I feel like the Helen Hunt character, Carol the waitress,  from “As Good As It Gets” which came out the same year Titanic did.  Both Jack Nicholson and Hunt deftly swept up the Best Actor and Best Actress award against all the other awards Titanic captured.  These two actors deserved it, I’ve watched this movie maybe about ten times.  The lines in AGAIG are quick, quirky and very funny.  The one simple line I especially like is delivered by Carol to Melvin, “Pay me a compliment, Melvin.”  Then she instructs him with, “A compliment is something nice.”  I’m waiting for some word of encouragement or even a compliment from my employers about my teaching these last two years at my “former” place of employment. 

The three misfits in this hilarious comedy are probably based on real life people in New York. It would be very difficult to make up these characters and their lines from one’s imagination. First is Melvin the neurotic, but very successful novelist. Next Helen, the cash strapped waitress who is also a single mom living with her mother. Finally, Simon, the gay guy who is an artist but has hit rock bottom, he is friendless and without money to support his lifestyle.

I claim to be similar to the Helen Hunt character of Carol and as a New York city waitress, she had a service mentality. She served Melvin his daily meals. I came to Kazakhstan to serve the people and was barely paid minimum wage after paying all the expenses of airfare and housing in high priced Almaty.  As a working Mom, Carol had to take care of her ailing son.  I taught academic English courses to my Kazakh and Kazakhstani students so they would not fail their classes in their future academic career.  Carol, the waitress, was uneasy about getting involved with Melvin because he was so rude to everyone and to her.  She regained her dignity when Simon made her feel good about herself.  He drew her from an artist’s point of view because he valued her beauty as a person.  Westerners are like that, identifying the individual for the gifts and talents they possess and reveling in that.

I see Simon as personifying Western ideas, he was accustomed to a fine lifestyle of luxury and the fine art.  However, that crashed in around him when his flat was broken into by vandals and he was beaten up very badly.  I see at our place of employment there is a fair share of America bashing going on since supposedly our institution was based on an American system of education.  Discrimination against Simon and at the same time against anything American seems to be in vogue for some people at my institution of higher learning.  Some say negative things to my face about how America has done this wrong or we as Americans aren’t correct on some other policy.  What do people say about Americans behind my back?  I shudder to think.  Well, Simon loves his little dog and that’s what helps get him through his ordeal.  Incidentally, the little dog plays an important role in this movie.  I believe he should have gotten an Academy award as well for bringing Melvin and Simon together as tolerant “friends.”

However, Melvin has an evil streak coursing through his cold veins.  At the beginning of the movie, he throws Simon’s dog down the garbage chute.  No reasonable explanation is given except that he seems to hate Simon and what he stands for.  Melvin is full of paranoia and he needs therapy.  Melvin has a huge ego and is a frustrated, demanding old man but paradoxically writes novels about romance. Yet he knows nothing about love and spends his life pretending there’s nothing wrong with him. He has to have everything completely sanitized and clean and he locks many doors to his flat because of his many fears. 

Enter Carol the waitress into the picture to encourage Melvin, the twisted old novelist, to re-enter the human race of compassion. She boldly helps confront his fears about relationships head on. The rest of the movie portrays how guy meets girl and with the help of a gay, the two finally get together all the while taking baby steps. There is “give” and there is “take.”

That is why I would love to say to my former employers, who have acted like Melvin sometimes, “Pay me a compliment…a compliment is something nice.”  I guess if there were a sequel to this movie, it would be that Melvin broke up with Helen. That part makes me sad.

Ha! Words don’t fit in here. They really don’t. You need books and months to talk about this legendary history cinema by director Milos Forman, produced in 1975. One of the best movies, ever produced, directed and thrillingly and livingly enacted with leading roles played by Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher.

The movie stands at number 7 under IMDB Top 250 movies list on the IMDB site. IMDB is one of the most trusted names online, when it comes to Big Cinema. It has a big database of you-name-anything of movies. The movie stands at 8.9 out of 10 i.e. 8.9/10 rating on IMDB, voted by movie fans.

It created a breakthrough by winning 5 Oscars: Best Director, Best Picture, Best Writing and Screenplay, Best Actor in a Leading Role and Best Actress in a Leading Role. Apart from a landslide of Academy awards, the movie managed to win many other Gold and silver ladies(trophies).

Jack Nicholson played the male leading role and Louise Fletcher, the leading female. Jack Nicholson, the father of Hollywood, “The Shining” star. “Chinatown”, “As good as it gets” and there are much more feathers in the superstar’s cap than we can count. Jack, the legendary, multi variety star, has delivered some of the finest performances for on Hollywood Movie Industry. “The Shining” changed the entire face of the Horror Genre.

R.P. McMurphy (Randell. P. McMurphy), the character played by Jack Nicholson in the movie, a character of bold sanity among insane ones. A daring, living, criminal record con man who brings a mental asylum to life and plays hide and seek with the dictator Nurse Ratched, played by Louise Fletcher.

He lives it all in that Drama of 2.15 hours; Laughter, Colors, Friendship and LIFE. The movie gets better every time you watch it. Like one of those immortal epics, where heroes never die in our hearts. They say so much in a small reel that we could ever understand in real.

I have watched this one for more than 10 times and I still say, I am not done with it yet. May be, I would never. Something called L.I.F.E, a Cuckoo’s Nest, literally. Flying part, I guess, is for us to figure out.

Some of the best dialogues from the movie:

$$Goddamn, boy, you’re as big as a mountain! Looks like you might have played some football.

$$This is not a dime, Martini. This is a dime. If you break it in half… …you don’t get two nickels, you get shit. Try and smoke it. You understand?

$$They were giving me 10,000 watts a day, you know, and I’m… …hot to trot. The next woman who takes me on will light up like a pinball machine… …and pay off in silver dollars!

$$Yeah, but I don’t like the idea of taking something if I don’t know what it is. Don’t get upset, Mr. McMurphy. I’m not getting upset, Miss Pilbow. It’s just that I don’t want anyone to try and slip me saltpeter. You know what I mean?

(In response to a Writer’s Group writing prompt: Write about what you’ve had too much of).

I’ve had too much ordinary and not enough adventure. Too much hum-drum, ho-hum, run of the mill. That may be why I have to wrack my brain trying to come up with moments when I’ve felt truly alive. It makes me sad to realize that those moments are the exception, not the rule. I don’t think that’s what God intended, but that’s what is, at least in my experience thus far.

And yet I’ve been to a lot of places that many people would consider exciting. I’m working in an industry that’s perceived as glamorous and exhilarating. But to me it often feels like the cross I take up daily.

I know, I know. Things could be much worse. Indeed, they have been. At least now I’m employed, financially independent, living in a neighborhood I love. I’m grateful for roommates I get along with, co-workers that are decent people, friends and family that care.

But I can’t deny the nagging question forever lingering -

Is this as good as it gets this side of heaven?

Is this all I can expect to experience in my mortal body?

Because for the longest time I thought there was more. Just up ahead. Just beyond the bend. And it kept me going. It kept me hoping.

But I’m past the bend. And I’m older now. Later has come. Soon is right now. And yes, apparently this is my life.

A fresh monotonous day dawns. I get up. I shower. I dress. I eat. I work. I come home. I eat. I brush my teeth. I try wash that old soul look off my face, but it remains.

I lie in bed and assume the fetal position, my blanket of quiet desperation pulled tightly around me. I find rest in fantasies before drifting off to sleep. Too much fantasy for my own good, I confess. But it is my only defense against the waves of reality threatening to drown me.

In a role that looks likely to eclipse fellow rocker Steven Adler’s appearance in slasher comedy ‘Dahmer vs. Gacy’ erstwhile Black Label Society/Ozzy axeman Zakk Wylde plays Uncle Jed to title charcter Bones White in late-80s set coming-of-age flick ‘`Bones.’

The movie,  the writing and directorial debut of Frank Pestarino, is described as a “heart-breaking…story [about] four teens growing up in 1989 blue-collar New York” and a bond that ties them together for life. Hmmm. Like…finding a dead body?!

swimming pools, movie stars....

And then there’s the cast. Wylde notwithstanding it consists of a bunch of still unknown but rapidly climbing actors such as 13-year old Jimmy Bennett (‘Bones White’), most recently — and geekily — seen as ‘Young James T. Kirk’ in ‘Star Trek’ and Toe Thompson in Robert Rodriguez’ ‘Shorts.’

Melissa Ordway (‘17 Again’) plays ‘Samantha Reeves.’ Jonna Walsh (‘Couple’s Retreat’) is Samantha’s little sis, ‘Kelly Reeves.’ Jesse James plays ‘Derrick Scott’ in this movie. At 20-years old  his resume already stretches back as far as ‘Walker, Texas Ranger,’ ‘As Good As It Gets,’ and ’Gods and Monsters,’ making stops in ”Blow’ and ‘The Butterfly Effect’ along the way. 

Perhaps most Geektastic of all, however, is the casting of Donnie Most, sorry Don Most, as ‘Mr. Reeves,’ the girls’ father. Most remains most famous for  his role as ‘Ralph Malph’ in ’Happy Days,’ but was also in early 80s series ‘Dungeons & Dragons,’ the late 80s’ ‘Teen Wolf’ animated series, and had one- or two-off appearances in ‘Baywatch,’ ‘Star Trek: Voyager,’ and as the voice of ‘The White Rabbit’ in ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch.’

I’m not privvy to the plot at all, but the general premise and a cast consisting of a very unlikely musician crossover, a bunch of legit up-and-comers, and a Tarantino-style resurrection move, smell to me like either a classic-in-the-making or an unmitigated disaster.

Mr. Pestarino, it is now largely down to you.

The Mystery of Subtext.
by Hal Croasmun

For most people, subtext is the most elusive of all the writing skills. You ask a writer about subtext and you’ll get a vague answer that will leave you confused. Why? Because many of the best writers of subtext operate primarily from intuition. So they don’t have a conscious structure they can teach.

But there is a structure to subtext and it can be learned.

The quality of your dialogue can be dramatically improved by building in meaningful subtext. Well written subtext is the mark of a professional writer. On the other hand, constant on-the-nose (OTN) dialogue is the mark of an amateur writer.

Below, I’ve analyzed the subtext in the first three pages of AS GOOD AS IT GETS written by Mark Andrus and James J. Brooks. When you read it, along with my notes, you’ll understand why producers say that they can tell if a writer is any good in the first five pages. Keep in mind that this is what you’re up against when you send a script in.

Remember, subtext plays a vital role in bringing a script to life. It takes the movie from an external projection on a screen to an internal experience that an audience can live and enjoy.

Read my notes from these three pages and you’ll understand why subtext is so important.

AS GOOD AS IT GETS – Film Script Excerpt for Analysis.

ANGLE ON apartment doorway. As it opens and an enormously SWEET-FACED, ELDER WOMAN steps out, bundled up against the cold — turning back to call inside to the unseen love of her long life.

SWEET-FACED WOMAN
I’m just going to get some flowers, dear. I’ll be back in twenty minutes. It’s tulip season today. I’m so happy.

And now she turns and faces the hallway… her sweetness dissolves in a flash… replaced by repulsion and that quickly she has reversed herself and re-entered her apartment… closing the door as we consider her vacated.

SUBTEXT NOTE: Without a word from Melvin or the Sweet-faced woman, we get the message that Melvin turns people off. This does two things. First, it delivers a subtext message about Melvin. Second, it sets up future subtext by instantly causing us to suspect anything Melvin says.

POV – MELVIN UDALL

in the hallway… Well past 50… unliked, unloved, unsettling. A huge pain in the ass to everyone he’s ever met. Right now all his considerable talent and strength is totally focused on seducing a tiny dog into the elevator door he holds open.

MELVIN
Come here, sweetheart… come on.

SUBTEXT NOTE: The description of Melvin is a complete design for subtext. If Melvin is “unliked, unloved, unsettling, a huge pain in the ass,” then anything nice he says will be considered through that description. Melvin’s first words are a SCAM he’s running on this dog and ultimately it’s owner. Melvin says “Come here, sweetheart.” and we interpret that he’s luring the dog.

ON DOG

Sniffing at a particular spot on the hall carpeting. Melvin lets the elevator door close and advances on the mutt who has ignores him.

MELVIN
Wanna go for a ride? Okay, sweetie?

The dog lifts his leg at the precise moment Melvin lunges and picks him up with a decisive heft — so that dog urine squirts the hall wall for a second or two. The DOG sensing a kindred spirit starts to GROWL and BARK.

MELVIN
(a malevolent tone)
You’ve pissed your last floor, you dog-eared monkey.

SUBTEXT NOTE: At this moment, our suspicions are confirmed. Melvin means harm to the dog. This is the point where the true meaning of the subtext is revealed. It’s also the setup for subtext that will show up on the next page.

The dog takes a snap at Melvin, but the man is much meaner and quicker than the dog — he holds his snout shut with his hand and reaches for the door of the garbage chute.

MELVIN
I’ll bet you wish you were some sort of real dog now, huh? Don’t worry… this is New York. If you can make it here, you can make it anywhere, you know? You ugly, smelly fuck.

And with that, he stuffs him in the garbage chute and lets go. We hear a FADING SERIES of PLEADING “ANOOOOS” from the DOG fade to nothingness… as another apartment door opens emitting the loud sounds of a PARTY and SIMON NYE, early 30s. Simon has been born and raised with Gothic horror and it’s strange that what that stew of trauma has produced is a gifted, decent man.

INT. APARTMENT BUILDING (NEW YORK), HALLWAY – NIGHT

Frantic… he bolts into the hall… Melvin is just about to enter his apartment.

SIMON
Verdell!?!! Here, good doggie…

SIMON
Mr. Udall… excuse me. Hey there!
(as Melvin turns)
Have you seen Verdell?

MELVIN
What’s he look like?

SUBTEXT NOTE: Here, we have another form of subtext — the lie by omission. Also, dramatic irony. We know that Melvin knows where the dog is, but Simon doesn’t know. Once again, Melvin says “What’s he look like?” and we hear Melvin’s unwillingness to tell what he’s done.

Melvin starts to walk back to his apartment door which is directly opposite Simon’s.

SIMON
My dog… you know… I mean my little dog with the adorable face… Don’t you know what my dog looks like?

MELVIN
I got it. You’re talking about your dog. I thought that was the name of the colored man I’ve been seeing in the hall.

Simon looks O.S. — and sees his black friend.

SUBTEXT NOTE: Here is another form of subtext — misdirection. Melvin’s answer to the question about the dog is to point the conversation toward Simon’s friend and create controversy to cover his crime.

SIMON
Which color was that?

MELVIN
Like thick molasses, with one of those wide noses perfect for smellingtrouble and prison food…

Simon has had it.

SIMON
Frank Sachs — Melvin Udall.

MELVIN
(not missing a beat)
How’re you doing?

SUBTEXT NOTE: Another form of subtext — feinting politeness. But we know that Melvin doesn’t like Frank, so his politeness isn’t real. That will clearly be shown in the next few lines.

SIMON
Franks shows my work, Mr. Udall. I think you know that.

FRANK
(overlapping)
Simon, you’ve got to get dressed.

MELVIN
(to Simon)
What I know is that as long as you keep your work zipped up around me, I don’t give a fuck what or where you shove your show. Are we being neighbors for now?

SUBTEXT NOTE: Here, the real meaning of the polite line above is shown. He wasn’t really being polite, just setting Frank up.

SIMON
(to Frank)
Do you still think I was exaggerating?

SUBTEXT NOTE: This question is another form of subtext — implication. It implies a conversation Frank and Simon had about Melvin earlier. With this question, we experience the conversation without it ever being on the screen.

FRANK can only smile.

FRANK
Definitely a package you don’t want to open or touch.

SUBTEXT NOTE: Another form of subtext — metaphor. What Frank is really saying is that Melvin is so disturbing that they shouldn’t talk with him -an innuendo, which is a language pattern of subtext. But saying it through the metaphor of a package is much more elegant than blurting out an insult.

FRANK can only smile.

MELVIN
Hope you find him. I love that dog.

SUBTEXT NOTE: Politeness, lying, what else would we expect from Melvin? How about sarcasm? Another language pattern of subtext.

This is a very well written script. They use subtext well without overusing it. Notice how we as an audience are clued in on most of the meaning of the subtext. It adds to our experience of these characters, without frustrating or confusing us.

Let’s take a look at what has happened in the first three pages of AS GOOD AS IT GETS. We have excellent examples of:

• Five of the seven internal states of subtext.
• Three of the ten methods of subtext cover-up.
• Four of the eight language patterns of subtext.
• A character specifically designed for subtext.
• Two of the eight methods of designing a scene for subtext.

There are two extremely important things you need to know about this script:

1. Notice how all this subtext has made Melvin a very interesting character — a character so compelling that Jack Nicholson decided to play it. This script was written for casting. Each character is designed to attract an A-list actor and subtext played a big part in that.

2. Just as important, this is the level of your competition when you send a script to Hollywood. Professional writers use subtext well. Their scripts give an audience an internal experience of the movie. When readers recommend a script, this is the kind of work they feel will justify a recommendation.

Article from this link.

That’s one of my all time favorite movie lines.  And after you read my plans for the next few weeks, you’ll know why I feel such connection to it.

Because crazy is what this is…

Five weeks from today I will sit for the LSAT (law school admissions test) for the second time.  I was so busy at home with kids that I didn’t get around to applying and my score is about to expire.  So wish me luck on that.

Then recently I read Megan Crane’s blog talking about NaNoWriMo, this crazy notion of writing a 50,000 word novel in one month.  And I thought, Ooooh, Scott would love this idea.  I had no idea how right I was.  I sent the link to said friend Scott and pretty soon got his request to be his NaNoWriMo writing buddy. 

ridiculous notion for me right now.  But when an incredibly attractive and charming and persuasive gay man thousands of miles away says, “Pretty, pretty, pretty please with lots of semi-colons on top” it is pretty damn hard to say no.

At least it was for a busy, but bored, housewife who secretly wanted to perk up her holiday season in a way that wouldn’t add fat content to her ass.

So here I go.  I plan to write 50,000 words of crap over the next 30 days as a fun little sidetrack to the serious task of preparing for the LSAT.  And now Scott and all of you know just how %&*$ing crazy I am.  Scott has promised to be brutal about keeping me on my word count and he is the only one I will take it from, and only because he is so very far away.  (If you others care to chime in, I’d rather get the nice stuff please.)

Wish me luck.  I’ll update my word count periodically.  I might even throw in a few details about the whole LSAT thing.  And if any of you others are playing this crazy game with me, please tell me so.  I like to feel connected to other crazy people!

This was my first visit to the USA. Ashes series meant that I always went east out of Heathrow. But an increasing number of friends Stateside made it more attractive to visit than ever. Accommodation and guided tours would be free. All I had to do was turn up.

The flight was entertaining. Departure was late because of a Spanish-speaking prima donna. The entire plane could overhear her complaints. She was booked into first class but had turned up late and her seat had been given to somebody else. So she had to sit next to me in cattle class. “This is so unfair,” she moaned. Life is unfair, isn’t it? Especially when you don’t get that extra six inches of legroom you paid for. She decided that being sat next to me for six hours was intolerable, so off she went.

“Close the door behind you, please.”

She cut me a filthy look.

There was also a group of Hasidic Jews, who made such a fuss of finding their seats. It must have taken them 20 minutes to be happy with their seating arrangements. They made a bit of a mess with their nibbles and biscuits. A (white American, presumably well-off) lady seated close to me said, “My, they’re a bunch of slobs.” It would not be the last time I heard such casual racism on this trip.

I was met at Newark by the delightful Bernardette Lyon, a friend of a friend who I’d met only twice before. For my first night in NYC she had very generously invited me to stay at her mother’s house in Brooklyn. We drove into Manhattan, me grinning like Joe Buck in Midnight Cowboy as he looks around NYC for the first time.

SDG and Bernardette in Brooklyn

Bernardette took me on a tour of Brooklyn, including Saturday Night Fever territory in Bay Ridge. I think we went through Bensonhurst, too, where that brilliant car chase was filmed for The French Connection. The obligatory pizza was followed by dinner at Tatiana in Brighton Beach, or “Little Odessa.” There are lots of Russians in London (in Belgravia, anyway) but I’m sure Bernardette and me were the only non-reds in the hood.

We walked along the boardwalk towards Coney Island, sat underneath the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge (Saturday Night Fever again), walked down Cranberry Street where Moonstruck was filmed, and then refuelled at Junior’s, a Brooklyn joint famous for its cheesecakes. A slice about the size of the Isle of Wight (or Staten Island) was put in front of me. Bernardette and the waiter were amused by my horror at the amount of calories on my plate.

The final pit-stop was at Farrell’s, just up the road from Bernardette’s place and where a scene in As Good As It Gets was made (so many films today!).  Bernardette had never been in there, which seemed surprising at the time but once inside I could see why… It is a very macho, Irish/cops place, though the regulars turned out to be friendly enough and we stayed there until 2am. Bernardette has vowed not to go again unless it’s with me, bless her.

An American Football match was on the TV in the bar. I have not yet grasped how this sport works but today (22 October) I was at The Oval cricket ground to see a friend. The pitch was being prepared for a “top secret” training session by the New England Patriots (or Tampa Bay Buccaneers, I can’t remember which) ahead of Sunday’s NFL match at Wembley. They are completely paranoid about their practices being filmed, my friend told me. She won’t be allowed in the The Oval tomorrow (she works there!) and the Americans had expressed great concern about the flats that overlook the ground. They were politely told that nothing could be done about that. My friend also said that the team’s cheerleaders have a full-time (male) manager. The best job in the world or the worst? We couldn’t decide.

After one night chez Bernardette, I spent the next three nights on the other side of Prospect Park with Lisa Granik MW and her partner Sandy at their splendid house.

Lisa is smart, funny and very candid—which is to say she speaks with great honesty and integrity. Her brilliant mind (and palate), lesbianism and links to Russia mean that she does not fit easily into the mainstream.

Lisa invited me to a dinner in Chinatown with several of her friends and colleagues. Before coming to the restaurant I met Lisa and her friend Gaetano and we tried the esoteric Domaine Ferret Pouilly-Fuissé Le Clos Tête de Cru 2004—as puzzling as The Times crossword—and a quite lovely Huet Le Mont Sec 2005, with not a discordant note anywhere. I brought with me to the restaurant two vintages of Dr von Bassermann-Jordan’s Deidesheimer Kalkofen Riesling Spätlese Trocken. The 2001 was very tightly coiled, with acidity like the lash of a bullwhip. By comparison, the 2002 was a big softie. It was hard to believe that two such different wines came from the same vineyard and cellar.

We also tried some Champagnes—a simple Jacques Lassaigne Les Vignes de Montguex Blanc de Blancs NV; a good Piper Heidsieck Rare 1999 and Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Rosé 1999 (though not at all flattered by the restaurant’s glassware); and a woody and fat Vilmart Grand Cellier NV.

Lisa, being a responsible adult, went back home after dinner but the rest of went for cocktails in the West Village. I was asked by one of our dinner companions, “Don’t you ever laugh?” It’s true that my natural expression is a curmudgeonly frown. But I do laugh at things that I find amusing (as this picture taken at Santiago airport proves).

By midnight only Gaetano and myself were left standing. We went to a bar where he knew (and fancied) the manageress. A youngish bloke and four younger ladies parked themselves on the table next to us. I struck up a conversation with one of them, “Kath, from Michigan.” She was blonde, had lips that implied the assistance of collagen, and wore a skirt slightly narrower than my belt. At first glance she was attractive She told me she had studied Victorian Literature in Glasgow. I was excited—perhaps finally I had found an intellectual soul mate wearing a two-inch skirt.

“And who is your favourite Victorian poet?”

“Oh, I think that would be Edmund Spenser.”

SDG and Kath from Michigan

Kath then made me an offer that normally I simply could not refuse. But, having put Spenser in the nineteenth century, I declined. Perhaps they do teach Spenser as part of the Victorian Literature course in Glasgow. But more likely Kath was a dumb blonde who was drunk or stoned or both. She looked thoroughly discombobulated by my refusal. As Spenser wrote: “But the trew fayre, that is the gentle wit,/And vertuous mind, is much more praysed of me.”

Gaetano did not believe that I had received such an offer. I told him to ask Kath. Then he was downright disgusted at me for refusing it.

The chaperone, who spoke fluent Italian, claimed to be an “erm, historian” and blinked nervously like the villain in Hitchcock’s Young and Innocent, was a very odd fellow. Think of Ed Balls’ (the UK Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families) twitching eyes, too—would you trust him? I suspect that accepting Kath’s offer might have meant an exchange of cash before anything else.

I got back to Brooklyn at 5am. Fortunately I did not have any appointments that day and was able to sleep off my evening of over-indulgence. But in-between the cocktails, interesting offers and hangovers, I did actually do some work. I went to the “California Wine Rush” tasting at Grand Central station, Terry Theise’s “Tasting Grower Champagne: Your how-to Guide” and a Sauternes tasting at Vermilion Restaurant.

I interviewed Jamie Ritchie, Sotheby’s head of wine, and have written-up this for Harpers. Rik Pike of Christie’s was met on an informal basis. I also caught the train from Grand Central to Scarsdale to speak with Jeff Zacharia at his enormous and copiously stocked Zachys store.

After four nights in New York, I went to California for the weekend before returning to NYC  for one night. I had planned to stay in the airport but all the best sleeping spots had already been taken and I needed to wash and rest. So I paid $170 for the privilege of staying in a very basic Best Western hotel next to the airport. Ouch.

That left me with a full day to kill before flying to Brazil in the evening. I raced around the city, doing all the cheesy things that English tourists are supposed to do— walking through Central Park, going to the top of the Empire State Building, eating hotdogs, seeing the Yankee and Citi Field stadiums, the Chelsea Hotel, walking over Brooklyn Bridge, the Staten Island Ferry… I also did a few things that would only occur to me, like going to the building at St. Mark’s Place in the East Village that was used for the cover of Led Zeppelin’s Physical Graffiti. (My dad was at school with John Bonham!).

Other things that amused me during this first trip to NYC included the umbrella salesman on the subway and his rhyming sales rap—“It’s going to rain, it’s such a pain, buy an umbrella, it’ll last forever” or something similar. At the Chinatown restaurant there was a reassuring sign in the loo: “Employees must wash their hands before returning to work.”

I will write about my travels in California, Brazil and Chile soon…

Among the books I mentioned this one by Peter Scazzero had clubbed together with other books and experiences in my sabbatical with a determination to cause me to think deeply.

Judith and I read it chapter by chapter alternately – as we often do with books like this – and then talked about how it had spoken to us after we’d both read a section. I recommend this type of reading technique especially for husbands and wives in leadership; it enables regular reflection, the pausing before rushing into the next chapter helps you listen to one another. [This might not work with a novel!]

So I want to just take a moment to commend this little tome to you. Much of it was very familiar to us after 20 odd years in ministry. (‘Odd’ being the operative word!) But I think for newcomers to pastoral leadership it was essential to include this, and it gave Judith and I an opportunity to assess and agree what we have learned about shepherding the flock of God and where we would do things differently now in retrospect.

“Righteousness is easy in retrospect” so said White House chronicler Arthur Schlesinger Jr., and I guess inevitably everything is easy in retrospect. It doesn’t hurt however to learn from the past in a positive way because we are responsible for handing on the baton to the next generation, and even if our past mistakes cause consequences or are unlikely to reoccur, it is a healthy exercise to quietly and graciously review the way we have undertaken decisions and actions. It is emotionally healthy to do so.

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray as he did, he taught them to ask our Father to “…forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us”. Now unless you’re a weird dispensationalist who believes that this prayer should not be used until the millennium or after the pre-wrath mid-tribulational rapture then this principle in the Lord’s prayer applies today, to you and me. And it involves retrospection to do this: In order for us to fully and properly forgive others who have sinned against us we must acknowledge this sin and who they are, and in so doing we release them from our judgment and we receive grace from the Lord to know and realise our own forgiveness for having sinned against him.

Living in the past of course is not good or godly. Many Christians sadly still do this, labouring under a burden of imaginary sin that was cancelled at the cross. As a result they are demotivated, joyless and a poor witness to the abundant life in Christ.

In Jesus God crossed out our sins on the cross! Past, present and future!

But that also does mean we should be consciously grateful for this and live a different life in this world as a result. This involves forgiving others the way we have been forgiven too. Full of mercy, full of grace. Not looking for it to be earned. Taking the initiative like Jesus did – not waiting to be asked – for it was “while we were still sinners that Christ died for us” [Rom 5:8]

In the early chapters the author describes from painful personal experience how, although superficially his life and marriage looked great and he was involved in leading a highly healthy and successful church by anyone’s standards, internally both individually as especially within their marriage relationship things had been deteriorating for some time. He points out that the reason that he did not initially acknowledge the extent of this impoverishment was because this was an emotional deterioration. It suddenly came to a head when his wife exclaimed that she loved him, but she was going to leave him.

He paints the picture more gloomily as he begins to realise that they are not the only ones in this dire situation, in fact because of the way he has led and undertaken his ministry and where others have sought to copy him, there are fractures within many lives. To begin with he tries the “I can fix this” mentality which is common to most leaders… well, men… well, common to me certainly. The idea is you add some ‘healing’ structure to the problem (e.g. seeing a counsellor) and carry on as before. He soon realises this will not do. The only solution is to stop what he’s doing and together with his wife and then his leadership, review what has happened and turn around (i.e. repent)  from the direction they were heading in.

One of the best chapters of the book is entitled Leaders need to lead out of Brokenness and Vulnerability. In this section he presents some solid biblical principles, touching especially on the misnomered story of the Prodigal Son which alludes to the brilliant handling of this by Tim Keller in The Prodigal God. Scazzero also refers in some detail to the Rembrandt painting Return of the Prodigal Son. I was deeply moved by this chapter personally sensing that God the Holy Spirit was doing something profound in my soul. I am learning to let God teach me what this means for my life and leadership because this is not the way I have led in the past. So together Judith and I thanked God for having arrested us at such a time as this and we began to feel more than ever that this sabbatical was heaven-planned, not so much for me to learn from great and growing churches, but for a great and gracious God to grow my heart in a new direction.

Not all of Scazzero’s book is as profound or secure as this however – some parts I found woolly on the nature of personal sin and being sinned against. Similarly I would have valued more reference to the redemptive power of the cross in dealing with our sin. Nevertheless it is a book that did me good. At the right time in the right place.

It made me “want to be a better man” [Jack Nicholson's awkward OCD character Melvin, to Carol, played by Helen Hunt in As Good As It Gets] Remember that line men!

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The United Nations quality of life index was released last Monday.  Canada ranked 4th from the 182 countries ranked.

I try to remember things like this when I’m having a awful day.  Yet at the same time I find it hard to believe that this is as good as it gets.

 Am plecat de la Congresul PSD in speranta ca voi face 20 minute pana acasa, locuiesc aproape…Nu a fost deloc asa. Ce am facut o ora cat am ramas blocata in coloana din spatele “Presedintelui Romaniei”, in timp ce acesta saluta oamenii din autocare…am urmarit asta:

Jack got a busted nose in Chinatown. Uploaded by cinemaisdope.com.

Jack Nicholson has played some of the most fascinating roles in movie history. He’s been the Joker in Batman… J.J. Gittes in Chinatown… Randle McMurphy in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest… Jack Torrance in The Shining… and Colonel Jessep in A Few Good Men. And that’s just some of the high points.

H-e-e-e-re's Johnny! Uploaded to Flickr by stephen-kingdotch.

One of the ways we know an actor is truly great is that he makes each part so distinctively his own that we can’t imagine anyone else in the role. And with Nicholson, there’s an edge about him that helps make his every character unpredictable.

I don’t consider Five Easy Pieces a highlight of his career, but the diner scene is quintessential Nicholson. He wants breakfast made his way, and the waitress won’t allow any substitutions. Look at how Jack controls every moment of this scene:

While it seems that Nicholson dominates most of his movies, in each of his movies for which he’s won Academy Awards, his co-star also won Best Actress: Louise Fletcher in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Great American Thing No. 140), Helen Hunt in As Good as it Gets, and Shirley MacLaine in Terms of Endearment. In addition to the three wins, he’s been nominated nine additional times. He received a Life Achievement Award from the American Film Institute in 1994.

Oh, and he also played the President of the United States in Mars Attacks! Ack ack. Ack ack ack.

It’s always a sick little secret pleasure for me to watch old/older movies and see celebrities, especially actors, in unexpected microscopic roles from long before they were famous.  (This happens frequently as I’m uncomfortable with anything less than five years old.)  Just from the last week:

• Taub and Cuddy from House as a couple on a date in Jack Nicholson’s restaurant in As Good As It Gets; and
• Oscar from The Office as a security guard who calls a cable repairman at Edward Norton’s house in the remake of The Italian Job

Feel free to post others.  I’ll add more as I see them, since it means I can post without actually writing anything.

A blogger I am become!

AS GOOD AS IT GETS av James L. Brooks (1997)
Med Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding jr., Shirley Knight

VISS SPOILERVARNING

Om det här är så bra det det kan bli är det bara att kapitulera fullständigt och säga att då blir det väldigt, väldigt bra. Det här är film. På riktigt. Det är så här man berättar med rörliga bilder. Det är så här man gör det angeläget. Det här berör. Det här är roligt. Det här är gripande. Det här är engagerande. Det här är väsentligt. Det här är skådespeleri på absolut högsta nivå. Det här är Jack.

När man säger att något är Jack, så menar man att det är Jack. För när något är Jack och inte bara den sjuttonde varianten av hans varumärkesstämplade galning utan en av hans alltför fåtaliga men djupt inkännande rolltolkningar så är det så mycket Jack att det saknas något vettigt att jämföra med, för Jack är oefterhärmlig. Ingen kan vara som Jack. Inte ens Jack själv, för det är när han, som i As Good as it Gets, inte spelar Jack som han verkligen blir Jack, det vill säga en skådespelare av det kolossalformat som gestaltar med sådan övertygande kraft att om det här är så bra det kan bli så kapitulerar man fullständigt, för det kan inte bli bättre.

Den som haft en utpräglad tvångsneurotiker i sin närmaste omgivning känner med isande gruslighet igen syndromet, för Jack är perfekt i rollen. Men det är han långt innan man förstår att han är tvångsneurotiker, för öppningssekvensen i As Good as it Gets, med Jack och Greg Kinnears lilla knähund, är magnifik. Ett av filmhistoriens inspirerade ögonblick, ända fram till det ögonblick då Cuba Gooding jr. återvänder in till festen igen.

Fast det märkliga är att filmen därefter inte, vilket borde ha varit fallet, blir en besvikelse. Tvärtom. Vilket känns omtumlande.

För här finns förstås också Helen Hunt. Både hon och den tredje huvudrollsinnehavaren, ovan nämnde Greg Kinnear som Jacks granne bögen (för att identifiera honom på Jacks sätt), lyckas med det i sammanhanget nästan omöjliga konststycket – mig veterligen i modern tid upprepat endast av Diane Keaton i den betydligt lättviktigare Something’s Gotta Give – att inte drunkna i Jacks skådespelarkonst. Tvärtom inte bara håller de båda huvudet över ytan utan simmar mycket övertygande bredvid honom.

Ett triangeldrama är det inte, för det här är intressantare. Det här är – bland annat – en berättelse om mänsklig förmåga att växa, att utvecklas, att förändras. Det är en berättelse om hur en bigott, fördomsfull, djupt misantropisk tvångsneurotiker när verkligheten känslomässigt tränger sig på kan inte bara förändras utan, som han själv säger i ett mycket pressat läge, vilja bli en bättre människa. Det är en berättelse om hur en människa kan komma över ingrodd, fördomsfull ovilja och avsky och gradvis lära sig att älska människorna i sin närmaste omgivningen inte trots utan på grund av de egenskaper han från början funnit så vämjeliga. Ögonblicket när Greg Kinnear säger att han älskar Jack är talande, för Jack svarar att om han varit funtad på det viset skulle det ha gjort honom till världens lyckligaste människa.

Helen Hunt som slavjobbande servitris som kämpar dag ut och dag in för att hålla liv i sin sjuke lille son och försörja sin mamma, Greg Kinnear som kämpande konstnär som med Jack som granne har oturen att vara bög och Jack som visserligen framgångsrik kärleksromanförfattare men svårt ansatt av fobier och neuroser, och så spydigt ironisk och överlägsen mot sin omgivning som bara Jack kan vara, men i det här fallet förstås som en försvarsmur – dynamiken mellan de tre är enastående, de varken tar ut eller överträffar varandra. De spelar som en helgjuten enhet. Som en skicklig kammarorkester.

Och detta är en film full av vassa repliker, men inte påklistrade. Jacks alla spydiga, bigotta kvickheter får även den liberalt sinnade tittaren att skratta för att de är så välformulerade men samtidigt trovärdiga, givet det slags personlighet han spelar. Och spola tillbaka och studera scenen där han pratar med sin förläggare – hans svar när hon försöker framföra den goda nyheten att hennes son kommit in på en välrenommerad skola är med sitt förödande arroganta, irriterat otåliga, fullkomligt ointresserade tonfall obetalbart.

As Good as it Gets är svårkategoriserad, för den är både drama och komedi. Som inte så sällan tidigare i filmhistorien, där riktigt stor film spränger de enkla kategoriernas snäva gränser. Så med tanke på hur lyckad den är känns det lite tråkigt att den komplimang Jack ger Helen Hunt i slutscenen är så högtravande banal och avrundas med bara en variant på den komplimang han givit henne på restaurangen. Det känns som en onödig, om än rätt liten, miss i en i övrigt lysande film. En film som i anslaget skulle ha kunnat vara gjord på filmkonstens historieberättande 40-tal, men som är alltigenom modern och som helt enkelt är en utomordentlig fröjd att se även för tredje gången. I själva verket ännu mer av en fröjd än de båda första gångerna och jag hyser inga större tvivel om att nöjet kommer att växa ännu mer fjärde och femte och så vidare gången.

För inte minst inger As Good as it Gets hopp. Precis som den gamla tidens stora filmer ofta gjorde. Den inger hopp, för om de här tre människorna kan lyckas i sin tillvaro och om de kan lyckas komma överens och till slut tycka mycket om varandra, då kan vi det inte vara hopplöst för någon av oss.

För det här är så bra det kan bli.

Och det är väldigt, väldigt bra.

Kör hårt,
Bellis

For example, the people who supply some of our favorite voices have no shortage of work, such as Russi Taylor and Tress MacNeille, who work together also on Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Taylor provides the voice of one of my faves, Martin Prince, and as well as Sherri & Terri, among others. MacNeille also supplies many character voices; among my faves are Jimbo, Brandine, and Agnes Skinner (quite the range, eh?)

Yeardley Smith is best known for being the voice of Lisa Simpson, but she also starred in the ever-cherished Herman’s Head, played the only likeable character in AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997), and was Putter in THE LEGEND OF BILLIE JEAN (1985). And sisters, if you have not seen BILLIE JEAN, do yourself a favor and put it on your queue! It’s even more feminist, provocative, and energizing now than it was back when I was a tweener, when “Fair

He looks sweet and mild, but don’t tick him off.

Harry Shearer is the voice behind many of the funniest and/or most beloved Simpsons characters, such as Ned Flanders, Principal Skinner, Burns, Smithers, Otto, Reverend Lovejoy, Dr. Hibbert, Lenny, and, of course, Scratchy (among many, many others). But with his versatile voice and terrific singing ability, Shearer has appeared in oodles of films, including his role as G. Gordon Liddy in DICK (1999) and perhaps most famously as Derek Smalls in THIS IS SPINAL TAP (1984). He also shows off those pipes in A MIGHTY WIND (2003), which might be the most underrated of the Guest, et al films.

David Silverman has been with the The Simpsons since its birth on The Tracey Ullman Show as animator, producer, creative consultant (whatever that is) and director – in addition to directing many episodes of the show, Silverman brilliantly directed THE SIMPSONS MOVIE (2007). In 2005, he got in front of the camera to teach a drawing lesson (watch “Goo Goo Gai Pan” on Hulu or wherever if you don’t know what I’m talking about. You’ll thank me).

Silverman has also worked for Pixar and DreamWorks – he co-directed THE ROAD TO EL DORADO and the sassy MONSTERS,

I really liked her on Dharma and Greg, too.

Clearly, Silverman’s career of the last 20 years or so is impressive, sure, but perhaps the most intriguing thing you’ll find on Silverman’s IMDb page is the head animator credit (albeit spelled incorrectly) for the short TOM WAITS FOR NO ONE. In the 1990s, other Tom Waits fans and I spoke in hushed, revered tones of this film, not knowing whether to believe those who claimed to have seen it, but being jealous of them all the same just in case it could be true. If only we’d had YouTube, like the spoiled college kids of today:
According to Variety, Silverman is slated to direct a live-action film for MGM, an adaptation of the children’s book The Facttracker. Also on his schedule, IMDb reports Silverman will be directing a Disney film called THE PET,

Drawin’ Krusty. Just another day at the office.

If you’re not already following Silverman on Twitter*, do so now (tubatron). He’s funny, announces his groups’ appearances around LA (They are called Vaud and the Villains– hint: his handle is “tubatron” for a reason!) and likes to share the occasional photo (like the one I borrowed above). And maybe eventually he’ll share some 140-character anecdotes about his upcoming films with his followers as he sees fit (hint hint).

*If you’re not already following me on Twitter, what’s wrong with you? You can follow me (duve) and/or the awesome duo of Dr. Karma and me (Simpsonology).

Happy Father’s day, fathers!
xoxo,
Du

(via Corrente)

Nurse Betty is an above average film that has a very dark tone with it’s humor but still sophisticated if you want to think about it. There are a few scenes in the movie, especially the scene with Betty’s husband, Del, that turns very violent, but there are some wonderful lines of dialog that come from it. Of course this is how the movie gets its start with Betty and a traumatic event, that throw her into shock where she believes she is a character in her favorite soap opera. And the quest is on to find her soap opera love, David Ravell, played by Greg Kinnear (As Good As It Gets).

Renne Zellweger (Best Supporting actress Cold Mountain) gives her standard performance with basically playing a similar role to Bridget Jones. She does have some wonderful scenes late in the film with Greg Kinnear when they encounter each other and she is convinced he is her reality, the surgeon from Loma Vista, the soap’s hospital. Both Greg Kinnear and Morgan Freeman (Best Supporting Actor for Million Dollar Baby) are good in their roles, but the scene stealer throughout this movie is Chris Rock…something I thought I would never thought I would say. He has a very quick tongue and is very witty in his comments and conversations with Morgan Freeman.

Overall, this isn’t a movie that was made for awards and nominations, but a dark comedy that delivers. To me I don’t have to have movies that need to be discussed philosophically to no end, I just want to have fun and be entertained sometimes. Seeing this movie, I was entertained.

Got up at 7am, had a coffee with some cookies, then a chat in Skype, after that to the bakery and finally I was dedicating to the stats of Igi’s TV. Yesterday, Alejandro, my project mate, stopped by to give me a hand with the cPanel. The AWStat statistic program is really awesome. I could spend hours just looking at it and checking all its features and details. Btw – on the right menu you have now an RSS fed menu, where you can see the newest changes on Igi’s TV.

Back to life:

At noon Aury came back from the beach (she was there with Daisy since Friday night), brought me a fish (for lunch) and left again to continued her private weekend party with Mary (another friend of hers). Well, I took a nap and watched in between a marathon of “Life on Mars” (with Harvey Keitel – the constant cop). Once ready with resting, I prepared the fish with some potatoes, cleaned the dishes and just when being ready, Aury came back with a cake – great, the dessert appeared right on time as if I had made an order.

So finally Aury was home and we could spend some family quality time together, watching for the 20th time on TV “As Good As It Gets” with Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt (in my opinion one of the best comedy/ drama movies ever).

A perfect Sunday, right?