Afternoon Delights

This afternoon, I was forced to go to the laundrymat in order to continue wearing underwear and socks for the rest of the week. One of things I hate most about our backhouse is the lack of laundering capabilities. This is one of the most exciting things about the prospect of moving to a new little house in Pasadena, one that is lined up for us and could be available any day now. Most importantly, one that has a washer and a dryer. I dream of the day when doing my laundry will not involve lugging baskets between my house and our local "All My Laundry," a soap-opera themed laundrymat a few blocks away.

But the perk is that I was able to finish one Aimee Bender's most recent book Willful Creatures, which was just as twisted and delightful as The Girl in the Flammable Skirt. I had such a good time that I read the whole thing in a few hours -- between men who keep little men in cages, a boy born with keys for fingers, and rich, manipulative women at parties, I couldn't put these short stories down. If you haven't had the pleasure of an Aimee Bender experience, I suggest you find an afternoon and indulge yourself.

And I should mention that on Friday, I saw Brokeback Mountain (a.k.a. "a story about gay cowboys eating pudding," which is how Cartman from South Park categorizes all Sundance Film Festival movies), which was just as good as the short story. I didn't cry like I did while reading the story, but watching some of the scenes play out visually just as I'd imagined them was thrilling. I think my lack of emotional response was because every time Ennis and Jack touched each other or talked to one another romantically, the audience would giggle or out-and-out laugh. It wasn't because any of these scenes were particularly funny, but because the audience was so uncomfortable with the idea of male romance. It drove me crazy, which in turn, dried up all tear ducts and snot production. The point of the story is not "gay cowboys eating pudding," but about how you can't really choose who you end up loving. Gay cowboys just happen to be part of the affair. Yee-hah.