Shutting up

I have laryngitis. (Although I can’t talk, I can still type – aren’t you lucky!) Which makes my horoscope today particularly funny:

Friends know what’s going on with you no matter what you say or don’t say. Telepathic communication reduces the need for actual speech.

It’s funny how much you miss something when you suddenly don’t have it. I really should be calling some clients and other people, but I can barely squeak out a word, and I should be resting my vocal chords anyway. It is sort of calming, though, in a strange way.

I’m sending you some telepathic communication. Do you know what I’m saying?

I’ll give you a topic…

“Arguing about politics is pointless. No one ever changes their mind.”

–Miss Anthropy, in an AIM conversation with me today

Discuss.

Citizenship

Maurice has conferred upon me the title of honorary Canadian, and David now says I can be an honorary Puerto Rican. That’s cool, considering that for a lot of right-wingers and pundits in this country today, I’m not even an official American.

BONUS LINK: Dubyaspeak.com (be sure to check out the audio clips)

Thought experiment

If Andrew Sullivan weren’t gay himself, considering his politics, would he be crusading so forcefully for the civil rights of gay people?

Mona Lisa Smile

It was beautiful to look at, I’ll say that for it. The 50s production design was dazzling. (Julia Stiles’ hairdo alone had me mesmerized.) But it’s a little sad that American movie studios still manage to make the story of an unconventional woman into such an utterly conventional movie.

Don’t you know your Sam?

I didn’t think it belonged in the overall review, but “Return of the King” definitely cemented my undying love for Sean Astin. In a lot of ways “Lord of the Rings” is really Sam’s story more than Frodo’s, and Astin carries it off beautifully.

Sam’s emotional highlight, I think, was in “The Two Towers,” with his speech about the old stories and what they meant. But even in “Return,” there were moments like when Sam finally appears at Frodo’s bedside at the end. I turned to Lisa with an unmistakable “awwww” expression, and she responded, “Who could not love that face?”

So true.

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Looking back the last two years, I found I didn’t really review the previous LOTR movies, mostly because I posted something right after watching, when my brain was running too hot to express anything coherent. But I thought this one, being the last in the trilogy, deserved better.

“Return of the King” manages to be simultaneously more epic and more intimate than the films that came before it, and that’s saying a lot. On the one hand, the battle of Minas Tirith makes the battle of Helm’s Deep from “Two Towers” look like some harsh words at a Cub Scout meeting. Absolutely thrilling.

On the other hand, since we know these people so well by now, the emotional climax of this story is also thrilling in its own way. Peter Jackson isn’t afraid to shift from wild action to a tiny but significant conversation between characters – and he makes it work. Special accolades should go to Miranda Otto as Eowyn and Bernard Hill as King Theoden; wonderful stuff between them.

The production design has always been spectacular in these movies, helped along by the landscape of New Zealand. But nothing prepared me for the sight of a gleaming white Minas Tirith – I said “wow” out loud several times, and that’s unheard of for a cynical old coot like me.

If I have a criticism, it would be that this installment takes a little while getting going. Unlike the others that plunged right in, it felt a little tentative the first 30-45 minutes. But once it got its legs, watch out. Shelob alone was worth the price of admission.

If Peter Jackson does not win the Oscar for this film, there’s no justice left in the world.

The only problem now is, that’s the end. No more holidays looking forward to another installment. No more anticipation of new sights and sounds of Middle Earth. But hey, there’s still the “Return of the King” DVD set to look forward to. I guess that’ll have to do.

Highly, highly recommended.

Purgatory

I don’t usually call attention when I have a new tagline. I have this hope that regular readers notice and appreciate when I change taglines. But since I won’t be posting my “Return of the King” review until tomorrow (yes, I finally saw it), I thought I would let everyone know I’m back from the holidays with a religion-themed tagline, courtesy of my oldest and dearest friend Paul.

Paul, on the other hand, is clearly going to heaven.

Merry Christmas

Hope everyone has a great holiday. (I’ll save my year-end musings, if any, for later. No, don’t thank me.) Since I probably won’t be posting much over the next few days, I invite you all to relate your favorite holiday memory in the comments.

<TINY TIM>
God bless us, everyone!
</TINY TIM>

The corners of my mind

I’m reading my own archives again, and enjoying myself. I don’t know why I do this.