I've always had cats. Nothing against dogs, it's just that cat's are so self sufficient. Since I've installed my kitty door so they can come and go as they please it's no problem to go away for a weekend. Just load up the food and water and off you go. Cats, besides being good companions, keep the rodents at bay which I always felt was a good fringe benefit. Until yesterday. Chewy my little "millennium cat" (born 2000) has a habbit of bringing birds, mice and butterflies in through the kitty door. We save who we can, but if it's too late we dispose of the carcasses. Yesterday she brought a field mouse in which promptly hid behind the piano. Then I watched as Chewy tried in vain to catch it again while the mouse ran from couch, to entertainment center and back under piano. As I went to bed I figured I'd have to pick up the dead body in the morning as I had full faith she'd catch and kill the little thing. Wrong! Maybe it's that extra 3 pounds she's gained but Chewy is still watching as the mouse runs free and definately has the upper hand. So much so that the mouse has amassed a stash of cat food behind the piano so he's definitely in it for the long haul. So now I'll have to intervene, and I'm not nearly as fast as the cat, so this oughta be good.
3-31-06 Epilogue: After a week of random sitings, and Chewy losing all interest in the fact that we were sharing our space with a chewing, pooping mouse, it was time for action. But not before scaring the shit out of me. Max says, "hey this speaker isn't working", I say "I'll look at it" and start to re-adjust the speaker wires on the stereo, meanwhile Max goes upstairs. It only takes a moment to get the speaker back working, at which point I pull open the bottom drawer to replace a couple of CDs. Pulling open the draw, on top of the CDs is our little friend staring up at me. I scream, twice, Max comes bounding down the stairs, thinking I was being electrocuted from working on the speaker wires. Enough already. SO, we put up a few barriers, open the front door and poke under the furniture until our little mouse bolts for the door. Though last seen heading for the door, I didn't actually SEE him leave the house, but I do believe he returned to nature, unharmed.
vendredi, mars 10, 2006
lundi, mars 06, 2006
The Party Animals
Hey, check out Madge's new cd Confessions on a Dance Floor, pretty catchy stuff. Poor Jennifer, rumour has it the ex is getting hitched in Italy this weekend at Clooney's place. Where has Brittany Murphy been? She was great in 8 Mile, it's about time for another movie.
Oscar Night
“All right, so I'm not winning director.” George Clooney foretold the future and set the tone for the night while accepting his Best Supporting Actor statue for Syriana. Tonight would be share and share alike. It was a good year at the movies and a split between Best Director and Best Picture usually indicates a year of stellar performances. Lots of good moments, a few great. Lily Tomlin and Meryl Streep did a wow job of the intro for Robert Altman’s award. I love seeing him get an Oscar for his years of great films. He’s most known for M*A*S*H* and Nashville and Gosford Park but just in the last two months I’ve watched Three Women which came out in the 70’s, one of Sissy Spacek’s first films, and Vincent and Theo with Tim Roth. Altman has produced a treasure trove of gems.
John Stewart seemed a little out of his element but I laughed out loud several times. The lead-in showing the Hosts of Years Past was amusing, although I expected Letterman to say, “I won’t do it because you didn’t ask!” I would love to see Letterman host again, but I don’t think it will happen. The joke Stewart didn’t do was introducing Jessica Alba. He should’ve said something like: Just because she’s out here on stage fully dressed, doesn’t mean you’ll see her back stage naked! Ben Stiller, bless his heart, was almost funny as a Green Screen. One of my favorite rolls from Ben was Bwick Elias, a quirky painter in the little known If Lucy Fell with Sarah Jessica Parker. There was life before Sex and the City.
I truly wanted to see Brokeback Mountain win Best Picture, a beautiful film which packed a strong emotional punch while exposing the restrictive mindset we live in. Crash was equally deserving and it’s nice to see such a talented ensemble cast get their recognition. But if Montana is indicative of the Academy members, where only gay men and women flocked to see Brokeback, that would explain the votes going to Crash. I don’t know of one man locally who’s actually seen Brokeback. I guess the sight of two men embracing in a passionate kiss and more is just too much for most men to bear. Brokeback Mountain did receive lots of recognition both for Ang Lee as Director and also for Best Adapted Screenplay. Hopefully that’s some consolation for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal who walked away empty-handed.
The surprises were Good Night and Good Luck which I thought would get at least some recognition and Memoirs of a Geisha which took away three trophies even though the reviews were awful. So awful I didn’t bother to go see it. Go figure.
I hope the Crash victory gives Ryan Phillippe a boost, he’s a good actor in his own right and was terrific a couple of years back in Igby Goes Down, but I believe the last year of Reese Witherspoon Madness has really worn him down. He looked a little perturbed. Reese gave the most touching, genuine acceptance speech of the night. So gracious and I loved her nod to Joaquin Phoenix thanking him for taking that special journey with her on Walk the Line. Making that film was certainly a life-changing event for both of them. Joaquin doesn’t look like he enjoys the big crowd atmosphere and seems to be struggling with some demons judging by the look on his face. I’d love to know who he said “I love you” to when the camera was focused on him. I was rooting for him to win Best Actor, but Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved it too. I was happy to see Rachel Weisz get the Best Supporting Actress award; the Constant Gardner was one of the years best. Clooney’s speech noting that he’s proud to be part of an Academy where Hollywood has a history of taking the lead in exposing social issues was a breath of fresh air. If television and print media won’t investigate and expose the truth, someone has to start a dialogue about the massive injustice and corruption in our society.
A couple of technical notes, the stage was beautiful with the flowing visual so that each presenter made a grand entrance; Jennifer Aniston and Uma Thurman come to mind. Whoever thought playing music under the winners’ acceptance speeches was a good idea should be fired! What a lousy set up. And while some of the clips and “lobby” ads were appropriate and funny, cutting short the acceptance speeches was a poor trade off. You don’t want to see winners prattle on, but when they’re rushed it robs the viewers the chance to see a snapshot of what makes these people tick. After all, for many this is the one time they will stand in front of millions with an Oscar grasped in their hand, let them relish the moment and thank the legions who’ve helped them achieve this marvel.
So this year the Academy got it mostly right, for a change! No big sweeping winner just a lot of glory to go around. We should be so lucky as to have another such year in 2006. Question: Is it really hard out here for a pimp??
John Stewart seemed a little out of his element but I laughed out loud several times. The lead-in showing the Hosts of Years Past was amusing, although I expected Letterman to say, “I won’t do it because you didn’t ask!” I would love to see Letterman host again, but I don’t think it will happen. The joke Stewart didn’t do was introducing Jessica Alba. He should’ve said something like: Just because she’s out here on stage fully dressed, doesn’t mean you’ll see her back stage naked! Ben Stiller, bless his heart, was almost funny as a Green Screen. One of my favorite rolls from Ben was Bwick Elias, a quirky painter in the little known If Lucy Fell with Sarah Jessica Parker. There was life before Sex and the City.
I truly wanted to see Brokeback Mountain win Best Picture, a beautiful film which packed a strong emotional punch while exposing the restrictive mindset we live in. Crash was equally deserving and it’s nice to see such a talented ensemble cast get their recognition. But if Montana is indicative of the Academy members, where only gay men and women flocked to see Brokeback, that would explain the votes going to Crash. I don’t know of one man locally who’s actually seen Brokeback. I guess the sight of two men embracing in a passionate kiss and more is just too much for most men to bear. Brokeback Mountain did receive lots of recognition both for Ang Lee as Director and also for Best Adapted Screenplay. Hopefully that’s some consolation for Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal who walked away empty-handed.
The surprises were Good Night and Good Luck which I thought would get at least some recognition and Memoirs of a Geisha which took away three trophies even though the reviews were awful. So awful I didn’t bother to go see it. Go figure.
I hope the Crash victory gives Ryan Phillippe a boost, he’s a good actor in his own right and was terrific a couple of years back in Igby Goes Down, but I believe the last year of Reese Witherspoon Madness has really worn him down. He looked a little perturbed. Reese gave the most touching, genuine acceptance speech of the night. So gracious and I loved her nod to Joaquin Phoenix thanking him for taking that special journey with her on Walk the Line. Making that film was certainly a life-changing event for both of them. Joaquin doesn’t look like he enjoys the big crowd atmosphere and seems to be struggling with some demons judging by the look on his face. I’d love to know who he said “I love you” to when the camera was focused on him. I was rooting for him to win Best Actor, but Philip Seymour Hoffman deserved it too. I was happy to see Rachel Weisz get the Best Supporting Actress award; the Constant Gardner was one of the years best. Clooney’s speech noting that he’s proud to be part of an Academy where Hollywood has a history of taking the lead in exposing social issues was a breath of fresh air. If television and print media won’t investigate and expose the truth, someone has to start a dialogue about the massive injustice and corruption in our society.
A couple of technical notes, the stage was beautiful with the flowing visual so that each presenter made a grand entrance; Jennifer Aniston and Uma Thurman come to mind. Whoever thought playing music under the winners’ acceptance speeches was a good idea should be fired! What a lousy set up. And while some of the clips and “lobby” ads were appropriate and funny, cutting short the acceptance speeches was a poor trade off. You don’t want to see winners prattle on, but when they’re rushed it robs the viewers the chance to see a snapshot of what makes these people tick. After all, for many this is the one time they will stand in front of millions with an Oscar grasped in their hand, let them relish the moment and thank the legions who’ve helped them achieve this marvel.
So this year the Academy got it mostly right, for a change! No big sweeping winner just a lot of glory to go around. We should be so lucky as to have another such year in 2006. Question: Is it really hard out here for a pimp??
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