To bang or not to bang?
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

Woooo!!!! BREAK those world records Michael Phelps!!

Is everyone watching the Olympics? You should be. There are three things in this world that make me wildly happy to be an American...1)clean water 2) movies set during WWII & 3) the Olympics.

I sit & screech & pump my fists in the air like an overtestosteroned man when wonderful things happen! Did you SEE that men's swimming relay last night???? FABULOUS. Michael Phelps is sssoooo kicking everyone's asses. He rocks. Misty May Treaner & Kerri Walsh are the cutest girls ever. Although I do have a very personal disgust for China now that I see how young those female gymnasts really are. Sick.

My favorite Olympic video ever: I remember sitting on the living room floor watching the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta when Kerri Strug injured her ankle & then won the freaking GOLD MEDAL!!! This video makes me tear up every time I watch it!



I wish I had the video of the relay last night but can't find it anywhere. But with that said I will definitely (and proudly) confess to screaming very anti-French things after we won....things like..."MAYBE IF YOU'D HELP OUT IN WAR EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE YOU'D KNOW HOW TO COMPETE ASS HATS!!!!!!" Normally I'm a totally peace loving, anti-sadness & carnage gal but if you diss my Olympic team there will be much hell to pay.



Ahem. Commercial break.

All right, y'all. I'm getting my hair cut. I haven't had my hair cut since the first week of January. It is now down to the MIDDLE of my back & is wild & thick & quite terrifying to manage. My bangs have grown down to an inch below my chin. I am OVER the super long hair.

I want bangs but can't decide which ones to get. I like the crazy curtain bangs that Heidi Klum had BUT I don't think they're for me. I don't just want to part my bangs in the middle either.

I think I want my hair to be at my shoulders...and layery.

I just...BLAH I don't know! I cannot make these decisions. Help?

5:53 AM - 9 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

Dream 8/3/08
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

Last night I had a dream that my parents decided to not do Christmas. They literally did no Christmas. No tree. No lights. No presents. No acknowledgment. Nothing. I was SO upset. I woke up the next day (Christmas day) & there was like 3 feet of snow everywhere & I was SO excited & jumped around in it in my pajamas shouting,"SEE!? It'll still happen whether you want it to or not!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA" Weird? Yes.

Then it segue-wayed into a dream where Kim & I were about to leave on our road trip when she comes here in August. I couldn't find my debit card anywhere & it was still snowing outside (in LA. I know.). It was summer now though. I packed my favorite lemon yellow skirt (which I threw away about 2 years ago), my winter coat, my black halter top, & boots & we went to the grocery store, got a ton of food, & then just left. The next image I had was us standing on the cliffs of the Big Sur with a ton of fog & crazy huge waves that came up to the top of the cliffs & made it shake.

Very strange..but actually a really enjoyable dream...the cliffs were awesome & I really hope it's cold & foggy & grey when we get up there. 

4:10 PM - 1 Comments - 2 Kudos - Add Comment

At 2:20am the Titanic sank. At 2:20am Laura watches PBS.
Category: Food and Restaurants

Friday, August 1, 2008

At 2:20am the Titanic sank. At 2:20am Laura watches PBS.

9:53 AM - 5 Comments - 8 Kudos - Add Comment

Why so serious?
Current mood: full
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

How many status updates, blog titles, & text messages have had this quote this weekend?

I love seeing movies in Los Angeles. It's really such a different experience than seeing a movie anywhere else because the audience is just so excited about each film. In every theatre it's guaranteed that people either directly or slightly indirectly affiliated with the film in question will be there. There's also the crazy film buffs who will be talking about the movie like a Proust lecture as they leave. Also, a lot of the audience members will stay seated throughout the entire ending credits to pay respect to the ENTIRE cast & crew that made the movie possible.

With that said, Brandi & I saw Batman: The Dark Knight at 12:15am on Thursday night. The movie didn't let out until nearly 3am but we were wide awake throughout the entire thing. For many reasons this movie just blew me away. For starters it was like seeing a show on stage. People applauded repeatedly through the movie & the energy in the room was nothing less than an 8 year old boy being allowed to set off fireworks for the first time. After a terrifying game of "chicken" Batman wraps a wire around the wheels of a massive semi-truck & causes it to flip all the way over on its back. We all gasped, our eyes lit up, & EVERYONE in the theatre began to clap. Suddenly everyone was the same age. I haven't had a movie experience like this since I was 9 years old & seeing Jurassic Park for the first time with my mom. It was my first PG13 movie & I remember getting chills & sitting with my mouth hanging wide open throughout the movie.

I loved Batman Begins but The Dark Knight just goes to a completely different level. It's not just a great Batman movie...it's a great Movie. Period. The writing, special effects, suspense, the MUSIC (Hans Zimmer & James Newton Howard HELL YES!)..it was all so brilliant. The best part though..the BEST part...was by far the acting.

Christian Bale is my favorite Batman. End of story. Michael Keaton is a pussy. I'm sorry. But you can't be the best Batman ever if you starred as a specter snow man in a bad family Christmas movie called Jack Frost. It just doesn't work.But the first time I watched Batman Begins & saw that one of Christian's biceps is larger than my own head I knew he was the chosen one. Christian Bale is a brilliant actor, a gorgeous man, & seriously inspires good (and maybe a little bad...) in me. Ha...hahahahahahhahah...and seriously...who doesn't love the smooth syntax of a Britich actor feigning an American accent?

Gary Oldman as Commissioner Gordon rocks my world in one specific way...when he appeared to not be dead my heart leapt out of my chest because in a way it was like Sirius Black was coming back to life! (I'm a nerd. I know this. You shouldn't feel the need to tell me.)


Maggie Gyllenhaal kicks Katie Holmes in the engram any day of the week.


Aaron Eckhart. Who saw that coming? (I'm not taking about Two-Face, I mean his acting...) He was FABULOUS. I was so tense & stressed out over the movie when he took Gordon's son & was threatening to kill him...totally heartbreaking. I couldn't handle it. If you haven't seen it yet, Chris Nolan's Two-Face is a helluva lot scarier than the Tommy Lee Jones rendition. Prepare to be shock & awed.


Heath Ledger.
I've been a fan of his since 10 Things I Hate About You. I was not a fan of Brokeback Mountain..sorry, the movie just didn't do much for me except make me hate long, slow shots of sheep & Twangy McTwang hick music. Remember how you felt when you saw Johnny Depp as Jack Sparrow & thought,"What the HELL? That is amazing. He developed every part of that character deliberately & perfectly & I'll watch it 13 more times this summer because I don't have any friends here in Indiana & so I'll pretend to be Keira Knightley instead?" Remember that? No?

Oh.


Well, at any rate Ledger's performance is so good that you won't even know it's him. He completely disappears in this character & it's not just the makeup...it's the voice, the body language, the SMILE is even different. This Joker is sympathetic...and not in a cliched way where we find out his back story & realize that there is a method to his madness. There is none. He is chilling & a total anarchist & seemingly devoid of emotion. The second time I saw it I actually saw the human in him when he's called "crazy" by one of the mob guys & the Joker just glares at him & says,"No..I'm not. I'm not..crazy." It's so genuine that you just feel like there's this soul trying to crawl out of that crazy ass corpse he has walking around the city. Also, you hear so much talk about how terrifying & creepy he is that people have neglected to point out how damn funny he is as well. Whether it be running around in a lady's wig & nurse uniform blowing up hospitals or demanding his "one phone call!!" at the police dept. after he's arrested the man is totally hysterically magnetic. It's easily one of my top 10 favorite performances of all time. In fact, at this point there will have to be a performance better than Javier Bardem's in No Country For Old Men for anyone to beat Ledger at the Oscars.


The truly heartbreaking thing? I can't say,"I can't wait to see what he comes out with next!" It's like...he had the genius & artistic raw innocence of James Dean & went just way too soon. At least we still have Johnny Depp & Leo DiCaprio. I feel so weird saying that. But as living in Los Angeles & becoming a part of Hollywood is my chief end in life at the moment I feel like I can take some authority & talk about it this way.


Speaking of acclimating into Hollywood, today Brandi was asked to go & do makeup for some models at a hotel for a fashion show. A swimsuit & hat designer had a new line & so there was a huge pool party with food, drinks, celebs, photographers, & a DJ. It was eye-opening. In the end I came out with a "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em & stand out just for being yourself" mentality.

(The fact that all the models had cellulite & zits didn't hurt either. ;) )

Currently watching : Batman Begins (Widescreen Edition) Release date: 2005-10-18

10:50 PM - 16 Comments - 20 Kudos - Add Comment

Twisted dreams & helicopters at 3am...
Current mood: nervous
Category: Dreams and the Supernatural

*****This blog was literally written at 3am when I was still 1/4 asleep. So...that's my explanation...HAhhahahaha******


The Reason I'm Awake at 3am: Part 1:

Hi...it's 3am...I'm going to tell you a little story. I was having a dream that started out as a work dream. Ahmos told me to go & get us lunch. It was exactly 1:24pm & so I went to get lunch but wasn't really hungry. Then my phone died & the paparazzi started taking my picture. Then I ended up getting into an elevator at the Century City mall that lead into this woman's house. I decided to just go down the street to grab us pizza when suddenly my car wouldn't work. So I was standing in the dark on a curvy road over the ocean when this stray girl comes walking up to me. I knew that she was new here & that she was lost & obviously without a car & she came & asked me for help & suddenly I got this demonic look on my face & just silently walked up to her really fast & she FREAKED out & began screaming & then I began screaming too (only in a mean way) & she basically was having seizures as she fled the scene & I felt so guilty for scaring her like that. SO...then I started walking & ended up at this huge house over the ocean that was all dark inside but I wanted to go in so that I could use their phone & call Ahmos to tell him that I was going to be late & wouldn't bring back food. I walk into the house & get into an elevator & end up in a totally dark room. Suddenly a little chihuahua runs in with a Citadel Bulldog doggy sweater on. I decided to pick up the dog until the owner came in because I wanted to know if he had gone to the Citadel. I sat on the couch & waited & in he walked...apparently he was a production assistant & they were filming a documentary tv series in the house & I needed to leave soon. Yes, he did graduate from the Citadel. I hung out for a few minutes & began looking through their DVD collection & found this movie that was really rare & that I really wanted to watch when suddenly Nate from Six Feet Under walked in. We sat down & started watching the DVD but were also talking a lot too & then we ended up kissing. It was ridiculous. It was SO real like I could FEEL my heart rate getting really fast in my sleep. So then I was like,'No, I seriously have to go back to work." I went back to the elevator & as the doors were about to close he came running up with 2 other DVDs & said,"Ok, I'll go with you." So I was all smiley & happy about that & he suggested we go for a walk on the beach but I said no & got in the car to go back to work. It was now 10:30pm. I drove back to the Hassan's, parked in their driveway & went to sleep with the car on with the radio. I woke up the next morning & tried to start the car because I wanted to get coffee & prepare to be screamed at by my boss. It wouldn't start. The battery died. So I had keys to another car & got into that one & for some reason decided to drive to Target to get the coffee. I was in the parking garage when suddenly this car comes screeching up & in it are Brenda (from 6 Feet Under) & a bunch of kids screaming & yelling things about me being a big whore & I was like,"What!!!!?!!???" So then I parked the car to give me a second to breathe when this car shines its brights on me & ::gasp:: it's NATE!!!!! And it felt like we lived happily ever after...until a half hour ago...


When I woke up there was a huge light shining into my window & I heard a helicopter flying VERY low around the circumference of my street. You know how when you wake up sometimes you just inexplicably feel evil or a really dark darkness around? I felt that so I FREAKED out & now have all the lights on & am watching Desperate Housewives after a very amusing conversation with the LAPD. I called them & a very helpful black man (who I imagine is Keith...from 6 Feet Under...) told me there had been a police arrest up that way & so the helicopter was just making sure everything was going smoothly...there were no armed robbers or rapists or murderers running my corner of Sherman Oaks.

So now I'm still a little frightened & am trying to occupy myself...

This night can end 3 ways...

1. Nothing will happen & I will be able to actually get back to a peaceful sleep...with possibly more of a Nate dream. (How random by the way, as he is totally not one of my favorites but now he might be my boyfriend...)

2. An armed robber/rapist/murderer comes in & I die...bloodied, poor, & alone.


3. Whoever comes in is actually a MURDERER named Dexter played by Michael C. Hall (David on 6 Feet Under) & he won't kill me..he'll be hunting whatever twisted fuck has broken in without my knowledge & will kill him seamlessly before making out with me.

Thus, my twisted fantasy is complete.


Also...last night I dreamed that I gave birth to a baby girl & stray dogs kept trying to jump into my car. I had no recollection of actually giving birth...it started with me waking up in the hospital & them handing me a baby...I had no idea who the father was. Very strange.

Currently watching : Six Feet Under - The Complete Third Season Release date: 2005-05-17

10:44 AM - 9 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment

"Not ’til the sky!!"-a back to Charleston blog
Current mood: animated
Category: Life

"There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible Giants
in the sky!

When you're way up high
And you look below
At the world you left
And the things you know,
Little more than a glance
Is enough to show
You just how small you are.

When you're way up high
And you're own your own
In a world like none
That you've ever known,
Where the sky is lead
And the earth is stone,

You're free, to do
Whatever pleases you,
Exploring things you'd never dare
'Cause you don't care,
When suddenly there's

A big tall terrible Giant at the door,
A big tall terrible lady Giant
sweeping the floor.
And she gives you food
And she gives you rest
And she draws you close
To her Giant breast,
And you know things now
that you never knew before,
Not till the sky.

Only just when you've made
A friend and all,
And you know she's big
But you don't feel small,
Someone bigger than her
Comes along the hall
To swallow you for lunch.

And you heart is lead
And your stomach stone
And you're really scared
Being all alone...

And it's then that you miss
All the things you've known
And the world you've left
And the little you own-

The fun is done.
You steal what you can and run.
And you scramble down
And you look below,
And the world you know
Begins to grow:

The roof, the house, and your Mother at the door.
The roof, the house and the world you never thought to explore.
And you think of all of the things you've seen,
And you wish that you could live in between,
And you're back again,
Only different than before,
After the sky.

There are Giants in the sky!
There are big tall terrible awesome scary wonderful
Giants in the sky!"

-Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim


This morning I was out running before work & had my ipod tuned onto my broadway list & even though Into the Woods is so not running music I must have listened to Giants In the Sky at least 6 times before changing the song. There is nothing that describes more how I've felt over the past two weeks more than this song so thank you, Mr. Sondheim, you validate my life once again.
The past few months have been really rough on me...losing my job that I was totally invested in...being unemployed for 2 months & then finally landing a job that I had absolute disdain for the few many weeks of working there. I've been so confused about life & what I'm doing with it that it's been difficult to get up in the morning because I get so overwhelmed with the "What?" "Why?" & "WHEN!??!" questions that pop into my head. I was so thrilled to move here but since then I've wanted to pack up & move back to where things were simple & familiar & make a life there instead. I made plans to go back to Charleston for a week to see my parents, sisters, nephews, & friends & was really excited about it up until the night I left. At work I was completely unfocused & anxious & kept thinking about how hard it would be to leave Charleston again & how I knew if I went there I'd want to move back immediately & how I would be such a disappointment to everyone once they realized how so unglamorous my life is out here.

So that night with all of my angst intact I flew back to Charleston for the first time in 9 months. When I moved to Indiana & returned to Charleston for the first time it was like stepping back into my own skin. It felt so right & that's why I moved back nearly 3 years later. When I arrived in Charleston, felt the humidity, saw the salt marshes, & my aunt & two dear friends it was one of the most surreal experiences. Suddenly I realized that I had changed...I had more edge, I had a different perspective on the world & how things work..I felt so much older & so much smaller because the big picture is so much bigger when you live in a town like LA.

I went to lunch at Vickery's with Katie & Nick the first day I was back. I saw two families that I grew up going to church with & thought how much I missed that sense of community. Then I remember sitting there staring over Shem Creek & the salt marshes & boats & a had a crazy epiphany...Charleston is Me. It's my childhood, my family, every memory that contributed to the building blocks that make up who I am as a person is this city. Strangely though, I felt detached. I'm still trying to think of the perfect analogy...hang on...I'll try again...nope, still nothing. HAahahahah It really was like an out of body experience...it was like I was time traveling. NOTHING has changed. Except me. I have definitely changed.

Little by little, every anxiety that I had about work or LA or being so far away from my family just disappeared. I feel totally at peace with being in LA & know that it's where I'm supposed to be & it's where I WANT to be. I got closure & validation on so many things that have been PLAGUING me since high school/college: self-image, my friends, the way I treat them & the way they treat me, what I'm doing career-wise, what I'm doing relationship-wise, boys...my gosh..you just don't even know the stuff I was able to FINALLY just let go of while I was there. I heard verbally from both parents that they're proud of me & what I'm doing. Since my unemployment stint I've felt like a complete screw-up & failure but now...I can see myself in a new light. I'm only 22 (23 next week. ha.) & am way too hard on myself. I'm one of the only people my age that I know who even has a real job.

What it boils down to is that I have officially crossed over into adulthood & am not living so much inside my own head anymore. I was ready to go back to LA about 3 days after I'd been in Charleston. HAhaahahah I knew that things were never going to be the same when I walked into Melissa (my roomie in LA as well as a friend in Charleston who happened to be there at the same time) & my FIRST reaction was,"YAY! Someone from home!"

Wait, what? (Believe me, no one was more shocked than me...even though I said it in my head..)

I had one lyric running through my head during the entire trip...it's from Into the Woods (surprise) & from Any Moment when the Baker's Wife gets kissed by the prince in the woods & she freaks out & says,"This is ridiculous! What am I doing here? I'm in the wrong story!!"

SAME ISSUE. HAhahaahha

OH! I know EXACTLY what the analogy is...Charleston is my Constant right now. It's my reference point. It's the thing that I can look back to & know it's my safe place when I start to go a little crazy. It's the grounding & my foundation for the enigmatic puzzle that is Laura.

When I boarded my connecting flight in Atlanta I sat down & WHAT song was playing on the radio? "West Coast" by Coconut Records. Out of ALL the songs to play..it was Brandi & I's Moving to LA song...& the lyrics just happen to say, "I miss you, I'm going back home to the West coast...do-do-doooo." I really felt like I was in the ending scene of a movie...I guess metaphorically that's exactly what it was. (cheesey nerd girl, i apologize)

This of course was ruined by the fact that I then started daydreaming about a guy going back to LA as well & how he'd sit by me & we'd be soulmates & that would be another check off my list. Unfortunately, to my right sat a hispanic woman who was apparently Un-dead because she just sat there & stared straight in front of her for the entire flight...& then to my right was a midget...a really. smelly. midget. Seriously. Worst BO EVER. I had to turn my head to the left to stare at the Un-dead woman & pray she didn't suddenly leap at my neck or suck out my soul with her eyes to keep from gagging all over the place. On top of that my steward was very southern & VERY gay & made me sing Over the Rainbow to him while he shook my mojito & danced...at midnight. I know all the passengers loved that. HAhaahahahah

So now I'm back......back in LA & very happy about it. I plan on throwing myself 100% into my job because that' s a huge hindrance for me right now & it's something I'm determined to excel at.

(I have another blog coming...it's lighthearted & opinionated so I hope y'all are excited...don't whine at me, I haven't blogged in a long time so don't act like I'm asking a lot of you to read another.)

12:18 AM - 10 Comments - 18 Kudos - Add Comment

Meanwhile, in Lost Angeles...
Category: Fashion, Style, Shopping

I have been inspired..in a completely new & somewhat totally unpredictable way. I've felt so stagnant lately & I guess that was just me coming out of the chrysalis & waiting for the wings to spread out a bit & show their color (ahhhh...analogies...).

Last Wednesday former set decorator on The Office extraordinare John Sparano sent me an invite to a taping of one of the runway shows for America's Next Top Model. My initial reaction was exactly this,"O.M.F.G. GOSSIP GIRL! TOP MODEL!" The roomies & I coordinated schedules & were able to shower, dress, & make the long trek to downtown, LA for the show. As with all tapings...we had to wait. While we waited I observed the people around me & slowly realized that I was way behind the game of fashion...I mean I've always KNOWN this but never cared about it. We were sitting in fold out chairs in the freezing cold in a gross parking lot outside of some old apartment buildings (looked like a scene out of Rent) & watched the other people arrive. There was an Asian girl with platinum blonde hair decked out in all 1940s garb & this one guy who had a beard, was about 5 feet tall, was wearing a floor length black coat, boots, & a HUGE top hat with feathers coming out of it & sunglasses....at night....it was madness. I was fascinated by all the spectacle but also really annoyed that I felt like I had walked into an Arabic class after years of studiously studying Spanish. I mean I looked fine I guess...I had on a black skirt, black peep-toe heels, & a creamy sparkly v-neck shirt...my hair was all bobby pinned & curled up & I had my glasses on & felt tres, tres chic inside the confines of my apartment.

Then the runway show started....& SOMETHING inside me clicked...Jeremy Scott (the designer) is a man after my own art clothing deprived heart. The entire line was like couture Beauty & the Beast...some high fashion show after seeing "Be Our Guest" performed on stage. There were dresses with chests of drawers on them...earrings that were chandeliers...an ADORABLE super nerdy high collar, long sleeved, full skirt that was green that had...OMG...OMG YOU GUYS....BOOKS...all over it. It was CIRCULATION DESK COUTURE. HOW ABOUT I FREAK OUT RIGHT THIS SECOND?! HOW ABOUT IT!?

I couldn't help but realize that every piece of my outfit was matched kind of perfectly & just looked put together...it was uninspired, boring, & really just not how I wanted people to see me...because Lord knows...inside I am NOT matched & put together. I am an inspired mosaic of emotional eccentricities & class!

I started venting to my more fashion/makeup savvy roommates about how I was feeling & Melissa gave me the advice to pick out pieces & styles from eras I love, collect them, & not settle for less.

Cut to: Brandi & I seeing "Sex & the City" on Sunday. From the first swell of opening credits & Fergie's "Labels or Love" song I knew that Carrie & I were officially kindred spirits. First of all, I LOVED this movie. I have spent years bashing the show because a while ago when I tried watching it I just couldn't get into it. Who were these women looking for love & trying to find the balance between themselves & happiness & actually living a life & sharing it with someone? Is it possible? Is it worth it? Being 22 (almost 23), living on my own, & actually knowing that I am a dateable & worthy gal not only do I understand the plight of the Fabulous Four but I am LIVING that plight.

Is it weird that something so girlie & so far away from everything that I've taught myself to be could just inspire me so much? From Charlotte's earnest speech about having bad moments but truly being happy every day with her husband & family to Samantha choosing her own happiness over an obligation to a relationship to Miranda's forgiveness of Steve & Carrie's knock-out wedding gown I just realized that I am these women & yes, I used the word Woman.

I feel like I've finally arrived at that place where I feel the flab in my upper arms, the complicated skin, & the beginnings of irreversible cellulite on my thighs & see that I'm a grown up & can just own it. I can date without the fear of being trapped in a relationship & I can be single without the fear of being alone.

So...there it is...the big exhale, y'all. I'm going back to Charleston this weekend. It'll all solidify with my dear family & lifelong friends...& then it's back to the new chapter of my life that is far from over.

10:57 PM - 4 Comments - 6 Kudos - Add Comment

Indiana Jones & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Yesterday's blog was nasty & ill. Thank you for all of your sweet & supporting "calm down, Laura, it's not the end of the world" comments. The emotional insanity that was me yesterday morning was the on-set of PMS. Woohoo!

Let's make the weekend happy by talking about something life changing!!!

Nothing in this world makes me feel more calm & secure than these words scrolling up a giant movie screen:

LUCASFILM

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Screenplay by David Koepp

Produced by Kathleen Kennedy


The Indiana Jones series is in my top favorite movies of all time ever. I have been waiting for YEARS for the 4th movie to come out & now it has & I just saw it & am SO pleased with what they did. Spielberg is a genius. A far better film maker than George Lucas by leaps & bounds. After seeing Indiana Jones I realize that if Spielberg had directed the 3 new Star Wars movies they would have actually been decent.

In grand Indy tradition the movie incorporates all of the issues of the 1950s...nuclear weapons, communism, the Russians, & yes, even aliens. It's shot with the same grainy film of the 80s (yay!) & so it really fits in well with the series. Aside from Harrison Ford's age & the kick-ass special effects you'd never think there was a 20 year gap between the films.

It's a basic plot...Indiana is after a giant crystal skull & so are the Russians. He meets up with this kid who wants to go by the name of "Mud" played by Shia LeBeouf. Together they go on adventures!! Then Shia's mother gets there...Marion Ravenwood played by Karen Allen of Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. Unfortunately, Marion Ravenwood was my LEAST favorite of all of Indy's girlfriends. She was a totally butch alcoholic who had a weird smile & annoying way of talking...nothing's changed...only now she looks older than Harrison Ford & can't act to save her life. This is my ONLY complaint about the movie. (Of course we find out that Mud is Indy's son.)

Harrison Ford is so great as older Indiana. Love, love, love him. He's still just as sexy, charming, & badass as ever! Calista Flockhart is one lucky chick.

Shia LeBeouf is seriously wonderful as Henry Jones III. He's sarcastic & has the same dry wit & sense of adventure as his dad. (I love how I'm talking about them as though they're a family I grew up with that lives down the street...) He's in the entire movie & really carries it well. Great casting Spielberg.

I'm pretending like Karen Allen wasn't in the movie.

Cate Blanchett...Cate, Cate, Cate Blanchett. Of course she can do no wrong. She plays Irina the main villain in the movie...a Russian KGB officer who is after the same skull as Indy. I almost wish that Karen Allen wasn't in the movie & they'd made Irina the brief love interest for Indy like the did with Dr. Elsa Schneider the Nazi in The Last Crusade.

All in all, it's such a completely charming & non stop action filled movie & it really makes me miss the 80s & 90s when all those great films were being made. Everyone applauded in the end & I'm so hoping they make a couple more centering around Shia's character. He really was the epitome of everything Indiana Jones' kid should be & he was SO damn good at it!

If you're a fan of Indiana Jones or if you'd like to be made a fan of it you NEED to go see this. It's got creepy crawly bugs, great music, a scary face melting death of the bad guys, & lots of witty banter.

There's every single classic Indiana moment...the insane fear of snakes...the almost-losing-the-hat moment, a bunch of car chases, a bar fight...& the nerdiest inside joke of them all: "I've got a bad feeling about this."

Hurray for Steven Spielberg!!!!!

5:32 PM - 11 Comments - 13 Kudos - Add Comment

I give up.
Current mood: distraught

I give. The fuck. Up.

This week I was so excited because for the past THREE months I've been in a serious money hell pit & this was the week when I would be brought current on all of my big bills (car insurance, car payment, phone, blah, blah, blah...)

So yesterday was a day of bliss because I paid insurance, phone bill, credit card payment & STILL had money left over for gas this week so I was SOOOO happy. It was a WONDERFUL day to not feel the weight of all the payments & scary creditors coming at me from all angles.

This morning I checked my bank account.

$0.00

??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!

I see that there are not one...not two...not three...but FOUR items that had been bumped into overdraft because the STUPID place I got food at at the stupid Idol finale didn't put the check purchase in & for SOME REASON it bumped everything off....

WHY YOU ASK!?!?

Because the bank charged me TWO overdraft fees. TWO for purchases that had overdrawn (literally $3 purchases) & then I put my cash in the bank IMMEDIATELY so as to avoid such a thing. So then I was penalized $70 which means that not only am I right now $23 in the negative but I"m going to have a slew of fucking overdraft fees tomorrow morning & I basically want to drive my car off the really appetizing cliff that is Mulholland Drive.

My paycheck next week is going to bringing my checking account into the positive which pretty much makes me feel like I might throw up.

WHY YOU ASK?!

Because I had planned to make MORE necessary payments before I fly into Charleston the following weekend.

I hate the world. I hate my life. I hate how EVERYTHING I do fucking screws up. MORE THAN THAT I HATE BANK OF AMERICA & THEIR HEARTLESS BAND OF ASSHOLES AT THEIR SUPPORT CENTER WHO WOULDN'T REFUND ME AT LEAST ONE OF THE OVERDRAFT FEES WHILE I SAT THERE ON THE PHONE BEGGING AND SOBBING MY EYES OUT TRYING TO EXPLAIN MY SITUATION.

I'm over it. I can't do this anymore. I'm done. I give up.

My life is fucked & always will be & I'm sick of striving for more. Today is the day I'm officially settling for less. So bring on the thankless 9-5 office jobs & a husband. I'm finally ready.

11:37 AM - 20 Comments - 24 Kudos - Add Comment

"I ALWAYS have a plan!!."-Ben Linus...
Category: Movies, TV, Celebrities

Wow! Thursday was yesterday & I love Thursdays.

"Grey's Anatomy" was amazing. Loved it. Callie is totally my favorite character & if they make her hook up with Dr. Haan I'm going to cry myself to sleep because I really need her to be in love with Mark Sloane. 2 hour season finale next week! Hurray!!!!

"Lost" was amazing too but had to outdo "Grey's" because it's season finale is a THREE parter & began last night. Ben Linus is officially my favorite character on the show. As is Sun. She's such a little badass. I want to know who the other man responsible for killing Jin was (IF he's even dead)....if it's Charles Widemore then that man has a serious man hunt of pissed off people looking for him.

"The Office" season finale was there as well & I've gotta say I have SO many mixed feelings about it. I haven't written any reviews on the most recent episodes but feel like the finale deserved one. First of all, the twist pissed me off. They've been promoting this massive twist for WEEKS now & I thought that Andy proposing to Angela was really lame. That's such an Andy thing to do. The last shot is of Dwight & Angela hooking up in the office afterwards. Wow. Not too thrilled...because duh...they've been building up their getting back together SINCE they broke up. Did the writers really think we were going to take Angela's "Um, ok" response to Andy's proposal seriously? I just thought it was really poorly put together & over-marketed.

I also officially do not care about Jim & Pam as a couple anymore. In these post-strike episodes I've LOVED them together but now I'm just over it. I'm not into Ross & Rachel-Will They or Won't They storylines...because we all know...THEY WILL. So just get them married because my emotions are totally out of the picture with their coupledom now. Jim should have proposed anyway & not have ended the freaking series with Pam whining about how he didn't...because...are you ready? She's going away for 3 months to live in NEW YORK CITY & you KNOW she'll be a changed girl when she comes back. Problem? Jim hasn't changed. If anything, Jim has gotten worse because he now WANTS to stay at Dunder Mifflin & do a good job...so he can marry Pam & support her. THIS is the dilemma of LIFE!!! Can you have both? A career you love & the person you love?!?!?! BLAST! I hate real life. I want to move to an island where I can run away from smoke monsters & find symbolism in weird stuff & hang out with freaks like Ben & make out with Sawyer in the mud. THAT is the life I want. Screw this "make a decision" about work business.

But of course...the episode was TOTALLY genius too. Amy Ryan? Love her. LOVE LOVE LOVE HER. I always thought Jan & Michael would just end up together as cute little foils to each others' personalities but Holly is perfect! She is so perfect for Michael & really likes him too! I love how she just made him a better person without berating him into doing it. I hope she's joining the cast. I'll freak out. The whole little subplot with her & Kevin was totally brilliant. I LOVED it. Phyllis planning the best party ever was wonderful too.

And Jan is pregnant! They've been hinting around about that for a while & I'm thinking that if Holly stays then Michael & Jan will get back together & we'll have a Will They or Won't They with Holly & Michael!!!! I hope so! I'd be totally into that!

Also, I think this is the first episode that the ENTIRE cast has been featured...the Vance Refrigeration guys (Gene Stupnitsky & Lee Eisenberg) were there...Bob Vance...the Warehouse Guys...Security Guard..everyone!

I think the reason that I didn't care for the finale as much as I wanted to was because it didn't end like the other finales...there was no gasping & no "OMG!!!! what's going to happen!!!! I can't wait until next season!!!" It was just,"Oh, Angela & Dwight?" There was no "I'm in love with you" or "It's a date" OR WHAT IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN: "PAM WILL YOU MARRY ME?!!?!?!?" Because THEN...they'd be engaged but Pam would be all New York City different & there would be drama that I would totally love to invest my emotions into.

I hope next season is wonderful & that the spinoff doesn't happen & that the horrible changes going on in production don't screw with my favorite tv show. :)


OH! And...update on my plague...it's a sinus infection. The horrible days of congestion were followed by three AWFUL days of headaches so bad that they made my teeth hurt. I never get headaches & these would not leave so it sucked. But they've pretty much subsided & now I have a slightly runny nose & cough which I'm remedying with inhaling steam, drinking apple cider vinegar tea, & tissues.

Also, if you want more go to TheTwoCents.com for my review/reaction list to "Lost" as well as many others!!

9:08 AM - 13 Comments - 16 Kudos - Add Comment