This Side of Lost

Vietnam was the theme of many movies in the '70s-'80s and several of them are represented on this list, including this entry from 1978. Directed and co-written by Michael Cimino, it focuses on the lives of three blue collar men (Robert DeNiro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale) in three acts -- before, during and after the war. Meryl Streep costars.

Chalk up another movie we're glad we watched but will likely never see again. Much like the world event that provides its backdrop, this movie is brutal. Vietnam destroyed men's lives in many ways -- and this movie shows the less obvious, more insidious ways.

It is not so much focused on Vietnam as it uses it as a frame for a character study of these three men. It spends a long, long time showing them in their native environs (steel town in the mountains of Pennsylvania) before it cuts suddenly to the war scenes. And they are not even the center point of the movie, as fairly soon we move back to Pennsylvania and start picking up the pieces afterward.

Thus, in its established format as a character study, the movie is extremely well done. I can draw parallels to my last review in that the time spent developing these characters pays off in spades -- this time, it's as we are torn apart watching them be torn apart by the horrors of war. Though the men are no great citizens, they are sympathetic characters and none deserve what they suffer.

I expected parts of the movie to be difficult to watch, and I was right, but not in the way I thought it would. I expected violence and bloodshed, as they are hallmarks of most war movies I have seen. There wasn't much of those, but there were intensely uncomfortable scenes for other reasons, both straightforward (Russian roulette) and more complex (some of the scenes involving DeNiro's character as he comes back to a town that hasn't changed but he has changed so much). The entire film works to great emotional effect.

The acting is great, naturally. DeNiro is almost a caricature of himself now, but he's very affecting in his role. The score is well fitted and very memorable. Things like cinematography didn't really stand out in this one, surprisingly, but you can't win 'em all, I guess.

Another movie that is obviously a touchstone for a generation, so it's good we've covered it. But I'm glad to move on. Two Vietnam movies down, one to go. Nice to have a break for a while.

(See this post if you're confused why I'm reviewing movies.)

Today's True Internet Weirdness™ comes to you due to the fact that I added a bunch of library blogs to my RSS reader recently. But I think a wider audience would enjoy it: Here Comes Another Bubble. Warning: contains a cappella music and lots of web 2.0 buzzwords.

Things are settling in here post-Samantha's departure. My apartment looks like a real apartment instead of with boxes everywhere. The cats aren't quite as psycho (although they still tend to be attention whores every time I sit down or even stand still). I have even cooked things. Not much, but some. I have experienced two full weeks of life without my wife living with me and I think I've got how it will work figured out. Despite that, things still seem off center. But I have a feeling that's just how it's gonna be for a while. Needless to say, we're looking forward to the holidays. We're headed to Georgia this year for 8 days. So sorry, Minnesota peeps. You'll just have to visit me out here.

In the meantime, I am keeping busy -- which is easy to do for a choral singer this time of year. Rather surprisingly, though, I have not yet performed any Christmas music, and nor will I. I don't have another Master Chorale gig until next month, so I'm missing their Christmas shows. The Occidental Chorale had their concert yesterday: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. Nope, not Christmas. And my church choir has a concert this Friday, but Bach is on the program there (Cantatas 140 and 10, featuring yours truly on movements 5 and 6 of 140! I'm a solo singer? When did this happen again?).

I'm kind of in disbelief that it's turned out this way. So I've been compensating as best I can: with St. Olaf Christmas Fest. I saw their groundbreaking simulcast last weekend, which was a joy. As good as you could get without actually going to Northfield. And I've been listening to my four recordings as well. Now that it's been six years since I performed in one, they are easier to listen to -- my emotions are less nostalgic and bittersweet than they used to be when listening to them. Which is a good thing, since it's beautiful music.

Speaking of music, my current musical obsession is Sara Bareilles. I totally dig her album -- it's big, poppy, catchy, easy to listen to and not totally brainless. Good stuff -- I recommend. None of the other three CDs I bought before our trip has hooked me like this one.

Have I told you about Yelp yet? If you live in a major metropolitan area, you need to be aware of this website. We use it constantly for restaurant recommendations and it rarely, rarely steers us wrong. We even dialed up the mobile version while we were on the road last month and it totally hooked us up with some sweet pizza in Dayton, OH. It's like having a friend in every neighborhood everywhere. I think I may take some shopping tips from it soon.

14 shopping days until Christmas. Peace, y'all.

Can we talk about my toaster for a minute? Okay.

First of all, you should know that I think it's sentient. This will make more sense in a moment.

So it's not really mine, it was Samantha's and I inherited it. But she left it for me here and went and bought a fancy new toaster/toaster oven combo. And I think it knows that, because it's been kind of skittish ever since. How skittish, you say? Well, first I need to tell you about the settings.

So it has a lever that you can push back and forth to set the browning setting higher or lower. The only problem is that, even though technically it goes from 1-6, it really only goes between this infinitesimally small zone between 3-4. Above that zone, and the setting becomes "Blackened Beyond Recognition" and below it is "Completely Unchanged."

Now this in and of itself is not really a big deal. I generally like my english muffins moderately toasted, so I very rarely change the setting. So it should always come out the same, right?

Aaahh ha ha. How little you know. The toaster is sentient, after all, and moreover, it has a very delicate constitution. If I have been being nice to it, it will probably do what I want it to. But if I have been misusing it, unplugging it, bumping it with a frying pan, ignoring it or just generally thinking less than complimentary thoughts in its general direction, God knows what kind of state my english muffin is going to end up in. One day the result will be pleasantly toasty, and the next, I will be distracted with the cereal before the faint smell of burnt bread will whiff my way, at which point I know it's already too late, but I run to the accursed thing anyway and slap the plunger to reveal a charred mess. Did I move the setting? Of course not. What did I do today, toaster?

Basically after I came home from New York, it was impossible to live with. Like I said, I blame this on the Toastation purchase. It knows its days are numbered. I think it was going through the 5 steps of grief there for a little while -- probably anger and bargaining. So I was thinking about writing this post a few days ago. And suddenly it was much better! It knew I was going to complain about it in a public forum, so it shaped up.

But I can't be hostage to its mercurial demeanor anymore. I'm breaking the cycle. The truth must come out. You hear me, toaster? Now the world knows!

In other news:

• After griping about Christmas choral music last time, I ended up going to the Messiah Sing-along at Disney Hall and also doing some private caroling with my friend Christina and her multi-talented friends. So that mostly did the trick.
• We had a couple of snow days at work this week. No, it didn't snow -- but the entire campus shut down due to a power outage. So we were told to stay home. They didn't have to tell me twice. I slept in and got some last minute Christmas shopping done.
• Movies seen recently: the original Pink Panther (amusing in a sort of Marx Brothers fashion), Little Miss Sunshine (just wonderful, recommended to one and all), and Juno (also very good, bonus points for being set in Minnesota).

A very happy holidays to the This Side of Lost readers community! May joy and peace bless your season. See you in '08.