Video killed all other interests

So, I have watched a lot of movies lately.

A lot.

Here is a nearly complete list of the three and a half weeks that started with my Reel Quandary and ends with last night, in roughly reverse chronological order.

• Reel Injun
• Ayn Rand & the Prophecy of Atlas Shrugged*
• The Doom Generation
• Mommie Dearest
• Electrick Children
• Purple Rain
• Fame
• Valley of the Dolls
• Salinger
• Death Race 2000
• Born in Flames
• The Hot Flashes
• Dirty Girl
• Albert Nobbs
• The Van**
• Seven
• The Conversation
• Tabloid
• Matchstick Men
• Better off Dead
• Imitation of Life
• Jay and Silent Bob Go Down Under
• Young Adult
• Indecent Proposal
• We Were Here
• Sharknado***
• Rid of Me
• An Unmarried Woman
• The Wolves of Kromer
• Trading Places

Some of that volume of viewing is due to my determination to cut down the Netflix list. Some of it is due to the fact that, right at Sharknado time, I got a new and amazingly better TV. And some of it is no doubt due to the fact that it's freezing out. Like, really, really cold.

In any case, there are a lot of great, great movies in that mix, but it seems silly to try to talk about them all. So: What are you watching that I should add to the list? And what of what I've seen do you want to hear more about?


* Didn't finish: Too pro-Rand
** Didn't finish: Too rapey
*** Didn't finish: Insufficiently awesome effects for my new TV

Trying to become the funk in your right

Calvin says this is the most romantic scene in film history.



Which is funny, because I always thought it was this.



Which maybe explains how (or why) I sometimes confuse "sexy" for "romantic."

What's your most romantic (or sexiest) film scene? And are you OK with that?

Higher than a...

So today, the car radio broke again. It worked perfectly for a few days, and I could turn it off or adjust the volume — and then, just before a very long drive, it stopped working, and so is now stuck off.

Naturally, I had to sing to myself a little in the car.

And I found myself singing, kind of loudly, "Star! Fish! Were meant to fly-ai-yi..."

Which, no. Not quite.

Two things, then:

1. Ever caught yourself singing something odd and not quite right?
2. If starfish were meant to fly, would it be more terrifying or hilarious?

ZIP a dee doo dah

This hardly seems like it would warrant a post, but who else am I gonna tell?

More than six years after moving to my current address, I have twice in the last week found myself inadvertently responding to requests for my ZIP code with my old one from the DC area. I had that ZIP code for eight years (at three addresses).

At what point do we think that'll wear off?

Reel quandary

There are currently 47 things on my Netflix instant queue.

Last night, I decided I'm making my way through it, one way or another. I'm watching things from the queue, deleting things I have no intention of watching. And last night, that worked out great. A little Trading Places, a little Wolves of Kromer — nothing complements the magic of Murphy and Ackroyd like gay werewolves that are metaphors for gay people, I always say.

Tonight, I decided to scroll through with my eyes closed and stop at random.

And this, right here, is where we (collectively) decide what kind of person I am.

Because the movie I brought up is Intolerance (1916), described by Netflix thusly:

Four stories spanning two millennia illustrate how intolerance has been a destructive force in the history of mankind, including the fall of Babylon.

I can only assume it's in there because it's an Important Film, and because a few years back I was working my way through the AFI's top 100 films of all time.

But this is a three hour and 17 minute silent film. About intolerance.

Watching it tonight is clearly not an option. That honor's probably going to Valley of the Dolls or Bill Cunningham's New York, or, like, anything else.

So, friends:

• Am I going to watch this movie eventually, or
• Should I just remove it from the queue?

Vomit, leather, criminals, and a treadmill

I haven't posted much, but I haven't been doing much. Here are four things I have done, unrelated to each other, in chronological order:

• I got crazy-sick with that stomach bug that's going around. It was over fast(ish), but while it was not over, it was a nightmare. I don't recommend it.
• I went to a leather/drag-themed New Years Eve/birthday party, and it was super-fun. I don't know what more information on that readers are likely to want, so I present it just like that, with an invitation for question-asking.
• I put together a treadmill with a femme friend. In case you are wondering about our mad problem-solving skillz, we put the handle in the freezer, and also used olive oil. If you are marveling at our awesomeness, you are right to do so. If you are scoffing, well, shut up. I have a fully functional treadmill, and did not have one before we thought to employ the freezer and the EVOO.
• I caught myself reading the police and court reports in the local newspaper and then Facebook searching to see if I know anyone in common with any of the perpetrators or alleged perpetrators. I realized as I did so that it was not the first time I've done that. I am unsure if that is just a thing people in small towns do, or if it is just my own quirk, but regardless, I'm not sure how to feel about it.

What you read here

Of the top-ten most-read posts this blog has ever had, five were in 2013.

Of those five, four were month-of-gratitude posts.

And of those four, three were written by people other than me.

Just thought you might be curious, and plus, it's an easy post to pull together. Here's to a 2014 of posts written by other people (as well as me), to first-time visitors and old friends, to words worth sharing with everyone you know.

Those top-five 2013 posts:

1. >
2. Thanks for the lift
3. Spinning
4. Devil is in the detailing
5. Lessons of Gratitude from my First Year of Marriage

Which were your favorites from CMC this year?