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Pictures that move. (Grades are mine, then Josh's) [updated: 9.8.05] |
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Thursday, June 30, 2005 Things to do. Like, yesterday. This list is more for me than for you, except maybe that those of you who I've promised things to will know that I haven't entirely forgotten about them. Except of course for the ones I have forgotten. --Make Patty DVD of her graduation video. Email her to get her new address. --Make Marina her seaQuest DVDs. --Make Lizzie her Ed DVDs. --Copy temporary Veronica Mars DVDs for Matthew and Kimberly. And probably Kaly. And probably anyone else who wants them, because quite frankly you're obsessed and will make this show available to anyone and everyone you can. --Make Matthew more mix CDs, both Beth-Annie and Ed/Beth-Annie ones. Never underestimate the importance of pushing your likes on your loved ones. Or, as you like to call it, doing them a favor. Hee. Borrrrrrrring blog stuff: --Reorder list of shows on TV page to better reflect current goodness, eliminate old (read: canceled) shows, and fix tvtome.com links to reflect the new tv.com site it became. --Add link to Television Without Pity. Because you go there way to much to not have one. --Delete the stoopid "December 2004" archive link from the main page already. Seriously, Annie, you are such a slacker. --Come up with a different three-word heading for archives box. The current one has never cut it. In fact, you'd go so far as to say it's downright annoying. --Consider adding years to the CD list. Decide against it because no one reads the thing anyway. Now this is where you tell me that in the time it took me write all that, I could've done at least one or two things on the list. Lalalalala... I can't hear you... 4:17 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Monday, June 27, 2005 Yes. I will watch anything Steve Zahn is in. Well, okay, maybe not Daddy Day Care. I mean, don't let's be silley. Some quick moviebites from my now-updated list: Bride & Prejudice is worth seeing if you like romantic movies, and especially if you like romantic movies without kissing. Like, any. If I remember correctly. You will also like it more if you know going in that it's going to be a musical (I didn't), and that the musical numbers are SUPPOSED to be silly and over-the-top. You will also like it if you enjoy looking at gorgeous men (Naveen Andrews, Martin Henderson) or gorgeous women (um, there were some). Sahara. Sometimes one word is sufficient to sum up a movie. Sometimes that word is "implausible." I will leave it up to you to guess whether this is one of those times. Bad Girls from Valley High. Sometimes two words are sufficient to sum up a movie. Sometimes those two words are "Jonathan Brandis." I will leave it up to you to guess whether this is one of those times.* Wag the Dog was written by David Mamet, a fact that escaped me/meant nothing to me the first time I saw it. Not this time. The Upside of Anger. A pox on you, Michael Ausiello, for making me care about Keri Russell. Although it was the good reviews that made me want to see this. This is one of those character-driven movies (as opposed to plot-driven), but what plot there was, which mostly came in one scene at the end, as much as I've heard the film criticized for holes in said plot, genuinely surprised me, for which I give the film all the kudos in the world. Holes, schmoles. I don't care. Robots. Um, it was better than Shark Tale. Barely. Too bad that's not saying much. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, like Ferris Bueller or Grease, is one of those movies I never saw growing up. Just never did. (And I still haven't seen Grease, not that I have any real desire to.) All I have to say is Gene Wilder made this movie. And if anyone has even a chance of recapturing his Wonkaness, it's Johnny Depp. This summer should be interesting. The Aviator. Mmmmmm... apple juice. I've also added eleven new CDs that I've gotten over the past almost three months. Who knew a Blindside album would ever be that good? *FYI for Kaly, this is the movie formerly known as A Fate Totally Worse Than Death, which was finally released (on DVD) five years after it was filmed and inexplicably with the 2:28 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Friday, June 24, 2005 Just for Josh. Hee. 1:52 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Thursday, June 23, 2005 Breathe, Bethy... I don't wanna jinx anything here (shut up, Josh), but at the end of her first round today, Angela Stanford is in the lead at the U.S. Women's Open, the biggest event in women's golf. I love her. She rocks. And she's struggled a bit so far this season, so this just giddifies me. Now if only they had started their televised coverage while she was still playing so that I could actually have SEEN her shoot her 69. Oh well. I'll take what I can get. *grin* 2:27 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Tuesday, June 21, 2005 "I got a fever! And the only prescription is more cowbell!" There are plenty of things that annoy me about where we live: the total lack of decent-sized trees in our neighborhood (you wouldn't believe how the wind whips through this place since there really isn't much of anything to block it), having to drive 20-25 minutes to get to Menards, or Target, or church, or a movie theater, but seeing as I tend to complain a lot, I figure it's time to mention some things I love about where we live. The stars. Good golly, you can actually see them out here. If it's a clear night, I can look out our bedroom window and see the kind of stars we would usually have had to drive 20 minutes out into the country to be able to see. And this is from inside the house. That is the dopest thing. The bullfrogs. Okay, Kaly may be the only one who gets this, but I love the sound of bullfrogs. Maybe because I tend to associate their sound with happy things from my life, like being at Camp Okoboji, our roadtrip to California when I was a kid, camping, etc. It's just a very comforting and content sound for me, and when the weather warmed up this spring and they started their croaking from the stream on the edge of our housing development, I was a happy camper. So to speak. Being on the edge of town. There's something very peaceful about being so close to "the country" that you can practically reach right out and touch it. It's quieter, save for those noises you only get in non-urban areas, like that summer insect chirping and the occasional out-of-the-blue cow moo from an adjacent farm (that one cracks me up every time). And it's nice to be able to look one block over and see nature in the distance instead of more streets and houses (although that view from our house may soon be partially or entirely blocked by -- what else? -- a new house, but that should be the extent of the new building in that direction due to the stream, so nature should still be a mere block away. Hopefully forever). Small town festivals. We just had Green County Dairy Days here last weekend, complete with not-overpriced food stands and one of those parades that doesn't have anything terribly impressive in it, but that's just the way you like it. Even small town parades have greedy little kids snatching candy away from other kids, though. Guess there's nowhere you can go to get away from that. (By the way, if I ever have a kid who does that -- or at least who does it more than once -- please shoot me.) And that 20-25 minute drive to Madison? Really quite pretty, actually. Please forgive me for using the word "dopest." I promise I'll never do it again. 1:47 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Monday, June 20, 2005 "Agony! Far more painful than yours! (When you know she would go with you, if there only were doors...)" Yes, my dear friends, the (front yard -- which is all we're doing for this season) landscaping is finished, and it was murder. In retrospect, perhaps those who had never done any landscaping before should have started with something a little less... elaborate, but two weeks, two(-plus) somewhat injured wrists and an I-don't-want-to-know-how-much-money--no,-really later, and I have to say I think it looks durn purty. It better.  You can also look at a couple other views. And, because I am the wacked person that I am, I've also created a page with a larger, labeled version of the photo above, with links to pictures of each individual plant so you can know what they are and actually see what they look like. My absolute favorites of what we planted: Royal Purple Smokebush -- this may be just about the prettiest, most striking non-flowering plant I've ever had the pleasure of laying my eyes on. Ivory Halo Dogwood -- also incredibly pretty, but in a very delicate, light way. I loves me some variegated foliage (if you couldn't tell by the fact that about half the plants we bought have it). Mountain Fire Japanese Pieris -- one of those light-waxy-leafed evergreens, unique in its combination of foliage colors: dark green (oldest), yellow-green (middle-aged), and bright red (newest). And, don't worry, we'll let you know when the birch clump dies. *sob* 4:04 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Friday, June 17, 2005 Choose the best answer. Your choices are: V MARS GUFFMAN LORELAI BLUTH CO GUSTER Josh has vetoed SEAQST. Poo on that. :-P He actually may have vetoed GUSTER as well. I can't remember. 3:35 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Thursday, June 16, 2005 "Meep meep!" Oh how I miss Time Warner Cable's Road Runner internet. If you've been wondering why our comments have been down quite a bit lately, please direct your steely gaze in the direction of Charter Communications. That's right! I'm glaring at YOU, Charter, who not only has probably the crappiest cable picture quality I've ever seen, but also flakes out WAY too often, leaving us with no internet for sometimes hours on end. This is not acceptable. The internet is the only way I have of following LPGA scores and Cubs games when they aren't being broadcast here, the only way I have of communicating with Josh during the day for now since I can't call him while he's in class, my connection to current weater information, my connection to friends and family through my blog (and their blogs) and just plain a neverending source of entertainment and information. I get uber-annoyed when I'm without it, and I will hurt you if you keep taking it away from me, especially for such extended periods of time. "Pain. Try prison." 2:23 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Wednesday, June 15, 2005 "Oy with the poodles already..." On Sunday we overslept a bit and went to church somewhere other than where we've been going lately, though it was still a Lutheran church. But this wasn't quite like any Lutheran service I've ever been to before. It was called a "Praise service," which apparently is code for crappy contemporary worship songs (apologies to anyone who might take offense at me calling any worship music crappy, but, sentiment aside, some of it just is) projected on those stupid overhead screens along with all the other liturgy the congregation participates in. Oh, and that thing where they play background music during the prayers. Man, I hate that. Maybe it adds something to the whole atmosphere for some people, but for me there's nothing more distracting (not to mention a little bit cheesy). In case I'm being too subtle, this kind of service is really not my thing. I don't hate all contemporary worship music -- I grew up in the midst of my father directing a contemporary worship group that would lead some services at my church, and I've always liked most of the music we sang there -- but there's something about all these seemingly minor but annoying things coming together in one service: the prayer music, the sub-par worship songs, the screen projection... that just makes me... squirm in my seat. If some people like that sort of thing, that's fine -- more power to them. I don't have to ever go back if I don't want to (and I WON'T, believe me). Evenso, there's one thing that bothered both me and especially Josh enough that I wish they would change it whether we ever go back or not. If there's anything worse than having to sing crappy music, it's having to sing it without the crappy music in front of you. Every single place I've ever seen that projected the songs onto a big screen at the front has projected only the words with no music. Aaaargh! If you don't know the songs (*raises hand*) and are at all musically inclined (*raises hand again*), having no music to help you along makes it so much NOT FUN to try to sing along that you actually end up NOT singing for much of the time (yup, that's my hand up again), which makes you feel even more uncomfortable than you already did. Would it really be so hard to add music to the song projections (yes, believe it or not, some people actually DO use it)? I won't even bother expressing my desire for an end to the projection screens in general; despite my disdain for them I know they aren't going anywhere in certain places. I'll just have to pick a church that doesn't use them and hope they never do. But, seriously. Give the people the music already. 10:58 AM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Monday, June 13, 2005 Selfishness. If it were my birthday on Saturday, I would probably be too late in telling you that I deeply desire "The Office" Complete Collection and Zotz candy. 10:04 AM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Thursday, June 09, 2005 We have a nest of baby bunnies next to our front stoop. I discovered it today while I was working on grass-digging-uppage (as I am wont to do these days). We'd seen a single baby in the corner made by the stoop and the front of the house a couple of days ago, but didn't realize at the time that there was a reason it was there. I kept getting closer and closer to the nest in my digging, and, unsure of how to handle the situation, just stopped. Yup. Still don't know what to do about it.  [Itty bitty bunny.] 2:33 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Wednesday, June 08, 2005 This is what is known in the biz as a teaser.  1:34 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Tuesday, June 07, 2005 The first of likely many landscaping entries. You've been warned. So the thing about buying a brand new house is that outside you have... grass. No plants, no trees, no flowers, just... grass. In a way it's a welcome opportunity, because it allows you to landscape your yard the way YOU want to rather than having to live with what the people before you did or didn't do (something we learned all too well in our previous house). But, when you don't have the money to do anything but do it all yourself (just the cost of plants and raw materials is significant in and of itself), you start to realize just how much work it is. We especially realized that this weekend when we brought home 150 brick pavers from Home Depot to use as landscape edging. Just the loading and unloading of those (which we had to do 4 times overall -- the back of our Malibu has never ridden so low :-P) was back-breaking, hand-chewing-up work (not to mention it puts this sandy, powdery mess all over your hands, and I have this... thing... about my hands being really dry or having some really dry material all over them like that -- it's like fingernails on a chalkboard for me and I absolutely can't stand it). And the thing is, we've hardly even begun the real work yet. Goody. I've spent the last week heavily researching just about every plant that will grow in our area, visiting garden centers and nurseries and noting plants I like and their sizes and prices, and trying to design what has become a fairly large landscaped area in our front yard. I'm to the point where I have a basic idea of what I want and what plants I want, but the lingering questions are still bugging me. What we've accomplished so far: Called Diggers Hotline and had to wait several days while the various utilities came and marked their underground locations. Laid out a very curvy landscape edging with the bricks we bought (though they aren't dug into the ground yet). Bought one each of the following trees: Whitespire Birch, Red Maple, Merrill Magnolia (front yard), Norway Maple, Green Ash, Japanese Flowering Cherry (backyard). Planted the birch last night. Bought one PJM Compact Rhododendron and three False Indigo. Today I get to dig up all (or as much as I can) of the grass within the landscaping area -- not as easy as it might sound, trust me -- so we can get as many of our already-bought plants planted as soon as possible. 9:39 AM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Wednesday, June 01, 2005 Beth-Annie's Memorial Day Weekend Firsts.* -- Had company post-moving (as opposed to present-moving). -- Bought a Bougainvillea to kill. -- Ate buffalo. -- Watched and -- this is key -- enjoyed a NASCAR race. (it's all about the company, really) -- Went to Brat Fest, the world's largest, um, brat fest. * Meaning things I had never done before that I just happened to do on Memorial Day Weekend, rather than things I had never done on Memorial Day Weekend. 4:59 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! Things That Annoy Me. Our water/sewer bill is roughly three times as high here as it was in Racine. 3:00 PM || I want to be a comment. Post me! |
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Disc-shaped music. [updated: 9.8.05] |