hello love,

I know what you mean about narrative threads. I’d ask the universe to strive toward telepathic communication, but I’m quite sure it’s zooming toward that sort of microchip technology regardless, and lets-not-rush-things. Mainly I’m too lazy and ma-laisey to communicate with anyone, via email, social networking, spoken word… Like it was all I could do to tell J.Lo I bought a basic sweatshirt jacket at Target. Must. Force. Self. To. Share More. But then sometimes I get caught up in this internal debate between Speaking and Not Speaking. From the deep to the mundane. Should I, shouldn’t I? What are the merits? Silence is golden. But no man is an island. And so forth.

Mainly I am pollen-coated penelope. It’s a little better this week, with either the non-expired zyrtec kicking in, working its magic, or lower pollen counts. Or different pollen counts. Who knows. My sinuses/scratchy throat/wasted energy reserves all shrug their shoulders and sigh. J.Lo threw out his back on Sunday, so I’ve been rallying wherever possible, like purchasing mulch for the garden and planting more plants and mowing the lawn and other literal and metaphorical instances of heavy lifting. The garden! now contains: 3 lettuce types, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach, onions that I keep stepping on, green beans, cucumbers, peas, zucchini, squash, alleged peas and sweet peas (still burrowed beneath the earth? on the brink of emergence?), one tomato plant for now (grape roma), jalapeno peppers, and a yellow pepper. And other than a few war-torn leaves on the broccoli/caul, they all seem happy... Although I’m a little skeptical of the soil, like will it be good enough. So I’m supplementing with foods and fertilizers of sorts along the way.

Yesterday it poured rained in the sunshine, but I spied no rainbows.

I finished the book on the terrible kidnapping/stolen life. I kind of wish she had written it and stuck in a drawer for 10 or 15 years, maybe dropped in a few post-it notes along the way and then revisited it all. Because it was just – so very raw. Coupled with a 5th grade education. But yet had the potential to be earth-shattering? It still does. Maybe she’ll write a sequel after some time in the world.

Oh, and the mouse thing. My essential problem with your delightful fairytale mouse living in my car is that in my mind, he looks like this:

Although I grant that he could just as easily look like this:

Man that mouse is cute. So will you be seeing Hunger Games in English with subtitles, or? In the theater or on a computer. Either way I’m glad you’ll be seeing it and celebrating a girl and may the odds be ever in your favor when it comes to viewing it in the absence of snarky, guffawing teenaged boys who completely throw you out of the moment when Rue dies. Because that happened. Granted it was during my second viewing, so their lives were spared. But they were within inches. #truth

Sidenote: saw the phrase “beard technician” in reference to whomever styled Seneca Crane. I can’t even count all the ways I love that job title.

Oh, slogging through the fields of teaching. There will always be the complacent and the rude. Although I could never follow my own advice on this matter, I’d say it’s best not to ponder the origins of their undesirable behavior… Play the game (without being a piece of course) so you can shed it like an outfit at the end of the day and move on to your real life on on the island. Dispensing sage words to new friends and soaking up the winds and sunshine.

love to you,

pollenope

penrolling,

movie days. so my friend-quaintance matt who won that am@zon contest is shooting his new film and was just commenting on how not-film friendly LA is. you'd think. but then there are so many. eagers. hopefuls. that you wonder if it comes down to cash. because of the hassle. and the repeated requests. sigh. and how disrespectful they can be of people's things. grips for instance. but matt is mr. nice guy. how you can say no to mr.nice guy? i dont think you can.

i did get up at 7. we even cleaned the house. polished the furniture. washed the curtains. but then i like any excuse that's going to get me to clean. i even washed the windows! but then i woke up a little congested with a tinge of sore throat? that's what i get. also, i made lovely round pancakes for one of their scenes... but then of course one of the actors was an 1hr.20minutes late. if you would believe. totally outrageous.

otherwise what else- it's hard to articulate everything else. because this is where the stories are. sunday for instance we prayer walked and found some new uncharted places and ladders to climb.. it was prayer through the inbtw places. i think we found the walkway over the theatre. lots of debris. and then patrick said that his kid had said that jesus had cleaned the place out, or vacuumed it out and cathy and i started crying because of this other thing that happened a while back with his kid screaming and feeling unprotected, but now he feels ok and it was a beautiful thing. and then patrick started crying. it's akin to that moment when i said, He is my Father, He is my King- and then literally a split second later thunder rumbled. after that i got coffee with wendy. then i went to cathy's to kill things on xbox. and i went home and worked on my quilt which a little um slapdash but it's mostly holding up. though my stiches are inconsistent and sometimes wonky. whatever- gettin'it'done'. but it made for the best day. i made gf blueberry pancakes too. totally epic.

also i'm filling up the back of my trunk with stuff to give away which you know is one of my favorite things to do. things are finally loosening from the hold of stasis and breaking away. things like to hold on. they make themselves invisible. a tableau that says, you don't see me. i am just a part of a picture. it's years difficult to get some things to go. where you look at something. you even pick it up and touch it and think maybe next year. and the triumphant object fades into the distance. meanwhile mom just stares at me unready to have me start packing for her. if i had boxes...

anyway, i also just got this:

Hi there, they have arrived and they are gorgeous! Thanks so much for the extra ones - they shall be stars in a childrens show! all the best Shona (ps I have tried to press some of my own and they are brown crispy blobs so all respect to your skills!)

yea! mmm. validation.

oh and that was the other thing. rachel wanted to see if i could work friday and sunday and i have two prayer/church related meetings. i told her initially till 7 fri and after 1 sunday... but then i thought, i can work around it. change it... but by then it was too late. im a little like, oh idiot! and alternately, um God?  because it is a job. even if the other is an unpaid job. and i don't want to be chasing after money when i shouldn't be. but still.

besides that, korea paperwork- tabbed, labeled, charts made, spending and saving grafts (ok its on a yellow piece of paper with some lines), and to do items...must photo for you. i sent my fingerprints to the fbi. im sending away for my duplicate diploma from CSUN... we'll see. it'll be official if i actually get a job offer. mwah. or speak to my korean recruiter... ?!

whatelse? kitten curled up by the oven.

more quilting. supervising film stuff... trying not to be sick?
m.

L-A-M-E

Apparently, Netflix will no longer be selling previously viewed DVDs. Huh! No more Juno for $5.99?! Granted, I’ve only purchased a few used movies from them, but with free shipping to boot, having this option to buy was a big perk of the membership.  The email said something about bringing back the focus to providing great movies for rental. What-ev-er.

My question is, where will the surplus movies then go? If Netflix could direct me to the website where the cheapies will be available, that would be great, thanks. And it better be free shipping.

Work Movie to Watch: clockwatchers

just a nonmendacious like PSA on this wee gem of a flick called CLOCKWATCHERS from '97? Yes I am too lazy to imdb it.










Why i love this film:

1. toni collete is in it and so is parker posey. need i say more?
   
2. it captures the life of the temp in a way that i could at the time completely relate to and identify with. and if any you ever have that 'which direction' is my life moving in and i'm all depressed and 'agh' about it then you'll totally get this film... the pecking order, office politics and the certain soul sucking moments that it sometimes opens you to. an evil demeaning manager, weirdo office mates, rubberband balls... i find a way to reference this movie in every office i'm ever in... it's that applicable to my life.
   
3. it's especially come into play because of the recent surfacing of a kleptomaniac in the office. the usual suspects and the actual reality.
   
4. it's not a happy go lucky movie but it has a sharp sense of humor and wit and some dare i say it, pointed commentary on the modern work environment.
   
5. cap this movie off with the equally brilliant and more blatantly outrageous: office space...

Any other good "this is my life, where i work" movies out there? Suggests?

And this just makes me want to dance.

Generally speaking, I’m a bit skeptical of musicals, with a few die-hard favorites, such as Grease, Annie, and (maybe) White Christmas. As with any song or set of songs, I have to *bond* with it before knowing and loving it fully, and musicals make it hard for me. Because they’re a bit, um, hokey. I mean that in the best possible way; part of the reason I love Grease so much is because of its hokiness. John Travolta’s hair alone in that movie is both hokey and lovable. But when watching a musical for the first time, that cheese can get in the way of true meaning, causing me to turn away. 

In Mamma Mia!, there were a few songs and moments that didn’t do it for me. Granted, going into the movie, I knew just the bare-bones basics of the stories and only a handful of songs—the same ones that everyone on the planet knows—so maybe there was some background I just didn’t  “get.” But in spite of a few misses, there were so many hits, rendering me an instant MM! fan. One song made me want to lock myself into a room and cry. And other songs just made me so happy, wanting to get up and run and sing and dance. To celebrate.

MM! reminded me that musicals, where characters break out into song in the midst of their daily lives, show life to be just plain fun. Simple. Light. In spite of all the complexities and heartache, we don’t have to be so serious all the time. It feels good to remember that every once in awhile. If only we could invite a composer and choreographer to come on over one day and set this bitch to a song and dance routine.

 

M: At least

you two care.

TheTRAINER'S name is John. I was suppose to train with Courtney, and she called me once to confirm our training sessions, which was promptly put on my to-do lists. Meanwhile, Courtney decided to move or something so John called me and left a message then called me AGAIN. And I picked up. I swear I was not avoiding them. Anyway, John is all irksome and like, yah well Courtney left and blah blah so... we need to get you on the calendar so blah blah. And then he says, You can actually workout before we begin, or the training sessions begin- but i thought he meant like actually come to the gym and start working out and I was all- jerk. Talk about condescending and then I called Amber and was all, I think my trainer is all grr nazi condescending and she's all, um, he probably just meant warm up so that you can go in at 630 and the session can begin at 700, and I'm all OOh. But anyway both of my training sessions are on peoples birthdays because apparently I can't escape Aries in my life- bcs kerry is on the 14th and Amber is on the 15th even though they like totally hate each other. I'ts like mixing white and dark chocolate in the worst ways even though they are totally both chocolate. Then my dad's birthday is the 16th. My niece is March 26th and I can think of at least 3 other people who I know- wait 4- who have that whole hey I'm a fiery stubborn bleeting Aries, or whatever. So now I have to be all, um John I need to reschedule even though like I fully knew I would have to when he was making me write them down. I did say I was penciling them in but um yah...

So the MOVIES: Amber and Kerry are movie-holics. I just, I mean I'm more a Tv, media-holic. And I just don't care about going to the "movies" and seeing it on the big screen. . . but anyway so Amber and I coordinate Netflix rentals sometimes, besides endlessly fighting. Just because I "liked" something doesn't mean it was good. Her tastes are oddly way less discriminating but conversely specific but she fast-forwards thru movies which i cannot almost ever abide. Because I think movies aren't just plot but emotionally driven and you can't possibly get that when 1/2 of it was a blur. So this weekend included:

• No Country For Old Men: (her choice) The 2nd viewing clarified some things about the whacked out ending but not by much. Anyway I still like it, but seriously what the hell is with that ending. The words are still all literary and amazing and the violence is still definitely UGH. Gross. But strangely this was not the only killing movie we'd see. Amber did not like it. I told her she wouldn't. And I did, for her sake, fastforward thru some of the violent scenes while stopping for the dialogue. I rated this movie 4/5 stars. Mainly some of the themes I felt could've come across stronger and I loved TommyLeeJones- but the main assertion that this is no country for old men is sort of moot when you're up against a psycho with supernatural propensities. I was like really? Is that what you're saying? Or just life in general? And aren't there healthier ways to grapple with mortality. I don't know. But maybe that's my struggle with Lee's character.
• The MIST: (My choice) Our favorite line: "Oh don't worry. It's not my blood." Hi=larious. There were some good moments and some weak ones. It was basically an uneven movie. But lovely, how it all quickly spiraled out of control and went to shit. And Amber and I do really, really enjoy talking about what we would be doing together in that kind of situation. We'd rally the forces. She'd try to kill the religious zealot. I'd try to talk her out of it...etc. Anyway we always have those conversations, as we chat thru movies like there's no tomorrow, that: Oh hey, wouldn't it be rad if... ah, but they'd never. So THEN**SPOILER** the rational group loses their nuts too and decide to flee the store after killing the religious lady (no way!) Who by the way has no actual understanding of Jesus and sacrifice. This was a major hole in that if you're gonna make them crazy I wonder if you could make their faith more real, but maybe that's the point. Bcs it's weird that a bible-toting whack job wouldnt use the word Jesus or understand that "sacrifice" is no longer necessary, but I digress. There are some GREAT character actors in this piece who got not nearly enough screen time, but anyway, so then like DUMBASSES they take 1.no supplies- food, weapons, water except for a weakly established gun that has as we find out only 4 bullets. 2. No gas 3. No logic 4. No actual escape plan. DUMBASSES. So of course the guy takes his son to see if his wife made it. She totally did not. The old couple in the back who were at the beginning of the movie full of fucking smarts somehow lose theirs and the blonde chick who has "faith in humanity" all tag along bcs they didn't get eaten by giant insects... cuz yah it was the "govt."... not the supernatural. I think a weak point. But anyway so then the dumbasses run out of gas. And they see this giant creature and they're like oh well fuck it. GAME FUCKING OVER. And when he pulls out the gun, you're thinking no fucking way! but then, holy fuck! WHAT!!?!? He shoots them all. Our hero shoots his son, his would be love interest and the 2 smarty pants old people. Then gets out of the car waiting to be eaten. Only to see the "Mist" receding and the military doing damage control and rescuing survivors. Fucking what!? So of course he just starts shrieking. Amber and I went from 2/5 stars to 3.5/5 stars just for that fucking twisted mfo of an ending. Hence, wow! That was MIST-tastic!!
• IRA& ABBY: (My choice) So yah, some funny moments, but ultimately and unwanted cynical view of marriage but flimsy, godless and narrow. I said "I liked it." Amber did not but I was at least trying to branch out with the movie choices.
• THE BRAVE ONE: (her choice) So, okay. It had a slow beginning. There could've been more concrete details to the life she had vs. the life she took on, besides showing that she used to wear flowy white skirts but now wears nothing but grey tight fitting shirts and dark eyeshadow. **SPOILER** And it got a little better as it went on, and as we saw the detective begin to figure out that she was the killer of all these people- like 8/9 by the end of the movie. And that there was this mutual attraction which was almost too subtly unspoken. Like there needed to be just a bit more. But anyway so hello, you think, sure he's going to catch her and turn her in and blah blah whatever. But then at the end he helps her shoot the last guy then asks her to turn the gun on him so she can be for once free and clear of all the murders. And by the end of the movie he's being put in an ambulance and she's walking off with her dog no longer afraid of the night. WTF!>? MIST-TASTIC! That's what we're saying! So my rating went from a 3 to a 4 on that, ballsy if slightly unwarrented ending. But I like it. A twist so easy that well, um, she gets away with it. NO reprucussions. Fucking yah! MIST-TASTIC!!
• Under the Tuscan Sun... oh geez. I can't talk about it. IT's always on cable. What's a girl to do. Even if it is mostly lame and cringe worthy.

Wow, so, I should've been doing like many other things on my todo list but you guys totally baited me. If you stayed till the end, bravo, seriously. I mean I am interesting and rad and so are my thoughts but everyone has their limits. ALright i have to go revise my todo list and get some water now that we're all out of dietcoke and what not.

Peace. M.

eh.

Sometimes, the book is better than the movie, and sometimes the movie is better than the book. I just Netflixed "The Nanny Diaries," and hmmm, yeah, the book and the movie were like, the same. I didn't finish either. I was jazzed about both initially, got a little way through each, felt increasingly icky about all the characters, and then couldn't force myself to go on. I'm not even sure why. With the book, I think I felt too much of a distance with the narrator? With the movie, though, you'd think having Scarlett Johansson as the main character would have helped a little, even if to make the movie a fluffy, enjoyable little chick flick. Not so much, though, and I have to say: vastly disappointed. Especially since the beginning was so promising, clever and energetic and colorful. Then that little kid started to get on my nerves, the parents behaved abominably, and Scarlett got a lot less quippy. Maybe the energy just fell flat in the middle, and I should have stuck it out to the end? But I've got a whole queue of stuff that looks so much more interesting, and I've got to move on.

you are by no means required to watch this home movie of my children

But if you happen to know/love K.Lo, you might find it entertaining. We don't know what song she's singing for her brother, but it's quite elaborate. Toward the end, there's something about triangles, fingers, eyes, and a nose. It's the Big Sister at her finest. Enjoy.

off my list

So, Summer Movie Season 2007 has begun, and in addition to written EW descriptions of upcoming features, we now have the commercials. And because of the commercials, I have to revise my list. It's just too embarassing, leaving it out there like that, after getting more of the real flavor of what's in store. Dunzo are the following:

1. License to Wed. Sorry Jim from The Office, sorry Mandy Moore. This flick looks bad. And it's not even just that Robin Williams once again seems to cross that line of what's really funny over into what's really stupid, playing the high-pitched, hyped-up priest who is running the couple's marriage prep class. The stuff they're supposed to do looks dumb, the plot in general seems plain retarded, and though I laughed a tiny bit at the MC Hammer ref... no. Just, no.

2. Hot Rod. Why do films featuring SNL cast members tend to be mega-stupid? It's like, all that comedic talent, and it goes to waste once they hit the big screen. How do these scripts get greenlit? I despise "stupid" comedy... comedy reserved for fifth-grade boys, with absolutely no intelligence behind it. A fart joke thrown in here and there, a vomiting walrus--whatever. If you must, you must. But a whole film with such a brainless, slapstick-only vibe? Maybe I'm misjudging this movie, and it will turn out to be a Ferrell- or Sandler-esque exception to the SNL rule. But, I really don't think so. Boo.

That's all for now, but I have a feeling I might be adding amendments to this list as reviews and additional ads are released.

movies!

The latest EW magazine is the Summer Movie Preview, and omg, I'm so excited! We're going to have to save our pennies toward several outings to the theater this summer, for sure. Here are my top picks, in order of release:

1. Waitress, which is a Sundance favorite starring Keri Russell. Frankly, this looks more like a rental, because will they even show it in ILM? Not likely. But I feel compelled to see any movie starring Felicity. Unless, of course, it also stars Tom Cruise, in which case, I can wait. (May 2)

2. Spider-Man 3. I'm more of a chick-flick kind of girl, but who can resist Spider-Man, and in the theater. I saw the other two on the big screen as well, and I'm not about to miss out on the third installment. (May 4)

3. The Ex. I must also see any movie starring Zach Braff, not to mention Jason Bateman. Don't really care what it's about, but it does look pretty great; Braff describes the style as "a mesh between the sensibilities of Arrested Development and Scrubs." (May 11)

4. Shrek the Third. Again, this may have to be a rental. But even though I tend to forego viewing cartoon-type flicks in favor of real action, I have to admit I love Shrek. The movies are truly clever, and this one features JIM from The Office voicing Lancelot. One cannot go wrong. (May 18)

5. Pirates of the Caribbean: At the World's End. Another that must be viewed on the big screen, end of story. (May 25)

6. Knocked Up. Love Katherine Heigl. Loved 40-Year-Old Virgin, and therefore loved Seth Rogan. Love Paul Rudd, and Marshall from How I Met Your Mother. And then, looking through imdb, this movie also features appearances by Ryan (BJ Novak) from The Office, SNL'S Kristen Wiig, and (in a direct appeal to Ashley) Ryan Seacrest. Eeeeeee! (June 1)

7. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. What is with all my action-adventure picks, seriously? I really liked the first one, though, and one totally must see it in ginormity...

8. License to Wed. A romantic comedy starring JIM from The Office, Mandy Moore, and Robin Williams. Any romantic comedy starring JIM from The Office, I'm going to see. But also, any romantic comedy starring Mandy Moore, with JIM from The Office? Oh yes indeed. The plot: Moore forces fiance Krasinski to sign up for marriage-prep class led by "flaky family minister" Williams. Can't. Wait. (July 4).

9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Explanation for excitement entirely unnecessary. (July 13)

10. The Bourne Ultimatum. Again, not a big action-adventure movie fan, but there's something about the Bourne movies I immensely enjoy. And it's not even (just) Matt Damon. I only hope that J.Lo doesn't leave me at home for this one to watch the baby. (Not that I mind watching the baby. But still.) (August 3)

11. Becoming Jane. It stars Anne Hathaway, who is just lovely, as well as Maggie Smith. It's a biography of Jane Austen, before she became famous. Woohoo!! (August 13)

12. Superbad. A teen-sex comedy co-written by and starring Seth Rogan. Also stars SNL's Bill Hader. And the teens? George Michael from Arrested Development, and the kid who wants to buy the sparkly, high-heeled goldfish boots at the eBay store in 40-Year-Old Virgin. I might read the reviews first before deciding on this one... I'm crossing my fingers for well-done and not retarded. (August 17).

13. Penelope. Even if it's a rental, don't I kind of have to? It stars Christina Ricci and Reese Witherspoon, and is about a girl with half a pig face... Yeah, okay, it's totally a rental. (August 17)

14. The Brothers Soloman. The plot sounds a little bizarre: says EW, it's about "a pair of inept siblings who enlist a surrogate to produce a grandchild for their dying father." But, it stars Will Arnett, aka Gob from AD, and SNL's Will Forte and Kristen Wiig. I'm pretty sure it will be freaking hilarious (August 31)


Will probably also rent:

1. Nancy Drew, because why not? (June 15)

2. Evan Almighty, which is the follow-up to Jim Carrey's Bruce Almighty, which I sort of loved and sort of hated all at the same time. The sequel stars Steve Carrell, Morgan Freeman, and GG's Lorelai, aka Lauren Graham, and therefore should be hilarious. Super-hilarious, really. But I feel it's just a rental after all. (June 22)

3. The Transformers, because you kind of have to. (July 4)

4. The Simpson Movie, again because you kind of have to. (July 27)

5. No Reservations, a romantic cooking comedy starring Catherine Hate-her Jones and Abigail Breslin, just because I can't help myself. (July 27)

6. Hot Rod, starring SNL's Andy Samberg, Bill Hader, and Chris Parnell, as well as Will Arnett from AD. This viewing will be pending movie reviews, as the plot is potentially super-dumb, but it could be pulled off if done with the right comic approach. (August 3)


Hip-hip hooray for Summer Movies!

that's all I'm sayin'.

So I just Netflixed A Lot Like Love, which was that romantic comedy with Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet. Remember the trailer? I have to say, the trailer is the reason I didn't see this movie sooner, which is unfortunate. I mean, I kind of love both Ashton Kutcher and Amanda Peet, I'm a sucker for a formulaic romantic comedy, and I'm always (unlike with music) looking for a new one to indulge. I waited so long to see A Lot Like Love because, frankly, I thought it looked pretty stupid. I mean, even more stupid than is normally acceptable. I have a pretty high threshold for stupid when it comes to my chick flicks. But the trailer, or maybe it was just pregnancy hormones talking at the time back in '05, seemed to highlight the more slapstick elements of the movie, such as Amanda Peet taunting Ashton with two straws stuck up her nose. Or Amanda Peet walking full-on into a glass door. Et cetera. Slapstick has its own place in my...heart? I do like slapstick, every now and then. But in a romantic comedy, not so much. A brief and well-timed moment such as the kid throwing the paper--and slinging himself off the bike as well--in While You Were Sleeping is golden. Or if the whole movie is deliberately and thoughtfully filled with slapstick moments, like Drop Dead Gorgeous, that's something different. That's smart. It's not meant to attract 10-year-old boys to the flick.

Aside from the too-high stupid-to-engaging ratio, the A Lot Like Love trailer also did what I suspected: it told the whole freaking story. I mean, seriously, the trailer is the movie, in a very tiny nutshell. It goes through the entire thing, except for the kiss in the end. They kiss in the end! They get together! That's the only thing you're missing, which obviously--not a big shocker. But still. I realize it's a challenge to convey the basic bones of a movie in a tempting way, in order to "tease" the moviegoer into saying, I so want to see that, particularly when the movie covers a 7-year time span and a lot of character evolution. But to include everything up until the last five minutes? Retardo. I don't want to be told the movie is something it's not, but I also don't want to know everything that happened, either. What's the point?

In the end, A Lot Like Love was mindlessly enjoyable in the way a chick flick should be, and if it ever plays all day on TBS, I'm very sure that I will tune in. It was worth the rental. But I should have rented it months ago, and I would have, had it not been for the crappy ad campaign.

movie crossovers

In the lazy days following Christmas, J.Lo and I have been watching a lot of movies, both from Netflix and the Christmas Booty. Among them: Little Miss Sunshine, Talladega Nights, Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and soon (eeeee!) Zach Braff's The Last Kiss. What I so enjoy, for whatever reason, with movies and TV, is picking out actors and playing Where the Hell Have We Seen Them Before. It's like a game, I guess, and so much fun. J.Lo is much better at it than I, particularly with voices, but it does drive me batty when I can't figure one out, and I'll usually break for help from the imdb, lest I lose a minute of sleep. Anyway, with a few of these movies this week, the crossovers have been fantastic. Every time Davy Jones came on the screen, his tentacles twitching, I sang, I feel it in my fingers... I feel it in my TOES. And it made me laugh every time. I love Bill Nighy. Love Love, Actually. Oh--and how did we miss the first time that Borat (not that I've seen it yet, despite Kim's rec) is in Talladega Nights? As the snooty gay French NASCAR driver, Jean Girard? Crazy! And, of course, so is Bill Lumbergh, i.e. Gary Cole, as Reese Bobby, Ricky Bobby's dad... Oh, and then! So is Leslie Bibb, as Ricky Bobby's faithless trophy wife? And I so just wrote about Popular mere weeks ago.

The lists could go on and on, I'm sure. Summer Roberts is in The Last Kiss, the girl Jim dated briefly on The Office (Amy Adams) is Ricky Bobby's assistant and girlfriend after he gets dumped by Leslie Bibb... Peter Krause totally makes The Lost Room 1,000 times better than I'd normally find a Sci-Fi Channel miniseries, just because he was in Six Feet Under. Amelie spices up the DaVinci Code. Et cetera.

Now if only I could stay awake for the entirety of these films, I'd be in good shape. The plan for New Year's Eve thus far is a Harry Potter marathon, and I see myself making it halfway through the Sorcerer's Stone before passing out (is there a better nap than a movie nap?), but we'll see. Perhaps I shall triumph.

but just enough

i've gotten 5 paper cuts at work all of which enduced bleeding and my full paycheck for 2 wks is still not barely even with what i made once a week at my cookie giving job. i am both simultaneously grateful for the cookie giving job and unable to muster more than a faint hint of chagrin- i mean i do mutter phrases like 'i have to get out of this job' or 'i have to find another job'... but i seem to be complacently bidding my time. i'm barely even demoralized. which is good for the holidays. when i remembered i had to go into work today and tomorrow not unlike Bob Cratchit, only a tiny wave of dread washed over me. and then i shrugged, and waited for the sun to come up.

and like everyone else i'm ticking off movies i've watched, like: scrooged, national lampoons christmas, charlie browns christmas, christmas story, the grinch who stole chrismas... and have hopes for watching things like: the ref, die hard, hercule poirots christmas and nightmare before christmas.

i even watched a lifetime movie per pen's suggest. and when i get home from laboring lightly around books for $8/hr i will turn on all the sparkly shiny things on the tree and stare off into space. and maybe watch another movie, but not read a book, no not that.