Dogville

The other day I picked up the newest Nicole Kidman film to be released on DVD. I had heard only a slight buzz about this movie among other art film fans. But, I had yet to see it. Dogville is such an interesting movie. I really enjoyed it. Despite the fact it is 3 hours long, I don't have one complaint about the length. That is slightly surprising due mostly to the fact that I am a passionate hour and a half movie advocate.

The story of Grace and Tom Edison is told in nine chapters and a prologue. Those are the first words from the narrator. Then, the camera moves in from above to a small town in Colorado during the Depression. Granted, you are picturing a REAL town. No, no, no. This story is told in the absolute minimalist. Instead of an actual town, the set takes place inside and there are lines drawn on the ground indicating who lives where and what streets are what. Occasionally, furniture is scattered through houses with no walls or doors. The actors have to mime opening and closing doors. Even the town dog, Moses, is just a chalk drawing on the ground.

Many critics have said Dogville is entirely anti-American, which I strongly disagree with. It's just a story of the human condition. Dogville is a town of just that, dogs. We learn about how cruel and arrogant we can become. And above all, we learn just how harshly we can judge ourselves before casting any blame on those around us.

Googlism

Googlism is a site I found on Jeff's AIM away message. I'm not sure what the heck it is, but if you put in your name or a place it pops up with all kinds of weird information. It says put in your name and find out what Google.com thinks of you. My only guess is that these are phrases containing your name in the google search. Anyway, this is what google thinks of me:

susan is no longer a friend of narnia
susan is a female participant from uganda
susan is a quick and subtle board game for two players
susan is an acronym for smallest univalue segment assimilating nucleus
susan is a member of the yurok tribe and lives in salyer
susan is the director of the school of flirting® and president of dynamic communications
susan is appearing in your area
susan is new to the escort world and is looking forward to meeting new and interesting people

Those are the most interesting/weird. My favorite is the first one.

Mmmmm...twin filet

Last night Drew and I went out with his family to Harry's tap room in Clarendon. It was, by far, one of the best meals I've had in awhile. I had bleu cheese twin filets and mashed potatoes. The potatoes could have been better, but the filets were SO good (can you tell I'm hungry right now?). Tonight we're going to Mie N Yu. It's an eclectic little restaurant in Georgetown. Supposedly, it's where you go to be seen. I've heard the food is mediocre, but the ambiance is super cool. I checked out the website and it seems worth going to (especially if someone else is paying).

This is the last Saturday without college football. I don't know how I survived the last 7 months, but I finally can be fufilled again. OK, I know I'm taking it a little too far...but I can't help it! I'm excited. My only problem is, I can't find anyone around who is as into watching college football as I am. Drew is moderately interested. And, he'll watch it. So, thats something. Oh well.

Kerry said, "Of course, the president keeps telling people he would never question my service to our country. Instead, he watches as a Republican-funded attack group does just that."

Prison Pete, among other things...

Right before I started this post, I was on the main blogger page where they have featured blogs. One in particular caught my eye. It was called Prison Pete. I have to admit, I was slightly intriqued. Prison Pete is a blog which may or may not be written by a federal inmate. Apparently, Prison Pete sends or gives letters to someone "on the outside" and they retype them onto a blog. I am inclined to believe this may be real because there are only about 6 or 7 posts over the last 5 or 6 months. But, Prison Pete seems to be well educated and write better than I do. And, not to stereotype federal inmates, but that doesn't seem likely to me. But, it's entertaining, so there ya go. I don't remember the website, but I am sure if you type Prison Pete blog into Yahoo!, you will find it.

Lets see...what else...well, I received my Teach for America application a little while ago. I have filled everything out but the essay. For the essay, I've written 5 sentences. I'm not sure why it's been so hard for me to get motivated to write the essay. Maybe because I know it doesn't have to be done until October 24. And, with that kind of time...God, I'm such a procrastinator. I should just finish it. I would really like to get into this program. Previous TFA teachers have told me it's the hardest thing they have ever done in their lives. And, I'm really looking for a challenge right now. I'm not sure if teaching is what I would want to do forever, but I want to give it a try. However, I'm not sure how my chances are about actually getting into this program.

This weekend, Drew's parents and brother and sister are coming to visit. It should be fun. They are super nice and always take us out to eat. Then, next Tuesday, Drew and I are going to King's Dominion. Which, basically is King's Island if you're from Ohio.

Clark Kent...Superman's alter ego

It was last night that I saw one of the top two movies all year. After work, I quickly drove to the nearest Blockbuster and picked up Kill Bill: vol 2. I highly recommend, if you haven't seen it, you stop what you are doing at this moment and watch it. Unless, of course, you haven't seen volume 1. Then I suggest you get both and make a day of it.

Now that I have seen both, I must say, Tarantino is not only an accomplished director and talented writer, but he also is a freaking genius at marketing. All that buzz I heard pre-release of both movies about time contraints (of the production process and the actual film) and budget problems, made me roll my eyes and wait until the DVDs were released. I figured if they hadn't actually planned to make this into two films and had to, it must be bad. Boy, was I wrong. Splitting the story into two parts was a brilliant idea.

Vol. 1 lays the groundwork and blueprints the story. Vol. 2 dives into the characters and their struggles head first. This is the role Uma Thurman will have to live up to for the rest of her career. Not only does she tackle action, but she fleshes out The Bride as a mother, killer, and lover. The cinematography was unique and totally Quentin Tarantino. I could have watched the frames (even if the story was horrible)-- and been satisfied. The genre was Kung Fu meets Spaghetti Western.

So, unless you've seen the film, the whole Clark Kent Superman thing is probably foreign. But, it's at the end of the movie, so I don't want to give anything away. For those of you who have seen it, it was my favorite speech and a great analogy. It's one of those tricky little surprises throughout the film that makes you smile. Exactly like the mystery as to why they bleep out the bride's name.

Anyway, go get it now. There's no excuse, unless you are currently watching Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (the other one on my top movies of this year list). Then, you're forgiven.

This weekend I did a whole bunch of nothing. I did clean the house mostly due to the fact my family is coming in on Wednesday. Oh, an update on that...the part of my family (the brother and two teenage girls) actually cancelled. Which, I find pretty irresponsible. But, I really don't care. Now I don't have to entertain two teenage girls wearing next to nothing.

Drew started his job at the bike store last week. He seems to really enjoy it. I couldn't imagine going back to working retail. But, I think this situation is a little different because the management is super cool and this seems to be something Drew is extremely interested in. Lets see...now I want to make a list of all my retail jobs... First was Office Max, where I worked for 4 disfuctional years. On my first day there, the manager didn't know I was scheduled to work 8 hours and they refused to give me a lunch break. Luckily my friends Sam and Aaron brought me some food. Then I worked at an Office Supply store in Marietta. I'm not really sure why I stuck with the Office supply retail world. The only thing I remember about working there is their lack of technology and a man telling me if I stayed in Marietta for the full 4 years of college, I would greatly increase my chances of getting lung cancer. It honestly scared me. Once I moved to Dayton, I worked at Target a couple days a week stocking from 4am to 8am. Then, that summer I was employed by Pier 1 Imports. You would think working at Pier One would be easy, wouldn't ya? No, no, no my friend. Somehow, they suckered me into unloading a truck 3 days a week. I would go in at 6am and work generally till 2pm. The problem was, there was NO loading dock. And, I don't know if you have been in Pier One lately, but they have some big freaking furniture. Like 500 lb. armoires. Once we unloaded the truck, it's not like you can just stick it inside. You put it outside near the dumpster and unwrap the furniture. And, you better believe those things were tied up, bubble wrapped and generally horrible to open. Did I mention this was during the summer in Ohio? And, there was no shade? Once you were done getting disgustingly dirty, if your shift wasn't over, you would have to change and then work inside the store. I am sure the customers thought I was some kind of heathen.

So there's my retail world resume. I don't think I will be going back anytime soon unless I absolutely have to.

Plea

If anyone out there knows any OSU grads or OSU students---you can help me! I am looking for 2-4 tickets to ANY OSU home game in October. And, I'm willing to pay (a little) over face value. Anyway, if you can help, please let me know.

Welcome Home Mr.Diploma!

So HERE'S a rather funny/startling story. First we must flash back to April of 2003 (ahh...the pre- real job days). I was completing my last quarter at Wright State. I must have been parked in the teacher lot or something, because I received a $100 parking ticket. I was really pissed because this was the second ticket I received that quarter. And, if you get one ticket, you can get it forgiven (if you vote for student government..I know, weird ploy. I wish voting in real life got my parking tickets forgiven). So, being that I had only been at WSU for one quarter that whole year (since I was interning in DC) and I could care less about actually receiving my diploma, I didn't pay the last ticket. I did, however, vote for student government and get one ticket forgiven. I figured if I ever needed my diploma or transcripts, I would have $100 by that time and I would go ahead and pay it. Flash foward a year. My mom decided it would be nice to actually have the diploma she paid oh so much money for. So, she was nice enough to offer up the $100.

Yesterday, I finally called WSU to get it settled. And, you know that feeling? That scared feeling just for a fleeting minute when you flash to the most horrible thing that could have happened? Well, as I was waiting to hear from the parking ticket lady, I thought, hmmm...what if this isn't the reason I didn't receive my diploma?!? What if I didn't really graduate!?!? And, to my horror, the parking ticket lady came on and said, "Well I don't see any parking tickets under your name." And, I said, "WHAT?!?!" No, really. She then transferred me to the registrar. And, while I was on hold for what seemed like forever I kept thinking...I DID take all my Geology classes...RIGHT?!? You see, it actually was completely possible something didn't work out with my credits. Because, my degree is a mish-mash of transferred credits (from Marietta and some Gen-Eds I took over a summer in community college), made-up classes (like when I took "arts administration" my last quarter and just worked in the theatre office), and classes I was just plain signed out of (Stagecraft). All of these thoughts were racing through my mind when the registrar lady came on. Then, she flat out told me she had no idea why I didn't receive my diploma because everything was fine. Don't get me wrong, I clarified with her 3 times to make sure I actually held a degree. So, I guess they are going to send my diploma to me today. What's even better, I didn't have to pay the $100 parking ticket. :)

Thanks to everyone out there who kept their fingers crossed. It must have worked because as of last night, Mandy is planning on moving to DC. She's moving out here in mid-September. For a little while, she will be living with Drew and I (and Penny). I like typing (Penny) in a smaller font because she's a little pug. :) Anyway, Mandy will stay in our extra room/den. It's super small. And, we'll have to figure out what to do about the lack of closet. But, Mandy is pretty small herself, so I don't think it will bother her much.

I am almost fully recovered from the flu. Yeah, I figure since I no longer have the abdominal pain, I don't have gall stones. I still get kind of nauseous during the day (sorry, like you wanted to know that), and I feel slightly tired. But, other than that, I think I'm making it through.

My family is coming to visit next week. I am only moderately looking forward to it. You see, not only are my parents coming (which is great), but my half brother, his two teenage daughters, my other brother AND his wife are coming too. Don't worry, only the two teenage daughters are staying with us. The point of this excursion is for my dad's army reunion. But, the whole thing seems to be an organizational disaster. With 9 of us, including Drew and I, it would be nearly impossible to just walk in a restaurant and have them seat us. And, no one thought of this but me, a week before. So, I guess it's my job to plan what everyone will be doing when they aren't at this reunion. I am, however, excited about typing up this "itinerary" of sorts. Being a Stage Manager at heart, I get very excited at the possibility of color coding and office supplies.