And with this blog entry, I’ll be caught up so I can do other pursuits … like unpack and game and did I mention unpack. GC said we should have moved here in winter so our options were sleep, eat, sex, or unpack. Eventually we’d get around to that last one … though I’m rather looking for lots of the first and third …

Ha! Now that was a healthy pinch of TMI there, so yeah let’s move on.

The 4th of July for us in other cities meant not a whole lot. Either GC had to work later that night or we were too tired but the truth was I never wanted to socialise with other Houstonians and (sorry to my friends in PHX), other Phoenixians. It was simply too damn hot to be outside for fireworks in AZ in July, even at night. So we stayed home and “listened” to the booms. But here, living near the water with all the romanticism of being in a place I love, we decided to brave the crowds for the bash thrown by WAMU.

Bus routes would be a touch tricky with the Fremont Bridge partially closed and some stops closed altogether to accommodate the vehicular traffic of people getting to and from Gas Works Park. But we hammered out the schedule, scarfed some tri-colour gemelli with fresh basil and marinara, hopped it downtown.

The weather was congenial and so was our bus driver, who gave us directions to avoid the bus transfer we were going to take in lieu of a walk under the bridge towards the Park. It maybe added 3-4 blocks to our walk so not a problem since we had lots of time to make it there. We walked down a long gravel alley and turned to our left. And right as GC said, “Isn’t that troll around here some place?” There he was …

The guy I’ve been meaning to take a photo of but could never remember to do so when I was in that neighbourhood. It was far easier to take the photo while on foot than if I were in the car attempting one of my one-handed shots. He’s about 18 feet tall or so and yes, that’s a real VW bug in his hands. Here’s a close-up of his hand with the car.

After pausing for a few moments at the sculpture, we continued with other pedestrians on our walk down to the water’s edge. We reached the park, the hill already teeming with people. We walked around for a bit, finally settling on an empty spot to inaugurate our new all-weather foldy blanket thing. It’s one of those big-ass blankets that folds up into a zippered bag with pocket … a rather handy little thing to keep in one’s car, I think.

And then it happened. My keenly developed sense of smell caught the aroma of freshly popping corn on a passing breeze and like a predator glimpsing her prey, I was all over it. When I returned to the blanket clutching my spoils, I saw that GC had made himself comfortable …

I kicked off my shoes and joined him. We listened to remarkably average radio music fodder, ate fresh hot kettle corn, and whiled away the time until 10 p.m. when the fireworks would start. I did not get a full length photo of GC in his kick-ass buccaneer coat (the one we bargained for on Melrose) but it was definitely a hit. He received many compliments. Here’s one I snapped that shows some of the coat and that snazzy bowler we got a few weeks ago, though his cheeks are puffed with some popcorn. I love how he makes clothes work. Isn’t that a weird thing to love about someone?

A funny thing is that in the above photo, there were three women all of different ethnic Asian backgrounds. They were speaking well-thought out English to each other. Some random Shakira song came on and one of the women started singing aloud. GC and I turned to smile at her exuberance but she was so embarrassed. She’s pictured to the right of the photo, still looking sheepish or perhaps wondering if I’m taking the photo of her …

By nightfall, the hill was completely blocked off to people. There simply was no more room for them to be … so I was thankful of our vantage point, with only a few people stepping on me as they made their way across the crowded grass. Announcer did the usual get the crowd cheering with questions of “Are you enjoying yourselves?” and “Are you ready for some fireworks?” No, that’s why we’re all here to sit miserable and watch an empty sky. I can’t stand crap like that … the whole get the crowd pumped. We’re here because we want to be so cut that cheerleading stuff out.

Anyway, without any further ado, the experiments with my camera and its “fireworks” setting. Some are better than others because I wanted to watch the skies instead of keying up the perfect shot … besides when you shoot at night, there’s that whole holding the camera steady while shooting thing. No more prefaces, here goes:

Fireworks #1

Fireworks #2

Fireworks #3

Fireworks #4

Fireworks #5

Fireworks #6

Fireworks #7

Fireworks #8

Fireworks #9

Fireworks #10

I wanted to include the next photo, despite its blurriness. I forgot to change the settings on the camera. There was a sassy girl clad all in pink, dancing with her little brother to the background music playing. When Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” was played, this girl just belted it out along with choreography. It was one of those amusing things that kids do when they are unaware of being dorky or self-conscious like we adults can be … it was unadulterated joy and despite not capturing correctly, I wanted to mention it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve fought against the shackles of indifferent adulthood and being too cool to show my geekery or happiness at being at a show. Not the obnoxious WHOOOOOOOOOO! that you get from some asshats, just those moments of being taken away from the world to let yourself go and enjoy the now. To cry when that moment happens during a film or to let the music touch your soul … anyway, to the little pink girl, a nod of the virtual head to her and her dance.

As quickly as it started, the thirty minutes flew by and the mad exodus from the park ensued. Our bus stop that we had carefully chosen was closed so we walked another 9 blocks or so to catch a bus that would take us home. It was partially up then mostly downhill so I wasn’t complaining … much, anyway. It was a nice feeling to have been out in the world enjoying something as goofy as fireworks. I’m glad we went …

Last night’s two cents about …

Pirates!

If you have not seen the new Pirates of the Caribbean film, my review is safe until you see Jack running on the beach … past that you are venturing into beastie-filled spoiler-infested waters … consider yourself warned matey.

First of all, Mrs. Prophet and I had fun. Mr. Prophet stayed him with the littlest Prophet and GC chose to remain behind at our place to give the girls a night out. It’ll just mean I’ll be seeing POTC twice this weekend to see it with him, no worries … twice the Depp is shiny with me. We went downtown to see the film at Pacific Place, where they were showing six midnight showings. We arrived at 11 p.m. and three of the theatres were already full, the other three nearly so. Our seats were good and a fair amount of the theatre-goers dressed up for the night. It was fun to see all of the costumes, some really thought out and some slapdash with eyepatches. It was great fun and I might convince GC to wear his coat out for it, it’ll be right in theme.

The film is about 2.5 hours, I’d have trimmed fifteen minutes or so to make it tighter. It’s a film that definitely whets the appetite for the third film. The CG for Davy Jones was simply stellar, no bones about it. I found myself wanting to watch it again simply for the artistry of that alone. Bootstrap Bill’s make-up and GC were also excellent, especially the mollusk on the side of his face that peeked out now and again. The fight scene on top of the water wheel was nicely choreographed, especially when all parties get involved in the fray. And because I can’t give any more vague descriptions about the movie, here we go …

I liked the relationships between the characters in the film. The way each had to make a deal with the other to get what they wanted and the duplicity that occurred. Tom Hollander’s scheming for the compass, for the newly formed East India Trading Company … and what possessing it may mean for him. And how it worked when Elizabeth held it and how that gave her a real doubt of which man she wanted.

Some scenes that stuck out in my mind and/or really made me laugh:

– Norrington’s theft of Davy’s heart to obtain those letters of marque, which naturally means he will be in the 3rd film as a privateer.

– the first time we meet Tia Dalma (who I really liked as a character): the boots that were shown laid out in another room as she rummaged for Jack’s bottle of dirt.

– the similarity of the locket on her table with the music box that lulled Davy to sleep. It’s shown clearly when Jack pauses to steal a ring … which as the film goes on, you realise what woman may be at the root of why Davy chose to remove his own heart.

– the bite marks on her shoulder. How many pirates has she done for, as she says, and how well does she know the pirates in question?

– the return of Barbossa, the fact it was his boots at Tia Dalma’s, and when he finally gets to taste that apple … and his utterance about my ship. The theatre cheered wildly at that point.

– the doubt now in Will’s mind after he sees Elizabeth kiss Jack, despite the fact she “may” have made the sacrifice to chain Jack to the Pearl … the doubt is now palpable and no one knows save Elizabeth what man she will choose in the third film. She could have very well done it to know what it was like, as mentioned in her conversation with Jack.

– the offering that Jack gives to Tia … gunshot with the following line “Look, an undead monkey.”

– Pintel and Ragetti’s exchange about repentance:

“You can’t even read.”

“It’s the Bible, you get credit for trying!”

Ha. I’d go on and on, but I just noted the time and we are surprising Mr. Prophet at his place with a birthday cake. He doesn’t know we are coming … I like having friends to do silly stuff like that for. It rocks.

Seeya on the flip side my pretties šŸ˜‰
– GermanCityGirl

Currently listening to Music for the Masses by Depeche Mode.

Meal: Perhaps pizza later tonight, it just feels like a pie night.