Take Your Dog Seriously

Go read this post on Dooce. Especially if you've ever tried to come up with reasons for your dog's inexplicable behavior. It's been a while since I've laughed so hard. Go, Chuck!

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Stuck, again

• For the second time, I am stuck on the wrong side of the state because of bad weather. What happened to my mountain pass karma of the past 15 years? and spring?
• Phhht on rental car companies that are too cheap to even give you a snow scraper. I might have thought more seriously about waiting out the pass closure had I had something besides my hands to clean snow off the car. In reality, though, I am too much the child of my father to contemplate driving through the mountains without chains, something to shovel with, gloves and boots, and food and water. So I'm staying put.
• Now that I'm on my third night in a hotel room with HBO, I've watched five six episodes of In Treatment, and one of John Adams. JA is definintely something I will add to my DVD list--I'd like to watch the entire series. IT is overhwelming, but once I start I can't tear myself away. It absolutely confirms that I am not cut out for psychotherapy and it's a good thing I went in an entirely different direction with my psych degrees. The last episode with Sophie gave me chills.
• My kids are also holding true to form; since I can't get home, they are both sick. Thankfully it doesn't seem to be more than your basic kid virus (fever, congestion, cough), but their track record over the years is quite amazing.

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Not quite yet

Sometimes the kids seem to be growing up really fast. Other times, not so much. This past weekend we were discussing the schedule of activities -- this has been one of those weeks where we have not had everyone home for dinner because of all the practices, meetings, rehearsals, etc. When we got to planning for Easter Sunday, I was running through the list of events: "Well, I have to be at both church services because the choir is singing, but the rest of you can come at the usual time, and then we'll go over to Grandma and Granddad's later in the afternoon for dinner...". Son interrupted and said, "And we're going to have an egg hunt, right? In the morning, like we always do? You're going to hide eggs, aren't you?"

Now, our egg hunts have not been spectacular in any way, either in the quantity of treats or the ingenuity of hiding places. It's always too cold or wet to do anything outside, and anything left in the house has to be up off the floor and out of range of the dog. So 80% of the plastic eggs are visible if you just stand in the center of the living room -- it's no longer a challenge. But even if there are no lingering illusions about a mysterious bunny, evidently the egg hunt has reached the status of tradition.

Bowing to the inevitable, Spouse and I filled up about two dozen plastic eggs and scattered them around the room before we went to sleep on Saturday night. Early Sunday morning, there was no excited child waking us up far earlier than we wanted to; instead it was the alarm I set so I wouldn't be late for the early service. We came downstairs to find the kids waiting patiently, curled up in the big chairs and watching "Mars Attacks!" on TV, with the eggs in plain sight, untouched. Not quite grown up, but closer.

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Wii Rock

Latest obsession in the NWWing household:


Son has been hanging on to the various gift cards that he got for his birthday and Christmas, just waiting for the right thing to come along. Last weekend his youth group had an overnight event and he finally got the chance to try Guitar Hero. He was immediately hooked. Fortunately for me, the local Target had it in stock for the Wii and we didn't have to chase all over town looking for it.

He is quite good at it; I am unbelievably lame, but then maybe that's because I'm only willing to try it when everyone else is either out of the house or asleep, so my practice time has been limited. I don't think Spouse has tried it yet, but the rest of us are in varying stages of addiction. A trip to the game store for a second controller is in the works. I continue to get a kick out of the fact that the playlist is dominated by songs I know from college or high school (or even earlier; this one came out when I was in 6th grade). And some things haven't changed; this song still makes me cringe....

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IMDB movie meme

Time for some distraction - needing to get my mind off stuff that's in the local news. As seen at Are We There Yet?: Of the top 250 movies (as voted by IMDB readers), bold the ones you've seen, and italicize the ones you've seen part of. The first 50 are here - the rest are below the fold.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Shichinin no samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Cidade de Deus (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
19. C’era una volta il West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007)
34. Se7en (1995)
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, Le (2001)
41. American History X (1998)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Departed (2006)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006)
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)




51. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
55. The Shining (1980)
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001)
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
60. Forrest Gump (1994)
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Boot, Das (1981)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. Rebecca (1940)
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. Vita è bella, La (1997)
86. On the Waterfront (1954)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975)
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. Blade Runner (1982)
100. The Great Dictator (1940)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Batman Begins (2005)
103. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
104. Ladri di biciclette (1948)
105. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953)
106. High Noon (1952)
107. Ran (1985)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
109. The Big Sleep (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
111. Notorious (1946)
112. Back to the Future (1985)
113. Fargo (1996)
114. Oldboy (2003)
115. Unforgiven (1992)
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Ratatouille (2007)
119. Mononoke-hime (1997)
120. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
122. Yojimbo (1961)
123. Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Battaglia di Algeri, La (1966)
130. Annie Hall (1977)
131. Die Hard (1988)
132. Into the Wild (2007)
133. Ben-Hur (1959)
134. The Deer Hunter (1978)
135. The Sixth Sense (1999)
136. It Happened One Night (1934)
137. The General (1927)
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
140. Life of Brian (1979)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Smultronstället (1957)
143. Amores perros (2000)
144. Finding Nemo (2003)
145. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
146. The Incredibles (2004)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. The Wild Bunch (1969)
149. Heat (1995)
150. Children of Men (2006)
151. Brief Encounter (1945)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. Juno (2007)
154. The Princess Bride (1987)
155. 8½ (1963)
156. The Graduate (1967)
157. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
159. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
160. The Big Lebowski (1998)
161. Crash (2004)
162. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
163. Stand by Me (1986)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch. (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
170. The African Queen (1951)
171. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. The Thing (1982)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. Gone with the Wind (1939)
175. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
176. Wo hu cang long (2000)
177. Belle et la bête, La (1946)
178. The Gold Rush (1925)
179. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
180. Groundhog Day (1993)
181. The Conversation (1974)
182. American Gangster (2007)
183. Scarface (1983)
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)
192. Sleuth (1972)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
196. Stalker (1979)
197. Glory (1989)
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Grindhouse (2007)
201. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. The Lion King (1994)
204. Hotaru no haka (1988)
205. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
208. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
209. The Lost Weekend (1945)
210. Stalag 17 (1953)
211. Magnolia (1999)
212. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
213. Lola rennt (1998)
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
216. Frankenstein (1931)
217. Out of the Past (1947)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
220. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
221. Casino (1995)
222. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
223. Toy Story 2 (1999)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
226. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Hot Fuzz (2007)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Ikiru (1952)
231. Mou gaan dou (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)
233. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
234. Young Frankenstein (1974)
235. Dial M for Murder (1954)
236. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
237. Rope (1948)
238. Once (2006)
239. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959)
241. The Searchers (1956)
242. In Cold Blood (1967)
243. Ying xiong (2002)
244. His Girl Friday (1940)
245. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
246. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
247. Samouraï, Le (1967)
248. Strada, La (1954)
249. Harold and Maude (1971)
250. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972)


Observations: By my count I bolded 105, or 42%. Hitchcock, yes. Older WWII movies, yes (mostly because Spouse watches them). Recent movies, not so much. My track record for the past several years - really, since I've had kids - is to see only one of the Acadamy Award-nominated films in the theater, and this year was no exception. Juno was it. Most of the italicized films were partial because I came across them on TV when they were already underway, or because they were violent enough that I just couldn't keep going. Foreign language films, also not so much - I haven't lived in a town that has an art house theater in 20 years. Someday I'll have the luxury of enough time to really make use of Netflix.

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February Book Review

February was kind of a slow month for reading. I didn't have my usual energy for plowing through books. I've also resumed reading aloud to the kids at bedtime, and that fills the need to spend a few minutes with a book at the end of the day to disengage my mind. I'm reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows with Son; even though he got the book when it was released last year, he never managed more than a few chapters on his own. Daughter and I are making our way through From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler. This was a book I read many times as a kid. She's liking it a lot, though I made a minor logisitical error. Since she has a loft bed, after she climbs in I read to her from the rocking chair. That makes it hard to show her the illustrations, which are great, and it's taken her a while to recognize when Mrs. Frankweiler is making a side comment to Saxonberg, since she isn't seeing the parentheses (and I'm not that great at changing my voice). I'll have to find another place to sit.

Comments on February's books are below the fold.

I finished two more books in the Kathleen Mallory series by Carol O'Connell. The Man Who Cast Two Shadows mixed in some magic and the occult, and showed a different side of one of the regular characters, Charles. Killing Critics was set in the world of New York art galleries; the "murder-as-performance-art" theme was quite creepy. The ending had a surprise plot twist, so I'm eager to see what Kathleen does next.

Carl Hiaasen is always good for some laugh-out-loud moments, and Stormy Weather was no exception. Skink, the former governor, reappears in this one - what a completely bizarre character. I have to admire the imagination that came up with him.

Two Cups of Tea was my book group's pick for this month. I really liked the book, though I found myself wishing it was more about the remote villages in Pakistan and Afghanistan and the people there, and less focused on Greg Mortenson. Not that I don't have tremendous admiration for what he has done, but the book made it seem like he was the only person who possibly could have done this. I am curious to learn more about how his work is going given the recent political developments in Pakistan. I do believe, though, that it will take efforts like this, on a much larger scale, if we are ever going to repair the reputation of the United States in the Muslim world that our government's actions has created.

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Short month, long days

February technically has fewer days, but it's got to be the longest month of the year. The month started out rather frantically, what with getting stranded in Seattle by the weather. After that it never really recovered. No one was really dramatically ill, but all of us felt off - the kids each missed a day of school and I left work early several times with a migraine. The sky is grey, the hills are grey-brown, and everything in town is coated with dust from the road sand that hasn't yet been cleaned up. Lots of my time at home was spent with Son, trying to get him caught up with homework and coaching him through assignments with very muddled directions. Daughter got caught up in some ugly "mean girl" dramas at school, and was on the receiving end of some behavior that bordered on bullying, leaving her very bewildered and unhappy. I remember that crap from 5th grade on, but not in 3rd grade! We're all out of sorts and ready for spring. Now we need to survive the time change this weekend.

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