short takes

[cellio]

Is it just me, or does the design for the WTC replacement look like New York is giving someone the finger? That can't be completely unintentional, can it?

We saw Chicago Wednesday night with a group of friends. It was an interesting movie. (I have not seen the play.) It dragged for about the first third, I thought -- if it had been a TV show or a DVD rental I would have turned it off -- but then it picked up. The lawyer made the show, as far as I'm concerned. All in all, an ok movie with some very funny bits. I'm not sure why it's a candidate for "best picture", though I can't say what I would propose instead. I don't go to enough movies to have a good handle on the options.

But: "Roxie" was so not a babe -- was she supposed to be attractive and it just doesn't work for me, or was part of the point that she didn't have the required characteristics, particularly upper-body real estate, needed to be that kind of dancer?

Tonight the fifth-grade class is leading service at my synagogue. I've got to find some place else to be. Maybe New Light (Conservative), because they're friendly and a block away, or maybe Young People's (Orthodox) because they seem friendly, they explicitly welcome newcomers, and I've never been there. Oops, Young People's starts before candle-lighting time, and I'll probably need those extra few minutes to get dinner ready. Hmm. Maybe I'll visit there in the spring.

Last night's D&D game was very exciting. We spent most of the evening on scouting and strategy and it was getting late, but we didn't want to just leave it that way so we decided to play out the attack last night (or at least the first major phase of it). It was a late night, but a fun one with lots of cool effects. Ralph did a good job of playing the main bad guy intelligently. I did a so-so job of tracking my own state. (In particular, I lost track of the effects of one attack that was made against me. I should have been making concentration checks for each spell cast. The good news is that I fail such checks on a 1 or 2, but I forgot to make about three of them and that's bad.)

I think I will stop listening to spell-selection advice from Dani; I'm majorly regretting the last spell I let him talk me into, and he's made a number of other suggestions that I've rejected. I think he doesn't understand the difference between sorcerors and wizards. I'm carrying around a third-level spell that I have never cast, when I had planned to take one of two others that would be (1) more useful and (2) more cool. (Essentially, I let him talk me into postponing those.) But I don't get my next third-level spell until ninth or tenth level, and I'm seventh level now. Oops.

Comments

[sethcohen.livejournal.com]

Read this month's Smithsonian about the WTC. It seems really spiffy to me.

I've seen Chicago, the play, and it didn't do much for me. I'm thinking different actors make for a different production.

[ralphmelton.livejournal.com]

I am willing to let folks change their abilities as long as they haven't used them yet. So you can change the spells you haven't used, Lori can change the feat she hasn't used yet, et cetera.

[goljerp]

I saw Chicago, the musical, at a summer stock production in Vermont when I was a teenager. I loved it. I saw the broadway production about a year ago, and enjoyed it. Haven't seen the movie yet...

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Chicago, despite Roxie being far too thin, in my opinion...on the other hand, maybe that's part of the reason that murder was her ticket to stardom.

Okay, so I enjoyed the movie, but it's dark underside kinda bugged me. But the music appealed to me, so I'd see it again.