Confessions of a Liberal Puritan

I just returned from spending a week with my family in Wisconsin, during which I told my parents that I'd like to move back there when my current lease expires at the end of August (no sense paying exhorbitant rents here, when I don't have a teaching assignment in the Fall and I KNOW that the social and personal isolation here is not helping either my depression or my work).

To my surprise, the whole family greeted this news with joy, saying they'd long wanted me to be closer and had been hoping I'd move back some day (it's been 20 years, almost to the month, since I last lived in the same state as my family, and I'm trying not to regard this as proof of 'failure to launch' or just plain failure). No judging from the folks -- just gleeful plans for how to move me up there and where to put me when I get there.

Oh, well. That's one less financial worry, I guess.

Meanwhile, I was able to catch up on a few movies while I was visiting, thanks to my sister.

First, my sister sat me down in front of the Jim Carrey remake of "Fun With Dick and Jane" on Friday night, since I'd arrived too late and too beaten up from holiday traffic to be able to see "X-Men" on its opening night, as we'd planned. Have to say, "Dick and Jane" was better than I'd been expecting, from the reviews I'd seen. I don't think I'd have liked to have spent $6 to see it in the theater, but as a free rental from Blockbuster, it was a nice way to unwind from the horror that was Memorial Day traffic in Chicago.

Then, Sis left some library DVD's for me to watch, if I got bored, and since Dad was interested in seeing the director's cut of "King Arthur", and since I hadn't seen that flick at all (turns out, Dad and Mom had seen it in the theater, but Dad had forgotten, as he often does, regarding any movie not starring John Wayne), I watched that with the folks on Saturday night. Not only was it a very good movie with a very entertaining cast, but I was fascinated by the use of the 'heterodox' Christian theologian Pelagius as young Arthur's religious and ethical mentor. I hadn't thought about Pelagius in over 20 years, since a class in Early Christian doctrinal disputes that I took in seminary. Plus, the extras were nicely done, and I really enjoyed the chance to see the original ending of the movie, before the more unambiguously 'happy' ending was added at the request of early screening room audiences.

At last, Sis and I were able to get to the theater to see "X-Men: The Last Stand" on Sunday night, and having enjoyed it very much (as well as being thoroughly shocked by many of the unexpected losses during the movie), we stayed talking through the closing credits, until they seemed to be over, and I agreed that we could leave at last, since there didn't seem to be anything else. However, no sooner had we stood up, than the half of the theater audience who'd stayed with us, all hollered, "No! Wait!", so we DID get to see the twist at the very end, after all, and were very pleased to have one more intriguing bit to discuss.

Sister hosted a Memorial Day 'cook-out' (it was too hot to actually eat outdoors, but we did periodically send human sacrifices out to tend the grill and bring in the hot dogs and brats) for family and friends at her house on Monday, but on Tuesday afternoon she and I both were inspired, simultaneously, with the desire to go see "Kinky Boots" at one of the downtown arthouse cinemas. We were amazed at how good 'The Operative' from "Serenity" looked in drag, as well as how he could belt out those songs, but there were some moments when I was cringing with embarrassment for 'Charlie', the shoe factory owner who seemed to periodically get hit with the 'stupid' stick, or at least the 'intolerant ungrateful jerk' stick. Still, all told, a very amusing and enjoyable film.

Finally, after supper on Tuesday, Sis and I sat down to watch her library DVD of Vincent Price and Diana Rigg (the major reason for our interest, naturally) in 1972's "Theatre of Blood". Totally over the top, and gruesome in the extreme, of course, but it WAS fun to see Diana Rigg camping it up as Vincent Price's daughter.