Notes from ShellyCentral

Vlog 24 - My Favorite Movies

Yesterday's vlog was fun to make, all about my most favorite movies! Of course while I was editing it I thought of many things I forgot to say, but still... I like it. You can watch it here...

What do you think of those movies? What are your faves? I'd love to know.

Other vlogs I haven't posted about lately are Vlog 22 (talking about some things that were exciting for me that day) and Vlog 23 (talking about a couple exciting countdowns and other things).

Only a week more of the vlogging every day!

Media Monday

I've been trying to think up themes for each day of the week, so that if I don't know what to blog about, I'll at least have a suggestion. I don't know if I'll like it or stick to it, but let's say Mondays will be Media Monday, when I'll talk about movies or music or books or teevee or some kind of media I've been ingesting.

I'll start with movies. I've seen a couple in the last week or so. I rented Salt from the Red Box, watching a copy of Young Guns I bought recently, caught the second half of My Dinner with Andre on the teevee and my Tivo recorded Monty Python's Holy Grail for me.

Salt was pretty good. I thought i would watch it while I was working on some projects but I ended up paying my whole attention to it. Pleasant surprise there. Young Guns used to be my favorite movie. I hadn't seen it for ages and still found it super enjoyable. Kiefer is so sweet and cute in that movie, I really love him. I started a page of movies I'm watching in 2011 (with my little reviews)  here on my blog.

My Dinner with Andre is truly one of my favorite movies. I could listen to those guys talk for hours and hours, which is good because that's all the movie is.  Andre Gregory and Wallace Shawn (from The Princess Bride and a million other movies) sit at a table and prattle on. Especially Andre Gregory. When I watched it in my 20s, he was my favorite. As I watch it in my 40s, Wallace Shawn is. Interesting evolution? I missed a lot of good dialog before I stumbled on it but it's still good to have on when I'm doing other things, like cleaning or writing or falling asleep.

Holy Grail is of course entirely hilarious. Especially the first bit. I don't even know what to say about it. The swallow and the bring out your dead and the snotty french guy and on and on. If you think Monty Phython is funny you've probably already seen in, and if you don't like Monty Phython there's no reason to.

About music, I'll just say I've been listening to nothing in particular. Whatever comes up on iTunes shuffle is good enough. The only books I've read lately are the free bits of some Rick Steves' travel books on Kindle for the iPhone. I don't know if I should buy Great Britain or England since the only part of Great Britain we'll visit besides England is Edinburgh. I plan to start reading a book about Queen Elizabeth 1 this week.

Oh, I did read a book, on my iPhone Kindle, in about 2 hours. But it was such a horrid book and I'm so embarrassed I even thought about reading it I don't want to tell you!

And on the tv front, man it's all boring these days. Last weeks Hoarders, with the scary lady who lived with chickens in too tiny pens full of poo and the man with too many bunnies - man. Those are some crazy people. Seriously. I wish they'd show some not quite so crazy people that had some hope of living successful non hoarded lives after getting some help. General Hospital is lame and even Brenda Barrett barely makes it watchable. If it weren't for the fast forward magic of the Tivo I would certainly not be watching it anymore.

Movies, music, books, tv - I think that's it!

of course i took pictures

It is Cold!
Actually it's only 19 but the wind is blowing like Crazy and that makes it seem oh so much colder.
I don't like it.
That's not news.

Hannah is off at her last winter formal dance. Luckily Forrest's parents are picking them up so I don't have to go out at 11 when it's even more cold than it is now. Of course I took some pictures.

(I like this picture because she looks so frustrated with me and the camera.)

I hope they have a super good time.

Earlier today (when the snow was falling but not sticking), Danny, Hannah and I went to see the new Narnia movie, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. In 3d, although I don't think the 3d really added much. The movie itself was fantastic of course. Incredibly beautiful. There was so much of the story that really couldn't translate to the movie (Eustace's transformation for example) but I still think they did an incredible job of making such a story fit into a two hour movie. I wasn't impressed with the dialoge, but the only thing that bothered me really were the times they were meant to say "For Narnia and for Aslan" and instead they only said "For Narnia". I don't really get why they'd leave that off and I didn't like it. Not much of a complaint though. I give it a big thumbs up. It made me cry like a big baby at the end. Goodbye Edmund and Lucy, see you if they ever make A Horse and His Boy or The Last Battle. I do hope we get to meet Jill Pole in The Silver Chair though. That's my second favorite book and I really love Jill.

My sister texted me asking what contractions feel like. How do you describe that? So I called her. It's probably not contractions she says. My main hope, since I am the designated driver to the hospital, that it happens in the day or evening and not in the middle of the night. Especially not when it's this cold. Or worse, tomorrow when my phone says the low will be 2. I Do want to meet her sweet baby girl, but I'm voting it happens Wednesday when they're planning to induce. I'm certainly not going to complain whenever it happens though. I am excited.

what i've been watching

To get ready for the trip to Disney (one week from today), I've been watching a lot of Disney movies. Here's a list of what they were and what I thought.

Aristocats
Fantastic as always. I think it's my favorite Disney movie. I love the kittens. I like Thomas O'Malley. I seriously love the jazzy number of Everybody Wants To Be a Cat.

101 Dalmatians
Another one of my favorites, Pongo, Perdita and the puppies are all so sweet and charming, as are the brigade of animals that help get the puppies home. The Twilight Bark is the greatest thing ever.

The Little Mermaid
I've seen this movie probably hundreds of times. Silly Ariel. Luckily it all ends happy, just like a Disney movie. My favorite songs are the Chef's Song and Under the Sea.

Beauty and the Beast
Belle is my favorite Disney Princess because she is independent, smart, loves to read and everyone thinks she's strange. I love this movie for it's excellent songs and since my major teen hearthrob was Robbie Benson, of course I love to hear him voice the Beast. It makes it easy for me to imagine falling in love with him.

The Princess and the Frog
We had never seen this movie before, although I head heard a few of the songs on my Pandora Disney station. I was super pleasantly surprised! I loved it. Sweet and charming, a little creepy in parts, and another Princess with a mind of her own. Great supporting players as well. Also, I enjoyed a Disney Princess in America for a change (and New Orleans was a great choice).

Finding Nemo
So this one I didn't feel so much. I just wasn't really that interested. It might have helped if it had some songs. I didn't really love any of the characters and I wasn't really worried about what was going to happen because it was a Disney movie - of course they would be reunited in the end. I did like the fish in the tank with Nemo but not enough to really like the movie.

Toy Story 3
The first thing I noticed is how fantastic it looked in HD on my big teevee. Amazing. I don't really love movies that are just one catastrophe averted after another, but other things made it mostly enjoyable. I cried a little at the end, like the mom of a high school senior might. The ending was terrific.

 

When I'm not watching kid movies, I've been watching the series Torchwood from Netflix streaming. I'm kind of loving it.

What you put in your head... *

I thought I'd write a little about what I've been putting in my head lately:

Movies:
The Lost Prince: So. King Edward and Queen Mary of England have a son who has epilepsy and some sort of learning disorder. Of course they ship him off away from everyone and out of view. This is a two part BBC show about his life. Done badly. Mostly because few characters are interesting or likable, especially the Prince. And the Queen (are all Queen Marys bad?). And etc.  In terms of the history geeking, in second part some things get interesting. WWI breaks out and the King’s beloved cousin, Nickolas of Russia and his whole family get wiped out by the revolutionaries. That was an interesting relationship I’d never thought of before even though I love the Russian Revolution. Over all I’d say it was just bad and boring. Maybe also frustrating.

Season 1 Disc 1 of Secret Diary of a Callgirl : Dirty! I know. But also very good. Sleek and glam looking, I especially love all the scenes of London! And I love that girl, even though her name is Hannah. Her accent is fascinating. I’ll try the next disc after I watch some Sarah Connor Chronicles, which is next on the Netflix queue.

Hello Dolly: Forgot how much I love Barbra Streisand and this movie. I’ve been just watching it on repeat as I go about my day. Love it!  I’ve seen it a thousand times I think, starting when I was a small child. This set of viewings is the first time I realized that as much as I love Babs, Dolly should really be played by someone much older. She’s a widow who was married for a long time. And she’s going to marry Horrace/Walter Matthau who is quite older and ickier than her (I do not like him so much). I love all the songs in this movie, from ‘Just leave everything to me” to “So Long Dearie”, but I guess my favorite is Put on Your Sunday clothes is my favorite. It’s upbeat and encouraging, everyone gets a few lines, and what’s not to love about that giant dance number. I also love when Babs stands still in the middle of the marching and sings ‘Before the Parade Passes By’. And I can’t not mention the clothes in this movie = fantastic.

Godspell: I love everything about Godspell (almost). The hippiness. The hapy love joy joy wandering about the countryside. The super great costumes I wish I could wear and of course, of course Victor Garber with his super young face and his dreamy dreamy voice. Victor makes the best Jesus I’ve ever seen. The songs are catchy, meaningful and irresistable. Ok, sometimes the clowning is a little cheezy but I’d still leave home to join that crowd. Did I mention I love the costumes the most? I’d like to wear the outfit of the girl with the little tiger puppet. Oh, and I seriously appreciate that there are the same number of girls and boys. Most movies about Jesus dis the girls. Most everything  about Christianity disses the girls but that's another entry. My favorite songs are many but my tops are probably “All for the Best’ (how trippy now to seem them dance atop the twin towers), "All Good Gifts" and "Save the People". One of the best musicals ever.

Listening to: Mostly just soundtracks. Pippin. Godspell. Camelot. Hunchback of Notre Dame.
Downloaded from iTunes this week: 4 songs from Enchanted, 3 old Barry Manilow songs, 2 Victor Garber singing Sweeny Todd.

TV: nothing much to watch lately
Lost - I’m just trying to follow the flow, trusting they’ll give me some satisfaction in a couple weeks. Do I really think I’ll get it? No. But a girl can hope.
General Hospital: I have no idea whose baby Elizabeth is having, but I hope it’s Nikolas’s and they move back to whatever pretend island he’s Prince of. While Lucky is often a fool, Jonathan Jackson is always so terrific. Same goes for Luke/Tony Geary. I still want to join their family really really badly. Shelly Spencer, I’m telling you.

And sadly, the only thing I’ve been reading is the internet and various recipes and food labels. Hopefully that’ll change right away.

* Lyrics from a Todd Rundgren song: "What you put in your head just can't help effect how you feel."

What I've Been Watching

I have been keeping a list of all the movies I see this year. The movie, where I saw it and with whom, and a few sentences of what I thought. Mostly so I can remember. But since it’s the kind of thing I’d like to read on other people’s blog or journal, I thought I should post mine. Here it is...

Movies of 2010

I'm making a list of the movies I watch this year, whether at the theatre or at home or elsewhere and I decided to share it online. I'm also including tv shows if I watch a complete season on dvd. Want to check it out?

Look how much she's posting!

I think I have abut 16 things to say, but since it's far past my bedtime I bet it's more like 3.

Number 1 is I get so frustrated when I'm tired but I have things to do! I'm bad at mornings, and it takes me a long time to get it together and really get going in the morning. I get better and better, and if it's a good day, it's always around 10 or so when my brain gets juicy and I'm reading to Do some Stuff! But since I'm old or since I'm human or something, I end up getting distracted to how my body is mad at me for being awake and taking it out on me in mean, painful ways.

Number 2 is more exciting. And probably proof of my dorkiness in case you needed any. I have been a serious Bing Crosby fan since I was about 9. Dreamiest voice ever. I love him lots and could/should write all about him, but not tonight. My favorite Bing Crosby movie is Holiday Inn, which you should see if you haven't. Bing is a song and dance man who retires to run an inn that's only open on holidays. Beyond that it's typical Bing and Fred Astaire chasing after the same girl, but it's charming and ends happy. The music is all Irving Berlin, and it's where he introduced the ever popular (but not with me!) White Christmas.

So I have the movie on DVD and watch it a couple times a year. And of course I wanted the soundtrack because the music is the best part, but I've only found it for far too much money than I can afford for a cd. But hah! Today I got smart and looked on iTunes. Actually I was just looking for this awesome song called The Best Things Happen When You're Dancing which I didn't find, but there was the Holiday Inn soundtrack for 9.99. So you can guess what I'm listening to too loudly. Right now is

Number 3 is I got some kind of energy serge today and worked a bunch or making my art room work better for me. All the stuff I needed was far away (well, I'd have to stand up and walk a couple feet), and everything within reach I didn't use much anymore. So I fixed that. Or I'm fixing that. That's been fun and made me excited about future art projects. I wish I had an art club going on. I want to do art with other people, and I want someone to tell me what they like and don't about what I'm doing. Anyway, I'll show you all my lovely drawers when they're ready.

Number 4 is sad. I have a dad, like most people. He died 8 years ago tomorrow. I really miss him. I never imagined I'd go 8 years without seeing him, or talking to him, or even just listening to him. I would very much like to answer the phone and hear "Yeah Shelly, this is your dad..." even though he knew I had caller id. Or have him look down his glasses at me and ask "Do what now?" after I offered up some crazy idea. Or call him myself and be several minutes into the conversation before he asked "Who is this?" because he couldn't tell if it was me or my sister. I'd really like to just stand around with a group of people and listen to him tell a funny story and then laugh and laugh. He was a good story teller and a good laugher. But of course mostly I just want him to hold me and let me cry and tell him how much I miss him, and I'm sorry I was such a pain in the ass and I understand what a very good dad he really was. And then, since he owned and ran the best BBQ restaurant, I'd like him to make me a sandwich and fries just like I like them and then come sit and talk to me while I ate it.

We're going to stop at number 4 because I'm all cry-cry now. I'm going to fill a couple more drawers and then try to sleep without thinking about it too much.