One Hot Mamacita

One Hot Mamacita
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

The title says it all.

"Viva Mexico!" E with Sra. Watkins

"Viva Mexico!" E with Sra. Watkins
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

E is joined by Sra. Watkins his Kindergarten teacher. One of our favorite people.

A Dream about Bill Clinton

Last night I had a dream that I ran into Bill Clinton. And true to real life when ever I have run into real people that happen to be known by a lot of people--Gus Van Sant, August Wilson, Barry Lopez--I say the stupidest things.

So in the dream, I don't know what to say so I ask him if he has read anything interesting lately. And he looks at me and says, "Yes, I read an interesting profile of me in the Onion."

Gangsta Rap over the Legos

This was heard this morning while E was playing with Legos.

"Guns are not what you need to have
Guns are dangerous and really bad
You might want to stand back from this
This is my only gun."

I am busy writing

I am busy writing
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

The other day we were at this new store on Alberta called "Office". They carry an assortment of retro office supplies and laptop bags. It is very bicycle messenger-chic in a grungy Portland, hipster sort of way.

On their display they had several typewriters. Elliott immediately went to one and started banging out words. "Cool, what is this?"

"That is a typewriter."
"What is that?"
"It is what we used to use to write letters before they invented computers."
"Do you have one?"
"Yes, it is in the closet in the office."

They have been inseperable ever since.

The Best Movies I saw in 2005

These movies are not in any ranked order. I would just recomend that you see them.

Walk on Water. This is an Israeli film in hebrew, german and english. It is about an Israeli Mosad agent ordered to "befriend" a german (adult) brother and sister in order to find their grandfather who is a Nazi war criminal. This movie deals with all of the complexities of the living with the legacy of genocide, prejudice as well as many other subtexts. I watched this three times to get it all.

Heights. This a Merchant-Ivory film set in New York. The plot concerns a New York photographer who is about to be married. Her mother is a hotshit movie star (Glenn Close). The plot wraps around the relationship of her and her soon to be husband. But their is a bomb about to go off. This is one of those plots that follows seemingly random characters in their everyday life who suddenly converge and then you have to rewatch the movie to see that the phone conversations they were having were actually with other characters that you had alrady seen in the movie. Glenn Close is great. The cinematography is sharp and unique. I watched this one several times as well...becuase that's what you can do when you are unemployed.

Crash. This movie also follows random characters who eventually converge and it all makes sense. This movie deals with prejudice from every nationality. I do mean every nationality. It deals powerfully with all of the stereotypes that society has created for different backgrounds and how they effect us in our judgements, beliefs and actions. It also has one of the best quotes from a movie that I saw this year. Don Cheadle delivers it: "It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something." You also get to witness the first occurence of real acting that Sandra Bullock actually performs.

Mysterious Skin. This was a powerful movie that follows two young men and how they deal with the fact that they were sexually abused by their little league coach. It is sometimes difficult to watch but the acting is stellar.

Kinsey. I didn't really know what to expect when we watched this movie. But Liam Neeson really redeemed himself from the Star Wars misstep. The relationship between he and Laura Linney was believable (Geek Love) and complex. But just so you know, it's about Dr. Alfred Kinsey, so it's all about sex.

Angels in America. I know it wasn't released last year, but we finally watched it. The acting was phenominal. Meryl Streep surprised me when I saw the characters she played. I can't say enough.

The Motorcycle Diaries. Acting, Cinematogrophy, scenery. Almost makes you want to wear a Che t-shirt.

Syriana. In spite of all of the people in my extended family who didn't like it...This movie had one of those plots that followed random people and different events until they somewhat converged in the end. (I should come up with a name for plots like that. The somthing or other plot effect.) It definately delves into the complexities of the middle east and corruption of oil, capitalism and American Imperialism. It's one of those movies that you leave and want to kill someone. But then you can't figure out who because there isn't a "good side" anymore.

Chicken Little. I thought this was one of the best animated movies I have ever seen. It had a great twist on the Chicken Little story and even though they killed the mother off (like they do in all of the Disney animated movies) the relationship between father and son is very good.

Written on a bathroom wall downtown

Now I wouldn't normally post something that was written on a bathroom wall, but this quote was one of a kind.

"The Bible has got to be the most destructive game of telephone I've ever witnessed. Little did Jesus know how screwed up and manipulated his teachings would be in regards to what his actual intentions were."

"Heaven Defend Us"

The Shepherds
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

Here is a picture of Elliott during the pageant on Christmas Eve.

Elliott's main line was "Heaven Defend Us".

Sorry, we are not from Gresham.

No, we are not from Gresham.
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

Okay it has been a while since this thing has seen any action. A lot has happened in our lives in the last month or so. Got laid off, again. About to start my student teaching. E started a new school last week. More details coming soon.

Soul Food in NoPo

Soul Food in NoPo
Originally uploaded by matthew boyer pdx.

This is a little shout out to our neighbor A and her wonderful cooking. You are looking at pork ribs smothered with a sweet bar-b-que that is slightly spicey. There is chicken hidden in their somewhere that was good. Her potato salad was just like my grandmother's, heavy on the eggs, but A adds black olives.
To top everything off it was her baked beans that pushed our resident "vegetarian" into constant praise.
To top all this she sent us home with leftovers.
Another good cook discovered.
Thank you A!