P is for...

Pearls!

I'm a little unusual. I didn't get an engagement ring when Zach proposed. Or any time after that. I got pearls instead, a necklace and a bracelet. And I love them!

I actually didn't want a ring. Really, I wanted a kayak, but I think he wanted something more romantic, more traditional. ;) We had a conversation several months before he proposed (I honestly wasn't even think marriage at that point, so no attempts to say I was being subtle!) Talking about jewelry, I mentioned I didn't like diamonds, and really didn't like rings that much in general. Plain bands are fine, but not ones with stones. They never fit right on my fingers, so they end up spinning on my finger and I end up fiddling with them non-stop, or just not wearing them at all. And for stones, I really prefer "natural" jewelry - jade, semi-precious stones, pearls (especially peacock or grey ones), and so one. I like gemstones, I think they're pretty; they just aren't really my style.

Also, I'm an active, hands-on, hands-in-everything sort of person. I used to work in an environmental consulting company and was often in the woods for my job, muddy up my arms halfway to my elbows. And I still work in a very hands-in-everything sort of job. I hike, I cave, I swim, I do karate. And the thought of wearing jewelry everyday that was worth (in practical terms) several car payments or several months rent honestly made me nervous! I think I'd have ended up paranoid about losing it, had he gotten a 'regular' piece of engagement jewelry for me. I'd probably have just never worn it, and then what's the point of having spent all that money for something I'd never wear?

So Zach came up with the pearls idea all on his own. They're peacock colored freshwater pearls, so there all sorts of different hues in them. I love how they match so many different tops I have. Mom was actually surprised when he proposed - she knew about the pearls, but hadn't realized that there would be a question attached to them. She knew I was a little unusual with the wedding stuff, but hadn't realized I would be that nontraditional. :) I love them. I don't wear them all the time, obviously, but I do wear them a good bit (definitely every time I dress up). Certainly wear them much more than I'd ever have worn a ring! :)

PS - P is also for Penguins, but that goes without saying, right? ;)

Review: A Perfect Spy

So we watched this actually back in early June (was the mini-series that drove Zach to ask us to upgrade my Netflix account! "You and your British shows" I believe was the quote) but I had the book on my shelf too. And so after watching the miniseries, I decided to read the book as well, as I hadn't yet. So, a double review here, A Perfect Spy, both book and mini-series - that's how I justify to myself, having a movie review on Thursday instead of Monday :)

You'll laugh at this, but the reason I had purchased the book in the first place was because Dad had it on our shelf at home. Also had Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and another Le Carre which I can't remember now, but I remember looking at the shelf when I was little and seeing those books. The bright red and yellow dust jacket on A Perfect Spy (pictured above left) is hard to forget. Then while I was in SC, I went to the local library system's Used Book Sale and found the same edition there for sale. Sunday at the Book Sale was 1/2 Price, so already inexpensive books were even cheaper- I made out like a bandit!!! Since A Perfect Spy was about a buck, I decided it was worth it as a silly reminder of home. (Yes, I was incredibly homesick in SC, and Horrible Job didn't make it any easier, so I appreciated any reminder of home during my time there!)

So, yes, now that I have both read the book and watched the miniseries, here are my thoughts. :)

For both, the plot is the same. This was a miniseries that reflected the book very well - no crazy additions or alterations to make the story "better," according to movie standards. BBC has done very good jobs with several John Le Carre works. I LOVE Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with Alec Guinness, and Smiley's People, also with Guinness, was another great one. The whole story of A Perfect Spy revolves around Magnus Pym, a senior spy in Britain's Eastern Europe set-up, who has turned up missing from his post. He has been a double agent for the majority of his career, thriving on betrayal and reinvention of himself. Now, Pym has reached a crisis in his life, and has retreated into his past, looking back at those events and people who taught him about betrayal, lies, deceptions, and all those other features that have made him into a Perfect Spy.

The book was very long, but very good. I always tried to read at least a little before bed, if I couldn't squeeze in more in the day. I know that in how I've described it above, it sounds like some boring had-to-read-in-high-school, search-for-self sort of stories, but it's much more interesting than that. It's set in a spy chase. We don't know exactly how much Pym has done, how deep his betrayal is, who's going to catch him first (the British or the Czech). It's not a spy-story like James Bond, but Le Carre never is. No explosions, no car chases, no master villains with laser cannons, but spy stories nonetheless.

I liked the mini-series, but I don't think it's one for the shelf. It's very true to the book, which I really liked, in retrospect, because it gave the story all the layers it needed. At the same time, however, the miniseries could become almost painfully slow. It is paced very very slowly, and understandably, since so many events in Pym's lifetime need to be included to understand how he arrives where he is at the end of the story. One of the tricks he used in the book to overcome any slowing of the story was to hop around in time. The book begins with the same scene as the movie, with Pym's pursuers closing in. In the book, however, we return to that time over and over, interspersing scenes of his pursuers with scenes of Pym's reflections, until everything draws to a simultaneous close. In the movie, we are introduced in that scene, but then follow Pym's life straight through until we arrive back at the opening scene in time for the finale.

The other aspect of the book I missed in the movie was the characters' thoughts. There was a lot of Pym's formation as a spy that was internal - you can see the events in the movie, but you are losing out on the thought process involved. A lot of Pym's reactions, his molding of himself to suit the different situations he found himself in, his attempts to be exactly what everyone needed of him, no matter how conflicting those roles are... these are very important aspects of Pym's development, but can only be handled superficially in a filmed format (filmed monologuing can quickly become cartoon-villain like). And it wasn't just Pym's thoughts I missed - almost all the characters had train of thought sections. It gave a well-rounded view of how Pym arrived at where it was, as well as adding suspense to the story (two of his pursuers were ones whose thoughts were displayed regularly, as they tried to figure out who and how much he had betrayed and where he had then disappeared to).

As for other aspects of the miniseries, they are exceptional. It is brilliantly casted. I didn't much care for Peter Egan as the lead, honestly - he just wasn't as charismatic as Pym needed to be. Not that he was bad in the role, but he was just missing that something, and that was one character description which was repeated often in the book, how Pym could make anyone laugh, make anyone love him. Egan just didn't have that quality. The rest of the cast was awesome, though. Alan Howard as Jack Brotherhood (Pym's mentor and British controller) was exactly as the book has written him, only missing the white hair. And Rudiger Weigang was perfect as Axel (Pym's Czech controller). Weigang even has the look of Axel, as described in the book. Ray McAnally played Pym's con-man father, and was another awesome casting move. He has the charisma to seem a believable charmer, the characteristic Egan lacked. To give you an idea of how well these three actors suited their roles, in reading the book, I was hearing their voices in my head. Didn't quite have that from Egan's performance. That's always a good sign for me in how well a actor suits a role from a book I love :)

Overall:

The miniseries: 3.5 of 5. Very well done, some beautiful scenery and wonderful acting, but I don't think I'll get it for the shelf, though. When I want to revisit these characters, I'll pick up the book instead.

The book: 5 of 5. A great read. Was very hard for me to put down at times. You don't necessarily like the main character, but it's more an absence of liking, rather than a dislike. He makes an interesting study, I suppose - he's lying and deceiving, but in a search for self, for love. You are drawn in, trying to understand him as he's trying to understand himself, all in the setting of a spy chase. Was a very interesting read.

O is for...

Oregon!

No, I've never live here, and I've only visited once, but it was a really, really good trip with lots of fond memories.

I had a business trip out there last summer, and got to play tourist a little while I was there. I saw some of Portland, the coast (above), Mt Hood, the Columbia River Gorge (way above), Multnomah Falls, actual tracks on the Oregon Trail, and as much other stuff as I could pack into a trip just under a week and still get my work done. :) Even had a quick afternoon trip up to Mt St Helen's, just across the state line in Oregon.

The pictures below are from the International Rose Garden in Portland. A beautiful garden!! One of the most beautiful I've ever seen. Apparently Portland is the ideal climate for roses, not too hot or humid, so they get tons of roses all the way into October. All I could think of when I was walking through it, was the line from The Secret Garden about "curtains and fountains of roses." I loved the Shakespeare Garden too, a side garden off the main test garden. All the roses there are ones named for characters in Shakespeare's plays (like the Prospero rose), and the non-rose plants in there are ones specifically mentioned in his works (oak, etc.) It was a really pretty little side garden. Good wedding location too, I learned (one was finishing up as I walking through the gardens - don't worry, I didn't distrub them!)

Forest Park is the largest green space contained within a major city, and a great place to run! So deep green - even greener in my memory, as I live here in the Land of Brown! A great place to go for a run, trails running all through the park. And, yes, I did choose Wildwood Trail for a reason ;) (it's the name of my in-laws' farm)

Multnomah Falls is another pretty stop to do. It's just off the Interstate running through the Columbia River Gorge (a pretty drive in itself). Multnomah is actually one of several waterfalls right there along the Gorge - it's just the tallest. :) There's a nice little trail to walk up to the top of the fall, only about a mile or so ("only" because there are several more miles of trails in the park itself). Not very long, but VERY steep - zig-zagging back and forth like CRAZY up the side of the hill. Still, definitely worth it for the view (and to be able to say you did it!) :)

And as another site-worth-seeing in the Portland area, if you in the least bookish, you MUST stop at Powell's Books. It's an independent bookstore in the area - new stuff and used stuff both. A FULL CITY BLOCK!!! I kid you not! I definitely didn't have nearly enough time there to see everything I wanted too in that store! The picture below is the column at the front entrance to Powell's - good sign, right? :)

I got to see the actual Oregon Trail, because I had to head into eastern Oregon for the job site itself. The Trail had passed right through the town I was visiting for the site, so of course I had a detour after work was done to visit the little museum in the town and learn some more. So many wagons had passed over the same ruts, you can still see them today! I'd never realized that before I went out there - so cool!

Like G (Golden Gate), O is important to be because of the timing of the trip. I had about a week out there last year when I was in Oregon. I was actually sent out there for work with Horrible Job, but was able to squeeze in some tourist time too. Being on the opposite coast put me several hours off of Horrible Job, so I was "safe" from the phone calls for much of the trip. And just being somewhere new was energizing. I had a chance to recharge. Dealing with Horrible Job while planning a wedding in another state was very draining last summer, and my trip out to Oregon (which I would have loved anyway) became that much more important because of the release it offered me.

And yes, I do know I was late on O. Took me a while to think of a good one. Don't worry, though - P will be on time :)

Review: Erin Brockovich

Another movie that got added to the list based on Oscar-winning performances. I love those lists that AFI and different magazines publish from time to time - top 100 movies, top 100 performances, etc. Like lists of classic books that you're "supposed" to have read, I like using those lists as starting points to expand my little world. One of those "Hey, I liked that movie, and didn't think I would have. Maybe I'll like another of that director/writer/actor/genre" sorts of things.

Zach likes dramas and real-life stories, so he made sure it was higher on the list, too. ;) So, here you are: Erin Brockovich.

It's a simple David v. Goliath story, really. Erin Brockovich is a single mother of 3, recently employed as a file clerk by a law firm. In filing some real estate paperwork, she discovers some medical evidence in the file as well, and begins investigating. This work leads to an enormous law suit against the power company whose plant in the town was leaking toxic metals into groundwater. A simple plot, but a very well done movie.

The focus of the movie was really more on the work that was done, not the actual trials - a refreshing twist for Hollywood. We got much more of the research and door-to-door aspects of the case, instead of courtroom scenes dragging on and on.

The writing is alright. Erin's a bit fouler-mouthed than what would be believable in real life (what job would put up with such tantrums, and what mother cusses so much in front of her kids??), but Roberts is good with the passionate, street-wise sort of characters. Oh, and I know the focus was on Erin as the main character, but her sharp tongue did get a little tiring sometimes. She definitely had some good lines in the movie, but there were stretches when it was several scenes of her sharp lines and people's reactions, and that was about it. I have the same frustrations with some sitcoms, too, come to think of it. Good lines should be spread around characters, in my opinion.

The casting was superbly done. Julia Roberts did a very good job with the character. Erin's not an idealist or do-gooder - she's actually abrasive and antagonistic and foul-mouthed, an unusual heroine. Roberts (of whom I'm really not a fan) did a very good job with the role. We see Erin's conflicts and frustrations and triumphs played out very well. She's really the character that holds the whole story together. Well, she and Ed Masry (Albert Finney's role). I have to say - I love Albert Finney!! So subtle in his characterizations. He's wonderful to watch as he deals with Erin's mood swings and tantrums and successes against the system. His reason and logic balances out Erin's passionate outbursts beautifully He was nominated for a Supporting Actor Oscar for that role, and he definitely deserved it. I haven't seen Traffic, so I can't compare Finney's role to Benicio Del Toro's performance (he was the one who won that year), but I bet it was a close race!

Steven Soderbergh is a great director, and I'm noticing I like his movies more and more. This was beautifully directed. Takes a nice touch to make an environmental contamination case into watchable entertainment, but this was handled well. I knew I liked Ocean's Eleven, but I'm finding more movies of Soderbergh's that I like too. And 2000 was a great year for him - 2 Oscar-nominated directing performances (Traffic and Erin Brockovich - Traffic won the Oscar) and 3 Oscar-nominated parts (Julia Roberts, Albert Finney and Benicio Del Toro) with 2 wins! Gotta keep my eyes out for more of his work coming up!

I think the only aspect I didn't really like was George, Erin's boyfriend. I realize he was necessary to show all aspects of Erin's life at the time, and Aaron Eckhart did a good job with the role, but it just seemed unnecessary to the story at times. So much of the rest of the story was involved with the job and the case, that the romance seemed out of place at times. A little objection, but that's how it felt.

Oh, and Robert's wardrobe. Yes, she's supposed to dress like a... well, like she did in Pretty Woman, let's put it that way. But (and I know I'm being petty here), that's a LOT of different mini-skirts for a woman with 16 dollars in the bank. Just a pettiness on my part, but that was a bunch of different costumes to establish what could have been done with about half as much.

Some neat trivia about the movie:

• Most of the extras playing the plaintiffs in the case (the scenes at the barbecue and the town meeting) actually WERE plaintiffs from Hinkley.
• Eric Brockovich had a cameo as a waitress in an early scene. In the DVD extras, she described it as an out-of-body experience, watching a scene from her life as an observer.
• The judge in the Barstow courtroom scene is the judge from the actual hearing. He had retired, but came out of retirement to appear in the movie.
• Aspects of the story not in the movie, but seen in the deleted scenes: Erin actually got sick to the point of hospitalization from the Cr at Hinkley, and was also dyslexic. Both of these are underplayed in the main movie, but you can see the scenes in the DVD extras. Makes her accomplishments all that much more incredible.
  

Overall: 5 of 5. Not one I want on my shelf, but a very well done movie. Beautifully directed, and good performances from the leads make it a worthwile watch. Just not one I'd watch time and again.

Oh, yeah, and for anyone who thought I was exaggerating about how desolate it is out here, watch this movie. Hinkley is right outside Barstow (there's actually scenes in the Barstow courthouse), putting it at about 45-50 minutes from where we live. And, this was actually filmed on location here in the High Desert. Just watch the movie, but look at the background as you do. You'll see - I'm not exaggerating a bit!

Our furbabies

This is really just a post to chatter about the fuzzies and how ridiculous they are, and to post some cute pictures. If you don't care about that sorta thing, stop by tomorrow for a new movie review :)

Soooo, Scruffy is fitting in nicely. Acts like he owns the place. Like any good cat, he seriously thinks he does. He sprawls everywhere, and firmly believes that if there is a hand, it is just waiting for a cat to pet. It's really funny too, because he'll get so into rubbing up against your hand, he'll roll over and sprawl, and roll himself right off the edge of whatever he's sitting on. Done it a couple times now, silly kitten. And the best part is the look he gives you when you find him sprawled somewhere, or after he rolls off the back of the couch or something. He has this perfect look of "What? You lookin' at something? I meant to do that!" It's a hoot!

So, he thinks he's lord of the manor, alright. Except when it comes to Joey. For some reason, he's terrified of the bunny (who, may I remind you all, is about 1/3 the size of the cat!) It's really funny to watch, too. He'll crouch and follow after Joey and watch, just like he was hunting or something, but if Joey turns and looks at him or moves in his direction, the cat turns and bolts in the other direction!! A true scaredy-cat! Seeing them watch each other from across a room, though, is amusing in itself - you can just here the gunfight-showdown music from those old spaghetti westerns echoing around our apartment as they watch each other. Oooo-ee-oo-ee-oooooo, bum-bum-buuuum, ooo-ee-oo-e-oooooo.... (OK, so I think we all realize how hard it is to write out a whistle, but I'm still gonna try!)

Scruffy has also found a new game: Ice Hockey. At least that's what I call it. I dropped an ice cube on the kitchen floor the other day. He was thrilled!! Batted that thing all over the kitchen. And I mean seriously launching himself after the little ice cube! He gets quite confused though, when he knocks it "out of bounds" (into the carpeted living room) where it doesn't slide so easily anymore. Hours of entertainment right there, lemme tell you!

And the bunny, meanwhile, is as cute as ever! My baby buns :) He's become quite a little beggar, too! Maybe because I've been spoiling him a little (only a little, mind you). Don't want him to feel neglected with the new arrival in the house. He LOVES his papaya treats. They're good for bunnies, too - the enzymes in the papaya helps them digest well, so they don't get hairballs. My normally aloof little buns will be solidly underfoot if he even suspects you have a papaya treat in your hand :)

We've come to the conclusion that we just have nutty pets. But, they're an insanity that suits our own :) We might be stuck in the middle of nowhere, with nothing at all going on 'round us in town, but with entertaining critters like these two living with us, we'll certainly be entertained while at home!

Yet another downside to life in the desert

Produce.

I am getting soooooooo tired of the sad little produce we get here. I made a casserole for us last night, and it called for layers of tomatoes, zucchini, and then we added a layer of yellow squash, to make it good and veggie-ful. It came out really nicely, actually (the casserole, I mean)... but that's besides the point. We had to run to the store to get the last of the ingredients we needed (like the tomatoes, zucchini, and squash). At the store, they were the saddest little zucchini I've ever seen!!! A zucchini's 12 or 14 inches or so, usually, right? At least be the time you see them in the store, I mean. These were maybe 6 or 8, and tiny! (See the picture below as proof, just in case you think I'm exaggerating - that's a pen and my cell phone for scale) And as Zach pointed out, they were bendable! They were so small, they just kinda flopped around. And the yellow squash weren't much better. About as big, proportionately, and still kinda floppy. It was like someone picked them as soon as they were big enough to be recognizable as squash, and then shipped them over to us. It was very depressing.

And it's not just the squashes! Everything in the produce department is like that. The bananas are always BRIGHT green (I actually heard from someone at the grocery store 'in town' that people around here prefer them that way). But if you get them green and try to let them ripen a little, they'll start getting brown spots before they're even yellow! The berries are the same way, too. Zach would have to make sure he ate the whole thing of strawberries within a day of buying them, because they'd start getting reeeeeally soft if he let them go longer than that. Granted, that's not hard for him to do (man can eat his weight in strawberries in an afternoon!), but he shouldn't HAVE to make a concerted effort to eat it all in a day. And the lettuce, too. I haven't been able to buy just a head of lettuce in about a month. Now, I don't buy iceberg (not as good for you, and not as good tasting, either, at least in my opinion), so I'm looking at green leaf or red leaf or romaine. No other options around here, really. Anyway, none of those options has looked remotely good recently. Already wilting noticeably, and still on the store shelf! I'm having to buy bagged lettuce for Joey and me. Nothing against the bagged stuff (I actually like it for salads, nice and easy) but it's not so good for sandwiches. Being already chopped up as it is, the bagged lettuce just doesn't stay in a sandwich very well. Very frustrating.

Yes, I realize other towns in the desert aren't this bad, and I suppose this would be better if we were in an actual town and not just a tiny outpost on the furthest edges of civilization, but still! We only have one option for groceries here on post (the commissary), and as we don't have a nearby town, it's pretty much the only grocery store within a 45+ minute radius. Pretty sad. I guess they figure they can give us whatever is cheapest in the way of meats and produce, since (technically) the commissary's a privilege, and besides, it's not like we can just go next door to the competing grocery store and have some healthy competition going to ensure we get good service.

Yeah, just another reason I'm not gonna miss this place...

Another silly quiz

Not a personality one. Just a silly one :)

Quiz: Computer Programmer or Serial Killer?

I got 8/10. :) Basically, I went on the principle that if I didn't recognize them, then they were a computer programmer. Yes, I'm warped (maybe just a little). Too many crime documentaries growing up? Naaaahhh...