DIR: 2003

1. Kill Bill V. 1
2. City of God
3. X-Men 2
4. Old School
5. Open Range
6. Dirty Pretty Things
7. American Splendor
8. Pirates of the Caribbean
9. Bad Santa
10. School of Rock

*Elf
*Shattered Glass
*Matrix: Reloaded

DIR: 2004

1. Kill Bill V. 2
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
3. I Heart Huckabees
4. Spartan
5. The Incredibles
6. Shaun of the Dead
7. Spider-man 2
8. I'll Sleep When I'm Dead
9. Code 46
10. Primer

*Undertow
*Bourne Supremacy
*Dodgeball

DIR: 2005

1. Serenity
2. Oldboy
3. Three Buriels of Melquiades Estrada
4. Broken Flowers
5. The New World
6. Sin City
7. Wedding Crashers
8. Batman Begins
9. Brokeback Mountain
10. Skeleton Key

*Munich
*Hustle & Flow
*Cache
*Layer Cake

DIR: 2006

1. The Departed
2. Casino Royale
3. Mission Impossible 3
4. The Descent
5. Science of Sleep
6. Brick
7. Lucky Number Slevin
8. The Queen
9. Superman Returns
10. Pan's Labyrinth

*V for Vendetta

DIR: 2007

1. Zodiac
2. No Country for Old Men
3. Atonement
4. Superbad
5. There Will Be Blood
6. Once
7. The Bourne Ultimatum
8. Persepolis
9. Assassination of Jesse James
10. Stardust

*Hot Fuzz
*The Ten
*Darjeeling Ltd
*Grindhouse
*The Lookout

DIR: 2008

1. Tell No One
2. Revolutionary Road
3. The Dark Knight
4. Tropic Thunder
5. Let the Right One In
6. Wall-E
7. Iron Man
8. In Bruges
9. Timecrimes
10. JCVD

*Forgetting Sarah Marshall
*Son of Rambow
*The Reader
*The Wrestler
*Step Brothers

DIR: 2009

*** This was a slow year for me so I will, most likely, make a new list for '09 next year when more movies come out on DVD. But in the meantime...

1. Inglorious Basterds
2. Up
3. Star Trek
   
4. District 9
5. Moon
6. Away We Go
7. The Hangover
8. The Hurt Locker
9. The Brothers Bloom
10. Watchmen
    

Decade in Review 4 - Movies

I've been thinking about this for a couple of days, and it just seems impossible for me to do. Especially in a top 10 format. So I am just going to throw some thoughts out there and see where we end up.

• I think the best movie of the whole decade is In the Mood for Love way back in 2001. I just didn't see anything better. Probably won't.
• The Lord of the Rings was one of the best things that ever happened. It made me feel like that time when I was a kid and I got to go to Disney World three years in a row.
  
• Sticking with 2001, if it weren't for the hobbits or Wong Kar Wai, I'd say that The Royal Tenenbaums was the best of that year.
  
• I can't believe No Country for Old Men and There Will be Blood came out in the same year. And then The Diving Bell and the Butterfly on top of that.
• I am still kind of mad that Master and Commander came out the same year as Return of the King and got its thunder stole. I love Peter Weir.
• I can not believe these movies did not get nominated for Best Picture: The Constant Gardener; A History of Violence; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.
• Dancer in the Dark, Requiem for a Dream, You Can Count on Me, Erin Brockovich, and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon all came out in 2000. How about a 5 way tie for Best Actress, and also Best Picture while we're at it? Aw, man - why'd you give it to (--MollyShannon-as-LizTaylor--) "Gladiatah"!?
  
• I've never been a comic book or graphic novel reader, but American Splendor and Ghost World almost changed my mind.
  
• Nothing was funnier than Best in Show, except for maybe Wet Hot American Summer.
• If I could understand Spanish, I would go to sleep every night watching Talk to Her. Instead I try to find Gosford Park, like I did last night.
• Lars and the Real Girl is the boy version of Muriel's Wedding, and I love it just as much.
• Because I have a film degree, I must also say that Mulholland Drive is brilliant. (I think?)
  

Well, hm. That's ...23. Break out the LOTRs and it's 25! I love an even number. I like this stream of conciousness thing. Who's ready for me to blow up the comments section with omissions?!

****
Update. Cheating. I am eta:

• Bourne Trilogy
• Kill Bill v.1 & 2
• State and Main

Netflix Tips

Since I pretty much live off of netflix, I thought I would share some insight for you to take or leave (or you may have possibly already discovered).

• Go to www.joblo.com to get a nice, comprehensive list of new release dates.
• Figure out how long Netflix takes for each movie (in my case, I mail it on a Monday, they get it and mail out new movie on Tuesday, I get it Wednesday = 2 days).
• If a new release is coming out that you want to see, organize your queue in such a way that it starts with upcoming release dates (I have new releases lined up for the next month) and THEN have non-new releases. That way you're not constantly organizing your queue.
• If you are on a 2 day cycle like I am, MAIL BACK YOUR MOVIES ON A SATURDAY! They can mail new releases on a Monday (before street date) as long as they know you won't get it until Tuesday. This is virtually fail-safe so far as getting those new releases. AND you get them on the day they come out (I got Moon and Hurt Locker this afternoon).*******

*******this is really all I wanted to say but didn't want "someone" to reply that it isn't a list.

great day in the blu-ray business

• The Hurt Locker
• Moon
• The Brothers Bloom

It's going to be an expensive evening. Anybody want to come over?

Second question -- Has anyone else seen Moon? It's fucking awesome. I feel like I am the only person who has seen it. It should be nominated for everything! (except for actresses.)

rambling about Avatar

WARNING: POTENTIAL SPOILERS (but who cares)
This will be quick and dirty. I don't have the energy to be intelligent.

Things I loved about Avatar

• *visually stunning*
• I loved Dances with Wolves when it came out in 1990, when I was 18, so obviously some part of me must like something about this
  

Things I liked about Avatar

• Sam Worthington (this is probably superficial)
• Sigourney Weaver (this is reverential)
  
• when everyone looked like they were in a roller disco in 1984 (blacklight!)
• the first well-placed arrow near the end
• those tree seeds. pretty.
• It made me want to watch Flash Gordon.
  

Things I did not like about Avatar

• I thought The Last Samurai was derivative of Dances with Wolves when it came out in 2003.
• Giovanni Ribisi's next-t0-most ridiculous performance (The Other Sister)
• tentacle sex with everything
• frisbee lizards
• blue aliens playing basketball in gym clothes
• all animals look like gross versions of Earth animals
• Sigourney Weaver's speeches
• the nerd
• Michelle Rodriguez
  

Things I hated about Avatar

• the overbearing and inconsistent score
• Queen did not do the soundtrack
  
• the Colonel (as an aside - he's in the closet, I guarantee you)
  
• the Colonel's coffee cup
• the actor that played the Colonel
  
• the lack of character development (I am being generous by imagining the Colonel is in the closet)
  
• Sigourney Weaver's avatar outfit, hair, and walk
• the yoga scenes
• the rally-the-tribes montage
• Sam Worthington trashtalking to giant hammerheaded elephorhinoceri
• the fact that there was a nerd, a colonel and Michelle Rodriguez --- a 6th grader in a creative writing class could have conceived of these characters
• the forced shot of the golf ball
• all the other forced shots
• the terrible song that sounds unbelievably similar to *My Heart Will Go On*
• all the hissing. what are these people, Thundercats? oh wait. Yes.
  

Things I am going to go without wihile pursuing 10-20 in 2010

• chai tea lattes **
• french fries
• fried food in general
• beer
• white bread
• kolaches
• chips and queso

** bonus this will save me approx $20/week

As this will start on Monday I am having Mexican food tonight, going to Kay's and I already had a chai this morning.

Decade in Review : New Things

The last ten years were, arguably, the worst of my entire life. But while every rose has its thorn, every mistake has its lesson. Here are things I learned over the last 10 years:

• How to drink whiskey. Thanks to Julie, I am now a full-fledged alcoholic. I used to just stick to beer and wine but now? Yum.
• Nuts. Love em.
• How to cook (more specifically, how to grill).
  
• How to exercise (for real).
• How to write a script (apparently, you do not just make it up as you go).
• How to NOT be in a relationship (and like it).
• How to appreciate family.
• How to eat healthy food (and like it).
• How to be a Barista.
• How to smoke socially (not proud of that one).
• How to NOT gamble (even though it is so so so fun).
• How to throw a party (karaoke, karaoke, karaoke).
  

Decade in Review - Movies

My favorite movies from each year: now / then

2000: Best in Show / Almost Famous
2001: The Royal Tenenbaums / same
2002: LOTR: The Two Towers / Minority Report
2003: LOTR: The Return of the King / same
2004: The Incredibles /Finding Neverland
2005: The Constant Gardener / Capote
2006: The Departed / same
2007: No Country For Old Men / same
2008: WALL-E / same
2009: Still way too many left to see. Sure I'll have an Oscar list.

I Can't Get Enough of You

past couple of weeks:

• Harry and David Royal Riviera pears
• Garden Oaks, Houston, TX drives/home searching
• reading decade lists
• and Oscar futures
• the As Seen in Shreveport blog
• Mickle's Pickles - Not Hot Jalepeno flavor
• Louis F. Aulbach's Buffalo Bayou internet articles
• Lostpedia hyperlinking

Decade in Review 3- 20 Great Shows I Saw (non-ACL)

in simplistic alphie:

• Arcade Fire - Randall's Island, NYC - 2008*
  
• Band of Horses - The Metro, Chicago - 2008
• Beck and The Flaming Lips - Jones Hall, Houston - 2002
• Belle and Sebastian - The Backyard, Austin - 2001*
• Bonnie "Prince" Billy - Walter's, Houston - 2009
• Buddy and Julie Miller - The Continental Club, Houston - 2001
• Centro-matic - Rudyard's, Houston - 2002
• David Byrne - Jones Hall, Houston - 2009*
• Dwight Yoakam - The Backyard, Austin - 2002
  
• Emmylou Harris - Jones Hall, Houston - 2007*
• Gillian Welch with Old Crow Medicine Show - Engine Room, Houston - 2004
• Mates of State - Club de Ville, Austin - 2007
• Modest Mouse - Stubb's, Austin - 2003*
• Neko Case and Deer Tick - Warehouse Live, Houston - 2009
• Ralph Stanley - The Mucky Duck, Houston - 2002
• The Asylum Street Spankers - Rudyard's, Houston - 2002
• The Decemberists - Rudyard's, Houston - 2003
• The Polyphonic Spree - Warehouse Live, Houston - 2007**
• The White Stripes - Rudyard's, Houston - 2001
• Tom Waits - Jones Hall, Houston - 2008

* Top 5, probably
** Honorable Mention (Words and rankings can not do it justice. Just smile when you think of it.)
I reserve the right to add more as my memory works over the weekend.

KNH Decade in Review - States I have Visited

I like this game. Here are states visited from 01/01/2000 - 12/31/2009

1. Arizona (e)
2. California * (d,h)
3. Delaware (a,e)
4. Florida * (b,d,g)
5. Georgia (b)
6. Illinois * (a,b,d)
7. Kentucky(g)
8. Louisiana* (c,d,h)
9. Maryland (g)
10. Nevada * (d)
11. New Jersey *(a,d,e)
12. New York *(d)
13. Oklahoma *(a,b,d)
14. Ohio (e)
15. Oregon (a,g)
16. Pennsylvania *(g)
17. South Carolina *(g)
18. Tennessee (g)
19. Texas (f)
20. West Virginia (g)
21. Washington, D.C. (g)
22. Wisconsin (a,e)

* Multiple Trips
a - first time
b - work trip
c - Wedding
d - Visit/Vacation with Friends
e - passing through
f - duh
g - Visit/Vacation with Family
h - watch Texas Footbal Game

New Netflixes

Here is a chance for you all to make money off of each other. You can bet on how long it will take me to watch and return:

• Deadwood, Season 1, Disc 5
• Battlestar Galactica, The Miniseries
• District 9
  

I will let you know when I return them so you can collect your winnings.

Life in Review 1 - States I have never been to/through

• Alaska
• Hawaii
• Idaho
• Maine
• Montana
• New Hampshire
• North Dakota
• Oregon
• South Dakota
• Vermont
  

(AKA Decade in Forecast. I am going to (at least) the continental ones pretty soon.)

Tomorrow's Momentous Achievements

Tomorrow I will be doing the following:

I will return the following three DVDs, all of which I have finally watched in full (*one of them several times), to Netflix:

1. Open Range (original shipment reported missing on 1/22/08, redelivered on 1/23/08)
2. Broken Flowers* (shipment date 8/31/06)
3. Heights (shipment date 8/31/06)

Hooray for me! These were some cheap movie rentals, huh?!! Well, at least I liked all three of them. Although Heights seemed a bit derivative. But I have to remember to discount everything I've seen since 8/31/06, so maybe not.

Decade in Review 2 - States I Visited

Arkansas (b)
California (b,d)
Colorado (b,e)
Connecticut (a,b,d)
Florida (b,d)
Georgia (b)
Illinois (b,c,d)
Iowa (a,e)
Kansas (a,b,e)
Louisiana (b,c,d,e)
Maryland (a,d)
Massachusetts (d)
Minnesota (a,b)
Mississippi (b)
Missouri (b)
Nebraska (a,c,d)
Nevada (c)
New Jersey (e)
New York (b,d)
Ohio (b,c)
Oklahoma (b,d)
Pennsylvania (b)
South Carolina (b,c)
Texas (f)
Utah (a,b)
Virginia (b,d)
Wisconsin (a,b)
Wyoming (a,b)
Washington, D.C. (a,b,d)

a - First time
b - Work trip
c - Wedding
d - Visit friends
e - Just passing through
f - Duh

Decade in Review 1 - Best Picture Winners

From my favorite to my least favorite:

No Country for Old Men 2007

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003

The Departed 2006
Chicago 2002
Whatever wins this year probably 2009

Slumdog Millionaire 2008

Gladiator 2000
Million Dollar Baby 2004

A Beautiful Mind (I have not seen this) 2001
Crash 2005

Hey, Julie....We (May) Go Way Back

Julie, Do you know any of these people? If so, our ancestors may have been real good friends!!


Fitch, Eli, Jr. 25 Feb 1872 - 17 July 1934
Fitch, Claudia 23 Oct 1875 - 16 Dec 1951
Fitch, Lucius Casper 1 Feb 1900 - 22 Sept 1973
Fitch, Norma Moss 27 Oct 1908 - 16 Mar 1985
Fitch, Emery Otha 10 Aug 1896 - 4 Feb 1919
Fitch, Effie 23 July 1899 - 24 July 1899
Fitch, Pierce D. 4 Feb 1901 - 12 Aug 1936
Fitch, Vollie 16 June 1866 - 23 Sept 1945
Fitch, Mary Ada 26 June 1870 - 3 June 1936
Fitch, Inf. Son Born 4 Nov 1898
Fitch, Bessie 28 Oct 1894 - 4 Sept 1897
Fitch, Dewey L. 25 Oct 1895 - 31 May 1900
Fitch, Ida L. 20 Oct 1872 - 23 Feb 1897
Fitch, Y. D. 3 March 1869 - 23 Dec 1928
Fitch, Sallie 1874 - 1962
Fitch, Ina 1894 - 1895
Fitch, Ina 29 Aug 1894 - 6 Oct 1895
Fitch, Raymond 17 Sept 1906 - 21 Oct 1919
Fitch, Martha Wilmath 1903 - 1918
Fitch, Carrie Jimmie 1909 - 1916
Fitch, William F. 1872 - 1918
Fitch, Ida Vivian 1874 - 1943
Fitch, George W. d. 12 Jan 1927
Fitch, Thomas 23 Jan 1841 - 9 Sept 1926 "Uncle Tom"
Fitch, J. Travis 19 Dec 1894 - 26 Nov 1965
Fitch, Gertrude 30 July 1888 - 25 Oct 1964
Fitch, F. D. 3 Dec 1843 - 21 Oct 1914
Fitch, Wilmuth 13 May 1851 - 7 Aug 1928
Fitch, Eli 5 April 1839 - 7 July 1923
Fitch, Martha A. 8 July 1842 - 31 March 1912
Fitch, Victoria 23 Dec 1875 - 5 Nov 1878
Fitch, Leota 1896 - 1918
Fitch, Comfort 1905 - 1931
Fitch, Jim (no dates)
Fitch, Empson Born in 1814 - 16 Nov 1862
Fitch, Delilah H. 11 Dec 1817 - 6 May 1880

My Christmas Vacation

The counties in Texas I passed through between December 23rd and January 4th:

1. Travis
2. Williamson
3. Milam
4. Robertson
5. Leon
6. Freestone
   
7. Anderson
8. Cherokee
9. Rusk
10. Harrison
11. Greg
    
12. Smith
13. Van Zandt
14. Kaufman
15. Dallas
16. Tarrant
17. Parker
18. Palo Pinto
19. Erath
20. Eastland
21. Callahan
22. Taylor
23. Nolan
24. Mitchell
25. Howard
26. Martin
27. Midland
28. Ector
29. Ward
30. Pecos
31. Brewster
32. Crockett
33. Sutton
34. Kimble
35. Kerr
36. Kendall
37. Bexar
38. Guadalupe
39. Caldwell
40. Gonzales
41. Fayette
42. Colorado
43. Austin
44. Waller
45. Fort Bend
46. Harris
47. Dimmitt
48. La Salle
    
49. Washington
50. Lee
51. Bastrop

Miles driven: 2002.6

Family Names

In performing my new hobby of ~Amateur Genealogy~ I discovered a lot of interesting family names.

Names I would name my kid, aka names I will suggest to my brothers:

• William Battle Mayfield*
• John Battle Mayfield*
  
• John Carleton Fowler*
• Captain Moses Thomas Fowler*
• John Wesley Henson*
• Andrew McClure Cox*
• Wesley McClure Cox
  
• Hal Philip Morris
• James Perry Ingram*
• Nicholas Karnes* or Charles* or Michael*
  
• Ophelia Angeline Merritt*

My great-great-grandmother's family had the best bunch of names:

• Mary Alabama Davidson, and her siblings:
• Virginia Oregon Davidson
• Ohio Texana Davidson
• Duke Davidson
  
• Black Davidson
• Felix Grundy Davidson

Other names of interest

• Bertie Bell Roden*
• Florence Lafayette Garrett* (a man)
  
• Ima Roach
  
• Auston Copeland
• Minerva Louetta Sanderson
• Junious Devereaux Smith
  
• Protho Fox
• Dorcas Blois Bellame
• Jemimah Dooley
  
• Fleming Trigg Cox
• Roxanna Lucanna Crook*
• Egridus DeLaGreves*
• Priscilla Ramage Dillard*,**
• Thomas Jefferson Dillard
• George Washington Dillard
• George Washington Cox*
• George Washington Brooks Garrett
• Jefferson Davis Haskell
  
• Samuel Houston Mayfield
• Andrew Jackson Mayfield
• Homerleta Mayfield
  
• Philip Robert "Dude" Henson
• Mary Polly Goodbread*
  
• Zelpha Henson
• LaVaughan McWhorter
• Maggie "Trixie" Priestley
• and the famous Leonard Neatha "Bus" Cox
  

*Direct ancestor
**Look her up. She's a badass.

Tomato Soups I Have Eaten in 2010

1. Pacific Natural Foods organic creamy tomato soup - pretty good and convenient for keeping at work.
2. Bakerman's Bakery tomato basil soup - my coworker, who also ate this soup, mentioned a hint of dill, which I then noticed and enjoyed.
   
3. Whole Foods chipotle tomato soup - delicious and just the right amount of spicy.

Still, my favorite is tomato brie soup from Annie's Cafe, which I haven't had in 2010 because, though it's perfect soup weather (see 1-3), it's too cold to walk to 3rd & Congress.

Shows I Only Watch At My Parents' House

1. Woodsmith Shop
2. NCIS
3. CSI Miami (any CSI, really. But it usually seems to be Miami)
4. Local News (which is always paused for 10 seconds on the 7-day forecast screen, but my mom has to ask for the pause every time. At 6 and at 10)
5. Hallmark Christmas movies
6. The RFD Channel, including such hits as:
   

• Reno's Old Time Music Festival
• Country's Family Reunion
• Hee Haw
• The Porter Wagoner Show
  

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