December 6, 2006
Dear Everyone:
On a much
lighter note, “Marshall” came up from
He and “Jeannie” spent Saturday wandering around in
the City. Left to my own
devices, I treated myself to lunch at one of my favorite restaurants,
bought the one big
Christmas gift and even got my car washed.
Then “Marshall” treated us to a lovely brunch at an Italian
restaurant in
We also agreed on where and when we would have
dinner this coming Christmas.
We found out that the
In other news…
“Jeannie” called this evening to report that many, many large cardboard boxes had appeared in her driveway earlier today. They turned out to be the things that “Jeannie” had “claimed” in Mother’s apartment, along with the few items that I wanted, or that someone else decided I should have. “Jeannie” prevailed on a friend to help her drag the boxes into her living room. She and I will go through them this weekend.
Now on to the important stuff: Movies.
I didn’t expect that “Jeannie” would want to see The Queen, but she surprised me. Apparently she greatly admires Helen Mirren, the actress who plays Elizabeth II in this small, independent film. Don’t be surprised when her name pops up on the nomination lists next year.
In a way, this is almost a “buddy” movie, with
Elizabeth and a very young
Tony Blair sizing
each other up and finding a kind of balance with each other.
Most of the story covers the week when
Diana,
the former
Princess of Wales, was
killed in
To keep their grandsons (the heir and the spare) away from the news that their mother has died, Philip takes them out to hunt for a deer, a 14-point buck, that is rumored to be somewhere nearby. They call it “stalking”, apparently blissfully unaware that this is exactly what the paparazzi were doing to Diana.
Meanwhile, Blair is trying to handle the situation
in
In retrospect, maybe going to see a movie that, to all intents and purposes, is about a funeral, the weekend before we would be going to a funeral of our own wasn’t the best choice. Nevertheless, good movie. Catch it while you can.
After Thanksgiving, “Jeannie” wanted “mindless entertainment”, so we opted for Casino Royale. This is not your father’s James Bond. This Bond is fresh, young and just getting started, as portrayed by Daniel Craig.
Forget all those other guys. They never existed. Think a British Steve McQueen, a regular guy with just a touch of some quality that you can’t quite put your finger on, but you recognize it when you see it.
In this Bond’s universe, M was always a woman. There is no Q; if Bond needs some futuristic gadget, he can just drop by the nearest RadioShack. Although, not many cars come equipped with a defibrillator even now.
Gorgeous scenery,
the
So it didn’t turn out to be “mindless” entertainment, but entertaining nonetheless. Recommended for anyone who’s not acrophobic. Jumping around on enormous construction canes miles up in the air—not for the faint-hearted. Otherwise, enjoy.
Programming Note: This may be the last Letter of this year. I’m going to “Hobby” next week, coming back Thursday afternoon. But just in case I’m too tired to write…
Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Happy Kwanzaa! Saturn is dead, all hail Jupiter! And to all a Good Night.
Love, as always,
Pete
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