benal

Today's Grocery List:
-pinto beans
-bacon
-diced tomatoes
-jalapenos
-chipotles in adobo
-cilantro
-eggs
-milk
-sugar
-yogurt
-tortillas
-bread
-salsa
-PB
-jam
-butter

Because I liked the first one so much:

25 Random Things About Me:

1. I don't know how to keep a good manicure.
2. I have a soft spot for violent movies.
3. I don't actually care about the real definition of "pun." I will use it to mean whatever I want, whenever I want, and I don't need to be corrected on it.
4. I'm not competitive, but I don't like failing. If I'm going to lose a game, I'm probably not going to try to win.
5. I don't own contacts, so if I'm not wearing glasses, I'm sacrificing vision for comfort, fashion, or laziness.
6. I can't imagine having a career without a family, or a family without a dog.
7. I really, really like finding critical theory in campy and kitschy films and tv shows, like All Dogs Go To Heaven or Hello Kitty's Furry Tale Theater.
8. I sometimes wish I were asian so I could get away with bold fashion choices.
9. I'm probably not as well-read as most people think. I just know my way around wikipedia, and tend to learn about things through parodies on shows like SNL or Animaniacs.
10. I'm kind of in love with Rahm Emmanuel and Joe Biden. Nothing they do will hinder this.
11. Most days, I wish I had studied linguistics instead of settling into a single language for advanced study.
12. Few things get me more excited than a 15th Century Burgundian manuscript. Really. I'm that nerdy.
13. Tintin is one of those few things.
14. I adore every single one of those characters, but especially Milou (Snowy) and Capitaine Haddock. And Professeur Tournesol (Professor Calculus).
15. I kind of really like comic books and graphic novels. I may also consider them as good as classic literature, like the Aeneid.
16. I didn't like chick flicks until I was a senior in high school. I still prefer the more "masculine" forms of movies, and have a huge soft spot for the heist film genre. I can watch Rififi anytime, any day. And it's not even my favorite.
17. Sometimes I think that maybe, instead of becoming a professor, I should become a film critic. Then I remember that I have issues with sharing my opinions on movies with others.
18. Sometimes I read books or watch movies and think that maybe, just maybe, someday I could make something that cool. And then I realize that I haven't ever been too creative, but I'm fairly good at imitation. So, if I could do a remake...
19. I have a hard time thinking that humanity in general is good. I think it's because of this nightmare I once had after reading some Hobbes. It was kind of an awesome nightmare.
20. Another of my favorite dreams (the above being one) was about a zombie invasion at church.
21. I went to a private elementary school (Hawarden Hills Academy) where children were assigned numbers by the teachers. I never connected this before, but maybe this is why I think dystopian novels are awesome. They often contain some kind of depersonalization, akin to calling your student by a number instead of a name. I can definitely relate to that.
22. This isn't random, but I am extremely awkward in many situations. And I tend to not care enough to fix it.
23. I don't think being shy is a bad thing that needs to be changed. I think that extroverts refuse to understand the introverted way of life, and have ruined civilization for the timid human.
24. I can be extremely opinionated, but I rarely realize it until after I expose that to someone else.
25. Someone once called me "one of the most rational women [he] knows." It wasn't really compliment, and I kind of doubt it's true. I'm not that rational, but I know logic just enough to manipulate it and have the appearance of using it.

New Semester

Things That Are Fun:
-New movies at International Cinema!
-New classes!
-New books to read all day every day!
-Less snow and cold than December!
-Food!
-Seeing people I know all over!

Things That Are Not Fun:
-Reading all the time!
-Not sleeping enough two weeks into the semester already!
-Forgetting things a lot! Like flushing my transmission fluid!
-Stress!
-Forgetting to shower and work out and do laundry and all sorts of personal hygiene!
-Feeling sick!

Pros of Being Witty/Sarcastic:
-Comedic value, especially when the other party is in the dark
-Ability to take advantage of the confusion that ensues
-People who understand think I'm that much more intelligent
-It's kind of like mental exercise in a comedic style
-Practice reaction time in conversations
-I can amuse myself no matter what anyone else thinks

Cons to Being Witty/Sarcastic:
-People don't understand and I look like a crazy/stupid woman
-People do understand but think that I'm a horribly mean person
-People don't understand and the conversation takes an awkward turn towards explaining random comments
-People don't hear, and ask to repeat, which is never as funny as the original moment
-People don't think I'm as funny/smart as I am
-People think I'm funnier/smarter than I really am, and thus I have high expectations to live up to

Winter Break '09

Loot:
-clothing
-Disney's "Bolt"
-CNN Season 2
-Wooster and Jeeves complete DVD collection
-rings
-New winter coat (with hood)
-wallet
-money
-The Art of War by Sun Tsu
-Candy and an orange (from Santa)

New Year Resolutions:
-Stay on top of Reading List
-Exercise regularly
-Read books for fun

METALIST

Things Other People Have Said About Lists:
-“History is merely a list of surprises. It can only prepare us to be surprised yet again.” Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

-“The Bible give us a list of human stories on both sides of the ledger. One list of human stories is used as examples -- do what these people did. Another list of human stories is used as warnings -- don't do what these people did. So if your story ever gets in one of these books, make sure they use it as an example, not a warning.” Jim Rohn

-“Why can't somebody give us a list of things that everybody thinks and nobody says, and another list of things that everybody says and nobody thinks.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

-“I am scared easily; here is a list of my adrenaline - production: 1: small children, 2: policemen, 3: high places, 4: that my next movie will not be as good as the last one.” Alfred Hitchcock

-“Give me a laundry-list and I'll set it to music.” Giaccomo Rossini

-“Feminism is an entire world view or gestalt, not just a laundry list of women's issues” Charlotte Bunch

-“In all planning you make a list and you set priorities.” Alan Lakein

-“We like lists because we do not want to die.” Umberto Eco

Film

Some of My Favorite Movies, in no order:
-The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, circa 1979
-Cinderella (Disney)
-Wives and Daughters
-The Never-Ending Story
-28 Days Later
-Le Samourai
-Bob le Flambeur
-Le Boucher
-Corky Romano
-Baby Mama
-Spirited Away
-School of Rock
-Band of Brothers
-Pride and Prejudice
-North and South
-Balto
-Elf
-The Count of Monte Christo
-Singing in the Rain
-Bolt
-Red Eye (with my own interpretation, of course)
-Most anything I've seen at International Cinema over the past few years

Movies I've seen at International Cinema this Semester:
-Ikiru (Japanese)
-In the Mood for Love (Chinese)
-The Gleaners and I (French)
-Eyes Without a Face (French)
-Dark Water (Japanese)
-Let the Right One In (Swedish)
-Megane (Japanese)
-The Kautokeino Rebellion (Saami... Norwegian)
-Les Hyenes (Wolof... Senegalese)
-Millions (British)

Movies I Wanted to See But Didn't:
-Decalogue i-x (Polish)
-Pan's Labyrinth (Spanish)
-Crossing (Korean)
-Psycho (Hitchcock...)
-Ringu (Japanese)
-Favela Rising (Brazilian)
-Vampyr (German)
-Nosferatu (German)
-Ploning (Tagolog)
-Army of Shadows (French)
-Water (Hindi)
-Sweet Nothings in My Ear (ASL)
-The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Brazilian)
-Straight From the Heart (Hindi)
-Howl's Moving Castle (Japanese)
-He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (French)
-The Pope's Toilet (Spanish)