summer daze

it’s been quite a week in the house of m. babies, birthdays, debauchery and the long-awaited spinal epidural #2.

-the QB gave birth (dare i say finally?) to a beautiful baby boy on wednesday, who we shall forever and adoringly call ian. to celebrate, i decided to race over to the QB household for some quality holding time. you’d be hard pressed to find a cuter, more elated family in the greater carmichael area. still to this day, after almost every one of my friends have embarked (at least once) on the journey that is called parenthood, i am still amazed. tremendous humans, all.

-speaking of celebrations, baby celeste (daughter remarkable of the Peep), celebrated her 1st birthday on saturday by having a few of her closest peeps over for a pool party (nice choice on the brawts celeste!). seems cliché, but it is amazing at how fast time goes. turn around and i remember looking at her face for the very first time.

-after the kid’s party, i moved on to the more adult party that is midnight mass in sac. this year, they moved the event inside of the cal expo (6th year, 6th location). it’s really hard to describe an event of this nature—you really have to just be there. i’ll let some of the pictures and conversation quotes speak for themselves.

photos











memorable quotes
1. “6th year, 6th location.”
2. “I’m going back to the room with the “live” music.” [Dan]
3. “Hey, we’re trying to have a party here, could you turn up some music?” [Stripes, to the lady handing out “no party” fliers]
4. "Oh boy, left a mark on the shirt there Dan.” [Neil, after Dan took a post-hot tub soak spill]
5. “These are my kind of people.” [Dan]
6. “Is “Flipper” coming with us?” [Neil, talking about Dan]
7.“Dad, if we go over there, we’re getting shanked” [Miss to Neil when he veers over to an interesting crowd at around 2 a.m.]
8. “How old are you ladies? Well, can you just say you’re 18?’ [Hot tub talk]
9. “You just missed one helluva party!” [Johnny to policeman arriving on the hotel scene]
10. “Oh my, Miss I just saw a car tip over! Wait, nevermind. It’s just a lowrider.” [Neil to Miss]
11. “I thought I raised you better than this.” [Neil to a passed out Mikey. At 11:30 p.m.]
12. “The lion attempts to leave the cage.” [As we all watch Dan/Mike try to escape the hot tub area.]


-finally, monday morning brought the 2nd spinal epidural in 5 months – the gift of 2 herniated discs. one never wants to hear at age 30 that they have the back of a 65 year-old. but in the end, after a few scary conversations and a few trips in and out of the hospitable mri, it’s just something that is dealt with. and look, it could be much worse. and i know it. a few needle pricks, prompts to keep breathing and a lanacane flush and i was off to recoup. if only netflix hadn’t have let me down. there’s only so much rachel ray and kelly & regis a sane human can take. thank goodness for on demand.

all in all a busy week. with more busyness to come. house of m seems to be booked through the end of august (how does it happen every single summer?). i pray i make it, though if the upcoming weeks are as full of joy, celebration, laughs and pain relief as this last week was, i’ll be the fortunate one.

to prove it

as many house of m followers know by now, i spend the occassional weekend helping the dad run his nostalgia dragster. and while at the time, in that moment of sweating to death in sacto, or feeling filthy by 9 a.m. in bako, i feel like the weekend will never end--after it all, i more often than not look back at these times and recall some pretty great moments. some of which i try valiantly to capture in photo form, though to be honest, most of the time not that successfully. alas, i shall probably never be as great as this mark at capturing both the loud and the quiet of these sort of events, i'm still content in knowing that such images always bring back to me succinct memories in but a glance.

a few from the latest round in sacto.

when i step on the scene

last friday i made what some may think of as a bad, spur-of-the-moment decision. in looking back, it was. definitely. no two ways about it. and in the end it didn't even get me to my expected result. besides a good story to tell about 2 pit bulls the size of small horses and a creepy guy lying on a bed, i had no takeaways of any kind. well, except my life. sounds bad, right? well, trust me, it was.

revelations of bad decisions hit like freight trains. all of sudden a deep intake of air is held on the realization that it could have ended a lot differently than it did. and then comes the thought, well why didn't it?

yet, for all of those sudden epiphanies, bad decisions still happen. that's life. we're human and therefore shall error.

the friday happening made me sit back and think about other bad decisions(made both quickly and not so quickly) i have made so far in this life. and though a handful were quite humbling, some were less so. but hey, just as important.

like thus:

-letting my mom talk me in to a short haircut when i was 9. "here's a ticket for the little fella". yeah, i'll leave it at that.

-roaming up and down the aisles of safeway while in college in search of "cupcake mix" (i still contend it would have made millions). though the looking for cupcake mix wasn't all that disastrous, asking the cute safeway boy (who was in my film theory class at the time) was a wee bit cringe-worthy.

-accidentally walking in to the men's restroom. okay, this has happened twice. but in both occurrences, i was weary and i really had to pee.

-buying the Lit album. it was a weak moment.

-going to see the double feature of "leaving las vegas" and "dead man walking". took me months to recover.

-buying those ugly shoes. all of them.

-wearing the triple layer socks (all different in color) while in elementary school. while some may argue i was too young to notice, i still believe i wasn't too young to care. those photos of "twin day" still haunt me.

-the side ponytail. this ties with scrunchies and the banana clip.

-cutting the finger on the right hand not a mere 5 minutes after i sliced one on the left hand with the same knife. but man was that casserole delicious.

-having the 3rd martini, 4th beer or 6th shot. consequences, all.

and yet, in the end, it all could have been worse. and it has all defined my path (even the socks) so i'm grateful.

i'll tell you though, that short haircut thing still stings.

fastpass to fun

some pics from my recent trip to the l.a. roadster show and disneyland. a charmed weekend indeed.

original owners and crew member of the 99jr. roadster. and the new owner (conveniently of my relation). these guys were among the first to drag race and the first multi-car drag racing team in the history of the sport.




the dad and mikey going for a spin in mike's roadster. nothing good ever comes of this.




and on to disneyland. it's a small world. and a very glittery world. full of day-glo paint.




mikey. always taking the 'important' phone calls




the lil smiths, robbie and mitch. i adore these two guys.




our fearless leader.




the last thing she said before getting on splash mountain was 'i don't want to get wet'. a fail if i've ever seen one.




me and the dad at the end of a great day at the happiest place on earth.

tiny bubbles v.6

in honor of this year's 4th of july (i know i'm tardy)

FDR's "rendezvous with destiny" speech, june 27, 1936

an excerpt

'but i cannot, with candor, tell you that all is well with the world. clouds of suspicion, tides of ill-will and intolerance gather darkly in many places. in our own land we enjoy indeed a fullness of life greater than that of most nations. but the rush of modern civilizations itself has raised for us new difficulties, new problems which must be solved if we are to preserve to the United States the political and economic freedom for which Washington and Jefferson planned and fought...

there is a mysterious cycle in human events. to some generations much is given. of other generations much is expected. this generation of Americans has a rendezvous with destiny'

notes from the field

-i'm getting the sense that someone died recently but can't be entirely sure. could we get some tv coverage for crying out loud? way to slack CNN and the major 3.

-i've recently noticed that i can't part easily with crosswords that i've started and have not been able to finish (for one reason or the other). is it the hope that a fresh pair of eyes will allow for some answer revelations? or maybe it's just that i want proof that i figured some of the really tough shit out. i'm calling 30/70.

-a few days ago, i turned around to find the next 8 weekends filled with activities. how will i find the time to actually do the activities themselves? and how does this happen every single summer, despite all of my efforts?

-marked the 4th of july weekend with beginning the summer ritual of sitting poolside in an effort to see just how much sun i can reflect back in to the sky (i'm irish, therefore a wee bit pale-skinned). so far: me:2; sun: 1.5. i predict a battle more time consuming than the men's wimbledon finals. you're damn right i said it.

-yes, i have been sucked in to watching another season of the bachelorette. i completely blame AMC for delaying the Mad Men season premiere until august. fist to the sky AMC, fist to the sky!!

-still trying to find out how i get a friend like ben. anyone? anyone?

-while watching the movie 'public enemies', i had to ask myself if other people in the theatre were catching all of the mann nuances that are so worthy of praise. as the man next to me belched, i figured i had my answer.

sure, there's a recall on the crib. but can we get a recall on the store?

babies r us is a frenemie. sure, it’s a place full of options and cute-as-all-get-out wearings for wee ones. full of darling baby sets and diaper genies (diviiiine!). but all the baby wipes and bibs in the world could never make up for the craziness that is that nightmare of a store.

yes, i’m single. and yes, when I have described my issues with this “fremenship” with others, some think it’s me just not understanding the world that is having a child (i get this a lot. especially since turning 30). yet, i have other friends with kids that agree wholeheartedly. the place is a wreck.

frequently it is required of me (through relation and/or friendship) to visit this box store of horrors. i do it out of love. i do it because i know the selection is vast and i’m a girl who loves, no, craves options when it comes to gift-giving. and i like it for the first 2 seconds. maybe even 5 if i’m really looking forward to knocking off a registry item. but no matter how long it takes, i end up feeling depleted and set afire with annoyance—begging to be let off the island.

a typical visit:

-park ¼ mile away to avoid denting from minivan door (which always park crooked—good god, why?). this is also preferable as to avoid the angry toddler throwing his baby croc out in the middle of traffic because his mom didn’t buy him a candy.

-decide if a cart is/is not needed. if it is, father/son/holy-ghost it to prepare for the scarcity of those actually on hand.

-if needed, print out registry (note here that in many cases it’s easier to just ask the parents what they need—unless you know ancient greek and stenography)

-begin search for your items. this involves peering up to see a wall of pacifiers (at least 50 types to choose from) and entire store fixtures of bottles. at some point, your eyes start to twitch and you decide to just coin flip. that’s what gift receipts are for.

-about now, in the store less than 5 minutes, you’ve already encountered the following:

couples registering for so much stuff the “gun” stops working. but not before you go tone deaf from the beeping.

toddlers being dragged around while their parents car seat shop: “this one doesn’t have 4 cupholders, it’s not making the cut.”

lost child begins screaming and they announce over the loud speaker for their parents to come pick them up in aisle 5. angrily.

judging parents eyeing each other, preening their parental feathers as they stuff their carts with organic onesies and cloth diapers.

once you find your purchase, you head up to the register. a sort of relief sets in that you’ve made it. you’ve gotten in, grabbed your items and are on your way to enjoying the rest of your day. and then you see it. the line. baskets forming a backup as long as the 405—none of which containing less items than a restaurateur getting a month’s supply of food at costco.

if it were any other store, you’d say fuck it. i’m done. this is what the internet is for. but you stay. you stay because the store owes you that much after the hell it put you through. you’ll finish even if you die trying.

and as you stand there with 3, maybe on a big day, 5 items, you start to assess. would it be so difficult to open up one more register? bring your total from 1 to 2? how about having an express checkout. hell, even staples does that. or better yet, have a line for the innocents. the ones who come to the store to buy gifts for loved ones, even against their better judgment. who can’t wait to see their friend/sister/coworker open up the gift. maybe treat these people especially nice because they’re do-gooders getting caught in a red zone. they’re not returning items. they’re not waiting until they get to the register to realize they forgot to buy timmy a new container of gerber graduates, telling the cashier they’ll just run and get it really fast because they’re in a hurry. you know who else is in a hurry? you guessed it. and this 20 minutes in line…i’m never getting it back. ever.

and finally you are freed. a little poorer, a little more tired and a little lighter thanks to the caloric burnoff resulting from walking the 1/2 mile roundtrip to/from the car. after all this you vow never to return. you pledge to find another way. you'll help out a smaller business. you'll order online. you'll just buy the parents a six-pack and call it a day. yet you find yourself back there every time. every time going through the same thing. ending the same way.

damn onesies.

dragfest 09

i lead a secret life. ok, well it's not so secret now. actually wasn't so secret before, but i liked the supposed intrigue. to be more accurate i seem to live a double life. with some i am the art loving, theatre attending, movie lover who's favorite spot in sf is the legion of honor. for others i am a pit chick, a hot rodder, a lover of drivable machines that are so powerful, the earth shakes.

the latter part of my life takes up many weekends and consumes too many miles to count. most treks are to bakersfield, some to sacto--even a few more down south. all in the search of good friends, good times and some pit action. a few weekends ago, i found myself at the 2nd annual dragfest at famoso. this was to be a weekend of going back in time. of seeing a bit of the past. of hanging out, drinking some beers and shooting the shit. of runnin' what you brung and laughing until it hurt. and grabbing your chair, pulling up some staging lane to take in the drive-in movie while the band's music fills the air and instantly transports you to a place you hear of, but have never seen.

it's about being at the end of the pitch black dragstrip on saturday night with a great friend, looking up at the stars in between catching glimpses of the moonlight gleaning off of a 32 coupe. all the time thinking "i hope i never forget this".

like i said, it's hard to explain unless you're there. and you grew up in it. unless you live it on the frequent weekend and during every conversation with your dad. here's to the 3rd annual next year.

catch this

i've noticed something. a lot of bloggers spend a lot of time apologizing for not blogging enough. including this one. so i'm gonna work on that. yes, it's been a long time. and there may be many more dry spells. let's make a deal--i'll be ok with it and you'll be ok with it. great. i feel better.

so there have been some things happening. yep, highlights time.

-rode a ferry boat to and fro sausalito while in sf during some damn grand weather. haven't done that in forever. greatest trip i've had in a while. it will be repeated. if you're ever in sausalito and you need a spot to drop, go see tony "tangeray" novato at poggio trattorio. good guy (depsite the freakishly short tie). order the pizza with proscuitto and argula. accompanying drink is up to you.

-went to a toddler birthday party and was forced to watch the me-lay that is "which adult is the kid's absoulte fav and how can that adult prove it to everyone else?" some guests really wanted this title and a few went for it anyway they could. i just relaxed on an adirondack, saved the back strain and asked for as many beers as i could get my hands on.

-spent a few days with some great friends and the dad at a drag race in sacto. there are so many laughs on weekends like these that it's hard to remember everything that is said and done. it's these days that make my heart ache for some reason when i recall them--like i'm mourning the loss of my dad before he's even gone. no one makes/will ever make me laugh like him.

-saw a good friend in sf and enjoyed ice cream on the stoop of a building for a few hours. talked of memories, of futures, of friends, of foes. yep, i am the luckiest one.

-paid way too much for a pair of shorts.

-started lap swimming right in time for the weather to get cold and windy once again. mother nature really knows how to slap a girl around sometimes.

-signed off on a work project 2 years in the making. still hasn't hit me, but when it does, i'm sure i'll feel some relief.

-almost ran in to my screen door for the second time since moving in to my place. it's only time now.

-worked on something exciting. in the preliminary detail phase now, and don't want to get my hopes up, but have to admit i never thought i'd even be thinking about this decision. i hope it works, i really, really do. but in the meantime it's scarier than hell.

-went to a death cab for cutie concert and loved just about every minute. while i admit the following groups did outnumber me and my party by some number:
-15-year olds in plaid shirts
-Parental chaperones
-College-aged guys who were just there because their girlfriends dug the band
-Kids wearing the shirt of the band

life. it does move fast. especially these days. here's to keeping up and having as much fun as we can. and to not be too hard on ourselves for not blogging every single moment of it.

being social is a full time job

long time, no see, oh blog of mine. time, it does fly. and its got huge wings. good when you’re in a meeting that is slowly draining the life out of you. not so good when you’re trying like hell to retain a fairly wrinkle-free face.

sadly, in the last few weeks there has been little to report. i’ve been knee deep in a huge project at work and it has left me little to no time to enjoy life outside of my work cube. priorities will shift soon. at least that’s my hope.

during my free time now (whatever i actually get), i find myself updating or checking facebook, twitter and blogs. it’s becoming a full time job. i’m not sure i can keep up. in the beginning, i got on facebook to reconnect. it seemed brilliant compared to myspace, which i hated and never took part in. plus, i totally dug the idea of statuses. then came the blog. then, one night while in my hotel room in sf, i caught a bit of a conversation at the commerce club between someone and the creator of twitter. i had heard of twitter and was somewhat interested, but after listening to him talk about the world and its social behavior (and how twitter fit in to all that), i caved and created an account.

i’ve been frustrated with it ever since. reasons, you ask?

-a good chunk of people tweet every 5 minutes about stupid stuff. and i mean stupid.

-because of the above, it takes me 10 minutes just to catch up with everyone’s updates every time i log in. i don’t have that kind of time to kill.

-the ui is not that great if you ask me. sure it’s somewhat simple to use, but it’s so basic, it almost hurts.

-the twitspeak. it’s ridiculous. everyone now speaks in twitter language. “i just tweeted my tweeterific tweeter friend and he tweeted me back that he was going to send me a twitpic and retweet my friend joe’s earlier tweet about the popularity of twitter”.

-don’t get me started on the celebrities and the all out media blitz.

now in all fairness, i still have the account after 5 months and i still update and look at it almost everyday, but i think it’s basically because of my interest in seeing what it’s becoming. also, i feel like if i don’t, i’ll be left in the tech dust. seriously.

recently, currenttv took up the cause and created a short about the twouble with tweeter. dead. on. enjoy friends and i'll see you on facebook. or twitter. or the blog. ah, hell.

tiny bubbles v.5

"each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive."

~ anäis nin

exactly

last night while lounging in my hotel room after a little treadmill work in the gym, i flipped through the march issue of san fran mag to find a really interesting article about the work being done to prevent memory issues as we age. the author, one gordy slack said something that hit pretty close to home (except of course for the kissing a girl part).

"i'm not afraid of a falling butt, thinning hair, and lengthening teeth. what wakes me up in a cold sweat is the fear of losing the titles of my favorite movies and books, of forgetting the name of the first girl i kissed on the way to san jose. i dread the prospect of losing myself."

i concur gordy. since having lost a grandfather to parkinson's and a grandmother to alzheimer's, a pebble of thought has been planted in the back corner of my mind and it was nice to hear that pebble's contents echoed by someone else (isn't it always?).

gordy then lays out the more surprising part of the article: believe it or not, we begin to lose the powers of our attention and memory at around age 30.

great. thanks gordy. i just turned 30. honestly i thought i had a good 'nother 20 years before i needed to really worry about it.

luckily the gordsters gives us some hope for prevention (much needed after the age 30 bombshell) in the form of a list of of tips to keep our minds humming at a steady pace:

Exercise (still looking for a way to have someone else do this for me)

Eat well (second verse same as the first)

Challenge yourself and make it fun (i've got this one covered with the crosswords, thank god)

Relax (hmmm...that's gonna take some work, but if i have to, i have to. can someone please get meadowood spa on the horn?)

Take off your shoes (yes, that's right. apparently having an intimate connection to the earth and our surroundings helps us out. thank god i just got my tetanus).

now the trick is to just remember it.

new rule

facebook and twitter must just combine and get it over with.

today facebook released their new homepage design and dare i say i have already logged endless minutes trying to figure the shit out. now in their defense i am not so good with change--especially when it's bad, but now they don't even pre-populate the "is" in my status box?? i mean jesus, what has this world come to? i depended on that "is". let it guide my beloved third person status updates and allowed it to comfort me when i really didn't have anything to say.

in addition, just like twitter, i now see all status updates in real time. gee, thanks facebook. who has the time to sort through all of the messages about kitten adoption events, "25 things about me" lists and video links of the daily show? i just need to know where my peeps are, who's posted the most embarrassing set of photos and just how desperate all of my friends are to end the work day.

so here it is. my desperate plea for it all to finally to come to an end. start twitterbook, go on oprah to announce it and sit back and let the money just roll in. i'm weary of updating both anyway and let's face it, what this country needs right now is some more corporate integration. get on with it and save me the impending carpal tunnel.

and while you're at it, give me my damn "is" back.

march meet madness

event: 51st annual march meet

parties involved: does it matter? they're all hooligans

why we go: cause we love the smell of nitro in the morning (but not really). not to mention, it's just how we roll.


friday
drove down. took me 5 hours with one stop for gas. my god it's a long drive and i always forget. thank god for the ipod.

i arrive at the track and it's packed. at the end of everything, rumors abound that over 100K showed up. 500 race entries. they actually turned some away.

i begin drinking and i don't remember much after that. besides hiccups. a lot of hiccups.

saturday
it's cold. deathly cold. as i lay in bed trying to wake up i think to myself 'i don't know what my face and hair look like right now, but i know it can't be good." i'm 30. can't drink like i used to apparently. but i still try. and will continue.

lots of back slapping and people watching. and a lot of camo. not to mention the bakersfield gang unit is on site. didn't know that the gangs were problematic at the nostalgia drag races. something sniffs of overtime and tax dollars, but i'm never able to confirm.

night begins to fall. ice chest dives become more frequent and laughs become louder. i walk the pits with the dad. i love it.

sunday
wake up in the morning thinking the same exact thing as saturday morning. i see a pattern. i decide to take on more water today. hydration is key.

watch some races. chat with some folks. reminisce about the weekend's festivities. realize that i'm a lucky gal to be a part of this. not just an onlooker. i'm in it. the middle of the madness. and for a few weekends a year, there's no other place i'd rather be or people i'd rather be with. the word 'cool' has nothing on these peeps.

brilliance, pure

linecook's 2.27 post. doesn't get much more authentic than this.

new day(s)?

so i'm officially trying to get back on track with eating/life. i'm praying it sticks this time--it did once before, so i'm hoping it does again. my eating of late has been so horrible that i have begun likening it to vh1's 'the sober house'. except my piece of crack is a hamburger from the habit and my aluminum foil pipe happens to be straw with which i schuck the milkshake from the cup.

yes, it's bad.

so back on the wagon i go. back to the land of mini babybel cheese, escalated water intake (the roughest one for me) and being accountable. but on second thought, maybe being accountable is overrated? i mean really, do i need to be responsible for what i do and eat? there are plenty of people who aren't and they totally get away with it. well they sort of get away with it. there is that little thing of having heart attacks or diabetes. and that can't be fun. ok, right. so back to being accountable i go.

someone get me a fiber one bar, stat.

tiny bubbles v.4

we need a witness to our lives. there's a billion people on the planet... i mean, what does any one life really mean? but with love, you're promising to care about everything. the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things... all of it, all of the time, every day. you're saying 'your life will not go unnoticed because i will notice it. your life will not go un-witnessed because i will be your witness'.

oscars v.81

5:31: gotta say those crystals hanging like curtains are AMAZING. hugh jackman ain't so shabby either.

5:36: love the opening. off to a good start.

5:43: 5 past winning females up now. eva marie saint is the only winning outfit of them all. and is this how we're going to present all of the categories? if so, i'm not going to make it.

5:50: p. cruz just won best supp. actress. not a good start as far as my predictions are concerned, but her speech was nice.

5:53: tina fey and steve martin. hard to get better than that--i want to go to there. and damn girl, you look fantastic!

5:57: and original screenplay goes to dustin lance black for milk. the screenwriters get younger and younger. good for him. but sean penn looks constipated. not sure if that's him being happy or him being regretful on what he had for lunch.

6:00: don't fall in love with me. classic. can tf and sm present all the awards please?

and adapted screenplay goes to simon beaufoy for slumdog. india just lost its shit. i'm 0/3. dammit.

6:03: and so she arrives. the aniston in front of the brangelina. they pan quickly to brangelina. brad looks genuinely amused. angelina totally faking it.

6:07: and wall-e wins. i'm on the board.

6:18: clever set dressing for art direction. i like the effort so far.

6:21: i'm 4/7 with the duchess for costume design.

6:24: make that 5/8 with best makeup. this guy has a list. academy is going to be pissed. he will rue the day. rue it! and make way for sjp's dress people!

6:25: robert patz is up. here goes the screaming again. and could we put two less energetic kids up there together to present?

6:28: montage time. thank god they put in some nick and norah--the numerous clips of high school musical were tough to get through.

6:31: between ben stiller and yesterday's independent spirit awards, joaquin phoenix is pretty much the biggest joke of hollywood right now. hilarious.

on a side note, natalie portman is breathtaking. always.

6:44: james franco and seth rogan. me lovey. seeing the 2 of them in their tuxes brings up the age old debate--bowtie or regular tie?

mr. wienerschniztel just called the oscar statue a "bolthead". annnd...that guy's career just died.

6:56: oh no she didn't! beyonce has bigger balls than i thought. she just sang a few lines of "at last". etta james, wherever she is, just stroked out.

7:04: is phillip seymour hoffman now selling beanies?

7:08: no shocker that heath won, but still so emotional. what it would take for his parents/sister to get up and speak at such a bittersweet time.

7:21: holy shit that tom cruise/jimmy kimmel commercial was solid gold.

7:35: slumdog is taking it all so far.

7:42: jerry lewis tribute. good time to find out my tally and get a refreshment. not that i don't love the guy. or his telethons.

7:49: tally is 10/16. so far i'm ok with that. oh and by the way, boom goes the dynamite.

7:53: how many times do i have to see zac efron tonight? is abc going after the tween viewers or what?

annnnnd tally is now 11/17. sweet! slumdog is coming through for me big time. by the way, how awesome is it that the walk to the stage is so short for the winners this year? i don't think i've heard one person get "music'd off" yet. this i like.

8:02: now this is little wierd with best song acceptance speech...and wait, where did he go? he just ran away? wait, come back! i need a jai ho! but seriously, did he have a plane to catch?

tally now 12/18.

8:07: um, what just happened there? waltz with bashir didn't win foreign language? i'm speechless. at least the winner is "happy". damn tally takes another hit. ugh. 12/19.

8:12: it always makes me sad when they do the "in memoriam" piece and some people get hardly any applause and then others get waves of clapping. popularity contest at its finest i guess. i do like the latifah singing. very nice.

8:20: reesie announcing director....annnnnd danny boyle takes it. good for him. it was a great movie. he seems like an awesome guy too. who likes to jump by the way. tigger. funny. this pretty much seals the deal for best pic.

8:32: predicted, but still so amazing, kate winslet wins. about. damn. time. and i think the actors really loved the presenting from previous winners. quite moving.

oh no. she's breathing hard. it sure isn't a shampoo bottle honey!

omg, how precious is her dad and the whistling bit!? darling!

8:37: is it just me, or is it like 5 guys at the OK coral for best actor presenters?

frank looks pretty calm. wonder what he's really thinking?

sean penn actually laughs. hell just froze over. bob deniro--love the guy. i had mickey as winner, but i'm doubting now. sp may take it. whoa, did robyn just grab his manhood there?

how awesome is this for richard jenkins? a guy who's acted so much finally getting his due. too bad adriene brody is so lame in presenting him.

sir tony hopkins. this aught to be good. not so good for the cameraman though.

i wonder if mickey rourke can even see the stage? or can he only see the people sitting next to him? all i'm saying is that he's had some face stretch over the years. and isn't it a bit condescending all of this "welcome back" talk? i mean did hollywood have a restraining order against the guy? no. he was just a pain in the ass egomaniac with an anger problem. hollywood is made of this.

annnnnd it goes to....sean penn. you don't look so constipated now buddy! awesome speech. awesome.

8:49: best pic is up. here we go.

got to say, love the editing of the montages tonight. smart on the academy's part too--they finally recogonize that the viewers pay the majority of their money to see "mainstream" films--rarely those up for awards.

still think it's gonna be slumdog.

annnnnnd.....slumdog. cue up "jai ho" cause india is losing its shit again. do you think the composer will run like he did when he won last time?

man look at all those people and the darling little kid actors. (by the way did anyone catch the hilarious seacrest interview with the kids on the preshow? "i can't translate for you. he didn't say anything." ha!

well kids, that's it. overall, i think it was a great show. much more thoughtful and entertaining than the past. and jackman did pretty good.

hope you enjoyed the first ever house of m oscar blogroll. all 2 of you. and let's be honest, that's being optimistic. next year, more advertising required.

final tally: 15/23.

carpet roll

gonna try a live blog update strategy for the oscars red carpet. and we're off:

3:00: who would i have to pay to get on that carpet? and could ryan seacrest get shorter?

3:02: is it wrong that i heart ben lyons?

3:08: ryan is talking to miley cryus. did't recognize her without her "dad" clinging on for dear life. i have to say though, i think that dress is gorg. if only she wouldn't speak.

3:17: my god hugh jackman is a good looking male.

3:40: holy funniness, guliana just made a totally loaded comment about zac efron and his beard, i mean girlfriend vanessa doing the red carpet seperately (yet only 4 feet away from each other).

3:48: i don't think they left any cast/crew behind for the movie slumdog millionare. bollywood is seriously in the house. and they call him the "george clooney" of india? um. i'm not seeing it. although the precision trim on the beard is admirable.

3:50: taraji p. henson (queenie from ccobb) is seriously gorgeous. serious.

3:55: john legend is a sexy beast.

3:57: melissa leo is the bomb (c'mon with that name?) but when did they send out the memo on 80s hair coming back? those curls are bouncy! i'm flashing back to my mom in 1985.

4:00: not sure heidi klum could get one more thing on her left wrist/arm. could she just not narrow it down or is she covering up some scarring? less is more. less. is more.

4:10: seth rogan in the hoooooouuuse!

4:11: mickey rourke is having a smoke as he's walking the carpet. watch the ash drip mick.

4:14: melissa george is at the oscars? i'm confused. and so is her dress.

4:16: robert pattinson is up with the seacrest. 1 million teenage girl viewers just made their parents deaf.

4:17: seeing this sea of people, i wonder if anyone has ever started shouting "moooooo"?

4:18: sarah jessica parker and matthew broderick are up and it's more than awkward so far. and mb has almost completely gray hair. how old are you mb? 80? let's get some just for men up in that mess. and everyone keeps talking about sjp's dress, but no on will show the bottom half. what's going on down there?

4:19: ok. seacrest just basically called seth rogan fat. fattie macfatterson. not cool shortie! not. cool.

4:28: mickey rourke is wearing a necklace with a picture of his dog loki who passed away 6 days ago. seacrest could not change the subject fast enough. but mickey, where was your eric roberts shout out?

4:30: it's official. diane lane doesn't age.

4:31: either a vampire got to jessica beil, or she just came fresh from a tornado.

4:33: just got schooled on "piettes".

4:35: note to self, don't tell peter gabriel that he is doing his song as part of a medley.

4:42: silencio! daniel craig is walking.

4:46: beyonce knowles is wearing a houseplant.

4:50: when will the world get to a point where they don't go ridiculously apeshit when brangelina makes an appearence? can someone tell me so i can just fast forward?

4:45: i can't adore kate winslet more. such a sparkling personality and could not be more humble.

4:59: i think penelope cruz could fit the octopulets under that dress train.

5:01: now over to abc. 29 minutes to go.

5:04: abc finally showed the bottom of sjp's dress. the other 6 of the octomom's kids are under her skirt.

5:12: oh god, mickey just recounted how loki died in his arms. and how he had a tux made for the dog before it died.

5:13: robert downey jr. as sherlock holmes? me likey.

5:16: is miley cyrus still talking?

5:23: jack black is just genius.

5:25: gotta say marisa tomei and anne hathaway's dresses are white pinnacles of beauty.

5:26: seth rogan back in the house. at least this dude hasn't called seth fat yet. on a side note, that bar inside is fully stocked!

5:27: lord help me, abc is already boring me to death. who gives a shit how they came up with the kodak theatre design. this isn't pbs. get on with the show and save this shit for the dvd.

predictions

it's go time. here are my oscar predictions (just as the red carpet is beginning). fingers crossed on this list--i've got free adult beverage(s) riding on this one.

best actor: mickey rourke
best supporting actor: heath ledger
best actress:kate winslet
best supporting actress: marisa tomei
best animated feature: wall-e
best art direction: curious case of benjamin button (ccobb)
best cinematography: ccobb
best costume design: the duchess
best directing: danny boyle-slumdog millionare
best documentary feature: man on wire
best documentary short: the cons. of nhem en
best film editing: slumdog millionare
best foreign language film: waltz with bashir
best makeup: ccobb
best music (score): slumdog millionare
best music (song): "jai ho" - slumdog millionare
best picture: slumdog millionare
best short film (animated): la maison en petits
best short film (live action): auf der streckel (on the line)
best sound editing: dark knight
best sound mixing: wall-e
best visual effects: ccobb
best writing (adapted screenplay): ccobb
best writing (original screenplay): frozen river

god bless

someone else beat me to the punch on the hatred of bad parking jobs.

it's always nice to know you're not alone.

case in point

yesterday the QB and I went to our beloved nugget market to experience the beloved salad bar. when we came out, we were instantly taken aback (see below). and before you ask, no, the car is not in the process of driving off through the stall. it's driverless. windows up. doors locked. moored.

so again, i find myself asking someone to riddle me this. how does a person park like thus, get out and just walk away? really? this is only proof that my earlier post was not just crazy-hood talk. learn to park for eff's sake. parking is a privilege, not a right.

a second look

netflix was really good to me last weekend and delivered to my doorstep 2 gems, including "nick & norah's infinite playlist" and "zack and miri make a porno". had seen the first, not the second. dove in with total enthusiasm. n&n actually had me the second time which was surprising because i liked the film in theatre, but didn't love it (sometimes i'm like that with films--it takes a few times to catch everything). micahel cera is my hero. and when i say hero, i mean i want him to be my friend. good friend. i want to be able to call him up at 4 am, hold his hand, wear his jacket. i'm sure he feels the exact same way about me.

zack and miri was a different story. it had me at the hand warmer. kept me going with dancing to dmx and asked me to marry it with a conversation about the dutch rudder. and this is rare for me. i can deal with raunch at times, but sometimes it's just too much. after all, i'm not a guy. you need to woo a little too in order to keep me around. kevin smith knows this and knows that it pays off. pays off in the tune of me paying $15 for the dvd the same day at walmart. i don't do that for just any film.

moral of the story here--give the nerds and chubby guys a chance. and guys--don't toss aside a girl just because she's not laying on your hood by the river doing really strange dancing (sounds fun right? not always. scary.)

parking

how does one park their car, get out, and not notice that they're actually parked perpendicular in the the designated parallel spot?

most recent case in point, i go to the bucks to get a pick me up and park comfortably in a spot further away (as to not have to deal with anyone parking around me). i pay dearly for my car every month and i try to keep it as dent free as i can. when i walk out with my overpriced coffee bean liquid, i go to my car to find some ahole has parked more than crookedly in the spot next to me (even though there were a good 5 other spots available) and has left me little to no room on the drivers side to get in.

i fume.

i mean really get pissed.

it's a courtesy thing and there's absolutely no reason for it.

am i saying i always park perfectly straight in a spot? no. but when i get out and notice that it's not in the surrounding spot's best interest for me to stay where i'm at, i actually get back in my car and re-adjust. mere seconds is all it takes.

learn how to park idiots. don't make me write another angry note on a gum wrapper saying things i'd rather not say out loud. nothing good can come of it. do the work up front and we'll all be the better for it. trust me.

can anyone tell me if we're still at code level orange?

today was a big day. BIG. i mean life changing for a lot of folks. a day that our country had not seen before and would likely not see again for a long time. we've known this day was coming. we've anticipated. we've prepared. we've been on pins and needles and we've stocked up on bottled water and beef jerky (just in case).

so you'd think that the house of m's workplace would have anticipated this. would have maybe sent out some communique prior. let all the people that are actually working today know not to all get on the internet at the same time to view the BIG day.

they did not.

still can't get on to cnn or any other news site. totally denied. which is a hardship, because i'd like to check the weather. that, and what crime is happening in or around my hood today. and if my dvr series recordings are set at an optimal level per tonight's tv guide.

all i want to do is see a picture so that i know the BIG day actually went through. cause if it didn't, i've got to start packing.

the internets will miss you

goodbye GB. it's been swell. okay, well less than swell. actually so much less than swell that i'm not sure there is a word for it. but that's just me. no offense to those who love the man. although i can't imagine there are too many of those left in the world.

don't let that big white house door hit you on the way out. oh, and don't forget to say goodbye to the internets.

bye, sweet friend

sadly, today i say goodbye to my favorite cocker spaniel, roxy. while i admit we had a rough start (she cried and peed on the spot when i first met her), but we quickly bounced back and became meant-to-be cuddle buds. i'll miss her terribly (the marcia even more so) but luckily i'll have great memories of her and her adorable personality to get me through. how she would cock her head when you asked her a question. how she refused to let a tag remain on a stuffed dog toy for longer than 10 minutes. how she would kick me while i napped with her in bed (the toughie had a kick like a donkey). and most of all, i'll miss her cute little face and her guppy chin. the hardest part of being a pet lover is saying goodbye. hands down.

to my nanna, i say, thanks for being such a great companion. sleep with angels and enjoy that ballplay up there!