Date night, Santa Claus, and truck owners without chainsaws

So my wife asked how the book was coming. After pondering for a good, solid metaphor, I asked her if she had ever heard of someone carving a statue from a tree trunk using a chainsaw. Because my wife is someone who can appreciate the level of skill required, she said yes, she had. Then I asked her to imagine if that person had been really inspired to create something, only to find his chainsaw was gone. Does he give up? Obviously not. He uses what tools he has, a pick up truck that can go a hundred miles an hour, and a buddy who's willing to drive it. He puts the tree trunk in the bed of the truck, hops in back with it, and has his friend take off down an asphalt road. By strategically leaning the trunk out and letting it rub on the asphalt, he slowly and laboriously grinds away anything that doesn't belong on his statue.

My wife gave me one of those looks.

Because I've been cooped up here in my study pretty much non-stop this month, she also took me out to the movies Saturday night for a date. Our local Alamo Drafthouse was having a graveyard shift double feature of 'Rare Exports' and 'Silent Night Deadly Night.' I hadn't seen either before, so at the very least I was expecting a bit of a treat.

Alamo Drafthouse is a fun place. They have good theaters, serve good food, and really do kick people out if they talk through the film or can't/won't control their children. They also make a point of having interesting pre-show entertainment up on the screen. Last night they showed bits of a Christmas themed 'Tales From the Crypt' episode, as well as a hilarious short from Yer Dead Productions titled 'Treevenge.' For this holiday-themed show, they also had a couple of audience participation games. My lady love declined to enter the eggnog chugging contest, (though she did initiate the cry of 'chug chug chug') but when they announced the 'wrapping competition' she went right up to the front of the theater. They gave her and another girl each a tee-shirt, and the one who wrapped theirs the fastest won. For extra points, my wife busted into some free-flow rapping, which got her an extra shirt of her choice. Then she gave them both to me. She always finds a way to make my life better.

Rare Exports is a fun movie from Finland about the real nature of the Santa Claus figure, and Silent Night, Deadly Night is a reliable 80's slasher flick that came out the same time as Nightmare on Elm Street. The former was a nicely original story that was almost, but not really, safe for kids to see. (Honestly, it would probably be considered safe for kids in Europe, where they seem to have a few less hangups) I initially wondered about the wisdom of showing Rare Exports first, since it looked to be the film with the higher production values. But it's definitely the 'softer' of the two movies, and seeing it after you've seen jolly old Saint Nick decapitate someone would be a bit of a let-down. It was a fun evening.

Now, if you'll pardon me, I need to get back into the bed of that pickup truck.