2012: The Year in Review Pt. 1 - Movies

At this time last year, I struggled to find enough movies to compile a "best of" list.  This year, I'm struggling to choose my favorites.  While there was only one "10", there were many more "9s" and "8s" that I truly enjoyed.  Therefore, I had to create some new categories to accomodate more than twice as many movies as 2011.  From top to bottom, please consider them the top 14 movies I saw in 2012...

Favorite Movie (Period) - Sound of My Voice.  I can't get this movie out of my head.  Without a doubt, the most thought-provoking movie of 2012.  Read my full review here.

Favorite Documentary - Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan's Hope.  Yeah, I'm a geek, but this should be required viewing for everyone else.  Read my full review here.

Favorite Movie Leftover from 2011 - The Tree of Life.  When it was released, this was a very polarizing movie.  I found myself in the small camp of those who loved it.  If you don't worry about a narrative, the emotional experience is overpowering.

Favorite Movie Not from 2012 - The Loved Ones (2009). Very rarely does a horror movie come along that truly raises the bar.  It's various components may not be entirely original, but they are masterfully combined by director Sean Byrne into a gory, scary classic.

Favorite Superhero Movies (Tie) - Chronicle and The Avengers.  The Avengers is a no-brainer; nevertheless, you can read my full review here.  Chronicle, though, was equally effective on a fraction of the budget.  I particularly enjoyed how different sources of found footage were combined to seamlessly tell the story.

Favorite Animated Movie - Frankenweenie.  Of the three animated "horror" movies released this fall, this one best fit my sensibilities.  Read my full reviews of all of them here.

Favorite Discovered "Classic" - Twins of Evil (1971). I never expected to like this movie as much as I did.  It offers perhaps my favorite performance by Peter Cushing.  I wrote about in a feature about lesbian vampire movies based on Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's "Carmilla"; read here.

Honorable Mention - The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  I didn't like this quite as much as any of the others, but it was darned close.  A touching "growing up" story, it takes place just a couple years past the time I was a teenager, so I related, but didn't completely connect.

Favorite Horror Movie - The Woman in Black.  2012 may have been a better year for movies, but not necessarily horror movies.  Therefore, this imperfect movie was still my favorite in the genre.  Read my full review here.

Favorite Movie I Really Wanted to Hate - The Hunger Games.  It reeked of Twilight, but was so much better.  Unfamiliar with the series of teen fiction books, what appeared to be a tamed-down version of Battle Royale was instead a fairly dark and adult thriller.

Favorite Comedy - 21 Jump Street.  Yeah, not a good year for comedies, but I surprisingly liked this one.  Just good, silly fun that made me laugh consistently.  For me, it also proved that Channing Tatum can be funny and I can actually like Jonah Hill.

Favorite Guilty Pleasure - Total Recall.  I don't really remember why I liked this one so much, but I nevertheless include it on my list.  I gave it an "8" when comparing it to the Schwarzeneggar original; read my full review here.

Movie I Absolutely Hated - This Means War.  Chalk up another one to Reese Witherspoon.  Not even the double-hunk-whammy of Tom Hardy and Chris Pine could save this excruciatingly awful movie.

Please keep in mind that I haven't seen everything that was technically released in 2012.  Therefore, there's no mention of Zero Dark Thirty or Hyde Park on Hudson, for example.  They may come up in future blogs about the Academy Awards, or even on next year's "Best Of" list as leftovers.

Overall, 2012 was a much better year for movies than 2011.  And it got even better at the end of the year.  Les Miserables came close to being my favorite movie; and, if there were enough musicals made to have a category, it would be the best.  Also, Lincoln was not what I expected.  Instead of a long, boring biopic, it was almost a thriller focusing on getting the Thirteenth Amendment passed before the end of the Civil War.  If I were writing about my favorite performances of 2012, these two movies would appear due to Anne Hathaway and Daniel Day Lewis.

For 2013, it's going to be a tough act to follow...

D-Day (Decision Day) Pt. 2: Dr. Gardner

Well,  Dr. Gardner surprised us today.  For our 3:00 appointment, we began seeing doctors at 4:30!  First, Stephanie with her post-op survey.  Then _______, who took blood pressure and pulse (normal). Then a new guy, Dr. Shaffer, who helps out when neurology is overbooked.

(Who notices the typo above?  Really, they could use a proofreader!)

Dr. Shaffer quickly showed us the before and after MRI pictures, but he didn't make it clear to us what the differences were.  When Dr. Gardner came in, it all made sense.  I remember a shot from pre-op MRIs showing how the tumor was pushing the base of the brain to the side.  He found that one and then, side-by-side, showed us how much the brain is already expanding.

I don't know if you can tell below, but on the left is before: the dark L-shaped thing in the middle is the base of the brain/top of the spinal cord.  On the right is after: the L-shaped thing is "puffing out" to take up space where the tumor used to be.

This one is a couple mouse-wheel turns away on the MRI and not as clear.  Maybe you can use it to get a good look at the tumor.  I was surprised that there was still a white area where the tumor used to be.  But you can see that the texture is different and Dr. Gardner said that was fluid filling the space formerly occupied by the tumor.

I can't remember his exact words, but they were to the gist that the success of Michael's operation was "remarkable".  With the improvement he's already seen with his double vision, Dr. Gardner thinks it will for sure correct itself in the coming weeks.

But he didn't sugar coat that Michael is still in real danger of getting meningitis.  We have to watch for liquid running out his nose or feeling it run down the back of his throat.  He said if Michael was feeling well the next couple of days he would leave it up to us when to leave.  But we had to promise him that if anything went wrong, we would turn around and come back immediately.

Other than that, though, we may have seen the last of Dr. Gardner.  If all is well, we don't do anything until six months when Michael gets another MRI.  That can be done in Kansas City and the results sent here, or we could come back here to see him.

As of right now, we're thinking about getting up and heading out first thing Friday morning.  That would put us in Chicago overnight Friday and then home SATURDAY NIGHT!!!  Part of me is surprised that Michael didn't want to get in the car tonight and drive away; however, he is first and foremost concerned for his health and doesn't want to jump the gun and regret it.  If we can finagle dog sitters for three more days, I think at this point Michael, Toby and Cosmo can wait a little longer.

I asked Michael if there were any sites he wanted to see the next two days.  He replied, "Only if they're in the rear view mirror!"  We never made it to any of the museums or on a movie location tour, but I think all I want to do is make one more pass through Eide's entertainment tomorrow (new comic book day).  We've been here long enough to have a good feeling of the city; besides, if we saw it all now, we'd have no reason to ever return (ha, ha).

Again, Michael claims all his pre-surgery symptoms are gone: he can swallow, he can walk without stumbling, he can feel the fingertips of his left hand and he can button his shirt.  It remains to be seen if he's still going to be falling asleep all the time.  Of course he is now because he's just had brain surgery, but if we can extend our nightly bedtime to 9:30 or 10:00 in a couple months, then it will have been a complete success.

If nothing goes wrong, there will probably be only a few more short posts on the blog... about him, anyway.  Now that I've hooked you, please come back to read about other subjects, also.  I'd hate to put someone in the hospital again just to get readers...

D-Day (Decision Day) Pt. 1: Dr. Wang

Maintaining his perfect record, Dr. Wang saw Michael very close to his scheduled appointment time.  Actually, Dr. ______ saw him first and promptly removed the packing from his nose: 4, 6"-long blood-soaked strips.  This doctor (female) was interesting; she appeared Asian, yet spoke with an Australian accent.  Michael asked her and, yes, she is from Australia.

She scoped his nose pretty well, as did Dr. Wang afterwards.  It all looked like alien, lumpy, bloody tissue to me, but he claimed it looked "great".  I asked him how he knew that and he replied, "Because spinal fluid is not pouring out." 

In essence, Dr. Wang released Michael for follow-ups with a doctor in Kansas City.  For another week, he'll continue to spray saline solution into his nose every four hours.  Then, he'll add a twice-a-day flush.  There are two plastic "splints" remaining to be removed; they are covering areas that are healing beneath.  And he'll need occasional nasal "cleanings" to remove dry, crusty… stuff.

Michael immediately felt relief from the pressure in his sinuses.  For the last couple of days, he's experienced headaches he's described as his "eyeballs hurting".  However, he still is on the cusp of a headache post-removal, so I'll continue administering Tylenol, sometimes regular, sometimes with Codeine and sometimes "PM".

We're thrilled to be 50% "released" and hope Dr. Gardner concurs in his assessment this afternoon…



Exploring Downtown Pittsburgh

To start where we left off, here's a better picture of Andrew and Elizabeth's edible arrangement.  It wasn't long after my last post that we opened it.  The chocolate-covered fruit is SO delicious!

That was, when, Thursday night?  We haven't done a lot since then but sit around and recover at Family House.  Michael is mostly good, with a few ups and downs.  Yesterday, he thought his vision was better and we went for a little drive to take Mari Ann to church.  But this morning, he has the worst headache since the operation and is taking Tylenol with Codeine to relieve it.  Yesterday, his appetite returned.  Sadly, it was the likes of Wendy's and Papa John's that brought it back.

We journeyed back to Presby Saturday morning for his follow-up MRI.  We're really hoping Dr. Gardner shows pictures to us on Tuesday afternoon.  We saw so many pre-op in Kansas City that we're really curious how his head looks now.

Afterwards, armed only with Google Maps on my iPhone to replace the native Maps app, I took myself on a tour of comic book stores in the Pittsburgh area.  Two of four on my list were no longer in existence; however, I got a nice little self-guided tour of downtown, an area we haven't explored at all since we've arrived.  Below is just a shot between buildings right off I-376 that goes along the west side of downtown:

You know, I keep forgetting that The Dark Knight Rises was filmed here.  I probably drove down some of the streets that were used and didn't realize it.  Here are a couple shots of those streets from the movie:

One particular building did catch my eye.  I don't know if it's the same one in the movie or not.  Now that I look, I'm guessing not.  I'm sure there's a website somewhere that would identify filming locations.  If I had thought about it, I could have planned a tour of film sites in Pittsburgh.  As it is now, I'm just too tired and want to get home.  I can't focus on such an adventurous project.

Here is a shot backwards toward the east entrance of the Ft. Pitt Tunnel.  It's the tunnel I mentioned the other day from The Perks of Being a Wallflower.  Exiting the west side, there's no sign of city.  But coming back, heading east, is a wonderful view of the city overlooking the river.

My biggest find yesterday was Eide's Entertainment, a three-level store near the bus station downtown.  Entering on the first level, you will find new comic books and music.  Downstairs, you will find a full-fledged comic shop with thousands of back issues and hundreds of toys and action figures.  Upstairs, you will find eveything related to movies: VHS, DVD, Blu-ray, books, posters, soundtracks and collectibles.  Of course, it was the last place I found, but it should go to the top of anyone's list.

Not much else to report.  Remember, no news about Michael is good news!

Coming "Home"

I drove to Presby this morning, anticipating that Michael would be discharged later in the day.  Although he was sleeping soundly, they had already taken him to have an ultrasound on his arm, which was a little swollen the day before.  It was nothing; no blood clots were found.  In fact, his arm was no longer swollen.

We were then told he would have blood work at noon, and if everything was OK, he would be discharged.  It was a long morning waiting.  But some lovely flowers arrived from Lockton, which put a smile on Michael's face.

As I look at his picture above, I realize this was the most energetic he's been all day.  He must still be exhausted.  He looks sad, but when we ask if he's OK, he says he's just tired.  And he still doesn't have much of an appetite.

Pre-discharge, we received a long list or prescriptions, half of which I later learned were simply over-the-counter.  We have medication for headaches, constipation and nausea and sprays for his nose and who knows what else?  I had to buy an AM/PM pill organizer to keep him on track!  (But I'm not kidding anyone... it was great fun to put all those pills in their little plastic compartments!)

He was eventually discharged about 3:30.  Not only did he have to share a room as if he were a commoner, we had to push him out the doors in a wheelchair ourselves, not a nurse or an aid.  (When he got out of ICO a couple weeks ago, they did it for us.)  And a woman had the nerve to tell me I shouldn't have pushed him through the revoloving door!  I sassed back, "I shouldn't have to be pushing him at all!"  Yeah, I'm pretty exhausted myself.

Mari Ann and I just enjoyed dinner at Family House served by its board of directors.  Michael picked at some macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes.  And we just had a beautiful edible arrangement delivered from Andrew and Elizabeth (Brescia) Davis.  It's not a very good picture below, but I hesitate to unwrap it for fear of it immediately losing it's luster.  It will be soon, though, because I see chocolate-covered strawberries taunting us.

I have a feeling tomorrow will be a day of rest for all of us.  But it's wonderful to be "home" with nothing on the agenda until 9:00 Tuesday morning when we see Dr. Wang.  Since Michael's still recovering, I will plan to update every late afternoon or evening...

12-12-12: Lucky for Michael?

Short post tonight, keeping with the idea that no news is indeed good news.

First thing this morning, Michael had his "lines" removed and Physical Therapy took him for a walk up and down the hall, twice the distance as yesterday.  Before I could even get all my electronic devices set up for the day, he was tranferred from ICU to a "step down" room on the 8th floor.  Good news?  Yes.  However, this room is semi-private and his roommate is a poor man with horrible back pain.  He lies in his bed crying, moaning and groaning.  Bless his heart.

Approximately 11:00 AM

Luckily, Michael has headphones that plug into his television remote, so he does not hear him.  And I requested ear plugs for him when he goes to sleep tonight.  Speaking of sleep, Michael was awake more of the day today and seemed to feel well.  It's such a small room and very cramped.  Whenever Mari Ann and I sat down, we would have to get up so that a nurse or someone could get by.

Michael was very good about getting up, also.  He, with assistance, could get up to go to the bathroom.  And I walked up and down the hall with him twice.  He doesn't need any help, really, but his pre-operation dizziness seems to be gone, replaced by a little double-vision dizziness.  They want him to go slowly and they don't want him to cover either eye; however, he tore off down the hall anyway, pushing his IV ahead of him.  He's so eager to work through this temporary (we hope) side effect.

He doesn't have much appetite, but has taken a couple bites of anything they put in front of him.  I left him tonight with a banana that he can open for a late night snack if he wants it.  We watched Survivor before I had to leave to catch one of the final shuttles back to Family House.

9:00 EST

Our latest hopes for a timetable include being released tomorrow, having his nose packing removed on Tuesday and then being able to head home 48 hours afterwards.  That's a best case scenario according to Dr. Wang, who claimed Michael is doing better at this point than most people who have the same operation.  But Dr. Gardner hasn't budged on his statement that he needs to stay a full two weeks, which means celebrating Christmas in Pittsburgh.

All in all, everyone is pleased with how it's going.  It's my hope that we soon return to days with no blogs because we're back to sightseeing rather than hospital-sitting.

CORRECTION:  On Monday, I mistakenly wrote that PACU stood for Patient Anesthesiology Care Unit.  Lest you think I use this format to spread false information, I must correct that to say it stands for Post-Anesthesiology Care Unit. 

Tuesday

Trying out a couple things today. First, writing a little at a time to post at the end of the day. I'm too tired (more than yesterday) to do it all at once, if I even remember everything. Second, composing and posting entirely from an iPad app. Not sure how it will appear and hate risking it look different than every other post; ha, ha.

11:20

I arrived close to 9:00, but had to wait because Michael was soundly asleep and the nurse wanted to check him out. Ten minutes turned into 45 because Physical Therapy also paid a visit. When I finally saw him, he was sitting in a chair eating breakfast after going on a walk down the hall!

[Picture #1]

Apparently, Neurology also made early rounds. I don't think we missed Dr. Gardner, but Michael's nurse says he's doing great. His left eye does not move as quickly as his right, which seems strange because it's his right eye that looks just a little but "lazy". Already, he's showing signs that it will not be permanent.

ICU nurse just arrived. He doesn't really need to be here and is on the list of top three patients to be moved. If they need beds, he'll probably go to a regular room.

1:30

We missed Dr. Gardner while we crashed the UPMC holiday luncheon, but apparently no news. Instead, just the reminder that we have to watch for the 2% chance Michael might get meningitis (again, the less serious kind). The nurse gave us a printout (from their website) about the symptoms. They consist mostly of severe neck pain and fluid leaking from the nose.

5:10

Dr. Wang just checked-in. Everything looks good from his point of view. He did mention that his optic nerve was "really stretched thin" and they had to work 360 degrees around it. He said it was hard work. Again, Michael is aware of his double vision side effect and is already focused (pun intended) on doing what he can to move it along its way.

Most of the afternoon, Michael slept; however, when he was awake we had meaningful conversation. A couple folks from Neurology came by and said he would not be leaving ICU because they still wanted him constantly monitored. Blood pressure can sometimes be an issue.

I just asked his nurse if they ever discharge anyone directly from ICU. She said she's discharged only three people in eight months without first going to a different floor. It all depends. (Gosh, if I had a nickel for every time we've heard that!). She also warned that tomorrow, Michael will REALLY be walking, and won't be discharged until he does stairs.

Right now, Michael and his mom are watching the news. He's getting irritable about the picture-taking, but I keep telling him that people have commented how glad they are to see he's looking so good.

[Picture #2]