I can't believe Halloween is next weekend! I haven't watched all the movies I intended to. I saved Rear Window and The Birds just for this occasion. And on Halloween night I fully intend to watch 1963's black and white The Haunting. It's my new tradition. Watch The Haunting, eat Halloween candy, and think that maybe...just maybe... Santa and his reindeer a Trick-or-Treater might show up.

I was happy because I thought I could watch The Office tonight, since Bones isn't on. But then I remembered that the reason I don't usually catch The Office is because it's on at the same time as Supernatural. I actually considered going back down to work when I discovered this (but I stopped myself, mostly b/c I don't want to wait for my work computer to boot up). That is the danger of working from home, my friends. There are little to no boundaries.

I'm still happy because I don't have to work tomorrow! I took the day off to relax and also get some things done. Actually, by the time I get everything done, there will be no time for relaxing. But that's better than having no time for relaxing PLUS not getting anything done.

I saw District 9 this weekend, and it was great. I was emotionally moved almost to the point of tears, and almost to the point of nausea (it's gorey. You have been warned). All spoilers are behind the cut.

I knew from the commercials that I was going to sympathize with the aliens ("prawns") who seem to be held captive by the military, who wants to know the secret to their amazing weaponry. These powerful weapons are like nothing we have on Earth and they seem to be biologically engineered.

The Prawns didn't come here to conquer. We're not sure why they came. They first live among humans, but like many refugee populations, they don't fit in. They don't understand the human boundaries and laws and they have gross habits like eating raw meat, and eventually the humans demand to have the Prawns removed from human society. So now the Prawns live in a refugee camp. They're scared and poor and lonely and many act out. The government hires a corporation to deal with the problem. Guess what? They fuck it up. I'll leave it at that.

I liked how the movie was sci-fi but not super nerdy. It didn't try to explain everything and to some degree, you just have accept the science aspects for what they are. It was more interested with the human side of the situation, which was handled wonderfully IMO. It explores the grey areas that inevitably occur in human interaction (and alien interaction, apparently). In fact, most humans don't wish the Prawns harm, they just want them to go away. When the movie shows some of the behavior of some of the Prawns, you totally understand why many humans didn't want to be around them. Then they show you some of the motivation behind that behavior, and you understand the Prawns better too. I'm a pretty empathetic person so I expected to feel for the aliens, but I still feel a lump in my stomach thinking about some of the scenes.

Behind the cut is some more in depth commentary, please read only if you've seen it or don't care if you're spoiled. ( commentary contains spoilers )

I just got back from LA but I'm super tired (red eye flight!) so I'm just going to update about part of the vacation right now. Which isn't to say it was the best part, but it was the most exciting part for me.

( I met Captain Fine, Chekov, and Cameron/Mama Kirk! )

I'm watching a free On Demand movie called Robot Holocaust right now and it's so terrible, I looked it up to see if MST3K had parodied it... AND THEY HAVE. On Demand has such gems!

In other news, necessaryspace and I went to the Star Trek exhibit at the Detroit Science Museum today. I'll post pictures when I'm ambitious enough to load them. Then we went to the Detroit Institute of Art. It was a fun day! My feet hurt now.

I just made my first cheesecake. It puffed up quite a bit as it baked but I don't know if that's normal or not. Tomorrow I'm making a chocolate chip pie (another first) and both desserts are coming with me to my friend Jason's party.

necessaryspace and I saw the new Terminator today. It wasn't as bad as some of the reviews make it out to be. I'd say it was good for an action movie (and for a Terminator movie). The dialog was predictable and many of the key plot points were unbelievable, unlikely, or just plain factually incorrect (and holy deux ex machina, Batman!). But if you come for the scary robots, you won't be disappointed. Also, Bryce Dallas Howard and Anton Yelchin are super cute. I love how Bryce Dallas Howard is super beautiful without being emaciated- a woman who doesn't think healthy=compulsive exercising is very refreshing.


Bryce Dallas Howard=WIN


I also finally got around to watching How to Lose Friends and Alienate People w/Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg and Gillian Anderson. Sadly, Megan Fox is also in the movie- I can't stand her! She's such a transparent attention seeker. I can't believe anyone actually buys the "I'm bi-sexual... isn't that sexy and daring?! I don't play Hollywood games like most actresses do b/c I"m my own person" shit. I was surprised to see her in a movie made for people over the age of 12; although, she plays a vapid cokehead movie star and was thus wholly believable. Anyway, the movie was cute and funny at parts but also kind of inconsistent. Definitely entertaining- just not anyone's best work.

I can't sleep so I'll update. You're welcome.
Yesterday I made a rhubarb pie. I totally stuck the landing on the crust, and the filling was delicious, but it was a little too new-age-rhubarb for me. It had lots of cloves and orange zest and the rhubarb flavor really needed to shine though more. So this was really more of a rhubarb-spice pie- which is not a bad thing. Overall, a good pie from a fun cookbook.

So at first I was in love with the LJ community ohnotheydidnt because they were all about Star Trek: Fuck yeah! and how hot Chris Pine (and everyone else in the movie) is, but also how awesome old Trek was in it's own way. It's rare for me to find that group of people that are the right combination of nerdiness, sarcasm, unrestricted cussing, brains, irreverence, and unconditional love. Because I love my other Trek communities but sometimes they're so uuuhhhhhh. AND THEN they made ontd_startrek which may as well be called ONTD_fuckyeah b/c it's so much fun! It was blowing up my friends list though, so I visit in person. I suggest you do the same:

Today at work, a tech guy had to remote-in to my computer to install some software. He was like, "ooh, I forgot that was coming out Friday!" at which point I remembered he could see my Star Trek/Chris Pine desktop. I felt a little embarrassed- not about the Star Trek part- but about the Chris Pine part. It's the badass "Kirk II" pose, below, but he's so smokin hot I feel like it should have a little "Tiger Beat" logo in the bottom. Actually, both my computers AND the refrigerator are Chris Pine themed right now.


OK but I promise to stop talking about Star Trek!

In other news: Leonard Cohen will be in concert in Detroit this Saturday. They have cheap tickets on Stub Hub, but they're sold in pairs (!) and the ones sold single-ly are better seats/higher priced. I'm cool going or not going though. I love Leonard but I'm saving money for going to San Francisco.

Speaking of spending money I just bought these super cute earrings on etsy, but they were only $12.

You guys.... I am so sad. I had a great day today. I went out to lunch with Heather and Amanda. We ate at Bob Evans, one of my favorite places. I had CARBS. Then we went shopping and I got clothes on sale. We rounded out the day with milkshakes. And then I got home and in our mailbox was the Spock cover of the new Entertainment Weekly, which means that I DIDN'T get the alternate Kirk/Uhura cover, below.



Nothing against Mr. Quinto but look how hot Kirk II looks!!! I never complain about which cover of EW I get. I'm always happy with what they send me. But THIS is a travesty. I had a 50/50 chance of getting the hot one and I failed. I'm just.... so.... sad. No amount of carbs will heal the Chris Pine-shaped hole in my heart.

In other news, we saw Wolverine and it wasn't as bad as everyone's saying, unless you're really into X Men canon and/or continuity. If you come to it just to see gratuitous violence, Hugh Jackman (shirtless!), and just a fun and sometimes funny (both intentionally funny and WTF-bad-funny) movie, you won't be disappointed. Besides, you have to do something to pass the time between now and Kirk II and obviously Entertainment Weekly isn't helping any.

uhhhh it's 2 a.m. and I can't sleep! Why does this always happen when I have to get up early the next day?! This is the second Tuesday in a row I'm missing volunteering (but last Tuesday I had a cold and was legitimately sick). Because if it's 2 now, there's no way I'm getting up at 7 to go somewhere and not get paid. But I'll make up the time Thursday because I feel obligated to be at least somewhat reliable.

I hear Swine flu has made it to Ohio and maybe even Livingston County, MI! WTF?! I'm too young to turn into a pig and die (or whatever swine flu does).

In other news, I subjected myself to the travesty that is Just My Luck because I was scrolling through the On Demand movies and saw Chris Pine's name.

I can't type any more because my carpal tunnel is being a BITCH (my left hand just went numb. I am not kidding.) so I'll just leave you with this:


kkkfjpppffffkkjjkl

Yesterday was eventful. I bought a car... I'm hesitant to post about it because it's not actually in my possession yet and I'm terrified that I'll ruin it somehow if I talk about it too much. But here goes... it's a 2007 Subaru Impreza- the exact car I wanted except that my first choice would have been blue. But it's low-milage and beautiful and it was a wonderful price- quite a bit below bluebook. Here's the pic from the dealer:



I pick it up Monday after finalizing my loan at the bank, and trading in my old car, Lumina. It's going to be very sad for me to say goodbye- I get attached to inanimate objects.

Last night Heather and I went to see The Watchmen. It's getting mixed reviews but I really enjoyed it- the characters were fleshed out and believable and the plot involved more moral ambiguity, and therefore depth, than you usually see in a superhero movie. Instead of being "good guy" versus "bad guy" it was more like "sometimes the people brave enough to do what needs to be done also have psychological issues." I can relate, since I'm someone who wants to help people and make a difference in this world but also not afraid to claw someone in the face when I have to.
I will say this, though. Watchmen was the most violent film I've ever seen, and I think it also had the most graphic sex scene in it I've seen in an R rated movie. Since I have some of that moral ambiguity I mentioned, I'm able to LOL when a criminal gets his arms sawed off in a fictional story.
And OMG almost forgot to mention! This is only the second movie I know of to feature a Leonard Cohen song SUNG BY LEONARD!! (not counting I'm Your Man, which is a documentary about Mr. Cohen, so yeah, he sings in it).

Bitch don't play when it comes to her weave.

Instead of posting something about the election, I come with far dorkier news. I just read that Captain Pike will appear in the new Star Trek prequel. Too bad because I like his later, "after the radiation accident" look better.


Before


After

And in election news, don't let the door hit you on the ass on your way back to Alaska.

Penelope

If you're in the mood for something light, I suggest renting Penelope. It's a modern-day fairy tale about self-discovery and (of course!) love, set in an unspecific time and place. The sets and costumes were beautiful and Christina Ricci is spot-on as Penelope, a sheltered young lady with a curse and a pig-nose. My only problem with it was that Penelope is beautiful with a slight deformity, yet people act like she's shockingly ugly.

"How to Walk Away" album, by Juliana Hatfield

Fans of folksy-rock will like this one. The songs are beautiful and catchy and sometimes just fun. ("It's just lust. It doesn't mean I love you. It's just lust. It doesn't even mean even I necessarily like you very much.")

Iodine by Haven Kimmel
This book was super compelling and I couldn't put it down. It's also wildly confusing and disjointed, as much of it is narrated by the mentally ill main character. Just when you think everything's going to be explained, it's not. So if you read this, please tell me what you think happened.

Galveston, TX
I can't say I recommend it, since it's being covered in water and Hurricane Ike's on his way. I heard that there are people stranded on a frieghter and on Bolliver penninsula- I hope everyone makes it out okay. The easiest way to get off Bolliver is by fairy and they may not be able to run right now. Sometimes you can see dolphins from the fairy. Houses there are built on stilts, as is my favorite restaurant there- a little seafood place where the some of the seafood is fished right outside the window. They have the BEST garlic bread. Ah, Galveston. I left so much behind there.

Happy Independence Day, American friends (happy belated Canada day, Canadian friends [other friends: happy July!]) Happy Birthday, land of the free* and home of the brave.

I'm celebrating ID4 by heading back up to my mom's, where there will be grilling, nature, and kitties. And one fat chicken. Oh, yesterday Heather and I looked at the pets in the pet store. It was fun to look, but paying hundreds of dollars for a designer version of something that's about to be put down at the local shelter is wrong.

Also yesterday, we saw "Hancock." It was surprisingly good. I was expecting luke-warm because the reviewer on NPR didn't like it- although one of the things he didn't like was that it contained "profanity laced tirades." Those were AWESOME. However, if you are someone who is offended by profanity, you may want to skip this one (if you're offended by profanity, you may also want to skip this journal- tee hee). All of the acting is great. Jason Bateman is thoroughly "Michael" for the "Arrested Development" fans out there, swinging from funny to serious is old hat for Will Smith, and Charlize Theron's gorgeous face was refreshingly emotive. The other thing the NPR reviewer Kenneth Turan didn't like about "Hancock" was the turn the movie takes in the second half. It definitely goes off the beaten path but I thought that gave it an original spin. Not perfect, but probably the best thing out there right now (like America!). Also, a good way to kill time til "Dark Night" comes out.


*does not include freedom from wiretaps, unmonitored web browsing, Constitutional rights for certain people, etc. etc.

Today Heather and I saw Iron Man. It was so much fun! It had everything I look for in a movie: good acting, interesting characters, violence, and plus it reminded me of Robocop. The end was totally like when Robocop fought Robocop II. (Any Robocop fans? No? No? Okay.)

New favorite snack: chocolate tofu pudding. You have to try it before you dismiss it- it's actually delicious.

I'm reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jumpa Lahiri. It's a collection of short stories on Indian-American immigrants and their children. This is what most (all?) of her stories are about, and sometimes they do blend together and the characters are very similar. That said, they're very interesting and the characters are real and intriguing. So far, I'm really enjoying it.

Last night I saw There Will Be Blood with my dad and step-mom. Spoiler alert! There was blood. It was a good movie- very well acted- Daniel Day Lewis is definitely an Oscar contender for this role. But it's not really something I'd see again. It had some slow spots and "huh?" moments, but overall really drove the point home about greed and power. And I thought it raised some interesting questions about the nature of success and business- do you have to have a certain personality to really make in business? Certainly the business world is about ruthlessness and defeating the competition, but these qualities can also destroy someone. Anyway, it's a movie I'd recommend for the acting at least, and also interesting use of music and sound, and it's definitely the best movie based on an Upton Sinclair movie I've ever seen (will someone please make The Jungle into a movie? Reese Witherspoon could star as a spunky meat-packer hell-bent on reforming the industry. Maybe it could be filmed at the Kogels plant here in Michigan. Just a few ideas.) My favorite There Will Be Blood line came after the movie, as we were pulling out of our primo parking space and several other vehicles pulled up behind us. Me: "Uh-oh, there's going to be a parking-show-down for our space." Dad: "There will be dents."

So it's Sunday morning and I'm not going to church, AGAIN. I keep thinking that I want to try one of the United Methodist Churches around here- one is about a mile away, another is about 10 miles away. But every Sunday I have a reason not to- first I was just settling in and not unpacked, then I was sick, then I had to work, and now I want to work out before meeting my mom for lunch. I think part of it is that I'm hesitant to go alone. It's hard walking into a church by yourself- but meeting new people is part of the reason I wanted to go in the first place. Ah, well, nothing worth doing is ever easy.

I just finished reading Falling Out of Fashion by Karen Yampolsky. She was assistant to Jane Pratt for 9 years at Jane. The book is a fictional story of Jill White, who starts a magazine called Jill. It details all the crazy power struggles that go on in the publishing world and the celebrity world. It's OBVIOUSLY really about Jane and what happened to her magazine and how she lost power and was eventually pushed out. It's really interesting in a non-consequential, voyeuristic kind of way.

Work has been so busy! And the search for a full-time job is stalled. :( Oh well, I'm just going to enjoy working part time and living at home and not paying rent.

Heather came to visit this weekend, and we saw No Reservations. I wouldn't recommend it. It's the exact same movie as Raising Helen, which wasn't a very entertaining movie either, but at least it had Joan Cusak.

Because my mom and I are, like, 10, we rushed to the theater after work to see Pirates. May I say I am somewhat disappointed? At the end I just felt like "you went through 3 movies worth of trouble/adventures for THIS?!" I'm just going to pretend it ended after they (spoiler!) fetched back witty Jack.
If you've seen it I'd be interested in your reaction.

This morning got off to an inauspicious start when a. there was a spider on the coffee maker and b. the power then went off and didn't come back on until after I went to work (there was power at work). But the rest of the day wasn't so bad and our meeting even got out early (allowing me to rush to the theater and be disappointed an hour earlier than I otherwise would have).

I haven't updated in a while, and I've meant to. I have been really busy at work. I moved into my new cubicle/office yesterday and am just getting things the way I want them. Most people revile cubicles, but it's a huge-step up from my last office, where my workspace was much smaller. Here I have shelves, drawers, walls between me and my coworkers, and a window! I brought in a plant- an African Violet named Vi, who is in a really cute pot I bought half off at Home Depot.

I recently finished reading The Song is You by Meagan Abbott. It was a murder mystery in a noir style, set in Hollywood during the 1950's. The author really captured the atmosphere of the time in her characters and settings, without boring you with mundane or unnecessary exposition. Even though it wasn't the most brilliantly crafted mystery I've ever read, it was still very entertaining and engaging.

And finally, last weekend, Julie, Mel, Elizabeth and I went to see Blades of Glory. It was ridiculous, silly, and hilarious. Will Arnett, Jenna Fisher, Amy Poehler, John Heder, and Will Ferrel all play the characters they're good at playing.
If you see it, watch for the photograph on the refridgerator- it was probably the best part, and it was just a background-thing.

Last night I watched "Meet Me In St. Louis" and now I can't stop singing the songs!!

Today we put up our Chritmas tree, so now the living room smells like pine. Leisa and I put it up and decorated it while listening to Christmas music, so it was really Norman-Rockwellian. The cat (who is not an inside cat) even played a small part, running in the door while we trying to bring in the tree. We briefly forgot about him until my mom found him camped out on her bed. She was NOT pleased. It was hilarious.

This first thing only applies to Michigan voters. If you're a Michigan voter, I hope you'll read behind the cut ( Proposal 2 )

This weekend, I visited Heather, and we went to see The Prestige. I thought it was good but not great. It tried too hard to be surprising and mysterious. But the story was interesting and also the acting was really good. Plus, it stars Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, so at least you have something cute to look at!

Last night I watched the Tigers game which was fun- the next game is Tuesday and that will be really exciting since the series is tied 1-1.

Tomorrow Julie and Mel and I are going shopping at the outlets, which will be nice since I have nothing to wear in this weird weather.