Dream, Girls

M. and I went to see "Dreamgirls" today. It's such a good movie. It's a musical about the music business, so the musicval numbers made dramatic sense. A stellar cast and good music made it a blast from the past. It wasn't quite Motown, but it was a good facsimile. And Eddie Murphy was robbed.
M. and I agreed that it could never match the Motown sound we heard growing up but it was definitely worth seeing and Jennifer Hudson is amazing.

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Productivity

Lots accomplished today.  More organizing of closet.  New Christmas decorations in a new box and stored in the garage.  Returned calls.  Submitted my mileage.  Made plans for tomorrow and Thursday. And now I just want to veg.

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Fiction Meme

A The ones I've read are in bold:
1. The Da Vinci Code (Dan Brown)
2. Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen)
3. To Kill A Mockingbird (Harper Lee)
4. Gone With The Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
5. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (J.R.R. Tolkien)
6. The Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (J.R.R. Tolkien)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Two Towers (J.R.R. Tolkien)
8. Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
9. Outlander (Diana Gabaldon)
10. A Fine Balance (Rohinton Mistry)
11. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling)
12. Angels and Demons (Dan Brown)
13. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling)
14. A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Irving)
15. Memoirs of a Geisha (Arthur Golden)
16. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (J.K. Rowling)
17. Fall on Your Knees (Ann-Marie MacDonald)
18. The Stand (Stephen King)
19. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (J.K. Rowling)
20. Jane Eyre (Charlotte Bronte)
21. The Hobbit (J.R.R. Tolkien)
22. The Catcher in the Rye (J.D. Salinger)
23. Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
24. The Lovely Bones (Alice Sebold)
25. Life of Pi (Yann Martel)
26. The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams)
27. Wuthering Heights (Emily Bronte)
28. The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
29. East of Eden (John Steinbeck)
30. Tuesdays with Morrie(Mitch Albom)
31. Dune (Frank Herbert)
32. The Notebook (Nicholas Sparks)
33. Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand)
34. 1984 (George Orwell)
35. The Mists of Avalon (Marion Zimmer Bradley)
36. The Pillars of the Earth (Ken Follett)
37. The Power of One (Bryce Courtenay)
38. I Know This Much is True (Wally Lamb)
39. The Red Tent (Anita Diamant)
40. The Alchemist (Paulo Coelho)
41. The Clan of the Cave Bear (Jean M. Auel)
42. The Kite Runner (Khaled Hosseini)
43. Confessions of a Shopaholic (Sophie Kinsella)
44. The Five People You Meet In Heaven (Mitch Albom)
45. Bible
46. Anna Karenina (Leo Tolstoy)
47. The Count of Monte Cristo (Alexandre Dumas)
48. Angela’s Ashes (Frank McCourt)
49. The Grapes of Wrath (John Steinbeck)
50. She’s Come Undone (Wally Lamb)
51. The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
52. A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
53. Ender’s Game (Orson Scott Card)
54. Great Expectations (Charles Dickens)
55. The Great Gatsby (Scott Fitzgerald)
56. The Stone Angel (Margaret Laurence)
57. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (J.K. Rowling)
58. The Thorn Birds (Colleen McCullough)
59. The Handmaid’s Tale (Margaret Atwood)
60. The Time Traveller’s Wife (Audrew Niffenegger)
61. Crime and Punishment (Fyodor Dostoyevsky)
62. The Fountainhead (Ayn Rand)
63. War and Peace (Tolsoy)
64. Interview With The Vampire (Anne Rice)
65. Fifth Business (Robertson Davies)
66. One Hundred Years Of Solitude (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
67. The Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (Ann Brashares)
68. Catch-22 (Joseph Heller)
69. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
70. The Little Prince (Antoine de Saint-Exupery)
71. Bridget Jones’ Diary (Helen Fielding)
72. Love in the Time of Cholera (Gabriel Garcia Marquez)
73. Shogun (James Clavell)
74. The English Patient (Michael Ondaatje)
75. The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
76. The Summer Tree (Guy Gavriel Kay)
77. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Betty Smith)
78. The World According To Garp (John Irving)
79. The Diviners (Margaret Laurence)
80. Charlotte’s Web (E.B. White)
81. Not Wanted On The Voyage (Timothy Findley)
82. Of Mice And Men (John Steinbeck)
83. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
84. Wizard’s First Rule (Terry Goodkind)
85. Emma (Jane Austen)
86. Watership Down (Richard Adams)
87. Brave New World (Aldous Huxley)
88. The Stone Diaries (Carol Shields)
89. Blindness (Jose Saramago)
90. Kane and Abel (Jeffrey Archer)
91. In the Skin of a Lion (Michael Ondaatje)
92. Lord of the Flies (William Golding)
93. The Good Earth (Pearl S. Buck)
94. The Secret Life of Bees (Sue Monk Kidd)
95. The Bourne Identity (Robert Ludlum)
96. The Outsiders (S.E. Hinton)
97. White Oleander (Janet Fitch)
98. A Woman of Substance (Barbara Taylor Bradford)
99. The Celestine Prophecy (James Redfield)
100. Ulysses (James Joyce)

I hereby tag all of you do do the same with this list on your blog :)

Fading

Fading
Originally uploaded by vajra.

"The Lives Of Others" won best foreign film. It's difficult to be disappointed; it's a marvelous movie. Nevertheless, I cannot get "Pan's Labyrinth" out of mind. I thing that "Pan" is a great film. Perhaps one of the greatest films I've ever seen. At least the film that won is deserving. all the foreign films were wonderful. An embarassment of riches.

Coming To the Surface

Disturbing threads on Apartment Therapy. I can't help believing that much of the negativity is fueled by class envy and assumptions. Which is odd when you think of my interest in Marxism...of course, I could never be a very good Marxist, since I reject political correctness of every stripe. But really, when I learn that someone has a summer home in the Hamptons, I don't immediately jump to the conclusion that the home is posh. In fact, if it's a family's old compound I usually think of rather rundown cottages. Yes, I know that the Hamptons is both old money and nouveau riche with the emphasis now on very new and very big money. So what? I don't envy MGR having a place to escape to in the summers. He and SK live in Manhattan and try to have a life that leaves a small imprint. I admire them for it. Voluntary simplicity.

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Albany Rose

Albany Rose
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Cat Friday

Mr. Blue Eyes
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Thursday

Jim and I were fortunate to see these two ducks who make their home in a pond in front of a busy commercial building.  When we arrived, they were sleeping under the adjacent tree.  On our way out they were moving into the water and quickly began to swim around the little pond, just on the edge of the ripples caused by the fountain.  Perfect duck weather: it had recently rained, and now the air was moist and clear.  The ducks were fat and glossy and impervious to the people walking along the pathway.  No ducklings yet.

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Ready For My Closeup

If the cherry blossoms hold out one more week they will be blooming at the same time as the plums and the pears will be making their appearance: Spring will be here, whatever the calendar says. I learned that daylight savings time will be earlier and longer this year. It begins in March and goes to November: I'm in denial. I can't imagine anything worse. Oh, well, there's nothing to be done. But why must Congress mess with the clocks all the time? Energy savings? Why not require better gas mileage? Oh, I get it, that will inconvenience the already floundering American auto industry. Can't do that. It's better to inconvenience the public. Feh.

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Changing Weather

Changing Weather
Originally uploaded by vajra.

After several days of warm weather the sky began to darken this afternoon. There's a hint o rain in clouds. If it should rain it would give my roses and the rhododendrons the boost they need to burst into bloom. We shall see.

Presidents Day

Luscious
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Walked to the bank and then to Rooz for coffee. Lots of Spring flowers along the way. Then to the movies.

"Letters From Iwo Jima" is a war film, which, while not overtly anti-war, shows in three hours the appalling waste of war. It's really an excellent film with little sentimentality nor overt violence. Wonderful performances from a Japanese cast.

"The object of war is not to die for your country but to make the other bastard die for his/}

Three Day Weekend

Delicate
Originally uploaded by vajra.

I love long weekends, even though they don't really affect me anymore. I see people on the street and they looked relaxed in a way they don't when Moday is a workday. They can do errands, and recreate, and rest without the nagging anxiety of that Monday morning alarm.

Last year at this time I was at the Capital Case Defense Seminar. But this time, the weekend is my own.

Japanese Pink

Japanese Pink
Originally uploaded by vajra.

It was an unbelievabley beautiful day. It was so warm that I didn't wear a sweater. It was so warm that the cherry bloosoms are already starting to fall. It was so warm that I had an iced coffee rather than my usual hot latte. It was so warm that if I were a sun worshipper I would have lain in the sun. It was so warm that I wore sunscreen. It was so warm that I could not imagine a better day.

It was warm but not hot.

Deep Into Magnolias

Deep Into Magnolias
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Cat Friday

Black and White
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Hyacinth

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Rooz Café

This is so much fun. It's a gorgeous February afternoon, fantastic music from Steve's iTunes collection, thinking about the three great movies I've seen this week, and enjoying the general geekiness of my day. I'm really loving my new browser,. For my main computer interests it's da bomb. I can blog right from the toolbar and upload photos to my blog and to my flickr account without wasting a breath. Which reminds me: I should make a donation to Flock,

Now since it is, as I said, a gorgeous day, one might wonder why I'm sitting in a cafe? One thing it gives me is a chance to try out my new backpack, which is designed for both a laptop and a camera. My opinion? It's geekerrific!

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February Magnolia

February Magnolia
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Saw a wonderful movie today: "Volver" by Pedro Almovdovar. A totally female ensemble with Penelope Cruz in the lead. It focuses on how the past informs the present. It also addresses the nature of truth and fiction in our stories about ourselves. Truly engrossing movie.

(Isn't it interesting how an actress' career takes off the minute she dumps Tom Cruise?)

Afternoon Nap

Afternoon Nap
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Notes On a Scandal

La Imaculada
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Saw "Notes On a Scandal" today. It's a very good film: interesting story, brilliant acting, compelling cinematography, but as M. said, "no one is likable." The subject matter is disturbing: a teacher carries on an affair with a 15 year old student. It's like watching a train wreck: you can't look away but you're horrified.

First Plum Blossoms

First Plum Blossoms
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Suddenly, Spring has come. It's rainy and cold, with occasional bouts of warmth and so Spring has come. The plum and cherry trees are blooming. A few daffodils have begun to unfold. The sky is brilliant agains the white and silver clouds. Glorious!

Pan's Labyrinth

Cherry Blossom
Originally uploaded by vajra.

*SPOILER ALERT*
I saw "Pan's Labyrinth" today. In someways it's about the uses of enchantment (btw, I've never read Bettelheim, but I know his thesis, generally). As a child who was engrossed with fairy tales and as an adult who has spent many hours in dream analysis, I can testify that fairy tales have many uses, and one of the most important is as a vehicle of escape. That escape occurs within specifically prescribed boundaries. Tasks, questions, characters may operate within glorious and unlimited images, while making the most fantastic or difficult environment conform to specific (and comforting) laws. No matter how chaotic, frightening or repressive the environment, the psychologically resiliant child can rely on the fairy tale for both freedom and security.

I wonder if each entry into the labyrinth is an escape from an unbearable traumatic event. The soiled dress seems to be a clue to Ofelia's violation. Obviously, it doesn't take a huge leap to believe that Vidal's sadism has a perverse and hidden sexual side as well.

Bonus

All He Surveys
Originally uploaded by vajra.

This is my photo for today. Too rainy to go out so I focused on Jasper who has spent the last two afternoons inside. I guess it's too wet for him. So it's another "Cat Friday" photo.

Cat Friday

On Her Perch
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Closets

Phalaenopsis
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Organizing my closet is very interesting: it's amazing how much room is taken up with things I don't wear, use, or like. And what's with the t-shirts? I could clothe an entire primary school if the uniform was a t-shirt.
Anyway, it's good...but tiring. 'Nite.

Magnolia B&W

Magnolia B&W
Originally uploaded by vajra.

You Can Never Just Clean the Light Switch

Today was the day I was going to put up my new shelving system in my bedroom closet. Since the closet was empty -- all clothes removed, all hardware taken down --I decided that I would paint it before putting up the shelves. That entailed moving two heavy bookcases, repairing a hole in the wall, two trips to the paint store, etc., etc. Unfortunately, when the paint was dry, we discovered that the electric drill wasn't working. It was too late to figure out a work around so...the closet will have to wait until the end of the week. sigh.

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February

February
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Cleaned my bedroom today. But I couldn't tackle the top of my dresser. Where to put the stuff? So much "stuff". Things to take to recycling. Miscellaneous jewelry. DVDs. So much junk so little storage.

Bloomin'

Glorious

The day was absolutely beautiful. So many flowers in bloom. Brilliant sky. Warmth. No one would imagine that this is supposed to be the dead of winter. No one has apparently told Mother Nature.

Living In the Wasteland Of the Free

Living in the wasteland of the free...

We got preachers dealing in politics and diamond mines
and their speech is growing increasingly unkind
They say they are Christ's disciples
but they don't look like Jesus to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got politicians running races on corporate cash
Now don't tell me they don't turn around and kiss them peoples' ass
You may call me old-fashioned
but that don't fit my picture of a true democracy
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got CEO's making two hundred times the workers' pay
but they'll fight like hell against raising the minimum wage
and If you don't like it, mister, they'll ship your job
to some third-world country 'cross the sea
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

We got little kids with guns fighting inner city wars
So what do we do, we put these little kids behind prison doors
and we call ourselves the advanced civilization
that sounds like crap to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We got high-school kids running 'round in Calvin Klein and Guess
who cannot pass a sixth-grade reading test
but if you ask them, they can tell you
the name of every crotch on mTV
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

We kill for oil, then we throw a party when we win
Some guy refuses to fight, and we call that the sin
but he's standing up for what he believes in
and that seems pretty damned American to me
and it feels like I am living in the wasteland of the free

Living in the wasteland of the free
where the poor have now become the enemy
Let's blame our troubles on the weak ones
Sounds like some kind of Hitler remedy
Living in the wasteland of the free

While we sit gloating in our greatness
justice is sinking to the bottom of the sea
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free
Living in the wasteland of the free

___Iris Dement

Cat Friday

Guarding Her Turf
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Gray Day

Gray Day
Originally uploaded by vajra.

Top Design: Blog It!

OK! A new show: Top Design. Let's see if it's as compelling as Project Runway. They're introducing the designers. Goil is an overachiever: Yale, Carnegie-Mellon. He rearranged the dorm room right after he walked in. Wow.

John Gray: is he a homophobe or what?

Todd Oldham is the host, but is not a judge. Will he be the Tom Gunn of "Top Design"? Not that Tom Gunn could ever be duplicated.

First challenge to design a room based on several icons. Teams are united based on paint chips so there are 6 teams of 2 each. They have $50,000.00 to "spend." They can shop from the Pratt & Lambert and Pacific Design Center which is very high end. Two people will be sent home: it's unclear if it will be by team or as individuals.

Todd is giving advice, so that's cool. he says that the rooms really look "dynamic." Love that word. Apple green or chartreuse predominate.

Judges: Jonathan Adler; Kelly Wearstler; Margaret Russell of Elle Decor Magazine; Alexis Arquette was the surprise judge.

Goil and Elizabeth won Top Design! Yes! Now who will be going home? Heather and Lisa.

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