: possessing a practical and shrewd understanding of human affairs
Sorry I've been gone for a few days, readers. Our wireless connection here at the house was mysteriously down for a few days - hence, no blog updates.
What's new? Well, it's fall break for Gabriel Fischer. He's been spending the week at home with me. Julia has been busy at school, getting over a nasty little cold that claimed all the two-legged members of the family except yours truly.
Julia has to go up to Durham this weekend for a conference, so it'll be a boys' party for about forty-eight hours or so.
New Movies Opening This Weekend:
Alex Cross Here's what you need to know. Tyler Perry replaces Morgan Freeman in the role of James Patterson's reliable, sturdy detective Alex Cross. Matthew Fox is the pumped-up, psychotic villain. Cleveland stands in for Detroit. And critics don't like it. It co-stars Jean Reno, Cicely Tyson, John C. McGinley, and Edward Burns.
Verdict: Mildly Interested
The Sessions There's massive Oscar hype for this Sundance favorite, which is based on the autobiographical writings of poet/journalist Mark O'Brien, played here, in what is surely to be one of the year's greatest performances, by John Hawkes (an Oscar nominee two years ago for Winter's Bone). O'Brien, you see, was born with polio and confined to his bed with an iron lung. He desires to lose his virginity and consults a sex therapist (Helen Hunt) to help him do so. Hunt and Hawkes are reputedly great together, and the movie is said to be an odd but likable amalgamation of My Left Foot, black comedy, and romance. Hunt and William H. Macy (as O'Brien's priest friend) are likely to be up for Oscars too. Written and directed by Ben Lewin.
Verdict: Very Interested
Paranormal Activity 4 Alas, what once seemed novel is just beginning to feel rote. Each ensuing film in this series has gotten less scary and made less sense. But yet this series has grossed a jillion dollars, so the filmmakers keep them coming. This one is set in Nevada, and I'm not sure how or of any of the characters here have anything to do with any of the previous ones.
Verdict: Not Interested
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Might as well make my football picks for this weekend... because who knows how long the internet will hold up.
Tonight's game:
Two teams who participated in two of the most surprising games last weekend. I have no hesitation on picking San Fran in this one, not at all. SF all the way. I am almost a believer in Seattle, almost. And though I don't trust Alex Smith if he gets down by two scores, I don't see that happening again anytime soon.
San Francisco 20, Seattle 10
Buffalo over Tennessee (actually, this is the hardest game of the week for me to predict!)
Dallas over Carolina
Houston over Baltimore
Indianapolis over Cleveland
Minnesota over Arizona
NY Giants over Washington
Green Bay over St. Louis
New Orleans over Tampa Bay
New England over NY Jets
Oakland over Jacksonville
Pittsburgh over Cincinnati
Chicago over Detroit
Last Week's Record: 9-5
Season Record: 53-38
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What Bird Was Spotted in Bulloch County Georgia This Week?
Red-breasted nuthatch
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A performance today for my list of the 500 Greatest Performances of All Time list:
Kevin Spacey
as Jack Vincennes in L.A. Confidential (1997)
A great role for a great actor, Jack Vincennes is an L.A. cop in love with the image of himself, the fame the job has gotten him - he is the technical adviser for a Dragnet-like show. Jack strides through the corridors of the station with a smug swagger, but he's not narcissistic enough to leave his dignity at the door (in the movie's most shocking scene). In a great ensemble, Spacey shines - his eyes merrily atwinkle. It's a pleasure just to hear him talk. One of my favorite movies of all time.
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I'm reading a juicy horror novel right now, Chase Novak's Breed, which has a few scenes set in Slovenia. Now I'll admit that I know nothing about the country of Slovenia. So I went to http://www.slovenia.si/en/slovenia/ and here's what I found:
- it lies in the very heart of Europe, bracketed by Italy (to west), Austria (to the north), Hungary (to the northeast), and Croatia (to the east and northeast)
- has a parliamentary democracy
- has a continental climate throughout the middle of country, Mediterranean coastlines, and mountain ranges. Its highest peak is Mount Triglav, in the Julian Alps
- has a good economy and labor market, and is a young, educated country
- has a higher-than-average number of its women employed (than other EU countries)
- its manufacturing industry is represented by electrical equipment, chemicals, shipbuilding, motor vehicles, among others
- a green country, Slovenia is a birders' paradise, with almost 35% of the country protected as conservation sites for various species
- contains lot and lots of resorts and spa facilities
- the sun shines approximately 2000 hours a year there (more than Paris or London, but not quite as much as Seattle)
- its capital city, Ljubljana, is a vibrant art community; the country is often referred to as a nation of poets
- the country has three UNESCO World Heritage sites: the Skocjan Caves, a stunning system of underground caves; a series of prehistoric pile-dwellings (stilt houses) around the Alps; and mercury mines in Indrija
(Thanks to http://www.slovenia.si/en/culture/ for the info.)
Images courtesy of:
http://redbuttecanyon.net/avian_images/s_canadensis_nuthatch.jpg
http://moviescrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/La-Confidential-Wallpaper.jpg
http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2012/10/Helen-Hunt-John-Hawkes-The-Sessions.jpg
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