DREAMING

I don't go see movies in the theatre very often.

There are DVDs - Netflixs is addictive - and if I wait long enough (and sometimes not even very long), it comes out on television.

But there are some movies that really need to be seen on the big screen.

Since Ben-Hur came out in 1959 when I was three years old, if I actually did see it at the theatre, I don't remember it.

But that is most definitely a big screen movie.

2001: A Space Odyssey - especially with that incredible music - needs to be experienced  in a big, big room (which is one of the reasons Annette and I sat through it twice the very first time we saw it - go, Rialto theatre, South Pasadena!).

The very first Rocky movie - the first three Star Wars - Lord of the Rings - Dances with Wolves - yup - all big screen ones.

And at my daughter's insistence, I went yesterday to see "Inception" at the mall.

And trust me, it's worth seeing there.

Now my only problem is the implanted paranoia which is now accompanying me every time I go to sleep - which level am I actually on?

NO MORE ADULTHOOD, PLEASE

My daughter and I went to see the sixth Harry Potter movie this afternoon, thinking, early Thursday, movie's been out for a while, should be a quiet matinee.

It wasn't packed, but it was more crowded than I expected.

I'm a HP purist. If J.R. Rowling wrote it, then that's how it is. I have little patience with the directors who drop some of the best scenes right out of the script and put in some of the stupidest lines.

So I wasn't exceptionally happy with HPATHBP - although I was surprised that some parts were absolutely perfect (the Inferi were great).

But it was fun to get lost in the wizarding world of Hogwarts, instead of worrying about how much you can honestly modify the aforementioned daughter's resume when she has been every-thing-except-fired from her fast food job, how long you can afford to pay her rent with no other income coming in, and how much can you pressure your back-living-at-home-and-not-attending-college-anymore son into possible sharing his sister's abode and thereby paying part of the rent.

Yeah, give me a wand and put me up against Voldemort - right now that sounds easier.

GERONIMO!!

Late one night I had a soda explode in my face.

Ungainly is a polite expression, but an honest description of me would include that in addition to gawky, clumsy... well, I tend to drop things.

Easily.

And frequently.

So it wasn't entirely unexpected that the can slipped easily from my grip.

But, like the true solider I am, I immediately threw myself on top of the grenade (sidebar: did you know the word 'grenade' is derived from the French word for 'pomegranate'? Does that make about as much sense as anything French does? Pomegranate?!) to absorb the detonation.

Well, actually, I picked up the foaming, spitting and hissing can, resulting in sticky, sweet fizzy soda flowing all over my hands, my arms, my legs AND getting into my hair.

I threw it into the kitchen sink, and then (and only then) thought (finally) of the concept of COVERING it with a towel to lessen the damage.

And then spent probably twenty wiping down the fridge, the counters, the cabinets, the dishwasher, the dog, the floor, the ceiling, the oranges in a nice decorative bowl, the nice decorative bowl, and my face. Everything I was wearing was consigned to the washing machine - a hot shower was essential to get my hair separated again...


But my skin was glowing for the next two days.

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WHAT $5 CAN GET YOU

My fourth car, a Red Maverick with black plaid seats (a fashion statement I never fully reconciled with and hope never to encounter again) came with a cassette tape player - in 1976, a pretty cool thing.

This same car was smashed beyond reasonable (or affordable) repair only five months after I bought it - a karmaic solution, perhaps, to save the world from the bizarre color scheme.)

Rock and roll, born on wax records and raised in juke-boxes, was slipping slowly off the LPs and 45s. Lyrics also used to be standard fare, either on the cover or a loose sheet slipped in beside the record (although I do have to confess to years of singing Chicago's "loving you girl is so damned easy" as "lovin' you girl Iso Rammed Beesley")

I was introduced to CDs (compact discs, not certificates of deposit) at my dentist's office in the 80's. He provided headphones for patients to cushion the sounds of drilling, filing, and patients' screams emanating from the next room. Hearing the Beatles's "Michelle" just once made me a true believer.

(Unfortunately it took several years to convince my penny-pinching side to make the entire switch)

VHS was another huge deal at first; to be able to watch favorite movies over and over and over again - sheer pure joy for someone like me who will read a book to the point where I can quote whole chapters verbatim.

I was the first consumer to wear out all three of the original Star Wars VHS tapes within one year of purchase. My poor children learned more of Jedi Knight training than the A.B.C.s

By the time DVDs came along, I felt totally worn out. This is just a play for more money by the companies - everyone has to re-do their collections - everything gets re-released - it cannot go on.

And I held this stand very firmly.... until I watched my first movie on DVD, and HIP HIP HURRAH! You can jump right into your favorite scene - you can fast forward, freeze, call up subtitles in French and Mandarin Chinese, and (the final cherry on top) you can listen to the director/ actors/ screenplay writers talk over the movie with comments on style, acting methods, or why this particular scene in reality STINKS.

For those who remember Mystery Science Theater 3000, that sarcastic running commentary was what I grew up with - DVD commentary was the next best thing.

Blue-Ray? Please, Lord, no. I don't have the strength.

But $5 can get you the tenth anniversary DVD edition of "Sleepless in Seattle" with commentary by both Nora and Deliah Ephron. Ultimate chick flick.

Okay,got the DVD player, popcorn and a soda.... ahh, I'm set for a couple of hours (gotta watch it without the commentary first and then with it).

Good night.