Vampin' it up

One of my Christmas presents was the set of all three "From Dusk Till Dawn" movies. Nothin' says Christmas like a good vampire movie! We watched the first one the other night, and I had forgotten how good it is! It's always been one of my favorite vampire movies, and it was fun to revisit it after a few years.

Spoilers ahead, along with some language

George Clooney and Quentin Tarentino play a couple of brothers, Seth and Richie Gecko, who are crooks and killers, and need to get to Mexico to meet a guy for a "business" deal. They hijack the motor home of a preacher named Jacob (Harvey Keitel), and his two kids. They make it to Mexico, and get to the meeting place, which is a biker bar and strip club called the Titty Twister. As the evening progresses, they find out that these girls really suck...and not in a good way!

This movie is just a heck of a lot of fun. There is plenty of subtle humor, as you can see in this exchange between Jacob and one of the bikers:

Jacob: Has anybody here read a real book about vampires, or are we just remembering what a movie said? I mean a real book.

Sex Machine: You mean like a Time-Life book?

I told Ken that all the great horror movies have a touch of dark humor. I liked this conversation, where Seth has just been through a very rough night:

Carlos: So, what, were they psychos, or...

Seth: Did they look like psychos? Is that what they looked like? They were vampires. Psychos do not explode when sunlight hits them, I don't give a fuck how crazy they are!

End of spoilers

I was surprised to see that this movie was made in 1996--I thought it was quite a bit earlier. This was made during George Clooney's "ER" time period (1994-2000), so it was when he was just starting to make the transition to movies and away from TV. Even though his character is a killer, you can't help but like him, because he ends up doing the right thing and being a bit of a hero. It's hard to dislike George, though, isn't it? Quentin Tarentino is great as the slimy Richie, and I always like Harvey Keitel--remember The Fixer in "Pulp Fiction?" I'm not a big fan of Juliette Lewis, but she was good in this, and Cheech Marin plays not one but three roles (the hawker outside the club is a riot). The guy who plays Sex Machine is Tom Savini, the legendary horror movie makeup and special effects guy who went on to act and direct.

We may have George Clooney in this movie, ladies, but the guys have Salma Hayek and her dance. I told Ken, "I'm a girl and even I have to admit that's hot!"

It's not a movie for the faint-hearted, because there is plenty of foul language, lots of blood and decapitations, melting, gooey vampires, and junk like that. It also has a totally kickass soundtrack, which I think I'm going to have to look for. This is a modern classic vampire movie, ranking right up there with "The Lost Boys." Hey, now that I think about that movie, there were a couple of brothers in that one, the Frog brothers. In "From Dusk Till Dawn," we have the Gecko brothers. I wonder if that was an homage?

Here's the trailer, and if you like this kind of movie, this is a great one. Thanks for the present, Honey!

Are you well? Plus poll results!

Today I went up to Buchanan, Michigan, to Ken's workplace nuclear generation headquarters. AEP sponsors a wellness program for employees and spouses, and you get a cholesterol screening, glucose, and several other tests. Also a free flu shot. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that while my cholesterol is slightly above normal, and my LDL (the bad stuff) is a little high, my HDL (the good stuff) is so high that my ratio is "good to ideal." My triglycerides are also normal. The person we talked to about our results said that my HDL levels are those of someone who works out every day. What the heck? I don't work out at all! She said it can also indicate a high metabolism, so that must be the deal. That runs in my family, so thanks, Mom and Dad!

My bone density is also still low, so she mentioned a couple of supplements I think I'll try to find. My blood pressure is great. My Body Mass Index is "desirable," but my percent body fat is "poor," so it's time to start using our home gym! And I did indeed start using the elliptical today. Good grief, I thought my legs were going to snap off! I've got some work to do, that's for sure. However, I'm glad about getting started, and I'm glad I did this screening. And I got my flu shot, to boot! I give AEP huge credit for offering this program. As added incentive, if you sign up for their wellness program and go through this screening, they give you a $100 gift card. Is that sweet, or what? So Ken gets one, and I'll get one, too. THEN, if we enroll in health coaching, and meet two goals, we each get...another $100 gift card! The woman we spoke with said they're pretty easy goals, too, like eating more fruits and vegetables. I've already decided to start working out, so there's one right there. I wonder if finding a calcium supplement I can tolerate will count, too?

I have only one complaint about the whole thing. They did fingersticks! Ugh, I hate those, and they hurt worse for me than a needlestick. I have great veins, I'm not afraid of needles, and I'd be happy to take a poke in the arm over a poke in the finger!

I was glad to get my flu shot, too. I'd always gotten it for free at the lab, so when I saw that it was $30 at a local clinic, I was bummed. Thank you, AEP! Everyone IS planning on getting their flu shot, right? Even if you aren't in a high risk group--and since I no longer work with patient specimens, I'm not--if you're around someone who is, protect them from getting the flu from you. (For example, my parents are in their eighties, so they are at risk.) It can also stop the transmission of the virus and reduce the risk of an epidemic or pandemic. Influenza can be a killer, folks. Uh-oh, looks like I've got an entry to work on! Spanish Lady, anyone?

After I got back to South Bend, I stopped by the catering place and paid the balance for our dinner this Saturday. It looks like we'll end up with 110 people, so it's a good turnout! The woman I had met with before wasn't there--she'd just stepped out to run a business errand--so I met with a very nice young man named Travis. He ran the card, then we chatted for a moment. He said he'd probably see me Saturday, because he's the chef! After I got home, I had an email from Ken to up the number of people, so I called and talked to Debbie (who I met with last week). I said that Travis had been very nice and took good care of me, and Debbie said, "Actually, he's my son!" So that was pretty cool--sounds like a family-owned business, and I couldn't have been more impressed with both Debbie and Travis. I hope his cooking will be equally as impressive!

One last thing for now. The other day, I put up a poll asking if Obama's pick as his Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, is a hottie. Feel free to keep voting because the poll is not closed, but as of this evening and after 75 votes, America has spoken: Rahm Emanuel is officially a hottie. Results were overwhelmingly in favor of his hottie status, with a whopping 84% thinking yeah, I'd do him...and 16% saying, nope, not my cup of tea. I thank you all for participating, and I have to say that your comments were very entertaining! I hope you don't mind that I had a little fun with this, because I think it was good for us all to get a chuckle out of it. I hope that Congressman Emanuel wouldn't mind my little poll, either, but based on the results, I'm sure he'd be fairly happy about it.

So...who's next? Will Indiana Senator Evan Bayh get an appointment? Doubtful, but he's definitely a good-looking guy. George Clooney and Matt Damon were big Obama supporters...will there be spots for them? Can foreign-born people serve on the Cabinet or be appointed to government positions? If so, I'd like to lobby for Daniel Craig. This administration could be a dream come true! (wink)

With apologies to my dear husband...you know you're my one and only, dear!