So I've been listening to Julia Child's "My Life in France" and all I can think about is moving to Europe. This is really bad for my focus.

Oh wait, I've always had a problem staying on task so this really isn't an issue. Whew.

Also, I spent a while last night looking at library jobs in the UK and I'm totally qualified. If they want to deal with all the junk that comes with bringing someone from outside the country to work.

This is why I don't approve of hair-feather-extensions. Also, it's delightful that fly-fishermen take their hobby so seriously- one man quoted in this article calls the trend "sacrilegious".

Oh another reason I don't approve- we are not owls, we are not Steven Tyler, and we are not in the movie "Rock-A-Doodle". Do you want to be mistaken for any of those? I don't.

I tried to upload an image of the..."female" lead from Rock-A-Doodle but Blogger is being crazy right now. Suffice it to say, you do not want to look like a sexy chicken. Or a chicken that someone tried to make look sexy. How can you look sexy with a beak? That entire movie is a travesty. IT'S ABOUT AN ELVIS CHICKEN.

The Green Lantern was....so terribly cheesy. I love Peter Saarsgard (sp? I'm too lazy to look it up right now) and he was probably the best part of this movie- the only actor who wasn't trying too hard, and he looked disgusting. But what an awesome characterization- his character pre-mutation (like at the party mid-movie) reminds me most forcefully of someone with whom I recently went on a date. And with whom I will never go on a date again.

Anyways, the movie. Oh yes, Mark Strong as Sinestro was also pretty good. But aside from that...purple aliens, blue aliens, aliens shaped like giant killer bees- it was like a new installment in the Men in Black franchise, but broader and weirder and not nearly as entertaining (as the first MiB, I can't speak to the later ones, not having seen them myself, but that should be a statement in itself- that I didn't see them). Oh yeah, and greener.

Also, I like the oath he speaks to the ring- there are the makings just in that of a spectacularly epic space-crime saga, but everything else about this movie falls SOOOO far short of that potential. Also...the good guys fight using the force of will, and the bad guys have harnessed the power of fear (which, apparently, is yellow)- that premise I know is part of the source material, but it just seems so dated.

Ugh. Watch it. If you're bored.


This movie was...meh. The same story as The Perks of Being a Wallflower (which is better) and Speak (but without the violent central premise- this is also a better story), and Born Confused (but not about second-gen Americans- this is also better)- that story being "American teenager has identity crisis but is saved by love/friends/family/relationships and art". Each of the stories mentioned about is both less-trying on my patience and more sincere than "The Art of Getting By". I am starting to really like Emma Roberts, but not even her spunk could save this bore.

There are also a lot of really awkward moments in this movie.

Skip it.



Super 8 is my favorite blockbuster-type movie so far this year (probably soon to be replaced, or at least tied, by HP7). It's not perfect, but it has all the things I love about Spielberg (heartfelt stories, honest characters, and nostalgia that somehow seems fresh) and all the things I love about Abrams (come to think of it, it's probably more his touch that takes the nostalgia and makes it seem fresh and shiny and new, and his love for explosions and big noisy things, and conspiracy theories, and awesome jokes) and smashes all of these things into a gem of flawed delight. It's hilarious, it made me jump (a lot), and it was better the second time I saw it. Also, it's two movies in one- there's a zombie movie in the credits.

Definitely definitely watch it. (with a wary eye for the surprisingly foul mouths of 13-year-olds)

Last night my cable went out. Not all the way- there's still a sort of picture, but it's covered with static and moves up and down constantly. And the sound is crazy.

ALSO since it was installed there has been an "HD technology" fee on my bill. I don't have anything HD. At all. For a TV, I have a giant boulder-like remnant of the days when television sets were three dimensional. It does not have HD picture. Anyways, you know me, and it took me a while to call them to actually remedy the billing issue. The person I spoke to recognized that that charge is bogus and shouldn't be there and offered to credit it to my account for the past three months. I've had Comcast for four months now. So what about the charge from the first month? "I'm sorry ma'am, it's just our policy not to go back further than that, and plus, you could have told us about it earlier." True, BUT.

I will explain to you why this ticked me off so much. First, don't tell me it's "just policy". Explain to me please the reason for this policy. Tell me your computer system locks out refunds past three months. Anything, give me a good reason. The claim that "it's just policy" is just a way for you to sound official when you really have no idea why things are the way they are. Second, it REALLY chapped my hide (or cooked my grits) that he would place the blame on me. REALLY, it's my fault that you've been over-charging me for four months? It's my fault that, even though I told the woman I spoke to when first setting up the account that I DID NOT WANT HD service, because I don't have anything that can show HD picture, the man who came to install the box etc... installed the *wrong* box, which caused me to be charged the wrong fee?


Yes, I waited a while to call and rectify the issue because I AM BUSY. But it is not my fault that there is a breakdown of communication within your organization, nor that your personnel are somehow simultaneously incompetent AND patronizing.

UGH. I wish there was something I could type (or, like, a font size or something) that could adequately express the depth of my frustration.

Anyways, his solution for the billing issue was that I have the wrong box, so I need to take it to the office and exchange it. Which thing I cannot do ASAP because someone is coming tomorrow night to hopefully solve the reception issues. (at least, I can't take it because then I would have to hook up a new box and if the issue persisted what if it was because of something I did? I want the technician to take a look at it and see it exactly as it was when it went out, and as it has been since then.)

Now that THAT'S over with...

Maybe I'm going to see Super8 for the second time today. DON'T JUDGE ME!

I totally have a good reason too- see there's an extra scene at the end of the credits that I didn't know about when I went to see it the first time, so I totally missed it. There. Good excuse right? It's worth the price of another movie ticket to see that scene...I think.

Anyways I'm ok with giving J.J. Abrams more money.

In other news:

1. The expected high today is somewhere in the 90s and I still haven't turned on my AC. Living in a buggy basement does have it's benefits- if being constantly chilly is a benefit (whatever, in the middle of summer, it's totally a benefit).

2. I learned not to date people who are 13 years older than I. If they are that old and have never been married....there is definitely a reason.

3. This is not news, more a piece of advice- don't ever ever barge onto an elevator before you wait to see if anyone needs to get off first. It happens to me EVERY DAY at work, and the people doing it are always either moms with strollers or more mature (i.e. elderly) folks who should certainly know better. It's rude. SO RUDE. It makes for very awkward situations. And I hate it.