Toodles, "West Wing"

We had dinner with Travis and Tonia at the local pub. She left early to watch The Music Man at Your Sister’s school. She said she really dug it even as other students denounced it as inferior to earlier shows. It’s a big musical for a high school to try. The songs require some effort, the first scene is a tricky layer of voices, and the climax requires a marching band. We didn’t catch it; Your Sister said the last production she saw there went three and a half hours.

On Saturday, we drove down to see my parents for Mother’s Day. I also visited my uncle Ray, who’s been given a few months to live with cancer. He’s in great spirits and looks good. Not “cancer good,” but good period. You wouldn’t know he’s sick. Mom wanted a small TV for their bedroom, and Dad and I picked her out a flat-screen to fit on the dresser. It’s nice, but we noticed the majority of TVs for sale in Best Buy include HD hook-up, which jacks up the price to triple. My parents keep asking about it, but unless they start hosting racing parties, they simply don’t need it. Over dinner, Mom failed to grasp the genius of the Spirit Squad and I promised to call her Monday night so she can tune in and watch them.

On Sunday, we had a long lunch with Travis, Kathy, and Tonia. The couple again asked us to tell them when they become distracted by their imminent baby. They don’t want to become isolated or boring. Tonia gave her some perfumed lotion and baby socks for Mother’s Day. After, we grabbed groceries and split up so I could take care of the pets-in-law. We watched the last two episodes of “West Wing,” and they were good but no great. Too much focus was given to CJ Craig as the spirit of the old guard when I would have preferred a look at Charlie. He’s the young blood that helped motivate the team and humanize Bartlett. In fact, a perfect ending would have been him becoming president in 15-20 years. Still, it’s sad to see the show go away after all this time. We ended the evening with an Eddie Izzard comedy special, and I don’t think I will ever be un-shocked by Your Sister finding him funny. I wouldn’t have guessed that.

A graduation gift: A website packed with cut scenes and images from the Star Wars films, including video of Biggs return and an expanded cantina scene. Did you know Han had a girl in Mos Eisley named Jenny? Just select the headers at the top of the page to see clips from the other films. Some of this material was presented in Marvel comic adaptations as the writers worked from the original scripts, not the final edit. I don’t remember what was in the novelizations.

Picture of the Day
This is the poster for the new Shyamalan film. Yes, that’s the same girl from The Village, a film we watched on DVD almost a year ago.

In the news
Bush will use a speech tonight to announce the use of National Guardsmen on the Mexico border. Can’t say I’m impressed. From all accounts, the Guard is taxed to the breaking point. How long do you keep them there? Is an indefinite post away from your family made any better if you’re in your own country? The effort doesn’t sound like the protection of sovereignty, but more like the protection of bureaucracy. Do we only want the poor, huddled masses yearning to breathe free if they’re white?