Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

iPod morning commute music: Lucinda Williams (1988)

Technically not commute music, since I don't commute on Sunday, but I did listen to it in the wee hours after midnight (see below), and played a couple of songs for my daughter this morning. This great album is essential if for no other reason than Passionate Kisses, my all time favorite Lucinda Williams song. I suppose Car Wheels on a Gravel Road (1998) is a stronger album (and certainly the one which propelled her, finally, into stardom), but this self-titled second album is the one I tend to put on most (I have 5 of her studio CD's). Also a highlight on the disc: Changed the Locks.

Yesterday's teacher's meeting didn't start until after 9:00 p.m., and finished around 11:00. I could get trains most of the way home, but had to take a taxi from Kawanishi to Nissei Chuo, where my car was parked. Fortunately, the school will pay the fare, around $35. I got home, finally, at 1:00 a.m., pretty much shattered.

Today we went to see Scorsese's The Departed, which opened yesterday here in Japan. I saw the film, unedited, on my flight back from Seattle on the 4th, but knew at the time I had to see it on the big screen. What a film! The acting is great, the directing even better, but probably the most impressive aspect of the film for me is the editing; just superb. Leonardo DiCaprio has grown exponentially with each appearance in a Scorsese film (Gangs of New York and The Aviator before), with this performance cementing his reputation as Scorsese's new DiNero. Matt Damon is also great, and Jack Nicholsan is just awesome as the villain. Vera Farmiga, an actor I wasn't familiar with, also does a fine job in this highly recommended film.

Tomorrow is the second round of the junior high entrance exam, but hopefully the meeting will be a LOT shorter.