Love & Death by SIFF - Inside Out

Late addition to my why-i-love-seattle list: You can pronounce SIFF, whereas you cannot pronounce (without spitting) SFIFF. Plus, it's just a better film festival.

Saw Winter's Bone last nite & loved it. Loved the Basquiat movie too, my first SIFF of the season (which I proudly saw myself at the Harvard Exit in a half-filled theater late on a Sunday night with a handful of other artsy, solitary types). Love the fact that the weather this year has been PERFECT. Gray & drizzling and ideal for sitting in a dark theater, laughing and crying with dozens of other strangers, gathered together but also existing in their own worlds. Love this year's tagline, repeated over & over as part of their trailer before the films, reminding everyone to "Get Outside Yourself."

Spent the morning pouring over guides & reviews, etc., absorbed - as if I were back in school, discovering a fascinating new subject. I'm spending a lot more time & money than perhaps I should. But last year I missed out. And it was kind of a dud anyway, because the weather was so lovely and everyone wanted to be outside. Not just outside themselves, but outside Outside, in the rarified Seattle sunshine. You felt obliged to be outdoors, doing something healthy & "active". Ah, what a delight this year to be free to be inside again.