10 amazingly funny things about "Arrested Development"
1. anytime Franklin appears, but especially when he and Gob sing "It Ain't Easy Being White" 2. the name Bob Loblaw. 3. Buster's hook 4. Gob's segway 5. Tobias' Analrapist business card (cross between analyst and therapist) 6. the family vehicle is an airport stair car 7. his first name is George Michael 8. Gob's chicken impression 9. the one armed man that George Sr. uses to teach his kids lessons 10. the fact that they literally refer to the other Lucille as "Lucille 2"
Lately I've been feeling some literary guilt, and I'm not sure where it's coming from. I feel like I should be a reader of or at least familiar with Cormac McCarthy and Kurt Vonnegut. The truth is though, I've never read a single book by either one of them. I started thinking about it more the other day when I walked by a Vonnegut display in a bookstore. They are both great American novelists, but are hardly on the same page as others throughout history who have written truly transcendent literature. That's why I'm not sure why I feel so strongly that I should be familiar with their work. If anyone has read something by either one of them and could give a recommendation, that'd be great.
...got shampoo in my eyes for the first time in years. it really hurts. ...sat next to lesbians making out on the subway. ...walked by a man with a big green parrot on his shoulder. i'm pretty sure he wasn't a wannabe pirate because he didn't have a peg leg. although he did have a rather pronounced limp. ...ate a corn dog. it's been about 2 years since i've had one, and i'm not sure why because they are delicious. ...got hit on by a semi creepy fireman ...finished a challenging puzzle
Faith and I had a nice pasta dinner tonight with some pasta I brought home from Italy. I stumbled into a store that sold pasta in ALL different shapes, including penis pasta. As it was cooking Faith said, "Wow it's getting so much bigger." Just like a true "The Office" fan, I didn't miss a beat with my "that's what she said" reply! Just for fun, here's a pic of a cooked piece and some uncooked ones. And just so you know, in an attempt to preserve a modicum of tact we choose marinara sauce instead of alfredo...
- Netflix - anything that's jerry-rigged - the word "smarmy" - pomegranates - light layers - Apple computers' Sherlock feature and also widgets - conversations that last into the wee hours - Cover Girl's WetSlicks lip gloss - mechanical pencils - weddings and the related goings-on of people you are genuinely close to - food steamers - 10+ hour tv on dvd and/or movie marathons - California Pizza Kitchen - amazon.com - public radio - DVD special features, especially commentaries - Trader Joe's No Pudge Fudge - free wifi - a keychain compass-an especially handy tool here in the city - rain boots - Google Earth - a really great blanket - any sort of holiday themed family contest - book lights - Wednesday food sample hour at Whole Foods - Root Beer Schnapps - mutual friends - orchids, especially white ones - the onboard airline channel where you can listen to the pilots and the control tower
Here's a small update from my last blog posting...
I've changed my mind about baseball. I think I'm going to be a Mets fan instead of a Yankees fan. I realized that being a Yankees fan is like being a Lakers fan. No one takes the Lakers or their fans seriously. It is a much more respectable choice to be a Clippers fan. I think the Mets/Yankees dilemma is a pretty similar situation, so I'm going to go with the Mets.
The football choice is still up in the air. A trusted friend has suggested to go with the Jets, but two cute guys I met said to go with the Giants. So we'll see on that one.
So, I'm trying to decide which New York City sports teams to start cheering for. While clearly not the most important thing ever, I feel like it's a pretty big choice. Here's what I've got so far...any thoughts or suggestions would be much appreciated. Also, to be clear, these will not become my new favorite teams (I don't think). I just need teams to cheer for, enjoy, like, and attend games. My true teams will always be the Chicago Bears, University of Illinois college basketball, and for pro basketball the Chicago Bulls. For baseball I feel equally towards the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and LA Dodgers. I like the LA Kings because they are the only pro hockey team I've really seen, but I feel that allegiance is up for grabs.
college teams: I think I'm going to go with Hofstra. This is mostly a default decision because there are suprisingly few teams here. Maybe another choice could be St. Johns, but I think that's about it. Most NYC colleges aren't really known for their athletics, so it's slim pickin's here.
NBA: I've think I will just go ahead and cheer for the Knicks. This is sort of weird since they were the Bulls' biggest rivals back in the glorious early-mid 90's. The Knicks are awful these days, and it's always fun to root for the underdog.
NHL: I'm fully ok with my choice to become a Rangers fan. I really like watching hockey live, which I never knew until I went to a couple of Kings games when I was in LA. It really makes for a fun evening.
NFL: This is tough. I love the Bears, but need a hometown team to root for. I don't really know much about either the Jets or Giants, so I could go either way. I'm leaning a little towards the Jets because I like their green color better than the Giants' red and blue combo. That's a really shallow reason to pick a team, so the jury's still out on this one.
MLB: I've always enjoyed a baseball game as much as the next girl...it's a great time to work on your tan and hang out with some friends. But I've never been a real die hard baseball fan. I don't really have a team that I absolutely love, so I've never had a problem just adopting the team of whatever city I live in. This is a little problematic now, because I've learned it's not acceptable to be both a Yankees and Mets fan; you have to pick one. The Mets seem to be a more substantive team, and are maybe a little easier to take seriously. However, the Yankees have all these sports divas and are so damn theatrical it's like cheering for a soap opera. That's pretty hard to resist. So...I think I'm going to go with the Yankees on this one.
So all in all, I think I'm in a pretty good spot. I'm happy with my pro basketball and hockey choices. I think I'm pretty good with the baseball and college basketball, but if you've got some input please send it my way. And any NFL suggestions would be much appreciated.
Lately I've had the good fortune of selecting great movies and books. Here's my latest few books:
1. What is the What--my current read, written by Dave Eggars. I'm a little over halfway finished, and so far it's excellent. It's a novel based on the lives of several Sudanese refugees.
2. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince--any Harry book is a delight to read, this one especially as it's gearing me up for next month's book 7 release.
3. The Lost Carravagio-- Nice, easy read about (clearly) a lost Carravagio painting. This novel is entertaining and doesn't require a lot of brain power, but still educates you with a little art history.
My ongoing read: This quarter's edition of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern. This publication comes in a different format with different types of content each quarter, and this time it's a hard-back book of short stories.
Next up: God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything, the latest book from the venerable Chris Hitchens.
My latest few movies have been: Freedom Writers- good but not unbelievable Closer- great flick Cool Runnings- best Jamaican movie AND best bobsled movie I've ever seen. Maybe also best Olympics movie. Little Children- loved this one. the ending makes a beautiful point Best in Show- can't belive it took me so long to finally watch this hilarious gem
This movie list has caused me to think about other great sports movies, particularly movies featuring winter sports. I think the best are Cool Runnings, the Might Ducks trilogy (particularly D2), and The Cutting Edge. And maybe I'd have to give an honorable mention to Ice Princess...it's not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but it does star the girl who played in Harriet the Spy, and that's gotta count for something.
Tomorrow I am going up to visit some family in Mystic, CT (town with the pizza parlor Mystic Pizza, which inspired the Julia Roberts movie of the same name). I'm pretty excited about this. It's a very nice New England town, complete with a drawbridge that still goes up twice an hour to let the boats through. Plus, pretty much every member of my mom's family lives within about a half hour of there. I haven't been there in about three years, so I'm pretty pumped to visit.
Then, in about 3 weeks I'm heading down to Ocean City, MD to visit my dad's family. They all live in Maryland, except there's one uncle's family in Delaware. This will be a short visit as well, but will definitley be a fun one since Ocean City is where the whole family goes each summer for a vacation on the beach. The whole extended family goes every year, except my immediate family hasn't gone in several years, mostly because we now live all over the country.
Growing up we'd take a 2 week family vacation to visit mom's family in Connecticut for a week and then drive down to visit dad's family in Maryland for the second week. I tell you all this because today I realized that this is going to be the first time since those family vacations 7 or 8 years ago that I will see all members of my family, immediate and both sides extended, within a 7 month period. These next few weeks will take care of all the extended family, and I saw most of my immediate family in May when I visited Illinois when my nephew was born. Everyone was there except my dad and brother, but I just saw them at Christmas. So there ya go...7 months to see everyone is not too shabby.
Oh crap, I just realized my brother-in-law wasn't there in May and he and my sister didn't come to Christmas in California. But, I did see him at my brother's wedding in November. So I guess that makes it 8 months. That's still really great though. Even though we all have issues and things sometimes get pretty difficult...there really is nothing like family.
