It was an unplanned Lou Diamond Phillips weekend at our house recently.
First, I finished his sci fi novel, The Tinderbox: Soldier of Indira, on Saturday. It’s based on the Hans Christian Anderson story of the same name, but since I’m not familiar with that story, I don’t know how much his book parallel’s the original. I can say it was an entertaining read, though. I was very impressed with many of the characters, some of whom could have been melodramatic bad guys or shallow nobility, but were written as thoughtful, emotional characters even as they carried out their political intrigues. The complex plot and backstory created two worlds literally torn apart. When Everson, prince of the planet of Indira, finds himself abandoned after a battle on the planet of Mano, the machinations are already in place regarding a prophecy of which he unwittingly becomes a central player. His fight for survival is on a collision course with the King of Mano’s paranoid and desperate maneuverings to foil the prophecy which foretells his fall from the throne. I was surprised by the untimely demise of some characters and delighted by the survival of others. There are plot curves that keep you on your toes, a love story that could have been unnecessarily adolescent but wasn’t and a very satisfying emancipation of several downtrodden classes of people (spoiler alert-you’re gonna love Tobias!). I read the Kindle version but it’s also available in hardcover and paperback.
I don’t remember what started the conversation but The Husband mentioned that he couldn’t remember ever seeing La Bamba. Which surprised me, because when it came out in 1987, I think he was working at a movie theatre. Anyway, I put that at the top of our Netflix DVD list and it came in time to watch on Sunday. “Introducing Lou Diamond Phillips” is the credit at the beginning and it’s crazy to think that movie is 34 years old!!! But it stands the test of time, as most biographies do, especially when they deal so much with family dynamics, which is universal through the ages. He’s great in it, as is Esai Morales, Elizabeth Pena, Joe Pantoliano and Rosanna DeSoto. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth a viewing, especially for the music. Spoiler alert: it doesn’t have a happy ending.
The Husband and I both like Lou Diamond Phillips and one week during the summer, we watched all the episodes of Numb3rs he was in, playing Ian Edgerton, FBI agent and #1 ranked sniper in the bureau. Just for the fun of it!
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