Logan's Run (and a Birthday Party)

Happy 551st birthday to my dear old mum. Actually, she's 54, but we have kind of a strange birthday candle tradition in my family, as in, we never buy new candles. Used candles of birthdays of yesteryear are saved in a shoe box, to be pulled out and reused whenever another birthday rolls around. Unfortunately, we don't have a complete set, so sometimes we are forced to construct equations, such as 55-1 (=54). To celebrate, M and I cooked a dinner and we had a few guests over, including my Uncle Joe and Cousin Lisa. Pete and Meg were also in attendance. My dad made his famous vegan chocolate cake, and I made stuffed shells.

We recently discoverd, Dreaming Ant, where we can rent any number of off-beat, alternative, gay, foreign or independent DVDs. M's selection for tonight was Logan's Run I have difficulty choosing a favorite part of this movie to blog about. Is it the colorful, sexy tunics? Is it the shiny, boxy robot that tries to freeze Logan in a block of ice? Is it when Logan beats his old pal, Francis, to death with an American flag in the vine-covered, cat-infested shell of the Capitol Building? Much of the set bears a curious resemblance to my old workplace, sort of half shopping mall, half 1970s office building. But it turns out, the movie was filmed in Dallas and Houston, in places such as the First National Bank and the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Anyway, I especially love the part where they find the Outside World, and upon seeing the sun, gasp, "what is it? whatever it is, it's warm!" I imagine a similar scene being recreated all across Pittsburgh at the end of this long, cold winter.