synecdoche, new york

I love Phillip Seymour Hoffman, even more than Charlie Kauffman. I think this film looks fascinating.

oh, and here's the homework on the title:
Synecdoche (pronounced "si-NEK-duh-kee", IPA: /sɪˈnɛkdəˌki/; from Greek sinekdohi (συνεκδοχή), meaning "simultaneous understanding") is a figure of speech in which:
-a term denoting a part of something is used to refer to the whole thing
-a term denoting a thing (a "whole") is used to refer to part of it
-a term denoting a specific class of thing is used to refer to a larger, more general class
-a term denoting a general class of thing is used to refer to a smaller, more specific class
-a term denoting a material is used to refer to an object composed of that material

having a blast

the Arctic Blast(TM) has taught me many life lessons. Here are just a few of them:

1. it doesn't feel good to be left out of something, especially a dramatic snowstorm. Mr Blast, you seriously couldn't have come an extra 5 miles down I-5 with some nice freezing rain? a little extra snow? I have been a faithful (if not overly vigilant) follower of your work for the past 2 weeks, and you leave me out in the warm?

2. meteorologists are kind of a men's club. yeah, they let the blond-haired Claire Danes lookalike do weather when it's the typical rainy forecast, but as soon as the storm hits, they kick her to the curb, all "go do that puff piece on keeping your pets safe during the storm". and because she is as dumb as she looks, she trots happily off to obey, while the guys with names like Mark and Steve with overly large ties get to do the real reporting.

3. walking in the falling snow at night while listening to Sigur Ros is one of my top 3 worship experiences. you should try it.

the most exciting thing that will ever happen to me (and it really just happened to someone else 10 feet away)

So, on Tuesday when I got into work, there were some people here meeting with pastors for prayer, and it was whispered to me that "they are the parents of that guy who they arrested as a suspect in the Woodburn bombing". which was weird and scary and sad.

Then Bob left, and about a minute after he left he called and said that he thought there were cops parked along the highway, possibly monitoring the couple. Since my reaction to just about everything Bob says is "yeah right", I kind of dismissed it. I did go outside and look, and didn't see any cars, so I went back to work.

Then, the couple went to leave, and as they did, I turned and told Tiffany, who shares an office with me, who they were. As I was telling her, her eyes got big, and she said "holy crap, the FBI is here!" and hit the ground. I turned around and looked just outside my window, and sure enough there were about 15 guys with guns and asault rifles about 10 feet away from me, yelling phrases you only hear on TV like "FBI, FREEZE!".

so I slid out of my chair and onto the ground under my desk. I then spent the next minute trying to decide which I wanted more: to see what was going on, or to crawl out of my office and away from the guns. I opted for the latter...

sucks

So, while stuck at home by snow and ice, I watched part of two movies on cable. Two horrible, awful movies. Couldn't finish either of them. Their very existence makes life much less worth living. The culprits:

_Dreamgirls
_Love in the Time of Cholera

Dreamgirls was just awful and horrible and stupid. No amount of singing could redeem it.
and Love in the Time of Cholera might not have been awful and horrible and stupid, but for the plain fact that Javier Bardem is the creepiest man EVER, and no matter how good an actor he is, he cannot make me believe that he is not motivated purely by a desire to hack open the leading lady and sew clothes out of her skin.

can I get another amen?

copy/pate the below address to hilarious holiday awesomeness!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000Z9946M/ref=dm_mu_dp_trk3?ie=UTF8&qid=1229209045&sr=1-26

Philosophy will clip an angel's wings

I am in the process of making two sets of large angel wings for the JBC Christmas production in a few weeks.


Three lessons I have learned:

1.) I am not creative when it comes to hands-on crafts. they stress me out. however, Mitch knows how things should go together. I now know to go directly to him next time before I start my brainstorming process.

2.) Feathers are fluffy, floaty, and messy. It looks like a chicken massacre in our kitchen right now.

3.) hot glue guns are AWESOME! I shall henceforth use it on everything.

easy listening

I don't normally promote/listen to soft rock radio; however...the time for exceptions has come, because they are playing Christmas music from now until...Christmas!

Also, if you want to stream it, say, at your workplace, you can do so here http://www.k103.com/cc-common/ondemand/player.html?world=st

Ode

O, Diet Wild Cherry Pepsi

How I do love thee -

Your insignificant source of nutrients

Doth not dissuade me

from my devotion to you.

You are more refreshing than

fresh spring water;

more flavorful by far.

Your phenylketonurics and Potassium Benzoate (though indimidating)

Do bring me joy.

Your promises that you contain no juice,

nor sugar,

and little-to-no-sodium

Bring comfort to my soul.

We shall ne'er again be parted,

O Diet Pepsi mine,

for your bubbly caffeination

is my very center, my reason,

my core.

[translation: I didn't have any Diet Pepsi for, like, 48 hours. aaand it sucked. sorry about the not poetry; the combination of Wild Cherry flavoring and carbonation goes straight to my brain after that long...]

a good (re)read

I am a re-reader. I cycle through my library regularly. I like to rediscover old characters and form new favorites.

One of my all-time favorite books that I am getting ready to dive into again, after I finish Memoirs of a Geisha, is 'How to be Good' by Nick Nornby (who also wrote High Fidelity and About a Boy). Superb humor of the British variety. I highly recommend, with a disclaimer that there IS some language. (Have I mentioned that I find the f-word hilarious, especially when paired with British vernacular?) You can borrow it after I'm done...but I warn you, I dog-ear the heck out of all the pages. Bookmarks, schmookmarks...

after that I think I'll move on (back?) to 'Til We Have Faces' by CS Lewis. a beautiful, haunting myth retold. Lewis has a weaving way of pointing out (drawing out?) the truth of each of us in the characters.

you should read that one too...

alvays be prepared

How To Fight Off a Vampire @ Yahoo! Video

Joaquin Phoenix Shocks With Retirement Announcement

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

no one told me about it...

...but Ben Folds put out a new album in September! huh. it's awesome, of course.

possibly heartless (not spleen-less)

You remember that scene in Patriot Games (or was it Clear and Present Danger?), where Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford) finds out that his wife/daughter have been in a car crash and that his daughter was injured? The part where he delivers what is undoubtedly supposed to be a heartrending line "They might have to remove her...spleen." and then breaks down crying, while holding his wife oh-so-tenderly?

that scene has always sent me into hysterics, but not in the way the directors/actors likely intended. oh, how I laugh and laugh...

maybe it's the word spleen? something about the unconvincing way Harrison Ford conveys grief?

anyways, someone recently called me about a family member's injury and the possibility of spleen removal...and while I sympathized with the scary situation the patient and family are going through...I'll admit that totally socially inappropriate laughter was looming on the horizon. luckily I have mastered the art of brevity on the phone, and so I was off before the giggles struck.

fluorescing

We are slowly replacing all of the bulbs in our house with the energy-efficient fluorescent versions. They will save us $40 a year per bulb! That's amazing!

However...

They are hideous and I hate them. The light they shine is unnatural and soul-sucking. We have tried all of them - the 'daylight' 'soft light' and 'natural light'. 'Natural light' my ASS! More like 'warehouse' 'asylum' and 'office cubicle'.

whole lot of nothing

I'm a bad blogger, I know. I'm just frickin' tired and have had a whole lot of nothing interesting going on. Haven't even seen any movies!

oh, we DID recently get a DVR receiver. it's very awesome. However, I don't have time to watch everything I am recording. My current recording list is:

Heroes (but don't talk to me about it - I haven't watched any new ones yet!)
House
Bones
Fringe (you should watch it - it's super good)
Pushing Daisies
The Office

I'm considering dropping House; I can always catch up on USA repeats later, right?

also, I recently discovered Battlestar Galactica on DVD. it's an excellent sci-fi show, if you like that kind of thing, which I do, being nerdish. I let myself watch it while I run on the treadmill every night, and curiosity about the next episode keeps me consistent.

um, what else? I tied my shoes too tight for running and bruised my toenails...

yeah, I got nothing. Happy Wednesday, y'all.

to sleep, perchance to dream

Insomnia is a symptom of a sleeping disorder characterized by persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity. It is typically followed by functional impairment while awake...

See, for me, falling asleep is not the problem. I can fall asleep in less than 5 minutes with the lights on and the TV on ...it's STAYING asleep from the hours of 1:30-5am that seems to be the trouble. It could be the weather changes (I seem to remember having this problem last fall.) Then again, it could just be that fall is wicked-busy and I'm stressed.

oh, but when I do fall fitfully asleep during that time window, I have amazing (but not at all restful) dreams. last night, I was at a Winterhawks hockey game with Mitch, in seats right up against the glass, cheering on the violence (my favorite part of hockey: when they throw the gloves off, pull the other guy's shirt over the head, and PUNCH!! it's awesome.).

either way...Tylenol PM and sleeping pill addictions: here I come!

consequence, schmonsequence

ScienceDaily (Sep. 27, 2008) — Eight-year-old children have a radically different learning strategy from twelve-year-olds and adults. Eight-year-olds learn primarily from positive feedback ('Well done!'), whereas negative feedback ('Got it wrong this time') scarcely causes any alarm bells to ring.

8 is the new 2, apparently.

made me laugh...

the coolest

Jack White is cooler than everyone else in the world combined. everyone else is all "that's a cool riff, let's play it on guitars!", and Jack White is all, "yeah, but I think I'll take some of those guitar-sytle riffs and rock them vocally. that's what I will do. and it will be cool."

and it is.

white ink

'White tattoos - the latest must-have accessory in Hollywood' according to http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/femail/article-1055607/White-tattoos--latest-accessory-Hollywood.html

shoot. now if I get a white ink tattoo, everyone will think it's because Lindsay Lohan got one...even though I've been saying I was going to get one for, like 2 years now. that's what I get for procrastinating, I guess.

top of the rental queue

The Fall comes out on DVD today. You realy should check it out. The visuals are spectacular.

It's a movie about the power of storytelling, and while it sometimes buckles under the weight of the grand spectacle that Tarsem lays out for us, there are those 'moments' where it transcends spectacle and gives us space to explore the human elements that make the story worth telling.

musicality

Musical tastes and personality type are closely related, according to a study of more than 36,000 people from around the world...


BLUES = High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle and at ease

JAZZ = High self-esteem, creative, outgoing and at ease

CLASSICAL MUSIC = High self-esteem, creative, introvert and at ease

RAP = High self-esteem, outgoing

OPERA = High self-esteem, creative, gentle

COUNTRY AND WESTERN = Hardworking, outgoing

REGGAE = High self-esteem, creative, not hardworking, outgoing, gentle and at ease

DANCE = Creative, outgoing, not gentle

INDIE = Low self-esteem, creative, not hard working, not gentle

BOLLYWOOD = Creative, outgoing

ROCK/HEAVY METAL = Low self-esteem, creative, not hard-working, not outgoing, gentle, at ease

CHART POP = High self-esteem, not creative, hardworking, outgoing, gentle, not at ease

SOUL = High self-esteem, creative, outgoing, gentle, at ease

here we are now, entertain us

the CW is a terrible network. and yet I am always seduced into watching the new shows when they premiere in the fall, simply because I am starved for new television.

so, I watched the Gossip Girl premiere Monday night, and abou 1/3 the 90210 premiere Tuesday, and I am now kind of in love with CW for providing me with two of my new favorite TV villains:

Chuck on GG is pure, awesome EVIL. I heart him!

and Lucille Bluth is on 90210! ...well, she's not really supposed to be Lucille, per se, but it's an almost IDENTICAL role, right down to every withering critique and inappropriate comment laced with booze and bitterness.

berry scenario

I don't like planning meals OR shopping for them OR cooking them. which leads to this common scenario: my mom gave me these awesome blackberries. they are huge and awesome looking. however, I have almost none of the ingredients required to make a cobbler. :(

but I am determined to eat those blackberries, dangit! so, I combine oats, brown sugar, and margarine together, bake it for 10 minutes, pile it on top of the blackberries, and am currently pretending it's a berry crisp.

aaaand that's my dinner. what? I'm a grown-up, I can eat that for dinner if I want to. if only I had some cool-whip... or, ice cream, or...

:)

candy-fest 2008

it's all about the Whoppers. thank you, Hersheys, for this magical addition to the candies of the world.

-"There is no sincerer love than the love of food." (George Bernard Shaw)

-"Part of the secret of success in life is to eat what you want and let the food fight it out inside."(Mark Twain)

-"One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well."(Virginia Woolf)

-Let us eat and drink; for tomorrow we shall die. - - - Isaiah 22:13

-Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are. (Anthelme Brillat-Savarin)

life of sloth

since Mitch left for hunting, I have watched the following:

Heroes season 2 (eps 6-11) - so much unfinished business, due to the Hollywood strikes this past season. looking forward to the new season (and hopefully some closure) alot...

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day - I loved this one. definitely a chick flick, but a smart one.

Adaptation - weird. just...weird. but funny. I somehow missed this one when it came out a few years ago. the presence of Chris Cooper almost made up for the presence of Meryl Streep.

Step Up 2 the Streets - yeah, that one's painfully embarassing to admit. despite the fact that I don't dance at all, dancing movies are a guilty pleasure of mine. I can't help it; so much fun dancing, despite horribly cliched storying.

The New World - another one that I missed when it came out a few years ago... not quite sure how I missed it, but so glad I finally watched it. how did I not know that this movie was directed by Terrence Mallick? The Thin Red Line is one of my favorite movies! I love the tone-poem quality to his films.

The Bucket List - watched this one with my parents. it was...meh. predictable.

...and tonight I'm going to watch Casino Royale. I'm not a huge Bond fan (thanks in large part to slimy Pierce Brosnan), but I want to be familiar with the Daniel Craig Bond before Quantum of Solace comes out in a few months. (Coolest title ever, btw)

ding-dong!

Dear whoever keeps stopping by my house,

I. Do. Not. Answer. The. Door. when I don't know who it is.

Just text me, k?


Sincerely,
Katie

the beautiful people

So, last night I was at Fred Meyer and I was watching this family doing their 'back to school' shopping. it was very Albany.

they were kind of a white-trash/goth-y looking family (one of those where the mom might actually believe she is a vampire), and they didn't have a cart but were instead carrying their items. I enjoyed watching them alot...

>the dad was (of course) carrying a case of beer.

>the mom was balancing an amazing PILE of notebooks, pencils, scissors, etc. in her arms

>the 2 teenage boys were carrying nothing but their utter disdain for the whole process

>the 2 grade school girls were each picking out hair dye (bright red and blue-black, respectively)

awesome. they are rea.dy to learn!

fall into it

GAP says that the 'bell jean' is back.

Katie says, "Hell, yes!"

Mitch says nothing and rolls his eyes.

interesting article (cynicism: it's the new optimism)

On inauguration day, a new U.S. president is a demigod, the embodiment of aspirations as vast as they are varied. Over the course of the years that follow, the president inevitably fails to fulfill those lofty hopes. So the cycle begins anew, and Americans look to the next occupant of the Oval Office to undo his predecessor's mistakes and usher in an era of lasting peace and sustained prosperity.

This time around, expectations are, if anything, loftier than usual. The youthful and charismatic Sen. Barack Obama casts himself as the standard-bearer of those keenest to fix Washington, redeem America and save the world. "Yes, we can," Obama's anthem proclaims, inviting supporters to complete the thought by inserting their own fondest desire. Yes, we can: bring peace to the Middle East; reverse global warming; win the global war on terrorism.


Yet Sen. John McCain's campaign has been hardly shy about fostering grandiose expectations. Speaking earlier this month, while most Americans were fretting about the cost of oil, McCain uncorked one of his patented straight-talking promises: "I'm going to lead our nation to energy independence." As far as McCain would have us believe, you can take that to the bank.

Will the next president actually bring about Big Change? Don't get your hopes up.

Regardless of who wins Nov. 4, we should temper our expectations of what George W. Bush's successor will accomplish, especially on foreign policy.


In reality, presidents don't make policy; administrations do. To judge by the cadre of advisors they've recruited, neither candidate holds much affinity for outside-the-box thinkers. Obama's "national security working group," for example, consists chiefly of Democratic war horses, including former secretaries of State Madeleine Albright and Warren Christopher and former national security advisor Anthony Lake -- a group that is not young, not charismatic and not known for innovative thinking.

McCain's national security team features a strong neoconservative presence, including pundits such as Max Boot and Robert Kagan, along with hawkish Washington insiders such as Randy Scheunemann and James Woolsey. All figured prominently among advocates of invading Iraq; none has yet to repent. Agents of change? Not likely, unless having a go at Iran qualifies as creative thinking.

The very structure of American politics imposes its own constraints. For all the clout that presidents have accrued since World War II, their prerogatives remain limited. A President McCain will almost certainly face a Congress controlled by a Democratic and therefore obstreperous majority. A President Obama, even if his own party runs the Senate and House, won't enjoy all that much more latitude, especially when it comes to three areas in which the dead hand of the past weighs most heavily: defense policy, energy policy and the Arab-Israeli peace process. The military-industrial complex will inhibit efforts to curb the Pentagon's penchant for waste. Detroit and Big Oil will conspire to prolong the age of gas guzzling. And the Israel lobby will oppose attempts to chart a new course in the Middle East. If the past provides any indication, advocates of the status quo will mount a tenacious defense.

Then there is the growing gap between American power and the demands of exercising global leadership.

The limits of American power are most obviously apparent in the realm of military affairs. For McCain, Iraq remains the central front in the war on terrorism, and he'll stay as long as it takes to win. Obama's central front is Afghanistan, and he wants to bolster the U.S. commitment there. Their disagreement masks a more fundamental problem: The next commander in chief will inherit an intractable troop shortage. The United States today finds itself with too much war and too few warriors. That alone will constrain a president conducting two ongoing conflicts.

A looming crisis of debt and dependency will similarly tie the president's hands. Bluntly, the United States has for too long lived beyond its means. With Americans importing more than 60% of the oil they consume, the negative trade balance now about $800 billion annually, the federal deficit at record levels and the national debt approaching $10 trillion, the United States faces an urgent requirement to curb its profligate tendencies. Spending less (and saving more) implies settling for less. Yet among the campaign themes promoted by McCain and Obama alike, calls for national belt-tightening are muted.

Above all, there is this: The rest of the world doesn't take its marching orders from Washington and won't, no matter who happens to be president next year. Governments will respond to American advice, threats or blandishments precisely to the extent that doing so serves their interests, and no further. This alone sharply restricts what Bush's successor will be able to accomplish, whether dealing with allies such as Israel and Pakistan or with adversaries such as Iran and North Korea.

Will the tone and tenor of American diplomacy under either a President Obama or a President McCain differ from what we have seen over the last seven years? Yes, and probably in ways that most nations -- and many Americans -- will welcome. But no matter how much charisma or straight talk emanates from the White House, the world will remain stubbornly intractable.

In matters of substance, Big Change will remain elusive. The next president will leave his own imprint on U.S. policy. It just won't be nearly as distinctive or dramatic as the most enthusiastic Obama and McCain supporters have talked themselves into expecting.

By Andrew J. Bacevich, LA Times

dumb Bobby

why, Robert Downey Jr, why do you want me to hate you? I want to love you! I love your acting. You are GENIUS on screen. Are you really so self-destructive that every interview has to be mind-bogglingly verging on the cusp of insanity? Here's the latest in RDJ dumb-speak:

"My whole thing is that I saw 'The Dark Knight'. I feel like I'm dumb because I feel like I don't get how many things that are so smart. It's like a Ferrari engine of storytelling and script writing and I'm like, 'That's not my idea of what I want to see in a movie.' I loved 'The Prestige' but didn't understand 'The Dark Knight'. Didn't get it, still can't tell you what happened in the movie, what happened to the character and in the end they need him to be a bad guy. I'm like, 'I get it. This is so high brow and so [expletive] smart, I clearly need a college education to understand this movie.' You know what? [Expletive] DC comics. That's all I have to say and that's where I'm really coming from."

punk is not ded

I just bought 'Persepolis'; I have been highly curious about it ever since I saw the preview online.



Although it is set in such an unfamiliar backdrop (1970's-1990's Iran, spanning regime changes, revolutions, and wars), it's a typical coming-of-age story about a young girl.

A nice reminder that all people in all cultures yearn above all for freedom and love.

oh, and the animation is creative and stunning in its simplicity.

Janet Jackson designing lingerie line

hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha!hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha
hahahahaha
haha
hee.

sick baby

my dog is sick. wah. we think she either has arthritis (she IS 8), a pulled muscle, or maybe even an ear infection. its ridiculously difficult to troubleshoot symptoms when all the patient can do is howl.

so, it's off to the vet tonight instead of a movie. fingers crossed that everything is ok...

the fall

this one's playing at The Darkside, and I'm totally curious. anyone for a movie?

um, no.

so, I'm short. short torso, in particular. not really a model, and so the loose tops that clothing designers are churning out these days doesn't look the best on me... however. I was NOT prepared for someone to ask me the question that EVERYONE KNOWS NEVER TO ASK!

And, just in case someone ELSE missed this classic lesson of ettiquette, let me do my part to spread the word: Never, ever, ever, ever under any circumstances EVER ask someone if they are pregnant, unless they are waddling around with their hand on their belly, absolutely ready to pop, 10 months along, no doubt.

Other than that...really don't.

and if you do happen to open mouth, insert foot...then just stop talking. Don't try to backpedal all, "Oh, you don't LOOK pregnant..." because then WHY IN THE HELL WOULD YOU ASK, THEN?!?!! $*%&#!!


...I personally think I deserve a raise for my calm reply of "Nooo.", rather than kicking her in the face.

ugh.

there IS such a thing as a tesseract

sorry about the random title. I was sure there was a Wrinkle in Time quote about IT just dying to be used, but my memory failed me and for some reason I decided to keep the title in the L'Engle family.

anyways, I've been tagged 'it' again by Shannon - here's the rules for this particular variation of the game: share 7 facts about yourself on your own blog, weird or random-tag 7 people at the end of your post

1. I am left-handed. yes, I write weird. get over yourself and your righthandedness, world!

funny thing...Shannon's #2-4 are absolutely true of myself as well, so I'm going to steal them so I don't have to think as much. Just another reason why she was my favorite person to share an office with - we are oddly alike in random ways such as:

2. I am really bad at small talk. Like, really, awkwardly bad. I'm not really quite sure what to say beyond, "so where did you graduate? what do you do now?"

3. I have super powers when it comes to my sense of smell. which makes #5 a problem sometimes...

4. I LOVE making to-do lists and crossing off items when they are complete.

5. I have remarkably smelly feet for a girl.

6. I want a tattoo, but have yet to work up the nerve to go under the needle.

7. I have a twin brother. No we don't look alike. Yes, I love being a twin. No I can't read his mind.

---

I considered not tagging anyone, since we already kind of played this game, but I'll go ahead and do it, just so that we all have blog updates to read! You are 'it' if you are:

Beka
Danae
Jess Drake
Apple
Kiefer
Crystal
Heather

HA!

incommunicado presto!

The power button on my phone is broken, so I can't turn it on. Stupid green phone...


oh, wait. strike that sad tone and reverse it - no one can reach me: it's like my dream come true! HAHA!

due to the magical powers of "waiting overnight", it's working again!

inclusive community/reclusive immunity

there were about 250 kids running around the periphery of my office all week. if there's one thing JBC organizes well, it's VBS - but it's still quite a shock to the system of those of us who crave a quiet work environment.

after the 1st birthday party at our house tomorrow (for Ari)... my recuparation plan includes a quiet space, a Radiohead album, and a good book...

yess. reclusive activities, here I come!

the brothas

aw, man! NEITHER of the Hamm brothers are competing in Bejing?!? they're so cute and teddy-bearish; and in fact were the sole (dual?) reason I watched any gymnastics competition 4 years ago. and now they're injured and retiring.

oh fine. I'll just watch swimming and diving then. (go Michael Phelps!)

on the fence

We decided to stain our fence this weekend. it looks awesome. it's still not done, though. Here's a little formula I came up with for all of you who plan to do this in the future: decide how long you think it will take, add an hour, and then multiply it by 4.

Just a little bit of wisdom I thought I would pass along...

consider yourself warned...

...I don't handle it well when people disappoint my expectations.

Farve. Just retire already. Let us all try to pretend this drama never happened.

o villain, villain, smiling damned villain!

we meet again...


ah, the battle of battles, the war to end all wars in the Duke household:

Carpet. vs. Hardwood.

With the exception of low-traffic bedrooms, it's my firm belief that every room in the house should be floored with either linoleum, laminate, or wood.
yeah, yeah, carpet is nice and soft and squishy underfoot, but it's the grossest invention ever, when you think about it. and I do. think about it. alot.
the amount of dirt, dust, food particles, dog hair, and germs in our carpet is one of my worst obsessions (no matter how weird you think I am, you have never come close to meeting me in full-on crazy-mode until you've seen me do battle with a carpet spot or pet stain). The part that drives me the most crazy is that it is a constantly losing battle. no matter how much you vacuum, it's never 100% clean!

However, when we were building our house, we decided not to upgrade to hardwood in the living room, because Mitch loves carpet. but...the LIVING ROOM! what was I THINKING?!? I was seduced by the newness of the carpet, and momentarily forgot that 2 years later it would be the bane of my existence...

still not convinced? According to the EPA: Carpet glues contain formaldehyde and toluene and are usually treated with stain resistant perfluorochemicals, such as PFOA, that have recently been deemed likely carcinogens.

carpet=cancer. 'nuf said.

mind meld!

Apparently Sylar has stolen Spock's abilities and is now planning to impersonate him during the the new Star Trek movie!

I'm onto you, you scary-eyebrowed villain, you!

avoid the awkward

New service helps callers avoid awkward cell-phone moments!
"Slydial lets you connect directly with another person's cell phone voice mail, bypassing the traditional ringing process that often results, sometimes disastrously, with someone picking up on the other end.
Users call (267) SLY-DIAL from either a cell phone or a landline and are prompted to enter another person's cell phone number."

Good one, technology! Soon I'll be able to avoid personal contact with other humans completely! (I'm kind of kidding...but kind of not. I really hate talking to people on the phone.)

---

...and while I'm clapping technology on its collective back, have you guys seen this? http://www.roku.com/netflixplayer/

you buy the box for $100, connect it to your TV and internet connection, and via your Netflix account, you can stream tons of movies/shows to your TV for no extra monthly cost!

I would totally get it...if I had an internet connection and a Netflix account, that is.

"So foul and fair a day I have not seen..."

This is what I feel like when I realize I have to stay at work for 2 more hours! I just want to go hoooooome! why does this day have to be so long?!

hell comes with your own locker

I made Mitch rent 'Charlie Bartlett' last night, mostly because Robert Downey Jr is in it, and I make it a point to watch his movies. He's a good actor, that one.

Anyways, I thought it was entertaining and charming - a mix of a little bit of Ferris Bueller, a little bit of...every film ever made by John Hughes. The caste system and stereotypes of high school are alive and well here, and the movie-fantasy that bullies and nerds can live together is also chewing through the scenes. But the movie is still fairly charming - and, in particular, the title character is completely loveable despite himself.

And...the [admittedly kind of offensive] scene where he auditions by falsetto-ing through a scene from "Misadventures of a Teen Renegade" made me laugh really, really, really, really hard. Really.

Unfortunately, at the end it sort of melts down into melodrama and speeches...albeit, speeches by Robert Downey Jr. So, did that make the melodrama forgiveable? Maybe not.

But I just rewound it to the audition scene and laughed really, really hard some more, until I forgot all about the blathering melodrama at the end.

cinnanimosity

I've been pretty faithful for the past month or so to jog on the treadmill every night for 30-40 minutes, and am becoming resentful at the lack of progress I'm seeing on the scale...



maybe I'm being sabotaged by my work environment? this is what was sitting on the conference table (which means that anyone can eat them) when I walked in this am:

I've had two so far.

the bat man

extraordinary. powerful. audacious. compelling. dark. mesmerizing. complex. awesome...

The Dark Knight transcends the superhero genre entirely and gives us a gritty crime drama... that also happens to have plenty of amazing action sequences!

Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is worthy of all the buzz, and then some. He's manaical and hypnotic.

Christopher Nolan really does give us another GREAT Batman movie, but this time around it's less stylized, less introspective. It's not about Bruce Wayne's backstory/character development anymore. And not necessarily because we've been told everything already, but because of the irony at the heart of the Batman mythos - that neither Bruce or Batman can be the savior Gotham needs. Bruce Wayne is separated by his fellow Gotham-ite only by better funding, more training, and a grim determination for Batman to do whatever it takes, to be whatever he needs to be, to point them all towards a hope beyond Batman.


p.s. - the Corvallis 9th st theater sound was REALLY messed up, so 'impossible to hear' was also another descriptive word for the experience. I only heard about 2/3 of the dialogue...! I require another viewing, and I definitely won't be going back there...

look, look, LOOK!

as if Christian Bale isn't cool enough already with the Batman franchise...

the original album

the DJ's on the radio this am were talking about the first albums they ever purchased.

the first CD I ever bought (with my very own money) was Petra: Beyond Belief.



oh yeah. I rock.




what was YOUR first foray into the world of music ownership?

happy friday, yo

this song was playing as I drove to work this am...perfect way to start a Friday...



Thanks, T.Rex!

Klaatu barada nikto

...the title of this post translates loosely to "Katie is a nerd". no, not really. it's a famous line from my favorite Sci-Fi classic, 'The Day the Earth Stood Still', which they are releasing a remake of at Christmas!
Excellent!



except... I have this creeping fear that they might really, really screw it up. (and normally, the casting of Keanu would have made the decision for me. except that he actually IS the perfect choice for the role. robotic and impassive...just like the mouthpiece of an alien race should be!)



But. Just in case the 2008 remake sucks...you should check out the original 1951 version.

a messy mythology

Instead of fireworks on the 4th, we went to see Hancock. Will Smith always delivers on July 4th weekend, and in my book, this one was no exception. At first glance it appears to be a clever take-off of the Superman comics...

Critics are hating on the "twist" partway through. if you pay attention to the previews, you know SOMETHING's coming, although the exact nature of it surprised even me. However, in the end, I think it brought real pathos to the film. All 4th of July blockbusters are required only to deliver the flames and fury. This one just has an added bonus of some real heart and soul.

strange and chilling

well, I saw The Happening. and I liked it. I hope we can still be friends.

It wasn't my favorite of Shyamalan's work (Signs and The Village top my list), due to a few reasons:

- I think that the two main characters were miscast. As much as I like Zooey Deschanel and Mark Wahlberg, I don't think that they were the people to play these particular roles. Wahlberg, in particular, has an overeager ernestness that works well in films where he needs to portray a strong faith or belief (in himself/his team, such as in Invincible, or in his country, as in The Shooter). In this role it was almost comic. For this role, I would have reteamed Shyamalan with Joaquin Phoenix, or maybe cast another actor with more subtlety (Ryan Gosling or Billy Crudup?) for the role.

...and Deschanel just didn't look right for the role. A stronger actress might have been able to pull it off, but she just ended up seeming doll-like. Emily Mortimer, Kelly MacDonald, or Michelle Williams would be some actresses I would much rather have seen in the role.

- I didn't like the score. It was more of a throwback to the old-school horror movies where the background music was more of a sound effect than a melody. I'm sure it was a conscious choice, and to each his own. my personal preference leans towards the sweeping 'Village' or crescendo/resolve 'Signs' scores.

...However, the cinemetography was impressive, impressive, impressive...

And I really like how Shyamalan bases his stories on large-scale crisis events and leads us through them from the narrow viewpoint of the everyman, rather than the broad perspective of the hero in the midst of the story.

wee man

meet the smallest preying mantis ever! he had 'little man' syndrome and was hyper aggressive! we set him free but I warned him that if he came at me as an adult I would crush him...

hey, a vague disclaimer is nobody's friend.

strawberry fields forever

I cut up and froze 2 flats of strawberries this weekend. AND we did tons of weeding and filled in the remaining flower beds with barkdust. No flowers or plants in them yet, though, as barkdust is infinitely easier to take care of. You don't even have to water it!

shelob's lair

there is a giant angry spider in my office. I hit him with a broom and knocked off one of his legs, and he fell behind my desk. it was an epic battle. and now he will heal, regather his strength, and attack from the shadowy recesses of UNDER MY DESK!



here is a blurry picture of his curled up leg.



< that's 16 point font, people!

strange magic

I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series. (yes, I am eight. leave me alone...)

Anyways, this is a picture of the set I own. See how books 1-3 are markedly smaller than 4-6? I had forgotten about that fact, and when I got through with 3 and went to get 4...

Katie: "All RIGHT!"

Mitch: "What?!"

Katie: "The next book is TWICE as big as the last one!!!"

Mitch: "?"

Katie: "What?"

Mitch: "..."

---

Aren't people who don't like to read weird?

Chris Martin stormed out of a radio interview with the BBC Thursday -

After some shifting at the microphone, Martin said he was "not really enjoying this" and asked if he could take two minutes before getting up and walking out of the studio.

"I just don't really like having to talk about things," he said.

---

so, you'll text me then?

the dad

my dad is one of my favorite people in the world. he ranks a close second just after Mitch. and that's saying something, 'cuz Mitch is AWESOME!

you always gotta have a plan

So, I did go see SatC last night. It was entertaining. Great clothes, good shoes.

(and no, I couldn’t get Mitch to go with me – shock.)

I actually LIKE watching movies in the theater by myself, but other people seem to take joy in making it an awkward experience. So, over the years I’ve formulated a plan to compensate for the presence of other people in the theater---

• 1. Time your arrival carefully so that you arrive exactly as the previews begin. Everyone else has found their seats at that point and you can pick who you will sit by…


• 2. Sit about 10 rows closer to the front than you normally do. You’ll be sitting in the middle school section, and they will consider you much too old to talk to. However, they are LOUD WHISPERERS, so you need to sit far enough away that you can’t reach over and smack them when the whispering gets to you.


• 3. If possible, sit 4-5 seats away from a couple. Their presence will often protect you from the next two groups:


• 4. Stay AWAY from the duo of middle-aged fat women. They will try their darndest to include you in their ‘group’ if they notice you sitting alone.


• 5. Stay even further away from the crazy-haired old man. He is there solely for the sexual content, and his comments are neither clever nor charming. (Do not, under any circumstances, engage in conversation with him – it will inevitably turn into a rant about Jim Morrisson and The Doors, and you will end the conversation wondering if he is going to follow you into the parking lot and murder you.)


• 6. Haul ass outta there as soon as those credits start rolling.


• 7. Don’t order the large bucket of popcorn. It’s giant-ness will only emphasize your solitary-ness…

thanks for voting...

so...on the one hand On the Waterfront and Raging Bull won my 'famous and critically acclaimed movies I've never seen' poll. I'll rent them soon (along with Lawrence of Arabia, per Richard's suggestion), and I'm sure they'll be awesome.

however...I really just want to see a chick flick.

(don't worry, I won't review this one...I'm pretty sure it will be fluffy and worthless!)

thanks A.P.

"After Obama, fist bump catching on as new trend in U.S..."

a new trend? but is it really? a NEW trend?

ooookay...

song of the day

I love Muse...

just say no

These are just a few of the movies I will NOT be seeing in this summer, thank you very much, despite the studio's frantic advertising tactics.

I am normally highly susceptible the persuasive power of summer movie trailers, but these ones just don't do it for me:

Love Guru

Don't Mess with the Zohan

The Strangers

Speed Racer

Get Smart

the new green thing

Telephone, n. An invention of the devil which abrogates some of the advantages of making a disagreeable person keep his distance. ~Ambrose Bierce

yeah, I don't know how I became a secretary - I HATE talking on the phone!

...but my new one is green (my favorite color!) AND it plays mp3's! fun! also, it has a pedometer on it, so I have discovered that I take an average of 800 steps per day. sedentary lifestyle, much?

the flix

I watched Death at a Funeral and The Kite Runner earlier this week.

I thought it was entertaining (Four Weddings and a Funeral-type British humor), and while I probably won't buy it, I did laugh really, really hard in a few scenes. Alan Tudyk is always funny, and Matthew MacFadyen is always yummy!

and...it was directed by Frank Oz. Muppet Show/Dark Crystal Frank Oz! who knew he was still alive?

Kite Runner is based on a great novel. Most of the tale is set in Afghanistan and Pakistan, which automatically created a visually stunning backdrop for the story. They perfectly cast a few of the main characters (the little boy Hassan looked EXACTLY as I imagined!) and Shaun Toub (Ironman, Crash) was an excellent choice for Rahim Khan. Still, the impact of the movie was not as strong as the novel... therefore I recommend sitting down with the book first.

brothers gotta HUG! (or do they?)

aww, man, I had to go to my cousin's wedding tonight. cool, a fun-filled family event, right?

nay. weddings have reception lines. which means I had to face the horrifying moment of truth: handshake or hug?

my own sense of personal space steers me towards the handshake every time, but sometimes you just know the situation calls for a hug...but in case you have not experienced the full Katie weirdness, hugs with me are awk.ward! I can't help it! Hugs mostly turn into this weird a-frame side-hug thing, and I can't help but pat the other person's back when I feel that the hug has invaded my personal space for long enough, all "back pat means let go, back pat means let go, BACK PAT MEANS LET GO!" Plus I'm short, so there's this weird height factor that I haven't figured out how to compensate for yet...

the worst part of this particulary reception line was my uncle(?), whom I haven't seen in 10 years. he used to be my favorite uncle, but in the past 10 years has divorced my aunt and been revealed as a total abusive asshole. but...he was my favorite uncle, and he wasn't an asshole to me. so... handshake or hug? do I still call him uncle, or has he been stripped of the title? in the end we did both the handshake and the quick hug, which I think covered all stages of our relationship, from favorite uncle to I-will-probably-never-see-you-again-in-this-life-but-thanks-for-that-Christmas-present-when-I-was-six person.


they should teach hugging ettiquette along with driver's ed in school. so complex, yet so useful.

Mr. Jones and me

so?

how was it?

(due to weddings and graduations and circumstances beyond my control, I can't go see it for a few more days.)

hee.

Two pilots in New Zealand ran out of fuel during a flight, and prayed for help. They landed their plane safely ... right next to a billboard reading, "Jesus is Lord" ...

Sob, heavy world. Sob as you spin. Mantled in mist - remote from the happy.

dear God, and I mean DEAR GOD! I'm really bad at watching scary movies (I only got 30 minutes into '1408' before turning it off and promptly returning it - and I LOVE John Cusack). But I just finished watching the entire movie 'Stephen King's The Mist'. (The fact that Frank Darabont directed (Shawshank Redemption, Green Mile, Majestic) was what prompted me to check it out.)

and yes, the monsters were scary (at least to me they were scary: there were bug-type monsters. I hate bugs). I spent most of the middle part of the movie jumping up off the couch and running around the living room shrieking at the characters to "HIT IT! GET IIIIITTTT! RUNNNNNNNN!"

however, the last 30 minutes of the film were spent frozen on the couch in horror, and it had nothing to do with blood or guts or ghosts or bugs or bug-monsters or fear of the dark. this was ultimately a movie about the horrifying darkness lurking within the human soul. it was thought-provoking, grim, awful...impossible to recommend, yet impossible to deny that it was a film worth watching.