Friday night, deciding which book to curl up with

[cleolinda]

So I was stuck inside today as we had our first rain in a while--oh! Safeco has run out of dogs and buses, so they've decided to accept their driver's liability. Thus, my mother took half a day off work to take Sister Girl car shopping. I don't think they actually sealed any kind of deal, but with any luck, she's found something she likes. Anyway, I had the house--and the dogs--all to myself today, which is... not really all that out of the ordinary, except that they couldn't go outside and play, and therefore drove me even crazier than usual. They're always wanting in and out and in and out, and when you have a dog that's big enough to start bodyslamming a screen door, the inning and the outing becomes paramount. Also, there's Sam, who doesn't actually want out, but rather to stand in front of the door and yip and then not go outside when you open it. This makes watching a movie, particularly one you've never seen before, an exercise in futility (and Sam particularly likes to do this when we all settle down to watch a DVD). Nonetheless, I felt like trying, so I went channel-surfing and ended up watching the last hour of Infamous (note: I never actually got around to seeing Capote) and all but the first half hour of The Interpreter. We have the latter on DVD, so I've made off with that, but I'm going to have to go get both Capote and Infamous so I can see both of them in their entirety, mostly because I'm interested to see how they handle the Perry Smith storyline. Infamous suggests that Smith only killed the Clutter men and made his partner kill the Clutter women (Smith's original confession), while Capote (as far as I've read) sticks to Hickock's story that Smith killed all four of them; again, from what I've read, there's no way to be sure what really happened. I'm just curious as to whether the Perry Smith Is Gay and Sensitive storyline had any basis in real life at all, or if the movie completely made it up extrapolated it from the places where the truth goes vague.

Also, Sandra Bullock has a lovely monologue towards the end about what it's like to be a writer, and I wish I could remember it in its entirety--"The great American question, 'What's next?' " Also, as a connoisseur of Southern accents: I don't know what Harper Lee actually sounded like (and isn't Bullock already Texan?), but I really liked listening to hers.

As for The Interpreter (which I'm going to have to watch again, as I missed the beginning, the last five minutes, and a good bit in between because OH MY GOD STOP BARKING), it was surprisingly good, and kind of weird on a personal level because "interpreter for the U.N." was the job my mother always thought I should get, back when I was a Spanish major/French minor. Never mind that I specialized in written translation and totally freeze up when trying to speak a foreign language, you know.

Meanwhile, over on Facebook, I got the kind of hey-baby message I thought people only got on dating sites and MySpace:

hello cute one

iam Daniel.i just feel i should drop a few lines for you.i like your profile and will very much like it if we can get to chat sometime my yahoo i.d is [redacted]@yahoo.com i also have an msn its [redacted]@hotmail.com...i seriously anticipate your response.
Daniel...........

My "cute" userpic is of a book. It's the personal touch that means so much.


New Jersey teen unlocks iPhone, "freeing the most hyped cell phone ever for use on the networks of other carriers, including overseas ones."

Astro-romance rivals face off in court.

Scientists recreate out-of-body experiences (no drugs).

Online 'rogue pharmacies' booming.

Salem 'witch' denies littering raccoon parts.

Irishman bites girlfriend's snake in half. AHHHHHH.

'Anchorwoman' canceled after one airing.

"Vladimir Nabokov was a happy guy."

MTV revamps the VMAs -- and itself.

Dunst's $13K handbag, belongings stolen. Wait, the handbag alone was worth $13K?

Kristen Bell: ''I love nerds'.'

'Brokeback' director's latest gets NC-17.

P.S. I Love You Poster.

The Poster for Jesse James.

New 'American Gangster' international trailer.

Trailer Blazer (Special R-rated Edition): 'No Country for Old Men' and 'Beowulf.'

Rainn Wilson Wants To Be An Alcoholic Ninja.

Switzerland Still On The Cards For 'Bond 22.'

Fall movies preview: It's the fall of the gunslinger in theaters.

"So That 'Dallas' Movie is Back On Again. (Yay?)"

Comments

[ter369.livejournal.com]

I can't remember if Perry got outed as Juliet Hulme before or after the movie, but I do remember finding out for myself shortly after it came out.

The timeframe for the outing and the film release were close. I saw the film knowing who Juliet became in later life, and within that year I'd attended Perry's reading and Q&A. I'd also worked on a production of the play Minor Murder which is based on those people and that case, with names changed and fictional houseguest characters who solve the mystery. So I knew way too much about the case. Powerful, unusual film, but I don't think I can ever see it again.

Anne Perry is one example of a writer using what they know to craft fiction that really bothers me. But her books keep selling and she's got three series now.