So, Thorin Oakenshield was... devastatingly handsome?

Casting news for The Hobbit is obviously exciting for many reasons, not the least of which is, if they're casting people, it indicates they're actually planning to make the movie. Martin Freeman landed the choice role of Bilbo and I couldn't be happier. Aside from being perfect for the role, he actually kinda looks like a young Ian Holm. Most promising. I hope he is practicing his "flummoxed" looks as I type.

"What has it got in its pocketses, precious?"

There were announcements of scads of British and Irish actors I've never heard of for the roles of Kili and Fili and etc. Dare I hope for John Rhys-Davies to change his mind and come back and play Gloin as nature intended? I do dare, indeed. Let's all hope together. Make sure you hope hard, because if this doesn't work, we'll all know whose fault it was.

Now for the surprising news that left me flummoxed for a moment and then elated for all the moments after it. Thorin will be played by Richard Armitage! Whee! If you're sitting there saying, "But Allison, who the crap is Richard Armitage?" then I pity you, because he is awesome in dozens of ways and dreamy to boot. Go Netflix Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South or the BBC's Robin Hood and then return here and agree heartily with me re: his talent and his dreaminess.

To quote horrible, awful Rachel Zoe, "I die!"

Also, this puts a whole new spin on Thorin for me. Now I'm thinking of him as the James Bond of the dwarven race.

How they're going to transform this dashing face into a dwarf is beyond me.

Why, hello, Mr. Thornton.

But I look forward to finding out.

Like, totally radical, dude.

So, Alexa was in her very first UPJ production last night, along with some of Melis' former drama students (with whom Lex is now friends--worlds were colliding). The show is The Wedding Singer and Melis and I and our friend Eric went for opening night last night. We had so much fun looking at the clothes and make-up and telling Eric all about how he was too young to appreciate all of this awesomeness. He disagreed thusly:

Eric: I can appreciate all of this!
Ali: Really? You can appreciate Justin's Flock of Seagulls hair?
Eric: I... don't know what that means.

Exactly.

In the Act I closer, Lex wore an outfit, every single component of which I both owned and wore in the 80s. Leggings (check), legwarmers (check, in every color of the Crayola spectrum because you had to match your leotard), headband (check, also in every color you can imagine, and with sparkly gold thread woven through them because the 80s were all about sparkle), and a sweatshirt with the collar cut out to mimic Jennifer Beals' iconic ensemble in the 80s masterpiece Flashdance.

Can your hear Irene Cara singing in you head right now? Isn't it wonderful?

There were also parachute pants (had 'em in black and pink, each with their own drawstring storage bag), ginormous plastic earrings in magenta and teal (oh, you'd have wept at our earring collection circa 1985), and a sequined bustier (didn't have one--would have loved one.) There was also a wonderfully clever and subtle New Edition reference that had Melis and I howling and then feeling sorry for everyone else in the audience who didn't get it. (Jen, look for it tonight!)

And then at the end of the night Justin ran past us in the parking lot and I declared, "And he ran. He ran so far away."

Melis totally got it, but we had to explain it to Eric.

I want this kitchen.

That is all.

This is made of awesome.

Tell me this reverse geocache puzzle box is not the coolest wedding gift you have ever heard of.

Go ahead, tell me. I dare you.

I want one!

If you know me, you know I laugh when people fall.

Okay, I know this is awful, but this photograph made me guffaw. Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers has just taken a knock to the head and is literally splayed out on his face, and the way this photo is set up, it looks like no one could possibly notice or care.

It appears as though a bunch of Redskins have run over to number 83 there to hear a bit of juicy gossip, and 30 appears to be scanning the crowd for his girlfriend. Those dudes in the background are perhaps enjoying the sunny day. Meanwhile Rodgers is like, "I am ON my FACE here. Anyone? Anyone at all? Seriously, you're just gonna let me lie here?"

Well, at least until we get a photo, dude.

A modern Bag End

Every day it seems I read something more depressing about how the Hobbit movie is never going to get made. (sigh) But this made me smile and think of Bilbo at the same time. Truly, it is "not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

How do I glue this to that?

A common question. Ask it no more. Find out here.

Brilliant.

In Newark, no one can hear you whine.

So, I'm currently slogging my way through The Sopranos. And yes, "slogging" is the appropriate verb here. I'm watching it because it's consistently on the critics' lists of groundbreaking, brilliant television. It is interesting, but I have one major problem: there's not one single character I can bear. Not one. In fact, I loathe them all. The ruthless main character, his harpy wife, his horrible children, his awful uncle with the Coke bottle glasses, his eeeeevil mother, and his army of goons--each one more murderous and psychotic than the last. I survey them much like the Bingley sisters looking upon the Meryton assembly (if the Bingley sister had been totally correct and not shrewish witches.)

Not helping matters is the nasal Jersey accent everyone is sporting. That's not cool. That's not enjoyable to ear.

And the problem is not just that they're awful people. Believe me, I know from liking awful people on TV. The list of horrendous characters I've liked would appall you. Shane Vendrell, Al Swearengen, I even like the entire cast of It's Always Sunny! Well, except for Dennis. Obviously.

And these people are not even Sicilian! They're from Campania. I know. That shouldn't make me look down on them, but it totally does.

I may have just talked myself out of watching this show.

Hateful, awful people, led by their king.

Attempts to recapture nostalgic moments from my childhood so seldom work out for me.

A word of advice: If you're ever at the store and you see a pack of Fruit Stripe gum and you think to yourself, "I loved that stuff when I was a kid. I think I'll buy that pack of gum and put it in my purse," don't. Just don't. This morning my entire bag reeks like Froot Loops.

This is just like the time I ate some Chef Boyardee ravioli in grad school. You can imagine how that went.

What's that stench?

Getting crafty with Jules

Julsie and I got crafty today. We made bracelets with sparkly beads and alphabet beads. Jules had a lot of fun, but she really liked spreading the beads out on the floor more than stringing them on the cord. She also enjoyed picking out the letters she needed for her name.

Next time we may try necklaces.

Saturday craftiness: Christmas cards

On the agenda: Christmas cards

On the iPod: Amy Grant, A Christmas Album

I was cruising the Martha Stewart site the other day and she had a video about embossed cards, which is when I remembered the boatload of embossing powders in a drawer in my craft room. What a great way to indulge my Christmas longings.

Embossing powders

Anna Griffith stamps and colored cardstock

Anna Griffith makes the best rubber stamps. Her images are so clear and detailed.

After stamping with clear embossing ink and covering my stamp with gold embossing powder, it looked like this. Nice, but a dull, brassy gold.

After applying my embossing gun, it looked shiny and lovely, and raised up off the cardstock. Using the embossing gun is the best part of the process. It's like waving a magic wand over the stamp and taking it from dull to sparkly!

The gold popped really nicely off the green.

Some of my handiwork thus far. I have decided no two cards will be the same.

Just don't store them in your air conditioner.

Dexter lovers looking for a unique Halloween treat, look no further. Edible blood slides. Brilliant, no?