Know what was under that light dusting of snow on my back porch steps at 5:30 this morning?
~
One of life’s truisms: if there is ice to slip on, I will find it. Let the chiropractor visits begin.
Ouch.
On the bright side, we had a blast at Kay & Bob’s last night, followed by a visit to an area watering hole to help Seamus & Hannah celebrate the anniversary of their first date. Fun to chat with some people we haven’t seen in awhile.
Now off to find the Aleve…
What am I going to do with myself?
Still have to get with Mavis on the Christmas Eve fixins…but other than that, it’s a lazy Saturday. Does this mean I actually have time to:
Whoa…this is too much for my reptilian brain at 8:50 a.m. I think I need to go lie down…
Novel, great. Movie, mehhhh…jury’s still out.
Having read Bag of Bones years ago (1998), I thought the film adaptation would blow me away. Yet, there were little niggling things that just kind of spoiled it for me.
First, the good: the kid who played Ky (seen at left) was fun to watch. A little too much “I’m a kid with a great big smile and not a care in the world” sometimes, but a good little actor, especially when it came to showing fear. Often, child actors show fear in their actions and voices, but not behind their eyes. This girl nailed it.
The jump-out-and-scare-you moments were well done. The ooky factor (like, when magnets moved on the fridge to spell words, and when the main character’s dead wife would “communicate” with him through cell phones and a bell) was tasteful as well. But two things (among others) really bugged the Thriller and me.
1. Pierce Brosnan never made an effort to Americanize his heavy British accent. Why cast him as born and raised in Maine if he can’t pull it off? Matt Frewer (an American, raised in Canada) played Brosnan’s brother, and they no more sounded like siblings than Julie Andrews and me.
2. Just after Brosnan’s wife died, he revealed to his brother that she was pregnant — even though it had long been known that he could not father a child. Frewer immediately looked away, a pained, guilty expression on his face. This was never addressed in the remaining storyline. How could she have been pregnant if Brosnan’s character was sterile? We never found out, and I cannot for the life of me remember how (or even if) it was addressed in the book. Guess I need to read it again.
All in all, it was a decent story. Not something I’d watch over and over, but OK for a post-concert diversion on two separate nights. It was the little things that bugged me; too many loose ends.
On the Rat-O-Meter scale of five cheeses, I give Bag of Bones:
Concerts in 2011, that is. And there was much rejoicing.
This was a great Christmas concert run, actually. The kids and audiences were all wonderful, and I didn’t make a complete hash of anything myself. Personally, I love seeing the energy of 5th and 6th graders, and wish like heck that they’d keep it throughout their high school years, without me having to threaten them with their lives. Still and all, the four ensembles blessed some people this week. That’s what counts.
And now, spring music begins. Actually, it’s already begun in HS choir. Thumbs up for non-holiday music. Thanks to my RtB fiends for the good wishes and thoughts. We made it!
Bando, be sure to check in and let us know how everything went with your concerts. I have to tell you that I stumbled upon an old comment you made, back in 2009, when you were doing Godspell, when someone sounded like an “arhythmic meth addict on full tilt.” HAaaaaa. I needed that guffaw.
Hey, Wednesday is tomorrow. After tomorrow night, I am concert-free for awhile. Well, until next week’s nursing home gig, but that will be fun and relaxing. Then there’s the Cavs game in March, followed by May: the Month from Hades. But let’s not think about that today. There is much Christmasing to be done.
Last night’s concert went quite well, despite having a 6-foot 6-inch young man pass out on the top row (thank heavens for safety rails on the back of my riser sections). He’d just flown in from basketball practice, and was exhausted and probably dehydrated. The kids around him handled it well, as did the audience. And a great audience it was — polite, quiet and respectful of the kids. Thumbs way up.
Middle school concert tomorrow, then it’s smoooooth sailin’, cap’n. Bring on the Christmas music.
Ack, what am I saying?
Do. You. Have. Your. Shopping. Done. Fiends?