We are not trapped or locked up in these bones. No, no. We are free to change. And love changes us. And if we can love one another, we can break open the sky.
Walter Mosley
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Tags: Quoting
Flaked – I love Will Arnett as a buffoon and a villain, but wow, as a regular, slightly self-absorbed guy slowly coming to terms with being a man, he really shines. Friendship, relationships, the stories we tell, it’s all there.
Nightcrawler – Egads, Jake Gyllenhall, what a creeper-doodle you play in this one! A loner capitalizes on the public’s ever insatiable desire for shock and gore on the news by not only chasing down accidents with a video camera, but making a few of his own. Yikes.
I’m Sorry You Feel That Way – Thoughtful, terribly insightful, and ever so funny, this is my absolute favorite Bill Burr special. Grab some tissues – you might just laugh until you cry!
Master of None – A great show about relationships, dating, feminism, and friendship. Nicely done, Aziz Ansari!
The Wolfpack – Whoa. A group of boys grows up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, near-permanently confined to their apartment with their mother and megalomaniac father. They watch a lot of movies and remake some of their favorites, though the real story, at least to me, is how these boys coped in such isolation and thrived, in their own way.
Man Up – I usually have such terrible luck in the romantic comedy category, but this was really fun. YAY! Jack and Nancy meet when he mistakes her for his blind date, and rather than correct him, she goes along with it because he quotes Hannibal Lecter! Of course there had to be a misunderstanding that could threaten their perfect chemistry, but you know, that’s the shtick!
The Kings of Summer – Three teens build their dream home in the woods to escape their overbearing parents. Tender, fun, silly, sad, and a little bit scary.
People Places Things – A newly single man struggles to parent his daughters, work as a graphic novelist and teacher, and move on with his life after a painful divorce. So very good!
Iris – Oh boy, does this woman inspire me! Imaginative, tireless, and fearless, Iris does everything with aplomb – style icon (great glasses AND turquoise!), interior designer, teacher. She go, go, goes, and gets the job done. Do what you want, be who you are, wear what makes you feel good. Y E S ! !
Short Term 12 – A glimpse into the lives of the residents and staff at a group home for teenagers. It’s a tender fil-um about the ways we are all broken and the ways we make each other better. Not for the faint of heart.
Les Revenants – After waiting for some two years and nearly forgetting much of the plot, Les Revenants (The Returned) returned! Just as creepy and mysterious as the preceding season, this was another binge watch with a satisfying end. Thank you Canal+ for not dragging this series out!
Tags: Movies
We think it is calm here, or that our storm is the right size.
William Stafford
Tags: Quoting
A fun Sunday afternoon in Manitou Springs, a twenty minute drive and decades leap into the past, reminding the hubster and I of every Western tourist stop of our childhood. We wandered and admired the eighties style arcade, old-timey thrift and gift shops, and scads of silver and turquoise (Squee!). Ravenous, we ate at one of those restaurants that just can’t manage to get it together. They were out of cheese dip, smoked trout, three kinds of beer, and quite possibly dropped the hubster’s smoked elk brat on the floor. Thankfully, all tasted delicious and no one fell ill!
Oh, and the spring water was delightfully fizzy…
Tags: Colorado
In the morning, we walk in the thin cold air, marveling and giggling, at blue sky and wondrous sunshine, overflowing from every possible angle, inside, outside. No, we didn’t forget to turn off a light. Even our our basement is aglow in afternoon. This is our life now, the smell and feel of childhood with the wisdom and appreciation of age. Mountains, hills straw yellow and sun bleached, life at 6200 feet. We are here but were elsewhere for so long, or maybe just a moment, it sometimes seems.
Last night, I remembered our Portland house. The kitchen cabinets that we painted the color of water, the window that was half sun and half shade of the patio. How I watched the birds at the bath: hawks, robins, scrub jays, finches & sparrows, bush tits & chickadees. Paris stretched and yawning. Milo catching flies. Our first November, the yard downright boggy and my shoes nearly sucked into the squelch of muck. Sixteen years in that sweet house, every shade of grey and green, I wouldn’t trade it for anything.
And this mess of boxes, wreck of a house and yard, washing dishes on our knees in the shower, I wouldn’t trade for anything either. We are home again.
