Mr. & Mrs. Mosley go to Washington

Acrentropy was quieter than usual last week because I'm currently planning a big trip for September. Given that Mrs. Mosley and I skipped our annual vacation in 2004, this makes us all the more eager to get away.

The chief reason for our lack of trip last year was money. 2005 is different, though, as we finally got the big credit card paid off. Mrs. Mosley, in all her financial wisdom, is insisting we only use the card for the trip when we have the saved cash to immediately pay it back off. This means such provisions as waiting until April to buy the train tickets. That's a smart cookie I married.

As for the actual destination, we finally settled on Washington DC. After visiting Canada in 2002 and England in 2003, we decided to give the passport a little rest and travel closer to home. Also, this will keep our expenses down. We've both wanted to visit DC for a long time. The Smithsonian, The Library of Congress and The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum are high on our list of places to see there. We also plan some side trips into Pennsylvania to see Gettysburg, the Brandywine River Museum and perhaps even the Liberty Bell.

And then there's the consideration of DC's most famous resident. Mrs. Mosley and I have already decided to cross the White House off our short list of places to visit. The man himself will probably be out of town anyway doing, you know, important stuff like clearing brush on his ranch or ignoring newspapers.

Shades of Blue

As you might have noticed, I've changed the shading slightly on the blog. I got sick of the "Blueprint" color scheme because, to borrow a phrase from Sammy in "Malcolm X", it was "putting a hurtin' on my vision, man".

Thanks, by the way, to the website December.com for providing an easy to use HTML color chart that I could browse through.

Skippy of the Day: Bill Frist

A brief entry today. Fortunately, the quote speaks for itself and needs little commentary. From the Associated Press:

Just before his helicopter lifted off, Frist and aides took snapshots of each other near a pile of tsunami debris. "Get some devastation in the back,'' Frist told a photographer.

Congratulations, Senator. You will soon be receiving a call from the people at Merriam Webster. They're adding "Photo op" to their Dictionary this year and would like to use your quote in the definition. However, be warned: Your permission may also be used for future additions such as "Ass-hat".

The "Philadelphia" rationale

Years ago, I went on a blind date with this girl and the conversation eventually turned to movies. I mentioned how much of a movie buff I was and how one of my favorite films was "All About Eve". She then asked me how much I liked "The Philadelphia Story", and I had to tell her that I had never seen it. Her jaw dropped to the floor.

For all the pretense I make about my love of film, there are indeed some classic films I haven't gotten around to seeing for one reason or another. The way I like to look at it, though, is that it leaves so many classics for me to discover. I can grow old and still enjoy the new experience of a classic comedy or drama.

Still, I'm resolving for the new year to see some more of the really classic films that have so far eluded me. Culling some titles from the AFI top 100 films (of which I've seen 75) and the IMDb's top 250 films (of which I've seen 187), here are some of the titles I'm going to try to watch this year, with perhaps some reviews to follow:

"The Birth of a Nation", "Sunrise", "The Passion of Joan of Arc", "The Gold Rush", "City Lights", "Modern Times": I'm really behind in my silent films, as this list proves. What little experience I've had has shown me that the medium can do wonderful things with both drama ("Intolerance") and comedy ("The General"). All the more appropriate, then, that I wound up with three of each on my list.

"The Philadelphia Story", "Bringing up Baby", "Some Like it Hot", "The Apartment", "The Graduate", "Manhattan": A wide range of comedies here, spanning from Cary Grant's screwball pictures to Woody Allen's neurotic romances. I've been intrigued with "The Apartment" for a long time since I heard it was Cameron Crowe's favorite film (and inspired portions of "Almost Famous"). My one reservation with both "Some Like it Hot" and "The Graduate" is that I've seen so many clips from each over the years, I feel there is little I haven't yet seen.

"An American in Paris" and "The Sound of Music": I'm also behind in my musicals, and these are at the top. "Oklahoma" is also high on this list as I've been fond of the soundtrack for quite some time yet haven't gotten around to seeing the actual film.

"North by Northwest" and "Rebecca": No explanation here. These just happen to be the last two Hitchcock films I haven't seen, pretty much.

"The Grapes of Wrath", "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", "The Best Years of Our Lives", "Double Indemnity", "Doctor Zhivago", "A Streetcar Named Desire": For my last category, I've just lumped all the other classics together. There's a wide range between the artistic black and white photography of "Indemnity" and the colorful epic landscapes in "Zhivago". I actually have a library copy of "Sierra Madre" on top of my TV right now, so maybe that first review won't be much longer.

My Big, Fat DVD Collection

Alonzo Mosley's "Gallery of Conspicuous Consumption" is now online! Now that the holidays are over, I imagine that my DVD purchases will severely slow down again. If for no other reason, then for the fact that I'm running out of room on the shelves next to the TV.

Keith David Quote of the Month: January 2005

Folks, meet Keith David. Like Yaphet Kotto, David is a tall, formidable black actor with an unforgettable tough voice. Unlike Yaphet Kotto, David seems to get around a lot more in films lately, which makes quote easier to choose from (at least for 12 months, anyway).

His first major role was a man named Childs in the modern horror classic "The Thing". Along with Kurt Russell's R. J. MacReady, He is one of the few tough enough to fight back against the alien presence that has infiltrated their Antarctic research facility. When MacReady is suspected of having been infected, Childs argues with the others that they should leave him locked outside in the blizzard. Radio operator Windows (Thomas Waites) is not so sure.

Childs: No! Just let him freeze to death outside!

Windows: Childs, what if we're wrong about him?

Childs: Well then, We're wrong!