That’s My Girl

Here’s a shot of S. in her Mudflats boots.

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Well, I’ll be YouTubed!

Here’s what I did Saturday:

If you look very closely, you can see me at the very top of the blue arc.

Nah, just kidding. You can’t see me at all. I promise, though, I was there!

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It’s CineMonday! French Edition

We finally found time this weekend to sit down and enjoy a movie together.  I’ve seen this one before, but I’m glad we put it in our queue- it’s worth a second look.

Movie: Jean de Florette
Year: 1986
Starring: Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand
Genre: Drama, Foreign Language
Rated: Unknown
Runtime: 120 minutes
Stars: Four out of five

After both his mother and uncle die, Jean, a hunchback, inherits a beautiful estate in the French countryside.  Jean is from the city and is determined to make a go of living in the country, along with his wife and daughter.  Unfortunately for him, his neighbors scheme against him in order to obtain the property, which has a hidden spring.

Courtesy of http://www.been-seen.com/archive/2746.jpg.

Courtesy of img5.allocine.fr/…/18/36/28/94/18923760.jpg.

This is a wonderful movie from beginning to end.  The setting is so beautiful it’ll make you want to move to France.  If you decide to rent Jean de Florette, be aware that it is the first of two movies which should be watched together.  Manon of the Spring is the movie that picks up where Jean de Florette leaves off.  You will want to watch Manon because of the way Jean ends.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Enjoy!

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4 Degrees of Separation

No, this isn’t a post about Kevin Bacon. I just wanted to complain about the weather. It was 13 degrees when I woke up this morning, and only 4 degrees when I arrived at work.

Don’t get me wrong. I love Alaska. I love a lot of things about this state. I do not love cold, dry weather. I do not love being outside in the winter. I don’t ski, I don’t go for walks when it’s below 40 degrees. As you can imagine, I spend a lot of my life indoors. Give me a warm, sunny beach any day, and I’m happy.

Hey, my first poll! Do me a favor and vote. You can vote for more than one, if you like.

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Kudos to ADN

I never thought I’d be proud of the Anchorage Daily News. Well, today I am. They have officially endorsed Barack Obama. You can read the full article here.

So, onward and upward, Alaska! Let’s start preparing for the coming home party for Sister Sarah. It should be a doozy!

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Missing in Action/Alaska Obama Event

I admit that I haven’t given this site my full attention lately. I can explain, I really can. You see, I’ve been chosen as one of the lucky few to be a moderator over at the Mudflats Forum. I now get to have a behind-the-scenes look at the forum and all it’s inner-workings. I love the other mods and admins over there, and I hold them all in high esteem. I am fortunate to be allowed behind the curtain, so to speak, into the inner sanctum. Please, join us at the forum. It is what you make of it, and personally, I’m having a blast. You are all welcome to come and enjoy the ongoing discussion.

In other news, this morning I spent an hour and a half in 25 degree weather (my hands are still numb from the cold- kind of makes it hard to type) at an Alaska for Obama event. This time, we were instructed to come wearing black pants and ready to make a larger-than-life Obama sign out of human bodies. Good thing I happened to wear my blue down jacket, because soon after I arrived at the Park Strip, I realized that I must have missed part of the email. There were a suspicious number of people wearing red. Especially for an Obama event.

So we split up into three sections: those wearing red, those wearing white, and those wearing blue. We stood around for awhile while the organizers did whatever it is that organizers do. Finally we got into formation. We started with the American flag, and then moved into the Obama sign. It was fun but very cold. I should’ve worn my hat, and my heavier gloves.

Here are the pictures I took at the event. I had heard that the pictures and/or video will be posted over at the Obama site, but I don’t know when or if that will happen. If I hear anything, I’ll post it here or over at the Alaskan Lodge in the Forum.

Oh, and I guess there were about 1,000 people there. Yippee!

If you squint, you can see the guy with the camera in the hotel room

A real Alaskan bear

Senator Obama mingling with the crowd

UPDATE: We made the paper! There’s an article and picture of the flag from the hotel window here.

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I *heart* Colin Powell

Some will say that Colin Powell is giving Barack Obama his vote simply because he is African-American. Watch this video and tell me that General Powell hasn’t given his endorsement a serious amount of thought.

Obama/O’Biden ’08!

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It’s CineMonday! Austen Edition

Movie: Becoming Jane
Year: 2007
Starring: Anne Hathaway, James McAvoy, Maggie Smith, James Cromwell
Genre: Romance, Drama
Rated: PG
Runtime: 120 minutes
Stars: Three out of five

Courtesy of http://www.abc.net.au

I wasn’t all that excited to watch this movie, and I can’t tell you why. I mean, I don’t know why, not that I can’t tell you why, like it’s a secret. It’s been a long time since I’ve watched a movie set in the 1800’s, and I guess it just didn’t light my fire. Anyway, it turned out to be a pretty good movie.

It’s based on the true story of what happened to Jane Austen when she was a 20-year-old aspiring writer. She falls in love with an insufferable womanizer at the same time that a wealthy young heir offers to marry her, even though she does not love him. For those of you that have read Austen’s novels, you will recognize a common theme here. I won’t spoil the ending for you…you’ll have to watch the movie for yourself.

It’s worth a rental, and is especially fun for women. My husband refused to watch it with me.

Enjoy!

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It’s CineMonday! Favorites Edition, Part II

I can’t believe another week has gone by without me watching a movie. Netflix is really getting their money’s worth with us lately. My problem is, now that the shows are back on cable, we just don’t have time for a movie during the week. For some reason, we didn’t feel like watching one on the weekend, either. I’ve got Becoming Jane and Mannon of the Spring/Jean de Florette sitting next to the DVD player, begging me to watch them. They’ll just have to wait.

Meanwhile, I’ll have to review a favorite again:

Movie: Chasing Amy
Year: 1997
Starring: Jason Lee, Ben Affleck, Joey Lauren Adams, Kevin Smith (also wrote and directed the movie)
Genre: Comedy
Rated: R
Runtime: 113 minutes
Stars: Four and a half out of five
Times I’ve seen this movie: about 20

This is another movie you do not want to see with your parents. Unless your parents are swingers. That curse. And drink. And are gay. Chasing Amy is about Holden and Banky, BFF’s since high school, who now work together on Holden’s comic book series. Holden falls head over teakettle for Alyssa Jones, who turns out to be a lesbian. Holden decides that it’s okay to just be friends, but then just has to profess his undying love for Alyssa. Hilarity ensues.

This is one of my all time favorite movies. One of the best scenes is toward the beginning of the movie in the bar, where Banky and Alyssa are trading “scars from sex” stories while Holden rolls his eyes (Alyssa’s stories all involve girl-on-girl action, which Holden finds horrifying, since he just found out she’s gay and therefore has no chance with her).

If you are a fan of Kevin Smith movies, you will love this one. There are plenty of recurring characters, like Jay and Silent Bob, as well as recurring actors, like Brian O’Halloran from Clerks, Matt Damon from Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back and Dogma, and Scott Mosier from…well, every single Kevin Smith movie. One thing about Kevin Smith is, he sure likes to hire his friends.

If you haven’t seen Chasing Amy, please do. You won’t regret it.

Enjoy!

http://www.viewaskew.com

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The People of Wasilla Have Spoken

In the first days after Sarah Palin was chosen to be the Republican VP candidate, there was much talk about who she was and what she stood for. Anne Kilkenny, a brave soul from Wasilla, spoke out about Palin because she felt that she needed to share her story. There were so few people willing to speak about Palin for fear of retribution, that Anne’s story went viral. This was a woman who knew Palin from the inside, like few others did.

Now the people of Wasilla are coming out of the woodwork, ready and able to tell their story. They are even putting their names and faces out there for people to see. They are no longer afraid to tell the truth. Their project, named The Wasilla Project, is for anyone who is interested in hearing their side of the story. Click HERE to visit their site.

I am proud to be an Alaskan, but not for the same reason that many others who live here are proud. I am proud of those that are standing up for what’s right and for what they believe in. I’m a proud Alaskan not because of Sarah Palin, but in spite of her.

Oh, and just for fun…

Projection on 10/8/08, http://www.fivethiryeight.com

Hee hee!

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