Real Quick

Movies you should watch if you haven't yet:

"Across the Universe"

"War, Inc."

No time for proper reviews. Just watch them. The first is enjoyable. The second, uncomfortable but important. (Plus, John Cusak. Love. Him.)

Achoo!

I slept in this morning. Until 8:15. It was sweet.

Today will be spent taking care of householdish things which have gone begging since I reentered the work force. (We're going to have a family meeting about this, Mumsie having realized that the hold SAHM-I'll-do-it-all-because-I'm-here-to-do-it formula is no longer practical nor equitable).

I will also, hopefully, be working on the content for the website that needs to be built for the new business, as my goal is to launch after Labor Day. It's all terribly exciting.

And then, of course, there is much to be done for what will be, as Uncle JP put it, a national holiday in our home tomorrow. Banners are being prepared, the menu is planned. I'm charged with scaring up some appropriate party favors. Nieces must be gathered. A certain 13 year old someone has been waiting forever for this moment to arrive: the premiere of High School Musical II. * I wonder if she'll even be able to sleep tonight.

Enough. I have many precious hours ahead and must make the most of them. It's a manageable list but I need to get going. Also, I am currently contemplating the supreme irony of starting an organizing business when my own desk looks like this:



I should do something about that, don'tcha think?

* I'm excited, too. Shut up.

This Morning I Did the Tango. With a Chicken. Who Wore a Tuxedo.

The Parent Association is hosting an Easter dance and chili cook-off on Saturday. One of my comrades on the board has a chicken suit, for reasons he's never fully explained, and has become our de facto mascot. Whenever we need to promote something we slap him into the chicken suit and make him do stuff. This morning I dressed in my highest heels and a glittering evening dress, donned my superfantastic chandelier earrings (the ones The Neighbor gave me for my birthday last year) and drove The Child to school, looking every inch a czarina.

Monday morning starts with a prayer service, during which announcements for the week are made. So the chicken and I arranged with The Principal for some promo time. She introduced some "special guests" and Chicken Man and I did the tango from the back of the room to the microphone. Laughter ensued. I don't know why.

Chicken Man and I have a new motto: Join the Parent Club Board: lose your dignity, support your school.

Now I'm still all dressed up, because I had to make the rounds in Blogtopia and figured y'all deserved a little dose of extra glamour on this cloudy Monday morning. But I have to change now because I am not going to be able to mop the kitchen or weed the garden looking this fine.

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Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of buying our house. Totally forgot to celebrate.

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The Spouse changed my email address for me this weekend. For the second time in a week. I was loathe to give up my very clever and entertaining email handle but could no longer bear getting 412 spam messages a day. I don't need any pharmecueticals. If I was going to refinance my house, it wouldn't be from a cold call email. Also, I have absolutely no use whatsover for a penile enhancement. It was just time to shut down Babbington K. Squidly, the International RX and all the other little spambots.

It was very nice, consequently, to wake up to a virtually empty inbox.

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The Child and I were watching The Food Network Awards last night (I know, I know...it's like that scene in "Annie Hall" where Woody Allen raves about LA saying "They do nothing but give out awards. I can't believe it. Greatest Fascist Dictator - Adolf Hitler!") Anyway, Catherine Zeta-Jones has a new movie coming out, a remake of the terrific film "Mostly Martha". Which didn't need to be remade, btw, but since it's a foreign film I guess it was fair game. Anyhoo, it looks yummy. I like movies about food.

March Comes In

To the north and south there is lots of snow and ice. Right here, in the little pocket of urban bliss that is Seattle, there is bright spring-like sun, fluffy white clouds in the brilliant blue sky and the sound of crocuses popping from the ground. Decidedly lamb-like for my neck of the woods but far more liony for the rest of the region. Should make the 31st very interesting.

While dusting some very grimy books this morning I had a revelation-that's-not-so-much-a-revelation-as-a-reminder: I am good at many things. Waiting is not one of them.

This has been a very productive week and that just thrills me to no end because so often I'm much better at laying plans than actually executing.

We finally got around to watching "Brokeback Mountain" last night. Meh. Meh to the 10th power. The Spouse liked it. But then, as I'm wont to say, he likes everything. Never met a movie he didn't like. He will even find the one thing that works in a movie that is universally held to be horrible. I like that about him. Although if he says a film is "great" you should get a second opinion.

Did I mention that The Child's class is reading Romeo and Juliet? They have all signed up for different parts and scenes...she's going to be the Nurse, in Act II, Scene iv. The parts have to be memorized and performed near the end of this month. We started running lines this week, one 15 minute session a day. Oh. My. Gosh. She already has all the little lines memorized and she's working her best British accent. She's also rolling well through the various modes of expression required in this particular scene...indignation at saucy Mercutio, feigned hurt at Peter standing by while Mercutio is saucy, not to mention warning, conspiring and encouraging Romeo...all in the same speech. She really is going to be amazing. And you just haven't lived until you hear her said "Scurvy knave! I am none of his flirt-gills; I am none of his skainsmates!"

I think she's going to be a method actress because after we practised she changed into an old Halloween costume that has a renaissance thing happening and asked, while she was making splendid BBQ chicken sammies for dinner, if we could please try to talk like the Nurse and Juliet.

In other news, my car has decided to make some sort of horrible grinding noise that sounds like I'm dragging a piece of fuselage. This is perfect timing because the extended warranty I bought on the thing 2 years ago is no longer in effect. The good news is that there are really good mechanics just down the street. The bad news is there will be a car repair bill. That is never a good thing.

And now I must away. Fair jocund day salutes my eye and...and...that Elizabethan crap is hard.

Just in Time for the Oscars! I Watched a 2 year old Movie!

I watched the Kiera Knightly "Pride and Prejudice" last night. Or rather, tried. I will grant the following:

It was a treat to look at.
Kiera Knightly is adorable.

But she's no Elizabeth Bennett.

And I don't even know who that guy is who is supposed to be Mr. Darcy and won't even IMDb him because I don't care. Pft.

I fell asleep. There's the truth of it.

I might turn it back on this afternoon, do some ironing and see if the last half changes my mind. But I'm sceptical.

I have a point.

For quite some time now I have been saying "pft" and "meh" in response to this newest version of one of my very favorite books ever. These dismissive interjections have been made for the simple reason that, having seen the A&E production, it was clear no one would ever have to try and make the story again. It was a faithful rendering of the tale. Because it was a mini-series the script was deep and wide, with lots of characters and significant conversations that went to the heart of the principals and their motivations. It was pretty to look at, well acted and hello? starred Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

When the latest movie version was released in 2005 I never considered seeing it, citing the attempt as silly and futile. "Not interested. Pft, again", I would say.

But there are people, people I like and respect, who over the years have said, "Oh, but you should see it. For what it is, it's quite well done". And then they'd go on to celebrate the performance of this person or that and talk about how gorgeous it was and such like that.

And I realized I was doing something I really hate in others: deciding ahead of the evidence. This is not the conduct of an intelligent, fair-minded person. Such a person bases her response to facts and research, not to blithe, unthinking reaction. Yes. I love Colin Firth. True, I believe him to be the definitive Mr. Darcy. But to dismiss something out of hand, without even an attempt at understanding it, is silly, lazy and possibly even dangerous. (Ok, not strictly in this context but as a rule knee-jerk reactionism is most decidedly not a good thing. I could name one or two political movements that embody this. I won't. Just saying).

So I finally put the movie on my Netflix list and then finally stopped shoving it back down the queue every time it bubbled near the top. And after having it in my house for 2 weeks, finally watched it. And fell asleep. Because it really didn't do anything for me.

But at least now when I say, "Oh, I didn't care for it; I much prefer the A&E version", I won't be just talking out of the side of my neck. I'm fair-minded like that.

Friday Night

Last night The Spouse went to his 30th high school reunion. I didn't go with him, having satisfied that obligation back on his 20th, which also happened to fall on our 5th wedding anniversary. There are few things in life more boring than attending someone else's reunion. Just saying.

The Child and I were all excited to have a Girls Night In. We were going to eat macaroni & cheese, have caramel corn for dessert and watch a chick flick.

"What are we going to watch?" I ask The Child.

"I don't know," she said, perusing the DVDs on the shelf. "Harry Potter?"

"Strictly speaking, Harry Potter is not a chick flick," I said. "Which one?"

"4".

"I could watch Harry Potter 4," I said, "as long as you understand that it is not a chick flick".

"Sure it is," she said, pointing to the cover. "It's a flick. This is a chick," she said, indicating
Emma Watson. Then she pointed to Daniel Radcliffe and said, "And this is a hottie".

I stand corrected.