Some Kind of Wonderful

Warren and I went to an outdoor movie at the local coffee shop. "The Shop" is a converted garage with a huge parking lot and a wall with a movie screen painted on it. A few weekends ago we went to Big Trouble in Little China and this weekend we went to Some Kind of Wonderful, a John Hughes film. I had never seen it before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Warren did not enjoy it that much. I think that might have something to do with the fact that he has not seen as many 80's movies as I have and might be forgetting what it is like to be an angsty teen. Either way it was less entertaining and silly than the Kurt Russell vehicle but still satisfying.

It got me thinking about just how much I love John Hughes movies. Here is a complete list of them. I bolded movies that I have seen and starred the ones I love the most. Did you know that he wrote some movies as Edmund Dantes? I would highly recommend watching/rewatching some John Hughes. I think I might.

Delta House (1979) (TV)
National Lampoon's Class Reunion (1982)
At Ease (1983) (TV)
Mr. Mom (1983)
National Lampoon's Vacation (1983)
Nate and Hayes (with David Odell) (1983)
Sixteen Candles (1984) (also Director)*
The Breakfast Club (1985) (also Director)*
National Lampoon's European Vacation (1985)
Weird Science (1985) (also Director)
Pretty in Pink (1986)*
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986) (also Director)*
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987) (also Director)*
She's Having a Baby (1988) (also Director)
The Great Outdoors (1988)
Uncle Buck (1989) (also Director)*
National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation (1989)
Home Alone (1990)
Career Opportunities (1991)
Only the Lonely (1991) (Producer Only)
Dutch (1991)
Curly Sue (1991) (also Director)*
Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992)
Beethoven (with Amy Holden Jones) (1993) (as Edmund Dantes)
Dennis the Menace (1993)
Baby's Day Out (1994)
Miracle on 34th Street (1994)
101 Dalmatians (1996)
Flubber (1997)
Home Alone 3 (1997)
Reach the Rock (1998)
Just Visiting (with Christian Clavier and Jean-Marie Poire) (2001)
Maid in Manhattan (2002) (Story Only) (originally titled "The Chambermaid") (as Edmund Dantes)
Drillbit Taylor (2008) (Story Only) (as Edmund Dantes)

I also found this article about how much women in their 20s and 30s are in love with the idea of Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles. It is pretty funny.

Jake Ryan article

August? Already?

August is the time when I have to start gearing up. I have decided that I will allow myself to think about school (I am certainly not ready for that quite yet). Warren's birthday,the beginning of 2L, and duh duh duh, my birthday. This year I will be turning 30. I will be honest I am feeling a little apprehensive about it (although I think this cupcake is being a little dramatic) but I still have most of the month prepare. My brother-in-law, Ian, suggested I celebrate by remembering my Twenties.

"The Last Twenty of my Twenties" - each day I will celebrate by doing things that remind me of being in my twenties. **Please note I did not do these things all the time just on occasion (in case my mom is reading this).

1) Listen to Dave all day (If only I hadn't gotten rid of that wall sized poster I had of him)
2) Drink Margaritas made with varying grades of tequila, cheap to expensive
3) Spend hours analyzing a phone call my friend received from a guy
4) Spend an entire day watching "Sex in the City" in my pjs
5) Spend time obsessing about my career and the state of education
6) Wander around Seattle (might have to be Spokane)
7) Spend the day in a coffee shop (There are two I really like here)
8) Pull an all-nighter stressing about something (but what should I stress about?)
9) Go for a long run (might have to walk some of it)
10) Drink a flaming drink. I love those! ( I think they bring you closer to the Gods. It is like touching the heavens and I might have referred to them as "the truth and the light" a time or two.)
11) Smoke a cigarette (So bad for me,sorry body!)
12) Buy a cd
13) Go to Mexico (I can't really do this one so I will have to put it in the bank for another time.)
14) Eat Papa John's Pizza
15)
16)
17)
18)
19)
20)
21) (Remember I can't go to Mexico so I need an extra one)

Uh oh. Not quite there? Any suggestions? I would love to hear any terrific ideas you might have, especially healthy ones, most of these seem to be things that are hard on my body/full of calories/involve me sitting around.

Nerd Tested; Nerd approved

I am a sci-fi nerd, there I said it. This is something my husband didn't even know about me until the new Star Trek came out and I was giddy. Here are my two new nerdy pursuits both combine post-apocalypse and human drama.

Battle Star Gallatica:
Yep I guess people(nerds) have known about it for quite some time but I am just now watching it. All I can say is that I love it. It is so amazing the way it connects to culture and yet has created a world all it's own. I can't even begin to tell you anything about it because I will ramble on and on and it will seem like crazy nonsense. Suffice it to say a) watch it and b)talk with me about it when you do.

Hunger Games:
Late to the party again on this one. This is supposed to be the new it book in young adult fiction, the new HP or the new Twilight. There are supposed to be making it into a movie. It is a quick read and it is so interesting. Here is the general idea: In a post apocalyptic world two kids from every district have to participate in the games which are a real life Survivor for television viewers. Do you love it all ready?

Both of these make me wonder why I don't have a creative enough brain to write and come up with amazing ideas like these.

Just Like on TV

Sad news for Kristin Cavallari, her fiance/quarterback for the Bears, just backed out of wedding plans. They were only engaged for 2 months and had just had an engagement party last week. Sadly, she also just bought her expensive designer dress. I feel bad for her. Warren also informed me that he had a questionable injury and quit on a playoff game. So he is now notorious for quitting when things get scary or tough, at least notorious to me. If only she were still on reality tv so we could hear and see her dealing with this news. Finally the push I needed to get back to blogging. At least some good has come out of this.

Paris, I want to go to there.

This week we went to Midnight in Paris, the new Woody Allen film. I loved it. Not just because I enjoy many of the actors in the movie (Rachel McAdams, Owen Wilson, Kathy Bates, etc) but because I love reading/thinking about the writers and artists who lived there in the 20s. My favorite book of all time is A Movable Feast. I love the way that Hemingway writes and enjoyed getting to see him. Although he seemed a little too dark and brooding, different than I had imagined him to be. I mean yes he was an alcoholic and depressed a lot of the time but I felt that this portrayal overdid it. I also am now really interested in reading more about the Fitzgeralds. I know they were quite an interesting pair and I want to read more about their wild lives.

This also tied nicely with the book I just finished, The Paris Wife. It was about Hadley Richardson (Hemingway's first wife) and is historical fiction. I devoured this book and could hardly do anything else besides read this book. I love the idea of what life must have been like for her (and other wive's of successful creative types). I also really enjoyed both of the books written in this style about the ladies in Frank Lloyd Wright's life, Loving Frank and The Women: A Novel. I much preferred Loving Frank but enjoyed both. It is a great way to write because you don't have to know all the facts and can make up a cool/interesting story and feelings for the people we know so little about.

These two things have made me very excited for travel in general and made me wish, again, that I could plan a trip to Paris/ time travel to the 20s.

Author, educator, politician; a legacy to leave behind

I was looking at Wikipedia, for a reason that is too complicated/stupid to tell the whole story (I will tell you that tv's Chuck is a singer and has a duet with Katherine McPhee/had a girlfriend who is an alternative songstress who performed at SXSW), and ended up looking at the page about Beverly Hills High School (made famous on Beverly Hills 90210 and the recent employer of a friend of ours) and was looking at the list of famous alumni. After each person's name there was a descriptor. Some had one or two descriptors but the one I really liked was this one "Max Rafferty, author, educator, politician." I want this listed after my age on my wikipedia page someday. A close second, in my mind, would be to have it say "rapper/actor, basketball player" which is what it says after Lil' Romeo's name. I mean I do play basketball and I like rap music but I don't think it will ever happen for me. And I am 2/3 there, educator check and author (blog I know is pushing it but close enough) check.

Have you seen...

You know that I am fascinated with the end of days so Robbie, my brother in law showed me this.



A few comments about this video. First of all I really enjoy this song and the video is interesting although I don't really get what exactly is happening during most of it. I hate Chris Brown's blonde hair (and am still mad at him). I love Justin Bieber and his swagger coach is totally worth the money. Seriously, I have a little crush on him.