Sunday, December 10, 2006

My first day off in two weeks. I won't say it wasn't completely sublime to be able to awake without an alarm clock this morning. I may have over done it. I think I slept about 11 hours. It feels like it's a Saturday, but it's Sunday and my only day off before going back to work tomorrow, which means I have two weeks of errands to fit into one day. On top of that, I have a hockey game this evening and then a Christmas party to go to down in Hollywood.

For some reason, Tim Hutton's 1984 film "Iceman" was in my online DVD queue, and I ended up watching it last night. I hadn't seen it since the 80s, when I loved it, but most movies I loved back then do not hold up when I finally rent them again. However, I am pleased to say that this is still a great movie, and still runs at a great pace. The only thing that makes it sound dated is its musical score. For those of you unfamiliar with the movie, it's about researchers up in the arctic who uncover a frozen Neanderthal, and when they thaw him out, they discover that he's still alive. The debate becomes what to do with him: study his behavior and try to unearth our own roots, or kill and dissect him to discover what in his genetic makeup allowed him to survive the freeze. Tim Hutton stars as Shepard, an anthropologist striving to communicate with newly thawed "Charlie," the 40,000 year old human. I highly recommend it, especially if you're a person who, like me, is fascinated with anthropology and the evolution of man.

For the song of the day, I'm going to sort of break away from the 80s mold because there's a song that's been stuck in my head for days. It's Joni Mitchell's "River," and though the album it was on, Blue, was released in 1971 (the year I was born), Blue was actually released as a Compact Disc in 1987. I have to be honest...I didn't know this song until 2000 when I was working on Ally McBeal and we had Robert Downey Jr. sing it. I asked my producer who had written it, and he looked at me like I was an idiot (he does this alot) and explained it was a Joni Mitchell song. Since then, I've heard many different covers of it. I believe Sara McLoughlin just released a version, which is probably why it's been stuck in my head. And watching ER this morning on Tivo, I heard it yet again.

3 Comments:

Blogger Diane said...

Does Wally let you loll about in bed? Hanna rises with the sun, and while I love her, I wouldn't mind the occasional lie in . . . The movie sounds cool - I'll check it out - I like Timothy Hutton alot - and I really liked his Kidnapped series that was quickly cancelled. I have come late in life to appreciate Joni Mitchell - I'll have to check out that song

11:34 AM  
Blogger Ryan said...

edit - "River" is one of my most favorite songs in the entire world. I hope that you check the rest of the "Blue" album out.

12:49 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

No one sings River like Robert Downey Jr.
Just amazing.

7:41 PM  

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