Month: June 2019

Catio!

We have completed Phase One of the front porch catio!

Our original intention was to make the full front porch a catio, but inserting the fencing in the existing pergola proved challenging, plus I’m not confident in the longevity of the pergola and it will be easier to make a frame to fit in between the sides of the house should the pergola need to come down in the future.

This provides a space for the cats to hang out, plus a space for a person to hang out. I also like that when people come to the front door I can talk to them through these two doors. While people appearing on the doorstep is rare, it does happen and has always worried me a little. With no screen door, anyone could push their way into the house if they wanted and I’m often home alone in the evenings.

I don’t think that would actually happen, but by answering the door from the porch, that worry is gone.

In even more exciting news: I can now open the French Doors in the front and the bedroom doors (where we already have a catio) and I can get a delicious cross breeze running through the house. I’m going to love that this summer.

Next up:

  • Phase Two: shelves for the cats to sit on
  • Phase Three: cat door

Fight Club: Still Relevant 20 Years Later

The review:

I hadn’t seen David Fincher’s Fight Club since 1999*, and wasn’t at all certain it would hold up, so I pressed play with some amount of trepidation. My trepidation vanished in the first few minutes and I found myself settling back into the feeling I remember the movie giving me the first time I watched it.** It’s violent, a bit terrifying, hilarious, runs at a breakneck pace, and might be both Edward Norton and Brad Pitt’s best performances*** and if you haven’t seen this film, get thee to a viewing.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: free from the Multnomah County Library
Where watched: at home, as part of Filmspotting’s 9 from ’99*****

Consider also watching these other fine Fincher films:

Further sentences:

*Or rather, since the year 2000, as the journal excerpt below proves.
**The feeling in question: This movie is awesome! I also want to be in a Fight Club! And also, no, I can see that it isn’t actually a good thing! But I still am enjoying myself tremendously watching this film.
***This movie also manages the impossible: it’s a movie about men doing men things that exclude women, its plot contains only one woman and she’s more of a plot point than a character, and yet still I find myself charmed. How does this film do that?
****It’s been 20 years since its release, so you probably know the twist. It’s still worth watching if you do.
*****And between this film, the Sixth Sense, and the Matrix the year 1999 was sending a very strong message that all was not as it seemed.

Favorite IMDB Trivia:

Author Chuck Palahniuk first came up with the idea for the novel after being beaten up on a camping trip when he complained to some nearby campers about the noise of their radio. When he returned to work, he was fascinated to find that nobody would mention or acknowledge his injuries, instead saying such commonplace things as “How was your weekend?” Palahniuk concluded that the reason people reacted this way was because if they asked him what had happened, a degree of personal interaction would be necessary, and his workmates simply didn’t care enough to connect with him on a personal level. It was his fascination with this societal ‘blocking’ which became the foundation for the novel.

Special bonus:

Excerpt from my journal the day I watched Fight Club:

Always be my Maybe: A Sneaky Charmer

The review:

Nahnatchka Kahn’s Always Be My Maybe did not charm me from the beginning, but it slowly ramped up, and by the end I found myself satisfied with a very funny, and surprisingly moving, film. While neither Ali Wong nor Randall Park were familiar to me, their awkward chemistry and their characters’ long history provided a couple I could root for.* Add in a series of scenes featuring a major star who chews scenery while playing himself, plus some crackling dialog and a bevy of one-liners and you’ve got a solid rom-com.

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching a bevy of Netflix Rom-Coms:

Further sentences:

*Though I’m not at all convinced of their long-term prospects.

Favorite IMDB trivia item:

Ali Wong began performing while at UCLA as a member of the university’s LCC Theatre Company, the largest and longest-running University Asian American theater company, of which Randall Park was a co-founding member during his time at UCLA.

SKS Postcard: Trempealeau

Postcard 1/2 arrived the day after 2/2, as they are known to do.

Here we find out that the winery tip was to go to this town in Wisconsin. They did not partake in outdoor sports, but did do shopping for family and friends’ gifts.

I would have been all over that lake. I miss lakes.

Nice design. I also like Trempealeau’s tagline is “A mecca for outdoor sports on Wisconsin’s West Coast.” Perhaps I should plan a visit.

Update: it seems that might be the Mississippi, not a lake.

Perfect Bid: Place a bet on this one

The review:

C.J. Wallis’ Perfect Bid: The Contestant Who Knew Too Much is gripping, and exists at the intersection of Quirky Fellow Avenue and Super Nice Guy Way. For anyone with more than a few hours of the game show the Price is Right under their belt,* this will be a nostalgic walk back to “Come on down! You’re the next contestant on the Price is Right,” and the showcase showdown, and all those models pointing at things.** Ultimately, Theodore Slauson is a good guy*** and his fascination with, and attempts to get on, the game show make for a surprisingly engaging documentary.****

The verdict: Good

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Further sentences:

*Guilty! I watched this show a lot during my pre-teen and early teenage years, especially during the summer.
**Not to mention the inherent sexism intertwined with Barkers Beauties, but this documentary is not about that. (That sounds like it would be an also interesting, yet much less cheery, documentary.)
***The show also interviews Roger Dobkowitz, the longtime producer of the show, and Bob Barker. All interviews look on the bright side of things.
****I found the ending to be slipshod. Is the current situation with the show as Drew Carey has outlined, that there are now just too many prizes to memorize?