The Artist et al.

I know that you're really hoping for a Burns Night round-up, but what can one say? It was cool. A small showing, but we had fun. Next time there will be haggis, but as is usually the case (& to quote Phil Lesh), minor technical difficulties became major technical difficulties. We enjoyed Scotch. we enjoyed potatoes, & we enjoyed cheese & smoked salmon. Abby & Annette read poetry. Andy threatened to read poetry. Everyone loved the candlestick collection.

And we enjoyed a viewing of Rob Roy on the new HDTV. Of course, the movie is a bit old to really be in HD, but it is fantastic none-the-less. If anything, the hi-def showed how grainy & piss-poor it looks. We also assumed Revenge of the Sith & Pirates of the Caribbean would look sweet on the new HDTV... we were right!

In other movie news, we watched 2 other films recently... a really good one & a really bad one. One is called The Artist the other is called The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon. I dare you to guess which one is the bad one. Give up? OK, I'll tell.

I can't imagine you'll be surprised to find out that The Artist is really good. We saw it in the screening room @ The Michigan Theater. I kind of wish we'd seen it in the main theater, but it is so good, I kind of don't even care. I'm sure you've heard all about it by now & maybe even seen it. If you haven't seen it yet though, be sure to do so soon. It's a beautiful film w/ lots of fun Frenchesque stuff. It sort of has a Singin' in the Rain meets Mel Brooks' Silent Movie feel to it w/ a bit of Life is Beautiful thrown into the mix for fun. See it if you haven't already.

As for The Lost Treasure of the Grand Canyon, there are 2 main problems involving a sort of misnomer (plus some basic cultural stereotypes that are a tad offensive). 1) The treasure isn't really lost since the ex-pat Aztecs know right where it is. 2) It's not in The Grand Canyon. It's in a canyon, but calling it "grand" even w/ a lower case "g" is problematic. I can't imagine anyone would watch A Hidden Treasure of a Mediocre Canyon... but then I can't imagine many people watched it as it is either. The only reason I watched was because it was in keeping w/ my "Watch anything that features a cast member from Mallrats" policy; however, I don't think even the Lees (Jason or Stan) could have saved this piece of shit. Shannon Doherty's character's father is lost in the SW in the late 19th Century while looking for a city of gold. As we soon learn, he's been captured by the New Mexico Aztecs who are ruled by some version of Quetzalcoatl & his magical powers. In the end, the white people triumph over the nasty Mexicans (& their goofy religion) & all is right w/ the world. Do yourself a favor & avoid this one. Of course, I will watch it every chance I get!

Burns Night... Are You Ready?

So there's been some talk on Facebook about the upcoming holiday, & I think it's finally been decided. We'll host here on the 28th. It's not the actual day, but it's close enough & I have to work late on the the 25th@ Nicola's. We're gonna keep this one a bit smaller & earlier than it's been in previous years... no 50 people until 3:00AM. Sara & I have to work @ 8:30 the next morning so we're gonna call it @ around 10:30 or 11:00, but if we get started around 6:00 w/ dinner & drinks, read some poetry, have some more drinks, & then have a few more drinks, 4 or 5 hours should be fine. This post will be pulling double duty as 1) a blog post announcing the upcoming supper 2) an invite to which you can RSPV in the comments section. (Secretly, it's actually pulling triple duty by coercing y'all to actually post comments.)Pete has already volunteered Daye to bring the haggis. I'll make neeps & tatties, & I think Geo will bring colcannon. I might make some vegan cock a leekie soup too. The rest of you can bring other Scottish stuff... & some Scotch. (Please remember that Sara is GF & vegetarian so if there is an option for what you're bringing, make it happen!) Also, we'll do this sans kids.Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o' the puddin-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye wordy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.