The Underside of Mediocre

Uh... did anyone miss me?

2008-03-22T19:58:00.000-07:00

What better way to come back than to do blackbird's meme.

Bold the ones you've seen; italicize the ones you've seen part of.

1. The Godfather (1972) I WANT to see it, but do I ever watch it? No.
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) We own it, but I haven't seen it.
5. Pulp Fiction (1994) R's favorite. I saw it once, don't need to see it again.
6. Schindler’s List (1993) Loved it.
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) Maybe I saw it all. I don't remember.
8.The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Yeah, I saw it, but I've gotta admit... I hate Star Wars movies.
9. Casablanca (1942) Can't get through it.
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977) See #8.
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) Love this trilogy and own them.
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. Cidade de Deus (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 19. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995) No, but I keep meaning to see this. It's been on my Netflix queue for ages and I keep bumping it for more current things.
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) I didn't get it.
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. Citizen Kane (1941)
25. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) I've probably seen this eight or nine times- love it!
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Every year, baby.
31. The Matrix (1999) Again, I didn't get it. Am I slow?
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. There Will Be Blood (2007) Even worse than Daniel Day Lewis: DDL with an ugly mustache. See: Gangs of New York. I won't see either.
34. Se7en (1995) Love. In a creeped out way.
35. Apocalypse Now (1979)
36. Taxi Driver (1976)
37. American Beauty (1999)
38. Léon (1994)
39. Vertigo (1958)
40. Amelie (2001) Got in trouble for this because I was supposed to wait for R to watch it with me. Cute.
41. American History X (1998)
42. No Country for Old Men (2007)
43. The Departed (2006)
44. Paths of Glory (1957)
45. M (1931)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. Chinatown (1974)
48. The Third Man (1949)
49. Leben der Anderen, Das (2006) The Lives of Others
50. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
51. A Clockwork Orange (1971) I even have the soundtrack.
52. Alien (1979) No. And Won't.
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
54. Laberinto del fauno, El (2006)
55. The Shining (1980)
56. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) Spirited Away Kind of liked it when I first saw it, but then the more time went by, the more I realized I loved it.
57. The Pianist (2002)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) LOVE LOVE LOVE PYTHON.
60. Forrest Gump (1994) I will stop whatever I'm doing and watch this if I find it on TV.
61. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
62. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) In HS History class, actually. That's where I saw "The Hindenburg", too.
63. L.A. Confidential (1997)
64. Boot, Das (1981) Did not want to see this, but my ex had served on a submarine when in the Navy. I got so caught up in it that I sobbed at the end. It was so good.
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Untergang, Der (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Metropolis (1927)
72. Rashômon (1950)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
76. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. Rebecca (1940)
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) SO hard to get through the monkeys with the monolith.
80. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. Vita è bella, La (1997)
86. On the Waterfront (1954)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (1958)
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Jaws (1975) First R rated movie I ever saw!
92. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
93. The Sting (1973) I went with my mom when I was 9. (SPOILER ALERT!) At the end when it appeared they were dead, I was crying my eyes out and blaming her for taking me to such a horrible movie.
94. Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1988)
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
97. The Apartment (1960)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. Blade Runner (1982)
100. The Great Dictator (1940)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Batman Begins (2005)
103. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
104. Ladri di biciclette (1948) Bicycle Thieves
105. Salaire de la peur, Le (1953) Wages of Fear
106. High Noon (1952)
107. Ran (1985)
108. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) YAWN
109. The Big Sleep (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
111. Notorious (1946)
112. Back to the Future (1985)
113. Fargo (1996)
114. Oldboy (2003)
115. Unforgiven (1992)
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Ratatouille (2007)
119. Mononoke-hime (1997)
120. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
121. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
122. Yojimbo (1961)
123. Per qualche dollaro in più (1965)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Notti di Cabiria, Le (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Battaglia di Algeri, La (1966) The Battle of Algiers.
130. Annie Hall (1977)
131. Die Hard (1988)
132. Into the Wild (2007)
133. Ben-Hur (1959)
134. The Deer Hunter (1978)
135. The Sixth Sense (1999)
136. It Happened One Night (1934)
137. The General (1927) Buster Keaton = Absolute Genius.
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
140. Life of Brian (1979)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Smultronstället (1957) Wild Strawberries
143. Amores perros (2000) Love's a B'tch
144. Finding Nemo (2003)
145. Diaboliques, Les (1955)
146. The Incredibles (2004)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. The Wild Bunch (1969)
149. Heat (1995)
150. Children of Men (2006) Was so much less good than I hoped it would be.
151. Brief Encounter (1945)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. Juno (2007)
154. The Princess Bride (1987)155. 8½ (1963)
156. The Graduate (1967)
157. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
158. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
159. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
160. The Big Lebowski (1998) I didn't get it. And I'm a total Coen brothers fan. Well, I guess almost total.
161. Crash (2004/I)
162. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
163. Stand by Me (1986)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
167. Snatch. (2000) Is this the one where you couldn't understand a freakin' word Brad Pitt was saying?
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)
170. The African Queen (1951)
171. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. The Thing (1982)
173. Trainspotting (1996) I tried.
174. Gone with the Wind (1939)
175. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
176. Wo hu cang long (2000) Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
177. Belle et la bête, La (1946)
178. The Gold Rush (1925)
179. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
180. Groundhog Day (1993)
181. The Conversation (1974)
182. American Gangster (2007)
183. Scarface (1983) Saw the last 5 minutes just last weekend... because all you really need to see is "Say hello to my leetle friend!".
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Cabinet des Dr. Caligari., Das (1920)
192. Sleuth (1972)
193. The Hustler (1961)
194. Umberto D. (1952)
195. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
196. Stalker (1979)
197. Glory (1989)
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Grindhouse (2007)
201. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. The Lion King (1994)
204. Hotaru no haka (1988)
205. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
208. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
209. The Lost Weekend (1945)
210. Stalag 17 (1953)
211. Magnolia (1999) I love convoluted looping plotlines.
212. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
213. Lola rennt (1998) Run Lola Run Watched it, and then immediately watched it again.
214. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
215. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
216. Frankenstein (1931)
217. Out of the Past (1947)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
220. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
221. Casino (1995)
222. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
223. Toy Story 2 (1999)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)
226. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
227. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
228. Hot Fuzz (2007)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Ikiru (1952)
231. Mou gaan dou (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)
233. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) STELL.... oh, never mind.
234. Young Frankenstein (1974)
235. Dial M for Murder (1954)
236. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
237. Rope (1948)
238. Once (2006)
239. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) The 400 Blows
241. The Searchers (1956)
242. In Cold Blood (1967)
243. Ying xiong (2002)
244. His Girl Friday (1940)
245. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
246. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
247. Samouraï, Le (1967)
248. Strada, La (1954)
249. Harold and Maude (1971) Just this past week, the Alamo Drafthouse was showing this with Bud Cort making a live appearance for a Q&A. We tried to get tickets but it was sold out.
250. Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes (1972) Aguire, The Wrath of God

I should see more movies.

Step 1

2007-09-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

I went to the doctor yesterday. I go back on the 3rd day of my next period for tests, and then we determine if/when we can do an insemination, depending on the test results. I am old, after all, and the factory might not be producing up to standards.

Meanwhile, we need to go sperm shopping. I'm letting R do most of that, so he feels more involved.

I have no idea if this will work. But I hope it will.

Request

2007-09-05T22:12:00.000-07:00

Would somebody PLEASE tell me how to make a really good frozen margarita... preferably one that doesn't start with frozen limeade mix, because that seems like cheating?

Thank you.

Like I don't have enough to do.

2007-08-31T17:58:00.000-07:00

I had this bright idea, to put my favorite recipes into a blog form. That way when I'm at work and am trying to decide what to make for dinner, I can print out the recipe and/or make a shopping list. I'm putting labels on each entry, so I can search by type of dish or main ingredient.

I've entered almost 40 recipes so far. I think this will be pretty damn useful. I just wish it wasn't so time consuming.

Potato

2007-08-27T23:29:00.000-07:00

Since R got this damn staph thing, I've been sleeping on the couch- because it gives him more room to sleep without me bumping into him and maybe causing an owie, and also because I'm scared.

Scared of germs.

Crawling across the bedsheets and onto me, whereupon they would find any available orifice to make their entry into ME.

I've been assured by the doctor that those germs are everywhere and if they're in the house, they're in the house, nothing much we can do except clean everything that might be germy as much as possible, as often as possible, to reduce their impact. So far I'm good, but I'm getting a wee tad phobic. I think I'm breaking the handwashing record.

Anyway, the couch. I've always loved sleeping on the couch- I sleep better there than anywhere, usually, and I love falling asleep with the TV on. But now, knowing that I'm STUCK there, not so good. Why, you ask, not sleep in the guest room? No TV. And I must have episodes of CSI to fall asleep by. (Although CSI has now been replaced by "How Clean Is Your House", which makes me feel better about my germ-filled abode. Have you seen that show? What do those people cook in those broiler pans that leaves inches of gross old fat in the bottom?)

Enough for now. I'm tired. And only posting so I can avoid the couch.

Uh...oops.

2007-08-23T17:57:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't posted since April. Let's see, what's happened since then?

I've become a wife! For the third time. (Long, ugly story. But this time it's sticking.)

I'm working too much.

R has been battling a nasty staph infection for the 2nd time. Much much cleaning and sanitizing and bottles of Purell for me.

I appear, this week, to have become addicted to all the cute little pens they're selling at checkout counters, probably for back-to-school. Number I have bought in the last 3 days? 8.

We have decided to begin trying to get pregnant. Huge longshot, I know, because of my age and the fact that we'll have to use AI and probably donor sperm. But... it would be very good.

I've put my diabetic cat on a diet to lose 2 pounds, with much complaining on her part.

We also gave away Peggy the errant English Setter to a good friend who has a huge ranch where she can run free and swim in two ponds ALL SHE WANTS. Her life is now very good.

I am being eaten alive by chiggers.

Other than that, not much happening. 'Sup with you?

Update

2007-04-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

The wedding is in eight days. My parents arrive tomorrow. They are coming early to help me get the house whipped into shape (Mom on the inside, Dad doing yardwork). So, of course, I have to pre-clean before Mom gets here.

I'm stressed. Not horribly so, but the hours on the clock are whizzing by far faster than the amount of stuff I've done would indicate. (Did that make sense?)

R did a barter deal with a furniture company- he's trading a website for furniture! And they're having a half-price sale! The owner is so cool. Even though they just worked the deal out yesterday, he's letting us get the furniture in time for the wedding. So far I've picked out a new sofa and two chairs. New! I've never had a new sofa before! It's cushy and pretty and bright red. And I still have about $1000 left.

This isn't the first time he's bartered like that. He's a really good designer, so sometimes clients who couldn't afford him otherwise jump at the chance to trade. Can you tell I'm proud?

Also, I think I'm getting a cold. Dammit.

I don't even KNOW them anymore.

2007-04-17T20:22:00.000-07:00

I went today to one of those lingerie stores where the sales associates really know how to fit you properly for a bra. I figured, I've spent years guessing what size I am. Might be fun to find out what size I actually wear.

Just for the record, my usually approach to bra purchasing is to grab a dozen, ranging in size from 40D to 44DDD and just try, try, try until I find one that seems to fit. The last one I bought was size 42DD.

My size today?

38 G.

G.

As in

oh
my
GOD.

Kitchen Meme

2007-04-13T20:17:00.000-07:00

Since Sarah Louise was kind enough to comment a few days ago, I felt free to pilfer her meme from blackbird.

In the kitchen with...Sharon

-Variety is the spice of life.

In my cupboard, I have this many spices: None. Well, maybe two or three. Most of them I keep in little ziploc bags in a container in the refrigerator.

Alphabetize? Nope, they're just thrown in the container.

Which recipe? Anything sweet.

It's like the pot calling the kettle black.

Coffee or tea? Coffee in the morning, tea in the evening.

Do you make coffee at home? Sometimes. But usually I buy it at the gas station.

If you make tea, loose or in bags? Bags. Canadian. MUCH better than American.

How many kinds of tea do you have? Four, but I only drink two.

If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

I use my stovetop: Usually daily, but since the beginning of March I've been on Jenny Craig, so now only to cook vegetables.

I use my oven: Ditto, because of the diet. I microwave my meals. Did I mention, I'm getting really tired of microwaved meals.

Why buy the cow when you can get the milk for free?

Soy or cow? Moo.

Skim or whole? Skim. I can't drink whole anymore- it tastes like heavy cream.

How many gallons a week? Two, between the two of us.

There's nothing like rejection to make you do an inventory of yourself. (James Lee Burke)

Three items in my freezer (right now): Jenny Craig meals. Too much meat that I've bought on sale. Fruit pops.

Three things in my fridge (right now): R's leftover pizza. Wine. Many, many condiments.

Item I am most chagrined about: A chicken that I cooked a week ago that I forgot to throw out on trash day. It's warm enough outside now that I don't want to put it out there unless it's going to be picked up right away, and now I have to wait until next Wednesday. Ick.

Item I bet no one else has: Kitty insulin. Homemade chow-chow. Moxie. ( I loooooove Moxie!)

It's the cat's ass, baby.

2007-04-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

We've got a cat named Gunny. She's sweet, she's getting old, she's overweight and diabetic and requires insulin twice a day. She also has forgotten how to shit.

She still does it, and frequently, but she doesn't cover the poop up anymore. She also doesn't squat when she goes, so it ends up stuck all over her butt. And being a longhaired cat, she can carry a lot of poop around with her. And STINK? My God.

So once every couple of weeks (not more often because it really stresses her out), I have to give her a bath. I hold her down in the water and let her soak to loosen the dried poop. Then I shampoo her and wrap her in a towel and hold her for a while to calm her while some of the water is soaked up by the towel. Meanwhile, she yowls like she's being set on fire.

She likes to sleep on R's desk while he works. When she reeks, he can't stand it. So today was bath day.

Right this minute, there is a cat that hates me sitting in the other room.

Phone Home

2007-04-04T08:54:00.000-07:00

My parents were here back in March. My dad wallpapered the kitchen for me (yes, I know wallpaper is ugly but my walls were even uglier), and during his Bob Vila stint he cut a wire to an unused phone jack.

We are now up to $500 in repairs to fix this phone jack, which was apparently the "boss jack" for almost all of the house.

It would have been cheaper to hire someone to wallpaper.

P.S. Dad did a great job, and he's awesome for helping me fix up the house, and I AM NOT TELLING HIM about this.

I'm not quite a quitter. I'm a get-back-to-laterer.

2007-04-03T05:40:00.000-07:00

I give.

I feel so guilty that I never post on my other site (the underused bookcase) that instead of posting there and apologizing up and down to the unseen two or three people that might actually be looking, I'm starting a whole new spot. Once this wedding is done and I'm not on a diet and can actually COOK again, I'll start up that project again. But I think I'll keep here as a non-cooking related journal. Not that I ever posted much cooking there. Yet.

Why do all the names I come up with have "under" in them? Hm. Feel free to discuss with your therapist.

Wedding stuff... who was it that told me getting married at my house would be simple? I suppose it's easier than doing it at a church or hall with all the catering, flowers and planning that would require, but having to remodel just because people are coming that I don't want to see the state of the house as it is kind of sucks. I mean, it's nice getting things looking nicer, but it's only temporary because we're planning on doing a big remodel in about 6-9 months, which will involve ripping out pretty much everything we're doing now. I hope that plan works out. I hope we can afford it. We're both rebuilding what used to be crappe credit, thanks to my divorce and R's former "I'm an artiste!" lifestyle.

Anyway. Way more people coming than I expected. (Cool! Visitors!) Some are party animals, some are extremely conservative church-going types. (We are more like party kittens, who occasionally go to church.) Trying to show them all a good time, without offending anyone. While still having a good time ourselves, and oh yeah, getting married. Speaking of which- we don't have a JP yet. Anybody know one? Anybody who IS one? Come on over. We can promise you a burger, a margarita and a real party kitten good time for just 5 minutes of your time.