In the Here and Now

Skipping over the last year…

I just finished Season 5 of Drop Dead Diva. Loved it.
I also just read Where'd You Go, Bernadette? Best book I've read in awhile. And I've read a lot of interesting books recently.

Writing has been on my mind a lot recently. Maybe I'll get beyond a blog post soon.

Thirtieth Olympiad

I love the Olympics. I fall for every ridiculous, cheesy overdramatized moment. I cry at the truly dramatic ones. I get into it. And yet, after a long weekend away with my family, when I wasn't taken away every day by work and instead could enjoy the Olympics at least in the background for four days straight, I think I may have reached saturation. Except that it is still on in the next room as I type this. So...addiction? Yep. It's only four more days and then I have to wait two years, so I may as well enjoy it. Maybe some day I'll even get there (as a spectator...I've long since given up dreams of making it there as an athlete...)

Favorite moments so far (either viewed, read about, or watched online)
Team USA beats Canada in soccer to get into the gold medal match...that was drama!
Missy Franklin...pretty much everything she was a part of, including that Call Me Maybe video.
Misty May-Treaner and Kerri Walsh Jennings three-peat in sand volleyball...their celebration was pretty epic.
Men's basketball players popping up at all of the events to show support...seriously, if you could, wouldn't you? (This also goes for the royals.) So fun!

I'm kinda sad that I haven't gotten more time in watching the lesser known sports like water polo, judo, and archery. But there is only so much time in the day...and I so love them all!

News of the Lonely

My house feels a little lonely tonight, as much as a I love it. I think it is the darkness so early and the fact that I'm too cheap to turn on heat yet...but also maybe I could just use some company.

Just wanted to say that I am now working on house project 3 with 4 in the coming quickly better plan stages. I will post photos...eventually. Let's just say the floors in 1/2 the house look MUCH better--thanks to my bro! Also, for the record, I have officially fixed a toilet for the first time. And ripping up carpet can be tricky.

Sports: Now that the Twins are out :(, go RANGERS!

TV: All the good shows have started again. I'm doing my best to keep up...and sometimes failing. Okay, often failing. But I've managed to keep up with The Good Wife, which has been excellent.

Movie: I watched Lilies of the Field this week (in two parts.) It was a very interesting movie. I didn't know anything about it other than that Sidney Poitier was in it. All I could think was "this movie never would be made today." Also, it has one of my favorite songs in it. Pops into my head all the time whenever I hear or say "Amen." :)

New thing: I'm going to a conference this weekend. I've never been. And I'm sure it will be interesting even though not completely applicable to my daily life. I'm excited to hear some new things. I will have to see how my introverted personality makes it through the experience...I always intend to push outside of the box a little...but I'm never quite as successful in practice as I am in my imagination.

New thing 2: I doing it. Next month. National novel writing month. I'm not sure when I will fit it in, but I'm determined. I have the idea (partially started even); I'm going to try to outline further one of these days and then write, write, write in November.

patience

Patience is a virtue they say...mine is wearing thin. You see, I finally bought a new dishwasher (step 2.5 in home updating) and it is being delivered this morning. But they haven't called yet, and I'm getting very impatient...because I have to go to work and I have many, many things to do there. Ack!

In the meantime, I'm trying to make the best of my 1/2 day off by accomplishing some projects...and then I just decided to update this instead. So here's what I'm inputting these days...

holidays: I came up with a fun idea for a Christmas card...I will show it to you if I manage to pull it off. (This begs the question why do I make it so complicated, right?)

sports: The Twins clinched this week. I can not tell you how obsessed I am, because it would be embarrassing :) I can, however, tell you that I both went to a game this week and am wearing a Twins sweatshirt right now (if that gives you any idea.) I love them all and I can't wait to watch/listen to them keep winning!

TV on DVD: FNL update--I just finished season 2 and it was excellent. I love the evolution some of the characters are taking. It is incredibly realistic. I also just started watching The Vampire Diaries season 1. I started watching it last season, but got too far behind. Now I'm catching up. It may seem cheesy--but it's a very well done dramatic cheesy.

TV: Glee started this week, and sadly that is the only currently airing show I found time to watch this week. The new TV season looks excellent, but I don't have tivo/dvr or the time to keep up. I am hoping to watch Hawaii 5-0 though.

travels: I went to or through South Dakota twice this month. You may ask why I would do that...well, it's all about the people really. The first weekend was for Lifelight south of Sioux Falls. It is an excellent (and free!) Christian music festival: favorite performers of the weekend=Group 1 Crew. I went with a few really good friends and we had a fantastic time. The second weekend was traveling through SD with a few friends to go to a Christian women's retreat in Nebraska. The retreat was excellent and very renewing.

music: The newest disc to catch my fancy: Rebel by Lecrae. This is one of my favorites so far.

books: I read Water for Elephants earlier this month. Very interesting and quick read. Now I'm reading A Concise History of China. It's a little dry and there are lots of names (really hard to keep straight!) but it is really interesting and about a subject that I know very little about. I'm powering through and should be done next week.

Got any recommendations for me? I would love to hear them.

09/02/10--look kinda familiar?

I never would have thought of it, but I'm glad someone pointed it out.

effects

I've been in a bit of a funk* recently--a multi-faceted funk (which is my way of saying it is too complicated to explain.) But, for me, funks often spur a greater desire than usual to escape in a good book, movie, TV show, concert, or game...(I don't actually recommend this plan, however, because it rarely clears up the reason for the funk. Avoidance is not really helpful, but it can be entertaining :)

books
Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead
The House of Night series by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

movies
Daybreakers
Valentine's Day
Sweet Land
Leap Year
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
It's Complicated
The Other Man
Post Grad
Public Enemies
The Hangover

TV shows
Lost (see previous post)
Glee
The Good Wife
random channel flipping :)

TV on DVD
Battlestar Gallactica (I have one disc and one movie left--if only blockbuster had sent them in the right order!)

concert
Glee Live!

games
I'm currently really obsessed with soduku (which goes hand-in-hand with listening to baseball...)

videos
I watch random videos that people post on FB or tweet about all the time, but this one is definitely worth sharing: http://tiny.cc/77gtw (courtesy of NPH) and it kinda connects to the next subject...

sports
baseball (go Twins! Oh, and I got a surprise trip to the game today; even though they lost, it was still fun!)
soccer: I'm a World Cup fan, I admit it...there is something really beautiful about an event that brings together people from all over the world; I love feeling like I'm part of it.

*When I first wrote this I just used this word because it was appropriate. But when I went and reread it, I realized it could be construed as a very clever homage to a much debated (or much maligned?) Glee episode. Just wanted to clear up that I'm not actually that witty, but I wish I were. :)

Lost! Lost. Lost?

Well, it's over. And I want to say thank you.
Thank you for giving me plenteous discussion material to bond over.
Thank you for expanding my mind.
Thank you for beautiful scenery.
Thank you for poring your heart into it.
Thank you for doing it on your terms.
Thank you for not being perfect.
Thank you for leaving me wondering.
Thank you for letting faith and love and connection be the end.
Thank you for actually giving it an ending.

Easter Greetings!

Busy weeks are flying by right now...

Easter weekend was dazzling though, so I will fill you in on that and leave out the rest:

Maunday Thursday was church and choir.

Good Friday was church, in which we (the choir) sang a wonderfully fitting song, "He Suffered and Died" by Jay Althouse. Then, I watched a movie. It was, unfittingly, The Hangover. It was better than I thought it would be (and it was only from rave reviews by people I trust that I watched it in the first place.)

Saturday, after some light cleaning, I took my first trip to Target Field with my friend Heidi and her in-laws. I smiled a lot. And looked around a lot. Pretty much I was ecstatic the entire time. Heidi even snapped a picture of her favorite player hitting his first home run in Target Field. (And they won!) My drive home was uneventful (thankfully) and then my brother Jason fixed the latch on my trunk (yay brothers!) This was followed by an evening of food, cards, and The Hurt Locker. First of all, Jason makes an excellent steak. And I'm honored to tell you that he included many fruits and vegetables with the meal. Secondly, I love Little Caesar's crazy bread. I think it is a weird connection to my childhood. Finally, Tony and I won both games of Pfeffer. And, I had a great discussion with Tony about the movie afterward, which was great because it is that type of movie...and Tony is in the military, so he had a great viewpoint to offer.

Sunday included a wonderful Easter service and chats with friends followed by Mom's excellent cooking, last week's episode of Lost, a walk at the local nature preserve, a drive back to my place (while talking on a headset with my aunt for 90 minutes), more cleaning, my side job, and an interesting journey on this website leadme.org. Oh, and this post!

the quick list

What I'm inputting right now...

TV
Fringe, season 1 (on DVD)
Battlestar Galactica, season 3 (on DVD)
Angel, season 5 (on DVD)
Lost (you should hear the way I say this in my head...)
The Good Wife (sometimes)
Castle (most weeks)

movies
Avatar
Precious
The Blind Side
Best in Show
Coraline

books
The Late Bloomer's Revolution (Amy Cohen)
Blue Bloods series (Melissa de la Cruz)
Unveiled (Francine Rivers)
Size 10 Is Not Fat/Size 12 Is Not Fat Either/Big Boned (Meg Cabot)
Vampire Academy (Richelle Mead)
The Picture of Dorian Gray (Oscar Wilde)
Great Than (Mark Tabb)
In the Woods (starting soon)

music
cds:
Mute Math
Paramore
Parachute
Casting Crowns
concerts:
VOTA
Stellar Kart
Barlow Girl
Remedy Drive
Run Kid Run
Family Force Five

Blogs/sites/social networking
Living the Swell Life
Rinse Repeat
Food for My Family
FB
Twitter
Lerner/Carolrhoda
Shelftalker
Publishers Weekly
Axe Cop

Christmas Cards Later

I intended to make my next post about my Christmas "cards" this year, but I haven't taken pictures yet (because this is somehow too difficult I guess) so for now...

I've been watching the most bizarre things recently. And when I say watching, I mean listening as I clean or pay bills or something. First there was a PBS special on choral music...who knew Minnesota is considered the premiere place for choral music? Then I caught Morgan Spurlock's documentary on the Simpsons (do you remember when that show was incredibly controversial? Anyway who knows Mr. L knows what I mean.) Oh, and I am quite embarrassed to admit catching about 10 minutes of a truly awful, trashy reality show with a conveyor belt (I'm trying to block that one out.) And I watched the first episode of American Idol, which wouldn't be odd for most people, but it is for me...I've never really gotten into it. I appreciate though that they showed more of the good singers and fewer of the crazies...some days I don't need to be reminded those people are out there.

I'm on season 3 of Battlestar Galactica now; wow, did they speed that thing up or what. The mini-reboot was great. I'll see if I like it now that they are back on Galatica.

Ah, and as a Minnesotan and a sports fan, I'm excited to see what happens with the Vikings this weekend. No, I don't always watch, but I'm always rooting for them anyway even when they are bad (down with naysayers!) unlike this year. And as a double bonus, I get to hang out with my sil T and her son A. Off is E--my guess is he's watching the game with the boys.

It's Officially Fall

Both by the calendar and by the weather (in MN) it is officially fall now. The leaves are even changing. I like the change...opens up a whole new part of my wardrobe.

So, what's been entertaining me recently? Well, lots actually. First, a few links:
Because, yes, I'm a lover of punctuation. Aren't you?
Seriously, who comes up with this stuff? And yes, I kinda want to go.
This is just fascinating and slightly entrancing.

This next one has a story. I work for a publisher and occasionally have to find a photo for a book. We often use Getty. So I was looking for a photo of a gas station in the 1970s (specifically during the gas shortage) and I get about ten photos with this caption: Clapton in a Jumpsuit. Don't believe me? Try it. Refine by date (1970s) and make sure editorial is checked. Made me laugh, so I thought I would share.

I'm now on season 2 of Battlestar Galactica. But as I'm also watching a few new Fall shows (and a couple of old ones) I'm having trouble finding time. On the lineup: Castle, The Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother (when I'm home in time), The Good Wife, Glee, The Vampire Diaries, N3mbers, and, well, you get the picture. Been painting too (one for my friend Megan and finishing Bec's) and while doing so rewatched Veronica Mars Season 1. Amazing TV. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.

Negligence pt 2

The negligence continues...life has been busy. And yet, it is one of those things that when people ask me "with what?" I struggle to answer. Bizarre. I guess the short answer is I have a lot of little things to do which fill all the time without being interesting to anyone other than me. Plus I am looking for a condo; although that has been more mental effort than physical effort recently. It sure is stressful. Oh, and work has been busy...

Anyway, new stuff...
I watched Thirteen, Whale Rider, and Spiderman 3 in the last few weeks. Unfortunately, I had to piecemeal the first two. They were both really good movies, albeit Thirteen was hard to watch, especially for someone who wasn't tempted by those vices in junior high, high school, college...or ever. But it was definitely worthwhile to open my eyes to what others go through. Whale Rider was culturally interesting and made me think about gender roles. Spiderman 3 was about what I expected...which wasn't much...and, yes, I did fall asleep and have to rewind.

TV
Lost. Loved the finale. Others were disappointed by the white light and wanted another scene. I thought it was perfect. My favorite part: Rose and Bernard. The writers look at what people want and then give it to them in their own special way. Fabulous.
The rest of my TV watching is pretty much on hold now for the summer. I don't really watch reality TV on a regular basis...

Music
I've been on a crazy music binge recently. (This means I need to stop letting myself go shopping; see above mention of my spending tens of thousands of dollars in the near future...) Top two: Eric Hutchinson and Mat Kearney. I'm very much a mood listener though, so some of the others may pop up to the top in the near future.

Paintings
I painted this for my friends Kate and Rob for their wedding (I hope they like it!) Kate, and now Rob, like to swing dance...


New Things
Trying new things is one of my favorite ways to be entertained (even if I never do it again.) This past weekend, I had the opportunity to play paintball with some friends of mine (and a few people I barely know.) It was very, very fun. And exhausting. And a little painful. Jon or Joel mentioned that the really direct hits aren't quite as painful as getting punched, but pretty close...well, I've never been punched, but now I think I have a good idea of what it feels like. :) I don't think I will feel the need to play very often, but I hope to play again someday. Related note: Nathan, one of the guys I played with, sent this link today:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8067908.stm
Read it. It's funny and thought provoking...and the comments that I read were pretty high caliber, which is not always the case...

So, while I haven't been posting much, I have been busy finding entertaining things to share. Doesn't that make it all better?

Negligence

I've been very negligent. And now I will have to catch up, which will be even more time consuming than usual because my memory isn't that great (hence starting this blog) so I will have to retrace a few steps to figure out what has been entertaining me recently. Let's go for the current highlights and I will work my way back:

Music: Mat Kearney has a new album coming out in May. The single is awesome and I'm looking forward to the new record. Listen here.

TV: After watching very little TV for the last eight months or so, I have suddenly become much more engrossed again. Top picks are Lost (still) and Castle and The Unusuals (more on those at a later date.)

Books: I went on a self-imposed fiction fast for Lent, reading only news magazines, specifically Newsweek and Time. Some great articles and a lot of not so happy news. Sometimes you just have to say "ugh." I decided to reenter the world of fiction on Easter Monday with Wuthering Heights, a classic that I had not read. This doesn't really up the good news factor, but I'm almost done and the ending promises to have a glimmer. Next up is a book my uncle wrote about growing up in South Dakota in the 1930s and 1940s, It Takes Cow Chips to Make Dinner. Should be interesting.

Internet: I joined Twitter and am finding it fascinating. I haven't figured out all of the ins and outs yet, but let's just say the entertainment factor is make or break based on who you are following. JM is random and funny, which I find wildly entertaining. I also watched a video of a Charlie Rose interview with The Dave Matthews Band tonight. Charlie Rose is special. It's just him and a guest talking and yet his fascination and adept questioning just draw me in every time. Still, I don't manage to figure out when he is on normally...Finally, I discovered, when looking for info on new albums, that John Mayer is chronicling the writing of his forthcoming album on a newly-revamped sight. I love this kind of insider stuff. Creative people and the creative industries fascinate and entertain me, and I like to get inside their creative sphere...if you feel the same, check it out.

Movies: There has been more than this, but the most recent is Traitor. Don Cheadle and Guy Pearce are great actors and this movie was wonderfully layered and honest. Worth a second watch when I have more time to devote more attention. I also recently watched HSM3 with my roommates--another example of cheesy entertainment at its best. I preferred the first one I think, but this one had its moments too.

Output: I inherited (in a manor of speaking) a guitar. And now I want to learn how to play it. It is a goal for the coming year.

As a last gift, I bring you a link to hilarity that my roommate shared with me.

Oscars, Lost, Mentalist, and bad reality TV

I watched the Oscars on Sunday. I'm not sure when the last time I watched an entire Awards show was, but it has been awhile. It always helps to know someone who really cares and talks about it so you know what is going on (thanks, Jen!) It also helps to have your roommates watch with you so you can talk about gowns, crazy speeches, and lame cut shots of exes.

My biggest feeling after watching the Oscars: wanting to be a part of an inclusive group like that again...really collaborative...team-like. I was on a lot of teams and in a lot of groups in my younger years...I kinda miss that. Plus, I think working on movies would be incredibly fun hard work.

Becky (one of the aforementioned roommates) wanted me to mention The Mentalist because every time she has that show on it sucks me in...he is just so charismatic and interesting; his interpersonal skills are so unique; and he is so cute. He is also surrounded by amusing side characters. Still, I haven't made the leap into knowing when it is on to keep watching...

I do, however, make a date for Lost each week. (No, not an actually date, but I know when it is on even if I can't watch it then...) This season has been great from my point of view. I'm excited they are back and can't wait to see what crazy things the producers have cooked up...somehow I don't think they are in the same time as the other survivors yet, but I've been wrong before. I was right, however, in my guess that the helicopter pilot, Frank, was the pilot on the Ajira flight--I could not have been more excited, as everyone I talked to about the show in the last week will tell you (since I made sure to point this fact out to them.)

Bad reality TV--yep, I'm still embarrassed, but my roommates and I watched the finale of True Beauty this week (at least its over!) It was painful, but at least the person we thought should win did: she was, in essence, the least vain person in the house. I was mildly shocked when I realized how little intelligence the finalists had. For some reason, I think the average person is brighter than they are--must be because I have so many highly intelligent roommates, friends, and family members. :)

Reality TV

I don't really like reality TV. I've only watched Project Runway and Top Chef on a regular basis. But I can get sucked into just about anything for an hour once in awhile...which is why I spent about 40 minutes tonight watching True Beauty. It is kind of a train wreck--not really all that compelling, completely fake, and painfully entertaining. Of course, watching it with roommates always makes it more entertaining, so if you are gonna give it a try, I recommend watching it with others. Then at least you can scoff together.

N3mbers

I have always loved TV, but recently I have slowed down, partially due to the distraction of some excellent reading (see previous post) and partially because it hasn't been keeping my interest. Really, the only show I make sure to watch any more is Lost. The only other show I have watched on a regular basis is N3mbers, which has a great dynamic and some crazy math and a slew of interesting side players. My appreciation of this show, along with Big Bang Theory (which I only get to watch when my regular Friday plans fall through), led me to a revelation--I like watching smart people. Someone finally figured out that smart people deserve to be on TV as something other than nerds with highwater pants and big black glasses. I'm very happy about it. Happy viewing.

LOST!

Love it. Love it. And I'm very excited the new season started this week. My favorite part of this show...trying to figure out what in the world is going on! I love the confusion. And I'm confident that when it is all said and done, the creators will let us in on all of the secrets. I'm considering a serious fest at some point after all is done: one week, 6 seasons, a little exercise, and lots of food! (No working allowed.)

And while I'm on the subject, the guy at EW.com, Doc Jensen, has an amazing recap every week (Thanks, Jen!). If I were more insightful, I would fight him for his job :)