And Now...

Hi, folks. I've been trying to come up with a unifying theme for today, but the search has been as fruitless as a physicist with a Heisenberg complex, so this will just be a bouillabaisse of randomness. Hope you don't mind.(yeah, I know that doesn't make any sense, but that also seems oddly appropriate)

OK, movies. Whenever the COA goes to visit her dad in Mississippi we get to go to the movies, and this holiday break has been no different. I have already told you about the blood-bath that is Sweeney Todd, but the other flick we've seen in the actual cinema is I Am Legend. I've actually seen it twice, and I can recommend it as a good watch. Earth shattering blockbuster? No. Well done, for the most part, and well acted? Yes. Will Smith is a damn fine thespian when he decides to play a character instead of himself. The premise is this: a seeming miracle cure for cancer either kills outright, or turns people into photo phobic zombies. Smith is the sole survivor in New York, and his portrayal of a scientist's decent into solitude induced insanity is quite moving. There are many powerful scenes, including one where yours truly nearly started bawling both times, and some pretty good CGI. I would have liked to have seen a bit more emphasis on Smith's character's lack of empathy for the infected people, but overall it is definitely worth seeing.

On the rental front The Simpson's Movie is hilarious. If you like The Simpsons you'll love the movie. Superbad, on the other hand, is simply awful. Both Mrs. Marius and I have been told that Superbad was hilarious, and while it didn't seem to be my regular cup of celluloid, we figured we'd give it a gander. Firstly it is painfully obvious that the film's makers, and stars by the way, revere Kevin Smith far more than is healthy. Secondly they proved my thesis that Kevin Smith can get away with things on screen that no one else can. My wife has a tolerance for crap cinema that is many orders of magnitude greater than my own, and even she didn't put up a fight when, after about 10 minutes of excruciatingly stupid and gross dialogue, I suggested we watch something else. Consider yourselves warned.

Food. My Mother-In-Law gave me a huge skillet for Christmas, and I couldn't be happier. As I have mentioned before, I am chief cook and bottle washer here at Castle Marius, and I am getting bored with the rotation of Shake-N-Bake chicken, pork, and burgers. I actually read the label on the grated Parmesan and found a nice recipe for a skillet dish with bow tie pasta and ricotta(the most wonderful cheese ever). I jazzed it up with some extra stuff, but it overflowed our small skillet. Now I can, and did, make a boatload of the stuff. In fact, I'm eating some of it now for breakfast. Mmmmmm. So, do any of you have any recipes you'd care to share? I am getting bolder as I discover that I actually have a flair for cooking, and after my rousing success with Stinkypaw's tourtierres I'd love to see what else I can do.

Weather. I apologize to those of you who live in places where it really does get cold for my whining yesterday. All I can say is that even though it does get chilly in the winters down here, an actual freeze is rare. There is one side effect of the cold, however, that I can bitch about. I am a swamp creature, and with the cooler temperatures comes drastically reduced humidity. Most would rejoice in this, but my gills dry out, and I must constantly fear bleeding out through my nose. I once spent a week in Las Vegas, and found the only relief I could get would be to run the shower in my hotel room at its hottest and just sit in the closed bathroom and inhale as much steam as I could.

And lastly, work. Today we start in earnest. An independent film has contracted to shoot on our campus, so I'm building the interior sets on our stage. There will, supposedly, be some 'names' in the film, but the only one I know for sure is Ed Asner(although I'm kinda stoked about that). I'll keep you posted on the ins and outs of the process. I haven't read the script, but it has to do with a gay couple who want to have a baby(sound familiar K?) and the hoops they must jump through to make it happen. Today we begin construction on a pair of 'ejaculation booths' for the sperm bank scene. Sometimes I really love the surreality of my work. :-) If it is permitted I'll post pics.

Now I must get to work. Hope you all have a smooth transition back into the non-holiday reality of every day.

Ramen.

Marius