You're not even getting those. Basically, all I've got for you are movie updates and memes. Because I'm exhausted.

2. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) - I liked it, but not nearly as much as Meet John Doe. That was just a better movie all around. This is a little too sappy, too self-consciously sweet, too naive. Did an America ever actually exist where this was at all possible? I can't believe people were ever this trusting and simple and singular, even in 1939. It's all too black and white. And I get that Capra never really went for realism and everything to him was one huge allegory and he always had a very idealized view of the world, but I guess this one just didn't work for me. Watch Meet John Doe instead. I know I've said that before, but it bears repeating. That's how good it is.

3. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - Not so much about war, as it is human nature and obsession. And men. Whoo boy, y'know so-called "chick flicks?" This is the exact opposite. There are a grand total of five women in this movie. Two are there solely to gaze longingly at William Holden, one to gaze longingly at the young kid on the mission with him, and the other two just carry the guns. It's good, and I love David Lean more with every movie I see by him, but I don't see myself watching this over and over again. It's all about power plays and stubborn priciples and other things I'm not fond of. And building a bridge. Maybe the end would have meant more to me if I hadn't already seen it hundreds of times in various GREAT FILMS MONTAGES, but oh well.

4. The Last Picture Show (1971) - Wow, there's a lot of sex and nudity in this movie. Not much goes on, so my brain had plenty of time to think that throughout this. Y'know how Hitchcock made "Psycho" in B&W on purpose to undercut the gore and make it not quite so graphic? I really think that's why this was in B&W, too, cause I don't know if they would have gotten away with all this in color back then. It's good, but sloooooooooooooooow. Not much happens, but you get to know the characters well. Goodness knows you're given more than enough time for that. This movie is a total downer. There is no comic relief, there aren't really any sympathetic characters, and it's a dreadfully dismal view of smalltown life. Make sure you've got a comedy to watch after this.

Man, I hope I start liking these movies more. I've got 13 left and only nine days in the month. I really don't think I'm going to make it, but I'll give it the old college try.



1. How old were you in 1980?
1.

2. How old were you in 1989?
10.

3. Were you a Toys R' Us kid?
Definitely. I can still sing far too much of that song.

4. Did you watch Transformers?
Not unless it was on at daycare. I wasn't that into it.

5. Did you see E.T. on the big screen?
Yep. Spent the entire movie alternately bored out of my skull and terrified. I still hate that movie.

6. Did you own a Lite Bright?
Nope, but my grandparents did and I played with it every chance I got.

7. Who is your Favorite Golden Girl?
Golden Girls are best appreciated as a gestalt. They each inform the other- subtract one and they are all diminished. That said, Bea Arthur is always good stuff. (AGREED ALL AROUND.)

8. When someone says "Who you gonna call?" You think?
"Ghostbusters". (WHAT ELSE WOULD ANYONE THINK?)

9.What was your favorite toy?
Legos! I'd build houses and multi-level lofts and apartments for hours.

10. Did you have a Pogo Ball?
I think so. If not, someone I knew did, and I played with it enough to remember it.

11. Did you listen to New Kids on the Block?
Embarressingly resounding YES.

12. What New Kid did you have a crush on?
Who was the youngest kid? Was he on Dancing With the Stars? Or something like that recently? That one. Though really I was more a Fred Savage/Chad Allen kinda girl.

13. Did you play M.A.S.H?
HELLS YES! Mansion/Apartment/Shack/House!

14. Did you watch The Care Bears?
Yep, and I loved the movies. CARE... BEAR... STAAAAAAAAAAAARE!

15. Did you have Jelly bracelets?
Yep, lots. I think they're still in a box somewhere.

16. Did you ever own a slap bracelet?
Many. If I can find them I'll send you one, king_duncan.

17. The Breakfast Club or Sixteen Candles?
Breakfast Club now, Sixteen Candles then.

18. Did you have a crazy hair style?
Awful pixie cut in 3rd grade, the occasional perm, and I think there was a bowl cut around 7th grade.

19. What was your first bike?
Purple! With stars! And rainbows! And silver streaks! AND UNICORNS. DON'T HATE ME BECAUSE I'M AWESOME.

20. Name one thing you still own from your childhood?
Only one? Hmmm, well, I still love my great-grandma blanket. It's more a quilt my great-grandma made for me with pink and white striped fabric printed with little Pinocchios (not the Disney one, but an old fashioned Pinocchio) and tied with baby blue yarn. It's the closest thing I ever had to a security blanket.

21. Did you have a Cabbage Patch Kid?
Yep, two. Theodora Marna and Humphrey Lorenzo, but I used to pretend Humprey was a girl with short hair and call them Kate & Ally.

22. Rainbow Brite or Strawberry Shortcake?
I liked Strawberry Shortcake, but my Rainbow Brite doll got hauled everywhere with me for a while. I think she even had dinner at the Oak Tree with us once, and that was an unusual honor for a doll. I loved that show and that doll. I recently saw an episode for the first time in years, and the only way an adult could have come up with that was in the midst of extensive drug use.

23. Did you watch Miami Vice?
Never.

24. Did you own a Trapper Keeper?
Every year. (HELLS YES.)

25. Atari or Nintendo?
Dad had an Atari I was barely allowed to touch, but my first game system was a Nintendo 8-bit complete with Duck Hunt gun and Power Pad.

26. Did you play Pac-Man?
Yep. Ms. Pacman was better, though. (AGREED.)

27. Which was better: Jem and The Holograms or Barbie and The Rockers?
Barbie, of course. I had the Barbie & The Rockers niteclub stage. it was pink with a black and pink neon cardboard backdrop, and there were these stands you could put the dolls in to make them dance. I had one of the Rockers, too, the redheaded Hispanic one? Deirdre? Diva? And one of Ken's friends who was in the band, I think his name was Derek?

28. He-Man or She-Ra?
She-Ra. I watched He-Man everyday just cause it was on after The Brady Bunch, but I had She-Ra dolls. Cat-Ra got her ass kicked regularly, but she did have the cooler outfit.

29. What movie scared you the most?
I think I saw Poltergeist when I was five at my cousins' house. I still haven't seen a single Freddy movie and have only seen the 3D Jason movie cause Mister Sinus did it at the Drafthouse. Not so much a horror fan.

30. Did you try to dance like Michael Jackson?
I think even "Thriller" scared me. I've always been a wuss.

31. What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "flux capacitor?"
Coffee grounds! Banana peels! Power!

32. What other colors did Pepsi come in?
"Clear" I remember. I think it was blue for a while. (Also red. Remember the Crystal Gravy parody commercial from SNL?)

33. Roger Rabbit Or Howard The Duck?
Roger Rabbit all the way. I saw that in the theatre.

34. Did you ever beg your parents to have your school picture taken with the 'LASER' background?
I don't think we had that as an option. (I don't think we did, either.)

35. Do you know what the Ninja Rap is?
No idea.

36. Do you know why people cringe when they hear the word BUCKNER?
No idea.

37. Can you name the family members from National Lampoons Vacation movies?
Clark, Rusty, um... that crazy Scientologist, and didn't the mom have Al Pacino's baby or something?

38. Did you have pump sneakers?
Nope. No interest. But Chris Rock's pump turkey parody commercial from SNL sticks in my mind more than those shoes. I watched a lot of SNL.

39. Did you own HYPER COLOR shirts?
I had at least one, and yes, they were kind of silly.

40. Did you watch Smurfs?
HELL YES I WATCHED SMURFS. (ME TOO.)



A) Four jobs I have had in my life (other than current job):
Nanny, Purse-carrier for Debra Winger, Supermarket Check-Out girl, Countermonkey.

B.) Four movies I would watch over and over:
When Harry Met Sally, An Affair to Remember, The Jerk, and Bridget Jones' Diary.

C.) Four places I have lived:
Oakland, Austin, Sugar Land, Brentwood.

D.) Four TV shows that I watch:
Doctor Who, What Not to Wear, No Reservations, Torchwood.

E.) Four places I have been:
Puerto Rico, Muncie IN, Whistler BC, Lincoln NB.

F.) Four people who e-mail me (regularly):
Mom, Dad, Annette, Liz.

G.) Four of my favourite foods:
Fried chicken, lasagna, carnitas, Chuychangas.

H. ) Four places I would rather be right now:
Disneyland, Progress Coffee in Austin, anywhere in Houston, my aunt's house in Castro Valley.

J.) Four Things I am looking forward to this year:
Family dinner at some point after Becky's graduation, Dublin & Paris with Marie in October, Thanksgiving with the Gertons, and Christmas at home.

K.) Four favourite authors:
Edith Wharton, LM Montgomery, Jane Austen, Jasper Fforde.

L.) Four songs or artists on your iPod that you just listened to:
Just this morning there was Pulp, Johnny Mercer, Radiohead, and Shiela Nicholls.

M.) Four things I love doing:
Reading, cooking, going to Disneyland, playing games.

N.) Four things i dislike doing:
Cleaning, working out, packing, unpacking.

O.) Four favorite animals:
Dogs, bunnies, people, ducks.

P.) Four favorite drinks:
Milk, cream soda, tea in almost any form except herbal, and rum & pineapple juice.

There was an Oscars meme from mondaysabitch but I cut it cause I realized I've only seen one or two movies in each category if that. I'm not even planning on watching them. I'll be at Disneyland. I'm a bad moviegoer this year.