Watching: Pirates of Silicon Valley, the TNT movie about the early days of the personal computer industry, starring Noah Wyle as Steve Jobs and Anthony Michael Hall as Bill Gates. Hall uses a high pitched voice that sounds eerily like Gates's. The movie is bringing back fond memories of the first personal computer I ever used, an Apple IIe back in 1984. It wasn't a particularly wonderful machine even by the standards of its day, but it opened the door to a whole new world for me.

Laugh While You Can, Monkey Boy

(I'll use even the flimsiest excuse to work a Buckaroo Banzai line into an entry.)

Tab was photographing a wedding yesterday and was gone from 2 in the afternoon until after 2 this morning. I shouldn't have waited up for him, but I find it hard to fall asleep when he's not here. Besides, I was curious to hear about the wedding. The bride is the daughter of a former co-worker of mine. I remember meeting her twelve years ago when she was a freshman in high school, and now she is an assistant producer on a CBS news program and getting married.

Back in the late 80s, when Tab was establishing his wedding photography business, I used to work as his assistant. I hauled equipment around, held up the slave flash to add secondary lighting, and was a general go-fer. I hated it. I don't especially enjoy weddings, even weddings of people I know, and I feel uncomfortable around large groups of strangers. Once I became pregnant with Daniel, my wedding assistant days were over, never to return.

By the time we got to bed it was nearly 3:30. The boys woke up at 7 as usual, but I managed to keep them quiet enough for Tab to sleep until 10. I thought he needed the extra few hours of rest more than I did. Besides, it is Father's Day.

Tab took Daniel to his swimming lesson this morning, and when they returned we all went out to see Tarzan. Wow! I haven't enjoyed a Disney movie this much since Beauty and the Beast. The animation is stunning; the backgrounds look almost photorealistic. The opening sequence establishes the back story very effectively without any dialogue at all. Tarzan is a likable hero, and his struggle to understand his place in the world is compelling.

One minor quibble: Tarzan's ape mother was able to save him from starvation because she had milk enough to feed him, having just lost her own baby. Of course, Disney played it safe and just avoided the whole issue: in fact, none of the apes even had nipples (or teats, or whatever you call the simian version).

That aside, I loved the movie. I may even take the twins to see it at the theater again. The scenes of Tarzan swinging through the jungle are heart-poundingly exciting and worth seeing on the big screen.

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