There Will Be Blood

I finally saw the film There Will Be Blood. I'm not sure what to think of it, but if you are interested in film then it is a must-see. The cinematography is extraordinary! It's no surprise that the film was nominated for eight Academy Awards including Best Picture and won Best Cinematography.

I was also greatly impressed by the film score with was created by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. There Will Be Blood has very little dialogue and the music creates a tense and moody feeling to the film."You can just do things with the classical orchestra that do unsettle you, that are sort of slightly wrong, that have some kind of undercurrent that's slightly sinister." Greenwood told Entertainment Weekly.

Despite all this, I found the pace of the plot disappointingly slow. The film is based on the Upton Sinclair novel Oil and definitely has that "movie based on book" feel.

A Little Squirrelly

I came across this item on the Patina web site and my first thought was "Wow, this would be perfect for Sarah and Asher!" No, they are not squirrels, but people with an inside joke pertaining to squirrels.

As to the website puts it, "Are you sick and tired of squirrels running naked in the trees around your house? Have you had to hide your children’s eyes when a tiny furry streaker crosses the sidewalk in front of you? We’ve got the answer, Squirrel Underpants! . . . Also good for hamsters, frogs and gerbils. Yes, we're serious."

I wonder if it has a hole in the back for their tails?

Green Porno: Spider

If you haven't seen Green Porno, a series of short films starring Isabella Rossellini, then now is the time! You can find them on the Sundance Channel website. The videos are funny, educational, and unique. The spider episode is one is my favorites. I just love the way she runs away from the web.

Sweaty Summertime

eighth avenue, new york, originally uploaded by a nameless yeast.

I came across an article that was interesting today. Apparently, if you are using an antiperspirant, you should be applying it at night.

"At night, when people perspire less, more of the antiperspirant's aluminum-based active ingredient is pulled into the sweat ducts. Because there's more antiperspirant present, it more effectively plugs pores.

That signals the sweat glands to reduce or stop perspiration. The effect lasts 24 hours or possibly longer, even after morning bathing. Eventually, the antiperspirant washes away. Blocking perspiration by plugging pores might sound unhealthful, but it's not, medical experts we consulted said. "

Who would have thought? You can read the full article at Consumer Reports.

Free Music Anyone?

Up against the wall.., originally uploaded by mecredis.

If you would like some free Mp3s you should check out Insound! They have a huge amount of free Mp3s. For most artists they only have one song, but you can discover a lot of good bands this way. They have a huge selection too! From Les Savy Fav to Converge to Tom Waits.

Corporate Health Care

Wheel Chair, originally uploaded by NicP.

Everyone's been talking about universal health care lately. Critics claim that we have the finest health care in America. They believe that a universal health plan would be as unpleasant as post office or DMV.

My grandmother is currently in the hospital and I've had some time to reflect about corporate health care. To opponents who claim that the change would make patient care similar to the DMV, I have one question, "Have you ever visited an emergency room?" Our local corporately owned hospital bears a resemblance to Walmart if anything.

My mom and aunt have been staying at my grandmother's hospital room from around 7 am to 7 pm. The room is dirty and the nurses have forgot to give my grandma her medication and twice forgot to feed her. On their records for medication allergies, they had the medication they gave her in the emergency room the day before listed. My grandma broke some of the discs of her spine and is on pain medication that makes her confused and unable to ensure she is properly cared for.

If you think I'm exaggerating about the care at the hospital because this is my relative you are mistaken. My grandmother's roommate who also has a spinal injury only has brief visits from her family. She is left sitting in her bedside chair, with her TV off and out of reach, with a tray of food in front of her. She is left without silverware and is unable to open the food packaging or reach her call button. Luckily, my family is willing to help her also.

If this is the best health care in the world we all should be scared.

Bacon

Bacon Products by bluestarschange on Polyvore.com

After learning about Baconnaise from the Daily Show, then bacon salt, I began to wonder about what other bacon products were out there. I'm disgusted and amazed. There's everything from bacon themed clothes to bacon personal lubricant. Yuck!

Cellar Door

I was thinking about the phrase "Cellar door," described as the most beautiful combination of words in the movie Donnie Darko, and decided to find out what other words are considered beautiful. I found the following list at Alphadictionary.com:
Aestivate
Ailurophile
Assemblage
Becoming
Beleaguer
Billet-doux
Brood
Bucolic
Bungalow
Chatoyant
Comely
Conflate
Cynosure
Dalliance
Demesne
Demure
Denouement
Desuetude
Desultory
Diaphanous
Dissemble
Dulcet
Ebullient
Effervescent
Efflorescence
Elision
Elixir
Eloquence
Embrocation
Emollient
Ephemeral
Epiphany
Erstwhile
Esculent
Ethereal
Evanescent
Evocative
Fetching
Felicitous
Fluke
Forbearance
Fugacious
Furtive
Gambol
Glamour
Gossamer
Halcyon
Imbrication
Imbroglio
Imbue
Incipient
Ineffable
Ingenue
Inglenook
Insouciance
Inure
Lagniappe
Lagoon
Languor
Lassitude
Leisure
Lilt
Lissome
Lithe
Luxuriant
Mellifluous
Moiety
Mondegreen
Murmur
Nemesis
Niveous
Odalisque
Offing
Onomatopoeia
Opulent
Palimpsest
Panacea
Panoply
Pastiche
Peccadillo
Penumbra
Petrichor
Plethora
Propinquity
Pyrrhic
Quintessential
Ratatouille
Redolent
Riparian
Ripple
Scintilla
Sempiternal
Seraglio
Serendipity
Surreptitious
Sumptuous
Sussurous
Symbiosis
Talisman
Tintinnabulation
Umbrageous
Umbrella
Untoward
Vestige
Viridescent
Waft
Wherewithal

(Words that I think should be on the list: saffron, reverie, crimson.)

Demetri Martin Quote of the Day

Travis, originally uploaded by joshuahoffmanphoto.

“I like clothes, you know. I dig fabrics. One of my favorite clothing patterns is camouflage. Because when you’re in the woods it makes you blend in. But when you’re not it does just the opposite. It’s like, ‘Hey, there’s an asshole.’ But when you’re in the woods you’re like, ‘Is there an asshole out here?’ They look like trees.” -Demetri Martin

Disappointed

The Sims 3 – from a story-making point of view. [part 5], originally uploaded by M.Calero.

I think The Sims 3 is pretty lame. Sure the backgrounds look better if you have a good graphics card, but if you don't then it's a step down.

-The Sims look cartoonish. They all look like they have double chins and it's hard not to make them have fat faces. You still cannot change their height.

-The Sims you create cannot interact with each other. You can only have one active household per neighborhood so your Sims have to interact with their crappy Maxis-made neighbors.

-The personality traits are few and not as exciting as promised. There are actual traits: party-animal, loner, charismatic, good, evil. Then more hobby oriented ones like: bookworm, loves the outdoors, artistic. Lastly there are traits that you will probably never use such as never-nude, like the character Tobias from Arrested Development.

-Being able to leave the house isn't really all it's cracked up to be. If you have the other expansion packs for The Sims 2 it's not really a new concept. On The Sims 3 you can go to lots where you can see inside buildings and control you Sim (like in The Sims 2) or you can go to lots where all you can do is look at the outside of the building (restaurants, work, the spa, grocery store, etc.)

-The clothes and hairstyles are pretty minimal. Luckily there is a tool that lets you change the fabrics, colors, and designs on the clothes. If you're lazy like me, it's hard to come up with good outfits like the ones in the picture above. All my Sims wear are black shirts and jeans.