I finally saw Spellbound tonight. I loved this film. I identified so much with the kids. (I think I mentioned before that I missed out on going to Nationals by four places myself.) God, they all looked so awkward. Were we really like that? It was like watching Welcome to the Dollhouse all over again. But in spite of my own over-identification and mortification, I loved seeing them try and cheering their successes. They’re good kids.

More interestingly, the movie made me terribly homesick. Yes, it poked some gentle fun, but I think it also emphasized the very best of American values and traditions. I started out feeling uncomfortable with the Australian audience around me (who sometimes seemed to be laughing a little too hard at people that bear more than a passing resemblance to my own family) but by the end I was incredibly proud of the film’s message. (And those same Australians were audibly gasping at the difficulty of the words and cheering on the contestants.) Now I just wish I were home for Thanksgiving… *sniff*

Good grief. I am warning you ladies, only go to this site if you feel the need to work up some truly righteous feminist anger: Bitter Old Assholes. (That’s not the real title, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to Google-bomb the jerks.) It’s all about how men shouldn’t marry “Western” women because we’re all money-grubbing selfish man-hating whores. Darn, they’re on to us, girls!

Weekend Movie Roundup: The Snook and I wanted to take advantage of the projector so we rented some movies that we thought would be appropriately dazzling on a bigger screen.

Strictly Ballroom: This is the first of Baz Luhrmann’s “Red Curtain Trilogy” (which also includes Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge). It’s also one of the most successful Australian films of all time, so I was really looking forward to seeing it. To my surprise, it doesn’t take place in a wacky alternative universe but is firmly achored in reality… albeit the reality of competitive ballroom dancing. The story is pretty simple but the actors are great and I was really cheering for them at the end. As I said to the Snook afterwards, “It’s just like when D.B. Sweeney teaches Moira Kelly to loosen up and enjoy her ice skating and then they fall in love and win the gold medal. Except not on ice. And with better costumes.” Ebert liked it too.

Star Wars: Attack of the Clones: Yeah, my initial enthusiasm for this one has really waned. It looked great up on the projector but I still found myself making excuses to get up and walk around whenever the “love” story was onscreen (lest I disturb the Snook by muttering “Fascist stalker date rapist!” everytime Anakin spoke). It also still botheres me that repeated viewings do nothing to patch together the gaping plot holes. I did like seeing the deleted scenes though, and some of the behind-the-scenes material was entertaining.

Waking Life: We’d been meaning to see this one for some time. It’s from Richard Linklater, who also directed Slacker and Dazed and Confused. The movie was filmed on video and then converted to rotoscoped animation, so visually it’s pretty intense. There’s really not much of a story. Wiley Wiggins (animated, of course) meets lots of different people, all of whom tell him about their theories of life and existence and dreams and meaning. Ebert gave it four stars. I liked it, but more as a challenging intellectual exercise than entertainment. It’s impossible to watch without *thinking* the whole time. (Don’t rent this one as a way to unwind after a tough day.) You’ll also develop a charming obsession with flicking light switches on and off. I know I have.

Being a gardener changes your perspective. Normally I’d be moaning and whining about four straight days of rain, but I happened to step out in the backyard yesterday and our corn is going nuts! It’s knee-high already! Our tomatoes are also taking off and our pepper plant has two tiny jalapenos on it. Yay for rain!

England win. Well done, Poms. That was a fantastic game of rugby. England squeaked it out on a drop goal from Wilkinson with less than a minute to go in extra time. You couldn’t have scripted it better.

Gym Update
I’ve been having some pretty serious cramping the last couple times I’ve run or biked. It’s generally my right leg, down on the outside above the ankle. I’m really not sure if it’s the calf muscle, a tendon, or my shin; all I know is as soon as I stop moving the whole damn thing seizes up and I can’t walk. I’ve been stretching it throughout my workouts and icing it as soon as I get home – which offers some immediate relief – but it just keeps happening. I think it might be a nutrient deficiency. I saw my doctor this morning and she said the main causes of such cramping are lack of calcium, magnesium, water, and salt. I’m fairly certain I get enough of the first three, but that last one stumped me. I can’t even remember the last time I put salt on my food. I guess that’s pretty typical on Atkins, since you’re not eating the french fries and salty junk food that other people are. I’m going back in two weeks for a follow-up and a blood pressure check, but I’m hoping for some relief in the meantime. Do you runners think it could be the salt? What’s the best way to get more of it in my diet without resorting to dumping it all over my otherwise yummy food? Should I just suck it up and start shelling out for Gatorade whenever I work out?

Earlier this week…
Me: Snookums, I have a dream. A dream of a T-shirt I shall make for the Rugby Final this Saturday.
Snookums: What’s going to be on it?
Me: A wallaby pooing on the Queen’s head!
Snookums: Well, technically she’s our Queen too.
Me: Crap. I forgot.
Snookums: How about an English rose instead?
Me: Brilliant!

CouchCam is going to look a little different this weekend… as the Snook and I have set up the projector in preparation for tomorrow night’s game. The whole living room has been flopped 180-degrees so we can project onto the wall. Pretty sweet, huh? You might even catch us watching a movie! 🙂

Friday Five:
I haven’t done one of these in a while!

1. List five things you’d like to accomplish by the end of the year.
Finish these damn Harry Potter scarves. Lose seven more kilos. Get the Snook’s and my Australian tax stuff all done. Start working on a new quilt. Find a new job.

2. List five people you’ve lost contact with that you’d like to hear from again.
I am shockingly bad at keeping in touch with people. I’d love to hear from Tara D, Andrew, Lizzy, Mark, and Stevo, all of whom were good college friends that I speak to far too seldom.

3. List five things you’d like to learn how to do.
Crochet. Take decent photographs. Speak Korean. Develop table-less CSS-only websites. Instinctively turn on the right stove burner instead of always reaching for the wrong one, like I do now.

4. List five things you’d do if you won the lottery (no limit).
Pay off student loans. Buy a car. Buy a house in Sydney. Buy another house in Indiana. Fly all of our friends and family somewhere exotic and get married.

5. List five things you do that help you relax.
Knit. Read in a hot bath. Get a massage from Snookums. Work out at the gym. Veg out on the couch.

iPods passing in the night…
I was riding the bus to work this morning, zoned out in my usual zombie-like way, when I noticed the guy sitting next to me staring at my iPod. Mortified, I quickly hit fast-forward lest he snicker at my choice of Avril Lavigne as wake-up music. A few minutes later I caught him staring again. “Okay,” I thought, “time for a little evangelism.” So I hit pause, made eye contact, and asked if he wanted to try it out. He grinned, fumbled in his bag, and pulled out one of his own. His was one of the new flashy 20GB models and he was curious about my clunky two-year-old 5GB version. So we swapped stories and passed them back and forth, marvelling over the weight and design and comparing notes. He’d had a 10GB version but traded up as soon as the bigger ones became available. I said I’d thought about it, but I really couldn’t justify it as mine still works perfectly. He was surprised that I still get eight hours of battery life, given that he’d already burnt through one battery already. We both use our iPods with Macs. He tends to listen to albums, while I generally just leave it on random. Our fellow bus travelers stared as we spoke with the embarrassing enthusiasm of two people in love with a piece of electronics. Before too long was time to part. I waved goodbye as we both put our headphones back on. I never even learned his name…

Related note: I realized afterwards that the reason I hadn’t noticed his iPod immediately was that – like me – he wasn’t using the default white earbuds. I have a pair of clip-on headphones I use because the buds are too large for my little ears and after a while they start to hurt. Lately I’ve found myself thinking more and more that I should use them anyway, as they’re the easiest way to identify a fellow devotee. I see them everywhere in the city now. It’s completely shallow, but I want people to know I have one too! So congratulations, Apple; your branding efforts are definitely working.