Monday, February 28, 2005

Oscar Night Thoughts

Just a few observations:

1) What on earth is wrong with Renee Zellweger? DOES THE WOMAN HAVE EYEBALLS? Her whole face is all scrunched up like she is constantly sucking on an entire box of sour candy. I'll never understand why anyone looked at her at an early audition and said, "This gal should be in pictures!"

2) I have not seen the movie Million Dollar Baby but when it won, I got this sinking feeling in my stomach in anticipation of all the backlash that is sure to continue after the euthanasia controversy surrounding it in the past few weeks. Question: Why aren't people just allowed to make movies without being accused of having some political agenda? IT'S A STORY, NOT A HANDBOOK ON HOW TO LIVE YOUR LIFE. Can't we just be at peace with how in this particular story, the character chose to take a certain path? If you disagree with what the person in the movie does, FINE. I think we're in real trouble if we honestly think everyone is basing their morals around what they see in movies.

With that being said though, I think the Academy people were just asking for it by having Barbara Streisand present the Best Picture award to Clint Eastwood's flick. LIBERAL HOLLYWOOD! (On a side note, Hilary Swank's dress was wicked-ugly.)

3)Hooray! A screenwriting Oscar for Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, my favorite movie in this past year!

4) Chris Rock = funny.

Thursday, February 24, 2005

Just to Mix Things Up a Bit

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Me and Jason at the bowling alley for Homecoming, 1994.

HA!

Chillin'

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We're heading out to meet Aubrey and Lara at the mall for a play date! Just wanted to pop in and post a cute pic. I seem to have tons of photos just like this, don't I?

Monday, February 21, 2005

NU-CU-LAR

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This is a picture of the nuclear power plant in Byron, IL. We took this photo a couple of weeks ago while getting lost on the way to a birthday party for one of Jason's cousin's kids. We were astounded to find just how close we could drive up to this thing. Helloooo? Why was I allowed to do this exactly?


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I particularly liked the barbed wire that prevented me from running up and touching the base of the structure. I realize that if I were a terrorist I probably (hopefully??) wouldn't be able to cause radioactive havoc by damaging the monstrous smokestacks but something just seemed a little unnerving about the whole scenario in general. It didn't get much better when my brother told me that he knew personally someone entrusted with guarding the power plant. Trust me, if you's heard some of the stories about the people my brother hangs out with (I believe someone named Meatball is among the ranks?) you'd understand.


**UPDATE** Thanks to those of you who have reassured me that the cooling towers are nothing to be afraid of. I still maintain that they look uber-creepy though!

Cyndi Lauper is Numba One!

The phone rings in the middle of the night
My father yells "What you gonna do with your life?"
Oh Daddy Dear
You know you're still number one
But girls
They wanna have fu-un
Oh girls just wanna have fun


Working on my Sasha's dance recital music today... Some songs are god awful. Others, like the above one, have my head a boppin'.

I want to be the one to walk in the sun...

Doot doo-bee doo.

Tuesday, February 15, 2005

Someday, I Will Wish For Somebody -ANYBODY- to Card Me While Purchasing Liquor.

Yesterday, I decided to go buy a cheesecake and a bottle of wine before picking Jason up at the train (since it was Valentine's Day and all.) Anyway, after waiting in the checkout line with the girls behind a slew of men carrying their last minute oops-I-almost-forgot-to-get-something-for-the-wife-for-Valentine's-Day flowers, I realized that I had left my driver's license in the pocket of my other coat from when we went to the show on Saturday night in Milwaukee. I don't really expect anyone to bend the rules for me, but seeing that I shop at this store nearly every day, have purchased alcohol many times in the past, and have not one but TWO children, that maybe the woman ringing me up would not think I was nineteen years old.

Not so.

Apparently, I either look like I got pregnant at the age of fifteen, or like I borrowed somebody elses kids in order to scam a bottle of merlot from the Dominick's checkout lady.

I was a little irritated, but since it was my own fault for not having my identification on me, I actually drove home to get my I.D. without too much complaint (yes, I wanted wine that badly with dinner), waited in the now twice-as-long checkout line behind the last-minute-gift-giving-husbands with my (possibly fake) kids AGAIN, only to find that they guy who would ring me up this time DIDN'T EVEN ASK TO SEE MY I.D. This caused me to wave my drivers license in the poor guy's face, yelling "DON'T YOU WANT TO SEE THIS??" like a certified crazy person.

I hope you all had a fabulous Valentines Day!

P.S. Hooray for the new site layout!



Thursday, February 10, 2005

It's Only Hair.... Right?

Every winter around this time, this thing happens to me where I decide to ruin all the previous month's efforts to grow my hair out long. I also have this problem where I think that I can cut hair myself since I have been successful with it a couple of times in the past, but it always ends up being an entirely time consuming procedure, completely stressful and not worth the money I save in the long run. For example, this week I couldn't take wearing my hair in a ponytail any longer (darn dry Midwesten winters make this my only option until April), but I also didn't want to hack off my hair since it finally reaches my shoulders. This meant that the only logical option of course, would be for me to cut my bangs. Just a little trim and I'll feel much better! This little trim started with cutting a teeny bit and not noticing a difference, followed by cutting a little more and hating it, followed by even more cutting where I then realized it was totally uneven. Finally, I was left with this:


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Nine months of growing my bangs out all for naught! I know, I know, it's only hair, but after I did it all I could think about how LONG it's going to take for it to grow back. I guess you could say I have a case of haircutters remorse. It's a silly girly thing to worry about so I'll pout for a while and then get over it but NEXT YEAR I tell you. Next year I'm totally sticking it out and NOT CUTTING MY HAIR!


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Me looking not happy, but wearing my Pixies shirt so, Yay!

Must. Decompress. <i>Now.</i>

Well, I haven't been posting much other than images this week. I've been digging through old boxes of photographs and goofy items I've saved over the past ten years or so. It kind of puts me in a weird frame of mind to start remembering stuff like that. At one point, while reading one of my journals from eighth grade I ended up tearing out multiple pages and ripping them to shreds. Some things about me just should not remain documented. Yes, it's really that bad. I'm keeping a lot of the more amusing stuff, but I really don't need reminders of my overly-dramatic-suburban-teenage-angst lying around. Especially now that I have girls of my own who will one day cultivate overly-dramatic-suburban-teenage-angst of their own.

Speaking of the girls, it seems they have finally pulled out of a weeklong pair of illnesses, thie high point of which was a bunch of puke being sprayed in the backseat of my car followed by the purchase of many tree-shaped "new car scent" air fresheners and Febreeze. I've had enough of smells in general for a while. We're gearing up for a fun rock and roll show in Milwaukee this Saturday at the Mad Planet so that's something to look forward to. Plus, Juli and Maddie were mentioned in an article in OnMilwaukee.com since they are both putting up photographs at the show. This that makes TWO public art showings for my girl before the age of 5. Someday she will realize just how cool this all is.

Lastly, completely unrelated to anything written above: Yay Dean!

I'm still bitter about the raw deal he got last year, but I'm happy nonetheless. I will take my joy wherever I can get it, thank you very much.

Tuesday, February 8, 2005

Dinosaur

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My car, circa 1994, with the Dairy Queen kid's meal toy I took from the DQ I worked at.

*Comments will be back up and running once Jason installs Movable Type 3.0 for me. I'd do it myself if it weren't guaranteed that I would mess the whole thing up.

Monday, February 7, 2005

What a Trip

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Bob Evans matchbook picked up on the way home from the Illinois HIgh School Theatre Fest at ISU, January 1994.

Sunday, February 6, 2005

Your Mama Don't Dance and Your Daddy Don't Rock and Roll

I've started on this project where I will be scanning in all my old ticket stubs from rock shows, dance performances and movies. Why? Because I feel like it. Plus, then I can post things like this:

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Ah, 1991. Oh how I miss ye.

Wednesday, February 2, 2005

Cleaning House

I feel good. Life is good. I'm trying to have a more positive outlook lately, which involves taking good care of myself, working on things I enjoy and tuning out that which brings me down. For instance, I have been working out every day for the past week and I feel great. I got a couple of new fitness dvds and one of them is a step aerobics class infused with modern/jazz dance moves. Fun! I do have this whole annoying story to tell about how the stationary bike I got for Christmas from my Dad turned out to have zero resistance and after I called the number on the instruction booklet four times and completely dismantled the darn thing (at the advice of one of the girls who answered the telephone there) I finally reached a supervisor who told me that my model of bike is usually meant for elderly people and maybe I was just too good for it . I found this highly amusing since I am no super-athlete by any means, and because my Dad who is thirty years older than me also laughed at how easy the stupid bike was to ride.

By the way, this is the image used on the Sears.com website that features a CLEARLY NON-ELDERLY PERSON riding the bike, which surely caused my Dad to draw the conclusion that this bike was indeed designed for people under 70 years of age:

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Luckily, we are still able to return the thing to Sears where I will get to pick out a new exercise toy that is more properly suited to me. Yay!

And now here is my list of little things that help me personally function on a happier level of existence:

1) Watch multiple episodes of Aqua Teen Hunger Force in succession. There is a character called Meatwad. Why am I now just realizing the existence of such genius?

2) Drive around listening to Liz Phair's "Polyester Bride", singing it at the top of your lungs- especially the part about finding aligator cowboy boots that just went on sale.

3) Book tickets to the Las Vegas Bellagio. Ok, so that's not a little thing, but it surely helps A LOT. Plus, look at the pretty:

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It also helps to TIVO as many programs on the Travel Channel and Food Network about Las Vegas as possible and drool with anticipation.

4) Keep the XM Radio on the 40's station. How can you be down with people like Judy as your life's soundtrack?

5) Clean up your computer. For me, I find it terribly refeshing to organize all my files, burn cds, and finally be able to see my desktop wallpaper of Jon Stewart peering out at me again.

6) Dance in the living room with your husband to Lyle Lovett. You could also dance with your kids to They Might Be Giants. Lots of things on this list involve music, you see.

7) Buy a completely awesome 1980's prom dress on eBay to wear to your best friend's upcoming 80's prom party.

8) If a certain person in a position of great power in our country comes on the radio/television and you want to remain informed about the state of the country you live in but simply can't stomach listening to the guy: Mute him and read the transcript online later. Then go listen to more good music!

You see? Life is good.

Wow.

I honestly do hope things turn out differently this time. However, this article from 1967 is almost eerie to read. (The entire piece was posted on Daily Kos a couple of days ago.) Here's crossing our fingers that we get it right this time.

U.S. Encouraged by Vietnam Vote :
Officials Cite 83% Turnout Despite Vietcong Terror


by Peter Grose, Special to the New York Times (9/4/1967: p. 2)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 3-- United States officials were surprised and heartened today at the size of turnout in South Vietnam's presidential election despite a Vietcong terrorist campaign to disrupt the voting.

According to reports from Saigon, 83 per cent of the 5.85 million registered voters cast their ballots yesterday. Many of them risked reprisals threatened by the Vietcong.

The size of the popular vote and the inability of the Vietcong to destroy the election machinery were the two salient facts in a preliminary assessment of the nation election based on the incomplete returns reaching here.

Pending more detailed reports, neither the State Department nor the White House would comment on the balloting or the victory of the military candidates, Lieut. Gen. Nguyen Van Thieu, who was running for president, and Premier Nguyen Cao Ky, the candidate for vice president.
A successful election has long been seen as the keystone in President Johnson's policy of encouraging the growth of constitutional processes in South Vietnam. The election was the culmination of a constitutional development that began in January, 1966, to which President Johnson gave his personal commitment when he met Premier Ky and General Thieu, the chief of state, in Honolulu in February.
The purpose of the voting was to give legitimacy to the Saigon Government, which has been founded only on coups and power plays since November, 1963, when President Ngo Dinh Deim was overthrown by a military junta.
Few members of that junta are still around, most having been ousted or exiled in subsequent shifts of power.
Significance Not Diminished
The fact that the backing of the electorate has gone to the generals who have been ruling South Vietnam for the last two years does not, in the Administration's view, diminish the significance of the constitutional step that has been taken.
The hope here is that the new government will be able to maneuver with a confidence and legitimacy long lacking in South Vietnamese politics. That hope could have been dashed either by a small turnout, indicating widespread scorn or a lack of interest in constitutional development, or by the Vietcong's disruption of the balloting.
American officials had hoped for an 80 per cent turnout. That was the figure in the election in September for the Constituent Assembly. Seventy-eight per cent of the registered voters went to the polls in elections for local officials last spring.
Before the results of the presidential election started to come in, the American officials warned that the turnout might be less than 80 per cent because the polling place would be open for two or three hours less than in the election a year ago. The turnout of 83 per cent was a welcome surprise. The turnout in the 1964 United States Presidential election was 62 per cent.
Captured documents and interrogations indicated in the last week a serious concern among Vietcong leaders that a major effort would be required to render the election meaningless. This effort has not succeeded, judging from the reports from Saigon.
NYT. 9/4/1967: p. 2.