Both a Sad Day for Dallas & a Happy One For Me

While getting ready for work this morning my phone alerted me to a text message. This freaked my out as everyone I know should have been in bed at this time. I learned, with the rest of Dallas, that this morning a fire destroyed a block of bars and restaurants on Greenville Ave. Those effected were Hurricane's, Terelli's, Mick's, and Greenville Bar and Grill. Surely others will be effected by the massive plumes of smoke that continued through much of the morning. According to reports, Fire Rescue was called at 5:45 AM. When they arrived on the scene, flames shot 30-40 feet in the air. It is unclear what started this fire (they're saying it originated in the shared attic space), but what is clear is a bunch of hardworking people are out of a job. Not to mention the lushes and patron's who called these bars home as well. I couldn't help but be thankful the fire wasn't across the street at one of our neighborhood haunts and the place of employ for many of my friends.

Almost immediately there was Facebook group dedicated to posting jobs in the area and to set up donations to help preserve this historic block (and I hope help out the jobless workers). I support donating to the employees, but I'm a bit torn on the business owners. At least one of the owners (of two of the effected businesses) says he doesn't have insurance. That's a real bummer, but why not? I thought surely bars and restaurants on Greenville would have ponied up after the block fire of 2005. I'm sure it can be costly, but it is in no comparison of the costs without. Thoughts?

Wow! I think my eye stopped twitching for a second at this one. I've been awarded the Happy Blogger Award. I think this is hilarious!!! I know sometimes I include funny bits, but I always feel like I bitch more than I smile. Certainly this award has added a couple notches to the latter. Thanks Natalie for thinking of me.

So, the first part of this award I thought would be easy: name 10 things that make you happy. However, I may have problems with the second part: pass on to 10 blogger's. I recently did a little spring cleaning in my digital life which means I lost a couple blogs and finally read all the online articles I'd been hording in my favorites for at least 3 months. Still, here goes!

10 Things That Make Me Happy

1. Spending time with my sister. I already put in my request to visit her for her birthday again this year. How fortunate that it coincides with Crawfest!

2. Summers at my Gram's in the Poconos. How can you not be pleased looking at this:

3. Opening weekend at the Movies.

4. My Mom's homemade fudge.

5. Halloween. Heck, it still (and always) looks like Halloween in my house.

6. Presents. Come on! Who doesn't love little trinkets?

7. My daily dose of Internet hilarity: Married to the Sea, Lovely Listing, I Can Has Cheezburger, and everyone on the blogosphere.

8. Travel

9. Getting the Final Jeopardy question right.

10. Going on a date. Though I'm not too sure about this one as it's been forever since I've been. Still, the Hollywood style recreation I play in my head is almost as satisfying.

So, who gets the love? I know it says 10, but I really wanted to pass it on to blogger's who regularly make me laugh or make me feel bad about myself for not being so peppy. Therefore, may I present:

Natalie Cottrell
Gofahne Road

So... I Got That Going For Me

Restaurant Refugee

Do you want some love too? Make sure you're following my blog. I love to follow followers (?quizzical face?) and more importantly, I love them like puppies like getting dressed up as emo kids.

This Was Supposed to Be A Movie Review, Instead I feel Pretty and Squisy Inside

So, the lovely and talented Natalie just sent me my 2nd award! I'm all a flutter. If you don't read her blog, check it out- she's adorable.

The rules for this one are to list 7 things you may not know about me, then pass the award to 5 other bloggers. So:

1. I am afraid of what I call "open air heights". What this means is that heights themselves don't bother me, but put me some where windy and high up and we may have a problem. I don't like the Texas Tornado (that's the swing ride to non-Texans) at Six Flags. I don't ride the airplane ride either. I'm fine at the top of skyscrapers, but not so good if I don't have solid footing below me.

2. Everyone, well okay maybe not everyone but a lot of people; think my favorite movie is "Pulp Fiction". They would be wrong. (It feels wrong even typing that). I HEART "Pulp Fiction" but haven't watched it in years. The problem is, I know it completely by heart (come on, test me) and cannot sit through it anymore. It's no fun to quote the whole movie to yourself and I've found others don't appreciate it either. Pulp was the 1st movie where everything clicked for me, I understood what film making was. It's a strong Top 5 contender, probably #2 if I really think about it. No, my favorite movie is "Vivre sa Vie" by Goddard. It just came out on Criterion DVD so check it out. It is everything I love about New Wave cinema, the French, being female, getting excited and saddened by the movie experience.

3. I collect gnomes. I collect a lot of things, but gnomes have been going on for a while. I have about 4 or 5 so far, so not a big collection...yet.

4. I don't know my natural hair colour. I can make assumptions, but you know what they say when you assume. I was born towheaded and lived that way most of my life. There was the brief foray into pink and purple hair (separately of course). I had black hair for a couple years, but I never feel as comfortable as I do with platinum locks. Of course, I'm scheming to go red soon. Wish me luck!

5. If you ask me to name your pet, I will pick a name from "The Neverending Story"- one of my favorite movies and books. There was the Chow named Bastian, my sister's Chihuahua cross named Falkor. You just can't have Artex, that one's mine!

6. Wow, this is hard! I fully admit to owning a Mili Vinili album back in the day. Girl, you know it's true!

7. When I grow up, I want to be a writer or a filmmaker. Now, if only I could get over myself and get going!

As for the 5 Beautiful Bloggers:

Shine Out Loud

Gofahne

Carissa Jaded

Genius Pending

Homesick Texan

Can It Still Be A Guilty Pleasure If I Share It With All Of You??

This post was supposed to be another depressive ramble about regret and decisions and the like, but while writing it I just couldn't take it anymore so I'm bumping up Sundays list because this is my blog and I can break the "rules" if I want to. Not to worry, sad musings on the state of my life will certainly rear their ugly heads in future.

While I understand "guilty pleasures" are by definition secret, who would I be if I didn't put your mind at ease that there is someone equally disturbed, if not more so, than yourself? As #6 will attest, I love lists. This being the end of the year, we are inundated with them and for that I am thankful.

2009's Guiltiest Pleasures (as told by me to you)

1. Young Adult Literature: This year I found myself reading more and more books designed with the "tween" population in mind. Part of the reason was I was sick of some of my favorite adult books becoming too "adult" and losing track of the story that was supposed to accompany the romance (I'm looking at you Laurell K Hamilton). Also, these books are a quick and easy read and sometimes that's exactly what you're looking for. I've always been a quick reader- I was always proud to display the results of my reading levels to my folks as they were well above my educational level- and as such, I missed out on a lot of the books young people are supposed to read. Sure, I had my fair share of R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike books, but no where near the volume of more mature fare I was consuming. This year, I seemed to be destined to correct this error. My favorite new series are "The House of Night" book's written by mother/daughter team P.C. and Kristen Cast. It takes place in a world where vampirism is a genetic curse that raises it's ugly head around puberty (symbolism anyone?). The main character, Zoey, is "marked" one day at school with the half-moon tattoo that denotes fledgling vampires and carted off to a boarding school to learn the ways of her new life. Chaos ensues and fun is to be had by all. There are about 6 or 7 books so far, and I'm really enjoying the afternoon of easy fun they afford me.

2. Bravo TV- Damn you Bravo for your marathon's of crap television that I am compelled to watch when I'm home from work. Sure, you give us gems like "Top Chef" (which is not embarrassing at all), but what about "Million Dollar Listing", "The Millionaire Matchmaker", and "Tabitha's Salon Takeover"? This is not to mention "My Life on the D-List" (which shouldn't count because I actually record these and heart Kathy Griffin), "Flippin' Out", "The Rachel Zoe Project", and "NYC Prep". I hate you and I hate that I MUST watch these marathon's when they come on. I can't help myself. I feel dirty afterward, and I lie about what I'm watching when friend's call. You are the black hole of TV and I love/hate you for it. If I can just keep myself from being sucked into your numerous "Real Housewives" marathon's I may just keep my sanity and a bit of my dignity.

3. Lady Gaga- I don't care, I'm a bit obsessed right now. I think she is so fascinating. What helped was reading an article with her in Interview that helped shed some light on what's going on in her bizarrely coiffed head. She is in on the joke people- though I think the Kermit outfit was still a bit weird. She has a great voice, it translates well to live tv, and great stage show. I can't help bopping along to her songs when they come on the radio and now, through my sister, I have "The Fame Monster Deluxe" and can coo anytime all day long. Is it only me who tears up a bit to "Paparazzi"?
"I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me...Promise I'll be kind, But I won't stop until that boy is mine...Chase you down until you love me, Papa-Paparazzi"

4. Lovelylistings.com- Okay, so maybe this isn't so guilty as I've told anyone with a love for crazy photo blogs, but it is certainly my internet find of the year. Disastrous realtor listings featuring everything from porcelain dolls galore, gross bathrooms, and the funniest thing I've seen all year: Modesty Chair . It will eat up an afternoon and you won't even notice. Enjoy!

5. Farkle- I don't know where you came from Farkle for Facebook! You used to be an innocent dice game I played with my friend Head Mess Mistress at Spider House in Austin; now you've taken over my Facebook time as well. Damn you for being so addictive and so much more difficult to cheat at!

6. Best of Lists- Surprising, I'm sure, but I can't turn away a good list. /Flim seems to post all of them, from John Waters to Tarrantino to AFI, and I eat them up. I'm sure this has something to do with how much I like to create lists.... Which segue perfectly into...

7. Award Season- I haven't missed an Academy Awards telecast since I was born, and I'm not going to start now! All year the anticipation builds- Who will be nominated? Who will be drunk at the Golden Globes? What stupid and only slightly hilarious premise will they unveil at the Spirit Awards? One of the best presents I got was a coffee table book featuring all the nominees and winners of the Oscar since it's inception in 1929 through 2002. Since then, I have carefully torn the ballot in Entertainment Weekly, marked the winners, and stowed it away for safe keeping inside the book jacket. I should really take bets... I'm usually about 85-95% accurate with the winners. Oscar night is always spent with the folks, but recently I've started a tradition of a Golden Globes party. Nibbley-bits, champagne, hilarity, is always a great recipe for a good time with friends.
[side note: Dallasites- if you too love watching the drunken antics of the Globes while getting a bit drunken yourself, let me know. I've gotta lock down a location for this years fete as people have moved-boo!]

8. Daydreaming- Specifically, intricate daydreams involving attractive famous men and the relationship we have in my head. It's kinda sad. We go to dinner, visit each others family, hang out with friends. Pathetic. This years recipients of the "It's-Only-Creepy-If-We-Ever-Meet-Or-You-Somehow-See-This" award go to:

and my current favorite:

How I Spent My Sunday Night, or The 61st Annual Emmy Awards

Last night was the 61st Emmy Awards. All in attendance looked ravishing. There were no major fashion faux pas I could see (not including Ricky Gervais’ green tux- that may have been for laughs, and the poor winner for Direction in a Mini-Series whose bodice did not fit. Hell, it looked down right uncomfortable). Immediately after watching, I called my mother to gossip about the winners and how we liked the show. She was not impressed, I was.

Here are some of my reasons:
*Neil Patrick Harris- He shined while hosting the Tony’s earlier this year, and I was so glad they gave him a higher profile event. There’s nothing better than someone who giggles at their own jokes. His opening song could have been better; it was hard to hear some of the lyrics, but otherwise ok. When he lost out to Jon Cryer for Supporting Actor and then interrupted him in the pressroom, genius. The interruption in the broadcast by Dr. Horrible was hilarious, although one of my Mother’s least fav moments. It certainly helps if the people at home have some idea what you’re talking about. 4 out of 5 stars.

*The dance number w/ the cast of “Dancing with the Stars” and “So You Think You Can Dance”. Question: What does Cat Deely have to do to get a nomination?!? Also, if the Academy is recognizing how much America loves dance shows, how about moving the choreography award to prime time??

* I thought the Comedy Supporting Actress Nominees and their glasses were hilarious! Note to Vanessa Williams: You are not too cool for school. What a jerk to not participate.

*Ken Howard. The veteran movie and TV star won his first Emmy and thanked Jeannie Epper for her gracious donation of a kidney. For those of you who don’t know, Epper is one of the greatest female stuntwomen of all time. She comes from a 4-generation legacy of stuntmen and women. For an interesting look at her and the history, as well as future, of stuntwomen; rent "Double Dare" .

* The number of 1st time winners and nominees: Toni Collete, Ken Howard, Kristen Chenowith, Cherry Jones, Jessica Lange, Brendon Gleeson, Shohreh Aghdashloo (you should really look up her story, it’s incredible), and Jon Cryer. See movie stars, you shouldn’t snub television. You could get a big pointy statue all your own.

* The advice segments: nominees for Direction and Writing were asked to give advice to those interested in getting into that profession. Some of the best ones: When “Mad Men” writer/creator had to share a couch with the couple making out next to him (husband and wife writing team Andre & Maria Jacquemetton).

* Dividing the show by category. Some scoffed at what they called "The Academy's disregard for Variety and Mini-Series. Don't they know that's when we switch the channel and go to the bathroom?" Well, duh. To the naysayers, I have news for you: They don't think you're watching this live in the 1st place, so why would they care if you're in the bathroom or not? I appreciated that there was break in the telecast where I could comfortably pause my DVR and make a snack. I watch every second of these telecasts anyway, and it is so much nicer not to have to guess when I can get up and go. Thank you!

What I didn’t like:
* Too many nominations for the same show, often in the same category. I love “Mad Men”. Let me repeat, I LOVE “Mad Men”, however; do I think they had 4 of the 5 best written episodes? No. What fun is there in the competition if you have a better than average shot at winning? Perhaps the Academy should treat writers for sitcoms and dramas the same way they do variety shows: Lump them all together. It is rarely if never the case that one episode stands out to the viewer as “the best”. Instead, we say things like, “That show has the best writing!” Wouldn’t it be more fun to see a show down between “Mad Men”, “Lost”, “Dexter”, “House”, and “Big Love”? Who would win if Tiny Fey and crew were pitted en masse against “How I Met Your Mother”, “Two and a Half Men”, “Weeds”, “Flight of the Concords”, and “Family Guy”? I would be far more riveted and less likely to skip ahead on my DVR.

* On a similar front, at some point, you should have enough awards. I’m looking at you “The Amazing Race”! 7 Emmy’s in the same category? That’s obscene. “Top Chef”, start campaigning now! I’d vote for you if I could. How about “So You Think You Can Dance”? What other reality show brought tears (not blood from my retina’s bleeding) to our eyes last year? If you have won twice before in a row, please sit out the next year. I promise no one will forget about you or your amazing performance, Alec Baldwin. * No love for “Generation Kill”, one of the greatest shows to ever grace your TV set. Also, where was “True Blood” in the nominations? Anna Paquin won a Golden Globe for chrissakes. She can’t get any Emmy love?

THE BEST BOOKS YOU'VE NEVER READ

The O-Z Edition

AKA

The Final Chapter

"On Writing" b. Stephen King- One of the few non-fiction books to make Entertainment Weekly's Top 100 New Classics list, this is one of the best books on the art of writing. Regardless of what you think about King's own work, he offers valuable tips and tricks of the trade. The first half gives you a little background and bio info on the author, including how he finally came to be published. What I enjoyed the most about this section, were his thoughts and recollections after he was nearly killed by a car while walking near his home. I also liked how he was the first to admit that sometimes he broke his own guidelines, but always wished he were "strong enough" to not do it again. A great read for King fans, budding authors, or those who just want to learn more about writing.

"Practical Magic" b. Alice Hoffman- I've seen the Sandy Bullock/Nicole Kidman movie more times then I care to admit, so I finally decided to read the book. Wow! I loved it even more. It is clear where the movie story line came from, but the book not only expands on it, it takes you in completely different directions. This book won the coveted "Best Book I Read All Year Award", and was gifted to my sister upon her graduation. She read it and loved it as well (which is no small feet considering reading is one of the few things she is not good at. The book must capture her immediately or forever be lost to the growing pile on her book case).

"Rebel w/o a Crew: Or How a 23-year-old Filmmaker w/$7000 Became a Hollywood Player" b. Robert Rodriguez- It is no surprise that I love to read about film making as much as I love watching films. Rodriguez's autobiography is genius, expanding on what you already know (he was a paid guinea pig) to things you don't (The sound for "El Mariachi" was recorded on tape using a basic tape recorder, resulting in some of the best sequences since the sound didn't sync up- he had to get creative). The is a must for all movie lovers, biography fans, and those who think they can't do something.

"Running Wild" b. J.G. Ballard- Ballard is more famously known for his book "Crash" then this novella, but it remains one of my favorites. Set within the walls of a pre-fab gated community, we join the "looky-lou's" who have gathered outside along with the police and news reporters. What happened? Why are we here? Where has everyone gone? The answers to these questions and more will shock you and keep you in suspense to the very end. LOVE!!

"Shade" b. Neil Jordan- Jordan is probably most familiar to you as the Academy Award winning Irish director behind some of the best and most interesting movies: "The Butcher Boy", "The Crying Game", and "Interview with the Vampire" to name a few. What you may not know is he actually started his career as a writer. Shade is his 5th book and one of my all time favorite reads. The book opens with the death of the main character and what follows is her account of how she ended up "in the dark". Don't write this off as a "The Lovely Bones" knock-off. The characters and ambiance that Jordan evokes cannot be matched. I found myself reading this book well into the night, desperate to find out how it all comes together.

"The Turn of the Screw" b. Henry James- I won't go into this one too much as it was featured in a previous post. I wrote my Freshman research paper on this book in High School much to the chagrin of my teacher. It is a classic ghost story which begs the question: "Is she crazy or not?" What makes this book different from so many others is it never really answers that question. It's up to the reader to decide, and no two people will take away the same conclusion.

"Under the Skin" b. Michael Faber- Five big and bold stars go to this book, another winner of the "Best Book of the Year Award". I made everyone I knew at the time read it and love it. Told in 1st person narrative, it tells the tale of Isserley, an alien sent to Earth to gather food. Problem is, we're the food. Every time I read this, I pick up something different.

"The Year of Living Biblically: One Man’s Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible" b. A.J. Jacobs- I love to learn and read about religion, it's fascinating. Journalist Jacobs vows to live the Bible as literally as possible, and somehow remain married in the process. Some of the best parts are when he travels the country, talking to Rabbi's, Priest's, Shaman's, etc. When he builds what is basically a yurt in his NY living room, I laughed out loud! He's like a subjective Ned Flanders. I have read the Bible, though that is not a prerequisite for reading this book. He breaks down each passage into easy to understand reasoning and follows it up with pro and con points of view.

My first award and I didn't even know I was nominated!

So my lovely friend over at Shine Out Loud sent me the Honest Scrap award! Thanks a bunch!







I think it's worth pointing out here, in the interest of honesty, that it took me days to figure out how to repost it to my blog. My brain just doesn't seem to be working properly anymore.



The rules seem unclear, but I think I will follow Mysterg with a few exceptions:



1.“The Honest Scrap” award is not one to hold all to your self but it must be shared!

2. The recipient has to tell 10 true things about themselves in their blog that no one else knows.

3. The recipient has to pass along this prestigious award on to more bloggers.

4. Those bloggers all have to be notified they have been given this award.

5. Those bloggers should link back to the blog that awarded them.



(I wish I knew 10 blogs, but I'm new at this, bear with me).



10 "True" Things:

(I mean, what is truth anyway?)



1. I'm pretty sure my cat Yuli is trying to kill me or himself. The other day I came home from work to discover the gas on from my stove. I wish I could say this was the 1st time, unfortunately it was not. I love my kitty, however, if he doesn't clean up his act soon, I will be forced to accept it!



2. I once hit my sister in the head with a hammer. We were little, and I'm pretty sure I was trying to make her into something else.



3. I love lying, but have a real problem with it as well. Maybe the word "lying" is a little harsh. Let's change it "colourful storytelling". Once, in elementary, I convinced everyone in my class we had gotten a dog. I don't know why I did it. Maybe because I didn't have anything for show and tell. The worse part was when my friend came over one day and wanted to play with the dog. I had to tell him the dog was dangerous and locked up. He seemed pretty bummed. Anyhoo, If you ask my opinion- I will tell you! I'm not very good at softening the blow either, so ask at your own risk.



4. There is a life sized cardboard cut out of me in my high school gym. I was one the drill team (its a short jump from dancing at football fields to tattoos and pink hair) and was High Kick girl my junior year. They took a photo of my mid kick, blew it up, and slapped it on the wall. Genius.



5. I had the coolest purple hair for about a month in 2004. I had to dye it back for a job interview and totally forgot to take pictures. It is the saddest thing! I keep hoping someone has one from some night at Ben's or the like, but so far to no avail.



6. I pick my nose a lot (don't worry, I usually have a Kleenex) and am obsessed with nasal and ear health.

7. I've had this recurring auditory nightmare since I was little: It's black all around me and all I can hear is a "thumping" that grows faster and faster and faster until I wake up in cold sweats. The real problem with this is any music that also speeds the tempo on one note or beat- drives me crazy and I have to leave the room!

8. On a related music note (ha ha, pun not intended): I have never heard all of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" because my Dad told me it was bad luck. That song was playing when he was in a really bad car accident and he's avoided it ever since. As you may have picked up from an earlier blog, I'm totally superstitious; so I've avoided the tune as well. This method of thinking is also what has kept me from owning or voluntarily driving in yellow cars.

9. I curse like a sailor and am perplexed how profanity has managed to escape this blog so far. Fucking weird.

10. For number ten, I would like to steal from the great James Lipton who stole it from Bernard Pivot: The Proust Questionnaire!! You should totally check out the full questionnaire here .

1. What is your favorite word? pamplemousse or pie
2. What is your least favorite word? anything ending in "ism"
3. What turns you on? a nice smile
4. What turns you off? idiocy and/or a disregard for others
5. What sound or noise do you love? rain
6. What sound or noise do you hate? children's choral (seriously, it's in every scary movie!)
7. What is your favorite curse word? fuck or mercredi (what I put in place of "fuck" when at work or around small children)
8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt? So many! Architect, medical examiner, trust fund baby...
9. What profession would you not like to do? exterminator
10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates? Hi ya!

And, drum roll please..... The next blogger receiving this fantastic award is:

Lance Bass ruined my Life

He seems completely genuine and says the things I think in my head (especially about the idiocy of todays youth). Check him out and let him feel your love!