pjs.

I've never really watched Futurama, but I say this to myself pretty much every night of the week.

(Poster via paintings + drawings)

rugs.

Oh, Anthropologie, will our love affair ever end? Actually, when I hit 40, I kind of thought I was outgrowing you, much like I did your little sister, Urban Outfitters, when I turned 30. But I just discovered your rug collection the other day, and it was like the first time we jumped into bed together. Amazing! My favorites are these paint-by-numbers rugs--how genius are they? I already want to buy all new furnishings for my new condo. My new condo that I haven't bought yet. But I'm a girl, I can't help it. I'm already thinking of completely remodeling and going for a mid-century modern aesthetic. More to come on that. In the meantime, let's go shopping.

from book to film: shutter island.

I read Shutter Island a couple of years ago. As is the case with most mysteries, I really enjoyed it until the end. I think it was the same with both Mystic River (read before the movie) and Gone Baby Gone (read after the movie).

I like Lehane. He’s more than a capable mystery writer; he brings that certain rare literary quality to his brand of Boston noir, which I find gripping and authentic. His books suffer the same as many other mysteries—they tend to collapse at the end. But I forgive him this, and I think I‘ve talked about this with other authors. I have no issue with being along for the ride, even if the ultimate destination is disappointing.

But the ending of Shutter Island was—and I was to explain this briefly without any spoilers—so patently ludicrous, on top of which he piled on the most absurd moralizing and pontificating about a subject with which he clearly had no credibility, that I actually found it unforgivable. He ruined a wonderfully spooky, Gothic locked door mystery. As they say up in Beantown, it was “re-tahded.”

But, when I heard the movie version was going to be directed by Scorsese and starring Leo and Mark Ruffalo, I was in. You had me at “Ruffalo”. I was a little wary, because the reviews I read had either deemed it fantastic or awful. But I went with the A.V. Club’s A- rating and bought my $14.50 Arclight ticket.

And I liked it! I thought it was a pretty great film. And it perfectly illustrated my case, that the book is not always better than the movie. Sometimes the latter is far superior. I don’t know if there’s a genre called High Art Pulp, but there should be and Shutter Island, the movie, was a fine example of it.

Here’s what I dug: 1. It was almost like a horror movie, but had enough of a story to keep it from being gross. 2. The soundtrack compiled by Robbie Robertson featured 20th century composers like Penderecki and Morton Feldman, and yet you felt like the music was composed specifically for the film. 3. Mark Ruffalo is ridiculously hot and an interesting actor, and 4. Leo really blew me away. He’s really matured into a powerful screen presence.

So that’s it. I really enjoyed it. Shutter Island the book: eh. Shutter Island the film: nice.

p.s. I hated The Departed. I thought it totally blew.

quote of the day.

"I must learn to love the fool in me--the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It alone protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom I also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool." -- Theodore I. Rubin, MD

(Quote via A Cup of Jo.)

sx-70.

So, last fall I "splurged" on a Polaroid SX-70, which takes the coolest pictures, according to most Polaroid aficionados. "Why?" you ask, considering that the film has been discontinued for good. I was well aware of this, but my awesome sister-in-law Joy had a huge stash of film in her garage, which she very generously allowed me to dip into, enough so that it was a worthwhile investment.

What I didn't realize was that the SX-70 required a few modifications to fit 600 film--the only kind of Polaroid film left and the only kind of Polaroid film in my sister-in-law's garage. This, of course, sent me into a panic, as I am not a mechanical person and when it comes to fidgeting and tinkering with things, I tend to give up right away.

But, six months later, I was able to adapt my camera, with the help of this. Although, I have to say, trying to cut a circle out of CD jewel case is a fool's paradise, and I recommend just buying a simple sheet of clear transparency paper (like that on the report covers you turned in junior high).

And now it was all doubly worth it, since The Impossible Project seems to have made the impossible possible. Way to go!

Anyway, enjoy my first shots of the beautiful wisteria that has suddenly started blooming over my deck.