Flashback to 1994

I swear everywhere I look I am reminded of my childhood. It started yesterday with the boys beating on the desk with the baseball bat. Today it was witnessing a Chinese Fire drill on my way home from work. For those of you not in the know, a Chinese Fire drill is conducted at a stoplight. Everyone exits the car and runs around the car one time and gets back to their original spot in the car before the light changes. My cousin Kevin taught me about these when I was a young teen. My friends and I attempted it on several occasions, but never really pulled it off. I had to laugh when I saw it today. It is dangerous, but funny at the same time. The teens were doing it at a super long light, too. I know it's not very adult of me to find these things funny, but I just do. I remember what it's like to be 16 with an active imagination and crazy friends. And I am always impressed with kids having good, clean fun. Hooray!

When Summer Is Just Too Long...

I was just washing dishes when I heard this loud banging sound outside. I looked out the window and two boys (probably around 12) are taking turns hitting a metal desk with baseball bats. I just had to laugh. It made me think of summers from my childhood, I could've been found engaging in a similar activity. Except in my version of banging on a desk, my mom would've put an end to it and I would've spent the rest of the day in my room thinking about my behavior. I spent a good portion of the 80's thinking about my behavior. I think that's one of the reasons I love my neighborhood--there's always kids outside playing and actually being kids.

Double Feature

Last night I was able to catch a Woody Allen double feature of "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall" at the Oak Street Cinema. It was great. I am a huge Woody Allen fan and "Annie Hall" is one of my favorite movies of all time, so it was cool to see old school Woody Allen on the big screen.

I hadn't see "Manhattan" in it's entirety before. It is wonderful. I really enjoyed how Allen makes Manhattan into a character in the movie. The cinematography is great. Great witty dialogue. Wonderful cast.

I never get tired of "Annie Hall." I think it is one of the few movies that I could watch on a daily basis. I love it that much. It's such a great story and I love Diane Keaton's outfits in the movie. And you can catch a young Christopher Walken playing the creepy guy. That is always a bonus. He does creepy so well.

I was thinking about why I enjoy Woody Allen movies so much. Here's the short list: his female roles are always good, meaty roles. For the most part, the women are smart. The dialogue is smart and witty. Plus, his endings always seem to be very realistic and true to life. There isn't a pretty little Hollywood ending. I always feel inspired after watching one of his movies to go work on my screenplay.

If you get a chance the movies are playing there until June 28th. It is definitely worth it.

The Worst Live Performance EVER

I would like to give that award to Adam Levine from Maroon 5. I saw them on "SNL" last night and I was in shock with how awful Adam is live. At times it was often inaudible. "Makes Me Wonder" what they do to his voice in the studio. They must have some great engineers. Seriously, he missed half of the words and the words he did sing were waaaaay off key. It was hands down the worst live performance ever. I was in shock. Even if I don't like Adam's voice, I can normally see the pop appeal. Last night it looked like some local bands night at a dive bar. I was shocked. I don't think this is a one time isolated event. When I saw them on "Idol" it was a similar situation. Although, it was far worse last night. Perhaps, Adam should look into lip syncing his way through performances.

Music I Can't Get Enough Of

Part of me will always be totally teen obsessing over songs for days and listening to them on repeat 24/7. There are two songs right now that I cannot get enough of--even after repeated listenings. Here they are:

"I'm Not Ready to Make Nice" by the Dixie Chicks. I love this song! It's perfect mix of take- that girl power with this odd touch of sadness thrown in. I can relate. I'm never ready to make nice. The Dixie Chicks always stand up for what they believe in.

Anything by Peter, Bjorn, and John. I saw them a couple of months ago on Conan and they are awesome! So fun. A little bit of a throw back to the 60's. Plus, they're from Sweden and have a great sense of style.

The King

You know what really creeps me out? The Burger King commericals featuring the King. The King is a grown man dressed up like a king and has this big plastic head with a super cheesy grin on his face. This series has been going on for at least a couple of years and features the King doing a lot of creepy things. In the latest installment he's doing this bizzare solo square dance in front of a background of the country. The ad is effective from the standpoint that I remember it's for the new BK Western Whopper. It's just so odd and bizarre. The creepiest of them all was one of the first King ads where he's standing outside of a couple's bedroom and living room windows. They just laugh it off and take the breakfast sandwiches and french toast sticks that the King offers them. If someone was outside my window dressed up as the King, I'd call the cops and he'd get a breakfast sandwich in the face. Yuck. The only one I thought was remotely non creepy was the one where the King (thanks to the magic of computers) jumps into the middle of football game in the 70's/80's. He makes an interception, scores a touchdown and does a silly touchdown dance. That was funny. The other ads leave me feeling like the King is this big creep and I don't feel like going to Burger King. Well, I normally don't go to Burger King, but the ads really make me want to avoid BK at all costs. I will give the ad agency credit, cause I always remember the ads and they are creative in a really bizarre sort of way. I don't see too many other fast food restaurants having an ad that's as remotely creative. The King just scares me.

Wooden Teeth

Sometimes I think it would just be easier if I replaced my teeth with wooden ones. This week I had my sixth month check-up and I have three new cavities. Yes, three. Don't ask me how they magically appeared. I'm clueless. I have excellent oral hygiene skills. I brush my teeth a minimum of twice a day and I actually floss several times a day. I don't drink a lot of soda and I don't eat a lot of candy. I actually make an effort. It's not like I'm just pouring sugar and Mountain Dew into my mouth. I am blaming it on my parents and their crappy teeth. Oh, and my English ancestors. My mom always claimed that she put the dentist's children through college. She also referred the dentist as "Crocodile Dentist." I don't know how else this is possible. Yeah, I was sort of lax in dental visits in my early 20's, but I corrected that. It makes me angry. I told my Dad about this and he wanted to know what I was doing. What am I doing? Taking care of my teeth. I don't brush my teeth with sugar covered fun sticks and floss my teeth with gummy worms. Sheesh. I told him it was his fault since he has bad teeth. That didn't help the situation. Might I add that he had his 10th crown put in this week. Who's got the bad teeth now?