Jimmy and Jonathan

Last night there was an impromptu after work dinner get together by my work colleagues. There were 10 of us, including a retired staff member and my boss. It was nice. The nicest part about the people I work with is that they would do anything to help one another in need. Towards the end of the meal I went to the ladies room. My boss came in shortly after, and pointed out that the song playing (rather loudly) was the Thompson Twins' "Hold me know." Good song. As I washed my hands, Earth, Wind and Fire's "September" came on. I wonder where they got their mix? I had a friend who worked at a pharmacy chain and he said that they received cd mixes from their corporate office to play in the store. I suppose the same is for chain restaurants.

After dinner, I came home to let the dogs out and feed them, ran to the grocery store and then back home again. I watched Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains. WOW! I had forgotten about what a tremendous person he is. Was he really a bad president? I was too young to remember, but what strikes me is his faith, his desire to make the world better and his use of his power for betterment of others and not just self-interest. Will George W. Bush have the same legacy? I think not.

I had also forgotten what a great filmmaker Jonathan Demme is.

Filmography of Jonathan Demme (starred ones are the ones I have actually seen):

Caged Heat (1974)
Crazy Mama (1975)
Fighting Mad (1976)
Handle with Care (1977)
Last Embrace (1979)
Melvin and Howard (1980)
Who Am I This Time? (1983)
Swing Shift (1984)
Stop Making Sense (Talking Heads concert film) (1984)
The Perfect Kiss (New Order music video) (1985)
Something Wild (1986)
Swimming to Cambodia (1987)
Haiti: Dreams of Democracy (1987)
Married to the Mob (1988) *
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) *
Cousin Bobby (1991) *
Philadelphia (1993) *
Beloved (1998)
Storefront Hitchcock (1998)
The Truth About Charlie (2002) *
The Agronomist (2003) *
The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
Neil Young: Heart of Gold (2006) *
Man from Plains (2007) *
New Home Movies From the Lower 9th Ward (2007)
Dancing With Shiva (2008)

Clearly I need to watch more of his earlier stuff. His documentaries are very interesting. The Agronomist was very grainy and almost unstable, which reflects the subject matter of democratic opinion in Haiti, whereas The Man from Plains was very stylized. I love both the films. My most favorite of all is probably Married to the Mob. It has a fantastic soundtrack, and even though it pokes fun at the mafia it's a very funny and tender story. It's more about starting over.