Game!

OK.

A mild-mannered, uptight gentleman is engaged to be married to a young lady he knows because of his job. The wedding is set for the next day. He meets another young lady, also because of his job (but in a more tertiary sense), who promptly steals his car. They embark on a series of mad adventures together with a great cat, spend the night together, and wind up in love.

What movie have I just described? (Hint: This is not as easy as it looks.)

UPDATE: Laurie walked away with that almost instantly. The answer is Bringing Up Baby AND Who's That Girl. There are so many more similarities than I mentioned - it's kind of distressing that I never noticed until Saturday. The biggest difference seems to be that Susan isn't a convict. (There are loads of small differences, but not many in the actual basic stories.)

knots

I think our bank is fucking us. As of this morning, I thought there was a discrepancy of about $90 in their favor. All of the entries in my register match the entries on the online banking thingy, but the running totals are totally different. I just rechecked my math twice, and it now appears that the discrepancy is closer to $150. I NEED THAT MONEY. So I have to figure out where it is. And everybody knows that banks don't give up money once they've taken it from you. (There is another $50 or so in overdraft fees that I believe to be totally bogus but I might not even try to fight that.) So now I have to go back, double-check all of the entries, and compare the running totals. Back to August, which is as far back as my register goes. FUUUUUUUUCK. I had plans for today, you know. Plans that did not involve having to fight for MY OWN MONEY.

This is Halloween, Halloween

Some stuff I wrote:

Saw II Animated Comic And Pop Art Posters

Dr. Caligari Remake Promises To Be Somnambulist Hit (my best pun ever)

Film Review: Saw II

Am I crazy?

Don't answer that!

Once upon a time, I used to read. Books. Whole books, with chapters, many of them with no pictures at all. Lately I haven't read much of anything that isn't on the internet or in screenplay format. And that is not really good for the brain.

Last night I was pretty tired and my neck was really stiff and sore. So I took a nice hot shower to relax the muscles, slathered on the arnica, and got into my PJs. (OK, put them back on. I wear them pretty much all the time.) And found, of course, that i was wide awake.

So I went looking for something to read. My criteria: It had to be something I've never read. This might seem obvious to most people, but I have a major tendency to re-read. The only time I am guaranteed to read a new book is on an airplane, and I can't exactly fly somewhere every time I need to read. Besides, I usually stick to chicklit at 30,000 feet.

My choice: John Steinbeck's The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. A book that was never finished.

I am clearly mad.

Sitting in wait for the inevitable time that (should I actually read this one all the way through) I get furious and want to know what happens to everyone (I haven't really been around Arthurian legend since I was eight and saw a play about Camelot at the Woodstock Playhouse, which promptly burned to the ground) are T.H. White's The Once And Future King and Donald Barthelme's The King. So I think I'll be all right.

But what will my brain think of this fascinating new development?

Riding in cars with boys.

Oh, but not that awful Drew Barrymore movie. Why does she keep getting cast in anything that is not The Wedding Singer? I just don't know.

Anyway, my title refers to the way I spent the evening. Of course, there was just the one boy, unless Froggy is a boy (we have decided not to find out).

I was feeling a little bit down. That happens to me, more often than I'd like. This particular time, I was upset because a lot of people we know were going to a Hallowe'en party that we attended last year but decided not to go to this year, due in large part to not having costumes. I was feeling sad that we tend to be anti-social and never do "fun" stuff. Even though I genuinely prefer our kind of social activity, where we have people over for supper or meet Chris and Elise for a picnic. But logic doesn't enter into the blues, so I was upset that we don't go to parties. Even though I don't like parties. Can you imagine putting up with this every day? My husband is a saint.

Anyway.

Will tried very hard to cheer me up, but unfortunately his method (suggesting last minute costumes) was not in tune with my mood so I was just more obnoxious and then we were both frustrated. Yay.

Eventually I hit upon the idea of driving around looking for houses with good decorations. I did a quickie finishing job on a scarf I knitted for the occasion (it's this wonderful soft fuzzy orange yarn I got in the dollar bin at Target, and I knitted it weeks ago but never wove in the ends), grabbed the camera, and we got in the car. I suggested Los Feliz but Will wanted to first check out this nice neighborhood he discovered a while back that is behind a Methodist church. We wound up driving around there and up through the filthy rich part of Hancock Park (seriously, these are the biggest houses I have ever seen that were not gated).

At one point we had the following conversation:

Will: What is this type of architecture called?
Me: I don't know.
Will: Maybe Tudor?
Me: We should ask Jess.
Will: ...
Me: Because she has a degree in architecture.
Will: Oh. I thought maybe you meant because she's English.
Me: [hysterical laughter]

So obviously everybody's mood improved.

We are absolutely determined to one day live in the neighborhood I mentioned earlier. I guess it's in Mid-Wilshire area, maybe. I'm a little fuzzy on neighborhoods. We saw lots of nice decorations (way more than the super-rich area) and several For Sale signs. We also smelled a wood-burning fireplace. There is a park and I think a school in the immediate area. (The school is irrelevant since we plan to homeschool, but it's nice to know.) It's walking distance to lots of nice things but still quiet.

Please send half a million dollars. I will give you cookies.

To do.

• Make list
  
• Bake cookies: peanut butter, ginger/molasses, chocolate chip
  
• Eat cookies
  
• Faint from sugar shock

Wow! I haven't accomplished this much in a single morning since...well, I can't even remember, so it must be a really, really long time.

ka-thunk

Despite my very best paranoia, it looks like we may be getting a real baby out of this.

Tonight, we heard its heartbeat.

Book reviews by stupid people!

�I guess if you were interested in crazy people this is the book for you.�

This is not "The Pregnancy Chronicles."

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything much to write about lately that isn't of at least tertiary relation to gestation.

I shocked Will this morning by informing him that our little pumpkin seed is [this] big (I was holding two fingers just over an inch apart) and no longer tadpole shaped. (This led to him calling his child "froggy." So precious!) In fact, ears are happening right now, so we might need to watch our cursing.

We have our first prenatal visit with our midwife on Thursday. We have opted to eschew the traditional (American) medical model of pregnancy and birth, and will be doing it all at home with (close to) zero intervention, barring any serious complications. (It is to be hoped that home is not this apartment by May, as I do not feel comforted and safe here.) This had led to some disapproval and fear from some family members. While concern is always appreciated, it does seem to me that perhaps people would give me the benefit of the doubt and assume that I am not jumping into this blind. I make informed decisions. So if you have any criticisms or stories of midwifery gone wrong, keep them to yourself. (I will, however, be happy to answer any and all questions of the non-judgmental variety.)

I was terribly amused the other day when I referred to myself as nine weeks pregnant and the woman I was talking to asked me if "they" had dated me. Um, no. I did it myself. You count the weeks from the start date of your last period. Which is dumb and imprecise, but that's how you do it. And I know there are ladies who don't keep track, but still. Dumb question.

(I can also tell you when we conceived, but that would mean admitting that it could have been any one of five times, which would mean admitting that I did it with my husband -- more than once!)

I don't really have much else to say. I just didn't like having so little actual content up lately.

Ugh.

I am having a terrible day. It would not be unfair to say I am in the depths of despair. And to add injury to insult already added to injury, I have to go look for something to wear to a wedding tomorrow. And I have no money (or so little that it might as well be none). And I think I've already outgrown the enormous bra I bought last weekend. And anything I buy is not likely to fit for more than a week.

Please send Gilbert Blythe.

Back in the horror reviewing saddle.

Film Review: Doom - Creature Corner

I'm ready for my superpowers, Mr. DeMille.

I am eating Organic Flax Plus multi-bran cereal with Omega 3, in organic soy milk. This is obviously the healthiest, most nutritious meal on earth. I would like to either lose weight (not too much, because of the baby, but seriously - I was 20 pounds overweight when impregnated) or gain the ability to leap tall buildings in a single bound. That or invisibility. Ooh, or deadly accuracy, or maybe gymnastics abilities. Or figure-skating!

In other words, I'm not fussy, but can I have my reward now?

(P.S. The cereal is actually delicious.)

noobz.

I don't actually get a lot of this, but that just makes it funnier. (GIF Image, 412x226 pixels)

OHMYGOD!

Normally I would post this on my totally neglected, hasn't been updated in months knitting blog, but I actually want people to check it out: Flickr: cakeyvoice's photos tagged with dawnofthedead

Happy Anniversary to Us!

Will and I have been married one year today. And we totally still like each other! Bonus.

This post contains lots of pictures, mostly of babies.

I haven't had time to write about my day on Wednesday, which deserves its very own lengthy post because it was just such a terrific day. For now, I am going to briefly summarize: I drove down to Long Beach to visit with Becky (aka Crutchie), who was visiting family and had Tyler and Casey in tow. So Matty's boys have met their first WDer and survived to tell about it. Now if only they could talk. (Actually Casey in particular is quite vocal, but neither of them speaks much English.)
Here is a picture of the boys (and me!) in all their adorableness: (Please observe that Casey grabbed his brother's hand. All together now: "Awwwwww.")

And some individual glamour shots: Casey • Tyler

Now here is some proof of my own expectant status and Will's reaction

And finally, a picture of my belly at 8 weeks (in other words, all you can see is fat, but pretend it is baby):

Joey

Since I am married and expecting a baby, I feel quite safe in saying that I was utterly overcome with emotion when I found a picture of Joey Eppard on the internet.

Joey was the first boy I ever fell madly in love with. He was in love with someone else, just as hopelessly (well, except that they eventually got together), and we were close friends for years. His band, 3, remains to this day the band that I have seen live the most times. And today I found out that they are still together, though Joe is the only original member, and their albums are on Amazon.

Joey played the guitar like it was part of him. He could have been a one man band with just the guitar. He restrung a left-hand guitar right-handed, like Jimmi Hendrix but the other way round. Unless he was actually left-handed, which is possible. My memory isn't so great.

When I knew them, Joey's younger brother Josh played the drums and Chris Bittner played bass. I hope they are both doing well. They were terrific people. (Apparently Josh has a rap album out, which - and I hate to sound like an old hen, but he was 13 when I knew him - is just the cutest thing I have ever heard.)

OK - 3 is on MySpace, which I normally hate, but I will take anything I can get. And they have three songs available there. And when I heard Joe's voice I started to cry. And I know I could blame the pregnancy hormones, but I think this is some form of desperate nostalgia. He was just So Damn Important to me for so long, and to not know him at all anymore made a hole that I didn't even know about.

Obviously, the only thing for me to do is go stuff my face with Mexican food. (And that is the pregnancy talking.)

Must read!

The Story of Kogepan

Vote!

I find pregnancy tickers thoroughly revolting - not the practice of counting down, but the bright colors and hideous drawings of fetuses (or whatever the plural is - I AM NOT HAVING TWINS THANK YOU VERY MUCH) and occasional seizure-inducing flashing lights. I will probably just use a plain text countdown like I do for Christmas and my birthday, but I thought first I'd try to find something less disgusting but still pre-made for cooking a baby.

So, what do you think?

A few statistics

(Or: TMI)

The first date of my last period was August 18 (my mom's birthday!).

The baby was conceived between August 25th and 30th.

We have known for sure since September 17, two days after my period was due, though I suspected much earlier. Honestly.

If you saw us over Labor Day weekend, we were pregnant, but didn't know it yet (though I maintain that I suspected).

That makes me eight weeks pregnant this Thursday, by the somewhat retarded method of counting that is used these days. We used that method to determine the due date, so it is almost certainly incorrect. Therefore, we'll do our best to have the baby on the 19th, 22nd, 29th, and any other days y'all request. I am willing to go up to three weeks early*, but no more. I will only deal with being more than a few days late if it is to birth the bairn on 06/06/06.

Also, regarding that silent birth thing - I'm considering it, but I'd rather do zero gravity.

Any further questions? (No, we will not name the child for you. We are naming it after me.)

*I suspect my due date is a week late; I was born 2 weeks early but fully cooked. Therefore.

BANG!

They are replacing our roof. Right this minute. This is TERRIFIC NEWS, unless you happen to be a fraidy-cat pregnant lady who is huddled under a blanket, terrified the ceiling is going to come crashing down on her head.

Retraction.

Will and I would like to apologize if we have said to you, in the last eight weeks or so, that we are "in negotiations" to expand our family. This was said in error, as we really meant we were (chronologically):

• fucking like bunnies
  
• waiting two weeks
  
• peeing on a stick
  
• waiting two minutes
  
• staring at the stick, saying, "do you think..." "I'm pretty sure..." "er..." "um..."
  
• peeing on more sticks
  
• which were defective
  
• finally, on the third day of peeing, getting a +
  
• keeping it a secret

Baby is due May 25th.

Three cheers for my mom!

My mother has completed her certification and is a full-fledged A&P. Apparently this is nothing to do with the chain of grocery stores, but rather some sort of airplane mechanic thingy.

Boa vs. Python

If you knew about this movie and you didn't tell me, I am never speaking to you again!

trout fishing

I have been informed by a totally unreliable source that I cannot complain about other people not updating their blogs if I neglect my own. This is patently untrue, but Sydney just killed the man I love (Peter Berg) so I need a break from brainless television to recover.

Anyway.

Life is strange lately. I am holding onto grudges and secrets and trying to keep them in separate pockets and still be a happy person. So I am really tired all the time.

Also of note: we were invited to a bazillion weddings this month. When did October become the new June?

August Wilson has died.

August Wilson, the greatest American playwright possibly to ever live, and certainly to have lived until yesterday, died of cancer.

His great life's work, a series of plays taking place in each decade of the twentieth century in different Pittsburgh neighborhoods, was complete.

I wrote this in the comments on John's blog, where he posted an obituary:

It is horrible to no longer be able to say he is the greatest living playwright. I still maintain he is the greatest American playwright.

His plays all premiered (previewed? Am I fucking up my theatre vocab?) at the Pittsburgh Public Theatre, and I got to see one of them (Will says it was Seven Guitars). The next one, King Hedley II, we missed, and I never quite got over that. And not just because we would have gotten to meet Tony Todd.

So cute! So not surprising! (And I didn't even rig it.)

You Are A: Monkey!

Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who is quick to learn new things, loves to climb and is known to show off. A monkey's tiny primate features are irresistable, as is her gregarious personality!

You were almost a: Parakeet or a Groundhog
You are least like a: Turtle or a DucklingDiscover What Cute Animal You Are!