how this particular movie can find a spot on critics' best films lists leaves me scratching my head. howard hughes the man is an interesting one, a young millionaire who inherits his parents' fortunes, he spends his days chasing his dreams, with plenty of astonishing successes in his early years, only to be met with just as many incredible defeats later in life. the movie seems to say that if you're rich and good-looking, you can do anything: date pretty starlets one after the other, set the world's speed record, buy an airline, and design bras for jane russell. hughes is a renaissance man, with a workaholic drive fueled by his lofty dreams, a master of multi-tasking and an eye for every excruciating detail. he seems to have it all, were it not for that one infamous tragic flaw, his growing insanity as he becomes a germophobe. all that seems interesting, right? but the movie feels dry, and even though hughes was doing one cool thing after another, i kept on wondering to myself, "why should i care?" it's like watching the lives of celebrities, you know they lead interesting lifestyles, but they're so far away removed from the normal and everyday, that what they do in their mansions or private jets doesn't concern me.
later in the evening when julie came over for dinner i made glazed chicken with cashew nuts served over a rice pilaf and some cream puffs for dessert. there was hardly anything good on television, we surfed around a bit. at least there was tuesday night's SVU but it was pre-empted by a special amber frey (scott peterson's girlfriend) interview. i thought it'd be exploitative and maybe she's out to make a quick buck, but it was actually really interesting. amber frey was more intelligent than she seemed and scott peterson is definitely a sociopath deserving of the death penalty, that guy is just a creepy bastard.