So, did everyone have a nice 4th of July weekend? Did you all sit back and reflect on our nation’s forefathers and the many sacrifices they made? Did you get misty-eyed taking in the sounds of God Bless America or other various, patriotic tunes? Did you gaze in amazement and splendor as colorful fireworks decorated the dark skies of our free country? I thought so.
A quick summary of my long weekend:
– Thurday night I saw A Mighty Wind, the fourth in a string of “mockumentary” movies from director/actor Christopher Guest. While it may be difficult to ever beat the genius of This Is Spinal Tap, A Mighty Wind comes a close second. Eugene Levy, perhaps the most underrated actor of our time, turns in one of the better performances I’ve seen in quite some time as the loopy Mitch, one half of the legendary folk duo Mitch & Mickey. While one isn’t sure if Mitch’s mental “issues” are due to prolonged drug use or depression, or both, Levy’s portrayal actually makes you believe that he’s like that in real life. That’s good acting. I shouldn’t fail to mention the rest of cast, which was just terrific; Parker Posey, Michael McKean, Fred Willard…….all great. Highly recommded.
– I spent most of Thursday suffering from the horrendous humidity – I sat for most of the day inside, occasionally basking in the glow of one of two of our planet’s best inventions of all time: air conditioning and television. The early evening found me up in Salem, MA for what turned out to be a great little get-together at my friend Dan and Kerry’s place. A nice breeze seemed to be hitting up from up on their third floor deck, and we had good food, good conversation and good drinks. The highlight of the gathering was when everyone autographed the grill. Yes. It’s true.
Saturday found me driving 93.4 miles up to New Hampshire to see my parents, sister, niece, nephew, brother-in-law, the works. Some of the highlights include
a) the power going out right as we ordered a pay-per-view (“Adaptation” – we missed the whole thing). We ended up putting one of those Coldwell camping lights on top of the TV and sitting there talking until the power came back on – right as the movie ended.
b) watching my new favorite show: “Most Extreme Elimnation Challenge.” This is an almost inexplicable show, found on TNN. It’s footage of a Japenese TV show featuring people doing some seriously stupid, dangerous stunts with some amazingly painful wipeouts, but some Americans have gotten a hold of it and have dubbed the whole thing with some almost-inappropriate English. They make up names for all the contestants (example: a Japenese guy named Harvey Weintstein, a “turkey jerker” from west of Chicago) and it also has two hosts, made to look like complete idiots from the dubbing. It’s just a gas.
c) heading out on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire early in the morning yesterday before all the boaters got out there and ruined it. I snapped this picture, a nice early morning shot of the lake….
Song now playing: Olivia Tremor Control – “Paranormal Echoes”