xmas fragments
Dec. 25th, 2006 10:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jazzfishA joyous (edit: late) Sunreturn to you all, and a reminder that axial tilt is the reason for the season.
Dennis Hartley, who occasionally posts movie reviews at Digby's place, reminded me of the best Christmas movie ever. "Well. What family doesn't have its little problems?" Next year I shall begin a Tradition of watching it in the company of cool people. (The rest of this holiday season being rather full already.)
The awesomest thing I got this Xmas I didn't actually get at all. My parents gave me a smallish box with some rocks inside it ("to give it some weight"), and also a short note. The note said that they've taken Pop's old clock (now mine) into a clock repair shop, in order to have its innards ripped out and replaced with functional ones. Apparently when the clock was made the mechanism was delicate enough that it needed to be sitting Perfectly Level, or else. And, well, it wasn't, for many years.
I suspect that when they fix it they'll actually fix it, and thus remove the coolest aspect of the clock. On the fifteen, thirty, and forty-five minutes it plays one, two, and three bars of Westminster Chimes. On the hour it plays all four bars and then supposedly chimes the hour. My earliest memories of this clock involve it chiming one extra time each hour. Sometime in the late eighties Gram and Pop took it to a repair shop and had it "fixed" so it would chime correctly. Eleven times out of twelve, anyway. At one o'clock it would chime thirteen times.
I got Dad the llama movie, so we watched that after lunch. It's an anomaly among Disney films: there's only one musical number (the opening credits), the kids have two parents, and there's a great deal of actually witty banter. "Why do we even have that lever?" "I really hope this doesn't come back to haunt me later." The whole "Don't tell me. Waterfall dead ahead" conversation. David Spade is bloody annoying but other than that it's a great deal of fun.
Dennis Hartley, who occasionally posts movie reviews at Digby's place, reminded me of the best Christmas movie ever. "Well. What family doesn't have its little problems?" Next year I shall begin a Tradition of watching it in the company of cool people. (The rest of this holiday season being rather full already.)
The awesomest thing I got this Xmas I didn't actually get at all. My parents gave me a smallish box with some rocks inside it ("to give it some weight"), and also a short note. The note said that they've taken Pop's old clock (now mine) into a clock repair shop, in order to have its innards ripped out and replaced with functional ones. Apparently when the clock was made the mechanism was delicate enough that it needed to be sitting Perfectly Level, or else. And, well, it wasn't, for many years.
I suspect that when they fix it they'll actually fix it, and thus remove the coolest aspect of the clock. On the fifteen, thirty, and forty-five minutes it plays one, two, and three bars of Westminster Chimes. On the hour it plays all four bars and then supposedly chimes the hour. My earliest memories of this clock involve it chiming one extra time each hour. Sometime in the late eighties Gram and Pop took it to a repair shop and had it "fixed" so it would chime correctly. Eleven times out of twelve, anyway. At one o'clock it would chime thirteen times.
I got Dad the llama movie, so we watched that after lunch. It's an anomaly among Disney films: there's only one musical number (the opening credits), the kids have two parents, and there's a great deal of actually witty banter. "Why do we even have that lever?" "I really hope this doesn't come back to haunt me later." The whole "Don't tell me. Waterfall dead ahead" conversation. David Spade is bloody annoying but other than that it's a great deal of fun.
no subject
Date: 2006-12-26 03:55 am (UTC)I am in Tennessee at my in-law's house, having a nice relaxing week, but missing Christmas Eve service at St. Stephens (or any other familiar church). The pope's midnight mass on TV is the tradition here, which just doesn't do it for me. It has been a good trip, though - I am lucky enough to have awesome in-laws.
Anyway, I've been thinking of you and hoping that your life has calmed down a bit since all of the excitement/drama/whatever before your grandfather passed away. I hope you are doing well.
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Date: 2006-12-26 04:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-26 02:24 pm (UTC)Unfortunately, there are some actors who, if they are in a movie, will cause me not to see that movie. David Spade is one.
I wish, in this technological day and age, that we could have personalized movies... so that those fun films (like this one) can be enjoyed by those who just want David Spade (or other actors or characters... think "JarJar") OUT of a movie - either by replacing the face/voice/performance-or-lack-thereof, or just editing the idiot out.
Thanks for the review!
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Date: 2006-12-26 04:01 pm (UTC)"I dunno. By all accounts it makes no sense."
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Date: 2006-12-26 04:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-26 06:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 02:23 pm (UTC)"Calm" is a relative term, but things seem to be alright for now. Thank you.
Have a new year and New Year's.
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Date: 2006-12-28 04:59 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 05:02 pm (UTC)And, er, more reviews occasionally available at
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Date: 2006-12-28 05:03 pm (UTC)The part that convinced me this movie was brilliant was "How can he fire me? I raised him!" "Yeah, you'd think he'd've turned out better."
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Date: 2006-12-28 08:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 08:28 pm (UTC)You're in for next year, then? :)
:)
Date: 2006-12-28 08:29 pm (UTC)"*blah blah* What's this?"
"Mulled wine."
"Why so it is."
no subject
Date: 2006-12-28 10:39 pm (UTC)