Fogo de WOW

The other night (March 12 to be specific) I had my first experience dining at Fogo de Chão, an "authentic Brazilian steak house." I'd heard about this place from a few friends, including the three that invited me, and let me tell you, I was more excited than a virgin on her wedding night. Vegetarians beware: this joint is meat paradise...NOM! Honestly, I have never been so happy to be part carnivore.

Do I smell Fogo in there?

The drinks were very well mixed and did not go light on the liquor, always a plus; I had a whiskey sour (my usual) and their feature drink, the Caipirinha (tasty!). To start the meal, we headed to the nice salad bar they have that features imported cheeses, cured meats, artisan breads and other tasty things like artichoke bottoms and jumbo asparagus - I didn't know it came in "jumbo" size - delicious! And the 24 month aged Parmesan was a-mmm-azing. Then came the main event; they offer 15 different cuts of meat. FIFTEEN! I don't think I got to try all of them, but what I did try was exquisite. And they are all served fresh off the spit, by trained gauchos dressed in a gaucho inspired uniform (boots and puffy pants!). At one point I thought, "Guys in uniform with hot accents eagerly hurrying to your table to serve you drinks, food and hot meat off a spit? A lady could very easily get spoiled here." I ended my mouth-gasm of a meal with their key lime pie. Now, I dig lime and you all know my love of pie, so key lime pie is in pretty good with me. This key lime pie though... I think that must be what Adonis' cum tastes like. That pie would be on my last meal menu, no question.

I definitely want to go back within the year. I also suggest that if you get the opportunity to go, take it! I warn you though, it's pricey - including tip I laid down $100 - but sooo worth it. I understand that they do the same thing for lunch, which is not doubt cheaper than the dinner price I paid, so that may be a better option for me (or you) next time around.

A Reflection on a Film (and maybe myself a bit as well)

I had not seen a movie yet this year until tonight.

I have this cheap little, light-weight, brushed silver "business card holder" that I picked up at Target on clearance for a dollar or two. I use it to keep all of my movie stubs in for a year. Yes, a full year. Once a year is over I don't empty the contents until after the first film I see in the new year. Today is March 10, 2010 (or 11th if you want to get technical about the time)and I finally opened the tin and emptied my 2009 movie stubs.

I like to keep my movie ticket stubs, well all ticket stubs really. Part of it is because it's a way of holding onto that memory -sometimes I think I have a shite sense of memory -a way rekindling the sparks to that time and place and event. Also, as a self-proclaimed movie geek, I feel as though they are badges of honor and accomplishment on my geek sash. You don't just trash your badges.

I had heard of The Hurt Locker, but had not seen any great deal of promotion about it; had heard there were some good reviews and, of course the Oscar buzz and then nominations and still new little on what the film itself was about other than it was a military/ war film. Then I actually watched the Oscars. After seeing the few clips played for it's nominated categories and after it took the two biggies (Director and Film) I knew I wanted to see this movie. For the record, I have not yet seen Slumdog Millionaire, No Country For Old Men, The Departed, nor Crash and I refuse to see Million Dollar Baby on my staunch ground that Hilary Swank is a horse-faced hack of an actress. This means that the last Best Picture winning film I saw was 2003's Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King. I have the feeling that even if I do see the aforelisted films, I will still believe that none of them deserved that award as much as the one I saw tonight did.

The story revolves around the three members of an elite Army bomb squad and their remaining 38 days of duty operating in Iraq. Heavy shit. The camera shots were sometimes shaky, quick moving or shifted focus to give that point-of-view, right-in-the-mix-of-it feeling, at other times direct and poignant and over all very well executed and edited. The plot was well timed and had an definite flow but safely avoided the pitfall of being too predictable as some war films can. Powerfully intense and raw in a way I have not seen before. Just the right amount of light moments so as not to inundate the audience too. I do wholly appreciate the historical weight if Bigelow's directorial win - one more for the ladies - but seriously, if you see this film you will know that it is so beyond that. The entire cast and crew deserved every statue they got the night of March 7, 2010. I have not seen Crazy Heart and thus cannot completely judge; I do enjoy Jeff Bridges and can agree with the popular critical/politic thought that "this was his time"; but Jeremy Renner deserved that fucking nom, if not the statue. Phenomenal, solid performance. I hope to see more from him.

I have experienced cathartic moments before from many films, be those feelings giddiness, sadness, anger or passion. I cannot recall walking out of a theater feeling quite the way I imagine the actors [and the real persons their characters were based on] felt in the situations in the film. A bomb detonates and sends its surroundings into temporary chaos; even after the rubble and dust settle, the core of you is still shaken, permanently changed, by what you've witnessed.

The Hurt Locker is already available of DVD and Blu-ray. It was playing at the cheap theater in Hopkins ($3) and seeing it tonight weighed on my night class letting out early. Class let out early. I went alone. Being a cheap theater, my first ticket stub of the year is nothing but receipt paper. If that is the only stub to be in that case for the rest of the year, I would be perfectly alright with that. Netflix it, buy it, borrow it, whatever, I highly suggest you see this film.

Movies (February & March '10 edition!)

OK, there weren't many movies that came out last month or this month that perked my interest, so I combined February and March into one movie blog. I've also been busy with school, work and life so I got started a little late, but ssshhhh on that ;) ON with the movies...that I find interesting, that is.

FEBRUARY

2/12

The Wolfman
Benicio Del Toro plays Lawrence Talbot, who returns to his homeland where his brother has gone missing and villagers are being ravaged by an unknown beast. The iconic movie monster finally gets an update! Also starring Anthony Hopkins, Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada, The Young Victoria) and Hugo Weaving (LOTR, V for Vendetta, The Matrix). Looks pretty rad to me.

Valentine's Day
Starring Anne Hathaway, Bradley Cooper, Jessica Biel, Jamie Foxx, Eric Dane, Patrick Dempsey, Jessica Alba, Ashton Kutcher, Topher Grace, Hector Elizondo, Kathy Bates, Julia Roberts, Taylor Lautner...and a slew of others. This essentially looks like the U.S. answer to Love Actually; sooo even if it turns out to be good, it won't be as good as the Brits did it.

2/19

Shutter Island
When a convicted psychotic killer seemingly disappears from a secure mental institution on Shutter Island, two U.S. Marshals (Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Ruffalo) are sent to investigate. However, there's more to the island and the facility than the pair think. Also starring Emily Mortimer, Ben Kingsley, Max von Sydow. Director/actor team Martin Scorses and DiCaprio team up again in this thriller based on the novel by Dennis Lehane. I think it looks pretty freaky and interesting.

MARCH

3/5

Alice in Wonderland
Tim Burton directs Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Mia Wasikowska, Crispin Glover, Alan Rickman and others in this live action take on the classic novels Alice in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Say it with me now; FUCK YES! SQUEEEE! I am more than happy to shell out to see this puppy in IMAX.

I saw this one already, in IMAX 3D no less, it was pretty rad.

3/12

Green Zone
Discovering covert and faulty intelligence about the missions he's been running, U.S. Army officer Roy Miller (Matt Damon) goes rogue as he hunts for Weapons of Mass Destruction in an unstable region. Also starring Jason Isaacs, Brendan Gleeson, and Greg Kinnear. I've never seen a Jason Bourne movie or The Hurt Locker (I mean to though) but it kinda looks like a smashing together of the two. Plus Isaacs and Gleeson are great!

3/19

Bounty Hunter
Gerard Butler is my only draw to this movie, but he is one hot hunk of Scottish draw. The plot looks kinda meh, and I don't like Jennifer Aniston much, so to go to this you'll probably have to ply me with booze.

Repo Men
Jude Law and Forest Whitaker star in this sci-fi flick based in a near future where high-tech artificial organs exist and can be put on credit. The down side to this life sustaining technology is that if you can't make a payment, the company sends out their highly trained repo men to get back their property, with no care for a person's comfort or survival. One of the top repo men, Remy (Law), experiences cardiac failure on the job, he wakes up to find he's fitted with the company's latest model heart, and a hefty debt. When he loses his love of the job and can't pay his debt, his friend and former partner Jake (Whitaker) is sent after him. Yeah, I always have a soft-spot for sci-fi/fantasy flicks, that's about the extent of my interest in this one. Oh, and Jude Law's sexy accent.

IMAX: Hubble 3D
An IMAX 3D camera was sent along with the 7 astronauts on the Space Shuttle Atlantis to chronicle the repair of the Hubble Space Telescope. Space! In 3D! Hecks yeah I want to see it!

3/26

How To Train your Dragon
Hiccup is a wimpy looking Viking who aspires to be a dragon hunter, much like his father Stoick who is the clan's leader. In his attempts to use brain instead of brawn, Hiccup becomes the unwitting owner to a young dragon and learns that there is more to these creatures than he and his people previously thought. Featuring the voice talents of Jay Baruchel, Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, America Ferrera and David Tennant. Dude, it's a cartoon about Vikings and dragons and it features Craig Ferguson, Gerard Butler and David Tennant...why for Jeezy Chreezy's-sake would I not want to see this movie?! And the dragon is sooo adorable!


So yeah, out of all those, only about 3 I'm really stoked to see (well 4 technically, but I already saw Alice In Wonderland). OH! And let's not forget that New Moon comes out on DVD this month - which of course calls for a drunken, movie mockfest, am I right?! :D

Movies; December '09 & January '10 edition!

OK, so a belated December post; school and work had me all busy and stressed and I tried to keep a semblance of a social life happening. But it's also an early January one! HA! New Year! Cinematically speaking, I'm pretty excited for 2010; Tim Burton's putting his spin on Alice in Wonderland, with Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, naturally, as well as Anne Hathaway, Christopher Lee, Alan Rickman and slew of other top-notch talent. Ridley Scott is bustin' out his telling of Robin Hood with Russell Crowe, Cate Blanchett, Matthew MacFadyen, Mark Strong (Sherlock Holmes) and Kevin Durand (who will also feature in Legion with Paul Bettany). Iron Man 2 - between the looks and the talent, Robert Downey Jr. is most definitely my latest celebrity crush, grrrowl. Plus, a new flick from Christopher Nolan featuring a stel-lar cast, yet another Harry Potter coming (the first of the last!), a Tron sequel over a decade after the first, a Clash of the Titans remake and an A-Team movie (the latter two both featuring Liam Neeson). Yes, it looks to be a fun and entertaining year ahead. But, back to the present and what's coming out, or already out, that looks good.

December 2009
12/11

Invictus

Morgan Freeman portrays Nelson Mandela. In an attempt to unite his countrymen after the fall of apartheid in South Africa, during his first term as president, Mandela campaigned to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup event. Also stars Matt Damon. C'mon, who doesn't love Morgan Freeman? And this one is screaming for an Oscar, so we might as well see if the fuss will be worth it.

The Lovely Bones

Based on the best-selling novel by Alice Sebold, Susie Salmon ("like the fish") watches over her family and friends from "the in-between" as they deal with the aftermath of her brutal rape and murder. Starring Saoirse Ronan (Atonement), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci and Susan Sarandon. Directed by the amazing Peter Jackson - yes, the same that brought us the phenomenal The Lord of the Rings trilogy! Good cast and excellent, visionary director; can't wait to see it!

12/18

Avatar

Director James Cameron's first film since Titanic, he ventures into space to bring us a band of humans exploring and then pitted in battle against a distant planet's indigenous people. Starring Sam Worthington (Terminator Salvation), Sigourney Weaver, Michelle Rodriguez and Zoe Saldana. Looks pretty cool and I'm terribly curious about all the hype...and Sam is smoking.

The Young Victoria

Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) portrays Queen Victoria in this dramatization of the turbulent first years of her reign. Along with Rupert Friend (Pride & Prejudice) as Prince Albert, this film also hits on the couple's enduring love. Written by Julian Fellowes, the writer behind the excellent film Gosford Park. Also starring Paul Bettany (Master & Commander), Jim Broadbent (HP and the Half-Blood Prince) and Miranda Richardson. From the trailer, this flick looks to be a cross between Elizabeth and Becoming Jane, both movies I enjoyed. Between that and the romance thread of the story, the hopeless romantic chick in me naturally wants to see this. Also, I loved Blunt in Prada and Paul Bettany is a favorite of mine.

12/25

Sherlock Holmes

Based on the classic mystery characters created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was stoked to see this from the first teasers! Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes! With Jude Law as Dr. Watson, featuring Rachel McAdams and directed Guy Ritchie. Since this is a belated post in respects to December, I've already seen this one and would happily smack down another $10 to see it again. Rocked my socks off! Sherlock Holmes was already a pretty kick ass character, Downey Jr. (whom I love!), Ritchie and the writers have bad-assified him and I LOVE it! I especially dug the attention paid to Holmes's deductive skills. Law was a perfect counter to the quirky Holmes. And, as always, plot bricks were layed for a possible sequel (please, sweet jesus, yes!). Go. See it. NOW!

Nine

Based on Arhtur Kopit's book for the 1982 Tony-winning musical of the same name, which was derived from a play that was inspired by Frederico Fellini's 1963 film 8 1/2 - you still with me? Good. This emotional musical is about a famous Italian film director, Guido Contini (played by uber talented Daniel Day-Lewis), who struggles to find balance in his professional and personal lives. This is in special regards to the many women in his life; his wife, his mistress, his muse, his agent and his mother. Directed by Rob Marshall (Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha) and starring, as the females to Day-Lewis's character, Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Judi Dench, Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Kate Hudson and Fergie (from the Black Eyed Peas), this promises to be a visually brilliant film, which is what should be expected for a film adaptation of a musical, but also holds the possibility of some top-notch acting, which is just a nice plus.

January 2010

1/8

Daybreakers

The year is 2017 and a plague has transformed most of the population in to vampires. With the human blood supply dwindling, the plotting for survival has fractured the now dominant race. Meanwhile, a researcher teams up with a covert band of vampires to try to save and restore the human race. Starring Ethan Hawke, Willem Defoe and Sam Neill. Interesting sci-fi plot + Willem Defoe...yeah, I'll watch it.

The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

Heath Ledger. Johnny Depp. Jude Law. Directed by Terry Gilliam. Just watch the trailer and tell me when you want to go see it because you know you want to!

1/15

The Book of Eli

Denzel Washington, Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis and Ray Stevenson star in this post-apocalyptic flick in which a lone man (Washington) protects a sacred book which holds to secrets to saving humanity. Wowzers, this one is not based on a book, comic book, previously made movie or "actual events". It's actually an original screenplay. Holy creativity Batman! Or is it going to be Holy scraping-the-bottom-of-the-barrel Batman? Well either way, it'll be holy what with the apocalypse and a "sacred book". And don't I always want to see the post-/apocalyptic movies? And this does seem to be the time for them, what with 2010 and The Road out already and Legion coming out the week after this one. Besides I always like Gary Oldman. It will also be interesting to see Kunis try to pull a dramatic/ass-kicker role, I mean, she's mostly known for her comedy and while she's done some drama and action...well, can you name any of them that you've actually seen?


1/22

Legion

God has gotten "tired of all the bullshit" and lost faith in humanity. He sends his legion of angels to bring on the Apocalypse. The Archangel Michael (Paul Bettany) comes down and, with a group of strangers in a remote diner, protects a young preggo waitress whose unborn child is the only hope at survival humanity has left. Oh how I love apocalypse movies; they are just so fun! Also I love Paul Bettany. He and Ian McKellan are the only reason I even saw The DaVinci Code, and he was a crazy, albino zealot in that one. I know it's not going to be that great of a movie, but God will it be entertaining. :)

Tooth Fairy

This one from Disney, features Julie Andrews, Billy Crystal, Ashley Judd and stars Dwayne Johnson (you know, "The Rock") Johnson plays a mean hockey player (OK, I can buy that) who, being charged guilty of "killing dreams", must serve time as a tooth fairy...*snort* BA HA HA HAAAA!

1/29

When in Rome

OK, so I got tired and am admittedly copy-and-pasting this synopsis from imdb.com; "Beth is a young, ambitious New Yorker who is completely unlucky in love. However, when she impulsively steals some coins from a reputed fountain of love during a whirlwind trip to Rome, she finds herself aggressively pursued by a band of suitors." It stars Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel. I have to say, I have not always liked Kristen Bell. I found that tele show she did (Veronica Mars) annoying and was perplexed as to her popularity. Plus, she spells her name wrong. However, Forgetting Sarah Marshall was hilarious and a few stints on Craig Ferguson's show has eased my dislike enough that I'm intrigued as to whether I could watch a movie with her as the protagonist. We will shall have to see.


There you have it friends! My end of '09 into '10 movie list. Which one do you want to venture to see with me? :)

Winter Fun (aka Winter Want To Dos)

So Thanksgiving has come and gone and we are "officially" into the Winter/ Holiday season.

...When the hell did that happen?!

I am not ready for this yet! I still have shopping and crafting to do to get all the people on my gift list done. I still have stuff I want to do too! Between work (all those holiday shoppers *cringe*) and school taking up time until the week of the 17th, I want to find time to work in some fun and hopefully with my friends. So I, as usual, have compiled a list of fun things I'd like to do this winter. Not all of them have to or can be done before the holidays, but some of them I would like to do before then. So, in no particular order, I want to:


1. Bake cookies! And from scratch too! I don't do enough cooking and baking, but I always love it! Especially around the holidays there is a certain extra joy to it that I cannot place, but love the feel of. And now, since I noticed a kids picture book on the holiday display, I want to make holiday pirate cookies! Except I'm thinking of makin' 'em with sugar cookie dough instead of gingerbread dough.

2. See at least TWO more movies off my November and December (coming soon) lists. January and February too, but that's too far out to think and I hope by then I've seen two movies, sheesh!

3. Go see the Holidazzle Parade. I've lived in the Metro Area all my life and never gone down and stood on Nicollet Mall, freezing my tush off to watch a ton of pretty lights parade in front of me. I like pretty lights! And there are certainly enough nice joints along the mall to go to and enjoy a nice pre- or post-parade din.


4. I still want to try to make it to a Wild game! Even if they are not always the greatest, it's an awesome sport to watch and fun to support the home team.



5. Go to the St. Paul Winter Carnival. I have not gone to this since I was little, like Gimli would've dwarfed me little. The sculptures are always so cool, there's ice skating and all sorts of stuff I don't even know (there's not a calendar on the site yet).


6. Go ice skating. I'm not even sure if I remember how, but we should find out :)

7. I still want to go see the Titanic exhibit at the Science Museum.

8. Go for a walk in a state park or nature reserve or heck any nice park. Snow and ice covering everything with the sun shining down on it is so pretty and can make viewing wildlife a bit easier without so much foliage. Maybe even hit a park that rents snowshoes! This one is, of course, completely dependent on the weather.



This is all I can think of right now, but something else will probably pop into my head later on, that's just how my brain works :)

Movies (the November edition)!

OK so October was a bust. I did not see one movie last month. :( Between work, school, and lack of money I just was not able to get to one. Looking at my ticket stubs, the last one I saw was on September 9, so a week from tomorrow, I will have gone two months without seeing movie in theaters. Suck. Especially when you consider that Where The Wild Things Are is out AND at the IMAX no less? I'm also disappointed that The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day is only in limited release right now, and apparently the Twin Cities is not on that list. Double suck.

But enough of that feeling sorry bull, it's a new month! Halloween rocked and now we've not only got new movies to look forward to, but also Thanksgiving (nom nom nom)! :D

11/6

A Christmas Carol
Robert Zemeckis brings his directing eye and his passion for life-like CG animation to another holiday classic (see 2004's Polar Express). We all know this beloved story, so let's move to the talent and - what I think will be interesting - the multiple roles they will portray. Jim Carrey will be the incorrigible and miserly Mr. Scrooge including all his younger incarnations as well as the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come respectively. Gary Oldman will be the ever kind Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim and Marley. Colin Firth will be Scrooge's nephew Fred. Other voice talent include Cary Elwes, Robin Wright Penn, and Bob Hoskins (as Mr. Fezziwig!) While Zemeckis's version of Beowulf had me laughing in the theater for some bits (anybody up for a game of hide-the-wang?) the animation was still pretty tight, and I really enjoyed Polar Express - although it was made even better by the fact that my friends and I decided to go in our pajamas for the viewing :) Also, this one's going to be out in 3D and in IMAX 3D! I'm looking forward to this being a good one.


Men Who Stare At Goats
Here's the synopsis IMDB gives, "In Iraq, reporter Bob Wilton (McGregor) meets Lyn Cassady (Clooney), whose seemingly wild claim - that he's a member of the U.S. Army's First Earth Battalion, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions - causes Wilton to join Cassady's hunt for the battalion's founder, whose gone missing." Here's my synopsis; crazy sounding plot that is based on a true story, starring Ewan McGregor, Kevin Spacey, George Clooney and Jeff Bridges (looking kinda similar to the Dude) and there's goats! I'm totally in.

11/13

2012
John Cusack, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Chiwetel Ejiofor (Children of Men, Serenity, Love Actually) star in this movie about the apocalyptic events that start to transpire in accordance with a prediction made by the ancient Mayan. Directed by Roland Emmerich, the director behind The Patriot, Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow. The guy likes to destroy stuff, so if anything the effects should be awesome.

Pirate Radio
A comedy about an illegal radio station run by a band of rogue DJs on a ship in the middle of the Britain's North Sea during the 1960s. Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Bill Nighy, Nick Frost, Jack Davenport and Kenneth Branagh. This movie just looks super fun.


11/20

The Blind Side
Based on Michael Lewis's book, this film depicts the true story of Michael Oher, a homeless African-American youth from a broken home who is taken in by the Touhys, a well-to-do, conservative family who help him fulfill the potential they see in him. At the same time, Michael's presence in the Touhys' lives leads to some insightful discoveries of their own. Starring Sandra Bullock, Quinton Aaron, Kathy Bates and Tim McGraw. I have wanted to see this since I first saw the trailer. I don't even LIKE football that much, I just think this looks like a great, feel good movie. Also I love Sandra Bullock and think this could be a good one from her.

Fantastic Mr. Fox
Based on the children's book by Roald Dahl, this is the story of angry farmers trying to rid themselves of the sly fox that's been staking their chickens. Done in claymation that's reminiscent of all those 1960s holiday shows but obviously finer tuned, I'm diggin' the style. This could be just your average cutesy family film, but something tells me it's not quite going to be so and that something is that Wes Anderson is directing. Yep, the writer and director of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou is doing a "kids" movie. Featuring the voice talents of George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon, Willem Defoe, as well as Anderson regulars Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray and Owen Wilson and even Anderson himself.


Planet 51
CG animated film about Astronaut Charles "Chuck" Baker goes on a routine mission to explore Planet 51...and unexpectedly finds aliens! Now he must befriend a young resident of the planet in order to evade capture and get back to Earth. Featuring the voices of Dwayne Johnson, Justin Long, Gary Oldman, John Cleese, and Sean William Scott. It could be cute and funny or it could suck. I think what I like is that it seems to introduce the concept of testing our perceptions of other cultures to kids.

The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Now before you rail on me, because I know you're thinking, "Kris, WTF?!", hear me out. I saw Twilight out of morbid curiosity and it was so horrible that it was hilarious. I do not intend to go anywhere NEAR the opening date and preferably during the week so it is as cheap as possible. I'm going to drink either before hand if not sneak something in with me and I'm going to laugh out loud and annoy all of the teeny-bopper fans drooling over the sparkly vampire. Even watching the trailer I start to giggle.

11/25

Ninja Assassin
The title pretty much says it all. Directed by James McTeigue (the genius eye behind V for Vendetta) and featuring Naomie Harris who played the totally bad ass "Selena" in 28 Days Later. Check out the trailer. I think this one will be a wicked movie!

The Road
FUCKING FINALLY! I've been waiting for this movie for over a friggin YEAR! They keep pushing around the date. Viggo Mortenson is simply 'the Father" in this film based on Cormac McCarthy's book about a father and son (Kodi Smit-McPhee) traveling through the harsh wilds of a post-apocalyptic landscape in search of civilization.

So there you have 'em. If you think I forgot something, by all means please share. And, as always, the dates are based on those listed on IMDB.com.

Pregnesia = Effing Creepy!

A co-worker friend sent me the link to a romance book review on a website called Smart Bitches, Trashy Books.

http://www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com/index.php/weblog/comments/pregnesia-by-carla-cassidy-guest-review/

First off, it must be said that the review had me ROFL with tears in my eyes! Sure, she's no pro at reviewing, it's real people lingo she uses, but it's freaking HILARIOUS!

Second, about the book being reviewed, I can only use her own wording to describe what went through my head when I read the title & description; "OMGWTFBBQ!!ELEVENTY!!" Seriously?! Pregnesia?! Of course, this book is from the geniuses over at Harlequin, who've been making reading women's hearts all twittery since 1949.

Working in a book store I see a lot of stuff go through that section. A LOT. In a genre that features vampires, werewolves, cowboys, NASCAR, time-traveling highlanders, angel-on-cursed-mermaid action, intergalactic were-cats and multiple-phalli satyr dudes - I ain't makin' this stuff up kids - the sub-genre I like to call "preggo romance" tops in creeping me the fuck out! Even touching it to shelve it gives me the heebyjeebies. Eew.

Where? Why? Seriously?! OK! I have an idea friends. We all have writing skills, I know it! Let's all get into a huddle, put some weird stuff into a few hats and write our own romance novel! Because if this crap can sell, I think we can make some serious bank! Wait...waitwait! I have GOT IT! OK, picture it with me here; a Regency era maiden is ruined by getting knocked up with a litter from an interstellar were-cat and her only chance at a new life is to follow a time-traveling Scottish Highland warrior into the future/present day where she then must choose between her super hot savior and the sexay vampire that's putting the moves on her (copyright K. Codling 2009)! It will sell MILLIONS!!!
FYI, that rant played out in my head like a Lewis Black monologue.

Alright, I think I'm done... for now.

AMUSING RELATED FACTOID: While looking on Wikipedia to see if I could find an founded date for Harlequin romance books, it, naturally directed me to the definition & origin of a harlequin. I perused to the bottom to see if I could find a related link to info about the publisher and instead found this gem; "Harlequin was a character in an Irish campaign for genital herpes awareness week"!!! LOL! FYI genital herpes awareness week seems to run around the last week of July into the first week of August.