Consumables #84

It's still technically Oscar week, so let's talk about some movies I have seen lately, shall we, my lovelies?

Enough Said

God DANG it that Julia Louis-Dreyfuss is charming. And James Gandolfini is too, all schlumpy and romantic. This is one of those movies where I didn't really care about the story, or the setting, or the themes, but I just found the people interesting to watch, especially that Elaine Benis. Plus! Bonus Tavi Gevinson as lonely teen. Other bonus! Eve Spawn-of-Bono Hewson as Gandolfini's kid. This type of movie seems like the future of mainstream romcoms. At least I want that to be true.

Captain Phillips
Whenever I see a movie that is set on the ocean all I can think is what a fer-reaking pain in the ass filming must have been. All those boat shots, having to reset for takes? UGH. When I am a famous filmmaker I shall not be making ocean movies. Unless maybe if I do a remake of Waterworld. There are some things that are just worth it. This was fine as movies go, and I liked that even though Phillips is obviously the hero, he is clearly terrified the entire time, and so are the pirates too, even through their swagger. None of this "get off my plane" Harrison Ford ridiculousness.

All is Lost
Ok, first of all, Robert Redford is what? 200 years old? This was such a physically demanding role and he was kicking the shit out of it. I mean, go to TOWN, Bobert! I was impressed. I really liked this movie a lot a lot a lot. It had that sort of rhythm that Gravity has where shit goes wrong and he has to fix it and then another thing goes wrong and he has to fix that and so on, and apparently I like movies where things break and need to be fixed. I believe Nordic Boy has rubbed off on me or something. I found this one to be much lonelier than Gravity, and more despairing, and it didn't have the dumb script problems that Gravity had. Redford isn't narrating himself the whole time (sorry, Sandy, I still love you) which was so much better. And I liked that plot background was left out completely. Good one, Hubbell.

Blue Jasmine
If it wasn't for Galadriel (I know her name is Cate Blanchett but she's always Galadriel to me) I would not have had any time for this movie. If I want to see rich people being awful, I shall watch Real Housewives. Also? Woody Allen needs to stop trying to write working class people. But Cate! You so compelling.

August: Osage County
Ok, on the one hand, I am happy that we are at a place in history where women characters can be anti-heroes. I am also happy that this movie is chock full of lady folk. HOWEVER. The number of hysterical, shouty ladies in this movie is TOO MANY. It was sort of ridiculous to me. So, August: Yellage County: an eye roller.

12 Years a Slave
This has nothing to do with the movie itself but I have to tell you it irks me when people say that they won't watch this because it's too hard. Having to spend a few minutes of your life honoring the lives of people who have suffered by listening to their stories is something I am pretty sure you can do from the comfort of your couch. If you don't want to because of some other reason, ok. But that reason? I am judging you, just a little bit. I thought this was just an amazing, amazing movie.

Nebraska
Nordic Boy seemed 100% sure that when he is old he is going to be just like Bruce Dern in this movie, which, to tell you the truth, I can kind of see that. Those Midwest scenic shots- well, you know how much of a sucker I am for that stuff. I really love it when there are movies about elderly people that don't infantilize them, and there are lots here. Also Will Forte! Who knew he had such a melancholy, expressive side? Loved it.

The Bling Ring
I know Sofia Coppola tends to make mood movies- high on ambience, music, and a feeling and short on plot, but this one takes the cake. Kind of nothing happens. The premise of the movie is that a bunch of LA teens who are obsessed with celebrity culture start robbing celebrity homes. And...there's no more. Nothing else happens. I am ok with this sort of movie making but I can see how that would drive some people crazy. I would actually argue that the repetitious nature of the movie reflects the moral malaise of the characters. I JUST SAID MORAL MALAISE LIKE AN ASSHOLE, MY FRIENDS. Maybe I just liked it because my beloved Hermione is in it. One more thing: I could NOT believe how many celebrities had no security at their homes and were straight up leaving their doors unlocked. That is the kind of thing where, if this wasn't based on actual events, I would be like NOT CREDIBLE. But apparently, stars don't know how to lock their doors. So weird.

Catch yous laters, friends. Have a loverly weekend! Let's dance.

John Newman, Love Me Again

Consumables #83

My 100 Movies in 2014 resolution is going along at a rapid clip. I have watched 12 movies so far, and I am not even trying to watch at a faster rate than normal, and that seems like a lot of movies for it to be mid-January. I guess? I mean, I still eat and sleep and work and spend non-movie-watching time with Nordic Boy and family and friends and errand and do chores and exercise and do all sorts of other things in my day. Not to mention intaking copious amounts of other media like books and tv and podcasts and musics. Why do I feel the need to apologize for my movie watching rates right now and assure you that I have not fallen into a hole where my sweatpants have grown into my couch and my veins are filled with nothing but the oil and salt from too much popcorn? I don't know why, but I do. I WATCHED A DOZEN MOVIES IN TWO WEEKS WITHOUT TRYING BUT I AM STILL A GOOD MEMBER OF SOCIETY SHAME SPIRAL AHHHHHH.

Anyhoozle. Let's talk about 'em.

The Water Front
You know how Netflix has those microgenres in their recommendations? ("Classic tearjerkers with a strong female lead" or what have you). I wonder if they have one called "The People of Michigan Get Screwed But They Are Scrappy and Will Fight Back." If they do not, then they should. Think about it: you've got your Roger and Me, your Searching for Sugarman, your Detropolis. Listen, I am not knocking it, for I'm a prime audience for those movies, for sure. I am just saying there are a lot of them, which is unfortunate only insofar as there are so many ways that people are getting screwed and having to fight back about it. This one is about how water is being privatized in the Detroit area and how citizens in that area are fighting for their right to affordable water.

Big Boys Gone Bananas!*
Let me see if I can explain this. This Swedish documentarian makes a film about Dole, as in the banana company, that is critical of their business practices. Dole brings a lawsuit against him, and so he makes a film about his battle with them over the lawsuit. This is that film. Meaning, it's the film about the original film. The thing that fascinated me the most about this was the parts that showed the political process in Sweden. Which, hello, yes, me, boring.

The Island President
Another documentary (yes, I like a documentary) about Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, who is known for his fight against climate change due to the fact that the Maldives is being alarmingly affected by rising sea levels.

Elysium
Keep your expectations low on this one and you'll be fine. There are several under-explained plot lines, like one where Jodie Foster plans a coup whereby she can take over a computer program and yadda yadda she unseats the president (huh?), and I think she is trying to have some sort of South African accent (I think? or maybe I am projecting because the director is South African) but that goes horribly wrong. So just, expectations: low.

Gravity
Somehow we managed to find this still playing on the big screen in 3D, and I am so glad we did. It was definitely the most captivating use of 3D that I have ever seen, although if you are prone to the throw-upsies then you might not enjoy it quite so much. I guess I had never realized it before but the thought of being untethered in open space is effing TERRIFYING. And yes, basically the whole movie is: something goes wrong, figure out how to fix it, something else goes wrong, figure out how to fix it, something else goes wrong, figure out how to fix it. But I was totally engaged with that loop the entire time. I loved that the Sandra Bullock character was not sexualized in any way (Hollywood will usually find a way to put a lady in a sexy jumpsuit if she is to go to space). Even when she has to take off her space suit and she is essentially in her underthings, they are normal underthings and the camera does not shoot her lasciviously ever, which I'm just saying hardly ever happens. There were things about the script that I could have done without, but overall, I thought it was really good. And could George Clooney look any more Buzz Lightyear? I do not think so.

Wolverine
Yeah, you know the drill on these superhero movies. But this one was pretty good. Can I just ask you what the deal is with Wolverine's muttonchops and crazy hairdo? Is that like, his style choice, or is there something about his mutation that makes him have those things? In this movie there is a period of time where he has grown out all his hair, and then when he comes back to society, he unwillingly gets cleaned up by his rescuers, including a haircut and a shave. Next scene, he arrives with that damn cheek-beard and the headwings. So, did he tell them to style it like that? Or did they just have to for some reason? These are the things I think about.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
I remember as a child being FER-REAKED OUT by the child catcher, but for the life of me I cannot see why now. I also have a super strong memory of the Old Bamboo song and the Doll on a Music Box song. Oh Dick Van Dyke, I heart you. And also, BENNY HILL IS IN THIS MOVIE. That just don't seem right, people.

Dancing Dreams
Documentary about choreographer Pina Bausch and how she selected a bunch of teens in Germany who had never danced before and taught them her famous piece called Contact Zone. There were many things about this that blew my effing mind. First of all, the fact that these non-dancy, non-performy teens, who had all of the self-consciousness that teens have, actually did this piece which has many parts in it where you have to make yourself extremely vulnerable and awkward on purpose, was crazy. Second of all, that the community and the parents in that community allowed those teens to participate in a piece that asks such deep questions about gender and sexuality was astounding. Europe really is less freaked out about sex than we are. It was pretty awesome.

Before Midnight
The third in the Before Sunrise, Before Sunset, Before Midnight set of movies, and it was my least favorite. This one had a little too much "Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus" talk. Plus, I get that it's supposed to be showing different sides to a multi-faceted long term relationship, but these two really do not seem to like each other much at all. Even when they were being nice to each other there were constant verbal jabs and little cruelties and not a lick of kindness. I get that relationships can be hard but I just wanted them to break up already.

The Square
Documentary about the "Arab Spring," especially focusing on the events in Tahrir Square in Egypt, this had amazing footage, told a complicated story really well, and was simultaneously uplifting and heartbreaking. There was crying on my part.

Cutie and the Boxer
Documentary about renowned "boxing painter" Ushio Shinohara and his 40-year marriage to his wife Noriko. The movie showcases their struggle with poverty, their struggles in their marriage, and their artistic journey together. Noriko, who has assisted Ushio to the detriment of her own artistic career, is stepping out on her own with her artwork starring her alter ego "Cutie." Totally fascinating.

20 Feet from Stardom
Documentary that celebrates the largely unknown female back up singers that fueled Top 40 hits from the 60s through current times. These ladies got pipes, y'all. Loved it.

Woo wee. You stuck with this whole post? You deserve a dance. (Does this song seem dirty to you? "It's useful in the underbrush to have a hefty spear?" Anyone? Just me? Ok).


Me Ol' Bamboo, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang

Consumables #82

So, I got a haircut that I hate, you guys. I think it is totally fixable, so do I just go to a new person and tell them to fix it? Or do I go back to the person who messed my shit up and tell her that I need her to do it again? Do people do that? What is the equivalent of sending back the dish to the chef here? Tell me what to do.

This week we literally broke some ground in order to get ready for figuring out how to make our yard look better, which is on our list of house projects for 2014. Our house used to have oil heating, and we have since converted to gas, and since our upcoming yard project will require lots of digging, regrading, tilling, and all around general dirt-moving, we decided to get our old oil tank removed rather than just decommissioning it. So this week, that happened. I left Nordic Boy in charge of taking pictures of the process but, although he is awesome in many ways, that guy suuuuuuucks at documenting stuff. He forgets, or if he remembers, he takes a hasty snap that doesn't really show much. He is way more into the doing than the memorializing, which when I step back and look at it is way healthier just in terms of living life, but I WANT PHOTOS. Anyway. There are no photos of this to share, which you are probably thinking "fine by me because basically it would be a photo of a hole in the dirt" which YES, but the oil tank was actually kind of interesting looking. It looked like a baby submarine from the 50s. OMG WHAT IF IT WAS A BABY SUBMARINE FROM THE 50s? A crew of babies that look like Don Draper, swilling martinis and cruising around underground?

I like to give myself things to have nightmares about.

I feel like I haven't talked the pop cultures in a while. So many things. Let's just pick a few.

Movies
World War Z
I think I may be getting over saturated with zombies (which is exactly how zombies kill you! In a swarm! Only mine is a metaphoric swarm. So meta). Basically there are two things about zombie type movies that need to be there for me: one, the zombies have to be scary, or at least creepy. Two, the sense of what people do when society breaks down has to be interesting. I thought this movie started out really strong- there is a visceral panic that gets going pretty quickly right from the start. But the zombies never got scary, and after the first bit of the movie I wasn't getting much in the way of societal breakdown either. And the ending was pretty flaccid. (Is there a more gross word than flaccid? Sorry about that). But, it was fine.

Whore's Glory
I can't say that I enjoy watching a depressing documentary, but I want to know about these things that have happened, are happening. I am not a person who would rather not know. I think it's important to know. This one follows prostitutes in three different parts of the world: Thailand, India, and Mexico. It is unflinching to say the least. There isn't much here in the way of showing agency for the women and girls involved, and maybe the argument being made is that there isn't any. The vignettes focus on the day to day workings and do not touch on the larger societal issues or the problem of sex tourism or global trafficking or anything like that. It's just these women going through their day.

Comedians of Comedy: The Movie
This is a road movie that follows Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, Zach Galifinakis and others on a comedy tour in the mid-2000s. Every one of those people is exactly as you would imagine them to be behind the scenes. Just, exactly.

Aziz Ansari: Buried Alive
The best part of this comedy special is when Aziz does a back and forth with a couple in the audience about how they got engaged. I love it when performers can talk to an audience member and it comes off as authentic and funny.

Casablanca
Ultimate comfort movie, dudes. I know that Ingrid Bergman is a little annoying sometimes ("You'll have to do the thinking for BOTH OF US...") and the Sam stuff makes me a little squirmy, but Humphrey Bogart is such a badass, I love it. I love how contradictory he is. So world-weary all the time, and yet somehow he still manages to be suave. I mean, he looks wrung OUT. Also, he is a scrawny fellow when you really look at him, but who seems tougher than that guy? I just find him so unexpected. Love.

TV
Scandal
IS BACK. Holy smokes that show is risickulous. There really is no excuse for it. And I am watching it. And you guys, when Jake said "I play second fiddle to no one," weren't we all thinking GO NOEL! LESSONS LEARNED FROM FELICITY! Just me? Oh.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine
I really want this show to be better, and I think it might get there. I remember not thinking Parks and Rec was that great in the beginning too. Sometimes shows need to find their footing and that takes a minute. Three things I love: deadpan Andre Braugher, goofy Joe Lo Truglio, and weirdo Chelsea Peretti. The thing that is bringing me down the most is Andy Samberg's character. I think it's possible to do cocky and funny (see: Joel McHale in Community), but that is not coming together yet.

Louie
I am a little behind on this one, but I just have to say that I am so glad that Sarah Silverman showed up on this show because it was getting a bit much with all the crazy ladies. I mean, since Pamela left has there been a non-hysterical weirdo lady on there at all? Sarah Silverman just seems cool, funny, and not a nutcase. Is that too much to ask, Louie? I love you, but come on now.

I gots to go, peoples. I shall do the book items next time. Before I go, one last pop culture item. Did you guys see the Gap ads featuring Waris Ahluwalia? Can I just say that, if you would have told me when I was a kid that someone like that would be on a Gap ad, it would have blown my freaking mind. It makes me glad to see it, but it makes 13-year-old me so happy. I know, it's Gap, who cares. But still, representation matters.

Consumables #81

A couple of days ago, I got to ride a ferry for my work day because I got to go present my knowledges to another library system (what? I KNOW THINGS) and wow was it a gorgeous, splendiferous day to ride around on a boat. I love you, Seattle!

And then, the day after, and each day since then, someone turned the lights out in Seattle. And turned on a wind machine. And a sideways rain faucet too. It happened overnight. I am less enamoured with you, Seattle!

Thankfully, we have our teevee set to keep us warm. New fall shows! Returning fall shows! It's all very exciting for a girl such as myself. Here are some early teevee thoughts, most of which are too early to really draw any conclusions because most tv shows, by their format, need time to grow a little, so judging now seems a little unfair. But don't worry, that shall not stop me.

Teevee
New Girl
This show always pains me a little bit because the jokes! Mostly great! (Winston saying "I know everyone's going through a lot, but I think it's time for me to start a puzzle" is sort of the highlight of my week) but they throw in those hipster-racist jokes every once in a while that make me NUTS. I was afraid that after that horrendous Indian wedding episode that I was never going to be able to look at this show ever again, but my love for Nick and Winston has carried me forward. Schmidt is sort of dead to me, since they mostly make him do that icky stuff, and it was bad enough that they had Cece falling for him despite his inability to stop rapid fire racist stuff at her, but now he's got another lady who's totally into him? Ugh. Stop that story line, New Girl. It's gross.

Sister Wives
I know I just talked about this but I was super wrong about it. I said that reality shows, including this one, are about nothing. And then I watched Season 2 where Sister Wives had episodes about having to flee the state because of the legality of their family structure, and an episode about how their kids socialize with kids outside their faith, and an episode about sexual expectations for the teens in the family. It was actually more than a giant polygamist family going to the grocery store every episode. They're exploring bigger things. Sorry, Sister Wives.

The Mindy Project
Every single time I see James Franco in something, I think: oh. He's actually really good at this! I always forget that. I guess it's because of the persona that people always talk about, but I have total actor amnesia with him every time. It's like when I hear a Kanye West song and I think: oh yeah. He can make music, aside from being a jackass. NOW I remember. I thought Franco was really funny in The Mindy Project, and I hope he keeps showing up.

The Michael J. Fox Show
I really hope this stays good. I thought the pilot was good, and who doesn't love Alex P. Keaton? We need him in our lives, yes? Plus Marie from Breaking Bad! And Bunk from The Wire! Being very un-Marie-like and un-Bunk-like, thank goodness, because that would be weird.

Sleepy Hollow
Considering the decidedly spooky weather we have been having, I was super ready to be into this. I am going to stick with it a while longer, but so far...the EXPOSITION IS KILLING ME. So much explaining! If you can't tell your story through the action, and the story is complicated, it is excruciating. "I have found a clue in the note that was left here, and the note says that there were demons who fought with witches, but when the witches fought back, there was an energy force that was created whereby the demons need to be using a steel blade in order to kill others, but they can't be killed with a steel blade, they can only be killed with a medallion, which was created by a holy order, and the holy order has hidden the medallion..." Oh my gahhhhh. That's not anywhere near the actual storyline, but there are paragraphs of dialogue like that. SHUT UP AND GET CHASED BY HEADLESS MAN, PLEASE.

Blacklist
We all knew that Stephan from Pretty In Pink would grow up to be a terrorist, right? I've only seen one of these, and it's pretty silly, but James Spader gets to be creepy and weird, which all we have ever wanted from him, and so now we have it. You have to just ignore some plot silliness, is the only thing.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
Why can't I remember the name of this show? I keep talking about it to people and I am always "Marvel Shield Agents. Marvel Shields and Agents. Agents with Shields? Sonny and Shields? Brook Shields?"

Parks and Rec
The first one this season was funny, and heartwarming, and delightful. It seems like that would get old or repetitious or something, but not to me it don't.

And yes, of course, Breaking Bad is coming to an end tonight. THANK GOD. My ticker cannot take much more of this. AMC was running a marathon of all the seasons in a row leading up to the finale and all I could think when I heard that was WHY anyone would do that to themselves all in a row like that. I remember, before I started watching it, a friend told me I had to watch it, and she said "I can't exactly say I enjoy it, because it's not a pleasurable show, but it's SO FUCKING GOOD." For all the commentary I have heard about it since, that still pretty much sums it up.

Happy teevee time, pals! Here's a song to start your week that's been speaking to me lately.



Graveyard, by Lucy Schwartz

Consumables #80

You know what is irritating? People scolding each other on the social media Tweetbook or whatever when there is a joke made about tv, or movies, or Miley Cyrus, and the scold is along the lines of "Stop talking about Breaking Bad and start paying attention to the war on SYRIA, DUMBFACE." Listen, I get that many people are not as politically engaged as they should be. I am not going to argue that. But let me just say something on behalf of one segment of the Dumbface demographic, and that is this: I can know about Syria while also making a joke about Duck Dynasty, ok? It is possible to do both of those, by one human body. And maybe I want to do one of those on the Tweetbook and not the other. My tweetbooks are not representative of all the thoughts I am capable of having. Ok? Ok. So just stop that. Signed, Dumbface.

I shall now proceed with talking about the pop cultures and the books. Don't freak out.

TV
Breaking Bad
I don't know what I could possibly add to the discussion about Breaking Bad that hasn't already been said by someone else, but I think it should be stated that Vince Gilligan is trying to kill us all with that show. I mean, good god. The anxiety! Also, I just have to say that for as gangster/evil as Walt has gotten, I love that they still have him run like a doofy dad. Every time he runs, all flat-footed, it is awesome.

Parks and Rec
Fall tv is around the corner! While we wait, I would like to live inside the Parks and Rec gag reels. Actually, not just while we wait. For all times.

Quick Draw
One of those millions of Hulu original shows. This old west comedy is all improvised and there are some good laughs in it. I've watched a few and I shall keep going. The main character has an old school comedy silliness that I love- it's like an updated Bob Denver quality or something.

Sister Wives
I don't know why I started watching this but now I can't stop. Please send help. You know the thing about reality shows, whether it was Osbournes or Kardashians or Sister Wives or Jon and Kate Plus 8 or Jersey Shore or Real Housewives Duck Dynasty or whatever? NOTHING HAPPENS EVER. Like, there will be a whole episode where a Real Housewife will go to dinner. That is it. I watched an episode of Sister Wives last night where a lot of the episode was the whole clan cleaning their yard. I am watching YARD WORK ON TV, you guys. So it's polygamist yard work, but still. Really?

Newsroom
I am behind the curve on this one- I just watched the very first two episodes. So far (I know I am not saying anything new about the Sorkin) there is way too much BITCHEZ BE CRAYZEE for me to hands down love it. Like, do the ladies have to be quite so hysterical? Just tone it down a wee skosh, would be good. I do like it enough to keep watching though (says the lady who binge watches Sister Wives. QUALITY STANDARDS).

Books
Americanah, by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
This one was so delightful, in so many ways. The main character, Ifemelu, grows up in Nigeria, immigrates to the US as an adult, and then returns to Nigeria again. Thematically, it delves deeply into being an outsider as an immigrant, becoming less and less so, and then the experience of being somewhat of an outsider in one's home country as a result. I think the reviews I have seen of this talk a good deal about the gender/class/race issues, for good reason, but not enough about how overall, this is a love story. Ifemelu falls in love with a boy in her school growing up, then has to leave him behind when she immigrates, and the question of whether they will find each other again when she returns is a lovely story.

Marbles: Mania, Depression, Michelangelo, and Me, by Ellen Forney
I am a fan of Forney's illustration style and her voice overall, and this one doesn't disappoint in those ways. Her depiction of her own depression and its effect on her personal life and her ability to make art (and her fears about not being able to make art) were so honest.

A Dog Called Homeless, by Sarah Lean
A kid's novel about a girl who has lost her mom. A sensitive, comforting story, but I didn't care for it overall. I have discovered that I am one of those people that finds no comfort at all in themes where the message is "your loved one isn't all the way dead because they live on in your heart." Because I am a crusty adult person. I would recommend it for kids though.

Drama, by Raina Telgemeier
Such a light, charming graphic novel about middle school drama geeks. There is friendship drama and romance drama, but all in a very harmless happy way, where everything works out and things never get too bad to begin with. I would have loved this in 6th grade.

A Land More Kind Than Home, by Wiley Cash
Engrossing setting, fascinating characters. Story about what happens when a charismatic preacher's secretive practices run amok, and people start dying because of it. The only thing I would have liked more of is more development on what made the characters tick. The bad guy was so horrible- but there wasn't much background about why. And what was it about him that was so charismatic, exactly? But maybe the ambiguity was sort of the point. Could be.

Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt
It's weird to think about it now, but there was a small era of time when I was little that I hated my brother. Like, I HATED him. But I also loved him so much, I wanted to be around him all the time and followed him everywhere. Except I hated him. But loved him. Both. This story is such a good take on the complicated love/hate that can go on between siblings, both young and older, as well as the sad historical moment that was the early days of AIDS. The characters were the kind that stay with you for a while after reading, and there is a character called Toby that just broke my heart all up. He's the saddest character I have come across in a while.

My Friend Dahmer, by Derf Backderf
Although I thought the drawings were good and it definitely held my interest, I am not sure what to really take away from this. In a sense hearing any anecdotes from someone who knew Dahmer in high school are interesting just because it's hard to think of him as a person with a childhood, but I couldn't help but think that the author was placing significance to their encounters in a way that seems dubious to me. I mean, if Dahmer was strange in high school, wouldn't everything seem creepy or significant in hindsight, knowing what we know now? So, not sure what to make of this account. Plus, they weren't really friends, so that was kind of a stretch, but I guess "My Acquaintance Dahmer" doesn't sound as good.

That's all I have time for today. Never enough time to catch you up on everything!

I don't want to leave on that icky last book. How about a song that I have been listening to lately?


Song for Zula, Phosphorescent

Consumables #79

Ok, so I just looked back at the bloggie and I haven't talked about books for months! MONTHHHHS. What sort of cockamamie librarian am I? I mean, honestly. What in the Sam Hill is going on around these parts?

To be fair, one major thing that has been going on around here, of course, is the fact that my reading habits were majorly stymied after my dad died. I wasn't sleeping, I wasn't eating, and for the first time in my literate life, I wasn't reading. At first it was because I just wasn't able to focus on anything for more than a few minutes due to extreme SPACEY-NESS which has nothing to do with Kevin Spacey although I kind of want it to be related to that, but rather a much-increased talent for glassy-eyed staring. Then when the Kevin Spacey-ness wore off a little bit I just sort of started avoiding reading because one of the great pleasures of reading in my life, for me, has been talking about books with my dad. And the thought of reading something and not calling my dad to talk about it was kind of unbearable to me. Then, some friends of mine said that they were going to do "Infinite Summer," which, if you haven't heard of that, is a thing that people do where they take a whole summer to form a book club just in order to read Infinite Jest, by David Foster Wallace, which is a honkin' 5 million pages long (ok, so it's 1200 pages or so but same diff). And I gathered my non-reading, Kevin Spacey, glassy-eyed self and said SIGN ME UP. Because, hey! I haven't been able to page through anything for weeks and weeks but a book the size of Dwayne Johnson's beefy left buttock? SURE THING GUYS!

Good news: it did get me reading again. I read about 75 pages, just because all my friends were doing it. And then that made me think: hey! I can read again! HOORAY FOR PEER PRESSURE! Kids, peer pressure can be really an awesome thing, is what no one tells you. Anyway. After 75 pages, I really, really, truly, hand-over-heartedly, did not want to read another goddamn page of that goddamn book. At least right now. I keep reading blogs and articles that say you really have to read through page 200 before shit gets good. And I understand that 200 pages out of 1200 is really not that far into the whole dang thing. BUT. I think that in my current state of affairs, asking me to wait 200 pages of having feelings of Totalis Snoozefestius is kind of asking too much of me, at this juncture. So, I am declaring Infinite Summer over for me. Sad horns!

However, I have moved on to many other books that are a reasonable amount of pages (I mean, honestly 1200 pages? GET TO THE POINT DUDE) and although I still have this visceral feeling of wanting to pick up the phone and talk to my dad about them, I am dealing with it. I still have you guys to talk bookishness with! For this time, I'll forgo my usual lightning round of books and just do one. I'll catch you up with more soon.

Eleanor and Park, by Rainbow Rowell
My friend Alli had a guy friend in high school named Steve and they were majorly in love with each other, only they didn't really say anything about it. They were friends, and weren't dating, but their underwear practically went up in flames when they were around each other. They would watch movies together at her house and they didn't make out or anything but they did this thing that can only really be described as petting each others' faces. Like, can you picture what that means? They would caress each other, on the face. AND THAT IS IT. To this day that is the funniest, weirdest shit I can think of and I adore it so much. Such pent up sexy feelings and no way to express them! I GUESS I WILL PET YOUR FACE? CAN WE MAKE THAT A THING? Anyway, this book will make you think about being in love as a teen because it's intense, and overwhelming, and really powerful. I have seen some reviewers say that they didn't like it because they don't see how the two characters could fall so hard and so fast for each other which, ha-what? You must not have been hanging with the teens I know (or the teen I was). It is achingly nostalgic. So much so that I think teen readers will like it but adult readers will lurve it. It is charmingly funny at some points too. Not as funny as heavy-face-petting, but funny.

More books on deck soon! Lates, my pretties!

Consumables #78

The most important thing I need to say is that I have discovered Melissa Gilbert on the interwebs. Half Pint be tweeting! Unfortunately she does not have a lot of shit to talk about Nellie Oleson or her raccoon named Jasper, and I am confused that she is neither married to Manly nor is she dating Rob Lowe but rather is having matrimony with Mark from Thirtysomething, but still. I will take it. And yes, I am excited to discover that she has recently moved and lives in Michigan, not 45 minutes away from where my Mom lives. When next I go to my mom's I will practically be SMELLING the lemon verbena! What? No, it is not weird. What do you mean?

On a related note: when I went to the beach a couple of weeks ago, there was this building that looked just like the schoolhouse on Little House, and Nordic Boy said "they need to round up some kids to make a bell for that building" and I said "Tinker Jones!" and if you understand what we were talking about there, we are friends.

Here are some Consumables that are kind of dusty because I can't seem to keep up lately.

Star Trek: Into Darkness
Could it be that I never talked about this in a former Consumables? I don't think I did, but I saw it a long time ago. I thought the first JJ Abrams reboot of Star Trek didn't have the character development and thinky-think stuff (as we intellectuals call it) that I want out of my Star Trek, but this time around, I was so INTO it being explosions and chases, mainly because I saw it at a time when I was steeped in pure sadness and all I wanted was loud escapism. Draw from that whatever conclusions you will about the role loud escapism plays for people. Plus they did make Spock confront FEEEEEELINGS and really Spock isn't Spock without a little Vulcan therapy breakthrough, so check and check on that. Also, I love the Cumberbatch, but I had all sorts of opinions about Khan casting that pointed to a non-Cumberbatch villain so I was really torn about that whole thing and OMG NERD RED ALERT STOP TALKING.

Ironman 3
Also saw this in my Cannot-See-Anything-At-All-Heavy-Or-I-Will-Fall-Apart phase. I really miss the days when Robert Downey Jr played other things. I mean the smart aleck thing is charming and all but remember when he was Charlie Chaplin and remember when he was Less Than Zero-ing, and remember when he was in Soapdish? He's going to mix it up again some day, right? Also, the Pepper Potts stuff is just yucky. Someone do a Women's Studies thesis on that shit, will you? Despite all of these comments, I enjoyed that movie a bunch. Because things blow up! And there are jokes! Again, that is exactly all I could really enjoy at the time.

Bunheads
Aw man, this didn't get renewed. Rats. I know the copying of the Gilmore Girls was a bit on the ridiculous side, but really, if you're going to copy something, the Gilmore Girls is not a bad choice. The thing I adored about this show the most was that it blows the Bechdel Test right out of the water. The show is full of ladies! And they are talking about lots of things other than dudes! It was kind of amazing that way. But it's no longer. Bye, lady town.

Breaking Pointe
When I first started watching this show I was alternately delighted (reality show about professional ballet dancers who are rocking the art form and the show actually shows that instead of the dumb way dancers usually get shown in the pop cultures) and also mortified (the first season showcased a dysfunctional romance that was played up for it's The Hills-ness and I was mortified about the whole thing), but the second season is so much better. It now focuses on some things that I find so heartwarming, heartbreaking, and compelling about dancers. The thing about ballet dancers is that really, there is no such thing as being famous as a dancer, like, outside of the small specialized world of dance. No one in non-dance America knows who Maria Tallchief is or who Julie Kent is or who Misty Copeland is. And no one is getting rich off of being a ballet dancer these days. Like no one. It's not like acting or painting or writing or singing where there are a lot of starving artists but there is some chance that you might bust through and become a huge star or make some sort of buck. It just doesn't work that way for dancers. But the training and dedication is so high, so ridiculous, and people who do it are so freaking committed to it. I know I am biased, but it's really moving to me. The whole show doesn't get into it as much as I want it to (there does need to be some amounts of reality tv drama after all), but there are glimpses. I watched the latest one last night and I bawled. Then again, I am a bit of a crybaby lately so maybe that isn't the best measure.

The Heat
I had forgotten how freaking likable Sandra Bullock is in movies. Pair her up with Melissa McCarthy and one is liable to crack from likableness.

Orange is the New Black
I know this has been talked about ad nauseum but let me just join in on it. I was not sold on it for the first couple of episodes but then all of a sudden it was sooooo compelling to me I couldn't wait to watch it every day. First of all, talk about blowing up the Bechdel Test. LADIES AS FULL HUMAN BEINGS EVERYWHERE! Plus Captain Janeway being a ferrrreaking badass. Plus, you show me another piece of mainstream pop culture that confronts privilege. Class privilege, white privilege, hetero privilege. Where else is that even being hinted at? Yeah, it's got some stuff I don't like, but overall, it sort of bowls me over with things that I have never seen on tv before.

The Daily Show
I was afraid I was going to go into some sort of withdrawal without my daily dose of Jon Stewart, but his hiatus was made bearable by the guest hosting of John Oliver. Can John Oliver now have his own show too, please? I want to see both of them every day.

The Colbert Report
I know it's not news, but when Stephen Colbert did that business where he danced around to Daft Punk, it was too much delightfulness for me to bear. Aside from the set up and the comedy, I just feel like I want my whole life to be made up of silly dancing through any situation. Nordic Boy and I do a fair amount of this in the secrecy of our home, but I am thinking why can't we be doing this throughout the day? Can I please do that? I don't think my employer would mind. Maybe I should try it.

Consumables #77

Why do I keep hearing about Bruce Willis giving grumpy interviews? I feel like this has become a pattern in my life. Another day, another interviewer getting pooped on (so far, thankfully metaphorically speaking) by David Addison.

Oh hey. Just thought I would give you a taste of what it feels like inside of my head. Want to hear another one?

I saw a book display that said "Find Your True North" and my first thought was about why they were doing a display about Kimye's baby.

(curtsy left, curtsy right)

Consumables!
Scandal
Calgon, take me away with your soapy, sudsy self! I didn't think I would particularly like this, but I felt like I should watch it just because Only African American Lady Lead on a TeeVee Drama is enough to make me get behind that. But then...I watched every last one of these, beginning to end, in about 2 weeks. Obsessively! First of all, Kerry Washington and I, who I am not saying look anything alike because that would be milk-shoot-out-of-nose-and-possibly-other-holes ridiculous, do have one thing in common and that is skin tone. Which means that I study, with hawk-like focus, her lipstick and eye shadow shades. Educational, is basically what I am saying. Aside from that, it is just the right kind of melodrama for me. Dumb enough to be fun, but not so dumb that I can't take it. And there are some good surprises in there, where a plot twist will happen and I will say WHAAAAAA, which is always delightful. It's all kinds of intrigue and betrayal and corruption and sexy business. Plus, Mr. Katimsky from My So Called Life! And Noel from Felicity! And Desmond from Lost! I went from "Ok, I guess I will try and watch this" to "WHEN IS SEASON THREE OUT YET...NOW? HOW ABOUT NOW? HOW ABOUT NOW?" pretty quickly.

Camp
Basically, I am watching this because I love those fricking kids from Dance Academy so much that I would follow them anywhere, and they are all on this show! Like, they just took the entire cast and brought them over from Australia and made them fake some American accents (except, they don't quite have that down perfectly, I'm afraid) and put them on this show. Except Kat--where's Kat? If you don't watch Dance Academy (and WHY AREN'T YOU) you won't care about any of that. The show is basically a modern take on those tv movies set in summer camp that used to play all the time when I was a kid. Like "Poison Ivy"-- that's the one with Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon from Facts of Life having camp hijinks. And that "Little Darlings" one with Tatum O'Neal and Kristy McNichol. Or Meatballs. I like it just like I liked those when I was kid. I am a grown ass woman now, I know that. Don't you think I know that?

Mad Men
I finished the latest Mad Men a while ago, but I just have to mention it because aren't they doing a good job of making Don Draper look skanked OUT? He is just like a sweaty greasy burnt up cigarette at this point. Also, can we just make this entire show about Joan and Peggy? And maybe more Roger too? I just want to watch them all the time, please. Can we make that happen? Get on it, Matthew Weiner.

Top of the Lake
Speaking of Peggy Oleson! She's a badass detective in New Zealand in this one and it's like Prime Suspect meets Twin Peaks, only not as weird as Twin Peaks (but still kind of weird). Holly Hunter is this cult leader, and Faramir from Lord of the Rings is Peggy Oleson's boss, and Yaxley from Harry Potter is a scary suspect. Wait, let me start again. I even confused myself there for a second. This young girl discovers she is pregnant and disappears, and Elizabeth Moss is the detective in charge of finding her amidst a creepy small town that doesn't want to help solve the case. It's a pretty dark story, and what I liked most about it was that although the main mystery does eventually get solved, there are many subplots of mysterious things that don't get solved and leave you thinking. I am sad that there aren't going to be any more of these.

Orange is the New Black
I am about half way through these and I'm loving it so far. I shall probably have more to say about it when I am done with it, but for now, I think you should watch it so we can talk about it. Ok?

Ragnarok
I have been listening to the Judge John Hodgman podcast and chuckling out loud in public from it, so I decided to watch this stand up special by Mr. Hodgman. His humor is right up my alley, for example: "I am growing my mustache because I am going to play a young Wilford Brimley in a Cocoon prequel that I am writing in my mind." Come on. That's funny! It also has a surprisingly sweet ending that I wasn't expecting. I may have cried a little bit during the ending. But then again, I am much more of a cry baby these days than I used to be, so I don't know what the eff that really says.

Red
I only watched this because I will watch Helen Mirren chew her lunch if given the opportunity, and I was surprised that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Grumpy interviewee Bruce Willis not withstanding.

FULL CIRCLE POST is what you just witnessed. I know. It's amazing.

Let's go out with a summery song, shall we?

Sunshine Barato, by Mosquitos

Consumables #76

I have been on a pretty steady comfort-consumables diet for the past few months, with lots of watching movies that I have seen many times before (so mind-numbingly satisfying). Right after my dad died--like right after, in the days right after--all I wanted to watch, for some reason, was stand up comedy. I watched anything that Netflix had:George Carlin, Sarah Silverman, Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, Kevin hart, Jim Gaffigan, Russell Peters, Maria Bamford, Aisha Tyler, Tig Notaro, Brian Regan, Eddie Murphy, Eddie Izzard, on and on and on. It didn't even matter if they weren't that funny, because everything was striking me as highly amusing. I would uncurl myself from my ball, and then sit there and laugh like a frigging hyena for hours, and then go curl up again. Catharsis, is the obvious reason. Tears of a clown and all that stuff.

Other than that, here are some other things I have been eyeballing lately.

Notting Hill
After stand up comedy week, I wanted nothing but old school romantic comedies. I no longer have cable, so I have to rely on downloadable rentals, Hulu Plus, Netflix, and whatever else I have loaded up on the Roku box. What I have discovered is that these outlets have paltry choices on the best rom coms. Like, super paltry. Gwyneth Paltry. Roger Paltry. All the paltry. No While You Were Sleeping, no Bridget Jones, no You've Got Mail. It's total crap! Anyway, I did find Notting Hill and here is what I have to say to you about that movie. I really like it, do not get me wrong about that. But it is not really a romantic comedy. I mean, it's heavy on the romantic and super light on the comedy. I was looking for laughs, people. There were hardly any laughs! And not like, because there were bad jokes. There just weren't no dang jokes at all. Plus, Julia Roberts is pulling that part off by the sheer weight of her 2-ton charisma and her 2-ton hair, because when you really look at it, her character is a horrible person. But sappy lovey dovey stuff? Check and check.

When Harry Met Sally
ONE ROMCOM TO RULE THEM ALL. Do you think we live in an era where something as romantic as When Harry Met Sally could star someone as unconventionally handsome as Billy Crystal as the love interest? He is just so non-sculpted in this movie- it was shocking. It would be nice to think that someone normal looking could do that nowadays, but I don't think it's happening. Ain't nobody got time for dat these days. And the wagon wheel table! It was like seeing an old friend.

Broadcast News
My original love affair with Holly Hunter started way back with this one. If you haven't seen it you must watch it for her power-suited 80s outfits alone. Shoulder pads like a gee-dee linebacker! And Albert Brooks with the flop sweat! Oh. So good.

Cheers
I have been watching the entire series all over again, and you guys, it holds up! Still funny. I am only into season 2 but I kind of adore Diane Chambers with her Sally-from-Peanuts hair and her snooty ways. She is ass-kickingly smart and although they kind of make fun of her for it her smarts are really celebrated in a way that I find pretty feminist. One thing I cannot abide by is that theme song. OH LORDY. I know it's iconic but yeesh. Pour on the Velveeta.

That's all I have time for today, friends! Have a lovely Friday. Catch you on the flip side.

My Closet! Now in 3D! Consumables #75

I am happy to report that March seems to be going less angrily than February, and with that I have started to rejoin society. I kicked off my re-entry by attending a craft night party that ended up not involving any crafting whatsoever (craft parties and book clubs: rarely about crafting nor books, I have discovered) but there were drinkies and lolly gagging into the night, which was even better. The very best thing that happened was my friend L busted out a scrapbook that she had made as a teenager (doodled on the cover: "I love reading," because L has been bringing the adorability for solid decades) in which she had pasted--in alphabetical order--clippings of every Tiger Beat 80s dude that you remember plus some you forgot (sorry C.B. Barnes, how could I have forsaken you?) There were notes on each person (favorite foods, birthdays) and even some sweet autograph action (the frigging John Hancock of Khrystyne Haje from Head of the Class, for crying out loud). This artifact alone convinced me that I need to come out from under my rock. There are things in the world to go out and experience, and vintage Menudo photos are one of them.

I followed that by going to a dancing and drinking party (unlike crafting and book parties, these ones are always exactly what they say they are) and it was just what I needed. I cannot tell you how much I love getting dressed up and going dancing. It's like I have an inner Lindsay Lohan that's just bursting to come out or something. Should I be worried?

Let's see, what else is happy-making? Oh, how about the fact that Nordic Boy finished building my new closet last month? My clothes pop out from the top of the closet when you open the door, you guys! It's like a whole James Cameron Avatar 3D situation, only with dresses. And before you think that Nordic Boy does super nice stuff for me while I do little for him, I will have you know that I have taken to saying "WHERE MY HUNDIES AT" when I look in my purse and every single time he busts a gut laughing. So. I call that about even.

Here's some more stuff that I've seen lately:

Wallander
This has turned out to be one of my favorite series ever. The setting, the mysteries, the way it's filmed. Love it all. I especially love how Wallander confronts horrible shit day in and day out and feels the weight of it every single time. He doesn't get jaded and he cares just as deeply for every case. Almost too much of a conscience, which makes him deeply dysfunctional and/or incredibly admirable.

Downton Abbey
Don't worry, no spoilers if you aren't caught up. So you know that Really Big Thing that happened half way through the season? It was done so well and with so much heart, I thought. And then the final Really Big Thing happened at the very end of the season, and it felt super contrived and abrupt in a kind of ridiculous way. How about I talk in a way where I am so cautious about spoilers that I am barely conveying any actual information anymore? You like how I did that? I am so good at the writings sometimes, it's blinding.

The Following
I tried watching this solely on the promise of seeing Kevin Bacon on a regular basis. However, I stopped after the first episode. I couldn't handle the serial killer being an Edgar Allan Poe buff and genius English professor. Like, after he murdered someone he wrote "Nevermore" in blood on a wall. I mean, really? Evil serial killers I can handle, but that's just insufferable. And to make it worse, no one seemed to know what that "clue" was until Kevin Bacon (masterful detective!) says something like "WAIT A MINUTE. ISN'T THAT EDGAR ALLAN POE?" like he solved a Rubik's cube or something. Kevin, I love you, but I can't. Am I wrong, internets? Should I give it more of a chance?

Community
I know this show's days are pretty much numbered, but NOOOOO. Don't cancel it, tv people!

Parks and Rec
I also have fears for this show being cancelled. But how will I live without Ron Swanson's mustache and Chris Pratt's pratfalls and TREAT YOSELF? And Leslie and Ben's wedding? So sweet it just about killed me dead.

House of Cards
Kevin Spacey does smarmy so well, does he not? This is one of those shows that I burned through and couldn't stop watching, but it's hard to describe my feelings about it with the words "I liked it." It's ultimately unlikeable- every last person on it is a flipping dick and you kind of want everyone to get what is coming to them and you're not rooting for anyone. It should make me feel rotten about the world, but it's so interesting that I sort of forget about that. So, wheeee! Awful people doing awful things. Kind of like the real housewives, but maybe 3 brillion times smarter. Season two, sign me up.

Bunheads
So I started watching this from season 1, and am not very far into it so my opinions may change. It is so in the mold of The Gilmore Girls (fast talking smart lady protagonist, conflict with her stubborn mother-figure, small town quirky people, overachieving teen girls) that I sort of love it but there's always this feeling like it's a shadow of what The Gilmore Girls was. I think Sutton Foster is great but she's no Lauren Graham, but is that even fair? I feel like the bratty kid who's meeting my new stepmom. YOU'RE NOT MY REAL LORELEI/MOM!

Justified
Finally started watching this too, and the only thing I need to tell you at this point is that I have a strong contender for my painstaking process of creating my Free Pass List. If you will recall, I have a serious problem finding candidates for my list. I don't know why this task is so difficult for me but it has been. However! Timothy Olyphant though. HELLO SAYLA. So now I have 4 solid candidates. So what if it took me 7 months worth of thinking about it to get to 4?

That's it for now, friends. Want to see my new closet?

Bill Bixby, Meet Lou Ferrigno/Consumables #74

Yo! I was just sitting here thinking, hey, remember that blogging thing I used to do? Whatever happened with that? Are we like, on a once a month sort of plan now or what? Answers. What I am looking for here, Self, are answers.

Here's what's been going on with me lately, which has contributed to the lack of blog attention. You guys, I got super mad this month. Like full on, frothy, red-eyeball mad. This may not seem like an event that would really merit comment, because anger is a normal human emotion, yes. And sure, I get mad on the regular because I am not some sort of Vulcan and never will decide to convert to being one just based on the haircut alone. (Vulcanism is probably not a conversionable thing, although isn't that what Spock's mom did? And you see how willing I am to take a conversation and steer it to a place where all of a sudden we are talking about Spock's MOM? Because that is the joy of knowing me, people). Anyhoodle. The level of mad I usually get is in the irritable realm of mad. Grumpy also makes more than a cameo appearance. Annoyed, sure. I would also cop to a regular dose of huffy. But this time, I got filled with a fiery wrath of the type that I haven't felt in a very long time. A person who I haven't talked to since like, 2010 or something, popped up just to write me a few paragraphs of smack-in-the-face via email. And jeez-oh Petey Wheat, it made me dingbusted pee oh'd.  I mean, it was like, time to kick off the heels, take off my earrings, pull off my weave and flip a table Real Housewife style. (Just to be clear, I didn't actually do the heels/earrings/weave/table move. I just really, truly could have. And also, here's a business idea! How about we invent a weave that easily yanks off when you want to get into a melee? An anger-release weave. We could call it a PEEVE WEAVE. Trademark!). And being that mad? It's effing exhausting. Angry people of the world: wow. I am for shizzle way too lazy for this shit. So basically the thing I have been doing is withdrawing from society this month. Sorry, friends who have invited me to things. You do not wish me to come to your fun timey events because I am very busy seething within the privacy of my own home.

Not to worry, I am feeling much better than I was, and shall continue to do so. Being pissy is just too hard to maintain. And in the meantime, I have the pop cultures to help me de-froth.

Movies!
The Hobbit
As a librarian, one thing that is super helpful is to be able to differentiate between things that are good, things that are good for me, and things that are good for particular people. Sometimes these three things can overlap, but often they do not. This movie, I think, was a thing that was good for particular people. Hobbit people. Well, not actual Hobbit people, I mean people who are fans of Hobbit people. (I can just hear Barbra singing it now: "Peoplllllle...People who need Hobbit peopllle...are the luckiest people...). The Lord of the Rings trilogy of movies are movies that are awesome for fans of the books as well as awesome/accessible for everyone else. The Hobbit? Not as much. But if you love the book and want to see every last sentence of it brought to life, this is it. Go nuts, Hobbit lovers! And just, can I say I love Martin Freeman? Because I do.

Pitch Perfect
Super fun movie. Are sing-off battles really a thing? I kind of don't think so but I really want it to be a thing. Like a dance battle just works logistically because you can overlap the movement with your opponent but how would you really do a sing off  like that? Yes, I have thought out the engineering of dance battles versus singing battles.

Beasts of the Southern Wild
It's true what everyone is saying. That little kid is an eyeball magnet. I thought the movie was gorgeous.

Adjustment Bureau
Was this movie panned? I feel like it was, and ok so it wasn't the best movie of the year but I didn't think it a bad movie at all. Ok, so maybe I fell asleep in the middle of it a little bit (and I never fall asleep during movies) which was possibly a bad sign but also it might have been that I was just super tired. Ringing endorsement, party of one!

The Sessions
Have I seen a performance by John Hawkes that I didn't love? NO I HAVE NOT SIR. In summation, he's good.

Argo
I really wish I had seen this movie without knowing so much about it beforehand. I saw it late so I felt like I knew the plot, and the critiques, and the accolades way too well. As a movie, I really liked it. I also thought it had a monolithic islamophobic slant to it, which is to be expected since that seems to be the norm but it disappointed me nonetheless.

North By Northwest
I blame this movie for making me think that trains are sexy, because you know what? They ain't. Have you been on a train before? You aren't going to meet Cary Grant on there and take him back to your private seat of your private car to do private things. Not gon happen. Anyway. It should be no surprise to you that hoo-doggy I love this movie.

Under the Tuscan Sun
Does anyone else do "depressed and/or repressed lady who needs to find herself" like Diane Lane? She's done like 5 movies like that, and she's got it down. This is a weird thing to say but I think that Diane Lane has a particular talent for acting with herself. Like, do you remember that scene in "Unfaithful" where she is sitting on the subway or train or whatever and she has just cheated on her husband and she just sits there and cries, and laughs, and freaks out for a few minutes by herself? Hard to pull off, but she does it. There are a few scenes in this one where she acts alone and it doesn't seem hokey or unnatural.

Life of Pi
So, so pretty. Do your eyeballs a favor and see this one. The story was a little too God-dy for me, and I sort of get annoyed with Indians having to be freaking spirit guides for white people all the time- I loved the bulk of the movie but the 5% at the front and the 5% at the end drove me frigging crazy. Just so you know, yes, I am an Indian but no, I will not get you closer to God with my spiritual tales told in a soothing voice and then let you take my stories as your own to write a book all while cooking you fragrant Indian cuisine. I know we're supposed to exist to help you get spiritual but actually, some of us have got other stuff to do.

Ha ha, see I TOLD YOU I WAS GRUMPY.

Next week will be better, I am sure.  Incredible Hulk over and out.

Consumables #73

Hey, so here are some things that happened this week. Last weekend there was a big librarian conference in town (tote bags! so many tote bags!) whereby approximately 10,000 of my people came through my work place from all over to say howdy.

I also ventured out on Saturday night to go to a librarian-conference-related party. This is notable because cliquey stuff? Stresses my shit OUT. Who got invited to the HarperCollins party to hang out with the hot new YA author? Sorry, I have to run because I am having a beer with famous comics writer dude. IT IS THE WORST. I don't know what's up with me because not caring in high school or professional dance or theater should equal the Olympic Triathalon of Cliques, but yet now this caca makes me feel like this.

So at any rate, I got myself gussied up (I even did my hurrs), made sure there were going to be two people that I know and like there (because I am 14 years old), and went. I walked to the party to find that it was full and they were turning people away (I got velvet roped from a librarian party! SRSLY YOU GUYS), so then I got a text from a friend who said I should go to a different publisher party, so I walked over there, but then I decided to just bail and meet up with a friend who was at a bar so I tromped my ass up a hill and over the freeway and then I got there and the door guy wouldn't let me in because I had lost my driver's license and it was like he was Andrew Dice Clay and I was Duckie Dale. So, I turned my ass around and went home. It was a really great 3 hours of my life.

Did you notice the bright side in that story? The door guy wouldn't let me in without my ID. RALPH MALPH IT WITH ME, everyone!: "I still got it."

Let's get back to what really makes me happy. Books, movies, and teevees. Take that, SOCIETY.

Books!
33 Minutes, by Todd Lowy-Hasak
Imagine the show "24" but instead of Keifer Sutherland fighting terrorism in 24 hours, you have Sam, a 7th grader who is about to get his butt kicked at recess 33 minutes from now by his ex-best friend. Good for 4th-6th graders. I liked it because it wasn't a bullying book (not that there's anything wrong with that) but rather a story about friends who get mad at each other and fisticuffs get invoked. Which happens when you're a kid. Hopefully not after that.

Creepy Carrots, by Aaron Reynolds, illustrated by Peter Brown
A funny, scary story about carrots who stalk a greedy bunny. If you're a kid that can handle a little creepiness (something's watching you from inside of your closet! Ahhhh!), it's great. If you're a scaredy-kid, this one actually has a bit of freak out factor, so be careful. About carrots. Yes. I know. But I stand by this advice.

Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes
The only criteria I have on deciding whether I read a book is if someone tells me to read it. "You should read this" is pretty much all it takes. As you can imagine this means that I get introduced to all types of things-- fiction, nonfiction, mystery, thriller, celebrity, western, historical, arty, sci-fi, fantasy, highbrow, lowbrow, whatever. One thing that I totally miss out on? Romance. For some reason, people don't tell me to read romances. I don't know if that's because they don't think I will like them or what. I know that people in my life are reading them. Anyway. I had this one in a pile of advance copies and had heard of it, so I read it without knowing anything about it other than it was maybe romancey. First of all, it was most definitely about love, so it totally counts. However, there was no sexy business in it. So, you know: CHECK, PLEASE. Just kidding. A little. It's the story of a woman who gets a job being a caregiver for a quadriplegic. A handsome quadriplegic, obvs. I would definitely recommend it for folks who like Nicholas Sparks and the like.

The True Meaning of Smekday, by Adam Rex
Good for adults down to 5th grade or so, this one takes a post-apocalypse and adds humor to the whole thing. I thought the tone was just great. Good if you like Terry Pratchett type humor, or Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

The Good Braider, by Terry Farish
I know that novels in verse drive some people crazy, but it didn't take me long to forget about the format and just take in the story. Viola is a teenager living in South Sudan with her family and no part of her life is unaffected by the war between the north and the south, as she lives with death and fear on a daily basis. This short book follows her family as they become refugees and it covers a lot of ground and manages to not feel shallow.

Liar and Spy, by Rebecca Stead
10-year-old Georges' father has lost his job and they have had to sell their home and move into an apartment in Brooklyn. Georges makes a new friend there: a home-schooled kid who is seriously into becoming a spy. They both begin investigating Mr. X, a man in their building who only wears black and comes and goes at odd hours. Stead does such a great job at not talking down to her audience, and throws in twists that are surprising but never feel unrealistic. This one's good for grownups too.

Going in Circles, by Pamela Ribon
Dysfunctional but smart, witty lady finds redemption in roller derby. You know if you're the audience for this, and if you are, you'll like it.

The Brides of Rollrock Island, by Margo Lanagan
Ok, stay with me here. This takes place in a fishing community, where the seals who live on the beach have spells cast on them by a witch whereby girls emerge from inside the seals and fishermen take them for wives. I know, it's weird. But this novel that tells this selkie tale (real talk: I had never really heard of such a thing as a selkie before this) is poetic and strange and cool. It's marketed as a teen book, and that's fine, but it seemed more adult to me.

Ok, you know what? I fibbed. This one's just going to be about books this time. Next time: movies and teevee.

Consumables #72

Last time it was movies, this time let's catch up with some books I forgot to tell you about to close out my reading in 2012. There's a lot of them, so for this time let's only do books for grown ass people.

Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Listen, I am just as Tudor obsessed as the next person. What's not to like? King Henry and all his debauched sexy business, the parade of unfortunate wives, people getting all killed up every five minutes, the Church, the government, wars, drama, intrigue, secrets, power. So what if you already know the story? Didn't we all watch Jonathan Rhys-Meyers doing the naked bootango even though we already knew the story? However! There's a lot of details in this retelling. Some people will love all the particulars. Others will wonder why this is happening to them. As for me, I liked it, I appreciated it, but by the end, I was saturated in Tudorness in way where I thought I would never want to think about them again. It's like a huge Thanksgiving meal. You enjoy it while it's happening but at a certain point if you have to eat one more bite you are going to be like that barfy guy in Monty Python's "The Meaning of Life." By the last page, I was all NOT ONE MORE TUDOR OR I SHALL BLOW LITERARY CHUNKS.

The Hope Factory, by Lavanya Sankaran
Two connected people in Bangalore: Anand, an unhappily married dedicated father and small factory owner, and Kamala, a widowed servant with a teenage son who works in Anand's house. Both try to live principled lives within complicated social and economic structures that make it almost impossible to do so. It worked on several levels: as a family story, as a social commentary, as an economic critique of globalization and more. Hey, lookee there, I had no annoying me-commentary to add about that one. That was like a straight up description and stuff. Weird.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette? by Maria Semple
A funny satire with lots of inside jokes for Seattle people thrown in (well, I guess it's Seattle-specific in the same way Portlandia is Portland-specific. But really, isn't Portlandia just as much about Park Slope or wherever just as much as Portland?). I am always interested in books like this where it's funny and snarky but rides right along the edge of being a bit mean. I think it stays on the non-mean side of things, which I always like not only because it's nicer to be that way but more so because I think it's harder to do as a writer. It can be an easier choice to be mean sometimes. Or maybe it's because I just don't like mean and so that has more to do with me than the writing. I am always thinking that I want to be funny and maybe snarky but I really, really don't want to be an asshole. Hey, how about we make this review be all about me and my neuroses? Done and done.

The Crackle and the Frost, by Lorenzo Mattotti
Let me quote from the text of this graphic novel: "How was I to orient myself during my trip toward the frontiers of fear? The only compass I had on me was Alice's letter, with all of its silences." If you are the type of person who gets a rash from sentences like that, this one is mos def not for you. The illustrations are spooky and bold- I enjoyed looking at them.

The Night Circus, by Erin Morgenstern
The thing that was really working for me in this one was the setting. Morgenstern creates a really interesting world that is super fun to imagine and magical and romantic. I was lucky enough to have read this on a vacation where I pretty much read most of it all in one sitting, which only added to being totally immersed. The storytelling is a bit flowery, but I found that totally appropriate.

How Should a Person Be?, by Sheila Heti
So this one gets described as being part of the whole Lena Dunham pre-Girls oeuvre (yes, effers, I said oeuvre) where one of the central questions is about how the contemporary younger lady artist plays with her own representation via mixing up fictionalized versions of herself with real stuff, etc. This is just the type of question that drives some people buh-nay-nays, but for others it's the total shit. I come down on the loving this sort of thing end of the spectrum. At least usually I do. This time though, I just couldn't. It just went to a place where the intellectualizing of Heti's life got to be unbearable to me. And believe me, I have a high threshold for loving this sort of caca.

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn
What everyone else says is true: compulsively readable, interesting, fun. It's interesting to me that so many people loved this book so much because I usually find that many people don't like to read unlikable characters and I found this one to be chock full of hah-rible people.

The Middlesteins, by Jami Attenberg
There are those sad novels about sad people who have dysfunctional families/relationships and bleak luck and reams of hopeless disappointment with no end in sight, and the author somehow makes it simultaneously depressing and beautiful. This book was one of those.

Top of the Rock: Inside the Rise and Fall of Must See TV, by Warren Littlefield
This books was so weirdly written. The format was distracting to me. Each chapter focused on a particular show (Seinfeld, for example) and the editor interviewed a bunch of people about that show (actors, executives, producers, writers) and then there are just a bunch of quotes from these people, one after another, like a disjointed script. That's it. Good for people that really care about things like time-slot wars (guilty!), and not so good for people that just want dish.

The Wandering Falcon, by Jamil Ahmad
A man and a woman have run away from their village and had a child just outside a military fort in the area where Afghanistan and Pakistan meet. This child's life is loosely followed as he travels from place to place until adulthood in this series of interconnected short stories that describes the region, politics, societies, and people of this area pre-9/11. The stories are that lovely mixture that can sometimes happen where everything is simply told but impossibly complex at the same time. I don't usually do favorites, but this one would be in the running for my top pick of 2012.

The Round House, by Louise Erdrich
This one would would also be in my top picks for the year. Essentially it's the story of a 13-year-old boy whose mother has been raped at the beginning of the book. He and his father, who is a tribal judge (they are Ojibwe) spend the book trying to find the perpetrator and bring him to justice. It's a family story, a story about tribal land rights and politics, a coming of age story, an everything story, really. Characters are great, the language is great, the pace and plot are engrossing, the setting is vivid, the story is straightforward if you want to read it that way but there are layers underneath everything too if you want to dig for them. Sometimes writers are so good at what they do that it sort of makes me a little mad. This was one of those.

Consumables #71

Crap, people. I have so much of the pop cultures to talk about that I'm drowning! Let's do an all-movies lightning round.

The Holiday
To finish out my holiday movie binge, I watched this romantic comedy starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law, Kate Winslet and Jack Black. First of all you have to get over the fact that Jack Black is his usual air-guitar-y toodley woodley self AS WELL AS being a love interest. He's cute, sort of, I guess, but really, do you want him to be giving Kate Winslet crazy eyes like that? Then, you have to get over the fact that Cameron Diaz seems like she is reading all of her lines off of a cue card and then hamming up any frustration by stomping and going "errrrrGHHHHHH!" a million times because really that's what ladies do when we are frustrated and it is HILARIOUS. If you can get past these two things, there are two other things that maybe might make up for those. One, Kate Winslet has a storyline where she befriends her elderly neighbor and their pal-ship is really sweet. And two, Jude Law is at his most charmy, least smarmy ever.

How About You
I am not sure if this originally aired on tv or as an indie movie or what, but this one is a great pick for you Hallmark Channel holiday movie enthusiasts. This isn't the romance-y kind of HC movie, it's the young upstart bringing joy back into the lives of grumpy old people kind. First of all, the grumpy old people are fancy actors: Vanessa Redgrave, Brenda Fricker, and old Umbridge herself, Imelda Staunton. The young upstart is famous in the UK I am sure but all I could think of when I looked at her is that she looks like Kate Beckinsale 10 years ago. Sorry, young actress. But it's got all the elements of an HC movie: poor man's Kate B shows up from the big city where people are mean and life is not satisfying. She needs a job so although she thinks the country is BO-RING she starts work at an assisted living place that houses the crusty old people. She spruces things up with her feisty ways, and their withered up hearts get warmer. And it's Christmas.

Total Recall
Speaking of Kate Beckinsale, I saw the remake of Total Recall starring her, Mrs. Timberlake, and Colin Farrell. My expectations on this were way, way, way low, so it turned out better than I thought it would be. Lots of chases, cool futuristic world, fights. Good times. And can we just take a moment to discuss Kate B's hair? That shit is the shiniest, bounciest, Alberto-V-05-iest mane in all the land.

Looper
Here's my thing with time travel movies. If they are sloppily done, or if they are well done but super complicated, I can't tell the difference. Because if I perceive holes in the time travel logic, I either feel like the movie writers are dumb, or I am dumb because maybe there aren't holes but it's just going above my head. I felt like this one was right down the middle for me: it was complicated enough to be interesting, but not so complicated that I was all "huh?" Britney style. There are some kids in peril in this movie, so those parts can be hard to watch- fair warning.

Magic Mike
I went into it thinking that I knew from strip clubs. I know strip clubs, I have been in strip clubs, I have friends who have stripped, the family that lived three doors down from my parents when I was growing up owned a mom and pop strip club, blah blah. Really, the job of stripper is very normalized to me. But you know what I don't know about and I didn't realize? Male stripping. And you know what Magic Mike taught me? That a big part of male stripping is burly men dry humping women customers in the FACE with their sequined, oiled up banana hammocks. In the FACE, you guys. Which, WHAT??? That's what it is??? Ladies pay for this service? I just... I mean...e-GADS, people. EWWWWW. I wanted to Purell my eyeballs.

Hope Springs
We can pretty much prop Meryl Streep up in anything and she's luminous, so there's that. I was also surprised that Tommy Lee Jones managed to do something that didn't immediately bring to mind "search every foxhouse, outhouse, doghouse and henhouse" because usually I can't get past that point with him. It wasn't the best movie ever, but I got some laughs out of it.

Lincoln
Come to think of it, Tommy Lee Jones does that again in this one, so twofer! I mean, he's still a grumpy cuss in both movies, but still- he stretched. So this one is a good movie in that Oscar-bait sort of way. It doesn't really surprise- it's just what you picture a movie about Lincoln to look like and be about. That doesn't mean it isn't compelling: I was quite happy with it. Daniel Day-Lewis is once again inhabiting a character to the point of creepiness, plus he wears shawls, which I loved a lot. Can we bring back the presidential shawl please? Or perhaps we update and have Obama sport a Slanket or something. Anyway. James Spader was all kinds of awesome in this one, and I wished that they could have brought more richness or layers to Mary Todd, because she just came off as shrieky and hysterical and tiresome. I don't blame Sally Field- I think the part was just written that way. So, this movie will not make you see nuance or the contradictions of the time or push any envelopes, but it will make you feel super "yay, democracy!" and "Lincoln was a cool dude," which I am totally behind, obvs. It's a feel-good.

Katy Perry: Part of Me
I maybe watched this on one of my days off over the holidays where I never got out of my pajamas. That's the appropriate venue to watch it, if there is one.

Arbitrage
This is a weird comparison, but I felt the same way watching this as I feel when watching Gossip Girl. Pretty clothes, pretty people, and posh New York City locations that are pretty. The story was sort of secondary to me. Still, Richard Gere as a ruthless businessman who makes a habit of morally equivocating was convincing. Bonus: everyone's least favorite boyfriend of Lorelei Gilmore- Jason Stiles- shows up.

Skyfall
Ooh, those Tom Ford suits, honey. Put people in good fashion and I will see the movie. And like it. Ok, so I probably would have liked this even without that, but it's a major factor. It's so CHASE! BAM! POW! SEXY! PRETTY! PEW PEW! EXPLOSION! I like it. I also liked how they did a lot more winks to the old Bond movies than in the previous couple. I wasn't really feeling the Bardem character, was the only thing.

That's all I have time for today, peoples. Hope your Monday is grand.

Consumables #69

Holy smokes, so many Consumables to talk about! Let's DO THIS.

Movies!
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Documentary about an 85-year-old master sushi chef. Even if you are not into sushi specifically, this film essentially functions as a portrait of a great artist. If you are into sushi, it'll make you want to lick the screen.

Prometheus
The special effects are pretty dang cool in this one. The characters were a bit too much of a rehash for me- I mean I know it's Alien-related, but something new? Anything? The entire scene where poor-man's Sigourney Weaver takes an alien out of her belly was just dumb. Also, there's too much set up. The whole thing is setting up, which I guess will feel better when the sequel comes out but as a stand alone movie, not so much.

Deep Blue Sea
The other night, Nordic Boy and I were in a mood to snuggle up and see something romantical. The description of this movie made us think: doomed love in post World War II times, with pretty Rachel Weisz and pretty Tom Hiddleston. Sign us up! Only, oops, nope, do NOT sign us up. The following phrases were used while we were watching this movie. "Wow, that's messed up." Also, "dude, these people have got PROBLEMS." Then "someone PLEASE separate these suckers, for the love of god!" As the credits rolled, Nordic Boy just summed it up by saying: "well, shit." Precisely, my good fellow. Well, shit.

The Avengers
Can it be true that I haven't mentioned the Avengers until now? I saw it in the theater ages ago. This is everything you expect it to be: cheesy, fun, explosion-y, bubbly goodness. Some random thoughts: will we ever see Robert Downey Jr in a non-sardonic role ever again? Because he can do that too, remember? And why wasn't Gwyneth Paltrow allowed to wear shoes in this movie? I want Pepper Potts to be in a suit and acting smartly buttoned up, not a Daisy Duke wearing hippy dip. Lastly, I think it's probably an uncool choice but the Hulk is sort of my favorite.

Margin Call
I think that the thing I enjoyed most about this movie was the convergence of pop culture that happens in it. Dan Humphrey plus neo-Spock plus the Mentalist guy plus leathery old Jeremy Irons plus Demi Moore plus Aasif Mandvi and of course, Stanely Tucci. I say of course because isn't the Tooch in everything? Also, this movie made me think about suspenders. In order to wear suspenders, you have to either be a Wall Street business dude or a lumberjack. There isn't a lot of middle ground on suspenders.

Winter's Bone
If this movie was in a heartbreaking contest with Wendy and Lucy, which would win? Probably this one, but it would be close. All I really need to say is that I love John Hawkes, ever since he played Sol Star in Deadwood, so that was good enough for me.

TeeVee!
Smash
I am just now catching up with this, and is it weird that the ingenue person that we're supposed to root for (Katherine McPhee) is the one I do not like? I wish that the show had a bit more of a wink to it. I think it suffers because it takes itself too seriously. Come on! You are singing show tunes and having soapy plot twists and you have Anjelica Houston making out with that One Life To Live Irish guy! Own your ridiculousness!

Revolution
These are the most clean, stylish, shiny-haired, lip-glossed apocalypse survivors I have ever seen. And doesn't the guy that plays Miles have a distinctly Herb-from-WKRP vibe going on?

Oh my god, I'm so tired.

Books!
Blindness, by Jose Saramago
Trippy story about a plague that sweeps through an unnamed city that causes some people to lose their sight. The fear of the plague causes the government to quarantine these people in an abandoned asylum, and the book describes the social breakdown that occurs within as well as outside of its walls. The characters in the story all remain nameless throughout, and the baseness and despair that occur are awful. The poetic language is the draw here, but there are seriously no rainbows anywhere to be found.

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration, by Isabel Wilkerson
A big mammer jammer of a nonfiction book that tells the story of the migrations that occurred in droves (1920s through 1960s or so) of African American people who fled the Jim Crow south. I loved how it had an engaging, readable narrative that focused on representative individuals, but it doesn't rely too heavily on anecdotes.

The Sparrow, by Mary Dora Russell
A Jesuit priest leads a team on a space mission to discover an alien civilization on another planet. Think Contact mixed with The Mission and you've got it.

Habibi, by Craig Thompson
There are some gorgeous drawings in this graphic novel, but the stuff that didn't work for me outweighed that. There was some serious race, gender, and sexuality trouble of the kind that was so glaring that I couldn't see past it. And the gratuitous naked ladies with the idealized bodies in every single scene, alRIGHT already. I will forever think that this book should have been called Haboobie.

Castle Waiting series, by Linda Medley
Graphic novel re-tellings of fairy tales that are fun and soothing. I think this is a great series for kids in upper elementary because it has a tongue-in-cheek sort of humor that they will get an especial kick out of.

Quiet: The Power of Introverts, by Susan Cain
These kind of anecdotal sciencey books are always a bit of a frustration for me. On the one hand, it's interesting, but on the other hand, I just end up having so many questions about the meanings of the various studies and conclusions that are discussed that it ends up being not so convincing to me. Also, the author's definition of introversion seemed hazy at best. I understand that this term is not one that has definitive boundaries, but in this case there were times when things got so broad as to seem kind of meaningless.

Just My Type: A Book About Fonts, by Simon Garfield
A fun, informative book that talks about font history and theory in an entertaining way. It was fontastic! (Come on, I had to).

I AM SPENT.

Consumables #68

Oh bloggie! I have plum forgotten about you. It's been a slow week in news about my life because my job is trying, willfully and spitefully I believe, to kill me, which means I have been heading to bed in the 8pm-9pm range each night of the week.

However, to counteract this, I did go to a dinner party at Biogirl's house where we sat around a table in the middle of her raised veggie garden beds and I got to know 5 more people than I knew before, and all 5 of them? Frigging delightful. Plus there were two pans of fresh cobbler and mango mojitos. It was one of those perfect summery evenings where the air smells sweet, everyone laughs a lot, and I remember that there are more awesome people out there that I have yet to meet.

That's all that is new. I am leaving town in the next day or two so mayhaps there will be more adventures ahead. Until then, let's talk about Consumables, shall we?

The Dark Knight Rises
I kind of think Batman is a bit of a snoozefest at times. I get impatient with all his gravelly angst. However, this time around I had a rip-roaring time of it. I think because really it wasn't 100% bat stuff.

The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne movies did something that I thought impossible, which is they started to turn my mind around about Matt Damon. I do not propose we get into why I didn't like his stuff before and I shall not get into why, of all things, Jason Bourne made me change my mind, because frankly my reasoning will not make me look good. (And no, it has nothing to do with levels of hotness or not hotness, because I stand firm on that point regarding him across the years, and that is, if you will allow me to pontificate: ew). Anyway, that has nothing to do with this new movie but I felt the need to unburden myself about Matt Damon. As for this movie, I had several thoughts. One: look at Rachel Weisz getting all actiony! Do you think that Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig have ass-kicking competitions now that they are married? Like, instead of playing cribbage they get in a kick-boxing ring or something? Or at least Wii swordfighting? I want to believe this is true. Two: There is a motorcycle chase that I swear to Evil Kneivel goes on for 6,000 minutes. If you have to go to the bathroom during the movie, that's a good time to go.

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
An animated story about friendship, love, and a man who gives his life to books and the books that give back to him. I admit it, I cried, ok? I ADMIT IT.

Up Heartbreak Hill
This one got me too. Must have been a week for waterworks. This documentary follows the lives of teens from the Navajo Reservation in New Mexico who are on the high school's long distance running team.

Dumb and Dumber
I had never seen this before. I thought it would be funnier. Why I thought that is really the unanswerable question.

Groundhog Day
Oh Bill Murray, I love how you just play the same thing over and over and yet remain so enjoyable. "Ned? Ned Ryerson?" I love it.

Harper Lee: Hey Boo
Did you know that she was working as a waitress ("in a cocktail bar, that much is true") and she had these pals that were wealthy and they were all "we believe in your writing talent so here's a year's worth of your salary so you can quit your job now go forth and write your hiney off" (totally a direct quote). And she was all "okey dokey smokey" and she then pumped out To Kill a Mockingbird? I know there are many notable things about Harper Lee but I sort of couldn't get over that one.

Dance Academy
CANNOT STOP WATCHING

The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick
Is it blasphemy to say I liked the movie more? The book is great too, but so much of it deals with films and filmmaking that I thought that was better told as a movie. The illustrations in the book are not told in comic-like panels or anything, but they do sort of function like a storyboard, which is pretty cool.

The Emerald Atlas, by John Stephens
You've got orphans, you've got time travel, you've got a beautiful but evil witch, you've got a secret world not easily accessed unless you know where the portal is. You know why so many stories have this stuff? Because it works.

Later gators!