swanky
Did you watch the Oscars last night?? We watched until around 10:30 p.m., at which time we collapsed into bed. It was way past our bedtime as it was.
I have to say, Chris Rock was great. I totally love him anyway and laughed so hard at times, that tears came to my eyes. I got the impression though, that the audience were either nervous or afraid of what he might say.
Today I feel like I'm paying for staying up that late. The first thing I thought when the alarm went off at 4:20 a.m. was, I can't wait to get back into bed tonight. Sad or what?? When I did get up, I was happy to read that Jamie Foxx and Hilary Swank picked up Oscars last night. I want to add that I thought Ms Swank had the best dress in the crowd. She's looked incredible.
One thing that made me smile today: Thinking about getting back into bed tonight!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Sunday, February 27, 2005
silent sunday
It's not that early but I'm still the first one up this morning. It's looking like it's going to be a gorgeous day today. Maybe we'll go out and do something in it. Mmm...thinking about that, staying home and being lazy might be a better idea.
One of these weekends, we'll have to get out of town for a roadtrip. The weather is finally getting nice enough (well, not this week's forecast but in general) that we can actually plan to get away without too many worries about getting stuck in a snow storm somewhere.
One thing that made me smile today: Yanno, it's too early to tell. I'm sure that something will make me smile, at some point, today. I'll keep you posted.
It's not that early but I'm still the first one up this morning. It's looking like it's going to be a gorgeous day today. Maybe we'll go out and do something in it. Mmm...thinking about that, staying home and being lazy might be a better idea.
One of these weekends, we'll have to get out of town for a roadtrip. The weather is finally getting nice enough (well, not this week's forecast but in general) that we can actually plan to get away without too many worries about getting stuck in a snow storm somewhere.
One thing that made me smile today: Yanno, it's too early to tell. I'm sure that something will make me smile, at some point, today. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, February 26, 2005
all cried out
My eyes are red and puffy and I'm mentally exhausted. Today, we watched the last 2 of the 5 Best Picture nominees for tomorrow night's Academy Awards.
This afternoon, we watched "The Aviator." First of all, let me say that I have always been a huge fan of Martin Scorsese's work. Secondly, I will say that the film was beautifully shot, the costumes and sets were beautiful and Cate Blanchett was terrific in her role as Katherine Hepburn. These things aside, I think that The Aviator is a huge steaming piece of crap. Leonardo DiCaprio is not believable playing 6'4" Howard Hughes. He looks 12 and, in my opinion, is a one trick pony. What is it that people see in him. The biggest problem I had is that the film is too scattered. It was 3 hours long and I still felt like I didn't know anything about Hughes by the end of it. The only parts in the whole thing that I enjoyed (and I will admit, I really enjoyed them) were the flight scenes. I can't for the life of me understand why it's up against films like "Ray" and "Million Dollar Baby."
Tonight, after dinner, we saw "Finding Neverland." This film had me crying for almost the entire second half. It was so good. I thought it looked gorgeous and the performances were outstanding, particularly Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. It was also a treat to see (albeit briefly) Mackenzie Crook in a very "non-Gareth" role. Right now, having just finished watching it, I feel completely exhausted and drained. It was such a good film, a real roller coaster ride for me anyway.
For the first time in I can't tell you how long, I've actually seen all 5 films before the awards broadcast. I can honestly say that as long as The Aviator doesn't win best picture, I'd be happy with whoever the Academy chooses.
On that note, I'm off to bed. 'night kiddies.
My eyes are red and puffy and I'm mentally exhausted. Today, we watched the last 2 of the 5 Best Picture nominees for tomorrow night's Academy Awards.
This afternoon, we watched "The Aviator." First of all, let me say that I have always been a huge fan of Martin Scorsese's work. Secondly, I will say that the film was beautifully shot, the costumes and sets were beautiful and Cate Blanchett was terrific in her role as Katherine Hepburn. These things aside, I think that The Aviator is a huge steaming piece of crap. Leonardo DiCaprio is not believable playing 6'4" Howard Hughes. He looks 12 and, in my opinion, is a one trick pony. What is it that people see in him. The biggest problem I had is that the film is too scattered. It was 3 hours long and I still felt like I didn't know anything about Hughes by the end of it. The only parts in the whole thing that I enjoyed (and I will admit, I really enjoyed them) were the flight scenes. I can't for the life of me understand why it's up against films like "Ray" and "Million Dollar Baby."
Tonight, after dinner, we saw "Finding Neverland." This film had me crying for almost the entire second half. It was so good. I thought it looked gorgeous and the performances were outstanding, particularly Johnny Depp and Freddie Highmore. It was also a treat to see (albeit briefly) Mackenzie Crook in a very "non-Gareth" role. Right now, having just finished watching it, I feel completely exhausted and drained. It was such a good film, a real roller coaster ride for me anyway.
For the first time in I can't tell you how long, I've actually seen all 5 films before the awards broadcast. I can honestly say that as long as The Aviator doesn't win best picture, I'd be happy with whoever the Academy chooses.
On that note, I'm off to bed. 'night kiddies.
Friday, February 25, 2005
By Friday, my brain is officially fried. Back in the old days, I really loved the Friday Five and missed it a lot when they pulled the plug on it. Once again, here is Friday's Feast:
Feast Thirty-Seven
Appetizer - Name something that makes you scream.
People who make way more money than I do but who know less about stuff than I do. Having to show people who are higher up on the food chain than I am, simple things to do with basic computer functions makes me want to holler.
Soup - Who is a musician you enjoy listening to when you want to relax?
Recently, it's been The Pernice Brothers. At work anyway.
Salad - What was the last book you purchased?
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. Unfortunately, I haven't even opened it yet.
Main Course - If you could live one day as any historical figure, who would it be, and what would you do?
mmm....Emily Hahn. I'd love to see what Shanghai looked like back then and of course, I think it would be very cool to experience smoking opium, in China at that time in history.
Dessert - Tell about a time when you were lost. Where did you end up? How long did it take you to get back to where you were going?
One time, on a trip to New York City, instead of turning left at Syracuse, we went straight down to Binghamton and had to double back, up to Albany, through some pretty rural areas. We we're really lost more, off track in a big way. We were traveling at night and by the time we got to Yonkers, we were exhausted. We literally got lost in Yonkers looking for a motel. Eventually, we did find a place to stay and the next day we made it into Manhattan but what should have been a 6 hour trip took us more like 9 hours by the time it was done.
One thing that made me smile today: It's Friday and the sun is shining. What more can I ask for?
Feast Thirty-Seven
Appetizer - Name something that makes you scream.
People who make way more money than I do but who know less about stuff than I do. Having to show people who are higher up on the food chain than I am, simple things to do with basic computer functions makes me want to holler.
Soup - Who is a musician you enjoy listening to when you want to relax?
Recently, it's been The Pernice Brothers. At work anyway.
Salad - What was the last book you purchased?
In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner. Unfortunately, I haven't even opened it yet.
Main Course - If you could live one day as any historical figure, who would it be, and what would you do?
mmm....Emily Hahn. I'd love to see what Shanghai looked like back then and of course, I think it would be very cool to experience smoking opium, in China at that time in history.
Dessert - Tell about a time when you were lost. Where did you end up? How long did it take you to get back to where you were going?
One time, on a trip to New York City, instead of turning left at Syracuse, we went straight down to Binghamton and had to double back, up to Albany, through some pretty rural areas. We we're really lost more, off track in a big way. We were traveling at night and by the time we got to Yonkers, we were exhausted. We literally got lost in Yonkers looking for a motel. Eventually, we did find a place to stay and the next day we made it into Manhattan but what should have been a 6 hour trip took us more like 9 hours by the time it was done.
One thing that made me smile today: It's Friday and the sun is shining. What more can I ask for?
Monday, February 21, 2005
I have a day off today and I wasn't going to do anything at all. As of, um, right now, I have done 3 loads of laundry and shoveled the driveway. I intend to spend the entire afternoon doing nothing at all. So there!
Today's Monday Madness:
This week, using the letters in your name (real or screen name), list places that you've been to. Be creative! Have fun!
P - Pittsburgh International Airport. On a flight from Toronto to Atlanta once, we stopped in Pittsburgh.
E - Edmunston, New Brunswick. We spent the night there en route to Prince Edward Island. It's a pretty little town and the folks there are very friendly.
G - Gallery 101. In the spring of 1997 I saw the Softies and Ida and Beekeeper play there. It was a great show.
One thing that made me smile today: I didn't have to go to work today. A long weekend, particularly in February, is always nice.
Today's Monday Madness:
This week, using the letters in your name (real or screen name), list places that you've been to. Be creative! Have fun!
P - Pittsburgh International Airport. On a flight from Toronto to Atlanta once, we stopped in Pittsburgh.
E - Edmunston, New Brunswick. We spent the night there en route to Prince Edward Island. It's a pretty little town and the folks there are very friendly.
G - Gallery 101. In the spring of 1997 I saw the Softies and Ida and Beekeeper play there. It was a great show.
One thing that made me smile today: I didn't have to go to work today. A long weekend, particularly in February, is always nice.
Sunday, February 20, 2005
high rollers
I was up pretty early this morning. Surprisingly, so was Mark's dad. For the first time in absolutely ages, he expressed an interest in going out for breakfast. We went out and had a nice meal. The sun was shining but it was definitely chilly. The wind has been bitterly cold recently. After we dropped him off at home, we had a couple of errands to do and decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the casino.
We usually go later in the day, this was our first visit in the morning. It's a different crowd at that time of the day and it wasn't as busy as it normally is. I was a big loser but Mark was a big winner so we ended up coming out with $25 more than we went in with. It was just enough for some cheap(er) gas from Gananoque.
It's been really nice not doing too much. We had thought about going to a movie this afternoon but instead opted to stay home and watch the DVD of Women in Love that I bought for Mark a few weeks ago. I had never seen it before but I knew it was one of his favourites. I will admit, I have not read the book and I thought that the film moved rather slowly and I fell asleep a couple of times. I'll definitely have to re-watch it though, parts of it were really excellent. Mark thoroughly enjoyed it though and said it was just as good as he remembered. That's always good when you revisit an old favourite.
One thing that made me smile today: The Simpsons. I love that Patty is finally out. It's just too bad that her fiancee turned out to be a man.
I was up pretty early this morning. Surprisingly, so was Mark's dad. For the first time in absolutely ages, he expressed an interest in going out for breakfast. We went out and had a nice meal. The sun was shining but it was definitely chilly. The wind has been bitterly cold recently. After we dropped him off at home, we had a couple of errands to do and decided to treat ourselves to a trip to the casino.
We usually go later in the day, this was our first visit in the morning. It's a different crowd at that time of the day and it wasn't as busy as it normally is. I was a big loser but Mark was a big winner so we ended up coming out with $25 more than we went in with. It was just enough for some cheap(er) gas from Gananoque.
It's been really nice not doing too much. We had thought about going to a movie this afternoon but instead opted to stay home and watch the DVD of Women in Love that I bought for Mark a few weeks ago. I had never seen it before but I knew it was one of his favourites. I will admit, I have not read the book and I thought that the film moved rather slowly and I fell asleep a couple of times. I'll definitely have to re-watch it though, parts of it were really excellent. Mark thoroughly enjoyed it though and said it was just as good as he remembered. That's always good when you revisit an old favourite.
One thing that made me smile today: The Simpsons. I love that Patty is finally out. It's just too bad that her fiancee turned out to be a man.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
on cleaning and girlie movies
Ordinarily on Saturday's, it's difficult for me to get any cleaning done around the house because Mark's dad parks in front of the television all day long so I can't really do anything on the first floor. Unfortunately, today he wasn't feeling well so he was in bed all afternoon. I took advantage of this and cleaned the first floor.
I went looking for something mindless to watch while cleaning. Something that if I missed a chunk of it because I was in the other room or being too noisy, it wouldn't matter much. "13 Going On 30" was poifect for this. There wasn't anything in the movie that I hadn't seen before but I thought it was cute. Jennifer Garner was completely adorable (and I'm not normally a fan of hers) and I can imagine that tweenies everywhere are in love with this movie. It was what I had hoped it would be, completely predictable with a good soundtrack. How can you not go wrong with the Go-Go's, right?
Right now, I'm heading off to watch a documentary with Mark. It's called Dream Tower and it's about Rochdale College in Toronto. It'll be neat to see if Mark recognizes anyone in it.
One thing that made me smile today: Walking into the living room before dinner tonight and seeing that the whole place was clean and tidy surprised me and made me smile. Boy the house looks good when I can actually clean it.
Ordinarily on Saturday's, it's difficult for me to get any cleaning done around the house because Mark's dad parks in front of the television all day long so I can't really do anything on the first floor. Unfortunately, today he wasn't feeling well so he was in bed all afternoon. I took advantage of this and cleaned the first floor.
I went looking for something mindless to watch while cleaning. Something that if I missed a chunk of it because I was in the other room or being too noisy, it wouldn't matter much. "13 Going On 30" was poifect for this. There wasn't anything in the movie that I hadn't seen before but I thought it was cute. Jennifer Garner was completely adorable (and I'm not normally a fan of hers) and I can imagine that tweenies everywhere are in love with this movie. It was what I had hoped it would be, completely predictable with a good soundtrack. How can you not go wrong with the Go-Go's, right?
Right now, I'm heading off to watch a documentary with Mark. It's called Dream Tower and it's about Rochdale College in Toronto. It'll be neat to see if Mark recognizes anyone in it.
One thing that made me smile today: Walking into the living room before dinner tonight and seeing that the whole place was clean and tidy surprised me and made me smile. Boy the house looks good when I can actually clean it.
Friday, February 18, 2005
I'm so glad that it's Friday. It's been a very long week. Honestly, it's been a rather long month. Anyway, for lack of a better post, thanks to Bev, I found out about the Friday Feast. Here's my first attempt:
Feast Thirty-Six
Appetizer - Name 2 things you do that you consider beneficial to your health.
I exercise deliberately at least 5 days each week and I try to eat healthy well-balanced meals more often than not.
Soup - If you made a New Year's resolution, how's it going so far?
So far, pretty good. I made a promise to myself to restart my fitness efforts and I've done a pretty decent job of it so far.
Salad - Name something that has happened lately that bothers you.
I was really upset the other night because Mark's dad cancelled a magazine subscription we had purchased for him (for a gift). He loves getting it, he enjoys reading it but, because he is almost 80 and has nothing better to do than to obsess over the mail, he didn't like that it wasn't coming on the same day every week (and heaven forbid that it be late some week) so he cancelled it. It might not seem like a big deal to you but there is a whole back-story that I'll not get into right now, about it.
Main Course - What is your favorite quote, and who said it?
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dessert - What do you collect?
A few things, CDs & DVDs mostly, as well as Simpsons and Futurama merch.
One thing that made me smile today: It's Friday and I'm at home with my feet up (or will have them up soon) and it's a loooong weekend. Yay!!
Feast Thirty-Six
Appetizer - Name 2 things you do that you consider beneficial to your health.
I exercise deliberately at least 5 days each week and I try to eat healthy well-balanced meals more often than not.
Soup - If you made a New Year's resolution, how's it going so far?
So far, pretty good. I made a promise to myself to restart my fitness efforts and I've done a pretty decent job of it so far.
Salad - Name something that has happened lately that bothers you.
I was really upset the other night because Mark's dad cancelled a magazine subscription we had purchased for him (for a gift). He loves getting it, he enjoys reading it but, because he is almost 80 and has nothing better to do than to obsess over the mail, he didn't like that it wasn't coming on the same day every week (and heaven forbid that it be late some week) so he cancelled it. It might not seem like a big deal to you but there is a whole back-story that I'll not get into right now, about it.
Main Course - What is your favorite quote, and who said it?
"Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Dessert - What do you collect?
A few things, CDs & DVDs mostly, as well as Simpsons and Futurama merch.
One thing that made me smile today: It's Friday and I'm at home with my feet up (or will have them up soon) and it's a loooong weekend. Yay!!
Thursday, February 17, 2005
the sickness
It's everywhere. Our office is like a petri dish right now. One of my office mates was off almost all of last week with a cold. This week, she's "better" (she says) but she's coughing and blowing her nose constantly. Another coworker, around the corner and down the hall has the same thing. I feel badly for them both but honestly, I've told them, I'll seriously take my doc marten and kick them in the ass if I get sick.
Yesterday, I was convinced I was getting sick. My eyes and nose were running, I had a scratchy throat, a small cough, body ache, the works. I kept drinking lots of water, eating lots of fruit and have been working out each morning. It seems to keeping the germs at bay and I feel much better today. I know it doesn't help that we're all over-tired and we all ran around too much in the rain on Monday. Seriously though, if you're sick, stay home. I really don't need to see (or hear you). ~shiver~
One thing that made me smile today: A while ago, before Christmas I think, I picked up a copy of Truthfully Truthfully by Joel Plaskett Emergency. I put it away somewhere (stupid, stupid me) and didn't open it up until today. Holy smokes it's good. Over the years, I've met Joel a few times, back in his Thrush Hermit days and I've always been a fan of his. This album is terrific, really great. I feel really dumb for not listening to it until today.
It's everywhere. Our office is like a petri dish right now. One of my office mates was off almost all of last week with a cold. This week, she's "better" (she says) but she's coughing and blowing her nose constantly. Another coworker, around the corner and down the hall has the same thing. I feel badly for them both but honestly, I've told them, I'll seriously take my doc marten and kick them in the ass if I get sick.
Yesterday, I was convinced I was getting sick. My eyes and nose were running, I had a scratchy throat, a small cough, body ache, the works. I kept drinking lots of water, eating lots of fruit and have been working out each morning. It seems to keeping the germs at bay and I feel much better today. I know it doesn't help that we're all over-tired and we all ran around too much in the rain on Monday. Seriously though, if you're sick, stay home. I really don't need to see (or hear you). ~shiver~
One thing that made me smile today: A while ago, before Christmas I think, I picked up a copy of Truthfully Truthfully by Joel Plaskett Emergency. I put it away somewhere (stupid, stupid me) and didn't open it up until today. Holy smokes it's good. Over the years, I've met Joel a few times, back in his Thrush Hermit days and I've always been a fan of his. This album is terrific, really great. I feel really dumb for not listening to it until today.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
it's not the volume, it's the pace
Things are still kind of busy at work. We're cleaning up the last of the deliveries from Monday. Today, I have actually had time to have my lunch and I expect that I might get out of her on time. Will wonders ever cease??
Now, I'll briefly talk about something that has nothing to do with work. Interestingly (or not), I have not watched a movie since Sunday. After "Wonderland" on Sunday, I saw "Something's Gotta Give." It was okay, definitely a chick flick. I am a fan of Diane Keaton and thought she was brilliant in it, she also looked amazing. Holy crap, that good, yanno?? Anyway, I won't say much about it other than the fact that Keanu Reeves, in my opinion anyway, is one of the worst actors on the face of the earth. He was so far beyond horrible in this I was shocked. He's such a putz. Honestly.
One thing that made me smile today: Also in the amazon box last night was a single and an ep by Esthero. I am really enjoying them both. The single is for "O.G. Bitch" and the EP is called "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution." Seriously, "O.G. Bitch" my new favourite song, this week anyway.
Things are still kind of busy at work. We're cleaning up the last of the deliveries from Monday. Today, I have actually had time to have my lunch and I expect that I might get out of her on time. Will wonders ever cease??
Now, I'll briefly talk about something that has nothing to do with work. Interestingly (or not), I have not watched a movie since Sunday. After "Wonderland" on Sunday, I saw "Something's Gotta Give." It was okay, definitely a chick flick. I am a fan of Diane Keaton and thought she was brilliant in it, she also looked amazing. Holy crap, that good, yanno?? Anyway, I won't say much about it other than the fact that Keanu Reeves, in my opinion anyway, is one of the worst actors on the face of the earth. He was so far beyond horrible in this I was shocked. He's such a putz. Honestly.
One thing that made me smile today: Also in the amazon box last night was a single and an ep by Esthero. I am really enjoying them both. The single is for "O.G. Bitch" and the EP is called "We R in Need of a Musical Revolution." Seriously, "O.G. Bitch" my new favourite song, this week anyway.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
I think that I'm one of the few people in the blogosphere who didn't watch the Grammy's the other night. I didn't miss them or forget, I deliberately didn't watch them. Rarely does anyone I have any respect for actually wins. I heard that Steve Earle won for The Revolution Starts Now. I'm really happy for Steve and now I'm glad that a bomb didn't drop on the Grammy folks. I would have hated for anything to happen to him.
Today was only slightly less stressful than yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow will be better but, I'm not getting my hopes up.
One thing that made me smile today: When I got home from work tonight, there was an amazon box sitting in the kitchen for me. Our copy of the Office Christmas Special had arrived (along with a couple of other things). I went upstairs and watched the video for Ricky Gervais' version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now." I laughed so hard, I nearly peed myself.
Today was only slightly less stressful than yesterday. Hopefully tomorrow will be better but, I'm not getting my hopes up.
One thing that made me smile today: When I got home from work tonight, there was an amazon box sitting in the kitchen for me. Our copy of the Office Christmas Special had arrived (along with a couple of other things). I went upstairs and watched the video for Ricky Gervais' version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now." I laughed so hard, I nearly peed myself.
Monday, February 14, 2005
Sunday, February 13, 2005
weekend movies
We have a theme happening here, albeit a weird one. Both of slept almost 12 hours last night. Well rested, we decided to try to find something to watch on the video on demand last night. After less than five minutes each of "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" and "Welcome to Mooseport" we almost gave up. Finally, at the very end of the listings, we saw something called "Wadd." It turned out to be "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes." How is this a theme you ask?? Well, this morning we watched Wonderland. I guess they decided to show the documentary in conjunction with the "movie."
I quite enjoyed the documentary. I mean, I knew that John Holmes was a porn star (duh) and that he had a massive "endowment" and had died of AIDS. I even knew a little bit about the Wonderland Avenue murders but, not much. I had also seen "Boogie Nights" (Mark and I rented it and a bunch of movies with a DVD player on New Years Eve 1999 -- it was our introduction to DVD's) and I suspect that this documentary was born out of interest that "Boogie Nights" might have sparked. It was interesting to hear the interviews with his wife, his mistress Dawn and his manager Bill Amerson, amongst others, talk about their own personal relationships with John Holmes. Most fascinating to me was how each person seemed to know a different "John." What a class-A bull-shitter he must have been.
Now, I didn't have too many high expectations for "Wonderland." I saw that Val Kilmer was playing the John Holmes role and I thought that he would be too good-looking to be convincing. Overall, I thought that he was well suited to the part. I liked the pace of the film and while it was a little on the gory side, the story was interesting. It wasn't as good as the documentary but I didn't find it boring (considering we had just heard the story of the murders in a documentary last night). Surprisingly, Dylan McDermott was great as a scum-bag (I'm not a big fan of his). The whole cast was great actually. I wouldn't run out and rent it but if you're flicking and see it on tv sometime, stop. It's pretty good.
One thing that made me smile today: For the second day in a row, I got to sleep in. It was lovely!!
We have a theme happening here, albeit a weird one. Both of slept almost 12 hours last night. Well rested, we decided to try to find something to watch on the video on demand last night. After less than five minutes each of "Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd" and "Welcome to Mooseport" we almost gave up. Finally, at the very end of the listings, we saw something called "Wadd." It turned out to be "Wadd: The Life and Times of John C. Holmes." How is this a theme you ask?? Well, this morning we watched Wonderland. I guess they decided to show the documentary in conjunction with the "movie."
I quite enjoyed the documentary. I mean, I knew that John Holmes was a porn star (duh) and that he had a massive "endowment" and had died of AIDS. I even knew a little bit about the Wonderland Avenue murders but, not much. I had also seen "Boogie Nights" (Mark and I rented it and a bunch of movies with a DVD player on New Years Eve 1999 -- it was our introduction to DVD's) and I suspect that this documentary was born out of interest that "Boogie Nights" might have sparked. It was interesting to hear the interviews with his wife, his mistress Dawn and his manager Bill Amerson, amongst others, talk about their own personal relationships with John Holmes. Most fascinating to me was how each person seemed to know a different "John." What a class-A bull-shitter he must have been.
Now, I didn't have too many high expectations for "Wonderland." I saw that Val Kilmer was playing the John Holmes role and I thought that he would be too good-looking to be convincing. Overall, I thought that he was well suited to the part. I liked the pace of the film and while it was a little on the gory side, the story was interesting. It wasn't as good as the documentary but I didn't find it boring (considering we had just heard the story of the murders in a documentary last night). Surprisingly, Dylan McDermott was great as a scum-bag (I'm not a big fan of his). The whole cast was great actually. I wouldn't run out and rent it but if you're flicking and see it on tv sometime, stop. It's pretty good.
One thing that made me smile today: For the second day in a row, I got to sleep in. It was lovely!!
Friday, February 11, 2005
There are days when I hate my job. There are also other days, when I love it. Some days, I love the work but hate the pace. Today was one of those days. Right now, we are in the middle of Valentine's Day delivery hell. I have spent the last two days glued to my computer, getting up only to pee, trying to sort out all of the documentation that accompanies the 200+ items which we will be delivering on Monday.
Presently, I'm a little bug-eyed, a lot brain dead and relieved to be home now.
One thing that made me smile today: Seeing my bed when I got home tonight. With any luck, I'll get about 10 hours of sleep tonight.
Presently, I'm a little bug-eyed, a lot brain dead and relieved to be home now.
One thing that made me smile today: Seeing my bed when I got home tonight. With any luck, I'll get about 10 hours of sleep tonight.
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
plodding along
It's hump day but I don't feel like I'm over the hump yet. Work is busy again this week. The phones are quite busy and that's taking a lot of my time. In my old job I was on the phone constantly. In my current role, I mostly deal with internal folks so it doesn't ring as much. The past couple of days have been weird for me, I'm readjusting and wondering how I ever got anything done in the past!
Happily, Joe is still feeling better and we might get him out of the house for a meal tonight. Mark took him for a hair cut yesterday so this would be two whole days in a row.
Reading about Trish's decorating in her new condo has me thinking about my kitchen. I have the TSP cleaner and the sand paper, I could get started on the cabinets any time. The worst part of the whole job would be dismantling the kitchen but I really should suck it up and get it over with. The other day I was even day-dreaming about ripping up the carpet (yes, we have carpet in our kitchen) but I'm not feeling that ambitious at the moment. In any event, at least I'm thinking about it again, that's a step in the right direction, right?
One thing that made me smile today: I just heard Keith Olbermann on The Al Franken Show talking about Bill O'Reilly. This totally made me smile (because O'Reilly is such a lying asshole):
Olbermann revealed O'Reilly's "resume padding" in Super Bowl program essay
From the February 7 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
OLBERMANN: We segue now into our nightly roundup of celebrity and entertainment news, "Keeping Tabs." And it turns out the 2005 Super Bowl was not entirely scandal-free. This year's wasn't about the commercials, the halftime show or even the Philadelphia Eagles' pathetic clock management. It was about the Super Bowl program and Bill O'Reilly. The Fact or Fiction host and noted loofah user wrote the so-called end piece of the score card sold at yesterday's little game. He waxed poetic about the inspiration that his own football career at Marist College in New York provided observing that he once punted a ball backwards. But that, quoting here, "I won the national punting title for my division as a senior." O'Reilly concludes that "I guess you could say the end zone was the beginning of the no-spin zone."
But Mr. O'Reilly has done a little spinning of his own here. Others might call it resume padding. The football office at Marist told me today that football was not a varsity sport there until 1978 -- seven years after O'Reilly graduated. When he played, it was a so-called club sport where players paid all their own expenses, and schedules and, most importantly, statistical record keeping were haphazard.
So when he says he was the top punter in his division in the country in 1970, it does not mean what it sounds like. He was not in the NCAA Division I or II or the smaller-college NAIA Division I or Division II. O'Reilly in Marist played in something called the National Club Football Association. So writing in the Super Bowl program that you won the punting championship in your division would be like me writing in one of my articles in one of the World Series programs that I led the nation's high school baseball players in on-base percentage in 1973.
I did, too. My on-base percentage that season was 1,000. I came to bat once and got hit in the backside with a pitch.
It's hump day but I don't feel like I'm over the hump yet. Work is busy again this week. The phones are quite busy and that's taking a lot of my time. In my old job I was on the phone constantly. In my current role, I mostly deal with internal folks so it doesn't ring as much. The past couple of days have been weird for me, I'm readjusting and wondering how I ever got anything done in the past!
Happily, Joe is still feeling better and we might get him out of the house for a meal tonight. Mark took him for a hair cut yesterday so this would be two whole days in a row.
Reading about Trish's decorating in her new condo has me thinking about my kitchen. I have the TSP cleaner and the sand paper, I could get started on the cabinets any time. The worst part of the whole job would be dismantling the kitchen but I really should suck it up and get it over with. The other day I was even day-dreaming about ripping up the carpet (yes, we have carpet in our kitchen) but I'm not feeling that ambitious at the moment. In any event, at least I'm thinking about it again, that's a step in the right direction, right?
One thing that made me smile today: I just heard Keith Olbermann on The Al Franken Show talking about Bill O'Reilly. This totally made me smile (because O'Reilly is such a lying asshole):
Olbermann revealed O'Reilly's "resume padding" in Super Bowl program essay
From the February 7 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:
OLBERMANN: We segue now into our nightly roundup of celebrity and entertainment news, "Keeping Tabs." And it turns out the 2005 Super Bowl was not entirely scandal-free. This year's wasn't about the commercials, the halftime show or even the Philadelphia Eagles' pathetic clock management. It was about the Super Bowl program and Bill O'Reilly. The Fact or Fiction host and noted loofah user wrote the so-called end piece of the score card sold at yesterday's little game. He waxed poetic about the inspiration that his own football career at Marist College in New York provided observing that he once punted a ball backwards. But that, quoting here, "I won the national punting title for my division as a senior." O'Reilly concludes that "I guess you could say the end zone was the beginning of the no-spin zone."
But Mr. O'Reilly has done a little spinning of his own here. Others might call it resume padding. The football office at Marist told me today that football was not a varsity sport there until 1978 -- seven years after O'Reilly graduated. When he played, it was a so-called club sport where players paid all their own expenses, and schedules and, most importantly, statistical record keeping were haphazard.
So when he says he was the top punter in his division in the country in 1970, it does not mean what it sounds like. He was not in the NCAA Division I or II or the smaller-college NAIA Division I or Division II. O'Reilly in Marist played in something called the National Club Football Association. So writing in the Super Bowl program that you won the punting championship in your division would be like me writing in one of my articles in one of the World Series programs that I led the nation's high school baseball players in on-base percentage in 1973.
I did, too. My on-base percentage that season was 1,000. I came to bat once and got hit in the backside with a pitch.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Capturing the Friedmans
Last night as Mark was getting dinner ready, I started sifting through the "On Demand" listings, looking for a movie to watch. My intention was to find something light and amusing because a) we were going to be eating dinner shortly and b) his dad would be joining us. What I found was not light and amusing, it was thought provoking and quite sad. We were drawn into the story and ended up watching the whole thing. It was riveting.
I had heard the title of the film before but must admit that I didn't know anything about it. The film is a documentary about a family from Long Island who went through what can only be described as "hell" when the father and youngest son from the family are accused of molesting dozens of children. Admittedly, the father, Arnold Friedman, had a sexual interest in young boys but there is no real evidence that these events ever happened. From where I sat, it looked like the Nassau county police wanted to humiliate and incarcerate Arnold when they found out that he had a collection of child pornography. In the end, they destroyed his life.
Overall, the film is really well made. The Friedmans had hours and hours of home movies from when the children were small. One of their sons had a video camera while the whole prosecution was going on so they had extensive footage of the time leading up to both Jesse and Arnold's imprisonment. I know that it's out on DVD and I'd like to rent a copy to see the additional footage.
One thing that made me smile today: The fog. It's been really foggy here but as long as it's warm enough for the fog to happen, it's not snowing (plus, if you don't have to go out in the evenings, it's pretty neat to look at).
Last night as Mark was getting dinner ready, I started sifting through the "On Demand" listings, looking for a movie to watch. My intention was to find something light and amusing because a) we were going to be eating dinner shortly and b) his dad would be joining us. What I found was not light and amusing, it was thought provoking and quite sad. We were drawn into the story and ended up watching the whole thing. It was riveting.
I had heard the title of the film before but must admit that I didn't know anything about it. The film is a documentary about a family from Long Island who went through what can only be described as "hell" when the father and youngest son from the family are accused of molesting dozens of children. Admittedly, the father, Arnold Friedman, had a sexual interest in young boys but there is no real evidence that these events ever happened. From where I sat, it looked like the Nassau county police wanted to humiliate and incarcerate Arnold when they found out that he had a collection of child pornography. In the end, they destroyed his life.
Overall, the film is really well made. The Friedmans had hours and hours of home movies from when the children were small. One of their sons had a video camera while the whole prosecution was going on so they had extensive footage of the time leading up to both Jesse and Arnold's imprisonment. I know that it's out on DVD and I'd like to rent a copy to see the additional footage.
One thing that made me smile today: The fog. It's been really foggy here but as long as it's warm enough for the fog to happen, it's not snowing (plus, if you don't have to go out in the evenings, it's pretty neat to look at).
Monday, February 07, 2005
Sunday, February 06, 2005
more movies
Saturday night...
So, we saw Million Dollar Baby last night. It's been a long time since either of us had been to the pictures on a Saturday night. It seems, in Kingston anyway, that the dregs of humanity crawl out from under their rocks and meet up at the Cineplex on Saturdays. For us, matinee going types, it was a little strange to see the parade of teen agers mixed with aging headbangers and the uber elderly.
So far, we've seen three of the Best Picture Oscar contenders. In my opinion, Million Dollar Baby is the best of the three (the other two being Ray and Sideways). I thought that all three films were terrific in their own way but MDB really stayed with me, all night and into the morning. It's a powerful film and wasn't at all what I expected. I'll say no more because I don't want to be a "spoiler."
Sunday morning...
When I first read about "Spun" (in the New York Times I think), I thought that it sounded interesting. I wish that it had been.
This morning I was doing a bunch of chores, laundry and the like. I found out that our "movies on demand" channel was showing Spun so I turned it on. It didn't have much of a story, visually, the choppy editing and cartoons became boring really quickly. Now don't get me wrong, I really like Mena Suvari but I did not need to see her taking a crap. The parts of the movie which were interesting were outnumbered by the parts which were just dumb (like the TV cops who were trying to find the meth lab). Never having tried methamphetamines maybe I just didn't "get" what they were trying to do. I've never tried heroine either and I think I understood "Trainspotting" just fine. The one nice thing about it is that when I would occasionally leave the room to tend to the laundry or the dishes, I didn't miss a thing.
Saturday night...
So, we saw Million Dollar Baby last night. It's been a long time since either of us had been to the pictures on a Saturday night. It seems, in Kingston anyway, that the dregs of humanity crawl out from under their rocks and meet up at the Cineplex on Saturdays. For us, matinee going types, it was a little strange to see the parade of teen agers mixed with aging headbangers and the uber elderly.
So far, we've seen three of the Best Picture Oscar contenders. In my opinion, Million Dollar Baby is the best of the three (the other two being Ray and Sideways). I thought that all three films were terrific in their own way but MDB really stayed with me, all night and into the morning. It's a powerful film and wasn't at all what I expected. I'll say no more because I don't want to be a "spoiler."
Sunday morning...
When I first read about "Spun" (in the New York Times I think), I thought that it sounded interesting. I wish that it had been.
This morning I was doing a bunch of chores, laundry and the like. I found out that our "movies on demand" channel was showing Spun so I turned it on. It didn't have much of a story, visually, the choppy editing and cartoons became boring really quickly. Now don't get me wrong, I really like Mena Suvari but I did not need to see her taking a crap. The parts of the movie which were interesting were outnumbered by the parts which were just dumb (like the TV cops who were trying to find the meth lab). Never having tried methamphetamines maybe I just didn't "get" what they were trying to do. I've never tried heroine either and I think I understood "Trainspotting" just fine. The one nice thing about it is that when I would occasionally leave the room to tend to the laundry or the dishes, I didn't miss a thing.
Friday, February 04, 2005
the long and winding week
Last night, at dinner, for no good reason I can think of, I started singing "half a woman" to Mark (you know how it goes..."They called him Great Scott, because he was great. They called her Great Susan, cuz she was his date. She climbed in a box, he cut her in two...and when he was through, she was just half a woman..."). How does shit like that get into your head? I have an overwhelming capacity to remember seemingly insignificant crap and yet, when I got home tonight and went into the bathroom to wash my hands, I couldn't remember taking my ring off and putting it away. I freaked out thinking I'd lost it all the way back to my bedroom. Of course, the ring was safe and sound, right where it should be. Funny huh??
The week's been brutal. The pace was quite insane earlier in the week. Today, not so bad. Of course, the sunshine and warmer temperatures help in a big huge way. I'm pretty pooped right now but that's Friday for you, isn't it? Mark's working all weekend so I'm not sure if we'll be making it to Million Dollar Baby or not. Hotel Rwanda also started playing here (finally) and I really want to see that too. Not sure what will happen yet, time will tell.
This weekend's all about catching up. I have a crap load of stuff to do around the house and I have a mess of emails that need tending too as well. The only thing I can guarantee is that the laundry will get done. Come hell or high water, the laundry always manages to get itself done.
Happy weekend folks!
One thing that made me smile today: Pavement. I've been re-visiting my copy of Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe today. It's a lot of fun!
Last night, at dinner, for no good reason I can think of, I started singing "half a woman" to Mark (you know how it goes..."They called him Great Scott, because he was great. They called her Great Susan, cuz she was his date. She climbed in a box, he cut her in two...and when he was through, she was just half a woman..."). How does shit like that get into your head? I have an overwhelming capacity to remember seemingly insignificant crap and yet, when I got home tonight and went into the bathroom to wash my hands, I couldn't remember taking my ring off and putting it away. I freaked out thinking I'd lost it all the way back to my bedroom. Of course, the ring was safe and sound, right where it should be. Funny huh??
The week's been brutal. The pace was quite insane earlier in the week. Today, not so bad. Of course, the sunshine and warmer temperatures help in a big huge way. I'm pretty pooped right now but that's Friday for you, isn't it? Mark's working all weekend so I'm not sure if we'll be making it to Million Dollar Baby or not. Hotel Rwanda also started playing here (finally) and I really want to see that too. Not sure what will happen yet, time will tell.
This weekend's all about catching up. I have a crap load of stuff to do around the house and I have a mess of emails that need tending too as well. The only thing I can guarantee is that the laundry will get done. Come hell or high water, the laundry always manages to get itself done.
Happy weekend folks!
One thing that made me smile today: Pavement. I've been re-visiting my copy of Slanted & Enchanted: Luxe & Reduxe today. It's a lot of fun!
Thursday, February 03, 2005
house bound no more
After five weeks of hibernating, we finally got Mark's dad to leave the house on Tuesday night. He actually went outside and walked to the car, got inside, went to a restaurant and ate dinner. I didn't think it would happen until spring but hey, you just never know. Early in January, he was having problems with his back and he pretty stayed in bed for 2 weeks. The past 3 weeks though, I think he just didn't want to go outside. Unfortunately, this means that now, his blood is super thin and the cold is really getting to him. He's sort of turned into that boy-who-cried-wolf. Whenever he doesn't want to do something, he says that his back is bothering him. I tend not to believe him some days though. He can move around just fine and doesn't make those yelping, old-guy noises. I think that the house is just way to comfortable for him. It's weird. I cannot imagine not wanting to go outside. All he does, literally, is watch TV all day. It's his life, what he chooses to do with it is entirely up to him though. I might not think it's a great thing to do but I'm done with wasting my breath trying to convince him otherwise.
We've been invited to an event in a couple of weeks which I have affectionately dubbed, "the passive-aggressive spite party." Doesn't that sound like fun? Some old friends of Mark's are having kind of a mini-reunion for reasons that are a little weird, they seem weird to me anyway. This may sound really sand box but my take on it is that one of the guys is pissed that a couple of the guys are hanging out together and aren't including him in their "play dates." Ugh. Grade five was sooo long ago. I don't know if there will be some kind of confrontation between the hurt guy and the two or three offending friends or not. He's not really the "confronting-type," if you know what I mean. Whatever happens, it'll probably be entertaining. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to having some amusing anecdotes to share when it's behind us. Watch this space.
One thing that made me smile today: I work with many volunteers in my line. The folks who live around here, we get to know quite well. One local gentleman is a particular sweetheart who all of us think is pretty nifty. Today, as he does every year, he came in with little heart shaped boxes of Russell Stover's for us. I need the candy like I need a hole in my head but he's so sweet to do this for us every year. He's just a lovely man!
After five weeks of hibernating, we finally got Mark's dad to leave the house on Tuesday night. He actually went outside and walked to the car, got inside, went to a restaurant and ate dinner. I didn't think it would happen until spring but hey, you just never know. Early in January, he was having problems with his back and he pretty stayed in bed for 2 weeks. The past 3 weeks though, I think he just didn't want to go outside. Unfortunately, this means that now, his blood is super thin and the cold is really getting to him. He's sort of turned into that boy-who-cried-wolf. Whenever he doesn't want to do something, he says that his back is bothering him. I tend not to believe him some days though. He can move around just fine and doesn't make those yelping, old-guy noises. I think that the house is just way to comfortable for him. It's weird. I cannot imagine not wanting to go outside. All he does, literally, is watch TV all day. It's his life, what he chooses to do with it is entirely up to him though. I might not think it's a great thing to do but I'm done with wasting my breath trying to convince him otherwise.
We've been invited to an event in a couple of weeks which I have affectionately dubbed, "the passive-aggressive spite party." Doesn't that sound like fun? Some old friends of Mark's are having kind of a mini-reunion for reasons that are a little weird, they seem weird to me anyway. This may sound really sand box but my take on it is that one of the guys is pissed that a couple of the guys are hanging out together and aren't including him in their "play dates." Ugh. Grade five was sooo long ago. I don't know if there will be some kind of confrontation between the hurt guy and the two or three offending friends or not. He's not really the "confronting-type," if you know what I mean. Whatever happens, it'll probably be entertaining. I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to having some amusing anecdotes to share when it's behind us. Watch this space.
One thing that made me smile today: I work with many volunteers in my line. The folks who live around here, we get to know quite well. One local gentleman is a particular sweetheart who all of us think is pretty nifty. Today, as he does every year, he came in with little heart shaped boxes of Russell Stover's for us. I need the candy like I need a hole in my head but he's so sweet to do this for us every year. He's just a lovely man!
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
hymn for the alcohol
Hefner's in rotation today, heavily. I downloaded two songs, a couple of weeks ago, that they recorded in December. They reunited for the Keeping It Peel show and played "hymn for the alcohol" and "the librarian." They sounded terrific, I thought. I love the sound of Darren's voice, I love the way they sound when they all play together. When the announcer was introducing them and was asking them how long it had been since they had played together, Darren commented that they had rehearsed in the hallway earlier in the day and that "hefner songs are easy, a three year old can play 'em. It's no trouble at all." I think that the beauty in their songs is in the simplicity. It's like the video for "Good Fruit." I can literally watch that clip over and over and over again.
I have to say, I'm really glad that I added a bunch of new CD's to my playlist here at the office. Mostly, I lump everything together and just play them on shuffle. I like not knowing if I'm going to hear Dusty Springfield or Pavement. When everything else in the office is crazy and going nuts, it's nice to have a little oasis under my headphones.
One thing that made me smile today: It's hump day. I don't like to wish the week way but boy, I'm looking forward to taking a rest this weekend. It's nuts around here!!
Hefner's in rotation today, heavily. I downloaded two songs, a couple of weeks ago, that they recorded in December. They reunited for the Keeping It Peel show and played "hymn for the alcohol" and "the librarian." They sounded terrific, I thought. I love the sound of Darren's voice, I love the way they sound when they all play together. When the announcer was introducing them and was asking them how long it had been since they had played together, Darren commented that they had rehearsed in the hallway earlier in the day and that "hefner songs are easy, a three year old can play 'em. It's no trouble at all." I think that the beauty in their songs is in the simplicity. It's like the video for "Good Fruit." I can literally watch that clip over and over and over again.
I have to say, I'm really glad that I added a bunch of new CD's to my playlist here at the office. Mostly, I lump everything together and just play them on shuffle. I like not knowing if I'm going to hear Dusty Springfield or Pavement. When everything else in the office is crazy and going nuts, it's nice to have a little oasis under my headphones.
One thing that made me smile today: It's hump day. I don't like to wish the week way but boy, I'm looking forward to taking a rest this weekend. It's nuts around here!!
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
I'm a week late but who cares? Here is TV Tuesday's look at the shows on Nick-at-Night.
1. Of the many shows that run on Nick-at-Night, what is the one that you would most enjoy sitting down and watching a marathon of?
Our digital cable service is based in Canada (where I am based!) and the line-up is a little different. I can always watch a marathon of the Brady Bunch, always. Anytime, any place.
2. What classic show from yesterday has not made it to Nick-at-Nite yet, but you'd like to see it there?
I'm not sure if airs in the states or not but I would LOVE to see Designing Women again.
3. Have repeat on Nick-at-Night given you a new appreciation of an older show? Which one?
The Dick Van Dyke show. When I was a kid I really enjoyed it and I didn't think it would hold up now. We watched part of a marathon the other weekend and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
4. What show that is currently on the air do you think our kids will be watching in 20 years on Nick-at-Nite?
The Cosby Show. I think it'll prove to have as much staying power (but hopefully not as many reincarnations) as the Brady Bunch.
5. What is one show that Nick-at-Nite currently runs that you question if the classic label applies to?
Uh, Wings. Or MacGyver. Or, in Canada, Check it out. What the hell??
One thing that made me smile today: Years ago, we used Wetsock on our desktops as a Weather monitor. My brother sent me an email today about Mr Weather.. It's free and it's fabulous. It's good for anyone in North America. Check it out, it'll make you smile too!!
1. Of the many shows that run on Nick-at-Night, what is the one that you would most enjoy sitting down and watching a marathon of?
Our digital cable service is based in Canada (where I am based!) and the line-up is a little different. I can always watch a marathon of the Brady Bunch, always. Anytime, any place.
2. What classic show from yesterday has not made it to Nick-at-Nite yet, but you'd like to see it there?
I'm not sure if airs in the states or not but I would LOVE to see Designing Women again.
3. Have repeat on Nick-at-Night given you a new appreciation of an older show? Which one?
The Dick Van Dyke show. When I was a kid I really enjoyed it and I didn't think it would hold up now. We watched part of a marathon the other weekend and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.
4. What show that is currently on the air do you think our kids will be watching in 20 years on Nick-at-Nite?
The Cosby Show. I think it'll prove to have as much staying power (but hopefully not as many reincarnations) as the Brady Bunch.
5. What is one show that Nick-at-Nite currently runs that you question if the classic label applies to?
Uh, Wings. Or MacGyver. Or, in Canada, Check it out. What the hell??
One thing that made me smile today: Years ago, we used Wetsock on our desktops as a Weather monitor. My brother sent me an email today about Mr Weather.. It's free and it's fabulous. It's good for anyone in North America. Check it out, it'll make you smile too!!
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