Movies

This past week Dala and I watched Princess Mononoke together, a movie I've seen a handful of times and always liked. I got her the Blu-Ray for Christmas a year or so ago and this is the first time we sat down to watch it together. It's been over a decade since I last saw it, so even though I know the movie, it was almost like watching it for the first time again. It's a lot more violent than I remember. It's a little scarier than I remember (not super scary, but there's a considerable deal of fantasy horror there). It is so, so, so much more magical than I remember too. The story is magical, the character design is magical, the visuals are magical. This is a fantastically solid movie. I'm glad it's been so long since I've seen it, because I really got the chance to appreciate it like brand new and it was just so good.

I'm talking to one of my buds who's girl loves Miyazaki films. I've only seen Spirited Away and Castle in the Sky and he's telling me that we need to do a movie night and watch Howl's Moving Castle. So I'm gonna do my best to schedule something to make that happen.

Theater

Speaking of Japanese art and stuff, I remember when I was about eight or nine years old my mother took me to see a Bunraku performance. I don't remember much of it, except I think it was a collection of short stories and one involved a lady ghost in a snow storm in the mountains. I remember it was absolutely amazing though. So I got it in my head that maybe I should find a way to see if and when any Bunraku or Kabuki performances might find their way to this city, and if so, who all might like to join me for one. It turns out that I'm friends with a lot of classy mother fuckers, because everyone I bring this idea up with think it sounds absolutely amazing and would love to go to one or the other with me and Dala. So now I'm thinking about contacting some of the local theaters and seeing if they ever host those kinds of performances or could point me in the direction of people who do.

I was also lamenting to Dala how theater is expensive in general. I can't remember if it was her idea or mine, but the conversation drifted in the direction of how colleges often put on productions that while not professional, are very, very good, and probably a lot cheaper than what you'd pay for an actual theater. So maybe later this week I'm gonna look some of that information up to.

Antique Glass

I'm starting to think about changing my collection from collecting antique books to starting to collect antique glass (we have quite a few pieces already, but they all belong to the wife with the exception of some insulator caps we bought together). They're not only more durable than books and easier to clean, but they don't require any reading after purchase, so there's no guilt of never getting around to reading them. You just clean them, put them on display on the shelf, and when people ask about them you get to put it in their hands and say "Take a close of a look as you can. Isn't that an amazing little fucker?"

Metal Detectors

. . . it looks like a fun hobby. Don't judge me. I'm cool.

EDIT: OH YEAH! THE MUTHA-FUCKING HOUSE WE SAW!!!

We thought it was a safe bet because it was a slab foundation house and every slab house we've seen so far has been in great shape. Not this one. The foundation was so bad, the floors were literally wavy. We're talking about circus funhouse wavy. We're talking about feeling like you're drunk while walking around wavy. We're talking about the fridge leaning against the wall and the oven leaning against the counterop wavy. That shit was baaad. Which sucks. Cause the yard was perfect. The driveway was awesome. The layout and the size of the house was perfect. But man. With a foundation like that, no wonder it was such a good price. There's probably no fixing that thing without tearing up all of the flooring and the whole house would probably have to come down and be rebuilt. So . . . if the owner was willing to pay us to take it off his hands, we'd consider. Otherwise, no go.