Snow Day + My Brother + Kate Hudson

Blizzard in My Back Yard

All Winter I have been psyched that there has been no snow since now that I am in a house, I have to shovel. Anyway, I kept saying "just have to get thorough February" and lookee what hap.

I knew this morning that this was not going to be 10" as predicted. I had to shovel 3 times before noon and it just kept on piling up. I'm not surprised it was more than 18" but I was shocked that it was 27" and broke the old 1947 record.

It is so weird. This is probably the largest snowfall I will ever experience in New York in my life. Makes me feel mortal. Though I guess maybe my Dad felt the same way in '47.

Anyway, I felt like such a grumpy old man all day because all I wanted the snow to do was stop and I was getting stressed out because my neighbors seem to have all these odd snow removal customs and I felt that I did not understand them. Why were they all carving a path from the sidewalk to the street? Why did the guy with the snow blower do three houses and stop at mine? Screw it. I was out there at 8AM, long before any of them.

The point is, in the old days I would have liked the snow to keep falling in perpetuity. No more.

My mother also called today to ask me to do something. For her, but really for my brother. It makes me crazy how he asks he to do all these really inconvenient things for him and she does them. Not just does them but puts them at the top of her list. She shouldn't have to run off to the Business Library or some consulate at the drop of a hat and it makes me crazy. It makes me crazy that he asks her, too. He's been gone for so long I don't think he has any concept that she is old.

Well, what she wanted me to do wasn't too bad (She would fax something to me so I could scan it and email it to him)so I did not get pissed.

There was actually a bonus because there was a decent story attached to it:

Background-He has been married and divorced three times.

He just asked some girl to marry him and presented her with an engagement ring. She told him she had it appraised and her jeweler said it was a glass stone and maybe cost $100. He was very upset so he sent the ring to have it appraised here in NYC. The appraiser here said it was worth about 100 times more than that and he needed the appraisal document, hence the fax.

Of course, my first comment was "Who is this girl? She gets engaged and runs and get the ring appraised? What is she, a prostitute?"

My mother totally agreed with me but said there's no talking to my brother about affairs of the heart.

I still find this mind boggling. I have never heard of a girl having an engagement ring appraised like, minutes, after the question is popped. My brother is completely pathetic when it comes to woman. He just thinks with his dick and every girl he has been with has been so manipulative it is frightening.

On the plus side, I saw "The Skeleton Key" with Kate Hudson and it did not completely suck. I would say 2 out of 4 stars. It was a little slow and the editing was a little erratic but I liked it's mix of utter predictability with a dollop of originality. These movies piss me off though, because they could be really good if the writing, directing and editing was just a little tighter. Like most movies, it was about 20 minutes too long.

John Hurt was very good. I like Gena Rowlands a lot but found her unconvincing as a Southerner. Peter Sarsgaard is always awesome in movies although seeing his micro-penis in "Kinsey" sorta ruined any sexual attraction I had for him.

Kate Hudson was fun only because she is completely morphing into her mother, sight and sound. It was freaking me out. She looked and sounded so much like Goldie in "Deceived" that I kept pausing to stare.

I think Kate's going to fade out. Take care of her kid(s?) and maybe pop up in smaller films once in a while. I hope she does. It's much cooler than chasing the Hollywood thing.


The Skeleton Key