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Tags: writer's block
Mood: relieved

Adventur with Family! Fadventur!

I had no idea my fiftysomething parents would enjoy the Field Museum more than my fourteen-year-old sister, omg. My mum had to be led out of the gemstone exhibit after nearly exhausting herself at the special diamonds show that's going on. Not that Emmy didn't have a good time, mind you, but while Mum was sitting and resting with us, Dad Lucky wandered off and spent half an hour ooohing and aaahing at Sue the T. Rex.

Now we're back home, and it is still snowing outside, which is a little hilarious because Holstein The Wonder Chihuahua has never seen snow before and is very angry about it. We had to close all the windows or he'd just stand there and bark constantly. WHITE STUFF! FROM THE SKY! WHAT THE HELL GUYS? IT'S DANGEROUS! I'M WARNING YOU!

We are heeding the warning and staying in for the afternoon.

Tags: scenes from the family

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Mood: cheerful

OKAY SO.

I am full of bbq sauce and beans and all manner of good things, and while I'm not going to do a full review of Sherlock Holmes I do have a few clarifying comments to make :D

1. Do not believe that you will like it just because I liked it. I hate 99% of all cinema so my tastes are weird. That said, I think most people who like Holmes canon and are flexible about canon interpretation will like it.

2. It definitely is a) fanfic on film and b) chock full of juicy slash. But it's awesome fanfic on film -- with nods to the canon and little quotes from it. And, at points, I am positive Robert Downey Junior was mimicking Jeremy Brett. Just to fuck with us!

3. NOBODY BE SURPRISED: Watson was always my favourite. It's nice to see, in this version, that he's a full-fledged person, a character with his own wit, skills, and desires, and the kind of person who can mentally keep up with Sherlock Holmes. It was also nice to see his flaws, from canon, made manifest in the film -- neither he nor Holmes are perfect heroes.

Not to spoil too much about the film, but a bit of a spoiler: ( 3a. )

Tags: film reviews

We're only home for a few minutes before we venture back out for dinner, but I felt the need to inform you all that the new Sherlock Holmes movie is MADE OF FUCKING AWESOME.

I mean, they could have cut the fight scenes and I wouldn't have minded, but I say that about everything. Otherwise?

FUCKING AWESOME.

More later, after I am full of bourbon-glazed ribs and french fries. :D

Tags: film reviews

Happy Christmas morning, all!

We have opened presents here, though we have not a tree -- we put them under one of the hotel lamps instead. :D It's been a very domestic Christmas -- I got a sheet set, an immersion blender, and Cooking Mama for the Wii, among other things.

bluejeans07 and I also have a treat for you this morning. While we didn't finish our 24-hour-comic within 24 hours, we did keep working on it, and about a week ago we completed it. We thought we'd keep it under wraps and unveil it on Christmas, seeing as it is about the holiday spirit and all. :)

You can find the entire Winterbook under the cut, or click on each image to get larger views. Enjoy!

(Me and my friend made a comic book!)

( The Winterbook: A Graphic Short Story By Sam And Jean )

Well, here in Chicago it's wet and nippy out, while the rest of the midwest is SNOWED IN JESUS CHRIST.

It's almost hilarious how Chicago news stations are treating it; they have people stationed at O'Hare to talk about how wet it is there. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, you can't find your car for the snow.

Emmy pointed out that the local news font for "BLIZZARD" looks an awful lot like any other font's version of "BUZZARD".

EMERGENCY BUZZARD!

BUZZARD SMASHES MIDWEST!

DIGGING OUT AFTER THE BUZZARD!

I'm afraid we're going to have to abandon BUZZARD WATCH 09 in a few minutes, when we head out for a fancy Italian dinner. Hope everyone is having a lovely evening!

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Mood: cheerful

I don't know why my mum lighted on The Nutcracker as something I needed early childhood exposure to. Possibly it was the only ballet she could tolerate. At any rate, every year, no matter where we lived, no matter that I have never seen another ballet and have no interest in any other, she would find a production of the Nutcracker and take me (and eventually my siblings) to see it at Christmas.

Tonight we saw the Joffrey Ballet do The Nutcracker in Chicago, and it is still FUCKING AWESOME.

I am not a huge ballet fan, but The Nutcracker is hardcore and you can't convince me otherwise. I love Drosselmeyer and the Russian dancers and the Rat King and MADAM GINGER.

I got the awesomest souvenir ever, too; we have several nutcrackers from previous years, but I've never seen one like this before.



HOW COOL IS THAT? I'm going to hang him on my computer at work or something.

Still alive!

I have managed to get my family in a cab, through the Art Institute Museum including the Apostles Of Beauty exhibit, into Terzo Piano (the super-swank Art Institute Museum restaurant), out of the museum, back into a cab, through the line at Starbucks, and back to the hotel without breaking anything. I WIN.

My parents have no clue how to cope with the winter-mix of snow and rain we're getting. To be fair, they're not exactly used to it.

Mum: Well, we're from Texas.
Cabdriver: I bet when it snows like this in Texas, the whole city shuts down.
Me: When it snows like this in Texas, the end is nigh.

I had what I think can only be called a MEAT SAMPLER, at Terzo Piano. It's a trio of small burgers, served with fries, but the burgers vary: one is shrimp with some kind of spice sauce, one is lamb with feta cheese, and one is beef with Wisconsin cheddar. It's a surprising amount of meat, and ridiculously delicious.

We're off to get some culture in us tonight, and then tomorrow we'll be building a Christmas Tree from cookies, possibly buzzing my place to pick up the presents I left there, and generally goofing off. It should be AWESOME.

Tags: scenes from the family