Glorifying the mob?

Maybe someone can explain this to me. I've seen several people say they didn't like that The Departed won the Oscar for Best Movie because they don't like movies that glorify the mob. Frankly, I loved The Departed and plan on buying it very soon. I understand people not liking it because of the violence and language in general, but don't understand how it glorifies crime.

How does Goodfellas or The Departed glorify the mob? Sure, they show the guys with a lot of money and power. They also show the vast majority of them dying in violent ways, some of them snitching on others and having to live in the 'burbs in the Witness Protection Program, etc. To me, they always showed how violent the mob is and how most people involved die an early death.

It's like people who got so upset over the song "Snowblind" by STYX. "Oh, it's talking about cocaine! We can't have it!" Well, if you listen to the lyrics, it's talking about addiction and how awful it is, not that it's great.

I don't get it.

Go Nora!

Wow! I found out last night that Nora came out with ANOTHER lovely Mirabilia -- Cyrstal Symphony.



I love it! I think I will eventually stitch it, although it's not a priority at the moment. I think she's lovely, but I'm not big on stitching with that much white. However, I love the clean look of the white and black dress so I'm sure that I'll get around to stitching her, I'll just have to do it a little at a time. After all, I stitched a Coca-Cola pattern that had a polar bear and her two cubs -- talk about lots of white, lol. So, I think I'll do this one at some point.

I'm just amazed by how many she's publishing and I love, Love, LOVE the fact that they are surprised. I go to the Mirabilia BB and *boom* there's another one. She's really spoiling us lately. :)

Surprise! New Mirabilias!

There were no whisperings about these, so what a surprise it was to open the Mirabilia BB and see them! I actually like it better this way. Whenever we know something is coming out we all get an idea in our heads about what it will look like, and then what comes out isn't what we expected. What we get is usually absolutely lovely, just different. I think Nora is better doing things this way so that we don't get impossible ideas in our heads.

Anyway, I think these are beautiful! I'm not crazy about them not having faces, but I think I can adapt the face for Angel of the New Dawn or another design and make a very subtle closed-eye face. Other than that, I think they are beautiful! These are part of a six-chart series she's putting out. Wouldn't it be cool if she later did the same thing in a mermaid series? Well, I think so, anyway. :)

They are each about 6" x 10", probably on 32ct.

Fern




Ivy

Snow day tomorrow?

Well, we'll see. Looks like this storm is going to be similar to the one we got a few weeks ago but we opened two hours late, didn't get a whole snow day. Lord knows I have a ton of work to do, some of which I can do here, but I'm hoping for a snow day so I can stay inside and stitch.

If I get off this darn computer today I may be able to finish the stitching for Mermaid of the Pearls. I basically have the bottom part of her fin to stitch. There are a lot of beads on this one, though. I knew that from pictures, but really notice it when I'm stitching and realize how many spaces I'm skipping that are reserved for beads. She's going to look awesome, though! I believe I actually have all the beads I need so there should be no last-minute ordering of beads and waiting around. I'll double-check today. After the beading, I can scratch her off my StRIP list, my 2007 Goals list and my 10 Project list.

I was still debating about I Shall Wear Purple last night and showed Tim, as it's for his mom. He said he thought the flowers were a little close to the text, but it looks nice and nobody will notice if I don't say anything and that he doesn't want me to do that extra work. He also said his mom probably won't be able to read the small text, anyway. So, I guess it won't really matter, and it won't bother me to see it. If it would bother me I'd HAVE to change it.

So, after I finish her I will finish Why Hoard Gold so I can start Coer de St. Valentin, and finish Liberty Sampler so I can start Celtic Noel. Liberty Sampler has a way to go, yet. After that, I probably won't have any big finishes for a while, but it would be great to have two for Finish-it February, especially after starting four for Guilt-Free January, lol.

I need to remember to use the labeling option for my posts. I love it, but often forget to label because I'm not used to using it. It sure is handy when I want to go back to my stitching goals posts that are scattered around.

A few tidbits

1. This was pretty cute. The sidewalks lately have been very icy in my neighborhood. Everything was melting during the day and then refreeze overnight, leaving a very thin and very slick coating of ice over everything. So, walking to the trolley this week has been... interesting. Anyway, I walk by an elementary school on my way to the trolley, and there were two kids on their way to school. I'm assuming they are brothers, one looks about 5 or 6 and the other looks about 8 or 9. The little one was running around, and the older one caught him, grabbed his hand, and in a matter-of-fact way said, "Stop running and be careful. Nobody wants to see you fall on your ass." I thought it was hysterical.

2. OK, this isn't so funny, this is ridiculous. One of the stitching boards has a debate regarding whether or not the head honchos at Panera should make some sort of public statement because two of their store managers have been *accused* (not even tried and convicted) of animal abuse. I abhor animal abuse, and hope they get punished if they did this. However, why the heck is Panera responsible? Panera should pay for the vet bills? Wha? Can you imagine the backlash if Panera made some sort of public statement about how they are going to fire these managers and how awful they are? Good grief! Only a few people think this way, but I don't get it. They think that any employer who hires people like this should be "investigated" on principle. Investigated for what? Not hiring private detectives to follow around people they interview for a $10 an hour job? Note where they go, if they drink at all, what they drive, if they've ever had a parking ticket, if they've ever had a one-night stand, if their mother missed a class in college 50 years ago?

Aren't we living with enough Big Brother crap? This is getting insane. Luckily, most people didn't agree, but I find it scary that anyone thinks this way.

Public Service Announcment

Ahem.

There is no such word as "alot." However using "a lot" in a sentence is fine.

Thank you.

Finished I Shall Wear Purple... I think

I know that sounds strange, but I'm going to put it aside for a day or two and then look at it again. Apparently, my count on the border was way off so I fudged things a bit and basically stitched the border as I went along, using the chart more as guidelines than anything else. I think I'm happy with it, but want to come back to it in a few days with fresher eyes to see if I need to add or take away from anywhere. I may need to take a little away from some of the words, as I think parts of the border are a little too close to the words. We'll see. I haven't taken a picture because I need more batteries and am too lazy to walk to the Wawa to get them. :)

In the meantime, I'm working on Mermaid of the Pearls again. I may be able to finish the stitching on her this month, but even if I do that it's highly unlikely I'll finish the beading by the end of the month -- she's chock full of beads.

Either way, I'll have at least one finish under my belt for Finish-It February, so that makes me happy.

Movie meme

Movie meme -- snagged from WhizGidget. She mentioned that someone said if you've seen over 85 movies you have no life. Well, to me, if you've seen over 85 movies that means you like movies -- duh.


(x) Rocky Horror Picture Show
(x) Grease
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean
(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest
( ) Boondock Saints
(x) Fight Club
( ) Starsky and Hutch
(x) Neverending Story
(x) Blazing Saddles
(x) Airplane
(x) The Princess Bride
(x) AnchorMan
( ) Napoleon Dynamite
(x) Labyrinth
( ) Saw
( ) Saw II
( ) White Noise
(x) White Oleander
(x) Anger Management
( ) 50 First Dates
( ) The Princess Diaries
( ) The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement
(x) Scream
(x) Scream 2
(x) Scream 3
( ) Scary Movie
( ) Scary Movie 2
( ) Scary Movie 3
( ) Scary Movie 4
(x) American Pie
(x) American Pie 2
(x) American Wedding
( ) American Pie Band Camp
(x) Harry Potter 1
(x) Harry Potter 2
(x) Harry Potter 3
(x) Harry Potter 4
(x) Resident Evil 1
(x) Resident Evil 2
(x) The Wedding Singer
( ) Little Black Book
(x) The Village
( ) Lilo & Stitch
(x) Finding Nemo
( ) Finding Neverland
(x) Signs
( ) The Grinch
(x) Texas Chainsaw Massacre
( ) Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning
( ) White Chicks
(x) Butterfly Effect
(x) 13 Going on 30
(x) I, Robot
( ) Robots
(x) Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
( ) Universal Soldier
(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events
( ) Along Came Polly
(x) Deep Impact
( ) KingPin
( ) Never Been Kissed
(x) Meet The Parents
( ) Meet the Fockers
( ) Eight Crazy Nights
( ) Joe Dirt
( ) King Kong
( ) A Cinderella Story
( ) The Terminal
( ) The Lizzie McGuire Movie
( ) Passport to Paris
( ) Dumb & Dumber
( ) Dumber & Dumberer
(x) Final Destination
(x) Final Destination 2
( ) Final Destination 3
(x) Halloween
(x) The Ring
(x) The Ring 2
( ) Surviving Christmas
( ) Flubber
( ) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle
(x) Practical Magic
(x) Chicago
(x) Ghost Ship
(x) From Hell
( ) Hellboy
(x) Secret Window
( ) I Am Sam
(x) The Whole Nine Yards
( ) The Whole Ten Yards
(x) The Day After Tomorrow
( ) Child's Play
( ) Seed of Chucky
(x) Bride of Chucky
( ) Ten Things I Hate About You
( ) Just Married
(x) Gothika
(x) Nightmare on Elm Street
(x) Sixteen Candles
(x) Remember the Titans
( ) Coach Carter
( ) The Grudge
( ) The Grudge 2
(x) The Mask
( ) Son Of The Mask
(x) Bad Boys
(x) Bad Boys 2
( ) Joy Ride
( ) Lucky Number Sleven
(x) Ocean's Eleven
( ) Ocean's Twelve
(x) Bourne Identity
(x) Bourne Supremecy
( ) Lone Star
(x) Bedazzled
(x) Predator I
(x) Predator II
(x) The Fog
(x) Ice Age
(x) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown
( ) Curious George
(x) Independence Day
(x) Cujo
( ) A Bronx Tale
(x) Darkness Falls
(x) Christine
(x) E.T.
(x) Children of the Corn
( ) My Bosses Daughter
( ) Maid in Manhattan
(x) War of the Worlds
(x) Rush Hour
(x) Rush Hour 2
( ) Best Bet
( ) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
(x) She's All That
( ) Calendar Girls
( ) Sideways
(x) Mars Attacks
(x) Event Horizon
(x) Ever After
(x) Wizard of Oz
(x) Forrest Gump
( ) Big Trouble in Little China
(x) The Terminator
(x) The Terminator 2
(x) The Terminator 3
(x) X-Men
(x) X-2
(x) X3
(x) Spider-Man
(x) Spider-Man 2
( ) Sky High
(x) Jeepers Creepers
( ) Jeepers Creepers 2
(x) Catch Me If You Can
(x) The Little Mermaid
(x) Freaky Friday
(x) Reign of Fire
(x) The Skulls
(x) Cruel Intentions
( ) Cruel Intentions 2
( ) The Hot Chick
(x) Shrek
( ) Shrek 2
( ) Swimfan
( ) Miracle on 34th street
(x) Old School
( ) The Notebook
(x) K-Pax
( ) Krippendorf's Tribe
( ) A Walk to Remember
( ) Ice Castles
( ) Boogeyman
( ) The 40-year-old Virgin
(x) Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring
(x) Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
(x) Lord of the Rings: Return Of the King
(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
( ) Base-ketball
( ) Hostel
(x) Waiting for Guffman
( ) House of 1000 Corpses
( ) Devils Rejects
(x) Elf
(x) Highlander
( ) Mothman Prophecies
(x) American History X
( ) Three
( ) The Jacket
( ) Kung Fu Hustle
( ) Shaolin Soccer
( ) Night Watch
(x) Monsters Inc.
(x) Titanic
(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail
( ) Shaun Of the Dead
( ) Willard
( ) High Tension
( ) Club Dread
( ) Hulk
( ) Dawn Of the Dead
(x) Hook
(x) Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
( ) 28 days later
( ) Orgazmo
( ) Phantasm
(x) Waterworld
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 1
( ) Kill Bill Vol. 2
( ) Mortal Kombat
( ) Wolf Creek
( ) Kingdom of Heaven
( ) the Hills Have Eyes
( ) I Spit on Your Grave
(x) The Last House on the Left
( ) Re-Animator
( ) Army of Darkness
(x) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace
(x) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones
(x) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith
(x) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope
(x) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back
(x) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi
( ) Ewoks: Caravan Of Courage
(x) Ewoks: The Battle For Endor
(x) The Matrix
(x) The Matrix: Reloaded
( ) The Matrix: Revolutions
( ) Animatrix
( ) Evil Dead
( ) Evil Dead 2
( ) Team America: World Police
( ) Red Dragon
(x) Silence of the Lambs
(x) Hannibal

Well, I've seen 127 of these movies, plus dozens that aren't listed. Guess that means I have no life, but I'm happy with that.

Ah, poor Britney

You know, I've never been a fan of Ms. Spears, but I was hoping that what happened with Anna Nicole Smith would open her eyes a little. Hey, I can dream.

I wish Britney would take her kids (or leave them for a while with a RESPONSIBLE adult) and go somewhere on her own for a while and figure out herself. Apparently she checked into a rehab place recently, but left the same day. I think if she could go somewhere and be completely by herself for a while, where no media knew where she was and no "friends" were coming around, she might be able to straighten herself out.

It's not so much about the latest "news" (I hate when they lead with this crap) about her shaving her head, but the fact that shaving her head is so high on the news reports. I don't think it was the smartest thing she did, but I don't think it makes her irresponsible, by itself. But everything she does is watched and she seems to be descending rapidly into some sort of pit, and she wasn't that high up to begin with.

I would just like to see some of these young women figure themselves out before they, or their children, end up dead.

A few things...

Claudia -- "I Shall Wear Purple" is a chart from Lanarte that I completely converted to other colors. I think it's POP, but I can send this one to you when I'm done. Someone sent it to me for free a few years ago, so it's had a few users and is a little dog-eared.

I also wanted to thank everyone for the posts regarding Grandma. You know, I feel bad that I don't think I've really dealt with it yet. I mean, I reacted worse to losing an online friend about a year ago than to losing Grandma, and I don't understand it. We were pretty close and I thought the world of her, but except for a brief moment of tears when I heard she was sick and when I heard she had died, I haven't been that upset -- not even at the funeral. I can't tell if that means I'm just a cold person of it somewhere down the line somebody's going to say something that will set me off.

Well, I got something accomplished!

True to my word, I've spent my weekend cleaning house and stitching, and still have one more day left. Pretty much all day yesterday was spent on organizing and cleaning out my front closet. It's not much of a closet, just a coat closet, but it's all I have except for my small bedroom closets. So, I created an "extended" closet a long time ago by nailing up a curtain that matched the wall and draping it in a way that it covered the stuff coming out of the closet. I still need to do that, but it was getting waaaaaaay out of hand. So, I went to Target and bought a few large clear plastic boxes for my books and a three-drawer organizer for my Christmas stuff that doesn't fit in my ornament organizer. Then I had a good idea of what else I needed -- a smaller box each for seasonal decorations (may need to add to that, but four is good for now), the largest 4-drawer plastic organizer I could find for my kitted stitching, finishing stuff (small frames, tuck pillows and ornaments, etc.), and a few smaller boxes for other craft stuff and Tim's computer stuff. That one I got for my XS stuff is almost as tall as I am and is great! Tim also went through the stuff he had in there and we threw out a huge amount of stuff.

I probably shouldn't have done it this way, but I ate a little before I started and then really didn't eat until I was done because, knowing myself, if I sat down to relax it would have been much more difficult for me to get up and finish. So, I ended up working on it from about 9AM until 5PM, including two trips to Target. I then took another very nice hot shower, had dinner, relaxed a bit, and went to bed at 8PM, lol.

I have a lot of ideas of some other things I need to do here to help with the clutter, in addition to getting rid of stuff, but even the cheap Target organizers aren't so cheap and add up, so I'll have to just do a little at a time. My next project is going to be replacing my tables in the livingroom. They were given to us by Tim's brother's in-laws when they replaced their furniture, and are very nice, but not very useful for a small apartment. The are small columns with glass tops -- no storage, have to dust/clean daily to keep looking good (yeah, THAT happens). I'll be brining down a side table my grandfather made that has a drawer, so that will help, and I also have a drop-leaf table he made. I brought that one down on my last trip. I think I'll buy some sort of small drawer/shelf thingy and also a simple writing desk and get rid of the tables. My books are currently housed in boxes because I need to get new book shelves, tall ones, to replace the silly little ones I have at the moment -- just not enough room for all my books.

Today I've been working more on I Shall Wear Purple and will finish the text by the time I go to bed tonight. I think that I may be able to finish the rest of it tomorrow. Sorry this is so rambley, but it helps me to get these things "on paper," so to speak, so that I can think it out. I used to do that on real paper, then I'd misplace it and that was useless. This way, I know where to find it. :)

Best laid plans...

Well, so much for going to NY this weekend. I intended to leave today, but heard last night that much of I-81 in PA was going to be closed through Noon today. Later today they said it would be closed for another 24 hours. So, I called my parents and talked to them about it, and we decided that since they aren't selling the house immediately and can still sort through some things on their own, that it's not a biggie and they'd rather me not try to get up ther by using other roads that may be in even worse shape. So, I'm going to be home this weekend and go to work on Tuesday. That's actually good because there's plenty to be done here and at work. I hate feeling like a wimp, but I just have no idea what the other roads are like up there near Allentown. So, that's that.

On a happier note, I went shopping today and discovered there's a Feiline's Basement nearby. That place is awesome! I bought a new black scarf (left mine in NY last time), black gloves with little flowers embroidered on them, a black headband for my forehead and ears so that I can stay warm without wearing an actual hat, a new purse, a new tote bag, a new wallet, 3 pairs of cute socks, and a fleece pillow and a fleece blanket for the car. I paid about $80 for all of it, and almost half of that was for the awesome Liz Claiborne tote bag, lol. I usually buy cheap tote bags and then they never carry right. This one is aweseome and has short handled and an adjustable shoulder strap so I can carry it without dragging it or put it on my shoulder without it banging on my knees when I walk. I had to get a smaller wallet to fit in the purse, but I was going to do that anyway because I don't really need to carry my checkbook with me.

So, now my shoulder problems will probably be better. I noticed that my right shoulder had been bothering me lately and I'm sure it's because I was carrying too much stuff to work every day, or just carrying it the wrong way. This will work out better for me.

Going to work late today, so posting stitching

Well, I don't to be to work until 11AM because we're opening two hours late. Of course, I have a PPRA meeting down the street from the office at 11:30, so I'm going to try to get in earlier anyway. I have no idea how late SEPTA will be so figure I'm better getting there early than too late. However, I do have some time so I'm going to finally post some of my WIPS.

I started four projects for Guilt-Free January, but none of them are overly large. I think the biggest one is L&L's Oh Christmas Tree.

L&L's Oh Christmas Tree



Mirabilia's Easter Fairy



DT's Alpine Garden (a bit blurry)



Joan Elliott's Autumn Angel



Also, here's my progress on I Shall Wear Purple. I hope to finish it this month and am pretty sure I can. I'm almost done with the text, and the flowers are pretty simple and won't take long to stitch.

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Oh wait, that's just snow.

Once again, the local news makes snowfall into the leading news story for the day, and probably for tomorrow, too. They get everybody hyped up. North and West of us is different, they're getting more snow than we are. Philadelphia area is supposed to get 1-3 inches, than it's supposed to turn into freezing rain later, than rain. I know, the freezing rain can be tricky, and so can the snow. But c'mon -- 1-3 inches? That's hardly worth getting everybody riled up. They were in the stores this morning, showing people buying shovels and people stocking up at the grocery store because, you know, those 3 inches of snow may force us to stay inside for two weeks. Whatever will we do?

C'mon folks! This is the Northeast! Snow happens! I'm sure the Upstate New Yorkers are laughing their butts off at the silly "city people" down in Philadelphia.

Thanks

Thanks for the condolences. I haven't posted in a lot of places about it, and appreciate the thoughts. :) I'm going up again this Friday and coming back Tuesday so that I can help them a bit more.

Not much else going on, except that I'm trying like heck to get caught up at work before I go away again, but I don't think that will be happening, as I'm out most of the day on Wednesday and Thursday for meetings. Thursday afternoon I should be able to get some things done, and I can bring a little work with me and check my email while I'm gone.

Now for something fun: One advantage of my job is that I'm a member of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association, and there are little events that come up here and there. One is going on Thursday night -- a private tour of the King Tut exhibit at the Franklin Institute! I was planning to see it at some point, but a private tour is going to be so much better than the normal crowded tour. Plus, we get to do a lot of networking and have a cocktail or two before the tour, which is always nice. I'm looking forward to that, right before I head up to NY.

I was hoping to visit Williamsburg with my sister during my vacation time the first week of April, but that won't be happening due to some work that came up for her. It's just as well, as I'm working on paying off some accounts I have hanging over me and these trips to NY cost money. I'm staying with my parents, but there's gas and other stuff, as I don't want to be living off them completely while I'm there. I'm still hoping that Tim and I can get away for a few days during that time, though. The last time we went anywhere together was to visit Grandma a few years ago. We stayed at a nice B&B but it still involved family. We've never gone away on a vacation that has nothing to do with family, not even for a weekend, and we've been together almost 8 years now, so it's definitely time! We're thinking of going up to the Poconos. Of course, he has grand ideas of staying at the fancy rooms with the jacuzzis and such in the rooms, but we'll see. Those aren't cheap. I try to get him to understand that I don't care about that, as long as we can get away, but I know he wants to do something nice for me and I do appreciate it.

As for stitching, I've made more progress on "I Shall Wear Purple" and have pictures of it and the stuff I started in Guilt-Free January. I'll get around to posting them soon, but I'm just feeling too lazy at the moment. With my crazy February, I won't be able to finish as much as I'd like for Finish-It February, but I should be able to finish that one. I don't have anything else that is close enough for me to finish this month, but I'll feel good finishing that one. Hey, if I can finish one medium or large design each month, that's not bad. :) If I stitched like crazy after getting back from NY I *might* be able to finish the stitching on Mermaid of the Pearls, but I'm not betting on it.

Gone and back again

I went to NY on February 1 and got back yesterday. Grandma died January 30 in the morning and we had her funeral on February 2. It went as well as could be expected. These things are never good, you know. But, she's no longer suffering and went peacefully. It's also nice to see some family members I hadn't seen in a while, and we all know that we tend to get together for weddings and funerals.

So, I was up there for the weekend and stayed a few extra days to help out with the house. Grandma was there for 70 years and didn't throw out much. :) We made a little dent but I'm going back up at a later time (possibly more than once) to help a little more.

Now I'm working hard on getting caught up at work. I haven't really done any stitching for about 1.5 weeks but hope to get a little in this weekend. I ended up stitching "In Memory of Eleanor Bogue" at the bottom of my L&L's Angel of Love and we took it to a framer up there. My parents are paying for the framing and we are donating it to the Hospice in Naples, NY. They made everything so much easier on my parents and my grandmother and the volunteers there really care about what they do, so we figured it's the least we could do. They have a lot of different types of decorations there and I hope they enjoy it. I don't know how they do it. I would get too attached to people and wouldn't be able to handle them dying.

Speaking of framing, the framer we used is "The Frame Shop" in Geneva, if anyone in Central NY is interested. He framed Mirabilia's Crystal Chandelier for my parents and did a great job, and he's framing Angel of Love for $137, which is extremely reasonable. It's a large piece, and I'm getting a gold frame with a small design on it, a single mat and normal glass. I think from now on I'm going to take a few pieces up there whenever I visit and get them framed. My framer here retired and I've been hesitant to try anyone else.