Arkratirma | Jillian Lambert | JML

THIS POST IS COMPLETELY JUSTIFIED; let me explain. After class today (er, yesterday), Kat and I had one of our EPIC CONVERSATIONS (caps 'cause they're THAT EPIC). We are the Masters of Tangential Conversation: we covered Watchmen (and I briefed Kat on tons of backstory tidbits excluded from the film, mainly concerning Rorschach's childhood); Little Children; the love of cats; our cars; rain; school buses; annoying children (phahahaha); bizarre and raunchy IMDb forum threads; and CORNBREAD. That's not all, but that's the gist. Our EPIC CONVERSATION lasted for an hour and a half on our cell phones.

ANYWAY, Kat understands my persistent geekery once I've attached my interests to a new favorite oddball actor (one Jackie Earle Haley), but she hadn't known that he started out as a child actor. He was in the original The Bad News Bears (this elicited a revelatory "Oooh!" from Kat) in 1976 and Breaking Away in 1979. I'm making this post for Kat when she has Internet access again. 'Tis for amusement purposes, because HOLY CRAP when you realize this guy was Rorschach it comes as a kick in the face.

(TANGENT TIME! I JUST now remembered something: when Mr. Doering screened Dead Poets Society in junior year English, the DVD had a preview for Breaking Away. I remember the gorgeous quarry shown in the trailer, as well as the bicycling theme. I want to see that movie....)

( Kelly Leak and Moocher became Rorschach? Yes, indeed! Caps from jeh_fans community. )

OH, but THIS scene takes the cake. JEH as Dukes in Semi-Pro. Dukes is an "especially dirty hippie" and is perpetually stoned. I don't need to watch the movie when I have this one scene (wasn't interested in the movie to begin with, but... just watch this):


^ Dukes' moment of "concentration" KILLS ME DEAD EVERY TIME I WATCH IT. XDDD

"HOLY SHIT I'M A MIRACLE!"

I hereby declare Dukes to be one of the greatest random characters in the history of cinema.

I had a good lawl. Hope you did, too.

Finished!

OH: yesterday's attribution quiz was a piece of cake. Go Leonardo da Vinci!

I've nearly completed another 9" x 12" linoleum piece for my Printmaking graphic novel. Yippee! Feathers are a lot of fun to carve from linoleum.

OH AGAIN: around 1:27, my cell rang. Restricted number. What the hell?

OH FOR THE LAST TIME: for some REAL hearty lawlz, check out LOLSCHACH's Journal! Aurora discovered it first. :3

Kat's dad dropped her off here sometime after 3:00 Friday afternoon. Commence the usual Kat-and-Jill craziness! We listened to music, geeked out over various boards on the IMDb, made gratuitous use of the SSE, hung out by the creek, face-palmed more times than I can count, and watched Little Children.

Of the last several films I've watched at home, Little Children is undoubtedly the best.

For a film that addresses such controversial and unsettling circumstances (among them: having a registered sex offender move into your neighborhood; repeatedly indulging in an affair while constantly questioning and ignoring its morality; and learning to forgive people who have done bad things), Little Children concludes its characters' stories so beautifully and tragically that absorbing everything you've just watched takes a good couple of hours.

Kat and I discussed it at length long into the early hours of Saturday (we'd watched it very late at night). Kate Winslet and Patrick Wilson work fantastically together as Sarah and Brad, each bored, dissatisfied, and longing for something outside the confines of unhappy marriages. Jackie Earle Haley (I'd been adding an extra Y in his last name, curses) is phenomenal as Ronnie J. McGorvey, recently released from prison after exposing himself to a minor. Noah Emmerich is equally engaging as Larry, a police officer retired in disgrace who makes it his duty to keep watch on Ronnie's home and harass him and his ailing mother.

There are so many standout scenes in this movie.... First among them - the kickoff (if relatively mild) shocker - is the kiss Sarah and Brad share at the park as their children and three prissy suburbanite moms watch, stemmed from the mothers' bet that Sarah couldn't get Brad's phone number.

There's Ronnie's excursion to the public pool: he casually makes his way to the water with fins, mask, and snorkel, and proceeds to satisfy his predatory urge to be around children. The panic and fear the parents feel once they realize that the pervert is in the pool is astounding to watch.... Even more disturbing is how quickly fun at the pool resumes after Ronnie has shouted a defiant "I was only trying to cool off!" and been escorted away by the police. (Jackie Earle Haley's tiny frame is part of what makes this scene so arresting to me.)

Mom had warned me that "You see a WHOLE lot of Kate Winslet" in Little Children, which is... very true. You also see a whole lot of Patrick Wilson's ass. ...Phaaahaha, I can't help finding sex scenes hilarious, especially when a friend is around to make oddly witty jokes to concerning them. For acts supposed to be so intimate and relieving, they sure look ridiculous, don't they?

...I guess it's just me, then. Anyway!

The infamous "date scene" is the most upsetting and painful sequence I've seen in a film recently. If you've seen the movie, you'll know what I'm referring to.

( 'If you tell anyone....' and more spoilers.... )

I felt quite satisfied with the film's ending. Watched Little Children again late last night.

I can rightfully say now that I can already see JEH as Rorschach - as perfect a Rorschach as anyone could portray. Jackie Earle Haley has the right height, build, age, and intensity to make Rorschach as captivating as he is in the novel. SO. DAMN. EXCITED.

I drove Kat home and picked up a Monster Khaos for us to share and SweeTarts for each of us. Helped trim Sam's claws, then headed home. Cali hung out for a short time, but it was a lot of fun. Mom was very happy that you enjoyed dinner so well! :)

Yesterday, Mom, Dad, Jim and I drove down to UC Davis to bring Cammy some supplies and Dad's bike. We ate lunch at In-N-Out, dropped Cammy back off at the college, then went home.

Alex and Kile hung out here for a couple hours; we had fun playing with the PC Tablet handwriting recognition pad. I'll have to post some of the screenshots here soon; they're hilarious.

After Alex and Kile left, I'd gone outside again to enjoy some Twizzlers and just look at Dad's garden area. I discovered two baby blue-belly lizards in the bottom of the now-empty koi pond and got them safely out to the rocks surrounding the tub. Poor dears must have been sunning when they slipped into the tub; I wonder how long they'd been there? The second lizard seemed ready to let go until I gently tried to pick him up, at which point he began scrambling to get out. Such cute little lizards!

At Dez's urging, I added a little chunk to Brainsick a few nights ago, and have reached 26,000 words.

WELL, THAT'S ALL FINE AND DANDY.

NOW FINISH THE FUCKING STORY! :|