Pure Imaginarium

I slept until 9:30, then read in bed for a little while and wrote in my journal. It was the perfect morning for it. It was gray and cloudy and rainy, and pretty much remained that way off and on all day.

After I got out of bed, I put on the Brunch With the Beatles show while I made Lemon-Coconut Pancakes for breakfast. Today's theme was "Songs That Were Heard on EPs." EPs were "expanded long-playing singles," albums that had two or three songs on each side. Most of these were made for England only, though there were apparently three that debuted in America, including one rare one from 1964.

Talked to Mom during the second half of the show. I found out that, as I suspected, Dad hadn't told her I got the box of yarn on Wednesday. (I know Dad. He probably forgot the moment he got off the phone.) I also found out why she was so scarce this week. She just traded in her old Grand Am for a new car. She wanted some changes made to it and spent a few days driving a rental car before her new one was ready.

The Beatles ended around the same time I got off the phone with Mom. After lunch, I put on The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus and worked on crocheting and baking Shaker Lemon Muffins. Imaginarium takes us into the mind of the "Doctor Parnassus" of the title, an immortal man who lives in a rickety old horse-drawn cart in present-day England with his daughter Valencia, the actor Anton, and Percy the mouthy midget. The Doctor made a pact with the devil to gain his immortality, but it meant giving up his child on its sixteenth birthday...and Valencia's birthday is rapidly approaching. When she, Percy, and Anton find a man who has lost his memory under a bridge, Parnassus wonders if he's a sign that it's time to try to make everything right...including his games with Mr. Nick.

As with most of Terry Gilliam's movies, you'll either get a kick out of this, or you won't understand it at all. Heath Ledger is technically Tony, the stranger who brings changes to Parnassus' outfit...but when inside the "Imaginarium" (a mirror people step into), Tony is also played by Jude Law, Colin Farrell, and Johnny Depp. Yes, this is the movie Ledger was working on when he died in 2008. The conceit of having Tony played by four different actors actually works very well. He's different things to different people, and the four men look enough alike for the audience to buy into the illusion.

Actually, this movie reminds me a bit of another Gilliam fantasy spectacle, The Adventures of Baron Munchausen. That movie also concerned itself with illusion, the differences between fantasy and reality, and a troubled daughter-father relationship. If you liked that movie, you'll probably enjoy this one as well...but if you aren't a fan of Gilliam's brand of whimsy, this isn't going to change your mind.

Once again, I headed to work as soon as the movie ended. It was still raining as I rode to the Acme, but not enough to really make me wet. It wasn't even cold. I was fine in my blue spring jacket.

Work was busy all day long, not surprising on a rainy Sunday in the beginning of the month. There were no really major problems, and I was in and out quickly.

Getting home was a little bit messier than getting to work. By 7, the rain had started coming down hard again. I just rode home and got wet.

I did have enough time for the second half of The Dress Circle when I got in. "The Shows of March" was the theme tonight. My favorites were the charming "Maine" from Richard Rogers' first foray into solo songwriting No Strings and the adorable comedy number "All Or Nutin'" from Oklahoma!.