Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts

By Alyce Wilson

The rain has been so persistent here for the last two weeks that my dog and I are slipping in and out of depression. It helped me this morning that I was able to get in my full workout routine, something I haven't consistently been able to do, because of all the extra work I've been getting.

I can't take her for our usual one or two walks a day, due to the weather, and every time I let her out and she feels the damp air, she looks at me as if I've betrayed her. Since I usually dictate my daily Musing into a tape recorder as we take our morning walk, I've got nothing prepared, and I'll just mention a few thoughts and observations.

We rented Super Size Me last weekend, a documentary about McDonald's food and its effect on American health. The documentary maker, Morgan Spurlock, films what happens as he goes on a 30-day all-McDonald's diet, limiting his exercise to that of a typical American.

What he finds is, not surprisingly, that such a diet has a negative effect on his health. But even the doctors are shocked to discover just how quickly he can go from nearly perfect health to verging on system collapse. Food for thought, indeed.

For those who object to the experiment, saying that nobody would eat McDonald's food for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Spurlock says that he knows the experiment is extreme. Still, he reasons, there are Americans who eat McDonald's food as a regular part of their diet, eating it several times a week. Between that and the limited amount of exercise typical for working Americans, they could be seriously impeding their health.

I had the movie in mind this morning when I was stopped in the bread aisle by an elderly woman. She wanted to know where they keep the Sara Lee breads that you see advertised on TV.

"Aren't they in the frozen section?" I said, since I honestly didn't know. The only thing I know about Sara Lee is that they typically make cakes. A quick web search reveals that they have just introduced some heart healthy multigrain breads, apparently not yet carried by our local Giant.

As the woman said thank you and began walking away, I glanced into her shopping basket. She had only two things: some sort of chocolate pastry from the bakery and a container of deli donuts. My eyes bulged out in shock.

It began to occur to me that perhaps the woman I was talking to wasn't really an elderly woman at all but a child who had suddenly woken up in an adult body. I couldn't imagine how a petite little lady like herself could consume so many sweets and still be healthy and trim. Maybe she's buying them for her husband, or to spoil her grandkids. Maybe the new Sara Lee heart healthy bread was for her.

Another recent movie we saw was The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, starring Bill Murray as Steve Zissou, an American version of Jacques Cousteau. We differed in our opinions on it. The Gryphon agreed with Roger Ebert, saying that the movie tries to do too many things. And while I agree with him that some threads are introduced which don't go anywhere, I thought the movie was a rich visual experience with great writing and great acting. I had a lot of fun, especially identifying each David Bowie song, translated into Portuguese by a member of Zissou's crew.

Last weekend we saw Spanglish, starring Adam Sandler, Tea Leoni and Paz Vega. Billed as a comedy, "Spanglish" is just as much a family drama but without the usual attempts to emotionally manipulate the audience. Again, the writing was superb, which made the film highly enjoyable. While the movie could easily have tipped over into a farce, it stays closer to the side of reality and gentle humor. As The Gryphon said, it's the sort of Adam Sandler movie he likes, the type where he's likeable and human, rather than over the top and wacky.

And since this has turned into a movie related Musing, I'll mention one last one: The Returner, a 200 Japanese film we rented, starring Takeshi Kaneshiro, who we just saw in House of Flying Daggers. He truly is a great action star. His co-star, Anne Suzuki, was apparently also in a movie we saw during the Philadelphia Film Fest, 9 Souls.

Milly (Suzuki) is a time traveler from the future who has been sent to prevent an intergalactic war which Earth is losing. Miyamoto (Kaneshiro) is an outlaw bent on avenging the death of his childhood friend. After learning that their goals are intertwined, they team up to save the future.

While there is gunplay and violence in The Returner, the action scenes are shot with a dreamy quality evocative of John Woo. As The Gryphon says, Takeshi Kaneshiro is great at "gun fu," the term for mixing martial arts moves with guns. While I wouldn't let very young children see it, the movie has a fresh, innocent quality to it that reminds me of '80s films. I joked at the end of the movie that it was like "E.T. with guns."

The weather report predicts some sun this weekend, though the temperature is supposed to drop 20 degrees. Looks like I'll be bundling up when Una and I finally get to talk that walk!

Copyright 2005 by Alyce Wilson

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