Traveling at the speed of life.

Grand Central Station, originally uploaded by gina64.

Grand Central Station, December 21, 2006

Just In Case You Need It Tonight

For Auld Lang Syne

Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind ?
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and auld lang syne ?

CHORUS:
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

And surely you’ll buy your pint cup !
And surely I’ll buy mine !
And we'll take a cup o’ kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have run about the hills,
and pulled the daisies fine ;
But we’ve wandered many a weary foot,
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun till dine (dinner time) ;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.

CHORUS

And there’s a hand my trusty friend !
And give us a hand o’ thine !
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.

CHORUS

Happy New Year!

Drive Thru Reviews

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest - This wasn't quite as good as the first, and the fact that I liked it a lot probably has something to do with how hot Johnny Depp is, but I would still recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first movie.

The Devil Wears Prada - This was not what I was expecting. Not bitchy enough, perhaps. It was like watching The Princess Diaries set in the fashion world, a very watered-down version of the real thing. Meryl Streep steals the movie and is of course the reason to see it.

Ho. Ho. Ho.

Ho Ho Ho, originally uploaded by gina64.

Apologies to my 3 loyal readers for such a long absence but this holiday has been very...distracting, to say the least. Our Christmas was, let's say, marred by a dysfunctional branch of the family. After getting back home and regrouping later on Christmas Day, I was looking forward to a quiet, lazy week at work. You know, blog a little, Flickr a little, maybe even work a little.

Unfortunately one of my co-workers undermined my slacking plans by having the nerve to fall down some stairs on Christmas Eve and break her leg. And she couldn't just break it normally, oh no, she had to go all the way and suffer a severe compound fracture to her lower leg, requiring the insertion of a metal rod. So now I find myself not only having to actually work, but doing double duty for probably a couple of months. Thanks a lot, Hazel!

Seriously, though, I feel so bad for her and I hope she is up and around sooner rather than later.

In the meantime, I'm a busy girl. I'll try not to let that get in the way of what I do here, but I can't make any promises.

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday season :).

The Cult of Martha

Martha Stewart Show, originally uploaded by gina64.

We went to a taping of the Martha Stewart Show in NYC last Thursday and it was really a lot of fun. I'm not a huge Martha fan, but I really enjoyed the day and we got a couple of free things out of the deal. And we had a nice lunch with a friend who lives in the city.

Check out my Flickr set of photos from the day
.

The Best We Could Do

The Best We Could Do, originally uploaded by gina64.

We wish you all a very happy holiday season and a new year filled with health, happiness and love. :)

Merry Christmas!

Another reason football is bad for you.

Boy hurt by cannon blast feels twice wounded: "According to Karch's medical records, security guards notified police after Karch received disturbing phone calls and visits from parents and students, some of whom threatened to 'break his other leg' or worse, if he didn't keep quiet about the accident. Hospital staff had to move him to a secure room where they monitored visitors. "

How freakin' messed up is THAT?? Oh, it gets better:

"Since his discharge from the hospital on Oct. 23, Karch has had only three visitors -- two of them Mack and Brown. And despite invitations to school friends, not a single person other than family attended his 16th birthday celebration in November, Bissell said."

Those small football towns frighten me. Snohomish has a website for their high school football team and on the right side of the home page is a poll, which asks the question, "How many games will you attend in 2006?" Well, I found this story through Fark, and as you can imagine, those Farkers did a number on the poll results: As of the time of this post, there were 91,478 votes for "None". And only 296 for "all". Ha!

I wonder if this makes the Baby Jesus cry or laugh?

32 baby Jesus dolls found in Ill. yard: "'Don't they look funny?' Pasciak said as residents came to claim their decorations. 'We're putting Christ back into Christmas literally and metaphorically.'"

How Lovely Are Your Branches

Now that the holidays are upon us it seems fitting to revisit this heartwarming Christmas clip:

I wanted to post the video of Kiefer taking down a hotel lobby Christmas tree, but YouTube has removed it. Instead, we'll have to settle for reading the story.

I don't know why but that story just makes me love him more.

You're getting veeerrrry sleeeeepy...

I'm in the mood for some cuteness today.

"Gossip Gangsta"'s Gay Witch Hunt

Salon.com profiles gossip blogger Perez Hilton: "While the average gossipmonger is content to collect his pay and scurry back into the shadows, Perez describes his work as a moral crusade. He portrays himself as a Savonarola in a pink pantsuit, a gay crusader who will use whatever means necessary to achieve his aims. As he told 'Access Hollywood' after Bass came out this summer: 'It upsets me that people think what I'm doing is a bad thing ... I know there is some controversy about outing people, but I also believe the only way we're gonna have change is with visibility. And if I have to drag some people screaming out of the closet, then I will.' "

I freely admit to enjoying my fair share of celebrity gossip, as I'm sure you've noticed, and I grew up in a household where the weekly supermarket trip brought home all the latest editions of People, US and The Enquirer, which were eagerly devoured. But I have to say I draw the line at outing closeted celebrities. Personally, I think they would lead more happy and satisfying lives if they would come out, but certainly no one has the right to force them to do it.

Now, as for other recent celebrity shenanigans, I'm all for building an elite force dedicated to ensuring the proper utilization of what we in the non-celebrity world like to call "underpants".

These things rock.

Mmmmm., originally uploaded by gina64.

Sheila's peanut butter balls.

Progress

Progress, originally uploaded by gina64.

One year, five months and counting. I have under a year left, I can't believe how quickly it went by!

A lot of people comment on how much the shape of my face has changed. While I'm sure it has, I don't notice that so much as how different my bite is. It's different today, in fact, than it was only a week ago.

What you can't see in this photo is the Christmas spirit - I had green and red bands put on this month. But I went with the B&W because it made me look better :).

Fido's Faves

Fido's Faves, originally uploaded by gina64.

Mickey the Superstar

Mr. Boyle as the Monster

Merry Christmas to Me.

I am now the proud owner of a Dell Inspiron 1505. Now there's nothing that can stop me from watching TV!

Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose

Actor Peter Boyle has died. He was a funny guy, and I thank him for all the laughs he provided, whether it was in Young Frankenstein, The X-Files (the only guest actor to win an Emmy, btw) or as Frank Barone.

RIP, Mr. Boyle. You were a funny guy.

Drive Thru Review

Superman Returns - I liked it. If you liked the first 2 Superman movies, then I think you'll like this one. Not as much comedy - Spacey plays Luthor pretty straight and Parker Posey is no Miss Teschmacher - but I thought Routh was a believable Superman. The one bad thing about the movie: Kate Bosworth's wig. It's horrible, to the point of distraction.

Well that was fun.

Not.

I've had major problems with Blogger publishing since last Friday, so while you were able to comment on posts, none of them were actually being published to thisisgina. Same thing went for my posts. They were saved at my Blogger account but publishing to thisisgina failed every time.

I think I've found a temporary workaround, but don't be surprised if things get wonky around here again. Blogger is pushing its Beta version and sort of giving us old timers the cold shoulder. I would move to BetaBlogger but they aren't taking large blogs right now and I have over 3,500 posts! Can you believe that? Holy smokes.

So anyway, I have a lot of catching up to do. Thanks for hanging in there.

Scary Mary

(thanks, Colleen)

You Know You're Getting Old When

Prince is considered a "safe" choice for the Super Bowl halftime show: "For a third consecutive year, the network hosting the Super Bowl has gone with Safe, Old and For Gawdsake No Breasts! in its search for a halftime performer."

Pepper Berries

Pepper Berries, originally uploaded by gina64.

Our Tree 2006

Our Tree 2006, originally uploaded by gina64.

This is a bit dark, but I like it because it conveys what it's like to sit in the living room and watch TV with nothing but the tree lights on. Nice and cosy.

"Fra-jeelay"

"Fra-jeelay", originally uploaded by gina64.

Guess what we were watching while trimming the tree? Well, we didn't watch it so much as recite it.

Another Friday, Another New Episode of the Best Show on TV

EOnline's Kristen chats with BSG's Ron Moore about upcoming storylines and whether or not Moore knows how this story will end. Only slightly spoilery. And apologies for the formatting of the "artivel" (I think it's a chat transcript)

Another List of Christmas Favorites

This time it's a list of my favorite Christmas movies. The first batch are the classics, the second are the more recent favorites.

White Christmas - Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney...A classic, if a bit too show-bizzy. I love the "Sisters" bit.
A Christmas Story - The Christmas morning scenes really feel like Christmas.
It's a Wonderful Life - I like it more now that they don't play it as often.
Christmas in Connecticut - This one is never on. It stars Barbara Stanwyck as a sort of Martha Stewart of the 40s, who in real life can't cook, keep house or do anything that she gives advice on. Screwball comedy ensues when she has to entertain a returning WWII hero at her home in Connecticut.
Scrooge - This 1951 version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol, starring Alistair Sim is the best.

For more modern - and funnier - holiday movies, I like these:

Christmas Vacation - For the squirrel scene alone, I love this movie. That, and for introducing me to the Hawaiian Christmas Song, "Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way To say "Merry Christmas to you."
The Ref - Dennis Leary is a thief caught on Christmas Eve at the dysfunctional home of Kevin Spacey and Judy Davis. Very funny.
Love, Actually - Romantic, corny, sweet, unrealistic, sad and funny. I love it for Emma Thompson, Bill Nighy and the great closing montage of people hugging the ones they love in an airport.
Die Hard - I don't care what you say, this is a Christmas movie and it's the best of the Die Hard movies.
Bad Santa - The funniest Christmas movie ever made, with Billy Bob Thornton as the worst department store Santa, EVER.

And you know what? I just realized that I have seen any of these yet this year! I'd better get crackin'.

James Kim: 1971-2006

CNET News.com: "'He wouldn't even sneak away for a few hours once in a while to play nine holes,' Zemlicka said. 'The truth is that it wasn't that big of a sacrifice--hanging out with a bunch of guys. James had more important things to tend to. He taught me to be a dedicated husband. He's always putting his wife and kids first.' "

How dare they?

Mixed reaction to Cheney's daughter's pregnancy: "Conservative leaders voiced dismay Wednesday at news that Mary Cheney, the lesbian daughter of Dick Cheney, is pregnant, while a gay-rights group said the vice president faces 'a lifetime of sleepless nights' for serving in an administration that has opposed recognition of same-sex couples."

Now, I am by no means a Dick Cheney fan, but I don't see how his daughter's sex life and/or pregnancy is anyone's business but hers. And when I say "anyone" I mean both right wing Christian and liberal gay crusaders. How dare they? God, sometimes I wish they would all just shut the hell up and let us all live our lives in peace.

Is John Stewart writing for CNN now?

According to a "Breaking News" alert currently on CNN's homepage, "President Bush's policy in Iraq 'is not working'."

I wonder how many dollars and hours were spent to have James Baker point out the obvious?

Not afraid of Santa? You will be.

Tis the season to be scared witless, a gallery of photos of kids sitting on Santa's lap and NOT LIKING IT AT ALL. Funniest thing I've seen in a long time!

Santa is a Lineman for the County

Don't forget, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, tonight on ABC at 8:00 PM.

OK, confession time: If someone were to walk up to me out of nowhere and ask me who did the voiceover for Kris Kringle/Santa in this special, the first name that would jump to my mind would not be Mickey Rooney (who did it). It's Glen Campbell. And you know why? Because when Kris grows his beard but still has his red hair he totally looks like Campbell did when he had a beard. Check him out:



Doesn't he look just like Kris Kringle? I can't find an image online of Kris Kringle from the special so you'll just have to watch it tonight and see what I mean. It's Glen Campbell!

Great-a Scot-a!

Six Months Ago

A few quick thoughts on last week's Heroes episode, before the fall season finale airs tonight.

It was cool for me to see Sylar as a watchmaker and hearing all that ticking - I knew that the music for him in previous eps incorporated a ticking sound and now I know why. I'm still not sure how he 'absorbed' the telekinesis from Brian what's his name. Sylar's ability is to be able to see into and understand the inner workings of a complex mechanism, so he was able to see into Brian's brain and see that he had a power, but what did he mean when he said he was "broken"? I'm still thinking he ate the guy's brain. That makes Sylar scarier, imo.

I think that (for some of the Heroes at least), there was some strong emotional event that brought out their power (like the mutants in X-Men):

~ the car crash was the first time that Nathan flew and he didn't really know how he ended up in the air
~ Nikki's bad side came out when her father came back into her life and showed aggression towards her son
~ Claire's healing ability came to light after a fight with the other cheerleader (can't remember her name)
~ Matt failed the detective's test for the third time and then heard his wife's thoughts

Did Eden "push" Sylar to kill Suresh? Bennett sent her back to get Claire's name off of Suresh's list - why? And if Sylar knew about Claire, then it seems that Eden, in spite of getting chummy with Suresh, never did get her hands on the list. Am I right?

Finally, I've been thinking all along that Nikki's power is her bad side, but what if her power is simply superhuman strength? It manifests itself as the ability to kick the absolute sh*t out
people because she was unable to protect herself from her father's beatings when she was younger? And she can only do those things when she takes on the tougher, protector personality that was her sister (who was killed by her father)?

I'm pretty certain that tonight's episode, "Fallout", is the final episode of the 'fall season'. It picks up right where "Homecoming" left off. Here's the Yahoo TV description:

The tragic events in Texas have serious repercussions for many of the heroes, their families and friends; shocking details about the moments leading up to Isaac's predicted New York nuclear bombing.

Have fun watching tonight!

And to you your wassail too.

For some reason I can't explain, I'm really into listening to Christmas music this year. Normally, I'm irritated as hell that radio stations start playing it way too early in the season, but this year I find myself seeking it out already. Huh.

Whatever the reason may be, listening to all of these holiday songs got me to thinking about what songs I consider favorites. If I had to list my top 5 favorites, they would be:

1. Andy Williams' "Most Wonderful Time of the Year"
2. Judy Garland's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"
3. "Sleigh Ride" the intrumental version with all the horse noises
4. The Carpenters' "Merry Christmas Darling"
5. Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus is Comin' to Town"

There are so many more that I like, but if I had to name them, those would be my top five. Today.

Do you have any favorite Christmas song?