Ohio Who?

I can't believe I forgot to mention the seriously kick ass game that Illinois played against (at that time) #1 Ohio State. Buckeye, schmuck-eye. 28-21. Lick the stick baby! I had a great time watching the game with my Mom. Gave me the opportunity to utter the phrase "poo on a stick," much to her bemusement. I tried to get her to do the I-L-L...I-N-I call back and forth cheer thing with me from one side of the living room to the other, but she isn't quite as goofy as me so I did it solo.

Quick add on to yesterday's review of Darjeeling Limited. There is a short film that runs before the main feature that is pretty much a prologue to DL. In it we get to see Natalie Portman getting a bit naked. Two things to say about that--1) there is a God because Natalie's does not have perfect legs and 2) Nat...EAT A SANDWICH!!! I really didn't need to see that much of your ribcage.

***EIGHT LETTER WORD FOR CRAZY MAGNET...hint: it's a proper name***

Today I answered the phone and had a woman tell me she had been told her book would be in on Thurs. She didn't know if it was last Thurs. or today. I ask for her phone number to check for an order. Nothing comes up. I check under her name. Nothing comes up. I ask her if she's sure she has ordered from us. (You'd be surprised how many calls we get for the "other" bookstore.) She says the following:

Oh, I didn't place an order.

She is apparently under the impression that we will just know to hold a book for her without noting down her name and phone number. I then got to search for 3 different books, none of which she had a correct title for and only had the author correct on one of them. I also had to go search down a magazine for her that features a local garden in one article. I ask if she's looking for the Nov. issue. She says she doesn't know. I ask if a picture of a pie is on the cover. She doesn't know. She tells me that the guy who owns the garden is named Sullivan. She seems to think his name will be plastered all over the cover. Nope. Then she suggests looking in the "place where they list what's in the magazine..."

Ermm...table of contents maybe? I check and no names are given. I then have to flip through the mag till I find an article and photo spread on a garden. I say, "well, there's no Sullivan, but there is a Callahan..." She interrupts. That's it!

I believe I was about ready to beat the receiver on the counter at this point. I tell her we can save the mag through close on Friday. She then whines about how she can't see to drive at night so her husband is going to have to bring her over and he can't till Sat. and on and on and on. I tell her Sat. 5pm no later.

ARRRRRGHHHHHHHH!!!!!! And it's not even Thanksgiving yet.

Two Unique Views

Wes Anderson and David Lynch. Two very different directors with two very different visions. Last night I went out and saw Darjeeling Limited, the latest from Anderson. And, tonight I watched Inland Empire from Lynch on DVD.

First, Darjeeling Limited. I have to start by saying I love Wes Anderson. Rushmore is definitely one of my 10 absolute favorite movies ever. I completely get Anderson's humor and his odd perception of reality. There's a lot to like about Darjeeling. The scenery is beautiful. India is used to great effect and the second the movie starts you know from the way the scenery is framed that this is a Wes Anderson movie. I enjoyed the three leads and the way their relationships flowed through the movie. Adrien Brody was a nice addition to the usual stable of actors. There are plenty of funny bits, always with a darker, sadder bit underneath.

But. I ended up feeling about this movie the same way I felt about The Royal Tennenbaums (sp). I liked it, but I didn't love it. For TRT, it probably had a lot to do with my general dislike of all things Gwyneth Paltrow (sp). For this movie, it has to do with a rather uneven pace. The first part drags and when the "big moment" happens it almost feels like a slap in the face. I would say if you're a fan of Wes' you should definitely check it out, but if you are unsure you may want to wait and rent it.

Now, on to Lynch. I'm still feeling confused. To me, Lynch uses the equivalent of chaos theory when he directs a film. He sees and understands the patterns, but the rest of us may not make all the connections. His films are surreal, but I don't think they are surreal because he doesn't know what he wants. They are surreal because he knows precisely what he wants. The rest of us just have to try and keep up. Laura Dern is freakin' amazing in this. Her character(s) anchor the film. No matter how out there it seems to get, she keeps her performance honest which gives us something to hang onto. I thought with 5 minutes left I'd figured out what Inland Empire was about. With two minutes left, I thought I have no idea what it's about. Then during the credit sequence I got even more confused. Still, I made it through all 3 hours (you heard me) and enjoyed the experience, regardless of how numb my butt and mind were.

Couple of quick things to mention:

Saw the trailer for The Diving Bell and The Butterfly and it looked amazing. Laura strongly recommends the book it is based on and I strongly recommend the cinematographer and director.

Also, the movie I adored from this past summer, Once, is coming out on DVD--Dec. 18 I believe. Scroll back several pages to read my review then go rent or buy this sucker. It was beautiful.

Hopefully after the holiday meeting I will be going to see Lars and The Real Girl. I'll keep you posted.

Don't Hate Me Because I Never Blog

Since Pushing Daisies wasn't on yesterday, here's a picture of the lovely Ned (Lee Pace). I think Jackie and I will be the only ones jonesing for his presence, but there you go.

I again have become the Queen of All That Sucks. Sadly, this is a title that doesn't really offer many perks. No parades, no need to queenly wave at folks, no opening of supermarkets, no drug scandals. Rather lame all the way around.

Work has been a drag for multiple reasons. I feel like a rat trapped in a maze. I have about 2 feet of room around me and my table thanks to the insane amount of boxed up crap we have in back. The theory is that it is all getting put out tonight. The reality will probably be that about 1/3 of it will go out tonight and I will come in tomorrow AM to find a bunch of boxes that have been dumped by my desk waiting to be broken down and tossed out into the dumpster, etc.

I have now heard a couple of various stories regarding different work situations and it all just makes me tired. It's exhausting trying to do the right thing only to find yourself failing. And to top it all off, you don't even realize you suck at that moment. Okay, that's vague I know, but that's all I got right now.

A week from this Sat. is the always lame Holiday Meeting. If I have time, I should come up with a special Holiday Edition of manager meeting bingo! What am I saying...I can't keep up or get creative with this thing, how the hell am I going to do bingo?! I have yet to hear what the exact plan is for the meeting this year. The last I heard mention of it regarded the booksellers doing some of the stuff we usually do during the meeting. I wonder if any of them know this yet.

I actually had a couple of funny things happen at work to relate here, but by the time I've gotten home I've forgotten them...or atleast forgotten enough of the story to make it worth writing about. I need to take better notes.

Again, I apologize for the absolute suck-assed-ness of the last few entries. Perhaps something nice and fun will happen soon so I will have something to relate to you all. Thanks for your patience.

Hi. I Suck.

And, to make up for that fact...and to make a sort of pun, please enjoy this picture of a penis on the side of a building. This was apparently how Pompeii alerted its visiting sailors to the direction of the nearest house of ill repute. I think it's just funny to see a penis in stone. I don't think I've posted this picture before. Oops to me if I have. EDITORS NOTE: I CHECKED AND I USED THIS PICTURE BACK IN APRIL. OH WELL....

It's been a long couple of weeks. Here's a quick-ish recap.

This past Monday we had a job fair at work. Because all the managers present were doing interviews, I had to cover the floor. I spent a lot of time walking around, helping at the customer service desk, help ring people up, finding people to cover breaks, etc. I didn't have a problem doing this except for the fact that I thought our CRM was going to be splitting the duties with me as it had been scheduled. But, it seems someone wasn't communicating well, or at least wasn't remembering what they had been told, and our CRM was out of state. I spent my entire shift doing floor stuff. I think I scanned all of 8 boxes that day. Another bonus, I don't have a code to open the safe, but as the floor manager I needed to get in there to get drawers for the people up front. Ended up having to get another manager to grab stuff for me, which sort of went against the point of having me cover for them in the first place. Oh, and I went to make change for the music drawer and no one had bothered to put the change fund up front...not sure what the opening manager was doing...so I had to get someone else to get in the safe to get the drawer for me. We are so good at planning where I work.

Went and saw Dan In Real Life and Into The Wild this past week. Dan was pretty good. I have a serious crush on Steve Carrell so it was enjoyable to see him in a sort of angsty, romantic movie. I was in the right mood to be all weepy about the unrequited love thing so this movie was pretty perfect for my state of mind.

Into The Wild was very good. It is great to look at and I was lucky enough to see it in digital projection, which I recommend if possible. The movie moves at a pretty languid pace and sometimes the voice overs seem a little too perfect, but it was moving at times (Hal Holbrook made me cry dammitt!!!). It was a bit rough going towards the end because I'd read the book several years ago and knew what was coming up. Let's just say there isn't really a happy ending. It has been long enough since I read the book that I had forgotten what exactly had happened between him and his parents. I believe the family was involved with the making of the movie so I think it's safe to guess that what was portrayed was accurate...which is actually pretty depressing. My major hurdle with the book and the movie is the idea that someone would be able to get the same sort of fulfillment from living "in the wild" as they would from engaging with people, whether they be family or friends. To me, Chris's wanderlust was sort of selfish. I understood enough of his quest to still enjoy the film and the book and would definitely recommend both.

I'm hoping to see Darjeeling Limited this week and I just bought a new book called The Brotherhood of The Disappearing Pants: A User's Guide To Conservative Sex Scandals done by the same guys who brought you the screamingly funny Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly. And Radiohead is still playing almost non-stop in the car and at home. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi is currently my absolute favorite.

Sorry again for being a bad blogger. Thanks for your patronage.