My Weekend Sendoff

This is a study we had to do for Head & Hands. I like how her hair & jaw turned out.

Last weekend, Karissa's mom called to tell her that her great-grandma Marquis had slipped into a coma and probably wouldn't have very long to live. About 20-30 minutes later, she sent a message saying she'd died. She'd lived a pretty long life and didn't even go into a nursing home until she was about 97, and even that was because of physical issues, not mental. She just turned 100 last January. At least she got to see her great-great-granddaughter in her first 3 years of life, a privelidge not many seem to get (my own great-great-granddad died in the 1920's, my great-great-grandma not long after).

Karissa tried one of the recipes from her Deceptively Delicious book, and w found out that no, chicken salad in fact should not be made with cauliflower puree. She couldn't even eat a second bite. I liked it at first, but towards the end of my pita, I finally had to put it down because the cauliflower taste (which was only an aftertaste at first) began to overpower. Oh well. It wasn't Karissa's fault (her chicken salad is fucking awesome), it was the cookbook. I'll give it one more chance.

I experienced a whole new level of Hell a couple nights ago. The Devil him/herself couldn't dream this punishment up. Last week, Isabella's teacher from Head Start came over to do the parent-teacher conference thing, and while she was here offered us free tickets to an ice show at the Ralph Englstad Arena. Isabella had loved her experience at a circus, so we thought she might enjoy an ice show. It was High School Musical on Ice. Going in, I knew I would just have to tough it out, but oh Doug how much torture this show put me through is unbelievable. They should show this to al Qaeda prisoners, they'd tell us right then and there where bin Laden is hiding. Even chili cheese fries couldn't save me. But Isabella loved the flashing lights and ice skaters and booming music. She clapped after every number, and she had a good time. Would I do it again? Hhhhhhhuuuuuuuhhhhhhhhyes, fine, I'd go again if she wanted me to. Stupid good dad thing.
Oh yeah, there's a new page of Golden Brown up now at BoneDaddy Comics. Draaaaamaaaa!

What am I watching this week?
Rasputin and the Empress- Made in 1933, it was the only film to star the three Barrymores together-John as Prince Paul Chegodieff (actually Felix Yusupov but changed for legal reasons), Ethel as Czarina Alexandra, and Lionel as noneother than Rasputin. In case you're wondering, John isin real life the grandfather of Drew Barrymore. Anyway this is one of the earliest accounts of the life of the Romanovs and Rasputin's involvement in the political affairs of Russia during the early 20th century. Some names were changed of those involved, but a suit was brought against MGM by Felix and Irina Yusupov for invasion of privacy and libel. Despite some inaccuracies, the film is well-acted--Lionel made a creepy Rasputin that even today is hard to match from what I've seen. Much of this story has come from the accounts of Yusupov and Purishkvich, who were present at and very involved in Rasputin's death, which have since been discredited. Even though you know what's coming to the Romanov family, the final scene of the movie grabs you and manages to convey the full tragedy of their fate.
Creature of the Haunted Sea- I found bins at Walmart and Hugos that sell shitty movies for $1, so I went a little crazy. I got this in a DVD double feature by Roger Corman, king of 'B' movies. This movie is part screwball comedy, part horror. A government agent tracks a mobster who is helping loyalists during a Carribean revolution. He pretends to be a thug himself and gets on with the mobster's crew. They escape on a ship with the Cuban National Treasury, and in an effort to get th Cubans running the ship to change course, they rely on an old sea monster legend kill off the crew. Somehow there really is a sea monster, and it goes on its own rampage. This is a classic 'B' movie with stiff acting and a little 70's animation thrown into the opening credits along with political humor. In the end, the government agent gets himself a girl, and the monster (who looks like a giant turd with spike fingers and eyes like hard-boiled eggs) gets the Cuban National Treasury.
She Gods of Shark Reef- #2 of the double feature. Two brothers on the watery lamb become shipwrecked. They're saved and taken in by a group of women who inhabit an "uncharted" island which holds dark secrets. The dark secrets are mainly that a corporation called "The Corporation" sends supplies to this "uncharted" island, and there is a nasty shark infestation around the island. The movie is mostly bland, but is remarkably reminist, and not in an obvious way. The woman who initially saved the brothers, Mahia, shows little to no fear in dealing with the sharks, and ends up saving one of the brothers a second time without hesitation.
One the Waterfront-Brando! An ex-boxer turned longshoreman becomes tired of being pushed around by mob bosses who control the waterfront, and stands up for himself at the expense of his own reputation. His brother is part of this organization, and tries to reason with him as a last resort. During a car ride, Brando utters his famous 'I coulda been a contender' line everybody imitates, though everybody puts th emphasis on the wrong syllables. It always strikes me that as manly an actor as he was, and as much of a gentle manchild his Terry Maloy was, he ran like a girl. My favorite character in the movie is actually Karl Malden's Father Berry, a hard-ass priest who didn't take shit from the mob bosses, spoke up about thir corruption of the waterfront, and never compromised his principles, even when he was in danger.

I'll let you all know how the Big John Bates concert goes!