Upon finding out that I was frustrated by people: Who's being a booger? I have a marshmallow shooter...
Our simple tastes, like this: "Ma'am, why are you running into a cotton field?"
This entire exchange...
Danielle: Marry Me. Do you understand that nobody else in my life understands this except for you? Please don't die.
Me: This is why you're my favorite. This too....
This New Year's Exchange...
D: Sorry, one glass of wine and I no longer capitalize my i's
M: i never do
D: awesome
be my friend
M: already am
This September, we will have been friends for 20 years, despite only living in the same place for three of those years. Insanity. How cute were we? How we've grown! Love you, D!
The year that I was subbing, I went and traveled to a lot of different places, all with the intention of hanging out with the friends I have scattered around the globe. This trip was to Seattle (and the surrounding areas) to hang out with the one-of-a-kind Kirbi. The trip was great, minus the confrontations with her cray cray roommate and it was such a blast to hang out with my lovely Kirbi-cakes.
Spent the first day at Pike Place Market, wandering around the area and then going on the underground Seattle tour. Our tour guide may have been drunk...
Went to a bunch of antique shops in Snohomish.
Spent a day at the EMP and the Science Fiction Museum underneath the Space Needle. And also bought A LOT of books. Typical.
So, my favorite book of all time is "To Kill a Mockingbird". Following close behind is "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. I have read this book more times than I can remember. I cry when I read it. I have the VHS, the DVD and the Extended, Super-Obsessed Fan, Full-Length DVD. I have watched the movie with the commentary, seen all the extra features. I proceeded to read all of S.E. Hinton's other books after reading this one (although none matched up). I marveled that she was 16 when she wrote this. I wrote my own story, giving the characters a sister. My love for this book knows no bounds.
I love how it begins: When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I had only two things on my mind: Paul Newman and a ride home.
I also just love how tight this group of greasers is. They care so much for each other, despite having their little tiffs and fights. They all stand up next to each other and will fight for each other. Fighting the rumble for Johnny. Running out after Dally when he shoplifted at the end. Comforting Johnny when he was beaten by the Socs. They're all so tough and at the same time, it's painful to remember that Ponyboy is fourteen. Johnny is sixteen. Darry's only twenty and he's the oldest. These are young boys from the rough side of town- any town- doing what they can to survive. And it's not fair.
It's not just about two sides of town fighting. There are so many more layers to it. "Te Outsiders" teaches you that the grass is not always greener on the other side. It reveals the importance in hot conforming to stereotypes and to not believe in stereotypes to begin with. Even the hardest criminals have someone that they love. Without Johnny, Dally had nothing left. As Ponyboy says: How can I take it? Dally is tougher than I am. Why can I take it when Dally can't? And then I knew. Johnny was the only thing Dally loved. And now Johnny was gone.
Without each other, Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darry didn't want anything. This is one of my favorite sections: "I let go of Soda and stood there for a minute. Darry didn't like me. He had driven me away that night... he had hit me... Darry hollered at me all the time... he didn't give a hang about me... Suddenly, I realized, horrified, that Darry was crying. He didn't make a sound, but tears were running down his cheeks. I hadn't seen him cry in years, not even when Mom and Dad had been killed. (I remembered the funeral. I had sobbed i spite of myself; Soda had broken down and bawled like a baby; but Darry had only stood there, his fists in his pockets and that look on his face, the same helpless, pleading look that he was wearing now.) In that second what Soda and Dally and Two-Bit had been trying to tell me came through. Darry did care about me, maybe as much as he cared about Soda, and because he cared he was trying too hard to make something of me. When he yelled "Pony, where have you been all this time?" he meant "Pony, you've scared me to death. Please be careful, because I couldn't stand it if anything happened to you.""
There's another one that I also love: "Golly, you two, it's bad enough having to listen to it, but when you start trying to get me to take sides... We're all we've got left. We ought to be able to stick together against everything. If we don't have each other, we don't have anything. If you don't have anything, you end up like Dallas... and I don't mean dead, either. I mean like he was before. And that's worse than dead. Please-- don't fight anymore."
Ugh, I just can't....
So we're going to read another funny clip, one that sums up a greaser in perfection.
"I'm a greaser," Sodapop chanted. "I'm a JD and a hood. I blacken the name of our fair city. I beat up people. I rob gas stations. I'm a menace to society. Man, do I have fun!"
"Greaser... greaser....greaser..." Steve singsonged. "O victim of environment, underprivileged, rotten, no-count hood!"
"Juvenile delinquent, you're no good!" Darry shouted.
"Get thee hence, white trash," Two-bit said in a snobbish voice. "I am a Soc. I am the privileged and the well-dressed. I throw beer blasts, drive fancy cars and break windows at fancy parties."
"And what do you do for fun?" I inquired in a serious, awed voice.
"I jump greasers!" Two-Bit screamed.
None of these boy are truly bad to the core. They all have redeemable qualities but because society tell them to, they conform to the role of "greaser". Such a profound statement from a sixteen-year-old Susie Hinton.
The movie is also great- Francis Ford Coppola, and even though there are some poorly acted parts, I love it. I will watch it over and over again. I may watch it again tonight!
This clip includes most of my favorite parts of the movie. Johnny and Ponyboy rescuing the kids from the church. The touching reunion between the three Curtis brothers. The family dynamic that you see in the gang when they all gather at the Curtis house the next morning. Soda's towel nearly coming off (thank you....!), Ponyboy's courage in going to talk to Randy, the Soc.
I found this too, which is a fun video to show how they've all grown up since the movie came out. Sorry about the weird little descriptions the movie maker gives each character...
I also don't remember how I discovered this but it's hysterical. Oh how I love Rob Lowe.
If you are one of those people who have never read "The Outsiders", go read it now. It's incredible, it will touch you in ways you never thought possible, it will make you laugh, it will make you cry, it will make you appreciate what you have and it will make you think.
Do you ever wonder what your radio hosts look like? I do. I spend a LOT of time listening to the radio and every once in a while, I wonder what my hosts look like. So today, I decided to find out.
Terry Gross (Fresh Air)- Not at all what I pictured. I imagined her with dark brown hair, shoulder length, no glasses, less "casual". I'm not sure why- she seems like so much fun and this look makes a lot more sense for the interviews that she does.
Steve Inskeep (Morning Edition)- Spot on. Just smiling more.
Soraya Sarhaddi- Nelson (Foreign Correspondent)- Pretty close to what I pictured. I thought she'd be younger though and much longer hair. But definitely that skin tone and nationality.
Rene Montagne (Morning Edition)- Nope, not at all. I, for some reason, imagined that she had really, really long blonde hair, no bangs. I guess this hair is kind of blonde, but not the blonde I imagined. Peter Kenyon (Foreign Correspondent)- For some reason, possibly because he has the same name as Chelsea's former chief executive, I pictured him bald and with glasses. I could not have been more wrong.
Michele Norris (All Things Considered)- Interestingly, this is just as I pictured her. I also thought her named was Nichelle for the longest time.
Robert Seigel (All Things Considered)- I'm not sure what it is about the All Things Considered bunch, but again, this is exactly how I pictured him. It's hard to tell in this picture but I imagine him as a red-head for some reason...
Neal Conan (Talk of the Nation)- Wow, I'm not sure how I pictured him, but this is not it. For some reason, the voice and the picture just don't seem to go together. Not that there's anything wrong with what he looks like- I'd call in to talk to him. He looks nice. And is nice. But just not what I was expecting.
Lourdes Garcia- Navarro (Foreign Correspondent)- Just as I pictured her, although I usually imagine her with big sunglasses on as well as a head scarf, since she's so often in the Middle East.
Peter Sagal and Carl Kassel (Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me)- I'm not sure how I pictured Peter Sagal, but it's not this. I am definitely see him saying the things that he does. I think I may have pictured him a bit younger. The eyebrows are my favorite. And Carl Kassel is kind of like I pictured, just with a bigger coif of gray-ish hair and also a little heftier. He looks kind of like an older J.K. Simmonds...
Click and Clack (Car Talk)- Wow, not at all what I have pictured in my head. I pictured them a lot younger (although, they were when I first started listening to Car Talk), a lot more stereotypically Italian (terrible of me), and no facial hair.
Bob Mondello (Art's Critic)- For some reason, I pictured him like this guy who does commentary for VH1's I love the (fill in the blank). Big round, horn-rimmed glasses and curlier hair.
Kai Ryssdal- I pictured him not as thin and tall as he is, and also a lot more "surfer-ish" (maybe because of the name Kai? Same color hair though.
Who are your favorite radio personalities and how do they compare with how you imagine them looking?
***Update***
We watched the TV version of WWDTM and it was HYSTERICAL. It was great to see them doing, essentially, the radio show. But there was an added element of watching them interact, not just listening and wondering what their facial expressions were like or if they stood up, sat down, etc. I would LOVE to see Mo Rocca on this show because he so awkwardly wonderful.
For some reason, I always feel like Christmas Eve is a time to be more reverent and Christmas Day is more for family fun. So with yesterday's serious post, here are some fun Christmas videos.
We watched this at church last night. Hysterical.
This is one of the first David Sedaris bits I've ever listened to. And I die. I just die. It takes a few minutes to get to the Christmas part but stick with it. It's so worth it.
Forget "It's a Wonderful Life", "Miracle of 34th Street", and "A Christmas Story", this is by far, hands down, the best Christmas movie ever.
And some pictures of the family festivities!
Hanukkah lights on Christmas Eve
The usual Christmas Eve fare and beautiful table.
Sisters on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
The tree and the generous bounty from the family
Usual....
A surfboard Menorah for the 6th night of Hanukkah.
The results from a losing fight with a slippery tide-pool rock
