not a blog entry

• Here is a picture of Jennifer and me with the headless horseman (George Washington?) to prove that we stayed in DC for a few days. You can't tell, but my feet were blossoming their blisters and bruises when we took this pic.

• As of Monday, Aubrey is studying architecture in Madrid, Spain for three weeks, with the Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth program. We are communicating by email. So far, so good. The only news as of yet is lots of new friends, and lots of jet lag.
• Quotation of the day: "...rubbish" -from the song "American Boy" by Estelle, featuring Kanye West. BTW, I am wearing the Union Jack today.

that caps it off

• Quotation of the day: I watched Law and Order the other day for the first time. It was okay, but I won't watch it again. I did get one thing out of it though: "The greatest thing, as I live and learn, is just to dig and be dug in return." A new twist on an old classic. True dat.


• April now has a blog. The link is in my link list. Check it out and give her a comment.


• Okay I need to post something about The X-Files: I Want to Believe. I saw it once at 12:01 a.m., then again at 11:00 a.m. the same day, both with Jennifer. People ask me what I thought of it, and I come up blank. But I have to say SOMETHING, so I will say this: I liked it. It was different than I thought it was going to be. It was dark drama. No big screaming "WOW!" from me, but still... it was good. If you go see it, stay past the end credits. There is a last, lovely scene. Maybe I've got post-obsession letdown now. I hate to admit that I am a little burned out on the X-Files. What now?


• Jennifer and I had a nice little time at our nice little hotel in downtown DC. We walked to the movie theater for our second viewing. This resulted, deservedly so, in bruised and blistered bottoms of my feet. Culprits: cute shoes and dim wits. What was I thinking, you ask? Not a durn blasted thing. Nary a thought was in my head. Anyway, when we returned to the hotel room I went to sleep and stayed that way the whole rest of the day and then the night. And Jennifer didn't seem to mind, bless her lovely heart. She even went to get us dinner and brought it back.


• There was a little box in the hotel room with a shower cap in it. I remember being very excited about shower caps when I was a wee one. I remember how they feel on the head and how it sounds when the shower water hits it. I remember it makes your ears get especially wet. But that was the 70s, so I have an excuse, I guess. What about now? I would love to know what percentage of guests at The Madison Hotel actually take advantage of this amenity. And WHY they take advantage of this amenity. I am rather fascinated. And impressed that the hotel caters to ALL of its guests, even the rare ones with beehive hairdos. That's allowing for diversity if ever anyone has allowed for diversity. Here is a picture of my monitor wearing the present subject of discussion. And a picture of my cup of diet caffeine free Coke wearing the present subject of discussion.

pneumonia, modeling, and x

• Yesterday Aubrey had pneumonia, but she also had an open call appointment with T.H.E. Artist Agency, the biggest modeling agency in this area. (They had chosen her out of many applicants to go in to be seen.) So we went, pneumonia and all. I thought she was going to fall over a few times, but, with 4 other girls, she got lectured about the modeling industry, was measured and photographed, and was told to walk up and down. Looks like they want to represent her. It does a parent good, I tell you, to have contributed DNA to such a delightful thing to behold. *sigh* I will post pictures as I get them from photographers.



• In about an hour my lovely friend Jennifer is going to pick me up from work, and the two of us are going to stay in the Madison Hotel in Wash DC for two nights. I won this package, plus dinner, in a radio contest! The theme of our getaway is X-Files: I Want to Believe. We will see the premiere showing at 12:01 am tomorrow. And then we will see it again. And we might sleep and eat and watch some X-Files episodes too. Maybe we'll put a masking tape "X" on our hotel window. I watched the premiere red carpet (not purple like mine) last night online. The host took a while to get warmed up. (The first words out of her mouth were to the crowd: "Okay, who here wants to get impregnated by David Duchovny?" Dead silence.) Gillian and her unborn baby looked sparkling in purple satin gown. It was painful watching David Duchovny get interviewed. I felt so sorry for the man. I could tell he'd had it with answering the same stupid question over and over. And Chris Carter was charmingly witty and gracious and evasive as always.



• Here is the shirt I wore to work today.

Believe again, people, believe again. I'm off to watch some good Mulder and Scully fighting, smooching, and monster butt kicking.

fuzzy but clearly purple

• Here is my purple carpet. It's a little fuzzy here (pic taken with cell phone), but with the shadow and the light you can get the idea.
• Quotation of the day: A coworker just described someone who has too much to do and not enough resources. This is how he said it though: "He can only juggle so many balls, and he just had one of his hands cut off."
• Another quotation of the day: "The burning question on my mind is does Scully smile in the movie? Can that little tidbit be leaked? Thanks, Delaney"-from a fan to Frank Spotniz via his blog. His response: "Yes. (And yes.)" Yay!

hither

• Has there ever been a movie that has been released in theaters without one hint about what it's about? Or who the cast members are? The X-Files: I Want to Believe is the only one I have ever heard of that has been produced in such complete secrecy. All we know is that Chris Carter wrote and directed it, and David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are in it. That's it. The secrecy by itself is enough to make me want to see the movie. I think I will.
• Song of the day: "Hither, Thither, and Yon" by Rebekah H.
• Our purple carpet is divine. Seriously we are wrapped in a blanket of peaceful bliss at home. We didn't know what we were missing until now. Now all the pieces of my life have fallen into place.

exceptional

Lindy tagged me to list 6 boring or quirky things about myself. These will tend toward the boring. In the list I will substitute the word "sunshine" for the word "you".

1. My cat always tries to French kiss me, but I don't let her.
2. I am getting new carpet throughout my entire house today. The carpet is purple.
3. I fart.
4. I have a ridiculously strong sense of smell, and trust me, sunshine stink.
5. I have never met anyone whiter than I. I challenge sunshine to try buying foundation makeup when sunshine look like mayonnaise.
6. I have dried paint (called Kilz) all over my hands and arms. I am uncomfortable with the idea of having something called "Kilz" stuck to me.

I now tag John McCain, Jennifer, Matthew, and Stephen Fry. Carolyn, why in the WORLD do you not have a blog? Or do you have one and it's just super secret?

video of the day

Characters having sex on tv shows is cheap and easy. Try making a show where the characters interact like THIS. Not cheap, not easy. Priceless. Mulder and Scully only had sex on two nights in nine years: once at end of season 8 and once at the end of season 9, and the show's Powers That Be didn't even show it. What a timeless relationship. It never succumbed to the trashiness that our society seems to embrace these days. And it had more success than most other shows. More shows should take a page out of the X-Files's book and approach sexuality in a more mature and respectful manner.I really think I might go see this movie.

quite possibly the best Mulder and Scully picture of all time

Credit goes to Jennifer for pointing out this gut-punching death-inducing gem. I think I might go see this movie.

Bill and David

Pictures of the day: David Tennant and Billie Piper, stars of Doctor Who. These two are a riot. In all their pictures together they are howling with laughter. Billie says they giggled for 9 months straight while filming season 2. They make me as happy as their characters make me sad.

Lars and the Colonnade

• I watched a movie called Lars and the Real Girl yesterday. I watched it because I wanted something good and funny, light. It was definitely funny, but I boo-hoo'ed quite a bit too. I'm telling you, there is not a good piece of art in existence that does not make you miserable at some point. The only exception I can find is Pride and Prejudice. Am I mistaken here?
• Word of the day: colonnade
• I considered writing a cool little expose on each person on my bloglist like Jennifer did. I decided not to.

Hello Kitty, for kicks!

Guilty Pleasure Songs

I am immediately and shamelessly ripping off the idea of listing my favorite guilty pleasure songs. I actually got this idea from a radio station that plays them in sets, so if you think I got it elsewhere, get over it. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and I aim to flatter that radio station. Make a comment and list your own. Or put it on your own blog, I don't mind.

1. You're the Inspiration, Chicago
2. I Want to Know What Love Is, Foreigner
3. Hot Blooded, Foreigner
4. Love Shack, B-52s
5. Oh, L'amour, Erasure
6. I Write the Songs, Barry Manilow
7. Careless Whisper, George Michael
8. Hip to be Square, Huey Lewis and the News
9. Hello, Lionel Richie
10. Afternoon Delight, Starlight Vocal Band
11. What is Love, Haddaway
12. Eye of the Tiger, Survivor
13. Close to You, Carpenters
14. Forever Young, Alphaville
15. Forever Young, Rod Stewart
16. Don't Go Breaking My Heart, Elton John and Kiki Dee
17. Video Killed the Radio Star, Buggles
18. Love Will Keep Us Together, Captain and Tennille
19. La Vida Loca, Ricky Martin
20. Islands in the Stream, Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton
21. True, Spandau Ballet
22. Rocky Mountain High, John Denver
23. Thriller, Michael Jackson

Okay, and here is a list of my 10 favorite X-Files episodes, subject to frequent change, and in no particular order.

1. Never Again. Jodie Foster as the tattoo! Naughty Scully! And that rose petal!
2. En Ami. So very Silence of the Lambs
3. Ice. Mulder and Scully on the rocks
4. One Breath. Fat Scully
5. Jose Chung's 'From Outer Space'. Brilliant
6. Redux I and II (is that cheating? So what?)
7. Dreamland I and II (in for a penny, in for a pound)
8. Milagro. Miraculous
9. All Things. Scully set free by Gillian
10. Deadalive. Scully pounding her fists on Skinner's chest

That was ridiculously hard. Jennifer, I challenge you to do the same.

Mika's "Over My Shoulder"

Song of the day, "Over My Shoulder" by Mika

Doctor and Rose *season 4 finale spoilers*

Concerning Doctor Who: why oh why must the best things always be painful? Why can't they just be happy? I guess it's because the bitter in the bittersweet makes the sweet sweeter. The Doctor is so sad that I can hardly stand it. And Rose is so happy in her life now, but she's only with the doctor in a way that's not ideal (with the Doctor's semi-human double). She will have to settle for the piece of the doctor that she does have. It's a pretty big piece, but still... Tragedy.

nobody here but us rocks

More Utah pics. Me with Lindy:

Me with Mom:

Me and Anna-Lisa:

I forgot to take a picture of Matthew and me, so here is a picture of two rocks instead.
Quotation of the day: "Speech is the sacred vehicle for the invisible soul." --from a marquis in front of a Baptist church in Utah. If you can't understand it, it must be true.

4 July

Me with, in order of appearance, Amanda, Alli, Brian, Christa, Guy, Madison, Lexi

Completed

• Here are pics from girls' camp: Rebekah, and then Aubrey and Rebekah.

• I am off to Utah tomorrow to see Guy's adopted baby Ali get sealed to them in the temple.
• I finished the entire 9 seasons of the X-Files today. You'd think I would have a lot to say about this, but I don't. I will simply say that it was a profound experience.