Up the canyon.

Not that I'm complaining, but it's hot. Well, I am complaining, but only incidentally. My point is really that in the heat, it's a really good idea to leave the oven of the valley, and ascend to the tops of the mountains, or at least the canyons among them.

The historian's son was the originator of this perfectly timed and wonderful idea. We drove down to their house, then we all drove together up American Fork Canyon, to put our feet in the creek and find kindling and build a little fire and make s'mores.

It was beautiful. It was so much cooler. We had such a good time.

ace stick wranglers.

Eden & Elise.

so freaking chilly! it was the best!

the Jedi master of kindling finding.

just wearing shades and eating a marshmallow.
that's all.

Jenna & Rachel, down at the water.

finishing the fire.

how much fun did we have? so much fun.

cool water.

big mountain sky.

Top five things about today, and other items.

1. Waffles for the five thousand this morning.
2. Painting while watching Phineas & Ferb with grandsons.
3. A small recovery nap in the afternoon when the house was quiet.

If I am a force field, metaphorically, all my energies will be focused and concentrated 

and I will be awesome. I think that's what I'm after. Or something.

4. Leftover Indian food for dinner.
5. A package from Scotland, with pictures and chocolate, shortbread and messages.

-------------
I am planning 2014. I am considering metaphors like

• force field

for what 2014 will be like, as practiced by me.

---------------

There are a lot of drafts that I planned to  get accomplished over the break. At the moment, I am pondering these drafts. Will they get written/rewritten/re-mediated? Will the hazy agent in the previous sentence get her motivation together, and apply her will to do this writing? Or will she continue on, acting as if writing does itself?

----------------

Syllabi. There, I said it.

----------------

I am about to throw all the cookies away. That's the first warning.

What you've been waiting for.

Okay, maybe not really, but here's my annual premature Best of 2007: The Movies list (which should really be titled "Best of 2007: The Movies I Saw" list, but never mind).


Best foreign film: The Aura, from Argentine director Fabien Bielinsky. Beautiful, cinematic, mesmerizing.


Best 2006 films I saw in 2007: Volver, Children of Men, Venus, The Lives of Others, Little Children.


Best song: the Pearl Jam cover of the Who's "Love Reign O'er Me." Runner up: "Good Morning Baltimore" (Hairspray), which I defy any living person not to smile at.


Best actor in a recurring role: Alan Rickman as Professor Snape in the newest Harry Potter. The film role (as opposed to the role in the novels) was small-ish, but he's great.


Best adaptation: Away from Her, from Alice Munro's story "The Bear Came Over the Mountain."

Best bit of a film: The Alexander Payne-directed last vignette called "14ème Arrondissement" in Paris je t'aime, starring the great Margo Martindale. Runner up: the Gerard Depardieu-directed vignette immediately preceding the Payne one, called "Quartier Latin," starring Gena Rowlands and Ben Gazzara.


Best film revolving around music: Once. It just cannot be topped. Passionate, immediate, moving. Runner up: Hairspray--I cannot deny that I had a swell time at this movie.

Movie with the best palette: The Namesake. It's Mira Nair's thing, isn't it?

Funniest movie: (three way tie): Knocked Up, Superbad, and Hot Fuzz. Is it an accident that the first two share some genetic material (Judd Apatow and Seth Rogan) and the third is part of what we can only hope will be a franchise of Simon Pegg/Nick Frost?

Best documentary: No contest--The King of Kong. There were worthy others, such as No End in Sight.

Best big movie: I think it might be Into the Wild. It was flawed, but it was huge.

Best Hollywood: A bunch of thoroughly enjoyable Hollywood dramas, such as Fracture (Ryan Gosling and Anthony Hopkins face off with gullets full of scenery and also ham), The Hoax (why was Richard Gere acting like Howard Hughes? but still terribly entertaining), 3:10 to Yuma (really, there was nothing bad about this, unless you want to get picky about the last little bit). We saw In the Valley of Elah last night, despite the not-very-good Crash (as you all know, same writer/director), and it was first of all a powerful movie and second of all, a powerhouse performance by Tommy Lee Jones, really unbelievably good. But my best Hollywood movie of the last year so far is Michael Clayton, which was beautifully written, shot, and acted. George Clooney rules.

Best animated: Ratatouille, without a doubt. Does anyone get that the girl chef was voiced by Janeane Garofolo?

Favorite indie acting: Reece Thompson and Vincent Piazza as the brothers Hefner in Rocket Science, along with Nicholas d'Agosto as the champion debater who had an existential crisis. [See! This! Movie!] Also, Parker Posey in Broken English. Also, Meg Ryan, despite the cosmetic botchery of her lips, in In the Land of Women.

Real good movie that I bet almost none of my friends have seen: The Lookout, starring two of my favorite actors--Joseph Gordon Levitt and Jeff Daniels. It's a beauty. Don't miss it, you netflixing maniacs.