All posts by Carl V. Anderson

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Midsummer Dreams

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Its that time of year again, Summer Solstice, the midsummer night. The longest day of the year (hope it doesn’t feel like it at work!) This day calls to mind the land of faeries and fairy tales and since Mary and I recently returned from our own mini fairy tale vacation I figured it was about time to share.

Drink to me only with thine eyes,
And I will pledge with mine;
Or leave a kiss but in the cup,
And I’ll not look for wine.
Ben Jonson (1573–1637)

We once again spent two glories nights basking in the comfort of the Hermann Hill Inn. Upon arrival you are greeted with a smile and a snack:

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Film

The Lake House

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In my humble opinion the trailer for The Lake House is one of the best I’ve seen in a long time. The overview of the film combined with the song “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane has had me waiting with both dread and anticipation for this film. I really like Keanu Reeves and I have been enamored of Sandra Bullock since their first screen coupling in Speed. Because of that and the fact that I am a hopeless romantic I was very worried that this film would disappoint me. I am happy to say that it did not. And while it was not exactly the film I expected from the trailer I enjoyed it very much.

The film opens with Dr. Kate Forster (Sandra Bullock) moving out of her small but unique glass house by the lake. She leaves a brief note for the new tenant offering them good wishes and asking for her mail to be forwarded. The next tenant happens to be Alex Wyler (Keanu Reeves). The letter contradicts some of the things Alex knows about the house and so he writes back to her to clarify. Her response begins a chain of events in which the two eventually determine that, as impossible as it sounds, Alex Wyler is living in the year 2004 while Kate Forster is living in 2006. Thus begins a series of conversations and a budding romance the old-fashioned way, through the mail.

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Film

Nacho Libre

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Napoleon Dynamite is a family favorite, thus when we first saw trailers for Nacho Libre we knew that despite the fact that it was destined to be stupid, we would be in the theatre to revel in that stupidity. Jared and Jerusha Hess have teamed up once again to write and direct an unconventional comedy and eventhough it doesn’t have the same charm as Napoleon Dynamite, it is a very fun film. Napoleon Dynamite is a superior comedy because so much of what went on in the film actually happened to the film makers in their youth. That foundation in reality gave a poignancy to the comedy that is lacking in Nacho Libre. However if you can get past comparing it to its predecessor I think you’ll find Nacho Libre to be an engaging film.

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To Wine and Dine

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Science has never drummed up quite as effective
a tranquilizing agent as a sunny spring day.
– W. Earl Hall

It is that time of year that Mary and I have been looking forward to since last June, our week long respite from the worries and troubles of employment and our wine country trip to the Hermann Hill Vineyard and Inn.

Like last year this vacation (which started Friday in my opinion despite a rather wicked cold I came down with) has begun much like last years…we crammed in as much theatrical entertainment as we could. Friday night Mary and I watched the unrated Mr. and Mrs. Smith (added some real fun Vince Vaughn stuff in and a nice alternate ending) and 28 Days Later (Mary hadn’t seen this excellent zombie flick).

Saturday and Sunday we savored each and every minute introducing our daughter to the first season of Firefly (minus the best little whorehouse in the galaxy episode). This was only our second time watching the series and it made what happens in Serenity so much more poignant. Our 14 year old is a Browncoat. I’m so proud!

The women-folk left me for a couple days starting Sunday night so I made good on working on the pile o’ dvds that friends had loaned me and finished the rest of the Sin City and Shakespeare in Love extras, watched the recut edition of Sin City, watched Gladiator for the first time (yes, I can be lame sometimes….loved it!), and watched a very well done, quirky, but extremely disturbing Korean film called Old Boy.

And now it is Wednesday and we are off to drink wine, eat good food, read books, shop, and probably catch some movies. Thus I won’t be around for a few days. Friday Favorites will return next week. And, knock on wood, when I return I’ll have pictures of our trip from my newly purchased digital camera:


(Kodak p850)

Have a great rest of the week everyone!

Art/Photography, Book Reviews

Spectrum 12

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(Cover art by David Bowers)

Every year around November, Underwood Books releases the newest incarnation of their line of Spectrum art books. 2005 ended with the release of Spectrum 12. Every February Kathie and Arnie Fenner bring together a group of A-list artistic talent who converge on Kansas City to review submissions from artists well-known and unknown in the categories of Books, Comics, Advertising, Industrial, and Unpublished. Anyone can submit work for judging. The chosen ones are given the honor of having their work featured in the next Spectrum book. I may be biased because of the Kansas City connection but the Fenner’s and the folks at Underwood books put out the best quality art books I have seen. Their trio of books covering the life and art of Frank Frazetta are beyond compare and each year’s Spectrum title is better than the one before. The books are released in hardback and soft cover simultaneously and the quality of each is unmatched.

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