Jane Eyre.

I just finished watching parts one and two of the new Jane Eyre miniseries (yea for DVR), and it is fabulous.

I love the woman playing Jane (Ruth Wilson); she's not too pretty, not too plain. I love her expressions.

I can't wait until the rest next Sunday, because obviously that's the best part with all of the drama and etc.

I think this adaptation is the best Jane Eyre I've seen--but then, they have a lot more time to work with! I was smiling like a fool during the scene where Jane tells Rochester she has to leave for two weeks, and they argue over the money and Jane is smiling and eeeee!

Ugh. I made the mistake of reading some of the message boards on imdb.com about the movie. I should have known better, though, because every discussion, about any movie or TV show, dissolves into how horrible American movies/actors/people etc., etc., etc. are. I just want to read about a movie. Thanks.

Now someone needs to make a great version of Wuthering Heights (my favorite novel of all time). I love the one with Laurence Olivier, but it's not really Wuthering Heights. The other versions aren't worth mentioning.

iMusic.

So I have fallen in love with a new artist/duo/band/whatever: Rilo Kiley. I've had their album So Adventurous for a while now, but I've mostly just listened to it peripherally, in the background, like. Lately, though, I've been paying more attention, and it's fabulous. Yesterday I got their album The Execution of all Things, and it's just as good. I can't describe their sound. It's a bit different. It's mostly a woman singer. What's hilarious is that the two people in the band were childhood actors! One was in Salute Your Shorts. Remember that show?

Um. My Safari crashed and the entry saved, but I can't remember what else I wanted to say about Rilo Kiley. Just that you should listen to them.

"I do this thing where I think I'm real sick
But I won't go to the doctor to find out about it
Cause they make you stay real still in a real small space
As they chart up your insides and put them on display.
They'd see all of it, all of me, all of it.

All the good that won't come out of me
And all the stupid lies I hide behind.
It's such a big mistake
Lying here in your warm embrace."

--"The Good That Won't Come Out," Rilo Kiley

A lot of music reviewers chose The Decemberists' The Crane Wife as album of the year. I listened to it twice the other day. I don't dislike it, but I don't hear anything special in it, either. So okayyyyy...

#2

The Constant Gardener by John le Carré

I finished The Constant Gardener last week. I wanted to read it because the movie was my favorite movie of 2006. It's an incredibly moving and beautiful story. And romantic! I love how it's a mystery with intrigue and fighting corruption and it's political and suspenseful, but that at it's heart, it's a love story. I don't know if I want to spoil it for anyone! But I just love it. I love the way Justin changes in the story. I love that he loved Tessa so much to do so.

The novel is fabulous, too, but I still prefer the movie, probably because I saw it first. I think the novel isn't as good as the movie because the movie isn't as dense as the novel. Also the novel focuses entirely on Justin's point-of-view, unlike the novel, and so I think that point is in the movie's favor, too, because his mission is the one you care about.

The novel's ending felt a bit anti-climatic to me, at first. Now I'm getting over it, though. The movie's ending is essentially the same, but the order is switched around, and so you get a bit more satisfaction. But, like I said, I'm getting over that feeling. I think the ending of the novel is growing on me.

"I read the body count out of the paper..."

"...and now it's written all over my face."

Honestly, I am amazed and grudgingly impressed at how well Bush's machine spins the truth, even in the face of ever dwindling approval ratings.

Some portion of America must continue to hang in there.

The latest spin is Condoleeza Rice's spew of "liberals are anti-feminist" (paraphrased, I'm sure).

During Rice's recent testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Barbara Boxer drew attention to the issue that the president, his administration, Congress--even Boxer herself!--have no real sacrifice or investment in the war in Iraq, no family to lose.

Rice (with Karl Rove's help, obviously) thusly accuses Boxer of being an anti-feminist and attacking Rice for being a single, childless woman!

What claptrap. I am amazed that some people are buying into this interpretation, such as Elisabitch on the View, who speaks for all sad, brainwashed conservative women. I hope she is firmly in the minority.

I wouldn't know it, though, from reading some accounts by the media! What "liberal media"? All of the major networks are owned by conservative corporations! See how talented they are?

I'm going to believe that people have greater comprehension skills of a three-year-old, because it would cause me serious pains otherwise.

Why? Because below is Boxer's actual quote:

“Who pays the price? I’m not going to pay a personal price. My kids are too old and my grandchild is too young. You’re not going to pay a particular price, as I understand it, with an immediate family. So who pays the price? The American military and their families. And I just want to bring us back to that fact.”

Did she belittle Rice for being a single-woman? Not in the way Rice means. She's calling out all of the people who expect families to fight a war they created, all of the people who are using regular citizens as mere pawns on their chessboard.

And Rice knows exactly what Boxer meant, so she can shove her mock outrage and indignation.

And shut up about how Rice can "empathize." Fuck your empathy. Empathy is not the same damn thing as seeing your sister or son or cousin come home in a body-bag. Jackass.

P.S., If anyone wants to see actual examples of "anti-feminism" from a woman, look no further than Laura Bush, who said Rice would never run for president because she has no family to support her.

Exact quote:

"Dr. Rice, who I think would be a really good candidate (for President), is not interested. Probably because she is single, her parents are no longer living, she's an only child. You need a very supportive family and supportive friends to have this job."

iMusic.

Now that I'm back to using my iMac (I using my brother's Dell while he was home for the Internet), my music is being tracked by Last.fm again. So if you want to know what I'm listening to always...



My computer is being v. slow today. The little busy rainbow-circle keeps spinning and spinning and I can't do anything. Hateful.

Bitter Blood-Fued.

I'm rather proud of myself. Both yesterday and today I work-out with Pilates for 40 minutes. Woohoo. I love my Pilates ball. Seriously, one of the moves is just bouncing on it. How fun is that?

I wish I didn't have to work on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, as the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame has free admission tomorrow. I still want to view the Clash exhibit.

Two of my cats, The Brat and Mello Yello, are engaged in a bitter blood-fued. They are both males, so they've never been best friends, but they've always at least tolerated each other. Lately, though...

I first noticed it on New Year's. I went to let The Brat outside (he's an indoor/outdoor cat; the others are strictly outdoor), and when I opened the door, he saw Mello Yello sitting on the porch. The Brat started growling when he saw Mello! I was, like, okay, tough, Brat, you have to go outside, and had to give him a little shove to get outside! Usually he runs outside to his food pan once the door is open.

And so this little behavior has continued, with the Brat freaking out if I open the door and he sees Mello Yello waiting--even if The Brat is a couple of feet away from the door. I think it's entirely one-sided, though, because Mello Yello doesn't seem to care what The Brat does (although, he did give him a swat after one of The Brat's "I'm refusing to go outside" episodes, because it is annoying).

And now I notice that The Brat is more eager to come inside, too. If I open the door, he tries rushing in and I have to open the door just a crack to grab him quick to wipe his paws. Usually, I have to call and call and cajole him to get him to come inside.

So today the cats got some really nice leftovers for dinner. I opened the door to let The Brat out, and he was being his slow self, so I picked him up and put him outside, but he just tried to run back in, and I tried to push him back out, but he was acting so pathetic and weird and I was, like, okayyyyy, because Mello Yello wasn't even on the porch and it was food time, and The Brat is a freak for food. So I let him come back inside.

But then ten minutes later, I figure the others are done eating so maybe The Brat would like a turn, so I carry him to the door, and before I even open it, he starts hissing and growling! So I fed him regular cat food inside instead. Now he's sleeping on my bed. I told him he has to go out eventually, because he doesn't have an indoor litterpan.

I don't know what his problem is with Mello Yello. Mello Yello is just a big 'ole softie. Well...not really. He's been in quite a few scraps, protecting the homestead. But he wouldn't hurt The Brat, much.

Books Read, 2007.

For my own edification, a listing of all of the books I've read in 2007. Hopefully updated regularly!

# = recommended

Fiction

The Pact: True Love Story by Jodi Picoult (discussed here)
The Time Traveler's Wife by by Audrey Niffenegger (discussed here)
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (discussed here)
# The Constant Gardener by John le Carré (discussed here)
The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom (discussed here)

Nonfiction

Girls Rock!: Fifty Years of Women Making Music by Mina Carson, Tisa Lewis, and Susan M. Shaw (discussed here)
The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town by John Grisham (discussed here)
Feminism is for Everybody: Passionate Politics by bell hooks (discussed here)
# BITCHfest: Ten Years of Cultural Criticism from the Pages of Bitch Magazine edited by Lisa Jervis and Andi Zeisler (discussed here)
The Worst Hard Time: The Untold Story of Those Who Survived the Great American Dust Bowl by Timothy Egan (discussed here)

#1

I joined the 50bookchallenge over at livejournal, a community that challenges you to read 50 books a year.

I've read one book so far this year: The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom.

Someone selected this book in my book club, and I didn't enjoy it that much. I don't like Albom's style of writing.

My book club meets tonight, so I'm curious to find out our next book!

1 / 50 (2.0%)

In 2006, I read 41 books!

Crackpot.

From imdb.com:

Jolie Loves Adopted Children Differently

Angelina Jolie insists she has different feelings towards each of her kids and feels especially close to her adopted children because they've already led such a hard life. The Oscar winner has two adopted children with Brad Pitt, Maddox and Zahara, as well as their biological daughter Shiloh, who was born in May. Jolie tells Elle magazine that she's more partial towards her adopted children, saying, "I think I feel so much more for Mad and Z because they're survivors, they came through so much. Shiloh seemed so privileged from the moment she was born. I have less inclination to feel for her... I met my other kids when they were six months old, they came with personality. A newborn really is this... yes, a blob! But now she's starting to have a personality... I'm conscious that I have to make sure I don't ignore her needs just because I think the others are more vulnerable."

Wow. She is beyond messed up.

Angelina Jolie is holding *her* privilege against an innocent baby? Yes, because it's a baby's fault that her parents are rich and famous. And she's so right, a *baby* is not in any way vulnerable. Thank you for educating me, Jolie. Here I thought babies had to rely on their parents to have any of their needs met.

God, I can't stand her. Why did anyone give that crackpot children?

I hope her daughter reads these little quotes when she's twelve years old and cuts off all ties with her mother, because it would just make her like-mother-like-daughter.

Oh, Buckeyes.

I am...devastated. When Ohio State couldn't convert the firstdown toward the end of the second quarter, I had tears in my eyes. When they fumbled the football inches away from the endzone and Florida recovered it and went on to a touchdown on the next play, I was full-blown crying. I watched until the end of the third quarter, but then I was done. My poor little heart couldn't take it anymore. Plus, I had work the next day.

The Ohio State Buckeyes are Ohio's only Hope; our only great sports team. And I think they still are: they did win the Championship in 2003, they did beat Michigan this year, and I don't think a great season should be negated by one (truly horrible to watch) game. It's sad that some people buy into this "culture of winning" and that second place is no longer good enough. That's called "fair-weather fans." So if anyone disses my Buckeyes, I'll smack you upside the head (metaphorically).

They are still the number one college football team in my eyes. As one of my favorite former professors said, "Yep, if they had played this game a week or two after the Michigan game, it's a different story."

Waiting 51 days to play a championship game? That's bullshit.

Now I'm back to watching my true sports love: basketball. Go Cavs and the Golden Flashes!

Gah. No.

Um. Why are the Florida Gators, who have no business even playing in the BCS Championship, currently leading the Ohio State Buckeyes, who are beyond awesome and had a beautiful 93-yard kick-off return touchdown on the first play of the game? I am so not happy right now.

This crap is what happens when a team is off for FIFTY-ONE DAYS: two personal penalties, two quarterback sacks and an INTERCEPTION. And counting. Troy Smith, I love you, but play like you’ve won a Heisman, which, oh, right, YOU HAVE.

It’s okay, boys, you’ll get them. I have faith. And you know why, because the Gators have gotten lucky. The first personal penalty and being WRONGLY given a first-down led to their first touchdown. The second personal penalty led to WRONGLY being given a touchdown. I think the officials must be BLIND to think that who-cares-what-his-name-is scored to put the Gators in the lead, because EVERYONE saw that he had both knees down.

I don’t know if my nerves can handle watching the rest of this game.

I don’t want it to be a “good game.” I want the Gators to be CRUSHED.

OH MY GOD. It is now 21-7. WTF is going on.

Okay. Now it’s 21-14. Better, better.

E.T.A. at half-time: I'm def. crying over a football game. Lame.

Go Buckeyes!

O - H - I - O !

iTune: The McCoys - "Hang on Sloopy"

The Change.

I've noticed that since I've graduated from college, I've put on more weight than I'd like. There's no convenient gym for me to visit at home, and I'm just not as active or motivated anymore. And since I'm already a chubby person to begin with...well. It's not a good thing. Even when I did go to the gym, it was still hard to lose weight because I was at college eating college food (but, really, I think I mostly ate healthy foods).

So...I've been feeling glum about my weight and looks and general lifestyle lately, so I made a v. impulsive purchase yesterday. I still can't believe it; I usually agonize over decisions. I was telling my mom to buy the Today's Special Value on QVC yesterday, which was a a month of the NutriSystem program. She said "Why don't you buy it." So I did. And I'm not going to say the price, but it was cheaper than the one advertised on TV, etc., because it was a) through QVC and b) the Today's Special Value. If I were living by myself and had to buy my own food, I think this offer of NutriSystem would be *cheaper* than buying a month of groceries.

So I should get the package sometime around Jan. 14. I don't think I get to pick my own food or anything, because it's a special package just for QVC-members. The program is three meals a day plus snacks plus sometimes desserts. I have weekends-off, meaning I get to eat whatever I want. So I'm going to try it for a month and see what happens.

Since I'm "dieting" (although I don't really think it's a "diet," because I'm not eating *less,* I'm just eating different foods; it's a "weight loss strategy" with foods that speed up your metabolism), I figure I should work-out more, too. My mom has a stationary bike plus one of those Gliders, so I will try using them more. Plus, I want to buy this Pilates kit at K-Mart, which is on sale. If I dropped only one pantsize, I would feel rejuvenated.

And no comments like "You look fine" or etc. to make me feel better when those comments would be a) untrue and b) irrelevant, because it's how I *feel* about myself more than what I actually look like.

I have a funny story about the Brat and his new friend (which no one would ever guess), but I'll save it for another post.