Why I Watch "The Kennedy Center Honors" Every Year

1. To learn about awesome people I've never heard of before (Grace Bumbry)
2. To remind myself, in case I'd forgotten, just how awesome other people are (Mel Brooks, Dave Brubeck)
3. To learn that people I was sort of neither-here-nor-there on are also pretty awesome (Robert De Niro, Bruce Springsteen)
   
4. To watch the honorees' reactions
5. To watch famous audience members' reactions
   
6. To watch the President and First Lady's reactions (the Obamas seemed to unselfconsciously enjoy themselves, and last year, it kind of tickled me to see President Bush singing along to George Jones songs)
7. To hear people like Jon Stewart deliver lines like, "But I am from New Jersey. And so I can tell you what I believe. And what I believe is this: I believe that Bob Dylan and James Brown had a baby" (at which point the President of the United States of America laughed and gave a kind of low five/handshake across his wife to Bruce Springsteen)
   
8. To laugh
9. To cry
10. And sometimes, if I'm lucky, to watch some excellent dancing
    

QT2's 10 Best Movies of the Decade

10. Wall-E, 2008

If anyone doubted that Pixar is the most creative outfit in modern motion pictures, this movie convinced them. It is a genuine masterpiece, a word I don't use often. ...flat-out thrilling in its uniqueness...

9. The Royal Tenenbaums, 2001

A filmmaker's great conjunction picture, where every element, from casting to cinematography, found perfect alignment, bringing about the decade's most emotionally pulling, visually arresting feature.

8. The Departed, 2006

A wholly remarkable work - one that is considerably deeper and certainly more complex than its crime thriller status might imply. ...riveting and fearless in its intriguing scope.

7. Mulholland Drive, 2001

Offers us a chance to experience a true auteurial voice. Lynch has singular vision. See Hollywood through his eyes. Lynch has never before married his subconscious impulses to an accessible storytelling style in such a satisfying, beguiling way.

6. Traffic, 2000

A truly entertaining polemic filled with world-class performances. Gritty, tense, distinctive and realistic, Traffic is one of the most technically well-crafted of its time.

5. City of God, 2003

Rises so far above the conventions of genre and of most ordinary filmmaking that it's a transcendent experience - an exhilarating, two-feet-off-the-ground fireball of a movie.

4. The Dark Knight, 2008

I say this with a smile from ear to ear, there is too much of a good thing...a movie that fulfills the promise of the best Hollywood movies in that it offers us transport to an alternate yet recognizable reality.

3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004

Undeniably ambitious filmmaking and a feather in the decade's cap... one of those films that dares to be about something.

2. Children of Men, 2006

Hypnotizing. Spellbinding. Enthralling. The final quarter of the film is nothing short of an evolutionary leap forward in filmmaking. The perfect movie.

1. There Will Be Blood, 2007

An intellectualized epic to make lovers of pure cinema swoon. A towering, tour-de-force display in cinematic virtuosity; and an incredibly ambitious, deliberate stab at greatness by the director. Only time will tell if he's pulled it off. Whether you believe There Will Be Blood is a transcendentally powerful movie or merely damn good, there's no debate that Day-Lewis' performance as Plainview is something to behold.

Honorable Mention:
A.I.
Chicago
Crash
Memento
Minority Report
Moulin Rouge!
Pan's Labyrinth
Slumdog Millionaire
The Constant Gardener
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers

Overrated:
Donnie Darko
Juno
Little Miss Sunshine
Million Dollar Baby
Sideways

Underrated:
Brick
Half Nelson
The Prestige
Shaun of the Dead

things i have purchased over the past 2 days shopping with my mom

I am pretty sure that I would have only purchased half of the below if I had been shopping alone. Some important things to note: My mom loves Christmas decorations - I could probably write a whole other list about her various collections of Christmas items. I did not put my Christmas tree up this year. Also, she loves buying things on sale. Here is where we went and what I bought.

Bed Bath & Beyond

• dish drying mat
• trash bags to fit my guest bathroom trashcan (note these were purchased to get our total purchases over $30 so we could use a $10 coupon that yielded more savings than the normal 20% coupon)

Marshall's Home Goods

• furniture duster with a long handle to reach the window ledge behind my stairs
• Barefoot Contessa Family Style
• 2 white bathmats

Target

• Guesstures
• cold medication
• multi-colored star ornaments

Pottery Barn

• silver star tree topper (as in Christmas tree)

Crate & Barrel

• 3 varieties of snowflake Christmas ornaments (total ornaments purchased approx 25)
• 2 boxes of gold star ornaments
• chip and dip platter

Other stores we went to, but I did not buy anything

• Williams Sonoma
• Nordstrom
• Macy's - Galleria
• Macy's Deerbrook Mall
• Dillard's Deerbrook Mall

what i got for christmas (in order of receipt)

• from my parents - money
• from my grandparents (dad's side)- money
• from my grandpa (mom's side) - money
• from my sister - spa gift certificate, bracelet, and room diffuser
• from my brother - pajamas that have been orderded but have not arrived (he showed me a picture online)
• from my other brother - an undisclosed gift that has been orderded online but has not arrived

What I Got For Christmas (In random order)

• Remote control helicopter-like thingy
• iTunes gift card
• Money
  
• Wusthof chef's knife
• Wusthof sharpening steel
• Apple headphones
• National Geographic TOPO! Outdoor Recreation Mapping Software - Texas
• National Geographic Adventure Paper (waterproof, tear-resistant printing material)
• Clothes
  
• Sorel house shoes
• HD flip video
• Perfect brownie pan
  

What I Got For Christmas (in order of preference)

1. Inglorious Basterds (blu ray)
2. Maker's Mark whiskey
3. Headphones
4. iTunes gift card (just bought my old roommates album)
5. Books, books, books
6. Pajama bottoms
7. Electric razor
8. 12-in-1 board game
9. Clothes

***and at 5:00 pm I will play with #1 and #2.

My Favorite Christmas Movies

1. The Ref
2. A Christmas Story
3. The Nightmare Before Christmas
4. A Charlie Brown Christmas
   
5. Metropolitan
6. Scrooged
7. The Year without a Santa Claus
   
8. A Midnight Clear
   
9. Christmas Vacation
10. Mixed Nuts
    

Honorable Mention:
Batman Returns
The Long Kiss Goodnight

Least Favorite:
The Family Stone

family Christmas activities

Merry Christmas everyone. Here's what the Morris family is up to:

• Blaine - On my laptop
• Ragan - On his laptop
• Derek - On his laptop
• Austen - On his laptop
• Dad - Eating some cornbread and milk, about to sit down at his computer
• Mom - In her bedroom wrapping presents.

Mother is so lucky.

books on my parents' bookshelves

My parents have selected a few hardbacks to make the various shelves in their new home. I am used to seeing Bibles, westerns, and various books on war, Longhorn football, and God.

Here are some books I was a little surprised to see that I might read this weekend:

• My Secret History - Paul Theroux
• The Agony and the Ecstasy - Irving Stone
• Doctor Zhivago - Boris Pasternak
• Silas Marner - George Eliot

Here is one I was not so surprised to see that I might read this weekend:

• Barney Fife's Guide to Life, Love and Self-Defense*

Here is one I was not so surprised to see (except for the fact it is a hardback) that I have already read:

• The Pelican Brief**

* If my mom participated in List Anything, and had joined in that whole TV character thing a few months ago, I guarantee you would have seen Barney Fife on her list.

**Shut up, it was in college. And that was in 1993, and I thought it was crappy even then. But a real page-turner!

Karen's New Year's Resolutions

1. Clean my room
2. Hire a maid
3. Paint the first 2 floors of my house
4. Wake up early on a regular basis
5. Be less dramatic about things over which I have no control (e.g. not yelling at my computer when the firm decides to shut down the billing system the 4 days before the 15th)
6. Save more money (an extra 10% of my salary preferably)
7. Lower my cholesterol - This will most likely involve a combination of eating better, exercising and taking some sort of drug
8. Find a way to be motivated by my job again.
9. Find a hobby other than drinking/eating.

QT2's New Year's Resolutions

1. Do not say "I can skip the gym today, I played Wii Bowling." I at least have to play Wii Tennis if I'm going to call it a work out.

2. Stop setting three alarms on my phone, just so I can turn the volume off after the first one.

3. I will not gain any more weight. Losing weight is such a hard goal, so I figured why not make it easier. First maintain weight, then figure out a way to lose it.

4. Stop saying how hot every girl on television/movies is when I'm with my girlfriend. Rather, I should also mention how intelligent they are. That way she can't say I'm a pig.

5. Temper unprovoked attacks on former coworkers and the slandering of my old company's good name. Because if there is one that the great ghost in the sky got right it was his creation of promiscuous women. No reason to throw it in his face.

6. I vow to stop saying "I've seen part of that on tv, I think" when someone asks me if I've seen a movie that I clearly haven't.

7. NOT make Manager.

8. And speaking of girlfriends, I will settle down. Have children. Keep copies of Reader's Digest in the bathroom. Watch golf. Mow the yard. Remain emotionally distant from our kids. Go to church. Wear a polo shirt tucked into khaki shorts. Write checks at the grocery store. Become a vacant shell of a person who's only joy is meatloaf dinners. Basically I'm ready to mature as person by quietly dying inside. Baby.

Punky's New Year's Resolutions

1. Attend no weddings.
2. Sew something.
3. Close out all building permits on our house.
4. Build a snowman.
5. Watch all movies nominated for best picture before the Oscars (unless Avatar is nominated).
6. Finish all ½ read books or make a firm decision the ½ read book is not worth finishing because it sucks.
7. Be pleasant to strangers even if they are annoying and stupid.
8. Go to a ballet other than the Nutcracker.

PJenks' New Year's Resolutions

1. Lose weight. I'm taking a phased approach. Ultimate goal: 30 pounds. May only make it to 10, and may stop at 20, if I look healthy and distinguished.
2. Run (or....walk) an hour a day.
3. Wake up in the mornings, get to work on time, focus while I'm there, and leave at a decent hour.
4. Be a prick to the staff at work, but hang out with them after hours and confuse them with my varying personalities. And force them to learn things.
5. Go to a movie once a week. Get with this whole Netflix program.
   
6. Read a book a week.
7. Find a church.
8. Volunteer somewhere.
9. Buy new clothes, and take some pride in my wardrobe/appearance beyond my haircut.
10. Blow dry my hair 2 or 3 days a week. Want to see how people respond.
11. Stop caring what people think.
12. Tweet.

Boxcar's New Year's Resolutions...

1. Drink less. In fact, go as long as I can go without drinking (current record: 60 days).
2. Finish at LEAST 3 good screenplays.
3. Move out of my parent's house. *I realize this should probably be #1
4. Watch a new movie EVERY DAY.
5. Get a job. *This might interfere with #1, 2, and 4.
6. Meet a girl who isn't, deep down inside, a wretched, decayed soul.
7. Lose 40 lbs. You read that correctly. 40. That's like 3 dead dogs and an alligator.
8. See all my friends in Texas at least once.
9. Read 40 books. I was going to go 50 but then I decided to go with one book per pound.
10. Live long enough to see next year.
    

LIST CHALLENGE!!!

I would really like to see some New Year's Resolutions by January 1st. Let's say 5- 10? And I know this isn't a list but whenever you entitle your list "List Challenge" it automatically excuses you from having to make a list according to the rule I just made up.

Professions Paz is going to pursue once he moves to New York

1. UN Spanish Interpreter - for example - "Quesadilla? No se. " That was Paz's example of his Spanish speaking skills
2. UN Flag Boy - given the poor Spanish skills from 1 above - he decided being the guy that put all of those flags up and down everyday was more realistic
3. Jazz musician - because the guy at brunch looked cool and dealing with all of those flags isn't a full time job.
4. Street musician - most likely a Reggae drummer - this was really because we saw one and thought it looked cool

I think there was also some talk of being a street vendor Imagine being in New York with a 10 year old trapped in a 30 year old body....

Things That Are Driving Me Crazy This Holiday Season

• My mom not believing me that the mailman really doesn't give a shit whether he gets a ten dollar bill or ten ones. He'll take anything. And furthermore, it doesn't need to be a perfect, crisp bill. And further further more, he'd be happier with a twenty.
  
• My step-dad not believing me that the reason his winter cap sticks out above his head is that he's supposed to pull it down over his ears TO KEEP THEM WARM. Instead he just looked at me, sincerely, and said "that's not how you wear them". You know, because of the rules. I guess we'll never understand why that "medium" sized hat is just too darn big.
• My step-dad not understanding why I signed my mom up for a new email address with yahoo (one that uses her full name) instead of keeping her old one (16 years old) that uses SOME of her initials along with numbers at AOL.COM.
• The "post-office" in Somers, CT that has ONE person working at all times.
  
• My step-dad is starting his Christmas shopping today. Monday. December 21st. AND is taking my mom's car instead of his own truck because, let's be honest, somebody could scratch it.
• I am running dangerously low on vodka.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE!!!

Snap Judgment: '10 Golden Globe Nods

GLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!! Lea Michele (natch), Jane Lynch (damn straight), Matthew Morrison (ouch)
The future Mrs. Jim Halpert (Emily Blunt) snuck in. We'll hear her name called again in late January.
Refreshing to see Julia Roberts (Duplicity) - never thought I'd write those words
Need to see Avatar. Better yet, want to see Avatar
Sad to see Renner (The Hurt Locker) overshadowed by the star power...Oscar will redeem him.
Have two formerly married directors ever competed against each other? And where the f*ck is Lee Daniels?
January Jones. January Jones. January Jones.
No love for the cast of Modern Family. Boo.
Dexter. Finale. Lithgow. Wow.

Employees I do not like

• Some of the ones that work with me (no, I'm not talking about this one)
  
• The ones that work for Best Buy and sing Christmas carols on TV
  
• The ones that work for Lowe's and congratulate Jimmie Johnson

The worst: Lowe's. I can not imagine being the guy who sat through the selection process of these people.

What I'll Be Thinking About For The Next Four Months

#1:



Marry me please.

Movies on my iPod Touch

• No Country for Old Men
• Harold and Maude
• Dumb and Dumber
• Pee-Wee's Big Adventure
• The Royal Tenenbaums
• Role Models

Movies I've watched on my iPod:

• No Country for Old Men

Reasons Why I Am Fasting This Week

posted on behalf of Lacy

(Also known as "Just Some of the Things I ate in New Orleans Last Week, Not Even Counting the Things I Ate During Two Thanksgivings, a Birthday Party or LSU Tailgate")

- Alligator, sausage, shrimp cheesecake topped with hollandaise sauce
- Veal cheek with mushrooms and gnocchi
- Fried grouper topped with crawfish etouffe
- Pork cheek
- Cochon de lait
- Fried alligator
- Pork ribs
- Boudin balls
- Regular boudin
- Cracklins
- Braised boar
- Fried sweetbreads
- Beignets
- More Old Fashioneds than I can count (did you know that a true Old Fashioned is NOT served with ice?)
- Fried tilapia
- Fried shrimp
- Fried okra
- Chargrilled oysters covered in butter, parmesan and bread crumbs
- Turtle soup
- Gumbo more times than I can count with more "exotic" meats than I care to mention

People born on December 1 besides me

No need to watch ET tonight. Here are some of the famous people born on this day:

Madam Tussaud - 1761

Lou Rawls - 1933

Woody Allen - 1935

Lee Trevino - 1939

Richard Pryor - 1940

Bette Midler - 1945

Pablo Escobar - 1949

Nestor Carbonell (Lost's Richard Alpert!!) - 1967

Emily Mortimer - 1971

Laura Ling: (imprisoned Korean-American journalist and winner of DJ's first annual "People Who Were Asking For It Award") - 1976

Jared Fogle (the [formerly fat] nerd who promotes Subway) - 1977