Of Maids and Muscle

This past weekend, in between meeting up with friends, both old and new, I got a chance to partake of two things that are pretty much on opposite ends of the "edifying" spectrum.

On Saturday, I had a chunk of downtime between brunch with the old UCSB Geeks and dinner/karaoke with my SB friends. So after cleaning the house, I settled into my chaise and promptly got lost in what is now one of my favorite books: "The Help"

I got the hardcover version, so it was a pretty sizeable tome. And one of the reasons I can zip through books like that so quickly is that I tend to skip over the long, rambling paragraphs that describe a setting or a character. Impatient as always, I prefer to go straight for the action and dialog. So for most fiction books like that, I really end up reading only about 80% of the entire book.

Not so with this one. This is one of those rare books where I slowly savor every single word. The writing is so good that the characters come vividly alive-- I can picture them and hear their voices in my mind. Of course, since I'd never seen the movie, the characters ended up looking a lot like characters from Downton Abbey, which I'm currently in the midst of watching ;-)

Moreso than an enjoyable read, however, it offered a good glimpse into what life was like in the South in the 1960's-- a time when racial tensions ran rampant. Not unlike "To Kill a Mockingbird", another perennial favorite. And I particularly enjoy books that are fiction at the core, but deal with real historical events.

When I got home from karaoke at around midnight, I couldn't resist picking the book back up-- and promptly stayed up till past 2:00am, finishing it. It was that good! Now I can't wait to see the movie-- it's next up in my Netflix DVD queue :-)

So after that edifying Saturday, I took a turn in the opposite direction on Sunday, when my friend Leah and I got together at my place to watch "Magic Mike".

I came into this movie with extremely low expectations. Which, of course, meant that it exceeded them :-) The plot was thin, but the acting was actually pretty decent. And I did like how they portrayed how the tables were turned-- how the men were used and objectified and seen as nothing more than a piece of meat, much like many women in today's society still are. I'm not entirely sure if the social commentary was intentional or not, but I definitely caught it.

The actual dance scenes, which comprised about half the movie, were okay. I confess that the main draw for me was Matt Bomer (whom I love as Neal Caffrey on "White Collar"), so I was a bit bummed that I didn't get to see much of him (hooray for deleted scenes, at least!)
Channing Tatum is not really my idea of eye candy. He's too overbuilt for my taste, and I don't find his face pretty in the least. What I was impressed by, however, were his dance moves. You wouldn't think that a big guy like that would be able to move so fluidly, but he did!
And Matthew McConaughey gyrating in a G-string? Not a scene I'd like to relive again, thank you very much. He's a little too old for that, and I just felt sort of sad and full of pity when I watched him do that last dance scene at the end.

"Magic Mike" was an enjoyable way to waste a couple of hours, especially since I got to hang out with Leah, whom I haven't seen since before her now-2-year-old began talking! But it further reinforced the notion that this is how I prefer my men: neat, fit, clean-shaven (for the most part, anyway), and dressed smartly:

Karaoke Ring of Death: Catchy Songs

This month's KROD coincides with the last day of NaBloPoMo, so I get to sign off this month of blogging with a bang! 

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. The theme for November was "catchy songs"-- that song you just can't get out of your head ;-) I get to host Edwin of My Adult Brain, who sings Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". His commentary at the beginning is very apt, because that's exactly what happened to me-- was just starting to "get over" a song that had been stuck in my head for a while, and then having to actually sing the whole thing for KROD just extended that :-P

Anyway, watch Edwin reach for some of those high notes:


Catchy KROD from Edwin Schippers on Vimeo.

As for my own video, I had a brainworm that was, just like May's 80's theme, inspired by an episode of Glee. It also happened to be a duet and a song that I HAVE to lower at least 3 half-steps in key, so finding a duet partner on SingSnap, where I normally do my online karaoke, was a challenge. After a while of listening to various videos done in the normal key, I realized I had picked up enough of the harmony to just do the whole enchilada myself. So I decided to do just that.

You can catch Helly in stereo (both acoustically AND visually) at Kanriah's blog:

http://oneredwall.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/catchy-karaoke/

And of course, the main Karaoke Ring of Death website:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/novembers-master-list-is-catchy/

Top Five Favorite Films

Today's blog post comes from a Plinky answer prompt from a couple months back:

List your top 5 all-time favorite movies

(I'm going to list them in order of exposure, from the most recent to the longest-lived, since I can't really decide a "most-to-least favorite" order!)

1. Star Trek (the prequel movie from 2009)

I didn't have many expectations coming into this movie. Although I was a fan of The Next Generation, Voyager and Deep Space Nine, I was never really a fan of the original Star Trek TV series with Shatner and Nimoy. So I didn't think I'd enjoy this movie as much as I did. However, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that the story was amazingly well-written, and the actors were great. And having Leonard Nimoy on board, playing himself? THAT really added the perfect touch to the movie. I enjoyed it so much that I promptly watched it about 5 times in a row in the span of a couple of months.

2. Wall-E

This was another unexpected find. Allan brought it home from Blockbuster one day when our first choice was all rented out, and I promptly fell in love. The anthropomorphization of the two main robot characters, and their subsequent love story, was very touching. I fell in love with all the other quirky characters, too-- my favorite is cute, little, cleaning fanatic M-O! The movie was full of interesting characters and the way they overcome challenges and grow. I also admired the Captain's heroism in the end, and of course, loved the happy ending :-)

3. Liar, Liar

Jim Carrey movies tend to be hit-or-miss for me. He is such an over-the-top actor, that I either can't stand the movie, or I love it. This one is one of the very precious few of his movies that I actually like and can watch over and over again. Not only are the antics hilarious, but I love how his character comes around, learns his lesson, and reforms himself at the end. Allan and I often have fun quoting some of his funnier expressions from the movie!

4. The Negotiator

As you can tell from one of my previous blog entries, I adore Kevin Spacey. He is my number one favorite actor of all. He takes on such versatile roles, from the out-of-it dad in "American Beauty" to the alien mental patient in "K-Pax" to the musically-talented (and yes, he sings, himself) Bobby Darin in "Beyond the Sea" to the maniacal killer in "Se7en"... to the smart, tough negotiator in this movie. I really love the way the story unfolds in this movie-- there is just the right amount of action/special effects when it's warranted, and yet even the "downtime" is filled with activity that really builds the plot and starts revealing the story. I loved watching the transformation of Spacey's character from that of a neutral cop doing his job, to Samuel L. Jackson's character's ally. I loved how the two negotiators were able to connect, and how their relationship changed along the way. It's a long movie, but it keeps you at the edge of your seat the whole way, and is well worth it!

5. You've Got Mail

I've always been a big fan of the Meg Ryan romantic comedy movies (Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry Met Sally, You've Got Mail). Her characters were always so cute and classy. And of course, it's no secret that I adore Tom Hanks, as well-- my second favorite actor after Kevin Spacey. I really really love that this movie has, essentially, two parallel stories going on (real life where Meg and Tom hate each other, and online life, where they are in love), and we get to witness the convergence of these two lives as each discovers who the other really is. I don't cry often, but this movie had me tearing up at the end. This movie was based on the 1940 film "The Shop Around the Corner" (Meg's bookstore is an homage to it) starring Jimmy Stewart, and that story was equally enchanting. Nora Ephron, however, did a remarkable job of modernizing not just the story line, but the incorporation of modern technology (i.e. e-mail replaced snail mail).

And the soundtrack? Absolutely amazing. Not since "American Graffiti" has a movie's soundtrack resonated SO perfectly with the story. I have the complete soundtrack (both instrumental parts only and actual songs), arranged in order of appearance in the movie, and it's really incredible how you can just close your eyes and listen to ONLY the soundtrack, yet it still enables you to visualize exactly what is going on in the movie as each song plays. That's how perfectly the score matches the movie.

There are other movies that make my "top favorites" list, but these are most definitely the ones I could watch over and over and over again without every tiring of them!

How about you?

Brave Girl? Or Bratty Teen?

This past weekend, we caught "Brave" at the drive-in theater. I was looking forward to it because I'm such a huge fan of Pixar movies. Unfortunately, I didn't feel that this movie lived up to its hype. After it was touted as a movie that *finally* featured a feisty, heroic female lead (although what the heck was "Mulan", then, if not that??), I was expecting something similar to Mulan-- girl casting off gender roles and bravely joining the front lines in battle to protect her family or engage in some risky quest or something.

To an extent, this movie did portray a feisty girl refusing to conform to gender norms, especially in the ancient patriarchal age in which she lives. Our "heroine" Merida refuses to simply be "given" in marriage to someone she's never even met before, and watching her trounce the would-be suitors was hilarious.

But what I didn't find so entertaining was the way she came off as she fought against these gender roles. She came off sounding like a bratty teenager. When she argued with her mother, it was all about "me, me, me", and she refused to even hear her mother's viewpoint or try to reason with her in a mature way. You could say that mother was partly to blame as well, for being equally stubborn and refusing to listen to her daughter, and you could chalk Merida's antics up to typical teenage angst. Certainly you can find plenty of modern-day teenage girls who have fights exactly like this, with their own mothers. But does that make Merida a role model? I don't really think so. Maybe it serves an accurate portrayal of the stereotypical teenage-parent relationship, but I hardly see how that's anything to emulate or be proud of, or worse yet, glorify in the manner of the movie's marketing.

What also bothered me a lot was that she didn't simply run away so she could make something of herself in the world and live independently and prove her parents wrong. No, she believed that only by manipulating her mother could she get what she wanted. So... she didn't try to reason with her mother like an adult, and she didn't try to simply get away from her "oppressive" family so she could forge her own life. Instead, she resorted to magic and trickery and deceit. Yup, great life lessons there.

The rest of the plot was surprising, as well. Not quite the straightforward battle I was expecting, and I did like how the story turned into more of an introspective battle rather than a physical fight. But through it all, it still grated on me how Merida cast blame on everyone else for the dire situation she found herself in. Everyone but the one true person who shouldered 100% of the responsibility: herself. It only intensified my view of her as a completely self-centered and bratty teenager, and made it VERY hard to relate to her or empathize with her plight in any way.

All in all, it was a decent movie that had its cute and funny and even poignant moments, and is certainly enjoyable enough. But I feel this movie was way overhyped and disappoints greatly in its promise to showcase a strong, independent female lead. In the end, I found her spoiled whinging and self-centeredness no less irritating than a dainty princess staking her identity on her one true love.

Come on, Disney. You can do better than that.

Karaoke Ring of Death: 80's, baby!

May flew by in a flash! Started off with my birthday on the 2nd, before I knew it, it was my son's birthday on the 20th, and time for another round of Karaoke Ring of Death!

The theme for May is 80's songs, which certainly didn't make it easy to narrow down a choice! There were so many I remembered from my junior high school days!

This month I'm hosting Heather of Musings of a Girl. Heather, I believe, is the one who first introduced me to KROD, indirectly, earlier this year. She left a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about it, my curiosity was piqued, I got a link to the main KROD blog, and the rest, as they say, was history :-)

Today Heather treats us to "Lost In Your Eyes" by the iconically-80's Debbie Gibson... and a cappella on top of that! Awesome!

My own 80's choice was inspired by the recent "Prom-asaurus" episode of Glee. I'm nowhere near as good as Dianna Agron or Naya Rivera, but I had fun learning it and giving it a go. You can find my video on Jes's blog: http://jesgettingstarted.blogspot.com/2012/05/gleeking-out-to-80s.html

And, as always, the master list with everyone's songs can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/mays-master-list/

Happy listening, and enjoy your trip down memory lane! :-)

New Girl

One of the shows I've really gotten into on Hulu is "New Girl", starring Zooey Deschanel. It started off a bit slow (but still good) and each episode just keeps getting progressively better and funnier. I guess that's what happens when you start to establish the central characters, their personalities, their quirks, their foibles.

I will admit that the primary reason I even began to check out the show was *because* it starred goofy Zooey. You know how you and your friends always discuss celebrity crushes, and then you list the one same-sex crush you would have if you swung that way (or, I guess, opposite-sex if you're gay). Mine was always Zooey. She's cute and quirky, and most of all, she's classy. She exemplifies the notion that you can be sexy without having to show off as much skin as is legally possible. And she's a terrific singer, to boot! People say she looks like Katy Perry, but I think it's the other way around-- Katy Perry looks like a trashier version of Zooey Deschanel :-P

Zooey's character, Jess, is much like her in those respects. Jess is goofy, she's quirky, she's adorable and cute without wearing skin-tight, revealing clothing, and she has a heart of gold.

When it comes to guys I find attractive, I'm never drawn to the stereotypical "hot" hunk, as evidenced by my celeb list (linked above). I prefer the classic, clean-cut gentleman. The same, apparently, goes for my taste in women. I'm not gay, but the more I watch Zooey, the more I "fall in love" with her, for lack of a better expression. I'm sure you know what I mean.

Anyway, if you haven't seen "New Girl", I highly encourage you to check it out. It is, after all, available on Hulu!

Shrek

I will admit. As hugely popular as the Shrek franchise is, I'd never actually seen the movies. That is, until Todd wanted to watch them. So I put the first movie into our Netflix DVD queue and watched it. I was enchanted by the movie, and we put its sequel into the queue after returning the first one. I was a bit skeptical when we received it and began watching it, for experience has taught me that sequels rarely live up to the expectations created by the original, especially if the original was a smashing success. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I was wrong about that-- not only was Shrek 2 a really good movie on its own, it built up very well from the first one.

Our appetites whetted, we sent away for the third movie. I thought to myself: they can't repeat this kind of success again, can they? Again, I was mistaken. Shrek the Third was so thoroughly enjoyable that I couldn't help but watch it again and again, and it was with some reluctance that I finally returned the DVD so we could receive the fourth, and final, installment.

By this point I was REALLY skeptical. Could a FOURTH movie live up to the hype? It seems that all the storylines have been exhausted. Major villains had been done away with in the previous 3 movies. What plot could possibly be left, aside from watching Shrek the domesticated family man... er, ogre?

I should have known. I had begun to detect a trend amongst the movies. While most movies tend to go downhill with its sequels, especially when there are multiple ones, Shrek went in the opposite direction. It started off with a really strong, enjoyable movie. But it then became, odds against all odds, even BETTER with each subsequent sequel. The second was better than the first, the third was better than the second, and-- you guessed it-- the fourth was absolutely superb. I rarely cry at movies (or at anything in life, really), but this one was moving enough to bring about a few tears. And of course, it still had the sunshine-y happy ending I've come to expect from animated movies.

I'm not sure why the whole Shrek series is so appealing to me. I certainly enjoy almost all of the animated films by Disney/Pixar and DreamWorks. Shrek seems to have become an accidental favorite, maybe partly because of the message of love, courage, and acceptance it conveys, and partly because it has managed to build steadily upon its own successes-- a rare feat in Hollywood these days, it seems.

So if you haven't seen any of the Shrek movies, I highly recommend you check them out! You won't regret it :-)

The Trouble With Remotes

Today's Drabble comic reminded me of a couple of funny television-remote-related anecdotes, as well as some musings. First up, the comic:

Yesterday my boss arrived at work, dug around in her purse for her keys to let herself into the building, and was surprised to see her TV remote in there. That's when she realized that in her morning rush, she'd inadvertently grabbed the remote instead of her cell phone... which happened to be sitting right next to the remote. When she left at quittin' time, she wondered aloud about what kinds of long distance calls her dog must have made in her absence ;-)

The mention of her dog reminded me of Ron and Debbie's late doggie-- Sammy. Apparently one weekend while they were out of town, leaving the dog to his own devices (see, unlike kids, dogs can do well on their own for a few days-- leave them some food and water, and they're good to go!), Sammy accidentally stepped on the remote, turning the TV on. Further actions-- maybe playing with it? -- caused the volume to go up. Way up. It got so loud that not only did it scare poor Sammy, but the neighbors actually called the cops because of the noise! The cops had to break in and turn off the TV. Who knows how long the TV was on before Sammy was rescued from the clutches of the noise pollution! ;-)

We're so attached to our remotes. Makes you wonder how on earth we managed to survive in the days of TVs that had knobs you had to manually turn. I remember growing up watching one of those small B&W models with the... what was it, 13? channels. That was before we moved into our house, and our living room apartment was so small we sat close enough to the TV that sitting up and reaching out to turn the knob wasn't too inconveniencing.

Why is it that when the batteries on a remote run low, we respond by pressing the buttons harder? Do we somehow believe that the weak connection will work better if we exert untold force on the poor buttons?

Amazing, isn't it-- in the span of just a decade or two, we've gone from the non-existence of remote controls to now having to keep track of 3 or 4. Let's see-- the TV, the VCR, the DVD, the stereo, the DirectTV console... yeah, it adds up. No wonder we're so attached to our clickers, we become virtually unable to function without them. Just like Ralph Drabble above :-)

Netflix Raises its Prices

There's been a lot of outcry over Netflix's recent announcement about changes in not only its prices, but its plan structure. We subscribe to the unlimited streaming + 1 DVD out-at-a-time plan, which currently costs us $10/month. When the changes take place in a month, that same plan will now cost us $16. Quite an increase!

Now, for us, the change isn't particularly drastic or unmanageable, for a number of reasons:

1. Netflix serves as a TOTAL replacement for cable, not a supplement. $80/month vs. $16/month is still an incredible savings. Plus it cuts down on channel-surfing-- we only watch TV when there is something we want to purposefully watch.

2. We use Netflix primarily for TV shows, secondarily for movies. There are really only one or two shows that we can't get either on Netflix or on another website (like Hulu, or the station's website), so Netflix's offerings, when it comes to what we like to watch, is pretty substantial. Between me and Allan, we probably watch nearly a dozen TV shows on a regular basis.

3. Now that we have our brand-new, huge flat-screen HD TV for the new house, we REALLY take full advantage of the Netflix streaming service, because the TV has a built-in Netflix app. We can watch everything that Netflix streams (commercial-free and in hi-def!) with just a wireless internet connection.

In fact, we're even contemplating upgrading to the 2-DVD-out-at-a-time plan, which would cost $20/month-- still a fraction of cable cost. Although I primarily use the DVD subscription to watch TV shows that aren't streamed, it would be nice to also be able to check out the occasional movie, without having to wait until the current DVD is finished.

So, although for us, it still makes economical sense to stick with Netflix despite their inflated prices, I can also understand where a lot of other consumers are coming from with their outrage.

First, Netflix did away with their combo plans and instituted separate DVD vs. streaming plans. So now we're essentially paying for two separate services: streaming and DVD. This makes sense when you have customers that use one exclusively over the other, but it penalizes those that actually use both. Why isn't Netflix offering a discount for those who subscribe to a combination plan?

Second, if the pricing structure is undergoing such a drastic change, why aren't existing customers being allowed to grandfather in their current price/plan, or at least have their prices raised by a much smaller amount-- essentially the same as receiving a discount for a combo plan? I know that when we significantly change features on our products, we try to mitigate the effect of taking AWAY a feature-- at the very least by making it user-configurable.

These changes don't seem to be making much sound business sense. I am really curious to see what happens to Netflix's customer base once the changes take effect. Whatever decisions they decide to pursue between now and then, or even afterward, it definitely won't be without lack of consumer outrage! Wonder how much they'll take that into account...

Like, oh my god, I'm like, so gonna...

(Reposted and edited from my Myspace blog 4 years ago)

On New Year's Eve 2005 I joined some of my online friends in a multi-person voice conference over Yahoo. It was a lot of fun-- and since we were all adults in there, things got a bit, well, rowdy at times At one point I brought up a reference to preview clip to this porn movie featuring your stereotypical surfer dude and Valley girl. Some people got a good laugh out of it, others were mildly amused. Nobody was particularly shocked (or if they were, they sure hid their reaction well!), because most of the people there knew me well enough to know that, quite frankly, my innocent-looking pictures belie the profane mind underneath.

Since then, I've met more friends who have gotten to know this side of me, with mixed reactions (mostly positive, though. I guess just about everyone out there has a dirty mind-- some are just better at denying it than others ;-) )

Anyway, that original conversation (along with ensuing ones in the years after) got me thinking about people who have such hangups about porn. Mainly, I've never really understood people-- women, mostly-- who get jealous or judge their partners for looking at porn. I mean, I can understand if it got to the point of interfering with their normal lives-- that's addiction, and just like any addiction, it's a problem. And the problem lies with the addiction itself, not the substance. But so many women fail to understand that it can be a natural-- and fun!-- part of their sex lives, when used properly. I'd encourage most women to at least give it a chance. They're as much a "toy" as the conventional paraphernalia that comes to mind when we think of "adult toys" (like the stuff in my previous post). I'll be the first to admit that I've gotten some of my best ideas from adult movies. Sometimes it can be fun to watch with your partner and try out new things you see. And it has non-sexual value, too-- sometimes you can just kick back and enjoy a good laugh at some of the wackier things on the screen (or the incredibly poor acting).

Even if a woman has absolutely no interest in it, I don't understand why she would begrudge her partner his viewing it. If it's a normal, healthy relationship she shouldn't feel threatened by it. The only time I get "mad" at my husband for watching porn is if he comes across a really good clip he knows I'll like and doesn't share it with me ;-) But seriously-- just because a man watches it doesn't necessarily mean that he has no interest in his partner, or isn't attracted to her anymore. I wish more women would realize this and not be such sticks in the mud about it.

And in case you were wondering, the title of my blog entry stemmed from the Valley girl/surfer dude scene-- at the point of climax, the girl broke out in full Valley dialect, while the guy? There aren't any appropriate letters in the alphabet to express the garbled sounds he was making-- you just had to hear it. And see it. I thought he was having a seizure! See? Much comic value in unexpected places! :-D

(original post from Jan 5, 2006 (along with ensuing comment hilarity) is here: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=28049135&blogId=74957761)

Of Soundtracks and Movies

There's something about the senses that affect our memories. There's the obvious, dominant ones such as sight and sound, but the more subtle ones, such as taste and smell, still have powerful effects. So it is with movies-- we tend to remember the dialogue, the characters, the scenery... scarcely noticing the background music. The first time I ever really took note of a movie's soundtrack was with "American Graffiti"-- partly because I had to do a paper on it for my cinema studies class, but also because I particularly enjoyed all of the classic 1950s oldies in that soundtrack. When viewing the movie with the mindframe of paying special attention to the music for the purposes of my cinema paper, I started to appreciate the nuances that music provides to a scene. It really adds to it in the most subtle of ways. The right music can really enhance the movie experience.

And I noticed that with some of my favorite movies, the main "theme" song constantly played in my mind, evoking memories of the movie itself. Some examples:

1. "You've Got Mail"-- this one has a host of favorites, most notably "Dreams" by The Cranberries, but my absolute favorite is "Butterflies in the Subway" by George Fenton:
[audio http://soundtracks.pl/klipy/8.mp3]
This song sets the tone for the movie, as it is both light-hearted and classic in tune-- very fitting for the classy romance story that evolves amongst the scenery of picturesque New York City throughout the varying seasons of the year. It's one of those rare tunes I can listen to over and over again without tiring of it. I enjoy this song so much, in fact, that it is my current ring tone on my cell phone :-)

2. "Toy Story" -- as with many Disney/Pixar movies, Randy Newman's songs feature prominently, and his "You've Got A Friend in Me" is no exception:
[audio http://www.fileden.com/files/2008/6/23/1972260/You27ve20Got20A20Friend20In20Me.mp3]
Again, this light-hearted and fun tune really encompasses the heart of the story-- that no matter what, we'll always be friends. It's catchy to sing and the rendition (as posted here) of both Randy Newman and Lyle Lovett in duet really brings out the soul in the song... and the movie!

3. "Wall-E"-- I'd have to call the theme song to this "Put On Your Sunday Clothes", originally from the "Hello Dolly!" musical:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xwFohvgSqw&NR=1]
What a terrific juxtaposition of both the classic and the futuristic! Not to mention that this song is played so many times throughout the movie-- in the opening scene, and then all throughout, you can hear Wall-E cheerfully humming it as he goes about his chores. And when he's sitting on top of his truck, a silent, closed and plant-holding Eve next to him under the sun, you can hear the tune play as he spins his wheels. After watching Wall-E, I found myself humming this tune everywhere I went-- clearly, I had Wall-E on the brain :-)

4. "Ratatouille" -- what better song to associate with this movie than a lovely French one about food? Namely: "Le Festin", sung by Camille:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RzzF15Qgaa0]
This song perfectly captures the essence of Paris, and of the movie-- romance and good food. It evokes all the charm that surrounds the glittering view of Paris, and its food references evoke an appetite as much as the movie itself does! Singing it, as I was prone to often do after watching this, transported me to this world where romance and good food are intertwined... the two definitely go hand in hand! Yum!

5. Over the Hedge-- in a movie where the animal antics revolve around stealing food from the humans, Ben Folds' "Heist" is exceedingly appropriate:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rMaGgNpz6mk]
This is one of those upbeat tunes that goes perfectly with a compilation of scene snippets designed to compactly showcase the animals' pilfering activities throughout the week. Its lyrics capture the essence of this heist in the middle of the story: descriptions of a magical world with resplendent and endless sources of food ("what you take magically regenerates"), and a selfish kind of teamwork ("you scratch my back, I'll scratch my back too"). Again, I found myself singing this frequently after watching the movie a few times, and envisioning all the woodland creatures scurrying about. I'll never look at a suburban raccoon or squirrel the same way again after this!

So there you have it-- some of my favorite movie songs. The ones that come to mind often and really fit the corresponding movie well.

How about you? What are some of your soundtrack favorites?

Le Festin

See, I knew I shouldn't have let a day go by between postings... now it's been 2 days, and I don't want to start that slippery slide down into infrequent posting again. I do have a post in mind that I've been mulling over in my head since Sunday, but just haven't had time to properly write. So rather than put it off another day because of that, I'm getting the juices flowing with a short post on a different topic today. Nothing of substance, but fun to share nonetheless.

Ever have days where the same song just runs through your head all day long, for days at a time? Of course you have.
Given how many times I've watched "Wall-E", it's no surprise that for the longest time that song was "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" from "Hello Dolly". But since I never really heard all the words, it was more of an idle tune to hum.

Recently we watched "Ratatouille", where the French song "Le Festin" really caught my... ears? It stuck in my head and I resolved to find it online, where listening to the song in its entirety (instead of interspersed between scenes) made me enjoy it even more. So I went even further and resolved to find the lyrics to it, since my French, rudimentary to begin with, is extremely rusty, not having touched it since high school. I found variations of the lyrics in a couple of different places, and after listening to the song long and hard, I pieced together the correct lyrics (which, of course, was a combination of the various sources). And then I set about learning it by heart. All I can say is-- good thing WMP has a "repeat" function ;-) It's a really cute song and I am enjoying mastering it.

Because this song is in French, it also reminds me of two people-- Amal and Jenna. Amal because the first time I met her was in Mme. Kampe's French class, sophomore year of high school. And Jenna because she, as a Canadian, speaks it.

Anyway, I thought I'd spread the wealth and maybe put the tune in your head as well (cue evil cackle):

Friday Five -- all about March 6

It's been ages since I've done a Friday Five. I perused the list of possible offerings and came across this list, posted a few weeks ago. I know it's a little belated, but I thought the question format and the trivia aspects were intriguing. So I couldn't resist. Like they say: better late than never!

1. On March 6, 1869, Dmitri Mendeleev presented the first Periodic Table of the Elements to the Russian Chemical Society.
   What memories do you have of your high-school chemistry course?
2. On March 6, 1899, the Bayer company registered aspirin as a trademark.
   When did you last take medication for pain?
3. On March 6, 1853, Giuseppe Verdi’s opera La Traviata premiered in Venice.
   How do you feel about opera?
4. On March 6, 1947, American film director Rob Reiner (Meathead!) was born.
   Which of these Reiner-directed films have you seen, and what do you think of them?
   • The Bucket List (2007)
   • Rumor Has It… (2005)
   • Alex & Emma (2003)
   • The Story of Us (1999)
   • Ghosts of Mississippi (1996)
   • The American President (1995)
   • North (1994)
   • A Few Good Men (1992)
   • Misery (1990)
   • When Harry Met Sally… (1989)
   • The Princess Bride (1987)
   • Stand by Me (1986)
   • The Sure Thing (1985)
   • This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
5. On March 6, 1972, American basketball-player Shaquille O’Neal was born.
   How do you feel about basketball?

1. I'd have to say that the most memorable part of my high school chemistry class was our teacher, Mr. Fife. He looked exactly like Santa Claus-- from the bald pate to the white beard to the spectacles to the belly that shook like a bowlful of jelly! It was trippy to see him walk around in Santa garb near the holiday season. He was short and stocky, but his presence was large-- he had a sense of humor but he was also no-nonsense. I have vague recollections of my classmates being cutups as well, but nothing stands out as truly memorable.

I do have to add that college chemistry had some interesting classmates as well. My favorite memory was the day I tricked my lab partner into putting her nose directly over a flask of pure ammonia and inhaling. The LOOK on her face! I wonder if she's ever forgiven me for that ;-)

2. Ah, blessed OTC drugs :-) Last time I took anything was probably a week or two ago-- the last time I was sick and laid up with a fever and chills. Then it was Tylenol and ibuprofen to the rescue! I never take aspirin anymore, though. When I'm sick and in constant need of medication just to get by the day, I try to consume Tylenol sparingly, because I don't want to overtax my liver.

3. The extent of my opera viewing consists of little snippets here and there from TV or movie characters going to the opera, like Julia Roberts in "Pretty Woman". So, I have no opinion, other than to say that I would like to go someday, if only to see what it's like!

4. I've seen: American President, A Few Good Men, and When Harry Met Sally. Don't ask me to pick a favorite. I love all 3 of them, they definitely rank high on my list of all-time favorite movies! And I would highly recommend them if you haven't seen them!

5. I feel the same way about basketball as I do about any sport-- boring! I've never understood why people can spend hours glued to the tube, watching an entire sports game unfold. I can understand catching occasional glimpses and keeping up with the scores, but to watch the entire game!? Or should that be: gameS!? I would much rather participate in a sport than watch it. And I'm neither athletic nor sports-inclined. That being said, of all the sports to possibly participate in: baseball, volleyball, football, basketball... probably basketball is the best of the bunch. And I don't even like it that much, which goes to show you how I feel about other sports! I like basketball "best" because I can fake out playing-- just run up and down the court with the crowd and nobody will ever know that I never really laid a hand on the ball ;-) As you can tell, I'm speaking from junior high and high school gym memories :-)

How about you?

Love your neighbor, Simpsons-style

Some years ago I gave my friend Wayne a book for his birthday. It was called "The Gospel According to the Simpsons". Between the time that I purchased it from our university bookstore and the time I presented it to him, I read it (sorry, Wayne). And was pleasantly surprised. Who would've thought that nuggets of spiritual wisdom could be found in such a profane cartoon? But when you dig a little deeper, you find that deep down, the Simpson characters aren't as evil as they are sometimes made out to be. Moreover, many of the episodes subtly embody the essence of Biblical teachings in modern, everyday settings-- probably getting the point across far better than an outdated translation of the Bible could.

Take Homer, for instance. The quintessential bumbling fool. As many times as he goofs up, when it comes to serious matters, he does not stray. Though he has been tempted many times, he never cheats on his wife. When he's gone too far, he tries to make amends. And hell-raising Bart? How about that sincere prayer he recited the day before a dreaded exam that could decide whether he would be held back or not? It may have been a little rough around the edges, and contained none of the pious words you sometimes hear in chants and liturgies, but it came straight from the heart, which is by far the most important element in prayer. And to top it off? When the next day his prayers were answered and a freak snowstorm canceled school, he actually followed through his end of the bargain, fighting the temptation to play outdoors while he studied.

A few weeks ago an episode came out called "No Loan Again, Naturally" A brief synopsis: the Simpsons are unable to meet their mortgage payments when their interest rate skyrockets (sound familiar?) and their house is foreclosed and auctioned off. Feeling sorry for the Simpsons, their "Jesus freak" neighbor Flanders buys the house and leases it back to them for whatever they can afford till they get back on their feet. Rather than being grateful, however, the Simpsons take advantage of Flanders' generosity, forcing him to evict them. As he reviews the application of potential leasers, a Christian couple whose idea of fun makes Flanders look like a party animal, he finds himself reminiscing about his irreverent and irrelegious former neighbors-- with fondness. And he realizes that they are the ones he wants to live next to. After all, he says, you are only a saint when you're among sinners.

Now, some people might interpret that as Flanders elevating himself above non-Christians, but I actually think it's the opposite. His statement summarizes the whole of Jesus' teachings: "Love your neighbor". In Jesus' time, he was criticized by the religious leaders of his day-- they scoffed at him when he ate and drank and interacted with the most sordid of characters-- tax collectors (today's IRS agents :-D), prostitutes, rough-talking blue-collar workers, and *gasp* Gentiles! In modern times, self-righteous, so-called Christians do the same-- they plant a very obvious divide between "us" and "them", and heaven forbid anyone should cross that divide!

They are missing the point. How are they suppose to embody the love that Jesus did, unless they reach out to others who are not within their "circle"? It's easy to love people like you-- even the Mafia don takes care of his own. But loving those who are different? That takes some real selflessness. And humility. I read the perfect analogy in a book somewhere (the title and author escape me at the moment, my apologies): "Church is not a museum for saints. It's a hospital for sinners". Jesus himself came to earth to minister to the needy, not to waste time with pious and hypocritical religious leaders.

Sadly, some of today's Christians are little different from the religious leaders of Jesus' day. It is unfortunate that the term "Christian" has such negative connotations today because of such church-going, Bible-thumping, proselytizing religious folk. Isn't it sad that in a culture where "tolerance" is valued, and it is unacceptable to bash anyone for their religious beliefs (or lack thereof), Christianity is the exception? Then it's open season. But... given the current "face" that the general public sees when they think of Christians, I can hardly blame them. I know I sure wouldn't want some self-righteous person treating me with disdain instead of respect. With hostility instead of love. With condemnation instead of acceptance. With judgment when it is not their place to judge.

Now, there are a lot of genuine, faithful believers out there. And they have done a lot of good in this world, no question. On the other hand, there's also been a lot of bloodshed, and the battles continue today (albeit a little less bloody in modern times). Seems like the good ones get drowned out by a few bad apples. And I think that's a shame. Just think-- if more of the Bible-thumpers would adhere to the simple command of "Love your neighbor", maybe the world would be a little more peaceful. Flanders came to understand that. And if Flanders can, so can anyone else ;-) Right?

Voltron, Defender of the Universe

Does anyone remember that show (the one with the 5 lions)? It first aired nearly 25 years ago, in the fall of 1984. I was 7 years old, and remember being glued to the TV set, watching it. It was my favorite show. I loved the lions. The characters were cool. I even had a crush on one of them. I wrote my own stories about them, and, since we couldn't afford the actual lion action figures that were popular in the toy stores then, I made my own out of paper.

Soon I grew up, and all but forgot about Voltron. I perked up a little when I heard rumors of a Voltron movie in the works sometime in the near future, but then forgot about that, too.

And then... Hulu, which continuously adds new movies and TV shows to its archives, made Voltron available. It was regular-Hulu-watcher Allan who first noticed it, and casually mentioned it to me, knowing that I was a fan as a child.

Interested, I clicked on it, and haven't looked back since. What a trip down memory lane! I never saw the first few episodes of the show-- the important ones that establish the background story, and now I finally understand it. The scenes where the individual lions combine to form Voltron were always the same, and brought back a flood of memories when I saw it again for the first time in 25 years.

To be honest, it was kind of amusing to watch it now, through grown-up eyes. The acting isn't great, the animations typical Japanese anime (which I loathe), and the writing cheesy. But the fond memories of how much I loved the show as a child, and the excitement of getting to relive it all over again, more than compensated for any "reality, bubble-bursting" factors. I still think it's a cool show.

Anyone else remember the show? Anyone else watch it? What are your favorite childhood shows?

Here's the Hulu link, btw:

http://www.hulu.com/voltron-defender-of-the-universe

Dinner, a movie and an interesting visitor

As mentioned in my previous Friday Five post, last night we invited 2 couples from church over to our new apartment for dinner and a movie. The movie was "Life of Brian", which caused quite a stir when it was first released in 1979. You know how it goes-- the religious right decried it as an affront to their faith, and its loudest opponents were those who hadn't even SEEN it. Typical misinterpretation and narrow-mindedness. What the movie DID do, however, was raise critical thinking about blind faith and about how the central tenets of true faith (specifically, Judaism (e.g. the Pharisees and Sadducees) and Christianity (e.g. the many denominations)) were splintered because of human (mis)interpretation. We got into a discussion of the movie during one of our small group sessions, and some, who had seen documentaries about it, expressed interest in actually seeing the movie.

So, we set a date for Friday. Allan made corned beef in the slow cooker and whipped up some tasty risotto. One friend brought brownies. We were set with both wine and sparkling cider. But before we could even serve ourselves food, an unexpected visitor dropped by. A man I'd never seen in my life came up the stairs looking for "John Smith".

When I explained that not only was there no John Smith here, but we HAD indeed been receiving a lot of his mail, the guy got a worried look on his face and handed me his business card. By now Allan and our friends had gotten curious, and peeked over my shoulder to read the card. A chorus of "Oooh"s ensued. Why? Because this guy was a U.S. probation officer, apparently assigned to John. So while Allan got the food ready, I spoke with the probation officer about what kind of mail we'd been getting for John Smith, how long we'd been here, and if we'd received any strangers coming by (like him, LOL). I also explained that all the mail we'd been receiving for John was obviously forwarded by the post office, because every letter (mostly bank statements) was addressed to his former residence, and had a sticker with our address affixed over it. So it was clear that this guy gave the post office and his probation officer a bogus address. Was he in the wind? Must have been, because when the officer left, he sighed wearily and said "Looks like I have more work to do tonight".

We had a good laugh over it. It figures that the first time we invite our friends (whom we'd newly met in the past few months) over, someone from the U.S. District Court comes by for a visit! What kind of shady dealings must they think we're involved in! ;-)

Anyway, we proceeded to have a nice dinner and settled down to watch the movie.

Now, let me begin by saying that I absolutely abhor Monty Python. I do not find them remotely funny in the least. I guess they are like marmite/vegemite-- you either love it or you hate it, there IS no in-between. So it was with some trepidation that I sat and watched it. To my surprise, I found it rather decent. I'm sure a large part of it was, as Jenna pointed out, the fact that we were watching it with good company. It provided some good food for thought as well as raucous laughter. So while I personally still wouldn't go out and spend $20 on it, it's worth seeing if you ever want to get together with friends and rent it one night.

All in all, it made for an interesting and entertaining visit. Good food, good company, good movie... and a surprise visitor to spice things up! Good stuff :-)

Kids are expensive!

For those readers who have kids (esp more than one), I know I don't need to tell you that twice.

There's the obvious up-front expenses of diapers, baby wipes, formula, bottles, baby food and all that miscellaneous baby equipment that's essential (strollers, car seats, high chairs)... not to mention clothes that they outgrow every couple months. Or couple weeks, if you're a freak like Allan.

Then they get older and stop using diapers, start sleeping in normal beds and start eating regular grownup food alongside us at the dinner table, sans booster seat. They even help with the housechores! Yay, progress!

But then they get even older and it's time to start thinking about where to enroll them in school. If you're lucky and you have a reasonably well-mannered child AND live in a place with low crime and an excellent school district, then... well, you're lucky. For some of us, private school is the only option. Especially with an easily-influenced hardhead like Todd. It goes without saying that the word "private" by definition implies that you pay tuition (unless you live in the UK-- strangely enough, what the Brits call "private" school is what we call public school. Go figure). But if both parents work full-time, then there's the added cost of after-school care, too. Fun. Nothing quite like carving out $1000/month in our budget, knowing that's just an average estimate and could very easily go up.

I just spent some time perusing the websites of potential schools I want to enroll Todd in this coming Fall. Some had scant information, some had volumes. I did my comparisons and narrowed it down to a top handful of choices. At that point I downloaded and printed off application forms, just to make sure I had a checklist of things I would need to supply (like immunization records). What I wasn't prepared for, however, was flashbacks of 15 years ago, when I was applying to various universities. Not the mindless humdrum of filling out basic info multiple times, but the agony of formulating the perfect admissions essay. And the hesitance of bothering my teachers to supply letters of recommendation.

Some of these grade school applications could rival college applications! Detailed questionnaires. Goals for your kid. His strengths and weaknesses. His development history. Expectations. References. Time to sharpen my pencil and put my thinking cap on!

There was an episode of Law and Order (CI) on recently, about a deranged mother who shot 3 parents of toddlers at a prestigious preschool so that her own son could move up in the waiting list and be offered admission. Madness, you say, and you would be right.

But when you consider just how much it costs to get your kid a good education, and how much effort it takes to get him INTO a good school in the first place, I can understand how frustrating it is to sit on a waiting list, unsure of your next move.

Onward we shall forge. We get to do it all over again if we move. If we don't, and we remain in Santa Barbara, we get to go through this process all over again when Todd enters high school (or middle school, in some cases). And then comes college. At least THAT will be paid for. With costs rising ever more, we started saving when he was born. One less thing to worry about a dozen years from now :-)

On Friendships

At long last I finally saw Sex and the City. We went on Friday night, after work. Had a quick dinner and caught the 6:30 showing, which was still fairly full! As mentioned earlier, I had always enjoyed the TV show, even though I don't consider myself a die-hard fanatic. I expected to enjoy the movie but nothing more. Like Jenna, however, I found myself enjoying it a LOT more than I anticipated! I can definitely see how some people would go back to the theaters and watch it again!

I thought the most interesting part of the movie was the way some of the characters developed a bit from their usual personalities in the TV show (again, this is coming from someone who's watched maybe only 1/4 of all the episodes). Like Charlotte getting feisty in defending her jilted friend. And Miranda revealing that underneath that cynical, hard-nosed persona she does have a soft heart after all. And Samantha-- doing her best to keep from straying!

That, then, got me thinking about the brief commentary between me and Jenna on the previous entries, about how the show's characters as a whole pretty much encompass the entire spectrum of personalities. The average person would find it hard to identify with just ONE character, but it's easy for us to find elements of ourselves amongst 2 or 3 of the women. For me, it's Carrie's cautious optimism. Miranda's drive. Charlotte's innocent outlook (shut up) on life, and her fashion style.

The other day, while watching "Friends" on TV, the ensuing discussion about who our favorite character was got me thinking about WHY we had our individual favorites-- and I think it mostly has to do with how much we can relate to the character. How much of ourselves (that we don't hate) we see in him/her. And the same thing happens: there is more than one. Invariably, I'll say: "My favorite is X. But I also like Y. And then there's Z!" and before you know it I've rattled off more than half the cast. I love Chandler's style of humor and down-to-earthness (is that a word??). I am Monica's twin when it comes to obsessing over order and cleanliness. I can relate to Phoebe's bluntness and Ross's geekish tendencies. A single favorite is hard to name because I can relate to different parts of so many.

And... I guess it's that way in real life, too. Your friends are hardly your clones. You have a few things in common, but some things different as well. Ultimately, the differences are a good thing-- it'd get pretty boring hanging out with a bunch of your "twins", wouldn't it? I think about that in terms of those of you who are reading this blog right now. At first, our one thing in common was the thing that we had in common with hundreds, thousands of other people-- Grab.com or UCSB. Gradually we came to discover more. Similar interests/hobbies. Tastes in music and movies. Circumstances. Goals. Philosophies.

Then the differences also became apparent. I don't like cats. Some of you own them. I hate hiking, camping and anything outdoorsy. Some of you live for it. I favor country music. Precious few of you do. I'm too weary for the heavy-drinking scene. Some of you could still drink me under the table. We have different outlooks on lifestyles, family, work, and money. And despite the differences, we get along as well as the women of "Sex and the City" and the sextet of "Friends". Our similarities bring us together, our differences keep the friendships interesting. That really brings out the positive meaning of "diversity", doesn't it?

Just as an afterthought... we could have our very own sitcom/soap opera just based on our lives together! The stories we could tell! What should we call our show? ;-)

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/404486978)

Sex and the City

On Friday, the much-anticipated "Sex and the City" movie premiered. I had intended to see it on opening night, but tickets ran out FAST. I guess it's just as well, since it probably would've meant an overcrowded theater, which I'm not partial to. I am by no means an ardent follower of the former HBO series, but I do enjoy catching re-runs every now and then, when they air on the CW channel or on TBS.

Allan and I made plans to see it on Saturday, but we had too much to do, between extra work, cleaning the apartment, and running all sorts of errands, so we made plans to catch it on Sunday afternoon. I even treated myself to some new nail polish while shopping on Saturday, so that, in true Carrie Bradshaw fashion, I could paint my toenails and step out in my high-heeled sandals.

Unfortunately, we slept in later than planned this morning, and had to catch the later Sunday service, which led to a chain of events that ended in us skipping the movie today. After church, we met up with some other members (one of my former labmates at school, his fiancee, and their friends) and having lunch together. We were really enjoying the conversation and camaraderie, so by the time we finished our meal, it was too late to catch the next showing. So we opted for some shopping instead. Ties for Allan and a dress for me (for his upcoming 20-year reunion this summer). To my utter joy and surprise, I managed to find a gorgeous black dress that would be perfect for any occasion-- formal or casual! It is rare for me to find actual dresses that fit me, but I lucked out today :-)

I had hoped to blog this after I watched the movie, but I figured I had enough to ramble about for now ;-) So I leave you with one little blogthings quiz (been ages since I posted one)-- very apt! And I like my results-- of the 4 vixens, I think Kristin Davis is the prettiest, and her character is definitely the sweetest!

You Are Most Like Charlotte!

You are the ultimate romantic idealist
You've been hurt before, but that hasn't caused you to give up on love.
If anything, your resolve to fall in love is stronger than ever.
And it's this feminine optimism that men find most appealing about you.


Romantic prediction: That guy you are seeing (or crushing on)?

Could be very serious - if you play your cards right!

Which Sex and the City Vixen Are You?

 (originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/401755494)

Nobody NEEDS to see the space shuttle!

I just finished sorting out a few bills tonight, writing some checks for things that I can't pay online and/or with credit card. You know, the "old fashioned" way ;-)

Amongst my checks was a donation to Todd's preschool. They recently merged with another church in the community, putting pressure on the space and resources they have to accommodate everyone for their activities-- the preschool, the after-school youth groups, the church itself, etc... and so, the fundraising begins.

I am reminded that in a very short time Todd will be in elementary school and coming home with boxes of chocolate he's supposed to sell. It will be easy in our household-- we'll just fork out some dough for donations, rather than force Todd to go door-to-door, pestering the neighbors. And of course, there is the question of WHAT exactly the donation is for, which plays a big role in just how enthusiastically we'll contribute :-P

Have you ever seen the George Lopez show? If not, it's an American sitcom featuring comedian George Lopez as the head of his typical Mexican-American middle class household. One episode dealt with his young son selling yet another batch of candy bars to raise money for some such deal deemed important by the school. Or maybe it was just the PTA. At any rate, when George discovered that the money was going towards a trip to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to watch the space shuttle launch, he put his foot down. As he put it, he has no problem donating money to things kids actually need for a proper education. Books, computers, etc... all fall within that realm. But a fancy field trip? When kids could learn just as much about space through books and videos? Hardly a basic necessity, and enough is enough! Worse yet, the parents that couldn't (or wouldn't) contribute were looked down upon, either as being poor or being unsupportive. The highlight of the show was George's argument with the head of the PTA, trying to convince her that while seeing it up close is neat, "nobody (actually) NEEDS to see a space shuttle launch!"

So far Todd's school needs have been pretty basic and we feel the money's going to good causes. But I still wonder what lies ahead, and what sorts of programs we'll be duped into supporting at his future schools. I am most certainly not looking forward to weeding it all out. I'm with George Lopez-- I have no problem shelling out cash or other resources to ensure Todd and the kids get a good education, but I'm a little more reserved about paying for the frills and fringe benefits that nobody really NEEDS.

Whoever thought childhood education could turn into such a political machine? I wonder how many other such "PTA heads" I'll run into myself!

Any advice or horror stories from battle-weary parents who've been there and done that?