Thursday, July 3, 2008

DATELINE: MONTEREY, CA!

Chapter 1: Quid pro quo



Meet Lilly's new cousin RADAR. He's a Pembrooke Welsh Corgi and he's 10 weeks old. Meridth and I have been wanting and wanting a dog for months and months. We found a website for a breeder not too far away and realized that we weren't in the "reasonable financial circumstances" to buy a purebred, champion-sired Corgi. So we haunted the pounds and shelters, looked and looked for bargain-basement puppies but came up nil. In desperation Meridth emailed the breeder and asked if we could arrange for a monthly payment plan. After receiving the email, the breeder (see her website here) clicked onto Meridth's website and fell in love with Meridth's art. So a trade was arranged. We get a handsome young pup and she gets a unique logo to spruce up her website. Win-win!
Note his cute-as-can-be long squatty body and foxy, intelligent head. He is one handsome bloke. Plus we got just about the mellowest dog ever. After just a little tummy-ache on the four-hour drive home, he spent the whole trip cuddling or sleeping. And I still haven't heard him bark. We've got ourselves a wicked good training book and we've already started to work on walking him on a lead. Seriously though, he 's not going to need much training he's so chill. Anyway, with the four-day week-end just warming up, we're going to train him up to be we smartest dog in town. Yep. Best. Puppy. Ever.


Chapter 2: Movie Review -- Hancock

Who remembers 2000's Unbreakable? Setting aside the director's follies of late, (Mer and I have decided against seeing his latest, the vaguely titled The Happening. We'll save that for Netflix.) Unbreakable was a movie that deconstructed the superhero genre and the modern conceptualization of what it means to be a hero. This was the sort of context wanted out of Hancock, the sort of meta-level questions I wanted the film to examine. Plus with Will Smith, I figured I'd get charm and humor for my $8 in the mix. No such luck.

The movie opens pretty much where the trailer does: Will Smith is a jerk superhero who fights crime. Fine. That's what I came for. The film adds Jason Bateman and a miscast Charlize Theron into the mix as the PR guy trying to change Hancock's image and his wife who is strangely interested in Hancock, just like in the trailer. Hancock goes to jail for his destructive heroism where he inserts one inmate's head into the rectum of another (just as advertised) and finally is released after the city realizes how much they need him, while he simultaneously realizes how much he needs them, and foils a high-tech bank robbery, just like the trailer promised us. Maybe I missed it, had a nap or a long blink, but that movie ended and this odd second movie started. I don't wish to reveal over much about this disjointed and goofy second movie, but it kinda poops all over the first movie. Everything that the first movie almost touched on (i.e. the loneliness of power, the expectations of heroes realistic and otherwise, the jealously of the powerless, the cult of celebrity) is tossed to the side. "Oh." I thought while watching the second half "Hancock isn't lonely and self-destructive because he has deep unfulfilled needs vis-a-vis his hero-status, it's because of X." (where X=the near dues ex machina that passes for a 'plot-twist'). In sum, the movie's awesome potential was wrecked by a ridiculously muddled narrative thread and bad bad badbad writing.

Grade: C-


Chapter 3: Everything else.

Things are okay everywhere else. School is tough. Meridth's art improves daily. Monterey is gorgeous.

11 comments:

redstarmama said...

I LOVE LOVE LOVE corgis!!! My brother and my grandma both have one, and they are the best dogs: smart, adorable and possessed of the stumpiest legs on the planet. Enjoy your new addition!

Sharae Peterson said...

very cute puppy, do they have a good temperament? Love the hair cut meridth.

Meridth McKean Gimbel said...

Thanks! Radar really is adorable. Is a very sweet mellow puppy. What I've read about Corgi's is that they are very intelligent which is why the Queen has Corgis (or so I hear) and why they generally do well in dog shows. We'll see how the training goes though ;)

Mike and Tia Fam said...

My heart just melted! Radar is super cute! I'm glad the three of you are getting on so well - and I'm excited to see your dog winning logo! I think trades are fantastic. Rusty: I haven't seen Hancock but I have seen the trailer so I guess I've seen what I need to. Thanks for the review. Good luck with school, hopefully having Mer and Radar around won't make having to go too terribly torturous.
We love you!

Leigh Harris said...

Hooray! I love your wee radar! Wish we could see you guys and hang out. I miss you guys.

Andersons said...

Yeah for cute new puppies! And no fair that you're living in Monterey. I'm jealous. Officially.

Margie and Brandon said...

Yippee! Lilly can't wait to meet her new cousin!

xo!
-M

Dimitricoff Family said...

MCKEAN!!! It's McCulloch! I opened my mission e-mail the other day and found a SUPER old e-mail from you that had your blog address on the bottom. So, I opened it and found you! You are so cute and your "work" (if that's what you might call it) is AMAZING!!! E-mail me! chanmcculloch@hotmail.com or check out my blog dimitricoff@blogspot.com
I want an update on your life since the mission! Can you believe it's been over 6 years since we was hanging out in San Justo with your hija and crazy Mendez, collecting Bandana fichas? Can't wait to hear from you!!

Anonymous said...

Awwww! Cute puppy! and I'm so disappointed that Hancock didn't live up to it's potential. I really, really wanted it to. I'll probably see it anyway. Miss you two! Mucho! Mucho! (I think of you when I play the mixity mix cds...)

Will said...

Boy, it's been a while since you included a picture of yourself on the blog. You and your dog look like a great match. Monterey's great if you like perfection and stuff.

BookwormMama said...

OK Mer that puppy is so dang cute!! I love the name too!! No worries, Edward... your puppy will be the smartest in the world...Meridth is it's mommy so the future is up from here on out!

Love ya Mer
Steph
p.s. Call me, K? {I can't find your number! Again!} :}