Literally, This Made Me Laugh Out Loud

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I want to tell her to eat a cookie...

But I honestly think she looks just about perfect. Check out Entertainment Weekly's gallery of other exclusive Oscar shots here. I'm a fan of the ones by Jennifer Rocholl.

Funny Movies

Zack and Miri Make a Porno and Role Models. Both very entertaining. Also, you must catch the trailer for Fanboys. Hi-larious!

Out of touch, Out of touch, Out of toooooooouch

So Doyce and I went to see Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist this evening (go see it! Read the book, too!) and as I stayed through the credits, as is my wont, I saw only two band names I recognized in a HUGE list of music that appears in the film (not counting the composer, who did incidental music and a song or two, and also did the tunes for Rushmore). Two names! And one of them was the Spice Girls!

So I have to ask -- am I completely out of touch in terms of contemporary music, or is this movie, which is about the underground rock scene, supposed to make me feel old and out-of-it?

Music I Like

Watching an episode of Bones last night with Doyce, and heard a hauntingly beautiful song. One short Google later, and I had it: "Bring on the Wonder" by Susan Enan. Only problem? She's got that song and two others available to play on her myspace page, but I can't download them! Not on iTunes, not on Amazon, not on her not-yet-set-up website. Grr! Linking here so I don't forget to check back later and hope to be able to get a legal copy. It's very pretty.

Oh hey! I found a YouTube viedo that uses it with scenes from Buffy and Angel. Enjoy!

Secret Ten List: Love Boat Edition

Rob S., who got this whole thing started for me, asks:

All the even numbers are guest-stars on the Love Boat. Who hooks up? Who breaks up? Who has gets involved with the antics of the crew?

Man, this is a good one! So who's coming abroad for adventure, their mind on a new romance? Quite the motley crew: #2 Starbuck and #8 Alanna seem to have settled their problems after the dance off, and we all know what trouble Kara can get into on a cruise ship, so I've got her pegged for some serious hooking up. Very possibly with a politician. Alanna takes a while to get her sea legs, but I think she uses her time to realize that being a soldier doesn't mean losing her femininity, and shares a special, almost fatherly dance with Captain Stubing.

Now, #4 Wonder Woman and Steve Trevor are sailing to Acapulco on a vacation, soon I'm sure to be interrupted by some worldwide crisis, so let's give them the benefit of the doubt and a nice cabin with an ocean view, and let them do some hooking up with each other.

#6 is a crafty one, she is. One minute she's sitting with her fellow octogenarians, and the next thing you know, she's bashing Doc over the head with her broomstick. I tell ya, Granny Weatherwax doesn't brook with that "medicine" stuff.

So that leaves #10. He just spends most of the cruise enjoying the buffet, staying up late, and playing race car video games in the onboard entertainment center.

Secret Ten: Trapped!

***Dave asks:

If #4 and #7 are trapped in a building taken over by terrorists, who gets out alive?

Well, now, that depends on your kind of terrorists. If they were akin to the folks who routinely show up on network tv shows, ie, your generic European or Middle Eastern terrorists, then I think #4, Wonder Woman, would not only get out alive, but she'd lasso the head bad guy, learn all his secrets, and then turn him and all his cohorts over to her boyfriend, Steve Trevor.

However!! If by some small chance the terrorists were truly old school, and by that I mean ancient minions of terror, say, perhaps, an undying Witch King with a geas that no man can kill him, well then #7, Eowyn's the champ. As long as there are a few Houses of Healing nearby. Hotties like Faramir (one of my minions of the Power of Optimism) are optional.

Secret Ten, Question #1

Woot! Doyce has taken up my challenge. He asks:

If #2 and #8 on your list have a dance-off, who wins?

Wow. These are two women not known for dance-offs. On the one hand, you have the terror of the Colonial Fleet -- is she a Cylon, or is she not? -- Kara Thrace, aka Starbuck.

On the other hand, yet another warrior, Alanna, from the eponymous series of YA adventure books by Tamora Pierce. For those of you not in the know, Alanna disguises herself as a boy in order to train to be a knight. Many adventures ensure -- four books worth in the first series, although I think she reappears in some of Pierce's other titles.

Now both of these women know from fighting, and in a space battle or jousting arena, my answer would be clear. In a dance-off, however? I think the edge goes to Starbuck, who's proved she's got some fancy footwork as a boxer. Alanna may try to take advantage of Starbuck's bad knee, but in the end, Starbuck will just show up in that cool dress from the Vice-Presidential election episode, and Alanna will crumble. And if she doesn't, I think Starbuck might shoot her. So there.

Dave Barry Continues to be Funny

In his annual round-up of the year's events. A book-related excerpt:

In the arts, July is dominated by the release of the seventh and last Harry Potter book, Harry Potter Spends Half the Book Camping, which enthralls the nation as nothing has enthralled it since the release of the iPhone. The book is generally well-received, although some fans are troubled by the ending, which culminates in the death of Harry's longtime nemesis, Tony Soprano.

Thanks to Lela for the link, and apologies to Doyce for laughing out loud continually while reading it, and not reading the whole thing out loud. It's long!

How is this POSSIBLE?

Went to see "Sweeney Todd" last night with Doyce, and was very amused about ten minutes into the movie to see a couple sitting a few rows in front of us grab their stuff and walk out. How, in the world of the internet and television, is it possible to chose to see a movie at your local multiplex and NOT KNOW it's a musical? I mean, ok, sure, they might have walked out for a different reason, but I'm putting my money on the musical part. It was on about the third song, at which point one might safely assume that the singing heretofore is not just a little quirk of the film, but is to be throughout. I mean, I'm not expecting everyone to be fully aware of the history of the show, dating back to Sondheim's original 1979 production starring a fabulously evil Angela Landsbury as Mrs. Lovett, or the most recent, widely lauded Broadway production with Patti LuPone and Michael Cerveris, where the action of the play was staged as if my inmates in an asylum, but to not know it's a musical? Crazy!!

Good movie, though. It is bloody, certainly, but it felt very much like fake blood to me, and I thought there were some really great parts. Mrs. Lovett's song about a holiday at the sea (I don't remember the exact name of the song) was laugh-out-loud funny. Even without knowing the musical, I groked onto the big surprise that is revealed in the final scene, and I had a true moment of fear for one of the characters.

Also, I enjoyed hearing the song "No One's Going to Harm You" in the movie, which I had heard before but out of context. What sounds like a beautiful little love song turns out to be something quite different. But that, I think, is one of the best parts about Sondheim. You can hear a song hundreds of times, but finally seeing it in the context of the show, it can be devastating. Years ago, I had a similar experience with "Into The Woods." I'd gotten a tape (that's how long ago -- not even a CD) of the Broadway soundtrack for Christmas, along with tickets to see the show. I listened to that tape practically every day until I got to see the performance, and I still bawled my eyes out during the show. I'd never picked up on what happened during a certain song, even though the line was quite clear, "It's because of you there's a giant in our midst and my wife is dead." Which I think means there's a special art to MAKING a soundtrack, as well: choosing which songs to include, and what dialogue.

Anyway, Sweeney Todd: good movie. Knowing that it's a musical: nice. Not knowing EXACTLY what's going to happen: even better.

Holiday Cheer

You can try, but it is impossible to watch this and not be happy.

Merry Christmas!

Love to all my friends and family from snowy Denver!

Take it away, Bing!

Yet another movie I'm looking forward to seeing

Of course, for this one, I have to wait until summer. But it looks like it'll be worth the wait.

What's Your Song?

Got a fun-filled weekend queued up, starting with our office holiday party. Organized by some of the younger staff, we're all going to a karaoke bar. Combine that with plans for Saturday's Rock Band-a-palooza, and you might just get a sense of my excitement!

So! Karaoke! What's your song, your tried and true?

Me, I love "Closer to Fine" by The Indigo Girls, Dusty Springfield's "Son of a Preacher Man," or Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out for a Hero."

Golden Encompassing

So The Golden Compass opens today, and I'm looking forward to seeing it. What's been a bit maddening is the ridiculous furor over the "anti-Christian" content in the books, and thus, in the movie. Never mind that other critics are enraged because the filmmakers took out most of the anti-Church stuff. They're up in arms that author Phillip Pullman is promoting his atheist agenda to moviegoers, and at the holidays too! The nerve!

I liked this bit from Brandon Sanderson, a fantasy writer and Mormon, about an email he received urging people not to see the movie:

It didn't seem informative–but COUNTER-informative. It didn't try to explain ideas, but instead tried to get people to avoid listening to those ideas. In short, it didn't seek to promote understanding or learning, but instead promoted exclusivist and censorship. There is a difference between 1) acknowledging and arguing against content you might disagree with and 2) attempting to suppress that content.

Read the whole thing, and make up your own mind.

As for me, of course I'm going to go. It has ARMORED BEARS!!

1408

Is a spoooooky movie.

Have I mentioned I don't like scary movies? I don't.

If I have nightmares tonight, I'm blaming Stephen King.

He probably gets that a lot.

Sure, when you put it that way...

"Oh no!" I exclaimed, sitting at my laptop, staring at the screen.

From various points across the room, I'm asked by my mom and sister, What's wrong? Is someone sick? Did the project we just spent several hours working on disappear?

Um, no. "Battlestar Galactice: Razor" premieres tomorrow night, and I won't be home to set the DVR.

Sure, when you compare it to all the other stuff that could go wrong, it's not so bad. But it is a problem. And Scifi.com's being annoying difficult about telling me when they'll air it again.

John Green Explains The Writers Strike

Very well, too, I think.

And ***Dave linked to the WGA petition that I signed a few days ago. Go add your name.

You know. If you want to.

Strike Update

No, I don't represent tv writers, but I still absolutely support them in their strike. How can you show your support? Avoid tv on DVD, or on the internet. Writers are striking to get paid for those views.

Remember when we used to be able to watch reruns on tv between seasons? It doesn't happen anymore because those shows go right onto the internet for available download. Now, when everyone's being treated fairly, I love being able to get caught up on my tv sitting in front of my computer. Since I learned that those viewings are being termed by the networks as "promotion," and don't make their writers any money? Not so much.

Keep reading.

Woot! And a strike!

Might have coughed up a lung here or there, but my sister's wedding yesterday was a blast and half. She looked gorgeous and happy, her hubby (my new brother-in-law) never stopped smiling the whole day, and everyone had a great time. One of my favorite moments -- realizing I'll have a dance partner for the rest of the weddings I go to for the rest of my life. Yay!

In other news, the Hollywood Writers Strike is on. Working in book publishing, it's easy to sometimes say, "well, they can just go write a book for something, right?" But it's not that easy. For more information about the cause (which is worthy) and the strike itself, I learned a lot from these links:

Two via Neil Gaiman's blog (yes, Neil's also on strike), here and here.
And one from Jane Espenson's blog, here.

Also, this is a totally awesome ad that ran in the Hollywood press, indicating a whole bunch of show runners' and producers' support of the strike.