What I learned this week

I learned a few things this week:

First, I love it when I can use stuff in my craft stash for stuff beyond scrapbooking or the original use I got it for. I lost the belt to my long sweater, like, immediately. My crafty friend Linda, suggested looking through said craft stash for some grosgrain ribbon to fit the bill. I found one in a very agreeable color and length. I really like how it looks instead of empty belt loops.

Unfortunately, I discovered that my work-appropriate snuggie looks like a bathrobe when I tie it up. It completes the picture when I have a mug of coffee in my hand--someone commented that all I needed was my hair up in rollers. So now I kind of have to wear the sweater open, like a work-appropriate snuggie cape.

Another thing I learned is that it's so hard to limit yourself to top ten movies. I almost immediately had to edit yesterday's post to include "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind". And of course, after comparing top ten lists at lunch, I realized that there are some other great (whether sentimental, relatable, moving, well-crafted, etc.) that I forgot about:

- "Office Space"
- "Idiocracy"
- "There's Something About Mary"
- "Forest Gump"
- "Lord of the Rings" trilogy
- "The Professional"
- "The Sixth Sense"
- "The Karate Kid"
- "The Breakfast Club"
- "Boogie Nights"

And I also want to check out some movies after our discussion: "The Science of Sleep", "Hustle and Flow", "The Lives of Others", and, of course, "Pulp Fiction".

Finally, I discovered that Eddie Vedder still has an amazing voice. I feel like there's been a black hole in the last dozen years where I didn't really follow or explore new music. I recently heard "Hunger Strike" on the radio (which was from when I used to regularly listen to new music) and then heard him on Pearl Jam's recently released "Just Breathe". I can tell his voice has changed somewhat through the last years but it's still as rich as ever. Anybody have an opinion on the new album?

Anyhoo as I head into the weekend, I have high, high hopes of productivity.

Wish me luck.

Top Ten movie list, for now

A friend at work and I were loosely talking about favorite movies and we challenged each other to come up with a list of top ten movies. The intent was to be somewhat reflexive with no hard rules or pressure that the movies had to be critical or technical masterpieces. Also it was a list for now--it wasn't supposed to be some fixed life list--kind of a gut reaction top ten list.

I generated my list from movies that moved me, inspired me, or thrilled me. The caveat is that I haven't seen some classic or awesome movies, e.g., "Saving Private Ryan" or "Pulp Fiction", so please don't yell at me that I excluded some brilliant film. I just probably haven't seen it. And again, it's just loose gut reaction--I'm sure I'll feel I've left some great movies out by the weekend. Anyhoo here are my picks in no particular order (BTW, with three exceptions, I cried in each one):

Dumbo: Honestly, I'm not a blind devotee for Disney films (my rant on their Princess films is for another day), but for a Disney animated film, this movie articulated so much: the strength of maternal devotion, the cruelty of others (whether it is other mothers, those who dream of money with no thought of consequence, etc.), the "black feather" in all of us, and of course the big overlying message: taking what others may consider your biggest flaw, owning it and making it a strength. And of course, only an animated film made in the first half of the last century would realize underage drinking as such a cutesy, adorable trip.

Terminator 2: My God, when I saw Linda Hamilton doing those pull-ups in her cell, I was like, now that is one tough mother. I never had much affinity for damsel in distress movies and this one gifted us with the opposite. The movie had a simple universal storyline--save the world--and awesome action sequences to get there. It could only have been better if Michael Biehn's character from the first one was there. Don't worry, I didn't cry watching this one.

Hero: First off, with any foreign language film, you have to watch the non-dubbed version (with subtitles). I can't stand how dubbed versions can change a whole performance and even wreck a movie for me. Anyhoo, even though Hero is heavy in "Wire-Fu", the fight choreography (and yes, I love that there are both male and female fighters) is still amazing and beautiful. The stories are told from different points of view and the use of color and visuals are gorgeous. The underlying story of dying for a much bigger principle, i.e. unifying your country, is powerfully executed here.

Holes: For a movie aimed at kids, this movie has it all, a mystery, a love story, mythology, some action, and comedy. I loved Shia LeBeouf in this. Yes, I cried watching this movie, dammit.

Sign 'O' the Times: First I'll be the first to say I don't enjoy watching taped live music shows. When I watch SNL reruns, I generally fast forward through the music portion. But this featured Prince's music at one of his brilliant peaks and featured two of my favorite female poster women of my youth: Sheila E and Cat. Sheila E was an amazing percussionist in her own right and when Prince featured her as his drummer--women were really breaking out in places that were predominantly assumed by men. And Cat! Cat came out just when I needed her. At a time, when women were expected to be thin, pretty things that were lovely to look at (which was, and is, soooo not me), Cat arrived. With a body and carriage that exuded strength, not skinny, Cat owned the stage with such confidence, she literally reclassified sexy in my mind. BTW, I did not cry at any point in this film.

The Shawshank Redemption: Whenever this movie is on, I always get sucked in. The crafting of this gripping film that includes uncompromising views of prison life, different natures of man, hope, wit, humor, and determination is a work of art. Especially when you add Morgan Freeman's buttery baritone narration.

The Big Lebowski: I distinctly remember falling in love with Philip Seymour Hoffman after his scene-stealing performance in this movie. Overall the cast is outstanding from Jeff Bridges to Julianne Moore to Peter Stormare to John Turturro and on and on. It's a killer combo of mystery and comedy when the premise is watching a stoner solve the puzzle of mistaken identity. PS, didn't cry in this one either.

Shaun of the Dead: Yes, I know this movie owes alot to various predecessors, but this movie is brilliant in its satiric look of zombies in the modern day. The Everyman as unlikely hero is not a new concept but it's both hilariously and movingly executed in this movie by Simon Pegg.

Tampopo: This is, hands-down, one of my favorite movies of all time. If I could get my hands on a subtitled version of this, I would make it a ritual to watch it every year with some sort of party. It's a Japanese movie that has a main storyline of a struggling noodle shop interspersed with funny (some moving) vignettes of food's relationship with various facets of life. If you ever have a chance to see this movie, see it.

Precious: Well I won't bother repeating what I said before, but this movie is astounding.

And there it is, so far. I sure would LOVE to hear anybody else's favorite movies!

Edited: How could I forget another one of my favorite movies of all time? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a fantastic movie on the relationship of memory particularly in personal relationships. This movie while being both conceptually and visually out-of-the-box and arresting is wisely illuminating and uncompromising on love and long-term relationships. I can't believe I forgot about this movie--I really, really love it. Hmmm, I guess I'd have it replace "Holes" on my list. Darn, limiting to ten is hard.

Sweet

The other night we babysat my friend's little cutie. He was recovering from a cold and wasn't up for a full-on photo shoot so I settled for some iPhone pix. He fell asleep early on:

Nothing like a little angel sleeping. Even Ana found him irresistible:

Sigh. Too cute.

Just call me Weena

After a solid week of rain last week, it bloomed into a rewarding sunny weekend. Today there is supposed to be one last downpour and then, frankly, SoCal winter is over in my book. There will be a few months of gorgeous weather which I've become accustomed to and take for granted like dutiful Eloi. That is, until the Morlocks of SoCal weather invades: wildfire season. But that's down the road...

Anyhoo, as I've adapted to this SoCal weather, I've become increasingly sensitive to cooler weather and become a baby in dire need of swaddling when cold rain is added to the mix. During last week's rainy weather, I was shivering in my office, promising myself to bring in a blanket, loss of professional dignity be damned. Only to curse myself when I consistently forgot. Well over the weekend, I happened upon the answer to my prayers: a long sweater in the Clearance section for $10.

Here's the equation:

Long sweater = work-appropriate Snuggie

Clever, right? Perhaps I'm slightly more advanced than Weena after all.

Productive weekend

My weekends are getting more productive--hitting some resolutions:

Watched the SAG awards--considering that combined with the Globes, these indicate the running for Oscars, I was so disappointed that "Precious" did not win for Best Cast Performance. But at least Mo'Nique won. Mark my words--she's taking the Oscar. And Jeff Bridges! On a slight tangent, loved, loved him in "The Big Lebowski".

Anyhoo, in terms of productivity, I'm taking baby steps--I exercised (argh, though I think I need to get new running shoes--I wear them out in the same place every time), chose the low-cal soup when I went to lunch with my buddy (though I may have negated the benefit by eating a ton of salad drenched in real dressing), organized some stuff to mail to some patient folks, as well as putting together a giant bag for Goodwill. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I can keep up with this small momentum and snowball it into a productive week.

My votes

for SAG Awards for theatrical motion pictures:

Male Lead: Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
Female Lead: Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Male Supporting: Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
Female Supporting: Mo'Nique (Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire)
Cast: Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire

I was torn between Jeremy Renner and Jeff Bridges for Male Lead, but ultimately my gut sided with Bridges. And good gravy, Carey Mulligan is a refreshing standout--I was just glued to her watching her in "An Education". And yes, I know there is so much buzz about Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side". I do like her (and frankly, I thought she showed more nuance in "The Proposal" than "The Blind Side") but this would be like a "Color of Money" vote for me and she's too young for it. And as for Meryl Streep--I know, I know, she's amazing in everything and I too lived for the "Julia" scenes, but I'm still going to pull for Mulligan. Christoph Waltz was utterly engaging--though I think he was well-served being in a movie that was so dialogue-heavy. Is anybody else surprised how talky "Inglourious Basterds" is? I actually dozed off a few times and they were still talking in the bar. But when the action came, man, it was extremely and blisteringly violent. And you know my opinion on "Precious" and Mo'Nique.

On the television side, I've got votes in but I'm a little less sure as I didn't see all the shows nominated.

Looking forward to the seeing the final results this weekend--

The rains

Holy cow. You know how it never rains in Southern California? Well, it's been making up for lost time. Besides full-on downpours--one causing a splash that literally covered my car in a giant wave--the wind has been swinging traffic lights and bringing down trees:

There was even a tornado warning and they herded the kids together in the Multi-Purpose Room at my girl's school.

As if this wasn't enough for poor, unprepared SoCal, we're forecasted to get a week of this. And it's supposed to get worse on Thursday.

Even this East Coaster is getting a little nervous...