Eeeeeee! Yay dancing!

I started writing this last night at the end of my work day being all, "You guys, I know you want So You Think You Can Dance blogs but I'm SO BUSY and these first audition shows are SO LONG and I just don’t know if I’m going to be able to do consistent blogs this year, okay?”

And then I fired up the TiVO and the opening shots of dancers came on and I was all, “Eeeeeee! Yay dancing! I LOVE THIS SHOW!” all over again. At which point I proceeded to watch six damn hours of So You Think You Can Dance. I was up until 1 a.m. Yes, I am tired this morning.

As for recapping, I thought about taking notes but decided I’d rather just watch & enjoy, so that’s what I did. I don't typically recap the audition shows anyway, if you recall. I mean, why a person would spend even a second of their "15 Minutes" dancing like an elephant just to get chewed out by Nigel Lythgoe is BEYOND me, but whatever. I don’t care for the manipulative biography packages terribly much, nor do I enjoy watching some jackass get all pissy when they’re cut or critiqued. People, for God’s sake, you watch the show, right? You’ve seen the caliber of dancer on here, and yet you think you’re good enough to go through? To the point that you’re going to get all tantrumy about it? No. I don't need to see your meltdown, honey. Dance well, or get the hell off my TV.

So yeah, no, those jerks don't get covered in my blog. Here’s what I will say about the first six hours:

I love seeing good dancers come back, especially some of those who made it to the final rounds in Vegas before being cut from the Top 20. I’ve seen recaps where people have referred to them as “Season 4 Rejects,” but with at least four of them, I’ve seen serious improvement, and the fact that these dancers can take a rejection and turn it into something fabulous on stage is inspiring. That guy Brandon, who moved Mary to tears, was dazzling. Quiet or not, I want to see more of him on the show. Natalie was also sensational, and all those goofy adjectives that Sonia & Mary were using—organic, sincere—were spot-on. I also loved Evan, the Gene Kelly guy, as well as that tapper Bianca. Season 4 rejects or not, I’d love to see them on the show.

There were some new dancers that I’m very excited about as well. Not as excited as Nigel was, I’m sure, to see so many tiny blond 18-year-old contemporary dancers flit across the stage in front of him. At a certain point Mac was like, “How many is that, now?” And I was like, “Not enough for Nigel.”

Speaking of the judges I would like to invite them to get over themselves before the season goes much further. Maybe they should take a note or two.
Nigel: Anyone who watches the show knows that you’re shockingly homophobic for a man who works in the dance industry, but you can’t keep trying to pass it off as legitimate critique. If you’re struggling to find a way of saying a dancer isn’t “masculine” enough without being a dick, maybe that’s a hint that what you’re really trying to say is, “I don’t like how gay you look,” and is therefore a comment you should keep to yourself.
Mary: I’d love to hear a little more originality in your critiques rather than the same words over and over again. Also, backhanded compliments are actually insults. They’re fairly easy to spot and it doesn’t make you seem nicer just because you tried to veil them with insincerity. I respect you more when you just speak honestly.
Tasty Oreo: OH MY GOD honey put a sock in it!! I like a bitchy queen as much as the next person, but enough already! Yes, there are some delusional jackasses on that stage wasting your time, but calling them out so extensively doesn’t teach them anything and only makes YOU look like an asshole.
Sonya: An orgasm every time a good dancer takes the stage? Actually, it bugs Nigel so much that it kind of tickles me, so knock yourself out. But maybe a few less drugs before judging next time, okay?
Lil C: I love you. Sometimes I wonder if you’re reading critiques that someone fed you? Like, it doesn’t seem totally real, but maybe that’s the whole “unreality of reality TV” messing with my head. Even so, I love you.
Adam: Even though the whole bit went on for too long, I really appreciate that you got up and danced for us. You showed us what the natural, instinctive carriage of a dancer looks like, even when he’s goofing around, and it helped convince me that you know your stuff. And your critiques are generally spot-on for me, I just feel like they would carry more weight if you were a little less full of yourself. You’re a famous director with some hit movies; you didn’t solve world hunger or anything.
Mia: If you stopped taking this all way too seriously you wouldn’t be you, and that would be tragic. Don’t change a thing, you fabulous, intensely scary diva, you. MWAH.

Finally, a note to our favorite host Cat Deeley: Please, for the love of all that is good and holy, please stop drinking the blood of kittens in order to stay so freaking beautiful, darling, and sweet. Surely no human can maintain that consistent level of sincerity and kindness, nor that perfect hair, without some kind of sinister ritual to make it work. Right? I am consistently delighted by you without fault, and it’s starting to make me worry. So maybe a little less kitten and your hair can go in a ponytail and you can be a little crabby for a couple seconds? I won’t hold it against you.

Next week: Vegas. I’m rather excited to see what happens, aren’t you?

when geeks & jocks interact

I've been dining out on this story for months, so it's only right that I finally record it here.

I've been seeing a personal trainer for a few months to help me out with some weight training and general accountability ("If you pay him, you will get your over-scheduled ass to the gym"). His name is Troy, and he used to play Division 1 football for UCLA until he broke his back. Today he's a web designer and personal trainer and kind of the quintessential Popular Jock--handsome, easy-going, way into football. I figured out early on in our trainer/trainee relationship that we didn't have much in common. In fact, were I not paying him to help sculpt my arms, shoulders & abs into the toned limbs I now possess (ha), we would never have met, never hang out. We have very little in common, aside from a shared desire to turn my fat into muscle.

Anyway, one day we were in the weight room and I was lifting free weights while he was regaling me with one of his stories from the Good Old Days of college football. I'm listening and trying to follow along--I'm not really a football fan, so a lot of his story is new information to me. Anyway, he's telling me his football story, and about halfway through, he asks me in what I presume to be a very weird question, and this is what went down.

Him: "You know what the Red Shirts are?"

Me (confused): ".... You mean from Star Trek?"

Him (more confused): "...No. From football."

Both of us, looking at each other, totally confused: " . . . . . ?"

This is what happens when geeks & jocks interact. You can become friends, but you might not always speak the same language.

It's a weird world

Last update April 3. My goodness.

I've started to wonder if my life is really happening if I'm not posting about it on Twitter/Facebook. I just spent 45 minutes reading all my people's updates on Facebook from the weekend (300+ people, 3 days worth of updates) and actually felt bad that I didn't post something for Mother's Day. I called my mom, and sent her a present and a card that showed up ON TIME for once. Is it enough if I didn't post it on Facebook too? It's a weird world we live in these days.

I haven't been blogging in months mostly because I've been very short on time. Also because as I've been sitting here trying to compose my thoughts, I forget what I was going to write just as soon as it pops into my head. Let's assume it was brilliant, shall we?

This past weekend we celebrated the 2-year anniversary of our company, Click Communications. When Mac and I started this gig, it was just the two of us and our one client. Today we still have that client, as well as two others, as well as 6 full-time employees, 3 part-time contractors, and 2 advisory board members. Our press list, and the strength of the relationships that go with it, has more than doubled. I feel anxious sharing our success because I constantly feel, every second, that there's still SO MUCH MORE TO DO. Do more! Be better! But we'll get there, and in the meantime, I feel very lucky and grateful to see our hard work pay off this way. There are many hard-working people in our country right now who are not enjoying as much success, and we will not take this for granted.

We celebrated with a party here at the house on Saturday, a day that started with coffee and watching Friday's Dollhouse finale. [Sidebar: Friday we were discussing Dollhouse with our friends, and I said to Mac, "Remember that episode that got all surreal and rapey?" His response: "You mean all of them?" I'm intrigued by this show, but he's not wrong, and it bums me out. I love a Joss Project, but I'd prefer to see his next one with a little less rape. Is that too much to ask from the guy who's all, "I'll quit writing strong female characters when everyone keeps asking me WHY I write strong female characters"? I think not.] The party was a fabulous success, which I say myself because I know we could not have pulled it off without Mac's sister, our dear friends visiting from Seattle, and our rock star staff helping set it up and make everything go smoothly. The night ended with me getting a face full of veggie burger juice, which made me very cranky, and also made me realize A) throwing a party for 10+ hours after two weeks of Work Insanity is Exhausting, and B) sobering up and cleaning while your friends are still drunk & partying is no fun. I think the solution is maybe to stay drunk? A theory to test at the next party, perhaps.

In other news, Captain Awesome has a gimpy leg from jumping on the fence trying to catch squirrels/our neighbors and has been limping around for a week. I thought it would heal on its own but it hasn't, and it just breaks my heart and I'm taking him to the vet today. Both of our dogs have been extra cuddly and clingy lately, I think because of our recent Hawaii trip. I would take them with us if I could. Penny would love chasing geckos.

Now that I'm thinking of taking Captain to the vet, I'm reminded of preparations I need to make for a meeting tomorrow morning, and all this other work I have to do. I think I'm a little rusty at the blogging, but I think I could fit it back into my life. This took 15 minutes to write, as opposed to the 45 I spent on Facebook, which is supposed to take less time. It's a weird world we live in these days.

my new favorite dance video

I know I hardly write here any more, which means I'm sure I've totally lost all my readers. And, well, I'm not writing in here today either because I'm super short on time, but I really wanted to post this, my new favorite dance video.


How rad is THAT????

a person's ability to Change

Wow, it's been awhile. I'd get you caught up on what I've been doing, but it's mostly been a lot of work stuff that's either boring to anyone not directly involved or, like, confidential.

I did sign up for the Danskin Triathlon in Austin again, so I'm training for that again. I also ran/walked my first 10k yesterday (about 6.2 miles). I kind of thought I'd walk most of it, but I ran a lot! I couldn't believe it! Especially since the course was filled with hills, and I'd only ever jogged a 5k before. My race buddies Emily, Danielle and I finished at EXACTLY 1:27, which isn't bad for a non-runner's first 10k, I say.

I've gotten a lot of support and congrats for this race, for which I am so grateful. I have amazing family and friends, and I love them. It's also made me realize something:

If you want people to be impressed with your athletic prowess, spend a lifetime being a lazy-ass couch potato first.

Because, after all, I have plenty of friends who do races, and when they finish them and tell me about it, I always offer support and congratulations. But they don't always brag about it first of all, so I don't always know about it. But mostly, the friends I know who do races are kind of jocks already. So when they finish a race, it's kind of like, well sure. Of course you did that. Well done.

But I've realized that when I finish a race people are like, Wow! Good for you! I'm so impressed! It's awesome, amazing support and encouragement and, I'm not gonna lie, a big factor in deciding to do more races.

That said, it has occurred to me that all these encouraging people may not be solely impressed at my ability to clock a 14-minute mile. I'm thinking that perhaps that nagging doubt that I can't possibly keep this up when there's so much good TV on is a very real factor. People are inspired by the transformation from Couch Potato to Race Finisher.

And if you are, I say again (like I always do): If I can do it ANYONE can do it. Seriously.

As I continue to do more races, I expect the enthusiasm will die down, and that's fine. Much like I think of myself as a Short Hair Girl going through a Long Hair Experiment, I still think of myself as a Non-Athletic Woman Who Sometimes Does Races. As long as I, and others, still think of me that way, every race I take on will be impressive. (Hell, as long as there's always good TV on, I'll always be impressed with my ability to stick to a training plan.) When the people around me start responding to my endeavors, however, with "Well sure. Of course you did that. Well done," then I'll know that I have truly changed.

And by the time that point in my life rolls around, who knows how long my hair will be?

finding poetry

Hey, check it out, y'all: my mom is a published poet!

Time in its Flight, featured on FoundPoetry.org.

My friend Susan introduced me to this site, and I just love this project. I love the idea of finding poetry in surprising places, and collecting them like this. They're looking for more submissions to get the site off the ground, so be sure and send them your submissions as well!

And, yes, I do know how lucky I am to have a mom who is an artist and poet and also has great taste in music. And who shares all three of those gifts with her kids on a regular basis. Thanks, Mom!

Only in fiction

Dear Film and Television Writers everywhere,
Excuse me while a pick a nit, but this has been bothering me for years--nay, decades!--and I need to get it off my chest.

There is a phrase that I hear ALL THE TIME in movies and on my shows, that I have NEVER ONCE heard someone utter in real life. I don't know why it keeps showing up on screen, except that I think writers are watching a lot of film and TV, and their ideas about What People Actually Say are being fed by fiction in some kind of vicious, weird meta-cycle.

What is this phrase I loathe so much? The phrase that makes me wince at the uncreative weakness of the writer that wrote it and generic blandness of the actor that uttered it?

"I'd like that."

Not as in, I'm at a bakery and I see a fresh batch of jumbo chocolate chip cookies come out from the oven and placed in the case and the mere sight of them makes me drool all over the glass and lose my ability to speak politely so that when it's my turn to order all I can do is point to the cookie and say, "I'd like THAT."

No, no. It's more like, the couple has cute-met at the bakery and she spilled her coffee on him and after splitting a cookie and arguing sweetly over the merits of Scrabble, or something, he gets up the nerve to ask her on a date, and she responds, "I'd like that."

Only in fiction to people ever respond to an invitation with, "I'd like that." In real life, people say, "Sure" or "That sounds fun" or even, "I'd love that!" (Even though, "I'd love to!" is far more likely.) I've never once heard anyone I know utter the response, "I'd like that."

The first time this got under my skin was in the movie Heathers. (Oh, Heathers. You beautiful masterpiece of noir teenage comic camp. I love you so much.) The dialog in this movie was so creative and fresh that it created its own lexicon of words and phrases that are still in heavy rotation today. And then, Veronica blows up the school and her boyfriend, steals the almighty red scrunchie, plants a sooty kiss on Heather Duke's bewildered mug, invites Martha Dumptruck to hang out, and what does Martha say?

"I'd like that."

Even at 14, when I first saw this movie, I was like, ...Really? Not that Martha wouldn't want to hang out with a sooty Veronica, but who says that?? (You'll note that I easily believed that teenagers in high school said all the other crazy stuff that was in the movie's dialog; this was the only bit that rang false. You'll also note that people today will still throw out lines about Diet Coke-heads, or eating a brain tumor for breakfast, but no one, I swear, ever says the other thing.)

Now, nearly 20 years later, it has become (or still is, I don't know how far back this goes) this over-used crutch meant to indicate that the person saying it is, or has recently become, warm and receptive to the person with the invitation. Or something, I honestly don't know why it's used so over-much. All I know is, I would enjoy all the myriad movies and shows I watch a hell of a lot more if you would knock it off with the weak "I'd like that" response, and start writing the way people actually talk.

I would love that, in fact. I really would.
xoxo
D

I actually accomplished a lot

I'm currently enjoying our New Year's Day tradition of Egg Dish and horror movies with good friends. Since I don't love horror movies, I thought I'd get caught up on the past year at the same time. To say 2008 was busy would be a ridiculous understatement. I actually accomplished a lot of the stuff I wanted to do, including:

• Run a mile.
  
• Visit the San Diego Zoo
  
• Take the dogs for walks in Runyon Canyon and Fryman Canyon
  
• Plant a tree in our front yard
• Present a full-on summer season of Tiki Theater
• Grow my hair past my shoulders

Not too many bullets off my ambitious list, but let's see what else I did, and what else happened, shall we?


Threw our most kick-ass Oscar party yet in February.


Saw the dogs get cuter, and eat the eyes out of a bee.


Rocked St. Pat's with my favorite Scorpios.


Hiked up Runyon Canyon with Amy & Chip on Easter Morning.


Went to Medieval Times for the first time.


Bought my first bike in many, many years.


Went on a fabulous Hawaiian vacation; swam laps in this body of water.


Watched the dogs get even cuter.


Celebrated the one-year anniversary of Click.


Became a triathlete.


Enjoyed Minnesota in summertime, visiting Amy & Chip over 4th of July weekend.


Celebrated nephew Rusty's 1st birthday in Santa Barbara with the entire McLean clan.


Watched my little family get even cuter.


Met Mia Michaels.


Went to San Diego Comic Con for the first time, followed by a trip to the San Diego Zoo. (Got Nerd Flu.)


Celebrated Kristin & Mark's marriage with good friends outside of Boston.


Reunited with my UNC Crew in Greeley Colorado; danced and danced.


Ate a delicious peach from Mom's tree in her backyard. (Also went to my first water aerobics class.)


Threw a Valley Girl Slumber Party Bridal Shower for Amanda, and had attendees do 80's makeovers for fabulous prizes.


Bridesmaided for my dear friends, once in September, once in October. Thanked God my friends have lovely taste in bridesmaid dresses.


Worked my ass off, rubbed shoulders with celebs, and pissed off Victor Garber at the Runway for Life event.


Threw the Halloween Cocktail Party I've wanted to throw, oh, forever; discovered black vodka.


Met one of the funniest women alive, Amy Sedaris.


Voted in one of the most important elections of our lifetime; wept with joy on Election Night.


Gardened! I finally populated the little garden in front of our house with herbs and flowers, I planted three rose bushes, and we had a tree planted in the front yard.


Learned how to weave a lattice pie crust and baked the world's most beautiful (and delicious) apple pie for Thanksgiving.


Bought the prettiest white winter coat just before our trip to Seattle, where we got to see some fabulous friends, and got a truckload of great business accomplished. (Also, note how long hair has gotten!)


Took formal family portraits with the McLeans at Sears.


Sent out beautiful Click holiday cards to our clients and press.


Enjoyed a lovely, low-key Christmas in Santa Barbara.


And, finally, watched the dogs get even cuter.

Xmas mix CD

I've been mixing/ burning my Xmas mix CD for years now, and it morphs and evolves every year. This year, I thought I'd distribute it online. So, for one week only, get your very own copy of my Xmas 2008 mix right here!


The folder also includes a CD case with a track list in a powerpoint file that you can print out and insert into a case, should you want a hard copy. But if you just want the tunes, those are there too. If you've gotten a copy of this mix from me in the past, then you already have most of the songs. But, like I said, it changes every year, so there could be some new treats on there for you.

Enjoy! Merry Christmas!

I'm a mess. Ho ho ho.

It's been almost a month since my last entry, so first I'll do a quick list of bullets of what we've been up to, for those of you keeping track of my life (ahem, Mom). Then we can talk holidays.

Thanksgiving 08: What a fantastic holiday. We hosted members of our "chosen family" at the house this year, and it was just wonderful. My friend Tony the Chef did the most amazing things to our turkey--brining in brandy, shoving garlic & rosemary under the skin next to the meat, stuffing with apples and oranges. It was one of the most moist and delicious turkeys I've ever tasted. All of our friends brought delicious sides and snacks, actually, because they are classy like that. For my part, I baked 2 loaves of dill bread and 3 pies: pumpkin, pecan, and apple with a lattice-top crust. I hope to get caught up on photos over the next week or so, but suffice to say they all came out gorgeous! Good food, good wine, great friends--GREAT holiday.

Seattle Trip: The first week in December Mac and I went to Seattle to visit friends, do some business, and enjoy some proper chilly weather. Not that I'm complaining about our fabulous SoCal weather, but it's hard to get into the holiday spirit when it won't stop being 80 degrees outside (the weather has since changed, thankfully). This trip was PACKED, and as usual we ran out of time before we got to do everything or see everyone. We got a lot of great business done, striking up some fun partnerships and strengthening our Seattle press relationships. We got to see some of our favorite people on the planet. And we ATE. Oh, my God, we ate our way through that city. Someday I'm going to write the Mac & Dinah Guide to Seattle, with a list of must-sees, must-dos and must-eats. The newest revelation was The Black Bottle in Belltown. YUM.

Family Portrait Time: Yet another separate blog post in the making, we took family portraits with Mac's family at Sears the second weekend in December. We wore coordinated outfits and posed uncomfortably (at one point I was laying on my stomach). Mac's family all look happy and natural in all of these photos. I look like a robot.

Which, okay, I'm actually checking my calendar to remember what all we've done this month. We took the LA division of our awesome staff out to a holiday dinner, after video chatting with Scott and his lovely wife. The whole team chipped in and got us a Wii Fit. I'm choosing not to take this as a personal commentary on my need to lose weight, but as an amazingly intuitive and thoughtful present that we actually had every intention of buying for ourselves. They also got us a game that you play with your butt. Awesome. Seriously, we employ the best people on the planet.

We also hosted a holiday party for one of our clients, which went off perfectly and inspired a separate blog I need to write about throwing parties. Because, for real, I pulled that thing together in about a day, had tasks for everyone to help me with, and did the whole thing BEAUTIFULLY and under budget. I'm not bragging; I'm just good.

Everything else has just been a mad scramble to get prepared for the holidays. I always stress out about Christmas, every year. What do I get? Is it too much, not enough? Why do I put it off every year? Christmas cards still haven't gone out--it might be a New Year's/Wrap Up card this year. Plus I'd love to do a "Best of 2008" mix... but I never even finished or mailed out my Summer 08 mix. Oh, I'm a mess. Ho ho ho.

So that brings me up to date. The checklist of future blogs I just mentioned includes: photos, Seattle guide, family portraits, how to throw a fabulous party, and Best of 2008 mix. Yeah, we'll see.

Thanks for checking back on me, even though I haven't been updating. I appreciate everyone who reads Puffpiece, and hope you're all enjoying a fabulous holiday season!!

killing me, repeatedly

In other movie news, Bolt is fantastic. I kind of hate to say awesome, since it's kind of THE word of the movie and I don't like being all played by movie marketing.... but I'm a sucker, and it WAS awesome.

Most people to whom I say, "I saw Bolt last weekend," respond with, "What's Bolt?" So in case that's you, here's the scoop:

Bolt is an animated Disney movie about a dog TV star who thinks he has super powers. He gets separated from his person, Penny, and has to team up with a sardonic cat named Mittens and a crazy hamster named Rhino to get back to her.

It's simple, sure, and a kids movie. But it's SO GOOD. The animation, for one, is beautiful. The characterization of the animals is spot on in the funniest possible way. Rhino in particular was killing me, repeatedly. He speaks, I laugh--it's that simple. The message about keeping and loving your pets is great, and anyone who's ever had a pet will get teary--you can't help it. All the Hollywood TV production stuff is wonderfully tongue-in-cheek. And, with the exception of John Travolta as Bolt and Miley Cyrus as Penny, the voices aren't this huge, distracting cast of A-list actors. This is fantastic, because you don't spend the whole movie trying to place the voice or name the actor--you just enjoy the story.

So, this Thanksgiving weekend, if you want to escape the Black Friday madness or just need an activity to enjoy with the whole family, I highly recommend checking out Bolt. We went with our staff, and all 7 of us enjoyed it. I can only imagine how much kids would like it.

Let it begin!

I am not 14 years old

Twilight movie review: spoilers abound, proceed with caution!

I saw the movie last night, and when it was over one of my friends said, "Don't let anyone make you feel bad for liking it." But what if I feel bad because.... I didn't like it as much as I feel like I should have?

What was good:

• Everyone in the cast who WASN'T Edward & Bella. Charlie was AWESOME, all the high school kids were great, Jessica was a surprise treat, and Jacob was darling. The Cullens were mostly okay, except that Emmett's sideways hat was stupid and Jasper looked like a Fraggle.
  
• All the scenes with high school kids interacting like normal high school kids. These were fun and well done and provided great normal contrast to the whole vampire thing.
  
• Sweeping shots of the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. Amazing.
• Scenes with Bella & Charlie. Again, I thought Charlie was the best. I loved how when he showed her around her room and pointed out, "This is a good work lamp." Just exactly like a dad would do.
  
• Vampire baseball. And Alice pointing her toes when she pitches.
  
• The fight at the end--particularly how Alice, well. I don't need to spoil everything, but she's awesome.
  
• Edward popping the dent out of Bella's truck--that was my favorite Edward & Bella scene, which should tell you something.

What was unintentionally hilarious:

• Carlisle Cullen/Peter Facinelli in BAD vampire makeup strolling through the hospital door like it's his first scene of Can't Hardly Wait: "Huntington Hills, kiss my ass!"
• Way-too-skinny Angela saying, "I'm taking control of my life!" and my friend Molly leaning over and whispering, "Girl needs to take control of a cheeseburger."
• Bella Googling "cold ones" and Mac whispering, "Like that wouldn't bring up 'Beer'." And then the phrase "The Immortal Drink" floating past us on the screen.
• Edward reacting to Bella's scent in biology for the first time.
  
• Edward and Billy staring at each other from their cars.
• Edward's sparkly skin. Honestly, he just looked sweaty. Hopefully we get a bigger special effects budget for the next one so the whole skin thing looks a little less stupid.
  

What was bad:

• The screenplay: the narration and all the Edward/Bella dialog in particular. I mean, it's way cheesy in the book, but I thought they were going to make this better? If they thought they did: FAIL.
  
• Robert Pattinson's "acting."
• Kristen Stewart's "acting."

And this is just a note to the young actors of the world everywhere, because I've been noticing this a lot lately: Contorting your face into different variations of "Confused," is not the same as acting. Making weird faces and staring only makes you look weird and stare-y, not intense. And, for the love of God, can we stop moving and sighing and twitching and looking about and doing all kinds of other things with our faces that are NOT acting, are ONLY distracting. Let's try being in the scene, making some choices, and sticking with them, shall we?

My two biggest problems with the movie:

• This was not a good movie; it was a faithful adaptation. There's a huge difference. It was painfully clear to me while I was watching that they were so focused on making fans of the book happy, that they forgot to make a good movie. So, you know, some stuff was good and fun for me, because I like the book and they put that on screen for me. But other stuff was just an uncreative, verbatim lift off the page that didn't translate to the screen at all, so it fell flat.

• My biggest problem with the movie, though, was this: I liked Twilight, and the rest of the series, because while the vampire stuff is fun, it's the whole First Big Important Love story that's really thrilling. First love is THRILLING. Or at least it's supposed to be. It felt that way in the book. In the movie, all the Edward & Bella scenes were drawn out with so many Dramatic! Pauses! Neither of them EVER looked happy to be in each other's company, like, don't they enjoy each other ever? I know there's a whole primal attraction vs Danger! thing going on, but in the book it seemed like they enjoyed and liked each other more. I can't claim credit for this description because I read it somewhere last week, but it's apt--basically, Robert & Kristen just made me feel like they were engaged in a 90-minue-long Intense-Off.

So....not horrible, but disappointing. I'll watch it again on DVD, and I'll check out New Moon for sure (I never thought I'd be on Team Jacob, but for the movies, yeah. For starters, he's WAY CUTER). But overall, it was uneven and fell way short of its potential.

Then again, I am not 14 years old. I'll ask my niece what she thought of it, I bet her opinion is way different.

YOUR Twilight soundtrack

Like many of my friends, I am totally SQUEEEE! over Twilight and read all 4 books and already have my tickets for the movie, etc etc I'm a dork. The movie soundtrack was released a couple weeks ago and I looked it over and was like, what? No.* These are not the Twilight soundtrack songs.

So I made my own soundtrack**:

1. Something Bigger, Something Brighter - Pretty Girls Make Graves
2. Only Happy When It Rains - Garbage
3. Creep (acoustic) - Radiohead
4. Disarm - Smashing Pumpkins
5. You Look Like Rain - Morphine
6. Ageless Beauty - Stars
7. Waiting For The Night - Depeche Mode
8. In Your Eyes - Peter Gabriel
9. Take My Hand - Dido
10. Tacoma Trailer - Leonard Cohen
11. Never Tear Us Apart - INXS
12. Together - The Raconteurs
13. Save A Prayer - Eve's Plum
14. The Horror Of Our Love - Ludo
15. Blood - Pearl Jam
16. The Promise - When In Rome
17. This Modern Love - Bloc Party

If you want I can walk you through my liner notes, but most song choices are fairly obvious, including the fact that my version of the soundtrack is way heavy on bands and songs I liked in jr high and high school and loving boys for the first time, since that is the feeling these books bring back for me. (How Bella feels about Edward = How I feel about "Never Tear You Apart" and that dreamy senior I crushed on.) I also tossed in a heavy dose of songs that remind me of my time in Seattle and the PNW, for obvious reasons.

Now, my fellow Twilight fans, here is the question: What would you put on YOUR Twilight soundtrack??

*I know, I sound like every other hyper-critical Twilight fan out there. "That isn't how I would have done it. That's not who I would have cast. I don't know why they had to change that part of the book." etc etc etc. What can I say? I am a fangirl.

**I also have songs picked out for New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn that I will post later. Cause I'm a nerd and they're awesome.