a possible solution?

Regarding the whole Facebook dilemma, I think I've decided that maybe I'm just on a technology overload right now. As I was thinking about deactivating my Facebook account, I kept wanting to go further and delete my Twitter account (that I rarely actually update, but instead use for important things like keeping up with Rob Thomas and anything having to do with Glee.), and unsubscribe from a bunch of my blogs, and stuff like that. So this morning I had a mini technology fast. I did check my email once, but other than that, I just listened to some educational podcasts (which may just be my new obsession) and tried to be productive. Much to my surprise (ok, not really!), things that I've been meaning to do for a while actually got done. Clean clothes were put away, trash was emptied, library books were gathered up, etc. Now my bedroom just looks really messy instead of making me look like I'm a hoarder or something.

So I think I'm going to try this technology fast thing for the rest of the week. I won't give up checking my email, but I will limit it to once in the morning and once in the afternoon. And probably once before I go to bed, too. I am going to give up checking Facebook, blogs and Twitter completely, though.

Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes!

Need advice! What are your thoughts?

I read on a friend's blog tonight that she deactivated her Facebook account, which is something I've been debating doing for a while now. Here are my reasons:

1. I waste way too much time on it.
2. Being friends on Facebook is not the same thing as keeping in touch with someone.
3. People who I actually like and want to keep in touch with, more often than not, also have blogs, so I'm getting the same info from two different sources.
4. If you are one of these people, odds are I value you enough to keep in touch with you in "real life" and not just through Facebook. Or at least I should, which is not to say that I do. Maybe if I didn't know your every move through Facebook, I would actually keep in touch. Like in a person-to-person manner, which has become an oddly foreign concept.
5. It's so much more fun to get together with people when you don't already know everything that's been going on in their lives. It kind of limits conversational topics when you do.
   

Here are my concerns:

1. No one will remember my birthday ever again.
2. I'll never remember anyone else's birthday ever again.
3. How will I procrastinate?
4. I won't know big news instantaneously.
5. If someone asks me if I'm on Facebook, what am I supposed to say that doesn't make me sound like a loser? But then again, maybe NOT being on Facebook will be the new cool thing, and I'll be ahead of the curve.
   
6. There are actually several people who I keep in touch with solely through Facebook, like my cousin's friend in Georgia who I need to also be my friend if I do move to Georgia. (I also like her as a person, I'm not just using her!) And also friends from childhood. I suppose I could just get their e-mail addresses, but that's so 2005.
   
7. I won't ever see anyone's pictures.

So what does everyone think? If you aren't currently on Facebook (Em and Betsy), why not and how do you survive without knowing what everyone is doing every second of every day? If you are on Facebook, do you think you could survive without it? Does anyone want to try like a week-long Facebook fast with me, just to see if we can do it? Is this just pure insanity? I mean how many years did we survive without Facebook, blogs, etc.? I don't recall having any problems and thinking to myself, you know, I would really like to know every thought and feeling of everyone I have ever been acquainted with. So . . . what do you think? Thoughts, comments, criticisms?

Jaws (AFI #48)

I credit Jaws and Steven Spielberg with the following:

• Ruining my family beach weeks in North Carolina. While swimming one time, I saw a large(ish) gray object out of the corner of my eye. After my heart started beating again and I finished peeing myself, I swam out of that water faster than Michael Phelps. Turns out it was just a piece of paper.
• Inspiring me to learn more about sharks. This led to me finding out that it's true that sharks can attack you in 3 feet of water, which momentarily reinforced my fear of the ocean. Oddly enough, it also led me to want to become a marine biologist. This dream was dashed when my mom pointed out to me that I would be required to spend time in the sun. Given my red hair and fair skin, this didn't seem like a wise idea. Instead, I have spent the last 15ish years floundering from career to career, never finding anything I really want to do. Thanks, mom. ;)
• Leading me to believe that any animal is just a step away from wanting to relentlessly stalk and kill me.
  

Issues I have with this movie:

• The fake shark, but that's a given.
• On a couple of occasions while they're out on the boat, the music reminded me of The Goonies, which Spielberg also worked on.
  
• SPOILER!!! After he blows up the shark, the guts go everywhere, which would just draw in any other sharks in the area and create a feeding frenzy.
• As Chief Brody and Hooper swim towards shore, they're swimming right into where all the seagulls are, which would seem to indicate that they are swimming right towards the shark guts. Please refer to the above comment.

That being said, I love this movie. Nothing can make me tense up quite like those first couple notes of the Jaws music. I also think the way they filmed a lot of it from the shark's point of view makes it scarier. You just see the fear on the face of the actors and can better imagine yourself in their position. Or at least I can. My imagination tends to run wild, so I picture the cold, black eyes; the razor sharp, bloody teeth,; and the stench of rotting flesh coming from its gaping mouth. I don't think I would be able to see that if I had the actual visual of an obviously fake shark lunging towards me. Um . . . I don't know what to say to wrap this up after that visual. Go rent the movie. It's worth watching again. See it before you go swimming.

Rear Window (AFI #42)

Going in order wasn't working, so I just decided to watch what I want to when I want to. Big shocker, I know!

Rear Window is the Hitchcock movie that scared me the most the first time I watched it. (Probably because I didn't see Psycho until many years later.) SPOILERS AHEAD!!! I think it was the whole knowing someone is coming, but being incapacitated so you can't do anything about it. That freaks me out-seeing the lights go off in the hallway and hearing the footsteps. It gives me the heebie jeebies just thinking about it.

Watching Rear Window this time, I was struck (and re-struck) by several things . . .

• I love that it was a scary movie without all sorts of special effects.
• Um . . . Grace Kelly is gorgeous.
• If I turn into Miss Lonelyhearts and start having pretend dinners, please do something. I give you permission to send in the white coats.
• I'm so used to seeing actors have smokin' bodies, that it was almost a shock to see Jimmy Stewart's old man body. It wasn't a bad thing necessarily, it was just a jolt to the system.
  
• Is blog stalking and such the modern day equivalent of what Jimmy Stewart was doing?

official bum wiper

Yesterday, I heard Sariah shouting from the bathroom, "Kimbuhwee, come wipe my bum!" Obviously, I tried to ignore it and let my mom go help her, but she just said "No, Grandma, I want Kimbuhwee to wipe my bum." So I did and oddly enough, I felt quite special.

What?!?

The Donner Party may not have actually eaten each other? Was nothing we learned in school actually true? I feel like my entire childhood has been a lie! Next they're going to try to tell us that the first Thanksgiving wasn't really a harmonious settler-Indian gathering involving mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie. Or that Jesus wasn't really born on Christmas.

so excited

I'm going to Vegas tomorrow to see these guys . . .


and probably most of these guys (same event, different child, 3 years later) . . .



and I just decided to stay a few extra days to see these guys . . .



I can't wait for . . .

• baby snuggles
• little girl snuggles
• some Scooby Doo watching
• hanging with my family
• seeing my sister-in-law's family (I quite enjoy them.)
• movie watching with Traci
• not having school or work
• baby and little girl snuggles (Did I already say that?)
  

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (AFI #99)

Wow. Unlike Yankee Doodle Dandy, I loved this movie and can absolutely see why it's on AFI's list. Unlike the recent(ish) remake, Guess Who, this movie focused more on social prejudices and family relationships, instead of just trying to get laughs. Katharine Hepburn played the loving mother perfectly. The scene at the beginning where she's in the bedroom talking to her daughter is so sweet; and the part where she sends Hillary on her way made me gasp, and at the same time, made me wonder if that's something Katharine Hepburn would have done in real life! Spencer Tracy was also perfect in his role as the cantankerous father who (spoiler alert!) eventually comes around. His final speech made me a little teary and actually seemed quite relevant, given the current issues surrounding gay marriage. And as for Sidney Poitier . . . what can I say? Perfection, as always. In another moment that seemed oddly relevant and current, his character remarked on, and chuckled a little bit about how his fiance thought their (half-white, half-black, in case you haven't caught on yet!) child would some day be President. Oh, how naive he thought she was being!

So . . . long story short, rent this movie. It was much better than most of the movies I've seen lately.

Next up on the list is Unforgiven. I'm not a big fan of Westerns, so we'll see how this goes. I blame my dislike of them on an unfortunate childhood viewing of the movie, Shane. I can still hear that obnoxious little kid saying "Shaaaaaaaaaaane!" If you've seen it, you know what I mean!

song of the day

Kyrie-Mr. Mister. One of my favorite 80s songs. Is it just me or does the drummer look like Perez Hilton to an almost frightening degree? I had to watch the video several times to make sure I wasn't seeing things.

Yankee Doodle Dandy

I decided to just do the basic 100 years, 100 movies list, and number 100 on the list is Yankee Doodle Dandy. I'm watching it right now, and I don't foresee myself finishing it. I just can't get into it. I don't care about the characters at all and I can't get involved in the storyline. It just isn't happening.

Next up on the list is Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. You can't go wrong with Sidney Poitier. Or Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, for that matter. Of course most people would probably say the same thing about James Cagney. I really am kind of disappointed about the whole Yankee Doodle Dandy thing. Oh well, what can you do?

vietnamese salad

This was delicious. I based it on this recipe on Goop.

bok choy
Napa cabbage
watercress
fresh basil
fresh mint
fresh cilantro
carrot matchsticks
cucumber slices
Thai red chili, sliced thinly
peanuts, roughly chopped
handful of bean sprouts
diced avocado

Roughly chop the greens and herbs. Toss all of the above together.

1/4 c. fresh lime juice
1 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1/4 c. fish sauce (Obvs not vegan-I have no idea what would work as a substitute, flavor-wise)
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2-3/4 tsp. sesame oil
a few drops of Siracha chili sauce
a couple spoonfuls of brown sugar
minced garlic to taste
minced ginger to taste
finely diced shallot

Whisk together, drizzle over salad, then toss together.

song of the day

Shame On You by the Indigo Girls

in lieu of being productive . . .

I love movies. Love 'em. But unfortunately, I feel like the only ones I watch these days are bromances or rom-coms. So . . . I'm going to change it up a little. You know all those AFI's 100 years, 100 . . . lists? I've decided my goal for the summer (since I'm not taking any vacations and so will need something to do) is to work my way through one of the lists. I can't decide which one though. There's:

100 years . . . 100 movies
. . . 100 laughs
. . . 100 thrills
. . . 100 passions
. . . 100 cheers

My original thought was to just do the original 100 years . . . 100 movies, but watching 100 years . . . 100 cheers (all inspiring movies) sounds like more fun. 100 passions would be fun too, as would 100 laughs and 100 thrills. I just don't know. Anyone have any thoughts? Anyone wanna watch a movie with me?

song of the day

Waiting in Vain by Annie Lennox

Love the ensemble!

tales from junior high

Since today’s Song of the Day is from Green Day, I thought I would tell you a little story about how I came to enjoy Green Day.

So you know how I have kind of an obsessive personality? Well this was never more obvious than in junior high. You see, there was this guy named Paul and pretty much, he was beautiful. He was a year older than me and had the bad boy vibe going on, which obviously made him that much more attractive. Because of this, I pretty much stalked him every day during lunch. My little group of friends and I followed him everywhere he went, from one end of the school to the other, although he usually just hung out by the vending machines.

Besides being artistic and having great hair, Paul also liked Green Day. And since no 14 year-old girl’s life is complete without changing herself for every guy she has a crush on, I decided that I needed to like Green Day as well. This was like 1994ish, and the album Dookie had just come out. One of my BFF’s, Dawn, had the tape (yes, children, this was before CD’s), so I would go over to her house all the time and listen to it, fast forwarding to the songs that were on the radio and were cool. (Side note-remember how tedious it was to have to fast forward and rewind tapes?)

I soon decided that just listening to the songs wasn’t enough, since obviously Paul didn’t know I was listening to the tape because I never actually spoke to him. Fortunately, he had a Green Day t-shirt that he wore all the time and, as luck would have it, Dawn had the exact same t-shirt. (I tried to find a picture of said t-shirt, but I can’t because it was just that cool and that special and rare. And it was a really long time ago.) So, of course, I borrowed the shirt from Dawn and started wearing it all the time. And before long, Paul noticed and actually started talking to me, and then not much later, asked me out!

Hahahaha! Actually, no. I continued wearing the shirt and stalking him, and Paul continued ignoring me. And that is how I came to enjoy Green Day.

song of the day

First, because it's Wednesday morning and I'm dragging, a song to wake me (and you) up . . .

Just a Song About Ping Pong by Operator Please. Unfortunately, the YouTube video is unembedable (pretty sure that's not a word!).

And now the song of the day



21 Guns by Green Day

song of the day

Jungle Drum by Emiliana Torrini. Kinda weird, but completely infectious. I can see my nieces enjoying this-I'll have to introduce it to them later this week when they come up for a visit.

you didn't get mad when . . .

Saw this on a blog and thought it was interesting. I don't agree with all of it, but I like the general gist of it.



You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

You didn't get mad when we spent over 600 billion (and counting) on said illegal war.

You didn't get mad when you saw the Abu Ghraib photos.

You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.

You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.

You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.

You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.

You didn't get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.

This morning I was wakened by an alarm clock run on electricity generated by the public power monopoly regulated by the US Department of Energy. I then took a shower in the clean water provided by the municipal water utility. After that, I turned on the TV to one of the FCC regulated channels to see what the national weather service of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration determined the weather was going to be like using satellites designed, built, and launched by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. I watched this while eating my breakfast of US Department of Agriculture inspected food and taking the drugs which have been determined safe by the Food and Drug Administration.

At the appropriate time as regulated by the US Congress and kept accurate by the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the US Naval Observatory, I got into my National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approved automobile and set out to work on the roads build by the local, state, and federal departments of transportation, possibly stopping to purchase additional fuel of a quality level determined by the Environmental Protection Agency, using legal tender issued by the Federal Reserve Bank. On the way out the door I deposited any mail I had to be sent out via the US Postal Service and dropped the kids off at the public school.

After spending another day not being maimed or killed at work thanks to the workplace regulations imposed by the Department of Labor and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, enjoying another two meals which again did not kill me because of the USDA, I drove my NHTSA car back home on the DOT roads, to my house which had not burned down in my absence because of the state and local building codes and fire marshal’s inspection, and which had not been plundered of all its valuables, thanks to the local police department.

I then logged on to the internet, which was developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Administration and posted on freerepublic.com and Fox News forums about how SOCIALISM in medicine is BAD because the government can’t do anything right.

song of the day

Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates by Andy Osenga

green screen fail

While we were in Vegas last weekend, my mom, aunt and I took my nieces to the Shark Reef Aquarium at the Mandalay Bay. As you go in they make your group take a picture in front of a green screen, and then there are various backgrounds to choose from. Unfortunately, I was wearing a green shirt, and a green shirt and a green screen do not a good combination make. Fortunately, not being able to see half of my body makes me look a lot skinnier!

Attention all mothers

If you do this I will shun you and talk about you behind your back because it is creepy.

more sassiness!

Menergy!