Monday, January 31, 2005

Quote of the Day

"Men fear thought as they fear nothing else on earth -- more than ruin -- more even than death.... Thought is subversive and revolutionary,destructive and terrible, thought is merciless to privilege, established institutions, and comfortable habit. Thought looks into the pit of hell and is not afraid. Thought is great and swift and free, the light of the world, and the chief glory of man."

- Bertrand Russell

Sunday, January 30, 2005

Om.

bunny.jpg

Taking a deep breath...

Spending More Time on My Research, Opinion Still Stands

Civil Rights
plural, noun.

"The rights belonging to an individual by virtue of citizenship, especially the fundamental freedoms and privileges guaranteed by the 13th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution and by subsequent acts of Congress, including civil liberties, due process, equal protection of the laws, and freedom from discrimination."


AMENDMENT XIV
Passed by Congress June 13, 1866. Ratified July 9, 1868.

Section 1.
"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

The president's quote once again:

"Civil rights is making sure that all aspects of our society..... are open for everyone."

Right on.

Since there seems to have been some confusion over what I was trying to say about the Bush quote the other day, I just want to clear something up. I for one, AGREE with what the president said at the recent press conference. However, I find it disingenuous that he would stand up there and say that "all aspects of society should be open to everyone" while everyone knows that in parentheses he should be adding ("er.....except if you're gay, of course.") Everyone knows that is what he thinks so why bother to say such a thing to the American public if it's not what he really believes?

So there you have it. I agree with George Bush. I simply want him to stand by what he says.

Screen wipe. New scene.

*Comments are off for a while so I can take a break from all the name calling and finger pointing. Fear not, you can resume calling me illiterate and immoral in a few days.

Friday, January 28, 2005

Morning Inspiration OR You Can't Please Everybody All the Time OR No Mo' Hatin'

I will survive.
Oh, as long as I know how to love I know I'll stay alive;
I've got all my life to live,
I've got all my love to give and I'll survive,
I will survive .
Hey Hey.


Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Bring It

"Civil rights is making sure that all aspects of our society..... are open for everyone."

-G.W. Bush
1.26.05

Tuesday, January 25, 2005

The Post Where I Talk About Movies

So the Academy Award nominations were announced today. Let me just say that Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was SO ROBBED of a Best Picture nomination. Bah. Well I guess it isn't every year I get to see my favorite film be declared King of All Movies (like Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was last year.) BUT STILL. Everything about Eternal Sunshine- from the acting, writing, directing and cinematography- was astounding. And since I'm not getting what I want, I now pout.

I actually have been lucky to see a number of good movies lately. Jason and I saw The Aviator, which was excellent. I think that I sometimes I write off Leonardo Dicaprio because of the whole Titanic/Teen Heartthrob whoopla a few years ago but he really is a pretty great actor and has been in a couple of my favorite movies (What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Gangs of New York). We also got a copy of the movie Ray last week (don't ask how we aquired it), and I'm ashamed to admit that even though I was thoroughly enjoying it, out of absolutely nowhere I fell asleep and missed the end. I didn't even feel it coming on. So now I have to watch it again because I really, really, did like it and can't believe I passed out on the couch like a doof in the middle of a movie about one of my favorite musicians. And yes, Jamie Foxx doth rock as Ray Charles. Last, we rented Garden State a few weeks ago and I have to say that after looking forward to seeing this movie for so long I was completely disappointed with the ending. I wish I could find an article somewhere in which Zach Braff tells a story of how Miramax made him put that stupid ending on his film in order to make it more of a happy, Hollywood-type ending. Please tell me that's how it happened because the rest of the movie was completely enjoyable and Natalie Portman was adorable. For those of you who haven't seen it, the climax of the movie is your standard:

1. Boy tells girls he loves her but he has to leave.
2. Girl protests saying, No! No! Please don't go! I love you!
3. Boy professes love again but reiterates the need to go and leaves to board train/plane/bus/pony.
4. Girl cries.
5. Boy sits on train/plane/bus/pony thinking about his love for Girl. Music swells. Optional montage.
6. At the last possible second, boy exits train/plane/bus/pony and runs to find Girl.
7. Lots of kissing. Music swells again as camera pans upward.
8. The End.

It does have a great soundtrack though.

OOOOOklahoma, Where The Wind Comes Sweepin' Down the Plain

inauguration.jpg

Since I was under a self-imposed media blackout last Thursday, I did not see photos like this until just yesterday. Now, I acutally have nothing in particular against the First Lady. She seems to be a sweet, perfectly nice woman but tell me please what on earth is she wearing and who on earth told her to do such a thing??? The wonderful ladies at one of my new favorite blogs had this say about it:

"Any inaugural occasion would seem to demand something more formal than what is basically an extremely oversized shirt. The horrendous backdrop coupled with her Little Ma On The Prairie getup gives the impression that the President randomly showed up at a production of Little Mary Sunshine, and wandered on-stage during the curtain call to congratulate the cast."


I know, I know, jokes about fashion are way too easy. But slightly related, did anyone see the Jenna/Barbara sketch on Saturday Night Live this weekend that Amy Poehler and Tina Fey did (who are by the way, two of my favorite women to have ever been on that show)? It was the funniest thing I've seen on SNL in quite a while.

Oh, and before anyone accuses me of not being fair and balanced, I am quite aware that Hillary dressed herself in a number of doozies back in the day. However, I had not yet discovered the world of the internets back then. :-)

Sunday, January 23, 2005

Because I Live In the Land Of Ponies and Unicorns, That's Why

dailyshow.jpg

Well, it turns out that the waiting list for tickets to The Daily Show with Jon Stewart stretches on into July. Of course, only a person like me would think that merely weeks in advance I could get tickets to an insanely popular television show whose related book was a #1 best seller this past fall. ONLY ME. What is wrong with my brain that allows me to believe in such fantasies? Needless to say, our trip to NYC is now on hold until this summer because I am just that obsessed with seeing this show. Go ahead, make fun. HOWEVER, lest Jason and I be vacationless, we will be instead flying out to Las Vegas to stay at The Bellagio. Mmmmmmm. Bellagio. One of my most favorite places ever. It looks like we will be getting a pretty sweet deal on an airfare/hotel stay combo too. Can I say it again? Mmmmmmm. Bellagio. If all goes according to plan, we will be dining at this place very soon.

Friday, January 21, 2005

Monday, January 17, 2005

Show Me That Smile Again ((or)) More Stories Involving the Grocery Store

While I was shopping at Dominick's yesterday the theme song from the tv show "Growing Pains" was playing over the muzak speakers. What is more embarassing than the fact that I recognized the Growing Pains theme music (an extended version even!) was that I knew what it was after hearing only the intro to the song-- before anyone even began singing the words.

Why, oh WHY must my brain be such a repository for utter garbage??

Everything I Ever Needed to Know I've Learned in the Checkout Line at the Grocery Store

Goodness knows what on earth I would do without the information displayed on the tabloid covers in the checkout line. I could be going through life without any knowledge of the breakup of Brad and Jen (as well as the Angelina Factor), Scott Peterson's secret baby, the state of Nick and Jessica's marriage, and all things Paris-Hilton-related. While buying baby wipes and salad dressing I can be tempted to learn about who is gay in Hollywood and monitor the current size of Kirsite Alley's behind. I can also observe what the Olsen Twins are wearing and note that Mary-Kate's arm is about as wide as a mostaccioli noodle. Anything related to Desperate Housewives and the O.C. can be found there too! I would be completely oblivous to most of these important happenings in the world otherwise.

*Sigh*

If only...

Wednesday, January 12, 2005

The Post That Will Make No Sense To Anyone Who Is Not A Buffy the Vampire Slayer Fan

buffy season 5 cast

Jason and I finally finished watching our dvd box set of the Buffy Season 5. When the season originally aired I spent a lot of time complaining about it and comparing it to previous, more superior seasons. However, upon a second viewing, I have now realized just how awesome Season 5 really was and that all the suckiness of it would have been cleared up if they had simply cast someone, ANYONE other than Clare Kramer as the big bad hell-god Glory. All they needed was to find an actress who could be scary and commanding as well as snarky and funny at the same time. Instead they went with a whiny, Valley-Girl type with a penchant for severely over-acting (i.e. lot of stomping around while waving the arms) and bad enunciation. Every single episode in which Glory does not make an appearance is really really good. And in the episodes that she does appear in, the writing itself is great- along with all the other actors. I'm even willing to overlook my beef with Dawn's character (although I still think they should have killed her off in the season finale.) Plus, Riley leaves mid-season in order to make way for more delicious Buffy & Spike interaction. BUFFY & SPIKE 4-EVA!! (Sorry, I couldn't resist...)

The other thing I just couldn't stomach about Season 5 though, were those dorky Knights of Byzantium that surfaced trying to destroy the key (a.k.a. Dawn) before Glory could find her. Why is it that I am able to suspend my idea of reality enough to where I can accept the existence of vampires, demons, and pint-sized-bouncy-haired slayers, but when the dudes dressed in Medieval gear riding horses show up I'm all, "COME ON! Who's going to believe THAT?"

Tuesday, January 11, 2005

Clooney: 1, O'Reilly: 0

From the New York Daily News:

On Wednesday, the Fox-TV talkmeister questioned Clooney's sincerity regarding the "Ocean's Twelve" star's tsunami-relief telethon on NBC, airing Saturday night. "If George Clooney and other stars go on TV and ask you to give, then they had better be involved all the way down the line," O'Reilly said Wednesday.

Clooney simply responded by inviting O'Reilly to be a presenter on the show. "This way, you can personally follow up on our fund-raising. This is your chance to put your considerable money where your considerable mouth is.

"Either you ante up and help out, or you simply stand on the sidelines and cast stones, proving that your Jan. 6 TV show was nothing more than a 'box of lights and wires' designed to make you wealthy."

The letter was signed simply, "Your fan, George Clooney."


Nice.

However, as much as I enjoy a good O'Reilly smackdown, you still couldn't pay me to go see Ocean's 12.

Hey, At Least We Recycle

Behold the home of the God and Goddesses of Trash, ruling supreme over the neighborhood:




Witness our next door neighbors paltry offering:



Monday, January 10, 2005

Excuse Me While I Go Hurl

I got my U.S. News and World Report magazine in the mail today and I about fell over when I read the following:

Was it just a coincidence that President Bush teamed Secretary of State Colin Powell and Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, his brother, for last week's tsunami fact-finding mission? Or was it a sign of things to come? Some administration and Democratic insiders believe the president was signaling his dream team for the next presidential election. "Was this the first campaign trip for the '08 ticket, Bush-Powell?" nudged a senior administration official. Said another Bushie: "Yeah. It's a good fit."

Come on, guys. Didn't we just finish the longest and most contentious election of our lifetime? Are we really starting the '08 campaign already?? Besides, if we must go there, shouldn't the ticket at least have Powell on top over Jeb?

Plus, dynasties are like, sooo yesterday.

Winter Wonderland

Most people who know me would not say that I am an outdoorsy type of gal. I've always thought it would be cool to be the type of girl who goes rock climbing, hiking or camping but it's just not me. The last time I went camping it was in high school and my friend Anna when we went with her family to the Yogi Bear Jellystone campgrounds in Wisconsin. They had a pool there. And showers. Needless to say, it was not real camping. And to top it off, we couldn't even cut it at cartoon camping because it was so unbelievably hot and humid that we ended up sitting in the car with the air conditioning on half the time. I'm kind of girly like that.

Also, you may have noticed that I have an adverse reaction to cold. Combine this with my lack of outdoor sporting skills and you can imagine what I might say when Juliana asks me to go sledding with her. Let me put it this way: I hate sledding. "How can you hate sledding?" you're probably thinking. "Everybody loves sledding!" I have never liked it, even as a kid. I remember going sledding with my Dad and brother and although I enjoyed the first couple of runs down the hill, after about 10 minutes I was cold, wet, tired, and pretty much over the whole experience. There was also the time where I was slammed into by a bunch of teenagers on a gigantic wooden toboggan so that probably didn't help much either. My Dad always made me wear a bright red ski mask too. Enough said.

Anyway, Jason had taken Juli sledding in the backyard on Saturday, so Sunday was my turn, whether I liked it or not.

And I'm so glad I went out there with her!

Ok, so I didn't go down the hill myself. But it was worth freezing my butt off and soaking my jeans to watch her toddle up and down the hill in her purple snowsuit and scream with delight every time I sent her flying down on the snow tube. And oh my god was that snow tube FAST! I had picked a spot where she hopefully wouldn't go careening onto the frozen pond (because I'm a responsible parent who heeds the sign posted that reads NO SKATING with the illustration of the little stick man drowning on it), but a couple of times she managed to veer off a bit, sending me into a panicked mom sprint down the hill, diving for the sled and practically landing on my face. It also didn't help much that a few yards over was a group of older kids who were flying over a little snow ramp and plummeting right down to the iced over pond. Thanks guys. As if it's not enough that my child is a natural-born daredevil- she doesn't need any new inspiration.

All in all though, it was time well spent. Photo documentation coming soon.

Saturday, January 8, 2005

Exercise in Futility

This morning I attempted something that I would never advise anyone else to do. Jason wanted to take Juli out to play in the snow so he asked if I could go buy a sled and a pair of snow boots for her. (Luckily her snowsuit from last year still fits, but the boots- not so much.) Anyway, did you know that it is patently impossible to puchase winter items such as sleds and snow boots in the month of January? It's like trying to buy a swimsuit in July. You just can't. I also needed to pick up an ice scraper for the car, which is a dumb thing to need to buy this time of year too. After going up and down the automotive aisle in Target, throwing my hands in the air in frustration , I finally turned to corner to see a massive empty wall of shelves with little labels on them that read "Scraper $5.99". With nothing behind them. A whole wall. Amazingly enough at the very end, nestled in the corner, lived the tiniest, loneliest looking ice scraper I have ever seen and I made it mine.

This was the easy part of my shopping trip.

Over in the shoe section, I discovered that I could puchase multiple pairs of flowery flip-flops and sparkly Barbie sandals if I pleased- no problem whatsoever. Boots, though? What am I, crazy? It's January 8th already, people! Time to buy bikinis and blow-up kiddie pools and halter tops! What kind of person buys articles of clothing that are pertinent to the weather going on outside? Apparently not anyone who shops at Target, since people were poring over the new spring items like mad.

*As a side note, I also discovered today that Target has debuted a large new section of their store where they sell decorative home items that look like they came from the Cost Plus World Market store. Number one: I'm already proud of myself from resisting shopping regularly at the Cost Plus since I would no doubt drop a large sum of money there. Number two: As if Target needs to receive more money from me than they already do. Isn't it enough that the Super Target by me has a grocery store inside with an awesome produce and deli department? Enough already. /End side note.

Back to my shopping excursion. I was lucky enough to find a pair of snow boots across the street at Kohl's and they were 50% off so lucky me! For now. I still had to find a sled because what good are boots and a snowsuit with no sled? I was racking my brain trying to figure out where to go next, and since the Toys R Us was too far to drive to, my only option was the Axis of Evil that I never ever set foot in, otherwise known as Wal-Mart. Now, I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart's business practices for starters but when it comes down to it, the main overriding reason why I refuse to shop there is because it is unorganized to an ungodly degree, always overcrowded, and generally one of the most frustrating places I have ever shopped at. I haven't been there in years though and since I really couldn't come home without a sled I went there anyway.

Why, oh why did I think I could walk into a Wal-Mart on a Saturday morning, quickly buy one item and get out of there?

THIRTY MINUTES LATER I exit the store- but with my sled! Yahoo! My only option was a blow-up one that looks like an inner tube without the hole in it, but Jason and Juliana are outside playing with it right now so it's apparently a success. My biggest complaint with Wal-Mart though is this: If you know you have such a massive volume of people charging through your store with shopping carts every day, why on earth do you insist on putting displays in the middle of every single ailse? Why? The best thing about Target is the fact that they have wide open aisles. I never have to press myself up against some shelves of crackers or shampoo or smush into the wall in order to get to where I need to go. It also doesn't take me five whole minutes to walk from one end of the store to the other and I never spend twenty minutes in the check out line.

Of course, Target doesn't have blow-up sleds in January.

Wednesday, January 5, 2005

As If I Needed to Spend More Time on the Internets

Well, yesterday I went to vote for Dooce at the Best of the Blogs 2004 website and by default I got sucked into reading a bunch of other people's weblogs that were on the list of nominees (becuase, apparently I don't spend enough of my life reading about other people's lives on the internet.) I try to pry my eyes away from the monitor but I JUST CAN'T. Most of the people that I like to read about are all linked to each other and refer to each other a lot, which leads me to wonder how many hours a day do you have to spend on the computer to keep up with everybody? I would post a list of my new finds, but copying and pasting the links here would just take time out from me doing more actual reading, so I'll just advise everyone to go to the blog awards link above and check it out for yourself if you are so inclined. (As if you needed me to tell you, I'm a fan of a lot of the blogs in the Mommy category.) Two particular things I read today especially made me smile as I often find myself feeling the same way, being a stay-at-home mom and all. If you are interested in reading about something I identify with, have a look-see here. (The link referred to in this person's post is also worth reading, if you just have to have more.)

Otherwise, things are starting to fall back into their normal routine here on the suburban homestead. We had new carpeting installed on our second floor yesterday, so the house has that refreshing new carpet smell, which is nice. However, I do still have half the girls' toys stashed in the bathrooms and my clothing all over the kitchen table so I should put all that stuff away sometime today if anyone intends to bathe or eat in this house. Also, while I was taking down the curtain rod in our bedroom yesterday, I decided to loose my footing on the bed and fall-- smacking my bum on the bedpost. OUCH. So now it hurts my tailbone to walk, climb stairs, bend over to pick up Ava, and even sit in this very chair for too long. Poor me. (Ok, not really. Just stupid, clumsy, you're-supposed-to-be-a-dancer-so-why-are-you-falling-on-your-butt me.)

Ok, enough talk. I'm going to get off said behind now and actually get some work done before naptime is over.

Monday, January 3, 2005

Teen Movies and Geekdom

Jason and I watched the movie "Saved!" last night. It wan't too bad. The jokes were a bit too obvious (yet still funny though) and parts were fairly predictable and overly dramatic but it was a fine movie to rent. I can't believe that I actually watched and enjoyed a movie with Mandy Moore and Macauley Culkin in it. What has happened to me? I am, however, the type of person who is considering painting their bedroom taupe, so I have all but lost my hipster status anyway. The movie did have Martin Donovan in it, which was the selling point for me. That man could be in a movie roller skating on his hands with a bunch of monkeys and I would pay money to see it.

Anyway, the original reason I wanted to post was to remind myself that another thing I want to do in this new year is re-read the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy now that I have seen all of the movies. Jason and I also plan to carve out a chunk of time where we will watch all three extended editions of the movies back to back. This will require nearly 12 hours of time to accomplish though, so we will of course need babysitters and lots of sustenance to complete the task.

One of my favorite t-shirts I have is one that reads "I Heart My Geek." I am seriously thinking that Jason may need to get one of his own.

And The Crazy Just Keeps Happening

I hate being such a downer but I could not believe the atrocious garbage I heard coming from Fred Phelps this morning (you know, the guy who pickets at the funerals of gay people? A real compassionate soul.) Anyway, apparently he is praising the tsunami for killing Swedish tourists since he hates Sweden. Whaa? Just when I think I've heard it all... If you just have to see this for yourself, you can find it here.

Saturday, January 1, 2005