Getting back into Gear

I've been gone for awhile thanks to work. This summer was a bit crazy and the changeover into autumn even more so.

Here's what I've been up to over the past few months:

I tried a vodka martini for the first time, once with olives, once with a lemon peel. Both were equally distasteful. I was hoping I had a more "sophisticated" palate but since I'm not the biggest fan of wine or beer, I shouldn't have had high hopes for hard liquor. The best part was I made them myself and actually learned about the difference between shaken and stirred martinis, dirty and dry martinis. The next step is to try a proper martini made with gin. Apparently vodka martinis weren't popular until the 1950s, making the whole exercise fruitless as I wanted a martini similar to the ones Nick and Nora Charles order in "The Thin Man". When I actually do get around to the original martini I'll let you know but I don't expect a better outcome.

I discovered Fritz Lang and watched "M". I had to keep reminding myself that I should watch the whole film through first and then later go back to pause and marvel the film. I'm glad that at this point in my life I'm comfortable with foreign films. Otherwise I would have missed this masterpiece. I love the cinematography, the sets, the ambiguous camera and how Fritz and Lorre managed to convince the viewer to pity a child serial killer. I'll be posting a review for the film soon with my insights and opinions.

I also discovered and watched the scariest movie known to man. "When a Stranger Calls Back" is a sequel to "When a Stranger Calls", the movie where the babysitter got that infamous call saying "the call is coming from inside the house". This movie has no gore, very little blood and is all suspense. I ended up turning on all the lights in my place because it was that scary. This pertains to how the killer gets around which I won't give away. I would highly recommend this movie but don't watch it alone.

I also started to watch M*A*S*H as I have several seasons kicking around. Why isn't today's television as funny as this? There are so many jokes flying around I can't keep track of half of them. What happened? Did the writers retire and the talent wasn't replaced?

Archaeologists have possibly discovered the skeleton of King Richard III under a parking lot in Leicester! Gah! This is crazy! The first best part is that a Canadian is helping to prove the identity of the remains as he's believed to be a descendant of Richard's sister Anne. The second best and most amazing part is that the skeleton they discovered had a twisted spine, resulting in one shoulder being higher than another. If it's him then maybe the idea that Richard was a hunchback was just an exaggerated truth. It's strange how quickly this has all happened and in December we'll find out if the bones are royal or not.