What is the universe trying to tell me?

It's only Wednesday, and so far this week I have ridden to and from work with more physically challenged people than I think I saw all autumn. People in wheelchairs or using crutches, some in casts while others are amputees, they are in my car on my train every morning.

Is this a coincidence? Have they always been there, but I haven't been sensitive to them before? Or is someone trying to tell me something? And if so, what's the message?

WWW Wednesdays

To play along, just answer the following three questions… • What are you currently reading? • What did you recently finish reading? • What do you think you’ll read next? My answers:

1) I'm currently reading A Royal Duty, Paul Burrell's decade-old memoir about his time with Princess Diana. I can't believe that I'm just getting to it now!

2) Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell was much, much better than I expected. One of the best Scarpetta books I've read in years! The beginning is rather slow, with a lot of exposition, but I'm glad I stuck with it.

3) Mmmmm .... maybe the very popular 11/22/63 is next. I also have a Meg Cabot/chick lit mystery (Size 14 Is Not Fat) that appears interesting, as well as a thriller (L.A. Mental). I just don't know. So many books, so little time!

Go here to play along and check out other answers.

I Want Wednesday

I want to watch movies and not see Robin Wright. First I'm stuck with her in the The Girl with Dragon Tattoo, now I find her in Moneyball. She has small parts in both and I have no idea why I hate her so much. She's aging gracefully, delivers her lines competently. I've never liked her, though. Not since she was Buttercup in The Princess Bride.

A Stolen Movie Meme

Mark Hughes' 50 "The Best Films Never Nominated For The Oscar For Best Picture"

Hughes goes into detail on the first ten in his article, then lists the others. I wonder which of my readers have seen these films, so I'm going to color the ones I've seen in RED, and invite you to do the same. If you do, leave a message in the comments!

And thanks to Endomental for turning me onto this. Here's her list.

 A Hard Day's Night (1964) My addition

Metropolis (1927/28)
North by Northwest (1959)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Aguirre: The Wrath of God (1972)
Mean Streets (1973)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Sling Blade (1996)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) The Dark Knight (2008)
Notorious (1946)
To Catch a Thief (1955)
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
The Searchers (1956)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
The China Syndrome (1979)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Blade Runner (1982)
Sophie’s Choice (1982)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Blood Simple (1984)
Brazil (1985)
Matewan (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Gorillas in the Mist (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
Glory (1989)
Miller’s Crossing (1990)
Thelma and Louise (1991)
The Player (1992)
Malcolm X (1992)
Germinal (1993, foreign language film)
Dead Man Walking (1995)
Seven (1995)
Rob Roy (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Magnolia (1999)
Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
King Kong (2005)
Syriana (2005)
Children of Men (2006)
Gone Baby Gone (2007)
Shotgun Stories (2008)
Che (2008, foreign language film)
Shutter Island (2010)

Some things don't change

My older nephew, the newly-minted sailor, was at my mom's house this past weekend. He has a couple weeks in town before he boards his ship and my mom, ever the doting grandma, wants to spend every moment with him she can. And she likes to show him off, so I went out of my way to stop by and visit with him, even took a few photos of her grandsons together.

The problem is my older sister. My nephew asked me why I keep my cyst in a jar. That's what his mother, my sister, tells people, that I keep my cyst in a jar to show it off.

First of all, it measured 11"x8"x5" and was shaped like a football. It wouldn't fit in "a jar." Secondly, the reason why it, and my ovaries and uterus, were removed was to biopsy them for cancer. So no, there's nothing left for me to carry around. I did ask the doctor for copies of the photos -- ones he would have taken anyway -- because I was dying to see the cyst that had such an impact on my life for months and months.

My sister happened to call my mom's house so I asked her, "Are you telling people I carry my cyst around in jar so I can show it off?"

"No."

"Your son says you do."

"Yeah," he said loudly. "You told me that repeatedly."

I didn't have the stomach to make her squirm. After all, she's tried to reach out to me recently and besides, our being civil makes my mother so happy. So I made a joke of it and passed the phone to my nephew.

But old as we are, my sister is exactly who she always was. She really cannot stand anyone thinking highly of me. Never has been able to. It makes me sad.

The best actor of the year is Uggy

Look at him! He completely stole The Artist. He is loving, funny and brave -- everything you could want in a movie hero. And I'd much rather gaze upon his kisser than Brad Pitt's.

I demand an Oscar for Uggy!

Oh, we do that here?

WARNING: This is not the post of a grownup. It's the brain fart of a very immature gal. 

My boss was out Thursday and Friday. He explained these unscheduled absences by saying his son was in the hospital. Today, when he came back into work, he called us all into the conference room and told us that the 21-year-old is waging a brave, and so far successful, battle against bi-polar disorder.

I listened with an open heart until my boss said, "He's scared in the hospital and he would love to get cards. Just send them to my home and I'll make sure he gets them." He then went on to post his address outside his door so we can get the cards to his son right away.

What? Huh? I'm still waiting for an official card from coworkers. When I was in the hospital last autumn, when I was recuperating at home, I got individual cards from two of my coworkers, two others checked in via text and Facebook, but none of these messages were from my boss, and none were from "the team."

Oh well, we're talking about a scared kid here, not my boss. So of course I will send him a card. But I'd be less than honest on this blog if I didn't report that I'm feeling very petty right now.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Never Ending Meme, Ends
Cheers to all of us thieves!

36. Have you watched American Horror Story? No.

37. Baseball hat or toque? Please don't make me.

38. Do you shampoo or soap up first in the shower?  Soap.

39. Wet the toothbrush or brush dry with the toothpaste? Wet.

40. Pen or pencil?  Pencil. I'm never totally done with anything I write and am big into erasers.

41. Have you ever gambled at a casino? Yes.

42. Have you thrown up on a plane? No.
 
43. Have you thrown up in a car? Yes.

44. Have you thrown up at work? Yes.


I first answered #43 and #44 with "no," and then the memories came back to me. Yes, I guessed I repressed those times when i puked in public.

45. Do you scream on roller coasters? Yes.

46. How many shoes do you have? A lot. Nine pair that I can see from here. I not only own a good many shoes, I  resist putting them away.

47. Who was your first roommate? I have never shared my bedroom for longer than a vacation with anyone, and I've never shared my home with anyone since I moved out of my parents' home.

48. What alcoholic beverage did you drink when you got drunk for the first time? Harvey Wallbanger. Haven't drunk one again since. Like it was Harvey's fault. Silly, I know.

49. What was your first job? Does babysitting count?

50. What was your first car? My only car -- an Impala. 

51. When did you go to your first funeral? I was in second grade. It was my neighbor, Bill. I was sorry that he was buried in a suit because he always -- ALWAYS -- wore just a t-shirt around the house, no matter what the weather and I wanted to see the anchor tattoo on his forearm one more time.

52. How old were you when you first moved away from your hometown? 18

53. Who was your first grade teacher? Mrs. Krock. She was very pretty and had blonde hair. 

54. Where did you go on your first airplane ride? Ft. Lauderdale, Fl. I was 16.

55. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was it with? I never snuck out. I used to sneak back in after curfew, but I never snuck out.

56. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them? She plays a big part in my life and my posts, referred to by the creative nom de blog, "My Oldest Friend." I have known her nearly 50 years.

57. Where did you live the first time you moved out of your parents’ house? My tiny, 3-room apartment.

58. Who is the first person you call when you have a bad day? Depends on the problem.

59. Whose wedding were you in the first time you were a bridesmaid or a groomsmen? My friend Mindy.

60. What is the first thing you do in the morning? Try to remember if it's a weekday or the weekend.

61. What was the first concert you attended? Bobby Sherman. No lie. I looooved Bobby Sherman. He won the coveted title of "My Fave Rave."

62. First tattoo or piercing? My only piercings -- my ears.

63. First celebrity crush? I am tempted to say Paul McCartney. But my mother tells me my first crush was Michael Landon as "Little Joe" Cartwright on Bonanza.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Home

1. Do you live close to where you grew up? Why? I live about 20 miles/20 minutes from where I grew up. It's near enough to visit easily, but far enough way to maintain my independence.

2. Have you ever been so angry that you almost lost control? Yes. Often. I'm not proud of it, and I battle it, but I can have a nasty temper.

3. Are you a fan of a musical act that slightly embarrasses you? Why yes. The gentleman pictured here.

4. Is there a movie that always makes you cry? Brian's Song. "I love Brian Piccolo. And I'd like all of you to love him, too. Tonight, when you hit your knees, please ask God to love him." This is Billy Dee Williams as Gale Sayers in the movie, but it really happened this way, which makes it all the more moving.




5. Who is the most famous person that you've met? Bruce Springsteen kissed me.

6. Before you leave your home, what must you have? My keys so I can get back in.

7. What do you miss the most about being a kid? The Beatles, young and united.

8. Tell us about a passion of yours that your readers would not expect. Celebrity gossip. I am pathetically addicted. For example, I love this article. (Now don't you dare click on it and then judge me. You were warned in advance.)

9. At what age do you think you'd be to think, “I've had a great run”? That age keeps moving into the future.

Archie's at it again

My oldest friend's prospective beau, Archie Bunker, has published another blog post. It's mostly just drivel -- unsurprising but sad because I have gleaned that he posts most often when he's sleep deprived and suffering mightily from diabetes -- so I suppose I shouldn't make fun. BUT ...

Today his pants are knotted up because California is considering making it illegal to eat and drive. His response? We should all get out a copy of Orwell's 1984 to see what our so-called leaders are up to. Then, he asks, why are we letting "them" take away the freedoms our forefathers fought and died for?

Look at George. You can just tell he's thinking of some yahoo 200 years in the future wanting to drive a car while eating a Big Mac. Sure he is.

Oh well. I think their flirtation has cooled. And for that, I am mightily grateful. For while my heart goes out to him for his medical problems, I am disturbed by how angry they make him. As it is, my oldest friend is coping with her son's massive anger management issues, which she believes spring from his depression. She doesn't need a middle-aged lover whose illnesses render him argumentative and ridiculous.

THURSDAY THIRTEEN #155

Thirteen Popular Gifts -- Christmas 2011

A month ago, many of us were involved in retail, taking care of friends and family on our holiday gift lists. Well, the packages have been opened, the tree is down and the ornaments put away (you have taken all those decorations down, haven't you), and the numbers are in. Here is what many, many of us bought:

1) Amazon Kindle. It was the best-selling e-book reader.

2) Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson. Not only the best-selling biography, the best-selling book of the holiday season.

3) Rory's Story Cubes. I never heard of this, but it's a massively popular game. The 9 cubes have pictures on them, you roll them, and develop a story based on what you get.

4) Just Dance 3. For wii.

5) Levi's.

6) Christmas by Michael Buble. The only thing on the list I bought, and it wasn't a gift. I kept it.

7) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2. The season's best-selling DVD

8) Motorola Droid RAZR. The most popular of the smartphones this year.

9) Baby Einstein Take-along Tunes. Mozart and Vivaldi for wee ones.

10) UGG boots.

11) Hallmark Keepsake Father Christmas Table Top. He is an attractive gent, isn't he?

12) Jones Soda Holiday 4-Pack. This year's flavors were candy cane, gingerbread, pear tree and sugar plum.

13) Cabin Fever (Diary of a Wimpy Kid). The latest in the series. The YA Steve Jobs.

Did any of these make their way to a tree near you this year?

For more information about the Thursday Thirteen,

or to play yourself, click here.

Me fall down, go boom

It wasn't quite this bad, but close enough. The toe of my boot got caught in a pothole on the sidewalk and down I went. Fortunately all I got was a scraped knee, nothing worse.

Then, when I got home, I hung around in the parking lot for a moment, waiting for Mr. B. to get on the elevator. I just couldn't bear the idea of talking to him today. He's over 80, very sweet, but deaf as a stump and our conversations are always so pointless they wear me out. And today, I'd rather stand outside in the 20º weather than talk to him.

I'm so happy to be home. It's brutal out there!

I Want Wednesday

I want to not worry about money. I just spend just over $100 at Macy's for more than $200 worth of clothes (and a birthday gift for a friend). I was proud of my bargain hunting, of how I chose clothes that will not only be OK on Fat Gal but also look fine on (hopefully) Slimmer Gal.  Then I found out that my trip to the dentist (my estimated oop cost: $600 for a new crown) might require an extra $800 trip to a periodontist! Yes, I know I could return the clothes but I really do need some/most of the pieces, and I'll never get them at these great prices again.

And the long-term care insurance I bought -- which I believe is a wise (pardon the phrase) long-term investment -- will be a short-term bite in the ass. $1020/year for a $78,000 benefit, which will be adjusted for inflation, still makes sense, but that extra $85 every month will hurt. The older I get, the more expensive LTC coverage becomes, and it's fiscally responsible to buy it now. I just don't wanna.

So obviously today, I'm bringing brown-bagging my lunch. And praying it doesn't snow that much. I paid $300 for my mom's snow removal -- which covers four visits of the plow. I'm hoping that Mother Nature is sympathetic to my plight and allows that to carry me through Valentine's Day.

Change is NOT always good

My Chicago Cubs plan to fuck with that enduring tabernacle of baseball, Wrigley Field. I am not happy.

Do we really need a Budweiser Patio that features "LED signage and can accommodate 150 people?" Hell, no! Of course it has not escaped my attention that the Cubs don't care what I think. The owners believe that they need to renovate/modernize the park and bring in extra revenue with sponsorship.

Cub Con was this past weekend and fans were assured that this abomination will not interfere with any of Wrigley's landmark features, such as the ivy or the scoreboard.

Well, that takes a little of the sting out of it. But I'm still not happy.

I wish I'd gotten to see this

Bonnie and Clyde opened on Broadway in November and closed by year end. Too bad, because I am intrigued. First of all, it's a great story for this economic climate. Our morals go a little wacky when times are tough. And, in a world where Kardashian is a household name, the blurring of fame and infamy sounds right for the times, too.

Then there's the staging. A story that depends on violence and car chases on stage? Let's see how they do that.

And finally, which B&C story do they tell? Is this the landmark movie brought to the stage? Is it closer to reality? Or is it a third spin?

Damn, I wish I'd gotten to see this!

Mitt Romney is a good and decent man

... with whom I disagree on just about everything. Especially his desire to cut programs that benefit the poorest among us, rather than raise taxes.

But I bristle when I hear that he's anything but a good and decent man. For there is no evidence to the contrary. None.

This post is born of my experience working for Senator John Kerry's campaign. A genuine war hero* who became a pacifist at heart, a sensitive intellectual who could eloquently argue against the death penalty, he was the clear, correct choice for President in 2004.

Yet he lost because of the way the Bushies painted him. He was cold. And weird because he could speak fluent French and has a foreign born wife. Because he didn't mention Baby Jesus in every sentence, his faith was questioned. Because he was nuanced and would compromise to gets bills passed, he was a "flip flopper." And when he deviated from his prepared text -- which, unfortunately, he did a lot because he's smart and got bored giving the same speech over and over and over and over again -- he flubbed and flubbed badly.

In short, he's not that different in superficial ways than that other man from Massachusetts, Mitt Romney. Who can speak French, who isn't "Christian enough," who was more liberal when governing in his very liberal home state than he is nationally, who has been known to say stupid things when he speaks off the cuff.

I trust Barack Obama will not stoop to Bushie tactics and paint Mitt Romney as cold and weird, as anything other than a good and decent man with whom he disagrees. I will be desperately disappointed in my President if he does so, for it's no better than the conspiracy theorists who insist he's from Kenya, or call him a Marxist/Socialist, or question his patriotism.

And I hope my fellow Democrats will remember what happened to Sen. Kerry (although because he's not a beloved figure, they may have forgotten) and watch the personal attacks on Mitt Romney. They are irrelevant and worse, they are wrong.

I hope Barack Obama wins reelection this fall, but I hope he does it in a more honorable way than George W. Bush defeated Sen. Kerry.

*Don't get me started about the Swiftboating. Don't. That was fucking criminal.

What's all the fuss?

Yesterday afternoon I snuck out to see Iron Lady, starring Meryl Streep. I never was a fan of Margaret Thatcher's, and still am not. That "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" philosophy doesn't include those who don't have boots. But that's not the point of my post.

Meryl Streep rises above a pretty mediocre film. The narrative is all over the place. Some very dramatic personal moments -- such as a bomb attempt on her life or her husband giving her two strands of pearls to commemorate the birth of their twins -- are glossed over and don't have the emotional wallop they should have. I'm still not sure what the movie was trying to say.

But Meryl Streep humanizes a woman whose public persona was, for me, at least, lacking in humanity. She shows her as trailblazer who often got her feelings hurt, a mother who consciously made tough personal choices, a wife who loved her husband dearly. And her fragility now, as she fades into senility, is very touching.


Critics seem to feel that it's not right to show this formidable conservative icon as she (apparently) is today. Well, get over it. She's a historic figure. Much as I revere JFK, I don't complain when he's shown with other women or (worse) with his brains flying through the air. It happened. Every life has an arc -- a beginning, a middle and an end. Every life has good and bad, exultant and embarrassing.

If this mess of a movie is historically accurate, Maggie's supporters should just get over it. And thank Meryl Streep for making her more likable than I thought possible.

Will it ever stop haunting me?

I have a swing top wastebasket in my bathroom. Today, while I was showering, gravity did its thing and the top moved a little. I heard it and pulled the shower curtain aside in terror. Yes, even though I'm on the fourth floor, behind a locked door in the lobby, a locked door by the elevator and a locked front door, I still half-expected to see Norman Bates' "mother."

I saw Psycho at least 40 years ago, and that one scene still scares me pissless. Literally. (Cut me some slack! I was in my own shower!)

I can't believe this is real

This isn't a Hollywood special-effects portrayal of Titanic. This is real. And more terrifying than I can imagine.

From Businessweek.com: The captain of a Carnival Corp. cruise liner may have made “very serious judgment mistakes” before and after his ship capsized off Italy’s Tuscan coast, killing at least 5 people, the ship’s operator said.

Costa Crociere, the Carnival line that runs the ship, said “it seems” Captain Francesco Schettino sailed too close to the island of Giglio and didn’t follow company emergency procedures, according to a statement yesterday. Schettino was arrested and accused of manslaughter, abandoning the ship and causing the wreck late on Jan. 13.

Rescuers are still searching for as many as 17 people missing from the Costa Concordia. About 60 people were injured after the ship carrying more than 4,000 passengers and crew hit submerged rocks in the Tyrrhenian Sea. The ship’s insurers may face total costs of about 405 million euros ($512 million), said one person with knowledge of the policies.

“In terms of physical damage, this will be one of biggest claims around,” said Eamonn Flanagan, an insurance analyst at Shore Capital Group Ltd. in Liverpool, England.

Two bodies were found onboard yesterday, said Stefano Giannelli, a fire department spokesman, adding to the three known to have perished. Teams found two South Korean passengers in a ship cabin at 3 a.m. local time yesterday and saved a crew member on the third deck, Giannelli said.

About 60 firefighters are deployed in the search operation that will continue “all night long,” Giannelli said. Rescuers have searched one third of the ship, said. Four tourists -- two French, one Italian and one from Spain -- and a Peruvian crewmember are known to have perished, the Civil Protection unit in Grosseto said in an e-mail statement.

My Christmas gift to myself

I bought myself another, newer DVD of The Way We Were. This one includes deleted scenes. And Streisand is right, director Sydney was wrong -- the deleted scenes were important and would have made the movie so much better.

Especially the scene (4:55) when grown-up, married, pregnant Kate Gardner drives past UCLA and sees a young girl who reminds her of her younger self, Katie Morosky. And she realizes how far she has come, how much of herself she has suppressed, in order to have this man and this life. And how much is costs her.

I can't shut up about what matters to me. When I do, I don't like myself. When I do, I feel hollow and lonely, even if I'm in a crowd. Of course, there's a cost to this. But this scene reminds me there's a cost to every decision.

I also like the extra smoochy scene and the scene where Katie offers to leave Hubbell so that he won't have a subversive wife to endanger his career.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Never Ending Meme, Part Two

21. Did you go to your high school prom? I went to a prom, but it wasn't my own senior prom.

22. Perfect time to wake up? Before 7:00

23. Perfect time to go to bed? Whenever

24. Do you use your queen right away in chess? I don't play chess

25. Ever been in a car accident? No. I'm sure the fact that I don't drive has something to do with this

26. Closer to mom or dad…or neither?  Mom

27. What age is this exciting life over for you? I don't think it's up to me.

28. What decade during the 20th century would you have chosen to be a teenager? The 1960s

29. Favorite shoes you have EVER owned? Oh, they were perfect. Black, of course. About 2" chunk heel. A silver buckle across the front. In short, the coolest, most beautifully updated pilgrim shoes. I loved them, could wear them with anything. Sigh.

30. Do you have an article of clothing you have had since you were in high school? No.

31. Were you in track and field? No

32. Were you ever in a school talent show? No

33. Have you ever written in a library book? No

34. Allergic to? Bee sting

35. Favorite fruit? It changes. Right now, bananas.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: I Know I'm Losing You

1. Have you ever still been in a relationship that you knew was ending, but you hung in with it anyway? If yes, why? Yes. I loved him, and I kept hoping it didn't have to be this way. But it did.

2. Tell why people around the world should be completely enthralled by you. I am loyal and smart and tougher than I look.

3. Other than where you live, what's your favorite city and why? Boston. It's a beautiful and historic city, easily walkable, and it has a great old ballpark.

4. What is something you are really passionate about? Oh shit, just about everything. I don't have a lot of different speeds. My best friend once told me he wished he cared about anything as much as I seem to care about everything. I love that he appreciates that about me. A lot of people don't, and find it tiring. (This explains my almost fetishist attachment to a certain character played by Streisand in a certain movie.)

5. What has been your most exciting prize that you've won? When I was in third grade, I won $10 (about $50 today) from the local newspaper for an essay I wrote, nominating my teacher as Teacher of the Year. It was my first taste of fame and got me thinking that I could paid for dumping words on paper.

6. Do you think there was there a second gunman behind the grassy knoll? No. And believe me, I've given it a lot of thought.

7. What was the silliest, most fun, crazy or impractical gift that you received? Nothing springs to mind.

8. What was the most practical gift that you received? Socks.

9. What blogger has been in your blogroll the longest? How did you discover them? Book Mama. We were brought together by The Thursday Thirteen.

I wish John Forsythe was my dad

Andy Taylor used to be my fantasy father, but he's been replaced by Bentley Gregg, the main character of Bachelor Father.

Played by John Forsythe, Bentley is a well-to-do, never-married Beverly Hills attorney with a beautiful ranch house, a house boy named Peter, a dog named Jasper, and, suddenly, a teenage daughter. His niece, Kelly. She moves in with Bentley and Peter after her parents are killed in a tragic car accident.

The show ran from 1957 to 1962, and ended with Kelly enrolling in college. I imagine that Bentley was something of a heart throb back in the day. The show's plots all seem to revolve how irresistible he finds women, and how they feel the same way about him.

But I love how he talks to her. He always calls Kelly, "darling" or "dear." He takes her seriously and listens to her. He knows all her friends and all her friends' parents. He encourages her in everything she tries to do.

Sigh. When I watch reruns and find myself jealous of a girl on Bentley's arm, it's always Kelly I'd like to switch places with.

I like my doctor

She's so great. She's the one who discovered the problem that had been plaguing me for months last summer, the one that my gynecologist had dismissed as menopause or depression but was really a very long, very fat cyst.

Today I had my regular old physical, no big deal. We have no reason to suspect anything is wrong, but she took a blood panel anyway, just to see if I still need cholesterol meds. While we were talking, she revised the order for blood work to check for some other things. My "incipient fatigue." While I'm feeling better than I was a year ago, I still tire so easily. She thinks it might be thyroid or, failing that, she'd like to investigate my sleep patterns. She thinks that a sleep disorder may be interrupting my restorative sleep and messing with my metabolism.

She listens to me. She doesn't give up until she gets to the root of the problem. She wants me to have the best quality of life I can.

She's so cool.

It's just SNOW, people!

I admit I'm grumpy right now.

First of all, I'm taking tomorrow off for my annual checkup. I told everyone about this last week. I have a plan for getting all my work done -- nothing is falling through the cracks. I've got this, people! Just leave me alone and let me work and everything will be fine tomorrow in my absence, I promise.

Also, it just started to snow. We're supposed to have about 2" by evening rush. Yes, Mother Nature is making it inconvenient but 1) it's not really that bad if you take public transportation to work, which most everyone here does and 2) snow in Chicago in January is hardly newsworthy.

One of my coworkers, who lives within walking distance of the office, is really grating. First of all, a California girl, she really doesn't like snow. Then don't live here. Secondly, she's always been upset that I have a window and she doesn't. So when she just walks in here, unannounced, to look out my window at the (gasp!) snow, I'm annoyed. And when she makes a huge display of having to step over my brief case and my gym bag and my purse to get to the window, I want to scream. Sorry if I have set my office up for my convenience, not yours.

If I sound like a bitch, I apologize. It just feels good to take a moment to vent my voluminous spleen.

Thursday Thirteen #154

THIRTEEN VERY BAD

BAD GUYS

The American Film Institute (AFI) is one of the best-respected not-for-profits devoted to the arts. It was founded to honor, preserve and promote movies, one of the most uniquely American art forms. Every now and again, to drum up support, they turn to the film historians and critics and put together one of their Top 100 series. I love these lists.

Today I'm throwing a klieg light on the top 13 of their 100 Villains list.


1) Hannibal Lecter. He who likes fava beans and a nice chianti. Silence of the Lambs. (Anthony Hopkins)

2) Norman Bates. The ultimate "mama's boy." Psycho. (Norman Bates)

3) Darth Vader. You know, Luke's father. Star Wars. (David Prowse and James Earl Jones)


4) The Wicked Witch of the West. "Surrender, Dorothy." The Wizard of Oz. (Margaret Hamilton)


5) Nurse Ratched. "If Mr. McMurphy doesn't want to take his medication orally, I'm sure we can arrange that he can have it some other way." One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Louise Fletcher)


6) Mr. Potter. The mean old man who tried to bring down the Bailey Building and Loan. It's a Wonderful Life. (Lionel Barrymore)

7) Alex Forrest. She'll boil your bunny if you don't watch out! Fatal Attraction. (Glenn Close)


8) Phyllis Dietrichson. An unhappy wife with a dangerous knowledge of how insurance policies work. Double Indemnity. (Barbara Stanwyck)


9) Pazuzu. Otherwise known as Satan. The Exorcist. (Linda Blair and Mercedes MacCambridge)


10) The Evil Queen. She who talks to mirrors and poisons apples. Snow White and the 7 Dwarves. (Lucille Laverne)


11) Michael Corleone. Well, I think Fredo had it coming. The Godfather, Part 2. (Al Pacino)

12) Alex Delarge. A music lover, a big fan of "Ludwig Van." A Clockwork Orange (Malcolm McDowell)

13) HAL 9000. A very unhelpful computer. 2001: A Space Odyssey

For more information about the Thursday Thirteen,

or to play yourself, click here.

WWW Wednesday

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions…

• What are you currently reading? Never Let Me Go by Ishiguro. It's heartbreaking, purely heartbreaking, and very well written.

• What did you recently finish reading? My Fair Lazy by Jen Lancaster. Funny and silly. Pure fluff.

• What do you think you’ll read next? Probably Red Mist by Patricia Cornwell. She and I have a love/hate relationship. I'm so fond of Kay Scarpetta that I keep returning to the series, even though I'm invariably disappointed by her later efforts.

I liberated this from Kwizgiver. But if you want to play along yourself, you should click here.

Can't wait to play with it

I'm $1600 lighter, but immeasurably faster and more modern.

I Want Wednesday

I want my niece to always be this happy. She gets along well with her dorm roommates, has found love with a townie, and breathlessly told me today about the new culinary technique she "mastered." I know her life will have ups and downs -- as everyone's must -- but if only she could stay put in this glorious chapter of her life for as long as possible.

The Sound of Silence

No access to a computer tonight! The contents of my old Mac are being transferred to a spanking new Mac overnight. What will I do with myself? Sure, I can check my email from my phone. But Facebook and Twitter and Blogger are all so frustrating on that tiny screen.

I feel like Ma Joad.

Let's hear it for the gal!

My job is to advertise financial services. You have no idea how difficult that's been for the last four -- count 'em, four -- years. I'm working in a sector where regulations change regularly* and where public trust has declined. I've endured layoffs and reorganizations and rumors of even more layoffs and reorganizations. I don't deny it's been tough.

Which is why I want to take a moment to enjoy this ...

• My client reports that our recent direct mail effort has done better than any campaign since 2007.
• The product line I concentrate my efforts on exceeded projections, the only one at the company to do so.

I am happy. Happy, happy, happy. Happy that my efforts were successful, and that perhaps the worst of this Recession is behind us!

And grateful. Now I don't have to worry (so much) about the blade at my neck!

*I'm not saying they shouldn't, I'm just observing that the changes make my day-to-day more challenging

"That poor girl"

I feel so bad for Lisbeth Salandar, the heroine of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Yes, it's a brutal movie and an exceptionally well-crafted thriller. But I spent much of the movie thinking, "That poor girl." And not Harriet, the girl whose disappearance is the catalyst for the action. Lisbeth. The hacker, the human weapon, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I was unprepared for how much I would care for her. Especially since she so clearly wants to no sympathy or understanding.

There is a moment when she is playing chess and says, with quiet pride, "I have made a friend." I almost cried.

I'm not eager to pick up the trilogy that gave Lisbeth life. The violence is too much for me. At times I viewing this movie felt like an ordeal and I don't imagine that I'd be any more comfortable with the subject matter on the page.

But I appreciated the movie on its own terms. And I don't know if it was the screenplay, Rooney Mara's performance, or the way Daniel Craig responded to her, but the character of Lisbeth Salander touched me.

BTW, I really cannot stand Robin Wright. I don't know why. She's very pretty and is aging gracefully. There's just a soullessness about her that gets on my nerves. Even when she was Princess Buttercup. Oh well, her role in this movie isn't that big and she does no real damage. I just wonder what it is about her that annoys me so.

Happy Birthday, Your Highness

Today is the birthday of America's only king. Hope you observed it accordingly.

Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Never Ending Meme, Part One

Cheers to all of us thieves!

1. Song that always makes you sad? "Have I Told You Lately" was "our" song, only we didn't last.

2. Last thing you bought? A cardigan from Old Navy.

3. Last person you argued with? My friend in the Keys. We agree to disagree on Mass. Sen. Scott Brown. While we both hope Elizabeth Warren wins that seat, my friend thinks that Brown made up the stories of childhood sexual abuse he recounts in his biography to make himself more sympathetic, that it's suspicious Brown told no one about these incidents at the time. I believe Brown and know my friend is being unfair. 
 
4. Do you put butter before putting the peanut butter on? Yes.

5. One of your stuffed animals’ names as a kid? My Lassie dog was my best friend and confidant.
 
6. Did you ever at one time own a Barenaked Ladies CD? Maybe You Should Drive.

7. Favorite day of the week? Friday.

8. Favorite sundae topping? Hot fudge.
 
9. Did you take piano lessons? No.
 
10. Most frequent song played? I completely love this song by Amy Winehouse, and was thrilled to discover her original version on her newest (and, alas, last) CD.





11. T.V. show you secretly enjoy? People's Court. I watch it whenever I'm home from work on a weekday.

12. Would you rather play basketball or hockey? No, but thank you for asking.

13. Date someone older or younger? Yes.

14. One place you could travel right now? Chateau Elan in Atlanta. I'd love to go back some day

15. Do you use umbrellas? There are people who don't?

16. Do you know all the words to the Canadian national anthem? "Oh, Canada, my home and native land ..." That's it.

17. Favorite cheese? Cheddar.

18. The Smith’s or The Cure? No, but thank you for asking.

19. Do you prefer blondes or brunettes? I like boys with dark eyes and dark hair.

20. Best job you ever had? I loved working on new product launches for a hair care company. It was fun.

Saturday 9

Saturday 9: Nobody Told Me

1. When you grew up were you ever told how to deal with problems? I was raised by good, 1950s-vintage WASPs. There is no problem so big or so complicated that cannot be ignored or denied.
 
2. What was your first apartment like? It was tiny, in a big, beautiful old apartment building run by a not-so-beautiful old janitor who could argue about anything. For example, my apartment had 3 rooms: kitchen, living room and ... what to call that third room? When I called him to report the roof was leaking in "the bedroom," he snapped, "You don't have a bedroom. That's the dining room." To which I responded, "It's the room with my bed in it." At first, because I was so young, his attitude upset me. After a while, I began getting perverse pleasure out of bugging him.

3. What was the first car you owned? A big, green Impala that I never could parallel park.
 
4. Tell us about a crush or relationship that you had at high school. Mr. Cary. He was quite exotic (meaning not a WASP), with a full head of curly black hair. When he'd scratch his head, his arm would disappear to the elbow. He taught English and I'm fortunate that he was the one who introduced me to Shakespeare. He was colorful and imaginative and I spent a year enthralled by him (and then-Cub Joe Pepitone). Thanks to this question I googled him and discovered he went on to successfully teach theater at a major university out east. I'm not surprised. Though it took me a moment to recognize the man in photograph (for, like Joe Pepitone, he has lost his hair).

5. Have you ever had an “enemy” in your life? Professionally, many. Currently it's the co-worker I call The Chocolate-Covered Spider. She's just always right and I'm just always wrong. I wish I didn't let her get under my skin so.

6. What were you doing the first night that you got drunk? Here's an unsavory little saga: It was the summer I was 15. I'd been sitting a lot for Margot, the baby of a neighborhood couple, Joe and Mary. They were both 22. I thought they were the coolest people on the planet. She painted in the garage, rendering the acrylic versions of the portraits that came with The Beatles' White Album. He read Ralph Bakshi comic books. They threw a big bash for Margot's first birthday and invited me. Joe introduced me to Harvey Wallbangers. After a couple hours of summer heat and vodka, I was very tipsy. OK, I was plastered. Joe walked me home and, apparently, tried to kiss me goodnight in a way that was neither neighborly nor paternal. I have no first-hand knowledge of this, as I was very drunk, but my mother had been waiting up for me. And saw. And called me in, rather emphatically, through the screened window. Once I got into the house, and the air conditioning, I got nauseous. I remember her standing over me and yelling and scolding as I emptied the contents of my stomach into the porcelain. Needless to say, my mom saw to it I never sat for Joe and Mary again. However I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't dragged me into the house. I suspect that I would have puked all over his shoes, which might have dampened his ardor even more than my mother's voice through the screen had.

7. Ten years ago, what was you job and did you like it? I had a similar role at a different agency. I made more money but worked much harder, had more stress, and while I got off on the adrenaline rush I was en route to burn out and exhaustion. To borrow from John Lennon, I had to get off the merry-go-round, "I had to let it go."

8. What movie had the biggest impact on you as a child and why? Mary Poppins, because it was the first movie I ever saw in the theater. I remember everything about it … once the coming attractions ended, the heavy red curtains closed, then reopened, and there they were, the rooftops of London! Magic! I have loved going to the movies ever since.

9. What are your plans for this weekend? I really have to take these Christmas decorations down ...