where the wild things are...

just came back from seeing one of the best movies of the year-- "where the wild things are."

to me, the book it's based on is like a song you hear and fall in love with as a child. and then you hear it again as an adult and can appreciate it from an entirely different angle, because you can understand what the lyrics mean.

i don't remember who first gave me the book to read, but i'm sure they did so without my mother's permission. i was a very timid kid, and she was always looking to protect me from things that might give me nightmares. which led me to become more timid. which led her to look harder for nightmarish things, and so on. vicious cycle.

but, reading it again tonite, i don't think i was as frightened as much as i was perplexed. back then, i didn't really get it. i read it about three or four times, but i didn't really get it. "and his supper was still hot... okay. so what?"

now, of course, you'll have a hard time convincing me that this isn't the best ending to any book, ever. now i know this is a story about just how scary, and confusing, and wonderful life can be as a child. now i know maurice sendak is a genius.

then, i just thought max's wolf pj's were pretty rad.

what the book gets right is all there in the film. except that the film allows itself to go deeper. it uses the wild things as a representative of everything that's bottled up inside max-- the fear, the doubt, the joy, the contradiction, the adventure. the fun, the uncertainty, the sweetness, the anger, and the wide-eyed wonder. it's max, the explorer, finding himself.

when he's talking about his family, max tells one of the wild things, "they treat me like i'm a bad person." she asks him, "are you?" and he replies, "i don't know."

urgh, that just sunk my heart. i mean, really, who hasn't been there? ...it can't be just me, can it? having that, "why did i say that???" or "what was i thinking?!" conversation in my head...?

anyway, i'll spare you any further self-pyscho-analysis, and just end with what you've probably gathered already... i think 'where the wild things are' is a must see. check it out.


the five things i fell in love with today...

1) my mom.
2) i told the smart lady about the dental and foot care place i came across the other day, and she immediately made sense of it. "oh, it's probably for people who don't think before they speak," she said. "people who always put their foot in their mouth." told you she was a smart lady.
3) i got a ride home from work today, saving $4.50 by not taking the train!!! w'hoooooooooo!!!
4) some kid i passed tonite saw my pittsburgh steelers scarf and shouted, "YEAH!!! STEELERS!!!" good times.
5) maurice sendak.


song of the day...
"don't tell mother" by the sundays

movie of the day...
another spike jonze classic, "adaptation"