorted out before Friday. If not, I'll have to reschedule the surgery.
In reality, this is just a small part of what's on my mind. Perhaps I'm focusing on other things as a defense mechanism. I don't really want to think about myself as a cancer patient. I'm still trying to figure out why most of my friends haven't responded to any of my emails.
Reflecting on Life
My friend Chris was the first to tell me that cancer would change my life in a positive way. I scoffed at first, but I am trying to live up to the uniqueness of this moment in my life. Here's what I've observed so far:
Most people don't understand the connection between my paid work and my passions. They think I wont be happy until I quit my job. I think this is rather ridiculous. Further, it pisses me off that people aren't happy for me - I enjoy my job. I'm damn good at it. And I'm learning a lot. I'm learning the most effective ways to do direct marketing, I'm learning how to work on a schedule and get others to work with you, and I'm learning how to interface with the people who pay for your work. All of these things can be easily translated into nonprofit direct marketing. As importantly, I am respected by my coworkers and supervisors and I am finally on a career track. I'm not saying I'll do this work for the rest of my life, but it feels good to be able to pay my bills and see the light at the end of the debt tunnel.
In activism, I am so excited to be part of the Courage Campaign. It feels great to be a part of something that has an immediate impact on the political landscape. It also feels good to have some of my blog posts viewed by lots of people.
WILPF continues to be my activist home, but I'm struggling to keep up with all of my responsibilities. I'm the National Program Chair, a member of the national Steering Committee, chair of the national ad hoc Communications Committee, on the international communications committee, member of the local branch board, and blog administrator. When I was unemployed, I could easily keep up with all of these things. Now that I occasionally work till 7:30, I don't feel like I've been able to do any of these tasks completely. Sadly, even asking for help during my cancer recovery time hasn't brought out any new volunteers for my duties.
And then, of course, there's the fact that I'm living in the San Fernando Valley. Moving home last September was a bit hard. I was scared about having quit my job and fearful that it would take me a long time to find a new job. And going from my own apartment to being a guest in my folks' house wasn't exactly thrilling. But most importantly, it forced me to find closure on my life in Chi-town. Living here, I am no longer constantly reminded of the past. I thought I would find what I was seeking here - I thought the emptiness I felt in Chicago would be filled by my fam and friends at home. Instead, I learned that I must swallow my fear and make myself vulnerable again - I need to put the memories of pain & joy in the past and move forward. This used to be so easy for me. It used to be so easy for me to flit from fling to fling. I guess there's a part of me that wonders if I'll ever find that magical combination of best friend & lover. I guess I'm so clued into what I'm really looking for that I have trouble remembering that dating in and of itself can be exhilarating. Perhaps that'll come once I've recuperated from having an organ cut out of me.
Posted by cj at 08:00 PM | Comments (0)
Low Cut Dresses and a 13th Annual Pseudo Awards Show
The SAG Awards just ended. If you didn't watch, here's what you missed:
1. Dresses that lacked any semblance of covering the decolletage. Let's be clear - these dresses were not sexy. They were not in any way in good taste. They were simply missing fabric. The women who were falling out of their dresses were just ridiculous.
2. Sandra Oh looking absolutely gorgeous in a great dress.
3. Cate Blanchett lookin great.
3. America Ferrera & Chandra Wilson winning well-deserved awards.
4. Little Miss Sunshine winning a well-deserved ensemble award.
5. Helen Mirren pickin up two more awards - I'd say she's a lock for the Best Actress Oscar.
6. Jennifer Hudson pickin up another award - definitely the leader for the supporting actress Oscar (even though the LAT is right - she was the leading actress in the damn movie).
7. Eddie Murphy winnin another award - definitely the leader for the supporting actor Oscar.
8. Forrest Whitaker winning the leading actor award - I sure as hell hope he practices his speech more for the Oscars.
I'm not sure that was interesting enough to watch. On some level, I wish I had watched the E pre-show with the sound off. I really can't stand that woman Giuliana DePandi - she's a moron, has nothing interesting to ask celebrities, and cares more about people complimenting her than having interesting conversations about the people she's supposed to be interviewing. Ryan Seacrest is not much better, but at least he can keep up banter that has nothing to do with himself.
Then again, who cares what I was watching? I spent most of the afternoon holding Sir Isaac. Yoda is the best cancer therapy ever. The lil "bouge bouge" is just absolutely perfect. Sigh. I miss him already.
Yahoo News article on the SAG Awards
CNN article on the SAG awards
Posted by cj at 06:57 PM | Comments (0)
January 24, 2007
The Miracle of Life: Birth & the Covenant
Last Tuesday, I witnessed a true miracle. I witnessed the birth of my nephew. There is truly nothing in the world that compares with child birth. I now understand why a parent's first identity is as a parent. I now understand why women long for children. Alas, my biological clock started ticking last Tuesday.
Right, so how to better explain the experience? Well, I was a nervous wreck. The first thing I heard, around 11 am while at work, was that the obstetrician said my sister's blood pressure was high and that he was going to induce. My sis and mom went to the hospital and waited to be induced. Around 3:30, I left work. I was on the freeway when my mom called and said Liz was about to be induced and that I might as well go home and wait. Yeah right. I didn't care if I had to wait by myself in the waiting room - I was goin to the hospital. When I got there, I was immediately sent on errands at Liz's house with Mom. It took us over an hour to get from downtown LA to Atwater Village and back again. It was a nerve-wracking experience.
When I finally entered the hospital, around 6 pm, we briefly saw Liz & Ziv and then went to the cafeteria to eat dinner. Went back to the room, and surprisingly, I was allowed to stay. (Apparently, only two people are supposed to be there). We chatted and watched bad t.v., waiting for American Idol to begin (Liz's pick). A short while after it started, Liz asked to have the t.v. turned off - her contractions had gotten worse and she wanted to listen to her Isaac's birth mix on her iPod home stereo. Ziv set it up, but I was in charge of fixing it (b/c he didn't get the play list right). That was nice, because it made me feel useful.
But when Ziv was sent on an errand and I was asked to hold Liz's hand I accidentally ended up squeezing her hands - I was so nervous! I was definitely the second most nervous person in the room (obviously Liz was the most nervous). So I retreated to a chair relatively far away from her bed and read the NY times calendar section front to back. (Apparently, T.S. Eliot was a truly amazing poet; and a died-in-the-wool anti-Semite.)
The contractions got worse and my awe got more profound. At some point, it was explained that I was in the delivery room - that I'd be there when she gave birth. Ziv sang to Liz, massaged her feet, rubbed her temples, kissed her, and held her softly. It was so beautiful and so profound - childbirth for single women must be the most traumatic day of their lives. I can't imagine going through it without the father of the child, the way that Liz & Ziv were together.
Liz asked for some drugs to help her through the pain and it seemed to get better. Then, around 9:30, her doctor came in to check how dilated she was. (Last check was 3 centimeters, 0 station. No one could explain to me how many centimeters equalled fully dilated.) He announced that she was fully dilated and that we were beginning the delivery process. It was odd how we weren't even asked to wash our hands, let alone put masks or anything on.
So, Mom and I moved to the corner and Ziv stayed next to Liz. Mom took control of the still camera and I worked the camcorder. I was worried about not having enough batteries for the birth, so I kept hitting pause. I had no idea how long the labor part would take....I think I ended up with about ten minutes worth of tape. In retrospect, I maybe shouldn't have listened to Mom who kept suggesting that I hit pause. Oh well.
The odd thing was, I couldn't see much. Mostly, I saw Ziv and a tuft of Liz's hair (I was basically standing behind her). And I saw the doctor and the obnoxious nurses. I say obnoxious because they kept yelling "push, push." I know, that's what Liz was supposed to do during the contractions - but did two of them really need to shout like that? And then, one had the nerve to say "good girl." Excuse me?!?! The woman's having a baby and you're callin her a GIRL? Maybe I'm over-reacting; after all, Liz didn't even remember the comment. But I don't think I over-reacted - I think it's ridiculous to say "good girl" to a woman in labor.
And then, it happened. Just as Liz was saying she was done and couldn't push anymore - typical Margolis-Minster female reaction to the miracle of birth - Isaac popped out (upside down). He didn't immediately cry and he was white. White, just like me when I was born (as I'm told). And now I know what I looked like - a bit gross. As Ziv and Liz cried tears of joy, I moved over to the crib and shot film as the obnoxious nurse cleaned him up. Oh my goodness. I saw him and filmed him during his first few minutes of life. Eventually Ziv picked him up and carried him over to Liz. We took some more pictures.
And then, she had me ask the nurse if it was alright to feed him. I know, silly question - but I dutifully went and asked. Of course, the answer was affirmative (as long as Master Haims was amenable).
So, not only did I get to witness Isaac's birth, but I also got to witness his first feeding. I do not understand why anyone would choose to formula feed if it was at all possible to breast feed. The bonding, the health benefits, the nurturing, oy.
Bris: the word that doesn't mean Circumcision
Today was Isaac's bris. His father made a covenant with G'd to accept him as a member of the tribe. Or something like that. I read a poem and was announced as one of his godmothers (along with his grandmas). Sigh.
Perhaps I'm a freak, but I have an intense fascination with every aspect of his life, so I watched the actual circumcision. Gotta say, there was quite a lot of foreskin for such a lil guy. As the moyel said "he has a zaftig schmekel."
The best part of the night was at the end. I had to be polite and not beg to hold him - after all, his paternal grandparents are in town from Miami, and they have first dibs. But then, at the end of the night, I got to wake him up (so he could feed) and then distracted him while his mom and dad changed his diaper. That was the best job of the day - distracting my new love with kisses on his round lil cheeks. And then I held him while everyone said their goodbyes and I carried him down to the car.
Oy vay iz meer. This sudden onset of a biological clock is rather disturbing. I keep trying to remember how I used to feel - how completely nonchalant I was about the entire idea of having a family. Now, my search for a partner is about more than just finding a partner. And yet, I know I can't become one of those crazy, Jewish women who stalk men and start askin about kids on the first date.
I hope I can find someone to share my crazy, roller-coaster life with. Because I'd really like to give Isaac another cousin. :)
Posted by cj at 06:53 PM | Comments (2)
January 23, 2007
Oscar Noms Announced
Note: I have not heard/read any commentary on the actual nominees yet. I started writing this as soon as I woke up this morning. And I don't pretend to have actually seen all the movies nominated.
1. Why is Kate Winslet nominated every frickin year? Isn't there another younger actress who can get a damn nomination? The only other actress under fifty nominated in the Best Actress category is Penelope Cruz. Judi Dench is another perennial nominee - I know y'all love the Dame, but for goodness sake, she is not a god. Why not stretch your mind and find another woman to nominate?!?! We all know that the Oscar is probably going to Helen Mirren - unless for some strange reason she loses to Meryl Streep, but I highly doubt it.
2. Cate Blanchett is the other young, female Brit who apparently Must Get Nominated Every Year. It's as if the Academy is saying - we know we rarely write real female characters, so we'll just keep nominating the real British actors (see Mirren, Dench, Winslet, and Blanchett). THIS IS RIDICULOUS!!!
3. How likely is it that a foreign actress acting in another language is going to win an Academy Award? I agree, not that damn likely. So we can scratch the two women from Babel out of the Supporting Actress running. And while Abigail Breslin is the heart and soul of Little Miss Sunshine, it aint likely they're going to give their award to a 7 year old. So clearly, Jennifer Hudson's going to win for Dreamgirls. It's a good performance, I just wish (a)there were a wider range of noms in these two categories and (b)the Academy would stop nominating the Brits just to fill in the category and (c)for once in my life, these two categories were listed above their male counterparts.
4. Will Smith actually got nominated. It's hard for me to say whether or not he deserved it, since the MARKETING MACHINE RUINED THE FUCKING MOVIE. If you've seen the previews for the movie, you've seen EVERY SINGLE EMOTIONAL POINT OF THE DAMN FILM. Actually, I think his son should've been nominated.
5. Like they're gonna give the award to a guy playin a coke head teacher in a movie no one saw. I haven't seen Half Nelson yet, but I loved Ryan Gosling in one of his earliest films - The Slaughter Rule. It's one of those films that leaves you feeling its after effects several years after you watched it. (I'm not sayin it's the best movie ever, just that it has an impact on you.)
6. Are they gonna give Peter O'Toole a swan song Oscar or will they give it to Forrest Whitaker? I sorta doubt it'll go to Leo - no one thinks Blood Diamond was that good of a film, including the audience. I'd say it's a tough call between the guy with a foot in the grave and the man who actually acted well. Oscar tends to award old age, so the advantage is with O'Toole. (Of course, I haven't seen the films I'm talkin about in this point, just riffing on everything I've read about this award season.)
7. Actor in A Supporting Role - it's a fight between Eddie Murphy and Alan Arkin. Again a fight between young and old. Harder to determine, because I know they both did a good job. But Alan's not exactly an Academy-type of guy and Eddie's got the momentum from the Globes, so I'd say Eddie. Why the hell did another actor from Blood Diamond get nominated?
8. (running low on time) Borat was nominated once in the majors - for adapted screenplay. How fabulous would it be to hear another Sasha Cohen speech? He's one yummy Jew boy outta costume. Sadly, it's also the only film in the category I've seen.
9. Whose gonna win original screenplay? I've seen only one of these films - Little Miss Sunshine. It's a tough call; maybe Babel, probably The Queen. Though I really love the story behind the writing of Letters from Iwo Jima - it's the first film written by Iris Yamashita, a Japanese American woman (in English, then translated into Japanese).
10. Director - think Scorcese will actually win? Dunno, people really like The Departed. He's up against Clint and Gonzalez Inarritu and the anonymous guys behind The Queen and United 93. It might just be Scorcese's year.
11. Best Film - Babel, The Departed, The Queen, Letters From Iwo Jima, and Little Miss Sunshine. Again, a race btwn Scorcese and Clint. Since The Departed stars American actors (who have more votes in this thing than anyone else), I'd say The Departed is prolly gonna win.
now to make time to see these movies....
Posted by cj at 06:10 AM | Comments (0)
January 21, 2007
Media Ownership: Trib & LA Times
A lot of ink has been spent in the LA Times on the impending sale of the Tribune Company. It's rather odd to read about this situation in the LAT, since it is one of the Trib's assets.
Even stranger is listening to Angelenos pontificate on the future of "dead tree media." They seem to buy the hype that there's something seriously wrong with newspapers. The only thing wrong with the newspaper industry is that it is controlled by public companies that care only about profit margins.
As Katharine Graham taught us in her memoir, good journalism has nothing to do with being popular. If shareholders had controlled WaPo during Watergate, do you think they would've stuck with the story? In the face of declining readership and daily attacks from the White House Press Office? I doubt it.
Plus, let's review the recent history of the LAT: it had a 20% profit margin last year. And the bean counters still forced newsroom cuts on the place. They're not alone - Time Inc. cut a huge portion of their workforce last week, stating that they're transitioning to a focus on the web. Funny thing about the web - it requires writers just as much as paper magazines.
So, do I think it's a good thing that local billionaires have put in competing bids for the LAT? I suppose so. But I don't trust any of them - not a one of them has ever worked in the news industry. They're more likely to make the LAT into their personal papers than to really transform it into a bigger powerhouse. The thing that the Chicago Trib does right and the LAT doesn't do well at all is have internet properties that are really useful - Metromix is a major online hub for hipsters in Chi-town. It provides easy to access listings for food, nightlife, and other entertainment. Plus, the Red Eye (the free weekday tabloid available at public trans stations) increases the number of young people reading Trib material and pushed to the web for further info. There is no part of the LAT sprawling web presence that compares to the utility of Metromix.
But then, for being the entertainment capital of the world, LA is sorely lacking in a lot of things available in Chicago. We don't have a local restaurant review show like Check, Please! (then again, we probably don't have enough independent restaurants to warrant a review show), we don't have a public t.v. weeknight news show to offer real local news like Chicago Tonight. And, instead of critiquing our own big industry like Chicagoans Roger Ebert & Richard Roeper do, we create a million fawning celebrity-obsessed craptastic t.v. shows like Extra and Entertainment Tonight.
So to review - I don't understand this town:
1. The only thing really wrong with the newspaper industry is that its owned by public companies rather than local media families.
2. I don't understand people who think billionaires from other industries are the best future for the LAT.
3. I don't understand how people seriously think the blogosphere or other online sites can kill newspapers. Even when young people look for news coverage, they need a source for the news - and newspapapers' online sites are still 100x better for the straight news than the ramblings of the blogosphere.
4. As long as news companies continue to expand their online presence (think WaPo buying Slate), they will continue to be at the top of the news media heap.
Further reading:
"2 Southland billionaires make case to buy Tribune: Eli Broad, Ron Burkle meet with panel also reviewing offer by The Times' founding family." by James Rainey in today's LAT
Posted by cj at 04:32 PM | Comments (0)
WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!!
If you've been checking the times of my previous posts, you know I've been writing during the Bears game. Thankfully, my new wireless router is working, so I've also been watching the game. More distracting, Master Haims arrived in the middle of the game. sigh. The Peanut is such a beautiful, lil miracle.
So, while part of me wishes I was watching the game in a bar in Chi-town, I wouldn't have missed the chance to hold my nephew for all the tea in China. (He was sleepin while I held him, now he's awake and nursing.)
Now it's time to see if the Pats will make it a rematch, 21 years in the making. Let's all do the Super Bowl shuffle....
Posted by cj at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
Dreamgirls
I went to see Dreamgirls right after I finished watching Todo sobre mi madre. A strange double bill, but awkwardly coherent - both offer a not quite great film adaptation of the female experience.
I have been wanting to see Dreamgirls for awhile. I was pushed into the theater because I went on errands today con mi madre and she played the soundtrack. I have to admit, I wasn't impressed by the sounds; at first, I thought it was because "One Night Only" was played ad nauseum during the Golden Globes awards, but it turns out I'm not the only one critical of the songs.
Like most stories written by men, the women in this film never move beyond stock characters. At least this time they're joined by their male counterparts in characters lacking depth. When the plot turned to push the heavy-set lead singer out off of her pedestal, I couldn't help remembering SNL parodies of Destiny's Child (you remember how Beyonce & her fam kept kicking out members of the group, don't you?) Here's a list of things that don't make sense about the movie:
1. Why do all the songs sound the same, even though the characters keep proclaiming the start of new sounds?
2. Why the Disney-ending?
3. Beyonce can not act. End of discussion. She also barely stifles her diva-ness until the 70s scenes.
4. Was it me, or did the scenes between Beyonce and Paul Lithgow seem to be lifted straight from Entourage?
5. The characters say that message music doesn't sell. Perhaps not In Your Face Message Music, but please explain to me how the folk genre was so popular during the same time period if people didn't want to hear a message. Also, didn't Marvin Gaye make some money at the same time?
6. How in the world does a Brother drop a Sister as fast as C.C. dismissed Effie from the group?
7. I usually hate Richard Roeper's film reviews, but on this he is right on:
The fiery Effie clutches her midsection and says she's not feeling well about a half-dozen times, concealing her pregnancy with all the subtlety of a character on "General Hospital," yet nobody catches on.
Despite my criticism, I did enjoy the film. Like Roeper I liked it, but didn't think it was great. I was impressed by the art direction and cinematography - I thought the end credits were made for the movie's Academy Award noms in those area (it really looked like a typical Oscar montage). But, I'm looking forward to seeing all of the movies mentioned in Roeper's review - since those are clearly the better movies of 2006. It really is a strange day when I'm agreeing with Roeper.
Roeper's review in the Chicago Sun Times
A.O. Scott's review in the NY Times
Kirk Honeycutt's review in the Hollywood Reporter
Walter Chaw's insightful review at Film Freak Central
Kenneth Turan's review in the LA Times
Rotten Tomatoes listing
IMDB listing
Posted by cj at 01:08 PM | Comments (0)
Todo Sobre Mi Madre
It is very strange to me that in IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes and Netflix, that it is difficult to find the movie Todo Sobre Mi Madre. Not because the film isn't there, but because those English-first, last and always sites insist on classifying it by the English translation of the name. I suppose I should just accept this as a fact of life - after all, I don't know the Chinese name of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon." (Although, unlike most US'ians, I'd be able to pronounce the name if I saw it because I took a semester of Mandarin in college.) In any event, I saw the film yesterday.
To be honest, my interest in Almodovar is based on an erroneous memory. For some reason, I thought the guy had something to do with one of my favorite movies of recent years - Mar adentro. Now that I've bothered to look into the issue on IMDB, I feel like a fool. Still, it's good that I didn't fully understand the director's niche before seeing the film.
Of course, I saw it because it's been mentioned in all of the recent articles about Volver - explaining that Volver is the second Almodovar film highlighting the "talent" of Penelope Cruz. I dunno, I just have a hard time believing that she's anything besides a spoiled, pretty brat. Maybe that's because I sat through her attempts at English language acting before seeing her in a Spanish language flick.
First, let me explain that I hated La Mala Educacion. I didn't realize that Almodovar m.o. includes extensive use of transvestites, homages to old movies, and ridiculous, over-the-top plot lines. While he uses these tropes to better effect in Todo Sobre mi Madre, I still don't understand why IMDB commentators cried while watching the film. [I also think I was confusing my Spanish language interests - I was originally interested in La Mala Educacion because it stars Gael Garcia Bernal, the luscious star of Amores Perros and Y Tu Mama, Tambien.]
Back to Todo Sobre Mi Madre. It's a decent film. It's compelling and didn't feel slow. I had to swallow my disbelief in the beginning and accept that it would be a film full of convenient coincidence, but it's definitely worth watching.
Here's Ebert's review of the film, truncated to the review portion (i.e. deleting the plot summary):
Pedro Almodovar's films are a struggle between real and fake heartbreak--between tragedy and soap opera. They're usually funny, too, which increases the tension. You don't know where to position yourself while you're watching a film like "All About My Mother," and that's part of the appeal: Do you take it seriously, like the characters do, or do you notice the bright colors and flashy art decoration, the cheerful homages to Tennessee Williams and "All About Eve," and see it as a parody? Even Almodovar's camera sometimes doesn't know where to stand: When the heroine's son writes in his journal, the camera looks at his pen from the point of view of the paper.I agree with Roger that the coincidence and melodrama work in this film - I just don't understand how people are actually manipulated enough by these things to cry while watching. Still, it's worth a viewing if you haven't seen it yet."All About My Mother"' is one of the best films of the Spanish director, whose films present a Tennessee Williams sensibility in the visual style of a 1950s Universal-International tearjerker. Rock Hudson and Dorothy Malone never seem very far offscreen. Bette Davis isn't offscreen at all: Almodovar's heroines seem to be playing her. Self-parody is part of Almodovar's approach, but "All About My Mother" is also sincere and heartfelt; though two of its characters are transvestite hookers, one is a pregnant nun and two more are battling lesbians, this is a film that paradoxically expresses family values. [...]
Almodovar's earlier films sometimes seemed to be manipulating the characters as an exercise. Here the plot does handstands in its eagerness to use coincidence, surprise and melodrama. But the characters have a weight and reality, as if Almodovar has finally taken pity on them--has seen that although their plights may seem ludicrous, they're real enough to hurt. These are people who stand outside conventional life and its rules, and yet affirm them. Families are where you find them and how you make them, and home, it's said, is the place where, if you have to go there, they have to take you in.
Rotten Tomatoes listing
IMDB listing
Posted by cj at 11:53 AM | Comments (0)
January 16, 2007
Happy Birthday, Isaac!!
Isaac Samuel Haims was born at 10:12 p.m. Pacific time. He is 6 pounds, 13 ounces. 18.5 inches.
I had the privilege and honor to be the "unnecessary" person in the room. I also videotaped the birth and first cries of my youngest nephew. This is one of the best days of my life.
Posted by cj at 11:04 PM | Comments (0)
January 14, 2007
Welcome, Those Who Hate Debate
This site is now included in a post that lists me among "7000+ Self-Hating Israel Threatening Jews." More details available on my political blog, Social Upheaval.
Posted by cj at 12:25 PM | Comments (1)
January 13, 2007
Light the Trip Fantastic: The Triplets of Belleville
If you're lookin for a surreal experience, that will leave you feeling like you've just eaten a decadent dark chocolate dessert, you should rent The Triplets of Belleville. It's disorienting and intoxicating.
You could read a straight review of this film and learn all about it's most interesting plot turns. Or, you could just hearken back to the Academy Awards show that featured the title song of the movie and think "huh; maybe that's a movie I should put into my queue." I'm not going to bother telling you the plot - it's sorta beside the point, even though it's the whole point.
I will warn you - there is very little dialogue in the movie. About two lines. And while those two lines were originally in French, now they're spoken in English with French accents. Which leaves you scanning for subtitles for a few seconds until your brain picks up the fact that those are English words.
It's the trippiest movie I've seen in years. And it made me feel like I'd gone to another place even though I was soberly sitting in my living room. I highly recommend it.
Rotten Tomatoes listing (93% approval)
Ebert's review. This is actually one of the best Ebert reviews I've read in a long time. Here's the last graph:
Some of my faithful readers went to see "Songs from the Second Floor" on my recommendation. "Triplets" comes from a similar mindset, but is told in a manic fever, and is animated. Imagine Felix the Cat with firecrackers tied to his tail, in a story involving the French nephew and aunt of the Reservoir Dogs, and a score by Spike Jones. No, the other Spike Jones.
I could link to A.O. Scott's review or Kenneth Turan's review (both of which I read before writing this post), but they're not as engaging as Robert's review. Besides, there's no reason to read the critics on this one - either you want to see a surrealistic, dark, unique animated film or you don't.
Posted by cj at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
January 06, 2007
Being a 28 y/o Cancer Patient
Most of the time, I keep my positive face on for the world to see. After all, I don't have some horrible disease that will kill me. For the most part, my thyroid doesn't even bother me. Sure, I have to be careful not to drink too fast or eat too fast (because it gets stuck in my throat), but that's because I have a goiter (enlarged thyroid), not because of the cancer.
Some people think I caused the cancer. Oh, sure, that's not exactly how they say it; but when someone asks you if your smoking caused the cancer that's what's really behind the question. I haven't asked an endocrinologist, but so far my research shows no connection between smoking and thyroid cancer, in case you were wondering. And yes, I quit smoking. Sorta. It's not like your desire to smoke suddenly disappears. Smoking is a great stress relief - that's the reason I started smoking. And when I heard the news, I really just wanted to smoke, Instead, I drank Syrah and ate chocolate.
It's great that people are sending me positive greetings over email. It touched me so much to have an activist friend in Lebanon say she checked with a doctor and he confirmed what I said about thyroid cancer being 100% curable. Amazing the power of the net and WILPF. Of course, that cuts both ways - I wonder if my friends who haven't responded are too freaked to reply to my email, or if it got caught in their spam filter because I bcc'd everyone.
But in the end, the big take away from this experience is how singular each individual person is. I dunno, maybe I'm too dramatic about this, but at the end of the day the only one there is me. Perhaps that's why I want a dog - it would feel good to have someone who depends on me and whom I can depend on.
I'm looking forward to my life after cancer. I know it wont be completely easy - after all, I'll have to take a pill everyday for the rest of my life. And it's not like birth control or allergy medicine, it's sorta imperative to take it everyday and not forget. But that's okay. I kinda doubt I'll forget that I lost an organ and need to replace it with a pill. It's just ironic, because my daily aches and pains have nothing to do with my thyroid. My hips hurt, my hands hurt, my neck hurts but none of those things are big news. Only a 2 cm nodule in my neck is causing mass concern about my health. The world turns in mysterious ways...
Posted by cj at 11:47 AM | Comments (0)
January 02, 2007
A Few Pics from My Sister's Wedding
Here are just a few of the 400+ pictures takin at my Big Sis & Big Bro's wedding on Sunday, December 17, 2007.
Mr. & Mrs. Ziv Chaims
Me Touchin Up Liz's Makeup
The Siblings: C.J., Liz, Scott
The Minster Fam
The Nephews: Jake, Liz, Zach
Minster Women: Grandma Elsie, Aunt Linda, Mom, Liz, C.J., Jocelyn, Shantel
The Veil Ceremony
Ziv's Amazing Vows
Me Blubbering at the Ceremony
Chaims Hands
The Kiss with Scott's reaction
The Chaims Fam
Posted by cj at 10:31 PM | Comments (0)
Sheila and Max, sittin in a tree...
My friends Sheila and Max are gettin married. They're just too damn cute. They're both in medical residency programs and still had time to put this website together. They put us all to shame. I really like the pic at the top of the page. It epitomizes their saccharine sweetness (in a good way).
Posted by cj at 09:54 PM | Comments (0)