The Breakfast Club

What a lovely morning. I knew I didn't have much work on my plate today, so I turned on the TV while enjoying my morning cup of coffee. Turns out we are getting a free preview of some movie channels, and one of them had The Breakfast Club on.

I did what any other child of the 80s would do -- I didn't move from the couch until the movie was over. Being it was on HBO, it wasn't edited. I think it's the first time I've seen it unedited in about a decade. Sorry, but I can't take Judd Nelson's character seriously when TNT or USA edits him to say "Fudge you, man." It just doesn't work for me.

This movie seems timeless to me. You know how sometimes you watch a TV program or a movie that you loved when you were a kid, and now it seems cheesy? (Think the original Knight Rider) Not The Breakfast Club.

I've been trying to figure out why. Could it be because Judd Nelson was one of my first crushes? Could it be because I've always loved Emilio?

I think I have nailed it down. One thing that hasn't changed in high school throughout generations is the different cliques. You have the preppy, popular girls, the jocks (or as they're referred to in the movie, "sports"), the geeks or nerds, the stoners, and so on.

Don't shake your head and say, "I never participated in those labels," because it's simply not true. Even if you didn't want to participate, everyone ended up being labeled in one fashion or another.

I've come to the conclusion that The Breakfast Club is timeless is because it centers around a theme that our parents dealt with, we dealt with, and our kids and grandkids will deal with. Kids are mean and high schools are full of cliques.

Regardless of the mean kids and cliques, I wouldn't mind getting locked in a library on a Saturday afternoon with the cast of The Breakfast Club. Would you?

Happy New Year

Happy 2009 everyone! I hope you all had safe and fun celebrations last night. We ended up having a pretty chill evening. We went to our favorite local bar around 7:00 and got out of there around 9:00. Then we had a few friends over for food, drink, and old fashioned fun.

Our favorite bar ended up having an all-night liquor license, but we just could not imagine hanging out there until 5:00 this morning! Although, I have to admit it might have been funny to get up early, take a short drive over there, and see people stumbling out as the sun came up. Hopefully there was a line of cabs waiting to take everyone home this morning.

I'm not sure why, but I've never been too big into the whole New Year's Eve celebration. I've tried to go out and get into it in the past, but I end up just getting annoyed with the crowded bars and restaurants. There are just too many people who are too drunk for my liking.

I go out with my husband a couple of times a week and have a great time at our little corner bar. I don't need to be out when the masses are taking over the bars and the streets. I am much happier sitting on the couch with a bottle of wine and good company while watching the ball drop at midnight.

Regardless of how you rang in the New Year, I hope it turns out to be a great 2009 for you all!

Tis the Season

Long time, no write.  Believe it or not, I have not given up on my blog.  I simply got carried away and swept up in all the Christmas activities last week.

I had every intention of posting on the days leading up to Christmas Eve, but I just couldn't keep up with everything.  We ended up all over the city delivering gifts to friends, and had to make a stop to visit a friend who found himself stuck in a hospital bed over the holiday.

The only writing I actually got done last week was a handful of articles with strict deadlines attached to them.

I did get a ton of amazing birthday and Christmas gifts last week from my husband, friends, and family.  As the week goes on I'll be sharing my experiences with things like my new digital camera!

Until then, deadlines are calling my name.

Farce of the Penguins

Maybe you've seen the trailers for Farce of the Penguins.  If so, do not be fooled.  We thought this film looked hysterical.   Boy, did we regret renting it.

Farce of the Penguins is basically a parody of March of the Penguins.  The film follows the journey of the male penguins’ 70-mile trek to breed with the females waiting at the breeding grounds. Penguins Carl and Jimmy talk about their lives, food, and sex during their hike. Back at the breeding grounds, Melissa and Vicky talk about men and how to know when you meet “the one.”

Farce of the Penguins was written and directed by Bob Saget and narrated by Samuel Jackson.  It also stars the voices of well-known stars, such as Lewis Black, Tracy Morgan, Whoopi Goldberg, Dane Cook, and Christina Applegate.

With those stars involved, it sounds like a recipe for success, right?  Wrong.  

The film is full of one-liners that could really only crack up a 12-year-old.  I can understand and get into raunchy, over the top comedy.  That's obviously what they were going for, but they failed miserably.

The only thing else I can say is I want my hour and twenty minutes back!

Guitar Hero 3 Legends of Rock

I've had a few days to play around with my birthday gifts, and I just have to say that I'm addicted to Guitar Hero.

I am a guitar player.  I've been playing since the age of 6.  When Guitar Hero first came out, I thought, "You've got to be kidding me?  This is crap!  Learn how to play the damn guitar."  Then this past summer a friend of mine invited me over to try it out.  Man, I loved it!  I have talked about it a lot since then, and mother picked it up for me.

This game will keep you occupied for a long time.  Not only are there more than 70 songs to learn and play, but there are four different difficulty modes.

So I began playing on "easy" mode the other night.  I got through the first eight songs and then I had to battle another guitar player to go on.  I beat him (after about three tries) and now I'm moving on to more songs.  

Then I got the bright idea to try the same songs in "expert" mode.  Oh my god!  It's going to take a lot of practice to work up to "expert."  I then tried "hard."  Still no dice.  I couldn't even make it to the lyrics in the song before I lost and had to start over.  I didn't even try "medium."  My ego had been beaten to a pulp and I was put back in my place.  Only "easy" for now.

So I'll practice my little heart out in "easy" mode until I work my way up to the harder levels ... I'll be doing all this while my collection of six real guitars collect some dust because I just can't put my Guitar Hero down!

Guitar Hero AND Nintendo DS Lite!

So I need to get into my private life here for a moment.  I'm a Christmas baby (born four days before).  Because of that, my mother has always tried to do something nice for me the week before my birthday.  When you're born so close to the holidays, your birthday can kind of get lost in the shuffle.

Yesterday she had my husband and I over to celebrate my birthday.  I feel so spoiled this year.  Not only did she get me the entire Guitar Hero game pack for my PS2, but she also got me a Nintendo DS Lite, along with a game for the DS Lite!  

I should probably mention that I am turning 33 this year, however, I've always been a gamer.  My dad had me playing Atari before I was even in kindergarten.  I felt like a kid yesterday though.  How many 33-year-olds can say that they left their mother's house with a car full of games?

I feel like I'm on information overload.  I know I need to get some writing done today, but my mind is on the games sitting in my living room.  I did play Guitar Hero for a bit last night, but I haven't gotten to the DS Lite yet.  I have a feeling I'm going to be the complete opposite of productive this week. 

After I've played around with both for a good amount of time, I'll post back here and let you all know what I think.  

My New Laptop is Coming!

I got great news today.  My new laptop has officially shipped!  My computer has been growing slower and slower over the last few weeks.  I've done everything I can to make it keep up with my pace, but to no avail.  At this point it's an old system, so it probably is about  time to replace it.

I have to tell you though, I didn't really need an excuse to want a laptop.  I just needed a reason to justify it.  This summer will be so much better than the previous two.  I won't be stuck in my little office when it's beautiful out.  I can just pack up the laptop and  bring it out to the backyard or take a walk down to the park.  What a great way to work!

I didn't even take any paid assignments this week, simply because my desktop computer has been so temperamental.  I didn't want to get caught with a deadline that I couldn't make because of my technical issues.  

The laptop is still supposed to take 3 to 5 business days to get here, but that's okay with me.  The only thing I'm a little nervous about is it comes with Vista as its operating system.  I've never used Vista, and quite honestly, I've heard a lot of negative things about it.  I figure I'll need a day or two just to play around with it and figure out how it works.  So, if I disappear for a couple of days next week, now you know why.

If anyone out there has encouraging words about Vista, I'm all ears!