Aug 27, 2012 |
I woke up feeling sick this morning. I mean, really sick. I should have expected it: my dreams for the last few nights have been bizarre. I don’t mean creepy. I mean Willy Wonka meets Flashpoint in an Atlantis-setting kind of weird. Yeah. That kind of weird.
So as I’m sitting here trying to think up something profound to write for today’s post, I’m also inundated with horrible news stories from around the world. Tropical Storm (soon to be Hurricane) Isaac, a plethora of earthquakes, and of course all the political thrills going on.
The news reports and even my Facebook wall read more like something out of a movie. And that is what has inspired this post.
My Top Ten Disaster-Type Movies, in no particular order (except #1):
10. JAWS. Sure, it’s not a natural disaster in the Mother Nature sense, but what’s more natural than predator vs. prey?
9. VOLCANO. Tommy Lee Jones. The “It Can’t Really Happen Here” syndrome that makes you wonder… what if it did happen here?
8. SUM OF ALL FEARS. Sort of a cross between natural disaster and political thriller. With Ben Affleck. Any questions?
7. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. Either the original with Frank Sinatra or the remake with Liev Schrieber. Not a disaster movie, you say? Maybe… but it’s a great political thriller, so I think that qualifies.
6. KNOW1NG. Who doesn’t love Nicolas Cage, even when he’s rejecting what everyone else seems to know… until, that is, he has no choice but to believe.
5. 2012. John Cusack drives a limo and flies a plane, just to save his family from the end of the world. I call that a tad romantic. Or cheesy. You decide.
4. ARMAGEDDON. Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck (here he is again!) save the world, with a bunch of misfit oil-riggers and a little romance.
3. SIGNS. I guess this one really does fall under the “It Couldn’t Happen Here” category… or could it? Just because you haven’t seen it, doesn’t mean they’re not out there…
2. CONTAGION. Aside from one of favorite reasons being any FLASHPOINT actor (here, Enrico Colantoni), this movie really brings it to the table. Everything, that is, except the vaccine.
1. THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW. Sure. You keep making fun of those who speak of Global Warming
*Honorable Mention: THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE. While the remake with Kurt Russell and Josh Lucas is outstanding, nothing compares to the original with Gene Hackman and Ernest Borgnine. A rogue wave, survival of the fittest, and a plausible plotline. If anyone asks, this is why I’ve never taken a cruise.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 26, 2012 |
It’s been a while since I’ve done my five mindless minutes of writing, so here I am.
Dot helped her best friend move into the Dorm at his college. They both start classes Monday. She has a four-year plan: get her AA at the community college, then transfer to the University for her BA and nursing degree. I’m so proud of her! And her friend’s studying to be a Marine Biologist. How incredibly brainy is that?! These “kids” amaze me.
We’re watching “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. I do so love this movie. I love how Paul Varjak falls in love with her near the beginning, and she’s so tormented she doesn’t see it until he leaves her. And that music! “Moon River…” Ugh. Melts me every time.
I finally have a plan for the front yard, and I’m so very excited. Because as soon as the cooler fall and winter weather come around, I’ll be able to get started. First, I’m going to “uproot” the sprinkler lines and cap off the drip-lines that I don’t need. Then I’m going to pull out the two rose bushes, the five lilacs, and the Orange Blossom Shrub in the corner. Of course, I’ll rake and weed and level as I go along.
In the spring, I hope to be able to plant Skyrocket shrubs along the South fence, a cluster of sunflowers in the corner near the driveway, and a patch of grass where the front window flower bed currently is. Perhaps I can trim down the two trees also, or I might have them removed completely and put in something entirely new. I like Liquid Ambers or Chinese Pistache. Or even Olive trees. Those are lovely, too. I definitely want something that will add color to the yard. Right now the ground is consistently sandy and the the growth is consistently dull green.
Wherever I don’t plant anything, i hope to lay down some rockscape. I haven’t decided on the color yet. Something light and grey; or something that grabs the eye like woodchips or rusted brick. Decisions, decisions!
I wore a Baseball cap today. I rarely wear hats. In general because I used to keep my hair short like a shaggy pixie cut, and hats served no purpose but to make the ends stick out uncontrollably. Now that my hair is past my ears, I can pull it back in a clip or ponytail and it still hangs low beneath the hat. So I still look feminine. So I know it’s funny… but I wore a baseball hat today and it made me feel pretty. So I wore it all day long, and in fact, still have it on.
Well, my five minutes are up but not the movie. So farewell until we meet again. Paul Varjak is calling my name.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Aug 25, 2012 |
Two days ago, I posted about my living in fear. Now, while those fears are true, and real, and constant, I don’t want you to get the impression that that’s all there is to me.
I don’t suffer depression. I’m not in need of medication. But I do bounce around from Happy to Sad to Stressed to Carefree. That’s not me. That’s my environment. That’s 14 months of unemployment and car repairs and medical bills and frustrations. And believe me, this week it’s been hitting us in spades.
So I vented.
If I were to post only Happy Thoughts, I wouldn’t be honest with you. I value you. And, it’s apparent you value my honesty. Thursday was my third most popular day at Frankly, My Dear… (My most viewed day was July 25, “Alienation“. The current Chocolate Heaven (and a Giveaway!) is quick on its heels!).
And so I just wanted to say
Thank you.
I really do appreciate each of you, and your wonderfully supportive comments. Writing is my calling, my comfort, and my catharsis.
Even when we don’t agree. Even when I write too much, or too little. You are there. Even when you don’t comment, you read. And Frankly, My Dear… is growing stronger. Because of you. Thank you.
On my Facebook page, almost every evening I post a link from a year ago. It’s fun to look back and read the many ways I’ve grown, changed, and even stayed the same.
I can’t believe it’s an accident that today’s Year-Ago post is Filigree Frosting. You all are the icing on my cake.
If I could bake each of you a cake, I would.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
