Hi there! Christmas obligations have ceased, and we’re on to the “lying around” phase of the holidays (my favorite part). The Christmas celebrations themselves… well, they went pretty well. I got a tent! Also a Nintendo DS, and a ton of candy, and who knows what delights from Emily (we’re still slowly exchanging presents, but I’ve already gotten a copy of Dune from her, which is pretty awesome).
Exchanging presents with my family was awfully pleasant, too, as was the Grays’ Christmas party (now with heated tent!) and having a chance to see old friends. Really, there’s only one constituency that inexplicably dropped the ball in its Christmas celebrations: the Jews.
Well, alright, they didn’t fall so far short. Black Cat Christmas Eve was unacceptably cheerful, but that’s hardly their fault. It was the Christmas movie-watching where the true outrage occurred. Yes, Spencer and Matt joined me to watch The Spirit. But was there subsequent Chinese food to be had? No! They were too full from their preceding visit to a Christmas party to get noodles. For shame, gentlemen. That is not what Jewish Christmas is all about.
Spencer made amends a few days later, though (Matt had left for New York), as we discussed Valkyrie and my flailing bok choy accidentally sent broth spattering all over the restaurant. So I don’t think I’ll have to report anybody to their childhood rabbi just yet.
Actually, it turns out that I’ve seen a ton of movies over this break:
- The Spirit: Pretty bad, and not in a good way.
- Valkyrie: Not bad! But (SPOILER ALERT) it turns out the good guys lose in the end.
- No Country For Old Men: Remains awesome.
- Gilda: Sommer tells me that this is Rita Hayworth’s most famous role, and I guess it’s the one featured in The Shawshank Redemption. The plot concerns the titular character, who’s kind of cruel sociopath, but less so than the two men who form the other points of the movie’s love triangle, one of whom owns a cane-sword. Everybody is constantly smoking and being mean and answering questions with questions, which conveys an air of sophistication, apparently. And it all happens against the exotic backdrop of an illegal casino in Buenos Aires, possibly, and the intrigue and excitement that necessarily surround an illicit tungsten cartel. Frankly, that was my biggest complain with the movie: there wasn’t nearly enough in it about tungsten. It’s a fascinating element! Anyway, I’m not sure that this was a good movie, exactly, but it was fun to watch, and available to stream from Netflix. Drink every time someone says “Johnny”.
- Die Hard 2: A perennially-underrated (by me) entry in the Die Hard franchise. It’s actually pretty good! But it’s also now bittersweet, thanks to the failed Fred Thompson candidacy. He’s an even better pretend airport administrator than he is a pretend district attorney! It’s hard to watch it and avoid thinking about what a fine pretend commander in chief he would’ve made.
Only one other disjointed Christmas occurrence to share: the cleaning of my dad’s basement, which comprised his major Christmas gift from his children. A quarter-century of water-damaged crap lay in wait. There were childhood treasures to rescue, dead rats to locate, and huge amounts of toxic dust to inhale. It took some professional help, but we did it. Here’s the truck — it isn’t yet full in this picture, but it was brimming by the time we called it a day.
Tonight: new year’s! If you’re still looking for a place to celebrate, you ought to come on by.
I sure hope that e-waste was properly disposed of.
Me too! I used a company called Haul 911, who were professional, helpful and seemed reasonably priced — and who tout on their website that they dispose of all waste properly, and recycle whatever they can. I’m afraid I don’t know exactly what they did with it, though. But personally, I feel that my conscience is clear.