Rewards for Being Good

Oh, I tell you, karma is a wonderful thing if you do it right.

Today I was a nice little girl (oh, all right, a nice mature woman, if you're going to be picky) and took my books back to the library in the pouring rain, primarily because today was their due date, I take out a LOT of books at a time, and those late fees mount up. Then I heroically prevented myself from going out to lunch and instead saved money and bought myself a couple of treats for home consumption at Citarella instead.

And my sensible activities were amply rewarded by A. the sight of Joshua actually bringing cartons upstairs to ready them to be taken to storage, and B. Sleepy Hollow with Johnny Depp on cable tonight.

I truly feel rewarded. Particularly in re Sleepy Hollow, which I've been dying to see. All you have to do is put the names Johnny Depp and Tim Burton together in a sentence, and I'm right there. And it's even nicer when it involves Johnny Depp wearing period clothing that requires tight pants, since he is the possessor of one damn fine bottom. And in case you wonder why I'm not checking out the front view (I can't imagine why, unless you have a terribly prurient mind, you would be wondering this, but just in case), I spent many of my formative years in dance studios and backstage at musical comedies (on account of being in them), and I am the first to tell you of the wonders that can be wrought with some sweat socks in the dance belt. A nice muscular bottom, however, cannot be faked with any degree of believability.

The movie itself, of course, is absolutely silly, but I think Washington Irving would have loved it. He was so big on legends and ghost stories that making his jokey tale about an awkward schoolteacher into something with an actual undead type and lots of nice gore would probably have charmed him right out of his stockings (there being no socks in his day). As a matter of fact, I think Tim Burton and Washington Irving would have been great pals. I cannot wait until Burton decides to play around with Edgar Allan Poe - with Johnny Depp. As a matter of fact, the cartoon figure of Johnny Depp in Corpse Bride looked very like a young Poe. I think Tim Burton's take on the lost Lenore would be marvelous.

Now that I'm on the subject, Poe and Burton would seem to be such a natural mix. The Masque of the Red Death. The Fall of the House of Usher. Wow, couldn't he go to town on that one. And Depp's pirate character - Jack whatever his name is - fits naturally into The Gold Bug.

Oh...it suddenly occurred to me. There are probably a lot of people out there who haven't read Poe. Go do so immediately. Preferably, if it's your first time - hell, if it's ANY time - in daylight. None of the new horror writers (and it's a genre I love, because of reading Poe in my youth) hold a candle to him. He is deeply, completely, unbelievably terrifying. I swear that every nightmare I had when I was young was directly to do with Poe...The Black Cat gets me to this day, and I OWN a black cat, for heaven's sake. A lot of Stephen King (and bless Mr. King, he freely admits it) owes a huge debt to Poe. Poe is the master.

Well. I have had a lovely day. And tomorrow I will work like a dog and get books sorted out, and cousins packed up...would you believe Joshua is actually talking about leaving next week? No, I don't believe it either, but one can hope.

Love, Wendy