Recently in Pop Culture Category

Just listing...
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall
- Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
- Juno
- The Dark Knight
- Tropic Thunder
- Spanglish
- Punch Drunk Love (wth PTA)

I have the biggest crush on Ms. Scarlett.  I'm even sure she can sing decently.  Yet, what the hell is this garbage?  Garbage like this is what pushes people to steal music - at least there's no buyer's remorse.

Because it was just one of those weekends, I watched four Audrey Hepburn movies with a napping dog, a blanket and several tubs of Haagen-Dazs by my side.  Tessa's always up (err...ready to nap) for a good movie and there's never a bad time for H-D's strawberry cheesecake Extras.  In chronological order, watched Funny Face, Love in the Afternoon, Sabrina and Breakfast at Tiffany's off the 360.  As is the case with all romance films, they were all fairly predictable.  And as is the case with old movies, they were rife with sexism, racism and other bigotry that wouldn't fly in films today - LitA and BaT just revolved around loose morals and prostitution as a generally-accepted means of income.  My mom did ask if I felt that older movies lacked the excitement and pacing of modern films but I can't say I noticed at all.  Audrey Hepburn is stunning no matter what the decade.

Why is it, though, that every movie ends up in Paris?

A book full of semi-biblical anecdotes.  What a frustrating read.

"...is my blindness to spirituality a huge defect in my personality?  What if I'm missing out on part of being human, like a guy who goes through life without ever hearing Beethoven or falling in love?  And most important, I now have a son - if my lack of religion is a flaw, I don't want to pass it on to him." (p.5)

"Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."  - 1 Corinthians 13:4-5 (NIV)

It always was a...strange adaptation of the novel, and it certainly hasn't aged particularly well what with the awkward pacing and uncomfortable Ethan Hawke peformance.  But if you only remember movies for individual scenes and short vignettes, then this movie was always as memorable for me as any other.

"But you love her. She'll only break your heart, it's a fact.  It's tragic.  You're already in love with her. And even though I warn you, even though I guarantee you that the girl will only hurt you terribly, you'll still pursue her.  Ain't love grand?"

I don't know if the book carried a bit long towards an inevitable conclusion, but I enjoyed it nonetheless and found the ending satisfying.  He has the uncanny ability to introduce and have you fully understand his characters within a page or two and the way he wove the women in and out of Florentino's life was beautiful.  I'm glad to be through the book though; it wasn't a particularly easy one to read casually.

He said that people who loved (animals) to excess were capable of the worst cruelties toward human beings.  He said that dogs were not loyal but servile, that cats were opportunists and traitors, that peacocks were heralds of death, that macaws were simply decorative annoyances, that rabbits fomented greed, that monkeys carried the fever of lust, and that roosters were damned because they had been complicit in the three denials of Christ.(p.21)

Her grief exploded into a blind range against the world, even against herself, and that is what filled her with the control and the courage to face her solitude alone.  From that time on she had no peace, but she was careful about any gesture that might seem to betray her grief. (p.47)

Were you expecting anything anything else?

Did I try to deny we would fall apart?

It's a wonderful surprise
To see your shoes and your spirits rise

all I see here is you
all it does is remind me

What will I do when you come near to me?

Ok, so Simon & Garfunkel's "Wednesday Morning 3.A.M." is undoubtedly better, but my Lisa Loeb crush will not be denied.

<3

What reasons do you need to die?

I had no idea there was a new R.E.M. record.  I'm pretty excited.  I can't say I was a huge fan of their last few albums but there were a couple of songs on them that I did play over and over again - I hope this one is a little more consistent.

(edit: it is, and it's consistently loud and fast and ultimately over in 35 minutes.  It's not bad, but I've always preferred the beauty of their ballads and the softer songs they've been experimenting with more recently.)

Although it didn't really poke fun at its (sports/romantic-comedy) genre like Pegg's previous movies had, I still enjoyed the movie simply for Simon's overacting and goofy faces.  The plot was obvious after the opening ten minutes of the film but the eccentric cast of characters made it a joy to watch, not to mention both girls in the movie are gorgeous (who in the world is India de Beaufort anyway?).

"For the last 11 miles, he's been running on a severely sprained ankle! Dennis, how do you feel?!"
"HOW THE FUCK DO YOU THINK I FEEL??!"
"Ladies and gentlemen! What an inspiration!"