Knocked Up and Windmills
I saw Knocked Up. I originally thought I’d have to see it alone because Beki is mad that there are never any films where the woman just has an abortion. I told her about Maud and it just made her angry that we haven’t progressed in forty years. I reminded her that I wouldn’t be here if some people didn’t just go with it, but she was unconvinced. Anyway, time appears to soften all convictions and she was pretty excited about the film (the fact that The 40 Year Old Virgin is on HBO every other day probably helped).
I loved it. I’ve a huge fan of Judd Apatow since Freaks and Geeks, and I think he just keeps getting better. I won’t say that Knocked Up is funnier or better than The 40 Year Old Virgin, but it is impressive. Apatow has a way of melding improve and dialogue so that people actually sound like people. He’s unafraid of dealing with things as we all experience them and not just how we want to experience them. That’s not to say that he isn’t a romantic. I can’t imagine that his films will ever have anything less than a perfect ending, but getting there is never easy or naive. The film also made me a huge fan of Katherine Heigl. I might have to watch Grey’s Anatomy (but probably not).
On my way back to New Mexico from Florida, we flew over windmills in Texas. I always try and get a window seat when I can, and this time it really paid off. I was listening to the new Low album (more on this in a future post) and the clouds opened up just in time to see a field of windmills. I’ve never seen the white, slick, contemporary windmills, but there they were, clear as day. They spin much faster than I expected. They were beautiful. I’m always amazed and delighted when purely pragmatic design has the secondary quality of being aesthetically perfect. You couldn’t ask for a cleaner, prettier piece of industrial equipment. Plus, you don’t have to feel bad because wind-power is so good.
Weekend at Beki's
Another weekend alone. I took Beki to the airport this morning. She's going to visit UF. It snowed all of Tuesday and Wednesday, so the roads were pretty bad from here to I-25. When we got down the hill and onto 285 headed toward Santa Fe we hit a valley of fog and mud and snow and ice. They don't use salt here (something about the ph of the soil), so they use mud instead. It is disgusting. Driving through the valley of fog was completely surreal. We slowly climbed out of it and the expansive New Mexican landscape revealed itself. The mountains are all dusted with snow. I don't know if I'll get over the views that I'm continuously assaulted by.
This afternoon I took Owen for a walk in the gorge. We got a good eight inches of snow, so the gorge was completely white. Owen dove through the snow with enough enthusiasm that I was willing to deal with wet feet and join him. Actually, I didn't have much choice because there isn't much of a path anymore. We did the Acid Canyon trail and took a side trail that led down into the interior canyon. It was awesome. We got right down the frozen stream. The canyon is only about ten yards wide down there. It really feels like you're in deep in the wilderness. It was just a step away from The Deer Hunter.
I start work on Tuesday, so this is my last weekend to eat junk food and play Nintendo. Come Tuesday I'll start triathlon training and I won't have much time for the Wii. Here's to flashing screens, ice cream, and wearing nothing but underwear until noon.
