Some Lime

Love is not something that someone Does For You, but rather something that passes between two people like a tide - building, receding, and always bringing something up from the deep.

a few more "best movies"

I am adding "Sideways", being a rather sweet, very adult and unusual take on romance that really stands out as a well written comedy/romance/drama with some of the most unforgettable quotes and scenes.
I am also adding " The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"- one of the most best film adaptations of a book...but so much more- philosophy, Alan Rickman, high brow humour, intellectual tongue in cheekness and a truly fresh film that was a nice antedote to the rather "big" but dour films like "Babel" and "Crash" of our last decade.
All Harry Potter movies except the first two that were a little too "G Rated" compared to the rest. ;)

Guilty pleasures...part 5 maybe??

I have written many posts before about guilty pleasures of television in my personal life. Now that we have very limited television I am going to tell you what good shows are on if you only run on antennae and or the whole Netflix/Wii service that we have. This service has been great, you get series such as "American Pickers", "Anthony Bourdain" and many other cable shows. On the downside, you get hundreds of B/C list movies that you may not have ever heard of to choose from: this can be quite "ok" if you are like us and can barely find time to have two hours to watch a movie. we have seen some doozies, and seen some interesting movies like "The Last Winter" (check it out).
Here is a list of some of the best television/cable channels have to offer, including public broadcasting:
Austin City Limits
American Pickers
Nova
Pawn Stars (we may have to wait for this on our Wii deal)
Dexter (caught up on three seasons using Wii)
the "Create" public channel- brought to us down here by USF- wonderful variety of food, travel and crafting shows all with an updated look
Bones- (Fox); the weird thing about Fox is that although their news departments drive people crazy, they have always been ahead of the game creatively with some of their shows (21 Jump Street, X-Files, The Simpsons, The Family Guy and Bones). I love Bones!!
Guilty Pleasure: American Idol- now we don't watch each season and watch every performer, but sometimes we'll catch this a few weeks in a row by accident, and it really does remind you of a big national talent show, which it is supposed to be, without all the sponsorship and cheesiness. It is fun to see people from small towns get their five minutes of fame or shame try to make it big and I just like seeing people perform live, period.

I would endorse reading literature or even doing crosswords every night rather than watching tv, but if you must...enjoy it! Mindless entertainment is great especially when it's not full of violence or uber depressing content.

We have enough of that in the real world.

The Welcome Stranger, Rain.

There is nothing more satisfying than big fat steady raindrops pounding your home and land after weeks of hot dry drought weather. It is happening right now in Dunedin FL. I was outside about one hour ago, talking on the phone, after watering our wilting plants when I saw it- Lightning. However, this is sometimes a false prophet. Lightning visits our neighborhood often, but since we live only a few miles from the Gulf Coast, it travels through a lonely soul, with no rain to show for all it's fierce intensity. The rain here usually collects more inland, towards Tampa Bay and surrounding areas east of our area. We are grateful for it tonight, a sweet loud reprieve from the constant high and dry temps (upper 90's) and no relief.

So, what are you up to tonight old friends? What was your weekend like? Did you enjoy some favorite music, film, or book? Did you dig into some great food among loved ones? Did you take care of your family and/or friends? Did you take care of yourself?

Oh, someone is up--- the crazy thunder has gotten Nick up. Knowing him, he has fallen asleep behind his door, not in his bed. We check on him every single night around this time to make sure he is actually in his bed....
talk to you later friends!

ok- a top 13 list of my faves from the past decade

"The Road" - the best novel adaptation, and the best apocalyptic film I have ever seen. Loved the intense but spare dialogue between father and "the boy", and the overwhelming sense of landscape
"The Hurt Locker" - the most intense war movie, on a microcosmic scale - the complete opposite of wide, sweeping drama ala' "The Thin Red Line" or "Saving Private Ryan"
"Atonement" - brutal, beautiful, drama, war and another message- how lives play out. Surprise ending noone sees comming. Trust me. I don't even want to see it again, but it's like a trophy you place high on a shelf, full of pride that you were there to witness the event.
"O Brother Where Art Thou?" - humour mixed with political statements about the South and great adaptation of ancient poetry
"The Big Lebowski" - again, humour mixed with alot of racial and class statements
"Gran Torino" - classy, direct, great story telling by Clint Eastwood and cast
"Donnie Darko" - I could watch this a hundred times and still wonder...
"Gosford Park" - forgot this was in this decade- incredible Robert Altman "who done it"
"Pan's Labryinth"- the most haunting war movie I have ever seen
"Momento" - Christopher Nolans first "popular" movie, "Following" was neat, but low on emotional connectiveness
"The Royal Tenenbaums" - fun, eccentric, not for everyone kind of film...like a play on-screen. A work of art for set direction, character, and dialogue (not too much plot but that works out for this film)
"No Country for Old Men" - good versus....evil, really? Good versus....what we think of evil or that we tempt evil and it comes to visit when we choose unwisely. In this movie, the "devil" only shows up when messed with. Unforgettable!
"Two Lovers"- a very intense Joaquin Phoenix film about ...two lovers he must choose from, but so much more. If you think it's a chick flick, you are wrong. Watch it, discuss. Straightforward life choices ahead. Very well made.

Jude vs the Vacuum

Right now, my little nugget of joy is stalking and sizing up the tall vacuum like a pitbull sizing up a tall human. We have 10 minutes to go until his 12 month doctor's appointment. Shots, yeah! I haven't been able to write alot lately but hope to tonight before company comes in and my privacy for writing is on hold for a small while...that's ok, we are so happy they are comming to visit!
How are you this morning? When you woke up, were you immediately happy or does it come slowly out of a sleep induced fog? Or, if you're like me, did that full moon of last night pretty much make your house seem like the moon is pretty much sitting on your couch, casting his white glow on every inch of your home, making it too bright for sleeping??
I will get through it, and so will you brothers...
have a wonderful day and hold onto the good stuff.

gym rats and me

Today, I had my first session with a professional personal trainer. Yikes! We talked about my weaknesses, my strengths, went over my diet, my BMI, my heartrate, my blood pressure and all the good stuff. The trainer showed me several machines to use and we experimented with them all, doing several reps to make sure I was doing them correctly and she even took film footage of my walking to show me how to "walk better". It as amazing to hear all the information she gathered. Some of it not so positive, but alot of positives- I am very strong, have alot of endurance, super flexible ( I already knew that from yoga) and my heart health is great. My biggest goal is work more of my back and core muscles for posture and to lose about 45 pounds. This is alot of weight, but we are going to do it within 3 months. I will keep you posted on this new challenge that I am very excited about. Cannot wait to be leaner and meaner!

On another note, I am going to post something soon about all the different kinds of people you find in gyms. It is interesting and great for people watching. Also, hand sanitizer is my new friend.
Ciao baby!