|
| The weather has been out of control this spring. I celebrated my
birthday a few weeks late this year, in mid-April, and it was about 40
degrees outside that night. I really don't recall my birthday
every being in the winter.
But lately it has finally been warming up. On Saturday I made a
last minute decision to join Bec and Greg in a bike rally in Muenster,
TX. It's north of Denton, and pretty hilly! We managed to
trudge through 40 miles. It was not easy, but eating bananas and
vanilla-flavored Gu certainly helped. Not to mention at least a
gallon of water. Though at times I rued my decision to
come, it was a lovely scenic ride, enhanced by perfect weather.
The bike mart technician was extremely helpful to me. First, he
adjusted my front wheel, and then later remounted by cyclocomputer that
had been rattling for over 20 miles.
Still, don't ever go to Muenster, TX for their Germanfest. It is very
disappointing. They should just called it Muensterfest.
There is very little that is German about it. Not even German
beer! It's mostly a bunch of corpulent Texans dancing to horrid
country music and overeating.
Last week Ellen visited from NY with 2 friends. She took them on
a food tour of her home state. I was pleased to be able to join
them on a few excursions.
Last night after work it rained a little, but I still decided to ride
to the lake. Parts of my ride were extremely muddy, but I enjoyed
the chance to ride without throngs of cyclists around me.
| | |
| Last night I attended AFI's screening of The Valet
(La Doublure). It was fantastic! I was expecting to enjoy
it, and I really did. One of the stars is absolutely gorgeous,
and the entire film is hilarious. I had no idea that Kristin
Scott Thomas spoke French so well. Plus, I haven't heard such
raucous laughter in a theater in a long time - especially unexpected in
a foreign film! I showed up to the screening alone, but ended up
knowing 5 people in the sold-out theater. Yoga teachers, two
string musicians, and an AFI board member. I left the theater in
a wonderful mood.
| | |
| It's been a fun couple of days. Currently the AFI Dallas
International film festival is happening all over town, and it's been
great. On Saturday I saw Ira & Abby, a new film by Jennifer Westfeldt of Kissing Jessica Stein
fame. Where that movie was her character's experiment with sexual
orientation, this new one is her experiment with marriage. I
thought it was pretty funny.
Later that evening I watched David Lynch's new film INLAND EMPIRE.
It was quite a treat to sit in on a Q&A session with him, and also
have him introduce the film himself. First he brought out a
guitarist to play an impromptu piece, and then recited a poem.
The movie felt like it was 4 hours long, but it was only 3. I enjoyed it, but I won't recommend it to non-Lynch fans.
Sunday at noon I headed to Central Market for a chance to meet David
Lynch and sample his new line of coffee beans. By the time I got
there, a long line had already formed. I probably waited at least
25 minutes before reaching him. A few minutes later, I saw a
young woman unbutton her top so that he could sign her chest in gold
marker. She even gave him her phone number.
Monday night I saw The Year of the Fish,
a movie set in New York's Chinatown. The writer/director was in
attendance and explained the concept of rotoscoping. It is the
process of coloring over filmed footage, done to achieve a distinctive
visual effect. The writer/director has an interesting
history. He looks young, probably in his late 20s, and he
apparently lived in Australia for a time to learn Japanese. Then
he returned to the U.S., and eventually made this film.
Tonight I plan to see the latest comedy from French director Francis Veber. The English name is The Valet. I really like his movie, The Dinner Game. He also directed The Closet, which I have yet to see.
I love how this film festival seems to be awash in free tickets.
I bought 10 before it even began, but I have received 5 free tickets in
addition. This is not even counting ones I was offered but did
not accept. ha
| | |
| Today's been a unique day. The news I've heard from
friends/family has been all over the map. First, Jess told me
that one of her cats died. Then good news from Laura that she
found a job as a professional cellist. My brother got into his
top grad school choice today. And Brooke made dumplings today,
perhaps inspired by my recent dumpling-making party. Candace also
made some dumplings of her own last week. Super. 
It is so stormy outside, I fear my power could go out any minute!
| | |
| Guess I haven't written anything here in awhile. After seeing La Rondine, I
saw pianist Helene Grimaud perform over the weekend, and she was
fantastic. I think violinist Hilary Hahn was 2 weeks later, and
then last Saturday I saw Wagner's opera Lohengrin with
my dad. I had slightly dreaded sitting through this 4+ hr. long
opera, but it was actually very engaging and worthwhile.
In the past 2 days I have been seeing Harry Potter-related bumper
stickers on cars. Yesterday it was "Republicans for Voldemort",
and today I spotted "Trust Snape" on a Jeep in front of me. I
kind of want a HP bumper sticker, too.
The wind in Dallas was ridiculous on Saturday. It was some sort
of dust storm, it seemed. The sky was orange, and it was hard to
be outside without sand or dust being blown into your eyes. At
brunch I sat outside and got hit in the arm with a piece of
toast. Thankfully, it had not been buttered. In the
afternoon I saw light fixtures and trees come crashing to the
ground. The power went off in some neighborhoods for about 4
hours. Flights were cancelled.
| | |
|
|
