"Ghost Town" is a movie you should all see.

Seriously. I just got back. It's the most hilarious heartwarming film I've seen in a long time. Imagine "The 6th Sense" only funny and pleasant and really not like "The 6th Sense" at all. Which is to say, [1] It was very well written, [2] The performances were delightfully stellar, [3] It got an 84% on rottentomatoes.com--I'm not the only one who thinks it keen, [4] I laughed throughout this movie more than any other I've seen this year (perhaps even, the last decade, but I go to far), [5] It's really quite classy, as far as comedy's go these days (Mr. Apatow, I'm looking at you.) [6] It's humor depends almost entirely on witty banter, less silly than Monty Python, less precocious than Juno, just wonderfully dry cantankerous fun, and just when you think that's all it is, [7] It will make you cry, then laugh again, then, holding the cheese thank you very much, you'll cry once more. I don't cry at many movies, but rarely are movies this smart. My highest praise, my highest recommendation. Seriously. Why haven't you bought tickets yet?

Now, my word of warning: I feel slightly bad to have gotten your hopes all up for some cathartic experience you may or may not have. So think of it this way, I guarantee you'll be able to watch this film and say, "Ah, yes, I can see exactly why Brandon likes this film so very much."

Annual Apocalypse

Annual Apocalypse
Originally uploaded by brweaver

Once a year the apocalypse comes to Los Angeles. This year it's less then 10 miles from our apartment. Typically at 9:30am it's sunny with blue skies, but not on apocalypse day. Soon the horsemen will be here to ask for treats. They're demanding like that, those horseman.

It smells like a dying campfire outside, and the L.A. Times has warned everyone to stay inside as much as possible. But so far we're OK. It's somber to think of how many people are losing their homes though.

The L.A. Times reported one man as saying "This is what really scares me, it's not earthquakes, it's these fires that will kill people around here."

Bathroom Trouble

Bathroom Trouble
Originally uploaded by brweaver

Oh no! Peeling paint lead to the discover of water damage. Apparently our upstairs neighbors bathtub has been less than kind to us. A week of dust and plaster and fresh paint has led to a very dirty apartment full of noxious fumes, but everything looks really nice now.

Grandma Comes to Visit

My Grandma came to visit us. She is the first person to come and visit us from my side of the family. Hopefully she is not the last. We had a good time at the beach, staring at the ocean.

An Historic Election

About 2 minutes after the race was called (8:02 our time) we heard fireworks. It's all a little surreal. We both found McCain's concession speech to be very gracious. I remember seeing Randall Wallace once at an Arts Conference at Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago, he quoted someone else as saying "People don't remember what you say, they don't even remember so much of what you do, but what they remember is how you made them feel." While this may disappoint some to hear me say this, Obama makes me feel hopeful, which is something no other politician has done.