Going the Distance (2010)

This movie hits the right tone for it's topic--which is how to juggle wanting it all with the realities that love, life, and employment present. The two of them — Garrett (Justin Long) and Erin (Drew Barrymore) — live in a universe of quietly lowered romantic and professional expectations. He works in the music industry, she is an aspiring newspaper reporter, and the movie acknowledges the grim circumstances prevailing in both of their chosen fields without being too apocalyptic about it. The truth is though that both of their ambitions are hedged by a sense of diminished possibility. Which neither of them seems to be willing to attribute to their romantic possibilities, but then, it appears that neither of them has given that much thought, either.
The story goes like this. Erin is in New York City for a summer internship with a newspaper, and she meets Garrett. They meet in a bar, click pretty quickly, and end up in bed together that first night. Well, they were lucky, because while that might ordinarily be a recipe for disaster, in this case the more time they spend together the more they like each other, and the only hitch is that Erin is leaving to go back to school. In six weeks. At which point they are hopelessly attached and not ready to end it.
If they were left to their own devices they might have worked it out just fine--but they both have friends and family who cannot seem to keep their hands off the love games of others. They manage to instill a fair amount of uncertainty into Erin and Garrett's relationship, almost enough to sink it, but somewhere along the way Garrett discovers that he has some choices he has not been exercising, and a ray of hope is injected. Long distance relationships are hard. Making compromise is hard--but you know what? That is the whole name of the game when it comes to sharing your life with others, and the sooner you learn to do it the better. This is a charming look at one couple's attempt at it.

Celebrating the Holidays

One of the worries about being a minority religion is 'how to make you kids feel like they are not the only ones'. Which can be a challenge. When my second son was in high school, one of the shul matriarchs asked him if he was dating and was she Jewish--he pointed out that it would impossible to date a woman his age who was Jewish because there were none, so yes he was dating but no, she wasn't Jewish. I am much less concerned about who they date and who they will marry. But the issue of feeling like you are in a crowd at a holiday celebration, that was an issue. I wanted them to feel like it was a party and they were not celebrating alone.
We have had two wonderful Hanukkah parties this year, one at the synagogue, and one in the home of a friend--both of them were packed to the rafters, can't easily find a seat kind of crowds, and it felt really nice to be part of that kind of an extended family celebrating a shared heritage. It does worry me to see dozens of menorahs with candles burning brightly and small children milling about--but, as my friend said this year (and she says every year), we haven't burned the house down yet.

Goodbye Solo (2008)

Solo (Souleymane Sy Savane), is a taxi driver. He is also a Senegalese man living in Winston-Salem, N.C., working and charming his way toward a share of the American dream. He is the heart and soul of this movie. His demeanor is effortlessly warm and disarmingly friendly. He wears down resistance or suspicion with an incandescent smile and affectionate teasing: every male customer or colleague is “big dog”. His magnetism is juxtaposed by one of his customers, William, who is an old man on the brink of suicide. A man who feels that he has nothing to live for or look forward too--this picture is perfect as a reflection of the difference between the two, as well as a window into what is charming about this movie. That Solo comes from a culture where you put uyour nose into other people's business, that you try to help, that you intervene, you do not just let people go off and be their self-destructive selves. And he is no angel, our Solo. He has some regular customers who are drug dealers, he parties, he drinks and drives--but on the other hand he is an impeccable father to Alex, the daughter of his significant other. At no point do you feel like he is not her father--although the colors of their skin make it clear that this is not the case, he is patient and warm with her, tender in a fatherly way, and he puts everything aside when she needs him. He is a complicated and appealing man, who makes you want to go to Senegal and see if there are more men like him, where does this wonderful sense of family and responsibility come from and where can we get more of it. A window into the immigrant African psyche, one that will leave you wanting to know more about this culture and its people.

Let There Be Light

The thing that I love about Hanukkah is what makes it very un-green. It is the candles. Every house is obligated to light one menorah each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. Well, they may not be the most environmentally friendly celebratory vehicle, but I really do enjoy them. I'll have to do some kind of carbon footprint offset.
The light they cast is a very warm glow. When one of my sons stopped by our house the very first night, he had forgotten it was the first night of Hanukkah. He is one step out of his parents house, still used to us updating him and not yet in tune with getting the information programed into his calendar at the beginning of the year, so you don't have to keep track. We had set up half a dozen menorahs, and only lit three, so he was able to light his own, which he did immediately. It is not just me. There is something primal and appealing about the glow of candlelight. It takes me back to hearth and home, family and comfort. It is a reminder to value those that make you feel warm and secure.

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1950)

This is an old but great movie--I watched it while I was unexpectedly hospitalized for high blood pressure recently and it really made me laugh under difficult circumstances.
It is a black comedy, British style, but one of the finest kinds--one that takes a base urge that all people have, make it the protagonist's flaw, and then watch as his plot unfolds, slowly but surely coming closer to fruition, only to be foiled by an unforeseen glitch at the end. Or in this case, two problems, one that he is innocent of, and one of his own making. We cannot help but root for him, which is the wrong thing to do, undoubtedly, but we cannot help ourselves.

The problem is the D'Ascoyne family. They have excommunicated our hero and his mother, and they are to pay for this effrontery. Louis vows to avenge his mother, and take the Dukedom. The trouble is that twelve people stand in his way. Alec Guiness aptly plays eight of them, each of whom falls, one by one. In the meantime, Louis is getting a little of his own revenge on a woman who tossed him over for someone with more money, and that little scheme is the one that does him in.

Consider a Cooking Class

I love my co-op. I love that it is an independent store--when you walk into the downtown Iowa City store, you will not mistake it for a corporate entity, and to me, that is a good thing. I love the availability of local items, especially once the Farmer's Market is closed--the co-op becomes a place to extend the local luxuries, even thought hte temperature has dipped well below where it would be comfortable to sell them in the open air.
The aspect of the co-op that I have under-appreciated is their classes. I offered to pay the tuition for their pizza making class for my college aged boys, and one of them took me up on it. He then offered to make dinner the night before Thanksgiving for us, to show off his newly gained skills. The results were fantastic. His pizza crusts were wonderful--great flavor, texture, and the consistency of the dough allowed for it to be stretched thin yest still maintain it's spring, resulting in a great chewiness to the pizza. The sauce had a wonderful flavor--and was uncomplicated to make in large quantities and freeze. The cheeses were recommended in the class, as well as different combinations that might work. In other words, the class was comprehensive. The lecture allowed for a conveyance of important factors in pizza making and my student came out with an enthusiasm for the pizza they tried in the class, as well as the additional pizzas that he was given recipes for.
The results? It was the best homemade pizza I have ever had. We did have the oven on for over an hour with the pizza stone in it at the hottest temperature possible--which definitely helped, but we have done that many times before without these results.
The detail oriented approach to a good cooking class cannot be overstated. Especially for the inexperienced cook, but even for someone with years of experience. Pizza is a perennial favorite, and the ability to make it well can lead to confidence in other areas of cooking. Learning what the attention to a few important details can gain you as cook is priceless.
I have linked to the New Pioneer's 2011 Cooking Class Calendar in the title of this blog--check them out!

Mary Shelly's Frankenstein (1994)

Kenneth Branagh is a complicated guy. I always thought he would be impossible as a personality, but this year I have started to think he might be an interesting guy, despite all. I really love his Wallender renditions--they hit the right note for the Swedish detective and his environs. Branagh's take on some of the classics have fallen a little flat with the critic's, but I have largely enjoyed them (I liked 'Love's Labor Lost', which was probably the closest I got to not liking something he directed, 'Peter's Friends' being second closest).

So here he is, Franken-stein--a very handsome man in this movie. In stark contrast to his shirtless Wallender, his shirtless Frankenstein is another thing altogether. Let's just see you can see why he could be cast as the romantic lead. And this picture of him makes it easy to believe that he went on to date his co=star, Helen Bonham Carter, for 5 years after this movie was made. But it is not his personal life that I refer to when I say he seems complicated. It is that he appears to think out of the box. He depicts things with an attention to detail that is impressive. His Frankenstein does not come off looking all that magnificent as men go. He makes some bad choices and he pays a high price for those bad choices. These things happen, but usually not on this scale. The film is not strictly adherent to the story, so those who find that irritating need to skip this movie, but as horror goes, this one is nicely done. Carter really found a place for herself in this genre--maybe it started here.

Thanksgiving Leftovers Soup

One of my real skills as a cook is making a variety of leftovers into something else. Ideally, not particularly recognizable as leftovers. The perfect transformation would be that the dish appears to be cooked from scratch, rather from various containers that are sitting in the refrigerator. While this might not be everyone's cup of tea, there is almost always an avalanche of leftovers at Thanksgiving.
We did not so much experience a surfeit of sides, but we do have a good bit of heirloom turkey leftover. Then we went on the Sunday after Thanksgiving to my favorite local restaurant, The Lincoln Cafe, in Mount Vernon, where we had a family style Cajun Thanksgiving dinner. As a person who cannot abide by throwing away food, even if it goes into the dog's dish, we took home our leftovers, which were dirty rice stuffing, yams, and a corn side dish.
The Thanksgiving soup we assembled went like this--we sauteed an onion, added some cumin and green chilies, then added a quart of turkey stock, a couple of handfuls of diced turkey meat, the Lincoln cafe leftovers, and I threw in a cup of finely sliced beet greens because I thought they went with the color scheme. The rice dissolves into the soup almost immediately and adds thickness, but not much else. Everything else is already cooked, so it takes no time at all to finish. Voila, a soup that is delicious, quick, and not immediately recognizable as leftovers.

The Kids Are All Right (2010)

The thing that I like most about this movie is that it starts from the premise that gay marriage is an established social fact. Nic and Jules, a couple with two children, a Volvo and a lovely home, are the picture of normalcy. Which is to say that they are loving, devoted, responsible and a bit of a mess. And they are both women. The parentage of their children is a bit unusual as well--they each have a child, using the same sperm donor--so the donor is biologically related to both kids, whereas each parent is only biologically related to one.
It is difficult to find the right shorthand for these women. On the one hand, Nic is the bread winner, and Jules is the slightly flaky, slightly insecure stay-at-home parent. Those descriptors are true, but they don't encapsulate what is going on, which is a mid-life, long-term marriage melt down.
Nic and Jules don’t always communicate very well (Nic is patronizing and judgemental and Jules is sensitive and quick to take offense), and their children — the 18-year-old Joni (Mia Wasikowska) and her 15-year-old brother, Laser (Josh Hutcherson) — have reached the stage when parents seem like alien, irrational and outmoded beings. Your parents are supposed to understand you (not that they ever can), while you have no choice but to tolerate them.
Enter Paul--the sperm donor for both women's children. He is single, affable, running a successful business, and has a self confidence that is charming. When Joni calls him, he is a good sport and a bit of an adventurer, gamely accepts her invitation to meet the family, and his relaxed manner smoothes over an awkward initial meeting.
Much more awkwardness will follow, along with some real emotional peril. Nic and Jules are not won over at first, but he manages to connect with both Joni and Laser in ways that their moms can’t. He gets Joni to see she needs a little more independence, and gets Laser to dump his unsavory friend. His position as a sympathetic outsider grants him insights that the family members lack, and in turn Joni, Laser and Jules come to see him as a confidante and counselor, a special kind of friend.
But nothing is more disruptive to domestic order than an unattached heterosexual man. In mid-19th-century America, anxiety about guys more or less like Paul drove movements for social and religious reform, and the film suggests that those advocates of temperance and other remedies may have had a point. Not that Paul, an effortless seducer, is exactly the villain of the movie. He starts out too good to be true and winds up causing a lot of trouble, but at the end he’s more scapegoat than demon, and the film forgives him even if the other characters cannot.

Happy Hanukkah

From the Hebrew word for "dedication" or "consecration", Hanukkah marks the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem (Second Temple). The temple was taken by Syrian-Greek soldiers in 168 BCE and polytheism reigned. This same year Perseus, the last Macedonian king, dies. The Roman Empire is on the march, but King of Syria Antiochus IV Epiphanes has been fingered by history as the bad guy in this story. According to the Talmud, following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, they decided to cleanse the temple with consecrated olive oil (to get rid of all the cooties from the foreign gods)--but there was only enough oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.
The Macabees had two choices--give up, or try and hope for the best--they opted, so the story goes, to hope for the best. They chose hope. I think there is not enough of that going around these days, so this Hanukkah season, I plan to focus on what I hope for and how to live as if it will happen.