I had some serious misgivings about this one when I first heard it was going to be made. I loved the book, but I just didn't think it was the sort of thing that Hollywood would handle right. When I heard that Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston were going to be the leads, my suspicions deepened. With that kind of cast, I figured the movie would turn out to be a slapstick-y mess—pretty much Beethoven with a lab. But, I am happy to say that the movie exceeded my expectations.

I still don't think that the movie really should have been made—nothing is really added to the experience in the transition to film. They also changed the story in ways that I thought were quite unnecessary, turning John Grogan into a man trapped in a domestic life he doesn't want, dreaming of being a hotshot reporter. Still, the filmmakers managed to capture a lot of what I really loved about the book and, sure enough, I cried at the end. Owen Wilson particularly surprised me by turning in a performance with some real emotional depth to it beyond the normal bumbling comedic hero he usually plays—though, in retrospect, I shouldn't have been all that surprised, as some of his work with Wes Anderson has also been pretty heartfelt.

All in all, it was a pretty good movie, and I think if you like dogs and haven't read the book, you'll probably like this version of Marley and Me.

Viewed: 2008-12-26 | Released: 2008-12-25 | Score: B-

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Before sitting down to write this review, I poured myself a glass of Bruichladdich single malt scotch. (The Links Torrey Pines edition, to be precise.) I bought the bottle earlier in the day, inspired largely by what Andrew Jefford wrote in Peat Smoke and Spirit. The scotch is good. So is the book.

A large portion of Peat Smoke and Spirit is, as the title would lead you to believe, about the distilleries of the Scottish island of Islay, and the whiskies they produce. That alone would be enough for me, and Jefford certainly describes the liquor beautifully. But the book encompasses so much more than that—more or less everything about Islay that you could want to know, from the history and geography and people to the flora and fauna and even the geology of the island. Having now read all about it, I have to say: I can't think of any place with a comparably inhospitable climate that I am so keen to visit. Jefford's love of the place is quite apparent from the way he writes about it—the prose is rich and inviting, never dull for a moment—and it really made me want to experience it for myself.

I think just about anyone with an interest in scotch or Scotland will enjoy this book. Just be aware that reading it may make you thirsty.

Started: 2008-10-27 | Finished: 2008-12-08

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One of my favorite things that Jason does comes at the end of the day. I have been putting Jason to bed for the past month or so, and we have a little routine all worked out. I change his diaper and put him into his pajamas, then zip him into his sleep sack. Then I rock him in the rocking chair while I give him a bottle, and I feed and rock him until he falls asleep.

It doesn't always go smoothly, since Jason has become easily distractable as he's gotten older and can actually focus on the things around him. Often times, he's more interested in staring at lights or his toys or me than in eating. But he does eventually settle into it and take the bottle, and he usually falls asleep with it in his mouth.

And that's where my favorite thing happens. Just before he falls asleep, just after his eyes have finally drooped shut, Jason gets this huge, blissful smile on his face. It's easy to miss since it only lasts about a second, plus he still has the bottle in his mouth. But it's got to be the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I think it's not going to be too terribly long before I stop seeing that look, because he'll be putting himself to sleep. It's kind of a mixed blessing—I'm really happy and excited to see how he grows and develops, but, still, it's kind of sad to know that these times are so short. In this case especially so, since the smile is so fleeting and the room is so dark that it's more or less impossible to capture it on film.

Still, for every thing that Jason leaves behind, there's something new to appreciate about him. In the past few weeks he has found his voice, and he's constantly "talking" now. It's absolutely adorable—I'll post video as soon as we can get some.

Last night when NBC announced that Obama had won the election, I found myself getting pretty choked up.  In some ways, my reaction reflected my feelings about the man, and the way that he's gotten me to care about and respect the ideal of the Presidency in a way that I haven't since I was a small child.  And that's no small thing—I, like most of the adults I know, have been very jaded about the entire political process for almost as long as I can remember.  Still, I think the bigger part had to do with Jason, and what this election will mean to him.

I looked down at my son, asleep in his mother's arms, and realized that, as far as he will remember, a black man will always have been elected President of the United States.  And it struck me how different a world he will live in than I have lived in, how different his views will be from mine because of the different basic assumptions of life he'll have.  When I was small, I did believe that I could grow up to be anything, even President.  But as I grew up, I came to see that in many ways and for many people, the promise of America is an empty promise, that there are limits to what we may accomplish that have nothing to do with the limits of our ability.

I thought to myself about the way that Jason will grow up thinking about his country and his world, and realized that he has more of a chance than I had to hold onto that optimism.  And that's a truly beautiful thing.  And, beyond optimism, he really is coming into a world that has more opportunity in it than the one I was born into.

Later, I watched John McCain's concession speech, and while I thought it was a moving and earnest speech, I did think he made one mistake.  "This is an historic election," he said, "and I recognize the special significance it has for African-Americans and for the special pride that must be theirs tonight."  On the contrary, Senator—this election is one in which we can and should all take pride.

Last night I sat down for my first tub bath with Jason.  Lately, we've been bathing him in the regular tub instead of the little infant basin we started with.  Since he still can't really sit up on his own, one of us will get in there with him.  (And, of course, up until last night "one of us" was Juliette.)

Afterwards, Juliette asked me if it was fun.  I told her that, on the one hand, yes, it was fun because he liked the warm water and was in a pretty good mood the whole time.  On the other hand, however, he also managed to kick me in the testicles no less than four times, which made it somewhat less than completely enjoyable for me.  I think Jason may have found it amusing, so I reckon that once he's old enough, he'll probably appreciate the Three Stooges.  And, on the bright side, I can tell that his leg muscles are developing well.

It may not be completely legit to review all four of Dan Simmons' Hyperion novels in the same article—it's questionable whether the series functions as a single, cohesive whole, or two parts, or four. One review is less work for me, though, which makes me considerably less likely to quit. (Please, don't hurt me.)

The four novels of the Hyperion series—Hyperion, The Fall of Hyperion, Endymion, and The Rise of Endymion—easily split into two parts. The first two books follow a group of characters on a pilgramage to a planet on the edge of a huge interstellar empire—each one hoping to find the answers to the mysterious events of his life, while the rest of humanity is on the brink of war. The second two books are set several hundred years later, showing the aftermath and resolution of the events in the first half of the series.

The first book is just fantastic. Structurally, Hyperion resembles The Canterbury Tales—each of the pilgrims telling his own story to the rest as they move toward their uncertain destination—and it's very well done. Each story is distinct in style and memorable in its own right, and Simmons weaves them together wonderfully. In fact, if the series had ended with the first book, I think I wouldn't have minded, despite the fact that it ends in a cliffhanger.

The second book wasn't quite as interesting from a writing standpoint as the first, but the ideas presented were interesting and it provided what I thought was a very satisfying resolution to the action in the first. Several mysteries remain by the end of Fall, but somehow they seemed to be the sort that didn't need explaining.

Unfortunately, the third and fourth novels didn't really live up to the first two. That's not to say that I didn't enjoy them at all, but big chunks of the text got bogged down in discussions about human history and the nature of the universe. Even when there was action taking place, I often found myself skimming over the scenes, just trying to see what happens next.

Overall, I'd say that this series was worth the read, but I most likely won't come back to it.

Started: 2008-07-21 | Finished: 2008-09-24

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Jason's cradle, which we keep next to our bed, has an attachment with three buttons on it. One turns on a little nightlight, one plays a little song, and the third makes the cradle vibrate. We call that last one Jason's "snooze button."

It's a pretty common feature on baby seats, cradles, and swings, because apparently they find it soothing. In Jason's case, it's soothing enough to keep him asleep for an extra few minutes while we prepare ourselves for a feeding or changing. It's a real lifesaver, I tell you, because it means that only one of us has to be up and doing things, and the other can just "hit snooze" and go back to sleep.

Unfortunately, the motor on the attachment seems to have died. I replaced the batteries a couple of days ago because we noticed that the vibration was getting weaker, but while that always works with his bouncer and swing, the vibration in the cradle is now almost non-existent. So, unless I can fix it or get it replaced, it looks like we're back to the old-fashioned ways of rocking him and patting him to keep him calm in the night.

Jason is a month old today, and I have to say that it has been a real learning experience.  I am finding out new things about him, as well as myself, every day.  Here's a smattering of things I've learned about Jason:

Jason is rather unreasonable. For example, having a dirty diaper makes him very upset. However, attempting to change his diaper usually makes him even more upset.  About the only thing that will calm him down after a diaper change is eating, which can be a little tricky because he seems to have inherited his bowel timing from his father and usually poops during or after every meal.

Jason makes the most adorable noises in his sleep. He coos and grunts and peeps and chirps. Sometimes it sounds like he's having very intense dreams, though Juliette and I wonder whether he's had enough experiences yet to really dream in a way that's recognizable to us. At first, his sleep noises had us worried that he might be uncomfortable or upset, or that he might wake up too soon, but as we've gotten to know him better we've become a bit less apprehensive.

Jason has very little control over his limbs. When he's upset—which sometimes seems like most of the time that he's awake—he flails his arms and legs, clawing at his face and, if he happens to be in my lap, stomping on my genitals. (He's very strong, by the way. Sometimes after a few well-placed kicks from him, I wonder whether I'll be able to give him a little brother or sister.) Even when he's not upset, though, he still jerks around from time to time. Sometimes he puts his fingers in his eyes. Oddly, it doesn't seem to bother him much when his fingers are deep underneath his eyelids. No, what bothers him is when I take his fingers out of his eyes. It's like he's saying, "DAAAaaad! Can't you see I put that there for a reason?"

He makes the cutest faces. There's the one where he's content and just looking around the room, staring wide-eyed at everything. He also sometimes curls his lip like a tiny Elvis impersonator. I think the most adorable face he ever makes is the one right before he starts to scream—it's such a sad face that I literally can't help but say "Awwww." I've often wanted to try getting a picture of that face, but I've always figured that I probably should be comforting him instead of trying to capture the look he gets when he's about to be really upset.

Jason has a very unfortunate predilection toward waiting until his diaper is off before peeing. We've tried to be watchful and cover him before it happens, but, I swear, the kid is like some kind of ninja when it comes to peeing. Oftentimes I will get the new diaper on and be congratulating myself on avoiding a diaperless pee when I will realize that his shirt or the pad under him is wet. And this will be despite the fact that I was watching the entire time. (He hates having a wet shirt, but, of course, not quite as much as he hates having his shirt changed.) I've tried to think of ways he can put this talent to good use later in life, but so far I haven't come up with anything.

On a related note, I have learned that an infant is capable of producing a truly astonishing amount of poop. What's more, Jason can poop so powerfully that drops will fly off the changing table and halfway across the room before hitting the ground. The time that happened I was actually impressed enough that I didn't even really mind cleaning up the carpet.

The more time passes the more I think that he must be the most beautiful baby ever. Juliette and I have seen a whole lot of other babies since Jason was born, and not one has been as cute as he is. Actually, that very phenomenon has made me wonder a bit whether he's actually as cute as we think he is, since I'm sure those other parents think the same thing about their own kids, some of whom I'm pretty sure I'd find odd-looking even if I weren't a parent. It doesn't really matter in the end, of course, but I do find it kind of interesting to think about.

The main thing I'm learning, though, is that there's always something new to learn. He's growing and changing so fast that it seems like I barely have time to get used to something before it's different again. I do find myself looking forward to him growing up a bit—I really can't wait until he starts smiling and laughing, and it'll also be nice when I can sleep more than a few hours in a row—but I'm also finding myself a little sad that he actually is growing up. And that's something else I'm learning: I never knew before how true it is that time seems to fly when you have a child, but it really is going fast, and I really have to step back and enjoy this time while it lasts.

Ever since Juliette and I got our dog, Cooper, people have been telling us that we had to read Marley and Me. Juliette finally got around to it as part of her annual summer reading kick and convinced me to pick it up next. After V, I needed something easy to read that would get me emotionally involved. Well, this fit that bill perfectly. I'm always a little suspicious of bestsellers, but this was just great.

As a dog owner, there was a lot I found familiar, both in the highs and lows of Grogan's life with Marley. Cooper isn't anywhere near as neurotic as Marley, but he has had some bad times, and in Marley's antics I could recognize some echoes of Cooper's worse moments. And, likewise, the joy of having such a loving, faithful companion is something that, I think, all dog lovers will recognize.

It's strange how having a dog has changed my outlook on this sort of thing. Just a couple of years ago, I don't think that I would really have connected with this book. All of this dog stuff just seemed a little silly to me. And now? Well, I can tell you that by the end of this book I was literally bawling.

Marley and Me was hilarious and heartwarming in turn, and I have to agree that it's a must-read for any dog lover—assuming there are any left who haven't already read it.

Started: 2008-07-12 | Finished: 2008-07-20

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