This was a crazy week. We were flooded once again. It was quite disheartening. But it is over and we haven't lost too much property this time. We might have to tear up all the sub floor in the basement but what are you going to do.
I also missed out on a trip to the Adirondacks that I had been looking forward to for a long time. But in not going, I had extra time to bond with my son (who was a TREMENDOUS help at 1:00 AM on the first day of the flood) and got to hang out with one of the guys (and his wife) who was supposed to go on the trip but he stayed behind, too.
At about 4:30 AM on the first day of the flood, Nan convinced me to empty the bottom drawers of the file cabinets that hold my comics. The image of us bringing stacks of comics, eventually totaling over 1600 books, to lay out in an upstairs bedroom, kind of makes me chuckle now.
So after things calmed down, I spent some time prepping for Parent Teacher Conferences tomorrow, got some reading done for my Masters class this week, and took some notes for the next round of contract negotiations. It seemed like a good time to reward myself with a trip to Earth Prime Comics and grab some books.
My last trip had been January 3, so I did not expect to have a lot waiting for me. I was so very wrong! But reading comics tonight and entering them into my database has been fun.
It has also brought me to TWO milestones tonight! I entered "All-New Wolverine" #5 as the 9,000 comic in my collection. This is my threshold number. This means I am going to cull some stuff in the next few days to keep the total low.
The second milestone is that issue contains my FIRST printed letter to a comic book! I had sent an e-mail in to the editor after reading issue #3 praising the book and it got printed! Around the same time, I was moved by a different comic to thank the creator on Facebook and HE wrote back to me!
All in all, not a bad way to end a disappointing vacation!
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Friday, February 12, 2016
Mock Squid Soup - February 12, 2016 - Chef
So if you read my wife's post on her website, Hungry Enough To Eat Six, (she has been giving me updates on the number of folks who have tried clicking over from her site to see my comments) you'll know the movie we watched this month is the Jon Favreau vanity project from 2014, "Chef".
After directing the first two Iron Man movies and producing the third, along with both Avengers movies, Favreau had, what I've often heard referred to as, "F you money." I am not writing that in a dismissive way. He had enough money to get this movie made. He had an idea, researched it, wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a movie he truly believed in.
And it is not a bad movie. It's just not my sort of movie. It was enjoyable. The soundtrack was fun. But the movie is flat.
For me, the gist of the movie is as follows: a relatively happy chef, Favreau, working at a dream job, suddenly realizes he is somewhat stifled creatively working for Dustin Hoffman. This comes to a head when a food critic is dismissive of his current work. The chef gets disproportionately upset by this, sleeps with Scarlett Johansson, and flies to Miami with his ex-wife (Sofia Vergara) and their son to rediscover what he loved about cooking. Once in Miami, Vergara has her other ex-husband, Robert Downey, Jr., bankroll Favreau's mid-life "crisis" and allow him the chance to reconnect with his son. The movie ends with the critic returning to visit Favreau and bankrolling a NEW restaurant for the both to run....and Favreau remarries Vergara.
Aside from a scene where the son burns a sandwich and is, at first, somewhat dismissive of the burned sandwich, this movie is relatively free from strife. There is no real change to any of the characters. The movie feels like it is missing its second act. There is no conflict. Every misstep by a character is rectified almost instantly.
I was also bummed because by trimming some of the language, this would have been a great movie for our "Family Movie Night". I love the things my son and I share in common and those parts of this movie resonated for me. But I can't share the movie with him because it was unnecessarily crass.
That being said, I'm late posting this and Nan and I just came back from our current favorite activity, drunk grocery shopping, so what do I know.
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| Currently #526 on my flickchart list |
After directing the first two Iron Man movies and producing the third, along with both Avengers movies, Favreau had, what I've often heard referred to as, "F you money." I am not writing that in a dismissive way. He had enough money to get this movie made. He had an idea, researched it, wrote, directed, produced, and starred in a movie he truly believed in.
And it is not a bad movie. It's just not my sort of movie. It was enjoyable. The soundtrack was fun. But the movie is flat.
SPOILERS FOLLOW FOR A TWO YEAR OLD MOVIE FOUND ON NETFLIX
Aside from a scene where the son burns a sandwich and is, at first, somewhat dismissive of the burned sandwich, this movie is relatively free from strife. There is no real change to any of the characters. The movie feels like it is missing its second act. There is no conflict. Every misstep by a character is rectified almost instantly.
I was also bummed because by trimming some of the language, this would have been a great movie for our "Family Movie Night". I love the things my son and I share in common and those parts of this movie resonated for me. But I can't share the movie with him because it was unnecessarily crass.
That being said, I'm late posting this and Nan and I just came back from our current favorite activity, drunk grocery shopping, so what do I know.
Friday, February 5, 2016
Mock Squid Soup: February 2016: Three Clues
Here are my three clues for this month's movie!
1) Of the first ten actors credited in this movie, eight have had roles in movies based on comic books or comic strips...but this is NOT a comic book movie!
2) The writer and director of this movie is credited with directing three major comic book movies...but this is NOT a comic book movie!
3) The star of the movie (who also wrote, produced, and directed the film) says this film was loosely inspired by the owner of the Kogi Korean BBQ food trucks of Los Angeles.
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The Armchair Squid and I are proud to present Mock Squid Soup: A Film Society!This month, everyone gets to throw a movie of their own choice into the pot. The week before our gathering, on Friday, February 5th, everyone is invited to post three clues about his/her movie for others to guess. Our next regular meeting is Friday, February 12th. No need to sign up twice. The Squid used the same link list for both. If you are interested in joining us, please sign on to the list below.
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