Fun and Games Blog Fest

It's all fun and games until somebody loses an eye.

Sorry. I'm incapable of saying 'fun and games' without following with that.



So today is a fun and frivolous blogfest. Alex Cavanaugh is hosting, and wants us to talk about our three favorite games. I played a lot of games as a kid—it was my mom's nefarious plan to get her only offspring to spend time with her. But it was also something I periodically did with my dad or my grandma.



Dad taught me chess when I was seven “because he didn't think my mom was capable of learning it” (wasn't he a prince?) At the time I felt honored. Now I feel a little like my mom should have thunked him in the head. He also taught me cribbage, but THAT one mom played, too, so for me, it stuck a lot longer.



There were a couple 'lake' card games. My grandparents had a lake cabin with a big round table, perfect for large card games. The two I remember were called Up the River, Down the River and Oh, Hell. They were both trick taking games, if I remember right, and Up the River, Down the River involved increasing then decreasing hand sizes (meaning how many cards everybody got, not that we had growing then shrinking gloves or something)



But the ones that have stuck...

Monopoly



Somehow this has become a new years ritual. My kids like to play, but only if there is no option of being off with their friends... I have always loved this game, but as an only child, I didn't get to play much—everyone KNOWS it isn't a two-person game! As a kid, we would leave a card table set up for days and keep coming back to it. I'm currently married to Mr. McStuffypants and he doesn't like to leave stuff out (which also makes me sad on a puzzle front). So when we play, it always ends up a marathon... hours and hours of Monopoly.

Uno



This is one I never played as a kid. I have no idea when it was invented, but it never made it to my house... it is great though, in that it is easy enough for all ages, unpredictable, and a little wacky. Honestly, though, I think what I like best about it now, is it is so quick to get out and put away... low maintenance.

Backgammon



I have UNCANNY Backgammon luck. I think it is a good mix of luck and skill—I know how to not leave my men alone... If I HAVE to, I know which ones have the least to lose. Cribbage is this right mix, too—of thinking and luck, but my card luck doesn't run quite as deep. I really enjoy the game, but I'm not much fun to play with.







Honorary mention: Best Tart Game

This is actually Disco Crisco Twister

Crisco Twister



So how many of you in college greased up your Twister boards so everyone fell all over each other and the game culminated in a large group shower? Just me then?



Our board (meaning mine) was actually covered in margarine... it just seemed a better option than Crisco unless we wanted to end up light and flaky. And MAN we (this time I really do mean we) had fun.





And FYI on BuNoWriMo

Microbrew Mystery

is 32% complete







16029 / 50000 words written

Ha Ha—Now THAT's Funny!

So tomorrow is the Laughter is the Best Medicine Blogfest, and I signed up, but... being me... I am double booked, so I am posting the HUMOR one tonight, and will link it tomorrow, but tomorrow have a guest author... it's all good.



I am sort of a twisted mix, humor wise. You may guess from my blog name that I am a Monty Python nut... specifically, THIS sketch.





I also am fairly obsessed with cross dressing and nudity, as best represented by this (the funniest thing ever):

Then again, I am fine adding angles of LOLZ cats...

designed and created by Rissa Montano

Or llamatized...

And then the quintessential me...







So that's what I think is funny--no surprises there, I suppose... then again, I am pretty easy to make laugh...

Movies about Writing

So I am also at

Burrowers, Books & Balderdash today...

So when I ran across Jennee's Blog Hop at Cheap Therapy, a couple movies easily came to mind. Most easily were Throw Mama From the Train and Romancing the Stone came to mind—both movies I saw a long time ago, before my writer's identity had solidified... but I felt like... if the movies I can THINK OF are movies I really love, then this is a sunset of movies that speaks to me. It isn't a giant group.... though I ran across several I'd LIKE to see...

Deathtrap: I love Michael Cain—and as a self-indulgent gay writer taking advantage of 'student' Christopher Reeve, there is a little beauty in this one... The teacher (with little recent success) plans to steal from the clever student, but this plotted murder ends up with aspects of thriller and comedy...

Sideways: I really enjoyed this 'bachelor party' trip to wine country—the 'groom' and his friend the writer. Their adventures are amusing (though the groom is a jerk).

Naked Lunch: William S. Burrows was apparently one TWISTED MoFo... if you know what I mean. This movie was all SORTS of strange, but oddly appealed to me anyway. I still get flashes of the horny attacking type-writer... just... weird. But weird like a train wreck—I couldn't look away.

The Shining: Oh, I hope my writing never finds me writing hundreds of pages of 'all work and no play makes the Tart a dull girl'... no matter HOW true the statement. This is a tough movie for me because I liked the book SO MUCH better, but it is still a darned good movie.

The Big Chill: I had forgotten this, but ran across it in my quest for writing movies. Jeff Goldblum plays a Tabloid Journalist in this exquisite movie about college friends brought back together for the funeral of a friend.

Body Heat: This twisted tale of betrayal and hot sex is pretty darned good. It's pretty messed up, but I like it that way.

Romancing the Stone: This came out when I was in... what, Jr. High? And is an early one where I realized how delighted I was by a writer's story. The MC has writer's block and gets a package from her sister leading on a treasure hunt... and then writes the romance... it's fabulous stuff, in that very over-the-top adventure way.

Throw Mama From the Train: I ADORE this one—this is on my favorite list of MOVIES let alone movies about writers. The night was hot and wet. The night was moist... *snort* OH the search for the perfect word...

Leaving Las Vegas: I am a major Nicholas Cage fan ANYWAY, but this compelling, dark story about a writer who decides to drink himself to death is one of those that just leaves you stunned. How can life go SO WRONG? Though the alcoholism, the family that has left, and the writing career rejecting his latest stuff gives some 'too close to home' hints.

Shakespeare in Love: I am not normally a 'romance' lover, but this historical setting, ironic set-up (the background of performing Romeo and Juliet when so much of the play APPLIED) and cross dressing won me over. It was just VERY well done.

And there are a couple writing movies I need to see now that I've LOOKED at writing movies... I definitely want to see Henry and June, In a Lonely Place (Classic with Humphrey Boggart), Iris (about Iris Murdoch), My Favorite Year and Adaptation with Nicholas Cage...



Added on recommendation:  The Hours, Finding Forrester, To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar, Stranger than Fiction, Adaptation,

So there you have it... my writing movies...



And just as a heads up...



Tomorrow Robin Cain gets NAKED! (she has given in to the tart effect) and Alex Cavanaugh releases his BOOK!!! Wahoo!!! So tomorrow is a can't miss day around here!

Mildred’s Tale

This is sort of Halloween themed… When I was in college I was in a sorority—I won’t name it.  My local sisters all got the Naked ME, but I’m not so sure the national council would see it that way, but anyway… we had a brother fraternity… and the brother fraternity happened to live in the house that was originally OUR house.  Now this fraternity (or rather, the house) had a GHOST.  The ghost went by the name of Mildred.  Mildred was NOT a former Figi (obviously, as she was female), so the story GOES that Mildred was one of US.





I rushed as a sophomore (on a dare, but never mind; and for those of you who have never contemplated it: rush is the process of choosing a Greek house on a college campus--but while you choose them, they also choose you--it can be ugly); the University of Oregon didn’t start school until late September.  Once started, there were often parties on the weekends, paired with a fraternity, but the first BIGGIE was a Halloween party... with out brother Figis—the THEME?  Mildred’s Wake.

You see... according to the social chair (a girl named Meagan who was very tempting to believe because mostly I fell over laughing when she talked) MILDRED NEEDED US! She was in agony and needed this wake to put her at PEACE.

So we all got costumed. To go to the party we walked through Pioneer Cemetery, a detail that freaked out a few of my sisters. Me? Cemeteries are a little cool... in fact a few years later, I had sex in the same cemetery, but don't tell anyone—it's in poor taste. *cough*

But anyway, when we got to the Figi's, a tale was told about Mildred... her depression... suicide... her HAUNTING...

Mildred was picked upon... Sad...

But as a ghost Mildred had a sense of humor... she interrupted at... rather obnoxious times.

She was compassionate: showing up for people needing sympathy.

She was annoying: creating an alternate noise when someone was trying to... be sneaky.

The consensus was... Mildred was a bit strange... Many Fijis SWORE they had had a Mildred experience...

Our wake for Mildred was a GLORIOUS party. It was briefly solemn, stories of her death... but the tales of her haunting changed the tone quickly.  Our Figi brothers were a good match for the quick switch--they really appreciated Mildred. It then became an enjoyable celebration of Mildred's life, an appreciation of her ghostly humor...

Any of you had any 'real ghost' experiences?

I am mostly a skeptic about paranormal, but ghosts are a different matter to me—mostly because of how I see life... as an energy concentration of sorts... I think it is possibly some people are so concentrated they manage to stick around a while... or something... So I'd love to hear evidence for or against ghosts...

Mockingjay

Totally late on a Mockingjay review... I LOVED the book (unlike my poor friend Leigh who wasn't pleased). My thought on the matter is this. War is dark. Love triangles are sticky. I really felt like it was the book it needed to be. I thought what happened to Peeta was exactly right-- realistic, given their reality... and REDEEMING for a skeptic like yours truly who never quite found him a worthy interest before this.

Yes, war is ugly. I admire Collins for not shying away from what was necessary to keep this compelling.

It was just a darned good book.

Movie/Writer Melding

Cheap Therapy is holding a MOVIE Bloghop on the 18th for movies about WRITERS.  Now I know the brainstorming can be a little rough, but there are some great ones, so why not join the fun!?

Compelling Characters PUNCTUATE!

*cough*



Okay, so I got a couple things going today, but y'all know I'm nuts, so I thought maybe you'd just roll with it with me.



First up... Alex Cavanaugh and co-conspirators are holding another BLOGFEST! (Two in one week? Are you nuts? Well I think you know the answer to THAT one.) The theme? Writing compelling characters! As writers, it is so important to do, and it is so obvious when you have and don't have them... but how do we GET THEM? (hold your breath—I'll get there)



Second! (and I warned you about this) It is NATIONAL PUNCTUATION DAY! Wahoo! (I talked briefly about THIS on Wednesday.



And because I am thoroughly insane, I thought what I WOULD DO is combine themes! *shifty*



(okay, now breathe)



I considered using MY characters, but you don't KNOW that, and since I have swim meets to attend and needy children this week, I thought characters most of you know might be more illustrative...

Period Characters: These characters behave predictably (and make the rest of us do the same). Most stories have a couple and stories that DON'T can be somewhat exhausting. They are the nice balance against which all your other characters contrast. They are stable. And they give you a chance to breath. They might offer up a surprise or two (what book can tolerate characters with no interesting details or activities?) but like Minerva McGonagall, they are always reliably present. (in fact their absence is a bigger disturbance than anything else could be). Hermione falls here, too, as does Hagrid, ironically.



(My MC and her beau fall here, partly I think, because I find rational characters in irrational circumstances can be fairly amusing.)

Question Mark Characters: These characters seem like one thing, but may very well be another. There is some answer to find, some resolution to seek. In the genres I write, these characters are essential—they would be the suspects, unknown bad guys, conspirators... Or they might just be people we don't know very well and we really want to know what makes them tick. Mad-Eye Moody of his first incarnation... Sirius Black... Maybe even Ron, with his mood swings and insecurities. But the biggie, is HARRY—Why DID he live and what is his connection to Voldemort?



(ALL the suspects, except one... you'll see her in a minute)

Exclamation Characters: These are colorful, loud, and used well, can be exciting, but you don't want very many of them... Fred and George! Tonks! Dumbledore! (you can't deny, Minister, the man has style)



(My MC's dad, who seems quite popular with the ladies...)

Interrobang Characters ?!: WAHOOOOO! Can you say WILD RIDE! These characters are over the top, unpredictable, and somehow can pull off what the exclamation characters can't because there is some QUESTION about them in addition to the excitement. LUNA!



(My MC's best friend and primary sidekick “I'm naked!” (she might have some of me in her))







The Helper Characters



Comma Characters: every story needs a couple place holders to set the pace—to keep things working in the flow you want... commas are one variety (the most boring, but least distracting form—only annoying when you get too many in a row. Parvati, Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchy...



Ellipse and Em-dash Characters: These have a similar function but are a lot bossier about it, so you want to keep them to a minimum. I would classify Arthur Weasley as an Ellipse—he is whimsical and fun and adds... his wife, Molly however, is an em-dash—fierce, but for your own good.





Semi-colon Characters: I hear female writers have lots of these *shifty * They reinforce that two characters go together by being the pause between them... Cho Chang romantically but I think Neville is the best example (I say Neville because he often accentuates why things are so hard... he brings out the best and worst in others and allows us to see clearly (look at what he brings out in Draco versus Harry)



Colon characters: These try to increase order by annoying everybody. *cough*  Seriously though... these characters instill structure that inadvertently work against our characters... (the police officer who is set in his ways and won't listen to my MC, for instance.) Most of the Ministry, Dolores Umbridge in particular, but Cornelius Fudge, too. (and their chocolate frog babies )





The main important point though (yes, there is one) is that a great story needs a combination... the periods to keep it flowing in an orderly fashion, the question marks to keep us curious and engaged, the exclamation points to shock us now and again, and the commas and such to break it up a little and make it flow in a little less choppy a fashion. And if you are REALLY LUCKY, you can create an interrobang character that people will pull out as an example of beloved, inside or outside the story, for ages to come.



So there... Now you're insane to.

Television Blogfest

The FABULOUS Alex Cavanaugh is holding a blogfest for our TOP 10 EVER TV shows. Now I was a latch key kid... I watched a LOT of television when I was little (most of it syndicated reruns on channel 11 from Seattle). I loved Gilligan's Island and The Brady Bunch best in those early years, but my look back on television takes on quite a different flavor. In chronological order...

ALL MY CHILDREN: In the spirit of this site being CONFESSIONS of a Watery Tart, I will admit to you NOW that via YouTube, I keep up with the three ABC Soap Operas. Honestly, All My Children ANYMORE is my least favorite of the three, but it is the one that hooked me on this ridiculous genre. When I was in 7th grade I lived next to the Jr. High (RIGHT next to it). I went home for lunch. My neighbor Melinda, a year older said, 'well you should watch All My Children at lunch (it was on at noon) and so I turned it on (me and several friends, usually)...7th and 9th grade I had 5th hour lunch (12:20-1:05 or some such thing) and so saw the last half. 8th grade I had 4th hour lunch (11:45-12:15) so only caught the beginning—but opening my house to friends with a different lunch hour meant we could piece together all but about 10 minutes when we had PE in the afternoon. I've been hooked ever since, though high school, my later college and early years working there was no way to see it except vacations... but in my restaurant years I saw at least a few days a week, and by the time I finished grad school, 'summaries' were available online. STILL, I am very happy for YouTube. THIS is my guilty pleasure.

SOAP



This appeared at a PERFECT time in my life. I was in a tiny town, experiences were limited, humor was often adolescent (though I did have some Monty Python exposure)... Soap was FABULOUS. My mom didn't get it, but then there is a lot she doesn't get where humor is concerned... in fact she seems to be almost completely lacking one.... I loved the slapstick approach to what, at the time, were considered controversial issues. I loved the over the top situations, played down as perfectly normal. Jessica was my favorite character... there is so much nobility in being too dense to be mean about anything.

Twin Peaks



I think hubby and I were cohabitating at this point. It is the first show I remember that was serial... as in the story kept building... that was dark, twisty murder mystery instead of prime-time soap. So MANY things to love here... Kyle MacLachlan (an Oregonian, by the way), David Lynch (who is one twisted dude, and I almost always love his bendies), David Ducovny in drag... The end of the series could have been thought through better, but this really was TVs first serious mind f*#k. I LOVED it.

Northern Exposure



This show depicts my humor perfectly. I like things subtle and based on inconsistencies. It also coincided with my time pushing beer and I had 2 coworkers who ALSO worked shorts on Monday night and we'd often get off work, go in the back room and drink good beer and chuckle about the show together.

X-Files



Mind bendy is my very favorite thing. TOTALLY my favorite thing. I love the whatiffyness of this show--it inspired my first dalliance into loving the idea of reincarnation from a fictional perspective "you and I were only meant to meet in passing in this lifetime, but I miss you so much". I love Mulder. I love Scully. I love the double entendre motto of 'The Truth is Out There'. Everything about it fed my imagination and deep love of conspiracy theory. It really is probably my favorite of this whole list...

Homicide, Life On the Streets



I have always liked detective, mystery solving TV. Everything from Murder, She Wrote to CSI entertains me (though I rarely watch any of it besides Castle, anymore). But this show was a grittier, darker version that added the 'ongoing' layer, the character development... the questionable choices sometimes made (does the end justify the means?). It helped that Andre whatshisname is HOT, but mostly I just loved that it made it all seem 'darker' than most television, and that is how I like my fiction.

Lost



Yes... mind bendiness at its best... I love all the boundaries this show pushed, and the suspension of our disbelief we had to offer up. In a way, it shows one of the complications with a series of undetermined length—you can't plan the ending when you don't know how many seasons you'll have... but at the same time, they seemed to adapt and ratchet it up well. And they showed the power of sacrificing a favorite. I think the most powerful episode of the series was Charlie sacrificing himself for everyone else. I also loved Kate's triangle though—do you love the person who makes you want to be the best you can, or the person who really gets you deep down because they've been to as dark of places as you have and love you anyway?

Alias



My friend BrioNI was in love with this well before it occurred to me to watch it, but when I finished DENIABILITY, my fourth book, and said I needed some spy material for revisions, she said I needed to watch this. Thankfully, my local library has the series, and it is FABULOUS. The spy TECHNIQUE stuff worked really well,  (though the book still needs to be edited). The BIGGIE though, as a writer, is this is the first place I noticed the beauty of 'one mystery within the episode, but several ACROSS episodes'--I have a YA series planned and intend to include this plotting technique... And I'm SORT of using it even within the cozies. I think it is a great way to bring people back again and again and to up their engagement.

Veronica Mars



Recommended by my friend Alix. This is a GREAT one for a mystery writer. Veronica, daughter of a private eye (who USED to be sheriff, until...) helps her dad and ends up with plenty of cases of her own often in, first her high school, then her college. I like the situational set-up—formerly IN, now OUT of the popular crowd... has made friends with a really odd batch... I LOVE the friendship with the 'gangster' (Weevil) in the highly tense 'I'll scratch your back, you scratch mine' come friendship, but sort of lacking in trust. This just has so much great stuff.

Grey's Anatomy



My daughter introduced me here and I love the collection of characters. The medical cases are only minorly interesting to me, but the flawed personalities are very well done... they try to change, it works for a while, then they fall backward and this strikes me as very real. I think my favorite RELATIONSHIP is the Callie/Mark friendship... sexing your way into a deep, meaningful friendship strikes home on a couple levels but now they are really there for each other. I also really like watching Alex alternate between fighting and embracing his demons. Strikes me as far more honest than a lot of TV.

Honorable Mention: Friends:



Hello, Naked Thursday (not Naked Wednesday either) “Pick a day!” Joey, between going commando and naked Thursday, has a place in my heart. I also adore Phoebe, but she didn't push the nakedness, so Joey, this ones for you...

TartTrack

Arleebird is hosting yet another FABULOUS Blog Fest... this one is about the TEN songs that form the soundtrack of your life.

Mercedes Benz, Janice Joplin



My parents were young when they got married, and neither was particularly savvy... about anything. They were pop music (mom) and big band hang back (dad). My dad had a lot of Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass. Mom had a lot of folk rock. Being marginally tone deaf, the stuff with LYRICS was preferable, so I grew up choosing Carole King, Neil Diamond, Simon & Garfunkle, Sonny & Cher... and Janice Joplin. I think the Scarborough Fair Album was most frequently chosen (still love it), Sonny & Cher was what—at the TIME, I would have marked as favorite... Carole King has stuck with me longest as a musician I STILL admire the heck out of, but if I am choosing a SONG...



Janice Joplin was raw and tortured, and her music resonated with the times. She was wild, but vulnerable, as I still think of my dad, and I love this SONG as my first awareness of the use of getting the point across by saying something different than the ACTUAL point. At four or five, I GOT that a Mercedez Benz or a color TV were NOT the kinds of things you asked God for. Seeds of irony were born a decade before I knew what the word meant. We also had a near miss with Dialing for Dollars—the Spokane station announced they were calling 882-4792 and the phone began to ring. I could hear it... but I was next door at my babysitter's house... missing the call... no money for the color TV that we didn't yet own... so there is a somewhat personal connection.

The Rose, Bette Midler



In Junior High I gave over to angst. I wanted LOVE and ACHE and LONGING in a big way—never mind that almost ALWAYS when a boy actually liked me back, I panicked and backed off... I had stereotypes of the feelings I was supposed to have, but it was the wanting I wanted... not the having... (my apologies to the boys I gave the wrong impression to—not that they were knocking down my doors, but there were a few). This particular song had an associated boy... a boy I eventually GOT but gave up due to peer embarrassment—being harassed about kissing in the dugouts... I guess I had been more comfortable with the thing just out of reach...

Wuthering Heights, Pat Benatar



The driving age in Idaho is 14. Moscow, however, was behind on driver's ed, so when my friend Michelle moved there as a Freshman, she was the only one our age with a license (AND a truck—a really OLD truck—a 58 Chevy, I think, with an 8-track tape deck... and two tapes). I don't remember what the second one was, but the one we listened to, almost all the time, was Pat Benatar. This was my favorite song on it.



I will take a moment to note that I'm rather surprised to see that my first third of life was most notably marked by songs by women. I have never had a noted preference for them—in fact 'pop' women tend to bug me. Oh well, there we have it...

Cum on Feel the Noize, Quiet Riot



When I got to high school (10th grade, because we had a Jr. High and a High School) I gave over to the heavy metal under-movement... because in a small town with a single radio station the options were pop music or heavy metal. I am STILL fond of it, from my first Loverboy LP , all the way through, but this song ushered in my 'high school party phase'... the metalhead in me.

Purple Rain, Prince



Purple Rain was a generational album which ties in MTV, Showtime, and a particular time of really angsty stuff for me. I had a long time romantic obsession—this time not free of contact, but never quite the level I wanted it to be—oddly, a person I've remained friends with, and have great clarity that it is for the BEST it never flew... he was a romantic attachment I might have given up dreams for, but because it wasn't to be THAT kind of serious, but the attachment was there, nobody ELSE ever had the strength of attachment for me to be willing to give it all up for. Funny how that works. I went away to college, the friendship converted to a WRITTEN one, and obsession mellowed to friendship.

Don't You Forget About Me, Simple Minds



I had such a strong feeling, as I left home for the first time, going out of state to college where NONE of my other friends would be, of wanting to be ME for the first time in my life. I'm not sure why I never felt free to be me before, but the freedom and release of starting fresh was tangible. I wanted to make an impression, every step of the way.

Nirvana, Memoria



First out of college I gave over to the grunge movement full force. I LOVED the stuff. By the time Nirvana came on the scene, I'd given up the field of advertising as the soul suck it was, and was working at a microbrewery and going back to school for my Master's degree. The anti-establishment played clearly in my life and on my stereo.

Strawberry, Everclear



I happen to think Art Alexakis is the best story teller writing songs. And for anyone who has ever loved an addict, this song will dig a hole in your heart and stay there—it makes you FEEL what it is like from the other side... and if you are to KEEP loving an addict, sometimes that is necessary.

You Learn, Alanis Morissette



And like Art can tell a story, Alanis can philosophize. I believe every word of this song absolutely and completely, and I think I just need to share them.



I recommend getting your heart trampled on to anyone

I recommend walking around naked in your living room

Swallow it down (what a jagged little pill)

It feels so good (swimming in your stomach)

Wait until the dust settles

You live you learn

You love you learn

You cry you learn

You lose you learn

You bleed you learn

You scream you learn

I recommend biting off more then you can chew to anyone (I certainly do)

I recommend sticking your foot in your mouth at any time (Feel free)

Throw it down (concoction knocks you from the room)

Hold it up (to the rays)

You wait and see when the smoke clears

You live you learn

You love you learn

You cry you learn

You lose you learn

You bleed you learn

You scream you learn

Wear it out (the way a three-year-old would do)

Melt it down (you're gonna have to eventually anyway)

The fire trucks are coming up around the bend

You live you learn

You love you learn

You cry you learn

You lose you learn

You bleed you learn

You scream you learn

You grieve you learn

You choke you learn

You laugh you learn

You choose you learn

You pray you learn

You ask you learn

You live you learn

Mr. Jones and Me, Counting Crows



And finally... the quest to BE someone... to make a name. I want to be Bob Dyllan, Mr. Jones wishes he was someone just a little more funky, but if everyone loves you, oh son, that's just about as funky as you could be... There are a fair number of songs out there about the quest for fame, but I think this is my favorite of them... we all wanna be beautiful, man, I wish I was beautiful...





So there we have it... not necessarily all FAVORITE songs (though I like them all) but definitely the ones that most notably mark my life stages...

Dirty Dozen Blogfest

First off, HAPPY SUMMER SOLSTICE and WELCOME TO NAKED SEASON!





Okay, on to the blog...



Alex Cavanaugh is hosting a Dirty Dozen Blogfest where we are all giving our favorite twelve all time movies. And, I'm sure quite unintentionally, I've learned something.



The books I've loved tend to be dark, torturous things... the TV series I've liked best have been a bit twisted (X-files, Twin Peaks, Lost) but the movies I love, are largely FUNNY. Now why would that be? My analysis has concluded that it's because while I love a dark or twisted movie, it is only good for 2 or 3 watches because the dark or twisted thing being unknown is part of the appeal and it is not all that interesting anymore. FUNNY movies become sort of a part of you—you remember lines that you quote to other people to test who is ALSO in the club of being a fan for that movie... (or maybe this is just the nuts I hang out with). Books and TV shows, I don't tend to consume over and over and over, with the notable exception of Harry Potter, which has both humor and several layers of story... and like the movies I love, I have portions memorized and have bonded with others over it.



So without further ado...

12) The Brothers Grimm. Compared to the rest of my list, this is an odd inclusion because it is relatively newer and so far as I know, just was not that big of a deal, but I adore it—the fairy tale gone wrong—the con men getting sucked into having to REALLY do what they claimed they could do but never had... I adore Heath Ledger as Jacob the 'believer'. It just mixes a lot of things I really love in a story, and I think because of the fantastical piece, I can watch it over and over.



11) The Thing. I think the brilliance here is you take the closed room murder idea and give it a Lovecraftian 'evil alien that's been hiding in the ground' twist. It isn't terribly different plotwise from Alien, but I think the monster that can take on the appearance of anyone it touches adds fabulously to the tension.



10) My Cousin, Vinny. Marissa Tomei MAKES this movie. “Oh. You blend.” *snort* She is divine! I like the premise and the set up, and I like the interaction of Joe Pesci and what's his name that used to be Herman Munster as lawyer and judge respectably, but this is her movie.

9) The Birds. I love Alfred Hitchcock. I am a much bigger fan of psychological fear and tension than horror—I don't want to see the blood and gore, but Hitchcock has such skill with giving us the heebie jeebies with only a minimum of actual gore, and this is my favorite of his. (My daughter is even a fan).



8) Animal House. This silly tale is a classic, but it happens to be a classic that was filmed at the University of Oregon. My freshman year, my dorm mates and I used to enact scenes from it on our way to and from parties and this movie that would probably be too typically American for me worked its way into my heart.



7) Grease. This gets placement because I think everyone needs a musical that sort of is an important life place-holder. Grease came out when I was in 7th grade-right at the age girls start really paying attention to pop culture. Some of the girls in my neighborhood and I used to try to start the soundtrack exactly at the same time so we could get it outside in surround sound (before surround sound was a term) but we never succeeded.  I think it was a nice ease out of 'pretending', too--we could sing and act like we were just singing, but in your head you could hang onto youth just a little longer.

6) Lord of the Rings. This is me giving in to larger than life movies. It's a great tale—honestly one of few stories that I think was done better on screen than as originally written (because while Tolkein wrote a great tale, he was also a wordy prude). I admit Viggo Mortenson played no small role in selling this to me... hummina hummina! (wouldn't kick Eomer, Faramir, Boromir or Legolas out of bed either...) Yes... a fine collection of eye-candy. I am putting the trilogy here, though if I have to choose a favorite, it is the second.



5) It's a Wonderful Life. I love this tale of doubt and redemption. It is actually how I like my literature—a moment of crisis, a dark meandering, and discovery that the answer was in you all the time—what better story is there than that? We watch it as a family every Christmas—one of few traditions we've managed to create.



4) My highest ranked non-comedy. Gone with the Wind. The first time I saw any portion of this my mom was watching our new colored TV. I was about seven and we'd only had a black & white before that (even though families with more money had had them for a good ten or fifteen years by then). I walked into the living room and my mom was crying—I looked to the TV and there was Scarlet in that red dress Rhett was making her wear. I didn't understand but was completely absorbed. All through my childhood every time I would stumble across it, I was then sucked in to the end, though I think I was eleven the first time I saw it in a theater, start to finish.

3) Young Frankenstein. (Frahn-ken-steen) I love Gene Wilder and the rest of this fabulous cast—the zaniness of Madeline Kahn, the sublime Peter Boyle—overlaying the ridiculous on this dark tale—the innuendo. FABULOUS.



2) Princess Bride. I ordered this with a video club thing when my daughter was about three and had NO IDEA what a treasure it was. I think it is the most quotable movie of all time.  Very fun story, but the WORDS!  (I love words--especially put together really really well).



1) Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail/ Life of Brian. I am putting these together, though they could easily consume both first and second place, but the reasons I love them are so incredibly overlapping, and the Monty Python sub-culture relates to both. I love inane silliness committed with a British accent. I watched Holy Grail with my kids a couple weeks ago and kept saying, “Oh, this is my favorite part... no wait, THIS is my favorite part! Oh, no—I love this part. Oh my god, this is my favorite part. I start giggling the minute the credits about the moose start rolling and giggle all the way to the end. Life of Brian, similarly—actually Life of Brian has a BETTER ending.

*whistles* (listen here)

“Always look on the bright side of life.”









So there we have it... my Dirty Dozen favorite movies...





In Other News



I have guests for the next two days, but starting tomorrow we have our streak of Burrow Birthdays. Jason is the 22nd, I am the 23rd, and Natasha/Rayna is the 24th... all right in a row, starting the moment Gemini roles into Cancer. I've had a long theory about this being a spot where the sensitive, emotional Cancer feels compelled to do the Gemini COMMUNICATING about it. I've thought a great deal about this placement ever since meeting Natasha and realizing there was a person on the opposite side of the world who looked at the world in a more similar way to me than any person I've ever met elsewhere. Then again, we were both born on Thursday, on top of almost the same day. Anyway... since I will have guests tomorrow and on my ACTUAL birthday, Thursday (the day it should happen, after all) I will be throwing a little birthday party... Speaking of parties... Don't forget if you want to win a critique, to go back and leave a comment on the Tartiversary comments!