So, I should be heading to the gym/out for a run, but I just finished cleaning-cleaning my apt and I’m a little tired.  So I’m going to rest.  Also I have to wait till I clean the oven…20 min to go till I can clean it out!

So anyway, in the meantime, I will fill you in on what’s been going on.  Which essentially translates to what I’ve been reading and watching.  Let’s start with books first:

1. Me Talk Pretty One Day: I read this back in January, and I really enjoyed it.  It wasn’t what I was expecting it to be (tho truthfully I don’t know quite what I was expecting) but at any rate, it was hilarious.  The author, Dave Sedaris, is a very witty man with a very interesting life, so it made for a fun, easy read.  I’ve been told it’s on the lighter side of his writings, and I definitely laughed out loud at a few parts.
2. The Witches of Eastwick: Again, not what I was expecting.  Altho my expectations were based on the film with Michelle Pfeiffer, Cher, Susan Sarandon, and Jack Nicholson…which I did hear in an interview with John Updike was nothing like the book (apparently he and his wife hated the movie).  The book was definitely well-written and I can see why it achieved the acclaim it did.  However, I did not entirely enjoy reading it.  I found it depressing.  And I wasn’t completely sure what point, if any, he was trying to make.  His writing style was undeniably impressive, but I wasn’t a huge fan of the book itself.  Interesting sidenote…while I was reading this book, John Updike passed away.  Consequently, many people sent me information about his death or were more interested in why I was reading it.
3. Blink:  This book was fabulous!  I found it a little slow to start, but ultimately fascinating.  Perhaps because I’m so into psychology, or perhaps because I am so indecisive, I just could not get enough of this book.  Malcolm Gladwell writes effortlessly and presents so much solid and well-rounded evidence to support his arguments…yet the book is still entertaining and the evidence reads more like anectdotes.  I highly highly highly recommend this book…and kind of want to read his other book, The Tipping Point.
4. Grimm’s Fairytales:  Classics.  I found it interesting how similar some of the stories were, or how common certain motifs were (for instance, brothers turning into birds and then the lone sister not speaking for 7 odd years in order to restore them to men.  Or three brothers questing for some such thing and the underdog 3rd brother winning it all).  And I couldn’t help but wonder why “Cinderella”  or “Sleeping Beauty” made it into Disney movies, but “The Twelve Dancing Princesses” did not…altho in some cases (for instance, this one story, “The Cat and Mouse in Partnership”) it was very easy to see why the stories lacked enduring popular appeal.
5. The Audacity of Hope:  This is what I’m currently reading, and I’m not that far into it yet.  But oh my goodness.  It is incredible!  I know things are still a little shaky in the White House right now, and everyone is intensely scrutinizing Barack Obama, but I can’t help but think as I read this that we’re going to be ok as long as he sticks to what he’s saying in the book.  It is incredibly well-written and, so far, eloquently expresses most of my own complicated feelings and concerns regarding politics.  I love it.  Go read it.

To be read next: The Shepherd of the Hills, by Harold Bell Wright.  This book was in my house and at some point I picked it up and placed it with my books.  Then my mom took it and read it, but for some reason is convinced it’s one of mine.  At any rate, she highly recommended it to me, so we shall see!

As for what I’ve been watching…well, there are probably too many to list.  But I have recently joined Netflix and am extremely excited about it, so I will fill you in a bit on that as well as current movies I’ve seen (PS I AM SO GLAD BENJAMIN BUTTON DID NOT WIN ALL THAT MANY OSCARS AND SLUMDOG MILLIONAIR WON 8!!!!!  Additionally, Benjamin Button won the Oscars it did deserve, which was nice.  Also pretty glad Kate Winslet and Penelpe Cruz received awards, altho I did not see either of their movies yet).

1. Gran Torino: I’m not a huge Clint Eastwood fan.  I don’t dislike him or anything, I just mean I’ve never seen many of his movies.  However, I really enjoyed this movie.  It was not what I was expecting, and in a good way.  I thought it was excellent commentary on many different parts of our culture.  And it was engaging and interesting.  The acting was good, and the plot was good too.  It also wasn’t too graphically violent (altho who knows how desensitized I am to violence in movies given our culture).  At any rate, it was enjoyable and thought-provoking.
2. Taken:  For sheer thrill value, this movie was fabulous.  It wasn’t too long, either, which is hugely important to me in movies.  Some people had problems with the plot or some such things, but I think for what it was, it was great.  It was a good action film.  I didn’t feel the violence was overly gratuitous…Liam Neeson just kicked ass when it needed to be kicked.  It was a little bit difficult subject matter, and there were certainly some parts that were cliche or over the top, but it was face-paced and surprising; you never felt bored.  Altho I couldn’t stand the actress who played the daughter.  She was kind of annoying.
3. Noises Off: I’d seen this before, and actually saw the play before the movie (starring my extremely talented sister-in-law, actually), but I feel obliged to put it on here as it is what finally motivated me to sign up for Netflix and thus was my first delivery.  So I’ll put some of Michael’s reaction down since he hadn’t seen it.  He thought it was funny and entertaining.  Which I agree with.  I happen to think it’s a brilliant play, and that the film cast does a great job.
4. Super Mario Bros.: Please don’t judge.  I don’t know exactly how or why this ended up in our movie queue…I think because on the Wii we discovered you can purchase old-school video games.  But at any rate, we rented it.  It’s from 1993 starring John Leguizamo & Bob Hoskins (altho let’s be real, I only care about John Leguizamo.  Love him.)  Anyway, this movie was absurd.  Ridiculous, and absurd.  Also mildly hilarious in it’s absurdity.  I don’t even know what else to say.  It was fun to watch?  But absurd.
5. Slumdog Millionaire:  I saw this movie with some of my former South Africa group, and saw it for free.  But I think even had I paid to see it, I still would have loved this movie.  I was blown away.  I thought it was an excellent movie in a variety of ways, and was so impressed with the acting.  The scenes of the slums were particularly well-done, I thought, (despite the protests in India regarding it).  While I understand the opposition to this movie, I do not think that those making the movie had any malicious intent, or portrayed it in any particularly offensive or demeaning way.  Then again, I am not from the slums, so there is my own bias.  I don’t know what I think about it in terms of its being considered “poverty porn” (which I do think is one of the coolest phrases I’ve heard ever) but all I know is I loved this movie.  And I was shocked by how similar the slums it portrayed were to the townships in South Africa.  Very interesting.
6. Wit:  Starring Emma Thompson, who has quickly become one of my favorite actresses (she’s in Stranger Than Fiction and Nanny McPhee).  I heard about this title actually because I heard of the play (I think AAP was considering putting it on at one point) but I didn’t know exactly what it was about.  When I read the back I grew concerned because it sounded unbelievably depressing…it’s about a woman with stage 4 ovarian cancer.  However, while the movie was, in fact, unbelievably depressing, I also adored it.  The main character is an English professor specializing in 17th century poetry, particularly that of John Donne.  Love it.  Additionally, the word play in the movie/play is astounding and so well done.  I think it does an incredible job of representing the experience of disease, as well as portraying this woman’s life.  And they named her Vivian Bearing, which I just think is genius.  It was also easy to see how the movie originated from a play, but I think they handled the translation to film nicely.

Next in the queue: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.  I’m excited.

I have caved in and subscribed to Netflix.  I’m actually incredibly excited about it…and I already have 140 movies in my queue

Also, I think a large part of their commercial success has to do with using the word “queue”.  Love it.

If you must know, the whole I reason I gave in and joined was because I could not find Noises Off by any other means, and I felt it was necessary to show it to Michael Whatley.  Now I have access to all the latest movies I have not seen (i.e., Mamma Mia, Atonement, and not-so-new-or-so-classic films I’ve never seen, like Friday and Next Friday).  And even better…I CAN RE-WATCH ALL MY CHILDHOOD FAVORITES!!!!!  And make MW watch them and relive my childhood.  Classic hits from this list include: The Last Unicorn, Spaceballs, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, The Beautician & the Beast, and The Great Outdoors.  Classics I say!!!!

I’m in love.

From Wikipedia:

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD), also known as winter depression or winter blues, is a mood disorder in which people who have normal mental health throughout most of the year experience depressive symptoms in the winter or, less frequently, in the summer,^[1] repeatedly, year after year. The US National Library of Medicine notes that “some people experience a serious mood change when the seasons change. They may sleep too much, have little energy, and crave sweets and starchy foods. They may also feel depressed. Though symptoms can be severe, they usually clear up.”^[2] The condition in the summer is often referred to as Reverse Seasonal Affective Disorder, and can also include heightened anxiety.^[3]

So, I’m pretty sure I have this.  December-January have been pretty bad.  December was ok, but it was just kind of a steady decline that led to the horror that was January.  I don’t even know what I *did* in January.  I spent most of my spare time sleeping.  Diet & exercise went off the map, as did socializing & cleaning the apartment.
But!  Now it is February, and despite what the groundhog has said, the weather is improving a little.  And I have just had enough of being in my funk.  So, thinks are going to improve, if for no other reason than my own will-power.  So, today, I went to yoga.  Which was a good choice all around.  And I am working on keeping things clean.

But I digress.  Other than the mental battle against the doldrums & melancholy, life is pretty good.  Not much is going on here; I’m ready for March for things to start happening.  February is just too short and too close to January to hold that much promise.  But I am getting back into the fitness routine & trying to re-engage in life as I know it.  Hope all is well with all of you!