As I posted last night, I did watch the Oscars but skipped the red carpet. I also recorded it so I could fastforward through the rambling speeches and the commercials. I was able to watch the 3.5 hours in a little over one hour. By the way, it was scheduled to run only three hours and that's what my DVR captured. Thank goodness I was actually watching it while it was still recording. It was clear it was going to run late so I recorded the next program as well and managed to capture the most important part of the whole night.
I had only watched three of the nominated movies - Argo, Lincoln, and Brave. And yes, all three won something.
For the categories I'm recording:
Best Animated Feature - Brave
-This is full length feature. I actually did watch the winner for Best Animated Short - Paperman. It was really cute and is worth sitting through for the few minutes. Another nominee was Holy Guacamole - goofy but definitely not as good as Paperman.
Brave was a fabulous cartoon and it was nice to see one where the princess isn't an orphan or whose mother is dead. I has a great message about respecting and valuing your parents.
Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Les Miserables
-As I posted a few weeks ago, after watching the 1934 version of Les Mis I am very excited to watch this latest release. I was really pulling for Sally Fields in Lincoln to win supporting actress but just seeing Ann Hathaway in the snapshots it was clear she deserved the award. I like Ann Hathaway a lot and am very excited to see her win such a prestigious award. She has more nominations in her future, that's for sure. As for Sally Fields, she should be coming up for a lifetime achievement recognition, don't you think?
Best Actor in a Supporting Role -Django Unchained
-Coworkers saw this movie and were upset with the excessive use of the "n" word. It's a Quinten Terrantino movie and of course he took it too far, he always does. It took me over a decade to sit down and watch Pulp Fiction - when it first came out on VHS I had turned it off in the first 10 minutes, revolted by the gratuitous drug use. When I did watch it all the way through I understood the brilliance of this movie. Kill Bill vol 2 (saw 2 before vol 1) was an immediate hit for me, but I do understand why people hate the Kill Bill movies - excessive, grotesque violence. I'm prepared for excessive-ness in this movie. I will either love it or hate it - no in-betweens when dealing with ol' Quinten.
Best Actress in a Leading Role - Silver Linings Playbook
-This is another movie I would want to see even if it wasn't on my list.
Best Actor in a Leading Role - Lincoln
-Daniel Day Lewis was absolutely incredible in Lincoln. It was almost unfair to have anyone nominated against him. He transformed into Lincoln and was everything that an actor would want to achieve in their art. The movie was fabulous, but to see it just to witness Lewis' portrayal of Lincoln is worth the cost of an over-priced theater ticket. And yes, go now, while it's still in the theaters. Fabulous.
Just so you're not surprised like my husband, this is not a biography of Lincoln's life or a chronicle of the Civil War. It features the last months prior to Lincoln's death as he rallies the senators to ratify the 13th amendment. There is a good amount of back and forth and I really enjoyed watching Tommy Lee Jones kick ass in the senate debates. For some this could be a snooze-fest since there isn't much battlefield action, high speed chases, or random roundhouse kicks. You've been warned.
Best Movie - Argo
-As you can tell, I really liked Lincoln. I actually thought it was a better movie than Argo, but Argo was pretty gosh-darned good and clearly the judges at the Academy thought it was worthy of being the best movie of 2012. I won't argue too loudly, it was after all an intriguing story. It was incredibly suspenseful even though we know the outcome since it's a true story (they get out alive). Right up to the end, safe escape was a dicey prospect. For the diehard action fan, Argo may be somewhat "satisfactory" at least better than Lincoln, there is shooting, grumpy crowds pounding on a car, and yes a chase scene.
I have tossed around adding to my list the categories for Director or maybe Writing. I figure when I get close to exhausting the ones I've already added to my list then I can venture down this path - chances are they're already on my list for other nomination categories.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Let's Talk Fashion
Before I get around to talking about the winners and losers of Oscar night, let's talk fashion. I first starting writing today's post about the movies and prefacing that I completely skipped the red carpet ordeal since I know that's the only part a lot of people watch on Oscar night. Then I started rambling in my head about my opinion on red carpet fashion.
For the most part I simply don't care. I don't know the designer names and a lot of the avant garde stuff doesn't dazzle me. My tastes are rather simple and straight forward. That's not to say I don't like the pretty dresses because I totally do. Unfortunately a lot of the red carpet dazzle are actors coerced to wear outfits not suited for them. I don't know who picks out these gowns but some of them are really dreadful.
Color is really important. Black or red are downright classic and it's hard to go wrong with either, although I have seen some whoppers in the Wrong Department. White is super dicey. Not everyone can wear the color, and not for reasons of virginity. I'm among the crowd of people who look wretched in white. And a lot of the white dresses have been downright funky. On the other hand, there have been some superbly beautiful white dresses. The rest of the rainbow tends to veer on the weird side.
Ball gowns or evening dresses? Either is fine, but can we please put the mini dresses away for a different night? This is a formal event where long dresses and tuxes are the dress code. Now, women wearing tuxes is perfectly fine in my book. I get there are women who do not feel comfortable in the swishy dresses and want to wear pants. I'm okay with that.
The sleek, form fitting evening gowns are for one body type and ONLY one body type - a slender woman with curves. Age doesn't matter in this department, just that she have an awesome body. Everyone else needs to move over to the full skirt or tuxedo racks.
Unfortunately the swishy, full skirt dresses are best when left to simple lines and no embellishments. I know that bores the crap out of the designers, but that's what I prefer.
In the end, I like simple lines and for the wearer to be elegant. Making a statement, showing off, or being obnoxious does not interest me. Be classy dammit.
For the most part I simply don't care. I don't know the designer names and a lot of the avant garde stuff doesn't dazzle me. My tastes are rather simple and straight forward. That's not to say I don't like the pretty dresses because I totally do. Unfortunately a lot of the red carpet dazzle are actors coerced to wear outfits not suited for them. I don't know who picks out these gowns but some of them are really dreadful.
Color is really important. Black or red are downright classic and it's hard to go wrong with either, although I have seen some whoppers in the Wrong Department. White is super dicey. Not everyone can wear the color, and not for reasons of virginity. I'm among the crowd of people who look wretched in white. And a lot of the white dresses have been downright funky. On the other hand, there have been some superbly beautiful white dresses. The rest of the rainbow tends to veer on the weird side.
Ball gowns or evening dresses? Either is fine, but can we please put the mini dresses away for a different night? This is a formal event where long dresses and tuxes are the dress code. Now, women wearing tuxes is perfectly fine in my book. I get there are women who do not feel comfortable in the swishy dresses and want to wear pants. I'm okay with that.
The sleek, form fitting evening gowns are for one body type and ONLY one body type - a slender woman with curves. Age doesn't matter in this department, just that she have an awesome body. Everyone else needs to move over to the full skirt or tuxedo racks.
Unfortunately the swishy, full skirt dresses are best when left to simple lines and no embellishments. I know that bores the crap out of the designers, but that's what I prefer.
In the end, I like simple lines and for the wearer to be elegant. Making a statement, showing off, or being obnoxious does not interest me. Be classy dammit.
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Sunday In My City - Mid February Snow
The big icky snowstorm hit Missouri on Thursday. Of course I thought it was beautiful (and happy my power stayed on). My condolences to friends in Kansas City who really got walloped. Yesterday I took a walk around my local park and snapped pictures of the ice covered snow.
Saturday, February 23, 2013
Friday Fragments - February 22, 2013
For months I've been whining and bellyaching about how busy I am. Each day brought more tasks and the end of the previous tasks kept creeping further away. My stress levels were increasing and it was getting dangerous for my health. Then, my God-send of a supervisor stepped in. She helped me break down these overwhelming projects into smaller parts. Of course no one is taking any of these smaller parts away from me, they all remain mine, but there is something about looking at your big projects in little pieces. Oddly enough I'm getting a lot knocked out too. Maybe since I'm not meandering around not sure where to start I can now be productive. Whatever it is, my stress levels are dropping.
*****
We spent last weekend at my brother's house. We took my son who was fresh from the dentist's office with two pulled molars. Our expectation was that he would be laid up all weekend feeling like crap. Instead, he sat at the kitchen table most of the time (whining about his inability to eat anything substantial) while 4/5th's of their children suffered their own maladies. Three had fevers, one of which had two puking incidents, the fourth had an asthma attack, while the healthy kid escaped the house for a slumber party.
I felt bad for sticking around, but the next day my beautiful, smart, sassy, fabulous, generous sister-in-law -- did I slather on enough praise? (she reads this so I have to really extoll her virtues) -- offered to do our taxes. (And really, it was an AWESOME offer) It could have gone a lot faster, she is a brilliant wiz afterall, but my spousal unit had to make the process slower so he could understand what was going on. So our messy taxes are out of the way and we got to spend some quality time with my brother's family, I can't even begin to express the value of that one.
*****
I'm gearing up for the Oscars Sunday night. I have it recorded and hope to see Lincoln and Argo win a few awards. The other nominees I haven't seen yet so it's hard to root for them.
*****
We spent last weekend at my brother's house. We took my son who was fresh from the dentist's office with two pulled molars. Our expectation was that he would be laid up all weekend feeling like crap. Instead, he sat at the kitchen table most of the time (whining about his inability to eat anything substantial) while 4/5th's of their children suffered their own maladies. Three had fevers, one of which had two puking incidents, the fourth had an asthma attack, while the healthy kid escaped the house for a slumber party.
I felt bad for sticking around, but the next day my beautiful, smart, sassy, fabulous, generous sister-in-law -- did I slather on enough praise? (she reads this so I have to really extoll her virtues) -- offered to do our taxes. (And really, it was an AWESOME offer) It could have gone a lot faster, she is a brilliant wiz afterall, but my spousal unit had to make the process slower so he could understand what was going on. So our messy taxes are out of the way and we got to spend some quality time with my brother's family, I can't even begin to express the value of that one.
*****
I'm gearing up for the Oscars Sunday night. I have it recorded and hope to see Lincoln and Argo win a few awards. The other nominees I haven't seen yet so it's hard to root for them.
Thursday, February 21, 2013
How to Survive The Big Storm
I posted this on FaceBook yesterday as I was ranting about how the locals go crazy over any report of bad weather, especially snow and ice. I thought I would share my smartass advice....
As somebody who has suffered a week long power outage I have all sorts of insight on this topic (therefore making me an expert, right?) And this happened back when I was not hosting a mini-grocery store in my basement. Yes, the grill is your friend. Also have plenty of ice chests on hand.
-First day, don't touch your freezer and pray really hard that your power comes on. Begin consuming perishable foods and dig out your candles.
-Second day, move everything into ice chests and pray really hard that your power comes on. Also find a source of ice and prepare for daily trips to restock your chests.
-Third day, complete perishable food consumption and start throwing food away. Pray really hard for power to return.
-Fourth day, come to terms that the #$*& power company has forgotten you and realize you are a capable survivalist. By now the TV and internet shakes are starting to wear off and your eyes are adjusting to reading old novels by candlelight... hmmm... this must be how Laura Ingalls felt growing up.
-Fifth day, this is now a routine you've got it down pat. Ice up your cooler, grill your meat, read with candles, and tell the children if they don't stop their bellyaching that they will be the next meal cooked on the grill.
-Day 92 or whenever the lights come back on, shower with hot water, shave, and learn how to re-enter modern society (AKA, catch up on all of your lost TV shows), create cover-stories for any missing children.
As somebody who has suffered a week long power outage I have all sorts of insight on this topic (therefore making me an expert, right?) And this happened back when I was not hosting a mini-grocery store in my basement. Yes, the grill is your friend. Also have plenty of ice chests on hand.
-First day, don't touch your freezer and pray really hard that your power comes on. Begin consuming perishable foods and dig out your candles.
-Second day, move everything into ice chests and pray really hard that your power comes on. Also find a source of ice and prepare for daily trips to restock your chests.
-Third day, complete perishable food consumption and start throwing food away. Pray really hard for power to return.
-Fourth day, come to terms that the #$*& power company has forgotten you and realize you are a capable survivalist. By now the TV and internet shakes are starting to wear off and your eyes are adjusting to reading old novels by candlelight... hmmm... this must be how Laura Ingalls felt growing up.
-Fifth day, this is now a routine you've got it down pat. Ice up your cooler, grill your meat, read with candles, and tell the children if they don't stop their bellyaching that they will be the next meal cooked on the grill.
-Day 92 or whenever the lights come back on, shower with hot water, shave, and learn how to re-enter modern society (AKA, catch up on all of your lost TV shows), create cover-stories for any missing children.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
My Attempts to Starve a Child
Okay, I wasn't "trying" to kill the kid, but maybe in the end my plans were not nearly so well thought-out. By the way, in the end, he lives. Not to be a spoiler or anything, just trying to keep children services out of my basement.
Actually, all I did was agree with the dentist that he needs to have two teeth pulled. The poor planning on my (and the dentist) part was that this wasn't a normal situation, that these two particular teeth are in the middle of his jaw not on one side or all the way in the back like wisdom teeth. This means, five days later, he is STILL on soft food.
What looked like a cool plan up front, all of the pudding and ice cream you could possibly consume, has turned into a starving, withering teenage boy. Yes, he is still eating his body weight in pudding and ice cream topped in mounds of cool whip, but he remains HUNGRY!
Day 1 - pudding
Day 2 - pudding, fruit cups, hot dog diced up into itty bitty pieces
Day 3 - pudding, ice cream, fruit cups, bread, cheese pizza (no crunchy crust)
Day 4 - pudding, ice cream, bread, ramen
Day 5 - OH CRAP I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT?????
I didn't dare suggest he pack a lunch lest he look like the crazy chick in Breakfast Club. Instead of Cap'tn Crunch and Pixie Stix he would have four slices of plain bread, a hunk of cheese, and 2 pudding cups... and a woeful look on his face. Want to spike the attention of the authorities? Send your kid to school with THAT lunch. So I sent him to the nurse who happens to be well-versed in dental cases returning to school and fed him a PBJ except the "PB" was actually "sun butter" made out of sunflower seeds. My consolation that he at least likes sunflower seeds was not met with joy. Evidently it's not the same. AND they dared to put jelly on his sandwich - he being the only child alive that does not like jelly.
Somehow he found out (as in texting the entire student body to find the one only kid whose mother actually keeps the copy of the high school lunch menu) today is chicken soft tacos. "I love their chicken tacos".
He might not starve after all.
Actually, all I did was agree with the dentist that he needs to have two teeth pulled. The poor planning on my (and the dentist) part was that this wasn't a normal situation, that these two particular teeth are in the middle of his jaw not on one side or all the way in the back like wisdom teeth. This means, five days later, he is STILL on soft food.
What looked like a cool plan up front, all of the pudding and ice cream you could possibly consume, has turned into a starving, withering teenage boy. Yes, he is still eating his body weight in pudding and ice cream topped in mounds of cool whip, but he remains HUNGRY!
Day 1 - pudding
Day 2 - pudding, fruit cups, hot dog diced up into itty bitty pieces
Day 3 - pudding, ice cream, fruit cups, bread, cheese pizza (no crunchy crust)
Day 4 - pudding, ice cream, bread, ramen
Day 5 - OH CRAP I HAVE TO GO TO SCHOOL WHAT AM I GOING TO EAT?????
I didn't dare suggest he pack a lunch lest he look like the crazy chick in Breakfast Club. Instead of Cap'tn Crunch and Pixie Stix he would have four slices of plain bread, a hunk of cheese, and 2 pudding cups... and a woeful look on his face. Want to spike the attention of the authorities? Send your kid to school with THAT lunch. So I sent him to the nurse who happens to be well-versed in dental cases returning to school and fed him a PBJ except the "PB" was actually "sun butter" made out of sunflower seeds. My consolation that he at least likes sunflower seeds was not met with joy. Evidently it's not the same. AND they dared to put jelly on his sandwich - he being the only child alive that does not like jelly.
Somehow he found out (as in texting the entire student body to find the one only kid whose mother actually keeps the copy of the high school lunch menu) today is chicken soft tacos. "I love their chicken tacos".
He might not starve after all.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Movie Monday - More Bette Davis
Okay, okay, maybe I've been a tad harsh on Bette Davis. Then again watching What Ever Happened To Baby Jane (1962) should not be one's introduction to the actress. Unfortunately the next thee movies featuring her were of similar caliber. Seeing Watch On The Rhine (1943) has changed my opinion.
I'm not sure what year it's supposed to depict, but I think it's before America entered WWII. An American woman (Davis) returns to her parents' home with her German husband and their children. They had been underground for several years part of the resistance against the Nazi's. Meanwhile another visitor to the home happens to be part of the American Nazi movement. Neither officially reveals themselves but a little poking around uncovers their secrets.
Bette still portrayed a wealthy woman from a well-to-do family, but she wasn't nearly as pretentious as she has been in other movies. Her character was a loving mother, a supportive wife, and a devoted daughter. This time it was her character's mother who was overbearing.
Besides seeing Bette Davis play a nice and charitable character, I liked watching this movie because it wasn't an eye-gouging drama. It was a suspenseful mystery and an overall good story.
Bette was nominated for best supporting actress, but Oscar went to Paul Lukas as best actor.
I'm not sure what year it's supposed to depict, but I think it's before America entered WWII. An American woman (Davis) returns to her parents' home with her German husband and their children. They had been underground for several years part of the resistance against the Nazi's. Meanwhile another visitor to the home happens to be part of the American Nazi movement. Neither officially reveals themselves but a little poking around uncovers their secrets.
Bette still portrayed a wealthy woman from a well-to-do family, but she wasn't nearly as pretentious as she has been in other movies. Her character was a loving mother, a supportive wife, and a devoted daughter. This time it was her character's mother who was overbearing.
Besides seeing Bette Davis play a nice and charitable character, I liked watching this movie because it wasn't an eye-gouging drama. It was a suspenseful mystery and an overall good story.
Bette was nominated for best supporting actress, but Oscar went to Paul Lukas as best actor.
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
A Hand Coming Out Of My Toilet
You guys are such suckers! Although I admit if I saw something about hands in the toilet I would definitely investigate.
Our landlord is refinancing the house so an appraiser had to do a walk-through today. I felt horrible because it really looks like we are teetering on being hoarders. It was bad enough trying to combine two households but then we have closed a business and the leftover stuff is piled up sky-high in my basement and sunroom. Seriously, we have walking paths and that's it. Oh add in our stock-piled food pantry. Yeah, that man is definitely running home to dish to his wife tonight!
Speaking of basements (sorry, maybe I should have warned you this was going to be a meandering post)... I'm a little peeved by an interview I watched the other night. It was about the former policeman-gone-crazy in Los Angeles taking refuge in a cabin. When the cabin owner's son revealed that the cabin has a basement the interviewer asked, "is it one where you can stand up?" Hmmm.... I bet interviewer dude would be surprised all of the homes in the St. Louis area have basements, yes tall enough you can stand up in them AND they're even cement (no dirt floors for us), many finished adding extra living space to the home.
I guess what rubs me wrong is a continued bias from east coast news sources viewing the rest of the country like we're hicks. Yes, we have flush toilets and even have electricity in every room! I realize that it's not common for most of the country to have basements in their homes, but it's not too much of a leap to guess what one is like.
Maybe I'm hopping up on the wrong high-horse and took the question wrong?
Our landlord is refinancing the house so an appraiser had to do a walk-through today. I felt horrible because it really looks like we are teetering on being hoarders. It was bad enough trying to combine two households but then we have closed a business and the leftover stuff is piled up sky-high in my basement and sunroom. Seriously, we have walking paths and that's it. Oh add in our stock-piled food pantry. Yeah, that man is definitely running home to dish to his wife tonight!
Speaking of basements (sorry, maybe I should have warned you this was going to be a meandering post)... I'm a little peeved by an interview I watched the other night. It was about the former policeman-gone-crazy in Los Angeles taking refuge in a cabin. When the cabin owner's son revealed that the cabin has a basement the interviewer asked, "is it one where you can stand up?" Hmmm.... I bet interviewer dude would be surprised all of the homes in the St. Louis area have basements, yes tall enough you can stand up in them AND they're even cement (no dirt floors for us), many finished adding extra living space to the home.
I guess what rubs me wrong is a continued bias from east coast news sources viewing the rest of the country like we're hicks. Yes, we have flush toilets and even have electricity in every room! I realize that it's not common for most of the country to have basements in their homes, but it's not too much of a leap to guess what one is like.
Maybe I'm hopping up on the wrong high-horse and took the question wrong?
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
My Hand In The Toilet
I had noticed it for a few days, a "thing" lingering in the depths of the toilet. I wasn't sure if it was a worn spot or what, but it had caught my attention. And then it was gone.
And then it returned.
I swear I saw the coppertop of a battery.
It disappeared and reappeared a few more times. A mystery lurking in my toilet.
Then one morning there it sat, bold as day, no longer a mystery, and most definitely a battery. I plunged my hand into the water and withdrew the offending object, quickly tossing it into the trash.
As I scrubbed my hand and arm up to the elbow I pondered why on earth would a battery, of all things, be in my toilet? It's not like this is an old toilet so that maybe a battery dropped by a previous resident had been drifting back and forth, unnoticed for many years. Nope, this toilet was installed only a couple of years ago while we lived here. Nor do I have small children, who we know are prone to dropping a variety of objects in toilets for amusement.
Despite a few more serious scrubbing sessions the bigger concern has not been that my had was IN THE TOILET, but how the hell did a battery land there????
And then it returned.
I swear I saw the coppertop of a battery.
It disappeared and reappeared a few more times. A mystery lurking in my toilet.
Then one morning there it sat, bold as day, no longer a mystery, and most definitely a battery. I plunged my hand into the water and withdrew the offending object, quickly tossing it into the trash.
As I scrubbed my hand and arm up to the elbow I pondered why on earth would a battery, of all things, be in my toilet? It's not like this is an old toilet so that maybe a battery dropped by a previous resident had been drifting back and forth, unnoticed for many years. Nope, this toilet was installed only a couple of years ago while we lived here. Nor do I have small children, who we know are prone to dropping a variety of objects in toilets for amusement.
Despite a few more serious scrubbing sessions the bigger concern has not been that my had was IN THE TOILET, but how the hell did a battery land there????
Monday, February 11, 2013
Movie Monday - Top Hat
I really am unfair when sitting down to watch many of these movies. I'm quite prejudiced, ready to not like one because it's especially old, or has a certain actor, or is a dancing, singing frenzy. And then one creeps through the cracks and warms my frozen heart. And maybe this is the whole reason for my exercise in attempting to watch so many movies.
Top Hat (1935) is exactly one such movie. Despite over-the-top big dance productions that burst onto the scene out of nowhere only to highlight the brilliant dance moves of Rogers and Astaire, this was really a fabulously fun movie.
Fred Astaire meets up with a friend whose wife is bound to match him with one of her friends. There is a mixup and Ginger Rogers thinks Fred is her friend's flirtatious husband. I giggled more than once and was excited to see the truth finally reveled. Of course the dancing was necessary, I mean why else have the notorious dancing duo in a movie at all?
Best of all, a light and fluffy movie in the midst of personal loss and other dreary, sad movies seems to be the perfect fix for a gloomy day.
Top Hat (1935) is exactly one such movie. Despite over-the-top big dance productions that burst onto the scene out of nowhere only to highlight the brilliant dance moves of Rogers and Astaire, this was really a fabulously fun movie.
Fred Astaire meets up with a friend whose wife is bound to match him with one of her friends. There is a mixup and Ginger Rogers thinks Fred is her friend's flirtatious husband. I giggled more than once and was excited to see the truth finally reveled. Of course the dancing was necessary, I mean why else have the notorious dancing duo in a movie at all?
Best of all, a light and fluffy movie in the midst of personal loss and other dreary, sad movies seems to be the perfect fix for a gloomy day.
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