I am watching…Please Give. Oliver Platt can stare off into space onscreen and Ry and I bust a gut. Anyway, this “indie” film has all the best elements. Like Ry said, it’s ‘very Noah Baumbach.’ I think it’s ‘very New York.’ So, there you go.

From The Huffington Post:

Bargain shoppers — us included — braved the rain in New York City on Thursday night to check out Target’s GO International Designer Collective Launch. The big box store is set to re-release its more popular dresses created by the likes of Thakoon, Rodarte and Proenza Schouler come March 13.

On-hand to celebrate: a bow tie-clad Chloe Sevigny, Liv Tyler rocking a side-swept ‘do and DJ Mia Moretti looking sassy in a number we now own.

Take a look and tell us what you think.

Very cool! I wear Target clothes nearly every day and am proud to say I still have a few of the “very limited” designer items from above

It felt like a full day of paperwork, phone calls, studying and returning emails. I wish I could say I’d peppered in more pop culture fun…it was sparse. But I did get some of This American Life in on my drive around town – how about the elementary school in Brooklyn that allows the kids to make all of the decisions and call all the shots?!  While my first thought was of Lord of the Flies, the narrator quickly convinced me that social experiments – even risky one’s like this – are worth trying and can have benefits. I would love when I have kids for them to have different options like this. But, I’m in Omaha…

Tuesday – This day is flying past me. It’s all a big blur when you are sleep deprived and overwhelmed with work. It’s a miracle to make it through a day like this. I wrapped up the final paperwork for a sale – feels good. I got a major repair on my car finished, managed to clean the house and work out for 40 minutes – all painful. My reward? My husband taught me how to play Dungeons & Dragons. Seriously. So, we aren’t even a 3rd of the way through creating our characters and it has been 3 hours! However, I’m amusing myself to no end by choosing only the most ridiculous paths/qualities for my guy. I think I need to pay an artist for their rendering to hang on my wall – my war wizard is sure to look magical!!!

The Good: Simple, Pretty and Timeless looks are always winners.

The Bad: Too much dress detail = over done and confusing to the eye.

The Ugly: Ooh, girls! Lessons? If you have a big rack, make sure it’s in check. It’s time to stop making dresses with boils growing out of them. Too much sparkle can read Texas pageant contestant meets Vegas show girl. The Oscars are not the time to pull out your renaissance fair costume.

Secondly, I’m a sucker for all things Miranda July related. With that said, I nearly peed myself when I learned that her newest film, The Future, is narrated by the cat who belongs to the couple that the film is about. That sounds adorable, right?! It is also impossible to find a trailer for this one…but there’s an interview below:

After getting juiced up on film news, I did a little Web site work, finished the mileage forms for my accountant, took my car into the repair shop (sad to say good bye to my little green buddy for a few days) and sent my nephew off with his grandma and grandpa.

Now, I’m getting ready to make black bean and turkey chili (fat free and soooo good) and watch the red carpet followed by the Oscars…Yippeeeeee!!!!

My day started well enough. I was up kind of early for a Saturday but felt well rested and ready to tackle the last of some paper work before working out and heading to a film class at the Bemis. Well, I never actually made it to out to help with the class because my car wouldn’t start. Ugh. Awful feeling when you are stranded alone without a vehicle and in a hurry to get somewhere. The day was officially on pause – a long pause. Once Ry got home he filled with car oil and gave it a jump start – success. I went out and collected a couple of more contract signature and picked up my nephew to take out tonight. The plan was to hit up a UNO hockey game but after a huge calzone, game of pool and depressing stop at my nearby Blockbuster that is going out of business – we decided to call it a night. I’m currently watching my nephew and husband play a Star Wars game for X Box 360 and looking forward to watching the Independent Spirit Awards on IFC tonight. Then, it’s good bye to the long, crappy week. Hopefully Sunday is filled with tons of sleep and not much else.

P.S. if you need to smile because you are depressed about your car breaking – you should totally go to cuteoverload.com or check out picture of cats that look like Ron Swanson here:

http://splitsider.com/2011/02/cats-that-look-like-ron-swanson/

Actor in a leading role: hands down, no dispute, total and major shocker if he doesn’t win – Colin Firth for The King’s Speech. I think that is a dream role for any actor and Firth fit it like no one else ever could. He’s amazing.

Actor in a supporting role: Christian Bale is a total shoe in for this. He was terrifyingly good in his role as a cranked out loser brother of a champ boxer in The Fighter. I loved this film and was in awe of every single performance, especially Bale’s. This is an actor that will go to any and every extreme to be as perfect as he can for a film. But here’s the thing with this category – all of the nominees are phenomenal. I would love to see Jeremy Reiner win because The Town was one of my favorite films of the year. Geoffrey Rush probably has a good chance to win for his performance in The King’s Speech – I’m sure it was tough for him to be as magical as he was with Firth being so dynamic in every scene. Lastly, Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are Alright) and John Hawkes (Winter’s Bone) are two of the most underrated talents in film and nothing would make me happier than to see them recognized here. Can’t they all be winners?!?

Actress in a leading role: It seems I’m not alone in being torn between Jennifer Lawrence for Winter’s Bone and Natalie Portman for Black Swan. I’m positive Portman has the popular vote and will probably win. I feel they are both so deserving: Lawrence learned to chop off chicken heads, cut wood and endure real hardship for her role, while Portman took on the grueling task of perfecting the art of ballet – and neither woman had attempted either in their lives. Pretty incredible. I will say, though, Annette Bening could win for The Kids Are Alright – critics loved her in it and the academy seems to favor an older actress in this category.

Actress in a supporting role: Melissa Leo should have won for her leading role two years ago in Frozen River (a great, gritty film that reminded me a lot of Winter’s Bone). So, the academy makes it up to her this time around by giving her the win for her role in The Fighter. I don’t think the other nominees are even half as strong.

Animated Feature Film: Toy Story 3 will win – major hit with audiences and critics. However, it would give me warm fuzzy feelings all over if either of the other two won.

Art Direction: Inception. That film was mental and visual art – so, there! OOh, but the Harry Potter geek in me wouldn’t mind if the Deathly Hollows part 1 got this award, too.

Cinematography: Tough group – I’m torn between Inception and Black Swan for the win. I honestly can’t guess which one will get it.

Costume Design: I really don’t think any one of the nominees stands out…the academy usually likes a period film here but I can sort of see Alice in Wonderland winning because Tim Burton always has such strong vision.

Director: I predict, because it seems to be popular opinion, that David Fincher will win for The Social Network. I think Darren Aranofsky or David O. Russell should win, though. It’s a very tough category because it has 4 out of 5 of my favorite directors in it.

Documentary Feature: This category almost made me cry – where is Waiting for Superman? It was the most impressively impacting, touching and thought provoking documentary of the year and it was totally shut out. Sad. I guess that means Banksy will get to accept his award in a monkey mask for his film Exit Through the Gift Shop (which is rumoured now to be a total hoax). If it doesn’t win, it’s only because the academy is afraid of the Banksy contraversy…if that’s the case, I bet Restrepo wins.

Documentary Short Subject: I have not seen any of these. I’ll guess, though: The Warriors of Qiugang

Film Editing: Social Networking will win – super arty and fast paced. But I liked the editing in Black Swan best, of course.

Foreign Language Film: I usually don’t get to see any of the films in this category until they are on dvd. So, it’s hard to make a prediction…but I strongly back anything Javier Bardem is tied to. My guess is for Biutiful to win.

Makeup: Another guess: The Wolfman

Music (original): The Social Network will have one win of the night that doesn’t irritate me – good job on this one, Trent Reznor!

Music (original song): Probably the Randy Newman song from Toy Story 3…it’s the least annoying of the bunch.

Short Film (animated): I liked Day & Night but The Lost Thing is really cool looking, too.

Short Film (Live Action): stab in the dark: The Confession

Sound Editing: Inception for the win…True Grit has a shot, too – this category is all about the guns.

Sound Mixing: This win could be for The King’s Speech…if you’ve seen it, then you understand my rational.

Visual Effects: see and copy my results for Art Direction here.

Writing (adapted screenplay): Coen brothers should win for True Grit (they made a masterpiece compared to the original version) but The Social Network will probably steal this one, too.

Writing (original screenplay): This is my favorite category of the whole show…it is also a really tough one this year. The Kids Are Alright is a favorite amongst critics, as is The King’s Speech. I think Nolan has a great shot for Inception, based on how original and interesting it was…once again, though, I loved The Fighter…So, I don’t know. This is Really anyone’s category. But if you put a gun to my head and made me choose my heart would say Inception. Why? I want a boldly original film to win original screenplay and I feel like basing a story on real life incidents like they did to make The King’s Speech and The Fighter is kind of like cheating in a way.

Day 20:

Blur. Busy morning of getting some paperwork together and trying to pre-prep my taxes for the accountant. poo. It goes without saying anymore, but I took a break to watch - Sons of Anarchy - it is to me what crack and porn stars are to Charlie Sheen. Then I taught class and tried to watch Big Love. I haven’t been able to get through a full episode this season. Was this show ever good or was I just seduced by the whole HBO/Chloe Sevigny factor?

Day 21:

I took a friend to a treatment at Methodist Hospital’s Cancer Center. It was a pretty big eye opener…I’d been in a cancer center once before in a small town in Maine when my husband’s mother was going through it. There were maybe a half-dozen very ill people and lovely nurses who tended to them in a small, warm room that over looked the river in Augusta. In this experience, there were probably 50 people spread out around a flourescent-lit room that looked like a conference center with over tired nurses that tried to figure out who was next like a hostess at Applebee’s. It was a sad experience, to say the least.

I tried to wind down in the evening with some of Hunter S. Thompson’s Hell’s Angels followed by the new episode of Light’s Out – both good, but I’m emotionally, mentally, physical too tired for anything. ugh.

Day 22:

Super busy day – very early in the morning, I set out to start drawing up an offer on a house for a couple that I truly adore,  got a hair cut, worked out, finished up paper work for OWC, sat in on an OWC meeting, took a friend to practice basketball and FINALLY at the end of the day, I got signatures from my buyers for their offer. After this day, I feel more out of it than a coma victim. I was pretty psyched to see mindless shit like America’s Next Top Model tivoed tonight. Hello, lobotomy.

Day 24:

RE contract negotiations. Phone calls, emails, faxes, clarifications, questions, stipulations – it adds up…to probably 4 hours. Then I worked out, made dinner and found myself with a full evening off from work or social obligations of any kind. Yay! Thursday night NBC! Many laughs and a lot of relaxation with “sexy babies,” old guys running for student council and Tommy Fresh.

Day 25:

I’ve been waking up at 5 a.m. I’m wide awake and ready to be more pissed and tired with each second of the day. A.M. was more RE work, an interesting proposal from OWC and phone tag with awful real estate agents. Beyond work life, I had to work out, take midol, go to a scary coin laundry place down the street (the dryer went bust again) and I read some of my husband’s new Dungeons and Dragons handbook. I’ve been asked to play and since I crack up about D&D guys and loved that ep. of Community – I’m going to give it a very light-hearted shot

I’m now watching Sons of Anarchy DVDs around the clock – that is, whenever I can…I watched one episode while I ate cereal and returned some Real Estate related emails. Then I watched another while I worked out on the elliptical later in the day. I’m so hooked on that show! My girlish gaze has turned from the stunning Brad Pitt lookalike, Jax, to Opi. And – damn – last two eps. of first season?! Poor Op.

P.M. I grocery shopped, watched basketball practices for the Special Olympics tournaments at a high school in South Omaha and stopped by favorite local Blockbuster store at 78th and Cass St. (great location and it has the most awesomely sweet and knowledgeable staff) to get another Sons fix…but alas, they are liquidating and closing their doors in a month. I almost cried as my favorite clerk explained that he had received the news just a couple of days ago. I feel for him so much – where will he go? Surely he can land a job as a clerk or store manager just about any where – but the reality is – that probably won’t be a video rental store. With only a few Blockbusters remaining and all Hollywood Videos wiped out a year ago – Omaha is a Netflix and Red Box town…and as ashamed as I am to admit it – in my house we mostly rely on Netflix, Zune and torrents. I never used to feel guilty about that…but someone else is paying the price for my convenience

19th

It’s great to wake up on a Sunny Saturday with a  migraine, allergies so bad I wonder if I swallowed a cat and dusty rag in my sleep and my eyes are really red..so, I instantly start googling “pink eye.”  Thank god it looks nothing like that! I believe this is a result of sweeping out the garage and vacuming out my car yesterday. God damnit, why do I bother with these things? Anyway, I soldier through the AM with another Sons of Anarchy episode…first one of season two and something so unspeakably awful happens to someone’s “old lady.” I’ve never hated Henry Rollins so much. Also, this seems to be strike two in getting off to a good start this morning.

After an hours worth of eye drops and allergy treatments, I went downtown to the Bemis Underground, this fantastic gallery and home to an artist’s residency program, where every Saturday I’ll be assisting the Ollie Webb Inc. Art of the Imagination program in conjunction with the Rose Theater with a short-film project. The first class went well. The teacher sang “Froggy Went a Courtin’” and the students story-boarded ideas that would work along w/the song for their film. It was awesome – a teenager who has eppilepsy got us started w/Frog’s back story – he’d be returning from war to marry the mouse. Then, another young man had the idea of the story taking place in the city, rather than the country – which is great, because we’ll be shooting all of this downtown. And lastly, a young man who has Autism, wanted the future of the frog and mouse to be a lot like an early episode of Dr. Who. I can’t wait to see how this all comes together in coming weeks.

P.M.

I took a nap when I got back home because I wanted to feel good enough to go to a dinner party. Dubbed ‘Friendsgiving,’ it has become a Thanksgiving in February tradition that Ryan and I have never missed…until today. The nap made things worse, I think. The headache was back in full force and my eyes felt as if I’d attached little weights to them. Awful. So, after much pouting about missing the party, I made Ryan get us a couple of Calzones and I rented Waiting for Superman through Zune on our XBox. Wow, it lived up to the hype as the best documentary of the year – and then some. I didn’t want to watch anything that would make my swolen eyes tear up…and so, this film about our failing public schools was not a win for me in that regard. Ry and I both got really attached to the children in the film – so much so, that I found myself looking for updates on them after the film. Goodness…So, the Oscars are next week and I’d love to see this film win for best documentary. I mean, as much as I’d love to see Banksy accept an award for Exit Through the Gift Shop (word on the street is his “tags” have been spotted all over L.A. this week) I’d love more for ‘Superman’ to get the attention it needs in order to make the impact I fully believe it has the potential to make on our society.

P.M. Property Management Work and then I taught my 2nd Circles class at the OWC. Not a lot of fun pop culture references to throw in here – hopefully more as the week goes by!

Day 15: I am so dull lately – it feels like all I do is work (Spring is all about gearing up for our busy season in Real Estate). I did tons of marketing today before heading off to the OWC to lead a group cooking/eating activity. We made pizzas on french bread and root beer floats w/Pepperide Farm pirouettes as straws. Now, I have a bone to pick with you Paul Rudd’s character in I Love You Man – those little cookies Look super cute as straws but they have no suction! Next time, we’ll use twizzlers!

Day 16: One of the young men I work with at the OWC is moving out of his parents house – they are all super stoked and I was so happy they asked me to help him get supplies for his new digs. We went to Target in the A.M. together and picked up bulk toiletries and other small things – it was a blast. First off, I freaking love Target. Every time I’m there, I have to walk down every aisle and see it ALL. It’s imperative.

P.M. After working, working out and popping an extra-strength Aleve, Ryan and I watched True Grit. I liked it – though, not as much as I thought I would. It was a very family friendly, inspirational story and for the Coen brothers – that seemed kind of strange. I’ve now seen all of the ‘best’ films nominated for this years Oscars – except 127 Hours, which I’m really not all that excited about – but I’ll prob. try to see next week at some point then I can officially rank all of the films – I’m so excited for that!!!

Late P.M. New Top Chef - hello!?!?! Target challenge!!! Such a great ep. And can I get a holla for Padma? Hottest woman on earth.

Day 17: watching the Pujol coverage and puking inside. Why are baseball player so greedy? Take the money! Have some loyalty and stay with your team! Ugh, whatever, Pujol. So, one week until Spring training!!!! Go Red Sox!

I have showings all weekend so I’m trying to get shit done around the house today. I’m making a huge stew which should last us a few days. I’ve cleaned this bitch top to bottom and now I’m going to torture myself and work out. Happy Thursday! Did I mention it’s almost 70-degrees in Omaha today? It’s sweet.

“I’ve got the guilt of a father for you and I’ve got the guilt of a son.” Buffalo Tom

I’m listening to Buffalo Tom (their music makes me believe for a split second that life is as simple as I want it to be) and recounting this fantastic day.

It started with sleeping in until the breezy hour of 10 a.m. and if I’d been up a minute earlier, I wouldn’t have had my husband opening the bedroom door at the same time, proclaiming that he had gotten us breakfast burritos

After eating, I took some OWC friends to the new Adam Sandler film Just go With it…and honestly, if you take the titles advice…it’s not half as bad as Sandlers other fart/dick-riddled travesties. This might be kind of a wank fest since none of the female leads seem to ever be wearing bras – but it’s not vulgar and I really like that Jennifer Anniston seems to be controlling all focus instead of the other girl or Sandler. In short, this film really wasn’t as bad as other media outlets proclaimed. It might not be worth seeing in theaters…but what really is anymore?

PM paid back Ry for his burritos surprise with steaks from Wohlner’s ( a kind of high end local grocer) and we watched the Parking Lot Movie, a cool/hipster documentary featuring the bassist from Yo La Tengo. I’d heard this described as Clerks as a documentary and that was an instant sell for me.

I’ll sign off now while I listen to Explosions in the Sky and wait for Ry to get done setting up my new phone so we can play some Scene It! on XBox. Happy Valentine’s!!!

AM coffee with mom and dad at their place – we watched some of the footage from the celebrations in Egypt – totally amazing! We talked about the importance of peaceful protests and the ways that democracy is spreading through social networking. It was a great talk. I consider my parents to be very intellegent and I love their zest for news and information – I admire the same quality very much in my husband (smartest man I know).

PM After doing some prospecting work for RE, I worked out and became very attached (right off the bat) to the Sons of Anarchy while I was on the elliptical. I really love this show. I totally see the Sopranos comparisons…except, I always found the Sopranos to be kind of a surfacey show and there were way too many obnoxious characters. And this is kind of a minor thing, but I never lusted after any of the dudes on Sopranos the way I do for almost all of the guys on Sons…why are guys on bikes so SEXY?!?

Later PM My new Friday night go-to-shows after being out with friends, having a few drinks and needing some veg time have to be Portlandia on IFC and Eagleheart on Adult Swim. Both super funny and full of awesome guests.

Saturday Feb. 12

AM It’s super rare to have a full Saturday off for me. I am taking total of advantage of having the house all to myself, too. First, a pot of coffee and a couple of more Sons of Anarchy episodes. It’s official – I’m addicted. And I love getting addicted to shows that I can watch tons of episodes of (there are like 30 eps. to go until I’m current – yay!). These guys are so badass – I haven’t been this excited about a show since Breaking Bad premiered…though Lights Out is a close second. Anyway, then I used the elliptical for 40 minutes, did some house cleaning, showered and changed into fresh pajamas…all by 2 p.m.

PM Cheesie horror movie night! We are going to split a cupcake (I haven’t lost 15 lbs. this year by eating my own!) and watch My Soul To Take – the latest teenie-bopper frightfest from Wes Craven. Let’s hope it goes better than when I watched Paranormal Activity 2 earlier in the week…nightmares

When I need some zone-out time on my computer, I’ll hit up etsy.com for vintage Herman Miller chairs and Dwellstudios.com for more modern home décor.

After using the elliptical for 40 min. and doing some Vinayasa yoga, I’ll watch The New Pornographers video, directed by Tom Scharpling, about 10 times…A.P. Mike deserves an Oscar!!!

Lastly, Ry and I will pretend it’s summer and grill some burgers (indoor grill) and drink a couple of cold lagers while we watch It’s Kind of A Funny Story and marvel at all of its magical indie charm.

Wed. Fuck, Omaha is cold! It’s probably 7-degrees with some kind of double-digit wind chill…and I know it’s supposed to be almost 50 by the weekend, so, I’m trying to keep my head up.

A.M. took a client to Panera Bread and talked shop for about an hour. Then I wandered around the mall for awhile and tried my best not to buy anything (I need to really start curbing my crazy spending sprees). And it was especially difficult when I spotted the most perfect summer dress in the Delia’s window. I could totally picture myself – red hair in a high, loose bun with red lipstick on heading out to sip champagne on a patio in this fabulous red-polka-dot dress…Man, I might dream of this one for awhile.

P.M. took some O.W.C. guys to practice basketball (for Special Olympics) at the YMCA. These really adorable little boys (probably 6 or 7 yrs. old) asked to play with them and it really warmed my heart. Usually the kids and even the adults will ignore these guys when we come. It was really nice to see them enjoy themselves with a little scrimmage game.

I read some more of my new Steve Martin book while I watched them. I like it, so far. He has this way of making you long for his subject matter, whether it is a person, place or thing.

Later P.M. exhaustion! Leftover burgers for dinner and maybe another movie? I’m not sure what we’ll watch while we eat – but I’m really psyched for a new Top Chef later tonight and one of our local eateries (Jones Brothers) is on Cupcake Wars, so I may have to check in on their progress, too. Looks like I’ll be having yummy dreams tonight!

Sat. Showed houses for most of the day and went to a dinner for a collegue. A day without pop culture? Not totally – NPR was on in the car and I watched a new Idiot Abroad when I got home. It was awesome as usual. I have such a crush on Carl – what an adorable moron!

Sun. Another really busy day! I chaperoned a dance for the O.W.C. for 4 hours in the afternoon. I was super tired when I got home and couldn’t work out/work on R.E. or my taxes, as I’d planned. Instead, we went and grabbed Sgt. Pfeffers for dinner and watched some of the Puppy Bowl (Kitten Cuties half time was the highlight of the show for me).

Mon.

A.M. This is Ryan’s new Sunday for the time being, so, I try to take part of the day to spend with him as such. We went to Hy-Vee (locally owned supermarket) and had a leisurely, greasey-spoon breakfast. For no reason at all, they doubled Ry’s bacon order and my eggs order. It was rad.

P.M. I showed a couple of houses out West to an older client. Pretty Easy Breazy. Before that, Ry and I hit up Border’s. I bought An Object of Beauty by Steve Martin (I’m a huge fan of his other novels), Hell’s Angels by Hunter S. Thompson (I heard he wrote the last half of the book while high and drunk out of his mind) and the new Patton Oswald book, Zombie Spaceship Wasteland, which is supposed to be geniusly funny.

Later P.M. Every Mon. night in Feb. I’ll be teaching a relationships/boundaries class called Circles at the Ollie Webb Center. I’m pretty excited to have my favorite assistant teacher and a room full of students I’ve never taught before.

Late P.M. I will unwind with one of my guilty pleasures…will it be HBO’s Big Love (in its final season) or the Bachelor (I can’t believe I’m admitting to watching that crap)?

P.M. Unsuccessful short nap, followed by a trip to the grocery store and Vinyasa Yoga (which is mostly just relaxing, breathing and stretching) for 40 minutes. I tried to watch a Jersey Shore episode (2^nd try since the series began) after hearing an A.V. Club podcast about how great it is…hmm, not so much, for me. I get the whole – I watch to be horrified and laugh at them aspect – but it doesn’t entertain me on any other level. I feel like there’s better trashy t.v. out there.

Later P.M. MMMMmmm Jimmy John’s turkey w/avocado. A perfect dinner to scarf down while I re-watch last night’s 30 Rock (consistently one of the best shows going) and bid farewell for the evening to my man who is having a Sons of Anarchy marathon tonight. I swear I will start watching Season 1 soon – I want to get through Season 1 of Justified, first. This is the golden age of television, people – and I won’t miss any of it!!! Thank god for Tivo and DVDs or I’d never get to leave my house.

I type this while I watch the Special Olympics basketball practices at Omaha South High School. Some of my students and pals have been begging me to come watch and I’m afraid I may have opened a can of worms – as I’ve also been invited to watch the bowling and baseball practices. LOVE it. I’m having the best time and watching some pretty amazing talent.

P.M. I spend a lot of time in my car when I do my residential visits for both O.W.C. and my real estate work. Thank god for podcasts. Today I listened to a segment on This American Life about a woman who didn’t know she was pregnant until 3 days before she popped. It was an amazing story…jaw dropping, actually…I’m pretty freaked to find out certain contraception methods and even pregnancy tests can be epic fails…yikes. It was a pretty timely story to hear, though. I’m calling this decade the 2^nd baby boom – I have so many pregnant friends right now – and most of them for the 1^st time. Crazy stuff. Lots of Pressure

Later P.M. Helped out with a painting class at the Olllie Webb Center tonight. We have an amazing new program – The Art of the Imagination (for tonights class we were partnered with some super talent at the Octopus Garden Alliance). Its aim is to offer classes such as play writing, puppet making, photography and painting (just to name a few) to adults who have disabilities (or the intellectually disabled, as People First language would like us to say). It was a fun class. I feel truly honored – not only to be involved – but to have met some of the most compassionate, artistic and revolutionary people.

When I got home, I watched Community, 30 Rock, The Office and Parks & Recreation. This is a big time Thurs. tradition in my house. Couldn’t be happier to have Ry working days again

Tonights Community episode was the best one since the Goodfellas/chicken fingers ep.

Because I felt like poo, I took a few extra breaks: I watched Let Me In the American remake of the prolific Swedish horror film, Let the Right One In. Overall, I liked it more than I thought I would (I hate even some of the “best” remakes out of principal). I liked that it stayed true to the original in some areas but gave little twists here and there. The biggest difference was the overall vibe of the film -the new one was more focused on developing the relationship between the children. It also seemed more gory…but definitely not as scary as the original, which is a minus for me.

Let Me In trailer:

Let The Right One In trailer:

P.M. – I mustered up enough energy to work out on the elliptical and watch the 4th episode of Justified, Season 1. I can definitely see the Breaking Bad influence. Damn – like when the dentist ripped that guys teeth out? I’ll never look at Cameron from Farris Bueller’s Day Off the same way!

Later P.M. – 3 Buck Chuck gives my tired/ill body a little extra remedy. Thank god Omaha finally got a Trader Joe’s – decent wine for less than $40 a case – yes, please. I drank a glass while I flipped through Amy Sedaris’ latest book full of genius hilarity – Simple Times. Thank you funny gal, I really a good craft idea involving rusty nails!

Here is a bit of an older episode – Omaha represents!

A.M. still – workout break includes 45 min. elliptical and 3rd episode of Justified. Not bad – getting better – this episode was a lot more focused. I like the extra actors they use – like the drug dealer/thug  from Weeds and Pam from True Blood. I also got to do some shoveling as an extra workout – screw you winter!

Lunch – With my root beer float and banana I did some home searching for a couple of different home buyers I’m working with and got a little distracted by hand crafted goodies at Etsy.com (this happens to me daily!).

Beard Beanies for kids – finally!!!

P.M. – bloggin making a beautiful red-wine stew, watching the snow continue to fall and looking forward to a new episode of my favorite new television drama – Lights Out on FX tonight at 8 p.m. It reminds me of the Oscar- nominated film The Fighter and a little of The Sopranos, too.

Day 1, Jan. 31st 2011

A.M. – worked for a few hours – mostly on some Web site changes for my Real Estate (RE) gig.

Work out break (45 min. on elliptical while I watch t.v.) – I started season 1 of Justified on DVD. So far, I’m getting a little Wire, mixed with Breaking Bad…but it’s not quite as good. They really introduced a lot of characters and story lines in the first 2 episodes and if Timothy Olyphant weren’t so freakin’ cute – I don’t know if I’d waste time.

P.M. – I worked w/a client at his home for a couple of hours (when I’m not selling Real Estate I moonlight as a teacher/advocate and independent living specialist for The Ollie Web Center). Then I got to drive home on sheets of ice – thanks mother nature!

Later P.M. – Trader Joe’s makes the most amazing turkey jerky in the world. It was the perfect pre-cursor to leftover spaghetti and the new film, Vanishing on 7th Street (available before it hits theaters on Zune), by Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist). While as a whole, it was not as good as his previous works – I still really liked it. It was equal parts oldschool ghost story and sci-fi thriller…and I liked the fact that it wasn’t super scary – only because I really need a good night’s sleep. In fact, it almost seemed more like an M. Night style horror film and that’s fine by me, too.

The Other Guys – This is 2010’s best “adult” comedy by far and I know that people who loved Dinner For Schmucks are reeling over that statement. And while I loved Schmucks, I just thought The Other Guys was effortless and classic and Schmucks tried too hard in some areas. Anyway, Adam McKay and Will Ferrell are such a great team. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen Step Brothers, which was also directed by Adam McKay. It is the most foolish, funny, well acted spectacle of a film since the days of Martin & Lewis and is the main reason I still watch Will Ferrell movies with great expectations. The Other Guys doesn’t disappoint. It’s just as mad-cap and ridiculous and it gives Mark Wahlberg his most watchable role since Boogie Nights.

Despicable Me – What a perfectly short and sweet film made for children that could be enjoyed by adults, as well. I saw it 3 times and felt it was just as fresh and charming each time around. While Toy Story 3 was everyones favorite animated feature of the year, I thought it lacked the same watch ability factor the 2nd or 3rd time through. Sorry, Woody.

How to Train Your Dragon – 2010 was a stellar year for animated films – it will be a shame to see Toy Story 3 sweep the category during various award ceremonies in months to come. Though it won’t help a bit, I’ll still hold my breath during the big announcements for this film. It was smart, sentimental, funny, beautifully animated and made me feel like a kid while I watched it…there was something kind of geeky-cool about the way a lot of my friends also received this film. It felt like we were all in on the best kept secret of the year and it was both a great film and a youth serum.

Exit Through the Gift Shop – Best documentary ever? I feel it’s difficult to describe it without giving the fun surprises away. But here goes…It’s about art, specifically graffiti or “street” art and I feel like if I say anything else, I’ll ruin it for you. It has been my favorite film to recommend this year. Loads of fun!

Inception – I think everyone who saw this in the theater had the same “holy shit!” reaction that I did. I remember walking out and feeling totally breathless and dizzy. It was a mind tumbling, eye tricking experience. Beautiful effects, great acting (Joseph Gordon Levitt as you’ve never seen him – and I already LOVED him) and an ending that kept people guessing long after it was through (until you read a certain interview that shed light on the mystery and I love pointing that out because I was Right!). My only issue with the film was, again, I didn’t think it was worth a re-watch. It also, I’m told, didn’t hold up as well with audiences who didn’t get to see the spectacular effects on the big screen. And there were some complaints about “not getting it” (the story). But that’s really the films fault?

Shutter Island – Holy DiCaprio films. Well, I decided to put this one up so high because I was upset that it came out barely too late to make the cut for award season last year. Again, it was a beautiful film to see in theaters. I loved the set décor, moody direction, dark mystery and most of all the characters – Scorsese is a master at creating incredibly memorable characters. He is so amazing at taking you to a foreign time and place and giving you empathy for the characters in the most vivid way. I found it, overall, to be a perfect mix of theatrical fantasy and bleak realism. I thought it was a universally interesting and cool film.

The American – This is a really cool, sexy action/mystery. It reminded me of a sexier and intellectually elevated version of In Bruges or the The Boondock Saints. It also had this really fulfilling element of romantic travel lust – my husband and I have decided to retire in Italy someday and eat/drink nothing but baguette/wine – fulfilling in a different way.

The Town – Those Affleck brothers do GRITTY so well it freaks me out. Casey was amazing in The Killer Inside Me and and Ben’s directorial debut Gone Baby Gone – two films that make my body squirm and blood curdle with fear and anxiety. Now Ben is finally getting serious in both acting and directing and it turns out he is flawless at both (let us all please try to forget previous films he acted in prior to this one). To watch him in this makes me feel girlish – he’s so charismatic and I love that he’s embracing his roots in Boston with this film. For a Red Sox fan (or any New Englander, I suppose) there are a lot of inside jokes and information. Affleck gave this film many smart personal touches and I don’t need to go into all of them. But I think I ranked this film so high for two reasons: I loved his character. I was torn at first and rooting him for him in a fanatical way towards the end. Secondly, a good crime/robbery film isn’t easy to come by. It seems like once you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. Where bank robberies are concerned, there have been so many films made and only 4 great one’s made (this is one of them). 1) Killing Zoe. 2)Dog Day Afternoon. 3) The Lookout.

Black Swan – I was shocked by this film…in a good way. Where Aronofsky is concerned, I thought Pi was long winded and over intellectual, Requiem for a Dream was a total mind/body screw (and not a good one) and The Wrestler was a strange mix of funny, thoughtful and sad. I went in to Black Swan drawing from A’s last 3 films – I thought (and was right) about a couple of things. He has lady issues. He likes to demonize the older ones, like moms, and dehumanize the younger ones (sexually and morally).  He has an authentic way of telling stories…kind of a Hitchcock sensibility that is both freaky and keeps you guessing. So, Black Swan was a culmination of what makes Aronofsky special and sometimes disliked as a director. It also didn’t hurt that he managed to make Natalie Portman interesting on many levels, for a change. She will most likely win an Oscar for this role and deserve it. One thing to mention, many are describing this film as too off-beat and strange to be a strong contender at awards this year, but I think it could be just the type of film to break those barriers. It reminds me a little of old Hollywood award-winning horror – think The Exorcist and Rosemary’s Baby. They aren’t terrifying films on a visual level. They are (excuse the French) mind fucks – and exceptional films.  I loved that Black Swan was so different. I watched with four other people. One loved that it was very dark, one loved the parallels to Swan Lake and especially the musical score (me), one thought it was very sexy, one both loved and hated some of the film’s weirder moments and one disliked it all together. So, there you go…not a film for everyone…but isn’t that the best kind of film?

Machete – Guns, babes, ridiculousness, action, gratuitous on every level – what’s not to love? This is my #1 because I love, no, am obsessed with The Grind House films of Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. My favorite director of all time is Tarantino because he’s not afraid to do something massively off the cuff and screwed up and totally deranged and offensive but make it fresh, funny and smart – Rodriguez takes those same ides on in Machete and even throws in some thought-provoking political statements regarding immigration. It’s a greatly fun, awesome film…with the warning that you have to have the stomach for it 

Unseen, but likely to make changes in the list: True Grit, The Fighter, Winter’s Bone

Honorable mentions seen and liked just didn’t make the cut: Eat, Pray, Love, Toy Story 3, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World, Going the Distance.

Overrated: The Social Network, Wall Street 2

My favorite new place to shop used to be my least favorite.

L.L. Bean. Wow, I never thought I’d see the day that my mom and a I liked shopping at the same clothing store….and I’m nowhere near my 40′s.

I actually have a funny story about L.L. Bean. My first Christmas with my husband’s family in Maine (we had been dating and living together for about six months at the time) we stayed at his parent’s house. His mom and dad bought his brother’s girlfriend (this was Maureen at the time) and I similar gifts from the town’s L.L. Bean discount warehouse. My “night-gown” was pink, flannel, ankle length, long-sleeve, with a  high bib-style neckline and little puppies all over it and Maureen’s was the same except a different color/animal combo. That was my 1st experience w/what the Bean had to offer and until the day the nightgown was given to the Goodwill (tried on once for a laugh and it was super itchy) we referred to it lovingly as “contraception.”

Anyway, all is forgiven and forgotten. L.L. Bean has a new clothing collection called “Signature” and I’m in love. I literally check their Website all the time to see if there’s anything new. Now, before you start thinking it’s the next hip-girl shop like Modcloth or Anthropologie – let me say this: it’s more for the hip girl who is forced to wear business casual attire in daily life but doesn’t want to wear the same nondescript Gap and Target clothes all the time. In addition to having a modern take on clothing staples, the collection also has a lot of cute day-to-evening dress styles and some really great J.Crew inspired bags and shoes. And the men’s wear? awesome. Best catalogue models ever.