Summer of...
Yesterday in the St. Paul paper the movie critic said this is going to be a summer of documentaries and he already saw three this week that he loved. Words that warm this movie-goer's heart. Last night Chris was nice enough to invite me along to a sneak peek of this film:
It's a documentary about the rise and fall of the pure electric car over the last 10 years. It starts out with footage from a funeral for the EV-1 Electric Car in Hollywood, which seems a bit out there and wacko. But towards the end I was genuinely emotional when the last of the EV-1's were driven off a GM lot to be destroyed. The first 2/3 of the film relays the development and marketing of the electric car and California's attempt to regulate emissions standards with the premise that eventually these cars will be widely available. As you can probably tell by looking around, there aren't electric cars driving around, so what happened? The last third of the film lists some of the factors that could have led to the demise of the electric car, listing them as suspects and eventually drawing conclusions as to who is guilty and who is not guilty. I found that to be an effective and entertaining device. The film definitely has a point of view. I really was pulled into this story and found it both entertaining and informative. I think it makes a good companion piece to the last film I saw in the theater, "An Inconvenient Truth". Given the high demand for hybrid cars and the looming environmental crisis, it seems like the electric car is a no-brainer. I'd recommend checking out the film's website if you want to find out more about this issue. The film will be released in the Twin Cities on July 14 and I'd highly recommend it.
Before heading to the theater, we ate next door at Bar Abilene. It was my first time eating dinner there and I quite liked it. I had a couple of sangritas (margarita's with a touch of sangria) that were dangerously good. They went down a little too smoothly! The chips and salsa were addictive and I ate way too many. For dinner I had a margherita tostada (basically a margherita pizza on a tortilla) and the chili - both were delicious. I was so full that I still felt full when I went to bed hours later. I would definitely go back there again.
The film print was late getting to the theater from Chicago due to weather delays, but Chris and I are smart girls and had brought along some knitting. So no worries, mate! It's not only the summer of documentaries, it's also the summer of socks and I cast on the blue Koigu I got from Elizabeth.
Mmmmmmmm... I'm loving working with Koigu again. It's been years since I've used it and I didn't even know I missed it. I didn't get that much done in the theater, I also continued when I got home and watched "Hex" on BBC America. So far there's not much to watch on tv this summer, but two of the shows I do watch are on at the exact same time - of course! "Hex" is a sort of guilty pleasure for me. It's about this girl in boarding school who finds out she's from a long line of witches who are cursed and she's being pursued by the devil to have his child. Oh, and she's got the ghost of her lesbian roommate haunting her too. It's goofy fun with pretty people speaking in British accents! The other show is "Windfall" on NBC about a group of people who win a huge lottery. It's sort of night-time soapy, but I like the cast and have gotten caught up in the drama. I hear it isn't doing so well in the ratings, so I hope it doesn't get pulled. The other show I'm watching is the second run of this season of 24. I was in Mexico when it started, so I was going to just watch it on DVD, but they're replaying the whole season two episodes at a time on Friday nights, so I'm watching for free! The other shows I'm watching this summer are "Entourage" on HBO and "The Closer" on TNT. Those are both returning shows that I really like. I started watching "Saved" which is on after "The Closer" on TNT also. I think I'll keep watching it. It stars Tom Everett Scott as a guy who drops out of medical school after being dumped by his girlfriend and becomes a paramedic - much to his surgeon-father's disappointment. Oh, he also has a gambling addiction and his ex-girlfriend is now a doctor at the hospital he brings patients to and he's still in love with her. When they pick up a patient in the ambulance they do a quick montage of how the patient became in need of an ambulance, which I think is pretty cool and different. That's about all I'm watching this summer, aside from some stray re-runs I missed the first time around and movies on HBO and Showtime.
I have a busy weekend, so I'm not sure I'll be posting again until Monday. If not, have a great weekend!
It's a documentary about the rise and fall of the pure electric car over the last 10 years. It starts out with footage from a funeral for the EV-1 Electric Car in Hollywood, which seems a bit out there and wacko. But towards the end I was genuinely emotional when the last of the EV-1's were driven off a GM lot to be destroyed. The first 2/3 of the film relays the development and marketing of the electric car and California's attempt to regulate emissions standards with the premise that eventually these cars will be widely available. As you can probably tell by looking around, there aren't electric cars driving around, so what happened? The last third of the film lists some of the factors that could have led to the demise of the electric car, listing them as suspects and eventually drawing conclusions as to who is guilty and who is not guilty. I found that to be an effective and entertaining device. The film definitely has a point of view. I really was pulled into this story and found it both entertaining and informative. I think it makes a good companion piece to the last film I saw in the theater, "An Inconvenient Truth". Given the high demand for hybrid cars and the looming environmental crisis, it seems like the electric car is a no-brainer. I'd recommend checking out the film's website if you want to find out more about this issue. The film will be released in the Twin Cities on July 14 and I'd highly recommend it.
Before heading to the theater, we ate next door at Bar Abilene. It was my first time eating dinner there and I quite liked it. I had a couple of sangritas (margarita's with a touch of sangria) that were dangerously good. They went down a little too smoothly! The chips and salsa were addictive and I ate way too many. For dinner I had a margherita tostada (basically a margherita pizza on a tortilla) and the chili - both were delicious. I was so full that I still felt full when I went to bed hours later. I would definitely go back there again.
The film print was late getting to the theater from Chicago due to weather delays, but Chris and I are smart girls and had brought along some knitting. So no worries, mate! It's not only the summer of documentaries, it's also the summer of socks and I cast on the blue Koigu I got from Elizabeth.
Mmmmmmmm... I'm loving working with Koigu again. It's been years since I've used it and I didn't even know I missed it. I didn't get that much done in the theater, I also continued when I got home and watched "Hex" on BBC America. So far there's not much to watch on tv this summer, but two of the shows I do watch are on at the exact same time - of course! "Hex" is a sort of guilty pleasure for me. It's about this girl in boarding school who finds out she's from a long line of witches who are cursed and she's being pursued by the devil to have his child. Oh, and she's got the ghost of her lesbian roommate haunting her too. It's goofy fun with pretty people speaking in British accents! The other show is "Windfall" on NBC about a group of people who win a huge lottery. It's sort of night-time soapy, but I like the cast and have gotten caught up in the drama. I hear it isn't doing so well in the ratings, so I hope it doesn't get pulled. The other show I'm watching is the second run of this season of 24. I was in Mexico when it started, so I was going to just watch it on DVD, but they're replaying the whole season two episodes at a time on Friday nights, so I'm watching for free! The other shows I'm watching this summer are "Entourage" on HBO and "The Closer" on TNT. Those are both returning shows that I really like. I started watching "Saved" which is on after "The Closer" on TNT also. I think I'll keep watching it. It stars Tom Everett Scott as a guy who drops out of medical school after being dumped by his girlfriend and becomes a paramedic - much to his surgeon-father's disappointment. Oh, he also has a gambling addiction and his ex-girlfriend is now a doctor at the hospital he brings patients to and he's still in love with her. When they pick up a patient in the ambulance they do a quick montage of how the patient became in need of an ambulance, which I think is pretty cool and different. That's about all I'm watching this summer, aside from some stray re-runs I missed the first time around and movies on HBO and Showtime.
I have a busy weekend, so I'm not sure I'll be posting again until Monday. If not, have a great weekend!
rdladd@arnan.com
