joan of arcadia

so, syfy (formerly the sci-fi network) has intermittently aired 4 - 5 hour blocks of 'joan of arcadia'. for whatever reason, i got totally involved. i never watched it when it originally aired (blame myself for its cancellation). after watching the bulk of the entire 2 seasons, i watched episode 47. it was leading up to a big good vs. evil confrontation between joan and (hottie 'prisonbreak' and 'tudors' star) wentworth miller. then the episode ended. as did the season. and the series. now i'm hacked off at cbs for not giving us a fitting end to a great show. we're left with more questions than answers (a la 'lost') at the end.
boo, cbs!!!

ps, did i mention that mike newton (twilight) plays joan's younger brother?

pps, did i mention that i met chris marquette from the show?

being erica...

is not all it's cracked up to be.

i've started watching this show, 'being erica'. it's a soapnet original series, which should tell you something. it's a sort of quantum leap with a woman, erica, who is going through some form of other-worldly therapy. this therapy helps erica deal with her regrets by sending her back to times in her life so she can try to right her wrongs.

i thought this was a new show, but sadly found that my first episode was actually episode 14. now, do i sit at my computer for 13 tv hours (that's a one hour program minus commercials) to catch up? everyone knows that the first season of a series is crucial to understanding the storyline.

erica, it seems, has regrets. a lot of regrets. i thought of my own life, me being erica's age and all, and tried to come up with a multitude of regrets. most of them seem so minor. my first episode did not involve any of erica's regrets, so i had to watch the other 2 to see what could be affecting her adult life so negatively. well, pot (for one), working at a coyote ugly-type bar, camp counsellor with low morals, etc. i still plan on tuning in. maybe catching up on some enlightening re-runs that will give this show merit.

i was initially attracted to this show because i've fantasized about being given the chances that erica is given each week. i am encouraged to find; however, that 'being mgk' wouldn't be a very long running show. unless of course, each episode, i would be shuttling back to a few days prior to put down the (danish/frappacino/chocolate/garlic bread) and not have to battle with the carbs/calories/fat. it would be less a soapnet original, and more of a lead-in to 'ruby' on lifetime. (i love ruby, by the way)

i wrote a movie review for my mom's newspaper...

Leap Year, PG

Amy Adams and Matthew Goode star in Leap Year, a romantic comedy that follows one woman's determined quest to have the perfect job, the perfect apartment and get married to the perfect guy.

When their four-year anniversary passes without a marriage proposal, Anna decides to take matters into her own hands. When her father tells her of an Irish tradition that allows women to propose to men on February 29th, Anna decides to follow her boyfriend Jeremy to Dublin and propose herself.

But weather leaves Anna stranded on the other side of Ireland, and she must enlist the help of scruffy barkeep Declan to get her across the country. As Anna and Declan bicker across the Emerald Isle, they discover that the road to love can take you to very unexpected places.

I found this movie delighfully reminiscent of Hepburn and Tracey. Hollywood finally made 'romcom' that doesn't have to turn to inpropriety to be 'entertaining'. Anna and Declan's relationship goes from antagonistic to having genuine substance (even though they only know each other for four days). Through some eye-opening circumstances, Anna finds that love isn't about having everything perfectly planned out. Marriage is viewed positively, and as the only path for a couple in love to take. A couple keeping an inn refuses unmarried couples from staying there.

This movie is romantic, sweet and best of all, honestly funny. I recommend it for any date night or girl's night out.

who would play you in the movie of your life?

or maybe, who would you want to play you?
if amy adams can make that skeevy whore, julie powell, look sweet and earnest; then who could i get to play me?
(google all red-headed actresses)
i'm no angel (thank goodness! if you only knew what they really looked like), but it seems that 'real' people are portrayed by thinner, prettier, more adorable actresses who look way cuter because of a wardrobe department.
Hint: if the main character is supposed to live in a tiny apartment which presumably has little or no closet space - have them wear the same clothes once in a while.
Reality Check: with the cold weather we're having, even in florida (especially in florida), my wardrobe consists of 3 pairs of jeans (1 dressy pair, 2 utilitarian pairs), 2 sweaters, 2 long sleeve t-shirts, one thinsulate shirt to accompany my short-sleeved t's, and my beautiful new off-white down puff jacket my hubby gave me for christmas.
i got a little off the subject, there. point is, i have a lot of repeats.
my subconscious life-calling is to determine who every normal person's actor double is. just last month, hugo weaving was installing my carpet. but back to julie powell...
i love the movie julie & julia. adams and streep did a fantastic job. in fact, meryl streep ceases being meryl streep from the first second she appears and never wavers from her invocation of julia child. adams, however, did a wonderful job as a likable, if harried, government employee. we immediately enjoy and empathize with her characterization of julie powell, however falsified it actually is. after totally loving this movie, i became ever so slightly obsessed and wanted to emulate the story by cooking from child's best-seller. i never did obtain a copy. the other half was thinking i wanted to read powell's blog. the real julie powell. big mistake. she is crass and foul-mouthed. i also found that she went from best-seller to sordid, feckless, adulterer for the next 2 years. i feel duped. i also feel pretty sure that if adams had come across with powell's real personality, the movie would not have done so well.
ah, hollywood...
powell's new book is not only about her latest obsession with butchery, but excruciatingly details the abhorrent meat and potatoes (if you will) of her infidelity.
i will still love the movie and watch it when i'm well fed (because you should never, ever watch this movie if you are hungry), but will do my best to mentally cut the real julie powell (just as she so deftly cuts animal carcasses) from this story.
if i have come across strongly, it is only because i invested emotionally in this movie and then felt betrayed by how the 'real' julie powell behaves. blah!

so i pose my question again: who would (you want to) play you in a movie???

georgia couple tattoes their 6 children

between the ages of 10 and 17. they tattooed a small cross on each child's hand. this is illegal in georgia. it was a homemade tattoo gun (gross!). what offended me most was the comment section under the on-line article. here is one comment that followed some racially biased comments that i couldn't locate. read the irony:

"Thousands of black children are tatooed under 18 years of age so please stop useing the term white trash. Unedjucated yes. Millions of people in the US peirce and have neeldes injected into our youth, why are we so outraged that a 10 year old wanted to be like the rest of them and get a small tat on his hand. Barney Fife needs to hit the street and start busting real criminals."

breaking the law is breaking the law. and everyone's hackles are up about catching the 'real criminals'. parents who permanently mark their children ARE criminals.

it's been so long, i forgot my password

not funny, just sad.

so many things going on and have gone on and are about to go on...

ups:

new carpet

christmas

family

sketchers shape-ups

oakley watch

snow tubing

new washer and dryer

eating in vegas at a sushi place that gsp ate at

downs:

flooded house

insurance deductible

paying for a new washer and dryer

injury

death

and now, the 5th day of a new year/decade, and here we are.