4am green coffee

I thought I had achieved normal I thought I was back to that place where most people begin, but I obviously am not. I just can't keep up. I'm running and trying to catch up and it's just not working. I'm about to be left behind, and no matter what I try, it's just no good. And now it's as though there's an ultimatum on the table....me or you. Past or future. Now or then.

Part of me wants to get indignant because you say you'll be there and then when I need you, you turn cold. However, I just can't be that selfish - I know what you have going on in your life right now and I can't demand that much from you. Maybe I should, though. Maybe I should start. Maybe I should be that person and you'd respect me more. Or at least listen to me more. Then again, it's 4 a-m and I can't sleep...and we all know where decisions made at that hour get us, so perhaps I won't do a thing. But that's what I always do and we see where that had gotten me. It is somewhere I'm happy being though. A life without volatility or ups and downs or much that I couldn't control. Until I met you, and now my life has changed in ways I'm not ready to give up on quite yet. I'm trying.

Forget Paris

It's way past the time I should be in bed, but I just watched a movie on cable with which I have a love/hate relationship. Forget Paris.

I love the story - a couple falls in love in the city of light - and the narrative style - friends of the couple tell their story over dinner - but I hate actually watching the movie. The best reason I can put a finger on is because it makes me feel. This has Billy Crystal in it - it's supposed to be a comedy, yet I find myself torn and nearly crying whenever I watch it. It takes that happily ever after myth and rips it apart. It could be so real. It could happen to anyone. It nearly happened to me.

I go to movies to escape, but this one catches me. It's too real in that every relationship needs pain in order to grow stronger. It's a hard two hours to watch for someone who just doesn't know what she wants right now.

Court is in Recess

The 2004-05 Supreme Court term came to a close today, and while the High Court claims to be above theatrics, the final day read like the script for a made-for-TV movie. Because it was. Except it wasn't fiction, it was real, impacting the lives of every American, whether they realize it or not.

Camera crews followed the main character, Chief Justice Rehnquist, from his home to The Court, looking for any sign the 80-year-old would resign. The justices held three of the most wide-reaching and most popular rulings until today - file sharing, Ten Commandments, and cable access. At least two were split decisions (5-4 for those who really aren't court watchers). The Chief Justice ratcheted up the drama another notch by reading the Ten Commandments decisions himself, then cracking a joke, as if to say, "My mind is sound, it's my body that's giving out."

Then the session ended...on a cliff-hanger.

Will the lower court find in favor of MGM or Grokster? Will the 5-4 split with so many dissentions and so little guidance lead to MORE lawsuits over the separation between church and state? Will William Rehnquist come back for another term, or will President Bush get the chance to influence life in this country even after his term in office ends? Who is John Galt?

Tune in next season to find out.

Comedy Amid the Stars

 

Growing up, my friend always said that our lives were actually a sit-com for some alien race that had found the Earth and watched the people on it for entertainment.  Very Truman Show before the Truman Show ever existed in the public consciousness.

 

Lately I've felt more like a drama, but I thought of him and our sit-com lives today as I saw this bumper sticker on my way to work:

 

My life has a stellar cast!  I just can't figure out the plot!

Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson

It's official. I am a dirty old woman.

Perhaps my lack of sleep is pushing me off cliffs of conclusions, but stay with me here. There is a popular restaurant in town that has a rather good looking waitstaff. No, we're not talking Hooters! A family establishment. I've been there before, both with my family and with the girls and the people there leave, shall we say, a lasting impression.

So this afternoon I'm in the midst of a conversation with a person I've known since 1992, and he makes the comment that he and his two brothers were in the same restaurant recently through no plan of their own - two as customers, one as a server. Upon further discussion, I learn that the server is the youngest one, the one I've known since he was pre-teen. And now he's one of the servers that my friends and I have ogled.

I don't know what's more disturbing - recognizing how attractive my friend's younger brother has become...or the fact that my friend's younger brother is now old enough to be serving me drinks.

Either way, raise that glass high. Here's to you, Mrs. Robinson.

Scarlett and Rhett, Bogey and Bacall

The AFI announced their Top 100 Movie Quotes of All Time last night. Of course, it's not of *all* time because they stopped with Lord of the Rings in 2002. And there are no quotes from Office Space on the list, but that's neither here nor there.

Anyway, my prediction for the top spot, Rhett Butler's parting shot at Scarlett O'Hara that DEFINES a dramatic exit, was indeed the number one movie line of all time. Casablanca and Wizard of Oz also made a strong showing, with 6 and 5 entries, respectively. Here's the rest of the top 10 - the link to the full list is above.

1. RHETT BUTLER (Clark Gable): "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." GONE WITH THE WIND, MGM, 1939
2. VITO CORLEONE (Marlon Brando): "I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse." THE GODFATHER, Paramount, 1972
3. TERRY MALLOY (Marlon Brando): "You don't understand! I could've had class. I could've been a contender. I could've been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am." ON THE WATERFRONT, Columbia, 1954
4. DOROTHY GALE (Judy Garland): "Toto, I've got a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore." THE WIZARD OF OZ, MGM, 1939
5. RICK BLAINE (Humphrey Bogart): "Here's looking at you, kid." CASABLANCA, Warner Bros., 1942
6. HARRY CALLAHAN (Clint Eastwood): "Go ahead, make my day." SUDDEN IMPACT, Warner Bros., 1983
7. NORMA DESMOND (Gloria Swanson): "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." SUNSET BOULEVARD, Paramount, 1950
8. HAN SOLO (Harrison Ford): "May the Force be with you." STAR WARS, Twentieth Century Fox, 1977
9. MARGO CHANNING (Bette Davis): "Fasten your seatbelts. It's going to be a bumpy night." ALL ABOUT EVE, Twentieth Century Fox, 1950
10. TRAVIS BICKLE (Robert DeNiro): "You talkin' to me?" TAXI DRIVER, Columbia, 1976

I was surprised Dirty Dancing made the list at all, with "Nobody puts Baby in a corner" coming in in the low 90s, and one of my personal favorites popped in at number 43 - "We'll always have Paris." from Casablanca. Some of my other favorites were even lower, or didn't make the list at all (I wasn't surprised). Suppose that's a reflection on the fact that I didn't really start watching movies till about 10 years ago.

Something tells me I'll end up renting Casablanca again sometime soon, but that's a tale for another blog entry.

Because of Winn-Dixie

A slice of Southern Culture is on the skids.

The once ubiquitous Winn-Dixie is pulling out of four Southern states. In order to work its way out of bankruptcy, the chain is slashing more than prices...it's cutting 35% of its stores, thousands of jobs, and its identity.

We only had one or two Winn-Dixies growing up, but I can respect the role they played in the South. In the 60's they were such a stalwart institution, antitrust regulators had to step in and impose a 10 year moratorium on buying new properties. I don't think the chain ever recovered. Stores that were once in vibrant parts of town became dingy and lost clientele during the white flight of the 70s. A new generation of Southerners started grocery shopping, and they weren't around to remember when Winn-Dixie was "The Beef People." They just knew what they wanted and that wasn't a W-D brand steak with a Chek cola (which tastes a lot like Coke if you don't see the label, but now you'll have a harder time "chek"ing that out for yourself).

Frankly, My Dear....

So I've got to get this in before the show begins.

Movies have become a staple of our social fabric. The most popular, most appealing, and sometimes most commercia of those can leave their mark on anyone who hasn't even seen the flick by becoming a part of our daily dialogue. After all, just think about how many times a week you quote a movie and everyone KNOWS what you're talking about. Friends don't think you're crazy when you half-whisper, "I see dead people." They know you're talking about Haley Joel-Osmont in Sixth Sense. Or "Bring out your dead" is not an exhortation to haul carcasses into the streets, but rather an homage to the comedic genius of Monty Python.

Tonight, AFI will announce their list of the Top 100 Movie Quotes of all time. The list of 400 nominees was made public months ago, but the jury was free to add quotes they though were left off.

For the record, I predict #1 will be "Frankly my dear, I don't give a damn" - Rhett Butler to Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Given AFI's penchant for early Hollywood, I'd say "There's no place like home" or one of the other 5 entries from The Wizard of Oz will make the top 10, as will something from Casablanca (with its 7 entries) and something from a Katherine Hepburn movie (I'm not even counting them all!)

There is a good spectrum of choices, from The Jazz Singer to National Lampoon's Animal House to Jerry MacGuire to Pee Wee's Big Adventure ("I know you are but what am I?" in case you were wondering). They even pulled one from one of my personal faves, Say Anything ("I gave her my heart, and all she gave me was a pen").

But also for the record, some of the best quotes were left off the original list. Nothing from such quote clearinghouses as Monty Python and the Search for the Holy Grail or Rocky Horror Picture Show, or Stripes. I hope the jury remedied some of that.

I'll post now to get on the record before it begins, but there are my predictions. Let you know how I do.

Customer Appreciation Week

Reading the paper, I saw an ad in the sports section for an adult establishment that's celebrating Customer Appreciation Week. Long and short of it, each day a different subset of people get a discount on lingerie and other accoutrements. One day was Military Day, one was Student Discounts, one was for educators, et cetera.

I pass the place on my way home from work, and I'd be lying to say I wasn't curious, so I checked out the parking lot as I drove by. Military day was kinda sparse, as was teacher appreciation day. Student day wasn't too bad, but there's another one close to the local college, so that didn't surprise me either.

What *did* interest me was how many cars were outside on Senior Citizen Day. The parking lot is rather small, but it was full, and I even saw a couple who appeared to be in their 60s or so coming out with a bag in hand.

Hope I'm still that vibrant and alive when I'm 40, much less 60.

Musical Whiplash

In the tradition of my musical commentary, I have to take five seconds to post this...another painful musical transition:

Damien Rice - "Amie" to Ciara "One, Two Step"

So jolting I was writing an email at the time and stopped mid-sentence.

Then it went back to "Natural Blues" and Nick Drake.

My next music program needs some sort of inner censor or rating system - don't follow plaintive lyrics and acoustic guitar with hip hop kinda thing.

Battle of the Body Images

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have more in common than you want to admit. One of the last bastions of femininity has been invaded by our male counterparts, and quite honestly, I say, let them have it!

I'm talking about insecurity over body issues. Image, weight, size, the works. A new study found that men are increasingly willing to admit their issues, and women have the issues we've nursed for generations. But here's the kicker - these same people were just fine with their partner's body - you know..the same one causing him or her to have those same issues!

Before I go any farther, here's the nuts and bolts. This wasn't some survey of teenagers or college students. It was an unscientific study of more than 50,000 adults who filled out a survey online. 98 percent of them filled it out at the MSNBC website. The average age? between 33 and 36. Given what we know abot online news consumers, we're talking about a relatively educated crowd who are still rather young.

I won't bore you with the rest of the details - I'm a stats and studies person...I like this stuff - but it's an interesting read, especially for those of you who think we women are alone in this battle against our own minds.

Appliances for One, Part Two

Last week, we were on the topic of downsizing appliances...so how funny is this - while driving to return my movie this afternoon, in a limited window of listening opportunity, I should hear a story on NPR about the debut of the disposable camcorder!

The idea is similar to that of the disposable camera - buy the $30 camcorder, shoot your video, then take it to a participating CVS (the only chain dealing in these right now) and for about $13 bucks they'll burn you DVD of what you shot. The idea behind it being that it's cheaper for someone without need of a full camcorder to shell out $43 for convenience than it is to pay full price for something you'll use maybe once a year. It also has its advantages in places like camping trips or everseas trip where you may not want to lug your full gear.

It's an interesting concept - especially reading between the lines: a camcorder for someone who doesn't need to make home movies of the kids or the family. Yeah, I know, I'm slightly biased based on the previous discussion...but it fit in so nicely I had to pass it on.

Tuesday, Tuesday, Tuesday

It's that time of year again..when the music industry, like Hollywood, is releasing about half of its new offerings for the year. The other half, of course, coming out in time for Christmas.

It's totally a marketing ploy. The music industry hoping of course that people heading out on vacation will decide they need new music for that roadtrip to the beach, or they'll pick up a copy of the thumpin' bass club hit that invariably sounded better the night before when that cute guy/girl was grinding with them after a six-pack (and I don't mean his abs).

Even so, I still find myself exploring the shelves, physically or virtually, every week just to see what's new. Call me an addict...call me what you will. I still stick to the rather traditional means of listening to music - CDs and mixes - but there's still a rush of seeing the new stuff hit the stores, knowing what we'll have forced down our throats for the next few months.

This blog entry brought to you by the letters X and Y and the number 3.

Kitchen for One

A few nights ago, I had the girls over for a gals' dinner. Wine, food, dessert, and the intriguing conversation that always ensues. While there was a fair share of talk devoted to trying to figure out the mind of the human male, there were also a number of other germane topics. One of them, appliances and the single woman.

One of my friends noted that for Christmas, she received a number of appliances for her new home. However, they were all what we dubbed "single servings" - a coffeemaker without a pot because it just makes a mugful, a Crock Pot for 1-2 servings, a mini-fondue pot with just two forks...you get the idea.

This observation raised a number of questions among the group. First, the recipient of the gifts wanted to know, what does this say about her? And about how the people in her life view her? Are these items of convenience or items that say "you'll be single a while, honey, so let's just make it easier?"

We all began to ponder our own kitchens. I have a 4-cup coffeepot simply because I would never get through 8 cups by myself. Other people had received only 4 place settings of dishes or of glassware, and wondered if this cast the impression that they would never be entertaining because they're single. Have we reached the age where the downsizing of our aspirations and our current lives are showing through in our domesticity? By giving in, is each of us destined for a kitchen for one?

Insane? Or In Love?

An article in The New York Times suggests that there is a
difference between love and lust, even in its most primary
moments. That even from the beginning, the human brain
reacts differently to a potential Mr. (or Ms.) Right than it
does to Mr. (or Ms.) RightNow!

I've had this discussion before - that love can be a drug.
Now science shows I'm right! Gotta love that!