2012 Movie List

The Iron Lady – Meryl Streep plays Margaret Thatcher, Oscar nod for sure

Coriolanus – Starring and directed by Ralph Fiennes (aka Voldemort). I love a modern spin on Shakespeare.

We Need to Talk about Kevin – Stars Tilda Swinton (love) and John C. Rielly (tolerate).  It’s an odd pairing but it might work in this artsy drama.  Most of the film was shot in a day in one room.

Albert Nobbs – Glen Close plays a woman playing a man in 19^th century Ireland.  Probably an Oscar nod for her as well.

Man on a Ledge – I like Sam Worthington and have been fond of Jamie Bell since he danced his way into my heart as Billie Eliot.  Elizabeth Banks and Kyra Sedgwick’s roles should be flipped.  Banks is the detective and Sedgwick the news reporter, WTF?  Oh, and Ed Harris plays the villain. 

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters – Yup. They’ve twisted a Brother’s Grimm story to jump on the supernatural moneymaker bandwagon.  Could be fun, might be a rental.

The Raven – John Cusack plays Edgar Allen Poe in a Sherlock Holmes-like mystery movie.  Who doesn’t like Poe?

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen – Not a big fan of gooey romadromedies but I LOVE Ewen McGregor and Emily Blunt (finally forgave her for The Adjustment Bureau).  This movie will either be thought-provoking or pointless.

Hunger Games – YES!  I read this series long before they ever announced turning it into a movie.  Read it!

The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Dark Knight Rises – Considering how often I talk about super heroes I don’t feel the need to explain these three.

Dark Shadows – Um, Johnny Depp as a vampire, naturally.  Directed by Tim Burton, need I say more? 

Snow White and the Huntsman – I love that Snow White is no longer a pale damsel in distress.  She’s a strong, bold fighter who happens to live with little men.  Now, when I think of strong young women I don’t think of Kristen Scott Thomas but I’ll give her the opportunity to prove me wrong. 

Prometheus – I must admit I don’t know much about this film but it’s directed by Ridley Scott so I have to include it.

Stay tuned for my Summer 2012 Must See list!

A Christmas Miracle

Statistics show that CPR has a success rate of 3-7%.  Why even bother with it then?  Chest compressions are hard to do (think cardio kickboxing hard) and they’re no picnic for the recipient.  Even if the dead person comes back to life, her chances of having proper brain function are decreased and heart disease greatly increased.  Worse still, a broken rib (which happens A LOT) could puncture a lung and then out wheels the ventilator – or what I like to call the balloon pump.  And sometimes people die, get CPR and come back just to die all over again.  So, I still ask you, why bother? 

Here’s why:

Today I witnessed a miracle.  I can’t divulge much information due to HIPAA violations.  But trust me it’s an AMAZING story; some might even call it a Christmas miracle.  Today my patient, who until recently had a very poor prognosis, held my hand and said “Thank You.”  It gave me goose bumps. 

The fact that 93-97% of us may never be brought back to life, but a small percentage could die (three times even) and come back with little to no morbidities is, well, a fucking miracle!

So, if you are reading this and are not yet CPR certified then shame on you.  I’m thinking of making that a requirement for friendship now.  No one wants to drop dead next to a friend who all they can do is stand there crying for help while they soil themselves.  Be useful; make me one of the 3%, dammit!       

Bring it on streets of G-bury

My goal was to start out slow and jog for 20 minutes.  Somewhere between minutes 17 and 20 I got lost.  More like I wasn’t in the location I had intended to be.  It’s not that I’m directionally challenged (I’m not, thank you very much) I just don’t pay attention.  I daydream A LOT and forget to look at street names.  It also doesn’t help that I’m new to the neighborhood. 

So, I ended up jogging for 31 minutes instead of 20.  Seems like getting lost works for me.  In fact I think that will be my new lose weight/get in shape plan for 2012.  No more safe and boring treadmill or mapping out my jogs.  I will just head out blindly, have no regard for street signs and see where I end up.  This could either be brilliant or dangerous.  Brilliance and I are close friends and danger’s never held me back before.  Bring it on streets of G-bury.

Age ain't nothing but a number

I’ve never danced with a 90 year-old man, but I did last night.  We did the twist.  He moved around better than most 60 year olds.  

I asked him for his secret to living to be 90.  I never got a straight answer from him though.  This guy was genuine Zen.  He never turned the TV on or whined or complained.  When people walked into his room his face would light up and he’d smile.  I’m pretty sure he even smiled in his sleep. 

How the hell did this man get to be so happy?  It wasn’t an eccentric fake happiness but the content with life kind of happiness.  I want that.  I’d like it now please.  But I’m guessing that kind of Zen only comes with several decades under your belt.  

Perhaps I should start my journey to happiness right now.  Instead of thinking of each passing year as just an increase in age, maybe I could see it as one step closer to my kind of happy.  Maybe I’ll try that as 2012 approaches.  Maybe.