You can ring my bell.

All of this "Stuff Girls Say," "Stuff White Girls Say to Black Girls," "Stuff Gay Guys Living in Georgia Say" (read: lots of Julia Sugarbaker quotes) has been making the rounds, but none so marvelous as this: the wit and witticism of the fabulous Dowager Countess of Grantham.

Delight in it.



"I feel as if I were on stage at the Gaiety."

Movie day, all day long.

It's after 2AM and I just got back from my annual Oscar-ready day at the Waterfront in Pittsburgh. Here's a quick rundown of what I saw.

Hugo

This is Martin Scorcese's love letter to film, and what a grand and glorious Valentine it is. It's so touching and really beautiful to look at. Also, it leads the pack for nominations, so I got to cross 11 items off of my list, which was terribly fun.

Albert Nobbs

I expected to like this more than I did. I suppose I heard "butler" and thought "Downton Abbey!" It's not really that kind of story. Glenn Close and Janet McTeer were amazing, but when are they not? I liked it, but I didn't love it. However, watching it let me complete my first full category: Best Supporting Actress.

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Oh wow, this movie was so good. I'm really disappointed it didn't get a Best Picture nomination. It was, by far, my favorite film of the day. The cast is crazy good. The story is amazing and so multi-faceted. It's a spy story, but not an in-your-face one like the Bourne stories. It's based on a John le Carre book so it's a slow burn spy story and it's so satisfying. Some reviews have been saying it's hard to follow (in fact, an iPhone app I have that gives you good times to leave the theater for a bathroom break listed this film as being too confusing to suggest bathroom breaks) but that's baloney. Just pay careful attention and you'll have no trouble understanding everything that's going on. A woman sitting behind me in the theater turned to her companion halfway through the film and said, "This movie is terrible. I have no idea what's going on." I don't know what her deal was, but she must have been daydreaming or something because it's not like this movie is Syriana* or something. Just pay attention and you'll be fine. And it's so, so good.

The Iron Lady

I should tread carefully here because my friend Eric, who is both ultra-conservative and madly in love with Ms. Streep (as in, he sees her as his future first lady when he one day leads the Republican party to victory and a return to the glory days of the Reagan administration), will harangue me over dinner at Trivia on Monday, but I didn't really care for this film. Again, Meryl Streep was amazing, but when is she not? And it's another one of those situations where the character is not created by the actress; it's an impression of a real person. It was an excellent impression, but I wasn't captured by the events going on in Thatcher's life. It seemed more like a documentary retelling, not a story, like the way Ray was. Or maybe it just suffered by following on the heels of Tinker Tailor. I don't have a beef with Streep's nomination, but this movie didn't do it for me. But I was able to complete both Best Actress and Best Make-up with this, so that's something.


*Syriana is either very confusing or butt-numbingly dull, because for the first time, I left a movie theater confused about the storylines of several of the characters, a couple of whom I actually could not tell apart. I saw it in New York, and as the crowd was filing out, I heard a woman tell her boyfriend, "I think that movie outsmarted me," to which he replied, "Yeah, I think the movie won."

I beg to differ. Nobody in that theater won. Nobody.

Just replace "toddler" with "four-year-old niece."

Ready Player One

I just started reading this book and I’m loving it so much. It’s set in a dystopian future where an eccentric billionaire video game designer, who had been a teenager in the 1980s and thus devoted to that decade, has recently died. In his will, he leaves his massive fortune to the first person who can find an Easter egg that he’s hidden in his most popular game.

If you either can’t remember or didn’t care for the 80s, you might still enjoy this book as a complicated logic puzzle of an adventure story, despite the fact that you don’t understand the Atari and Heathers references. But if you love the 80s, if you think John Hughes could do no wrong except for that one time when he clearly should have had Andie choose Duckie, if you immediately get the “cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria!” quote in the first chapter, if you still carry a watermelon for Dirty Dancing and you know all the lyrics to Devo’s Whip It, then this book is so very for you.

I'm two chapters in and the main character is watching old Family Ties episodes. It's rad. Enjoy.

I'm rooting for The Artist, but you probably already knew that.

Just hand over that Best Picture statuette, please.

The Oscar nominations were just announced this morning. My oh my, I have been waiting for this.

I am...

Delighted: The Artist got all the noms I predicted for it and more.

Pleasantly surprised: about the nominations for Gary Oldman, Jonah Hill, and Melissa McCarthy.

Astonished: not to see Michael Fassbender somewhere on this list since he’s been in 53 movies this year. I was beginning to think I couldn't escape him.

Amazed: at how many nominations Hugo got despite its relatively small buzz leading up to the awards.

Shocked: that Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close got a nom for Supporting Actor let alone Best Picture.

Relieved: so, so relieved that I won’t have to see Carnage. Sorry talented actors who starred in it, but if you want me to be excited about your movie, don't work with Roman Polanski.

Disgusted: that I will now have to see The Tree of Life. I loathe Terrence Malick.

Disappointed: that Ewan McGregor wasn’t noticed for the finest performance I’ve ever seen him give, in The Beginners.

Avoiding: my sister Jen who will surely be furious that Leonardo Dicaprio was snubbed for his role in J. Edgar, despite the fact that she hasn’t yet seen it.

Excited: to start overdosing on movies! I have seen 4 of the 9 Best Picture nominees, so I have a long way to go.

Let the Oscar readiness begin!

"An utter delight!"

So, I was in DC for a meeting this week, and I spent the evening in Silver Spring, Maryland getting a little pre-Oscar ready. The nominations are happening tomorrow morning, by the way, and I am super excited. Silver Spring is the site of an old, restored movie palace, the AFI Silver Theater, which I love and adore and which I thought would be a perfect place to see The Artist.

The Artist is a silent film about silent films, and it is wonderful. The opening scene shows a 1927 crowd enjoying a silent film in a fabulous movie palace not unlike the one I was sitting in. It was very cool. And the movie was an utter delight. I fully expect Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, and Best Screenplay nominations for it tomorrow morning. Go see it immediately. You'll leave the theater walking on air.

And if you're ever passing through Silver Spring, stop in at the AFI and see a movie in this gorgeous theater. It's a movie lover's treat.

Good cookin'

Kris and I went to Casa Bogaczyk last weekend for lots of baby holding, board games, and good food. Every time I visit Liz, I inevitably come home with some great new recipe like Liz's chicken salad or Zack's Polish breakfast or Kristen's mushroom quesadillas. This time it was chicken fajitas with beans and coriander rice. I came home and could not wait to make this for myself.

The beans take three or four hours, but they're so worth it and they make your kitchen smell divine.

Beans and lots of onions and tomatoes. Yum.

Cumin and cilantro and every good thing. The kitchen smelled amazing all afternoon.

This was the first time I used all four burners on my stove at once. It felt rather empowering.

The delicious result. A fajita or burrito or whatever with chicken, beans, coriander rice, sauteed vegetables, avocado, and sour cream. Yum. City.

Also, remember when I was trying to become an avocado person? I'm not sure how it happened, but I have become a full-on avocado freak. I would plant an avocado tree in my yard if I thought I was capable of growing anything successfully. This week I have had avocado on my fajitas, avocado grilled cheese sandwiches (one of the best things you will ever eat in your lifetime), and avocado salsa dip. I am now out of the beautiful avocados I bought at the Delallo store (most gorgeous produce ever) and nowhere around here has good avocados and I am in withdrawal.

I blame Kristen for this. She got me hooked.

I do not cough for my own amusement.

I had a lazy day today, and what is a lazy day without a viewing of Pride and Prejudice (the far superior BBC version, of course)?

So, I'm watching the scene where Mr. Collins comes to visit and condole with the Bennet sisters in the midst of the Lydia/Wickham scandal, and there's this part where Kitty sees Mr. Collins' carriage approaching and she spits, "It's Mr. Collins. Well, I'm not gonna sit with him for anyone!" Then she runs off to hide in the bushes or whatever, and later sneaks up to the sitting room window like the world's worst spy in order to check if the coast is clear, melodramatically ducking out of sight when necessary. And I realized, yeah, that’s me. That is so something I would do. I’m Kitty Bennet. We’d all like to believe that we are Lizzy, but I am Kitty.

I'm making peace with this as best I can.

Also, that "What is it, Mama? Why are you winking at me? What am I to do?" bit is something I can completely relate to. Don't ever try to pass me a signal across the room in Mafia.

Plug "fun" into the GPS and go.

So, this weekend Kristen and I are racing to West Virginia to see who gets to hold Sawyer first. The good news is I have a 228-mile headstart.

Game on, Gibson.

Are you in need of a smile?

Because this will do it.

Downton!

I’m still sick as a dog and sleeping 16 hours a day, but when I’m awake I’ve been doing a Downton Abbey re-watch in anticipation for season two which finally FINALLY premieres tomorrow night! I can’t wait to see Lord Grantham and Lady Sybil and Cousin Matthew and Gwen and Carson and dear Mrs. Patmore and most especially the delightful, magnificent Dowager Countess who is clearly the most awesome character in the thing. I even can’t wait to see evil Thomas, whom I feel compelled to hiss at every time he’s on screen.

 Only 28.67 hours now…

A Murmuration of Starlings

Murmuration from Sophie Windsor Clive on Vimeo.

I know some people might find this breathtaking, but around 0:51, I start to get terrified.

Wretched birds.

Has this ever happened to you?

I have a cold and I have completely lost my sense of smell. I thought something had gone wrong with my Cinnamon Buns soap when I couldn't smell it, but then I held a jar of peanut butter in front of my face, took a big whiff, and... nothing. From peanut butter!

It's so strange not to be able to smell anything. I could have been sprayed by a skunk and I'd have no idea right now.

And a Happy New Year, too.