Julie & Julia- What's for Dinner?

Wow- have I really not written since July? Whoops!

So, I'm late to the JULIE & JULIA party but I caught this movie on cable tonight & watching all this food has made me hungry. I'm a long-time Julia fan. Her devotion to two of the three B's (Butter & Booze- Bacon being the third "b" in my culinary trifecta) has always endeared her to my belly, if not to my blood pressure or my cholesterol. Anyone who cooks with that much butter is clearly living well & happy, right?

Now, part of the problem is that I'm one of the 12 people in the world who doesn't adore Meryl Streep. So I don't rush out to her movies. But damn if she didn't just nail Julia in all of her spirit & joy.

I think in honor of how much fun this movie was to watch, I might have to make Julia's quiche tomorrow. Frankly, the only reason I'm not making it right now is because it's 11:30 at night. Yes, quiche tomorrow... thanks Julia, for all the great food.

iTunes Shuffle

Some people hoard animals, others cardboard. I hoard music. My iTunes library has close to 8000 songs at the moment and the phrase "out of control" frequently comes into conversation when my family refers to my music habit. I'm one of those people who goes online every Tuesday morning to snatch up the free iTunes downloads, and see which albums have been released in case there might be a new song I just NEEEEEEED. Yes, need. Don't you judge me.

I love a good playlist- mine are arranged not only by album (should I buy an entire album) but also by month and year. Scanning my iTunes library you'll find April, 2005, 2007, 2008, alongside playlists made for individuals, different seasons (Summer 2004, 2005, etc...), different moods (R&R, Party, Massive Mellow Mix, etc...). Yes, out of control.

So, my project for the month is to edit & organize my iTunes library. I like to organize my artist in my main library so starting with the A's (first up, 1 song by Aaron Nevill) I'm tackling one letter of the alphabet per day. At least in theory. I'm deleting those freebies that I've never listened to or enjoyed (yes, even the videos- GASP!) & I'm even going to purge some of the songs from albums that I've imported if I don't think I'll listen to them; you know the ones, the songs you would skip if you were listening to it on CD. Wish me luck.

I hit a bit of a stumbling block today in the B's though. I got hung up on my 153!!! Beatles songs. I had to decide whether or not to delete some of the duplicates even though they were from different albums (do I keep the alternate versions from the Anthology albums? or just the originals or both?). Then, even more issues when I came to Billy Joel & found more duplicates- do I keep the original albums intact or the Greatest Hits albums intact... OY! Particularly vexing as some of the songs were already sorted into playlists & I had to go back through & make sure everything was back in its list. Such silliness & fluff & yet, something to consider.

I've even found some surprises already. For instance, I had no idea I had more than a dozen Bon Jovi songs hiding on my iPod. I expected 2 or 3 that I had downloaded in recent years. My guess is that I burned an old CD of my husband's though because truthfully I was never a huge fan of their 80s hits. It's on there though & I couldn't quite bring myself to erase the history. After all, it's classic now, right? But I also found an excellent song by The Boxer Rebellion that I'd downloaded at some point & never put into a playlist so I haven't listened to it at all. So now it's like a shiny new gift for my ears. I hope to find more of those along the way.

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Just saw the Scott Pilgrim movie trailer! I have to admit that I laughed out loud watching it but I found myself wondering if people who aren't already Scott Pilgrim fans will find the trailer (or the movie itself) entertaining? Judge for yourself and watch the trailer now.

I always knew Hall & Oats were about the Bird and the Bee

This is such a great meeting of minds that it can't be overlooked! Thanks to Whitney over at PopCandy for sharing such an awesome exclusive! I love The Bird and The Bee (Polite Dance Song brings a smile to my face every time) & when I heard they were doing a tribute to Hall & Oats, well I think the brilliance of that speaks for itself.

Anyway, PopCandy has posted an exclusive preview from the album, the song Private Eyes & it doesn't disappoint. My sister & I actually wore out our old H2O album back in the day, so I'm eager to hear what kind of spin The Bird and The Bee will put on the rest of my old favorites. Without further ado- The Bird & the Bee singing Private Eyes (via Pop Candy).

Beta Days

Like everyone else these days, I like to play video games. We have an Xbox 360, a Wii, & of course, computers. The Xbox seems to be the domain of my husband, the Wii gets used by the entire family, though the kids use it more than anyone & I tend to play computer games. My main weakness is those silly Time Wasters, I mean Time Management games. You know the ones- they suck away your life, 10 minutes at a time with clever names like Diner Dash or Sally's Salon, or Airport Mania. Some people prefer the Match 3 games like Bejewelled, others play the Hidden Object Games or Adventure varieties & the sad thing is, I know the difference.

At some point a few years ago, someone pointed out to me that several of the game developers allowed average gamers like me to sign up on their websites to be Beta testers for their games. Some of these Betas are nothing more than a glorified trial of the game- an hour of play & you fill out a very brief survey, but it's clear they just want you to like the game & buy it a week later when the game is released. Some however, still clearly have some work to do. They actually ask you for information about bugs you might encounter during game play, will actually fix the problems and send out the game again- these are also the Betas that allow you to play through the entire game (as long as you can do it in a week or three). Obviously those are my favorite ones.

Sometimes you have to fill out a survey to ask to be selected to participate in a Beta. This week I'm playing a game of this variety. I'm particularly excited because it's one of my favorite game franchises and though the reality is that I don't find it particularly difficult to play, it is a lot of fun and a great way to put off doing all the things I SHOULD be doing. Plus, just like anything else you get chosen to do, it's nice to make the cut, even when it's for something as silly as a video game.

So, I'll be playing tonight while watching the Academy Awards. A glance at the beautiful people, and some time on the computer. Good times all around!

CATCHING FIRE

So, speaking of Kindles & books that haven't been published on them yet. I had been holding out on reading CATCHING FIRE by Suzanne Collins because it hadn't been Kindlized yet & clearly, that's my preferred reading format. But, someone offered to lend me their copy & I did want to read it so I caved in & read a book made from paper (gasp!). Of course this also means that Suzanne Collins didn't get any money from me, but that's really more her problem than mine, but I digress...For those who aren't aware, CATCHING FIRE is the second book in the HUNGER GAMES trilogy (the third book has recently had it's title released- MOCKINGJAY- & will be out later this year). I really enjoyed HUNGER GAMES as it was like Death Race for kids & CATCHING FIRE was a wonderful sequel. All the characters we cared about before are back & the action is taken up a notch as the characters are forced to deal with the fall-out they created in the first book. Katniss, Peeta, Gale, Haymitch & the gang are all back and better than ever as they try to survive another season in Panem. I don't want to give away the plot points here- no one wants to ruin a good book. It's technically a YA book, but it's a story that doesn't loose anything when read by adults either. In fact, it's a story that's hard to put down once you begin. The only thing I didn't like about it was the cliffhanger ending because I think it's a cheap author trick to force you to buy the next book in a series & I never like that. Regardless, if you liked HUNGER GAMES, you'll enjoy this one as well.

Ebook Debate goes on

I'm a Kindler. I admit it. I love my Kindle. I was one of those crazy kids who lined up when Amazon first announced that the Kindle was taking over the world & we won't even discuss how much I payed for my first Kindle (yes, I said first- I'm on my second now, the kids having taken over the first one...). I can't imagine ever going back to paper books. For one thing, my husband is thrilled not be building me any more bookshelves. The only paper books I've bought in the last 2 years are comics, which just don't translate well to e-Readers, though I suspect some day they will. Second, my family is a Military family & we are under a strict weight restriction when we move- my books weigh a LOT! So the 100+ books I've read in the last 2 years on my Kindle, all weight exactly what my Kindle weighs- total. And I'll be carrying that with me in my handbag when we move, so it's not an issue.

Recently the publishers however have decided to bite the eyes that feed them. Most of my e-Reading friends are the most avid readers I know. Not the 3 books per year, or even the book a month crowd. We are the people who can read 2 books per week, sometimes at the same time. Instead of making books easier for us to get to however, the publishers have decided that delayed releases, increased prices, and sometimes, withholding books altogether (okay I recognize that sometimes it's the authors' decisions as well JK ROWLING!), are the way to convince us to go back to hardcovers. But they're wrong. Just like .mp3's revolutionized music buying, digital books are the wave of the future.

I love a good hardcover as much as the next person but the only ones I ever buy are from my favorite authors, at a signing. My budget simply doesn't allow me to spend $30+ per book as many books as I read each year. I was a paperback/library reader before, and now with my Kindle I've been able to enjoy a variety of genres quickly, easily & affordably. That said, the more they delay the release of books I want to read, I've been able to go back and read classics that are available for free via Project Gutenberg, or ManyBooks, and I've also been introduced to reasonably priced independent authors. Affordable books are alive and well in digital format.

Today's article in THE NEW YORK TIMES however, just shows how far in the sand the publishing industry continues to hide their head. The companies, publishers, and authors who are able to make the transition to digital platforms with the READERS in mind, are the ones who will win in the end. After all, selling a million books at $9.99 means more money in the bank than selling no books because you were too stubborn to make them available, or sell them for a reasonable price.

Dancing with the What?

I think I mentioned I don't really watch reality TV right? But it's hard not to be bombarded with it all the time. So this morning while perusing CNN, of all places, I read the line-up of the new DANCING WITH THE STARS season. Apparently they are using the word, "stars" loosely as I didn't know who more than half of the contestants were (thanks to CNN's cheat sheet I know at least a little bit- I still don't know a few of them). I do have friends who love this show though & most of them are underwhelmed by the choices. If we go with the truth in advertising approach, it should be DANCING WITH THE REALITY SHOW WASHOUTS(except for Buzz Aldrin who would be cool in any situation).

Chucking CHUCK?

When Chuck first started, I was a major fangirl. I mean what wasn't to love? Geek goes super spy? Isn't that really every single geek's secret fantasy? Yeah, I know it is. And it was fun to watch. Chuck bumbles & stumbles and his super spy friends save his rump again and again and again & once in a while he does something right. But now HE'S a super skilled spy all of a sudden & the show has lost it's charm for me. Now Awesome (who's still Awesome) has become the bumbling charmer. When did THAT happen? I keep hoping that Chuck will come back down to Earth because it has a lot going for it- not the least of which are Adam Baldwin & Zachary Levi and an amazing supporting cast. I just wish they would focus on that original threesome and that amazing chemistry they used to have...

The Marriage Ref

I've said that I watch a lot of TV. Probably too much. But reality TV is not one of my vices. Sure, I watched the first few seasons of Survivor, like everyone else in America but I've never been one to care much about the dancing & dating twists of reality TV's finest. But then last night, I was sucked into the The Marriage Ref in all of it's train-crasherific glory. I could not, could not, could NOT look away. And unlike most of what else is passing for comedy on TV these days, this show actually made me laugh! Who knew? I knew we had a real winner when my husband, a notorious non-television viewer couldn't tear his eyes from the screen either. One of my friends said it best when she said that this show was a lot like Dr. Phil- you watch it to make you feel better about how messed up you are. Truer words may have never been spoken.

Everything We See

Welcome To My World!

An experiment to be sure. But let's see where this takes us shall we? I've been threatening for a while. I'm sort of a pop culture hoarder... read, watch, observe. And in the process, people ask me what I'm doing along those lines- and I like to share. I know others are also in the same world- what you're watching, reading, consuming. Let's see what we can find together.

So, I'll post about those things I'm watching, reading, eating, whatever & we'll see where we get, if anywhere & find out if anyone is interesting other than myself...