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.

( 80s meme from king_duncan: )

( Meme of Four from King_duncan: )

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.

Anyone else instantly think Pippi Longstocking whenever they see the sticking out red braids in those new Wendy's ads? I always wonder what she's doing all over American TV, and then people start talking about burgers.

Have y'all heard of DailyLit? It's free, and they email you entire novels in daily installments. I'm excited about it. First up: Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow. Sweet.

From mondaysabitch:

Random Joy

1. What's your favourite tv talk show? Talk show? Hmmm. Larry Sanders, probably. There's not really one I watch regularly. Fernwood Tonight hasn't been on in years, so I guess that's not in the running.

2. Do you like crackers in your soup? Sometimes. Depends on the soup. But never animal.

3. How much does money motivate you? In terms of choosing my job? Very little. I'd rather enjoy what I do. Of course, if I couldn't support myself doing what I enjoy, I would be motivated to get something that paid enough for me to live on, but left enough time free that I could still do much of what I like.

4. Do you have a garden? (For bonus points: Is it a secret? :P) Heehee, nope. But I like the question.

5. Do you enjoy the traditional Thanksgiving dinner (turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, etc.)? Does your family have any other food-related traditions for this season? Definitely! I love turkey, dressing (stuffing is EVIL,) green bean casserole, gravy, and pumpkin, apple, and pecan pies! Porcupine meatballs, beef stew, and taco bake are popular dishes in my family when the weather turns colder and we want something warm and comforting.

Maybe it's just nice to always be reminded that reading is fun. Am rereading GWTW right now. I have no idea what time this is... third, fourth? I dunno. But I love it.

From king_duncan:

These are the top 106 books most often marked as "unread" by LibraryThing's users (as of today). As usual, bold what you have read, italicize those you started but couldn't finish, and strike through what you couldn't stand. Add an asterisk to those you've read more than once. Underline those on your to-read list.

( Very long list back here: )

From mondaysabitch:

1. Do you bruise easily? Goodness, yes. I'm always spotting bruises that are completely new to me. I have no idea where or when or how, just oh. That's purple now. That can't be good.

2. What does your name rhyme with? Um. Many present tense verbs with dropped Gs: "bearin'" in mind, "carin'" a lot, sea"farin'" man... I guess. Oh, and BARON von Munchausen.

3. If you could have any famous piece of art to display in your home, which would you choose? Ow. This is hard. Degas' The Little Dancer, or a Sargent portrait, or a rosy Bougereau?



Pretty, huh?

4. What's the most inconvenient thing about the place you're currently living? I haven't properly unpacked yet. The kitchen's a bit small, I wish there were windows in the bathroom and kitchen, and sometimes it's annoying when the cops pull speeders over on the freeway 20 yards away at 3am, but other than that, I pretty much love it. So much better than the shoebox.

5. What book are you reading right now? The Russian Debutante's Handbook by Gary Shteyngart. I love it.

Stolen from honore:

Two Names You Go By:
1. Erin
2. Oona (it's a long story.)

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. new dress!
2. white flip-flops (take that Labor Day!)

Two Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. An unshakable bond
2. Humor

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Read
2. Be with people I love

Two Things You Want Very Badly at the Moment:
1. A job in the archives
2. An organized life

Two pets you had/have:
1. Sandy the WonderDog
2. Many many fish who I don't think had names

Two people who will fill this out:
1. Huh?
2. Screw tagging, it sucks.

Things you did last night:
1. Rewatched the first two episodes of Mad Men (I cannot recommend that show enough, WATCH IT ALREADY.)
2. Went to bed at 10.30pm.

Two things you ate today:
1. Hot tea
2. Salad for lunch

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. Mom
2. Dad (Happy Birthday, Dad!)

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. Either shopping or games
2. Working-- the new season is a'comin' and the pace will pick up here again very soon.

Two longest car/plane rides:
1. Sugar Land, TX to Lincoln, Nebraska - car (TWICE)
2. Concord, CA to Whistler, BC, Canada - car

Two Favorite Holidays:
1. Christmas (far and away my favorite)
2. Thanksgiving (family, family, family)

Two favorite beverages:
1. Tea!
2. Milkshakes... mmm...

Very quiet weekend. Hollywood Bowl was fun, post with pics and vid later if I can ever get the media convert site to work again.

Woke up much earlier than I wanted Saturday morning. Tried to roll over and go back to sleep, cause up at 8am on my day to sleep in just not cool, but then I realized hey... I could go to Target... and there wouldn't be a line or crowds... and I need milk, toiletries, and HARRY POTTER... and Target has all three!

So yes. I bought the Harry Potter book. But Liz bought it off me the very next day, so does it really count?

I read the whole thing in one day. I settled into bed with Harry at 10.30 Saturday morning, and despite cooking a big pot of saffron rice with linguica and peas for lunch, chatting with my mom, venturing online, and doing three loads of laundry, I finished the book at half past midnight. It was the only way to stay unspoiled. It was a wonderful send-off to the series. I think now that it's all over I'll start collecting the British editions off ebay or something. I'd like to read those.

Din Tai Fung with playmayt and benhsu Sunday morning, where I ran into my friends Chris and Shannon! LA really is home now, because I also ran into three people I knew at the Hollywood Bowl Friday night: an old regular of mine from the video store in Santa Monica (yes, a man who came into a store where I worked three years ago so often that I recognized him. I became friends with many of my regulars at the big bad evil video store. They kept me as sane as I could be at that time in my life and were probably a big part of how I was able to stay as long as I did,) a friend from MyPC, and a guy who works here in animation who's also an exroommate of a friend of mine. That's it. I'm officially an Angeleno if I'm running into people I know at the Bowl.

Root beer floats party in the park Sunday afternoon seemed to go well and there'll probably be another one soon.

Potter madness continues behind the cut with this week's specially themed mondaysabitch questions and a recipe for butterbeer that I can't wait to try. ( Check it out! )

NO SPOILERS HERE, DESPITE THE PRESENCE OF A CUT. THE CUT IS ONLY FOR LENGTH. NO SPOILERS. NO!

We're getting new Meg Cabot, Jennifer Egan, and JASPER FFORDE books this month!

Well, not we, cause I won't be getting them til August. :( But there might be a little preliminary reading in a bookshop or two with a pot of tea and a cookie.





NEW THURSDAY NEXT. I HAVE NO WORDS. IT IS THAT AWESOME.

1. Grab the nearest book.
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the text of the next 4-7 sentences on your LJ along with these instructions.
5. Don't you dare dig for that "cool" or "intellectual" book in your closet! I know you were thinking about it! Just pick up whatever is closest.

From Roddy Doyle's Rory & Ita

Clothing was rationed but I knew nothing about this since my mother controlled the coupons. But the clothing shortage was never a problem in our house, since my mother and sisters had a natural skill at needlework and a garment underwent many transformations before it was exhausted. But, really, what my sisters did and what they got up to, I hadn't the foggiest idea. It was part of the feminine thing, secrecy, which a man didn't enter. They had their own world.

Shoe leather was scarce, and leather was of such poor quality that people nailed metal tips or hob nails to the soles of their shoes, to save the leather. The sound of a crowd of people walking down O'Connell Street was a unique experience- there wasn't a heavy roar of traffic to mask the sound. It has stayed in my memory.

I am so glad I didn't list this one on PaperBackSwap without reading it first. I went through a big Roddy Doyle thing in college and read almost everything I could get my hands on by him, and bought this then but it just sat there after I got tired of the same voice over and over. It's been a while and the voice seems fresh again. Think I'll reread the Barrytown trilogy next.

1. I had just decided this morning to skip both Cat Club tonight and the Swedish triplets tomorrow night in Malibu to stay home and work because I really need to both get the finished piece sent off to FD and Act I done by Sunday, but then tickets were won to see The Tennessee Three at Safari Sam's tonight and free Johnny Cash's band I just can't pass up! And since I'll already be out, the Cat is a must. D'oh!

2. Though I will of course not see the triplets in Malibu tomorrow night or the Barbara Stanwyck brouhaha at the Hammer the night after that in Westwood (YET ANOTHER COOL THING HAPPENING SATURDAY NIGHT.) I will stay home and type type type. And not watch Heroes on nbc.com. Or rewatch FNL. Really. I won't.

3. I did manage to stop myself from really really really wanting to do this this weekend, cause I think I already have enough going on. Though it could be fun. Another weekend. Or y'know, LIFE.

4. So I found and printed out Alan Richman's list of "The 20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die." I've already had #15. A couple times! And I look forward to ticking the others off the list. (beatnikside, if you end up coming down next weekend, would you mind bringing along a #17 for me? Please? Or a Coconut Bunny or MoFro from Cupcake Royale? Sometimes reading food blogs is pure torture. :)

5. Yes, my parents sent the weekend guide section of the Houston Chron that had a Rhett Miller puff piece in it (calling 'Satellite Rides' the Old 97s' best record. WHAT CRACK ARE YOU SMOKING PEOPLE AT THE CHRON?) and I taped the cover with a big ole picture of all four boys up over my desk. It's kinda perfect. Rhett's all pouty and Murry's peering out like the people on the other side of the glass are crazy.

6. I finally got my voicemail at work reset and retrieved all the messages, changed the greetings, and memorized my password, so now when you call me it'll be me, not the dude who retired nine months ago and took off for Seattle. Go me in my slackerdom! Now, if I can just get his dust-covered papers and piles of crap off every available surface, it might look like I live here.

7. It really can't be good for me to be this excited about everything all the time. I told a friend of mine the other day, and it occurs to me again, that I feel like that old joke about a golden retriever: "Yay, dinner, my favorite! Yay, a walk, my favorite! Yay, outside, my favorite!" Though I do have my calm moments. And really, I'm much calmer in person than I am online.

I am, too.

A mysteriously large package arrived on my desk this afternoon. My parents already got me super cool screenwriting software for my birthday, so I was a bit surprised by this. They sent the yellow rice and tea I asked for (silly SoCal groceries not stocking the good stuff) but also shoes and awesome books and great jewelry made by my Mom and a SF Giants Mr. Potato Head. That last one. I cannot contain the joy. Impossible.

Oh, and I got a call this morning about a gameshow that molly_drew recommended me for! I'll be auditioning for Merv Griffin's Crosswords next Wednesday at 1pm. YAY! I have a really light schedule this week, which is good because then I should be able to get Act I DONE, provided I don't slack too much, but next week looks crazy!

Monday, June 11th-- The Nemo Subs ride opens! Also gypsie_pie's birthday! And "Big Love" starts up again on HBO! YAY ON ALL THREE COUNTS!

Tuesday-- Disneyland for my birthday! YAY!

Wednesday-- Work in the morning, game show audition in the afternoon.

Thursday-- I'm gonna eat some lasagna pizza and see Knocked Up! Apatow and Rogen FTW!

Friday-- Disneyland with my cousins from NorCal. Also Davebo's birthday!

Saturday-- My childhood best friend's birthday! Also writing in the morning with other Script Frenzy participants, road rally in the afternoon, and cake and presents and games in the evening. I've been told this party is not an option and I will need to skip both Strawberry Alarm Clock at the Malibu Inn and Rebel Without a Cause at Cinespia to attend. Alright. If I must.

Sunday-- Brunch at the Scientology Centre with sinca, playmayt, and sweetcynic23 if we're still doing it and someone wants to get reservations. Girls? After that, possibly Disneyland.

AFTER THAT, I DIE. Seriously, folks. Anybody got a body I can borrow to tide me over through all this awesomeness? Cause really, I'm looking forward to it all, but why did I forget to schedule time to sleep?

When my alarm goes off I hit the snooze button. Again and again. Lately it's been getting worse, and I hit the snooze seven or eight times or so, spend an extra hour in bed, then rush about getting ready for work and still end up late.

Also, I don't feel so great afterwards. It feels like I get groggier and sluggier every time I steal nine more minutes from myself. I don't like it at all.

So I'm not doing it anymore.

In May 2007:

I will wake up every work day morning at 7am when my alarm goes off. I may lie in bed for a minute and listen to the song playing if it's one I particularly like, but I will under no circumstances hit the snooze button or close my eyes again.

I will work out every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday morning for about half an hour. I'm going to have almost an hour of extra time every morning. Got to do something with it!

I will post at either my Disney blog or Fun With Dead Trees on Tuesday and Thursday, just so that they don't feel like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday are getting all the fun. My Dad's been giving me hell about neglecting my duties, asking me if we're ever going to get out of Adventureland. Yeah, Dad, you made your point. And I love to read and must conquer typepad. The interface is different and a little confusing, but it's not like I knew everything about livejournal when I started writing here. I can't let a few questions of form stop me from talking about books when Kapgar was kind enough to add me to the site.

That's it. In May it's all about the day to day working week.

Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams are going to do The Time Traveller's Wife! I can't wait. I devoured this book in less than 24 hours... I should probably reread it.

I'm finding that setting year-long schedules for anything is unrealistic. And if long-term is what you're thinking, you really need to break it down into short-term steps that you can take along the way. If I have to wait a whole year to check the DONE box on anything, I'm going to get discouraged and lose interest long before that time comes. So what can I do about it? I'm setting smaller goals, and checking them off as I go. And I'm not waiting til a big date (New Year, My Birthday, Anniversary of Being in LA, Anniversary of Getting The Job) to start. It starts now.

Problem: I wish I was watching more new movies and keeping track of what I thought of them, like what I did last year.

Solution: I can do that! I just have to let go of the "year" notion and do it now.

So.

I will watch and write about thirty new movies in April. 30 in 30.

I'm really excited about it. It's small, cause as of Mayday I don't have to think about it anymore, but it's also big, cause that's a movie every day. Last year's goal was only a movie about every 3 or four days. Future months might include:

Get my room in order month (with before & after pics if I'm really brave.)

Read 3000 pages in one month (About 100 pages every day. I kinda used to do it college, right? I can do it again, especially now that I'm not writing papers or anything.)

Write a screenplay month (Using my handy {though slightly ridiculous} copy of this book.)

And I've already watched the first movie!

1.Water-- A seven year old girl is widowed in 1938 and goes to live in a widow's ashram. Forever. As far as society is concerned, this little girl's life is over at seven. I don't know about you, but I was all about Barbies and the Snorks and CPK when I was seven. I hadn't even met Anne Shirley yet, for goodness sakes. So with such a powerful premise for the movie, I expected to be grabbed and shook and absorbed. But I forgot one thing. This is a foreign arthouse movie. That means not so much grabbing, as flowing. One won't be so much shook, but rather touched. Not absorbed, but impressed. Once I got into respectable arthouse drama mode, it started to work. Because this film is beautiful, but it's also a bit slow, paced, and distant. Every so often I felt close to the story, but then it would spin off from me and I felt removed again. Excellent performances from all involved, every shot is lovely to look at, but I still was left wanting more. So many of the widows depicted in the movie are interesting that I wanted more about each of them. They were all so wonderfully realized that one made me crave a ladoo, even though I had no idea what they were or had ever heard of them before watching this. That's how good the performances are in this movie. Nothing is easy and nothing is given without work. If you can take slow pacing on the verge of boring, then I recommend this for the beauty of the cinematography and acting.
3.5 ladypuppy tail wags (out of 5)

I'm joining in the fun at kapgar's book site, Fun With Dead Trees. While I love talking about movies and TV and cooking and Disneyland and celebrity gossip and music and what the weather is like outside, I miss talking about books, and the booktards comm just wasn't cutting it. He's opening the floor to reviews, notices, news, and just about anything else we want to talk about, as long as it's booktastic. I've already made my first post, all about schnappycat's Dad's signing tomorrow night at The Grove here in LA. If I've learned anything at all from Popular, it's the power of nepotism and favoritism for good.

When I was a little girl, my favorite thing to do (other than pretend my backyard swingset was the Millennium Falcon and watch The Last Unicorn) was to read. I read all the time. I read during class (got in trouble for it a lot,) I read every second in the car (couldn't last a ten minute drive to the store without a book,) I read before bed and long after I was supposed to be asleep (I got in trouble for that a lot, too.)

I am an only child, and there weren't any kids on my isolated street when I was young, so I played by myself. That meant lots of pretending: I'd set up a little "house" on my bed and have Davy Jones over for lunch, I'd talk for hours to my Cabbage Patch Kids Theodora Marna and Humphrey Lorenzo (so not my choices-- remember CPK crazy naming,) and I loved the little play hospital that I turned into a dollhouse and later built a city around with shoebox studio apartments and Mom's fabric scraps. When I was tired of my own imagination I'd turn to other people's and read. A lot. Books were usually my favorite presents, and whenever my parents went somewhere without me, they'd bring me a book or two among the souvenirs.

After one trip they brought me two books by Joyce Lankester Brisley featuring a little girl named Milly-Molly-Mandy. They were set in the 20s I think, either in rural England or America, and focused on her tame adventures in her tiny town (pictured on the endpapers, which was my favorite thing about the books) with her teacher and the postman and her "little friend" Billy Blunt. Every one was kind to each other, and baked, and sewed, and white-washed quaint attics with dormer windows. These books are so full of sweetness that if you read them now they'd probably give you cavities. I loved them.

I spotted Milly-Molly-Mandy's name in a children's anthology on Amazon.com today and was overjoyed to remember her. I found my two little books again recently when I moved, and there are a few others listed inside the covers. My copies are cute 8 inch square 80s hardcover reproductions of the original 20s editions with line drawings and simple two color printing. Milly-Molly-Mandy's gotten a bit bigger than that.



These look great, but I wanted copies like mine, the real books, not chopped up into indvidual stories and smushed together into anthologies. So I looked a little more. Apparently books like mine aren't printed anymore, so they've gotten too dear for me to buy (or handle in reading-- I'll get these collections if I need to read them again.) I love my little books, though, and intend to have them on the bookshelves of every home I ever make. I know a few kids who could really benefit from meeting Milly-Molly-Mandy, though. I can't wait to get them these.

I post my schedule here:

Monday-- lunch with two cool girls!

Tuesday-- lunch with cool guy, one of my oldest friends in LA. Possible night hike in Griffith Park. EDIT: meh. Laundry.

Wednesday-- lunch with cool friend from horrible mortgage company. Book club at night.

Thursday-- microwave soup to combat rich lunches of three previous days.

Friday-- The Tenant/ Rosemary's Baby double feature at The New Beverly. I can't stand Roman Polanski but I keep giving him chances all the same.

Saturday-- Desk Set at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

Sunday-- Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead with doctorphizzle and T in the afternoon, then Speed the Plow with playmayt that evening. Plays by both Tom Stoppard and David Mamet in one day. I'm so happy I could spit.


Get your own valentinr

Yes, I am in fact going to post that little button at least once a day until Feb. 14th. You wanna make something of it?

Keeping the literary traditions alive, Mr. Spock. We thank you.

Rocket ships
Are exciting
But so are roses
On a birthday

Computers are exciting
But so is a sunset

—From Warmed by Love, by Leonard Nimoy, 1983

I've just added up the cost of the book I really really want (10 pounds) and airmail shipping (4.50, cause no way am I paying 3 for ground and possibly waiting four months for the book to arrive) which brings us to 14.50 sterling, which with the current rate of exchange is about $28.41.

Almost $30 for a book? Admittedly, a book I've wanted for years, and one which I'm definitely still buying despite the price because Persephone's books look beautifully produced, and I'm really excited to support a press that needs it and which I'd very much like to see up and running for years, but $30 for a book?

I'll buy from them, but probably not as often or much as I'd originally hoped.