Where the Wild Things Are

I took Madison to see "Where the Wild Things Are" today. It was my favorite childhood story, and I've been reading it to Madison since she was about two years old, so we were both pretty excited to see it.

I was told several times in the last week that the movie isn't so much a kid's film. I don't agree, entirely. Realistically, the book doesn't have many words - much is left to your own imagination, and that's part of the beauty of the story. Spike Jonze was going to have to make quite an adaptation to stretch this book for more than half an hour, and I love what he did with the story. He added some real world elements to tell us more about Max; he's got a sister and a single Mom, who both have their own stories as well, and it gives some solid background and character development. After seeing the film, I can see where parents with very small children (i.e., under the age of 4 or 5) would not want to take their kids to see it. The movie is almost two hours long and the real-world situations might be a bit confusing. I'm sure there were some lessons missed by Madison, i.e. the parallels between Carol and Max. However, it kept her interested the entire film and she was quite sympathetic to the situations between Max and his Mom, as well as what was happening between the monsters.

This movie made me all teary-eyed at the end, I'll fess up. I adore Spike Jonze's interpretation of this beloved children's story, and by all means... go see it!!

What's On My iPod

Tonight's list is right off the workout playlist, which rotates quite a bit. Since the weather is chilly outside after dark, I've been working out indoors much more. I've been doing this workout video, and while the workout is really, really good, I can't stand listening to these way-too-perky aerobic snobs talk. So I turn the volume all the way down and do it with the ipod blaring in my ears. It helps keep me from getting too bored, as well; the same workout every day is not good for my very short attention span.

Lil' Wayne - "Ready for the World" - My friend Adam introduced me to this song not too long ago, and I can't stop listening to it. I love this man's raspy voice! The song is NSFW, although the video is...

Weezer - "(If You're Wondering If I Want You To) I Want You To)" - This is one of those songs I'll hear once and sing all day, it's that catchy. I've heard all of Weezer's past hits, and they were good, I just never purchased any of them, but I pondered buying this whole album vs. the single. I read reviews online that mentioned how much Weezer has sold out, and although I wasn't an early fan, it made me pause. I remember how disappointed I was when No Doubt's Rock Steady album came out; I was so deflated, because they definitely sold out with that one. I'll wait and see if Weezer releases anything else from this album before I buy more.

Blue October - "Inner Glow" - It's so hard to pick a favorite Blue October song, they are definitely one of my favorite bands. This song is probably in their top 5. This is a live version - and most excellent. Speaking of live - I heard they rocked the Taste of Las Vegas, and I'm kicking myself for missing it. This song is also NSFW.

Ester Dean - "Drop It Low" - I Triple Dog Dare you to watch this video and try to sit still. This song is badass!!

Joan Jett and the Blackhearts - "Everyday People" - When I was 12, I wanted to be Joan Jett. Now that I'm almost 39, I still do. LOL Have you seen this woman lately? She still looks amazing (mind you, she was born in 1958). I wish she was still putting out albums, I really enjoy her music (thankfully she still does shows) - but it seems like most rocker chicks have disappeared. At least we still have Pink, eh? I can't wait until the movie about her/her band is released, but Kristen Stewart as Joan Jett? I mean, Really?

Halloween '09

How was your Halloween?

The whole family came over here, and we took the kids around the neighborhood; it has become a tradition. Here's a few pictures:

Madison was Sleeping Beauty for Halloween. This was a costume she took a great deal of time to decide on - she was considering Mulan and Snow White for some time as well. I think she made the best choice this year. :)

Seeing as I love dressing up, I was the evil sorceress Maleficent, who casts the spell on Sleeping Beauty. I wish you could see just how much purple eye shadow and eye-liner I have on.

We had a house full of kids, and I'm wishing I'd gotten pictures of them all! Here you find my nephew Jaydon as Peter Pan, my niece Breana (his big sister) as Tinkerbell and Madison. These three are peas in a pod!

The day was not without injury - Madison managed to burn herself with a curling iron. Here she's proudly sporting her bandage. Ah, genetics are cruel, she's as clumsy as I am.

A good time was had by all, and we have enough candy in the house to last until next Spring. I'm trying to pretend it's not there, or that it tastes like cardboard. :)

Donnie Darko

A friend of mine recommended the movie Donnie Darko to me, and I just finished it. Following are some rambling thoughts from the film - SPOILER ALERT- If you haven't seen it and don't wanna know what happens, read no further!

When the closing credits started rolling, all I could think was WTF just happened? So let me get this straight, he traveled time on purpose, to sacrifice himself and change the outcomes? Was he saving human existence? It makes sense that he believed so, since he repeats that it's all going to be alright several times throughout the film. But is it? Cunningham, the perv life coach - in the end, he's still a perv, and wasn't caught. So Donnie Darko did right a lot of wrongs, but wasn't it all just his own wrongs (which in turn, changed the outcomes of those closest to him)? I'm left confused about Frank - at first I was convinced he was the dead kid his parents talked about from high school, but then we see him again at the very end with the drawings of the scary rabbit and the crazy mask? What about all the references to God? It's almost like he defied God in creating his own destiny vs. accepting the path God has laid out for us. What about the teacher (played by Drew Barrymore...nice surprise), I got lost on her purpose in the film, unless it was just all some weird coincidence that she crossed paths with Donnie Darko. Perhaps she's the person who allows us to see his intelligence and lucidity despite the mental illness. Riddle me this, Batman - was it mental illness? Was he really a schizophrenic? Oh, and Grandma Death - did she still get the letter? I'm assuming so, it was a tangible he mailed to her before going back in time. There were so many factors that depended upon each other in the film to make it all fit, i.e. the bully waiting in the cellar for him near the end, which causes the girlfriend to get run over. Why would the bully have been there? I definitely need to watch this film again, it's one of those I'm sure I'll have "A-ha!" moments every time I watch.

If you watched the film - please, tell me what you thought, and by all means, enlighten me with your take on it. If I'm spending this much energy pondering a film at its end, you can assume I enjoyed it. The cast was phenomenal, the movie moved at a very good pace and I always love a movie that makes me think about it for hours after it's over. It was the mind screw I was promised!

What's On My iPod

I received my 2009 digital remastered copy of "Rio" today - so this week's post is all DD, all songs from the album. You can really hear the difference as compared to my old CD - it makes me wanna pull out my old vinyl to really hear the difference (although I'm sure the albums would have some pops and hisses, having been overplayed and probably not cared for as well as I would now). The remaster includes a lot of bonus tracks, including B sides you only found on 12" singles back in the 80's. I can't help it, I still have a great affection for this band. :) I'm gonna have to go find them in the closet - I am sitting here trying to remember how many of those 12" singles I have. We used to spend all of our allowances at Odyssey records back in the day, looking for the rare vinyl and imports (not to mention posters, buttons, books, etc. etc. etc.).

Hold Back the Rain - Although it's near impossible to pick a favorite from the album, if I had to, this song would be it. So who was your favorite? Definitely, without a doubt, it was Simon LeBon for me, although Nick Rhodes was a close second.

Rio - If I only had a dollar for every single time I've watched this video, and I'm still not tired of it. Do Do Do Do Do Do Doooooo..... I love how the chick just flips Roger Taylor over like nothing, LOL!

Save a Prayer - This is an amazing song, even if you never liked DD a day in your life. Teenage girls swooned to this song like you would not believe, it was a total phenomenon! The location for this video was absolutely beautiful; if I remember correctly, it was Sri Lanka.

New Religion - That opening bass line, love it. This is a live version of the song, I'm not sure how old it is, but I'm guessing somewhere around a decade, because the lineup includes Warren Cuccurullo, who left the band in 2001.

The Chauffeur - When I was 13, this was my least favorite song on the album. It's a very good listen as I've gotten older, I find that funny. 25 years later, however, I still don't get the video! This video is censored, there's a black bar over some boobies, but guys - you're not missing much, she didn't have much to see, LOL.

Hungry Like the Wolf - You can't talk about the Rio album and not mention this song! Although I adore this song, it's now my least favorite from the album. I think because it's been overplayed a gazillion times over the last 25 years. The video is purposely similar to Raiders of the Lost Ark, but I'm sure you'd know that without me telling you!

Painting... for the last time.

I have had the busiest weekend - we decided to finally paint the last room in the house not yet painted, the master bedroom/bathroom. I'd put it off forever, and it wasn't so much that it was a lot of space as it was just a lot of work, it's not just four walls and a doorway, ya know? We have 5 doors in this area alone, if that gives some perspective. We started Friday night by just taping things off and moving things out of the room - here's a look at some of the before shots:

We did have one casualty from this experience - Karl tried moving the bed by himself, but apparently pulled on the frame a bit too hard, causing the frame to split, and it can't be repaired. I'll be heading out to buy a new frame tomorrow, but for now, we've got the ghetto bed (LOL):

Karl had to work on Saturday so I did the bathroom and master closet myself that day (minus the ceiling edging), and I rolled the bedroom today while he completed the ceiling edging in the whole space. Here's a view of the finished product (I tried to get the same angles as the before shots):

We learned a few things this weekend:

1. There truly is not a single straight edge in this house. It infuriates me the crappy craftsmanship in homes built anymore.

2. I am done painting rooms. I'm not a DIY person - I'm more than happy to pay a professional. My parents always painted their own house, so it was what I knew. Now I know I definitely don't wanna do that again. Ever.

3. Textured walls suck! I get the purpose, but wow it's a pain in the ass to roll paint over. I was doing touch-up forever.

4. Don't move heavy furniture by yourself. Our sleigh bed is gonna cost us about $500 to replace tomorrow. Thankfully it was the bed frame and not his back.

5. We definitely need to replace all the floor boards in the whole house. We're gonna wait a bit for that, it's gonna be costly, but it needs to be done. Our next big project is to replace the carpeting, so we'll probably do it then.

I still have a few things left to do tomorrow, but for all intensive purposes, the house is finally back to normal. I took this opportunity to organize the closet and filled 3 lawn bags full of clothes and "stuff" we don't need. That part felt sooooooo good, cause I'm very much a minimalist! I can't even wrap my head around how much was in that closet!

How was your weekend?

A Letter to Jerry Jones

Dear Mr. Jones:

I'm no football expert, I've never coached a team - I'm just a fan. But it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see there's trouble in Dallas. Romo has moments of clarity, true, but they are so inconsistent you're never really sure what might happen. It's near impossible to recreate the Cowboys of the early 1990's - Romo hasn't the supporting cast Troy Aikman did. But he overthrows as a rule, he's too predictable, and he hasn't shown any improvement in his now 4th season.

We're damn lucky we beat the Chiefs on Sunday. They're one of the worst teams in the NFL, and sadly it was an evenly-matched game. We're all shaking our heads, Jerry.