Golden Age

Last night, Melissa and I went and saw the Woody Allen film, Midnight in Paris. I hadn't seen trailers for it, nor did I know anything about it before I went, aside from the cast list: Owen Wilson, Rachel McAdams, Michael Sheen, Kathy Bates, Adrien Brody, and Marion Cotillard...

I should have known that it would be weird. Every Woody Allen film I've ever seen has been so strange. But I liked a lot about it. First, it's set in Paris and it has Parisian music. Second, it's basically about me. And third, the music and the fact that it had every prominent, artistic soul in Paris during the 1920s. The Fitzgerals, Cole Porter, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, Hemingway, etc. etc. etc. Most people I hadn't heard of before, or just vaguely remembered them from literature or humanities classes. I realized that I don't know enough about the time period, even though it has always been an interesting one for sure. There were a few allusions that admittedly went right over my head.

Why is it about me, you ask? Gil (Owen Wilson), the main character, is a writer that believes he was born too late. He idolizes the idea of Paris in the 1920s -- calling it the greatest time and place on earth; the Golden Age. His fiancé (Adams) is a spoiled brat who thinks that Gil is a romantic, and has little patience for his dreaming of the 20s. The movie takes an interesting twist, allowing Gil to get in to an old car from the 20s and attend some of the greatest parties of the time, intermingling and rubbing shoulders with the figures I've already mentioned. Gertrude Stein reads and critiques his novel in progress. He meets one of Picasso's mistresses, and she says that for her the 1890s Paris is the Golden Age, when the Moulin Rouge was up and running and people like Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec ruled the day. And magically, a carriage comes and picks her and Gil up and takes her to the Moulin Rouge, where Henri could be found, sketching away. (I read that he did the sketches for the advertisements for Moulin Rouge. Most artists thought it was beneath them to be doing mere posters, but Henri took it on and was given his own reserved spot.) A few others join them and those in the 1890s start talking about how the real Golden Age was during the Renaissance and how everything then was so dull.

Gil is hit with epiphany and begins ranting about how they don't have antibiotics and how he now understands that no one is really satisfied with their present; everyone romanticizes some different past, because the present is messy. It's a long spiel that I wish I had to quote, but since I don't...

*spoiler* Gil goes back in to his own time, still loving the 1920s in Paris, but out to make a future for himself in his present day. Adriana decides to stay in the Moulin Rouge. I just sat there and thought how amazing it would be to time travel! I think I could go back to my present if I had the opportunity to go and explore 1812 or 1912... or any other time period but my own. Maybe I wouldn't want to stay there -- after all, I'm pretty happy with modern medicines and tampons and stuff like that. But it's not possible to take a little joyride to the time period of my fantasy and walk around in it for a few nights in a row.

What's your Golden Age? Is it now?

Kissed Often

You should be kissed and often; and by someone who knows how.

Rhett Butler - Gone With the Wind (movie)

Neville Longbottom

I have this thing for underdogs. And minor characters that in my head have a much more important part in the plot than they actually do. I have always really loved Neville (from Harry Potter, c'mon, guys), and I was so happy to see him get his chance to shine in the final book.

And in a way, life is mirroring art, because if you look at this cute kid:

Who grew into this kid:

Who then, somehow turned into this:

Swoon.

He's a total stud now. Just like the character he plays in Harry Potter, Neville. Which, can I just say, I'm really excited to be seeing the movie this weekend!

Grandma Stories

I love my grandma. And my great-grandma.

I do not love that my grandma does not know how to work a phone. I swear the women was born in 1737 instead of 1937, as she does not know how to communicate at all.

Regardless, I love my grandma.

I mentioned the thong story in my previous post, and I thought I would expound. My grandma and her two sisters go swimming every morning as a way to exercise. They are well-known at the community center where they have a membership. The woman at the front desk recognizes them when they walk in and pulls out their bowl of marbles which they use to keep track of the number of laps that they do (they are up to 22 laps every morning).

The dressing room at the community center is not a place meant for modest. Sure, there are dressing stalls for women to change in and out of their bathing suits, but that doesn't mean anything, as the women stand naked in the tree of life showers, in the sauna or next to their lockers.

One morning, my grandma, Barb and Jo (her sisters) walked in from the pool and a lady was changing next to her locker. She was wearing... her thong. When Jo noticed, she tapped the lady on the bum and said, "Hey, you're missing half your pants!" And then walked to her own locker, leaving my grandma and Barb standing there with their mouths hanging open.

The lady - thank goodness - laughed and said something passe, and then left. She came back a few days later and told Barb that she really got a good laugh and happily told the story to several people. To which Barb said, "That wasn't me! That was her," and pointed to Jo, wondering why she always looks like the troublemaker while my grandma and Jo always look like the innocents.

Another day, Jo was wearing her bathing suit that is wearing thin. The skirt is so droopy, it goes down to her knees. Now, my grandma takes her swimming very seriously. She has flippers and webbed-gloves in order to help her work out. This particular morning, her flippers and Jo's skirt got tangled up! Which was really rather ridiculous...

But yesterday (Monday), I had stayed over so I could go swimming before coming back down to Provo to work. They had told me all these stories, and as we were walking towards the pool, the lifeguard said to Jo, "Hey, you're not wearing your evening gown today!"

To which we all responded with rowdy laughter.

I love going swimming with my grandma. I love how popular they are at the gym and how people always notice when they bring me - a stranger - with the group.

Now, my great-grandma, sits in her little rocking chair and watches a movie or two before going to bed. I've never seen her watch anything other than what is on TCM. I don't blame her, though, because TCM plays some really quality movies. I did not know that they play silent movies, but apparently they do, because when we rolled in on Sunday, that is what my great-grandma was watching. I was immediately drawn in, and then laughed when grandma said, "I don't remember them having such silly movies back when I was a girl."

Because she did watch the silent films when they had the piano down at the bottom of the theater going while the movie played. They are a bit dramatic, and definitely silly, but probably no more silly than what we watch now. I really liked sitting there watching with her, though, and then listening to her explain the narration to my grandma about how "he said this" and then she "said that." When my grandma asked how she knew what they were saying, my great-grandma reminded us that, "You have to use your imagination," and I really loved that.

Harry Potter Countdown

I know I'm not the only one excited about the newest Harry Potter movie!


This countdown can also serve as the countdown to the birthday present! YAY!

Labor Day Weekend

Labor Day marks the end of summer. School has often started, the nights are beginning to cool down and the pools close. It's depressing, but we celebrate it anyway by getting the day off work...which is totally rad.

I can't really account for the last few Labor Day weekends, though I suspect a few of them have been spent in Boise with my Uncle Allen and his family. Usually I waste the day sleeping, but this weekend was different - it felt longer. I accomplished much.

Saturday I woke up and watched Slumdog Millionaire at the BYU International Cinema. If you haven't seen it: go now. It is sooooo good, and totally worth all the hype that it received. BYU edited the film for us because it is rated R, but it is my understanding that the rating comes from thematic elements and not actual from bad content, language, etc. I recommend it x1000. From what I can tell, even BYU had very little to cut out. Go. See it. I can't believe I've only just now watched it.

Thank you, Facebook! I noticed that Holly was in town, so I made a point to snatch her and take her to the concert with me. It was great to see her!

Kira's dad works for Thanksgiving Point and got us the tickets. This is her adorable son, Owen. Thank you for the fun evening!

After the movie, I decided to take pity upon my poor car and take her to the Car Wash. I vacuumed the inside and scrubbed the outside. I'm afraid to look up how much I actually spent detailing my car, but I do have to admit, it was worth it - she looks so clean. I finished emptying out some of the things that I've been driving around with since my move and then I came home and baked a carrot cake to take up to Holladay for a BBQ with my cousins. That didn't really work out as planned, but I got to say hi to everyone, grab some food and run to Thanksgiving Point to see John Schmidt in concert with Kira and Holly. I've never actually been into Thanksgiving Point, and it is awesome! The stars were out in full force and the gardens are beautiful. I'm looking forward to going back when I have a little more time to explore.

Can I just say, I don't remember 9 a.m. church being so hard to get to...

Today I woke up to the smell of French toast and bacon. My roommates hosted a big breakfast for a lot of their friends. William -- HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM -- came to represent the small numbers of my remaining posse. Our house still smells like bacon. After everyone left, I got some things together and headed up to South Jordan for a BBQ at Reuben and Kira's. This is where the real adventures began.

Owen in full agreement of the BBQ.

Reuben decided that we needed a grill for our meat, and that makes sense - it is Labor Day after all, and that typically comes with a BBQ of sorts.

The original plan was to grill up some meat, enjoy some water melon and head to the lake at Daybreak for a little kayaking/sailing. Reuben came home with a $16 grill and got the charcoal lit up. Bryce soon arrived to supervise the whole ordeal.

Of course, under Bryce's supervision, he managed to singe his arm hairs and burn his finger... but we won't judge him. Both Bryce and Reuben are pretty avid campers, and I usually trust them with fire -- if not a grill.

I think that we just didn't let the coals get hot enough before we tried to cook the meat. We were, after all, in a hurry to get to the lake before they closed for our water activities. But the fire kept going out, and the meat was cooking weirdly. In fact, it was more like we were smoking the steaks, hamburger and chicken. The chicken was turning a green, slimy color.... After much debate, we took the meat back inside to cook.

That was only after Reuben dropped the grill on the porch, causing much laughter between Kira and me... It was as if he didn't know there was a screen door. Like when you walk into a door because the glass is so clean...anyway...

We cooked the meat inside to make sure we wouldn't get food poisoning from eating undercooked meat.

One bite, and we were more concerned about getting cancer from the lighter fluid we were eating.

Owen is grossed out by the green, slimy chicken and lighter fluid.

So we gave up on the whole idea, deciding that none of us were quite ready for the grilling championships. I felt like a BBQ was such a grown up thing to be doing on Labor Day and I felt so sophisticated. But I think I love that this happened more. It was definitely entertaining.

The guys went down to the lake for a little sailing. And Kira and I played with this little guy.

And for dinner, we settled for the delicious, American favorite: In-N-Out.

Over all, it was a great weekend. But I'm definitely going to throw out there that we need some grilling lessons before our next BBQ.

Review: Arranged

I think that the quote at the top of the picture says it all: "A gem of a film."

It arrested my attention by describing that it followed two women, an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim who become friends as they teach at the same school and bond over the fact that they are both expected to wed through an arranged marriage.

I love Nasira's sense of humor and the way they both handle the outside criticism, usually portrayed through the views of the principal. The most inspiring part of the movie was watching the way Rochel, who received more pressure from her mother and aunt about choosing from the prospective men (who were all gross and awkward) went in frustration to see a cousin who gave up the Orthodox lifestyle for a more worldly one. During this scene, Rochel stands up for what she believes in and realizes that she can not turn against her faith.

I was so impressed the way both women accepted the standards their religions taught and lived by them faithfully. Rochel would not shake the man's hand at the party because that is an Orthodox custom. Neither woman seemed upset with their strict dress codes, whether they be high-necked or with a scarf. It made me think how I live my standards. I always seem to be pushing the limits by letting my neckline go down as low as possible or wishing I could wear sleeveless shirts. Or even dreaming about tattoos...

The film was very thought provoking and very well done. I found some scenes very entertaining and even let out a few giggles. I gave it 5 stars and highly recommend it.