James Piper, Author

Monday, February 16, 2009 Day 10 of 10. ... Another weights day ... T oday was Family Day in Ontario. A holiday. Many people didn't have to go to school or work and hundreds of them came to the gym today. I like going in the middle of the afternoon because that's when the place is the least busy. It's busy in the morning as people do their workout before going off to work. Many mothers and non-working women come in the morning. There's usually lots of mothers and their toddlers. Then there's the lunch crowd. And the big load is just after work starting around 16h30. Nope. The best time is between 14h and 16h. Except today. I went at 13h. As I drove up I saw the parking lot was jammed full of cars--not a good sign. Then when I stepped into the lobby, I thought I was entering an airport terminal on the busy day of the year. Then when I got to the exercise room, the long row of elliptical machines were in use--except one. It was a differe...

Monday, February 16, 2009 His Kind Of Woman. Feature film. (1951, 120 mins) IMDB ... A lighter film noir (if that's possible) ... A n Italian gangster, Nick (Raymond Burr), is kicked out of the US and returned to Sicily. None to happy to lose a substantial source of income, he concocts a plan to return to the US as Dan Milner played by Mitchum. The two have similar builds and looks. All Nick has to do is lure Milner to a Mexican resort where after some plastic surgery, he'll assume Milner's identity and return to the US. That's the plan. Milner is a small time gambler who is dead broke. Nick's associates in the US make him an offer. They give him $5K and transportation to Mexico. Once there, he'll get more money and further instructions. Since there'd be no movie if he didn't go, Milner packs up and flies south. Along the way, he meets Jane Russell. He's definitely interested in her and we're not entirely sure if she i...

Sunday, February 15, 2009 Day 9 of 9 ... A Sunday kind of workout ... I am feeling lazy today, but not lazy enough that I didn't go to the gym. Had to go. Wanted to go. That's 9 days in a row. Average is up to 5.98. Three more weeks and I'll be at 6.00. It's coming. Today is a cardio only day. I did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Lots of sweat. Burnt 490 calories. Tomorrow will be a long workout. Cardio and weights. Not a Sunday kind of workout. Posted 2009/02/15 at 14h54ET in Exercise.

Sunday, February 15, 2009 How To Rob A Bank. Feature film. (2007, 81 mins) IMDB ... How To Make A Bad Movie ... T he film should be called: How To Make A Bad Movie. Take a tired genre and do nothing unique or different or interesting. I don't know who thought this might make an interesting movie, but whomever they were, they were wrong. I don't want to write too much, because I don't want to think about this film. There is the barest of plots (a young, poor slacker is locked in a vault during a robbery at a bank). Since we don't know the guy, we don't care what happens to him. We don't care he's bitching about ATM service charges. He's a typical guy and therefore boring. Further, nothing happens to him and we know nothing will. There is no suspense. No interest. Add in terrible dialogue. Exposition galore. Tired threats and on and on. Why the characters have to go on repeating, "Can you hear me now?" as they tal...

Saturday, February 14, 2009 The Squid and the Whale. Feature film. (2005, 81 mins) IMDB ... An American film that isn't an American film. ... T he Squid and the Whale is not an American movie even though it was written and directed by an American. The principal actors are American. It was filmed in the US and it centres on an American family. Of course it's American, but it isn't. It's the most European American film I've ever watched. It's not a Hollywood film. Not even close. It's therefore an independent film, yes, but most independent American films (see Sundance) want to be Hollywood films. They just don't have the budget to pull it off. So why is it not an American film? There's a whisper of a narrative with an ending that is abrupt and odd. It doesn't have the feel of a classically structured story. And when it's over, we have more questions than answers. That's neither good or bad. It's just not ...

Saturday, February 14, 2009 Day 8 of 8 ... Felt sleepy after a long day, but went to the gym for a workout and it woke me up. ... I was up early today, extremely active and busy. By the late afternoon I was a bit drowsy and sleepy. I had thoughts of not going to the gym. Brief thoughts. But not going would mean adding more weeks to get back to my long-term average of 6.00 so I went and I'm glad I did. After a lap or two I was awake again. The exercise snapped me out of it. Since it's Saturday, it's a swim day. The pool for lap swims doesn't open until 17h30--that's a late time in the day for my workout, but so be it. Normally I might do 20 to 25 laps. Today I did 30 laps and was in the water for 30 mins. I think that's a record. I'm not a fast swimmer, but not terrible either, and I think because I've been swimming once a week since the end of May 2008, my body has adjusted to swimming and it's gotten easier. Easier to hol...

Saturday, February 14, 2009 Numb. Feature film. (2007, 93 mins) IMDB ... You wouldn't believe it was Matthew Perry ... M atthew Perry plays a Hollywood screenwriter who suffers from a mental illness called depersonification. In other words, he doesn't feel himself. He lives as if he's watching himself. It's hard to truly understand what it's like, but it drives him batty. He spends his time inside watching the Golf Channel. He doesn't socialize. He doesn't engage in life. I suspect it's a condition common to writers. The question is do writers become that way because they write or is someone with the illness likely to become a writer. I'm not sure, but I think it's an interesting question. I was a bit reluctant to watch the film because I expected to see the same Matthew Perry playing for yukes and a bit of a goof-ball, but I was pleasantly surprised. We don't see the Perry we've seen in other movies. There i...