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[Panni]

And one for Mahler.

[MBarnum]

DR Elmore3003, I hope you will feel better as the day goes on!

I did not see very many 2004 films this year, and most of those that I did see were in Hindi! The only two 2004 films that really stand out to me are:

LAKEER: The film itself was not so great, but the musical scenes are fantastic! Great music, wonderful choreography...I watch a couple of the musical scenes each morning before I go to work!!

THE STEPFORD WIVES: I actually enjoyed this film....it was fun and amusing.

TWO BROTHERS was ok, but I wouldn't sit through it again.

[Danise]

Morning all!  Bet ya didn't expect me at this time of the morning.  I bet you thought I would be at work!  We get two days off for Christmas.  In theory, Christmas Eve and Christmas day.  Since Christmas Day was on Saturday, we got today off instead.  Isn't that just too, too?

Vibes to DR Elmore and his head cold.  Feel better sooner than soon.  If your nose runs, do your feet smell?

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I can't answer todays question either.  I have also seen plenty of movies on DVD but I can't even remember the last movie I went to go see at the theater.   Honest.  If I had to guess, I would say it was the last Star Wars movie.  Or  maybe the last Terminator movie.  I do remember going to see that one but I don't remember which one was first.  

As for Mac or PC.  I went with PC because it seems like the most software/hardware are written/made for it.  I have never been unhappy with my PC--I LOVE my Sony computer  (but I will NEVER, EVER, EVER buy another HP) and am able to do everything I want with it.  Just my two cents.

[MBarnum]

BK, I know nothing about Mac's so I can give no advice.

[Matt H.]

My problem is that even with films I saw at theaters OR on DVD, I wasn't bowled over by anything new except FAHRENHEIT 9/11. I guess MYSTIC RIVER touched me as much as anything fictional I saw on DVD this year (didn't see it until 2004 though I know it came out in 2003), and I know there are some things that are out now I'd probably like (KINSEY, THE AVIATOR), but I won't see them until next year.

I saw LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING in December of 2003, so I can't include that.

I am going to see SPIDER-MAN 2 on DVD today, so perhaps I'll come back later today and include it.

[Matt H.]

I would never switch to a new computer just because of its looks. If you're going to do a lot of itunes and movie dubbing work, then get the Mac. But if those are just things you'd putter with occasionally, I think a new Dell sounds like a good idea, especially with the savings.

From my limited experience with Macs, everything about them seems more costly.

[Matt H.]

DR Panni, have you seen SIDEWAYS? Use your guild pass to go to a screening of it if you haven't and tell us about it.

Since it's won so many Best Picture awards from critics' groups (always makes me wary though they were right about L.A. CONFIDENTIAL), it sounds like it might be worth seeing.

[Matt H.]

I have also heard great things about THE INCREDIBLES, but, alas, I haven't seen that either.

I did see SHREK 2 and while I enjoyed it, I find it hard to believe it now ranks as the #3 grossing movie. It obviously got a lot of repeat business to gross what it did at the box-office.

[JMK]

Yesterday it was smoling and today it is comething.  BK is a veritable mint for coining new and exciting words.  

Computers:  Though I was dubious at first, we got a neat little unit by some company called Pacco Group last year.  It resembles an IMAC, in that it's all self-contained and very portable, but it's a PC.  Add in that it is also TV and radio, and it's pretty cool.


Movies:  My wife & kids loved The Incredibles; I'll have to wait for its DVD incarnation.  Betsy and I also like Eternal Sunshine...., which proves that Jim Carrey doesn't have to incessantly mug to perform.

[Ben]

Well, I (we) are back from the Isle of Long after a lovely and calm (in spite of MacGregor's diabetes) holiday/festive season. I am still off work for this week (going back January 3) so we have time to relax and nap and see friends (and influence people).

We hope to see DR Larry in spite of his cold.

We returned to NYC with a most wonderful Christmas gift, a DVD/VCR in one deck. It was given to us by Anthony's parents. Phil (Anthony's father) gave Rose (Anthony's mother) a DVD recorder and they gave us the DVD/VCR player. We are most happy with the gift. Now we can watch movies on the television (where you're supposed to watch them :-) and I can continue to watch a backlog of tapes.

I read today's notes and posts so far but I have not read much over the past few days so I have no clue as to what's going on in HHW land.

MacGregor seems to be adjusting to his diabetes. Rose has to give him an insulin injection twice a day and it was very hard for her to do it in the vet's office until she realized that Mac doesn't even know it's being done. She though he would whimper and cry but he stands there like a little soldier and she injects him and he goes about his business. The diet adjustment has taken some time. He used to get fed once a day (with treats throughout the day) but now he has to have at least two meals a day, each a half hour before the shot, so he gets breakfast (a special diet from the vet) at 10:00am and a shot at 10:30 and then 12 hours later a meal at 10:00pm and a shot at 10:30. Rose cut back on treats and other food until she realized that he was very hungry between meals and his blood sugar was dropping. She will now feed him the two meals before the shots but he will also get a couple of small meals during the day so he can have food to regulate the insulin and blood sugar. He's still the playful and cute MacGregor he always was, we just have to watch him now and if he gets lethargic and/or exhibits odd behavior we have to give him Karo Syrup or something similar to get him back on course and then feed him to stabilize him. Rose has become, in a very short time, well versed in giving the shot and figuring out how to treat Mr. MacGregor. I think all will be fine and he will be around for a long time.

I must go perform my morning abloutions (a Sweeney Todd reference) even though it's almost noon (11:47am) so I will check in later.

[Jennifer]

Hey, I'm all alone here.

Hmmm, I just found out there is no postal service here today or tomorrow.  And all the stores are closed both Saturday and Sunday.  I think there is no mail a couple of days next week as well.

[Jrand73]

Lucy Ricardo just went to the hospital!

I hope she has a boy!

[Panni]

DR Panni, have you seen SIDEWAYS? Use your guild pass to go to a screening of it if you haven't and tell us about it.

I haven't seen it yet, but it's on the list for this week. Looking forward to it. Although, I know what you mean about beeing disappointed with a movie that's been called the greatest thing since sliced bread. I always try to go with no particular expectations.
DR Jay has seen SIDEWAYS, I believe.

[Jay]

DR Jay has seen SIDEWAYS, I believe.

I have, and back on November 9, I posted this:

Sideways:  Lovers of fine wine and poignant small-scale character-driven comedy/drama should run to see this film.  My kind of movie.  This and Garden State are probably the two best films I've seen yet this year.

[MBarnum]

Things seem a bit slow on HHW this morning, posting wise! BK must be sleeping in, otherwise I would imagine bitch slapping threats would have been mentioned!

[Ann]

Good morning all

I woke up unusually early this morning...9 am.  For a night owl like me, that's equivalent to the crack of dawn.  I guess having my mom stay here throws my sleep off a bit.  At any rate, in a few minutes we shall head off to the doctor's office to have my appointment.  I am hopeful that this will give me answers to some of my questions, or at least a better understanding of what we're dealing with...I'll have a full report upon my return...

[JMK]

Elmoore, I am almost afraid to tell you my sons and I are playing the Playstation Van Helsing game and loving it.  I believe we are battling Frankenstein's monster right now, but he is cloaked and his "ID" only has underneath his figure, so I believe we have to beat him first to find out he is really a "friend."  The graphics are really incredible in this game, if I do say so myself.

My son Gabe told Betsy the other day:  "Dad bought the Matrix game for himself, and it became mine.  Then he bought Minority Report for himself and it became mine.  Soon Van Helsing (which I ostensibly bought for myself) will become mine, too."  It's sad when you are so transparent to your own children.  

[bk]

I'm here, I'm here.  I woke up late (ten), and now I'm rushing to get ready for the darling daughter's arrival, which is imminent.  

The Canon is the SD 300.  Look it up, it's awfully cute.

Decisions, decisions.  Maybe I'll just keep what I've got.

[JMK]

That's funny--typing question marks gives me a smiley.  Let's do it again

? ? ?

[elmore3003]

Elmoore, I am almost afraid to tell you my sons and I are playing the Playstation Van Helsing game and loving it.  I believe we are battling Frankenstein's monster right now, but he is cloaked and his "ID" only has underneath his figure, so I believe we have to beat him first to find out he is really a "friend."  The graphics are really incredible in this game, if I do say so myself.

DRJMK, the game has to be better than that awful piece of crap that was commercially released in theatres!  The fact that the writer/director dedicated it to the memory of his father means either he's a moron who can't tell good work from bad or he hated the old man.

[JoseSPiano]

Good Afternoon!

-Where did the morning go?  I ended up sleeping until about Noon.  I woke up hungry and thirsty, so I headed out to the store and picked up some brunch.  And a few bottles of water.

Now I'm just sitting on the couch continuing to wake up and watching some soaps.  -Oh, and reading and posting here on HHW, of course.

As for Today's Topic... I'm not sure I saw Ten Movies either - on DVD, in the theatre or otherwise...  However...

"Garden State" - Way to go, Zach Braff!
"Mean Creek"
"A Home At The End Of the World" - I really hope this movie does not get overlooked come Oscar time - at least not in the Screenplay department.  And it would be nice to see Sissy Spacek get a nom for Supporting Actress.
"Broadway: The Golden Age"
"Hero"
"Latter Days"

...And that's almost all the movies I say this year - and I saw most of them while I was in L.A.  And a good chunk of those were with DR Jay too.

I, too, have my pick for worst movie of the year - and I have a feeling it will make a bunch of the national "Worst Of" lists... but that's for another day.

[Charles Pogue]

My 2004 movie favs...did think of a couple...Broadway -- The Golden Years.  Farhenheit 9/11.

I enjoyed the one Panni mentioned last night IN GOOD COMPANY. I very much want to see SIDEAYS.  Watched  the new DVD of Gunga Din yesterday which looks great and am about halfway through Rudy Behlmer's interesting commentary.  Could you've have seen Jack Oakie in the Gary Grant role?  I couldn't have.

[Jay]

On the topic o' the day:

There are a number of major contenders I have yet to see, The Aviator, Million Dollar Baby, The Woodsman, Hotel Rwanda and A Love Song for Bobby Long in particular.

But of the films I have seen this year, these are the ones I'd mention (in alphabetical order):

Bad Education
Finding Neverland
Garden State
A Home at the End of the World
House of Flying Daggers
I [Heart] Huckabees
The Incredibles
Kinsey
Mean Creek
The Motorcycle Diaries
Ray
Sideways

This was a terrific year for documentaries, and I'd like to note the ones I was most impressed by in 2004 as well:

Broadway:  The Golden Age
Fahrenheit 9/11
Paper Clips
The Story of the Weeping Camel
Tarnation

I haven't fully though through my performances lists yet, but here's my view, off the top of my head:

Best Actress

Annette Bening—Being Julia
Imelda Staunton—Vera Drake
Ziyi Zhang—House of Flying Daggers

Best Actor

Javier Bardem—The Sea Inside
Gael Garcia Bernal—Bad Education and The Motorcycle Diaries
Johnny Depp—Finding Neverland
Jamie Foxx—Ray
Paul Giamatti—Sideways

Best Supporting Actress

Julie Christie—Finding Neverland
Laura Linney—Kinsey
Natalie Portman—Closer
Lily Tomlin—I [Heart] Huckabees
Sharon Warren—Ray

Best Supporting Actor

Dustin Hoffman—I [Heart] Huckabees
Peter Sarsgaard—Kinsey
Mark Wahlberg—I [Heart] Huckabees

[Stuart]

Greetings all.

The holiday weekend was lovely, and restful, and plentiful, in terms of food, and entertaining.

Certainly, the saddest part of my weekend was NOT being at the big BK doings....

Christmas Eve was spent on doing some minor errands and finishing up what baking there was left to be done.  Including that Linzer Torte, to which I did add the baking powder, and was glad that I did, as it gave me the more cake-y texture from the recipe I had lost.

Apparently, spaghetti is a popular Christmas Eve dinner, as that is what has traditionally been served in my partner's family for many years.  We hosted his parents and one of his brothers, prior to their going off to a 7 pm Mass.

They returned and we went for our traditional Christmas Eve ride to look at lights.  The DP (Dear Partner, in HHW lingo) and I had found a couple of "new" subdivisions and neighborhoods that were breathtakingly festooned with lights.  And I mean that in a good way....some of them were quite striking.

Then we came back to our house to have the annual reading of "A Visit from St. Nicholas."

By that point, it was time for John and I to get ready to go to the Mass we/he had chosen to go to; one where he knows a couple of people in the choir, and the organist (and his partner) has become a good friend.  It was a true Midnight Mass, and was PACKED!  (Coming from a synagogue where people came and went with abandon, this is always surprising to me....people who all arrive BEFORE a service starts.....but then again, church services never come close to synagogue services in terms of duration....)

In addition to the organ, there was a piano, a clarinet, a flute, a guitar, a choir (12 or 15 people or so) and....much to my delight....a handbell choir!  I LOVE handbell choirs.....And they played throughout the service.

Christmas itself was fine....a gathering at my in-law's for breakfast and the opening of presents.  (This always reminds me of the first Christmas episode of EIGHT IS ENOUGH after Diana Hyland died, and Betty Buckley shows up....one of the sons refuses to open gifts until all the Bradfords are not only present and accounted for, but have had a glass of orange juice.)

Dinner that evening was at the house of one of John's brothers...the one with a toddler (cute as a button) and a 4-month old (also adorable).  The guest list for this Christmas dinner has topped out at something like 35, but this year was a much more manageable 23, and was followed by our annual playing of the "home version" of "The Newlywed Game."

Sunday was spent variously on the couch, in bed for a nap, back on the couch and finally, back in bed.

And, oh yeah, it snowed about 7 inches overnight.  (Otherwise, it was a fairly green -- not even brown -- Christmas here in upstate NY.)

[Stuart]

I rarely go to the movies, so I have no opinions for the TOD.

[Jay]

"A Home At The End Of the World" - I really hope this movie does not get overlooked come Oscar time - at least not in the Screenplay department.  And it would be nice to see Sissy Spacek get a nom for Supporting Actress.

I'm in full agreement with you, but I predict the movie will be completely ignored by the Academy and the Guilds.

And any time you want to swing by and head to the movies together again, I'm game.

 

[JoseSPiano]

As for the Mac vs. PC debate...

I'm sort of going through this myself right now.  My laptop - which is my only computer - is about three years old now.  Which means it was already obsolete by the time I walked out of the store with it.

I've worked on Macs from time to time, and I don't thinking making a total switch would be too hard for me at least.  Most basic programs - well, at least files - are more or less portable between platforms, especially when it comes to media files (music, MIDI, pictures, movies, etc.)  Microsoft does make Word for Apple, and it's more or less fully compatible.  *One sort of short cut when dealing with text documents is just to e-mail the text to yourself, from one platform to the other - and then just reformat as necessary.

Yes, Macs are more expensive, but they automatically come bundled with more of the essentials, rather than just the OS.  There may be less software available for the Mac, but it's more a case of there being less of the same types of programs available for the Mac - i.e. word processing (Word Perfect, Word, Works, etc.)  Mac started off as being "specialized" and proprietary, and they've stayed that way.

BK - If you do plan to start getting into some more serious music and video editing on your own, then a Mac would be the way to go.  -Of course, you'd have to buy and learn some of those programs.  

As for iTunes - It's available for Windows now, and Mac makes PC-compatible iPods now too.

As for your peripherals - printers, scanners, etc. - not all of them are cross-platform capable.  However, at least with printers, they're all pretty reasonably priced now, so buying a new one is not too much of a financial pinch.  *And Apple has a bunch of "get a free printer" offers when you buy a Mac.

As DR Panni mentioned, the Apple stores have workshops scheduled regularly.  Additionally, if you are seriously considering making the switch, just go into an Apple store and sit down with one of the employees - I think you could even consult the people at the "Genius Bar".  They'd be more than happy to answer your questions - and eventually sell you a system too!  Apple's follow up service is also pretty good - sometimes they'll even "extend" the warranty just to keep the customer happy should something happen with your computer.

*My friend, Chris, who did the "Coming Attractions" trailer is a Mac person - he's been trying to get me to switch for years.  You could always consult with him - he likes spreading the "gospel of Mac".    -However, I do have to note, that he does keep a PC in his studio setup since one of the sampling programs he uses is only PC-based.  

**Chris also has a habit of coming across special sales and closeouts on Macs, some pretty astounding deals.

I'm planning on purchasing a new computer towards the end of January.  It will, to be honest, depend on my "discretionary funds" I have at the time.  But a Mac is seriously under consideration.

[TCB]

I am at home today, I called in sick to work.  I had a very late night last night, and then was not able to fall asleep.  Even though I stayed in bed until after ten, I still feel worn out, and I will probably take a nap before rehearsal tonight.

I would definately by unable to answer today's topic if it was limited to films I saw in theaters this year.  I saw only one film in the theater this year (three in the last 12 to 14 years).  The film was HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN.  It would probably make my top ten list regardless of how many films I might have seen in the theater but as the only film it does seem suspect.  

I can't do much better with my list even if I open it up to films of 2004 that I saw on DVD.  Most of the films that I watched on DVD or video were older films that I either saw for the first or revisited again.  (I do understand that they have now added color and sound to movies, so I will have to check those new ones out.)  probably the most recent film I saw was 2003's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, followed by THE HAUNTED MANSION (2003) and THE LAST OF THE BLONDE BOMBSHELLS (2000).

P.S.  I was also sorry to hear that Alice Faye had stopped making any new films.

[JoseSPiano]

BK - ...And I guess you could always consult with your buddy, Stephen Sondheim.  He's a Mac person.  And he has a great Mac advisor too.

[JMK]

I've been meaning to post this for days for all Percy Faith fans (well, there's at least BK and me ).  It's pretty much confirmed now that The Oscar will indeed be out on CD in late February, 2005.  This is one of the best Faith records ever, even though it's not really a soundtrack recording, per se (rerecordings of music used in the film).  Johnny Green would regularly use the main theme from The Oscar (the fanfare) on Academy Awards nights when he was conducting the AA Orchestra for the startup music.