Is the Book Always Better?

The other day I pulled into the parking lot at Ulta. I was off to get a haircut. I waited for a few minutes until the store opened then gathered my crap to make my way to the front door. Not more than two parking spaces from my car, I stopped when I saw this on the ground:

My jaw dropped open just like Kristen Stewart’s natural expression in every scene of this movie.

Can we all just take a moment to be sad for the untimely, tragic death of this movie disc?

Okay, since I’m the only one shedding a tear (other than maybe my sister), I guess I should explain. Or, maybe I shouldn’t, but I’m going to anyway.

Hands up for all the Twilight fans out there!

If I wasn’t still typing this post right now, my hands wouldn’t only be up, they’d be flailing about like I was being chased by a bear. Or a werewolf. Preferably one who looks like Jacob when he’s not furry.

But I digress…

The series has certainly garnered a healthy level of fandom as well as vitriol over the years since Stephenie Meyer first published the four book series (starting in 2005) featuring sparkly vampires and the battle for love of a human.

But when I saw this broken disc part in the middle of a strip-mall parking lot, I started wondering, did the owner toss the books too? Just like that, out the side of their car window while driving down the road.

Or, did they even read the books before their brutal assault on the visual adaptation of the series?

I’ll admit, I’ve yet to read these books (but recently borrowed the series from my sister because it is high time). However, I love the movies.

Yeah, I said it. I love the Twilight series.

I mean, it’s a happily ever after love story centered on a tomboy lead character. Of course I love it. And, you know, vampires.

I own them all and have binged all five in a day more times than I care to admit.

Yes, I’m a writer and should be hip to all the wordy pursuits first but sometimes I’m just in the mood for a movie, made-for-TV movie, or television show (can we say Vampire Diaries anyone?) without feeling the pressure of getting to the book before it becomes a visual medium.

But I got to thinking about all the books I’ve read and loved that have been made into movies I didn’t like. As well as movies I loved based on books I’d never read because I didn’t even realize that the production was a book to begin with until I was sitting in a theater viewing the credits (Practical Magic, Confessions of a Shopaholic…).

That happens a lot to be honest.

Especially since the invention of eReading. Most of the books I read these days are indie productions. A good majority written by colleagues or writing friends from social media. None of which (to my knowledge) have been turned into movies.

There are a few books in particular that I didn’t like (that were revered) but I read before they were turned into movies. For example:

Gone Girl. Sorry to the Gillian Flynn fans out there but I figured out the entire book by the end of the first chapter so, continuing to read another few hundred pages was a challenge. (I released a book with a similar theme to Flynn’s so maybe that’s why my brain immediately went to that place?)

Eat, Pray, Love. So, what you’re really telling me is it’s actually all about a man in the end? Got it.

Sense and Sensibility. Let the flaming begin but I don’t like old books and never got into Jane Austen despite numerous tries. Love this movie and I tried to read the book but it just isn’t for me.

On the other hand, some movies I loved as well as the book(s) include:

The DaVinci Code. I finished the book in two days, less than a week after it came out. Tom Hanks is basically who I cast as Robert Langdon in my head. I love a simple conspiracy theory and twisty plots with plenty of adventure.

The Bourne Series (mostly through the first three, they did fall off after that). Tension and mystery unfold on every page. Loved the movie adaptation and casting was perfect.

Lord of the Rings. I mean, you knew it would be on this list.

Girl, Interrupted. Both excellent.

Then there’s always the last category, the book is always better. For me, that includes:

Every Stephen King book/novella ever written with the exception of Different Seasons (Shawshank, Stand by Me/The Body)

Flowers in the Attic. V.C. Andrews was robbed by every visual adaptation of this creepy, terror-filled book.

Interview with the Vampire. Anne Rice is a master, Kirsten Dunst was the only character worth seeing in the 1994 movie.

And now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to start reading the 2,444 pages across four books of Twilight sitting neatly stacked on my living room side table. Finally time to put those books into one of those categories above.

I wonder which one it will be?

• • • • • • • • • • •
In addition to this drivel I also write books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more on my author page.

Today, Tomorrow, Forever

When the movie Annie was released in 1982 I was a month away from turning nine years old. The perfect age to see the movie since the orphan characters are in the same general bracket.

I don’t think it was one I saw in the theatres but I definitely learned every single song in the flick after seeing it numerous times. It was my foray into learning a few things about movies, music, what I liked about both as a kid and how the mashup of the two became a staple in my life.

First, musicals. Annie was probably the first one I’d ever seen, but it certainly wouldn’t be the last. From Disney gems like Aladdin to grownup plots like Grease, give me a movie with singing and dancing as part of the script and I’m in love.

And I’m also learning every single word so I can sing along.

Which of course prompts the question: Do I break out into random song and dance in my daily life because I watched musical movies or was I already predisposed to singing and dancing my way through life so the movies just feel normal?

So many of my favorite movies have a script punctuated by music that crosses over into the character’s lives.

Stand by Me. You may argue with me this isn’t a musical, which it isn’t in the traditional sense of the word. But the music of the time period in which the movie was set had such a heavy influence on the script and characters that I count it nonetheless. Go back and watch the movie and see how many times the kids break out into song or dance.

Another that falls into a similar category? Singles. A true ‘90’s classic with so much musical influence a bunch of the members of Pearl Jam co-star in the film. As another band who’s front man is one of the main characters.

My mom and I used to duet half of Xanadu. Okay, “used to” is a little overstated. I think the last time we did this was, what? Two years ago?

Rock Star? Without the music there would be no movie. Literally. The main character becomes the lead singer of his favorite band. Fame and all its tragic glory ensues. It’s awesome.

And that’s just scratching the surface because if my CD collection or iTunes are any indication, I have way more than a summer romance with soundtracks.

Because that’s the second thing I learned from musical movies: soundtracks are awesome. If I had to guess, I’d estimate 40 or 50 soundtracks exist in my CD/vinyl/digital collection. And that’s probably conservative because, of the seven movie posters hanging on my walls, I can say with 100% certainty I own four of the soundtracks.

Why?

Recently I finished binging Parks and Recreation and in episode 3, season 4, the characters Ben and April take a road trip. April, looking through Ben’s CD collection asks why he has so many soundtracks. The ones she listed off? I have all of them.

His character then sums it up so beautifully:

“I kind of look at it as your favorite directors making a mix tape just for you.”

Spot. On.

I mean, Guardians of the Galaxy wouldn’t have half of its plot if it wasn’t for the literal mix tape owned by the main character. And that’s a movie for dudes, right?

Many men wouldn’t admit to it but they love a good musical movie. Don’t believe me? Poll the men in your life, ask if they’re a fan of The Blues Brothers. Yup. That’s what I thought. Singing and dancing pretty much was their mission. They were so committed to music they tell the audience, through song of course, what type of music they’re representing in four little words: “I’m a soul man.”

What brings me back to today’s song choice is the last thing these flicks taught me. The promise of what musical movies provide. The knowledge that, after their final number, everything is going to work out okay despite the tragedies they face in the moment.

Annie almost dies on a drawbridge when another character chases her to the top and he’s got her hand then…okay I can’t talk about it, that scene scared the crap out of me as a kid. And the only thing that changed my mind about Tim Curry after that? You guessed it, Rocky Horror Picture Show.

But in the end, whether Annie was lamenting why It’s a Hard Knock Life or contemplating if Maybe her parents would be swell, the most poignant moment in her young life comes when she proves that she’s an eternal optimist.

Because no matter what dark cloud today throws at you, there’s always the promise of the sun coming out Tomorrow.

• • • • • • • • • • •
In addition to this drivel I also write books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more on my author page.

Snuggle Up for a Week

My sister-in-law nominated me to take part in this ‘seven songs in 7 days’ challenge.

Of course the thing is all over Facebook but, not surprisingly, I decided to make the most of the dare and reboot my blog posting schedule by sharing my choices over here instead, because that way I can get the full story related to each song out there (and apparently I’m also bringing back the ever popular run-on sentence so you’re welcome).

Now, because you know me, you already know I’m not about to write for 7 days in a row, share my innermost reasons for choosing certain music, and not write it with a purpose.

So before I reveal today’s song choice and subsequent story behind it I should back up and share some other information first.

When this post posts it will be the 502^nd post on this blog. I’ve been writing over here since September 13, 2007. Nine years as of this fall. Damn.

Even though it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long or that many posts, I recently started rereading all of my old stuff. And let me tell ya, there’s a whole lot of useless crap on this blog. But, the good news, at least for me, is that I’ve also shared a whole lot of fun and interesting stories.

Stories about my life, adventures in procrastinating my career path, and my past, um, let’s just call them, escapades with boys and booze and boredom.

As I sat here reading about those times in my life, my mind started piecing together many, many more stories that could be told to go with the ones already in existence. Stories that I believe could act as a warning to others. Advising readers how to avoid sabotaging your own life.

But reading all that stuff on a blog takes dedication and unless you’ve been here since the start the chance you’ll go back to try to locate any of those old posts is slim to none. That’s why I’ve decided to collect all of these fabulously embarrassing, revealing and sometimes head-scratching moments into one convenient package. A book. Actually, two books.

The first collection I’m holding a bit close to the vest. Sorry, but I promise as soon as the structure starts coming together I’ll fully share all the info.

But the other one.

Well, that book is what brings me full-circle to this week’s posting schedule.

After pulling together a bunch of the links I realized just how much of my past was punctuated by music. Loving it, buying it, hating it, going to see it live (but the act is the last thing that matters because life is happening simultaneously), avoiding it because it reminds me of the wrong person. Or people.

Who remembers the song that was playing when they lost their virginity? The song that made them break down, sobbing uncontrollably, while driving home on the Merritt Parkway after their grandfather’s funeral? Happy times. Sad times. All the times. Songs that have helped to define an entire life. Mine.

Countless moments surrounded by melody and lyrics. My iPod is like a living organism of stories about personal growth and change.

So my goal with this challenge is to share some of those stories. To use the song as the inspiration for the story I want to tell. And while not all of them will make the cut for the essay collection (like today’s for example), I look forward to at least getting some good stuff up here.

Today, like most mornings, I woke up with a song stuck in my head.

I never understand why that’s the case, if I was dreaming of the song or something related to the lyrics or maybe a time in life when that song was playing.

After I got the challenge from my SIL yesterday I went to bed thinking of what today’s song choice might be. I decided to wake up and open Pandora on my phone and write something amazing about the first song that came up.

But my brain, as per usual, had plans of its own.

Because today’s track isn’t one I listen to all that often, not a song I obsess over or even have a story associated with other than to say I think of a movie when I hear it.

Admittedly, the movie is one of my favorite RomComs for reasons I can’t even explain because I’m not a huge fan of the stupidity of the plot or even 2/3 of the actors who star in the thing.

But while I was thinking of the plot, setting and dialogue I had a flashback to this past weekend. I remembered we were talking about the great state of Hawaii for quite some time over the weekend and I nodded, knowing that this is just how my mind works.

The movie? Honeymoon in Vegas. The song?

(Let Me be your) Teddy Bear.

So this one’s for you Elvis fans. Or fans of Nicholas Cage, James Caan, Sarah Jessica Parker or Pat Morita.

Or teddy bears. Because who doesn’t love a good snuggly teddy bear? Am I right?

• • • • • • • • • • • 
In addition to this drivel I also write books, both fiction and non-fiction.
Learn more on my author page.

Getting Soft in our Old Age?

Take a moment to read the above article. Don’t worry, I’ll wait.

Okay, now that we’ve got the words in our heads I’m here to tell you the entire article is a bunch of crap.

Allow me to explain.

As a child of the eighties I’ll be the first one to say I can’t for one second imagine how hard it would be to raise a child in this day and age. The internet age of constant connection, communication, everything you could ever want right at your fingertips. All the time. Anytime.

It absolutely breeds a sense of blithe ambition. Nobody has to work to learn. It’s all right there. Easy breezy.

But it also helps to add a sense of entitlement that everything should be just that easy to get.

Because it is.

However, here’s where I sat and took a long hard look back at my own childhood and the pop culture influences I had. The fictional heroes we all looked up to, tried to emulate. And though the good Doctor who wrote that article makes some good points, I think they forgot about quite a few god-awful examples.

Now, I’m not saying I didn’t thoroughly enjoy a good chunk of the shows and movies I’m about to list (some are still favorites) or that there weren’t some gems about tolerance, respect or loyalty (because there were), but let’s not get it twisted and try to glorify how awesome and perfect it was back then because there was plenty for our parents to complain about too.

Right off the top of my head here’s a few I remember:

Porky’s (1981) – misogyny is the name of the game from the moment you see the movie poster. We taught a whole generation of boys it’s okay to spy on high school girls in the shower without their knowledge or consent. Classy.

Moonlighting (1985-1989) – where to begin? The basic premise of the show is that female bosses are shrews when they insist their male employees actually work for their paychecks. Not to mention, no matter how much of a screw up he is, how many times he threatens their livelihood with his antics he still gets the girl in the end. Uh-huh.

Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) – I’ve mentioned this movie before and basically in the same vein as this post. Suffice to say we all learned it’s okay to skip school, trash property and disrespect everyone as long as you don’t get caught and let your friends take the fall. How big of you.

The Breakfast Club (1985) – five teens, during a full day of detention, smoke weed in the school library, among other pursuits, while the sole authority figure fumbles around like a bumbling idiot.

Gremlins (1984) – what better way to say Merry Christmas than seeing your entire town trashed by a bunch of aliens simply because a teenager couldn’t manage the responsibility of owning his first pet?

Fraggle Rock (1983-1987) – a bunch of entitled kids live for free underground, take advice from a heap of trash and constantly destroy the hard working Doozer’s construction projects just because they want a snack. And it’s cool that the only adult in the bunch spends all his time traveling and judging humans.

Top Gun (1986) – generally be a dickhead to everyone and sleep with your teacher. Just cry over your BFF’s death while staring at yourself in a mirror and come back later to teach the same class and everyone will forgive you.

Any show where a female was in charge and she wasn’t a bitch or in need of a man to come swooping in to save the day (19?? – today) – a seemingly novel concept in any generation from the dawn of entertainment. Anything which breaks this mold is considered “groundbreaking” even today. (And on a side note, entertainment where men aren’t allowed to cry/show emotions at all or are constantly “scolded” by their wives like they’re children make me want to scream just as much)

Anyway, I’ll stop there but suffice to say there are loads more examples I could use to further prove the point.

However, I think the thing that stands out to me the most from the article above is this:

Yes, the world might be different now than when I was a kid. But when I was a kid we were afraid of the wrath of our parents (even if we didn’t admit to it) and at ten most of us were barely allowed to use the telephone let alone have one of our own to stare at while in a doctor’s office waiting room.

So where does the real ownness lie?

Should it be on the so-called role models of the screen that kids can’t tear their eyes away from, or on the parents who have full authority to force them to put down the tech and just be kids for a change?

I don’t pretend to know the answer. Even if I had kids of my own I couldn’t tell you the answer. All I know is there needs to be some kind of dialogue about the difference between reality (your parents have the right to punish you when you mouth off to them) and fantasy (everything you see on a screen of any sort) so kids these days understand and respect the difference.

Article first read on Facebook here

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You Kids and your Internet. In my Day…

So here’s the fear. That I don’t actually have anything else to say. That I’ve run out of feelings and imagination. Or that unless I save it up I’ll use it all up and then have nothing later.

Which of course is total crap. There’s always something eventually, some inspiration to follow through on. I just hate the dry times, they make me worry. And I have way too many other worries right now to add anything else to the pile. Especially where work is concerned.

The thing is, I just always want things to work out before the credits roll. Like all those eighties movies and television shows I grew up with. And it makes me a little jealous of millennials. Since their birth, things have been more real in the visual entertainment sphere.

Now don’t get me wrong. It isn’t like I think everything we see on reality TV is real. Or that the gritty “truth” style movies aren’t an imaginative exaggeration of a real-life type of situation. I’m not an idiot.

But, when compared to what my generation grew up watching, I get a little pang of envy for how much more raw and honest dialogue has become. Situations. Lack of force-fed sugary goodness. That, sometimes, there isn’t an answer after 30 minutes, or 2 hours, a whole season, or even a trilogy of movies.

See, my generation had shows like Family Ties. Where democrats and republicans may not always agree but can live in harmony under the same roof. Or the classic Growing Pains where it only takes a laugh and a smile to deal with how much of a screw up your son is.

And let’s not forget movies like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off where we never have to see the repercussions of what happens when your so-called best friend forces you to skip school, take your dad’s pristine collector car out and, after getting home safe and un-caught, you decide your best course of action is to trash the car. But it’ll all be okay because the script says so.

Don’t forget, after all, Ferris didn’t get caught. He was pretty much the only one who didn’t.

My generation of pop culture fiends were shown that the kids were always smarter than the bumbling idiot grownups.

Well now I’m the age of all those bumbling idiot grownups and have come to realize that in this age of technology and world connectedness, the kids are smarter than me now. And do you know how fucking irritating that is?

The younger generation has found a way to take what’s available, AKA: everything, and use it to become these clued-in, whip-smart people. The people my generation wanted to be when we were their age.

But the reality of my generation’s half-hour comedy is that nothing in life can be solved in 30 minutes. The dork sophomore never ends up with the hottest, coolest, richest senior in school.

Which really doesn’t matter anymore because the Ducky’s of the world know so much better how to take care of their ladies.

But I digress.

Because that’s a post for another day.

For now I’m going to spend my time working on my own mash-up. My own ability to read, research and extrapolate the info available to me to craft some cooler, whip-smart characters.

And if I get bored, writer’s block, or a total lack of inspiration, maybe I’ll write my own eighties-esque story. The one where the sophomore obsesses over the senior and they don’t end up together.

But it all still ends up okay.

• • • • • • • • • • • EDITOR's NOTE: As of November 2015, shit is gonna get real. I'll no longer focus on my pitifully visited blog for new writers, every freaking blogger has a blog for new writers and I'm tired of trying to muscle my way into a club where the snacks already ran out. Because, what's the point? Instead, I'll be back here and focused on bringing you the most random of the inner workings of my head as well as sharing short fiction pieces in my newsletter. Sign up, read them, bookmark this site...or whatever other call to action I'm supposed to use in this situation.

The Movie is better than the Book?

Although it will come out sounding awful and all of my Author friends will deny knowing me after I say it I’m just going to come right out and say that I’m much more apt to see the movie than read the book. There. I feel so much better just for getting that off my chest.

I think visually, even when I write I’m envisioning the scene in my head and how it will play out. But it isn’t just the characters I can see. I see the setting around them, little chotchkies surrounding the characters, the color of a car they’re riding in, the use of lighting and color to evoke emotions, and any host of other tricks a film director might employ to evoke a specific emotion. And I’ve been told that my books read like a movie sometimes. That’s pretty cool.

One of the first movies I ever saw was “On Golden Pond” and no I wasn’t nearly close to old enough to grasp the overall concept of the movie at the time. I was probably around eight years old.

My mom and aunt had taken my sister and me to the drive-in. Yes, I’m that old. Sort of. Anyway, we were supposed to stay up for the first movie, crash out in the backseat, then mom and my aunt would watch the second movie in peace. I want to say the opener was “Snow White” but my mom can weigh in on that one. It barely left an impression but still, after it was over there wasn’t a chance in hell I was going to sleep.

Are you kidding? I mean I was a kid in a car watching movies. It was, like, the coolest thing I’d ever experienced to that moment of my young life and I wanted it to last as long as possible. My sister was out like a light. Long before the first movie even ended I think. I hardly made a peep while I watched, with wide eyes, the grown-up movie from the backseat.

From that moment on I was hooked on movies. I loved how big everything was, it really added to the whole concept of a fantasy world when the actors were ten feet tall. It's true that "On Golden Pond" wasn't originally a book but let's just say in the years following my viewing of that movie, nine times out of ten I saw the movie before (if ever) reading the book. Not for a lack of imagination but simply for enjoying someone else’s take on what it would look like instead of just relying on my own.

So it shouldn’t be a shock that not only am I a big time movie quoter but I have an array of categories for when I’ll enjoy specific movies. With some flicks you just have to be in the right frame of mind to enjoy them ya know?

Movies for when I’m sewing/crafting

Armageddon

Sixteen Candles

Almost Famous

Can’t Hardly Wait

St. Elmo’s Fire

High Fidelity

The Breakfast Club

Movies for when I need to laugh and quote

Old School

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

Legally Blonde

Drop Dead Gorgeous

Clueless

The Ref

Just Friends

America’s Sweethearts

Napoleon Dynamite

Idiocracy

Waiting
Mallrats

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Movies for when I’m in a music mood

Singles

Spice World

Dazed and Confused

Reality Bites

200 Cigarettes

Almost Famous

School of Rock

Movies for days when all I do is think

Chasing Amy

Girl, Interrupted

Fight Club

American History-X

Love, Actually

Leaving Las Vegas

Stand By Me

The Crow

Movies for when I need adventure and excitement

The Goonies

Indiana Jones (first three)

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

X-Men (all)

The Bourne - original trilogy

Groundhog Day

Back to the Future Trilogy

Red

Movies for nostalgia

Rudy

9 to 5

Better Off Dead

Say Anything…in fact

Pretty much any movie John Cusack made before 1994

And for that matter, every movie Sean Astin made before 1994

Glory Daze

Practical Magic

An Affair to Remember

Dazed and Confused

Forces of Nature

It Could Happen to You
Mallrats

Movies I hated after reading (and loving) the book

Carrie

Pet Sematary

Thinner

OK, pretty much everything written by King then adapted for the screen except…

Movies I loved after reading (and loving) the book

The Shining

Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Movies for when I’m in a Sports mood

Rudy

Goon

Fever Pitch

Major League

Rookie of the Year

Jerry Maguire

Miracle

Posted for April 2013 A to Z Blog Challenge M is for Movies

I’m Not a Non-Conformist but I Play One on the Internet

For a long while now I’ve been following the blog Chick Lit Is Not Dead. A year or so ago I even sent them a print copy of Ripple the Twine to see if it would be something they’d be interested in reviewing – slash – featuring on their blog. The lovely ladies over there took a pass on my book but I wasn’t disheartened. Can’t please all the people right?

Since then I’ve followed their blog pretty regularly as a subscriber. Delivered right to my inbox, the stories and interviews were easily accessible and in finding out more about the Author and their books I was sure that either my Kindle storage space would shrink or my time at the library would grow. But a funny thing happened, I felt little connection to any of the Authors featured on the site and never downloaded more than one or two books. In a year that’s not a whole lot of material.

A while back CLIND changed their feature format and started a new thing where they asked the Author to give their best ever in a few standard categories – song, movie, book, moment, bit of advice. I thought it was pretty clever. But other than Jen Lancaster I felt like I couldn’t relate to a single one of these people. Because their top five references were far too obscure for me.

I wondered, am I stuck too much in mainstream pop culture? Is it possible that every single Author who writes Chick-Lit or Rom-Com is a hipster? Or whatever the new, trendy title is? Am I actually a conformist? Is that even a bad thing anymore? If I say I love The Goonies, Stephen King and Jason Mraz am I going to sound like a boring follower even though I’ve been reading King & listening to Jason for far longer than it's been a thing?

Then this morning I got around to reading a favorite email subscription, Catherine Caffeinated, and there it was. The answer to my pop culture follower prayers. She had posted a top 100 movies of all-time list and right there in the number one spot was a movie that finally caused me to sigh with relief. She picked Jurassic Park.

Oh happy day! I’m not the only one out there who can appreciate that sometimes mainstream pop culture is fun, that it is fine to appreciate and enjoy and that no one cares if you admit it out loud and proud. Not that it would ever bother me to admit who I am, I just started wondering what I’d have to talk about with Authors I ran into at conferences. All I could visualize was me, outside during lunch, smoking a cigarette in my crappy car while listening to Dave Matthews and they’d all be inside discussing the finer points of the latest Louise Erdrich novel. And I’d be all ‘Um, I just finished downloading Gone Girl and will probably get around to reading that in a year or so.’

In the spirit of proving just how uncultured (read: non-hipster) I really am, I’m going to post the other 99 movies that rank below The Goonies in terms of favorites. These are essentially in no particular order other than the order in which they came to mind while making the list.

Thanks for the idea Catherine. And Jen, if you ever need advice on kick ass eighties hair band metal to rock out to just give me a shout. Preferably with two fingers tossed in the air. I’d be happy to help in that department.

Top 100 Movies (but you already know #1)

1. The Goonies
2. Lord of the Rings trilogy (it’s one book, I count it as one movie and it’s not the only trilogy taking up a single spot on this list)
3. Office Space
4. The Day After Tomorrow
5. Death to Smoochy
6. Rudy
7. Blue Crush
8. Reality Bites
9. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
10. The Breakfast Club
11. The Ref
12. Love, Actually (side note - I think you can tell everything you need to know about a person by which is their favorite coupling in this movie)
13. Armageddon
14. The Cutting Edge
15. 200 Cigarettes
16. Clueless
17. How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days
18. Groundhog Day
19. Die Hard (1-3 but 2 was not as good)
20. Happy Gilmore
21. Singles
22. Fight Club
23. Almost Famous
24. The Princess Bride (inconceivable!)
25. Dogma
26. X-Men (1-3 mostly but Wolverine was pretty good too)
27. Team America: World Police
28. 8 Mile
29. Fever Pitch
30. Back to the Future (the trilogy)
31. Indiana Jones (the original trilogy)
32. Jerry Maguire
33. Old School
34. Grandma’s Boy
35. Twister (we’re goin’ green!)
36. Good Will Hunting
37. The Wedding Singer
38. Waiting
39. Girl, Interrupted
40. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
41. Stand By Me
42. Pulp Fiction
43. Legally Blonde
44. Point Break
45. Dirty Dancing
46. Better Off Dead
47. Honeymoon in Vegas
48. Can’t Hardly Wait
49. Rear Window (one of very few psychological thrillers that make the cut)
50. Say Anything
51. Tommy Boy
52. High Fidelity
53. Forces of Nature (no judgment)
54. American History X
55. The Crow
56. Xanadu
57. Toy Soldiers
58. Castaway
59. Brokeback Mountain
60. The Fox and the Hound (seriously, I still cry every time)
61. The Sixth Sense
62. The Bourne movies (1-3)
63. Three Men and a Baby
64. Grease
65. When Harry Met Sally
66. Sixteen Candles
67. Noises Off
68. I’m Gonna Git You Sucka (he og’d!)
69. Saving Grace
70. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
71. America’s Sweethearts
72. 9 to 5
73. Practical Magic
74. Dazed and Confused
75. The Lost Boys
76. Drop Dead Gorgeous
77. Just Friends
78. Lucas
79. Rock Star (again, no judgment)
80. So I Married an Axe Murderer
81. Shawshank Redemption
82. E.T. the Extra Terrestrial
83. Napoleon Dynamite
84. The Birdcage
85. An Affair to Remember
86. Hot Fuzz (just saw this again recently & still love it, hilariously dark)
87. It Could Happen to You
88. Idiocracy
89. Keeping the Faith
90. Ocean's trilogy
91. Sleeping with the Enemy
92. Pretty Woman
93. Speed
94. Ever After
95. The Lake House
96. L.A. Confidential
97. White Water Summer
98. The Jerk
99. Empire Records
100. Steel Magnolias

What movies make the cut on your list? Or are you more a reader, listener, television watcher? I'm sure I'll think of 100 more as soon as I put this list up but sitting around all day thinking of movies isn't on the agenda for this Saturday so there it is.

Torn Down in the Name of Convenience*

It’s probably about time for me to pull High Fidelity out of the old DVD book.  It’s been a while and, lately, everything seems to be pointing me in the direction of Cusack.  Other than his brief, yet stellar, performance in Sixteen Candles, there was no character quite like Rob Gordon to take the edge off my own life.

Okay, fine, there was that somewhat mysterious, too dorky to realize he was cool, man of every girl’s dreams character, Lloyd Dobler.  But everyone knows that the deeper brooding and overtly-melancholy fucked-up-ness of Rob is way closer to real life.  Lloyd is the one we all want; sweet, devoted, teaches us to drive a stick-shift, supports us when our dad goes to prison, goes with us to London. 

But every woman knows that boom-box thing would never happen in real life.  Instead, he’d probably end up hating London because the cloudy and gloomy days would bring out his inner emo and he’d fly back to the states to ruminate over his failed relationship for the next decade.  In the end Lloyd will just end up owning a flailing record store, borrowing money from us that he’ll never pay back, and cheating.  Sorry but it’s a true fact that the girls looking for Lloyd pretty much universally end up with Rob.

But I digress…back to Cusack.

Another thing pulling me into Cusack-dom was this book I read yesterday “Stupid and Contagious” by Caprice Crane.  The main male character all but tells us that he’s Rob Gordon.  So of course that character was all I could picture through the entire book.  But, you know, with blue eyes. 

The book was phenomenal, recommended by a friend as she said the writing style was so similar to mine she almost thought she was reading my work.  I knew what my friend meant within about 10 pages.  I will definitely read every book Crane has written.  Especially if she has more characters like Rob.

And I almost completely forgot about The Raven coming out in just four short weeks.  I’d heard about this last year but didn’t know how I felt about it.  If I were making the ‘Rob’s Top Five Authors of All Time List’, Poe would pretty much be in the number one and number two spot.  I was convinced they’d take the most well-known of Poe’s poems and hack it to bits (haha, yeah, slight pun intended).  But they’re not.  Hacking it I mean.  The poem is the inspiration for the movie and I seriously can’t wait.

The movie is about a detective who joins up with Poe to solve a whole bunch of murders that someone is perpetuating based on his writing.  Not that I support serial killers or anything but seriously, how cool is that concept?  Only thing better than having a stalker when you write like Poe does is to have someone respect your work so much that they start living it.  That’s hardcore.  I may break my no theater and no horror (ish) rules for this one. 

Oh yeah, Cusack plays Poe.  Not the serial killer (or so we think, who knows right?).  Not a hitman, like some other characters he’s already played.  But he still gets to be all dark and broody.  Oh Cusack, it’s like you were born for this role.

Anyway, seems the world is pushing me to do some kind of list, top five or something, so I’m doing this Sunday Stealing meme.  While I wait for my book’s copyright registration to come through I may just have to have a Cusack movie marathon later this week because I'm clearly running out of interesting blog posts... 

1. Which TV character do you think you are most like?

Other than the baby thing Christina Applegate’s character on “Up All Night” springs to mind.  Otherwise I’ll go with Miranda.  Also sans baby.

2. What time do you go to bed?

At exactly 11:07 every night.  If I stay up until 11:08 I know the world will cave in and the locusts will come.

3. What was the last meal you made from scratch?

AH HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  Oh wait, you’re serious about that question?  Does throw-everything-into-a-crockpot-and-pray count as “from scratch”?

4. What is your favorite type of music?

Obviously I should be saying something about outer limit progressive hipster shit that no one has ever heard of (including the hipsters, seriously) but I don’t drink enough Starbucks to be that cool.  Plus I don’t have the effort to keep up my work out routine enough to get into black skinny jeans.  So I’ll just go with pop.  Just like Rob, who was a progressive hipster.  Maybe.  Makes me feel like I'm in good company or something.

“What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?”

- Rob Gordon

5. In what position do you sleep?

I’ll go with lying down like most of the other humans I know.

6. What is your first memory?

I forget.

7. What is your least favorite smell?

Top 5 all-time least favorite smells: skunk, puke, horse poop, wet dog, and cat pee.

8. Its your round at the pub and your friends asked you to surprise them. What drink would you buy and why?

Beer.  Because I’m cheap and boring.  And we’re in a pub for god sake.  What do you want, a fucking mojito?

9. What was the last thing you read/watched that made you cry?

America’s Next Top Model.  Every time they send a girl home for being beautiful and skinny but just not "modely" enough I feel so sad for her…

10. They say that you learn something new every day. What was the last thing you have learned?

That my husband had no idea how they changed from ice to parquet and back to ice at The Garden.

11. Which Literary love interests would you snog, marry and avoid.

Seriously no opinion on this, never even thought about it before.  But now I will.  And I'll get back to you.  Maybe.

12. What is your oldest memory?

See #6

13. Paperback, Hardback or Kindle? Which of these is your favorite reading format and why?

Books.  Real ones.  I can’t bring myself to use a tablet.  I even downloaded Kindle to my phone and I’ve made it through about 10 pages of a book I’m actually enjoying.  I also added it to my library queue.  There is something Zen and gratifying to flip actual pages even if its heavier to carry.  Technology is not always the better choice for me.

14. If you could bring back any canceled TV series for another run what would you pick and why?

“Family Ties”, I think there was just so much more they could have done with Skippy.

Sunday Stealing provided the questions.  As a side note I deleted #15 because it was word for word the same question as #13.

A meme really is an excellent choice for those “feeling basic”. 

*“Pointes” to you if you got the reference in the title.