It’s that time again… December 29, 2006

A pretty lazy day around here. I think I am going to finish the second armwarmer and maybe make a hat to match.

Now, we shuffle:

1. Things the Grandchildren should know – The Eels
2. Sing Me Back Home – The Grateful Dead
3. Two Princes – Spin Doctors
4. Steve’s Last Night in Town – Ben Folds Five
5. Cold Day in the Sun – Foo Fighters
6. Pardon Me – Weezer
7. Lie in Our Graves – Dave Matthews
8. Can’t Get There from Here- R.E.M.
9. Split Screen Sadness – John Mayer
10. Space Travel is Boring – Modest Mouse

I rather like this shuffle, iTunes and I seem to be in sync today. What does your new years shuffle look like?

Loving the Dreamgirls December 28, 2006

Yesterday my mother and I went to see Dreamgirls. It was amazing. As I mentioned in my last post, I was not sure what to expect. Whatever I was expecting, the movie blew me away. To quote my mother, it was like a musical and like a movie. I know that sounds weird or maybe just plain dumb, but the singing was not crucial to the movie, it was crucial to their believability as a singing group. It was funny watching all the parallels the show made to real life people and the nods to the Jackson 5 were particularly funny. Overall it was a great movie and I can’t wait to see it again.

As expected Jennifer Hudson stole the entire movie. She was amazing and in my mind the lead of the movie. On one hand I get why Beyonce was marketed as the lead, she is more famous and plays the lead singer in the group, but in terms of performance and what the movie was about, it was all about Jennifer Hudson’s part. My father and I had an interesting conversation at dinner last night and he said he thought Beyonce was marketed as the lead because she was thin and pretty, just like in the movie. I sincerely hope that is not true, but am not naive enough to think there is no truth to that statement. I have taken solace in the fact that Jennifer Hudson should win the Golden Globe and Oscar for best supporting actress and nobody, not even Jennifer Hudson if she was nominated for best actress, could beat Helen Miren. That women was just born to play each and every British Queen.

Speaking of my father, this movie has delved him into the scary world of pop culture. First a note about my father he reads the New York Times and Wall Street Journal every day. He reads the Economist and New Republic every week. The only TV he watches are the financial programs at lunch when he talks to my grandfather (it is actually cute, they talk on the phone about the show that is on) and the shows on HBO and SHO. So it is save to say that he is clueless about pop culture. He goes to movies if one of the aforementioned publication says he should go. Well this movie has gotten so much good press, my father spent last night talking about Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson. It was really funny, he was trying to explain to me that Beyonce was part of this group Destiny but she left it to do a solo career and she dates a guy named Jay who is apparently famous. Then he told me Jennifer Hudson was on this show where they sing and if they don’t do well they are kicked off, but she got kicked off for being too large (then he went on a rant about that). I am not sure his information on why Jennifer Hudson got kicked off Idol is correct (I don’t watch the show) but I think it says something that my 60 year old dad is now talking about this stuff because of this movie. It is definitely reaching a large group of people.

In conclusion, if you have not seen this movie, rush out and see it now. This is one you are going to want to see at least once on the big screen.

The last 4 days December 26, 2006

So I did in fact end up getting sick, which means I did not go with the family out of town. In a way it sucked, since I started feeling better on Sunday and then I was bored out of my mind. In a way it was good because my aunt and uncle celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas, which is one of my biggest pet peeves. How do you acknowledge and not acknowledge Jesus at the same time? I know they really don’t celebrate Jewish holidays, they don’t belong to a synagogue, they don’t do Passover, and I’m sure they have no idea the religious significance of Hanukkah or how unimportant it is in the scope of Jewish religions. My mother says this makes it better. I somehow feel like it is worse. Also, they do both holidays to excess with gifts, all of which are obnoxiously expensive and often unneeded. They do this all in front of you, when they know we aren’t going to celebrate (but they wake us up to watch their teenage kids open all the presents, so we can ooh and ahh), and they don’t even bother to get any of us a cheap gift card or anything. So for those reasons I am glad I was not there.

So how did I spend my time (when I wasn’t sleeping, which admittedly was most of the time)?

First, I finished my second Jaywalker sock. They turned out really well and I am really happy. Then I started the arm warmer from Stitch and Bitch Nation. I am almost through the first one. I am not sure about it. I decided to use some cheap yarn I picked up at my LYS. I was going to use the yarn to make a hat for a student, but decided to use something else. Anyway, the yarn does not do the pattern on the top justice. I am glad I used it because it is my first real try with reading off a chart and doing cables, so it is a good yarn to experiment with. Also, I am not sure because I don’t know how I like the pattern. Not the tree on the top, but the actual structure. I will admit I just looked at pictures and picked the one I liked best, so I did not read the pattern before starting. Now I wonder. Most the other patterns I looked at, like the fetchings from Knitty, increase for the hand. These are like tubes with a thumb hole. I am not sure how they are going to fit. I am going to finish it tomorrow and then decide if I want to make the second one. I have some really cool Noro for the “real” ones. I may either edit the pattern or try the knitty fetchings and just extend the wrist part and also the hand part.

I also watched a lot of tv. All I can say is thank god for HGTV and Law and Order: CI marathons. I also finally saw In Her Shoes. It was surprisingly good. I really had not liked the book, the movie stayed on my list, but never really moved up that list. Anyway, I found it on HBO and sat down to watch it. I don’t need to see it again, but if you are sick and bored, I recommend it as a good way to pass 2 plus hours.

I’m sure I did a few other things, but honestly most of the weekend was a fog of sickness.

Tomorrow I am going to see Dreamgirls with my mother. I never saw the Broadway musical, but I am looking forward to the movie. I am especially looking forward to the performance by Jennifer Hudson. I have heard she steals the movie. I am also looking forward to making fun of Beyonce’s performance. Maybe she will surprise me but I am not holding my breath.

Finally, I wanted to acknowledge the passing of two great men. First, James Brown. I never really got into his music, but I did get to see him live once, and it was one of the most amazing live performances I have ever seen. Second, Gerald Ford. He came to power in an awkward situation replacing Nixon. Was not elected by the people, but managed to get the nation back on track, which says a lot.

And Now We Shuffle… December 22, 2006

I woke up this morning sick. It has put the trip this weekend in jeopardy. I always get sick when I go visit my aunt and uncle because I think I am allergic to their house and/or their dog, so going may not be a good idea. Plus I was to drive with my parents and my mom can’t be around me if I am sick, so that is also not a good idea. I guess I’ll have to decide in the next few hours.

Now to shuffle:

1. Pride- U2
2. Champagne for My Real Friends, Real Pain for My Sham Friends – Fall Out Boy
3. My Apartment – Ben Kweller
4. #1 Zero – Audioslave
5. Follow Through – Gavin DeGraw
6. Find Your Way Back – Michelle Branch
7. Debaser- Pixies
8. Uncle Johnny – The Killers
9. One of These Things First – Nick Drake
10. Guyahoga – R.E.M.

Criminals and Heroes December 22, 2006

I am now up to the Homecoming episode of Heroes. I am finally willing to admit that the show is worth all the hype. The characters I did not like I now do. It just took their powers getting fleshed out. I have 3 more episodes until I am caught up. I really want to just sit down and watch them tomorrow, but I might try to space them out so I don’t have too huge a gap until the show comes back.

This evening, realizing that I had absolutely nothing I wanted to watch on Tivo and that there was nothing worthwhile on TV, I decided to surf the movie channels on Directv. Let me admit here that I get them all. Every single movie channel. I watch the television shows on both HBO and Showtime but rarely watch anything else on them, unless my Tivo tapes it for me. Yes, I trust my Tivo to tell me what I want to watch. For the most part, the Tivo suggestions are right on and I never feel like I missed anything because I set season passes for the stuff I really want to see.

So I headed up to the 500s and started surfing. I found the movie Criminal starting right when I got to it. It has Diego Luna (of Y Tu Mama Tambien) and Maggie Gyllenhaal and the description looked interesting so I stopped to watch. I honestly don’t remember this movie ever being in theaters, but it was really entertaining. It had a nice little twist at the end which I did not see coming (and I am usually pretty good at predicting them–I ruined Fight Club for everyone when I guessed the twist about 15 minutes into the movie). So, if you are surfing your movie channels and see Criminal, I recommend stopping and checking it out.

While watching the movie and then two episodes of Law and Order Criminal Intent (it is just me or is one of the three law and orders on some cable channel every hour of the day?) I finished my first Jaywalker sock. It looks really good. No holes on the gussets where I picked up stitches. I am going to start the second one tomorrow. Now I have to decide if I am going to keep them for myself or give them to somebody. I never decide if my knitting is a gift until I see what it looks like. I am a total perfectionist and most of my friends and family think my knitting is just something to keep my OCD in check (you know, keep my hands busy) so I only give stuff if it is perfect. Otherwise I get all the comments that they could buy something in the store and I shouldn’t bother. It is only the stuff that looks as good or better than store stuff that doesn’t get the comments. While it sucks that they don’t appreciate my hobby (and yes it did start to keep my hands busy) I have no problem keeping the stuff for myself. I always knit stuff that I would be happy keeping for myself. Also, my kids love it when I knit stuff for them, so I try to make them stuff at tournaments. Right now, most on my team have hats and I have requests for fingerless gloves (gauntlets) and scarfs, so I am not lacking for projects or people who will appreciate them.

Break = Televison and not much more December 19, 2006

This is the first week in ages that I really have nothing planned, nothing I have to do. It is great, but I am also going a little nuts. I purposely didn’t plan anything but now I regret that. This weekend I managed to watch the entire CSI:NY Season 2 DVD set. Then I watched the BBC Pride and Prejudice miniseries yesterday. Today I went to lunch with a former student and then started re-watching the first season of Queer and Folk. I need help. If I don’t make plans or something, I will easily sit and watch the entire QAF series (well all but season 5 which sucked). So I have decided to go somewhere tomorrow. I am not sure where yet, but I will go.

I also downloaded Heroes to my computer and have started watching some of them. I know I am late jumping on this fad, but I was not sure it was my “type” of show. I mean I like comic books and comic book movies, but don’t watch shows like Lost or 24. The only thing that was making me want to watch it was the press it was getting. Magazines and critics that I generally respect were raving about it. I set my Tivo for an episode and then my kids all freaked out that I couldn’t just start watching, I had to watch from the beginning. One iTunes gift card from them, with explicit instructions that I had to download the Heroes season pass, here I am. They were so serious it was funny. They threatened to check my laptop for it. Truth be told, I think they all plan on putting it on their iPods from my computer, but oh well.

So far I am on episode 3. I like it but don’t love it. I am enjoying the storyline with the politician and his brother. I also like the policeman who can read minds as well as the cheerleader. I like Hiro but not so much his storyline. I totally hate Nikki and find myself fast forwarding when she is on screen. I hope maybe my opinion on her will improve as the season goes on. All I can hope for is that as I approach the critical “Save the Cheerleader, Save the World” episode, I will get hooked. Regardless, thanks to my kids, I will have the whole series on my laptop. And one more way to waste my time over break.

TV and More TV December 17, 2006

I have been watching the CSI NY Season 2 DVD set. Let me just say, I actually like the New York series in Season 2. I was not a big fan of Season 1, but I like the new girl Lindsay and I like how they broke from the usual CSI framework. In fact, right now it might be my favorite CSI. I loved the original CSI Las Vegas, but I have not been a big fan of it this year. Something changed for me at the end of last year, beginning of this year. I think it may be that there personal life’s became to much a part of the show. Now, call me hypocritical but that is what I like about NY, you get to know the characters and their life’s. I personally am rooting for Danny and Lindsay, once we figure out what her big “secret” is. I guess it is ok because they started it in season 2, not season 8. I guess I cannot explain it. Despite my love of both of these series’ don’t even get me started on CSI Miami, possibly one of the worst TV shows on right now.

So that has been my weekend. Watching CSI NY on DVD and knitting. I am about 2 inches from turning the heel on my first jaywalker sock. I am using a Lorna’s Laces self-striping yarn in blue, green and black. They look really cool. I love how the jaywalker pattern is coming out in stripe pattern. I don’t have much planned this week, so I hope I can get them done before I go out of town for Hanukkah. Yeah I know it already started, but our Hanukkah party is Christmas eve since that is when people could get away from work since we live in a Christian religion centric society.

I’m going to leave y’all with another video in honor of Christmas and Hanukkah or whatever holiday you celebrate. This is Andy Sandberg and Justin Timberlake in a sketch from last nights SNL.

Note: This is the uncensored version.

Friday Shuffle December 15, 2006

Nothing much to say, so lets just shuffle:

1. Dog – Ben Folds
2. History of a Boring Town – Less Than Jake
3. Undone- The Sweater Song – Weezer
4. Tundra/Desert – Modest Mouse
5. Bittersweet Memory – Blue Merle
6. Fight the Power – Public Enemy
7. Folsom Prison Blues – Johnny Cash
8. Fell in Love with a Girl – The White Stripes
9. Pull – Blind Melon
10. In Repair – John Mayer

Scrubs Love December 15, 2006

I love Scrubs. It is by far one of the best shows on television now. I also read a lot of the television spoiler sites and keep reading about an upcoming Scrubs musical episode. Then I was told that NBC had posted a musical number from that episode. I watched it and now my excitement for the episode has sky-rocketed to unheard of proportions.

Since we all have to wait until January to see the episode, here is JD and Turk professing their love for each other. Enjoy!

Movie Meme- what’s your number December 13, 2006

So this is going around my kids on facebook, and I decided to do it as well, both here and on facebook. They say if you have seen more than 85 of these movies you have no life. There are 252 movies on the list. My number is 111. Not as bad I as thought it would be. I got lucky, there were a lot of horror movies I don’t watch and not too many 80s movies which I watch obsessively.

(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
( ) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man’s Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
( ) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
Total: 6

(x) The Princess Bride
( ) Anchor Man
(x) Napoleon Dynamite
() Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
() Anger Management
(x) 50 First Dates
(x) The Princess Diaries
(x) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
Total so far: 12

(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
() Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
Total so far: 18

(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
( ) Resident Evil 1
( ) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
(x) Little Black Book
( ) The Village
() Lilo & Stitch
Total so far: 24

( ) Finding Nemo
() Finding Neverland
( ) Signs
( ) The Grinch
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
() White Chicks
( ) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
( ) I, Robot
( ) Robots
Total so far: 25

(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
() Universal Soldier
() Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
() Along Came Polly
() Deep Impact
(x) KingPin
(x) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) KING KONG
Total so far: 29

(x) A Cinderella Story
() The Terminal
(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
(x) Passport to Paris
(x) Dumb & Dumber
() Dumber & Dumberer
() Final Destination
() Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
() The Ring
() The Ring 2
() Surviving X-MAS
() Flubber
Total so far: 34

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
() Ghost Ship
() From Hell
(x) Hellboy
( ) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
Total so far: 39

() The Day After Tomorrow
() Child’s Play
() Seed of Chucky
() Bride of Chucky
(x) Ten Things I Hate About You
() Just Married
( ) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
() Coach Carter
() The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
Total so far: 44

() Bad Boys
() Bad Boys 2
() Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Seven
(x) Ocean’s Eleven
(x) Ocean’s Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
() Bedazzled
() Predator I
() Predator II
() The Fog
() Ice Age
() Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
Total so far: 48

(x) Independence Day
() Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
() Darkness Falls
( ) Christine
(x) ET
() Children of the Corn
() My Bosses Daughter
(x) Maid in Manhattan
() War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
() Rush Hour 2
Total so far: 52

( ) Best Bet
(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She’s All That
( ) Calendar Girls
(x ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
( ) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
() Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
() The Terminator 3
Total so far: 61

(x) X-Men
(x) X2
(x ) X-3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
(x) Sky High
() Jeepers Creepers
() Jeepers Creepers 2
() Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
( ) Reign of Fire
(x ) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
() Cruel Intentions 2
() The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
(x) Shrek 2
Total so far: 73

(x) Swimfan
(x) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
() The Notebook
( ) K-Pax
() Krippendorf’s Tribe
(x) A Walk to Remember
(x) Ice Castles
() Boogeyman
(x) The 40-year-old-virgin
Total so far: 79

(x) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Total so far: 85

(x) Baseketball
( ) Hostel
(x ) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
() Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x ) American History X
( ) Three
Total so Far: 89

() The Jacket
(x) Kung Fu Hustle
() Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
( ) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
(x) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
Total so far: 93

( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
() Hulk
() Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
( ) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe
(x) 28 days later
(x ) Orgazmo
() Phantasm
() Waterworld
Total so far: 96

(x) Kill Bill vol 1
(x) Kill Bill vol 2
() Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman
( ) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) The Ghost and the Darkness
Total so far: 98

(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
() Ewoks Caravan Of Courage
() Ewoks The Battle For Endor
Total so far: 104

(x) The Matrix
(x ) The Matrix Reloaded
(x ) The Matrix Revolutions
() Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
(x ) Team America: World Police
(x) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
( x) Hannibal

Total -111