Siskel and Ebert

What inspires me today...

Holiday Cinema

Surprisingly, I have been behind lately in my holiday movie watching.  This is unfortunate, because I have become intrigued by many of the names I see on the marquees as I drive by on the way to stare once again at the Boarders gift section in hopes of some last minute gift inspiration.  I have not, in fact, watched previews or read reviews for anything in theaters recently, but I think I can guess the plot and rate them all pretty accurately due to my experience in movie watching and general judgmental attitudes.

So here it is, Katie's Judging-A-Movie-By-The-Cover:

Black Swan

A coming-of-age story about a young bird who thinks she is ugly growing up.  Finally, she befriends and old badger who helps her to realize that she is in actuality a swan who has been living among ducklings.  She goes off in search of her flock, only to realize that she is still ugly since swans are supposed to be white.
Grade: B+

True Grit 

Rick Sloane's camp horror twist on an old classic.  Alternative title -- Fried Green Tomatoes II: Ruth's Revenge
 Grade: A

 Country Strong

Micheal Moore has had a change of heart recently, making a series of mini docu-dramas highlighting the different sects of the United States military. He really delves into the collective soul of patriots everywhere to find the true meaning of the saying, "these colors don't run."

Grade: D-

TRON: Legacy 

A Daft Punk soundtrack that sounds straight out of 1982, 3-D groundbreaking special effects, nostalgic throwbacks to 80's geek-dom, and thrilling sequences that still fall short of reconciling the contrived plot and hopeless dialogue. (You caught me. I saw this one last night.)

Grade: C

Well, there you have it.  Obviously there's no Avitar in our near future, but I think there may be some gems.  I will update this once I have seen all of these movies for the sake of proper journalism, but then again, I probably won't.

Sears

What inspires me today...

  Pneumatic Melodies.

Yes, it is true.  After an entire semester, I have created the perfect playlist to pulse through your ear buds under correct ear protective coverings.  That's right, the Power Tools Playlist is complete.

You are thinking, "Wow, bold statement. What gives you the authority/audacity to claim such an unthinkable feat?" or "I could do better."
And to these skeptics I say, you're probably right, but I'd like to see you prove it.

Here it is, the Power Tools Playlist:

1.  Bachelorette - Bjork
2.  Man of Constant Sorrow - Bob Dylan (cover)
3. Dress Sexy at my Funeral - Smog
4. Sinaloan Milk Snake Song - Mountain Goats
5. Are You Swimming in Her Pools? - Swan Lake

Trust me,  this perfect blend of beautiful yet harsh-to-the-ear croons make turning a hunk of alabaster into a buffalo head to mount on your living room wall a breeze.  No one will accuse any of these artists of being necessarily "good" singers, but that is just the edge that will keep you going through the crucial sawing and grinding process.

Advice:
Don't listen to new Iron and Wine. You will cut your hand it's so awesome.
Don't listen to the Ting Tings either. They're terrible.

you belong with me - m4w - 28

What inspires me today...

At first sight.

A bizarre habit of mine is to absentmindedly click through a few of my tabbed items on my toolbar.  Here I find many treasures, such as rotten tomatoes, my bank account, my email, an assortment of blogs, news stations, a few music sites, ebay, and of course... Craigslist.

It's no secret that I love Craigslist.  I've even posted before about Craigslist.  It's a strange and fascinating obsession.  

For a while I was searching for a job.  I found a job, thanks Craigslist.  Then I needed a bike.  Once I found that, the natural progression was to look for a stalker.  Yes, I thought the "Casual Encounters" section was funny for a time, but then things got pretty real when I discovered "Missed Connections" just a few links down.

I'm just waiting for the day when I click on "Girl at Ralphs" and it's not talking about the blond in soccer warm-ups ahead of you in line.  One day it will be the brunette who has oatmeal, black beans, and that weird bargain fruit that is about to go bad in her basket.  One day...

Until then, I will just enjoy the sweet sentiments of these mini poetic declarations of missed true love.

Example: "Ahhh, love is an anthropologist's rubiks cube." 

Or this gem: "You know who you are. You probably know who I am. You know where you were, and you know you saw me at those same places."

I emailed that one back.  Sounds like we have a lot in common.