Yeah so today is Senior day…..again. I honestly don’t like senior day. Not because I don’t like some of the seniors, it’s just I don’t like some of the seniors that come in today. They are those cranky types that I swear enjoy making everyone miserable. They are the type of people that complain and complain about how expensive everything is and want to weasel their way into every single discount then they pull out a 100 dollar bill. They are also the type that are at that age when they clearly don’t care what people think of them so they are rude to everyone. Now there are some seniors I love talking to because they aren’t like that. They are fun. They joke and love having fun. They aren’t all stuffy. Oh but that reminds me what is the deal with people and 100 dollar bills. I mean if your purchase is like 70 or 80 or 90 bucks I get, but when your purchase is 40 something dollars you don’t need 100 dollar bill. Why do you not carry small bills. I know your just being an ass. I swear I want to put up a giant sign that says no bills bigger then 50’s will be accepted, but if I do that then some good customers would be put out. There are a few that don’t abuse the power of 100, but I mean 100 dollar bill for a small purchase makes as much sense as getting a 60 dollar gift certificate and spending it on only protein bars. I mean what is the point? Oh well. Here are the squibies because squiby is finally back up. So as you all know they are making an Alvin and the Chipmunks Squeakquel (which is just a sequel and they were trying to be cute and failed) and in the commercial the Chipettes sing the song Single Ladies. Well it’s been stuck in my head for awhile so I figured I’d post the original since well the original is NOT AS ANNOYING AS THOSE STUPID CHIPMUNKS. Yeah you just reach a point in your life when you can’t stand Alvin and the Chipmunks. I reached that when I was like 12. Anyway enjoy the original. Today’s tip is losing a friend is like loosing an arm, you can’t get it back. Unless you’re a lizard or a starfish and you can just grow another one. Or as my friend pointed out or if you’re a Namekian. It’s a dragonball, dragonball Z, dragonball GT thing. I got this tip from my sister. Well the first part. I added the lizard and starfish part. Laters.

The last part! I can’t stop laughing! LMAO

I’ve seen Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window, starring Jimmy Stewert, a half-dozen times, but only this weekend did I realize that it also stars…an Armenian.

Photo still from Rear Window Credit: Alfred Hitchcock

You might remember the piano-playing composer with the slanted floor to ceiling windows?  Turns out that this actor is not only a Grammy Award winning singer-songwriter, but he is also Armenian.  Rostom Sipan ”Ross” Bagdasarian was born in 1919 in Fresno, California and is the cousin of that other Armenian Fresno native, William Saroyan.

The cousin connection launched Bagdasarian into the limelight – first with a role in Saroyan’s broadway debut, The Time of Your Life, and later with a cowritten song, Come on-a My House. Throughout the 1950s, Bagdasarian released songs and played minor roles on the silver screen before landing a number one hit with Witch Doctor in 1958.

Bagdasarian solidified his success with The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late) which spun off into the animated, anthropomorphic musical group, Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Since Bagdasarian recorded all of the chipmunk’s voices, it is not too much of a stretch to claim Alvin, Simon, and Theodore as Armenians themselves – nationalism knows no bounds.

Managerul Dave Seville ii convinge pe cei trei masculi de veverita pe nume Alvin, Theodore si Simon sa mearga la scoala asemenea unor copii obisnuiti, predicandu-le faptul ca va fi in interesul lor sa invete carte. In vreme ce veveritele cantatoare se acomodeaza cu noul stil de viata in mijlocul elevilor de la scoala, Ian Hawke este eliberat din inchisoare si colinda prin toata lumea in incercarea de a descoperi animale talentate, care sa poata canta si dansa. In Australia, Ian Hawke intalneste niste femele de veverita inzestrate din punct de vedere muzical, pe care intentioneaza sa le transforme in vedete pentru a se razbuna astfel pe Alvin, Simon si Theodore.

Detalii:

Regia :Betty Thomas

Gen film:  Comedie, Familie, Fantastic

Premiera in Romania :25.12.2009

Imagini:

Trailer:

Alvin wants a hoola hoop, yay!

Miracle on 34th Street.

Mom, Dad and I watched this movie every Christmas along with the Home Alone 1 and 2.  Home Alone 2 Lost in New York was my favorite for music and tears.

home alone 2

Christmas Stories by Linda Randall on Squidoo (more stories to read)

I remember when I was a little girl, how I loved dancing at Christmas Time.

My favorite song was Rocking Around The Christmas Tree…

I would always go to my Aunt Margie’s place for a Christmas Party.

She would spike the egg nogg and have punch for us kids.

Dolly Parton and Elvis Presley would be singing Christmas Carols in the background.

All of us kids would go up to the spare bedroom where there was this big jewelry box and chest.

The girls would play dress up with jewels and old wedding gowns.

I think my Aunt must have been a brides maid many times.

They were all fancy bridal gowns of lavender, yellow, pink and pale blue.

Dinner was a treat.

My Aunt and Uncle used to cook up about 20 different dishes to choose from.

They were well off, so we had a feast.

Everything was homemade, including the pastries for dessert.

Those were the good old days.

I miss those days when Grandma and Grandpa were alive.

I pretty much stopped celebrating Christmas when I lost both of my parents within two years of each other.

This Christmas I don’t even feel like celebrating.

Instead of putting up a 6ft tree and decorating it for 2 hours like I used to, I bought this dinky little tree that’s already decorated.

It’s not even one foot tall.

But It’s Christmas to me.

Small and simple.

No frills, or big presents anymore.

I just have my tree, a few gifts and friends.

I never see my family anymore, most of my loved one’s have passed away.

The one’s that have survived, I never hear from and well I guess they’ve just forgotten about me.

But it’s okay.

I’ve found other families that are willing to adopt me at Christmas.

Parents that have loads of kids already but they always make room for two more little orphans.

That’s what we call ourselves, because both of us lost our parents.

They were our best friends and we spent every single day with them until they left this earth.

We miss them all the time.

Even after not seeing them for four years, (for him it’s ten years) we still cry about it at times.

Christmas is the hardest because we used to sit around a big table and have a turkey dinner and we’d be laughing and poking fun at each other.

This week I found out that my friend who is 43 had a heart attack.

She died and came back to life.

I was one of thousands of people praying for her to come back to us and she did.

I don’t know how long she’ll be staying but it makes me think about how short life is.

We can be gone within seconds.

Some will live a long life, while others will leave at any time.

It’s important to say hello to your loved ones.

I think it’s time that I do that myself.

I’ll let them all know I’m still kicking around.

And I’ll hug them, tell them I love them and that I miss them too.

At least I’ll feel better, that I set things right.

I won’t feel so alone anymore, because family is important.

You need to remember that, settle your differences, ask for forgiveness and let the love of the season shine through your souls.

A Christmas Tribute to the one’s I love and miss…

animated christmas tree

Blue Christmas Without You Mom! - Elvis Presley

My Parents - Larry and Linda Randall

What is in my mind the finest month for the movies is almost here!  Let Marshall guide you through the best and steer you away from the worst, but most of all enjoy!  The studios have been holding back their best movies all year to dump them all here, where they can get serious awards consideration.

December 4

A major Oscars wild-card is “Brothers.”  No one really knows what to make of it.  If the movie hits big, it could completely change the game.  But it could just fly under the radar like most expect it to now.  However, the trailer makes it look as if it the movie could be absolutely mind-blowing.  Directed by Jim Sheridan, who has received six Academy Award nominations, “Brothers” follows Grace Cahill (Natalie Portman) as she and her daughters deal with the loss of her husband, Sam (Tobey Maguire), in war.  Sam’s brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) comes to live with Grace to lend a helping hand.  But romantic sparks fly between the two at precisely the wrong time: the discovery that Sam is alive and coming home.  With the two brothers both tugging Grace’s heart for their share, a different type of sparks fly.

You have heard me say plenty about “Up in the Air.”  If you haven’t read my Oscar Moment on the movie or heard my bliss at the release of the trailer, let me give you one more chance to hope on the bandwagon.

But the movies don’t stop there.  ”Armored,” an action-drama that is tooting its own moral horn, starring Matt Dillon and Laurence Fishburne.  ”Everybody’s Fine” appears to be a holiday movie, so that might be worth checking out if you’re in the spirit.  The movie, a remake of a 1990 Italian film by the same name, stars Robert DeNiro as a widower who reconnects with his estrange children.  And “Transylmania” looks to cash in on the vampire craze sweeping the nation by satirizing it, but I doubt it will be financially viable because it is being released by a no-name studio and without any big names.

December 11

The highlight of the weekend for many will be “The Princess and the Frog,” Disney’s return to the traditional animation by hand musical.  The movie looks to capitalize on what we know and love Disney musicals for, adding some catchy tunes to a fairy tale we have known since childhood.  Anika Noni Rose, best known for her role as Lorrell in the film adaptation of “Dreamgirls,” lends her talented voice to the princess Tiana.  As a huge fan of “Dreamgirls” during the winter of 2006, I couldn’t think of someone better equipped to handle the sweet, soft Disney music (which isn’t designed for belters like Beyoncé or Jennifer Hudson).  That being said, the music won’t sound like anything you’ve ever heard from a Disney fairy tale.  It is being scored by Randy Newman, not Alan Menken (“Beauty and the Beast,” etc.), and will have a jazzy feel much like its setting, New Orleans.

This week also boasts the opening of three major Oscar players. Two have been featured in Oscar Moments, “Invictus” and “A Single Man.” The former opens nationwide this Friday, the latter only in limited release. I’ll repost the trailers below because they are worth watching. But read the Oscar Moment if you want to know more about the movies.

According to the people that matter, “The Lovely Bones” has all the pieces to make a great movie. But for summer reading two years ago, I read the source material, Alice Sebold’s acclaimed novel. I found it dreadfully melodramatic and very depressing without any sort of emotional payoff to reward the reader for making it through. But maybe Hollywood will mess up the novel in a good way. If any movie could, it would be this one. With a director like Peter Jackson and a cast including Saiorse Ronan (“Atonement”), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, and Susan Sarandon, it could very well happen.  It opens in limited release on this date and slowly expands until its nationwide release on Martin Luther King Day weekend in 2010.

December 16

Due to the flop of “Amelia,” Fox Searchlight has moved “Crazy Heart” to 2009 in order to milk some awards out of this year (although they should have just pushed “(500) Days of Summer” harder!).  The movie stars Jeff Bridges as an aging alcoholic country singer and Maggie Gyllenhaal as the young journalist that falls for him.  Bridges has been nominated for four Oscars but has never won, so maybe the Academy will feel generous to him this year.

December 18

We will skip the big blockbuster to address what is perhaps my most anticipated movie of the season, “Nine.”  I’ve already devoted an Oscar Moment to it, but it deserves some more talk here.  I’ll just throw out some names.  Daniel Day-Lewis.  Marion Cotillard.  Penelope Cruz.  Nicole Kidman.  Judi Dench.  Sophia Loren.  Kate Hudson.  Fergie.  Director Rob Marshall.  At what name did you start thinking, “Get here now, December 18th, I HAVE TO SEE THIS MOVIE!”?

Most sites I read think “Avatar” is going to be a huge box office success.  However, I wonder how they can think that when I have not heard a single teenager talk about the movie at all.  That is a critical demographic to the success of this movie.  It is what made “Titanic” the highest grossing movie ever (unadjusted for inflation).  And without them, this movie will flop.  A bomb is something that director James Cameron and the head honchos at 20th Century Fox simply cannot have happen.  Let me hit you with a statistic that will make your jaw drop.  ”Avatar” cost nearly $500 million dollars to make.  No, I didn’t tack on an extra zero to that figure.  Half-a-billion dollars have been dropped on this movie, so they need to make a whole lot of money to make it a profitable venture.  I’m sure with worldwide totals and video receipts, they will undoubtedly break even.  But if it is going to be a bonanza, there has to be more to “Avatar” than the coolest visual effects ever.  And I’m not getting the feeling from the trailers that it has all that strong of a story.  But at this point, no one knows.

Guilty confession: I’m actually kind of looking forward to “Did You Hear About the Morgans?” The movie stars Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker as married members of the New York elite who loathe each other. However, they are forced to spend a whole lot of time together when they see a murder and enter the Witness Protection Program in Wyoming. Sometimes these “fish out of water” comedies turn out to be quite funny. Plus, Hugh Grant and Sarah Jessica Parker usually have good taste when it comes to selecting movies.

And to help out a fledgling production company, Apparition, I’ll plug “The Young Victoria” with an embedded trailer.  If Martin Scorsese is pushing it, how bad can it be?

December 23

In order to get “Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” out of a convoluted Christmas Day openers crowd, they moved it to Wednesday, December 23.  Honestly, who wants to debate if this movie will be good or not?  I wouldn’t be surprised if it makes more money than “Avatar” the way kids ate up the first installment.

December 25

Celebrate Christmas at the movies with your family like everyone else in America!  ”Nine” and “Up in the Air” will be opening nationwide today.

Nancy Meyers, the director of “The Holiday” and “The Parent Trap,” makes movies that are just plain enjoyable to watch.  ”It’s Complicated” doesn’t look to break that tradition.  I refuse to watch the trailer because I don’t want to ruin it, but the film’s poster shows Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin bearing smug expressions in a bed with the tagline “Divorced…with benefits” written on the sheets.  Featuring a cast that also includes Steve Martin and John Krasinski (“The Office”), this could be the perfect crowd-pleasing Christmas Day movie.

Also opening on Christmas Day is a reimagined “Sherlock Holmes,” directed by Guy Ritchie (yes, Maddona’s ex-husband).  I’m all for the fresh approach, especially because it includes Robert Downey, Jr.  I loved the smug touch he added to Tony Stark in “Iron Man,” and I’m sure he will bring the same energy to the timeless detective.  The movie will no doubt benefit from the presence of Jude Law as sidekick Watson and Rachel McAdams as a love interest for Sherlock.  Although the character has lost respectability over the past few years on the silver screen, this is a version that I am more than willing to get behind.

And it is with great sadness that I have to say that Heath Ledger’s last new movie, “The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus,” will be released this day.  He passed while in production of the movie, and Johnny Depp, Colin Farrell, and Jude Law stepped into finish the role.  The three stars donated their salary for the film to Ledger’s daughter, Matilda.  The movie seems to be quite a visual spectacle, and the eye-catching visuals could be a great complement to Ledger’s final performance.

December 30

The final release of 2009 is “The White Ribbon,” winner of the prestigious Palme D’Or prize at the Cannes Film Festival this spring.  The film, directed by Michael Haeneke, follows a community in pre-World War I Germany as they deal with “the origins of terrorism,” as the director puts it.  It has been selected as Germany’s submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Academy Awards this year, so it is definitely a player there.  But with quite literal universal acclaim, it could compete in more serious categories.

So, have you started planning how you are going to fit all these movies into your holiday schedules like me?  If not, at least do me the courtesy of telling me what movie you would see if you could only see one.

More often than not these days when I flip the channel on my TV, I begin to wonder what happened to all the good Tv shows? While there is some interesting programming on Tv nowadays thanks to the age of reality tv, Youtube on your pc and all things portable, I find these choices hard pressed to compete with some of the shows of past and recent past. Think about it, what talk show has been as interesting and entertaining as the Arsenio Hall Show? What show has made you laugh until you’re about to piss in your pants since the Chappelle Show or In Living Color? What show besides Law&Order has been a must see since NY Undercover? Exactly. None. While some people may or may not remember these shows, me and my peers grew up on these shows they were all absolute MUST SEE TV, and if you missed it, you felt like you missed out on winning lottery ticket, because all of your friends would be talking about it and you would in obscurity until the rerun aired. No DVR , no HULU, nothing. You just had to be there to see it. Lately Tv just hasn’t impressed me with the exception of a few shows and the last two I did find interesting are no longer airing(SouthLand- NBC & Life on Mars-ABC).  While I know cable Tv has its multiple options and such, I often hear gripes from people who do have cable similar to this, “Why am I paying for this garbage, there’s almost never anything on I want to see!”.  Even the cartoons nowadays are completely wack. Remember getting up early as hell before your parents woke up on Saturday morning to watch cartoons such as, Voltron, Transformers, He Man, school house rock, Alvin and the Chipmunks, the Looney Tunes,the Snorks, the Monchchichi’s, and what about on those afternoons you’d rush home to watch Tom & Jerry, the Rescue Rangers, HeathCliffe, Dennis the Menace, the Original TMNT and for slightly younger heads, Ducktales ,Tailspin, Animaniacs and the Tiny Toon Adventures.  Now we’re subjected to all kinds of craziness on Tv, cartoons almost never come on in the afternoon anymore and we wonder why our kids nowadays are so damn grown! We took their childhood away thats why! In this day and age you can always walk down memory lane if you’re feeling nostalgic and go to either Youtube and watch clips of your old shows or maybe if your taste is not too exclusive you can get the show’s seasons on DVD.  I also wonder what were they thinking when they took some of these shows off the air, ratings is always the scapegoat, but more often than not, the true reason is often greed and the common “creative differences” excuse us as viewers are left with. Look at the Chappelle show, that was a funny ass show! Hands down there was no competitor to that show’s humor and creativity. However, it is a widely shared speculation that the show was yanked off of the air because they wanted to interfere with Dave’s concepts and the writing of the scripts. Dave was not having that as that show was mostly his and Neal Brennan’s idea. Also from what I’ve heard the people from the network also never really went after the 50$million they gave Dave, because they were for one still able to recoup from merchandising and DVD sales and also, the possibility of a counter suit against them for what would’ve been racial discrimination. This type of ordeal happens often in Tv land and in Hollywood and is truly unfair. I don’t know if I’ll ever see Tv as good as it was before, but when I think back on memory lane, about all of the good shows I’ve seen over the years, I always ask while flipping the channels back and forth, “Where are they now?”.

i came across this in the newspaper this morning. it’s a neat little idea to promote the upcoming release of a kids’ movie. Alvin and the Chipmunks 2: the squeakquel!

my son and his friends LOOOOOVED the first incarnation of this, which was a big hit. It featured the legendary David Cross getting paid and doing a great turn as a record company bad guy out to exploit the falsetto singing chipmunks. innocent fun for innocent kids.

the movie comes out around christmas. and someone had the smart idea of doing a print ad that featured a chipmunk stencil pattern that kids (ie: their dads) can carve onto halloween pumpkins.

A nice idea that makes sense and is involving and adds to peoples’ lives. yes advertising can be more than empty hype. But only if you try!

Site-ul hollywood.com a realizat un ghid de filme. Realizat armonios, ghidul cuprinde nume mult asteptate.

De asemenea este precizata si data lansarii filmului.

Iata doar cateva titluri:

1. A Christmas Carol (6 noiembrie 2009)

2. 2012 (13 noiembrie 2009)

3. Twilight Saga: New Moon (20 noiembrie 2009)

4. Fantastic Mr. Fox (25 noiembrie 2009)

5. The Lovely Bones (11 decembrie 2009)

6. The Princess and the Frog (11 decembrie 2009)

7. Avatar (18 decembrie 2009)

8. Nine (25 decembrie 2009)

9. Sherlock Holmes (25 decembrie 2009)

10. Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel (25 decembrie 2009)

Just in time for the holiday season, the ASIFA-Hollywood Animation Archive blog brings us a story of rags to riches– in a manner of speaking– that centers around the famous trio of cuddly little imps with the helium-induced voices that just makes you want to deafen yourself with an icepick:

Roger Bagdasarian, Sr. (who went by the stage name “David Seville”)… released a few records but his successes never seemed to result in very much money in his pocket. He bought a tape recorder with his last $200 and played around with the shifting speeds, coming up with a novelty song titled “Witch Doctor.” He got the single released and two weeks later, he found himself appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show performing the song.

The success of “Witch Doctor” gave him the idea of creating characters with sped up voices, so he quickly knocked out a Christmas demo titled “The Chipmunk Song” and took it to record executives Simon “Sy” Waronker, Theodore “Ted” Keep and Alvin “Al” Bennett at Liberty Records. The label was close to bankruptcy, but Bagdasarian convinced them that they might as well press Chipmunk singles with their leftover vynil pucks and labels in their warehouse rather than just turn the unused stock over to the bank when the business went under. Production commenced and in just a few months leading up to Christmas of 1958, the record shot to the top of the charts, becoming one of the best selling singles of all time. Bagdasarian won two Grammy Awards, Liberty Records was saved from bankruptcy, and the Chipmunks became a household name with children all over the world.

So remember, as the holidays approach this year and the radio stations begin playing “The Chipmunk Song” on repeat, that those chipmunks represent more than just toy-hungry, anthropomorphic rodents with severely deformed vocal cords. Rather, remember to think of them as symbols of how, in a nation as egalitarian and meritocratic as America, anyone can get ahead with little more than a tape recorder, the right connections, and a dream.

One can only take conspiracy, mix them with truth and lies so far when the reality of pandemics, politics and life finds you need a break.  This is ours.

Alas, the Chipmunks to the rescue for a real-life rags to riches story.  ( Wonder what the taxation rate is for chipmunks these days? and if they have medical insurance?)

Photo props and more from http://www.animationarchive.org/2009/10/animation-history-of-chipmunks.html

Back in reality…

Open wide, say ahhh and check out these posts on the A/H1N1 Swine Flu from Ahrcanum, where the conspiracy spreads as fast as the virus itself.

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http://ahrcanum.wordpress.com/swine-flu-report/

Jesse McCartney will return as Theodore, and Bridgit Mendler will star as Becca. I really hope this one is as good as the first one!

Those of you who have been around here for a while know that I am always doing something that I believe will improve my appearance.  And, that most always encompasses the latest/greatest procedure that doesn’t involve actual plastic surgery. I have…

1. Had my skin on my face peeled off with lasers.

2. Had my skin on my face melted off with chemicals.

3. Had my eyelids….upper and lower…tatooed (which didn’t last).

4. Had my eyebrows tattooed (which didn’t last)

5.Had some fillers shot into my chin which left me looking like Jay Leno for a few days.

About 2 weeks ago, I went to the derma office and got Restalyn, Pearline, and Botox injections. It was my anniversary gift to myself. Now, y’all remember what I have said before about TPKen and his extravagant impulse buying. I use to get pissed off when he blew through a wad of money. Now, I relish it because I use it to justify something extravagant for myself. This derm visit was one of those times. He had spent a crap-load of money on something stupid so it was my turn! Ha!

After the fillers, I looked like a cross betweenDudley Dooright and Jay Leno       .

 You could have used my chin as a coffee table. Thank goodness, the swelling went down in about 24 hours or so.

This crap gets expensive. So, when my lovely dermatologist asked me if I wanted to be her “subject” for a training session, I didn’t even pause to ask her what she was going to do to me. All that I knew was that I would be receiving FREE FILLER in my face.

Today was the appointed time for the training session and I had to be at the derma office by 9:00 am. I was so determined to be there on time and not miss out that I hardly slept at all last night.

I arrived at the office which was closed for the day for training sessions to take place. The office is a big-ass building with lots of corridors and halls. The waiting room is usually packed with people that have big hairy moles to be removed or covered in all visible areas with rashes and bumps or, patients scattered here and there that are cosmetic procedure patients.

 In our boogerwoods area, it takes a little longer to get the newest stuff than people in big cities like New York. But, there is no shortage of women and men ready and willing to do whatever it takes to make them look younger/better. There is more money floating around in these hills than people think. We who live in WV are still portrayed as toothless, barefooted hicks who intermarry. But, nothing could be farther from the truth. We are actually toothless, barefoot hillbillies with perfect flawless skin.

 Just kidding.  Seriously, though, our Jed Clampett and Granny image has gone by the wayside for the most part. Sure there are still plenty of  “hollers” and old coal camps populated with people who like their laid back hillbilly lives. And, rest assured, that we have more than our share of generational welfare families who do nothing to improve their lives. An interesting fact is that in my area, there are lots of “Yankee furners” (aka Yankie foreigners) who have left the fast paced, stress filled life in big cities to live in WV.

Sorry, my ADD is in full swing today. I got off-track and will now return to the original post subject which is ME.

I signed in with the receptionist and wandered around the humongous waiting room looking for some magazines.  I think that you can tell a lot about a doctor by the magazines in the waiting room. My regular all-around physician has magazines in her office from 1999.  The only new ones that ever show up there are ones with the addresses torn off that people have brought in with them. And, there are lots of Avon catalogs.  From this, I gather that she is not the owner of the practice but an employee of some corporation or conglomerate. She comes in, does her job and goes home. The waiting room reading material is not her concern.

On the other hand, the derma office is full of recent issues of a variety of magazines. This tells me that the head derma doc (who is the owner) takes steps to make his waiting patients comfortable and entertained. This derma doc had just recently moved into the building which is huge…..lined with many halls and corridors that remind me of a maze.

In just a few short minutes, the nurse called me back….waaaay back….to a part of the building that I had never seen. Scenes from Dr. Frankenstein ran thru my head. Was I being escorted to the research lab? Was I going to come  face to face with 2-headed monkeys banging against cage walls? Or, lizards with human heads? Maybe, a lab rat with collage filled cheeks?

 I was relieved when I entered the room and saw a regular exam chair.

Soon, Tanya (the derma doc) came in accompanied by a nurse and 2 other women in lab coats. She introduced me to them. One was another derma doc, one was a nurse, and one was a rep of a big drug company that produced cosmetic drugs.

The rep really impressed me when she started talking about what she was going to do to me. It was going to be getting shots with some fillers in my cheeks and around my mouth.

Oh hell’s bells….the goats are back. That has nothing to do with this post but they scared the crap out of me. Two of them were up on my window sill. I don’t even know how they could stand on it. Here’s pictures……

This is just a few of them. There are about a dozen right outside my window where I am typing.

Sorry….I told y’all that my ADD is in full gear today. The goat thing was like a “looky, a chicken” distraction. Some days are like that from the time I get up until the time I go to bed. My mind is all over the place.

On with the show……..the derma rep and the derma doc (and onlookers) stood back from me and would tell me to move my chin up, or down, move my head slightly to the left or right, smile or frown. Then the rep took a pink marker and began marking areas of my face that she thought the filler would do the most good. The fun started…….needles shot in various areas of my face. Two needles in the cheek areas. Then, there was a debate about where to put more filler. I personally wanted filler between my eyes to fill in the furrow that I had developed over the years frowning at my kids. I ,also, tend to furrow my brows when I am thinking intently. I’ve tried to break the habit and gone so far as to put tape on the furrow to alert me when I was doing it. Of course, that didn’t work. It just left sticky tape marks that I had to scrub away. Tanya had already shot some botox in that area a few weeks before this. My next area that I wanted filled was around my mouth….you kow those mannequin folds/lines that we developed over time. The doc and rep agreed that the lines were perfect candidates for filling. So, Tanya shot that area about 4 times on each side.

The results were immediate and surprising. I had a picture taken the first time that I was there for my “before” pic. Then they took a new pic and compared them. WOW! I could really see a difference. I only wish that I had asked them to take 2 of each pic so that I could have them to post here.

After 2 hours, I was finished. It wasn’t 2 hours of shots.There was lots of conversation, too. Afterall, this was a training session.

Tanya told me to be sure and keep ice packs on the swollen areas until they went down. However, I had to stop by WalMart to get a few groceries since our family reunion is today and I had nothing to take. In hindsight, I know that I should have gone home and put ice packs on and gone later to the grocery store. It may have prevented me from looking like Alvin the Chipmunk.

This time, the rep showed Tanya a different way to do my chin so I didn’t have the Leno look. But, apparently, she thought that I needed more cheeks because when I looked in the mirror, I had that lovely cheeks-full-of-chewing-tobacco look. I felt like singing the Chipmunk song about Christmas.

I know that the swelling will go down. However, it has been 24 hours and it doesn’t show any sign of going down yet. And, today is our family reunion day! And, TPSkipper is, also, going to be singing at the Summersville Grape Festival/Kirkwood Wine Festival. The festival is a pretty big shin-dig. Lots of people come to stomp around in the grapes. There are bins of grapes set out that anyone can stomp if they want. I think that I am going to give it a try.

Anyway, I am hoping that the chipmunk look will go away at least a little bit before I have to leave for the reunion and the grape festival.

When I was little, I had round plump cheeks. My mom said that when I was a baby, she took me to the doctor for something (don’t remember what) and the doc mistakenly thought that I had the mumps because my cheeks were so fat……kinda like this baby….

So, now I’m off to go get ready. I’m hoping that I can do some make-up magic. If not, I need to be thinking of a reasonable explanation for these huge jowls. I welcome any suggestions about how to explain my Alvin look.

It’s time for something a little less serious…

My first post regarding the upcoming fall movie season was published 2 weeks ago and you can check that out here. This post will cover the months of November and December, both of which generally include the expected Oscar fodder. This is my take on several of the soon-to-be-released films from reading their synopses on IMDB without actually having seen any of them. Enjoy.

A Christmas Carol (Release Date: Nov. 6)
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Starring: Jim Carrey, Gary Oldman, Colin Firth
Synopsis: An animated retelling of the Charles Dickens novel about Ebenezer Scrooge (Carrey), a Victorian-era miser who is taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
My Take: Really? We need another take on a Christmas Carol? This one directed by the guy who gave us Beowulf? No thanks.
Verdict: May see on DVD next X-mas.

The Box (Release Date: Nov. 6)
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Cameron Diaz, James Marsden, Frank Langella
Synopsis: A young couple is gifted with a mysterious box that promises them a handsome windfall with deadly consequences.
My Take: Kelly is the man responsible the brilliantly weird Donnie Darko, so I am definitely interested in this one.
Verdict: Will see on DVD.

2012 (Release Date: Nov. 13)
Director: Roland Emmerich
Starring: John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Woody Harrelson, Amanda Peet
Synopsis: An academic researcher leads a group of people in a fight to counteract the apocalyptic events that were predicted by the ancient Mayan calendar.
My Take: Emmerich is responsible for some of the worst popular movies in recent times (Independence Day, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow) and I’m sure this one will make tons of money despite the fact that it sucks.
Verdict: No thanks. If there were any justice, the world would end before this is inflicted on us.

Fantastic Mr. Fox (Release Date: Nov. 13)
Director: Wes Anderson
Starring: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Bill Murray, Owen Wilson
Synopsis: Angry farmers, tired of sharing their chickens with a sly fox, look to get rid of their opponent and his family.
My Take: Awesome. Wes Anderson (Rushmore, The Royal Tenenbaums) is one of my favorite filmmakers working today, so I am very excited to see his take on Ronald Dahl’s (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, James and the Giant Peach) classic book.
Verdict: A definite must-see.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Release Date: Nov. 20)
Director: Chris Weitz
Starring: Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner
Synopsis: When Bella’s blood is shed at her birthday celebration, Edward’s intense reaction to the event causes his parents to pull up stakes and leave Forks, Washington for the sake of the young lovers. Heartbroken, Bella finds a form of comfort in reckless living, as well as an even-closer friendship with Jacob Black (Lautner). Danger in different forms awaits.
My Take: Good Lord, please make it stop.
Verdict: No.

Nine (Release Date: Nov. 27)
Director: Rob Marshall
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Marion Cotillard, Penelope Cruz
Synopsis: Not to be confused with 9, in this movie famous film director Guido Contini (Day-Lewis) struggles to find harmony in his professional and personal lives, as he engages in dramatic relationships with his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent, and his mother.
My Take: Truth be told, musicals just aren’t my thing. I’m sure that this will be Oscar bait and I’m sure I’ll eventually see it, but its nothing too exciting.
Verdict: Someday on DVD.

Ninja Assassin (Release Date: Nov. 27)
Director: James McTeigue
Starring: Rain, Rick Yune, Naomie Harris
Synopsis: Raizo (Rain) is a rogue ninja who comes to the aid of Mika Coretti (Harris), a Berlin-based Interpol agent who has linked the shadowy Ozunu Clan, a secret society of assassins who trained Raizo, to a series of murders. Most dangerous to them both is Takeshi (Yune), Raizo’s former ally and the assassin leading the charge of Ozunu killers to Berlin.
My Take: Ninjas + the guy that directed V for Vendetta = awesome. Also, Ninja Assassin is the best title since Snakes on a Plane.
Verdict: Will probably watch on DVD.

Brothers (Release Date: Dec. 4)
Director: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire
Synopsis: A young man comforts his older brother’s wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan.
My Take: More Oscar bait, this time from the guy who directed (of all things) Get Rich or Die Tryin’. I can already see glowing reviews.
Verdict: Will probably watch on DVD eventually.

Invictus (Release Date: Dec. 11)
Director: Clint Eastwood
Starring: Morgan Freeman, Matt Damon
Synopsis: A look at life of Nelson Mandela (Freeman) after the fall of apartheid in South Africa during his first term as president when campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event as an opportunity to unite his countrymen.
My Take: Clint Eastwood, director – that’s all I need to know. I feel assured that this will be one of the, if not the, best movies of the year.
Verdict: Will definitely watch.

The Lovely Bones (Release Date: Dec. 11)
Director: Peter Jackson
Starring: Rachel Weisz, Mark Wahlberg
Synopsis: Young Susie watches over her family from “the in-between” as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder.
My Take: I haven’t read the book, but my guess is that this is probably not the feel-good movie of the year. Hopefully this will allow Jackson to come back strong after his abysmal remake of King Kong.
Verdict: May watch on DVD, depending on the reviews.

Avatar (Release Date: Dec. 18)
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez
Synopsis: A band of humans are pitted in a battle against a distant planet’s indigenous population.
My Take: Cameron (Terminator I & II, Aliens, Titanic) has never been one to skimp on special effects, so I expect this one to at least look really, really cool.
Verdict: Made to see in a theater and, depending on the reviews, may actually see it in a theater.

Sherlock Holmes (Release Date: Dec. 25)
Director: Guy Ritchie
Starring: Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law, Rachel McAdams
Synopsis: Detective Sherlock Holmes (Downey Jr.) and his stalwart partner Watson (Law) engage in a battle of wits and brawn with a nemesis whose plot is a threat to all of England.
My Take: This film, from the director of Snatch, may be one of the coolest ones of the year, especially with Downey Jr. involved.
Verdict: A must-see.

Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel (Release Date: December 25)
Director: Betty Thomas
Starring: Jason Lee, Zachary Levi, Drew Barrymore
Synopsis: This sequel to the 2007 hit somehow pits singing chipmunks Alvin, Simon, and Theodore against their female counterparts: Brittany, Jeanette and Eleanor — aka the Chipettes.
My Take: No matter how much I try to avoid it, my kids will make sure we don’t miss this one. Sigh.
Verdict: No way around it, I’m sure it will be a theater trip…

What about you? What are you looking forward to seeing?

by: christow

The Gorillaz.

They were always a band I had “heard” of with a song that I “know“. But I finally gave them a thorough listen and it was well worth it. Songs on the rotation:

19 2000 (Remix)

Dirty Harry

Hong Kong

The Gorillaz are well known for being a virtual band. The other notorious virtual band…Alvin and the Chipmunks

Apparently the streaming of music is down. I’ll be working on that the next few days, otherwise enjoy the music and spread the love.

New DVD’s that will be added to our shelves on Tuesday Setpember 8th.

Fast and Furious
Dragonball Evolution
Miss March
An American Affair
Angel of Death
Bart Got a Room
Green Lantern
Fifth Commandment
Juncture
Necessary Evil
• Crank 2: High Voltage
• Dance Flick
• Surveillance
• Informers
• Valentino: The Last Emperior
• Bedknobs and Broomsticks
• Butcher
• Chaos Experiment
• Gifted Hands: Ben Car
• Golden Boys
• Local Color
• Nail
• Recon 2023
• Sea Beast
• Goosebumps: Attach of the Jack-O-Lantern
• Goosebumps: Headless Ghost
• Alvin and the Chipmunks: Start Wreck
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Adventure
• Scooby-Doo: Mystery Begins
• Criminal Minds, Season 4
• Finge, Season 1
• Office, Season 5

For more information on these movies such as ratings, synopsis, reviews, and video trailers click on the movie title above. This will open the NewThisWeek.ca website.

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David Cross may not be for everyone – especially morning radio dj’s – but he is one of the most relevant comics of his generation.

And his name recognition has gone up considerably since the days of the brutally funny (and sadly underwatched) “Mr. Show with Bob and David”.

The Georgia native has penned his first book, “I Drink for a Reason”, and as part of the publicity for this week’s release, Cross sat down for a great interview with The Onion’s A.V. Club.

David Cross

Check it out – not much to report on the state of the Arrested Development movie (other than the fact that Cross and the members of the cast of the defunct television show remain committed) but good insight into where Cross’s head is at otherwise.

And, sorry David, nobody’s really buying the excuses for that big paycheck from Alvin and The Chipmunks.

Here is a look at a computer generated smurf from the Smurfs movie due to be released in 2010. According to News In Film, where the poster image came from, the storyline is rumored to be about a young girl who recieves a doll that turns out to be a smurf.

I don’t think a reference to the famous Scarface line is really necessary. It’s not even funny. “Say Hello To Our Little Friend?” That’s about the least imaginitive thing that could be written.

The Smurfs is rumored to have John Lithgow lending his voice to the movie. I’m sorry but this just looks lame. I’m going to give it a low “one” on the Potential Meter. The rating might go up if a decent trailer comes out. But at this point, I’m guessing this is just going to be a lame kids movie a la Alvin and the Chipmunks.