Hump It

Check out these tasty morsels (always and forever ruined by QQ) I made *snobby voice* from scratch this weekend:


Strawberry-banana muffins

Also, let this license plate be your entree.

Hump It

Labor Day I got crunk in Spades and Boca chicken nuggets with veg. baked beans and homemade fries courtesy of my mother-in-law. Also contemplating big changes for the future. It's that weird time period where stuff is about to happen and you gotta ride the wave. But which one to ride? Hmmm.

I am also now hooked on Law and Order. I saw Benjamin Button for the 1st time and enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would.

Poodles n Tumblr n Sawngz

~Poodles have always been among the top 3 smartest dog breeds. This year it has been reported that they are the 2nd smartest breed next to Border Collies, with German Shepherds rounding out the top 3. The article also reports that many dogs have the intelligence of a 2-year old person; recognizing over 100 words and being able to do simple arithmatic. As someone who has a poodle that routinely reads the dictionary for fun, this is not exactly news to me.

Pookie

Examples of the ways my soul has been weakened by having a poodle:

*He knows not to pee in the house. One night years ago, me or Crabby forgot to take him out at night. Around 5 or 6 the next morning, I dimly saw Pookie scratch the bedroom door open, and leave. He came back after a moment and stood in the doorway looking toward us. He then got back in his bed. When I woke up, I noticed he had peed on the trash can and put 2 and 2 together. He had to go so bad but didn't want to pee in a "bad" area of the apt, so he peed on the trash can. He came back and looked at us as if to say, "I hope you're ok with what I just had to do."

*One day years ago Pookie kept walking up to me and whimpering. I had no idea what he wanted, because he had already been outside and I grabbed a toy but he didn't want to play. So I forgot about it and went back to watching TV/reading. I get up and go in the kitchen and this muhfugga is laid out on his side in a roadkill position in front of his water bowl. He had been trying to tell me to refill his water bowl. This dramatic cunt of a poodle just collapsed in front of it like a dying man in front of an oasis.

*When I get up, somehow he KNOWS if I'm getting up just to get something and sit back down or if I'm about to get my shoes and leave. This is before I go in any particular direction that would give him a hint.

*If our other dog Topaz wants to go out and we're ignoring her, she'll go sit by Pookie all upset and Pookie will get up and come ask us for her.

*He knows the phrase "Go tell him, then!" If I want him to ask Crabby to take him out I'll say "Well go tell him, then!" And he'll make a funny noise and gallop off.

~I have joined Tumblr and set up a page. It's really just an excuse to have a dumping ground for my unicorn/cuntiness. I post images that inspire me and songs that are dreamy and jamming. Also lyrics and quotes that stand out to me. I've only done a few since I just started, but I'll be updating frequently. Join me! The Treasure Hunter.

~I'm looking forward to a restful weekend. I started the process for my Masters Thesis this week and that has been a HUGE relief to finally get the ball rolling. We're supposed to head to a beach this weekend so I'm greatly looking forward to that, as well as another game of Spades (I'm addicted), and a viewing of the movie District 9. To send you off for the weekend, here are a couple of sexy-chill instrumentals that I jam. I am usually not a fan of instrumentals; they really have to put me in a zone. But these two are Gem approved, so enjoy!

Florent 2AM

Cinquo Dias
http://www.last.fm/music/Espresso+Del+Lago/_/Cinquo+Dias

Let the Right One In

I recommend you see Let the Right One In. It's a Swedish vampire film about love, friendship, fear, and loneliness. It is not a typical vampire movie where the violence and gore take center stage, and that is part of its charm. I love films that are magical aesthetically, and the Swedish setting and cold environment is shown off beautifully. The main characters are children which makes the story that much more haunting. This instantly became a favorite movie of mine. Here is the official website. You can buy, rent, or Netflix it now. Here is the official trailer:

Notes From The Weekend

Jesus Christ on a cracker. Back to your regularly scheduled blogging program.

*So I up and caught the flu for no reason. Or at least, "flu-like symptoms". How the hell do you know if you have the flu or flu-like symptoms? I am at the end now (I hope) and I thank you all for your well-wishes, especially ChocolateOrchid for checking on me periodically!

*I am the Natural Belle of the week over on Hairspiration, check me out! Thank you again for featuring me (it says natural for 4 years, but it's been 3 years and some change)!

*I watched The Wrestler, Bubba Ho-tep, and Pineapple Express over the weekend.
The Wrestler: Good movie, wonderful acting.
Bubba Ho-tep: If this isn't one of the brokest movies of all time, I don't know what is. That's what the appeal is though. I met my demise toward the end of the film where the villain/mummy starts cursing in hieroglyphics.
Pineapple Express: This movie was a tad over-hyped (and so unnecessarily violent, lol) but it did have its funny moments. "FUCK THE PO-LICE (in slow-motion)!"

*I have recently been in awe of all the big-ass pickup trucks I see driving around Houston. I mean like unnecessarily, Canyonero big. I am in awe because:
1. I wonder why I'm just now noticing all these big-ass trucks because
2. This MUST be a Texas thing right? MrsMaryMack, Tanijoy, Desiree, TheHoustonGirl, any other Texas lurkers help me out. Are ya'll seeing these too?
3. It makes me realize that not only does one country have a unique culture, but regions cannot be under-estimated for their own culture. Like seriously, you wouldn't see this in New York, California, Oregon, etc.
4. THAT makes me then wonder how much we underestimate other regional cultures of other countries. Vesper, does Canada differ noticeably in culture depending on region? What about England? I know Italy and South Africa do. What about Australia? Anywhere else?

That's all my congested ass can---wait that sounds gross. That's all my congested self can think up right now. Blogging shall resume! Have a magical day!

Weekend Observations

1. On my way to meet a friend for lunch, I saw (while driving) what appeared to be a small dog on a sidewalk. Since I love dogs, I tried to catch a closer look at it while I passed by. Upon closer inspection, it was a bird. A freakin bird. Like, a bird of prey. Like, a falcon, hawk, condor, phoenix, pterodactyl type bird. It was standing on the sidewalk (I think it was trying to eat something) looking at traffic. This was on a busy street surrounded by expensive condos. Freaked me right the hell out.



2. In the checkout line at Target, the woman behind me had a giraffe tattoo on her chest. Imagine someone drawing a giraffe on a sheet of paper. Think of how long the neck is. She had on a v-neck shirt, and the giraffe's head was high on her chest, and the long neck extended down under her shirt. That thing was drawn to scale like a muhfugga. It was actually kind of awesome. Definitely the most random tattoo I have ever seen.



3. I went to see The Reader last night. My husband and I are often the token black people in the movies we go see, this movie was no exception. The Reader was in a small theater. The audience was mostly 40 years and older white people. Everyone lined up in an orderly fashion (there was no need to) and waited until the cleaning people left and filed orderly through the doors. It was very interesting. Most movies with a younger audience (that was not a huge blockbuster film) would not see this same decorum.


I ended up sitting next to this elderly couple who said pretty much every thought that came to mind while watching the movie. Examples:

*Pile of shoes appear on the screen. Elderly lady: "Oh, shoes..."
*Picture is placed on a wall. Elderly lady: "Is that (main character) in the picture?"
*Building appears on screen. Elderly man: "What is that?" Elderly woman: "Oh, that's the church. I wonder if it's the same one from earlier."
*Random scene. Elderly woman: "Burps...mmm." (She did this at least twice. I was beyond horrified).
*Other scene. Elderly woman: "Is she going to climb that? Oh, no..."

I have never wanted to murk an elderly person or persons like I wanted to murk this couple. I wanted to load them onto a catapult and launch them into a screening of Notorious.

4. I planned my monthly vegan menu and just cooked a very satisfying dinner tonight. Linguine with sauteed green and red peppers, tomatoes, and broccoli; and sauteed lemon-herb tofu. Yummers!

Slumdog Millionaire

This is my favorite movie of 2008 and one of my favorite all-time movies. The protagonist, Jamal, is a contestant on India's Who Wants to be a Millionaire? and he has answered all the questions correctly up until the final question for the big money prize. Officials suspect him of cheating and have detained him and torture him to figure out how he cheated. Jamal and the officials go through how he came to know the answer to each question and this takes the viewers through his life. This is a wonderful film about love, life, fate, and timing and it is beautifully done (I may be a bit biased because I love Indian culture). It is mostly in English and subtitled for the non-English parts. It's out in the theaters now; consider seeing it! I think you will really enjoy it.

Here is the trailer:

Scary Movies

In honor of Halloween, here are my favorite horror/terror movies:

The Mist (this movie has scarred me for life)
Carrie (the music alone especially at the end was terrifying)
The Descent (sleeper hit, I really enjoyed it)
The Birds (one of my favorite all-time movies)
The Ring (when she climbs out of the well....I can't)
The Exorcist (the backwards climb down the stairs....I can't)
Child's Play 2 and 3 (pure comedy gold)

What horror/terror movies are your favorites?