Thursday, December 25, 2008

It's A Christmas Miracle!

I don't know why, but that phrase has been in my mind the last two days and I keep screaming it, which hasn't been the greatest thing for my parents. Eh, they'll deal.

Anyway, merry Christmas to all. It's before 10 a.m. and I got up about 20 minutes ago. Right now I'm staring at all my presents, but I can't open them till I eat breakfast, which is being cooked right now. Woo-hoo.

None of this is the reason I'm writing, though. The last couple days, I've been having a discussion with a friend about whether "Die Hard" is a holiday classic. I was on the fence.

Then, last night, I got back from my aunt's house and settled down for a night on the couch at my parents' house. Now, they've got lots of movie channels, and on Encore at like 11 was, of course, "Die Hard." I watched it. And, I have to say, it's awesome and, yes, a holiday classic!

Merry Christmas. It's breakfast time.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

And Merry Xmas to you as well, Pat!
I am able to sneak a few moments at my parents' house to check my e-mails and a couple of my favorite blogs.

Yes, "Die Hard" always puts one in that Xmas mood. Ditto for "Black Christmas." But my favorite is the now out-of-print "29th Street" with Anthony LaPaglia. If you've never seen it, CATCH IT! I think you can get from NetFlix, but that's about it.

Anyway, scored a new laptop this year, so I'm a happy kid.

Hope you and Little Nicholas rake in the booty, and that there are many rice balls at the table.

Have a great day!

sj said...

Alas, I cannot fight both you and Cooper in this battle. We'll just have to agree to disagree :)

So instead, I'm curling up to watch my brand new DVD of White Christmas, whereupon Bing Crosby and Danny Mayo try to blow up ... oh, no wait. In *my* holiday classics, things don't blow up.

Hope you got all the toys and presents you had hoped for :)

Merry Christmas!

sj said...

danny KAYE!

doh. i ruined my own joke.

Anonymous said...

How about an early New Year's miracle with a new blog post? Thought your top albums were spot on. Loved that Kanye made #2. I shared my top 10 movies...how about yours?

Pat Ferrucci said...

I'm going to post a blog entry later, after I go home for the day and figure something to write about.

Thanks for the Kanye comment. I actually a voicemail that had a high-pitched dude say, "Kanye West number 2? Oh, my. You need to get your head together. Oh, my.?" That made me laugh.

I think the movie top-10 will come out Jan. 9. I have a ton of movies to see before it can be written. This weekend is going to be full of movie watching. I plan to see about seven. The problem is that I don't know when "Gran Torino," "The Wrestler" or "Frost/Nixon" arrive here in New Haven, certainly not this week or next and that makes it really difficult to do a list. Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Well, as much as I don't care for Kanye the man, he makes some great music. A highly respectable choice, and of course, Okkervil is pretty great. Hey, people are entitled to disagree, but why do they have to be so downright odd in their disagreement?? I gotta give you big props for being able to have a sense of humor about it all.

Anyway, last weekend I caught "Gran Torino" (in NYC). Perfectly enjoyable, kind of like Dirty Harry in the Rest Home. However, I didn't find anything in it award worthy. I would suspect that the Criterion will probably get "The Wrestler" and "Frost/Nixon" within the next two weeks. If you give them a ring, they can probably tell you.

Haven't seen "The Wrestler" yet myself - Rourke is a strange, scary man so maybe he was born to play this part (of course, to me, he'll always be that guy in "Barfly"..."Drinks for all my friends!"). I guess it was unfair of me to put together my Top 10 list without seeing it (or the DiCaprio/Winslet thing). But, c'est la vie.

Anyway, always look forward to seeing your thoughts on the movies, and what nerves they touch. The list always manages to be an eclectic mix of beaucoup budget and smaller more "thoughtful" fare, and I often wonder if the mental "wiring" of we English majors puts us on the same wavelength (hey, I laugh at "stupid" as hard as anyone else...there were a couple of moments in "Step Brothers" that made soda come out my nose). Well, I look forward to Jan 9 and your countdown.

Speakin' of countdowns, the dreaded New Year's Eve is upon us. I loathe it. I avoid the revelry whenever possible. How about you? How will you be ringing in '09?

Anonymous said...

P.S.
I think I've said this before, but "Frost/Nixon" just didn't grab me. Yes, it's literate. Yes, it's extraordinarily acted by Langella. Maybe because I had seen the original interviews? Dunno....

P.S.P.S.
Here's a blog topic for you, if it's not too personal-what'd you score for Xmas? I can't imagine anyone attempting to buy you anything music-related. I was a happy kid with my stylin' new laptop and a couple of books (currently enmeshed in "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell). My goal next year is to be able to provide you with a Top 10 list of books. I feel shabby that I can't do that as a once and always English major.

sj said...

anonymous, i was *also* an english major, though not sure i could ever do a top 10 list of books because it changes so very frequently -- unless maybe top 10 that i read this year -- in which case, i may steal that idea. i did read some great old fiction that came out in the past 10 years but i just got around to reading this year (the wreckage, the unbearable lightness of being, snow angels, alligator).

i'm going to steal your blog topic for my own. :)

see what happens when you don't post, pat? we talk amongst ourselves...

and for the record, i have all of kanye's albums, and this one is currently my favorite, except that it's clearly a studio only album. i don't want to have to watch him try to sing "love lockdown" on live tv.

i also think i have to stay out of the movie discussion, since the last movie i caught in the theater was "quantum of solace." but i'm planning to catch "slumdog millionaire."

Anonymous said...

Hi SJ...yep, I meant top ten books I read this year. I used to be really good about keeping a "book diary" with all the books I read, and my thoughts on each one. Now, I can barely recall the titles of the books I read! An all-time top ten list would be really tough, 'cause so many would make the cut...but on an annual basis, I SHOULD be able to do it! It makes me sad...I hope they don't revoke my library card...

I was on a Stewart O'Nan kick earlier in the year, and love his newest, though just to put me in the "right" holiday mood, I reread "Last Night at the Lobster." Suddenly, my life didn't seem so grim!

I think you'll love "Slumdog." It is unabashedly my favorite film of 2008 (though in fairness I have not yet seen The Wrestler or Revolutionary Road). And the cheesy Bollywood song and dance ending is just the bizarre icing on the cake.

Well, will be interested to hear your thoughts once you've caught the film. If GrandMaster Pat posts no further blogs here before tomorrow, then have a great New Year!