By the light of the fire

We had a fire in the backyard last night. (Rest assured, this is not a tragic tale: we meant to have the fire; we have a little outdoor fire pit contraption and the fire was contained in it) The nice thing was that the mosquitoes seem to be done for the season, so we could sit huddled around the flames fighting off the chill, rather than the droning, blood-sucking, itch-inducing pests.

There is something about a fire which instills a meditative state. You find yourself contemplating the vastness of the cosmos, wondering at the beauty of the stars, realizing the insignificance of your place in the universe while at the same time feeling privileged to be part of it all.

Seduced by the crackles and pops of the dancing flames, you begin to feel very wise and deeply insightful. Conversation takes a serious turn, as you ponder the significant differences between blue and yellow flames, and is it the presence of carbon which creates blue fire?.....??

Soon enough, we tried to answer a very serious question: does Matthew McConaughey take his shirt off in every movie? He didn't in A Time to kill, in which his shirt stayed on, though it hung open and it was soaking wet...but then he was just starting out, and his potential was as yet unknown. If he was in this new thriller coming out which takes place in the Antarctic, how long would it take before his shirt came off? At some point, Kate Beckinsale would probably get hypothermia, prompting our gallant hero to...take his shirt off, of course! I see the potential for an Oscar-type movie montage:
MM in Gone with the wind "Frankly Scarlett (rips shirt off) I don't give a damn!"
MM in Silence of the lambs "Some fava beans (rips shirt off) and a nice chianti"
MM in You've got mail "Oh, she's beautiful (rips shirt off) but she's a pill!"
MM in A few good men "You can't handle the truth" (shirt was off during whole movie)

I mean no unkindness to Matthew. I'm sure he's dear and sweet (if a little too concerned with his hair products) It's a running joke in Hollywood that the man cannot keep his shirt on! Check out this video of Matt Damon doing an impression of Matthew: click here