Me, as a Simpsons Character!

I am quite fond of those Burnt Orange pants…I might just have to find myself a pair like them!

Go to www.simpsonsmovie.com and click on “Create Avatar” to make your own!

Spicing Up the Movies

I am going to see Ratatouille tonight! I am sort of excited about this! The reviews for it are great! Here are some of the quotes posted on RottenTomatoes.com which gives the movie an overall rating of 94% Fresh (that number is based on all the reviews given for the movie).

4.5/5

“Ratatouille is not merely the smartest, funniest, most joyous, most lovingly crafted film of the summer thus far, but it ranks among Pixar’s finest.” Posted Jun 29, 2007 11:44 AM PDT

Jam! Movies

Kevin Williamson

3.5/4

“No sketchy backgrounds here — Ratatouille’s scenes feels like deep-focus camera shots. The textures, from the gleam of copper pans to the cobblestone streets, are almost palpable.” Posted Jun 29, 2007 11:40 AM PDT

Globe and Mail

Liam Lacey

3.5/4

“What makes Ratatouille such a hilarious and heartfelt wonder is the way Bird contrives to let it sneak up on you. And get a load of that score from Michael Giacchino, a perfect compliment to a delicious meal.”

Rolling Stone

Peter Travers

“The master chefs at Pixar have blended all the right ingredients — abundant verbal and visual wit, genius slapstick timing, a soupcon of Gallic sophistication — to produce a warm and irresistible concoction.”

Variety

Justin Chang

This movie isn’t just a kids’ movie. It appeals to me for it’s French setting, its look into a fine restaurant kitchen, and what is being said to be a great story. I haven’t seen an animated film in the theater since Toy Story, but after hearing over and over that Ratatouille is more than just kid fluff, and that it stays true to both fine cooking and good storytelling, I have found myself gearing up to see this movie for over a week now!

Here’s to having the determination of a rat!

“No individual raindrop ever considers itself responsible for the flood.”

–Anonymous

The flood waters are rising here in Dallas. This will be the wettest month since 1928. The Trinity River, which runs just South of downtown Dallas, has overflown it’s banks. During normal weather, it is barely a trickle of a river. The amazing thing is they want to develop the land that is now under water. And as part of a beautification project, they had created a field for cattle to graze on…Somewhere under all that water…Please note that in those tiny lines of trees usually run along side the banks of the river. It’s normally THAT narrow.

(Be sure to click on that link! It’s a photo slideshow!)

I have no idea when this was taken, but this is what the river usually looks like. See that brown stripe in the middle?? That’s the river…

The Rain, Unplugged

Can someone please tell me what is up with all this rain? Last night, my backyard had three inches of rain in it! I am thrilled I don’t need my sprinklers, and the temperature has barely hit the 90s so far this year, but geez! Give us a break! There are 10 more days of rain in our forcast, and I am very ready for some dry sand to play volleyball on!

On a fun note, remember MTV’s Unplugged? It’s back! The first performance was Bon Jovi! I caught it last night, and wow. I totally remember why I used to swoon over the performers on that show! The personal dialog about each song, the subtle reverb on the performers microphone as they spoke, the warm accoustic-inspired, stripped down lighting. It makes any performer sexy.

My clearest memory of watching Unplugged was Nirvana’s performance in 1994. It was the moment I saw their appeal. The reason they were a powerful, amazing band.

This time around, the show will be on cross-platforms, with epidodes airing on MTV, VH1, and CMT.  This should be fun!

A Moment of Sunshine in an Otherwise Dreary Month

While I was in Cincinatti, I drove up to Columbus to visit Tricia and her twin newborns. Because one baby, Duncan, has a heart condition, he will need three surgeries before he is 2. He had his first one about two weeks ago. This also means Duncan and Jackson have been apart for about 2 weeks. To meet them both, I went to Tricia’s house to see Jackson, and then to the hospital to see Duncan. I took tons of pictures of the babies for them, but I manage to leave my memory card at their house. In the meantime, until it arrives in the mail, Tricia sent me a picture she took:

Duncan and Me!

Full To The Brim

I just don’t know what to write right now. The world around me seems to be swirling toward the drain and it’s all I can do to keep my head up. I’m not depressed, don’t worry about that, but my God! Can someone please stop all this stress and sadness? My family’s business is going into bancruptcy, my best friend from first grade’s mother passed away last Sunday, my cousin, pregnant with her third child and first daughter, lost the baby Monday, five months into the pregnancy. Her name was to be Amily.

This is enough. My brain can’t process more.

Back from Cincy!

I had a great, sad, and nothing-close-to-relaxing trip. Good things happened, bad things happened. I will fill you in later. Promise.

Just one thing, though. Do bad things ALWAYS have to happen in threes?? Because I am just not sure I can take a third right now…

Off To Cincy!

Headed to Cincinatti to see my aunts, and to drive up to Columbus to see Tricia and her babies!

I am going to do my best to find some WKRP in Cincinatti gear!

(Do you really need a link to remember WKRP? Ok…fine…here ya go…)

Good News!

My friend Tricia had her twins last week! Jackson and Duncan. They were 4lbs and13oz each. They were a month and a half early, but both are perfectly done!

Today, Duncan had his first heart surgery. Everything went well, and he should be stable until he is 6 months old, and then he will have his second surgery. Keep him in your thoughts! He’s just a week old and already has a major surgery under his belt!

Such a relief to have these little guys here.

I will be meeting them this weekend! I will be sure to get some good pictures to show off!

Notes on Knocked Up

Saw Knocked Up last night. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Although, I do wish we had been in a Saturday night theater. Maybe a 10pm showing, where people have already had a glass of wine or beer, because I found my laughter was echoing above the cautious giggles of the Thursday Night Crowd. It felt like they really wanted to laugh, but were afraid to. Which in turn, made my loud guffaws sound innappropriate and, well, extremely loud.

But I have to tell you my absolute favorite part. The part that I can only guess was created around the joke, instead of the joke being created around the scene. **SPOILER ALERT!** (This is only one scene, and it certainly won’t ruin the movie, but it is damn funny, and I feel I should warn…)

Ben’s (Seth Rogan) friends come down with pink eye. Apparently, pink eye is caused by fecal bacteria finding it’s way to your eye. Which is easy to do if you fart with your naked butt on your roommate’s pillow, and then he fart’s with his naked butt on your other roommate’s pillow, and so on.

Ben and Pete (Paul Rudd) go to Vegas and, of course, hit up the strip club. While receiving lap dances, Pete’s dancer pulls his tie between her legs pulls his face toward her behind, and puts her ass in Pete’s face. Literally. I mean, you can’t see his nose! Ben looks over and quipts, “Now THAT’S how you get pink eye!!”

I was ROLLING. I am going to be saying that a lot now.

**END SPOILER ALERT**

Go see it. It’s fun. It’s not slapstick, one-liner Talladega Nights comedy. It’s actually a little higher brow. But there are some great lines, and some really funny characters.