I'm trying not to whine... but I'm failing!

Well, here it is, No Whining Wednesday again, and I'm home sick in bed. For the fourth consecutive day. Some kind of gross, disgusting head cold-slash-plague that is making me cough so hard I pee a little and making me blow my nose incessantly. My poor, chapped nose. But, in the spirit of the day, the bright side: Today, I watched Mega Shark Vs. Giant Octopus on the Netflix Instant Watch doohickey, which is possibly the greatest film ever created. (P.S. Dear friend Myysharona has an amazingly funny real-time review of it up on her blog. Read it. You won't regret it.) My favorite parts: the guy who freaks out when he sees the Mega Shark leaping at his plane just before he gets eaten is, I'm pretty sure, the same extra who is running down the stairs behind Electric Youth (I'll never be able to think of her as anything but, Sharon) and the lab coat who's yelling at her in the VERY NEXT SCENE. It's probably a bad production decision to use your actors like that. Lamas's greezy, slicked-back douchetail. The fact that "science" = what it did when I was 5, i.e. pouring colored liquids between fancy-shaped beakers and frowning at them. Oh, and the dialogue. Amazing. I can't even begin to do justice to the dialogue.

And then tonight I got to watch Glee, all the way from the beginning (I have a class on Wednesdays that generally prevents me from catching the first few minutes, but since I'm sick, I skipped out on it). Jane Lynch is freakin' awesome and should be, as I have said elsewhere and repeatedly, in EVERYTHING EVER. Bonus: I also got to catch So You Think You Can Dance for the first time in its new, exciting fall incarnation. Oh, and another bonus to the plague: I haven't worn pants for like a total of an hour over the last four days. Yay! for pantslessness!

So, it's a short one tonight, kids, because I need to go to sleep now so I can get up in the morning and see whether I can make it to work without hacking all over everybody or stay home again and watch some more awefulsomely (TM Barney Stinson) bad movies and hack my brains out in my comfy chair. I hope everyone else's 3-month anniversary of No Whining Wednesday was good, though! (P.S. I tried, Lainey! I really did!)

No Whining Wednesday IS big... It's the pictures that got small!

Ahh, Norma Desmond. How I adore her.

Well, we've reached #NoWhiningWednesday again. (And H/T to Lainey Bobainey for the symbol! Love it!) Had a bit of a rough start due to staying up far too late doing homework, so I got out of bed around a half hour late. I still would have been pretty close to on time for work, though, except for how I got in the car, looked at the gas gauge, and said, "Oh, right, I was supposed to get gas last night." Oops. Well, if being a little late for work is the worst thing that happens to me, then that's all right. (My boss, by the way, is super understanding and doesn't really care if we're late sometimes. She knows shit happens. Very down-to-earth, she is. I hope she's my boss for a good long time.)

So, let's see. This is the first full week of class, so Film as a Medium was Monday and tonight I have Films & Literature. I have got to use the next couple of nights to get caught up (or, better still, a little ahead) on the reading and homework! That way the rest of my free time can be spent watching movies from my Netflix queues. Oh, Netflix! The most fantastic invention of my life. This past weekend, before I got crazy busy, I watched two more movies on Instant, and one of the actual DVDs (that was I Love You, Man, which I liked. I love Rudd and Segel together). But they were actual good movies, this time! I watched Teeth again, which I love. Then I watched a documentary about Andy Goldsworthy called Rivers and Tides. If you don't know, Goldsworthy is a sculptor who works only with natural elements (i.e. sticks, rocks, leaves, ice) and makes transitory art (the film's subtitle is Working With Time). His work is beautiful, as is the doc; I highly recommend it. It's a very quiet film, for the most part, just kind of following him and letting him do what he does and sometimes talk about it. Sometimes his pieces work, and sometimes they don't. And the film is done so well, I think it was as devastating to me as it was to him when some of them didn't. I had seen part of it (possibly on Discovery?), and was dying to see the whole thing, so yay Netflix! Hopefully they have some more of the docs about him, because he's awesome. They have an amazing selection of documentaries, which I love. Also on my queue: Helvetica. Can you guess what that one's about? Or whether I'm a nerd? Yeah, that's what I thought.

Oh! I just remembered something else that made me happy *technically* yesterday, but then I thought of it and it made me happy again: My friend Sharon, who has a most awesome blog, wrote a most hilarious real-time review of Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus. I now need to see this more than ever, and guess what? Netflix to the rescue! Netflix makes the whole world better.

Also, I had decided to take a personal day on Friday to take my car in for her 15-month/18.5k mile physical. It's great because the reason I took Friday is that I have an engagement party to go to Saturday at 3 p.m., and I didn't know how long it was going to take. As it turns out, that's not going to take long at all, so I have a day off! So very exciting. Plus, again with the awesome boss: I asked her Monday, and she said "Sure!" and then I started to explain why, and she said, "It doesn't matter. You have the time, take it!" Did I mention awesome? Also, one of the gifts the engaged couple registered for : A Jolly Roger doormat. Can you guess who they're getting that from? (Also the chip-'n'-dip server, because every time I go over there, we're eating chips out of the bag, and my fingers get greasy. Ulterior motives in every gift I give, people.)

Anyway, I suppose I should go eat my lunch (co-worker is sharing her vegetable barley soup with me, on the day somebody brought in many fine breads! Bread and soup are so very lovely together). Yum! I hope everybody has a great No Whining Wednesday. See you next week!

Wednesday. Has there ever been a greater day? (Probably. Just go with it.)

No Whining Wednesday again! I did not write a post last week, which apparently led some people to believe that I was tied up in someone's basement (aw, thanks for being concerned, gp, sugar!) or possibly causing havoc and mayhem, but I was not. I just didn't get around to it. But here I am, posting away, ready for another edition of No Whining Wednesday!

Tonight is the first night of my second class for the semester, Film as a Medium. It sounds essentially the same as Intro to Cinema, which I already took, but hey... who doesn't want to have an easy class that I already know everything for? Besides, I can always use a refresher, what with my holey old brain, and ... well, it's a film class, for crying out loud! Delightful. Can't wait to get a gander at the syllabus. I hope there's not as much group work as the other class has, though I'll make the best of it. It's what I do. The other class, by the way, began last Wednesday. Seems like it'll be a good time (other than the group work, which is always kind of iffy, but there's a few girls I chatted with that seem to have heads on their shoulders, relatively speaking). Anyhoodle, Films and Literature is going to be a comparison of interpretation, if I was paying attention. So we'll be reading 5 books and comparing them to the movie versions thereof, looking closely at how interpretation affects the story. We're starting with Heart of Darkness/Apocalypse Now, which is good because I've already read the story and seen... well, some of the movie. I've had it on DVD for years, but it's one of those things I have to be in a particular mood for, so I haven't actually watched the whole thing. I do love the story, though. So, yay for classes! I love school. Have I mentioned I'm kind of a dork?

(My only sadness about classes is that since they're on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm going to miss some of my favorite programs! But, that's why God invented the Internet. Or Al Gore. Or whoever. And DVR, which I don't have, but my sister does, and we watch many of the same programs (or at least, the ones I'm sad I'll be missing). So yay! for sisters with DVR who don't mind me coming over to watch m'stories with them!)

What else, what else... Oh! I finally joined the rest of the world in 1997 and signed up with Netflix on Sunday. Between Sunday night and Monday, I managed to get around 40 movies on my queue, and probably total a dozen and a half on my Instant queue. I watched five of the Instant ones. Good grief, this is going to be bad for me... I may never leave my TV again! Especially now that I figured out how to use the Xbox to watch them on the good TV! Also, I made myself a little Xbox character person. (Mr. Pseudo-Husband said she looks like Tina Fey. Which I could see, if Tina Fey was quite a bit chunkier.) Anyway, I can finally catch up on all these movies I've been wanting to say, but hate going to the video store for! Hooray! Netflix is, like, the most amazing invention ever. Seriously. Printing press my ass. Also, this is going to make for some fun posts if I keep watching movies like Powder Blue and Shrooms, which, naturally, I will. That's just who I am.

Well, I suppose I ought to get to work. Silly work, they expect me to work for the paycheck they're giving me! I guess I can't really blame them there. I hope everyone's Wednesday is Wonderful and doesn't inspire any Whining!

Wednesday, Wednesday! Can't trust that day!

...sorry. I started thinking, "Wednesday, Wednesday" and that song just popped into my head, even though it makes no sense. There is nothing untrustworthy about Wednesday. I guess that's why the song is actually called "Monday, Monday"... Monday is a far less trustworthy day.

Well, here I am on No Whining Wednesday, sitting on my bum at home doing NOTHING. That's right, nothing. I'm on vacation, you see! Which, by the way, makes it much easier not to whine. Right now, I'm about to put some Alias season 1 in the DVD (hey, Evil Initiative Maggie from s4 Buffy is in this episode! And, really? There's a 'prophecy' story arc?) while I do some much needed organizing in the living room. Then, I'll mosey on into town and get meself a delicious lunch of Crab Rangoon. Then, it's on to tonight's Group Virtual Movie Date Night: Showgirls Edition! This movie contains some of the finest acting ever committed to celluloid, not to mention the sexiest sex scene ever filmed (the phrase "epileptic shark" has been used). And some of these people have never even seen it! I cannot even imagine my life without it. I'm so excited to share it with more poor, unfortunate suckers unbelievers.

Elsewhere in =me= news, it turns out I got an A in that Anthro class. I can only assume the Professor curved the grades, because going by the numbers, I most definitely had a B. How much of a school nerd am I that it completely made me high to see that A show up in the final grades? Like, seriously, ridiculously happy. Like texting my friends, doing a little dance around the living room happy. Oh, and that reminds me: I got all the books I need for one of my classes (Films & Literature; the books are The Virgin Suicides, Ragtime, Revolutionary Road, and The Color Purple (I already have Heart of Darkness)), and I am going to swing by the school tomorrow to pick up the one for my other class (Film as a Medium). I'm also ridiculously happy to be taking some film classes. I haven't taken one in ages (and I'm pretty sure I mentioned this a couple of weeks ago, but like I said, ridiculously happy). Yay for vacation!

Wait, what?! James Bond is in this show?! Amy Irving, QT... EVERYBODY is in this show! Awesomesauce! Hooray for #NoWhiningWednesday!

Well, well, Wednesday we meet... Wait, what? It's Thursday?

Well, see, here's the thing. Yesterday picked a bad day to be no whining Wednesday. First of all, I'm completely cranky from the summer heat. I loathe this part of summer. I despise sweating when I get out of the shower, as I'm trying to dress. I hate coming home from work and having no energy to do anything that needs doing, and having to find some eating option that requires no cooking yet is real food, not chips and candy. I dislike having to breathe processed, air-conditioned air all the time. I especially dislike the nights it doesn't cool off enough to sleep. This has been that week of the summer, so I'm a total whiny-cranky-bitchy basket case.

Then I learned something disheartening: I'm probably getting a B in the class I took over the summer. Now, I know what you're thinking, because I've heard it all before: "So? That's great! Why is this disheartening?" But here's the thing: I've had a 4.0 GPA since I started school. I like that I have a 4.0 GPA. It's better for applying for scholarships, for one thing, and for another, well, frankly, it's satisfying to see my hard work rewarded, and it’s nice to brag a bit. I was a terrible, terrible student in high school (and apparently also in grade school, I found out recently when my mom moved and handed me a folder with every single report card from kindergarten on up through senior year of HS (oh, moms)), largely because I didn't care. I hated being there and didn't give a crap about the work. Now, I care. I want to do well, and I have busted my ass sometimes and I have done well. Not only that, but this was a first-year-level Anthropology class. Who doesn't get an A in a first-year-level class? It's like a high school class, for crying out loud! Worse, there goes my average, because once you lose a 4.0, you can never get it back, ever. Even if I get As for the rest of my college career, I can never get higher than 3.999[...] ever again. It really knocked me for a loop. I realize it seems silly, but it has to do with the personal pride I take in the quality of my work as a student. If only I had taken a physical class. I think I do so well in all my classes in part because of the participation. I mean, let’s face it, I have a sparkling personality, and that doesn’t come across so well in discussion postings that are on a message board. There’s a name, but other than that, you’re just some words on a screen, thoroughly independent of who you are as a whole person, or a whole student. (Ugh. See? Whiny.)

So, as you can *clearly* see, I had a difficult time not whining (and I really tried to look at it positively, e.g. it's probably better this way; now there's not so much pressure about the grade and I can concentrate on the learning; but the thing is, I *was* concentrating on the learning, and the only pressure I had was that I put on myself to always do well).

But then, something amazing happened. I went home from work and put on the A.C., got into my jammies, ate half a leftover turkey and provolone sandwich, poured myself a glass of wine, grabbed my box of Bottle Caps, and sat down to a virtual movie date with a group of rambunctious, crazy, wonderful people. My day immediately improved for the better by about 98%. See, a couple of weeks ago, my friend Lainey Bobainey and I sat down in front of our televisions a couple of states apart and chatted while we both watched Galaxy Quest. A virtual date, if you will. We had such a wonderful time of it, we decided that we should do it again. Well, we did do it again, last night, only we were joined by the aforementioned group, which included Lizzie Borden, Figgy, Snuggiepants the Deathbringer, Sarina, DoranAdmin, jim of the lower case, JustBill, Branded, jM, Melody, replica, and a Giant Panda (as well as others I'm sure I'm forgetting and sorry! to those I am). Oh, how I laughed and laughed. This time, we watched Fear, and amazingly awesome 1996 movie starring Marky Mark and Reese Witherspoon, joined by Amy Brenneman as Helpful Stepmom, Alyssa Milano as the best Best Friend ever, and William Peterson as Concerned Dad. Oh, yeah, and Dude Friend (who, as it turns out, was also in the equally amazing Lifetime Television For Women Original Movie Mother May I Sleep With Danger, which might explain why he seemed familiar). If you haven't seen it, by the way, I HIGHLY recommend you do. It's just.... well, it's flat out amazing. Amazing that it didn't completely destroy the careers of those involved.

So, thanks to those nutty nutjobs and our shared loving of mocking terrible movies to pieces (probably that glass of wine didn't hurt, either), I managed to regain a terrific mood, and I've got a plan to at least try to get that grade up before he submits them for the semester (it involves crying and also possibly selling my soul). In spite of the fact that I did a terrible job of not whining (which, by the way, I felt so guilty about... thanks for that, Lainey), the day ended up with me really happy and looking at my problem with an eye toward fixing it, rather than wallowing in it. No Whining Wednesday was saved! Thanks, guys!

That's ridiculous. I would never say that.

So over the weekend I rented Marie Antoinette on DVD.

I really, really wanted to like this movie. I liked Coppola's Lost in Translation, even if I did feel it was somewhat overrated. I love Jason Schwartzman, and I love Kirsten Dunst. I'm not really sure why I love Dunst, to be honest; she's just kind of precious. She's fun, and sweet.
Anyway, the problem with this film for me was that it seemed... kind of choppy. The scenes seemed a bit disconnected; like they were each a little individual vignette or a day in the life, and they had no real place in the movie. Except that every scene was like that. I don't know if it was the directing, or the writing, or the editing, or maybe some combination thereof; I remember reading somewhere (perhaps in a criticism) that perhaps that was Coppola's intent with the film, a purposeful choice to make clear the disconnect that Marie had with the world around her. I do know that it kept taking me out of the film, and that's almost never the intent of anyone involved.

I liked Schwartzman, playing the young King as exactly that... a very young, nervous man who would rather be hunting with his friends (the 18th century version of skateboarding?)
I don't intend to say that I didn't enjoy Marie Antoinette. On the contrary, I did. The costuming is gorgeous, the cinematography stunning. I know there is a great deal of debate on the subject of the use of contemporary music in period films, but I enjoyed that too. It was done well here.
I also understand there is much consternation over the inaccuracy of the historical information. I certainly make no claim to be any kind of scholar where history is concerned, so I can't really say one way or the other. I do know that filmmakers pretty much always take some 'artistic liberties' with a story such as this. Every film pretty much automatically bears the viewpoint of its writers, directors, and editors (not to mention actors, among other crew).
I had the same difficulty with Terence Malick's The New World. Another gorgeous film, but very choppy and odd in its editing. That, however, is a topic for a different post.