Rollin’ With the Homies
Friday, September 21, 2007
As we’ve often said, one of the tougher things about being far from our former home in Florida is the distance created from our friends and family. While we make a point to share as many big events as possible, more often than not it’s a phone call or a video chat making due.
Because of that, the rare visits from family and loved ones are truly treasured. Recently it was Oscar coming by to spend with with Nicky – he’s a wonderful godfather to our son and it was hard to see him go. This time, it was Paul and Glen stopping by on their tour of the US. The three days flew by, with wrenching time on the bikes, a delicious Italian feast courtesy of Chef Pablo and French lessons by the world-famous Serpentine Surfer. All that was fine and dandy, but the true bonus was showing my friends around the Santa Cruz mountains. We zipped down Black Road, hit 35, meandered through a leafy Old La Honda Road, ate a tasty lunch at Alice’s and then proceeded to zip through Pescadero, Swanton, Highway 1, Bonny Doon, Empire Grade, 236…well, you get the drift. It was about 150 miles of tasty twisties then eventually got Paul to STOP comparing to GA roads. Our ride through Yosemite didn’t happen (they brought rain and cold with them), but hell it was a great time. We can’t wait to see you again soon – there are plenty more curves to enjoy.
Check out the movie Santa Cruz Mountains 9-21-2007
Books:
• The Healing Road – Neil Peart
You know how certain people affect you for life? I remember hearing two drummers as a kid and wanting to BE them. One was Roger Taylor, the stickman for Duran Duran. Under appreciated as a member of a new wave / new romantics pretty boy band, he always had solid grooves and used the (then) cutting edge Simmons SDS series electronic drums along with latin timables and octabans (a la Stewart Copeland) to great effect. Then there was Rush’s Neil Peart…5th grade music class, Mrs. Underwood, Tom Sawyer. Wow. Impossible fills, astounding technique…that absurdly huge late-1970’s kit that appeared about the size of…a house. Loved it. I’ve been a fan for (*sigh*) decades but recently it went deeper. An article in Cycle World about his riding a BMW GS to each show caught my eye. Then I read the reason. Years ago he lost his teenage daughter in a car crash and just over a year later his heartbroken wife. Here he was, a musical god with everything suddenly losing his entire family. In his grief, he hit the road to search for a reason to keep on living. Heartbreaking, inspiring, wrenching…a window into someone that is far more than a drummer. I recommend it highly.
Movies:
The Devil Wears Prada
Hottie has a mean boss. Hottie finds success by losing herself, finds redemption by rediscoving herself. Hottie’s boss is a vamping Meryl “I went from Oscars to this shit?” Streep, Anne “hottie” Hathaway is adept at hitting the vulnerable but ultimately scrappy at heart mark – think Mary Tyler Moore without botox. It wasn’t awful…in fact it was pretty good for a formulaic vehicle. I just didn’t really give a crap.
Dreamgirls
Think the female “Ray”, just add what felt like 2 hours to the runtime and remove the emotional link. I have no earthly idea why there was so much buzz…it was terminally boring at times, felt like a well-produced high school musical more often than not and ultimately made me pine for Eddie Murphy singing about his girl wanting to party all the time. And you, you, you….you’re gonna be disappointed. Skip this over hyped piece of garbage.
300
I expected violence, lots of it, and little plot to back it up. What a pleasant (well, insofar as bloody combat can be) surprise. Absolutely lush and frequently stunning visuals and camera usage and effect that are on par with the groundbreaking work in the first Matrix. A great watch even on a small screen…wish I had seen it on the big one.
The Queen
Helen Mirren does a spectacular job of capturing Queen Elizabeth II during the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death. Dramatic while not being maudlin and insightful without either lambasting or glorifying the royal family. I ended up both sympathetic to the gilded cage that is nobility and exasperated by the absurdity of it at the same time. Makes for great watching.
Babel
I generally like Brad Pitt (yes, he’s pretty – but he’s also a damn fine actor) and I’m usually amazed at Cate Blanchett’s ability to utterly change in each role. This was a good movie, really. The interwoven plot threads, the unintended consequences…the locations. It was all good. But that’s it, it was good. Not great. Not particularly engaging. Didn’t hate it, didn’t love it.
Stomp the Yard
Good dancing. I don’t want to watch two hours of good dancing. Especially in quick-cut, fast-edit, boom-camera oh-yeah-it’s-an-MTV-production mode. Ugh.
Live Flesh / Carne Viva
Pedro Aldomovar has mommy issues. We get it. He also likes Penelope Cruz. We get it. To his credit, the film is (as they tend to be) pretty damn creative, well acted and engaging. Some of the devices (like the basketball) could have easily been edited down by at least half – but that’s about my only gripe.
Eddie Izzard – Dress to Kill
Cross-dressing comedian, came highly recommended by dammit I wish I remembered…performance in San Francisco, so hey should be that much better right? Uh, no. Awful, awkward (but thankfully overly long) intro set on streetcar led into a moderately funny set performed on what appeared to be a mid-1980’s stage from Solid Gold. Didn’t even finish it…but caught a nap in the middle so wasn’t all bad.
Control Room
Documentary on Al Jazeera News…absolutely worth watching, if for nothing else than to see how other media view the US, our foreign policy and our actions in the Middle East. Just as you may support or despise Fox or CNN, seeing the behind the scenes of a powerful and influential media source helps explain sentiment we can’t always understand. Worthwhile and powerful.
Casino Royale
Take the cliche Bond (think Roger Moore) and strip out the sight gags and silliness. Take the revamped bond (think Pierce Brosnan) and rub off the gloss and polish. Make Bond flawed, mean, spiteful and on the ragged edge of control…but keep the gadgets, the plot lines and the why-the-hell-can’t-anyone-shoot-him bits and make a movie. Pushes the suspension of disbelief envelope, yes – but makes for a hell of a great flick. Bring popcorn.