July 18, 2004 Witches and Dogs

It's been a very long weekend. I took Thursday afternoon off to spend time with Gena, and we went to see Dodgeball. I did not expect to like it nor did I expect to laugh throughout the entire movie. But I did. It had so many surprisingly clever lines, and I think the casting really played a huge part in making it work. I loved all of the "average" guys. Christine Taylor has become alarmingly thin. I loved her as Marcia Brady, but she is really sporting the Ally McBeal look right now, and it's upsetting. I didn't enjoy the Warren from Ed gets crushed by fat girl bit, either, but I liked the rest of the movie. Does this mean I am growing progressively more stupid as I get older? Maybe! I really enjoyed having the afternoon off and fancying myself as a lady of leisure who lunches, so I took Friday off, too! I had heinous menstrual cramps that morning so I felt justified in taking my first sick day in months on end. Gena, Eva, and I spent some time together and bickered so much and so easily in Eva's car that it was just like high school, except for now we were with her toddler in a minivan. I've been listening to Wicked all weekend, and I have to say that I pretty much love it. I wasn't sure what to think about it after seeing the performance on the Tonys. I mean, I really do have a strong fondness for Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth. Idina because she was Maureen and Kristin because I love her on my soundtrack to You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and because her appearance on Isaac Mizrahi's show was so winning that it made me want to pick her up and twirl her around while she sings in my ear. Anyway, so I already really liked them, and God knows that my love for Norbert Leo Butz was born in May of 1998 when we saw him as Roger twice and he blew Adam Pascal out of the water and it has only been magnified by his beautiful portrayal of Jamie in The Last Five Years (even though I sort of hate Jamie), and I walked into Titanic next to Joel Gray and felt that I was in the presence of true greatness, so you know. I knew that this was a great cast, but I wasn't completely sold after hearing Idina and Kristin sing "Defying Gravity" on the Tonys because it seemed a bit screamed and shrieked and I had to kind of turn the volume down lest my television explode. But after listening to the soundtrack a dozen times in two days, I kind of think that to hear them live must be a somewhat phenomenal thing, and perhaps their voices just can't be contained by the television. Because between them, they have got one giant motherfucking set of pipes, and they are giving me goosebumps. I am still not sure that I really understand the story or what in the hell is going on, but I am going to make Shelley tell me since she saw it last weekend. I've been thinking about it, and of all the new musicals that have come out in the past few years with which I am familiar, I would have to say that in terms of sheer brilliance and perfection, nothing can surpass Ragtime. I mean, that is just an impossible one to top. But I really, really do like this one so far, at least based on the CD, and I look forward to digging deeper and learning more. I've been dogsitting this weekend, and let me tell you, it has been chaotic. It's hard not to love the dog, who is basically the most laid back and well-behaved dog I have ever met. Daisy hated him on sight and attacked him, but I was able to break it up quickly and separated them for the rest of the time. Zuko LOVED him, yet again fulfilling the promise of the animal welfare society upon his adoption that he gets along with all dogs. The cats, even though he never chases them and just wags his tail at them, are unable to comprehend that he is different from my dogs, so they are terrified of him and won't come out from under the bed, so I have to put him in his own room in order to coax them to eat, drink, and visit the litter box. Five animals is definitely too many, but it's been fun having him here, and it makes me remember why my entire childhood my bedroom walls were covered with posters of cocker spaniels. ::: About this time in ... 2003: 7/15: The leader told us to imagine what we would do when we reached our inner self. I imagined myself sitting in a corner, hugging my knees. I have no idea what this means, but clearly it merits discussion with my therapist. 2002: 7/16: After the police found the DNA connection between two murders in town, another woman disappeared on Friday. 7/15: I really liked the story even though I was distracted by the repetitive nature of my thought: "They are sexy. Sexy!" 7/14: Just a little advice: GET A FUCKING PERSONALIZED TAG. 7/13: We ended up getting into a loooong discussion about my hypothetical wedding. 2001: 7/17: And you're horny, because you miraculously realized that the illiterate divorcee whom you were shagging was too crazy even for you, and you're still attracted to that perfectly nice girlfriend, because some sparks, while fading into the night of memory, still flicker faintly when doused with a little smoke and liquor. 7/16: I know you can make friends anywhere and that you'll make friends in these mountains. get notified. journal archives © Copyright 2004 elb

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