the song from willy wonka

"...and if I don't get the things I am afterrrr......Imm goingg to screeeeaaammmmm........"

La Cucina Siciliana (OK not really but still)

I was bummed today because I lost my turquoise ring that is from Morell's in Bemidji. So to console myself I concocted an Italian feast a la The Godfather, using the recipe the Clemenza character describes in Part I (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZD-ApotEOQ&feature=related).

You never know you might have to cook for 20 guys someday.

1) Start out with a little bit of oil. Then you fry some garlic.

From Clemenza's Sauce

2) Then you t'row in some tomatoes, some tomato paste.

From Clemenza's Sauce

From Clemenza's Sauce

3) You fry it, make sure it doesn't stick.

3) When you got it to a boil, you shove in all your sausage and your meatballs (all I had in the fridge was apple & chardonnay sausages so that had to suffice this time).

From Clemenza's Sauce

4) A little bit of wine (I didn't have marsala but this worked OK)...

From Clemenza's Sauce

5) And a little bit of sugar--and that's my trick [I also added some crushed red pepper because I like my sauce a little spicy, all'arrabiata, as it were].

From Clemenza's Sauce

From Clemenza's Sauce

...Came out not too badly at all if I do say so myself. I decided to go the whole hog.

From Clemenza's Sauce

AND.... these little guys for dessert--I made the filling myself! Note the tasteful Italian flag colors.

From Clemenza's Sauce

Don't You Be Knockin' My Nelson Co. Peeps.

http://www.ghostsofnorthdakota.com/

Visit here, click on "Kloten, ND." Read the photographer's comments.

I never do this, but for some reason (lots of cups of coffee, perhaps?), I had this to say in response:

Message for Nathan Mastrud: thanks for the beautiful and telling pictures of Kloten, a town I spent many a summer day tearing around when I was a kid. But please keep the snarkiness to yourself. People still live in Kloten, and the town is in tough enough straights without you giving it a bad rap on this website with comments like “fear of shotguns” etc. If you want to do this town a favor, take it from me and the other poster Mike Schmidt and take that comment off your description–ND has enough trouble reminding the rest of the United States that it even exists, let alone getting people to visit, without comments like that (besides which, it’s not true. Nobody in Kloten is going to come after you with a shotgun or sic the dogs on you).

Thanks for the lovely site!

I SHOW YOU out of order!: A Few Words in regard to my Undying Love for the Films of Al Pacino

Who can say why, every 6 months or so, this seems to happen? Scroll with me, if you will, to an entry from June, almost to the day, wherein I completely go hog-wild for the films of Russell Crowe.

Peanuts.

Now of course you do not need to hear it from me; we all know that Al Pacino is one of the greatest actors alive today and even on most people's the "most awesome actors ever" short lists. We know he has won all sorts of awards for his talent, that comedians consider an Al Pacino impression an important thing to have under one's belt, and that he's cool enough to live his own life how he wants to and not feel the need to crow about himself to the whole world in tabloids and all of that nonsense.

So there's really no need for you to read any of this, I just want to ramble on for a bit because I am getting a cold, I can't concentrate on linguistics anymore, and I am waiting for this handy dandy NyQuil to kick in so I can stop sniffing like a coke fiend and be ready to hit the books tomorrow bright and early.

I saw Scent of a Woman for the first time last weekend, that was pretty fantastic and I have to say I get the odd feeling that that's the exact personality I'm going to have later in life. Not suicidal I hope, and hopefully not uttering strange noises like "hoo-hah" every five seconds, but having snarky comebacks, smart and to-the-point frank observations on the bullshittiness of life, not taking crap from anyone, screaming whenever the hell I feel like it and watching people cower in fear. And having something worthwhile to say while screaming at that.

...wait, that's a LOT of Pacino's characters. Maybe that's why I love him. And why I went on to watch all the other ones I haven't seen, such as Insomnia, Dog Day Afternoon, Heat (GOD is that ever a good one. Please see it if you haven't. I thought it was just a simple cops and robbers but it's more), Glengarry Glen Ross, Devil's Advocate (sexy), Carlito's Way (kinda boring and also I think he doesn't look very good with a beard), and Donnie Brasco. Also had to rewatch my faves The Insider, and of course my ultimate fave--we all know it--Scarface. Of course, I'm not done; still have to watch quite a few more, but after all I am in grad school and, after all, it's almost finals week.

Honest to God I am not trying to make a professional movie review out of this. It would be a lot more coherent and insightful if I were. Screw coherent anyway--have you ever listened to our honoree do an interview or accept an award? Talk about rambling and changing subjects faster than bothering to finish sentences. But that's how it goes when you are a genius, I suppose.

I think part of why I am really enjoying his films right now too is the raw emotion displayed--big or small (usually both and nothing in between, ha ha. A lot of times you have to adjust the volume on your TV when youre watching his movies.) that he can drum up for a role. I never acted to speak of myself, but the little I did do I utilized method acting principles too. It was the only thing that really made sense to me and the only procedure I really believe in, because method acting has us find that these emotions are inside of all of us, somewhere. Al Pacino is able to utilize method acting, bring those human emotions we all have from somewhere inside himself in such an effortless way, it makes me feel that I AM his characters. And I want to channel them sometimes. Isn't there a little "Say hello to my little friend" in all of us? In the last week I can count at least three times when I was feeling frustrated and wish I could just have Al's voice for 5 seconds so I could say the line, "This is such a crock of SHIT." Of course the non-rage moments are very important too. I almost cried during the scene in Dog Day Afternoon, when he is on the phone with his ex-boyfriend. That scene and the one with his wife in the hospital waiting room toward the end of Heat, and his phone conversation with Russell Crowe's character in The Insider when he tells him "Guys like you are in short supply," those are so human and so real, right down to a roll of the eyes and yet delivered like an actor--not just mumbled or thrown away. Giving credit where credit is due, those scenes were also masterfully written.

I've stopped making sense, I realize. I am too tired and about ready to sleep but I just felt like going on a tangent. I do this every few months I guess.

Last thoughts though: Al always seems to be chewing gum or smacking his lips in his movies, at least the later ones. Thoughts on that? Also, I think he's pretty sexy--It's the gravelly voice that could pop off on you any second, his badassness, and the fact that so much power comes under not that much height (I'm baised, I know-- being vertically challenged myself I know all too well how much fun it is to show them all the fire and vitriol hidden in a shrimpy stature). And hey now, before you go off and judge me, remember that so many people still think Sean Connery is sexy and he's a full decade older than Mr. Pacino. As Goldie Hawn said (in reference to Connery) in The First Wives Club, "He's 300 years old but he's still a stud!"

And with that, I'm going to bed. Goodnight, all!!

a quick word on endodontics

For all of you out there who are afraid, let me be the one to dispel the myth: root canals don't hurt. NO, I am not some anomalous exception, nor am I a freak who lives for pain. (I do have a high pain threshold, but over the last 3-4 days I can definitely say I met my match. Maybe childbirth hurts more than what was going on in my mouth--which was an abscessed molar, by the way--but just maybe. This was serious business--as in multiple Vicodin did nothing for me--but back to my quick word:)

It's not so much that I "hate the dentist"; on the whole I've always had very nice ones who did good jobs. But still they are working with loud whining scary-looking instruments that feel funny when scraping away parts of your body. For some reason that has always freaked me out. And historically it's always taken upward of six Novocaine shots to "do me."

So I was a little nervous -- shaky hands and heart palpitations-nervous--when sitting down to get my first-ever root canal.

The short and simple story is, they take really cool digital pics of your tooth (before and after, so you can see the difference), they shoot you full of Miracle Painkillers, yes they do prod you with lots of drills and lots of fucking scary long-ass needles, and I'll admit when they scrape those things up and down the inside of your tooth over and over and so that your tooth is more or less getting raped by a succession of really long serrated metal dicks, it's somewhat disturbing. But--no pain. None at all. I think I had the slightest twang (could have even been my imagination) once, the doc apologized three times and gave me another shot of N just for good measure. And the whole thing only took about 30 minutes.

I was pleasantly surprised at that.

I was very unpleasantly (not- so-)surprised at the bill. If you don't have good dental (I am a grad student, so you do the math), be prepared because paying for your root canal is the truly painful part.

Back to studying for phonology -- cheers, all.

this is an observation, not a real update.

Yes, I am in grad school now.

No, today's not the day I write a long essay about it, though that is coming, mark my words--

Today is the day that I come on here to proclaim that I just discovered a certain pattern of happenings in my undergrad life that, while completely irrelevant now, are quite ironic and kind of irk me now that I think about it.

Also, does anyone want to read a mock linguistics abstract? It's supposed to be a joke, and I can't tell if what I wrote is actually funny or not. Let me know--comments and feedback appreciated.

updates, celebrations, the works

Blog entries ought to be insightful and well-constructed -- at least better constructed than, say, tweets. But the following is more like thought vomit, coming from 3 cups of coffee, a BLACKHAWKS STANLEY CUP, and other such things.


I have been struck of late by the fact that my brothers and I are now "old." OK we're not all (are any of us?) fully mature adults yet, but hell, how well I remember graduating from high school and where I was psychologically. Even more vivid is my college graduation, where Al is now in his life. Emotionally our situations are somewheat different in that there was next to no celebrating for my college graduation/Al's high school. Mom was in chemo, and couldn't even attend Al's commencement a few short miles away, let alone mine in California. Dad came out to SCU like the trooper he is, and I was a mess of nerves and emotions .. my perspective temporarily gone, that was NOT a pretty picture -- but that's a story for another day.


This year, the celebration was well worth the wait. Al and Franz were both home, and we had a grand old bash in the backyard, attended by all our good friends and lubricated by copious amounts of beer , vodka, rum, tequila and blue curacao (I made it a semi-luau party). I was so touched that my cousins Theresa and Derek came from the Cities and Fargo, and, more excitingly, Teta Mary and STARAMAMA from Toronto! My heart was overflowing with joy, even whilst there was often more alcohol than blood in my veins & arteries. And definitely too much fatty food. But thanks to everyone, and congrats to my wonderful brothers Aloysius and Franz.


Between then (May 27-29) and now, there have been tidbits of general interest news that I feel compelled to share with the universe for reasons unknown. One, I joined a "gym." Parentheses denote the fact that this is a Cardinal Fitness, not a true gym in that it has no pool or track, and the elliptical machines could be little more sophisticated. I finally had to suck it up and join after feeling the old familiar pain in my right knee and lumbar region from running. It feels good to exercise! I'm not quite to where I was last year, but then I started earlier and there were a number of other factors contributing to my success then, not the least of which were more consistent weather, more control over food intake and free lunch choices @ work.


Last week I got to see my old friend Christine, whom I met in York, England over three years ago, for a few hours as she waited for a connecting flight. I was so happy to see her and was amazed at how it felt like no time had passed at all. I guess that's how it is with good friends.


TMI (?) news: I finally got fed up with my stupid skin and bought Proactiv. My acne isn't and never was terrible, but I was finally won over by those before-after pictures, and thinking back to this time last year when I was experiencing no skin problems whatsoever (think medicines that regulate hormones, people...) I just got a little overwhelmed--that and there was a vending machine right there in front of me at Macy's. So far it seems to be working well but maybe it's the power of suggestion. At least it isn't burning my face off, which is what happened when I tried it back in 2002. Did they change their formula? Or is my face just more weathered now?


Silly news: Over the last few weeks--I think in fact that it was after flipping through channels and watching part of Gladiator on Starz--my cerebral cortex remembered how amazing Russell Crowe is. Not just physically sizzlin' but really, really talented guy. Anyway, I have made it my mission to procure every single one of his films. With the exception of the early Australian ones, which are a major bitch to find, and then not in Region 1 format, I have accomplished this task. Skip to the end where I go into some review-type things.

I should probably sign this off as it's getting a bit lengthy. Must go rustle up some grub and continue celebrating the Blackhawks' stunning victory.

Here follows rambling reviews of some of Russell Crowe films:

I have to say, I hope Denzel Washington fired his agent after Virtuosity. The film's redeeming quality is Crowe. He totally gets into the character, as ludicrous as some of the scenes are. With a lesser actor, we would have been able to read the "I can't believe I'm doing this, I look like such as ass" on his face the whole time. I love Denzel, but he didn't have much to work with in this movie, poor guy. You want to see a good Denzel movie (that also stars Mr. Crowe), rent American Gangster. Killer soundtrack on that bad boy, too.


If you haven't seen The Insider, see it. Pacino, Crowe and Plummer constitute a total triumvirate of kick-ass acting in this gem. I also liked State of Play more than I expected to (fave scene there is Russell's character simulateously driving, singing and pounding on wheel to the beat of an Irish tune, and pouring Cheetos into his mouth. -- It's like we were separated at birth!!).

Interesting too that films I remember loving years ago fell flat this time around: example would be L.A. Confidential. Nothing particularly wrong with it, just kind of flat. Kim Basinger gives me the creeps for some reason. New favorite thing about that movie is actually Guy Pierce's delivery on this line: "Stop talkin' about Bud White." Not sure why.

Fuck the haters when it comes to Mystery, Alaska. I don't care that it's a half-baked good idea for a film, Russell looks très delicieux in skates and a hockey jersey, 'nuff said. And once again, delivers his lines with feeling and never once letting on that he knows he could be doing so much better than this film.

Pass on A Good Year, but not for any good reason other than that it just doesn't "feel right" to put 3 powerhouse lead dramatic actors together with a powerhouse epic/drama director in a silly romantic comedy. It doesn't work. Even though poor Ridley appeared to do everything right, right down to the cute music. You spend the entirety of the movie waiting for Russell and Marion to cut the cutesy crap and go fight the Hezbollah or corporate fraud or something. Maybe too it's that we know Crowe and his love for Oz too well to believe him in a role as a total pom? Or just maybe--haha--it's simply that I don't like wine snobbery.

3:10 to Yuma better than I remember. Mr. Crowe, that's a good look for you.

The two Ron Howard films. Oh, A Beautiful Mind is right on. And that should have been the Oscar winner in my view for you, Russell. If for nothing else than the body language. You became John Nash Jr. so much that I forgot it was you, and that's it. Something about the hand movements. And then, Ron, what happened in Cinderella Man? I'm going to blame the fact that you strayed from your tried-and-true formula and went with Thomas Newman for the score. I felt like I was strapped in Shawshank. On the other hand, a cutesy score might have made me literally throw up during Renee's impassioned final speech to hubby before he goes out for the Baer fight--instead of just making me nauseous. Crowe, you were great as always, though Mr. Paul Giamatti stole many of the scenes.

Robin Hood was just fine. People can just calm the heck down. I do agree that it would have been better if it had been R-rated, but then kids couldn't see it, and that would be no good. You seem to be really enthused about the movie if your tweets don't lie, which is good. Kudos on the attempts by Russell and other cast members to have NORTHERN English accents- a stab at authenticity, fantastic! And it made miss York all the more. Way to go walking out on that BBC tool who was going off on you having "Irish" accent, Mr. Crowe. That was top form!