I couldn't help but wonder...

So... Sex and the City 2.  There's not a lot I can say about it that hasn't been said.  However, here's the thing that bothers me. It's not the fact that they went on this extravagant trip, because I can understand that.  I wish I could take an extravagant trip to a beautiful hotel with my own personal butler and spa treatments and lovely things.  It's not the ridiculous plot lines, though I find some to be worse than others.  It's this.

I've felt that SATC the series always teetered on the edge of women power vs. man hating.  Sometimes, it would drift one way or the other, but mostly I thought it kept a good balance of not being man-hating while still being in the power of the woman.  THIS MOVIE, especially Carrie's story, is very... man hating!

Maybe it's just me, but I feel like marriage is a lot of give and take, but it's all worth it.  Sometimes, I get my way and sometimes, Hubs gets his.  It sucks when I don't get my way, but I'd like for him to win too (though... not as much as I win, of course!).  In all seriousness, I revel in my husband's happiness because, well, I love him the most.  He deserves to be happy!  He deserves to get what he wants out of life.  He deserves to do what he wants, within reason :)  For most of this movie, Carrie seemed to want Big to do whatever she wanted and just... accept that what SHE wanted is what THEY wanted.  That's just not right, at least to me.

I'm probably reading way too much into this, but that's what I'm feeling about this.  I read this in a review somewhere, but I truly feel that certain Season One girls would really despise the Second Movie ladies they have become.  I always thought the point of growing older is to actually... grow.

Dad

My dad's side of the family is very female-heavy.  He's got 4 sisters, his dad had 3 sisters, and he has lots of female cousins.  I credit this female-centric family life as the reason why my dad is so sensitive and so wonderful to his wife and daughter.  This past October, when my grandpa died, I grieved for my own loss, but at the time I also grieved more for Dad, who not only lost his awesome father, but who became the sole man in his family for the first time in his entire life.

Recently, I've been following the story of my dad's closest male cousin Larry.  About a year ago, Larry was diagnosed with an aggressive esophageal cancer.  He wasn't given much time, but he did lots of research and started a strict regime of meds and natural remedies.  Amazingly, he was given a clean bill of health after this regime.  We all celebrated this miracle.  Unfortunately, this was only temporary, and his cancer resurfaced, worse than last time.  And, early this morning, Larry passed away peacefully, surrounded by his wife, daughter, and other family members.

I met Larry only once that I can remember, and it was at his wedding when I was about 13.  He was lovely and friendly, and I have loved hearing stories about him.  However, in this instance, I am again grieving for my father.  My poor father has lost so many men in his life, from his best friend Randy to his amazing father, and now his cousin, even though they acted more like surrogate brothers to each other (Larry had 2 sisters).  My Dad was the number one awesomest guy on my list up until I was 20 years old and started dating my husband.  He deserves to be happy, not to deal with these sad tragedies over and over.  I just wish there was something I could do to make him feel better...

However, today, Dad is at Grandma's house in NC, along with all 4 of his sisters, my cousin Sherry, and her 2 daughters.  As usual, surrounded by his strong female family.  I'm sure he's there to visit and to be with his family, but I also know he's there for them, to be the strong male presence they need to lean on.  It's reasons like that why I love my truly awesome dad.

Woo Woo 3 Day Weekend!

To celebrate Memorial Day, I plan on doing pretty much nothing for the next few days.  It will be epic.  It will be awesome.  It will be at least 2 full days of knitting, sleeping, and watching a marathon of something on DVD.  Then, on Monday, I'll be heading into Richmond to catch what could be the most creatively panned movie ever, Sex and the City 2.


I am not mad at this movie.  Granted, I don't have high hopes.  I've been an SATC watcher for many, many years, and I have a group of 3 other fabulous ladies that I always watch SATC with.  (I'm the Miranda.  Also, if we were Golden Girls, I'd be the Sophia.)  I loved the series, just loved it.  I can watch it from start to finish, then start it all over again.  So many episodes are SO well-done, and I especially think the series finale wrapped up everything so well.  Even The Hubs watched an episode, but JUST ONCE, and JUST because Michael Showalter was set to guest-star (and then I got to TELL Showalter this story in person, and judging by his reaction, he seemed to like it...)

He looked a little like this... just kidding.

HOWever, I know it's going to be ridiculous.  I know the plot is going to be nonsensical.  I know I will not be watching something that will win any kind of awards, except possibly Razzies.  I don't really care.  I'm more excited about seeing those other three ladies, and having a cocktail, and just relaxing for a little while.  I don't see anything wrong with that.

Plus, I'm kind of excited to see the terrible terribleness.

Don't Panic.

Today is Towel Day.  This statement makes the nerdy Anglophile in me oh so very happy.  What, you ask, is Towel Day?  And how does it relate to nerds, Brits, and... towels?

Towel Day is the annual celebration of the life and work of Douglas Adams, an awesomely nerdy Brit who was famous for "A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy."  It started as a radio series on the BBC in 1978, which he adapted into novels starting in 1979.  H2G2 (as it's known to other nerdies like me) has been made into a TV series and a film (though lots of people don't like it, but I do because I'm not a purist) and stage shows and so on.  According to the official Hitchhiker's Guide, the most important item for any good hitchhiker of land, sea, or space is... a towel. 

So, in 2001, two weeks after Douglas Adams passed away, his army of followers proclaimed May 25 as the official Towel Day (and also, the unofficial Geek Pride Day).  If you see people wandering around with towels and you're not at the beach or at Water Country USA (or insert water theme park near your town here), then they are celebrating the life and times of a famous, well-written nerd.

The Hubs got me to read H2G2 many years ago, claiming I would find it to be dry, witty, and silly.  He'd tried this with books before, and I'd been burned.  However, I was pleased to find that he wasn't messing with me this time.  It's so totally random, but it's got some really hilarious passages, and it gave me a chance to say Slartibartfast.  Also, if Radiohead likes it enough to name their most epic and awesome song (IMO) after Marvin the Paranoid Android, it's worth it.

Happy Towel Day, everyone!  So long, and thanks for all the fish!

LOST no more.

So... wow.  Seriously.  Just... holy... well... wow.

As you can see, I can't really verbalize (or blogalize) my feelings about the series finale of Lost just yet.  I'll just say that I thought it was really well-done, enough of my long-standing questions were addressed to keep me sated while still some are left open to keep us talking about this for years, and those last few scenes?  In the church?  Oh my.  OH my.  Lovely. 

I do get the feeling that this finale would have been revered or reviled, no matter what happened.  Even if it was an hour of Team Darlton rattling off answers to every unanswered question, and everything was tied up in a neat little bow, this finale would have angered viewers all over the place.  So far, I've seen only two types of responses: a) OMFG AMAZING LOVES IT WOWEEE and b) WTF THAT WAS TERRIBLE LIKE A BOWL OF STEAMING POO.  There is no inbetween.  I have not seen ANY comments of the "meh" or "it was alright" nature.  All SUPER YAYS or SUPER NAYS.

There are lots of things I want to say about Lost.  I can't muddle through my brain yet.  More to come.  I do think that this finale will be discussed more and complained about more than anything that's come before it, even Greedo shooting first.  However, until I can wade through my thoughts, check out what The Ack Attack had to say about last night's event.  I will say this: her take on the finale (one of the first paragraphs in this entry) is pretty much exactly what I took from it as well.

Namaste.

Follow Blog Friday

In case you were on the edge of your seat last night thinking about this, this was my TV watching schedule.  8 pm: an episode of Bones that I will equate to the TV version of Breaking Dawn (huge build-up which leads to... nothing, really), 9 pm: a solid, if not semi-boring, finale of The Office, 9:30 pm: began the DVR'd Grey's Anatomy, at which time The Hubs went upstairs so I could cry and gasp and react and have a near-coronary due to stress, and finally, 11 pm: began the DVR'd Community because I was all keyed up from Grey's.  Seriously, I think my blood pressure was through the roof watching Grey's last night.  Oh man, it was just great.  AMAZING performances from the entire cast (though, as usual, Chandra Wilson and Sandra Oh were STAND-OUTS!), really great writing, directing, all of it.  Just great.

So, I get to work today, and I do my usual mosey over to Google Reader to see what new blog posts have popped up today.  After seeing another highly hilarious post on Fail Blog, I decided to acknowledge some of my favorite blogs.  Kind of a #FF post, just... you know... not on Twitter.  SO, besides FAIL, here are a few of my faaaaaavorite blogs (though, no people I know personally are on this list, just because).

*Cake Wrecks: Messed-up cakes.  Cakes full of typos and black icing and shaped like objects no cake should ever be in and blobs of junk you would never, EVER want to eat.  The mascot of the blog is a mohawked baby riding a carrot.  How are you not there right now, looking at these terrible confections??

*Go Fug Yourself: This has been one of my old stand-bys for a long, long, long time.  In fact, writer Jessica was the first person I didn't know to @ reply to me on Twitter, and you would have thought I'd died and gone to 15 minutes of fame heaven.  Jess & Heather find pictures of celebs dressed like... well, like they didn't put the lights on in their house, and they mock them.  Incessantly.  Also, they love George Clooney.  Thus, I love them.

*The Bad-Ass Geek: This is a relatively new find for me, and I'm glad I happened upon it.  This Geek writes about the ponderings of his mind, and all of this entries start with the words, "In Which."  Kind of like Friends, but... a blog.  And it's way funnier than the last few seasons of Friends. 

*Looks Good From the Back: This is the brainchild of two ladies who take pictures of what they wear each day, tell you why they wore it and where it came from.  Occasionally, they will go to stores and try stuff on, and then post pictures of the stuff they tried on.  It's kind of like going shopping with your girlfriends, but while you sit at your desk and drink your coffee.  They also own a LOT of really cute shoes that I covet.

So, a question to my bevy of followers (or perhaps only to myself...), are there any blogs you love?  What are they?  Let me know, because I'm kind of a blogaholic.  In a good way.

Ventin' & Plannin' (the original Wishin' & Hopin')

Having another one of those frustrated days.  Every time I feel like I have a hold on this feeling, I have a day like this that thrusts me right back into the pit.  It's such a pain.  I'm just so... burnt out.  I'm so irritated and frustrated.  The worst part to me is that I'm irritated and frustrated about a topic that I can't discuss on the interwebs, but this is my best way of expressing myself and dealing with things, which then makes me more frustrated, and there was an old woman who swallowed the fly.  Blah blah.  I could write it down, but I'm nervous to write it down because THAT'S how I make crazy discoveries about myself, and I really don't want to have one of those epiphanies that backfires.  I don't know why she swallowed the fly.

This isn't helping.

I just feel like I have a lot of responsibility on my shoulders, more than I'm used to dealing with.  It feels like it's starting to cave in, though it's probably not.  The stress and anger and issues of the past few years seem to have just piled up, and I feel unable to stop it.  It's like a self-inflating balloon... which I don't know if that even exists... maybe a better metaphor is one of those inflating punching things.  You know, the ones with the weighted bottoms so where you can just punch it and punch it and no matter how hard you hit it, it keeps popping up and mocking you with its stupid clowny face?  Ugh, THAT is what it feels like.  Like I'm punching this crap as hard as I can to make it GO AWAY, and yet it KEEPS COMING BACK.  When will this feeling end?  When will I feel like I'm finally on some kind of track?  I don't care about my instinctual feeling that everything will turn out right; I want to know WHEN it will.  Errrrrrrrrrgh.

Surprisingly, that DID help.

Lots of TV tonight, and I'm loving my DVR because of it.  If I didn't have it, I'd be dooooooomed.  It's a delicate process, and this two hour Grey's has really thrown a wrench in the usual clockwork of Thursdays (I originially typed "wench" instead of "wrench" and now I can't stop laughing).  So, at 8, it's live watching Bones and taping Community, at 9 I would LIKE it to be live watching Grey's and taping The Office, and then I'd like to watch the taped stuff tomorrow.  HOWEVER, I'm fairly certain I'm gonna lose that battle, and we're gonna live watch The Office at 9 followed by the recorded Community, and I'm gonna end up staying up later than I want to finish this crazy Grey's. From the 7 minute clip I saw on Hulu, it looks VERY similar to the plot of ER where Carter and Lucy got stabbed, which is like my favorite ERs ever, so... I'm pretty much stoked.  That might sound a little disturbing, but I don't much care.  I'm so excited.  I'm so... scared.

Continuing the same theme...

HOLY CRAP, I am so thankful for this.  Oh my freakin' goodness, this is what I'll be listening to for the next like six months.  Awesome.

Rainy Day Grateful List

This weekend, I had a lot of conversations about how this year and last year and the one before were all filled with pretty crappy things.  Granted, 2008 had its share of horribleness, but I also got married and went to Italy, so sometimes it's hard to complain about that.  Either way, I'd like to concentrate on the good things in my life at present and the things that make me happy.  So, without further ado, here are a few of my favorite things today.

*Sugar Bush Maple coffee- it smells and tastes like pancakes
*Glee Volume Three on sale today with NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
*The episode of Glee tonight with NEIL PATRICK HARRIS
*The possibility of hanging out with awesome friends this weekend to celebrate a 30th birthday (though I'll have to go back to Richmond to do it...)
*Wearing the pashmina I bought in Italy, which makes me think about Italy
*Beautiful Creatures, the new book I'm reading, where the teenage male narrator is kinda girly but I don't really care
*my Sketchers Shape-Ups, which may LOOK like Frankenstein shoes, but they are really REALLY comfortable, so I don't mind much, and plus I already gots a man so I'm not trying to impress you
*My hubs, who is sweet and cute and loves me and is pretty much just awesome all around
*Lost will be over soon, and while that doesn't make me happy, it means my questions will soon be answered, and THAT'S what I'm looking for
*my dog, because she's just so dang cute, and I'm so glad we saved her from a sad fate

These are all kind of surface-y things right now, but I don't want to delve too deep on the internet.  Either way, read it and like it.

Yay weekend/Greatest name ever.

I am so excited for this weekend, which starts for me in about 4.5 hours.  I'll be getting homemade delicious dinner tonight from my uncle, hanging with the Cuz and her new little bit, and then heading back to my parents' house.  Tomorrow, Mom wants to go outlet shopping in Williamsburg, and she just SO twisted my arm to tag along!  THEN, we'll have an evening at the theater in Ghent... or rather, it's my faux-niece & nephew's end of the year play, so it will be more unpredictable than a night at the theater.  After that, the rest of my weekend is officially plan-free, but I PLAN on relaxing with the fam.  I haven't gotten to see any of them in a while, and the aforementioned fauxs are always always a good time.  They are just about as silly as can be, and usually one or both of them will say something completely off the wall that makes me love them more.

And on that cheery note, as well as in keeping with the theme from yesterday, I'm posting the video for the newest internet sensation, Greyson Chance.  First, I want to point out that Greyson Chance is an amazing name.  It sounds like a comic book character or something.  Either way, props to Mom and Pop Chance for that one.  Secondly, this kid did a piano cover version of Lady Gaga's Paparazzi.  It's not one of my favorite Gaga's, even with Eric Northman being in the video.  However, I could pretty much listen to this version all day.  It's soulful and sweet, and holy crap, can this kid sing!  (His Bieber haircut not withstanding)  In fact, this video is super popular right now, so much so that Ellen had him on the show today.  Thirdly, despite all the gushing I just did about this kid's awesome talent, my favorite part of this video is not him.  It's the girls behind him in the last row.  When he is starting, they look so bored.  When he sings... well, seriously, just watch them.  I have seen that happen in real time before, and it's so friggin' funny all over again.

NOT a rant!

On days when it's rainy and sad, I like to find something that makes me happy.  That's when I turn to the vocal stylings of the PS22 Chorus.  TRY to watch them sing something and not smile.  JUST TRY.  I especially like this one because the two soloists are precious.  Plus, she is rocking some emo glasses like a champ.

Rant.

I have MANY things bugging me right now, but only one I feel I can verbalize.  In case you haven't seen it, Newsweek published an article stating that Americans cannot take a gay person seriously in a straight, romantic role.  He cited cases like Jonathan Groff on Glee, Cynthia Nixon on Sex & The City, Sean Hayes currently appearing in Promises Promises on Broadway, and Neil Patrick Harris on HIMYM.  Part of his argument is that we in these United States are so obsessed with sexuality that we cannot process outside of that.

I have been stewing on this for a few days, and the more I think about it, the angrier I get.  I would like to say that I can't believe this amount of closed-minded thinking still exists in our country today, but I know that's not true.  I will never understand why we can't accept people for WHO they are.

The other thing about this is, basically, this article states that we cannot separate real people from the roles they play.  Sure, every actor or actress puts a bit of themselves into a role.  HOWEVER, does this mean that I'm supposed to think that Sarah Michelle Gellar slays vampires?  That Johnny Depp is a pirate, a man with scissor hands, or even Willy Wonka?  That Sam Waterston can serve as my attorney?  That Lee Pace can awaken dead people for one whole minute using his index finger?  That Adam West/Michael Keaton/Val Kilmer/George Clooney/Christian Bale IS Batman?  That Anthony Hopkins EATS PEOPLE?  It's ridiculous!

I know it might seem like missing the point with the examples I've given.  As I already stated, the writer's issue lies in romantic roles.  However, what about a straight person in a LGBT role?  Like, for instance, I don't know... HILARY SWANK in Boys Don't Cry, which won her an ACADEMY AWARD?  Or the aformentioned Lee Pace in Soldier's Girl, which earned him countless accolades AND nominations for Emmys and Golden Globes for this breakthrough performance?  Or even Alyson Hannigan as Willow, Eric McCormack as Will, Christopher Meloni as Chris Keller in Oz, or Michael C. Hall as David Fisher?  And, to use a not-so-modern example, Billy friggin' Crystal in Soap?

I can't totally formulate how much I hate thinking about this.  I can't put it into words that express my deep disappointment that this idea has been thrown out into the ether.  In general, it just breaks my heart to know this kind of thinking exists in this world.  Breaks my heart.

"Song's Called Never Met a Girl Like You Before."

Every Cinco de Mayo, I think of drinking margaritas and making some tacos (and my friend Trish because it's her b'day), just like most other Americans who have Americanized this into a drinking holiday (see also, St. Patrick's Day). 

Also, I always have this song stuck in my head on this day every year.  It's by Flogging Molly, which is not your typical Cinco de Mayo artist (unless you're listening to this song).  HOWever, because of what Mr. Dave King yells around the 2:05 minute mark, I think of this EVERY TIME THE WORDS Cinco de Mayo are mentioned.  Ever.  I'm sure you'll understand.

So, if you think of me today, just assume "Never Met a Girl Like You Before" is running through my head on repeat.  At least I really love this song.

Thank goodness for good men.

I have often talked and written and gushed about my crush on David Boreanaz on this blog.  Now, he's officially come out and said that he had previously cheated on his wife, with whom he has two adorable children and who is also a friggin' hottie.

I know this is kind of a dumb thing to be disappointed about, but GEEZ, man, REALLY?  I'm so tired of hearing of men with honest, loving women who CHEAT.  Just... TALK to your spouse.  Treat them like a real person. Get over your own crap and be a TRUE man. 

I still think he's pretty.  He's just lost his shine.

In general, I am again so grateful to have found me a good one, an honest man who will treat me like his equal, his best friend, his true wife.

YOU KNOW what I'm going to say!

Lots of my favorite shows had the week off last week, which is why I didn't post that much TV-related anything.  However, Lost should be new again this week, as well as How I Met Your Mother and other gems such as this. 

This doesn't apply to the best show you're not watching, Party Down.  They came back with their 2nd episode of the season, and it was pretty fantastic.  The relationship between Kyle and Roman continues to crack me up (especially Ryan Hansen's hilarious "FOOM" after tricking Roman into telling him the truth), Casey getting a "small but meaty" role in the new Apatow flick will bring a different light to her struggling comedienne character, JK Simmons making up curse words is comedy gold, and Joey Lauren Adams looked pretty much back to her fighting weight (I get concerned when actors & actresses I like gain weight...). 

BUT, the best part is yet to come.  Thomas Lennon (he of the teeny shorts on Reno 911) will be on next week's plotline-NSFW episode.  Any time former cast members of The State reunite, it makes the teenage girl in me very happy.  Also, it makes me wanna... share this clip with you :)  Story is, MTV execs wanted The State to create a character that had a catchphrase.  This is what they came up with to tell the execs to SHUT UP.  (BTW, Joe Lo Truglio FTW.)

I guess he IS listening...

Time: this morning
Place: living room
Players: Starring me as me and Jack as The Hubs

AND action!

Me: I'm surprised you haven't said anything about what I'm wearing.
Hubs: Why?
Me: Because this is a different style of shirt that I usually wear [side note: I tried to link to a picture of the shirt, but it's apparently NOT at OldNavy.com, even though I got the shirt SATURDAY.  EDIT: it's here.]
Hubs: That's true.  It looks very good on you.  You look very grown-up today...
Me: Thank you!
Hubs: ...And because you look grown-up today, it means you're going to feel uncomfortable all day because you feel like you're playing dress-up.
Me: [silence as I ponder how well The Hubs knows me]
Hubs: Love you!  Have a good day!

What the French Toast?

I friggin' love this commercial, and I have for many, many years.  My favorite line (even more than the title of this post) is, "Who are you calling a cootie queen, you LINT LICKER!?!"  The delivery is pretty dang flawless.