...In which our heroine shares.

My mom started making this recipe last summer when she was on her losing weight kick. It's Weight Watchers summer corn chowder and it's really delicious, so I thought I'd pass it along.

Katydid's Summer Corn Chowder: 

2 Yukon gold potatoes

1/2 cup green onion

1/2 cup of onion

4 cups frozen corn, or 4 ears fresh

1 cup of red pepper

8 ounces Canadian bacon

4 cups milk - whatever kind you like

Spices to taste - I use salt, pepper, chili powder, and garlic powder

Saute the corn, onion, and red pepper and spices in olive oil, butter, cooking spray- whatever floats your boat (I use olive oil), until veggies are tender. Add Canadian bacon, milk, and potato. Simmer for 10 minutes and serve.

I modify the recipe from its original form, and you can add pretty much whatever veggies you want - it's difficult to mess this one up. Enjoy!

...In which our heroine is a synonym for random.

Some things of note:

-I like everyone else on the planet is sad about the death of Michael Jackson. Yeah, he was a nut, but his music with the Jackson 5 and on his own is totally timeless. The times we listened to "Beat It" this year with the boys, or Emily and I screamed along to "P.Y.T" serve to show this fact. You can't be in a bad mood and listen to Thriller. Sad, sad - madness and genius tied so closely together have caused the downfall of another legend.

-I got a job, finally. It's only for a week and doesn't pay a ton, but for that week I get to counsel Chicago public high school students about what it means to be an artist. To a point, it seems ridiculous that I have an authority on art, but it will also be a really good experience and something that actually impacts someone, hopefully.

-Finished reading I'm with The Band: Confessions of a Groupie by Pamela Des Barres. She's the infamous sixties groupie who was with Mick Jagger, Jimmy Page, Keith Moon and many more. While I didn't care for Des Barres' writing style, the stories were so so interesting and in a weird way, her heartbreak over the men she loved and lost made mine fall into perspective. I had to watch Almost Famous today too, seeing as she was a big inspiration for my heroine, Penny Lane. I want her life, for about six months. She's written a couple other books that I'm going to check out soon.

-My screenplay is almost done, dare I say. This first, very rough draft is around 120 pages and needs work, I am aware, but I'm very proud of myself for getting it done in about a month. The muse has been especially kind the past couple of days. Maybe I'll recruit some proofreaders...

-True Blood season two is so, so good. It's so trashy and over-the-top, but I'm a sucker for black comedy. I found out my favorite character on the show, Terry Bellefleur, is Lane's husband Zach from Gilmore Girls, cute! And Stephen Moyer, who plays the hot vampire Bill, had this awesome quote about Robert Pattinson : "He's a pussy...the diet Coke or Slim-Fast of vampires." HAHAHA.

-FUCK TRANSFORMERS.  Seriously, I'm so tired of those dumb ass robots and Megan Fox's face everywhere. And I appreciate all things geek, but lines must be drawn. Up and Drag Me to Hell are both great, choose those.

-I've also decided there will be a pie of the week. First it was Toll House Pie, which was awesome. But this week, chocolate buttermilk pie, not so much. This weekend, they'll be Paula Deen's sugar cream pie. As I've mentioned, I'm a bad feminist and I love being domestic and baking.

-Taste of Chicago starts tomorrow. We get free tickets through residence life. I need to prioritize what needs to be eaten. 

I hope you kids are keeping cooler than me.

...In which our heroine lists.

Being the aspiring film snob that I am, one of the summer projects is to work through the list of movies I feel that I need to see, via Netflix. So, in case you were curious:

The Classics:

Chinatown

Dr. Strangelove

The Godfather II

Apocalypse Now

Being There

La Dolce Vita

Breathless 

Jules et Jim

Nashville

The Last Picture Show

Killing of a Chinese Bookie

Bonnie and Clyde

The Third Man

The Maltese Falcon

Badlands

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Mean Streets

The Searchers

Barry Lyndon

Seven Samurai

Eraserhead

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Lolita

A Woman Under the Influence

Nashville

Horror:

Oldboy

Inside 

Cemetary Man

Bride of Re-Animator

Bad Taste

The Company of Wolves

Alien & Aliens - re-watches because I was too little when I saw them.

Twin Peaks

The Devil's Rejects

The Devil's Backbone

3 Women

Battle Royale

Foreign: 

2046

Rouge, Blanc, Bleu

The Edge of Heaven

Au Revoir Les Enfants

Fanny and Alexander

Timecrimes

Talk to Her

Irreversible

Fat Girl

Romance

Wings of Desire

Contemporary:

Barton Fink

Brazil

Miller's Crossing

Nine Lives

Do the Right Thing

Palindromes

Storytelling

Towelhead

Paris, Texas

Pi

The Savages

The Fall

Role Models

Run Fatboy Run

Hellboy II

Happy Endings

Night on Earth

Wendy and Lucy

Metropolitan

This Is England

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist

Amateur

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

80-some odd titles. I'm averaging about two a week, so at this point, I'll be done in like a year.

Ha. 

...In which our heroine is self-indulgent.

Blame Quarter Note Life, not me for this madness.

Enjoy my self-indulgence and boredom. This is mostly a test to see if this is more interesting, or my writing is. I'm guessing my writing will be, but at least it's something different.

...In which our heroine is pure bliss.

We almost didn't go. I had gotten my dates mixed up and thought the premiere was next week. It started at seven and we didn't decide to go until six. But if we had arrived five minutes sooner or later, I wouldn't be writing this.

Tonight I spoke to, shook hands with, and swooned over JOHNNY DEPP at the world premiere of Public Enemies in Chicago. He touched me - he is magnificently gorgeous, exactly like in his his movies, only prettier - and I came a little. I don't think my heart has ever beat so fast. Great skin, perfectly greasy hair, nice pinstripe suit, rough hands covered with rings and tattoos. Johnny Depp is a real movie star, he just exudes sex and charm. 

Kristen, Emily, and I were across the street from the red carpet and couldn't see much when we first got there. I saw the side of Christian Bale's head, which was still hot. Then Depp's limo pulled up and we caught a glimpse as he exited. I thought that would be it, but no...

Johnny Depp, aside from being beautiful and a talented actor, will forever be on my cool list because he met, autographed, and spoke to a block and a half of fans when he didn't have to, at all. Christian Bale didn't even bother to wave to the fans. He signed for kids, old women, and everything in between. And, since he apparently doesn't watch his own films, left the screening early and met more fans. 

When he approached all I could think to say was "It's nice to meet you." And he shook my hand, looked me in the eye, and said "It's nice to meet you too." OMG. I'm sorry to be a fourteen year old, but for my money, Johnny Depp is the most handsome man on the planet, and he touched me. Then I melted, knees shaky, breathing heavily. 

Oh, and the cast is here until Saturday doing a press tour. And I scored passes to the screening tomorrow, so I'm optimistic I'll get to see someone show up there too. And I got a poster. I also saw the director, Michael Mann, William Petersen, and Dennis Farina. 

What a fucking awesome awesome awesome night. And for once, my phone camera worked well:

...In which our heroine reviews "Moon"

I'm getting spoiled by free movie passes. I've gone to four shows in the past three weeks and haven't paid for a one. Hopefully, I'll get Public Enemies passes this week too. Thanks, Ain't It Cool News!

But anyway, last night's film was Moon. I read some positive reviews so I was excited going in, as good sci-fi is few and far between these days. My reaction to the film however was a shrug of the shoulders afterwards. It isn't a bad movie by any stretch, but it isn't mind-blowing either. The visual aspect is really nice, very 2001 of course but dirtier, and the sets and spaces look really good considering the film only cost $5 million. That, I can appreciate and I can also appreciate that its the first directing effort from Duncan Jones (Zowie Bowie, wonder why he wanted to change his name).

Also really strong is Sam Rockwell's performance, who continues to show his wide range. This is the third film I've seen him in this year with a lead role, and he has been the best part of all three films, especially Snow Angels. He gets to REALLY own this film and be quite diverse, but anything more on that would be a spoiler. But I think he might get some kind of independent recognition for this role, and he deserves it.

So Moon is good, not great. I will give it props for being sci-fi more focused on mood than machinery (fuck off, Transformers) and making its budget go far. Maybe more of a rental than a theatre watch.

Otherwise...I have a job interview Thursday! It's only a two-week thing, but it's better than nothing at this point. I've caught up with Weeds - four seasons in two weeks, and the fifth better not be as lame as the fourth. It is great television though. Now that I'm caught up, I'm going to start hacking through the Netflix list. Only 83 movies, no problem. 

I'm seriously considering Lollapalooza. I'm going to Pitchfork's music festival, but it's just so tempting, despite the fact that the line-up is less than stellar as compared to the past two years. But it's across the street from me, literally, and the only thing I'd have to spend money on would be the ticket. Decisions, decisions...

...In which our heroine is a thief.

Lots of wonderful nuggets of pop culture from the past week:

-Trust might be my favorite movie that no one else has seen. It's not available on Region 1 DVD which is quite upsetting. But I love it, so it was really nice to see an article on The New Cult Canon about it. Highly recommend this film - it pops up on IFC from time to time and is an instant Netflix watch. 

-I knew the G.I. Joe movie looked bad, but apparently I didn't know just how bad...

-There's a movie coming out called Zombieland. Yes, please. Also, Chicago Zombie-Con is in 2 weeks, yay!

-I knew Megan Fox was too hot to be true.

-Oh Bret Michaels, karma is one mean bitch.

-The list of 15 Most Disturbing Movies Ever isn't too shocking, although I'd never heard of #1. I've seen 7 on the list and throughly agree. 

-I wish I was at Bonnaroo.

-Shutter Island looks to be quite the departure for Scorsese, but I'm excited. Make the spaces on the Oscar ballot now.

Back to Chicago tomorrow, but I had quite a lovely trip home. The city though...it calls to me. Solved a script problem, fifty pages down.

...In which our heroine spreads the word.

I saw The Hangover this weekend, and it further made me realize how damn funny Zach Galifianakis is. Ben introduced me to his awkward brand of comedy this winter and while it isn't for everyone, I really enjoy it. I'm sure that Galifianakis will blow up as The Hangover does more box office, I just hope he doesn't lose his style.

By the way, The Hangover is pretty decent for a summer comedy. Nothing serious, lots of laughs.

...In which our heroine has a final product.

I'm glad people besides myself can figure out technology. I spent a long time trying to figure out how to upload my final film into a watchable format, but failed. Luckily, my partner in crime on the project is smarter than I.

This is the final film I made for my Production I class. It was shot on 16mm black and white reversal film in a Bolex camera, and edited by hand, with a razor blade and tape. We used professional actors for the roles and my partner Haley did an awesome job with wardrobe and make-up. I directed, wrote, and did cinematography, while Haley did production design, make-up, and produced.

"Gordy's Last Laugh"

...In which our heroine has a new role model, kind of.

I love summer. I've been getting lost in all kinds of media consumption that I fell behind on during the year. 

Most recently, I've been getting addicted to Weeds. Why have I never watched this show before? It's so well-written, has really multi-dimensional characters, and most of all, is funny. Honestly, I thought the show might be kind of one note, same thing I feared with Pineapple Express. Neither of them are. Weeds is a perfect show Katydid show.

I especially love the depth in the main character, Nancy Botwin, played with equal parts grace and hysteria by Mary-Louise Parker. The dynamic of wanting to do what's best for your kids (and often failing) by becoming as Nancy puts it, "the suburban baroness of bud" is continually interesting. I'm on the second season now, and the twists keep me guessing. 

I understand now why Emily aspires to be Nancy. Kind of. Nancy's pretty awesome, but she's kind of skanky too. I would want to be her, for like a week. Oh and the supporting characters are really excellent to: Elizabeth Perkins as Nancy's bitch neighbor Celia, Kevin Nealon as her stoned accountant, and Justin Kirk as her freeloading, generally debauched brother-in-law.  

Weeds makes for good summer watching, nothing too heavy, but still complex and very entertaining.

Some other things:

-I'll be back in the 'Nati in 24 hours for a week or so.

-Still sans job.

-I watched about five minutes of the MTV Movie Awards. Why, I do not know, but I can say that Megan Fox seems like the iciest chick ever, my hatred of all things Twilight continues to grow, and Andy Samberg is not funny. 

-Pearl Jam's new album might be a Target exclusive. Seeing as my mother is a band-aid for them, this is quite the outrage. Way to sell out guys.

-Dear Paul Thomas Anderson: I finally watched your first film, Hard Eight. I'll just say I'm glad you became a much better filmmaker by Boogie Nights. 

-Tattoo this week, finally, with the BFFF.