Now, I was raised in a household where unless it was imperative that a movie be seen on the big screen, we followed a "wait for DVD" policy. (Read: poor.) I vividly remember making cases for various films in order to be allowed to see them in theaters. Some winners: Toy Story 2, Spiderman, all Lord of the Rings films.
Based on this principle and my current college-induced state of poverty, I rarely make it to the movie theater. Thus presents the first installment of "Movies You've Already Seen" where I share my deepest thoughts on movies that you have probably already seen, but I just got around to watching. Completely on accident, volume one has a romantic theme. Don't puke yet.
Love and Other Drugs (2010):
No. Just... no. I am not difficult to please in the RomCom/RomDram genre. I have willingly watched When in Rome as well as the classic Harry Connick Jr. work in New in Town. The latter, I watched twice. When my reaction to a film is simply "no," I can't imagine what someone who actually cares would think about it. Following the classic "banging-turns-to-love" plot and adding a chronic disease twist, Love and Other Drugs manages to fit into bad romance stereotypes while giving none of the perks. It tries to be deep, and fails. Anne Hathaway cries too much, and I don't like her face.
Blue Valentine (2010):
This film was really, really great. Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams portray a couple falling in and out of love with almost startling realism. Don't watch the whole film if you want to feel...happy, though. I'm not kidding about the startling realism. If you do want happiness, just watch this clip.
P.S. I Love You (2007):
Due to extreme emotional reactions, I will never watch this movie with another human. I learned this trying to watch it on a Megabus from Minneapolis to Milwaukee and silently bawling for two hours. (The girl next to me had a fun ride. Sorry, girl.) On a related note, let's never talk about it.
When Harry Met Sally (1989):
Yes, I did just see this for the first time two nights ago. I know I'm a terrible RomCom fan, sue me. All I want to know after seeing this film is how many women used it to mess with their guy friends. Seriously, someone reading this, DO IT. "Hey, I have a movie for us to watch! It really speaks to me." And then just stare. No flirty crap, just turn on the movie and deadpan stare. If you don't break character, this would be hilarious. Unrelated thought: I can't hear Billy Crystal's voice without seeing him as the old hobgoblin guy in The Princess Bride. As you can imagine (or at least will after reading this), picturing ol' Billy the Hobgolbin hooking up with Meg Ryan was a horrible, horrible image.
That's all for Vol. 1. I welcome your opinions on these films and suggestions for my next genre and leave you with this gem:
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Keep it Together
This week has been a long one. I have been in sort of a funk lately, and motivation has been low all-around. (I probably mentioned that last time around... I promise it's not a life theme, yikes.) Today was a fantastic change of pace, though! The weather was absolutely gorgeous and I was able to bust out my Birks. Instead of sitting in the office at work all afternoon I got to post flyers around campus and enjoy the sun as well. To add to today's goodness, Mama Roy is coming up to visit Saturday and Sunday, so I very much look forward to that.
If there's one thing I'll miss about winter, it's having a chilly apartment at night. This probably seems like an odd thing to miss, and it probably is, but I would prefer a cold room to go to sleep in. That being said, I'm writing this from my bed which currently has: two comforters, two fleece throw blankets, and one Packer snuggie. I have three more throw blankets ready to go between my futon, under-bed storage, and my car. (Emergency picnics/when my car breaks down on winter country night drives.) I am prepared for all sorts of snuggle-type scenarios with a variety of blankets. As it warms up, I have to put more blankets away, leading to various degrees of pouting on my part. However, considering this is the only thing I like about winter, I'll say goodbye to my barely-appropriate-in-any-season amount of blankets and welcome the warmth.
In an effort to make this post not entirely about a 50 degree day (I'm in Minnesota and that's a heat wave, cut me some slack), I'll mention my weekend adventure to La Crosse. I stayed with my friend Allison and got to enjoy the company of some friends from high school I haven't seen in a long time. Some serious truth circle went down, and there were only minor injuries. Note: If you're trying to physically roll out of a conversation to obtain pizza, be careful. Very rarely is any pizza worth spilling any blood over. All in all, a very successful weekend. The pizza in question was worth the injury, in case you were concerned.
CONCLUSION: My April is off to a solid start, and I hope yours is as well.
If there's one thing I'll miss about winter, it's having a chilly apartment at night. This probably seems like an odd thing to miss, and it probably is, but I would prefer a cold room to go to sleep in. That being said, I'm writing this from my bed which currently has: two comforters, two fleece throw blankets, and one Packer snuggie. I have three more throw blankets ready to go between my futon, under-bed storage, and my car. (Emergency picnics/when my car breaks down on winter country night drives.) I am prepared for all sorts of snuggle-type scenarios with a variety of blankets. As it warms up, I have to put more blankets away, leading to various degrees of pouting on my part. However, considering this is the only thing I like about winter, I'll say goodbye to my barely-appropriate-in-any-season amount of blankets and welcome the warmth.
In an effort to make this post not entirely about a 50 degree day (I'm in Minnesota and that's a heat wave, cut me some slack), I'll mention my weekend adventure to La Crosse. I stayed with my friend Allison and got to enjoy the company of some friends from high school I haven't seen in a long time. Some serious truth circle went down, and there were only minor injuries. Note: If you're trying to physically roll out of a conversation to obtain pizza, be careful. Very rarely is any pizza worth spilling any blood over. All in all, a very successful weekend. The pizza in question was worth the injury, in case you were concerned.
Not from this weekend. Mostly for a context photo of Allison and I being ladylike.
CONCLUSION: My April is off to a solid start, and I hope yours is as well.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wanderlust
As the semester wears on and my level of school-crazy increases exponentially, we can all thank the heavens that the sun is out today and it's a balmy 40 degrees. The crazy has subsided. However, it has been replaced with my intense desire for summer. Too antsy. Attention span at all time low. Ruh roh.
Thus, I'm sitting in front of my computer at work fantasizing about all of the things I have coming up instead of what I should be doing, which is sitting in front of my computer working on this five-page paper. Ah well, everyone needs a break, right? Right.
Anyway! Things in the works/near future:
Thus, I'm sitting in front of my computer at work fantasizing about all of the things I have coming up instead of what I should be doing, which is sitting in front of my computer working on this five-page paper. Ah well, everyone needs a break, right? Right.
Anyway! Things in the works/near future:
- A lot of good ol' Wisconsin time. This weekend in La Crosse to visit some friends, a long Easter weekend in Milwaukee, and then Mifflin Street Block Party in Madison.
- A whole Minneapolis summer! No class, just time to finally explore the cities a lot more and hopefully some serious time spent at any of the 10,000+ lakes Minnesota has to offer.
- Maybe another New Orleans trip to celebrate Annalise and my birthdays?
- Not winter. Finally appropriate weather for me to continue my boycott against wearing pants.
There is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, thank goodness. I'm sure this is a super common complaint from every other college student, but I am running out of steam! I slept 12 hours last night (7:30PM-7:30AM, not even ashamed) out of sheer exhaustion. My current goal is to do better at time management so I can also do better at relaxation time/sleeping at appropriate hours...
For anyone interested, I made a playlist of some songs/artists I especially like to listen to while I am actually taking the time to relax. It can be downloaded here.
Playlist:
- Sounds Like Hallelujah - The Head and the Heart
- Christchurch Woman - Justin Townes Earle
- Greetings in Braille - The Elected
- Brown Trout Blues - Johnny Flynn
- The Temptation of Adam - Josh Ritter
- Down in the Valley - The Head and the Heart
- The Greatest - Cat Power
- Red - Okkervil River
- Chains, Chains, Chains - Elvis Perkins in Dearland
- You Should've Seen the Other Guy - Nathaniel Rateliff
- West Coast - Coconut Records
- Be Set Free - Langhorne Slim
- Dirty Dishes - Deer Tick
- Decatur - Sufjan Stevens
- Your Rocky Spine - Great Lake Swimmers
- Bully - Lissie
- Volunteers - Megafaun
- Hazelton - Justin Vernon
- Terrible Love - The National
- Two - Ryan Adams
Hope you enjoy it! And now, back to real life and real work and a real work out and then really writing this dang paper. Wish me luck.
UPDATE: Now comments from err'body are allowed, so feel free to express your feelings in my general direction.
UPDATE: Now comments from err'body are allowed, so feel free to express your feelings in my general direction.
Monday, March 28, 2011
In the beginning...
Hello, internet. Welcome to my brand new precious baby blog.
I will start with a policy of full disclosure: this blog is purely self-indulgent, a method for me to get my thoughts out of my head that probably don't even need to be shared. I have always been more comfortable with writing things down than verbalizing them (little known fact). This does not mean that I am more eloquent in writing. Far from it, actually. I have the tendency to write exactly how I talk.
So, like I said, this is a self-indulgent experiment that others may or may not choose to read and partake in along with me.
A brief introduction.
I am a college student in Minneapolis, MN, studying American history and hoping to go to grad/law school to pursue a career in education reform, probably in a political forum. I like:
I will start with a policy of full disclosure: this blog is purely self-indulgent, a method for me to get my thoughts out of my head that probably don't even need to be shared. I have always been more comfortable with writing things down than verbalizing them (little known fact). This does not mean that I am more eloquent in writing. Far from it, actually. I have the tendency to write exactly how I talk.
So, like I said, this is a self-indulgent experiment that others may or may not choose to read and partake in along with me.
A brief introduction.
I am a college student in Minneapolis, MN, studying American history and hoping to go to grad/law school to pursue a career in education reform, probably in a political forum. I like:
- Adventures, interpreted almost any way. I include road trips, country night drives, concerts, late night grocery runs, anything. It sounds cheesy, but I feel like if you do something with an adventure in mind, you can't go wrong.
- Conversation
- Music, especially Americana
- America (not sarcastic)
- "Everybody and television!" -Kenneth from 30 Rock
I also like other things, but that I'm sure will come up.
Anyway. I'm going into this whole blog thing with no real direction, because I feel like that will figure itself out in no time. I have a lot of thoughts and feelings; we'll just see which ones come out on top.
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