Author: phil

The Squid and the Whale

Noah Baumbach was Wes Anderson’s collaborator on Life Aquatic and is also working with him pon the 2006 The Amazing Mr. Fox. This time, Anderson returns the favor by producing this movie, directed by Baumbach.

Squid is a funny depiction of a dysfunctional family–funny because it is a particular kind of dysfunctional family: a writing professor dad and movie critic mother in Brooklyn in the 80’s.

Like Wes Anderson’s movies that create a distinctive, whole, specific world for his stories, Squid too succeeds in nailing the specifics. This extends from sets and clothes to casting and dialogue. All of it is very believeable.

The acting was fantastic, but it wasn’t something I noticed until after I thought about it. The mom and dad and kids were too real for me to think of them as actors. No, this family was faling apart in the most disturbing way, and I was laughing at them: sometimes in disbelief, sometimes in horror. And sometimes in recognition.

3.5/4 stars.

saw at Lumiere with W. 11/27 730pm.

The curious incident of the dog in nighttime

My sister got me this book for my birthday.

Living in the world of someone who is autistic is by turns fascinating and frustrating. The amount of detail experienced by the main character is enlightening, and it is fascinating to watch him process that information. However, towards the end I experience impatience with all the detail and just wanted to get to the point.

But that was the point–understanding the world of autism. This is still a light mystery novel–and I mean that in the best possible way. It doesn’t tax too much, it’s interesting, and in the last third it’s quite a pageturner.

A fun, quick read. Recommended.

eucalyptus tree run

We were running up Middle Drive. an incredibly pungent smell filled the air.

“What is that smell?” I asked W., who was running on the trail beside me.

“Ecalyptus trees.”

“Which trees are the eucalyptus trees?”

“I don’t know, I just know the smell.”

Longer run this week. 8.5 miles for me. 100 minutes. We ran from conservatory on JFK to the Waist, over to MLK, down to Bernice Rodgers, up JFK to Chain of Lakes, up Middle Drive West, back over to JFK, down through Rose garden woods and back along 8th street flats to the conservatory.

Was tired. Out of shape. Spent the day recovering sloooowly. Brunch at Eat’s. Mmmm.

Felt good to run that distance, though. Need to keep it up.

Muir Woods

Took at day off on Thursday to spend the day with my friend KV, who is moving back to Thailand next week. In the morning, we drove up to check out Muir Woods. I’d never been there before. It’s quite beautiful, and really close to SF, but there’s just a twisty little road to get over there. I bet it’s packed on the weekends.

Carmina Buruna: Orff

ah, the symphony.

Met W at Jade bar for a cocktail ($2 happy hour!) before the concert.

The conductor was David Robertson, who I really like. He is shorter than MTT, and not as willowy; but like MTT he knows how to get good sound from the orchestra.

I also like the happy, snappy way he takes bows after the concert.

The appetizer this week was by the Mexican composer Silvestre Revueltas. ‘La noche de los Mayas’ is a setting of a eponymous film score, released in 1939.

It is a loud, charming, and entertaining piece: with lots of rhythms and melodies from hispanic songs. The final movement has some fantastic percussive stretches. At one point, I counted 15 percussionists all banging away at once.

At the half, I went up to the first tier exhibit commemorating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the concert hall. For some reason, I got really excited to see and touch one of the big plexiglas panels which are suspended from the ceiling above the orchestra to shape the sound.

It was like a science museum exhibit, sandwiched between two concerts. Fun!
The main event was Carmina Burana. I swear I’ve heard this piece in conceet at Davies Symphony Hall sometime in the last two years; but the program says that it hasn’t been performwd by the symphony since 98. Which means it would have had to have been a guest orchestra and chorus; which is unlikely given the number of instruments and singers, or I’m dreaming.

I’m about 100 percent sure I heard this recently.

Anyway, it is a great piece of music, and the crowd loved it. A huge chorus, so the sound was big and full and throaty. The soprano had a strange throaty sound, and for such a small lady could really open her mouth. Picture the people singing on schoolhouse rock, or Lucy tilting her had back to laugh at Charlie Brown.

Anyway. a meat and potatoes kind of night, musically. You can’t live on pop alone.

Austin marathon 2006 or bust!

I decided that I am gpoing to run the Austin Marathon in February, 2006.

this is week one of training.

Today, I did my first training run.
Lake street, to 29th and back. ~4 miles. 45 minutes.

I was super stiff from soccer last night so the first half was really slow. (i scraped up both knees last night playing goalie, and also took a big tumble on a breakaway.) but on the way back I got a big rush after doing some fartleks, my fingers gwtting all tingly.

Fun. Also saw a girl who I used to see when I ran in the mornings . Glad she’s still out there running. We always say hi.

My goal for Austin is an under 5 hour marathon. I also plan to run the Kaiser Permanente Half marathon in GGP on February 6, two weeks before Austin, and am tentatively planning to run the Big Sur marathon on April 30th.

Whooo! Counting on my vast audience of readers to cheer me on.

40 year old virgin, Wallace and Grommit, Corpse Bride

I did a triple feature a few Fridays ago. It was just after I went to the dentist, so I was downtown at the theatre at 5pm, and didn’t reemerge till 10pm.

40 year old virgin. Well, it is funny, in the same way that a chocolate shake is tasty. But not a comedy classic or anything. 3/4 stars.

I thought the casting was good, especially the love interest (who I have completely forgotten). Interesting how the script tried to answer the question ‘how did this happen?’ and how conservative it is, really, in the end.

2 stars

-/-

Wallace and Grommit was *such* a fantastic joy to see. I definitely want to watch it again. I caught a 7pm show, so there were lots of adults and kids in the audience. Man, it was so much fun.

What’s the magic formula? Two great comic characters, incredibly expressive animation, and a lovely, carefully crafted world for the story.

I’ll go see this one again.

3.5/4 stars
-/-

Corpse Bride.

Tim Burton, back to form. I liked it, especially the song and dance numbers. Story was a bit of a formula, but still, well done.

3/4

Golden Gate Bridge Run

W and I decided to do our weekend run in Marin headlands trails, and so we met at 930am and drove down to the bridge.

It was a gorgeous day.

We parked on the SF side of the Golden Gate Bridge, and ran across. It’s a long bridge actually, and it’s a pretty good hill to start on. It slopes downwards of course, on the other side, but immediately rises after you get to the far side. After the first pylon, the tourists start walking back, so the sidewalk is wide and clear for running.

The view was amazing, and I had a good time watching the sailboats go by. I talked to W. a bit about the怀joys of sailing, but she wasn’t convinced.

When we got to the other side, we couldn’t find the trails the article W read about. Or rather, it was hot, there was no shade, and we could see that whereever we ran, it would be hilly and without shade.

So we turned back.

I like running with W. It’s a good bit of social time, we get to catch up on the gossip. And we get to run.

On the return trip across the bridge, I could see a good view of the entire SF coastline. And it made me happy to think: I’ve run all over this city. From the Embarcadero, Crissy Field, Presidio, Golden Gate Bridge, Baker Beach, Land’s End, Golden Gatw Park, and Ocean Beach… I’ve run in all those places.

That’s fun.

Sunshine, finally

After a long, soul-crushing fog season, sunshine is finally back. Usually the fog coincides with summer–late July to the end of August. This year, the fog was thicker ?d lasted longer than ever… we were having foggy days even after I got back from muggy Japan in late September. No Indian summer this year.

Fall is here, and with it, clear blue skies and a cool breeze. In direct sunshine it is warm, but in the shade you are chilly. So you still need a jacket. Of course it never is ever hot.

Last weekend was Fleet Week in San Francisco, when all the Navy sailors are in town and the Blue Angels, a navy air team, perform an air show with their F-16 fighter planes over the bay. I never go to watch, as it is easy enough just to look up at the sky and see the planes and feel the boom of their engines when they fly overhead.

I did go to the Polish festival, for the second year in a row. My friend C. is Polish, and he invited me. For some reason, it’s just fun sitting with him and his friends talking about books and church and people’s relationships, and drinking brewskis (beers) and eating sausages. This was Sunday. I left the park at 5pm, drunk, and spent the rest of the evening sobering up.

A good day.

Serenity

It is funny how a medium shapes my expectations.

From TV I expect TV cliches, but suffer them for character advancement. That is, give me an interesting cast and let the characters develop, and I’ll hang with you far longer than I should.

For a movie, I want character development as well, because that’s the real story. Not what happened, but who were you, and who are you now? What changed about you, and what did not change?

Serenity is a lot of fun, and the characters are well written and strong, but there’s a vague dissatisfaction with the mechanics of it. I can hear the nine act story structure creaking along, and it robs me of my enjoyment a bit.

Still, maybe I’m bemoaning this probable final outing for the series, and characters I loved.

This is a really fun, entertaining western set in space, and you should definitely see it.

3/4 stars.