Sand Art

This is longish, but really cool:

Travis covers "Lovely Rita"

The weekend

Saturday we went to A Serious Man and man, it was seriously great. Sorry, I had to. I enjoyed it so thoroughly. The Cohen brothers are real filmmakers - you really get a full, rich movie-going experience when you go to a Cohen brothers film. To quote my hubby's blog, "wins on all accounts. the beauty that is Roger Deakins camerawork, the impeccable casting, and the fluidity & sparsity of their dialogue…unmatched."


We were also victorious this weekend in finding our favorite cereal, available only at Halloween time, Count Chocula. Last year we searched stores all over Los Angeles, and never found the Count; I ended up ordering it on Amazon. But this year Target in Pasadena granted us our cereal. We don't actually eat sugary cereal in our daily lives, but once a year this treat is irresistable. We picked up some Count Chocula as well as Frankenberry and Boo Berry, for good measure. Yum.


And let me say that I loved Sunday afternoon watching Stephen Fry in America with Whitby. I really love this show. Stephen Fry is so interesting and pleasant and just a joy to watch and I'm so happy Whit enjoys it with me.



I am loving this cooler weather. It's going to be overcast and rainy the next three days and I couldn't be happier. Although I do just want to be at home curled up with a blanket and some of the delectable banana bread I made yesterday...oh well, back to work.

Comics

A couple of comic book covers that made me laugh, from the Institute of Cheer (click to englarge pics, if you'd like):



Where do you think you're going? Get back in front of that truck, little lady, or I'll deck you one.





Ol' Rabbit-punch Joe. I'm pretty sure he killed him. For heaven's sake, the guy spit out his brain.

Matches! We don't need no stinkin' matches!

So apparently I'm not alone in enjoying old matchbooks. I found a site that is nothing but Matches - lots of nightclubs, hotels, coffee shops, and products from days gone by. I'm not sure why I like matchbooks - I guess they just express the atmosphere of different places and different times in one small package. There is something romantic about old nightclubs, tiki rooms, ballrooms, etc. I have my own little collection of matchbooks, including the one below, which I find very amusing:



The other collection I have are pressed pennies - I've got a pretty good one going. I like them because they are kitchy and each has it's own memory...and they're cute.

And finally, I do have a Barbie collection - although they are boxed up and in storage. Obviously, my love of Barbies is ingrained from my childhood. Not sure what I'll actually do with them, but maybe someday if I have a gameroom for the kiddies, I can get them out - that or sell 'em on ebay.

Yeah - all these things are pointless, but somehow over the years those are the collections I've kept. Weird.

QI

I love Stephen Fry's laugh:

House news

Find Out Why Jennifer Morrison's Character Is Leaving House
NOOOOO! Rumors that Jennifer Morrison is being written off of House. I love her and I had such hopes that eventually the writers would give House/Cameron some lovin' again. Lame.

Season 6

House is back tonight with a two hour season premiere. House is in a mental institution - I anticipate it being fantastic (I know that's a shocking statement for me to make).

Some real winners

Dating Montage

It's coming...

So excited and nervous.

Labor Day

We had a great Labor Day on Monday. We spent the day with Whit's family swimming, barbecuing and playing games. I wanted to post a couple pictures of the cupcakes I made. They were lemon with lemon icing and obviously made to look like corn on the cob using Jelly Belly's, Now & Laters for butter and white and black decorating sugar for salt and pepper. Baking is fun.

Mrs. Lake's English Class

This might be super nerdy, but when I went to Utah last month I was sorting through some storage and found a poem I wrote in 10th grade, I believe. We were studying Chaucer and we were assigned to write a poem in this style - a character piece in the style of Chaucer. I think it's cute:

Adorabelle

All thought she was the dearest of Angel's fair
She was complete with the golden mop of hair.
At church and school she's be polite and kind,
But cross her path and a different girl you'd find.
She loved to draw whistling bluebirds in a leafy tree,
Over which grandparents would beg and plead to see.
Then with a seemingly humble bow she would reveal
The artwork, while batting her eyelashes with hidden zeal.
She's say, "I don't think it's good, do you?"
Simply to hear the onlookers caw and coo.
She saw a pink dress with ruffles and bows.
To her mother she said, "I need one of those!"
Her mother refused saying, "You don't need one more dress."
Then sweet, little Adorabelle became quite a mess.
She screeched and she wailed at the top of her lungs,
Which made others think a wrong was being done.
Her bird-like frame started to tremble and shake,
Which proved that her innocent ways were all fake.
She stamped her small foot and turned a bright red
So her mother gave her a spank and sent her to bed.
When she was faced with her teachers and elders it seemed,
She was the perfect child, calm and serene.
She had a great wit and talent, as sharp as a knife,
Her greatest was acting, not on stage, but in life.

Haus Frau

Friday night Whit and I went to the Hollywood Bowl for John Williams night. I made a John Williams themed picnic for us consisting of:
-Jurassic Park: More Like a Six Foot Turkey (Chicken) Salad - really yummy bowtie pasta, chicken, grapes, a citrussy dressing and lots of other goodness
-Harry Potter: Asparagus Wands - cold aspragus with a soy sauce type dressing
-Raiders of the Lost Ark: Bacon Wrapped Dates - in case you don't remember, they almost eat poisonous dates - the monkey dies from the poisoned date. These were great (and not poisoned).
-Star Wars: Yoda Soda: lime sherbet and fresca to make a green concoction.
-E.T.: Reese's Pieces

The first half of the concert was all Harry Potter music. The second half had some highlights of great movie themes, Catch Me If You Can music, Superman theme (with clips from the Superman and Batman movies, courtesy of WB) then the four encores were Yoda's theme, Star Wars main theme, E.T. and the Imperial March. It was lots of fun - people go nutso for Star Wars - it's great.

It was nice having a fun little date with Whitby.

Today I felt like I was on chopped. I had turkey burgers and took some nectarines I had to make a chutney to serve over the burgers. I then served them on a bed of greens. It tasted like something I would have ordered at The Counter.

Tonight I make cupcakes for a family get together tomorrow for labor day. I will post pictures of them as I suspect they're going to be adorable!

I enjoy domesticity.

I love cats.

I turned into a giggling fool watching this. So cute and funny.

Keane "The Sun Aint Gonna Shine Anymore"

I love it so much. Why isn't it on itunes? Keane is one of my all time favorite bands and this song is so great and in my favorite movie, Truly Madly Deeply.

Keane has done a lot of awesome covers, but you can't get them anywhere, but if you're a Keane fan, you can find them on youtube - like "Under Pressure", "With or Without You". Fun.

Love it.

(Thanks to Seth for the story and for asking for a "shout")

London cash machines offer Cockney slang option(AFP) – 6 hours ago

LONDON — Would you Adam and Eve it? Cash machines in east London are offering customers the option of using the local Cockney rhyming slang to get their hands on their sausage, so to speak.

Five automated teller machines (ATMs) in the East End are going Cockney for three months from Monday.

While cash machines with several language options are commonplace in some countries, the chance to use rhyming slang could leave those unfamiliar with the east London lingo in a right load of Barney Rubble.

Anyone opting for Cockney rhyming slang will be asked to enter their Huckleberry Finn (PIN) before choosing how much sausage and mash (cash) they want.

Those wanting to withdraw 10 pounds will have to ask for a speckled hen, while the machine may inform users that it is contacting their rattle and tank, rather than bank.

"We wanted to introduce something fun and of local interest to our London machines," said Ron Delnevo, managing director of operators Bank Machine.

"Whilst we expect some residents will visit the machine to just have a butcher's (hook, look), most will be genuinely pleased as this is the first time a financial services provider will have recognised the Cockney language in such a manner."

The ATMs displaying prompts in Cockney are all free to use, though most of the group's cash machines charge a fee.

Better-known Cockney rhyming slang includes dog and bone (phone), apples and pears (stairs), whistle and flute (suit), Adam and Eve (believe), Barnet Fair (hair), trouble and strife (wife), loaf of bread (head) and boat race (face).

Whitby Wimpy Big Mac

Seymore and Pepe

My sister Elizabeth and I laughed so hard when we first saw this. I still love it.

Moon

This movie is fascinating. I loved it so much. Sam Rockwell is ridiculously amazing.

Momma I'm Comin' Home

I just had a really nice mini trip home to Salt Lake City.

Friday morning I hopped on an early jet blue flight to the SLC and a couple hours later I walked in to my childhood home and surprised my dad for his 80th birthday weekend. He had no idea I was coming - it was fantastic to surprise him that way, he was super happy.

My mom, dad and I then headed to the good ol' V.I.(that's Village Inn to you) for brunch. That place is chalk full of memories - I used to go there when my friends and I would sluff assemblies in High School and then in college after finishing up a performance late at night.

Friday night I headed out to Sandy to hang out with the Nighs - my sister, brother-in-law and nephew. I joined them for dinner (along with the rest of the Nigh clan) and then we headed back to their house for the night. In this picture he took the paper napkin ring, stuck it to his chin and stroked it like a goatee.



Here's Dylan with his birthday gift from Aunt Heidi and Uncle Whit, Star Wars Legos:


It was great to just chill with them at their place again. I love hanging out with the Nighs, I really miss doing that on a regular basis. (please note I don't have pictures of Jerad, as I know he hates taking them)



Saturday we headed back up to the Kleins for my dad's birthday party. My mom had slaved to make a German schmorgesborg - and it tasted great. Some friends and neighbors came by and it was a really nice afternoon. I hooked up our old Atari 2600 and played some of our many awesome Atari games. It's the best.



That night Alex and I went to MacBeth at SLS/Babcock. The two of us used to always like going to whatever plays/concerts together that we could - something we both miss now living apart.

I spent another night at the Nigh's, slept in complete comfort in their chilly basement ... oh my gosh, this is the boringest post ever, but I wanted to document it for myself. Anyway, blah, blah, spent another day with Nighs/Kleins. Alex and I looked through a Barbie book together and remembered all our old Barbies and Kens.

Sunday evening I visited my old friend/teacher, Carter. Always amusing to hang out with him, he's still the coolest.

Monday morning I got to catch up with one of my dearest friends, Cassie Stokes Wylie (Classy Strokes Wildly) which was also really great - I miss her.

Then my parents and I went to lunch for the real birthday day and then after one last slice of amazing cheesecake at home, I was off to the airport again.

Now I'm back in the Burbank and back to a mountain of catch up work at work.

I love love love hanging out with my nephew, Dylan. He is hilarious - to use Dylan's phrase, he's a "little whippersnapper". He had a plethura of funny things he said and did, but one line that made me laugh was when I came into the room he was in singing the end of "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head", the line that says, "because I'm free, nothins worryin me" and Dylan said, "I don't know what song that is, but it's not freeing me". He's still sweet and adorable, but also sassy and funny. Love him.




I loved sitting in the Nigh living room listening to Jerad's stories again.

I loved hearing Alex's laugh again, reminiscing, and just generally being around her - she is and always will be one of my best friends - I would hang out with her every day, if I could.



I enjoyed going back in time to stay in my old house again: no cable, no computer, no A/C, but plenty of German sandwiches, Atari games (I still kick butt at TAZ), Viewmasters, and photo albums.

I loved seeing a couple dear old friends. I'm sad I didn't see Darci and her new baby and Liz - just was too quick a weekend.

I loved seeing my parents, I loved surprising my dad, I loved hearing my mom laugh. It was tough seeing my parents both in different states of hobbling, but I'm excited my dad is going to get a new hip this month and hopefully be pain free again. Other than his hip, he is in such amazing shape. He's still as sharp as a tac, as funny and punny as ever. It is crazy to think that he is 80, but I'm so grateful he is doing so well.





I missed Elizabeth, would have been nice to spend time with her too, hopefully, next time.

I love my family and I'm glad I had some one on one time with them. See ya later, SLC.