My Favorite Holiday Movies

I like holiday movies. I am not picky and will watch just about anything. A Christmas Story is great, as is It's A Wonderful Life. But two movies I HAVE to watch every Christmas. The first one is a kid's movie but I still love it.



The Muppet Christmas Carol stars all the muppets and Michael Caine as Scrooge. Gonzo makes a wonderful narrator. This movie makes me laugh and I like the songs. We sing the opening song about Scrooge at each other whenever one of us isn't acting very joyous. This has been a regular in our house since Mouse and M-Boy were very small.


The other favorite film of mine is While You Were Sleeping starring Sandra Bullock Bill Pullman. This movie makes me laugh every single time I watch it. Not many movies can do that to the extent that this film does. Why do I find it so funny? My family is a lot like this family. We have the crazy "disagreements" and someone who is always cooking trying to make everyone happy. And we are close. Just like this family. Marry one of us, you marry us all.

So what are your favorite holiday movies?

Lucky Me

On friday after I went shopping, my mom and I went to the casino for a little fun. I won $700. It was awesome. My mom and I share because she is my gambling partner. That way, we both win or we both lose. It makes it more fun for us. Then we got the sad news this weekend about Mr. Daphnewood's brother. And on monday I found out about my friend. Yesterday my mom tried to keep me busy so I wouldn't be blue. We went Christmas shopping and spent lots of money. I got the kids some presents they have been wanting. I still had $100 left of my $350 (half of the $700 dollar jackpot). So my mom and I went to the casino again. I couldn't lose. I won enough to put on new tires on the van ($500) and still have $700 in my wallet. My mom has $700 too. So Christmas is paid for without having to add to credit card debt. I am so happy about that. We made a pact to stay away from the casino until after we finish the Christmas shopping. Just in case. I would hate to blow my winnings.

Sad Today

I got sad news and it has put me in a very blue mood. My friend died late Saturday. She was elderly but still, I wasn't done having fun times with her and just being her friend. I will miss her. Plus, Mr. Daphnewood's oldest brother is very ill. The big scary "carcinoma" word has emerged. Our family is in turmoil. I might be absent for a while or maybe I will write often. Sometimes writing helps but at other times, I don't have the will. I just thought I would let you know in case you don't hear from me for a few days.

The Fountain Movie Review

WTF?! I was too stupid to understand this film.

Happy Thanksgiving From A Pilgrim's View

First let me say, Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate this holiday. In recent years, America has been in an uproar over our traditional holidays like Columbus Day (massacre of native Americans) Christmas (not inclusive to all religions) and Thanksgiving (the beginning of atrocities to Native Americans and theft of their land). I read this article about school children getting a different view of Thanksgiving. I am a bit angry to say the least. So people want our 6 and 7 year olds to know that Pilgrims were the bad guys. Pilgrims and Indians were at war with each other. That is a much different view from the past. However, let me say I think history is focusing on the good point of when two different cultures actually put their differences aside and had a feast together. Why is this a bad thing? Why is it criminal to teach our children that it is okay for people of different faiths and cultures to like each other and eat together? Instead, we want to teach them, your ancestors were bastards and didn't mean it when they said they were thankful for the help the Native Americans gave. Young children see things in black and white. They will only see "good guy" or "bad guy". They cannot understand the complex nature of colonization. Let them first learn goodwill to all people. Eat the feast kids. Later, when you are older, you wil learn not everything is easy as good vs. bad.

Charlie the Unicorn

This video will either be totally stupid or really funny. It depends how demented you are. I am in the extreme dorky level of demented personalities so I found this video hilarious. I hope you do too because I would hate to waste 3 and a half minutes of your day.

A Commentary On Tasered UCLA Kid

Here is a link to one of the numerous articles.

I think police have gotten a bad rap on this. I watched the video a couple of times. The kid was being an ass. He was screaming and making a scene, inciting other students to do the same. All he had to do was show his stupid ID but he wanted to be a martyr or something. What a jerk! He is lucky they didn't break out their clubs and beat him to death. This has nothing to do with the patriot act despite his claims. It has to do with campus safety and he wasn't the only one asked to show his ID that evening. What a loser. The sad part is that the campus police are seen as the bad guys. Rapes, muggings and worse happen on college campuses everyday and no one ever posts videos or writes articles hailing the heroes that stop these crimes. The police force is not the enemy. Too bad this kid has further ruined the reputation of our fine men and women in blue. I think America has gotten a healthy respect for the military these days. They also respect fireman more since 9/11. Only our beloved police force seems to be overlooked. Today, if you see a police officer, shake his/her hand and thank them for the fine job they are doing.

Thank God For.....

I can't seem to stay warm without these. Ugly? Yes, but I will not go without.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

Mr. Daphnewood got an email with this picture in it.

He showed it to us all and Little Man just cracked up hysterically. He laughed and said "Ha ha ha, they are pooing on the other people's heads!" Mr. D said "uh, Little Man, we are the voters. You know the ones on the bottom." Little Man stopped laughing instantly.

Then a few seconds later he says, "well, it serves them right for being stupid enough to vote" and went back to laughing.

Flipside

Here is latest in my life. I know, headline news, right?

• I am pissed Roy Oswalt got overlooked for the Cy Young award AGAIN.
• I am glad he makes way more money than the guy who did win. We know who is the better pitcher and that is why RoyO makes the big bucks.

• Today is Mr. Daphnewood's b-day. We are going to eat chicken and dumplings for dinner and pineapple upside down cake for dessert.
• I am pissed because he is still in surgery and will probably miss his own b-day dinner.

• I have been working like a dog for the past 2 days and not had much time to blog or anything selfish :(
• I am glad I had so much fun this weekend. Besides the concert I saw two movies:Stranger Than Fiction & Driving Lessons.

• My scanner is just about dead from getting worked so hard. I am pissed it only lasted a year.
• The flipside is that my boss is buying me a new one, price not an issue. whoohoo!

The Lt. Dan Band Rocks!

I took Little Man to the concert at the Uptown Theater on friday night. Gary Sinise & the Lt. Dan Band were so much better than I imagined. You think that actors would be so-so musicians because if they were great musicians why not choose music over acting, right?! This group was not a band that you would see at weddings or sweet sixteen birthday parties. These guys & gals are talented. Extremely so! They played cover tunes only but the genres varied. They played some Rolling Stones, the Who (to Little Man's delight), Linkin Park, Bob Dylan, and Mariah Carey to name a few. It was energetic and at a tiny little place so it was cozy too.

First I want to say, Gary Sinise looks just like he does on TV. He was the same height that I imagined, same weight, same eyes and smile but he looked younger. Maybe on CSI:NY they try to make him look older. Who knows. It could have been that he had this silly smile plastered to his face for 2 1/2 hours straight! I don't mean silly as in stupid but silly as in fun. I have never would have guessed this guy is party animal. He looked so happy and was having a great time. He had plenty of interaction with the crowd.

The other concert goers were super nice. They let Little Man get in front so he could see. He was right at the feet of his hero "Mac". About 2 hours into the show Little Man turned around and rested against me, hugging my chest. He was tired. Gary looked at me and gave a sympathic look at Little Man (who didn't see our exchange). I mouthed "he's tired" and Gary nodded and kept smiling like he had been the whole evening. I felt bad for Little Man because I think he had been trying to get Gary Sinise's attention all evening and as soon as he turned around that is when he got noticed. Of course, the man probably thought I was a horrible mother keeping her kid out past his bedtime. What can I say? I let him watch R-rated movies too as long as there is no sex. I am probably going to hell for it or at the very least need to pay for psychotherapy for Little Man when he gets older.

I have to talk about the rest of the group. They kicked ass! The singers were awesome. The male singer had long blonde hair that was so dang pretty I just wanted to go up to him and touch it and ask what shampoo does he use. He was super energetic and sang Message In A Bottle by the Police. AWESOME. The one girl singer wore a Cheerios t-shirt and that made me love her. There was a husband and wife percussion team. Every person in that group was smiling and having a good time. Maybe that is the key. Music groups do these rigorous tours. But the Lt. Dan Band only does shows sporadically making it more of a fun thing than a job. It was just a big ol' party and I was glad to be there.

The bad news: I didn't take a camera. I met a nice woman who said she would email me some pictures. I hope she does. Then you can see how close we were. In the meantime here are some really crappy cell phone pictures.

Married to a Nerd

I love my husband. He really is the most adorable creature created by God when he isn't being obnoxious. Sadly, he uses most of his waking hours to be obnoxious. He is also a brainiac. He keeps his homepage of his computer set to Medscape Headlines. Don't these article titles look riveting?

Surgical Myotomy Better Than Pneumatic Dilatation for Achalasia

EGFR Mutations Predict Lung Cancer Response to Gefitinib

Pallidal Deep-Brain Stimulation Beneficial in Dystonia

For me, it is like a forgeign language that occasionally I might understand one or two words. But we both speak the language of love and that's good enough for me.

Little Man's Plans for the Future

Straight from his mouth:

When I grow up, I am going to get me a wife that isn't a jerk.

I think that means that pickings are pretty slim at the ol' elementary school.

My Brief View of Election Results

So now it seems it is the democrats turn to rule the country. I am a registered republican but not an extreme righty as most of you can tell. I think it is good to change drivers once in a while. Do I think the nation will fall to pieces with democrats in control? Absolutely not. Do I think the nation is better off with them in control? Absolutely not. It doesn't matter what party a person is in, if they are a politician they're a liar. Congrats to the winners and better luck next time to the losers. Don't forget Americans, united we stand, divided we fall. Time to move forward.

Getting Out of the House

I think I am going to take Little Man to see this group on friday. They play a variety of music and a cover of the song Baba O'Riley (CSI:NY theme). Since my son thinks that is one of the best songs ever and he likes Gary Sinise just as much as I do, I can't wait to see his face. I just hope kids are welcome. But if the whole show is a fundraiser for Iraqi children you would think it wouldn't be an adults only show. One never knows. What do you think? Do you think it would be fun for an 8 year old addicted to the joy of life?

A Lack of Focus

I started writing this rant about people who sue hospitals over wait times. Why does everyone have to sue? It is crazy. Bankrupting your local hospital will not guaranteed better service next time folks. If you think Sweden, Cuba and Canada have the answer to health care you better think again. Cuba has had the same textbooks since 1950. Sweden and Canada have wait times longer than the US and you can't sue them. Okay, that is all I will say about that for now.

I will stick with a benign topic of hit counters. I put one up a few months after starting my blog. It has been well over a year but I chose a different type of hit counter. Most people count every time a person visits their blog. My hit counter is one that measures different IP addresses. I find it amazing that it still goes up everyday. Probably because Rick mentioned Brittany Bratt's boobs in one comment section. Thanks Rick! That and Brad Ausmus's (2006 Golden Glove Winner for catcher WTG Brad!) half-naked picture has been bringing them in. So what kind of hit counter do you all have?

***update***
I have been getting phone call after phone call for the past week. Do you want to know who called me? Let's see, former senator Bob Dole called me encouraging me to vote for his friend ______, I hung up before I could hear his name. Some lady asking me to re-elect her also called. My neighbor Tom called me too asking me to vote for some other poor soul. And just now Senator John McCain called me! Can you believe it? Isn't John McCain in freakin Arizona?! These were all pre-recorded massages of course. I live in Kansas and I am not savvy on Kansas politics yet. I am not going to vote tomorrow because I just don't know anyone and would probably do more harm than good. Normally, I would just check the republican box for the candidates I am not aware of but here in KS, some republicans are FREAKS. That idiot hatemonger, crashing soldiers funerals comes to mind. However, I am registered. I suspect that is how so many "people" have my phone number. Lesson learned. Come next election I will be ready and actually vote.

Movie Review: The Prestige & Grown Up Rock Stars

I liked this movie. You have to pay attention from the first frame of the film but it was worth it. Christian Bale just amazed me. This kid is far underrated as an actor. Everyone did a superb job with their roles but I left the theater sort of swooning at Christian Bale this time around. Not like a school crush or anything but just in awe. You should definitely check this movie out: The Prestige Don't read any of the spoilers on the message boards. It will ruin the film for you. Just go see or rent it when it comes out. You won't be sorry.

I also wanted to talk specifically about David Bowie. He was in this film. My gosh that man has changed. I loved David Bowie when I was a teenager (Kimananda, do I hear a "ditto!"?) He was freaky, repulsive to authority figures, charming to the youth and talented beyond anyone's expectations. But he was a rock star that behaved in rockstar fashion. I look at The Rolling Stones and U2. Those guys are still rockin' but sometimes they look like old men trying to recapture their youth. David Bowie still makes records and acts in movies but he looks grown up. He has accepted his age by redefining what it means to be nearly 60 years old. I couldn't get enough of David Bowie as I watched the film. When I get to be 60, I want to be like him. I don't want to be wearing fashion made for teens, acting stupid and forgetting all the lessons I have learned in life. Or maybe I am just full of crap. That is always a possibility.

Freedom Friday Once Again

Yes, today is freedom friday! You know what that means: movie day all alone. I think today I will spend my two hours gazing upon the fine features of Christian Bale and Hugh Jackman in the much acclaimed thriller "The Prestige" for the very low price of $4 at the local AMC. I am a happy girl.

On a side note, I have been having problems commenting on some of your blogs. Especially non-blogger/blogspot sites (or typepad comment sections). I have been using Mr. Daphnewood's computer and he has extra tight security settings or something so Ryan & Mikey, I have been reading and hope enjoy your week together. My little anchored nomad friend, keep blogging! I hope you win. And Lame posts count too. I know there was someone else that I tried to comment to but it wouldn't take. Anyway, just so you all know I am reading but maybe not commenting because my husband is a freak about his computer settings. Oh, and Vickie, you don't have a blog but I don't want you to feel left out so you get a shout out in the post since you are my fellow Kansas City neighbor and are so sweet.

Have a great weekend everyone.

A Parent's Bad Dream

I was going to call this post "A Parent's Nightmare" but that would be if your child was hurt or worse. This was just a 'bad dream' level occurence with not too much trauma. So let me tell you about it. Yesterday after taking Little Man to the doctor, we went to McDonald's to meet my friend. She has a couple of little boys that Little Man enjoys playing with even though they are quite a bit younger. We arrived before my friend at around 11:15 am. That is before the lunch rush. The play place was secluded and empty. At least I thought it was. I heard some movement from up high in the tunnels. Little Man looked in a tube slide exit and said "Mama! I see a boot!"

I was getting a funny feeling about it all. Then I heard a loud rumble from the top of the play area then a "whoosh!" as a rather large teenager emerged from the slide. She bent down and asked Little Man where did he see the boot. He pointed to it and she retrieved it. It was a gi-normous boot. Definitely not her size. Are you getting the picture here? Teenagers at a freakin McDonald's play place going at it. I got horrified when they didn't come down. What were they doing? Little Man said that there was a grownup boy in there kissing the girl. Great. When the place got busy the teens finally emerged looking sweaty, gross, gothic and truant. They had their backpacks with them.

So this is a parent's bad dream in two ways for me. First of all, Little Man was playing in an area where two nasty teenagers were getting it on. The sanitary concerns made me want to wash Little Man down with an alcohol bath. Just disgusting. Plus he got an advanced sex education course that I wasn't counting on him seeing for a while. The second reason why it was a bad dream for me is because I thought of Mouse. She is 15. Not that she would skip school to have sex in the McDonald's play place but it reminded me that kids will find a way no matter what if they want it. Yikes!

Happy November!

I think Kansas is trying to skip over autumn and go right into the winter. It sure is cold this morning but I am not complaining. It beats the heat in my opinion, but us land whales always prefer cooler temps because of the blubber insulation on our bodies. You can say I am coming into the prime season. I thought I would start this month off with a little culture. I am going to share some fine art with you. It is great to me. The picture is poor quality and hopefully soon I will trade it out for a real picture instead of a meager cell phone picture.

This was painted by my daughter, Mouse.