A Statement About Titanic

And now a moment of introspection.

The Park City Library and my weekly pilgrimage have afforded me the opportunity to see a lot of movies I have been "meaning" to see. You know, the ones you put on a list to save for a rainy day, or "when there's time," or whatever.

The library's selection is not huge, but what is there is significant; indie gems, old classics, and the occasional guilty pleasure.

Which brings me to today, and Titanic's presence on the shelf.

I saw Titanic three times in the 1997-1998 year (I think all of them were in the theater). I may or may not have bought it on VHS (woo!) but I promise you I did not watch it all the way through. Titanic is not something you can half-ass. You either have to sit down and watch it or not even bother.

Then, like everyone else ever, I experienced the backlash and swore it was stupid and that I would never watch it again. This was compounded by my seeing LA Confidential, a vastly superior film, and realizing that it lost to the... er... titanic Titanic in the 1998 Oscars. And that kids, is just not cool.

Recently I was talking to "a friend" (we're still at euphemisms, people) and we decided that maybe it was time to give Titanic another shot. This time not from the rose-colored Leo DiCaprio hype-glasses, but with a more discerning, adult, decade-later kind of eye.

And I have to tell you, it doesn't hold up well.

The emotional impact of the film is still heavy, but this time with the obvious human tragedy exploited for blockbuster dollars. Kate Winslet is lovely as ever, while Leo still looks like a fetus (you don't realize what a decade can do for someone's looks until you see Leo then and Leo now. And let me state for the record, I prefer Leo now). The story doesn't hold up; a decade of romance novel reading makes even Jack and Rose's miraculous forty-eight hour love story seem contrived. And of course he has to die. Because honestly, what was going to happen to them when they got off the boat?

Which means this boils down to a "he drops into her life to change her perspective, but can't stay to see the results" set against the backdrop of the legendary sinking ship. Blah.

The fashions are genius, Kathy Bates is hysterical, and I completely forgot that Victor Garber, love of my life is in it. (I went from my Alias marathon to Titanic... we're all Victor all the time, and we don't mess around).

I was left with the knowledge that I had tried Titanic again, and the surety that I could wait another decade before my next viewing.

And now I find myself writing this with Knocked Up on in the background, just as a palate cleanser.

A Statement About Glee

If you're going to name a show Glee, it had better live up to its name.

There can be nothing downer about it; even when you tackle serious issues (Hello, teen pregnancy and homosexuality! How are you today?) you've got to do it with the snap-crackle-pop lightness that your title implies, and you've got to do something to ensure that people leave feeling, well gleeful.

So far, so good.

Glee is possibly the riskiest proposition of the new television season: a musical set in a high school, on FOX, nonetheless. But this is no tweenie High School Musical redux; this is a sharp satire with even sharper characters, who happen to sing some of the kick-assest covers in recent memory.

According to "those in the know" the portrayal of school politics is spot-on, from Jane Lynch's gutting cheerleading coach to the idealistic glee coach cum Spanish prof who is forced to pay for the club out of his own pocket.

All of the stock characters are there for political correctness-- the feisty black girl, the jock, the kid in the wheelchair, the newly un-closeted fashionista, the bitch with the well-intentioned heart of gold. In any other hands these characters could be cliche (or at worst, offensive), but they all manage to shine and bounce off of each other with sparky repertoire that is anything but boring, and man can they sing.

Mr. Schuester's (aforementioned Glee/Spanish honcho) love life is a mess; he's trapped in a marriage to his high school sweetheart, a faux-pregnant trainwreck of highly codependent proportions. His real love, neurotic guidance counselor Emma, has just accepted what is essentially a marriage-in-name-only proposal from gym teacher Ken Tanaka. Coming back from all of that Jim-and-Pam loveliness, I'm not sure how much patience I'll have if the writers make it their life mission to keep Will and Emma apart, but so far so only mildly irritating.

It certainly has a lot to live up to, especially in the long term. But for the moment, Glee is fulfilling the quick-witted, happy without being saccharine void left by the late great Arrested Development.

To quote Emma, "YAY GLEE! GLEE KIDS HOORAY!"

A Statement About Mr. & Mrs. Halpert

Confession time: I have been giddy for five months.

Ever since that silent moment in a Pennsylvania (read: Los Angeles set) hospital room when a doctor told Pam Beesley and Jim Halpert that they are pregnant, I have been waitingwaitingwaitingwaiting for The Next Step.

And next Thursday, I'm going to get it.

It's a risky proposition: Who in their right mind would marry off the will-they-or-won't-they central couple five years in to a potentially ongoing franchise? That romantic tension is supposed to carry whole seasons; the unplanned pregnancy should spur a crisis of coupledom resulting in Jim fleeing the state to seek everything he'll miss when he becomes a father, and should magically drive Pam back into the arms of her former fiancé Roy. Or something.

But the brilliant brilliance of the Jim and Pam dynamic is their complete normalcy. Even when there was drama (and there has been plenty), they reacted as normal, mature, real-life adults. There was no screaming, no yelling, no overreactive not-speaking-to-eachothers (and being 3/4 of the way through a Felicity marathon, I can tell you that those are a dime a dozen on network television).

Even this unplanned pregnancy is real: there is no discussion of "what happened?", no blame placed, merely happiness at the surprise that was going to happen eventually anyway.

There will be a lot of discussion and a lot of watching of the ratings numbers after the hour-long wedding special next week. People will debate whether or not the show has been ruined because the tension is gone. I've got news for people who think this is it: the "tension" has been gone for a long time. Ever since that fateful afternoon when Jim took his name out of the running for a corporate job in New York and rushed back to Scranton to ask Pam to go to dinner with him, this moment has been inevitable.

If the wedding was put off for artificial reasons, that would ruin things. The beauty of The Office in general and Jim and Pam in specific is that they are true to life. We all know Jim and Pam, and we all want to be Jim and Pam, and there is no earthly, real reason to keep them apart.

And so I am giddy for next week. I thoroughly expect to jump up and down, and tear up, and have an hour-long freakout. I can't wait.

A Statement About the Emmys (An Attempt)

So we're trying something new this year... I'm going to watch the Emmys and comment as we go along. The commentary isn't going to be live because I'm an hour behind, but it doesn't really matter because you won't be reading this live anyway. Right?!

MINUTES BEFORE: I am already in a bad mood because I'm behind. A certain un-helpful someone on the East Coast has volunteered to tell me all of the winners as they are listed live, and I have had to issue some harsh words of rebuke.

THINGS WE ARE EXCITED FOR: Neil Patrick Harris!! Dr. Horrible!! How I Met Your Mother Best Comedy upset!! (Although, to be honest, we won't be heartbroken when the the stellar 30 Rock inevitably wins.)

THINGS WE ARE NOT EXCITED FOR: Reality competitions, Anything having to do with Two and a Half Men, the notable absence of anything having to do with Battlestar Galactica

OK...

Ready... Steady... GO!

*NPH is singing. And that white jacket? HAWT. And he wants me alone? I don't think that'll be a problem.

*What a start. Great musical number, trivial without being tedious.

*He grew up ON television. Get it?!

*He is ADORABLE. I'm sorry, but I'm going to be saying that a lot.

*Interesting format change. ALL of every category all at once? That's new... and if they pull it off, it just might work.

*Tina Fey and Jon Hamm! The combo gives hope for all geek girls everywhere.

*KRISTIN CHENOWETH?! Holy upset Batman!! I mean, for serious. Pushing Daisies, welcome to your only recognition ever. Aaaaaaaaand the Emmy is bigger than she is! And she's having some sort of nervous breakdown. And she's trolling for roles. LOVE IT.

(also, she is the smallest person in the history of the world... even in spikes, she's shorter than Tina Fey. Which is hard to do.)

*John Hodgman as commentator?! STUNNING. AND HE'S MAKING THINGS UP AS HE GOES ALONG. This might be the best innovation of the night. Oh wait... way too early so say that.

*Let the HIMYM plugging begin!! At least they deserve it. Both of those women look fantastic considering they're less than 6 months out of childbirth. Did Josh Radnor even say anything, BTW?

*Hello comedienne superteam! Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Amy Poehler! I've heard some rumors... and if NPH didn't win... IT'S JON CRYER?! ARE YOU KIDDING ME?? I'm not commenting on this in protest. In fact I might not watch TV ever again. Except that CHARLIE SHEEN DOES NOT NEED AN EMMY. Whattheholyfrak.

*Wait for it... yep. NPH is better for having not won.

*Really Justin Timberlake? Really with the glasses? You weren't cool enough without trying mimic the geeks? And he's giving the Best Actress in a Comedy Emmy. Suddenly the show has taken a terrifying turn... AND HE'S TURNED ON BY PRESENTING THE AWARD? What to the Ever. But he has to take a moment to recover from Sarah Silverman. Ten points.

*HOLY SECOND UPSET BATMAN. Well, Toni Colette is cool enough. And so is her accent. And so is her dress. OK, so maybe I'm recovering from the Cryer win... maybe.

*AND NPH is calling him on the win. And they're being good sports. Recovery in progress.

*Leighton Meester and Blake Lively (is it just me, or is Lively channeling Princess Leia?). Plunging necklines anyone? You know, 30 Rock did get a ridiculous number of nominations... Justin Timberlake and Tina Fey for Saturday Night Live. Interesting.

*Todd Holland better win for 30 Rock- Generalissimo. Ok, The Office... OK.

*Rob Lowe made a funny! For serious? He chose Dr. Vegas over Grey's Anatomy?? Love all the men in the Comedy Actor category, but I'd love Jermaine from Flight of the Conchords. Also, I think I need to start watching The Big Bang Theory. O.K. I could have gone without Alec Baldwin win again. But he gives a gracious speech.

*Stewie's punching Brian over The Bro Code. And I am not cool enough for this sketch.

*Very smart people, still hold the big awards for the end. And at least he was honest about it... "So no clicking."

**I'm not blogging the best reality categories. Sorry.**

*I lied. Hayden Panetierre is too beautiful and too boring not to be commented on. Also, I think Stewart and Colbert's categories are here anyway. Compromise: Abbreviated commentary.

*AND PROBST NAILS IT.

*NPH wins Kick Ass Dude of the Night.

*Is Tracy Morgan drunk? Because 30 Rock seems like it is a reality show for him.

*The Amazing Race again?! Quel surprise.

*Dear Justin Timberlake, See Kevin Bacon? That's how you pull off the glasses.

*Shoreh Agdashloo is gorgeous. But is she having some sort of asthma attack? Or is that the mic?

*I don't know his name, but Best Supporting Actor in a TV movie-guy ROCKS. Make his speech short before he gets interrupted by a Congressman or rapper indeed.

*LoveloveloveloveLOVE Jennifer Love Hewitt's dress. Sorry, that was probably a bad joke, but I didn't mean it, I swear.

*Best Director TV Movie really really needed to have picked a better dress.

*OMG, the Accountants are talking-- AND DR. HORRIBLE IS ON!!!! Hotness hotness hotness. Now all we need is... NATHAN FILLION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The hottest thing EVER. Counting Jon Hamm and NPH himself. AND THE WHOLE DAMN CAST SHOWED UP. This is officially the best Emmys ever. STUNNING.

*Jessica Lange for Grey Gardens. Let's see how long it takes for her to call up Drew Barrymore. Oh, no?! Just a big lovefest. Cool beans.

*The comedy stylings of Kiefer Sutherland and Anna Torv. Ha. And OMG she's Australian. I totally forgot. And Sutherland's got the glasses too. I might start boycotting my own, they've become so cool.

*4 women accepting for Little Dorritt. Rock on.

*Variety. WOOT. Director goes to an Idol dude? THE DUDE WHO DIRECTED THE BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY VIDEO?! Three cool points.

*Colbert Report rocks. But we knew that. Hell, they all have good videos. Billy Crystal?! Hi Billy! The Daily Show wins. Obviously. You know what, though? It never EVER gets old. Why? Because they are always all 57 kinds of awesome.

*Jon Stewart is dreamy.

*Awesome acceptance opening.

*Have I mentioned I kinda like the split-screen thing? OK, good. Cuz I kinda do.

*Jimmy Fallon is kinda funny...? But not as funny as Carell seems to think. No Flight of the Conchords love, huh? Unimpressed.

*NPH, I would have your babies, but can Ricky Gervais have a go at hosting next year? He declares first off that it's the best award show in the world, and then that he doesn't like the Oscars because all the people there are better looking than him... and then goes on and on about syndication and making money off of The Office. Maybe he shouldn't host... he'd piss off waaaaay too many people while being frakking hilarious. THE DAILY SHOW WINS!! Anything involving Gervais and Stewart in the same room is OK by me.

*Jon Stewart gives NPH a shout-out! Wa-hoo!

*Battlestar Galactica shout-out in Drama montage! WOOT!

*Best Supporting Actor in a Drama... I'd love Michael Emerson or John Slattery... AND IT'S MICHAEL EMERSON!! SEMI-UPSET!! 12 kinds of awesome. And an excellent, brief, gracious speech.

*I honestly don't care about the Best Supporting Actresses. Is that bad? Cherry Jones. Cool chick.

*Nice live In Memoriam.

*Holy Vampire Hotties! Angel and Bill *sigh.*

*Michael J. Fox has the glasses, too. I guess they're getting better, then (PS- he looks awesome). Is it just me, or are the drama writing videos better than the variety writing videos?

*Finally a frakking Mad Men Emmy. I mean, honestly. Matt Weiner- you are a genius, but you are a bit of a tool.

*NPH's inconsequential intros are awe-- SIMON BAKER, WHY DID YOU JUMP ON THE GLASSES BANDWAGON?!

*Yay Glenn Close. Kind of. I wish it was Elisabeth Moss.

*Dana Delaney has the glasses, too. WTF?

*Brian Cranston's beating of Jon Hamm was just made better by his statement that he's glad Glenn Close is a woman, and by declaring himself to be a "Cinderfella."

*And Bob Newhart killed the joke, but he was intimating that he has a massive crush on our Tina, so who cares?

*30 Rock wins! Yay Tina almost making out with Newhart. "Robert, I want to work with you everyday until I put you in the ground." And she thanked Ben Silverman and then SLAMMED NBC... "for keeping us on even though we are so much more expensive than a talk show." Beautiful.

*Hi Sigourney! Golden Age of TV Drama, indeed. MAD to the MEN. Holler. Love that theme song. And Jon Hamm is dreamy, too. What is it about the Jons with no "h"?

*NPH wraps it up with his imaginary glass... he produced the show, too? Ka-ching.

OVERALL: Vast improvement on last year (not too hard to do). NPH can come back anytime he wants. Winners overall were unimpressive, but also vastly improved at least in terms of variety.

Did you have fun? I hope so. KBye.

A Statement About the First Few Days

And so, the first week in Park City has been peaceful, relaxing (believe it or not) and generally good, except for the tragic news from back home. We won't get into that, though. I'll just ask for your thoughts and prayers for the family, please.

Moving swiftly onward to lighter topics, yay Sundance! Yay Park City! Friday afternoon and Saturday were spent in the gracious company of Lady Liberty (whose infinite patience with trips to the Post Office and weird-start-up shopping will not soon be forgotten) and her family. Aunt Joan, Uncle Dave and the kids welcomed me to Utah with open arms, basement, and date book. Considering I had expected to be more-or-less on my own out here, finding family away from family was a wonderful surprise.

Sunday was spent preparing mentally for Monday (because, as we all know, I'm still not sure why I am doing this job) and then Monday was orientation, orientation, orientation!

My for those of you who haven't been kept abreast by Facebook, you should know that my commute was interminable. Like, down some stairs and a whole 25 steps. I honestly don't know how I'm going to survive. The introduction to Sundance was lovely and educational-- a lot of information without being too much. There was even time in the afternoon to sit down with my immediate supervisor for some database going-over (wa-hoo) and general introduction to the department.

And you know what? So far, so good. Having been really unconvinced I was going to know what I am doing in this thing, the first three days have told me that I am very, very prepared. Everything in all of my other jobs (all of them) has completely prepped me for what's to come. Well... except for the chaos. But you know how there are special library patrons we just do things for because it's easier than not? Same for journalists. You know how there's always the "special one" who needs help with everything? I've already been provided with a list of those. And I get to produce my own method for keeping materials organized and under control. Huzzah, people!!!

So there we are. Park City, Week 1 update. I'm not sure things are going to stay interesting enough for constant and dedicated updates, so we're going to get back to business talking nonsense about TV shows and movies next week (don't worry, casual updates included). So... yeah. There you go.

A Statement About Another Long-Ass Day, and Arrival (finally)

It seems hard to believe that it was just yesterday that we awoke in Denver to celebrate Lady Liberty's 23rd birthday, but that's exactly what happened. We passed a perfectly pleasant morning eating brunch at a trendy restaurant called Snooze in the Ballpark neighborhood, and then wandering down to (wait for it...) The Tattered Cover book store. Try not to be shocked.

Having made the executive decision to take the "long way," we spent the early afternoon strolling through Boulder and then heading out on Route 40 through the Rockies.

I'm not sure either of us expected the route to take is directly through Rocky Mountain State Park, so the surprise was ours, but what a surprise it was. Luna behaved admirably, chugging up and up and UP, and then gliding down and down (but not "and down" again. Even settled in Park City, we're at 7,000 feet).

The drive was long and boring to be honest, with lots of straight interstate broken up only by terrifying hairpin turns. 1:00am saw us in Park City, whole and hale, and then into the hotel room of the lovely Auntie Laliberte.

I still bear the bruises of Lady Lib's merciless beating of this afternoon, when we finally came to lay claim to my apartment. To say the area is beautiful is an understatement (the Park City Golf Course is my front yard and the slopes are my back), and to say the apartment exceeds my expectations is even moreso.

Lucky Princess Brat? You bet your ass.

And so the rest of the weekend shall be spent organizing and reorganizing and spending time with the lovely "family" I suddenly have in the area.

Oh, and let's not forget, work starts on Monday.

A Statement About the Long-Ass Day

All professional attempts at regulating the travel blog-entries have been discontinued until further notice.

Where to begin? How about yesterday when we woke up in Pittsburgh, in the charming apartment of Stringbean and his Lady Love. Pennsylvania provided more than anticipated... If by "more" you take my meaning to be "more trees and more interstate." And I think you do.

The drive to Chicago was pleasant and uneventful, with a little bit of requisite city traffic as our arrival coincided inevitably with rush hour. Finding the apartment was remarkably easy thanks to the capricious Vivian and the parking stunningly acquired by that darling Lady Lib.

After parking the car in a secure lot (hooray!) and ourselves in Kylah's neighborhood watering hole, we took stock of our lives, toasted another of the many random cities we find ourselves uniting in, and La Lalib proceeded to begin embroidering right there in the pub. Classic.

Side note: We did indeed arrive late-er than expected in Chicago, as I could not pretend to be a good daughter without first stopping in South Bend ("South Bend, it sounds like dancing") at Notre Dame, calling my Dad, and taking pictures of everything in sight. And also eating a Notre Dame emblem shaped pretzel.

Kylah kindly met us at her local and then led us to her beautifully appointed studio apartment, on to Wrigley Field and a restaurant called Goose Island, where we took the advice of legal counsel and ate the beef.

As we awoke this morning, we were determined to make progress, but didn't know how much we were actually going to accomplish. After a quick stop at Whole Foods ("I don't think Skinny Bitch would approve of our Softies Donuts") and a let-down by the ever changing Vivian (losing satellite reception in Chicago? For serious?), we were on our way across the plains, and learned soon enough that Nebraska does indeed make Pennsylvania feel like a rest stop.

And speaking of rest stops, quick round-up: Ohio? Very clean and pleasant. If you must stop anywhere, let it be in Ohio. Iowa? Pleasant, but the stall-walls are very short... I don't recommend being a tall person (using "tall" liberally) and looking around when you stand up from using the facilities.

Then the fateful decision came down: On to Denver it is. So with 2 Mona-Vies each (actually I think I had 3) the hustle across the plains and into the mountains was completed, and with 2 days to spare, we find ourselves with only about 1 day's worth of driving.

Ah, the wandering in the Rockies.

Luna is now taking a well-deserved rest and relaxation (after all, that's 1,000 miles in a day) and myself and Madame are off to do the same.