bow down...

despite rampant laziness, the monday movie has NOT died. it just took a long and slothful hiatus...

bleah

this week took us to the Chez Artiste to catch this movie...which is worth all the hype. Helen Mirren has already snapped up six best actress awards this year for her portrayal of QEII during the months following the death of Princess Di in 1997. the movie is actually kinda short - clocking in at 97 minutes - and not overly dramatic. it basically shows the struggle between the stiff upper lip monarchy and the more hip and youthful movement of PM tony blair's labour party. while the monarchy chooses to maintain perfect composure, the newly elected Blair has to figure out a way to tell her highness that aloofness would not be advisable during this period of sorrow. his suggestions finally are taken to heart, effectively saving face for the royal family in front of millions of mourners. the actions that her majesty took on behalf of her family ultimately transformed the monarchy's usual stoic façade into a compassionate one.

it was a very well made movie. i'm a little biased though. the director, Stephen Frears has always been one of my favorites. he has directed many notable movies over the past 20 years, such as 'Dangerous Liaisons'...'The Grifters'...'The Van'...'High Fidelity'...'Dirty Pretty Things'...and 'Mrs. Henderson Presents.' he's not the most prolific director but when he makes a movie, it's usually pretty good :)

bizzeee...

avoiding my blog, as the blog police will surely tell you.

lately, i've spent much of the past few days moving the stuff out of the old Hip Sing building on Broadway. this building, which was built in 1901, was purchased by the local chapter in 1974...for $40,000 and probably $25,000 in renovation/upgrades. it was quite active until the early 90's, when its membership tapered off and a general apathy ensued.

kinda sad. i have vivid memories of massive chinese new year parties w/ up to three hundred people...every table of ten w/ a lazy susan, armed w/ a big bowl of ice, two liter bottles of coke and 7-up, and a bottle of whiskey...running around w/ the other kids my age...the sound of the dice and dominoes being slammed on the pai gow tables...the all encompassing clouds of cigarette/cigar smoke...the chatter of gossiping women...and the bloody kung fu movies that were shown on the old 16mm Filmosound projector.

you're seven years old and nothing matters in the world except trying to eat as quickly as possible, play games, watch the adults gamble, and stay as long as possible...hoping in vain that your parents will stay until the wee hours of the morning and let you stay home from school because they left too late.

as i've mentioned before, chinese benevolent associations were havens for newly arrived immigrants (usually male) who needed some familiarity in their lonely lives, thousands of miles from their loved ones. at the local tong, they could gamble, get a meal, keep up w/ the chinese newspapers, and feel like they belonged.

well, no longer. unfortunately, the once 450 member strong denver chapter of Hip Sing Tong has probably dwindled to less than 100 active members. the 'changing of the guard' never came. i guess it's generational. the majority of the membership comprised of blue collar workers who implored their children to strive and overachieve in school; seek white collar jobs so they wouldn't have to work as hard as those before them - 'succeed.' and the children did what their parents asked (perhaps too well) and forgot about that fraternal order and the once majestic building, which had fallen into tired disrepair.

that old, smoky structure was just sold for $750K...a steal for the buyers since the assessed property value of ol' 238 Broadway was in the neighborhood of $1.2-$1.3 million. the new owners are going to transform that building into lofts, in hopes of competing w/ the lavish, but overpriced ones downtown.

i know you can't stop 'progress,' but the rattle of the red dice in those funky aluminum holders will always resonate in that space. i wonder if any Hip Sing ghosts will surface when the new loft owners move in...

movie monday...

yes, it's time for that five minutes of life that you'll never get back because you read this blog! this week, i bring you an obscure 1973 French sci-fi animated feature called...

The Fantastic Planet

it was on KBDI this past sunday morning at 1:20. i thought i would watch it because i had heard many good things about it from my brother.

well, after watching it, i no longer consider him my brother ;) actually, i had confused this movie with another sci-fi movie made in 1966, Fantastic Voyage, which he claims to be a classic...either for its mid-sixties sci-fi creativity/innovation or because Raquel Welch is a space vixen. hmmm, it's probably the latter because my brother would have been that perfect puberty age of 13 when that movie came out.

anyway, Fantastic Planet is a strange tale about how humans are used as pets/trinkets in another galaxy...far, far away (sorry, i couldn't resist). initially, we humans are regarded as playthings, extravagantly small (enough to fit in the palms of our masters) and simple beings that must be controlled/kept domestic. however, humans should never be underestimated, right? and with that 'brilliant' deduction, the viewer witnesses the eventual human uprising over its masters. supposedly, this storyline was unceremoniously plagiarized by L.Ron Hubbard for his book, Battlefield Earth, which was consequently made into a movie in 2000 and became a cinematic pariah with a $73 million price tag of only which $21 million was recouped at the box office. still, it DID reap many awards. in fact, of the eight razzie awards it was nominated, it won seven...what a feat! even today, it is considered to be the worst movie made of our young millennium...


Fantastic Planet was not the best of movies...but for 1973 sci-fi animation, it wasn't that bad either. the animation was truly weird and the soundtrack even eerie. the music was reminiscent of the space scenes in this movie, which i've always liked.

i guess the movie even won a special award at the Cannes Film Festival. i don't know exactly for which category, but my best guess is 'Best Animated Sci-Fi to watch while you're dropping acid' which is still better than garnering a razzie...

a slow...

thaw.

it's actually 16° right now! wow, talk about balminess ;) shouldn't complain though. Craig, Colorado (located in the NW corner of the state) had a morning low of -35°...

no friggin' way could i live there.

i'm sure that the people that live there don't let the cold stop their daily routine since frigid temps, too, are routine in Craig. however, in aurora, there are some residents of the cottonwood trail apartments, who are feeling the residual effects of the cold weather. apparently, an 8" water main broke overnight, jetting a massive geyser of water onto the parking lot and its cars.

shi-iit.

yes, those poor cars are encased in a block of solid ice, nearly a foot thick. could you imagine trying to hack through all that? as if they hadn't dug enough snow from the proximity of their cars...now this cruel slap in the face.

i'm just glad that it'll get into the 30s this week. they say that once the temperature reaches zero, most car batteries crank at 40% strength. that sure was evident this morning when i started my car and it emitted an anemic, whirrirrirrirr...before a puny vroomrattlerattle

it's an energizer that i bought last year.

that damn bunny is a fraud...he needs to go into a pot of fricasse.

how come this company doesn't make car batteries? i've always liked the coppertop better anyway.

feh

strange...

my right ear is on fire...like it's got a touch of frostbite. it is SO red. i was out today for a couple minutes, but not long enough for something to happen. and even if i were out long enough, why only one ear?

weird.

when i was 19, i stood outside for a good twenty minutes...with the wind howling...and below zero temps...and got frostbitten ears. later that night, they blistered up and oozed a bit. the warm towel helped but it was still kinda gross.

yeah, no hat in cold and windy weather is not a good idea. so now i wear a hat much of the time when the temps drop below 30. who cares if the hats drop my IQ by a good 100 points...it's still better than blistered ears (shiver).

three more...

hours to give ya three more posts, to fulfill my five a week obligation ;)

a few days ago, i took my mother's car to get the emissions tested. as usual, i went to this testing station...been going there for ten years. and you would think that after all that time, i would have learned which line to use. there are six bays that test vehicles. bays one through five are for any car, while #6 is for full time 4WD trucks, etc. well, i've been lucky most of the time and have had to wait less than fifteen minutes on most occasions

...until wednesday.

when i first drove by the station, the cars were eight deep with the line snaking onto the street.

i don't think so. mebbe it would be a good time to grab a bite to eat. an hour later, i returned and the lines had diminished by a lot (like down to three cars each).

so i get in the middle lane (#3). even though there are six bays, there's only five lines. so i'm thinking it won't be long at all.

after a couple minutes, more cars pile in behind me and they're eight deep again.

at least i'm in the middle of the pack...but my line sure ain't moving while line two has gone up a couple and line #4 has moved like an assembly line!

arrrggggh

apparently, no one can sit in line #5 because it feeds #6 as well. and since #6 is only for full time 4WD, it has to stay unobstructed. of course, if there are no viable candidates to go into line #6, line #4 feeds it.

so really, line #4 feeds three lines...making for some lightning fast service. oh, and line #2 was feeding line #1 since the snow plow didn't totally clear off a space for cars to queue in front of #1.

so there i am, in line #3, which ONLY feeds line #3, rolling my eyes up to the ceiling (or were they rolling back into my head?).

after about twenty minutes of waiting, i finally get up to the entrance of the testing facility and join all the others in the cement block of a waiting space...w/ a malfunctioning TV (was it my day or what!)...and spend another half hour waiting and watching the two other cars in front of me get tested.

well, after that lesson, you'd think that i would've brainwashed myself to only seek out #4s everywhere i go.

not so fast...

it appears that a new way of testing has arrived...and i can't wait! it's called rapid screen. instead of going to a testing facility and 'eagerly' looking forward to queueing up, all you have to do w/ this new system is drive past a van equipped w/ sensors. the vans are placed near on-ramps of highways with varying locations. if you drive past them twice within a ten month period prior to your registration renewal...and record clean readings, you’ll receive a notification in the mail that reads, “Passed roadside emissions” on your registration renewal card.

i like it!!!

drama?

not in my life, but others. this past week has been spent listening to the stuff that's been going on in the lives of a couple of my friends.

first off...my friend whose husband just got back from a month-long business trip. seems that after he got back to the states (he was in asia), he had to go to the doctor for some scripts, one of which was a medication for an STD.

errrr, you'd better go get yourself checked. i know that he has legitimate business activities in asia, but mebbe a month away from his wife and son proved to be too much. ewww. i hope she's okay and tests negative for everything under the sun.

just a couple nights ago, i took my friend out for a couple drinks at a bar where an old high school friend tends. it was really good to see her. she's been at this bar for about four years now. my brother and i stop by there for drinks and food in the summer, after volleyball.

well, in catching up w/ her, i find out that she had a DUI in november...in which a guy stepped in front of her car while she drove down 6th avenue, on her way home. well, she did NOT even see the guy...and she was even in the middle lane! from the way she recounted the story, there was a thud and crash. ya see, after she hit him (thud), he did a wild flip and came down on the back windshield (crash). man, talk about surreal. i can only imagine the horror of that night.

poor thing. i know she has the occasional shot w/ patrons while she works; it's part of the job. she mentioned that she had three shots before closing, effectively contributing to a .16 blood alcohol reading. yikes.

i feel bad for her because she's one of the most upright people i know. i've seen her party and still be shrewd enough to take a cab home. hell, i don't think she's even had a parking ticket issued in her whole life. and for this to happen to her is really sucky.

now, we can all say that she made a poor judgment in driving home that night...but i'm a bit perplexed about the circumstances of the 'victim' (who sustained broken legs). i find it hard to believe that she just came out of nowhere and hit him, especially if she was in the middle lane. unless she was weaving and speeding (which would've been evident in the aftermath), how would that be possible? i mean, if it were 3:00 in the morning and i was waiting to cross a three-lane avenue, i doubt i could get hit by a car traveling in the middle lane unless i were strung out on something and RAN out into the street. it just doesn't make sense. anyway, she has to go to court this tuesday because of some litigous fool and his insurance company. i hope the case gets thrown out because the pieces just don't jive.

so...i've been doling out some moral support this week instead of blogging. and yes, i know i owe you two readers three more posts...so just sit tight, eh?

monday movie...

seeing that i've been in a blogging rut for many months, i've decided to make some changes...mainly in what i post. call it a new year's resolution, but i'm going to TRY and blog five times a week. yeah, i know..."HA!" don't fret though, there actually is a method to this perhaps unachievable madness!

...a schedule.

every monday on the son of diggin', the blog topic will be a movie. now, the chosen 'monday movie' will just be potpourri - no theme, no reason, etc. if i haven't gone out for a movie...or watched our netflixx selection...then it may be something i've caught on the tube...or even one that i have memories of. i figure i usually end up blogging about a movie once in a while, so why not make it a regular thing? after all, i would only have to think of 52 movies this way ;) and if i've rated (not reviewed) nearly 500 movies on netflixx, i've got plenty of cinematic fodder, right?

today's movie is (drum roll please):

good ol' Simon Birch, that feelgood movie that starred the little kid from Jurassic Park and a tremendous actor by the name of Ian Michael Smith.

Simon Birch is the story of two twelve year-olds who have become best friends due to their black sheep circumstances. Simon is the town freak, a dwarf who is a rabblerouser. His sarcastic tirades at church make him an undesirable amongst parishoners. His small stature has given him pragmatic license to look at life through tactless glasses. Joe, his best friend, is the town 'bastard.' His mother, the very hot Ashley Judd, has promised to tell him who his mystery father is when he's old enough. However, Joe is the impatient type. He would rather sit on the ice cream parlor's steps w/ Simon, pointing out who (on the street of this one stoplight town) could be his father and why. It's life in a small town during the early 60's. Simon and Joe are just kids who are reaching that point of puberty where playing w/ toy soldiers gives way to noticing growing breasts on female classmates and to realizing that with their maturing minds, childhood innocence will soon end.

At the very heart of this 1998 classic is the strength of friendship and belief that every human being has a higher purpose in life than what everyone else has in mind. It's all about believing in yourself and sticking to your guns, no matter the obstacle.

This movie never fails to make me cry. Sure, it's formulaic - the classic underdog protagonist who overcomes. Nevertheless, feelgood movies make good escapes from the fucked up world we live in. I believe they prevent us from going off on pessimistic binges and remind us of how good life really is.

We all need a dose of Simon Birch in our everyday lives...it is such a good reality check ;)

here's...

a penguin w/ some major suicidal tendencies ;)

a perfect...

night for phô. any time it's cold and windy outside (and especially when there's snow on the ground), i think of this vietnamese noodle soup. about six years ago, i read westword's review of Phô 79 (on south federal), tried it, and have been hooked ever since; their phô is the most comforting bowl of beef noodle heaven when the weather turns icy.

anyone ever been to a phô restaurant? they're fairly simple and straightforward. after you're seated, a team of servers bring water and settings (usually chopsticks and a soup spoon in a narrow wax bag). then, a large plate of "toppings" appears, piled high with lime wedges, bean sprouts, jalapeño slices, basil leaves, and saw grass...your order is taken...and within minutes, a massive bowl of steaming broth, filled with noodles and flecks of green onions, and topped w/ different cuts of beef, arrives to liberate you from the frigid temps. outside.

my favorite bowl of phô has both well done brisket and rare eye of round - phô tai chin...aka bowl #6. the second it is set on the table, i squeeze in the juice of a couple lime wedges, slip three jalapeño slices deep into the bowl, split two saw grass leaves (which taste faintly like licorice), grab a handful of bean sprouts, pick off about ten basil leaves, and make some sauce in the teeny condiment dish (one half hoisin sauce, one quarter sriracha sauce, and one quarter fish sauce). i mix the sauce and stir about half of it into the broth and save the other half to dip the beef in.

i gather up my chopsticks in my right hand and the large soup spoon in my left

...and gorge.

90%...

off is what the remaining xmas merchandise is priced at the Greatland Target that we frequent. that's right, people! we swooped in and got some stockings and boxes of candy canes for 9 cents each...shirt boxes (package of four) for 19 cents...large gift bags for 24 cents...and a box of cards for 89 cents (many were 49 cents). for about nine dollars, we cleaned up ;)

Belize...

in May. i think that's what i'm gonna surprise lois with for her april birthday...our november anniversary...and xmas present ;)

i've found a place called the Five Sisters Lodge, which offers a Honeymoon/Anniversary package. now, we usually are reluctant to even consider packages due to cost...since we can usually travel on our own for much less. however, after scanning all the prices for accomodations, car rental, meals, et al. it may not be that much more to do the package...which would save us the hassle of renting a car, finding places to eat, paying for gas (which is double the cost here). i guess Belize has really gone up in price since i was last there fourteen years ago heh. besides, how can we pass up that sexy mosquito netting? it's almost as exciting as the thought of contracting malaria ;)

still, if there's any silver lining, the price of the airfares will be $56.60 instead of $1176.00. of course, American Airlines will have to wrench 60,000 precious miles from my grubby little grasp ;)

what...

the hell?!?

things aren't going so well for me as an online consumer lately.

BMG Music is on my shit list today. four weeks ago, i ordered a cd box set as a christmas present for my brother-in-law. now, usually, it takes BMG two weeks to get music to yer door...even with their exhorbitant rates, considering they send everything media mail; i figured that i could get the item w/ a few days to spare.

of course, the pre-xmas blizzard hit about the day the item should have arrived. oh well. so he'll get it a little late.

and then we get a post-xmas storm. well, mebbe he'll get it by new year's...

big fat HA!

i checked my account yesterday just to see if there was a problem...and golly gee, my order, which supposedly was shipped on 12/7...was canceled and debited on 12/24.

it would have been nice if the damn company would have notified me in that seventeen day window that the item may NOT be available. grrrrr

so like a fool, i may give them another chance because this item is $40 through amazon and they offer it for $24.76 (shipping included). i've belonged to BMG for nearly seven years now and have had few hassles; this is just bad timing and plain aggravating.

sigh

in addition to the BMG woes, many of the items i was watching on eBay were taken off due to a seller's violation of use policy. damn, the stuff i wanted to buy had gone for $22-$30 (shipping incl.), cheaper than the $40 retail at Macy's.

double sigh...i'm kinda curious what the seller did to get the items canceled, as well as her registration.

maybe i wasn't meant to spend that money anyway. if the BMG transaction falls through again, i'm gonna just hafta take my bro-in-law out for drinks and pool i guess...