Five on Friday | The Crown.

I was late to this party, but ... finally, I watched The Crown. and yes, everyone was right - it's excellent. I loved pretty much everything about it. The story (of course! I'm a huge Anglophile and a real fan of Queen Elizabeth, especially since reading Andrew Marr's biography), the sets, the acting and the time period. Pure nostalgia (is that possible since I wasn't actually alive during the 1950's?), but a few episodes in, I started a list of things I wished were still around. And since it's Friday, here are my top five:

1. Telephone calls that aren't instantaneous. It took real effort to make a connection and it seems like the resulting conversations were more meaningful.

2. Silk scarves tied under the chin to keep the 'do in place. I could've used one today!

3. Hats. They really complete the outfit (for women and men).

4. Waists. and high-waisted trousers or full skirts to show them off.

5. Multi-stranded pearls. This one's a cheat since they're obviously still around...but they're certainly not as common in my everyday life as they are in Elizabeth's. Nevertheless, I've made a point of wearing mine more since I watched.

What was your favorite period element about the show? (or maybe there was something you really hated?) Please share.

Regardless, Happy Friday...and Happy Weekend!

WIP Wednesday | Newborn Hats.

One down,

two more to go.

and thank you for all the wonderful TV recommendations. I'm on the 4th episode (1st season still :-) of Call the Midwife and loving it. It's definitely the perfect accompaniment for this knitting project.

p.s. details about the pattern and the yarn are here on Ravelry.

Weekending.

...was a little different - Marc was away with his buddies on a golf outing (in the North Carolina mountains, which was maybe the coolest place he could be...and he said the golf was good too) and my favorite little family was at the beach. I did a lot of what you might expect.

I watched Grace & Frankie, knitted and had popcorn and wine for dinner (just once).

Saturday morning I made my second trip to the Farmer's Market and enjoyed it (almost - since I was by myself) as much as the first time. I brought home a fabulous summer bouquet of sunflowers and zinnias and a really yummy tomato tart that I ate for dinner that night.  I also had a fun call with a girlfriend and then met up with other friends for knitting and coffee.

It was the perfect chance to debut Nangou. I had hoped to share more about that piece here last Friday, but instead of blogging about it, I ripped back and re-knit the bindoff. Super happy with the outcome!

Yesterday flew by. Church, a visit with Lydia & Steve, FaceTime with Charlie (and his mama), a call with Sara, more Grace & Frankie, more reading (both ears and eyes), and then Marc was home. Dinner, a very quick catch up...and early to bed.

I almost forgot to take a photo!

Was there anything different about your weekend? Regardless, I hope it was fun!

Ten on Tuesday | Surfing.

This week Carole's asked us to share ten movies we'll always stop to watch ... when we find them while channel surfing. Marc does all the channel surfing in this house, and sure enough, I came home last night to find him watching The Greatest Game Ever Played... yep, that's on his list. I grabbed my chance (along with a pen and paper). Here's what he shared:

1. The Greatest Game Ever Played.
2. The Natural.
3. Love Actually.
4. For the Love of the Game.
5. Field of Dreams.
6. The Blind Side.
7. Pretty Woman.
8. The Godfather (Parts 1 and 2 only).
9. The Quiet Man (especially if I'm in the room).
10. Tin Cup.

Honestly, I share more than just #9 - for my list, I'd delete 1, 4 and 6 so I could add:

Charade, Runaway Bride and Titanic.

Sadly, tonight's TV looks like election results. I'd much rather watch a movie! How about you?!

Thank you, Carole, for another fun week! If you're not already playing along, click here to join.

five things (for June).

...inspired by my One Little Word. Play Grace*. have fun. be light-hearted. channel Grace Kelly.

welcoming sunshine and the colors of summer | june 4, 2013 in my front yard.

1. Get my camera out again. For the past 3+ months, I've been taking all my pictures with my phone. It's easy and "in the moment", but I'm ready for better. I used my camera to take the photo above (also used in the new Summer 2013 banner) and it took me a few tries to remember where the buttons were. Yikes!

2. Train for the Peachtree Road Race. It's a 4th of July tradition in Atlanta and I'm excited to take part for the first time ever, especially since Katie & I are running together. And while I'm not worried about the 10K distance, the heat and humidity (and the crowds) are going to be a challenge. So I'm lowering my expectations and running at least once a week in the mid-morning sunshine (which means temperatures in the mid-seventies). ...remembering the goal here is to have fun, not to set a record!

3. See The Great Gatsby. I re-read (listened actually, Tim Robbins did a wonderful job!) the book back in April to prepare. I know it hasn't gotten great reviews, but I don't care. I want to see it for myself on a big screen!

4. Read along with Books on the Nightstand the June short story.  I'm going to start by listening to it (I downloaded the New Yorker Fiction podcast from January, 2009 where it's read by Thomas McGuane). And I hope I love it because everything I'm seeing and hearing about James Salter's new book (All That Is) makes me want to dive right into everything he's written.

5. Watch Madmen Season 6. The first 10 episodes are queued up on the DVR just waiting for Marc's next trip to Asia...which starts on Monday. I can't wait to actually see firsthand everything I've been reading about, especially the costumes. and Bob Benson. and get myself caught up to join the millions of viewers who will be watching the season finale on June 23.

What are you hoping to enjoy this month?

*June's original intention was "See Grace"with actions related to photography, but the iPhonography class I found starts July 1. And just so happens that July's intention was all about Play, so I've swapped the two months.

when the going gets tough.

...the tough stop sleeping and start counting the clock chimes at 2am, 3am, 4am...while thinking about new knitting projects. (startitis anyone?)

swatching.

Maggiknits Linen, Habu Tsumugi Silk doubled and Tsumugi Silk single for Jane's Tunic, Hane and Die-Cut Vest, respectively

measuring.

Tsumugi Silk for the Die-Cut vest (which I've loved since I saw the latest Knit.Wear a few weeks ago), appears to be right on (first try - yay!)

and then casting on and knitting.

Jane's Tunic with the Maggiknits Linen on size 9 needles (which feel like broomsticks after the 2's, 2.5's and 3's I've been working on)

while catching up on two seasons missed of Game of Thrones.

I'll admit that, so far, Game of Thrones isn't done much for my sleep, but oh my, it's good for when I'm awake! [for the record, I'm mid-way through the 6th episode of season one and I have grand plans to be caught up to season three by the weekend - a mere 15+ hours of TV to go!]

what projects are keeping you up at night? ...and have you been watching Game of Thrones? are you hooked?

10 favorite childhood tv shows.

...I hate to admit it, but I wasn't very excited about this topic yesterday. but this morning, I started a list, and it got me remembering...fun times as a child*. when we pored over the tv guide (from the newspaper, never the magazine you could buy separately) each week to see what would be on and we knew "friday night is the brady bunch" and (a few years later) "saturday night is love boat and fantasy island". don't get me wrong, I LOVE my dvr and all my cable channels. but tv was so much simpler then, wasn't it?!

Perry Mason - photo credit

1. Perry Mason. it came on at lunchtime during the summers of my early teen years. I'm sure I had a huge crush on raymond burr. and I also remember making egg salad sandwiches (for one!) to eat while I watched.

2. General Hospital. (sorry mother!). the luke and laura story line was hot my last year of high school. fortunately, school got out in time for us to watch it at 3pm. [and since this whole list is a guilty pleasure, I'll even admit that I got hooked again the spring of 1987, when I was home with a newborn...I'd plan our day to be home from one til four so I could watch the whole ABC soap lineup. whew, I'm glad I got that off my chest!]

3. M*A*S*H. this one was a favorite with my whole family. marc and I still like to watch, but katie & sara never really caught on.

4. Love Boat and Fanstasy Island. two shows forever linked in my mind because they were the saturday night lineup when I was in high school. I watched when I baby sat. and we watched if it was friends hanging out.

5. The Brady Bunch. I remember it came on at 7pm on friday night (just before The Partridge Family) and I really wanted to watch the whole hour. But my parents liked Sanford and Son (and another show I can't remember), so I rarely got to see it real-time. I enjoyed the re-runs just as much.

6. It Takes a Thief. (oh my, did this really only air for two and a half seasons??!) I remember this from re-runs. I adored robert wagner (didn't we all?) and I also loved hart to hart (but that started when I was in college!)

...and now we move to the sixties and seventies chick flick sitcoms. I hope these shows made a lot of our lists!

7. That Girl. sadly, as katie can attest, life as a single girl in manhattan really isn't that fun!

8. Bewitched .maybe this explains why I'm completely enamored with the all souls series?

9. The Flying Nun.

10. I Dream of Jeannie.

...funny, as I type this I see that three of those last four are about girls with "super" powers. I haven't seen any episodes of those shows in years. I wonder what I'd think about them - or really, about any on this list! - now.

carole, this was a great topic. thank you!

click here to join the ten on tuesday fun!

*which I'm very loosely interpreting to be through high school. I don't have many memories of tv before the age of 8 or 9, so I figure giving myself an 8 or 9 year window is probably good!

10 favorite comedies.

...another look at favorite movies. this time it's comedies. I struggled a bit with "what's a comedy?" I read somewhere that it's a story that ends with a wedding (contrast with a tragedy which is a story that ends with a death). sara told me "yeah that's a fine definition...if you're an english teacher. mom, just pick movies that make you laugh." so here goes:

image from here...and yeah, you're smiling aren't you?

1. finding nemo. this movie makes me happy every time I watch it. "just keep swimming, just keep swimming...."

2. beauty and the beast. and not just because it ends with a wedding...but it is a very pretty wedding and lumiere and cogsworth do make me laugh.

3. aladdin. marc and I took katie and her girlfriends to see this. the girls would've been about five or six. and I remember noting that they laughed at completely different times than marc and I did. I love that disney manages to appeal to multiple generations in ways that are appropriate - and funny - to all.

(yes, my list starts off with three disney movies. I wonder if anyone else's will?!)

4. ferris bueller's day off. this is one of those movies we'll stop to watch whenever we see it's on.

5. julie and julia. the real julia child was very funny and meryl streep captures that beautifully.

6. juno.

7. amelie. especially now that I've been to paris. (and the soundtrack is especially wonderful).

8. men in black.

9. wedding crashers.

10. the blues brothers (oh my 1980. really??!!). admittedly I haven't see this in a few years, but I feel like the aykroyd/belushi team will surely withstand the test of time.

10 thoughts on the oscars.

...my first thought when I saw carole's prompt was "darn, I guess I shouldn't have turned off the oscars at 9:30 to let marc watch golf." it seemed fine at the time because my favorite part of any awards show is the red carpet and I knew there was no way I'd be awake to see the best picture award at the end.  turns out there is enough coverage on the internet that I feel like I watched the entire show...in just a half hour!  

photo credit

1. uggie is seriously cute.

2. I'd like to see the artist, hugo, the muppet movie, the iron lady, the descendants and money ball. I'm glad I saw midnight in paris. I don't need to see the help.

3. gwyneth paltrow, penelope cruz and stacy keibler were stunning.

4. did j lo did have a wardrobe malfunction? of course she did!

5. angelina's right leg had its own twitter account and over 10,000 followers. seriously?

6. billy crystal is the best host.

7. giuliana rancic looks great.

8. love all the red hair.

9. sasha baron cohen, as expected, tasteless and tacky.

10. I really don't need to stay up to watch the show live!

click here to join the ten on tuesday fun!

10 favorite chick flicks.

...this is a fun one - and I'm sure there will be a lot of similarity across our lists, but hopefully a bit of difference and I'll find a few new movies to check out!

1. charade. audrey hepburn and cary grant. romance and suspense in 1963 paris. what's not to love?
2. the thomas crown affair (the new one). pierce brosnan and renee russo. new york and an island in the caribbean. and art. great soundtrack. I love renee's look in this movie. hair, clothes and makeup. and ooohh, this dress.
3. something's gotta give. diane keaton and jack nicholson. a fabulous house in the hamptons. I, too, will wear white when I get to my 60's!
4. pretty woman. julia roberts is so young and pretty. love the chemistry between her and richard gere. and strawberries and champagne.
5. you've got mail. meg ryan and tom hanks work so well together. another one set in new york, and new york plays a key role in the story. (and I've never seen the original...should I?)
6. pillow talk. doris day and rock hudson. manhattan in the late 1950's. classic sets and costumes.
7. stranger than fiction. I am not a will farrell fan, except for this movie. the story is sweet (he courts a baker and brings her flours), the soundtrack features spoon, and dustin hoffman and emma thompson are wonderful.
8. to catch a thief.  cary grant and grace kelly, beautiful scenery and spectacular fireworks. I wonder if alfred hitchcock would mind having a movie on this list?
9. it's complicated.  meryl streep lives in a beautiful house in santa barbara and cooks. steve martin is delightful, but (surprisingly, I promise!) I find myself cheering alec baldwin's character instead.
10. when harry met sally. last, but certainly not least!

this list was harder than I expected to put together, mainly because I'm limited to 10! appears I'm drawn to the actors and the setting more than the story. maybe because they all have happy endings?

Go here if you would like to sign up for the Ten on Tuesday mailing list.

to mom, with love

In writing the perfect blog post, there are always a few throwback staples on which I rely: music, entertainment (i.e. television, movies, and especially celebrity gossip, because we’re all lying to ourselves if we don’t admit that Lindsay Lohan’s mug shot equates to entertainment at its finest), rambling (as just witnessed), and lists.

However, a true synthesis of these elements provides for a truly mind-blowing experience. The perfect blog post (at least a blog post by me) mixes all of these elements just right, not rambling too much or referencing vague things that only I would understand too often (because it's okay to do it once in a while), therefore totally robbing the post of its personal quality. Indeed, the best blog post is one that everyone can understand.

And so, as I embark on my first blog post in a few months, I do so with a specific purpose in mind. Today (actually tomorrow) is Mother’s Day, which means that, for an entire twenty-four hours, the whole world worships the mother. Now, I’m really not one to worship, but I do think that gratitude is one of the most important things in life (hey, that’s something we have in common, Mom!). So, in keeping in line with the whole best blog elements thing, I’ve decided to make a list—my top 10 reasons why I love my mother, in hopes of sparing the cheese and the corn.

10. She lets me make all the Thanksgiving desserts. It should also be noted that she allows me to make desserts on several other occasions throughout the year. We’ve made a mutual decision to open a specialty foods store later in life. Hopefully, we will meet Ina Garten (or be invited to one of her parties, which might be better).

9. She understands my love (okay, passion) for celebrity gossip magazines and always nods her head when I go on and on about how Angelina Jolie is a homewrecker and Jennifer Aniston deserves someone so much better than Brad. And not only does she understand my love for such magazines, but she also seems to willingly support it. We both know it’s trash, but who can resist trash this good? (P.S. You all know the Angelina Jolie thing is true. Admit it.)

8. She puts up with my driving. I’m not a bad driver, but I can see the stress in her eyes, and I really do appreciate her for taking one for the team and embarking with me on my journey toward licensehood. She’s also done a heck of a job, too. I no longer make her feel as if she’s about to collide with a mailbox. And I've also managed to figure out how to maneuver up and down our driveway!

7. She goes with me on trips to Chicago and New York and always compliments me for being a good travel buddy and (something much more important for me, as it’s something I take pride in) for being an excellent food orderer in restaurants.

6. She dresses well. This is only number six on the list, but, believe me, it’s important.

5. She helps me with my math homework. Oh, God, there have been too many math problems over the years, yet she always conquers each with authority and a penned drawing. Here’s to AP Calculus and AP Stat in the coming years! (Also, I do appreciate your help on reading my writing over the past few years. I may not have always made it clear, but it really did make a difference. (And, again, here’s to AP Lang and AP Lit in the coming years!))

4. She likes the same television shows as I do, yet she accepts that I enjoy indulging in the occasional trashy one. I’ll never let her forget that I introduced her to The OC, and for that she should be eternally grateful. However, she also understands that a little Real World never hurt anyone (theoretically).

3. She lets me listen to good music and willingly seeks my opinion on musical matters. This also makes me feel important. For commentary, a little shuffle!
- "You Got Me All Wrong" by Dios Malos. Oh, wow, one of the best and most underrated songs ever on The OC. Came in a truly haunting episode, and if I go any further, I might be going into the incomprehensible vague reference area.
- "We Will Become Silhouettes" by The Shins. As much as I love The Shins, The Postal Service just do it better. Although, I’m really enjoying how this is going in the usual route of a shuffle: OC song, cover, etc. Next, I’ll be dealt a truly embarrassing song. And, play!
- "Summergirls" by LFO. Oh my God! This is seriously no joke. I did not edit this at all. This song really came up! Oh, wow, this has never happened before. I can’t believe this. Whoa. The Apple gods must really be messing with me. I remember when Katie used to play this song every single morning when she woke up. (Mind you, this was when she was in the sixth grade and this song was the utter definition of cool.) That’s right, every morning we’d wake up to “New Kids on the Block had a bunch of hits / Chinese food makes me sick….” Wow, I still can’t believe this. Of all the songs on my iPod, too, this is the most embarrassing. What a magnificent sampling! (This is all extremely honest, too. No sarcasm in the above paragraph.)
- "Life Is a Song" by Patrick Park. I’m sorry, but has my iPod gone totally crazy or is it just me? A sampling of the best songs on my iPod. And, this is also no joke, I was going to write (in the commentary about the Shins song) that there’d be a Patrick Park song, too. This is so unbelievably crazy that I’m going to go out on a limb and say that it won’t last too long. Next song is going to be really, really bad.
- :Breathe (2 AM)" by Anna Nalick. Half-true.

2. She puts up and goes along with my obsessed vents over things like The OC, Gossip Girl, Juno, and Across the Universe. This is incredibly important, because we all want people to make it seem like what we have to say is really important and that they’re also really interested in our meaningless babble. The insertions of head nods and “I know, right”s in the proper places are key.

1. She has the hugest smile ever. And she always makes me take the long-arm shot.

Happy Mother’s Day, Mom! If you’re crying, I hope it’s because you’re laughing so hard from my incredible wit and humor. Love, Sara

Across the Universe

For much of today’s generation, the brilliance of The Beatles is lost. (Before I continue, I’d like to say that, while I’m no Beatles scholar, I definitely appreciate their work and recognize the impact that they’ve had on popular culture over the last four decades.) Sure, the youth knows some of their songs, like “Hey Jude” or “Hello, Goodbye,” but were it not for a Super Bowl halftime performance by Paul McCartney a few years ago and a catchy Target commercial, I’m afraid that many teenagers, when asked the simple question, “You know who The Beatles are, right?” would make a confused look, and, finally getting the memo, sourly pull out their iPod headphones from their ears, pausing for a split second Soulja Boy’s (no typo there, I promise) “Crank That” and say “Yeah, sure, whatever,” and return to the sounds of “pop music.” Little do they know that the music that they listen to, or even the genre that they listen to, goes back to the Fab Four in some way or another. John, Paul, George, and Ringo. (“Ringo?!” they would say. “What kind of a name is Ringo?!” They would then go right back to listening to Timbaland.) Forty-some years ago the guys from across the pond graced us with their catchy tunes, of which the list is endless.

And so, thankfully, decades after these four guys formed the band that would endure physically for years, but that would and will last for years to come, the greatest movie ever is made. Ah, I kid. It’s not the greatest movie ever. But it’s the best one I’ve seen in a long time.

Named after the song that graced The Beatle’s last studio album, Let it Be, Across the Universe is the musical that will introduce much of today’s generation to the brilliance of The Beatles.

In all, there are more than thirty different Beatles tunes that the lead cast belts out (and quite amazingly, I might add), and there is not a weak one in the bunch (such a thing is pretty rare, I think you’ll find). What’s also incredible is how effortlessly they seem to fit into the plot. Take “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite.” Okay, so normally you wouldn’t think it would fit into a love story, but it does. And it’s amazing in the process.

Across the Universe is a story of a young bloke from Liverpool (birthplace of The Beatles) named Jude (“Hey…,” Jim Sturgess). Jude travels to the eastern coast of the United States to Princeton, where he meets Max (“… and the Silver Hammer,” Joe Anderson ), a carefree guy who shows him the ways of the Americans, and his younger sister Lucy (“…in the Sky with Diamonds,” Evan Rachel Wood). What enfolds is their love story, spanning the late 60’s, including the anti-war movement in Vietnam that often personifies much of the revolutionary decade.

Also told are the stories of other famous names from famous Beatles songs, such as Sadie (“Sexy…,” Dana Fuchs), Jojo (“Get Back,” Martin Luther McCoy), Prudence (“Dear…,” TV Carpio), and Dr. Robert (“Doctor Robert,” Bono). Each lends his or her voice to the soundtrack, which, if you haven’t inferred, is flawless. Thirty-one tracks and I am hooked. Some of the highlights for me are “With a Little Help from My Friends,” “I’ve Just Seen a Face,” “Let It Be,” “Come Together,” “Dear Prudence,” “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite,” “Something,” “Strawberry Fields Forever” (which is featured during a fantastic, and rather hallucinogenic, sequence), “Happiness is a Warm Gun,” “Hey Jude,” and “All You Need is Love,” which is my favorite out of all of them.

You might think that it’s a bit crazy to say that this film is an achievement in both art and music, but it’s just that good. It leaves nothing to be desired. Well, except that I want to see it again and again.

But, of course, don’t take my word for it. Watch the theatrical trailer here, get super excited, and then go out and see the movie. You won’t regret it, if not because of the awesomeness that is Across the Universe, but because you’ll finally get to experience, albeit in a slightly different way, the awesomeness that is The Beatles.

The most wonderful time of the year!

Has it seriously already been six weeks of this? Ay, time flies when you’re reading loads upon loads of BOOKS! Agh, Honors Lit is whipping me into shape. First The Bell Jar (multiple attempted suicides but a real let down in the end because she LIVES! At least give us a book with a payoff, English Department!), then Life of Pi (first book that I’ve actually enjoyed reading, pretty much all the way through, since To Kill a Mockingbird. But of course nothing is ever that simple. Let’s go ahead and find themes and symbols and conflicts), and now Lord of the Flies (only just started, but not too bad so far. I use phrases like “so far” quite often, you may notice).

Okay, but all in all, so far there’s been no 1984s, Pudd’n’head Wilsons or Jane Eyres in the bunch. But that may change, because I think they put one of those Bronte sisters on the list of books that we absolutely have to read. But that doesn’t matter, because no more Jane Eyre! Seriously, one of the worst books I’ve ever read. So completely dragged out. What happened in 500+ pages could have happened in the following:

My name is Jane Eyre. My parents died. My aunt is mean to me. I went to a boarding school for orphans. I became a governess. I fell in love with my employer (OMG! SCANDAL!). He had a secret wife. I left him and then coincidentally found my cousins. My cousin asked him to marry me (OMG! SCANDAL!), but I said no. I went back to my employer. Who went blind. We lived happily ever after!

THE END (finally!)

Anyway, television season is upon us. Hooray for new ways to occupy my downtime.

First up: America’s Next Top Model. Not too different than any other reality competition, except for this one is fierce! Tyra Banks is a cartoon, but she’s fierce, too!

Next: Gossip Girl. My true anticipation for this fall. In case you didn’t know, it’s one of Josh Schwartz’s (creator of The OC) two shows this fall (I’ll get to the other one later). It premiered Wednesday night. It’s basically my favorite type of TV show: young people living scandalous lives that I wish I somehow had a part in. It’s shooting on location in New York City, which I love. And I love the fashion. And everybody on that show is pretty. So you’d think that I’d absolutely love it, because it’s “Welcome to the Upper East Side, (expletive that I’m not sure my mom would want on this blank, but use your imagination)!” but it’s really not even close to The OC, except for potential love triangles and young people that do drugs and drink and you wonder how people don’t notice when they do it in public, like Central Park, for example (except I read that that’s not actually that uncommon – who knew?). But I found myself comparing it to The OC. It’s not as funny, the adult characters are clichés of rich, overbearing parents, and it doesn’t really have the heart that made me love The OC. But then again, am I looking for The OC 2.0? Sorry, rhetorical question. Is this the show’s aim? To be The OC 2.0? No. I can deal with a fictional dose of scandal every seven days. In fact, we all can. Even though it makes our lives much more boring, it also makes up appreciate our dull lives. You know, in that “Thank God that’ll never happen to me” way?

Next: Chuck. Josh Schwartz’s critical darling this year. About a geek (think Geek Squad) who accidentally downloads a whole bunch of government secrets into his brain. Interesting concept. I only wish the geek were Adam Brody. Sigh.

For my mom: Grey’s Anatomy. The most outrageous show on television returns this fall after a trainwreck season finale. Burning questions:
-What will happen to Cristina now that Burke has left her?
-What will become of Meredith's and McDreamy’s relationship?
-Who will fill the ginormous void left my Addison, deemed as one of the few likeable characters on this show?
-How will the departure (okay, firing) of Isaiah Washington (Burke) affect the show?
How will Meredith’s half-sister, a new intern at the Seattle Grace, factor into the new season?
-Will Dr. Roberts (OC, people) ever make a cameo? Please?
-What will George do after failing his intern exam?
-George! Izzie! Gizzie! Gizzie? GIZZIE!?!?!
-But, more importantly, why do more than twenty million people in America care?

And so, in keeping with this whole Grey’s thing, as well as the quiz that my mom took last night (scroll down), I decided to take a quiz of my own: Which Grey’s Anatomy character are you most like? (In other words, just how crazy are you?)

36 questions later:

You are Callie! Smart, sexy and misunderstood, you aren't afraid to say what you think, but you tend to be very insecure. You like to keep your personal life secret because you feel people will judge you. You don't like labels and break the mold. You are very passionate and when you care about someone you deeply care and tend to be overprotective. All in all people enjoy your fun personality and amazing sense of humor but think you "come on too strong" at times.
Thank goodness. However, I apparently scored 33% as Meredith Grey. Okay, so I’m only one-third completely psycho? Good to know?

And, finally, since I feel like it’s been just too long:

iPod shuffle. Until I feel like stopping.

1. Arrivals (Are Never Enough) – The Ghost Is Dancing. Immediately pulls you in with the chant-like drums. Then sounds like a band that I can’t quite put my finger on. Surprisingly, that doesn’t bother me. (Although, maybe I’m getting a Rogue Wave vibe.)
2. Lover I Don’t Have to Love – Bright Eyes. You know, my mom really finds this song creepy, and probably not just because of Conor Oberst’s rather sneaky voice in this song. Because he sort of always has that hoarse thing going on. I don’t think she likes the lyrics. I love them. I won’t go so far to say that this song is haunting, but, then again, maybe it is. For those of you looking for a more “friendly” version of this song, if such a thing is possible, check out Bettie Serveert’s cover. I think she does it better. And not as creepy.
3. All Kinds of Time – Fountains of Wayne. Yes, of “Stacy’s Mom” fame. Although, that should be illegal. Any song that annoying, that overplayed, and that popular should never garner a band fame. But I think this song is totally the opposite. This song actually plays on The OC early in the series. You wouldn’t guess it from the lyrics, which talk about a quarterback that has “all kinds of time.” You also might not guess that a few years ago this song was featured in a commercial for the NFL Network. Although that seems like a more obvious choice, doesn’t it?
4. Song for Sunshine – Belle & Sebastian. Not the best Belle & Sebastian song. Not the best song from “The Avengers,” the ridiculously amazing fourth season premiere episode of The OC. But that really isn’t saying much, because every song in that episode rocked hard.
5. Remedy (I Won’t Worry) – Jason Mraz. Does this count as kind of embarrassing. Kind of? You be the judge. Actually, I take that back. Don’t judge. Who knows what songs will show up later. It’s a too catchy song from the guy that combines pop and rap to make radio-friendly tunes. We should all be so talented.
6. I Turn My Camera On – Spoon. What of the greatest mysteries of Spoon (okay, the only mystery that I can find) is how lead singer Britt Daniel (what a total rock-star name, by the way) can get his voice so high and have it sound good, while he keep his voice rather low in all of his other songs. Again, we should all be so talented and have as cool of a name as Britt Daniel.
7. The New e Blues – Western States Motel. This song only has 6 plays. No wonder, because it’s rather boring and monotone.
8. One More With Feeling – Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly. I’ve expressed my extreme dislike for another GCWCF song, “I Spy,” which sounds like it should come straight out of One Tree Hill or off of a 12-year-old’s Myspace page, but this song is actually pretty wonderful, even though I can still detect that distinct sound from the lead singer’s voice in this song that makes “I Spy” so cringe-inducing.
9. I’m A Player – The K.G.B. This is why I told you not to judge.
10. Here It Goes Again (UK Surf) – OK Go. For all the crap that I say about Grey’s Anatomy, I have to say that it consistently features good music. However, I should also point out that that is not a product of the psychotic characters but rather of the wonderful music supervisor, Alex Patsavas, whom I love and envy and who was the music supervisor on The OC, and does the music for Gossip Girl, too. In this case, AP took a seriously overplayed song, however catchy and awesome the music video for it was, and found the more mellow version.
11. Hummingbird – Wilco. For a while I seriously loved this song, but I hadn’t heard it in a while up until a few days ago, and realized why I loved it in the first place: because it’s just so great. I love how it gradually builds up to the chorus. Right before the one-minute mark, this song seriously reminds me of one song that’s in You’ve Got Mail. Can’t tell you which one, and that, again, doesn’t really bother me.
12. Hang Me Up to Dry – Cold War Kids. This song was on the pilot of Gossip Girl, and over on the TWoP boards, where I am a frequent poster, some viewers were so ecstatic at CWK, an indie band from New York City, getting some recognition. Meanwhile, I keep thinking to myself: the music video for this song was practically on repeat a few months ago over on MTV. If that’s not recognition, then I’m really not sure what is.
13. Run-Away – Super Furry Animals. This song starts out kind of strange, but then it picks up, and sounds like a song from the 80’s. And for me, that’s a good thing.
14. Saturday Morning – Eels. This is a nice upbeat song about getting up early on Saturday mornings. I think it’s my mom’s weekend anthem.
15. Gone For Good – The Shins. I’m going to see this incredible band next month and couldn’t be more excited. Because The Shins make great music, as evidenced by this song.
16. Everything Will Be Alright – The Killers. Okay, that’s it, I’m stopping while I’m still ahead.

Well, that was good. Happy fall, everyone (tomorrow is the first day of fall, in case you didn’t know)! Here’s hoping that the Bulldogs lose to Alabama tonight. That would really kick off the new season in smashing fashion.

"California, there you go..."

So Thursday night was the series finale of The O.C. And man was it depressing. Only sixteen episodes this season, but it was a phenomenal season, which made the ending that much more bittersweet.

The episode was titled "The End's Not Near, It's Here," a lyric from the song "The End's Not Near," which was originally by The New Year, and then was covered by Band of Horses. Both songs were featured on The O.C., and both were featured, coincidentally, in the second episode of a particular season (The New Year's version in "The Way We Were" (2-02), an and Band of Horses' cover in "The Gringos" (4-02)).

But anyway, the episode was just wonderful. It jumped forward six months ahead, to around late August/early September, so babies were on their way (Kirsten and Julie's), and kids were off to college or beyond (Berkeley, RISD, Paris, presidential rallies, etc.). But while the first 40 or so minutes were playful, fun, entertaining O.C., the last 20 minutes were extremely depressing.

Before the final montage, they showed Ryan walking through the empty Cohen house (The Cohens, having just had a baby girl, Sophie Rose, decided to move back up to Berkeley), reliving his first moments in the house. So in the final scenes, they actually flashed forward to the future (again) to show how everyone ended up. Sandy became a law professor at Berkeley, Ryan went to Berkeley, Julie graduated from college in a truly poignant scene as Kaitlin, Bullit, Frank, and her cutest son ever cheered her on (a la Marissa's graduation in "The Graduates" (3-25)). Summer was shown at a rally, supporting the cause, and "saving the world." Seth was shown admiring her. And then they got married, and the tears really began to flow. Ryan and Taylor's relationship was left open-ended, and their fate is completely subjective, but I believe that they ended up together.

And the final scene was of Ryan, walking from a construction site (he became a successful architect), and then seeing a kid, lonely, abandoned, and exactly like him that side of 10 years ago. Ryan looked at him, as flashbacks of him back in "The Pilot" were featured. "Hey kid," he called. The boy looked up. "You need help?" Ryan asked. The kid looked back down again, and then up again. The final shot was of Ryan. The screen faded to black, and I cried uncontrollaby. The show really did come full circle. I continued to cry uncontrollably.

Too good of an ending, made even better by Patrick Park's "Life Is a Song" playing in the background.

And so now I am left O.C.-less. But there are always DVD's, and, coming in early April, syndication, right? And I still have my O.C. calendar to gaze at for 10 more months. And my O.C. music to listen to. So not everything is lost.

I am currently listening to "California," as a part of my The Best Of: A Retrospective O.C. Collection - Season by Season (which I will give to my mom as soon as it is finished). That famous line "California here we come..." just played. But I guess now it's "California there you go..."

Check Out:

• The entire finale (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4) (and some other season four episodes, as well)
  
• "Life Is a Song" by Patrick Park (via the Silly Pipe Dreams blog)