orange gerb

orange gerb, originally uploaded by pr9000.

My niece, Hailey, went to the circus yesterday. Some day she'll learn to appreciate that family gatherings can suffice, but for now, it's the only way she can get in a room full of clowns, animals and food that's really bad for you.

The circus, originally uploaded by beths96.

I think that, like most children, she's not exactly thrilled with clowns:

, originally uploaded by beths96.

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Last night, Amina and I finally found "The Darjeeling Limited" at our local Redbox ... we'd been looking at the Byerly's Redbox, but it just wasn't there. McDonald's, though? Totally had it, which should have been a sign unto me.

Ten years ago, Wes Anderson released "Rushmore." My mind says I was living in Lincoln Park at the time, in a small studio with John Carroll, but the movie was released in 1998, and I thought I had moved out by that time. But maybe not. 

Either way, I checked it out on a whim at the now-a-condo Biograph Theatre on Lincoln. I remember walking in a snowstorm to see it, mainly because I was too poor to afford a cab (or so I thought). I read a review in the Reader that had good things to say, and at the time I was very much into my "seeing movies by my lonesome" phase, so I was happy to go by myself.

"Rushmore" was the first time I ever cried at the end of a movie. I remember laughing at so much that happened during the movie, and I was the only one giggling. Maybe I didn't get the jokes, or maybe I'm just attuned to the sense of humor in the film. Regardless, I felt like a part of my life had been shown on the screen.

I went back two days later, and took John to see it the next Friday. That's how much I loved "Rushmore."

Since then, it's been one disappointment after another from Anderson. And "The Darjeeling Limited" kept that streak going. I'm not going to review the movie -- nobody cares to hear me take it apart, piece by infuriating piece -- but one thing jumped out last night, as Amina struggled to stay awake.

"This reminds me of 'The Virgin Suicides,'" she said. We hated that movie. Director: Sofia Coppola. And who was a co-writer on "The Darjeeling Limited?" Roman Coppola, her brother.

New rule: Coppola + movies = watch TV instead.