Lotus Flower

Normally I don't post while at work, but I just got an email from NPR that had the new Radiohead video with it. So, in honor of my obsession with really skinny guys who dance like they are having a seizure...



Well, maybe not a seizure. More like a cross between sex and krunking. Love it...makes me smile.

Oscar post coming this weekend. I know you are holding your breath for that; don't lie.

Momentarily Stuck

Depending on where you are in the country, you got a bunch of snow on Tues. As you can see from the pictures if you were in the front yard at my place, you got 15 inches of snow. The back was a mere 12 inches. It took me 45 min. to clear off the steps (and to find the bottom step) and dig out the car. I lucked out that one of my neighbors helped me or I would have been there much longer.

Knowing it was going to get bad by noon-ish on Tues., I planned ahead and took my work laptop home. I actually did work most of my 8 hour shift. I took an extra break to clear off the landing mid-blizzard. Tuesday evening I experienced my first Thunder Snow, which sounds a little like an episode of Thundercats that takes place in the Arctic. That or it's a sorta cool, sorta cheesy spy code name. Agent Thunder Snow at your service.

Wednesday the office was closed so I didn't have to do anything work related, which was good since I'd done everything I'd brought home the day before. Disney sent out an email last night yammering on about how she might not be in to work today because she'd heard that Rt. 8 was totally covered in drifts...blah, blah, blah. Apparently she didn't know about the 2 other ways to get to town. She eventually figured it out, but didn't get in until 11 am because she had to take her kid to a doctor's appointment...still left at 4:30 though. She's such a dedicated worker.

Speaking of, the other nutty assistant...the one who blocked her door with the table, no longer works with us. She has been gone on maternity leave since the beginning of Nov. A few weeks ago, she sent her supervisor a message via Facebook (!) to say she hadn't decided yet if she was coming back. He asked her to let me know sooner rather than later. Later seemed to be the plan because she finally got back to him last week. And, once again she used Facebook to tell him she was quitting. If you ever wondered about her level of professionalism, I think that move should clue you in pretty good. She called Disney, who promptly got a hold of some crazy chick she knows and had a resume in hand before our boss had even announced that the job was vacant.

So far, our newly freed former employee has yet to return her company laptop, her key to the building, and she hasn't picked up her personal items. I want to move the desk away from the door. Ideally, I'd like to have some sort of ceremony, not unlike what happened when the Berlin wall came down. Do you think the Hoff is available?

Enough of that, let's talk about people cutting off their own appendages...

I went to see 127 Hours last Saturday and it was fabulous! If you don't already know, the film is based on the story of Aron Rolston, the climber/canyon guy/adventurer who got stuck and had to cut off his own arm to free himself. I have long been a fan of Danny Boyle's films. He seems to always have a clear vision of what he wants to do as a story teller. The cinematography is excellent. I'm not a big fan of the southwestern vista, but everything looks beautiful here. The music is great, as usual. James Franco reminded me of why I liked him so much in Freaks and Geeks. He does a great job moving between Aron's different emotional states and never veers into melodrama. For being trapped in a tight space, the film moves thanks to Aron's flashbacks and imagination.

There is the right amount of tension flowing through out; impressive considering most people know how the story ends. A lot has been made of the scene when Aron cuts off his arm. It is graphic, but is edited in such a way that you don't feel like you've just stepped into a schlocky horror movie. In fact, it's almost a surprise when he makes the decision to do what he is going to do. I was actually leaning forward as he progressed, waiting anxiously for him to finish. The look on Franco's face is priceless and I felt relieved and (maybe not too strangely) exhilarated when he stumbles away and sees his forearm still pinned by the rock.

It took forever before it got to my neck of the woods, so if you aren't able to catch it before Oscar night, I strongly recommend renting it when it comes out in early March. It is worth seeing it on the big screen though.

Time to wrap up. Archer is on in 30 min.! Stay safe out there.

Really?

You know it's a weird day when the highlight is not having to stand in line at the DMV. I went to get my plates renewed as well as my driver's license. I decided to go early and thanks to the time and the chill in the air, I went right up to the counter when I got there. A couple of checks and one crappy picture later, I have my new license. It's very mod and tricked out to make it harder to copy. I decided to be fairly honest and update my weight this time around. Only fairly honest though...I'm not crazy.

My poor Illini failed to defeat #1 Ohio State this morning. With about 7 min. left, we were up by 8 and then those damn people at CBS had to show a graphic. The graphic pointed out that Illinois had only turned it over 2 or 3 times in the half. Kiss of freakin' death...well, that and some questionable calls by the refs, some killer defense, and the strange decision to send a bounce pass to a guy who is 7 feet tall. Sad, sad, sad.

Then, I decided to go see The Fighter. As a movie, it was okay. As an avenue to see some excellent performances, it scores a bit higher. Christian Bale steals this puppy away from everyone. Melissa Leo and Amy Adams hold their own, but Mark Wahlberg seems to get sort of lost in the shuffle. I'm not sure if that is because his character is dominated not only by his brother's life and personality, but also set aside by his mother. Or, it could just be the way the script was written. Not a bad movie, but not a super one.

For some reason, I have started watching Criminal Minds. A & E and ION both show it about a million times during the week and I've been catching it here and there. I can't decide if I watch because of the strangely hot Matthew Gray Gubler or because I'm waiting for the script to slip into melodrama. Maybe I need to watch it from the beginning, but every time I hear the voice over featuring a quote that ties into the story, I start to giggle a bit. Plus, Thomas Gibson's expression never changes...ever. I like the guy, don't get me wrong. But, dang. I think there are 3 hours of it tonight. It'll be good to bounce back and forth between that and the Purdue/Michigan State game. At least watching someone catch a serial killer will get my mind of off the Illinois loss.

GO BEARS!

Hello again

I realize it seems like I have disappeared since I haven't updated since right after Thanksgiving. I did not purposely take a vacation or anything. I just didn't feel really inspired to write. I haven't felt particularly inspired by much of anything lately. But, I'm going to try and get back into the groove. It will start slow; I'll probably update during the weekend. So, let's get started.

After a few weeks of begging the movie gods, The King's Speech finally came to town this weekend. I have been a fan of Colin Firth's for quite some time and was rooting for him to win the Best Actor Oscar last year for A Single Man. He definitely has a shot this year for his portrayal of King George VI (or Bertie as his family and friends called him). I'm sure a decent amount of people know that after George V died, his eldest son, Edward, became king. Edward abdicated the throne about a year later so he could marry an American who was twice divorced. As the Head of the Church of England, you couldn't really do that so Edward chucked the whole king thing to get hitched. George VI then helped lead the country through WW II. But, thanks to much larger personalities like Churchill, Hitler, etc., George sort of gets lost in the shuffle. I don't believe his story is very well known in America and probably only sort of known in England.

Bertie was a stammerer. He apparently had been since he was 4 or 5. Being the second son, it was unlikely he would ever become king, so he could be comfortable enough with his speech issues since he wouldn't really have to do much public speaking. Things began to change when he had to give a speech in his father's place and it went really, really, badly. Bertie's wife, who most of us know as the Queen Mother, kept trying to find someone to help her husband. Eventually, they came across a speech therapist named Lionel. The movie takes us through Lionel's treatments and their growing friendship.

You totally believe Colin's performance. Nothing seems forced or fake. You can see the frustration and feeling of inadequacy move over his face as he tries to express himself, to find his voice as it were. You feel for him every step of the way. Geoffrey Rush is a great foil for Firth. It is funny and heart breaking to see their relationship grow and change. Helena Bonham Carter plays Elizabeth (Bertie's wife) and, as my friend Jackie pointed out, it was good to see her "not playing crazy."

If you are a fan of these actors and a fan of period/historical pieces, this movie is right up your alley. It is funny, moving, and has just the right amount of triumph without becoming too sentimental. The script is whip smart and I like that the director seemed to let the story unfold on its own.

I would put this up there with my 2 other favorite movies of the year, The Social Network and Inception.

Hopefully, Colin will pick up a Best Actor Golden Globe this evening. He already snagged the Critic's Choice award for the same category on Friday. Fingers crossed.

Oh, on a side note...for those of you who are fans of the BBC's production of Pride & Prejudice that made Colin a major star, the actress who played Elizabeth Bennett, Jennifer Ehle, plays Lionel's wife. I don't know if this is the first time Colin and Jennifer had acted together since P & P, but it was fun to see them together again.