Jon Moss – Page 12 – Into the West

Noir from Page to Screen – Signature Event Lecture by Mitch Brian

I sent an e-mail to my husband over lunch on Wednesday, asking if he wanted to accompany me to a lecture at the Central library branch that evening. I hadn’t heard back from him by the time I left work and when I walked into the house Wednesday evening, he did not appear to be attired appropriately for a trip back downtown. I grabbed us a very quick supper from the local Arby’s and then jumped back in the van for the thirty minute return trip to the Kansas City Public Library.

While I got parked in the garage by 6:30, the walk into the library and up to Helzberg Hall on the fourth floor took a few minutes. The wine and cheese reception in the annex to the Hall had already been cleared away and one of the security personnel opened the door quietly for me to slip in during the introduction of Mitch Brian, already in progress. I slipped into an aisle seat near the back and took out my new Note II to take notes with its stylus. Reminiscent of my days with a Palm Pilot, only in color and at warp speed. For an inside peek into Mitch’s brain, take a look at his answers to the Pitch’s Questionnaire from Aug 2012.

Mitch began animatedly with the adage “Good books make bad movies.” He went on to explain that good movies are when someone wants something. Goals or quests work well, creating drama. Chandler and Hammett both write plenty of plot which translates into great movies. Film is pre-language. Hollywood wants everyone to have the same movie experience. Dialog sets up action and comments on it, but is not the action. Mitch challenged us to watch out for the Action/Reaction pattern.

Adaptation. Dramatization dynamics of a scene. Reactions and argument. Details from the book. The literary work must submit to genre. Pay attention to point of view. Sometimes the camera is a character.

Mitch read from the Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett, from the end of chapter one and the beginning of two. Then he aired the same from the movie (starring Humphrey Bogart). Afterwards, he asked us what was missing? The audience correctly noted the rolling of the cigarette, the billboard scene, the pajamas, and calling a cab. What was added? The audience saw the shooting. Mitch noted the book is 100% observational. The first person point of view includes omissions. The movie uses the third person.

Mitch moved on to The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler. He read the Phillip Marlowe introduction, then skipped to the end of chapter three, flowing on into chapter four. Again, the point of view was totally First Person. Mitch showed us the scene in the rare book shop he’d just read, again from the movie starring Bogart. Did Howard Hawks maintain that point of view? Not entirely, for the audience could see the woman signal the next customer, yet Bogart missed it (and we knew he missed it). From participant to observer. Postman Always Rings Twice by James Cain takes hardboiled to the next level.

Mitch cut short his lecture, apparently feeling the need to stay within an hour time slot. He began the Q&A session at about half past seven. One of the questions from the audience front row caught my ear, as I recognized the voice from work. I made sure to wander up front after the lecture to great him and meet his wife.

I hung around to ask Mitch if he’d read Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None (also known as Ten Little Indians), specifically because in one of the film adaptations (the one from the 60s that I watched recently on TCM). I wanted to know his thoughts on an author rewriting her own ending (Christie worked on that film and changed the ending completely from what she original wrote in 1939). While he had read the book, which is one of the best by Christie, I got the feeling he hadn’t seen the film, but thought it interesting the author decided to rewrite the ending to be less grim than her original work.

When I first read the suggested readings for the Winter 2013 Adult Reading Program a few days ago, I could only find one or two that appealed to my tastes. After the lecture, which I really hadn’t originally planned on attending (you can thank the KC Public Library and their Android App for that bit of serendipity), I overhead one of the librarians remarking upon Mitch’s short story, recently published (ironically on my birthday last fall) in the anthology called Kansas City Noir. Now that I’ve heard him speak, met him and heard at least one rave review, I plan to reserve a copy at the library of the anthology next week and try noir again. Perhaps it will disprove the theory that bad books make good movies.

The End … Finally

I came home to a pleasant surprise Monday evening (January 7, 2012), delivered by my friendly postal employee. I received my signed first edition hardcover copy of A Memory of Light one day early, the day before the official release:

First Edition Hardcover Received 1/7/2013

First Edition Hardcover signed by Brandon received 1/7/2013

As you can see in the photo above, Brandon aptly personalized my copy with the phrase ‘The End.’ I started reading this series twenty-three years ago and I nearly gave up hope, when Robert Jordan passed away, of ever reading the long prophesied Last Battle. Soon, all my questions will be answered (or so I hope).

I stayed up two hours past my normal bed time to read the prologue and the first six chapters. I’ve read another six chapters since then and will read a couple more before falling asleep tonight. I predict that by Sunday, I’ll be posting a review here of my thoughts on the longest, sprawliest epic fantasy series I’ve ever read and whether A Memory of Light was worth the wait (and the hype).

Movie Review: Lockout (2012)

Lockout (2012)

2.5 out of 5 stars

I regretted not adjusting my Netflix queue last week when I saw this sitting in my mailbox Friday afternoon. I can’t even remember why I added it in the first place. I suppose I was fishing for some non-existent intelligent and intriguing science fiction to watch. Instead, I reeled in Lockout.

The plot has been done before, and done better. The special effects were obvious CG and not completely well integrated with the filmed aspects of the movie. The military tactics employed during the climax made me roll my eyes, as they were obviously used to create a dangerous and completely unnecessary CG dog fight between fighters and a falling orbital prison.

I did, however, get several chuckles from the snarky dialog, most of it emanating from the side of Snow’s mouth (portrayed by Guy Pearce with a convincing American accent). The quotes page at IMDB for Lockout doesn’t really do them justice, as you really need to see and hear them in context to get the full impact of many of the punch lines.

I’d have to say, though, that Pearce is batting a thousand for appearing in scifi duds in 2012. First this one, then followed by the much hyped and disappointing Prometheus. At least his character in Lockout grows on your.

Cracked Honey Wheat Bread

1 1/4 cups boiling water
1/4 cup cracked wheat

4 T canola oil (or butter/margarine)
4 T honey
1 cup KAF White Whole Wheat Flour
2 cups KAF Unbleached Bread Flour
1 T vital wheat gluten
1 1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp yeast

∞∞∞

Using my bread machine, I placed the boiling water in the bread pan first with the cracked wheat to soak (min of 30 mins) while I gathered the other ingredients. I added the honey and oil to pan.

∞∞∞

Then I added the dry ingredients, except for the yeast. I made a crater in the mound of flour mixture and placed the yeast carefully in the crater.

I set a delay on my dough cycle (my bread machine includes a 20 min preheat feature I can add for all programmed cycles) and let the machine do the rest. I prefer to back my bread in my oven, rather than the machine, so I almost always use dough cycle.

My Precious (click image for rest of album)

[flickr video=8350532602 secret=d75c012cf5 w=400 h=327]

Once the cycle completes, remove the dough from the pan, shape it and allow the dough to rise, covered, for about 1 hour, or until it’s crowned about 1 inch over the rim of the pan. Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the loaf registers about 190°F. Remove the bread from the oven, turn it out of the pan, and let it cool on a wire rack.

∞∞∞

Check back in a couple of hours for updated photos and the results of my bread dough epiphany.

First Snowy Sunrise of 2013

First Sunrise 2013 (click image for rest of album)

When I let Apollo out this morning at 5:30 a.m., I saw the moon. I didn’t think much of that until I let him back in and it dawned on me (pun intended) that I could probably see the sunrise today. Today being New Year’s Day 2013. I was supposed to wake up to snow falling, not mostly clear skies.

I groaned, though, because even without a wind, the temperature plummeted over night to the lower teens. I didn’t fancy standing outside for a half hour or more to photograph a sunrise. I made a compromise and setup the tripod and camera in the as-yet-unfinished Purple bedroom, where the window faces east and doesn’t currently have a screen installed. I could open the double-pane window and have an uninhibited view of the eastern horizon (with the exception of the leafless winter tree skeletons silhouetted against it).

I waited until five minutes after sunrise but should have hung around ten minutes or so longer. Instead, I went outside to shovel the driveway and the stairs before the sun, which wasn’t supposed to be shining this morning, could melt the powdery stuff to ice. The sunrise never produced any golden or pink overtones to the clouds, but it did become a bit more dramatic than what I photographed above while I shoveled snow. Oh well, such is life.

Happy New Year!

Snow Falling on Rottweilers

Christmas Lights and Snow — Christmas Lights Plus Snow (click image for rest of album)

As the final day of 2012 draws to a close, I decided to snap a few exterior candids while the light still held. Since snow has been falling all day, and will continue falling through New Year’s Eve, I knew I wouldn’t get a chance to photograph a phenomenal sunset. I don’t have high hopes for a fabulous New Year’s Day sunrise either, since it will probably still be snowing then. When I pulled the memory card out of my camera, I found several photographs I took of our exterior Christmas lights eleven days ago, before the world ended. We received our first winter snow the day before winter and that snow still rests on some of our lawn. Sunday’s high of nearly 50 degrees almost wiped it out, but today’s snow fall and plunging temperatures are shoring up the white.

I let Apollo and Lexy out in the backyard about an hour before sunset. Snow fell steadily around them while I took a few snapshots:

Snow Falling on Rottweilers (click image for rest of album)

I also took some photos of the house, trees, fence, mailbox and yard.

Because the weather is forecast to be rotten for the rest of the night, Terry, Apollo, Lexy and I will ring in the new year from the safety and warmth of our own home.

Rather than wax overlong recapping this past year (which you can review through my past blog posts just as easily as I can), I’ll leave you with this quote from Charles Dickens as parting thought for 2012:

“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes of which all men have some.”

Farewell, 2012!

Product Review: LG Behind-The-Neck Stereo Bluetooth Headset (HBS-700)

LG Behind-The-Neck Stereo Bluetooth Headset w/ Music Streaming/ Call Waiting Support (HBS-700)

During my Thanksgiving break, I ordered a new Bluetooth headset. I desperately wanted to assuage my boredom while walking Apollo during the evenings, and if I could listen to music or, even better, audiobooks, I thought it would encourage me to walk longer and get more exercise. Earlier in November, I took advantage of a sale NewEgg had on headsets, but that first pair went over my head and made my ears extremely uncomfortable. My daughter liked them, so I sent them south to her as a pseudo-Chirstmas gift. That first headset had superior sound for music listening, but I couldn’t overcome the ear cartilage torture side-effect.

I’ve had the second LG headset for nearly a month now and I wear it daily. Most of the time, I can’t even tell I have it around my neck. The LG Behind-the-Neck headset is very lightweight and the actual ear buds are nicely unobtrusive. I often wear my sunglasses and a scarf without hampering their usefulness or tangling them up. One of the niftiest features of the headset are the magnetic receptacles for the ear buds. When I remove them from my ear canal and lay them against my body, they will often snap back to their ‘home’ spot.

If I’m listening to an audiobook, which I do quite frequently since acquiring this headset, and I receive a phone call, the headset vibrates on my neck and plays a ring tone in my ear (I always have my phone on silent/vibrate). It automatically pauses my audiobook when I click the answer call button found on the left hand nacelle. When I finish with the call, my audiobook automatically resumes.

The battery life is purported to be ten hours of talk or music listening time. I have only run the battery down once. As a rule, I charge it overnight every two or three days. The range is about thirty feet, so I can leave my phone in the center of the main floor and have good coverage for most of the house. The power switch is simple, and I do love simple designs. Simple works. No holding a button down for a certain number of seconds. Just slide the switch to either ‘On’ or ‘Off.’

Pairing with a Bluetooth device is also exceptionally easy. No need to hold a button down for another second/different designated number of seconds. Once the headset is on, it connects to my cell phone. No muss, no fuss. Again, simple works.

The price was right as well. In fact, if you want your own pair of LG Behind-The-Neck Stereo Bluetooth Headset w/ Music Streaming/ Call Waiting Support (HBS-700), you can still get them (as of December 29, 2012) for the same price I did: $39.99 (including free shipping). My husband liked them so much, I bought him his own pair a couple of weeks ago.

Rolling Back the Odometer

As I sit here sipping a freshly brewed cup of Irish Blend tea, I wrote my final monthly fare payment check for the year 2012. I reviewed my statement from the Advantage Vanpool program at KCATA and decided to run the numbers and see if another year of not driving my personal automobile to work was worth it.

The Pros:

My total outlay for 2012 in fares came to $1,686. It should have been less, but 7/12 of this year the van had five riders instead of six, so the fare increased slightly those months. I hope next year the van will remain fully occupied so I can look forward to only spending $1,536 annually on my work commute. Either way, I’m sure I did better than most people who live in Leavenworth or Lansing and work in Kansas City. Most of them probably have car payments (I don’t), higher insurance rates (not needed since I don’t drive my personal automobiles much), routine maintenance (oil, tires, etc.) and fuel costs.

By participating in the vanpool this year, I did NOT put 15,000 miles on my personal automobile.

Had I driven myself to work, alone, in either of my cars (which both require premium grade gasoline), I would have spent a minimum of $2,000.00 on fuel alone (visit AAA’s Fuel Guage Report site for my tidbits about the cost of gasoline). My insurance would have risen to reflect the additional risk of subjecting myself to rush hour traffic. I would have had to change my oil at least twice, possibly three times (this is a matter of debate in our household because we use only expensive synthetic oil and filters which are supposed to allow you to change your oil less frequently). I wouldn’t have had to buy new tires, since we did that last year, but I would have used up a significant portion of the tread life of said tires.

The Cons:

I only have a couple of negatives, and I consider them small ones compared to the overwhelming positives I experience from the vanpool. The most obvious one happens to be the extended commute time. On average I spend an extra thirty minutes per day in the van as opposed to what I would spend if I drove myself. Totaled for the year, that comes to 120 hours or about five days.

Driving daily, instead of riding, comes in as my second downside. When I joined the vanpool a couple of years ago, I didn’t mind the extra time, because I could read, listen to music or just plain sleep while someone else got me to work and dealt with all the stressful traffic or inclement weather. For the last year (14 months actually), I’ve been the primary driver for the vanpool. I am thankful, though, that weather, thanks to the worst drought in decades, has been a non-entity until very recently (see companion post at the van’s blog).

Rolling Forward

Despite these slight bumps on the road to transportation redemption, I look forward to many more months, dare I say years, of smooth driving and my quest to preserve the planet … one van at a time.

Fourteenth Bak’tun Compliant

I wanted to share some of the best post-apocalyptic gems I found yesterday. Most of these got at least a chuckle, and sometimes a chortle. Enjoy.

∞ ∞ ∞

This last one is my personal favorite, bringing back fond memories of my last apocalyptic fizzle … Y2K. And in case you’re wondering what the heck a “Bak’tun” is, please see my post from last month on Mayan calendars and other astronomical wonders.