Unplanned Weekends.....

As I always say, weekends fly by too quickly. It's always nice when they arrive and they lay ahead, wide open for the taking.

Then Sunday evening arrives and you realize that you didn't do half the things you planned and it's almost time to get ready to go back to work.

Still, I'm not complaining. Regardless of their swift progression, I love weekends. I find they're nicest when you don't have anything really planned and just play it by ear.

My weekend was just like that. I had no idea what I was going to do. I'd originally planned on taking my car to the dealership to get a long-overdue service. Unfortunately, when you schedule an appointment at my dealership, you need to not only have your car's VIN on hand but also the license plate number. By the time I managed to have these bits of info on hand to schedule my appointment, the dealership no longer had any appointment times available. Alas, such is life. My car will have to wait a couple more weeks.

Instead, I decided to explore a new grocery store near Dayton, Ohio. This may sound a little weird but I adore grocery stores and find them as fun as some people find amusement parks. Thus, I'd heard a lot about Dorothy Lane Markets which is a local Dayton chain. The reviews I read compared it favourably to Jungle Jims and if you've ever read my blog, you'll know I'm a devotee of Jungle Jim's.

So I made the 35 minute soujourn. Well, while I enjoyed my trip to the market, I have to say at the risk of offending many a Daytonian but, well, it's really not THAT much different to Whole Foods. Sure, it had some more personal touches but as far as the selection of everything went, both the prices and merchandise were rather similar. Still, it was definitely not a wasted journey. I found some crumpets as well as some spices I needed. It was fun to explore the store. If I'm ever in the area again, I'd definitely go back but I'm not so sure I'd make a special trip there.

Still, being in that area gave me an excuse to go to a Vietnamese restaurant that was nearby. I developed a love for Vietnamese pho when I lived in L.A. It's been hard to find in this area but I finally found some on Saturday. It was like getting to hang out with an old friend and I enjoyed every minute.

The rest of my weekend was spent cleaning my house. The few days of spring sunshine we've had made me realize how dusty my house was. I hate dusting but I decided to do some dusting. This somehow led to a reorganization/inventory of my spice cupboard and an organizing of my dresser drawers. It's nice to be organized, even if it takes a while.

And, of course, there were the walks with the pups. Due to some expected sunshine and warmth today, we took a spontanous walk to the park. We had fun although I realized that, once again, in the nature vs. nurture argument debate with dogs, nature wins every time. You see, dachshunds were bred to go down rabbit holes and other underground dwelling spots for prey. Thus, they have long, narrow bodies. You'd think that two dogs like Sookie and Rory who've been raised in suburbia, sleep in a human bed and eat high end dog food would have no clue about this part of their nature.

They do. It's intrinsic. Every time they find anything remotely like a hole be it a sewer tunnel, drainage ditch or general...hole...they try to burrow into it. Today, I almost lost Rory as she ascended quite quickly under a footbridge before I could tug her leash backwards. She wasn't happy at being deterred on her hunt. I, however, was happy to deter her.

We still managed to have a lovely walk. The park was busy with other dog-walkers, runners and strollers. We managed to get our exercise and enjoy the sun before the clouds arrived again and the sun disappeared. Now it's raining outside and the puppies have fallen asleep, exhausted, on the couch.

For the rest of my Sunday, I plan on watching the Oscars. I've seen almost all of the nominated Best Picture films. My favourite was "The Kings Speech." I greatly disliked "True Grit." I know. I'm one of the few who did. However, just like I said with "There Will Be Blood," I prefer my movies with less mumbling, less long periods of silence and...more plot. Also, I couldn't understand half of what Jeff Bridges said because he mumbled.

Still, who knows what will win? This time tomorrow, we'll know. For now, I'll wait and see. Chances are it'll much at the end of the Oscars which means I'll be up late tonight because even though I'll tell myself I should wait and find out tomorrow, I won't.

Nevertheless, even if the Oscars go on longer than they should, it's a nice way to end the weekend, particularly a weekend in which I had nothing planned and had a lovely time anyway.

It's nice to play it by ear sometimes. You never know what will happen.

Happy Monday!

Unnecessary Remakes...

So, last night it was Oscar Night. I always think I'm not going to watch them and then, somehow, I usually do. This year, I wasn't sure. I'd only seen one of the Best Picture nominees. Living in a small town in Ohio definitely limits my access to the small movies like "Milk," and even "The Reader."

Still, I had seen "Slumdog Millionaire" and really enjoyed it so I did have some interest in the nominees. Also, I decided to invite a friend over so we could have a Snarky Oscar Party which is the absolute best way to watch the Oscars.

The ceremony was its normal long, drawn-out self. I think they tried to condense it this year but it was still a little too long. I mean, really, do we need a recap of all the films that came out this year? Do we really need to remember that "The Love Guru" even existed?

I liked Hugh Jackman as host, mostly because I like Hugh Jackman. I think they took a little too much advantage of the fact that he's a singer/dancer because wow, they made him sing and dance. The opening number was ok but the one in the middle of the show with Beyonce...well, we could have done without that overblown chorus line. I was a little disappointed that Christian Bale wasn't there because that would have been awesome but it wasn't bad anyway.

Anyway, I'm not actually planning to dissect the ceremony. More, to bring up a complaint that has been irking me for some time. At the end of the ceremony, they showed clips from movies that will be released in the coming year. One of those clips was for a movie intitled "State of Play" starring Russell Crowe, Ben Affleck and a slew of other big names. For those of you who've never heard of it, it's a remake of a fantastic BBC mini-series of the same name. It starred Bill Nighy, James McEvoy, John Simm and some other good British actors.

Here's my problem. The mini-series was fantastic. It's set in the world of journalism and the pace is incredible. The acting is steller. The setting is perfect. So why are they remaking it? I know, they think they can make some money from it, put some big names in it and have a new hit. To me, that's greedy laziness. We already have a great version. Why not spend all the money from production, salaries and advertising on, oh, I don't know...something new?

There's been a rumour for years that Hollywood has run out of original ideas, that's why they keep doing remakes. I don't buy that for a second. I think Hollywood has become lazy. I think they don't want to take a risk on something new because they can remake something that's already been a hit once. Of course, these remakes rarely are the smash hits they're supposed to be. Anyone remember "Psycho"? What a lackluster remake that was. Vince Vaughn, normally a good actor, could not replace Anthony Perkins and it turned out to be a joke.

I even had a problem with the remake of "Pride and Prejudice" starring Kiera Knightly that was so critically acclaimed. It was...ok. I get that it was a nice condensing of the book and that Kiera played a decent Elizabeth Bennett. However, I still say the BBC/A&E mini-series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle wipes the floor with the movie version.

I know, I know, TV mini-series aren't the same as going to the movies to see something on the big screen. I agree. Yet, nowadays, in cities like L.A., it's getting to be about $14 to watch a movie in the evening. Around here, it's up to about $7, I think. Add concessions and drinks and it's easily at least $20 for a night out. When you pay that type of money for entertainment, you want to be entertained. You want to see something amazing. Most of the time, you aren't.

I'm not a fan of remakes. Sometimes a story/movie is re-imagined and though the story remains, the remake is something new, something different. That, I can live with. Yet it's movies like "State of Play" that bother me. It may turn out to be a good film. However, I don't want to see it because I love the BBC version. If that version had been, say, German and they were remaking into an English language version I might be able to deal with it but that's not the case. It's also not the case that the British accents are the thick ones, the ones that are hard to understand for unfamiliar ears. No, it's a perfectly great mini-series that is now, most likely, going to be a mediocre movie. I mean, seriously, Ben Affleck is in it. He has his uses in Hollywood but acting really isn't one of them.

I am being a little too harsh, I know. I think this is because, once again, it all comes down to being a writer. I will say that I'm relieved that so far, publishing houses aren't having novels rewritten because the originals are 'dated' or need to be more sensational for today's audiences. Yet, I also used to aspire to be a screenwriter. In some ways, I think, for a new screenwriter, one who hasn't managed to break into Hollywood, it's even more defeating than being an unpublished novelist. Though the amount of novels being published yearly has dwindled, though it's harder and harder for a new writer to even get his or her manuscript looked at, we still get to be original. We get to see new writers breaking in and that gives us hope.

With Hollywood, that's not the case because the studios want instant success. They want to hire people to rewrite perfectly good scripts that don't need to be remade so that they can remake a film. New screenwriters get to see lackluster remakes being produced, they get to see scripts from big-name writers succeed and they can't even get anyone to read their new work, to take the chance on a new voice that maybe, just maybe, might be the new "Slumdog Millionaire," the next "American Beauty."

They're also remaking "Fame." Sadly, I get that one. When I was a young 'un, I adored the tv show of "Fame." I used to want to go to a school like that one more than anything, even though I couldn't dance, sing or really act. The show is horribly dated now but maybe they think the Jonas Brothers/High School Musical crowd needs that inspiration too. I don't like it but I get it.

I still don't get the "State of Play" remake just as I didn't get the "Pride and Prejudice" one a few years ago. If the original isn't broken, it shouldn't need fixing in a remake. I do think there are exceptions. Take the U.S. version of The Office. I confess, I was horrified when I heard they were remaking the British one. Yet, really, they weren't remaking it. They were re-inventing it, making it work for American audiences by breathing new life into it. The premise is the same but it's different. I don't hold out such hope for "State of Play."

So, that's my rant for today. I'll try to be more positive tomorrow. Unfortunately, I'm about to leave for the DMV again so positivity is a little hard to find at the moment. With all luck, I'll be a registered Ohio driver by tomorrow. If not...well....I'm sure you'll hear about it.

Happy Monday.