Road Trip MeMe

Java Bear tagged my partner Chris with a  Road Trip Meme, and he tagged me, so hear goes.

This road trip meme is apt because I am currently on a road trip.

This is what you need to do:

– Pick five CDs for the trip.

– Pick three essential items.

– Pick one outrageous wardrobe item (something that will make you stand out at a party; you must own this item already).

Five CDs

Doris Day – Day by Day/Day by Night.  I always listen to Doris on the way home.

The Non-Stop 80’s Party CD

Ultimate Kylie  – Greatest Hits

Something by the Irish Boy Band – Westlife

The fifth will have to be a  Book on CD.  I always take a book to listen to but that will change with the trip. Currently I have the Host by Stephanie Meyer and Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian.

Three Essential Items:

My Cell Phone, in case I get stranded or have a problem.

A Bag-O-Books. Usually six or seven.  Or eight.  But I always have a bag.

My dog Lola.  Can’t go without the dog!

One Outrageous wardrobe item:

Probably a summer reading club T-shirt.  I am wearing my “Wild about reading” one now. But I am not that outrageous. And I don’t even want to stand out at a party.

I will tag Tiger Yogiji and Coco!   Have fun!

Please Don’t Kill Donna Noble

I have been terribly concerned as of late.

I have been watching the new season of Doctor Who and I have really been enjoying it so far.

I especially love Donna Noble as a companion, played by Catherine Tate, above.

Apparently, Catherine has only signed on for one year with the Doctor.

And there has been some foreshadowing in the series of something that might happen that could be unpleasant.

And I don’t want Donna to die.

I know she is a fictional character and she is not real and I should not be getting all teary eyed at the thought of her demise, it’s just that I am sure that something bad is going to happen.  And I am not prepared.

If you watch Doctor Who and the spin off series Torchwood, you may remember the final episode of Torchwood and how they really knocked the viewer for a loop.  And not in a good way.

I am afraid that Doctor Who is going to follow suit. 

And I realize the episodes have already been filmed and are done and once they show them, Donna’s fate is sealed.

And all I will have is one season to spend with her, and the Christmas episode, the Runaway Bride.

So please, if you have any power to change Donna’s fate for the better, please do so.

Doctor Who fans will love you for it.

And Catherine, come back.  Donna is a great companion.  I am not ready to see her go.

Maybe she can figure out a way to bring the dust together that was Kylie Minogue, and she can come back too!

Before you ask, yes, it is.

I am going out on a limb here, and am going to post, once again, a book related entry.

I have not been keeping statistics, but I think my book related entries get the least amounts of comments, and I think only on one occasion did someone actually go out and read the book I suggested.

But I will soldier on, because that is what I do.  And I have a doozy for you.

And, to further amaze you, it is NON-FICTION.   Yes.  Dewey is reading a work of non-fiction.  Isn’t that amazing?

Of course, it does fall into the “true crime” category, and therefore is understandably about murder.  But if any of you have been paying attention, I seem to be all about murder.  But this time it is true!

I am reading Savage Grace: The True Story of Fatal Relations in a Rich and Famous American Family by Natalie Robins and Steven Aronson.

It is the story of Barbara Baekeland and her son Antony.   The Baekland line is famous because in the late 1900’s, the grandfather Leon Baekeland invented Bakelite.  Bakelite is a plastic type material that became wildly popular in the 30’s and 40’s and was turned into many things, including jewelry and radios.

The grandson, Brooks Baekeland was a terribly handsome man and married a woman named Barbara who became quite a jet setter.  They had apartments in New York, London and Spain.  

They only had one son, Antony, and the relationship between Barbara and Antony seemed to be very strange.  Antony was gay but that fact seemed to destroy the mother and the rumour is that it caused the mother to enter into an incestuous relationship with the son.   Creepy.

Well, one day in the early seventies, something in the son snapped and he stapped his mother with a kitchen knife.  He was sentenced at the Old Bailey in London and at the point that I am now in the book, he is a Broadmoor hospital, a psychiatric clinic for criminals.

The book is really interesting.  It is told through gathered interviews and letters,  but seperated in such a way that the story just flows.   You get a peek into the rich and powerful lifestyle and realize that money does not become the cure all for everything.

You also learn a lot about Bakelite itself, its discovery and its uses.   

I am only about 75 pages in, but I am fascinated.   It really is an engrossing read.

The book was written in 1985 but has been reprinted because of a recent movie starring Julieanne Moore.

So, if you are too lazy to read the book, see the movie!

Feeling Better

I do not work  until one this afternoon, so I slept in, almost til ten!

I think I needed the sleep.  I feel much better today.

So much so that I bring you a funny.

This is “Blame Halo 3″ by this guy on Youtube named James@War.  He makes great parodies of songs, and I love this one. I will try and bring you more, when I am in the mood.

Well. I have some coffee to drink.    And a book to read.   And I probably will accomplish nothing before I head to work, aside from reading blogs, watching videos and goofing off.

Oh, and maybe playing with the dog.

Weeks half over!

 

I feel shitty

Oh so shitty. It’s amazing how shitty I feel.

And I wonder, can this shitty feeling be so real?

I am grumpy.

And I have a headache.

And I did not sleep well last night.

And I have a short temper.

And I am trying my hardest to smile through my clenched teeth.

And somehow I am managing to make it through the day.  Just barely.

But I did have a vanilla shake at McDonald’s for lunch.  That cheered me up just a bit.

And I have been trying to keep happy songs in my head and that is helping.

And I know that I will be able to take a short nap when I get home which may lead to my not getting up from the couch ever for the rest of the night.  Who knows?

Anyway. I just wanted to let you know how I feel.

So if I happen to comment on your blog and it seems like I am in a crappy mood it is because I really am.

And Gosh Darnit, I am going to stay this way.

Nostalgia and the movie that wasn’t

I have been on a real 80’s kick this past week. I have been listening to 80’s tunes. I have been watching 80’s  movies.  I have even watched “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” because a certain Dr. Sparky recently chatted about it.  But that is another story all together.

What I did watch last night was one I had not seen in a long time.  I even had the soundtrack on LP.   I can still remember the hooplah when the film made its debut.   Everybody in town was excited to see it.

It was Flashdance

The reason that I remember Flashdance so well was because I grew up in the burbs of Pittsburgh.  And Flashdance was filmed in Pittsburgh.  We didn’t get that many movies filmed in the city at the time, so this was a very big deal.  People would drive to the city to catch sight of Jennifer Beals.   Everybody wanted to cheer for the Altoona girl made good.  Everybody wanted to go to the theatre and ogle at the scences set in the Carnegie Museum of Natural History.

And watching the film again at 42,  I can appreciate the scenes of Pittsburgh.   They are really filmed quite nicely and I can remember parts of the city by watching the film.   But nice scenery does not a movie make.

I realized, watching the film now, that it really HAS NO PLOT.

None.  Nada. Nothing.

You get this chick who is a welder by day and dances in a bar at night.  She wants to join a ballet company and fills out the application.  She is afraid to turn it in. She finally does so. She auditions. She wins. End of story.

There is some fill in scenes about her friend who is an ice skater who tries out for an ice show and fails, only to become a stripper.  There are a few scenes with her divorced boyfriend, who she thinks is two timing her but is really only going out with his ex-wife.  There is the friend who is a comedian who tells ghastly horrible ethnic jokes.  And there is the creep at the bar that likes to feel her up.

But none of these stories lead anywhere.  You never really get to know any of the characters.  There are many scenes without dialog at all, just killing time to make the movie an hour and a half long.   Oh, and the pretty shots of Pittsburgh really do help to pass the time.

And then, finally, there are some MTV pop video numbers when Jennifer Beals and her stunt double dance at the blue collar bar.  This was mainly to sell the soundtrack which I bought.  And they were totally 80’s to the max.  80’s tunes, 80’s moves, 80’s hair.    And they brought the song “maniac” to the foreground, and made it a hit.

And as I am watching it now, I could sense the time going by. Time that I could never get back.   And I fired up the laptop, and kept the movie rolling as I read blogs, looked at my email, and played youtube videos.  

And now I realize just how bad the movie really was.  Well, not bad. It was filmed well. And the dancing was good. And I still like the music, somewhat. But it really needed a script.  It needed a plot. It needed something.

I wonder, if I watch “Footloose” again, will the same thing happen.  Or will it be another film that was good at the time but loses it in age. 

Ah well.  You live and you learn.

Sunday Movie Memories…

And today we bring you… Grease 2!

The first example I bring you from this marvelous movie is “Score tonight!”  How can you go wrong with a choreographed number set in a bowling alley!   And, the song features Lorna Luft, who, as you should know, is Judy Garlands daughter!    With her in the cast, how can the movie be bad?

Oh how I loved this movie.  Of course, I also loved the first one  (that had the Olivia Newton John factor, how could I not?)   But the second film had its own kind of charm.

I mean, where else can you find Michelle Pfeiffer singing “Cool Rider?”

I always wanted a cycle and a leather jacket, and I could be a T-Bird.

Or maybe I wanted a pink satin jacket and I could be a pink lady!

And, to end this post, because I can, here is Olivia…. with Hopelessly Devoted to You from the original.

Have a fabulous fifties inspired Sunday, or just have fun whatever you may be doing!

The Bizarre “this might be only funny to librarians, but here goes” post.

ALA had a contest.

ALA would be the American Library Association for those of you not in the know.

And, this contest involved writing a song based on your favorite book.

And making a video and sending it in. 

And they have five finalists!

And they are hysterical.

Especially the one about “Lily and the Purple Plastic Purse”

Though the one about “Harold and the Purple Crayon” is a bit creepy.

But I have the link!

http://www.gale.cengage.com/librareo/

And you can watch too!

New Wheels

I almost forgot to tell you about the new addition to our little family.

My new car:  The Scion XD.

Chris had a Hybrid Civic, and he had driven that puppy for 137,000 miles because his previous job was in sales management and he had to travel for work.  So it had some high mileage.  When the hybrid battery blew we knew it was time for a new car because replacing the battery would be expensive.  As his car was newer,  it was actually my turn to get the new car!  Yay!   I have a 2001 Honda Civic, and it has low mileage because I hate to drive, so it is still in great shape.  I get a new car!

The reason I went to Toyota was because I wanted to look at the Yaris and the Corrolla.   I like the reviews on Toyotas and Hondas and so I wanted to stick with one of those, and these were cars in my price range.

I test drove a Yaris and it was a little small for me, I am a big guy and I needed something roomier.  Also the panels were in the center of the car, not behind the steering wheel and I didn’t like that.   When I test drove the Corrolla, it was OK. Roomy, just a little boring.  I wanted something to look a little bit zippier.  Then I saw the Scion XD and I was in love.  I took a test drive, the price was right, and I came home with my baby.

It is a great little car. I got it in a sparkly dark blue and it has a great little hatch that hold groceries. I got a little cargo net to keep them from rolling around.    It has a roomy back seat for a small car and the people that have sat back there said there was enough room.  And I can fold the seats down if I need more space, but as I really don’t haul anything that doesn’t seem to be a problem.

I did add on an overhead compartment and I am not sure why. It is in the center of the car and I hit my head on it every time I climb in.  And it really doesn’t hold all that much.  But I can fit four CD’s in it, and sunglasses and Chris’s wallet when he rides with me and has no pockets.  So I guess it is all good.   Anyway.  I really do like the car. It drives really well and has some great steering that is really smooth.

The only downside is that it has a small gas tank so you have to fill it up more often.  When I go visit my mom, I used to be able to get up there on one tank.  Now, not so much.  But it is OK.

I named my car Sparky the Mario Kart.  I was probably subconsiously thinking about Dr. Sparky when I named it and how much I missed him.  I really didn’t consciously think about it, but Sparky seemed right.  And then, right after that, the REAL Dr. Sparky emerged again and I was so happy!   So, I have a little Sparky in the family.

I think I already talked about the Mario Kart part of the story.   Maybe I already told you about my new car?  Am I having Dementia?   If I start wearing green polyester and humming Paul Anka songs, will somebody tell me?  Please?

at least now you get a picture.  I am on a roll!

What the…

I was surfing Youtube this morning  (as I do)  and I discovered THIS:

All I want to know is “What the heck is it?”

Apparently it comes from this children’s show called Lazytown.  It appears to be so much fun! The lead singer is pink! She has pink hair!  It makes me happy and want to dance!   It is like bubble gum!   I just love it!

Any info on this Lazytown, please leave a comment.  I really don’t know a thing about it.

Or, don’t leave a comment.  As the blog was silent yesterday, after my having found a perfectly good video to highlight, and not a one of you even bothered to watch it.  I don’t know why I do what I do.   I work hours over a hot stove and do I get any appreciation?  Any at all?  I think not!

And yet, day after day, here I am.

Oh, Incidentally you might not be hearing from me the week of July 4th, as I am once again traveling to PA to visit mom and my sister.  I know. I was just there over Memorial day.  Am I torturing myself?  No, as I quite like them, I will go again.  Besides, mom has central air and it is summer. Nuff said?

Teehee.