On last lines and Oscar shorts

Greetings to you all on this fine Media Monday.

First -- an explanation of my whereabouts.

Holy, hell... this year has been a crazy gerbil wheel of circumstances.  It's like a pattern repeating itself.  We got back from the holidays.  I got sick for a week+.  I got better enough to want to do things, but not well enough to do things.  This phase is a perfect recipe for depression (which I already battle.)  Then, finally, I'm better.  We settle in to write, and... the computer breaks down.  Off to the shop for a week+, and then, finally, it's back.  And the day it gets back... sick.  Again.  And the whole cycle repeats, almost exactly.

I've finally beaten the flu, and the computer is in the shop... but this time the wheel of circumstances has changed a little bit.  I would ordinarily think this was a good sign, but... alas, no.  A week ago, I went in for a routine dermatology check-up, and my doc decided I needed a mole on my hip removed.  So... just as I was starting to feel well enough to exercise again, I can't.  I tried to do some low-impact walking on Saturday, which felt great... until that night, when we discovered my whole hip had become irritated and inflamed.  My area formerly known as mole is sensitive to a little chemistry equation known as "bandage adheisive + sweat = flaming hips," which is apparently not uncommon.

What does this all mean?  Well, on the good side, we nixed a spot of skin that won't become cancerous.  Got the biopsy back today, it's all clear.  On the frustrating side, I haven't been able to exercise... really exercise... except for a total of two workouts.  ALL YEAR.  More on that tomorrow.  It also means I've either been out of a computer, booked with writing work (which is good), or too sick to think straight... which, in turn, means I haven't been blogging.  Which you already know.

I'd planned for my first entry back to be about my favorite comedy of all time, Billy Wilder's brilliant Some Like It Hot, starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, and Marilyn Monroe.  I was all ready to tie it in to a mention of Michelle Williams' performance in My Week With Marilyn.  I was going to recommend the excellent new show Smash, which follows the development of a play-within-a-show, a Marilyn musical.  And last but not least, I was going to expound on the brilliant writing and delivery of the last line in Some Like It Hot.  I had even art-journaled the line. 

But my laptop's away.  And my scanner is thus useless.  And it's taken all of the creative oomph I've got, just to come here and post what I've already posted.

And to that... I say... "well, nobody's perfect."

I've been away too long, but tomorrow I'm going to give you the best imperfect post I can.

In the meanwhile, I'd love for you locals to take a look at your calendars.  My very favorite movie outing of the year - a screening of the Oscar-nominated animated and live-action short films - is coming up this weekend, and we always invite our friends nearby to come check them out with us.  It's always a mixed bag, but the best part of watching them is that we only have to slog through the less-appealing ones for a few minutes before another good one starts.

We will be going to see them at the NuArt theater in West LA this Saturday February 18.  The animated shorts begin at 2:40 PM, the live-action at 4:50.  You can buy tickets for one or both.)  We'll probably head out to dine and discuss after the live-action screening.  The group always votes for their personal favorites, and it's an annual tradition to be elated or furious when our winner wins or loses the race.  Let me know if you want to join us on Saturday... I hope we see you there.

And until then... take care of you!