The Music Box

Every once in awhile, I stumble upon a place that sparkles amidst the normal everyday places that I go. Often I find that these places have been there all along, as have I, I've just never noticed them. Once such place is Bookman's Alley in Evanston, which I will probably blog about someday. But this particular posting is about The Music Box, an old ornate movie theater that plays independent, foreign, and cult films (Rocky Horror, anyone?) with old school charm.

The Music Box opened on August 22, 1929 when picture theaters were just starting to take off. Sound films were a new technology and the theater was equipped with an orchestra pit as well as organ chambers in case the sound failed and silent films needed accompaniment. At the time, other theaters showing movies in Chicago were referred to as movie "palaces" and seated upwards of 3,000 people at a time. The Music Box sat 800 and was considered an "elaborate little brother" to the huge theaters that came before it. Ironically, today The Music Box holds the title of having the largest operating theater space in the city.

I recently paid a visit to this mecca of cool in order to see a presentation of the short films that have been nominated for Academy awards this year. I was blown away. Not only were the films fantastic, but the venue was amazing in about a zillion different ways. So, below you will find my list of the Top Ten Reasons You Should Visit The Music Box.

10. It has an old school defunct but still wickedly cool ticket booth out front.

9. It is very ornate, cloaked in burgundy velvet and gold.

8. The popcorn...oh my god...there's a reason people stop in just to take a bag home with them.

7. The ceiling is dark blue with tiny sparkling white lights that make it look like the night sky.

6. There are small heaters under the middle 4 or 5 seats in each row which provide much needed relief to people like me who freeze to death in nearly all movie theaters.

5. A real organist plays a real organ in the theater while you wait for your movie. When he is finished, they put on popular music from when the theater first opened.

4. A giant red velvet curtain rises from in front of the screen right as your movie is about to start, which makes you feel like you've been taken straight back to the 1920s.

3. A reel of film made to look old (crackly with spots and streaks) tells you that the previews for your film are about to begin.

2. There is a theater ghost named Whitey who lives in the theater. He was the original owner and ran the theater until he died in 1977. He is said to pace Aisle 4, watching the doors for kids who try to sneak in. He also expresses his opinion of bad organists by throwing the curtain over both organ chambers at the same time in order to halt the "bad" music.

1. The selection of films can't be beat. If you want your run-of-the-mill Hollywood blockbusters, you can see those anywhere. If you want to find unique independent, foreign, and underground films, head to the Music Box. You'll walk away wondering how you've lived without the place all your life.

Photographic Defiance

Clara and I have had a little houseguest since last Tuesday. His name is Toby, and he's a daschund/jack russel mix. Here he is with Clara. Neither of them were thrilled about the prospect of adding to their 15 minutes of fame by appearing on my blog. Alas.

Happy Hearts Day (better late than never!)

PostSecret: A Valentine Video

Love it.

I saw "Coraline" today and it was perfectly bizzare, creepy, and brilliant. The movie is based on a horror novella of the same name by Neil Gaiman, one that is now on my short list of must-reads. It tells the story of a young girl who moves to a creepy old house with her distracted and distant parents. While exploring, Coraline discovers a small door hidden behind wallpaper in one of the house's many rooms. When she opens it, there is only a brick wall to greet her, but she later finds that the wall has turned into a tunnel to a parallel world where her parents are doting, fun, and loving, but where everyone has buttons for eyes. As the movie progresses, Coraline becomes increasingly aware that this parallel world is evil, and yet it still intrigues her enough that she continues to visit. Eventually this bad decision catches up with her.

The movie, in 3D, is visually stunning and looks very much like a Tim Burton production, though he had nothing to do with the film (it's all a bit confusing, however, because the previews say "From the director of 'The Nightmare Before Christmas'--said director is actually Henry Selick.). There are some incredibly imaginative and wickedly fun ideas that went into the plot of the movie, and I'm curious to see how many came from the book. I'm reminded of "The Halloween Tree" by Ray Bradbury, along with "El Orphanato" to a lesser degree.

You should definitely pay the (gulp) $11.50 (due to the 3D aspect) to see this movie...you won't walk away disappointed (and if you have kids younger than probably 10, you should NOT bring them unless you want to deal with them wanting to sleep with you for the next month or so). I'll probably buy it once it comes out on DVD, and if you know me very well, you know I don't buy movies very often. I have to really love what I saw. And creepiness is definitely one way to my heart. ;)

Here' s a little sneak peek:



And here is a really kick ass video of another version of the film, apparently. I'm not sure where you'd be able to find this one, but I love how the sweet (lullaby music, paper cutouts, a pretty little girl) is tinged with sinister. If anyone can translate the Spanish (Becky?), I'd love to know what it says...

Is this legal?

I happen to love the comics of one Natalie Dee. I love them so much that I'm posting one or three to my blog. I hereby state that this is the work of Natalie Dee only, NOT in conjunction with anyone else, and certainly NOT in conjunction with me. I am NOT taking credit for this comic. I AM taking credit for thinking it is brilliantly random and funny. Please don't sue me.

Craigslist

I love Craigslist. Where else can you find ads for things like this?

Paper Mache Elephant

2'(H) x 2'(L) x 18"(W)

Those dirty dirty Brits.

Apparently, this is the official logo of the 2012 Olympics in London:

This logo has been ruined for me and I'm about to ruin it for you too, so if you don't want that to happen, stop reading now.

You still with me? Good, because according to one blogger, the logo above looks like Lisa Simpson giving fellatio, and now that's pretty much all I can see in it. Sigh.

Lindsay and Miles

My friend Lindsay used to play the violin in the Evanston Symphony with me. We had good times during the 15 minute break in our 2.5 hour rehearsals every Tuesday night, but then all that came to an end. Why, you ask? Because of the little chipmunk each of us are holding in these pictures: Miles. Based on the size of his cheeks, I'd say he's storing up nuts for the winter. While I'm sad that Lindsay isn't playing with us anymore, her leaving did inspire our starting a monthly brunch get-together with our other orchestra friend, Rachel. Now we get to actually spend more than 15 minutes talking at a time. And Rachel and I get to hold a really cute baby in the process. See? Everything worked out in the end. :)

Ski Trip!

Yesterday I went skiing for only the second time in my life. My friends Cary, Terry, and Becky, all coworkers, accompanied me to Alpine Valley Ski Resort in Wisconsin. When I looked Alpine Valley up on the Internet, it said it had seven green slopes, seven blue slopes, and seven black slopes. Considering the only other time I've ever gone skiing (back in high school) was at a place with one green, one blue, and one black slope, I thought this place was huge! I later found out, through my friend Diana (who lives in Colorado), that it was actually rather miniscule. No worries though, we had a great time! While I started out a bit wobbly, I picked up on turning and stopping pretty quickly thanks to Terry's expert coaching (he's been skiing since he was a little kid). We skiied from 11 am to 3 pm and I only ended up falling twice! Unfortunately, it is EXTREMELY difficult to get up once you've fallen in skis. Like, nearly impossible. And of course, Cary managed to get my first fall on video, which she promptly posted to youtube:

She then recorded Becky's first ski run ever, which was pretty good until she fell down at the end. Meanwhile, I'm STILL trying to get up from my first fall...


The pics below, however, prove that eventually I was able to get up and I had many great fall-free runs after that. :)

Postsecret

One of my favorite websites/blogs of all time is the Postsecret site (http://www.postsecret.blogspot.com/). Postsecret was started by a man named Frank Warren. The premise of the project was to have people decorate homemade postcards and portray a secret that has never been spoken before. There are no restrictions as to the content of the secret--some are happy, some are sad, some are funny, and some are just strange. The only rules are that the secret has to be truthful, and it can never have been previously revealed.

Every Sunday morning, Frank posts the new secrets that he has selected from those sent in the past week. Whenever I read them, on Sunday afternoon, I turn off the TV and music, and just concentrate on what I'm reading. You're looking into people's souls when you read their secrets. They reveal hopes, dreams, regrets, crimes, kindheartedness, and mean spirits. It seems only fair to give them all of my attention. The best part is, occasionally you'll run in to a secret that someone sent in that is exactly how you feel too. When that happens, you can't help but feel a sense of connectedness to your fellow world-mates.