Life's a happy song

I guess technically, it's not really Sophie's first movie (see here), but I doubt she has any memory of herself at 9 months old, so as far as she's concerned, she went to her first movie today :) We've building up her excitement for The Muppets movie since showing her the Mahna Mahna video and app and so when she woke up this morning, the first thing she said was, "I so excited! I go to the theatre and watch mahna mahna!"

We knew ahead of time that there was going to be a sensory-sensitive screening of the movie early in the morning and so had already bought advanced tickets. These screenings are specially designed for young kids or children with autism or ADHD which means that the house lights are left on and the sound volume lowered so that children aren't scared and/or overstimulated. Also, the theatre informs everyone before the show begins that during this screening, the audience is free to sing along or move about, which is just perfect for the little ones.

And because of that, Sophie had a blast of a time without even coming close to a toddler meltdown as we had feared. There were parts of the movie during which we had to let her walk up and down the steps or run along the seats but she wasn't fussy or noisy, and no one minded at all since that was the whole point of the special screening. She loved the big song-and-dance sequences and didn't need any prompting to start dancing and bopping along when they happened. And she was completely mesmerized when her favorite "Rainbow Collection" came on, basically sitting still in her seat, watching the screen in pure awe. And by the end of the grand finale, she even gave a huge applause and a loud cheer :)

1. During previews, 2. She just bounced off her seat and started dancing along, 3. At the edge of her seat. Literally. , 4. Mesmerized during "Rainbow Connection"

As for Jude and I, we grew up with the Muppets and loved that we were reminded of the self-depreciating, affectionately clever humor of the characters. Then there was the army of cameos from celebrities like Feist, Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Blunt, David Grohl, Jim Parsons, etc., that we had a field day identifying. Most importantly though, it was the deliriously infectious soundtrack that had us completely sold. Three songs were written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame so we knew we weren't in for run-of-the-mill kiddie movie songs. Bouncy, fun, but also witty and sort of deadpan in true Flight of the Conchords style, till this morning, all three of us are still humming the theme song from the movie, "Life's a Happy Song". In fact, as Sophie was moseying about her play yard setting up a pretend picnic, I overheard her singing, "...everything is great, everything is grand..." over and over again ;) Listen for yourself and I dare you not to start tapping your toes to what is surely to become the next great Muppet song.

You know what, listen to the entire soundtrack. You won't regret it, I promise.

Mahna Mahna

It doesn't matter how old you are, the Muppets' Mahna Mahna will always be rib-ticklingly funny. Always.

Sophie watched this clip for the first yesterday and she laughed from the very first viewing (yes, there were multiple viewings, of course...). Because there's just something so intuitively delightful and joyful about the whole thing. There are no words, no narrative to parse apart, and it's not meant to teach you anything; just a simple, repetitive melody and a bunch of adorable muppets. Just hilarious!

As part of the publicity for the new Muppets movie (which we're seriously considering bringing Sophie to), Disney has rolled out a Mahna Mahna app on Facebook. Watch Sophie in action! Click here.

Be duly warned though- you-- and the toddler in the house-- are going to be humming the tune for hours after, if not days... ;)

Who loves Kipper?

One morning earlier this week, before I could fully open Sophie's door to wake her up, she looked at me sleepily from her crib and said, "Duck play in the playground. Like Kipper." I had to smile- I guess this is what it's like to be a 2-year old, when you go to bed and dream of your favorite orange cartoon beagle :)

We started to let Sophie watch Kipper on our trip to Boston when we knew we had to occupy her with something during the flight and long drives. Our friends Amy and Eric recommended the series glowingly and now I see why. It is exactly what you would hope for in an animated show for toddlers- soft, warm colors; characters who are gentle and loving and who speak slowly; sweet and simple plot narratives; and the greatest trauma any of the characters have had to endure is losing his sippy cup- something any 2-year old can identify with. Kipper and his buddies Tiger, Pig, and Arnold (Sophie's favorite), amble about in a genial, self-amused manner, often chuckling infectiously to themselves about their mildly mischievous adventures. There are occasional moments of slapstick comedy but it's high on cuteness, and like I said, low on angst and violence.

Although speaking of angst, we did have a moment yesterday when Sophie was watching an episode she had already seen before, about Kipper being visited by a baby goose. As the video ended, Sophie suddenly burst into tears. And I mean a full-fledged wail, complete with giant globs of tears streaming down her cheeks. I turned to see what was happening on screen- Kipper's new friend was flying away and Kipper was waving goodbye. Sophie was inconsolable.

Later, as I was putting her to bed, I asked her why she cried earlier. Sophie's answer? "Because goose fly away. I sad." Our sweet, sensitive Sophie... This makes me think to never show her the first 20 minutes of Finding Nemo or the second half of Bambi, for a while at least. Until she is of suitable age, Sophie will believe that Finding Nemo begins with Nemo's first day at school and that Bambi ends with the whole family escaping from that first hunting expedition intact. If a goose flying away reduced her to tears, I don't think Sophie can handle watching someone losing a parent on screen. You can watch the full Kipper episode here, complete with the traumatic farewell...

Time to put away childish things...

For the past 5 years, we've always been lucky enough to get tickets for the opening midnight showing of the Harry Potter movies, complete with long lines to get drinks, even longer lines to get into the theatre, and people dressing up as their favorite characters (my favorite was two guys, one dressed as Harry in his Quidditch uniform and the other, in a gold outfit with wings, like a snitch!). And the cinema was of course, always packed, to the point that last year (2 weeks before Sophie was born), Jude, Libby, and I all had to sit separately throughout the whole movie (see here for a photo of the line that snaked around the parking lot after the midnight screening of Half-Blood Prince.)

This year, we couldn't possibly attend the midnight screening but didn't want to miss seeing the movie on opening day. And so thanks to Sophie being in daycare, Jude and I made a lunch/movie date out of it and caught a matinee screening. Things were much saner, no lines for concessions, and there were plenty of choice seats in the theatre. How refreshing...

As for the movie, I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't watched the movie or read the books, but suffice to say that we both felt a real sense of despair at the end of it. Not that there is much death in this installment (there was more of it in Half-Blood Prince I think), but the note of sombreness and sadness was so palpable throughout the whole film that it was hard to shake off even as we walked out. It's tough to say if we "loved" the movie- 1) we've technically only seen half the movie, with Part 2 opening only in July 2011; and 2) thinking about it as the beginning of the end of a wondrous series that we've been following for more than 10 years adds another layer of melancholy to the whole experience.

There is still plenty of magic in Deathly Hallows but not of the same kind of magic that delighted and enchanted us in the earlier movies- the magic now is darker, of deeper import, no longer about levitating a feather, but about being shielded from evil. And the helplessness, loneliness, and stark desolation that was slowly building since Goblet of Fire has reached a fevered pitch (or abyss, depending on how you want to look at it).

So yes, in the words of A.O. Scott, in his NYT review of the movie, it is time for young wizards to put away childish things... :(

There's always a first time

Sophie watched her first movie today.

Yup, you read right. A movie. Her first. As in sat through the whole thing. And she was quite wonderful through it all. It was like she's been watching movies all her life. She was quiet (except for moments when she squealed back at the screen- more on that later...), well-behaved, and thoroughly engrossed in the film as if she knew what was going on. See for yourself...


To be fair, Sophie might have known what was going on actually. We were at a special screening of Babies, Thomas Balmès new documentary film about the first year in the lives of four babies from Namibia, Tokyo, Mongolia, and San Francisco. Jude and I have been waiting for the movie to open for months, and it finally opened in the Michigan Theater last week. Today's screening was specially for parents and their babies, with stroller parking along the aisles, special low lighting in the theater, and easy access to the changing area.

The film's a fascinating look into parenting and growing up across the world and we loved it. It's a documentary in the truest sense of the word- no dialogue, no script, no voice-over, no agenda. It's real life. Just stunning, evocative images of these amazing little human beings from their first breath to their first step. Watching them was almost like watching Sophie's last 9 months condensed but also re-projected through different lenses- learning communication, becoming aware of their surroundings, reciprocating parental affection, mastery of their physical environment, i.e. growing up. It was both amusing and affecting watching these babies growing up so differently; like a study in anthropology, you can see how varied infancy is for babies in the hyper-developed world (Tokyo and San Francisco) compared to more agrarian and tribal societies: some babies grow up crawling freely everywhere; other babies are tethered to their beds; for some babies, play is mimicking mom grinding sand on stone; for others, it's sitting around with other babies singing songs and dancing. But different doesn't mean better or worse, and that's what was so great about the film- it isn't about whether it's OK to bathe a baby in a metal tub from which a wandering goat comes by to drink or if pushing your baby around in the stroller all day is acceptable; the movie's about being a human being in the world.

And speaking about being a human being, the little human being who was with us was engaged in the movie way more than could be expected of a 9-month old. I mean, there were of course times when she would rather chew on the zipper of my raincoat or make eyes at our friend, Melissa, sitting behind us, but for a large part of the movie, I really think Sophie was actually watching the screen. There were even moments during which the babies in the movie squealed or cried and Sophie would respond by squawking back! Like she was communicating with them (she's been doing a lot of that with us lately...)

We highly recommend the movie to everyone, whether or not you're a parent. Here's the trailer, you'll see why:

This post has nothing to do with Sophie

The Oscars are tomorrow and for the first time in the history of this blog, I will not be posting my predictions for the winners. Due in part to a certain someone someone who this post is not about, with the exception of Avatar and Up, we have not seen anything else that's being nominated in the major categories. Which is an even bigger deal when you consider that this year, they've expanded the list of Best Film nominees to ten, which means instead of having seen two-fifths of the nominees, we now have only seen a fifth. And that's not counting the movies nominated for acting awards like Crazy Heart and Invictus.

But I'll still watch it on TV- if nothing else to see what everyone's wearing and watch Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin co-host the show. No one has ever come close to my dear Billy Crystal when it comes to hosting the Oscars, but I like Alec Baldwin well enough and he might be a sharper, pricklier foil to Steven Martin who can sometimes be a little over the top with the slapstick.

I'll be rooting for The Hurt Locker for the win (or maybe an upset by Quentin Tarantino with Inglorious Basterds) for no other reason than it would mean Avatar not winning. I mean, I enjoyed it for what it was-- really good popcorn entertainment-- but I didn't think it was Oscar-worthy the way say, No Country for Old Men or The English Patient, or Schindler's List.

Will you be wasting three and a half hours of your Sunday night watching the Oscars and who do you think will win?

Where the Wild Things Are II

One of the many things we've had to sacrifice since Sophie arrived is watching first-run movies. The last movie we saw-- and loved-- was (500) Days of Summer. I was totally planning on Julie & Julia being our last baby-less movie but clearly did not figure that Sophie would be early. Since then, I've really not minded not being able to go to the movies as often as we did- nothing's playing that I can't wait for the video. Until this week. Two words: Spike Jonze. Five words: Where the Wild Things Are. Another two words: Arcade Fire. And what do you have? A sad Serene Koh.



Since the trailer was released in March, I've watched it at least 20 times. And my breath catches in my throat every time. I can't bear the thought that I won't be able to see it in the theaters now that the movie has officially opened. I even bought the 25th Anniversary special edition of the book last night just so I can have a copy of it here (I think I might have lost my tattered 20 year-old copy in the midst of moving), and downloaded the soundtrack barely 10 minutes ago. I think I'm going to snoop around and see if any of the theatres in Ann Arbor will allow me to bring a sleeping-- I promise!-- baby to a matinée showing of the movie. Sophie takes good afternoon naps if I put her in the Baby Bjorn so it might not be too hard.

Now if we can only find a babysitter for when The Lovely Bones opens in December...

I can't wait...

Those of you who've read and love Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife will understand why at about 1:22 into the trailer, I-- sitting in the middle of my school's computer lab-- burst into spontaneous tears...

For all my literary pretensions, at the end of the day, nothing moves me like a love story. And The Time Traveler's Wife is an unabashed love story. I remember reading it over summer a couple of years ago and that I had to read at least the last 25 pages twice over because the first time round was through a blur of tears. I finished it at 5.30 in the morning, Jude was still up finishing an assignment, and I had to go give him a hug because the book was just that powerful.

And now, they've brought it to the screen. I've always had reservations about screen adaptations of my favorite novels (see Possession for the ultimate travesty...) but this actually does look promising. I really like Rachel McAdams and while I had a different vision of how Henry should look like (more a cross between Ryan Gosling and Edward Norton), I can live with Eric Bana.

Let's just hope come August 16 when the movie opens, this girl will be still able to waddle her way into the movie theatre... ;)

A child's reaction to the "Where the Wild Things Are' trailer

Trailer Reaction from We Love You So on Vimeo.

I thought that this video capture was an interesting study in a child's visceral reaction to the trailer for Spike Jonze's "Where the Wild Things Are". While I agree that there are obviously movies that are inappropriate for kids, this video shows us that toddlers can be a sophisticated audience of media. There is a lot going on in the trailer and some of it I would have assumed to be inappropriate for children. But as the video above shows, that really isn't the case. I think that there is a lot of scope for research that 1) better takes into account the cognitive capacities of young children and 2) studies that measure the emotional responses to media content.

And also, as you dear reader may notice, our attention is slowly shifting to all things parenthood and child-focused :)

The Boat That Rocked- MUST WATCH!!

Bold, exuberant, irreverent, and fantastically brilliant! Ladies and gentlemen, it's Radio Rock and you can't miss it!!! :)

Where the Wild Things Are trailer

Debuting on Apple Trailers today, the Where the Wild Things Are trailer is a complete delight! Marked indelibly by the magic realism of Spike Jonze and set to the wondrous strains of my favorite Arcade Fire song, "Wake Up", this trailer gave me goosebumps in anticipation of October :) And yes, you saw right, Arcade Fire-- an inspired choice for Maurice Sendak's story-- whose songs are at the end of the day all about child-like abandon, adventure, and escape...

Somethin' filled up
my heart with nothin',
someone told me not to cry.

But now that I'm older,
my heart's colder,
and I can see that it's a lie.

Children wake up,
hold your mistake up,
before they turn the summer into dust.

If the children don't grow up,
our bodies get bigger but our hearts get torn up.
We're just a million little gods causin' rain storms turnin' every good thing to
rust.

I guess we'll just have to adjust.

With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am goin' to be
when the reaper he reaches and touches my hand.

With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am goin’
With my lightnin' bolts a glowin'
I can see where I am, go-go, where I am

You'd better look out below
-"Wake Up", The Arcade Fire

Wake Up - Arcade Fire

"I'm not locked in here with you, YOU'RE locked in here with ME!!"

Otherwise known as the best line in the movie/comic and spoken by our favorite character, Rorschach (played by a brilliant Jackie Earle Haley who so boldly and uncannily embodied Rorschach that I can't imagine that had Terry Gilliam's directed the movie, he would have been played by Robin Williams), the most compelling and complete of all the characters in The Watchmen series, if you ask us. The movie was very good- for what it was able to do. The last time I felt vaguely the same way was when we watched the film version of my favorite novel, Possession and hated it. Like The Watchmen, I think it's unfilmable. Layered storylines, narratives within narratives, flashbacks, complex characterization- all things that are hard to capture on film no matter how advanced your CG or skillful your editing. To make The Watchmen work on film, the film-makers had no choice but to pick out the master narrative from the lot and concentrate on that, but in the process, lose the depth, complexity, and intensity that is so much a part of why we love the comic (or comics, depending on how you look at it).

I genuinely appreciate how faithfully Zack Synder abided by the aesthetic of the narrative- to the point of being almost too much of a moving storyboard for some very iconic frames of the comic. Meaning the movie managed to capture the devastating vision of the story, but not quite its tragic soul. Constrained by the film medium, it left me just a little cold at the end, and not quite with the all-consuming bitterness and bleakness I actually felt in a very real way at the end of my challenging week-long struggle with reading it (let's just say it's not the best thing to set aside for bedtime reading if you want to be flipping back and forth between pages, looking for hidden connections, and drawing connections between the various narratives- an experience I re-visted last night at 4 in the morning after returning from our midnight IMAX advanced screening.).

Whether or not you've read the comic, I'd still recommend that you watch the movie- it did the best it could given the difficulty of the source material and I'm glad we saw it. But for those of you who haven't read it, please don't take the movie as a representation of what The Watchmen is- it's so so so much more than the film, and then some...

Post-mortem

It was worth the wait. To hear two genuinely moving speeches that didn't sound too pre-rehearsed, tweaked, or edited. The rest of the Oscars had its moments, I have to admit- Tina Fey and Steve Martin should totally co-host next year's Oscars, I loved the Judd Apatow directed short with Seth Rogen and James Franco, and I hope everyone saw/heard Best Animated Short director Kunio Kato's a brilliant haiku of an acceptance speech (he thanked his pencil! And domo arigato, Mr. Roboto!) But our favorite new twist on the award ceremony was how they replaced the snippets of all the acting nominees' film with a tribute from past winners in the category. For the most part, it was a really nice touch, to be commended by the actors who had come before you, and to be given personal validation. We wondered if the past winners had written the tributes themselves; if they did, then you could tell for sure who who didn't seem to mean what they said (I'm talking to you Michael Douglas), and who did. Like Robert de Niro:

How did he do it? How for so many years did Sean Penn get all those jobs playing straight men? Being a movie star can get in the way of acting. But not for Sean. Sean Penn the actor loses himself in every role so we can discover a man named Sam, Mystic River Jimmy Markum, the surfer dude Spicoli, a dead man walking, and Harvey Milk. Sean brings the same commitment to his off-screen life; you see it when he campaigns for human rights, respectfully advises world leaders, and gently, gently reasons with the paparazzi. Tonight, it's important to be a great actor; in life, it's more important to be a great human being. That's my friend, Sean Penn.
-Robert de Niro's, 2009 Academy Awards

Sean Penn returned the gesture with an acceptance speech that had the perfect combination of graciousness, humor, self-awareness, gravitas, and political righteousness (especially in light of his role and the current status of Prop 8 in California):

You commie, homo-loving sons of a guns... I did not expect this. And I want to be very clear that I do know how hard I make it to appreciate me often. But I am touched by the appreciation and I hoped for it enough that I scribbled down the names in case you *were* commie, homo-loving sons of a guns. [thanks a bunch of people...] Finally, for those who saw the signs of hatred as our cars drove in tonight, I think it's a good time for those who voted for the ban against gay marriage to sit and reflect and anticipate their great shame and the shame in their grandchildren's eyes if they continue that way of support. We've got to have equal rights for everyone. And there are these last two things, I'm very very proud to live in a country that is willing to elect an elegant man as president and a country who for all its toughness creates courageous artists and this is in great due respect to all the nominees. But courageous artists who despite a sensitivity that has sometimes brought enormous challenge, Mickey Rourke rises again and he is my brother. Thank you all very much.
-Sean Penn, acceptance speech, 2009 Academy Awards

In the nick of time...

This is probably the latest I've ever posted my Oscar choices for the year but it's a tradition this blog has maintained over the years, and so nothing, not even two naps, a pot-luck dinner, and more sleeping, is going to get in the way of me putting this up- even if it is an hour to the awards... Besides, this is one of the few years where we've watched most of everything that's been nominated so there's particular excitement in the outcome :)

Best Picture
* Slumdog Millionaire

Director
* Danny Boyle

Actor in a Leading Role
* Sean Penn

Actress in a Leading Role
* Kate Winslet
It's about time!

Actor in a Supporting Role
* Heath Ledger
As srah noted in one of her Facebook/Twitter updates, everyone in her Oscar pool chose Heath; if he doesn't win, there might be a worldwide riot...

Actress in a Supporting Role
* Penélope Cruz

Original Screenplay
* Wall-E
The fact that my favorite film of 2008 (and possibly my favorite animated movie ever, next to Tombstone for the Fireflies) wasn't nominated for Best Movie means that I'm going to root for it for almost every category it's nominated in.

Adapted Screenplay
* Slumdog Millionaire

Foreign Language Film
* The Class

Animated Feature
* Wall-E
Duh...

Original Score
* Slumdog Millionaire

Original Song
* 'Jai Ho'

Art Direction
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Cinematography
* Slumdog Millionaire

Costume Design
* The Duchess
For the past few years, I've gone with more iconic, understated fashion statements like in Atonement, but I've come to realize that when it comes to Costume Design, it's almost always what's most elaborate, most intricate.

Makeup
* The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Documentary Feature
* Man on Wire
For the first time in a long time, we've actually seen a nominee in this category and Man on Wire was beautiful. Elegiac because of the context of Philippe Petit's feat, but also a wonderful testimony to persistence, inspiration, and just the living out of one's dream.

Sound Mixing
* Wall-E

Sound Editing
* Wall-E
I know these are very unconventional choices and I've never had very much investment in the sound categories, but apart from the fact that I believe Wall-E should win everything it's nominated for, did you see the first 30 minutes of the movie? It's all about the sound, people!

Visual Effects
* The Dark Knight

Film Editing
* Frost Nixon

Short Film, Animated
* La Maison en Petits Cubes

Short Film, Live Action
* Manon on the Asphalt

Documentary Short Subject
* The Witness - From the Balcony of Room 306

Let the river run

Sometimes, nothing beats an old song to remind you that classics should always have a place in your playlist. By some quirk of the channel-surfing karma, I watched the last hour of Working Girl again yesterday after a really long time. It's all '80s in it's big-hair, shoulder-pads glory, and in a time when Harrison Ford still looked like he could play Indiana Jones without getting a cardiac arrest. The acting isn't the greatest-- least of all Melanie Griffith's-- but the last scene is worth it all.



I think it's the combination of how director, Mike Nichols pans out of her office into a panoramic view of the cityscape and Carly Simon's uplifting "Let the River Run". The song hits such a euphoric note that it gets me every time. The movie may be dated but the song definitely isn't. Moving, inspiring, and triumphant, it's a call to dare, to dream, to desire, to demand, and to declare.

Listen "Carly Simon let the river run"

Download for free "Carly Simon let the river run" mp3

Silver cities rise,
The morning lights
The streets that meet them,
And sirens call them on
With a song.

It's asking for the taking.
Trembling, shaking.
Oh, my heart is aching.

We're coming to the edge,
Running on the water,
Coming through the fog,
Your sons and daughters.

We the great and small
Stand on a star
And blaze a trail of desire
Through the dark'ning dawn.
-Carly Simon, "Let the River Run"

Coraline

Oooh! Oooh! Neil Gaiman! Stop-motion animation! Henry Selick! It's like The Nightmare Before Christmas meets Mathilda meets Alice in Wonderland!



And check out the most wonderfully delightful (albeit slightly macabre) website :)

You're about to enter a world where everything you'll see has been created by hand;
Like a forest of cherry blossoms made from painted popcorn;
500 handmade scottie dogs that fill an entire theatre;
And 3500 handcrafted flowers that all light up.
-Coraline website

25 Random Things About Me

Because I've been tagged too many times on Facebook to not do this...

1. I'm making this list because I'm clearly bad at resisting peer pressure: "But mom, all the cool kids are doing it!..."
2. My favorite fruit is the mango.
3. I love Oasis even though Jude thinks they're the ah bengs of Brit rock.
4. I have no wisdom teeth. The dentist took them all out when I got braces at twelve.
5. Accord to a personality assessment report, my literary counterparts are either Hero in Much Ado About Nothing or Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series.
6. I haven't had a sip of caffeinated coffee in the past month.
7. I make a pretty mean roast chicken.
8. If I had to choose one food to eat for the rest of my life, it'll have to be sushi.
9. Jude and I first bonded over The Virgin Suicides- the novel, not the movie.
10. I never buy bottled water unless we're traveling.
11. I've met and spoken to (sort of...) two of my favorite writers, Nick Hornby and Salman Rushdie.
12. I've seen four of my favorite bands live- U2, Coldplay, Broken Social Scene, and Death Cab for Cutie.
13. I sleep on the right side of the bed. Even when I'm sleeping alone.
14. One of the best decisions I made last year was to take my running more seriously.
15. I don't eat carrots unless they're too difficult to remove, like in spring rolls or coleslaw.
16. 1999 was my favorite year in movies because it gave us The Matrix, Iron Giant, Fight Club, Magnolia, Being John Malkovich, American Beauty, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
17. My favorite color could be green, orange or lavender, depending on my mood and the context.
18. I look more like my mom than my dad.
19. I'm shortsighted like my dad. My mom has perfect vision.
20. When I was six, I danced in my kindergarten "graduation" ceremony. The song was "Morning Has Broken" and I was a purple orchid.
21. My first Hollywood crush was Ke Huy Quan, the little boy in Indiana Jones: The Temple of Doom and The Goonies.
22. The first car I ever drove was my dad's silver Mitsubishi Galant.
23. My favorite TV day is Wednesdays because it has Lost at 9pm and Top Chef at 10pm.
24. I love polka dots.
25. I hate celery.

Movie quote meme update

1. Meet me... in Montauk. (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- guessed by Jude)
Every time we see this movie, I notice something new to love. It's just beautiful and wonderful and lovely. Jim Carrey at his heartbreaking best.

2. Shania hates mayo all right, and she can't eat chicken salad, that's no joke. We gave it to her once, she threw up in the limo - the lady hates chicken salad. (I Heart Huckabees- guessed by Stella)
One of the first blogposts I wrote in 2004 was about I Heart Huckabees and like I said to Stella, it's a polarizing film. You either love it, or hate it. Until today, I have a hard time justifying to my adviser why I think it was one of the best movies of 2004.

3. The shit hath hitith the fan... ith. (10 Things I Hate About You- guessed by Alfie)
C'mon, you have to admit that that's funny! I remember laughing sooo hard when I first heard it :) And in a movie that succeeds at being both a great teen movie and an inspired take on Shakespeare.

4. Um, this is Zeus. I'm not home right now, but you can leave a message and I'll get back to you. Please start speaking at the tone. (Mighty Aphrodite- guessed by no one)
An underrated Woody Allen film if you ask me. I love the nudge-nudge-wink-wink theatricality of it all, and the Greek Chorus totally sealed it for me :)

5. Sushi? Sushi? You think this is about sushi? (Monsters Inc- guessed by no one)
I'm actually surprised no one got this one. Until Wall-E, this was my favorite Pixar film. Plus it was one of the last animated movie I watched with Sam I think, so it has a very special place in my heart.

6. Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians. (High Fidelity- guessed by Rick)
I still think the book's better but the movie was saved by John Cusack and Jack Black. Which means completely watchable over and over and over again. The quote I really wanted to put was "Autobiographical." from my favorite part of the book and movie. But I thought that would have been too obvious ;)

7. I have to help Wayne with his bogo pogo. (Strictly Ballroom- guessed by Matt)
I thought no one would guess this one but it was Matt Bietz to the rescue :) I'm almost sure I was the only person in my neighborhood who rented the movie from the video store, which also means I'm totally responsible for wearing the VHS tape down. If you loved Moulin Rouge, you need to watch this to see how it all started. [Comment from Matt: "I love it too - and I realized what it was when I couldn't say "bogo pogo" without the accent. :)" ]

8. They say taupe is very soothing. (Ocean's 11- guessed by Alfie)
While I love many movies, there are few I can almost completely recite by heart- You've Got Mail, The Matrix, Love Actually, Jerry Maguire, and.. Ocean's 11.

9. We're gonna bring this party up to a nice respectable level. Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt anyone. We're not even gonna touch 'em. We're just gonna make 'em cry a little, just by lookin' at 'em. (Some Kind of Wonderful- guessed by Jenn)
Only our favorite 80s movie ever! I wanted to marry Eric Stolz and have him give me a pair of diamond earrings too. And another movie I've only ever seen on VHS or as a re-run on TV.

10. You can feel it. This desk set wants to fly! (Dead Poets Society- guessed by Olivier)
*sniff* The ending still gets me every time...

11. A Mo-Jo, it's a very high-tech machine that transmits pages over the telephone! It only takes eighteen minutes a page! (Almost Famous- guessed by Elaine)
This is actually not my favorite quote from the movie, but it was one I thought was the lest of a giveaway. The greatest lines are spoken by Frances McDormand: "This is not some apron-wearing mother you're talking to. I know about your Valhalla of Decadence, and I shouldn't have let him go. He is not ready for your world of compromised values, and diminished brain cells that you throw away like confetti. Am I speaking clearly to you?... If you break his spirit, harm him in any way, keep him from his chosen profession-- which is law, something you may not value but I do-- you will meet the voice on the other end of this telephone. And it will not be pretty. Do we understand each other?... I didn't ask for this role, but I'll play it. Now go do your best. "Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid." Goethe said that. It's not too late for you to be a person of substance, Russell. Get my son home safely. You know, I'm glad we spoke."

12. Cows! I hate cows worse than coppers! (O Brother Where Art Thou?- guessed by Alfie)
I remember watching this at Jude's place one night when he was having a stomach flu. It was not the best conditions under which to see the movie, but I think it helped to make him feel better. And for that, I thank the Coen brothers :)

13. Michael Jackson didn't come over to my house to use the bathroom. He was about to. But his sister did. (The Goonies- guessed by no one)
A definite favorite from primary school :) It was either this or a quote from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.

14. I used to eat there. Really good noodles. (The Matrix- guessed by Jenn)
I chose the most un-Matrix line of the whole movie just to make things a little interesting. Jenn had the best comment for this: " It's one of my favorite quotes because it's totally the essence of Keanu Reeves."

15. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. (Clueless- guessed by Alfie)
Jude doesn't understand why I will watch this over and over again, no matter how many times it re-runs on Comedy Central or VH1. It's more than 10 years old but seems ageless to me. I love it for the same reason I love #3- witty teen movie meets literary classic. And the clever screenplay predates movies like Juno and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. [Other favorite quote from Clueless: "Mel: What the hell is that? Cher: A dress. Mel: Says who? Cher: Calvin Klein."]

Thanks to everyone who played- this was awesome!

Movie quotes meme

Via srah

1. Pick 15 of your favorite movies.
2. Go to IMDb and find a quote from each movie.
3. Post them here for everyone to guess.
4. Strike it out when someone guesses correctly, and put who guessed it and the movie.
5. NO GOOGLING/using IMDb search or other search functions

1. Meet me... in Montauk. (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind- guessed by Jude)
2. Shania hates mayo all right, and she can't eat chicken salad, that's no joke. We gave it to her once, she threw up in the limo - the lady hates chicken salad. (I Heart Huckabees- guessed by Stella)
3. The shit hath hitith the fan... ith. (10 Things I Hate About You- guessed by Alfie)
4. Um, this is Zeus. I'm not home right now, but you can leave a message and I'll get back to you. Please start speaking at the tone.
5. Sushi? Sushi? You think this is about sushi?
6. Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians. (High Fidelity- guessed by Rick)
7. I have to help Wayne with his bogo pogo. (Strictly Ballroom- guessed by Matt)
8. They say taupe is very soothing. (Ocean's 11- guessed by Alfie)
9. We're gonna bring this party up to a nice respectable level. Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt anyone. We're not even gonna touch 'em. We're just gonna make 'em cry a little, just by lookin' at 'em. (Some Kind of Wonderful- guessed by Jenn)
10. You can feel it. This desk set wants to fly! (Dead Poets Society- guessed by Olivier)
11. A Mo-Jo, it's a very high-tech machine that transmits pages over the telephone! It only takes eighteen minutes a page! (Almost Famous- guessed by Elaine)
12. Cows! I hate cows worse than coppers! (O Brother Where Art Thou?- guessed by Alfie)
13. Michael Jackson didn't come over to my house to use the bathroom. He was about to. But his sister did.
14. I used to eat there. Really good noodles. (The Matrix- guessed by Jenn)
15. And in conclusion may I please remind you it does not say R.S.V.P. on the Statue of Liberty. (Clueless- guessed by Alfie)

[I double-posted this on my Facebook so some are going to get struck-out because people got them correct there.]

Home again

It's like we never left. I think it's because we were back for almost two full months in July/August and it's only been another two months since, it feels like we just went on vacation.

The journey home was thankfully uneventful, and the only notable experience was probably the fact that I now know how geese feel when they're being forced-fed to fatten their livers. The thing about SQ is that they love feeding you. Every two hours on the hour and I get either a glass of water/apple juice/orange juice thrust under my face, or a packet of pretzel sticks, or a salami sandwich. While I'm asleep. I appreciate the thoughtful service-- and technically, I'm really not complaining-- but knowing how hard it is to fall asleep on the plane, I'd rather not be woken up for rice pudding, thank you very much.

I did get to watch a whole slew of movies and TV shows and that always makes me happy on a 35-hour long journey: Wanted, Baby Mama, I've Loved You For So Long, Mama Mia (I love Meryl Streep, but I couldn't sit through this after 15 minutes... It was excruciating.) 30 Rock, Californication, Mad Men, The Office, Entourage. Some were better than others, of course (again, why, Meryl, why??) but at the end of the day, as long as they distract me from the tedium of long distance travel, quality becomes secondary.

"See that girl! Watch that scene!" "If you change your mind, I’m the first in line." "Mamma Mia, here I go again." Like me, you may have spent the last 30 years struggling to get lines like those out of your head — and wondering what they were doing there in the first place — but you might as well have been trying to compost Styrofoam. Those shimmery, layered arrangements, those lyrics in a language uncannily like English, those symmetrical Nordic voices — they all add up to something alarmingly permanent, a marshmallow monument on the cultural landscape. When our species dies out, leaving the planet to roaches and robots, the insects will beat their little wings to the tune of “Waterloo” as Wall-E and Eve warble along. And the darn thing still won’t make any sense. Nor does “Mamma Mia!."
-NYT review