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Yay Vienna!
Posted by barb on Aug 1, 2005 in Random Thoughts
Hey! Vienna, VA, the city Andrew and I live in, was named the fourth best place to live by Money Magazine. How cool is that?
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Movies in the Morning/The Philadelphia Story
Posted by barb on Jul 31, 2005 in Movies
We actually wanted to see all of the movies the Cinema Arts Theatre was playing this week for its “Movies in the Morning” series, so we went up again this morning to catch another one. (We can’t see them all, though, because they’re playing four different movies each week.) This morning we went to The Philadelphia Story, starring Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant.
It is the day before Tracy Lord (Hepburn), a woman of some wealth, is getting married for the second time. Her ex-husband, C. K. Dexter Haven (Grant), indrudes upon the day, bringing a reporter and photographer from Spy Magazine to capture the day. Ostensibly, this film is a comedy, and it certainly has its moments. However, the portrayal of relationships, and long, odd speeches in the middle of the film just don’t fit in with the label “comedy”.
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Brainless Cyclists
Posted by barb on Jul 30, 2005 in Biking, Random Thoughts
Every public trail has them. They try to look like professional cyclists. They wear brightly colored jerseys and black cycling shorts, just like the professional and hard-core cyclists. They train hard like professionals. They bike fast, even on the steep grades, like professionals. But they are not professionals. In fact, professionals probably dislike these imposters as much as the non-professionals. Let’s call them brainless cyclists, or bcs for short.
What exactly makes them brainless? There are a couple things.
BCs are the cyclists who feel entitled to go 20 mph (or their normal riding speed) no matter the conditions on the trail. There are a hundred pedestrians on the trail? No matter, I’ll just weave between them like an idiot. The cyclist ahead of me is passing a pedestrian? No matter, I’ll just brush past them within an inch…maybe two. There’s a sign ahead saying that the trail narrows, so cyclists please dismount before crossing? Screw that, it doesn’t apply to me. Never mind that there is barely room for a single pedestrian; I’ll just be there for a moment, so they’ll hardly notice me.
Perhaps worse, BCs are also the cyclists who don’t feel like the rules of courtesy on trails apply to them. The foremost courtesy on the trail is to give a audible warning when you are about to pass someone. Andrew and I have bells on our bikes that we ring. Many other cyclists just say, “On your left”, or simply “left” or “passing”. The reason for this should be clear — if you’re passing someone, you don’t want to startle them, causing them to veer one way or the other. It is equally important to warn other cyclists as it is to warn pedestrians. The BCs, however, don’t see it that way. It’s too much effort for them to say “left” when they are passing, or perhaps it’s beneath them. I’m not sure which.
To these assholes on the trail I say, find another damn place to ride your bike. Find a nice quiet country road where you can be alone. As for those of us on the public trails, we don’t want you here.
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Movies in the Morning/Talk of the Town
Posted by barb on Jul 30, 2005 in Movies
The Cinema Arts Theatre near our house continued its “Movies in the Morning” series this week, so we biked up this morning to watch Talk of the Town. Talk of the Town stars Cary Grant as political activist, Leopold Dilg, who has been accused of starting a fire that burned down a factory and killed the foreman. He escapes jail and moves himself into the attic of a rental owned by a girl he grew up with and rented for the summer by a prominent law professor. The film is a bit of a screwball comedy, and turned out to be a lot of fun.
Total miles biked: 9 miles
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Posted by barb on Jul 28, 2005 in Movies
4/5 stars
Fun, fun, fun!
Usually I don’t really like re-makes — the first version of something that I experience is usually the one that I’m going to like best. However, this time around, it’s hard to say which version I like best. I love Johnny Depp, and his performance here is an par with the best of his work. The film adds in a bit more of the background of Willy Wonka that is present neither in the book or the Gene Wilder version of the film, and I haven’t decided if I liked it or not (leaning toward not), though it does set it apart.
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National Treasure
Posted by barb on Jul 27, 2005 in Movies
3/5 stars
Standard thriller. Fun while it lasted, though, of course, completely unbelievable.
Memed Me
Posted by barb on Jul 26, 2005 in Memes, Etc.
Laurie tagged me for this one.
10 years ago: I had just finished up at the community college with a bunch of awards: winner of the short story part of the creative writing contest, top math student for the year, an award for top women and minorities in math and science, and some scholarship money from the AMAYTC tests. I was also recovering from my second eye surgery in June to correct my tearing retinas (on my left eye — my right eye had been corrected in March that year). I was also working at Hallmark for the summer, house-sitting for my physics instructor from Normandale Community College, and was preparing to move to New Mexico (from Minnesota) to finish out my undergraduate degrees.
5 years ago: < insert maniacal laugh here > I was studying for quals. My advisor for my research assistantship would not give me any new work over the summer so that I couldn’t be distracted away from studying. Andrew and I started dating that summer 5 years ago, too. Somehow he put up with my insane qual studying that summer — I think that’s when I knew he’d be with me for the long term.
1 year ago: Andrew and I were planning for our wedding. Pretty much everything was in place by this time last year, but my wedding dress was AWOL.
Yesterday: I was working. Nothing spectacular, though I went into the office even though I normally telecommute on Mondays. Went to lunch with Lorna and Sandy to combat the Monday-blues. Last night Andrew and I watched part of The Lost World – the mini series version from A&E.
Today: Telecommuting. I’m getting caught up with some of my thesis work, and delving into some of the background/physics of my data. This evening Andrew and I will have our weekly “journal night” where we go to Starbucks and I read journal articles and Andrew works on some of his writing.
Tomorrow: Working again. Nothing special. Andrew has his cello lesson in the evening, so I’ll probably watch my Netflix movie, National Treasure.
5 snacks I enjoy: Doritos, anything with chocolate (especially dark chocolate), chips and hummus, Phish food ice cream (from B&J), cheese
5 bands that I know the lyrics of MOST of their songs: Sting, Indigo Girls, Dido, The Monkees, Weird Al
5 things I would do with $100,000,000: Beyond the usual quitting work, buying a dream house and helping out our friends and family, I’d travel a bit (though I’d want to spend time at the dream house, too!), and set up scholarship funds at some of my alma maters.
5 bad habits I have: Cursing, procrastinating, not eating healthy-enough,
5 things I like doing: Biking, scrapbooking, snuggling Andrew (and no, that’s not necessarily a euphemism for anything), going to the movies, playing with our cats
5 things I would never wear: Bikini, tube tops, micro-skirts, thongs (can’t stand the butt-floss!), spike-heels
5 TV shows I like: Battlestar Galactica, Gilmore Girls, The Closer, Clean Sweep, 30 Days (I hope it comes back)
5 movies I like: Besides the Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings movies, The Incredibles, Pirates of the Caribbean, Ever After, Real Genius, Never Been Kissed
5 famous people I’d like to meet: Einstein, Feynman, Harrison Ford, Fredrik Pohl, Sheri S. Tepper
5 biggest joys at the moment: Andrew, the cats, summer biking, having dinner made for me (best. husband. ever.), reconnecting with my thesis work
People I’ve tagged: Mushi & Sweetie,
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Biking to Alexandria
Andrew and I decided to take the bikes out to Alexandria today. This has typically been one of our favorite rides, since it takes us along the Potomac and then down into Alexandria for a yummy lunch and fun shops. And, we did enjoy the scenery, mostly enjoyed lunch (though our waiter at Bertucci’s did not bring us rolls, even after Andrew asked), and went a little nuts at A Likely Story because they were having a “Christmas in July” sale with 20% off all books and 30% off non-books. However, there were a lot of @sshole cyclists on the trail today, for some reason, and the bike trip make me pretty cranky. (Hoping to post a rant soon.)
Just as we got to the river, we saw this kayak with a very happy puppy:
We stopped at the Navy and Marine Memorial along the trail, and I took these two pictures:
Total miles: 11.3 miles
March of the Penguins did not suck!
Posted by barb on Jul 23, 2005 in Random Thoughts
To the person who found my blog by searching for “March of the Penguins sucks”, you’re an idiot.
That’s all.
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Movies in the Morning/12 Angry Men
The Cinema Arts Theatre, up the road from our house, is doing a special series of films over the next several weeks — Movies in the Morning. They are playing classic movies following four themes (I can only remember Hepburn/Grant and courtroom off the top of my head). The movies all start between 10 and 10:30 AM, cost only $5, and there are $1 snacks available at the concession stand.
Andrew and I biked up this morning to catch 12 Angry Men. I had seen at least part of it a few years ago when it played on AMC or TMC, but it was a lot of fun to see it in the theater. There were a few technical problems with the film, and it shut down a couple times, but I wonder how many good copies are left in circulation.
We’ll certainly be back next weekend, though I’m not sure which movie we’ll see — there are a couple that look good to me.
Total biking miles: 6 miles