Those Old Houses

Living in New England, I often find myself driving by very old houses. Not fixer-uppers, or "pre-war." I'm talking historic houses. While reading an article by Peter Costa in a newspaper supplement on Patriots' Day, I learned that historic houses, circa 1600-1700s, are often built with wood that is much stronger than today's wood, because the trees that were cut for those old houses have been growing for hundreds of years. "[The wood] was much more stable than the quickly grown forest stock we have today," said Daniel Lacroix, president of the Westford Historical Society. Back then, there was plenty of that wood too. I've never thought about those old trees, and how they're still around in some of these old houses. Fascinating.

Oh, the Places You'll Go

Jenn and I have lately been tuning into the Travel Channel during the weekends, and one of the shows they're promoting is 1,000 Places to See Before You Die. That's a lot of places! The show is inspired by Patricia Schultz's book with the same title.

Watching this made me ponder the list of places that I want to see before I kick the bucket. Here's some of them:

London - My wife and I did spend an hour or so in London Heathrow Airport (LHR), on the way to Paris. But that doesn't count. I want to drive on the left, and I want to watch a Premiership soccer match.

Tokyo - I was in Japan once as a 10-year old, on the way to Philippines. Even then, I remember that country's "style." After seeing Lost in Translation, it leaped back into my list. My goal: eat some terrific sushi, and maybe watch a baseball game.

The Grand Canyon - "Just a hole in the ground," is how some people might put it, but I want to see it for myself. No hiking, river rafting, or camping for me. Just taking pictures from the rim is enough.

Dubai - Tiger Woods won a golf tournament there, and the articles about the place intrigued me. What sealed the deal was seeing pictures of Tiger hitting golf balls off Burj Al-Arab's helicopter pad. I don't know if I'll be able to hit golf balls from there, but staying at this unique looking hotel will do.

Singapore - Whenever I see pictures of this intricate-looking city, I always think about visiting. The name itself is evocative of mystery and adventure. I am drawn to big cities, and I'd love to add Singapore that the list of big cities I have visited.

Cuttyhunk - This is a small Massachusetts island near Marthas Vineyard. During lunch a few years ago I was by myself, without reading material. I grabbed a tourist's brochure of Massachusetts, sat down, and began reading about all the spots in Greater Boston that I had already visited. In the middle of this brochure was a map, and I examined it. I have been to Marthas Vineyard, but not Nantucket. I have been to Springfield, but not the Quabbin Reservoir. Then I spotted this small island, with a quite intriguing name. Cuttyhunk. I dreamt about sailing from Boston to this little island. What must be on that little island? I pondered it. A year or so later, Sam Allis of the Boston Globe wrote a piece "Island Ideals" (August 15, 2004). So there it was: the island revealed. I still want to go.

Happy Birthday...

...little girl!

Bobby Flay

Last night, I watched the "chefography" of Bobby Flay on Food Network. The bio-pic of Mr. Flay was pretty flattering. I don't consider myself a foodie, but I do enjoy Bobby's fluid explanations when he does a cooking demonstration. (It was fun to see the early TV years of Bobby Flay.) When he was a judge during "The Next Food Network Star" competition, I found myself drawn to his steady manner. His "Throwdown" show is not so much about competition as it is about celebration, and I enjoy watching it. Out of all the celebrities on the Food Network, he's the one I'm most interested to meet.

I haven't been to New York City in quite some time, but when I get to that great city again, I'm going to try to eat at his restaurant, the Mesa Grill.

The Departed versus Infernal Affairs

Tomorrow night, the Oscars will announce their awards, and I hope the Academy chooses The Departed as the best picture of 2006 (the other nominees are The Queen, Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, and Letters from Iwo Jima). I also hope that the Departed's Martin Scorsese (director) and William Monahan (screewriter) receive Oscars tomorrow night.

Tonight, however, I watched the movie Infernal Affairs, the original Hong Kong movie from which "The Departed" is based.

I was struck by how close the movies matched one another. (I heard they were close, but seeing is believing in this case.) Both movies shared a lot of touchstone scenes (cops following bad guys on the highway, rooftop confrontations, and a rendezvous in a movie theater). But both movies also differed in key areas (the relationship of the psychiatrist being one of the bigger ones).

The American version packs the punch with star power (it's hard to compete with Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg, and Martin Sheen). However, the Hong Kong version packs as big a punch with two strong performances by Andy Lau (the Damon character), and Tony Leung (the DiCaprio character). Because Lau and Leung looked much older than their youthful counterparts in "The Departed", "Infernal Affairs" had a weightier feel. More pathos.

The climactic scenes and the incredulous reveals seemed tighter in "Infernal Affairs". Whereas Scorsese goes over the top with the violence, the violence in "Affairs" felt more vicious, more cold-blooded.

So what's "better?" I'd probably give a slight nod to the Hong Kong version, but in the end, both movies made me appreciate the other. So when you're in the DVD store, or browsing through your NetFlix queue, get both of them. And tomorrow night, root for the American version of "Infernal Affairs".

Scene from a Marriage

This past week, a small Nor'easter blew through. The mixture of icy rain and heavy snow produced a thick layer of ice on my driveway that I had to pick apart. The ice was quite hard and thick, and with the vicious cycle of thaw-then-freeze, I was picking at the ice all week. I used a heavier and older garden shovel. It has a solid steel blade, and its true purpose is for moving soil. (My snow shovels are all plastic.) I worked the ice by reversing the blade, and driving it into the ice, breaking the ice apart. The weight and the blade make for a great ice breaker.

One night, after dinner, after another session of ice picking, I began to feel a small sharp pain in my right hand. When I turned it over, I saw it. Somehow, while working the old shovel, I managed to get a small splinter in my right hand. My gloves didn't prevent the splinter from piercing me. It was a burr, no larger than a thorn of a small rose. It was in the fleshy part of my palm, under my thumb. It seemed to get more painful now that I knew what it was.

We have a first aid kit, and I found some plastic tweezers inside it. I worked without glasses, wishing that we had one of those magnifying monocles. I couldn't get it out, despite my careful work. If I pinched the area where the splinter was, I saw that I might be able to get it, but I'd need a third hand. Would I have to peel back my skin, like an onion, to get at this sliver of shovel wood?

I went to Jenn, and told her my woe. She was in bed, reading. (She goes to bed earlier than I do, so I was glad she was still up.) She took my hand, saw my splinter, made a face, looked at my plastic tweezers, and said "get the ones that I use." I fetched hers, and gave it to her. She pulled my hand close to her face, and she worked the wound.

I remember that she had picked out a splinter from our daughter's hand one summer. Mia was crying, no doubt from this new feeling of pain, but Jenn was gentle. I felt like Mia just then. Minus the crying.

Jenn peeled back a bit of the flesh, which stung a bit. Then she squeezed the tweezers, trying to clasp the splinter. She got it out in a few tries. My hand felt immediately better. Funny how a foreign object in your body makes you uncomfortable.

"Go wash your hands," Jenn said. I kissed her goodnight again. "Thank you," I said.

Your Super Bowl Pick

Rick the Flip says take the Colts!

The line on the game shows the Indianapolis Colts favored by 6.5 over the Chicago Bears. But it's hard to pick against the team with the better quarterback (and that would be Peyton Manning). Sorry, Chicago! You all should know that my wife (Happy Birthday, Jenn) is rooting for Chicago, which means I'm on my own for Super Bowl dinner.