The Little Words Mean the Most

The march of projects

My current projects, all flagged. The alarm sign lands on any project with a tight deadline.

Friday it snowed

For five hours I tended a twig oven. And learned you have to move the fuel toward the core. You want it hot enough for instant ignition. My oven had a design problem (now fixed) and the fire kept dying out. I learned that unless you want coke, don't cocoon the fire. Always have an edge exposed where new fuel can be easily introduced and fire up fast. I always assume it's the last burn of the season. I pick a path and clear it of low-hanging limbs and saplings that muddy the views. Burning is all in pursuit of a path, to make the natural delights of this land easily accessible. You should see our Allegheny Mound anthills. They are nightmarishly massive. The biggest is the size of a stack of straw field hats, revealing a colony beneath that's as large as a town square (at least; it might stretch forever; there's an ant supercolony in France that goes for hundreds of miles). L-r: path signage, worn-out work gloves; the heavy clay turtle that weighs the fire down in its last hour or so; when terror was a matter of pride among nations; the tools of the trail-cutting trade.

T-shirts R Us

A message in a T-shirt, made expressly for Simone and me me me.

A Petersburg Christmas #2

L-r: when I fell from a tree and broke my back, Alain dubbed me Broken Boy (he gets the T-shirt); hanging a map of France in living room of the Petersburg masterpiece; the P-burg pre-Civil War masterpiece from the outside (the building in the middle, without the awning); OK, if this is Tom (and it is), then who am I and who is Lily?

Why writing direct mail should be an Olympic sport

Writing direct mail fundraising appeals is tough. It's ventriloquism and stage magic. You have to inhabit someone else's personality (the signer) and hold a close, interesting conversation with a stranger you pretend to actually know (the recipient) and produce an authentic voice inside a very engineered and artificial environment. Otherwise it's easy.

A Petersburg Christmas #1; VA, not Russia BTW

l-r: Phil; who's holding my camera?; film critic and waiting for life to begin, everyone tells him which has to cripple him emotionally or maybe it doesn't since he's smooth as shake, Daniel; and my secret society member, Tom.

The year of traveling extravagantly

Today an invitation to speak in Bangkok arrived. We haven't agreed on terms yet, so I might not go. But it is nice to be plucked from this face of the earth to travel to that face of the earth and be treated as an expert. Also on the calendar as the world spins in 2010: overseas speaking gigs in New Zealand, Australia, Amsterdam.

Beditation

The act of lying there, snuggled into a pillow cranny, eyes stoutly closed, releasing your mind from the visual tether, to freely write and wander.

Prosed poem

Movies we have seen lately

It always happens this time of year (the turn of, during the holidays): Simone wants to crank through as many films as possible in the shortest time possible. New releases we've seen:

Avatar in 3D, all thumbs up for what my film critic nephew-in-law, Daniel Joyaux, called "Dances with Wolves in space." It's another James Cameron epic entertainment masterpiece that is hugely watchable and takes CGI (computer generated images) where they have never gone before.

Sherlock Holmes, directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, Madonna's ex; more important, a terrific, hyperkinetic filmmaker whose gangster romp, Snatch, with Brad Pitt in a supporting role as an Irish gypsy boxer with an impenetrable accent, is in a league of its own [a league distinguished by violence, great British character actors, and unrestrained humor]). Sherlock Holmes doesn't rest for a moment. Robert Downey (Holmes) and Jude Law (Watson) make quite the team. We loved it.

Up in the Air. Fabulous. Smart script, characters you'll love (and sigh over). Directed by Jason Reitman, who brought us Juno. We attended with a small crowd of family members; they all adored it.

It's Complicated. Our BFF, Laura, recommended this film highly. What was she thinking. Alec Baldwin is mildly amusing. Meryl Streep is always presentable. But the story is a square peg in a square hole: predictable and made from a mix. Within a few minutes, I wondered, "This gets better, right?" It didn't. As we left, Simone whispered guiltily, "I didn't like that." There wasn't much to like. About as interesting as a trip to Starbucks, and you'll see the very same people. Save your money.

The Blind Side, starring Sandra Bullock. Privileged white family in Memphis, TN takes in a homeless African-American teen, then helps him succeed in school and grow into a major football talent. Based on pro footballer Michael Oher's real life. Audiences are flocking to this movie. We left feeling uplifted and delighted. Electrifying performances sell what might otherwise have passed for a familiar Hollywood feel-good film of triumph over long odds.

And we revisited on DVD some faves: Kinky Boots, the fresh, fast, enchanting tale of how a transvestite saves a struggling British shoe firm (based on a true story); About a Boy, Hugh Grant as a self-centered prick who becomes a mensch, pretty much against his will (from a Nick Hornby novel); and WALL-E, the animated, photorealistic look at humankind's cringe-worthy future AND unforgettable love story that should have won an Oscar nomination for best film. Simone and I adore this film so much we do WALL-E and EVE imitations and lock our robotic hands. Just ask us.

Whoops, and one more DVD: The Hangover. Come on, you've lived it yourself. Just never this bad. Vegas bachelor party goes SO wrong, and best buds misplace the groom-to-be. Consistent fun. Mike Tyson and his tiger get a subplot all their own. The fact that actor Ed Helms can in real life remove one of his front incisors adds disturbing authenticity. This film is rated SH: you must have a Sense of Humor to enjoy its quirks and pratfalls.