Merry Christmas

Christmas movies are vast and varied. You've got comedies, sentimentals, "quirky", romantic...and the list is endless. My favorite is White Christmas. Yes, it's true! I was born 65. The AMC marathon today is a Christmas miracle. I keep catching random scenes and can quote them. I've still got it! My sister and I used to act out the Sisters number. We probably still would with enough eggnog.

5 Pic Friday

Hey, remember the 90's?


Kate Gosselin's new haircut. Maybe I'm trying to increase page views? Maybe not??

I read an item this week that said "Boone" from Lost was seen on his way to film in Hawaii for this season. CR@ZY!

Who doesn't love this movie??

This is a good picture. Shout-out to the one (maybe 2??) JoP writer pictured.

Remixes 2.0

I like this picture of Pete Yorn and Scarlett Johansson. I'm not a big fan of either, esp SJ. She looks good here with the red hair though. This was the picture for an article about how Scarlett is playing the Brigitte Bardot to Yorn's Serge Gainsbourg. If her previous cd is any indication then we should all be a little bit scared.

Gonzo

This has been going around the 'net, so I thought I'd post it here again to give it more coverage for our 5 readers & counting! A screenwriter/comic writer compares 30 Rock to The Muppet Show. I love the Muppet Show but think 30 Rock is just 'aight. Which is weird because this guy makes a great case for them being the same show. The few times I've watched 30 Rock it just seems annoying and grating. I guess critics of the Muppet Show could say the same thing about Kermit - but srsly with that face how can you??? Brian's comparison makes me want to watch more in detail if I happen to see 30 Rock again.

Sidenote - I noticed this on his twitter update feed:

Zack Morris is a trending topic, yet the entire cast of CALIFORNIA DREAMS dies forgotten. Life is not fair. about 7 hours ago

We were just talking about this show last night! California Dreams needs some recognition people! There were a lot of different cast photos - but I mostly remember the early years and the weird brother that looked like he was already 30. Was he supposed to be the heartthrob?

Let's Talk...Movies

ABCFam had a Mother's Day Marathon of Mom Movies. This basically seemed to include every Julia Roberts pic and The Sound of Music. Julie Andrews - yes. Julia Roberts - I could take or leave her. She's like Tom Hanks to me - are we better with or without her?? I think they generally don't contribute a lot. BUT! Then I was reminded of how great Stepmom is. Stepmom and I have had a varied history - I would catch parts of it on college weekends, but I was never sure of the story timeline. In New York, my roommate had a copy of the DVD and I became hooked.


awesome!

-the setting: Ed Harris' NY penthouse is so cool. Even 11 years later. Well done set designers. Susan Sarandon's home is cute in it's country casual chic way as well. They've basically let me have both of my home fantasies in 1 movie. The scenes in Central Park are spectacular as well - who doesn't love the castle photo shoot??

-the little boy: This kid is cute.

-cheesy musical numbers: The classic Thanksgiving scene where Ben is the turkey and is "shot" for dinner. Kids + a holiday = movie gold. "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" also gets a lot of airtime - they sing it in the car with Julia and the big "dance" number with the kids and Susan in their house.

hilarious!

• -Julia's hair in this movie. Is it blonde? Is it brunette? Is it a bad dye job? Yes to all 3.

-Ed Harris. Sometimes I find his love story with Julia hard to believe, but then again this is called Stepmom. Emphasis on the mom.

-Susan toking up. Because we all know she does it in real life.

-"Don't touch me. You bring bad luck." -probably my favorite line in the movie.

-Julia getting a male "model" to make Anna's ex-bf jealous. This kid looks like he came from Home Improvement's 1989 set.

-Julia wanting to get her soon-to-be stepdaughter tickets to a Pearl Jam concert on a School Night! Susan says "Are you kidding?". Only to have Susan get the tickets and take her daughter anyway! Bam! Pearl Jam?? On a school night!#$! This movie is so hip! I love it.

Kim & Mickey

I really like this picture - I could stare at it for hours.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I was listening to Morning Edition on my drive to work and today is Handel's 250th anniversary of death. This got me thinking about how special this week is. And I'm not just saying that! Seriously! A lot of noteworthy events have happened during this small span of time (for the purposes of this post, small span of time=4/14-4/16). Below is a run-down of some of the things I find interesting:

4/15/1452: Leonardo da Vinci is born.

4/14/1863: The Donner party sets off on their year-long Western journey. What a crazy trip that was!

4/15/1889: Thomas Hart Benton (muralist) is born. The placement of his murals in universities and the Missouri State Capitol is something I've always liked because it takes away the "museum fatigue" that I generally feel - where I have to learn/appreciate all works really quickly in a really uptight setting. More realistically art should be a part of our lives in a public space. Also, I just love the look of his work.

4/15/1892: GE is formed. This surprised me. I guess everyone else knew GE was that old?

4/14/1863 - 4/15/1863: President Lincoln is shot at Ford's Theater and dies on the morning of the 15th. I have always felt a connection to him. This fact really spooked me when we went to visit Ford's Theater and the museum as a child.

4/16/1889: Charlie Chaplin is born. I've always been more interested in his life off-camera than his films.

4/14/1912-4/15/1912: The Titanic hits an iceberg and sinks on the morning of the 15th.

4/16/1912: Catherine Scorsese is born (aka Martin's mom). I just found this interesting. In the way that Martin Scorsese during the Last Waltz years fascinates me.



4/15/1924: Rand McNally publishes his first road atlas. Look how far they've come!

4/14/1925: John Singer Sargent dies. I'm reading this book, The Gardner Heist, and though I don't necessarily care for his work, he painted portraits of/was good friends with the museum's owner, Isabella Stewart Gardner. So shout-out to John!

4/16/1927: Joseph Ratzinger (aka Joey Ratz) (aka Pope Benedict XVI) is born. Let's be honest - he's no John Paul II, but still - a birthday shared with a Pope. Fun fact: John Paul II died on my sister's birthday (4/2).

4/15/1933: Elizabeth Montgomery (Samantha from Bewitched) is born. I love her!

4/15/1947: Jackie Robinson debuts for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Did anyone see the new Mets stadium, CitiField, last night? The Mets designed the new entrance of the field to look like the old Dodger field rotunda and have named it in honor of Robinson. From what I saw, I think CitiField looks better than the new Yankee Stadium.

4/15/1952: Heloise is born. I used to read her column in the N & O. Maybe it's even still there?

4/14/1956: Videotape is first demonstrated in Chicago.

4/16/1963: MLK Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail.

4/16/1965: Martin Lawrence is born. I share my birthday with true greatness.

4/15/1967: Dara Torres is born. She was the closest Olympian I could find.

4/14/1999: A severe hailstorm in Australia becomes their most costly natural disaster (over 1.4 billion US dollars). I can't believe this wasn't given more coverage. Or maybe it was and I wasn't listening.

4/14/2000: Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich files a lawsuit against Napster. Lars just cares about protecting the music people!

Quotable

"I'll be a soccer mom. Like Posh Spice. I'll be there in my heels cheering on my kids. 'Go, team, go!' But I'll have no idea what's going on." — Miley Cyrus, on where she'll be in 10 years.

G

I miss Gatorade X-Factor Lemon-Lime + Strawberry. I searched for it this weekend and didn't see it. Today I realize that's just because Gatorade has renamed it. The marketing geniuses have re-branded it "Be Tough". What the heck? As if "G" wasn't bad enough?? I loved saying "Please pass the X-Factor", now I've got to readjust to "Please pass the Be Tough?". Lame.

This is an interesting topic coming on the day of the NCAA championship. I noticed they've dropped "G" and instead VitaminWater is the beverage of NCAA choice. Is there a reason for the switch other than money?? It's a little disconcerting to see the VitaminWater jugs on the court - I'm scared Kelly Clarkson or 50 Cent are going to pop out and start pimpin' it.