Tonight a whole crew of us--four girls and three guys--went to see the new Twilight movie. It wasn't awful; their highest budget to date (I can only assume) didn't hurt at all, and neither did my movie theater nachos. I only discovered movie theater nachos a year or two ago, and they're now one of my favorite guilty pleasures.
Also: David's home!
It's odd to me that when I'm the only one in the house, it takes me longer to get to bed. You'd think that with fewer distractions, I'd be in bed earlier, but it never seems to work that way.
Tonight I went to dinner and a movie* with a friend, and then we yakked for close to an hour while we were parked at the curb outside my house. Then I needed to finish hemming the skirt I made this weekend(!) and want to wear tomorrow, and that took quite a while.
Tomorrow evening I teach, but I also need to run several errands before I leave town early Wednesday. That flight is at 6 a.m., which doesn't give me much time at all between when I get home from teaching and when I leave for the airport the next morning. Since I plan to spend as much of that time as possible sleeping, I have a very full day ahead of me tomorrow.
So! Off to bed.
*I may say which one later
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| Primping before going out. |
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| Getting into character. (See my eye pencil side burns?) |
I was able to find almost all the ingredients for my costume at our local St. Vinny's: studded pleather pants, a giant purple men's blazer, and gauzy ruffled curtains.  |
| Raw materials: pleather pants, curtains, and a purple suit coat. |
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| The giant blazer in its original state. |
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| Mid-destruction |
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| I started out by actually studding these, then ended up borrowing my neighbor's hot glue gun and attaching them that way. |
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| David and his cinnamon buns. |
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| David suggested that maybe instead of Princess Leia, he should just go as a ghost. |
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| Exhausted but still fierce after the party. |
(Every time I hear or say "Harry Potter," I think of this video.)
So, David and I just got back from watching the penultimate Harry Potter movie. If you've been hanging around these parts long, you may recall that I read the books for the first time just a couple of years ago. (Also, wow: how did my life get stuck in this weird repetitive loop where I spend every winter grading papers and moping? At least in 2007 I still got to escape to California for a few weeks...)
I hadn't watched any of the movies before I read the books, and many of the movies I didn't even see until last summer. Anyway, I enjoyed them, and saw #6 when it hit the theaters last summer.
The Deathly Hallows, tonight, was more of the same, and generally an enjoyable diversion--although I was disappointed to see almost everyone looking older and rather pudge. (I'm pretty sure the rest of the audience was just disappointed that part two doesn't come out until next summer.) I thought that the latter was noticeable in the very slow pace, which at times felt gratuitous; there are long stretches I'm sure would have hit the editing room floor had they been more pressed for time.
As it was, the movie was 2.5 hours long, so I'm glad we hit the earlier showing. Thankfully, the theater wasn't even crowded, and in fact was surprisingly empty, which suited me fine. We ran into a couple of friends in the lobby and sat together, which was fun.
So here's a question: if it's Friday afternoon and I'm sitting in my office, unsuccessfully trying to write (and have been doing so [unsuccessfully trying to write] for the past... oh... seven hours, aside from nap and lunch breaks and maybe the Thursday LA Times Crossword), waiting for a ride home that may not come for one, two, or three hours,* is writing words on my blog preferable to not writing words on my dissertation?
Clearly I have decided it is--and hope it prompts some inspiration on the latter.
In any case, I am looking forward to the weekend. Tonight David and I are attending an "On A Boat"-themed birthday party, and though, sadly, no actual boats will be involved, I think it will be fun.
Tomorrow night we're seeing Band of Horses at the State Theater downtown. (Last weekend we were watching this video, which features the band's song "The Funeral." David mentioned that he'd like to see them live sometime, and I wondered out loud if they were coming to town soon. We googled it, and not only were they on tour, they were coming to Mpls in seven days, tickets were still available, and the box office [thank goodness there are still occasionally ways around Ticketmaster's extortion] opened in 15 minutes. Win!)
I'm also supposed to do a long run with a friend tomorrow morning--12 miles. I'm slightly less enthused about this, mostly as it's supposed to hit 90° tomorrow. We'll head out early to avoid as much heat as possible, but that will also mean leaving the (non-) boating party early to head to bed (and throwing off my usual pre-run blueberry pancakes ritual).
Then Sunday we're heading to Inception with friends. I'll also probably do hot yoga, which I'm realizing I haven't mentioned here, but have found sufficiently wonderful to pull me out of bed and into the studio before 8 a.m. most Sunday mornings, and will describe at some point.
I remember an item on a personality inventory I saw years ago having to do with whether one preferred to have one's weekend scheduled or open. I like flexibility, but I also like looking forward to a string of fun things.
My office window overlooks a sort of quadrangle on campus, flanked by ivy-covered buildings and intersected by sidewalks. This week I have seen it overrun by elementary school kids from the natural history museum's summer camp program; filled with maintenance vehicles from all over campus (apparently for some facilities meeting?); and at the moment, a first, hosting a swimsuit-clad couple tanning on beach towels. They seem either unaware or unconcerned about their very public display, but then, who would be working on a Friday afternoon this gorgeous, anyway?
Who indeed.
*I'm not a good wait-er in general, but indefinite waits slay me.
As far as I'm concerned, it's been summer here since May, when we had our first day in the 90s. Since summer movies are starting earlier and earlier, too, I don't think it's too early to at least get started on a summer movie round-up. I've hit quite a lot of them already, a fact not unrelated to our muggy summer.
Iron Man 2
I liked the first Iron Man,* and I liked this one too, if not quite as much. I find Robert Downey, Jr. quite charming, which is probably most of the reason. The sequel kept the same tone as the first one, and was basically more of the same fun.
Robin Hood
I had really low expectations of this one, after its less-than-stellar reviews, which is probably the main reason I didn't hate it. I did roll my eyes a few times, but unlike my friends with unnaturally elevated expectations, I found it satisfactorily entertaining, if too long and with the ordinarily celestial Cate Blanchett in quite the horrifying wig.
Clash of the Titans
Again, my expectations of this one were low. Really low. So I didn't hate it. Brainless entertainment.
Micmacs
This film I actually had been looking forward to, after seeing in the preview that it was by the director of Amélie (probably my favorite movie of all time) and shared several of the same cast members. It too was a tiny bit too long, and the plot a bit too tortuous for subtitle-reading, but it was visually delightful, very clever, and, predictably, uberquirky. Bonus: when an arms-dealing bad guy gloats to his small son that he had given a speech in which he compared himself to Rimbaud, the little guy pauses dubiously and tells him he needs to work out. The somewhat-chagrined father replies, "Rimbaud, not Rambo!"
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Apparently I hadn't set my expectations quite low enough for this one, liking Jake Gyllenhaal and having read a positive Time review. I would have walked out early--especially since, despite my hooded fleece and long jeans, I was chatteringly cold in a theater approximately 30 degrees colder than the evening's heat--but David wanted to stick it out. Alfred Molina was a small consolation in a dreadfully long, loud, and clicheed abomination that not even Jake's pretty eyes could save.
Date Night
I love Tina Fey and Steve Carrell, and they were mostly funny and charming in a movie that was nonetheless too long and ridiculously implausible. A shirtless Mark Wahlberg was also a pleasant diversion, as was a (scruffy) James Franco. There were a few clever bits, but it's probably telling that my favorite parts were the outtakes during and after the credits. And, uh, actually, I just re-watched them on YouTube... and, yeah, not that funny. Although, the different accents they do starting at about 1:11 are pretty awesome.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse
Again, low expectations paid off! If you wonder why I have anything to do with these films, you can read my review of the books here. Also: Robert Pattinson. I thought they did a good job with what appears to be an ever-increasing budget, and appreciated the relative reduction in both Bella's sulky poutiness and scenes so cheesy they unintentionally make the entire audience laugh out loud (remember how in New Moon, when Bella crashes the bike, the first thing Jacob does is take his shirt off?). Apparently Breaking Dawn (book 4) is in production; I have no idea what they're going to do with that one.
Knight and Day
Oh boy. For all his totally whacked-out craziness, I still like Tom Cruise, and wanted to like this movie. But I didn't. It was too long, too loud, too cheesy, and way too unbelievable, with too many changes in location, clothing, and personality--in sum, too ridiculous for even a summer Action Comedy Adventure. It was nice to see Cruise back in action-hero form, but mostly it just made me want to re-watch the Mission(s):Impossible.
*When I went looking for that link, I discovered that I posted that summer movie review exactly two years ago today. Also, I thought that four was a lot of summer movies to have seen by that point in the summer.
Two and a half weeks ago, David and I saw Avatar in 3D. Because some days I am productive (yesterday I did get a conference paper to my dissertation workshop) and some days I am not (Google Reader is empty?
Is that seriously all you have for me, Internet?), and because I'm ready to mentally move on, I thought I'd write about it.
First of all, I thought the previews for this movie looked terrible. James Cameron, massive budget, blah blah blah... Who did they actually expect to watch this? But then people went to see it--a lot of people--and most of them seemed to think it was pretty amazing. NPR even seemed on board. David and I were both curious. So...
...we bought tickets to a Sunday matinee. At the Mall of America. In 3D.
And I think maybe I have a slow brain or something, because it seriously took my eyes about an hour and a half to adjust to the 3D. By adjusting, I mean that after a mere hour and half the 3D wasn't a constant distraction, making me wish we'd just stuck with good old twentieth-century flatness. It made my head hurt, and by the end of the film, my eyes and ears as well (those glasses are heavy!).
Anyway.
The film has problems. The Na'vi embody pretty much every "noble savage" stereotype out there, right down to their surprisingly literally animalistic forms (alien natives as human-feline hybrid? Subtle!). The story is an old and tired one: member of invading dominant group joins the natives, partakes of their wisdom, and then must fight to defend their tragically doomed culture against the inevitable forces of Western Progress. Actually, if you haven't seen this nifty comparison of Avatar to Disney's Pocahontas, you should check it out; it sums it up pretty neatly.
However, when David turned to me at the end of the film to ask what I'd thought of it, I was still wiping my eyes. I had expected entrancing visuals and a ridiculously involved imaginary landscape (did you know that Cameron named every single plant and animal on screen, in both Latin and Na'vi?), but not to find the story so emotionally involving. I found myself bafflingly drawn to the characters and landscape, and terribly sad to see their destruction. And Cameron may be corny, or essentializing, or simplistic, but he does know how to tell a story, and to do it in the style of classical high Hollywood, with carefully cut scenes and surging soundtracks that hit (this over-analyzing skeptic, anyway) right in the heartstrings.
It's also a very pretty film. I expected to be distracted by the blue-skinned aliens, but as I mentioned before, the visuals are so seamless that I was able to (mostly) forget that I was watching computer-generated imagery and become involved in the characters and plot. I do wish it had been edited a bit better; I found the beginning a bit slow and the ending a bit protracted. Three hours is a long time to wear those glasses.
If you're interested in seeing it, I would recommend doing so on a big screen for full visual impact, but probably not in 3D, unless you're really into that sort of thing. I'll probably see it again if it comes to the Riverview, because problems aside, it really does do at least one thing that Hollywood does very well: create a beautiful, fantastic landscape and characters into which one can escape for a few hours, partaking in joys, sorrows, and battles completely out of one's own head (and, in this case, solar system).
Now that I've gotten my review out of my head, I can go read other people's!
Last night, David and I went with friends to see The Fantastic Mr. Fox at the Riverview. I LOVED it. I'm a pretty big Wes Anderson fan anyway, and had really enjoyed others of his recent films, like the Darjeeling Limited, but this was particularly delightful. There were a lot of kids in the audience--it was a matinee on a dreadfully cold weekend--but it really wasn't a kids' movie. Certainly there were things for them to enjoy, and aspects of the film definitely awed and inspired my inner kid, like the sheer joy of the tiny sets, and goofy little visual touches like the beagles' eyes after they ate the blueberries, but most of the themes were, predictably I suppose, targeted to an adult audience.
Anyway, like I said, I loved it. I loved Clooney as Foxy, and Schwarzmann as his son Ash, and Bill Murray as Badger. It was beautifully executed, surprisingly touching, and full of wonderfully quotable lines (which, sadly, I can't remember, and with which IMDB is not helping much. I do remember that their avoidance of cussing was pure genius, though I'll let you discover that for yourself if you haven't already).
This afternoon, I saw a film about which I have more mixed feelings: Avatar. I was going to blog about it tonight, but find that I'm too tired; it will have to wait.
In the meantime, I whole-heartedly recommend Mr. Fox, and suggest seeing it on the big screen if possible (especially if you have an adorable second-run theater like mine!).
This little questionnaire has become sort of a year-end tradition here in the Kitchen, so I present now 2009:
1) Where did you begin 2009?
In Seattle with good friends and family! Highlights were Abraham's CD release party, Casuelita's Caribbean Cafe, fireworks at the Space Needle, and a kiss.
2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Officially dating my sweetie, who flew to Mpls that weekend.
3) Did you travel?
Ohmygoodness, yes. I drove from Palm Springs to Phoenix with my parents for the marathon in January and then flew back to Mpls. I drove to a conference in Milwauke, flew to one in New Orleans, and then flew to a third in Portland in May. The latter launched the first of two epic roadtrips across the country. In November, David and I flew to Portland and drove to Hermiston for Thanksgiving. In December, I flew to Vegas to run a half marathon, and then to Seattle for the holidays. Phew!
4) Did you lose someone or something you love?
Not that I can recall. I feel very fortunate in that.
5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
Nope!
6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
Nope!
7) Did you start dating someone new?
Yes, I did, and he has been one of the most excellent parts of 2009!
8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
Not a single object--but the usual school fees, rent, and travel.
9) Did you know anybody who got married?
My neighbor got married; that was the only wedding I attended this year, and the only one I can think of.
10) Did you get in any car accidents?
Not a one. Here's to a year and a half of car-less living!
11) Did you attend any sporting events?
Two marathons and three half marathons, if those count. Oh, also, the rodeo!
12) Did you move anywhere?
I moved to Walla Walla for the summer, and then back to Mpls.
13) Did you keep your new year's resolution?
It was another year in which I didn't make any.
14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
The Nutracker, Rodrigo y Gabriela, The Santaland Diaries, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Importance of Being Earnest (Bros Before Hos Remix), Abraham, Andrew Bird (x2), the Decemberists, U2(!!)...
15) What movies did you go see in the theater?
Including ones at my beloved second-run theater: Up in the Air, Up, King Corn and Big River, Revolutionary Road, The Soloist, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Angels and Demons, Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (it was with my little cousin! Also, somehow, despite its extreme loudness, I managed to fall asleep...), Public Enemies, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, (500) Days of Summer, The Informant!, The Men Who Stare at Goats, Valkyrie, Frost/Nixon, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Doubt, Milk (this time with help from this site)
16) Did your hair color change?
Only from the disappointing Feria permanent back to my natural colors.
17) Did you get any taller?
At the doctor's office, they told me I was a little over 5'7", which would mean I had grown--but I think it was just the thick socks.
18) Describe your birthday?
I spent it in the desert with David and my parents. We ate a lot of delicious food, and enjoyed the sunshine and some antiquing. Later, David and I celebrated again when we saw U2 in Chicago--his big birthday gift to me!
19) Did you get any new pets?
None.
20) What has been your favorite moment?
Favorite moment, in a year this epic? I seriously couldn't begin to choose.
21) What's something you learned about yourself?
I can much more easily survive a Mpls winter with good company.
22) What has been your biggest worry?
That I might not finish this accursed dissertation, and my degree, and thus disappoint myself, my advisor, and everyone around me.
23) What was your best month?
Oh boy. May was pretty fantastic... but so were June, July, August... and January... and September, October, November, December...
24) What music will you remember 2009 by?
Abraham, Andrew Bird, the Decemberists, U2 and weirdly, maybe even Lady Gaga.
25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
E&A, L, and D.
26) Have you had to call the police on anyone?
Nope!
27) Have you gone skiing?
Sadly, it was another slopeless year.
28) Did you miss work due to illness?
Not work, as far as I can recall.
29) Any like/love interests?
I know this comes as a huge surprise to Alert Readers, but I'm pretty taken with my current beau.
30) Get anything new?
Shiny red electronics! A phone, lappy, and Nano. Oh, and that beau!
I've mentioned before how much I like the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. Almost everyone has the next day off, so it's like a weekend in the middle of the week, without either the banality of the weekend or the weighty expectations of a serious holiday eve, like Christmas or New Year's.
David and I celebrated by getting Mexican food at Pepito's and then watching The Big Lebowski at the adjoining Parkway Theater, where they have comfy leather loveseats from which to watch your $5 movies ($4 with the restaurant discount!).
In the morning, we catch a plane to Portland for festivities there.
It's a cliche, of course, but I really can hardly believe it's Thanksgiving already.
Here is something I discovered today that made me very happy indeed. I hope you enjoy it too, and that you all have wonderful days of thanks with your favorite people!
This morning I had that super-heavy, glued-to-the-mattress feeling, even though I'd been sleeping for nine hours (I know! the luxury! It's, like, double what I averaged my first year in Mpls). It took a ridiculous amount of time to get out of bed.
And then tonight, I couldn't even make it through the movie David and I started with dinner (Bubba Ho-Tep, which I first [and last] saw at the awesome Ross theater in Lincoln), and passed out on the couch at maybe 7:30. I had vivid dreams, and now, predictably, am not very sleepy. Sigh.
I didn't run today, and I only ran two miles yesterday. I've also been averaging a lot of sleep recently.
I don't know whether to hope that I'm just lazy or that there's something actually wrong with me.
Granted, I have run a half marathon and a whole marathon in the past six weeks. It is November, and the short days always get me down. I'm stressed about my dissertation and the (complete lack of a) job market. And I am trying to avoid all the flu going around.
So hopefully it's nothing that a bit more sleep can't fix.
Today I rode to school for the first time since September. And that was the first time I'd ridden anywhere since I got back to Minneapolis after the summer! David has biked more than me, since he rides around the lakes while I run around them. It's embarrassing.
I'm embarrassed.
Another confession: my pad thai was definitely less-than-mindblowing on Sunday night. I overcooked the noodles, so they were mushy, and then over-sauced the whole thing, so it was too salty. Go ye therefore and avoid these mistakes.
Another one: today I went to save the document of ramblings wherein I finally put in my first 15 minutes, and discovered I didn't even have a folder entitled "Dissertation." It's my fourth year of the PhD program. This confirms my general feeling of failure.
Again: tonight instead of going to the program at the art museum that I'd had on my calendar for weeks, I wimped out and made potato pizza and fancy salads and we stayed in and watched The Brothers Bloom on Netflix.
Another: I just remembered that I was supposed to do a bunch of preliminary reading for tomorrow's symposium. The presenters are famous and I'm pretty excited about the whole thing... but I probably won't do the reading.
Since I'm on a roll: recently I have a fear that I'm consistently making grammatical and stylistic errors in my writing, as though I've lost the ability to copy-edit my own stuff. It's alarming.
And, as you already know, I had, accidentally, already screwed up NaBloPoMo by only the SEVENTH DAY of the month.
There it is.
I posted two, long overdue, reviews today over at the book blog, which means I'm almost caught up with the summer's reading.
Because I wrote a bunch over there, and because David and I only just now returned from partaking of Cheap Date Night at Zeno--which included a viewing of the delightfully bizarre The Men Who Stare at Goats at the Lagoon--I'm going to call that good for tonight and go to bed.
This is my 599th post on this blog!
A few firsts for today, in order of occurrence:
This past week has been a little nuts.
Wednesday, I gave a two-hour lecture on Picasso to the prints class for which I've been TAing this semester. (My friends at school said, "What do you know about Picasso?" The answer is, before prepping this lecture, basically nothing--especially about his prints. Now, after a whole lot of reading and PowerPointing, I know a little bit.)
Monday, I had to submit material to the dissertation workshop that met today, so I wrote a draft of my Portland presentation.
Today, in addition to presenting at workshop, I also had to return the 65 3-5 page papers my students had turned in two weeks ago, but which I hadn't really touched before the past few days because I'd been preparing that Picasso lecture.
They take their final exams next Wednesday, and I'll have 65 of those to grade in a single week, because I'm flying to Portland the next Thursday.
But, before then, I have a week of relative relaxation to make up for last week's craziness. I thus have time to catch you up on last week, which in addition to crazy lecture prep, writing, and grading, involved a VISIT! From David!
Wednesday after I picked him up at the airport we went to the Mall of America, ended up having the picnic I'd packed on the seventh floor of the West parking garage (my favorite place in the MOA, returned to school for my lecture, and then ate with my neighbors at Pancho Villa. Thursday, we had even warmer and more gorgeous weather, so we took the bus downtown, wandered Nicollet Mall and the farmers' market, explored Mill Ruins park, and enjoyed an appetizer outside at Spoon River before meeting a friend at a theater downtown for the live broadcast of This American Life. Friday, we went for a run around the lakes, biked to the Walker sculpture garden and back, caught a film at the historic Riverview, and had a lovely dinner at Jasmine 26. Saturday, we met friends for brunch, ate tamales at the Midtown Global exchange and poked through the booths, took the Greenway to the river and discovered a trail I'd never noticed before that goes clear down to the water, and then attended a friend's birthday party. Sunday, David had to fly home, but we got brunch at the Bad Waitress and still managed to get him on his plane in time (if only barely!).
You'll notice (especially those of you who have had the tour!) that I definitely have my favorites when it comes to showing people around town. It's slightly different without a car; whereas I took Paul and Ter and Ellen, on their respective visits, to my favorite Indian restaurant in the suburbs, that wasn't on the itinerary this time around. However, we were able to bus and bike pretty much everywhere else with ease--and the carless tour does present a unique way to see the city!
I had to work slightly more than I would have liked to, but David was a good sport and even helped me assemble and format the slide list for the final exam. I didn't do any of my own writing or grade any papers, which sort of caught up with me after he left, but now I'm caught up and won't be deluged again until next Wednesday! That's plenty of time to revise the Portland paper and pack for that trip.
If you're interested in pix from the visit, David has posted the highlights here:
Things That Are Awesome (Spring Edition):
Does anybody recognize these? I'm just curious. Although they're huge, they're so light and delicate that I can hardly feel them.
Oh, Internets. What can make my beloved black beans and rice with avocados, cilantro, and olives even better? A side dish of homemade sweet potato fries with spicy chipotle aioli, that's what.
There's a small local chain of grills in town that serves amazing sweet potato fries with what they call their chipotle pesto aioli. I had some last night with friends after we watched Revolutionary Road (the former, at least, were awesome; the latter was fairly pretty but rather disappointing), and today still wanted more. So, I made some!
For the fries, I peeled two large sweet potatoes, hacked them into sticks, and tossed them with a drizzle of olive oil and a good shake of kosher salt. Then I put them on a nonstick-sprayed pan and baked them at 425 for 40 minutes or so (and 450 for the last 10 or 15 minutes), flipping them over every 15-20 minutes.
For the aioli, I minced garlic and then mashed it into a paste with kosher salt. I threw in a small handful of cilantro, chopped, and mashed that in, too, before adding mayo and a few drops of "very hot" chipotle sauce. I would have added the juice of the lime I bought, but forgot. In the future, I think I'd also make my own mayo from olive oil and an egg; my Smart Balance mayo seemed too sweet. Still, it was remarkably close, I thought, to Longfellow's (and left me with the same dragon breath).
Mmmmm. Cheap, colorful, and a complete protein (the rice and beans, that is). I think I could eat this all the time.
*I like dem French fried potaters.
Remember this? I know the cool kids are doing a new meme, which I'll probably get to eventually, but for now I'm sticking with this old one--you know, for continuity.
1) Where did you begin 2007?
On Deanna's couch!
2) What was your status by Valentine's Day?
Thinking we were working things out, but mistaken.
3) Did you travel?
To Vegas and Palm Springs for Spring Break; to L.A. for Jeni's wedding; to Seattle for my 10-year reunion; to Honolulu for vacation; to DHS and Yucca for the summer (with San Diego and Hollywood); to Lincoln for kicks; to Chicago for Thanksgiving; from Palm Springs to Seattle for the holidays.
4) Did you lose someone or something you love?
Well, yes--not least, the Bruise. In retrospect, I probably kind of loved it.
5) Did you have to go to the hospital?
This year, no, thankfully.
6) Did you have any encounters with the police?
A cute cop came to make sure I was okay when the Bruise broke down. And one who looked almost young enough to be my son came to check us out on this last trip.
7) Did you start dating someone new?
No, but I did accept a few dates--an accomplishment for me.
8) What did you purchase that was over $1000?
Again, no objects. But, again, lots of school fees and rent. Lots of travel, if I count everything.
9) Did you know anybody who got married?
Yes! Jeni got married... and probably other people, though I can't remember them now.
10) Did you get in any car accidents?
Yes. I'll probably write about that later.
11) Did you attend any sporting events?
Hmmmm. Does the Twin Cities Marathon count? I was definitely there.
12) Did you move anywhere?
No moves!
13) Did you keep your new year's resolution?
Again, I don't think I made any.
14) What concerts/shows did you go to?
Nice Work Leroy, Mel Gibson and the Pants (sort of), Abraham... could that be all? A bunch of theater, especially Fringe Festival.
15) What movies did you go see in the theater?
Michael Clayton; Atonement; The Golden Compass; Be Kind, Rewind; Iron Man (x2); Made of Honor (cringe; would expunge if possible...); Shine a Light; Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull; Sex and the City; Mongol; Get Smart; Wall-E; Wanted; The Dark Knight (x2); Transsiberian (walked out); Pineapple Express; Tropic Thunder; Vicky Christina Barcelona; Burn After Reading; Quantum of Solace (x2); Australia. (Maybe more? I had help from this list.)
16) Did your hair color change?
Several semi-permanent shades, and Feria permanent once, with rather disappointing results.
17) Did you get any taller?
Nope--still 5'6.75" if I stand up really straight.
18) Describe your birthday?
Barrio and Town Talk downtown with a crowd; Labor Day festivities later in the weekend.
19) Did you get any new pets?
None.
20) What has been your favorite moment?
It might actually have been seeing my friends at about mile 17 on the TCM, holding a banner with my name. That was pretty amazing.
21) What's something you learned about yourself?
I can totally live without a car! (In Minneapolis, anyway...)
22) What has been your biggest worry?
Probably passing my PhD exams. Thank goodness that's over!
23) What was your best month?
Last year, I guess December trumped. This year, probably June--Hawaii! Other fun things, despite studying for my prelims!
24) What music will you remember 2007 by?
Probably my brother's music, again--Given the Time and Past the Future.
25) Who has been your best drinking buddy?
E? L? Seester?
26) Have you had to call the police on anyone?
I called the police when the Bruise was hit.
27) Have you gone skiing?
None this year, sadly.
28) Did you miss work due to illness?
Not that I recall.
29) Any like/love interests?
My lips are sealed.
30) Get anything new?
Some clothes--notably, a few jackets and a pair of rockin' boots. Ooh, and a new-to-me camera!
Hopefully it's not presumptuous to post this before I actually receive the results of my French final; I am not brokenhearted about my performance or prospects, however, although I am pretty sure I was not correct in "translating" that Louis Pasteur used indigo to stop fermentation in silk worms.
So, on to Australia!
I hadn't seen any previews for this film, so I wasn't sure what to expect, although the reviews I'd encountered had been generally positive. For me, though, it was sufficient that it was (a) Hugh Jackman, (b) Nicole Kidman, and (c) Baz Luhrman. Luhrman's whimsical streak and eye for ridiculously colorful, artistically-staged shots, along with a cast of amazingly attractive actors, made this a very, very pretty film. What kept it from being unbearably saccharine or laughable was their acting skill. Kidman and Jackman are predictably impressive (Luhrman seems to bring out a sort of loopy energy in Kidman that I find charming [as I do her impeccable tailoring], and though Jackman frankly wouldn't have had to say anything to charm me, when he does it's heartfelt and mostly believable), but what was really stunning was the debut performance of Brandon Walters, the film's young protagonist.
I had been warned that the film was three hours long, and when it seemed to be winding down, I was pleasantly surprised at how fast the time had gone. When I sneaked a look at my phone, however, and saw that we'd only been there for two hours, I did feel slightly disheartened--though I was still enjoying myself.
It really was too long, which was unfortunate. It was also a bit contrived and even a little cheesy, but not purely fluffy; it had a surprisingly emotional current and I did cry. Mostly because of the length, I don't feel compelled to go see this again immediately, which I generally do with my very favorite films. So Australia doesn't quite make my Classics list, but it was definitely worth the $5, and a highly enjoyable way to spend an evening. I actually would recommend seeing it on the big screen, even if it's in a few months when it hits the cheap seats, for the full experience of what feels like a revival of old Hollywood glamor (lots of nicely-lit close-ups and expanisve landscape shots) and the drama of classic westerns.
Just now, I sent off my abstract and CV for that symposium in Boston. Neither is particularly impressive, and they are less so for being late. However, now, after spending nearly eight highly unfruitful hours at my computer before finally squeezing out a few semi-coherent words to submit, I can at least inform my adviser of my rejection with a clearer conscience.
And now, more pleasant things!
I had a great time visiting Ellen last weekend. Even the drives were not unpleasant, spent as they were in the company of two intelligent, educated, and interesting friends (who also had excellent taste in music and didn't mind me singing along).
I also had some time to explore Chicago, and excellent weather in which to do it; for a while, I didn't even wear my hat! My primary goal was to see Anish Kapoor's Cloud Gate in Millennium Park; quasi-inexplicably, I never had. I was prepared to like it: I'm a fan of shiny things, and tend to dig art. What I wasn't prepared for was being completely astounded at experiencing the piece in person. For me, the experience of walking under "the bean," as the locals call it, was completely disorienting and provoked one of the most visceral reactions I'd ever had to a piece of art. Because the entire surface is reflective, you can watch your own reflection as you approach the sculpture and walk around it. However, as I walked under the bean, my reflection suddenly disappeared as the surface dimpled dramatically inward. 
Surrounded by others underneath the bean, admiring their own reflections, I suddenly felt as if I didn't exist. I'm sure there's more to say here, but I'll save it for another time and/or venue. For now, suffice it to say that I found Cloud Gate completely fascinating and well worth the long detour I accidentally took while on the phone with my sister, due at least in part to the fact that my Google map of downtown was printed with north oriented to the right, rather than to the top, of the page. Who does that?
As I mentioned earlier, Ellen and I had a date with Daniel Craig Thursday night, and he did not disappoint. In fact, we enjoyed it so much that we went ahead and went on another one Saturday night with a friend who'd been out of town Thursday (student tickets are only $6.50 in Champaign!). I don't think Quantum of Solace was as good as Casino Royale, but I could watch Daniel Craig for an awfully long time without tiring of him. I've decided it's the V-shaped torso and the blue eyes. And then there's the sexiest line I've heard in a while, delivered to M near the end of the film: "You were right." Bond, you charmer. I'd help you find the hotel stationery and all, but a man who can admit that and rock the heck out of that wool coat? Yes, please.
Friday we cooked (or Ellen did, mostly) while listening to college radio, and then stuffed ourselves. We weren't too full to go for a bike ride afterward, though, as Ellen mentioned, and it was incredibly beautiful. I rode Smoke,* and it was so easy and delightful that I started wondering whether something was wrong with the Raleigh. Maybe it's just the fact that I'm generally trying to catch the lights on the egregiously paved Franklin Avenue on the way to and from school, rather than cruising through pastures under a mellow purple sunset.
So. It was a good time. I've posted a bunch of pictures here, including a ridiculous number of Cloud Gate, just because I can.
*I love that in my comment to that post, I cited an Oscar Wilde quote that totally validates what I wrote tonight about Daniel Craig. If you want more stories about Smoke, you can look here (but looking here is more interesting).
