Death and rebirth in cinema

When it was announced that HBO and A24 was working with Olivier Assayas on a series of his meta-remake Irma Vep, my skepticism ran high. Back in college a friend sat me down to watch his original, saying it was the most amazing thing he has seen. Afterword, I remained mostly mum. The film, despite having some interesting ideas, left me cold. A segment of critics still love this movie for its commentary on art and commerce in the film industry. Although I do concede that, couldn’t it be filled with more defined characters?

After about twenty-five years later, it would seem that the director is remaking his remake. What sounds like a celluloid ouroboros is made surprisingly whole, primarily from its length. Instead of a crammed ninety-nine minutes, eight episodes allow Assayas to make subplots and character arcs more substantial.

Ask an Angel: August 11, 2022

My husband and I, along with our two boys (7 & 5), are visiting my husband’s grandmother in a few weeks. It’s been a long time since we’ve seen her, as we live out-of-state. She currently lives in a memory care facility. My father-in-law has told us that she mostly has good days. She’s very forgetful but seems healthy otherwise. I’m writing for suggestions as to what to do during our visit. She’s always been hard of hearing, and conversation can be challenging, even before she had dementia.

Sock-timism

I consider it a good day when I remove an even number of socks from the dryer. I always put in an even number, that I know. With military-like precision, I unroll each and every sock from the hamper and verify its mate before throwing it in the wash. But somehow, by the end of the drying cycle, something’s gone awry. There’s usually one, lonely sock.

I keep the single socks. What else can an optimist do? Admittedly, I have looked up articles like, “37+ Unusual Uses for Lonely Socks,” but I just wasn’t really in need of a sock puppet or golf club covers or windshield wiper cozies. I once made a cardboard box to go above my wash machine and labeled it “Sock Orphanage.” Soon, it was overflowing with socks, yet when I dumped them all out to sort them, none of them seemed to match.

A memory of cherry bombs and apple guns

When we were young, the search began even before school let out in early June: Which kids would be taking a vacation outside of Illinois, and could they find a way to smuggle some fireworks home without Mom or Dad finding out?

The grand prize, of course, was the cherry bomb. Its waterproof wick meant that it could be used to sink the ships of yuletides past.

Every Christmas we asked Santa for plastic model kits of the great ships of America’s proud naval history. We assembled them through the dark, dreary months of late winter, and by summer the kits had been built, played with, and abandoned to the back of the closet.

When we arrived, we were looking for an entrance to the restaurant and discovered the restaurant was inside the Glo-Bowl bowling alley. We didn’t bring our bowling shirts or shoes, but we went in anyway and were escorted to our table.

Ask an Angel: July 28, 2022

I’m concerned about my mom. She relocated from Ohio to live closer to me. While I love having her nearby, she has yet to establish her social network. I work part-time, and she watches my children until me, or my husband can pick them up after work. I see her multiple times a week, and she insists on having us over for Sunday lunch. Initially, she didn’t have many opportunities to socialize due to the pandemic. Now that things are pretty much back to normal, she doesn’t seem interested in finding friends.

Smile — there’s a stop sign ahead

I’m in a good mood today, and I have heavy traffic to thank for it.

I know that’s a crazy thing to say, unless you’re an ambulance-chasing lawyer or a psychiatrist who sees dollar signs in other people’s misery. But I’m neither of those things, so go ahead — call me crazy.

This is only temporary

Every so often, I’ll have a week where it seems as if my coworkers hate me. Later that same week, my husband will start eyeing me in that way that convinces me he’s desperate to divorce me. My friends won’t call — a sure sign that they absolutely cannot stand me. And it isn’t just people turning against me — it’s dinner, scorched in the oven; the latch on the window that snaps off in my hand as I hurry to let the smoke from the oven escape. It’s the spot on my favorite pants, rendering them unwearable.

Shade from Sundance

Film fests have been a breeding ground for the next generation of talent. From major leaders like Steven Soderbergh and Quentin Tarantino, to niche filmmakers like Wes Anderson, they all got their start at one place: The Sundance Film Festival. Started in 1978 and spearheaded by Robert Redford, the event has happened every January in Park City, Utah. Many features and shorts are presented and attended by bigwigs in Hollywood. If you happen to be the lucky director, bid wars between studios are common. And with the need for more content means more competition. But some are just hype.

Interview with Meredith Simpson: Oudulf Garden

As the 10th largest state in the United States, Michigan possesses a large amount of natural resources. From wetlands to sand dunes, from forests to lakes and rivers all are just waiting for us to explore and enjoy. One of the state’s natural resources is called Oudolf Garden.

Winging it

Whenever Nancy and I have a day dedicated to running errands, we always like to plan out our itinerary in the morning while sucking down coffee and watching cartoons. Our travels that day would take us to Schaumburg where Nancy had to get the obligatory COVID test before having a medical procedure in a few days. As a reward for Nancy having to bear the horrific ordeal of having a cotton swab jammed up her nose, she requested to have lunch at Heng Wing Restaurant in Palatine.

Ask an Angel: July 14, 2022

I’m a spousal caregiver to my wife, who has Parkinson’s disease. Her care needs are beginning to exceed what I can manage. Although we have daughters in the area who stop by frequently during the week, we don’t want to become a burden to them.

Little is cute, and oh so likable

Never have I been so reluctant to return a book to the library than Yossy Arefi’s Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings. Most of the recipes are mixed in a single bowl, and use simple ingredients. I baked my way through that book, making the cute little cakes. I started with chocolate, then graduated onto oatmeal chocolate chip, lime-coconut, and finally plum-cardamom. Each cake reminded me of my time as an exchange student in Germany when I was in high school.

Maybe our founding fathers were born just a bit too soon

The never-ending battle over gun control always seems to hit a brick wall at the Second Amendment, which states: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

The statement raises important questions on all sides, regarding what, exactly, our Founding Fathers meant by it. By “Arms” did they necessarily mean “guns,” or would swords, knives, and spears suffice as arms? If they were talking specifically about guns, did they give any thought to what type of gun might be a bridge too far, given the horrors future technology might bring?

Ask the Woodchucks: June 30, 2022

As houses age, some of the original equipment, even some of the replaced equipment, is no longer safe to use. While talking to neighbors, I am surprised at how much needed maintenance is not being done. Every few months we plan remind readers of things they need to do.

Below are five home maintenance chores that if you don’t do could cost you many thousands of dollars.

We’re here…

One thing that unites us all is the ability to be loved and understood. No matter the differences, those are criteria which matter. Some would say we could be proud of those. And here we are in the perfect month for that. Parades, mixers and drag shows are for allies too. We have come a long way from 1969 and it is great to see the inclusiveness. I laughed at seeing the trailer for Bros, happy to see ourselves getting an offbeat romantic comedy in theaters. However, there is also a great set of movies and series newly released.

The BIG chicken

As you go north on Route 47 things seem to get bigger. You approach the town of Hebron, and immediately you see a giant basketball cleverly disguised as a water tower. This undoubtedly was the game ball when the Hebron High School won the IHSA championship in 1952. Drive past the downtown area, look on your left, and there stands as Henery Hawk, the cartoon character would say, “that is the biggest chicken ever I see.” It must be a monument to Foghorn Leghorn. He is standing guard in front of Crandall’s Restaurant in Hebron.

To bee or not to bee?

Tonight, like most nights, Chris, my husband, made us a delicious dinner. A fresh salad and chicken quesadillas were enjoyed by my daughter, my son and me. Strawberry Baked Alaska, compliments of my daughter, Sarah were served for dessert. This morning we enjoyed coffee and fresh baked blueberry muffins for breakfast. While we all appreciate each other’s time and talents in the kitchen, none of it would be possible if not for the bees and other pollinators. The tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, cucumbers, green peppers, jalapeños and even the coffee that nourish our bodies were only harvested after pollinating insects helped to produce them.

Ask an Angel: June 30, 2022

I’m concerned about my husband. He is in the early stages of Alzheimer’s and has always been an avid gardener. He (and I) have reached the point where we can no longer garden as he’s used to doing. The constant bending over to plant flowers causes my back to flare up. My husband’s Alzheimer’s prevents him from staying safe outside in the heat and sun.

Sometimes Dad’s lessons taught other lessons as well

Dad and I were always close, and he had a big impact on the way I think today. For example, Dad instilled a strong respect for truth in me at an early age — because honesty didn’t come naturally to me at first.

When I was little, my philosophy was “Let someone else break it.” It worked like this: If I was tossing a ball around in the house and broke a lamp, I would painstakingly reassemble the pieces and then tiptoe out of the room. The next time somebody walked through the house, the lamp would rattle apart, right before their eyes. Son of a gun. And I was nowhere in sight.

Each morning begins with a ritual

Our ritual each morning is this: he pads barefooted to the kitchen. He is a fast waker-upper; I am not. Even though my eyes are still closed, I follow along by listening to the sounds he makes. I hear the shoosh of the water from the tap going into the tea kettle, and the click of him turning on the stove. He tends to favor the burner at the back of the stove to the right, while I am partial to the front burner on the left. With the water set to boil in a bright turquoise-colored kettle that I bought one day when I was feeling sad and drab, he crosses over to the far end of the living room where I hear him lower himself to the ground where he does pushups on a mat.

Weeding between the lines: How to cultivate your lawn

After the drought last year, the rain this year has been a welcome relief. With the rain, though, has come a proliferation of weeds throughout planting beds and lawns. Although I don’t abide by the belief that a lawn has to be completely free of weeds, a well-kept lawn and maintained planting beds do enhance the look of a property and lead to more enjoyment from its owners.

There are no strict guidelines of what is a weed or what is an acceptable plant. A plant that is growing where it is not wanted is considered a weed. Weeds, when given the opportunity, multiply, often stealing nutrients and moisture from the soil, from other more desirable plants. They can crowd out good plants resulting in the stunted growth of the good plants.

40 Years and counting…

People use a lot of adjectives to describe Nancy and I, some are even complimentary. The adjective smart is not one of them, let me explain why. We headed out at 5 p.m. one Friday night to review a restaurant. We said to ourselves, it’s pretty early, we don’t need no “stinking reservations.” We proudly walked in and were asked if we had reservations. Since we had none, we were informed that the next open table was at 8:30. Of course this was my fault judging from the explicit phrases coming from the mouth of my loving bride. We returned to our car and started searching our restaurant “hit list” for something nearby. We picked a restaurant and called for a reservation at Al’s Café in Elgin. I told you we were smart.

Horror is a social construct

On the surface, scary movies seem rather basic. Like comedy, they only require a simple formula to work. A monster or killer plus victim equals gold. As these films have changed, it has taken on more philosophical aims. Subversion is the true nature behind what we fear. Works by Jordan Peele, Mary Harron and Alex Garland come to mind. The latter’s latest, Men, I failed to see before it left the theaters. However, another provocateur has made his return after a long hiatus.

Ask an Angel: June 16, 2022

I’m a very concerned daughter writing for advice about her older parents. My parents, in their mid-70s, have significantly changed their eating habits over the last few years. They used to eat a variety of fruits and vegetables. Recently, I’ve noticed that their plates are usually filled with carbohydrates and red meat, with very little else. My dad loves bananas, and my mom enjoys potatoes in all forms. Yet, aside from an occasional carrot stick, they eat at my house, I don’t think they’re eating much variety of produce.

Facing another summer as an adult

Summer hasn’t even started, officially. But school is out, and as I’m writing this, my teen daughter is waking up on her first day of summer break. Her alarm clock went off at 6 a.m., a leftover relic of our automated life that cruises along during the school year. Instead of hitting snooze, she gets to hit “off.” In less than 24 hours, the clock has suddenly lost its authority.

Finding the brand of a real-life Ken doll

A couple weeks ago, I chatted with a guy at O’Hare Field that looked like a living Ken doll. He was maddeningly good looking — medium height, blond hair, blue eyes, fit and trim and impeccably dressed — and I wondered which Ken doll he might be.

Because it turns out there are more than 50 varieties of Ken dolls out there — Cali Cool Ken, Tropical Vibes Ken, Hip Hoodie Ken, and more. And now they come in a variety of skin tones and body shapes that include slim, broad and original.

Everything’s bigger in Texas

They say everything is bigger in Texas. Distances definitely play into that picture. It’s so large that its flag only needs one-star, perfect for the Lone Star State. Texas also has five, yes five, of the largest cities in the US: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Austin, and Fort Worth.

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