Archive | December, 2005

It’s a Miracle

16 Dec

Ladies and gentlemen, after enduring four days of a cold, I have found the miracle cure. Believe it or not, it’s chocolate. Yes, chocolate. I’m not sure if it’s the sugar rush or the cacao or what, but ever since the early afternoon when I started breaking off pieces of a chocolate moose we had sitting around near the office kitchen (yes, that kind of moose), I have felt significantly better.

I started with just a shaving from the ear. And then I went back and had a little chunk. Later, I was slicing into the nose. This was good chocolate. And it certainly did the trick.

In previous years when I’ve had a cold, I’ve credited my miracle (eventually) speedy recovery to all manner of sweets — cake, for example. So in all seriousness, I think it may just be that my body was in some form of withdrawl and needed a taste of what it’s used to. Is that crazy? I mean, I know for a fact that my body was rundown and that’s largely to blame for why I had the cold to begin with. And in the past few days, I haven’t been eating much of anything. So even though I did have a runny, stuffy nose and a cough and aches, etc., my body was out of sorts in other ways. Now granted, I don’t think that if I went on a diet and stopped eating cake and candy, that my body wouldn’t be able to handle it. On the other hand, I’m sure that if I did some digging around medical web sites, I could find something to back up my claim.

I’ve asked multiple people — pharmacists at CVS, friends, my mother — and everyone always has a different answer for what to take for a cold. In the past week, I’ve tried Sudafed, Cold-EEZE, Nyquil, and plenty of orange juice. While I was starting to feel a little bit better this morning, none of those things had the effect on me that the chocolate has had. No kidding.

Granted, I am still coughing intermittently, and I don’t feel perfect, but my breathing seems to have returned to normal and I’m hoping that after a good night’s sleep tonight (God willing), I should be raring to go tomorrow. Woo hoo!

Cold Stone

14 Dec

All I really have to say about The Family Stone is that it probably could have used a bit more Sly. But seriously, yeah, it was fine. Not the wacky family comedy the trailer and ads make it out to be. If you’re iffy about seeing it, here are two reasons: Rachel McAdams and Diane Keaton. Still not convinced? Claire Danes is much better here than she was in Shopgirl. Other than that, eh. I give it a B-.

Having a Cold, Dos and Don’ts

13 Dec

Do medicate yourself. Do be smart about what medications you take and when. For example, don’t take non-drowsy Sudafed at 9 p.m., an hour or so before you plan to go to bed, and expect to sleep well through the night. Also, don’t switch medications mid-stream through a cold because you think doing so will have “shock value” for your body and will speed up the recovery time.

Lessons learned. I hate having a cold.

(But seriously, is there a proven cold remedy?)

sign of winter, number 74

12 Dec

i have a cold. it’s that beginning of december, change of seasons, no flu shot would save me from this, inevitable, winter’s actually here cold. you know the one. it has all the usual symptoms: stuffy/runny nose, cough, sore throat, general congestion, clogged ears, tiredness … yuck. and i’m not the only one here in my office who has it: one person has called in sick and stayed home, one other person has similar symptoms and is here, there’s coughing and sneezing elsewhere in the office, and a general sense that everyone’s going to get it sooner or later “so stay away from me.”

admittedly, i feel better today than i did yesterday (thank you, Cold-EEZE and O.J.), but that could be because i didn’t sleep well saturday night and i was just exhausted driving back from another weekend in new york. then again, i did write all of this in lower case without even realizing it until a second ago, i’m putting the wrong revision date on printouts i’m circulating (10/12 instead of 12/12), and someone here just commented on how well i had coordinated my sweater and scarf today, which i swear i didn’t do on purpose, so maybe i’m less here than i thought. thankfully, i drove in today, so not only can i spare my fellow T passengers from getting what i have, but i can also get home in 15 minutes should things get worse.

ugh. it’s going to be a long day.

Someday We’ll All Be Blind

10 Dec

In 1972, 11 Israeli athletes were killed by a Palestinian terrorist group known as “Black September.”

What happened next is told in Steven Spielberg’s new film Munich, which I saw earlier today (it hits theaters on Dec. 23).

Simply put, it’s great — one of the best films I’ve seen all year. I had the emotional reaction to it that was missing from Brokeback Mountain earlier this week — no surprise, really, since I can more easily identify with the plight of Jewish people than I can with the plight of repressed gay cowboys (which I hope doesn’t sound too easily dismissive). Continue reading →

It’s My Fault

9 Dec

The Krispy Kreme stores in Medford and Saugus have closed. This comes just a few months after the store downtown at the Pru shut its doors. As a big fan of the Original Glazed (as my belly will attest), I couldn’t help but feel a little bit upset by this news. But I also feel partly responsible. I mean, when was the last time I made the trek to Medford for a hot donut (or two … or three)? In fact, I can’t even remember the last time I had a hot Krispy Kreme. I just always counted on the store to be there to satisfy my sugar fix whenever I needed it to be. I guess I didn’t count on my conscience (and my sister) to keep telling me that I didn’t really need the hot donut (or two or three). And now look what’s happpend! Oh well.

But I can’t take full blame, of course. It’s you, my easily-pleased friends, who are also to blame. It’s you who buy the Krispy Kremes at the supermarket, who are content to have cold donuts, who have helped to put these fine institutions out of business. Yes, I know you can just take the donuts home and heat them up, but please — anyone who has ever had a hot Krispy Kreme will agree that there’s nothing like getting them fresh at the store. There’s nothing at all like seeing the hot glaze ooze out of the machine and onto the baked goodies as they go by on the conveyor belt. Mmmmmmmmmmmm…

At least there’s still a store open in Dedham (one I never knew about until today). That one’s closer to where I live than the Medford one, and I will now consider it my civic duty to keep it in business. My belly will be so happy.

Winter Wonderland

8 Dec

A couple months ago, I interviewed William Moseley, one of the young stars of The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Admittedly, for reasons I won’t get into, I did it under duress, so I went to see the movie itself out of obligation. It’s also worth noting that I didn’t like the Lord of the Rings movies (I fell asleep during the first one and never saw the other two) and have only seen the first and third Harry Potter films.

So what a pleasant surprise that I generally liked Narnia. The first third or so is quite magical, as each child discovers the world waiting through the wardrobe. You discover it as a viewer right along with them, and that’s great fun. The middle third is a bit much, the effects aren’t so great (all those talking animals look really fake), it’s dark (because it’s taking place at night), and really, you’re just waiting for the big battle to happen. Fortunately, when it does, it’s pretty cool. So in brief, I’m giving Narnia a B.

Trying to Be Respectful

8 Dec

It’s hard to review Brokeback Mountain because so much has already been written and said about it and so my view is already tainted. Accordingly, I went into the movie with extremely high expectations and was ready to just be blown away. Well, I wasn’t. I didn’t really feel the passion between Jack and Ennis, didn’t feel like they really had much of a connection other than convenience and their mutual loneliness, didn’t feel the longing that Ennis supposedly felt, thought the ending was lacking, thought Heath Ledger held back too much to really register any emotion, and kind of felt like the initial sexual experience was sort of forced.

But maybe that’s just me, because on the other hand, the film — which is based on Annie Proulx’s short story — is impressive and really does need to be seen, if only because it treats its subject matter with such respect. That the two guys fall in love is practically matter-of-fact — it doesn’t happen with any swelling orchestral music, isn’t belaboured to make any grand political statements, and it’s allowed to continue without the outside world intruding in any real way. It’s just happening. This is an on-screen relationship like any other we’ve seen before, and yet it’s unlike any other we’ve seen before. And because the movie treats its subject matter with such respect, I initially thought I would take some time before writing about it, so I, too, could be respectful. I was hesitating to dismiss Brokeback Mountain for the reasons I listed earlier, because really, the story itself is moving, the film’s heart is in the right place, and just because I didn’t feel them doesn’t mean all those emotions aren’t there.

I’m thinking I should see this movie again when it actually hits theaters in a week or two and write about it some more then. After all, there has to be a reason why so many critics are raving and calling it one of, if not the best film of the year. I don’t mean to invalidate my opinions, and I don’t want to come off as a lemming wannabe because I didn’t feel what many other people have felt. I just want to be fair, because I do acknowledge that I may not have given the film a fair shot given my expectations. That said, I’m giving it a B for now.

[P.S.: One unexpected cool thing about Brokeback Mountain is the fact that one of my old high school chums, David Harbour, is in it. He comes on about half-way through, playing Anna Faris’ husband and a friend of Jack and Lurleen’s. He’s the guy with the beard — no pun intended.]

Update (1/28): I have seen the movie for the second time. Click here to read my revised thoughts.

A Whole New World

7 Dec

I suppose you know what you’re getting when you go to see a Terrence Malick film: beautiful cinematography, sweeping shots of nature (and lots of them), ethereal narration, major actors who have bit parts or who don’t appear until two-thirds of the way through, and a general sense that you’re watching a Very Important Movie and you should just get comfortable because Malick’s in no rush. All that and more is present in The New World, Malick’s latest film — which probably hits a theater near you on January 13 (if it’s not there on Christmas Day). The New World is Malick’s take on the founding of Jamestown in 1607, but instead of it being a historical document of culture clashes, Malick has made an epic love story. And this is not the Disney Pocahontas movie, that’s for sure.

To be honest, I have a hard time reviewing the movie. It’s not that it’s not good — and with sweeping camerawork, a beautiful score, and fine acting by Colin Farrell, it’s quite impressive. I can appreciate the film for what it is, but I just didn’t enjoy it. I just found it hard to connect with. My eyelids were closing at times, the narration got a bit annoying, and I really thought it was quite long — as opposed to Malick’s last film, The Thin Red Line, which was also long, but which I did enjoy. I’m no professional critic, just a frequent moviegoer (this was my 48th film so far this year), so I guess that entitles me to write about the movies I see however I want to. So, I’m not going to give this one a letter grade, because I don’t see how I could give it a B+ or A-, for example, when B+ is the same grade I gave, say, Wedding Crashers, and that movie is in a whole different league from The New World. So let’s leave it at that: The New World is an impressive, beautiful movie, but it didn’t make a connection with me, and I just didn’t enjoy it.

On Second Thought

7 Dec

For a change, I bought and actually watched a DVD this past weekend: Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

When I first saw this movie over the summer, I rated it a B/B+, but after a second viewing, I am upgrading my grade to a solid B+. Mr. & Mrs. Smith clearly got a bad rap because of all the Brangelina hype, and too-high expectations from literal movie critics. Now that some time has passed … well, the film is really fun — a great mix of humor and action with some great showpieces, and Brad Pitt gives a typically deadpan funny performance. Continue reading →

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