New Year's Meme

Stirrup-Queens have created this meme which can be done in two different ways. "Either you can do all seven categories and list two answers for every category (get it? It's 2007, so I'm playing on the two numbers: 2 and 7) OR you can choose two of the categories and list seven answers."

The categories:
Things you learned this year
People you met
Things you don't want to take with you into 2007
Things you want to hold close as you pass into 2007
Things you're looking forward to in 2007
Things that were life changing in 2006
Things you hope to accomplish by the end of 2007

(see--those are the seven categories. Now you can either give two answers for each category OR you can choose two from that list and give seven answers) Here is mine:

Things you learned this year-since the only thing I can remember I learned in 2005 was not to use my hand as a hammer, I tried to write some things down.
1. "We do not see things as they are, we see them as we are." (Rachael Naomi Remens, Kitchen Table Wisdom)
2. "Real love doesn't make you suffer" (Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now)
3. Stop and identify the feeling before lashing out.
4. I'd rather go to Madison,WI in March then go on a guilt trip.
5. Life is short, and I must be present to win.
6. Even if I take a lot of pictures, I can't capture NOW.
7. Forgiveness is giving up all hope of a better past. I just have to let go of some things.


Things you're looking forward to in 2007
1. The 3 Ms-Malabrigo, movies and massages
2. Dropping my work schedule to half-time
3. Hanging with the knitting buddies at Mocha Java
4. Learning new things, but please not another craft!
5. Number two sons graduating from college
6. Another trip to the Great American Midwest
7. Using up my Christmas gift cards:)

I am also working on finding a way I feel comfortable contributing to the community beyond just contributing money. It is something that is hard for me. I am not an organizer. I can be judgmental. I don't like to commit. I think it as something to do with the unreasonable idea I identified a while back about my issue with perfection. Oh wait, this is a guilt trip and I'm not going there anymore!


Then of course there is the diet and exericse issues. It's always on my mind...one of these days...

If you read this entry, consider yourself tagged!

Get a Fortune Cookie, Review The Good Shepard

Allen Dulles from the movie (Matt Damon)
The Good Shepard is a fictionalized drama based on the life of Allen Dulles, the first civilian director of the CIA. Let me say first this is a long movie. I went in at 3:15 and got out after 6pm. The beginning is hard to follow and the scenes jump back and forth in time. The story that unfolds is quite interesting and generated a lot of questions in my party about the Bay of Pigs and the Skull and Bones. Diniro directs and has a small part. Matt Damon plays an ice man, secretive all his life who makes great sacrifices for his beliefs, or do we really know why or if it was a sacrifice, he was that secretive. My sister did not like it that much, but I found it very interesting, but sad. I did not recognize Keir Dullea even though I knew ahead of time that he was in the movie. John Turturro who I just watched in Unstrung Heroes (a movie directed by Diane Keaton-yikes I digress!)was great as Dulles' sidekick.
I will give this movie 3/5 acorns and 1/2 of clive for some violence and being sad.

Enchanting Juno led me to this meme and it gave me a hoot. Try it!

My Fortune Cookie told me: Your bathtub is full of brightly colored machine tools. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

My Fortune Cookie told me: We are not anticipating any emergencies. Get a cookie from Miss Fortune

La Boheme, Review

I watched the Australian version of La Boheme. The DVD has added something really great for me, subtitles. It really helps to know what the story is. Opera has so much angst built into the solos.
It was a little bothersome to me that the love between Mimi and Rodolfo is so quick in much the way that Mulan raced through to the end. I know it has to be as, but still it's a bit bothersome. However, the songs they sing to each other at the end of the first act are some of the most moving sounds to me. I think it is better left in Italian, though.
And guess what? Mimi dies. Well I knew that because it's opera.
It tough not to compare the artists, but Maria Callas and Pavarotti are hard to beat. I love the sets on this production.
I will give it 2.5/5 acorns.

Serenity, Review

I had a coupon for Borders so I got this DVD that was on the specials table. This is a movie made from the failed SciFi Channel series Firefly. I never watched Firefly so I thought, why not? Chance it!
I can't say I gave it a fair shake as I felt the need to work on a new hat while watching it and the mohair in the yarn kept making me sneeze.
There is the Milennium Falcon-like vessel and crew captained by Mal, maverick renegade, who pick up some odd characters and of course their life is never the same again. River Tam has all those quirky, psychic type powers AND she knows kung fu! This can be very handy in a fight against those zombie-like Reavers. David Krumholts of Numbers fame is Mr. Universe and he's very good at facts. Hmmm is he type cast?

IMBD gives both the series and this movie fairly high ratings. I will have to watch the series, although I hear it was cancelled in mid-plot, and while I like clifthangers, I don't like to wait forever. The movie didn't grab me that much. But like I said, blame the mohair.

I will give it 2/5 acorns.

Blood Diamond, Review

Leonardo DiCaprio made an impression on me as Johnny Depp's brother in What's Eating Gilbert Grape. He went on to wow me in Titanic. I still can't get his frozen face out of my brain when I hear that song. He made a few stinkers, too, imo. He does a South African accent in Blood Diamond. I can't really saw how well he really does it, but he does it quite effortlessly. I enjoyed him in this part as well as the one he played in The Departed.
Djimon Hounsou was born in Cotonou, Benin. According to Wikipedia Cotonou means mouth of the River of Death. Benin was once called Dahomey and was once occupied by the French. It may be the home of Voodoo. Just reading up on this has made me realize how provincial I really am. Mr. Hounsou plays a humble fisherman and father in this movie and shows his range of emotions.
Jennifer Connelly was really beautiful in this movie, and did a fine job, but was perhaps a bit too sparkly for the role.
The story is about the Kimberley Process which tries to insure that the people from areas that mine the diamonds benefit from the diamonds. Diamonds from conflict areas are illegally obtained and the proceeds often support war efforts. The conflict in Sierra Leone happened in the 1990s and the sale diamonds bought guns used in this violent confrontation.

I will rate this movie 3.8/5 acorns. It had a fair amount of violence. The scenary was beautiful and the music haunting. Mr. DiCaprio was very convincing and buff I might say, as the mercenary who believes in nothing and will say anything to get what he wants, who is moved toward redemption by the passion of a reporter and the heart of a father.

Hurtling toward 2007

Has anyone else wondered what happened to November? I'm still reeling over that. I have misplaced a month in my life. Not much I can do about that. So here it is December, in fact almost one week into it. It's cookie time.

I make cookies at my friends house every year. She has all the cooking toys. I ate a thousand cookies today and I'm sick of cookies. Well, maybe I have room for some Russian Tea Cookies, Molassas Crinkles or Nurnbergers.

It feels wintry here even though its 76 right now. So much to do, so little time.

I recall surviving a personal viral attack, and the drama of my son rupturing his appendix, and look forward to the descent upon the family compound of sister #1 and 2, with various other relations.

I regret Season 3 of Battlestar Galactica is not yet out on DVD. I really enjoyed Season 1,2 and 2.5. Wonder why they numbered the DVD's that way. I am tempted to watch the portions of Season 3 that pass by out of sequence, but so far have talked myself out of that.


My NHK drama about the lives of Chiyo and Kazutoya as gone through Chiyo's orphaning, throught Oda Nobunaga and Hideyoshi. Mitsunari and Tokugawa Ieyasu are building up to the showdown. I know how that one turns out ;)