Back to the future

Scroll to 2:30 of the clip. Nuff said.

I have healers

Earlier this week I went for dinner with my friend Markuz to discuss his participation in an exhibition I am curating. It was cold and rainy the day before, so we went to a Thai place in the neighborhood that I like, and have eaten at many times before. I ate tofu to start, and had a vegetable coconut soup for dinner. With the very last spoon of soup, I noticed a piece of something in the bowl that looked like tofu. But I realized after poking it, that it was chicken. After dinner, just blocks from home, I started feeling sick. By the time I made it inside, I had the hot and cold sweats and felt awful. I spent the next 5 hours making trips between the bed and the toilet. It was awful and Max was out of town. When I finally felt things slow down, the kittens came to lay down with me. They never sleep with us, as they usually do all their running, jumping and destroying between the hours of 11pm and 7am. They jumped up on the bed and lay on either side of me while I was curled in a ball on my side. Calle put his paw in my hand and I slept a little. After an hour or so, I rolled onto my back, at which point Calle crawled right up under my chin. I could actually feel his breath against my face. And Lucy stretched out and lay her whole body over my stomach. It was amazing how they knew where to comfort me. I swear they took my pain away. Little healers…

Little nappers

While I’m working on a grant application, the kittens are sleeping next to me on the bed. Sometimes they are so cute it hurts. The weather has turned bitterly cold, and it’s going to be worse tomorrow. When I got home tonight, there was a letter under the door from the landlord, asking that people keep their windows closed tomorrow. Apparently it will be so windy that windows could fly off the hinges. I thought we moved to California to get away from weather like that…

Lucy is a lot like Max. Once she falls asleep, she is like a rock – still, resting, quiet.

Calle is a lot like me. He takes forever to get comfortable. He tosses and turns, and usually when he’s in a deep sleep, he tucks his little fists under his chin.

Best of

What kind of entertainment fanatics would we be without a best and worst list for 2007?! Honestly the movie-well ran dry for so long, and then suddenly the second half of this year brought an onslaught of amazing selections. What follows are some thoughtful lists produced at the Auffhammer Think Tank Headquarters.

Lori’s Film Choices:

Top Films Of 2007
Once
Into The Wild
Juno
The Lives Of Others
La Vie En Rose
I Am Legend
Blades Of Glory
After The Wedding
Eagle Vs Shark
Atonement

Jury Prize
Across The Universe
Year Of The Dog
Bridge To Terabithia
Zodiac
2 Days In Paris
Waitress
Children Of Men
Ratatouille
Transformers
Paris, Je T’aime
August Rush
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix
Breaking And Entering
Great Debaters

Performances
Viggo Mortensen, Eastern Promises
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, The Savages
Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Charlie Wilson’s War
Irfan Khan, The Namesake
Gordon Pinsent, Away From Her
Parker Posey, Broken English
Angelina Jolie, A Might Heart
Alan Tudyk, Death At A Funeral
Paul Schneider, Lars And The Real Girl
Jack Black, Margot At The Wedding
Cate Blanchett, Im Not There

Worst Films Of 2007
Because I Said So
Fred Claus
Music And Lyrics
300
Premonition
Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer
Shrek The Third
Evan Almighty
Alpha Dog
Fracture
Hot Fuzz
License To Wed
Shoot ‘Em Up
Wild Hogs
Balls of Fury

Max’s Film choices:

Top 10 Films
Eastern Promises
Lives of Others
Juno
Into the Wild
The Namesake
Darjeeling Limited
Ratatouille
Transformers
Live Free or Die Hard
Once

Jury Prize
3:10 to Yuma
Across the Universe
Lars and the Real Girl
I’m Not There
Golden Compass
Atonement
I Am Legend

Best Performances
Cate Blanchett in I’m not there
Leonardo DiCaprio in the Departed
Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan (although I slept through half of the movie)
Mark Ruffalo in Zodiac
Will Ferrell in Blades of Glory
Javier Bardem No Country for Old men

Worst Films Of 2007
National Treasure 2
Fred Clause
P.S. I love you
Catch and Release
Because I said so
300
I think I love my wife
Spider Man 3
August Rush
Premonition

Max’s Top Concert Choices:
1. Cat Power and the Delta Blues Band @ Fillmore
2. Ben Gibbard @ Fillmore
3. Beastie Boys @ Greek
4. Wilco @ Greek
5. Swell Season @ Grand Ballroom
6. (Lori 80’s dancing at the Bruce Springsteen Show)

Lori’s Top Shows Choices:
1. Cat Power and the Delta Blues Band @ Fillmore
2. Feist @ Masonic Center
3. Swell Season @ Grand Ballroom
4. Rilo Kiley @ Fillmore
5. Henry Rollins @ Herbst Theatre

Lori ad Max’s Worst Shows Choices:
1. Tori Amos @ Paramount
We just sat there wondering why we were even there…