Pandora's Box

I’ve been waiting for Louise Brooks’ most famous silent movie "Pandora’s Box" to come out on DVD since DVD technology was invented. On my birthday this week I got two copies of it as birthday presents (I’ll have to exchange one for something else)!

In addition, last night "Pandora’s Box" was also playing at the New Beverly theater and Nicole and I went to see it! As always, it was a brilliant film, but the accompanying music track was crap. It was merry during the miserable moments and during the comic relief it was dirges. But it’s been years since I last had the opportunity to see this movie in a theater and it was especially nice to introduce Nicole to the New Beverly.

Walking to the car afterwards, Nicole said, "Does this movie bring out the weirdoes or do those people always come to this theater?"

"What do you mean?" I said.

"There was the moaning guy somewhere in the back, I could smell the alcohol coming off the guy behind us, and the guy in front of us was sprawled over into the next row."

"I didn’t notice them, baby," I said.

Hopefully one of the four music track options on my new DVD will be a winner.

Inland Empire

According to Internet Movie Database (imdb.com): “During a conversation between David Lynch and Laura Dern, Laura mentioned that her husband was from the Inland Empire (an area east of Los Angeles County, including Riverside and San Bernadino County). Lynch confesses he stopped listening to what she was saying because he loved the sound of the words "Inland Empire", and finally decided on these words as the title of his movie because "I like the word inland. And I like the word empire."

The whole movie is like that, an abstract and seemingly random collage. I don’t think there are fifteen consecutive minutes of immediately comprehensible film. 172 minute movie. It makes “Eraserhead” look like a commercial film.

At the beginning of the movie the plot seems to be about an actress named Nikki (Laura Dern) who gets a part in a movie without knowing that it’s cursed. Trying to describe the rest of the “plot” doesn’t seem worthwhile, or even possible at this point. It’s shot on video, which is often effective in this movie, but equally often tough to watch.

There are several non-sequitur scenes that are very effective in the context of the movie (if that makes any sense). There’s a scene in which a Japanese street person sitting on Hollywood Boulevard tells another street person about her sexually abused prostitute friend with an absurdly severe wound. After literally hours of incomprehensible sequences, this brief narrative is hilarious. At another point, after an endless series of trips down dark corridors, a group of trashy girls in house dancing to "The Loco-Motion" is a huge relief.

Speaking of dark corridors, this is the third film in which David Lynch makes liberal use of what’s becoming his signature for me these days – the build up of suspense with no pay off. There’s nobody better at building suspense – appropriate lighting, music, sounds, timing, creeping down dingy hallways. Most of the time, however, there’s no climax, we never get to the scare. When there is a scare, it’s made all the more effective by the previous false starts. He can also present more subtle imagery as being scary because the audience is already prepped to freak out. In “Inland Empire” the spooky build-ups seem to have multiplied out of control, which gets monotonous, but for some strange reason I don’t mind the fact itself that there’s typically no pay-off.

I can’t imagine anyone who I would recommend this movie to. If you’re a big David Lynch fan this movie won’t need a recommendation, you’ll just know what you’re getting into beforehand and deal with it. Though this was a difficult movie to get through, it was very effective in inspiring me to get creative. I had the very same reaction to “Mulholland Dr.”. Time to do some analytical reading.

P.S. Per Wikipedia: In an NPR "Weekend Edition" interview, Laura Dern recounted a conversation she had with one of the movie's new producers. He asked if Lynch was joking when he requested a one-legged woman, a monkey and a lumberjack by 3:15. "Yeah, you're on a David Lynch movie, dude," Dern replied. "Sit back and enjoy the ride." Dern reported that by 4 p.m. they were filming with the requested individuals.

Santa redeemed

The day that I posted about throwing Santa in the garbage Nicole e-mailed me the following:

"That filthy Santa looks exactly like one that my mom used to display when I was a child!! I was thinking about it just the other day (I was reminiscing in my mind about what decorations we had when I was very young). I am sure that my mom did the same that you did with Santa, threw him in the garbage."

Since the trash hadn't been taken out at work, I hauled him out of the can. I can't speak for his fate after New Year's, but he made it home for Christmas this year.

I wish I had communicated with all my loved ones this Christmas season, but I am thinking of you and I assure you there's a good time coming. I gotta get up at five a.m. for work tomorrow, so Merry Christmas to all and to all a Good Night!

Claim Jumper Holiday Dinner

Friday night we had a holiday dinner over at Claim Jumper in Monrovia. I hadn’t been there in a couple of years and Nicole had never visited. It was almost exactly what I expected.

I was looking forward to rustic American Christmas decorations, like maybe a Santa cap on the mounted Moose head. It didn’t get that crazy with the decorations, but it was imitation rustic cheerful.

Like almost everything on the menu, the nachos were large size. I ate leftover nachos for my hearty breakfast this morning. Nicole took home half of her chicken and ate it for lunch today. My coffee mug was strangely normal-sized, but it was regularly refilled with adequate speed. As is often the case with salmon, mine looked deceptively normal-sized, yet I had to cram it in to finish all of it.

"Cram it in" is sort of the theme of Claim Jumper, though. One doesn’t really savor Claim Jumper cuisine, you just gobble it. There is a place for occasional unexamined gobbling in my world.

I could have done without the cloying sweet sauce slathered over the top of my fish. I like salmon unslathered. It wasn’t bad, it just suffered from lack of subtlety. But if I ever go to Claim Jumper expecting subtlety you can mount my head between the Moose and the Buffalo.

I didn’t get to spend time warming myself by the Christmas garland hearth and we didn’t get to sit near Nicole’s "that’s a mess of antlers" chandelier, but I was not disappointed with my Fake American Big Christmas Dinner. Skipped dessert. How come a whole pie costs $50?

Struggling with decorating

I’ve been on my own decorating the Media Center this Christmas, and I’ve no budget. Co-worker is pregnant and only here sporadically. As for the medical library in the next room, the senior library assistant lady said, “I’m not a Christmas person” (no, she’s not Jewish), so there’s nothing going on in there.

I asked co-worker where to find the Media Center’s Christmas decorations. She directed me to a couple of boxes of odds and ends. Inherit the wind.

I found a couple of Santas. The photo of the cheerful one with the furry beard doesn’t fully convey how filthy he is. I threw him in the garbage. The other Santa looks inscrutable, and Asian, but he’s clean. I put him on the table with the fake garland.

I found a bunch of golden snowflakes for hanging from the ceiling. More than half were broken in half or otherwise ruined. I got seven left that I hung and they shed gold glitter. This will be their last Christmas, I’ll retire them in January.

The only new Christmas decoration investment that I made this year was the “Happy Holidays” door knob hanger. It clatters too much so I hung it next to the door. I chose it because it was inexpensive and won’t easily disintegrate.

Christmas hazard management

Please be mindful of choking and suffocation hazards this holiday season. While posing for Christmas present wrapping photo session, John accidentally got cellophane shopping bag over his head and lost more brain cells than he could spare.

Christmas splendor

Here's a picture of the Christmas hearth here at the blue house. It creates an atmosphere of good cheer and pleasure. Just crossing the room I often feel free to just stop and gape.

Peace on earth, good will to men

Those two Santas are my and Nicole’s year-round salt and pepper shakers. Their names are Romulus and Remus. Once a year at Christmas time they are appropriate to the season, but they’re always around. Even a stopped clock tells the correct time twice a day.

I’m pleased and content this holiday season. Had a fine trip to Illinois for Thanksgiving, food was spectacular, and we visited the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum. Nicole and I enjoying Christmas time in the blue house, Friday night I bought a pine garland from the Christmas tree lot on the way home, we put it on the mantle and stuck the blue and white blinky lights in it.

So things is beatific. Nevertheless, my daily routine is still frustrating. I leave for work at 6 a.m. I am pleased with my job but it is challenging and often exhausting. I get home at 5 p.m. and don’t have nearly enough time to spend with wife before I have to go to sleep again. And I virtually never manage to communicate with friends and family, most folks in San Diego I haven’t connected with in six months. Russian? Did I used to study Russian?

But Thank God it’s Christmas time. It certainly takes the edge off of frustrations. And New Year’s Eve is just around the corner, and in the new year we’ll learn to work smarter instead of harder, so there’s a good time coming. In addition, this Christmas carol about "I heard the bells on Christmas day" (by Henry Longfellow) has been cheering me up:

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men."