Okay, so I said this would be tomorrow, and that was days ago. Sue me.
At the end of ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ I turned to my friend Tammy and confessed I wanted to stand up in the theater and shout “I’m wearing Target shoes and proud of it!” After this film I have no interest in a career in fashion. Well, I didn’t have that prior to the movie but even less so now. It’s a little too cutthroat and shallow in some ways for me. (Then again, if you want to be honest, so is journalism. So there you go.)
Andy (Anne Hathaway) is just out of journalism school and living in New York with her boyfriend Nate (Adrian Grenier), a chef. She’s generally rumpled and dreaming of a career at a big NYC paper but she needs a job. She goes to an interview for an assistant’s post, only to land as second assistant to Miranda Priestley (Meryl Streep), the editor-in-chief of Runway magazine and known throughout the office as the Dragon Lady. Miranda and other staff members mock Andy’s clothes and hair until she seeks out Nigel, the art director (Stanley Tucci), for help. He puts her in designer wear (oh, the fabulous thigh high boots!! I have envy) and gets her hair cut. And of course, she looks smashing.
Still, the swanning out of a character seems to be Hathaway’s trademark, and it’s clear from Minute One the girl is adorable, so it’s a little surprising everyone makes fun of her, telling her size six is fat. (And I’m the Michelin man.) I’m even more surprised she is allowed to dress as she does for as long as she does, especially in the front office of a high profile fashion magazine, which must see many big-name clients daily.
The movie is formulaic to a degree, although charming, and has its flaws. It starts with a mistake, and that it’s Andy’s, colored my view of the film. Andy, an aspiring journalist, doesn’t do her homework before going to her interview, which is a journalistic Cardinal Sin. She doesn’t know who Miranda is, and more importantly, she doesn’t know of her reputation, which sets her up for humiliation, verbal abuse, and a 24-hour a day job with impossible requests (like fetching the script for Harry Potter book 7 before it’s published. I can tell you right now, there’s NO WAY that scenario would play out in real life. J.K. Rowling would sue.) And Andy is shocked by this behavior. Had she done her homework, she would have known what she was getting into, and probably refused. Then there would be no movie, I suppose.
Miranda is constantly on Andy’s phone, giving her orders and expecting miracles. When Andy's life starts to get out of control, her friends briefly try to call her on it, but while one is vaguely supportive because he likes fashion, the other flips out when she sees Andie talking to a cute guy (Simon Baker, and yes, he’s damn cute). Nate is suitably upset about the way things are spiraling out of control, and he’s the only one I really feel for. Nobody really tries to reach out to her, to understand what she’s going through and why. And while old Andy, in her comfortable sweatshirts, is what he wishes for, I can’t see why anyone would be upset with her for trying to look nice. The new Andy actually does look nice, and nobody really acknowledges that either. They treat it as though she’s pretending. Well, she’s Anne Hathaway. She’s cute. The cute clothes suit her. We can’t pretend she’s suddenly risen above herself –and them - just because she wants to wear nice dresses.
I get why Andy sticks with the job. She wants to stay there a year, to then move on to something better with this great experience under her belt. But she doesn’t really relay this to her friends or her family in a way that convinces me. I know why they’re furious – I would be too if one of my friends let herself be treated this way by a boss (and I’ve been furious with myself for sticking with a job I felt belittled me but that I felt I needed to stay in to have a roof over my head, so I’m already there when it comes to that motivation). But I would also better understand Andy’s motivations for taking the job in the first place if she was far behind on her rent (they hint at it but never work through it) or in other ways desperate need of a job, not living with her successful chef boyfriend in a cute apartment that, based on my experience with NYC (which is limited) they're probably paying $1500 for a month at least. Instead, her journalistic instincts abandon her and she becomes a virtual slave.
Still, Streep does a nice job showing some of the human side of Miranda, when she’s not asking Andy if she’s fallen down and smacked her little head. She has an early scene where she explains fashion to Andy, and it rings quite true – one of the few times I sided with her in the movie AND with the fashion industry. Emily Blunt is caustic but enjoyable as Assistant Number One and there are a few models and fashion icons who make appearances. The fashion references are fun (“How do you spell ‘Gabbana’?”) and I didn’t feel lost by them, and I have absolutely NO trouble saying I loved looking at the clothes and the shopping districts. Indeed, I found myself swooning over shots of Paris and some of Andy's clothes, and also wishing I could know what looked good on me and what didn’t. (Confession – I do like fashion, I’m just dumb about it. And I’m not a size six.)
Animal Trauma: None, unless you count the furs Miranda keeps tossing on Andy’s desk.
Overall: Formulaic but charming. Streep is admirably frosty and Hathaway capably adorable. I give it three roses out of five.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Tuesday, July 18, 2006
Movie Review - Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
I’ve always wanted to review movies, and so I’m going to review the new and the old, the good, the bad, the ugly, whenever I see them, just because, well, why not. This is the latest movie I saw – taped from a free Starz weekend ages ago. (Tomorrow: The Devil Wears Prada!)
For starters, ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ is visually gorgeous – shot in shades of sienna, cream and gray, with a little red lipstick thrown in for contrast.
It’s set in the Art Deco future 40’s, and if that doesn’t make sense to you, you have to see it to understand. The movie riffs on period films – narrowing in on certain written phrases or the face of a cop as he calls for reinforcement, spinning through newspaper headlines to keep us up to date on the plot, which, I’ll be frank, had me lost in the early going. Maybe I was too busy looking at the scenery.
Reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is trying to find out why giant robots have descended on New York City and why seven scientists have gone missing. The script is ambitious – going from location to location – most of it CGI but done quite well. It just misses something in the end, something I can’t put my finger on. I like this movie, but I don’t love it, and it doesn’t leave me blown away or thinking hard. The dialogue runs to stilted, the humor is brief, and the chemistry is minimal.
That said, you can’t say the leads aren’t attractive. With her oh-so-enviable long blonde mane, Paltrow looks smashing in a fedora, trench coat, heels and dark red lipstick. If she has to pick period pieces (and we know she’s good in them) I rather like the 40’s for her, just as I liked the Jean Harlow look for Gwen Stefani in ‘The Aviator.’ Refreshingly, she also avoids an accent, although we know from ‘Sliding Doors’ that she can do a British accent more capably than most.
The problem is, she doesn’t smolder like she wants to and the role could have benefited from a bit more spark. Instead, she sometimes comes off as a little dry and even slightly annoying. One imagines Rita Hayworth eating her for breakfast.
It doesn’t help that Angelina Jolie shows up halfway through the film. As we already know, this gal is what you would probably refer to over a beer as ‘sex on a stick’ – she always smolders, she doesn’t know how not to. So even though her role is brief and buttoned up, you see what Polly could have been. And she also does a British accent quite capably.
Whether you’re tired of him in the tabloids or not (and I’ll admit to the fatigue over both him and most definitely Jolie), Jude Law is sexy and brooding as Sky Captain, better known to Polly as Joe. The swept back hair and bomber jacket suit him and his handsome jaw, even as he’s slugging shots of milk of magnesia and throwing Polly out of his office or sparring with her in his souped-up P-51. In fact, the planes are one of my favorite parts of the film. There's a bit of Bond in this flick's technical aspects, and I liked it. Now, if only the film had put in some of the humor and sexual tension of a Bond flick. THAT would have been something.
For movie and TV fans alike, Giovanni Ribisi turns up as Joe’s friend Dex – he’s always invaluable. He’s always better as a supporting player because he’s versatile and quirky at the same time. Michael Gambon has a walk-on role. And the film utilizes some footage of Sir Laurence Olivier, who I didn’t recognize until his name rolled in the credits.
Animal Trauma: If, like me, you want to know beforehand if anything bad happens to animals in a film, this is a good indicator. In this film, none, unless you count an elephant shrunk to the size of a cat, which was a little creepy and never explained. On the plus side, Polly saves many animals from destruction.
Overall: Visually stunning, plot ambitious but somehow lacking in verve. I give it three roses out of five.
For starters, ‘Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow’ is visually gorgeous – shot in shades of sienna, cream and gray, with a little red lipstick thrown in for contrast.
It’s set in the Art Deco future 40’s, and if that doesn’t make sense to you, you have to see it to understand. The movie riffs on period films – narrowing in on certain written phrases or the face of a cop as he calls for reinforcement, spinning through newspaper headlines to keep us up to date on the plot, which, I’ll be frank, had me lost in the early going. Maybe I was too busy looking at the scenery.
Reporter Polly Perkins (Gwyneth Paltrow) is trying to find out why giant robots have descended on New York City and why seven scientists have gone missing. The script is ambitious – going from location to location – most of it CGI but done quite well. It just misses something in the end, something I can’t put my finger on. I like this movie, but I don’t love it, and it doesn’t leave me blown away or thinking hard. The dialogue runs to stilted, the humor is brief, and the chemistry is minimal.
That said, you can’t say the leads aren’t attractive. With her oh-so-enviable long blonde mane, Paltrow looks smashing in a fedora, trench coat, heels and dark red lipstick. If she has to pick period pieces (and we know she’s good in them) I rather like the 40’s for her, just as I liked the Jean Harlow look for Gwen Stefani in ‘The Aviator.’ Refreshingly, she also avoids an accent, although we know from ‘Sliding Doors’ that she can do a British accent more capably than most.
The problem is, she doesn’t smolder like she wants to and the role could have benefited from a bit more spark. Instead, she sometimes comes off as a little dry and even slightly annoying. One imagines Rita Hayworth eating her for breakfast.
It doesn’t help that Angelina Jolie shows up halfway through the film. As we already know, this gal is what you would probably refer to over a beer as ‘sex on a stick’ – she always smolders, she doesn’t know how not to. So even though her role is brief and buttoned up, you see what Polly could have been. And she also does a British accent quite capably.
Whether you’re tired of him in the tabloids or not (and I’ll admit to the fatigue over both him and most definitely Jolie), Jude Law is sexy and brooding as Sky Captain, better known to Polly as Joe. The swept back hair and bomber jacket suit him and his handsome jaw, even as he’s slugging shots of milk of magnesia and throwing Polly out of his office or sparring with her in his souped-up P-51. In fact, the planes are one of my favorite parts of the film. There's a bit of Bond in this flick's technical aspects, and I liked it. Now, if only the film had put in some of the humor and sexual tension of a Bond flick. THAT would have been something.
For movie and TV fans alike, Giovanni Ribisi turns up as Joe’s friend Dex – he’s always invaluable. He’s always better as a supporting player because he’s versatile and quirky at the same time. Michael Gambon has a walk-on role. And the film utilizes some footage of Sir Laurence Olivier, who I didn’t recognize until his name rolled in the credits.
Animal Trauma: If, like me, you want to know beforehand if anything bad happens to animals in a film, this is a good indicator. In this film, none, unless you count an elephant shrunk to the size of a cat, which was a little creepy and never explained. On the plus side, Polly saves many animals from destruction.
Overall: Visually stunning, plot ambitious but somehow lacking in verve. I give it three roses out of five.
Saturday, July 15, 2006
Barbaro
Over the last two days I've been an absolute faucet while watching ESPN, hoping for good news about Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Every time they show something on him I have to reach for the Kleenex, good news or bad.
The update -
As docs feared he might, he's developed severe laminitis in his left rear leg. Horses need to be able to balance equally on all four feet - it's the way they're designed. So when he put too much weight on the left rear leg, it caused laminitis, a painful condition similar, so I'm told, to having your fingernails removed. His hoof peels away from the hoof wall, I understand (hooves are made up of several parts, but I couldn't tell you what they were). The docs had to cut away 80% of his hoof wall and are keeping him part time in a sling to ease the weight on his feet. He's also on painkillers.
The only thing keeping him alive right now is his upbeat demeanor - he's eating well, sleeping well (lying down, which horses often do, despite what you learned in school) and reacting well to people. Let me stress this. Had he been just about any other horse, he would be dead by now. But his good nature, and loving owners, have kept him alive this long, and I hope for a long time to come. The nation is watching, and so is horse racing, and not only is it good for him to stay alive, it's good for racing.
People keep asking me if racing is cruel. Is it? Isn't football just as cruel to the men who play it and then endure years of pain in their knees and hips from all the hits they took on artificial turf? Isn't boxing cruel for causing Parkinson's in those who take so many hits to the head? Isn't auto racing cruel for killing so many of its promising stars?
You can argue those people chose those sports while horses didn't choose to run. I can agree and disagree. Those people DID choose those sports and they know the risks. But try to tell a horse bred throughout centuries not to run. It's who they are. Certainly Thoroughbred racing can do a MUCH better job of protecting its athletes before, during and AFTER their racing careers. I'm not going to argue that, I see the needs. But it's improving and people are turning more and more of their attention to retirement for racehorses - giving them pastures to play in and taking them to juvenile centers where kids learn about unconditional love, sometimes for the first time ever. There are many strides to be made, that's for certain. But there are also so many good things about it, so many positive moves made (medical breakthroughs that benefited not just Barbaro but horses everywhere; Alex's Lemonade Stand to name a few) that although racing, like many other sports, has its cruelties, not having racing, losing all of those jobs and watching all of those horses, no longer useful, sent to slaughter, would be much more cruel.
So say a prayer or two for Barbaro, if you're into that sort of thing. I am, and I do.
Question of the day: On a lighter note, does anybody know where I can get WAV files of Alias and Veronica Mars audio? I'm making a fun CD full of TV themes and quotes, and those are two shows I would love to quote from, but I can't find websites with that stuff on it for either show. Help!
The update -
As docs feared he might, he's developed severe laminitis in his left rear leg. Horses need to be able to balance equally on all four feet - it's the way they're designed. So when he put too much weight on the left rear leg, it caused laminitis, a painful condition similar, so I'm told, to having your fingernails removed. His hoof peels away from the hoof wall, I understand (hooves are made up of several parts, but I couldn't tell you what they were). The docs had to cut away 80% of his hoof wall and are keeping him part time in a sling to ease the weight on his feet. He's also on painkillers.
The only thing keeping him alive right now is his upbeat demeanor - he's eating well, sleeping well (lying down, which horses often do, despite what you learned in school) and reacting well to people. Let me stress this. Had he been just about any other horse, he would be dead by now. But his good nature, and loving owners, have kept him alive this long, and I hope for a long time to come. The nation is watching, and so is horse racing, and not only is it good for him to stay alive, it's good for racing.
People keep asking me if racing is cruel. Is it? Isn't football just as cruel to the men who play it and then endure years of pain in their knees and hips from all the hits they took on artificial turf? Isn't boxing cruel for causing Parkinson's in those who take so many hits to the head? Isn't auto racing cruel for killing so many of its promising stars?
You can argue those people chose those sports while horses didn't choose to run. I can agree and disagree. Those people DID choose those sports and they know the risks. But try to tell a horse bred throughout centuries not to run. It's who they are. Certainly Thoroughbred racing can do a MUCH better job of protecting its athletes before, during and AFTER their racing careers. I'm not going to argue that, I see the needs. But it's improving and people are turning more and more of their attention to retirement for racehorses - giving them pastures to play in and taking them to juvenile centers where kids learn about unconditional love, sometimes for the first time ever. There are many strides to be made, that's for certain. But there are also so many good things about it, so many positive moves made (medical breakthroughs that benefited not just Barbaro but horses everywhere; Alex's Lemonade Stand to name a few) that although racing, like many other sports, has its cruelties, not having racing, losing all of those jobs and watching all of those horses, no longer useful, sent to slaughter, would be much more cruel.
So say a prayer or two for Barbaro, if you're into that sort of thing. I am, and I do.
Question of the day: On a lighter note, does anybody know where I can get WAV files of Alias and Veronica Mars audio? I'm making a fun CD full of TV themes and quotes, and those are two shows I would love to quote from, but I can't find websites with that stuff on it for either show. Help!
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Sudden Best Friend Phenomenon
Over the last year, I've had two experiences I've termed "Sudden Best Friend Phenomenon," and they strike me as so weird, they should have become an episode of a tv show like Sex and the City. Here's what happened to me the first time.
A couple of years ago a guy I worked with brought his girlfriend to the unofficial office Christmas party. I talked to the guy and his girlfriend for a while as I mixed with the crowd, and she and I apparently chatted about horses. After that she dropped by the office a couple of times and if I happened to be up front near the reception desk I would say hi, but that was the extent of it. (I always try hard to be nice to significant others of friends, family and coworkers so they feel comfortable, and as you all know, I can talk the ear off a marble Shakespeare bust. But I don't do more than polite and chatty conversation.)
Fast forward to earlier this year. I get an email from this woman saying she's back in Michigan . (She and the coworker have since broken up and she had moved out of state for several years.) She asks if I remember her and I write back to say I do, and politely ask how things are going.
That's apparently the wrong thing to do because she sends me emails saying she wants to hang out. Now remember, I had one real conversation with her several years ago and probably couldn't pick her out of a police lineup. Now, those of you who know me well know I take a long time to get to know people - I'm friendly but cautious. So some strange woman wanting to hang out with me is a little odd in my opinion. I chat with her a few more times over email but gently rebuff her, the way I would with a date who is 4'11" and hygienically challenged. I don't hear from her for a while but then I get this long group email telling everyone she knows how her cat has died.
I like cats as much as the next person, and I'm sorry to hear this, but I never met the damn cat. Her ex tells me she's not a stalker and doesn't know too many people in town now, but I don't respond to her message regardless, and I don't hear from her again.
Second incident. I am at the Mixer on the Mall in early June when I overhear a woman looking for a former co-worker. I stop to say the co-worker was planning to be at the Mixer as I'd talked to her earlier, and immediately this woman, who is in her mid-40s probably and very gregarious, stops and chats like we're old friends. I immediately see my kind gesture probably was a bad idea, but after a few minutes she's convinced me to give her my business card, and then I'm able to skedaddle.
Cut to today. The phone rings and it's this woman. I talked to her a month and a half ago and had forgotten all about her. She calls to invite me to a party tonight and tell me she hasn't called because she's been out of town. Um, I have something to do tonight, but perhaps I'll run into her at the Mixer tomorrow, I say. Suddenly, it's a date, and she wants to meet me specifically at a certain time and place. I have talked to her for a total of five whole minutes. I tell her I'm already meeting people at the Mixer but perhaps we'll run into each other, and then I get off the phone.
Why can't cute normal men be like this? Why is this just lonely women older than me? Do I show up on lesbian-dar? I don't think either of these women were hitting on me. (Sorry Mike, I know that ruins your whole mental image.) I'm clearly not the most socially adept person in the world (as you all know) but this strikes me as just a little peculiar. Why suddenly am I at the top of their social food chain? Because if I am, their social food chain is full of those dates I rebuff, apparently, and that is a sad sad thing.
Horse racing tip of the day: I finally caught up on the last several weekends of horse racing and watched Lava Man nearly get beat in the Classic division by a horse I'd never heard of (Ace Blue I think it was). If you're watching the Classic division, keep an eye out for names familiar to you from the Triple Crown, like Bernardini and Jazil. They could make the BC Classic (Nov 4) tough on those top older horses.
A couple of years ago a guy I worked with brought his girlfriend to the unofficial office Christmas party. I talked to the guy and his girlfriend for a while as I mixed with the crowd, and she and I apparently chatted about horses. After that she dropped by the office a couple of times and if I happened to be up front near the reception desk I would say hi, but that was the extent of it. (I always try hard to be nice to significant others of friends, family and coworkers so they feel comfortable, and as you all know, I can talk the ear off a marble Shakespeare bust. But I don't do more than polite and chatty conversation.)
Fast forward to earlier this year. I get an email from this woman saying she's back in Michigan . (She and the coworker have since broken up and she had moved out of state for several years.) She asks if I remember her and I write back to say I do, and politely ask how things are going.
That's apparently the wrong thing to do because she sends me emails saying she wants to hang out. Now remember, I had one real conversation with her several years ago and probably couldn't pick her out of a police lineup. Now, those of you who know me well know I take a long time to get to know people - I'm friendly but cautious. So some strange woman wanting to hang out with me is a little odd in my opinion. I chat with her a few more times over email but gently rebuff her, the way I would with a date who is 4'11" and hygienically challenged. I don't hear from her for a while but then I get this long group email telling everyone she knows how her cat has died.
I like cats as much as the next person, and I'm sorry to hear this, but I never met the damn cat. Her ex tells me she's not a stalker and doesn't know too many people in town now, but I don't respond to her message regardless, and I don't hear from her again.
Second incident. I am at the Mixer on the Mall in early June when I overhear a woman looking for a former co-worker. I stop to say the co-worker was planning to be at the Mixer as I'd talked to her earlier, and immediately this woman, who is in her mid-40s probably and very gregarious, stops and chats like we're old friends. I immediately see my kind gesture probably was a bad idea, but after a few minutes she's convinced me to give her my business card, and then I'm able to skedaddle.
Cut to today. The phone rings and it's this woman. I talked to her a month and a half ago and had forgotten all about her. She calls to invite me to a party tonight and tell me she hasn't called because she's been out of town. Um, I have something to do tonight, but perhaps I'll run into her at the Mixer tomorrow, I say. Suddenly, it's a date, and she wants to meet me specifically at a certain time and place. I have talked to her for a total of five whole minutes. I tell her I'm already meeting people at the Mixer but perhaps we'll run into each other, and then I get off the phone.
Why can't cute normal men be like this? Why is this just lonely women older than me? Do I show up on lesbian-dar? I don't think either of these women were hitting on me. (Sorry Mike, I know that ruins your whole mental image.) I'm clearly not the most socially adept person in the world (as you all know) but this strikes me as just a little peculiar. Why suddenly am I at the top of their social food chain? Because if I am, their social food chain is full of those dates I rebuff, apparently, and that is a sad sad thing.
Horse racing tip of the day: I finally caught up on the last several weekends of horse racing and watched Lava Man nearly get beat in the Classic division by a horse I'd never heard of (Ace Blue I think it was). If you're watching the Classic division, keep an eye out for names familiar to you from the Triple Crown, like Bernardini and Jazil. They could make the BC Classic (Nov 4) tough on those top older horses.
Monday, July 10, 2006
Random Thoughts
New Road Rules: Gravel trucks should be banned from expressways. A couple of weeks ago on my way to Lansing, I heard a 'ping' of a rock hitting my windshield but didn't see a mark. I didn't see the gravel truck (it was around a curve) so I figured it was random. Nope. A few minutes later another 'thwack' and there was a star in my windshield. I was pretty pissed, especially because it was a Saturday and I couldn't get it fixed right away, but Mike and Jenn's friend Jeff took a look at it (thanks Jeff!) and said it should be okay for a few days. I got it sealed up the following Tuesday and all was well. However, a week or two later I was washing my windshield to put Rain-X on it, and I found a small ding toward the top of the windshield that must have been from the first rock. So in the space of five minutes, from a gravel truck on I-69, I got TWO dings in my windshield. Argh!!!! Ban that, lawmakers, and forget the gay marriage freakout!
I finally heard Isabelle call me LaLa (I love it! Especially when I realized today that there is a line in a Verve Pipe song, which I believe references another song, that says "LaLa means I love you.") She only does it when she can't actually see me which is really funny (she's a little shy). I helped teach her where her belly button is! She's so much fun! And getting more fun the older she gets. I now know why parents put their kids on harnesses. I tried chasing her through Kohl's in high heels - I could barely keep up with her! She's a year and a half and apparently part Andretti. However, she hasn't developed her shopping gene yet. That will come when she's a teenager. And it WILL come. To this family, shopping is a sport, and it's in the blood. Lisa finally developed her gene. It took some time, but it's there.
What is it with people throwing trash out their car windows? I saw that twice this weekend. People, the ashtray is built into your car so you can put your cigarette butt in it. And carry a plastic Meijer baggie in your car, for heaven's sake AND THROW YOUR TRASH IN THAT. Not out your window. Where exactly do you think that goes? I'm going to drive by YOUR house and throw my crap on YOUR lawn. After all, it's because of people like you that kind volunteers risk their lives to clean up the highways in Michigan, wearing ugly orange vests and usually sweating profusely. And I love the cigarette butt thing. WE'RE DRIVING VEHICLES FULL OF GASOLINE, WHICH IS FLAMMABLE! Did it ever occur to you that throwing an article that is, essentially, ON FIRE, toward a car full of gas, is a bad idea?
Congrats to Angie on her new house! (Almost all set and ready to go, that is, since the home inspection is this week.) Yay!!!!! I know she's excited to start decorating. That girl should open her own interior decorating shop someday. (That, and start her own video production company. Ask her how she'd design a video for a new song, and she comes up with some great ideas, many of which are miles better than what the band actually came up with. If only the Pipe had hired HER, they'd be more successful, I think.)
Hopefully Rachael will get to come home from the hospital soon. She's still there but doing pretty well, Chris and Linda tell me. And she's darn cute! And she has a lot of hair! I can't wait to meet her.
Horse racing tip of the day: It's not really a tip, but I finally got around to watching the Stephen Foster Handicap from a few weeks ago, and I have to say PERFECT DRIFT IS WONDERFUL! I love that little horse. I hope he gets a really good retirement. AFTER he wins the Breeders Cup Classic this fall, that is.
I finally heard Isabelle call me LaLa (I love it! Especially when I realized today that there is a line in a Verve Pipe song, which I believe references another song, that says "LaLa means I love you.") She only does it when she can't actually see me which is really funny (she's a little shy). I helped teach her where her belly button is! She's so much fun! And getting more fun the older she gets. I now know why parents put their kids on harnesses. I tried chasing her through Kohl's in high heels - I could barely keep up with her! She's a year and a half and apparently part Andretti. However, she hasn't developed her shopping gene yet. That will come when she's a teenager. And it WILL come. To this family, shopping is a sport, and it's in the blood. Lisa finally developed her gene. It took some time, but it's there.
What is it with people throwing trash out their car windows? I saw that twice this weekend. People, the ashtray is built into your car so you can put your cigarette butt in it. And carry a plastic Meijer baggie in your car, for heaven's sake AND THROW YOUR TRASH IN THAT. Not out your window. Where exactly do you think that goes? I'm going to drive by YOUR house and throw my crap on YOUR lawn. After all, it's because of people like you that kind volunteers risk their lives to clean up the highways in Michigan, wearing ugly orange vests and usually sweating profusely. And I love the cigarette butt thing. WE'RE DRIVING VEHICLES FULL OF GASOLINE, WHICH IS FLAMMABLE! Did it ever occur to you that throwing an article that is, essentially, ON FIRE, toward a car full of gas, is a bad idea?
Congrats to Angie on her new house! (Almost all set and ready to go, that is, since the home inspection is this week.) Yay!!!!! I know she's excited to start decorating. That girl should open her own interior decorating shop someday. (That, and start her own video production company. Ask her how she'd design a video for a new song, and she comes up with some great ideas, many of which are miles better than what the band actually came up with. If only the Pipe had hired HER, they'd be more successful, I think.)
Hopefully Rachael will get to come home from the hospital soon. She's still there but doing pretty well, Chris and Linda tell me. And she's darn cute! And she has a lot of hair! I can't wait to meet her.
Horse racing tip of the day: It's not really a tip, but I finally got around to watching the Stephen Foster Handicap from a few weeks ago, and I have to say PERFECT DRIFT IS WONDERFUL! I love that little horse. I hope he gets a really good retirement. AFTER he wins the Breeders Cup Classic this fall, that is.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Movies and Such
I just had to break up a sparrow fight on my balcony. Those little buggers get LOUD when they're fighting over stale popcorn. This, ladies and gentlemen, is what you do after three hours of videotaping middle schoolers pinning bugs to styrofoam for the Fair. (Part of that project I'm working on.) When you catch the bug, you stick it in a baggie and put it in the freezer to kill it so you can mount it. One of the girls had caught a moth so large, she had to put it in Gladware because it wouldn't go in a ziploc bag. I think it was so big, it had a license plate.
So I've seen a couple of movies in the past few days worth watching. Tammy and I rented "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" (Spencer Tracy's last movie, if you're interested) and what I wasn't expecting was that it would be FUNNY. Of course it's poignant and it makes you think, but it also has some priceless moments. Watching Isabel Sanford herself chewing out Sidney Poitier is absolutely hilarious. And speaking of Poitier, who knew he had such a lovely smile? All the movie roles I've ever seen him in have been serious ones. It's nice to see his lighter side. And there's always the inimitable Katharine Hepburn, who shows her acting chops as she always does. And Tracy is actually quite hilarious (Oregon Boosenberry, anybody?). So I recommend this one, both for its deep themes, great acting, and its lighter moments.
We also rented "About a Boy" which is a Hugh Grant vehicle, but he plays the cad part well, and he looks pretty good doing it, I thought, although I would say I'm not one of those that swoon for him (I save that for other actors). But it's a great story, Toni Collette is, as always, priceless, Rachel Weisz is, as always, gorgeous (but a bit underused) and the kid who plays the kid is really quite good (I just can't recall his name). By the way I figured out where I'd seen that female friend of his, Tammy. She was Havers in the Inspector Lynley mysteries.
And I'm halfway through "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and I feel like I've been taking some very powerful drugs. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.
Horse racing tip of the day: If you're interested in watching the Breeders Cup Nov. 4th, now's the time to start checking NTRA.com and ESPN.com for race results. We're at the point of prep races for the BC event and we will do that over the summer and into the fall, but this is when attention starts to focus on the contenders here and overseas.
Also a Barbaro Update: he's got a new cast and some new screws, but seems to be doing well. I'll keep you posted.
So I've seen a couple of movies in the past few days worth watching. Tammy and I rented "Guess Who's Coming To Dinner" (Spencer Tracy's last movie, if you're interested) and what I wasn't expecting was that it would be FUNNY. Of course it's poignant and it makes you think, but it also has some priceless moments. Watching Isabel Sanford herself chewing out Sidney Poitier is absolutely hilarious. And speaking of Poitier, who knew he had such a lovely smile? All the movie roles I've ever seen him in have been serious ones. It's nice to see his lighter side. And there's always the inimitable Katharine Hepburn, who shows her acting chops as she always does. And Tracy is actually quite hilarious (Oregon Boosenberry, anybody?). So I recommend this one, both for its deep themes, great acting, and its lighter moments.
We also rented "About a Boy" which is a Hugh Grant vehicle, but he plays the cad part well, and he looks pretty good doing it, I thought, although I would say I'm not one of those that swoon for him (I save that for other actors). But it's a great story, Toni Collette is, as always, priceless, Rachel Weisz is, as always, gorgeous (but a bit underused) and the kid who plays the kid is really quite good (I just can't recall his name). By the way I figured out where I'd seen that female friend of his, Tammy. She was Havers in the Inspector Lynley mysteries.
And I'm halfway through "The Adventures of Baron Munchausen" and I feel like I've been taking some very powerful drugs. I'll keep you posted on how that turns out.
Horse racing tip of the day: If you're interested in watching the Breeders Cup Nov. 4th, now's the time to start checking NTRA.com and ESPN.com for race results. We're at the point of prep races for the BC event and we will do that over the summer and into the fall, but this is when attention starts to focus on the contenders here and overseas.
Also a Barbaro Update: he's got a new cast and some new screws, but seems to be doing well. I'll keep you posted.
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