Tuesday, Dec. 14th

I was reading a thread over at The Usual Suspects regarding the remake of Willy Wonka, and the question How much the artist’s original intentions or dislikes influence your opinion of the work? struck me as an interesting one. I guess that for the most part, I don’t really care what the writer’s opinion about a movie is – remember back when Ann Rice was having a cow at the idea of Tom Cruise as Lestat in Interview with the Vampire and there was a whole brouhaha about it, and then in the end she came around and admitted that he’d done a pretty good job? (All I can think of when I think of that movie is Kirsten Dunst telling everyone who would listen that kissing Brad Pitt was gross, and he had dry lips. Hee!) It’s interesting to see a movie that has an author’s stamp of approval, because – at least I’d assume – the finished movie is closest to how the author saw it in his or her head when s/he was writing it. But then I think of The Stand, which was perfect except for the fact that Molly Ringwald was Frannie (I DON’T THINK SO) and Laura San Giacomo was Nadine (DON’T THINK SO, PART 2) and I think that maybe if I were queen of the universe, as I should be, and could cast every movie ever made that is based upon a book that I love, in the movie version of The Stand, Frannie would be someone LIKEABLE and Nadine would be someone drop-dead gorgeous, like in the frickin’ book. But Stephen King was apparently thrilled with the cast of the mini-series and though I think everyone else in the movie is perfectly cast, the fact that Frannie, one of the main characters, is Molly Frickin’ Ringwald just leaves a bad taste in my mouth. Gary Sinise as Stu? Matt Frewer as Trashcan Man? Bill Fagerbakke as Tom? Perfection. Molly Ringwald as Frannie? Laura San Giacomo as Nadine? Corin Nemec as Harold? Not so much. So anyway, in conclusion (“Thank god!” you’re saying, right? “Thank god she’s concluding the section!”) it’s interesting to see the story as the author intended, but it’s not always better that way. Because once the book is written and I’ve read it, my perception of the book and the author’s perception of the book may be exactly the same, or it may be worlds apart. When you read a book, you’re bringing your own experiences to it with you and that always colors what you see in your head as you read it.

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It is in the 20s here today, IS IT OKAY FOR ME TO BE COLD NOW? I have two space heaters going in the computer room, and I have the fire going in the living room, and if I could possibly do so without causing permanent damage, I would sit IN the fire, I’m so fucking cold. Keep in mind, people, that the reason I am so freakin’ cold is because this fucked-up house has two floors, but only one heating unit and one air conditioning unit, and the control for both floors is located on the wall halfway up the stairs. So right now, it’s toasty warm upstairs, but my computer is downstairs, where it is MIGHTY FUCKING COLD. Because aside from the fact that there is only one heating unit for the entire house, the computer room sits directly in the path of the window where the cat door is located, and so when the wind blows outside, it blows in through the cat door and directly on me, thus freezing me even more. I suppose I could shut the cat door; the cats aren’t out there in the cold – they’re upstairs, where it’s warm and toasty. Little bastards. Okay, the cat door and window are now closed. But I’m still freeeeeezing, damnit.
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“Yes, the one in the window with the waggly tail. How much?”
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14 thoughts on “Tuesday, Dec. 14th”

  2. Great pic and caption! I’m just ROFLMAO!! Hey, come back to Hawaii – it’s a balmy 70 degrees now.=)

  4. Robyn,
    Don’t you guys have a switch thingie in your house that redirects the air in your vents? We have one in the basement that directs more of the air conditioning to the upstairs vents in the summer and switches back to direct more of the furnace air to the downstairs in the winter. I ask ’cause we didn’t even know about ours until the air conditioning guy pointed it out to us.
    Lisa

  5. Lisa – I don’t know, I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that around here. Maybe we need to take a look around!

  7. Robyn,
    If you cannot find a switch the Lisa is describing, try this. Close 1/2+ of the air vents upstairs. It keeps the upstairs cooler while more air get pushed out downstairs. You can than raise the thermostat without roasting the upstairs. My aunt does this all the time. In the summer, close vents downstairs.
    Now stop whining about being cold. In Wisconsin it’s really cold! The wind is really blowing today and I had to put on my gloves to drive to work. Brrrrr. The cats even crawled under the covers last night.

  8. I snot on your “cold.” It is cold HERE, in Canada.
    Beanie is a person reincarnated, I just KNOW it!

  9. Robyn,
    What kind of space heaters do you have? I need to get one for my girls’ room. I’d like to find with a thermostat so the room doesn’t get too freakin’ hot.
    Thanks! Love your cat pictures, by the way and the words under them, even more. LOL
    Becky

  10. Wasn’t Nadine homely and ugly? I read the huge million page version in 1990 so that was a long time ago but that is my number 1 very favorite book of all time. I too did not like all the casting…..

  12. Robyn, I have a cat question for you. My husband and I are going to the animal shelter to pick out a cat this week. We’re trying to decide between male/female and long-hair/short hair. Any opinions on whether males or females are easier, (we have an infant, so we’re looking for something gentle.) And do long-haired cats or short-haired cats tend to shed more? Any opinions on this?

  14. Cindy……We ALWAYS refer to Molly as Molly Ringworm at our house. At least I do….everyone else groans when I say it (they have no sense of humor)!!!!

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