Moving along...

OK, so no updates for a bit because we are in the process of moving, down to Long Beach. Had enough of the noise, the overpaid little punks in their Mercedes sportsters drunkenly screaming at each other late at night outside our window, the ridiculous spiralling rental prices, the scumminess of every single place we saw that would take a pet, etc. Love the beautiful movie theatres in LA, love some of the craziness of the people, love the Framer's Market, love Santa Monica, Westwood, Beverly Hills, but LA proper just doesn't cut it.

Where we're moving is going to be like a 10-minute drive to work for Genevieve, for the first time in her whole career. My school schedule will be a good deal more modest this year, so the fact that my commute will be thirty minutes to an hour is no problem, and anyway, I can even take the train(!).

Anyhow . . . tomorrow I am breaking down the computer, packing, loading the Honda and heading to Long Beach to pick up the U-Haul and come back up Wednesday morning. We will be back on line Friday or Saturday.

Family Fun

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

Yep, I'm a family guy these days. Had a nice evening walk over to a new Disney facility nearby, around the corner actually: the Disney Soda Foutnain and Studio Store. basically they have a small array of merchandise and an enormous quantity of video stuff, complete with what's supposed to be "the vault" into which Disney films go over time. Most of the shop is given over to an ice cream parlor offering sundaes, cones, and actual old-fashioned sodas. Chatted for a bit with J. Kevin Frawley, a VP of Show Production, the arm of the studios which apparently runs this enterprise, attached as it is to the El Capitan Theatre. He explained that Studio prez Dick Cook wanted an ice cream parlor from the very first day they reopened the El Capitan, and that when the Disney Store -- no longer owned by Disney, just kind of franchised out -- expired its lease on the property attached to the lobby, they decided to go for it. It's very nice, and the staff on opening night (tonight) exuded that wonderful Disney friendliness (even Goofy got into the act). There were only a couple of things I wasn't crazy about. One, I would have opted for a more old-timey look for the place. The design is kind of boring and nondescript, not unlike the Paris Disney Studios attraction. Really kind of dull and not very "Disney," with none of the imaginative detail the Imagineers might have invested it with. Second, the musical selections were AOR rock and roll. Not period stuff, but everythign from "Layla" to "Little Red Corvette." Just seemed out of place. Better, I suppose, than the nauseating Radio Disney fare served up at Downtown Disney. The ice cream and sodas were excellent, however! Yummy and delicious. We had a fine dinner there too -- hot dog for G, grilled cheese for me. It was a nice evening and as the sun set over Hollywood Boulevard we walked back to the house with Jack bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. As cfar as my home exploits go, I really feel I have gotten into the rhythm of this tending-to-Jack thing. Early morning feeding, nap, lunchtime feeding, nap, mid-afternoon feeding, usually awake for a while but amusing himself in his chair or papasan, late afternoon feeding, and depending on when mommy comes home, early evening feeding. Nap times, I manage to walk the dog, eat my breakfast and/or lunch, shower and change, do a few to-do's on my list. In the afternoon if Jack's awake OR asleep we can always run an errand, as we did today and yesterday, and will tomorrow (as I have a real opthalmologust appointment. Fully expecting a big change in my left eye prescription and perhaps -- gasp! -- bifocals!!). The day does seem to start to fly by though after 1:00 or so. Usuaully I cook dinner once G is home to mind Jack and before you know it it is 9 or 10 at night.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

Loved Herbie as a kid. Thought it was the greatest thing ever. (And I wasn't the only one -- click here for an incredibly cool story of what a dad did for his challenged son.) Did you know The Love Bug was the number-one grossing film in 1968? Anyway, next door to the Disney Soda Fountain the opening night of Herbie: Fully Loaded was underway, and they had the fully-Nascar-ready, pimped out Herbie parked outside.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

Why I'll never . . .

. . . ride those swing-in-a-circle rides at amusement parks.

Do your part to stop the Intelligent Design ninnies

A great review of a ludicrous book on ID, as well as links you can use to help fight the encroachment of superstition into our children's science classes. I have no problem with kids learning religious explanations for the creation of life -- in their religious classes, wherever and whatever they may be. Let's keep science SCIENTIFIC Please.

The Batmobile

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

The other night for the opening of Batman Begins Warners parked the Batmobile -- actually one of 8 or something they built for the movie, capable of real life speeds of 105 mph -- outside the Chinese Thetre on the handprints. Pretty cool, badass vehicle. I must say again, the Batman flick is really excellent, exciting stuff.

The antithesis, really, of Star Wars Episode III, which was eye-popping but not emotionally involving even for one second, confused, badly written, ill-conceived, just horrid, really. My 4 complaints, which I'll limit myself to because it is late, about SW3: 1. Darth Vader is shrimpy. David Prowse -- the original guy in the outfit -- stood 6'7" in his bare feet AND he was wearing platforms in Episodes IV-VI. He is just physically very imposing, even without the suit -- watch A Clockwork Orange, for example; he plays the muscleman assistant of the handicapped guy who "rescues" Alex and you will see what a big man he is, a huge part of his presence in the original trilogy. Hayden Christiansen is, by contrast, a girlie-man. I mean, when we finally get the big payoff of him in the suit, it looks like a kid in a Halloween costume. A bigger letdown than in Jedi when Luke Skywalker removes the mask of Darth Vader, whom we've all invested 6-7 hours in hating, and he looks like H.R. Puf'n'stuf. 2. Yoda. Now I have really had it with this little green bastard. He's like that friend you have who is negative all the time. "Never work will that." "Too old is he." etc. etc. So he is in a fight with the fate of the galaxy on the line with the Emperor. He dishes some serious hurt on the Emperor and takes some hits back -- and then he just bails. He just slinks away. "Failed I have," he says. I'll freakin' say you have. Now get your cowardly green ass to Dagobah and whip me up some nice hot slime-custard. 3. There is no chemistry WHATSOEVER between Anakin and Padme. They are not helped by dialogue which I would call wooden, would it not offend the trees. Seriously, the romantic dialogue in these pictures would make a 6th-grade author blush. Truly some of the worst dialogue and uninvolved, lifeless delivery ever. (And to make matters worse, Lucas even admits it, and admits he hates writing; he's got more money than Midas; can't he pay Lawrence Kasdan or Frank Darabont to get off the couch?) Inasmuch as Anakin's whole decision to go bad hinges on his romance with Padme, the hollowness of their relationship is deadly, indeed, toxic to the whole prequel trilogy. And "Annie?" Please. 4. Anakin is overhwelmed -- rightly -- with remorse when he lops off Mace Windu's hands. "What have I done?" he frets as he sinks into a chair. Moments, literally seconds later, he's kneeling at Palpatine's knees and slaughtering cute little children. Am I asking too much to see what prompts this total about-face? Are we to think that the Chosen One is so stupid and weak-willed he just falls under Palpatine's spell, just like that? 5. General Grievous. Please. Can we not come up with a real name of some kind for this bogus and undeveloped character? (Yes, I know I said four complaints but I'm rolling.) Like, I dunno, "Lieutenant Mildly Upsetting," or "Corporal Unpleasant". It reminds me of Graham Chapman as Yellowbeard, trying to come up with a cunning cover name to go with his disguise as a professor. "Professor Death! No.... Professor Rape!"

Batman on the other hand is leanly written, and where the dialogue is clunky we have Morgan Freeman and Michael Caine to the rescue, two great actors who can say more by not moving a muscle on their faces than most actors can with their whole bodies. These two imbue their supporting roles with real life, and they deliver lines -- some that in other actors' mouths would turn to ash -- with real authority -- they convince. One of the clever things about the script is the manner in which the exposition is handled -- always organically, details that could become tiresome (like, where does Batman gets his pointy ears for his headgear? Or his cool utility belt stuff?) dispatched with efficiency and in an interesting and clever way. For example, we get the whole low-down on the Batmobile and what it can do while Bruce Wayne is giving it a very excitingly-photographed test drive -- so tedium, which could and often does settle like a shroud over such scenes, never gets the chance to. Christian Bale was an inspired choice to play Batman. The action sequences, particularly the rooftop car chase through Gotham City (a recognizable Chicago, actually) is so much fun you'll be amazed. I can't remember the last time I was anticipating a stunt and saying no... freakin'... WAY!...

And it even has a shot I had hoped for ever since I moved to Chicago almost 10 years ago -- Batman perched on one of those crazy gothic towers which dot the Loop. It's enormously entertaining and very intelligent. The only bad reviews I have read seem to have a problem with the grim seriousness of it all, somehow having got the idea that the repulsive campiness which had infested the last several incarnations of Batman had anything to do with the character. He's a dark character with dark origins and dark and complex motivations and he's on a dark quest, and Chris Nolan manages to have fun with it for all that. And it has just about the most kickass car you will ever see.

Earthquake report

Experienced our first earthquake today. Seems like most of California is greeting it with a big yawn -- inasmuch as there wasn't any damage or injury, at least by early reports. The quake and a few aftershocks hit around 1:53, around 5.3 magnitude. Jack was sitting in his chair looking out the window and babbling from time to time. Boris didn't do a god-damned thing, so forget all those "animals know it's going to happen" crap. For about 5-10 seconds there as just this kind of rolling, rumbling shaking kind of feeling. I could see things wobbling a little and hear our crystal tinkling gently in the cupboard. I froze at first and then grabbed Jack and pushed him under a doorway.

Well I can't say I enjoyed it a bit but I am glad to have it over with, briefly scary though it was. I'll know what to expect next time. Bunch of aftershocks still rolling around 1-2 magnitude near the epicenter, which is like 50 miles or so from here, so we can't feel them. I will be ready next time.

Genevieve has long been mocking my earthquake worries. Much of her childhood was spent in Alaska, where earthquakes came along as often as the postman. She and he little friends would run around the playground, wheeee!

The news is asking the same question I'm asking -- there has been a lot of seismic acitivty around here lately, some of it quite strong, like the big offshore quake in Northern California that prompted tsunami warnings. What gives?

Moving on up, or down...

. . . to Long Beach, that is. Genevieve and I finally found a new place, and it is in Long Beach, roughly 30 miles south of LA and a mere 10 minute drive from G's work. For the price we couldn't get anything even remotely as nice in the LA area. We wanted quiet; a reasonably nice neighborhood with some shops and a pub; to be closer to G's work; to allow a dog; and at least two bedrooms. This place, a pretty, new building, has all of that, plus it is 1 mile away from the ocean and the sort of Irish pub we have so sorely missed since moving here. In additional it is at least $200 cheaper than the few dumps we could find in LA which met other criteria but which were, well, dumps. We're going to start moving our stuff in on the 26th. The commute for school will be a drag, but I will have the option of taking the train more or less directly there, which would be fine with me and only takes about an hour. Anyway G has been commuting a minimum of an hour and often more ever since we've been married -- she is long overdue for an easy trip home, and anyway, her schedule in the afternoons will be way more regular than mine, so I will be able to drop Jack off at day care and she can pick him up.

So we're very, very pleased and relieved. Apartment hunting is such a giant pain in the ass. Photos of the new pad as they appeared in the listing are below.

In other news, I found out yesterday that I am the recipient of a $10,000 scholarship. This means 10K comes right off the top of my tuition (read: loans) which is totally fantastic, beautiful and exciting news. I am not one to toot my own horn by I am very proud of this honor.

Finally, went to see Batman Begins tonight and wow, the Batman movie I've been waiting for all these years. I hated, hated, hated Tim Burton's and Joel Schumacher's asinine takes on the character -- I mean, I like Michael Keaton, but as Batman? And don't get me started on Bat-suits with nipples -- and this movie, I loved from beginning to end. Run don't walk.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

The search for housing

Awake early today, as always, anymore. Jack, Genevieve and I are off early today to look at apartments. Jack's arrival made it vital for us to find a larger dwelling. The sheer amount of crap we have complicates this, as does our doggie Boris. It always seems odd to me that people will allow smelly cats who poop in the house but would have a problem with a quiet, sweet dog like Boris. Even after meeting him they often demand hundreds of dollars in security deposits. Lord knows why. Boris couldn't hurt a fly if he had an instruction manual. Add to that the bait-and-switch -- oh, that beautiful apartment we advertised isn't available anymore, but this shithole is for only $100 more a month! -- is enough to give me an aneurysm. Still, we have some promising leads today. In general, finding a place for a family to rent in a nice section of LA has been a depressing and exhausting challenge.

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Originally uploaded by laughograms.

Let's try that again.

Yet again, a huge, huge break in postings. Most of this is explained over at Jack's blog -- really, it's been a combination of parental visits, adapting -- or rather, trying to adapt -- to being stay-at-home Dad, which hasn't been easy because in the main Jack's not been very cooperative -- and dealing with a flurry of school-related activity in terms of planning for next year's thesis projects.

Dealing with those things one at a time . . . Mom and Dad came here for a week, which was a great time. It has been a long while since we have been able to visit Albany, what with my job constraints, Genevieve's school, moving, my school. We had an excellent time together and had a lot of time for visiting and chatting about everything. Mom and Dad especially enjoyed havig a lot of time to spend with Jack.

Trying to be Mr. Mom -- well it has been harder than I expected, mostly because in the four or five days I have been doing it solo, with the exception of the second day Jack has been really craving being held, coddled etc. It is devilishly hard not to oblige,. He has also been eating verrrrrrry slowwwwwly. A 4-5 ounce bottle can be an hour's work. Add in burp time and diaper change and that's 90 minutes 4 or 5 times a day, and then there's the general holding and playing time.

So it is exhausting AND I am hardly able to eat my breakfast, bathe and walk the dog while keeping Jack in my sights. I am trying new little tricks as I go along, and hopefully Jack's eating habits will be adjusting in the next week or so (praised be Allah) -- not to metnion his sleeping habits. The last two days he has been awake at 5 am and with only a 20-minute nap or two, awake and grunting and kicking the whole day. The house is a mess by the time G gets home, with half-consumed bottles of formula or milk lying around and most of the time, my breakfast dishes still on the dining room table because Jack shifted into high gear halfway through my bagel. Thus far dreams of doing some work while Jack sleeps during the day have been just that == dreams -- until he sleeps during the day, that's all they will be.

But as exhausting as today, for example, was, it was all worth it when a mellow Jack lay in my arms and just positively beamed with pleasur as I did his favorite thing -- just rubbing my hand over the top of his head and talking gently to him. He just smiled bigger and bigger and bigger, and I would have kept doing it until my arm fell off. Just wonderful, a happy, happy, happy feeling.

As to school -- I am pretty much burnt out on school for a few days. Between running about while my folks were coming to fielding calls and questions from my (wonderful, don't gte me wrong) teammates and still kind of reeling from the frenetic assembly of "Tag" I need a long break from even worrying about school. Fortuantely my two thesis projects roll beginning in January and then into next summer.... so technicall I can afford to do what I've done, which is more or less advise my teams that I will be out of touch for a week or two, adapting to my new life at home.

Meanwhile... saw the new Hayao Miyazaki picture, Howl's Moving Castle, last night at the El Capitan. It was the first LA screening and a panel discussion featured director Pete Docter, actress Jean Simmons and other filmmakers involved in the English-language dub of this remarkable piece of work. I am not really a big fan of anime, but Miyayzaki's work is so richly detailed and so incredibly imaginative and creative and beautiful and rich, it demands to be seen on a big screen. Take the kids.

Also, as you can see in the pic above, saw the incredibly cool, kickass Batmobile from Batman Begins being unloaded out in front of the Chinese for the premiere of the flick. Can't wait for it. It looks badass.