Maybe my head is lopsided

I have noticed something at practice lately. It's been cold in the mornings, so I wear my green fleece hat to keep my head toasty while I'm rowing. Despite the fact that I make certain to put it on straight (have to look good out there!), it always ends up tilted at a jaunty angle to the right by the end of practice. I notice this because it is always blocking the vision in the right eye a little bit. Why does this happen? Why does it only fall down on one side? I have pondered this during many a lake tour, and all I can figure is that my head is lopsided.

Lower Rock Creek

This past Saturday was a lovely day -- perfect for hiking and photography. Dad, Uncle P, and I left about 6:00 in the morning and headed down to Lower Rock Creek, not far from Fredericktown, Missouri. The sights were lovely, although the walking was a bit of a challenge, especially given the massive number of felled trees (big ones!) compliments of a monster windstorm a while back.

A sampling of what we saw:

The sun started to peek through late in the morning

Bloodroot

Early spring flowers

What I Watched -- The Blind Side

E and I got together on Saturday night for some girl talk. Her husband is out of town for his birthday, so she and I had a great time walking the dog, eating pizza and ice cream (and salad), and watching a movie. E had already seen this, but I hadn't.

Sandra Bullock plays Leigh Anne Tuohy, the tough, run-the-show Southern mom who makes the movie worth watching. She and her family adopt Big Mike, a poor kid from the wrong side of the tracks who's never had a home or a family he can count on. In the typical, feel-good movie kind of way, they all change each others' lives, but not without some bumps along the way.

A good movie to watch when you need to be reminded that there is some good in the world.

What I Watched -- Standard Operating Procedure

Honest truth: I did not watch this whole movie. I heard about it somewhere and thought it sounded interesting, but about 45 minutes of watching it displayed mostly finger-pointing, and frankly, I wasn't that interested in that.

The movie is about treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. It is made up of a series of interview clips with relevant people, still photos that were taken by said relevant people, and actors recreating some of the scenes. What I got bored with was really the interviews. The military police were saying that the "bad guys" were military intelligence, and the military intelligence were saying that the "bad guys" were the military police. And the independent contract interrogators thought the whole thing was a big mess. (The latter is probably closest to the truth.) Anyway, I got bored with listening to this, so I didn't finish.

However, I lent the movie to K, who had to watch it for one of her classes. Ever the good student, she watched it all the way through to the end, and said that it did get better. Apparently the interviewees go more into the psychology of Abu Ghraib, and what it was like for the MPs and MIs who had to work there. Unfortunately, it is due back to the library today, so I will probably never know. But if anyone else out there in TV Land has seen it, I'd like to know your thoughts!

What I Watched -- Anatomy of a Murder

An old courtroom classic! The summer before I started law school, the admissions office sent out a "Suggested Reading List." There were a number of books on it, including To Kill A Mockingbird (which I STILL haven't read), Gideon's Trumpet (which I read), and Anatomy of a Murder (which I also read). I never watched the movie though.

Then, in Legal Pro during my second year of school, we watched a clip from the movie, as an example of questionable ethics. I passed the MPRE, so I must have learned something from Paul Biegler, but I still never watched the rest of the movie.

Until last week. I picked it up at the library, and I feel that I should warn you about something: it's a marathon of a movie. 2 hours and 40 minutes, to be exact. But it's pretty quick, and definitely entertaining, especially if you're interested in the (sometimes ridiculous) legal aspects of it!

What I Watched -- Up In The Air

I can see why this movie got a lot of Oscar buzz when it was first released. I picked it at my Oscar party to win Best Adapted Screenplay, but it lost to Precious. There were some good performances by the actors too; I especially liked relative newcomer Anna Kendrick, in her role as Natalie Keener. And George Clooney was good, as always. He's irritatingly good. I like him in almost everything he's in, even if I don't want to because sometimes he seems like such a jerk.

Anyway, good movie! I thought the relationship aspect of the story was good, and (as T said), "not too saccharine." And it was really fun to look at all the scenery and figure out where in St. Louis it was filmed! Lots of shots of the city!

Celebrating Miss Maryville

Because we think C was the best Miss Maryville on stage, we had a little celebration in our office on Friday. In the hope that C is better at keeping green things alive than I am, we bought her a cute little red (Maryville color!) plant. I forget what kind it is, but if anyone knows, feel free to chime in.We got some Subway sandwiches for lunch. Classy? Perhaps not. Delicious? Always. And we had a bottle of champagne! We went to the park across the way, had a picnic, and enjoyed the fresh air. Unfortunately, our other partner J was unable to join us because he took a few hours off to go for a bike ride before the weather turns sour again.

Miss Maryville 2010

Our lovely intern C was in the Miss Maryville pageant at Maryville University last night! S and I went to see her, and probably half the audience was there cheering for her too! It was the first time I've seen a real live pageant before; turns out, they're fun.

S and I in the crowd

Some of the girls' talents were really great, and it was interesting to see what they all chose. There was C's hip hop mock-up, a poetry reading, a couple of songs, a Michael Jackson-inspired dance, and a few others.

C's "Taylor Swift on SNL" impression

The contestants in their gowns

C winning 2nd runner up!

And most importantly, there was cake! (The sad part, though, was that I didn't have any, but still...there was cake!)

Lafayette Square Happy Hour

Ms. L and I went to happy hour at SqWires yesterday. We missed out on the St. Paddy's Day craziness in Dogtown, but that was fine with me, because when I say crazy, I mean C-R-A-Z-Y!I had two delicious drinks: an UrbanTini (pictured), which was raspberry vodka, pineapple juice, frozen grapes, and a couple other things. And my second was the SoCo Mojo, which was Southern Comfort, amaretto, and something. L had the classic cosmo (also pictured), and a Stella! All delish!
We also had some snacks: calamari with fried spinach and pulled pork tortillas, which came with super-tasty cilantro sour cream. I need to find a recipe for that!

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Duit

That's Happy St. Patrick's Day! Or I could say Beannacht Ná Fhéile Pádraig (St. Patrick's Day blessings)!

(At least those are proper translations according to the all-powerful interwebs. I hope I haven't been led astray!)

Contrary to what we're supposed to do on this fine day, L and I are going to try to avoid the crowd by going to the decidedly non-Irish Lafayette Square for a happy hour drink this evening. How's that for celebratory spirit?

What I Watched -- Me and You and Everyone We Know

E recommended this movie to me, so I picked it up at the library. Turns out, I've already seen it! I can't remember when, but I was about 20 minutes into it when it all started to seem oddly familiar.

And it also seemed, well, odd. The story is about a bunch of oddball characters, how they cross paths, and how things all work out (or don't) in the end. Similar to The Savages, there is some unusual cinematography, but again, it works with the plot.

Of special note is Carlie Westerman, who plays Sylvie. She is precocious and quite amusing. Also good is Miranda July, who plays quirky struggling artist Christine Jesperson.

Bottom line: an odd story about odd people, quirky but interesting.

What I Watched -- The Savages

The Savages is the story of Wendy and Jon Savage (played by Laura Linney and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who are both great), a brother and sister, neither of whom really has their life on track. They have jobs, but are struggling with both their work passions and their personal passions. What brings them together and drives the movie is their estranged and aging father. His dementia is progressing, and you follow the siblings as they discover their father's situation, relocate him to their area of the country, and try to get him settled in a nursing home.

The whole movie feels a little bit off-kilter. A lot of the shots look more like something that a still photographer would use, rather than a cinematographer. A lot of faces are cut off, or the angle is strange, but it kind of works with this movie. You get the idea that the Wendy and Jon are both a little off in their lives, unsure of what they're doing, where they're going, etc. Then you throw in the complications of having to take care of a father who never really took care of them and navigating the complicated world of elder care. No wonder they feel off-balance. But eventually I stopped noticing that the angles were funny or faces were cut off because the shots work so well to support the story!

This seems to me to be a timely movie. I suspect more and more people are going through a situation similar to Wendy and Jon's, as the average age of our population creeps higher. Maybe we can learn something from their trials and tribulations: if nothing else, siblings have to stick together.

What I'm Reading Now -- The Drunkard's Walk

Mom lent me this book a while back, probably almost a year ago. I'm finally getting around to reading it! The problem I have with books like this is not that they aren't interesting. On the contrary, they're usually fascinating. But the problem is this: every time I read some fascinating study or fact in one of these types of books, I want to read it to someone else too.

I had this problem with Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell, which I read when I lived in DC. I would read it at my desk during my lunch break. Every time I read something interesting, I would stand up, look over the wall of my cube into BK's cube, and read it to him.

This is not a bad thing (unless it annoys the person I keep reading to). It just means that it takes twice as long to get through the book, because I read the interesting parts twice. For example, did you know that Dr. Seuss's first book was rejected by 26 publishers before it was finally accepted for publication? Also, did you know that there is a certain type of post-surgical brain impairment which prevents the left and right hemispheres of some people's brains from communicating? These people are interesting to study, apparently, because they don't have that battle of reason versus emotion that normally happens between the two hemispheres. By instructing them to use only their left eye and left hand, you can essentially perform an experiment only on the right side of the brain, and vice versa. How cool is that? Know what we learned from these people? That the emotional sides of our brains allow us to be outperformed in lab tests by a rat. Sad, but fascinating. Also, did you know....

What I Watched -- The Plague Dogs

If you like dogs, you should see this movie. Cartoon? Yes. But still a good story? Certainly. It's based on a book by the same name, written by Richard Adams (the guy who wrote Watership Down -- I guess he likes animals).

I will warn you though, it's not a happy story. The unending hopefulness of the dogs is wonderful, and so true of real-life dogs as well, but the overall story is a sad one.

Hopefully I will get around to reading the book, which I hear has a different ending, and I can report on that as well!

Dogtown Happy Hour

A while back, L and I went to happy hour/dinner in Dogtown. We had drinks at Felix's, and then got more drinks and a monster plate of nachos at Latitude 26. Lots of fun, and some tasty drinks for sure!

Oscar Party!

Thank you to everyone who came to my party last night!
For those who are curious, here is the menu:
Parmesan Garlic dip with veggies and crackers
Deviled eggs (inspired by The Blind Side)
Shrimp Oscar
Noodle Kugel (inspired by A Serious Man)
Couscous Tabbouleh (inspired by The Hurt Locker)
Amaretto dip with fruit
Red Velvet cupcakes (inspired by Precious)
Hollywood Cheesecake
Star-shaped sugar cookies

Me cooking in my dress and apron!

For drinks, we had the standard beer, wine, soda, etc., along with a couple of specialties:
Red Carpet Fizz
Blue Lagoon (inspired by Avatar)
It was also loads of fun to decorate dad's house.
Special shout-outs to S for loaning me some of the decorations, to J and K for helping me put them up, to E for bringing the cupcakes, and to Dad for loaning out the venue!

What I Watched -- Music Within

This little-known (I think -- I hadn't heard of it despite it's 2007 release) movie tells the true story of Richard Pimentel, a Vietnam vet who loses his hearing during the war. He returns home to Portland and makes friends with Art, a genius afflicted with cerebral palsy and confined to a wheelchair, and the only person in the world that Richard can hear.

As their friendship develops, Richard finds his life's calling in helping others. He helps vets find work, helps train companies on how to employ and work with the disabled, and pushes for passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act. And lest we forget, Richard also has a love interest, but that's never as simple as it sounds.

I'm a little surprised that this movie didn't get more play, given its inspiring (and true!) subject matter in a time that's such a bummer. Definitely worth a watch if you're feeling down about life and need a pick-me-up, or just want to see a nice story about friends being there for each other when they're needed.

What I Watched -- (500) Days of Summer

This was a cute movie. Kind of sweet, kind of funny, kind of sad. Not a lot happens, but the plot is kept interesting because you're moving back and forth through their relationship; things are not linear, but at least they make it clear to you (by identifying the day by number, 1-500) where in the relationship you are.

The end felt a little untied; Summer does a total 180-degree turnaround, for which no explanation was ever given. But I guess that's how things go in life sometimes. And since the movie wasn't really about her, it was about Tom, what happened to her wasn't really the point. It's Tom you're cheering for at the end.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- Take 2

I finished it! I will avoid saying too much about the book and the ending, so I don't spoil it for anyone. But I can say that there was quite a finale. Lots of those lingering mysteries are finally (thousands of pages later) explained. And, while some of the explanations seem a bit contrived, they are satisfying nonetheless.

There is something bittersweet about reaching the end of a series of this length. It just seems like there should be more, somehow. I've been reading Harry Potter for probably 8 years, and now there are no more. But on the bright side, there are still two movies to come out, and this will free up my reading time for new stuff! And if I really get sad about it, I could always start over at the beginning....

What I Watched -- The Cove

The Cove is a documentary about the dolphin-fishing industry in the town of Taiji, Japan. In two words, I can sum up the film this way: shocking, horrifying.

The film exposes the massive and impressively coordinated government cover-up of the activities of the dolphin fisherman. The cove itself, where the killing happens, is naturally protected by the landscape, with fortifications in the form of fences, razor wire, and foot patrols. Even the neighboring cove, where dolphins are rounded up and sold for dolphin shows around the world, is jealously guarded by the fisherman. They hold huge signs saying "No Photos" in front of anyone with a camera, and try to provoke a fight to justify involvement of the authorities. Any dolphins not of the right type or size to be used in dolphin shows are dragged around the tip of the cove and out of sight, where they are killed. The Japanese delegation to the International Whaling Commission blatantly lied about what the fishermen were doing. The Japanese Minister of Fisheries (maybe? I forget, exactly?) refused to acknowledge the illegal dolphin killing even after being confronted with video footage taken by the filmmakers.

A lot of the meat from those dolphins is, apparently, falsely labeled as whale meat and sold in supermarkets. The filmmakers tested a number of people involved in the cover-up for mercury poisoning, and they all tested positive. According to the film, the major consequence of this will be an increase in birth defects in children born to mothers who have high mercury levels. There was even a plan to serve dolphin meat in the Taiji schools, which has supposedly been scrapped since the production of the film.

There is also something inspiring about this film, though, in the extreme lengths that the activists who made it are willing to go to to expose the plight of the dolphins. It is important to keep this in mind: they are activists. They make no bones about the fact that they have an agenda.

However, even if you watch the movie on mute so you don't hear their words, there is no denying the horrifying, secretly-captured images of fishermen repeatedly stabbing dolphins, whose blood turns the water Kool-Aid red while they attempt to escape from The Cove.