Yesterday, Willow went with her grandmother and I to the little park I where I used to play when I was her age. It has changed a bit during the interim years. Gone are the wood and cinderblock structures and the vague smell of pee that clung to them. Gone are the old fountains that never seemed to work anyway. Gone are all of the seventies clothing and hairstyles. Now it's all brightly painted metal and rubberized walking surfaces. Willow bounced around like a pinball, never staying still for long. She's still little enough to have a hard time on some of the ladders, and there's an even chance that she's going to want me to go down the slide with her. The upshot of this is that I got to bounce around like a pinball for a couple of hours as well.

Today, there are five children here. The calm has once again been broken by flurries of bickering and sporadic downpours of milk. Jen gets home sometime around midnight. I'm looking forward to seeing her.

I've actually managed to watch three movies this weekend:

Wheel of Time: Werner Herzog's documentary on Tibetan Buddhism. It took me into a world I've never visited. You've got to love films that do that. It's got me itching to patch the remaining holes in my Herzog collection.

The Card Player: Dario Argento's latest, which reminded me more of his first film than any of the others. His main innovation this time was the absence of the fountains of blood that usually drench his films. That and an increased reliance on natural light sources. This from a man who at one point painted individual frames to get a certain lighting effect (Suspiria) and is (in)famous for his bloody murder scenes. I actually quite liked this film. Granted, due to what I'd read and heard elsewhere, my expectations were low, so that may have had a part in my pleasant surprise. The nighttime shots of Rome are beautiful. The lead actors are good (Some would say that this is unusual for an Argento film), and the plot less convoluted than in the past. Of course, I had a pretty good idea who the killer was almost right away. I was right too. Best line (paraphrased): The winner will go free, the loser will be unrecognizable!"

Shaun of the Dead: I've seen it before, but it succeeded in making me chuckle again. You've gotta love zombies. Jen picked this up for me sometime before Christmas. It came with a free watch, which doesn't work too well. Who needs time anyway?

Don't worry, I did dishes and laundry too.

Oh, and hello to my readers who got married in the same place we did. The comments you've left come through in my e-mail but not on the site itself. Not sure why. Anyway, I'm glad that you're reading and enjoying this.