2009

hey everyone. look - i didn't wait a year to post again. go me. since i don't think i'm going to get to a 2009 yearbook via home movie, i thought i would post some of my favorite things here - like a playlist and other cool stuff i did.
check it.

playlist 2009
[as usual, not always released in 09, but it's what i listened to most]

furr by blitzen trapper
i'm coming out by diana ross
best of you [live from 'skin & bones'] by foo fighters
love long distance/'music for men' [the whole record] by the gossip
hold on hope by guided by voices
naked as we came by iron & wine
i'll be there by the jackson 5
absolute beginners by the jam
empire state of mind [feat. alicia keyes] by jay-z
rise up with fists!!! by jenny lewis & the watson twins
down to zero by joan armatrading
heartless by kanye west
relator by pete yorn & scarlett johansson
this tornado loves you/'middle cyclone' [the whole record] by neko case
sober by p!nk
mad world by tears for fears [thank you adam lambert for reminding us of this gem!]
this woman's work by kate bush
smile [live] by pearl jam
smooth criminal by michael jackson
alex chilton by the replacements
close call by rilo kiley
maps by the yeah, yeah, yeah's
girls just wanna have fun by starfu***er
paper planes by m.i.a.
welcome to england by tori amos
say hey (i love you) by michael franti & spearhead
i am by mary j blige
tardy for the party by kim zolciak - just kidding! if you don't know this one - see real housewives of atlanta - you won't regret it.

stuff i read 2009

the double bind by chris bohjalian
the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald
castle waiting by linda medley
the road by cormac mccarthy
100 bullets v. 1 by brian azzarello
anansi boys by neil gaiman
the dirt: confessions of the world's most notorious rock band by motley crue
water for elephants by sara gruen
twilight by stephanie meyers
sloppy firsts by meghan mccafferty
nick & norah's infinite playlist by rachel cohn
fables volumes 1-5 by bill willingham
kitchen confidential by anthony bourdain [actually i listened to it via audiobook]

stuff i saw 2009

survivor - samoa
project runway [until the end when irina won]
so you think you can dance [summer time edition]
better off ted
lost
breaking bad
modern family
hgtv - just the whole channel
pawn stars
hoarders
glee
weeds
real housewives of atlanta
where the wild things are
whip it
new moon
sunshine cleaning

tv & life ... no, just tv

are you watching 'better off ted'? this is funny people. check out the promo spot above featuring veronica palmer, extremely cold and hilarious!

"there's a good chance you're already working for us and you don't even know it!"

la lohan!

watch this video of lindsay lohan and her eharmony find a mate video. hilarious! this is why i feel so bad for this girl - she is a talented actress in there. this is spot on!

Lindsay Lohan's eHarmony Profile from Lindsay Lohan

uh, cute

if you saw ellen's show today you'll want to check this out before they take it down. i don't know how we can not let two people this in love be legally married. honestly. [you can probably see it at ellen's website too.]

there is a god!

arrested development. the movie. yes!
some reasons why i love arrested development...

[Lucille replaces Lupe with a robot vacuum cleaner, then catches Buster in bed with it]
Buster: Well, what do you expect, mother?
[holds up his hook]
Buster: I'm half machine. I'm a monster.

Tobias Fünke: [as Mrs. Featherbottom] O-kay, who'd like a banger in the mouth?
[laughs]
Tobias Fünke: Right, I forgot, here in the States, you call it a *sausage* in the mouth.
Michael: We just call it a sausage

Michael: [after George Sr. has been handed a jail sentence] They're going to keep Dad in jail until this whole thing gets sorted out.
[silence amongst the family]
Michael: Also, I've been told that the company's expense accounts have been frozen...
[everyone gasps]
Michael: ...Interesting. I would have expected that after "They're keeping Dad in jail."

Narrator: Tobias listens to a day's worth of his own words, to see what Michael was referring to...
Tobias Fünke: [on tape] ... even if it means me taking a chubby, I will suck it up.
Tobias Fünke: Nothing wrong with that.
Tobias Fünke: [on tape] Oh, I've been in the film business for a while, but I just can't seem to get one in the can.
Tobias Fünke: It's out of context.
Tobias Fünke: [on tape] I wouldn't mind kissing that man between the cheeks.
Narrator: ...and he realized there is something distinct about the way he speaks.
Tobias Fünke: Tobias, you blowhard.
[chuckles]

Mae 'Maebe' Funke: Do you guys know where I could get one of those gold T-shaped pendants? Michael: That's a cross.
Mae 'Maebe' Funke: Across from where?

Tobias Fünke: No, no, it's pronounced a-nal-ra-pist.
Buster: It wasn't really the pronunciation that bothered me.

Tobias Fünke: [while rehearsing his "frightened inmate #2" character] Say something that will terrify me.
Lindsay Funke: F**k me.
Tobias Fünke: No, that didn't do it.

[repeated line]
Kitty: It's the last time you'll see these.
[flashes Michael]

Lindsay Funke: [after having met popular actor Moses Taylor, who plays detective Frank Wrench] I'm going to go see if I cant get a wrench to strip my nuts.
[pause, everyone stares]
Lindsay Funke: I thought it sounded sexy.

bow in the presence of greatness: ron howard, mitch hurwitz and all the cast! i cannot wait!

not bad...

hey, my predictions were all correct! i'm going to go ahead and take the best actor category because, well, this is my blog and i want to. [stick tongue out here] i thought the show was borderline cheesy. i mean, it was pretty gay-tacular, what with all the singing and dancing and zac ephron. i zipped through everything except the awards. i was so pleased to see kate winslet finally be recognized for her smart, honest and just really great acting. plus, i think she's just adorable and sweet as can be. ok, maybe i have a tiny crush. tiny.
i've just receieved vicky christina barcelona in the mail and can't wait to give it a look. i'll report back.
peace out -

man on wire

you must, must, must check out the film, man on wire.

on august 7, 1974, a young frenchman named philippe petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between new york's twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. after nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psycological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released.
following six and a half years dreaming of the towers, petit spent eight months in new york city planning the execution of the coup. aided by a team of friends and accomplices, petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the wtc's security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and swaying of the buildings. the rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. at 7:15 am, philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of manhattan...
james marsh's documentary brings petit's extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as "the artistic crime of the century."
[taken from man on wire website - http://www.manonwire.com/]

philippe walking the wire above sydney harbour in sydney australia.

i can't explain the tears that came in see this image, philippe lying down between the towers of notre dame. on a wire.

philippe's first steps between the towers. my heart was beating out of my chest. the suspense built during this film was fantastic!

his girlfriend at the time said from the sidewalk that it looked like philippe was walking on the clouds.

i'm so glad i took the time to watch this film. it is absolutely stunning and i was greatly affected by it. it's told in a truly exciting fashion - sometimes philippe gets so excited in the retelling that he's up and re-enacting the moment. he and his accomplices mention several times that this is something they would never experience again and to just enjoy it in the moment. philippe is a true artist, delicate and beautiful up on a wire. living his dream, walking in the clouds.

[sister, i think the kids would love this film.]

dammit

i totally fell for that stupid movie music of the heart. i did. i cried. i tried not to. it's not like i can't appreciate what that lovely woman did but why do they have to make it so cheesy? oh, and meryl streep was nominated for an oscar for that pile? honestly. i have a secret dislike for meryl streep. not as a person, because i think she is lovely and quite humble and modest when i see her on tv, but as an actress. i mean, she's good, but when the role is not great, like this one, she's a little, well, i don't know, campy? i liken her to the portland trailblazers. she sinks or rises to the level of competition. for example, silkwood - beating the boston celtics (without b.roy mind you). music of the heart - losing to the oklahoma city thunder (on a days rest mind you). i plead my case with 1999's best actress oscar nominees.

annette bening american beauty
janet mcteer tumbleweeds
julianne moore the end of the affair
meryl streep music of the heart
hilary swank boys don't cry

now this list is a who's who of amazing actresses. hilary swank, was of course, the winner that year for her stellar performance as a transsexual f2m whose love affair with a woman leads to his brutal murder. if you haven't seen it, it's an awful tragedy, but worth watching. i've seen all of these movies and each and every one of those ladies deserved that nomination, except ms streep. sorry. the role was unworthy. i'm racking my brain thinking there must have been someone else they could have nominated. i think she's just a fail safe. it doesn't matter if she's good or not. it's meryl streep. it's like they just couldn't find anyone else and they said, "well, meryl was in a movie this year..." in fact, she's nominated again this year for doubt. a record breaking 15 nominations! i find it fascinating that the reviews for doubt were not that great. it wasn't on many top 10 lists, yet it's got 4 acting nominations. i'm curious if any of them will win. one of the women, viola davis, is nominated for best supporting actress for 1 scene. 1 scene! she must have been good.
wow, i really went off on a tangent there!

awesome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fb47QmTT1ck

benjamin biting his nails after surviving arctic blast while watching the trailblazer game

i want to blog but what to blog about? i suppose i could tell you about the amazing movie the curious case of benjamin button. you all know what it's about right? the baby that's born as an old man? yeah, that one. brad pitt ages backwards. it's one of the most amazing love stories i've ever watched. cate blanchette [*sigh*] and brad pitt [*sigh*] are so believable as a couple who meet when they are 7 - she a ordinary 7 year old and he a 7 year old old boy living in an old folks home - who looks like an old man. they fall in love instantly - she sees he's a young person trapped in an old person's body, literally. once their ages collide they come together and have a love affair that lasts years. those scenes are awesome because it's so believable that they are in love, that's they've always loved each other and that they will always love each other. the story is being told in the present right before katrina hits new orleans. brad pitt calls it a love story to new orleans. after i get over their love story, i'll watch it again and watch it from the city's point of view. i hope this film wins some awards. i loved it.



i've bitten my nails off. well, not completely off just - well, down. not as bad as they used to be but they don't look super good. i just can't bring myself to bite them down as far as i had. thank god. it all started after the shingles. i traded shingles for nail biting. it's a decent trade, i suppose. i'm trying to stop again. it's worse than smoking! you can't, you know, just not buy a pack of fingernails for chewing.

now that arctic blast is over we're on to flood watch 09. as al roker so gently put it this morning, "they're getting hammered in the pacific northwest!" we're lucky here in portland. everywhere else in oregon and washington is flooding. highway 5 is closed to seattle! closed! highway 5! the air is strangely warm but the wind is cool. does that make sense? when the wind isn't blowing the air is quite arid. humid, maybe.

went to the blazers/pistons game last night. the first 3 quarters were so boring i could have dozed off. the crowd was just not into the game. the trailblazers went down 14 at one point. it was as quiet as i've heard it in the 5 games i've been to this season. jarryd bayless played 17 minutes (a season high) and was just a spark in that second unit; which is a complete mess due to brandon roy being out. he really showed the fans what he can do with a little playing time. he was pumped to be on the floor everytime he was out there. lamarcus aldridge finished with 26 points. i was so happy to see that l.a. has stepped up while brandon's been on the injured list. the 4 games brandon's been out l.a. has averaged 20 points a game. he has to be the leader when brandon is not on the floor. and he did it. i was impressed. he also has played an ass-load of minutes! this is the second game i've gone to that was determined by 1 point in the final seconds. 84-83. the home opener against san antonio was also determined in the final seconds, 101-99. all of the games i've attended so far my portland trailblazers have won. awesome. go blazers!

2 more days [survivor spoiler below]

well kiddies, we've got two more days in this crazy campaign and it's time to make your voice heard. i know i've been super obnoxious about reminding you to vote and all, but complacency is what frightens me. some say obama has it in the bag, but i'm not so sure. i have my faith, of course, where i wake up every morning and be grateful that barack obama is the next president of the united states. i have my faith in the american people that they have felt betrayed by the current administration and will do anything for something different. all i'm saying is that just because you think everyone else is voting doesn't mean you shouldn't. i have stopped watching anything but rachel maddow and stopped reading the polls. i feel like the media has the power to sway people and i think this is the time to stop listening to fox news and air america and listen to your gut. your gut cannot allow more of the same. do you want more oppression and lies?
so, here's my final push - please vote for change, whatever you think that may be. don't forget to vote on your communities measures. change starts at home. california, vote NO on prop 8, please. protect marriage by voting NO. arizona and florida - please don't pass your constitutional measures either on same sex marriages. i would like to take a moment to thank my mother for telling the canvasser that came to her door that it was no business of his who is marrying who and that her and my father would be voting NO on 8. thanks mom. it warmed my core. we have the opportunity to change the course of our country. don't forget to be a part of it.
on the same topic, i saw w. last week and felt cheated by oliver stone. i felt like he wanted me to sympathize with w. because of his "daddy issues." really? daddy issues? wah, wha, wha. daddy never approved! he loved jeb more than me! even though i committed treason - and should go to jail - to finish what you started, you still don't love me?! come on, oliver. you can do better than that. i think this film exposed cheney as more the bad guy and w. just an idiot head of the biggest fraternity in the world. forget about all the lying, stealing and treason going on. not addressed with any gusto. it's basically glossed over while w. and cheney eat sandwiches and talk about figuring out a way to manipulate all of us (including his own cabinet) into thinking there was weapons of mass destruction. this is huge and it's brought up while w. has pastrami hanging out of his mouth. however, as much as i hated w. i must say that josh brolin was a-mazing. he had w. down to a tee. an oscar nomination is possible. thandi newton's condoleezza rice was absolutely hideous. it was a cross between and 80 year old katherine hepburn and a marionette. god. i was embarrassed for her.
can we talk survivor for a minute? i must give props to sugar for finally starting to play this game. i think she would have stayed with ace had he not asked for the immunity idol to have in his pocket for tribal council. oh, and on a sidebar, i hate when they make both teams go to tribal council. i think that's bullshit. anyway, back to ace. sugar made the right move at the right time. having said that, i don't think sugar ever planned on voting ace out. i don't think she's a strategic player. however, she has spent plenty of time out at the "sugar shack" and what else to do but strategize? oh, and eat fruit and sleep. the only foreseeable problem is that everyone must know she has it because she's the only one who's been out there. so once the merge comes (if she makes it and fang hasn't tried to flush it out), she will have quite a target on her back. she'd have to be blindsided and i don't think that will be as easy as everyone thinks. especially when koto sees that she voted out ace. what about ken? our gamer? he's the one who planted the seed with sugar about ace and what's going on around camp when she's out vacationing at the sugar shack. it's only fair that she know - and ken really didn't say anything that wasn't true about ace. ace's big mistake was - well, besides the fake accent he couldn't keep going the entire time - assuming that sugar would just let him "borrow" the idol for tribal council. if you wanted immunity you should have won it for yourself. well, i'm fine with ace going. actually, there isn't anyone i really like this season. i find myself siding with sugar because she doesn't really have any allies. she's spent so much time away from camp that it's hard to connect with anyone. randy actually makes me laugh. this guy is so freaking miserable it's comical. at first i hated randy, but now i just have to laugh. he's one of those guys that get off on being a tool. who else? marcus the magnificent (as twop so affectionately call him). jeez this guy is like too perfect, huh? charlie couldn't agree more either. jacquie, i miss you and all that you brought to survivor: gabon.