TV/Movie Mania : Toodle Pip!

I can't decide whether to credit the genius of "Jeeves & Wooster" to P.G.Wodehouse or to Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry.


How is it that some theme songs are so catchy?  If you asked me what the theme song was I couldn't have begun to guess, but the second the show starts, I can hum along with it as easily as one would sing "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" (or The Alphabet Song, or Ah! vous dirai-je, Maman - not Mozart, after all)


I have seen all the BBC episodes before I ever read any of the Jeeves stories, and now I can only read the stories picturing Laurie and Fry in their typical shenanigans - or rather, Laurie's shenanigans and Fry's unswerving solemnity.


However, only Wodehouse gets credit for Gussie Fink-Nottle, Barmy Fotheringay Phipps, and the wonderful scrapes Wooster gets into and Jeeves extricates him from.


I suppose it doesn't really matter to whom credit is due, since once could not exist without the other.


Also, most people are familiar with Laurie in his role as House on Fox - I wonder if they realize what a comical actor he is.  He has an amazingly mobile face, which constantly fascinates me when I watch "Jeeves & Wooster".  (I also greatly enjoyed him as the samba-obsessed banker in Girl From Rio).  Stephen Fry, although I feel he doesn't get nearly enough laurels, is quite excellent as the quintessentially muted-humored Brit (As seen in "Jeeves & Wooster", IQ, "Bones", and the voice of the Book in HHGTTG)




Anyway, as Burtie says, "Toodle Pip!"

Food - Mulling Mix

It's amazing how a hot fall day in the desert can seem like a golden autumn evening in the woods.  It doesn't require much...

First, turn on a couple of fans to dispel the heat in the air.  Put up some Halloween decorations to remind you that it really is mid-October.  Maybe even cut up an apple and treat yourself to some caramel dip.

Once the fans start kicking in, it's time for the final step.

Hot Mulled Cider (or apple juice or wine)
Whole Allspice
Cinnamon Stick(s)
Dried Cut Ginger
Whole Star Anise
Whole Cloves

Combine the spices in a cheesecloth bag  or a tea infuser.  Let the cider/juice/wine simmer with the spices, then keep it on warm.

If you do wine, you may need to add some sugar, depending on your taste and/or the quality of the wine.  You can also add sliced apples, oranges, or lemon.

I <3 autumn!

Vocabulary Misconception

I get most of my vocabulary from reading, thus I often garner definitions from the context, rather than a dictionary definition.  (My pronunciation similarly suffers; when I was a kid I though youth was pronounced like mouth. My mom still won't let me live that down...)

Just today, for example, I learned that laconic means using or involving the use of a minimum of words : concise to the point of seeming rude or mysterious.  To me this makes it synonomus with terse.  However, I've always linked laconic with the word languid, meaning drooping or flagging from/as if from exhaustion, sluggish in character or disposition, or lacking in force or quickness of movement.  Oddly enough, I've also associated a slightly more elegant meaning with the word languid, associating it more with Greek royalty lounging in chaises, receiving grapes and being fanned with palm leaves, than with someone drooping with exhaustion.


I guess the moral of this is to have a dictionary on hand while reading, for instant definition (and pronunciation)

TV/Movie Mania : Part One

Ok, maybe it doesn't have the same alliterative ring as 'Movie Mania' but I felt that I needed to be honest with the title.

I've created a nice little dent in my couch, glued to the wonders that are Hulu.com and Netflix/Netflix watch instantly. With my DVD fetish, I can't believe how many wonderful movies and TV shows I haven't seen.

I just finished Legend of the Seeker, which I think compares to Heath Ledger's show Roar. (That means I loved it) And if you haven't seen Roar, go for it. It's only 11 or so episodes. Celtic hero prince traveling the village with a small posse and saving the oppressed from the oppressors. Although I haven't read the Sword of Truth books by Terry Goodkind, internet rumors are that Legend is very loosely based on his series. I will have to investigate this for myself.

I’m still working through it, but I’m greatly enjoying HBO’s series The Tudors. Jonathan Rhys Myers does a wonderful job, as do all the other players. It almost makes me want to look into the history of the time period. This is amazing; as a rule, I highly dislike history!

And I recently watched Penelope, which ranks in my book up with Ever After and Ella Enchanted. I LOVE a good Cinderella story!

Races

My Goal...I plan to run a Marathon or Half Marathon (or some long race) in every state. Maybe even in every country. I'm going to have to compile a list to accompany my personal travelogue


April 29, 2006 Nashville, TN - Country Music 1/2 Marathon 2:58:54
Aug 27, 2006? Columbia, MD Iron Girl Triathalon
Sept 3, 2006 Virginia Beach, VA - Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon 3:08:39
Oct 14, 2006 Baltimore City, MD - Under Armour 1/2 Marathon 3:09:26
Dec 10, 2006 Las Vegas, NV - The New Las Vegas 1/2 Marathon 3:01:11
Dec 16, 2006 Celtic Solstice 5 Mile oops!
Jan 14, 2007? Tempe, AZ - PF Chang 1/2 Marathon
Feb 18, 2007 Tampa, FL - Gasparilla 1/2 Marathon 2:59:48
Mar 4, 2007 Severna Park, MD - B&A Trail 1/2 Marathon 2:50:09
Apr 1, 2007 Washington, DC - Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run 2:20:29
June 1, 2007 Baltimore, MD - Blue Moon Run (7 miles - NRC Trail) 1:45
June 24, 2007 Columbia, MD - Damien's Run (5k)
Aug 12, 2007 Boordy Vineyards, MD - Xterra 5K ~41 min
Aug 19, 2007? Columbia, MD - Iron Girl Triathalon
Sept 2, 2007 Virginia Beach, VA - Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon 3:17:43
Oct 14, 2007? San Jose, CA - Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon
April 6, 2008 Washington, DC - Cherry Blossom 10 Mile Run 2:14:14
Aug 31, 2008 Virginia Beach, VA - Rock'n'Roll 1/2 Marathon 3: something
Apr 26, 2009 OKC, Oklahoma - Memorial 1/2 Marathon
TBD Cheverny, France - Marathon de Cheverny


More dates and Locations TBA

**Established May 15, 2006**

**edited May 17, 2006; Nov 15, 2006; Dec 12, 2006; Feb 20, 2007; Mar 05, 2007; May 14, 2007; June 12, 2007; September 6, 2007, May 7, 2008, April 20, 2009**

My Citadel Suites Apartment

Mike Hater

I came back across this old blog that I posted for Mike, back in 2005. And re-reading it three years later, I had to grin. So now I feel I should share it, instead of leaving it sitting all alone.


We would have e-mail hate wars, but this particular one was so clever that I had to post it. Who is ever so bored at work that they start corresponding in haiku?!? Apparently, Mike does.

Anyway, during the conversation, I promised Mike I'd dedicate a website to hating him, in retaliation for his enjoyment of a blog about hating horses. But I didn't really have anything to post, so I posted the conversation that started it all...

mikehater.com