The Big O

Thanks to Virginia and nostalgic vowel-buying amusements, I have a letter obligation to fulfill. She has challenged me with an "O" and I have to list ten items I love that begin with that letter. I could just as well tell you "O" things I do not love (onions, Oreo cookies), but that is not my task. Herein I present my "O" preferences, in no particular order...

1. The Office - Brilliant original comedy from Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant. I've loved how the American version was able to first copy then extend the British show and remain hilarious. Very excited that next season in US is to be super-sized.
   
2. Orange drinks - I couldn't drink the stuff all the time. I love it because it's a rare treat. The high brow version would be (San Pellegrino's) Aranciata or Orangina, but I could just as well savor an orange Fanta (especially the European recipe). Actually, this ought to be extended...
   
3. Orange foods - I love eating orange foods and drinks together. That sounds more than a tad odd. I did not just make this up, ask David. My favorite beverage with cheese is orange juice (yum). I can imagine little better as a guilty pleasure than a bit of boxed macaroni-and-cheese with a bit of sweet and tangy orange-colored beverage. Yes, very odd.
   
4. Outlander - this book and its sequels by Diana Gabaldon captured my (romantic) imagination a few years back and I've often found their characters in my thoughts since then. Though I have been frustrated by many of the events, and the basic premise is implausible (it involves time travel between 20th and 18th centuries), the story reads so very true and fascinating that it's hard to shake once you've entered the world. I suspect diehard fans of Harry Potter feel the same about Rowling's work.
5. The ocean - the sights, smells, feel. I love the water, especially from a coastline or on a boat. Relaxing in a row boat streaming my fingers in the water beneath, dipping my feet over the side of a sailboat as we heel, or sitting on a beach as gentle waves lap around me...ahh. Bliss.
   
6. The outdoors - much like the ocean, only without the inherent wetness associated with it. Fresh air is at the core of this love of mine, but I also love the expansiveness of the outdoors, the sense of endless possibilities. I get antsy and down when I'm cooped up inside for too long. Look back over my early Beaumont existence and you will see what I mean. My dream home and lifestyle incorporates indoor/outdoor living. Again, bliss.
   
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest - a beautiful story. Yes, it's depressing in parts, but there is also a lovely hopefulness to it. OFOTCN is one of several examples of 20th century literature that puts me in a mood and place in my mind that is youthful, fairly simple, engaged about the realities of life but not despondent about them. Sigh. I feel similarly about Steinbeck's Cannery Row, Stegner's Angle of Repose, and the various short stories and novels of Salinger. There is hope and acceptance intermingled in such stories, and they remain my most cherished reading.
8. Onomatopoeia - I love the little sound I make to mimic David's computer when he is "pinged" - bloop! Or the feel of saying "bzz" like a bee. Again, I'm not just making this up for purposes of a list here. Ask David.
   
9. Orlando Bloom as Legolas in Lord of the Rings. I'm not sure this falls into love level, but I definitely liked him there and I need a ninth "O". Sometimes Orlando can be a bit too pretty in movies (though sometimes that prettiness is quite nice to look at). And in real life he seems to prefer that not-filled-in-enough facial hair thing going on. But in LOTR his Legolas is lovely and fierce, kind of a marvel to watch, ethereal, which works for the character. I want to be able to fire arrows as he does.
   (FYI, I had contemplated putting as my #9 the story of Orlando, which is a book by Virginia Woolf then a mesmerizing movie starring Tilda Swinton, each of which is fascinating in its own way. But as my time spent with either work was long ago, my infatuation might not hold up at this moment. I'd rather not express love now only to have to withdraw it later. That would be fickle and cruel.)
   
10. Oddity - my own, especially, but I do appreciate it in others as well. Note that I did not say "outrageous" or "obnoxious". Oddity is on the edge of things, outside the mainstream but not completely alien. It's got a fun side, and as an often all too serious sort of person, I embrace fun where I can.
    

That's all. Were you looking for another O item? I am sorry to disappoint if that's the case, for I am spent. State your own "O" preferences in comments, please.

Tasteless

Truly I shouldn't even honor the following news story or the incident behind it with a link. But something about its utter repulsiveness makes me want to share. Share the feeling of being repulsed, that is. It involves salad dressing at the school cafeteria and a teenage boy. Let your imagine go, then...
Read at your own risk.

Television

Not that you asked, but...

I am not one of those Lost viewers who has abandoned faith or interest in the show. Sure its tone has changed, but I'm still hooked and forming grand theories to explain it all. I honestly don't get why so many people are decrying its supposed demise. Yet again I find myself holding what in the public sphere appears to be a minority opinion (my phrasing there hints that I don't believe myself to be significantly alone, in a variety of views, but I digress...). So imagine my delight when I came across this thoughtful analysis of the philosophical underpinnings of Lost and its main characters (naming on the show is not random, with characters like Sawyer, Locke, Rousseau, etc). Highly recommended reading for all viewers. [PS The season finale was great!]

In other television news, I will admit to getting a tad verklempt at the conclusion of Gilmore Girls. Sure the final episode drew on the show's cliches left and right, but it was touching and earnest and I liked it.

Big Apple

Now posted on my picture pages are photos of last week's jaunt to New York. What I didn't include were the unpeopled pics, such as World Trade Center site all lit up at night and bustling with construction, or the shots I took of Statue of Liberty, New York skyline, and Yankee stadium (old and new). If anyone cares I can put up a few of those. I'm trying to chronicle my year and more specifically the people in it, so hopefully you'll find new pics there on a regular basis in months to come. Do visit. I like visitors, of the real and virtual variety.

Nested

Check out the falcon family (parents and three recently hatched chicks) living atop San Jose's City Hall with this fabulous webcam. Oh my goodness, I could sit and watch them for hours! Blast it, I do not need new obsessions. :)

Dumb

Did you hear this news story about a Michigan police officer who called 911 after ingesting Alice B. Toklas brownies made with stolen evidence? Go to the link for the story or listen to the 911 call yourself--listen as the guy says time is going "very, very, very slow" and states repeatedly that he thinks he and his wife are dying. I'll just say this: if you've ever in your life found the antics of mind-altered people amusing (admittedly the "laughing at" rather than "laughing with" variety) then this story is for you. Sadly hilarious. As you'll see, the officer in question ended up quitting and neither he nor his wife were charged.

Thirds

At long last, I have returned to the movie theater. I know you were worried, waiting anxiously over the absence of new cinema in my life. I appreciate your (pretend) concern. ;)

Spiderman 3 is a logical and stylistic continuation of Spiderman 2. (By the way, if you saw neither 1 nor 2 or are just a bit shaky on what happened last, watch the credits and you'll get all the necessary plot events from parts 1 and 2.) In part 3 we find Spiderman has been embraced by the city and attained hero status; even the cranky newspaper editor is dragged into giving praise to Spidey's heroic efforts. What ought to be even better for Peter Parker (Spiderman) is that he can now be honest with his love, Mary Jane Watson, about his alter ego life. Alas Peter gets a bit too drunk on hero worship at the same time M.J.'s promising stage career takes a turn for the worse. She finds a ready listener in old friend Harry, who harbors a grievance with Peter/Spiderman going back to movie 1. Added to all this are several new and in some ways nuanced bad guys: a thief who becomes a sandman and a competitive photographer who is consumed by aggression due to a body-covering alien symbiote (you read that right). But really Peter/Spiderman's greatest enemy in this movie is himself.

On the good side Spiderman 3 makes sense from beginning to end, with a mix (albeit jumpy) of light and serious moments a la part 2. Peter Parker is in a funk but he's as likable as ever (though the black eyeliner and floppy bangs on Maguire during Peter's dark phrase really didn't work for me). On the downside, there were few truly dramatic moments. I never got the sense Spiderman was really in danger, even though he was in very dangerous situations. There seemed to be too many characters and subplots at a few points in the film, even though all were logically incorporated. Finally, the movie felt long to both David and I. So I recommend S3 to those who have been following along if for no other reason then because it is a logical extension of the story. But for someone just arriving at the franchise or with lukewarm feelings about S2 (which was a good fun action/romance movie in my opinion), I hate to say it, but you won't miss anything if you skip this film.

SOLD!

Our Beaumont lives are officially ended. We pulled out the last of our things from the house, turned over the keys, and signed all the forms. The day was largely uneventful, a bit sad. I got teary eyed as I waved goodbye to the sites which, unless I find myself taking the deep Southern route cross country, I am not likely to ever take in again. Farewell kindly neighbors, Grant and Mickey, good bye to the Wal Mart with crazy squawking birds (inside), tootle loo "Apoplectic" church (David misread Apostolic). The people we knew there are basically all elsewhere, so the lingering memories we have seem to be of restaurants. We drove by and I waved at the fabulous Frankies, IHOP, Rao's, Novrosky's, the pecan farm, even the Janis Joplin sign (I never actually went to the museum). Apropos of our time in Beaumont, we had a surreal moment on our final day there, as David brought the (pregnant) notary to tears. I'm still scratching my head over that one. Anyway, goodbye cute little comfy Beaumont house. I enjoyed our time together.