Catchin' Up

Well, so much for trying to get in more blogging.

Caught a couple of flicks to mention to you. First off, Frost/Nixon. What a fabulous movie! Frank Langella (sp) and Michael Sheen are both amazing as they reprise the roles they did on stage. For being a movie that's primarily made up of conversations and conversations about conversations, the movie has a really good pace to it. I was left wondering how much of what I saw was speculation by the playwright/screenwriter and what was factual. Mostly I'm curious about the phone call between Frost and Nixon towards the very end. Everything about this movie is solid and entertaining.

Secondly, I went and saw Defiance. Kids, I just gotta say that sometimes it is not a good idea to go see a movie because there is a cute guy in it. The movie just seemed to drag on and on. The story is interesting, but there wasn't enough energy in the film. I thought the script was weak as well. Daniel Craig is still awfully good to look at though.

Lost is back! Yeah! After 3 episodes, I've already experienced several "What the..." type of moments. How sweet is it that Desmond named his son Charlie?! Awww. More Ben please.

Here's another guideline for you. Don't watch a program just because something in the program takes place where you attended college and/or near where you live. Late night Sat., after watching a thrilling episode of Cheaters, I happened upon Rock Of Love on a bus...or something like that. You know, Brett Michaels skankin' around with well, skanks, on a couple of buses. Anyway, I saw in the teaser to start the episode that they were going to be heading to Champaign. I just had to know why. Seems they were participating in a challenge involving the Illinois Women's Hockey team. As depressing as it was to see my beloved school involved with such a show, it was mildly entertaining to watch bimbos getting knocked over by a few members of the women's hockey team. One chick apparently popped her implant or something. That would be one of Brett's chicks, not a team member. Oh, and one of the really creepy porn chicks "took" everyone's socks that they were given by the school to wear when they put on their skates ('cuz I doubt they arrived with appropriate foot coverage). She took them after they were done and everyone else had left the locker room. Ugh.

The winners then got to go on a group date with Brett (I hope there is plenty of penicillin available). Where did they go? The theater? A private dinner? Roller derby? Nope, they went to world famous Big Al's in near by Peoria. They took Brett's bus and went to the strip joint. I remember this summer/early fall hearing that they would be stopping there. Ah, the pride I feel in my community.

Hopefully I'll get to a few more movies this weekend. The Wrestler, Milk, Underworld: Rise of the Lycans (seriously, Michael Sheen is in this one too!). Be good.

Hope is a good thing.

I'm sure I wasn't the only one who made the connection...

So yesterday I spent most of my morning cursing my slow connection at work. I'd planned to watch the feeds on C-SPAN's website, but most of the time all I got was still images and sporadic action. I listened to NPR all morning allowing me to at least hear what was happening. Thanks to my poor setting of the VCR I missed the parade. I really wanted to see the Lawn Rangers and a local high school band from Morton. The local news showed about 30 sec. of the Morton band and WGN out of Chicago had a wee bit of the lawn mower guys, but not enough to satisfy me. Perhaps in a few days I'll find something on YouTube.

The feeling at work was pretty dull. I think I am about the only liberal Democrat in the building. None the less, I enjoyed the moment as best I could in my office with my radio and crappy computer. Once home I watched C-SPAN and bounced around between their coverage of the balls and the one ABC had rights to show. I'll admit to shedding a few tears during the first dance. The fact that I'm a huge fan of "At Last" may have had something to do with it, but watching our new Prez and First Lady really touched me.

Quick side note, was it me or did Jay-Z look like a pumped up Erkel?

The beauty of the song sort of lost its umph when it was the only song they danced to at every other ball. They could have switched it up a bit I think. Still, they looked like they were enjoying themselves each and every time.

One of the things I really like about Obama is his emphasis on it being not only government's responsibility, but also each American's responsibility to make this country a better place. I only hope the energy people felt during the election and last night translates into making government work and making things change for the better. It will take time, but for the first time I feel like there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

Things that go "brrrr" in the night

Bartonville Asylum (aka Peoria State Hospital), the location. Around 10 or so degrees, the temperature. Ghost hunting, the mission. Wandering around in the dark, the truth.

After going to the incorrect meeting place, though we were not given the meeting place location to be honest, and getting pulled over by "the man" for basically not knowing where we could park the flipping car, we eventually made our way to the Bowen building. Once inside we went to the "warm room" where one could currently see one's breath. There we were given some direction as to how the night would progress. We would hit a couple of floors then come back to warm up. Hit the basement, warm up. Hit the attic, warm up. Wander around on our own and tah-dah.

The information we got before we even arrived was not to particular. Vague enough actually, that we didn't bring any flashlights. I expected them to be provided so we wouldn't trip or fall into an open elevator shaft. But, they were up for sale when we got there. I decided I'd like to avoid death so I shelled out the $3 for a flashlight with batteries. That's my mittened hand in the left hand side of the picture holding my ghosty flashlight so Randi and Jinn can try and figure out what button to push to turn on their cameras and the voice recorder. (On a side note, Randi is wearing the scarf that is my scarf's twin.)

During the discussion over the rules, we were told about "protection." Now, I've seen enough of these shows to know that usually someone says a prayer and asks that everyone in the group be protected from negative spirits, etc. Groovy. A relatively big deal was made of this. Did we do this before going inside. Erm...no. I covered my own ass but muttering a quick run though of the Lord's Prayer as we entered.

Jinn made it through the first couple of floors. Randi got about half way through the basement before she'd had enough pain in her freezing toes. I got through the whole building, but left when we could go out on our own because my investigative partners where in a running car staying warm. We can return in the spring for free. Since we (all 15 or so of us) were kind enough to not ask for refunds and tried to enjoy ourselves, the people running the thing are giving everyone the option of coming back when it will be nicer. I'll be there.

Here are some highlights from the evening:

I think several members of the group were going to see something if it was there or not. There were several times when people were exclaiming that they were seeing Shadow People and orbs and all I saw was either 90% darkness or just flat out pitch black.

There was a tall, bald dude that I was ready to whack with something. He was the Shecky Green (sp?) of the group. He was also the "I need to comment on almost everything" person of the group. Apparently he's a local DJ. Should have known.

A woman who runs a locally centered paranormal website got into a heated discussion about orbs that were in some pictures she took. She thought they were legitimate orbs, but the lead investigator didn't think so; he thought they were dust. She was so horked off she stayed in the warm room while the rest of us went up to the attic.

On the whole, I didn't feel any sort of heaviness or discomfort as we made our way through the building. I wasn't nervous or scared. I kept my eyes open and did my best with my ears (I had them partially covered because of the cold), but I never did hear any of the moaning, voices or footsteps that other people claimed to have heard.

Only a couple of things stood out that I can't quite explain. We were told before we went down there that the basement was a place of major activity and apparently there is a negative spirit who likes to hang out there. At one point, we were told to go dark, which basically meant no flashlights were to be on. It was so dark down there I couldn't see anything but black around me. Someone could have had their hand right in front of me and I wouldn't have known it.

We were all along the walls of a hallway during this time. One of the guides said someone was pulling on his jacket and trying to un-velcro his pockets of the jacket. You could hear that little sort of ripping sound, but who knows what was actually happening. While standing there, a teenager near me said it felt like someone was standing behind her. She was in a doorway that lead to one of the rooms that went off the hall. Randi was next to her and in front of me. Not too long after the girl said she felt someone near by my face and front portion of my upper body went really, really, really cold. Now, it was cold down there. Enough so that I had my ears covered, my hood from my sweatshirt was pulled up over my head, my mittens were on and I was wearing long johns under my jeans. Still, I could feel a definite change in temperature. It struck me as odd, but I didn't think too much about it. I don't remember there being any sort of breeze. Later, when we were driving home and recounting different bits I was talking about only the front of me getting crazy cold for about 30 sec. to a minute. Randi then says her backside went really crazy cold around the same time for about the same amount of time. In the ghost hunting shows, the claim is that one way you know a ghost is around is you come across a cold spot you can't explain. Could the thing that was behind the girl have moved between me and Randi? Or was it just winter and a bit of a breeze brought some more of the outside air in to where we were? Beats me.

The second thing that happened involved staring down a pitch black hallway. I was so unsure if anyone was standing in front of me I was actually leaning to one side to peer around a possible person. At what was presumably the end of the hall, you could see a bluish white light that seemed to fade in and out. Now, baldy behind me got very excited at one point. He made it sound like he was seeing light shooting off of the other light. Me, not so much. I saw the light. It did seem to fade in and out and it also seemed to move from one side of the hall to the other. When we clicked on the flashlights, three of us chicks went to the end of the hall to see if there was a light source down there. One of the rooms did have some windows to let in the light, but I'm not sure we would have been able to see that small square of light being generated by the window down the hall where we were. Still, I can't say that the light wasn't created by the window either. Just a little weird. Weird enough that I'd like to go back. I took some pictures but didn't catch anything other than us trying to figure out our electronics. Maybe next time.

Spamalot review coming soon. Nighty night.

Time Keeps on Tickin'

I've realized that spending about 8 hours in front of a computer at work makes me want to avoid it like the plague at home.

But, there is Stargate Atlantis slash fan fiction to be read, so while I'm on-line I will try and be a better updater.

To that end here's some random stuff.

24 is back!! Yeah. The first two hours were pretty good, but I was waiting for the big "tah-dah" and I finally got it when Jack helped Tony get away from the FBI. Anytime Jack can utter the phrase "this is going to hurt" I think it's safe to assume something kick ass is about to happen.

My favorite non-action moment of the two night/ four hour fest was Chole's comment on seeing Jack for the first time in quite some time. I'm paraphrasing, but she pretty much said:

"I was watching the hearing on CSPAN and I thought what they were saying about you was horrible. You looked really good though."

Love Chloe!

While 24 has come back, Stargate Atlantis has gone bye bye, at least until they start the tv movies anyway. I always had a soft spot for this show; primarily because of the chemistry between David Hewlett (Dr. McKay) and Joe Flanigan (John Sheppard). Sometimes the writing was really spot on and when it was this show could stand up with just about anything out there.

Lost, Burn Notice and Battlestar Galactica all back next week. Looks like my Netflix rentals will be dropping off. Speaking of--WATCH MAD MEN!!! I've been slow to get to this, but I devoured the first season and it is as great as everyone says.

Very busy weekend coming up, which will hopefully translate into busy blogging. On the calendar--Spamalot on Sat. evening and ghost hunting till 4 am on Friday nite/Sat. am.

That's right. I'm going to look for shadows, mists, forms and maybe catch some EVP's. I'm going on a tour of the Bartonville Asylum with a couple of friends. I have a feeling the bulk of the evening will be spent trying to not bust out laughing while avoiding tripping over our own feet, but I couldn't resist the opportunity.

I'll let you know if I spot any ghosts.

Slumdog Millionaire

One of the things I like and appreciate about Danny Boyle is his willingness to try new things. Maybe he is very open minded, maybe he doesn't even see movies as being held down by a genre definition, maybe he wants to do a little bit of everything. Whatever the truth may be, Boyle has been successful with each of his forays into new territory. Dark Comedy (sort of) in Shallow Grave and Trainspotting. Family fare with Millions. Sci-fi with Sunshine and horror with 28 Days Later.

This time around Boyle is off to India to tell a love story. There is an energy to Slumdog Millionaire that effectively reflects the part of the world it is set in. The film cuts back and forth between Jamal as an 18 yr old on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and Jamal as a child growing up in the slums of Bombay (back when it was still called Bombay).

I don't want to explain to much about the bouncing back and forth because I don't want to reveal one of the charms of the movie. As a child Jamal meets Latkia, a young girl who is struggling to survive as he and his brother are.

Boyle doesn't show us a romantic view of India, but it isn't all muck and crowd. There are glimpses of beauty all around if you keep your eyes open. The music is fantastic, which is a virtual requirement with a Boyle movie. Dav Patel plays the older Jamal and if you have BBC America, you may have seen him on Skins. He, along with the two young actors that play Jamal at the early stages of his life, create a very complete character. Credit not only the actors, but Boyle as well considering he had to keep the thread going thru three different performances.

Normally, I'm not one for the "feel good film." I think, though, that this is less a standard feel good film than a film that celebrates being able to hold on to hope when all around you is dark and dire. Even as a cynic, I can appreciate that and see the beauty in it. Hopefully you can too.

Doing my best to not suck

Agh! I meant to do this list about 4 days ago, but having a cold really sucks one's energy away from a chilly room and a computer screen. Much better to be on a sofa in front of a television screen and a couple of discs of Mad Men season 1.

Anyway, Dirty Jobs is on in about 2 min. so I'm going to rush through this...

**Mish's Music Faves of '08**

1. tie between The Duke Spirit-Neptune and R.E.M.-Accelerate. I pretty much base my faves off of two qualifiers. First, how much did I listen to the cd and second, did I skip over tracks. These two cd's were the most listened to and I pretty much hardly ever jumped about. I think The Duke Spirit really solidified their sound on their second album. Every song is worth checking out and I love the lead singer's Debbie Harry meets PJ Harvey-esque sound. R.E.M. released their best album in years. They sounded fresh and full of rock happiness while making me fondly recall albums like Document and Life's Rich Pageant. WOOT to my "classic rock."

2. Portishead-Third. Back, finally, with an album that gave me everything I love about the band while taking them in new and interesting directions. It was soothing to me to hear film noir again.

3. Nine Inch Nails-The Slip. Trent released two (or really 3) cd's this year. The Slip and Ghosts I-IV. Ghosts is very good (all instrumentals), but The Slip got more listens as I am always desirous of hearing Trent's voice.

4. Kaiser Chiefs-Off With Their Heads From across the pond and full of cheek and swagger. Plenty of short and nearly perfect pop rock tunes.

5. Supreme Beings of Leisure-11i The third band on the list who released an album after a multi-year absence. Dreamy dance music with an exotic feel and a great singer.

6. Sigur Ros- With a Buzz In Our Ears We Play Endlessly. That's the English version of the actual title. These Icelanders continue to amaze me with the beauty they create.

7. Elbow-The Seldom Seen Kid Follows through with the opening up of their sound that was found on the last album. Really strong songwriting and one of my fave male vocalists.

8. Keane-Perfect Symmetry This one feels like it would have been perfect as an actual record --80's influenced pop on side one and "traditional" Keane on side two.

9. The Gutter Twins--Saturnalia A combo of Greg Dulli from Afghan Whigs and Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees...sounds like Afghan Whigs meets Screaming Trees in their 40's. Works for me.

Next time, hopefully, I'll recap Slumdog Millionaire!