Just the quote today:
"Staring down the Eppley Gate
2 more days before the plane arrives
and you'll be standing there with your smile
Carving up the lobby seats
pushing down the caffeine drinks
Checking the arrival screens for yours."
Southern Belles in London Sing, The Faint.
Not quite counting down in hours yet, but that can't be far off.
Thursday, April 28, 2005
Tuesday, April 26, 2005
God bless the Irish.
U2 and the Kings of Leon played Key Arena last night, which was amazing. Marshall and I joined MJ and his friend from high school for dinner beforehand and the show itself. I’ve seen U2 once before, but this was an amazing show, which was cool since Marshall's never seen them live before. Indie Rocker loves the Kings, but I’ve not really heard much of their stuff. Their performance was quite good and the lead singer reminds me of Jack White. That’s not a bad thing. Plus, their last song was made even better. The lead singer was saying how much the band loves Seattle and how they love being there. He then proceeded to announce that they had a friend coming to join them onstage. The friend? Eddie Vedder. Awesome.
After that particularly cool song, they took off and the stage got set up for U2. We were kind of up in the rafters, but for Key Arena, it’s not that far up and there really aren’t any bad seats. The stage was really cool-looking, and Marshall and I were really interested to see what it was going to do. There was an oval catwalk that extended around part of the audience and halfway across the floor, while the stage proper was circular and laid out at one end of the oval, farthest away from us. There were a bunch of screens above the stage and some sets to the left and right.
Once the lights went down, the crowd just went nuts once the band got onstage. Their first few songs, aside from “Vertigo” were mostly new ones that I didn’t really know. I must get that new album before we go see them again in December. Either way, they kicked into so many amazing songs that it was hard to keep track of them. I was ecstatic to hear “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” as it is my all-time favorite U2 song and they didn’t play it last time I saw them. So really, I can die happy now. They played all sorts of great stuff, from “Where the Streets Have No Name” to “Zoo Station,” “Mysterious Ways,” “One,” “Running to Stand Still,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “Beautiful Day,” “Pride,” “New Year’s Day” and a few others. Apparently they played “40” on Sunday night and I’m horribly jealous. Oh well. It still kicked serious ass and I’m definitely glad that we went.
Even if Marshall and I got home at 3am and I can’t really talk today. It was worth it!
Quote of the Day: “One man come on a barbed wire fence/one man he resist/one man come on an empty beach/one man betrayed with a kiss/in the name of love/one more in the name of love/in the name of love/one more in the name of love.” Pride (In the Name of Love), U2.
After that particularly cool song, they took off and the stage got set up for U2. We were kind of up in the rafters, but for Key Arena, it’s not that far up and there really aren’t any bad seats. The stage was really cool-looking, and Marshall and I were really interested to see what it was going to do. There was an oval catwalk that extended around part of the audience and halfway across the floor, while the stage proper was circular and laid out at one end of the oval, farthest away from us. There were a bunch of screens above the stage and some sets to the left and right.
Once the lights went down, the crowd just went nuts once the band got onstage. Their first few songs, aside from “Vertigo” were mostly new ones that I didn’t really know. I must get that new album before we go see them again in December. Either way, they kicked into so many amazing songs that it was hard to keep track of them. I was ecstatic to hear “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” as it is my all-time favorite U2 song and they didn’t play it last time I saw them. So really, I can die happy now. They played all sorts of great stuff, from “Where the Streets Have No Name” to “Zoo Station,” “Mysterious Ways,” “One,” “Running to Stand Still,” “Bullet the Blue Sky,” “Beautiful Day,” “Pride,” “New Year’s Day” and a few others. Apparently they played “40” on Sunday night and I’m horribly jealous. Oh well. It still kicked serious ass and I’m definitely glad that we went.
Even if Marshall and I got home at 3am and I can’t really talk today. It was worth it!
Quote of the Day: “One man come on a barbed wire fence/one man he resist/one man come on an empty beach/one man betrayed with a kiss/in the name of love/one more in the name of love/in the name of love/one more in the name of love.” Pride (In the Name of Love), U2.
Monday, April 25, 2005
It's Machine Washable. That's a new feature.
Once again, I failed to qualify for my Cert II. I’m taking this as a sign that I need to stop examining, because I’m starting to hate skiing. This is bad on several levels, because skiing really is one of my favorite things. Obviously there is something that I am just not getting, so continuing to bang my head against this particular brick wall is going to cause me to quit. Instead, I am going to work on more freestyle, probably take up tele skiing, and just cut back on my exposure to PSIA for the next year or so. I just don’t need the aggro anymore!
However, a big, fat congrats to Marshall and Bientot for getting their IIs as well as Mayday and Bono for getting their IIIs. While not a successful weekend for me, it was very successful for everyone else and I’m totally stoked for them.
When I came home last night, Mom had made my favorite dinner for me, Dad had poured a big old glass of pinot noir and Speedy had us all watch “The Incredibles.” My family kicks some serious ass.
And did I mention that Indie Rocker gets home in 4 days? He’s threatening to come to my game on Saturday and I’m telling him not to, so I won’t be so distracted!!
Quote of the Day: “You can't! It's impossible! I'm far too busy, so ask me now before I again become sane.” Edna “E” Mode (Brad Bird), The Incredibles.
However, a big, fat congrats to Marshall and Bientot for getting their IIs as well as Mayday and Bono for getting their IIIs. While not a successful weekend for me, it was very successful for everyone else and I’m totally stoked for them.
When I came home last night, Mom had made my favorite dinner for me, Dad had poured a big old glass of pinot noir and Speedy had us all watch “The Incredibles.” My family kicks some serious ass.
And did I mention that Indie Rocker gets home in 4 days? He’s threatening to come to my game on Saturday and I’m telling him not to, so I won’t be so distracted!!
Quote of the Day: “You can't! It's impossible! I'm far too busy, so ask me now before I again become sane.” Edna “E” Mode (Brad Bird), The Incredibles.
Friday, April 22, 2005
Speed of Sound
God, I am a giddy girl right now. I got flowers at work today, and I'll be sure to post some pics. They are so pretty and so welcome. Indie Rocker sent them to wish me luck on my Cert II exam this weekend at Bachelor. I think we're going to take them with us. I'm so glad that he's home in a week. I think he is too.
Quote of the Day: "All that noise and all that sound/all those places I got found/My thoughts go flying at the speed of the sound/to show you how it all began/let's keep flying from the underground/if you could see it then you'd understand." Speed of Sound, Coldplay.
Quote of the Day: "All that noise and all that sound/all those places I got found/My thoughts go flying at the speed of the sound/to show you how it all began/let's keep flying from the underground/if you could see it then you'd understand." Speed of Sound, Coldplay.
Tuesday, April 19, 2005
The Last Waltz
I watched “The Last Waltz” last night with my family. The movie itself is difficult to describe because it is so powerful and amazing. Essentially, The Band performed their last concert at the Winterland in San Francisco in 1976, on Thanksgiving. While that really means nothing to me, apparently the Winterland was a really small venue for them after 16 years on the road, but was significant because it was the first place where they played as The Band. Either way, they invited some of their friends to play and Martin Scorsese put it on film.
The movie came out in 1978, which was the year before I was born. Several things floored Speedy and me while we were watching the movie. We realized that we knew almost all of The Band’s songs, despite not really realizing we’d been listening to them our whole lives. The sheer musicality of the set, coupled with the astounding musical talent displayed by both The Band and all of their friends was overwhelming. Music has done a lot of changing in our lifetimes and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
We got into a big discussion about the influence of commercialization on music and the negative effect it has had on producing quality musicians. One of the members of The Band, Garth, can play just about anything put into his hands and play it well. He busted out everything from an organ to a saxophone to an accordion during the show and played it well. Every member of The Band could do that. Even the bassist, who I was convinced spent most of the movie coked to the gills, played bass, lead, a violin, and an upright bass. At one point, the drummer picked up a banjo while the piano player headed over to the drums. It was stunning to see so many different people who had mastered so many different and difficult instruments. It’s a lot more impressive than watching some teenager belt out what amounts to glorified karaoke.
The guests were outstanding as well. Everybody and their mother showed up to play. Speedy and I kept gasping when we recognized Joni Mitchell singing backup for Neil Young’s “Helpless.” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Neil Young smile before.
Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” actually brought tears to my eyes because it was beautiful, haunting, and so far above anything I’d ever heard before.
Plus, the best part about the whole thing was how excited my dad was. He was so happy to get to share the whole thing with Speedy and me. He had this big grin on his face the whole time and whenever Speedy or I would get all excited, or react to something, he’d smile even bigger. It was really cool.
I’m starting to realize that I’m a pretty lucky kid to have as cool a family as I do. And that I’m still being raised to be weird. However, I’ve accepted that.
Quote of the Day: "He called me up, and I said, "Sure I'd like a job. What does it mean? What do I do?" And he said, "Well, son, you won't make much money, but you'll get more pussy than Frank Sinatra." Robbie Robertson on Ronnie Hawkins
The movie came out in 1978, which was the year before I was born. Several things floored Speedy and me while we were watching the movie. We realized that we knew almost all of The Band’s songs, despite not really realizing we’d been listening to them our whole lives. The sheer musicality of the set, coupled with the astounding musical talent displayed by both The Band and all of their friends was overwhelming. Music has done a lot of changing in our lifetimes and that’s not necessarily a good thing.
We got into a big discussion about the influence of commercialization on music and the negative effect it has had on producing quality musicians. One of the members of The Band, Garth, can play just about anything put into his hands and play it well. He busted out everything from an organ to a saxophone to an accordion during the show and played it well. Every member of The Band could do that. Even the bassist, who I was convinced spent most of the movie coked to the gills, played bass, lead, a violin, and an upright bass. At one point, the drummer picked up a banjo while the piano player headed over to the drums. It was stunning to see so many different people who had mastered so many different and difficult instruments. It’s a lot more impressive than watching some teenager belt out what amounts to glorified karaoke.
The guests were outstanding as well. Everybody and their mother showed up to play. Speedy and I kept gasping when we recognized Joni Mitchell singing backup for Neil Young’s “Helpless.” I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Neil Young smile before.
Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” actually brought tears to my eyes because it was beautiful, haunting, and so far above anything I’d ever heard before.
Plus, the best part about the whole thing was how excited my dad was. He was so happy to get to share the whole thing with Speedy and me. He had this big grin on his face the whole time and whenever Speedy or I would get all excited, or react to something, he’d smile even bigger. It was really cool.
I’m starting to realize that I’m a pretty lucky kid to have as cool a family as I do. And that I’m still being raised to be weird. However, I’ve accepted that.
Quote of the Day: "He called me up, and I said, "Sure I'd like a job. What does it mean? What do I do?" And he said, "Well, son, you won't make much money, but you'll get more pussy than Frank Sinatra." Robbie Robertson on Ronnie Hawkins
Monday, April 18, 2005
The countdown continues.
Skiing in the rain is something I generally don’t do anymore, but Marshall was adamant this weekend and it probably did me more good than harm anyway. Fortunately, it only rained on Saturday and cleared up—well, turned into snow, anyway—on Sunday.
Friday was an interesting evening as it turned into a full-on pub crawl with a bunch of my and Joy’s friends. We must have hit something like 7 different pubs. It was unbelievable. What was equally unbelievable was how stinking drunk we all were at the end of the evening. I am so glad that a relatively sober Chitown came to my rescue and drove me home. That was nice! Getting up the next morning was not. On the bright side, I did get a chance to come home and take a nap before eating and getting ready to go to an old friend’s house for Sporty’s birthday party. Speedy came with me and I got a great chance to reconnect with a bunch of college friends, wish Sporty well and have a mellow night before heading back up to the mountain in the morning. I caught a ride up with Speedy and Bono, who got along very well.
Apparently I miss quite the night of drama in HR, so I’m really glad that I went home. Marshall and Roche have been spending quite a bit of time together, which by default means that I’ve been spending a lot of time with Roche. It’s an adjustment, for sure, and one that’s been a bit tough to make while Indie Rocker is out of town. It’ll get easier, so I’m not worried, but it won’t get much easier until Indie Rocker’s back.
God, I promised myself I wouldn’t start with that again! Gah! 12 more days…
Quote of the Day: “If it doesn’t kill us, well I guess it makes us stronger/but my strength is aching as my eyes just drift away." Anymore, The Samples
Friday was an interesting evening as it turned into a full-on pub crawl with a bunch of my and Joy’s friends. We must have hit something like 7 different pubs. It was unbelievable. What was equally unbelievable was how stinking drunk we all were at the end of the evening. I am so glad that a relatively sober Chitown came to my rescue and drove me home. That was nice! Getting up the next morning was not. On the bright side, I did get a chance to come home and take a nap before eating and getting ready to go to an old friend’s house for Sporty’s birthday party. Speedy came with me and I got a great chance to reconnect with a bunch of college friends, wish Sporty well and have a mellow night before heading back up to the mountain in the morning. I caught a ride up with Speedy and Bono, who got along very well.
Apparently I miss quite the night of drama in HR, so I’m really glad that I went home. Marshall and Roche have been spending quite a bit of time together, which by default means that I’ve been spending a lot of time with Roche. It’s an adjustment, for sure, and one that’s been a bit tough to make while Indie Rocker is out of town. It’ll get easier, so I’m not worried, but it won’t get much easier until Indie Rocker’s back.
God, I promised myself I wouldn’t start with that again! Gah! 12 more days…
Quote of the Day: “If it doesn’t kill us, well I guess it makes us stronger/but my strength is aching as my eyes just drift away." Anymore, The Samples
Friday, April 15, 2005
Saving Myself
Well, there are going to be some pretty major changes around here in the next few weeks and months. As it stands now, I am no longer going to be leaving for New Zealand. Unfortunately, since I didn’t get my Cert II in time, the jobs just aren’t available. Also, the weakness of the dollar is making international travel unbelievably expensive to developed countries. I’m sure it would still be cheap to go to Thailand or something, but Australia and New Zealand have way too strong of currency.
I’m also looking for a new job pretty seriously. I’ve dabbled before, but my job is about to change pretty drastically and I have no interest in pursuing it where it’s going to go. I’ve been here too long anyway, so it’s time for a change. Besides, you’re always more hireable when you’re still employed, right?
Other than that, things are just as they’ve always been, so I’ve got that going for me. I’m maddeningly busy for the next two weeks, but that’s both good and bad. Bad for my mother trying to plan a special dinner before Speedy leaves for her summer job, but good because Indie Rocker will be home in no time. Talking to him this morning just made my whole day. There you go, my sappy admission for the day. Cheers!
Quote of the Day: “You look like the perfect fit/for a girl in need of a tourniquet/But can you save me/come on and save me/from the ranks of the freaks/who suspect/they could never love anyone?” Save Me, Aimee Mann.
I’m also looking for a new job pretty seriously. I’ve dabbled before, but my job is about to change pretty drastically and I have no interest in pursuing it where it’s going to go. I’ve been here too long anyway, so it’s time for a change. Besides, you’re always more hireable when you’re still employed, right?
Other than that, things are just as they’ve always been, so I’ve got that going for me. I’m maddeningly busy for the next two weeks, but that’s both good and bad. Bad for my mother trying to plan a special dinner before Speedy leaves for her summer job, but good because Indie Rocker will be home in no time. Talking to him this morning just made my whole day. There you go, my sappy admission for the day. Cheers!
Quote of the Day: “You look like the perfect fit/for a girl in need of a tourniquet/But can you save me/come on and save me/from the ranks of the freaks/who suspect/they could never love anyone?” Save Me, Aimee Mann.
Thursday, April 14, 2005
Stayin' true to the game
God, listen to me with the melodrama! Somebody please just shoot me next time I’m feeling so sorry for myself. Things are much better around here today after a crazy fun day yesterday. Work wasn’t such a blast, but the rest of the day rocked. My girls played their first game against the best team in the league and really held their own. I’m so proud of them. I’m a spastic coach at the games, to the surprise of absolutely nobody. The dads who were helping were making fun of me—joking that I clearly had no passion for the game and didn’t enjoy what I was doing as I ran running commentary, coordinated subs, jumped up and down and tried to encourage my girls psychically, since my voice wasn’t cooperating.
After the game, I headed home and then met the fam out at a new sports bar where a number of Champ Car drivers were making an appearance. It was awesome, because we recognized almost all of the drivers and several of them are total hotties. Never a bad thing. Also, I managed to run into Gorgeous, who is sporting quite the deep, dark tan these days. I wonder where he went for spring break!!
After that, I headed back to my hood to hang out with Chitown and one of my old buddies from college, Madras. It was so awesome to sit around, drink beer and chill for a few hours. I nearly overslept this morning, but managed to make it to the bus, where I donned my headphones and promptly missed a call from Indie Rocker. Dammit. Oh well. He left a sweet message and I got an email this morning, too. 15 more days!
Quote of the Day: “We’re not ballin’or shot callin’/we take it back to the days of yes y’allin’/We holdin’ on to what’s golden/On a stage I rage and I’m rollin’!” What’s Golden, Jurassic 5.
After the game, I headed home and then met the fam out at a new sports bar where a number of Champ Car drivers were making an appearance. It was awesome, because we recognized almost all of the drivers and several of them are total hotties. Never a bad thing. Also, I managed to run into Gorgeous, who is sporting quite the deep, dark tan these days. I wonder where he went for spring break!!
After that, I headed back to my hood to hang out with Chitown and one of my old buddies from college, Madras. It was so awesome to sit around, drink beer and chill for a few hours. I nearly overslept this morning, but managed to make it to the bus, where I donned my headphones and promptly missed a call from Indie Rocker. Dammit. Oh well. He left a sweet message and I got an email this morning, too. 15 more days!
Quote of the Day: “We’re not ballin’or shot callin’/we take it back to the days of yes y’allin’/We holdin’ on to what’s golden/On a stage I rage and I’m rollin’!” What’s Golden, Jurassic 5.
Wednesday, April 13, 2005
I Wish You Well
My voice is fluctuating again, which is irritating. I am so sick of not being able to talk that I think I overdid it once my voice started to come back. Now it’s failing again. And I'm petrified of doing permanent damage. Argh.
I’m having kind of a weird day, in that I’m tired, but I know I have a ton to do tonight. We’ve got our first game, which I am excited about despite my lack of a voice. I know that the girls are really excited, so that makes me happy. After that, my family is going out together because there’s a Champ Car/CART happy hour-type event tonight at a bar in the Pearl where a bunch of the drivers are going to be there and that just sounds straight-up cool. The whole fam is fans of open-wheel racing, specifically CART, and meeting the drivers is going to be interesting.
I think a lot of what I’m dealing with right now is a combination of stress and missing someone a lot more than I expected to. There’s a Sage Francis song I’ve been listening to where there’s a sample of someone saying “I never thought I’d miss you.” It really sums up my feelings right now, because I’m not used to this. It’s surreal, to be sure, and I’m trying not to let it take over my thoughts. Sometimes, that’s a lot harder than others. I’m a little hesitant, to be totally honest, because every relationship I’ve gotten really excited about has come back to bite me in the ass. Hence, I’m facing some trepidation about this one. Argh.
Work’s been weird because we’re going through a huge transition. There are a bunch of people leaving the department and getting new people is going to be strange. I almost feel badly about bailing out in a few months, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to go away and nothing’s going to change that. God knows my job isn’t interesting enough to keep me here.
Joy’s been laughing at me all week because she claims she’s never seen me like this. She’s probably onto something, because I can’t remember ever being like this.
“Well, I hope you’re well/and what you’ve done is right/Oh, it’s been such hell/I wish you well/I hope you’re safe tonight/‘cause it’s a long day coming/and long will it last/when it’s last day leaving/and I’m helping it pass/by loving you more.” Isobel, Dido
I’m having kind of a weird day, in that I’m tired, but I know I have a ton to do tonight. We’ve got our first game, which I am excited about despite my lack of a voice. I know that the girls are really excited, so that makes me happy. After that, my family is going out together because there’s a Champ Car/CART happy hour-type event tonight at a bar in the Pearl where a bunch of the drivers are going to be there and that just sounds straight-up cool. The whole fam is fans of open-wheel racing, specifically CART, and meeting the drivers is going to be interesting.
I think a lot of what I’m dealing with right now is a combination of stress and missing someone a lot more than I expected to. There’s a Sage Francis song I’ve been listening to where there’s a sample of someone saying “I never thought I’d miss you.” It really sums up my feelings right now, because I’m not used to this. It’s surreal, to be sure, and I’m trying not to let it take over my thoughts. Sometimes, that’s a lot harder than others. I’m a little hesitant, to be totally honest, because every relationship I’ve gotten really excited about has come back to bite me in the ass. Hence, I’m facing some trepidation about this one. Argh.
Work’s been weird because we’re going through a huge transition. There are a bunch of people leaving the department and getting new people is going to be strange. I almost feel badly about bailing out in a few months, but there’s nothing I can do about it. I have to go away and nothing’s going to change that. God knows my job isn’t interesting enough to keep me here.
Joy’s been laughing at me all week because she claims she’s never seen me like this. She’s probably onto something, because I can’t remember ever being like this.
“Well, I hope you’re well/and what you’ve done is right/Oh, it’s been such hell/I wish you well/I hope you’re safe tonight/‘cause it’s a long day coming/and long will it last/when it’s last day leaving/and I’m helping it pass/by loving you more.” Isobel, Dido
Thursday, April 07, 2005
Silence ain't Golden
I don’t mean to brag, I don’t mean to boast, but I’m seeing U2 twice when they hit the West Coast!!
That’s really the one thing that’s keeping me going today, as I have to take Indie Rocker to the airport since he’s leaving on a work trip for 3 weeks. So that sucks, just a little bit. I’m not really looking forward to having him 16 hours away for the rest of the month. I hate to be all sappy and girly, but I’m going to miss the guy.
That, and I have acute laryngitis and the doctor spent a good half hour yesterday stuffing all sorts of scopes and whatnot down my throat via my mouth and my nose and inundating me with grody lidocaine. The end result is that I have some seriously angry, red, raggedy vocal cords and that if I don’t stop yelling at practice, stop talking whenever I don’t have to, and start using a humidifier and steam, I’m going to sound like this forever. It’s kind of like when my mom used to tell me when I was making a face that if I kept it up it would stick that way, except that the doctor means it and Mom never did.
So I’m relegated to writing and playing a constant game of Charades. Can I even tell you how much fun this is going to be? One of my coworkers emailed me a picture of a mime yesterday, so I threw paper clips at her in retaliation. Argh.
Me not talking. This has to be one of Dante’s rings of Hell.
Quote of the Day: “And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand people, maybe more/People talking without speaking/People hearing without listening/People writing songs that voices never share/And no one dared/Disturb the sound of silence.” The Sound of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel.
That’s really the one thing that’s keeping me going today, as I have to take Indie Rocker to the airport since he’s leaving on a work trip for 3 weeks. So that sucks, just a little bit. I’m not really looking forward to having him 16 hours away for the rest of the month. I hate to be all sappy and girly, but I’m going to miss the guy.
That, and I have acute laryngitis and the doctor spent a good half hour yesterday stuffing all sorts of scopes and whatnot down my throat via my mouth and my nose and inundating me with grody lidocaine. The end result is that I have some seriously angry, red, raggedy vocal cords and that if I don’t stop yelling at practice, stop talking whenever I don’t have to, and start using a humidifier and steam, I’m going to sound like this forever. It’s kind of like when my mom used to tell me when I was making a face that if I kept it up it would stick that way, except that the doctor means it and Mom never did.
So I’m relegated to writing and playing a constant game of Charades. Can I even tell you how much fun this is going to be? One of my coworkers emailed me a picture of a mime yesterday, so I threw paper clips at her in retaliation. Argh.
Me not talking. This has to be one of Dante’s rings of Hell.
Quote of the Day: “And in the naked light I saw/Ten thousand people, maybe more/People talking without speaking/People hearing without listening/People writing songs that voices never share/And no one dared/Disturb the sound of silence.” The Sound of Silence, Simon & Garfunkel.
Wednesday, April 06, 2005
"Us helpless little girls."
Strong Draught, Indie Rocker and I went to see “Sin City” last night and it was amazing. It’s pretty gory, but in a comic book sort of way, so it’s more dramatic and less graphic, if that makes any sense.
It’s a brilliantly conceived movie that was really interesting to watch. The fact that it was filmed almost entirely in black and white, but with color added for effect was striking. It reminded me a lot of “The Crow,” but then again, almost all comic book movies do. “Sin City” was interesting on a number of levels. Being the film geek that I am, I realized that everyone and their mother is in this movie. It’s very bizarre to watch a film where you bounce from Bruce Willis to Rory from “Gilmore Girls” to Mickey Rourke to Devon Aoki. Random. Even better was when I’m staring at someone and wondering who exactly they are. Imdb.com is my friend!
I nearly had nightmares from Elijah Wood’s Kevin and Nick Stahl’s Junior/Yellow Bastard. They were both just so evil and twisted that it really affected me. I have weird fears of things anyway, but those two performances really stuck with me for the sheer horror of them and the fact that they were so out of character. Well, for Elijah Wood anyway. I don’t watch “Carnivale,” so I can’t say one way or the other what Nick Stahl’s acting is like in other roles. Either way, both the colors and the effects were astounding and terrifying.
The women in the movie were fascinating because it seemed like they were revered and hated, but never really disrespected. I’m not sure that makes sense, but that’s how it felt. In one section, the entire point is the avenging of the murder of a prostitute. Another is the rescue of a 12-year-old girl, who grows up into an exotic dancer and has to be rescued again. Another one is the story of Old Town, where the women (who are all dressed in what can delicately be called lingerie by way of Spartacus) are the law and order. The prostitutes police their own turf and the cops let them be. However, even then there’s a male savior, albeit heavily aided by an army of very tough women. It’s kind of fascinating, really. I liked all the female characters, because it seemed that even if they needed some rescuing, they still managed to have a tough streak that came through. I suppose the fact that most of them spent the movie mostly in undress appears to be somewhat misogynistic, but somehow it seemed empowering, in a completely weird way.
Either way, I liked it enough that I'm probably going to go see it again just to try and catch everything I missed the first time. And I'm probably going to go watch "The Crow" again. Like I needed an excuse!
Quote of the Day: "Oh sugar, you just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life." Becky (Alexis Bledel), Sin City.
It’s a brilliantly conceived movie that was really interesting to watch. The fact that it was filmed almost entirely in black and white, but with color added for effect was striking. It reminded me a lot of “The Crow,” but then again, almost all comic book movies do. “Sin City” was interesting on a number of levels. Being the film geek that I am, I realized that everyone and their mother is in this movie. It’s very bizarre to watch a film where you bounce from Bruce Willis to Rory from “Gilmore Girls” to Mickey Rourke to Devon Aoki. Random. Even better was when I’m staring at someone and wondering who exactly they are. Imdb.com is my friend!
I nearly had nightmares from Elijah Wood’s Kevin and Nick Stahl’s Junior/Yellow Bastard. They were both just so evil and twisted that it really affected me. I have weird fears of things anyway, but those two performances really stuck with me for the sheer horror of them and the fact that they were so out of character. Well, for Elijah Wood anyway. I don’t watch “Carnivale,” so I can’t say one way or the other what Nick Stahl’s acting is like in other roles. Either way, both the colors and the effects were astounding and terrifying.
The women in the movie were fascinating because it seemed like they were revered and hated, but never really disrespected. I’m not sure that makes sense, but that’s how it felt. In one section, the entire point is the avenging of the murder of a prostitute. Another is the rescue of a 12-year-old girl, who grows up into an exotic dancer and has to be rescued again. Another one is the story of Old Town, where the women (who are all dressed in what can delicately be called lingerie by way of Spartacus) are the law and order. The prostitutes police their own turf and the cops let them be. However, even then there’s a male savior, albeit heavily aided by an army of very tough women. It’s kind of fascinating, really. I liked all the female characters, because it seemed that even if they needed some rescuing, they still managed to have a tough streak that came through. I suppose the fact that most of them spent the movie mostly in undress appears to be somewhat misogynistic, but somehow it seemed empowering, in a completely weird way.
Either way, I liked it enough that I'm probably going to go see it again just to try and catch everything I missed the first time. And I'm probably going to go watch "The Crow" again. Like I needed an excuse!
Quote of the Day: "Oh sugar, you just gone and done the dumbest thing in your whole life." Becky (Alexis Bledel), Sin City.
Tuesday, April 05, 2005
"I woke up alarmed..."
Yet another one of my friends got unexpectedly sacked from her relationship this week, which resurrects some unpleasant memories. First off, it sucks when someone I care about gets hurt because let’s face it, nobody likes to see their friends hurting. Second, I can totally relate, because back in the fall, I was the one getting dumped on my ass for no reason that I could discern and was totally gobsmacked by it. Third, I wonder how it happens, really. How one person could be so oblivious to anything being wrong with the relationship.
Sometimes it can’t be helped, but I almost wonder if it isn’t easier to watch a relationship deteriorate rather than to just yank off the Band-aid. In this particular case, there was an extenuating circumstance in the form of the reappearance of an ex-longterm girlfriend. In my case, however, there were no extenuating circumstances save for the fact that he was a judgmental jackass, as far as I could tell. Which doesn’t make it better or worse. I mean, in a sense at least the ex is a decent reason. It doesn’t make it easier because no one likes being told that they’re being given up for someone else. On the other hand, clearly the dude wasn’t over the ex if he wants to “give it another shot.” So maybe it’s for the best.
Let’s face it, if I hadn’t gotten dumped on my ass so unceremoniously in the fall, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now. And I’m pretty darned happy with where I am and who I’m with these days. And it’s a really good thing he doesn’t read this! And does it make me a bad person if I start praying that this doesn't become an epidemic again? We already had one of those!! I don't think that either my heart or liver could make it through another one.
Quote of the Day: “Whatever happened to a boyfriend/the kind of guy who tries to win you over/and whatever happened to a boyfriend/the kind of guy who makes love ‘cause he’s in it/and I want a boyfriend/ want a boyfriend/I can feel it in my bones/I’m going to spend another year alone.”Fuck and Run, Liz Phair.
Sometimes it can’t be helped, but I almost wonder if it isn’t easier to watch a relationship deteriorate rather than to just yank off the Band-aid. In this particular case, there was an extenuating circumstance in the form of the reappearance of an ex-longterm girlfriend. In my case, however, there were no extenuating circumstances save for the fact that he was a judgmental jackass, as far as I could tell. Which doesn’t make it better or worse. I mean, in a sense at least the ex is a decent reason. It doesn’t make it easier because no one likes being told that they’re being given up for someone else. On the other hand, clearly the dude wasn’t over the ex if he wants to “give it another shot.” So maybe it’s for the best.
Let’s face it, if I hadn’t gotten dumped on my ass so unceremoniously in the fall, I certainly wouldn’t be where I am now. And I’m pretty darned happy with where I am and who I’m with these days. And it’s a really good thing he doesn’t read this! And does it make me a bad person if I start praying that this doesn't become an epidemic again? We already had one of those!! I don't think that either my heart or liver could make it through another one.
Quote of the Day: “Whatever happened to a boyfriend/the kind of guy who tries to win you over/and whatever happened to a boyfriend/the kind of guy who makes love ‘cause he’s in it/and I want a boyfriend/ want a boyfriend/I can feel it in my bones/I’m going to spend another year alone.”Fuck and Run, Liz Phair.
Monday, April 04, 2005
Dude, there was actually snow.
Symposium was at Bachelor this year, which was good because I got to go for once. It was still kind of spendy, but at least I got to hang out with everyone, take some good clinics (OK, one great one and one OK one), ski with Indie Rocker and partake in fresh, cold beverages at the Deschutes Brewery. I met a ton of PSIA people and had a nice time, to be honest.
We got down there pretty late on Friday, but at least we didn’t have to go through Hood River, so I was already in a better mood than when we started. If we’d done that, I might have been forced to kill someone and I was already feeling pretty dramatic. Well, not really. Fortunately, Diesel decided to drive, which left the rest of us able to goof off, play with the stereo, cuddle, drink, and goof off some more. Gotta love big cars. However, I don’t have to love a truck that I have to hoof myself four feet off the ground to get into. Dude, seriously? The lift is a bit much. Something to be said for, oh, running boards.
Once we got to Bend, we managed to meet up with the crew at the local martini bar. It was loads of fun and not too alcoholic. It was good to see everyone. Apparently we missed DB and that crew, which is kind of OK, actually, considering that they were apparently hell-bent on tearing up the town, which we weren’t, so much.
Saturday was spent in Skiing 301, which mostly consisted of us wandering around the mountain and sort of getting feedback. Which wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t what we needed and Marshall was fuming. I believe that my words the next day were something like, “our clinician’s style didn’t really mesh well with our learning style.” Or some such BS that basically meant that he was winging the damned thing and our feedback left a little (or a lot. Nobody from there reads this!) to be desired. Either way, we then ended up spending the better part of an hour and a half eating lunch. Not on purpose. First, we waited to be seated. Then, we waited to order. Then, we waited to be served. It was ridiculous. If I hadn’t been hanging out with Marshall, State, and Indie Rocker, I would have been much, much crankier. After watching the weather do weird things the entire lunch, we headed back out to ski some more. What was really nice was that it cleared up and we got to ski a bunch of stuff that ordinarily has races and that sort of thing all over it. Poor Indie Rocker got a little tired because he was tele-ing all day, and let’s face it—that ain’t easy!
We headed back to the homestead for showers and Irish Car Bombs before we motivated out to Deschutes to watch the second Final Four game and have some dinner. We managed to assemble this giant crew and it ended up being tons of fun. After dinner, we headed over to the Inn to crank up the fun machine. Oh, did we ever. When we got there, the dance was a little pathetic. I walked over to the DJ and asked if he had anything made after 1990. After he realized that we would all dance if newer stuff got played, he quit it with the oldies crap. At one point, he put on “Beat It” and our new friend MJ quickly started ripping up the dance floor by doing the entire original dance from the movie. Amazing. He even knew “Thriller,” and performed that one later. Awesome.
After that, some people went out, but our car went home out of sheer exhaustion. The next morning we awoke and managed to pack the entire car and clean the house before heading out. We got there a smidge late, but made our clinic anyway. I was in park and pipe with Marshall, WMD, MJ and some other people we didn’t know. It was awesome. We had such a blast, got so much great feedback and progressed so far. It was incredible. Our clinician was right on the ball the whole time and managed to get us from the itty bitty baby park to launching whatever we could find and not killing ourselves. I even launched the pipe. I am so getting twin tips next season! I’m also buying a helmet and goggles this week. So stoked. After the clinic, we met back up with everyone, devoured a quick lunch and headed back out to enjoy the gorgeous snow and hit more jumps.
The ride home was uneventful, which is my favorite kind. We were way mellow and tired! Indie Rocker and I went to dinner, which was nice, and he said the cutest thing. I joked, “Aren’t we supposed to be sick of each other by now?” and he said, “Why would we be?” Nice. I was in bed by 9:30 and I’m still exhausted. Oh well.
Quote of the Day: “I just want to see you/when you’re caught in the rain/I just want to see you laugh not cry/I just want to be there when the morning light explodes/on your face it radiates/I can’t explain/I love you ‘til the end.” Love You ‘Til the End, The Pogues.
We got down there pretty late on Friday, but at least we didn’t have to go through Hood River, so I was already in a better mood than when we started. If we’d done that, I might have been forced to kill someone and I was already feeling pretty dramatic. Well, not really. Fortunately, Diesel decided to drive, which left the rest of us able to goof off, play with the stereo, cuddle, drink, and goof off some more. Gotta love big cars. However, I don’t have to love a truck that I have to hoof myself four feet off the ground to get into. Dude, seriously? The lift is a bit much. Something to be said for, oh, running boards.
Once we got to Bend, we managed to meet up with the crew at the local martini bar. It was loads of fun and not too alcoholic. It was good to see everyone. Apparently we missed DB and that crew, which is kind of OK, actually, considering that they were apparently hell-bent on tearing up the town, which we weren’t, so much.
Saturday was spent in Skiing 301, which mostly consisted of us wandering around the mountain and sort of getting feedback. Which wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t what we needed and Marshall was fuming. I believe that my words the next day were something like, “our clinician’s style didn’t really mesh well with our learning style.” Or some such BS that basically meant that he was winging the damned thing and our feedback left a little (or a lot. Nobody from there reads this!) to be desired. Either way, we then ended up spending the better part of an hour and a half eating lunch. Not on purpose. First, we waited to be seated. Then, we waited to order. Then, we waited to be served. It was ridiculous. If I hadn’t been hanging out with Marshall, State, and Indie Rocker, I would have been much, much crankier. After watching the weather do weird things the entire lunch, we headed back out to ski some more. What was really nice was that it cleared up and we got to ski a bunch of stuff that ordinarily has races and that sort of thing all over it. Poor Indie Rocker got a little tired because he was tele-ing all day, and let’s face it—that ain’t easy!
We headed back to the homestead for showers and Irish Car Bombs before we motivated out to Deschutes to watch the second Final Four game and have some dinner. We managed to assemble this giant crew and it ended up being tons of fun. After dinner, we headed over to the Inn to crank up the fun machine. Oh, did we ever. When we got there, the dance was a little pathetic. I walked over to the DJ and asked if he had anything made after 1990. After he realized that we would all dance if newer stuff got played, he quit it with the oldies crap. At one point, he put on “Beat It” and our new friend MJ quickly started ripping up the dance floor by doing the entire original dance from the movie. Amazing. He even knew “Thriller,” and performed that one later. Awesome.
After that, some people went out, but our car went home out of sheer exhaustion. The next morning we awoke and managed to pack the entire car and clean the house before heading out. We got there a smidge late, but made our clinic anyway. I was in park and pipe with Marshall, WMD, MJ and some other people we didn’t know. It was awesome. We had such a blast, got so much great feedback and progressed so far. It was incredible. Our clinician was right on the ball the whole time and managed to get us from the itty bitty baby park to launching whatever we could find and not killing ourselves. I even launched the pipe. I am so getting twin tips next season! I’m also buying a helmet and goggles this week. So stoked. After the clinic, we met back up with everyone, devoured a quick lunch and headed back out to enjoy the gorgeous snow and hit more jumps.
The ride home was uneventful, which is my favorite kind. We were way mellow and tired! Indie Rocker and I went to dinner, which was nice, and he said the cutest thing. I joked, “Aren’t we supposed to be sick of each other by now?” and he said, “Why would we be?” Nice. I was in bed by 9:30 and I’m still exhausted. Oh well.
Quote of the Day: “I just want to see you/when you’re caught in the rain/I just want to see you laugh not cry/I just want to be there when the morning light explodes/on your face it radiates/I can’t explain/I love you ‘til the end.” Love You ‘Til the End, The Pogues.
Friday, April 01, 2005
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