The Last Dance clip; Includes adult content

Includes adult content

  https://streamable.com/n9bfhc

I thoroughly enjoyed ESPN's documentary The Last Dance about Michael Jordan & the 1990s Chicago Bulls. I was shocked at how little I remember about pro basketball during my years in Seattle.  The series used music from Prince AND  Pearl Jam which was mind-blowing.  They kept the profanity in and the above clip tickles the heck out of me!

Retirement of sorts

I am retiring this blog as of today. Don't get me wrong, it still has value, even though I post much more often on Facebook these days. The reason I'm retiring it is because Blogger has been spammed very badly, so 100% of the comments I am asked to moderate these days are not posted here. They are either in some Asian language and/or ads for things I would not buy or encourage friends to buy.

I am proud of this first effort at blogging and so I am leaving up the items that are on there. However, if you would like to stay current with me I have just begun a reading blog over at http://killrboox.tumblr.com Feel free to join me there and on Facebook where I will continue to expound, speckalate (family word) and swoon over all things pop-culturish.

So long Blogger, Viva la Bloggage!!

My Year of Reading Voraciously

Flashback to November 15, 2008, Billings, MT. I’d just passed my Title Insurance exam and I called to share my relief with my beloved friend Sherri. I told her I was going to shop a bit in the big city before returning home. She asked if I would pick up a book she had heard was good. It was a Young Adult book about vampires called Twilight. I bought her the paperback and that began my year of reading voraciously.

Don’t get me wrong I have always been a reader. When we moved from Tennessee to Montana in the mid-1970s my parents made the odd choice not to include a tv in the move. Sherri’s request was merely a resurgence of my already well-honed love of reading.

From November 15, 2008 until today, November 15, 2009 I read more than I have in years:

I read the entire Twilight saga, even reading Breaking Dawn twice in a row. Then continuing on the vampire theme I heard about a series called the Black Dagger Brotherhood. Oh my! Not YA reading for sure. I read the entire series and even go back and reread passages of those books including my favorite Lover Awakened (Zsadist’s story).

The BDB books were so intoxicating that I had to revert to comfort reads to recover, so I reread the first three books in the Cat Who… series. I have read the series, especially the earlier books several times, but always enjoy the tales of the newsman and his two amazing cats.

I didn’t just read series books, although those have always been my favorites because it is like reading a never-ending story. If the characters are great who doesn’t want the book to go on forever?

I read my first Carl Hiassen novel with the bizarrely entertaining Sick Puppy. I read that one while at one of my many catsitting gigs over the year. Yes, it is true I have a cat friend, Maguire, and I read aloud to her. We just finished Sneaky Pie and Rita Mae Brown’s Catch as Cat Can. Don’t worry, she’s diverse -- we’ve also read a couple naughty books and part of a biography of Abraham Lincoln.

I read a John Grisham, which I haven’t done in years. Playing for Pizza wasn’t his usual genre, but it was entertaining. I almost reread A Time to Kill on it’s 2oth anniversary year, but couldn’t get through the first part again. I still highly recommend his first and many say best book.

I was very happy to accidentally discover another superb series at my mom’s. This one by Laurie R. King is an imagination of what would happen if an older Sherlock Holmes took on a young feminist apprentice. I was hooked from the first, The Beekeeper’s Apprentice and bought my first ebook when I needed the instant gratification of the third A Letter of Mary. I would buy an ereader if they came down to $100. I can live without a cell phone, but I am starting feel like I need an ereader! :)

In the spring when the ’08-’09 tv season ended I turned off my cable, thus rendering my tvs useless for anything but dvds. Now when I’m around tv, I just want to turn it off and read. I am able to watch the shows I really care about – Gossip Girl, Glee & General Hospital online. I do enjoy listening to music while reading and discovered an awesome website http://www.legalsounds.com that keeps me quite happy with quirky music, new and old.

Also in Mom’s library, I stumbled on the somber but gripping The Lovely Bones which is due to come out as a movie at the end of this year. That book has stuck with me several books later.

I heard online about Dewey’s Read-a-Thon, where readers like me spend 24 hours reading, snacking and blogging about what they are reading and snacking on. I could soooooo do that and am now in training to take part in the next one in the spring.

Right before the voracious year ended I came full circle by rereading New Moon in preparation for the second Twilight movie 11-20-09. I have to say my reading hours of the day are my best hours by far. I have laughed with friends, lost track of whom I lent what book too and delighted when someone has discovered one of the same delicious literary nuggets I have. You can keep track of what I’m reading on Facebook or add buckycatt as a friend on Shelfari.

So, now I’m going back to reading Rudyard Kipling’s Kim so that I can more thoroughly understand and enjoy Mary Russell (& Sherlock Holmes) Book 7 The Game. In case I run out of interesting books to read…

…What are you reading?

O...M...G....!!!! 11-20-2009

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

Middle Aged?

I might be having a midlife crisis. I’m only having the crisis because I have recently realized I am middle aged!

Recently my folks and I went to see State of Play. In the movie, which was pretty darn entertaining, Russell Crowe and Ben Affleck played college roommates, and Robin Wright Penn played Ben’s wife, also from college. The older I get, the harder time I have judging people’s ages. However, I was pretty sure that Russell and Ben weren’t really the same age. In fact they are at least 10 years apart in age, so they would not have been college roommates, at least as traditional students. Robin could have been in college at the same time as Russell, but would be a “cougar” compared to Ben.

After viewing the movie, and I started wondering what celebrities my age actually look like. I checked with http://www.imdb.com to see which celebrities, from all walks of fame, are in my age range.

Below is a list of 100 people that were born within the year before and the year after me, so they are no more than 1 year older or younger than me. They are listed in order of oldest to youngest

Brad Pitt, Jennifer Beals, Lars Ulrich, Nicolas Cage, Jeff Bezos, Mariska Hargitay, Bridget Fonda, Laura Linney, Matt Dillon, Wanda Sykes, Juliette Binoche, Peter Berg, Rob Lowe, Tracy Chapman, Ian Ziering, Russell Crowe, Caroline Rhea, Crispin Glover, Djimon Hounsou, Hank Azaria, Melissa Gilbert, Stephen Colbert, David Eigenberg, Lenny Kravitz, Wynonna Judd, Courteney Cox, Doug Savant, Amy Brenneman, Joss Whedon, Courtney Love, Chris Cornell, John Leguizamo, David Spade, Sandra Bullock, Lori Loughlin, Vivica A. Fox, Mary-Louise Parker, Debbie Mazar, Blair Underwood, Keanu Reeves, Molly Shannon, Holly Robinson Peete, Janeane Garofalo, Michael Boatman, Calista Flockhart, Diana Krall, Robin Givens, Don Cheadle, Marisa Tomei, Teri Hatcher, Bobby Flay, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin, Eddie Vedder, Julia Ormond, Joely Richardson, Rob Zombie, Diane Lane, Alan Cumming, Sherilyn Fenn, Maura Tierney, Dr. Dre, Kristin Davis, Sarah Jessica Parker, Robert Downey, Jr., Jon Cryer, Martin Lawrence, Kevin James, Adrian Pasdar, Linda Evangelista, Trent Reznor, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Hurley, Kathryn Erbe, Slash, Jeremy Piven, JK Rowling, Sam Mendes, James Tupper, Embeth Davidtz, Peter Krause, Kyra Sedgwick, Kevin Dillon, Marlee Matlin, Shania Twain, Lennox Lewis, Charlie Sheen, Moby, Bryan Singer, Kyle Chandler, Cheryl Hines, Luke Perry, Steve Coogan, Kelly Rowan, Jamie Gertz, Gavin Rossdale, Bjork, Ben Stiller, Katarina Witt, Jeffrey Wright and Shawn Christian.

If you don't know who someone is, make a comment or email me and I'll tell you what pop culture reference I used when including them. Not a bad group of peers. Sports figures still active in their sport were the hardest to find, but that didn’t surprise me. The group includes Oscar and Emmy winners, most of the cast of Sex & the City and many people in the hottest movies and tv shows on right now.

I bet most of the people on the list are having more trouble remembering names, getting their first pair of bifocals, took an actual typing class and really like Facebook. Or, maybe, that’s just me. If I don’t see you on Facebook, I’ll be out searching for my crisis dream car – a little red Chevette.

Btw, the picture at the top of the article was taken this week at the Cannes Film Festival. Not bad for a 45 year old guy in my opinion. Of course Mom says he's not the sweet young thing from A River Runs Through It anymore. I bet he's having a lot more fun now than he did then.

Oscar Hangover

My many fans demanded that I post this year's Oscar arrival picture! My date, as is au courant, was my father in a classic Fruit of the Loom t-shirt (we matched) and navy sweats. I did change my ensemble a wee bit by choosing to wear the Hello Kitty slippers that were part of the JClo Holiday collection.

As for the evening itself, we dined on salmon pate (spread), smoked salmon, sharp cheddar cheese molded into the shape of Montana (Chalet Market), potstickers with scrumptious ling ling sauce (Costco) and Wilcoxson's chocolate ice cream (local). Our adult beverages ranged from Berlinger's White Zinfindel (the wine for people who don't like wine per Sherri) and Our Daily Red.

The telecast was not exciting as many of the winners were expected. I was a bit surprised that Sean Penn won over Mickey Rourke, but I think he truly tried to be less jerky than normal and I agreed with his political statements. I missed seeing the acting clips, but appreciated the honorees receiving accolades from past winners. Kate Winslet was great! The supporting catagories were disappointing. I still wish Robert Downey, Jr. had won and I still don't see the big deal about Penelope Cruz or Vicky Christina Barcelona. It was fun to see the Slumdog Millionaire cast again, and they seemed to be truly enjoying the fairytale.

Hope you had fun and as the end of the show reminded us...keep watching movies as holy day is only 363 days away!

If buckycatt ran the Oscars

Tonight is the holy night of the year for buckycatt. It is Oscar night and purr usual I have seen as many of the films as I possibly could, what with living in the film wilderness of Montana. Throughout watching many excellent films worthy of nomination, I kept thinking of all the catagories that do not get awarded each year. Fortunately for ya'll I plan to share these missing catagories, and my picks for this year's winners with you. Please, hold your applause until the end.

Best Gratuitous Butt Scene -- James Franco in Milk (I would have nominated him over Josh Brolin for Supporting Actor)

Best "Feel Good" Movie -- Slumdog Millionaire (There was no other movie like it out there this year!)

Most Likely to be Robbed by a Dead Guy -- Robert Downey, Jr. in Tropic Thunder (Heath Ledger was better in 10 Things..., Monster's Ball or Brokeback Mountain)

Person I'd Most Like to See Give a Speech -- Brad Pitt (His understated CGI laden performance doesn't deserve to win, but I'd love to see him give the acceptance speech)

Best Movie Couple -- Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet (Revolutionary Road hasn't made it here yet, but basically I would watch these two read the phone book to each other)

Robbed of a Nomination (multiple winners) -- Clint Eastwood (Best Actor for Gran Torino); Bruce Springsteen (Best Song for The Wrestler); and Michael Sheen (Best Support Actor for Frost/Nixon)

Why Were They Nominated? -- Penelope Cruz in the worthless Vicky Christina Barcelona; Peter Gabriel for Down to Earth from Wall-E (boring song); and the previously mentioned Josh Brolin in Milk (he deserved a nomination for No Country for Old Men much more!)

Tonight's Ensemble -- I will be wearing a Just My Size aqua and white tracksuit with a white fruit of the loom t-shirt. My shoes will be blue flats from Ross Dress for Less. My bag will be turquoise and fuschia from The Bag Lady (aka Aunt Judy). My lipstick and gloss will be by MAC for Hello Kitty. My earrings will be from Lia Sophia. My rings will be from eBay (aquamarine for and citrine for the nephews). And my necklace will be Sagittarius and Turquoise by Far Fetched.

Miscellaneous - Grandma's favorite movie of the year P.S. I Love You. Best surprise of the year Tropic Thunder. Movie I'm most sorry not to have seen by today The Reader.

Enjoy the show everyone!

Cat etiquette

Dear Ms. Kitty Manners -

I am writing to you today to ask your opinion about a couple of cat etiquette issues. My two cat family members, Onyx 12 and Maggie 11, and I have recently moved into a spacious two-bedroom apartment. Because everything in our home is new and/or fresh from relocation, I have become more aware of some possible rude behavior from my recently relocated cat companions.

First, do you believe it is a bit cheeky for one or more cats to use their commode and immediately return to bed, thereby depositing numerous grains of litter on our sleeping space?

And second, do you think it is necessary for Maggie to revisit her luncheon on our new/old livingroom couch instead of in an easier-to-clean or less public area? I especially find this infraction heinous as it may well have been done on purpose and with malice!

Believe me Ms. Kitty I did raise my pre-teens to have more couth than these examples would suggest. Please advise if the above behavior is in fact worthy of demerits and/or reduction of kitty treats?

Thank you for your time, and may your cats refrain from grooming their intimate areas in your front picture window just as company arrives at your genteel home.

Sincerely,

Buckycatt, Livingston MT

Books, tomes, volumes

I looooooove books. I've been packing my beloved books all week for moving to my new apartment. So, I thought for a little long weekend levity I'd give you the final tally: I am taking with me 23 boxes of mysteries, histories & romance (w/ a lot of miscellaneous in between). And there are another 8 stuffed, lawn & leaf sized garbage bags for an upcoming garage sale. You try correctly typing garage & garbage in the same sentence. Anyway, I'm glad they are packed but I will be even happier when they are all up the 15 stairs and the others have been sold. Then I will have $$$ to buy more, new and different books. Such as the ones on my attached Amazon wishlist



Happy reading!

Burn After Reading

Could this be the funniest movie all year?



I love Coen Brothers movies, Brad Pitt & George Clooney so I think it stands a good chance of being Hi-larious. The trailer sure is. Enjoy & Happy 4th of July.

Rom-Com Results

Well, thanks for hangin' out twiddlin' your thumbs while I tallied all the results from the romantic comedy movie survey I started back in May. As July dawns, I am finally ready with the results:

58 of you were kind enough to respond and a total of 40 films received at least one vote. The 40 films in alphabetical order are:

10 Things I Hate About You
6 Days, 7 Nights
A Fish Called Wanda
The American President
As Good As It Gets
Benny & Joon
Big
Blast from the Past
Bridget Jones's Diary
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Bull Durham
Continental Divide
Dangerous Liaisons
Enchanted
Fools Rush In
Goodbye Girl
House Calls
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
It Happened One Night
Love, Actually
Moonstruck
Much Ado About Nothing
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Pretty Woman
Pride & Prejudice (1940)
Princess Bride
PS I Love You
Serendipity
Shakespeare in Love
Shallow Hal
Sliding Doors
So, I Married an Axe Murderer
Sweet Home Alabama
Under the Tuscan Sun
The Wedding Singer
What Happens in Vegas
When Harry Met Sally
The Wiggles (children's film)
While You Were Sleeping
You've Got Mail

As for the "winners", in 3rd place were Love, Actually and Moonstruck.
2nd place was a 3-way tie between How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Pretty Woman and When Harry Met Sally.

And the winner -- beloved by men and women alike -- The Princess Bride!! This 1987 film directed by Rob Reiner from the book by William Goldman, stars Robin Wright (before she added the Penn) and Cary Elwes as the romantic couple. It also includes a bevy of classic comics such as Wallace Shawn, Billy Crystal, Carol Kane and Christopher Guest. All, in all, a witty script, inventive action, an adorable child "narrator", and just a smattering of romance made this film the clear winner.



My personal favorite was Sweet Home Alabama. How could I not choose a movie the begins at Tiffany's where Reese Witherspoon gets to pick out an engagement ring. Both of the male protagonists are very likable -- Patrick Dempsey is um, er "dreamy" and Josh Lucas's southern accent gets me every time. Reese makes an engaging, sympathetic heroine and there are lots of cross-cultural laughs along the way.

Thank you again all for participating in this interesting experiment. If you would like to have a copy of my Excel spreadsheet listing many additional romantic comedy films, as well as the year they were released and the romantic leads please email me.

Til then, see you at the movies. We'll laugh, we'll cry and maybe someone will fall in love -- at least on the silver screen.

Mariah Carey Math

Today I have some math equations to share w/ you:

Way back on 7/14/1949 Tommy Mottola was born, making him 58 today. Then on 3/27/1969 Mariah Carey was born, making her 39 today. Next on 8/26/1971 Thalia was born, making her 36 today. Finally on 10/8/1980 Nick Cannon was born, making him 27 today.

Keeping with my chronological timeline, on 6/5/1993 Tommy Mottola and Mariah Carey were married. By my calculations, Mariah is just under 20 years younger than Tommy. Alas, Mariah and Tommy divorced on 3/5/1998, meaning their infinite love only lasted 6 years and 9 months. Fortunately, .00 children resulted from their divided union.

Happily, Tommy found love again w/ Thalia, and they married on 12/6/2000. Tommy is almost 22 years older than Thalia, but this did not stop their family from multiplying when daughter Sabrina was born on 10/7/2007. This only makes Tommy 58 years older than his daughter, so there is a chance 1 of her lucky classmates could be wife #3+ someday. For now, Tommy and Thalia are still married.

We all know that Mariah has had her ups and downs, and worn very little, since subtracting Tommy (and the clothing). For the past 6 weeks or so, she has been dating the 11 years younger Nick Cannon. Their blessed union began on 4/30/2008, making it IX days old today. As of this blog entry they have a total of 0.0 children.

What do all these statistics mean? My thoughts: Mariah needed an older man at the beginning of her career, namely the head of Sony Records. She also needed someone of means to give her the Princess Di modeled wedding of her dreams. When she hit 29, she decided to reduce her immediate family by 50%; she divorced the mogul and apparently lost 100% of her full-coverage clothing in the settlement. Now that she is as chart-topping as Elvis(!?) she can afford to have a low-key wedding in the Bahamas to a younger boytoy. As Napoleon Dynamite would say, "Lucky!"

In addition, Tommy could marry Thalia because he was still a rich music mogul, and she appears to be a younger singer/actress/trophy wife. Sabrina must be the product of a 6 & 5/6-year itch, or a way of adding $000s to any future divorce settlement.

Only time and math will tell what is next for these 3 beautiful adults, the baby, and Tommy.

Math sources = Internet Movie Database and People Magazine
Buy People Magazine, which I have read since I was 11 years old (that would be 32 years of continuous reading for the math geeks and curious among you).

PS: Check my figures!

Bush used to be a band

The other day my co-worker bought some Red Stripe for a St. Patrick's Day party she was planning to attend on Saturday. I asked about Red Stripe being Irish and she said it's Jamaican. I said that one of my favorite groups named Bush had a line out of a song that was "Red Stripe & vicodin" and I'd always wondered what Red Stripe was. My pop culture sadness is that when I mentioned Bush she looked at me all blankly and I could tell she was wondering why I liked a band named after our president. Now she grew up in Seattle, and was down w/ the music scene back in the day. She is 5 years younger than me but still! How did Bush go from being a major 90s band to lead singer Gavin Rossdale becoming known as Mr. Gwen Stefani? With all that talent, and those great songs, it just doesn't seem right. I mean, they made it commercially. I saw them in two sold out concerts - one in Missoula and one in Seattle. Even now when they want to allude to the mid-90s the show Cold Case plays their songs - a lot. My theory is the fanbase just got too old and since the band broke up @ the height of its fame, today's tastemakers just don't remember them. I think if Pearl Jam, Chris Cornell and others weren't still creating new music all of the grunge scene would be "dead". Nirvana is still known because Kurt Cobain really is dead. It's still great music. I'm sad. Your thoughts? Also who, if anyone, even comes close to that type of music these days? And don't even say Daughtry. They are fine, but they are no Bush, Pearl Jam or Soundgarden.

Old business

Finishing up slightly old business, I promised you a photo of my Oscar ensemble w/ details. Don't say you weren't warned!

Shoes by Propet from onlineshoes.com
Socks by Hot Sox from Obsidian Collection
Jeans by Chic from Pamida
Oregon Coast tee from Rick
Rhinestone bracelet from Cookie Lee
Turquoise/Lapis cocktail ring from Ebay
Blue topaz cocktail ring from QVC
Turquoise earrings and star rhinestone earrings from Obsidian Collection
Silver ball earring from Ebay
Eyewear from Liz Claiborne
Lipstick in Red Stiletto from Lancome w/ Clyde lipgloss from tarte
Eyeshadow from NYX
Bag by Hello Kitty from Ross Dress for Less

As to the results, I'm thrilled No Country for Old Men rocked the house. Much deserved win for Coen Bros. I was jumping up and down happy that Falling Slowly from the wonderful film Once beat out the Enchanted drivel. Katherine Heigl had a fantastic retro-looking red dress on. Mom made excellent potstickers and other goodies.

Now its bad movie season for until fall. I am a bit concerned that the Nielsen numbers were down for the live telecast. After the writer's strike uncertainty I would've thought the numbers would be up. Several of my movie loving friends didn't even watch live or at all because they believe the movies nominated aren't relative to what the movie going public actually watches. I could go on a long diatribe about how people are so used to mediocre movies, they won't take the time for excellence. But instead I will just say that I'm finally going to watch Into the Wild this afternoon, so am still enjoying nominated movies almost a month later. See you at the movies!

Oscar Fever Ramble

Yes the above picture does have something to do w/ today's post. Plus it makes me grin like a big 'ol doof to look @ it. Before I forget to tell you, the reason the pic is relevant is that when they weren't busy making Ocean's Thirteen, George & Brad found time to make a couple of little gems entitled Michael Clayton and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Have you heard of them? If not check your Oscar nominee list.

Today should be a national holiday as far as I'm concerned. It is Oscar day and preparing for tonight's telecast has been a labor of love for movies. Below is the list of nominated films I have seen in anticipation of the festivities that are Oscar:

3:10 to Yuma
American Gangster
Atonement
Charlie Wilson's War
Gone Baby Gone
Juno
La Vie En Rose
3/4 of Michael Clayton
No Country for Old Men
Once
Sweeney Todd
There Will be Blood

I wish I had seen The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The Savages, Into the Wild, I'm Not There, Lars & the Real Girl, Bourne Ultimatum and In the Valley of Elah. To the best of my knowledge Jesse never came to Bozeman or Livingston and even though it has been released on DVD, it is not at Movie Gallery & is a "long wait" at the top of my Blockbuster.com queue. I don't understand this predicament as it is a western and this is Montana? Blockbuster sent me Elah, but it was the blu-ray version and it won't play in a regular DVD player, so I learned something new, but didn't see the movie!

I watched a smattering of Ratatouille w/ my beloved nephews Sullivan and Maxwell at Christmas, but really as a cat person, should a rat be ANYWHERE near a kitchen? I had given the film to brother Ira so he could remember the first movie he took Sullivan to the theater to see. I figure after they've watched it 100 times or so he won't forget hehe.

After watching the Independent Spirit Awards yesterday on IFC, there was a glaring omission to films that should have been nominated. I haven't seen Before the Devil Knows You're Dead (although I did try, but I got too hungry), but from the clips I've seen and what I've read how could it not have found a place on the same ballot that found a slot for Norbit. If you don't believe me about Norbit get your own ballot at http://www.oscar.com/

So you are probably dying to know what I would be tickled my favorite shade of pink to see win tonight:

Original Song: Falling Slowly from the little gem Once;
Original Score: The Atonement score by Dario Marianelli for inventive use of a typewriter as an instrument;
Makeup: La Vie En Rose's makeup because those Edith Piaf eyebrows kept me mesmerized throughout Marianne Cotillard's entire performance. I could NOT stop looking at them;
Cinematography: No Country for Old Men's bleak modern west photography, although I sure wish I'd seen the old west landscape of Assassination of Jesse James to compare. [Film geek note: Roger Deakins was the cinematographer on both movies as well as In the Valley of Elah, so he really deserves to win];
Adapted Screenplay: No Country for Old Men as I have heard the original book by Oprah darling Cormac McCarthy was as cheerful as watching baby seals being clubbed!;
Supporting Actress: Saoirse Ronan since she was by far the most interesting person in all of Atonement;
Supporting Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman for Charlie Wilson's War. Javier Bardem was excellent in No Country, but Phil single-handedly stole the movie from always overrated Tom Hanks, was a sheer joy to watch in the talkety-talk, political movie, and was probably robbed of nominations for his performances in The Savages and Before the Devil Knows You're Dead;
Actor: George Clooney for Michael Clayton because he rocked as the off-his-game corporate fixer and will lose to histrionic Daniel Day-Lewis;
Director: The Coen Bros for their much deserved turn as directors of No Country for Old Men. I watched Fargo the other night since No Country isn't on video to watch again yet. They have been preparing for No Country since their first film Blood Simple, honed their craft in Miller's Crossing and darn near got it right in Fargo. Note to the brothers: The only lame movie you were ever accused of making had Tom Hanks in it;
Picture: Hands down for me the film of the year was No Country for Old Men. If it doesn't win it will be for the same reason one of my favorites Pulp Fiction lost 14 years ago to CGI filled overhyped Forrest Gump - violence. If it can't win my preferred order is: 1. No Country, 2. Juno, 3. Michael Clayton, 4. Atonement (at least it was pretty) & 5. There Will Be Blood (so "great" Mom and I had the whole theater to ourselves last Sunday).

I'm off for now for a pre-event nap, bath & accessory pick. We are scheduled to have potstickers & frozen pizza for our Oscar party at Chez Sháron (aka Mom's house). I'll check back very soon w/ a pic of my Oscar ensemble and reaction to the actual award winners.

With all that said, let the pre-awards show fashion trashin' begin.

G'Day Heath

Maybe I should call this the three day weekend blog, since I don't seem to be able to update it unless I have an extra day off. As a result today's topic is a bit belated, but very important to me nonetheless.

You may remember last time I mentioned that I have a weakness for high school movies and television. Because of this predilection, I was in severe shock the whole week surrounding Heath Ledger's untimely, tragic and supposedly accidental death. It took me until Saturday to watch my favorite film of his again. Yes, he packed a brief wallop in Monster's Ball, was brave and brilliant in Brokeback Mountain and much anticipated in The Dark Knight. But, my favorite movie of Heath's was his first real American movie. . . . 10 Things I Hate About You.

As a matter of fact 10 Things is on my list of top 3 high school films, along with She's All That and Drives Me Crazy. I literally could watch those three movies nonstop once a week or so.

Thanks to the website http://heathledger.piwko.pl/index.html I can remember Heath as he was above with screenshots of his 10 Things movie scenes. In the press that came out about his career after his passing, toward the end of his life, Heath had pretty much dismissed this movie as the first film someone would cast him in. Knight's Tale notwithstanding, he actively shunned the teen dream image in favor of more serious, artsy fare. However, 10 Things undoubtedly put him on the map and was a great start of a career cut too short.

Watching the film on Saturday, it has stood the test of time in that I still get a kick out of the Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew reworking. Heath was fresh, cute as heck and even sings in the film. Since initially seeing the film I have kept an eye on him as well as several other cast members: Julia Stiles, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Susan May Pratt, David Krumholtz, Gabrielle Union and even Allison Janney. Joseph has also turned into an incredible indy actor with Brick and The Lookout to his impressive credit. Susan was in two out of the three hs movies mentioned above, since she also played a not-so-true friend in Drive Me Crazy. Julia has been in the Bourne trilogy, the first of which made me begin to re-evaluate Matt Damon. Allison was superb in The West Wing and the new recent classic Juno. David is doing Numb3rs on tv, but I remember him more for the memorable bit part he had on ER back in the Dr. Carter days. And finally, Gabrielle was also in She's All That.

So, my point is that 10 Things was a great starting point for several actors, with the brightest star being Heath. He will be missed by me and I'll always wonder what kind of work he would have treated us to in the future. I saw The Dark Knight preview yesterday in the theater and I will be seeing the movie this summer because of Heath. It looks like a creepy end to a career that started with a little big high school movie. I bet its THE blockbuster of the summer.

R.I.P. Patrick Verona

#3 of 3 from previous post

I work at a tanning and hair salon a couple nights a week and on Saturdays for some fun money. I love the job because of the people. The customers and staff are great to visit with, and as you know I love to talk. Don't worry, they don't let me near the scissors.

Recently while working there, I saw this page in a Modern Salon magazine. It said the lady's fine, slightly wavy hair made it perfect for the hairstyle. Since that is my hair type, I thought I just might be able to pull off the look. My stylist Tracy modified it to my lifestyle and the results can almost be seen on the previous post picture. The thing I like the most about it is the short bangs. Quite liberating and easy to care for. The modified 'do fits my new life too as I am out in the wind much more than before, and with a shake its back in place. What do you think?

1 picture 3 topics

Sorry for the long delay. I am having a challenge getting used to a new job, but today was a government holiday so I had a little bit of extra time on my hands.

Regarding the above photo, it was meant to allow me to comment on 3 different interests, but upon looking at it only 2 of the 3 are apparent.

Starting from the top, I'm tickled to death with my birthday present of the first season of the stellar high school drama The O.C. Mike & Chris were so sneaky in providing me with a means to keep satisfying my habit for watching episodes without having to fill up my Blockbuster queue again. Thanks to Blockbuster I have seen every episode, but can make my way through at least the first season at leisure. You avid readers will remember that I had the complete series box on my birthday/Christmas wishlist, but this is an amazingly good start as some afficiandos contend season 1 was the best of the 3.5. It consists of 27 episodes, because the show originally premiered in the summer and then thankfully got picked up for a full season. Why do I like this bit of fluff?

1 I have a weakness for well done high school movies and tv shows because I enjoyed my small town high school experience so much. 2 The music is an indy lovers dream. A little heavy on the emo, but stellar tunes by the likes of Imogen Heap, Sufjan Stevens and LCD Soundsystem were used. The music is so worthy it deserves a post of its own, which I'm sure it will receive at some point. 3 Captain Oats & Princess Sparkle. 4 Adam Brody & Rachel Bilson - possibly the cutest geek/prom queen couple ever.



The second item of note in the above picture is the 14 karat fup shirt I purchased from Powells bookstore in Portland Oregon. No I've never been there, but for years I've received their newsletters, and have frequently ordered from them vs. amazon. The reason I discovered Powells was because their technical bookstore had an amazing store cat named fup. No, I never met her either, but like tons of other newsletter readers I always scrolled to the bottom of the latest issue first to read about fup.'s adventures. Well written, quirky, and almost believable. Fup. was so real to me I was dismayed to read of her passing in late 2007. Her tribute can be read here http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=2568 and is worth a view.

Since her death I have connected with several other fans, including shoutouts to Beth at Powells, Gretchin and Amy. I also purchased the two available t-shirts. The shirts were printed for fup.'s birthday parties for several years. I have requested a memorial t-shirt, but haven't heard back from "Dave" yet. If you like cats you might get on board and contact Powells for 1 last super tee.

#3 0f 3 in the above picture will be in a separate post. Thanks for stopping by.

Before It's Too Late

Before It's too late, please check out one of the most incredible photography sites of 2007 365 Portraits by Bill Wadman has been a highlight of my year. Mr. Wadman is a photographer living in NYC and he has taken a photo of a different person every single day. They haven't all been famous, but he has included photos of such illuminaries as Imogen Heap and Buzz Aldrin. You can still view the photos and see some truly interesting faces. I found the website through the cupcake blog, so you never know where the web will take you. Above is a photo of me kissing a prince, er frog, that I wish Bill had taken. Now check out his photos ya'll!

Did you know that where hot chocolate is concerned ice cubes are the new marshmallows?

Coupla outta sight sites

I love cupcakes! They became all the rage this year. I have a friend who remembers I love cupcakes and he brought some to our group lunch today. Aren't they pretty? There is nothing better than that super sweet buttercream frosting. . . except maybe for good pop culture dish to go along with it. Today's lunch w/ cupcake topic: Jamie Lynn Spears pregnant at 16 of course! There was a brief digression onto the sauna scene in Eastern Promises, but I before I digress way too far way from cupcakes, I have an amazing website to share w/ you.

Cupcakes Take the Cake is tasty blog, also on blogspot, that I ran across this summer while shuffling through random blogs after checking out the latest nephew photos. Now I don't live in a big enough community to have a cupcake club like the bloggers in NYC do, but it sure looks fun. Since then my lunch friend Chris aka Virginia Hamm has treated me to cupcakes twice and we had "Red Velvet Cupcake Day" at the Delux Bakery in Iowa City Iowa. I hope you find the blog as sweet as I do.

My nephews brought me a calendar today. I had seen the website for Stuff on My Cat earlier this year also, but never imagined they'd do a daily calendar. Can't wait for the new year to start so I can see new stuff on a new cat every new day.

Remember you can luv cupcakes and you can luv cats, but if you try to mix the 2 you'll get hair in your frosting or frosting in your hair!