Archive for the 'Movies' Category

Hell hath no fury

Monday, December 8th, 2008

Wow, keeping up some semblance of a regular schedule of posting amusing anecdotes here is getting harder and harder.  Between family, the store, and now the holidays descending upon us, blogging keeps getting pushed further and further down the priority list.

I’m here to tell you about what happens when a four-year-old cumulatively loses about 4 hours sleep in a weekend.  We had people over on Friday and Lola was up late being the life of the party.  Then Saturday, we went to dinner at friends and she stayed up late with her DG who was babysitting.  So last night, the trifecta was completed and Rayna and Kelly came over for dinner.  We were determined to put Lola down and hour early, at 8pm, because she didn’t even get a good nap.  We started at 8.  Over the course of the next hour, we bargained, scolded, spanked (yes, we spank, but it’s pretty rare and really just for these most hellish occasions), coerced, and generally fought with our daughter.  She wants Dada, she wants Mama, she wants milk, she’s cold, she’s hot, her head hurts.  One thing after another, the games get played.  And Dada gets more and more frustrated and pissed off.  The screaming reaches a crescendo and another round of spanking.  Eventually, Lola got so upset she threw up in her bed.  And then on her floor while we were stripping the bed.  Great.  We took away her little Christmas tree.  Finally, after what felt like hours of battle, she settled in and went to sleep.  Let us never schedule a weekend like this again.

In other family news, we’re gearing up for the holidaze, the (real) tree is up, stockings are hung, and “we’ll tell Santa if you’re naughty” threats are tossed around casually.  I can only think of two things that might comprise my list, so I should really be thankful for all I have and don’t lack.  EcoReno is joining in – Morgan’s building a trash Christmas tree to show off during the CalAve merchants‘ annual Holiday Stroll (in which we are participating).  Winter is a mere two weeks away according to the calendar, but we have yet to see any real snow, and people are still riding bikes outside.

Library work is its typical self, but we’re circling our wagons for yet another cut to the budget.  People are now getting concerned about layoffs, but they are still telling us that’s the last possible option.  I’m feeling pretty solid and lucky to be able to feel that way – we’re seeing more and more people we know, or one degree of separation away, that are impacted negatively by the state of the economy.  If someone could please turn things around, now would be a good time to do it.

Been drinking some interesting beers lately.  Between two friends, I secured three bottles of The Abyss this year, as well as some Hallertau, and one precious bottle of Palo Santo.  As long as we’re talking festive, Morgan and I got a chance to go out to a movie recently, saw the new James Bond movie.  A little disappointing as a Bond movie, acceptable as a movie, and enjoyable as an opportunity to go out for an evening.

Not much else to report really, so I’ll sign off here.  I’ve got some EcoReno blogging to do too, so take a look there if you’d like.  We did just buy a new camera since the old one started failing, so I’ll have a whole slew of new photos of kids and holidays and stuff to post soon, but for now, check out this cool website.

Lola’s magnum opus

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

This is what happens when a 3-and-a-half-year-old helps herself to the digital camera, accidentally puts it in video mode, and gets creative, unsupervised and unbeknownst to any of the adults in the house.  39 little clips of 1-3 seconds each (about 2 minutes total, so be patient, it’s a bigger file than most videos around here).  Found later, thoroughly enjoyed, and stitched together for your enjoyment.   Thanks, Lola.  You’re really great.

New snagfilm

Thursday, August 28th, 2008

OK, their site is back up.  Here’s one I had heard of a year or two ago and thought would be a good one:

Movies and current events

Tuesday, August 19th, 2008

Did that work?  Found this cool new site with lots of neato documentaries.  Thought I’d try sharing some here from time to time.  Not that I’ve watched them, just that they seem like good ones I’d like to watch some day.  So that’s the first one, about a heavy metal band in Iraq.

Aside from that, catch up on the week’s news with Harper’s Weekly roundup.

Confession

Tuesday, June 17th, 2008

I am a sucker for romantic movies.  I love romantic comedies. I can read the ending within the first five minutes, but I don’t care that I know what is going to happen.  I LOVE them!  I am now watching The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law.  Yep, love it.  Getting worked up even though I have seen it and know what is going to happen. Just watched 27 Dresses the other day and loved it, too.  Maybe all started with Pretty Woman? No, I think it was Pretty in Pink. Wait, it was Can’t Buy Me Love. Hold on another sec, I am thinking that one of my all time favorites is Say Anything. I have thought about 6 others while writing this blog. I can tell you if you are interested or become my friend on Netflix.

I think that I am just a sucker for good movies. I know that there are those out there that don’t agree with my choices. But my thought is – isn’t it nice not to be scared, not to think how the world could end, and know that you can swim in deep water?  Sometimes, I think that Marc and I have this perfect love story movie…..met online, were engaged shortly after (I had no intention of marrying when I met him), the perfect wedding, the perfect relationship, the perfect kids, and now the perfect life.  See….they do really happen.

Saying all this, I do have some other favorites.  There are movies that I like that I would not want to live out.  Random titles would include: Thirteen, The Patriot (it is the Heath Ledger fantasy – check out 10 Things I Hate About You), Hotel Rwanda, The Savages (most recently), Rear Window, The Apartment, The Princess Bride, etc….. Okay, there are sooooooooooo many that I could list.  These are not even the best choices – there are so many coming to mind now. Plus, TV series!  Six Feet Under and Arrested Development are two of my top favorites.  I know that so many more will pop into my head as favorites.  But my confession is…..I LOVE romantic movies!!!!! Happy endings are the way to go for this viewer….oh yeah, The Notebook….another GREAT romantic movie.  There are so many!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy movie watching!

Side note for those that care……Firefox 3 came out today.  I have only been using it since writing this blog.  It really ‘rocks’ so far!!!

Happy Earth Day

Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008

Just a few minutes to catch up before heading to work, seems like lots to talk about here.

First, off it’s sort of spring birthday season around here.  Happy birthday to Lola’s Nana today, and last Friday to Morgan.  Had a nice little gathering Friday night here, followed by dinner out at Lulou’s on Saturday night.  Quite delicious, quite expensive.  I celebrated Morgan’s birthday by paying a visit to Reno’s first microbrewery, then picked up ingredients for a honey wheat beer I’m planning to brew and rhizomes to plant some hops out back.

Also speaking of birthdays, I just heard from an old friend (Bret for you out there who might remember him), announcing the birth of his daughter Evalina on Saturday night.  Congrats to Bret and his wife, welcome to Evalina.

In a recent spate of eco-activity around here, partially Earth Day inspired, partially coincidental, we’ve been purging some plastics around here to avoid bisphenol-A, and I’ve been ballparking solar systems.  Sort of dismayed to realize that just to offset about half of our electric consumption with solar, we’re looking at probably close to $20,000 up front, even after generous rebates.  So I dunno if that’s going to happen.  Might start with solar water heating.

Two final brief blurbs and then I’m out:

Sidney has two new teeth coming in.  Yay for teeth, but boo on the accompanying crankiness and how bad it makes him feel.  :-(

Recent movies seen: No Country for Old Men – excellent, violent, tense, really enjoyed.  Juno – Excellent in all respects, story, characters, music, dialogue.  Totally loved it.

blah, blah, blah

Friday, March 7th, 2008

Sometimes I feel that I just go on and on about mindless crap that no one cares about. Then again, I think that I avoid blogging about stuff that is great because I don’t have enough to say. Anywho, here are some random thoughts that I have had lately:

- We went and saw Hair last Friday. It is being put on by TMCC theater group. It was FABULOUS!!! I love a great musical. Still waiting to see my favorite: West Side Story. Even better would be if I could sing and audition. I wonder if one voice lesson would help? My mom used to cover my mouth in church.

-Just watched La Vie en Rose. Great movie. Love Edith Piaf. Saw her grave at Pere-Lachaise in 2002. I checked out some footage of Edith Piaf on You Tube. Marion Cotillard did an excellent job! She portrayed her so wonderfully!

-Found another Cooks Illustrated cookbook at work (to buy)! I love these cookbooks. They simplify and get the perfect recipe!

-Spring is coming. Yea! Nicer weather and longer days. Don’t forget to set your clocks on Sunday.

- Christian won Project Runway!! If I could only sew! I can already hear my name being said by Tim Gunn and Michael Kors. Fabulous reality TV. I also watch The Biggest Loser. So great to see people take control of their lives. I am not a big Brittany fan since Bernie had to go home this week.

-Hilary? Does she have a chance? Big win in Texas. I am still in favor of Obama.

-Kelly Ricciardi cut Lola’s hair. Lola got her first “official” hair cut.

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-Sid is getting so big!

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and he is starting to sleep through the night:)

-and Lola…..

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-and both of them…….

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I’m that old?

Thursday, February 21st, 2008

I was watching the Teen Tournament on Jeopardy the other night. The category was Really Old Movies. Two of the questions were, “What is E.T.?” and “What is Goonies?” I do realize this was a “teen” game, but am I “really old?”

One more thing…

Friday, September 7th, 2007

Along the same lines as the trivia/IQ tests linked below, may I present:

71%The Movie Quiz

FilmCritic.com – Movie Reviews

Marketing machine

Wednesday, July 18th, 2007

This is kind of cool while at the same time being a bit off-putting in all its capitalist extravagance – the marketing machine that is The Simpsons Movie. That website has so much stuff to explore it’s kind of intimidating me. But this is fun…you can create an avatar there.   So here’s me as a Simpson:Marc as a Simpson


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