April 2007 Archive

April 30, 2007
Weekend in Review
Had an okay weekend, I suppose.

Thursday morning, I woke up to my side feeling kind of weird. It bothered me all day, and then Friday, it really hurt. But it was an all new, different kind of pain...of which I've been getting used to, I guess. I hurt too much to go out Friday night and say goodbye to Adkins, who's moving to NJ. Why NJ, I'll never know. I don't think there's enough money to get me to move there. heh

Saturday, I decided I probably shouldn't spend 2-3 hours in a car, so I ended up having to cancel on Sara at the last minute, of which I was highly disappointed. But I think taking it easy this weekend might have been a good idea. At first, I thought a different rib had popped out...AGAIN, but now, I think the bottom one actually went back IN for the first time in like 4-5 months. I think the muscles were just protesting to actually being forced to perform the way they're supposed to. The pain started to subside yesterday, and today it's even less...just a little discomfort.

I'm considering seeing a chiropractor to see if I'm out of alignment. My back has been full of popping goodness for the last year, and it couldn't hurt. Plus, any time a rib were to pop out, I could have him/her put it back in that day. I just need to find one that's not a quack in the Centerville area.

I'm waffling on just doing some cardio after work. I haven't been able to go to the gym for 2 weeks, since I got stabbed at the pain clinic by Dr. Giggles. I'm afraid of popping that rib back out if I go too soon. But I guess this means that the first round of pain management was worth it. It apparently reduced the inflammation enough to get that rib to go back in and stay there. So, I'm not opposed to another round, if it's needed, at my next appt. on the 11th. At least this time I've got it scheduled to be able to rest for the weekend afterward. That might make a big diff.

Yesterday, Amy came over and colored my hair. It's a deep burgundy red. And this morning I got my hair to do this jaggedy thing in the front when I pony-tailed it. I love my new cut.
posted by Karabou at 10:47 PM EST
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April 27, 2007
New Hair

I felt like posing in front of the Trevi Fountain. What can I say?
And now that I've reached Double Dragon level 13 with Photoshop, you will never, ever see a picture of me that isn't altered to my liking. Better living through Photoshop, I say. If it's good enough for Victoria Secret models, it's good enough for me.
posted by Karabou at 10:44 PM EST
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April 26, 2007
Beat
I got home from work around 6:30 tonight and was just totally beat. We had another photo shoot today, this time in Springfield. I was concerned I would run into my former stalker while there, since that's how my luck tends to run. But, I was lucky today and had a blissful day of non-interaction with pretty much everyone. Although, my boss forced me to play patient in a mocked up scene with 2 of our docs, so now my face will be plastered across our marketing material for years to come. ugh. The photographer was getting pissed because every time he was about to shoot, the doc would look at me and say something like, "Thank GOD, it's not herpes!" heh I would HAR! and then have to calm down and get a straight face again. I'm terrible in shots like that.

Kev harangued me into going to Penn Station to get some takeout when I got home, and it was pretty good. The lemonade was to die for. Then, we tried to watch Ice Harvest tonight. Holy god is that movie boring. What's with me picking the most boring movies lately? /sigh We fast-forwarded through the last 35 minutes of the movie, stopping to watch any part that looked like something was actually happening. It made me want to watch Pride & Prejudice (2005) for the 47th time.

And after all this time, the Rick James skits on Chapelle Show still make me laugh out loud. I gotta get those DVDs.
posted by Karabou at 10:33 PM EST
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April 23, 2007
Aleve does not alleviate dreaming
Aleve at bedtime = f-ed up dreams

I swear I woke up every half hour last night from a dream and then immediately fell asleep.

In the first dream, Mike and I are sitting at the club, and this guy wearing loud pants and HUGE white, horn-rimmed glasses lays down on a table next to us. Mike says, "That's Corbin Bernsen. He lives around here, you know." (But really it was a Transylvania 6-5000-aged Ed Begley Jr.) So I walk over to him and giggle and shriek and tell him I loved him in Back to the Future. (Never mind that he wasn't even in Back to the Future, but I digress.) He still looks like the same age as he did in the 80s, and I tell also told him that I've seen him in the museum recently. Then, I'm in the museum with my mom and sister, and I'm picking out these clips that go onto metal bands that made these really weird but cool rings. (Must check into patent.)

My sister whispers, "I think that's Corbin Bernsen over there." And there he is, sitting in another pair of loud pants with big 80s sunglasses on, but he's like lounging on a statue exhibit, and people are all crowded around. So I laugh and tell my sister we should pretend to make a huge scene, like that little teen girl that was sobbing over Sanjaya. So we shriek and scream and yell his name, and he's nodding his head and smiling and waving to all the people around him. We giggle and then move one.

The next dream, I'm in a hospital. And I'm waiting in the lobby for what seems like ages. Finally, a nurse comes over to me, and she apparently knows me. I work at the hospital. She tells me that my yearly physical results have yielded that I have a disorder called Ptui-mui-now, and that it comes from my Hawaiian genetic dissent. (Never mind that I don't have a drop of Hawaiian blood in my family). She shows me my chart, and the disorder name is written in this bubble-party-font with a picture of a luau. She tells me it's very serious, but with a couple days' rest in the hospital, I'll be just fine.

Suddenly, I'm in a hospital gown, and I'm trying to escape. I spent one day there, and I've had it. I'm pissed, and I'm leaving. There are two plain-clothes nurses near the doorway, and they ask to see my wrists to make sure I'm not escaping. I hide my hospital bracelet by carrying a notebook, and they know me, so they don't look too hard. But after I pass them, they have second thoughts and come after me. I start running into the parking lot, but I can't find my car. I'm having to look at all the license plates in each row, but I can't find my car.

I'm ducking and weaving between cars, and they get a security guard with an M-16 to start chasing me. One nurse traps me, and I scream at her that I don't have to go back. I'm not a prisoner, and she can't make me go. So then the two nurses leave, but the security guard is still chasing me. I ask him what he's going to do, shoot a patient? Right. He's chasing me down the aisles, and we pass two teenagers who have very obviously shoplifted who are putting the booty in their trunk. We both stop, and I tell him he has to choose: Me, a patient with every right to leave, or thieves putting stolen goods in their car. He goes for the thieves.

Suddenly, I think my car is in the back, near the cafeteria. So I go running across the campus towards it. Next thing I know, I'm in this atrium that's very Rain Forest Cafe, and my parents are there. Dad says, "Hey that's Brendan Fraser! I loved him in Indiana Jones." (Never mind that he wasn't in Indiana Jones.) And Brendan Fraser says, "Yes, I'm Brendan Fraser!" And he does his remarkably cheesy grin.

The next dream, I'm sitting in a hallway of a crowded pub or something with this guy. I'm lecturing him on how he needs to choose between the two women he's seriously dating because they don't know about each other, and if they find out, he'll lose them both. Both have posted MySpace bulletins that they're convinced he's going to marry him, and I'm trying to tell him that polygamy is illegal. (lol) One of them shows up, and I know she's the one he's going to dump, but I don't say anything. She says she has to go for her daily run, and she leaves. He looks at me, says, "I just have to do this," and he lays one on me. During the kiss, his hair becomes absolutely magnificent...like metro-sexual flowing mane magnificent. The kiss ends, we both say, "WOW." And then we go right back to having the conversation about polygamy being illegal without missing a beat.

Then I had to get up.
posted by Karabou at 8:59 PM EST
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April 22, 2007
Who said the Swiss can't do Mexican?
I've never been so thankful to be back up and able to do move around without being bent over like a little old lady. Hopefully, I'll be able to go back to the gym mid-week. I go back to the pain clinic Tuesday for a check up, and we'll schedule another stab-fest if necessary. At least this time, I'll know how to take care of myself afterwards.
I made Swiss Enchiladas tonight, and they were FANTASTIC. Kev had the idea to add a little taco sauce to them when served, and it was just the touch they needed. Next time, I'll include something like that before cooking. As usual, I left out the onions, but I added red peppers. I think next time, I'll add mushrooms, too. I had a feeling this recipe was going to be a hit. The Swiss cheese is JUST the flavor it needs.

posted by Karabou at 7:32 PM EST
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April 20, 2007
Cold as ice
Okay, it's sad that some whacko killed a bunch of students on a shooting rampage. But I fail to see how it's any more tragic than 127 Iraqi civilians (women & children included) being blown up in a market on Monday. And America blinked, shrugged, and didn't give a damn. I dunno. I think it's sad that it happened but no more or less sad than any other mass shooting, bombing, or genocide anywhere else in the world. So I refuse to play the media's game by not watching, listening, or reading any news about it. Where's the moment of silence and half-mast flags for the victims of Darfur? Or Rwanda? The over 100,000 Iraqis killed during our "war?" Bunch of media-propaganda baloney.

On another note, my side was a bit better yesterday. I made it through work all right today, too. My boss left me off the hook from attending a photo shoot today, but I still had to attend a morning and lunch meeting. I was out of the office from 10am-3pm. Thankfully, I didn't have to walk around too much, but I'm still really stiff tonight.

I called the Dr. office yesterday, and they said this is completely normal. The nurse acted SHOCKED that I wasn't told to take Aleve or Advil regularly for at least a week, even if I didn't hurt much. The problem is, Kev was given all the after care directions verbally, while I was laying on the table traumatized after the procedure. So I heard none of it. This is why they should give you the aftercare in writing, and I plan to tell them that. I might have avoided the worst of the pain I encountered had I known to a) rest as much as possible and b) take OTC painkillers regularly. I had no idea what this procedure was going to do to me, and I could have scheduled a better time to have it done, like NOT during the week with my newsletter deadline.
posted by Karabou at 8:10 PM EST
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April 18, 2007
:(
I had to leave work early yesterday again because I could barely move. If I could have just sat at my desk all day and not been forced to get up and walk around 500x, I'd have probably made it all day. But that's just not the way it goes.

I decided to just stay home and rest today. A hot shower softened up my sore spots in my upper abs. The injection sites are spasming, and they hurt like hell when I move. I guess that's what happens when you get jabbed with a needle, as Kev put it, "like a sewing machine." I really didn't need that visual.

So I guess I'll keep a heating pad on me today and see if that helps.
posted by Karabou at 1:26 PM EST
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April 16, 2007
The New Bored and a Bad M-eunuch.
I tried to watch The New World last night. My GOD is that movie b-o-r-i-n-g. I don't think I have EVER seen a movie that boring, and I watch old, dry, British period pieces with lots of smirking and scowling and weeping. I've only made it halfway through. I can't say there's ever been a movie I had take a break from watching because it was too boring. I've only very occasionally turned off a movie because it's awful. I usually struggle through it because I can't stand to leave it unresolved. If I'm going to hate it, I'm going to hate ALL of it...like In Good Company.

In The New World, floaty-sounding voiceovers are ENDLESS. I can handle a few here and there, but the whole damn movie is composed of montages of spinning in fields with outstretched arms and loooooooooooooooooong meaningful staring between lopsided-caterpillar-eyebrowed Colin Farrell and Q'Orianka Kilcher. I'm talking like 5 minutes at a time of nothing but them making googly eyes at each other...repeatedly.

I grow weary of Colin's "hurt" look. Every movie, he just turns on the hurt look, and it's supposed to be acting, I guess. Miami Vice was so rife with it that I could barely stand it, and this movie is even worse. It's almost as bad as watching Vin Diesel kiss a woman on the big screen. You're screaming and thrashing around trying not to watch, but you can't help yourself. It's a train wreck.

Avoid this movie. It's about as used up and tired as Courtney Love's twat. Thankfully, I'm watching it on Tivo, so it's not like I went out and paid money to rent it. I consider the amount of other programming my sweet Tivo records makes the cost of this somewhere around a 1/100 of a cent.
We watched Munich tonight. My god was that movie at least an hour too long. It was slow and not very interesting. I can't say I could recommend it. Daniel Craig was a skeezy, hot 70s guy, complete with tight jeans. And I'm still not sure Eric Bana can act. But I did love Ciarán Hinds. I've got a soft spot for him ever since Rome.

My side has been hurting today. The doc said it would probably flair up for a couple of days and then subside. I realized around noon that I wasn't going to make it through work the entire day. And by 3pm, I had a raging stress headache from the pain and tightness in the injection area.

I called the pain clinic when I got home to ask if I could take OTC painkillers, and they said it was fine, but it wouldn't help the pain in my ribs. Apparently, when you have intercostal blocks, the nerves are just firing off, and it won't help. But thank god it got rid of my headache. I rarely get them, so I don't deal with them well at all when I do.

I finished watching The New World when I got home. My god, the last half was as bad as the first. It didn't get better at all. The only saving grace was Christian Bale's disgusting cuteness.
posted by Karabou at 10:22 PM EST
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April 15, 2007
Jabba jabba jabba
Had my shots today.

Oh.

My.

F-ing.

God.

I was crying out as the doc was machine-gun-jabbing the tenderest spots of my rib cage, injecting a mixture of anesthetic and steroids. And oddly, it wasn't the so much the needle or the injecting that was horrific. It was the unbearable muscle spasms of my rib cage with each jab. And the best part about it? I couldn't move. At all. Or I risked him puncturing my lung. Joy.

And afterwards, my adrenaline response kicked in, and I looked like I was having a seizure I was shaking so hard. The nurse had never heard of that kind of reaction, but I've had it happen before. My fight-or-flight response is on a hair trigger, thus my annoying anxiety. She got so concerned she hunted down the doctor to make sure that's all it was. And it was. heh

I remember the first time I tried acupuncture, I had that response for the first time. The acupuncturist was an ER doc, and she knew that's all it was. It took HOURS for it to go away that time, and it took a good hour for it to settle down this time.

F--- it hurt. I was hoping to work out tomorrow. I don't think that will be happening for a few days. I drowned my distraught self in Indian food, and I'm tempted to curl up in the fetal position and make small whimpering sounds for the rest of the night.

Now I get to look foward to a second visit in a week if this doesn't take care of it. Hurrah.
posted by Karabou at 8:11 PM EST
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April 15, 2007
Stardust
Has anyone seen the trailer for Stardust? It reminded me a lot of Terry Gilliam's visual style and looks in the vein of Ice Pirates. Watching the trailer made something in me revert back to when I was a kid watching The Explorers in the theater. I'm pretty excited about it.
posted by Karabou at 1:26 PM EST
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April 14, 2007
Nobody likes a dance floor diva.
Finally got to go out dancing last night. Amanda and I played the rousing game of "is it male or female," coming to the 85% sure conclusion it was female. And here's a note for the dance floor: 3 men choo-chooing around the dance floor = a conga line, 2 men = gay. Just a thought.

We didn't stay out late, but it was nice just to get out and see some people again. After one dance I felt like I was going to collapse. heh How the hell did I used to dance for 3 straight hours? I'll get there again, I suppose, but I have to take it easy for a bit yet. I get my shots in the rib cage tomorrow afternoon. I'm kind of nervous, moreso because I want it to 100% work than I am about the pain involved. But I know part of my problem is that my bottom rib just won't stay in. Guess we'll see what happens next week.
We RP'd tonight, and Kev has decided to make every session a cliffhanger to try to encourage us to play more regularly. I've got chanting next weekend, though, and I'm not missing it for anything. So, he'll just have to work around it. Have I mentioned how much I love doing 10d6+14 damage? hahaha
posted by Karabou at 10:55 PM EST
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April 10, 2007
I know why the caged cat paces.
I worked out last night for over an hour and a half and then promptly came home and ate my body weight in Easter dinner leftovers from two family dinners. Kind of counterproductive...but as soon as it's gone, it's back to light fare.
I feel restless. The sunshine and pseudo-warmish weather made me want to go outside and do something, but it's still not warm. I'm thoroughly depressed that it's supposed to rain for the next 8 days straight. I feel like a caged animal on stims.
I could NOT go to sleep last night. It wasn't even an anxiety attack. Around 11pm, I felt like I was going to pass out sitting up, so I went to bed. I laid there feeling deliciously exhausted for about 20 mins, and then suddenly, I was just wide awake. No adrenaline. None of that. Just awake. I read until I finally fell asleep around 3am. I told my boss I was sick because it's hard to make someone understand chronic insomnia and the effects it can have. I just went in late, and I'll make up my hours later this week. But I'll definitely take an Ambien tonight.
I'm going to make an appointment at an Aveda salon in Yellow Springs to get my hair cut. I was going to wait for my spa day in May, but I just can't wait that long. I think I'm going to leave my hairdresser of the last 11 years in the past. I just don't feel like driving that far now that I don't go hang at the farm afterwards, and I feel like I need a fresh start...something different. I went to this place once years ago when my hairdresser was on maternity leave, and I was desperate. They did a good job, but it was a little pricey at the time. My m-i-l went there recently, and her hair looks great and didn't seem so pricey.
Oh, and our taxes? We got away with paying less than $1k. Halle-f-ing-lujah! We even got a $69 refund from the state and a $31 refund from school district (not that I'll ever see that $31 from Fairborn's broke-ass school district). Woot! I am SO relieved.
posted by Karabou at 8:37 PM EST
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April 8, 2007
My name is Cherry...Cherry Darling.
The Grindhouse
The first paragraph is safe to read. Beyond the first paragraph will be spoilers.
This was THE most fun movie I can ever remember seeing. And I was one of 6 chicks in a sold out theater. This was the type of movie that can only be done justice on an opening weekend night. A Sunday matinee just won't cut it. It would be like renting The Rocky Horror Picture Show and watching it in your living room--still enjoyable, but the movie needs the energy and excitement of the crowd push it over the top from being just a movie into being an "experience." The shouting and cheering was infectious. It was a BLAST.

Okay, now the spoilers.


Planet Terror was the first and my favorite. Robert Rodriguez did an amazing job and even managed to pull some decent acting out of some seriously hilarious (but purposeful) overracting. I heard it described on NPR this morning as "A TexMex Zombie Contagion Movie," which fits the bill. Rodriguez is a sheer genius when it comes to making an action film. Few are of his caliber and his genius. I love Rose McGowan for her voluptuous, curvy body, her ability to kick ass with a table leg, and most of all...for her assault rifle bad-assitude. If I were gay, Rose McGowan would be my bitch.

Somehow, even this short guy was super hot.

Michael Biehn is looking old. He is frozen in time in my mind in The Terminator, where he played the kind of dirty, Blade Runner guy that you think is hot in a movie, but in real life, you'd run away screaming "rapist!" if he tried to ask you for directions. It was nice to see him get work. And Rodriguez's regulars all made appearances.

Before the movie is a faux trailer, directed by Rodriguez I believe, for Machete that stars Danny Trejo, and I wish to god it were really being made. I've read INTARNET rumors that it IS supposed to be made a direct to video movie, but there's nothing to back it up except Ain't It Cool News, which I think should be burned right out of the Intertubes. They are so full of crap 95% of the time. The other fake trailers were for a slasher flick called Thanksgiving, which was hilarious and was directed by Eli Roth, a haunted house movie called Don't that was directed by Edgar Wright of Shaun of the Dead, and, my favorite, Werewolf Women of the SS directed by Rob Zombie.


Deathproof was a bit slower, as I expected it to be. There were long monologues and dialogues, which are Tarantino's trademark. Sometimes they're good, and sometimes they're boring. For the first 15 minutes, I was afraid I was starting to get sleepy, but I was actually just bored. It finally picked up after Stunt Man Mike made his first slaughter. And the way the movie ends is fucking brilliant. Kurt Russell plays the kind of guy that makes you think, "Hmmm. Maybe I could I fuck a guy almost as old as my dad." He's that dirty trucker sort of guy that both repulses you and raises your eyebrow at the same time. He's kind of sexy, but you know where he's been.

After that, the movie gets crazy. Zoe Bell is the most AMAZ-ZUH-ZING stunt actor I have ever seen. I think what really surprised me was the reaction of the men around me to the strong, ass-kicking women on screen, "she is so HOT kicking that guys face in!" The scenes with Zoe hanging from the hood of a car had my palms sweating. This was no TJ Hooker camera-mounted-to-the-hood scene. This shit was CRAZY. I wondered why she was playing herself in the film, and that was why. When she started pummeling Kurt Russell with a huge metal pipe, the audience was screaming.

If you are going to see this movie. Go see it next Friday or Saturday night. I promise you won't regret it.

I forgot a lot of the things I had wanted to say because I didn't get home from the movie until after 1am. And despite the fact that I slept off and on all day today, my brain is shutting down. It's after 2am now, so I suppose I should try to get some sleep. I've got a loooooooooong Easter ahead of me.
posted by Karabou at 2:20 AM EST Top

April 7, 2007What Tarot Card Are You?


You are The Hierophant
Divine Wisdom. Manifestation. Explanation. Teaching.
All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.
The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.
What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.
posted by Karabou at 9:26 AM EST
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April 6, 2007
A Taste of...something.
Just got back from a lovely evening out with Sara and Joe, who drove up from Cincy to join us at Taste of the Mediterranean. One thing to keep in mind at that place is that if you are going during peak hours, they're sometimes short-handed. So, be patient because it's going to be a long-ass wait. I feel if I go in knowing what it's going to be like, it bothers me a lot less.

But we had a great evening and found out the love board games and a lot of the same movies/shows we do.

We definitely need to do it again. Should have brought my camera.

I had planned to go out dancing tonight, but I decided that I can wait a couple more weeks. I get my shots in my ribs next Sunday. I can wait it out. That and on the way home there were accidents ALL OVER THE PLACE on 675. The overpasses were solid ice, and cars were wiping out everywhere. Kev more or less TOLD me I wasn't going out. Lucky for him, I'd already made that decision. ;)
posted by Karabou at 10:46 PM EST Top

April 2, 2007
Food...
I considered going to Charleston Falls after work but didn't feel like driving out there. I miss hiking with my old roomie. :( It's just not as fun alone. I used to do it all the time and loved it, but I dunno. It's just not the same. But I guess nothing is right now, really. I can't even bring myself to pick up a telephone and talk to anyone. I've been trying for two weeks, and I find some reason not to. I don't know what my problem is. I've taken to self isolation, apparently.
I haven't even felt like playing WoW. It's not fun to play alone. And it's not fun to always log on and have no one to help with harder quests. I just kind of feel like, "why bother."
On another note, Sunday dinner is usually the night I cook a larger-than-normal dinner, and I try to find a recipe that sounds fairly simple and tasty. No rosemary encrusted wren kabobs with fancy sauce for me, thanks.

Last night, I made chicken cordon bleu and twice baked potatoes, both of which came out great. I used skinless chicken breast stuffed with a flavorful ham (I prefer something like Black Forest Ham) and low-fat, part-skim mozzarella.

I've been trying to work with chicken recipes in an effort to eat more lean protein. And I don't want to have to make a special trip to the grocery after reading the recipe, nor do I want to spend more than an hour preparing or have to hover over the stove to stir or monitor. I want to stick it in the oven and do something else while it cooks. Neither am I terribly experimental, mainly because I hate most condiments, and I don't have the tongue for being able to tell which flavors will mix well.

I always laugh when a talk show host or traveling Food Network stars are sampling some food being cooked for them. They taste it, and you can tell they think it tastes like a cat's ass, but they kind of grit their teeth, force a smile, and talk about how "flavorful" it is. heh.
posted by Karabou at 10:21 PM EST
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April 1, 2007Unknown Glory
I watched Uknown last night. I'm all about the Caviezel. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't spectacular. If you like some twists and turns that aren't entirely predictable, check it out. The upside to Kev's job is that he comes across some off beat movies, as well as gets to check out ones we're thinking of seeing. He's convinced I will <3 The Fountain, and he's probably right. heh

And today, we went to see Blades of Glory. It was pretty predictable, as I suspected, but the skating scenes had me laughing out loud. I think Jon Heder has proven he can do more than play Napoleon Dynamite. He has an excellent physical comedy style, in my opinion. The end pairs skating sequence to the Flash theme song had me almost in tears.
I was so confused by this stupid, stupid woman in front of me who actually WHOOPED! out loud and start applauding when they landed a jump that I completely forgot what I was laughing at and was overcome with "WTF?" And she clapped for so long that I was just about to say something to effect of "ENOUGH ALREADY!" when she finally tapered off. Do people think those moving figures on the big screen thingy can hear them? The stupidity of the human race still amazes me.

It was worth matinee price but not evening price. Rent it, maybe.
posted by Karabou at 10:40 PM EST
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