Of Princesses and Paupers

I got home from Thanksgiving and Shannon and I immediately decided to see I'm Not There, the Bob Dylan "bioflick." The movie was quite good, though I admit I was confused through most of it. There is a great revelation moment at least halfway through that helped me understand the film, but on the whole it was exceptionally well done. While Across the Universe was made in the editing, the "jumping around in time" in "I'm Not There" was obviously a decision on the script level rather than post. All in all, good stuff.

Monday brought more work - a relatively easy day of getting lunch and running across town. During the day, the lady and I thought an evening date would be fun, so after work we met up on Hollywood Blvd at the El Capitan to see Enchanted. The tickets were way too expensive, but I decided to treat since the lady purchased Andrew Bird tickets that afternoon. There was no show before the feature (unlike the sing-and-dance we saw before Ratatouille) but after we found out there was an actual attraction.

Me: There's a thing after.
Shan: What is it?
Me: I think you can take pictures of all the princesses.
Shan: Skip it?
Me: Are you kidding? We are getting our goddamn money's worth.

The movie commenced and it was exceptional! The lost Golden-Age Disney film. Didn't take itself too seriously, was filled to the brim with references to past Disney films (my weak spot) and was just really entertaining. While there were one or two moments where I thought "...huh?" it was still way better than some of the Disney animated movies that came out in recent years (take THAT, On the Range!). Also, the animation? STUNNING. Even the CG stuff was stylized in a way that wasn't distracting. Disney truly has a hit on their hands.

Following the movie, I dragged lady fair to the Enchanted Tent attraction. Disney knows how to do it right. It was like going to a mini-Disneyland attraction! A man announced our entry, all the Disney princesses were dancing or standing at their own diorama. Video games (we battled it out on Guitar Hero 3), arts and crafts, actual costumes, photo references comparing Enchanted to every other Disney movie, princesses; a whole smorgasbord of kiddy fun. We walked around, gawked at how over the top it all was, then watched little kids run up to their favorite princesses (already wearing dresses) and hugging them as if they were real people. Adorable.

We left, exhausted and in good moods and caught up on Heroes. I dug the episode, but I wish there wasn't "one more episode." Rushing this season will hurt it in the long run, methinks. Spreading the season out would have been nicer.

Yesterday (Tuesday) was a busy day. I would out of the office most of the afternoon evening, so exhausted I actually passed out at a red light. Shan and I went shopping then returned home to catch up on America's Next Top Model. Heather (the model with mild autism) almost got the boot but thankfully she looked so effing gorgeous that she stuck around.

First photo and latest photo:





Incredible, right? Heather is by far my favorite this season. Nerd, geek, good looking, awkward. I'd by lying if I said I didn't have a crush. Here's hoping she takes it. I always love an underdog.

Of Sparkles and Sunshines

I am extremely disappointed in myself that I stopped watching South Park years ago. In Middle School, I watched the series first episodes with rapt attention. But as years went by my attention fell onto other exploits and South Park was lost in the fray. I started re-watching (semi-religiously) last year with Shannon as she was a rabid fan. They were good, if not great episodes. But it's THIS season that has really rekindled my love of the show. Imaginationland alone is an incredible endeavor, (perhaps) due to the overwhelming amount of references that littered those episodes. Excellent writing and excellent commentary have made it a must-watch for me just in time for this season to end. The most-recent/last episode of the season was also particularly side-tickling. Entitled "The List" we watched as the girls made a list (obviously) of the cutest guys in the class. Having found out I was number three on a list of the cutest Syracuse film majors (sultry blond Joe Moore was number one and tall/dark/handsome Colin Bannon was number two...or vice versa, it doesn't matter) this episode really cracked me up. I never knew how much power those lists had on our feeble minds. Of course, being number three, I don't really care either way.

This season is already drawing to a close. We've got three more episodes of Heroes (seven less than there should be, in my opinion, since it took nine to get the season going) and the last episode of The Office (for now) premiered last night. Soon we will all feel the cold hard grasp of the strike when we realize that we only have episodes of A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila reruns to keep us warm on dem lonely nights.

I'd like to take a moment and talk about what I'm currently watching (or, by next week, what I used to watch). Does that sparkle with everyone?

Mondays are Heroes nights, plain and simple.

Tuesday nights we usually use as "catch-up" nights, since there really isn't much on.

Wednesdays is our busy night. We've got Pushing Daisies and America's Next Top Model, followed by Project Runway, which is great as per usual. For Top Model, we're currently rooting for Heather, the mildly autistic dynamo with a heart of gold. Project Runway looks like it could be good this year, but I don't really like anyone that's on it yet. The crazy art teacher marionette designer makes me want to actually sit down and give it a chance. South Park has also graced the Wednesday night lineup.

Thursdays is our Comedy Night Done Right...night. We usually skip My Name is Early, simply because Shannon don't dig it and I don't have anything invested in it to watch. If we're laptop gaming we'll usually leave it on as white noise, but otherwise we skip it. 30 Rock I've been starting to watch more religiously, solely because I get a pretty good laugh out of it. My biggest problem with it is that most of the jokes I see a mile away, too obvious/too easy. This past episode was pretty good though and there is enough going on that I'll watch next weeks as well. The Office is a given, being the best "sit-com" that's on cable, and this season has been pretty great. Last nights was more heartwarming than usual, what with Michael Scott fighting loyalties between a bitchy girlfriend and a supportive company in order for Jan to win "a whole lotta guacamole." A great episode and sadly the last.

Friday and Saturday are dead nights, except for The Soup. If we watch television, it's usually DVDs of whatever show we're catching up on. Right now it's Angel and The West Wing, depending on our mood. I'm sure we'll move to Dead Like Me next, being such big Pushing Daisies fans.

Sundays are a mixed bag. Usually we just watch The Simpsons and (sometimes) Family Guy, but we don't really care enough to put the time in.

So yeah, that's our schedule. It seems like we watch a lot of television...which we do. But I'd rather watch any of these shows in lieu of seeing a movie these days.

Sunshine!