2006 in multimedia

One of my favorite things about my Entertainment Weekly subscription is the Stephen King article found on the back page twice a month. In homage to his year end lists, here is my top 10 in multimedia, in no particular order.

1. Gilmore Girls - still continues to be one of the best tv shows ever. It is a sin that Lauren Graham has not even been nominated for an Emmy - and just the continued disrespect for the WB and now the CW. It has great characters (I really wish Lorelai were real and we could hang out together), humor, interesting stories, growth, a fantastic cast. I could go on and on. And yes - I am very glad Lorelai married Chris.

2. An Inconvenient Truth - I've been ticked at Al Gore for years for the shotty campaign he ran for pres, but he helped win me back with this movie. He's dealing with issues vital to our survival on this planet, and in an entertaining way (even my 12 year old was able to sit and enjoy it).

3. Taking the Long Way by the Dixie Chicks - easily their best CD to date.

4. These Streets by Paolo Nutini - a young Scotsman with a CD I can't hear enough. James Blunt should watch his back.

5. The History of Love by Nicole Krauss - a book recommended by the Asheville book group - I probably would not have picked it up otherwise. The story is unique with characters I don't think I will forget for many years.

6. Beyonce's and Carrie Underwood's Cheatin' Songs - Irreplaceable by Miss B and Before You Cheat by Miss U are two very different, but very great songs about the same thing - how to treat a man who cheats on you. Just be sure to shove the truck to the left with the baseball bat.

7. Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series - I discovered this series this summer, right before the latest one was published. The last couple are not quite up to par with the earlier ones, but still a highly entertaining series perfect for the beach.

8. The Office - When NBC announced they were stealing yet another BBC series, I was understandably quite concerned. Yet, they have transformed a series I liked into one I that I absolutely love. The American version has even funnier characters, and with a sweetness that makes me pull for each one of them. Can't wait to see more.

9. Casino Royale - Sean Connery, you will always have a special place, but I am officially over lamenting the years since you left.


Well, I only have 9 in my list and there just is no 10. I haven't seen as many movies or read as many books as I have in years past (or watched as much tv). So to round out the list - here is my biggest disappointment of the year - easily XMen 3. Brett Ratner will forever be on my hit list for taking an incredible series and really blowing it. The movie just stunk. The only thing that saved it was the fantastic cast and the history of the first two movies. Brett - shame on you, and learn to tell a story with a little more character development, less fright about women's power, and a little (or a lot) less violence that does not progress the story. Stop dating models or celebutants and start shadowing Spielburg or Soderberg.

All in all, a good year. I'm sure other great movies, books, tv shows and cds came out - and I missed them. Hopefully I catch up in latter years.

Nativity

Princess was Mary in the Children's Nativity this past Sunday. She's sitting beside the donkey (if you're not sure what the little boy's costume represents). Each year, the children grades 5 and younger dress up and are the Nativity scene while the Christmas story is told. My favorite part was when it was said that Mary gave birth, and Princess unceremoniously grabbed the baby doll from under her wrap and plopped the baby into the manger. He was left with his left arm sticking straight up for the rest of the scene. When I asked Princess about it later, she responded, "It's just plastic - it wasn't a real baby."

7th ring of hell

I must first say that I should not have been in the situation I found myself yesterday. This meeting in Fort Worth did not have to be scheduled a week before Christmas. It could have been last week, two weeks ago, or some other time. I didn't schedule it. And I know it could have been much worse - I could have been traveling with kids.

Yes, I found myself in the 7th ring of hell at DallasFortWorth airport yesterday. I had a direct flight to Greensboro at 1:20. Weather was fine there and in Gboro, but my flight was delayed and had gate changes 5 or 6 times until about 4:30. And then they announced the flight was cancelled due to mechanical difficulties. It's a little regional jet with about 36 seats, but when those of us on the cancelled flight arrived at the gate where rescheduling was taking place - there were about 100 people in line in front of us and two flight attendants working the desk. 20 minutes went by and about 5 people were helped. I began to wonder if I could get home that night - certainly there were enough flights going somewhere, but if it took 2 hours to get my flight rebooked...

Then an attendant told us we could exit and go to the main desk to rebook. (which of course meant going back through security, but hey, if it sped things up by an hour or two...) About 15 of us took off. I walked 12 minutes as fast as I could (and I had already walked rather quickly for some of those gate changes). If I walk at that pace, I can make a mile in 15 minutes. So, I found myself at the main desk out front. She said she would book me on the 8pm flight to Gboro - the following night! I explained (hopefully calmly) that I wished to get home that night and would take any flight which would connect me to Gboro. She found a flight to Philly that left in an hour. I was tired and not enjoying the prospect of being stranded without my bag in either Dallas or Philly. I made my way rather quickly to the gate, only to find out that flight had been delayed so long that I would not make the connection to Gboro. (Did I mention that most of the monitors in DFW were not working properly, so that we were always having to ask attendants for correct info?)

So there I stand, thinking, I'll be stranded in Philly. Then I happen to overhear someone mention a flight that was leaving in 5 mins for Philly at a gate in that same terminal, but at the other end. I took off. I got there about 2 minutes before they closed the door, and they did have 2 empty seats.

Once in Philly, I had just enough time to get to the new gate, get a fizzy diet coke (which was dinner - they don't even give pretzels on American anymore), call hubby, and then get on the little connector to Gboro.

My luggage did arrive in Gboro this morning on one of the full flights directly from DFW. Thank heavens for that.

Just pure luck, good ears, and fast feet got me home last night. Thank heavens. And I sure hope all those people not in good health and traveling with kids get where they need to be.

One bad ride in a van

I'm in Fort Worth for a meeting. It's the usual exhausting stuff. My day ended in a series of misadventures on the ride back to the hotel. Several of us were riding in mini-van. I graciously offered to sit in the very back. There were two bucket seats in front of me. They are the kind that have to be folded up for someone to get in my seat. As the very kind man in front of me tried to fasten his seat back to the floor, he banged my knees with the seat - three times.

The ride back continued to be eventful - the driver drove rather fast and furiously. I was slung from side to side, trying not to hit my bruised knees. And then we hit a bump, and my head hit the ceiling rather hard. I thought there was a dent on the ceiling when I got out.

And then when the ride was finally over - and I was on my way to get some Advil, I was having some difficulty getting over the folded down bucket seat. The back of my jeans caught on the sliding door, and then riiiiiippppp. Hole just under my pocket showing my behind.

Yet again, I can say that at least I have given people around me a good laugh.

How I Spent My Time Preparing for the Holidays

When I became a mom (almost 13 years ago), I began doing many things I never envisioned. About 11 years ago, I started buying gingerbread house kits so our family could make those special Christmas memories. About 7 years ago, I started making the houses from scratch (making the patterns, baking the gingerbread and icing, etc.). I was always so proud of my from scratch houses.

We all know what comes after pride - one really big fall. And that's what happened to this year's house after a good chunk of my Saturday (and the kids' day as well) was spent.

Inspite of the proof in these pics, this wasn't the worst thing to happen to one of my homemade houses. The second year I made one, and before I could take a picture, our cat was checking out the house (curious) and knocked it off its high-up perch. Seven hot glue sticks and lots of cover-up icing later, it was back in place on a shorter and much wider table. The next day we left the Golden Retriever inside because it was so cold. When we entered the house, it reeked. Apparently, eating an entire gingerbread house (except for a few specks of candy and icing) as well as the glue did not sit well on her stomach. We ended up throwing away Sonny Boy's rug.

So - it could have been worse yesterday. At least my kids had a good laugh. Unfortunately, they won't remember all the beautiful houses - but they sure will remember this one.

Cameron Crazy...

There are some perks occasionally with my job. A recent one was when the UNCG men's basketball team played Duke - at Cameron Indoor Stadium. I had not been in that building since 1992 (which was a very good year to be there) when I was in grad school at Duke. My family and I were able to get tickets - and even though we absolutely cheered for UNCG, you can tell where our hearts were.

This one is just for you, Restless.

A Quiz where I like the answer - Which X-Men are you?

You Are Storm

Exotic and powerful, Storm descended from a line of African priestesses. Emotions can effect your powers, but you are generally serene. Powers: controlling weather, creating winds that lift you into flight, generating lightning

Which of the X-Men Are You?

What I really want for Christmas...

This is what I really want for Christmas - the I Robot Vacuum. I recognize that it's a sad state of affairs that all I really want is a vacuum. I also realize that life must be pretty dull if having a clean house is what most excites me. Yet, in defense of my increasing dullness, I must say that this thing does the vacuuming for you! I wouldn't have to lug the heavy thing out of a closet, fight with it to get it to the needy spot, and then drag it back and forth so much that my right arm hurts too much to serve more than 3 games of tennis. I also wouldn't have to needle, cajole, or harass other members of my family to do the vacuuming.

I'm not getting one of these things - I got to go see Carlos Moya in the flesh at Flushing Meadow (which really is a better present than the I Robot) - but I can at least have some wistful thoughts while in the midst of holiday shopping.

A thought for a busy time...

Our minds are like crows. They pick up everything that glitters, no matter how uncomfortable our nests get with all that metal in them.

-Thomas Merton

Paolo Nutini

While in Scotland, the Argyll Hotel usually had CDs softly playing in the background. There was one I kept hearing, and I liked it more everytime I heard it. Paolo Nutini's These Streets was the CD. He is a young Scotsman (inspite of the Italian name) who is a singer/songwriter. I found the CD while journeying through Oban, and I have absolutely driven Sonny Boy bonkers by playing it so much. (Hey, I suffered not only through Hilary Duff CDs constantly being played - I even took him to see her in concert!)

Check out Paolo - he's really great. Hope some big time music person in the States finds him soon.

The Prestige

Well, what does Thanksgiving mean in our world today? It could mean pumpkin pies (made with Splenda to fool my brother), cranberry relish, giving thanks. It could mean shopping, shopping, and more shopping. Or it could mean the best movies of the year are finally coming out and it's time to hit the theatres again.

I chose the final option yesterday. It's rare that I don't see a Hugh Jackman movie, so The Prestige certainly fit the bill. It also stars other quite gifted actors - Christian Bale (I still tear up everytime I remember The Empire of the Sun), Michael Caine and Scarlett Johannson. It is set around 1900 in London. Two young magicians become rivals to the fullest over a terrible accident. Jackman portrays Angiers, the dashing showman. Bale is Borden, the lowerclass magicial genius. It is a story of how they hope to best the other, or really, to destroy the other. The movie is well-plotted, with twists and turns and all sorts of interesting facets in the story. It was a relief to see a movie that is not so dreadfully predictable. Some things were predictable, but just when we think we figured something out - something else would happen to turn things around.

The acting was superb. David Bowie even makes an appearance as a mad genius (appropriately so - and did I really think he was that hot in 1985? Lunar, did we really? Well, at least it was better than when I was soooo in LUV with scrawny Shaun Cassidy in 1980.)

Yet, something was lacking in the movie for me. It was certainly a good movie and I would recommend seeing it. As I have been thinking over it, I wondered if my inability to see this as a really great movie was my old standby criticism - a redemptive quality. Obsession does not often allow room for redemption. But that lack of redemption didn't bother me in Brokeback Mountain (still the best movie I have seen in years). I think what was lacking was an identification with the characters. They were fascinating and even sympathetic at times, especially Angiers. Yet, as the movie came to its conclusion and the final face-off with these two magicians, I was unsure for whom I should pull. Angiers seemed obvious, and his words on why he was a magician were powerful - but the words did not match the actions. Actions do speak louder than words.

It was a well done and well crafted movie. Yet, more time was spent trying to make this a clever movie than making this one where the audience was truly invested with the characters. I think that was the flaw - the reason I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen in the movie. My grade - B

Like a Sheep

Here are some of the countless sheep who populate the island of Iona. I heard a rather interesting story about how the backsides became marked, but as this is family oriented blog, I won't go into said theory or its possible veracity.

The sheep were everywhere - many more sheep than people. And they were hysterical. They NEVER stopped eating. Everywhere we went, there they were - moving those lips.

I am lacking a picture of my favorite sheep. She was of the average variety. She was in one of those lush fields, totally collapsed on her side. From her hooves to her ear, every part of her body was fully relaxed on the grass. I thought she was asleep. Then I saw her lips moving - still eating. I've felt like that on occasion - can't move anything at all but my mouth to put food in it. I'm sure I'll feel that way next Thursday.

Cool 13th century nuns

The religious community on Iona has focused around the Celtic religious community founded by Columba in the late 500s. The Abbey (see Thursday's post for a picture) was built in the 13th century on the site of the original Columban community. As Roman Christianity was spreading to the further reaches of Western Europe (and continuing to usurp Celtic Christianity), the Columban community became a Benedictine monastery.

It was not uncommon for a women's religious community to exist near a monastery. In 1200, the Nunnery construction on Iona was begun. It is the most intact ruins of a nunnery in Scotland. Whereas the Abbey was repaired and reconstructed in the late 19th century, the Nunnery has been left in ruins (although quite beautiful ruins). Very little is known about the Nunnery, and very little was written in any of the Iona books I read. However, while perusing the wonderfully written guest book at the Argyll Hotel, it was mentioned that the Nunnery has a She-la-na-gig (a pagan fertility goddess, or vagina dentata/"vagina with teeth") on its prominent South wall.

A pagan fertility goddess on a prominent wall of a Nunnery built in 1200? We do know that a woman named Beathag was the first abbess. We'll never know why the She-la-na-gig is there, and practically no one who writes about Iona seems to care about this, but I can only imagine that Beathag and the nuns must have been women who honored other women and God's gift in Creation.

Iona, Scotland continued

Iona is a tiny island in the Inner Hebrides (1 1/2 miles by 3 1/2 miles). It is one of the more beautiful places have ever been. The waters are blue (like the Carribean), the sand is white, the grass is unbelievably green, and the rocky terrain is lots of fun and provides some really good exercise (hopefully to counteract that great food from the Argyll Hotel). People have lived on the island since ancient times, and a religious community has been there since the late 500s. Here are some more pics of the Island.

Long Hair is Cool, pt. 2

I am interrupting my pictures and recollections of my recent trip to Scotland for an update on Sonny Boy. The avid reader might remember a post not too long ago about Sonny Boy's quest for long, beautiful hair (and not to be a nerd). His school pictures just came back, as you can see. At least he had combed his hair. It is a shame that his best feature (those big, beautiful blue eyes) were hidden behind the veil of very straight hair. But at least his hair was clean.

Sonny Boy has had a hair cut since, but this picture will be around for many, many years to come.

More from Scotland

I'll have a number of ongoing posts about my pilgrimage to Iona (in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland), but here is the beginning. I thought I would start with food. As I anticipated the trip, I actually wasn't too thrilled about Scottish food - the only thing that stood out in my mind was Haggis. Yes, that is a picture of me taking a bite of Haggis - reminded me of those little tins of potted meat which I have avoided like the plague over these past 20 years (and then when Hubby bought some last year for a camping trip - I threw them out - inspite of what I might say sometimes, I do love him and want him to be around for many years :)

The other two pics are of our residence on Iona - the Argyll Hotel - and our group of pilgrims in the dining room (after we have yet again stuffed ourselves silly - please note the mostly full plate of wonderful apple and berry crumble in front of me - I really did try my best for 20 minutes to eat more). The Argyll is absolutely wonderful. The staff is welcoming and extremely helpful. It is warm and cozy and quiet, and the food is absolutely worldclass. One doesn't normally think of gaining weight on a pilgrimage, but it was a real challenge for each one of us not to explode from the incredible food. I think my favorite entree was the Vegan Haggis (yes, that is correct) and my favorite dessert was lemon cheesecake. If you ever travel to Iona, the Argyll is the place to stay.

More to come...

Things I learned from my trip to Scotland...

1. Being allowed to take 1 tube of lipstick on board an airplane gets me real excited.
2. Sheep really are stupid.
3. Sheep NEVER stop eating.
4. Climbing straight over steep, rocky paths when one is dressed like the younger son in A Christmas Story is not easy.
5. It really doesn't hurt to fall face forward in heather.
6. It's hard to distinguish between sheep dookie and mud. (and it's nice to travel with a friend who knows the proper way to spell "dookie.")
7. Towel warmers are a gift from the gods. (unless you bend over at the wrong time)
8. Whiskey really is the best way to take off a cold chill.
9. 13th century nuns rocked!
10. Just when you think you miss your 12 year old son, a mischevious spirit (who must be a 12 year old boy) will do all sorts of funny things to your room (hide books, move rocks, change the alarm clock, wet the inside pages of a book, and even keep lifting the toilet seat over and over).
11. Scottish footballers are gifted at running to catch an 8:30am flight while holding a pint - all without spilling one drop.
12. A ferry ride in the pitch dark over very rough waters is more fun than any roller coaster.
13. It's a pleasure to have a full-body collision in the rain with a travelling, long-haired, scruffy bearded Scotsman who is carrying a guitar.
14. We thought we were in heaven in the Inner Hebrides, especially with the gourmet food - but then realized that God wouldn't let us gain weight in heaven.
15. There exists a man who can say "vagina dentata" (Latin for vagina with teeth) without blushing or stuttering.
16. Vagina dentata can be sung to the lively Disney tune "Hakumamatata" from The Lion King. (Check upcoming posts for more on the She-la-na-gig pagan fertility goddess, aka vagina dentata, and what it has to do with ancient Nunnery ruins.)

Leaving Town

In the morning, I am headed to the GSO airport for a Pilgrimage to Iona, Scotland. It is an ancient and fascinating place. I'll be gone 12 days - so no posts during that time. Check out the website while I'm gone, and I'll have lots of things to post when I return.

More pics from the US Open

Weird Al does it yet again...

For months, Sonny Boy has been singing "Ridin' Dirty" by Chamilionaire. It's actually about racial profiling and has a decent message, even though it makes me a little bonkers. Leave it to Weird Al Yankovic to do one of his best parodies yet.

Check it out - http://music.yahoo.com/video/default.asp?vid=35881672