saxikath

Last night, jhango showed Wordplay at her movie night. And I discovered something I hadn't noticed before.

The very first shot of the movie, after the titles, is an over-the-shoulder shot of someone working on a puzzle. All you can see is a bit of the person's shirt, maybe a bit of hair, and the person's hand and the puzzle.

That person? Is me.

Watching it last night, for the first time I realized I recognized the shirt -- you can't see much other than black, but you can see a letter "A" in a funky font, and I realized that it's my Anything Goes t-shirt. We paused the movie and looked more closely, and sure enough, that's my handwriting and the type of pencil I like. It's me doing puzzle 5 from that year (of BATTUE BOY infamy).

So even though I wasn't a key player in the film, the first shot of the movie is all me. I think that's cool. Geeky, but cool. :)

Some accumulated brain clutter from the past couple of weeks:

• California apparently requires very explicit warning signs when smoking is allowed somewhere. My hotel had signs everywhere saying "Smoking is allowed on this floor. Smoking is known to the State of California to cause cancer." There were similar signs warning about chemicals in use in the facility.
  
• I am in awe of the teachers I met with in Fresno. They are working in very difficult circumstances (a district that's 80 percent ESL, and in which 70-90% of the students in each high school represented are on free or reduced-price lunch, and where there are few financial resources), and are clearly very dedicated to what they do.
  
• I visited King's Canyon and Sequoia National Parks one late afternoon/evening. (They're technically two parks, but they're managed as one park.) I took some photos that I haven't uploaded yet; unfortunately, I didn't get any good shots of the deer I ran into in a couple of places. (It was twilight, and I didn't want to use the flash so as not to frighten them, so it was hard to get clear pics.) The sequoias really are magnificently tall, though they don't have the bulk of the El Tule tree I saw in Oaxaca. It was lovely to get in some mountain time. Admittedly, it's probably rather foolish to go walking around the woods, in a place where there are bears, alone, at twilight, when no one on the planet knows where you are -- but it was good for my spirit anyway.
  
• Speaking of bears, I saw one at the ToV site on Sunday afternoon when I was getting my car.
  
• If you like a good burger, I recommend the Dog House Grill in Fresno. (Technically in Clovis, the next town over, I think.)
  
• Now that I'm out of the knee brace, I desperately need a pedicure. I may wait till the mosquito bites from last weekend fade somewhat, though.
  
• Also now that I'm out of the knee brace, I'll finally be able to wear the new sandals I bought! (I have the bronzey-colored ones.)
  
• Also also now that I'm out of the knee brace, it's time to get back to the gym.
  
• Man, decent-looking LARP armor is expensive. The new character I'm toying with could probably use some, but yikes. I also doubt much of what's out there would fit me (that's what comes from being a plus-size woman with some serious curvature). I particularly like the look of brigandine, but I don't have the money to throw at the good stuff. I may just go with my leather bodice thingy, which would work for leather armor.
  
• I should really clean my house.
  
• I suppose, even out of the brace, I should probably wait a while before I try tap dancing again. :)
  
• I feel very spacy at the moment. Some combination of heat, post-LARPishness, post-travelness, and general lethargy, I suppose.
  
• It's nice to be surprised by someone you wouldn't have expected doing something nice for you. Makes you reevaluate your expectations.
  
• Memo to self: stay out of ditches and watch your footing. You don't want to do this again.
  

Also, I realized that not everyone on my friends list reads all my puzzle-geek friends' blogs, and so I should probably actually remind you all about Wordplay. It's a documentary about crossword puzzles and the people who do them -- but don't let that stop you. It's really a very good movie, and portrays a world I'm part of in what to me is a pretty accurate and sympathetic way. Plus, it has high drama (no, really!), fun characters (including Jon Stewart and Bill Clinton!), humor, and cleverness; besides, it's your chance to see me, however briefly, in a feature film! :) It opened in New York last weekend, and opens around the country this coming weekend. Please, go see it -- you'll be glad you did. (In the Boston area, it's playing at the Kendall theater.)