Work work work. I try not to think about it when I get home. Instead I watch a lot of Seinfeld. And organize my digital music library. And do DDR. I love post-Christmas :-)

Recently I made a cat toy filled with nip. Because of it's shape, color, and the funny way my cat chews on it, we call it the pickle. Today I found a pattern for kitty.com for dim sum-shaped cat toys. Cute.

Movie Saturday should be starting up again soon. Our site got hacked, so communication has been weak. As far as I know, Shawn is set to direct and we'll probably do Bruce's script "Economy." Brian bought a new camera after his old one broke. We need to try it out!


Vail Pass on 12/30/04. Not a soul in sight.

So far we've had a pretty nice weekend. Ben says the Aviator was a great movie. I'll take his word for it since I didn't go myself. Instead I made soup with Mavi and watched Mr. Show and music videos. She has a collection of Bjork videos. Bjork is pretty wild. Even for me.

Later last night we went to Bender's Tavern with friends from Denver to see Matson Jones. They're a good local band from Fort Collins. They have a really unique sound, but they need to diversify their music. Most of their songs have the same underlying rhythm and tone.

Tonight Trev's coming over to cook Hungarian food. It's a dish Brian wouldn't miss for anything: Rakott krumpli. Basically scalloped potatoes supreme. It's loaded with fat, but oh so tasty. I can't take more than a small bowlful. You can feel your stomach bloating. The pictures below are from the first time Trevor cooked it at my house last fall. Here's a link to an online recipe. Of course, Trevor is using authentic Hungarian sausage. He has a source in Las Vegas.

Another fun contest on Worth1000.com. Link.

I've been streaking my hair purple for a few years now. I went back again recently and was reminded why I don't keep it up for too long. First you separate strands. Then you mix and apply bleach, which can take up to an hour for application. Let it sit for 45 minutes or so, until most of the color is out. Wash and comb--no conditioner. This means combing can take another hour, because the hair is so brittle and tangled. Then separate back into strands (another 30 minutes), apply purple color and wait another 45. Finally, wash, condition, and comb. It takes a half a day to complete the process. Color touch-ups take only a couple hours, but whenever you want to redo the roots with bleach, it can take even longer than the initial treatment because you have to separate each strand precisely instead of just grabbing a chunk.

My favorite purple dye is being discontinued at my supply store. Their suggested replacement was terrible. It was only two days before it started fading to blue. In five days the blond was showing through at the tips as a sick green. I've got to find a new supplier.

Last weekend was the annual Incredibly Birthday party! In celebration of Jeff and Ben's January birthdays, we played board games, ate chilie dogs and root beer floats, and played games at the Nickel-A-Play arcade.


Trev and Nate on the left, Jeff "birthday boy" on the right.

Bruce, Brian, Matt and Ryan enoy their dinner, then get down with Luke, Tom, and Nate for some serious Boggle action.

After some intense Boggling, Jeff L. started doodling a portait--the kind where you don't lift up your pencil and you don't look at your paper. His results were so hilarious, we all made pictures of each other.




Jeff and Mavi: Life imitating art.



Bruce and Brian: Uncanny resemblences.

Brian looks a bit like Kim Jong, eh?.

Yea! A new Movie Saturday! Check it out at:

http://luke.no-ip.org/moviesaturday/index.cgi?c=movie&s=2&m=7

(note the new website location)

Ballerinas have changed quite a bit over the last century. Compare the photos below. On the left is Margot Fonteyn of the Royal Ballet as Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, circa 1955. On the right is Tamara Rojo, also of the Royal Ballet, striking the same arabesque in the same role, but in recent years.

Ballerinas always look a bit chunkier in old pictures. Although I think we can attribute some of the bulk to bad lighting and costumes (yea for lycra!), we can clearly see that dancers are getting slimmer.

Lines are more defined. Note how square Rojo strikes her pose: her hips and shoulders in line with her torso. Fonteyn's pose is more "open." Rojo's turnout is more pronouced. Her arms and fingers are more refined in their placement.

The sillouhoute of the legs has changed over the yearsl. In particular, it has become fashionable for dancers to have a slight backward curve at their knee, such that their standing leg is subtlely S- shaped. The foot itself has curved more. Look at the dancers' standing foot and note how the arch as increased. Rojo looks much more stable on her pointe than Fonteyn. These curves make the legs generally more tapered and willowy (like a Willi!). Fonteyn was hailed as brilliant in her day but she would look sloppy next to modern ballerinas.

These minute definitions have evolved slowly. I think it is a testament to the athleticism of ballet. In their own way, ballerinas are continually setting new records for themselves. Instead of faster times or higher jumps, they set higher standards of placement. Just a thought :-)

I've been spending a lot of time in Denver lately. I like the city. Yesterday I went to another local bands concert with Mavi. This one was at the Bluebird on east Colfax. Today Ben and I went vintage clothes shopping at Buffalo Exchange, Boss, and American Vogue on Broadway. We also got pizza at a Famous Pizza, perused the Pacific Ocean Asian Market on Alameda, and got milkshakes at Grandpa's Burger Haven on Federal. Grandpa's is one of those crappy-looking burger stands in the bad part of town, where there's no place to sit and you probably wouldn't want to touch it if there was. But they have been repeatedly honored with the title of Best Burger in Town.

Other things to note are that I started ballet classes at the Arvada Center! I'm so happy to be dancing again. It feels so good to struggle into tights and put my hair in a bun. Best of all, the instructor just happens to be the best teacher I've ever had! I haven't seen her since 1995. We're both very excited to be in class together again.

Also, I've been voted by default to direct the next Movie Saturday. Stay tuned on the forum!

music video

Once again, Ben has left for Maine. He and his father drove all the way there in just three days. Meanwhile, I've just been going to work and watching movies when I get home. I also painted my bathroom and tomorrow I'll paint the study. Already I can tell that it's going to be a long weekend.

Ben is back in town! It sounds like he had a fun time driving across the county. But I'm happy he's home to take care of my cold. This cold has also hampered my efforts to plan the next movie saturday. I still need to gather costumes and storyboard the script because I haven't had the energy to do it yet. I hope I feel good enough tonight to go to ballet class. Let's see...not much else going on. So here's a couple fun links:
maps
names
art mash-ups

From Brian:

Well, it's that time of year again - The magical season when people
are compelled to do crazy things like wager 5$ on whether that one
movie they never saw gets more votes than that other movie they never
saw. I hope you will all forgive me for copying and pasting last
year's instructions pretty much exactly (although there are a few bits
of new information, so I recommend reading it again). And even though
I say it down below, let me reiterate preemptively: Feel free to pass
this message on to anyone who might be interested. More entries =
more money for the winner.

So here's how it works. Select a winner in each category. Remember
to pick who you think will win, not who you think should win. Get the
ballot to me (Brian) along with $5 by midnight, February 26 (The night
before the Oscars). If you are planning to come over to the
Superhouse to watch the Oscars, you can email the ballot by midnight,
Feb. 26 and bring the cash when you come to watch the show. Either
way, I'll need the money before the ceremony starts.

As you can see, each category has been assigned a certain number of
points. If you guess the winner in a given category correctly, you
will receive that number of points. At the end of the night,
everyone's total points, along with the tiebreaker question, if
necessary, will be used to determine who gets to take home what part
of the pot. The money will be divided as follows:

60% to the first place winner
30% to the second place winner
10% to the third place winner.

If, even after the tiebreaker question is taken into account, there is
a tie for first place, the breakdown will be 45/45/10. If there is a
tie for second place, the breakdown will be 60/20/20. If there is a
tie for both, the breakdown will be 45/45/5/5. If there's an even
more complicated tie, we'll figure it out later.

If you're going to email a ballot, send it to (Rachel's e-mail).

Feel free to pass this message on to anyone you think may be
interested. . . remember, the more people that enter, the more money
you can win.

So, without further ado, here's the ballot:

NAME:
PHONE:
EMAIL:

Picture – 5 Points
__A The Aviator
__B Finding Neverland
__C Million Dollar Baby
__D Ray
__E Sideways

Actor – 4 Points
__A Don Cheadle – Hotel Rwanda
__B Johnny Depp – Finding Neverland
__C Leonardo DiCaprio – The Aviator
__D Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby
__E Jamie Foxx – Ray

Actress – 4 Points
__A Annette Bening – Being Julia
__B Catalina Sandina Moreno – Maria Full of Grace
__C Imelda Staunton – Vera Drake
__D Hillary Swank – Million Dollar Baby
__E Kate Winslet – Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Supporting Actor – 4 Points
__A Alan Alda – The Aviator
__B Thomas Haden Church – Sideways
__C Jamie Foxx – Collateral
__D Morgan Freeman – Million Dollar Baby
__E Clive Owen – Closer

Supporting Actress – 4 Points
__A Cate Blanchett – The Aviator
__B Laura Linney – Kinsey
__C Virginia Madsen – Sideways
__D Sophie Okonedo – Hotel Rwanda
__E Natalie Portman – Closer

Director – 4 Points
__A Martin Scorsese – The Aviator
__B Clint Eastwood – Million Dollar Baby
__C Taylor Hackford – Ray
__D Alexander Payne – Sideways
__E Mike Leigh – Vera Drake

Original Screenplay – 4 Points
__A The Aviator
__B Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
__C Hotel Rwanda
__D The Incredibles
__E Vera Drake

Adapted Screenplay – 4 Points
__A Before Sunset
__B Finding Neverland
__C Million Dollar Baby
__D The Motorcycle Diaries
__E Sideways

Art Direction – 3 Points
__A The Aviator
__B Finding Neverland
__C Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events
__D The Phantom of the Opera
__E A Very Long Engagement

Cinematography – 3 Points
__A The Aviator
__B House of Flying Daggers
__C The Passion of the Christ
__D The Phantom of the Opera
__E A Very Long Engagement

Editing – 3 Points
__A The Aviator
__B Collateral
__C Finding Neverland
__D Million Dollar Baby
__E Ray

Score – 3 Points
__A Finding Neverland
__B Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
__C Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events
__D The Passion of the Christ
__E The Village

Foreign Language Film – 2 Points
__A As it is in Heaven
__B The Chorus
__C Downfall
__D The Sea Inside
__E Yesterday

Documentary Feature – 2 Points
__A Born into Brothels
__B The Story of the Weeping Camel
__C Super Size Me
__D Tupac: Resurrection
__E Twist of Fate

Costume Design – 2 Points
__A The Aviator
__B Finding Neverland
__C Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events
__D Ray
__E Troy

Sound Mixing– 2 Points
__A The Aviator
__B The Incredibles
__C The Polar Express
__D Ray
__E Spider-Man 2

Original Song – 2 Points
__A "Accidentally in Love" – Shrek 2
__B "Al Otro Lado Del Rio" – The Motorcycle Diaries
__C "Believe" – The Polar Express
__D "Learn to be Lonely" – The Phantom of the Opera
__E "Look to Your Path" – The Chorus

Live Action Short – 1 Point
__A Everything in This Country Mist
__B Little Terrorist
__C 7:35 in the Morning
__D Two Cars, One Night
__E Wasp

Animated Short – 1 Point
__A Birthday Boy
__B Gopher Broke
__C Guard Dog
__D Lorenzo
__E Ryan

Documentary Short Subject – 1 Point
__A Autism is a World
__B The Children of Leningradsky
__C Hardwood
__D Mighty Times: The Children's March
__E Sister Rose's Passion

Animated Feature -1 Point
__A The Incredibles
__B Shark Tale
__C Shrek 2

Makeup – 1 Point
__A Lemony Snickett's A Series of Unfortunate Events
__B The Passion of the Christ
__C The Sea Inside

Visual Effects – 1 Point
__A Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
__B I, Robot
__C Spider-Man 2

Sound Editing – 1 Point
__A The Incredibles
__B The Polar Express
__C Spider-Man 2

Tiebreaker – How many commercial breaks will there be during the show?
(between the "77th Annual Academy Awards" title card and the end
credits, not including commercials that play during the credits)

Our latest movie is up! Check it out here.

You can submit your bid on the oscars electronically at Jeff's website: http://jeffc.zapto.org/oscars/.

Yea, I'm 23! I hate prime number years...

Southern California was so richly green from all the rain.
Colorado looked downright dull when I got home.

Molly does this weird pose when she hunts. I finally got it on film, er, pixels. She splays her arms out really flat. And she doesn't look directly at the object she's hunting. We had a lot of fun with this mouse today.

Amanda e-mailed, asking for suggestions for musicals to teach. I came up with this:

When I think of musicals, they tend to fall into 4 categories:
1) Musicals which most Americans know (or at least have heard of) or would recognize a song from it. Nevertheless, these shows deserve to be called "classics."
2) Musicals which are lesser known, but surely any thespian worth their spit can sing two or three songs from each.
3) Musicals that are already too well known (and may or may not live up to that reputation) and shouldn't be bothered with.
4) Delicious treasures which may not have any historical significance, but are gems to those who know them.

With that said, here is how I would categorize most of the musicals out there. I will includ in () significant notes and sometimes a song suggestion for each of the first two categories. Hmm, and since I'm putting so much effort into this, I'll post this on my blog as well (hey, I just did!). I love not working on Fridays!


1) Well known - every American should know these:
Oklahoma (Americana, Rogers and Hammerstein's first smash, first use of dance as a narrative tool rather than entertainment)
"People Will Say We're in Love"
South Pacific (Interracial relationships, nature vs. nurture)
My Fair Lady (Julie Andrews debut, good example of an adapted book musical)
Fiddler on the Roof (psychological musical about modernization)
"Miracle of Miracles" or "Do You Love Me?"
Guys and Dolls (clever use of vernacular in lyrics, costuming was contemporary in its time, yet now it's done as a period piece)
"Sue Me"
King and I (Racial tension, big skirts)
Man of La Mancha (another good example of an adapted book musical)
West Side Story (More choreography as narrative, another contemporary turned period piece, Bernstein and Sondheim)
"Tonight" or "America"
A Chorus Line (innovative narrative, first use of workshops)
"God I Hope I Get It" or "What I did for Love"--which is NOT about a person, it's about dance
Les Miserables (Best of the big budget Mackintosh)
"Do You Hear the People Sing"


2) Lesser known - every thespian should know these:
On the Town (Gotta get some Comden and Green, empowerment of women during WWII) "Let's Go to My Place"
The Music Man (Comforting Americana)
"Trouble"
Caberet (Dark, sexuality, innovative format)
"Wilkommen"
Chicago (Fosse, plays on the Caberet format, explores the cult of celebrity)
"We Both Reached for the Gun"
Company (innovative storytelling, dark musical about the people who probably go to see musicals [upper middle class])
"Company" or "Another Hundred People"
Hair (Rock musical, last time musicals intertwined popular music, great period piece)
"Hair" or "Aquarius"
Into the Woods (Sondheim's lyrics, so hard to choose one song!)
Rent (Updated opera-turned-musical, AIDS crisis)
"Would you light my Candle?" or "One Song Glory"
Ragtime (Great period piece, example of the modern coporate musical)
Lion King (Best of Disney's adapted movies, Taymor's direction)
"He Lives in You"

Already too well known - don't even bother including:
Cats
Phantom of the Opera
Grease
Sound of Music
Hello Dolly
Annie
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat

Delicious, but not necessary:
Sunset Boulevard
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Bye Bye Birdie
Kiss Me Kate
Damn Yankees
Victor/Victoria
Evita
Sweeney Todd
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Little Shop of Horrors
City of Angels
Once upon a Mattress
Ain't Misbehavin'
Tommy
Forever Plaid
You're a Good Man Charlie Brown
The Last Starfighter (Ben made me include it)


Key People
Musicians:
Richard Rogers
Oscar Hammerstein
Irving Berlin
Cole Porter
John Kander
Fred Ebb
Stephen Sondheim
Andrew Lloyd Webber
Actors:
Ethel Merman
Mary Martin
Julie Andrews
Joel Grey
George M. Cohen
Zero Mostel
Chita Rivera
Gwen Verdon
Choreographers:
Agnes DeMille
Jerome Robbins
Bob Fosse
Producers:
Cameron Mackintosh
Hal Prince

The great thing about Netflix is that it encourages you to rent DVDs you wouldn't normally pay money for. Recently Ben rented Jem, a show I remember from long ago. Watching it again brought on a flood of nostalgia. It's so weird that hot pink and assymmetrical clothing makes me think of my childhood.

For those who never knew Jem (or have forgotten), it's a Hasbro cartoon (the same universe as GI Joe and Transformers) which debuted in 1985. Jerrica Benton's father died and left her Synergy (below) a super computer which projects audio and visual holograms, so Jerrica and her friends (Aja, Shana, and Kimber) can become rock superstars.

Jerrica takes on the alterego Jem, causing much trouble for her boyfriend Rio, because he naturally falls for Jem as well. Meanwhile, The Misfits, a rival band, stop at nothing to try to ruin Jem and the Holograms' sucess. Each episode has three music videos. If you're lucky, it will have a chorus AND a verse.

I'm enjoying this show far too much for my age. I'm also realizing where I developed a warped sense of the world as a preteen. I didn't know universities were schools until I was in high school. I thought it was just a place where you lived after you graduated. Where would I get such a simplistic definition? Well, let's look at how Jem describes adult issues:

Episode 1: Jerrica and her friends live in a charity home she inherited from her father--but it's falling apart. "We need money to fix this place up" says a girl. "But where will we get money?" asks another. Jerrica replies "when my dad needed money, he would get it from Starlight Music." Cut to Jerrica walking past security into Starlight Music, the company she recently inherited. Eric (who owns the other half of Starlight) says "Jerrica, what are you doing here?" Jerrica replies " We need money." Eric says "I can't just give you the money." Jerrica says "But I own half this company." Eric replies "We'll see about that."

No wonder I had many strange ideas about how the world works.

Sing with me now the song Ben and I have been haunted by for the past week:
Jem! Jem is excitement. Ooo Jem! Jem is adventure!
Ooo, glamour and glitter, fashion and fame.
Jem, Jem is outrageous, truly truly truly outrageous!
Ooo Jem! The music's contageous, Outrageous!
Jem is my name, no one else is the same, Jem is my name!
Jem!

A SLC sunset. Andy, Jill, and Annie fly a kite.


Amanda's play, the Seussical. I couldn't even fit all the cast in the photo.


A Peeps Tree!


Josh only left one "squashed" jelly bean behind.


Ahh, beautiful Colorado again. What a lovely view I had during my flight home.

Ben got into the carnival spirit at the Primary kids activity.

What a relief! My office finally has a new suite where we can move. We can finally stop worrying about where we will be working this summer--and start worrying about actually moving ;-)

Amanda, Mom and Dad came up last weekend and we had a pretty good time touring Old Town. I had Indian, English, and Moroccan food within 24 hours. Unfortunately I don't have any pictures to share.

This morning there was no hot water. Now, there have been times when the pipes are running with other people showering, and I can barely get lukewarm water when I turn the faucet all the way. Usually if I wait for the other pipes to quiet I can have a decent shower. But this morning there was only icy cold water on all the taps in the apartment. I checked every ten minutes for 45 minutes, and even when the pipes weren't running there was nothing but ice! Needless to say, I had a grumpy Monday.

Ben sweetened my day by taking me out to eat, buying a special cheese (Ski Queen) along with our groceries, and then we watched Tampopo together. Tampopo (meaning dandelion, and in this case, a woman's name) is about a woman who wants to run a better noodle shop. More than that, the movie is a series of vignettes, showing how the Japanese love and savor their food. Very weird but very good. I came across the movie on IMDB's movie of the day, here. I wouldn't recommend it if watching a lot of loud noodle slurping sounds annoying to you. Or if you don't find Japanese culture completely bizarre and fascinating, like I do.

Why are there so many street corner sign-holders in Arvada? At first it seemed like only the lowbrow independent shops paid people to wave signs at passing cars. Usually mattress sales and rent-to-own specials. But lately there have been larger businesses, like Kmart, hiring the stick people. Recently I spotted both Safeway and Quiznos stooping too. How tacky.

I watched an interesting documentary with Ben and Brian last night. It's called "Word Wars" and it's about the Scrabble championships. If you like Spellbound and Trekkies, you'll like
Word Wars. It's a bit like Spellbound for adults. (Note: one contestant is rather found of foul language, so it's not a movie to watch with kids.) These people are so obsessed with Scrabble, most of them don't have jobs, they just play all day and hope to win money at tournaments. Not only is the subject matter interesting, but the documentary is very well edited and directed. You really get to know the community of Scrabble. You recognize the players. There's clever title cards and informative sequences, like the final match, which is cleverly shown play-by-play. The movie dances along at a nice pace. My favorite player has to be G.I. Joel. Joel has a lot of G.I. problems. It's hilarious.

Wow, what a weekend. I sure didn't expect to end up dancing to TMBG's Ana Ng on a stage with Mavi and a pair of drag queens.

Ah, it's not as wild as I make it out to be ;-) Mavi, Jeff, and I went to Lipgloss at La Rumba to dance. Lipgloss is a "Indie, Brit-Pop, Glam, Soul, and Rock" club. It exponentially multiplied the number of men in drag I've ever seen in person. And Hipsters galore. Quite fun actually. A bunch of people dress up in retro clothing to go out. Most of the men were wearing blazers and button-up shirts in pastels, some with ruffles. Some women wore pillbox hats and heels. The dance floor was empty until we started at it, and within 4 songs it was full. The DJs played a pretty good mix at the start: J-pop, french scat, Michael Jackson, Beck. Later in the night the music started to get predictably "80s" with the Clash, Depeche Mode, Rolling Stones, ACDC, still pretty good stuff, but not the great eclectic mix they had in the beginning. Whenever Mavi and I took a break, someone would encourage us to get dancing again (that's how we ended up with Stacey and Kelly on the platform "stage"). Everyone was nice! It was refreshing to go to a dance club where people were there to dance and have a good, self-aware, time. Too often dance clubs are flesh fests, where people go to get stinking drunk or to hook up with a stranger. I'll take La Rumba over Pollyesters any day.

I got tired pretty fast that Friday. 2 1/2 hours of aerobic dancing is tiring enough, but I had already had 1 1/2 hours of ballet that evening. Ballet is going really well. I pulled off a perfect double pirouette last week! I can control a single fairly regularly now. Sure, triples used to be my goal, but these days I'm happy to do a good single. Christina remarked that I was getting my strength back pretty fast:-)

We went to see Les Enfants Terribles at Starz last night. I didn't like it very much. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood for absurdist French cinema. Afterwards Ben, Bruce, Brian, Jeff, and I got a late bite at Pete's Kitchen. I love my biscuits and gravy.

Brian and I have hit Scrabble hard since watching Word Wars. We played four games yesterday, and we have plans for more after dinner tonight. (I'm 3-1, though Brian got a bingo on the game he won. I'm insanely jealous).

Jeff posted pictures from the Oscar party here. Check out the cool projected leader board we used to keep track of the pool.

Snowday!! 

http://www.apple.com/trailers/universal/serenity/

Can't wait.

Hello all! I thought we were done with snow the last time I posted. But we've had another spring snowfall in Colorado. Ben's car locks were frozen this morning!

This ought to be a rather relaxing weekend. I'll have a massage this afternoon before dance class. Tonight I'll see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. The Serenity trailer is supposed to be attached! Speaking of Serenity, Brian swiftly alerted Ben to purchase tickets for an advance screening!!! The shows (link) were sold out within a few hours. I'm so jazzed to see it next week!

My cat is trying to lick my fingers while I type, so that's all for now.

Feels like I haven't posted any good photos in a while! These pictures are from a April 16th. We have had two bad snow storms since then. But that Saturday was so nice we decided to play Scrabble by the creek behind our apartment. Pictured are Jeff, Bruce, Gwynneth, Ben, Brian, and a muskrat!.

It happened, we got our tickets and we saw Serenity. It was great. I'd only been to one other advance screening before (The Life Aquatic) but it wasn't very "advance" and there weren't any surveys. It was fun to give my opinion on movies. I wish I could do that more often. One time at Westminster Mall Ben and I got to watch a preview of the Man on Fire movie commercial and give our feedback. Not sure we affected much, since the commercial that eventually ran was pretty much the same. But it was fun anyway. Way off track now.


Serenity was awesome. I like it more now that I've had time to think about it. I'll probably like it even more once I see the finished film. This one was poorly printed, Brian said the color timing (?) hadn't been done yet, and the score and special effects were missing. But at least now I know the reason River . . . and that Book . . .
Don't worry Andy, I'll keep it secret until you see it. That's the one thing I felt really bad about, was not getting a seat for Andy. But hurrah! There's going to be another screening! This time I got plenty of extra seats. Looking forward to it, bro.

Browncoats!

Jeff has fallen asleep a couple times on our couch. It has that effect on people. He didn't notice the poking.

Rose and Luke had a pre-wedding potluck in Greeley yesterday. I prepared some fresh spring greens.

It's surprising how quickly you reach nothing when you drive out up I-25. Greeley's a nice little town. It reminded us of Grand Junction.

Kristin, Jenni and I used to take turns keeping the big shirt. I found it with my fabric scraps last night. I don't think we ever realized just how big the shirt really is.

The trailer is online for the film adaptation of Rent the musical. Check it out at Apple, or, if that site is down (as it was last night) here.

I'd also recommend Murderball, Howl's Moving Castle, the new Charlie and the Chocolate Factory trailer, March of the Penguins, A Scanner Darkly, and The Chronicles of Narnia. Yea! More Weta Workshop! I can't wait for the King Kong trailer to come out. There are a lot of good movies to look forward to this year.

If you haven't heard yet, Director's Label is releasing the next 4 volumes in their series on September 13 this year. This is the label that put together works by Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze. The next line of directors looks great. I've been hoping Mark Romanek would be featured. He's done some of my top music videos of all time, including Scream, Bedtime Stories, and Can't Stop- which will all be on the disc!!! You can see the line up here and click the icons at the top for a preview of the collections.

A bit belated, but here's a glimpse of our trip to LA.

This weekend Ben and Brian and I went to Lakeside, right in my neighborhood. I'd heard a lot of bad press about this place, accidents and what not. But Ben is itching for rides, especially after getting a taste at Universal Studios last weekend. He and Brian used to be big fans of Elitch Gardens, until it moved and turned into a cement lot, I mean, Six Flags. Lakeside looks like nothing has changed in the past 50 years. It's just $2 to enter and $1-2 per ride. Hot dogs only $1.50! I didn't do any rides (feeling a little sick that day) but I totally dug the kitsch and vintage signs. Enjoy!


Anyone know what Redit means?



Ben thinks the Matterhorn was at the old Elitches. Check out the Scrambler font! The guys rode the Wild Chipmunk and said there isn't a lap bar or seat belt, just a handle on the side.



I loved this bumper car sign (Autoskooters).



Brian was supremely disappointed that the Flight to Mars was down for repairs. He really really really wanted to go inside anyway. The general manager said it should be running next week.



I love this: the world's most exciting ride. Really.
I didn't get a good picture of the rocket ride Ben loved. Bad lighting.



The carnival booths are a bit ghetto, but eerie enough to supplement the atmosphere. Brian got 9 plastic spider rings with his earnings from skeeball.

Like my sister (see her blog) I have been traveling all month and away from my computer. Unlike my sister, my trips have not all been fun. I'm happy to be home now with no flight reservations on the books . . . for now.

I have a feeling there may be another business trip this fall, and mom already mentioned maybe going to California for Thanksgiving, and Ben and I have been wanting to take a trip for just the two of us. . . but for now there's nothing planned! And it feels good.

Pictures to come soon. Probably after I catch up at work, get laundry done, fill the fridge with food, and watch the Netflix that have piled up.

It's good to be back in dry Colorado.

I had to go on a business trip to Miami a couple weeks ago. Bleh. July is generally not a good time to go. When I arrived in the afternoon the weather was calm. This sandcastle on the hotel's private beach looked amazing.

I scoped out the beach and planned to spend any time I had outside of lectures on the sand. The hurrricane Dennis came. We were on Key Biscayne, so we weren't in any serious danger, though the hotel sent out notices to stay away from your windows in case they blow in. The picture below was taken the first evening of my stay, about an hour after the picture above. It got worse each day: incredible wind and warm rain. Meetings and schmoozing were stressful. I was not in the mood to take lots of pictures, so this is all I got of the bad weather. It was a frustrating trip. I could ramble on and on, but let's just leave it at that.

Shopping and snacking in Hallowell (near Augusta).


Flowers grow abundantly in Maine.


Hobbit Woods (named by Betty)


Interesting cuisine in Maine, including the infamous whoopie pie and "fried dough."


Picturesque Booth Bay.


Wild turkeys right outside Betty's house! (I was napping, Ben captured the pic)

It's been a long time since I went camping, and I don't think I've ever backpacked to a campsite. This trip on Friday was a big accomplishment. Ben has wanted to camp with me since I've known him. What better anniversary present for Ben than to suck up my discomfort and head to the mountains?


A long car drive up highway 40, past Winter Park, past Fraser, and we arrived at the trailhead. We'd been hiking for just 10 minutes in the above photos. Ben bought himself a hatchet for the trip. He liked it a lot. He carried most of the gear, I just had some clothes, a mat, and water.


This dog met us at the trailhead and followed us. There's a spot of private property about an hour in, where we ran into his owner. It was really fun having a dog on the hike. We named him Cody, even though he has four legs.


Hey, where's the bridge? My hero carried me across.


About two hours into the hike, above.


We were on "Strawberry Trail." At our campsite I helped myself to a snack and I'm not sick yet!


Our lovely campsite. There's a creek right behind the camera. We actually hiked about a 1/2 mile beyond this campsite before deciding to turn around and settle. It was flat, had a fire pit, and some lovely log chairs. Ben set up tent quickly and we settled in for the night.


Hey, we built a fire! High five!


Hmm, dinner.


Lovely sunset.


After a rough night trying to sleep (I just can't sleep outside. It's uncomfortable and scary) we packed up and hit the trail home by 10 am. These pictures are about halfway back to the trailhead. Boy, were we stiff that morning. We're still feeling achey a couple days later. But it was worth it. No rain, no injuries, few bugbites, and good memories.

I just watched another great Studio Ghibli film, Pom Poko. Although always interested in Myazaki films (such as Spirited Away), I first heard about this one on cinematical. The article was mostly interested in it's rating, since the raccoons' balls are clearly visible:

"I thought the reviewer might be a little fixated when he dwelled on every instance of this problem, claiming that in one scene, the raccoon genitalia swelled to unrealistic sizes and were even used as weapons. After I looked around the Web and found stills from Pom Poko like the one on the right, I decided he might not be exaggerating. My goodness, what would Wal-Mart think? I think it's hilarious, and immediately added the movie to my Netflix queue, but I don't have any children."

Gasp! Is this a movie about tanuki? Ben confirmed (he had learned about this children's film in his Japanese film class) that Pom Poko is about tanuki folk stories.

My first experience with tanuki's was during Super Mario 3. In addition to the usual mushroom and flower power-ups they added a leaf, which gave you a raccoon tail so you could fly. Hmmm. That never made sense to me as a kid, but hey, how does a flower let you shoot fireballs? Later in the game you can get a full-body raccoon suit and can turn into a statue. Waaaaaa? Fast forward several years to Animal Crossing, another Nintendo game I became enamored with. There's a store in the game run by a raccoon named "Nook." All the items he sold were represented by single green leaves. Hey Ben, I said, does tanuki mean raccoon in Japanese? With a little research we learned the full history.

Traditional Japanese folklore includes the belief that raccoons and foxes can changes forms. Raccoons, called tanuki, will put a leaf on their heads to transform. Statues of tanuki are often put in doorways as good luck symbols. They are jolly creatures, who inflate their scrotums and play them like drums as they celebrate. Ah, just one of the myriad of reasons I'm fascinated by this island. Do a google image search, I swear I'm not making this up.

Getting back to Pom Poko, not only is this a jolly movie, ballsacks and all, but it's good. I think I like these kind of Ghibli films better than their epic, more dramatic films like Mononoke, Nausicaa, and Spirited Away (haven't seen Howl's yet). They're more fun, and the animation is looser, more spirited. Pom Poko has a narrator, a clever format I haven't seen in any other animated film. I liked the three levels of realistic raccoon images they used to represent the different moods.

Check out their awesome Flash site. Avoid if you have slow internet. Link.

Funny thing is, I've actually been thinking lately about discovering the men who do all voiceovers for movie trailers. Sounds like the same guys over and over. It is. And here they are. (unfortunately the sound quality isn't great on the file, but you get the idea)

Got tired of the old look, wanted to try a new template. Unfortunately, it lost all my tweaks, so the photo and other little details are gone. In time I'll update that. Is this better/easier to read than my old one?

Seems like it's been a long time since I had a free weekend. I'm still working out the kinks on this new template, I don't like how it displays pictures and I can't remember how to fix it.

I'm been really busy with work lately, and I've been filling all my free time with crafts, food, and friends. Today I skipped a barbeque so I could catch up on my cleaning and enjoy some time to myself. Let's see, I slept in, got my last batch of free bagels (thanks so much, Mom and Dad, it's been a GREAT year of bagels) touched up my purple streaks, finished the cabinet (more about that below), thoroughly cleaned the house, restocked groceries, knit, baked, and watched another great Studio Ghibli film, The Cat Returns. Ben is working late tonight in Glenwood Springs, so I might have to tuck myself in tonight. Until then, I'm uploading some recent pictures and listening to Rent (can't wait to see it this November!).

Some recent meals I've cooked:


Mmm, my first roasted pork loin was delicious! Most of it is in my freezer waiting to be reincarnated.


Strange it never occured to me before to use my laundry rack as a pasta rack.


An old favorite, Kale soup. Ben started a recipe database for me, and this was the first one I wanted to enter.


Tonight's treat: Rolo cookies: chocolate cookies with a gooey caramel center. I got this recipe from a link on my new favorite blog: slashfood. It's part of the Weblogs, Inc Network of which I also like to read Cinematical. This recipe was featured as one of their "food porn" images, and I think my picture would totally fit in with the other food porn shots.


My biggest project the last week has been refinishing a dresser Ben and I pulled out of our local dumpster. It was originally a badly painted puke teal green with brass hardware.


With the help of Ben and his boss Eric's tools/muscle, we stripped the paint and sanded it smooth last weekend.


Wednesday I primed, Thursday I painted, and today I bought and affixed the hardware.


It looks a thousand times better! This was a bigger project than I anticipated, but with a lot of help, I got it done and I'm quite pleased with it.


What else have we been doing? Guess:



(By the way, although butt-ugly, this particular bean bag is heavenly. It has a special stretchy part that conforms to your body perfectly. I saw some still at Target today if anyone is in the market for a video game chair.)

There's quite a few blogs I like to waste time by reading (blogs are the new magazines!) and I usually don't post the great stuff bloggers find, but this one is too perfect. From TV Squad, a top five list of sitcoms tackling serious issues. This guy is right on! I, and apparently many of my generation, had #4 Punky Brewster episode burned in my memory. Stay out of abandoned appliances! And #2 Saved by the Bell was shocking when it aired. Jesse was so smart, she of all people had a drug problem?!

Oh, how I love fall! I've been sick so much this summer . . . I'm sick of it! To celebrate feeling better, and to use some of the delicious groceries my dad bought me, I did some serious cooking this week.


Sloppy Joes: Fast easy, and tasty.



I made Beef Stew for friends on Friday. This stew was hearty:
Sear pieces of round top in a hot skillet with minimal oil.
Add large pieces of shallot, once they start to brown deglaze the pan with a red wine.
Add to shallots, meat, and wine to slow cooker +
beef broth
quartered red potatoes
carrots
celery
parsnips
whole mushrooms
garlic
salt, pepper, and a couple splashes of Worcestershire sauce.
Let cook on low for several hours. Add fresh chopped parsley just before serving with crusty bread.



Pumpkin Pie for dessert, of course!

I also created a dish without any recipe:

Combine ricotta cheese with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh parsley and sage, garlic, salt and pepper.



Take a chicken breast and pound it flat, spread the filling, and roll up. Wrap in a piece of bacon.



Roast at 350 until done (I think it was about 40 minutes, I'm bad at keeping track). Baste with white wine 2 or 3 times while roasting. Add a slice of mozzarella and a sage leaf on top and bake till melted. Let the chicken rest while you make the sauce: Put the pan on a burner and scrape all the browned bits up. Add a tablespoon of flour and stir vigorously. Add chicken broth and stir to thicken.



Serve with a mixed green salad and French bread. This is not a very healthy dish, but it tasted really good.



Pumpkin spice cookies with cream cheese frosting.

Tonight I'm adding the leftover chicken and sauce to pasta. Should be good. I'm still working on the leftover pie :-)

I don't like to watch a lot of TV. But lately I've discovered/continued watching some notable shows:

Arrested Development
Family Guy
Life of Birds (BBC on DVD)
The Daily Show
Kitchen Confidential (not great, but has potential)
Freaks and Geeks (DVD)
My Name is Earl


Also, I found a video clip of Firefly. Some guy decided it's better if (the few) people who see Serenity have a prior knowledge about the show. So he made a 30 minute video of the best/important parts of the series. That way people can feel caught up and know a little more history without having to watch the whole series. I haven't sat down to watch it yet myself, but it's an interesting idea so I'll post it blindly.

Unbelievable:
http://www.amalah.com/photos/the_company_cookbook/index.html

Another reason I'm glad I live in the time and place that I do. Thank you, mom and dad, for never submitting me to crap like this.
via

With Brian around, Halloween is a month long celebration. It's been fun getting in the spirit with him. He really decked the halls this year.


The zombie on his end table lifts his head and screams when you walk by. The "Thing" hand actually runs about. The skull candles drip blood when lit.



Another zombie (on the table), but this one holds chips and dip. Ben's the fastest pumpkin carver. He's playing an Evil Dead game (Brian gave him permission, since there are zombies in it.)


I'm happy with how my pumpkin looks. Brian lectured us for 5 minutes about not carving cute pumpkins. It's a crime. And then his turned out to be super cute! He was disappointed.
(by the way, this is the last picture of me with purple hair. It was getting too icky with all the touch-ups, so now I'm a plain brunette. I might redo the purple streaks, if I get the time)


Brian, Luke, Rose, and Ben. Pumpkins: Mine's on the left, Ben's on the right.


And now for something really special: Eyes and Ears in Blood!



I found this recipe online. It's basically spaghetti and meatballs. It tastes fairly bland, but it looks spectacular!


The ears took a long time to make. I didn't plan on how hard it would be to sculpt ears. The chicken meatballs are steamed, so there's no browning (adding to the blandness).



Coming soon! Check out Ben's blog for an entry on the most vicious of all sodas: Jones' Thanksgiving Dinner.

Long overdue post on Halloween Costumes:


Me: Cat
Brian: "the spirit of halloween"


Ben and Jeff: Scorpion and Sub Zero from Mortal Kombat
(compare with:)


Ben constructed a great spear on a chain for Scorpion, and I helped Jeff come up with these awesome ice effects:


Jeff also made a Reptile head and spine (sorry Ben, the only pic of this I could find has him killing Scorpion):



And Molly was a cat. She's found a new favorite spot. I don't think I can put fine sweaters on that shelf anymore.

I had a meeting in Chicago at the Sofitel at the beginning of November. Gorgeous hotel, fun town, and the meeting went well!


My room.


The watertower, which was 2 blocks from my hotel.


I had to get a hot dog. Somewhat disappointing. Isn't pickles and relish a bit redundant?


This wavy yard was along the waterfront.


Jogger going to Navy Pier.


The Lake.


Went to the House of Blues my last night. The band was great and I got to boogie down.


My boss gave us Vosges chocolates as a thank you gift for our work on the meeting. Very expensive and exotic truffles. The flavors I picked include absinthe, curry, wasabi and sesame, paprika, chile, and black pepper. Yum!

San Diego, another beautiful city! Sadie's a real cutie.


Doting family.


Mmm, lamb fries!


The "Pan"tastic new 8 in One SuperPan from Globochem.
Bakes! Boils! Fries! Broasts! Briggs! Froils! Bribbles!


The car was a little cramped.


whatever you do, DO NOT PICK THE FERN!!!!

The most incredible cookie! Big Soft Ginger cookies with molasses and sugar crystal crust.


Somosas (baked, not fried). Filling from here, with a crust from Mark Bittman's book.



Butternut Squash soup with parmesan croutons and brussel sprouts. Combine 1 onion, 1 peeled and seeded squash with vegetable broth and salt/pepper in a slow cooker. Cook on low 5 hours. Puree, add cream cheese, parmesan, and nutmeg, and cook for 30 minutes or until you are ready to eat.



Baked Sandwich using Rhodes dough, with pulled chicken breast, provolone, and pesto filling.


Pumpkin Spice cake with honey frosting. From Martha's Everyday Food magazine (recipe).

Wow, huge picture dump. I think I'm all caught up.

If you loved the Shining trailer, you must see the new A Christmas Gory trailer.

This morning I couldn't find my cat. After two hours I heard her tags clinking, but muffled. I called and she mewed back - from inside Ben's dresser. She had been trapped inside his shirt drawer all morning!

The Garlic Card

How can you NOT want one after this instructional film?

The trailer for Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette is online here. (Stupid moviefone exclusive with its teeny tiny screen and noncompatability with firefox).

I'm excited for it. Yes, we all hate Kirsten Dunst. But hey, Jason Schwartzman as Louis XVI? Rock on!