Monday, February 25, 2008

more oscar thoughts

I was too tired last night to add any more on the Oscars. I thought the show was pretty boring and Jon Stewart was awful. He spent way too much time kissing ass and not enough timing being witty...or even interesting.

A highlight of the ceremony for me was Glen and Marketa's performance of Falling Slowly which only took a backseat to their WIN for best original song. What a moment - they were thrilled and the audience really seemed to be rooting for them too. Jon Stewart did redeem himself slightly for bringing Marketa back on stage to finish her acceptance speech since she was so rudely interrupted by the "get your butt off the stage" music.

I thought the E! red carpet comments were mostly accurate though I didn't think ANY of the men looked particularly dashing. Way too many traditional tuxes without a pop of color in sight (not even a handkerchief!). I missed seeing Jamie Foxx on the carpet and some of the other handsome men who take risks.

What did everyone else think?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

oscar night

We settled in tonight for the red carpet arrivals so we could analyze each dress and hairdo. Our thoughts so far....

The Good
  • A lot of nice strapless gowns and only a few ladies tugging them upward (yes, we saw you Cameron Diaz)
  • Natural skin tones instead of orange
  • Many flattering red dresses (Katherine Heigel, Anne Hathaway)
  • Nice and easy up-dos considering the rainy weather
  • Also making my good list is Jennifer Garner looking lovely in black and Keri Russell in a gorgeous champagne
The Bad
  • Unlike many of the lovely up-dos I mentioned, Cameron Diaz looked like she came from the gym in a messy ponytail
  • The unfortunate dress of Daniel Day-Lewis' wife/date
  • Jessica Alba who rarely misses made the wrong dress choice in my opinion. She already had a baby bump and didn't need feathers creating more forward motion
The Unexplainable
  • What the hell was Gary A-Busey thinking accosting Laura Linney and Jennifer Garner?
  • Seth Rogen and the other hairy elf he was with
The show is off to a painfully slow start....did not care for the Jon Stewart opening. He can do a lot better so hopefully he'll redeem himself later on.

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

tidbits

I watched Harry Potter 5 around Christmas and found myself forgetting some details in books 6 and 7 so I decided to re-read them. I've been within 100 pages of finishing book 7 for almost a week. I can't bring myself to do it. I hate the sad, empty feeling after you finish a good book. *sigh*
I am glad we have the upcoming movies to look forward to. I can't think about NO more Harry Potter after that though.

We watched Knocked Up this weekend and I must say I didn't love it. Like might even be too strong of a word. I can't quite put my finger on what it was I didn't like. Probably a combo of the Katherine-Seth combo which just seemed all wrong and the distracting language/scenes in the uncut version. No one ever needs to see a baby crowning unless it's YOUR baby for pete's sake.

The Assassination of Jesse James just arrived...I still haven't had the courage to watch A Mighty Heart (the Daniel Pearl story). I liked the book a lot and I'm afraid Angelina is going to ruin it for me.

Have you seen the best song performances lined up for Sunday's Oscars? I'm thrilled Glen and Marketa will sing "Falling Slowly" from Once. The August Rush song should be great too. I think Amy Adams is super brave for singing a song from Enchanted.

Sunday, February 17, 2008

a hairy topic

There’s an article in today’s Chicago Tribune about the beard trend. Apparently there’s a beard boom that I didn’t really notice since the husband has had a beard since the day I met him.

Anyone who knows how I met Ben knows I wasn’t quite sure about the beard at first. I mean, how many 22-year-olds do you know with a full beard? Ben has great hair genes. His dad has a beard for as long as Ben can remember.

I came to like, even love, Ben’s beard and get a little sad every summer when he shaves it off. The summer we lived in Santa Monica Ben tried something new. He shaved, but not his beard. He had a great short buzz cut all summer and kept the beard. The above picture overlooking Manhattan Beach is one of my favorites.

I don’t know a lot of ladies who love bearded men as much as I do. A recent friend commented upon seeing a photo of Matthew Fox that he was so hot, but she hated her husband’s scruff. Therein lies the problem, you only have to admire Matthew Fox from afar, but you have to kiss your husband. Hmph.

The beard looks great on a lot of guys so I hope you ladies out there give your guy a chance to try it. If you hate it just keep in mind that it’s only temporary. As fast as you can change outfits, your man can shave!


Wednesday, February 13, 2008

tidbits

I'm recovering from a ridiculous series of travel delays yesterday that prevented me from getting back to Bloomington until 11am today. My return flight to Chicago was cancelled before I had even reached my destination yesterday, and I thought getting on an earlier flight back would solve the problem...until I got to Chicago last night and the second leg of my flight to Bloomington was cancelled.

Unwilling to be stranded, I frantically pursued other options - all dead-ends. No other flights were scheduled to Bloomington for the night. The flight to nearby Peoria was overbooked by 50%. No rental cars were available. It took 4 phone calls before I could even find a hotel room. To say my patience was thin is an understatement. So my colleague and I bunked at a nearby hotel with ZERO clothes/essentials.

It was the worst night of sleep-if you can call it that-in my life. I did learn 2 valuable lessons though: AVOID O'Hare no matter what and ALWAYS travel with a few necessities (I still have to make a small list I can live with and figure out how to pack something compact that won't weigh me down so let me know if you have tips).

Elsewhere in the world:

Thank goodness the writer's strike is over!

Woo hoo for Obama in yesterday's primaries

Happy Valentine's Day!

Sunday, February 10, 2008

penny for your tulips


Valentine's Day is a few days away so we got a a bunch of tulips today. Now it feels like Spring is coming (as long as you don't look at the thermometer).

If you love tulips as much as I do, remember to drop a penny in your vase to help keep your water clean and prevent them from drooping.

I also baked way too many heart-shaped sugar cookies today and then frosted them (some have sprinkles too). Frosted sugar cookies are one of my favorite indulgences.

Now I'm settling in for a lazy Sunday night and watching a bit of the Grammy Awards red carpet. So far there are a lot of blue dresses - Rihanna looks great in Zac Posen. I like Fergie's yellow Calvin Klein dress too.

Have a good week, all!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

tidbits

I forgot to post about my bowling scores Saturday. I bowled so-so with three games in the 140's. Not my personal best, but not awful either.

I'm hoping the Oscar's don't get canceled. Vanity Fair axed their party so it's not looking good that anyone worth seeing is going to show up and walk the carpet.

I'm still thinking about last week's new Lost episode. USA Today's Pop Candy blog has tons of good theories (skim to avoid the spoilers).

We finally watched Bobby this weekend - I guess we were feeling particularly political leading up to Super Tuesday - and it's fantastic. Looks like Emilio Estevez is starting to work on a follow-up piece too.

I'm thinking about TiVo-ing Lipstick Jungle this week...I need a good girl show to root for (hopefully the show qualifies as good).

If you are bored with the random new shows still airing, check out Friday Night Lights. Rent the DVDs, watch it online or see it live/set your TiVos for NBC Friday nights at 8pm. It is one of the best shows on TV - maybe the best drama in years. It's a character-driven show with great writing and wonderful actors. The creator, Peter Berg, is brilliant! Sadly, it's not going to be around for much longer if people don't start watching...

...OK, back to watching the election results...if you're bored too, check out the Obama music video.

Monday, February 4, 2008

super tuesday

Just a reminder to all my friends in Illinois, Arizona and California to get out the vote!

Friday, February 1, 2008

snow day!

I know I said I wasn't going to discuss the weather for awhile, but today is too good to pass up. My office is closed today because we got eight inches of snow last night!!! I definitely feel like a kid enjoying a snow day.

We may try out our new sled today so I'll post a photo later...