28 September, 2007
Steel Magnolias at the Peninsula Community Theatre
Last night we went to the Peninsula Community Theatre to see the final dress rehearsal for their production of Steel Magnolias. My hilarious and talented sister Grace is starring in the play as Annelle (for those of you who saw the movie, Darryl Hannah’s character).
The woman who played Truvy is so incredibly funny and an extremely talented actress. I loved her outfits, too!
The set was just gorgeous. So many fun details to notice. The sinks in the salon all actually had running water and clouds of hairspray flew around the whole time. That stage must get sticky after a while.
I loved the painted checkerboard floor and all the vintage items, like the magazines and furniture.
Haha Grace makes the best faces. I took a few video clips too! Enjoy!
Miss Robeline needs to take her medication.
The bigger the hair, the closer to God.
Sorry about my snorting and cackling all through this clip. “I swear to you, my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair!” Hahahahah.
The woman who played Ouiser cracked me up to no end. That’s how I’m gonna be when I’m old, I hope. Haha.
Haha that’s the kind of man I like.
Mismatched manger scenes at incredibly low prices!
Truvy would you HUSH! Haha such a perfect southern lady.
Ooh girl, lovin’ that side ponytail. I used to rock that look in 6th grade.
Pray Annelle, pray!
Shelby has been driving nails into her arm!!
The end of the play was extremely sad, I know a few people in the audience were crying all over themselves. Luckily I was trying to take pictures so I didn’t have time for that. Oh yeah Grace, you look good even when you’re knocked up! Ha!
The play was hilarious, tragic and moving in so many ways. The cast is great and I was so impressed with the whole thing. If you are interested in checking it out, here are the showtimes.
September 28, 29, October 5, 6, 12, 13 at 8:00pm and
September 30, October 7, 14 at 2:30pm. Go check it out!!! For tickets, call 757-595-5728.
Congratulations, you’re still in the running toward becoming America’s Next Top Model.
Oh Tyra. How I love you. Can I just say the “fake kittycat wax” was the highlight of the show for me. I’m sad I got rid of cable and no longer have a DVR. I kinda wanna do recaps. I’m pulling for the “bikini dancer” (why didn’t she just say burlesque dancer, that’s what she is!) for the win.
So much crying and telling about horrible lives in the ghetto this episode! You know I think Tyra was the inspiration for J.K. Rowling coming up with dementors. She makes the girls recall their worst memories and then feeds on them!
And now, some tyra.gifs from fourfour. Can’t wait for more!
“Stand back! The Quad-Glacier is about to fire!”
I know terrorist plots and bomb scares are supposed to be really serious, unfunny events, but I cannot help but crack up at what happened in Boston this week. Earlier this week there was a complete shutdown of highways, subway stations and bridges in Boston caused by “nine suspicious electronic devices”.
The devices turned out not to be sophisticated dirty bombs, but Lite-Brite LED displays of the Mooninites Ignignokt and Err, the completely inept malicious aliens from Aqua Teen Hunger Force.
Aqua Teen Hunger Force, for those who aren’t fans, is part of the Adult Swim cartoons on Cartoon Network. Basically it’s about a shake, some fries and a meatball that hang out. The aliens who terrorized Boston suck at terrorizing everyone. In the episode where they try to actually shoot the Quad-Glacier gun at one of the characters, they fire it, and it becomes immediately apparent why it’s called the Quad-Glacier: The bullets move at glacial speed, crawling towards the intended victim, who has plenty of time to move out of the way. It’s that sort of cartoon. Hilarious.
The devices were hung around several major cities including New York, LA and Austin, as part of a guerilla marketing campaign by Turner Broadcasting to promote the upcoming ATHF movie. Bomb squad officers were sent around Boston to remove the devices and the news here showed them blasting the lite-brites with a water cannon to “render the bombs useless.” Oh, and the local news also blurred out the one-pixel “obscene gesture” that the Mooninites are making. HAHAH.
While I think this is hilarious, and would have loved to see these lit up all over my city, Turner was pretty dumb to try something like this when I can’t even carry a tube of lip gloss onto an airplane these days.
There are several of the “bombs” on eBay, with bids in the thousands-of-dollars range. I saw one yesterday that had gotten bid up to $5999.00 but it may have been removed.
The other thing that makes me completely crack up about this story is how the “terrorists” who were caught are handling the whole thing.
Here they are cracking up in court. From CNN, “At a news conference after the hearing, Stevens and Berdovsky stepped to the microphones and said they were taking questions only about 1970s hairstyles.
When a reporter accused them of not taking the situation seriously, Stevens responded, “We’re taking it very seriously.” Asked another question about the case, Stevens reiterated they were answering questions only about hair and accused the reporter of not taking him and Berdovsky seriously.
Reporters did not relent and as they continued, Berdovsky disregarded their queries, saying, ‘That’s not a hair question. I’m sorry.’”
BEST. PRESS CONFERENCE. EVER. The government is still afraid of you, hippies! Keep fighting the good fight!
01 February, 2007I fail!
I fell asleep (I know, how lame) and did not watch Top Design last night. I fail at life! Sorry kids, but never fear, it’s DVR’d and I will probably watch it tonight, and if I like it a lot, recap it.
Edited to add: My favorite recapper so far is definitely Eric. Get over to his site and see if you don’t snort whatever you’re drinking all over your keyboard like I did.
25 January, 2007LOST TV PARTY!
Please kids, do it for Hurley.
The party is at my house on Wednesday, February 7. Show up around 8:30 or 9, then stick around for the new episode at 10. Bring whatever you like to drink. I’ll do the food. Email amber at myaimistrue dot com for directions. See you there!
Creativity Podcasts
Over at 21st Century Collaborative, my Mom is hosting a seriest of podcasts on creativity.
The connection between using the work of others as a springboard for creation gave me the idea of doing a series of podcasts with highly creative people to see if this strategy was common. I also am interested to see if there is anything to learn from this possible connection in reforming education, especially as it relates to digital and media literacy.
Go to her site and check out the first podcast, an interview with Rob Sweitzer, the keyboardist from Capitol Records artist MAE.
Then listen to the second podcast, which is an interview with ME! Be prepared, I have the sexiest voice ever, and I also say “um” far too often. Wait til you hear the way I say “Bodoni Poster,” it’s pretty awesome.
15 January, 2007Primeval
Looks like a pretty scary movie, right?
It was actually more like this. As soon as Jimmy woke up, we left the theater. I don’t recommend!
Matt Damon does Matthew McConaughey
Now that’s funny. I like Matt Damon.
30 November, 2006Podcasts, yo.
So, podcasts. I’m a fan. I have about 45 minutes of commuting each day, and believe me, these help me feel less crazy while I’m forced to sit in the car surrounded by world-famous state of Virginia construction projects and people who routinely forget how to drive.
See, apparently iPods are good for something other than checkin’ your weave in the little mirror on the back. So I figured I’d mention a few of my favorites in case you wanted to start listening. I’ve entertained the idea of starting my own podcast, but all the good ideas are taken. So right now I’ll just listen.
The Knitting Cook—Yeah like I said, my brilliant idea for a podcast already exists haha. These episodes are usually an hour-ish. Faith talks about knitting, crochet, spinning and all things fiber, and then shares a recipe from her kitchen while cooking it in real time.
Cast On—If you’re a knitter, you’ve probably heard of this. It’s an hour-ish long, usually weekly show hosted by the fabulous Brenda Dayne. The first time I heard this podcast I was like, okay this woman is going to break her “radio voice” any second now and start talking like a normal person, no one sounds that ethereal and wonderful all the time. I was (fortunately) mistaken. I have to say, I love her voice. She’s also an extremely articulate, talented and funny essayist. This podcast has it all. All things fiber, news, reviews, decent music and essays from other bloggers and fiber artists. Right now her series is on knitting as an open-source culture, and plans for a totally comprehensive knitting Wiki are being made. Head over and contribute to the discussion.
CraftSanity—A weekly hour long interview show with crafters of every persuasion. Hosted by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, a 30-ish newspaper reporter and mom of two who uses crafting to blow off steam and find her moments of Zen. I so enjoy this show. The interviews really inspire me to try new crafts, books and magazines. Check it out.
Phedippidations—Thoughts, opinions, observations and rambling diatribes composed on distance long runs. The first time I listened to one of these I was like, “Huh? Oh don’t tell me this guy is gonna podcast while he’s running, all panting and out of breath, how annoying.” But it’s really not. I love listening to this every week. It covers all kinds of topics on running including gadgets, training, safety, running legends, live podcasts from races, etc. Be sure to listen to the latest episode, which is his reaction to an article about how “slowpokes” should get off the streets and out of distance races. Ugh. So sick of that elitist attitude. It’s my sport too. You don’t like it, YOU quit.
Craftypod—A bi-weekly podcast that’s about making stuff. Sister Diane brings us interviews, tutorials and geeky crafty trivia all punctuated by retro-ish musical interludes which I LOVE. These are short, usually under a half hour, so I like that I can get one in on the way to work or on the way home. I especially loved the one about making greeting cards with fabric, yarn, etc. Check this one out, she brings the crafty goodness.
Sticks & String—A relatively new podcast by David Reidy, an Australian bloke who knits. Wait, this podcast is about knitting? I must have missed that when my eyes glazed over and I drooled all over myself at the sound of his voice. Nothing hotter than an Australian accent. Except maybe Mike Rowe with an Australian accent. But I digress. It’s a great little podcast. I highly recommend the Just Cast On episode. I totally agree that you should take a “just do it” approach to knitting. If you want to make a cabled sweater as your first project instead of a washcloth or whatever, by all means do it!
When I first started knitting there was someone in my Stitch n Bitch group that would always balk at my attempts to try more complicated patterns and say things like, “Amber hasn’t found her rhythm yet,” and it would aggravate the living crap out of me. As I always say, it’s just wrapping string around wood (or aluminum, or whatever). Don’t glorify it or put it on a pedestal. Just make it work for you.
Lime & Violet—A podcast for the fiber-obsessed. These two girls are pretty funny, extremely giggly and often the shows run longer than an hour. Weekly yarn pr0n, knitting reports and usually a dog barfing somewhere in the background. I love checking out the etsy shops they always recommend.
Purl Diving—The polar opposite of Lime & Violet. This is more of a meditative, zen-ish reflection on knitting. She calls it a knitter’s pillowcast. In Katherine’s words, it’s a “podcast modelled after the “Pillow Book” of Sei Shōnagon. Sei Shōnagon was a court lady to the Empress Sadako in Japan in the 990s, and what she wrote was, essentially, a diary filled with lists and thoughts and observations.” I listen to this when I need to take a deep breath and calm myself. She has the slightest hint of an accent (Irish? I don’t know.) and I think her voice is wonderful. The music at the end is always worth listening to. I especially loved the episode called Colour My World, which is all about her favorite Rowan colorway names.
Relative Love—Put on by the dudes at Relative Theory Records in Norfolk. This podcast is just music that’s tickling their fancy for the current week. Something for everyone from the most discerning hipster to the annoyed hardcore kid. I like it.
Anyway, that should keep y’all busy for a little while. Go take a listen and support what these people are doing. Oh, and recommend some other podcasts you think I should be checking out. You know what I’m into.
13 September, 2006In today’s news…
Could my crush on Matt Lauer be any more intense? Answer: No. No it could not. Dark hair, balding (dude, don’t ask why I think this is hot… but see also Jeremy Piven, Christopher Meloni, et. al.), cute smile, smart as hell. Also I HATE the picture on his Today Show profile page. Ew, hello bad Photoshop cutting-out job of the head!
In other news, the chief prosecutor in Saddam Hussein’s trial is demanding that the judge step down because he is biased in regards to Saddam.
Now maybe I’m wrong about this, but is there ANYONE who ISN’T biased in regards to Saddam? He sort of strikes me as a love-him-or-hate-him type person. I’m just saying.
I liked this particular line from that article: Saddam thundered Tuesday against “agents of Iran and Zionism” and vowed to “crush your heads” after listening to Kurdish witnesses tell of the horrors committed by the fallen regime two decades ago. That dude is intense.
22 August, 2006SNAKES ON A PLANE
Mom don’t read this entry. “Even dumber than Project Runway” alert!
Despite the ginormous internet buzz about the movie, and the fact that I thought it was all hilarious, I never did blog about Snakes on a Plane. If you don’t know what’s up with it, you should go read the Wikipedia entry about it. Biggest internet buzz about a movie ever, etc.
I did however send a personalized message from Samuel L. Jackson to all my friends. Seriously fun, go do it.
Anyway, the movie lived up to its’ title, and featured snakes. On a plane. And that was about it! It was B-movie thriller/horror at its’ best. A brainless, funny summer movie. Gratuitous blood and gore. Screaming, hissing and biting. Snakes lunging for necks and eyeballs. A snake bites a guy in the balls and a girl on the boob. Yeah, it’s like THAT. The whole time.
Samuel L. Jackson is at his stereotypical best, shouting at everyone (No, he can’t stop yellin’! This is how he talks! Haven’t you seen his movies?!), zapping snakes with a taser, a homemade blowtorch, a broken beer bottle and eventually even shooting one. Right before he depressurizes the cabin by shooting out a window, he shouts out his now-famous catchphrase, “I am tired of these muth*f*ckin’ snakes on this muth*f*ckin’ plane!” and the entire theater burst into applause and cheers. It was pretty surreal and I was cracking up the entire time.
Luckily the movie never takes itself seriously and it was just really fun to watch. Also when the snake pops out of the cargo hold at the main female character it made Jimmy jump out of his seat. First time I’ve EVER seen Jimmy get spooked by a popout in a movie. HA! Money’s worth, right there.
If you want to see a serious, scary movie don’t go see this, but if you want to laugh your butt off and have a good time then go get some snakes.
ETA: I should have thought of this first, but I didn’t. As with most great things on the internet, Kottke did. I earned the badge though.
10 August, 2006
File under: Things That Made Me Snort Loudly
Vickie: What should I do, as my boyfriend bought me a towel and a book for Christmas?
BG: Take a hint; read in the tub. Alone.
Obsessed and okay with it.
Okay so we need to take a moment to discuss something. I have an obsession. His name is Mike Rowe and he is my TV boyfriend. I know at least one other person in the world has as big of a crush on him as I do, but Zuzu needs to know that I will cut her if she tries to step up on my man.
Yeah, it’s that bad.
Just ask Leon. The past two times we’ve hung out I have brought up a television host as a viable conversation topic. I also told him TWICE that he is my TV boyfriend. I am SO fun to hang out with.
Seriously though, if you haven’t watched Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel, you should do so immediately. I DVR all the episodes and when I came home from South Carolina, to my delight there were about 17 episodes recorded. Apparently they had a Dirty Marathon while I was out of town.
Dirty Jobs is a series that profiles the unsung American laborers who do the jobs no one else wants, the ones that make civilized life possible for the rest of us. Mike Rowe works alongside the workers he’s profiling, and gets pooped on, greased up, banged up and generally humiliated along the way.
Perhaps you would like to try your hand at one of the following occupations? Owl vomit collector, casino food recycler, sausage maker, parade float dismantler (this was way more disgusting than it sounds), horse semen collector (the HORROR), pig farmer, sludge pit technician, roadkill collector or catfish noodler.
The show is inevitably hilarious and filled with poop jokes. You really can’t lose.
My dirty, dirty boyfriend is also hosting Shark Week, which is very exciting. If you aren’t down with Shark Week you are a loser and I don’t want to know you.
Okay, so spill. Who else is a fan of my dirty boy?
27 January, 2006A Million Little Falsehoods
So yesterday, Oprah got all pissed and laid into James Frey for lying to a million little people, including her. If I were Oprah, I’d be pretty pissed as well. Not only did she help propel his book, A Million Little Pieces to #1 Bestseller status and stamp her logo on it, she called Larry King Live to defend Frey after The Smoking Gun basically laid him bare as a big fat liar.
I forgot this was going to be on, or I would have DVR’d it so I only got to see clips on the Today show this morning, and I’ve been reading the blog coverage this morning, but from what I hear it was basically the best television ever. The clips I saw, Oprah looked like she wanted to eat Frey for lunch. Frey and his publisher, Nan Talese both looked exasperated. Frey admitted to lying about how his girlfriend Lilly committed suicide (she didn’t hang herself), being in jail for 87 days (it was a mere few hours) and basically admitted that he blew himself up to be some big bad “Alcoholic and a Drug Addict and a Criminal” because he wanted to see himself that way. Oh, and because it would make for a better book.
Random House issued a formal apology before Oprah was even off the air, and will be adding a publisher’s note and an author’s note to all future editions. They are also adding a line to the cover announcing the presence of the notes, and they won’t print any more copies until the notes and announcement have been added. Dang that woman has some power.
From my perspective, I see two unfortunate things about all this. Okay, three.
- It totally ruined the book for me. I had some skepticism about it initially (I KNEW the part about a root canal without novocaine was a lie… having previously worked for a dentist, that would NOT happen. Also, a lot of it just seemed really grandiose), but overall I believed it. I, along with a million other little readers, championed Frey on through his struggles. I was amazed at his ability to just LET GO, which I have never known a true addict to be able to do. It is more complicated than just quitting cold turkey with no relapses. Addiction doesn’t work that way, if you are TRULY addicted.
- Which brings us to point number two. Frey lied to other addicts. One of the reasons the book was so popular was that he was able to come to a point of no return, make a decision, and stick to it all alone. He didn’t need no steeenkin rehab, or God, or 12 steps. He just decided to quit, and did it. When he admitted to lying about that fact, he admits to lying about thousands of fellow addicts about the real truth of recovery. Who knows how many lives he’s put in jeopardy by others in recovery rejecting their support systems and trying to be big bad cowboys just like Frey allegedly did. How low of him.
- The third and most unfortunate thing that will happen out of all this, is that it’s going to sell more books. Now everyone who didn’t hear about the book the first time around will be running out to buy it, read it and snicker over his egotistical claims that he’s outright admitted were just made up. It’s #7 on the bestseller list right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if it went right back up to #1.
I guess Oprah took away some of Frey’s fans and some of his big, bad, ex-crack-addict status; too bad she can’t take away his millions of little dollars.
26 January, 2006More Project Runway stuff…
They’ve started to post the “Ask Tim Gunn” Q&A on the PR site. I thought this was an interesting question and I like his answer especially about the models in the last paragraph.
Q: Is it conceivable for a plus-size woman to wear high fashion? I would like to see a challenge designing fashion for her. Or, does “runway fashion” always mean six feet tall and thin?
First, let’s define “high fashion.” In my world, high fashion means “haute couture,” which is a rarefied universe containing precious few designers. There are a mere several dozen customers worldwide for haute couture, owing to shockingly high costs ($100,000 for a dress is not uncommon) and a rarefied taste level.
By have “high fashion” do you mean designer-ready-to-wear, which is the highest end of American fashion? Take a look at Donna Karan Collection, because Donna’s designs can work on a myriad of figures, including plus-size (and until her fairly recent makeover, she was plus-size herself). But, it ain’t cheap.
It is perfectly possible for people on a budget (and that includes me and almost everyone I know). The trick is to focus on your physical assets and know what styles and cuts of clothes work best for your body. Be especially attentive to silhouette and proportion.
And you’re quite right about runway fashion meaning six feet tall and thin. (I’m six feet myself, yet our Project Runway models dwarf me.) Runway models are like walking fashion illustrations, the formula for which is an extra head higher than “normal” people.
19 November, 2005Down down down
Isn’t he gorgeous? And he’s all mine.
05 October, 2005Must-see TV
This is the first time in my life I have really watched TV in more than just passing. The following shows warrant your attention (if you don’t have HBO, sucks for you).
Curb Your Enthusiasm: Larry David, the king of un-PC. Larry, I have one word on bowties: NO.
Extras: Ricky Gervais of the BBC’s The Office. He is amazing. Bonus: bitchy Kate Winslet action.
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit: This show gets better and better every season. The next episode is going to be SUPER INTENSE DETECTIVE STABLER ACTION. Have I mentioned I have a huge crush on everyone from this show?!
Small Space, Big Style: I especially like the storage ideas I get from this show. Really, I am just super-nosy and love looking in other people’s houses.
The Adam Carolla Project: I really, really want to watch this, but it comes on at the same time as SVU and I am not giving up SVU. Someone let me know how it is.
Big TV letdown? Todd Oldham’s Handmade Modern: more like hippie arts & crafts hour than anything having to do with mid-century modern design. Don’t tease me with names like Eames and Noguchi and then make STRING ART with the chick from Saved By The Bell. That is just plain wrong. Even having Amy Sedaris as a guest didn’t make up for it. You suck, Todd Oldham.
22 August, 2005Behind…
So I guess I’m the only blog not talking about the final episode of Six Feet Under. Oh wait I just did.
But seriously, I’ve never watched an episode of Six Feet Under. Nor Survivor. Nor The Sopranos. Nor pretty much any reality TV show.
Now that I am getting digital cable and HBO-on-demand, maybe I will catch up and watch it. And the Sopranos. I am always way behind on these TV crazes.
Also they should totally have a Law & Order SVU-on-demand channel. Just saying.
11 August, 2005Meh.
I am watching Adam Carolla’s new show and it’s totally contrived. I mean I love that dude, but they totally should have given the 11:30 spot to Stephen Colbert as originally planned. I laughed SO MANY TIMES at his This Week In God tonight. Seriously, we’re getting married.
How could you not love this man?!
