Movie in the Making

This really excites me!

I thought the book was really well done - especially if listened to.

The idea of a movie is awesome and since I love Abigail Breslin the casting couldn't be better in my mind. I'll have to keep an eye on this one.

Yes We Can

I know it's propganda. I know. But regardless of who really wrote it, I think the speech and delivery are great and the video that follows is neat.

It was a creed written into the founding documents that declared the destiny of a nation. Yes we can. It was whispered by slaves and abolitionists as they blazed a trail toward freedom. Yes we can. It was sung by immigrants as they struck out from distant shores and pioneers who pushed westward against an unforgiving wilderness. Yes we can. It was the call of workers who organized; women who reached for the ballots; a President who chose the moon as our new frontier; and a King who took us to the mountaintop and pointed the way to the Promised Land. Yes we can to justice and equality. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity. Yes we can heal this nation. Yes we can repair this world. Yes we can. We know the battle ahead will be long, but always remember that no matter what obstacles stand in our way, nothing can stand in the way of the power of millions of voices calling for change. We have been told we cannot do this by a chorus of cynics...they will only grow louder and more dissonant ........... We've been asked to pause for a reality check. We've been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope. But in the unlikely story that is America, there has never been anything false about hope. Now the hopes of the little girl who goes to a crumbling school in Dillon are the same as the dreams of the boy who learns on the streets of LA; we will remember that there is something happening in America; that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that we are one people; we are one nation; and together, we will begin the next great chapter in the American story with three words that will ring from coast to coast; from sea to shining sea -- Yes. We. Can.

Movie Review - Goya's Ghosts

I recently rented Goya's Ghosts. The name of this movie caught my attention because I recently read an article on Goya in Mental Floss and he sounded like an interesting character so a movie about him peaked my interest. It turned out that the movie wasn't really about Goya as much as it was a few of the people he painted. The movie didn't really impress me that much overall but I was very impressed with Natalie Portman's performance. She plays both a mother and a daughter and her performance as the mother was just outstanding. The makeup however was disappointing. Overall I would say it's worth a watch but I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in theater's.

Post-Blizzard Update

Chris made it home on the one flight that left Columbus on Saturday. He arrived at our house around 8pm. He couldn't find our driveway through the snow so he parked across the street in a plowed lot and hiked through knee-high snow up our driveway carrying his flight bag and suitcase.

Being the first time we've both been home in nearly a month we enjoyed a quiet dinner and then slept until noon on Sunday. We finally got around to shoveling the snow around 3pm and found that it was sunny and nearly 50 degrees out - practically spring! Crazy! Thanks to the warm weather the snow was starting to melt making for heavy, slushy muck. We made quick work of it and got it done in less than two hours.

Pictures of our snowy weekend can be found here.

Blizzard in Cinci

I finally made it home for the first time in three weeks of traveling for work. The plan was for me to arrive Friday evening and get settled and then Chris would arrive home from a trip Saturday afternoon.

Well, on Thursday the weather guy in Ann Arbor warned that a big snow storm was heading their way and would hit Friday afternoon, coming up from the south. So I changed my plans and left Ann Arbor Friday morning hoping to miss it. Nope - stupid storm changed direction and concentrated on KY, OH, TN etc so I drove right into it.

It took me about 4 hours to get to the outskirts of Cincinnati and another hour and half to go the remaining 12 miles to our house. GRR stupid snow and dumb drivers. By the time I got home there was 4-5" on the ground. It took me three tries to get my poor little car up the hill of our driveway - I finally had to back across the street and get a running start.

I shoveled myself a walk way and unpacked my car. Once done I tried to move my car into the garage - no such luck. I gave up after the 6th attempt and just rolled it back again. It seemed like such a lost cause to try and shovel so I just left it alone.

Last night Chris's flight was cancelled and he told me that it was supposed to keep snowing through Saturday evening. I woke up this morning and sure enough... more snow. I ventured out around noon and shot the video below. Notice the steps I shoveled yesterday around 3pm are gone...



If the video doesn't work you can view it by clicking here.

Hopefully Chris will find a way to make it home soon. There has been talk of renting a car and just taking the typically 1.5 hour drive slowly. I checked the road cameras and it does appear that people are driving... We'll see.

I think I'll bundle up and walk to the grocery store for provisions now.

Photo Weekend

I went to Orlando last weekend. Here is my weekend in photos:

The way cool pet snake at Jamie's Leap Day party.

An alligator in a pond in front of houses in Celebration where we wet to the yearly huge yard sale.

My family waiting for a table for lunch in downtown celebration.

A video of my cat who is still living with my parents due to our never being home :(

If the video doesn't work you can view it by clicking here.

Movie Review - Waitress

I watched Waitress on my laptop in my hotel room the other night. The story line wasn't anything revolutionary but I really like the style of the movie. The plot is that a Waitress (the ever beautiful Kerri Russell) hates her life and has an affair with a new-comer to the small town. It just so happens that the waitress is an excellent pie baker and when she gets upset she invents new pies in her head.

Overall it's nothing amazing but it is pleasant to watch and well done.

Trips

I went to Seattle with Chris last weekend to see his parents' new house and meet their new puppy Charlie. His parents had just moved in two days before we got there so things were still in boxes etc but I thought they had done an amazing job in such a short time! I took lots of pictures of both the house and the adorable girl (Charlie). We also saw Chris's aunt Judy and his cousin Debbie and her kids. Pictures Here.

From Seattle I rushed back to work and off to Chicago. Chris joined me for a couple of days. We had dinner at an amazing Italain place and we were even able to get downtown for an afternoon. We lucked out and there was an Ice Art exhibit in the park. It was really cool looking. Pictures Here.

From Chicago I was off to Ann Arbor where I will likely be for the next couple of weeks.

Chris's Music

Chris has written several songs, the latest of which I really like. It's about a relationship in turmoil (not us) and I think it's catchy.

He gave a live performance for his family earlier this week and I caught him on video. To check it out click here - it will take a bit to download.

I'll post the words to the song soon.

RockStar by Nickelback

I know I've been all about videos lately but I don't care.

Chris found the song below awhile ago and I stumbled across it again today. Not only is the tune catchy but I just love the video. All of the random people from different walks of life letting loose - classic.

(Warning - there are some naughty words)



There is a funny spoof here. I could have done without the guy but the words are great.

Secret Valentines

Postsecret is always especially touching around holidays. Valetine's day is no exception.

Postsecret: A Valentine Video


"Valentine's Day is really just Single's Awareness Day" - Khaled Almushare

Geek Show

It seems that Flight of the Conchords did a show on HBO. I'm almost scared to watch it though - I've only heard this one song and I don't want their clever funny aura to wear off if the show sucks.

Chris and I will Flix the show though and report back.

Movie Review - The Ultimate Gift

Chris and I occasionally go to Blockbuster just to see what movies are out that we can add to our Netflix list. A little underhanded maybe but it works! On one of these trips I happened to see The Ultimate Gift. Prior to this I had never even heard of this movie. I think what really drew me to it was Abigail Breslin - I think she is adorable and extremely talented.

I watched The Ultimate Gift last night with Dallas - my ever faithful random movie watching buddy. We were both pleasantly surprised. Most of the movies we watch together are on par with The Squid and the Whale so it was great to find that this one was quite normal.

The overall story line is that a rich old man dies and leaves a mysterious gift to his grand son (the main character) but the grand son has to go through a series of trials in order to receive the gift. Along the way he becomes friends with a little girl. Some of the trials are a bit extreme, such as being taken as a hostage by drug lords in Colombia. But if you watch it for the moral of the story it's really quite cute. I think that both Dallas and I had a tear glistening by the end.

Geek Song

I don't know if I am way behind in discovering this or what. Megan put a song at the tail end of her latest mix for me (the mix was amazing by the way) that had me cracking up!

It's called The Humans are Dead and you can listen to it by clicking here or you can watch the youtube video below.

The binary solo is what gets me every time. Has anyone else seen/heard this song? If so, why has no one else shared it with me?

PS - Thanks Meg :) Some other fun songs from my new mix are Coin Operated Boy, Merry Happy and I'm Sticking with You my absolute favorite is Tire Swing.

Introducing Billie & Burt

Billie is a stuffed pink hippo (who by the way is a girl) that Chris adopted for me when we were in Port Townsend, Washington in the summer of 2005. Since then Billie has happily and quietly lived on the dashboard of my little green ford.

With Roger living with my parents while Chris and I travel our butts off we have found our lives lacking in excitement. So, we decided to adopt Burt. Burt is a stuffed alligator that we found in the Teddy Bear store in Chelsea, Michigan.This pasweek we introduced Billie and Burt. Let's just say that I think we hve the beginning of a love/hate relationship. Click here and then click through the images to see how their introduction went. They did eventually make up, though we've all agreed that seperate living quarters are best. They have already had a few small adventures together such as the airport, mall and the horse tracks.

Only time will tell where they will end up next...

Michigan - Check

Chris came to see me in Ann Arbor. He flew in on Wednesday evening, the same night that a big snow storm hit the area, he stayed with me for a couple of days and then rode with me back down to Cincinnati on Friday.

Even though I've been hanging out in Michigan for business reasons I hadn't had the time to do anything fun or interesting that would allow me to cross Michigan off of my Bucket List so Chris set out tohelp me accomplish this.

We had a great dinner at a nice Italian place, Palio's, downtown on Thursday night. You can read our review of them here.

Then on Friday we explored the town of Chelsea which is about 20 minutes away from downtown Ann Arbor. Even though it was snowing the town was quaint and friendly. We stopped at the Chelsea Teddy Bear Co and bought a stuffed alligator that Chris dubbed Burt (more to come on him later). Then based on the store employee's suggestion we went to the Common Grill for lunch (review).

After our tasty lunch we wandered the streets a bit browsing the Chelsea Market after we saw this sign outside. Then we spent some time in the Mission Marketplace which had a really eclectic collection of goods. I took pictures of some great funky earrings and purchased a pair for myself made out of coconut and aluminum. We popped into Zou Zou's for some caffiene (review) before hitting the road.

Before we got on the highway though we drove through some of the back roads that I've been driving to get to the office I'm working out of. There are some crazy oddities that I wanted to share - such as the Smiley Face Snow Bearded Santa Satellite shown here. By the way, I do plan to find out somehow if the Santa hat stays year round...

You can see all of our pictures here.

Sounds like Greek!

In our lives, anything can happen and things change at the last minute all the time. However, we're going to start planning a trip to Greece for Chris's birthday. I left it up to him what he wanted to do and he chose to go to Greece and...to invite our parents. I know! Surprising. I'm excited. I'm even trying to pick up some Greek in preparation for our trip. Greek is proving to be a little tougher than Italian though.

The first thing we need to decide is if we want to take a Greek cruise through the islands or if we would rather take ferries and stay in hostels or hotels. I'm so busy with the current project I'm working that I haven't had time to really look into it.

So, if you know anyone that has been to Greece, would you consider passing their contact information along? I'd love to get some tips and direction from someone who has done it.

Mango Pizza

I discovered a California Pizza Kitch (CPK) near my hotel in Ann Arbor. I hadn't been there in 4 or 5 years. I forgot how yummy they are! They seem like they might have raised their prices but who hasn't?

Tonight I had a Mango Tandoori Pizza (sans chicken of course) and half a Field Green Salad.

Just thought I'd share.

From Generation to Generation

I posted last week about the loss of my Grandma D. Her funeral was this past Friday. A previous pastor from her church, Pastor Krier, said some really nice things about Grandma and made the service very sweet. After the grave-side service my family all congregated at my grandparent's house for food and reminiscing. I was afraid it would be weird for us to all be there in their house, with their things, without....them. It was a little weird at first but it was actually really nice. Chris made a memorial DVD that contained a slideshow of pictures of my Grandma set to some of her favorite songs. We all watched it and shared stories and memories about her past.

At some point in the afternoon my father asked everyone to gather around and asked me to sit down. He then proceeded to tell me that my Grandmother's will stipulated that she be buried with a ring on her, but not which ring. He told me that they had decided to bury her in her anniversary ring because they felt that her rings should be passed on. He then presented me with my grandmother's rings.

As far as my family can figure, the story behind the rings is this:
Back in the 1920's Karl immigrated from Germany through Ellis Island to live in Charleston, South Carolina to work for his Uncle Gus who ran school that taught English to German migrants. Karl spoke High German, a dialect that his Uncle needed teachers for. Around the same time Elsie had immigrated from Germany to work as a nanny in Charleston, SC. Elsie happened to sign up for English classes at the school where Karl was helping to teach. Romance was in the air but due to the rough times, Karl had to scrimp and save to be able to buy Elsie a ring. He managed to succeed and in April of 1927 they were married. The picture to the left is them on what we think is their 25th anniversary.

Later that year Elsie and Karl had a son, John Karl (he went by Karl). In 1948 when Karl was 23 he went to a Christmas where he met an older woman, Doris. Later that week he went to his mother Elsie and told her that Doris was 'the one' and he was going to buy her a ring and make her his wife. Elsie's response was to take the rings off of her own hand and give them to her son, just like that! A week after he had met Doris, on January 2, 1950 he presented her with his mother's ring and asked for her hand. The picture to the right is of Doris and Karl on their wedding day, three months later in March of 1950.

After a couple of years of marriage Karl and Doris had the first of their four children, John Karl Jr - my Dad. When Doris passed away in January of 2008 she made it known that the family rings should go to her only granddaughter - me.

I can't begin to express how honored I am that my aunts and Dad chose to give them to me. Dad was telling me last night that on several occasions, my grandmother had told my aunts and my dad that she wanted me to have the rings - that is really special too - knowing that she wanted me to have them as well.

For the past seven years I've worn a ring on my right ring finger - the purpose of this ring is to remind me to never settle, in life or love and to persevere. I think that on occasion I will swap my ring out for the heirloom rings. They certainly have a story to tell...

Movie Review - Stardust

I watched Stardust with my whole family last night and I think it was an overall success.

Going into it I didn't realize that it was a comedy, I thought it was a fantasy movie. Once it was clear that it is a farce I really enjoyed it.

I would equate it to a new 'Princess Bride', perhaps even funnier because it's 20 years newer and more culture specific. I don't know, however, if it's as quotable as it's predecessor.

Overall I think we all gave it two thumbs up.I highly recommend that you watch it if you haven't yet.