birthday list of love

maybe this isn't a list. nerds are fucking hot! been listening to kings of convenience and belle & sebastian and thinking about my story that i'm sort of writing again. yes it's the same story that's never left my mind.

but yeah, today was pretty great. it was one of those 'my god, i am blessed and love my people' kind of days! <3 to all you bitches that made today truly gaberrrific!

i am so sorry i've been absent for so long. i'm tumbling on tumblr like crazy.

hope to be back sometime though!

xoxo

WordSmith Wednesdays! 8 Lovelies for You!

Whisk. 

Spatula.

Doxology.

Bereft.

Unencumbered.

Saturate. 

Lascivious.


Filigree.

magical movie monday! (vol. 5)

Tuesday I caught The King's Speech. Of course it's good! Look at it! Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter. Please! Great period piece, and quite informative (although I am curious about how much of the truth was stretched here) film about Prince Albert's speech impediment and how he worked with an amazingly vibrant speech therapist to overcome his insecurities and actually become King George VI.

Telling you that this film is fabulous isn't enough though. Here are my bulleted reasons:

• Acting is SUPERB! Colin Firth and his expressive brow, mastering this particular 'stutter' is so impressive. Mr. Rush's exuberance is as fun as ever. I don't think I've enjoyed him in anything as Shine.
• Costumes and art direction!  Helena looks divine as always. The speech therapist's office is in this loft room with this creaky floor and old sofas. It's perfect, and beatuiful. 
• It portrays a very intimate look inside the Royal mind, and I find that to be touching. Prince Albert never expected to be the monarch, and 50 years before he never would have had to face the obstacles of technological public speaking that he did in the 30s, so it really paints a very interesting portrait of history.

 

magical movie monday! (vol. 4)

Friday I went to Salem Cinema to see Blue Valentine. Let's just get this out of the way right now: This film is truly a gorgeous duet telling an all too gutwrenching tale of love --- from the amazing passionate beginning and then fast forwarded to the present --- where things are exponentially more realistic and of course, more painful.

I must stop now to say: there is nothing sexually graphic in this film that would get it anywhere near deserving a NC-17 rating (which the Weinstein Company repealed and in the end the film is rated R), much to this reviewer's disappointment! I mean come on guys, I was all twitterpated and must admit to being a little bummed as the film was ending to realize that the under-the-skirt time was what all the fuss was about. Really?! Boo.

Third confession: I REALLLLY like Michelle Williams. And.. Ryan Gosling is pretty amazing as well. They both have this ability of seeming pretty ordinary while also being quite charismatic. It strikes me as odd that Mr. Gosling wasn't nominated because really, it is the dance between them that is most impressive. To all you hopeless romantics out there, you may want to skip over this one because it's pretty brutal. To the rest: GO SEE IT! It's a quality film, beautifully shot, richly genuine, and has the most adorable scene with Ms. Williams tap dancing to Mr. Gosling's ukele accompanied tune.

Money well spent.

Fabulous Film Friday ate Magical Movie Monday! (vol. 3)

One of my dear friends loves The Brown Bunny and convinced me to put it on my Netflix cue. I find Vincent Gallo to be intriguing -- those piercing eyes, his willingness to be vulnerable and of course, he's kinda creepy, right?

Belive me when I tell you: This movie is not for everyone. When it was orginally screened at the Venice Film Festival Roger Ebert stormed out of it exclaiming that it was the WORST movie that had ever been shown in the Venice Festival's history. Later Gallo cut the movie down, and Ebert has changed his tune. So this movie is for some...including me! I absolutely loved it.

Gallo unabashedly slowed the concept of time down with this movie. Long still shots that go on for minutes at a time showing the viewer very common place experiences like driving a car. Sometimes the shots are through a windshield --- with the additions of windsplattered bugs on the lens and all. The film's quietness adds an intensity, and with Gallo you never know what's really going to happen. Is he going to kill someone or himself?

Gallo is self-indulgent in his insistence that the viewer go along on this long drawn out tale, but hey, most of the world's best artists are self-indulgent, no? There is a VERRRY explicit scene that includes one Miss Chloe Sevigny, but don't let that keep you from this little gem.

Favorite Words - WordSmith Wednesdays!

Doxology.

Bereft.

Unencumbered.

Saturate.

Lascivious.

Filigree.

 
 
(Magical Movie Mondays is a bit delayed this week. It's comin though!)

Friday I'm So Happy You're Here List

Things making me happy right now:

1. Lalaloopsy dolls. Yeah. like in a BIG BIG WAY!

2. Nonfat Lattes. No flavor. They're perfect the way they are.

3. Getting laundry DONE.

4. The Black Keys. very very verrrrry in love with these boys.

5. Birthday season. My goodness everyone and their uncle has a birthday coming up. (Clemmers was just yesterday!) It's a good time to celebrate all my peoples!

6. Movies. Must watch more movies!

7. Oscars are coming up. I've decided I care again! Nominations come out next week!

8. Board Games! Ryan and I are really into board games right now. Are youuu?? We got Puerto Rico and are looking for players.

Favorite Words - wordsmithlette wednesdays! 9 radtastic words for you!

Furtive.


Humdinger.


Shuttlecock.


Bibelot.


Koala.


Aglet.


Ampersand.


Gallimaufry.


Afoot.

magical movie monday (week 2)

1. So last time when I wrote about 'True Grit' I should have also made my comments about a movie I saw the very same day -- Love & Other Drugs. It was playing at Northern Lights so Jennifer and I decided it was worth a shot.

I need to take a moment and confess that I am one of the most sentimental, schmaltziest people in the universe because when I tell you that this movie made me cry it had much less to do with the film's content and much MUCH more to do with my excessive emoting.

That said, Love & Other Drugs is a pretty charming movie albeit cliche. The characters are underdeveloped but it's pure fun to see Anne Hathaway and Jake Gyllenhaal rolling around in bed together. Plus! Anne's character has an amazing apartment -- quite drool worthy.

2. I've loved Jesse Eisenberg since The Squid and the Whale. I feel like he's an edgier, less predictable Michael Cera, which I like. Believe me when I tell you he does an extraordinary job in The Social Network at being uber-geeky, an asshole, all the while being compelling. Is this a stretch for him? I'm not so sure but that doesn't deflect from the film at all.

From start to finish this film is fascinating - intellectual property, nerdy code, secretive Ivy League clubs, going from having nothing to being a billionaire - it's all riveting. It wasn't until the end of the film that I fully understood who's point-of-view we were looking through; I believe the film carries itself as if its Mark Zuckerberg's story. It's easy to think we're meant to sympathize with his tender brokenheart. So what if he's borderline Aspergers, he's still brilliant and cute. You think that right up until you realize how he makes his enemies.

I do feel a need to stress how this is a very fictionalized version of the truth. But hey, the truth is often far less salacious. For what this movie aims to do - to entertain me and make me think - it does a damn fine job. Bravo!