Let’s all go to the lobby!

Things have been a little tense here lately, what with all my proselytizin' and preachin' about health care, so time to back off and be mellow. For now. It's media day! Books, music, and movies.

It was a quiet day here at Nutwood, as my main goal was to finish my book club book, A Bend in the River. (It's due tomorrow!) I was successful, and I even enjoyed the book. Africa is a troubled continent, experiencing many growing pains and with a long way to go towards development. This book was published 30 years ago, and it seems that progress is at a snail's pace, at best. For me, the main premise of the book was how can you reconcile the past with potential? How can a continent with so many tribal differences put that behind them in order to look to the future, while still holding onto their traditions? I liked this one a lot, although the response from those who posted on our Google group seemed more tepid than mine. I look forward to the next book, Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. I've read nothing about it, and haven't read any of the other members' takes on it--I like to see what my own impressions are before I read those of others.

I subscribe to the blog feed of The Daily Nightly, from NBC Nightly News. Brian Williams has been on vacation, but he's back. He's a well-known music fan, and he mentioned one of the songs he was loving while he was on vacation at the Jersey shore: "I Am Sound" by the Dandy Warhols! The Dandys are one of my favorites, and although I love "13 Tales from Urban Bohemia," I think "Welcome to the Monkey House" is my favorite, and that's the CD that "I Am Sound" is on. It also has my theme song, "Scientist." Ha! Really, though, how cool that Brian loves the Dandys!

We've been watching quite a few movies lately, and two were a couple of surprisingly decent horror movies. We were expecting B-movies (which are fun in their own right) but were pleasantly surprised at the genuine creep factor of "Shallow Ground," and the remake of an Asian movie, "Shutter." No, neither was spectacular, but both were not bad. I'm not sure why there is a recent interest in remaking Asian horror movies ("The Ring," "The Grudge"), but "Shutter" falls into that category. Horror movies are always better when you turn out all the lights and enjoy the creepiness. I'll admit to a little bit of heebie jeebies when I turned out the lights on my way to bed...but I survived!

On Saturday night, we watched "Watchmen." Wow! I loved it! I knew very little about it, and have never read the graphic novel. I had only heard a little about it on NPR, and was intrigued by the premise: an alternate reality, in which Richard Nixon is in his third term, and superheroes are a part of history. Thanks to the superheroes, we won the Vietnam war. I thought it was a blast, but also very dark, like the Christian Bale Batman movies (my favorite Batman movies). These superheroes are very flawed, very emotional, and they get a little freaky in the bedroom. The altered history of this movie is certainly a bleak one. (Remember the image of a young hippie girl placing a daisy in a soldier's rifle barrel? Blam blam blam!) I thought it was unusual and intriguing, and was fascinated by it. I look forward to the second installment!

This is my superhero incarnation, Professor Precise Arrow. Click on the picture on my sidebar if you’d like to “superhero” yourself at the Hero Factory. I haven’t figured out my superpowers yet, but I’m thinking they’re somewhat professorial. [grin]