The purists are up in arms, but I'm entirely intrigued. It looks as though RDJ and Jude Law have excellent chemistry in the film, and the Holmes/Watson relationship has always been one of the most fascinating aspects of the Sherlock Holmes stories I've read. (I do mean to finish up reading the rest of them one of these days. Note to self.) The only thing I'm sort of cringing about is the fact that the trailer seems to imply a possible Holmes/Irene Adler romance, which: no. That said, Rachel McAdams is fabulous, and I expect that her turn at playing the woman will be commendable.

In a rather round-about way, as is often the case, today I discovered and was enchanted by The Decemberists' The Crane Wife. Where I was in 2006 when the album was released is a puzzlement. Reading that "The Island" is based on The Tempest was enough to send me into geek overdrive. I was unfamiliar with the Crane Wife folktale, but it sounds so so sorrowful pretty, and evidently there is a children's book version, which I absolutely must obtain for Abi and Sebastian's library. (And, as a book obsession side note, I was also checking out this particular A Child's Christmas in Wales the other day. I tell you: my children will have love, food, sunshine, music, and books.)

Today was morning at mom's, a haircut, some brief but overdue visits, a cooing conversation with Sebastian, a dance with Abi, 40 laps in the gym pool. Does music sound better in the car, or do experiences vary with destination/passengers/traffic/the fuel gauge?

Now, bed.

Two episodes into How I Met Your Mother, I remain undecided as to whether or not my love for Neil Patrick Harris and Jason Segel can overcome my dislike of laugh tracks and irritating main characters.

I received compliments on my front crawl technique at the gym the other night, and I was so proud. I'd like to thank my dad, YouTube, and Michael Phelps. Also, Bikini Village for the extremely hydro-dynamic swimsuit, Speedo for the goggles.

It's possible I've read the pairing/dance style spoilers for tonight's So You Think You Can Dance. Disappointing. Of course, Evan will never be paired with my favourite female dancer, i.e. Allie from SYTYCD Canada season one, so, you know, what are you going to do. Speaking of, though, why do I not remember Allie & Nico dancing a contemporary routine? I waited the whole damn season for those two to be paired up. Good heavens, so much flipping Pretty.

I really wish I had something better to say after a week of not posting. I need to find some time to start reading again.

ontd_startrek, or, more specifically, the comments in this post just told me that ( possible spoilers for season four(?) of Prison Break )

srsly Jack icon because I nuked all my PB icons when I gave up watching the show.

From giventofly37:

This is not meant to be a 'trite' list. It's not meant to be a substitute for your favorite movies or books or fandoms. It can combine all of those things, if you truly -love- them, but the list is meant to be created with substance. It should involve not only the things that you love now, but the things you've loved since childhood, the things that have endeared themselves to you throughout your life. Things that provide structure for who you are. Try to make them as personal and relevant as possible. Really, this is the only rule.

( raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, not so much )

I watched Rescue Dawn with Scott the other night, and, oh man, I just wanted to feed nearly everyone in that damn movie. Jeremy Davies' stomach, OMG :O. Oddly, I found myself laughing at moments I am not entirely sure were meant to be humorous. I think it was more of a reaction to the uncomfortable and serious nature of the subject matter more than anything else. Also, I love Jeremy Davies, but I felt that his portrayal of Eugene was strikingly similar to his portrayal of Charles Manson. Of course, I'm not an actor, so maybe there were some subtle nuances I wasn't catching. As for Steve Zahn, I usually think of him as more of a comedic actor, but he really held his own next to Christian Bale. Huh. P.S. - I swear I see François Chau in everything now.

I can't decide if this movie looks like it will be decent or moronic: Funny People. I do love me some Jason Schwartzman. Bonus points for use of that particular Ringo Starr song in the trailer.

The other day I discovered the add $50,000 to household funds at any time cheat code for Sims 3, and let us just say that my ever-expanding Sims family has moved on up since. Of course, I moved them twice over the course of three Sim days (the first time to a medium-sized house because I didn't know you could cheat more than once), so their schedules are all messed up, and they're exhausted. This brings me to my theory: if all real life people were like Sims, nothing would ever be accomplished. The Sims are constantly tired, hungry, or they need to go to the washroom. Have a cup of coffee, man! You're wasting your life away! Fortunately, I increased their lifespan to epic, which gives them more time to achieve their personal lifetime goals. Actually, I may disable the aging feature once the Sim kids get a little older - I don't think I can bear to watch my Sims die. I've also been considering dialling down their free will. I sent them to the park, but all they did was mull about like lost souls and whine about toilets. So much for family togetherness. Mind you, I probably should have told them to pack a picnic lunch first before setting out, but whatever. It's unfortunate that common sense isn't a trait you can give your Sims. It's like, no, lady, you can't just put your toddler down on the grass and walk off to read a book somewhere. And then I was prompted to call a babysitter when the Sims were moving to their new home. Um, how about you bring the baby with you? WTF.

But, they're all right. You know.

Remember how I said that Windsor's sanitation workers are on strike? Okay, well, they've been out for two months, and the garbage is really starting to pile up. We ended up taking some of ours out to a pay-to-dump place a few weeks ago, because we were running out of room in our garage. Also? It smells like a goddamn landfill. Someone in our neighbourhood has a big pile of trash out in front of their house with a sign stuck in it that reads: "ARBITRATION MAKES THIS GO AWAY".

Last night I was driving home from the gym, and what did I see scurry across my street but what I am pretty damn sure was an honest-to-God, long creepy tail and all, RAT. I almost hit it actually, but I stopped in time. The creature paused upon noticing my headlights and turned to stare at me with its beady little rodent eyes before running up some poor soul's driveway.

I mean, I suppose there is a small chance it was not a rat but a neighbour's fugitive hamster or guinea pig, but, um, I'm about 99.9% sure it was a rat.

If that thing shows up in our backyard, we may need to move.

"That'd be funny if you were a drummer, and you grabbed two magical wands instead of drumsticks. You're pounding out the beat, '1-2-3-4 oh shit, my bass player's now a can of soup! Sorry, Rick.. I mean, Cream of Mushroom!'" (Mitch Hedberg, Do You Believe in Gosh?)

Do You Believe in Gosh? I just got this yesterday. I guess it's material from some shows Mitch Hedberg did in Ontario in early 2005. A few of the jokes I'd heard before, but most of it is previously unrecorded new material, and it is SO. GOOD. Oh, Mitch. ♥

Howl. A film is being made about the obscenity trials that followed the publication of Allen Ginsberg's poem Howl, aptly titled Howl and starring James Franco as Allen Ginsberg. I have mentioned this before, yes? Sorry, I am just REALLY excited. I have for some time been deeply in love with Ginsberg's words. From my limited experience with Kerouac, the Ginsberg characters have some of the best, funniest lines - Carlo Marx, Alvah Goldbook. Ginsberg said things like, "Find your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness". And I absolutely cannot wait to see how Franco plays him.


Aaron Tveit & James Franco as Peter Orlovsky & Allen Ginsberg
(as compared to the actual dudes)

Tristan and Isolde. Not particularly good. It wasn't horrible, but I wasn't moved. Flaws: Franco's accent (oh but he's pretty), uninteresting female lead. Bonus: Henry Cavill plays an overly ambitious asshole. Why does that sound familiar? There was an unfortunate distinct dearth of ho-yay! between his character and Tristan that would have improved the movie greatly.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona. Made me want to go to Barcelona, but for the architecture, not the Javier Bardems. That is all.

Freaks and Geeks. I'm on episode ten, and you guys were SO right - naturally. It is superb. Bill is hilarious -("Okay, but I'm watching Dallas while I'm there!"), and I want to do a "Many Faces of Daniel Desario" picspam just because James Franco is aces - ("But I love sprinkles", "I like that dress", "Hey, Linds! Don't! Please *prayer hands*", "Be cool", etc.). Thing is, I think that now I'm going to want the series for myself on DVD, but it's 50 dollars on Amazon wtf.

Abi. I took Abi in for her 18-month vaccinations today, and she was bawling even before we stepped into the exam room. The nurse asked her to step on the scale, but, as Abi is extremely cautious around people she doesn't know very well, I had to help her up onto it. She was not feeling the scale today, or anything else doctor-related. The nurse asked me how many words Abi is saying, and I said about 20, but I wasn't entirely sure about that number, so I thought I'd list them and see. ( Abi's vocabulary )

Paul Maurice. Maurice to return as Hurricane's coach. I miss hockey.

ETA: I had a Sawyer/Juliet dream the other night. Wish I could remember more about it beyond that.

Scott and I watched Religulous the other night, and, as much as I believe Bill Maher to be a giant dick - (case in point: he onced likened public breastfeeding to public masturbation) - most of the assessments he makes in the film are, in my opinion, spot on.

Religion is dangerous because it allows human beings who don't have all the answers to think that they do. Most people would think it's wonderful when someone says, "I'm willing, Lord! I'll do whatever you want me to do!" Except that since there are no gods actually talking to us, that void is filled in by people with their own corruptions and limitations and agendas. And anyone who tells you they know, they just know what happens when you die, I promise you, you don't. How can I be so sure? Because I don't know, and you do not possess mental powers that I do not. The only appropriate attitude for man to have about the big questions is not the arrogant certitude that is the hallmark of religion, but doubt. Doubt is humble, and that's what man needs to be, considering that human history is just a litany of getting shit dead wrong.

I caught the pilot on YouTube. Actually, I caught 4/5ths of the pilot on YouTube, and the audio track has been ripped from the last fifth for violation of copyright. This is kind of silly, if you ask me. I mean, what if someone is really excellent at lip-reading? Anyhow, any fellow f-listers fans of the show? Are the other 17(?) episodes worth checking out?

Some observations:

* Linda Cardellini reminds me a lot of Jennifer Connelly circa Labyrinth.

* Jason Segel's character has some great lines. "Hey, I believe in God, man. I've seen him, I've felt his power! He plays drums for Led Zeppelin, and his name is John Bonham, baby!" - can't be too far from the truth. And his advice to Lindsay about how she just needs to find her big gigantic drum kit is quite sage, quite sage indeed.

* I do struggle a little with the main character, Lindsay. I've never been able to identify with the female character who is ashamed of being intelligent. Certainly my teenage years were filled with awkward moments I'd love to forget, but I cared about learning and doing well academically and was never concerned about whether or not that made me a "geek". (All that being said, I do regret this one time when a teacher asked me to offer tips on how to study for the quizzes I always aced, and I mentioned - in response to another girl's comment about how prep. for a calculus test had prevented her from studying for the business administration quiz - that I'd had to study for the same calculus test as well. In retrospect, a wiser, less obnoxious route would have involved me declining to offer any tips.) The braces, my wider-than-most nose, my general nervous introverted personality, my eating disorder - all these provided much greater contributions to my teenage angst.

* James Franco's freaking smile, you guys. I'm not kidding you: it could end wars.

I fully intend to reply to comments later tonight or tomorrow, I swear, but there are a few things I want to mention right now.

Pineapple Express has forced me to revise my opinion of Seth Rogen. I was not feeling Superbad, I have to say. I'm not so much a penis/gross-out humour kind of girl. Apparently, however, I'm all about the stoner humour, because I laughed for DAYS. Know what else I'm all about? Get ready for it.. James Franco. And this? Really freaking cute. I also read that Rogen wrote for Da Ali G Show, which - respect.

( So You Think You Can Dance )

Don't go expecting full sentences or anything wacky like that.

* Milk. An extremely well-done, beautifully shot and assembled film. It's upsetting, of course, because, in addition to being such a driving force behind the gay rights movement, Harvey Milk seemed like just a genuinely nice guy. (Yes, you can be an activist, support a good cause, and still be an asshole.) Sean Penn probably deserved the Oscar, even though his winning caused me to lose the pool. This movie made me fall in love with James Franco and Emile Hirsch, and gosh, Alison Pill is adorable.

* The Boondock Saints. Disappointing. The high point for me had to be Willem Dafoe in drag.

* No no seriously. James Franco, you guys. I have such a thing for guys with practically ungovernable curly hair. He's going to play Ginsberg! If I were speaking this post right now instead of typing it, I would look like Kristen Bell does in my icon, only WAY less hot.

* I have been in a baking mood lately, which figures since we're slowly getting into the it's too damn hot to bake weather here, and anyway I'll only be able to have approximately a millimetre of anything I make. MOODS, YOU ARE ILLOGICAL. Observe, things I want to make: strawberries & cream banana bread, lemon cheesecake squares. Also on the domestic front, possibly I will sew Abi a Hello Kitty pillow/sham.

* I tweeted about this already, but everyone and their grandmas should know. The Beatles Rock Band. So shiny! Apparently you can buy the matching instrument kit with John's Rickenbacker and Paul's Höfner bass and all that, but I imagine it costs a fortune. I hope the regular old RB instruments are compatible.

* Meme. Comment, and I'll ask you five questions. _findlay asked me these. ( still looking for my witty cut text )

* The other day Nathan Fillion was asking fellow tweeters what is not to miss in London-town, and I was too shy to half-jokingly suggest the Tower. (For me it would be the first stop after the hotel, or maybe I'd just ask to spend the night. I want to chill with the ghost of Anne Boleyn.)

Sebi is having a bad dream. Poor boy. :(

This entry is going to have an eff-ton of tags.

P.S. - I have lost eight pounds over the past month. Go me.

Allow me to preface the following anecdote by saying,
(1) I really HATE birds.
(2) I live by one of the city's major highways, on the other side of which lies a great expanse of field and bush, and our backyard has a considerable tree population. Thus, we see our share of wildlife around these parts - predators and prey. I once returned from a walk only to catch a hawk munching on some poor feathered victim in my driveway.

I took the kids outside this morning so that Abi could run wild, and run wild she did, right in the direction of a small bird that was sitting in our yard. When I noticed that the bird didn't book it at the sound of approaching tiny footsteps, I redirected my curious animal-loving daughter. The bird continued to feebly (and disturbingly) hop around the same general area, never flying or making any sound. In the afternoon I went out to check and see if it was still there, and it was, you know, physically present, while its birdy spirit had shuffled off this mortal coil. Scott has since disposed of the corpse.

Certainly there are many perfectly boring things that could have killed the bird, but of course what came to my mind initially were the most horrifying options. Fortunately, avian influenza affects mainly waterfowl, or so I've read, and West Nile supposedly favours crows? All I know is this: Poe didn't call it "The Raven" for nothing. Birds are really and truly creepy as all hell.

CUPE Striker Dumps Bag of Garbage in Front of Child. I do question the impulse to whip out one's cell phone and start taking video when presumably hostile individuals are approaching one's child/grandchild, but still: GROSS. I fail to see how behaving in such a rude and juvenile manner will garner any public support.

1992 Jeremy Davies Subaru commercial. OMG how cute is he, and can I keep him?

Also, he apparently had a one and a half minute role on Melrose Place? Jeremy Davies and his hair, ladies and gentlemen.

Somewhere along the line I decided that this would be a post of random YouTube links. (The) Sweet were awesome. Fox on the Run. Little Willy. I'll tell you what though, those are some sad dancers in the second video. I dance with more life in the shower.

( body image talk )

Oh, Carolina.

CQ is not a particularly stellar film; however, it does have a certain quirk about it, an almost Wes Anderson-ian charm.

The Five Best Things About CQ

( I wish that cats could talk. )

sad news
France suffered a late snow
the blooms break through the ice
in San Francisco,
a guitar man finally confessed
he loved that actress
with hearts touched by frost
we fought in the land of a midnight sun
I lost myself
I lost myself
(Tori Amos, "500 Miles")

I don't know if those lyrics are 100% correct, but I really really love that part of the song.

The 'Canes now have to win four games in a row to proceed to the Stanley Cup final. This is me, crestfallen.

It may be only anxiety related to Scott's return to work this week, but I am just not feeling right today.

Malkin's monster night tames Hurricanes. I hate getting my hopes up about hockey - I am a Leafs fan, after all - but I SO BADLY want for the Hurricanes to win this series. Detroit/Carolina in the finals, come on now, man. (The husband is a Wings fan, bless his heart.)

New most favourite LJ communities of all time:

- vm_redux A mass re-watch of Veronica Mars - all three seasons, I'm assuming.

- herbitchwhore Summer Glau fan community whose members are prone to capslock and profanity. My kind of town. Also? Cutest GIF EVER. Original source: T:SCC - The Story So Far. Thomas + Summer = ♥ I tell you. This is the part where I want to throw a tantrum over the third season that never will be, but refrain because I am, you know, a mature adult or some shit.

- ontd_lost A crack-tacular way to pass the hiatus.

On an unrelated to LJ or the hockey world note, I picked up a copy of I Met the Walrus at Chapters today. Pretty damn excited about it, am I.

Naturally, the fandom for my beloved small-time ho-yay!-friendly Canadian show is all but non-existent. ReGenesis. Good God, I have such a thing for Conrad Pla. It bums me out, though, that his character just can't catch a break when it comes to love. Hot Latin dude gets shot by a rebel leader, cute sparring partner is mauled by a bear, artfully dishevelled sarcastic boss is straight as a ruler..

Still love Bob to pieces. Oh, Bob.

Nobody knows what I'm talking about.

By the way, I'm not using my brand new Richard icon for any particular reason except: PRETTY.

Has a legitimate source confirmed the whole Kirk Acevedo fired from Fringe thing yet? I just don't entirely trust the Internets. Like, is that even really his Facebook? And if so, he should get a Twitter too. When I am king, Kirk Acevedo will have a Twitter. Also, James Duthie. Basically every person I find fascinating, witty, or wise - or all three at once. MANDATED TWITTERS FOR ALL. Um, anyway, I ♥ Charlie and will be a sad sad Kim if KA has indeed been fired from the show.

So You Think You Can Dance season premiere tonight. How stoked am I? Break out the marshmallows.