claire and charlie?!

i've come to expect so much from lost that i think it's time to start lowering expectations in preparation for the series end next year. because i think deep down we all know that whatever happens in the finale will not live up to what lost fandom has built the entire series up to be.

also- you know they won't actually answer all of the 'mysteries,' right? i mean, i can't be the only one seeing "lost: the motion picture" coming. at this point, how could there not be a lost movie?

jenn's baby name rant of the day

unless you, your significant other, or at least one grandparent was actually born in the country from which you have selected your soon-to-be-child's name- you have an obligation to spell your child's name "correctly." now, if one of the aforementioned people actually does hail from ireland, wales, kenya, japan, germany, whatever, then by all means give the traditional mispelling even if it means everyone will mispronounce it. it's heritage, i get that. but serioulsy, just because great-great-grandpa aeronwen was born in wales before he moved to the US at the ripe old age of 3, does not mean you get to saddle your poor child with erclff. (for example)

i should really make an effort to start posting more.

:)

so for today... here's a realllllly rough itinerary for the upcoming british isles vacay.

ireland-
-dublin, 2 nights
-kilkenny, 2 nights
-kinsale, 1 night
-tralee, 1 night
-newmarket-en-fergus, 2 nights
england-
-london, 2 nights
-bath, 2 nights
-york, 2 nights
scotland-
-edinburgh, 2 nights
-somewhere around inverness, 2 nights

may end up adding another day or two here and there , especially in the eng./scot. portion. but so far i'm excited about what we're planning. now if only all the financials could get in order ha.

gahhhh

:( ::big frowny face today::

1. bea arthur died today.

2. my flyers are out of the playoffs.

man, what a sucky saturday.

p.s. patrick needs to get a fucking cell phone !!!! arg!

the things i think about in the shower

it occurs to me that LOST is the bastard love child of x-files and sex and the city. i mean really think about it. SATC had all the hooking up and love drama --- hello love quadralateral with kate, sawyer, jack, and juliet. and x-files just had all the bizarre weirdo stuff that makes you wonder aloud as you watch "wtf??!" --- hello creepy island. so yeah. who knew?

side eyes

i have a strong (and unexplicable) desire to act in french films and write a novel.

loves it

dear target

it was bad enough that you didn't have candy corn at halloween, but must you also not carry cadbury mini-eggs at easter? my god. what is wrong with you?!

jiminy christmas

get over "special olympigate" already. seriously, watch the clip. not a big deal. if that's all you can find to complain about right now, you're just an idiot.

attatched below- valentine's cake since it never got posted. yumms.

i am wicked behind

i know. i haven't posted in ages. and i have a bunch of book reviews and random thought stuff i should get too soon. but for today i'll just leave you with me being super excited about my official acceptance into my master's program. i might (really stressing that might there) be done by dec. but it will more likely be next spring. either way i'm really happy about it !

N.B.

if you haven't seen slumdog millionaire yet, you should. there's a reason it won best picture. it's an awesome movie!

twenty bucks says he's still single ... and a cheater

letter from the dear annie column in yesterday's paper. klassy.

"dear annie,
i am constantly amazed at the number of women whose lives are apparently shattered because their husband/fiance/boyfriend had an affair.
i lived for many years in europe and latin america and have always been impressed with the mature and tolerant attitude of the women there toward this 'congenital' flaw in the male psyche. blatent promiscuity is inexcusable, but a discreet relationship is never cause to destroy either a marriage or the wife's entire life, as happens in this country. are american women so incredibly fragile that their lives simply fly to pieces when hubby flirts with some woman in a bar?
in case you have ever wondered, this is the reason so many american males marry foreign women when given the opportunity."


on second thought... maybe this guy bought a mail-order bride. what a catch!

::raising one eyebrow::

some of my ex-friends are sooooo klassy.

book reviews #1, 2, and 3 for 2009

so i have recently finished up 3 new books: dining at monticello, woman the gatherer, and why we suck. part of my need-to-read-way-more-(school books disscluded)-this-year project.

so - dining at monticello is a really good (coffee table?) book about thomas jefferson's culinary world. you'd be amazed at the number of foods and styles his kitchens are given credit for bringing to america. the book talks about his travels in france as a major influence on his cooking, his love of fine foods and wines, and his gardens at monticello. it discusses his many efforts at creating new processes and eating new foods. he was big into the veg. it also has a handy collection of authentic jefferson family recipes for you to recreate at home. pretty neat. (at least for foodies and those of us who love to cook)

woman the gatherer is an academic collection of essays examining women's roles in hunter/gatherer societies. it's a follow-up (rebuttal) to man the hunter and talks about how women are so often huge suppliers of the sustinence needed for many groups. it's an interesting look at roles that for many years went unlooked upon by mainstream academia (and is, in truth, still less understood).

why we suck was my amusing read for january. it's by denis leary and pretty much about what's wrong with american society. i only disagreed with a couple of small points, but for the most part he's right about many things. and it's absolutely hilarious.

so now it's on to finishing the handmaid's tale, waiter rant, and the virgin suicides for feb.

reprise

there's so much i'd love to write about right now.

i have plenty that i would love to complain about. lots of things i'm being particularly judgemental about right now. lots i want others to share in the anger/abandonment/relief/excitement/pain/confusion/oddness that i feel over so many different situations.

but really, i'm not feeling that post right now. i'm just smiling today and i'm going to continue smiling right now. for as long as i can. somedays, it occurs to me that life is too short. even on those days that make you wonder if it's all worth while. so for today - step outside and take a deep breath. be thankful for what you have. for your life, your health, your true friends, your loved ones.

and sus- i'll be writing you back an email later. but i just wanted to publically say that i totally love you and always will!

S M I L E -- and be grateful for all that's right in the world.

back from d.c.

so what if we were a little last minute on the planning? and so what if we were only there for monday night and tues? i still had fun, and i'm super glad that we participated in the inauguration of our 44th president. we actually managed to not hit ANY traffic going and coming which was pretty miraculous. we ended up being near the washington monument with a great view of one of the jumbotrons that was showing the ceremony on the capital steps. it was pretty awesome. and mega crowded. not to mention freaking freezing! but the people were all really cool and pretty much everybody was in a great mood. there was tons of singing and dancing going on around us (tho i'm pretty sure much of it was to keep warm, ha). and some people were all about the getting to know people, asking where people had come from. we were next to a bunch of brooklyners and there were others from illinois, san francisco, europe. it was insane. i hope everyone had as much fun celebrating our new president as we did!

movie: the reader

so we went to see the reader yesterday at the grandin. another pic for various oscar awards - i believe mostly centering around kate winslet's portrayal of the former S.S. guard turned child molester ;-) it was a pretty good movie. a little depressing but then again most movies that in some way deal with WWII are. the real fun of course is that the two main characters spend the better part of the first half of the movie nekkid. which is always fun. and can i just say, that kate winslet's areolas are HUGE! i was truly mesmerized by those suckers.

in other notes, leaving for d.c. today to partake in some small way in the inauguration of our new president. i pass this along just in case there would be some sort of random violence or terrorist attack. should you then not hear from me in a couple days--- it was nice knowing you... and please tell me if sawyer makes it off the island :(

movie rental

if you are poor like me then you probably prioritze the movies that you see in the theater vs the movies that you rent months later for half the price. and while i have resolved to give the grandin more of my hard earned money this year (ha, gotta love that resolution) there are still plenty of good movies to be seen at your local movie starz/blockbuster or with netflix.

that said we rented a few this past weekend and i just have to recommend "burn after reading"-- it was fucking hilarious. (even if my significant other didn't seem entirely convinced). come on tho- it's a spy/murder mystery (i.e. comedy in disguise) with the chick from fargo, george clooney, john malkovich (whom i believe made it a personal goal in the movie to say "fuck" as many times as possible), and brad pitt as a personal trainer. COME ON! what's not to love there. seriously, see it. it will make you laugh.

taubman museum of art

we went to see the "new" art museum yesterday. it's an interesting space, i guess. i still don't think the exterior design fits in with downtown but whatever. and i still say it was a waste of money to spend millions of dollars on that building when what needs money is the collections inside. they're tres sparse. and not all that great.

the first collection is the photography group. a few good pieces. but a few others that really don't belong in a museum that is suppose to showcase, oh i don't know- talent?! then there's an entire gallery dedicated to the architect who designed the museum and his other works. (which by the way, all look the same). there's a weird little gallery with movement/sound activated stuff where we made friends with a security guard. there's the american gallery - again a couple nice pieces, and some "ehhhh, they were donated- what do you expect?" pieces. there's a portrait gallery of painting all from the same family. a gallery dedicated to tattoo art. the contemporary gallery -- ick. tho i did really like the girl in the chair on the wall. but that's about it there. i'm just not a big fan of modern art. and then finally there is the visiting florentine painting gallery. (which was my personal favorite). but there are so few pieces! i didn't actually count but i'd be surprised if there were more than 50 on display. in that big huge building!
** edited to add: i totally forgot about the purse gallery. ha. probably my second fave.


there was however a nice jazz concert going on in the lobby area. and apparently that's a regular sunday thing. so maybe we'll head over some other afternoons for some free music. all in all, it was nice to see, but i'm still so disappointed in the actual collections of the museum. ... psh, i also don't like being tagged. we had to wear these stupid clippy tag things to show we had paid our money. can't let it pass without saying that've i've been in far more worldly museums than the roanoke art museum and have NEVER had to wear a tag. ;-)

movie: doubt

we went to see doubt at the grandin last night. i thought i was pretty good. very sad to think about, especially the scene with the mom in the movie. very good performances from meryl streep and philip seymour hoffman. are they both nominated for the oscar? streep should definitely be a contender for it. all in all, thoughtful and worth an hour and 45 min. of your time.