3.31.2009

Vegewhat?

My half-sister is a vegetarian and has been for years. Except my brother says she's not really a vegetarian, "She be eatin burgers every once in a while." Hilarious. Even more so if you know my brother and can hear how he says it. He's a character. (Side note: (oh how you've missed these!) At least one of my professors and possibly several of them hate(s) the term "a character" and demand(s) definition if you use this phrase. People in docs are still referred to as characters even though they're not fictional, scripted or directed. So when you say "a character," you must define what makes this person someone you want to include in your film. Be specific. Yes, my professors are characters. :P Lol.)

Anyway. I've never ever thought I would be one of those people who would even consider vegetarianism a possibility. I've always been strongly pro-meat. I love meat. When people hear this, they say, "Why not give up pork?" For real? I LOVE bacon. At Thanksgiving, I'd rather have ham than turkey (turkey is too often dry-- yes I've had fried turkey and it's good but I've had too many bad turkeys) and sausage is my second favorite breakfast accompaniment. For me, breakfast doesn't exist without eggs. That is the star of breakfast. Not pancakes or waffles which I like almost never.

How did this become about breakfast? The point is I have started liking some vegetarian meals and can sometimes see the point and deliciousness of a meat-free dish. This is shocking to my psyche. I feel weird having even written that sentence.

That being said, if I'm talking to any veggies out there, you know, you veg-heads or meat-freers, both of which Rach has been known to call you, you really should let meat eaters make your meat substitutes or "fake meat" as Stace's Dreezy likes to gross me out by calling them. Yuck. Who wants to eat fake meat? So gross. Anyway, there are far too many "vegetarian sausages" (I don't care what you define as sausage, this term is an anomaly to me) and turkey bacons that taste disgusting and not at all like a meat substitute unless by substitute you mean subpar and not even worth the effort. I would rather have a vegetarian omelet without the veggie sausage if it's going to taste like nothing, thanks. For the record, I can't be expected to become a vegetarian if you're not going to get your non-meat products together. Regardless, I won't be giving up (ground) turkey or chicken or seafood. But adding in some more veggies? That I can do.

3.30.2009

Social Drinker

I realize I am one. If I'm with a crowd or even one or two, let's get the bubbly poppin, the liquor flowing, the brews bustin. I don't know about that last one but whatever we're doing with the alcohol, let's make that happen. I'm not a heavy social drinker because hangovers were not hot for the '07, '08 or any of the years preceeding and are certainly not hot for the '09. Dead that... yesterday. I'm too old to be recovering 20 hours later or even 2. One or two drinks and I'm good. Know what my favorite is? Sun Garden Riesling. It tastes PERFECT. It's a sweet wine that's not too sweet and not too dry. Love it. It's hard to find, though. I discovered it when my cousin had a wine party themed bridal shower last year and everyone brought a bottle of their favorite. My favorite aunt brought this one and I've been a convert every since. And you know how she picked it? Because she thought the bottle was pretty. Hilarious. And with its help I have Rashan drinking wine now, too. Ah yeah!

Tonight Stace and I went to Dragonfly after shopping all day for ways to make my place more home-like (or just 3-4 hours but whatever) and my sunrise over tokyo wasn't as delicious as last time and I realized I don't like conch sushi. Too tough. Still love eel, tuna and yellow tail. I didn't get octopus this time but next time! I like eating those little babies. I will eat your babies!! *insert fanatic frightening laughter* I want to make eggplant parmigiana tomorrow and Stace and I are making gifts for our siblings. Also, Happy 25th Birthday to my baby sis! Oh and I forgot Rah and I went to the SGRho probate on campus and I have 8 new sorors here. I'll show pics tomorrow!

*I'm competing with Rashan to post every day this week. He started it. I'm going to finish it.

3.29.2009

Crazy Movie Lady 10

March 22-28, 2009
164. Addicted to Love. Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick are in love with people who left them for each other in other words 1/2 of a new couple. Ends exactly how you expected it to but there are unexpected twists and turns which were amusing. About 10 minutes too long, though. Like I said, comedies, romantic comedies, they shouldn't be longer than 90 minutes.
165. Please Vote For Me. Documentary about the first taste of democracy for a class of Chinese children who get to vote for class monitor. At less than an hour, this film was still too long. It was interesting to see them backstab each other (sometimes with parental assistance) and I really came to dislike intensely one child but I still just wanted to get to the end and see who won. Interesting viewing though the story began to drag for me toward the end.
166. Sketches of Frank Gehry. A Sydney Pollack-directed doc on the aforementioned architect. I think I wanted something more from this doc than it could deliver, maybe less sit down interviews, more of an interactive feel other than the interaction between Pollack and Gehry. I'm not a exactly sure it could have delivered that based on the objective of the filmmaker. I gave it 3 out of 5 stars.
167. Chalk. Mockumentary about high school teachers with far too much space between the comedic moments.
168. The Freshman. Matthew Broderick film about his accidental involvement with the mob. Amusing.
169. Marjoe. Academy Award-winning doc about a boy preacher who is now grown and doesn't believe but preaches because it raises a lot of money. You know that on the surface made me livid. I was also sad for him to preach the word of God and not believe. What an empty feeling. And he had a great deal of resentment toward his parents which he tried to downplay for them using him from the age of 4 to support their lifestyle. I was more interested in a character study than seeing him lying to huge groups of churches and bible-believing people for 10 minutes. The church scenes dragged on for too long. He did say he hoped this film would show people they shouldn't put their faith in man. Love that.
170. Wristcutters: A Love Story. What? Odd indie film Rashan liked. I was intrigued by it but wouldn't say I liked it. Joy, you'd probably like it, too.
171. Tarnation. Documentary about (and directed by) a guy with a schizophrenic mother. He's been filming himself since 11 years old. Very art house-style. Very uncomfortable viewing because of how intimate the film was.
172. Peggy Sue Got Married. A woman goes back in time and has the option not to marry her high school sweetheart. Hated the ending.
173. Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. You already know. I got this because of La Lohan. Cute Disney movie. I wouldn't actually want my kids wearing that hyper-sexed clothing she wears in the later scenes but it was a cute movie.
174. Frenzy. Hitchcock film about a serial killer and of course in true Hitchcock fashion, a man falsely accused. Heavy-handed at times but in general quite entertaining. Some fantastic shots as usual.
175. Has God Forsaken Africa. Documentary about the children who leave Senegal any way they can (overfilled boats, under planes), many at the risk of death on their journey and who's really to blame for the African exodus of the youth. Beautiful photography. Interesting to see a recent National Film Board production since in my doc history class, all the NFB films have been from the earlier days. I liked a lot of the ideas touched on, the music (created by the filmmaker, who was also in attendance for a Q&A) was very appropriate and beautiful but I don't know that the film provided a cohesive enough story line. There were several good ideas interwoven, but I'm not sure it was effective in showing what the filmmaker said was his point in making the film-- that the children are not to blame for leaving, it's the leadership in African government.
176. Mrs. Brown. Film about Queen Victoria's right hand man after the death of her husband. Good drama and pacing in the story line and hugely interesting characters. My affinity for royalty doesn't hurt-- no, Stace, not the diamond princess... she doesn't count.
177. It Happened One Night. Cutest classic. So fun. Clark Gable.
178. The Gay Divorcee. Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. The plot was very secondary to the dancing which didn't bother me but Rashan was losing his mind watching this. So funny.

3.27.2009

Breaking Ground

Right now for my documentary history class, I'm trying to find a topic. I thought I had settled on the fiction themes used as crossover techniques in the documentary films of Spike Lee. I had originally wanted to write a paper on black women directors of documentary film. It's hard to even find black female directors of fiction films. And there are no mainstream household names among black female directors. That's not to say there aren't any black female directors, there obviously are, but their names are left out of discussions of great filmmakers of any race.

I HATE THIS!!!

I want to make great DOCUMENTARY films on the African-American experience, I just wish there were more successful black filmmakers I could look to as mentors. I don't want to make films no one sees or knows about. I want Oscar winners and Emmy winners and theater distribution. And I want this book. I just found out about St. Clair Bourne and when I look him up? Died in 2007. WHYYYYYYYYYYY???? I'm going to ask my documentary history professor but at this point my film might be about the dearth of well-known black non-fiction filmmakers. These are the people I want to learn about and from!!! So frustrating. But at least 20 years from now another black woman won't have to write this same post because I'll be written about.

3.26.2009

Really, Cousin?

One of my crazy cousins (yes, I said ONE OF) has been posting baller statuses all day long every 2-6 minutes. When asked why, he said, "Because I'm ballin' so fast..*free throws*..and got so many activites going on. Also I like flaunting and rubbing in all my imaginary wealth to my incredibly imaginary haters. It makes me feel better than everybody else." Apparently he was inspired by people who talk on FB of all their faux ballerificness. Here are a few excerpts.

just bought a HUMMER because he didn't feel like walking the length of the driveway to check his mail *free throws*

wanted to MARRY A MILLIONAIRE!, but then changed his mind when he thought about how broke that is *shooting free throws* (Editor's note: LOLOL!!)

is contemplating putting 22s in his riding lawn mower so he can feel hatred from the many people hating on him *free throws* (Editor's note: I know this is Stace's fave but only if they're spinners.)

is catching a plane to Amsterdam. Not to visit.. That's just where his weed guy lives *shooting free throws*

is wearing his gators today in the rain because he felt like gators belonged in the water *shooting free throws* (Editor's note: Go Gators!!)

also just saved a bundle by switching his insurance to GEIKO but then switched it back because he felt like saving money really isn't all that balling

knows God is Love, but thinks Hate is Gr8-) *shooting free throws* (Editor's note: Hahahahahaha)

Is having yet another Dinosaur egg for breakfast and sprinkling it with blood diamonds to make his doo-doo twankle *shooting free-throws* (Editor's note: I know it's nasty but it's so him...)

wants Cheesecake to go with his Dinosaur egg breakfast & is making Puffy walk to Brooklyn to get it while singing my songs *shooting free throws*

just purchased a Cambodian sweatshop just because FootLocker didn't have his size *balliiin*

just hired DONALD TRUMP as his CELEBRITY APPRENTICE... *free throws*

is making PUFF hold the umbrella because he gave Donald Trump the day off *shooting free throws*

stood Barack & Michele up for dinner last night at the White House because it felt like a ballin idea *free throws* (Editor's note: GASP!)

can't decide what The People want more of.. HATERS or BALLIN' ??

can't decide whether it better to hate on his ballers or ball on deez haters.. :-| (Editor's note: hahahhahahaha)

*YAWN* Welp, I'm off to catch a flight to Tokyo, YOU SORRY STUPID 9 to 5 MFS! ..Dat ain't ballin' *free throws*

is considering cancelling his FACEBOOK account because its FREE! ...and free just isn't ballin' *shaking his head at thought of unballin'*

is having lunch on Pluto instead.. Mars was just too damn close a trip and dat's not ballin' enough.. :-|

is shining his rims up in the rain..just to give 'em that "wet look" as he passes by people waiting to catch the bus *free throws* (Editor's note: *snicker* @ that "wet look")

is seeking counseling to regain control of his life after BALLIN' OUTTA CONTROL for so long (you broke mfs!) *screwface*

is having a 2nd lunch with the Bushs, bin L.adens, and the Royal Family even though he isn't all that hungry. Hunger isn't very baller though :-|

is popping bottles of expensive champagne midday and thought you should know..

says, "The best things in life are free.." Which is why he opted to own all the worst things in life *free throws*

thinks that if you haven't bought your first Bentley by age 14, you're behind the game & setting yourself for failure :-|

says that, "If you haven't made your first billion by age 21, you've seriously wasted your life, probably have NO HATERS, & should kill yourself

considered the possibility dat ppl weren't ACTUALLY "hating on him" but maybe they just hate his stupid-a posts. Den again those thoughts arent very balla

thought long and hard and then decided it was better for him to "RYDE" than to "DIE" ..

wants to apologize for his many posts today, but then again.. Apologies are never really all that baller. Puff ain't never told ME "Sorry." *free throws*

=============
From 8:06 am until 3p... I should find him a job, right? But what's your fave?

3.25.2009

Captioning Fail

I would not want to be deaf having to rely on closed captioning because sometimes it makes absolutely no sense. First, can we talk about the sound descriptions? Rashan says every time someone knocks on the door, it says door bell rings and vice versa. Never noticed it. I don't use CC as much as he does and I've used it even less in the last few months because it's distracting while watching movies. But what I HAVE noticed is things like "Sci-fi sounds." Tell me. If you're deaf, what does this mean to you? I'm hearing and can't tell you precisely what that means. Seriously, sci-fi sounds? SMH. There was another one that was a little too specific for someone who's never heard that sound before anyway and has no frame of reference. Maybe like "crow squawks" or something. Maybe you know from literature or film studies that it's supposed to be an ominous sound but how many people, deaf or not, know the difference between a crow and a bluejay and a robin? Especially if they grew up in the city and only heard pigeons? (World's most disgusting bird, BTW, even worse than vultures. At least vultures are cleaning up.)

This is not even to mention the days and times where the CC says something like, "HE --- SHOT LKDH THROW PPE LKJSDKLS." I have no idea what that means and now I'm done watching this show. Gee... THANKS CC. But my personal fave was while watching "Whose Wedding Is It Anyway" when there was a sorority gathering, the closed captioning was supposed to say, "Calling all sorors to the floor," instead it said, "Crawling on sorrows to the floor." I know people outside the black sorority/fraternity world who have never been around probates and such probably have no idea what the first sentence means either (when you're gathering your sorority sisters-- sorors-- together) but really??? This reminds me of another future post about the difference between black and white sororities. It has become even more obvious at UF (shocker, right? Lol).

3.24.2009

Restlessness

You know how sometimes you just have a feeling that something isn't right and you can't put your finger on it? That's where I am right now. I definitely think some of it is fueled by Facebook and this constant, obsessive intrusion into other people's lives, but when I was talking to my mom about this feeling the other day, I realized it is also due in part to the feeling that perhaps I should be done with this phase of my life and probably most of all a disconnection from people here in Gainesville.

Facebook is certainly to blame. My closest friends don't live anywhere near me but many of them live within a couple of hours of each other and see each other on a regular basis. I've always wanted that, a community of those I care about. And I need some black people in the mix. That's difficult for me to explain sometimes, but when there is some sort of race-related discussion, it's nice to have a black person there to just be able to talk it out with. I like the people in my program a lot but I'm the only black person so in some ways that part of the conversation is never going to happen. And if it does it will come with a lot of explanation that won't necessarily yield greater understanding. In the next few days I will go into something I've been wanting to address for several years: the importance of historically black colleges and universities in the contemporary world.

Today I've gotten my movie viewing back on track, I blogged and I'm going to do some more cleaning before I head to the lab. I have several things to look forward to, not the least of which is Rashan coming this weekend, another SGRho probate on campus on Saturday, Stace coming on Sunday, then us heading to Tallahassee for a couple of days next week, then a trip to the Keys! Yay!!!

3.22.2009

Crazy Movie Lady 9

March 15-21
155. Because I Said So. This film made me wonder if Diane Keaton can play another role. No matter her age, she's always a neurotic mess who explodes at some point in the film. Talk about typecast. I'd like to see her get away from that ever. Her character mixed with Mandy Moore's, particularly their interaction nearly enduced a wrist-cutting. Yikes. I cringed much of the first 45 minutes but wanted to see some sort of conclusion. Not a bad movie, but difficult to watch an overbearing mother in action.
156. The Rage in Placid Lake. Amusing. l think Joy and Rah would like this film. The end was a bit cliche' almost like the filmmaker gave up after doing some really witty, sarcastic work. I started cracking up when I heard the reference to one of my professor's favorite filmmakers, L.eni R.iefenstahl (which no one else understands). At the end the writer's message became a bit heavy-handed.
157. Conversations with Other Women. I was intrigued by the technique of showing 2 cameras on a split screen for the entire movie-- sometimes of the same shot or scene, sometimes of two different, seemingly unrelated scenes. At the beginning it was confusing, then interesting, then a bit wearying. It was about a couple with a past you are trying to figure out while you watch, then eventually is revealed. Interesting part of the story.
158. Scottsboro: An American Tragedy. Documentary about the Scottsboro 9 black teenagers falsely accused of raping 2 white women on a train in Alabama in the 1930s. They spent between 6 and 14 years each in prison, a portion on death row after their convictions. As you can imagine, this wreaked havoc on their lives. By the time they were pardoned in the 1970s, only one was still alive. I would have liked to have heard from their family members as none of the 9 were alive by the time this film was made in 2001. Regardless, an excellent film.
159. Millions. Danny Boyle movie about 2 kids who find a large sum of money. Too cute! I really liked it!
160. Outsourced. Movie about a man forced to temporarily move to India to train people to do his job. I liked it! The story line moved and was amusing. The only bad thing was at one point the love story got a bit predictable but it managed to right itself.
161. An Unmarried Woman. About a woman dealing with the dissolution of her marriage. Horrible 1978 music. I tried to watch this through the prism of its time but 1) I wasn't alive and 2) I don't think it was very effective even then. It was overused. The movie wasn't that bad but it wasn't that good either.
162. At the Death House Door. Documentary about a man who was chaplain at a Texas prison and witnessed 95 executions. He was most haunted by his 33rd, involving a man who was innocent. It was sobering but I really liked it.
163. Made of Honor. Sigh. Must you use every SINGLE cliche'? Really really bad.

*I watched fewer movies this week than I usually do because this was a crazy and busy week. BOOO!!

3.18.2009

Giddy

Guess what? Rashan called me to say, "Happy anniversary!" It's been 8 months. Tell me he's not the sweetest... You lied! Lol. Here are some pics from spring break.

Us at the fountain in Centennial Olympic Park. I don't know why he's holding me so tight. Probably because he was afraid of all the homeless people around. He's so elitist. Then there's my line sister (she's interning at a mag in ATL) and I at Crate and Barrel! Love!

Then us at CNN after the tour-- we look microscopic! Hilarity. Then me at the World of Coke gettin' a taste!

And my favorite picture... me stepping on the infamous ugly Rashan FUBU sweatshirt he has agreed to get rid of if I find him something to wear in its place. DONE!!!

3.17.2009

Crazy Movie Lady 8

March 8-14, 2009
140. Man Trouble. Wow. Awesomely bad.
141. 2 in Paris. A bit self-indulgent at times but the plot moved which has become even more paramount to me the more I read screenwriting books and watch movies and learn about film analyzation. I can't take your poorly crafted story line. This was not.
142. Young @ Heart. Doc about a group of old people singing rock and roll and pop songs. Awesomely hilarious. I didn't understand the changing post-production lighting styles throughout-- between hyper saturated and desaturated. I liked both but the variance distracted me. It would have been difficult for me to make this film because as you would expect, people die and you get wrapped up in their lives and personalities. It would be even harder for me to direct this choir. Wow. Overall, I liked it.
143. Before Sunset. Same chick from 2 in Paris which was incredibly distracting for me since she wrote that one and had much of the same dialogue in this film. Also for some reason it was putting me to sleep.
144. Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Another Woody Allen movie. They're just so accessible. Plus Penelope Cruz won an Oscar for her role. I was completely thrown (spoiler alert) that she didn't show up in the film for about an hour. I was wondering if I was watching the right movie. The movie was intriguing. The narrating, annoying and overdone.
145. Young Frankenstein. Funny Mel Brooks movie. Mad cap with a role by Gene Wilder. Amusing.
146. The Birds. Fantastic Hitchcock film. I can see why it's one of his most famous. A.ma.zing.
147. I Like Killing Flies. Documentary about this cantankerous old man and his NYC restaurant which his family helps him run. I felt for the filmmakers for producing this film in a ridiculously small space and where the subjects apparently refused to wear mics. They obviously they had to compensate in some very horrid ways-- visible hands holding wireless microphones in multiple shots. This film was at least 20 minutes too long with a lot of scenes that didn't advance the story line at all. I assume it's because the main character is a walking sound bite. In a 5 minute conversation you probably get at least 4:39 of usable material.
148. Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Oddly, I liked it. I didn't expect to. Cute teen romance.
149. Confessions of a Superhero. Wow. Depressing doc about these characters on Hollywood Blvd. who all want to be actors and seem to only be getting bit parts in C (not B) movies. So bad. Some great photography though the film certainly could have been much shorter. You felt like you got it after about 35-45 minutes.
150. Freedom Ride 2008. Documentary about... well it was supposed to be about the civil rights movement in Gainesville but wandered off in several directions. I wanted a much more cohesive story.
151. Shadow of a Doubt. Hitchcock film about 2 men wanted for the same crime but police don't know which one was actually responsible. Pretty good. The Birds was way better.
152. Sydney White. Teen romance movie loosely based on Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. Horribly cliche which I suppose is to be expected. At least 20 minutes too long. Romantic comedies, teen movies, etc. should never be longer than 90 minutes. This was an hour 48!! Ridiculous.
153. Miracle at St. Anna. Spike Lee film about a group of black soldiers in WWII. Good photography. I had to suspend more disbelief than I went into this film believing I would need to which was likely my fault as I don't like to read summaries of films.
154. We're Not Married. Marilyn Monroe and Zsa Zsa Gabor. Amusing-ish romantic "classic" (this term seems to be applied to all films from a certain era regardless of whether it was a great movie). Delightfully under 90 minutes. A bit formulaic. (It is from the 50s which was a formulaic time in and of itself.) The best part of the movie involved Zsa Zsa. I always loved that name. My mom said she was gonna name me Zsameil but couldn't figure out a way to spell it that she liked. Hilarious, right? Oh mom. Love it.

3.14.2009

Facebook Thwarts Reunion

Sounds like a headline, right? Dude. I never thought I would be this person. You know the one who eschews a high school reunion. I always thought I would LOVE to come back and see those people I knew back then, once again, ever 10 years. Then I went to Hampton. I didn't hate high school. I was pretty well-known. I was drum major in the marching band, captain of the debate team. Sounds pretty nerdy, huh? But I was never picked on. I had too much attitude. Shocking, right? Lol.

But at Hampton, the first week, the first DAY eclipsed everything I had done in the last 3 years of high school. I wish I was exaggerating, but I'm not. I walked into my dorm room, sat in the window and said, "Oh my gosh, Mommy! Look at all the black people!!" She said, "Girl, hush and get out that window and help unload this car!" Hilarious. I was thinking, "Wow... this is better than everything I experienced in high school. How could I have possibly been apprehensive about this??" I knew my middle school friends would be around but I quickly decided I had little desire to see anyone from high school before the reunion. I skillfully and willfully avoided them, convinced that part of my life was past and now my job was to continue to grow the fabulosity until the 10-year reunion when I could come back and say, "How ya like me now, snitches?? Even better, right!?!?"

Enter Facebook. In the last several weeks I have added at least 25-30 people from elementary, middle and high school to my page. Many of them are still BFF with the same people they were BFF with at whatever time in my life I knew them. Many of them also still live in Charlotte. This bores me. You peaked in high school? It makes me not want to go back. I see what you're doing with your life. You're married with kids living in the same neighborhood in which you were raised. I'm not interested. My 10-year high school reunion is NEXT YEAR (ack) and I really have little desire to attend. Bo.ring. Don't let there be ANYTHING else interesting happening at the same time anywhere else in the world.

3.13.2009

Band Names

After watching "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," Rashan and I have decided to come up with a list of band names. Your favorite may become my new blog title.

I Like Ripped Paper
Not Now Gary
I Love You So Much It's Retarded (possible album title)
You Smell Like Soap
Pink Bunny in a Yellow Car
Where's My Famous Dad?
Broken Mustache
Trout in my Trousers
Between Us and the Curb

All copyright of Jameil and Rashan. If you want to use any of these names, you will need permission. Yes, we know we're awesome. That name is copyrighted, too.

3.12.2009

Spring Break!

If I haven't told you yet, I'm in Atlanta with Rashan for spring break this week. It has been FABULOUS not having to wake up at a specific time, taking a nap if I want and generally RELAXING! So far for food we went to Raging Burrito on Saturday while shopping in Dekalb then came back to Rashan's to watch movies. Sunday we were supposed to go to church but a late nap Saturday night had us up until 5 am! Oops. For breakfast we went to the Flying Biscuit with my line sister. YUM!! Rah had the southern scramble which sounded gross to me-- greens in eggs?? yuck!-- but was yummy. Nichole and I had the eggstravaganza. Then because by then it was so late in the day we went to Phipps Plaza instead of the botanical garden like we originally planned because we didn't want to be rushed. We were quickly bumped to browsing because of the $250 sale prices. Minus the occasional $25 hideous shirt that should never have been $95. Oh well. Since Lenox was right across the street, we went to... CRATE AND BARREL!! AHHH!! I love that store!! I'd been wanting needing something from that store for I think my entire life now!! I got 4 of these glasses. Gorg, right?? And so reasonable! I love Crate and Barrel. Sunday night I made mussels in a roasted red pepper and fire roasted tomato sauce. Thanks RACH!! It was delish!

Okay let's make this short and sweet for now. On Monday we went to Figo for lunch with my line sister. I had the Tuscan sausage and apple ravioli with a chopped vine-ripened tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, minced garlic, basil and extra virgin olive oil sauce. Yum. We also did the Inside CNN Studio Tour where I learned very little. LOL. It was odd to be in there listening to stuff about how the news works and staring at people working... at the news. Very strange. Then we went to the Coca-Cola museum. Even though I gave up soda for lent... I tried all 60 flavors from around the world. I know... wrong. Asia was the best. Europe was the worst. I also got a cute shirt made from recycled bottles for only $10! I was so shocked. Have you ever seen a shirt that cheap at a tourist trap? Me either! Then Rah left me and Nichole to our own devices. We had Burger Joes for dinner. It was okay. I had the Jerky Turkey Burger which was drowning in sauce. Then we went to Georgia Tech for the SGRho probate there.

Tuesday we did nothing all day long. Neither of us can remember this day! We had delicious gyros from this drive-in place and then I went to the Farmer's Market again-- a whole 'nother post-- and we watched some films. Wednesday I finally made Rach's cowboy hash (and blogged about it w/a pic!) which was deliciously spicy! I probably would've left out the rosemary but we put the kitchen sink in there in lieu of grill seasoning. (We've been cooking together this trip.)

Last night. Oh last night. Y'all know I love burgers. Season 4 Top Chef contestant Richard Blais has a resaurant here called Flip. When I tell you that is the best burger I have ever had I'm not being flippant or overly hyperbolic. I'm being real. I had the lamburger. Delicious, juicy, lovely. Yummy. The fries were nothing to sneeze at either. Rashan had the shrimp poboyger with sweet potato tots. Yum! For dessert, a krispy kreme milkshake. I gave krispy kremes up for Lent, too. Still helped tear up that milkshake. I have been horrible this trip! But it tasted so good.

Our most recent meal... LET DOWN!! We went to the Social House for breakfast, which we discovered because it's on the way to Flip (mmmm). Rah had the spinach, bacon and feta omelet which was yummy. The cheese grits were lumpy and the oj was bitter. I had the eggs benedict with mushrooms, leeks, country ham and gouda cheese. Delicious until I found a HAIR. Ugh. Tonight I'm making gumbo. Mmm!

3.10.2009

No Ma'am

I went to a step show last weekend (I think... they start to run together) and was SHOCKED by the way these chicks were dressed. I thought they were filming h.ookers at the point the sequel after the show. You, ma'am are dressed like strawberry. Like you can't go by your real name on the street so you pick one that sounds sweet. All of them didn't look this bad but all of them looked strange to me to be so dressed up to sit around for 3+ and watch people they don't know sweat it out on stage.

Apparently here everyone dresses up for the step show because they immediately afterward heard for the after party. Yeah no. Back when I was in college, aka the good old days, we needed to pre-game before the show, then it wore off during, then we'd pre-game after the show and change for the after party. Regardless, we dressed far more fabulously. Going out does not mean saying "go-go g.adget s.lut suit." (My former drinking partner dated a guy. He knew a girl who looked extremely normal and even boring during the week but said at the end of the week when it was time to go out it looked like she said, "Go-go g.adget s.lut suit" and instantly had on the super tricked out clothes. HILARIOUS!!)

Anyway. Even stranger to me was that it was apparently twin night. While flipping through party pictures I saw more than one chick hanging with her clothing doppelganger. Um... that was a fashion NIGHTMARE (ok maybe not that extreme but SO wack) to be somewhere where you have multiple people (or even one other person) dressed just like you, but these chicks appear to have done it on purpose.



SAME PARTY!! Why?

In unrelated news, it's been more than a year since Sparkling Red wrote her sleep paralysis post and I HAVEN'T HAD IT SINCE THEN!!

3.08.2009

Crazy Movie Lady 7

March 1-7, 2009
127. In the Realms of the Unreal. Documentary about a reclusive man who left a 15,000 page (yes you read that right) novel behind when he died along with hundreds of paintings and multiple journals. He only left behind 3 photographs of himself, no video which of course made this a difficult story to tell. HIs room was in tact since his death in 1973 (until 2000) which helped some but mostly this story was told through his novel and illustrations and animation. I don't think I was in the right frame of mind to watch this. I do know that I don't trust or believe any of his neighbors when they claim to understand things about him or have visited him unless it did something to further their own notoriety or causes. Call me a cynic but if a reclusive old man never talks to you, when he leaves are you really going to visit? That'd be a no. Unless you are nefarious and can benefit.
128. Suddenly, Last Summer. The Elizabeth Taylor version. I can see why she was such a star then. Absolutely fabulous. Katherine Hepburn was also in this movie but in a small role. Did I like the film? The suspense in the last 20-25 minutes was great. It took overly long to get there.
129. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control. Very strange documentary about 4 men all obsessed with something-- animal training, topiary gardening, naked mole rats and robotics. I was speechless. I couldn't stand the music though there were some interesting techniques used in editing.
130. The Trouble with Harry. Another Hitchcock. (It's been a while, eh?) This one was crazy, crazy and utterly perplexing. Madcap comedy but in a quiet way. I was viewing with raised eyebrows the entire time.
131. Religulous. Bill Maher documentary. First, I didn't get the transparency-- seeing mics and cameramen and sound men multiple times. The worst of Michael Moore's ambush-style reporting but for an entire film and directed toward religious people. You don't believe in anything so no one else should either? And everyone who's religious is stupid? That appears to be this film's premise. And the producer is presenting no alternative views. It's all people who are completely in his camp as far as I can tell. Beyond one-sided. I couldn't be involved in the production of this film-- as crew or editor or any of that. Why do you hate religion so much? Did I learn anything in this film other than that you hate religion. No. And no, I did not like this film. At all.
132. Best in Show. Mockumentary about a dog show. Silly funny and outrageous. The only thing is the actual dog show lasted way too long. It was almost like watching it in real time which who would ever want to do that??? Pas moi! But the rest was great and too funny!
133. Sinbad: Nothin' But the Funk. Comedy show on HBO. Rashan said it counts as a movie. It was a bit funny. I may have outgrown Sinbad but who knows? Maybe if he would do some comedy today I could re-evaluate.
134. Welcome to the Dollhouse. Odd. I didn't see the point of it.
135. Priceless (Hors de Prix). Another Audrey Tatou movie. She's so cute! And so was this movie.
136. Beautiful Daughters. Documentary about t.ransgender women (those who were born boys) in the V.agina Monologues. Made me glad not to feel like I was born in the wrong body. Thank you Jesus for that.
137. The Women. To quote a review I read about another film, "indulgently long." I don't mean that in a nice way. There were at least 15 minutes that should have been left on the cutting room floor. The hispanics were all stereotypes which was annoying. This movie could have been worse but it could have been much better i.e. making the most of this all-star cast.
138. Sleeper. Woody Allen movie. They're hard to avoid. Slapstick silly but kind of funny. Less neurotic behavior from him than usual which was a treat.
139. Be Kind Rewind. I watched it because of Mos Def. Wow... super silly as I thought it would be but incredibly slow to get to the funny part. I almost quit watching after 20 minutes because of the inordinately long time spent on character development. I probably would only watch the funny parts again instead of wasting time on the rest of it. The end wasn't very satisfactory either.

3.06.2009

My President Moment

But first... one of my classmates said during a heated argument (with someone else), "Just because I say this (brown) purse is black, doesn't mean it is." Then she looks at me, pauses and says, "Sorry." I say, "Just because I say Jameil is black doesn't mean she is?" LOL!! She says, "No, I was going to say, just because I say Jameil's a guy doesn't mean she is. You were in my line of sight and I just pick the closest thing or person to me during an argument." Which is worse??? Lol! Too funny!!

And now a my president moment....

Jewish Classmate: We don't have any good leaders.
Me: We [black folk] have Barack Obama.


YESSSSSSSSSSSS!!! Man it's great to be black right now! Black is the new president!

3.04.2009

Sidewalk Stories

I have this thing about people walking the wrong way on the sidewalk. At a school with 50,000 students, this is not unusual, but I've probably encountered more people on the sidewalk since I moved here in August than the entire time I lived in Pittsburgh. It's crazy. AND PEOPLE DON'T KNOW WHERE TO WALK!! Sometimes I subconciously move out of the way which then pisses me off-- YOU'RE the one walking on the wrong side!! Other times I hold my ground and make them move. One girl was on the phone and I stopped when she was coming toward me and she walked into the grass. I felt victorious but then immediately bad. I don't have to have bad manners just because you do.

I'm SO tempted to be like everyone else and just chalk something on the sidewalks. But mine would be a diagram with arrows that said "Walk this way." And I would write it all over campus for the sidewalk impaired. There would be articles in the newspapers about me. "Who's the walk this way person?" And people making false claims about the identity. It'd be great.

You know the oddity overloads? Turns out I've been infected. It's true. Someone chalked a giant maze the shape of a snail's shell on the sidewalk and I was super tempted to walk through it at snail's pace but I was already about to be late to my lab. Bah! Lololol!

3.03.2009

Weighing In

I've never talked about this on my blog but my father cheated on my mother. For years while they were married. I never wanted to tell people to save my mother's feelings, but it impacted me, too. My sister and I found out because we were hanging out in her room when we were supposed to be sleeping and I heard my mother yelling. My sister was usually the nosy one while I followed the rules, but this night for some reason, she wanted to go to sleep while I wanted to creep to the door to eavesdrop.

I was the oldest, so off we went. It didn't always work like this, but for some reason, this night it did.

When my father left my mother, I asked her, because we were closer, why he left her. She told me to ask him. Very passive aggressive in retrospect, but she was hurting just as much as me but in a different way. I'm not sure whether she expected me to really ask him but I did. I had no fear. I like to get answers and jump into situations headlong.

"Daddy, why did you cheat on Mommy?" I was 13 at this point but at 26, still call them by those names. I tried to change it but my mom never liked any of the names I selected (Mother when annoyed with her and Ma otherwise). I ended up just sticking with Mommy and Daddy. D (as I sometimes call him now) responded, "What kind of question is that?" "Well I asked Mommy and she told me to ask you." "She did, did she?" "Yes. So why did you?" "Because she got fat." I was shocked. Because she got FAT?????? "I thought you loved her?" "I did." Wow... my 13-year-old mind could not wrap itself around the thought, 'He loved her, but that changed because she got fat.'

I just realized, 8 years after I started seeing changes in my body and started working out sophomore year, is that the reason I was so terrified of the freshman (or sophomore) 15 is not because of the freshman 15, but because I didn't want anyone to find that additional weight as a reason not to love me. Obvious? Probably. Definitely. I would notice it right away in someone else, but in myself, though self aware, I tried to deny this one.

Now, my working out likely has something still to do with that, but also to do with the fact that when I work out I look JAM good and like the way I fit into all my clothes and work a bikini RIGHT. No, you can't see pictures. Lol.

When I told my father how his words affected me and how they impacted my sister as well, he didn't get it. Regardless, I've asked him to not say anything about weight to either of us. It's not for discussion. Your daughters should know that you love them regardless of their weight. I'm not saying that we think he loves us any less if we weigh 5 or 15 or 30 lbs. more than we should, but it never feels okay to wonder that sort of thing about your father.

3.02.2009

Movie Quotes

Since I'm crazy movie lady (last week's movies are in the post below) this is very appropriate, oui? Oui. I will post the answers before my next post.

1. Pick 10 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search or other search functions.

1. [to her father, who is not paying attention] I had two heart attacks, an abortion, did crack... while I was pregnant. Other than that, I'm fine.

2. Character A: You know what he needed to do back then? He needed to stop fine-ass Ingrid Bergman from gettin' on the plane with the corny dude. And then, he gonna walk off in the fog with some other dude. Come on, man. With another dude, in the fog? Come on. Two grown men walk off in a fog, you don't know where they goin'? Think about it, man.
Character B: You smoke too much grass, man.
A: I hope you don't think you walkin' off no place with me, man. Matter of fact, let me sit over here.

3. Character A: Do me a favor, for your own good, put your name in your books right now before they get mixed up and you won't know whose is whose. 'Cause someday, believe it or not, you'll go 15 rounds over who's gonna get this coffee table. This stupid, wagon wheel, Roy Rogers, garage sale COFFEE TABLE.
Character B: I thought you liked it?
Character A: I was being nice!!

4. "My nail beds suck!"
"She's fabulous, but she's evil."

5. [to Evian] Go drink a bottle of yourself!

6. "Oh how fabulous. Getting Marky Mark to take time from his busy pants dropping schedule to plant trees."

7. "I don't want to have anything to do, with anything black, for at least a week."

8. "This is concrete warfare we're talking about... if you're going to ride you gotta get on that [stuff (expletive deleted)]."

9. Character A: You gonna get used to wearin' them chains afer a while. Don't you never stop listenin' to them clinking. 'Cause they gonna remind you of what I been saying. For your own good.
Character B: Wish you'd stop bein' so good to me, cap'n.

10. "This is a pimp I wouldn't trust to wash my car, but y'all done elected him city official..."

3.01.2009

Crazy Movie Lady 6

February 23- February 28, 2009
113. The Wrestler. I liked this movie more after watching the clips at the Oscars. I realized this film made me feel exactly the way I would about a washed up wrestler and a washed up wrestler. I believed them (Mickey Rourke (who I had never even heard of) and Marisa Tomei) in their roles. That does not mean I liked the movie, but I appreciated their respective abilities as actors. So good job for them but I don't like wrestling and therefore did not like this movie.
114. Trainspotting. The first 6 minutes I was so mesmerized by the accents I forgot to be appalled at the drug use. Then I remembered. I don't really have a level of tolerance for druggies. I guess since they were able to make me believe them in their roles they are either smack addicts or good at acting like smack addicts. I doubt I will ever see this movie again.
115. The Story of the Weeping Camel. Documentary set with people in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. I loved the cinematography. Absolutely beautiful. Even though the story was structure with very minimal talking from the beginning, I really, really liked it. I felt like I was really there with these camel herders. But there's only so much you can take of this and after 45 minutes I was ready for this film to be over. But I had 45 minutes left. Wow. Without this goal of watching 750 films I would have given up on it. Because I was searching for context in this film and a larger perspective in it, I found myself for the first time ever... wait for it... yearning for some sort of narration... Don't tell anyone I said that.
116. Last Letters Home. A documentary with the last letters sent home by Iraq war soldiers killed over there. A bit formulaic which for me helped to let me know some of the harder things to watch would be over in a few minutes. It felt long, though because it was so emotional. It was difficult to watch. I know it is infinitely harder to live.
117. Swingers. Hmmm. I got REALLY tired of watching this dude be a loser. Really tired. It was also weird seeing a super young Vince Vaughn with the ill skinny face. Crazy! i liked the music and there were some funny scenes but I felt like I was watching some college kids and I see those enough during the day.
118. Trust the Man. I got it because of Maggie Gyllenhall. I don't know why but I think I like her. The movie, however, was overly formulaic and predictable, even for a romantic comedy with an attempt at a dark twist via the husband's "sex addiction." I assume the writer didn't want the alleged addiction to overtake the film but in limiting it in the fabric of that character's life, it didn't really seem like an addiction, rather a guy who likes sex a lot, but not really too much more than the average. Alas, this movie was only average.
119. Se7en. Wow... Now THAT is a crazy movie. I liked the way the credits were presented. I know what you're thinking: she hated this movie. I didn't but I try not to glorify crazy like a person who wants to punish one person who had every sin which means I try not to like films like this one. But it was good.
120. Summer of Sam. You know I'm a Spike Lee fan who hasn't seen enough of his films. I liked this one a lot despite the length (2.5 hours). It spoke to the madness of the time when a crazed killer was on the loose-- everyone's a suspect.
121. The Order of Myths. PBS documentary about the segregated Mardi Gras parades in Mobile, AL, the first city in America to have Mardi Gras parades. The black queen's ancestors were brought to America on the white queen's ancestor's ship. The story line didn't flow smoothly enough for me. I got incredibly bored at some points because it wandered through several different plots, some of which (the different perspectives on the segregated parades) I was far more interested in than others.
122. The Last Kiss. No. It's easier and kinder to say no than to delineate all the problems I have with this film.
123. February One. Documentary about the Greensboro 4 who held the first sit-in in the nation. LOTS of re-enactment. You know I'm not a fan of that.
124. The Visitor. I liked it in parts. I was intrigued by it. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it.
125. Penelope. Fairy tale I tried because I like Christina Ricci. Unfortunately... Boring. I wanted it to be more interesting but the movie stalled, then stopped before the ending came. You stopped caring about the character far too long before the story ended. Bah.
126. Dan in Real Life. Filled with platitudes and predictability... which means I didn't really like it. Boring.
*I tried to watch An Ideal Husband with Cate Blanchett, Minnie Driver and Rupert Everett billed as romantic comedy. Except there was no comedy and I didn't care about the characters or story line. Extra boring. Very bad end to a week of movies. I didn't like the last 6 either very much or at all. Bad bad bad.