Movies you have to see - Elizabethtown

I have decided to start something on my blog about movies and music. Some you might have seen or heard, some not. Don't groan at me-my blog my rules :P

I saw a movie a few years ago called Elizabethtown. It stars Orlando Bloom and Kristen Dunst. I think it was in and out of the theaters in a blink. Sad thing too, it is so well done and a wonderful movie. It is very subtle, but the power of the message is in that subtly.

The guy screws up in a massive, billion dollar way, is fired from his job, goes home planning to kill himself. He is attempting to carry out the plan when he gets the call that his father died. He then has to go to his father's hometown in Elizabethtown, Kentucky to make final arrangements, planning to commit suicide when he gets home. On the plane to Kentucky, he meets a stewardess who talks to him the whole way there. She leaves him in Kentucky with directions to the town and her phone number.

As the movie goes along, he has to deal with his father's extended family. He doesn't know that the entire town knew and loved his father. He starts to get to know the family. As he learns about them, he learns about the father he didnt know. When he is leaving Kentucky with his father's ashes, the stewardess (now friend) gives him a large extensive map complete with music. He is to follow the map and listen to the music as he drives cross country. The journey helps him learn about the wonder of living and the journey of life. He figures out that there is more that defines him than a catastrophic failure. The trip is a symbolic begining of a new life, brought by the ending of another life.

I know, I know, I'm making a butchery of the synopsis, sorry 'bout that. I hope however sucky my writeup, you will take the time to see this movie.

This movie has an INCREDIBLE SOUNDTRACK!! I have said before, a movie soundtrack can be a terrific way to discover new music. This one is very very worth listening to and purchasing!

Im a big believer in the fact that music can strongly influence a life. I have heard this refered to as "the soundtrack of life". Music that touches you becomes part of your soul. You carry it with you. You know what I mean, that familar song comes on the radio, you smile and think about the past. What you were doing when you first heard the song. Me for example... "Careless Whisper" by Wham-Seventh grade, riding the bus home from a vollyball game versus Pearce, AZ. This song came on and the whole bus full sang along. The first time I heard Nirvana-Musicland in the Tucson Mall. "Come as you are" was playing as I walked in. I went straight to the counter and bought it. "I hate myself for loving you" by Joan Jett-wild high school party. Speaking of wild, the entire "Hysteria" album by Def Leppard. Well, I don't think I need to really speak about it. I was doing to this album what EVERYONE did to this album. Oh man, I was a bad bad girl that year LOL!

I guess the gist of the whole thing is this. Get your Netflix or Blockbuster or just go buy the darn thing but watch this movie. The soundtrack is fantastic, so get that too.

Im thinking next time to talk about Otto Titzling and the creation of the Bra. In any case, I am going to recommend a movie or music every week. I hope that you will let me know what you think, and if you have music or a movie to share with me and my 3 readers, bring it on!

Are you a grape or a watermelon?

Ah yes, and so we've come to it. You have been waiting for me to be in a better mood. Well, I am finally in the mood to discuss-AWESOME BOOBAGE.

As I mentioned previously, I joined a group on facebook called HOORAY for BIG BOOBIES. Started by a woman with an-ahem-ample bosom. If you have read my blog before you might have started to get to know my way of thinking. I might be vulgar, gross and blunt-but I am always upfront and honest.

So, honest. Hmm. I have big boobs. Really big boobs. I wear a 42 DDD bra. Now, lets dissect that a bit. The measure of a bra takes two things into account. This is the part to pay attention to guys (filthy buggers, love you too!) The number is the measurement (inches) around the woman's chest. That would be under the breast, against the ribcage, and around the torso. Now, the measure that the guys wonder about. You hear things like "did she have grapes or big melons" or the inevitable "anything bigger than a handful is a waste". WELL, those statements pertain to cup size. That would be the letters. They start at AA and most bras go up to DDD. You think it stops there? Oh contraire, mon petites, specialty stores go up to N and higher. Did you see Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo? The scene in the whorehouse with Neil Patrick Harris? That is an N. BTW, that scene, one of the funniest, jaw dropping lines "Im gonna rock out with my c*ck out and you're gonna jam out with your clam out, it's gonna be magical". LOVE NPH!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LskZpU-zjM0
It's another one that is exponentally funnier after a shot of tequilla.

But again, I ramble. The combination is a woman's bra size. I read somewhere that 85% of women wear the wrong size bra. Amazing. Boobs grow and shrink depending on weigh gain or loss, pregnancy, breast feeding, augmentation, reduction...the list goes on and on. I have been an F, but I am down (ha!) to a DDD. I am only 5'3". Even when I was thinner I had big breasts. Yeah heredity. Short and boobtastic, that's me.

Im reading a book called The Erotic Tounge. No, its not an instruction manual for cunnilingus. It is a lexicon of slang, euphemismn, inuendo and quaint terms for sex, sex acts, body parts, obscenity and dirty talkin'. Think of how many words you know for penis. How many can you name? How many terms for breasts? Where did the term sexual intercourse come from? This book has been interesting, funny and an eye opener.

And thus, I end this post about big un's with a poem
-Ode to Those Four-Letter Words
A woman has bosoms, a bust, or a breast,
Those lily-white swellings that bulge 'neath her vest
They are towers of ivory, sheaves of new wheat,
In a moment of passion, ripe apples to eat.
You may speak of her nipples as small rings of fire
But by Rabelais' beard, she'll throw fifteen fits
If you speak of them roundly as good honest tits.

I hit the quadrafecta! PMS is not just for color matching anymore

The past week I have been so depressed. Just not feeling comfortable in my skin.

I have kind of a routine before bed. Take off my clothes and put on a tank top and pj bottoms. I remove my mascara and wash my face. Then I brush out my hair then floss and brush my teeth. Listerine and some carmex on my lips. Lastly I put my favorite lotion - Bath and Body Works Sensual Amber - set the alarm and climb into bed. As I said, I have been depressed. Last night I was laying in bed close to tears. My hubby came in and could see I was upset. When he asked me what was wrong, I tearfully declared that I was feeling old, ugly, fat and unattractive. He looked at me wide eyed and busted out laughing. After I smacked him he said he had just been thinking how beautiful I was. Then, it dawned on me. WHY I've been depressed. Yep, you guessed it, hormones or as many love to say-pms. I should have realized the reason for the depression but sometimes when you're in the thick of "oh woe is me" you loose perspective.

I guess a lot of women suffer from this but I don't know how many of them are honest about it, with themselves or others. I never used to have the mood swings like this, but as I have gotten older (OH GAWD IM OOOOOLLLLDDD! AAAAACK!) it has been more pronounced. Hubby knows that if I am weepy and start begging him to tell me he loves me, I'm pmsing. Here is a lesson for the few men who are still reading after the mention of GIRL STUFF (good man, hat's off to you brave soul). Remember this, no matter what you do, where you go or who you do in life. NEVER and I really mean NEVER ask a woman who is grouchy or weepy if she is pmsing or (egad) "on the rag". Mention of either of these will mean banishment to the dog house with a slice of cold pizza, a bottle of lotion and your hand for a LONG TIME. See - I'll be honest with you. A woman who is actually experiencing pms isn't always going to see things rationally. Have no fear though! The woman you love has not turned into a 3 headed hate beast from hell. She is just dealing with the natural affects of the chemicals going through her body. Unfortunately she can and will take it out on anyone close. Even strangers can feel the wrath of a woman hormonal.

Think in terms of heavy emotional responses and you will be close to understanding how pms affects the mind. If she is down or cries easily, be kind. Do nice things without having to be asked. Take out the trash, do the dishes or laundry. If she has to ask you to do things when she is dealing with pms, scrambling to do what she asks will only piss her off. Rub her back, or better, her feet. Just be kind to her, pms is hard. You irrationally think that everyone hates you, you can do no right and that you are the ugliest thing on two feet. DO NOT PATRONIZE her by telling her she is being stupid. Just be there for her.

What's so amazing about really deep thoughts?

So here we are again, you must like it in my head to keep coming back. That or you are totally bored out of your skull... Hmmm

Well, I decided to join facebook. I have a myspace but I only have used it once. I needed an outlet the day my grandmother died. Myspace fit the bill. I haven't been back since, I cant read the words I wrote that day.

But I digress. We were talking about facebook I think :)

So I got all signed up and did a profile. Then it gave me a bunch of people who I might know. I found people I worked with, people from HIGH SCHOOL (good and bad), and old friends I hadn't talked to in years. I found out one is a college professor in Athens GA, another is a HR director for a hospital. A dear friend is a high school math teacher (YO WENDELL!). I also found a lot of interesting groups-Hooray for Big Boobies-made me laugh so much I had to join. Well, the laughing and the fact that I am a member of that club LOL! I also found celebrities fan pages, tons of wonderful music pages and interesting movie groups (TAPEHEADS YEAH!). I have even had the privilege of talking with a few very kind celebs. I guess this is where my mind is today.

I have seen a lot of "fangirl" stuff for these people. I think I saw "I luv u ur so hot" about a million times (sometimes I hate texting shorthand!-I'm such a hypocrite though, I have a "text" saying as my license plate). And that's just the feed that I get from the home page. I cant imagine what their pages look like. One of the people seemed so upset the other night it bothered me. I can see where the frustration comes from, so much noise its hard to hear yourself think. "Fans" forget that "celebrities" are people. I think Oprah had one of the best quotes about celebrity-"Always remember this. No matter how famous a person is, everybody pees" The quote made me laugh but it is very true. No matter how high on a pedestal "fans" put their "stars", we are all human. We ALL have morning breath, we ALL fart, we ALL hate things about our bodies and we ALL pee.

This song is "Mad World" by Gary Jules. It's a Tears for Fears cover but the way he sings it, this has to be what some of these celebrities feel when faced with crazed, screaming fans. Everyone "knows" you but no one bothers to know you. I know, I put it on my facebook too but it is still in my head so I'm sharing it here too.

http://www.lyricsmode.com/lyrics/g/gary_jules/mad_world.html

Peace
C
ps, I took this picture at Children's Pool in La Jolla, CA a few summers ago.

Melancholy and such

It is raining tonight. Cold rain. This is the kind of night that makes me put on the Cure, 16 Horsepower or just pure piano music. I admit, I get a bit quiet when the weather is like this.

My mother has all sorts of theories about what makes us the way we are. She has run the gambit of birth order, personality types, color type...hell, even blood type. Amazingly, no zodiac. That's supernatural and not her at all.

So, in mom's book of what makes people tick:

I am a firstborn, which means I am a perfectionist, stubborn and driven. All True

I am what she calls a melancholy. Means I am creative, very deep feeling and can be prone to depression-I take the weight of the world on my shoulders. True again. I am very empathic, I feel people's moods around me. I guess it's hard to hide things around me, I pick things up too much.

Color type-eh-I am blond haired and green eyed. I have type O pos blood-neither of these IMO shapes personality.

I guess Im just me. I love driving home in the early evening. I put my hair in a clip and roll the windows down. I put something soft on the stereo and look around. The sun at that hour starts to turn the mountains red and gold. The soft light makes the green of the trees and cacti almost glow. And the smell of the desert...earthy and green at the same time. The breeze is crisp but not cold. This at least for me, is what serenity feels like.
If Im in the mood, next time I will talk about the boob thing. Just right now, Im just going to listen to the rain on the roof.

Time for a Story!

Good Mornin, afternoon or otherwise :)

Sooo, I WAS gonna talk about a group on facebook I joined called HOORAY FOR BIG BOOBIES, but I guess I promised you a story. I could do it from the perspective of "once upon a time" but it might get confusing. Might be an interesting challenge, but that's for later...

So, the story of how I met hubby...

Well, it starts in February of 1993. I had just graduated from art school and was working for the Tucson Shopper-what we called the "armpit of the art industry"-doing ad design, layout and production. They decided to downsize the art dept, which meant that the last to be hired was the first to go. Yep, that was me. So, off to unemployment I went. I had to apply at 3 places a week to keep my benefits-which were not much believe me. I started applying at places near my home. I applied at a store called Phar-mor. It was a big discount variety store and man, they had everything and CHEAP! They even had a discount pharmacy. I got hired there as a cashier. Now, this was a deep deep discount store. At that time, not all stores had scanners. Some, like Phar-mor, had hand punched registers and price tags. The intercom was a cb radio. Primative sure but by far the most fun job I ever had.

So, It was April '93. I was sitting in the living room watching the news on tv. A segment starts about Phar-mor and how the ceo, Mickey Monus, had faked the inventories in the stores and embezzeld so much money that they were shutting down all the stores west of the Mississippi. That is how I found out I was going to loose my job.

I started looking for a new job and was hired at Office Max, which was right next door to Phar-mor. I worked out my two weeks before leaving. My last day at Phar-mor was payday. I was feeling good, I had secured a job and I had money in my pocket. It was a hot day in mid May, so I decided to get a soda from the vending machine. I remember the Coke machine was a quarter (remember, DEEP discount store). I walked over to the machine to buy a soda. I looked over and noticed a tall man standing at the cash office. I remember thinking he looked really upset. I didnt know him at all. I thought he was so upset, he could use a soda. So, I said to him "You look like you could use a soda, would you like one?" He looked suprised that I would offer but said yes. So, I bought him a soda.

We spent the rest of my last shift talking. He had worked in the pharmacy. When they closed the pharmacy, he had come up front to be a cashier. We talked about all sorts of things. I discovered he was part of the local Rocky Horror Picture Show stage group. I had always wanted to go to the live show but never had. It was Saturday and the show was that night. So, he invited me to go. I didnt know him from adam so I said I would meet him there. You know, just in case he was a nut and I had to escape...

Well, I got there a bit late. I went up to say hi. He was standing there, in the theater, in a pair of tidy whities and white socks. He was playing the part of Brad that night. He sat next to me like that, unfazed and unembarrased, just talking with me. I remember being so impressed that he was completely confident, sitting there, in a dark theater, in his underwear, with a girl he just met.

That was the beginning. We were together every day after that. On July 1, 1993, a party was held at a local bar. It was a farewell party for Phar-mor. Later that night, he asked me to marry him.
I said yes. We had dated 6 weeks.

I joke that I never pay retail, not even for my husband :)

This year we will be together 16 years and married 15. I love him as much today as the day I said yes.

I know I pretty much telling this story for 3 people, but I still wanted to tell it.

Happy New Year

Hi again
Sitting here today, relishing my extra day off. It is a beautiful clear sunny day and 72 degrees. It feels like a sunday. I like sundays.

Got a phone call today from my father in law. Told me something I all ready suspected. My sister in law is pregnant. Again. That will make their 5th child in 6 years. I used to feel...kinda defective because I cant have kids. I would get really weepy and depressed. Holiday family gatherings sucked, I would always get that sympathetic look from relatives "oh, it will be your turn next" and bullshit like that. Well, after finding out about niece or nephew #8, I am not weepy. Or depressed. Or sad. I have my serenity. I have my warm sunbeam that hits my chair, I have my loving husband and my health. I am happy and content. Sure, there are things I would like to do, but my happiness doesnt depend on them.

All this has me thinking about the dreaded New Years Resolution. I dont like them. I think that people often make resolutions that are idealistic rather than realistic. Kinda sets a person up for an inevitable fall. I dont go for that. You know me, I read a lot from a lot of sources. So, I was reading the January 1st edition of the Arizona Daily Star. Dear Abby (yeah I know, "OMG, Dear Abby, SERIOUSLY?!? but come on, bear with me) had something that really spoke to me and I wanted to share it with you.

She calls it Words to live by in a new year
DEAR READERS: Welcome to a brand-new year. I'm printing Dear Abby's list of New Year's resolutions-adapted by my mother from the original credo of Al-Anon.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will live through this day only. I will not brood about yesterday or obsess about tomorrow. I will not set far-reaching goals or try to overcome all of my problems at once. I know that I can do something for 24 hours that would overwhelm me if I had to keep it up for a lifetime.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will be happy. I will not dwell on thoughts that depress me. If my mind fills with clouds, I will chase them away and fill it with sunshine.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will accept what is. I will face reality. I will correct those things that I can correct and accept those I cannot.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will improve my mind. I will read something that requires effort, thought and concentration. I will not be a mental loafer.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will make a conscious effort to be agreeable. I will be kind and courteous to those who cross my path, and I'll not speak ill of others. I'll improve my appearance, speak softly and not interrupt when someone else is talking. Just for today, I'll refrain from improving anybody but myself.
JUST FOR TODAY, I will do something positive to improve my health. If I'm a smoker, I'll quit. If I'm overweight, I'll eat healthy
-if only just for today.

You dont have to be a member of Al-Anon for this to have meaning. It is the ol' one day at a time, but it is very true. Make a change today. Tomorrow is another day. If you mess up today, so what. Fall down seven times, get up eight.

It is my sincerest wish that you all have a beautiful, peaceful and fulfilling year.
My next posting, I will tell you a story. The story of how I met my husband. It is a good story, I promise ;)
Peace be with you all
C