The scariest things I've ever encountered...

I love scary things. Scary movies are always at the top of my list and the scarier the better. I am most scared by those that are either so creepily real - as in strangers coming to the door to terrorize you - or those that are riddled with unexplained psychic phenomena - ghosts, demons, devils and what not. Slasher movies I can take or leave. Some of them have good pop up scare moments but overall they do not scare me. I find most of them numbingly stupid. Creating a scary movie that has the right balance of good scares, good acting and a good story line is difficult.

In real life, I admit I get anxious over some things that others might find scary. Really bad weather, for instance. When there is an imminent danger of severe weather, high winds and possible tornadoes, I get a little wiggy. But that's not really scary, just anxiety provoking. However, there have been two occasions in my life where I can say I was honestly and sincerely frightened and both times, while likely easily explained, appeared to be happening because of unexplained phenomenon.

The first incident happened when I was living at home with my mother. I had returned from living in Chicago and for a short time I lived at home again until I could get a job and save some money to move out into my own place. My room was downstairs, adjacent to my Mom's kitchen and quite isolated from the rest of the house - the living room and other bedrooms - upstairs. I had a little dog named Dudley at the time and he would always sleep with me in my bed at night. Some nights, if I was lying on my side, Dudley would choose to curl up in the crook my bent knee at my backside. One night I was awakened when I felt some pressure at my bent knees as if Dudley was pushing against them. I moved my knees back in irritation and told him to move. I continued to feel the pressure and then realized I was also hearing something in my room. The sound was faint but sounded like a thousand whispering voices. They whispers were so low I couldn't understand what they were saying but they started to get a little louder each time the pushing on my knees became more intense. Finally, the pressure on my knees was very hard. Much harder than my little dog could ever have done and the whispers were louder and faster and sounded menacing. With one great push I shouted, "Get off me!" still thinking it was Dudley. Suddenly I saw that Dudley was lying next to me, in front, with his head on my pillow. He was behind me at all. I sat bolt upright. If he was in front of me, who was pushing my legs so strongly. Immediately, the whispers stopped. I did not hesitate but leaped from my bed and scrambled upstairs to my Mom's room! I wasn't a child when this happened, I was in my late 20s but that incident freaked me out!

The second incident happened when I had moved into my current apartment. I was sleeping soundly or so I thought. I suddenly felt like there was something watching me - something physically present in my room with me and whatever it was was watching me. I opened my eyes and saw a little man standing right next to my bed, his face at my eye level. I could barely breathe! He just stood there looking at me, cocking his head from side to side as if I was some kind of curiosity. Then he reached out and tried to touch my face. I jumped up in my bed and he was gone! Again, totally freaked out! I had no idea what or who that was or if it was real or not but it sure felt real at the time.

Years later, I was reading a science article on sleeping and what keeps people from getting a good nights sleep. There was a section on "Sleep paralysis". It is a moment you get caught in somewhere between deep sleep and wakefulness where your body is actually still unable to move. People who experience this often report feeling as though someone or something is holding them down and they also report seeing and hearing strange phenomenon in their bedrooms. There are reports of people seeing children playing in their rooms and having conversations with them. One report I read was of a man who was paralyzed as he watched a strange man walk through his room picking up objects and looking at them. The man walked out of the room before the sleeper could fully awake and his recollection was so "real" he actually reported a burglary to the police. Of course, nothing was found because there was nothing really there to begin with. I know, from having read the article, that what I experienced was more than likely sleep paralysis. But I also know that the experience was so real to me that both incidents scared me thoroughly! My mind created two very real phenomenon for me and both times I did not want to go back into my bedroom! Now that's scary!!

Guilty Pleasures....

So my last blog was about those simple things that I like that make me happy. Now, I want to tell you about my guilty pleasures. You know, the things we all like that we probably shouldn't because they're either bad for us, stupid or completely embarrassing when other people find out about them. Since I have no shame, I'm going to tell you all about mine!

1. The Learning Channel - Now, it has to be noted that The Learning Channel has long since stopped being anything close to educational and they've become the channel that gives TV shows to just about anyone that's just a little off kilter, if you know what I mean. It all started with the Gosselin's - that horrible family with the 8 kids. Then since 8 was not enough, they added the Duggars, who's reproductive activity is somewhat disturbing at this point. Then all hell broke lose or something because there are no rhyme or reason to the shows TLC was putting out there. If you were a midget baker/doctor/chocolate maker, you got a show. If you were a gypsy tough girl in a pink tulle gown that weighed 90 pounds and you were marrying your first cousin, you got a show. If you forced your not so talented or good looking toddler into pageants so you could make them up to look like Pamela Anderson, you got a show. And I was there, through it, watching each and every one of you! I know I should be embarrassed to tell anyone this but I know way more about all of these people I just mentioned that anyone should know. I'm just that guilty!

2. My office mates pretzels -  Now, pretzels are not really a guilty pleasure but they are when your office mate brings in an enormous bag of them and puts them in the fine cabinet in our office. And they are if every time she leaves the office you each in a get a handful to munch on. And they are if, because you don't want her to know you've been doing this, you carefully calculate about how many you can take without her catching on. Yeah, I'm guilty of doing that.

3. Really stupid comedies - There are some movies out there that are so incredibly stupid but for some reason I will always stop to watch them if they're on TV. Case in point, Dodgeball: The Movie. This is one of the dumbest comedies out there. It's about a gym that forms a Dodgeball team to compete in the professional Dodgeball league in order to win money to save the gym. It stars Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller. And it's one of the funniest movies I've ever seen, mostly because of the dumb jokes. I watch it every time and I laugh out loud. My favorite part? Jason Bateman doing the "color" commentary during the finals. Yep, I'm guilty!

4. Facebook Games - I'm throwing this into the ring because I know that some people on Facebook hate and despise the games and the game requests that come with it. I've seen the tirades. Eh...I say, get over it. Delete the requests and get on with your life already. I, however, play many games on Facebook and I like it. It all started with Farmville (the free dose of crack the dealer gives you to get you hooked...). I was a great virtual farmer but the constant having to feed those animals or harvest those crops on a deadline was too much. I've left my farms abandoned and probably over run with squatters. I played Mafia Wars for a while but that was just silly. Couldn't really get into it. Then came the word games. I still play them with a select few.  What I really like are the bubble popping games and, right now, I'm completely addicted to Candy Crush Saga. I'm stuck at Level 153 and it's starting to piss me off! Yeah, I'm guilty! I like playing the games, so sue me!

5. Eating weird stuff and calling it dinner - Before I was married I used to do this alot more. I would make a bowl of instant mashed potatoes and that would be dinner. Or I would eat a couple of pieces of KFC and call it dinner - no sides, no nothing - just chicken. Once in a while, I will still do the chicken thing but only after making some dinner deal with Alex so he has something to eat too. I don't know...sometimes I just don't feel like cooking and a bowl of mashed potatoes sounds perfectly fine to me! So I'm guilty!

Hmmm, that's about all I can think of right now. I'm sure there are many more. If I think of any I'll let ya know!

More movie reviews....

Today was a good one. I had a most pleasing do nothing kind of Saturday. I watched my beloved Packers beat the tar out of the Vikings which was awesome, I must say. Then I sat back and had a mini-movie marathon. So here's what I watched...

Pitch Perfect - A somewhat rebel wannabe DJ goes to college and has to stay one year and get involved in something before her Dad will let her move to LA to become famous. So she joins an accapella group and the comedy begins! Actually, this film wasn't so bad. It was lighthearted and there was singing so it's hard to hate it! And it had Rebel Wilson in it who is a quirky Aussie import who can be very funny. This is a good movie to watch when you just want something that's not going to make you think too hard.

Looper - Of course, I liked this movie - it has Joseph Gordon Levitt in it, for crying out loud! LOL But actually, it had a pretty good plot AND Bruce Willis. It takes place in 2044. Time travel has been invented but its immediately outlawed and is now used by criminals to get rid of their "problems" in the future. They send the bad guy back to 2044 and the "looper" is waiting for him. He shoots him immediately and dumps the body. Since the body is from the future, no one is really looking for him anyway. Well, there's a really bad buy in the future called The Rainman and he starts sending the loopers back to 2044. Meaning the loopers older versions of themselves are returning, getting shot and ultimately cutting off their own future. It's called Closing the Loop. So, this is what happens to Joseph Gordon Levitt except in the future he grows up to be Bruce Willis and, well, you know Bruce Willis isn't going to go quietly! He wants to get back to the future so to speak so he decides what he has to do is kill the Rainman in the year 2044 when he is only a child and then none of this will actually happen. Yeah, I know...it's hard to follow and it was at times but it all came around in the end and it was pretty exciting too. Not a bad film at all!

Detachment - I saved the best for last. I picked this movie up on a whim and I can honestly say this is one of the best films I've seen in a long, long time. Brilliantly written, brilliantly directed and brilliantly acted. Adrian Brody stars as a substitute teacher who tries to live his life unattached emotionally from anyone and anything. Through his time at a failing school, where the tests scores are so low they're impacting the very survival of the school, where some teachers are disillusioned and barely hanging on while others are still trying to make a difference we see how easy it is to become alienated and isolated from one another even when we are in the same room. In spite of his attempts, he cannot NOT feel and it's only when he faces his hollow self that he finds redemption. It's beautiful and brilliant. I think Adrian Brody is one of the best actors around these days and he's flanked by other great performances by James Caan, Marcia Gay Hardin, Lucy Liu and others. You cannot watch this film without thinking. And you cannot walk away without feeling. Brilliant!

So that was this weekends bunch of movie rentals! All in all, a very good Saturday!

Movies, movies, movies...

Last night I kicked back and watched some movies that I'd been wanting to see for various reasons. Here are my reviews...

The Watch - Okay, one question - how can a film that has Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill not be funny? I mean, it's supposed to be funny. They meant for it to be funny. This film is not funny. Not in the least. I can't even think of one tiny little part that made me chuckle, even a little. The story could have been a good one. Four doofuses come together to start a neighborhood watch and fight crime in their neighborhood. But it takes a turn when aliens become involved, and there's an orgy, and peeing in beer can, and a side story about Vaughn's daughter and it all just goes to hell really quickly. Pass this stinker up. Even if it's on TBS at 3am.

TED - Okay, this is another movie that I have heard people raving about so I had very high expectations for this one. Seth McFarlane, he of many voices who is sometimes funny, is at the helm of this one and he is the voice of Ted, a teddy bear who comes to life when the boy who loves him makes a magic wish. Fast forward to the boy and the bear as adults and they are pot smoking, beer guzzling lovable losers who are struggling to figure out how an adult can have a teddy bear as a best friend and still be a responsible adult. Mark Wahlberg does a decent job as the grown up boy, mostly because he always has that "who me?" look on his face. I have to admit there were some funny parts in this film and it wasn't a total loss. All in all, TED was worth the rental fee.

Premium Rush - I'm going to go on the record and tell you that I am a huge Joseph Gordon Levitt fan. My husband and friends call him my "celebrity crush" and I guess their right. I will not let that slant my review of this movie. Premium Rush is about a bike messenger who is given a delivery in New York that has to be to Chinatown by 7pm. He has no idea what this small envelope contains but almost as soon as he picks it up there's trouble. Seems many people, especially a bad NY detective, want that envelope. There are many exciting chase scenes in this film. Bikes are flying through traffic at break neck speed and it did get my heart pumping to watch it. The story is good and the acting was even better but the director does this thing about jumping back and forth between times in the day to set up the whole story that it just becomes annoying. After a while I just wanted to see what happened and wasn't giving a damn about the whole set up. The ending, with Gordon-Levitt making the delivery with the aid of about a thousand messenger buddies, was handled pretty well and wasn't melodramatic. Overall, I enjoyed this film. Story was good and the pace was exciting except for the constant back and forth between times. Well worth watching though.

So that's what I did with my Friday night. I like having those nights when I can sit back and watch a slew of movies, one right after the other. A good way to spend an evening!

More movie reviews...

This past weekend I was a slug. I felt like I had a cold coming on so I stayed, was super lazy and watched movies. It was really hit and miss with movies I chose but here goes:

Dark Shadows -
Okay, okay, if you weren't a kid in the 70s this movie means nothing to you. I mean, it's not like Dark Shadows, the TV series, has had the benefit of being played in syndication the way shows like "The Brady Bunch" or "Charlie's Angels" has. It hasn't been given a chance to gain a new, younger following so, of course, it really only has an appeal to die hard Johnny Depp/Tim Burton fans and those of us who remember how much fun it was to pretend to be sick and stay home from school to watch the original. In those days, Barnabas Collins was the much misunderstood brooding vampire of Collinswood and, long before Edward Cullen, he stole the hearts of teen age girls and, I dare say, housewives everywhere. In the Tim Burton movie of the same name, Barnabas is reawakened in the 1970s and Collinswood, his beloved home, is inhabited by the ragtag remnants of his family. I can't say this movie was hilarious but there were some really funny moments and one liners that might have been funny only to a fan of the original. The plot, Barnabas returns to restore his family and the family fishing business to their rightful place, lagged toward the end but, overall, I actually like this one. I'm a fan of Tim Burton and his wild imagination and, yes, there were spots where the premise was thin...really thin...but it was weird and funny and nostalgic all at the same time. I'm glad I didn't blow money seeing this in the theatre but it was worth the rental.

Red Lights -
I saw the preview of this in the theatre and thought it looked good and then it never really went anywhere. Truth is, this is a pretty damn good movie! Sigourney Weaver plays a doctor of parapsychology who goes around debunking psychics. She's a non-believer. Her sidekick, played by Cillian Murphy, helps her "out" faith healers but he has something inside that makes him wonder if any of it could be true. Enter Simon Silver, played by Robert DeNiro, a blind psychic who comes out of a self imposed retirement. He went into retirement after rumors that he caused one of his detractors death but now returns for a few shows and agrees, for the first time, to allow psychic testing to determine whether he's a fake or not. This film has some great moments and even greater performances. And it has a nice twist at the end that I really didn't see coming. I don't know why this movie didn't do better at the box office. Maybe it was just a tad too sophisticated for the summer movie goers. I recommend this one!

Rock of Ages -
Oh. My. God. Do NOT under any circumstances rent this movie. Don't even watch it if someone gives it to you. This is the worst movie I have ever seen in my life and I have seen a LOT of stinkers. The music, hair metal music from the 80s, is okay. The performances are abysmal. I can still smell them and I watched them two days ago. The story is the same as A Star Is Born or Burlesque or any of that genre - small town girl moves to LA to be a star, meets a boy, gets a job, runs into trouble in the business due to her naivety, and in the end, saves the day.  The lead girl/woman is the chick from the recent remake of Footloose and was on Dancing with the Stars - don't know her name, don't care. The boy/man is someone I've never heard of and probably won't ever hear of again. Alec Baldwin, wearing a very bad mullet wig, owns a joint that's supposed to the the hottest rock bar in LA. Russell Brand, in his own horrible hair, is his business partner/lover. (They sing a duet and kiss. Seriously.) Catherine Zeta-Jones is the Bible thumping wife of the mayor who turns out to be a past groupie of the main rocker character, Stacee Jaxx. I saved the best for last. Stacee Jaxx is played by Tom Cruise and it's the creepiest, weirdest, most unfunny, overtly perverted performance I have ever seen. Even for Tom Cruise! Put them all together, and you have the madness and bucket of vomit called Rock of Ages. Yikes!!

Cabin in the Woods -
I was looking for the movie Chernobyl Diaries but it was not available so my Plan B was Cabin in the Woods. I'm glad for it too! I was so pleasantly surprised but this unique take on the horror movie format of five friends going for a weekend to a deserted lake cabin! Seriously, I had no idea how entertaining this was going to be. It wasn't at all like I thought it would be and, unfortunately, I can't really give away too much of the plot without giving away the utter coolness of this film. You'll have to see it for yourself. Suffice it to say that there are some good scares and lots of screaming. The ensemble cast of mostly new names is excellent and the writing is really good. Very entertaining, enjoyable, scary yet funny and a really good time! I recommend this one too!

But trust me on the Rock of Ages thing....seriously. Trust me!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly or I'm Getting Pretty Cautious When Spending Money on a Movie

We went to see "Cowboys and Aliens" tonight. The experience of this led me to write this blog entry. You see, we don't go out to movies very often unless it's something we really want to see for one reason or another. Sometimes we see things because we are interested in the genre, like Insidious or Paranormal Activity. We love horror films and so we'll pay the $9 to see them...sometimes. Other times we see things because we hear the film is a stinker but it's fun to watch simply because it's such a stinker. For example, The Devil...now that was a stinker but so over the top predictable and goofily stereotypical it became campy and it was funny, though unintentionally funny at that.

So, Cowboys and Aliens. I have to say I had high hopes for this movie. Starring Daniel Craig and Harrison Ford, it already had promise. I saw the trailer in the theater and thought, "This has potential!" I was hoping for camp, some humor - I mean, c'mon, there are cowboys and there are aliens and that could be a wonderfully humorous mix. What I got was a cowboy movie with ALL of the stereotypes in it that takes itself WAY too seriously. No campy jokes, no humorous takes, no innuendo. Just straight up die hard cowboys, each with their own BORING story, trying to fight aliens. I kept waiting for more alien action because, frankly, when the aliens were attacking that was the only time anything interesting ever really happened in this film. However, when you actually get to see the aliens running around - they are the most non-scary aliens ever. They are the visual equivalent of giant toads with tiny baby heads and little, itty bitty hands with three toes on them. The actors in this film do a good job with what they got. Daniel Craig is suitably broody with his steely blue eyes. Harrison Ford is adequately gruff as the weather worn war hero turned cattle man with an attitude. Everyone else, the spectacle wearing saloon owner, the wimpy cattle man's son, the adopted Indian who adores the cattle man, the tired out Sheriff - they all do their part and do it well but it never really gives them teeth or anything to work toward. This film, directed by Jon Favreau, is a stinker! I should have waited for it to come out on Netflix and saved the $9.

So that was the Bad and the $9 is the Ugly. For two of us, $18 to get in the theater. Two small popcorns and two medium Cokes later was another $18. $36 just like that. OUCH!!! That is ugly!!

So the Good...well, the good happened last week. We went to see Horrible Bosses starring Jason Bateman, Jason Sudeikis, and Charlie Day. It also stars Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Spacey and Colin Farrell (in a role I did not even recognize him in!). I have to tell you that I rarely go see comedy movies in the theatre. One, they usually aren't funny and, two, the crowd is usually full of people who think they are in their own living room and talk to the screen. This film was hilarious! I can't remember the last time I actually laughed out loud at a movie. This one had me rolling. The premise is three guys who hate their bosses and decide to kill them off but they will kill each others bosses, not their own. These three could not kill a fly with a hand gun so they "hire" a pro who takes their money only to give them tips rather than do it himself. (Jamey Fox in a hysterical role!) Just let me say the next series of circumstance, one after another, each one funnier than the last, makes this movie worth paying to see. Jason Bateman is great as the deadpanned mastermind. Jason Sudeikis is funny as the horny sidekick who keeps letting himself stray off the path. But the one that really made me laugh was Charlie Day. I've never seen this guy in anything else and he was so damn funny. There's a scene involving cocaine which he accidentally spills and then start cleaning it up that just cracks me up even thinking about it! Anyway, this was a good one. Well worth the cash and definitely a hit with me!

Movie Review: The Expendables

So, last night, Alex and I went to see The Expendables. If you haven't seen the trailer, it is a film written by Sylvester Stallone, starring Sylvester Stallone and a host of other larger than life characters, primarily Jet Li, Steve Austen, Jason Statham, Mickey Rourke, Dolph Lundgren and Eric Roberts. Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger also show up in this movie.

To say the dialogue is hackneyed is an understatement but who goes to a Stallone film for the riveting dialogue. The acting is laughable but then who cares when you have the greatest action movie heroes assembled in one movie! Lots of things get "blowed up" real good. And many, many, MANY people get shot. And even more people get their ass kicked repeatedly. The plot, what there is of it, is thin as last weeks soup. But again, lots of things get "blowed up" real good so who cares about the plot.

Okay, here's the plot in a nutshell. Stallone et al are The Expendables, a gang of aging mercenaries that can still kick all kinds of international ass. Mickey Rourke is "Tool" (no kidding, that's his name) who runs the garage/art studio/tattoo place that they all hang out in. He's retired, as he will tell us in a touching monologue filmed in SUPER CLOSE UP! No one should ever film Mickey Rourke in SUPER CLOSE UP but there it is. The group gets hired by Bruce Willis to go to an island called Vilena to kill off some kind of General and a drug lord. I have no idea who played the General but Eric Roberts was the drug lord. So, after a lot of preliminary and mostly unnecessary bruhaha off they go. Oh, in an earlier, inconsequential "job" it is established that Dolph Lundgren is a drug addicted, not to be trusted Expendable. The reason this is important is because he later gets hired to kill Stallone and, well, let's say he fails and later has a chance to redeem himself. Schwarzenegger should have just stayed home and not made his "cameo" as a rival "tough guy" mercenary Willis is also considering hiring for this job. Compared to Willis and Stallone, he looked like a good strong breeze would have knocked him over. I get the joke, why he was in this, but seriously - not good. Let's talk about the line delivery...when the General, who had a very bad Spanish (I think) accent is one of the only people you can understand, you know there are problems! There was so much mumble mouthing through this movie I couldn't begin to tell you what anyone was saying. It's just as well because the few lines I did hear were so laughable! Anyway, lots of stuff gets "blowed up" real good and the good guys prevail and, at the end of the day, as stupid as this movie is, a good time was had by all.

So, my personal favorite moments in this film:
1. Dolph Lundgren - He is just the best crazy person ever. Mostly because he is really a crazy person. And he's Swedish. So, yeah, there's that too.

2. Jet Li - There's one scene where they show Jet Li reacting to what just went on before and he just rolls his eyes and sighs heavily. I got the feeling that he was actually reacting to the realization that he was actually IN this movie at all. I think his agent got a sternly worded voice mail after this one! But he did have the coolest, most EW moment in one fight. Statham is holding down this bad guy and Li round houses and bring his foot down on the guys face and his head snaps back in a most unnatural fashion with a loud CRACK noise. The audience all went EWWWWW!!

3. Mickey Rourke - C'mon, it's Mickey Freaking Rourke!! That man has lived a thousand lives and is still the most intriguing, coolest weirdo on the face of the planet!

Overall, as I said, stupid movie but FUN FUN FUN. It was like a ride at Disney World but without the annoying animatronics. Or the creepy singing children. If you want some fun, don't want anything that will make you think...then this is the one for you!

Going it alone...

I watched the movie "Amadeus" the other night. I've seen it a thousand times. That movie holds one special significance for me. It is the only movie I have ever gone to see at the theatre...alone.

Growing up in Kenosha, going to a movie without at least one other person, was just not heard of! Most of the time, if there were people sitting alone in a movie the assumption was that they were somehow creepy and to be avoided. But when I was older and living and Chicago and looking for something to do, "Amadeus" came out and so I went.

As I recall, I was actually nervous! But, as I also recall, it was kind of nice being there, getting my popcorn, a soda and finding my perfect seat without having to make sure someone else was also comfortable. Getting to the theatre was a trip too! It was the first time I rode the el train alone. So the whole evening was a milestone for me!

The funny thing is, when I moved back to Kenosha, I never went to another movie alone. Those old, die-hard feelings and assumptions are still there. But then again, I can't think of any recent movie that I I feel is even worth paying money to see lately. Now I just wait for the crap to come out on Netflix.

Nuttin' much going on...

I haven't written much of anything lately because nothing much has been going on. I've been reading... another Wallander mystery and, yes, I've succumbed to peer pressure and started the Twilight series. I wouldn't be reading Twilight at all except my sister surprised me over the weekend with the FULL SET of books because she knows I like vampires. I just really hated the movie so...eh...I'll give the books a shot. Considering they're written for ninth graders I'm whizzing through the first one pretty fast.

I finally watched The Wrestler. Quite depressing but ultimately good. It was good seeing Mickey Rourke again. I always thought he was a good actor and he doesn't disappoint in this one either.

I also watched a couple of really good documentaries. The first was called Jupiter's Wife about a woman named Maggie who is clearly mentally ill. She was living in Central Park with her dogs. The documentary digs into her life which was quite remarkable. She was the first female carriage driver in Central Park and gained some celebrity because of it. She exists on the kindness of Park Avenue big wigs who remember her from her past. It's a touching and haunting story.

The other was Who The #$&% is Jackson Pollock? This was a very entertaining and true saga of a 74 year old truck driver who buys a painting at a junk shop for $5. It turns out it could be an authentic Jackson Pollock but the art snobby muckity mucks won't hear of it. She gets forensic evidence (a finger print on the painting that matches one in Pollock's own studio and one on an already authenticated Pollock) but they still won't hear it. She gets offered millions of dollars for the painting but won't sell because she is determined to make them eat crow. She's a real character too. Swears a blue streak and takes no shit from anyone!

That's about it. It's back to work and it's just as well. Though it was sunny here today tomorrow is supposed to be cloudy again so I might as well be in an office!

Oi, me achin' head....

So last night Alex and I decided to have a quiet night at home. We rented a couple of movies. "Tropic Thunder" with Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. I have to admit I laughed out loud at this one. Robert Downey Jr. in particular was funny as hell as the Oscar winning "method" actor from Australia who gets pigment changing treatments in order to play an African American Viet Nam soldier. Not very PC but the dialogue between him and the real Afircan American actor is priceless. The other movie we rented was "The Strangers" with Liv Tyler. This is a truly frightening film and if you like scary movies this is one to rent. We'd seen it in the theatre when it was released but it was just as scary the second time around.

Alex made a fantastic dinner - gnocchi with a great mushroom and onion sauce! We had many, many drinks. Too many to mention...really. All I can say about that is the amount of vodka consumed made playing Super Mario Kart on the Wii a truly funny experience. I ended up driving off the courses into the water or off a cliff over and over again. I think I was dead last in almost all the races we did.

The evening ended with us pretty much falling into bed, still laughing and fast asleep before we knew it. It was nice enough to have the window open a bit which was great! I love sleeping with the window open! And frankly, after all that vodka I needed the fresh air!

This morning my vision is a little blurry and my head is throbbing a bit but it was worth it. I had a great time just being silly and having fun. I don't know if Alex faired so well but I'm sure whatever he remembers of it will be good memories! Haha!

So another week is due to begin...

It took me awhile to wind down from last week. This week will prove to be just as horrible. I decided to spend the weekend doing something that took no thought, was for shear pleasure and might be mildly amusing. It was time for some scary movies.

I rented a bunch and settled in. The first I watched was "Shutter" which was a pretty typical ghostie story that takes place in Japan ala "The Grudge". It wasn't all that interesting and not even very entertaining. The second was "Prom Night" which I chose because I knew it would be a bunch of high school kids getting offed in various gory ways. In this it did not disappoint. It wasn't that scary but I sure didn't have to think about it. I took a break from the would be scares to watch "Kinsey". This wasn't a bad film it just became tedious after a while. It's about the Kinsey report, of course, and all the research and head ache that went with it. After a while, I wanted to shout "Okay! I get it! It was groundbreaking!" and move on.

I have one more movie to watch but I haven't been able to bring myself to watch it. I know it's bound to be horrible. It's something called "Dead Clowns". But here's why I got it in the first place. I hate, loathe and despise clowns. I always have. I have some weird clown phobia. There's just something truly creepy and unlikeable about them. They give me nightmares. So I'm thinking watching a zombie clown movie might be a sort of therapy. Maybe I can face this illogical fear head on and get over it. Maybe. Or maybe it will send me right over the edge. I still haven't decided whether or not to watch this thing but I have until Thursday to decided. That's when they're due back at the store.

M. Night Shyamalan has lost it...

Last night we went out to see The Happening. I was anticipating interesting, if not good, things from this film. I find that there is something about most M. Night Shyamalan films that I like even if the films themselves aren't the best. The Happening, however, was a total waste of time and money. It was a snore from the get go and just got worse as the time went on. I think even Mr. Shyamalan knew this was a stinkwad because he suddenly introduced a crazy lady character in the middle of the film who served no purposed (except to give the audience the best death scene of the night...and even that's not saying much) and just took up some time in the middle making the entire viewing event seem torturously long. I get Shyamalan's point we are killing the earth and it's pissed off. But seriously, rustling trees and soft wind are NOT scary no matter how loudly the heroine screams when the wind blows. The whole idea of plants blowing some evolved toxin on us was just silly. Couldn't we just get a gas mask and foil their evil plot! Would staying inside keep us alive? Damn those oak trees! Damn them to hell! Skip this one. Don't even bother to rent it.

We stopped and rented some movies on the way home.
George Romero's Diary of the Dead - Yeah! More flesh eating zombies!
Funny Games - Just plain creepy and very, very good!

How many scarey movies can we see? Let's count them...

Alex and I are nuts for scary movies. We rented a load of them and have been creeping ourselves out nightly! Here's a list of what we've watched so far...


1. 1408 - creepy, creepy, creepy.
2. Darkroom - um, not so scary. Kind of boring and bad really.
3. Mortuary - oozy stuff from a mortuary makes the dead come alive. Ew...
4. Cloverfield - the best of the lot. Very good!
5. Black Xmas - sorority girls get slaughtered. What's not to love about this?
6. One Missed Call - couldn't even finish this one. It was that bad.
7. Day of the Dead - ooh, yeah. Zombies rule!
8. Hannibal Rising - not really scary but I'm a sucker for 'ol Hannibal Lechter. He's such a crazy misunderstood cannibal.
9. I'm Not There - okay, fooled ya! Not a horror movie. Just a damn great movie about Bob Dylan with Dylan music made in a very thoughtful way. Very good flick!

Lest you think all we've done is watch movies, here's a couple of pics to prove otherwise.

The first is Alex sitting in deep thought at Harbor Park.


And here he is asking for information about a guitar.

Cripes oh mighty...

Last night was a wing doozy! I'm still fighting this cold which has now been reduced to an annoying throat tickle that sends me into fits of coughing. Last night there was little sleep to be had. I coughed so much that I finally gave up sleep altogether and sat out in the living room on the couch for an hour. That was at 5:30am. I tried sleep again once I felt the cough subside and managed to doze off at around 7am. The next thing I knew it was 4:00pm and I'd slept the entire day away! Normally I wouldn't mind that except that Alex leaves for Sweden on Saturday so these last few days are very precious indeed.

We did manage to get out and get some McD's for dinner and then off to see "Sweeney Todd" which we missed the night before. We missed it the night before because dinner at the Roadhouse took too long but it was well worth it. So, all was not lost. We did have a great time after all.

Only one more full day and he's off again. I hate even thinking about it. It makes my heart hurt very, very much. I'm jealous that he's going back to Stockholm without me. I long to live there so badly. I'm sure there has to be a way but not being independently wealthy I haven't thought of it yet. Thank god for phones and computers and Skype... they keep us hanging in there but they are a very cheap substitute for the real thing.