Don't Call it a Comeback

Earlier this afternoon, when I should have been fixing my garden or ironing my curtains, I decided instead to watch a little Saturday afternoon tv. Which really means I decided to take a nap.

When I woke up, tv still blaring, there was a movie with Ray Liotta and Kurt Russell and this long-haired Jane Seymour person, except it wasn't Jane Seymour. I just googled the movie and found out the name is Unlawful Entry. In the part I saw, Ray Liotta plays a crazed cop, and Kurt Russell and Jane Seymour, I mean Madeline Stowe, play a married couple who are being stalked by Ray Liotta. I don't know why he was stalking them, he just was. Presumably, that all was revealed while I was sleeping.

But, as I was watching the movie, I was thinking how that Madeline Stowe person was in a lot of movies in the 90's, but now I couldn't even remember her name. Also, what was the last movie Kurt Russell was in? Or Ray Liotta? I'll always remember Ray Liotta from Goodfellas. (Okay -- really, I'll always remember Ray Liotta from Corrina, Corrina.) Why don't people put him in movies any more?

I think his problem is that he's too good of an actor for a comeback. Putting Tony Manero, nee Vinnie Barbarino in Pulp Fiction as a hit man was a random genious move, given Travolta's prior work. (Xanadu, anyone?) Similarly, Mickey Rourke was so far down the road to Crazyville that when he showed up in The Wrestler, it was such a pleasant surprise. (Of course, it was like the part was made for him and the years of plastic surgery.) But, Ray Liotta is not such a crazy or superficial actor that putting him in a movie would seem brilliant or even ironic. Which is unfortunate, because I really would love to see him in a movie about the tragic downfall of a retiring professional wrestler. Or retiring ultimate fighter. (For that one, I suppose we'll have to wait for the comeback of Ed Norton.)

A Farewell to Arms

It's been a long time, my friends. For months, I've been content to pass on my random thoughts via Facebook. After all, it seems to bring more comments. I long doubted that there was anything that could bring me out of my self-imposed, blogging retirement.

But, I feel compelled to write about a recent incident I heard about on the Today show this morning. Apparently a man in Connecticut or somewhere thereabouts got his hand stuck in his furnace, and decided to amputate his arm to set himself free.

Now, I understand the story where the person trapped on a giant Mountain had to amputate his arm to free himself from wedged boulders to find help and escape the rugged mountain terrain. And, I saw the season finale of House where they had to convince some woman to amputate her arm to free herself from a collapsed parking garage.

But this man was trapped in his basement. He was tormented not by a fear of wolves or frostbite or oxygen deprivation. He was not trapped in the walk-in freezer at Sam's butcher shop. No, he was tormented by the microwave beeping about the food he had left in it. It wasn't winter, where there was a risk that the furnace might somehow burn his trapped hand. He was trapped in a basement in suburbia for less than 2 days. And, at the end of the day, he wasn't really able to amputate his arm and escape -- his friends rescued him. However, they apparently had to amputate his arm anyway.

I don't mean to be glib about this. Okay, maybe I do a little bit. But, I can't help but wonder whether this man would have ever thought about cutting off his arm if he hadn't seen the endless media coverage of others who have done this. I'm not saying that he did this for media attention. But, the idea surely came from media reports. And more than that -- what does it say about the modern attention span if one is ready to chop off an arm after being trapped in a basement for a day. What's the rush? Surely it's worth waiting a few days before removing a limb. This guy supposedly had a fiancee. Wouldn't you expect her to notice your absence within a few days? Unless she's in Canada, I suppose.